Chapter 81: The Free Brothers Avian Chieftain
"The Beastman are an interesting race who have a range of subraces, each with their own specialities and physiques."
"Though hard to unify, it is well known that if anyone was able to get them to work together and form one united nation together, then their power would increase dramatically."
"This is proven thanks to The Free Brothers, where Beastman from all subraces and backgrounds come together for the common cause of survival and is a core part of why they are so powerful."
Levath Rammat, Historian and politician in the Kingdom of Athurus.
….
Vorgaox, the giant ape, approached the wary Aurellion host, allowing only a small guard to accompany him, seeing the tense mounted Pelican Guard keep their hands firmly on the hilts of their swords or on the shaft of their spears and lances, ready to spring into action on a moment's notice though many of the lances had broken in the previous battles leaving them primarily with their secondary weapons at their disposal.
A long-forgotten tragic memory appeared in the mind of Vorgaox of a failed raid where thousands of his brethren and those of other tribes lay on a field above with that damned golden pelican flag swaying above them as the wounded were either captured or finished off.
Even now, he could still hear the thundering steel-shod hooves of the Aurellion cavalry thumping against the ground as around him, one Beastmen after another shrieked in pain or let out a moan of death falling under the sword and hoof of the relentless and ruthless Chavarian cavalry.
It was a scene he would never forget and the place where, forever after, one of his eyes would forever remain shut, just one of the hundreds of thousands of victims who fell so House Aurellion could rise.
Such was the unfortunate world of Dynasties Online, where many died and were scarred both mentally and physically in the wars waged by the powerful in an effort to gain more land and riches for themselves.
Snapping out of his memory-filled stupor with a shake of his large head, the Marshal of The Free Brothers rode forward confidently to be met by a young boy sitting in front of a towering and powerful man. Just by looking at him, the ape knew this was no ordinary man and suspected it was the rumoured grandmaster who was protecting the last heir to House Aurellion.
That's right, even in other countries, people of power had heard about the abrupt fall from power and grace of House Aurellion. The once feared martial house had now been reduced to exiles on the run from the great Chavarian Empire, one of the most powerful countries in the current world of Dynasties Online.
With Leon pressuring him, the ape, known for emotional outbursts, managed to keep his rampant emotions in check. It helped that the last time he had fought this noble house that had formed a legend for itself in Chavaria and beyond was four years ago, as it gave him time to process and deal with any lingering feelings of hatred that had occurred from the conflict.
As the Marshal of The Free Brothers and practical head of its military, this ape was a grandmaster fighter in his own right, one of two his tribe possesses as one was lost in the same raid that he lost his eye, which significantly lowered their power level and combined with the loss of thousands of elite soldiers was a crippling blow that they still had not fully recovered from even after the many years that had passed.
The problem is that he had lost an eye, which has a negative impact on his fighting abilities, making him unsure if he could beat Leon. Worse, if he died, then The Free Brothers would only have one grandmaster fighter left, which would put them in a poor position with its more powerful neighbours who had two and, at times, even three grandmaster fighters to bear down upon them.
If all three grandmasters worked together, even an army of 5000 would struggle to put them down, though at least one of the grandmasters would die in the process, which is why, despite being able to kill 1000 elite soldiers, they are seldom used that way instead they go after and assassinate people of importance or kill generals within an army to make the enemy lose morale and rout from the battlefield or to shake up the internal politics of a specific nation.
This was a huge problem for The Free Brothers, who already had poor diplomatic relations with many Beastmen tribes because they accepted the exiles and, at times, criminals of other tribes into their fold as citizens.
If it were not for their extensive military power, then these tribes would have long tried to do something about it, but for now, they just had to take the humiliation of being able to do nothing to these criminals whom they wanted to punish or execute but were always ready to strike at the first sign of weakness.
"What is the mighty House Aurellion doing on our lands?"
Vorgaox asked in a sarcastic tone as right now, being exiled from a country they had helped form showed off the powerlessness of the noble house's current position.
Unlike other Beastmen tribes who have powerful families dictating their fate or even have inheritances like the empire's nobles with power passing from father to son. The Free Brothers were different as they had an election where once a leader had died for whatever reason, an election would soon be held to decide the next leader or chief of the tribe.
This leader would then serve for life, though if they were too tyrannical, then it was possible to be overthrown by an angry populace. After all, most of the citizens of The Free Brothers had ancestors who hated the status quo in their tribes and left looking for something else or were forcefully exiled and so were more disposed to rising up in arms against perceived tyranny than people elsewhere. Some came due to losing a political fight, while others were criminals who wanted to turn over a new leaf, though if they committed any more crimes after joining them, then they would be judged according to The Free Brothers laws.
Because of this history, many in The Free Brothers had an innate disdain and hatred for the aristocracy of other nations, such as House Aurellion, who were on their last legs with the last of the troops under its command protecting the last heir, who is a child and unable to lead alone.
The only thing that impressed Vorgaex was how they still had this many loyal men. While a few servants like butlers close to the noble family may be faithful to their lord, something extraordinary must have happened for 600 elite soldiers, even more, if rumours are to be believed to have stayed loyal to them against hundreds of thousands of men that are loyal to the emperor.
"Like many of you, we were exiled from our country for one reason or another. We seek merely to pass through your lands and go somewhere we can live in peace."
Railius said taking the initiative to negotiate himself without any civil servant or scholar available to him, who were typically employed by nobles for their diplomacy. These diplomates are usually used because it is very risky to allow one's leader or king to go into an enemy stronghold because all they would need to do is kill him, and then a succession crisis would occur due to the sudden death of the country's ruler.
This is why kings who do this usually have their appointed heir as regent in their absence, as then there could be a peaceful transfer of power before their successor, which is typically a son or daughter who would then get revenge for the death of their previously respected ruler.
"Killing us would merely be you doing the Chavarian Emperor's bidding. Tell me, is that what the proud Free Brothers want to do?"
"The bidding of the ruler of a foreign empire whose greed for land has not yet been satiated."
"Make no mistake, once the empire had assimilated their newly conquered lands…."
"They will come for new ones, and your fertile Prairie would be quite a delectable choice for them, I can assure you."
Railius said, ignoring the insult and sarcasm that was in the apeman's voice before laying out a reason not to kill him. Of course, he did not expect this to be it, or there would not be an entire second quest he needed to complete to get through these stubborn people's lands.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"You do know that killing you would give us much pleasure, right."
"After all, how many thousands of free brothers have died at the hands of your father?"
"The great general and spider of the empire…."
"Lucius Aurellion!"
The colossal ape said ruthlessly, his hatred for House Aurellion present in his one remaining eye.
"Why don't you take us to your leader then?"
"You are meant to be forgiving, right?"
"Or is your benevolence and acceptance of exiles only a rumour you spread to make you seem good while concealing your evil intent."
Railius said in his usual relaxed tone that pissed off so many people as it made them think that he was ignoring them or not taking them seriously, making sure to press the right buttons and use their own morale code against them to help himself survive.
Many who got close to the eccentric young lord of Aurellion would learn that this was just how he was, and he did not mean it disrespectfully at all, well, at least not if he was your friend. If you were not his friend, then it definitely was meant in that way, but Railius, ever the believer in treating everyone the same, ended up annoying everyone equally, which would lead to no amount of trouble for him in the future.
While some called him weird, his enemies would call him a professional asshole who would insult anyone if he thought he could lead to them making a mistake, no matter how personal or how much of a low blow it was.
No one could be perfect after all, and if an eccentric personality was a tradeoff for his intelligence, then it was one that Railius would do time and time again with no regrets.
Vorgaox swung his 5-foot-long axe to and fro in an attempt to threaten the young ten-year-old boy, but the boy merely looked at him like he was a joke which nearly made the large ape attack in rage, but once again, it was Leon's pressure that prevented him from doing anything.
If it were not for the Grandmaster of Loyalty, then many people would have killed Railius purely due to his personality, which, while seemingly uncaring, was also kind, compassionate and benevolent, especially to his subjects. Many later would conclude that the uncaring attitude was actually a protective instinct to stop him from becoming too attached to people and to stop his heart from hurting too much in the event they betrayed or abandoned him.
It is unknown where this instinct came from. Many NPCs thought that it was the loss of the boy's family at a young age that led to this, while players would wonder which idiot did such a perceived betrayal against the boy to make him so infuriating and cut off from the world and, at times, human emotions as a whole.
"I'll take you to the chief. He will decide what to do with you and your snarky attitude."
Gritting his teeth, the huge 8-foot Marshal of The Free Brothers said and decided that it was not worth the wrath of his chief just because a child pissed him off and ordered his men to escort them to their settlement for the chief to deal with as this was a unique situation as no noble had ever escaped from the empire's capital like Railius had before since the empire's beginning.
They set off on their short journey. The horses of the Pelican Guard crushed the grass of the prairie underfoot, having to be careful not to destroy too much wildlife, they quickly followed a dirt track to the Beastmen settlement. Being more nomadic and tribal, The Free Brothers did not have the bustling cities and paved roads that were the trademark of a prosperous Chavarian domain.
Coming up to the settlement, they found that instead of the large city walls and stone castles that dot the empire, the walls of The Free Brothers settlement were instead made of wood as a great palisade protected the people within. Outside its walls, rough wooden pastures were filled with all kinds of livestock, from cows to sheep, all provide sustenance for the Beastmen living off the land. Elsewhere, a few farms and orchards could be seen, though the prairie was far better for animal husbandry, which is why it made up the bulk of The Free Brothers' economy.
Lucky for The Free Brothers, a small river gave enough fertile land for a bit of agriculture, which allowed their diet to be much healthier and varied than those who only ate meat.
Riding through the gates of the main settlement, he could see workshops working with wool, cotton and silk as it seemed that The Free Brothers had far more knowledge at their disposal than most Beastman tribes as the many exiles each brought their own expertise and knowledge that slowly turned into a treasure trove and was one of the main reasons for why The Free Brothers were so powerful as they could harness the specialities of many tribes which are usually hidden from outsiders.
Unlike the dwarfs, humans and elves who relied on their skilled artisans and magicians to sustain their power, the Beastmen used their strong and unique physiques to do it, which is why even though they are seen as primitives by many in the empire, their strength in war should not be underestimated.
Even without his marital skill, 1000 apes of Vorgaox's physique would be more than enough to break through a formation of 5,000 Chavarian heavy infantry alone. This is if they did not have strong coordination with each other, as their great strength would slowly sap away at that of the weaker humans until they were crushed into nothing more than a pulp of flesh. In this way, they were very similar to orcs, though, unlike the orcs, they had a far less warlike strength-based culture, which had led to many cunning strategists emerging in the Beastmen United States in the past and allowed their culture to be pushed into a better less toxic direction.
If the Beastmen could only unite their knowledge together instead of jealously hoarding it for themselves, then they could become as formidable as the Chavarian Empire within a few decades, able to build vast fortresses and cities out of stone and marble.
A cart came up to them laden with the skilled crafts of The Free Brothers, from warm woollen clothes to exquisitely sown rugs led by a woman with rabbit-like ears and a cat-like tail.
"Ahh, Kihli going out on another trading mission?"
"Yes Vorgaox, now that the commotion at the Chavarian border appears to have stopped, the chief thinks it would be a good time to go trading. You just came back from patrol, right? What are those humans doing here?"
"I picked them up at the border. It appears that the border has been so lively lately because of them. I'm bringing them to the chief so he can decide what to do with them."
The giant ape said as he looked at the young woman who, despite her dazzling mix of white and ginger fur and likeable face, was actually one of the most cunning traders in the tribe and had just gathered enough money to create her own caravan which would bring much-needed goods like salt and iron from abroad as it was essential to their survival as the salt allowed them to preserve the meat of their abundant livestock for winter killing many so they no longer have to feed them while keeping enough to be able to increase their numbers when summer came again and food was in surplus again.
She was a mix between a Rabbaton and a Catharion, two species, the former like a human with rabbit features and furs while the latter had that of a cat.
As the two bid each other farewell, Railius finally reached his destination. Raised upon a small hill was a large hall, a small wooden wall, and gates that provided minimal protection for the chief if the walls of the settlement were ever breached, though it was custom for the women and children to gather there for safety if they were ever attacked or besieged by their enemies.
On top of the hall's entrance was a blue and white painted shield crossed with axes seeming to be the sigel and colours of the tribe. Entering the hall, Vorgaox respectfully bowed to the figure of an avian man sitting on a throne of furs. Above him was the skull of a lion, one that the man had hunted himself, still having the arrow that pierced its brain stuck in from where the avian man had shot it.
A birdlike humanoid being with white feathers and a large yellow beak was reading a letter, bright yellow eyes locked in contemplation as he finally looked at who had entered his hall. With his eyes filled with the wisdom of age, the respected chief looked at the little boy who had entered with Leon and a few guards. The rest of the loyal Pelican Guards waited nervously outside the settlement, worried for the safety of their lord.
"So you have finally arrived at my home."
"Railius Aurellion, the son of the famed butcher of Brunag Lucius Aurellion."
"What web of lies have you woven even to have the cunning and respected Duke Ancel ally with you?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
LaziestDragon
LaziestDragon Thank you for reading and for your patience something came up and I had to deal with it making me miss the two releases I planned.
With that said I did see that we have another bonus chapter for me to write ill try to get these out and am taking note of them its just that getting 3 chapters out a week is stretching me a bit.
The next chapter should be out tomorrow as usual ill try not to miss another release like this.
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With that said see you tomorrow!
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