With Arthur set to live out Patsy's lifetime, he had been in so much pain from the gout he had his queen commanding the armies. There was a war looming. Those from Tortu didn't like that magic was coming back to the forefront of people's lives, so one of their many kings decided it would be best to attack the sorcerer stronghold and eliminate everyone in the castle, which was where many sorcerers were relocated to. He had been planning an attack for a few months, but he simply didn't have the numbers to combat Gerak... until King Pedon joined his forces.
King Pedon had the largest army in all of Tortu. His numbers tripled the size of King Tardash's army. But they had a disagreement about who was going to lead the army, which gave spies from Gerak enough time to report back to Queen Bidi Stix-Charming.
Gerak had a larger army than Tortu and Frithe both. But should they combine forces, disaster could be wrought on Gerak, but Frithe was in allegiance to Gerak through a treaty and the marriage of Bidi and Arthur. But rulers have gone against treaties before and declared war. It was a question on where Frithe stood in the matter of affairs regarding magic. Were they for it or against it?
The answer would come soon. Bidi sent an advisor to Frithe to speak with King and Queen Stix, the only rulers of all of Frithe. Rotheldamay Stormbrooke was the advisor charged with seeking counsel with Bidi's parents to gauge their stance on magic. Bidi would have gone herself, but she was very busy preparing for war.
May, short for Rotheldamay, was a capable advisor, though. May was a sorcerer, but her magic hadn't yet blossomed. She was a very late bloomer, but it was relatively common to gain the trait as late as 37-years-old. In some rare cases, magic was gained as late as the fifties.
Setting out for Frithe, May, the youngest advisor at Bidi's disposal, had a three day boat ride to their sister region. While May was traveling, Bidi prepared her sorcerers for war. Her army was already the finest trained, so she wasn't worried about them. She had forges working nonstop to create spears, arrows, and swords.
Without a moment delay, May had finally arrived at the castle in Raz Hajin. She quickly sought counsel with the king and queen of Frithe.
"I assume you've heard," May said as she entered the hall.
"We are aware our daughter is bringing back sorcery, yes," Camille said in a yawn.
"She sent me here to see where your allegiance lies," May said.
"Seize her!" George yelled.
The guards started to storm May, who shouted, "this is an amiable visit. I search only for answers."
"By sending back your head, Bidi will have her answer," George smiled in a wicked way. It was clear his daughter meant nothing to him, for he had sons as well, sons who have always lived with him and developed a strong relationship.
"My lady," May pled, "your daughter is a sorcerer. Would you see her dead?"
Camille didn't respond. She clearly didn't feel the same as George, but she held her tongue. The treaty would soon be relinquished, and May's head would be sent back to the castle in the capital of Gerak... addressed to Queen Bidi. Three days would pass, then Bidi received the package. She opened it, and she knew Gerak and sorcery were in danger.
In attempts to win the war, Bidi started recruiting for the army. She would need approximately ten thousand more men to cover the discrepancy between the two armies that would come. Bidi wanted to be offensive, though.
She called in five of her spies for counsel. "Do you love Gerak?" She asked them.
They all nodded.
"Would you die for Gerak?" She asked.
They all nodded again.
"Good," she said, "I'm sending you five on a suicide mission. I want you to infiltrate the armies of Tortu and kill as many of them as you can. Am I understood?"
"Yes, my liege," Carter said while the rest nodded.
"Leave me!" Bidi said in exclamation.
They would be on the next ship for Tortu. Carter wasn't excited about dying, but he was a man of honor and would die for his kingdom. Charged with the task of killing did excite most of the spies, but things could go horribly wrong if they were caught.
On the ship, Carter devised a plan. They would all join the armies of Tortu and murder the army members in their sleep. Carter and company were able to murder entire barracks of men, but when they were caught, they were tortured by orders of King Pedon.
Pedon was searching for answers of why a tenth of his army were killed by five men. Carter was lucky to die before he was tortured... he died fighting in the barracks. Nicklaus and Noah weren't as lucky. They were tortured for answers to questions they didn't know.
As Nicklaus and Noah were tortured, King Tardash assumed they were all spies from Gerak there to diminish the threat of the army, but Nicklaus escaped his binds unexpectedly. He quickly made his way to the window and took a chance jumping out. They were only on the second floor, so he wasn't injured too badly. He made his way into the town and stole some clothes to blend in. He was nude as he was being tortured, but the new clothes made it very easy for him to escape.
Gaining passage back to Gerak would prove easily done. He gained passage on a ship destined for the capital city by telling the captain what he had done for the queen, what he had endured to get to where he was and still be alive. Noah didn't make it out alive. His binds were too tight, and he couldn't escape. But Nick would live on for all of them. He would eventually become a legitimate problem for the people of Tortu, as he became an advisor to the crown of Gerak, much less dangerous than being a spy, but still with obvious threats, like what happened to May.
A few hours would pass, and they were finally within visual distance of the capital city of Gerak, which of course changed three times in recent history, as it was usually just where the king and queen lived.
They lived in the beach now, in a port city, with a castle that extended high into the sky. The castle also had a mote and a wall around it, with a draw bridge to access the castle. The only problem with this was there was seemingly only one way in and out, but was that true?
There was an underground tunnel extending miles away into a meadow. It was a hidden secret, and few knew about it, but there was another way out of the castle. Bidi, of course, knew about it, but Arthur did not. Bidi would often use it to escape into Drog Hakul, where she truly felt home, but with Patsy's death, Drog Hakul greatly changed, and it was no longer a safe haven for asexual people. Consequently, Bidi hadn't been back since.
Nicklaus made it back to the castle, where he sought audience with the king and queen. He stood before them and said, "the mission was a huge success, we killed two thousand militiamen."
"Then why are you not dead?" Bidi asked.
"I escaped with my life. Aren't you happy to have a report back to you?" Nick said.
"I am happy, but confused," Bidi said.
"What is this all about?" Arthur asked.
"While you were unwell, I planned an attack on Tortu," Bidi informed.
"I assume it went well?" Arthur directed at Nicklaus.
"It did, my lord," Nicklaus said with enthusiasm, "a tenth of Tortu's forces were killed by five men. We throttled them in their sleep."
"Excellent news," Arthur said as he shifted in discomfort from the gout. He had been eating nothing but leafy greens for a week and still couldn't beat the gout flare up. It would pass in a few days. "Guards! Carry me to my chamber. Bidi can handle the rest of the load today."
Arthur had the king's disease in his right knee. The gout had been so bad that time he was otherwise immobile. He was carried back to his room, then Bidi continued to counsel people. Hours went by of counsel, then Bidi actually went to check on the king, which was very rare.
"How are you?" She asked, no concern in her voice.
"I have to piss and shit in a chamber pot. How do you think I am?" He hissed in pain.
"Have you been following the diet?" She asked.
"Sorta," he replied, "I've still been eating shellfish and red meat, but I've been eating plenty of greens."
"Drink this," she said as she handed him the cup in her hand.
"What is it?"
"Juice from cranberries, I think it will help with the acid buildup causing the flare up to be worse than normal."
"Okay," he said calmly as he sat up and took the cup from her. He took three big swigs and finished it all and handed her the cup. She looked pleased. Inside the cup was a type of root that would make the gout worse, or so she believed it would. It wasn't magic, but it was mixology. She quite enjoyed being in charge of all affairs during his time of pain, and she would see him in more pain if it meant she was in control of the kingdom.
Hours went by, and the cranberry juice cured Arthur, the opposite of the effects she wanted. She thought the root would've made it worse, but it actually helped as well. Arthur was gingerly walking around again, and Bidi was not pleased.
More hours passed, and Arthur rejoined the counsel. Unpleased by his appearance, Bidi just rolled her eyes at everything he said or did. Unable to fully comprehend the plan she laid out, he had many idiotic questions about the state of the union.
Bidi suggested that he leave it to her, but he replied, "this is my kingdom at stake!"
"I can handle the war," she spat.
"I should be a part of my kingdom's defenses. I will go to battle with my men!" He implored.
"Then go to war now!" Bidi mocked.
"I might just. What are the affairs in Frithe?" He asked.
"They ended our treaty," Bidi said staunchly, "with a severed head."
"Lord, that's morbid. So we are at war with both other regions?" He asked.
"Yes, my king," she replied.
"Then what are we waiting for?" He said as he swiftly stood up and grabbed his sword from the guards. "We must take the fight to them!"
"Is that really the wisest thing, my king?" She asked, concerned not for her people, but knowing sorcerers had an advantage in the castle.
"We don't want our people to suffer, so yes. Ready the troops! We deploy for Tortu tomorrow."
"We are still outnumbered," she reasoned.
"Not by the armies alone. All men will leave at first light!" He shouted to the counsel. Bidi wasn't excited by his haste.
She thought it was foolish to rush into battle with less in number, which was why she'd been recruiting for the army. She recruited two thousand men, but she wanted eight thousand more to even numbers out.
"One of my men is worth five Tortutians!" Arthur boasted. "And three Frizians!"
"If you say so, my king, but we can't leave the castle totally undefended. Leave the sorcerers with me!" She implored.
"As you wish, my queen," he said as he kissed her on the head.
Arthur and army would go to Tortu the following day. At sunrise, every single troop left for Tortu. They would make camp on the beach and strike the following day. While they won the battle, they suffered great casualties and lost two thirds of their army destroying the Tortutians. The Tortu army was no more, so King Charming decided to return home to regroup before launching an attack on Frithe.
Over half his army was killed in the battle, but he remained alive, and morale was still high. But they were now greatly outnumbered by the Frizians, by two to one, odds were not in their favor.
King Tardash and Pedon escaped in the battle with a handful of men. They weren't much of fighters, so they fled to Frithe to alert King Stix that the Gerak forces were on the offensive and badly weakened.
King Stix replied, "how many does he number?"
"Ten thousand at most, my lord," Hamil Tardash replied.
"If he doesn't strike soon, we must take this fight to him before he can regroup," Camille stated to her husband, the king of Frithe.
"We will go to Gerak," King George Stix declared. "Rally the troops!" George yelled to the commander of the army. "We leave tomorrow at night."
"Why night?" Hamil asked.
"The seas are more forgiving at night here. Ready the war ships!" George shouted.
"Do you not feel conflicted?" Relic Pedon asked.
"Conflicted?" George laughed.
"Your daughter is queen of Gerak."
"She is trying to raise a plague we fought so hard to rid this world of. I hold no sympathy for her," George spat as Camille frowned. Camille clearly didn't want to see her only daughter dead.
Camille deeply loved Bidi. They had a wonderful time together when they were younger. In many ways, Camille taught her to be a woman, though she did tell her to hide her magic, for George hated sorcery, so she did.
Tardash and Pedon were escorted to a room— they were not thrilled about sharing a room, but the castle in Frithe was small and at capacity. It was that or stay at the inn.
While George plotted, Camille paced her bedroom in anxiety. "Do you really want to see your only daughter dead?" She asked George.
"She is a witch sympathizer. It is what she deserves."
"If you have her killed..." Camille started.
"What?" He groaned.
"I will never forgive you," she said softly. "Bidi is my daughter."
"She is a witch," he grunted, "now come please me, woman!"
Camille took off her dress, lifted her gown, and sat on George's cock. They had sex, but Camille never enjoyed it. She gave George twelve boys and one girl, and she always lost the baby weight quickly. She was a beautiful woman, which was perhaps why she became queen. Camille's ability to stay attractive made a huge difference to George, who had two of his wives beheaded because he was no longer attracted to them.
As George's fourth wife, Camille knew the status of queen could easily be stripped from her. Camille, however, was the only wife to give George heirs. There was the situation with Lucricia where he had a stillborn son, but the rest were females. George blamed Lucricia for the loss of his first son, so he had her poisoned. In truth, Camille knew the risk of marrying George.
George came with many side effects. George was very loose sexually, so he'd often cheat on Camille, who wasn't allowed to protest. In Gerak, they had the only women in the workforce in the entire world. It was truly revolutionary, and it was because of Bidi.
Bidi was a revolutionary woman. She believed in the equality of women. And Gerak was thriving due to her addition of women to the workforce. Consequently, she was enslaving everyone to the power of coin, people who were accustomed to the bartering system. She was creating slavery inadvertently.
As someone who didn't need to please women, George came quickly. He never made any woman come. And his status ensured they would never refuse him, even though half the castle knew how bad he was at sex. Camille would just get through it, because he gave her a phenomenal life, despite just being a sex toy.
Camille was very girly and submissive. She would give into all of George's desires. Luckily, George didn't have much of an imagination. He just wanted to come often and quickly. He was riddled with sexually transmitted diseases, and it would ultimately be their deaths.
Camille tried to talk about their daughter afterward, but George was unresponsive. He knew she had to die for her crimes. As sad as Camille was, she was drawn into the old way of thinking.
After they rose from slumber, George went to the port to see the ships being prepared for voyage that night. He wouldn't travel with his army, because he didn't wish to die, but he would send his entire army to Gerak with orders to kill every man, woman and child who lived there. Confident all the sorcerers were now there, he would finally see an end to sorcery on the planet.