Under his care, Tortu began quickly declining. Jax had every single citizen of Tortu enslaved. If they were too old to work, they were killed. If they were too young to work, they were brought to Frithe to train as assassins. Jax had a plan to increase his funds, but he was so selfish he refused to realize his people were really struggling.
The price of food had skyrocketed in the region. This was all fine with Jax, because it meant more people would join his army, but the numbers were beginning to rapidly slow. He was getting thousands and thousands of recruits each week, but now he was only get about ten new recruits each week, and they were malnourished men and women who could barely hold a sword.
With the increase in prices, less families could afford the taxes, so Jax put a new tax on food so he was getting his money either way. He didn't care how it impacted his people. Many were wanting to run away to Gerak, but the situation in Gerak wasn't much better. And if they ran away to Tortu, they would eventually be round up as slaves. The world was no longer a safe place.
Jax's advisors were begging him to reduce the taxes and lift the blockade. The people who still had enough money in Frithe were now spending almost all their money on food. And to make matters worse, bread was almost the only food they could buy.
As he believed the blockade was saving him, it was actually hurting him. The royal family started to grow wealthier, but at what cost? He was losing the respect of his army. He was losing the respect of his people. He never paid attention to the approval ratings. He said they could be faked. But people were seriously considering overthrowing him and having the next in line give it a go. But they didn't know it could be worse. The experts of the royal family warned the commoners that it would be worse if Jax was killed, but no one believed them.
Jax would never wake up. He lived under this delusion that everyone in his kingdom respected him. He was one of history's worst kings as far as approval ratings, and he refused to change his habits. He was starting to become richer as the profits from the mines came in, but it wouldn't last for long.
The slaves in Tortu were beginning to become hungry, and they revolted. Jax no longer had precious gems flowing into the royal family of Frithe. But he wasn't concerned about that, he would find more people to exploit for free labor until they dropped.
The revolt resulted in a slaughter. Emaciated slaves without weapons were trying to kill military men with rocks. They stood no chance, and they were all killed. But this made Jax think. He was considering making his army members mine for raw materials, but he would make sure they were well fed. He sent shiploads of food to his men, and he had them mining for gold, but he didn't realize this made them angry. They were military, not miners.
He was getting rich, and his family saw the benefit, so none tried to stop him. A few more months would pass, and a lot of his army that was being utilized as miners started to grow weary. There was talk of defecting to Gerak. They didn't know if the conditions were better, but many wanted to make the leap.
The riff between the men created a restless feeling about camp. Those who wished to leave left in the middle of the night. They were too many to stop, and they got on a war ship and sailed to the capital of Gerak. Two thousand men abandoned the Frithe army for better lives. And they made even more people think once the word was out.
Infuriated by the news, King Jax realized he was making a mistake. But the amount of wealth he was accruing made him think if it was worth stopping. He had a chat with his advisors, and he finally ended the blockade. His war ships came home, and he told his army they could stop mining. He was humbled, but he had to erase the damage he'd done to his kingdom.
Ruling as an arrogant man was the issue. He would adopt a new style to his rule, but the objective remained the same. He was forced to really grow up. He hadn't even been in charge for a year, and he'd already had a massive amount of his military defect. He was still mad at the traitors, and he put bounties on their heads— at least of the known defectors. He couldn't possibly remember them all. As most of his army didn't even need to sign papers to enlist. He just accepted them into his army, gave them ten silver pieces, and started training them. Most of them were almost invisible.
Of the defectors was Eugio Hig. He was an admiral in the army, but he was angered by the fact he was reduced to mining for jewels. He was the main conspirator of the event which led around two thousand men to leave in the middle of the night. He was given a bounty, but he didn't care. There was a chance another battle didn't take place in his lifetime.
Eugio led the defectors to the Charming Castle. The draw bridge was raised at the sight of them, as the archers thought they were there to attack. But none of them had any weapons, but their clothes boar the marks of the Stix family crest.
Bidi was alerted to come to the gate at once.
It was the middle of the night, a few hours past midnight. And she lazily got out of bed, but the urgency picked up once she was told what was happening. She felt threatened, but she wasn't in danger. She frantically made her way to the gate to see two thousand Stix soldiers standing at the gate, but they didn't have any weapons.
"Speak your game!" Bidi shouted from the balcony.
Eugio, who was adopted as the leader of the defectors, spoke loudly, "we have come to pledge loyalty to the Charming Army."
"Why?" Bidi asked with a bit of suspicion.
"We have many reasons," Eugio vaguely stated.
Bidi thought it was a trap. Why would two thousand men defect to her army? She thought the moment she let them in, they would unveil weapons and kill everyone in the castle. She didn't trust them, and the paranoia was something that could've kept her alive. "That isn't the answer I'm looking for."
"It is a long story," Eugio stated firmly, "but I can tell it if you wish."
"I'm feeling skeptical," Bidi said.
"King Stix has been using us to mine in Tortu. We did not sign up to work in mines. We are being greatly misused and mistreated. If you have access to the approval ratings, you will realize the current king has the second lowest rating in the history of the measuring system. The system dates back thousands of years. Only one king was thought worse than King Jax Stix. We were stationed in Tortu to ensure King Vran never returned for the riches of Tortu. King Stix ordered us to kill everyone under King Katara's rule, and we did. Katara fled, but we believe he is somewhere in Gerak. We rounded up the survivors of Tortu and forced them into slavery. The conditions were so bad they revolted; they were all killed. Then the king made us mine under the conditions not even good enough for slaves. Every last one of us is well aware of the risk of defecting, but we come to serve you. We wish to help you win the war which has been affecting all of the regions. A lot of us were forced into the army. We faced a choice between death and servitude. Please do not judge us for choosing life. What say you?"
"Why did you come to me? You could have just fled and all disappeared," Bidi posed.
"I'm sure many of us have different answers, and some of us did leave the group when we arrived in Gerak, but most of us want to help you restore balance to our homeland. Personally, I wish to return to Frithe after the war, but I will not do it while anyone in that bloodline rules. Albi may be the only decent human of all of the heirs, but he isn't in the immediate line of succession. It would take many kings to die to restore Albi to the throne. We believe you have a better plan for the world. We wish to follow you. Please let us help you in the war. Most of us aren't well trained. Many of us will require more training, but some of us are proven warriors who could train the rest. We do not ask for much. All we need is food and barracks."
"Food is limited because of Jax's blockade," Bidi shared.
"Then we will spend some of our time foraging for food. We are not here to create issues. I assure you that."
"How could I trust all of you?" Bidi asked, "any one of you could be a spy for the king."
"We don't have to live in the castle. We can build our barracks a few miles away and train there. We don't have to be informed of any moves. We will only interact with you when it is time for war."
"Fair," Bidi said, "there is a field half a mile to the west. You can make camp there. I will send provisions for you: tents, pillows, blankets, and food. Please back away from the draw bridge and make your way to the field."
Eugio nodded and led the way to the field she was speaking of. It was large enough to house the entire battalion. A few minutes after they arrived, some of Bidi's servants were pulling carts of supplies. One massive tent was set up on the edge of the field, then pillows and blankets were dispensed amongst the soldiers. They would sleep there after they ate a small meal, and most of them were pleased with the hospitality shown by the queen.
After the sun rose, Bidi came to them personally to get a better feel for how well trained they were. While Bidi was a female, she insisted on training with weapons. She sparred with some of the men— won some, lost some— but the men respected her deeply. They had never met a queen willing to get her hands dirty.
As the blockade was lifted, ships still weren't sailing to Frithe. They feared being sunk still. The war ships deployed in the water made all captains uneasy. It would take several months to restore all trade routes, but pirates led the way. Pirates had never stopped sailing, but they were becoming bolder and bolder. And their moves inspired more captains to test the waters.
It took several months to track down all the war ships, but they were finally all found and brought back to the docks in Frithe. The seas were as they were. The people of Frithe started to recover as well. They were the first of the regions to restore poverty rates. But Gerak would quickly follow. Tortu was a mess. It was now only inhabited by soldiers, and no one wanted to go there. Their entire economy was crippled for a long time. A few native tribes remained in Tortu, but they did nothing to help its economy thrive. They never traded or bought anything, and they were mostly out of the way, which was how they were never enslaved. They never even knew Frithe occupied their lands.
Even with two thousand defectors, Gerak and its forces were still greatly outnumbered. Jax knew it. Bidi knew it. Everyone knew it.
King Vran's aid to help Gerak kept it afloat during the blockade, but so much money was being put into the infrastructure of society the army hardly grew. Focusing on growing the army seemed irrelevant while everyone was dying. But the restored trade routes meant the economy could recover. It would take a while for a full recovery, but Bidi could now recruit more men.
While Jax had a terrible approval rating, Bidi actually had a very high one. In fact, many were talking about removing the interim from her title. It was typical for a male to rule, but her son was still so young, and many wanted Bidi to tule until she died.
King Vran attempted to recruit men for the army, but his outsider looks made people cautious to join him. He was actually scaring people away. Bidi admired his effort, though. But he asked if he could stop trying to recruit. He didn't understand why people wouldn't want to fight with him, but the Gerak people had been made xenophobic due to past exploits with foreign people.
At one time, Gerak was invaded often because of having weak kings. They were tested often, and many times the king failed and a new regime was established. This constant change of leadership damaged Gerak for a long time, but in the second age, they thrived under one bloodline.
Jax fixed the economy, but he was growing impatient while waiting for his warriors to become proficient. Mastering the art of war could take a while, and Jax was upset that he could do nothing to kill the sorcerers in Frithe. As time passed, magic became more and more tolerated. And he was losing people's hatred of wizards. Many people were starting to cheer for the wizards, even in Frithe.
Attempting to create fear of sorcery, Jax staged a murder. He hired a wizard to kill one of his brothers in public, and he offered the wizard full amnesty and one thousand gold pieces.
The wizard was set to kill Akil, who was the youngest of the brothers. He was receiving an award for his bravery in battle, and the wizard started chanting.
Storm clouds formed rapidly over the sunny day. Everyone saw the wizard performing magic. He was controlling the weather. No one knew this was possible. After the clouds moved in quickly, a lighting bolt flashed down and struck Akil. He died within the instant, and the wizard fled the scene.
Some of the citizens chased the wizard for justice, but he casted a spell to slow time that caught them all in slow motion, and he easily escaped. He met up with Jax at the castle after losing his tails, and Jax paid him and sent him back to Gerak on a private ship. Even Bidi's mages were for sale now.
For whatever reason, Gerak citizens were not willing to join the fight for sorcery. Even with the new incentive of salary, they weren't hoping at the opportunity to join the army. Bidi and Vran even made the army available to women. The only bright side to the lack of enlistment was that Jax and his army would not grow anymore. Everyone even remotely interested in joining had joined. But Bidi and Vran still had half the numbers Jax had. Should the war start tomorrow, the end of sorcery would be found. Vran refused to accept defeat, though. He knew Bidi didn't want him to recruit in Gerak, but he knew they stood no chance. He knew they needed more men.
Vran took it into his own hands and used fear as a tactic. He kidnapped people's children and told the parents the only way they would ever see their child again was if they enlisted. He must have kidnapped thousands of children, and he was able to get two thousand new recruits. He never told Bidi how he was getting the recruits, but she was happy they were finally coming.
As bliss as ignorance was, Bidi tried to use sugar to attract more soldiers. She built a new barrack near the castle with state of the art technology. She offered a signing bonus and a salary, but she was only able to recruit one thousand men. She didn't know why the incentives weren't working, but it was because the Gerak people were cowards. And most of them didn't even care if sorcery was ended. Most of them had never seen the power of magic.
Bidi was struck with an idea three hours after midnight. She got out of bed and rushed down ghd spiral staircase. She found Faro's room and barged in. Monci was cuddled up next to him. She had no idea they were even interested in each other. But that wasn't what she wanted to tell her brother.
With a lantern lighting her path, she went up to Faro, who jumped out of bed so quickly. "This isn't what it looks like."
"I don't care if you're sleeping with her; you're both adults," she replied. "I have a plan."
"Okay," he said as he put on some pants.
"The reason people aren't willing to fight for sorcery is because they have never witnessed it so good. I keep my sorcerers locked away in the castle. People need to see them cure diseases to change perspectives. The reason King Vran wants mages around is because a mage saved his mother when she was sick. We have to unleash the magic for people to appreciate it."
"Can we talk about this tomorrow?" He yawned.
"Sorry," she said as she left his room.
Bidi knew what had to be done. She had to make people appreciate sorcery.
Jax entered the scene of his dead brother laying on the ground. He theatrically started to cry as if he was surprised and upset. He really sold his pain, but he spun the narrative and made people fear sorcery. He took to the podium and gave a monologue about the dangers sorcerers present. People were cheering for him, and he knew the word would spread. He had created hatred. And no one would ever know he was the reason his brother died.