Year 382 Yurius did not, in fact, see what the problem was and he was about to say as much when Eliphon disappeared with Mord. Spirits of the Dead acting and existing as if they were still alive did not seem problematic or chaotic in and of itself. He wondered what the nature of the chaos Eliphon spoke of was. He also did not see what Eliphon wanted the God who answered his call to do about it, exactly. Rule the wayward shades as a king rules subjects? Set up a system or a society for the dead? Organize them somehow? Judge them and their deeds? Destroy them altogether? Well, no matter. Whatever chaos was taking root down there and whatever its cause, Mord would deal with it; he was a capable and resourceful fellow and Yurius would always be willing to help him if need be. More importantly for the moment, the meeting seemed to be drawing to a close as Gods left one after the other. Disappointing. Nothing was really accomplished, no accords struck or agreements made, no counsel held, no sanctions or accommodations administered, no justice done, no problems addressed save the Underworld. What was the point of coming here to achieve nothing but bickering? Still, Yurius decided the three would remain for a time in case anyone else decided to appear and discuss a problem or make a suggestion. If no one did in the next few days, they'd take their leave. Zokmod was similarly displeased. He dearly wanted a consensus among the Gods that Arzian release his hold on the God gems. Further, he'd wanted the Gods to figure out a way to destroy Oblivion's remains or, failing that, a way to secure them from being used by one God against the others for nefarious purposes. Nothing of the sort was decided, nor any other thing of any consequence at all besides that Arzian was a “jester,” Realiti was apparently upset about something, and neither of the two had anything resembling a sense of humor. Still, there was some good news. Mord was going to the Underworld. Mord was a former Animal Spirit turned Spirit of Darkness who'd been Zokmod's closest friend since before joining the Legions and he'd quickly become his staunchest assistant after joining Yurius. His presence during Khaline's disturbance of the nature spirits had been sorely missed, as Borin's had been. His presence in the Underworld meant Zokmod would have more spies and informants to let him know about things of interest taking place there. Furthermore, the Arbiter's Meadow was becoming too small to house all of the Spirits in the ever-growing army. Zokmod had long been planning to create another barracks elsewhere and house a portion of the Legions there. Perhaps Mord would be able to help grease the wheels and set that plan in motion and, before long, the Immortal Legions would have a second home in the Underworld. Eventually, perhaps they could have a portion of the Legions stationed on every planet and in every realm of consequence. This was a good first step to that end. Borin was perplexed by Abel's sleight of hand and tried to emulate it without success. Still, he liked the boy and Abel seemed the curious and quick learning sort, so he would try to teach him something of his own power. Normally, only a spirit of light would be able to manipulate light energy to create blasts or weapons or illusions, but Abel might be able to. After all, he was the child of Realiti and Eliphon, two of the most powerful Gods in the universe, and, as had been discussed earlier in somewhat heated terms, his own powers and aspects were not yet clear. It was worth a try. Borin showed Abel the basics of manipulating light energy. He tried to help him manifest simple balls of light and shape it into different forms. If the boy could do that, he would move on to creating solid objects like coins or, perhaps more helpfully, weapons and other items of use. If Abel showed aptitude even for that, he would next show him how to fire projectiles of light energy, how to use the power of light to heal injuries to body, mind, and soul or use it to strengthen the abilities of others. They'd have plenty of time, as it didn't seem Yurius wanted to leave anytime soon despite all the other Gods running off in a huff. Of course, if Abel showed no ability to do anything like this (or even if he did), Borin could also offer to teach him the ways of war and how to fight and use weapons. Borin bet that Abel could be a great fighter if he were properly trained. Year 391, Freeswimmer Camp: Yurius, in response to the victims of the Freeswimmer raids' prayers, went to Glurgurl in a rage. “Acts of war on a battlefield are one thing, Glurgurl, but your men show no restraint. They act as war criminals, attacking innocents who've done them no wrong and who are defenseless to fight back! What do you think the commoners of the empire will do in response when they hear of this? Welcome your men with open arms after such unwarranted savagery? You must remember that your army fights for all Yammu-kind in hopes of a society where toothed and toothless can live freely together without enmity. You must make this abundantly clear and, most of all, for the sake of your cause, you MUST get your men under control!” Having said that, Yurius left Glurgurl to think. The God was absolutely right; there must be consequences. He had warned his men on multiple occasions--ordered them in no uncertain terms, in fact--not to harm civilians or prisoners, and his men had ignored his commands and visited unspeakable atrocities upon them. If he let this stand, he would be no better than Emperor Gulp and his Toothed people would be little better than the evil they sought to defeat. They had to be better than that. They had to stand for something more than just the destruction of the Toothless. So it was that in the next days, with heavy hearts and teary eyes, Glurgurl and his generals held war tribunals for the most egregious of the offenders. Men who'd raped maidens and killed children in front of their parents; men without conscience who wanted nothing but death and destruction and revenge for their enemies. Some even were renowned as some of the mightiest warriors among the Freeswimmers. They attempted to defend themselves and their actions, saying it was just repayment for their centuries of mistreatment at Toothless hands. Despite this, they were found guilty of insubordination for disregarding Glurgurl's orders and guilty of war crimes for their unjust treatment of the people of the enemy. They were executed, one and all, and buried as criminals in a mass grave. Glurgurl knew his people would object, that they would be angry with him for this, so he gave a speech and explained his reasoning. They were not the Toothless. They did not harm innocents and they did not discriminate based on the presence or lack of bicuspids. They fought for a higher ideal and they would rule with justice and equality where Gulp ruled as tyrant and treated his people as little more than cattle to be used as he saw fit. At the end of his speech, he finished saying, “Know this, people of the Toothless Empire! We fight not only for ourselves, but for you as well. We mourn not only for our own fallen, but every casualty and victim of war among our Toothless bretheren as well. The society we wish to create is one in which Toothed and Toothless alike will thrive and let this execution be a signal to you of our commitment and resolve to fight for this ideal and give justice to all, no matter who they are. And let it be a signal to you, Freeswimmers, that such savage behavior will no longer be tolerated in any form whatsoever. War crimes against innocent civilians and prisoners will be dealt with by the harshest means possible!” The Toothed Yammu were still somewhat angry with Glurgurl for the execution, but none disagreed that the accused were guilty of their crimes and they seemed to understand Glurgurl's reasoning nonetheless. For Yurius's part, he ensured that those wrongdoers that escaped the tribunals either because of lack of evidence or because they fled before they could face trial faced the consequences of their actions as well. These men and women suddenly found themselves slipping in the heat of battle, losing because of simple mistakes or because their enemies fought with some otherworldly vigor. Some would never again be able to farm a good harvest or have good fortune in their trade. They were unable to conceive children or find companionship. The tides of war, fortune, and love were always against them forever thereafter and, for the rest of their lives, as they despaired and asked themselves why such misfortune always befell them, many saw, just for a moment and out of the corner of their eye, Yurius standing with the spirits of the women and children they had killed and dishonored, and they suddenly knew why their lives had become a living hell. Some repented and dedicated themselves to service or to the Gods, and Yurius had mercy upon them and relented in his punishments, lifting his curse; others who refused to admit they were wrong went to their graves in misery, obscurity, and loneliness, forsaken by Gods and men alike and abandoned by any who had ever known or loved them. Meanwhile, prisoners were henceforth treated with dignity and humanity. They were given every comfort, though they were not allowed to leave or communicate with the outside. Gulp's daughter, Blurpl, and his son, the next Gulp, were kept in separate locations, the son in the Outpost Fortress, and Blurpl in the Northern Rephlonian Fortress. As befitting their royal status, both were given fine rooms, every amenity, and the freedom of the fortresses, though always kept under close watch. Glurgurl's son took a liking to Blurpl, who was quite beautiful by Yammu standards, and tried to befriend her, bearing her gifts, singing to her songs of gods and ancient heroes past and telling her stories of the world outside the palace that she had never left before now. Her demeanor was icy, treating Glurgurl II with the sort of disdain reserved for her bitterest enemies in the royal court, but Glurgurl II was smitten and he persisted, always hoping Blurpl would come to enjoy his company. Year 392, Great Simian Tree, Long Tooth Imperial Palace: Turkdash refused to destroy the island fortress; that was his greatest asset and the most powerful bargaining chip he had to get other kindgoms to submit to his rule. Already, many former rebel kingdoms had rejoined his empire just so they could regain access to necessary trade goods from Ignus. The Emperor would, however, attempt to negotiate with them. He sent a counter-offer via messenger. They could use the portal in the middle if they paid a hefty toll and a tax to the Empire on goods that came through it. The toll and taxes would be fairly expensive, though within the means of the Seaman Alliance or any other nation that chose to use it under these conditions. The toll and tariff would be discounted greatly if they decided to join the BOSOMOF alliance and forsake their Toothless allies, though not eliminated. It would be eliminated altogether and the island portal free to use if and only if the Seaman Alliance rejoined the Empire. They would have to pay taxes and follow the Empire's laws in this case, true, but the cost of either of these things was a pittance compared to the toll that would be needed to use the island as an independent nation, even one with the BOSOMOF discount. Turkdash explained in his counter-offer that if they kept to their current alliance with the Toothless, they could still trade with the now neutral Hot Miners through the Yammu because Gulp currently held the sea portal, but that was a long and circuitous route and goods would be very slow to come that way. What's more, the necessary preparations to keep metals and foods and skins dry and preserve them from the salt water as they traveled many leagues across the Ignus ocean and through the sea portal were expensive and even more time-consuming, especially since trade and supply routes through that portal were always under threat of attack on the other side by the Freeswimmers. The toll and tax to use the Daktylios portal as a BOSOMOF member would be notably cheaper and exceptionally faster. Trade would be expedited and cheapened even moreso if they rejoined the Empire. Joining the alliance or joining the Empire was clearly in their best interests as far as freedom of trade was concerned, he argued. Turkdash intended to maintain their cease-fire in using soldiers on land to keep the Seamen occupied until the negotiations were over. If they chose to join the alliance or the Empire, well and good. If not, well then he'd start sending troops against them once more so they would be too distracted to help the Toothless Yammu at sea. Year 392-395: The collapse of the capital city upon a portion of the besieging force was both good news and bad, but mostly good, Glurgurl thought. Obviously the loss of 3,000 and the wounding of 10,000 more soldiers was a huge problem in an army whose ranks were still either defecting to the enemy for food or mercy or returning to the deeps, but there was also a huge opportunity here. The collapse of the city meant that the citizens who once made their livelihoods there were suddenly destitute, homeless, and without purpose. Thousands of Toothless citizens who suddenly had no purpose and also had a grudge against the Emperor for destroying their homes and livelihoods on purpose were very, very good for the Freeswimmers. Leave it to Gulp, the incompetent fool, to pay so little attention to the people he was supposed to rule that he would hand his enemy a mob of angry commoners on a silver platter to bolster its army's deflating ranks, Glurgurl thought. What's more, the Emperor had basically handed them the city without a fight. Apparently, the Toothless army did not want it anymore. Glurgurl vowed the Freeswimmers would make good use of Gulp's gifts. One man's trash is another man's treasure, he thought with a chuckle. Glurgurl immediately set part of his army to rebuilding the fallen city. It would take years to rebuild it to its former glory, but for now they had basic necessary defensive measures and the optics among the commoners was the important thing. Gulp, their beloved Emperor, who was supposed to protect them from the evil Freeswimmers, had destroyed their homes without a thought. Now the Freeswimmers, of all people, were the ones rebuilding their homes after Gulp had destroyed them. Glurgurl made many long trips from settlement to settlement of now disenfranchised Toothless citizens, talking about the tragedy their emperor had inflicted upon them with callous disregard for their lives. He talked about how the Freeswimmers felt their pain and were even now working to rebuild what had been lost. The rebuilt city, he vowed, would be grander and more splendid when it was completed than it had ever been under Gulp's family rule. Finally he called for justice for the tyrannical Emperor and entreated all listening to fight for their cause. They did not have to sew teeth in their mouths, for the Freeswimmers cared not what God you worshiped or how you chose to do so, unlike the Gulp dynasty that demanded a sacrifice for his and his God's favor. Simply help them fight the tyranny and injustice the Toothless army perpetuated and together they would all build a world and a government where all Yammu were treated with love, respect, and equality regardless of the station of their birth and never again could a ruler treat his loyal subjects so heinously. As quickly as the Toothed soldiers defected to Gulp or returned to the deeps, Freeswimmer ranks swelled with new Toothless recruits who had been victims of Gulp's mad plan. Some were victims of the attack on the city itself, but surprisingly a large number were from outlying villages and towns that either knew someone affected by the attack or were incensed by Gulp's actions and inspired by Glurgurl's. The Freeswimmer army was no longer just comprised of Toothed Yammu. Now it was an army of Toothed and Toothless all fighting together for a higher cause: justice. No longer was this war just about Toothed and Toothless Yammu fighting one another in a petty cultural dispute: now it was about righteous rebels, regardless of teeth, trying to defeat an evil Emperor. Instead of Toothed vs. Toothless, the war was now about Freeswimmer rebels vs. Imperialists. Gulp had inadvertently helped to change the narrative of the war entirely, and it was very much to his detriment. Glurgurl could not be happier about that. As for the defectors who joined Gulp's army, they may have joined for food and survival, but Glurgurl knew they were still sympathetic to the Freeswimmer cause. It did not take much to convince them to relay valuable intel on the Imperial army's movements and plans back to the Freeswimmer army. As the enemy was mostly split into smaller groups hunting Freeswimmers in the open ocean and hunting food to deprive the Freeswimmers of it, it was relatively easy to send larger, concentrated forces of Freeswimmers after the smaller groups and pick away at the larger Toothless force little by little. The defecting spies always let Glurgurl's generals know where the smaller and larger groups of the Imperial Yammu were going to be and the Freeswimmers were able to mitigate their losses and strike back at the smaller groups as a result. They acted conservatively, sometimes letting larger groups of the enemy defeat them or letting smaller groups of them escape. The Freeswimmers did this so that Gulp would not realize there were spies among his ranks leaking information about his army's movements to the enemy. Slowly but surely, the Freeswimmer army was growing as commoners flocked to their cause and the Imperial Army was shrinking as smaller groups were separated and defeated by the rebels. The only other problem was food and resources to feed the growing Freeswimmer ranks. Part of this was mitigated by the Dragons and the BOSOMOF Simians, who were able to ferry in food and supplies from land and from the Rephlonian Ocean via ship, but this was not nearly enough to feed everyone. For whatever reason, Glurgurl's scouts reported to him that the Imperial forces were avoiding the Ignus Ocean depths where the Toothed Yammu had lived since running from persecution in the early days of the Empire. Food was plentiful there and since Gulp's army was not trying to hunt food in that area, Glurgurl sent Freeswimmers to set up a supply chain from the depths to all the taken fortresses and to the capital now that it was being rebuilt and fortified under Freeswimmer control. Toothed hunters would gather food and supplies from the depths and take them back, via many different, always changing, and heavily guarded routes so the Imperialists could not easily interfere, to the Freeswimmer strongholds. Food still was not as plentiful as it was before, but between BOSOMOF assistance and the supply chain from the depths, it was enough to feed the entire army, even with its new Toothless recruits. Things were certainly starting to look up. By year 400, Glurgurl estimated that the capital would be rebuilt to a point that people could start inhabiting it again. The Imperialist army would be stuck out in the ocean without any fortifications but the one around the portal and the Freeswimmers would have the captial and the commoners on their side. It would be a complete reversal of the situation when the war started, when the Freeswimmers had nothing and the Imperialists had the capital, the forts, and the will of the people on their side. If things continued at this pace, the war would be over very soon. Glurgurl only hoped things would continue to go so well.
