One hundred and one votes. On paper, that was the size of the margin Leon was estimated to win by if the question of his Kingship came up during the meeting of the Elder Council. At first, it seemed like he might actually get to that number when only one day after his arrival near Stormhollow, the Eagle Tribe arrived, and they came with every elder in their Tribe, bringing the total number of potential votes he had to three hundred and forty-seven.
What made him nervous was that his two remaining Tribes, the Hawks and the Ravens, were still some distance away and wouldn’t arrive until damn near the time the vote was to take place. With all of the available Bison, Bear, Tiger, and Spider elders in Stormhollow, Leon’s side was still in the minority.
He needed the other two Tribes to make it in time.
He spent the day waiting for the Eagles still on the outskirts of the city, wanting as many Tribes as possible with him before he made his entrance. Others, however, wanted him to enter early.
“… need to get set up,” Nikolaos insisted. “It’s hard to network this far from Elder Hall, and we could try swaying some of the other Tribes to come to your side if we were in the city.”
Leon gave the elder a thoughtful look, agreeing with him to a point.
He was in his portable villa with his family and only Nikolaos and Menander present; the other elders all had other duties to attend to such as ensuring proper organization within their Tribal delegations. Thousands of people separated along Tribal lines wasn’t an easy force to coordinate, and it would only grow more complicated when the Hawks and Ravens finally arrived.
“I agree,” Cassandra boldly declared, eliciting some curious looks from Nikolaos and Menander. “Remaining here on the hill can make us look weak, and no one follows a weak Emperor.”
“Nor a weak King,” Menander added with a sly, appreciative smile.
Leon nodded in understanding as he glanced out the projected window on the wall. “I wanted to enter the city with as much fanfare as possible,” he quietly said. “To enter with the Tribes around me and show the people that I wasn’t some foreigner. It’s important to me that I not be seen that way. But with how long it’s going to take the Hawks and Ravens to get here, I suppose we’ll get more benefit if we just move now, won’t we?”
“I would agree with that statement,” Nikolaos diplomatically stated.
Leon thought for a moment longer and said, “All right, then. Let’s make our entrance. Everyone who can transform will do so. I want our arrival in Stormhollow to be an event worthy of legend!”
“HAHA!” Menander boomed. “Our arrival will be worthy of a KING!”
He and Nikolaos bowed their way out of the villa, leaving Leon alone with his family.
“Are all of you ready?” he asked the room. “We’re wading into potentially hostile territory.”
“If anyone attacks us, we can use it against the Thunderer,” Cassandra said rather flippantly. “If he’s been in charge of this city for decades, then any violence within it is on his head.”
“If anyone attacks us, we’ll kill them,” Maia said aloud.
“I’m ready,” Valeria simply stated.
All eyes turned toward Anzu, who had been quietly reading in the corner. It hadn’t taken him that long to learn how to read, though he seemed more into the fantasy and mythical genre than non-fiction. Leon couldn’t blame him, but he was somewhat dismayed to see his little brother more captivated by fiction than by more practical tomes.
Anzu looked up after realizing such attention had fallen upon him. “Are we going to be attacked?” he asked out of genuine curiosity.
“We can’t say,” Valeria said with a smile as she walked over and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “If we are, will you protect us?”
Anzu’s blood-red eyes glittered, and his aura spiked in intensity. “Of course! Anyone who attacks any of you will have to deal with me!”
“And no one would dare to threaten us with such a fierce warrior defending us!” Cassandra added as she joined the two and added an arm to Valeria’s around the griffin-in-human-form’s shoulders.
Anzu nodded with utter seriousness, determination radiating from him unabashedly.
“Then let’s keep our eyes open,” Leon said as Maia took his arm, “and make a spectacular entrance…”
As he spoke, his magic rose into the air. He’d let the storm he’d summoned upon his arrival dissipate somewhat, though the black storm clouds hadn’t gone away. Now, with a soft kick from his power, the wind picked up and lightning began to fall.
“We’ve stayed on the outside long enough. Time to make our presence known.”
---
The wind howled about him, sliding through his feathers as silver-blue lightning filled the sky. He didn’t want to do any damage to Stormhollow, so every bolt that fell from the clouds arced back up into them, though their light still filled the city and the thunder they brought shook windows.
It had been a partly-cloudy day, but that had swiftly changed as Leon transformed into his natural Thunderbird form and sent his magic rolling forward in a great wave. He couldn’t blanket the entire city so openly with how heavily warded even individual homes were, but it was still more than enough to assert his authority over the sky. As he took off, it had only taken a matter of minutes for the sky above Stormhollow to blacken, for the wind to howl through the streets, and for his lightning to render the magical streetlamps redundant.
He flew ahead, every wingbeat summoning eye-catching bolts of lightning and claps of booming thunder. He’d had an errant thought about trying to use the Iron Needle to summon lightning of other colors, but he’d dismissed that as unneeded. He could barely control the thing and using it for such an impractical purpose was unwise.
Those flying at his side more than made up for any perceived deficiency, however. To his left flew Cassandra and Anzu, and to his right, Valeria and Maia. Maia had transformed into a water dragon while Anzu was in his griffin form. Further out were his retainers, and of them, Anna and Red cut the most impressive pictures. Anna was riding upon one of her wyverns—Nidar, Leon thought, whose scales had turned a rich, vibrant gold color. Astar flew beside them, his scales a brilliant electric blue.
Both were utterly dwarfed by Red’s enormous bulk, however. The ninth-tier wyvern was enormous.
Alongside them were the rest of Leon’s retinue and his Tempest Knights—unfortunately, still lacking Hart and Raven divisions but impressive enough, he thought. They wore their armor and weapons openly, and while they cut powerful figures, Leon still made another mental note to ensure they were given better gear just as soon as he could make or commission some. He wanted his knights to at least appear like they were part of a singular order.
Behind his knights came a massive flock of eagles. Leon’s transformation enchantment had spread throughout the entire upper-crust of the Eagle Tribe, and now almost all of the mages seventh-tier and up from that Tribe could transform—to his surprise, two Eagle elders didn’t share their Ancestor’s awakened blood, but had managed to reach elder status anyway. Now, all save those two had taken to the sky with him, flying safely and confidently through the lightning his power had summoned.
Far below, a larger horde shadowed them on the ground. Thousands of men and women led by hundred of Lions, Jaguars, and a handful of Harts all in their beast forms surged toward Stormhollow in good order.
He thought with some amusement that he was essentially putting on a parade. He wasn’t one for pomp and ceremony, but in a time like this, it was good to remind the people of what he brought with him—what could be shared with them if they only joined him.
The streets had been crowded, so Leon redirected the wind up and away from the city, reducing the effect somewhat but also allowing the people to stay outside and witness his entrance into the city.
Below him, as the Lions, Jaguars, and Harts entered the city on land, they began shouting about his arrival, and word spread quickly from there as the city filled with thundering voices and startled citizens.
The Eagles behind him gave Leon directions, and by the time he reached the Jaguar district near the heart of the city, he reckoned that just about every person who lived in Stormhollow had heard of his arrival.
The Jaguars maintained many estates for Tribal use in the city—as did all other Tribes—but while it was Leon’s final destination, he flew over it and proceeded onward to the Elder Hall built atop a hill almost exactly in the center of the city. He didn’t and upon reaching the opulent building but instead circled it ten times, using it in place of the Tribal Totem that the city lacked.
As he flew around the Elder Hall, he called upon more wind and lightning and even summoned rain around him. A twister formed around the building that, while not doing any damage to it, still drew the attention of just about every person in the city who was in a position to see it.
Upon finishing his last circuit of the Elder Hall, he spread his magic out as far as he could to ensure that it could reach as many ears as possible. Then he channeled darkness magic and announced, [I am Leon Raime, last heir of the Thunderbird! The Thunderbird Clan has returned!]
With his message now sent, he finally turned back to the Jaguars’ Tribal estate and began his descent. Upon touching down, he allowed the magic in the sky to dissipate, and the storm quickly cleared out.
And yet, the city seemed almost as noisy as the people in the streets spoke in awe, anger, and other assorted emotions about what he just happened. Regardless, Leon smiled as soon as he transformed and had lips again. Good or bad, he felt like he’d certainly made an impression.
---
Only an hour after his proper arrival in the city, Leon met with the Jaguar. His other Tribal allies hadn’t come to the Jaguar estate but instead had made their way to their own. Leon, his family, his retainers, and the Tempest Knights, on the other hand, occupied the largest of the buildings in the Jaguars’ estate.
They weren’t going to meet again until the next day to continue discussing their upcoming strategy for the Elder Council, so Leon hadn’t been expecting the Jaguar to come to speak with him. Yet here he was, and Leon welcomed him warmly.
“How are you finding your accommodations?” the Jaguar asked as they settled into a private meeting room, just the two of them.
Leon glanced around at the somewhat spartan but still well-appointed room. It was largely made of enchanted timber and luxury stone, and nearly all of its decorations were animistic depictions of the Blood-Thunder Jaguar. However, here and there, on the occasional tapestry or mosaic, seen in a statue, or almost hidden at the top of a pillar, an icon of the Thunderbird could be seen. Jaguars were everywhere, and though often small, so was the Thunderbird, and wherever the Blood-Thunder Jaguar and the Thunderbird shared space, the Thunderbird was always above in a position of greater honor.
“They are quite comfortable,” Leon sincerely replied. “I’m fonder of more subdued styles and this place is perfect in that respect. Not too much to be gaudy and ostentatious, but not bereft of comfort.”
“It gladdens me to hear that,” the Jaguar slowly said.
Leon’s eyes narrowed as he analyzed the Jaguar’s body language. The man had fairly good control over himself, but he seemed to now be avoiding eye contact with Leon and was clenching his jaw.
“Is something wrong?” he asked his guest. “You seem a little… nervous.”
“Hard not to be in this situation,” the Jaguar replied. “Waiting on the Hawks and Ravens is wreaking havoc on my nerves.”
“I can understand that, but I don’t think that’s all. You seemed perfectly calm last time we spoke and little has changed.”
The Jaguar began to frown but didn’t deny it. Instead, after a moment of thought, he admitted, “I received word from… a couple of contacts of mine. People I regard as friendly, though not quite as friends.”
“Who are they?” Leon asked.
The Jaguar took a deep breath, but after a moment of silence in which Leon made it clear with his eyes alone that he wasn’t going to leave this be, he explained, “I’ve heard about a potential meeting between some of the Tribes who are supporting the Thunderer.”
“From whom?” Leon pressed.
“Solomon,” the Jaguar admitted.
“The Hegemon of the Tiger Tribe leaked word to you of a meeting?”
“Yes.”
“Did he give any indication as to what was going to be discussed at this meeting?”
“You. The meeting. The charges brought.”
“Why would he leak this?”
“He didn’t say, he communicated through an intermediary.”
“Who?”
The Jaguar sighed again. “An Inquisitor I’m somewhat acquainted with. ‘Elina’ is her name.”
Leon stared at him skeptically. “Solomon, Hegemon of the Tigers and your former brother-in-law, sent one of the Thunderer’s Inquisitors to inform you about this meeting.”
“That’s an accurate summary.”
Leon’s expression morphed into disbelief. He turned his eyes away from the Jaguar for a moment to think, and when he focused on the ninth-tier Tribesmen again, he had only one question, asked in an incredulous tone, “Why?”
“There was more to the message,” the Jaguar said as he took a letter from his soul realm and opened it. Leon quickly scanned it with his magic senses, but the Jaguar summarized anyway, “He did not call the Elder Council and he’s angry that his name was used to do so. He claims to regret his allegiance with the Thunderer, but the Tigers are surrounded by the Bears, Bison, and Spiders, not to mention make up a significant portion of the Thunderer’s army and bureaucratic staff. Many elders and Chiefs in his Tribe continue to support the Thunderer despite his personal opinion. He can’t just switch sides, no matter how much he wants to.”
“And this message is a show of support?” Leon asked.
“I don’t know,” the Jaguar admitted as he lay the letter on the table. There was other information contained within, but as far as Leon could tell, it was mostly personal, little stories and references that he figured were included to prove it was sent by Solomon.
“What do you think he wants us to do with this information? Doesn’t seem like there are any recommendations in there…”
“Knowing Solomon, I don’t think he cares what we do with the information. Crash the meeting, use it to assassinate Tribal leaders, so long as we don’t target Tigers he won’t care that much.”
“I’m not going to assassinate anyone,” Leon muttered. “Wanton murder is no way to build a power base. Besides, it would be impossible to hide. Any elders turning up dead from either side would probably be blamed on me, whether or not I had anything to do with it.”
“In that, we agree,” the Jaguar said, looking just a little relieved.
“I’d rather try and convince these Tribes to join me. But I also don’t want to crash this meeting.” Leon sighed. “I really don’t like the sound of this. To be honest, it sounds like a trap. I go there and find myself at the wrong end of a thousand blades.”
“I don’t believe it’s a trap,” the Jaguar stated with confidence. Indicating the letter, he explained, “Solomon swore upon my sister’s memory.”
Leon bit his tongue for a moment, suppressing his urge to scoff. He was cynical enough to believe others were cynical. However, he knew that the Jaguar loved his sister and had a complicated history with the twins Hector and Solomon, and after a moment of thought, he came to the conclusion that if he ever swore upon any of his ladies’ names, he would treat that like an iron-clad oath. Solomon had wives other than the Jaguar’s sister, of course, but Leon had multiple wives as well, and his feelings for them were all as strong as ever.
After a long moment of thought, Leon asked, “How would you recommend we handle this information?”
The Jaguar took another long moment to think before saying, “I believe we have three avenues open to us. The first is simplest: we ignore it. However, it would be a tremendous waste of an opportunity if we do, I believe. The second is more straightforward: we attend the meeting, invitation or not. Make the case for your Kingship in person. I’m sure we could sway at least a couple of elders over to our side, especially with a display of power, an explanation of support you already have, and a promise to share with them all that has been shared with the other Tribes.
“The third is the most complicated: we attend the meeting but do so in secret. Assess what is being said behind closed doors if possible and use that information to help plan our strategy. Gauge how the Tribes are feeling now that we’re in the city.”
Leon nodded as a smile slowly spread across his face. “And which would you prefer?” he asked.
“I like the second, but the third is more likely to yield results,” he said.
“Well I prefer the third option,” Leon responded. “Less likely to fall into any potential traps if we’re less conspicuous.”
The Jaguar sighed but didn’t argue against his logic.
Leon glanced back to the letter. The meeting was scheduled for sundown, only a few hours away.
“Let’s speak to the others about this,” Leon said. “I’ll want to hear from all of them before we act.”
The Jaguar finally stopped clenching his jaw and seemed to relax slightly. “Yes, Leon.”
Leon grinned as they left the room, some excitement bubbling in his heart despite how dangerous this might be. Dealing with politics was tiring, and sneaking around and doing something dangerous sounded like just the stress relief he needed right then.
Fortunately, it didn’t take much of the other Tribal leaders to see things his way, and by the time the sun neared the horizon, he and a group including the Jaguar were on the move. They were going to find out whatever this meeting was supposed to be.
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