"Assess injuries, check casualties, and secure the area!" Warmarshal Frostgard's voice echoed in the frozen wasteland that had now become the area surrounding the mine; she then made her way toward Xav.

The icy wasteland appeared to be a winter garden of ice statues, clearly the frozen Doomcry warriors, it was unknown if they still had their unlife.

Gerald started to help his brothers and sisters tend to the wounded, as his fellow general started securing the area, without speaking. The Frostgard were well-trained soldiers, unlike the barbarians of the Doomcry. Among all the clans, only the Frostgard Clan and the Verruca Clan were military families. The remaining clans had private forces and members in the military but were not strictly military families like these two clans, were receiving military training from the time they could speak and hold a weapon.

The warmarshal stopped in front of the leading Doomcry warrior. She took out a hand knife from her side and with a few quick swipes, cleared the ice from the mouth of Xav, "What's your name, gold ear?"

Xav tried with all his might to break his frigid bonds but to no avail. "I'm not a damn gold ear, my name is Xavier Doomcry, Commander of the Doomcry Zerkers of Sosuhalf, and I demand to be released!"

"Oh, really?" Warmarshal Frostgard tilted her head slightly and scratched her head... "Considering that you conspired to obstruct the Official Business of the Holy Kingdom of Deagoth, and have attacked an army under the command of a Warmarshal, I don't have any reason to release you. That's regardless of who you are; furthermore, you should have talked this out with us, to begin with, instead of attacking us."

"Frost bitch, this is because you insulted me." Xav snapped before a sharp pain met his face.

"SMACK!"

Warmarshal Frostgard slapped him in the face, knocking some ice from his head, and fracturing some ice along Xav's neck.

"It's only an insult if you take it as an insult. You know that even your clan classifies you Doomcry by your ear colors, so don't play that double standard with me. Now, calling me a quote-unquote frost bitch... Now that's just asking to be a casualty in this wonderful winter wonderland."

The Warmarshal looked down on the frozen Xav. He stared hatefully back, but choose not to say anything.

"I'm glad; you now know your position, at this moment. Now answer me... What Voidstone is yours?"

"Huh?" Xav's hateful face was awash with confusion.

"You screamed it while attacking me... I assume that's something in the mine you want... I don't have any use for Voidstones. What I want is the corpse of one of the Grimnights that died in the mine collapse."

"Why do you want a Grimnight corpse?" Still confused, Xav asked tentatively.

"The Holy Witch King, himself, ordered for me to get this corpse. It's his business. You can ask him about it." The Warmarshal's face smiled in a beautiful way, with thoughts of Schadenfreude.

Xav's face would have paled, if not already three shades lighter due to the biting cold.

"Now Xav, I have a proposition for you. I can either kill you and everyone here that obstructed our mission, or you and your men can help me excavate the mine shaft, get your dirty rocks, and come with me to Deagoth to await your punishment by His Grace."

Xav was afraid of The Holy Witch King. His clan would always use The Holy Witch King as King Yama, the judge of the dead, in stories to scare young Doomcry into behaving, ever since the incident at Angel's Decent. Let alone he witnessed the descent of the angel half a month ago.

This whole deal turned out very different than he expected. He was going to kill all the Frostgard, and reap the Voidstone. Then he would seclude himself until he broke through to the King rank, and enjoy all the rewards of being a powerhouse. He might even want to knock over a kingdom to rule, like Stonedge... But now... He not only had to help dig up a bunch of cadavers, but the Voidstone he wanted was also going to be turned over to his family. That was if he wasn't confiscated as evidence by the kingdom.

The moment he was given the two choices, Xav knew he was screwed. His two options were to die now or to be judged by The Holy Witch King. If it was before what had become known as the Trail of Jordan, he wouldn't worry so bad. Even with the scary stories of the Doomcry, once they became adults they knew the Holy Witch King was a tolerant ruler, but in the Trail of Jordan he ripped his soul out of his body and played with it like a toy.

Xav shuddered at his thoughts, and immanently yelled, "We'll Help! We'll Help!" Maybe he could live with The Holy Witch King's judgment... He would die here. A chance was better than none.

"Good. I will soon thaw you miscreants, but I'm placing an Explosive Ice formation on your skull. If you so much as cough wrong... Pow." Warmarshal Frostgard looked down at Xav and shrugged her shoulders. "I hope you know what that means, right?"

Xav was pissed to be controlled like this, but he would do the same. Didn't make him any less pissed, but he still understood. "Yeah, I know. I know."

*******

Consort Leslie, Grand Minister Lucius and Warmarshal Verruca were standing in a large elaborate platform in the front of the Holy Palace of The Holy Witch King. They had got news that the ambassador's escort had finally made it to Saigunrai.

The trio had worked hard for this arrangement, as Leslie set about rolling out the red carpet, so to speak. She had decorated for the occasion, in undead faction. Lucius had set about organizing the Officials and Church members for the reception, and lastly, Verruca had ensured an iron defense, with a look of guard for receiving the ambassadors.

These guards were exclusively from her clan. Her personal company, while Warmarshal Frostgard called her personal company simply The Frostgard, Warmarshal Verruca called hers the War Breakers. The War Breakers were much like their Warmarshal of the same Family. Huge, tough, armor-clad juggernauts, named for their ability to break the lines in battle. They stood like silent statues in their towering armor lined up from the city gates that would receive the ambassadors until the reception.

The Trio stood on the platform waiting for the ambassador's convoy.

"What do you think Neolith really wants?" Lucius asked the other two in a hushed tone.

"I'm not sure. I know they have just finished a civil war, with the branch family winning and assuming sovereignty over the tomb." Leslie spoke while gazing into the distance.

"Perhaps it is like what his Grace has said previously, they are looking for allies. If a civil war happened, then they are weakened."

"Even if Jakahn wants to eat them up, because Dragon's jaw wants to end Jakahn, wouldn't that weaken Jakahn enough to give Dragon's Jaw time to attack them, as well?" Lucius added.

"As complicated as that sounds, it makes sense to me. I would think that Jakahn would bury in like a tick to defend. The terrain favors defense between Dragon's Jaw and Jakahn." Leslie commented.

Verruca looked over to Leslie. In the past, Verruca had a few dealings with this mysterious Countess, but the more she interacted with her, the more mysterious she became. How did she know some of these things, and feign innocence? Verruca wondered what sweet lies she fed Jack to make her his consort. she decided to probe.

"...Consort... Leslie, How do you know that Neolith had a civil war?"

"Oh, it's gossip! You wouldn't believe the kinds of gossip you can hear among my handmaidens."

Verruca raised her brows. If Leslie's handmaidens could gossip about international geopolitical turmoil and affairs casually, then they weren't simple handmaidens. She decided to probe later, so as not to put Leslie on guard. She knew that many of her political foes mysteriously disappeared. So she had some power, while Verruca thought it wouldn't be enough to challenge her military might, she also didn't want to kick a hornet's nest, either.

Just as Lucius was going to ask another question, they heard the trumpets at the edge of the city that could only mean the arrival of the caravan.

*******

"This is Saigunrai, the pearl of the Holy Kingdom of Deagoth. The seat of his Holy Grace, and the birth of the Holy Deagoth faith."

Looking outside the window of her carriage, Lady Emily listened to Warmarshal Ken introduction, as they approached the city. She saw the city guards and didn't feel much, but she says some very impressive guards lining the road into the city.

"Warmarshal Ken, who are these guards? They don't seem to be like the other city guards."

"Oh, these are Warmarshal Verruca's troops, the War Breakers."

"I see." Emily mused to herself, [These are supposed to be the most powerful of the armies of Deagoth. They do look like metal mountains... I wonder how they stack up to our Spider Bone Legion?"

The carriages rolled along the cobblestone road further into the city. This was the first time that Emily had seen a foreign city. She had lived her entire life in the Grand Tomb of Neolith. The Grand Tomb was just that... A grand tomb. The entire city and all outlining cities of Neolith were built underground. They grew and cultured a special type of moss, the Neolites of Neolith called Glowmoss.

Neolith was by all accounts a poor nation, by the standards of the surrounding nations and kingdoms. They used Glowmoss to lit the entire underground cities. There was not a patch of the ceiling in any of the Neolith cities that didn't have Glowmoss growing there. This Glowmoss was nurtured and cultivated overages along with a species of spiders. These spiders would tend to Glowmoss like farmers. They would feed the Glowmoss with captured prey, and the Glowmoss would, in turn, produce light, and a sugary liquid. This sugary liquid is eaten by the spiders and the leftovers are collected by the zombie undead Neolites. They would use this to make sweet goods, and various kinds of milk, the most famous of which is called Sweet Spider Milk.

[There is so much light here!] Emily marveled at the light provided by the Skull of the Sun God. Light in the underworld was a symbol of power and wealth. This was one of the reasons that the Holy Kingdom of Deagoth incited such as greed and envy among the other countries of the Ruined Continent.

Emily and her party were making their way to the Holy Palace; however, there was one person that was desperately trying to send a message to her Lady. Undeath Official Holly of the Achnida Clan was in a precarious position. She had vital information that her Lady needed to know to complete her mission here in the Capital, but every person she tried to contact was either refusing to answer her mental messages or were not apart of her Lady's delegation that embarked upon the ambassador's visit.

Undeath Official Holly made her way to the receiving party near the Holy Palace to stand with the other Officials. [I can only pray to the spider goddess, that she doesn't say anything out of the way to Consort Leslie...]