“Is that Kodria? It's bigger than I expected,” said Chief Roc.

“You made it sound small but this is already a bustling city,” said Chief Xend.

“It is far warmer up here than back at the clan caves,” said Chief Nem.

“We just missed the last of the warm months,” said Akira as looked at the light dusting of snow that had already begun to cover the ground.

“Awooooooo!” several howls rang out as the south fort notified everyone that Akira had returned.

On the lake, Kodria's naval ships patrolled the waters while numerous ships entered from the river and docked at the trade plazas docks.

The docks all looked to have been upgraded with stone pillars so that heavier trade goods could be unloaded and transported to shore easier.

Akira looked around for the large number of Garg's that should have already returned north and found a few new large buildings near the south fort.

Thwack!

Akira received a few hits to the back of his helmet from Piiper who was still sitting on Mileena's shoulders and had grown restless from Akira not moving to the city.

“Piiperela, you better enjoy your time while you're small. Sometime in the future, you're going to be too big to sit on her shoulders,” said Akira.

“Pii!” said Piiper unhappy at the thought.

Akira separated from the caravan and led the mounted Gargs of all the clans to the new housing and let them get reacquainted with each other as the soldiers all dismounted and started to take care of their own mounts who had been traveling almost nonstop for over a month.

Grarr, Akira's own companion mount only let out a few growls of greeting to the others before he returned to Akira.

'As I said before I will not have both of us dishonored by having you walk,' said Grarr.

“Aren't you tired like the others? You can rest if you like,” said Akira.

Grarr gave a snort and ignored the question only nudging Akira to get back onto his back again.

Both Dolph and Vilkas were the only guards that returned to the caravan with Akira still on their mounts.

They continued to march north to the docks where several of the military ships were waiting to transport the mass of people that would soon become new additions to the city.

“Chief Nem, Chief Xend, Chief Nem, and Ieec, come with me. As soon as we reach the opposite shore we will head straight to the castle and meet with the grand elders to introduce everyone and catch each other up on what has and is happening,” said Akira as he stepped onto one of the smaller and more swift boats. With the rest of his companions also following him the boat was getting dangerously low in the water.

The four grand elders had all come to Kodria's docks to greet and welcome Akira back to the city.

“From all that I have heard from the soldiers that arrived earlier and the large crowd of people, I assume you were successful in your mission,” said Grand elder Carl.

“There is no need to talk out here. Let's invite the new guest back to the castle for some food and a warm drink to talk over everything,” said Grand elder Seoc.

***

“I see. This is worrying that you encountered the demigods so many times while travailing,” said grand elder Hegir.

“I guess that there are more of them coming here as time passes. We already have a good start on protecting the city but nothing is ever perfect. We need to think about building the second wall soon,” said grand elder Arron.

“I'll leave the gathering of materials for the second wall to you. While you are doing that in order to help boost our fighting power I plan to find those that are suitable and create Kodria's own cavalry force before I head north,” said Akira.

“What are you going up north for?” asked grand elder Carl.

“We still have some time before the full winter sets in. Now that we have somewhat cemented our position in the area I think we need to hash out the trade deals with the few friendly north settlements and the trading post,” said Akira.

“Are you sure there is enough housing for all of us?” asked Chief Nem.

“We made sure to build extra housing while Akira was away. It was supposed to be for the future expansion but it looks like it will only be just enough to cram everyone in. We'll have to get to work on making some more housing and apartments,” said grand elder Seoc.

“I'm interested in the new cavalry unit. How many will there be and what are you going to be doing about the warriors of the three new clans, ” asked Arron.

“There should be around 300 in the cavalry when everything is said and done. As for what will be done with the warriors of the three clans, I have already talked with the Chiefs of the clans about putting them through a quick course of training to get them on the same page as our own soldiers,” said Akira.

The three Chiefs all nodded their heads confirming Akira's words.

“I have a favor to ask,” said Chief Xend.

“What is it? If it is something we can do to help we will gladly do it,” said Carl.

“My clan's weapons and armor need some major repair due to the heavy wear and tear during the travel to Kodria. If you could help us with that I would be satisfied,” said Chief Xend.

“We have people that are highly skilled in such matters. It will be taken care of if you send everything to this place,” said grand elder Hegir as he passed a slip of paper over to Xend.

“Other than the building of houses and the gathering of materials for the second wall, here are a few other tasks that need to be taken care of,” said Akira passing over a list of things he had come up with while traveling south.

One of them was the creation of an actual road to their allies that would support faster movement between them as well as easier movement for the traders.

***

The next morning Akira watched from atop of Grarr as several thousand new warriors from the other clans went through the rigorous training alongside a batch of new recruits.

When he was satisfied with what he saw he left them and moved to the barracks where the entire Kodria army was formed up and waiting.

“I have called you all here to let you know that there is a new position in the army that needs to be filled. There is room for around 200 of you to become a part of Kodria's new dominating cavalry. All those who wish to apply will step forward ten paces,” said Akira cutting straight to the point.

The over 1500 soldiers gathered in front of Akira all looked at the large Gargs that Akira, Dolph, and Vilkas, were all sitting atop all deciding what they should do.

A few minutes passed before the movement of the soldiers stepping forward stopped. Nearly 600 soldiers had stepped forward. None of the soldiers who were already scouts or heavy infantry stepped forward as they were happy with their role in the army.

The other few hundred that did not step forward were those who did not feel the cavalry was something for them after seeing the large Garg and thinking of what it all required.

“Those of you who do not want to apply for the new position may return to whatever your daily duties are. The rest of you line up!” shouted Akira.

When the 600ish warriors were all lined up in several rows Akira had Grarr walk in front of each soldier. Grarr sniffed each person and looked at them for a few seconds before giving them a pass or a fail.

When they had inspected everyone only 343 soldiers were deemed to fit Grarr's standards to even have a chance at becoming a partner with the other Gargs.

“Those of you who passed the first inspection follow me to the docks!” ordered Akira.

Several minutes later Akira and the 343 soldiers were standing on the south shore near the fort and headed to the large buildings that were housing the 200 partner-less Gargs.

“Grawwrrrr!” with a few growls Grarr called out to all of the partner-less Gargs to come outside.

The soldiers and Gargs all walked out to a large clearing south of the housing and fort where they would have enough room to continue the selection.

Akira could already see several hundreds of people working on clearing and transforming the hard land into an actual road that led to their southern allies.

“In order to join the cavalry, you must pass this last test. It is in two parts. First, you must go to one of the 200 Gargs and introduce yourself. They will decide whether or not to acknowledge you. Secondly, If they do acknowledge you, then you may challenge them to a physical wrestling match with no weapons allowed. If you want to join the cavalry you must defeat them with only your strength. It is all rather simple so you may begin the last test immediately!” said Akira.

“Yap!” said Fluffball while Grarr gave a growling snort at Akira for making it sound so easy.

While sitting on top of Grarr Akira watched as the soldiers interacted with the large Gargs.

It took many tries for most of the soldiers to find a Garg who accepted their introduction. Those who did succeed in the first task moved off to the side to wrestle with the Gargs after transforming into their werewolf forms.

Just because they had passed the first test didn't mean they would pass the second, and as expected several of the warriors were defeated.

The majority of people being defeated was due to around 30 of the strongest Gargs defeating the majority of them. They were rather picky in who they would allow to challenge them and had all defeated a least 3 people each.

The other Gargs didn't seem too picky with who became their partner as long as they accepted the person both on the feeling they gave off and if the soldier was able to beat them in a fair fight.

The number of free Gargs was quickly shrinking as several soldiers won their match. After two hours of wrestling, there were only 10 Gargs left without a partner. Each of them were the strongest of those that had not already been picked by Akira and his guards.

Some of the soldiers seeing them defeat so many challengers gave up while others viewed it as a challenge to overcome.

Those who had given up or had already gained a companion Garg mount watched the matches as the last ten were finally defeated and accepted their new partners.

“Those of you who failed today can use this as motivation to get stronger so that in the future if there is a chance you will be ready to join the others in the cavalry. You may return to the barracks,” said Akira.

The 143 soldiers who had failed and were slightly dispirited walked back to the boats and headed back to Kodria.

“Congratulations to all of you who showed that you not only had the right character but also the strength to join the cavalry. Instead of your usual morning training, you will begin a new regiment that I have come up with to help you become familiar with your new role in the army.

Those of you familiar with riding horses into battle can forget all you know about that type of fighting as the Gargs are almost entirely different. You must train with all seriousness to become the elite cavalry of Kodria and the entire continent,” said Akira as he looked at the 200 soldiers and their new companion Garg mounts.

“Commander, we understand!” shouted the soldiers as one. Several growls joined them as the Gargs also agreed.

“First things first, in order for you to become an elite force you need to become well acquainted with your new partner. They are not like horses so do not treat them as idiots or you might end up with a few extra scars. To better understand your partner you will be spending the next few days here with them. Training will start bright and early tomorrow morning. Dismissed!”

Kodria's army was truly starting to look like a real army with many of the rolls now covered.

Akira and his guards returned to the castle. After he reported his success to the grand elders he started to pack and gather everything he needed for his trip north.

“You're leaving already when you just got back?” asked Azura as she hung onto Akira's arm.

Seeing this Mileena grabbed onto his other arm.

“You guys I need to use my arms so I can pack,” said Akira as he tried to free himself from their grips.

He received several smacks to the head from Piiper's wings for his trouble.

“Mileena, you should focus on strengthening Piiperela. I also hope you can teach her to stop hitting people in the head.”

“But she only hits you in the head,” said Mileena.

“And no, you can't come as it will only be for a few weeks at the most...I hope. It's all business and not for pleasure,” said Akira, stopping Azura's next words.

“I'll be traveling with Burkin and my guards by boat to cut down on the time it takes to travel. The fewer people we have the faster I can get there and come back,” said Akira as he shoved the last few items into his leather bag.

“Hmph! I don't see why letting one more person come will be such a problem,” said Azura.

“If I let you come then Mileena will want to come and before we know it hundreds of people will have joined,” said Akira as he pat Azura on the head.

“Piii!” said Piiper happy that Akira was going away for some time.

“Yap!” said Fluffball, reprimanding Piiper.