Chapter 11

“Thanks Rillia,” Vesha said.

The crawfish’s body began to relax as the ant stuffed more and more red algae into the crack in the back of her body. The ant was still amazed at how little damage her exterior had taken from such a fall. She had lost very little stamina from landing so hard on the interior of the dried venom ball and Vesha seemed to be able to walk better than anyone else after their battle injuries.

Rillia was under the impression that crawfish had to eat red algae to recover but apparently that wasn’t it at all. When crawfish broke the exterior of their bodies, the proper way for their species to be healed was not to have them eat the crimson aquatic plant but to stuff it into the broken space in their exterior shell. Adult crawfish like Vesha could withstand a lot of damage this way.

The ant and her three companions were at the side of the Blue River where they had docked their ship. She had dug up some of the red plant matter growing along the edge and began the process of placing as much as needed into the broken out shell of Vesha’s body. After a few days of doing so, the wound healed up almost miraculously, the break in her outer shell having scabbed over very well. She stood up during the next day on all six legs, testing her balance to make sure she was able to maintain stability.

“This feels better,” Vesha said. “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

“Don’t mention it,” Rillia replied. “I just hate that you couldn’t heal as fast as me and that others.”

Rillia, while not suffering much physical damage, had been thoroughly exhausted enough that she could not produce anymore venom. Even after recovering from her tiredness she still could barely secrete a single drop of the green fluid she used for the Venom Drench. She’d have to wait possibly weeks to be able to restore her body’s natural amount of liquid. But Rillia was still in a favorable position compared to Jason and Melsil.

Most of Jason’s bones were broken, his body so bloodied and beaten with bruises that he could not walk without wincing or screaming in pain. He had to be dragged or carried everywhere by one of his comrades as his body was too damaged to move on his own. However, his smile was different. Jason still smiled while being lugged around and even laughed, as though it didn’t matter that his body was broken. However, paradoxically, when Rillia looked closely enough at his face she could see something beneath the bright expression.

There was a certain sadness his eyes carried, a certain quiver about his lips that made him more vulnerable than he usually was. Something about his normally unshakeable happiness and unbreakable confidence had been chipped away at. It was so subtle yet unmistakable that Rillia couldn’t help but feel some amount of pain when she looked too close at Jason.

Did fighting his brother really give him that much pain? She thought. Or did he remember something he didn’t want to…?

Melsil’s injuries, while not as severe as Jason’s, were still very extreme. His body has uncountable cuts that bled green blood profusely along with a stab wound in his chest that had still yet to fully heal after the days they spent at the side of the river. Melsil could walk but not far before he would nearly collapse. Rillia and Vesha routinely had to go and find the edible mushrooms to tear pieces off to give to their viscerally harmed comrades, having to recover their strength small bits at a time.

But what Rillia was worried about the most was the fact that Juchil Duchil was literally physically near enough for her to have a plain view of him. The crime lord of the Red Fungus that had slaughtered thousands and waged a war against the strongest species in all of Wassergras was so close Rillia could touch him if she wanted to. The thought was scary enough to make her sleep closer to the edge of the mushroom forest than around her companions at night.

However, whenever she looked at him directly, the fear seemed to dissipate. Not only was the fungus person very old but he was very old. He was also in a lot of pain from a blow that Melsil had given him. Juchil’s skin was heavily wrinkled, graying and dried to indicate advanced age. Also, his normally horror inducing eyes were not how Rilli initially saw them when first observing in the Tower Fungus.

His eyes now looked tired, full of regret and an indescribable pain. As powerful as he had once been, Rillia could understand why. His entire family was killed by his own son and now he had no heir to rule the Red Fungus. Juchil’s empire was now gone as the head of the main family branch was destroyed. At best, the Red Fungus would remain in tatters and pieces of its once powerful self but even that was generous considering the Knife Claw army had raided their best strongholds.

The crime lord said nothing the entirety of their stay together, merely staring at Melsil with a gaze that begged to ask him questions. His son never replied, instead force feeding him pieces of mushrooms collected by Rillia and Vesha. Melsil stood over him after a few days in which they had begun to truly recover.

“Do you know why I am keeping you alive?” the mushroom swordsman asked his father.

“To make my torment worse?” he asked. “You have taken everything from me...everything. Do you wish to do nothing but prolong my suffering?”

“I want to bring you into the Red Mountain ant colony and Knife Claw army so they may extract any necessary information out of you we don’t already have,” Melsil said. “As much as I’d like to kill you, I need to know if anything I don’t already know could be useful.”

“You really think I’d tell you anything?” Juchil asked.

His son once again grabbed him by the collar of his red robe and lifted him into the air. The mushroom swordsman glared as the Duchil family head looked terrified at his own son. Rillia was shocked at such a display of weakness on behalf of Wassergra’s number one threat to peace and safety.

“You’ll do more than just tell them everything,” Melsil said. “You fold rather quickly and dance like a young girl if they ask it of you.”

The old man quivered as squirmed in Melsil’s grasp before the mushroom swordsman let him fall to the ground, the Duchil family head screaming harshly.

“You’re nothing like Teres,” he said. “Nothing at all. You don’t have the resolve to keep your mouth shut in the face of danger and pain because you’re so empty of any real strength...lacking the true courage that she had. To watch with laughter as a brave young girl was painted with the blood of her own family...I admit...I fantasize about ways of killing you sick enough they shouldn’t be said out loud. But then I gain solace knowing that you’re so evil you don’t have the courage to stay quiet when the Knife Claw or Red Mountain get their hands on you. You’ll tell them everything at the mere breaking of one finger...and that makes me laugh myself silly.”

Rillia, Vesha and Jason were clearly disturbed by Melsil’s words. They had never heard him say anything so downright cruel or vindictive. The idea of the man who preached goodwill and altruism suddenly sounding like a sociopathic murdering with sadistic delight was downright jarring. Rillia had little idea who this Teres was but she sounded like she meant a lot to Melsil. Then she began to remember.

Teres...She thought. The daughter of the Ghilroy patriarch? The girl slaughtered by the Duchils to gain power over the rest of Ushujin? I heard their heads were found on spikes as a warning to rebelling fungus tribes...did...did Melsil know about this? Did...did he witness her die?

Then it all began to make sense.

The Ghilroys were a noble household in title and in ethics. Rillia thought. They sought peace in any deal they made and tried their best to stop wars from happening. When they were killed, it wasn’t just the western fungus people who mourned...it was also many other species’ that did so as well. For Melsil to have seen a family of that reputable character slaughtered...he must feel immense guilt he could not save them.

Melsil lowered his father to the ground, wincing as his arm still hurt to exert that much force.

“Who’s ready to get going?” he asked. “I’m just itching to throw this scum into the hands of the army of ants or crawfish. Vesha...you said if I proved myself loyal I’d be given reign over the rest of the fungi...instituted as governor over my people.”

“I said that it was highly likely,” Vesha replied. “When we depose a government faction, the ants or crawfish will institute a government we find more stable or moral than the last. You could easily fit that bill since you’ve proven your loyalty more than you really needed to and, since you’re a Duchil, you’ll be recognized as a legitimate ruler by many of the fungal tribes. But that choice ultimately remains with the higher-ups of the crawfish and ants who oversee those decisions.”

“And who would they be?” Melsil asked.

The crawfish sighed and shook her head.

“My adopted father,” she said. “General Palvan Urich. He’s not only a general of the Knife Claw army but he’s also gained a position as the diplomat of foreign relations.”

“A position he was able to use to justify the massacre of Yellow Spore,” Melsil said. “The crawfish’s government has always had a weakness of allowing military officials to gain political office, blurring the lines between the two distinctions.”

“Your father is a general of the Knife Claw army?!” Rillia shouted.

“Yes,” Vesha answered. “My adopted father, specifically. He took me into his home after my parents died and trained me in combat, Wassergras politics and more. It’s how I was able to gain such a high ranked position in the Exploratory Pincer brigade.”

She then turned back to Melsil.

“I’ll put in a good word for you,” she said. “Not only do I have a good relation with my father but most of the officials in the Knife Claw army who also have positions in our people’s government.”

“That’s good to hear,” he said. “And I will be fully submissive to your people’s laws and restrictions they give us. So long as they allow us freedom.”

“Traitor!” Juchil said. “You trait-!”

Melsil kicked him in the side, the old man wheezing in pain before going silent. Jason stood up for the first time in days at the sound of that, doing his best to smile through both the external and internal pain he was experiencing. He was unsteady as he rose to his feet but that didn’t stop him from managing to get up.

“That’s awesome!” Jason said. “I need to know others are free in order to be free myself!”

“That’s a good spirit to have,” Melsil said.

“We couldn’t have done this without you,” Rillia said. “If you hadn’t been here, I don’t think we could have beaten Garret.”

His joyful smile turned into a regretful frown.

“Yeah,” he said. “But the memories I dug up...I wonder if it was worth it.”

“What do you mean?” Rillia asked.

He shook his head.

“Rillia…” he said. “I’ve killed thousands...I was a psycho soldier where I come from. I was a conqueror and oppressor…”

They all stood there, shocked at what he said.

“You?!” Rillia said. “A psycho soldier? That can’t be right! You’re too good a person for that!”

“No,” he said. “I’m not...and neither is my family. You see, the Treborns...we’re a race of devils.”

While Vesha and Rillia looked on with confusion, Melsil gasped in surprise.

“Treborns?!” he said. “You’re a Treborn!”

He nodded.

“I now understand what that means,” Jason admitted. “And I did their bidding before arriving here.”

Melsil immediately went for his sword, having to control himself from drawing it as his hand wrapped firmly around the sword hilt.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rillia said as she gestured for him to stop. “What...what are you doing?!”

The mushroom swordsman sighed, shaking his head before letting go of the handle of his weapon. He visibly tried to relax but there was still something about him that kept him on edge. Melsil shook his head, obviously trying to keep himself from getting overly tense.

“There’s a Red Mountain outpost not far from here, isn’t there?” he asked.

“What?” Rillia asked.

“If memory serves right,” Melsil said. “There’s an outpost here where Red Mountain colony soldiers stay. The fungus people aren’t allowed to have armies and, as a result, the ants make outposts to keep tabs on the fungus people to monitor their movements and make sure they don’t form militias. Correct?”

Rillia shrugged.

“Yes,” Vesha said. “They’re scattered around all of Ushujin but I do believe there’s one not too far from this area. I think I’ve been to it once or twice.”

“Good,” Melsil said. “I’ll explain on the way.”

“The Treborns,” the fungus swordsman said as they sailed along the Blue River. “Was the surname of Giants who ate of the Black Poison thorns before growing to the size they are now.”

“Are you sure?” Vesha asked. “Who told you this?”

Melsil tapped his sheathed sword.

“The White Spore did,” he said.

They all gathered around the mushroom swordsman, intent on listening to his explanation of Jason’s family. The young man weakly sat on the lilypad floor of the boat while Vesha and Rillia were able to stand, the ant steering the ship onto the right path. The four of them were near the stem of the lotus growing from the center of the lilypad vessel so they could all hear.

Juchil laid in the corner, obviously too weakened to continue on. Melsil sat down, his eyes grave with somber displeasure as he told of Jason’s heritage. The normally chipper looking boy was so distraught he looked like he was about to cry, something that made Rillia about to cry. She’d never seen him so depressed.

“Maybe that’s why the White Spore drew me to him,” Melsil said. “It’s faint but...it’s attracted to him for some reason…but that doesn’t make sense as the White Spore was repulsed by his brother on account of him being the ancestor of the one who spilled the poison of that tree onto the ground…”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said. “I wished my brother would have stopped being evil and become my friend but...I had to beat him…”

“The White Spore revealed to me that one of the ancestors of the original Giants,” Melsil explained. “His name was Tezreel Treborn. He not only plucked the thorns from the Black Poison to eat of it but convinced the others to eat of it as well. That was their fatal mistake, not only for them, but for the rest of the world when the poison that spilled from tearing off the thorns infected the soil and thus all plant life that originated from Wassergras.”

“But who were the Giants?” Rillia asked. “One of the reasons that no one believes in the legend of the Black Poison and White Magnolia is that the Giants were said to be puny...our size...before growing taller from the poison’s influence. There are no signs at all of the civilization of any peoples like that. We know Giants build homes and roads longer and bigger than they are but there is nothing of smaller size that they would leave behind in Wassergras. No ruins of the civilization they built before.”

“The Black Poison did not just increase their size and strength but their intelligence,” Melsil said. “They were only able to attain that by the poison’s influence so those constructions were not possible beforehand.”

“But there would be other evidence of their existence,” Rillia said. “Their skeletons upon dying, their effect on the environment...something…no one even knows what they were called before growing bigger-”

“Humans,” Jason said.

The other three turned to the sad looking boy.

“I remember now,” he said. “Humans. That’s the name of our species before we became Giants.”

He was obviously trying to hold back tears as he stared up at Rillia.

“I remember now,” Jason explained. “Humans were what we called ourselves both before and after we ate of the Black Poison. The reason that there are no remnants of us in Wassergras is because no one died back then. Eating the petals of the White Magnolia, the tree that all life originated from, gave one immortality. Since all creatures fed on a diet of the White Magnolia consistently then no one could find bodies of us because no one died for there to be any corpses.”

He then turned to Melsil.

“We don’t call ourselves Giants because,” he said. “To us, we’re about all the same size. We retained our name of humans after growing taller and set ourselves as the dominant species of this planet. So powerful, in fact, no other creature had any chance of usurping us.”

Rillia turned at him with an inquisitive expression.

“How do you remember all this?” she asked. “How did you forget it?”

“I-” Jason said. “I-I...I don’t know. I get bits and pieces of it when I find things familiar to me. Like I almost remembered nothing except my original language...when I saw Garrett a whole bunch of...of stuff just came flooding back in...memories I didn’t want, a life I hated...and people I wish were not who they are.”

He shook his head.

“But now I remember how dominant us humans were,” Jason said. “We were so powerful, so intelligent and independent that our only real competition was other humans.”

“That’s impossible!” Vesha said. “No species, no matter how strong and intelligent, faces competition from others!”

“Maybe in this world,” Jason said before shaking his head. “But not where I come from. We’re so powerful that every animal, even those stronger than us, cower before us and flee out our sight. And they’re right to as we’ve stripped them of their territory and made many extinct at our whim. The only reason any other species even has anything to begin with is because humans let them have it. Usually because those animals give us something we need, like food.”

“Even animals stronger than humans?!” Vesha shouted. “I-I can’t believe that! As powerful as us crawfish are...us crawfish are nothing compared to crows and birds if they choose to make a meal out of us. It’s absurd to think that just because us crawfish are the second most dominant species in Wassergras that we’re invincible.”

“That’s insane to think about,” Rillia said. “But remember...the Giants don’t live in Wassergras. They live all over the world.”

She looked up at the night sky as they sailed down Blue River in the dark, the stars making her feel melancholic.

“I know that from the travel logs and information collected from the explorers who left Wassergras that our region is a very isolated area,” she said. “Not only is it nowhere close to even half the world’s total territory, it’s also very separated from most other civilizations. There’s no telling what the outside world is like considering that we know so little about it. Jason could say that there are giant snakes big enough to swallow birds whole and fish larger than houses somewhere in a lake out there and I’d believe it. The explorers were constantly shocked about what all is out there that they didn’t know before so why would it be any different for us?”

“I know,” Jason said. “From what I remember...us humans are powerful because of what they can make...not their physical might. I-I think...there are machines that mostly do everything for us. They’re bigger and stronger than we are. And...and even smarter than we are.”

“Constructions even stronger and smarter than you are?” Vesha asked. “How much better do you need to get?”

“If any other species was in their position,” Melsil said. “That group would do the same. All beings are inherently self-interested and evil. It only makes sense they would make things that would only further cement their status as rulers of the Earth.”

“But…” Jason said. “As much as ingesting the Black Poison has given us, even us humans have forgotten about it as well. My memory’s a little fuzzy as to whether we don’t know of the story of the White Magnolia and Black Poison or we have but don’t believe in it but...the Treborns are really the only family that knows of the secret history of this world.”

“You mean they’ve kept the secret of the Black Poison and White Magnolia from the entire world?” Vesha asked. “I thought everyone knew that.”

“If the older generation died out,” Rillia said. “Then that’s very possible. No one was there to tell the future generations of the legend. The Giants could have explained it to their children but after their children explained it to their children’s children...it devolved into nothing more than old folktale.”

“But then how did they die if they ate the White Magnolia?” Vesha asked. “Even if one needs to consistently eat of it to survive, they could have just continued eating the petals and become immortal on top of the advantages the Black Poison gave them. Why would they forget such a crucial detail?”

“Yeah,” Jason said. “If the petals of the Magnolia give you eternal life then why don’t us humans live forever? I can’t remember the reason for that...”

“Because the White Magnolia doesn’t work that way,” Melsil answered.

All eyes were on Melsil now, the easiness of the steering in the slow current allowing Rillia to keep paying attention to him as well as the course she was charting.

“The Black Poison’s effects are permanent when the venom dripped from the tree and infected the soil,” he said. “I’m not sure how it works...I don’t believe the White Spore has explained it to me but...from what I can understand...but any creature infected with the Black Poison cannot gain the immortality-inducing effects from eating the Magnolia tree’s petals. And since all life is infected with the Black Poison...I believe no one can gain eternal life from ingesting the petals.”

“But I ate the petals of the Magnolia!” Jason said.

“What?!” everyone said as he turned to him.

He nodded vigorously as he sat.

“Yeah…” he said. “All this talk of the White Magnolia...it’s making me remember…”

He gestured with his hands as if he was holding something before opening Jason placed it in his mouth.

“The petals I plucked from the tree,” he said. “It...it called to me...and...and told me to eat it.”

“Did it have a requirement?” Melsil inquired. “Did it say why it called to you?”

“Be-because…” Jason said. “The White Magnolia said...it said…”

He grabbed his head, trying to remember as he squeezed his scalp.

“It said I could eat it because…” he said. “I was the only one of my family to feel sorry for the actions we committed.”

Melsil narrowed his eyes.

“So that’s it,” he said. “The White Spore invited me to you not only because of our shared history but because you’re a vessel of the Magnolia. The tree must have sensed you as the incarnations of the Magnolia are drawn to those who also possess the incarnation.”

“So the White Spore is…” Jason asked. “I don’t get it. They’re two different plants.”

“One,” Melsil said. “A fungus is not a plant. And two, the White Magnolia and White Spore are of the same substance as the Spore is the Magnolia’s fungal incarnation. My sword sensed the petals you ate and drew me to you. But the effect that the petals had on you...I still don’t understand…”

“It has to do with repressing my memories,” Jason said. “My old life...I don’t think that the petals have that effect on everyone who eats them but it certainly did on me. The White Magnolia obviously wanted me to forget my life as a soldier for humans so I could do it’s will instead. But...honestly I haven’t really been told what to do. I just do whatever I want.”

Melsil nodded.

“Peculiar indeed,” he said. “The White Magnolia directly tells you to do something, erasing your memory to such an extent that you can only remember pieces of it at a time and connecting with you no more after that. That’s very strange.”

“Wait!” Rillia said. “There is no magnolia in Wassergras! If you ate it then...then-”

“Then I must have at one point traveled to the world beyond Wassergras,” he said. “Either while I was big or small...I don’t remember but-”

“But it was in the Primeval World!” Rillia said. “What was it like?! What did you see?! Was it as amazing as they say it is?! Was it as dangerous for you humans as it is us?! What-?!”

“Rillia!” Vesha said. “You’re bombarding him with questions!”

The ant sighed, feeling guilty as she looked at the sullen boy.

“Sorry,” Jason said. “I...I don’t remember anything about that place I ate it beyond eating the White Magnolia...it’s even hard to remember the battles I fought but...but I think I killed people who didn’t deserve it…”

“But how does that even begin to explain why the Duchils were in league with the Giants?” Vesha asked. “And how did the Giants shrink down to our size? And more importantly, why?”

“Well,” Melsil answered. “I only knew about the Duchils allying with the Giants after the White Spore told me they were. So whatever Duchils knew of such an alliance, they must have been very few and far between considering Juchil wouldn’t even let his own son know. Makes no sense.”

“But as to how they did,” Jason said. “I remember us having machines that could do most anything like fly into the air, fly into space-”

“Knew it,” Rillia and Vesha said.

“And even move mountains,” he said. “I’ve even heard there’s technology that humans have that is so strong it can create earthquakes. So the idea we can return to a size we once were with some contraption is not something that’s hard to grasp. But as to why we did it...it may have had to do with some war we were fighting.”

“Against the people of Wassergras?” Vesha asked. “Or...or another species that was non-human?”

“I just told you that us humans are so strong no humans can compete with us,” Jason answered. “Why would we do something this crazy to shrink ourselves for an enemy that poses no real threat?”

“And that there is a question none of us have an answer to,” Melsil said. “Not even the White Spore is telling me.”

“How does a mushroom...sword thing tell you things?” Vesha asked. “I mean...I know it’s a strange object but...does it have a brain in there or something?”

“Nah,” Melsil said happily. “More like a spirit that exists within every incarnation of itself that can perceive things in ways that no other sentient creature can. The White Magnolia is as mysterious as it is beautiful, like a wind that pierces your being without ever ripping through your skin”

It was three days later when they docked the boat on the side of the shore before leaving off. With the boat strapped to the land by a dried venom rope to the stem of the lotus and trunk of a flower tree, they migrated to shore. Vesha and Melsil led the way as they made their way in the early dawn, the mushroom swordsman dragging Juchil as he did. Rillia recognized this area in Ushujin as Morgray from studying maps of Wassergras so much.

“I remember this place now,” the crawfish said. “This is one of the larger outposts near a center of relative commerce of the fungus tribes. This way they can keep up with what’s happening by being near the heart of fungus civilization. I even believe the general of the Red Mountain ant colony comes here rather often.”

“General Secal Lerus?!” Rillia asked. “He comes here?!”

“Both times I’ve met him I did so here,” she said. “The Morgray outpost the ants is the strongest ants have in Ushujin.”

“All to keep us down after we lost the war with them,” Melsil groaned. “I’ll do my best to prevent such travesties from happening again.”

They traveled until noon before they came upon the outpost. While the hill was not near as large as the Red Mountain colony most ants lived in, it definitely was larger than Rillia expected it to be. The mound of soil was far taller than the majority of flower trees in Morgray, only eclipsed by those directly surrounding it.

Ants marched in and out of the tunnels of the colony, most wearing red robes to indicate they were a part of the Red Mountain army, the amount of soldiers beyond count. As they approached the main entrance, a large cavity at the door, the ants near them paused to notice Melsil dragging his father across the ground. Every ant soldier in approximate closeness to them had their eyes on the mushroom swordsman.

“Is a member of the Duchil family seriously approaching us?” one of the Red Mountain soldiers asked at the side of the entrance.

“Yes but I think that’s Commander Vesha of the Exploratory Pincer with him!” the female soldier beside him said. “The daughter of Palvan Urich! She wouldn’t be with someone she didn’t trust!”

“Precisely,” Vesha responded. “I’ve come here because we have not slain almost the entire main branch of the Duchil family but captured Juchil Duchil.”

She pointed to the fungus person in Melsil’s grasp.

“We were able to capture this monster and bring him in for further questioning,” she said. “You can question him and get anything you want from him now.”

“And the Duchil?” the female soldier asked.

“He can be trusted,” Vesha said. “He was the reason we were able to bring him in.”

“So it’s true what the Knife Claw army reported to us,” the male soldier said. “A Duchil member defected from the Red Fungus and gave away the locations of all their most important hideouts. I never thought I’d see the day when that happened.”

“If that’s true,” the female ant said. “Then he must be the same Red Fungus defector that has been fighting against the organization for the past two years. I thought it was a myth despite the reports of it, it just seemed so improbable that a Duchil would not only do that but be such an incredible fighter. Tell me, do you duel with a white sword?”

“The White Spore itself,” Melsil said. “A blade that is the incarnation of the White Magnolia. Forgive me for not reporting the locations sooner but I needed to gain enough battle experience with the White Sword. I was unfamiliar with the weapon and I needed practice with it. But just know that I’m dedicated to instilling a regime of peace if I were to become governor of the fungus people.”

“That’s not the issue,” the male ant said. “We need to know you’re trustworthy and not on a matter of your reasons. We don’t care if all you wanted to do was usurp your father and start your own empire or because you’re a self-righteous zealot.”

Melsil glared at them.

“All you want to know is that I’m loyal and willing to do your bidding,” he said. “I expected as much.”

“But now that you’ve brought in Juchil there’s little reason we have not to trust you,” the female soldier. “Or so one might think.”

“I agree,” the male soldier said. “He may have an ulterior. I still don’t trust a member of the Duchil family. In fact, Commander Vesha, I think we should take him as a prisoner.”

“And that’s the exact reason no one would believe I fought the Red Fungus,” Melsil stated. “The fact that I was a Duchil prevented them from believing such a thing when it was reported.”

“Prisoner?!” Jason yelled. “That’s not gonna happen on my watch!”

He stepped up to the ant soldiers, raising his fist. The ant soldiers around them now gained a defensive position, some going so far as to secrete green liquid and solidify it into long red arms attached with claws. Rillia looked around, scared at the sight as no one except Vesha was in condition to fight.

The interaction between the crawfish’s body and the red algae that caused her species to heal faster was the only real saving grace of their group as far as strength went. Rillia still hadn’t replenished even a fourth of her total venom, Melsil’s wounds were too freshly healed to fight without risking them to reopen almost immediately and Jason could only walk as badly as his entire body had been utterly destroyed in his fight with his brother. His bones would quite possibly break even with any more exertion than it took to briskly pace.

“Melsil risked his life to destroy the Duchil family and save everyone he could!” Jason said, wincing as it hurt to reach his arms even that far. “If you can’t trust someone who threw everything away to save everyone then you can’t trust anyone!”

“Jason-” Vesha said as she gestured for him to stop.

“No!” as he pushed her claw out of the way, groaning in pain. The two soldiers in front of them looked highly offended at his yelling. “I can’t believe you would be so selfish as to think Melsil was up to something nefarious even after going this far! What more does he have to do to prove he’s not only loyal to you but the safety of everyone in Wassergras considering he’s helped you take down the Red Fungus and dragged his own father to you?! You disgust me!”

“Stay back, weird creature,” the female ant said.

“No, you-!” Jason said as he stepped forward as he attempted to throw a punch.

He immediately gasped in pain as he stumbled and would have fallen to the ground had not Vesha caught him. As the crawfish lifted him up, Jason looked determined and fierce but desperately weakened. His legs were limp and he was barely able to grasp her large pincers as she held him up. Vesha looked at with pity before turning back to the soldiers in front of her.

“Look,” she said. “Knowing who I and my father are, I’d trust that you think I wasn’t deliberately bringing in an usurper of our species. The ants and the crawfish have worked together for so long...I’d hope you wouldn’t think the Exploratory Pincer brigade has a vendetta against your kind after we’ve been such strong allies.”

“I don’t doubt you have good intentions, Lady Vesha,” the male ant said. “But I can’t stand the idea that this Red Fungus member has duped you. Defector or not, he’s even admitted to being allied with the organization that’s the greatest threat to peace in the region.”

“Please,” Vesha said. “I am a good judge of character...but Melsil is an even better one. He has shown me things I didn’t even know about myself before meeting him. He’s changed me and shown me how I can better myself. So please...allow us in.”

The soldiers looked at each other. They eyed the other skeptically before the male ant shrugged. He then turned to Vesha and nodded.

“Alright,” he said. “But I hope you know the Duchil will still be greeted with extreme suspicion. You may visit the general of the Red Mountain colony’s army as he resides here at the moment. You have met General Lerus before, correct?”

Vesha nodded. The female ant gestured for them to enter. After Jason steadied himself to his feet, the four of them walked in. As Rillia looked around, she found the interior of the hill was little different than her own home.

They entered into a fairly narrow tunnel before being led further inside into a large chamber, similar to how one would enter the mountain hill she was born and raised in. The main chamber was filled with ants in the red uniform her kind’s soldiers used. There was a large table constructed of soil and wood in the middle of the room where many ant soldiers stood. And none of them were not wearing the typical red uniform of the other ant soldiers but robes of red decorated with blue spirals decorating it.

All except for one. The ant who wore the most different uniform wore a bright, scarlet robe that had orange stars sewn into it. Every movement he made caused it to flow. Rillia recognized this as the robe only the head general of the Red Mount forces wore.

The ant had little respect for the military as she hated the thought of devoting her life to such a rigorous lifestyle. However, Rillia had been pressured into joining the ants’ military by her martial arts instructor who was a former soldier himself, retiring only to teach others the Venom Drench. A dedicated and loyal ant military nationalist, he had met Lerus and claimed that the ants were the only species smart enough to control Wassergras. Apparently, this was a common sentiment in the ants’ military, a notion that Rillia rejected as she wanted to form opinions about the world by her own experiences rather than her own culture’s biases.

Like the crawfish, the ants have a problem with the military commanders and government blurring. Rillia thought. Secul Lerus is a close advisor of the Provincial Leader of the Red Mountain colony, the leader of the ants. But it’s not so bad in his case considering I’ve heard Secul Lerus is actually a moderate when it comes to nationalistic politics. From what Lerus has stated, he only supported the deprivation of the fungus peoples’ right to form their own army because it was so popular among his own species. Lerus has actually prevented further oppression of the fungus people and was on good terms with the Ghilroys and once they were dead, I know he was one of the few high ranking officials in the military to not want to further monitor the fungus people. If he’s the one who will decide if Melsil becomes governor of the fungus it might be a done deal.

All the military officials at the table turned to their group, the general himself taking a special interest in Melsil. While they were intimidated at the sight of a Duchil, they seemed more curious than apprehensive. Using the remainder of his strength, the fungus swordsman dragged Juchil forward to lean him against the table. Juchil glared up at the general of the ants’ army.

“Did my son make a deal with you?” Juchil seethed. “Did he sell us out to the ants?”

Secul gave the head of the Red Fungus a glare before turning to the fungus swordsman.

“I see the rumors are true,” the general said with a faint smile. “A Duchil defecting from the Red Fungus and...fights with a sword as white as snow? Is that correct?”

“True,” Melsil said. “The fungal incarnation of the White Magnolia.”

He then eyed Vesha.

“Lady Vesha,” he said. “Been a while since we’ve met. I spoke to your father recently.”

“I’m sure you have,” the crawfish replied. “Did they already raid the Red Fungus strongholds?”

“Sure did,” the general answered. “And it was an overwhelming success. The Knife Claw army and Red Mountain colony soldiers that joined up with them stormed every hideout they had with enough soldiers to outnumber them between one to two to one to three. Not only were the Red Fungus crushed but the fragments of their organization has little leadership left. Every high ranking Red Fungus official is either dead or captured. I wondered why Melsil has would not tell us where the Duchils’ main family branch was located but I see that…”

He trailed off, paused and turned to Juchil before smirking and looking back to Vesha.

“That battle was a little too personal,” Secul said before turning to the fungus person. “I guess I have very little reason not to trust you at this point.”

“Melsil fought honorably,” Vesha said. “I can be proud to say he’s my friend. Not only am I glad to have fought alongside him but I’m more than willing to work with Melsil to foster peace and justice in the remains of this chaos.”

“Well I can’t not trust you considering your record,” Secul said. “So...I’d never thought I’d say this to a family member of the Duchils but well done. Did you come here just to drag in this worthless parasite or did you have other intentions?”

“I’ve come to ask for a favor,” the mushroom person said.

“Is that so?” Secul asked. “Well...I suppose it would be too idealistic to believe you wouldn’t at this point. Ask away.”

“I know that Natun Ghilroy was the governor of the fungus people put in place by the ants and crawfish governments,” Melsil said. “And with their death, the Red Fungus only tightened their grip over the land of Ushujin. I would like to be the governor of the fungus people in their place.”

“Is that so?” General Lerus asked.

“It’s the only thing I want,” he said. “I want to be my people’s representative and leader. However, to be frank, I won’t be as submissive as the Ghilorys were. I will defend the people of the fungus’s rights when I feel that they are infringed. I will do my best to obey the restrictions placed upon the country of Ushujin’s shoulders but I refused to roll over and let the fungus people be trampled upon like vermin.”

“So you wish to be governor of the fungus people to protect their rights as you believe they are oppressed?” Lerus asked.

“No,” Melsil said. “That is not my actual goal. Quite frankly I am disgusted by my people’s actions. The Red Fungus were able to gain so many numbers because the fungus people were terrified of losing control of their lives. They revealed themselves to be selfish and narcissistic to the point of joining a crime and terrorist organization that destabilized the world and killed millions. Their actions make me loathe being born a fungus.”

Secul Lerus and his fellow ant officials looked very disturbed at his harsh words.

“So you are in fact a race traitor,” Juchil said. “I knew it.”

“I’ve never heard a fungus person say such a thing,” one of the ants said. “I commend your lack of cultural bias. I think you’re one of the few fungus people I can truly trust.”

“So-so-?” the general asked. “Why would you even like to fight for the rights of a people you hate?”

“Because all species are like that,” Melsil said. “The ants, crawfish and tree people are the same. You all are guilty of such atrocities that no group of creatures is any different or better.”

“Hold your tongue, Duchil!” one of the lesser ranked ants yelled. “You can’t compare us with your kind! Your kind is guilty of three million deaths while our species has held this region together since before you were born!”

“Then is that why you ants waged a centuries’ long war to conquer the entirety of Wassergras?” Melsil asked.

That made the Red Mountain commanders all pause, unwilling to rebuke him.

“When the species that fled the Primeval World to colonize and change the environment of Wassergras for their own benefit to create a safer future,” Melsil said. “You ants were the first to gobble it up all for yourselves. You may not have killed as many as the Red Fungus but you certainly were more tyrannical than the others. The crawfish only became your allies because they believed it was pointless fighting an enemy that had outnumbered them to such an extent. In fact...the Red Fungus only exists because the fungus people needed a force of soldiers willing to defend them against other species.”

“You’re defending the Red Fungus now?!” an ant official said. “I thought you hated them?!”

“Yes!” another ant cried. “And your own kind as well! You’re contradicting yourself!”

The mushroom swordsman chuckled to himself.

“You foolish troglodytes,” Melsil said. “I criticize the Red Fungus, you agree with me and. I criticize the Red Mountain colony, I’m a villain. You see how foolish it is when you think in such tribalistic terms?”

“Call it tribalism,” Secul said. “But we must look out for our own people.”

“Just as the Red Fungus looked out for their own people,” Melsil said. “And look where that got us.”

“So what must we do?” an ant asked. “Bow to whatever whims a person not our race asks of us?”

The mushroom swordsman laughed again.

“The reason I wish to be governor of the fungus is not because I am particularly attached to my own people,” he said. “It’s because they’re the only race that will recognize me as their own considering I am one of them.”

“So you just wish for a country to rule?” one of the ants asked. “Doesn’t seem to line up with your noble sounding intentions.”

“Then how’s this?” Melsil asked. “If I were governor of Ushujin, I would use the resources of my country and influence of my power to give reparations to all oppressed by the Red Fungus.”

“Reparations?” General Lerus asked. “You...you’re going to institute reparations? For other species and not your own kind?”

“Exactly,” he said. “I will do my absolute best to make restitution for what my kind, and by extension the Red Fungus, have done to Wassergras. In fact, if I were to become governor, that’s not even the full extent of what I would do. I would use every bit of my influence and wealth the people of Ushujin have to build a utopia in this place. Nothing the fungus people have would ever be truly used for ourselves and I will spearhead a revolution to end war forever. I don’t just plan to have my own people do so, I plan for all species to do this.”

The ant officials gave him suspicious looks, their expressions darkening.

“So you eventually plan to conquer all of Wassergras after we institute you as governor?” one of the ants asked. “And reform our governments in your image as a tyrant.”

“My governance of Ushujin will act as an example to the rest of the world,” Melsil said. “I will lead by example so that all those around me may follow it. I will do this to instill peace.”

While the rest of the Red Mountain colony officials looked on in confusion, Secul Lerus narrowed his eyes not to glare but as the ultimate expression of skepticism.

“That-” the general said. “That is far too idealistic to be feasibly created. I...I think I would rather put you in charge of Ushujin over most anyone else but...but I am afraid your vision is a pipe dream. That could never be accomplished.”

“It can with the power of the White Spore,” Melsil answered. “The sword I wield is able to spread a fungus that encourages unprecedented plant growth. I wasn’t able to access that power the first time I took up the sword but now that I’ve gained some experience with the weapon these two years, I can confidently say that I can create a surplus of food for the inhabitants of Wassergras. I will use this power to lead the world in a direction the White Magnolia desires.”

“You think we’ll believe these fairy tales of your’s?” one of the ant officials asked. “Besides, you contradicted yourself when you said it would be the will of the White Magnolia rather than the White Spore.”

“They are the same organism,” Melsil answered. “Merely different shapes they take. As the original organism that created all life it is higher than we are. Besides, if you were able to see the White Spore in action, then you would have no doubt of any of its abilities.”

He then turned back to Secul, his face painfully stoic.

“Whether you believe in my ambitions or not,” he said. “I don’t think you’ll find a better person to replace Natun Ghilroy as governor now that the Red Fungus’s defeat has even further destabilized Ushujin. When the Ghilory family was destroyed, you had no real foothold in the fungus’s peoples’ government and the country fell out of your hands. And the Ghilroys were perfect considering they were willing to obey you to the letter. Not only am I willing to obey you to that extreme but I’m willing to provide you and all other species the lion’s share of my country's resources.”

“Well I’m glad one of the fungus is finally thinking of someone other than their own,” the ant said. “If the Red Fungus did that this conflict never would have happened.

“You’ll drain your people of their wealth and produce,” Secul Lerus said. “If that sword of yours doesn’t produce as much food as you say it will...you will most certainly be a plague to the fungus people. You should do best to worry about your own kind rather than everyone else.”

Melsil glared at the general, clearly offended by this. Rillia had never seen the mushroom swordsman so deeply slighted by something someone said. Usually, he was angry at the actions or behavior of those around him but never at mere words. The general had said something directly contradictory to everything Melsil believed.

“Then what’s the point?!” he shouted. “What’s the point of any of this?! The purpose of government officials and the rulers of the people is to do their best to make a world for the benefit of all, not just one group! If you have access to as much as you do, why spend it on yourself?! Does the plight of others not bother you?!”

“Melsil, I-” Secul said.

“No!” he shouted. “This is the same mentality you ants had when you invaded and stripped everyone of their territory! You were concerned only for your own species to such an extent that you would slaughter hundreds of thousands just to make your own colony richer! The Red Fungus only exist for such a reason! Are you so blind you’ll continue this endless war of expansion and revenge until the poison that is racial hatred literally kills everyone, your own kind as well?!”

The ant officials looked ready to attack, the mushroom swordsman angry enough to start fighting back. Even Secul, who looked rather calm up to this point, was very tensed up at now. Rillia looked scared while Jason looked ready to jump in and fight alongside Melsil. It was Vesha who stepped in between the mushroom swordsman and the general of the Red Mountain ant army, trying to separate them.

“Please,” Vesha said to the general. “Forgive him, he...he’s experienced a lot. We just fought the Red Fungus days ago and...we’re all very high strung at this point.”

“I don’t believe we can trust him,” an ant official behind Lerus said. “He seems like too much of a wild card to me.”

“I stand by my word that all species should do their best attempt to restore the wrongs committed by their ancestors,” Melsil said. “Ants included. If we either continue the evil carried out by our forefathers or merely ignore them, nothing about this world will change for the better.”

“You were making sense when you said the fungus should attempt to make restitution for the harm your kind has committed,” an ant official said. “But claiming us ants should do the same is not the same. They’re incomparable.”

“Funny,” Jason said. “My brother said the same thing. And he was working with the Red Fungus.”

“I won’t force the ants to do so,” the mushroom swordsman said. “I can’t...but there is no way to bring harmony to our dark and cruel world unless we undo the wrongs of our forefathers.”

Secul Lerus looked at Melsil with suspicion, obviously uncertain what to do. While everyone besides the general and Vesha looked ready to flee or fight, he stood there almost as still as stone with a grave look on his face. A deadly silence fell on all of them, Rillia afraid that if anyone so much as moved funny a fight would break out. Finally, Lerus broke the silence after he obviously spent some time thinking.

“Melsil,” he said. “While I’m afraid you’re a bit in over your head...I think you are the perfect candidate to be instituted as governor of Ushujin.”

“What?!” an official behind him yelled.

“You can’t be serious!” another cried.

“Yes,” Secul Lerus said. “Believe it or not, that is my honest opinion. Not only have you proven yourself more than loyal by giving us the location of practically all the Red Fungus hideouts but you have also brought Juchil in alive. You are also a Duchil so many of your people might accept you as leader out of respect for your heritage alone. And...childish though they might be...your ideals do mean you have a strong caliber of character. However, the decision to institute you as governor is not my own. I will have to confer it with the other government leaders of the Red Mountain colony and the officials of the Knife Claw as they are the closest thing the crawfish have to a united government. Please...make yourselves comfortable over the next few days so we can get the word out.”

The four of them looked back at each other. Rillia still looked scared, Vesha cautious, Melsil somber and Jason determined. It was Jason who turned to the general of the Red Mountain army and nodded.

It was two weeks that they stayed at the outpost in Morgray before they got word back from anyone else. Rillia and her companions spent most of the days either sleeping or talking about the prior events. Juchil had been taken by the ant government officials for interrogation. She was unsure if he’d be tortured but didn’t really care what happened to him as Rillia had heard so many awful things the Red Fungus committed over her entire life she couldn’t even count them all. Finally, after the tail end of the second week of sleeping in a spare chamber in the colony, a soldier in one of the plain red uniforms entered their room. He gestured for them to follow.

He led them to an inner room where Secul Lerus and three other ant officials stood. Beside him were two Knife Claw crawfish soldiers in decorative uniforms. He looked directly at Melsil.

“I have mixed news,” Lerus said. “While the overwhelming majority of both crawfish and ants agree that it would be best to institute you as governor of Ushujin, there is a common sentiment running among some species that is tearing us apart.”

“What is that?” Melsil asked.

“The notion of turning the fungus people into slaves,” Lerus said.

The four of them yelled in surprise and anger at the declaration.

“What?” they all said.

“Yes,” he said. “While the war between us and the Red Fungus is essentially over, the threat of an uprising by the fungus people is a very real threat at this point. Now they have no real way to defend themselves from foreign takeover and they’re frightened. So...the logic is by making the majority of fungus people our slaves we can not only prevent a bloody rebellion that destabilizes Wassergras but also get cheap labor out of it.”

“That’s insane!” Vesha said. “It’s beyond immoral!”

“If you do that I’ll beat you up!” Jason shouted. “Don’t think I’m not willing to sacrifice myself to save other people! I can cream you all if I wanted!”

“I...I thought you were above this!” Melsil said. “I thought we had an agreement!”

“Yes,” Secul said. “I don’t want this. I disagreed strongly. Even if the fungus people are not the best fighters, it would very likely create another war that no one wants to fight and be disgustingly immoral. Many higher ups of the crawfish and ants seem to agree with me.”

“Then why is this even a talking point?!” Melsil asked. “Why should we even consider it if so many know it’s pointless?!”

“We should forget this matter entirely!” Vesha shouted. “Trying to enslave the fungus people would only cause a war that draconian solution was attempting to prevent in the first place!”

“I’m aware of such a thing,” General Lerus answered. “But I don’t think your father is.”

Vesha seemed to become frozen in place, attempting to speak before stumbling over her words.

“M-my father?” she asked.

“Yes,” Lerus said. “Palvan is rallying support for the idea of enslaving the fungus people by using the scare tactic of a fungus uprising as a result. It’s what he did during the war between the fungus people, the acorn people and the crawfish, ants and pinecone people. Palvan used the wrongdoings of them to convince his government and the ants alike that depriving the fungus people of any army was the only way to keep peace in the region.”

Vesha looked dower before becoming angry.

“No!” she said. “My-my father...you must be mistaken! He-he wouldn’t do something so rash-!”

“Vesha,” the general said. “I’ve known your father longer than even you have. He was so able to convince the world that the fungus were a threat that he was the only one who thought so before instituting such a thing. Now...Palvan plans to do the same but even harsher.”

As Vesha began crying, Melsil stepped forward.

“And will you try and stop him?” the mushroom swordsman asked.

Lerus sighed.

“I would if I could,” he said. “Back at the end of the great war between our kind and the fungus, I attempted to argue the fungus should have a right to their own army. But...sadly no one listened to me and I was forced to fall in line. Palvan was so able to raise aggressive sentiment against the fungi that even stating they have rights was akin to treachery. At one point I would risk losing my position as general because of my moderate stance on the issue. And I’m afraid...now I might be in a similar position if I speak out.”

Melsil looked as angry as Rillia had ever seen him. Nothing had come close to the amount of fury he expressed now. Rather than saying a single word, his hands immediately went to his sword. The White Spore was immediately whipped out of its scabbard and slashed Secul. No one was able to react as it threatened to connect with the general, the weapon’s slash fast they could barely see it.

However, just as the blade would have sliced Secul in half, the mushroom swordsman seemed to gain enough sense to stop the sword in place. The sword hovered dangerously close above the general’s head, the ant’s eyes locked onto the clean white blade. The ant and crawfish soldiers in the room motioned toward Melsil to stop him but just as they moved forward, what little distance there was between the tip of the sword and Secul’s forehead lessened. No one threatened to make any sort of movement, including Melsil.

The mushroom swordsman was very obviously trying to decide whether he should kill the general or not, his eyes full of seething anger but also lamenting regret. It was almost as if he was trying to decide whether or not to kill Secul. However, the more Rillia observed the mushroom swordsman, the more she found he was conflicted in an even weirder way. The more she looked on at Melsil, she noticed the blade was shaking and the grip on his sword was more defensive than anything. Rillia was not sure if it was the White Spore that was feeding her information on his current state of mind but she could see it as clear as day.

Melsil didn’t premeditate the drawing of his sword. She felt. He did it instinctually, so overcome with anger he wasn’t thinking at all. At the last second, he realized he went too far and that nothing would be gained from killing Secul. Right now, Melsil is doing his best to prevent himself from letting his own fury get the better of himself and spare Secul.

“Don’t!” Vesha shouted.

“Do so and you can forget your position of governor being granted!” an ant official said.

“Withdraw your sword and we’ll forget this!” the Knife Claw official stated.

Secul looked too afraid to move while Melsil was far too angry to simply withdraw the sword. The blade itself was beginning to glow with what looked like a white flame. Just watching the flame scared Rillia, the fire looking almost bright enough to blind her. She looked away, glancing at the weapon from out of the side of her eyes.

Please...She thought. Melsil, just...just let it go.

Finally, he let his weapon down. But instead of withdrawing the blade, Melsil knelt down and placed the sword on the ground. It laid horizontally in relation at Secul’s feet.. Melsil bowed down in front of the general, purposefully putting himself in a place of vulnerability in relation to the ant. If he wanted to, Secul could easily kill the fungus swordsman while the back of his head was to him.

“Please!” the swordsman pleaded.

There was an intense pain in his voice that Rillia had never heard in the mushroom swordsman’s normally calm manner of speaking. Right now, Melsil sounded like he was on the verge of sobbing. His body was shaking nervously as he stood on his knees and hands, almost ready to keel over.

“Please…” he said. “Don’t...don’t continue the sins of your ancestors. I-I-I could never live with myself if this is what I destroyed the Red Fungus for!”

He looked up at the general, his eyes completely full of tears.

“When I sold out the Red Fungus to the Knife Claw army…” Melsil said. “In the back of my mind...part of me did in fact think I might have been betraying my own race...”

His voice began to waiver, as if unable to speak, before forcing himself to steady the way he talked.

“But I didn’t care!” he shouted. “Because I knew that if all I did was worry exclusively about my own kind then I would be running away from the sins I was meant to cleanse the world of! It would be selfish to put my race on a pedestal like that and ignore the evil of the Red Fungus just because I was one of the fungus! And I thoroughly believed I was right in doing so and that anyone who called me a race traitor was merely being selfish!”

He then smacked his head into the dirt floor, burying his face in the ground.

“But now…!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “I-I think my father was right! I...I betrayed my species and paved the way for them to all be turned into slaves…so please...please don’t let my efforts to free this world of the Red Fungus be turned into a ploy to merely steal more from a people that have endured so much! If the fungus are turned into slaves...I will die knowing I was directly responsible for their new burden.”

The military officials in front of them all turned to look at each other. Their expressions that were formerly full of fear were not somewhat sorrowful. They clearly understood the source of his lamentation but looked ambivalent. It was Secul to turn to Melsil first and kneel down in front of him.

“Melsil,” he said. “I...I am sorry. But you have to understand...war changes the tides of people’s opinions rather quickly. It often brings forth retaliation in ways no one could see coming. The Red Fungus were...very powerful in might and reputation alike. Even the fungus people that didn’t like them felt they were the only source of protection they had. And the crawfish and ants are afraid they may act on that fear. So...so…”

“So Palvan wants to react first?” Rillia asked. “And you guys are too unsure of what will happen yourselves so...so everyone is confused as to what to do to prevent another conflict from breaking out.”

“All except for Palvan,” the general stated. “He makes it sound like it is inevitable that such a thing will happen. And...and he was able to convince everyone of such a thing after the last all out war so-”

“Where is he?!” she asked. “I’ll convince my father not to do this! Trust me!”

“Vesha,” Palvan said. “We both know how stubborn your father is. He will-”

“Where is he?!” she shouted. “I don’t care! I can’t let him do this!”

Secul narrowed his eyes as Jason began hitting his fists together.

“Trust me,” he said. “We’ll convince him alright!”

“Hold on!” the crawfish soldier said. “Make a threat like that one more time and you will not be able to have a meeting with the general of the Knife Claw!”

“Precisely,” Secul stated. “I don’t think I can give away his location if all you’ll do is attempt to assassinate him.”

“Then I’ll challenge him to a Pincer Duel!” Veshas said.

A collective shock fell upon the room, everyone looking at her in dread. Even Melsil looked up at her to find she was dead serious. Only Jason did not seem bothered by what she said.

“What’s a Pincer Duel?” he asked.

“It’s a very serious event in the crawfish military,” Rillia said. “A Pincer Duel is when two crawfish in the Knife Claw or Exploratory Pincer fight to the death. The winner takes the dead one’s place.”

“Sounds pretty brutal,” Jason said.

“It is,” Vesha said. “And barbaric as well. That’s because the Pincer Duel is a carryover from an older time from before the species that currently inhabit Wassergras used to decide who became leader. The crawfish were little more than a pack of slightly sophisticated animals before forming the civilizations they do now. The Pincer Duel has slowly been phased out over time as leaders are decided less by brute force and more by intelligence and thinking capability. However, just as military officials have too much say so in crawfish governance, so does the display of brute strength have too much allure to those who can only think in terms of flexing muscles. Pincer Duels used to decide who gained any and all power before crawfish began to glorify strength less and now they’re a rare occurrence.”

“Can’t he just reject your proposal?” Jason asked. “I mean, if you’re his daughter, doesn’t that mean he doesn’t want to fight you?”

“Not exactly,” Rillia said. “While a Pincer Duel can be refused, when someone as high ranked as Vesha issues a challenge to a high ranked member...it’s hard to turn it down. Such a thing means that a military official challenging them is a threat to their position and the crawfish who has been issued the challenge would rather kill them than risk the possibility of someone in the military that directly opposes them and is envious enough to kill a higher up. The higher ranked crawfish issued the challenge would much rather just nip in the bud something like this than risk hurting their military career.”

“Then why isn’t it more common?” Jason asked. “If I were a crawfish who wanted to make his way in the world I’d just issue the challenge and start swinging at whoever’s position I wanted.”

“Because most Pincer Duels end in the challenger dead,” Vesha said. “Since most all military officials act as both soldiers and tacticians, they’re normally highly capable in battle. You don’t survive unless you’re one of the strong who has surpassed the weak that have been weeded out in the harshness of battle. And my father is one of the strongest soldiers in the entire Knife Claw. So please, general...tell me his location.”

He looked down and shook his head. Lerus walked around and took a parchment map from the table of soil and wood behind him with one of his four hands. He took a writing pencil in another and began drawing it, obviously to indicate the Knife Claw general’s location.

“He said he was heading somewhere along the Slab River,” Lerus said. “He even showed me exactly where it was...not far from the entrance to the Primeval World…and more importantly...he’s waiting for you.”