"So what are we going to do about Warmark? (they turned their gaze to Alice as she spoke)… getting this Intel about their eminent attack is all well and good, but how do we explain where we got our information from when we try warning them?… and won't Jace be more suspicions when they go to attack Warmark and they see them fully prepared, won't that run the risk of Drako getting exposed as your subordinate?… and Jericho, not sure revealing your identity now to Jace is the best of ideas, you could always clam to be wearing a mask, and when the time comes and Jace sees you, it may save us from a huge disaster" Alice asked with the thought they already had that in mind, but the blank stare she got from all of them blindsided her… "oh, I did not think about that part" said Erica with a nervous smile… "yeah, would be pretty bad to just pop out of nowhere with an information like that, whether they believe us or not… won't be surprised if am accused of working with Jace again… and also Drako will definitely be the first suspect… plus telling him to say he met me would indeed prove the point that I sent him as a spy… not really smart now that I think about it" Jericho adds with a sigh, William nodded in agreement… "wait are you saying that thought never crossed your minds!?" ... "ehh… no?" they all replied… "oh jeez… then let me make a suggestion (they all gave Alice their full attention) first off, I don't think there's any need to cut short the training camp, I mean the attack is three weeks away and we still have a week left here, so I say we us it to the fullest in getting the knights ready enough (they all instantly saw Alice had a very good point and nodded along) I say we look for an excuse to randomly be at Warmark, at least the week of the attack, then we will just happen to be there to help" Alice concluded her thoughts, the others were left pondering how much of a good idea Alice brought up… "oh wow… I think I made a mistake having grumpy Willy as my vice command, fantastic idea Alice, am more proud of you" said Erica as she pounced on Alice and hugging her tightly… "hey, am not grumpy, and please refrain from calling me Willy, we've talked about this so many times (sigh)… still, that idea of your is really good Alice, and thanks to the treaty, it should be easy to get into Warmark now than it would have been five years ago… indeed" said William with a smile and a nod of approval… "hmm… she is right, there is no point in ending the training, continuing will even help Warmark more when the knights masters the basics at least… am very impressed Alice, thank you so much" said Jericho with a really warm smile as he made his was closer to Alice and pat her on her head, she froze and turned beet red but had a bright smile on her face… "and I will also tell Drako to refrain from stating he met me, will be using Alice mask idea (she smiles)…. right, let's get back to work, now there's is an eminent reason to motive the knights" said Jericho as he turn and see a huge crater, the open plane of the forest was completely unrecognizable… "what in the world happened here!!" he asked with shock… "I thought you already noticed, you did say the scouts Jace will send will come see all this, and confirm what Drako will be telling him, I thought you already knew" said Erica with an exasperated sigh… "well yes, but I never knew it was this bad… this is too much, Jace will be very weary of me if he hears about this level of damage, oh we have to fix this at least a little somehow… darn it, I can't summon a divine avatar anymore today, if I want to stay awake (very heavy and troubled sigh)… I wish lady Zoe blessed me with her abilities… oh this is not good" said Jericho in a panic… "see why I always tell you to show restraint (sigh)… oh Alice, I know you wanted to really practice and perfect it more before showing Erica or Jericho, but I think this is the best time to do that… you should go ahead and show them by fixing some of this vegetation" said William turning his gaze to Alice with a smile… "but, William you promised not to say anything till I have it fully mastered" said Alice in a worked up voice… "what is Willy talking about Alice (gasp) have you discovered your element… Alice you are a genius" ..… "well I know what my element is but am having trouble calling upon it like you did, so I really can't help" said Alice in a timid and shamed voice, with her head down… "you are incredible… (she looked up and saw Jericho with a look of hope and pride because of her statement)… taking the scenario into account, am guessing your element is earth, but not only that, you can use it's highest class which is growth (Jericho eyes sparkled as he looked at Alice… she looked away and nodded to confirm his guess)… that's incredible Alice… William is right this will be the perfect time to practice calling upon it… I will assist you" said Jericho with excitement… "{how can I say no to that face} (sigh)… okay, let's do it" Alice replied, Jericho then began to walk her through it, explaining in detail and with the help of the knowledge the gods bestowed upon him, Erica also helped with explaining some of the feelings she went through upon calling out her ability… "I still can't fully understand the feeling, but it feels like something walking inside of your body, when you concentrate enough you will be able to control the path it can take… thus drawing it out… not sure if that explanation makes sense, but that's what I remember with mine" said Erica with a nervous smile, knowing she might just be confusing Alice more, but with that Alice dropped to the floor with her eyes close taking deep, slow breathes, with each breathe she takes, her soul energy leaks, then right in front of the others, some flowers started growing and blooming around where Alice soul energy touched, seeing this Erica and Jericho couldn't control the smiles on their faces… "she is doing it… she is really doing it" they both said excitedly, William just stroked by how beautiful her surroundings were, cause of her soul energy… "{Erica was right… am finally controlling where I want the energy to go… I see it now, this was what I was missing… just a little more}" said Alice concentrating hard with her eyes closed, she started feeling a heat inside of her, then her eyes burst open, immediately Erica toss a sword to her… "go for it Alice" said Erica with a huge smile on her face, Alice caught the sword, then took a deep breathe, closing her eyes again, she releases it… "Soul Technique… Rebirth" …. she pushed her sword deep in the ground, then a huge bust of energy flowed out of her sword and engulfed the entire area fifteen feet away from her, all damaged vegetation instantly came back to life, growing and even looked better than it did before, the huge craters created by the fall of Jericho, and the boulder he throw at Drako all got covered up and filled with flowers, the opened fields were looking better than ever, then her sword shattered in her hands as she exhaled, she finally opened her eyes that were closed the whole time her ability was active, and for that brief second she saw she was able to pull it off after all, and a smile appeared on her face… "I-I did it… I r-really did it" she said as she lost consciousness and was falling face first, then within a blink of an eye, Jericho moved so fast that Erica and William couldn't react or noticed when he got to her, he caught Alice as she was about to fall and carried her like a princess, looking at what she managed to pull off and back at her unconscious face, Jericho couldn't help but dawn a huge smile on his face… "{you are incredible Alice (smile) you did it}… (he laughed) this really feels familiar now doesn't it… reminds me of when we first met" said Jericho referring to her being unconscious in his arms… "Alice!… Jericho, is she alright?… she just lost consciousness" Erica said with a worried tone… "do not worry Erica… she will be alright, she used too much soul energy and drained herself, as it's her first time calling upon it, she doesn't know how to control the amount, so this is the result, but with some rest she will be fine… then again I have to say, this… this took my breath away, was not expecting this level of energy from her, it was so strong that it even had an effect on solid ground (laughs) amazing" said Jericho in awe of Alice display… "it even looked five times better that it previously did, plus… it's so beautiful" Erica added as she gazed at the work of Alice… "marvelous… absolutely marvelous… I have to say am starting to get jealous" said William with an impressed look on his face… "you can't fool me Willy, confess… (William turned his gaze to Jericho looking confused) have you manifested yours too but keeping it a secret to surprise me like the ladies did?" Jericho asked, with an excited smile… "whatever you are doing with your face please stop, and do not allow the commander rub off on you, don't call me Willy (sigh)… sadly no, I haven't developed anything, I don't even know what my element is yet, so no, Alice was the last surprise" William with a little disappointment in his tone… "I think it's because you are too grumpy, that's why your element is scared to show itself… try smiling and loving life more Willy, you might be surprised" said Erica teasing William, Jericho was trying to hold in his laugh… "let's head back to camp" said Jericho with a laugh, he started making his way towards the camp still carrying the unconscious Alice… "right behind you" Erica answered as she followed behind Jericho… "hey, I am not grumpy in the slightest, I am just more cautious than most, plus babysitting you isn't an easy task commander… also don't call me Willy… are you listening to me?!…" William rambled on as he followed behind Erica and Jericho trying to get their attention… "hey Jericho once we get back to camp, let's have lunch" said Erica pretending she couldn't hear William… "now that you mention it, all this excitement has me famished" Jericho agreed with Erica, equally ignoring William but only because he was trying to avoid getting lectured again… "hey… I know you hear me commander, do not ignore me, same goes for you Jericho" said William in an agitated tone following closely behind them as they made their way to camp.
Just outside the capital of Righteous, there is a little forest in their territory, occupied by wild beast and other various species of beast, the name of the forest was Codar.
Deep in this forest, a settlement of mercenaries was established by none other than the princess of Righteous himself Tazz Von Righteous, for reasons best known to him, they were the most ruthless bunch of humans in the entire continent, and they number up to a hundred (100) men and women and still counting, as Prince Tazz is still recruiting.
Out of everyone prince Tazz has gotten to his side, he was still not satisfied, cause there was one mercenary he really wanted, one mercenary he felt if he had on his side he would truly be unstoppable, and that person was Drako, the Grim-Ripper,
Prince Tazz really wanted Drako, to the point he was willing to do anything to get him.
One day, Prince Tazz sat alone in his private cabin, still trying to organize his plans, living the financial aspect of it to his personal aids, he sat pondering, then moments later he heard a knock on his door, thinking it was one of the mercenaries or his aids, he waved them off, saying he was busy, but the knocking continued, this time more aggressively, in anger, Prince Tazz shot himself up and bolted to the door, swearing along the way, on getting there and opening it, he saw no one to his surprise, he was so confused, cause his cabin was at a place where he would see whoever it is that knocked, no matter if they ran off, this was so odd to him, but he shrugged and brushed it off to being his imagination, he close the door, when he turned, there was a person sitting at the spot he was before he stood up, the surprise made him jolt in fear and stumbled on the floor In panic… "well that is a rude way to welcome a guest… but that aside, this is a very nice cabin" the intruder stated while looking around…. "w-w-who are you!!??…. h-how d-did you get in here?… I have guards everywhere, y-you won't escape if any harm comes to me, take that as a warning" Tazz said in a very agitated tone, as he dragged himself across the floor, trying to make his way to the door… "for a prince you are looking very pathetic right now… (sigh)… just calm down, if I wanted to hurt you, trust me you will be long gone by now, and all your minions won't be able to stop me" the intruder spoke, oozing with confidence, Tazz picking himself up very slowly, then began making his way closer to the intruder… "t-then… who are you… and w-what do you want from me?" Prince Tazz asked, still very much scared and skeptical, as he got closer… "well, this is your lucky day dear prince, I am called Kolpa, and I came to assist your endeavors young prince, I heard you are looking for Drako, well I came to inform you he won't be available to you… but you can have someone much more powerful on your side…. me!" Drako responded with a devious smile that sent chills down the spin of Prince Tazz… "{why would someone this powerful want to assist me, is he up to something?… that must be it, he is up to something, cause this is too good to be true… (took a deep breathe and exhaled)… well I guess it's alright for him to use me… (smiles)…. as long as I can use him too}" Prince Tazz thought with a prideful smile on his face that Kolpa noticed and liked.
The king of Righteous had made his way to a neutral ground the three great powers created for emergency meetings after the treaty, where only them and their most trusted court members know of it's location.
He had just finished informing the other rulers of the two great nations about the situation on earth, and the changes that is upon the world with children of this generation awakening some strange abilities called soul energy manipulation, and also Jericho still being alive, of course it was hard to believe… "impossible, do not toy with our emotions like that Gustavious, saying the saint prince of Menssai is still alive… do you have any proof of this" the Emperor of Kosuke argued in denial, while the king of Warmark was so surprised by the information he had just received, he was speechless and hoping it wasn't in jest… "I understand how you feel Riko, I felt the same way when I got the news, and I would never jest on something as important and serious as this, all that I've said is the truth, and I have laid eyes and spoken to prince Jericho on a couple of occasions too, not to mention the fact he is currently residing at my castle" king Gustavious concluded his thoughts, the room was filled with a shock ridden silence for close to a minute, until the king of Warmark spoke… "Gustavious… is it possible to send prince Jericho to my nation, I want to see him for myself… I have to speak with him, you all know with the situation Warmark is facing right now, I can't be away from the nation for too long, so I can't visit Righteous… you all know why I feel this way, if Jericho is truly alive I have to see him" the king of Warmark spoke with a faint hint of sadness and regret, but also hope and relief of the prospect of Jericho still being alive… "{hmm.. oh Leohart, this must still be a huge burden for you, carrying the guilt of having a hand in ending the life of your best friend and not remembering why… I can't begin to imagine how it's like for you… sigh}… of course Leohart I will make the arrangements, once I return to Righteous" king Gustavious replied with a light smile, king Leohart nods in appreciation… "I too would like to confirm this Intel myself, i will also make my way to Warmark personally, will that be alright with you Leohart?" Emperor Riko requested… "That's Fine, I Will Make Preparations For Your Arrival" king Leohart agreed… "okay… so about the next generation having this ability, how should we tackle that" king Gustavious asked trying to change to subject for king Leohart's sake… "that is another hard to believe information… we will need to talk about that on a later date… the barrage of shocking information we received today would not help us in figuring that out, in other to be sure of our decision I think we should discuss that development later" ... "I agree with Riko… we can decide on that on a later date" king Leohart stated in agreement… "okay now that that's settled let's discuss the date of our visit to Warmark shall we" king Gustavious suggested and the other two rulers nods in agreement and they all continued their discussion, planning on their visit to Warmark.
Prince Tazz and Kolpa sat together, discussing the bases of their partnership, the fear prince Tazz once felt was all extinguished at this point, as the both of them are finding common ground.
He went on to tell Kolpa some tall tale of his desire to protect his people, and how he feels his father and sister are failing at protecting the people, leaving him no choice but to force a take over, before they ruin his nation, he was trying his best to not make it obvious that he was the bad guy, to Kolpa's amusement… "that is my current situation, but even with all this allies, I know it won't be enough to take the kingdom, at least not after whom has recently appeared from the grave… that is why I really need Drako on my side" prince Tazz stated, referring to Jericho, hearing what he said at the end, Kolpa interest was through the roof, he couldn't help but ask prince Tazz to elaborate on that last part.
Prince Tazz, went on to tell Kolpa of the strange guest they received some weeks ago, and how he heard this person saved his sister, and was also able to use the strange ability Drako and Jace were able to, hearing this, Kolpa instantly knew he was talking about the same person Darko told them about… the young man that entered the city with the princess, and the time period also matched.
This Intel only fueled the curiosity of Kolpa even more, and also the thought of actually killing two birds with one stone by also doing the task of Drako was very enticing, he asked for more details from prince Tazz, but he didn't give off his desperate desire to know, to prince Tazz, it felt like Kolpa only want to know what exactly he was dealing with if he joins him, so it was wise to give him the information.
Prince Tazz struggled to remember the name, he had to really think about it, after a while the name finally came to prince Tazz, as he screamed it… "yes, JERICHO… the former prince of Menssai if am not mistaken… he is the older bother of that tyrant Jace" hearing this, shock ran through the spine of Kolpa as he stared blindly at prince Tazz for a moment, before gathering himself back… "{oh wow… what a surprising turn of events… lord Jace brother was the one those crazy gods chose?!… (laughed, also to the surprise of prince Tazz)… am even willing to over look the disrespect he showed my lord… I did not see this coming, I wonder how lord Jace would react to this information (smiles)… I can't wait to inform him, but I can't leave just yet, I have to establish at least a little trust with this worm (looking at prince Tazz)… the old me would have ran off and informed him, but this is a very important part of his plans, he trusted only me to complete it, I really want my lord to succeed, I can't let him down cause of my impatiences (heavy sigh)… I have to hold on a bit longer here}" Kolpa though, as he was really looking forward to informing Jace… "well done young prince… you are really serious about your goals, by not withholding any useful Intel from me, thanks to what you've told me now, I know I can be of great assistance to you" Kolpa stated with a creepy smile, but prince Tazz didn't care, all he was thinking about was the ally he had just gotten, and he was already convinced this person was indeed more powerful than the Grim-Ripper himself… "so are we officially partners" prince Tazz asked, just to be sure… "of course, young prince, I can't wait to see what you achieve" ….. stretching his hand towards prince Tazz for a hand shake, to seal their alliance… "excellent (huge smile on his face as he shock the hand of Kolpa)… so where do we begin?" prince Tazz asked as it looked like Kolpa has more experience with things like this, and he was just here a moment ago stuck and unable to think of how to begin…. "oh, firstly, you need proper men, not those barbarians you've got outside, once we sort that out, we train, and then begin our goal of taking the kingdom" Kolpa replied, hearing his reply, prince Tazz was in awe of Kolpa, he was over run with bliss as he finally had someone he felt will make him become unstoppable.