The Storm King

After completing an inspection of the walls surrounding the Artor Valley, Leon returned to his villa to relax and spend some time with his family. He was accompanied only by Anzu and a handful of Tempest Knights, and the latter simply joined the force already guarding the villa upon his arrival.

Leon wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find when he entered the private gardens that were starting to take recognizable shape under Elise’s guidance, but a gathering of ladies surrounding his wives and a strong assault upon his nose was not it. The smell that hit him was so strong, in fact, that he was tempted to transform into his Thunderbird form just to escape it.

Anzu, on the other hand, closed his eyes, raised his nose into the air slightly, and began sniffing in delight.

“Hmmm,” the griffin in human form hummed in thought. A moment later, his eyes snapped open, and he identified, “Cliff peppers.”

“Huh?” Leon grunted.

Anzu turned toward him and grinned. “Cliff peppers. They were found a few months ago growing on some cliffs a few hundred miles to the north. The nature mages must have declared them safe.”

“You sound like you knew they were safe already…”

Anzu’s grin turned sly and slightly embarrassed. “I… may have sampled some a couple weeks ago… They were delicious, though!”

Leon shrugged, replying as he resumed his walk toward the gaggle of giggling ladies, “If you say so.”

“You’re not selling me on this that well, Anzu,” Leon replied.

As he strode over, he noted that several handmaidens from the Tribes were with his wives, along with two of Maia’s river nymphs, and three of Cassandra’s personal guard. Lana and Alix were also present.

His arrival drew plenty of attention, with Elise in particular glancing up and saying, “You hardly ever eat anything spicy, husband.”

“Can you blame me?” Leon asked as he finally got close enough to lay eyes on what had captivated all of these ladies so.

The gathering was largely arranged in a semi-circle in what would become a large gazebo in the middle of the garden. For the moment, only a circular stone platform marked the place where the gazebo would be raised, while most of the planting beds and fields remained bare while Elise decided what to grow.

In the center of the stone platform, however, was an ornate table surrounded by chaise lounges and sofas, upon which the ladies were seated. His wives were reclining while the other ladies all sat straight.

Upon the large table was a spread of dozens of different kinds of sauces of nearly every color—Leon was particularly disturbed by one sauce that looked purple from certain angles and blue from others. Around the sauces were freshly baked crackers and bread, though the heavenly scent of fresh bread was lost in the heady odors given off by some of the sauces.

“No, I suppose I can’t,” Elise said after exchanging a knowing look with one of her handmaidens, who immediately burst out in a giggling fit.

“It’s your loss,” Valeria stated as she tore off a piece of bread from the nearest loaf and dipped it into a bright red sauce. She brought it up to her lips and, while making direct eye contact with Leon, ate it.

“That’s a little weird,” Leon observed. “Trying to assert something, darling?”

“Val’s just trying to act like a tough bitch,” Cassandra exclaimed as she tossed a cracker at the silver-haired woman.

Still chewing, Valeria’s eyes widened in protest at this apparent betrayal.

After hurriedly swallowing and throwing the cracker back, she claimed, “Nothing’s better than a good spicy sauce!”

“Here here!” Alix shouted in support, and a few of the handmaidens nodded sagely in agreement.

“I like spice, too,” Elise claimed as she dipped a piece of bread into a honey-like golden sauce. “Enough other people like it that spices are valuable.”

Cassandra groaned. “Yeah, but we’re talking about what you like to eat, not sell!”

Elise laughed through her nose as she finished her piece. Then her eyes mischievously narrowed and turned in Leon’s direction. “Why don’t you take a few samples, Leon, and guess which one is our favorite?”

Sensing considerable danger as dozens of female eyes fell upon him, Leon almost made an excuse to leave, but Anzu, practically buzzing with desire to join the sampling, also looked at him, his red eyes wide and gleaming with an unvoiced question.

With a profound sigh, Leon said, “Fine, we’ll join you.”

Anzu raised his arms in triumph and leaped right to the table, settling down next to Alix. The rest of the ladies cheered, though Leon only sauntered over after a couple more seconds.

As he sat, he added, “I’ll not be party to any contests, I’ll have you know.”

“Booo!” Cassandra shouted as she playfully tossed a wheel of bread at him. Leon easily caught it, then tore off a piece.

“What’s first?” he asked. Several ladies tried immediately jumping in, with Alix, Cassandra, and Valeria going so far as to try and push a couple dishes toward him. From the aroma those dishes gave off, Valeria’s was likely to be the hottest and Alix’s the most foul-tasting. Cassandra’s, meanwhile, was so dark brown that it was almost black and had the consistency of paste rather than more liquid sauce.

However, before he tried any of those, a bronze hand found its way to his arm, and everyone else quieted down.

Turning to his river nymph wife, Leon smiled at Maia as she held a watery sauce, almost transparent save for flecks of something red and black within. Leon couldn’t pick up on anything from her stoic expression, but through their connection, he could sense a tentative anticipation mixed with a hint of apprehension coming from her.

His smile not fading in the slightest, Leon dipped his piece of bread into the sauce, ensured he applied a generous amount, and then ate it.

“This one’s your favorite, isn’t it?” Leon asked, not needing a moment to think it over.

Maia quietly nodded. [How did you know?]

“It’s pretty salty,” he explained. “I know what you like.”

That statement elicited a chorus of ‘ooh’s’ from the watching ladies, while Maia smiled and blushed.

Moving on, Leon started trying the other sauces as fast as the ladies could pass them to him. While he did, and in between washing out his mouth from some of the more foul sauces, he tried asking Alix about Alcander. The man had returned to his duties, and as far as Alix could tell, was largely back to normal, if a little more morose than usual. Leon could hardly blame him for that attitude, but before he could say anything more, Elise warned him against bringing business into the garden. Asking as a friend was fine, she’d stipulated, but as a King was off limits.

So, for the moment, Leon focused on the task at hand.

Only a few minutes later, he was left with no bread and no more sauces to try. Anzu was happy as a clam, having torn through the sauces faster than Leon had, and had gotten a second bread wheel to start attacking his favorites. Leon, meanwhile, took some time to stare at the polychrome panoply before him, while diligently ignoring the expectant stares from his wives and their guests, all of whom apparently wanted some drama.

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‘Too bad they’ll get none from me,’ he vowed as he turned first to Valeria.

“Yours was easiest,” he declared, to her apparent amusement. “You shouldn’t have started with your favorite if you wanted this to be difficult.” With a wide grin, he indicated the red sauce, which Anzu had identified as made from the cliff peppers they’d smelled upon entering. Fortunately, while having a strong aroma, it wasn’t the cliff peppers that practically smelled toxic.

Valeria shrugged and nodded. “I like the hot stuff, what can I say?” She shot Leon a provocative smile that sent several of the visiting ladies, and especially Lana, into giggling fits.

“Look at you, Leon!” Cassandra boldly shared. “Two for two!” Her ruby eyes narrowed while she sat up, her hands going to her hips. “Want to try going three for three?”

“Easily,” Leon replied. Not missing a beat, he pointed at a yellow sauce, thick and soft enough to be perfect for spreading. “I know you, too, Cassie. Sweet, but not sickeningly so.”

Quiet descended upon the ladies for a moment while Cassandra stared impassively at Leon. Her façade cracked when Valeria took her revenge, tossing a piece of bread dipped in one of the most foul-smelling sauces in the spread, hitting Cassandra in the cheek.

After a gasp of shock and a glare sent Valeria’s way, Cassandra turned back to Leon and begrudgingly admitted, “Three for three.”

Another round of giggling and raucous whispering followed. All the ladies then leaned forward or otherwise fixed Leon in their demanding gazes. Leon felt the pressure descend upon him as his eyes turned toward Elise.

“Four for four?” she asked, an expectant smile gracing her face.

With deliberate languidness, he made something of a show of examining each of the sauces in turn. He paused a moment on the one directly in front of his fire-haired wife, but moved on after making eye contact with her.

Finally, he settled on a dark, dark red sauce nearly as thin as water. “Savory for you, my love,” he said as he moved the sauce toward her.

The smile and the blush that followed indicated that he’d chosen well. The watching ladies practically exploded in celebration at his achievement, while Elise sat up and patted the lounge next to her. Taking her silent invitation, Leon joined her on the lounge, whereupon she immediately draped herself over him and whispered into his ear, “Good guess, husband. Four for four.”

“It wasn’t a guess,” Leon whispered back as his hand slid around her waist. “I know you. I know all of you.” He shared loving looks with all of his wives, then as the noise and declarations of how romantic and manly he’d been for correctly guessing the sauces died down, he asked, “So what is all this and where did it come from?”

Cassandra answered, “The last time those northern merchants came around to sell off their Aurichalcum, I asked to see what else they had. Turns out they had a ton of spices! I bought up a bunch and put all this together!”

Leon nodded, but internally he couldn’t help but wonder just how much that had cost. As if reading his mind, Elise quickly explained, “It wasn’t that expensive, love. I took a bit out of the addition to the household budget we received from Alhamachim’s tribute.”

A sigh of relief escaped his lips. He wasn’t going to deny delicious spices, but in their relatively precarious position, he didn’t want to waste resources needlessly.

“Those merchants had all kinds of stories, too!” Valeria added. “There are no roads between the major cities in the north, so the journeys between them are either done over water, or they form large, dangerous flying caravans to get to where they’re going!”

“The river running through the valley is a boon,” Cassandra said.

[Agreed!] Maia momentarily interjected.

Cassandra added, “It would be damned hard to trade with Shatufan and those other cities if those Finger Lakes or whatever they were called wasn’t its headwaters.”

[It’s also rich in fish!] Maia stated. [And two of these sauces were made from river plants!] She nodded proudly, and Leon grinned, sending her love through their connection.

“So what kind of stories do they tell?” Leon asked.

“Mountains that fly amidst the clouds!” Valeria claimed.

“Haunted forests filled with red lightning,” Elise added.

“An enormous tree that commands the weather!” Cassandra gushed. “Apparently, there’s some legend up in the north, too! That the tree will only blossom for a King of Kings!” Her expression turned sneaky and conspiratorial. “Maybe you should find this tree, darling. Get it to bloom and maybe the cities will bow to you.”

“Maybe…” Leon whispered, thinking that it might at least make for a good adventure to see this tree. However, before he could say anything more, the doors of the villa adjacent to the gardens burst open, and Gaius and Alcander both came running out looking harried.

“Leon!” Gaius shouted. “An ark has emerged from the King’s Ocean and is heading this way!”

Leon’s eyes widened in surprise before he projected his magic senses and confirmed Gaius’ words.

The ark was smooth, looking rather like a whale rather than the sleeker arrowhead designs that the arks of Aeterna favored. It moved sluggishly, though whether that was by choice or by virtue of it simply being damned enormous, larger than any of his carriers, wasn’t clear.

Regardless, Leon knew that a response was necessary. Any trace of levity in his demeanor vanished. It seemed he now had to deal with his neighbors to the south…

---

Leon coldly regarded the man before him, noting the wiry frame beneath his tight, sea-green attire. He was no ordinary messenger given his tenth-tier power and the sheer number of turquoises, sapphires, and amethysts that adorned his clothes, especially with similarly dressed the rest of his three score followers were.

The man had emerged from the oceanic ark and hovered in the air for several minutes before making a declaration that could be heard for dozens of miles. He wanted an audience with the Lord of whatever city was now being built before him.

In short, he wanted to meet with Leon, but his dismissiveness toward their efforts thus far had not won him any goodwill—nor had his arrogant attitude in the two hours since. He refused to so much as lower his head before Leon, and throughout the entire short journey from his ark where it yet hovered to Leon’s portable villa, he’d made many snide comments about the city and how ‘quaint’ it was.

Now he stood before Leon, his nose held so high he was practically looking directly at the ceiling.

“You stand before Leon of House Raime—” Gaius began, but the mage immediately cut him off.

“It is of little consequence who I stand before. The only matter we must discuss is the matter for which I have come.” The mage spoke in an odd accent that trilled his r’s and elongated certain vowels. Leon found it as pompous as the rest of the man.

“Why don’t we start with your name, then?” Gaius suggested as the others in Leon’s throne room started getting agitated. Leon could already tell that more of his people were now glaring at this man than not, and given Anastasios, Eva, and Clear Day were in the room with him, he was rather surprised their tenth-tier visitor was standing so solidly.

“That’s hardly necessary,” the man claimed. Raising his voice, he loudly declared, “I am here at the behest of the mighty Ahndhas Gargan, Lord of the Eternal Waters, Commander of the Tides, and the Ocean King, by the grace of the Great Lord Khosrow! He who stands unmatched beneath the waves has sent me here to inform all of you that you are trespassing upon land that he has long ruled! He commands you to vacate this land! To pull down all you have built, restore this land to its pristine condition, and never befoul his claimed land with your presence again!”

Many of Leon’s followers began to shout and stomp in anger, filling the hall with the raucous sounds of anger. But Leon called for quiet with but a tap of his finger on the arm of his throne. Almost immediately, the hall fell silent, while Leon stared at the envoy, who stared defiantly right back at him.

“The Ocean King commands us to leave?” he growled.

“Upon pain of death,” the envoy smugly added, one of the most punchable grins Leon had ever seen spreading across his face. “Should the Ocean King be forced to handle this matter himself, you, your pathetic city, and all of your dirty planar peasants will be drowned beneath the waves of his anger. Consider the matter well, for there will be no second warning. Leave this land or face the wrath of the Oceans unending.”

The envoy didn’t wait a moment longer, spinning on his heel and walking toward the door amidst the rancor of Leon’s court.

Leon was rather surprised the envoy didn’t even wait for his response. Still, with a quick mental command, several Tempest Knights closed the far doors of the hall while the Jaguar appeared in a flash of blood-red lightning between the envoy and his destination.

“I will provide you my response right now, whoever you are,” Leon said as he rose from his feet and let his vibrant, violent aura spill forth. The air in the hall whipped around him as silver-blue lightning arced up and down his body. The envoy turned, finally looking a little intimidated by this display. “Your King has no authority over this land! Should he do so, I put forth the claim that he is a hypocrite, claiming the title of Ocean King while ignoring the restrictions that Khosrow himself placed upon it! This place is our new home! You are welcome to dispute our claim, if you have the strength!”

Leon’s heart beat in his chest like it was trying to hammer through his ribs. His wrath was towering, and while he was letting his aura rage around him, he kept his killing intent in check. Still, he was rational enough to know what he was saying, and his followers were rational enough to cheer upon the conclusion of his declaration.

“You seek war with the abyssal strength of the Ocean King?!” the envoy cried in shock. “You doom yourself, madman!”

“Ha!” Leon mockingly retorted. “Do you know the difference between madness and brilliance, my honorable and esteemed guest? Victory. Begone from this land! If you are seen here again, I will make you shorter by a head!”

Again, roars of defiance and bloodlust echoed from one corner of the hall to the other, while to a man, Leon’s people loudly expressed their support for him.

How much that was true in their hearts didn’t matter, for they could only display a united front before an aggressor such as this.

“So be it!” the envoy shouted, his voice rising in pitch as he visibly restrained his panic. “You have declared war upon the Ocean King, fool! Be not surprised when the tides come and buries your city in a storm that will shake the Nexus!”

Leon grinned. “I look forward to it.”

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