CHAPTER 93: THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Oust lowered his head, expecting this conversation, but not from the bull of all beasts. The tiger took a steadying breath in and spoke his thoughts on the matter.

"My father would raise the most powerful army our country had even seen. He would focus on the strongest among us and rule accordingly to eradicate the weaker among us... His rule would be one where the strongest rise above the weak... Prince Tyfin would rule the opposite of that, I’m certain... I do not wish to stand against my father because I know that death awaits any who dare to... But I pray our Prince will reclaim his throne, as is his right." Captain Rix snorted once before he retorted, not exactly satisfied with that answer.

"THIS IS WAR, TIGER. THERE IS NO ROOM LEFT FOR PLAYING BOTH SIDES. WHICH SIDE OF THE LINE WILL YOU STAND ON? PRAYERS WITHOUT ACTION TO BACK THEM AMOUNT TO NOTHING." It was Sir Corper who further expanded on that statement.

"I have to agree with your captain here, young one. Choosing to remain passive because you fear retaliation from either side is a fool’s choice. I can tell you about the dangers of taking no action until it is too late... Tell me, cub, would your father give a second thought to discarding you among the weak?"

Oust lowered his head, knowing his teacher and his captain were both correct. The beast exhaled silently before he spoke in a serious voice.

"My father should not be allowed to seize the crown... I can’t hope to stop him, but I will do what I can for our prince in the meantime... My loyalty to the rightful king has not wavered." Captain Rix gave a gruff grunt before he turned to stare down the bear for a bit, seemingly deep in thought. Sir Corper gave the bovine a moment before he finally spoke to the bull.

"Don’t hold your tongue for my sake, Captain. Say what you want to." The bull furrowed his brow before he responded.

"I NEVER HOLD MY TONGUE. SIR CORPER THE COLLAPSER, AS A PRIOR GENERAL TO BEAST KING ALOCER, PRINCE TYFIN TONITRUS HAS REQUESTED YOUR PRESENCE AS WELL. WE HAVE TROUBLE KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR ONCE MORE, AND WE NEED ALL THE MUSCLE WE CAN GET."

The older bear never looked away, studying the bull carefully as he pondered the request. The beast gave his answer shortly.

"I will hear what your prince has to say, but I promise nothing. I do not serve the crown anymore. I am bound by no king. My only obligation is to the student I chose to take on." The bull huffed once more, replying immediately.

"SO I SEE... WE WILL DISCUSS THAT MORE LATER, I WON’T HAVE MY AUTHOROTY UNDERMINDED WHEN IT COMES TO MY SOLDIERS, BUT FOR NOW, I SEE NO REASON THE TEACHING CANNOT CONTINUE... GIVEN IT DOESN’T HINDER HIS OTHER TRAINING."

The burly bear nodded, accepting the truce for the time being. The three beasts began making their way towards the meeting spot a moment after. As Oust caught sight of the human runt among the gathering, he felt a small flutter of embarrassment stir deep within his heart.

The tiger cursed the sensation with a reluctant grunt, still not entirely certain how he suddenly sympathizes with the runt now. He wanted to keep hating the human, but it seemed Oust had unintentionally let a lot of that frustration towards his prior loss go as well. A reality check could do that to a person.

The prince cleared his throat as the trio integrated into the small gathering around him. Sir Corper hung back a good ways, while Captain Rix walked to stand a bit behind the prince.

Oust simply took a spot near the end, keeping the human, the wolf, and the rabbit with them just at the edge of his vision. Prince Tyfin began speaking calmly, and clearly, his voice disguising his worry well.

"Beasts of Alora, I’m afraid the situation isn’t very bright... But I do not wish to hide anything from you. I sent the captain here ahead to scout for any trouble, and it seems trouble has found us instead... There’s a decent sized force of fiends heading our direction... They will be here before nightfall."

A murmur of hushed gasps and whispers flooded through the crowd. Even Aster found himself sitting up a bit more straight after the news. Before the prince could continue, a beast shouted a question laced with fear.

"How big is a decent sized force? Two hundred? Three?" Prince Tyfin fought the urge to look away and instead stared straight ahead as he gave his reply.

"We estimate close to a thousand..." The gathering of beasts erupted into frantic chaos, losing nearly all composure as they all spoke their worries at once. The prince tried to get the situation under control, but his voice was quickly drowned out beneath the others. It was Captain Rix speaking in his booming voice that did demand a bit of order.

"YOUR KING IS SPEAKING. IF YOU ARE THROUGH WASTING TIME, WE NEED TO DISCUSS WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT THIS PROBLEM." Another beast in the crowd answered venomously.

"What we can do? We run! We can’t possibly survive a fight like that!" Another beast shouted in their own distaste.

"Our king? Our king is dead! And there’s no reason to believe that lion will ever inherit that crown now! We don’t need to hear any plan he may have!" Captain Rix blew his top a bit when he answered such cowardly takes.

"OH? YOU DON’T SERVE THIS KING? YOU WANT TO TUCK YOUR TAILS AND RUN? GO RIGHT AHEAD, COWARDS! JUST KNOW, I SERVE THIS KING, AND IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE UNDER MY PROTECTION TO REACH OUR HOME, THEN YOU WILL FOLLOW THIS KING TOO! ANYTHING ELSE IS A RISK TO HIS SAFETY THAT I WON’T BE TAKING. YOU WILL AT LEAST LISTEN TO HIS PLAN."

The scattered voices died down with grunts of disdain and uncertainty. The prince took a silent breath in and picked up where he left off.

"I understand your worry... I am worried also, but I’ve spoken with the orc chief already, and between their fighters and our soldiers, I believe we can join forces to repel this attack. We could try to flee, but there is no guarantee we would make it, and any real hope we have of surviving that attack disappears if we abandon this village...

"The same village that has continued to show us mercy when they had no reason to. The same one that opened its doors to those of you who wish to wait before returning to the kingdom. To even think about abandoning them when it is their time of need is something I will not even consider an option. If you choose to flee, I will not stop you, but even I plan to join this battle."

More of the gossip flared back up at this revelation, but the prince continued on in spite of it.

"With our few fighters and the orc forces, we should only be outnumbered roughly four to one. I know that sounds bad, but considering most of our warriors are capable of taking down a great number of fiends by themselves, we really do stand a good chance at victory with a little planning and some tactics.

"I will be meeting with the orc chief shortly after he has talked with his own council of the impending threat. I need to know how many soldiers we have willing to fight with them. How many of you will stand before this enemy, as allies to the orcs? I will force no one to fight, but I will ask you to... Step forth should you find yourself willing if I may rely on your strength and your courage yet again."

Aster looked over to see his wolf was already smiling down at him with that usual fang poking past her muzzle. Stahl nodded once and shifted her hand to grasp Aster’s own in confidence before the pair stepped forward just as many other beasts did. Oust and Mollis were among those choosing to fight, as was the entirety of those who had been training under the captain, save for two.

Several of the citizens even volunteered their lives, leaving very few choosing not to participate. Prince Tyfin simply bowed his head, humbled by the response in the best of ways. He opened his eyes and lifted his head to give a parting message.

"My people... My soldiers... Thank you for trusting me. We have much to tend to, I want to help the orcs however they may need, so I will depart to find out exactly what we can do. Should you see anyone needing a hand until then, please, offer it... We will get through this, for we are an unstoppable force when we stand united."

A small roar of cheers and approval erupted from the volunteers then. Captain Rix straightened up a bit and made his own declaration.

"BEASTS OF ALORA, TONIGHT, WE GO TO WAR! DO NOT LOSE FAITH IN YOURSELVES, EACH OTHER, OR YOUR KING!" The massive bull stomped his right hoof firmly, and as usual, the soldiers rushed to attention, bringing their fist to their chests and boldly declaring their answer in unison.

"YES, SIR!"