Chapter 6: Galvanizing Macedon

Alexander meets with King Rio of Gargon to negotiate the terms of war and bluff to feign strength while Kōryō's class is drafted and sized up for military training.

         The next day was a sunny day, and in the hot, dry, Jakobe Desert, which lay southeast of Macedon and northeast of Gargon, King Rio sat in his chariot next to a fairly large tent. Beneath the tent, several soldiers milled about amongst four long, wooden tables. Horses lapped from pales of water at the ends of the chariot’s ropes. “Here they come,” Rio said to one of his subordinates as he stared ahead. A hundred meters east of him was an equally large tent under which a much smaller number of King Alexander’s men sought refuge.

         “King Rio,” said the soldier, “they’ve brought only half as many men as we have.”

         “Yes, I see that. I wonder if Macedon is truly that overconfident.”

         The truth was that King Alexander did not have many men to spare, so his solution to the problem, which his council had advised he not do, was to bluff as though he simply thought little of the kingdom of Gargon. Rio said, “He’s walking over here with only one man--a buff soldier. What does the iron sand say about that man’s Joule Grade?” The soldier equipped a sand scanner in his right hand and aimed it at Shugoryū. Tilting the box slightly, he felt the sand rush, and the needle atop the surface of the box jumped to a number that startled him. “King Rio, this thing’s reading 330 Gigajoules!”

         “330?”

         “And that’s with all that heavy armor on, too.”

         “Macedon’s capital city is a human city. No human could have a Joule Grade that high; he shouldn’t even be Giga-grade period. He must not be human.”

         Finally, the long walk brought Alexander and Shugoryū to Rio’s tent. “Greetings,” Alexander said with a confident smile as he invited himself to sit leisurely on the nearest bench under the shade of the tent. “Yes, of course,” replied an irritated Rio who feigned a smirk. “Tell me. Why do you come with so few men?”

         “Because you strike me as a smart man, Rio. You’re too smart to underestimate Macedon based on how many or how few our numbers are, but I figured I’d give it a shot anyway.”

         “You’re saying you’re looking for a battle here, today?”

         “Rio, I’m never looking for battle; my search is for prosperity.”

         “But prosperity begets conflict.”

         “Which brings us here. Now, let’s talk facts. Unless you can convince me otherwise, war seems practically inevitable to me.”

         “We’ve subtly attacked you twice now.”

         “There’s no such thing as a subtle attack.”

         “Hehe, I suppose not. These negotiations are quite simple: war until surrender.”

         “What is it you want? Land? You want land, Rio? Or do you just want the prestige of having conquered Macedon--the greatest kingdom on earth.”

         “Ahahaha, well, we’ll be defining that self-appointed title with this very war, so let me know how you feel when it’s all said and done.”

         “Sure thing.”

         “Alexander, enough of this charade. I know the truth here. You have no Sacrodragon. How’s that for brass tacks? This war will be the end of Macedon if you proceed with it. If ever I should feel that our backs are against the wall, we’ll simply release Nelo, our Sacrodragon, upon your kingdom and watch him lay waste to you without fear of equivalent retaliation. You’ve lost your deterrent.”

         Alexander’s countenance remained unchanged. He resolved that the only way for his bluff to have any effect was to simply call his own bluff. He looked Rio in the eyes and said, “I thought you were smarter, but apparently, I am mistaken. You’ve underestimated Macedon as many before you have done. They thought they had us beat, too. They believed that they saw significant weaknesses in us that they could exploit. We didn’t tell them, and we won’t tell you. You will learn why you’re wrong about us through battle, and by then, it will be too late to save yourselves.”

         “Are you saying you do have a Sacrodragon?”

         “Look at my men, and then, look at yours. You outnumber us nearly two to one. Now, do you believe that, if I begin this war by engaging you and your forces in battle right now, you’ll win this battle?”

         “Of course, I do. I have with me five hundred men to your…”

         “Two hundred twenty.”

         “What makes you so confident that you would win?”

         “Would? No, I will. We’re going to battle now that I might prove my point.”

         “Is that so?” Rio asked as Alexander stood to his feet and took a few steps into the sun with his back to Rio.

         “I saw you measuring our Joule Grades as we came within range. You know Shugoryū’s power, do you not?”

         “Get to your point.”

         “I estimate your soldier’s Joule Grade to be about forty joules--typical for a well-trained human.”

         “And?”

         “Well, I’m simply telling you not to take comfort in how many of you there are.”

         “And why not?”

         “You have us approximately two to one; Shugoryū is equivalent to about eight billion of your soldiers by himself. He’s Giga-grade--quality over quantity.”

         “Are you insinuating that ALL of your men are this strong?”

         “Glean from it what you will, but I am leaving now. At anytime, should you choose to attack whether my back is turned or not, go for it.”

         “He’s a Dragonoid, isn’t he? That’s the only way he could measure so high, and even as a dragonoid, it’s rare to find someone of such high potential energy. There’s no way all your men are that powerful.”

         “I didn’t really come to wipe you out; I’ll wait for the war for that.”

         “You won’t have to wait long. We’ll be attacking one of your provinces in a matter of hours.”

         In Tatsu, the sudden dawn of war had thrust the entire city into frenzy. With Lord Ryūjin’s ninety-five percent draft rate, the most obvious first choices were of the graduating class that year. Every student of the graduating class was suddenly named an honorary graduate and drafted into the military. Dragonoids were a warrior race, so none of them panicked, except for Kōryō.

         “Alright,” said Hakuryū, one of the military’s offensive specialists, “it’s time to see what military class actually suits you all as individuals. Now, there are over four hundred of you, half of which are rooks fresh from the academy, so this process will take some time; however, we want to get through it as quickly as possible. That means everyone will have to follow instructions immediately when commanded. We’ll be sectioning you all off into several smaller groups to make things go faster. If you were in a graduating class, that class is your group.”

         Kōryō did his best to stay with his class, but the anxiety was obvious on his face. He stuck close to Hiryū at all times, which Hiryū found thoroughly annoying. His class was taken aside to the southeastern corner of the bunker to be tested one at a time on various things because the management of space in this bunker was difficult due to the sheer number of recruits, and Hakuryū personally saw to their class’s examination. “Okay,” Hakuryū said as he pointed at one of the kids, “you’re up first. Step over here and show us a few things. First, I’ll measure your Joule Grade; next, I want you to show me the furthest extent of your metaphysical transmutability; finally, tell me what experience you have, if any.”

         The kid did as he was commanded. His Joule Grade was measured to be 31 Gigajoules. Next, he managed to change the texture of his skin, and then, he mentioned that, as experience, he had spent time at a summer training camp one year earlier. “Alright, kid, you’re on the standard development track. Next…” Another kid stepped up and showcased a Joule Grade of 34 Gigajoules as well as the exact same skin evolution; he listed no experience. “Right, you’ll be on the standard track, too. Next…”

         After several more students, Hiryū eventually stepped up. Hakuryū said, “Ah, Prince Hiryū, I’m eager to see what the son of the greatest has to offer. Let’s see… Wow, impeccable, a Joule Grade of 65 Gigajoules. Okay, I’ll put you on the Offensive Specialist track.”

         “What?” Hiryū asked. “I should be on the elite track.”

         “Ahehe, well, you don’t just start out with the elite training because our elite training is constructed under the assumption that you’ve already been a specialist for a while, whether Defensive or Offensive.”

         “But you haven’t seen my evolution.”

         “Okay, let’s see it.”

         Much to everyone’s surprise, a cocky Hiryū evolved the majority of his body all at once. His skin became scaly all over, his fangs grew, his claws mimicked the fangs, his pupils changed to a more reptilian look, and a long, thick tail protruded from his pants; moreover, he grew ten inches in height. “Remarkable,” Hakuryū said, “I’ve never seen someone your age capable of completing that much of the Dragonoid evolution. All you lack are wings. While I admit it’s astonishing, it doesn’t change the fact there’s really no such thing as an ‘elite track’; plus, specialists must be capable of complete transmutation to qualify for promotion.”

         Hiryū devolved and cursed under his breath as he walked back into the crowd of students. Several girls consoled him, reminding him that it was both rare and honorable enough to be starting at specialist training anyway. This did not help him. All but one of the girls took part in this. The smallest, most ordinary girl stood off to the side with her arms crossed. She was the only one never fawning over Hiryū.

Finally, Hiryū said with irritation in his voice and a smirk on his face, “I want to see Kōryō go next.” Everyone was surprised by these words, and Kōryō could see, based on Hiryū’s facial expression, that this was somewhat of a way of exerting his dominance over Kōryō. It appeared that Kōryō was the elephant in the room ever since the day before when he saved them all by doing the unthinkable. No one wanted to mention him to Hiryū because they thought it would annoy him, but everyone knew that Kōryō was living with him in the palace now, which made them want to inquire; furthermore, no one knew what to think about Kōryō or his seemingly expert control of energy. A couple students chuckled at first, thinking that Hiryū was joking or setting Kōryō up to be teased, but Hiryū didn’t so much as crack a smile. All he thought was, Since I’m not going to be an elite yet, there’s only one other reason for me to stick around for these tests, and that’s to figure out what he’s made of. Time to get this mystery solved.

“Sure,” Hakuryū said, “step up and let me measure your Joule Grade, and then we’ll…”

“I, um…” Kōryō hesitantly interrupted. “N-no, thank you.”

“Hm?” Hiryū quietly said under his breath as his left eyebrow rose.

“No?” Hakuryū asked. “That was an order, son. Get your a*s up here ‘cause you don’t wanna see the consequences of disobedience around here.”

Kōryō felt his knees lock up, and he struggled to get started on his seemingly long walk, though it was only a few feet to the front. The ordinary girl gave him what she considered a gentle nudge, which Kōryō perceived as a significant shove. He looked back at her to see her smiling with wide eyes. She said, “Don’t worry so much.” Kōryō walked over to Hakuryū and stood next to him as ordered.

Hakuryū measured Kōryō’s Joule Grade first. “Ehh, alright, let’s see here.” Kōryō quickly said, “Um, you should know, I never took the class, so the teacher said it was normal for me to have a low grade. I haven’t… trained or anything, so I think it’d be best if…”

“This is impossible!” Hakuryū shouted. “The… the scanner… it doesn’t have enough sand to even read your Joule Grade!”

Say what?! Hiryū thought as he gritted his teeth.

“Is… that bad?” Kōryō asked anxiously.

“Bad? No, kid, it’s… Hang on…”

Hakuryū opened the box in his hand while his other hand pulled out a silk sack full of black, iron sand. He poured the sand into the box, closed the box’s lid, and shook it a bit. When he tilted the box toward Kōryō a second time, the sand rushed forth to the corner that aimed at the boy, and the needle leapt to an impeccably high number. “What the-?! No f*****g way! It’s impossible. Tatsu has never bread anything this strong before!”

Unable to control himself, Hiryū finally shouted, “What the hell does it say?!”

Another soldier happened to be walking by at the time with an air of supervisory control. He asked, “Hakuryū, something wrong?” Hakuryū replied, “Just look at the kid’s Joule Grade, Kokuryū!” Kokuryū looked at the meter on the box’s surface and said nothing. His face appeared to be distressed for a moment, but then, he calmed himself enough to look at the boy and ask, “You there, you’re Shugoryū’s boy, aren’t you?” Kōryō nodded. Kokuryū turned to Hakuryū and whispered, “There’s your explanation.”

Hakuryū and Kokuryū were an interesting pair. They seemed to know each other well, but they were exact opposites. Hakuryū wore gray armor and had very pale skin, yet Kokuryū wore black armor and was essentially a black man. The former had long, brown hair and no facial hair while the latter had a buzzed fade haircut and a goatee, appearing to be the most stern of the two. They were actually of the same rank but in different branches of the military. Hakuryū was an offensive specialist, and Kokuryū was a defensive specialist. Kokuryū turned to Kōryō once more to say, “Your dad’s a good man and an excellent soldier.”

Author's Note

I'm trying to purposely leave a certain measure of ambiguity to the negotiations between Alexander and Rio so that the reader's unsure of how successful the bluff was or wasn't. I'm also setting up to start getting the story more involved with the characters in Kōryō's class.