Dawon stood outside the walls of Berwick with Irene and Tigris standing beside him. He sighed as he looked at the defenses. "You've fought in sieges before, sis. Do we stand a chance?"

  Tigris patted him on the back. "Yeah, I mean... If the Zulamarians come at us with just sticks and harsh words, we'll definitely win."

  Dawon growled. "Everything's just one big fucking joke to you, isn't it?"

  "Well, as someone who's been on both sides of a siege, I can say this much: the real deciding factor is food. Once the enemy surrounds us, you can forget about hunting and gathering. We'll be stuck in here until they bring down the walls. Given how poorly maintained they are and how thin they are, they won't last long against a proper siege. Shit, Dawon, there are even holes large enough for a person to get through."

  "Well, what do you suggest?" Asked Irene.

  "Are there no other shitholes we can run off to? Berwick couldn't have been the only place that you found."

  Dawon sighed. "Yeah, we found others, but those were all completely ransacked and in worse condition than here. Our only option would be to fight them somewhere else, but we don't have the manpower to fight them head-on."

  "What about support from the other clans? We freed Akama of the Broken Beaks; we can count on them."

  "One clan won't do us any good, sis. Even if Akama received word they wouldn't be enough to change the tide." Answered Dawon as he looked at the open terrain in front of Berwick. He imagined trebuchets, catapults, cannons, and siege engines bearing down on Berwick.

  "Hmmm..." Hummed Tigris. "Well, if it's manpower you need, I have a plan for that, but you're not gonna like it."

  Camran

  Camran saw Antama standing before him, flanked by a contingent of knights. "What the fuck do you want?"

  "Do you know where Dawon is?" Asked Antama as he looked up at Camran, who was flanked by several men perched above the wooden fort's entrance with crossbows aimed at them.

  Camran turned away and looked at the people inside the fort. They might survive a straight-up fight, but the Zulamarians would keep coming. Camran groaned as he transformed and jumped down to meet Antama and his knights.

  Antama's knights aimed their spears and crossbows at him. Antama ordered them to stand down even as a fully transformed Camran approached him with his club in hand.

  "And why would I do that?" Asked Camran as he stood in front of Antama's horse.

  "Because I know for a fact that your people attacked Fort Revasan with Dawon. That is where we were holding your father, Cairne, was it not?"

  "Was it?" Asked Camran, feigning surprise.

  Antama leaned in from atop his horse. "Will I find him here, I wonder?"

  "You are most certainly welcome to come and see."

  Antama looked at the warriors perched on the wooden battlements. "What do you want, Camran?"

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  "For you and your people to leave us in peace." Answered Camran plainly.

  "Would you be willing to exchange Dawon and his rebels for peace?" Asked Antama.

  "Even if I were to give you Dawon, you'd never do it. The things you did to our people at Abu will forever be ingrained in our memories." Camran's grip on his club tightened.

  "Is that your final answer then?" Asked Antama.

  Camran looked at Antama's army, then at the wooden fort where his people lived. He transformed back into his human self. "I'll take you to him."

  "How can I trust you?" Asked Antama.

  "Take me prisoner. If I'm lying, then kill me." Answered Camran as he let his club fall to the ground.

  Camran did not look back at his warriors. Antama looked at the animalists perched up at the fort's battlements and saw that they looked down at Camran with shame and regret.

  "Get him on a horse and tie him up." Antama then looked at the animalists who glared at him. "If I do kill him, I will personally deliver the body here so that you may give him proper funeral rites. Now let's go."

  Camran gave his home one last look before riding with the army. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

  Dawon

  "Are you fucking nuts!?" Yelled Dawon as he slammed his hands on the table.

  "Just fucking desperate." Answered Tigris.

  "Even for you, Tigris, this is..." Irene began.

  "Inspired?"

  "Not the word I would use."

  "Well, we're out of options and time. If you can call up a Conclave, they'll have to answer the call. Only then will we have enough people to win... Maybe." Explained Tigris.

  "That 'maybe' is doing a lot of heavy lifting." Said Irene as she approached Dawon. "If you do this," She placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's no going back. They'll kill us all."

  Dawon sat there silently, weighing his options. If they called up a Conclave, then many tribes would gather, but they might also turn against them. Typically, Conclaves were convened to choose a new leader to unite the tribes, but with so much infighting, no one had called one in years.

  "If we don't do this, they'll kill us anyway." Dawon sighed. "Fuck it. Send word to the other tribes."

  Tigris started walking out of the room. "You're not going anywhere, sis."

  "Was worth a shot," Tigris smirked.

  "Take a few of our warriors and find Antama's army. Delay them as much as you can."

  "I'll take Red with me since she knows her way around."

  "Fine." Said Dawon.

  Camran

  "So where are they?" Asked Antama as they continued down the road.

  "Well, they move around a lot, but I have a general idea of where they might be." Said Camran. "I'll have to delay them somehow." He thought.

  "And where would that general direction be?"

  "North... Northeast, I think. It's my best guess. Haven't you been able to track them from their raids?"

  "They're not the only ones raiding our towns and villages."

  "Well, given our shared history, I imagine more of us would be raiding your people."

  "It's not just your people committing these raids." Said Antama.

  Camran felt as though Antama knew something else. "Who else could it be?"

  "Do you know Zephyrus? The tribe that followed him?" Asked Antama as he looked at Camran with a serious look in his eyes.

  "They were descended from dragons or were mixed with dragons. Why?" He asked.

  "They never died, and they have someone who can use magic. Two of them, in fact. One of them can't be killed, and the other can suck the life out of you."

  "You can't be serious."

  Antama looked at Camran with unflinching eyes. "Afraid so. We killed a few of them and captured one of them."

  "So you want our help?" Asked Camran.

  "No. If I do that, you'll ask for something in return. Something that I can't promise you or give you. I'm going to stop Dawon first before I stop them. I can fight one war at a time."

  "Hmmm..." Camran hummed as he heard Antama's reasoning. "He's not wrong. Knowing Dawon, he'd probably demand Amani or a sizeable territory. I suppose coexistence really is impossible."

  Lamia

  Lamia looked at the new creatures Abathur had made. Their heads looked like arrows, with a thick exoskeleton for armor. Their legs were inverted to accommodate faster movement and higher jumps. Their fingers had long, sharp claws, with one of them being three feet long.

  "What did you say they were called again?" Asked Lamia as she stood before the creatures.

  "Niskaru. They're designed to be excellent hunters and stealth operations; they'll be crucial at conquering the kingdoms." Explained Abathur.

  Lamia grabbed the head of one of them. The beast did not flinch or show any signs of aggression or discomfort. "Hmmm... I think we should test these."

  "How would we do that?"

  "I think I know the perfect target." Said Lamia as she saw the dozens of Niskaru gathered before her.