was coming and the air reeked of blood and death. Wanday watched her sister standing by the palace walls of Mount city and she knew she was deep in thought. She wondered if she should tell Sharay of Arub's death or not. The young king of Mount city walked towards Wanday, he had noticed she had been quiet at breakfast. "You look worried my queen. Is everything alright?", he asked her. She sighed, smiled and replied, "No nothing is alright Andrew. You seem to notice when everything is not alright." The young king laughed and he said, "When I was young my father used to tell me that a great king knows when his people are not fine. He should be able to distinguish it when they are happy or not. I humbly apologise Wanday if I overstepped." Andrew was a great man, his heart was of pure gold and he was kind and a good king to his people. He respected and cared for the sisters and in a long time they felt at home. Wanday had seen the way he looked at Sharay n she knew he would do anything for her sister. "King Andrew please don't apologise, I appreciate all the kindness you have showed us. Your father raised a great man.", she teased him. She sighed again and he smiled at her. "I think whatever is bothering you, just tell your sister my queen. I know you can't share everything you see or know with me but your sister deserves to know.", he advised her as he walked away. She knew he was right and her sister deserved to know the truth about Arub's death and Amandla's newly found gifts. She walked to Sharay at the walls and the moment Sharay saw her sister's face she knew there was more bad news. "I can not do with bad news right now Wanday. I have a lot on my mind. I just found out I carry this whole realm in my body so no more bad news please.", she told her sister. Wanday touched her sister's shoulder and sighed. Sharay knew this couldn't wait and she rolled her eyes at her sister. "Arub is dead Sharay, Amandla killed him.", Wanday said. Sharay smiled and she replied, "Why do you look so gloomy that is good news. One foe has fallen." Wanday shook her head and looked away from her sister. "Amandla killed him in a ritual to get his powers. She perfomed dark magic and she is now stronger. She is you and me combined. The warrior and the sorcerer.", she warned her sister. Sharay's jaw dropped and she couldn't help but scream. "That red head never gives up does she? She is always a step ahead of us and we just can't kill her!", she screamed. Wanday held her sister's shoulder and they both looked at each other with so much worry. They feared they were fighting a losing battle and they were just wasting their time. If she found a spell to kill Arub and take his powers she would definitely find one that would be able to undo the spell that linked Sharay to the great river and this realm. "I think we need to build an army now!", Sharay told her sister.
Amandla didn't like the way the throne room was built, it had the touch of Agasah in it and this bothered her. Diablo in an attempt to please Harunah had designed it exactly the way she would love it. Too much light and colour Amandla thought. She wanted it designed in her way and with a touch of hers. She stood in the middle of the throne room and she knew exactly what she wanted. She needed the walls painted red with her rattle snake from one end to the other. She knew she had to make everything look the way she wanted. She would have the walls designed her way the new warriors uniform already had her emblem and she intent to keep everything her way. "Find me the best painter in the city please!", she asked her guard. The guard went out to look for the best painter in the city and he brought her to the tower. She was a pretty girl who was short and she was covered in paint. Amandla took a good look at her and she saw that she was shorter than she looked from just one look. She smiled and said, "He says you are a good painter. Are you a good painter?" The girl nodded her head she was terrified of Amandla and she kept playing with her fingers. Amandla saw this and it amused her. "You look terrified. Are you afraid of me?", she asked the girl. The girl quickly replied, "No your highness I am not terrified of you, I am just nervous that's all." Amandla smiled and she walked from her seat towards the girl. The girl was more terrified of the queen she began to breath quickly. Amandla circled her and said, "Its good you are this terrified because I know you will do a great job painting these walls for me. Don't mess it up please, I don't want to kill someone as beautiful as you are." She walked away from the throne room and the girl fell to the ground. Amandla saw that fear and she felt proud to be feared like that. She went out with her other guard. "Come along we have a lot of work to do, I want to build an army of man who can't die.", she told her guard. She wasn't going to let Sharay win this war not after everything she had lost. She would do whatever it took to get control of this whole realm. "Find me the spells in the books and tell me what you have found so we can start creating an unstoppable army.", she told her guard. She walked around the tower looking for everything she could make changes to. Her mother sat in the garden quietly and Amandla wasn't bothered by her. She had turned into a whole different person after the death of Shekah and Arub. She was cold and she wanted to be feared by everyone. She vowed not to enter the throne room before it was fully painted and the girl was not allowed to leave until she had completed her job. Harunah found it very crazy her daughter would expect that girl to paint the whole throne room seeing how big it was but she decided not to comment. She knew her daughter was up to something but she didn't bother trying to find out what it was because she always knew Amandla had no boundaries.
The two sisters sat with their warriors, the king and the army generals of Mount city to see how they could build an army to help them in this coming war. They all knew Amandla would stop at nothing until she got what she wanted. She had become stronger now that she had Arub's powers, and hers. She would crush them and reign over them. They were all nervous and were running out of time. "Amandla will not rest until she is queen of Agasah with no lingering threats. She killed her only ally and I think she will cross another line to destroy us.", Wanday warned them. The army they had was small and weak if they were to face Amandla they would be defeated. "We need to get to other kingdoms in this realm and convince them to join us in the war. We should ask even the outlanders.", Tafuh added on. The outlands were one of the villages the two sisters had grown up in. However not all outlanders liked the people from Agasah and their mighty kingdoms, they felt like they had been cheated and cast out by them. They didn't have good reserves and they lived off the remains of the people of Agasah. "You do know not all of the outlanders do not like us. The people in the south blame us for their plights and they won't help us.", the young king replied. Sharay and Wanday didn't know the outlanders did not like them. They were raised among some of the outlanders and this came as a surprise to them. "We grew up among them and they didn't seem to have a problem with us.", Sharay argued. Tafuh looked at the young queen and replied, "It was because only the chief and his elders knew who you were and besides that was one village." They sat there butting heads on how to build an army and convince other kingdoms to join them. Agasah was in the center of the realm and the east was on their side with Mount city being an ally to them most small kingdoms would join them. The south had no love for Agasah, the west was filled up with hunters who had exiled themselves from the heavens to take time for themselves. They had no intention of helping or honoring either the valoyees or the people of Agasah. They believed in the gods but had stopped worshipping them. They were led by a great hunter called Rajay. He had been one of the council members in the heavens but when the gods created this realm long before they decided to gift it to their most beloved servants he had not agreed on the way the gods had made most of their decision. He exiled himself and took loyal beings with him. He found himself located in the west were they mostly hunted and lived. When the gods gifted this realm to Harunah and her people the people in the east pledged their loyalty to the Agasians which made them keepers of the great river and the mountain. The outlanders were pushed from their lands in the middle to the south were there was nothing but just dry lands which led them to hating the people of Agasah. The hunters in the east felt they were above the Agasians since they served them too in the heavens and they swore never to pledge their alliance to them thus they stayed hunting in the east. The girls were left with the northern people. The northern people had been warriors before the Agasians and they fought demons and anything that threatened their well being. They were a people who would respond to a call from Agasah but they didn't believe in a ruler. They were disciplined and had never taken orders from anyone except their captains. As the team sat down and weighed their options they noticed the north was the easiest place to get alliances. They had to go to the north and convince them to fight for them. "We can offer them pieces of gold or the best diamonds.", Andrew suggested. They all didn't know how to approach the northern people. "We can's approach them like we are trying to buy their services and Sharay can not go there as a queen but as a warrior.", Wanday added. They all agreed they would approach the north first and ask for help. Sharay set to fly to the north with Tafuh, two great warriors from Agasah and three warriors from Mount city. They set off at dawn and Wanday remained behind with the king and other warriors. "I need to get to the river my king. I need to get a messsage to someone in the south.", she told Andrew. He nodded and the two left for the mountain.
Muney had hoped the two sisters had survived in the wilderness. It had been months since they had left the village and he had hoped they would send a message to him. "I will come back for her once this is all over. Please bury her for me.", Sharay had asked him to. He went to Nadine's grave every moon and he had maintained it for the sisters. He planted flowers and often went to read there after his hunting. His father would see how sad his son had been since the sister had left. The chief had believed that the good rains and luck they had experienced was because of the sisters living in their village. Muney had been close to Sharay and the chief had seen the way he and Wanday often looked at each other. "You must miss them so much?" his mother would ask him but he would only smile at her. He had just come from hunting when he decided to pass by Nadine's grave this night. He sat there and told her he had just caught a deer. Many would think he was going crazy for talking to a dead woman. Wanday reached the mountain with Andrew and she sat by the river. She prayed in her ancient language as the king looked on. The river began to form a whirlwind and she saw the south. She saw the village, the women carrying their water pots on their heads and she saw her home. It was deserted and still to her it felt like home. "That was my home Andrew, I grew up in that house with my mother and Sharay.", she quietly told him. He could feel the pain of leaving her home and mother in her voice. She looked for Muney and she found him sitting by Nadine's grave, he was telling her his stories from his hunting days. He looked more handsome and stronger than the last time she had seen him. The king could see the love she had for him in her eyes. She was touched by how he had kept her mother's grave so beautiful and would visit her. Nadine had always loved Muney and Sharay telling her their experiences when they came from hunting. She sat there with tears in her eyes. "Muney, Muney can you hear me?", she called him. Her voice was shaky and he continued talking to Nadine. She called him out again, "Muney, Muney can you hear me?" Muney stopped talking and listened, he was sure he heard Wanday's voice, it was beautiful and she had been calling him. He stood up and looked around him but didn't see her. "Muney it's Wanday and I need your help.", she called him again. He rushed and grabbed his sword, pointed it in every direction and shouted, "Show yourself right now! It is not funny at all!" She knew he wouldn't believe it was her so she stood in the whirlwind formed by the river and he saw her standing in front of him but covered with water. He dropped his spear and walked towards her, tried touching her and his hands had water on them. "Wanday is that really you?", he asked her. She could see the tears of joy in his eyes and she held out her hand and touched his face. "Yes it is me. We have no time I need your help. We are at war and we need an army.", she asked him. He felt her touch and he knew it was really her and he replied, "How many men do you need? Where do I find you and where is Sharay?" Wanday had not expected him to agree to this so easily. "We need as many as we can get. You will find me in Mount city, take the boats to the city its much quicker. Sharay went to the north to ask for help.", she told him. He smiled at her, "I will get there in a few days with an army of men. I will get as many as I can I promise you Wanday.", he assured her. She smiled and replied, "Thank you for everything. The grave looks beautiful and Sharay will be pleased to see you." She disappeared in front of his eyes and as soon as she had he ran off to the village to tell his father. He knew convincing the other villages would be difficult and some of the chiefs would not agree but he had promised Wanday and he would deliver. Andrew smiled and teased, "I am not surprised at how quickly he agreed to help you with an army." Wanday smiled at the king and said, "Of course he would help. Sharay and Muney have a deep connection since we were children." The king laughed at Wanday, she had no idea Muney shared the same feelings as her. "He is not doing this for Sharay. Yes they are friends and he would help but he is doing this because he is in love with you my queen. He shares the same feelings as you.", he told her. She smiled at the young king and they left the mountain.
Muney ran to his father and when his father saw his son running towards him with a dead deer on his shoulder he knew his son was just not excited about the deer but something else had happened. He stood by the doorway and waited for him to arrive. He was covered in blood from the deer and he was panting. He was out of breath and the chief rushed and helped his son put the deer on the ground and sat him down. He was out of breath the chief rushed to get him a cup of water. "Drink this Muney. Why were running like a mad man?, the chief asked his son. Muney drank the water and held his father's arm. "The girls are still alive, Wanday came to me in a vision and they need men to help them fight in the war.", he told his father. His father looked relieved that the sisters were alive but he also looked worried when his son mentioned the war. This war would affect everyone because it wasn't a war for Agasah but for this realm. However he knew the other chiefs would not agree to send an army to the sisters. Some othe chiefs had blamed them for their problems and would align themselves with a leader who hated the Agasians as much they hated them. "Muney not all chiefs will be willing to help them. Some will not agree to this.", he warned his son. Muney knew all this but he was willing to try. "I do not want all of the men father, I just need some of their men to help in the war. This war affects us as much as it does them.", he replied his father. The chief pat his son on the shoulder and said, "I will call all the eight chiefs to a meeting and we will discuss this matter. I am not promising you anything Muney but I will try." Muney knew his father was good at negotiations and he trusted him. The chief left and sent his messenger to gather all the chiefs around. He had to prepare for the next day because it was going to be a long day.
Sharay and the warriors flew the whole day from Mount city heading to the north. They landed at dusk to rest and eat. As they sat there Sharay was deep in thought. She had always been the adventurous type but she had never imagined herself preparing for a war. She had always had a perfect picture of the lives ahead of them, she had seen Wanday married to Muney and she would be the village hunter. Her mother's face was happy and she lived with her. It had been months since her mother was killed but she still felt like it was yesterday, she had wanted to let go but she couldn't. She sat away from the fire and watched the warriors talking and laughing. Tafuh had watched the young queen growing and she knew her. She could see she was thinking a lot and she went over to her. "What troubles you my queen?", she asked Sharay. She smiled and replied, "You never thought you would be here trying to win a war when the gods gave you Agasah? Tafuh smiled at the queen and held her cold hands. "Your hands are cold Sharay, come sit by the fire please.", she told the queen who in laughed in return. "My hands are always cold Tafuh, I am river remember. I am not cold in fact I never feel cold.", she replied. Tafuh sat down next to Sharay and said, "I never expected to leave home and watch over a fearless queen nor did I expect to serve a fearless queen in the upcoming war but I wouldn't have lived my life otherwise your highness." Sharay had tears in her eyes and she held her mother's necklace in her hands. Tafuh noticed, she had always known the young queen had not moved on from her mother's passing. "Nadine was great woman and she is proud of you. She will always watch over you.", Tafuh comforted the young queen. She smiled at Tafuh and replied, "I will rest now Tafuh. Thank you for watching over me and training me as a child. I couldn't ask for a better trainer and guardian too." Tafuh left the queen to rest. They still had a long way to go until they reached the north. They all had to rest and because they would need all the energy for the days ahead of them. They all retired to sleep and they all wondered how the northern people would welcome them when they arrived.