Eren Swiftpaw was an advisor to the newly crowned Rabbit King, and he was took great pride of his position.
'Look at all of you, while the countless masses trudge their daily lives, I stand above you', Eren thought to himself as he followed the king's caravan traveling through the burrows.
He continued to watch outside the carriage until it reached the destination, the king's palace. King Springpaw exited his carriage, followed by his advisors including Eren, and they made their way inside of the throne room. The king sat on his throne, and waited as all his advisors found their chairs to sit. Once everyone was in place, the king would call on an advisor and briefly speak with him for a few minutes before dismissing them and calling the next.
Eren was a military advisor, and was part of a recent project to ready several units of the army for a special operation. When his name was called, he walked towards the throne and bowed before the king. One of the commanders Eren was working with walked next to him, and bowed as well.
"Your majesty", the pair said.
"Commander, Advisor, what news do you bring about your assignment", the king questioned them.
"Sire", Eren replied, "All preparations have been completed, and the units are ready to move."
The king looked at the man next to Eren before asking, "Is this true, commander?"
"Yes, your highness", the commander replied.
"Excellent", the king remarked, "Commander, please escort Advisor Swiftpaw to the vault to receive his rewards for completion of his mission."
The two men bowed again, and exited the chamber, making their way through the tunnels of the rabbit's underground city. Ever since the rabbit king united all the factions, he had commissioned a crew to increased the safety and aesthetics of the underground tunnels. Areas under renovation had burlap cloth on the floor, and wooden framework on the walls and ceiling as they were under construction.
Eren was feeling quite pleased with himself, especially now that he wasn't in the throne room. There had been a few times where advisors had failed their assignments, and killed in front of everyone. It was a very shocking and messy affair, and had motivated and frightened the other advisors who were agitated by the rise of the rabbit king.
The commander traveled down a few more tunnels that happened to be under renovation, when Eren had a odd feeling and asked, "When did this section start its renovation? Also, did we miss a turn? I'm sure the vault is that way."
"My mistake", the commander responded, "Too many late nights working on this operation."
Eren turned around and started to walk out of the current tunnel when he felt a sharp pain. As he looked down, he saw a sword tip sticking out of his chest as he tried to shout. A powerful hand covered his mouth, and held him down, preventing him from escaping.
"Advisor Swiftpaw, thank you for your past contributions", the commander whispered as Eren's consciousness gradually grew dark, "And for your future contributions as well."
The commander began to wrap Eren's body in the burlap cloth, and once that was accomplished, he cleaned up all the renovation equipment. He took Eren's body to the surface, walking through the forest for a few hours before finding a small village.
A rabbit beastkin of this village noticed the approaching commander, and went to greet him. When the villager noticed who the visitor was, and what he carried, the villager grew angry, "I suppose you have another delivery for us, right?"
"Same as always", the commander replied and without any further explanation, turned around and left.
In the trees above, some crows were watching the scene, and as the villager grabbed the burlap bag and took it the village, the crows flew off.
"It's about time we inform the others about this", the first crow said.
"It was time to go anyways", the second crow added, "I heard the eagles requested a conference with all the other birds."
"It's been a long time since the last conference", another crow said, "Let's hurry up and get a good seat."
Razortalon was sitting in a chair in the center of a large auditorium. All the birds had used this space in this hidden valley for years when big events occurred, and the news had to be spread. The seating for the audience was already filling quickly as more birds heard about his request for a conference.
It didn't take long for the hawks, falcons, ducks, cranes, and more to come, but he had purposely delayed the messages to the chickens, peacocks, and their like by half a day.
"Razortalon, you must have really big news to gather everyone like this", a beautiful crane beastkin woman playfully said to him.
"Lady Nuwa", the eagle slightly bowed, "I have news on several topics, some good, some is troubling."
"I look forward to it", Nuwa replied with an enchanting giggle.
Over the next few hours, the rest of the bird clans arrived, with the exception of the clans Razartalon had delayed.
The audience was mostly full, and everyone was discussing their own stories when they notice Razortalon stand. Everyone quieted down, and turned their attention to the eagle when they heard him speak, "Everyone, Thank you for attending this conference on such short notice."
An owl interrupted before Razortalon could continue, "Chief Razortalon, there are still a few clans that haven't arrived yet, shouldn't we wait for them?"
"This was done by design, Chief Longclaw", Razortalon told him, "I have some information that I must share first, and you might find it unbelievable, but with recent events, it might seem feasible."
The owl nodded at his words, and stepped back to let him resume.
"I'm sure everyone here has heard or seen what has happened lately with the Yak, Rat, Dog, Tiger, and Boar clans", Razortalon started his speech, "I was at Sun God island when most of this news reached me. Let me share the first item of news with you, Sun God island is no longer known by this name. The strongest human cultivator that makes that island his home has taken a disciple and renamed the island 'Sun & Moon island'."
Murmurs swept through the crowd, it was well known that island was sought after by multiple people in all three continents, but no one dared to attack it.
"When I heard what was happening here on Zhuo continent, I relayed the story to his disciple, who spoke with his master. When he returned, he narrated a story to us that might be relevant to us."
Razortalon told the story of the thirteen animals, the race, and the results, and when he finished, everyone was contemplating what they were told.
"Chief Razortalon, can you explain the purpose of your story?", Lady Nuwa asked in a more serious tone.
"Chiefs of all clans", Razortalon said, "I am currently working with my allies to deliver images of the rooms found so far to the senior down south. I believe he can translate the runes, and answer why these event have taken place. I can't and won't stop you from sharing this with the missing clans, but I will warn you that you put yourself at risk. If the Stone of the Rooster has already been discovered, and it affects the user the same as it did the others, they might try to silence you. That's all I have for now, please go back to your discussions, I will finish my announcements when the other clans arrive."
Razortalon sat down again, and the audience returned to their conversations.
"That was a very interesting announcement", a well dressed man said to Razortalon.
"Chief Proudwing", the eagle replied, "I do hope we are able to work together to avoid disaster during these difficult times."
Razortalon pulled a teapot and cup from his storage ring, and began to make tea. When it was ready, he poured himself a cup, and was interrupted before taking the first sip.
"Senior Beother Razortalon", Lady Nuwa said, "I wonder if I could have a cup of that tea. It seems wonderful, and it seems such a shame to drink it by yourself."
Razortalon looked around the table to see all the chiefs were staring at his pot of tea. Clearing his throat, he said, "I would be happy to share with everyone, but I should clear up a misunderstanding. This isn't a rare or expensive tea, if you go to Sun & Moon island, you can purchase many catties for a reasonable price. If you pass your cup over, I will pour you a cup so that we can enjoy it together."
"Does that include us as well, Brother Eagle", a man wearing very striking clothing entered the center area with three other people.
"Of course", Razortalon replied, "Brother Ironspurs is always welcome at my table."
The last clans consisting of the chicken, pheasant, peacocks, turkeys, and quail sat in their spots before taking out their cups and receiving tea.
"This tea is amazing, Chief Razortalon", Chief Ironspurs complimented him.
"This is the reason I called everyone together", Razortalon explained before standing again.
He began talking about his trip, meeting Huoran, exploring the city, and using the products. As he spoke, his Qphone would display pictures in holographic mode. Everyone was hypnotized by the buildings, clothes, food, various activities, and idol performances that Razortalon displayed.
"I bring this to a close by recommending that visit, but remember to be respectful", Razortalon told everyone, "Flying boats, flood dragons, and others have paid with their life for their greed, disrespect, and hostility towards the disciple of the senior that stays on the island. As long as you don't cause trouble, and bring enough money or materials that can be traded, you will have a wonderful time. In fact, I was very reluctant to return when I got the message of what was happening here. I will now open the discussion for anyone to participate."
Other chiefs took the floor, and shared their information to the audience until the chief of the crows stepped.
"The Gorecrows bought something to my attention recently", the old crow said, "They happened to find a situation that's very questionable. Lately the amount of dead has increased in the rabbit tunnels, but it appears that their current 'king' is selling their corpses to the snakes."