章 58: Heard Around The World
Queen Angella sat in the war room reading reports from their spies based in and around the Horde. While they admittedly couldn't get too many inside the Horde itself, they could slip more spies into villages and towns that had been taken over by the Horde themselves.
That's not even taken into account Thaymor, a town that is now being shown as a symbol of potential partnership between kingdoms. Thaymor is one of the few true Neutral places each Kingdom has set.
While it has not been made official, seeing as they were enemies of each other trying to either stop each other or conquer the other, they've adopted a non-spoken agreement of what places each of them wouldn't target.
Hospitals and infirmaries are a no go from each and every kingdom. That was for the one single deterrent everyone knew: if you target one of them, all of yours are at risk of being targeted afterwards. Each kingdom is serious about that one enough that, in the few times a soldier from a kingdom - every kingdom, even Brightmoon, have had this happen at least 3 times - would perform this forbidden act, the Kingdom in question arrests the soldier(s) and turns them over to the offended Kingdom. Afterall, what are five lives compared to the tens of thousands of lives that would be killed in retaliation due to a few soldiers wanting something as simple as revenge or just wanting the enemy to hurt.
Healers were not to be targeted before or after a battle was conducted. While many gripe about such things about how it only helps the enemy, they are constantly reminded of one thing: This war is going to end eventually and their families may settle in our kingdoms. Would you be able to look a family in the eyes and tell them that their partner, child, or parent couldn't be healed and died because you viewed their lives as numbers instead of living beings?
However, there was an exception to that one: A healer is no longer classified as a Healer the instant that they fire a weapon at someone. Should it be a blaster, melee weapon, or poison, they are then recognized as a regular soldier and won't be protected as a Healer would be.
'Something major is going to go down soon.' One spy wrote down. 'Dozens of Captains have been called back to the Zone. Force General Tigra has canceled her classes with her only explanation being that she would be too busy to teach; something that hasn't happened before except for when she was sent to the Waste.'
Another report was similar.
Generals are being called back to attend a meeting under Second in Command Catra. Details are unknown, but any who don't show up are being threatened to be demoted back to Cadets at best, being labeled as potential traitors at worst.
The most recent one practically confirmed that something is happening.
A meeting between all Force Captains is happening at 11:15 AM. A meeting between all Force Generals is happening at 11:20 AM. Head Engineer Entrapta is stuck fixing a security issue that is interrupting dozens of communication tablets.
"This is worrying." Angella spoke.
"Indeed." Netossa spoke, sitting next to Spinnerella.
Netossa narrowed her black eyes to her own version of the reports.
"The last time there was such a movement so quickly and over such an important number of soldiers, the Battle of Brightmoon happened quickly after. And before that…"
"Was the Battle of the Zone." Angella finished, her mode slightly dropping. "The battle that took my Micah. I understand what we both are agreeing about, Netossa. Something is happening. Not as in new tests or training, but each of these events were hard pressed to happen at the same time that they are happening."
"Have the other kingdoms been warned yet?" Spinnerella asked. "The Horde and Brightmoon just managed to truly make Thaymor a Neutral town. It would seem more likely that, if a kingdom is to be targeted, it wouldn't be Brightmoon."
Angella nodded.
"Just a few minutes ago, I advised Princess Frosta to have her Kingdom readied for a potential attack because if the Horde attacks them, it would be quicker for us to attack the Horde than to provide assistance. By the time our soldiers show up, even using the emergency teleporters, the battle would likely already be finished."
Netossa winced at that.
"Yeah. And that's assuming General Tigra isn't included. She's cracked the Speed Limit each kingdom has. She's capable of moving fast enough now that no kingdom can rely on assistance from others. She could simply attack the Kingdom of Snow. We send our forces to help, she suddenly shows up and attacks the Sea Gate and takes over the defenseless Salineas."
Spinnerella placed a hand on her wife's hand and gave a light squeeze.
"If Tigra gained the Hit-and-Run mentality, the Alliance would likely break down. We wouldn't be able to send even a single soldier to help the others. We'd need Mystacor to get involved and help us. They should have spells that prevent Speedsters from doing such, right?" Netossa asked.
Angella nodded.
"Speedsters such as General Tigra have been seen throughout history for over a millennium. The issue today is simply that Tigra is, at bare minimum, capable of standing in the top 5 fastest in History. The fastest known was the previous She-Ra's companion. The legends stated that, while She-Ra was the Princess of Power, her companion was the Entity of Speed.
The second is likely the late Queen of Halfmoon, Queen Seline. A few commented that she was the reincarnation of a Queen of the past. How she could travel a mile in about 4 nanoseconds."
"That's…" Netossa was shocked. "That's about 35% faster than the Speed of Light."
Angella nodded.
"It's why we were heavily connected with Mystacor for the last 60 years. Even though they did dozens of tests, they couldn't truly figure out how she was moving that fast."
"You said truly." Spinnerella pointed out. "That means that they had theories."
"Yes. The one that they believed most would have spelled disaster for Etheria."
"What was it?"
"Something that would make speed irrelevant. She could control-"
An alarm came from Angella's tablet.
She looked down and saw 9 words that would change Etheria.
LISTEN TO THIS NOW! MAJOR CHANGE IN HORDE LEADERSHIP!
Angella clicked play and an announcement started.
-----------
"This is Hordak, Former Horde Lord of the Horde, Ruler of the Fright Zone kingdom.
As of 11:39 this morning, I am no longer your leader.
After 40+ years leading you, I realize that it is time for the next generation to determine how the Horde should act for the future.
As for my replacement, two people were approached.
One has been my second in command for the last 14 months and her drive to lead the Horde is second to none. Her strategies almost allowed us to take Brightmoon in a month, something that hasn't happened once in the last 10 years. I am talking about Second In Command Catra.
The second one gained their reputation for improving their skills at a rate never seen before in the Horde. The one soldier that defeated the previous fastest person on Etheria known as Bolt. The soldier who would go on to attunement with the Spirit Ember and become the second Princess to fight for the Horde. Who has proven that they want to create a Horde that, while strong together, will always be able to protect themselves as well as others. I am referring to Force General Tigra, the Heroine of the Horde.
They decided to lead the Horde together, with Tigra building up the Horde in the present and with Catra focusing on leading the Fright Zone into a prosperous kingdom.
With the two of them leading the Horde, I can sleep easy knowing that none will be able to get away with hurting a member of the Fright Zone."
-----------------
The three of the highest members of the Rebellion were sitting in stunned silence.
Before Angella messed with her tablet before speaking, connecting to every device connected with the Princesses.
"All Princesses need to convene for a sudden meeting detailing a major change with the Horde."
While many Princesses are undoubtedly busy, they still listened to the head of the Rebellion; seeing as all the Princesses outside of Brightmoon had holograms of themselves in the room while Glimmer teleported into the room with Adora and Bow within the next 5 minutes.
"What's wrong?" Mermista asked. "Is it related to the sudden withdrawal of Horde soldiers inside Salinean territory?"
Angella nodded.
"Alongside the withdrawal from every kingdom's territory. The sudden pause in their aggression."
"Are they implementing new bots that would relate to heavy friendly fire?" Mermista asked. "We have seen an uptick in explosive weapons within the last 2 months."
"That wouldn't explain the withdrawal of the Horde bots." Frosta denied. "Even the bots that are heavily resistant to the cold have been drawing back from my towns. They have remained in the towns that have been taken, but they are no longer providing threats of suddenly engaging towns still under my kingdom."
"Potential new soldier training?" Perfuma suggested.
"That wouldn't explain the mass retreat." Bow denied. "You would draw back maybe 20% of the force at the most. Then they would send those who have already completed the training to take their place. They would do that over time, not all at once."
"What's it about, Queen Angella?" Adora asked.
While it sounded like a normal question, Angella heard something in her tone. As if Adora likely had an idea of what this was about but was looking for an answer to an unasked question.
"The reason that there was a sudden withdrawal of troops is because of a sudden change in leadership in the Horde."
Adora's widening eyes spoke volumes to Angella.
"As of 2 hours ago from the timestamp, Hordak is no longer the Horde Lord. The Horde is now being co-ruled by Horde Lorde Tigra and Horde Lorde Catra."
Angella played the audio.
After about 3 minutes, the room devolved into pure silence.
"They did it." Adora whispered with slight awe.
"What? How could they convince Hordak to stand down?" Frosta asked. "There's no way that Hordak would step down when he was closer to taking the kingdoms down than he has ever been since the start of this war."
"He wouldn't." Mermista confirmed, staring straight at Adora, along with most of the members. "Care to explain a bit there, Adora?"
"I knew this was in the works for about a month now." She admitted, surprising a few - except for two people.
"Wait, she was serious!?" Glimmer exclaimed, taking everyone back now. "I thought she was just angry with Hordak about what he did to them."
"She was." Adora nodded. "But Hordak crossed too many lines for Tigra. He falsely turned someone in the Horde into a traitor, nearly killed Tigra, demanded she not go back to the Horde from the Waste without bringing First One tech from somewhere in the desert, and that if she did, he would send Catra to Beast Island."
"When was this?" Perfuma asked.
"When we went into the Crimson Waste and found Mara's Ship."
"Why didn't you tell anyone about this coup attempt?" Mermista questioned.
Adora simply turned to Angella.
"How did you happen to gain this information, Queen Angella?"
"Through one of our spies." Angella answered after a second, likely guessing what she was trying to imply.
"You once told me that the kingdoms have a confirmed amount of spies inside the Horde. While I doubt that number was true, what you left unsaid was that the Horde must have the same. With how technologically advanced the Horde is and the amount of people under them, it would be idiotic or naive to believe that the Rebellion doesn't have spies in it as well."
Adora looked around.
"If you knew that two of the higher leaders of a kingdom that you believe can take over the kingdom were to attempt to do so, would you inform the Rebellion and receive help from them but risk the chance that the Horde would find out before we could help? Or keep quiet and reduce the amount of places that said information could come from while also leaving the outcome up to them and them only?"
Adora's gaze turned stern, as if they believed every word they were about to say.
"Do you genuinely think I would leave their safety up to chance? That I don't believe that the two of them could defeat Hordak and those loyal to him? Tigra never liked having someone tell her what to do like that. This was simply a matter of time."
"But is this good news?" Mermista spoke once Adora stopped. "We know that Catra has a high affinity for strategy from the amount of land and towns that she has managed to take over the two years. Hordak was someone who stayed behind and mainly focused on whatever he was doing in his Sanctum. Catra will be much more proactive in this war than Hordak's ever been.
Then there's Tigra. She's practically more of a threat than the entirety of the Horde. At least we can fight the Horde. But Tigra? We need Queen Angella, She-Ra, or the help of most of the Masters in Mystacor!"
Mermista swung a hand at herself.
"I fought Tigra in Tyde briefly and, when she decided to take off the kiddie gloves, she destroyed me." She stressed. "Back then, our estimates were that she could move around Mach 18. We had her being affected by TEN royal magic users, who were using Weight each. When tested, that should have reduced someone's speed by about 9 times. So we went into this fight expecting to fight her at a maximum of Mach 2. That's why we had Mo…Posei there." She corrected herself. "She's used to fighting Bolt so she should have had no problem keeping up with that speed. But she decimated us."
"And that's what, almost a year ago now?" Adora asked.
"9 months." Mermista grumbled.
"That's also not taking into consideration that she's massively faster now." Glimmer informed. "While I don't know how fast she actually is, Bow had been recording something during the Northern Reach."
Angella didn't miss how Adora's hand clenched before slowly relaxing.
"Doing calculations," Bow picked up. "She had to be moving over Mach 190 then. Nearly 10x faster than when she fought Bolt. If this is the rate she keeps improving, she'll be able to move faster than Mach 350 by now."
Bow paused here before looking at Adora hesitantly.
"That is…until she took down a Behir, which Adora put in the report that she could barely track her."
"And?" Netossa asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Through testing we did three weeks ago to understand what that means…She-Ra could track something up to Mach 450. Though to be fair, She-Ra's suddenly got stronger a month ago and even more today."
"How much stronger?" Spinnerella asked.
"She went from lifting a maximum of 75 tons to about 133 tons. Considering how much her strength has risen, we'd likely need to do more tests to determine her limits again." Bow explained.
"Could she be Etheria's balance to Tigra?" Perfuma asked. "Every time Tigra seems to have an explosive amount of growth, Adora and She-Ra also experience a drastic increase in abilities."
Adora had to hold back from shaking her head at that.
'Tigra mentioned that she could go to Mach 9,000 two weeks ago.' Adora thought. 'Even without doing the testing Bow is suggesting, Tigra will be drastically faster than me.'
It would do no good for Etheria to give her all of the power of the Universe if she could never hit her target.
The real problem was simple but damning: What if Tigra was Etheria's balance? If she was, what could possible require someone to be that strong?
"Either way," Mermista drew the attention back to her. "Is this a good thing, again. I brought up my example to explain that I couldn't keep up with her when she could go Mach 18 and we're talking about her going Mach 450. I think I can say for most of us that she has reached a level of speed that can't be matched anymore."
Nods around the table, she continued.
"So we need to talk about the pros and cons of this situation. The first con? She now has no one above her to tell her to remain in the Horde. She could decide to attack a kingdom today and likely conquer that kingdom within a day."
"Something that's a mix is that she cares about those in the kingdom." Bow spoke up. "When Huntara - someone we met in the Crimson Waste - tried to threaten someone in her gang that she took over, - yes I know how that sounds - she mentioned that she doesn't like it when someone messes with those under her command."
"There's the fact that she tries to give people the chance to surrender before she results to conflict." Peruma mentioned.
"That's kind of a negative in the whole picture." Bow countered. "She once told me that everyone - who isn't Adora - at this table is alive because we could easily be turned into martyrs and that would create issues for the next few decades for the Horde."
"A pro is that she wants this war over with." Adora brought up. "She and Catra told me that soldiers from both sides are tired of the war. That it was a major point in the coup process that likely happened."
"If both sides are tired, she'll likely have two options." Netossa continued. "She'll either throw their soldiers into one last big attack…or we could be looking at a genuine ceasefire or ending of the war."
"At which point, the kingdoms could return to fixing themselves from a war that's been raging for 35+ years." Spinnerella finished her thought. "We could put more funding and focus on the civilians, fixing damages to towns, and could finally go back to a peaceful life."
Angella listened as they discussed before turning to Adora and speaking.
"If you had to guess at how they will act in the immediate future, what do you think the two of them will do?"
"They will be doing damage control for the next month or two." Adora spoke confidently. "They will want to get a handle on the soldiers that may leave the Horde and try to start conflict while they are getting their feet settled. They will likely call a meeting with the high up members in command to discuss what the plan is going forward. Whether they continue the conflict, call for an end of it, or even just a ceasefire. One issue though that we should address is if Tigra is still banned from Salineas."
"Why wouldn't she be?"
"It would make diplomatic discussions hard to propose if one of the leaders is forbidden from entering. It also makes it hard to create good will if the leader of a kingdom is threatened with a K.O.S. at worst, a F.O.S. at best." Glimmer explained for Adora.
"K.O.S?" Adora muttered.
"Ki-"
Glimmer held a hand over Bow's mouth.
"It means that soldiers of Salineas are aware of how dangerous Tigra is and are told two things: flee at the mere sight of Tigra, or that Salineas has no good way of capturing her as a prisoner." Mermista explained.
Adora's eyes narrowed as she already connected the dots but stayed quiet.
Now would not be a good time to bring that up.
They continued talking about the pros and cons of the event for the next two hours before a messenger entered the room.
"My Queen! Brightmoon has received a direct message from the Fright Kingdom!"
"Play it." Angella declared.
The messenger did so before a hologram appeared.
It showed Tigra wearing a new red cape while sitting in a throne that Adora can tell was what used to be Hordak's throne but had been slightly modified. Nothing other than that seemed different, but Adora could tell that she wasn't looking at her childhood friend Tigra.
She was looking at Horde Lorde Tigra.
While her outfit may look mostly the same, Tigra was looking at them with a gaze intense enough that Adora felt like she could see them, but the messenger told them that it was a direct message, not a live feed.
"I will start this off in the case that this message has, likely, caught the Rebellion in a meeting that is either in full swing or winding down about the change in leadership."
Her words were damning that she knew that they still had spies in the Horde. Even worse, she didn't seem too upset about that fact.
"In 3 months, I am willing to meet with the Leader or Representative of Brightmoon and up to 4 others of their choosing to discuss the future of the conflict between the Fright Kingdom and the Brightmoon Kingdom. Should we not receive a confirmation by the end of the current month, we will assume that it has been denied. Assuming the Princess of Plumeria is there, we will offer the chance to them instead.
I will give a warning. Due to the obvious change in leadership, the Horde is willing to introduce a month-long temporary ceasefire. Until the end of the month, the Horde will officially declare that any Horde soldier found attacking a kingdom or town will be designated as a rogue soldier and will fall under your laws.
However, if evidence is shown that one of those soldiers attacked in self defense, the Horde will defend them. We are offering a hand outwards to you, who have been holding Hordak back for the last 30 plus years. If you bite this hand, we will be hesitant to hold the hand out once more. If it is bitten the second time…"
While nothing changed, everyone in the room could tell that Tigra's attitude suddenly changed.
" We will put the rabid animal down ."
The message cut off there.
Adora thought about all that she said.
'Tigra is willing to meet with Brightmoon specifically, not the Rebellion. That means if anything comes of it, it will be between the Fright Zone and Brightmoon; not the Horde and the Rebellion. The Horde itself will not be conducting any missions to take any territory for the next month officially. Finally, Tigra's given the Rebellion an ultimatum: She's willing to be diplomatic, but to cross her two times will result in potential annihilation. She didn't mention if that was 2 times total, or two times within a certain time period'
She gained a small smirk though.
'If things go well, we could be looking at the end of the war within the next year.'
----------
*In Unknown Coordinates*
----------
A woman with long, light blue hair sat on a throne while reading a tablet. Her light blue cat ears twitched as her light blue tail swung side to side in slight annoyance. Part of it dealt with the issue one of the Princesses was starting to cause.
"I swear, she was more controlled in the past." She muttered, her voice surprisingly sounded as if she was 30 at the youngest, 35 at the oldest.
Yet, she had been Queen for over 40 years now.
A black furred Magicat slithered out of the shadows before kneeling to her.
"My Queen, I bring potentially troubling news from the mainland."
"Speak." She demanded.
"We have received news that Princess Py'ra has overthrown Hordak and has installed herself as one of the Horde Lordes of the Horde." Their head facing the ground.
"One of?" She questioned, a blue eyebrow rising.
A picture was sent to her before a hologram came out of it.
It revealed a young magicat woman with long brown hair, heterochromatic blue and yellow scleras, and light brown fur. She wore a sleeveless red shirt with burgundy pants with tears at the knees and left her feet exposed.
She also wore a red crown that caught her attention.
"This is the second Horde Lorde: Catra. She is one of the confirmed mates of Tigra. We have suspicions of another, but their relationship is unlikely to reach that level just yet, seeing as they have been on opposite sides of the war for the past 2 years."
She took note of 'Catra' before returning her attention back to the messenger.
"They are both in such a position of visibility that proceeding with the original plan will now result in heavy attention from the entire planet. If we managed to go with the plan at the original time, we could have gotten off with just the Fright Zone and She-Ra's potential attention. Now? There's already talk about a ceasefire in the works. Anything that happens to the two of them will be known by the end of the day. Analysts suggest that, should we go through with the plan, the kingdoms will learn about us within 3 months and will discover us within 5 months."
Silence filled the room.
Her black claws tapped against the armrest of her throne before she spoke.
"You will have permission to take Princess Luna with you to proceed with the plan. We always planned that the kingdoms would find us eventually. We will simply have to move the table up a small amount. If anyone spots you or your team, you have permission for elimination of bystanders. We can't allow anyone to spread the word about us for as long as we can. It is inevitable, but that doesn't mean we can delay it as long as possible while putting our contingencies into work. Dismissed."
"Yes, Queen Seline."
The figure crept back into the shadows before vanishing, their magic quickly leaving the castle.
Once alone, Queen Seline sighed to herself as her claws pierced the armrest made out of some of the hardest material they could make without drawing attention.
"Out of the hundreds of prophecies over the last 3 centuries, it just had to be that vitun profetia!" She cursed in their language. [fucking prophecy]
"It couldn't have been about how Farmer Sat'ra is going to cheat on her wife. No, the prophecy that looks to be fated to happen is the one prophecy in the last 300 years that could ruin everything I've done." She growled.
A knock on the chamber doors attracted her attention before calming down and returning to the ruler everyone's known for the last 4 decades.
"Come in."
A white haired magicat woman jogged into the room and looked terrified.
Which did no good, considering this was Blun'ra, one of 5 people that helped Seer Sa'ra - one of 3 people who could make out what potential futures may affect the kingdom and has held such power for the last 30 years. 80% of her predictions have come true, much higher than the average 25%.
"My Queen, it's getting worse."
Seline knew that this would only make things more annoying.
"How?"
"Seer Sa'ra has stated that she has gone through the recorded prophecies once more and has noticed a disturbing pattern. Any prophecies that deal with the mainland for the next 5 years are all becoming static as of a month ago. She can get an image every day she looks, but can not move the image. As if someone handed her a photo. She can't see what happened before or after it; only make educated guesses based on previous experiences.
She made the comment that the static is coming from at least 1 of 4 people: Princess Py'ra, A magicat commonly found near Princess Py'ra. Queen Angella, and the Lost Princess She-Ra. Those 4 are going to be playing major parts of the mainland's future, but something about them is causing interference. As if time doesn't want us to know."
Seline held back a snarl at that phrasing but hid it as her narrowing her eyes as if digesting that.
"Moreover, Seer Sa'ra, Seer Frana, and Seer Ultram are all agreeing about how all prophecies dealing with the island are all more clear than any they have seen, but they are only showing two outcomes for the next year."
Seline did frown at that, as prophecies are never that clear unless something major - as in kingdom destroying - happened. It was slightly how she knew enough information to get as many of her people to safety within 10 minutes before the Meltdown happened.
"Explain please."
"They state that either Rao's True Flames will return to the sky, illuminating Andra's beauty to all at all times once more; protecting us at every moment of time until the End."
Seline nodded with a small smile.
It was every Queen's dream to be the one ruling once Rao's True Flames returned. To know that they were the ones to bring in Rao's Grace once more. Something that had been lost when the Gods and Goddesses had to fight Pytcha.
"Or…," Blun'ra continued. "New Moon will become the epicenter for a Falsity the likes that has never been seen before since the Disappearance."
That made a rock drop to Seline's stomach.
"How bad are we talking here?"
"In the vision should this event transpire…New Moon will be turned to ash completely, water around the world will drop by 5 inches, and the light of such a Falsity would be able to be seen from anywhere on the planet from halfway between the Crimson Wastes all the way to Salineas."
Blun'ra seemed hesitant to continue, but Seline couldn't be her understanding self anymore.
She had to be the Queen of the Magicats.
"Don't hold back any information." She demanded.
"My Queen…only someone who had once been blessed by Rao himself and by Pytcha herself could pull off the kind of damage necessary to provide enough magic to do such a thing. No normal person would be able to pull together that much magic. Maybe all of Mystacor could do it if they drained every last drop of their magic and their artifacts."
But it would be much more likely if a True Royal Magicat did it .
"Have one of the Seers watching that future as much as possible. Have another watch the Prophecy of Etheria closely. At this point, that prophecy may actually be the closest that is actually going to come true that will also cause trouble for us. Dismissed!"
Blun'ra hurried to their feet and left. The doors to the throne room closed and remained shut.
Seline held a hand to the side before purple lettering appeared all around the room.
Before she yelled as blue flames shot out of her hands and mouth.
"300 years! I won't let it end like this!" She yelled, yet knew that no one outside this room, technology or otherwise, would be able to hear her with the Runes covering the room.
"I won't be the Queen that has the end of the New Moon occur during their reign! Not when Rao's True Flames are so close!"
She huffed as the flames grew more powerful and raised before shooting towards her. She held a hand out and the fire seeped into her skin, returning her spent magic back to her.
"While most would say that it is only a matter of time to find out how that prophecy ends…I refuse."
Those two words cause the world to tremble before returning to normal.
"After all, Time is not the ruler of me."
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