Three Years Ago
Sanglier stood on the forward deck of his ship Liana's Claw, leaned against the railing, and took a deep breath of sea air, closing his eyes as he placed one hooved hand over his heart.
"Trinity guide me," he whispered to himself in prayer, voice trembling. "As we enter this new world. Give me the strength to guide this land into your light, that these creatures here--"
"S-sir?" A gaunt rat nervously interrupted. Sanglier took a deep breath to calm himself before gripping the railing of the ship before him, his fur bristling ever so slightly.
"Mate Hookfang, what is it?"
"We're close to land, sir. You can see the lights. The other ships are anchoring here to await further orders, and we shall sail on to Port Eastbank and dock there. B-but Sir, a lot of the soldiers are a bit worried. The creatures of Southsward have been our trade partners for many, many seasons. Don't you th-"
There was a loud crack as Sanglier whipped around and backhanded the rat across his jaw, sending him stumbling backwards, where he collapsed upon the ground. Hookfangs eyes were wide as he pressed a paw to his now fractured and bleeding jaw, where the boars hoof had sliced into the skin where he made contact. Strolling over, the boar placed his foothoof on the rat's chest, and pressed down on him.
"If the soldiers have a problem with our mission, I will send them to the Gods themselves and they can tell them their doubts. Saint Liana herself told me we are to have Southsward, and Trinity willing, all of Mossflower for ourselves. Well, in the name of our King, of course."
He lifted his weight off of Hookfang, who scrambled to his feet, wheezing as his breath returned.
"Tell my soldiers to ready themselves, we dock at sunrise."
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Port Eastbank was built along an interconnected group of small islands along the Southsward shoreline, all connected by a series of bridges, with one large bridge that lead onto the mainland, turning into Galedeep Road, named after one of the heroes that defeated the Foxwolf, which connected the Port to Castle Floret and the rest of Southsward.While many creatures came and went, the Port itself was mainly inhabited by otters of various Holts that had united.
One such otter was Harbormaster Cyrus, who on this morning stood with his son, Dune, as they watched Liana's Claw pull into dock. Tapping a claw impatiently on his ledger, Cyrus watched the dockworkers moor the massive ship and set up the gangway.
"Ain't expectin' a ship today from Avignon." Cyrus huffed, flipping through his ledger again. "Unless I missed somethin' but we ain't expecting anything for another month at least."
"We'll have to see what they want then," Dune said, gently placing a paw on his fathers shoulder. "Come, the gangway is secure, let's meet their Captain at the bottom."
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The last dockworker scrambled out of the way as a giant of a boar in chainmail swept past them and down the gangway. He was followed closely by a ferret in bright red robes, and the ships Captain.
Harbormaster Cyrus stood squarely at the end of the dock, paws crossed over his chest. The rest of the beasts on the dock had backed away, and were anxiously eying their harbormaster as he strode up and planted himself in front of the boar.
"Now just ye wait a minute there! Ain't got a ship from Avignon docking today, what's the meaning of th--" Sanglier's spear cut the otter short as it was thrust into his gut, the wings at the base of the spearhead stopping it from digging any further into the otters stomach. Gripping the haft, Sanglier pushed Cyrus off the edge of the dock, ripping his spear from the otter as he fell into the sea. With a cry of anguish, Dune ran towards the docks edge, but froze as the bloodied spearhead was pointed at him.
Sanglier gently wiped both sides of the spearhead off on Dune's cheek as the otter stood there and trembled. "I didnt think I'd have to dirty my spear so early. What's your name, Otter?"
"D-d-dune. Dune is my name."
"Well Dune, hopefully your manners are better than your former friends. I've had a long journey, you see. We all have," he said, gesturing to the ship, where at least two score archers had lined themselves up along the railing of the top deck of the ship, bows in paws. "So I think I'm going to have my soldiers disembark, and you're going to take us to whoever runs this beautiful port."
Present Day
Looking out from the window of his tower in Castle Floret, Sanglier observed the bustling city below him. It had been three years since he and his army had landed in Southsward's Port Eastbank and swept across the country, easily crushing any resistance that had gotten in their way. The beasts here were spread out in small communities, they hadn't stood a chance against the heavily armed invaders.
Castle Floret had proved to be the most difficult to take, high up on a cliff and surrounded by moats. There was nothing a battering ram and a few dozen determined soldiers couldn't do though, and Sanglier had quickly established himself as Governor of Southsward once he'd slaughtered the royal family.
A knock at the door drew Sanglier's thoughts away from the city below, and he growled as he strode over to the door. Opening it, he looked down to find Cardinal Alban standing there. The Cardinal was an elderly ferret, his red robes distinguished him as an upper member of the Clergy, and he'd come with Sanglier to not only help establish the Church in this new land, but to be a guiding hand in how the kingdom was to be ruled. He was the one beast in the Castle Sanglier held in higher regard than himself, and as soon as he realized who it was, the boars irritation was quick to dissipate.
"Cardinal, please, come in," he said, stepping aside and holding the door open. Cardinal Alban bowed, and slowly made his way into Sanglier's quarters, taking a seat in the plush armchair by the fire. He gestured to the seat next to him, and Sanglier turned it around so he could sit across from the Cardinal.
"My son," the ferret began, folding his paws in his lap. "There's no doubt that we've made great strides in ridding this land of heathens, and bringing a new age of Enlightenment to the beasts here. However, our troops do report some trouble to the East."
"There's no trouble my army cannot handle, Cardinal."
"That may be so, but the fact is that there are still creatures who believe that they were better off without us. Why don't you send a patrol out, see what the fuss is."
Standing up, Sanglier gave a deep bow to the Cardinal. "It shall be done. Thank you Cardinal, and Trinity bless."
"Trinity bless you too, and Saint Liana watch your back."
