The march through the deserts was underway. King Vran would be marching for a few days through the sands. While he was marching, Jax went back to the two southern kings to nudge them his way. He started with King Kace. He didn't have any real reason to start there except it was closer to Frithe.
Once he arrived, he could sense the district was dead. The army accounted for nearly half the population, and they had been gone for four days. Jax could sense the betrayal, which angered him. He went to Kace trailed by his three guards. The castle was basically empty, only five soldiers remained to protect the king and his son, who were both too old to fight.
As they entered the throne room, the five guards were alerted to the danger. Kace just moaned in the discomfort of Jax's presence. Jax knew something was wrong, but they were outnumbered.
"What the hell?" Jax exclaimed to Kace.
"I have decided who I would like to support in the war," Kace croaked.
Jax shot him a menacing look and stormed out of the hall. He went to poison the water supply for the city before he left. Kace would pay for his insolence. The entire city would die, but the army was already away, and the heir to the kingdom lived as well as his son.
Jax then went to King Katara to see if he had decided who to follow, but Kat refused to tell him most of his army was already gone. He had to lie to Jax.
"I will not be joining the war," Kat told him.
"You will perish," Jax spat, "I will kill you and take your land," he said as he stormed off and went home empty handed.
Jax was deceived by the portion of Kat's army that remained in Saka. He was considering poisoning their water supply, but Kat had them escorted out of the city. He went home thinking he would only have to fight five thousand men, but that wasn't reality.
After Jax was home— in the three days at sea— Vran sent a thousand troops to disrupt Frithe. He also traveled alone to Gerak to try to recruit mages. Trusting Quez with his men, he left and told his captain he would return in seven days, but the army he sent to Frithe would take more than seven days to return. Vran was unsure if they would erase the Stix bloodline, but that was his objective.
Quez understood what needed to be done, but they greatly underestimated Jax. Once they arrived, they saw that Frithe now had a huge army. He estimated that they had fifty thousand men and women in the army. It was the largest army in the history of the planet.
Unsure of what to do, Quez faltered and slowed the march towards the castle. His men may have been trained better, but they stood no chance. Quez didn't want to lose all his men, so he had them turn back before they fought anyone.
King Vran would understand that it was not worth the fight. He would have to develop a new strategy. The blockade set on Frithe didn't allow for any ships to make port. No ships were traveling to Frithe, and the global economy was being affected.
Citizens of Frithe were by far the wealthiest per capita. They supported the global economy. And as it was crippled by the lack of spending, over half of Frithe's population was now in their army.
People all over the globe were feeling the sting of the blockade. Gerak citizens were affected the most. Those in Gerak relied heavily on the concept of money, so people were crippled by the lack of sales in Frithe. Some people were doing better, but most were suffering.
The effect created in Frithe was seen by the masses joining the army just for food and shelter. In Gerak, some joined the army to support themselves, but women were still not allowed in the army. Women were starving in Gerak. Those who had enough tried to help, but many shops were being shut down.
