The war was coming to an end, but the problems facing the world were just starting to showcase themselves. Nearly half of the entire population had already been destroyed. Jax wasn't worried about the population. It would regrow itself once the war was over.
With his entire council intact, he wisely didn't send more men to attack Gerak, but he didn't know where the people of Gerak were. The men who went to Gerak to unveil information for gold couldn't find anyone.
In a council meeting, his most trusted councilor made a good point, "Bidi will eventually send a portion of her forces to occupy Frithe. It may be wise to send some of our men to occupy the west of Gerak. Many of our informants have stated no one is in the west of Gerak. If we don't wish for the war to be brought to us, we must take it to them."
This really resonated with Jax. He wasn't worried about his civilians, but he didn't want to be in the line of fire, but as they were planning, King Vran and his forces were making their way to the port to sail ships out of Gerak and into the dangerous seas of Frithe. The unforgiving sea was an advantage for Frizians who knew how to navigate it, but Vran would be in for a rude awakening.
Jax wasn't sure how many troops he should send. With reserves low, he no longer had troops stationed all over Frithe. His troops were stationed at the castle and surrounding cities. He was protected, but his people would be in peril if Bidi was planning an attack.
He wanted to be modest with his men, because it would be difficult to grow an army with the current demographics of the world. His council advised him to send three or four thousand to occupy Gerak, so he sent three and retained twelve to protect him and all the other royals.
As Frizians sailed east, King Vran and two thousand men sailed west. They made port around the same time, but the Frizians walked into a ghost land.
Dead bodies littered the streets. Admiral Plasic was ordered to occupy Gerak, but once he got there, there was nothing to do. No one met them at the port. The city was dead, but admiral didn't want to leave. He was at the port, and he was going to stay there until he was withdrawn by the king.
Some of the men were creeped out by all the dead bodies. There were thousands of them. With nothing better to do, the men gathered the dead bodies and put them into a pile and burned them.
King Vran entered a bustling city. But he had strict orders not to kill civilians unless they posed a threat. The Frizians had never seen black people, so they were welcomed with wicked stares and racial slurs. Vran had never experienced such blatant racism. Those in Gerak weren't concerned by his dark complexion.
As the last one thousand black people on the planet, the forces were met with micro aggressions. As they walked down the streets, people would walk to the other side of the street to avoid conflict. They were being treated like wild dogs. They had money, but no one would sell them goods. Many shopkeepers closed their stores before they went in.
This was a new world entirely for King Vran. He started to get frustrated. Some of his men were hungry, so they were buying food. The men buying the food looked like they were from Frithe, then the black and brown men tried to buy food from the same vendor, but he refused to sell them food. Vran was angered when he witnessed this, so he went over to the vendor and complained.
The vendor claimed he was out of food, but he had more when citizens came over to buy food. Vran was upset, but he promised Bidi he wouldn't kill civilians. He was being tested, though.
Vran then tried to speak to the natives, "where does the king live?"
The woman just blankly glared at him, never saying anything, with her jaw dropped to the floor. The people weren't going to even talk to Vran or his Tortu men, so he had the pale looking men lead the expedition.
