The Unifier - 'An Act of Good Faith'

''On a seemingly uneventful day, Julius receives word that the alliance he built with the nords, sobeks and cimmerians are hoping to raid the pirate establishments on Bucuneer bay and have asked for his presence. Hearing this, he fears they may want him to lead the charge despite abandoning much of his fighting instincts, not to mention fighting his oldest enemies once more. But nevertheless, he knows he must honour this call. So he quickly gathers what he needs before heading down the Heimsgarar keep into the lab where Syvea is found taking some notes. He has a brief cuddle conversation with her explaining everything and assuring her that however this plays out, he's coming home as soon as it ends. Syvea manages to stay brave for him and remembers that Julius won't be alone at any point but still trembles for his safety. They share a long kiss before Julius and Romios depart from the keep, trying to be brave about what he predicts may be a chaotic chain of events ahead of him.''

''Julius and Romios arrive at the summit, two out of three leaders stand by the slab table waiting for them. Julius speaks first "Where are the cimmerian representatives?" The Chosen of Sobek replies "The Cimmerians have been talking amongst themselves and believe he is the most ideal representative" Pointing at Romios. Romios is very surprised "Me?" Julius looks back at him with a small grin then turns back to the other two leaders. "I understand there is an ambition to raid the pirates across the bay" The nord leader speaks "Aye, we didn't want to assume fightin the riders together will be all sunshine n' lotus and it seemed a popular idea to test the force of dis alliance on de pirates" The Chosen adds to his point "The reason we chose the pirates is because they often come into possession of many goods and supplies which no doubt will become useful to all our people". Julius pretends he's learning this for the first time to avoid the impression of familiarity with the pirates. "Interesting...so what do our people ask of the Unifier?" The two leaders look at each other for a brief moment before the nord leader responds. "While they...would like to see you in action and inspire their courage on the battlefield, some of them have recognised the importance of your survival" The chosen adds; "...Which leaves the choice of your actions entirely up to you.". Hearing this, Julius internally sighs with relief and responds. "Very well, tell the people begin the attack when they are ready. I will observe the battle from above with the three of you unless I see reason otherwise"''

''Some time later, Julius and the three leaders stand high up on the cliff side overlooking the entire bay as they wait for the fight to begin. He is privately nervous about what will happen. Then right on cue, a huge roar of battle cries fill the air as the combined army of nords and cimmerians along with the followers of sobek begin to storm the bay. The Pirates appear dumbfounded at first but stand their ground as best they can, but they are no match for their invaders. Julius observes the efficient efforts of the fight but can't think of anything to say out loud. Romios does however; "I've never seen anything like this...this is...historic" The nord leader grunts in agreement "Aye, Incredible." He turns to Julius "I should disclose that our people agreed to some terms about the loot; If ye don't need it, leave it. If someone gets somethin first, it's theirs. Victory before competition." Julius simply nods in appreciation of this notion, still unable to find anything verbally to say. He watches as the army progresses the battle onto the the wrecked ship and up into the cliff sides where the pirate captain resides. Some bursts of flames blast out of some of the ships walls suggesting that the fight is getting quite messy. From where they stand, Julius and the other leaders cannot see if there are any casualties inside the ship. The Chosen speaks up "I hope they are faring well in there, a fire in that amount of combustible space is quite a risk" Julius hones in on the ship to spot anything worth an alert in case he needs to make a split second decision. Romios then says "What's that sound?" as a large groan of the structure is heard, so loudly that it even makes the shouts of war go silent. Julius quickly acts having recognised that sound all too well. "Signal a retreat now! We have to get them out of there!" Romios quickly gets to the horn nearby and blows it as hard and as loudly as he can. Once heard by the army, they hurry out of the ship.'' ''What nobody realises is that the rumbles from the army rushing out of the ship accelerated the growing weakness of the structure and it begins to collapse violently before everyone can get out in time. Instead of watching in horror and standing completely motionless, Julius snaps into action and begins quickly descending from the cliff side yelling "Come on! We have to help!" with that, the three leaders follow him down as they rush to help get people out of the rubble trapping them beneath the water. Julius reaches the spot and dives beneath the water, clearing the heavy rubble off of as many people as he can. Many escape death from drowning but to Julius' terror, he cannot save everyone and is force to watch the last moments of some of their lives. Eventually he concedes and comes back to shore. Romios then looks up at the Pirate cliff side where he can see the Captain furiously revolting with whom he has left. The remaining Pirates on the cliff begin firing arrows down at the wounded, Romios orders the counterattack "Return fire! explosive arrows!" A line of Cimmerians stand in front of the wounded and begin firing the explosive arrows into the Pirate camps on the cliff. Overwhelmed, the captain jumps off the cliff side and into the water. The impact of the jump leaves the captain badly wounded as he is washed ashore. Julius stands in front of him with his sword drawn fiercely, the captain looks up at him with fury in his eyes "YOU!!!" Julius doesn't savour the moment and finishes off the captain's life, then returns to the wounded.''

''A few hours later, Julius and Romios are waiting by the same spot where the summit happened. They are silent as they try to take in what happened, terrified that the outcome of the battle would tarnish the alliance they had worked very hard to build in spite the odds. The chosen of Sobek and the nord leader return, the chosen speaks first; "The armies of our people extend their gratitude to you, had you not ordered the retreat when you did, the death toll in the ship would have been far more staggering." The nord leader adds; "Aye, not to mention the lives ye saved under the water". Romios chimes in "Even with the collapse of the ship, they certainly proved they can work together well. There was surprisingly no word of any treachery or villainy." Julius nods gently but doesn't hide the fact that he's not proud of this victory in his expression. The nord leader approaches him "Lad, don't let the lives we lost get ye down. The reality of command is that ye gotta prepare yourself to lose somethin. People, possessions, a piece of yourself...ye just never know" Julius stands up and faces away from the three leaders in thought, silence fills the air for a minute until Julius finally turns around with a grim look. "No more raids gentlemen...An act of faith is one thing but it wasn't worth it to lose lives before we can even fight the real enemy, the very reason we are fighting together in the first place. Gather your people and use everything you've got to treat the wounded and keep everyone sustained and healthy, then await my call for when the time comes to face the riders." The Chosen and the nord leader both bow nod and depart. Romios looks at Julius with an intrigued expression. Julius knows just from his look what question he wants to ask to which he responds with a baritoned voice. "They are ready".''