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"Expedite all resupply efforts! We have one day to leave safely!" came the bellowing order of the Pheonix samurai as he stood amongst the flurry of activity at the large camp. The young and mangy gryphon ship captain growled darkly and began to advance on the samurai when the male avian offered the hybrid a scroll. "Read before you make any rash decisions..." he said simply as he tried willing the sailors to move faster while the captain took the scroll and read it. The youth paled considerably.

"You heard him! Step lively!" The youth bellowed in his commanding voice. "What in the nine hells were you doing at the camp that attracted Necro Hunters?" the captain asked with barely controlled rage.

"Nothing the Hunters would have been able to piece together without help. Our wolf is far more cunning than I had planned." The phoenix answered.

"Then sort yer planning out better bird. Two more ships should be arriving within the hour to load up as many of our folks and material as they can here, but there will not be near enough room. This place will be a killing field in a day and a half..." he said. The phoenix nodded simply.

"Resupply takes a week, which means we'll have a tenth of the needed rations and fuel to make it to our base on Midraria, at best we'll have a fifth of the needed supplies. That means we'll have t'risk attacking another ship to get more supplies. I'm thinking this wolf might be a better planner than ya think..." the captain said. Another nod from the phoenix. The captain sighed. "Seeing as how we're doomed, how about ye give me a better idea of what we're up against." The avian, nodded.

"Ceberune Onyxcalw. Lord of Vulpacha Estate, now Onyxclaw Estate. Grandmaster of the East, Ronin and lonewolf. Training for the Grandmaster title takes a minimum of ten years for Pheonix. The wolf finished in five. He is classified as a Ronin because he serves no lord or the empire. The phoenix army has five threat levels on a battlefield. A class 5 threat is an unarmed mob. Unruly but easily handled by a much smaller unit. Class 4 is a typical militia or ashigaru unit. Farmers trained to fight as one. Class three are fully trained and equipped military units. Most infantry is class 3. Class 2 threats are elite units like cavalry and magic backed units. Class one threats are units that support or are considered part of the headquarters unit. Very dangerous. Individuals generally never rate above a four on the field if they are separated from their units. The highest recorded non-dragon individual were early necromancers, weighing in at threes and twos as they could literally raise their units around them at a moment's notice. Ghosthunters are considered rank 2 individually, rank one if they work as groups. Dragons generally never make it above a two. The Emperor is considered the only recorded individual level 1 threat on a field of battle. The wolf you saw has already rated a level two individually in theoretical combat tactics. Now with practical observation He would rank a one. He commands Earth as if he was trained in it. Grandmasters cannot normally do that as their training is with the Void. Mastery of a single element rates a two as you can control entire swaths of a battle field individually. With Earth he could literally create bottlenecks to funnel enemy troops to him alone or to numerically inferior units, he could deny immediate passage to armies, or set devastating traps for units. Should he continue to grow in power, they will need to create a special threat level just for him. Nevermind if he has support from an army."

The captain shook his head. "What ever made ye think that trying to take'im was a good idea?"

Kado shook his head, his beak clacking. "I did not think it was a good idea. I am carrying out the will of my clan master."

The captain chuckled. "Bushido and all that bilge eh? Well, I think yer clan master just shook one helluva hornets nest. Particularly if he had any hand in the death of the Estate's former nobility." He said.

"My clan master did not have a hand in that. That contract came from a surprising avenue. I fear that has only made the wolf more dangerous. Now, not only does have his own drive to learn what he is capable of, he has a death to seek justice for. Her death also prevented a possible stunting of his power growth, which I believe was the main intention of the assassination. Furthermore, her death gives the wolf a base of operations, access to his own legal army, and a source of income. Would that Machiavelli could witness this and smile at the web weaved for this wolf."

The hybrid quirked an eyebrow. "Who?"

The avian chuckled. "A long dead prince who lived on our home world. He was the first truly famous courtier. A truly good courtier remains behind the scenes manipulating. A puppet master. The wolf does not have the stomach for courtly maneuvers. But those around him do. His friends would be a weak point, if they did not have their own hefty threat levels."

The captain quirked an eyebrow. "Really? This sounds like a right dangerous group t'be pissing off."

Kado sighed. "I am not sure you know the half of it. Bianca Lepomadre, Princess in the Magocracy. A certified Sage and master of lightning. Rumor has it that if she wanted, she could become ruler of the Magocracy in the traditional mage duel or through courtly maneuvers, whichever method she wished. Bomani Rajkosey, High Priest in the Order of War faring from the Bsani Dunes. He would be one of the three Generals at the side of the Queen there if he had decided to become a warrior. Instead he is a gentle giant of a Bsani. He is a master of herbal and divine healing. He is likely the main reason why the wolf still lives and, much to my chagrin, I owe him a life debt. On top of that he is a fierce combatant and a warrior in his own right. Chiko Akahoshi, Ghosthunter, heir to the Akahoshi clan. Where Bianca is the plotter and record keeper, She is the investigator and face of the group. Add her courtly skills to her impressive anti-necromantic magics and dragon taught fighting style and like other Ghosthunters, she rates a two on a battle field."

The captain shook his head. "Sounds bloody daft to be angerin that bunch o folks..."

Kado chuckled. "No argument there. My master was hoping to hit the wolf where it hurt the most and possibly finish him off while he was weakened from the blow. We have a saying in the Kurotoku clan...Whatever does not kill you only makes you stronger. The wolf personifies that now, we hit him where it hurt the most, then attempted the finishing blow. He survived the aftermath and has grown even stronger than my report indicated. He was sent into a sorrow filled rage when word of his beloved was finally brought to him and while he was so weakened one of the more virulent poisons that the Amarok could produce was introduced to his blood via a contact method. Any other individual would be crippled and useless if they had survived what he did. Broken emotionally and physically. For a few weeks it seemed as if he would finally expire, then he woke up, survived his Awakening, and went through some physical therapy for a few weeks to recover. On top of that, he is stronger, faster, and even more clear headed than he was when he arrived here on Daquia."

The captain laughed. "One raid and that wolf has ruined our entire operation. Druids are on alert and hunting for traitors that were accepting our bribes, an entire unit of Necro Hunters have been alerted to all of our camps. Most of our camps have been found and liberated and/or purified. Assuming we survive our flight, yer gonna need to study for years to match up to him in a fight."

The phoenix scoffed. "Fighting him is not on my list of things that need doing. Survival is at the top of that list..." he said standing and moving to lend his back to the sailors moving fuel and supplies onto the ship.

"Aye. That it is. Come on lads. The more we load up now, the longer we can go without getting shot at!" He said as the officers all pitched in.