The Kosmairians control the dividing river in Keceo. Control is probably not the correct word. "Were given" is more appropriate.
Historians know that, at one point, they defended the river with great vigor—a mark on the land that clearly divided one ruler from the other. The Kosmairians were described as warriors to be feared and avoided.
In this modern era, their forces are a fifth of what they used to be. Instead of resorting to violence, they've learned diplomacy to achieve their goals. Kosmairian rulers have long renounced their kingly titles and become vassals to the King of the Sylvians—a concept only adopted by the DeMeteors much later.
Much like a tree that has lost its leaves, the Kosmairians were defenseless to the overwhelming blizzard that was the Sylvians. In the modern era, House Sylvian firmly established itself as the pinnacle of military strength and magical understanding, a position no kingdom should contest. With the Kosmairians becoming the smallest empire after once being the largest, their people have suffered a blow to their ego that would've surely destroyed lesser kingdoms in an instant.
Excerpt from The Modern Militant Era
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"I can't wait to kick your fucking ass, Jonesy."
Strangulation leapt from the balcony, sending a whirlwind of sand into the air as she collided with the ground. Her black cape billowed as she removed it, and it fell to the silver sand below her. Strangulation's prosthetic arm was revealed. It glowed a dark red. A sword of a matching color manifested that was twice her size.
"I'd like to see you try, General."
Jonesy smirked, but deep down, he knew how powerful his opponent was.
Gwyn sat beside the tenth Chosen One on a balcony separate from the Great Eight. The tenth crossed his legs as he read a book, completely uninterested in the events unfolding below him. Mr. Keeper was nowhere to be seen.
The stadium was in an uproar, and where Gwyn sat was probably the second-best seat in the house, next to the Great Eight themselves. She looked around and saw a hooded figure conversing with Archimedes, who seemed to be staring directly at her.
The book that Einstein carried was now calm and composed. It appeared to be as excited for the fight as the red octopus man. Einstein's tentacles writhed chaotically. The DeMeteor section chanted his name.
Di 'Vinci unsheathed his sword, and it alit with blue lightning. He roared like the tigers Gwyn was familiar with. The Kosmairian section of the stadium cheered even louder.
Jonesy, the last contestant, put on his catalyst, two brass knuckle dusters. He punched his fists, and they became like jagged pillars of crackling obsidian. Jonesy was aligned with no house; only the seventh Chosen One. She clapped daintily for her champion.
This was a three-on-one. Three Chosen Ones against one Whisperer, but not just any Whisperer. Whisperer Strangulation. General of the Kosmairian army.
The King observed the audience, who were all on the edge of their seat. He raised a hand, and when it dropped.
"Begin!"
Strangulation, Di 'Vinci, and Jonesy all leapt towards one another to the center of the arena, while Einstein sent himself skyward.
"Rose explosion, thousands of petals."
Einstein began a lengthy incantation. His tome shone like the sun itself.
The three melee combatants collided in the center of the arena. The Chosen Ones' strategy was to keep Einstein protected long enough to cast a powerful spell. To their chagrin, he hadn't described what the spell was or how it worked to his fellow Chosen Ones.
Di 'Vinci instantly swiped his sword at Strangulation. The blade missed, but lightning bolts painted her body. Strangulation quickly turned and, with a single blow, sent the tiger across the arena.
"Leave no soul to bury, when settled,"
Einstein continued his spell.
Humming rose petals that sounded like struck anvils started to manifest, floating weightlessly in the arena.
Jonesy punched Strangulation in the gut, a deafening sound of metal crunching under pressure startled the spectators. Several covered their ears.
Strangulation was unbothered. She shortened her blade and impaled Jonesy. This is what he desired. Jonesy's punches were now a blinding flurry. Each time, the crackling obsidian seemed to pierce her armor.
Strangulation couldn't feel his attacks.
"Is that all you have, Jonesy? Did we replace our twenty-first with a wet noodle, perhaps?"
Despite Strangulation's insults to her least favorite person, probably ever, Einstein's incantation continued.
"Engulf this chaos with bubbling power."
The multi-colored rose petals started to shift like boiling water.
Her sword disappeared, and a tornado of fire engulfed him.
From where Gwyn sat, the heat was unbearable. She couldn't imagine how hot it was for the blue alien man.
Jonesy continued his onslaught until he could bear the heat no longer.
"To destroy them all, within the hour."
Jonesy had momentarily retreated. Strangulation looked up at Einstein; she instantly teleported in front of him, unfazed. He continued his incantation.
Her massive blade manifested, and she swung through him, cutting him in half. Or so she thought. Suddenly, there were hundreds of red octopus men floating in the arena and continuing the incantation.
"They tick, and tick, and tick, then boom!"
To her surprise, Strangulation faltered, and Di 'Vinci leapt from the silver sand below and collided with Strangulation. They pressed up against the barrier protecting the spectators. One layer shattered. Then two.
Is that barrier going to hold?
Gwyn was ready to plan an exit.
"You've gotten such a big head, General."
Di 'Vinci's blade pierced her through. Utilizing a wound Jonesy had created in her armor. Black-and-white lightning bolts struck Strangulation, illuminating the arena in monochrome.
The massive crowd cheered at the spectacle.
Strangulation roared and held the blade with her prosthetic catalyst. It glowed a deep red as she bent the metal of Di Vinci's claymore, trapping the blade within her body.
"A single strike to plan their doom."
Thousands of rose petals filled the arena from the silver dirt below to the crystal ceiling. Their ringing noise turned to a ticking sound like a clock.
Di 'Vinci tried to cast to remove his blade, but Strangulation teleported again, slamming both her fists into his skull, sending him spiraling to the ground.
"Like the wheels of time, they soon will find,"
Strangulation let out a burst of red fire, engulfing every single clone of Einstein, yet only some vanished, and those that did, exploded in a viscous black substance.
"Gods, you're so fucking slimy."
Strangulation whipped her hand as she was coated in a black goo.
Jonesy saw an opportunity and punched Strangulation. To the naked eye, it appeared to be a singular strike; in reality, it was over a thousand times. His fists would manifest and change into different weapons with each strike.
"That fire, ash, and death are mine."
The pink petals turned black as their luster faded, seeming to absorb the light around them.
Strangulation eyed the petals with some worry. Einstein had been casting for too long. This had outgrown her ability. She must end this soon.
Gwyn stared at the fight before her, wondering if the arena was going to be able to contain whatever was about to happen. Arms reached around her neck, and Elise pulled herself close to the young woman.
"Sorry for what happened," Elise whispered.
Gwyn leaned into her touch.
Strangulation shouted in frustration, being berated by hundreds of blows a second, and the weight of Di 'Vinci's catalyst lodged in her side was throwing off her balance.
She shouted and grabbed Di 'Vinci's blade. She channeled a protective shell of magic. Lightning bolts crackled from its surface.
"To control, to swallow."
The voice was omnipresent in every spectator's mind, including the contestants. Strangulation floated in her protective barrier as Jonesy cast a spell of his own.
"Piercing pike's pummeling power punishing prosthetic person's!"
A jagged pike manifested in his arms as he rattled off his prepared seven-word alliteration spell. The manifested weapon shattered the lightning barrier, and since it was explicitly targeted at Strangulation, who wore an arm prosthetic, it was more effective than it would have been on anyone else.
Strangulation had accounted for this. Knowing who the blue alien man was. When her barrier shattered, it exploded, sending the force of Jonesy's attacks back at him.
Einstein nearly faltered at the sight of his comrade being sent to the sand below.
"Their bones will hollow."
Strangulation was exhausted. She looked around; only one instance of Einstein remained, and he was trembling. She launched towards him, but a force held her back.
Di 'Vinci held his hand out as he used gravity magic to stop Strangulation from advancing.
"I'll grind them to dust and pulp."
A moment of panic, Strangulation knew the lengthy incantation had to be nearly finished. Einstein spoke slowly and dramatically to enhance the power of the spell; he's known to be one of the most powerful Orate's. This performance was not one she could allow to be finished.
All Einstein needed was his fellow Chosen Ones to hold her off for a few more moments.
She turned her head and looked at Di 'Vinci, who was grinning weakly, his white and black fur stained with blood.
She knew he was using some magic as the blade spun and twisted within her body. She felt the blade pull towards him; she resisted. But then it was obvious. She stopped and was instantly upon him.
He yelped in surprise as her blade cut him through. She teleported to where Einstein held true. She raised her giant red blade one last time, slamming down onto Einstein. However, his catalyst blocked the blow.
"And extinguish all hope."
The rose petals weightlessly floated. All ticking had ceased.
Petals covered the arena in a flowery fog. They blossomed into one another; infinite colors filled the arena.
Then they burst.
"You've lost, General."