The Attack on the Citadels ended, a victory for the Granians who were able to defend their property from the enemy later revealed to be a product of the Ethisian’s allies, the Yrrejites.
The Granians fought furiously and together with the Blood Mutants, were able to drive away a few of the enemy forces and kill the majority. The battle, of course, did not come easily for the Granians for they had lost a great deal of their forces. About two-eighths of the Granian forces were killed and buried by their own kind who held burial ceremonies for them.
Aside from losing Granian soldiers, the remaining fleets lost some of their ships and weapons that were raided and destroyed by the mercenary clones and raiders who attacked earlier. Though not great, this loss was still worth noting and was noticed by the higherups.
Lord Grania, the Council Members, and some of the Tribal Leaders caught word of what had happened which led them to summon Grand Master, Gravax, and Lord Grim, the three Granians who were tasked with handling those fleets.
The distance between these three Granians and the higherups was too great so the meeting took place inside the Colonial Ships in Grim’s quarters.
The black-scaled Granian knew well what was bound to be discussed. What he had done was against the rules and endangered the safety of those on the Citadels and the Blood Mutants. Because of his temper, the Granian risked so many lives and the fate of the War for the Granians. For those reasons, he was ready for whatever punishments his Lords and superiors had for him.
"Arise, Grim," Gravax, Grand Master, and Grim knelt in the black-scaled Granian’s quarters; in front of them stood large holographic images of the Council Members, Tribal Leaders, and Lord Grania standing with them. The atmosphere was intense even though none of the said superiors was present. Nonetheless, they understood the gravity of Grim’s situation, and what he had done deserved punishment.
"So, run it through me again, Grim. How is it that twenty thousand of the forces we gave you were not present at the Citadels at the time of the attack?" Chapters fırst released on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
"They were with me, Lord Grania," Grim answered, "We followed after the raiders to their planet and attacked them as a message to any potential enemies in the Universe."
"Oh really?" Grania smirked, his face showing how he was angry but having a laugh at the situation. "And what did you do after that?"
"We killed them and wiped out their forces, my lord."
"The raider and Yrrejite forces, my lord."
"We wiped out the Raider race from their home planet." The rest of the Council Members and Tribal leaders gasped, Lord Grania’s eyes opening wide at the sound of those words. Even Gravax and Grand Master were shocked yet they had already known what happened. Hearing it from Grim himself certainly added a kick to it.
"I see," Lord Grania sighed, took a deep breath, and continued, "Here me well, Grim. What you did was completely careless and downright stupid. You risked the safety of our soldiers, forbade your post, and wiped out an entire race without my blessing, and even though sounds bad, it has struck a great deal of fear across more than half of Akrina.
"What you did has discouraged other races from joining the Ethisians but it has also dwindled whatever hopes we’ve had at trying to rally allies on our side. For that reason, I have revoked all of your duties and titles. You are no longer worthy of the title Lord and have no right of leadership over your fleet. From now on, you serve under Gravax who shall lead your fleet into battle. You are no longer allowed to use any of our resources for your own personal gain without consulting either us or Lord Gravax. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, my lord." the Granian knelt and sighed but in reality, he was relieved that the punishments given were not as grave as he had feared. Even though he was no longer a Lord, he still had a decent number of his privileges, including a right to procreate with his mate who was already heavy and ready to give birth very soon.
"Yes, Lord Grania." Gravax, now given the title Lord, stepped forth and then bowed. The Granian, with great pleasure, grinned a little but felt unaccomplished having the title Lord at the expense of Lord Grim’s mistake. He wished to earn the title through his efforts, not because of someone’s mistake. Still, it was better to have it than not at all, right?
"I give you command over my Grim’s. Your duty is to lead our people to the start of the battle. I am sure by this time you have already seen the Humans at work, yes?"
"Yes, my Lord," Gravax answered, "I believe to have gotten on decent standing grounds with the male Ace Underwood. As we speak, I have reasons to believe that he sees me more as an ally and someone he can trust. I shall do so with the rest."
"Very well done" Grania smiled and summarized before adjourning the meeting. "All remaining fleets have been put in place. The call is now yours to make. Do not displease me and I will give you the title Lord to keep for the rest of your many days. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Lord Grania," Gravax answered, a great sense of pride and joy taking over. Now, the Granian could implement all the ideas he had to lead his people into battle, to win the War and crush their enemies the Ethisians, to win back the title of the Fiercest Warrior Race.
"This meeting is adjourned. Go and fight for your people."
A few minutes passed and word spread out across the First Citadel about Grim’s punishment and Gravax’s promotion. Soon, a divide between the Green Claws and Red Claws on the First Citadel took place with the Green Claws showing their contempt towards Gravax.
The Red Claws, on the other hand, felt superior to the Green Claws because their fearless leader no longer possessed the rank he had. He was now weak in their eyes but still someone worth respecting.
Nonetheless, the Granians were expectant of Gravax, each one waiting to see the type of Warrior he was. Though perceived as calm, collected, and thoughtful by his own people, the other tribes now had their eyes on him, each making their predictions and projecting their ideas on the Granian.
All in all, one thing was clear. A change in the battle tactics had commenced and under the new guidance of Gravax the Red Claw, it was time to see what the Granians would be made to do and what would become of them afterward.