Chapter 5: The Agreement
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Inside the great hall, Bullock remained quiet; her eyes remained closed as she spoke somberly of her mother's death to the great giant Kaldos. Dragon king Ezekiel sat there, lost in thought, then asked Bullock in a calming tone of voice:
"So… Bullock, may I ask, how long have you been in battle with this clan of giant cannibals?"
Bullock turned back towards him, her face still covered in shadow:
"It started when I was a young girl, and my mother taught me of our clan's history and the connections we had with the other great giants. She would speak of how, during her time, war and strife were the norm and battles happened constantly; she was one of the few who wanted to maintain peace and show that there was more to us giants than simply being wild warmongers."
Bullock remained silent for a brief moment
before continuing what she'd needed to say:
"My mother during that time had an arch-enemy named Kaldor, the one I brought up in conversation earlier. He was a violent great-giant of enormous strength and resilience, capable of toppling planets with only a few blows & shaking whole solar systems, even reaching galaxies, as the very sound of his voice alone echoed with thunderous applause. So his name was not only a threat but also a source of great power to his fellow bone-eater clan members.
He and my mother battled many times, with some clashes ending in a tie. In contrast, others ended with them being scared or near death, as he truly was hard to kill but not impossible, as my mother came close to taking his life in two different significant battles against one another. "
Ezekiel mind lingered on the stories being
told, every word absorbing into his thoughts.
"If that's the case, Bullock, did your mom ever manage to scar that damn beast permanently?"
She thought for a few seconds, sitting in a deep silence, then responded with an answer for him:
"Kaldor still lives, but before my mother fought to her last breath, dying in battle, she managed to permanently damage him by utilizing a divine instrument and a strong use of her trigger ability, striking his right arm, then pulling the blade upward through his body as described in the old written texts, directly cutting it off and losing his eye in the process, causing him immense damage and sending Kaldor into critical condition and causing him to retreat and be gone for what has been a few thousand years.
After she passed, I was being watched by the last of her royal guardsmen who'd survived the war and were training me in the way of fighting for 100 years of my early life; then, after that, I was taught the history my mother left behind for me to know just in case of her death, which has led me to the agreement I've been wanting for the last few centuries."
Ezekiel's eyebrow perked up as Bullock noticed flames forming around his hollow energy aura, feeling a sense of tension and thinking she might cheat him. However, moments later, he was reassured by Bullock as she reached out her hand again and said in an honest tone:
"The agreement is simple: I want you and me to finish off the remains of Kaldor and make sure that he can never recover his strength again."
Ezekiel remained still, letting his thoughts ramble through his mind, as the main reason he had come to meet Bullock in the first place was the possibility of allying with giants; if he did, he would gain a significant ally.
"I'll do it… Giantess Bullock. But under the condition that we have no qualms amongst our races and that this alliance can be called upon when the time comes for us to fight against a greater threat."
Bullock nodded in response and swore over her heart as a sign of respect and a formation of what are known as eternal vows, pacts, used from one person to another, causing her chest to glow with an ethereal light of hollow energy. "The eternal vow is now sealed."
After that moment, Ezekiel leaned back, rubbing his scaled chin in thought, and asked in an even tone of voice to Bullock:
"Now that we've bound ourselves to the established vow and formed this pact of mutual trust, where will Kaldor be hiding? I mean, think of it? He's been silent for what you said has been at least four thousand to five thousand years minimum, and that's not accounting for the possibility of other allies he himself may have."
Bullock then raises her hand, showcasing an old but well-detailed map of what seems to be a massive planet deep within the great giants' realm, and slowly passes it to Ezekiel.
"This is a detailed map of the planet Kaldor has been holding up for the last five thousand years, one of the few things we managed to acquire in a large-scale skirmish against one of his former generals, whom we killed and took it from, of course.
In two days, we will embark across the opposite side of the great giant realm where desert planets & burning black suns float high up; Kaldor will be on the most northern planet of Star Cluster Omega."
Bullock & Ezekiel walk down another long hallway and enter a large room with two separate chambers, guards standing on each side of the hall carrying greatswords and shields. The guards turned to the two entering the hall and immediately bowed out of respect for their sovereign ruler, Bullock, and her guest dragonking Ezekiel.
"As ordered by your words, Ruler Bullock, we've prepared two rooms for each of you to stay in next to the gateway that'll be powered up and activated by the time you both depart in two days time."
Ezekiel felt compelled to ask after hearing that they will be spending two days in this secluded area with only the few guards standing by:
"Bullock, for what reason do we need to wait this long in the first place? I should've asked this question a bit sooner, but if you want to take care of Kaldor, why wait?"
The giantess's face remains calm & firm, and she says in an even but careful tone of voice:
"We need as much rest as possible, and for us to battle Kaldor, we should be at our fullest strength. Alongside that, I have a plan in which we will strike him during the height of morning black sun, as one of his main weaknesses is that of heat; we will use it to bring him into the light and fight him there without aid of his fellow clan members."