74 Chapter 63: Peace, kind of... 201 CE
As the sun was shining brightly, radiating piercing heat to the people that walked on earth, two armies stood against one another in a rather empty and open savannah. Unlike any armies, the two were of different species, an ape army, and a human army.
The leader of the human army wore a black armour, with a panther helmet. He was holding a decorated spear and a round shield, all looked shiny, while the leader of the ape army was armoured to the brim, but he didn't wear any weapons whatsoever.
Both of the leaders then walked towards each other with their bodyguards. The ape leader brought a couple of apes that were also armoured and armed with spear, while the human army brought women bodyguards that have a red dress as their armour.
The ape army also brought some prisoners. All of them were bald women, they looked like the body guards that were guarding the human leader.
They met in the middle of the battlefield, the guards stared at each other, eyes full of hatred, ready to kill one another.
"Greetings, Wakandan king." said the Gorilla leader.
The human leader, the wakandan king stared at the gorilla leader rather intently before saying. "So you really can speak our language…" he sighed as he took off his helmet. "What are you?"
"I am Grodd." said the gorilla. "King of the apes, Apostle of Eshu and Ifri."
"Eshu and Ifri?" questioned the Wakandan king with a frown. "And they are?"
"Our gods." answered Grodd. "Do not say their names lightly, especially in front of us."
The Wakandan king nodded. "I am T'Chanda, King of Wakanda. Champion of Bast."
Grodd huffs as he takes off his helmet, making the dora milaje alert. But then, Grodd sat on the ground. "Let us talk T'Chanda, king to king, protector to protector."
T'Chanda looked at Grodd, and told the dora milaje to stand down. "Very well." he said as he walked towards him, sitting in front of him.
The image of a giant gorilla sitting in front of a man as an equal was strange to the wakandans, but they could do nothing against it, they had lost a lot of people in this war because of them.
"I want to ask you, why do you attack us?" questioned Grodd calmly. "You killed my brothers, didn't even try to understand them."
T'Chanda sighed in regret. "It was not intentional. Our people have been harassed by the mountain tribe for so long, when they saw you all, they thought of Hanuman, and they bear deep hatred towards them."
"Then why continue the war?" Grodd frowned. "I know what you planned T'Chanda, you wanted to eradicate us."
"To preserve our secrecy." answered T'Chanda calmly. "We Wakandans do not want to involve ourselves with the outside world, and with you discovering us, we risk getting exposed, as you might talk to the others about it."
"Is it because of your vibranium?" questioned Grodd as he took out a small spear tip made out of vibranium, surprising T'Chanda. "A metal this precious could change the world, better the humans, yet you keep this for yourselves?"
"While it could change humanity as a whole, it also draws greed to our lands." answered T'Chanda.
"Aren't you Greedy too? Keeping the Vibranium to yourselves?" refuted Grodd, making T'Chanda frowned.
"It is our right, it is our land." defended T'Chanda.
Grodd hummed. He then took something from his back, it was a bracelet, and when he touched the bracelet, it turned to a spear, a bident to be more specific. "This belongs to our god." said Grodd, stabbing the ground below him using the bident. "It is also made out of Vibranium."
T'Chanda frowned. He inspected the bident, and lo and behold, it is vibranium. "Where did you get it?"
"Like I said, it belongs to our god." answered Grodd.
"He made it?"questioned T'Chanda curiously. It was strange, he felt something else in the bident. "It is a strange thing. This spear appeared from a bracelet? How did he make it? How did he get the Vibranium?"
"He took the vibranium long before you claimed your so-called land." answered Grodd, surprising T'Chanda. "He met my family before he claimed the vibranium, we are older than you, Wakandans."
"Who is your god really?" questioned T'Chanda.
Grodd shook his head. "I cannot say. But she could." he said as he pointed at an ape behind him.
The ape then turned into a human, a woman to be specific. She was dressed like a nobleman of the north, and she carried this pressure of domination, that even T'Chanda would say that it is hard to keep a calm composure in front of her.
"A- Woman?" questioned T'Chanda as the woman stood beside Grodd, resting her hand on his shoulder.
"Well spotted," said the woman sarcastically.
The Dora Milaje then suddenly surrounded Grodd and the woman, alert because of the presence of magic.
"Calm down." said the woman, her voice echoed through the guards' head, and they subconsciously dropped their spears.
T'Chanda was baffled, but he kept a calm composure.
"Who… are you?"
"Me?" the woman smiled. "I am Cleo, the first Apostle of Pluto, or Eshu as Grodd calls him."
"Pluto?" frowned T'Chanda. "Romans? Romans did all this?"
The woman chuckled in amusement as she heard that. "Romans are nothing compared to him. You made a mistake, king of Wakanda. You shouldn't attack his children."
"C-Children?"
"He and his wife taught these apes," said Cleo. "His Children."
"We are his children." repeated Grodd. "We are his followers and apostles. We owe a great debt to Eshu, he who taught us how to speak. We served Ifri, she who taught us how to fight."
"And where are they now?" questioned T'Chanda calmly.
"It isn't your place to ask where they are." answered Cleo coldly. "You are beneath them. If he wants to, they could destroy your cowardly kingdom in a day."
T'Chanda frowned. His people's names were trampled by apes and so called gods, how could he stay still?
"What did you say?" questioned T'Chanda coldly. He stood up, and looked down on them. "We wakandans are in the protection of Bast, who are you to trample our names?"
Cleo, seeing T'Chanda's mental state is now quite unstable, smirked. Her words then echo through T'Chanda's head. "Then let us be at peace."
Something changed inside T'Chanda. He wasn't sure, it was not mind control, but something suddenly changed in an instant inside him…
"Peace?" spoke T'Chanda calmly. "You want peace?"
"Yes." nodded Grodd as he stood up, now he was standing beside Cleo. "We want peace. We have no time to deal with cowardly humans who hide behind their city."
T'Chanda frowned, but somehow he wasn't triggered by Grodd's words.
"Very well. Let us be at peace." answered T'Chanda. "But let me tell you, our people's hatred towards your kind is still at an all time high. You have killed many people in my kingdom."
"I would say the same towards your people, T'Chanda." said Grodd. "But remember, it is your kingdom that attacked us first. It was your fault, not us."
T'Chanda wants to refute, but something inside him prevents it. "Very well, from now on, we are at peace."
Grodd smiled as he huffed. "Let us not meet again then, T'Chanda."
T'Chanda just nodded weakly.
Cleo also smiled. "You can go now."
T'Chanda then turned, and walked back to his people. He was confused, what the hell just happened?
He looked at the retreating Grodd and Cleo, and murmured in his heart. "Bast, protect my people."
—
In the city where the apes gathered, there was suddenly a small mountain of metal behind the king's place. Pluto and Thena were standing in front of it, as if admiring their work.
Grodd walked up to them, and questioned it. "Eshu… what is this?"
Pluto patted Grodd. "Vibranium. Stole some of them from the Wakandans."
"Some… of them?" questioned Grodd again, looking at the mountain of Vibranium ore in front of them.
"Yes, the wakandans still have a lot of it in their mountains." nodded Pluto. "It took a bit of energy to move this rock to here, but I think it's enough for you all, right?"
"It's… for us?" said Grodd, surprised.
"Of course!" exclaimed Pluto. "I don't really need it, think about it as a parting gift for now."
"Thank you! Thank you Es- wait… Parting gift?" Grodd was about to celebrate, but he heard the word 'parting gift' and he changed his attitude completely. "You're… leaving?"
"Well, yes." nodded Pluto. "I still have jobs to do, Grodd. Take care of the apes for me, protect the people around you as well. Train and develop your kind so that you won't get bullied in the future."
Grodd looked at Pluto intently for a second, before he kneeled in front of him. "T-Thank you… O' Eshu. You've helped my kind and saved us from certain death, thank you, from the bottom of my heart."
Pluto just shrugged. "It's no big deal Grodd, in a way, you are all my children, I should be responsible."
"T-Then… may I ask you one final request?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Please… name this place."
Pluto looked at Thena, and smiled. "Why don't you name it?"
"Me?" Thena questioned. "Hmmm…"
She then looked at the apes that were busy doing their things, taking care of the land, and building more huts, expanding the city.
"How about… Apewood?"
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A/N: honestly, I still don't really know what to name the place, Apewood is good enough right? if you have a good name, just comment, I might change it later...
Oh, and review please...
Next up is Gupta and Marriage stuff. just character buildings for everyone.
