Emergency Meeting

"This is outrageous!" Chief Gar yelled to the other members of the Chiefs Council. "Not even two decades have passed since the last offering was given, they can't expect us to gather so much wealth so quickly."

Chief Puula interjected, "But if we don't comply, then what will become of us? That bird said that it would be counted as treason to the new Regional King, is that what you want?"

The chiefs each took turns debating their stances on the demands of the recently appointed King Portro as Rathe only spoke to keep the chiefs from getting unruly. In the end, none wished to follow the order, but all feared the wrath of the new King Portro. After over an hour of going back and forth, all the chiefs turned to Rathe and the gorilla clan.

No matter what they wanted, they needed to acknowledge the opinion of their territory's ruler. The cleansing of the wildebeest clan was still fresh in their minds, causing them to fear the gorillas almost as much as the new king himself.

After taking a deep breath and gathering his thoughts, Rathe said, "We will follow the orders given to us. Fontu and I will leave at dawn to begin our journey towards the capital."

"And what about the offering?" Chief Gar questioned, wanting to know how the gorillas planned to come up with the money.

"We'll take care of that, so don't worry about it," Rathe answered. He raised his hands to the chiefs to relieve any pressure or thoughts of him taking the chiefs' wealth by force. "As for our plans for Iron Town we'll make some adjustments, but we'll keep moving forward."

"All you young masters better be ready, we have a strict attendance policy at Iron Academy," Vloz spoke up and glanced towards the youths in the room. "I hope to see you all tomorrow morning at the opening ceremony."

With that, Vloz and Rathe stood up, signaling to everyone that the meeting was over. The chiefs were surprised and relieved to know that not only are the gorillas handling the offering on their own but that they didn't plan to slow down Iron Town's development at all. Some chiefs gathered together to chat and share opinions. Others, like Chiefs Gar and Puula, simply led their children out and left for home.

"Oli!" the anxious Yeter immediately asked his friend, "How are you guys going to do it? Grandpappy said that a territorial offering is huge! He said there's one territorial offering every hundred years. And, it's usually made with most of the treasure from our clans' offering to the territory ruler ever twenty-five years. How are you going to do it?"

"Give the boy some space," Chief Hollen brushed up against his grandson. "Oli, you don't need to tell him anything. Your clan's affairs don't need to be shared with any of us here, especially not this bigmouth brat who can't keep a secret."

"Hey! I can too!" yelled Yeter.

"Really?" replied Oli with a hesitant glare.

"Well…" Yeter slowed himself down, trying to not talk too much. "What about tomorrow? Are you ready for the opening ceremony?"

Oli and Hollen both laughed as Yeter changed the subject. Hollen added, "This grandson of mine is too excited, he won't stop telling everyone how he earned the advanced novice class' fourth seat. He just wants to show off for everyone, don't you think?"

"He has reason to be excited," Oli laughed. "Tomorrow will be an eye-opener for everyone."

Both Yeter and Hollen paused to look at Oli. Hearing that from Oli meant that everyone was in for a surprise, one that no one would want to miss. Yeter tried to ask more about it but was quickly led away by Hollen. Soon everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Rathe traveled together Vloz and Oli towards Ania's house, who had stayed behind to prepare a feast fit for her son, the Iron Academy Novice Champion. And with Rathe leaving at sunrise, she also hoped to eat one last meal together. "Finally, I get to eat!" yelled Rathe.

"You're as impatient as ever," Vloz shook his head at his longtime best friend before looking to Oli at his side. "So, how are you doing with all this? You didn't know either did you?"

Oli, like everyone else in the gorilla clan, was shocked to hear that Trada was the Regional King at the time. Of course, everyone realized that the wealth given to them by Trada must've been a part of the previous offering.

What most didn't know, was that Oli had the rest of it hidden within his void ring.

Once he heard that she was the former king and realized that he had the wealth of all the territorial offerings, he had mixed feelings. He was excited to finally have a good idea of its value and was eager to use it to his advantage. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty for causing trouble to an entire region and forcing everyone to put forth another offering, but he could live with it knowing that he can provide for his family and himself without too much worry.

"I had no clue. Now I know why she had so much treasure on hand, but it's hard to believe that a Regional King could be forced into such a terrible situation like hers," said Oli.

"Anything is possible, don't forget that," lectured Vloz. "No matter how strong you are or how much power your title bears, there is always someone stronger and more powerful than you. Think about it, if Trada was a regional king, then what was Brak?"

Speechless at the thought, Oli started to understand the power-driven rulers of the world. He also began to imagine himself becoming a Regional King, now knowing that he was already enemies with one. His drive to grow stronger would grow more rooted thanks to those thought-provoking words Vloz gave him.

"Don't overthink this, though. You're nowhere near ready to start aiming for the title of Regional King," Vloz understood how Oli thought and tried to bring him back to reality. "First, aim to graduate Iron Academy, and then you wanted to become the mortal champion like your father, right?"

This let Oli's train of thought start to return its course. "Of course! If my father did it, then I have to. It'd be a shame to him if I couldn't do that much."

"Good, keep that as your target. After you become the mortal champion, then you can rethink your plan. By then, you'll know enough to understand what's best for you," Vloz stared into Oli's eyes, penetrating the young ape's will power.

"For now, focus on school. Only with the strongest foundation will you be able to build yourself up, so aim for the top seat and graduate knowing that you'll be able to compete for the mortal championship."

"You got it, Vloz," Oli agreed and let his hunger to grow stronger burn at an all-time high.

"Hurry up you two, or I won't leave you anything!" Vloz and Oli were both startled to hear Rathe yelling from far ahead of them at Ania's front door.

Not wasting a second, they both sprinted and made it inside just as the food was being served.