The Great Warlord Kssltuun
The sun rose slowly, its golden rays peeking through the canopy of the jungle trees scattered throughout the great city of Thookulsk, capital of the Klthsstkl Empire. The hoots, clicks and hisses of Sskltheen life echoed amongst the disjointed, colourful pyramids of all sizes that made up most of the buildings within the city. As varied in size and form as the pyramids were the Sskltheen themselves. Patrols of Warriors floated through the busier streets, holding spears adorned with colourful feathers proudly, though only the more common sub-castes seemed to be relegated to street-duty; more specialised sub-castes were reserved for warfare alone. A number of Lifters, ten metre tall armoured floating beasts with four long tentacles as thick as large tree trunks drifted over the pyramids beneath, many bearing great loads beneath them in their powerful grip. Some tiny Messengers sped through the air, dodging everything in their path with small, graceful changes of direction. Many other castes made their way through the morning air of the city, creating a chaotic scene that did seem to have some hidden, underlying pattern to it that made it all somehow work.
Kssltuun moved quickly down a large boulevard, ignoring all the Sskltheen around him as they wordlessly floated out of his way. As a member of the important Warlord sub-caste of Warriors, he was, and always had been responsible for leading the armies of the Klthsstkl to war. Fortunately for the Klthsstkl, Kssltuun was one of the most capable Warlords in generations, and his revolutionary ideas had taken the Klthsstkl from a small kingdom to a powerful regional empire with a strategic and technological advantage over its neighbours. He was very highly regarded amongst his people, and they showed him respect above even what an average Warlord would be owed. He was still relatively young at 43, and had around a century longer to lead Sskltheen Warriors into glorious battle. However, as every Warlord learned early, he could not always be fighting. There were other, less joyous tasks to be done. Right now, he was on the way to entreat with the Klth, the ruler of the Klthsstkl Empire, in order to get his proposals for further reforms to the army turned into reality before the upcoming conquests. He continued to float past pyramids until the palatial Grand Pyramid rose before him.
The Warriors guarding the entrance were of the powerful Slayer sub-caste, they had two long tentacles with large natural blades on the end that were capable of piercing right through the thick sac-plates of another Warrior in one blow, a feat that few things in the world were capable of. Regardless, they deflated their sacs and descended in submission as he passed by them. He soared into the entrance chamber, and some smaller Attendants hooted as they hurried him into the Royal Hall. He rose up to eye his surroundings, and sighted the Klth and her breeding partner anchored by a tentacle to a large decorated bronze pole in the middle of the room. The Klth was a sight to behold. Apart from the enormous Lifters, the Royal caste was the largest, and easily the most dangerous in combat. The Klth was the largest of her family, and had taken the throne by force with the help of Kssltuun two decades ago. Despite her unending respect and gratitude for his help, Kssltuun still found himself feeling uneasy around her immense bulk and strength. Around the sides of the room, various administrative castes danced through the air performing unknowable work, while motionless Slayers floated in each corner.
The Klth screeched loudly. “Kssltuun, my most trusted and gifted Warlord, I hear you have plans for me to approve?” The tone was friendly, but Kssltuun still felt uneasy. He supposed that Sskltheen of all castes naturally felt fear towards their Klth, as a being commanding as much power as that needed to have some form of biological control over her subjects. The thought soothed the battered pride of a Warlord that feels the fear it is meant to shun.
“Yes, my Klth,” he whistled. “I believe I have invented the means to move our armies swiftly and efficiently as a unit along with all the requisite supplies, and to provide effective leadership on the battlefield, all using the natural capabilities of a number of different castes.” He exhaled a quick hoot of enthusiasm. “We simply need to build a number of simple bamboo constructions, and train some castes not accustomed to combat to keep their nerve in battle, but given the abundance of bamboo stems all over our empire, and the resilience of our people, I believe it should be a simple and inexpensive matter.” He let off a crooning cry to show he had finished speaking and was respectfully waiting for his ruler to make a decision, when the Klth pushed out from the pole it was holding and brushed a tendril along the armoured sac of the Warlord.
“Come Kssltuun, show me your ideas.” She softly hissed, and Kssltuun quickly descended to start showing her his designs.
***
It took many years, but Kssltuun felt satisfied with his work. The army was now changed, a mobile, fortified unit capable of surprising, overwhelming and slaughtering their opposition. A large number of lightweight but sturdy bamboo structures had been built, within which were areas for storing supplies, lookout posts and rooms with poles for resting Sskltheen to anchor during transit. These structures were in turn carried high in the air by giant Lifters, with larger structures being carried by more of the gravity-defying beasts. Tough leather hides wrapped around the outside of these skyships, providing those within with yet more security and protection against the wind. There were many skyships carrying large numbers of troops, bolstered by the enforced breeding of more warriors that had coincided with the military reforms, giving Kssltuun a whole extra division with which to conquer his enemies. The skyship that Kssltuun himself commanded was the flagship, specially designed and staffed to float over a battle, providing him with a complete overview of the combat while allowing him to send out swarms of Messengers to hastily carry his orders where needed. Other, lesser Warlords acted as his tacticians, helping him plan and lead each battle while allowing him to focus on the bigger picture.
Yes. This time he wouldn’t need years to pacify conquered territory and rebuild an army. This time he would be unstoppable.
***
The city of Uulthss was moderately sized, the capital of a small Sskltheen Klthdom that focused mainly on trading along the river it was built around. Its Royals had heard of the expansion of the Klthsstkl through its Traders, and had ordered the Warriors to give up the tradition of bare-tentacled fighting to prevent their destruction during the next expected wars of aggression. While there was resistance, the logic was as sound as the situation was dire, so they complied. Spears were built as quickly as they could be, in the hopes that Uulthss would be able to halt the Klthsstkl tide.
Warriors floated through the jungle around the city, pulling themselves along from tree to tree with their tentacles, having short, hooting conversations and occasionally rising above the treeline to spy at the horizon. Dawn was finally coming, and the view would be far more interesting than the black that they saw all night. As the first rays of sunlight became visible through the leaves, one Warrior ascended to gain a glimpse of the warming sun. It pushed through the branches, and looked out, ready for a calming scene. Instead, what it saw only made it feel more alarm than it ever had before. A fleet of ‘skyships’ held underneath a swarm of Lifters was swiftly moving towards the city, and was only a few minutes away. The Warrior screeched in alarm, and was joined by its patrol as the rest of their number emerged from the canopy to see what was happening. As if to taunt them, the sound of elated hoots and bellowing calls could suddenly be heard from the approaching invasion force as it methodically neared the settlement.
The Warriors of Uulthss pulled back to regroup with their caste-brethren, and when the enemy fleet neared, it found itself facing a large airborne pack of spear adorned warriors whistling defiance. The great bamboo ships above them seemed to slow as Messengers darted between the craft, until the smaller troopships began descending while the command and supply ships rose into the sky. Sskltheen Warriors poured out of the troopships, adopting well-practiced formations and ensuring their spears and shields provided adequate protection from their less prepared foes. They advanced in units, as heavy boulders from supply ships that had floated above began raining down onto the Uulthss forces. A number of Warriors of Uulthss found their sacs damaged by the barrage, and sank uselessly to the ground as they watched the boulders stop while the enemy Warriors moved in for the kill. They were far more efficient killers, used to their weapons and capable of using them, and their technical skill allowed them to focus on deflating their weakened opponents where possible in order to keep them alive for use as future soldiers and breeding stock, though the thick armour of the gas sac meant that many still had to be killed, despite the incredible advantage the Warriors of Klthsstkl enjoyed.
After another hour of fighting, a detachment of Slayers forced their way into the Grand Pyramid of Uulthss and slew the Royals within in an orgy of bloodshed and violence, and once a few of their number emerged alive and soaked in Royal blood, the Warriors of Uulthss lay down their arms and surrendered in shame, hoping to find some glory in their newfound service to a new Klth. The Warriors of Klthsstkl, excluding a few units sent to patrol the city, returned to their troopships, quickly attached the landing supports and landed them all in a field to bivouac for the night, while the great Warlord Kssltuun wrote a missive detailing the stupendous success of his reforms in their first action, and felt a strong sense of pleasure as he handed it to the nearest Messenger to take back the capital.
He was right. Nothing could stop him.