Princess Takiyasha's Arc

Chapter 1 of 10

Princess Takiyasha rode her runic toad through the moonlit swamp, her naginata across her lap, hunting an army she did not yet have. Her father's throne belonged to the alligator king now. To take it back, and to earn the hand of Kazuto Infernus, she needed warriors sworn to her. Tonight she had none. A princess without a single champion was just a girl talking to frogs. An olive-green warrior crouched on the muddy bank ahead. A massive blade rode across his back. He watched her toad's blue runes with cold, calculating eyes and did not bow. This was Krogg Marshblade, the finest swordsman in the marsh, and everyone knew he served no one but himself. "Nice frog," Krogg said. He smirked. "Lost, princess?" "I am gathering warriors," Takiyasha said. "Swear to me, and you fight to break the alligator king." Krogg spat into the pool. "Better warriors than me have died screaming his name. Why would I follow a stray with pretty hairpins?" Before she could answer, the water erupted. A giant leaped from the mire, eight feet of mottled, dripping muscle. Grokmaw Swallower, the swamp's apex hunter, landed between them. His throat sacs swelled. He unleashed a croak that shook the reeds and rattled Takiyasha's teeth. He hunted alone, and he had come to eat. Krogg drew his blade but stayed on the bank. "Your fight, princess. Prove those words." Grokmaw lunged. Takiyasha spurred her toad sideways. She swept the naginata low and opened a red line across the monster's thigh. He roared and swung a bone cleaver. She ducked. The blade split the tree behind her. Her toad's runes flared bright, and Takiyasha felt the old fire wake in her chest. She called it out through her horn. Blue flame poured over Grokmaw's face. He clawed at his eyes, blind and screaming. Takiyasha rose in the saddle and drove the naginata deep beneath his jaw. The giant toppled into the black water and did not rise. Silence returned to the swamp. Krogg lowered his sword. He looked at the ripples, then at her. "Huh," he said. He crossed the mud and knelt in it, blade laid flat across both palms. "My sword is yours. I've never seen a hunter drop the Swallower. Where you march, I march." He was not alone. From the treeline stepped a snapping-turtle warrior with a spiked shell and a battleaxe, and beside him a small axolotl traveler leaning on a walking staff. Terradon Shellbreaker planted his axe in the mud. "We watched the whole thing," he said. Coral Mistwalker studied Grokmaw's floating body. "You just killed the one thing that kept the alligator king's scouts out of this swamp," they said quietly. "By dawn, he'll know exactly where you are." Takiyasha looked at the three warriors kneeling in the moonlight. Her first champions, sworn at last. And a hunting party already on its way to find them.