Chapter Text
Twelve empires rule over the known world – empires with vastly different people, with various beliefs and morals, and twelve rulers who perfectly represent those people, beliefs and morals. It is only natural that, among these twelve, some will be great allies and friends. Some will not be able to get along at all, who will go through life as enemies, whose empires may or may not be at war during their lifetimes. Rivals, through thick and thin, until they usher in the apocalypse.
When neutrality is no longer seen as a viable option for the one nation that claimed it, one might conclude something is wrong.
The Overgrown and the Ocean Empire had always been allies. They both were allied to the Codfather and therefore to one another. Though they were on friendly terms, they could get along the least among the Codfather Alliance. What bigger separation exists but the one between land and sea? Not only its geographical location, but cultures were widely different. to the point that the Codfather himself sometimes became their mediator, as the swamp was where land and sea met. But even then, they could get along to some degree. So what changed?
The Dragon died. Pixlriffs, swayed by Xornoth’s lies, had convinced his allies that the Dragon needed to die. The Codfather was firmly on his friend’s side, and so was everyone else. Everyone but Lady Katherine, a champion of peace and neutrality. Her very neutrality led her to side with those who wanted to protect the Dragon and to keep her alive. Queen Lizzie saw this as a betrayal of their trust and loyalty.
That’s where the chasm between these two emperors began. The corruption made their relationship even worse. It is often whispered that the old gods of their countries took personal offense at the rivalry. They say that, when Lady Katherine and Queen Lizzie finally reconciled, the ocean recoiled at the Ocean Queen's decision and the land tried to move away from the ocean. Nobody can tell what caused these catastrophic events, but this theory is widely accepted.
One could argue that the rulers of Mythland and Crystal Cliffs should get along. Both are members of the Wither Rose Alliance, along with the Grimlands and Gilded Helianthia. Both have an affinity for arcane magic, tied to their homelands and heritage. The rulers of these empires, however, were only barely able to stay in the same room for longer than their responsibilities mandated, much to the annoyance of their allies.
The main issue that defined the relationship between King Sausage and the Wizard Gem was the magic.
Magic naturally thrived in the Crystal Cliffs. While not the only magical empire out there, their magical education was number one in their corner of the world and their graduates became the most powerful spellcasters of their generation. Wizard Gem herself was one such spellcaster, having learned through years of dedicated study. Even after graduation she sought to learn something new every day. Magic was a beautiful gift, not something to take for granted.
What Sausage was doing, could be seen as taking it for granted. His ambition for magic was not its study or protection, but merely to enrich himself and his kingdom. He might have phrased it as making his kingdom more beautiful with enchanted mushrooms and learning a few tricks for visitors, and maybe he truly believed he was doing it for those reasons. Gem could see in his heart, though, for he looked like many a traveler who came to her doorstep and asked for similar gifts: they only sought power, and she was unwilling to grant him that. Sausage did possess the gift of magic - but as with many of these gifts, they had to be nurtured before they could grow into powerful abilities. Gem denied him access to her resources for fear of what might become of him. The King of Mythland took this personally and turned his back on her.
They were capable of working together, still. They had to, as members of the same alliance. That did not mean it would be easy for either side, however. That did not mean that, when they decided to bury the hatchet and come together, their combined magic wouldn’t spell the end of the world.
Out of all the rulers and empires, it might be considered weird that the King of Mezalea and Shrub of the Undergrove did not get along with one another. This feud already had a weird origin. Though King Joel could not be called the instigator, neither could Shrub. The circumstances surrounding their rivalry were strange, mysterious, and could be attributed to a lack of proper communication between the two.
Joel barely left his home empire and was well known for not responding to letters and messages. Only the Queen of the Ocean Empire, who stole his heart, and her brother the Codfather could come close. Shrub thought she recognized a sense of loneliness in this man, who either shut himself out of the world or was too awkward to join. She sympathized with him and decided to visit him.
In Mezalea, she was met with hundreds upon thousands of clay golems, molded from Mezalean earth, all wearing their leader’s face. There were few individuals who did not conform, people of flesh and blood, but they were few and far between. When she brought this up, Joel was snappy, in a bad mood and he sent her away.
Shrub could not fathom how this could have happened. Her home was natural, alive. There were few people, yes, but it was habitable. She had her lords and ladies, the mushrooms they lived in were alive still and provided shelter. Mother Wolf looked over them. Everything lived. Mezaleajust felt empty and dead, despite the presence of these life-like golems. Maybe because these golems all had identical faces.
Some say he’d made a comment that hurt her feelings. If that was the case, he had yet to apologize, if he could even feel remorse. Shrub, though a kind soul, could not stand the insults. They broke off all contact. The worst was that it seemed Joel didn’t care, never seemed to bother to try and reach out and resolve it. So long as he did not seem remorseful, Shrub wouldn’t extend a hand either. Only a trade agreement and the promise to build a safe trade road from Mezalea to the Undergrove (past the Lost Empire) made it possible for them to be in the same room again. When they exited, they had no idea their plans would eventually bring about the apocalypse.
Few rulers were privy to the reason why the Cod Empire emerged in the way it did. They knew that a popular fantasized version of their history was that people climbed out of the depths of the ocean to escape a dangerous threat. These people settled in the marshy lands that bordered the Ocean Empire, where land and sea met, and they built new lives. The salmon, these people claimed, were threatening their people. The salmon, their leader said, was an invasive species and inherently evil, an active nuisance and threat to the Cod, fish and people alike.
When Count fWhip heard these tales for the first time, he did not believe it.
Salmon were a good resource. They had some qualities that worked well with the redstone contraptions the Grimlands were known for. One needed only to look across the streets of any major city to see Salmon Sweepers riding around, cleaning these streets and keeping them immaculate. Lumberjacks did not swing axes, they merely surveyed the salmon mechs that cut down the trees at incredible speeds. Not to mention their extensive use of salmon properties in the Count’s Forge.
The Codfather could not fathom how salmon could be a force for good. Count fWhip wondered why Jimmy’s people were so gullible for hating salmon based on old wives’ tales and why salmon would be a threat towards the Cod. If fWhip had ever tried to act friendly towards the Codfather, Jimmy shot down these attempts because the Count “conspired with the salmon” and therefore could not be trusted.
Their lives and allies further separated these two rulers who could have become allies and maybe friends. More often than not, however, they were on opposite sides of a conflict. More often than not, they glared at one another and let prejudice speak for them.
In the end, when these rulers left prejudice behind them and attempted to collaborate, it could not be. The universe watched and deemed their friendship impossible, to the point of annihilation. One cannot like salmon and cod at the same time, especially not the Codfather and Count fWhip, however much they may have wished to be friends.
Maybe the most frustrating part of being rivals with someone is when that someone doesn't seem to know that is the case. Or, maybe even worse, they are fully aware and are playing up the friendliness just to get a rise out of you.
How could anyone not like Joey? He had it all - wealth, loyal subjects who loved him, a thriving empire. A great export product that people would literally kill each other for if they had the chance. Totems of undying, a way to remain alive after something should have ended it for you. There was no reason for anyone to want to make an enemy out of him and his empire. Yet somehow, it happened. Yet somehow, that person was oblivious or a great actress.
PearlescentMoon of Gilded Helianthia. Asking Joey, he wouldn't be able to pinpoint just what made him consider her a rival, an enemy. He would remember, clear as day, that she had politely refused his offer to exchange her export for his totems. Her people apparently didn't need the totems and she was basically unkillable herself, so she wouldn't need it. Maybe it offended Joey that his one export wasn't needed at all. Maybe it scared him that Gilded Helianthia was so casual about unfortunate and preventable deaths being part of the circle of life.
Whatever the case, Joey couldn’t stand being around Pearl ever since. She did not know - or feigned ignorance - of her insults to his empire by refusing the gifts and their stance on death. Pearl never truly reached out to him, either - their empires were on opposite sides of the world and they barely interacted beyond the communal meetings. This miscommunication remained the basis of their rivalry until the world ended.
Nobody could tell what turned Rivendell and Pixandria into rivals. Both leaders were respectable and respected men, always doing their best for their alliances and more often than not acting as some voice of reason. So what happened between these empires that their relations were so abruptly cut off?
It did not come so abruptly, though. Tensions had always been there. Cultural differences were always a cause of friction. Community-driven Pixandria could not understand the individualistic choices some made, especially the Lord of Rivendell. Scott looked at Pixandria and never saw their candles as a fundamental religious experience, but more as a tradition from times of old. They could not have been more different from the start; night and day; summer and winter. Their rulers still respected each other, worked with each other, despite these differences. Only something gigantic and world-breaking could turn them on each other.
The Dragon died. The corruption grew stronger, long tendrils protruded from the sand and threatened his people. As the Copper King later learned, the demon responsible for this carnage was related to Scott, who had known about this. It was a personal flaw on display - out of sight, out of mind, not my problem. Pixlriffs took one long look at it and decided that Scott could no longer be trusted. It was a shame, but it had to be done. Scott, in turn, took that personally. He refused to speak with Pix, and the Copper King was fine with that.
This time, the apocalypse doesn't start through the cooperation of the rivals, as it does in many other worlds. This time, the lack of communication and the refusal of these rulers to speak with one another enabled the apocalypse to happen. Warnings were sent too late, the world doomed because two men, who would have at least been respectful of one another, lost their trust in one another.