We now turn back the clock to a certain corner in the royal capital of Ganudos Port Country. The Serpent Shaman Ka Kunlou strutted through town with a hum at his lips, his lively footsteps giving off an amazing light. Quite simply, Kunlou had been in the best of spirits ever since he arrived in this waterside nation.
Every day, he wandered from place to place to casually and easily spread the seeds of evil. Friction existed wherever there were people, serving as a base to destroy order and lead the world toward chaos. Not to mention, this country had been strongly influenced by the ideals of the first Tearmoon emperor. This was where the Visalians—practically the progenitors of the Chaos Serpents—could be found, and the foundations of the government were littered with cracks Serpents could easily slither into. It was the perfect place to operate. Not to mention, the nuisance that was the Great Sage of the Empire and the terrifying Dion Alaia were nowhere to be found!
Kunlou was in jovial spirits, and his days were fulfilled. One evil deed per day—those were the words he lived by, and he worked indefatigably to live up to them. Today, he was headed for a house in the corner of the fishing district. It was neither big nor small, and looked just like any other. This choice of abode had him snickering.
Aha ha ha! I should’ve expected this from a survivor of the Crows. He sure knows how to blend in!
Kunlou opened the door with no particular qualms and stepped inside. A blade was immediately pointed between his eyes. “Whoa, there! You sure are quick to violence!” said Kunlou, stooping low. “Could you give me a break? I’m a friend of Jem’s.”
“What...?” The man didn’t drop his guard as he glared back at Kunlou. Though agile, he seemed self-trained.
Huh. I thought a survivor of the Crows lived here, but this guy’s...
“I don’t quite follow. Are you related to the Wind Crows? Maybe the White Crows?”
“Neither. Perhaps you’re familiar with the Serpents?”
“The Serpents?” The man’s glare grew curious, but Kunlou laughed it off.
“Oh, ignore me. It’s nothing. I’m a...personal friend of Jem’s. I’ve got the proper intel, so I thought I might be of use to you.” Kunlou noticed the other man’s guard drop a bit at those words. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to coax him. “But seriously, I’d never have thought a friend of the Crows could be found here of all places.”
There once had been an information network that spread nations, and it was all built by the special forces from Sunkland known as the Wind Crows. But after the rebellion in Remno, Sunkland eliminated this force. However... Information networks don’t disappear so easily.
While Sunkland could disband the Wind Crows, they couldn’t completely eradicate the countless men who had helped set up this network.
While the Great Sage eliminated all their conspirators in Tearmoon, you can’t do the same in Ganudos. He chuckled to himself. Seems I was right. Jem’s smarter than I thought. He just looked like a weakling! But this makes my job easier.
Kunlou offered a jovial laugh. “And are you a conspirator with the Wind Crows yourself?”
The man suddenly lifted his bangs, revealing a burn mark.
“So you’re a Visalian. I guess you must have burned your forehead to hide your tattoo.”
“It’s hard for us in this country, but not a single day goes by where I do not take pride in my people or forget the suffering of my brothers.”
“And that’s why you aided Sunkland?”
“The king of Sunkland prizes justice and fairness, right? I was sure he’d come and save us Visalians if he bore witness to our treatment here.”
There was nothing for Kunlou to doubt in those words. So rather than a Serpent, he’s more a conspirator of the Wind Crows, and a pure one at that.
Shocked that this man could be so moved by the ideals of justice and fairness championed by Sunkland’s ultranationalism, Kunlou decided his approach with the same heartwarming feelings inspired by gazing at a child who had yet to lose his innocence. “I know exactly how you must feel. Then let’s focus on that. We’ll create a disturbance Sunkland can’t turn a blind eye to and overthrow this monarchy.”
Kunlou spoke the words that appealed to his interlocutor’s deepest desires without second thought, just as he always did.
Upon his departure, Kunlou skipped his way back home. “Well, it won’t be as effective as toppling Tearmoon or Remno, but this will build a foothold into chaos, and that’s what’s important!”
If every nation was peaceful, stable, and filled with happiness, the road to chaos would only lengthen. But blowing seeds of doubt into any nation easily puts order and peace into peril.
“This small country is right next to Tearmoon, and if things get more dangerous here, they’ll have to intervene! And then... Bwah ha ha!”
Kunlou was in the best of spirits! He was singing the praises of the impending spring of his desired world! Thus, he happily and cheerfully made his way back to his hideout, but that’s when the Visalian assassin that had become his partner in crime (he had only learned of his name recently, which was Cateria. Not that Serpents called each other by their names, of course) casually dropped a bombshell.
“Did you hear? That group is coming to Ganudos.”
“That group? Who do you mean, exactly?”
“Who else could I mean? The Great Sage and her retinue, obviously,” said Cateria with a shrug.
Kunlou tilted his head. “Hmm?” His smile seemed awfully strained.