Like a man who knew his days were numbered. The paramount chief had sent out not just men and women to find solutions to the curse that plagued his people, but had also sent out people bearing gifts to solidify the bonds they held with their allied nations few days after the Ichrak empire sent in the Egwus, on the occasion they decide to forcefully take the ore for themselves.
Even after failing to cure the curse, these nations were still treated as friends and promised to receive a large amount of Ganbo and any other ore they demanded, if they agreed to assist Vena in protecting it from any tyrannical nation who deemed it their destiny to own the new ore within Vena.
With a message being sent out at the speed of light to all their allies on the night they left for Ichrak, informing them to now enter into the waters of Vena, the paramount chief had ensured no one but his most trusted subordinates knew of this.
Being the head of the other chiefs gave him the power to easily make decisions and have people from towns that aren't under his jurisdiction to do his bidding without reporting to their chiefs.
A system set in place to ensure the complete survival of Vena no katter what is to come. Of course the flaw of this was obvious, especially if the paramount chief was a person with ill intent.
So, the power he had actually rested in the hands of those men from the different towns who carried out these missions, and their final decision determined if the paramount chief would live to see another day or if Vena would remain a thriving Kingdom always.
Knowledge of the existence of these men were only available to the paramount chief after he or she had proven themself to be a good fit for the sustainability of Vena.
They were the Veins of Vena, the reason the continent of miners really became a Kingdom that never fell since the day the world recognised them as one.
And with their input and fast thinking, at the dawn of the day after his death, the shores and waters surrounding Vena were already completely covered with war ships stretching out into the sea for hundreds of miles in all directions, patiently waiting there since the night before the chiefs left unbeknownst to Cutini and Fuanfo the second.
The plan was simple. If anything other than the chiefs returned to the continent that day, it was to be completely destroyed no matter what it looked like.
With the sun hitting its peak the sky turned dark, multiple large shadows cast over the surrounding sea swiftly heading in the direction of Vena.
'So he was right to plan this all, how sad. May your soul rest in the hands of the supreme ruler of all ores.' The head of the Viens of Vena said within her broken heart with her head facing the heavens.
"People of Vena and our friends from afar." She spoke at the top of her voice with a sonic transporter, shaped like a sperm whale in her right hand. "The Ichrak Empire has decided today to be the enemy of the Kingdom of Vena." She adds, placing her left arm with a clenched fist on her chest.
"But we will show them today that we as a people do not bend the knee to those who think they own what belongs to their neighbours."
Raising the arm into the air, she raises her voice louder than it already was, sending a shockwave across the sea and shores, from the mountain on which she stood.
"TO HELL WITH TYRANNY."
The battle began, with airships from Ichrak, donning the Ichrak Empire flag on them, a flag with the king of the skies in its three colours; black, brown and white within a diamond shaped red and yellow emblem.
They rained down large spiked stones with Ganbo coated tips upon the ships of the allied forces and Vena.
Their plan was to take the land with force and seize everything within it, from the mines, the new ore and even the people.
But on reaching the waters of Vena, they were welcomed by war ships from different nations across the world, halting their plan and tossing them into a battle between the sky and sea.
The fight continued for five years, with the people of Vena and the allied forces holding their own as best as they could, for they all knew that if for any reason the ore claimed to be greater in durability than even Ganbo was to fall into the hands of a nation like Ichrak, Vena would not be the only ones to fall, but so also will every nation withing their reach.
It was now 23AGD, with the war now reaching the sixth month of the year. And to no one's surprise Ichrak was gaining ground.
After already securing a safe landing at the northern region of Vena through the mischievous help of Cutini and the fleeing of the allied forces there who couldn't hold on to the lines as Black Stones were used in attacking that area, in place of the spiked rocks.
Which caused even those not directly hit by it to suffer from electric shocks and momentarily failures to their engines due to the northern region of Vena possessing an ore that released a certain harmless gas which reacted extremely well with the energy Black Stones created.
The war had now grown into a daily activity for the people of Vena and their allies. They couldn't believe that the Ichrak empire would last that long standing alone against so many enemies.
A true showcase of why they are considered one of the most powerful nations in the world.
Blood soaked the ocean and exhaustion swallowed the soldiers of the allied nations.
And in the seventh month, they all decided to leave. Believing it was pointless to keep fighting and wasting resources against a nation that was willing to send millions of its own people to go die on a daily basis over a simple ore.
Most of them told the Venas to forget about the payments and promise their previous paramount chief had made, as survival was now more important than any gift they could be offered.
The Vines of Vena, who had now been reduced in number as the war progressed could not decide on how they could even continue with a war that would end up with them all dying, when they could simply give the Ichrak empire the Ogun with the land.
But the idea of giving their own children, frozen or not to other people to be used as lan rats was something these people could never bring themselves to do.
And in the eighth month of that year, with only two allied nations left and a Vena military so small it could no longer be considered wise to keep fighting. Two unbelievable things took place.
With the first being the news from the Ichrak empire which flew across the world at light speed, announcing the death of the Emperor, Fuanfo the second.
No news greater than this could have visited the doorsteps of the people of Vena at that moment, until they heard it was his own daughter who had killed him to take over the throne.
"A regicide?"
No one could believe such a thing could come out of Ichrak. But one question everyone asked was.
"WILL SHE BE WORSE THAN HER FATHER?"
That thought alone put everyone on high alert, forcing the last two allied nations to finally leave Vena to fend for herself.
But to their surprise, only three days after the news reached their ears, the military of the Ichrak empire were summoned back to Ichrak.
The joy the people of Vena felt was like never before, but only lasted for a fleeting two weeks, for within that eighth month did the world experience its first nightmare, with Vena being the centre of it all.
In the northern part of Vena, where the soldiers of the Ichrak empire had set camp. Within the mountains was Cutini who was not allowed by the Empress to set foot on Ichrak.
Being left behind had made him run mad. All his plans had come crumbling to the ground and he had caused the death of so many of his own people
And he knew that showing his face to them right now will only make it so obvious that he had betrayed and sold his brethren.
On one of the cold nights of the eighth month, within a cave he used as his hiding place from the Vines of Vena who were searching the region for survivors, enemies or spoils of war to pick up.
The sound of a weird creature echoed from deep within the cave, troubling Cutini as he tried to sleep.
In anger he went deeper into the cave to find where the noise was coming from and to silence it, as it sounded like a human wailing in fear.
On reaching the depths of the cave with his lamp, he came across a soldier from Vena who was asleep but shaking and groaning in his sleep, a sight he had never seen before.
Immediately hiding himself behind a rock, in fear that the young soldier was sent to find him or had seen him entering the cave and was only pretending to be asleep in order to lure him in.
He pulled out his copper dagger and slowly walked up to the young man.
As he closed in, he noticed the body of the soldier began shaking, without waiting to be caught off guard by this young soldier, he quickly dove in with his blade aiming straight for the lads heart.
"SNAP."
His blade split in two with a black smokey tentacle poking out of the soldier's chest holding the broken half.
In fear he tripped and fell, picking himself up and turning around, he took flight.
"What is that. Has the Ogun evolved into a monster?" He asked without looking back, as he ran past where he had originally set his resting place for the night.
More tentacles grew out of the body of the soldier, completely filling up the whole cave and catching up to Cutini.
"BOOM."
The mountain exploded, exposing a creature made completely of black smoke and tentacles, with a body three times larger than every mountain in the vicinity.
Cutini ran like his brothers did on the day he conspired with the former emperor of Ichrak to kill them and take over Vena.
The Veins of Vena within the region saw the creature and could not comprehend what they were looking at, stunned by the immense size and nature of the creature they began fleeing towards the sea.
A grave mistake.