By the time he arrived at the fringes of the Forest it was dusk. The night was cloudy, only a dim light from the moon illuminating his surroundings. Without his Master’s eyes, he doubted he’d have been able to see.

As it was, he would have preferred that. He instead saw the state of the Forest in vivid detail – none of the Beasts ventured this far anymore, and it was clear why. There were more stumps than trees, and the perpetual singing birds had long fled inward, leaving Iago with a distinctly hollow sensation. There was no rustle in the underbrush, no tracks of beasts – awakened or otherwise – nothing. The absence was palpable, and unnerving.

Duan had followed him the whole way, much to his disagreement. He’d tried shooing the bird off more than a few times and had a few new lines of tears in his tunic from his most recent attempt.

Duan had small talons, but Iago soon discovered they were anything but dull.

Now, the bird rested on his shoulder. Apparently, he was tired of flying and had settled there, content to let Iago do the moving for him. Every once in a while, he dug his talons in, just to remind Iago he was there. Wonderful.

The only benefit to the silence was that it made finding his destination easy, even if he didn’t have Duan guiding him. The chatter and bustle of the rapidly assembling camp was cacophonous through the night as they made no attempt to hide their presence.

Soon, Iago was crouched in the branches of one of the few trees still standing, looking down at what Duan had showed him earlier.

Massive tents were being raised across a distance that rivaled the Forest itself, divided into six roughly equal sectors.

One had tents the grey of a cauldron, topped with sickly green. There was a hole in each of these tents from which colored smoke poured, and men and women walked in and out wearing goggles and thick robes. Nearly all had singed edges.

Another had golden tents with silver trim. In the dim light of the clouded moon, they were hard to look at. In broad daylight, Iago thought, they must be blinding. Spectacled men and women wearing equally opulent clothing walked to and fro, directing crates of all sizes to different tents and sectors of the encampment.

The caravans all were white with black stripes across them, as were the clothing of the people carrying and delivering crates. They had only one tent of their own which appeared abandoned, their members instead walking amongst all the other sectors.

The most organized of the tents came from the sharply dressed individuals in red uniforms pacing up and down their sector with straight backs and polished boots. To Iago’s eye, hierarchy was king in this sector, every man and woman capitulating to one of a higher rank regardless of gender or age. He wasn’t sure what the symbols they wore meant, but intricacy seemed to denote prestige. Their tents were the same rust red as their uniforms and were spaced out consistently and exactly.

The center ring of the settlement was comprised of purple tents with flowing characters written in opaque silk. He wasn’t sure what they meant, and the more he focused on them, the more they seemed to squirm out of his vision and comprehension, as if perpetually in a haze. Equally purple robed people walked throughout the sector, all wearing some color of scarf.

Iago’s grip on his sword tightened. He recognized them; Mages, one and all. He’d never seen so many in one place before.

The reality of the situation settled on Iago’s shoulders like boulders that nearly pushed him from the tree he perched upon. An army had come to the Awakened Forest.

And the Beasts had never trusted him less.

There was one last sector – a single tent, really – pure white in the center of the camp, he saw nobody walking to or from it. It stood strangely separate from the hustle of the rest of the encampment, living in its own sanctuary. Bouquets of flowers were heaped at the entrance to half a grown man’s height, and there were more than a few immaculately wrapped boxes in the same pile.

Poachers stuck out like sore thumbs in the camp, either armored or wearing far worse quality clothing than the newcomers, and none of them looked pleased. They shot venomous looks at all – especially those in red uniforms. Iago knew what they were thinking.

Their profits were being stolen. Such a large procession could mean only one thing: the opportunity for quick riches was over.

Iago took in as many details as he could, even counting the number of people he saw, before dropping back to the ground and turning in the direction of the Ancestor Tree.

While jogging, he faced the striped bird still resting on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Duan. I know you could have shown Portho, Joa, or anyone else.”

The bird cocked his head for a moment, before letting out a “Caw!”

Maybe it was Iago’s imagination, but he thought the call might have been just a little more positive than usual.

* * *

When Iago arrived, he found Portho and Joa both walking in his direction. Duan rested on Portho’s shoulder; he’d departed early to tell the others.

“Child,” A grin stretched across Portho’s face, “I heard Joa scolded you good-“

“Shut up, Portho. We don’t have time for this. Did Duan inform you both?”

Portho scowled, but let it drop. “He did. Alarming news…but I don’t see how it changes things. We must do what we always have; defend the best we can.” After a moment he murmured, “I’m just not sure if it will be enough.” Iago shivered. That was entirely out of character for Portho. If even his unassailable confidence was wavering, their odds might be even worse than he thought.

He turned, “Do you agree Joa?”

The red furred ape was uncharacteristically meek, scratching the back of his head while averting his eyes from Iago in an oddly human gesture.

“Perhaps. I don’t see what else we can do inaction feels like awaiting death.”

Iago nodded. “I feel the same. After seeing it with my own eyes…” he trailed off. The others nodded in understanding, and Duan fluttered back over to his shoulder. Joa and Portho gave him an odd look, but didn’t comment.

“I suspect Dannious is waiting.” Portho jerked his head towards the Tree, and the others followed.

As they all assumed, the oversized rat was lounging in his usual spot, back against the Tree, surrounded by a bed of flowers. Ordinarily he would have been snoring, or cracking jokes at the passersby, but now he sat with his front paws in his lap, eyes blank as they always were, but he carried a grim expression, mirroring the atmosphere of the Forest.

Duan flew to Dannious’ shoulder and cawed once in his ear, prompting him to crack a small grin and scratch the underside of Duan’s head.

“Thank you, Duan. You’ve done wonderfully. You brought them, then?”

The bird cawed again, and Dannious cocked his head.

“Iago too? I would have thought…well, never mind that. Thank you again. I believe Yuhata has something she could use your help with, if you would be so kind.” The bird cawed in annoyance one more time, and Dannious laughed.

“I know, your demand is large for one so little. Go, you know she appreciates it. I worry she’s overburdening herself; it would go a long way to setting me at ease.”

The bird rubbed his head against Dannious’ for a moment and took off, giving Iago a sharp peck on his head on the way. He flinched. Portho snorted.

“Well,” Dannious began, “Today has gone poorly.”

The others nodded, and he sighed. “You all left at roughly the same time, yes?”

Another round of nods, though this was new information to Iago.

“I’ll fill you in, then: Nubias’ display was far more effective than I would have preferred normally, but especially so given recent developments. Half the council are convinced Iago is a sleeper agent waiting to turn on us,” Iago thought that wasn’t much different than how Dannious acted frequently but said nothing. “and the others are barely still on my side given my open support of him. As such, I have far less power to make decisions. The council holds much more sway now, and I’m not sure which way the pendulum will swing.” He shook his head, and his blank stare turned to Iago.

“After you left, there was a vote.”

Iago’s heart dropped, but he stayed silent. Joa flinched at the words, and even Portho seemed shocked. Pleased, but shocked.

“Nubias started it – Cornelius and I tried to stop it, but it seems his display was far more persuasive than I’d initially assumed, because it passed.” He paused, letting the information sink in.

Iago cleared his throat, but his voice still came out a croak. “What was the vote?”

Though the rat was blind, his eyes still held sympathy.

“As of today,” he spoke slowly, each word another inch of the executioners axe towards Iago’s neck. “You are no longer a member of the Forest’s security force, and inner command. Meaning, you no longer are permitted to fight the poachers or assist in combat, nor are you allowed to attend council meetings, enter restricted sections of the Forest without explicit permission, and finally,”

Iago’s breath caught, and he barely stopped his hand from twitching to the sword at his side. Portho and Joa both immediately stared at it.

“…you may not spar with anyone, except for your Master. The sword is still yours, Iago. That is not theirs to take from you, no matter how much they might want to. Not even I have the right to take it.” His voice was soft and kind, and he leaned against the Tree again. Iago let out a breath.

“I’m sorry, Iago, but as of now you are effectively excommunicated from the command of the Forest.”

The man nodded and took a step back, letting Portho and Joa receive their orders.

“Portho, now more than ever we need the apes of the Forest united and in full force. Travel to the different tribes and make it understood that all are to participate, to your discretion. We won’t force anyone to fight, least of all the elderly or young.” Grimly, Iago thought he left a word unspoken: they wouldn’t force them to fight yet. Not unless the fight came to their doorstep.

Portho nodded and glanced to Iago. He tensed, waiting for the ape to speak, but after a moment he shook his head and walked off.

“Joa, you’re on call for anywhere that needs reinforcements. One of the sparrows will direct you wherever you’re needed, when Portho returns he’ll take over, and you’ll swap every other day until further notice. In extreme cases, Yuhata will go with you, at least until we get a full accounting of our forces.” Joa saluted the rat reverently and gave a sad look to Iago before walking off.

Iago stepped forward once more, and the rat seemed entirely unsurprised.

“Is there any way I can help?” He had a feeling there was; otherwise, he would have been entirely dismissed by Dannious when he finished giving him the news.

The oversized Beast paused for a moment, then leaned forward with an irritated groan.

“Getting too old for this, Iago. Sometimes I wonder if I should just retire; let Nubias take the whole thing over.”

Iago tried not to be alarmed, so he spoke cautiously. “Aren’t you two the same age?”

Dannious chuckled, “Yes, we are. He’s never been chief, though. Ages you faster, see. And don’t worry, I have no intentions of stepping down. Not anytime soon, anyway.” He shook his head. “The Forest still needs me, I think. I suspect I’ll know when to leave when the time comes.” He patted the Tree with one paw. “And as a matter of fact, there…may be a way for you to help. Without upsetting the council. Well, without upsetting them immediately at least.” He had a mischievous grin on his face after that, and Iago knew Dannious would like to do nothing more than to upset them any way he could.

“Go see Grandfather Cornelius. He’ll fill you in. They didn’t make me chief for nothing.” Iago nodded and turned to leave when he was spoken to again.

“Iago,”

“Yes?”

“Rest first.” The chief’s face softened, and his nose twitched. “You haven’t slept in, what, two days? Three? Sleep first. That’s an order, if you won’t listen.”

“Will all due respect, Dannious, I’m no longer a member of the command. I’m not entirely certain I have to take orders from you at all anymore.”

A grin tugged at the corner of Dannious’ mouth, but he spoke with melancholy.

“Clever, Iago, clever. But I’m not joking; at least give it some thought. A few hours of rest won’t hurt anyone, and Cornelius will be there in the morning. Ancestors know he doesn’t leave that decomposing stump of a tree for anything but council meetings and fishing trips anymore, and he went fishing just the other day.”

Iago nodded, and the fatigue hit him. He barely managed to avoid swaying on his feet, but his eyelids immediately became heavy.

“Here-“ Dannious stood up from his spot – groaning with protest all the while – and guided Iago towards the flowers. “You can sleep here. I have to go speak with some of the Elders anyway. Get some shut eye, nobody will disturb you.

Dannious patted him on the back once as he left, leaving Iago standing before the Ancestor Tree, sword cradled in his arms.

Seeing nothing else to do, he laid down.

Feeling alone.