Psychotic Dictatorships

In the days after the Battle of Cawdor, the several armies of Madai, Tubal, Gomer, and Javan rest and regroup. Heracles, with only a small army and single ship left beaches and comes ashore to meet with Aeneas and Perseus. Heracles has his brother Apollo's remains found and buried in reverence for his brother. Aeneas asks that his father Beorn's body stop being displayed and be buried also, Perseus resists the idea at first, but at Heracles siding with Aeneas, relents, and Beorn and Apollo are buried in plain but marked graves in Cawdor.

The forces of Magog, which had been led by Beorn mostly surrender to Aeneas since he is Beorn's son immediately following the battle. However some older advisors and nobles of Magog far in the South have refused to capitulate to Aeneas citing his rebellion and are fortifying the capitol of the province. These Magogite nobles claim they are not waging war, but wish to defer making any agreement until they seek an audience with Sigurd the Elder of Tiras whom was Beorn's halfbrother, and is also a son of Ragnar Magogsson, the legendary former Elder of Magog to whose memory the plebes of the province are still quite loyal.

Aphrodite's escape and pronouncement of being the queen of Japhetia reaches throughout the entire land of Japhetia. Knowing that she is weak though Perseus the Elder of Madai immediately begins mobilizing his troops and navy to attack Alba and oust Aphrodite. Since Apollo is dead, Perseus argues that he is going to take the navies of Tubal that he might convey his troops across the water to Alba quickly. Heracles notes that he has had alliance with Tubal the longest, and since his navy was mostly destroyed argue that he should get at least one of Tubal's navies to replenish his own.

Aeneas sides with Heracles, repaying him for helping to get his father buried, and Perseus again relents and the two navies of Tubal are divided between Madai and Javan. Though his parents had fought him and probably would have killed him, Aeneas is somewhat shocked by Perseus' treatment of his father's body, and asks that if possible Aphrodite be captured alive, but if not, that he does not wish to be present at Alba when she dies. Aeneas excuses himself from joining Perseus to besiege Alba, claiming that it be more useful for him right now to go south and meet with the resistant Magogites, and try to seek a meeting with his powerful uncle Sigurd of Tiras to try to broker peace.

Perseus asks Heracles to come up with him to the battle, noting they are brothers, all of the lineage of Dodaneus. Perseus notes in secret that though Aeneas is also of the lineage of Dodaneus, as is his mom Aphrodite, whom Perseus seeks to overthrow, that he does not trust Aeneas or Sigurd. Heracles being the son of Hera and Dodaneus, and whom was claimed as the heir when he was underage by Alexander in the early stages of the War of Japhetian Successions, asks if Perseus will take the throne for himself, or if he would support Heracles bid to the throne. Perseus admits that he seeks the throne, but agrees to a contest with Heracles, that whichever of their armies kills Aphrodite first shall be the new Leader. The advisors and officials of Madai and Javan witness this and agree to this challenge. Together Perseus and Heracles set sail for Alba, reaching it quickly and blockading it by sea with Perseus and his navies surrounding the south and Heracles and his navies surrounding the north in preparation for their race to seize the capitol of Japhetia.