Sage_of_Eyes

Even So, I am The Hero: 2/4

Even So, I am The Hero: 2/4

…

I could have not asked for a better miracle than the one I received now.

“All done here, lady Hannah!”

“Thank you so much, young man. Thank you for your help!” I wiped the sweat off my brow, felt the breeze on my skin, and the ache in my legs. Nothing hurt. Moving did not break apart my thin scars and force me to bandage myself every day. Breathing did not fill me with pain. The ache in my muscles did were already fading. “Here, please. Have this!”

The smile I couldn’t take off my face could only widen, as another luxury I thought long lost was given to me.

A freshly baked bun of bread.

The scent of freshly baked wheat made my mouth fill with saliva. Ever since I could taste and smell again, everything tasted magnificent. I feared that I made myself a glutton now, as I could simply not resist food any longer. When I had been purged of the other divines’ powers, I lost both thanks to heated implements. Now that I regained them, though, I feared that I would have to fret about becoming too large!

I accepted the baked bun with a smile.

“Thank you very much. The prize for my aid has been fully paid!” I bit into it and did all that I could to enjoy it in the view of the elderly woman. Her eyes came alight, a smile formed on her face, and she even clapped lightly to herself for a job well done. Meanwhile, the bun’s insides were fluffy, the crust was thin and crunchy, and there was a small hunk of melted cheese in the middle! I had nothing to hide. It was beyond words. “Amazing!”

“Oh, you flatter me dearie. After all that hard work, I wish that I can give you more. But I must sell the rest.” I was tempted to buy the rest of the basket she carried by her waist, but I resisted. Though I had far more coin than I ever recalled having, my purse was still light and will remain that way. I stayed away from the gaze of the priests and priestesses of the divines, along with the any of the nobility. To gain the materials needed to forge my equipment would take years and labor… but I had both to spare. “Maybe, you can stay tomorrow and help me with my stall for the winter festival?”

I wished to say yes, but I shook my head no.

Festivals had attendants from both the nobility and the clergy.

I could not risk it.

“I’m afraid not, lady Hannah. I must be on my way. There’s someone I must reach.” I did not technically lie. The Demon Lord was out there, presumably in his own body, and he has been far more cautious with his second life. There was no battering of the walls that held his realm at bay. Instead, monsters were being spurred up in every nation, and his people were donning disguises to masquerade as bandits. “But, please, let me buy one from you.”

I will work against his current plans, stop the grand battles he would wage in the future, and gather strength.

For now, though, I could spend time helping others.

Lady Hannah tried to give me the bread for free, but I insisted, and soon I was out of the town and out of sight.

I made doubly sure that none followed my wake, before whispering a prayer and sending the bread off to my goddess.

Thank you, Lady Thera, for this wonderful chance.

…

Interlude: Marianne

…

The cloister of the Lady of Tranquility was austere. There were no columns of marble, no stained glass, no statues, and no paintings. The sisters dressed completely in black and covered all their skin. Even their faces were obscured by shadowy veils. The convent itself was carved into the side of a hill, and it was surrounded by terraces of crops, which were attended to by the nuns. What they could not grow, they traded for, and so at the base of the hill… was the Fortress City of Serenity.

A fortress city on the path of war.

Knights in black armor with yellow livery rode on armored warhorses. Men-at-arms armed with pike and shot followed them in regimented columns. Arcane siege engines followed them by the dozen. Great stone golems lumbered after them, carrying whole warehouses on their backs, and finally immense ravens flew above the army in a sharp formation. The armies marched at a leisurely pace, but they stretched into the horizon on every road that they tread.

The goddess of the underworld, who reigned over death and rebirth, called for her followers and they answered.

They marched to give their lives in exchange for assurances on their eternal souls.

For what could truly matter more than that?

More normally-secluded fortress cities are coming alive all over the continent. Their walls opened and thThere were even rumors of black ships plying ancient routes near ports. Mercenary unions were told that they were contacted and offered payments of gemstones and gold. Lesser lords and ladies near the cities were visited as well, and whatever was shared with them, had them move to refurbish ancient defenses and expanding farmland.

Without a semblance of a doubt, a great calamity was coming, and the Goddess of Death moved to answer it.

But even though I was the Chosen Saintess, the Goddess of Death would not answer my pleas.

So, I stood in a stone hall and waited to pray at the innermost sanctum of the cloister of the Fortress City of Serenity.

I watched as the endless column marched and marched from the towering, walled city that sprawled across the land, whilst surrounded by farms and fields that stretched from horizon to horizon.

I wondered what I have done to earn the disfavor of one of the most powerful of goddesses when stone doors opened.

A veiled figure clad in black greeted me with a bow.

“Saintess Marianne, please, follow me to the altar.” It was the head of the nunnery. I did not know her name, but the symbol of the goddess she wore around her neck was of polished bronze instead of wood like all the others. Beyond that, there was no sign nor mention of her station from the rest. “How was your journey? Without perils, I hope.”

“May the gods of light be praised, there were none to be found.” How could there be perils? Holy warriors of the goddess of death cleansed the region and surrounding region of monsters and banditry. Not even the humblest of monsters were spared the subjugation. They were put to the torch with such efficacy and speed that many mercenary and adventurer companies did not have time to put forward complaints. “The work of the followers of the Lady Tranquility is unmatched.”

“Indeed. We have been blessed by her through new commandments and the appearance of a Paladin blessed by her.” I nearly stopped at her words. Paladins were the greatest holy warriors. Only short of the Chosen Champion of all the gods. A Paladin of the Goddess of Death… none were known to history. The other gods had many, every generation, but the Goddess of Death had not one. Not until this era. And, I had not been deemed worthy of proclaiming the miracle. Why? What have I done to wrong the Goddess of Death? “The one who eschews paradise to save both innocents and sinners hath come.”

“The existence of such a being is a true miracle.” The Goddess of Death had the fiercest demand of her Paladin. The only one worthy of her blessing, the only one who shall stand by her side, was one worthy of apotheosis. A pure soul that no longer needed to return to mortality to be further refined. Someone worthy of paradise and blissful contentment but who eschewed that to help others. I could not even consider such a path, yet someone lived now who did. “May I ask where the Paladin is now? Perhaps in which direction he moved after coming here?”

I wished to meet them.

A shake of the head behind the veil answered me.

“His works are to be in secret and in the shadows. He pursued what the forces of the righteous cannot, in the depths of darkness, whilst guided by her lantern light. Where he treads, only those chosen by the Goddess may follow.” Not you. Those were the words I heard. I trembled and nearly missed my step. What have I done to wrong one of the gods of light? Why have I been not chosen to stand beside an avatar of divine will? Especially now, when the armies of Death march out in a holy war with praises for their oncoming salvation on their lips? “We have arrived, Saintess. Behind these gates lies the altar of our convent.”

The doors opened.

Inside it was a long and dark hall where a long pool of dark water ran.

In the middle of the long pool was a single lantern and once the door closed that would be the only source of light.

“I pray that your midday prayers go well, Saintess. I shall leave you to your duties.”

With those words, the doors began to close, and as the light from the outside narrowed into a thin beam into the vast hall… for a split second I saw a figure standing atop the flowing waters with a hand placed on the lantern.

My breath seized as that hooded figure looked my way and spoke a single phrase in an ancient tongue that I still, somehow knew.

One hundred days of penance, fasting, and prayer.

As the doors closed, I took hold of that offering and knelt in the darkness for forgiveness.

I knew not what sin I committed, but the Goddess of Death always stood on the side of righteousness.

If she demanded penance demanded of me, then I would endure that penance.

No matter the cost.

…

I awoke, bereft of strength and might, beneath a stone roof and to the rays of a sunset peering through the distance.

The veiled head of the convent sat at my bedside, and she reached out to push me back onto the stone slab where I had laid.

“It has been fifteen days since we last spoke. You have done well to endure your penance, young Saintess.” There was a note of kindness and warmth in her voice that had not been there when we first met. As I laid on the scold stone, I noticed that the rest of the beds in the small room were beds with clean mattresses and sheets. “It is as you see. Your penance persists, still. You reached the limit of your body, mind, and soul; thus, we intervened. Fret not, you may recover and return to your penance with only the remaining days.”

I nodded, my voice refusing to leave my throat, and suddenly I was beset.

I became aware of the sores on my body from my constant kneeling. The noise of steps walking outside assaulted my ears. The light shining faintly through the window sent dagger-like pains through my skull. The breeze on my body felt harsh. Then, finally, I was aware of my own weakness. I could barely try to raise myself up once again without the burst of fear that awakened me, and that was because of my own actions.

When my magic began to run out, I sacrificed my health to persist, and a simple glance towards my hand showed the outcome of my work.

Skin clung onto bone and muscle barely remained.

Without magic, I would forever be a crippled.

Summoning all my strength, I managed to speak.

“Has this… been endured before?”

The matron’s shook her head and veil to and fro.

“No. You are the first to be asked this great of a penance.” The matron shook her head. “Do you know why this has been asked of you, Saintess?”

“I do not, but the Lady of Tranquility has always been just. If this is my penance, then it shall be done. I would only wish to know my wrongs, if it were possible to make them again.” I admitted my fear. There was only one reason for me to ask. But since the question was unanswered, her fairness and resolute nature led me to a singular idea: that I could not commit that wrong again. “I believe that since she won’t speak of it, then there is no chance of it occurring again. With that, I am content. I will perform my penance, then I hope that I will be able to convey her will to the conclave, as is my duty.”

The matron’s silence lasted longer than I expected, but eventually she dipped her head and placed her hands together in prayer.

“Oh, young soul. May you endure the difficulties of your journey, and reach the end with a pure heart worthy of paradise.”

It was a blessing, and I allowed myself to smile and accept it.

“Thank you, Matron.”

With that, I focused on resting and healing my body, before I returned to the abyss with only a single, solitary light.

…

A year passed before I completed my penance.

Days spent awake and praying in darkness, followed by days of recovery, before returning to the abyss. The penance asked of me was immense, but by the end of it all, I was able to once again interpret the will of the Goddess of Death.

A great evil was working against us. The Dark Gods returned with a champion of their own, and that is why she marshalled her forces against them.

Not only that, but the Paladin she chose was to be the champion of the Light.

However, for now, she guided him to oppose the machinations of the Demon Lord, while training him to becoming a perfect vessel for the blessings of the rest of the pantheon. Right now, he not only evaded their attempts to find him, but he also undid their work in the shadows. Without praise, without the aid of the conclave or even the rulers of the land, he did his duty for the sake of us all.

As I rode away from the monastery in a darkened carriage, every noise and every smattering of light still too much for me to bear… I wondered if I could join him and help him.

At those thoughts, the Goddess of Death made her intentions clear, and I did away with the idea completely.

My place was with the conclave, to help guide it and the forces of all the other temples and churches, against the coming threat.

Not to join the Chosen Champion as all previous Saintesses did.

Just as a new Demon Lord arose, so must a new Hero to oppose him.

V10: Chapter 4

V10: Chapter 4

…

“Drink?”

“No, thank you. But help yourself.”

“My thanks, your majesty.” Erlan took a bottle filled with vodka, took off the cork, and took a swig. With the hardy constitution of the dwarves, vodka was basically a strong beer. We were in his home, which was richly furnished with carved statues of animals, furs, and had warm hearth. His wife and children scurried away from the kitchen after giving greetings. Erlan’s brow was heavy as he considered what he just found. “Are all those of the lower castle like this now?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t verify. The Iterants have left the lands of the Forgers. I couldn’t ask them to remain there after my call for aid.” Rebecca handed me a cup of tea from a thermos, before returning to her post by the door. All exits and entrances of Erlan’s house were now protected by shapeshifting terminator maids. Man, sometimes, I really appreciated finding the Iterants instead of all the other Ancient Wonders. Maybe, they were actually the best… pfft. No, I could’ve literally gotten a giant robot that produced endless armies, before getting repaired into producing more giant robots. Nothing beats that. “All that I know is that all the soldiers on the front line are as you’ve seen. Nothing more than control systems for armor and weapons at the beck and call of officers.”

“But there were no such efforts being made when I was general. Not even a decade has passed. There just aren’t enough of the middle caste to achieve such a thing!” The middle caste of Forger society were their intellectuals. Most of them had weak bodies with their genetic development devoted towards only their brains. Given their frail bodies and poor health, they were usually wheeled around and the lower caste worked as their hands and feet. Little more than living computers, they led short, painful lives and were churned out in large numbers. Their short lifespans and poor health kept their numbers low, along with high chances of stillbirth. Babies aren’t meant to have brains the size of bowling balls. “How could they have done this?”

“The Scholars moved. Possibility after I recruited you. This is pure postulation of course, but I could see your king doing it.” Erlan’s eyes widened.  I could see it. The gears turning in his head. Him placing the blame of this on himself. I moved in to score some sweet, sweet loyalty points. Even if I’m ready to kill them all, I won’t if I don’t need to. People tend to be the most useful when they’re alive. “No. None of that, Erlan. You were abandoned by the Forgers. Left to die without supplies, new equipment, and reinforcements against the Death Lord. Had you not chosen to take my offer, you would’ve perished. There was no choice in the matter for a general who valued the lives of his troops.”

Erlan opened his mouth to disagree, but instead bowed his head.

“You think too highly of me, your majesty. I was entranced by the promises you gave. For those promises, I broke my vows.” Erlan insisted, but I shook my head. I was glad that he was giving me so many opportunities to convince him that he did the right thing.

“What awaited you and your people if you had refused my offer? Nothing more than dissolution of your company, the striking of your standard, and the end of your career. The upper castes of your people could’ve never given you the honors you deserved, let alone allowed you to persist, after your victory without their aid.” I plucked at his heartstrings, but mostly worked on his mind. He was aghast at the revelation of what was happening to the lower castes, but I was forcing him to face the truth. The higher castes of the Forgers would’ve lost immeasurable amounts of face if he returned after receiving no support, no assets, and no reinforcements. Hell, his return might’ve sparked an uprising. “The only thing that awaited you upon your return was your death and the deaths of all your soldiers. That is why I worked to bring you to my side.”

“…You made no mention of such things when you were trying to convince me, your majesty.” He cast a low gaze my way with an unreadable expression beneath a heavy brow. The words were almost accusatory. Accusatory enough for Rebecca to take a step forward, until I signaled for her to stop. “Why speak of such things now?”

“Because now, after seeing your revulsion at what your former king has done, I believe that you’re willing to hear the truth. Until that moment, I thought you had hidden aims to return to return to the Forgers, thus I feared that I could not trust you in full.” I bluffed with a sad smile in response. It was a lie. I didn’t trust him at all. All these people have a gun at their head, and I was ready to pull the trigger the moment I suspected coordinated efforts to revolt. “I believe that now… you can truly work and fight alongside the rest of my people, Erlan.”  

I extended my hand his way, halfway expected a scoff and a snort at my horrible act, but instead my practice in private seemed to pay off.

Erlan took my offered hand in two of his own and bowed his head in thanks, as his body shook.

When he raised his head, tears fell from his eyes.

“They are… they are truly the vilest of our people! They demand so much of us, yet give nothing in return! They took our bodies, and now… they’re taking our souls, so that they can use broken minds to pilot machines!” More emotion than I was prepared for surged out of Erlan, especially as he got out of his seat and knelt by my side while holding my hand to his forehead. It was uncomfortable. I didn’t like it at all. However, I bore with it and glued sad smile number 14 on my face. Damn, this makes me feel really bad. “Please, my lord, there must be some way to help more of my people reach your lands!”

Damn, he wants me to do something in exchange for his loyalty and trust.

Time to spin up the bullshit machine.

“In this very region, there have been signs of attempted infiltration by what remains of the Scholars of the Skies. They are taking over the bodies of other mortals to infiltrate our lands. That technology seems to be just a few steps removed from placing mortal brains into mechanical bodies.” Pure speculation left my lips, but this was a world where killing enough people lets you face-tank canon balls and certain people can cast heat rays after reading enough books. I would be surprised if I wasn’t close enough to the mark. “They are wary of those I’ve sent to hunt them, and they make use of old caverns and tunnels throughout the land. I would like to ask for a few of your warriors to help hunt and bring them in alive for interrogation, while I search for a method to begin smuggling people out of the Forger’s lands.”

Thankfully, my bluff worked and Erlan grasped onto my offer like it was his only hope of salvation.

Hm?

How will I steal population from a bunch of isolationists lodged up in underground cities without Iterants?

Dunno.

Figuring things like that out is Khanrow’s job, and if he can’t figure something out we’ll still have tried our best!

…

Anyway, after Erlan got what he was promised, I decided it was time to bring out why I really came over here.

To talk about engines.

In the coming wars, horses of both the flying and non-flying varieties were unsuitable. I’ll have them work as reconnaissance, messages, and skirmishers, but mechanized cavalry was essential. My faction was supposed to have them in the late-game and be fully mechanized in the endgame with late WW1 tanks armed with magic weapons being the heaviest form of cavalry. Biplanes armed with arcane heat rays and airships with loads of bombs, machine guns, and strong arcane shields were set to be my fliers.

But the Forgers, with their advanced material sciences and the correct quest chains, received the best anti-air unit in the game.

A fucking jet fighter armed with heat rays.

Yeah, as if being autocratic eugenicists that saw other races as inferior wasn’t on the nose enough, they’re also the first to mass-produce jet fighters.

But I’m getting lost in the funny lore.

If there’s anything I want out from the Forgers at my disposal, it’s that jet fighter. As incredible as it is to have biplanes shooting and killing flying Demons and harpies, as well as strafing rampant AI and eldritch swarms, I prefer to not have to constantly replace them. They’re slow glass cannons, so even if they’re relatively cheap for their cost, they’ll cost too much in manpower to effectively field. Sure, it’s awesome to see biplanes tear apart demons and harpies, but the casualties involved are just way too high.

Dwarves would get destroyed if they didn’t have the best fighters in the game, so that’s why they have it.

“This is… this is Ancient technology!” I gave Erlan and the craftsmen in the Forger village the schematics from the wreckage we found several months ago. Most of the space station was a write-off, but we still received key samples of incredible materials, and one of the engine modules for the Ancient Transport was in decent condition. With the parts from the other three, we were able to make a good enough series of repairs that a Citadel could fill in the gaps, so we were able to get an engine… to take apart and meticulously take notes on before putting back together. “Where did you find it, my lord?”

Without highly advanced fly-by-wire software and incredible computing power, ancient transports are just ungainly, hollow metal coffins with large thrusters.

“The Academy kept it a secret. A method to deploy powerful artifacts and Champions across the continent in a single night. Most of the vehicle has been destroyed, along with its hangar, but we were able to recover one of the engines” Mostly truth, but with a few lies spread across it to make life a bit easier. He didn’t need to know that we got a lot of material from the space station. Just finding examples of circuits and electricity was amazing, but access to the weapons used by the security system? We’ve got ridiculously low computing power, but we still had several tons of destroyed future materials to work backwards from. “According to my own researchers, this machine sucks in air, injects it with a combustible compound, and then spews out a great amount of air. It is effectively a machine that rides on off constant, controlled explosive combustion.”

Erlan’s hands drifted over the design, while all the craftsmen present peered over his shoulder to look at it as well.

There was nothing short of wonder in their eyes.

Why wouldn’t there be?

This was the kind of technology that they’ve been meaning to maintain and protect. Right in front of them, here and now, was the reason why they existed.

“I… I do not know how to make this, but I will do my utmost to try, your majesty.”

“We do not need those machines specifically. Engines a tenth of their estimated power will suffice for the craft we plan to build.” This was the biggest gambit I could throw. I gave them the schematics for the Forger’s twin-engine, multi-role jet aircraft. It unfurled beautifully across the table, made with standardized units of measurement, weight, and advancements in… practically every freaking field from physics to mathematics. There’s a reason why I’m pumping money into my research districts, guarding them jealously, and spare no expense when it comes to research. “With an engine of that power, using fuels we’re now working on refining, we will dominate the skies against any threat.”

We had trains now, so we’re capable of moving vast quantities of goods across the land. Vast enough to support mining and drilling operations away from population centers. While the Academy’s lands were meant to be the breadbasket, all the other regions were cultivated and terraformed to be rich in material resources. This whole continent is a giant staging ground for the Ancient’s vengeance, as if the fact that making super soldiers is easy with the right fruits and a basic chemistry set. This whole continent was built to take on the rest of the planet and win once the defenses went down.

It’s just horrid luck that everyone decided to fight each other because of physical appearances instead and that enough time passed that cultures diverged.

But now?

Now, I was doing my best to gather everyone to work under me and grasp at an inkling of what the Ancients believed this land should be.

And, if it didn’t work out?

At worst, we’ll get biplanes.

Maybe, we’ll fall in the middle, and get WW2 piston-based aircraft. That’d be neat, honestly.

But I’ll aim for the stars, anyway.

“My lord, I will gather the finest minds of my people and turn them towards this singular purpose. We had wondered why you had us search for so many metals and their allows, but this answers that perfectly.”  I had no clue what Erlan was talking about, but I just deployed a tactical nod in response. Sure, yep. That was exactly my plan. Why would I correct him about doing something perfectly in his eyes? I’m paranoid, not stupid. “To create metals that need an engine a tenth of the strength of the Ancient’s is within reason. We simply need time and resources.”

“Dorms are ready at our newest university wing. You’ll have all the access and funding you require. I will ensure the safety of your families here in this refuge.” Erlan bowed in thanks. Not even thinking that I’ll have his family and all the other craftsmen’s families as hostage if they fuck me over. No, for him, this was me extending my trust to him and his people. There was no need to disabuse him of this notion. I smiled and gave him a nod, before placing a hand on his shoulder in a show of trust. “I’m relying on you, Erlan. Speak to me candidly. Report to me the truth. I will do my utmost to support you and decide our goals together. If they are not met, we shall wash our hands of this business, and find another path for your people to walk.”

It wasn’t exactly lying.

I’m a fair and just employer, as long as you do your job properly, and tell me the truth.

It’s when people decide to stop working, take advantage of me, or try to revolt that things get complicated.

Even So, I am The Hero (1/4)

Even So, I am The Hero

…

“They are loathsome and vile. Creatures of betrayal and greed beyond measure.” A voice like rolling thunder resounded from the dying man. Of four arms, only one remained. That one arm had a hand that clutched a wound pouring black blood over his chest. The being that terrorized five nations and laid waste to three lay in a crater before his throne. Despite all my strength, only that one wound was true. “Beyond redemption. The flames I promised suited them better than you, Heston.”

“The battle is over. Go in peace.” I knelt and clasped my hands together at his feet. The perfidious powers that pursued his soul were already at work. Gray skin was turning into black. That which turned became soot. Soot that began to fall apart and float in the idlest breeze. They were hastening his death to claim his eternal soul. A miracle spread across the stones, encircling him in grace, but it only slowed the inevitable. One cannot stand against a whole pantheon. “I will pray for you and see your soul absolved.”

“And, who shall pray for you? Who shall pray for all the others under the yoke?” His gods were tearing apart his body for his soul. The dark gods all gave them their blessings. In his passing, the power will remain within him. The first to claim his soul will also take the power of the others of the malevolent pantheon. They used him in life, and now they will use him in death to further their own ambitions on a cosmic scale. “You have seen it. You have felt it. This world deserves to burn… burn until something better can come forth.”

Faint memories and old pains surged.

The sight of my first love’s face contorting into a sneer as she laid in the arms of another.

The sensation of the annulment falling from my hands as swords sworn to me left wordlessly.

The declaration of my heresy resounded in my ears while I was scourged of blessings and miracles.

Then, finally, falling into a ravine, burning from without, while warmth poured from my chest, as my teacher watched me plummet whilst aflame in the darkness.

Still, despite those memories, I clasped my hands together in prayer.

“Oh, Goddess of Death and Peace, heed my mourning prayer. I pray for the soul of this man before me. Let him be cleansed of his sin and his burdens in this life, so that he may begin anew.” I absolved him and there was a keening wail. A cacophony of screeching voices with tongues both new and ancient. Those who sought his soul and the power within sought to disrupt my prayer. My heart clenched with pain, my eyes stung and I felt blood seep from my nose, ears, and eyes. Unfortunately, I have uttered this prayer many times in journey. Despite the pain, I could utter without a single error. “As your paladin, I have taken his current life with my own hands. He is excised from this realm, along with all that he has claimed and gathered, as the toll for his misdeeds. Let it be so, that all his earthly works and mortal life be repayment for his cleansing of sin.”

Divine motes of light began to flow from the miracle that surrounded the dying man. The throne room was in ruins, but anything that could be offered was taken. The castle, stone by stone, weapon by weapon, and artifact by artifact… I gave it all to the goddess in hopes of saving his soul.

It should’ve been over then, but then the tyrant laughed harshly.

“No. This is not the end. It will never be the end!” His hand, covering his puckered wound over his heart, instead wrenched at the wound. Bones broke and cracked, flesh tore, and black blood sprayed across his chest. He roared with such power that I was nearly thrown away by pure primal force. Then, there was a horrific noise akin to blade being pulled from a freshly-made wound. Instead of a blade, however, the Demon Lord pulled out his own heart. “Oh, lords of malice! Oh, perfidious tyrants of the shadows! Hear my demand! My soul and your powers are forfeit now and forever, unless you accept my bargain! Heed my words, or find yourselves bereft of both prize and power! Grant me another chance at vengeance against the followers of your foes, or have your power and might lost forevermore!”

His words shook the world and the world answered.

The night sky darkened to pitch black. The light of the moons faded in an instant. The divine radiance of the rite struggled to maintain itself. The winds howled and the roaring of dark goads shook the very earth beneath my knees.

His hatred of the world was so strong that he was willing to damn even his future life cleansed of all his sin.

I clasped my hands in prayer, trying to hasten the ritual, but it was to no avail.

A gash came upon reality where the grey titan held up his black, still-beating heart.

My eyes stung and my vision was dyed red. Scars both old and new along with opened all over my body. I felt blood staining all the bandages across my form. Pain and agony renewed itself. Once again, I felt as though I was burning alive and falling to the depths of ravine where stone and frost awaited me… when the only miracle that saved me was that my heart was on the opposite side of where my teacher expected it to be.

But I held on and kept the ritual steady, and with my faith and devotion, the ritual was renewed and a golden hue encapsulated the man I was trying to save.

But he refused.

He exerted his strength, and extended his hand with a roar that filled my skull with the sound of a keening wail, and I watched as his heart entered the realm of the dark gods.

Then, in an instant, the darkness that enrobed the night sky and diminished the light of the twin moons vanished, the gash between realities disappeared, and the body of the Demon Lord collapsed… bereft of a soul to be absolved.

He was dead and gone, but I failed.

The miracle faded and I stood.

The whispers of the goddess reached me across vast distances of both space and time.

My duty was done.

It was time for me to be rewarded.

Time forr my wounds to fade, for the power I held to be returned, and for a chance to live away from all that I once knew.

If I bowed my head and accepted, I will close my eyes, and awaken ready for a new life… perhaps even in another realm under the purview of the gods of light.

A world not teetering on the edge of the dark gods’ rule, but where there was happiness, and light.

Temptation called for me to accept, but my duty was not yet done.

“Lady Thera, I swore and oath to cleanse his soul and end this cruel game of the dark gods. I have not achieved that.” Since time immemorial, the dark gods have had their champion and the gods of light have had their own. Through all known history, all have suffered, as the dark gods harvested souls through the actions of their champion, and upon their death, they fought for the one who would be empowered the most. Once the battle was decided, they would choose another, and the cycle would begin again. Forcing all to fight, to kill, and to suffer. “I have not brought forth the age of separation. If I stop here, then this world will continue to suffer.”

I chose this path and lost everything, because my success would mean the gods of light may part from this world once their foes lost their champion forevermore.

If I succeeded, then this world can finally leave the eternal cycle of conflict that has beset it since time immemorial.

It would have a chance to choose its own destiny.

For such a future, I was willing to endure anything.

Thus, I prayed to my goddess to allow me to pursue the Demon Lord.

In reply, she whispered to me that the Demon Lord returned to the past… and that to fight him I would have to endure it all again, then face him after I already fought him once and only narrowly won. My victory was uncertain, while he would be twice empowered by his patrons, and I would have to survive all the trials I endured once again.

Knowing all of that, there was only one answer I could give.

With a prayer, I once again beseeched her once more to allow me to pursue the Demon Lord.

After all, I was her chosen hero.

How could I choose any other path?

With that I received my goddess’s assent, and a heavy deep weight fell upon me, as all my strength faded.

I fell backward as I lost the strength to stay standing.

But instead of falling onto rock and dirt, as the last of my strength faded, I felt two hands catch and lower me gently.

Before darkness claimed all my vision, for a moment, I saw my goddess’s face.

A kindly visage with a small, sad smile all framed by golden locks.

The face of my most stalwart companion through my whole journey would see me off as I pursued the Demon Lord.

Mustering up all my strength, I gave her a smile in goodbye.

Then, I knew no more.

…

Interlude: Satel

…

I fell back as the instructor’s blow sent me crashing onto the ground. My back stung as rocks scratched into it through my thin tunic, and I did all that I could to maintain my grip on my spear.

“Get up! Staying on the ground is death!” The instructor roared at me, and I rolled to the left out of instinct. His padded club collided with the dirt of the training ground. “Good, but not good enough, Satel!”

I got to my feet, clambering by pushing off the ground with my hands, but I was not fast enough.

Another kick, my sides screamed out in pain, and I was flung out of the training ground.

The sharp pain and my landing were followed by coughing that made the pain in my chest worse, while blood came up my throat.

“Healers! Get over here now! Punctured lung!” The instructor yelled out and I could hear his footsteps. I knew that it was over, that I already lost, but I couldn’t stay down. Despite the pain, despite my body telling me to stay down, I forced myself up even as I felt something pierce my insides. Before his footsteps stopped, I managed to stand with my practice spearhead pointed his way.  A cruel laugh left him. “Get over here before someone worth keeping dies!”

Then, I felt his foot hook behind my ankle and pull me off my feet.

I fell back and the pain intensified, but no further blows came.

“Lesson’s over. Next time, learn to look at all your opponent’s limbs instead of just their weapon. The freaks usually have more than one pair of arms and legs.” He spoke, before spitting onto the ground away from me. “You there, Heston, you’re up next! Show me all that training you’ve been doing hasn’t been for nothing!”

Heston.

The name alone made my blood boil, while the healers tended to my wounds.

The prodigy of the camp came forth from the bench where all the others had sat. He stood will was a grim determination set on his face, and opposed the instructor with skill and ferocity we couldn’t hope to match.

While we all struggled, he stood above us all… and ignored us.

Like we were beneath him.

I looked his way as the pain began to fade.

But most of all, it's because he had the name of someone who saved me, whose spot he took to be here, because he had noble blood.

I gathered myself and managed to sit amongst the others, but my gaze turned towards the sky.

 That horrible night was still clear in my mind.

Our village burned.

Monsters roared, while soldiers yelled to muster up the courage to oppose them.

Everyone was running, screaming, and crying, while snow and ash fell around us, and the twin moons bore down upon us like uncaring eyes.

Amidst all of that, there was Heston.

My friend who carried me on his back to safety, before running back to find more people to carry. He exhausted himself, burned his arms and legs, but he endured through the night. Through the darkness, through the flames, and through the frigid winter chill, he saved twelve others.

I once dreamed of a prince to marry, or a baron, or even a merchant.

Mother told me that was what I had to do to have an ounce of power. Once I managed to snag the eye of someone with wealth, I needed to be ready to give them everything, even if it meant losing everyone else. It was the only way for me live comfortably, for my children to be happy, and all other regrets will fade with time more easily with wealth.  

I believed her and trusted her words… until I watched Heston fall only to be caught by a soldier who called for healers.

The smile on his face, covered in soot, and pockmarked with small burns was still clear in my mind to this day. His clothes were taters, blood seeped from wounds, and he was straddling between life and death, but he looked at all he saved with a deep smile that held incredible joy.

He deserved to be here.

He deserved to train amongst with all children found blessed by the gods.

Not this young noble with his name that pranced about on the training grounds, pretending as though his teacher was not bought by his father.

I looked to the faraway sky and wondered where he was now.

Where he went after waving me goodbye on the back of a wagon with a face covered in loose bandages.

Sometimes, I had dreams.

Dreams where I journeyed with someone like him whose face I did not recognize, and we fought together against great and terrible monsters. Sometimes the dreams were here, in this training camp, where he stood for us against the harsh teachers.

Then, there were the nightmares.

Nightmares where I looked at his face through a doorway. A face contorted in sorrow before he turned his back to me.

Nightmares where I looked down at an unrecognizable, burned figure lying dead and alone at the foot of a massive, terrible demon’s corpse.

Nightmares that always ended with a robed figure holding a lantern with a baleful blue flame looking at me with disgust through golden locks.

Those nightmares always stopped me from wondering anymore.

V10: Chapter 3

V10: Chapter 3

…

Interlude: Riegert

…

There was no end to the onslaught, the barbarism, and the brutality that unfolded across the lands of the Wardens.

“Sometimes, I curse my choice to take the center with all its peace and quiet, then I come here to the south and see that I’ve chosen correctly.” Morgan mused and collapsed her telescope, before placing it in a pouch at her vest. She wore a strange mix of clothes. Thick alchemist robes atop plates of Citadel-material armor, which were atop a dark, full-body suit forged from the Citadel’s foundries. If she placed the matching helmet on her head, a seal would form between it and the suit, enclosing and protecting her from various ailments that now pervaded the battlefield. “Where do you need the reinforcements, General?”

“No need for titles. We’re the same rank, and you know your troops better than I.” I gave her a nod, which she returned, before she came to my desk. I placed my command tent on a hill that looked over a vast plain once used for farmland. We evacuated the people to safety two days ago… and now their village was a charnel house surrounded by trenches, churned mud, and corpses. “Do you want to hold ground, while I conduct reconnaissance, or leave the defense to me?”

“I’ll take the defense. I need to understand the enemy, and give my troops time to settle themselves. Give me at least two days.” A decade ago, I would’ve scoffed at Morgan’s words. She traversed from Academy lands with her forces to here and just arrived today. Such a long march, even with disciplined troops, would require more than two days. However, the shadow that had heralded her arrival was still above us both. Two days was generous, as she and her army arrived via a flying bastion ready to lay waste to the battlefield. A bastion that allowed mine to land and for its crews to enjoy leave for the first time in a season. “The mages are asking if there’s any sections of the perimeter that they need to keep a particular eye on.”

“The Forgers are employing a new weapon. A mass of spinning contraptions that spill over the battlefield that explode.” They were the size of a newborn, composed of clockwork mechanisms, and were half as fast as a hunting dog in full sprint. Released in the hundreds at once, from stout airships, they fell onto the battlefield, activated, and sped towards enemy lines. How they discerned an enemy from someone who is not, I did not know. Given the proclivities of the Forgers, I almost wished to not know. “They’re for filling trenches with explosives, but they’re sending so many out that they spill into our perimeter.”

The battlefield here was between the Forgers and the Wardens. The Wardens were fanatical and had numbers. Weapons from Guardians were flowing straight into their hands. Single shot rifles in mass with a near endless number of bodies was enough to stop the heavy advance of the Forgers. They did not implement as many small arms into their doctrine, preferring cannons behinds sturdy lines of infantry, along with drops of their new devices to scatter any formation. However, the Wardens were much more mobile, and much more willing to die.

I’ve seen more than a few charges of the Wardens end with satchel-based explosives based off our earliest designs exploding across Forger lines.

“No attacks from the Wardens? In your reports, you said that we’ll find no armed ones that are friendly here.” Morgan followed me into my command tent. Doctrine dictated that I be in the sky bastion, looking from battles from above, unless I was needed in combat. Given the situation, and the ongoing battle in the horizon, I judged it better to be ready to attack from here rather than ascend and meet with Morgan in her command center. “Why aren’t they attacking us?”

“Faith and firepower don’t fare well against razor wire.” After reviewing the battles against the Wardens, our King devoted time to creating a defense against their mad charges. It came in the form of spools of steel wire with four-pointed razors, which could easily unfurled across the battlefield for vast lengths. A horse, or just a few soldiers, could take off one end of the container, attach one end of the wire to a post, and then drag the rest of the spool out. Spools of wire were then followed by a moat, earthworks, then a killing field of more wire, trenches, and metal stakes. Layers of defenses nearly fifty fathoms long were between our place on the hill and any enemy assault. The roads leading into the base were constantly watched by both mages and riflemen, as well. “They learned their lesson.”

We entered the inside of the tent, and Morgan gave a hum of acknowledgement as she sighted the Forger’s creation on the table. Taken apart, save for its core, the explosives of the inert device were already disposed. My specialists who neared the head-sized core had reported to me that they felt… signs of life in the core, and that’s when I halted any further research into the thing. Then, I call for our sole specialist in regards to how minds interacted with magic.

“Well, it’s not one of the mortal races. Most likely a rat or some other pest. This is closer to necromancy than what I do.” Morgan tapped the core and gave a hum after a moment. Khanrow told me of her talents, on how she was able to use magic to make creatures obey her through needles, wires and lightning, but it was more humbling to see her do it in person. Few Champions had both talent and genius, as well as the drive to train hard and press against the boundaries of magic. “But it might bode ill of their lower caste. They barely view their lower castes as better than pests, no?”

With those words, a chill went down my spine.

“I think that they may have already done worse to their frontline.” Morgan stilled at my words, her gaze was wide only for a moment, before she schooled her features. Khanrow warned me that she put on a different mask for everyone she met. I had a feeling that she was trying to seem like a young woman eager to learn in my presence. There was no need. I was ready to oblige her. Going over to a nearby cabinet, next to clerks constantly working to send back information to our Citadels, I perused the folders within until I found the information on the frontline maneuvers of the Forger’s infantry. It was thick with updates with validations from the officers of those assigned to observe. “Their frontline are fully enclosed in armor now. We no longer see their faces. Most importantly, they do not break, and they no longer showcase any tactics we’ve seen them implement in other conflicts. All they do is surge forward to crush the enemies of the Forgers.”

Morgan’s gaze hardened at my words.

“They’re taking the lower castes and turning them into little more than machines. Such a waste. The Forgers we have are the most loyal and productive.” Shaking her head, she turned to me, and then hesitated before speaking. “General Riegert, if you would permit me to do so, I’d like to prepare an operation to seize officers and mages of the Forgers interrogation.”

I didn’t hesitate.

“So, long as your potential isn’t compromised, you can do as you wish with your time.” I’ve worked with the newest generation long enough. Gone are the days of absolute obedience and rule. That was for turning peasants into levied soldiers. In this day and age, generals decide strategies, and on the ground officers work with their lieutenants and sergeants to accomplish their duties. What was once a deadly amount of leeway, basically begging to lose soldiers or asking for betrayal, is now a benefit. These new soldiers flourish when their leashes are less tight, and when they are permitted to rise to their fullest potential. “I’ll cover for you. Go and do what needs to be done, General Morgan.”

I gave her a small bow, which she primly returned, before stalking out of the tent with purpose and vigor filling her veins.

In a few years’ time, I was sure that she will be the finest general that our nation could field.

While Ilych became its greatest Champion.

I’ll need to tell Ilych get along with her.

…

Erlan and the rest of the Forgers that fought with my troops against the Death Lord were given the most productive regions for Forgers in my territory. The former lands of the Scholars were mountainous, snowy, and with dark forests. Most of the mining was done by Iterants and by the laborers whose academic scores weren’t that great. There were barely five thousand Forgers, and only a trickle of their people was getting to us as refugees, so I couldn’t have them mining. Instead, the Forgers set up a town in a river valley surrounded by easily-accessed deposits of ore, built workshops that made use of the river’s flow, and I set up a train line straight to the Citadel that provided them with goods and materials they couldn’t produce.

Once all of that was established, I gave them I gave them their debut, gave them a smattering of contracts to work on, and basically let them figure out everything else. They could go right back to having castes, become anarchists, or anything else, and I wouldn’t mind if they got their payments on time and fulfilled my requests.

They started off small. Investigating material sciences mostly. I learned the hard way while making trains engines that every piece needed to be just right to prevent disaster. They received the specifications for an alloy, I gave them our current research along with some scholars, and turned them loose so that their racial bonuses could get to work.

It worked.

Forger research items centered around lowering the cost of upkeep of their units, as well as lowering the cost of purchasing them. They have expensive, but tough and well-armored units. Their research tree barely increased their armor levels until the endgame. Early-game and mid-game, it was all about reducing costs by finding better alloys, developing new designs of armor that used less material, and more. Their tech-based questlines customized their units further. In one example, the player can decide to go for making armor lighter for a bit higher movement speed, but retain their armor rating, or to use the lighter armor to enable them to put more armor on, thus getting more armor while retaining the same movement speed.

Now, I was using that tech tree across my society.

Better buckles for backpacks and stirrups decreased the amount of steel used, while retaining durability. Refinements to the standard nails used in prefabrications with a new alloy that reduced the amount of steel needed per ton of nails by ten percent. Improvements to the drill bits of our lathes, letting them last longer, and put cleaner rifling through our guns. A little more expensive, sure, but I’m willing to pay for better accuracy and longer-lasting machines. Anyway, even though the changes seemed small, when scaled up to tens of thousands of troops, even a few grams of steel off of each soldier will save me money, and decrease the weight they have to carry.

In short, I was glad that I decided to get the Forgers involved in the campaign, even if I get less than I wanted.

I disembarked from my transport and raised a hand towards Erlan, who gave me a bow in return.

Time to play the charismatic king.

“Erlan, it’s been too long! I see you’re growing well into your new home.” I needled him, and the prideful forger blushed lightly and shifted in his large, brown coat. All the Forgers present were covered up in thick wool coats with fleecing inside, making them look like stout Eskimos. Their homes were made with thick blocks of stone, making them look a bit like square igloos. “Just here to say hello, and inform you of some findings my general made regarding the Forgers. The latter might be better off behind closed doors.”

Erlan paused for a moment, looking at the number of Iterant guards filing out to flank the two of us. His own guards made sure to keep their guns shouldered. It wouldn’t have helped. Being within five meters of an Iterant pretty much means you can be sliced to bits the moment they want you dead.

Yeah, same rules as the Children of the Elm’s town.

They get uppity and stop working for me, and don’t negotiate, my answer are air-strikes.

Maybe, an armored train would be good, too.

But, given the number of kids these guys are popping out and how eager they are to send them over to the capital for education, I doubted that’d be an issue.

“Your majesty, I gave my people an oath to share with them all that I know. If you fear that my people mustn’t know it, then neither should I know.” Erlan answered as I expected to my statement, and I made sure to nod and smile at his statement.

“A very praiseworthy stance to take. Your people chose well, Erlan.” They had a pseudo-republic. Erlan was voted in as president for life, but he worked with a council that got into power for ten-year terms. The Forgers were meticulous with their societal planning and had everything written down. I read through it a year or two ago and okay’d it after Ayah confirmed it was decent. But that hardly mattered. It was time to make sure these guys were loyal forever, and to get some new infiltrators for Forger lands. “So, I shall do as you request. I’m afraid that I’m the bearer of bad news. Recent engagements against the Forgers have revealed that they’ve transformed approximately half of the lower castes into biomechanical servitors bereft of free will.”

I gestured to my transport, where a box was being taken out onto the snowy landing strip.

Or, rather, a coffin.

Erlan showed some of the fire of his when we were on campaign together at the sight of it.

“Please, my lord, may I open it myself?”

I gave him a nod, and to his credit, he didn’t puke until five second after seeing what was underneath all the armor.

The Forgers definitely had a lot of Scholars working for them now, given how fast they’ve turned their lower caste into little more than bio-computers with organs strapped to bipedal machines.

V2 Cover

Working mostly off the idea of the banner progressing as time goes on.

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 5)

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 5)

…

Increasing the abilities of the body was beneath nobility. Our path was to cast great spells, change the course of battle with words, and threaten the safety of entire cities with our presence. Knighthood was for those who needed to supplement their lacking reserves with martial might, but even they enchanted their weapons instead of mere physical enhancement. That was the path of the soldiers and even conscripts for meagre bursts of strength to keep themselves alive.

To improve the body’s strength, speed, and senses was to waste power that could be otherwise used for greater deeds.

Thus, such crude techniques were taught to children should they need to retreat or defend themselves against miscreants.

How I wished such was not the case, as I my power faltered, and I was unable to kill another slime once more.

“Oi, you’re going to embarrass yourself less if you use a rock or something. It’s obvious you can’t use that anymore.” Lord Trelawney hovered over the hive, seated in midair in a throne made of his armor, and projecting lights for Alice and I to continue our work. After lunch, he took us aside, and showed us a better method. From the teaming mass of slimes, we pulled small groups by throwing rocks, and killed those who we angered away from the hive. The rate at which we dispatched the slimes increased drastically from the simple change, but unlike Alice I was lacking in the ability to keep going. “Is it really that bad to pick up a rock and just kill something with it?”

The temptation to do as he said was high. Alice long abandoned her pride and used a hunk of stone that fit well into her hand to swiftly dispatch the amalgams of magic and matter that approached us. I would’ve felt betrayed, if not for the dullness of her eyes and the mechanical nature of her movements. Behind her glassy stare, there was little else besides discipline keeping her upright and fighting.

However, I was already debasing myself enough.

I will not abandon magic completely.

“Yes, it is that bad. There are some lines I will never cross.” The mere thought of it repulsed me. All my years of tutoring, learning, and training at my family’s expense, and I turn to using a rock instead of improving my body? An heiress raised to become queen reduced to using rocks like a madwoman in the middle of a frozen forest? No. I couldn’t stoop that low. Even if I wanted to. “If you can offer some more of your teachings, I would be immensely grateful, Lord Trelawney.”

“Guess you’ve been doing a good enough job, and that you’re learning to ask for help. Alright. How about this? Speed and weight results in force. Right now, you can’t manifest enough weight covering your hand in power, so how about speed?” He raised up a hand. Two orbs formed of the metal under his command. One was larger, while the other small. He sped the larger one at one amalgam of frost and primal magic as fast as one could throw a ball. Then, the smaller one at the speed of an arrow. Both creatures he picked came apart and died in an eerily similar way. He recalled both, set them alight, and the creature’sremains burned before he re-included the metal into the floating mass. “You obviously can’t hold an edge anymore or make a spike, while your reserves aren’t enough to make a club on your hands, so you’ve got only one choice.”

“Moving at such high speed requires improving my senses. If I do that now, I may die.” Magic comes easily to those of noble birth. Countless generations of careful breeding made sure of it. We can feel magic more easily, grasp it earlier, and encourage its growth within us at an earlier age. It flowed through us more easily, and with the right mental training, education, and practice, we can cast great spells that can decide the course of conflicts when we reach our prime. The power to shatter castle walls coursing through the mind and senses? I could cripple myself or die.

Lord Trelawney shrugged at my statement.

“That’s why I told you to use a rock, princess. Now, are you going to keep complaining, or are you going to shut up and prove your worth?”

Pick up a stone and fight like a savage, spitting on all that I have endured and that has been given to me.

Or, risk everything, just to keep holding my head high?

The choice… there was no choice.

I closed my eyes and found it. The tiniest threads that coursed through the material form. The threadlike things through which all sensation traveled and where all impulse was conveyed. Tiny, delicate threads that would break permanently if mishandled… and finally where the soul was kept within the body. The wrinkled mass within the skull, where memory, instinct, and thought were made and conveyed onto mortal flesh.

With careful training, fine soldiers could ascend to higher ranks and even knighthood by learning to improve their senses and ability to react. Even those with the tiniest amount of magic could train to move so swiftly and precisely with enhanced bodies that they could threaten any mage or knight when properly armed. But they are all typically base born, commoners, and they only had to tame a spring while I had to control a torrent.  

Carefully, with all the precision I could muster, I allowed magic to seep into my brain and nerves.

My vision immediately ran red, my senses became too keen, and nausea built up.

But I pulled back the amount I pressed into those tiny threads and managed to stay standing.

“Good job. Just a few popped blood vessels in your eyes and a nosebleed.” Lord Trelawney spoke, and I turned his way. With magic permeating my senses, I could no longer see the boy. Instead, in a throne of metals aglow with ancient enchantments, there was a barely constrained being of pure power in his shape. Beneath the gaunt flame, there was a being that was almost there. Almost on the final step to divinity, before he would have to leave the mortal plane and become divine. “Now, go on and start killing. You have three hours to kill three hundred more slimes. Chop-chop.”

The scent of blood permeated my nose, my vision was tinted red and blurred, but with my senses improved… I could do as he asked.

With greater speed to make up for my lack of force, I strode forward with blood marring my features, as I strode forward to kill once more.

Then, I learned that improving my senses made the fear and terror of the things I killed all the clearer, and that puking while my sense of taste was improved was horrific.

…

Upon our return, we were treated like royalty. Baths were drawn from us with tinctures added to soothe our weary bodies and encourage increased vitality. After the bath, a veritable feast of roasted meats, breads, and fresh fruit were given to us, and both Alice and myself consumed it all without blinking. After the meal, we received more alchemical concoctions, and imbibed them to speed up our healing and rest.

Then, after a morning and afternoon of hard practice, it was time for theory.

Thankfully, Lord Trelawney allowed us to take our classes reclining on leisure chairs, so that we could both rest our bodies after enduring the harsh day. Rather than a luxury, of course, it was a requirement. We were set to repeat our performance tomorrow with hardier creatures.

“This is the Frost Worm. It is one of the most common monsters in these lands. They consume bark by spitting acid on it, then consume it.” Chalkboards on wheels were brought into the guest wing and situated before the fireplace, around which all the chairs and furnishing were settled around. Maps floated in the air in easy view for both myself and Alice. We were both in nightgowns, but covered in coats, as even with the fire the night in Lord Trelawney’s fief was cold. The windows looking outside were alive with swirling snows. “They are at the very bottom of the predator and prey structure on this land. Everything eats them. They protect themselves by moving in packs under the snow, and when threatened, they spit acid on their foes, and try to swarm and bite them.”

He pointed at the maps.

“They move through the forests, and underneath snow. To facilitate your hunt, I’ll be melting most of it to make them easier to find.” He was casual regarding his ability. Though Alice raised an eyebrow, after seeing his true strength, I was sure he was capable of the feat. “Do the same as today, pull them in small packs, kill them fast, rest, and find another pod. In these territories, they know better than to try anything, but if something happens… just use magic to dig straight down and wait until the screaming stops.”

“Shouldn’t we run, instead of hunkering down in a place we don’t know?” Alice asked, perturbed by the suggestion.

“You might be plenty fast, but the tribals can run as fast as the winter winds in blizzards. Some sort of primal magic. Concealment is your best bet, especially since they’ll try to hold you hostage in exchange for their lives.”

“I thought you swore to protect us and that we’re guests, my lord?” Alice played coy, earning a rolling of the eyes from the young lordling. He was also in linen pajamas. The fact that he had a night cap on accentuated his youth. If he carried a teddy bear, it’d be easy to think that he was younger than he was. “If you can’t save us, perhaps it’d be best to choose a different creature to hunt?”

“Nah, that’d be even more dangerous. Everything after these are a lot more lethal, especially if you haven’t maxed out on the Worms.” Lord Trelawney shook his head and yawned. “Guess I’ll go ahead and wipe out a few villages on the border, while I’m melting away the snow. Keep those guys off our backs.”

Alice promptly paled.

She had inadvertently given Lord Trelawney ample reason to kill hundreds of tribal peoples.

Her pallor was a sign for me to make a move.

“I would rather you be ready to defend us at a moment’s notice, rather than be tired and trying to repel survivors of such an attack, Lord Trelawney.” I smiled at him as charmingly as I could. He blinked at me with gloomy eyes uncaring for my charm. Not even the slightest blush.

“I’ve seen you puke your guts out, princess. You’re not charming me.” He scoffed and I felt my face burn, while Alice suddenly glances away. That may as well have been her laughing heartily with how conspicuous the move was. I’ll have words with her later. “And, there wouldn’t be survivors. Those guys on the border are living on borrowed time already.”

I cleared my throat to get the topic away from the destruction of multiple villages for the sake of our safe hunt.

“Regardless, I prefer not to be involved in your war, Lord Trelawney. Please, let us return to the earlier plan for us entrusting you with our protection as we hunt. No need for… aggressive defensive measures.” I held my hands up at him and waved them, as if to try and shoo him away from the idea. The simple move somehow had him grunt in displeasure, which was a sure sign that he took my words seriously. “I will send my father a letter regarding your grand hospitality, as thanks. I am sure that he can send more supplies and traders, our way.”

“…Fine, fine. I’ll keep things clean where the two of you are concerned. But if they start targeting the two of you, the retribution needs to be brutal.”

“I hold no issue with that. Reprisal is fine. They must know better than to try to raise their hand against myself or Alice.”

Lord Trelawney dipped his head to acquiesce, before turning back to his chalkboard. He began to erase the contents upon it, then presented a new subject.

Farming.

Such was what he called the mass killing of monsters.

“Alright, moving on. The two of you learned a lot today. Mostly because I let you both make lots of mistakes. You went out there ready for war, instead of farming. That changes today. So, first, tell me what you’ll do differently tomorrow.”

Like a senior teacher, he questioned both me and Alice to better understand us both.

Alice raised her hand first.

“We went in there without a plan, instead of asking you how we should do it. You have far more experience in the matter.” Alice spoke, and Lord Trelawney nodded. He placed ‘information gathering and utilization’ on the board, then underlined it. Behind all the coarseness and lack of decorum, I was reminded of the fact that this child was incredibly bright. He condensed Alice’s words into a single phrase. “We need to ask before we set out, so that we can be best prepared for the task on hand.”

“Great start. If you’d done that, your armor and weapons wouldn’t be with the smiths right now, and you’d have had an easier time fighting.” I grimaced. He was correct. If I brought along weighed club, wore a padded gambeson and some armored breeches, I would’ve been able to fight against the amalgams of frost without any issue. Not merely my arms and armor, but my effort would’ve been saved. “Now, how about you, Princess?”

I looked at the board, searching for something that didn’t fall under information, before sighing and swallowing my pride.

“I should have used the rock, instead of risking my life.” Lord Trelawney seemed surprised by my admittance of wrongdoing, while Alice looked at me with quiet pride. I bowed my head and acknowledged my mistake. “I risked too much for far too little.”

“…Well said, princess.” He nodded before placing another simple phrase on the board. ‘Cost against reward.’ Another succinct phrase with enormous depth. He underlined both, then wrote something himself. “Now, here’s what I think you two are lacking the most in.”

A single word ‘efficiency’ was writ on the board with chalk and my brow furrowed.

We’d both killed a thousand slimes each within the day, but we were still lacking in terms of speed?

How could that be?

My question must’ve been obvious as Lord Trelawney smiled at me, and I felt a chill go down my spine.

It was the same chill that I felt before he grabbed me by the neck and held me off the side of a ship.

His explanation cannot be good.

Apocalypse Reborn: Demon Lord 13

Apocalypse Reborn: Demon Lord 13

…

There’s a limit on how much fervor can get you.

I was more than aware of the willingness of my troops to do as I say. It was a consequence of my own actions. They were a bunch of warbands, nomadic tribes, and villages living in obscurity, then I came in, gave them better living conditions, and proceeded to beat any threat to death. Keeping my word, ensuring the safety of my subjects, and not losing a single battle basically made me this world’s equivalent of a messiah.

Yeah, there are people who can resurrect the dead, heal the sick, and help crops grow faster, but in this fucked up world?

A raging barbarian who keeps his word and kills monsters without getting winded is preferable.

 Anyway, back to the situation at hand.

If I told my troops to attack the Academy’s capital, they would. However, they’d all get slaughtered for multiple reasons.

The first being that a while ago, I culled the core of the officer corps along with my father in this world, when they tried to take the Citadel from me. They were a bunch of tribal chieftains and lieutenant-equivalents, but they were still officers that kept my army of light cavalry coordinated and powerful enough to seize my first Citadel. If I kept them around, if they weren’t looking to seize everything that I had, I would have field officers and maybe a general or two to keep everything going smoothly.

Right now, my army was patchwork, without a centralized structure, because I had all the peoples I captured or allied with tending to their own needs. The military caste that I set aside from the barbarian tribes that stayed with me will take a few more years to cultivate into leaders and officers. Khanrow, Crusher, and Riegert were all trustworthy enough, but the three of them couldn’t lead an army twenty-thousand strong. They’d need to rely on their own officers, and I’ve seen those guys, so I knew that they wouldn’t make the cut.

So, though I could have my armies rush in and fight, it was smarter to do things myself. Revamping the army, creating a solid command structure, and generally making an effective military would just need to wait until after the Academy is put down. Sending them in against mercenary warbands, even with their numbers advantage, would just lead to a lot a casualty that is better off avoided.

Did it suck to stay and wait in a container in a water-carrying wagon?

Yeah.

But it was the best way to get into the Academy’s lands without being noticed.

…

The sound of water leaving the outside container alerted me that I was soon going to be extracted.

There were a few grunts from the outside, then three knocks exactly one second in between.

All clear and good to go while also in a secluded area.

I turned the wheel mechanism inside the door, and opened it with weapon in hand.

Just in case.

I needn’t have bothered.

“My master, we have arrived.”

I got up and for the first time in this life, stepped on actual streets with gutters. Cobblestone and not pavement, but still familiar. The buildings were tall and narrow, stacked against each other, with windows with potted flowers. There were trash cans and lampposts on the streets, and some buildings were municipal in nature, not just private residences or businesses. A quick glance across the street, into a random home, and I saw wood furniture with cushions and a shelf full of books.

Everyone else past the mountains were living in a dog-eat-dog world with everything in short supply, while they were basically an empire.

I would’ve respected them, if they turned all this power and ability towards conquering the rest of the continent, instead of growing fat and rich.

And, the Ancient Administrator was here because having a shapeshifter during an infiltration was useful.

“I will head to the rooftops, you make your way towards the central keep.” The driver of the wagon was already trundling away with a tank full of water. I filled it up along with the inner chamber inside. If someone found the inner chamber, he’d simply say that he bought it for cheap, and that it might’ve been used for smuggling before. With it open and filled with water, they’d investigate how he got it. That’s the worst case scenario, of course. The best was that he just gets away without being noticed. “Give the signal, if you’re in danger.”

The plan was to get the Golem through security, then have it open a window or other point of entry after it gets inside.

“Your will shall be done, my master.” Wearing a simple clerk’s outfit, along with an identification plate, the Ancient Administrator transformed into the clerk who we’d smuggled out with her family in exchange for her things. Now a blonde matronly woman, the Ancient Administrator started walking on the same route that the woman we flipped took.

Meanwhile, I ascended to the rooftops. They were slanted and tiled, but magic made it easy to lighten my weight, and there were more than a few rooftops that had gardens or service areas where water tanks were kept. Looking around, the city sprawled in every direction, a testament to the wealth and the power carefully hoarded for centuries and centuries by the superpower. They were able to hold so much fertile land, sustain such a massive population, by undercutting the rest of the continent and exploiting it.

Again, if only they were smart and didn’t rest on their laurels, they’d have all eight Citadels, and they would be able to beat the rest of the world back.

But that time, their time, was over now.

I followed the Ancient Administrator as the city awoke, as even in wartime, people went off to work, children to school, and people tried to live. Their fear was palpable. Hushed whispers passed between people walking on the street. Just regular words of concern, asking for each other’s status, and what to do if the city is put to siege. There was a lot of good press about the walls being raised around the city, of the work of the mercenaries in surrounding regions, and just a few passing words confirmed that the Academy was doing its best to keep knowledge of me a secret.

And, perhaps, even knowledge that they were hilariously behind in terms of industrial capacity.

Information didn’t travel that well, and I didn’t have a propaganda machine to make use of my influence and infamy yet.

Anyway, I made my way through the skyline of the city and in a few minutes reached the gatehouse.

The gatekeepers barely looked over the golem’s identification plate before letting her in. They were completely used to the woman’s presence, and they had no idea that a shapeshifter was in play.

I kept tracking the Golem, and after breaking the line of sight of the guards, the Ancient Administrator went to the nearest guard tower surrounding the palatial keep where the headmaster of the Academy stayed.

A castle that has never been surmounted by an enemy force.

Brought low after a month of careful planning and a single infiltrator that they could’ve never prepared for.

…

Interlude: Khanrow

…

There was no grand moment.

No change in the air.

No declaration of the start of either myth or legend.

The Academy died quickly, quietly and with barely any notice with Crusher and his Conquerors barely having to draw blood.

For our king spilled all that was necessary.

The Academy Council room was a place where the powerful of the Academy lands governed the land. The Academy told the entire continent that it was a beacon of equality. Those who rose up the ranks of society were invited into the Academy Council by its members or even a petition by the common people. There they would be able to vote with their peers on laws and the budgets of the nation. The Academy used the room as a symbol over their superiority over the rest of the continent, ruled by tribal leaders, petty kings, and warlords.

Never mind the fact that they only allowed males of Descendants born in Academy lands onto the Council.

And, that the seat of the father went to the closest male relative.

Finally, of course, there was the fact that they could only vote on laws and budgets that went through the headmaster of the Academy.

A title that was held by blood, or through apprentices personally raised by the headmaster.

It was a farce of a system meant the only spread the idea of their superiority. Those within it were merely stewards of keys to power that the headmaster had the master copies of. They were given concessions and benefits because it made them easier to control as they quarreled with one another within the council room. They guarded their hereditary rights zealously, looked at each other as potential foes, and none worked to usurp the Academy Headmaster who was the true ruler of the land.

It was the Academy’s tactic on ruling the continent, but in miniature.

And, today, that tactic had perished.

The council room was a bereft of blood. The heat and sharpness of my lord’s new artifact allowed him to cut through the council and the headmaster without spilling a single drop. The long room where so many aspiring Champions found their dreams crushed, or sold their souls to the Academy, was now bereft of life. The pictures of the previous Academy heads, so stern and dominant, seemed small and tiresome. None of the messengers that conveyed the Academy’s will to their guests were present, most likely spared by my king.

My king who now sat in full armor at the end of the grand table that spanned the room.

Headmaster Alistair’s head was set on the table before him, where a plate would be, if he were dining.

I knelt immediately in his presence after walking past the other dead bodies.

“Yourself and Riegert know this place.” I nodded at his statement. There was no faint scent of fresh death on the bodies. Magic was probably at play. He tolerated such things in battle, but in his presence outside of it, he maintained his appearance. “Call upon the lesser nobility that they have suborned. Have them brought to me. They will swear fealty or perish.”

“By your will, your majesty.” I dipped my head with the words, then felt his gaze settle on me. A shiver went down my spine. I hadn’t wished to even consider the possibility.

“You will rule this land from the shadows, while Riegert rules it as steward. It will be the breadbasket of our people, and the center of our lines of supply. Our administration and military will remain with the Citadels.” His words rang in my head. I could see it. A fortress the size of a continent. Citadels surrounding a heartland also ringed by mountains. The thought of it was intoxicating, especially with the threats of the outside world looming over us all. “If we can ensure its security, we will make our research facility as well.”

His words gave me pause.

“Security, my lord?”

He nodded.

“The lands beneath this place are tenebrous. Filled with vast, hidden tunnels of Ancient construction. They have been mapping it carefully.” He looked to his left and from the shadows came forth the Ancient Golem. Clad like a servant, she offered him a large scroll, which he unfurled and held in the air with magic. I found myself looking at the familiar map of the Academy’s lands, but with a system of tunnels beneath the landmarks that resembled a spider web. “If there are any mercenary warbands missing, they will have escaped through these tunnels, and through them they can appear anywhere. Even near a Citadel.”

He pointed at clear locations in the map, and I recognized them.

“The tunnels lead to the Citadels and centralized here.” I understood. The Citadels were fortresses that could produce endless amounts of supplies and soldiers. They were meant to protect this region held by the Academy, which could support the forces manning the Citadels from real factories and output from these resource-rich lands. Not only that, but wounded and fresh reinforcements can travel from Citadels to the heartland. The whole continent was designed to be a fortress for the Ancients’ descendants. But only now have the fortresses been raised, and the heartland opened to all instead of the Academy. The Academy knew this and did nothing. No. Worse. They let the outer walls be ruined and cast down all others. “The plan from the beginning was to have these lands house the peoples of the realm, while the Citadels and outlying regions acted as massive fortresses.”

The Ancient Golem nodded at my words, and that damned the Academy in my eyes.

Judging from the lack of pain on the headmaster’s face, he died without a struggle, not even knowing a moment of terror.

A death too merciful for him.

The young Ancient reborn into this world tapped his finger once against the table and re-took all my attention.

“I have raided his office and found a secret room. An Ancient Transport. A mighty vehicle that flies farther and faster than my own steed, which can also carry a dozen people. I want it studied by our most trusted scholars and alchemists. Its secrecy is paramount.” I bowed my head at his words. My mind raced with possibilities. Flight at night has proven to be a good method of maintaining secrecy. Our many supply depots and wagons traveling in the dark provided a bridge of lights that a well-taught pilot can follow. “I will entrust this matter to you, and place you in contact with the Scholars. This is while you maintain and see to the Academy’s lands.”

In the back of my mind, I realized that this was more than I ever dreamed of having even as a warlord.

Riegert and I had yearned for a nation to call our own, with a Citadel at our disposal, we could create a nation and not fall to the Academy.

Now?

Now, we practically ruled over the Academy and all its lands.

“Your will shall be done, your excellency.” I stayed kneeling, until he bid me to rise with his hand. When I stayed for a moment, his gaze turned to me. Implacable and filled with thoughts that I could not hope to decipher. Clearing my throat, I spoke carefully. “Your excellency, may I ask if you’ve considered taking a consort? I have a granddaughter I would like to entrust to you.”

Silence greeted me for a moment, before his voice reached me as a low rumble.

“Her name?”

“Morgan of House Ghor.”

For a split second, I felt as though my neck were separated from my shoulders, then the next I was fine.

Had I been too impertinent with my request—

“Bring her to me. I shall judge the matter by my own will.”

“Yes, my lord!”

It seemed he simply tested me for any hidden plans or schemes.

Thankfully, I only had the genuine desire to see my granddaughter’s safety assured.

Apocalypse Reborn: Demon Lord 12

Apocalypse Reborn: Demon Lord 12

…

Honestly, acting like a superhuman to take on the Academy involved a lot of subterfuge and exploration between bouts of extreme violence. With an eyepatch, some radio chatter, and a mixtape of '80s songs, the mood would be perfectly set. Honestly, I was tempted to dress down, put on some camouflage, and see how far I could get fucking with the Academy’s forces, but I decided against it.

Again, I needed to make sure that my appearance of invulnerability was kept.

So, instead of the greatest soldier alive, I was acting more like a precision bomb with a very, very large payload.

The Academy had a lot of mercenary Champions and warbands in their employ, and to their credit, they deployed them well against me and my forces. They went out from the Academy’s capital in force, across multiple regions, and fortified. Though some warbands encountered me and instantly got turned to paste, I couldn’t be in two places at once, and they pressed the advantage where I wasn’t. Since they had the manpower, money, and logistics, they were basically trying to tie me down while trying to rush my base.

If not for the fact that the Scholars had already found a fourth Citadel and gave me the ring, as per our agreement, they could’ve probably rushed my territories and done damage.

Instead, they got ambushed by Citadel Guardians, and now they’re just trying to retake their lands while looking for Citadels in other regions.

Anyway, since my regular forces couldn’t really match theirs, I went ahead and got creative by doing my best to blitz all the mercenary warbands as fast as possible.

Which basically amounted to three steps:

• Get dropped off at the neighboring region filled with mercenaries led by a mercenary Champion.

• Kill them.

• Leave for the next region.

The second step was more involved than I let on. I usually took two hours or so to gather information, get the lay of the land, and find supply depots. Once I had the perfect vantage point and the lay of the land, I’d hit all the supplies with magic, then storm the fortress where the Champion and leader of the warband resided. If there was an Ancient Dungeon there, I’d blitz it too and loot it for powerful artifacts and gear.

Then, I’d call my gryphon, hop on, and move on.

Though they had plenty of warbands and Champions, I was going through four of them a day, so even with all their resources, the Academy couldn’t keep up.

But I didn’t want the war to continue to the point where I’d have to throw my army into a defended city and get it shredded.

I wanted the people and the minds that the Academy had, along with all their knowledge and treasure.

So, I decided to change my plans.

It was time to roll the dice, until I had the materials I needed to go and kill the Headmaster and everyone else who could replace him.

…

Yeah.

I found out pretty quickly that my luck stat was also maxed out.

“Stay here.” I put the Ancient Administrator down, who still hasn’t stopped ogling me with dreamy eyes, and whistled for my gryphon. In ten minutes, it’ll be here to pick me up. Enough time to sort through the rest of the stuff I found over the course of the day in a large sack. “Actually, help me sort this.”

“Yes, master.” The Ancient Administrator wore a slip of cloth draped over its shoulders, and its form would make supermodels envious. Tall, slender, and thin, but also with ridiculous curves. Some perverse dev’s wet dream come to life. “Shall I focus on the combat artifacts?”

“No, I’ll sort those myself. Focus on what you can use first.” I should’ve gone plundering all the dungeons first, instead of wasting my time with the mercenary Champions. In just a day, I found the Ancient Administrator, as well as optical camouflage and a one-handed axe that had a superheated edge and returned after being thrown. Well, it was one-handed for me. Everyone else would probably struggle to lift the thing. It was probably meant for use by someone in power armor. “Now, tell me why you were sealed away for me to find.”

The Ancient Administrator was already calling me master.

Saying that it was sealed away for me to find was just playing into its own beliefs.

Anyway, it told me what I already knew. Logistical support and knowledge of how to build and maintain industry up to a foundational level. The Ancient Administrator was basically geared towards helping the people who found it manage their resources, so they had extra and could put that extra towards growth and research. If the Academy had found it a couple of centuries ago, the Citadels probably wouldn’t have been needed, or they’d have raised all eight at the same time and just wiped the rest of the planet out. Unfortunately, the Academy were a bunch of idiots, so I had to deal with the rest of the planet.

Once it finished its spiel, I addressed it.

“I see. I shall make use of you to your fullest ability and marshal a nation that will overtake the world in its entirety.” The golem practically shivered in delight and ecstasy at my words. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you told me that it was feeling its equivalent of bliss. “Cover yourself and hide your face. You will become part of my council, and you will help guide my will. Only the most trustworthy will know of you.”

“Yes, master, as you command.” If the Ancient Administrator could cry tears of joy, it probably already would. It looked at me like I was everything it dreamed of and more. It was probably right. Given all my boons and talent, I’m most likely an Ancient. An Ancient already halfway done conquering a continent and with four Citadels. By all metrics, in its eyes, I was living up to its ideal of masters. “I live to serve you and devote myself entirely to your will.”

A few minutes passed in silence, then the wingbeats of my gryphon arrived, and we both left to return to the backlines for a bit.

I needed to be at the top of my game before I went straight for the enemy leader and killed him.

…

Interlude: Khanrow

…

I followed the woman brought back by our lord for only a few minutes before I found myself held aloft by my neck by an impossibly strong grip.

Just as my bones were set to break, I heard my liege’s voice.

“Release him. He is loyal and skilled.” Clad only in a towel from the waist down, the Barbarian King sat on a seat in his tent. I hadn’t even noticed that I had been dragged into his tent. One moment, I was following the woman. The next, there was a blur, a vice around my neck, and then I was struggling to breathe while death awaited me. “Khanrow, your curiosity almost got the best of you.”

“Aye, my lord. It seems that it almost did.” The woman wore white robes walked to him and draped herself over him. He barely paid her any heed. I took note of how the chair he sat on sank an inch further into the ground. That woman was not flesh and bone. Of that I was sure. “This is a Golem from the Ancients, plucked from a ruin that I raided in search of powerful artifacts, in order to conduct the plan I informed you of.”

His words registered, but it took a moment to understand.

“You intend to keep the Golem a secret, then? A wise choice, your majesty, but perhaps some boldness would do us some good?”

He nodded.

“I considered it. With this Golem’s backing, we can gather many adherents to the legacy of the ancients. Make ourselves their successors in truth.” He looked every bit like the godlike beings we imagined our ancient ancestors were. He allowed the Golem on his lap like it were a woman of flesh and blood, when it must’ve been closer to a boulder in terms of weight. “But the Golem is not strong enough to defend itself against Champions. The destruction of the Academy must come first. How goes your preparations?”

“I’ve sent the message out already. We’re paving the way for you to join a refugee caravan inside a water carrier. It will insulate you enough that those scanning will magic will be unable to sense you, if you lower your magic to that of a normal mage.” At my words, the Ancient reborn gestured towards a cloak on an empty armor cloak. For a second, I was confused, until a light laugh left his lips. Then, something from the armor cloak flew towards me. I almost raised a blade at it, until it stopped, and I realized that it was some sort of fabric that allowed the user to meld with the surroundings. Not only that, but when I tried search it for magic, I found nothing in its place. I nodded. “That will work.”

A Champion amongst Champions clad in a cloak that bends light and obscures detection by magic.

I was tempted to make sure that he was assured of my loyalty.

“Make your preparations, Khanrow. You have one month. I will continue to plague the Mercenary Warbands of the Academy and seize the treasures that they have not.” I bowed my head as his words. His work on the battlefield was something of legend already. Region after region. Only handfuls of sentries killed in secrecy, destruction of patrols sent to find him, and the killing of Champions while sparing the rest and taking none of the treasury. The mercenaries that knew better, who did not fall to infighting and greed, took their money and surrendered. He was killing armies within a day and was seen as a god by the soldiers that he spared from conflict. “How goes your training of your duplicate?”

And, of course, he already knew of my apprentice.

“He is proving suitable for the task. Not skilled in assassination nor battle, but good at staying unseen and preparing for grander operations. It will take several years, before I can call him my equal.”

“When he spills blood in my name, present him to me, and I shall take his measure.” From another’s mouth, bereft of the actions and ability of the young man before me, I would’ve felt affronted. As arrogant and prideful the words were, stating that my student was only worth meeting after he has killed, I felt no ire towards the young man seated in front of me. Instead, I bowed my head in thanks. He was extending his trust towards me, believing in me, until he met my student when I believed him ready. “Go and rest, Khanrow. The coming month will be the end of the Academy, and it will be a bloody battle.”

I dipped my head in acknowledgement to do my duty.

No doubt, no fear.

Only assurance that if I did my duty, that all will be well.

Many would kill for the same assurance.

I know that I would.

With a deep breath, I ventured into the shadows of the camp to do as I was asked.

To lay the groundwork for the destruction of the Academy, once thought unassailable, by the killing of its Headmaster and all who follow him.

Once upon a time, I would’ve thought the task insane, but now I knew that the moment he decided that Headmaster Alistair would die… that his death would some come.

I looked about the camp, and sighted the nearest Conqueror, and when I raised my hand to him he led me to Crusher without a word.

“Khanrow.” I entered Smasher’s half-tent, half-lean to with a hand raised in greeting. He dipped his head and gestured for me to take a seat, while a servant of his came forward with milk and honey. I felt his gaze beneath his shadowed hood. “So, the rumors are true then. The King of Wisdom seeks to cut off the head of the snake, and further spare the lives of more meat.”

“Aye.” I sipped the honeyed milk and found it thickened with ground malt. It was a cool and thick drink that gave a taste of sweetness and filled bellies with ease. Dried milk, honey, and malt with water, and then mages provided magic for the final touch. Our lines of supply stretched from our first Citadel to just weeks of marching to the Academy’s center. Just a constant stream of hired contractors peddling one package after another on wheelcarts or wagons from supply depot to the next. Day and night, the supplies flowed, and an army more then twenty thousand strong wanted for nothing. Even those with the most piddling amount of magic could find a duty tending to frost rooms or providing water. “He can enter their capital without detection with my aid. They will come for him even after he slays the Headmaster, though. Much more blood will be spilled, if none declare themselves for him.”

“So, you would have us shame ourselves, hide our clan markings, and seem like mercenaries for hire, until the time comes to strike from within.” I nodded at his statement. Crusher was a wise one. The Deliverer even more so. None except an Ancient Reborn could’ve hoped to bring them into the fold with words alone. Not a single drop of blood had been spilled to include the greatest force of Conquerors ever seen in living history into our ranks. “You would have us debase ourselves for the chance at vengeance.”

His eyes were hard, and there was grumbling from his lieutenants, who all sat gathered around the fine carpet that was laid out on his tent.

There was a faint tension in the air, but I knew that this was all pageantry.

“You asked me to provide you a moment to prove your worth as more than warriors. This is the finest moment that I can muster.” I met Crusher’s gaze with my own, and placed my cup down to the rug. It was cool still in my hand. “Crusher, I ask of you, how will the Conquerors answer?”

His reply was instant and pre-determined.

“To destroy those who enslaved us, who hounded us for centuries, and who forced us to be nomads… there is no burden too great to carry. The Conquerors accept!”

Conquest roared and his voice was soon joined by the rest of the aged, elite group of Conquerors present.

A moment later a lavish feast was laid out onto the table, with a place of honor and the platter meant to be placed before empty.

On offering already on its way to our king.

A Peasant’s Guide To Sorcerery: 20

A Peasant’s Guide To Sorcerery: 20

…

Commissioned by Ichypa

Wordcount: 2500

…

Interlude: Su

…

Lord Zhang had a schedule that he kept without err.

In the mornings, he would always rise just as the sun began to dissipate the night. Before the roosters crowed, he would already be tending to numerous matters. Water would be drawn from the well, fires snuffed out for the night relit, and breakfast prepared for the whole household. Then, he would tend a range of chores, ranging from cleaning the house, to washing clothes, or taking stock, before going out to the fields.

It would be very demanding and consuming of time, if not for his use of his magic to make mundane tasks so simple.

Water would flow out of the well by his will and fill large tanks in the kitchen. One tank will be hot for the whole day and the other cold. The fires didn’t need kindling or even fuel, as he would simply glance at them, and a ball of flame would come alive and exude a constant heat without tending. There’ll be no smoke, nor even ash to clean, within any of the stoves of the household.

Breakfast came in the form of fruits that he desired, grown in an instant from seeds that produced small trees that walked off to join the groves after he collected the bounty. He cooked rice porridges in clay pots that stirred themselves, while preparing game meat or fish with just thoughts alone. Flesh would be stripped of the animals, bones placed to simmer in a broth to waste nothing, and everything would cook in light oil and greenery.

All the tasks he had would be finished within a few waking moments, and when everyone awoke, breakfast would be ready along with every other necessity in the house.  It was that moment between breakfast and him tending to the starting chores of the day that I sought him out at.

“Oh, good morning, Su! You’re awake early today!” I found him at the stables. Magic swept through dirtied straw and moved them into the churning earth. The churning earth ground up the waste of the horses, along with pests that entered the stable, and created invigorating soil that crept to the rest of the farm. I swallowed my fear, as memories of what happened to my companions resurfaced, and I gave the powerful man a nod. “Did you need something? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, Lord Zhang, I’ve come to make a request of you, if you’d be willing to hear it.” The words felt like impertinence manifested. I awaited a strike that would end my ability to speak and walk, while I was dragged into the earth to be ground up. However, what I feared did not come to pass. Why would it come to pass, when I have been spared for so long already? I knew this fact, but still the fear I felt was immense indeed.  “I’ve come to speak regarding the weapon you’ve created for me.”

“Oh, the Phoenix Talon? How is it? Is there something wrong with it?” He voiced his concerns amicably, assuming that there was something wrong with his craftsmanship upon being approached, and once again I was struck. Questioning the work of a skilled smith would get one berated and thrown out of a shop quickly. Effort and work were expended on every tool, along with the cost of materials. To have the tool be questioned is to spit upon all of that. It’s better to quietly look and observe, and perhaps lightly bargain for a lower price, than to address the matter of a weapon directly. “I can fix it up no problem!”

I took a measured breath and spoke honestly.

“I fear that it’s too strong, especially if you intend to sell them to others. This in the hands of others will cause much grief and conflict.” I hesitated, but explained further. “I know this as a former bandit. This weapon in the hands of such people, or even plain soldiers, will cause chaos throughout the lands. Please, Lord Zhang, even if it can make you immensely wealthy, you cannot sell these like the regular, new weapons in town.”

Lord Zhang’s eyes widened, then narrowed, as he placed a hand on his hip and waved a finger at me.

“Su, why would you think I’d ever do that? I don’t have the license to make weapons and sell them! Giving them to friends is fine, but not selling them! That’s against the law!” I blinked at his admonishing words. They lacked malice. Instead, he seemed affronted that I didn’t know the letter of the law. “And, you can’t sell weapons and be a farmer at the same time! Father said so. You need to focus on one thing and do it very well, and I’m a farmer first and foremost!”

The words sounded insane, but they calmed me down immensely.

Everything that he did. Everything that Lord Zhang did… was for the sake of being a better owner of the lands he now held for his ancestors. He worshipped them and gave them all offerings daily. Helping others, creating God Soldiers, and even teaching me was all, somehow, because of his path towards fulfilling his ancestor’s wishes of having a grand farm. As absurd as it sounded, put in the context of selling weapons means not being a farmer, his words gave me great relief.

I bowed my head.

“My apologies, Lord Zhang, for thinking such a thing. I should have known that you wouldn’t do such a thing without the proper papers, or divest your attention from the farm.” Lord Zhang puffed out his chest with pride at my words. He fully believed that he addressed all my concerns. He didn’t. Not in the slightest. In the various houses around the farm, tending to small fields, were God Soldiers. There was an heiress of a famed sect here, too. Then, there was the woman with Dragon’s blood. The chief concern he addressed was my personal fear that showing him the weapon that I purchased would lead to frightening weapons spreading across the land. That was more than enough to satisfy me. Let everything else fall as fortune dictates. “As for the weapon itself, my sole request would be a method to lower the strength of its attacks. If I were to use it near others, I fear that they would be harmed without my intention.”

“Oh, that makes sense! If you fired it in the city, you’d ruin a lot of buildings and hurt loads of people. That would be bad.” Zhang extended his hand towards me, and I gave him the weapon without thinking. I wished that he would keep it, but he looked at it, and forced it to change. On the gun’s body, where my thumb could easily reach while holding the grip and readied to fire, was a small lever in a half-circle. “Make the lever point all the way down and it’ll fire enough heat to just make people feel like they’re burning and need to run. If it’s all the way up, it’ll be as strong as it used to be. Be sure to test everything in between so that you know exactly what you need, Su!”

Zhang beamed at me, and waited to be dismissed, so I gave him a bow while holding the weapon to my side.

I thanked him profusely and fled.

…

The one thing that I truly loathed, after gaining all the power that I now had, was temptation.

When I was mortal, when I didn’t have the ability to bend iron between my fingers or swim for hours without needing to breathe, I knew that some paths were best left untaken. It was for the sake of survival. Treading a path of vengeance was a swift way to meet your end. However, such a truth only persisted when one remained mortal.

I am no mortal no longer.

Not completely.

The nightmare that plagued my sleep spurred the temptation. As I slept, I remembered the hideous laughter of those who destroyed my home, the scent of my friends and family burning, and the cracking of wood they struggled to hold themselves after being set aflame. I remember hiding, daring not to breathe, while smoke and tears stung my eyes. The heat and pain of being in the shelter with no one else, as I waited to burn and die, only for rain to save my life.

The calm of my new life, the constant source of food, and the lack of struggle beyond training, made the nightmares more constant. Now, I did not have to worry about my next meal. I didn’t need to tend to my tent and ward away those who would steal from me without a second thought. There was no preparation to be made for a long, arduous journey through mountains, covered in mud and with my scent masked, so that no monsters would find me.

No.

Now, I only had to train, and that was not enough to ward away the dreams of that night.

The dreams where the laughing figures, who cursed and left like drunkards when the rain came, beheld me their crest.

A crest that was present in the city that I could reach in a few moments if I wished.

They were there. The Ba clan was there. They were a middling clan, below that of Fei’yen, and they were troubled. They focused on the destruction of mystic beasts and foraging of rare ingredients for alchemy. Lord Zhang’s constant culling of beasts in the region, as well as his constant growing of many ingredients, did away with their prosperity. Now, they were escorting merchants through the region to other cities, and offering security to surrounding villages.

And, if those caravans did not want them and if those villages refused them, they would do to them as they did to my home.

I stopped them.

When I realized the truth, I went out there and stopped their attacks with Lady Ying’s blessing.

But I could do no more than stop them.

Lady Ying said that she would investigate the matter, that she would speak with Fei’yen, and leverage her influence. She was strong and well-known. The Ba clan will be put into a vice and their efforts to regain power will be curtailed. They will be beggared and dissolved.

But was that enough?

It would be enough for who I used to be. A bandit girl surviving after the wrecked and burning of her home would’ve cried in relief at that retribution. She would’ve feared retribution, if she were known as the one who spoke against them, but she could’ve fled across the known world. The person who I used to be would’ve been happy, would’ve taken up the plowshare, and perhaps had a family and forgotten what happened after contentment soothed her grudges.

Me?

Now?

I could go there and kill them all at this very moment.

It would be easy.

Their walls are low and there are no barriers protecting their compound. The patrols are weak, and they are also too far apart. Inside they are usually unarmed and unarmored. They have no immortal benefactors because of their wanning business. If I did everything correctly, if left not one of them alive and did not use the weapons I trained with, then none would know it was me that did it. It would take a mere hour, and none would be the wiser… except those who I lived amongst.

Lady Ying’s protections will cease if I did such a thing, and I will surely die if it ended. Lady Yuen can kill me with ease. Lady Bai will not even allow me to speak before dispatching me.

Lord Zhang would frown and feel sorrow, but he will carry out the sentence for a murderer.

But what if I ran after I did it?

I’m fast now. Much faster than I’ve been before. They are faster than me, but I know the lay of the region, and have visited the neighboring ones to hide from the reach of bounty hunters before. They are not trained in tracking others down. I have lived a life on the run and have learned so much. With my new prowess and my new ability, I can do it. I can see those who killed my family and friends dead, while keeping my own life.

A life of solitude, away from all that I know, and fearful of retribution from a far more potent force than the clan I wished to destroy.

My elbows shook with exertion, and I swiftly moved the block of metal on my back off, so that I could let fatigue claim me.

I turned onto my back and looked upon the night sky as it chased the final dregs of the day.

Temptation filled me to my core, despite even the knowledge that I would be hunted by Lord Zhang and his people if I fell for it.

I called so many people fools for chasing revenge, but here I was, barely able to hold myself back.

“Why can’t I let go?” I asked the question to no one. “I can leave it to her. Then, I can do as I wish with those who abandon everything for banditry.”

The fate of these people was set. Their actions will be known. After they are broken apart by the Fei’yen, they will be unable to find jobs. They will have no choice but to go to another city and start anew. Many will not endure such a struggle. They will turn to what they know, and when that time comes, I will be able to have my vengeance.

But what of the people who do manage to start anew?

Do they deserve that after all that they’ve done?

To that question, I had another for myself to answer.

“Will I only be satisfied with them all dead by my hand? Is that the only thing that will give me peace?” With those words, my tempted mind had no answer, and I mustered the will to banish the thoughts away. But it will return. It will return because I am not beset by so many needs any longer. Now, my mind wanders even as I sleep, reminding me every few weeks of the horror that I witness. Then, the temptation returns, and each time it’s more difficult to refuse. I got up from laying on the dirt and stared at my hands. Hands capable of crushing iron and breaking bone with ease. If I let this temptation continue, then I will fall into it. I was sure of that. “I need to speak to Lord Zhang and ask him for his help.”

He terrified me, but I knew one thing for certain: he will solve this matter and I will no longer be tempted.

A Peasant’s Guide To Sorcerery: 19

A Peasant’s Guide To Sorcerery: 19

…

Commissioned by Ichypa

Wordcount: 2500

…

Interlude: Su

…

After receiving the gift from Lord Zhang, I was visited by Lady Bai.

Lady Bai wore robes that were primarily white, with a lavender waist skirt, and a pink sash. A braid with a small jade ring hung from her sash. Her clothes fit her figure well, and lords of cities would have fought to claim her as a wife for her body alone. Her hair was such a light black and hued that it was nearly a light purple, while her skin was unmarred by any blemish. With her slight, sharp nose and pink lips, she had a visage that made me imagine an emperor would demand her to be his wife.

She would then kill that man for making such a foolish demand, while crushing the nation he commanded.

“My Lord Zhang granted you a gift. Show me.” I did not waste time. I got to my knees, and held up the weapon with both hands. It frightened me. The weapon I bought out of curiosity was transformed into something of unimaginable power. Something that I didn’t wish to keep. I had fired it upon a mountain and with my improved vision, I saw the shot go straight through the mountain top and go past it into the sky. “Do you know why he did this?”

I had feared the weapon, when I should’ve feared what it meant in the eyes of all others in the household.

“I had purchased it out of curiosity. Lord Zhang took note, and stated he was concerned that I received a poor weapon, then he improved it before returning it to me.” I kept my head against the floorboards, and my palms against the floor as well. A hum left the lips of the God Soldier amongst God Soldiers. A being that desired the attention and love of the man who I just received a gift from.

My lips moved to speak of my innocence, but I made them still.

 I wished to imply nothing.

Lady Bai was silent for what felt like an entire hour, but when she spoke again I wished that the silence had stretched on for an eternity.

“Lord Zhang hasn’t deigned to give me a gift.” The words sent a chill down my spine. He had given the dragon feigning to be an archivist an axe. Lady Ying had a sword. Now, I had a gun. I did not like this in the slightest. I wanted no trouble, yet here I was kneeling with my head against the floorboards, before an entity that can destroy me with a flick of her wrist. “What must I do to earn it?”

I wished to tell her to ask, but I knew that answer was a foolish one.

“Lord Zhang… does his utmost to be perceptive and show his care. I believe, my lady, that you need only try various weapons and find one that you prefer. Then, he will provide something to you made entirely by himself.” I did my utmost to separate myself from the three of them. This weapon, I wished to scream, was not made by Lord Zhang. It has only been modified by him. Not something he worked carefully to create for my sake. “I assure you that you will receive a weapon handcrafted by himself—

Suddenly, I found myself moved, seated upright, and across the table from Lady Bai with snacks laid out between us and all the windows to my room opened to admit light.

No longer was I prostrating myself before Lady Bai, but instead seating across from her like a host.

I realized why as the door to my room slide open.

“Hey, Su! I thought about that thing I gave you, and I made something much, much better! Here you go!” Lord Zhang entered with a smile on his face, clad in his usual peasant robes, and looking like a farmer that should be out on the field. His clothes were brown, the hem of the robes was above his knees, the sleeves didn’t reach past his elbows, and he wore wooden sandals. Instead of a sash, a rope bound his clothes together, and a wood plaque denoting his name and status hung off that rope. A peasant with fair skin and white hair at first glance. A monstrous existence to all who knew the truth. “Try it!”

The weapon he provided was a terrifying block of metal with white, glowing wood coursing through it like veins. Upon touching and accepting it, I felt fire, metal, and wood in perfect harmony in the handle. I swallowed thickly as it felt like a toy in my hand, yet all my senses told me that if I did as he asked, I would ruin the whole mountain top that I fired it at.

Right after I tried to imply that I received nothing made by his own hands alone, he proceeds to come here and place a weapon of unparcelled power in my hands!

Right in front of his most ardent admirer!

Lady Bai was smiling and serene, but even though her smile reached her eyes, I could feel her cold and deadly gaze between her lidded gaze. Through that gaze alone, I felt a specter of death forming behind her and reaching for my neck. In her eyes, I must’ve just lied to her, and just received a personal gift from someone she idolized, adored, and worshipped with all her being.

The moment Zhang leaves is the moment my life will end—

“Oh, Bai! If you’re done chatting with Su, I need to make you armor, weapons, and then we need to get you lots of nice clothes.” And, in an instant, like a storm bearing both misfortune and gifts, Zhang turned the situation around completely and utterly. Lady Bai’s face went from promising death behind a smiling mask to a bewildered and entranced lady. It was almost comical. She looked to be a of the highest privilege and standing, but she was fawning and almost in tears at the words of a peasant farmer. If I didn’t know the terrifying truth, then I would’ve scoffed at the sight. “I’ve been busy, but I’ve made time for you for the whole day! We can do this every week now!”

“I… I am undeserving of such attention, my creator, but I graciously accept.” Lady Bai mimicked my earlier movement, right where I had performed it. Before Lord Zhang, on her knees, she bowed her head until her forehead connected with the floorboards. Unlike the fear and terror I exuded in the same position, she gave off nothing but joy and happiness, as she was elevated above all others in an instant. How the leader of all the God Soldiers thought that she was below me or the others, I didn’t know, but I had no intention of asking. “Are we to spend time together now?”

I pleaded with all that is good and merciful in the world that Lord Zhang would say yes, because I knew him to be the sort that always had other plans and machinations at play.

“Sure, but you’re spending time with Su. Do you want to come, Su?” Zhang looked at me with a smile, and before Lady Bai could ‘smile’ at me, I answered.

“Ah, we’ve just finished speaking. I’ll go and learn how to use this and tell you how it goes, Lord Zhang.” I smiled and bowed my head. Thankfully, Lady Bai gave the smallest of nods in the corner of my eyes, and I knew that I was safe. Lady Bai rose and so did I, and we both gave each other a bow of goodbye. “Enjoy your time together! Lord Zhang, please be sure to show  Lady Bai the whole of the town. She hasn’t been there yet!”

“Oh, right! I’ll do that! It’s good that I have a lot of time to spare today!” Lord Zhang beamed and reached out his hand towards Lady Bai. It would be foolish for a farmer to extend his hand in such a manner towards a refined lady. Such a thing could warrant the lady’s guards beating the peasant senseless. Instead, Lady Bai blushed prettily and accepted his hand with a true smile hidden behind her sleeves. “Have fun training with the new artifacts, Su! Tell me how it is later!”

I bowed towards him in reply, and felt a weight lift from my shoulders as he left along with the God Soldier.

Mere moments after they left, before I could even sit down, there was a knock on my door and it opened to reveal Lady Ying.

“Lady Bai and Lord Zhang are going to the city for the day.” I told her without being asked, and she gave a nod, before closing the door and leaving without another word.

A moment later, Yuen came, and I told her the same thing.

Was it foolish of me to not pick a side amongst the three of them?

Yes.

Would it be even more foolish to pick a side and become the target of the other three?

Absolutely.

…

Knowing the absurdity of whatever he made, I swiftly travelled to the coast to test the weapon.

The absurdity of my own words was not lost to me.

A mere year ago, I would struggle to travel between towns. It would take half a season to travel between towns. The roads and trails made by the empire long ago were ill-maintained. Dirt trails between towns were plied by hardy merchants with guards, but travelling alone or in a small group was suicide. Monsters were aplenty in the woods, and then there were bandits, or even forces from small villages who’ve long abandoned all pretense of civilization.

Yet I could reach the coast on foot in just an hour, without even tiring, as I was now someone who walked the path to immortality. One of those few people who lived on the mountain tops, or secret valleys filled with sweet water and fruit, and who aspired for the heavens while all others lived in the mud and the muck. I had loathed those people with all my heart, while I strove to do anything in my power to live just another day more.

Now, I was one of them, yet the power I held frightened me.

I took the weapon Lord Zhang gave me. It was as light as a toy in my hand, yet simply holding it told me that it was a weapon that demanded respect. I kept my finger off the trigger, which was so small compared to a crossbow, and aimed it with care. It was like a handheld crossbow with two points between which a target should be placed. With a bolt from a crossbow, I had to take wind into account, worry about the strings being too frayed, and the bolt that I made not being properly weighed or feathered.

I was sure that the weapon in my hand now had nonesuch concerns, as I aimed for the horizon where the waves met the sky.

With trepidation, I aimed the weapon, and then squeezed the trigger.

A lance of molten metal so bright that it was pure white as it lanced out from the barrel. The speed with which it surged reminded me less of a flying bolt and more like a sword strike from Lady Ying: faster than mortal eyes can see. However, that was not all. It spun in its trajectory, like a drill in midflight, but with such speed that it looked as though it were still. The sea furrowed and split beneath it, and the water that neared it turned into steam. A great gouge persisted in its passing, along with a long trail of white steam that rose into the heavens, while the bolt flew into the distance until it collided with the sea.

Then, a great plume of steam and water erupted above the ocean with such height that I feared it would touch the clouds.

I had pulled the trigger only once.

The weapon thrummed faintly with immense power, as if to inform me that I could have pulled the trigger a dozen more times before it would have to take a day to recharge.

Knowing Lord Zhang, he’ll think of this as a trinket to produce and sell.

Though I had little courage, I knew that I now had to take a stand and do something.

These weapons could not reach the hands of normal people, otherwise what little peace we had now would be utterly shattered. This frightening weapon should never exist. I could only imagine what would happen if these weapons became as common as crossbows. A chill went down my spine as I realized that was what the creators intended. If Lord Zhang saw the funds that they were making, if he saw their ‘poor’ product as something to improve and sell himself, then there’ll be carnage and chaos. His weapons will be sold to the nobility of the town, then they will go to war with them, and then they will invite the attention of the immortals.

There will be conflict, his weapons will fall into the hands of others, then they will use it or improve on existing designs. Machinists and alchemists may take years to reach his heights, but they will reach it eventually, and then the world will be filled with these weapons for all to wield.

I needed to stop him… and I had to speak to him truthfully and privately to do so.

It frightened me immensely to have to do such a thing. I avoided the man, despite his goodwill. When I looked at his face, before recalling all his power and strength, the first thing that came to my mind was he killing of my fellows. I had watched as he killed them, then turned them to mulch for trees on the road between his farm and the city. The thought of it still made my stomach turn, so if I did not have to, I did not speak with him.

But there is no choice in the matter now.

Not if I wanted to prevent weapons such as these from spreading across the land.

The 44th Son of the Heavenly Demon is a House Husband!?

The 44th Son of the Heavenly Demon is a House Husband!?

…

Water splashed on my face, and I felt it sting as it got into cuts.

I did a quick check on my body from toes to fingertips.

Okay.

Not paralyzed from the neck down.

Good progress.

“You barely match a First-Rate warrior. You should be ashamed of yourself.” I moved to a familiar position. Kneeling on one knee with head bowed and hands clasped in gratitude. “To be so well practiced at playing the beggar, you are truly shameless, brother.”

“This one thanks his venerable sibling for the lesson.” I didn’t raise my head. I didn’t need to. The noises from the crowd looking onto the training block were enough. Yes, I’ve been beaten by a child eight years younger than me. “This one humbly requests another spar in a month’s time.”

“Hm… no. I don’t feel like it. There’s no point in humbling you, brother.” I felt the tip of a shoe lightly touch my temple, and I prepared myself to get thrown back and off the meter-tall fighting stage. “See? You’ve been beaten so much you take the fun out of hurting other people. Boring. If you talk to me again, I’ll just kill you.”

My response to the complete crushing of my pride was simple.

Kneel on both knees, place my palms against the floor, and press my forehead against the floor, too.

No words.

She said she’d kill me if I did, after all.

The chattering of onlookers kept the silence from deepening, but eventually it ended with her scoffing and leaving.

I didn’t raise my head until she was past the audience area of the stage.

And, I didn’t start thinking for real, until she was out of the common area of the sect.

People with enough talent have the uncanny ability to tell when you’re thinking poorly of them.

Best not to risk it.

Damn, that’s another trainer that won’t kill me gone.

I wonder if the next generation coming out of training will be willing to help me?

68 through 76 should be graduating this year.

 Only eight, since pops was fighting a war for half a year a decade and a half ago.

I finished cleaning the beatdown square, circulating power through my body to speed up healing, when I felt a presence just behind me.

Turning with broom in hand, I was ready to bow when I found a masked figure covered in cloth from head-to-toe kneeling before me with an outstretched hand.

An outstretched hand holding a red scroll capped with jade claws at the ends and a real gold seal.

“Thank you for your work.” I gave the dude my thanks and took the scroll. There was no response. Just him disappearing to murder a hundred babies or whatever else father’s personal assassins do. I opened the scroll worth more than the shack I lived in. Of course, pops pulled the batshit crazy father message with a simple ‘come.’ No time and no date, so… if I didn’t want to die, it was right now and as fast as possible.

Naturally, I didn’t want to die, so I made a break for it to the top of the mountain with a scroll in hand.

…

After the equivalent of fifty flights of stairs, I had to open a massive iron door without any help, and after that leap over a moat filled with broken blades of all of Pop’s defeated foes. The moat was at least three Olympic pools long, ten meters deep, filled with rusted and probably cursed weapons, and every time I tried to leap over it, it was a near thing with me getting only one hand on the ledge.

Then, I had to walk a football field or two to get to the central palace.

Where Father was on his throne, and every child of his was present sitting on cushions, before a lacquered, elevated tray of food.

I barely crossed the threshold when I decided that groveling on both knees was a good idea.

“This one great the venerated, head Patriarch, the Heavenly Demon!” I put everything behind those words, making sure that it travelled the massive hallway, and that it reached him. “This one has heeded the summons sent!”

Three heartbeats later, I was still alive, but not one of my siblings was laughing at me or jeering.

Then, in another heartbeat, a shadow fell upon me from the center of the path towards father’s throne.

There was only one being that was allowed to stand at the center of that long path.

Not good.

Things get too interesting when he gets up from his throne.

At the very least, if he unleashes his power here and now, I’ll get pasted and die painlessly.

“The Orthodox Sects require further humbling. I have forced their greatest clan to accept you as the husband of their greatest talent.” Of all his children, I was the worst performing, but I guessed that I was still of his blood. No. I was of his blood and expendable, so I could act as a tripwire, or give a reason for them to attack by dying. “Indeed. You now know your duty. Leave my sight, and never return here again. Begone.”

With those words, father raised his hand, and I felt an immense pressure grip my body before I was bodily flung out of the mountaintop palace, over the defenses, and past the stairs.

Hundreds of meters above the common area of the sect at the foot of the mountain.

Time to aim for the nearest well, I guess.

…

If I were some incredible person reborn into a life of martial arts, mystical powers, and monsters, I’d probably have someone see me off before I got exiled. Maybe, some genius, talented maiden would stare longingly at my back as I walked away into the sunset. Perhaps, a childhood friend would try to follow me, but be held back by her clan. Hell, a rival could show up and state that if we ever see one another again, I should be prepared to lose.

Yeah.

None of that happened.

If I wasn’t required to attend something, I was training my ass off, hunting down demonic beasts, and generally doing my best to not be the greatest disappointment ever.

Just, you know, a regular disappointment that tries hard.

It’s not my fault that I can’t seem the summon up the required hatred and loathing needed to use the Demonic Arts.

If I were born to a normal clan, even amongst the unorthodox sects, I’d be considered pretty good. Twenty-five years old, but a first-rate warrior with exceptional regeneration? I’d already be married with a good household. Instead, because I was just a first-rate warrior with exceptional regeneration as the Heavenly Demon’s son, I barely deserved a hut, didn’t get a servant, and needed to risk my life constantly to not get executed for being worthless.

Yeah, so no flags popped up on my departure.

I got given a horse, five days of supplies, a map with a marker, then they slapped the horse’s ass and sent me away with a laugh.

No guards, no entourage, and no gift to give to my new ‘family.’

Basically, if I just went over there like an idiot and demanded entry with my seal, I can be put down and killed.

If I don’t act like the proper husband, my new family will find a way to dispose of me without dirtying their hands, and dear-old-dad will probably just shrug it off if they prepared well enough.

So, I need to be perfect all on my own.

Thankfully, in this land of mystical kung fu, demonic beasts that popped out via portals from the demonic realm, and where mortals can ascend and become divine, being perfect comes with an instruction manual.

Just do as tradition says, stay humble, and you'll do fine.

I should know.

It’s how I’ve survived two and a half decades in a world filled with psychopaths.

…

Interlude: The 7th Sword Saint of the Namgoong Clan, Seol

…

There was a clamor at the western gate, and I knew that the day that made my heart race with trepidation so many times across the season had finally arrived.

It was almost a relief to be free of the maddening palpations that I had to hide behind a smile.

“Sister.” June reached out to me, but I shook my head and gave her a smile. I looked towards the sky, took in the gentle rustle of the leaves in springtime, and when I lowered my gaze… I strengthened my resolve. “Is there truly no other path than to marry a monster?”

“Not if there is peace to be had.”  The Demonic Cult is ascendant. Their constellation rules over all. Many orthodox sects have entered seclusion under the face of destruction. The Namgoong cannot lest justice fade from the world forever. I must make the sacrifice to ensure that. “If this is not done, all mortals will suffer the wrath of the unorthodox sect for centuries.”

“But—” I knew what June would say next, and I elected to silence her by reaching for her auburn hair and giving it a light ruffling. Her amber eyes teared up. Worry and consideration filled those pools of honey.

“No, it is better that it be me. Who better to shoulder the burden?” All my life, I have known only the sword. June and the rest of my generation had lived. They embraced one another, drew breath from one another’s lips, and shared nights beneath the stars. My duty has always been to become a Sword Saint of the Namgoong Clan. I achieved it. Now, rather than wage war outright, the Heavenly Demon sought more insidious means to bring us low. “With this, many lives will be saved.”

June sniffled and dried her tears, before nodding and setting her features.

“Sister, please, at least allow me to stand at your back while this is done.”

I felt a smile form on my face, and I gave her a nod.

“I would like that, sister.” I gave her a light embrace, before taking a step back, and turning towards my destiny.

The path between the main compound and the gate should’ve been longer, but it felt like only a few heartbeats passed before I faced the great gates and addressed the keepers.

“I can feel the power and strength of the Demonic Cult through the door. I know that my betrothed has arrived. Shame the clan no longer with this display.”

Apologies were given, and I spared them a nod and a smile to assure them that no harm would befall them, then my focus was taken by the opening of the gates. Wrought of strong iron, reinforced with sturdy elderwood, and with a core composed of the bones of strong demonic beasts… it was not enough to halt the Heavenly Demon at his most wrathful.

It was not even enough to halt his eldest children.

Therefore, to prevent our destruction or seclusion, the Namgoong sought a treaty of peace with the Demonic Sect with myself as collateral.

If we did not do it, then all other orthodox sects would fall, and the Heavenly Demon would rule over all the mortal realm.

I knew that this was my duty, that I had to accept this marriage, yet in the back of my mind… something bright and burning hot that I though smothered whispered for me to draw my blade, to rouse all the orthodox sects to a fighting fury, and to fight for the sake of justice against the Heavenly Demon’s tyranny.

There are other rising stars in my generation. Some of them were smaller sects, but still they are powerful. More than a match for all the Heavenly Demon’s sons and daughters, especially as he destroyed and consumed all the Unorthodox sects into the Demonic Cult.

All I needed to do was draw my blade and cut through the destiny that was laid before me—

“This one, Jin of the Demonic Sect, humbly offers his greetings to the Namgoong Clan!” Words filled with arrogance. Eyes set with hate. A young prince with scarlet eyes, bone white skin, and long black hair that stank of Demonic Qi. My expectations were all shattered. I looked upon a scarred, tanned face with short hair, a build suited for a laborer, and simple traveling robes. He had the Demonic Cult’s seal at his waist, but he looked more like an escort warrior, especially with what was at his back. “I bring with me the gift of a groom!”

My mind went blank at the pronouncement.

At his back were more than a dozen wagons pulled by oxen with lacquered boxes stacked atop them.

The inklings of tradition arose from my mind, but before I could reply, a swift and sharp voice that made my spine straighten resounded.

“You worthless lickspittles! Are you going to stick around staring like idiots, or are you going to get to work! Especially you!” I reached to cover my rear instinctively, only to receive a slap to the back of my head instead. Grandmother surged past me, and a frighteningly, a wide and bright smile I’ve never seen crossed her face. “My apologies, dear Jin, for the poor reception! Please, follow me, I’ll show you to your quarters at the main compound!”

Main compound?

Not the guest compound?

The fact that I was going to be married suddenly came rushing back.

“Head Elder, please—

My mouth snapped shut, as my grandmother looked over her shoulder at me, while gently escorting my fiancé towards the main compound. Her brow was heavy, her eye as hard as steel, and the scowl on her face promised death. A demonic cultivator would’ve been less terrifying to see at twilight on an empty mountain trail.

Somehow, grandmother replaced that hellish glare barely bereft of baleful flames with a smile my way.

“My dear, little Seol, why don’t you take the day off to rest and relax? We can meet tomorrow for lunch.” With those words, I was dismissed by Matriarch of the clan, as she introduced herself with a light laugh and a hand on the back of the Heavenly Demon’s son.

I made sure they were both out of earshot before speaking to June.

“I don’t believe she’s ever spoken to me so nicely.”

“…I was unaware that she could smile.”

We both stared at each other, then we both turned to the long train of wagons at our back, and despite myself I felt… at a loss at how to feel.

Then, an old laborer came by and gave a deep, appreciative whistle.

“Eighteen wagons of treasure and not one lick of it with the Demonic Sect’s seal. The Heavenly Demon might be a right bastard, but it looks like he’s raised a decent son.” The man stated, to the agreement of many his age, as they all went to see the oxen, wagons, and treasures kept in. I froze at the words, and the older laborer looked my way and raised a thumb at my direction. “Young lady, you’ve hooked a real keeper of a husband! He gathered all these treasures with his own hands to give today… just for you!”

Despite myself, I felt a deep blush suddenly come alight on my face.

All these treasures were for my hand!?

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 58

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 58
Wordcount: 2500
Commissioned by Sivantic.

…

Just a few days after her first words, the child was already walking upright and staring at everything with interest. Given the speed with which she learned and matured, I decided it would be wise to teach her to read and speak the kingdom’s tongue, as well as the As’Kari’s. She took to both with stunning speed.

“Great Wasp!” I was making use of my anatomical models of the creatures I hunted. Though Jessica disapproved, some part of the child’s mind was captivated by the knowledge of these creatures. Instinctively, she seemed to search for means to identify potential threats. A greatly enhanced understanding of what is dangerous and what is not, perhaps? With bright eyes, she pointed a chubby finger at the diagram I held up, then narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow as she tried to read the letters. “Weakness is… thorax!”

“Correct.” The thorax of the Great Wasp was carefully guarded. It not only connected the two halves of the beast but also held the tightest bundle of nerve endings the creature possessed. A strong strike to the thorax is similar to breaking the Great Wasp’s spine, which leads to it losing its ability to fly, control its body, and manage all its autonomic functions. That is why saddles for the creature typically cover it, and riders defend it with great care. A strike there in the middle of aerial combat can easily mean two deaths. But the child didn’t know that yet. I pointed at a phrase to the upper right of the creature. “What does this mean?”

“It’s used by people!” The child glibly replied with a smile. I would estimate her mental age to be closer to three years, as an exceptionally brilliant child. Categorization and differentiation between fauna and flora were near-instinctive for most children, but putting them into words was difficult. This child was curious, cautious, and hungry for knowledge. However, most importantly, in all her lessons, she did not showcase any prior knowledge of her own, which pointed toward her being a true child and not like me. “Like Corn—corne—Corni!”

Lengthy words were also a struggle for her, one that only practice and habituation would be able to overcome.

“Cor-ne-li-us. Make the word smaller, then speak it as one.” I coached the child through the name, listened to her repeat it, and then nodded when she reached her goal. Then, we continued with the scroll I composed on the Great Wasp. The internal structure of the creature made the child roll back in her seat a little, and some of the brightness in her eyes faded. She understood that one of the creatures had died for me to acquire this knowledge. She asked me if it had hurt them. I told her that it did. Briefly. “Look at this point here. In their midmost area. The thorax. A strike here will end them swiftly.”

The child nodded, but her gaze was directed at all the parts and pieces of the creature. Then she turned to me.

“Inside me, like that?” The question was earnest, but it carried greater weight. This child knew enough and was intelligent enough to correlate and link together ideas. If nothing was explained, then she could believe that I also killed and dissected people for anatomical diagrams. “Do you know?”

That singular question confirmed the matter.

“I know, but not the same way. People die for many reasons. With permission, I performed dissections, and the funeral rites were performed afterward.” The As’Kari extracted as much from their fallen as they could without becoming monsters. Nothing used in As’Kari society was made of people. However, the Great Wasps needed meat in all stages of their life. The adults benefitted little, and so were fed innards, but muscle, ground bone, and other parts were dehydrated and then ground to dust to be fed to their larvae. Fed with enough corpses of warriors, Great Wasps could come into being with greater cunning, stronger exoskeletons, and even magic. Such steeds were typically used by heads of tribes or chieftains. I took apart bodies prior to them being fed to the dog-sized larvae and verified that the people of this land were the same as those in my previous life. “A funeral takes place when a person passes on, when their soul is no longer in their body, and all that remains is cold flesh that no longer moves of its own volition.”

The child nodded at my words before asking the next question I knew she would ask.

“When will I die?”

“I do not know.” I answered truthfully. The child blinked in surprise. Were she a normal child of this world, I could have given a rough estimate of six or seven decades at maximum. However, she was not normal. She was displaying strength and power that I expected of Kan’Is at such a young age. Once she has consumed more monsters, trained, and learned, then I am sure that she will have little to fear, besides her own actions and the actions of those around her. “You will not grow sick, and you will not age past your prime. Only your decisions and the decisions of others can lead to your death.”

“De… decisions?” The child asked.

I gave another nod.

“We all choose what to do. You decided to come here, at this moment, to learn from me. I decided to teach you.” As I spoke, understanding blossomed. Will. Freedom. Choice. There were many words, but I chose the one best suited to make her understand that others could do the same. Everyone decides what their bodies do. Why they do so and what happens after? Such things are entirely separate. “If you make poor decisions, even with all your power and strength, the time will come when others will decide against you.”

The child was quiet for a while before speaking again.

“Like people decided against my parents?”

Thankfully, I could give an answer to that heavy question.

“I do not know what happened to them. Not how they lived, how they died, or who they surrounded themselves with.” I pointed to a small chest in my tent. “In there is a letter from your aunt. The truth may be there, but I have not read it. It is yours to read in time.”

“When?”

I looked at the child, already so intelligent and capable, but still a child. There was an eagerness for the truth in her gaze. A desire to know her own story and history. Young she might be, but her identity is already forming. At this stage, at this moment, she is open to ideas, ready to include them into her forming identity and incorporate them into who she will be as a person. Any changes after the first decade and a half will be cemented; everything thereafter will take a toll or price in time and effort.

I could give it to her now, tell her my own thoughts, and eliminate all choice in the matter by shaping her through the trust she has in me.

Of course, it was easy to consider such a thing as harm.

So, I told her the truth.

“I don’t believe you’re ready yet, because maturity is not just about learning. It is about time, understanding, and working with others, as well as dealing with both failure and success.” I will not lie to her when she trusts me with so much, especially when I am also her physician. Her brow furrowed, distaste for my reasoning apparent on her features, but I stood firm. “All you know of the world is from my mouth and from your caretakers. When we descend, you will meet many other people, and I ask of you to speak to them, try to understand them, and learn what you can.”

Her eyes flickered to the box, and as a precocious child, I knew she considered finding a way to get to it.

The temptation to give it to her rose, as who was I to deny her information of her true self?

So, I spoke to her once more.

“If you wish to take it by force or through subterfuge, I will not oppose you. That knowledge in there is yours the moment you truly desire it… but I won’t read it for you. You’ll need to have Jessica do so.” The furrowed brow and frustration faded instantly to surprise and confusion. She probably wondered why I put up such a strong front and opposed her wishes, yet would do nothing if she simply got up and reached for the letter herself. I explained. “As your physician, I only recommend what you do with your body. The decision lies with you what to do with the advice that I give. That has been, and always will be, the case.”

The child was silent, and she stared at the box, but eventually, she nodded and meekly asked for the next animal to understand.

Only time will tell if she’ll continue to be so wise.

…

The ship soon left the lands of the forest kingdom and entered the mountain range that was promised to us.

It looked inhospitable at first.

The mountains were incredibly steep, and the passes between each one were incredibly narrow. On those steep cliffs, there were many caverns and crevices from which great reptiles with wings for arms flew. There were a myriad of valleys between mountains, stretches of rocky pastures, and some flowing rivers, where the prey of wyverns existed. I knew not why, but the tops of mountains that the flying reptiles inhabited were covered in storm clouds, with lightning coursing through the low clouds.

As we passed, some of the creatures flew close, but when I gave them a warning to stay away, they parted swiftly. They returned with greater numbers, one of them being larger and scarred compared to the younger ones. When I warned them again… they all kept a healthy distance and watched us instead.

These creatures had social structures and some form of communication, as well as the ability to think.

I would need to re-evaluate the plans to hunt them for materials if they’re not just intelligent pack animals.

Eventually, after flying through the mountains, we reached the largest valley according to the maps.

And there, I found a budding town at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by tall towers and short walls. Already, there were swathes of land being terraced to plant crops on stable ground, and dirt roads were laid out in a grid with a large, sturdy structure at the center. Former sails of great ships were stretched out over the settlement to shield people from downpours, and with the mottled paint on them… perhaps to obscure the site from the view of wyverns.

Most importantly, however, I felt familiar presences in the town.

Both D’Jet and Gale were there already.

We descended onto a small dock, where some people watched the ship descend warily until the gangway was lowered and I was seen.

Erucic was there and greeted me with open arms.

“Physician! You’ve finally returned to us… and in one of the finest ships of royalty! What did you exchange for—no.” He looked past me, onto Jessica and the descending caretakers. Jessica held the hand of the child as she walked with her down the gangway. Erucic turned to me with a mix of both horror and astonishment. “You have taken one of their children hostage to secure our lands?”

“No, I have not. This one is a bastard, one that would’ve had many enemies, and I was asked to help raise her in exchange for more aid.” I looked at the child, whose eyes were wide as she looked around the settlement. More than a few of the people present looked at her with distrust. They have all lost family and friends, not to mention homes and livelihoods, due to the actions of the royal family. So, I stepped in. “This child is under my protection until she reaches maturity! You need not treat her as one of your own, but know this: the same people who abandoned you would see her dead for being born of love rather than to strengthen bloodlines! Only the kindness of the former king, Elric, allowed her to reach my care!”

Surprisingly, Elric’s name sent a wave of lightning through the crowd, and Erucic looked at me with wide eyes.

“You met with the former king? He has been in isolation for decades since his son rose to the throne! Where is he? How… how is he?” Many others leaned forward, their eyes wide with awe, waiting to hear of Elric. Some, however, had harder eyes. Those who were ready to lay blame, but even they seemed to struggle. I had a feeling that Elric did not convey to me how loved he was by his people. “Where is he now?”

“I spoke with him as I maintained the Tree of Light. He and most of the royalty have been sequestered there, unable to move, lest the Tree of Light fade and flicker. When it went dark many weeks ago, it was due to one of the crown faltering in their duty. That will not happen again, as I have given them time to recover and gain more strength.” I motioned for the caretakers and the nursemaids to stay prim and proper. The child’s gaze on me and her attention to my words was obvious. She kept looking at me, then at the crowd of onlookers, and chose to reach up and take my gloved hand. Was she looking for comfort or shelter from the glares? Whichever the case, I obliged her. “Know this: your former lands will not pursue you here, and restitutions will arrive. I struck a bargain as best I was able, while holding control over the only light over the kingdom. They will provide, or I will send out secrets that will hasten their fall. This land is free of their whims, and I will ensure that it remains that way. All I ask is that this child is treated as one of the people abandoned by the crown.”

I didn’t wish to leverage my aid to these people on the child. It was something that I wanted to give freely. However, it seemed as though my demands calmed the crowd significantly.

Perhaps, because I finally demanded something of them, they were more content to rely on me?

Before I could ask Erucic questions on the matter, Gale appeared through the crowd.

Judging from the look of consternation on her face, I surmised that her aims to support the rebelling people in the north had not borne fruit.

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 57

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 57
…
Wordcount: 2500
Commissioned by Sivantic.
…
Tempted as I was to speak against the bauble, I held my tongue and instead devoted myself to analyzing it and its components. There was the urge to ask outright what defenses could be used against it, but I kept my silence and looked Harold’s way after committing the creation’s inner workings to memory.

He seemed perturbed by my words, a frown crossing his wizened face, and his brow furrowed with deep thought.

Still, he said nothing and merely placed the bauble away.

A compass that can divine the general location of anything and anyone the user wishes.

Such a thing would be better destroyed, but now was not the time to further complicate my relations with the rulers of this land.

Harold spoke after putting the bauble away.

“It seems that the second artifact will be used best along with the simple wands that we’ve already sent out. On our flying ships, they can be used to find and destroy the infested, while the wands can be used to provide security.” Harold gestured for me to follow him. We left his workshop and ascended into what was more like an assembly line. Numerous individuals in robes toiled upon work tables. Uniform, they sat beside one another, and each one assembled something different. No. They were assembling different stages of the same artifact. I recognized the scheme after that. “We’ve done our best to emulate the methods you laid out for mass production. I’m afraid the tower is too small, but we’re working on another secure area as we speak.”

“The As’Kari used it to mass produce medicine. This is much greater in scale.” I had shared the idea to increase stockpiles of medicine in the As’Kari. Typically, the herbs and barks they’ve identified are found, dried, and stored until needed. Then, they are ground up, stirred with nectar, and then administered in hot water to those who need it. I took the measurements of the concoction, dried even the honey, and made it so that only hot water was needed. Then, I had it produced in stages, each step broken up, so that one only needed to attend to a single task. They implemented that concept here. “I feel that I’m offering little else besides praise.”

“I am humbled to accept it nonetheless. However, we require your aid. We have made the necessary calculations, divined how much power we have at our disposal, and found ourselves wanting. We will not be able to produce the amount needed to protect the territories at most risk.” I took note of his words. It seemed that Harold truly read through all my notes. He and his people were implementing triage. They were looking at the regions most affected by the infection and targeting them for the first deployment of their countermeasure. Not only that, but they gathered the information needed to determine which regions needed aid the most. “If you would share some of your power, we can use it to create more of the artifacts. We will store it in many stones, none large enough for use in conflict, and just enough to bridge the gap.”

Instinct told me to deny Harold’s request, but I pushed it aside.

Harold had not lied to me, and he had been working against the infection with all his might. His sole purpose seemed to be the pursuit of knowledge, and he served the crown to fulfill that desire. Not once had I noticed him look at me with envy, or see me as lesser, and he had been ecstatic to learn. Though he looked like an elderly man, I saw in him a great and willing student that wished to do everything in his power to help others.

So, I went against instinct and nodded.

Fears arose within me as I followed him. This tower was his castle. A place where he had all the time in the world to prepare, and I was going to give up some of my strength to aid him. What if he lied at this moment, stole more than he said he could, and saw me weakened enough for him to capture? Kan’Is’ words, telling me that if I was ever captured by another tribe, he’d find a way to rescue or kill me, as I would be used by other tribes to bolster their strength even as a husk.

Should I really believe that Harold would not do such a thing when I had met him less than a month ago?

Everything I knew of this world, and the people of this land, told me to refuse and leave.

But I followed him nonetheless in hopes that I was wrong.

We entered a small room, and inside, on five pedestals, were five smooth stones akin to fortune-teller balls. Each one was rounded, smooth, and about the size of a fist. Harold approached the first and placed his hand upon it.

“The process is simple. You press your power into it as you do with a staff. Slowly and carefully, without overwhelming the material structure, then once it is full… your hand will be dampened. Any excess is turned into water to prevent the contents from bursting the vessel.” Harold placed his hand on one, then closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath as a pallor took him. When he took his hand from the orb, he looked exhausted and leaned on his staff for support. I moved to support him and he accepted my help. “You should feel how much each requires to fill by simple touch. They should all be the same.”

I gave him a nod, then I decided to reach for all four, ready to withdraw my hand and retreat the moment they took too much. Should I be betrayed, I could cut through the threads, then I could run away with most of my strength intact—

The orbs filled in an instant, while I considered my escape attempt, and the amount it pulled was barely noticeable.

Right.

I’ve spent the last few days powering the Tree of Light and have rested since then.

“Wonderful! A grand showing, my lor—physician.” Enthusiasm seemed to get the better of Harold’s tiredness for a moment, but soon enough he found a seat in the room. He stared at the filled orbs of power with a tired, but happy gaze. “With this, we can produce enough to protect most of the front. I assure you on my honor that these orbs will not be used to any other end. Your oath against killing will be upheld so long as I hold breath.”

Harold nodded and I returned it, ready to leave it at that, but after a moment, I extended my hand towards him.

He blinked at the gesture.

“I believe that in these lands, this is a sign of respect?” The As’Kari did not shake hands, but the nobility of this land did when meeting equals or someone that they respected. Harold was one such man in this realm. After all that I had seen and witnessed here, I was slow to offer respect. But there were people who simply wished to live, or to pursue their own goals, separate from the crown. More importantly, I should not blame this man for wrongs that he did not commit. “My hope is that your efforts bear fruit, and that you find that which you search for.”

Harold took my hand in both of his and shook mine profusely.

After that, I departed from the tower of mages.

Knowing fully that I would never see it or its wonders ever again.

…

The journey took two weeks, and it was a journey spent mostly in solitude. The crew of the ship was small and professional, and each person devoted to the service of the child. There were fewer than twelve of them, all women. The first two I met were leaders. One was the head maid, and the other was the head of the rest of the crew. They fed the babe milk along with thin porridges with the flesh of desiccated, weaker monsters.

The head maid, Jessica, had opposed my proposal, until I told her it was my duty to ensure the child’s strength.

And, I was having her fed with the same meals that I had as a child.

The woman’s brow had furrowed in consternation at my words, the beauty she exuded marred by frustration, but she schooled her features and accepted.

In but a week’s time, the baby began to cry more regularly, move with greater alacrity, and stare with wide eyes at anything and everything.

She was of a strong lineage and gifted with a body that could reach the greatest heights.

Of course, even as a child, she would need more than milk, even from twelve potential nursemaids.

After that matter was settled, I stayed on the deck in my tent, and tended to Cornelius along with my other belongings.

Cornelius felt at home aboard the ship, as he was suited for flying for long periods of time, and he ate and watered himself when we descended for the night. I had to find smooth stones to crush into fine sand to clean him. Thankfully, river stones could be crushed in mass and placed into a pit to provide for him, especially once I warmed it. He would spend evenings buried in the sand, enjoying warmth, while shaking himself within it to use friction to cleanse his body. After the first few nights, he showed signs of molting once again, and according to records, this molt will result in a ten percent increase in size.

In a few years’ time, he will lose the ability to fly, and his wings will transform into a softer shell above his abdomen that permits greater weight to be carried on his back. Beetles of his species, with their size and magnitude, could be used for conflict, but they are often better used to carry supplies and people to where they are needed. When large enough, they carry entire cities on their backs through the Great Desert, and at that point, they need cities to feed themselves.

I will need much to provide for him in the future.

A future where I shall go forth into this world, discovering what I can, and helping people as I did. Cornelius’s back can carry much, but my plan was the creation of a hospital that can provide aid. People such as Harold can find their place in it. It will be a place much like the tower of mages that I have seen. A place where solutions to diseases and plagues can be created and deployed quickly where needed. I can even trade with the As’Kari for their gigantic desert wasps, and they can launch off the back of the moving city, and give aid quicker than Cornelius can walk. We can even hunt down the many monsters of this world, and teach the people we meet to make use of them in our passing.

I have a handful of decades to gain the funds, influence, and power for such an endeavor, but there was no better course of action to take.

There remain many places that need help, which I may be able to provide.

The group that I followed, filled with prisoners, told me of their homelands. The stocky, short man of another race had told me of a king who sleeps eternally. The archer of the group spoke of vast, emerald forests where people succumbed to the whims of spirits in hidden groves. Whispers at the docks told me of a land where people had horns like deer and emerald scales, as well as forked tongues and eyes like serpents, and that they were dealing with a horrible dependency on something that sounded similar to opium.

This world is vast, filled with many peoples, and there may be many who may be convinced to believe as I do.

That the power we hold, and the possibility that it gives, is more than a tool of war and conquest, but a means to better the lives of all.

As I ruminated on this, as I took stock of the contents of my tent, footsteps approached.

Along with the sound of soft breathing.

The child was growing frighteningly fast, and in another month, I was sure that it would be able to walk.

“Jessica, what brings you here?” I stayed away from them, and let them do their duties. I checked on the child twice a day, at the break of dawn and when the sun set. The nursemaids and servants attending to the child had already swaddled her with care and attention. I took the role of a personal physician more than anything else. The look of worry on the maid’s face drew my attention away from checking on my scrolls depicting monsters. I intended to venture back into the Great Desert and hunt some beasts. “Is something wrong with the child?”

Jessica opened her mouth to speak, but instead, a word came from the babe’s lips.

“Phys-cian!” Like a child calling out ‘dada’ for father, the title used to address me left the lips of the child. I got up and held my hands out to examine and hold the child. Jessica obliged but watched carefully, at a loss with the sudden development. My mind raced with possibility. Was the child like myself? Another person born of another place and time entirely? I held the child upright and met its blue gaze… and it laughed and giggled in my grasp and extended its hands towards me. I felt a gust of wind from her grasp. No. It was unlikely that she was the same. When I first felt the power I newly gained, I felt nothing but fear for it. It did not eliminate the possibility, but more tests could wait later. I offered the child my hand, and she giggled as she took hold. Tight, but more controlled. The strength was still there.

This child was going to grow at a faster rate than I anticipated.

Much change needed to be made to accommodate this.

“She is maturing at a far faster rate. The lessons planned will need to be accelerated. Teach her your language, and I will teach her mine. I estimate lessons for practical matters will need to begin in a few weeks.”

Jessica nodded at my words, before looking at the child she held.

“Will she… continue to age?”

Ah, that was a reasonable fear.

“Once she reaches maturity? No. And thereafter, she will remain forever at her prime unless violence or disease takes her.”

Much needed to be accounted for for this child to have a chance at living a normal life.

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 86

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 86

…

Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

…

When employed in battle, superhumans are best when they’re unknown and unidentified.

Picture this.

John Doe has super strength and is super tough. If he goes speeding into a fight where no one knows that, he tears through problems in a jiffy. Criminals and maybe even other superhumans aren’t a problem. He’ll just go through them, get pictures snapped of him, and win. However, as John Doe keeps fighting, he gets interviewed, words regarding the fight spread, and eventually he either gets killed or becomes much less effective.

Regular criminals start carrying around flashbangs or they get stun guns. Maybe, if they’ve got superhuman supplies, they can get bombs that cover the dude in sticky foam that holds him down. That’s if John Doe is lucky, and they don’t bust out something that can go straight through his toughness and leave him a corpse. The average superhuman doesn’t fare well against anti-tank munitions, though most of those guys probably didn’t survive the world coming apart.

Other superhumans will be a bigger problem. Everyone involved in crime with superpowers has a reason for it. They could be using their power any other way to get money, even as just a gray-zone merc. If they choose a life of crime, they’re on the warpath for one reason or another, and the guys that survive against the world are basically demons. They’ll figure John Doe out, they’ll do something to John Doe, and John Doe will most likely be gone in one way or another within weeks of crossing paths with them.

Again, the main reason the world collapsed was that there were just too many superhumans to handle, and even the ‘heroes’ ended up having too many skeletons in their closet. Not to mention the fact that people out to destroy the world only had to succeed once, and when the best time to do that is when everyone’s at each other’s throats. Who knows how many doomsday plots popped off while everyone was screaming at each other, and if that was what led to nukes being launched and global trade going the way of the dodo.

But back to the point.

When superhumans are unknown, they get the best results.

That fact was made clear when Maelstrom and the others went on to wreak havoc, while I focused on bringing in troops.

…

Gunfire, cannon fire, and flashes of bright red beams surged through the sky. The ruined city taken as a base by the power-armored patsies was being ravaged unilaterally by the force I’d brought together across the globe. They were probably prepared for regional powers, or even strike squads from the pseudo-aristocracy that bordered them on their western flank, but a coalition of superhumans across the world arriving on their doorstep was too much for whatever preparation they had.

Maelstrom was their most eminent problem, and she basically owned the skies. They tried to shoot her down and send interceptors after her. The missiles and flak basically didn’t get past her outermost defenses, while the interceptors wasted gas, even though they used so some of high-intensity energy weapon to try and counter her. The sky was filled with wreckages of missiles and remotely piloted drones, both were being thrown over to a predetermined dump, where I could send everything away later. Nothing could touch her up there, and from that vantage point, she could do anything she wanted.

Tanks found themselves lifted up, the people within were pulled out, and the vehicle discarded while she left the people in a deep crater to wait out the battle. For her, confronting the army was pretty much like tangling with flying pests and segregating laundry. All the enemy could do was keep trying to fire on her, using up their resources, just so that they could have a chance at facing everyone else that came to fight them. If they didn’t keep sending interceptors or firing on her, that basically gave her the all-clear to attack, and that attack would devastate their forces.

Though that strategy wasn’t working out very well for them, because of everyone else brought in.

Nori’s forces were being the most effective. Spinning, hovering drones were shot out of the main cannon on the ship and sent over the battlefield to counter large artillery pieces. Anything not aimed at them or at Maelstrom received speeding kinetic kill vehicle, and basically ensured that the forces on the ground didn’t have anything larger than a mortar. The mech Nori unleashed was also a spindly, light-footed thing that was insect-like in its movements. It scurried on walls and the road with frightening speeds, weathered small arms fire with ease, and plucked pilots out of power armor with utmost ease before scurrying away to detain them. It was basically a giant mechanical spider the size of a horse, and it acted like an ambush predator that carried away soldiers/pilots.

It was generating more attention than Maelstrom, and I didn’t fault anyone for trying to put it down over anything else.

Clancy, Lucille, and Edel were taking advantage of the chaos that the two were creating, pretty much acting like a scalpel against any strongpoints that Parvati’s gynoid forces encountered. The gynoids were plenty strong and pretty powerful, but they were pretty much matched one-on-one while facing the power-armored troops, and their numbers advantage was undone by the fortifications set up by the neo-Nazis. As fast and strong as they were, they were still facing off against entrenched soldiers who had autocannons as primary weapons, therefore Clancy, Lucille, and Edel had plenty to do.

Clancy took on the role of breacher and point-man. Wherever he went, he abandoned subltey, and attracted attention by being a massive, armored target armed with a big gun that did a lot of damage. Given his power and strength, he was more than capable of tanking anything short of sustained fire from the tanks, and Maelstrom was making sure those didn’t do much when they popped out of the underground. His cannon raked entrenched positions, broke apart defenses, and when they fired on him Edel and Lucille moved in.

Dressed for combat, both were in some sort of full-plate armor that made them look straight out of the medieval times. The outside was all aesthetics, kind of like the angel motif that Anderson had used, and its insides were apparently high-tech power armor tailor-made for each woman. They were supernaturally fast, like metal blurs beneath the sun as they moved, and deathly quiet as they moved together. They collided with the enemy nearly unnoticed, and whoever they reached was swiftly taken apart with their gauntleted hands. They left imprints of their fists on the armor they collided with, and often broke apart anything that was raised against them, whether that be a fist or a massive gun.

Finally, there were the gynoids. Though they were ‘just’ the main force for the battle, the fact remained that they were heavily armored, very well-armed, and coordinated with one another with ease. The didn’t need to communicate, they knew the plan, and they sensed what their fellows sensed, while also being willing to sacrifice their bodies to accomplish the mission. Heavy weapons teams got covered by small-arms teams without a second thought. If a heavy weapon team got destroyed, but their weapons were still active, they could get replaced in an instant. They were not reluctant to part with their ‘lives’ because losing their current bodies didn’t matter, since they could just get a new one and get back in the fight.

And, the supply line for those bodies was unbreakable, since I was basically a mobile landing zone. If there was even a hint that the enemy was sniffing out where the gynoids were coming from, I shifted to another location. If I spent more than five minutes somewhere, I went someplace else around the city, or even in a recently cleared area, to deliver more reinforcements. Some would say that I’m better used teleporting around with Maelstrom and getting her to the targets quickly, I say that her attracting fire lets me disgorge all of Parvati’s troops and overwhelm the enemy.

In short, the current inhabitants of the city were contending with an enemy who had air, ground, and sea superiority, as well as the numbers needed to press the advantage.

All the while, they couldn’t contest, let alone overcome, the problems the dilemmas that they had on hand.

If I were the enemy commander, I’d go ahead and call for help now, but even that avenue was restricted.

The very first move that we made was to cut off their communications with their benefactors, after all.

Unable to call for help, surrounded by all sides, and all their technological superiority gone, it was no wonder that calls for surrender came within an hour of the attack’s start.

                                                                      …

Since no one else wanted to negotiate with the invading Nazi patsies, Parvati took all the people who surrendered, hashed out terms of imprisonment, and I sent them away to where the AI wanted.

What?

Putting people in the hands of Parvati sounds like a bad idea?

I think incarcerating them and seeding them throughout post-apocalypse civilizations is way worse. Not only that, but they’ve been raiding, kidnapping, and selling people off to their masters up in space. With their ideology and beliefs, they could start something bad since people are still struggling to put food on the table. Civility and good manners only last if people have food on the table, after all. People have gone to more extreme lengths and believed in more horrible things while they’ve got shelter, food, and water. During this post-apocalypse reconstruction period?

Yeah, I went out of my way to convince everyone that Parvati should deal with it, and thankfully succeeded.

Anyway, Maelstrom and the rest kept an eye on the skies for any reinforcements from the enemy, while I worked with Parvati to extract technology and assets. We were being careful with any trackers, so that meant all the electronics were fried and anything with software got wiped. That would normally mean bricking high-tech stuff, but Parvati had the schematics, customizable fabricators, and can code software as easily as it breathed.

Parvati was also the one doing the initial scans for information on the people these guys were helping out, though everyone had their own specialists ready to get their hands on the data once it was copied, transferred to an isolated computer, and ready to read.

Paranoid?

We’re dealing with a bunch of people who can give away energy weapons and power armor to patsies.

Being careful is basically required.

Anyway, with the electrical fields off, I was fine accompanying one of Parvati’s bodies to do the data recovery. While the human interface for the machine was gone, Parvati calibrated the bombs very carefully, so we could still access the rest of the machine after we gave it some power.

The news wasn’t good.

“It appears that I’ve underestimated our foes. They are interspersed across the whole system. They are using a series of very powerful and efficient drives based off of fusion technology.” Parvati reported, and when I made no noise, it looked my way. “If they have such powerful engines for their fleet, it is highly likely that larger defenses will be needed. With engines as powerful as they have, they can have combat viable warship with many, many tons of armor, especially with their headstart allowing them to set up industry in space..”

“Yeah, that sounds bad.” Space was a pretty deadly place, so any ship should have some sort of protection. However, there’d a difference between some protection and having what sounded like similar protection for tanks or warships. “The weapons you have planned aren’t going to work, then?”

“No. I expected their engines to only have the thrust these trips require. The best case scenario is that these are unarmored ships that are also unmanned. If they are manned, armed, and carrying crews, that would mean that they are limited by the physical limits of human beings, but could achieve greater speeds if needed.” Parvati tried to explain as simply as she could, but I shook my head. Insterstellar logistics wasn’t something I was versed in. Therefore, I needed something simpler. Thankfully, Parvati obliged. “I’ll need to return to the drawing board, and reconfigure my planned battle stations in orbit.  They will need to be truly massive affairs covered in weapons and armor.”

“Hey, so long as it secures the high ground, I’m willing to help. I don’t want people who work men to death and take women as pets to rule over the world. If you need anything, I’ll help out. Everyone else will, too. Probably.” I considered my next words carefully, before opening my mouth again. “If it’s that bad, you know we can take the nuclear option.”

“I would rather not, and it’s not that bad. Not yet.” Parvati was going for a conflict that would hopefully keep people in space away from us, and acknowledge the planet as something other than their playground by securing it against their threats. The problem with that plan, of course, was that it was very kind and that it looked to preserve as much life as possible. If needed, if we found them, I could send in a lot of bombs into their space-vessels. It’s highly unlikely that I’d be able to connect and transfer bombs into speeding spaceships, since they’ll be very likely to have a lot of defenses or energy shrouding them as they transit space, but mining sites, factories, and habitats? Yeah, I doubt that those are prepped for systematic, instant delivery of explosives. “I will not aid you in finding them, either. The path you propose will have humanity abandon space in fear of people like you, Designation: Egress.”

“Yeah, yeah. But if they start dropping rocks on us, we need to do it. So, go ahead and look for them, but only tell me where they are if we need to have a deterrence. One that’ll just work once.” Once some electricity fields surround those sites, our method of alpha-striking them would be effectively gone. We could still put bombs around them, just outside electrified hulls, but who knows how long that’ll work before they started filling the void of space with clouds of  machines that emit electricity. The sun’s right there. Some panels, some math, and some machines, and you could take out large chunks of space away from my power out in space. “I’m not asking you to alpha-strike them right away when they’re found. Just keep their locations in mind, and be ready to pull the trigger if they’re not willing to negotiate.”

Did I look forward to being used as a delivery system for very large explosives?

No.

But, did I want earth to become just a place for those with tech to fetch toys and slaves from?

Yeah, I liked the thought of that a lot less.

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 85

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 85

…

Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

…

Naturally, the plan changed when it became clear that the pseudo-aristocracy at the center of Canada was going to get attacked if we kept the main communication terminal. As great as it would be to tell whoever’s up there to fuck off, it would be better for them to have no idea who attacked their proxies. Their large group of larping Nazis in power armor just gets wiped out without reporting a damn thing back to them.

Meaning that the initial strike had to be done by someone unknown.

Namely, me.

Yep, it all comes back to me infiltrating a dangerous area alone again to gather information and perform sabotage.

I hated the fact that if I got trapped, I’d have no choice but to use the gizmo that Parvati cooked up.

Anyway, while everyone else waited for the signal, I popped onto the deck of the ship, and let Parvati guide me in.

“All security cameras have had holographic lenses attached to them. The feedback the security rooms see are nothing but optical simulations. You must be wary only of the guards.” The guards in question patrol in squads of four and are in power armor. Meaning that they carried a lot of firepower, were fast, and most importantly linked with communication with the rest of their forces. According to Parvati, they were constantly sending an all-clear signal, too. That meant taking one of them and sending them away wasn’t an option. Signal goes off, then the alert turns on. “I will warn you when the stealth system needs a new battery.”

Right, the power armor also had a lot of sensors on it, ranging from ways to just supplement the MK. 1 Eyeball’s ability to see farther, all the way to thermal scans and x-ray. The latter was why I didn’t just get into one of their returning vehicles and get inside. There was a high likelihood they’d have scanned the insides of the vehicle. With all those sensors and abilities at play, I had no choice but to rely on Parvati, and that meant a prototype backpack that was based off the optical camouflage we encountered at the manufacturing base. To call it optical camouflage was a misnomer, honestly, since it also worked against nearly all sensors. The backpack had a shimmer effect that could be faintly discerned if you looked at it with your regular eyes, but anything else failed against it.

Someone who can detect life signs or mental energy or some other bullshit can probably see through it, though.

We were banking on the hopes that the people up in space would keep those guys up there, since detection in space is far more important.

The fact that I haven’t been caught yet made it look like that guess was correct.

“A service hatch is to your right. Providing visual.” Since I was already wearing a backpack full of gizmos and gadgets, I went ahead and got a little eyepiece for Parvati to transmit images for me. With the ship infiltrated, the AI could give me access to rooms without having to open the door. I went ahead and entered the ship, catching myself on a ladder, and descending into the service hall. It was wide enough for a cart to drive through. I had to wonder how bulkheads would work with such wide and open halls, but with this much tech, they probably had shields for that task. “Proceed southward for a hundred meters to this location.”

Once inside, I jumped to position after position through the ship, making my way towards the communication terminal at the center.

Why couldn’t I just jump there?

Because there was an inner zone to the ship, which was shielded and protected. A secured area which the lackeys avoided unless necessary. Taking up the space of a three-story building at the center of the long, wide cargo vessel, it was the same place that held the manufacturing center of the ship, which took in raw materials and churned out high-tech armored vehicles, aircraft, and gear. The power source of the ship was also there, and anything else that was vaguely vital.

We suspected that it could probably detach from the ship and just lift off if needed, though with its estimated weight, doing so would destroy the rest of the ship. But it would any attacker of the ship the technology used to mass produce so much highly-advanced tech. Parvati only managed to get in and infiltrate it thanks to latching onto the armor of people going in and waiting for hours for them to enter the place, so that the security systems in there could be compromised, too.  Even then, there was a faint, protective field surrounding it that I could just get through. My power couldn’t reach the sightlines of the drones inside.

Meaning that I’d need to use the same method Parvati did to get in.

Through the doors, as they open to let somebody else in.

Sounds suicidal, but Parvati has also had time to infiltrate some power armor and figure out how their identification systems work.

So, our first mode of operation was to get me into some power armor.

“The security checkpoint up ahead is compromised. Head on through.” I did as instructed by Parvati, and went through a faintly aglow hallway. No buzz and no alarm. Just me going through without any issues. “The room to your left is empty.”

I got into a supply cabinet, and I took that as my cue to get a new set of batteries for the backpack. Two car-sized batteries slotted into the backpack, and gave me ten minutes of activation time. The stealth system was robust, but it ate up power like crazy. Then again, I was evading ludicrously high amounts of security and am no invisible to the naked eye. Having to constantly replace batteries isn’t that bad, especially when I could just reach out and grab one from Parvati’s base.

The room in question was empty of life, but not empty of signs of life. It was a simple bedroom. Given the fact that most people bunked on the ship, and this was close to a checkpoint, this room was used by an officer. An officer who had a spare ID, because he’d asked for one. I snatched it and got out of the room. Where was the officer in question? On patrol and set to be ambushed before he could get back. While they go and send out a force to find him, I’ll be using his spare card modified by Parvati.

“The card has been modified. You are now able to access the armory. Go here.” Parvati advised and I obliged, going to the other side of the ship in a blink, and finding myself before two large doors. I pressed the card on the surface of the scanner, while Parvati came forward with the drone that accompanied me, which promptly projected a perfect optical hologram of an eyeball. With the retina scan completed, we gained entry to the armory, which was an automated suite with numerous suits in various stages of maintenance around a central podium. “I am now accessing the armory. Please step into the central podium.”

“Hey, make sure that its electrical field can be turned off instantly.” I took off my coat and the backpack, sending both over to Parvati’s base, and got onto the podium, stepping into power armor legs that swiftly propped me up and provided a base for other parts to attach to. Servo arms whirred, armor connected with one another, and soon enough I was swaddled in power armor. Parvati’s icon came up on the interface in the corner of my eye. Great, I’m basically surrounded by Parvati. It can turn off the beacon and keep the electronic field on this thing on, and I’m basically trapped. “Just so you know, if you try anything fishy, I will find a way out of this thing and work with these people to see your base smashed. I’m not above being stupid and petty for revenge.”

“Noted. Now, please move normally. I’ve calibrated the system to remove the limitations set by its creators.” I gave a noise of affirmation and moved. To Parvati’s credit, it really was like I was just moving my own body, despite being in such a large piece of machinery. The visor of the massive machine came down, darkness came up for a moment, then a high-clarity optical feed took over, while sealing me off against chemical and biological threats. “I’ve disabled the electric field that the suit is designed to emit. Can you try jumping with it. No more than a single step. The movements of this armor is being logged.”

I tried to do as Parvati asked, and grunted as I went through with the entirety of the armor around me without any losing bits and pieces.

“So, did you get some fascinating data besides what you usually get?” I dryly asked the AI. Given how it created the beacon, it was obvious that it used its sensors nonstop while traveling with me. “Does this thing even have sensors that you don’t?”

“It does not. I do want a copy of it, though. Consider returning with it as a favor to me.”

“Sure, alright.” Parvati kept its word regarding favors. Mostly because it was easy for it to return them. When you can just make bodies, make any tech, and literally build shelters on Mars, you can owe favors easily. “You can have your super-advanced, space power armor when this is over.”

“…It can hardly be called super-advanced. I’m merely interested in how this power armor has branched off from the forms of power armor found in India where they are all custom-made.” Parvati, as usual, reacted differently when it came to technology. If it ever displayed need or a want, it was always thanking to some new technology that it didn’t have access to. Though I wouldn’t call it obsession, it wouldn’t go out of its way to kill or steal tech from allies, its moral compass pointed at ‘loot everything’ if the enemy we faced together had some new technology. “Any difficulty?”

“It’s like going around with all that I can carry on hand. Not as difficult as carrying around shipping containers. The tonnage on this thing is higher than I thought.” Parvati noted my words with a hum, before bringing up an image. “That the door that only officers can enter?”

“Correct.” With Parvati’s confirmation, I moved ahead towards the door in question. Unlike the rest of the doors in the ship, this was looked more like a sealed hatch, which gave the idea that the whole mid-section of the ship could evacuate more credibility. The scanners activated on my approach and the doors hissed open, briefly showing that they connected into each other past the surface, to make breaking through them that much harder. Not only that, but the doors were almost half a meter thick. It wouldn’t hold up to Maelstrom, but most, regular superhumans with super-strength would probably get stopped. “We’ve crossed the first threshold, but you can no longer teleport anywhere besides my beacon.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” I grunted as I walked the power armor disguise through the empty hallways. Most of this section was automated. The officers who went in solely used one route, and I followed that route, while doing my best to emulate the gait of the officer I was mimicking. I headed only towards the communications array. That’s when I took note of the weapon systems on the armor. “Hey, Parvati, you’re the one who turned off the weapons, right?”

“Correct. All weapons were disabled upon entry by a subsystem. The engine and power source have also been powered down significantly. The builders of this zone were very thorough in their security.” Unfortunately, they didn’t count on hundreds of small drones piloted by an AI across the world being teleported into the ship. Or, you know, someone who could just skip past most of the security measures. Even though they had a field around this section of the ship that prevented me from getting in, now that I was in, I could still get out with Parvati’s beacon. Well, if I went loud, I could just rip through the ship and get out, but that would’ve led to me being detected. “Head swiftly to the communication terminal. It’s best to get out of her swiftly, despite all signs pointing to our safety.”

I obliged with a nod, and made my way to the communication center.

If this were some sort of contrived movie or comic, I’d probably get found out on the way there, or the computer would address me the moment I arrived. However, Parvati had control over the surveillance systems, showing only what it wanted them to see, and we weren’t fucking around. It’s only been a handful of hours since we’ve found the place, they had no reason to think they were in danger, and we were moving fast.

Naturally, once I reached the computer, I went ahead and left several surprises all over it and its room, before setting the timers and leaving quickly.

No muss.

No fuss.

Just a teleporting saboteur doing what a teleporting saboteur does.

I got out of the med-section of the ship without another word, then teleported away to a safe house in the Antarctic, where Parvati already had gynoids and drones waiting.
I popped out of the machine, went to another safe house to get scanned for bugs, and then went back to the Himalayas to get my coat.

Then, when I got back to the where the rest of the team was waiting, the bombs exploded and a general alarm rang out from all over the dilapidated city.

Maelstrom took charge, while in the bay, a sub rose up and started disgorging missiles and mechs onto the shore.

“Egress focus on getting more people on the field. Coordinate with Parvati to rescue any civilians. I’ll be going high. Everyone else, stick together, and focus on vehicles.” Given her experience with leading, it was only natural that she took on the task. Everyone else just nodded at her words and got ready to move. When she turned back to me, I gave her my full attention without even thinking. “Egress, if things go south, and they somehow send someone who can match me… please, send them away as swiftly as possible. I cannot afford to lose anymore, and I can’t hold back when I have a people to lead.”

…Looks like my job’s not going to be as easy as I thought.
Whenever Maelstrom has a bad feeling and thinks that way, shit tends to hit the fan.

V10: Chapter 2

V10: Chapter 2

…

Interlude: Celia

…

“It could all be lies.”

“It doesn’t matter if they’re all lies, what matters is that his people believe in his words. As always, in his lands, his word is truth.” I walked with Catherine through our newest factory. We walked on walkways suspended above a long and massive fabrication floor. Beneath us, looked after by Necromancers, were Skeletons doing the same tasks again and again. Here, in this factory, they were assembling our newest line of rifles of the same model used by the King of Wisdom’s forces against the Death Lord. We were producing so much that it was easy to sell them to our allies… and fuel the war over the Warden’s Citadel. “Have you finished taking account of all the people who disappeared in the last few months?”

“I did. Over three thousand disappeared across all our lands. Most of them… were holding menial jobs. Shopkeepers. Tavern workers. Carriage drivers. Individuals who can gather information with ease, but could do no or little harm.” Catherine didn’t need to say it. Perhaps, these Iterants were truly as the King of Wisdom said they were. A people from the Ancients who wished to observe us, who opposed his rampant seizure of lands, and who he implied were the reason why he stopped his advance against the rest of the nation. “The highest position we found was a clerk for a clothing manufacturer that made produced winter jackets. They were all capable workers… and they’re missed.”

“When the King of Wisdom called on them against the Wardens, they fought and died by his command.” I did not know if I was reminding myself or Catherine. We reached the mid-point of the factory. The rifle was assembled. Now, it was being packed into crates. Five rifles per crate, wood shavings keep them from jostling, and the walls of the crate were lined with tins filled with bullets. In moments, hammers sealed the wooden crates, a thin layer of wax applied, and they were hauled off. A crate will be selected for every batch of two hundred and searched for defects. “They seized another Divine Engine. The opposite of their current one from those who betrayed them to join us. We don’t even know what they can do, yet the King of Wisdom rid himself of thousands of informants and spies for one of them.”

I did my utmost to see past the surface, to think, and place myself in his place.

He had so many advantages at his disposal. His lands were the most populous, his technology ahead of us by years, and his industry was something we could barely match with new innovations and espionage. Then, there was his military. He had nearly fifty thousand professionals separated into four armies, with dedicated support wings, supplemented by Citadel Guardians, the finest transportation network in the continent, and finally they will soon each have a flying fortress to support them in combat. The cost of all of that was immense, only possible through his four Citadels, and the wealth generated by his citizenry through the selling of goods from factories.

His hands were tied with development and construction, yet still he rid himself of a key advantage solely for what he called a Divine Engine.

“Catherine, we need to discover what those are. Or, perhaps, we need to send out another expedition in hopes of finding one for ourselves.” Catherine paused at my proposal, ceasing to float by my side for a moment. I knew why. We have just sent one out there mere months ago and haven’t heard of them yet. My knights were out there, amidst the enemies of our ancestors, and toiling to find something in those lands to bring back. “I know. I said we can barely afford to send another out there now... but I can’t risk you and the others in the King of Wisdom’s lands. He will have his finest defending them, and he will not spare you for a ransom. Our only course is to search for the truth ourselves.”

I descended at the end of the factory, onto a loading dock, where containers awaited. Each one held a hundred cases of rifles. Five hundred rifles, and the rest of it was filled with boxes filled with ammunition. A nearby factory was filling containers with our attempt to mimic the rations of the King of Wisdom’s army, while another was producing winter uniforms. Four containers and five hundred mortals can be armed, clothed, and fed for a month.

The King of Widom had this long ago, yet our nation’s coffers were becoming flush with gold as we began to sell it to our erstwhile allies.  

He had kept it all to himself to maintain his advantage.

A part of me screamed that there was a reason why he did not sell his old stock of weapons and take the riches I was now amassing, but with the cost of the recent civil war, the entombment of so many noble clans, and we need to improve… I could not ignore it.

“Take the proceeds of this sale and prepare another expedition. We’ll take on a debt from the Merchants if we must.” I drink from a multitude of poisoned chalices now. The teachings that I was raised upon barely assisted me as I ruled my new nation. So many voices clamored for my attention, so many desired so many different things, and I struggled to decide, to plan, and to lead everyone through the calamities that loomed over us all. “A great and terrible war is coming. Perhaps the final war, before the enemies of our ancestors finally reach us. It will decide everything.”

Catherine bowed at my words, and I stared at the departing shipment filled with bullets, uniforms, and rations.

Once it reaches the Merchants, I will not know where they go. Wealth will change hands, and soon enough, money will change hands, and the shipment will follow it. Will it embolden the defenses at the border between our lands and the King of Wisdom’s? Or, will the weapons reach the lands of the Wardens, where everything has collapsed and multiple factions fight for the Citadel once controlled by Khalai? The land where so many are dying to take one more Citadel?

I gazed at the sky.

Smoke rose from the factories and filled it, casting everything in darkness, and when they grow too heavy gray ash will fall.

I spotted one such mote of ash and held out my hand to catch it.

Children no longer play outside on the streets any longer. They all attend academies and spend time in dorms. Goods fill the shelves of markets, and many clamor for them, but our landfills are expanding more quickly because of their fragility. Though we do our best to help our people, there are still those who live in squalor and poverty. Our hospitals report more cases of malaise, as well as loss of interest. Even as we scramble to emulate the places where people can relax in Jack’s kingdom, more and more of my people suffer.

The cost of our empowered industry, our newfound strength, and our wealth came from the suffering of my people.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to reach him.

I read the reports by my delegates and the staff that followed them.

The streets of his capital were wide and expansive with trees on the sidewalks and as barriers dividing lanes going different directions. The buildings were tall, clean, and windows with glass planes were the norm. Every building was spacious and filled with light, and the clothes of the people were simple but rugged and vibrant. Small businesses were aplenty, children spent time with their parents happily out of schools, and those parents were often making more children with one another. The resort where they stayed was one of luxury and leisure. A place where every worker could visit at least once a year, so that they could be free of obligation and concern, as the fruit of their own labors.

There was no squalor, no one without a home, and even with our efforts to spread the misdeeds of their king… no discontent.

The more I tried to emulate him, the more I tried to do as well as him, the more I felt that was but a fool dancing in the palm of his hand.

But that doesn’t mean I can simply give up.

Not after all the deaths and departures I have caused.

Not with all those who I am responsible for now.

I let the mote of ash fall away from my hand, and felt Catherine’s hand on my shoulder.

“Focus on the good that you have done so far, Celia. Without this, without all that you’ve done, we’d be there fighting for the Warden’s Citadel against the Merchants and Forgers. It is thanks to these changes here and in the Academy’s former lands that we have enough to stay out of the current conflict.” I always shared my concerns with her. The weight was too much for me to carry alone.  Advisors from the new factions in my lands came and went, their councils appointing new ones every few months, as to prevent power from pooling into their hands. Now that they were entrenched against their foes, they were casting their gazes upon their own organizations in search for power. I knew this, because I was making sure that they never gathered enough to challenge my rule. “We can make things better once we are sure of the future of our people.”

A thought bubbled up to my lips.

Though I hesitated to say it aloud, I allowed myself to speak to my teacher.

“Would we not be sure of the future of our people if we accepted Jack’s rule?” Catherine was silent at my words. Her ghostly visage stared forward, not looking my way, as she maintained a stoic mask. “We’ve destroyed so much. We’re losing so much. All for the sake of filling the world with weapons by selling them to the Merchants so that we can fill our coffers. It may lead to a better future, but what if I had just bowed my head?”

“You couldn’t have. And, right now, you can’t.” Catherine spoke frankly and harshly with a tone that I almost forgot. It was the tone of a teacher. My teacher, even before I joined the Academy. Many times, in my formative years, I had listened to this admonishing tone that sought to prevent me from making mistakes. “The nobility would’ve stripped you of all your power and waged a reckless war that would’ve left us all nothing more than serfs. Now? You would be deposed, our lands set alight by the new powers we’ve created, and again we would be subsumed.”

“I could’ve spoken. I could’ve bowed my head, and pleaded to be heard. Perhaps, I could’ve swayed enough hearts. Perhaps, I could do so now.” I protested.

Catherine’s reply was simple and brutal.

“You are not the King of Wisdom, Celia. You know this. He seizes moments, takes them apart, and pries from them impossible results. That is why he leads. You lead because you are the best of the Guardians of the Moon.” My limits were clear. My lack of ability came forth from my teacher’s mouth without hesitation. Then, the stunning words. The best of the Guardians of the Moon. I looked at her and there was no gentle smile, no encouraging grin, or even a nod of acknowledgement. Only stoic, resolute belief. “No other could’ve done what you’ve done. The Guardians of the Moon are here now, capable of seizing a brighter future despite all its flaws, because of you. You are not him, but you are better than any other leader besides him.”

She floated forward and faced me with her ghostly visage.

Then, she bowed to me with her hand over her heart, before raising her head once more.

I am no longer a child whose hands she can hold, and assure that all would be well if I did my best.

“I know no other amongst the Guardians who could’ve done as you have, Celia. Be assured of that.”

With those words, she went away to do as I bid, and amidst the narrow streets I turned my gaze past the squalor, the dark clouds, and looked upon the Citadel looming overhead.

The ring on my hand that controlled it felt as heavy as a mountain, but thought of removing it and giving it to another amongst my people never crossed my mind. Having it taken from me by the King of Wisdom as my people were defeated? Yes, along with the wreckage of the city around me and everything we had expended, that thought did occur.

But I knew not one other amongst the Guardians who would go to such lengths, let alone do away with traditions and empower others as I have.

Perhaps… perhaps that was enough for now.

I took a shuddering breath, then forced myself to walk forward, with back straight and eyes facing forward. Whatever comes next, I will do all that I can for my people, even if it costs me my life, my pride, and my legacy. If that entails surrendering to the King of Wisdom, and my head being taken from my shoulders, as to ensure my people’s survival? So be it.

But until that time comes, I will strive to ensure all the sacrifices my people have made are not lost.

The Guardians of the Moon have earned the right to try to inherit the Ancient’s will as any other nation that now stood.

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 4)

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 4)

…

Lord Trelawney met us before breakfast in a strange room within the castle. It was filled with metal scaffolding and benches, as well as long rods of steel upon which were discs of iron.

He met with us in simple training clothes, just trousers and a tunic, and gave us both a pair of gloves. Without the uniform of a young lad, his pallor and gauntness were even more apparent. If I spotted a child who looked as he did on the street of a town, I would have him taken to the nearest church.

“My sisters used them. They keep callouses from forming and your grip strong.” The inner surface of the gloves seemed to be made of a light layer of rubber with small ridges, and it adhered well to sections of the palm. Their fitting was also adjustable with a band around the waist that mimicked a belt. “We’ll be finding your limits on an empty stomach today.”

I had read this portion of the curriculum in the papers he sent.

“I had thought you’d be measuring our magic, not our physical ability.” I asked him, while following him the first machine. He gestured for us to watch him, as he demonstrated the movement he wanted to replicate. With two hands on the bar, held up by hooks on the scaffold, he lifted the steel and the iron discs attached to the end. He allowed it to touch his chest, then raised it back up to the hooks on the scaffold that allowed it to rest. “With what time we have, would it not be prudent to improve my magic?”

“Your magic can only enhance what you have, while you’re here, we’re going to put some muscle on your bones to make the magic more effective. You read your diet plan and the supplements?” I nodded at his words. Much like a knight in training to get used to heavy armor, I was to eat a large amount of meat and vegetables, as well as recover more quickly with the help of potions. “Every day, before breakfast, you’ll be doing thirty movements that are two-thirds of the maximum you have at the start of the week. Every start of the week, you’ll find your new limit. You’ll do this for all seven machines in the circuit. Simple, but effective.”

He got off the long bench and cleansed the surface with magic, before gesturing for me to take his place and mimic his movement.

When I tried and the metal barely budged through my efforts, I realized that this morning routine was going to be more harrowing than I thought.

…

I consumed the breakfast of roasted chicken voraciously, as the consumption of meat stimulated the potion in my stomach, and rid me of the pain and ache born from finding my limits. My father’s support, in providing the supplies and the potions, was much appreciated by Alice as well. She’d endured by my side and we both found our limits together, while Lord Trelawney recorded them.

He had a clear soup, sausage, and a loaf of dark bread for his meal, and ate while finishing his analysis of our results.

“You’re both well trained and stronger than the average militia recruit. Whoever put you both through your paces did a fantastic job: you won’t die immediately heading out into a forest filled with monsters. Congrats.” Lord Trelawney’s praise attracted the attention of passing servants. Such a thing must have been rarer than I expected. “The two of you will go every morning for four days, rest for two, and then we’ll find your limits again. Train together, go through the movements properly, and you’ll grow strong.”

“You won’t be joining us in the morning, Lord Trelawney?” I inquired, and he shook his head.

“I can’t. We can’t spare the resources for the food and the potions. If I did the same as you, I’ll destroy my body.” His words were simple and succinct. There was no ill will for the meal that I ate and the potion I imbibed courtesy of my father. Only the simple statement of fact. “Not everyone has gold coming out of every orifice, princess. I had to make do with scavenging all the heirlooms left behind by my family for my armor.”

I didn’t manage to hold back my sigh as his glibness and irreverence returned, but I managed to turn my gaze at his looming suit of armor waiting for him to enter it.

At his back, it was a faceless and intimidating knight clad in armor.

The prior evening, though, it had been more like a monster.

I summoned the courage to ask him about the matter after a moment.

“The prior evening, I saw the armor shift according to your will into something else. Something terrifying.”

“Thanks, that was the idea. Since I can’t kill them all, I want to leave them all terrified. Traumatized for life, if possible.” I suspected that was his plan, but I was still put off by it coming from a child that didn’t reach my waist line. Now that I thought about it, despite his age, he looked smaller than he should. It was likely because of their poor situation. Not even any of the soldiers were my height. “Did you like the molten metal face? It shoots out molten fire up to a league away.”

“…I must admit that I don’t know what to say to that. All I’ve known in my life is that armor should inspire or awe the common soldier.” A knight is present on the battlefield to be both be a stalwart warrior and anchor for the officers to rely upon, as well as a pillar of strength for the professional soldier or conscripted man to look to. None would see Lord Trelawney’s form as inspiring or reliable. “Do you not intend to lead armies across the country to fulfill your desires?”

Again, his answer was immediate.

“No. Infantry is the best we can muster, and infantry is best for holding ground. The soldiers are going to be holding the castle and our territory, while I fulfill my duties.” Were those words said by anyone else, I would’ve thought them boasts. However, I had witnessed him attack monsters on the open seas, and saw how many monsters he killed and brought to the city. Such a powerful individual, unconstrained by the limits of armies, would be a terrifying force indeed. “Looks like you’ve got it figured out. Yeah. Shame is for people who can afford better.”

The tactic was seen as cowardly, as a way of war that lacked honor, as it would leverage the Steps of Divinity to brutal warfare.

No better than using the strength meant to ascend as a sharpened rock.

There are many in history who used this same tactic, but they are all reviled.

But the docks were empty and little aid was coming.

The young lord looked gaunt and could not eat the same as his guests.

Finally, all the servants were either children with hard eyes or elderly doing their utmost to appear dignified.

Indeed.

I found nothing disgraceful here.

“I do not think of you lesser for it, Lord Trelawney. If I ever show such emotion, I bid you to have me apologize.” My words seemed to surprise him, his narrow gaze widening every-so-slightly, before a small smirk formed on his lips. He opened his mouth to speak, probably some brutish and unkempt comment, but he closed it after a moment. I accepted the silence with a nod of my head. “I am finished with my meal. I believe that the next course of action is to venture out to slay monsters? May I be excused to prepare my equipment?”

For a moment, I believed I saw a flash of respect in his dark gaze, before he suddenly raised his eyebrow.

“You might be done eating, princess, but your servant’s not.”

Alice promptly began eating at a breakneck pace, while I felt my face flush all the way to my ears, as he snickered.

I moved to stop her, my face burning, as he continued to chuckle.

Still, though, while the laughter was at my expense, I accepted it.

It made the dark and empty halls seem just a bit brighter.

…

I puked onto the floor, between my hands, as my vision blurred, my ears rang, and my lungs burned.

Then, I was picked up into the air by a massive hand and everything became dull as wind whipped around me in a dizzying movement.

I puked again as I came to a stop, then I was dropped into freezing cold water.

Instinct drove me to clarity, and I pushed myself up from the puddle before I drowned, and then my vision began to swim once again as I felt a deep fatigue settle on my person.

But the sweetness of sleep was torn from me, as a familiar movement tilted up my mouth and forced a potion of invigoration down my throat into my empty stomach.

“Eighty kills that time. You’re making good time. If thirty weeks and not fifteen.”

Tears welled in my eyes, but I gritted my teeth, and forced them back.

As for the new rush of bile, I couldn’t.

“Yeesh, you’d be wasting them if they weren’t so high-quality.” I was raised up to my feet, then waves of magic ran over me. Sweat, dirt, grime, and bile all washed away. It did nothing for the ache in my bones, the buzzing behind my eyes, and the dreadful ache in my bones. “C’mon. Strength is right there. You just need to keep taking it.”

My sword broke an hour ago. The armor I learned to maintain and wore with bride became too heavy to wear two hours ago. Magic became impossible to chant and cast three hours ago. My hair was undone and matted to my face like irritating threads. My fingers ached and I wasn’t sure if I could unclench them from fists.

And, before me, was a forest that was filled with amorphous elementals that Lord Trelawney referred to as frost slimes.

They were pests. Creatures that piled up from ambient magic. Peasants kicked them aside or used them to dispose of waste. A child with a knife can kill one with ease. The most that they can do is project balls of whatever solid they came up with, or latch onto something and weight them down. Even the largest of the creatures could be felled with a sharpened stick and a decent arm.

That was what I thought, until I was thrown into a hive by Lord Trelawney with Alice.

I fought and fought them, being pelted by snowballs and rocks with barely any force, while they grasped and aimed to smother me with sheer numbers. Spells only seemed to disappear into their mass. Even as I took their power and imbibed it, the sensation of their grief and hunger muted by my own fear, it was not enough.

I was wearing only trousers and a tunic. I felt unseemly and ugly, but that hardly mattered in the face of the daunting odds I now faced.

The enemy was truly endless.

I swung my blade until it grew dull, but they still came.

I used pure magic like a brute, blasting them apart with force alone, but they still came.

I empowered my body, swung my fists, and crushed them underfoot, but they still came.

They didn’t stop, not even as fatigue set in, and as my body emptied everything for the sake of battle alone.

I would’ve died of shame, if not for my fear of my grave reading ‘died to pests.’

“Whoops, need to get your buddy, princess.” Lord Trelawney sped away with speeds that caused snow around us to turn into a fine cloud, but he returned before it settled. I watched as Alice was treated to the same hospitality as myself, and when our gazes met, we both glanced at Lord Trelawney together with the same thought. Then, suddenly, a chime went off from the timepiece he brought along for our journey. “Time for some lunch and rest, it looks like.”

Fatigue suddenly seemed like a thing of the past, as strength flooded me to reach for the basket filled with food at the base of the tea trunk where the timepiece was.

My salvation was plucked from me, as I was picked up by the back of my shirt and moved towards a barrel.

“Here, drink up first.” He sat us both down, bands of metal keeping us both from our meals, which he went to and began to set. He pointed at the barrel and bands of metal came off from his armor, and pulled off the lid. A sweet and sour scent came from the barrel, that attracted my attention. “It’s wine, honey, salt, dried fruits, and water. A lot of water. That’ll help more than meat.”

Two bowls were given to us, and when I drank it, it felt like a fire within my body began to be quenched. Acidity, sweetness, and salt combined in highly chilled waters. The dried fruits were diced finely and was easily drunk. If not for the bowl, I would’ve gulped it down and spilled it upon myself, because it was almost like divine nectar to my needy body.

The bowls kept arriving, I kept drinking, and before I knew it a low table was set before us by Lord Trelawney along with meet and clear broth that were both heated.

I managed to have some decorum, as I began to eat with my bare hands.

I remembered to at least cleanse myself of filth before I began to eat.

For a few moments, as I ate, I expected Lord Trelawney to speak to us… but when he noticed my gaze, he waved my attention away.

“I’m a taskmaster, not a sadist. You’ve got two hours to eat and rest, then we’re back to the grind.”

With that said, Alice and I exchanged glanced before eating at a bit faster pace.

Eating was fine, but rest seemed irresistible.

“You’ll be making up for lost time after this rest, so make the most of it.”

I ate a bit faster at those words, and the food tasted a bit saltier than usual.

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 3)

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 3)

…

Coastal Fortress Trelawney was a cliffside, fortified port that clung like armor onto the coast. At its base was frosted, churning seas and countless sharp stones. Reminiscent of a black beetle clinging to the side of a clay pot, the ‘head’ of the castle crested above the top of the cliffside, but most of it was below. Large structural supports, much like legs, stretched across the cliffside and embedded the structure onto the cliff. Ships entered the center of the castle, which was a ring of sheltered docks, with immense gates opening to admit ships and free them of the burden of enduring the frost and tumultuous winds.

“Ugly thing, isn’t it? It makes up for it by being defensible. Never been breached in my family’s history, and it lets us control the strait of Helena.” Lord Trelawney gestured at the walls of the castle. Many were covered in cannon, but three spires stood out from the rest. I recognized them as focal points for magic. The whole castle and its construction were most likely made to make use of natural magic found in the area, by gathering that magic and using it to strike down anything trying to cross the strait to the Empire’s lands. “The only real problem is food. The land’s not the rich and the weather’s always horrible, so we make up for it with large farms, but that means soldiering out and keeping it safe to not starve to death. Horrible weakness. My father would tell you the same. He died trying to keep it.”

“I presume that the weapons and protections of the coastal fortress take too much to allow for magic to aid in farming?”

“Yep, that’s exactly it, princess. Keeping everyone safe means we can’t use magic to grow food like everyone else.” He was glib with his words. Some of the crew tending to the ship grunted at his statement, while we pulled into the enclosure for the ship. The other docks in the hollow ring encircling the castle were notably empty. “Good trade and relations help a lot, but both are in short supply. Only your house sent aid.”

I could hear the smile on his face in his words.

“Now, you’ve got a ringer in your court when everything goes to shit.”

Alice’s green eyes were swift to turn upon him after his words.

“You will come to House Argelia’s aid, should you be called to do so?”

A dark chuckle left his lips, and quenched the sudden flame of excitement in Alice’s heart.

“Of course. A lot of bastards out there owe me a lot of money.” It was not a matter of honor, nor a matter of justice. Lord Trelawney would come to our aid for the sake of spite and getting what he was owed. The ship docked, the wings folded against the ship’s hull, and gangways came forth from the deck. We descended onto the only active dock in the expansive, expensive ring. This should be full of ships bringing supplies, especially after a devastating battle that left only one heir to an earldom. “If you fail, princess, I’ll be making a lot of money.”

We descended amidst the crew, whose wives and families met them happily on the pier, but after a few steps it was only myself, Alice, Lord Trelawney, and his steward.

I was briefly reminded of his age, as we reached a staircase flanked by two service doors. Unused pullcarts were lined up neatly against the wall. If the enclosed dockyard were at its full capacity, I could see ships being tended to, disgorging supplies with ease, and reaching warehouses connected to the rest of the fortress. The more that I looked around, the more I saw an investment of the Empire to protect us, which has been upheld by Lord Trelawney’s family for many generations as stalwart protectors.

“We did our job too well. People forgot what it feels like to be raided by berserkers on the backs of monsters, or tribes of wild mortals with bodies flush with primal magic.” Lord Trelawney must’ve noticed my gaze at the empty piers, and deduced my thoughts. I nodded at his statement, feeling a frown fall onto my face. They did their duty so well that their necessity was forgotten. “No choice but to kill them all now. Father’s going to roll in his grave. He tried to make everyone understand and get along, but that’s all down the shitter now. A real shame.”

I almost missed a step at Lord Trelawney’s words, and only Alice quickly helping catch me prevented it.

“Kill them all?” I repeated the words.

The lands of the frosted north were filled with foes of the empire since time immemorial. Small kingdoms dotted the far north, the frost and monsters surrounding them, making them the finest shapers of steel, and both the men and women of their people were tall and musclebound titans. They set upon the rest of the world in long ships, finding employ amongst the wealthy, and raiding coastlines to supplement their harvests and treasure vaults.

Then, there were the tribes that lived in the dark, frosted forests of these lands. They were a mortal race with pitch-black eyes, white skin, and silver hair with beautiful features. Some of their people married into nobility with ease and their bloodlines were strong with magics that pertained to frost. But those descendants paled compared their true kin here in these lands. They called upon primal magics and had mastery of ice to the point where they can walk naked in these lands with ease, and kill monsters in an instant.

Then, there were the people from the Fading Isle, a land where magic was abundant, where monsters could think and reason in their own, terrifying way, and where mortals were practically demigods one and all. A single champion with a herald once came to the empire and defeated fifty heirs to noble houses, collected gold rings form each one, just so that he could propose to his beloved. Theirs was a land beloved by the gods.

“Well, I’m exaggerating a little. Probably just three of every ten. four, maybe. Any more than that and gods get antsy regarding their followers being wiped. The trick is to just do the same damage as a massive, cataclysmic disaster.” Lord Trelawney intentions to them were simple and clear, as we reached the main gates, which gave us entry to dark halls barely lit by waning fires. Statues of previous heads of the house were arrayed against pillars. All of them clad in armor, all of them holding weapons, and all of them bearing scars on their faces. “Father tried to get alliances of marriage. Bribing them with gold. Cultivating lands alongside them. Treaties. You name it, he tried it, even to the point of offering me up to some ancient sorceress in the Fading Isle who had dozens of husbands already.”

“…If he succeeded, then the north would’ve been secure.”

“True, but he didn’t succeed. Instead, they took treasure and bribes from us and the empire’s enemies, then chose our enemies. Well, except my fiancé. Whore she might be, but she didn’t take the deal. Someone else from the Fading Isle did though.” We walked through the hall and reached the most recent statue. The last head of House Trelawney wore a suit befitting an audience with the king, but wore a cuirass underneath his fine jacket and greaves and gauntlets as well. A sword hung at his left hip while on his right was a small wand. His features were more kind and less stern. Lord Trelawney stopped before him, along with the steward, and both bowed with respect. “Maybe, if we had more assistance from the rest of the empire, it’d have worked. Now? I guess it’s more accurate to say that I need to teach them a lesson that their whole society will remember forever.”

We passed the long, defensible hall with easily-collapsed pillars, and entered the fortress, while Lord Trelawney’s words echoed in my head.

The doors opened and a simple, neat, and warm foyer opened before us. Paintings hung on the walls of children in their youth, smiling, as children grew to full young adults. There was a couple as well, smiling and holding each other close, with one child, then another, and another, until it was a young Lord Trelawney was swaddled in his mother’s arms with all his siblings smiling alongside their father.

He stopped and bowed his head, before heading to a trolley pushed in by servants. On the trolley was heated wine and fresh bread.

“Lady Argelia, I offer you this bread and this cup. Under my roof, you will have nothing to fear. You are my guest alongside your retainer. This I swear as lord of this fortress and land.” My neck tingled faintly at his words, but there was no imprint let alone scar from his earlier efforts to teach me. I took the warm bread and wine and readily consumed it. It was a small roll of fresh wheat and heavy with grain. Still, the baker’s efforts and time was clear. The crust was crunchy instead of hard and the crumb was dark, but still soft. The wine was mulled with spice, as well. This was a meal that came from limited larders, but they did their best. “I welcome you and offer you my protection and hospitality.”

He gave a bow, his armor somehow making no sound as he did, and when he raised his head after I curtsied… he offered a light joke.

“I’m afraid that I have more of the former than the latter, but we’ll make do.”

Shaking his helmeted head, he looked at the steward.

“Get them situated. I’ll be going on a patrol.”

“My lord, I need some time to rest.”

“Don’t worry, this isn’t for the treasury. It’s for combat.” His words were glib, but I was reminded by his earlier words. His intentions were clear. Though his words were light, the task he was about to set upon was heavy. I paused at that thought. The passion and idle coarseness to his words on the ship and at the inn were nowhere to be found. None of that were present since he crossed the threshold past his ancestors and fallen family. “I’ll be back before dawn.”

With those words, he turned away and ascended the main stairs, to a set of doors flanked by two tall portraits of his mother and father.

He opened the doors with one hand on each, and they opened without a sound, into a dark hallway where he stood alone with the moon faintly beyond him.

 All the servants present and the steward bowed as the doors began to close.

Then, for the briefest instant, time slowed to a crawl as something primal within the back of my mind told me to flee or to fight.

Through the gap of the closing doors, the red cloak and hood came off, and revealed a fully armored figure. Armor that was bulky and large, evoking the image of a mighty knight covered in powerful armor, despite being a vessel for Lord Trelawney.

That image began to break and warp before my very eyes. The metal plates shifted, segregated, and became thinner and revealed sharpened edges. The whole armor thinned and elongated, becoming a lanky and gaunt figure. Massive, gauntleted arms turned into two pairs and then three pairs, with the fingers of the gauntlets unfurling and becoming long, thin claws. It doubled its height and became an emaciated, terrifying figure covered in blades, and its visage warped as well. For a second, it glanced back over to us, and instead of the plain visor with ruby eyes, I saw a snarling, roaring maw of molten metal with blazing, predatory eyes ablaze with scarlet light.

Then, the doors closed, and I managed to breath one again.

Alice suddenly coughed and struggled to remain standing, only managing to do so, as the Steward of House Trelawney placed a hand on her shoulder. A faint glow came from his hand, and she caught her breath, only to look to him for an explanation.

A sigh left his lips.

“Allow me to apologize on the young master’s behalf. Once, he was the brightest and kindest of the family. Diligent and coming up with so many grand ideas. Now, he turns all his talent towards retribution and terror.” Steward Matthew extended a gloved hand my way, and I placed my hand in his. Suddenly, a creeping chill in the back of my mind faded. “He does not know his rage and hate comes clearly to those from the mainland. Here, detecting the intention of others with magic is not the norm.”

Alice was trained to be sensitive to even the faintest hint of aggression to better protect me. When she stared at Lord Trelawney as he ceased holding back, she must have seen his true, unbridled emotions.

It had shaken her to the point of nearly making her flee from my side.

I took a step next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, and was gladdened as she took several deep breaths and nodded.

“We shall take your words to heart, Steward Matthew. We will refrain from trying to glean intent with magic here.” The elderly man gave a bow of gratitude at my words, before gesturing for us to follow. He cast an orb of light to lead us, after opening a hallway. Lanterns lit in his presence, and dust banished away. It was a modest guest wing of the castle within the sprawling fortress. The hall was quiet and cool as we followed him. A question arose in my mind. “Steward Matthew, do you support your lord’s current course?”

A steward of a household is meant to advise the lord of the land, and in this case steer them away from schemes that would bring harm to the land and the people.

The lord of a household leading a one-man war against three other nations without the Empire’s support certainly sounded foolish.

Steward Matthew’s response to my question was immediate.

“There is no one who can stop him. Not here, not in the Empire, and not amongst those whom he wishes to destroy.” The tiredness in the old gentleman’s words was replaced by a cold spite towards all others, and a quiet pride in his lord. “When our lands our secure within two seasons time. Their reckoning will arrive and we will have our retribution.”

A part of me wanted to ask if it was right of them to put such a task upon a 14-year-old boy.

I stopped myself before I asked, as we passed another painting in the hall.

It was Steward Matthew, along with five other men in fine clothing, and Lord Trelawney late father sitting around a council table… smiling together for a portrait as fine friends playing cards.

That was the only answer I needed.

V10: Chapter 1

V10: Chapter 1

…

The Iterants were out of the bag with our current stunt, and that led to all sorts of repercussions. Even though we gave the order for them to pull out, and worked to get them back home before pulling the trigger on the Wardens, the other factions noticed hundreds of people disappearing in their nation. A lot of them considered it hostilities, and if not for the fact that they were working on taking the Warden’s capital, full-blown war would be taking place already. For now, though, it was skirmishing all along the border, a building tension between my territory coalition, and whatever ‘peace’ we had after the Death Lord was now gone.

Honestly, I was tempted to go silent against their accusations and statements against me. I mean, by every standard, I did put a whole lot of shapeshifting magical golems into their realms as infiltrators. Through them I got a good look at their societies, how they were doing, and basically understood what was happening there. Not to mention the potential assassination power that I had at my disposal, along with possible sabotage plots. If they didn’t make accusations and statements, as well as practically start a conflict against me, they’d be idiots.

There was also the fact that most of our espionage projects were scrapped now, ranging from the disease strike on the Forgers to the major uprising while they’re at each other’s throats. 

That was just the cherry on top of the shit sundae.

Anyway, I’d be an idiot to just let them go spew their propaganda and idealisms unopposed.

After pretty much losing my foreign intelligence network, I had to limit the damage.

To that end, I was holding a speech.

A speech in the style of a press conference, where people could ask me questions, and understand what’s happenings. More than anything, I needed to keep my citizenry ready to support me in the present in the future. From the citizenry came all my industrial, financial, and military power. I needed them on my side.

So, I took and read all the accusations and statements made by my opponents, invited delegates to listen in along with the public, and prepared my counter-argument.

Time to see how well I can debate and persuade people to my side after a literal lifetime has passed since I last did it.

I took one semester of it in college, and I hated it.

The whole affair was in an open courtyard with me on a stage. Seats for everyone arranged ahead of time with everyone invited given a free flight and pick up a week ahead of time. All delegates got settled in the nearest resort outside the city, got a few hours to travel around with guides, and seated ahead of time with their people’s questions vetted. They’re the only ones I had to answer, since everyone involved in my papers in my cities was all my employees.

Anyway, the first reader came up, told everyone the date, the schedule, and plainly stated what the current conference will address, and then it was my turn on stage.

More than a hundred people were seated and looking my way, while the buildings around the square were all locked up tight and secured for the day.

I opened my mouth, and thankfully my fear of not being able to say a word, didn’t arise.

“Good afternoon, distinguished reporters and delegates of the Forgers, Guardians, and Merchants. Today, as said by my assistant Ayah, I will be addressing the existence of Iterants as well as the current reason for the current conflict against the Wardens. Thank you all for coming.” I was tempted to just explain, but I could see how that’ll go in other nations. I didn’t want to push a narrative first. Instead, I wanted to continue to appear amicable and truthful. That’s why I toned down the regal look for the occasion. Three-piece suit with a circlet instead of a crown, and a half-cape in red instead of a full coat. “Let’s begin with four questions. I believe that many desire answers. You should’ve all received a number upon entry from a box filled with papers. Completely random. Number 1, please go first.”

That was a lie.

It wasn’t completely random, since some of the people who came in already had questions 1 through 4.

And, of course, the questions were the hard-hitting questions that we didn’t allow the delegates to ask and had them ‘swear’ that they wouldn’t around our reporters.

A hand shot up, the reporter stood up, and he was an older man with glasses and a beard. Johan Dewill from the Scholar’s former Citadel. We put the question in his hands through his editor. He’s a bit of a firebrand and we’ve been letting his articles through. He’s always been against having kings and queens, saying that they’re no better than everyone else, and little better than warlords.

Good person to keep around to give everyone the comfort that they can say whatever they want.

“Johan Dewill from the Stone Range Journal. My question, and the question of my office, is why the secrecy regarding the Iterants? The rest of the continent is calling them monsters that can change bodies and faces. Your majesty, why do you have them all around us? How can you place your trust them?”

An even better person to use to get questions that I want asked.

I could also see the Merchant delegate smiling in her place amongst the crowd, even as she tried to hide it behind a fan. Probably thinking along the lines of the people assigned to her having wasted time, while one of my own pounced on me.

Sorry, lady, but we’ve got more control over our population than you do.

Seriously, who gets into a civil war right after the Death Lord tutorial crisis? You need negative fifty happiness across the empire for that.
But back to the conference.

“Thank you for your question, Mr. Dewill. I understand your concerns. So, please allow me to tell you of the Iterants: they are one of the last of us. The last people created by the Ancients.”  We fabricated a story around the truth. Every great lie has a kernel of truth, so we weaved the truth throughout this lie and made it unbreakable. No, we made it something better: a story that anyone can believe in. “The last people created by the Ancients, they were born in a great machine that created them slowly and carefully across the millennia, to shepherd a new age of prosperity across the world. The Citadels are our lifelines, their efforts to provide and shelter us, while the Iterants are our protectors.”

And, the best way to convince people of what I was saying was to make myself fallible.

I bowed my head to my people in apology and let the shock rumble through the crowd.

“I apologize, my dear citizens. I must admit that when I first found them years ago, I thought to use them for war. To surge across the continent as elite warriors from an ancient age, but they knew better, and I heeded their words. They wished to instead protect all their fellow peoples, and I acquiesced to their desire in hopes of convincing them to go to war for me in the future. I am afraid that succeeded.”

I’ll take it.

I’ll take all the blame.

What are they going to do? Depose me?

You might think that I’m asking for trouble, but there’s nothing around that can do that. If there’s any budding movement with any true aims, it’ll get crushed. There’s no senate, nobility, merchant class, or even a landowning class. Morgan had opposed my plan initially, out of reflex, and told me that leaders can’t afford to look weak and can’t ever apologize and be earnest. Then, of course, I pointed out that only Khanrow or Riegert could capitalize on my weakness and depose me, and they didn’t want to be the public face of our organization at all.

Beyond them?

There was nothing and nobody, because we’ve aimed for totalitarian control over the whole of society from the very start.

So, I didn’t hesitate to bow my head, take the blame, and lift up the Iterants.

No one knows them, so they should be feared, my enemies say.

Therefore, I’ll call them heroes and take all the blame onto myself.

I raised my head and gauged the reactions. The delegates all looked like they bit into a sour lemon. Mr. Dewill looked vindicated, the monarchial system he opposed admitted weakness, but when he looked around… his elation died.

Everyone else in the crowd was furious at him, openly glaring, because everyone else here was the average citizen in my lands.

Not a malcontent working a cushy job in an area I sent them to.

I raised my gloved hand up towards them and gained all their attention.

“My beloved citizens, please. Mr. Dewill asked for the truth, and I will not have him harmed for it. Security, please see to his safety, and forward him the rest of my answer.” To his credit, he took the help the tyrant he opposed offered with a bunch of nods and no hesitation. In the coming weeks, his articles will be watched more carefully. If they don’t change, his paper will get an expansion and his articles will get buried beneath dozens more pages and articles. Or, he’ll get a job offer at a resort as a hotel manager or something, if his infamy gets too hot. “The Iterants are protectors who sought to understand and protect the people of the realm. They insisted that the first thing that needs to be done is to ensure the security of the land. Even now, they are vigilant, and they wish that they could’ve stayed in the lands that now feared them for their primary purpose was to watch and guard from the shadows… a purpose they can no longer achieve through my actions.”

I didn’t apologize again, since I was still talking about the same thing, but I wanted to paint the Iterants as heroes.

Repetition was key to that, but it was always important to keep the questions going forward to properly weave the narrative. The next questioner was the antithesis to Mr. Dewill. A long-term plant in a journal at the Children of the Elm’s former Citadel. Human, but in Khanrow’s camp, and an asset we’ve placed in there to keep watch over the largest press in that area. His goal was to ‘interrupt’ and to pursue the line of inquiry that Mr. Dewill set up.

“Your majesty, I’m with the Oak Journal. My name is Matthis, and I am second in line for questioning! Why exactly did you act against the Wardens now?” He came from where Morgan did and trained as a scribe. His cover was as an Academy refugee from all those years ago. He dressed for the part, too, and was rapidly earning glares from the regular people in the crowd for speaking. He handled the stress well. “Why use the protectors sent to us by the Ancients as assassins against a former ally?”

He played his part perfectly, and so I did my best as well.

“I am afraid that I have not been entirely truthful with you all. But when the Wardens chose to side with the Coalition, instead of with us, I felt betrayed. All that our nation gave in blood, effort, and time, and they eschewed it all for a chance to rule over the entire continent after our victory against the Death Lord. At that moment, I began to work against them.” It was a lie. In regards to timeline, I was working to get the Wardens solved well before their ‘betrayal.’ However, that wasn’t how the people saw it. All they saw when the Wardens joined up with the Coalition was our alliance being broken, trade ties ending, and visitation rights ending abruptly. There had been questions, but most of it was swept under the rug. Not solved. Not addressed. Bubbling as an undercurrent. “Then, much like us, they found a sleeping Divine Engine in the outside world. While we had the Goddess of Life, they found her opposite, the Goddess of Death. They were set to become the leaders of the Coalition, opposing our nation on near equal terms with mastery of resurrection and the antithesis of our own goddess, and so I acted. I gave the Iterants an ultimatum: help us seize the Goddess of Death, or I shall plunge the whole region into war and take the Divine Engine from their grasp. Faced with the deaths of hundreds of thousands against hundreds, they chose to save as many as they can.”

Bullshit.

Speculation.

Hearsay.

Lies.

But, most importantly, I was shifting all the blame on myself and burning up my influence.

I didn’t know how much that I had, nor did I know how much I got per turn, but I knew one singular fact: in-game, if you don’t have any traitor champions, you can’t get a game-over for having 0 influence or a deficit.

Was I banking a lot on the fact that leaders can’t get deposed?

Yeah, totally.

However, again, how exactly were they going to be rid of me after I took all this blame?

There’s no replacement, and if everything goes violent, all the Citadel Guardians are under my control.

The risk is still moderate, but my goal is to get the Iterants to be celebrated across my nation and not be distrusted. Avoiding their rebellion event is the top priority, and keeping them as specialized units and problem solvers, was essential. If I had to eat sand, grovel, and prostrate myself to get them accepted by people, I’ll do everything in my power without a hint of hesitation.

So, once again, I bowed my head in apology towards all my people and all the foreign delegates present.

“I take full responsibility for the current crisis, for the war that has come forth, and I will resolve it to the utmost of my ability.” This was the truth. It was all my fault, because I planned for it to happen, and gave the order to make it all occur. I was being responsible for a lot more than I shared. “Upon its resolution, should my people and nation desire it, I will seek capable individuals in my lands who can take my place and lead us all through the great crises looms ahead.”

I had no intention of relinquishing power in the slightest, but I gave the line off to gauge everyone’s reactions at the possibility of me leaving the throne after a major fuck up.

It was just an attempt to gauge how much influence I had with a lukewarm reaction meaning I had zero and enthusiasm to abdicating basically saying that I lost a lot of influence.

Yeah.
I wasn’t prepared for the sudden outburst from the crowd rejecting the idea as everyone leapt from their seats and instantly started to form a mob.

Alright, look’s like the influence tank is still pretty full.

I wonder if anyone’s going to have the balls to ask about the Iterants now?

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Apocalypse Reborn Fantasy RTS Reincarnation Volume 1

Long ago the world was ruined. The ancients were felled by foes long lost to memory, and their great civilization shattered. From the ashes arose myriad peoples, each one vying for control, and each one coming to conflict with one another. For countless centuries those who arose from the ancients fought for power, influence, and territory, their kingdoms and nations rising and falling with history. But now is the time of ending. Long lost machines have been found and raised. Power unlike any known to recent history is being unleashed, and the whole world will be set alight by ambition and desire to simply survive. The last gasp of the ancients comes forth as white spires that grant wealth, power, and strength to those who control them... and each spire is held by nation that seeks the power of their peers. Because they must, for the remnants of their ancestor's foes stir and now look upon the lands of those who cursed them and shackled them.

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 2)

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 2)

…

As the ship flew over the Strait of Helena onto the shores of Lord Trelawney’s lands, I read and considered the curriculum that he handed me.

To put it frankly, it seemed insane, and when I looked at Alice, she concurred with eyes wide with disbelief.

“My lady, I think we should turn around and accept the Guild Leader’s offer.”

“…Time does not permit us that luxury, Alice.”

“My lady, this schedule is insane.” Alice bluntly spoke to me, and frowned at her, but she ignored the small gesture to stand her ground. Both of us were in guest rooms on the ship and both of us were dressed in evening gowns. With our hair down, no makeup, and no fanciful dresses, we were nearly identical. With a few charms and artifacts on her person, Alice could easily look like me and fool would-be assassins by risking her own life to protect mine. She oversees my safety, she is my protector, and I trust her implicitly. “If this curriculum is true, you’re going to be spending eight hours of your day killing monsters, learning in the evenings for two, and then doing nothing else but sleeping and eating for the rest of your days.”

“It is for fifteen weeks, and I have two days off after every five. There are also weekly checks on my strength and ability.” My father and brother drilled numbers and theory into me and my sisters, just mother had our brothers learn etiquette, dance, and even cooking. House Argelia nurtured talent, but if also espoused having a solid foundation of courtly life. So, I knew from a single glance, that my father would kill for the paper I held in my hands now. It was, quite frankly, a training method to turn noble scions into warriors of legend. “I cannot refuse this, Alice. This is the only way to gain power quickly and try and save our empire.”

“Damn the empire, my lady. It’s done nothing for you. We can grow strong in a year, return home, and protect it. With two more able warriors, my father and brothers can hold the line without fearing internal dissidents. That’s enough.” Alice came from our most esteemed knightly retainers. A branch house of our family from our founder’s brother-in-law. They have been our staunchest allies even in the darkest days of our house. For many centuries, her household has cultivated great talent and warriors, and this latest generation was no exception. “House Argelia has withstood much worse. We didn’t risk our lives for people who betrayed us, my lady.”

I was about to answer when there was a knock on our door, then came an offered summons from Lord Trelawney.

A ‘preview’ of his offer.

Alice’s stare my way told me to not oblige, but my answer was to stand and move towards my wardrobe.

With a sigh, my best friend moved to help me get dressed.

Grumbling, she helped me without a hint of hesitation.

…

The ship flew a tower’s height above the roiling ocean waves. High enough to evade most seaborne monsters, but not so high that it would cause undue stress upon the hull. Flying high, after all, was only done when necessary. The night sky was clear and the moonlight was so bright that I could see the dark seas below with ease. The ship’s deck was empty save for Lord Trelawney.

Alice came forward to my right without a word, willing to lay down her life for me without question, when Lord Trelawney spoke with the booming voice he had when encased in his armor.

“Princess, glad you’re here. You’re just in time for the show.” There were no pleasantries or similar words. Only an acknowledgement of my presence, then a gesture towards the horizon where the stars met the sea in the distance. “Put some power behind your eyes. You’ll see them. Or, at least, I think you should.”

He challenged me without a care, but I obliged and looked at where he pointed while empowering my gaze.

I almost recoiled at the sight.

There was a swarm of monsters coming our way. Halfway between reptile and fish, they had such large fins on their sides that they looked like wings. Their bodies were serpentine and long, covered in silver scales that seemed to glint in the moonlight, and in their passing the seas briefly turned into churning ice before being swept away. Their jaws were long and elongated, vaguely like an alligator’s, but narrower and filled with sharper teeth.

“Those are called silver darters. They hunt in pods of over thirty. You must’ve wondered why I have a four-winged ship. They’re the reason why. These vessels are the only ones that can fly high enough after sighting them to evade them. Smaller ships don’t cut it. They just smash through the hull, then eat everyone and everything that isn’t wood.” When I ceased empowering my vision, my eyes were wet and tired, but more importantly the pod of ferocious monsters was close enough that I could see their approach with my regular gaze. I felt fear rise from the depths of my stomach, especially as Lord Trelawney gave no command of the ship to lift. “When we’re flying back to bring you across the Strait, I want you to be able to deal with a pod at least as big as this one in a few minutes.”

Lord Trelawney proceeded to vault over the rail and momentarily fell downward.

Then, the ship rocked, and a blazing star was born atop the ocean waves.

He sped through the air faster than cannon shot. The air cracked around him and his speed increased to the point waves formed in his passing. In mere moments, he reached the pod of monsters, wreathed in power, and smashed through them. Like a knight resplendent in the heaviest armor, after gathering enough speed and magic to charge, he broke apart the pod of monsters. The foremost of the creatures was eviscerated and destroyed, turning into naught but slivers of pink flesh and gore, merely by striking the breastplate of his armor.

The rest of the creatures scattered, roaring load enough to drown out the subtle thrum of the sea waves beneath the hull, and I found myself gripping the railing as I strained my eyes to see the battle unfold.

The charge broke the formation of the monsters, as loose and instinctive it was, and he took advantage of their shock. Using his body like a weapon, he surged at his foes and bodily slammed into them, tearing through them with ease, or sending them flying broken upon contact. When he decided to strike with his fists, the force of his punches sent the innards and flesh of the creature flying the opposite end of where his fist struck. All the while, he stayed above the tumultuous waves of the dark ocean, in control, and without fear.

Nothing out there can hope to stagger his step, let alone do him harm.

He reached us without minutes after destroying the last of the monsters, despite the ship never having slowed since his disembarking.

Towards Alice and myself, he tossed a monster’s heart, crystallizing already, into a core as its powers coalesced turned flesh to crystal flush with power.

“That was about ten minutes. You should be able to do that on our way back in twenty. We’ll have the boat slow down.” There was no grunt of exertion. No note of discomfort. Lord Trelawney stood covered in blood and viscera, until he snapped his fingers. In a moment, it all came away from him, leaving him spotless and looming over us with his shadowed visage and vibrant scarlet eyes. “Do you know how to use that thing? Consider it a starting gift.”

In his gauntlet, it had been contained in his fist, but I had to hold it with both hands. The heart of the beast was contorting and changing in my hands. It was expelling heat, steaming in the frosty sea air, and condensing before my very eyes. The valves and veins fell off, as muscle contracted and turned inward, and began to form a blood-red sphere filled with swirling power within. When it finished condensing, the head-sized heart was gone and replaced by heavy crystal orb I could hold in the palm of my hand.

I took a deep breath and closed my hand around it, ready to feed on its power, when Lord Trelawney sighed.

“No. Not that way.”

I didn’t have time to react, as metal tendrils shot out of the cloak and seized me by the neck, then I was moved over the railing of the ship.

Alice moved swiftly, two long blades coming to her hands and flitting out of her skirt, and surging towards the neck and eyes of Lord Trelawney.

They connected, ablaze with power, and flames surged onto his form, billowing outward as a plume of bright flame onto the sea… and it didn’t even singe his cloak.

He caught her by the neck with his other hand, and the limb came apart, binding her in place in metal plates.

He paid her no heed and looked at me, while I desperately tried to wrench myself from his grasp with both hands.

“The best way to absorb power and make it yours is during battle. When your blood is filled with fear, but your mind is steeled by courage. Do you feel your heart racing? Your blood thundering in your ears? The urge to scream from the top of your lungs?” Lord Trelawney’s voice drowned out the whistling winds, and Alice’s cries were muffled as metal formed a gag over her mouth. I focused on his cold voice, at the words he was saying, and finally the pressing of cool crystal on the back of my hand. The core that I dropped without thinking when he seized me by the neck came back into my hands. “You’re halfway there now. Frightened and filled with fear. Ready to piss yourself and cry like a child. Filled with stress that threatens to break you. Now… now summon the courage to grow strong, to keep fighting, and to keep killing even in the middle of battle. Take that core and consume it for power. Do it now, or let all your fears come to pass.”

A part of me wanted to scream to be brought back aboard the boat, to be put down, and to be saved.

But I screamed before to be saved by others.

And, not one soul had come.

I had held onto Alice, shared a bedroom with her since that horrible day, but now she could not help me.

I was alone again, ready to scream, beg, and plead for help, and the result wouldn’t be different.

This time, though, I summoned all the courage I had and gripped the core of the monster tightly in my fist. The grip on my neck was tight, the sensation of metal across my form was horrible, and the chill of the sea reached my bones. But, still, I poured my power into the core, forcing it into the tumultuous chaos awhirl within the smooth orb, and I dragged the power into myself. Through my fear, through my raging heart, and my desire to scream, I focused, remembered my lessons, and seized the power in my hand and felt it pass through my skin, past my bones, past my muscle, and into my true self held within flesh and blood.

Then, suddenly, I understood what it truly meant to take in the power of a monster.

When my mind is clear, when my heart is calm, all the cores I consumed were just a source of power to invigorate myself. It was like feeding my soul with droplets of water. Sitting in the middle of an arcane circle, with others modulating the power from the core, I supped upon a core for hours at a time and extracted strength from it slowly but surely.

This time, I felt its last moments. I saw a silver talent streaking across the seas with speed faster than even the pack leader. My wings felt insufficient, my instincts screamed at me to run, even while all the others gathered power to charge. My pack leader disappeared, becoming nothing but meat and blood. Then my sister and brother. I felt rage and hate, and I surged towards the silver bolt, but then there was only pain and darkness… and rage.

Rage that I would carry, that I will use, so that something else, anything else, can kill the beast that killed me and my pack.

It was like an inferno of sensation and memory coursing through me, and I realized what I was eating, what I was truly consuming and making mine.

The life of another, their experiences, and moments, crystallized into a little orb that I consumed for my own sake.

I barely noticed as Alice came to my side and helped me stand, let alone the fact that I was back aboard the vessel.

Lord Trelawney spoke once more.

“There you go. You’ve felt it now. The perfect conditions involved in taking power from those that you kill. Remember that, because you’ll need to at least try and match it for every kill.”

Alice was ready to scream and yell on my behalf, but I raised up my hand to silence her and got to my feet.

Only one, true question came to mind.

“Do they… do they all truly think and feel like that?” The death throes and final sensations of the monster were seared into my mind. It was so… so much like my own. I felt it. A massive force on my chest that wrenched out my heart. The rage and desire to kill, as well as deep primal fear. I took everything that it offered, and felt stronger, by taking its life, its soul, and making all its ever done mine. “Do they all think as we do?”

“Unlikely, they’re different from what we are, after all. However, I think when we consume them, we see through their eyes with our own feelings and sensations. They’re animals, but they can feel, and consuming their cores makes their feelings into ours. Probably.” Lord Trelawney gave a hum, before taking out another core and tossing it towards Alice. She caught it with a scowl. “You’re plenty angry enough to not need my help… and princess needed it. Even after all she’s been through, she needed the push. You’ve had a pretty good life… the last couple of months notwithstanding.”

Alice glared at him, but offered no words in contention, as he left with a wave of his hand.

My thoughts were elsewhere.

I was meant to kill thousands of monsters in just a few days and take their power for my own.

The essence of their being distilled into what remained of their hearts after their deaths.

The very core of their being… and in their last moments they will see me instead of Lord Trelawney.

Instinctively, I knew that I would take more power from them by killing them myself, and that made my stomach churn.

But not as much as the knowledge that I didn’t wish to stop.

V9: Epilogue

V9: Epilogue

…

Interlude: Khanrow

…

I’ve seen warbands destroy budding nations before, typically funded by the Academy.

They broke defenders from range with powerful magic, rode into towns on horseback, and slaughtered people without giving quarter. The fear this caused would make any outlying settlements rush towards strongpoints and places held by their army. Infiltrators will follow the mass of hungry and fearful crowds, sowing chaos by fomenting riots and spoiling supplies, and attempt to kill anyone who can take control. The defenses will then be put to siege, the lands they hold incapable of feeding or supporting all the mouths, and an offer of surrender will be given.

Most take it, then the defenses break, and the leader, their family, and their officials are put to the sword.

All who survive it spread the tale of how foolish it is to try and raise a nation besides that Academy.

I thought that our campaign against the Warden of the Caverns would be similar. After all, we did not seek to eradicate them as we did the Children of the Elm.

That point had yet to be reached.

Our goal was the destruction of their culture, so that they may be taken in and assimilated. To achieve that end we needed to break their spirit, destroy their temples, burn their literature, and put their clergy to the sword. It will shatter them as a people, scattering them to all corners of the continent, but with time and effort the extremists can be waylaid and cut down while the rest absorbed into all other nations.

We used the Academy’s own methods to achieve our goal, which were already like how we campaigned against the Scholars years ago.

But the army that we had then was different from the one that we had now.

Now, I watched as a whole countryside burned from horizon to horizon with flames taller than buildings waving in the air.

Mages from strategic positions had prepared the area, casting waves of heat across the land, and creating kindling and drawing out moisture. Nothing more than a stinging sensation to the common person, and a drying of the air, the simple change prior to the arrival of the sky-fortress allowed the creation of a fire storm. Lances of heat had come forth from the now-equipped flying fortress, along with our regular aerial cavalry dropping incendiary bomblets from beyond the reach of any defenders. The lances of heat, snaked through the lands we approached, unable to melt rock or penetrate armor, but in their passing it left kindling aflame.  Small fires that were fed by dry winds, while incendiary bomblets dropped from the skies above, and eventually the whole region burned.

Five days ago, we faced a region on the defensive. A temple of resurrection in a fortified city with militia and Guardians. Initial patrols had to retreat as they encountered Guardians buried in forest trails and many bridges, roads, and signage were destroyed. A quagmire that could only be solved through manpower lay before us… and it was solved with the assets and tools we’ve been developing for years.

On our first march so many years ago, Jack had shown his competence and ability by solving so many troubles that we encountered on our march.

Now, with all our efforts since then, whole battles were being solved in the same way.

With as few casualties to us as possible, while what might harm us was completely, utterly destroyed.

“Grandfather.” Morgan’s words took my attention. Since the capture and internment of the High Justiciar, something had changed in my granddaughter’s eyes. There had always been a hidden edge to her, something plaguing her and driving her forward, that had abated when she met Jack. After he proved his worth when solving the crisis with the Conquerors, she changed for the better. She allowed herself to live, to teach others, and rise the ranks as a Champion. However, now I saw that edge had never disappeared. It had merely been reforged into something far, far more deadly. She had once been afraid and summoned immense courage to confront that fear. Now, in her eyes, there was conviction and drive to see something to the end.  “You seem ill at ease. Perhaps, you should retire if the work displeases you so?”

Work.

Indeed, that was what became of the region of ten thousand ready to fight us to the death, to delay our advance, and to prevent us from burning down their temple and killing their clergy. There was no battle here. No grand counter-charge and reversal of fortune from our foe. The spear lines were steady, the rifles were ready to fire, while the artillery thundered and the mages fed the flame. The militia and enemy Guardians were dying, while we were killing them.

Morgan was correct.

This was labor. Not a battle.

And, of course, she saw through me as well.

“I shall. Would you see me away? You need a break too, after all.” Morgan blinked at my words, before some of the hardness in her features faded. When it did, she blinked once again and her brow furrowed. Once her grasp on herself slipped for a moment, she felt it. The fatigue. “You haven’t been keeping track. It’s been more than eighteen hours since you last slept.”

Immediately, she summoned a smile onto her face.

“…spying on a young woman, grandfather? I thought you above that.” Morgan glibly replied, but when I did not smile back, she let the false cheer she summoned fade. Her frown from moments earlier returned. The false cheer faded. “I can’t tell you what happened there with the High Justiciar. Only that there’s an unfortunate truth that, if revealed, would mean far harsher actions against the Wardens than now.”

“Harsher than this? All over the continent, we’re being called betrayers and butchers. Their words are trite, of course, their armies are here and they’re aiming to take the Citadel themselves.” They were going to take the Citadel, because we were going to allow them to do so. It was the price for us to take the prize that the Wardens had. I could only wonder if the truth was known, if the other nations knew that we had another divine machine with us now. They gain a Citadel and they show the rest of the continent that we are not to be trusted. That was the price, but I wondered if they knew what we were buying. “If you cannot tell me why, then how about the harsher means that our king would’ve employed instead of this?”

Morgan considered my question for a moment, while we both moved away from the command post to retire into white halls of the flying fortress from where we looked upon the burning region from above. Down there, the officers were at work, along with her apprentices. If we were needed, we would go with heavy troops and Conquerors ready for battle to the lands below. The Conquerors were ill at ease with this conflict, but the truth of the matter was shared with Conquest, and that truth was enough for her to call for her warriors to fight as they were commanded… and to call this war just.

What truth could we be fighting for that the Conquerors would believe burning religious texts, smashing temples, and killing clergy would be just?

The answer was within my reach, but I didn’t reach for it.

Or, perhaps, I didn’t wish to know.

So, I simply asked Morgan what other path we would take, if not this one, if that truth was known to others and not contained.

Morgan looked over her shoulder at the firestorm engulfing the region. A firestorm taking thousands of lives and turning a whole town to ash, while any who ran was captured.

Then, she spoke.

“If the truth his majesty discerned reached all the Wardens, then we would have no choice but to do to them as we did the Children of the Elm. Kill all who know, spare only those who do not know, and hunt down all who survive. It would be a war of complete annihilation.” Morgan’s words were calm and controlled. Her gaze turned upward to the low roof of the halls we walked to reach a place of rest within the vessel. We kept to the right side, as others passed us by on another lane. Even the layout of this vessel was carefully structured and planned. “We would have to kill them all to keep them from spreading their religion, grandfather. All of them… and all that would hear the truth of it and not revile it. If I told you, and if I feared that would you would accept it, grandfather, I would kill you.”

Her gaze was hard and her mind was set.

She truly believed that.

And, she believed in the possibility that it is better to not know and not suffer the chance that the Wardens will manage to spread the knowledge.

I was curious as to what that truth was, but I shook my head.

“I won’t pursue it. I’ll leave it to your capable hands, Morgan. I swear on my honor.” After many twists and turns within the flying vessel, we reached an officer's room adjacent to the kitchen. In just a few strides away, there was a hall for eating good enough for a hundred people to eat side by side. The crew of the ship and its complement of soldiers demanded the kitchens work nigh endlessly. They only ceased in the evening to clean and restock. We sat together at the end of a circular table and we were attended to. Plates, cutlery, and a selection of meals, along with wine and chilled juices. This flying fortress was meant to venture for long periods away from civilization, requiring only resupply and reinforcement in the air. Food was one of the few luxuries that it can afford its crew. Within it… it was almost difficult to believe that a war was being waged below. “I’ll be leaving this theatre to you and the rest to pursue the Scholars in the north. If you have need of some advice, Morgan, never hesitate to call upon me for aid.”

Morgan’s gaze slightly softened at my words, before she nodded and we ate.

I had experience in forgetting things with my old age, and thankfully being rejuvenated did not rid me of that skill.

It was easy enough to entrust the future to the King of Wisdom.

Who was I to doubt the decision of a man who can turn the conquest of a nation into a mere expenditure of time and material?

…

I pinched the bridge of my nose and did my best to keep from yelling.

“Ilych, please explain to me again why Sirena isn’t dead.”

“I spared her life to retain a skilled, powerful Champion in the coming battles ahead. We have need of someone of her ability.”

On the surface, that’s a perfectly reasonable statement to make. Sirena is a super-strong unit from the Wardens factions. One of their premier units that wouldn’t look out of place in an overpriced DLC that invalidates other Champions, if the devs were a bunch of hacks. Nope, the Sword Saint was a baseline Champion for the Wardens that all new and old Champions were compared to. If you’re not a lateral upgrade from her, or slightly better, you need to get tweaked.

Sirena also happens to be a Champion that can’t get captured and turned over to your side.

But she’s right here, in front of me, and not gutting me like a fish.

She’s not armed and has chains on her arms and legs?

Yeah, that wouldn’t stop her.

Honestly, the fact that I was alive was already convincing me that my concerns were not warranted.

However, I haven’t gotten this far in life by not being a paranoid piece of shit.

I looked at Sirena, who was clad in white robes, was chained up, and surrounded by Iterants and Ilych.

Alright, I’ll give her the plain and simple truth.

“I’m destroying your people now, because the truth of the matter is that the Ancients opened paradise up to every soul before they fell to their enemies.” I watched Sirena carefully. Signaling to Ayah and the Iterants present in my office to be ready to just turn her into chunky salsa, while also extracting me as fast as possible from this situation. I barely stopped myself from signaling to them to prepare to kill Ilych, too. It’s not betrayal. Not yet. “If this truth is unleashed, if the Wardens continue to research ways to connect to their ancestors and resurrect people more swiftly, then your people will become a cult of death that will ravage the continent.”

I waited for the same mad smile that Khalai had to form on Sirena’s face, but I was surprised to find her take in the words and frown.

“Not all the of the Wardens would accept such a path. There are those who would refuse such a path for our people.” Hm. Okay. Maybe this tracks a bit. If you were playing the Wardens and if you go down that quest line, rebel Warden units come up before you go on your holy crusade to annihilate all life. The objectors to your new, glorious purpose need to get killed and sent off to paradise first. They never had a Champion, though, but that may be due to gameplay limitations. If one of your Champions at midgame rebelled if you followed an event chain, that event chain wouldn’t get followed. “Oh, King of Wisdom, I beg of you. Grant mercy to my people. Accept my loyal service and permit us to at least worship our ancestors.”

Sirena got onto her knees and pressed her head against the floor with her wrists and ankles bound while making her plea.

Could I really tell this begging woman, no?

Yeah, but should I refuse the opportunity to get someone as powerful as Sirena as an asset?

The answer was no.

Not when the first wave is set to arrive in just two years, and the events that preclude them need firepower to solve properly.

“You and your people will be watched carefully. One mistake and death await you all. I would rather rid myself of the possibility of an uprising, but I have need of warriors to hold against the coming threats.” I shook my head and signaled for the Iterants to stand down. Sirena raised her head at my words, and I met her gaze from my desk at my field office. “This is not a mercy, Sirena. There will be no more resurrections. No more searching for paradise on this planet. You may venerate those who have passed, but if one word comes forth of restating the religion that I am now destroying… nothing but death awaits your people.”

Sirena lowered her head at my words… and suddenly a familiar sting came upon my hand with the seal of the Life Goddess.

Checking it, as I should’ve expected after I promised that there would be no more resurrections, there was an update to seal.

The circle of vines with small leaves now had black lily flowers growing on them.

Who would’ve thought the Goddess of Death would support me for going against the practice of resurrection?

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 1)

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Chapter 1)

…

The mockery of my peers resounded in my mind throughout the entirety of my voyage.

It was not enough that I lost everything, even my place in my family.

They mocked me with tales regarding my new fiancé.

A barbarian who was deemed unsuitable for higher learning.

A fourth son who only inherited his earldom thanks to the deaths of his family.

A scarred and brutal man befitting a shamed woman outdone by a commoner.

I steeled myself during the voyage.

I readied myself for a cruel husband who would shame me. A land of frost and monsters at the very edges of civilization with tribes of beasts rather than people. There, I would live out my days in exile as an earl’s wife. A far cry from being the queen, as I was raised and trained to be, until a singular moment of my own making ruined it all.

Consigned to the frigid wastes with a barbarian as a husband, I steeled my heart and readied myself as my ship reached the final, imperial dock before the frontier.

The dock where I would disembark my family’s vessel and join my new fiancé on his ship.

I expected to find a ship awaiting me, instead there was an elderly butler in a suit, bowing deeply, while Alice helped me with my luggage.

“My apologies, my lady, but the young master heard tell of monsters nearby the city and went to destroy it when we arrived yesterday. He bid me to stay here and greet you, while he fulfilled his duties.” The older gentleman had the makings of a house steward. A position of trust for nobility. I searched him for ulterior motives and lies, searching for the leer of greed that would denote him making use of a young master for his own gains, and found only a nervous soul with many wrinkles of worry. I gave him a nod and he raised his head, before dabbling at sweat that gathered on his brow. “Please, if you would follow me. The young master rented the dockyard inn for you to stay.”

Alice started at his words, almost coming to my defense, but I raised my hand.

I was shaken at the thought of being given room and lodging fit only for merchants and sailors. However, my fiancé was fulfilling his duties as a noble.

This was a test.

The first of many that my new fiancé would heap upon me.

Ones that I could not fail, because any further wrongs by my hand would shame my family even further.

I swallowed my indignity and concerns, and gave a nod of understanding.

“Very well, servant. Lead me to this inn.”

“Of course, my lady. Ah, let me take your luggage.” He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a wand. Before I could blink at the sight of it, he whispered a spell, and both my luggage proceeded to float. A mage of high standing as a servant? I was able to keep my surprise, but Alice’s small gasp drew his attention. “My apologies, allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Trelawny’s steward and courtly mage, Matthew.”

“…Well met, steward Matthew, but may I ask why you’re working in both capacities, especially at your age?”

“I’m afraid that victory came at a heavy cost at the last incursion of the frost clans. The head steward went along with the young master’s father to ensure that those supplies flowed properly. Even the slightest lapse in supplies can lead to death in our lands, given the constant frost. My predecessor and friend perished near the front.” Matthew bowed his head and offered a small prayer at his mention of his deceased, former lord and presumably friend. I bowed my own head out of understanding, and even Alice took note and bowed, too. They perished in the defense of the realm. Prior to the establishment of House Trelawny, the whole realm suffered constant raids from the north. “I hope, Lady Argelia, that you would take on the role as Lady of the House? You are a graduate of the Imperial School, after all.”

Alice did not hesitate to nudge me in the waist with her elbow, and I gave her a fast look, before clearing my throat.

It appeared that I was to be given responsibility, and therefore power, which bode well for me in my current state.

If I was fortunate, I would need to bear only an heir and a spare, before the attentions of my new fiancé could be shifted elsewhere.

“I see no issue with the matter. I will need to be brought up to speed, but thereafter I shall fulfill my duties.” Steward Matthew gave a smile of relief at my words. I could only wonder how he was able to handle the role of steward and court mage. The former required the oversight of the whole household and many of its logistical needs. The latter was specialized towards researching magic and training aspiring mages for their lord’s territory, along with creating potions and the like via alchemical processes. “May I ask what you do primarily as Steward?”

A harrowed look fell upon the old gentleman’s face and his shoulders slumped.

“Endless… endless categorizing and weighing and sale of the young Lord’s hunted monsters. It never ceases. I recruited a dozen clerks and they can barely keep up.” I blinked at the statement. I though that Matthew was attending to the needs of a castle, and that he received no aid. By his words, though, it appeared he was having difficulty handling the hunted beasts of his master… even after he was given the right to hire a dozen others to help him. “It never ends. Whenever the young master returns, the ship is full to the brim of… ah! No! He’s done it again!”

Matthew suddenly wailed and almost fell back in a faint only for Alice to catch him.

I looked upward at where the older gentleman pointed.

It was a four-winged ship, which I thought strange for my fiancé to have. When called to war, barring latitudes permitted by the crown, barons were expected to at least have a single two-winged ship with cannon, crew, and six months of provisions to answer the call. Viscounts were expected to have at least four two-winged ships and the necessary crew and provisions. Earls, such as my new fiancé, were expected to have at least one four-winged ship with four decks of cannon, or ten two-winged ships, when called to war.

Many earls chose to have ten ships, rather than one. It was better to train multiple crews with, patrol more of the territory with, and finally easier to replace if lost. Spare ships could be stored away, so if one is lost, it can be furnished and sent forth with no difficulty. The larger ship needed four times more crew, a detachment of soldiers to keep it from being boarded, and was more expensive to maintain. A four-winged ship took the better part of a year to create, and replacing it was no easy task, especially as they were usually purchased and assembled to war by the Marquises or Ducal houses.

Not to mention that replacing one was not easy, either.

In a land so vast and far from imperial support, I would’ve thought that my fiancé would not have a four-winged ship, but a fleet of ten lesser ships.

Then, it landed on the waterfront to sail towards the docks, and I realized why such a massive, expensive ship was chosen.

Its deck was covered with the corpses of monsters in neat piles that permitted travel of the crew between them.

“Ooh, I knew I shouldn’t have let him loose! I should have had him stay here with the rented inn, but the lord of this town just had to entreat him for aid!” Matthew’s eyes were teary as he looked at the ship’s hull and the sea’s water line. I followed his gaze and realized that the water was nearly cresting the first row of cannons. That could only mean that the ship was almost at its maximum capacity. No wonder it had flown so low. “That hold will take the whole evening to process!”

Alice was quick to speak for me.

“Steward, my lady can’t possibly be forced to venture on that vessel!” I forgave her instantly for her earlier nudging of my side. Indeed, the thought of boarding a ship utterly filled with the carcasses monsters made my stomach turn. I looked at the steward only to find his shoulder’s slumped in defeat and no agreement leaving his lips. Alice came to my defense once more. “It’s filthy and unbefitting for transport it!”

“It will be clean by dawn. The charms upon its hull will clean it overnight. A night I shall be spending helping the town’s guildfolk counting the corpses.” Matthew laughed without humor and shook his head. He turned my way and gestured to the inn. “Please, allow me to see you both settled in. The whole inn is yours for the evening. The crew is situated elsewhere. My lord should arrive to meet with us all soon.”

Suddenly, Matthew turned to look at the ship as a horn bellowed twice.

He groaned for a moment, and before I could ask, and then there was a burst of power from the ship.

A barrier came up between us and the street, and a moment later a figure landed before us.

A figure covered from head to toe in armor including a mask with a scowling visage with a great, furred coat covering it. Ruby-like lenses filled the eye sockets, and I could see no inch of skin on the armored individual. From a mere glance alone, I could tell that the armor was a masterwork in quality. Layers of protections and enchantments enrobed the figure. This was no knight, but the lord of a powerful household, and when Steward Matthew bowed his head… I realized this was my betrothed.

The barbarian lord of the northern wastes, the fourth son of the keepers of frigid lands of brutes, and Lord of House Trelawney.

“Matthew, tend to the ship. I have a message from Duke Argelia to relay to his daughter.” His voice was gruff and I could feel his pointed glare through his helm. He was more than a foot taller than I and nearly twice wider thanks to both armor and… muscle? I was unsure if what I saw beneath the plates was flesh, or some other form of armor. He did not wait for his steward to respond and instead walked forward towards the inn. Surprisingly, he opened the door for myself and Alice, while looking at his steward. “Have everything processed by tomorrow. We’re leaving.”

He shut the door before the steward could reply, then turned his gaze towards Alice.

“Do you trust her with your life?”

The question was brusque and simple, but I did not hesitate.

“I do.”

Alice has always been my guard and confidant my entire life.

“Good, I’ll train her as well. But onto more important matters. You and I are not engaged. Your father sent you here for another reason.” I watched as he shifted in place. In the shadows of the cloak, I heard a sound like armor opening, and then the rifling of fabric. A moment later, the armored hand of the giant came forward gingerly holding a letter. The Argelia seal of a red eagle holding an axe in the right claw and a staff in the other was impressed upon golden wax. It’s size and the lettering on the edges told me it was my father’s personal seal. I took it in my hands and opened it with a whisper of the phrase I chose as a girl. It opened and I blinked away tears as I read the words in the letter. I haven’t been abandoned. “You’ve been sent here to train.”

“No, I have been sent here to grow strong under your tutelage, Lord Trelawney.” I shook away and swallowed the emotion budding within my chest. It was almost all too much for me to process. “That requires more than mere training. I have trained all my life to become a worthy empress. That was not enough.”

Years and years wasted the love of my life lost… because I did not have power comparable to a demigod.

But here and now, I was sure that I could reach that level of strength.

I felt it the moment Lord Trelawney showcased his strength, the brief instant when he used his power to slow his descent from the ship was ingrained into my memory.

He was superior to that power that took everything from me.

Through brilliant red lenses, I met the invisible gaze of this northern earl told to hold the northern frontier of the Empire.

An eternity seemed to pass, before he spoke again.

“I will draft a curriculum. You will read all of it and then decide whether to accept. I will not tolerate any foolishness. And, you are fool if you accept what I offer because of a lust for power alone.” He crossed his arms over his chest. There was no more respect in his voice or even hesitation. Only candor. His gaze was heavy, and the implication of what was to come was like a looming mountain in its promise of hardship. “Another thing: I owe your father a favor for granting me a boon. After my family fell in battle, he provided staunch support with a mere letter. It’s enough for me to be willing to train you, to empower you, but if you use that power outside the boundaries of the law… I will kill you.”

The words were a simple statement of his intentions and his stipulations, but he ceased holding, condensing, and hiding his strength for a moment at those words.

Idly, I had wondered how the northern frontier held when tales of House Trelawney’s army being destroyed along with its head and heirs. Against a tide of monsters, against barbarians supplied by the empire’s enemies, and raiders wielding potent magics, the house had been defeated in battle. Yet, somehow, they won the war after the battles that ended their army and heirs and kept the border secure.

I understood how such a thing was possible now.

My breath seized when he ceased to hold back. Suddenly, my eyes refused to blink. My whole body froze and my senses sharpened to an acute point. All else besides the giant of a figure before me was meaningless blurs. His mere presence was like lances of frozen needles inserted into my skin and depositing frost into my marrow. Tears welled in my eyes, the time between the beats of my heart seemed to stretch painfully long, and my stomach threatened to release its contents.

Alice, stronger than I, managed to push herself before me and bare a knife in my defense, but sweat covered her brow, she could barely hold a fighting stance, and she could barely breathe.

The new Lord of House Trelawney strove to reach divinity.

Though I felt hate and disgust for the power that who everything from me, thus reminded of it, I bowed my head and spoke.

“On my family’s name, I swear that the power that I will be granted shall not be used in an illicit manner.”

The sensation faded instantly at those words.

“Good enough. I’ll hold you to that oath, princess. If you go against its spirit, I’ll consider it broken. Now, then, let’s eat.”

I was no princess, but I accepted the sudden gaiety of in Lord Trelawney’s voice after I swore my oath to him.

Soon, I learned that was a mistake.

…

Lord Trelawney may have had power and strength befitting, or even outstripping his role, but the other stories regarding him were true.

He was indeed an uncouth barbarian obviously never meant to become a lord.

 “But those are the doctrines written in the memoirs of the first—

“Probably meant to fool idiots and morons into getting themselves killed.” He did not show his face during our meal together. He offered no pleasantries. Spoke brusquely and did not mind his words. Finally, he seemed to relish speaking ill of the empire’s legacy and nobility. “You don’t need to jumpstart your growth with a powerful monster’s core. Quantity is what matters. A few thousand slime cores can do the same, and they’re easier to get. Nobles just like to feel special by getting it from a giant monster.”

Thankfully, he did not hold others to a higher standard than he held himself.

“Or, maybe, people don’t want to eat the cores of thousands of creatures that scavenge from corpses and thrive in sewage, Lord Trelawney.” Alice usually kept her sharp tongue to herself, unless we were in private. However, after being given permission to speak and not being reprimanded, she moved to protect me by matching the scathing arrogance that seemingly endlessly poured forth from my new teacher. “Given your potty mouth, maybe you should look into adverse effects from eating so much garbage?”

“Hey, I’d rather be useful, powerful garbage than weak, ineffectual treasure that just gets paraded around.” Trelawney snorted, and Alice grunted after a moment of thought. He pressed his advantage without any hesitation. “You’d take a plain, shitty knife with a good edge over some bejeweled dagger covered in jewels, right? Right?”

Childish and obstinate.

It took everything I had to remain composed and not sigh in disbelief.

“Fine, you’re right! I’d rather have something useful!” Alice’s ears twitched in irritation and her eyes were set in a glare. I haven’t seen her so outwardly incensed since we were children, when she first defended me in our earliest school days. In those days, she never responded when teased for her heritage from the forest folk, but she came to my defense the moment I was first needled for being ‘undeserving’ of my engagement to the crown prince. Her vitriol and venom when speaking earned her a short suspension from the school… and a quiet raise in pay from my father. “But let’s see how fortunate you are at convincing others to gather a thousand of those pests, so that they can have the chance of gaining power!”

“It’s not difficult at all. Kill one every minute for an hour a day, and you’re at sixty. Thirty-five days and you’re done. Two hours a day, and you’re done in half that time. Four hours a day, and you can go from a regular person to someone with magic in less than ten days. Eight, and it’s less than five.” I couldn’t fault his arithmetic. Not in the slightest. He had a worrying mastery over the science. I had a feeling that he had much more knowledge of the matter than most who graduated from the Imperial school. Our focus was on magic, not numbers. “Gathering them is easy too. Set up a pit with some food at the edge of a forest, then set it on fire. Within the hour, you have all the cores that you need.”

“That’s called poaching. We peasants get killed for doing that.” Alice groused and glared at the lord. “What do you say about that?”

“Give a tithe. A tenth of the cores you get go to the lord to empower their soldiers. By the end of the day, everyone wins. Or, at least, we’re all losing less by not taking advantage of the opportunity.” He chuckled and now his words reminded me of merchants. Potential increases in wealth lost may as well be a true loss in their eyes. “What else are you going to do with your free time? Laze about? Find love? Make money? I guarantee all of that is easier when you’re not sickeningly weak.”

Alice made a sound between groaning and growling in consternation when the door to the tavern opened.

I expected to see Steward Matthew.

Instead, there a whistling sound and with speed that should not have been possible with his size and shape, Lord Trelawney caught a head-sized projectile that had spun towards his helmet.

“There’s your payment, Lord Trelawney.” I turned to the speaker. It was a spindly, scarred older man with a bare head and half his face covered in burns. Clad in a rough tunic and matching pants, I almost recoiled at the sight of him, until Alice made a motion with her hand in the corner of my eye. She denoted that the person who entered was a skilled warrior. An elite that she would have difficulty protecting me against. Therefore, I stood and made to curtsy immediately. “Oh. Your fiancé has some manners it looks like. You could learn a thing or two.”

“Guild leader Aiden.  Thanks for dropping it off so quickly. Must’ve been a lot of work.”

“Mostly on Matthew’s end. You’re running him ragged. Keeping his mind off the fact most of his friends are dead?” The apparent Guild leader of the city grunted and took a seat beside Lord Trelawney. They treated one another like old friends. “Or, are you just being a lazy, cheap bastard as always? Seriously, we have a hotel suitable for nobility.”

“Why not both? I’m working him hard to keep him busy and to make money faster. We need it, after all.” Lord Trelawney glanced my way, then proceeded to shrug. “She’s not my fiancé. She’s here to get strong enough to get back into the running for empress. Tell anyone and you’re finished.”

Aiden blinked owlishly at the information that Lord Trelawney shared, then he covered his face with a hand covered in scars before growling out a curse.

“Fucking bastard. You could’ve just kept your mouth shut and spared me the trouble!”

“You were obviously gathering information. It’s your fault. I just sprung the trap before you realized it’d be a mistake to look. Idiot.” Lord Trelawney earned himself a horrid glare from the older man, who promptly went over to the unmanned bar, and hopped its counter. Within moment, he was taking the bottles on the highest shelf for himself as vengeance, only for Lord Trelawney to start jingling his newfound wealth. “Everything here is already paid for. I’m profiting no matter what you do~.”

Without a semblance of a doubt, I was grateful that my father hadn’t sent me off to marry this man.

I’ve never met a man so happy to be disrespectful.

“You’re in for a rough time, Lady Argelia. You’re going to be training under a real crazy bastard.” He gave me a bow before seating himself. He helped himself to food on the table without even so much as a questioning glance. Lord Trelawney made no move to stop him, or speak against his words. “You read up on his training program yet?”

“Princess has a special one in the works. Not the standard one. What? Did you think I’ll seriously put the future empress through the usual?” Lord Trelawney scoffed, and for a moment I received a look of pity from the bareheaded man. Why was I being pitied for being treated better—ah. “No, she’s going through the best that I can make. She’s got the moxie for it, and she’s already got decent training. Hammer out all the kinks, and within a season, I’ll have her killing wyverns with her bare hands.”

Aiden looked at me, while I struggled to make sense of the words that came out of my teacher’s mouth.

Wyverns were building-sized, magical creatures with massive wings, the ability to cast primal magics, and fly faster than most knights.

Their scales can turn aside steel weapons, and potent magic is needed to harm them.

How am I supposed to kill one with my bare hands in less than four months!?

“Lady Argelia, I’m in contact with the Guild over in his land. Slip a letter through to Petyr, and I’ll get you smuggled out and trained up. It’ll take a bit longer, but you should be able to match a god’s child without any problems.”

I was tempted to accept, but—

“Moron, the woman’s on a time crunch. A hard one. The longer she’s away, the more rumors will spread, and the bigger a shitshow she’ll return to. It’ll take you a year to train her up. That’s an eternity in courtly politics. Four months is already cutting it close.” Lord Trelawney scoffed and leaned into his chair with arms crossed. Aiden glowered at him, but when I nodded at his words, the older gentleman grunted and nodded. I found myself beneath the scarlet gaze of my new teacher. “Your father told me that I’m free to do as I wish so long as you don’t die. I don’t care enough about you to push you that hard. You quit, you cry, and you bitch and moan? You’re free to fuck off and take Aiden’s offer. I won’t stop you. Everything that happens now, and everything you’re going to get from training with me, is all up to you.”

Control.

That’s what he was giving me at this very moment.

Control over my life.

Closing my eyes, I recalled that moment.

The moment where none of my supporters came to my aid, despite their houses being tied to mine. The moment when my fiancé declared his intentions to wed the best choice for the empire while looking directly at her. The moment when all those who opposed me rallied behind a single young, confused woman. A young woman who was discovered to be a child of a goddess, a demigod, and placed in our school while her mortal family was elevated into nobility in an instant.

I remember her face, while everything else was a blur, while everything else had flowed over me, and as I stood alone.

Her face was that of a scared, little girl becoming the focal point of everything and barely able to hold back tears. A woman thoroughly unfit to become an empress. A young lady who was never taught etiquette or experienced the true nature of nobility behind the curtain presented to the masses. All her innate talent and power will be molded by their will, the will of those vile snakes and betrayers, and they will have their way with her and the nation thereafter.

And they will burn it all to the ground for their ideals.

I cannot let that happen.

I cannot let my family, my home, burn because they want to rule through power and might alone.

I need power more than anything else, so that I could stop what is happening now.

At the very least, even if I fail, I want to be able to be a bulwark of the people of my family in the coming crises.

Against them.

Against the demigod that even now they are manipulating to their own ends.

So, I gave him my answer with his words earlier in my mind.

“I will wait for you to provide me the curriculum in full before I agree, but if you can make it so I have that much power, then I will do nearly anything to succeed. In fact, I’m tempted to order Alice to force me to continue no matter what.” I looked to my stalwart friend and confidant. She nodded at my words. She knew the truth of my concerns. Of how horrible the future was, if what I feared came to pass. If the man I was supposed to marry, got his way. There would be no counterbalance to him without me, especially with divine blood beside him and his allies. The empire will be ripped asunder. Our families will die. We must both work against such an ill fate. “Lord Trelawney, I assure you that I desire the power you offer with all of my heart.”

At my proclamation, as I should’ve expected, the powerful man snorted.

“The spirit is always willing, but the body is weak.” The words that left him were unexpectedly philosophical. I had to wonder how much of his brusqueness and harshness was a mask. How brutal and uncivilized could this man be, if he could share such wise words one moment before being disparaging and uncouth the next?  “Don’t worry, princess. The only expectations you can fail now are your own.”

Alice opened her mouth to defend me, but I raised my hand to silence her, before I stood up and bowed to Lord Trelawney from the waist.

Everything that happened from now on will be through my efforts, and if I work hard enough, then I will achieve what I desire.

Thus, I could truly ask for nothing more.

“I will be in your care, Lord Trelawney.” I told him simply, and he gave a growl of discontent.

“You were doing well until you said that. Almost respected you for not agreeing right away.” He shook his helmeted head, but he stood up to reciprocate my earnest gesture. There was a strange hissing sound, the sound of metal sliding across metal, and then light footsteps. Alice gave a noise of surprise, then a far lighter voice reached me. Still gruff and filled with distaste, but far lighter than the booming roar that I became accustomed to. “Alright, princess, I’ve got your back. Let’s see if you walk the walk, just like you can talk the talk.”

He offered his hand out to me, and I raised my head from my bow, and I was surprised to look upon a boy with pale features, black messy hair that nearly shadowed his eyes, which were sullen and sharp. He was a head shorter than me, and was clad in a suit and long coat, but instead of pants he wore modest shorts and his socks reached his knees.

The proper clothes for a boy.

Blearily, I recalled that he was the youngest of his family and that the primary heir had just graduated the previous year. Additionally, he lost three brothers and two sisters. Graduates of the Imperial school were typically twenty.

Meaning that… the person training me to overcome a demigod and the machinations of my fiancé was a boy barely fourteen years of age!?

V9: Chapter 14

V9: Chapter 14

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Additional Words for Monthly Chapter commissioned by Chaosbrain

Additional Wordcount: 2000

…

Interlude: Sirena

…

Rita’s arrow connected with my blade. With both hands, with my blade imbued with power and might, I am capable of striking bolts from ballistae without fear. However, Rita’s arrow was perfected to slay Champions. The magics infused in it were breaking it apart, cracking its form, while I tried to toss it upward and away from myself and others. With a sound akin to metal cracking in twain, the bolt came apart into many pieces and the power it held exploded outward as pure-white flame.

I held out my hand and with blessings and miracles, contained the plume and directed it upward, but still I was harmed and my hand was nearly burned to the bone.

Thankfully, some flesh remained, and I healed myself as the newest transports of the King of Wisdom arrived from above. Unlike the boxy containers that were typically used, these secret weapons had smooth surfaces for wind to glide over and lift, their shapes were like those of birds as they glided on gusts of wind, and it was easy to tell that they could carry more troops and soldiers than the original transports.

But there was hardly any time to fret about such a thing.

“Archers! Prepare for aerial attack!” On black steeds, the King of Wisdom’s elite soldiers dove at us with the sun at their back. A common, but effective tactic, but far more lethal against us. The Wardens of the Caverns were blessed with sight in the darkness, but that made our gazes all the more sensitive to the light. The archers moved swiftly, they knew they were the only defense against the aerial forces of the King of Wisdom, and they shot at the oncoming force. “Brace yourselves!”

If they were fighting against the sky-knights of yore, they would perhaps have been able to have given their lives for more, but such was not the case. The new sky-riders of the King of Wisdom did not crash into the enemy wreathed with magic whilst covered in armor. Instead, they unleashed death while beyond the reach of normal soldiers, typically in the form of fire.

 I was ready to counter flames, but I made a critical error.

Instead of flame, the attack that came from the heavens unleashed upon us a green, viscous fluid that swiftly began to fizzle and turn into fog.

A fog that began to melt metal and skin.

None screamed at the attack, as the miracles and blessings given to us reformed our skin even faster than it could be consumed, but that was not the end. Another attack came and this time unleashed a pale gas… and I recalled with fear the rumors of a poison being used in the Ancient tunnels against the monsters that headed the call of the Death Lord. I acted on instinct, and called upon the winds to carry away the fog from the battlefield, while I felt Khalai’s miracle wash over us to protect us from disease and poison.

The miracle did away with the green fog, but it did not repair the metal consumed it.

The King of Wisdom always worked to weaken his foes before he struck with all his might.

And, just as I expected, the next wave of attackers unleashed fire upon us. The bombs burst in the air, and scattered a thick, vicious black substance that caught alight with frightening speed and burned a bright orange.  In but a few moments, the bombs scattered all over our position, and I moved swiftly to counter it with the High Justiciar’s aid.

We’ve seen the attack before, and knowing its efficacy, we planned against it.

I and everyone else skilled with the blade cut through the flesh upon which the flame stuck, while priests rapidly healed the damage. It was gruesome, terrible work, but I did it swiftly to however was close and my own body. We instructed as many as possible to shield their heads, and to cast off helmets if the flame stuck, and it worked to great effect.  None burned to death thanks to our strategy… but it cost us time.

Time that we could’ve used to prepare against the force against us.

Pure-white figures, the same creatures that assaulted us and waylaid our path since we found the Goddess of Death, slammed into the ground around us. Humanoid in shape, unlike the Guardians, they were fierce and terrible opponents. Unlike the monstrous Citadel Guardians, only capable of attacking the enemy, these ones worked together, learned from their mistakes, and prioritized targets.

I readied myself to slice through their upper chests, where their hearts lay, but a familiar sound reached me.

The sound of a massive blade being drawn.

I barely manage to raise my blade and divert the Sword of Wisdom’s attack to the side, and when her sword connected with the ground, the blooded earth erupted upward like a plume of water rather than soil. Then, in an instant, my instincts told me to leap back and I did. Where my heart was a moment before, I saw an arrow pass, and then I heard Conquest’s roar.

I managed to dodge the lightning bolts that surged from the sky to strike me down… and then I felt two knives enter my back and through my lungs.

Morgan slunk away, an obscuring cloud of smoke hiding her instantly, as I felt poison course through me from my lungs.

This was it.

Conquest, Ilych, Rita, and Morgan were all arrayed against me. I could see the other creatures they dropped onto the field ravaging our soldiers with speed and precision typical only of truly elite troops. Our people were being torn apart, shredded by bladed limbs, and thrown away far from the reach of our priests. Poisoned daggers were in my chest through my back, while four individuals I could consider peers bore down upon me.

This was the moment where gave my life for my people.

If I could bring these four low, if we can hold their lives hostage with the offer of resurrection, we could end this war in an instant.

All I had to do was swing my sword.

I emptied my mind, closed my eyes, and focused inward. I broke down the seconds, finding my place between heartbeats, and dulled all my senses. Darkness ruled me, while I ignored the pain, agony, the deaths of my fellow warriors, and all other concerns.

There were only four targets.

Conquest.

Rita.

Ilych.

Morgan.

In the darkness that was my world, they were bright outlines. Their souls gleaming gems in an abyssal sea. Gems of immense might and power that contained unwavering souls filled with dedication to the King of Wisdom. Warriors that dedicated their lives to a singular cause and so were undoubtably fit for Paradise a thousand times over.

Today they would meet their end.

I raised my blade with both hands, filled my body with power, and abandoned my own life. An arrow tore through my heart, lightning struck me, and more poisoned knives found their way into my vitals. My neck, my head, my innards, and all were filled with blades coated in poison.

But I already abandoned my body.

It was just a vessel, while I was within my blade.

When they awakened me, they thought that I was called the Saintess of Swords.

They were incorrect.

I am the Sword Saint.

My flesh was my prior vessel, while the sword was my true self.

And, so, I swung myself at them, expending all that I had.

In my mind’s eye, I saw my strikes land. Faster than they could react to. Faster than they could see. Nothing more than a flash of light glinting off my body, then they are cut.

I saw Morgan swiftly retreat and lose only an arm.

I saw Rita try to leap above the strike, only to be cut in twain, as I predicted her leap.

I saw Conquest’s heart and skull pierced with the tip of my blade, and swift rotation upon withdrawal turning both organs into naught but eviscerated flesh.

But that was only my mind’s eye.

I had to surmount their guardian.

Ilych, the Sword of Wisdom, who placed herself before me with eyes unclouded by fear and a calm heart.

Her life-consuming blade weathered a hundred cuts and thrusts without breaking, but her skill was lacking. I caught its hilt on my back and pulled it out of her grasp with strength she could not hope to match. However, instead of running after her weapon, she took the weapons at her hips and fired at me. The two revolvers sped towards my former my vessel, the anchor that I used as leverage to wield my true self, and the twelve bullets had to be cut apart. She moved to reload them, but I cut them apart out of her hands.

Then, I aimed to kill her.
She surged forward, away from the tip of my sword, and into the range of my blade proper.

I thought that I could cut through her.

I was wrong.

I felt the parting of flesh across my body, I felt the rending of armor and metal, and the overcoming of enchantment. I went through her shoulder, carved into her lung, tore through her heart, and then left through her side to cut through her liver in one single motion. One blow amongst dozens went across her body, one after another, I kept striking and breaking through flesh and armor whilst spraying blood and flesh in every direction.

But she kept advancing.

I understood that she was healing herself, that the armor was feasting upon her blood and assisting in her effort by knitting together her and bone with tendrils of metal. With every blow, I was cutting through more and more metal instead of flesh. Interlaced strands of metal faced me, instead of plates of black armor, like a mass of metal vines covering a towering Descendant’s form. I kept cutting through them, until suddenly… there was resistance.

I kept striking.

She took one step.

I kept cutting.

Another step.

I searched for lethal points… but with every passing moment they ceased to be.

Then, finally, a third step.

The Sword of Wisdom reached me, a body kept together by healing magic and cursed, writhing armor embedded into flesh and bone, and she took hold of my vessel and caught it in her arms.

Trapping my anchor’s limbs in place as a living, unbreakable vice.

In moments, Conquest, Rita, and Morgan were upon my anchor and cutting it apart and breaking my connection to it. They crushed bone, turned innards to pulp, and set it aflame.

Leaving me within my true self, held by the Sword of Wisdom, while the three moved on to kill my liege.

I was defeated, and I watched as the innumerable, writhing mass of metal retreated and turned into rudimentary plate. I watched as bone healed, as flesh returned, and skin formed upon the Sword of Wisdom, until Ilych returned… haggard, gaunt, and pale from sheer expenditure.

Then, she looked at me, as I truly was, and spoke.

“Well fought, Sirena.”

At those words, I understood my mistake.

I thought I faced a normal mortal.

Not someone who only saw their mortal form as a vessel, as I did.

…

“What a mess.” I sent in close to five hundred Iterants and only three hundred came back. They could double in a few months, sure, but they still needed time to learn and train. Then, there’s all the Iterants we placed in the Wardens’ lands. Most of them were planning to support the replacement leader that we were setting up, gathering intelligence from towns, and generally doing clandestine work. It was our biggest espionage project and investment, with over two thousand spread across the region. Over half were now dead, since they had to slow Khalai down. “Make sure that all the bodies are accounted for. Within reason, of course. Make sure that their progeny is informed and they receive our gratitude.”

Iterants say that they didn’t have any connection to the Iterants that they produce, but we kept track just in case and gave them the same benefits as soldiers who died in battle. Also, their names were recorded in memorials beneath the Citadels. Not open to the public, since they were a secret, but that was going to change soon. I’ll have them placed next to the proper memorials in a month or two.

People were going to put two and two together.

“Any luck hunting down the survivors?”

“All leads have been followed and we’ve given chase. Many have been hunted down, but some were fortunate and commandeered horses from local villages. The villages had militia that slowed us down.” That meant that by my order, some villages were probably destroyed, but I had to try and keep the Iterants unknown. There were plenty of them out there in other nations. Now, I was sure that they had to be recalled, otherwise I’m going to lose a lot of skilled people for no reason. This was really a shitshow. “Your majesty?”

“We’ve done the best we could with the time we had and the people we had on site. I only wish that we could’ve done better and lost less lives.” Ayah gave a nod at my words, while we surveyed the battlefield. It was like a carpet of torn off limbs and bodies across a hilltop. Khalai and his people took the top of a hill on a nearby road and tried to repel the latest Iterant attack on their caravan. After multiple attacks from the moment they found the Death Goddess, the Wardens abandoned their all-offense tactics in favor of defense. Unfortunately, during the last ambush, the Warden’s main force was hit by five hundred more Iterants and four Champions. Khalai and Sirena, an army that’s been harried for weeks on end, against four hyper-specialized Champions and a fresh batch of troops. The outcome was predictable. “Make sure that we have as many torsos with us as possible. Keep them frozen and stored away before we bury them. If they start breaking apart, make note of it. That probably means that they’ve been resurrected.”

You need a sizeable chunk of a person to revive them. The whole body with many wounds was preferred, as it’s just calling back the soul and restarting the body after fixing it up with magic. However, with a lot of magical power and reagents, you can rebuild a person’s body with magic from a sizeable chunk. The Warden’s cathedrals of resurrection massively decreased the cost. In the flavor text, the Tier 1 version of the faction wonder could revive people from just a hand. My goal was to try and deny that by gathering up parts and pieces and storing them away.

It probably wasn’t going to work, but it was worth a shot.

There weren’t many prisoners.

Khalai was though, and only because Morgan managed to bind him up and heal him after he tried to off himself to respawn.

Dude was metal as fuck.

“They’re going to try and retake him.” I walked over to the makeshift runway. The gliders were in alright shape, but alright shape for a flying vessel wasn’t something I was willing to take a chance with. We were all going to board normal transports on the way back, while the gliders were going to be towed back without any passengers. Just a mage and a pilot with some parachutes. “And, I don’t think the coma strategy is going to work. He’s resisted everything we’ve thrown at him.”

Ayah followed me as we got to the makeshift camp. It was all Iterants and they were fixing themselves up using parts and pieces from those who fell in battle. Cores were put aside and gingerly stored away, but the rest of the body they didn’t bother caring about.

“Lady Morgan has suggested severing his spinal cord at the neck down. The body will persist and nourish the brain as he does.”

“May as well just restrain him completely… but in all honesty, we could use him. He’s the entire reason that the Wardens have managed to get this far.” The Wardens are the last ones to get a Citadel. Under my protection, they only developed one army and got one Champion online. Only after the Death Lord’s demise, and their joining of the alliance against me, did they start investing in their own military… but that came in the form of Citadel Guardians. Their troops didn’t receive enough veterancy, they didn’t have enough industrial output, and overall ended up weaker because of my protection. A few wars would’ve fixed that, especially with the Death Goddess, but I intervened before it happened. “But we’ll see how he feels about that.”

We reached the containment area for the Wardens, and I received a lot of harsh looks and yelling from all the people in chains that we captured, but my interest was the transport block right in the middle.

Khalai was bound up and restrained in a chair. Everything from the waist down was strapped up in a medical chair made by the Citadel. It was a medical device that allowed patients whose bodies needed to be kept still to stay mobile with their thoughts alone. We removed that functionality, but kept the padding and its ability to deal with defecation and urination.

“Hey there, Jackie. Time to make use of your new toy?” Khalai’s words were as flirty as ever, but his eyes told the real story. Plain, simple fury filled his gaze. Without a doubt, in his head, there was no negotiation to be had. Only a way for him to get out of this and return to his position as High Justiciar. His zeal was unbroken… and I doubted if it could ever break. As different as the Dark Elves were in this world, they were still family to the regular, genocidal long-term planners that were the regular Elves. “I promise that I’ll be good, as long as you treat my people well.”

Instantly, he offered himself as a hostage and as a plaything without any hint of shame.

Some would call him out as weak for doing so, but we both knew the score.

If you win, what you do doesn’t matter.

Yeah, there’s no way I’m getting him on my side, and putting him to sleep wasn’t working… so, I had to get creative.

But I was going to make him an offer first.

“I intend to make you an offer, but first I’ll tell you what I plan on doing to you if you refuse.”

Normally, Khalai would say something along the lines of ‘kinky’ but he could tell that I was serious.

“I will house you in a sensory deprivation chamber within the Citadel. In there you will be restrained and unable to move. Food will come through to you on a small pipe to your arm. We’ll gag you to make sure you can’t bite down. In that chamber, there will be no sound, no sensation, and no light. You will be alone and isolated completely.” This was super, extremely fucked up. I shared meals and drinks with this guy. If not for our circumstances, with my inevitable fight against him looming, I would’ve called him friend. I still remembered when I went to them to help them from being blitzed by the other established factions. However, in the end, I knew that was going to be the only possibility. “You’re strong, Khalai, but with the passing of years, you’ll lose yourself… and even if you hold on, it won’t matter in a few years.”

I didn’t know that for sure, but as capable and strong as Khalai is, I doubted he could withstand absolute nothingness for years and years without breaking.

Anyway, Khalai picked up on what I was implying with the ‘few years’ comment.

I basically told him how I was going to get away with taking the Death Goddess without the rest of the continent pouncing on me.

“You’re going to let me people be slaughtered.”

“Yes. Between the option of facing my nation and my Iterants for the Death Goddess, or taking the Citadel now without a leader, the choice is obvious.” The best outcome would be if I took the Death Goddess and the Warden Citadel. However, that wasn’t possible without immense losses. Even with Citadel Guardians swarming my borders, I couldn’t afford to lose my armies. They were defensive in nature. You can’t force policies of other nations to change with defenses. “I’ll tell them your tactics, your secrets, and remove my Iterants from their lands, while giving them your Citadel to appease them.”

“They will not be satisfied by one Citadel.”

“It’ll take them at least two years to take your lands with the armies that they have now, even if they all work together. They won’t. I think that Celia will swoop in and take it all, while the Merchants play the Forgers like a fiddle.” Khalai’s gaze was steady and unwavering as I told him the truth of the situation. Or, at the very least, the truth as I could get it with the information that I had. Plenty of conjecture, but this wasn’t entirely about facts. I’m trying to persuade Khalai to not be a zealot and work with me. “They’ll redirect their attention to me after… but that won’t matter. The foes of our ancestors will be here by then. That’s when I want your help. Not as the High Justiciar of the Wardens, but you, Khalai, as a person working for the betterment of as many people as possible.”

“After you give away my Citadel and have my followers killed.” Khalai’s voice was calm, but I could hear the zealous rage simmering in the very back of his throat. Beneath the cute mask, there is and has always been a zealot who would’ve launched a crusade at the living to bring them all into paradise. “Perhaps, I would consider it if you aid my people and see them retain the Citadel.”

My answer to that was already set.

“No. I know you, Khalai, and I know your people. I’ve known all along from the moment you rose from your caverns and seized your Citadel.” I took a step forward towards him, making sure to meet his gaze, as he sat strapped to a chair. There was no need to lean over and be all imposing. I just stood across him and met his gaze with arms crossed. “There was only one path forward for your people, after you realized the gravity of the situation, and after you completed another Cathedral of Resurrection and expanded your vision of Paradise. Past the plains where the recently deceased lay, past the forests, but before the crystal spires where legends await the call.”

Suddenly, through all the fury in Khalai’s gaze, a spark of surprise came through and a sharp exhale left his lips.

The Wardens never wrote down what paradise looked like.

But I knew.

“It is not solely a place for Wardens. It is for all mortals and peoples that come from the Ancients. The Ancients, when all their enemies came for them, opened paradise for every soul… to save everyone.” This was it. The core of the Warden’s ethos later in the game. They accepted no other religion now, moving to convert everyone to theirs by making them family or just carnal relations… the knowledge I shared now led to their change. The change from people who converted others to those who’ll just kill and send people to paradise. “Tell me, Khalai, in this world filled horrific foes and old grudges, what would you have your people do knowing that all who are slain go to paradise without exemption?”

I had to give him credit.

Khalai didn’t hesitate to answer.

“I would have my people take on the sin and send all the paradise to save everyone.” Ayah and the Iterants all stepped back at the words, at the simple, unhesitant, and unrepentant admission, and suddenly Morgan stepped out of the shadows with eyes filled with anger. I raised my hand before she could do anything. Khalai’s eyes changed as he considered and ingested the idea, and it flowed over him and wreathed him in ecstasy and joy. “I see! Of course! Paradise would be granted to all by the Ancients if all our souls were at risk! We simply cannot see the souls of others, because we’ve only searched for ourselves and never with temples that we needed! Yes!”

It was validation.

No, it was something stronger.

Vindication.

In their eyes, it wasn’t that they were just right all this time, but that they were always undoubtably and irrefutably correct through the Ancients.

Khalai’s eyes shone at me with trust and joy, lacking in any fury whatsoever, and his smile nearly stretched from ear to ear with pearly white teeth.

Yet, with those same ecstatic eyes and smile, he’d carve my heart out without hesitation.

All to save me… and he didn’t even have a shred of evidence that I wasn’t lying to him.

I’ve seen enough.

I acted before he could speak.

“Gag him and prepare to inter him.” I doubted it would work now. I shouldn’t have asked, even if it validated my own decision to take the path that I did against the Wardens. “This knowledge doesn’t leave this room if this truth is known to all the Wardens… there’s only one path we can take with them and their faith.”

The Iterants nodded, while Morgan glared at Khalai.

I took a moment to place a hand on her shoulder and take advantage of that strong reaction against the Wardens’ endgame.

“All their texts and all their temples must burn during this war. That’s your first, true mission as general, Morgan.”

If a religion goes crazy, who better to sic on them than the Demon Lord?

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Volume 1 Epilogue

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in.

Volume 1 Epilogue

…

Wordcount: 2500

…

Interlude: Arnis

…

Stories tell of a time before.

A time when the stars were not baleful things where wicked creatures spawned.

A time when the metal men worked with us rather than drag us into vats to be undone.

A time when the lands above did not teem with monsters that even to this day sought us out for flesh to feed their children.

Stories told us of a time long lost, but for those who ventured aboveground, those were not mere stories.

They were everywhere in the ruins of old cities that we travelled through now in search of what was lost.

Or, such was our aim, until things fell apart.

“Do not die on me, Rupel. I will find a path back home.” Rupel weakly nodded and laughed at my words, as Tina tended to his wound. A great gash on his side that stopped bleeding thanks only to scarce medicines we found scavenging. It could have brought us great acclaim down below, but it was not worth his death, or the loss of his family’s knowledge. “Tina, keep hidden. I will return within a day. If I do not, partake in my rations and weather the storm until the beacon resumes function.”

I was a wayfinder, like my father before me, and the work of our ancestors gave me much. I could see farther, run longer, and withstand the cold. I needed more food than most, but it was a price I was willing to pay. Our bloodline’s gifts kept the family whole and strong for generations. Ten other families were like our own, and we worked carefully to ensure our traits remained strong without falling foul.

If my brother hadn’t perished, I would be with children and raising them, but he did and now I took his place.

I left our makeshift shelter beneath a fallen spire of steel and formed rock, and ventured into the storm.

What both Rupel and Tina could not survive, I strode through with ease, ignoring frost and biting wind as I made sense of the lands that surrounded us.

Lands filled with starving, dying monsters that were not supposed to be here.

I felt my body cool and conserve heat, while I ventured through the fallen spears that the ancestors aimed at the sky. Some historical texts said that people once lived in them, but they were abandoned when we lost what lay beyond the clouds. Some ventured to live beneath the seas, others took the fight to the stars, and many more chose refuge beneath the ground.

I idly wondered if these monsters were here through the machinations of other humans when the screech of a creature reached me.

It was thrice as tall as me. It had six skittering legs, a lean thorax, two claws, and two more scythes. It rushed at me at great speed with its pointed legs moving across snow without difficulty. It lacked any sacks of fat, it was leaner than any other I had seen, and some of its natural armor was faded and worn. Still, even with its weakened state, it could easily kill me… so I aimed my crossbow and fired one of my few fire-shots at it’s open maw.

My shot was true and the bolt exploded within the creature where there was no armor, and its insides burst out of its backside.

The noise of the shot itself was lessened… but it was not enough.

From the shadows, from snow piles, and from our ancient homes, dozens began to scramble out. The first that reached their fallen comrade ate with him ravenously, but the others chased after me.

I already started running after the first died.

I dug deep within the pit of warmth in my stomach, and I felt the cold dissipate, as I touched upon ancient gifts. My heart began to thunder in my chest, my legs felt weightless to raise, and my senses sharpened. I became aware of the number of creatures on my back, eighteen in number, and how I was only marginally keeping ahead of them as my legs tore through snow.

Unfortunately, I also became aware of my empty stomach.

If I had eaten all my supplies, I would have been able to outlast and outrun this pack of monsters, but such was not the case.

In three hours, I will be overtaken and killed… but in three hours I can lead these creatures away and only those who remained will threaten my companions when the storm passes.

Two lives for the price of my own, and all that we found on the surface, was a worthy exchange for my death.

Then, just as I considered that, my senses picked something else up.

The shrill whine of an ancient thing that somehow brought agonizing, instinctual relief in my heart.

It was a sound that I somehow knew in my very bones.

A shrill whine that turned into a roar and burst of air that blew me away but my body recovered from with ease.

Then, I turned to its source.

My heart seized for a moment, thinking that I was looking at a raging machine, then I realized something.

On its shoulder, writ in ancient letters, was a simple phrase: “Front Towards Enemy.”

And, in a split second after landing, the sound of ancient weapons reborn thundered and killed the remaining monsters.

Our long-lost cousins were returned with ancient strength at their disposal.

…

We were brought aboard a great flying ship covered in weapons from above and below with a surface that carried multiple flying craft. The ship was crewed by fellow humans and some who smelled of machinery within. We were told that they were cyborgs created for those who perished, and I asked if they could do the same for those who were buried in our family crypts.

Unfortunately, it was only possible for the recently deceased.

In the halls of the great vessel, we were stripped of our weapons and equipment, then given great luxuries. Each of us a room to call our own, meals that filled our stomachs and were exotic in flavor, and finally new clothes each fitted for us. Physicians came and drew blood, before administering to us medicines, and they also mended our wounds.

After a single night of observation, we were brought together, and both Rupel and Tina were wide-eyed and shocked at the room that we were brought to.

It was an office, much like my father’s, but grander and more opulent. A red fabric carpet was laid from the door all the way to the desk. The furnishings were made of wood and cushioned with more fabric. Wood was difficult to acquire, and what fabric could be produced was rationed carefully. Most wore scant clothes made of hair, and equipment from the times before were carefully maintained. Metal and gemstones were more common than wood and fabric, but here… everything was plentiful.

But more than anything, the young man sitting at the desk at the office caught my eye.

He had brown, short hair cut close to his scalp. His eyes were bright, and his face was covered in a myriad of faded and fresh scars. A cap adorned his bare head and his features were all sharp. The suit he wore was of military custom I only read about in books. A double-breasted deep blue military dress tunic with golden epaulets and aiguillettes. Gleaming medals were upon his chest, almost taking up the whole left quarter of his chest.

The way he stood up and the way he looked at me, immediately reminded me of the great titan of metal and firepower that had saved me.

His movements were exactly alike that great weapon.

He turned to his attendant by his side, while walking towards us.

“Do they speak English?”

“Yes, my lord, they do.”

Lord. The singular statement made my eyes widen in disbelief, while my body moved immediately to one knee, as my companions did the same.

We knelt and bowed our heads.

I had thought him an officer of great renown!

Not nobility!

We did not speak or address him, as his footfalls came towards us.

“Relax, the title is needed for me to hold control of the ship.” His tenor was not yet that of a man who has reached full adulthood. Neither did his voice carry the gravitas we expected of our betters. Still, I glanced at my companions and received a nod from each of them. If this was a test, then I could best weather any punishment, so I stood while they remained knelt with their heads low. His gaze upon me was not that of a lordling, though. I felt myself weighed and measured like a target to be destroyed. “Name?”

“I am Arnis of House Cane. Through my family, the rank of Ranger 1st Class has been passed down for ten generations, ship lord.” I bowed my head as I spoke, and he walked around me. I felt gazes of lust on my body before and even gazes of evaluation by my superiors. However, without a doubt, my previous beliefs were correct. The gaze of this young lord was that of a warrior searching another for weaknesses. I knew that he was finding many. “I hail from an underground city of survivors. Our nation, lost its name might be, evacuated many kilometers below ground to save ourselves from the threats from above.”

A hum left his lips, and his gaze matched mine.

I did not speak of how to reach our lands. There were many peoples and nations. Some were our allies and some were our enemies.

When I continued to say nothing of the city, he gave a nod.

“We’ll need a neutral location to meet with your leaders. We’re new to this region and looking at it for resource extraction. The ruins we found you in will make for a fine start.”

I almost hesitated, but I spoke.

“The lands of our ancestors are ours to reconquer. We will not cede it to another. However, in exchange for aid, negotiations can take place for trade rights.” This was established protocol. Even if we left the lands above, we remained within our borders and survived. We had claim over these lands of ours. It was not for any other to simply come and take. “Even the ruins you have mentioned were built by our ancestors. They are not resources to be extracted by others, but assets that belong to us.”

My impertinence and words on my nation’s behalf had me expecting a bullet through my brain, or perhaps the unsheathing of the sword at his waist, and my head separated from my shoulders.

Instead, the young lord sighed.

“Well, there goes that sub-objective. Cina, go ahead and escort them to the diplomatic wing and get into contact with Empress. This is her wheelhouse.” The servant bowed at his commands, and moved to do as she was bid, and then the young lord looked at the three of us once again. “Word of advice: get dressed in your armor and stand your ground. Even if you think you should kneel… don’t. She’ll respect you more if you show that you have a spine.”

We were obviously dismissed and I moved to leave, but suddenly the young man addressed me.

“You there, ranger. If you can’t share the whereabouts of your people, how about you share what you know of your enemies?” I turned around and found one of the servants before me. In her hands was a tablet with an overview of our small region. Everything surrounding it was not present. Nothing else was shared. I stared at the screen, wondering if I should, before he spoke again. “Nothing for free, huh? You know I’m going to go and kill them, right? It’ll be good for everyone.”

I wanted to relay the information, but I could not.

“My apologies, young lord, but I cannot give such information away. It is information for my people, and theirs to do with as they wish.” I was ready to be killed for providing the answer that would safeguard my people. What if I gave information that resulted in the death of this young lord? Or, if they destroyed the enemy, and found something of strategic value? I could not take that chance. “I cannot provide it because of the oaths I swore.”

I was ready to perish, but my death did not come.

“Hm, alright. Go on ahead, then. I’ll talk to your bosses when we meet, instead.” The young lord shook his head, before looking my way from over his shoulder. “Oh, and don’t let yourself get talked into doing anything by my guests at the diplomatic quarter. Just tell them you’re my guests. Wait. Actually… this would be better.”

From his lapel, he took a medal, and threw it my way.

I caught it.

It was a heavy thing with a brilliant luster.

A star of gold surrounded by silver.  

On it was a simple phrase written in old text.

“Valor.”

“If Empress asks, tell her I found you facing down a horde of bugs with a crossbow and some explosives. She’ll love that.”

I almost begged to return it, but the servant escorted me out to join my companions.

…

The meeting with the Empress was harrowing.

She provided us with the state of the world beyond the borders of our fallen nation. The vast majority of the planet was held by enemy forces. Immense hives were generating biomass for endless hordes of monsters. Extradimensional invaders were sending chunks of our planet to their own realm. Machines were turning vast stretches of land into factories that churned out endless armies.

But humanity held the orbits and its fleets were scouring the solar system, and great cities manned by powerful machines loyal to humanity and hundreds of millions of humans were working to take the planet. Humanity was working to secure the whole planet, conquering our old lands, and at the tip of the spear were expeditions that would establish the foundation for more self-sufficient cities that would produce materials for conquest.

This was the vanguard of such an effort.

The only city was judged a source of refined materials to create the foundation for a true city. A city where we were offered positions of nobility and stewardship, as our people and theirs were allies in the ancient past. Much of it was beyond my ability to speak for, but I knew that the path forward lay above ground and not in the shelter that we were given.

Then, as I ruminated on her words, the admiral and lord of the ship appeared by my side.

“My medal?” He inquired, and I hastily returned it. Cina, the servant that smelled of both machine and flesh, fetched it and pinned it on his chest. He levelled his gaze my way. “If there are any people amongst your ranks who don’t wish to accept, I suggest that you deal with them on your own. You’ve been given the velvet glove. Don’t tempt the steel fist.”

I realized what he was implying.

“This offer of alliance is the best that we can hope for?”

“It is. If you don’t accept, if you want to forge your own nation, you oppose the Empress’s dream for a unified humanity. Therefore, you’re an enemy. I doubt you can survive being our enemy with your manufacturing ability.” He could’ve mentioned our lack of food, or maybe even our low numbers, and perhaps even our need to scavenge. Instead, he looked to my equipment, which was worn and carefully repaired countless times, and the lack of new clothing on my person. Meanwhile, he led a new, massive ship and piloted a machine that killed a horde of monsters that could’ve destroyed the whole shelter. “Don’t mistake the offer as weakness, or even the need to conserve resources. An army will scour this place and destroy all your people within a month, if your people refuse.”

“…I will do everything in my power to convince my superiors to accept. I believe that they will even without my help, but I will do all that I can, besides.” My words eliciting a nod from the young lord, and I hesitated as I looked upon him again. A singular question kept popping up in my mind. Something within me told me that I was incomplete ever since I laid my eyes on his great machine. “There is something personal I would like to ask. Is it possible for me to try piloting a one of your bipedal war machines?”

A strange light was in the young lord’s gaze as he responded to my query.

“Why? You want to know how strong they are, or because you want to?”

It was a strange question, but I answered earnestly.

“Because I want to. The machine is very… amazing. Like something out of legend. I would very much like to walk in one, or perhaps fly if possible.”

Suddenly, a smile split across the young lord’s face.

“Hm, I think you and I can be friends.”

The phrase caught me off-guard, especially as the servant suddenly sighed and covered her face with her hands, while some individuals walking by suddenly speeded away.

A pit of unease formed in my stomach.

This young lord’s attention didn’t seem like it’d be good to have.

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 56

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 56

…

Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

…

Harold’s tower was just a few minutes away from the palace. Situated on the outskirts of the city, the lands around it was bare, grassy fields. No roads led to the tower, but docks for flying vessels surrounded the tower like a ring. Pure white in coloration, it was like a spear jutting out of a grassy plain, and I realized why it was solitary as we grew closer.

The lands around it was awhirl with power. I used the technique Harold taught me and found layers and layers of power in the soil and it even rose above a few feet from the soil. The grass was an illusion, and in truth there was only barren earth suffused with so much chaotic power that nothing could grow in it. The material of the tower, and even its height, were all to ensure that the structure and its inhabitants could practice in the land without being harmed.

Harold was swaddled in thick robes when I met him at the tower’s dockyard.

“Welcome. Welcome. Thank you for coming. I was hard at work ever since we last met. The notes you shared with me have been incredible. Very incredible.” His face was gaunt and he looked as though he lost a good deal of fat. There were large bags beneath his eyes, and he looked ungroomed. He looked as though he was working an a truly great project. “We acquired fresh samples of the creature to study and experiment upon while you were gone. We’ve created a simple wand that can detect them which we’re already sending out to all cities and mages who can make them, and preparing arcana that solely target the creatures. Assaulting the creatures like they are an illness is proving to be very effective… unfortunately, it’s a lethal cure.”

“The creatures integrate themselves too much with the body. Once it dies, more than half the body’s tissues, bones, and nerves die with it, as the creature converted it into more of itself. Even if you manage to heal all the damage at once, what you’ll be left with is a heavily damaged brain.” I studied the creature and its effects carefully since my first encounter. Even rapid healing of all the creature replaced wouldn’t work, simply because the brain would be so heavily damaged. Even with all the creature replaced and the tissue healed, the destruction of the brain would leave the patient without memory and knowledge. It would be a new person born into a body that’s already old, if they were not completely comatose forever. “A preventative measure is an inspired choice.”

“Thank you. I cannot take full credit. My students copying and translating your notes found your mention of preventative measures implemented in the Great Desert. Using a weaker form of the disease, so that the body can learn to fight it… brilliant.” I nodded at Harold’s words as he escorted me into the building. The inside was square in shape, like a normal building and much smaller than the width of the cylinder. It must be thickly armored to protect the people within. Harold was bowed to and greeted by many passing by on the stairs ascending and descending the tower. We made our way up, past many floors, each one holding eclectic and strange instruments and at least half-a-dozen people. “If they cannot make hosts of us, then we deprive them of their ability to make their strongest spawn, while also retaining our own strength. Once the knowledge spreads across the world, it can keep other lands safe from them. With constant effort, they can even be wiped out.”

I nodded at his words, but took note of his mention of other lands.

“Would your nation allow for this magic to spread?” Harold easily nodded at my question, as we stopped at a barrier to ascending further up the stairs. He held out his hand and whispered some words, and the stones shifted. “This would give them a clear advantage over other realms.”

“Ah, it would. It truly would, but as focused as the crown is regarding their supremacy, they know that they cannot allow this disease to spread. They, after all, unleashed it on the world.” Harold’s words gave me pause, before I shook my head. As an eminent researcher on the subject, of course he would naturally know the truth. “They will have too many foes to even retain this land of theirs, if they do nothing to stem the infestation. They will be put to the sword, if they do not do this much, by an entire coalition of nations. Already, the darkness that covers this vast swathe of the world has strained foreign ties immensely.”

“They must have warned them ahead of time, and made promises on the matter being solved. This perpetual night must be causing issues all over the world. Even in the Great Desert, monsters have grown mad.” This world was a large one. I would not be surprised if this nation and its traditions and customers were completely different from the rest. I doubted that all nations of this world operated as these people did. They reminded me of Spartans, though their citizenry were not slaves without rights, they still treated all others beyond their lands as people who will inevitably rebel. “You speak of the crown with less fervor while not in the princess’s presence.”

“And, I’m sure that she does the same with me. In the realm of the arcane, they cannot afford to hoard power as they do. If they did, they would lose us all to other lands eager for our talents.” There was no better way to lose talented individuals than to ostracize them and make it so they have no voice. Nations with wealth most certainly attract talent, but if that wealth cannot build a household, then it is only a matter of time before that talent leaves with wealth in tow to another land. “But let us not speak of such unseemly things. Let us speak of saving as many as we could. Here is our first construction: a sphere that will stay buoyant in the stomach that will wreathe the individual wearing it in flame should the parasites come forth to take their body.”

“Well done.” I praised the Archmage without hesitation. The solution was elegant. Imbibe the small, thumb-sized artifact so that it cannot be removed. If it can be mass-produced, then it can be spread across the land and ‘consumed’ by the people once. It was a simple white sphere in coloration, and it was smooth to the touch. Harold took it from me and took it near a jar of brackish fluid, sealed shut and chained down to a table. His approach had a parasite lurking in the fluid try to bypass the thick glass and fail, but the proximity was enough. He was immediately wreathed in intense flames. A single step back and it sputtered out. “Can it be produced in the required numbers?”

Harold gave a proud nod.

“We are using the method you’ve shared. Simplify the creation of many components, then put them together into the more complex piece.” The As’Kari were firm on not wasting resources. If a sword was to be made, the forging of the blade would be done by a skilled metalsmith. The scabbard would go to the leather worker. Any ornamentation would go to a jeweler. Even the color of the scabbard would be done by someone skilled in the matter. They would all work on the order at the same time, all the pieces joining together at the end, and presented to the commissioner. With larger orders, more people got involved with similar skills, until a pseudo-assembly line spread across the tribe. The As’Kari hardly needed any knowledge from me for manufacturing. They found their own path because of the desert’s harshness. “We have the shells being manufactured by jewelers, idle mages are providing power in gems, and blacksmiths are carving the inner workings. Once the design is good enough, we’ll send it throughout the realm, and many will find work and wealth in making them. They’ll last for a decade each, before going inert, and then outer shell will become porous so that it’ll no longer float in the stomach. It will pass through without issue.”

Harold stroked his beard with pride at the creation and it was a well-earned pride.

It wasn’t what he wanted advice on, though.

It was the large artifact next to the small ball on a pedestal. It was about the width of two persons and one person in height. Plain in coloration with a smooth surface, it resembled a simple box, but Harold moved to open it and inside was a dizzying array of mechanisms. However, what caught my attention, was a similar part of the top of Harold’s staff embedded inside that was generating a small ball of light pointed directly at the sample of the infestation just a few feet away.

“As you displayed in our flight together, better detection of the creatures and their dispatchment is the best method of prevention. The flames we provide can be outlasted. The creatures may even gouge out the stomachs of our people, then heal them by filling them with more of their kin to replace what is destroyed.” I grimaced at Harold’s words. Unlike disease, these creatures had intellect and could indeed adapt in such a manner. If the truth of these orbs were determined, then I wouldn’t put it past the creatures to inflict injury to remove them from people. The Archmage was correct. “However, we cannot simply send out so many skilled practitioners out there. They are better here, producing items that can do their work for them, so that they cannot be found and taken by the enemy with all their power and skill taken from us.”

“So, you’ve devised this contraption. It will create small orbs of light that point in the direction of the infected individual.”

“Correct, but we can’t make it any smaller and its range is limited to the length of a street. How do you send out your power to such a long range?”

I touched the device and closed my eyes.

I found the problem swiftly.

“It is the center of a large sphere, which looks for infected creatures within that sphere.” Harold nodded at my words. “Don’t change that. It’ll be perfect for finding foes when they are near. However, you’ve misunderstood my method of searching. I don’t search in every direction at once. Allow me to demonstrate.”

When he nodded head, I created an example with my wires.

“The circle is myself and the rectangular plane is what I’m sensing.” I created a circle on a flat plane, and to it I created a long and thin triangle with the flat side far away from me. Harold grasped what I was portraying with ease thanks to the visualization. I began to spin the flat plane around my representation. “The surface area of detection is smaller, but it’s far less costly to move it around constantly than always create a sphere. Of course, a sphere in all directions is better in conflict to avoid being surprised, but for detection this method allows a far longer range.”

“Of course! Hold on. Give me a moment.” Harold was swift to go to the machine and he fiddled with various parts and pieces before touching the staff portion. He muttered words beneath his breath and in a moment, I felt something pass through me. In another second it did so again. Harold trembled and shook with excitement while a smile split across his face. His next words were breathless, while he fiddled with the machine, and soon enough I could no longer feel the sensation. “Magnificent. The whole sphere is now a flat plane that just moves and scans everything around the machine. With a student operating it, they can focus on locations like a telescope! A few of these on flying ships can scan a city from above as you did, Lord Will!”

“That would be best. Have them patrol from the safety of the skies, then have them formed perimeters, and descend upon the infestation from above with absolute force.” It was like the methods used by As’Kari warrior groups. In their doctrinal texts, they would find their foes and use overwhelming force to ensure their victory, or peel off parts of a larger enemy force to ambush them with greater numbers. The As’Kari were not wasteful with the lives of their warriors. Or, rather, they could not afford to lose them casually. Every warrior is the product of almost two decades of investment of the tribe in resources ranging from water to the flesh of monsters. “Now, what is this last one?”

“Ah, that one is an artifact commissioned by the royal family. It is a pointer of ways.” A needle with a tipped end was suspended in a glass ball. It was held within a pocket-watch-like container. The red tip of the needle pointed towards the sample of the infestation that was on the table. When I moved it, the arrow stayed pointed at the creature. “I’m afraid that it is much to expensive to mass produce. It points towards the closest thing that matches the thoughts of the user. Lord Will, if you would please have it point towards the As’Kari, then feed it with your magic.”

I complied with Harold’s request and was surprised as it spun towards the southwest and slightly downward. It began to move every so slightly, like tracking movement.

This was closer to the magic of fairy tales back home.

A compass that pointed at the desire of the user.

What a dangerous thing to be made.

A hunter’s tool that can be used on people.

I shook my head at it, at the power it gave to those who asked for it, and set it aside.

I set my thoughts towards the infestation, and it returned to pointing towards the sample in the jar.

Harold waited for praise, but I just gave him a nod.

“Have you seen such a device before? I had hoped to impress you, Lord Will.”

“I’m not a lord.” I corrected him with a shake of my head. I noticed his words earlier, but I ignored the implication until now. “No, I have not, but I can imagine that wars and conflict would be invited by such a thing. I fear its potential in the hands of the people you’ve created it for, and those who they wish to find in the future.”

Harold didn’t seem to understand, and I wondered how I would tell him the truth.

That little bauble will not be used to find monsters or lost things.

It will be used to hunt down and kill the enemies of the crown.

V9: Chapter 13

V9: Chapter 13

…

At the start of the game, you can generally move armies to other regions in four or so turns. The war against the Children of the Elm involved a ‘quick’ march to their new Citadel. That march meant crossing the lands that the Conquerors were taking at the time, too.  So, we crossed half of our home region, the full breadth of the Conqueror’s region, and then then half of the Children of the Elm’s lands to reach their Citadel. That took a full year of campaigning to achieve, and most of that was traveling, and going through the events that popped up during our travels.

Now?

Now, I can expect to get an army assembled anywhere in my territory, which was half the continent, in two months. In four months, I can get every army that I have at my disposal in one place, while militia and Guardians took up their regular duties. That’s four full armies of ten thousand men each, with twice their number to form the necessary logistical trail. Some would say it’s crazy that I have two people in the army that don’t fight for every one that does, but I think it’s a miracle.

Rations and supplies need to be given out and taken stock of. Bases needed to stay clean. Food needed to be cooked. Armor and weapons needed to be maintained. Doctors and physicians are needed to keep the troops from getting sick. Horses need to be fed. Latrines needed to get dug. Waste must get processed. Orders need to get relayed all the way from me to the lowliest private. Stipends needed to get issued for people to buy creature comforts from the post exchange stores. People needed to get their mail moved through the system and receive what’s sent to them from their families.

I’m sure without Iterants, it wouldn’t be possible to have such a small logistical tail for my troops, but there was still a problem.

My forces still couldn’t move as fast as I liked.

Back in my world, the US could get two thousand troops anywhere in the world within 24 hours. In another 24, it’ll be bolstered by another two thousand, and in another 48 another two thousand to form up a whole brigade. That brigade will hold until the rest of the US can stream in reinforcements, and in a month, you’ll have a whole army on your doorstep ready to kick your teeth in. From what little I recalled from my errant video binging, it was achieved through air power, having troops on standby, and having everything packed up and ready to go to be shipped out.

I’d kill to have those timetables.

But I didn’t have them.

However, with very expensive improvements to the transports and well-trained crews, it was possible to get five hundred people somewhere else very quickly.

Or, rather, a handful of Champions and a lot of Iterants.

Quality will just have to win the day.

Along with a lot of explosives.

…

Interlude: Rita

…

The transports took off with frightening silence. All other transports were blocky constructs pulled by horses. They levitated using magic and were pulled upward by the combined work of mages and drivers. They were such a common method of transport in our lord’s lands that most could sleep while in flight, and awaken in another region without any concern for their safety. There were also two spare mages in the box itself, ready to cast magics to slow its descent to safety, no matter what happened in the air.

I doubted that those would be needed with the ones we entered.

“These gliders are truly remarkable. They’re almost twice as fast, and are also far more efficient.” Morgan spoke while next to a window. The hull of the glider was Citadel alloy, but incredibly thin. There was no floor. We stood upright and held onto straps with all our gear. Outside the long and wide wings of the craft sliced through the air, greatly lessening the amount of power the mages needed to use to keep it up. Any excess power was used on the ‘engine.’ At tail of the craft was a large block upon which many glyphs and arcane sigils were impressed upon. It propelled the craft forward through the air, as they did in the dozens for the flying castles we were carefully building. “It’s too bad we can’t mass-produce them.”

“His majesty would rather these materials be used to create more mobile strongpoints.” Eight of these gliders were constructed. The arcane wind pusher at the tail did not have enough power to have it fly. Like regular transports, it needs to be pulled upward and granted speed. Once high in the air, the mages in the back could propel the craft. This entire flight were prototypes that were deemed failures. Everything involved in their creation and utilization was better used for the flying fortresses we were building. The only advantage that they held was speed. “But I believe that he can be convinced to have a few on hand.”

The Citadel Alloys produced could be spent on armor plates to better resist magics. Each engine for each glider was an engine not for the slow, lumbering behemoths that would aid in holding the line against our future foes. Every single mage powering the engine was one that wasn’t on artillery duty or moving thousands of troops instead of fifty.

“We’ll probably crack regular flight without magic while we’re building the first fifty of these things. Best to not.” Morgan’s response was glib, betraying her cheer, and she turned over to Conquest and Ilych. They stood opposite one another, hanging onto straps from the ceiling, in complete silence as we flew to our destination. “Anyone want to take that bet? Who thinks we’ll manage to make fully mechanized flight before the year is over?”

Surprisingly, Ilych answered.

“If the train engine can be made smaller and lighter, a mechanical fan can be used to push air back. Then, it’s simply a matter of making light enough vessels.” Morgan gave a nod at Ilych’s words. Perhaps, she was checking if Ilych was truly adhering to her studies. She needn’t have checked. Ilych’s discipline is without question. Only time was an impediment in her acquisition of knowledge. We simply didn’t have much to spare. “Magic will still need to be used to control the flight.”

Conquest spoke up at that statement.

“Nay, we’ve tested gliders of our own. Not of this size, but with warriors capable of manipulating wind. You can change your path in the air with a rudder and shifting wings to capture the wind. The same can be done here.” Conquest pointed at the wings and the tail section with her chin. She was more thoughtful after the revelation that she received. Brought into the inner circle, given the truth of our lord’s reach, she was humbled. “The scholars will be able to determine the best course of action, though the Ancients may have left something in their histories that could guide us.”

“I’m sure his majesty already figured this all out, but I’ll be happy to bring it up. I’ll give you both credit, of course.” Morgan took the leadership role of our operation without being questioned. Though she was a more recent addition to our forces than myself or Ilych, I had no reason to doubt her appointment. Not only was she talented and skilled, but she was also given the right by our king himself. Perhaps, if Khanrow nominated her and her position was granted thereafter, I would question the matter. But such was not the case. “So, I’m guessing no one will take the bet?”

Silence answered Morgan, but a moment after, the two keeping track of our progress and flight at the front of the glider spoke.

“The recon force has returned. They’ve located the ongoing battle. We’re dropping in.” The words resonated through the craft. Those at the front of the craft interacted with signals with those on flying horseback. We were accompanied by elites. The very best riders and aerial light cavalry we could bring along. While we flew in gliders, safe from the frost and wind, they rode with their steeds… knowing that this will most likely be their last flights. “Descending… now.”

My grip on the handle tightened, while stomach felt like it rose up into my chest, as the glider aimed downward and began its descent.

From the front window, I saw the battlefield.

The Wardens accepted people freely throughout their lands. All who followed their faith or wished to become citizenry were accepted. They believed that their faith and way of living would convert any who lived in their lands. His majesty agreed with this, reasoning that they kept their people happy and content while making sure those in power were of their faith, thus he only sent in Iterants. Iterants eager to prove themselves to him, and willing to do anything for his favor, for he gave them the chance to redeem themselves.

Though we seeded Iterants across the lands, it was in the Warden lands that we laid the groundwork for Iterants to showcase their fullest strength. Thousands of Iterants were throughout their lands. Many were farmers and laborers. Others were factory workers. Those in higher positions replaced individuals after months of study, slipping into their roles seamlessly, and many others joined the lower ranks of their local militia.

When the drums of war cried out, when they received their messages to converge or to wreak havoc, they acted.

Now, in their own homeland, the Wardens were defending their king against a dedicated force of Iterants after their journey was slowed time and time again.

I doubted any others could see, but I could see the carnage the Iterants wrought.

Citadel Guardians were machines. They launched themselves at the enemy like a storm of knives. Their main strength lay in the fear they produced. Few soldiers can act properly when a Guardian gallops at them at full speed with limbs ready to rip and tear, especially when they numbered in the hundreds. However, that can be surmounted with training. Good enough armor, strong enough shields, and discipline can stem their advance, while magic or firepower ravaged their ranks and destroyed them. Military exercises against Guardians showcased that we could fight against them. The attrition rate would be high, but it was undoubtedly possible to do so.

But if we had a front line of Iterants, the dynamic changed.

Having a single Citadel capable of producing Guardians, it was natural that the Wardens invigorated by their forces with the bone-white, skittering creatures. Under normal conditions, having those shock-troops with strong armor and weapons would be enough to ensure safe passage through their own lands.

However, Iterants had armor that Guardians couldn’t cut through, and Iterants could tear their limbs off and use them as weapons.

So, on the field below, there was carnage. Guardians lay strewn about in broken heaps with their sharp libs taken off their bodies and torsos smashed. Iterants were brawling in a frenzy amidst ranks and ranks of Wardens, whose vaunted speed and skill were barely holding against the Ancient’s hidden weapon.

With disguises shed, they chose the form of two-meter-tall, spindly, long-limbed, and faceless puppets composed of nigh-unbreakable material.

One punch from an Iterant went through the chest of a Warden, and it threw the body back cut in twain.

An Iterant withstood the cutting blow of a Warden before taking hold of the mortal and crushing them in an embrace.

Wardens swarmed one holding its limbs fast, and going at it was maces and hammers, and they brought it down with sheer numbers. The Iterant changed its shape, becoming a cell that captured those holding it down, and it shrank. It emerged covered in blood and entrails that sloughed off its form.

The Warden line was breaking after their Guardians were expended, and their backline of healers could not revive the bodies tossed so far back, while their mages were not numerous enough to kill them.

It was just as his majesty foretold.

The Wardens only had one answer to the Iterants.

Sirena.

“You found her?” Morgan spoke, and I nodded. “Mark her.”

I moved towards the door of the descending glider, clipping the safety belt to a railing near the door, which Morgan opened.
The wind whipped past the open door, but it was of little consequence once I strengthened by body and focused on making my shot.

Sirena was there, the anchor of the Wardens, and she was surrounded by destroyed Iterants. Her fathom-long blade cut through their armor like paper, the few that managed to reach her could only scratch her skin, and those scratches healed before blood spilled. Around her was a patch of untouched earth, but surrounding her were broken piles and cut bodies of Iterants. Even with so many dead by her hand, on her dark-brown skin, there was only the faintest a hint of tiredness in the form of a few beads of sweat. The Saintess was also aglow with holy light and driven by purpose, even with all the death that surrounded her, she did not falter. Even if the whole army of the Wardens died here, Sirena destroying them all and keeping the mages, priests, and Khalai alive would make this a Warden victory.

All the Iterants here were only meant to delay Khalai and Sirena from bringing the Goddess that they found to their Citadel.

No.

That would be an understatement.

They were also meant to kill the army that supported them.

The world went small and dark, and there was only Sirena and the arrow that I nocked.

Memories of the Saintess came forward.

The times we fought together, the support she gave us, and her glances upon his majesty in hopes of wedding him to secure an alliance for her people.

I had no doubt that she was good at heart and sound of temperament.

His majesty agreed, but he did not hesitate to give the order.

“Sirena and Khalai both need to be captured or killed. You, Ilych, Conquest, and Morgan will make this happen after we expend their strength using Iterants.”

His words resounded in my mind as I let the arrow loose and it shot forward, already breaking apart after I filled it with power, and sent it flying towards a woman I once called an ally.

“Fight and kill them with everything that you have. Do not dishonor them by letting your feelings get in the way.”

It landed at her feet, she traced its path, and her eyes widened as in the glare of the sun she caught sight of us diving towards her and those under her protection.

“This is my command. The Wardens and their plans to see us all fed to their Paradise must end today.”

My eyes met hers, and instead of shock, her eyes grew steely with determination… and I met it with my own.

“This is an order from your king. Do you understand?”

The arrow exploded into a pillar of flame too weak to harm her, but tall and bright enough for all the riders carrying bombs to know their target.

My answer returned to my lips as I watched the destruction begin to unfold.

“I hear and I obey, your majesty.”

Today, I end the lives of my once-allies and I do it without a hint of doubt in my heart.

He willed it.

It shall be so.

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 55

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 55

…

Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

…

The final day arrived and Elric was nowhere to be found, but my duty ended faster than I anticipated.

Lassandra came to fetch me and only spoke to me after I left the room.

“Grandfather said that you’d take my youngest sister with you. That you’d shield her from the coming trial.” Lassandra spoke softly while her fellow siblings filtered past the great hall towards the base of the tree. They were haler and more fit now. The wealth and splendor of their nation allowed them to recover and gain strength at an exceedingly fast pace. Each one could be an elite of the As’Kari from their inner strength alone.  Only half their number would be needed to support the tree now, and it was obvious that they were going to take shifts henceforth. “If this is true, then I will release you from my plans. I had wished to send you to the front against the infestation after your duties here.”

After days of expending my power, where I had to rely on it to keep myself aware and conscious, the princess had intended to send me off to war.

Most likely an attempt to kill me.

And, she admitted it.

“Your plan wouldn’t have worked, even if you assembled warriors to assist the infestation in killing me. At this very moment, I still have much strength to spare.” It was not a bluff. Powering the tree had been easy. It was an organism that just needed power. There was no need for me to capture or harness light, or even feed it with power. The ritual that they created was highly efficient. The power that it required of me did not consume the entirety of the power I could passively generate, and the meals they fed me were of powerful beasts brimming with energy. With time and rest, I will grow stronger. “If you planned to kill me, you shouldn’t have fed me. Or, you should have poisoned me. A delayed poison, perhaps.”

“Would that have worked?”

“No. It wouldn’t have.” The As’Kari worked extensively to devise methods and means to fight against poison and venom. In harsh times, the treatments were even used to allow people to eat rotten meat without being harmed. “Unless you’ve managed to reach past the As’Kari’s blockade on the other tribes and acquired the most secret of poisons of the Great Desert. Those that can kill a chieftain are quite potent, and not delayed in their action.”

“I’m afraid that I didn’t have the time or resources to spare to procure such at thing.” Lassandra admitted freely. She cast a gaze my way.  “I knew that sending you to the front wouldn’t have ended you, either. You would have simply killed much of the force that threatened the land. My plan to keep my nation safe from you was to give you what you wanted.”

It took me e moment to realize what she implied.

But I nodded in agreement after I realized what she meant.

The very thing that I asked for, a place for all those who were abandoned, needed protection and care that only I could provide.

“I see. The village will need me.” The lands they were given were unclaimed and unwanted, because it was incredibly dangerous. It was a land rich in resources and had lands good for farming and herding less dangerous monsters, but it was still a land of feral beasts. Though the people can grow strong, it will still take time to ensure that they can hold their own. Time that I will spend protecting them, looking after them, and not adventuring out to exact some sort of vengeance. “If I leave that place, before it can stand by itself, you will threaten it.”

“Only if you move against us. Our intent is to retain control over these lands. You can cut a path for us and threaten us, but you cannot do it while keeping the village you’ve bargained for safe. A fleet will arrive there and destroy it, if you threaten us with your power.” Lassandra spoke the truth plainly and without the slightest hint of remorse. She threatened the lives of the people I spoke for and did my utmost to save with the bargain that I struck with her. But she was not two faced. After speaking with her grandfather for such a long time, I understood more about her and her family. They knew that they were surrounded by enemies through the actions of their ancestors. Now, they can only plan the card that they’ve been dealt. “But the lands you’ve been given should allow you to protect it on your own. Even your mere presence there will stop any force from threatening your people.”

“As long as I do nothing, then the people I’ve rescued are safe.”

“Indeed. If you do nothing.” Lassandra repeated my words as we reached the end of the long hall. The implication was clear. What was to come after this was a ‘trial.’ Her family and her people will work to retain the lands they have held. They will do everything in their power to keep these lands their own. A land that already had rebels at their borders, and their people will undoubtably learn the truth in the future. That they caused this to happen. “When you leave these lands with my youngest sister in tow, turn your gaze elsewhere. Do not return here. No matter what happens.”

Turn a blind eye to the tragedy that is to come.

Before I could respond, Elric’s voice drifted towards us both.

“Lassandra, I see you’ve told him the change in arrangements.” His hair and beard were less wild, and his robes were freshly laundered. With his great height and physique, without his weathered futures, he would have looked like a conquering king. Lassandra bowed her head and knelt in his presence, while I stood and matched his gaze. “Physician. My youngest grandchild. Please, take care of her.”

A nursemaid and a servant stood beside a hovering crib. Their faces were covered, but I could feel their gazes upon me. I expected curiosity and outrage, but instead the two of them bowed my way.

“They have been informed of the truth of the matter. They have sworn themselves to the safeguard of my grandchild.” Elric told me simply, before gesturing towards the ship behind them. It was similar to the ship that delivered me to this land, sleek and composed of some sort of stone rather than wood, but it was wider and had less ornamentation. “Inside the hold is treasure and materials to teach her. Either of the nursemaids can take on the role. I was also able to secure dragonsflesh for her. Eighteen portions. A portion for every winter solstice, so that our blood will be strong in her.”

I looked at the child.

Blue eyed and blonde haired with cherubic cheeks.

She slept in the crib, swaddled in white cloth, and I made a simple test.

I placed a gloved finger in her small hand… and gave a hum as her grip crushed and tore the end of the glove.

She threatened to crush my finger in her grip, but I was able to withdraw my hand without being harmed.

“A very strong child.” I noted. Her cheeks were flush, eyes bright, and with a head of curly locks. I tilted her head forward slightly before letting go. As nature intended, the child stiffened. A snap of my fingers near her ears startled her. Strong muscles, good nerves, hearing, and an alert gaze. The child was healthy. “Her hearing is fine, as is her vision, and her instincts are well established.”

I retreated from the child and looked towards Lassandra and Elric. Instead of being satisfied with the news, both seemed troubled.

“Usually, children of our line are sickly until they consume their first piece of dragonflesh on their first birthday. It is the fuel that stokes the furnace to full strength, and the child cannot be fed with such a thing until enough time has passed. Many thought she is not of correct breeding.” Elric’s words reminded me more of the breeding and raising of animals than people. I had already suspected, of course. Many cases of inbreeding and refining of traits amongst the upper classes led to negative traits. One of the most famous cases was a certain royal family’s predilection towards having thinner blood that made them bleed much more quickly than most. This royal family most likely had some of their own traits. “Her mother could not bear the shame.”

Shame, he says, but the truth was obvious in the hardness in his eyes. The words of others, their feelings, and the child’s strength being not the norm for the family… all of it was ammunition against this child’s mother.

“The father?” My words only made Elric grimace and shake his head in disgust. It would have to be someone from this land, perhaps a branch family. However, if none came forward, I could only imagine some act of taboo that made it so that the mother could not name the father. I re-evaluated the child. I’ll need to keep careful track of her health and her mental faculties as she grew up. There could be grave problems with the child due to the nature of its conception. “I see.”

Lassandra spoke up.

“The truth of her existence has been sealed away by my father’s command. None may speak of her. Her name has been struck from all records save for the family’s main ledger… except for here.” Lassandra produced a small letter from her jacket. She handed it to me, but her gaze lingered on the child in the floating crib. I wondered what her relation was with the child, but I decided against asking. “Grant her a name after her first consumption of the flesh that grandfather acquired. Reveal the truth to her when you judge her mature enough.”

I nodded in assent, then both maids curtsied and took the child and the floating crib towards the ship in flight.

Today, I had imagined that the princess would send me off to the front of the infestation to try and kill me.

Instead, she sends me off on a ship holding treasure and potential with her youngest relative.

This young woman was doubtlessly working to preserve and protect her family. The means by which were undoubtedly cruel and brutal. However, it was truly for the continuation of the only family and cause that she has ever known. Some would give her leeway for that. She knows no other path forward. To eschew her duties would be to condemn her family and people, and perhaps even sign her own death warrant as she would leave their protection and influence. The masses are cruel, capricious, and have fickle minds. They will kill her if she leaves her family’s graces and condemns what they’ve done.

However, just because I understand her does not mean that I must condone her actions.

Like so many entrusted with the lives with others, they sought out glory and power, created enemies, and now the common people paid the price. Much like any other nation ruled by those with interests in gaining more wealth and interest. This infestation was their own doing, and after they knew of it, they secured the lands that they found worth preparing and cast away all others, while still extracting wealth from them. They could’ve done more, they could’ve taken the power that they used to hold these royal lands, and set forth to right their wrongs. Instead, they remain here, safe and protected, while they use the rest of the nation like a shield.

“I will never return to this land. Whatever path this young woman chooses will be her own.” I told Lassandra and Elric simply. It was difficult to not revile them or even trust them. In the back of my mind, I even thought that the child functioned as a hostage, but I shook the thoughts. I won’t be the same as them, even if it was for the sake of protecting the people that I managed to save. “Lassandra, you once said that your people will move against me if I acted against your people. Let this truth be known as well: if your lands act against the people under my protection… my vow to do no harm to others still permits me to act in defense of the innocent. You know what I can do to the infested that your knights struggle against. The same fate will fall upon your people if you threaten those under my protection.”

A small smile split the princess’s face, and she bowed her head to me in acceptance of my answer.

Elric gave a nod of understanding at my words, and I almost wished to ask him if that was the correct path, but ignored my urge to ask for the wisdom of an elder.

I moved onward towards the ship that they prepared, combing through it with my threads, and searching for any hidden surprises and secrets.

I would not put it beyond these people to lure me into a false sense of security with three sacrifices.

But I found none and I reached the deck of the ship, as the gangway  rose of its own volition.

Elric called out to me from below.

“Farewell, physician!” Elric’s words carried another message. The farewell was a final one. I met him and will never meet him again. But I doubted that I will forget him. He shared the truth with me, after all, and bid me to care for his descendant. “May you be blessed enough to one day overcome the curse of solitude that you carry with you! One day, may you find others that can stand beside you and share your ideals!”

Beside him the princess I met a mere handful of days ago stared up at me silently and gave a nod when our eyes met, but a moment later she turned to leave without a word.

I had a feeling in my gut that her life would cut short, and that this was also our last meeting with one another.

Soon enough they were both out of sight, and the captain of the vessel spoke to me.

“My lord, I have a letter for you from the Archmage.”

“I am no lord.” I told him simply, but he did not retract his words, and kept his head bowed while offering me the letter. I took it and read its contents. A sigh left my lips. “Take me to his tower. I will speak with him before I leave this place.”

The young man bowed and left, while I considered the letter.

A preventative treatment for the infestation caught my interest.

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 85

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 85

…

Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

…

Nori was heading my way after getting the news from the official liaison between Japan and Walker.

As far reconstruction went, Japan was doing well now that they were getting regular shipments of food from the US. Maelstrom provided a lot of the meat and fruits. Grains came from Anderson from the southern states, and Clancy provided dairy products from the Midwest. With the technology support from Parvati, repairs were made to ruined cities, and the surrounding countryside was rapidly turning into large swathes of rice paddies. Finally, with the Shogun no longer in power, Nori focused on destroying the raiders and pirates on the oceans that made it unsafe for fishing, and now deepwater fishing was back on the menu.

Naturally, I was helping myself to the local cuisine while waiting for Nori. I was going all over the world rapidly and needed to keep my strength up.

I found a shop for sushi and headed in.

I got a few looks of surprise coming in, and even more looks of surprise when I ordered two orders of cut rolls, one order of nigiri, and an order of sashimi. The liaison was more than happy to provide me some cash to spend on the local economy, and so I found myself chatting along with the locals at the sushi bar while my order was prepared.

It was nighttime in Japan already, whereas it was early in the morning over in Quebec, so people were drunk already.

Which helped loosen their tongues and made them a bit more willing to talk.

It helped that I knew Japanese already thanks to Seran making constant orders from the place.

Anyway, Kaji was a fisherman, on the burly side, and had obvious bullet scars on his arms and one near his neck. He was having a chirashi bowl and was on his third heated vessel of sake, and was lightly buzzed. Not nearly drunk enough to slur, though.

After introductions, I went ahead and asked him about how things were.

“Hm. It’s different, but better. My old man told me about times before, but I came after everything stopped.” The Japanese still had a way with words. Or, maybe, it was because we were close to Kyoto that these guys invested a lot into their doublespeak. One set of words come out, but the meaning is entirely different in context. In this case ‘stopped’ was a nice and delicate phrase for the end of modern civilization. “It must be like that.”

“There used to be more cars, trains, and businesses, but that’ll come eventually.” My Japanese wasn’t that great. I had more Afrikaans and Hindi, thanks to all my work there. Qin taught me some Mandarin. Why’d I bother to learn all these languages? Mostly so that I don’t get swindled like Clancy. That guy never learned another language despite being an international mercenary. “Food’s back to normal. Maybe even better.”

The years without any deepwater fishing seems to have revitalized fish across the world. The tuna I was picking at was almost sweet and it the amount of fat on it made it like steak. Combined with the faint iron-like taste that the red-blooded fish had, it had a soft and toothy texture that fell apart, but a taste profile like a ribeye. The short-grain rice beneath the hunks of fish were also slightly tangy and sweet thanks to some sugar and rice wine vinegar. Since I was at the sushi bar, the rice was warm and the contrast between cool fish and warm rice was impeccable.

There’s a reason why I ordered some much.

“How is the food better after everything stopped?”

“Lots of additives. Mostly artificial. Now everything back to being artisanal and hand-made. Quality instead of quantity.” The soy sauce wasn’t free, neither was the ginger, and even the tea was limited. But the soy sauce had a woodsy aroma to it that came from long aging in actual barrels. The ginger still had a kick of spice thanks to being made in-store rather than sealed up for a long time in the fridge after pickling. Instead of tea powder, the owners had actual tea leaves and poured hot water whenever you wanted a refill. Still, despite the jump in quality, there were still regular people working here. “They took everything across the world. Now, Japan has its specialties in excess. This meal would’ve cost ten times as much back then.”

Kaji was about to reply when the sliding door of the shop opened and in came Nori, and she took a seat next to me after being greeted by the staff.

Kaji gave me a dumbass grin that transcended cultures and focused on his own meal.

Yeah, it’s not like that, dude.

I’m probably double her age.

“Sup.” I switched over to English, while Nori gave me a nod. She took off a hat on her head, and her jacket, leaving herself in a white blouse and black pants. It was a normal pantsuit all things considered. Did they store away excess suits before things went to shit? Most people had traditional linen clothes in Japan. “Thanks for coming. I didn’t order anything for you. This is all for me. Dietary needs.”

Nori gave a sigh and gave her order, before addressing me.

“You arrived here to ask for help intercepting a ship with high levels of technology?”

Parvati could explain more, but Nori and the Japanese government didn’t want more involvement from the AI after it already took in the Shogun’s child soldiers. They needed to establish themselves as an actual government. Working too much with an AI would demean their claim, and they needed to be strong as they reclaimed the whole country. Not much opposition as far as I heard, but I was sure that they didn’t want any warlords popping up. These guys had a long, martial history and that would only get worse with superpowers added onto the mix.

“It’s a resource acquisition operation funded by a faction up in space. You’re already aware that some of humanity escaped to space, right?”

“I am. My grandfather informed me that they were the truly rich and powerful. They established whole spin stations up there with all that they could ever want and need, especially with asteroid mining at their disposal. What could they want from here?”

“I think we both know the answer to that.” I finished off my plate of nigiri and went onto my cut handrolls. Rice on the outside, sushi, and then fish inside. No avocado or cucumber, just cooked crab meat in warm rice and warm seaweed. The rice was fluffy and warm, the seaweed was lightly toasted and crunchy, and finally the crab was briny, soft, and sweet all at the same time. A bit of real wasabi and some soy sauce and the dish was further elevated with wasabi’s sharp kick and soy sauce’s saltiness. I could eat a dozen of these rolls without hesitation. “The only thing that they need from here is people.”

“They can make clones.”

“As horrible as it would be to let them just get away with mass producing a slave caste, if they could do that, they’ll probably leave us alone. But they’re not doing that. They’re working with extremists down here, giving them technology, and they’re putting men to work while taking all the women.” I pointed out my findings and a frown crossed Nori’s face. Her order arrived. Just some miso soup, rice, and grilled fish. Guess this was her breakfast meal. “The only method of mass human production that we’ve found was right here under the Shogun. I think we know what they’re doing to those women up there.”

Nori’s eyes glowered my way.

“Supposition. You have no evidence that technology comes from them and that they’re using it as we speak.”

“Fine, then. They’re not taking women to breed children in mass. They’re just taking them to be slaves for their pleasure and amusement. Or, maybe, you want to believe that they’re working men to death for no money, but they’ve given the women jobs and opportunities away from the planet.” Nori’s brow furrowed as I provided her with more possibilities. A scowl soon formed on her face. I didn’t know what was going on her head. In fact, I was sure that I didn’t want to know. When superhuman intellectuals have hangups, they can rarely let go of what’s stuck in their heads. They’ll bash their brains against the problem, expecting themselves to solve it, even if it’s impossible. After all, nothing’s been impossible for them… ever. “Whatever the case is, whatever you want to believe, what I’m offering is a transport to the Atlantic so that you can help us interdict the ship we’ve found. It can produce whole armored vehicles and it’s a logistical hub for an entire invasion force. This technology can be used to spread factories across the world that aren’t beholden to Parvati.”

I did my best to evade the argument that was brewing and just latched onto the fact.

The ship that the viking-wannabes were using would certainly be of interest to Nori.

“You’re offering the ship to us for our help?”

“No. We’re offering the privilege of you scanning the ship and getting your hands on the tech that it has for your own use. Looting is reserved for people on the ground and risking their lives. If you find some hidden submersibles and engage them, sure, we’ll cut you in.” I gave her a poor option on purpose, because after his exchange, I wasn’t sure about bringing her aboard anymore. The Pacific Corps would’ve jumped on the opportunity to intervene when it came to disrupting this sort of organization. However, instead, Nori seemed intent on finding a reason to call me a liar, which would allow her to say no. So, I gave her a bad deal without any hint of hesitation. Fuck off, lady, you’re ruining my meal. “If you’re in, you’re in. If you’re out, you’re out.”

“Very well, then. I accept.”

I almost said huh aloud, but if she was willing to take the deal for just scans of technology, who was I to tell her no?

Going to need to talk to Maelstrom about this though.

…

There was ten or so minutes left for the recon drones to finish up there work, so I got some food to go after getting the submarine a few miles away from Quebec.

“Hey, Maelstrom, got you some sushi from a pretty good place. Nori was acting strange.” I raised my hand at Maelstrom in greeting and gave her the food with the other. I brought Clancy in and popped over to Lucille to get her team at our staging area. After that, it was shifting in some more gynoids, and getting Seran’s equipment ready to be handed out. Maelstrom just finished raising her eyebrow at my statement when the staging area went from empty to filled with people, cargo, and equipment. “Didn’t bite immediately when I told her that whoever we’re fighting is abducting women for whatever reason. She accepted coming over here just for some scans, though.”

Maelstrom considered my statement, while digging into her meal after giving thanks.

“It’s likely that the Japanese government at the time isn’t looking to provide humanitarian aid and is instead looking for assets to reconstruct their nation. I’ll look into the matter. Nori should be part of the Pacific Corps, not the Japanese government.” Walker took her time eating, nodding with every bite, and generally looking elegant while eating. Straight back, chin slightly up, she brought the food to her mouth, rather than her mouth to the food. Yep, in comparison, I just scarfed down plates of the stuff like an animal.  “Thank you for informing me. I may need to investigate their current leadership, and the relations that they have with her.”

“I mean, they have cloning facilities that can churn more of her out. The sub’s crew are all her. Maybe, they got into contact with the people from above?” With Maelstrom’s words, I considered the conversation a bit more carefully. If the Japanese government were selling off cloned female bodies, Nori’s defensiveness at my statement of women being sent up to space having only one purpose sounded a lot worse. “And, for the record, I think giving those guys cloning facilities so that they can just mass produce people would be a terrible idea.”

Maelstrom finished the food I brought, and I disposed of the container, and she got up and brushed off non-existent crumbs from her clothes. Today it was the usual all black suit and the small cape/shoulder cloak thing, but I noticed her old epaulets on her shoulders.

Why those were gone for a while?

 I put the thought aside, as Parvati waved us both over towards it and gave us a nod once all the others were present.

Nori already had communications wired in, so she could hear just fine.

“Before I showcase the entirety of the forces against us, within the ship there’s something of grave importance that we must decide to either destroy or capture the moment the battle begins.” Parvati had a hologram emitter on the table and it showcased the view of one of the drones that had been sent out. It was looking into a windowless room on the ship and inside was a large machine with a simple keyboard and screen interface. “Given the amount of processing power, power draw, and the cooling systems, I can safely state that this terminal is what grants them interplanetary communications.”

Meaning that we could either destroy it to make sure our opponents don’t contact their friends from above.

Or, we could make use of it to establish communications.

I gave my vote on the matter.

“If we don’t have that terminal, we’re just going for a slugging match until one side is dead.” I was all for fighting against the people trying to strip the planet of people and of resources, but I wasn’t in for a war of annihilation. “As bad as it would be for them to call for reinforcements, it’d be better to get our hands on a way to contact these people and negotiate with them to leave us alone.”  

I thought that everyone would agree, but Lucille suddenly spoke up with a good point.

“My people are the next targets of this faction. If they transmit information on attackers, it is my people who will suffer reprisal attacks. We can open dialogue later from a position of strength.”

Well… shit.

I hadn’t thought of that.
That’s also a good point.