Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 65 – By my authority – Part One

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 65 - By my authority - Part One

The monotony of maintaining the Spatial Breach over such a prolonged period had given me ample opportunity to consider a functional alternative that wouldn’t require my direct involvement. Of course, in hindsight, it seemed obvious.

A Breach-powered Gateway.

Assuming the Spatial Breach Spell functioned the way I thought it did. It should be possible to make an artifice containing the Spatial Breach Spell with a predetermined destination while powered and maintained by a stockpile of mana stones.

Using my authority to dismiss my bodyguards and relocate myself to an isolated corner of Acheron, I set about gathering materials to test the viability of my theory.

Keeping things simple, I embedded a mana stone within a custom-formed stave of stone. While imbuing the stave with the Spatial Breach Spell, I kept my focus fixed on two points within my immediate line of sight.

If the concept couldn’t function within the simplest parameters, then I would have no use for it.

Sending a pulse of mana into the stave to trigger the Spell, I felt a mild sense of satisfaction and a profound sense of relief as a pair of inky black voids formed in the distance.

Planting the bottom end of the stave in the dirt, I released the shaft and began to count.

Just shy of three minutes passed before the mana stone was depleted and the Spell unravelled. However, despite the short duration, it was the proof of concept I required to justify continuing the experiment at scale.

Expending half of my total mana, I Summoned a projection of each of my five champions and explained the nature of my experiment as well as the success I had met thus far.

“It will lack the versatility of a true Gateway,” Gric commented neutrally, “However, I support the distancing of yourself from such activities. Your time is too precious to monopolise upon a task that could be delegated to others.”

Currently, in her Euro-model disguise, Sebet made a show of rolling her eyes and crossing her arms across her chest. “My compatriot has a point, Great One,” she shivered and looked like she was going to be sick. However, Sebet quickly mastered herself and rallied. “There are other matters that would benefit from your attention, and so long as this evacuation requires your immediate involvement, it represents a risk to your greater interests.”

“I agree.” Faine made no attempts at elaborating further, seemingly content with the points Gric and Sebet had already raised.

Jayne didn’t appear quite so convinced. “I don’t mean to question your assessment, my Tyrant, but what about the concentration component?”

“The Breach wouldn’t have persisted so long if it had required my personal intervention to maintain it,” I clarified. “During my experiment, I felt none of the usual mental pressure that I have come to associate with the regular casting of the Spell.”

Jayne didn’t seem fully convinced but didn’t appear to have anything further to say either.

To be fair to Jayne, that didn’t necessarily mean that there was not some form of upward limitation. It just meant that the artifice was capable of maintaining a Breach in test conditions without my interference or input. There was a possibility that the moment someone attempted to pass through the Breach that it would become increasingly unstable.

Unprompted, Gric and Sebet turned to regard Randle with mild expressions of surprise and approval.

“That is an interesting proposition,” Gric commented.

“Assuming we can replicate the feat,” Sebet added.

I looked at Randle and waited for him to explain himself.

“Ah, ahem, well,” Randle shifted somewhat uncomfortably before shaking off his surprise. “I was just thinking of the Liche’s arrival using the Spatial Breach Spell,” he explained hesitantly. “If we could figure out how the Liche did it, that would let us simply evacuate a city, walls and all in one go. Wouldn’t it?...”

Sebet and Gric both nodded while glaring warily at one another from the corners of their eyes.

“Well...” I paused and seriously considered the matter.

Increasing the dimensions of the Breach was not an incredibly demanding task. However, it presented several issues that were otherwise mitigated or negated by using a static location.

Put simply, a city-sized Breach would be glaringly obvious to any spies watching the city in question. Furthermore, the amount of mana required to fuel a Spell that large would draw attention from even the least mana-sensitive individuals for miles around.

As for stealing the city outright...

To the best of my knowledge thus far, the Breach didn’t allow the passage of unattended objects. However, that was under the rules that governed the normal version of the Spell. There was a real possibility that the Empowered Spatial Breach Spell was what had allowed the Liche to transport not only its undead hordes but a chunk of the imperial capital as well.

I still wasn’t convinced that it was a good idea.

However, combining Randle’s idea with my Gateway emulating artifice was another matter entirely.

“I will perform a series of tests then,” I decided. “Thank you all for your insight.”

Setting aside a recently Conquered territory as an isolated stand-in for a heavily populated city, I then spent a few minutes guesstimating just how many mana stones it would require to transport upwards of half a million humans through a Breach.

I used my authority to shape a large stone plate roughly the size of a small village. With a wave of my hand, hundreds of recessed pockets formed on the plate's surface. Raising a plinth at the centre of the plate, I shaped a simple locking mechanism that would hold a corresponding key in place and prevent it from being knocked loose by accident.

Uncomfortable with handling so many mana stones, especially unsupervised, I Summoned a new projection of Sebet and set her to work laying out the mana stones. At the same time, I imbued the key and plate with the Spatial Breach Spell.

“And who shall test the stability of the Breach?” Sebet asked with a knowing and uncomfortably expectant look in her eyes. She had read my mind. We both knew it. Sebet just wanted me to admit it aloud.

“Do you...Do you have prisoners due for execution?” I had crossed a line and I knew it. Even if I didn’t go through with it and backed down, it wouldn’t make any difference.

“Of course!” Sebet answered eagerly, striking before I had the chance to reconsider. “I have dozens of the truly deserving prepared for just such a contingency!”

“Dozens?...” Sebet’s comment caught me momentarily off guard. However, recalling the surge in infiltrators that had been redirected during the evacuation, I realised that the spike had only occurred after Sebet had engaged in her sortie against the Confederate forces.

“And you have my word that they all thoroughly deserve the worst we can imagine!” Sebet pressed fervently. “To feel guilt over their passing would be a sin unto itself!”

I immediately thought of the halfling Anette, and how she had been blinded and kept as a sex slave. Then there were the Elves and...and so many more...

Anger, guilt and disgust briefly struggled for dominance as more names and faces came unbidden into the forefront of my mind.

Forcing the emotions down, I took a moment to settle my breathing.

“Fine,” I agreed dourly. “Fetch them.”

A Breach opened only moments later and a man wearing nothing more than a breechcloth tumbled out of the darkness. Perhaps in his late thirties, he bore a multitude of small scars and had a robust physique. Without obvious injuries and otherwise, in peak condition, the man made no attempts at fighting for his freedom or moving to escape.

He just lay there, twitching and moaning. His eyes were wide with terror, darting to and fro as they searched for something only he could see. Slackened jaw trembling as he cried out in silence.

Several more men and women joined him a few moments later.

Sebet’s true self stepped through the Breach and terminated her projection, “To die now would be mercy,” she commented, kneeling beside one of the female prisoners and roughly caressing the woman’s face with the claw on her right thumb. “I could show you their crimes as proof, Great One,” Sebet suggested somewhat distractedly, “But I suspect you would despise me for it.”

“You have acted under your oaths and contract,” I replied quietly, forcing myself to look at the assembled prisoners and not look away. “I’m already complicit.” Filled with disgust, I relocated the prisoners to the testing site, scattering them over the territory with minimal thought toward their wellbeing, or toward them at all. “However, you are right...I don’t want to see what they did...” I was going to have nightmares either way, but I doubted anything my mind could come up with would be worse than reality.

I took several minutes to clear my mind before imbuing the Spatial Breach Spell into the combined key and plate of the artifice. Assigning the two Breach locations came easily enough, but I was beginning to realise that I may have been making assumptions about the core elements of the Spell.

Technically, the Breach occupied two places simultaneously. I had assumed that meant that both ends of the Breach required the same amount of space. But what if I made one side larger than the other?

“A curious observation, Great One,” Sebet commented with a curious smile.

Gathering her mana, Sebet formed a new Breach of her own. The side closest to her was roughly the same size she had used previously and the other was roughly three times its size. Stepping through the Breach, Sebet reappeared a few moments later on the other side of the larger end of the Breach.

Sebet passed through both ends of the Breach several more times before dismissing the Spell.

“I believe that confirms your suspicions, Great One.” Sebet appeared quite happy about how things had worked out, although I wasn’t sure precisely why.

From what I had managed to observe, the distribution of the Breach only determined the available surface area to accommodate the transfer from one end to the other. Entering through one end would allow travelling through the Breach and arrival through its mirrored opposite, even if the exit point was much smaller than the starting point.

Expanding the dimensions of an active Breach would also theoretically draw a stationary target through to the other side. Although I wasn’t sure how that element of expansion would influence the costs involved in sustaining the Spell overall and whether it would pose a risk to those who were relocated through such a method.

Combining the use of the Breach with my authority would theoretically allow the collection side of the Breach to be considerably larger. With my Dimensional Authority relocating new arrivals and their belongings automatically, the Breach presumably only needed to be big enough to allow for wagons and handcarts.

Of course, that was assuming my observations had been correct in the first place.

I made the changes to the artifice and assigned a new anchoring point for the smaller end of the Breach, just beyond the boundary of the artifice itself.

After sending a pulse of mana into the artifice, I stepped back and waited as the mana within the artifice began to build in intensity.

Contrary to my expectations, the overall mana levels channelled by the artifice remained comparatively low.

“The test subjects have passed through intact,” Sebet announced confidently and with a notable degree of disappointment.

After removing the key and terminating the Breach, I relocated Sebet and myself so we could visually confirm the state of the prisoners.

Not exactly certain what I had expected, I still found myself somewhat disappointed to find the prisoners loosely piled atop one another and devoid of any obvious signs of significant injury.

“You anticipated failure?” Sebet asked curiously, a hint of amusement twinkling in her eyes.

“I did,” I admitted bluntly. “Interdimensional travel shouldn’t be this easy to mess around with...”

“Why?” Sebet asked, her amusement intensifying as she casually lifted one of the women by her throat and performed a callous investigation of the prisoner’s terror-stricken face. “Your authority provides an incalculable advantage when dealing with such matters,” she callously cast the prisoner aside with a sneer of contempt and directed her attention toward the next prisoner. “In this place, you are a god,” Sebet observed matter of factly, “Granted, your authority is not yet absolute, but it is only a matter of when and not if you will ascend into your true power.”

Sebet was incapable of lying to me, so I couldn’t dismiss her observations out of hand. However, the idea of being or becoming an all-powerful god didn’t sit well with me. The responsibilities I held already were often more than I could bear, and accumulating more power would only exacerbate that burden further.

Sebet paused what she was doing and looked at me with the same confused and bemused expression as before, but said nothing before returning to her work.

Repeating the experiment, I watched as the enlarged Breach rapidly expanded across the testing grounds and consumed the prisoners one by one.

The utter silence of the Spell lent its appearance and progress across the open ground a profoundly unsettling aura.

“I estimate the final cost to encompass one of the larger human cities will be close to fifty-tenth Tier mana stones,” Sebet announced confidently upon my return. “Compared against the results of the first test and my observations, I am confident ten or more humans could be transferred through a Breach in exchange for a single first Tier stone.”

The potency of mana stones varied wildly according to the Tier of the monster they were taken from, but the average progression rate was roughly five to ten times the value between each Tier.

Assuming a city had five hundred thousand people, the artifice would require fifty thousand Tier one mana stones. Of course, using higher Tier stones would allow for a far greater margin of error and reduce the preparation time considerably. Assuming everything worked as intended.

“Do you require another test, Great One?” Sebet asked supportively while diligently swapping out the low Tier mana stones from the artifice with higher Tier stones from a satchel hanging from her waist “I believe I could locate a hostile force for a field test,” she offered with a predatory grin.

I very nearly refused out of hand on general principle, but I didn’t quite manage it.

The artifice required further testing before I was willing to risk innocent civilians, and as uncomfortable as it made me feel, it was far better to use our enemies as test subjects than our people.

“Do it,” I agreed somewhat reluctantly.

“As you command!” Sebet announced eagerly and began gathering mana for another Breach.

Unwilling to remain unsupervised around so many exposed mana stones, I relocated myself to the top of the tower overlooking the Semenovian port city.

I passed the time by dividing my attention between watching the city below and tracking Sebet’s progress across the Werrian countryside. However, it didn’t take Sebet long to begin homing in on a large Confederate military encampment.

The camp was in an incredibly sorry state. Tents free of bloodstains, ragged holes and fire damage were far and few between. Bodies of the fallen were transported just outside of the camp and lined up into neat rows, making it unsettlingly easy to tally the number of their dead.

It only took a glance for me to determine that the dead significantly outnumbered the living.

I couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of relief that the dead were, in fact, dead and not unliving abominations.

<You did this.> It wasn’t a question. Sebet had found the encampment far too quickly for it to be a coincidence.

<I did.> Sebet confirmed without a shred of deception or guilt. <Or rather, I am responsible for it.> She clarified. <The war Beasts and combat Slaves I liberated performed the majority of the overall destruction. Fighting so many enemies is difficult when otherwise limited to a human form.>

I decided that I didn’t want to know the details. Sebet had already been clear about her motivations when she requested permission to act in the first place.

Returning to Acheron, I recalibrated the stored Spell within the artifice to target the centre of the Confederate camp. Before I had the chance to hesitate and reconsider, I sent a pulse of mana into the artifice and then shifted the entirety of my attention to remotely monitor the camp through Sebet’s perspective.

Unable to feel the mana building through the remote connection, I was almost as surprised as the soldiers when the Breach suddenly appeared in the centre of the camp. However, that was where the surprise ended for me. Having already witnessed the rapid expansion of the Breach once before, I felt a mild sense of anxiety and impatience over determining the outcome of the test.

While I had no love for the Confederate soldiers, I didn’t want to discover that any negligence on my part had caused unnecessary suffering. I refused to allow myself to become a sadist.

Caught entirely by surprise, the soldiers barely had time to register what was happening before being overrun by the boundaries of the Breach as it expanded toward the outer reaches of the camp. A few soldiers on the edge of the camp attempted to flee but didn’t make it far. Despite running as if their lives depended on it, the relentless expansion of the Breach was faster and caught them before they fled more than a few dozen feet.

<You have taken them all.> Sebet reported with absolute confidence before dashing through the approaching boundary of the Breach herself.

With a single thought, I redirected Sebet to my location before removing the key and terminating the Spell.

“I detected no serious injuries during the abduction process, but I will need to visit the dark cells beneath the fortress of Tartarus to be certain,” Sebet commented brightly. “Although I strongly suspect that the few injuries I detected were self-inflicted in their attempt to flee or otherwise due to being caught by surprise.” She shrugged dismissively, seemingly uncaring regarding such an eventuality.

I relocated the both of us to the grounds just outside of the inner walls of Sebet’s fortress within Tartarus. “Check them thoroughly.” I glanced warily at Sebet’s subordinates, unsure whether the Scouts and Rangers amongst them might have overheard my order.

My paranoia subsided as I recalled how just about everyone else simply assumed I was the highest ranking champion and acting within the vested authority.

“That has generally been my observation as well,” Sebet commented cheerily as she briskly strode away and toward the entrance to her fortress. She paused suddenly and smiled apologetically, “I must apologise, but I will be delayed somewhat in my return. There is another sensitive matter that requires my attention.”

Keenly aware that I could compel her to elaborate, I resisted the resurgence of paranoia and waved Sebet off to deal with whatever it was that had proven so urgent.

Wandering the inner grounds surrounding the fortress to pass the time, I discovered a training field that had been absent during my previous visit.

There was an aura of desperation surrounding the greenest of Sebet’s prospective subordinates that caught me somewhat off guard. They had a manic intensity to them that would have been inspiring if they weren’t so goddamn terrified.

I briefly considered and summarily rejected inquiring about Sebet’s methods of motivation. Her oaths would have punished her if she was doing anything against my laws. However, there were loopholes regarding anyone who was not one of my subjects, and I could tell at a glance that they weren’t.

Which meant they were either mercenaries from Mournbrent, spies, or infiltrators that had been caught entering my Demi-Plane and redirected to Sebet’s dungeons.

I had given Sebet free rein to recruit her subordinates, so I wasn’t upset that she had chosen to recruit and rehabilitate prisoners who would otherwise rot away within her prison. I trusted that Sebet wouldn’t recruit anyone whose prior crimes would have earned a death sentence according to my laws. Sebet was simply too smart to do something that stupid. However, I found it odd that there were so few members of her Faction and still so many recruits.

Observing the dark haunted eyes of those who had passed Sebet’s recruitment process, I could only imagine that the potential recruits had far worse trials ahead of them than combat and endurance training.

Once Sebet had concluded her assessment of the captured soldiers and her errand, we returned to the artifice.

I Summoned projections of my remaining champions and the members of the Semenovian royal family before explaining the function of the artifice.

“Forgive me, but if I understand correctly, this means the nature of the remaining evacuations will require a different approach. Does it not?” Queen Katia asked, more to the group at large rather than me specifically.

“Not really,” Vadim muttered a little too loudly, drawing an angry glare from his father and an exasperated eye roll from his sister.

“No, he has a point,” Sebet nodded in agreement and motioned for Vadim to continue.

The King and Queen shared worried glances but said nothing.

“Well...” Vadim shifted somewhat uncomfortably before taking a deep steadying breath. “If we plan the evacuation to take place at night, and warn the citizens not to use lanterns or torches, they won’t see the Spell coming until it doesn’t matter.”

“We could say that the lights would attract Confederate scouts...” His father agreed with a mild degree of hesitance.

“You believe this would work?” The Queen asked with a calculating look in her eyes as she divided her attention between her husband, her son, and the artifice.

The King was quiet for a few moments before nodding to himself with mounting confidence. “It is not a perfect solution, but it will work.”

“What about the infiltrators and scouts?” Faine asked warily. “Surely the infiltrators will suspect something and put the scouting units on alert?”

“It’s a compromise,” I admitted honestly. “A trade-off between secrecy and speed.”

“I don’t think the tunnel ruse will hold up against dedicated scrutiny anyway,” Jayne commented. “Even if they assume we had some sort of Gateway and managed to extract it after performing the evacuation. That isn’t necessarily a good thing. It might just encourage the Confederate commanders to move up their invasion plans.”

“Or worse-” The dark bitterness in Randle’s voice drew everyone’s attention. “-They might have their infiltrators and saboteurs attack the civilians as a means of distraction while they hunt for a Gateway that doesn’t exist.”

“My cousin has the right of it,” Faine agreed soberly. “Such forces will exact an abominable toll on the populace so long as they believe they can justify the costs against the potential gains-”

“And a Gateway is an immeasurably valuable prize indeed,” the Queen agreed quietly.

“The darkness and curfew will work to our favour then,” the King decided. “Patrols will need to be few and far apart, but I doubt that would raise suspicion given the low morale of the drafted militia.”

“You intend to make it easier for them,” Gric observed with a hint of approval in his voice. “Then perhaps it would be prudent to take matters a step further.”

The King met Gric’s intense unblinking stare but still showed minor signs of discomfort in doing so. “I am open to suggestions, Sir.”

“Lure your enemies into a trap by deliberately adjusting the deployment of your troops and making a show of fortifying a fake extraction site,” Gric suggested helpfully, “Diverting one or two of the more experienced Pact Binders should be sufficient to eliminate any aggressive operation the Confederates might otherwise attempt.”

“Of course, personal Teleportation will still present certain degrees of risk,” Sebet commented snarkily. “Unless one or more of the Tyrant’s champions were to intervene?”

“That was my intention,” Gric growled darkly, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Sebet just smirked in response and shrugged innocently.

“Enough,” I warned the two of them before turning my attention back toward the King and Queen. “Assuming this method is adopted, when will the next city be ready for evacuation?”

King Savva hesitated, but only for a moment. “We can have the next city prepared by nightfall.”

“And the next?” I pressed.

“We will do our best to have the remainder in a state of readiness by tomorrow evening!” Queen Katia replied hurriedly while giving her husband a light jab with her elbow.

“Yes!” King Savva agreed, taking his wife’s lead, “We will see to the preparations immediately!”

“Then I will not keep you any longer.” I dismissed the Semenovians' projections and turned to face my champions. “I am proud of what we have accomplished so far but do not grow overconfident. Make sure you are well rested and prepared to face any new challenges that may come our way.”

Upon receiving their affirmations, I dismissed their projections and relocated the artifice to the isolated territory that had been part of the test conducted earlier.

Alone again, I swapped my magical plate and mail armour for generic boiled leathers and then relocated myself to the receiving grounds on the first floor of my Labyrinth.

Entering one of the larger inns, I paid for a private room. The room had been expensive, but it was clean, spacious, and the bedding was of high quality.

After locking the door and stripping off my armour, I collapsed onto the bed and closed my eyes.

Opening my eyes, I stared blankly at the ceiling for several moments before realising the pressure that had been building inside of my mind was gone.

Despite feeling as if no time had passed at all, the darkness all around me made it clear that I was very much mistaken.

After somewhat stiffly donning my armour, I slowly made my way downstairs and paid to extend the rental of the room for another evening. The innkeeper was flexible in accepting alternative means of payment, so I made a point of being generous by paying for my lodgings with Elixirs.

Unlike the mana stones, which fluctuated in value to a certain degree, Elixirs held a consistently appreciating value. There simply wasn’t enough supply to meet the growing demand.

The Alchemists were aggressively scaling up their operations, but the overall population and by extension, the demand for the Elixirs, was growing faster than they could recruit and train more Alchemists.

Leaving my Labyrinth behind, I returned to the artifice and slid the key back into place.

Sebet arrived through a Breach a few moments later. I had no doubts that she intended to indulge in another massacre under the pretence of saving more Slaves. However, despite knowing full well what she intended and why, I also knew I wouldn’t be able to say no without hating myself for it.

“I believe such measures are now outdated, Great One,” Sebet commented with palpable reluctance and regret, catching me thoroughly off guard. “Deploying the Breach artifice would be far more efficient and effective without compromising your moral standards...” She gagged as if the very words that came out of her mouth had made her ill. After a few moments, Sebet’s vigour returned. “Besides, they will have no means of escape once they enter your domain.” A dark grin spread across her lips, splitting her otherwise human face impossibly wide and forming a toothy crescent that extended from one ear to the other.

“Gric will be auditing your activities once this is over,” I warned her. Reminding Sebet that only the guilty qualified for her special interest and attention.

“Of course, Great One,” Sebet acknowledged, bowing her head respectfully, “I am looking forward to it!”

She was probably telling the truth.

Sebet and Gric despised one another on a primal level. However, they were both incredibly competitive by nature. Without violence as a means to determine their superiority over one another, they had settled upon ruthlessly auditing each other for potential overreach in their respective authorities.

Rolling my eyes, I Summoned a projection of King Savva. “Are the preparations complete?” I asked while trying not to sound overly excited.

King Savva nodded grimly. “Our allies were able to leverage their authority and influence to put the city under curfew. Our influence in the east is not sufficient to seize control without eliminating the surviving nobles native to the city. Unfortunately, this left us unable to officially push for the citizenry to prepare their belongings for evacuation...”

That wasn’t good, but it could certainly have been worse.

“Lord...If I may? I have a question,” King Savva asked boldly despite his apparent nervousness.

Curious, I nodded and waved for him to proceed.

“We were told of the Tyrant’s Labyrinth, but have not been informed where it is,” the King explained worriedly. “As new arrivals and untested vassals, I understand that the Tyrant may hold reservations against us. However, without access to the Labyrinth, my people will suffer greatly. We are already stretched thin doing our best to provide what shelter we can, but gathering sufficient amounts of food is proving beyond our capabilities.” He paused and took a handful of deep breaths to steady himself. “If it is within your authority, I would ask you for answers.”

“You are not being punished,” I stated firmly. I wanted that to be clear. “Your people have not been issued access to the Labyrinth at this time because the Tyrant has concerns regarding potential outbreaks of violence between members of your Faction and those of the Asrusians.”

King Savva winced. “Apologies, but the result appears to be much the same despite the intentions...Only, it is my people who suffer without even the opportunity to resolve our differences peacefully.”

I sighed and nodded in agreement. He had a point and I wasn’t so proud that I couldn’t see that. “The denial of access was intended to be temporary. Lasting only long enough for you and your people to establish themselves before interacting with the existing Factions en masse.” King Savva made as if to speak, but I held up a hand and motioned for him to wait. “The Tyrant will learn of your request, and I suspect he will review his decision in your favour.” I stared the King in the eyes and nodded approvingly, “Do not be afraid to raise such issues in the future.”

Visibly relieved, and standing somewhat taller and straighter, King Savva nodded determinedly in return. “I will remember,” he promised.

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 65 - By my authority - 3 of 6

Dismissing Savva’s projection, I began cycling through the remote perspective of my three human Champions until settling on Faine.

Unlike his two cousins who were standing guard over King Savva indoors, Faine was slowly circling a large but badly damaged fountain in the middle of a deserted road. Illuminated only by the moon and stars above, the white stone of the fountain still held a certain beauty to it that I could not explain or fully understand.

Faine appeared to be aware that I was watching him and stopped circling the fountain. However, since neither of us had any form of inherent telepathy, I focused on reassigning the external target area for the Breach instead.

“Forgive me, Great One, but may I try?” Sebet asked eagerly.

I hesitated for a moment but decided against it. “We haven’t tested that yet. I think it would be best to wait for a military target.”

“A wise decision,” Sebet agreed amiably, not in the least put out at being denied immediate gratification.

Sending a pulse of mana through the key, I watched and waited for the Breach to take shape. Within a few moments, the familiar inky black form of the void swallowed up the fountain and Faine along with it.

With a thought, I relocated Faine to join Sebet and Myself atop the artifice.

“Any pain or discomfort?” I asked anxiously.

“I don’t think so?” Faine replied as he took a few unsteady steps before finding his balance again. “I think it’s just the usual dizziness, and that’s clearing up on its own.” He paused and considered things for a few moments in silence. “There was a moment where it felt like the rug had slipped beneath my boot, but it happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to react to it before the dizziness set in.”

“That...sort of makes sense considering how you were absorbed into the confines of the Breach, rather than entering under your power...” I reasoned somewhat hesitantly. “Although it’s still too early to be certain.”

“How long will the Breach take to evacuate the entire city?” Faine asked curiously.

“At least an hour,” I replied, basing my guess on what I had observed from our earlier test against the Confederate encampment. It was slower than I expected, but still much faster than the static emplacement within the tunnel.

“Hours? Not the entire day?” The shocked look on Faine’s face served as a reminder that my expectations needed a certain degree of adjustment. ‘And the Spell no longer requires you to maintain it?” Caught up in his thoughts, Faine stood and stared at the key for a solid minute in complete silence.

Once Faine returned to his senses, I sent him to assist Gric with processing any human infiltrators, spies or domestic criminals that might be mixed among the newest arrivals.

“There are bound to be quite a few criminals,” Sebet commented cheerily. “They tend to survive and even find ways to thrive during such disasters. Although the extreme political corruption the Werrians enjoy certainly doesn’t hurt either.”

“Enjoyed,” I corrected, “Past tense.”

“Ah of course!” Sebet readily agreed. “Werrians will cease to exist as a people, soon enough.”

That had not been my intention, but Sebet was correct. Between the mass evacuation and the annexation of the people inhabiting the remaining cities, the Werrians as a collective people would cease to exist.

For the Confederates, dissolving the Werrians national identity was a key element in preventing rebellion. For me, unconditional adherence to my laws would render core elements of their culture impossible to practise without forfeiting their lives. Between us both, no one would be identified as traditionally Werrian, functionally removing their culture and identity from the global stage. The ruthless and relentless march of time would see to the rest.

“Perhaps, perhaps not...” Sebet shrugged indifferently. To her, it was probably of no real consequence whatsoever.

Staring up at the sky, I wondered if I would ever reach such a point of casual indifference.

In many respects, the person I had once been was no more. I had changed because it was the only way I could survive...The only way to protect what mattered to me most...

***** Terrance ~ Werrian countryside / Tim’s Demi-Plane *****

Standing shoulder to shoulder alongside the fellow members of his squad, Terry fought hard against the beast within himself and resisted the urge to launch himself at the young Lieutenant standing only a handful of feet in front of him. As much as he knew he would enjoy ripping the little sadist limb from limb, Terry also knew that now was not the time for rebellion.

The pain in the core of his mind ebbed as the thoughts of murder subsided.

Terry caught himself just in time to stop himself from touching the spiked steel collar around his neck.

A series of involuntary twitches ran through his body as he recalled the mind-shattering pain that had accompanied his previous mistake.

A fresh wave of anger welled up within him and Terry had to fight hard to push it back down again.

“Alright, you mangy curs,” the Lieutenant sneered contemptuously, “Your assignment is to hunt down and incapacitate any targets matching this description-” He held up a large parchment portrait containing a detailed charcoal sketch of a knight in heavily stylised full plate armour. “-Upon securing a target, Sergeant Fivo will arrange for their extraction. Am I understood?” His eyes narrowed dangerously, and a perverse smile crept onto his lips, hoping that Terry or one of his squadmates would fail to comply in full.

“We understand and obey!” Terry barked in unison with his squadmates.

The Lieutenant's smile fell immediately upon realising no one had resisted or made a mistake. “You had better,” he spat contemptuously, glaring balefully at them as he stalked away and toward his tent.

“That’s our orders then,” Sergeant Fivo declared irritably as he stomped to take the Lieutenant’s place. “I know you lot are troublemakers, and I know you would like nothing more than to fry me up like a choice cutlet. But mind me, I’ll give as good as I get before those collars turn your mongrel brains to mush!” He warned darkly while thumbing the pommel of his sword. “Don’t need to come to that though...” Sergeant Fivo stepped closer, the guard covering his face nearly touching Terry’s nose. “I know you dog soldiers have good hearing,” he whispered hoarsely, “So I’ll tell you a secret, just for us, you lot and me. You do right by me, and maybe I forget a few things that happen out there. Yeah? Maybe you pocket a few things, maybe you don't, but if any of you try to stick me, you can be damned sure my memory will be goddamned perfect. You get me?”

Neither Terry nor his squad mates made a reply, but Sergeant Fivo appeared to take that as an affirmative.

“Now, the Scout taking us into the city couldn’t get into the fancy district, so I expect things will get quite bloody by the time we reach the targets!” The Sergeant chuckled morbidly, “So better keep your ears and eyes sharp, eh?” He took a step back as the aforementioned Scout made his appearance.

“They have put up some sort of cloud Spell,” the Scout muttered bitterly, “So we are going in blind...”

“You’re not joking, are you?” Sergeant Fivo asked with forced optimism.

The Scout shook his head.

“Damn!” Sergeant Fivo cursed, “And here’s me just one last campaign from retirement!”

“Gets worse,” the Scout baited with a wry smirk. “One of Count Lionel’s vanguard units got wiped out. Early investigation says the dog soldiers went nuts and routed the rest of the unit before escaping into the wild.”

“Bugger me...” Sergeant Fivo groaned, “And you just had to go and give this lot ideas, didn’t you?!”

“Pfft,” the Scout snorted contemptuously and didn’t seem remotely concerned. “I would be worried if I was the one issuing Commands, but I’m not, and neither are you. It doesn’t matter if one of them tries to go for either of us, they'll just end up dead, and they know that. It’s the Lieutenant and all his favourites that have put big targets on their backs, not us.”

“You got a point,” Sergeant Fivo agreed somewhat hesitantly, “And I think anyone who happens to be listening would agree that I am and always have been a rather understanding and accommodating man.”

“Yeesh, I didn’t mean you have to bend over and play house slave,” the Scout sneered.

“Compared to some of the shit his Lordship has had me do over the years, sacrificing my arse to see retirement is not something I would dismiss out of hand!” Sergeant Fivo joked and let loose a braying hacking wheeze of a laugh that left Terry convinced the man was choking to death but somehow forgot he was meant to fall dead after running out of air.

“It wasn’t that funny,” the Scout commented while withdrawing a finely worked cane from a specially made sheathe hanging at his waist.

Without needing to be asked, Terry lifted his right hand and carefully rested it on the shoulder of the man next to him as the man to Terry’s left did the same.

“Alright,” Sergeant Fivo wheezed, “We had better get moving before the Lieutenant finds an excuse to collar us too!” He clapped his right hand down on the Scout's left shoulder and firmly planted his left hand on Terry’s neck, just above the collar. “And you mind what I said, yeah? No funny stuff and we all come back alive.”

“Yeah, I heard you,” Terry growled quietly, fighting the urge not to rip the Sergeant’s arm off. He knew better than to trust in the Sergeant’s promises and the Scout’s attempt at misdirection.

The core Commands given to every dog soldier were the same. Obey your master above all, and obey the chain of command.

Both the Scout and Sergeant Fivo were entirely capable of ordering Terry and his squadmates to rip out their throats and bleed to death. And Terry had witnessed Fivo make that exact order for his own amusement to settle a bet while drunk and enjoying a run of well-deserved bad luck at cards.

“Here we go,” the Scout muttered nervously and raised the tip of his cane toward the night sky.

Anticipating the discomfort that always seemed to accompany magical transportation, Terry braced himself.

The fleeting sensation of weightlessness jangled his nerves and disappeared a fraction of a second later. However, just as Terry began to relax, a second similar sensation took hold of his senses and caught him unawares.

Before he could react, the second sensation passed just as quickly as the first and his new surroundings began to assert themselves.

Surrounded by walls of stone, Terry barely had enough time to register that he had been separated from his squad before the stone walls disappeared and he found himself standing in an open field beneath the night sky.

Terry’s instincts flared as his enhanced senses alerted him to the imminent danger. He was no longer alone.

A tall pale-skinned young woman with large bat-like wings and goat-like horns stared at him with piercing green eyes as her long spiked tail flicked excitedly to and fro across the ground. However, despite her fangs and claws, as well as the barely restrained killing intent she gave off in near palpable waves, Terry’s instincts directed his gaze away from her and toward the man standing to her right.

Despite minor discrepancies, Terry immediately recognised the man’s armour as a match for one of his intended targets.

Before he could even begin to think, the familiar pain began to build within his mind.

Acting on instinct alone, the beast inside of him seized control and launched Terry toward his target. His nails hardened into claws, teeth became fangs, and hair grew into fur, as his bones, muscles and sinew broke themselves apart and assumed the physical form of the beast.

In less than a second, the beast had closed the distance between them and their target. And yet, Terry felt something was very wrong. Beneath the pain driving the beast forward, he could sense its fear. Only pain drove it forward as every instinct screamed for escape.

For the briefest moment, Terry felt the pain inside of his mind disappear. Then, as if the reprieve had been nothing more than a delusion, the pain returned a hundredfold.

With a whimper, the beast fled, leaving Terry convulsing on the grass as his brain turned to sludge.

“No.” The voice clove through Terry’s agony and left him gasping for breath as the frayed and thoroughly abused elements of his nervous system reluctantly returned to their thankless task of keeping him alive.

Trying to push himself to his feet, Terry could only manage to prop himself up on his elbows before succumbing to his exhaustion.

All the while, the demon woman and the armoured man watched him without saying a word.

“Terrance.” The man’s deep booming voice rumbled like thunder. “That is your name, isn’t it.” It was not a question, just a statement of fact.

Terry struggled to understand how the man knew his name when it wasn’t even written on his Status information.

“You don’t need to answer my questions,” the man continued, not sounding the least bit surprised by Terry’s silence. “But things will go much better if you do.”

“Why-should-I?” Terry gasped raggedly. “You-gonna-torture-me?” He demanded defiantly.

“No,” the man replied in a somewhat subdued tone. “I am not a sadist...” He slowly nodded his head toward the horned woman, “But she is.”

The man allowed his statement to settle, perhaps expecting Terry to provoke him further. However, Terry had noticed the genuine reluctance in the man’s tone and the slowly widening and all too familiar smile on the woman’s lips was unmistakable. He was telling the truth and she would enjoy inflicting pain.

“I can generally guess at the why of your arrival,” the man commented, “But I need specifics if I am to grant you any degree of freedom.”

“That’s-all?” Terry gasped incredulously. He held no loyalty to the Confederates or his former Masters. They could all burn in hell so far as he was concerned, and would, if there was even an iota of justice in the world. But he knew better than to hope.

“Who did you kill,” the man asked quietly, “And why did you do it?”