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The Sovereign City of Killtree was a major population center of roughly a hundred thousand people, or more. The census was never too exact about any of that. The city didn’t even have a wall, so it was rather hard to count people when there was no real way to separate the people of the main city from those who lived in the smaller satellite villages and towns. The whole place sort of ran together, across about 400 square kilometers of space, located north of a sometimes-floodplain which was rather good for [Grow]ing crops.

The takedown of Killtree had been an extreme example of how easy it was for Erick to enact his will upon a land of people who had no real power. Even the few Domain holders of this Sovereign City were unimportant to the final result of the ‘battle’, for those people were easily captured and contained by dragons, or by Kromolok’s forces, or by the Elites of Oceanside, or by any of the other forces working with Erick to quickly and systematically eliminate the threats of Killtree.

It had taken 24 minutes, and it had gone like this:

In the sky across that entire city, over the shanty towns of slatted wood, above the mansions of stone and glass, centered above the guard towers that made the whole place look like a prison town, and especially above the wide, muddy roads that led in and out…

Erick’s opening salvo was a sky of [Undertow Star]s.

And then he linked them all together with [Node of the Renewing Undertow], like they were constellations. This took 8 seconds. The next 15 seconds were used to place a hundred [Spatial Denial]s and [Prismatic Lullaby]s across the entire land, and then to link those spells to the constellations above. A lot of this was redundant, and Erick was not planning for the [Undertow Star]s to actually link properly with the [Node of the Renewing Undertow], transferring mana gained from one spell to the other, because that wasn’t how [Undertow Star]’s Drain worked. He had made that spell long before he had made his Node spell.

--

Undertow Star, instant, super long range, 4500 mana

Summon the Undertow Star! All are the same; all are different.

You may designate allies and enemies at will. All others are still subject to the star’s power.

Allies are excluded from the star’s wrath unless they get too close.

Drain 2x WIL Health and 2x WIL Mana per second from every target in a super large area of effect. Effect is stronger in the depths. Distant targets might not understand that they are being drained. Prevent all non-allied spatial travel within the star’s sight. Gradually erode any non-allied spellwork within the area of effect. The star will defend itself and allies with extreme light and against encroachment with worse.

Lasts 24 hours.

For every 10 resources drained, the spell will last 20 more minutes, gain 3 more points of [Dispel] protection, and be able to erode enemy spellwork with WIL extreme light damage.

--

--

Node of the Renewing Undertow, instant, super long range, 500 mana + Variable

Conjure a node that you can further direct to Renew spellwork within line of sight of the node. Nodes once linked to other spellwork will continue to Renew that spellwork until told otherwise, or until that spellwork is fully powered.

Ethereal. Permanent. Self-recreating, if part of a network.

10,000 base mana containment.

10,000 extra mana containment per 500 initial mana invested.

--

And so, perhaps Erick needed to make an [Undertow Star] that was one tier higher, using [Renew] itself, so that he could have them all link together and share mana how he wanted them to share mana.

And yet, a curious thing happened.

As the sky filled with Stars and house-sized tendrils of shadow began to Drain every single thing on the ground that had mana, something within the Nodes and the Stars began to work well together. The Stars directly over the city center, where the most population lay, began to grow strong, sending thousands of individual tendrils of shadow out into every single person down below. But the Nodes connected to those larger Stars began to swell with power, and that power began to flow through the constellations, to swell the strength of the Stars on the edges of the city.

So Erick didn’t need to change anything, apparently. By all rights, Erick’s Star should not work so well with the Node, but, apparently, it did. The Stars didn't even constantly drain the network; they only went to double max strength and then stopped absorbing power.

Well… Erick was a Wizard. So whatever.

Tendrils of shadow crashed into noble houses, sending pulses of Extreme Light into [Ward]s and spellwork of all kinds, breaking them. Flight spells faltered, sending people to the ground. [Teleport]s failed outright. [Telepathy] failed as tendrils of Light and Shadow cut through telepathic tendrils made of thick air.

And now, half an hour later, with the population of Killtree Drained of all resources, and the Stars cutting through all magic, and every single person who was able to flee being captured and returned to the city by Elites, or Benevolence Dragons, or by others…

Now was the time to talk.

- - - -

In the center of Killtree existed a city square about half a kilometer wide on each side. The four sides of the square went out to four different major stone roads. The southern road led toward mansions and massive estates. The east led off toward the palace, while west led off toward middle class areas, and the north road led toward the slummy side of town. There were stone houses and businesses on every road leading to the square, but on the north side, the road rapidly turned to mud, and the houses were wooden.

The city square was perhaps the only thing that truly marked Killtree as a single city, and not as four different pieces of a society imitating a unified place. This city square was not a place of business, though, as most city squares were, though there were business-like aspects to this land.

This was a place for announcements. Propaganda, mostly. ‘Entertainment’, if one were being more charitable in their assessment.

A wide guard tower stood in the center of the square. Artful lightwards held around the base of that tower, like animations, depicting over and over the evils of Erick the Wizard, showing white eyes in the Dark over Erick’s shoulders, and how Erick’s hands were actually the claws of Melemizargo. A lot of it was simple lies, like the one that showed a map of the world, and spots of darkness spreading out from Candlepoint.

But then there were the bounties. Those were done in paper and plastered dozens of times over and over around that central guard tower.

--

10,000,000 gold for Erick, dead.

--

Which was reasonable, Erick supposed, because according to them Erick was the largest evil to surface since the Sundering.

But then there were the bounties on Poi, and Kiri, and Teressa, and all of House Benevolence’s Overseers, and… More. The bounty on Jane was particularly heinous.

Erick casually flattened that guard tower with a display of pure power, not [Stoneshape], and had his Stars above sweep through the lightwards, destroying them. A [Cleanse] cleaned up the shredded paper from the bounties and a lot of the debris. And then, finally, a [Stoneshape] smoothed it all over.

All the captured nobility of Killtree watched Erick do this, from their corrals around the city square.

Erick almost went on to flatten the rest of the city square, for this was a land of lies. But it was also a cultural heritage site. Each corner of the square were amphitheater-like spaces; depressions in the ground and stands of stone that rose from those corners. Four ‘stages’ for bards to perform. The backside of each stage, which faced the center of the square where Erick and his captured nobility now stood, were absolutely layered with colorful fliers of all types.

Each flier was artfully decorated and announced, via images of suns either on an eastern horizon or western horizon, and via a big number to indicate the day when the depicted tales would be told by the various bards of this land. Even illiterate people could read time and tell the date that much, apparently.

Each flier like the announcement of a band, or something, but with no words, and with a lot of imagery to indicate what story was being told at which stage, and when. Images of people in love, and people killing people. One particularly interesting poster was of a woman with absolutely massive tits, who walked naked through a street, brandishing a sword and covered in blood. Erick wasn’t sure what all the various posters meant, but there was a clear pattern with some of them having arrows pointing up, or down, or up and down, and with smiling faces, or crying faces, that it was all some sort of code.

Very few posters had words on them at all, and if they did, those words were at the very bottom, in an out-of-the-way location. The poster with the massive-titted woman was a play by the name of ‘Bertha Comes To Town’. Erick kinda wanted to see that play. But probably not. He was rather angry at the lack of written words in this land.

The forgiving part of Erick felt that the lack of words was so the play would not alienate potential watchers.

The cynical (and probably correct) part of Erick, felt that the lack of words was specifically to ensure that no one was able to begin to learn to read. And maybe the people who made the plays couldn’t read, either? … Maybe. Probably not, though.

Sure, it would be more difficult to learn a play if you couldn’t read, but…

Eh. Erick couldn’t realistically continue down that thread of ‘explanation’ for what he was seeing, for he looked inside the play houses behind those amphitheaters. And he saw books, and loose papers, and quills and scratchpads and all sorts of diagrams for plays being worked out and designs for props being planned. So yes, the playwrights and actors and such could read, but the commoner could not.

Which was infuriating.

… Erick left the culture of Killtree alone. He left them their posters with zero words. He left them their playhouses. He would not leave their nobility intact.

A cold wind blew through the land, and people shivered. Erick had ripped many of them from their houses, from their calm, quiet times at the end of the day, and placed them here, for judgment.

Benevolence dragons surrounded this center square; seven of them, in every color of the pastel rainbow. Either sitting on the stone benches or on the roofs of the nearby playhouses, the dragons watched, and waited. Guarding. Their eyes glinted with soft lightning, but their lightning-touch claws had stopped leaving blackened tails on the stone as soon as the battle was actually over. Now, wherever they touched left small mosses, or flowers, or mushrooms.

The sky was full of Stars, and constellations made of Node-lines. But it was also filled with the actual stars of night. The lights of the city square were ample enough to illuminate everything happening here, though, for they had to be for the plays, and Erick had interrupted four concurrent plays with his act of war. A lot of actors and stage hands were still in their costumes and otherwise, and a few playwrights were sitting behind small windows in the stages, furiously writing down everything that they saw. They knew that the Wizard was making history here, and so did Erick.

Erick breathed deep.

He stood upon the flattened center of the square, and he turned to the captured people of Killtree.

The nobles numbered 587, with 124 of those people qualifying as ‘heads of household’. Those 124 people were the major movers and shakers of Killtree. The rest were extended family. In a larger way, there were 570 people who were the ‘merchant nobility’. Rich and influential people with nice houses. These people occupied the southern part of the square.

Over 2,500 soldiers packed the western side of the square.

259 people stood on the eastern side of the square. These were the royals, and the guards of the royals.

All of these people were varying levels of guilty for deciding to go to war with Erick. Some more than others, for sure, but every single person here was also Matriculated into the Script, which made them stronger than 90% of everyone else in their city. They were the ruling class of Killtree, and even if war was not their fault, they were still guilty of crimes uncountable.

It was rather easy to find the Matriculated among the non-Matriculated, for the [Undertow Star]s strongly tracked those who had more Health and Mana than the non-Matriculated. Every single warmonger in this square was currently supplying the Stars overhead with continuous streams of power. The rest of the city, with its thousands upon thousands of literally-unwashed-masses, barely trickled any power at all to the Stars.

That simple fact had made finding every single noble in Killtree rather damned easy.

In the course of this evening's events, though, Erick had also uncovered thousands of monsters of various types here and there. Cannibal humans. Slimes by the thousands. Two oozes. And those were just the ‘normal’ monsters. There were also Puppet minds. Spinal spiders. Various other mental monster threats. Erick had come through here with the Mind Mages once before to clear out all those mental monster problems, and that is what he had done. In the course of that action, Erick had specifically not looked too hard at the City, or else he knew he would have to act. But still, to see any mental monsters at all was a shame. The nobles were guilty of war, a thousand other crimes, and they were guilty of allowing these monsters to reestablish themselves in these lands.

A Shaped [Withering] had taken care of all of those problems, while leaving the dragons and himself free of that spellwork.

Thousands of blue Kill Notifications had scrolled past Erick’s eyes since the start of this ‘conflict’, and it was only here and now, in this square, as he was getting ready for the next part of this tragedy, that those boxes began to slow.

There had been a few human deaths in that avalanche of monster kills. Erick was not proud of the human deaths, but they had happened. He would make amends as best he could; as best anyone could when it came to wartime accidental casualties. But not right now. Later.

After he dealt with all the warmongers around him.

Some people were truly innocent, though. Erick knew this. Of those who had been caught up in the ‘battle’, and who were likely not guilty at all, the merchant nobility was a large portion of that. There was also the guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild, Guildmaster Rohn, who was decked out in full, off-white [Conjure Armor]. He stood with the royals. The Mage’s Guildmaster was a man in purple who stood beside Rohn. Next to them stood others who were undoubtedly guilty. Like the woman named Redwood who had been Jane’s handler when she was here on a unicorn hunt. Redwood was an Elite of Killtree, and so she was surely guilty of something. If nothing else, sooner or later Redwood would have been a part of the campaign to kill him, and Candlepoint, and Redwood worked with Rohn… So.

Fuck ‘em.

They were all guilty.

They would all be judged.

Erick turned to his own forces, directly next to him.

Quilatalap, the Archlich of Necromancy. He stood next to Erick, but two meters away. A lot of people were wondering about that, but they could continue to wonder.

Kromolok, the Inquisitor. He stood four meters away, with a few wrought. He was an incani-shaped white-metal man, and his incani shape had made a lot of people wary simply due to his shape. But for those in the know, like a few royals, and the Mage Guildmaster, seeing Kromolok here was like seeing death itself.

Kirginatharp, the Second of Rozeta. The Headmaster of Oceanside stood closer to Kromolok than to Erick. He wore his normal gold and white emperor-like robes. Everyone knew him, and by that knowing, they knew they were truly fucked. No one was coming to save them. They had been condemned.

And Erick readied himself to do that condemning.

The rain of notifications had stopped and so Erick stood upon the center of the square, ready to speak. He knew long before then that this was not just a trial of Killtree, but it was also a trial of himself, and of Quilatalap, and of how the world was supposed to be, going forward. Kromolok and Kirginatharp were allies, yes, but this was a big deal, and so, Erick was being judged by them, too.

Erick had workshopped what he was going to say before now. Those words were probably imperfect. Mostly, all he could really do was to be as clear, concise, and as moral as he possibly could.

Erick had an Ophiel open up his [Physical Domain], allowing him to speak to the entire city of Killtree, all at once. The sky filled with silence as Erick physically silenced all others. People who had been whispering grabbed at their throats, worried that something was happening to them—

The eyes of the nobility went wide—

Erick’s voice pressed down upon their whole world,

“If one does not shy away from the problems they see all around them, and if one has the capability to change those problems, then to do nothing is to commit evil. And since I am not an evil man, and since I can see much of everything wrong with your city, I must use my power to enact change.

“I offer Killtree three options to remove yourself from under my direct power. You of the nobility must submit to one of three options, and none of those options are death.

“Option one: Accept a [Reincarnation], with your future chosen by me, and your body chosen by you. This will reset you to level 0, and strip you of all your current power. I can turn a 90 year old person into a teenager again, if they wish for it. This will give you another life to live. This is the least option of the three.

“Option two: Accept a [Blessing of Empathy]. This will not reset your level. This option ensures that you might be able to maintain some of your power, but how you choose to use that power will change, because your entire person will change.

“Option three: Accept both a [Reincarnation] and a [Blessing of Empathy], and gain protection and assistance from me and mine for a period of one year. This assistance includes monster kills and various other kindly powers, such as a Gate from here to my Gate District. Fees for those who accept Option 3 will be waived, entirely, for a year. People who choose option three will become the new ruling class of Killtree, as determined by me and mine.

“Whatever option you choose is up to you, but you will choose one of them, for those are the only options I am giving every single one of you.” Erick said, “Killtree chose to go to war, and now we are here.”

Erick pulled back his [Physical Domain] slightly, allowing for a sudden outburst of talking and shouting, crying and wailing, yelling and screaming. Their words were worthless right now. Their pleas fell into an abyss of determination. If they didn’t want this to happen, then they shouldn’t have gone to war with him. Some of them were even yelling about how this war wasn’t their fault, and that they shouldn’t be blamed for the actions of their royalty.

The time for arguing was done, though. Erick had won, and this was going to happen.

When Erick and his dragons and his allies placed the nobles and near-nobles in this city square, they had placed the probably-important people near the front, closer toward Erick. And so, Erick was able to see important people react to his words, first. Guildmaster Rohn and the purple Mage Guildmaster, and some of the royal family and the stronger nobles and merchant nobles. The sergeants and captains and otherwise of the army were also nearer to the center of the square. They were all a good hundred meters away, though.

And they all looked guilty, in part.

Erick stretched his [Physical Domain] out once again, silencing all others. His voice raised above that silence, “I will not remain in this land once I know I am not leaving behind enemies. If there is anyone here who would take the third option and become the new king or queen of Killtree, under my power, speak up now.”

Erick pulled back his [Physical Domain].

There was a lot of sudden yelling. Most people screamed about how this was wrong, and about how Erick shouldn’t be doing this. Some yelled about how he should choose them, roaring at how they were the best person for the job. Some wanted to be king or queen while also denying Erick’s demand of them, shouting assurances that they would follow Erick’s demands without soul shackles placed upon them.

One complaint caught his attention.

“Fuck you and your Forgotten Campaign, Dark Tyrant!”

It was a small complaint in the center of a hundred larger complaints, said by a man from the royal side of the square, who was dressed in mage robes and looked rather old. Maybe 70. Maybe 85. Hard to tell with Vitality and the various other boons of the Script.

Erick let it pass without remark, even as those words hit him harder than he thought they would have.

He was busy listening to them all, sorting the anger from the hope.

He was also listening to himself, to Benevolence, trying to understand if it pointed at anyone in particular—

And then he heard it. Like a chime inside a voice that resonated with himself.

He flooded out his [Physical Domain] again, silencing the crowd. With a flicker of light, a woman got pulled out of the crowd. Anyone who had been near her would have heard her say something serious, but now, her words were silent, and everyone focused on her.

Erick spoke, “Say that again.”

The woman, who was suddenly terrified, regained some of her fervor. She was around 45, with a ruddy face and dark hair, and she had come from the merchant nobility, unless Erick was truly mistaken. She spat, “Anyone you crown is gonna get dead in a day! And they’d be right to do it!”

“That’s not what you said inside the crowd, where you thought I did not hear.”

The woman went silent, her eyes going wide.

Erick continued, “Those aren’t your true feelings. Your true feelings are much more revolutionary. So. Tell those true feelings to the crowd. It’s not like anyone here is getting out of this without accepting one of my options, and hey, if you tell the truth, you might even get a queendom out of it.”

The woman stared. “You’re really doing this shit to us?”

“Yup. That’s what happens in a war. Stuff happens that didn’t need to happen. Blame your rulers and yourselves for this.”

“… I’ll pave all the roads and [Cityshape] housing for all and matriculate the populace like how Rozeta wishes us to be,” the woman said, and suddenly a cacophony of naysayers and worse roared from the sides, as they realized she was going to get to be their queen because she bowed to Darkness.

A hundred meters separated the crowd from Erick and the woman. The crowd had been forced to remain inside the square, with many people trying to leave, but there were dragons in the way. But now, seeing that this was really going to happen, that some new person was going to be their queen, anarchy erupted. People surged forward. Some collapsed onto the ground, trying to hide in the open. Some tried casting magics, or willing their auras out, trying to disrupt the spellwork all around them, but the Stars above both Drained them harder, and cut their magic apart with Extreme Light—

Erick threw out a Shaped [Slowing Enclosure], enveloping all of the nobility, as he mentally instructed the Stars above to stop Draining and Extreme Lighting the people, so that the Slow could take hold.

In the sudden silence, Erick asked the woman, “Do you accept the burden of royalty?”

The woman shuddered, then steeled herself. She spat, “Ha! Burden. All they do is collect my tax money and spend it on themselves. Ain’t a single one of them worth anything at all!”

“Then you must correct that error, and be better than them.”

The woman stilled. She stared. “Aye. I suppose I must.”

“Do you accept a [Reincarnation] and a [Blessing of Empathy]?”

“… I do.”

“Got a name you’d like? I might be able to get you that name. Any preference for body?”

“… No preference for name…” The woman’s words left her for a moment, as the gravity of the situation hit her like a punch to the gut. “… Myself, but queenly?—” She scowled. “No fucking red hair, though. Killtrees are fucking dead to me, and good fucking riddance. My name is Bertha.”

Erick couldn’t help but grin. “Like the play?”

“Aye; like the play, but I like my small tits just fine, thank-you-kindly.”

Erick began Bertha’s transformation.

- - - -

To most of the people in the doughnut-shaped bubble of Slow, the sky shifted from star-filled night, to dawn, and then midday. The people furthest from the center, furthest from the Wizard, had the unenviable position of being able to see those people nearest the center vanish in flicks of light over the course of several seconds. It was almost like a wave of glowing white that spread outward, capturing all who it touched. They all saw what was happening. They thought they knew what the ‘bad outcome’ was when they decided to attack the Wizard of Stars. And now, here was one of those bad outcomes.

A lot of people did not take this well.

A woman in the very back of the soldier section of the field stood with another woman. Both of them were officers. Both were grey haired, and scared. They watched as flickering light grabbed more and more people, taking them away to be transformed by the Wizard. The soldiers in front of those two women, and many of those behind, roared and cried and screamed.

But the two old women had been through a lot of horror in their tenure as soldiers. They had faced bad odds before. They had seen friends die, and their world changed in a matter of moments. But nothing they had ever seen was as certain to change who they were, than this. They had been prepared for this, though, for as soon as the higher-ups started working out how to go to war with the Wizard, the two women had both thought that this was what would happen.

Or something like this.

In the dark nights, over candles and beer, they had spoken of hypotheticals. Of strategy and tactics that might be useful against Erick Flatt, Planar Human from Beyond the Stars, and Wizard of Darkness. How fitting that he used stars above to contain them all. Neither of them had guessed that particular outcome.

They had also spoken of good outcomes. Of Erick changing their society into something better, for that’s what he was doing over there in Candlepoint, with that Gate Network. Anyone caught saying those good words would be flayed till muscle and skin hung from the back in ribbons, though. But the people in charge knew what was what. They saw through most of the propaganda. Mostly. And so, the conversations between the women had worn on, and the women had spoken of times they had lost, and which they could never get back. Of what they could do differently if they had a [Reincarnation], like all those rich and powerful folks willing to bend the back to the Wizard.

And now, they were here.

And now, this was happening.

The first woman finally gathered the courage to say to the second—

Right as the second one began, “Let’s be together, okay?”

The first woman smiled. “Yeah. Let’s be together.”

“Option 3? Sounds like ruling class.”

“If you want to. I’m going for option 1. A farmer, maybe. I’m done with war. Ain’t nothing we could have done differently here.”

“He rolled us right over, didn’t he.” A smile. “I think I’d like to be a man next time.”

“You’re really going to do that, eh? Then maybe I’ll do it, too.”

A laugh. “You sure about that?”

“Not at all. I think I’ll stay a woman. I would like to be purposefully more humorous, though.”

A hand reached for another, as the wave of light came closer. It was half a minute away now. The sky was bright with daylight. Time had passed. A hand squeezed in a hand, and then both hands squeezed hard.

“I think you’re hilarious,” said the second woman, her voice a fragile thing.

“You can be a man; fine. But you’re not allowed to be bad at sex,” said the first woman, deadpan. “Don’t lose that part of yourself, you hear?”

Laughter.

And then light.

- - - -

After the battle was over, as Erick’s allies started to talk, to dissect how the battle had gone, it became apparent that Erick was fully capable of doing the entire capture and transformation of a city with as little as 20 active dragons, 10 passive dragons working the edges to make sure no one escaped, 50 other people, and with some Inquisitor and Mind Mage backup. A hundred people to take a city of a hundred thousand. It also became rather apparent that Erick truly was going to transform the entire nobility of Killtree, and his threat of ‘options’ was not a boast.

Kirginatharp decided to further assist Erick by returning to Oceanside, and using his [Eyes of the Goddess] to find, roughly, the Sovereign City royalty, wherever they might have gone. Syllea and Treehome went to Candlepoint, to act as backup for the Gate District, though they would return to the front lines for the assault on the other four Cities.

While Ophiels were doing five transformations at a time, and Erick was interviewing people as fast as he could get them to calm, and to talk, Nirzir and Grand Matriarch Lingxing Void Song paid Erick a visit in person.

The young woman and the older woman from Songli stood atop the stone of the city square, looking almost ageless in their white-skinned beauty, and in their white and violet dresses. They both bowed to Erick.

And Erick finished off the transformation of the person in front of him, saying, “One second, Nirzir, Lingxing.” With a flourish of power, Erick sent the sleeping Option 3 person into a waiting room that was inside a [Fairy Stronghold], and also inside a [Slowing Enclosure]. “I need to put all these new people away so that I can release them all at once, when the other cities fall… And that’s that one.” He turned to the archmage Songstress and the normal Songstress. “What’s up?”

Nirzir said, “We wish to speed along the creation of a Local Area Gate Network in Songli. We’ve been in talks with the other High Clans, and we’re ready to resume talks with you, though I assure you they will be rather quick if you are amenable to the normal sorts of trade agreements that you seem to be working towards in all other lands. As for my own indiscretion of requesting a marriage last time, that was uncouth, and I apologize.” She bowed again.

Lingxing bowed again, too.

Erick was emotionally drained from listening to people rant at him and then having to shove them into bodies and choices that they had not agreed to, but hearing Nirzir and Lingxing speak of movement in the High Clans… It was a good feeling. Erick smiled softly, and then he nodded. “I look forward to opening some Gates soon. Thank you both for showing up for this… It’s rather awful business but… Thank you for being allies.”

The two women straightened up.

Lingxing said, “Good day, Wizard Flatt. We will be taking our leave now, unless you have dire need of us. But, from the earlier discussion, you do not?”

“Not right now, and everyone has their own lands to protect. Thanks for staying as long as you did.”

“We will stay longer, if you desire it, but I honestly feel superfluous.” Lingxing glanced upward, at the Stars and lines of light hanging in the mid-morning light. “I have never seen a magic of such scale and precision and power before.”

Erick smiled a little. “If Nirzir wants to learn about the lines in the sky, she’s more than welcome to come by the House whenever. I have an art contest for how to best shape those lines over the Gate District. It explains about what the spell is and does; I am absolutely sure she can figure it out from that alone, once [Renew] is in the Open Script in a few months.” He added, “I haven’t actually gotten any of the people you wanted [Reincarnation]ed yet, Lingxing. Have them show up whenever, too— Whenever this war is over, anyway.”

Lingxing and Nirzir glanced outward at the Slowed nobility and soldiery of Killtree.

Lingxing looked like she had a lot of thoughts on Erick’s casual offer of [Reincarnation]s, but she kept those thoughts close to her chest, and simply bowed, saying, “I will endeavor to ensure that they make those appointments they were supposed to make.” She rose. “Good day, Wizard Flatt.”

Nirzir bowed once again, quickly this time.

And then the two women blipped away.

Erick went back to turning nobles into better people.

- - - -

Erick stood with Kromolok, Quilatalap, and Mox, in the middle of an empty city square as night began to fall once again. Dragons stood here and there on the roofs, and in the stands, while wrought and Elites from Oceanside stood apart, but only a little. Killtree was completely subjugated. Now came the necessity of occupying this foreign land.

Erick spoke to the crowds of allies, and House members, “Killtree has fallen, and Killtree will rise again. Hopefully, with the transformation of their nobility, their city will follow.

“Hopefully, there will be fewer horrors. Fewer monsters in the sewers, and in abandoned houses, and under beds. Fewer monsters in the palace, sitting on thrones made of tyranny. But there are still monsters coming down from the north, from the Forest. That will never change.

“I know some of you here wish to ensure that Killtree will rise correctly, and that includes many of the people of Candlepoint who did not participate in this capture, but who are watching through [Scry]s. So, I will allow any who wish to stay behind and control this land in the interim, to do exactly that, as long as you fulfill the basic requirements of governance; until the people of Killtree can once again fend for themselves.

“And so, I’m splitting our forces here.

“Overseer Mox and her hidden people, alongside many others, will be the start of those who remain in Killtree. They will also follow behind and set up interim governments that anyone else here can participate in, through to-be-determined mechanisms of government oversight.

“Inquisitor Kromolok and I, and any who wish to continue, will be continuing on.

“When we conquer the other Cities, more and more of you will likely split off, either to place yourselves in charge of the other cities, under Overseer Mox, or to do whatever you want. At the end of this war, I expect my dragons to form the bulk of the actual interim government, under Mox, as I have spoken with all of them and they all seem rather keen on that. The Dicers might slot in there as well. Kirginatharp’s forces will likely slot in there as well.

“As for our allies, I will be granting you all whatever sorts of spellworks and otherwise you think you might want, as rewards for this arduous task. I offer magics and my own promise of work, but not how to make those magics work. You have someone who wants a [Reincarnation]? Ask, and you will probably receive.

“The battle will resume in one hour real time.” Erick said, “If anyone wishes a night of rest in a [Hasted Shelter], let me know, and I will begin doling those out.”

The dragons bowed, their fealty openly displayed as their massive scaled heads and horns and bodies all dipped, and their eyes briefly shut. The Elites of Oceanside nodded, for though they would not bow to a foreign power, they were more than willing to show respect. A lot of people took after those Elites.

But the people of House Benevolence all took a knee, with many of them slamming a fist on their chest as they went down, lowering their heads. Only Mox remained looking at Erick, like Erick was the sun, and Mox loved to see the day.

Kromolok spoke some words of organization, and people started moving again.

Quilatalap merely smiled a little.

Erick took over a grand hotel of a thousand rooms with an [Expanded Hasted Shelter] in order to give half a day of rest to everyone who wanted it. Thirty minutes later, the flight of dragons and House Benevolence continued on to the next Sovereign City.

- - - -

The grand kingdom of Charme was located on a peninsula about 1,500 kilometers south of Killtree, and 1,500 kilometers west of the Curios. It was known as the land of a thousand Princes, with hundreds of smaller fiefdoms connected by well-maintained white roads to the shining white Sovereign City of Charme itself, which was positioned at the end of that peninsula. Surrounded by harbors and stone towers poking up from the Wikwacchi Ocean like distant lighthouses, the City itself was one of the most well defended oceanic cities in the world, on par with Eidolon in Continental Nergal and Eralis over in the Songli Highlands. The fiefdoms surrounding the City, spreading out across five hundred kilometers from the white city itself, were also a great defense against the armies of the other Sovereign Cities, who preyed upon Charme as Charme preyed upon them in turn.

Erick and his people had torn through all of those land-based defenses in the matter of a single night.

Erick had briefly considered flying right over the ‘suburbs’ of Charme and going straight to the capital in order to solve this ‘war’ right away, but Kromolok, who was very familiar with war and also with the various problems of Charme, advised Erick against a direct assault. After attacking the first major suburb about 200 kilometers outside of Charme, Erick knew Kromolok’s suggestion to be the correct course of action.

Erick opened with an [Undertow Star] upon that fiefdom outside of Charme, positioning it right above a grand hilltop castle. As tendrils of shadow and light touched down, the buildings, keeps, towers, and houses began to boil with people trying to escape in any way they could. Many of these methods of escape were yet more horrors for Erick’s nightmare vault, where he kept his thoughts on Shades, and on Terror Peaks, and on all the other shit he had needed to live through here on Veird.

The man who was the Prince of this hilltop town was an expert in Blood Magic, and that right there was almost enough to judge the man long before Erick actually saw him. But then Erick saw him, and it was so much worse than his imagination. As that Prince raced out of his castle he began spewing mutative magics, likely [Baleful Polymorph]-based, transforming guards and others into physical copies of himself. Suddenly there were dozens of tall, fit Princes, with blonde hair and blue eyes, running everywhere they could, trying to get away. It would have been comical to see so many men in dresses, or wearing nothing at all as their child-sized clothes burst, or watching them being trapped in armor that was a size too small, but Erick knew what he was looking at. There was no humor here.

There were simply people, temporarily transformed against their will, into other forms.

For a brief, irrational moment, Erick felt that the actions of the Prince mirrored Erick’s own actions in the transformation of Killtree. But then the duplicated people did not remain duplicates, and Erick realized he was being dumb. Half of the transformed simply exploded when Erick’s forces surrounded them, filling the air with even more transformative Blood Magic, of the subset known as Disease Magic. The other half turned into ravenous blood oozes when cornered.

None of those secondary clouds of Disease Magic produced more transformations, but they did leave a nasty Decay effect on anyone who got too close. Luckily, the Undertow Stars in the sky killed those clouds of magic, too. The Propagation Ban was already in full effect, though, so those clouds of Disease were not nearly as ruinous as they could have been. If it weren’t for that Ban, Erick suspected that Charme would have overrun Veird with copied Princes and blood oozes, long before now.

It took half an hour, but Erick and his people cleaned up that castle, while Quilatalap brought back the recently dead, and Erick turned blood oozes back into people.

Erick didn’t give the next Prince’s castle any warning at all. Their collective forces directly collected ‘Princes of Charme’ right out of their castles, first, and then they went for every single person who caused Erick’s [Undertow Star]s to really focus on them. Those tendrils of shadowed light easily showed who was Matriculated and who was not, based on the thickness of those tendrils and the light therein.

Assaulting and controlling Charme itself was a much larger task, for the city had a population of 150,000, and it was 75% well-maintained, with the slums only existing outside of the main city walls. Everything inside was stone, and it was built up in three levels, with the palace of the King of Charme located at the top level. It was well defended, and those defenses were half-active.

But as the sun began to rise, Kromolok and a newly expanded squadron of wrought inquisitors, priests, and soldiers of Stratagold, showed that they knew how to win a war in the span of a few hours. With Erick providing supreme air control and lockdown magics, they managed to capture and contain Charme in under an hour, even with all of Charme’s defenses and powers-that-be on high alert.

This was not a Forgotten Campaign, but Erick could definitely see that some of the new wrought thought of it as such. By the time the fighting was over, Erick had heard the phrase ‘Forgotten Campaign’ more than a few times from the contained populace.

Erick brought up the topic with Kromolok.

Kromolok said to Erick, “This is not a Forgotten Campaign at all… But it is close, which is why Rozeta had me come here and assist you, and why I chose to accept this godly command. Hopefully what we’re doing here is all we really need to do to clean up these Cities and leave them a lot better than how we found them. Soul Magic like your Blessing has needed to happen before, to properly contain some of the worst magics this world has ever produced, so we know that this works.” Kromolok said, “But, in an effort for transparency, you might be called upon one day to do this exact same thing, under my command instead of me being under your command, if it turns out that a magic you have made and released out into the world requires this level of ‘correction’. More likely, though, is that someone else will cause a problem that requires an actual Forgotten Campaign. You will be asked to assist with that, and I hope you will accept. It is our hope that you do not falter when we ask you to assist us to remake the world should something like that happen.”

“… Of course, Kromolok.” Erick said, “If you need me for a Forgotten Campaign, I will comply, but I say now that I would hope whatever horror happens doesn’t require a Campaign, and that Benevolence can see those problems before they get that big.”

Kromolok relaxed a fraction. “That is our hope, too. Thank you, Erick.”

A blue box appeared.

Thank you, Erick.

The box closed.

Kromolok added, “We should talk about waking up some of the people from Killtree, instead of letting them all sleep till the end of the war, too.”

Erick wasn’t sure about that. “Ah? Okay?… It’s a bad idea to let them all come out at once, I take it? Why? Less of a headache to deal with those people all at once, I would think?”

“You really should consider letting people get back to their lives, post-Blessing, and by doing so, you will show that if people comply then they can go back to their lives as quickly as we can get to them. We might even get some of these cities to voluntarily submit instead of fighting us every step of the way.”

“… Ah. That’s a good suggestion.” Erick thought for a second. “We’ll make some overtures to the Curios, after we’re done with Charme and I release both Charme and Killtree to their interim governments.”

Kromolok nodded solemnly.

Erick turned his attentions back to Charme.

- - - -

The sun held halfway up the eastern sky. It was maybe 9 am.

All the nobility and powers-that-be of Charme had been gathered together at yet another city square. There were roughly 7,500 people there in that square. There were a lot of members of the royal family, which was extensive, and a lot of them looked rather exactly the same, but with minor variations. There was a clear gender expression differentiation between the men and the women, but between those two groups, extensive blood magic was on clear display in the uniformity of statures, noses, and body types. Most of the nobility of Charme was directly related to the royal family in one way or another, so they almost fell into those same sorts of looks.

Then there was the guard of the city; the first real group that looked truly different. The guard came from every kind of person.

Erick’s raid had uncovered various Hunter guilds that operated underfoot, in the sewers. The Cinnabar Hand had many chapters inside this place, with many face stealers among the people. Erick uncovered most of those face stealers simply by virtue of how his [Undertow Star] tracked the powerful, and though there might be a reason why a young woman working as a nondescript teacher in an orphanage (as one example out of a hundred) had multiple thousands of Mana and Health, there was only one reason that made a whole lot of sense.

He had also uncovered blood oozes in the sewers. These ‘monsters’ had once been people, but through the punitive justice of Charme they had been turned into ‘automatic’ sewer cleaners.

Erick hated this fucking place.

He almost wanted to wipe it from the map. Over half the people in the crowd were directly responsible for at least one horror, inside their own homes; some of the Princes had blood oozes in their private cesspools underneath their mansions. The other half were complicit. Maybe 5% of people Erick and his allies had rounded up were ‘innocent’, for a certain definition of innocent, but Erick wasn’t about to split hairs to free those people from what was about to come.

Of the worst offenders of Charme where either the royals, or those from The Blood Halls; Erick wasn’t quite sure. The Halls were a magic school that taught variations on Blood Magic, like Abomination Magic, Cosmetic Magic, Lineage Magic, and the ‘Princely’ Disease Magic. Quilatalap expressed displeasure at their whole school, saying it was full of idiots who had no idea what they were truly doing, and that the only reason they were powerful at all was because it was easy to do horrific things with Blood Magic.

Erick gathered all his thoughts on one he had seen, as he stood before the gathered forces of Charme, and then he spoke,

“I and my allies have taken Killtree and remade its nobility and thus the entire city into a better existence. I had originally thought to transform every City like I did to Killtree, before waking all of you up at once and letting you go about your lives, but this was an untenable idea. I have instead decided to wake up Killtree when I wake all of you. Maybe, by this act of openness, I can prove that this is not a bad thing that I am doing to all of you.” He almost spoke of the horrors he had seen, but then he realized there would be no need, for though a lot of the people here would probably pick [Reincarnation], Erick would be forcing Empathy on the lot of them, too. Erick said, “Charme is getting the same options as Killtree. Option 1: [Reincarnation]. Option 2: [Blessing of Empathy]. Option 3: Both. But this City needs a major change, more than most, so a lot of you are getting Empathy even if you don’t pick it; especially all the people in your courts and your royalty and in your Blood Halls… And probably more places, too.”

People in the audience held a brief flicker of hope, and then that hope died and turned to ash as Erick went over their ‘Options’, and spoke of Empathy.

Not wanting to be a party to this, several people in the audience activated Blood Magic failsafes, rapidly transforming themselves into blood amalgamation oozes, or something similar. Erick suspected they used [Second Wind], which instantly replenished some measure of Health, in return for a day-long debuff of burning a large portion of one’s base Health. They had then used Health along with the Blood Mana Class ability, which Erick had, to spend that Health on magic, which allowed for their internal transformation magic when all external magic was Star’d away.

Such last-resort measures did the monsters of Charme no good.

Erick solved the interruption to his decree with minimal casualties, and then transformed those blood oozes back into people while the rest of Charme watched. And then he put those onlookers into a [Slowing Enclosure].

A day later, all of Charme’s leaders had been transformed in one way or another. In many cases, the leaders had gone through an intermediary step of being a blood ooze, before Erick could turn them back into people.

- - - -

With Mox and many dragons and otherwise standing by, Erick began waking up the transformed people of Charme and Killtree in batches.

It was a clusterfuck of crying and thousand-meter stares. A small amount of their horrors had been over what had been lost, from important spells that people complained that they would never be able to get again, to the loss of godly blessings. A lot more tears were shed over what they had done to others; this was particularly true in Charme. Nobles roared at the sky, begging for forgiveness that they knew they would never receive. Many begged to be allowed back to their homes, into positions of power, to fix what they had done wrong. Many wanted to run away from what they had done. None were allowed to leave just yet, though.

Two days passed.

Slowly, under observation from Stratagold and a lot of other people, including Rozeta, people returned to their lives. Mostly. The vast majority of Princes could not make themselves go back to their cities or villages out there, in the lands outside of Charme; they wanted to run. Even those Princes who only received a [Blessing of Empathy], and who kept their bodies and their power, all expressed real, true remorse at their previous lives, and at what they had done.

Erick wasn’t sure how, exactly, it had started, but somewhere in all of the mess of waking people up and getting Charme and Killtree back operational on their own (but with oversight), people started divulging everything they had done wrong, in an effort to cleanse themselves of their sins. Erick heard it all. Rape. Murder. Bribery. Theft of lands. Theft of money. Theft of power. Soul mutilation and body mutilation.

A select few people even spoke of the true reasons for this war with Erick, though many different people had ideas of what the ‘true reason’ was, and so Erick didn’t think about all that talk too deeply. There was no way to separate fact from fiction with only two populations speaking about a 5-population-involved war.

From a certain perspective, the ruling class were perhaps the worst offenders of basic morality, using everything in their physical and magical might to subjugate those below them. But the people below those ruling classes were also guilty of so many more types of crimes. Erick had trouble guessing which one was worse; the people at the top who harmed others with threats and made the world work the way they wanted it to work, or those people directly below those at the top, who happily carried out those most heinous orders because that was what they loved to do.

Either way, Erick didn’t need to think too much about the recidivism of Charme, because every single person he transformed became a different person. [Reincarnation] and [Blessing of Empathy], together, produced the most possible change, turning even the most hardened serial killer into someone who wanted to raise orphans and build houses for the homeless, instead of murder both orphans and homeless every chance they could. [Blessing of Empathy], on its own, was likely going to be responsible for a full change of the guard, resulting in eventual governments of both Charme and Killtree that would do better tomorrow than they had done yesterday. [Reincarnation], on its own, would be more of a long-term sort of effect, for all Erick had really done in those cases was to take away a person’s magic (which was absolutely necessary for every single noble who had that nasty Disease Magic (those people also got Empathy’d without recourse)) and remake them into a person with a brighter future than the one they had had before.

And so, over those two days, Killtree and Charme mostly resumed normal operations.

Everything had changed. Everything was different.

But commoners still went to work. People still needed food. And the ruling class wanted to make it work; they wanted to make right by their people. They wanted to make Charme and Killtree places where people wanted to live, not where people had to live because to live elsewhere was to die to monsters.

It was complicated. It was messy.

But in those two days, everything… sort of worked like it was supposed to work?

But also not at all.

And yet… it was okay, for a certain definition of okay.

The Benevolence dragons were pulling some major monster-killing work, too, which made the whole thing a lot more palatable. Those dragons were also being fawned over by the new ruling class, which made them fall in love with these cities quite easily. This same thing was happening to Erick too, because he didn’t know all of the awful, real history of a lot of these people, and it was easy to like people who wanted the best for others, and then went out and did that; raising houses, clearing out sewers properly, reinstalling water that had been shut off, and systematically dismantling the systems of oppression that they had themselves instituted.

It would still take years for Killtree and Charme to show any real transformation.

Erick and his dragons would help with that transformation in the long term, too. Aside from remaking the leadership of Charme and Killtree, Erick had stopped 31 attempted murders of that new nobility in those last two days. And then he ‘solved’ those attempted murders by fast-tracking those would-be murderers through a justice system and Empathying them for their crimes. He suspected that he would be repeating that action for a long time to come, for he was already in talks with judges and new royalty about implementing [Blessing of Empathy] as a new outcome for what had traditionally either been transformation to blood ooze, or forced conscription. There was a lot of work left to do in Killtree and Charme...

But Erick still had three more Sovereign Cities to conquer.

Thankfully, as predicted by Kromolok, showing the world that Killtree and Charme were mostly intact had caused North Curio and South Curio to reach out to him, to beg for peace talks. Maybe Erick could remake both Curios without needing to capture and contain them all, first? It had to be a trap, though. Almost 100% a trap.

But Erick still had to try for peace, because that was what reasonable people did. Even if it was a trap, and even if the other side would never actually accept Erick’s form of ‘peace’, he still had to try.

- - - -

The sun rose upon two cities located to the north and south sides of an expansive river delta, that was much more ocean than river, for that river served as a spillway for the artificial cycle that was Veird’s water. High above Stratagold, or really, Archmage’s Rest, the Surface’s oceans went down a great hole in the Surface, down, down, down into the Underworld. By contrast, there were a few locations where the water went up. The headwaters of the Curio River, located in the Grand Ridge Mountains just north of the Wasteland Kingdoms, was one of those locations. Millions of traders and monsters and all sorts of brave people rode that upward ocean, up to the Surface, where they then flowed down the Curio River.

The Curios had occasionally and historically been one of the largest trading hubs on the Surface for exactly this reason, but instead of being prosperous and beautiful as it had in ages past, this land was a land of pirates and thieves and Sovereign warlords.

Scattered islands in the Curio River held massive fortifications that served as fisheries and trading hubs, and the lands of the nobility, almost like the Alluvial District in Eralis, over in Songli. Similar to that city on the other side of Veird, the Curios had once been a city split by the actual river delta, though that original location was a pockmarked land of craters filled with almost-saltwater, while all the current governing of both Curios was done about 200 kilometers down-ocean from that delta.

In this present day, the Curios were almost 500 kilometers apart from each other, separated by the brackish waters of the Curio River and Wikwacchi Ocean. Because of this distance, it was easy to see why both Sovereign Cities chose to tell the world that they were entirely different cities, for it was hard for anyone to logically claim two cities 500 kilometers apart were, in fact, the same city.

Both places had populations comparable to any of the other Cities, too, with North Curio having a population of around 125,000 people, and South Curio clocking in at around 150,000. In all normal respects, they were two very different cities.

And yet, they chose to host their peace talks together; they chose to speak as one.

- - - -

The ocean-river was calm around the island that Erick’s allies had fortified out of a cratered, warfront island about an hour ago. It hadn’t taken much to reinforce the place, for Kromolok had a person with [Cityshape], and that worked well enough to turn this no-man’s-land into a workable island. The new ‘peace island’ was about 50 meters on the short side, oval-shaped, and pointed on the ends, so that the river could flow around the island, rather than over it. The island was mostly flat, solid stone, and located about ten meters above sea level.

The island that the Curios had wanted to use for their talk was about five kilometers north-east of this one, so the Curios hadn’t needed to adjust much of their plans/traps. If they managed to adjust all of their traps, whatever those might be, then Erick would be impressed, but he figured he could power through the re-laid trap, anyway. Kromolok and Erick’s people agreed with this assessment.

And so, Erick, Kromolok, and Quilatalap stepped down onto the southwest side of the oval island. Dragons floated through the sky, and under the waves. A [Zone of Peace] held in the air all around, locking down all offensive magic—

A flicker of blue magic resolved itself into a Platform about a kilometer away, carrying four people. That Platform floated forward, approaching from the northeast, to land upon that part of the island. The people stepped off their Platform, and the Platform vanished.

There was a man in blue robes of office, a woman in metal armor with touches of blue, a woman in yellow robes of office, and a man in metal armor with touches of yellow. The people in armor stood back, so they were obviously guards for the man and the woman in robes.

Blue robe was a man named Oron, who spoke for North Curio, who followed the ‘Crushing Depths’ magical tradition of Ocean Magic common to the north. Yellow robe was a woman named Doria, who spoke for South Curio, who followed the ‘Thieving Hand’ magical tradition of Air Magic common to the south.

They were both the second in command of their cities, for King Sook of the North and King Xaro of the south were missing in action.

As the two groups neared each other, Erick opened the talks with, “Your leaders truly will not appear in these talks, eh? The cities are truly under your control?”

The Curios did not expect to get right to it, but they recovered fast enough.

Oron spoke, “Our Kings have left us, taking their fortunes and their most trusted people with them. We know not where they have gone, but in light of their betrayals in both leaving us like this, and in incurring your ire, we are willing to do what must be done to ensure a peaceful transfer of power into your hands.” Oron glanced to his South Curio counterpart.

Doria took a half-step forward, saying, “The Curios stand united in this manner. In return for a peaceful surrender, we ask for some conditionals.”

“Make your demands. Let’s see if what you want is anything near what I want.”

Oron and Doria didn’t like Erick’s second sentence, for in that phrasing he had exposed their true goals. They wanted to control exactly how this transfer went down, all in an effort to mitigate everything that Erick was planning on doing to their societies, and to hopefully recapture their full power over the course of years, or more. They probably hoped to assassinate Erick somewhere along the way, too.

Oron shared a telepathic link with Doria, and with their guards for a brief moment.

Oron said, “We would ask you to ensure the political power of the people you transform for at least a year.”

“Done. There will be no great upheaval of the social order right now, except in the cases where people do not want to continue what they were doing before I arrived. My people will lord over your people, though, in all things.”

Oron relaxed a little.

Doria said, “You will unite the Curios into one city, using Gates to link us.”

“When I can reach this far, I will do this.”

Doria relaxed, too.

Those two requests were their big requests, eh? Erick was a little surprised—

And then Doria said, “We will adjust the penalty for crimes against the state from execution, to Empathying, lining up every single person who breaks the law and handing them over to you, to do with as you see fit.” She waited.

“Acceptable.” And then Erick decided that they had spent enough time dallying with words over what he was going to do to their society, anyway. “I would require your lawmakers to be subject to the same Empathying, and for the first two years of this, I would be randomly patrolling your cities and Empathying those who are guilty of violence-against-people and generalized disruptive hatred. Muggers, thieves, face stealers, rapists, etcetera. Anyone who I see committing a crime might get an Empathying, at my discretion. When applicable, I will also be [Reincarnation]ing those people. Everyone I find will, of course, be given the same sort of Options that I have given Killtree and Charme. And also all of your current nobility and the people I deem as needing these Options will get these Options.”

The Curios tried not to scowl, or show their extreme dislike.

Oron flatly stated, “Then you would do to us what you have done to Killtree and Charme, leaving us with no alternative to allowing ourselves to be turned into caricatures of ourselves.”

“Imagine it as a partial Forgotten Campaign, if you must, for what must be Forgotten is your culture which kills all who Matriculate outside of your control.”

Doria’s eyes went wide as Erick mentioned ‘Forgotten Campaign’, and she was not the only one. But the people on Erick’s side had already had this discussion; they all knew what this action here looked like, committed by Erick and wrought working hand in hand.

Oron’s voice rose against his will, as he exclaimed, “These people we call commoners are animals, Wizard Flatt! We have done the best we can with the resources we have available!” He forced himself to relax a fraction, for he knew he was getting heated. “We do not need our way of life to be Forgotten.”

Erick nodded. “Which is why it is only a partial Forgetting. You’ll live. Your Cities will survive, unharmed by large scale devastation. The only thing that needs to change is the sort of environment where leaders are able to corrupt their entire nation into going to war with all the gods, all the wrought, all the dragons, and all the largest, most stable forces in this world. Because that is what you have done by going to war with me. You have done your people a disservice, Oron, Doria, and so, you will have this correction done to you so that, while your freedom will remain, perhaps such foolish actions will not be repeated in the future.” Erick said, “I do not seek to control you. I only seek to reform you and your people so that the horrors of your societies no longer exist. Afterward, you can do whatever you want with your own lives, under the oversight of my House and my dragons, of course.”

Those words hung heavy in the air for many silent seconds. A minute passed, as telepathic tendrils continued to flicker between the forces of North and South Curio. Doria and Oron glanced at each other, and so did their warrior counterparts. Erick caught almost all of their conversation himself, for he could easily mana sense the small flickers of mouths and throats moving in silent formation of thoughts.

After two silent minutes…

Oron said, “North Curios agrees to your demands.”

And then Doria said, “South Curio agrees to your demands,” and then she added, “But we would ask for South Curio to be the location of a mutually beneficial Gate to this land, so that we might better interact as societies.”

Erick forestalled any argument from Oron, who was gearing up to express his full displeasure at Doria, saying, “Every Sovereign City is likely getting at least one Gate, free of charge, except for the normal, published rates for the moving of goods. I’ll link up your Curios into one city, and give both sides equal access to the Gate Network as though they were different cities.”

As Doria’s expression turned to one of slight displeasure, Oron relaxed. There was a lot to read in those small expressions, but Erick didn’t need to do that right now, for he saw no overt hostility; he only saw compliance.

Erick asked, “Your people understand their Options, yes?”

Oron spoke for his own people, saying, “North Curio has many holdouts who have gone into hiding. You may root them out at your leisure, but most of us are prepared for what comes next. Many have filled out your [Reincarnation] paperwork.”

Doria said, “South Curio is ready to receive you, Wizard Flatt, with many people who expect to be changed awaiting the arrival of Ophiel, or a dragon. We hope that our easy surrender will grant us a measure of your mercy.”

Erick saw many things in that moment. From the small looks between Oron and Doria, Erick saw old, deep hatreds kept at bay by strong wills. He even saw an unexpected hope surge between both of them. The whole conversation had been fraught with nuance and unsaid words and a thousand old wounds reopened and then ignored in favor of unity in the face of ultimate transformation. And the conversation was over.

The two sides (three? The Curios were still technically two different cities right now) departed that central, eye-shaped island.

- - - -

In a matter of minutes, and with a great deal of reluctant local support, Erick had Ophiel begin herding people through [Gate]s, to central squares in both North Curio, and South Curio, where [Undertow Star]s, [Zone of Peace]s, and other such spellwork locked down the population, and made it much easier to transform the governments of the Curios.

Erick still threw out [Undertow Star]s across the skies of both coastal cities, using his magic and his dragons and other allies to root out those who would not come willingly. This effort was greatly aided by Oron and his people at North Curio, and Doria and her people at South Curio, but rather than dutifully report on their own side’s problems, they reported on the gross failures of each others’ cities.

Surprisingly, a lot of the populace of both Curios got the Empathy treatment, far more than those in Killtree and Charme, for both North Curio and South Curio had a slavery-export-to-Nergal problem.

But now, they didn’t have that problem anymore. Or at least it wouldn’t going forward.

- - - -

Over two days (with only 15 more attempted assassinations or overly offensive subterfuge! Amazing!) Erick solidified the transformation of the Curios, and also of Charme and Killtree, utilizing the very effective method of having everyone already involved in the Cities suddenly on the same page about making nice with each other, and with their citizenry. Old rivalries and old hates melted away under [Reincarnation] and [Blessing of Empathy]. Both Curios even spoke of moving back to being one city, while also speaking of changing their names, and giving up that old rivalry over ‘who was the true Curio’. As soon as Erick was able to make good on his promise to provide Gates to link the North with the South, he suspected that the city would truly become one.

The commoners were problems, though, constantly getting into murderous fights with each other, or with the new city guard, but those who got too murdery ended up with the same [Reincarnation] and Empathy treatment as the nobility. There were 2,500 cases of that happening. For those who stuck to simple words… Nothing really happened to them. A lot of people in roughspun cloth had a lot of angry things to say about their nobility being transformed on them, and about Erick himself, but they were all un-Matriculated, unthreatening, and unwilling to change those facts, so Erick ignored them; he had more important things to deal with.

Armies dissolved, as they were suddenly not needed, since there were no other armies to fight. A lot of people were still needed to combat the monsters that poured up from the Underworld, out of the Curio River, so a lot of soldiers transitioned into that sort of life. A few Empathy’d people were able to maintain defensive anti-monster magic formations, but what really kept the monsters away were some [Withering]s in the waters, some Nodes connecting those [Withering]s together, and some [Undertow Star]s providing a lot of continual power to those spells, through Draining power from all the monsters in the water. Erick did help a lot of simply-[Reincarnation]’d people to regain some levels, so they could resume the endless fight for their homeland, but Erick’s spells (and Matriculated nobility providing them with power) pulled most of that duty.

Seven days had passed since the start of this war, and by now the Dicers were getting antsy to participate in a large way. They had repeatedly requested to be allowed to participate in a larger way than following orders on his command, and so, now that four of the five Cities had fallen, Erick allowed the Dicers a mass migration. Many of those Dicers asked to be subjected to the same sort of transformation that Erick was giving the regular nobles of the Cities, so that they, too, might be elevated to power how Erick was elevating others to power, so that they could once again live in their homes, and directly make their homes better. Erick easily granted many of those requests, though he asked those Dicers who could fight monsters to rescind their requests, so they could guard their homes against those always-enemies. [Reincarnation] reset a person’s Status, after all, while [Blessing of Empathy] made it truly difficult for someone to commit harm against another living thing, and monsters counted in that restriction.

- - -

For as many people as existed in the Sovereign Cities during Erick’s war, there were stories unfolding about those people, but Erick had no time to follow any of them with the focus that they deserved. Shadow’s Feast was 3 days away, Pearl remained unconquered, and the royalty of the Cities were nowhere to be found.

- - - -

Inside a [Hasted Shelter] and [Fairy Stronghold], Erick lay in bed next to Quilatalap, thinking. The big green man was still sleeping lightly.

For the rest of the world, this war had been going on for 7 days, but for Erick, this war had been going on for over a month. 36 days so far. It had been 36 days for Quilatalap, too, for Erick’s boyfriend had been beside him this entire time. Figuratively in many cases, but literally, too—

Quilatalap stirred, breathing deep, waking. He blinked a bit. “Ah. Morning?”

Erick smiled a little, then glanced out the window. “Still morning, yup.”

The sky outside was pink and gold with sunrise, and it had been that way for the last several hours.

Quilatalap reached over and wrapped an arm around Erick, dragging him close, then whispering into the back of his head, “Does it have to be morning?”

Erick chuckled, feeling all the wonderful warmth of another person at his back. “We’ve got all the time in the world. Though I am eager to be done with this war.”

“Yup. Me too. It’s been a rather great war according to how these things are usually measured, but it’s still a war.” Quilatalap patted Erick on the chest, and then rolled out of bed, saying, “So let's end it and be done with the Cities.”

Erick rolled out of bed, too…

Over the past month, the Erick had danced around Quilatalap about a single topic. At that moment he decided that the dance was over. “So... We’ve been keeping kinda… Quiet about it. But is this what a Forgotten Campaign is like?”

“Absolutely not,” Quilatalap said, suddenly serious as cancer, “Those things are completely without care for the people they affect and done so quickly and deeply that barely anyone has a chance to comprehend that they’re happening at all. Has Kromolok asked you to do one of those?”

Quilatalap and Kromolok did not get along. Sure, they might appear to be friendly enough when Erick was around, but they never spoke to each other, and they never looked at each other. Those two men did not like each other at all, which was why Erick had been avoiding this topic until now.

Erick answered honestly, “Kromolok has said that I might need to assist with a Campaign in the future, in order to repay the help they’re giving me right now… But I know he’s using the idea of an exchange of assistance as a cover for his baser evaluation that I must simply help, as a matter of course, if a Campaign should occur, and especially so if I should end up being the cause of one.”

Quilatalap frowned a little, then his frown relaxed. He began putting on his clothes that he had discarded to the back of a chair several hours ago. “… I suppose a softer Forgotten Campaign is probably the better way to do one of those, if one needs to be done. I just... don’t like how cast-happy the wrought have been with a few magics in the past that could have been monumentally interesting and productive to the world.”

Erick got dressed, too, as he asked, “Like what?”

Quilatalap frowned a little. “Ehh. They’re Silenced now, and I’d need to enact a ritual to tell you about them, but I can say that…” Quilatalap’s voice cut out as his lips flickered, hiding all of his words from Erick. Quilatalap stopped talking and his lips and throat and vocal cords came back into mana sensing. And then he said, “Guess I can’t even say that.”

Erick touched his ears and his fingers came away dry. With a bit of good nature in his voice, Erick said, “At least I can’t be injured by a casual mention of a Silenced topic.”

Quilatalap raised an eyebrow, looking Erick over. “Ah! I suppose not. Also, that reminds me of a warning I should give you: A sufficiently powerful person can use those Silences to injure others. This almost always results in the death of the user when they’re trying to cause injury… But it is a valid way to attack someone. It’s a tactic that will definitely be used against you… You know. Eventually.”

Erick chuckled. “Gods above, Quilatalap. Every time I think you’ve told me something that will make me worry from now until forever, you manage to top it not a day later.”

“… Do you want me to stop?”

“Absolutely not.” Erick walked toward the big man while also discarding his clothes and letting himself grow a fraction taller, to match Quilatalap; ‘letting the Dragon out’ as the saying went. He grabbed Quilatalap in a hug, and then a sudden kiss, saying, “You’re amazing.”

Quilatalap brightened like the sun, kissing Erick back. “If I had known you were going to be frisky I wouldn’t have put my clothes back on.”

“That’s a problem you can fix.”

And so he did.

Some time later, laying in bed, Erick stared at the ceiling for a long moment. Words held in the back of his mind, unsaid…

And then he blurted out, “I don’t like living in [Hasted Shelter]s, but I do like living with you. Want to keep doing this?” He turned and looked at Quilatalap, and he almost spoke—

But Quilatalap got there first, “Want to move into my house when we get back to Candlepoint?”

Erick’s mind blanked. Words came out, “I was going to ask you that.”

“And I got there first,” Quilatalap said, with a firm nod.

And then, suddenly, the enormity of what Erick had asked suddenly filled his chest with a cold sensation of change. “… I want to introduce you to my family, and then make a decision. Maybe in a few realtime weeks, after things have hopefully settled down.”

With an easy grin, Quilatalap said, “I look forward to all of that.”

- - - -

In a different [Hasted Shelter], Erick met with his forces once more.

Kromolok and the wrought, including archmage Tasar. A few Elites from Oceanside, including Tyli, the bright red incani woman who had always kinda been Kirginatharp’s Elite-level go-between when it came to interacting with Erick. A few other assorted forces, including some people from Treehome and Portal, who were there mostly as observers. Syllea and Nirzir and most of the other powerful people Erick directly knew were not there.

But there were a lot of dragons in mortal form who had decided to stay on for the entirety of the campaign. The dragon Erick knew the most at this point was primarily the ‘orcol’ Baronoli, who had been among the first of the dragons Erick had Benevolence’d. He was part of Emprazala’s group whom Fairy Moon had wanted excised from Ar’Cosmos before they could form a political bloc and crush the Houses. Now, that bloc of dragons had seemed to want to spread their power over here in the Cities, and Erick was content to let them, for Erick did not have nearly enough forces to cause a true occupation of these lands, and the Benevolence dragons needed homes anyway.

Aside from the dragons who would be moving here to oversee the lands, a few Dicers had decided to do the same. Most of those Dicers were now in occupational-force hierarchies scattered across the Cities, but Harridon and Bobbi remained here, at the end. Harridon would be going back to Gambler’s Rest after this to become the elected mayor of that city, but Bobbi would likely be gaining some sort of overseer position here, in their final target, the Sovereign City of Pearl. Just like how Glorida’s hometown had been Killtree and Erick had left her behind in that city, Pearl was Bobbi’s hometown, and he wanted to stay here after this war.

And there would be a war now. A real war. Unlike all the other cities, Pearl was prepared to put up a fight. All of the missing royals were in this City by the ocean, waiting for Erick’s arrival and the arrival of all of his allies. The royals had even sent a letter demanding peace, and Erick’s capitulation, but none of Erick’s forces were going to do that at all.

“For they will not accept the transformations that we have committed against the other four Sovereign Cities,” Kromolok announced to their gathered forces, before going on to explain the rest of the battle plan. “To begin, Baronoli and the dragons will...”

The Head Inquisitor of Rozeta had taken a more active role in this war toward the end, and probably for a hundred different reasons, from him being very good at exactly this sort of thing, to Erick wanting this to be over, and because Kromolok was very good at this. It was only after the Curios, when compared to Charme and Killtree, that Erick realized that he was rather trigger happy with the number of spells he put out across the sky, and that had caused a lot of undue stress in the populations under those spells. This stress had led to some altercations that didn’t need to happen. Of course, the Curios had surrendered with even less of a fight than the other Cities, but only because Erick had followed Kromolok’s advice, and let Charme and Killtree out of their [Slowing Enclosure]s to show the world that Erick had not harmed them unduly.

And so, since Erick wanted this war to be over, he let Kromolok take charge of the battleplans, and he was thankful for that. He hated this shit.

He was much more looking forward to what came next.

After the storm there would be a year of cleanup, at least. Erick was looking forward to that; to helping people and making the world better through that help. Kirginatharp had already volunteered to help with that cleanup, too, along with others, mostly to get into Erick’s good graces. Erick mostly trusted the dragons (which actually included the other Houses of Ar’Cosmos, now, surprisingly) to do what was right. The Dicers were looking forward to the cleanup too, but their help was, well, a dicey proposition, as a lot of the rank and file revolutionaries wanted vengeance as opposed to reform.

The only offer of support that Erick had outright rejected was the offer from the Greensoil Republic.

Even though their offer had come as one of open support, Erick (and a lot of his allies) knew that if the Greensoil Republic was involved with the Cities that they would try to ally with Cities against the incani lands, the Wasteland Kingdoms. That was a recipe for a Quiet War disaster.

There would be a lot of small and large knock-on effects like that in the coming years.

And Erick would navigate all of them as he helped get people into real homes and had Gates connect all these lands together and—

Kromolok stepped back, glancing to Erick.

And Erick stepped forward, saying, “We are not a punitive force, though I know all of you have seen reasons why we should be exactly that. We are a reconstructive force. The Cities that come out of these actions we undertake today, and for some of you, in the coming years, will ensure that all of the people living here and all the rest of Veird is better off for our actions. Everything can always be made better, but it takes people to enact those changes, and so, that is what we will do. It starts with force, but it ends with uplift.”

Strong stares all around. A few smiles. A few hearts lifted upward.

All sights focused on the battle.

Everyone knew their places.

And then came action.

- - - -

The sky was filled with contracted angels as Queen Pearl stood upon the ramparts of her palace.

The ocean boiled with the contained power of the King of North Curio.

The wind cut with the million daggers of the King of South Curio.

The King of Killtree stood in the sky, surrounded by red light; intractable, unstoppable.

Flesh copies of the King of Charme waited in the crossroads of several streets, ready to unleash transformative magics upon the populace.

The ultimatum they had sent to Erick had read like this:

You have done enough destruction to the very souls of our people, Dark Wizard. Give up your conquest of our Cities. Return to your own lands and take your people with you. If you follow this demand, then we will not pursue this conflict any further.

If you do not leave, then we will annihilate all of the Cities to save them from you, and continue on to Candlepoint. A million dead will be your fault.

This was, of course, an unworkable ‘peace offer’. All it did was cause Kromolok to heighten his war plan, changing from ‘we can save most of them’ to ‘it’s time to kill these people’.

And so, a few magics which Erick had long suspected to exist, but which he had not seen yet, were taken out of storage and used on behalf of him and the entire world against these terrorists who called themselves royalty.

Erick’s magic was only the final nail in the coffin; the one they expected to see. The one that they were ready for.

They were not ready for Ascendant Prime, taking control of the Crossroads above and smashing a small portion of that telepathic highway to motes of scattered light. [Telepathy] failed in almost all cases across the entirety of a thousand kilometer radius. [Familiar]s and other inborn telepathic connections remained. The Mind Mages were able to connect to others. But all of Pearl’s defenses fell apart, and all of Pearl’s Mind Mages left in that exact same moment, denying Pearl the ability to regain anything resembling coherence.

In the very same moment as the breaking of the Crossing, Pearl was not ready for Goldie locking down all teleportation magics across all of Pearl, as she assassinated the most dangerous of royalty, the King of South Curio and his million thieving hands. One down, four to go.

They were not ready for Quilatalap’s attack at all. The Archlich of Necromancy Itself raised a hand to the sky and sent a black pulse of power out into the world. It was an attack against all summoned creatures, though it was focused in one direction in particular. Each Ophiel wore a reflective thorn shield, so that qualified as protection, but even still they were half disintegrated by Quilatalap’s magic. The Angels fared much worse as they were the target. Most angels simply popped; their Veirdly forms disintegrating under the Archlich’s power. Quilatalap would later explain that those ones were the angels less strongly bound to this world; that they had opted to leave under their own power once they had taken enough damage. More than a few angels were strongly bonded, though, like the angel that had overseen Executioner’s Hall. Those fleshy angels were half-destroyed, but rather than heal themselves they opted to finish their disintegrations on their own terms. Quilatalap later explained that this, too, was an option that he had given those angels. If they had chosen to stay, then his magic had marked them, and the next spell would absolutely destroy their souls.

And Quilatalap could chain-cast that spell as many times as necessary, but he usually only needed to do it twice, at the most.

Erick went next, filling the sky with Stars upon Stars. [Undertow Star] scraped against all four remaining royals, and all the people in the city, Draining them all and erasing magics everywhere they touched. The only people he could not touch were the royals, under their Domains, but those Stars worked wonders anyway. The boiling ocean turned to a simmer, and then began to falter back down from where it threatened to spill into the city and drown everyone. The copies of the King of Charme began to unravel into tendrils and bone and meaty flesh, as abominations often did; whatever spellwork they had managed to get out of themselves before they fully collapsed into blood oozes was disrupted much more thoroughly.

Dragons attacked King Killtree, up there in the sky, easily ripping through the red-haired man’s ‘invulnerability’ magic. Ripping into King Killtree himself was more difficult, but they managed it.

Goldie delivered King South Curio’s body to Erick in the meantime, where Quilatalap put the body into [Soul Stasis]. And then Goldie went to collect Queen Pearl. The royal woman had been trying to run, disguised as a servant, but Goldie found her and delivered the freshly dead woman to Erick, where she got the same [Soul Stasis] as King South Curio. Later, they would both get a [True Resurrection].

And then King Killtree detonated in the sky, for some bizarre reason. He had still been fighting dragons, but then suddenly, boom; he was dead, and his soul was destroyed in that same instant.

King North Curio’s body also detonated, but Erick didn’t find this out until a minute after the fact since the man was deep under the ocean at the time.

Quilatalap couldn’t save King Killtree for interrogation. He postulated that the explosion had been to prevent the man’s interrogations after death. But when Goldie brought back North Curio’s intact body (but with a detonated soul) Quilatalap proclaimed the same thing was wrong with North Curio. At that moment, King Charme was still out there, still fighting amongst all his look-alike copies, but Erick knew that he probably wouldn’t be able to interrogate King Charme, either.

Sure enough, once Goldie managed to actually find King Charme among all the copies, he detonated, too, filling the area with mutative mist in a final ‘fuck you’. Erick’s [Undertow Star]s destroyed that mutative mist, though, so it only managed to transform a few nearby innocent caravaneers into blood oozes. Erick fixed those blood ooze problems with some [Reincarnation]s, so aside from the trauma of half an hour as a blood ooze, those caravaneers were more or less okay.

But he only had two royals to interrogate.

The true reasons for this war had weighed on Erick’s mind ever since it started, but instead of getting a clear picture from all five royals, he would have to make do with the two that were left, and all the hearsay from all the underlings the royals had left behind.

- - - -

Three hours of battle, and a day [Reincarnation]s and other such magics later, the war with the Sovereign Cities was over.

Erick and his allies had decisively won.

While his allies mostly moved on, either back to the Geodes in the case of the wrought, or back to Treehome, or Portal, or otherwise, Erick and his dragons and House Benevolence spent a day solving murders and attempted murders in the other Cities. Oceanside stayed to help, for they were here for the long haul; they wanted to see the Cities rise up as prosperous nations even more than Erick did.

Justice moved swift and with Empathy in the aftermath of the war, both for commoners and for nobility alike.

Though some people did get some special treatment.

- - - -

King South Curio Xaro had ‘survived’ the war, because Quilatalap had [True Resurrection]’d him, alongside Queen Pearl. And then Erick had given both of them Option 3, stripping them of all their power and giving them a new perspective on life.

Erick had been keeping the level 0, reincarnated Xaro, inside a [Fairy Stronghold] and a [Slowing Enclosure], and in a location known only to him and a few others.

This was apparently not good enough, because an angel came ripping across the land, holding a spear with a lead blade. That angel had ripped into that protected space with that antirhine blade and then killed Xaro with a specialized soul-killing dagger. Xaro was gone, and he was never coming back.

The angel, having fulfilled her mission, attempted to vacate the space of the murder, to unsummon herself and return to Celes, but Quilatalap got there first and kept her summoned against her will. So she detonated herself and her immortal soul in the process. There was nothing Quilatalap could do to bring the angel back; to ask why she had done this.

But Erick knew why she had done this.

- - - -

Queen Pearl the Fifth was a 45 year old blonde woman with pale skin and an evil smile. Tears rolled down her face, marring her image of an unrepentant mastermind, but she still managed to look the part even with those tears, behind bars in a cell, and inside a [Fairy Stronghold] that had no exit.

Erick accused, “You killed Xaro.”

“They all tried to kill me, too. Charme almost got me; he certainly got Killtree. He almost got everyone.”

A lot of things slotted into place at that moment.

This war was never about him.

It was about all the old rivalries of the Sovereign Cities.

Erick almost wanted to laugh, but all he could do was sigh.

“Is that truly what this was? Some sort of war between all of you, that spilled out into the rest of the world? You attacked me and threatened murder of a million people in order to kill each other?”

“The cities needed a major change and you played your part perfectly.” Pearl grinned like an ancient evil. She reminded Erick a lot of Melemizargo in that moment. “And I won the final battle.”

Erick had expected to walk into this space and interrogate Pearl as much as needed in order to understand the shape of this war; the reasons behind it all, and the purposes of the major players. Why would they attack him? Declare war on him? He was allied with all the people who normally attacked Wizards, and he had even managed an uneasy peace between the Dark and everyone else. Erick was not a boastful man, but he knew what he had done; the shape of his own actions on this alien world of Veird.

And he knew that he had been used by other forces many times. This was not a new situation.

From how Sirocco Zago had used him to learn more of Particle Magic, years ago, to Melemizargo using him to Shape the Shades of Veird into something better, to Fairy Moon using him to make Ar’Cosmos a better land, and then how many disparate people —from gods to dragons to his own Benevolence twisting toward power— had turned Erick into a dragon, in order to elevate other dragons to power. Of course, Erick had gotten a lot out of those exchanges.

But as Erick looked down at Queen Pearl, his worldview was thrown into a little chaos. He did not like being used. And he certainly did not like being used in a war. Which is probably why he spoke how he spoke next.

“Oh? You won?” Erick asked, not innocently at all. “How so? Because you are still alive?”

A crack formed in Pearl’s facade. “… You’ve already [Reincarnation]ed and Empathy’d me, and then left me in this box for two days to stew in my own heinous life. Is there some other form of ultimate torture that you would like to inflict next? Or was soul mutilation not enough for you?”

… Those words caused Erick to pause in his anger.

And Erick found himself at a crossroads.

He was going to release Pearl into the world, no matter what happened here. All he had wanted to know was why the war had happened, and then he would trust in his Empathy to see Pearl through the rest of her transformation into a good person. This was what Erick was doing to everyone else he had Empathy’d, and according to almost all sources except for one (the Shades who empowered the Chelation War) every time a person was Empathy’d, they became a better person. All of the Terror Peaks people who has survived Erick’s purge were now living and working in Songli, doing such normal things such as working as healers, or as farmers, or as rebuilders for the nation they had attacked, trying to make amends for what they had done. According to the previous several days, every single noble of the Sovereign Cities was doing better, and even Kromolok agreed that this was exactly what they did in Forgotten Campaigns sometimes; this sort of soul mutilation worked. As long as Erick could preserve the power structures he had emplaced for a good ten years, what they had done to the Cities would have long term, good consequences.

And so...

A part of him wanted to [Reincarnation] Pearl from a human to an incani. As a practitioner of an ‘Exalted Path of Angels’, Queen Pearl was very in-tune with the human-to-angel extremism pipeline. And yet, if Erick transformed her into an incani, that would automatically make her a demon, no matter her personal beliefs. This might be a catastrophic change of perspective for her, or it might be exactly the thing that Veird and the Angels needed from Queen Pearl; a little bit of ‘walk a mile in their shoes’ thing. This action would be directly stepping into the Quiet War, though, which would be not-so-great.

A different part of Erick wanted Pearl as a subordinate. He would use her as ruler of Pearl to ensure that at least one Sovereign City did not experience a massive change of leadership, and thus be thrown into the chaos that all the other Cities were currently experiencing. There was merit to this option, for, in a practical sense, the best person to lead a Sovereign City was the person who had already claimed that royal spot.

Another part of Erick recognized that Queen Pearl would soon be in a position to rid herself of her [Blessing of Empathy], just by virtue of regaining some of her Exalted/Angelic powers, and access to the soul twisting powers of the angels. Perhaps, if he let her go, she would cause problems for him later. She had already foreseen her ‘victory’ in this war as what was happening right here, with her at Erick’s mercy. She had certainly planned to have some angels enact some ‘final justice’ against any possible living-yet-weakened royals who might have also survived this war. Therefore, Erick should kill Pearl now.

… After thinking through all his options, and thus calming himself a fraction, he decided to simply talk to Pearl about all of that; to see her reaction.

Erick began with, “I could do a lot worse, Pearl, for your personal viewpoint of ‘worse’. I could have made you incani.”

Pearl paled, her words failing her completely.

Erick continued, “I could simply kill you, though you would become an angel so that’s not much of a threat.”

Pearl stilled, gauging Erick’s everything with her own mana senses.

“Or, I could do none of that, and instead reinstate you as the leader of Pearl, and offer you assistance in rebuilding and expanding Pearl in the form of Gates and trade agreements.”

For a long moment, Pearl collected herself. Then she asked, “What do I need to do to get those trade agreements?”

Now that Pearl was suitably motivated, Erick had a much easier time talking to her.

Erick had gone through the same thing with almost every other (minor) leader he reinstated into power in the Sovereign Cities, but this time was different, if only because Pearl had been one of the people who actually started this war. She would also be one of the few people capable of undoing all the shit she had started, though, so…

“Firstly: you’re dropping your royal name; you are no longer synonymous with your city of Pearl. What’s your real name?”

“… Crissi Diver.” And then, like a queen going through some hard times, Crissi spoke with subdued strength, “Though my name on my Status is now Crissi Benev, so I believe that I will be going with that from now on.”

With a cancel command and another cast of [Fairy Stronghold] in the same moment, Erick erased the bars of Crissi’s cell and added some nice chairs around a simple table. With another cast, Erick brought in some nice food from House Benevolence. As he set these things down before the new Queen Crissi of Pearl, along with a nice mug of hot citrus tea, Erick said, “It is nice to meet you, Crissi. If your cupboards in your palace and your staff are to be believed, then you have a few favorite foods, of which I have provided. None of that should have changed due to your [Reincarnation].”

Crissi eyed the food, and then took the tea and sipped it in a queenly manner. In that moment, the woman was suddenly back in her element. She regarded Erick. “I have appreciated the citrus that you have added to my cupboards, Wizard Flatt. The oranges and lemons have added quite welcome flavors.” She set down the cup. “What other sorts of additions would you contribute to Pearl?”

“Gates, at least two. You need not pay for these initial Gates since I have discovered how to make them out of simple iron, but the tolls of 1 gold per ton of goods and 1 gold per person will be enforced, with you able to add whatever fees you want onto those tolls. The Cities will soon have a whole Local Area Gate Network, which will probably become active somewhere around the center of Triumph of Light, in several days,” Erick said, “As for restrictions: every City is getting House Benevolence oversight for at least 5 years, which means dragons and Dicers, but primarily my Overseer of the Exterior, Mox Dawnsider, overseeing your lands on behalf of my House.

“You will also gain Oceanside oversight.

“These people will work to enact a few large changes in your society, primarily in the form of how your law is enacted. From now on, everyone in your lands will be judged the same; No more commoner/noble split for how the law works. The law during this period will be considered deeply harsh by all the world’s standards, but it will be no more than what I have already done to you; everyone who breaks the law in a violent way is getting a [Blessing of Empathy]. I’ve already done this Blessing 1,907 times, outside of the initial war transformation, and I expect to do this Blessing thousands of times more.

“Kirginatharp, the Headmaster, has his own Arcanaeum Consortium-specific rules which he desires to implement. It is my understanding that he desires for Matriculation to be open to everyone; not only those who sign up under noble houses or under City warbanners. I am sure he has teaching-arcanaeum-specific desires, as well.

“You will enact those desires.

“I know this is a large transformation of your society, which is the goal. I want to see you prosperous, and your people educated. I want to see people in stone houses, or at least in nice wooden houses, and to have a literacy rate of 99%, if only due to the literacy-comprehension-boost that one gains when they Matriculate. Stone roads. Cheaper food. Less drugs. More opportunity for advancement and more opportunity to change one’s own fate. Everyone working in a society where the people on top do what they can to ensure a just society for those below them, and to keep everyone at the higher levels from abusing their power.” To end on a high note, Erick added, “And any nobles who manage to make this work well, including you, can have a [Reincarnation] into whatever sort of body you wish, whenever you need such a transformation. Ten years from now, fifty years from now; whatever. There need not be any dying of old age on my watch. And there need not be any sort of uncomfortableness, either. I have transformed a great deal of men into women, and women into men, and made some people into different races altogether, if they wished to leave this land and this life behind.”

Crissi had some deep objections at the beginning of Erick’s speech, but then he kept talking. At the end, when he spoke of [Reincarnation]s for all, she only had one question, “Can you turn an angel into a real person?”

An unexpected question, but one which Erick had already spoken to Quilatalap about. “The short answer is ‘yes, I can, but it probably won’t work out perfectly’. Setting that aside: if I brought an angel back, then I would have to do the same for a demon in order to maintain neutrality in the Quiet War. Doing that would require a lot of knowledge about who I was turning back into a real person, first, which would draw me into that war… And I don’t want to do that. I recognize, though, that I might end up doing this eventually anyway, because I have had a lot of people on both sides asking me for this. Do you want someone in particular brought back? Knowing it might not work, and it might shred their soul?”

“My mother. But… Maybe not today.” Crissi paused. Then she began, “I would speak on specifics regarding this noble/commoner split in the law you dislike…”

Erick listened, and then he spoke of the many, many complaints of the Dicers, and how Bobbi, of the Dicers, would likely be working directly with Crissi and with the remade nobility, alongside House Benevolence. The revolutionaries would likely have a great deal of power going forward in the remaking of the Cities, and so Erick asked how Crissi felt about that.

Crissi pretended to be ambivalent, and that whatever oversight she gained from House Benevolence would be acceptable, of course, since she was the subjugated party. But Erick could tell she was fuming, and relieved, and hopeful, and really quite happy that she was allowed to be in power at all, though picking out those specific emotions from her took about an hour of talking. Crissi felt comfortable in being in power, and she was angry when Erick spoke of how her power was now limited, but Crissi also felt relief when they spoke of the changes in the law, which was a new feeling for her. That was probably her new Empathy working overtime.

And so, they spoke for a few hours about direct matters of state, while the subtext of the conversation pointed in a whole bunch of different directions, and Erick (and Crissi, too, sometimes) got to know who Crissi was as a person.

As they spoke, Erick felt better and better about his decision to keep Crissi in charge of Pearl.

Other people would probably be angry about this, but everything was still up in the air right now. Things could change in a week, or a month, or even in two days. But for now, Crissi would probably return to being Queen Pearl, though she and her power would be lesser; all of Pearl would be beholden to House Benevolence, and to Erick.

For a while, anyway.