It's time we spread it

They all sat around the table as I spoke, “Port Carik is part of a large Kingdom, this much I have heard. From what I was told in the vision it seems the Light is going to sacrifice this continent to try and pit me against the Hornet Queen so we kill each other. I am assuming none of the Saintesses reside here in that case.”

Terr’yis shakes her head, “No, but they do have an adventuring Corp with veterans from the Demon King’s Fall, so they are easily around the level we were when you found us. They are mostly at the capital and will be kept there if the continent is sealed off.”

Lena scoffs, “To defend the churches, money, and nobility instead of protecting the people.”

“Do we know they’ll do that?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Ardema nodded, “It’s called the Lock Box protocol. After the Demon King fell, the heroes knew the Dark would retaliate, so they put in place a number of contingencies. Lock Box involves Deus-level magic invented by Citrinas to create a barrier dome around a continent.”

Lukar finished it off the explanation, “And once it’s locked, all nobility, high ranking priests and priestesses, important bankers, and Guildmasters are brought to the secured Capital along with any adventurers over 20th level. They hunker down as long as they need to.”

Terr’yis sighed, “And generally speaking mages or priests that are high enough level can just… conjure food. So sieges and starvation don’t really work out. It’d be a tough nut to crack.”

“Well great.” I say with a sigh, “We’ll try and focus on what's around us first then, Carik. We’ll try and get as many people from Carik to accept being Shaped as we can and bolster our forces with some more intelligent Thralls and Acolytes, though I can also make more of the dimmer ones easily. Then we’ll need to focus on both the south and that Kingdom of.. what's it called?”

“Kingdom of Enris,” Lena answers quickly.

“Thank you, we’ll need to focus on the Kingdom of Enris, AND north on the Hornet Infestation and their Empress. They’ll be coming for us sooner than later, Dark Gods are none too pleased with me. My thought is to give each front to two of you. Lena and Lukar will deal with the Enris front, Ardema and Terr’yis will deal with the Hornets, and I will go between the two helping where I am needed most as well as ruling and organizing our growing Empire.”

Lukar nods, “This makes sense, as your great priestess Lena is uniquely suited to convincing the people to submit to your Truth without much bloodshed.”

“While Ardema and myself will be able to go all out fighting the Hornets, though the idea of convincing a Queen to submit to Shaping certainly interests me,” Terr’yis says with a quick smirk, ideas of magical experimentation and tinkering swirling behind her eyes.

“Sounds like all that is left is to take Carik…I will generate new Hordes of Thralls, surround the city, and hopefully, they will surrender. Especially when they see you standing beside me.”

They all speak in the affirmative as I focus on my own power and mana pool. Of course, all the levels I gained caused an astronomical growth in my amount of mana, which means more Emanated Thralls. Let’s see how many…

Huh. Well, that says several thousand. HA! No way they decide fighting me would make sense when they see that.

The march takes most of the day, the ocean of Thralls following me, and my flying generals are much faster than your average human as they run tirelessly behind us. So by sunset, we are surrounding the city, the gnashing teeth and claws of my thralls ready and willing to tear and rend. I could see the guards and soldiers of Port Carik lining the walls, they evidently had a sizable one. But I could see the panic, the fear…they knew they couldn’t hold out.

So, I landed before the main gate of the city, as all my thralls simultaneously roared and snarled a great cheer. I spoke with thunderous authority towards the shaking guards assembled at the gate. “You will bring the leader of this port before me now, so we may discuss his surrender.”

One of them ran off the moment the words left my mouth, but the others all stood their ground, as terrified as they were, they weren’t running or abandoning their posts. I’m almost impressed. I had told my Courtiers to wait, Terr’yis keeping them invisible and in flight, close enough to appear and land the moment the leader of the city came out. Just to hammer home my point even further.

After a few more moments a man came up to the top of the gate, dressed in finery wearing what appeared to be a brass circlet on his head. He had deep brown hair kept neat and close to his head, sporting a well-groomed beard that had recently started to show signs of greying. His eyes were a rather piercing blue. When he speaks it is with confidence and dignity, even in the face of overwhelming forces.

“Odd for a Monster of the Dark to call for terms of surrender. I assume the terms would be no better than **** and defeat, but I thought I should listen.”

“Ahh, well you have a few misconceptions…I am not of the Dark, nor the Light. I am something new, I am strength and truth. Though where are my manners, I am Caelum Ignis, the Osmium King. You are?”

“Lord Edward Carik the Third, what do you mean by something new?” He asked with confusion.

“Lord Edward Carik, I believe a friend of ours will explain better perhaps. You knew the Light Sentries, yes?”

“The heroes you slaughtered along with my men? Yes, I knew them.” He said with a hard glare, a measured but hateful tone.

Before I could speak they appeared and flew down, landing alongside me. Surprise and then horror written on his face before he yelled out, “You expect me to believe you are anything but the Darkness when you twist and change our dead heroes!?”

“We never died, Lord Carik.” Lena said with a smile as she stepped forward, her voice just as cheerful as he remembered, just as alive. “We simply embraced his truth, the only real truth in the world. The Light and Dark are both weak and have failed us, but our own strength and the power and magic in our own wills will never fail us! The All-Edged Truth is that strength proves existence, those that are weak shall either be taught that, or destroyed. Let us teach you, Edward.”

Her words were laced with the power of her new form, the magic given to her by The Truth made her every word almost like a charm spell. Speaking to the deep and silent desires in the hearts and souls of all those men and women gathered on the walls.

The Lord stuttered slightly as he spoke, Lena’s powers of persuasion worming into his heart. “Teach us? You mean to rule this city, not destroy it?” He shook his head “I received word this morning that the Forces of Light enacted the Lock Box protocol. This entire continent is going to devolve into chaos, The Hornet infestation will undo us all and the main Kingdom south of here…even if their more powerful heroes and armies will stay at the capital, they will marshal everything against you. So either you destroy us now and we die for the Light, or the Hornet use our bodies for their terrible purposes,” Note to self, ask about that statement later, “or our own kinsmen put us down for joining you.”

Ardema steps forward and raises a hand, a great chakram of glowing green fire and metal appears in her hand. “Do not worry about the Hornets.”

Lukar steps forward and jams the tip of his sword into the ground before him. “Nor about those who refuse to see Truth.”

Lena smiled and nodded “You will be victorious, and your people will be more than they ever have been. Join us, embrace the truth, and be shaped by it.”

I slowly drift to the top of the wall, hovering before him, the guards and his lordship only taking a few steps back, their fear being quelled by my dark angel’s words. “Accept the bladed truth, accept your own path to strength.” A knife of green fire appears in my hands and I extend my hand to him, offering him the knife. “There is a knife for you, it is shaped like newness in the truth. Take it, and cut your new shape."