Prophecy and leadership

You reach the communications room to find your fellow leaders already in a conversation. You sit down, greeting them quickly. Queen Kallista smiles, nodding. “I take it your trip to Ellon went well?”

You chuckle. “Yes and no.”

You explain what happened, and all three leaders express surprise. Forgefather Unir seems especially upset. “I never thought that Koras would betray us. I’ve known him a long time.”

You nod. “Out of curiosity, how much did you know about Bast?”

Unir chuckles. “That old bastard. Quite a bit, but he requested my silence. I’m not one to go against him, even if he is a cryptic jerk sometimes.”

You laugh. “Well, at least I’m not the only one who feels that way. In the end, though, we have a net positive. With Ruka in charge, they are our allies.”

Queen Sella nods. “Which brings us to the new issue. I assume you all saw the glowing over the horizon?”

Everyone nods, and Unir sighs. “I obviously didn’t see it, but it was reported to me.”

You look to the dwarven god. “Clarissa told me about a prophecy regarding something like this. Do you know any more?”

Unir nods. “I do, but not as much as I would like. That prophecy has been largely ignored, since it doesn’t involve the demon lord directly. It involves the undead.”

“Yura mentioned that she could feel the necromancy from here.”

“Your selkie is powerful indeed, to get even that much. I’ll tell you what I know. Before the rise of the demon lord, there was another power in the north, a kingdom of undead. From what I understand, they weren’t necessarily evil, but they were definitely not friendly either. The kingdom is said to have fallen around the time the demon lord ascended. The prophecy implies that their fall was not permanent. If that’s true, then what we’re seeing is a wild card in this war.”

Sella looks to you. “I don’t think this affects us, not yet anyway. If anything, it’s a distraction for our enemy!”

You nod. “We don’t know enough to act on anything. For now, we will continue as planned. I will be headed to the front soon, so I will need all the forces you can spare for the campaign.”

All three nod, and Kallista smiles. “You know, we’ve been treating you as our leader for quite a while now. My daughter, and Forgefather Unir’s protege are a part of your family. I propose that we make it official, Josh. I can’t speak for these others, but I am willing to call you Emperor.”

Sella smiles. “I’ve said that for a while. Your very reticence to claim the title speaks to your suitability.”

Unir nods in agreement. “You’ve led us well thus far. Giving the troops a banner to rally to would be good. And if you’re successful, you’ll need to have a government that rules over it all.”

You sigh. “I don’t want to take your people’s identity away from them…”

Kallista laughs. “As always, you underestimate the popularity of you and your family! Especially once word gets out that you were betrayed by a god, who you then slayed!”

“That’s not what happened…”

Sella smiles. “But that’s the story that will spread. The people want a champion. You can be that for them. Nothing needs to change at our level, Josh. You are already our leader.”

Unir nods. “Take the title, Magus. You are the symbol of what this world can be.”

You sigh. “Fine. I will be emperor. As emperor, then, let us begin our preparations. My leading general, Ochiba, will be guiding the campaign. Have your military leaders get in touch with him.”