Amun.
***
“You’ll see, one day.” I grinned. Then turned with a wave over my shoulder. “See you later.”
While Mayor Silas turned toward town hall with Rodin, Joe followed after me to disband the mob of citizens surrounding the others with a loud yell calling for a town meeting. Then moved off with the mob with nothing more than a dismissive nod.
“What can you tell me of the place, Jaimess?”
His eyes lingered on the civilians begrudgingly retreating into the distance before he turned a somewhat solemn gaze to me. “In addition to being a mine.” He pointed to the cave behind me. “There are storage depots for both food and industrial materials. They’re brought to those workshops and refineries via a cart system. That alone serves as the heart of the village’s economy. They have a few ‘notable’ armor and weapons smiths, an old witch who specializes in alchemy, and many geomancers and dwarves who specialize in construction. But they only trade internally. And that’s all they have.
“Besides the bandits, the only problem they have is food. The soil here is fertile enough to support grasses, weeds, and trees. But.” He paused to turn to the struggling fields lining the southern rim of the plateau. “Cultivated crops produce ridiculously low yields. They’re unable to support population growth. They can hardly support the population that exists now.”
I noted his words on my mental list and looked at the semi-constructed walls to make a quick estimate of its construction time. At the current rate and without our help, I estimated it’d take at least a tenday to complete. Probably more. But the enlisted labor meant the citizenry was taken away from the usual means of production and earning. Not only that, but the design was uncalled for. Creating a bigger wall would only rob them of sunlight and make any hopes of spotting enemies on approach impossible. Not to mention, it made them a huge target.
“Alright.” I turned to Letta and Giorno after a few moments. “How do you feel about living on the face of the mountain?”
“On the… face, of the mountain?” Giorno turned east with furrowed brows, slowly repeating the words over and over until the light seemed to hit him. “Ah-hah!” He finally nodded. “A cliff-side cave! Open living areas. Closed off rooms. Hanging gardens…”
“That sounds lovely.” Letta chimed in after his words trailed off.
“Then it's settled.” I turned to the rest with a smirk of satisfaction. “Now then, we’ll be fixing this place up regardless of whether they choose to join us or not. To that end, I’ll be spending some time doing some city planning. Once we receive the Mayor’s approval, I’ll carve out the main layout overnight. Jaimess, Ed.” I turned to them. “ I need you two to follow after me in the morning to put in the infrastructure and enchantments. Letta, Giorno.” I turned. “You’ll be coming in after them to decorate the place while Toril trains the guards.”
“What do you want us to do?” Roheisa asked, pointing at herself and Lucia.
“What are you good at?” I shrugged. “Besides fighting.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She sneered. “But, I’m quite skilled in construction. And Lucia is great with children.”
The ever-quiet Lucia shied her blushed face into her hands after being called out.
“You can help with the walls if you want.” I shrugged again, then threw my chin to the shy knight. “Lucia can train the kids.”
“Then it's a plan.” Roheisa curtly nodded.
“That it is,” I said. “So, feel free to do whatever until we get the approval.”
With a few nods and affirmative words, they all dispersed to either lounge about or take up patrol duties in the guards’ absence. Meanwhile, I took flight, ascending a few dozen meters up the mountain to violently withdraw a boulder with gravity magic and earth manipulation.
After ensuring no surprises would befall the town, I descended with my quarry and raised a small platform in an open area to sit before the boulder. Then, began carving out a scale model of Hill Base with void magic. With that done, I funneled the temporal portion of my space-time mana around my left arm to activate the Chrono Dial. Enabling me to methodically draw up and cast aside dozens of blueprints and designs and implement the best ones into the model.
Four hours of dilated time later, the scale model was presentable. But not as finely detailed as I’d have liked it to be. Sadly, however, the meeting had ended; or, at least been paused. As I could feel Rodin’s hulking figure emerging from the door to wave at me in slow motion.
I made a few finishing touches on the model before I made my way up to him and canceled the spell. “Done already?” I snorted in disbelief.
“Yah!” Rodin leaped backward, slamming his back into the wall with enough force to buckle his knees. “Please!” He rose to his feet, furiously shaking his head. “Do not do that again!”
“Yah.” I nodded, snickering at him. “I’ll try not to.”
He took another moment to regain his composure, then pushed the door open and stepped aside. “T- the villagers wish to speak with you.”
“Alright.” I stepped in at once, following him through the spacious foyer, past the twin staircases lining the walls, and into an expansive room placed below the Mayor’s office. Between the pews arranged before a podium, the decorated paneling in the walls and ceiling, and the polished floors, the room came off as a strong mix between a chapel and a lounge or country club. A space crowded with a pungent mix of stained wood, perfumes, and body odor that leaked off the furniture and the hundreds of children, teenagers, adults, and elderly people born in the widest variety of sizes, shapes, and colors I’d ever seen in this life thus far.
Though I fully intended to help them, I wouldn’t shy away from admitting that I was acting purely in self-interest and that I wasn’t particularly interested in answering twenty questions about nothing. So I politely bowed to the room after standing beside the mayor to lay it all out for them.
“My name is Amun. A Platinum Grade, half-drow Initiate Sorcerer. Yes, I am indeed the heir to the house of Cole. And, yes, it's true that I use necromancy, and will use necromancy to protect Hill Base during my absence. However, as I told Mayor Silas, I have no intention to subjugate anyone. I only seek to uplift you as thanks for allowing my friends to take residence here during my stay at the academy. And, as Mayor Silas may have said, I will be a Guild Master upon my return from the academy. At which time, I will come to collect my friends and you’ll be given an offer to become a part of my budding empire. Essentially to become our capital city. If you reject my offer, we will leave you be. But if you accept, I will share all of my wealth, knowledge, and power with each and every one of you. The only condition is that everyone who is of age has to vote. Any questions?”
“How do we know we can trust you?” a skeptic in the crowd asked. “You only killed the bandits to gain our trust.”
“While that is true.” I humbly nodded. “I gain nothing from attacking, subjugating, or mistreating the residents of Hill Base. Other than that, and the obvious, you only have my word to trust.”
“What is the purpose of your guild?” another voice asked after a short and noisy pause.
“My guild will first be trained,” I said. “After training is complete, we will go to Ulai to rid Maru of the monsters looming behind the barrier once and for all. After that, we will create an empire in those lands. Then, the guild will set out to explore the Mortal Plane in its entirety.”
There were a few moments full of murmurs and open-ended conjecture until another voice broke out from the crowd.
“What do you mean by, ‘uplift’ us?”
“I mean that I plan to teach you efficient ways to grow an abundance of food and house your citizens. I will educate you and train you to protect yourselves. I will teach you how to build things. How to increase your quality of life. To that end, I’ve created a scale model that I think you all should see.”
With a gesture for them to follow, I went out the door and outside to my artisanal rock. Then turned to see the long line of residents trailing behind me. Some of them like the Mayor, Rodin, and Joe were eager; most were reluctant, but all seemed willing to follow me outside and gaze upon the model I created.
After the paradigm shifted on Earth so long ago, there were just many humans who moved into subterranean or subsurface ocean habitats as there were humans living in arcologies, or orbital habitats, and hollowed-out asteroids. Regardless of the hab, the blueprints, designs, and standard operating procedures found in the Starfarer’s Archives- the one who uplifted us- all revolved around one thing.
Biomimicry.
Mother Nature. Reality. God. Physics. The Natural Laws of the Universe. Regardless of what one chose to call it, nature always was and forever would be the greatest engineer in the universe. In the case of subterranean habitats, the humans of the late 21st century and beyond amalgamated everything from ants, termites, bumblebees, and wasps, to a variety of other arthropods as well as animals like moles, beavers, and birds to create vast superstructures capable of housing hundreds of thousands to millions of people. Naturally, such practices had been assimilated into my model. I only hoped the occupants of Hill Base were willing to go through with the outlandish design, as my work would’ve been for nothing. To that end, I followed the initial assumption that these people wouldn’t take to being likened to insects and rodents, so I chose to forgo the explanations and just went for it.
“To make things easy.” I pointed to an open-faced building sitting at the base of the platform. “We’ll begin at the gate. In front of it, will be a checkpoint to document and search any carriages coming to or from the city and to detain anyone who needs detaining. As for the entrance itself, it’ll be made wider, with a central ramp for carriages and stairways on either side. That staircase will be monitored by a catwalk extending overhead and underground embrasures, manned by guards stationed just behind the walls. The gate itself will be at the top of the ramp rather than the bottom.”
I then traced my finger around the plateau, now shaped like a cross between a bastion fort and a ziggurat. “The perimeter will have a few balconies extending a meter or so beyond the cliff face, enough for embrasures to be placed to look along the walls for sightseeing or defense. As for the grounds themselves.” I paused to point to the central platform. “Please keep in mind that this is a model that shows my vision of Hill Base in four-years time. And with Hill Base being the industrial town that it is, it would only make sense to utilize the plateau for commerce and tourism. A stone road, lined with a market square and the obligatory general shops, inns, and taverns, will extend from the main gate to a reconstructed town hall. From there, a roundabout will split the road into three ways. To the south will be the commercial districts, while a few recreational plazas and parks sit to the north. And to the east, inside the mountain, is where the citizenry will reside.”
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I paused to 'split' the boulder apart with the aid of gravity magic to reveal an intricate network of tunnels and chambers. Then, I slapped a long pointer stick to an elliptical space coming off from the entrance. “Entering the mountain will lead one into a grand foyer that doubles as both an indoor park and a mirror of the commercial space outside. The plateau is reserved for the common passerby. The interior, however, is for esteemed guests, family, or those you simply trust. Continuing deeper and higher into the mountain will lead to the inns and taverns or parks and tourist districts that are of higher quality, while the paths leading to the left and right will lead to stairs that connect to the recreational spaces. Below ground will be the primary industrial area, containing the mines, forges, warehouses, and factories.” I pointed to the spiral hub running through the boulder’s bowl-like bottom before collapsing the boulder to point at the honeycomb skin on the boulder. “As for housing, the citizenry will take residency in these caves lining the face of the mountain. Each of them has an open floor plan that leaves the living room and kitchen exposed to the air while your sleeping spaces and bathroom will remain enclosed, creating balconies that can support vegetable gardens.
“Lastly,” I added with a raised finger. “Hill Base’s orientation allows the residential units to be heated naturally during the day and bleed that heat off during the night. The interior will remain the same temperature year-round, and the winds passing over the mountain will be used to circulate the air within. More so, the reservoirs I’ll be installing higher up the mountain will gather rainwater and pipe them to the city to predetermined distribution points. Reducing our dependence on enchantments.
“And that is all.” I turned to the hundreds of individuals who circled me with a closing bow. “If you all agree to the design, my friends and I can get started immediately.”
“Nonsense.” Mayor Silas shook his head. “You all deserve a feast for what you’ve done for us. The work can wait until tomorrow.”
“Until tonight, at least.” I politely retorted. “We have a deadline to meet.”
“It’s quite the ambitious project.” A random guard broke through the chatter. “How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Around a tenday.” I amiably shrugged. Causing a deafening wave of disbelief to spread through the crowd.
“Giorno and Letta are the ones who’ll be staying with you!” I shouted over them. “Giorno is a tailor and Letta is a watchmaker. And they both possess great skill and peculiar magical affinities that will greatly aid us in construction. They’ll be earning their keep over the several days. And I’m confident that they’ll bring great wealth to Hill Base.
“Well.” I clasped my hand together and stepped off to slowly ascend above the crowd. “I’ll leave it to you all to decide.”
“Wait!”
“Hmm?”
I turned to see Mayor Silas extending his arm skyward. “We’ll do it.” He smiled.
“Great.” I turned, nodding. “I’ll get to work immediately."
“No!” He screamed again. “Wait!”
I turned, descending with furrowed brows until I was standing a few meters away from the Mayor. Staring at his outstretched hand.
“We’ll join you.” He smiled softly.
“And all of you agreed to this?” I turned to the crowd. Only to be met with a wall of welcoming smiles and long, pleading faces.
“You’ve avenged my daughter. Absolutely!”
“Our hearts are finally at ease.”
“It was something I prayed for,” Mayor Silas solemnly said. “I humbly admit that I bit off more than I could chew. I made a promise that, if I had to, I’d make a deal with a devil to protect Hill Base. I am a man of my word. Whereas you, well. Those of your House are known across the realms as devils. So, please take us under your wing.”
I could only grin wide after hearing the words and take his hand in mine to give it a few vigorous shakes. “I will! And thank you for having faith in me!” I turned to the crowd. “As I said, I swear to share my wealth, knowledge, and power with you. That starts now.”
So saying, I paused to lean in and whisper to the Mayor. “Is everyone present? Even the children?”
“Yes.” He curtly nodded.
“Alright,” I said over the crowd, shushing them in an instant. “To start, I want you all to look at your feet. The silhouette of darkness cast by your body is like a true mirror of yourself. More so than any reflection cast by water, ice, polished metal, or even a mirror. It’s a reflection of you, created at the moment of your birth to exist between this realm and the Shadow Realm. One that will remain until you decay into dust. It is, for all intents and purposes, your clone. Your Doppelganger. And I’ve long since decided to summon one for those under my wing.”
“W- what does that mean?” A random asked after a long silence.
“It means this.” I snorted, breaking the seal on my Well to change the attribute and dump my entire reserve around the Mayor’s feet.
Within seconds, the shadow beneath his feat darkened. Began rippling, and spat out an inky mass that quickly took the shape of Mayor Silas. Prompting me to approach the clone to bring its attention to me and try something I’d been hypothesizing about lately: Curse Spells.
According to what I overheard during our assessment, Jonet incanted her spells with the Kelvin scale. Assumedly a so-called curse spell, according to the Emperor’s outburst. An observation that led to my assumptions about raising the dead. Naturally, however, there was a slew of other questions that revolved around the art as well. Namely, how it influenced known spells. In this case, Doppelgangers.
Through my studies as a young lad, I learned that my Doppelganger was far more capable than any other clone I could produce, as he too could use my sorcery; thus making him a horrible lab rat. After that, Caia's clone implied Arcana made for more resilient clones, and that giving them orders made the solid shade they were made of, mimic flesh and blood to a small degree. In this case, I hypothesized that giving them commands in the form of a curse spell would elevate the clone to its final form. If not, then it’d have to be summoned with the technique like the dead. So, with that in mind, I pulled mana through my core, then guided the resulting stream of darkness into my throat as I said. “Johann Silas is your master and mirror. You are to help protect yourselves. Work while he sleeps. Aid him when he’s injured or ill. Assist him in his daily tasks. And share with him my knowledge for the rest of your days.”
As the clone lowered his head in a bow, the light absorbing into his flesh began to reflect and bend its visage into the same blend of creamy whites, inky-blacks, and leathery-brown hues featured on the man himself until what appeared to be a flesh and blood clone of the Mayor stood next to him, bowing at me in a dignified manner.
‘Well, that’s surprising.’ I grinned.
“I understand, My Liege,” he said in a normal tone as he rose from his bow. Causing quite a commotion from the onlookers.
“My Liege?” Rodin repeated.
“May I?” The clone turned to me to receive a curt nod, then turned to face Rodin. “The King is, by birthright, a sovereign of both the Plane of Shadow and the Underworld. The two are connected, you see, as is he and his ancestors. They have absolute authority over all creatures affiliated with death and darkness.”
“So that’s why they’re called Devils.” A young voice said in sudden recognition, followed by a sharp and hurried shushing sound.
“It is.” I nodded. “An apt description, but one birthed from stereotypes and hearsay. In the same way that carrying a sword doesn’t inherently make one good and righteous, or evil and malicious, being born with or being granted a particular affinity doesn’t make one good or evil. As individuals, our use of power is what determines our character. Not the circumstances of our birth or the deeds of our forefathers.
“But, I digress.” I waved the matter aside. “Please, form up in a line, one family at a time, so that I can spawn your doppelgangers and send you on your way.”
Quite amusingly, the vast majority of citizens excitedly rushed over themselves to receive their doppelgangers. Saving the guards and several skeptics who lingered in the back of the line. Regardless, I asked each of them for their names and captured their faces in my memory before I painstakingly used all my mana to spawn their Doppelgangers and issue the same orders given to the Mayor’s clone. Except for the soldiers and the children, where the former was told to obey their chain of command and the latter was told to obey their parents and not do anything they’d disapprove of. In all, I went through the process of emptying my Well and watched the originals trot off to get to know their clones 278 times until only the Mayor was left standing beside me, collapsed in my chair on the brink of exhaustion.
“Are... you alright?” I heard him ask.
“Yeah.” I gasped. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
I put forth the effort to open my eyes and turn to see a mix of disapproval and worry stamped across Roheisa’s face as she continued. “You didn’t have to go that far.”
“Eh.” I attempted a shrug. “I figured it was a good way to get used to mana exhaustion.”
“Your nose is bleeding.” Silas nonchalantly pointed out.
“Regardless.” I turned to the others. “The citizens have agreed to go through with our remodeling of the city, and they have agreed to become our allies. In other words, they are the first city to be placed under the protection of our guild. Although it has yet to exist.” I dryly snorted. “Letta and Giorno.” I looked at them both. “Come morning, you two will have to start earning your keep. After I get some sleep, I’ll relieve my Doppelganger and carve out the main paths and rooms within the mountain. When you two wake up, I need you to start on the honeycombs first, then work on what we discussed earlier. Ed, Jaimess.” I paused as my Doppelganger threw a few scrolls at them. “You’ll be working with Mayor Silas to see what enchantments we collectively have and focus on installing these designs while Roheisa works on the perimeter. And, Rodin?”
“Aye?”
“Toril and Lucia here will be training you, the guards, and the young ones on my Elemental Theories. That said.” I turned back to the Mayor. “You and every other citizen is required to be educated and to become proficient in not only these practices but in martial combat as well. Everyone is required to be able to fight. To that end, these two will train your guards. And your guards will train the citizens. That way, everyone can protect themselves and their property.”
“As you wish.” The Mayor nodded. “And please, call me Johann, or Silas.”
“Very well, Silas.” I nodded. “I plan to have the superstructure carved out and the residential units complete by tomorrow night. Allowing the citizens to move in and continue their daily lives the day after. By then, the wall and gate should be nearly complete, allowing us to begin reconstructing the plateau. During the third and fourth days, I plan on carving out a place I didn’t mention to the citizenry.”
“The barracks.” Rodin pointed out.
“Precisely.” I grinned. “Silas, Rodin. I plan to have your forces become an elite strike team. I envision them appearing from unseen crevasses, caves, and tunnels I’ll spread throughout Hill Base to subdue your targets with the utmost efficiency. Naturally, the citizens will hardly be aware of this. The basis of your operation will be below us.” I paused to watch them gaze under their feet. “Like the embrasures surrounding the gate, the barracks will extend throughout the plateau and will contain every facility a military force may ever need.”
“That sounds… interesting,” Rodin grunted as he scratched his beard, auspiciously hiding an exuberant grin.
“Very.” I snorted. “After that, we’ll establish a market square and meet with the artisans and educators to give them blueprints and materials to develop and teach to the citizens. And after that.” I shrugged. “We’ll tend to whatever issues that may arise before we bid our temporary farewell.
"As for rules or laws.” I raised two fingers. “Do nothing to take away another's freedom. The very idea of slavery is to be abhorred. I will not, under any circumstances, tolerate it.”
“It should bring you some comfort to know that everyone here feels the same, Sir.” He quickly added.
“You don’t have to call me ‘Sir,’ Silas.” I chimed back.
“Keeping your subordinates informed. It’s the mark of a good leader.” Rodin grunted to himself, then rose to his feet to slam his fist against his chest. “I am the Warrior, Captain Dukeen Rodin. Pleasured to be at your service. For the Gods know, I’d hate to have you as a foe."
“Pleasured to have you.” I turned in my seat to salute him back in the modern way. Much to his and everyone else's bemusement. “For now, I’m going to sleep.” I yawned over my shoulder. “Feel free to take the night off or otherwise do as you please. Just try not to bother the locals too much.”
“It’s the locals who are bothering us.” Toril snorted.
“Why can’t we start now?” The Princess asked.
“You can work yourselves to exhaustion if you want.” I yawned again. “But, the more you do, the longer you’ll need to sleep after. It's better to work all day tomorrow and sleep after a long day of honest work. Besides, it’ll give us time to get to know the locals.”
“Says the guy ready to sleep outside.” The Princess huffed. “Let’s go.”