The next morning I was woken up by thousands of mud skinks staring at me. I stood up and looked around as they just continued to stare at me. I glanced back at them questioningly as a bruiser walked up to me and asked. “Is it true you’re going to claim us?”

I groggily stood up and said. “I am Aya! Queen of the mud flats and the destroyer of rats! Richest person in the world! Mud dragon of the east! I am the harbinger of change within the seven tribes region. Most importantly I am the mother of Marlow, Chester, Tom, Tim, James and Chester! I claim all of you as my people! I’ll do my best to make sure you all get fed!”

They all started cheering as I smiled. After almost a minute I stomped my foot and yelled. “Silence! It’s time to get to work! The other queens don’t see your worth, I do. First off, all hatchlings will live in the center of the district in or around my burrow. I expect all of you to protect and prioritize our young.”

The second I said that hundreds of hatchlings rush towards me, covering me in a tide of scales and tails. I slammed into the ground as the hatchlings began thanking me and hugging me. I couldn’t stop laughing as my new servants rushed to gain control of the hatchlings.

It took ten minutes for the hatchlings to get off of me. I smiled and said. “Next order of business, is there a school in this district? If there isn't one, build one. I want all hatchlings to learn how to fight, count, and write.”

Dozens of caretakers nodded as one walked up to me and asked. “Who do you want the teachers to be?” I smiled and said “The caretakers of course! Now get to work! I want all of the hatchlings to have burrows. If any have to sleep outside tonight I’ll kill you.”

The caretakers walked away and got to work as I smiled and yelled. “Alright, next order of business. How many of you will fight for me?” Over a thousand bruisers yelled out their loyalty as I smiled ever wider and said. “Perfect, I’ll meet with all of you if you want to join my army. For now I want all of you to help the hatchlings and caretakers, dig more burrows, and help build the school.”

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They nodded as I continued, managing a nation is hard. I don’t even own the entirety of the nation yet! “Now, I need each evolution to select a leader to join my new council. That doesn’t include hatchlings by the way.”

I was about to walk over to check on my kids but I stopped and yelled. “My kids' safety is also one of your priorities! Make sure they can’t get stolen by the other queens. I’m going to have a lot of enemies soon enough.”

Can’t be too careful. And honestly having over a thousand bruisers guardian them is a weight off my chest. Just as I was about to continue giving out instructions the largest bruiser I’d ever seen walked up to me. He was easily double the size of Az.

He was still tiny compared to me but still. I didn’t know there could be that much variation. He walked up to me and said. “High Queen Tuobella has summoned you!” I shrugged and said. “Alright boys! I’m gonna talk to Tuobella. I want the council ready by the time I get back.”

We started walking towards the center of the city. We walked in silence for a while but finally the bruiser said. “You’ve been busy haven't you? Trash.” I stared at him, a bit confused as he smugly stared at me.

I stared back at him and asked. “Did you see some? You should pick it up. You shouldn’t just leave litter lying around.” He frowned and said. “No. I was calling you trash.” We had both stopped by now as I continued to stare at him.

We held eye contact for a bit until I said. “Impossible. I’m rich. Rich people can’t be trash. You’re poor, you don’t get it. Don’t worry, you might understand someday.” He sputtered and said. “I am the commander of the guard for High Queen Tuobella! You will address me with respect! I am of equal rank to you!”

I shook my head and said. “No, you still don’t understand. I’m god compared to you. And in this example you're an ant. Tuobella is a squirrel and my kids are also gods.” He stood as tall as he could, still craning his neck to look up at me as he screamed. “How dare you compare her highness to a rodent! And you compare yourself to a god? God of what? The unclaimed?”

I shook my head and said. “No, not a god. God, singular. Like in the example, I am the only god. The highest power possible. You can’t go farther.” He shook his head and said. “You act like you’re so much better than us. But it’s clear that you don’t even understand our society! You think high Queen Tuobella never thought of claiming all of them as a quick increase to power! You don’t understand what's happening!”

I shook my head and said. “No, you don’t understand. You are barely worth more than dirt. I am more expensive than this entire planet. I am going to rule over this entire planet someday. But first I’m going to be a general. No power play coming from over here.”

Good job me! Can’t get too excited. Gotta let Az and his brothers work their magic. They’ve hopefully started going around claiming some mud skinks. The growth will be exponential from there. Next time I’m out of the city I’ll hand my kids off to some of my new claims. The plan is coming together perfectly!