ALLIANCE Level not increased due to lack of inhabitants
5000000 inhabitants required for ALLIANCE to improve further
The CAPITAL CITY remains Level 13
So, that’s the limit, Dallion thought. All the remnants of the alliance that had seemed so large a day ago now were insignificant in the terms of the world. With all resources currently at his disposal, Dallion had only managed to create a city the size of a provincial capital. The empire had two dozen such cities, not to mention the imperial capital itself. Even so, this was enough to quickly boost his level to a hundred and nine. It wasn’t the new city that had achieved that, though, but the territory he had gained between his three settlements.
All the leveling points had been placed on perception, raising the trait to ninety-two—hopefully enough for Dallion to make use of his awakened markers again. With what was coming, he was going to need them.
It wasn’t only external issues that concerned him. A sudden change of this magnitude was bound to have a deep political impact, and it did. For starters, all of Dallion’s previous settlements—including Sandstorm, which he had thought would be the domain capital—were thrown to the back burner. Dallion had allocated a large number of dwarf civilians there, effectively turning them into large towns, but compared to Alliance, they couldn’t be considered even satellites.
The gorgon and dwarf population also had misgivings regarding him becoming their noble. It didn’t matter that he was engaged to Euryale, or that she had willingly given him control of the settlement, many viewed him as a usurper. Dallion could sense the feelings emanating from them on a constant basis. A few music filled speeches had helped things stabilize, but that was a temporary measure.
“No ships spotted so far.” Veil appeared a step away from Dallion.
While Dallion had kept him in Sandstorm, the link between the domains allowed Veil to move between domains belonging to the same owner.
“I’ve moved the quarters about a bit. They should be fine for now. Hannah isn’t particularly happy. Moving the entire fighting force here has created a soft belly. If someone attacks from behind…”
“That’s what you’re here for,” Dallion replied, returning to the real world. The overseer did the shift with him. “The Order will have our back. They can’t afford to let me fall.”
“Dal, you’ve no idea what the Order really wants. For all you know, they might be working together with the emperor to get all enemy forces in one place so he can fire his rockets and get rid of you all.”
That was an ominously realistic option. Dallion could see it happen. He wouldn’t die, of course. Thanks to his domain powers, he could return to his domain in the capital while all of his settlements and everything between them was turned to glass.
“Let’s hope the Order doesn’t let him.”
Casting a flight spell, Dallion rose into the air. The city was forming quite well. Euryale’s initial planning was solid. Dallion had added to that, focusing on sea and air defenses. Few could tell by looking, but the city had a substantial underwater section. No one lived there, but any ships that approached would quickly learn they weren’t welcome when spikes of stone shot up through their hulls.
Gorgon soldiers covered the three-layer wall, hundreds of them equipped with heavy crossbows. The weapons were the dwarves’ contribution. With most of their warriors dead or captured, they had focused their efforts on crafting, which they did exceedingly well. All it took was a single advanced blueprint created by Dallion and Euryale, for them to copy it thousands of times without question.
“How’s Eury?” Veil asked.
“She’s better.”
“That’s good,” he said in a low voice, suggesting that wasn’t the main topic of conversation. “So, you can visit Sandstorm and Stone Circle for a bit.”
“Again?” Dallion frowned. “I was already there this morning.”
“Yes, and you’ll need to be there a lot more. Look, I get what’s going on. Heck, I even like Eury. Everyone in the know does. Still, Sandstorm feels abandoned. They were the first that followed you here on a limb. Some left comfortable lives behind to fight nymphs in the wilderness because they believe in you. Now that millions have come to the shore, they feel like you dropped them like a rotten pear.”
That was the last thing that Dallion intended, but he couldn’t deny that from their perspective, it seemed that way.
“Go there, use your music skill to say a few words,” Veil continued. “You said Eury’s fine.”
“I said she’s better.”
“She’s fine enough,” Veil snapped. “I’m telling you that the people in Sandstorm aren’t. So, unless you want to start relying heavily on limiting echoes, you’d better go there!”
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Dallion turned around. His index finger was already splitting the air. Just as he was about to respond in a bout of anger, the words of his grandfather came back to him: it isn’t easy forging a province. In Dallion’s mind, time slowed to a crawl.
You’ve actually gone through this, old man, he thought. Haven’t you? All the time pretending to be an old broken man, concerned for his daughter, yet you were a domain ruler.
Clearly, a man was ready to go through anything for his children. Maybe that’s why he agreed to go back to the village; maybe that was why he had left control of everything to Aspion. When Dallion had appeared in the world, he saw them as two bitter enemies. Now, he knew that not only had they been childhood friends, but all their actions were to protect their families and, in a way, Dherma as a whole. There was no doubt that the former village chief had gone overboard, turning into a tyrant, but even he had started with the clear intention of keeping the settlement safe from the dangers of the outside world. His animosity towards Kraisten and all new awakened was because he feared that they might lead people to the same mistakes that had been made in the past.
“You’re right,” Dallion admitted after a while. “It’s time I did something better.” His fingers danced in the air. Creating an intricate sphere spell.
Three interlocked circles of magic appeared, then broke up, each flying in a different direction. The largest stopped after less than a second positioning itself in the center of Alliance’s domain. The other two sped to Stone Circle and Sandstorm and did the same. Once that was done, Dallion summoned three clay cylinders and broke them; three aether echoes emerged.
“Really?” Veil gave Dallion an annoyed look. “You can’t even go yourself?”
“That’s not the point,” Dallion said as all three of his echoes flew to reach the rings. “If I was going to do either, I wouldn’t have used three of them.”
Minutes passed. Even with magic, it took a while for everything to be in place. The moment an echo entered a magic circle, it grew, turning into a semi-transparent rendition of Dallion. Some would say that was a cheap attempt to copy the emperor’s announcement from not too long ago. They would be right, but at the same time, such announcements worked.
“Hi,” all three aether Dallions said as he spoke.
The spell rings had made each echo large enough to be clearly visible from anywhere within the three settlements. More importantly, their voices were amplified so that everyone could hear them. He had taken special care to use his music skills in a subtle way so as not to be caught out, even by mages.
“All of you know me, or have heard of me.” Dallion made a deliberate pause. “And right now, none of you are happy with what I’m doing. Those of you who followed me feel this wasn’t what you signed up for. I moved you to the edge of the known world only to become the target of the Azures. Those of you of the Alliance think that I don’t deserve my position, that I’m taking advantage of my fiancee's wounds to steal what should have been hers.”
Emotions emanated from all inhabited locations. Dallion could feel the subdued anger at his words. That was good—his point was to use a combination of magic and music skills to pull it out.
“What was it? Any noble with magic and a few familiars could pretend to be a big deal,” he continued. No one had said that particular phrase, but now many were convinced that someone had. “I’m that noble, and right now I’m your noble.”
Here we go, Dallion told himself.
“You’ve seen what I did at the vortex fields.” Determination, strength and a sense of belonging were woven into his words. “You’ve heard what I’ve done during the Academy’s disruption. I’ve been a hunter, a mage, the Hero of Nerosal, who found the aetherbird during the last phoenix hunt. And right now, I’m also your noble!”
Dallion added the use of herbalism and zoology to the mix. Now, his words were affecting plants, animals, and guardians as well.
“The fight’s never been between me and Eury,” he continued, louder. “It wasn’t between me and you. And it definitely isn’t between our three towns. You might have arrived in a different fashion, but you’re here now! All of us have only one enemy—the Azures. That’s why I’ve focused on the city on the coast. There’s no doubt that they’re coming and here we’ll make out stand!”
Originally, Euryale had created the settlement as a temporary shelter while her forces scouted the area. The plan had been for them to move as far as possible inland, away from the water. With it becoming clear that the world is a globe, that was no longer the best option.
“Here, we win!” Dallion said, all of his three aether echoes raising a fist in the air.
Cheers erupted. The speech wasn’t particularly special, but the cocktail of emotions he had instilled in the people had filled them with enough enthusiasm to last days.
“You’re such a bastard,” Veil whispered.
“What’s the use of having music skills if I never take advantage of them?” Dallion cast a spell, causing all three rings and aether echoes to vanish. “It saves time. Right now, that’s what we don’t have. Let me know if things get bad again.”
“Sure.” Veil sunk into the ground.
Dallion spent a few more minutes in the air to confirm that the effect was still present, then went back to Euryale. The gorgon’s wounds needed a lot of work before they were fully healed.
For days, he kept removing the strands of magic one by one from her flesh, healing it after each extraction. While he did, they would talk about everything and nothing: the present situation, nostalgic moments of the past, what could have been, what could be.
Days passed. The city continued to grow and fortify. Flights of furies criss-crossed the sky, scouting the area for any enemy ships. The situation remained tense, though the bog of resentment was gone. Euryale, too, slowly improved, though she remained far from her previous form. Thankfully, the mental doubt and pain had managed to evaporate a lot faster.
“I’ll go outside today,” she said, putting on her shirt.
“You still need a few more days. No need to rush it.”
“It’s already been too long. People need to see me. You have a handful of nobles and only two domain rulers. If one of us is out of commission, morale will fall.”
That was true, yet Dallion remained hesitant. His mind was already coming up with a dozen explanations and excuses why it would be better if she took it easy one more day, when suddenly Veil emerged in the room.
“Sorry, lovebirds, we have a pr—” he began.
“They’re here,” Dallion interrupted.
“Yes.” Veil nodded. “A fury group spotted lots of ships coming this way.”
Dallion turned towards Eury.
“We knew they’d send their forces,” she said. “We’re lucky. If they are ships, it means they’ve sent humans.”
“Very lucky.” Dallion forced the words out of his mouth. “Tell the furies to get back here and share all the info they have.”
“They’re dead,” Veil said. “There were a few mages aboard.”
That was unpleasant. Magic enemies always tended to create a mess.
“I’ll face them,” Dallion said. “Eury, you stay here in case something happens.”
“Dal.” The gorgon walked up to him and gently slid her hand along his right cheek. “Not on your life. I’ve seen a lot more battles. We wait for them to get near, then face them together.”