Hell. Yes, that was what this was. Azura heaved again on all fours as more black fluid gushed from… well every orifice. She had foolishly messed with the power of the universe and now it was punishing her. Surprisingly, the smell was worse even than the feeling of the sticky black substance clinging onto her skin. Gods! How could anything smell this bad? She had smelled horrible things when mana beast died voiding their bowels. This was much worse. And it kept coming out of her! Stop already… please? Tears trickled down her cheeks as she convulsed plopping into the foul tar. She tried to roll away but couldn’t as more spewed forth.

“No more…” Azura whispered hoping that any entity would grant her a reprieve.

As if hearing her plead the sensation began to ebb as her ki kept circulating in her body. With each cycle, the ki pushed less and less of the horrible black substance out. Able to think finally Azura came to terrifying conclusion.

This was in me.

No… Surely not. Yet as the last bit exited in a tiny sputter, she felt simultaneously the best she ever had and the worst. The best because it seemed every little ache or flaw in her body had left with the black goo. The worst because she was soaking in the substance.

A bath. And fire. Yes… A bath for her and fire for the clothes. Perhaps multiple of both. She would even burn the ashes of the foulness that exited her. That’ll teach it.

Her goals were a bit more difficult to achieve than she first thought. The clothes stuck to her. Fused there by the black tar. Gross. It took a lot of peeling to finally get free. Then to make a fire in the kitchen to burn the evidence of what happened and to draw a bath. During all this she tried to breathe as little as possible. The air was truly foul. The only time she smelled anything this bad was after she ate that nasty fish on a dare.

It was only when she held her breath for more than two minutes without the least sensation of needing more that she began to understand. Her body had improved. The ki had purged all the wrongness out of her and improved everything else. How much had she changed? Testing was required. But cleaning was more required now. What was easy to test was holding her breath. She intended to do that anyways.

It wasn’t until she eased herself into the hot tub that she felt a slight burning in her lungs. It had been nearly twenty minutes. She took a breath and immediately regretted it. The smell was just as nasty as ever.

“By all the gods of below! Did a skunk-kin orgy happen here?” Came a shout. Oh… mom was home. Yay…

Loric and Tarwin strode toward the meeting hall. Loric’s mood was sour. It had been that way for the past two weeks. After the loss of the entire kin army. He shuddered. Not for the deaths of the kin, but for the thought it could have been his daughter… or might be soon. He had no illusions of the coming events. Two weeks ago after they had been informed by magical message about the losses at Fortunia. Since then the council of Deepmere have been contemplating on what to do next. Today was the deadline to have new proposals ready. He dreaded what may come of it.

The meeting hall room’s door flew open at a gesture from Tarwin as the pair approached. Inside all the others were already waiting. None of them looked pleased. Father and son sat down in the remaining two open chairs as the doors slammed shut behind them.

“We’ve all had time to think,” Grand Mage Arwin began. “So if no one objects, I’ll go first.” He received nods of agreement. He stood up and cleared his throat.

“The main issue, as I see it, is a lack of mana. We don’t have enough mana for both the mages to fight and for the city’s use. That mana cannon takes too much power which should be reserved for the cities barrier spell. As such we need to supplement the mana in the region. There has been a surprising surplus in mana beast meat available in the last few years. I have purchased some myself. If we buy up the current surplus we could send it to Fortunia. Mages with a steady diet of this meat could power the cannon and the defenses, even if the ambient mana was consumed. Perhaps we can find this mysterious hunter and contract them to supply more.”

“Good point Arwin,” Archmage Denayd said. “What you say is true, however I think you are missing the bigger picture.”

Denayd stood his green beard swaying as Arwin sat down.

“Council Members I feel the biggest issue is the lack of combat mages. The casualties we suffered two weeks ago was… significant. We need more magi. I suggest that we contact one of the mage academies. Dageth, would be my personal recommendation due to its closer proximity. It would be costly but we could have an extra 5000 combat ready magi here in two or three weeks.”

Denayd turned looking at each mage around him.

“An excellent suggestion,” the elf Kelfina said. “However I think it would be more beneficial to request the aid of the elves instead. While the combat magi of Dageth are certainly competent enough, elves would be far more able. Instead of hiring 5000 combat mages, recruit 500 elven mages. With such a force we could hold the mist off indefinitely.”

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Lord Arthos shook his head. “The trouble with both those suggestions is the cost. That does not even include food and lodgings. We’re lacking in all areas. The treasury is insufficient to recruit combat mages let alone elven mercenaries. Plus we lack sufficient housing. We could perhaps house five hundred here and a similar amount at Fortunia but not much more. Deepmere is not a large city despite its central locale and this would have to be the central staging area. I respect both ideas, but I’m unsure of its execution.”

Denayd nodded at the point and sat down. Keflina shrugged as Arthos rose.

“All the points I have heard are true and each have their own validity. However, the biggest threat are the spawn and the mist generators. As long as they exist then Fortunia will never be safe.” The man sighed before continuing. “The efforts to recruit nulls over the last few years did yield results. However it was not enough. Deepmere especially had a surprising low turnout. We need to take this to the next extreme. We’ll force them to fight.”

The mages all began to mutter at this. Loric felt a knot in his stomach.

“The nulls will not stand idly by as we conscript the combat worthy ones,” Denayd said.

“The cost would also be extreme,” Loric said trying to kill the idea. “They die too easily and aren’t worth the coin spent.”

Arthos nodded before continuing. “I too had ponder these points. I don’t think we should force recruitment for the army. Rather we gently subjugate all beast-kin.”

“Slaves,” Loric said hotly ignoring his father’s sudden grip on his shoulder. “Let’s not hide what you are really saying. You intend to turn the kin into slaves.”

“Nulls,” Arthos correct coldly. “And yes. We will have a numerous fighting force that we can recruit at any time. Those who aren’t fighting can be used to grow crops and other needs for the war. I don’t come to this conclusion lightly but if the nation is to survive we need to control the nulls. Not fight them at every turn.”

“Nonsense we can’t…” Loric said starting to rise when his father’s grip tighten. Suddenly his muscles locked up, freezing him in place. Tarwin then rose after giving his son a glare.

“Thank you for the most excellent suggestion Lord Arthos,” Tarwin said formally. “I and my family will support your proposition. In fact I will support each action suggested here today as they all fit together nicely when taken as a whole.”

The others in the room turned a confused gaze toward him.

“Allow me to clarify,” Tarwin said pacing the room ignoring his paralyzed son. “The key to all of this is lord Arthos plan. We enslave the nulls. We seize the land they use and all their possessions.” Tarwin turned toward Kelfina. “The elves had wanted a presence in Deepmere for the longest time. In exchange for their aid we will grant them half of the null district as their own with free slave labor.”

Kelfina looked thoughtful. “Yes my people could agree to that. We might need some more compensation… Perhaps we could retain the slaves after the area is built to our liking.”

“I think we could agree to that,” Tarwin said. “Next we offer the other half to Dageth as a sub-branch of their magical academy with the same offer as the elves. Deepmere’s location is ideal for them as a training ground with the mana forest nearby.”

Tarwin received nods from the others as Loric eyes rolled frantically. He could do nothing as his father doomed the kin.

“When the elves and combat mages arrived we used them along with our own forces to complete the subjugation of the nulls. The important part is that we do nothing until they arrive. No word of this plan leaves this room.” All eyes turned to Loric. A shiver of fear jolted through him.

“We then sort the slaves. Some will be trained for battle. Others could be used for farm work till they are needed to fight.” Tarwin got a thoughtful look as he gazed at his son. “The pretty ones could be sold to nobles. For those who have such perversions.” Loric wanted to scream. He wouldn’t sell his own granddaughter… would he?

“I believe that solves all our issues. We will have enough funds to support a much large magical force, sufficient housing for the new mages, and enough null troops to take the fight to the spawn. I don’t make this decision lightly but if we are to protect our nation, which includes the nulls, then it is required. We must do this for their own good.”

Tarwin turned to the room, waiting. As one each councilor got to their feet.

“I tentatively agree on the part of the elves,” Kelfina said. “I will send a magical message to verify but I think this is agreeable.”

“A great strategy Tarwin,” Denayd said. “You may have just saved us all.”

“I concur Denayd a most excellent use for the nulls for a change,” Arthos said grinning.

“I have no objections,” Arwin stated.

“We are in agreement then,” Tarwin said. “Let’s begin the preparations.” With that the mages began filing out and Loric could finally move again.

“I know you have issues with the plan,” Tarwin said before his son could speak. “I have tolerated your… perversions long enough. I will allow you to make arrangements as you see fit for your… daughter.” The word pained Tarwin but it seemed to mollify Loric. “But say nothing to them until the time is ready.”

Loric stared at his feet as he left the chamber seething. Tarwin left shortly after but went to his private chambers. Once he was in the richly decorated room he sent a message spell to one of his many contacts.

While he waited Tarwin poured himself a bottle of brandy. The smooth liquor glided down his throat soothing his nerves.

The door opened and Tarwin looked up. A figure was in the doorway garbed all in black. No. Not just black. The garment seemed to eat the light. The man… woman? Moved forward the doors silently closing. Not a whisper came from the figure as it approached. When it reached his desk Tarwin spoke.

“I need you to kill some kin for me. A mother and her daughter. One is a white furred cat-kin call Coralline and the other is a blue haired half cat-kin named Azura. The deaths need to look like they were done by other kin. No magical traces at all and no witnesses. This is critical. I want three of your best assassins on the job. I’ll send a message when the time is ripe. Be ready. ”

Tarwin waited but the figure didn’t speak, it never did. However, it did give a single nod as it left. He took another sip of his brandy. When he brought the glass down the figure was gone.

He hated to do it, but his son would cause trouble. If he could get him to believe his daughter’s death was the result of other kin he would come around. Tarwin would even go so far as to allow his son to setup a private getaway for the two. Yes, that would work. Or he could tell his son that once the day came he could claim ownership of the two. He could commission a small home for them just in case. Tarwin smiled. The key to good deception is to ensure all the details match the false narrative. Tarwin, after all, had plenty of practice.