CHAPTER 7:
As the last of the guests, prominent members of hegemonic and noble families, get seated the dinner begins to get underway. Servants come out with platters containing various dishes and begin to place them along the table with each guest receiving something different. I gaze at the dishes curiously, wondering what will soon be placed in front of me. At the same time I elect to be a bit of a multitasker.
I silently use “Alter Power” to create a new ability for myself: the power to clone myself. This is one of the sorts of abilities that is effortless for me to make, taking literally a split second of focus. The very second I create it I put it to use, creating a clone of mine and in the same second using “Blank” to render the clone completely imperceptible.
The instant that the clone manifests I feel my perception of reality split in half. It’s like I’ve been playing a single player video game my whole life and now I’m suddenly playing a split screen cooperative game. This doesn’t negatively affect my ability to perceive reality, it simply changes the number of lenses through which I can make sense of my surroundings.
I take half a beat to adjust to this, though I don’t let anything show on my visible face and instead allow my clone to be the one to visibly react to the strangeness of this. After a few heartbeats where I get used to what is going on I turn my attention to Delphi and my clone smiles.
I telepathically reach out to her and offer her a gift. She smiles at me, only for my clone to blink and create a lesser version of the “Blank” power. I try to make it a copy of my own “Blank” power before I sense how strenuous that would be. I ultimately decide to make it a quarter as powerful as my actual “Blank” power since creating a generalized undetectability power is pretty easy. I give Delphi both abilities and she smiles as she activates them. She cleverly uses them simultaneously and her clone appears right beside me.
“Hey.” My clone says to the clone, before it places a hand on the oracle’s clone and truewarps away from here. A nanosecond after Delphi’s clone appears both clones find themselves back in Delphi’s long-term home: the hyper-tech fallen megapolis known as the End of Time. At the same time a servant, a naked woman with impressively large assets, brings out a plate filled with succulent looking meat and bright vegetables and places it in front of me.
“Greetings my liege! I am honored to be able to present to you a traditional dish from Drinn, one that we have long called ‘A Warm Greeting’.” She explains. I smile at her and thank her for the food before I take a silver fork and pierce the food in front of me with it.
My clone and Delphi’s clone find ourselves back in the same complex my adventure started in hours ago. It is now no longer a lonely place, as it is filled with various servitors. As we adjust to our new location I look at Delphi and grin.
“Back where we began, I see.” I remark, causing the oracle’s clone to smile at me. She is visibly relieved to be out of the palace and I don’t particularly disagree with that reaction.
“The Etherscapians are wonderful, but they are… a lot, master.” She says, quietly like she’s admitting something. I chuckle at her and nod. The culture shock is a bit much, and it’s nice to be with Delphi, a much more subdued person than even Star, the tamest of the Etherscapians.
We lapse into silence for a few moments before I begin to study my surroundings. The large central room of the complex is now no longer silent even when we are not speaking. Servitors of various sorts silently work at machines that themselves produce various noises. The servitors have a range of appearances and modifications and they are quietly doing a range of tasks.
I walk around for a bit, glancing over their shoulders and noticing that among other things a number of them are glancing at various star maps. This fills me with curiosity and I call out to Delphi who is quick to move beside me and ask me what’s on my mind.
“Why are they looking at star maps?” I ask, as I glance over the shoulder of one particularly small servitor who is looking at a star map of the solar system of my birth. Delphi does not respond right away, and when I glance at her I can see a concerned look on her face.
“Well… They are tracking omegatech, master.” She eventually replies, before asking the servitor in front of us to move. The creature silently does as she asks, and she taps on the star map, clicking on a planet I can’t quite recognize physically as entire portions of the surface are covered in greenery, but I can tell from its position relative to the sun that it should be Mars. The map then zooms in, giving me a much clearer view of the planet. It zooms in so much that I can make out orbiting space stations and a number of space ships flying on and off the planet.
“This is a sort of… radar attuned to omegatech. It doesn’t work on a lot of omegatech, but some of the more unique inventions of the omega lords give off recognizable signatures. One of them, a machine known as the Geoseeder, is locked in Mars’ orbit.” Delphi reveals, which makes me laugh for a few moments.
“There’s confirmed omegatech in my solar system?!” I ask, astounded by this revelation. Delphi smiles at this remark before replying.
“In fairness, the last home of the omega lords was your solar system. Though I should say that this actually predates the veil. Not by a long time, mind you, and it was invented by a pair of the thirteen exiles, as well as exiles and refugees from other worlds, but it does predate the veil.” Delphi tells me.
“That said, the answer to your question is yes. There is confirmed omegatech in your solar system. Would you like to retrieve it?” She asks, turning and looking at me curiously. I nod fervently.
“I sure would! What does it do?” I ask, as I reach forward and zoom in on the planet itself, allowing me to see what I assume is a real-time display of the world’s surface. I am only a tiny bit surprised to see cities dot the surface of Mars that have fully incorporated technology well beyond that of humanity.
“It’s a multipurpose machine. Its overall purpose is to transform barren worlds in a number of ways conducive to life, but it does this through a range of means such as terraforming a planet and also creating whole new species of lifeforms that are hardy enough to survive even normally inhospitable and unsurvivable environments.” Delphi explains, even as I continue to shift the map to show me a range of different places on Mars.
“The device is both massive and largely uninhabited, though Viyas, one of Mars’s sapient and humanoid species, have correctly figured out that they were created by the machine’s creators. The parts of the tech that can be explored have long been emptied of anything useful, sadly, but the thing could be repaired by someone with the right abilities…” Delphi says, teasingly. I smirk at her, happy to have an excuse to head back to my native solar system. Meanwhile my true self is busy eating a rather delicious meal and finding that the age old wisdom that things tend to taste like chicken is true even of extraterrestrial foods.
“So… What’s the deal with Mars? If we were to go and claim the Geoseeder for ourselves, what sort of resistance would we face? Any at all?” I ask, and Delphi ponders my question for a moment.
“Mars is a planet that is far closer to the galactic standard of the galaxy you are native to than Etherscape is as far as politics go. Each planet in your solar system is made up of individual nations that are as likely to war with each other as they are to make alliances, as opposed to being part of one central government which is how Etherscape’s is theoretically governed. Mars is made up of many nations themselves primarily inhabited by three separate species.” Delphi explains.
“The three species are not the totality of the inhabitants of Mars but they are the most prolific, with members in every nation aside from the strange land of Quentra, which is only inhabited by the Zenith Queen and her harem of Elurii handmaidens. Daemons, which are morally neutral spirits of nature and other concepts, inhabit less developed regions and areas of concentrated nature. Viyas are actually the oldest species on Mars, created by ancient primordial beings to help settle the planet and are the most magically gifted of the species which call Mars home. The last species are the Orenar, a group of technologically gifted human-like beings who are responsible for the majority of the high-tech cities you’ve seen on Mars.” Delphi tells me, smiling as she watches me explore a high tech city-state in central Mars. I thoughtfully listen to her remarks.
“Truthfully, different groups would have different reactions to you claiming the Geoseeder. I would argue that it is yours to claim, since not only did your ancestors work on it you could also enter it and repair it, as well as open its interiors to the public. Others, particularly martians, might feel differently.” She wisely states, causing me to gently laugh.
“Still, you would certainly have allies once you confirm that the Viyas are the creations of the ancients and a product of the Geoseeder itself. That IS a bold claim but you can find proof of it within the machine, which again, you can enter and open to the public. Only the machine’s least guarded sections have been explored, the majority of the machine is for all intents and purposes impenetrable barring your intervention.” Delphi says, brightly.
“Okay so we need to add Mars to the ‘To-Do List’.” I quip, causing Delphi to roll her eyes at me but while smiling.
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“Do we have any allies or any potential allies on Mars?” I ask, which causes Delphi to close her eyes in wonder.
“Well… In the short-term we don’t have any on MARS.” She says, which makes me turn and look at her curiously. She smiles and thinks for a second about how to reveal whatever she knows.
“So there are a number of planets and factions that owe fealty to the omega lords.” She reveals, as she guides me to another star map. When we stop moving we are standing in front of a console which lacks a servitor tending to it. This time the star is a massive thing, and only a single planet orbits it. The planet in question is a large one and it is covered in deserts with occasional, if massive, oases providing life-giving water to large cities.
“Take this world, for instance. This planet is named Omega Nine, and it was settled by servants and worshipers of an ancient omega lord. To this day omega lords are revered here, and one of their distant descendants is the planet’s princess. Her name is Indigo Uael, and her last name is the first name of the omega lord who mated with her most distant ancestors.” Delphi tells me, before clicking on a part of the map where the planet is currently located and zooming in, letting me see the opulent palace that serves as Indigo’s home.
“There are other worlds and other factions that will flock to you when you step out of the shadows. And of course there’s always the possibility that you will make new allies yourself. Some factions on Earth would love opportunities to make use of your ability to step through the veil. I can imagine you’d be quite popular among, say, Earth vampires who’d surely love your ability to get them new fonts of blood and of the other liquids they imbibe.” Delphi says, and I have to stifle a laugh when I realize that Earth’s vampires drink more than blood.
“And of course there’s always allies and servants you can make through the usage of resources you’ve inherited. Be they new groups you form, or existing factions that you make alliances with where you exchange some of the weapons you design or technology you create in exchange for their help in specific ways. There are rogue genies on Earth who’d love weapons they could use against the forces of a despotic deity named Trinity…” Delphi tells me. I give her a curious look and she nods and elects to expand on her previous remarks.
“Trinity is a goddess worshiped on both sides of the veil. She has exotic followers who do her bidding across the supernatural side of the veil and who spread her message to other worlds. Thankfully she’s not very popular outside of Earth, but on Earth she’s the most popular goddess on both sides of the veil. She was ancient before the veil was erected, and she is in all likelihood the strongest living creature born on Earth.” Delphi tells me.
“Like all gods she gets power from a number of different sources. Non-ascendant deities, which include her thankfully, are empowered by worship, their pantheons, their own innate connection to the universe of their birth, their domains, sacrifices to them, utterances of their names, sacrifices made to them, rituals performed in their names, artifacts, and their temples. Trinity has a whole lot of all of those things on both sides of the veil.” Delphi explains, causing me to nod at her.
“She’s also incredibly selfish and has annihilated multiple competitors, which hasn’t always killed them but has certainly weakened them and thus their faiths were easy for her followers to largely exterminate. She’s a violent warlord and considers Earth her world. If you oppose her openly many people will be willing to reach out to you and work with you to defeat or even destroy her.” Delphi tells me, before smiling proudly. She’s clearly quite satisfied with her knowledge of the multiverse.
I begin to pause and formulate the beginning of a real strategy. I quickly elect not to move fast. One thing I have is time, and if I am patient I can do a lot with the military at my disposal, without having to bother with acquiring allies, and even if I want to go the allies route I can leave more of an impression on others if I take care to fully acquire the beginnings of a resource as valuable as the armies of Etherscape.
Even as I begin to plot and scheme, time continues to pass. Minutes and then a full hour passes, and during this time more and more hegemonic and noble families appear in the palace.
Soon I get a telepathic message from Sif that alerts me that we’ve hit the quorum necessary for me to undergo the brief test needed to confirm my status as the empire’s young prince. The instant that I hear that message I go ahead and announce my explicit intention to take the test. I stand up and introduce myself as well as order servants to head to the throne room and make whatever preparations are necessary. This garners considerable applause, and everyone in the dining room begins to dig into their meals, while occasionally glancing at me and thinking an array of thoughts.
It takes nearly a full hour after my announcement for the hungry inhabitants of the dining room to finish their meals. When they do, a servant appears and asks for everyone to accompany him to the throne room. I get to be the person at the head of the long train of people who follow the man out of the dining room, and as the last person to leave the room does so I hear a flurry of activity from servants who dart into the room to clean it up. At the same time I watch the hallway I’m in extend to fit the number of people now in it, which is in the hundreds. The servant is leading us down the hallway and mentally counting the doors he’s passed by.
We walk for nearly a full minute before the servant glances at a door and smiles. He stops and pulls the door open, before gesturing for me to step through it. I step forward and get to see what lies beyond the door, and smile as I see a vast throne room. I step into it, and move towards a distant ruby red throne that begins to audibly hum. The sound gets louder as I get closer, both due to the effect of me actually approaching it and the fact that the odd device seems to get excited as I approach it. As others enter the room behind me they gasp when they hear the hum of the machine, and that only makes my smile widen.
When I am not far from the throne the others stop approaching it altogether. Even the thronemaidens don’t step towards it, and before I know it I am alone in front of the throne, with all that separates me from it being a tiny platform on which it sits and then all that separates me from my throne is a distance I can cross in a few steps.
I turn and smile at the gathered crowd. The humming coming from the machine stops entirely when I open my mouth to speak, which momentarily throws me off my guard but I quickly regain my composure.
“Hello, dear friends and loyal subjects. The throne is eager to proclaim to the multiverse that Etherscape’s heir is here.” I say, which doesn’t immediately elicit a reaction. I smirk when I notice the silence coming from the stunned hegemonic heads and the astounded leaders of noble houses.
“Today I accept my destiny. Today I begin the noble task of reunifying Etherscape and making ours be a name that is both respected and feared across the multiverse once again.” I exclaim, a smile on my face as I step onto a tiny platform on which the throne rests. As I do I feel my own body begin to fill with power as I breathe in some of the ether directly surrounding the throne.
I step towards the throne and then turn to face the awed crowd. I smile at them as I lower myself onto the potent seat, and their eyes widen as they hold their breaths and wait for something to happen.
A tense minute passes in utter silence. And then a single woman, someone I know only through the mental words of my thronemaidens, steps forward, walking until she is right in front of the platform on which I now sit, and she kneels. She is a topless red haired woman named Aerji, and she opens her mouth to speak.
“I, Aerji of the Knir hegemony, recognize and swear obedience to the new emperor of Etherscape, Ignacio tel’Avos.” She says, her voice noble and obedient-sounding. This seems to break the other gathered families out of their stupors and they urge their daughters to move to the foot of the throne as well.
They do the same thing, all without hesitation, though I do notice a few annoyed looks at Aerji, who is the heir of one of the hegemonies that funded the search for me. A total of fifty five hegemonies are present in the throne room in some capacity, and I see everything from human and human-like princesses to princesses from vast minotaur herds, elven families, and dwarf clans. I quickly estimate that there are around eighty princesses here, and about half as many heirs of noble houses as well.
When the last princess has finished swearing obedience and recognizing the legitimacy of my claim to the throne a new silence falls over the room. I sense a thousand eyes on me, and internally I smile. I spend a moment imagining how an imperial person in an RPG would react to this situation, before I begin to speak.
“Rise royal princesses and noble daughters, and know that your loyalty has moved your sovereign. Today marks the commencement of our collective ascension.” I proclaim, even as I look beyond them and make eye contact with their families.
“The multiverse itself has grown complacent with regards to our worth and brilliance. They believe us to be disunified and divided. During the golden age of my ancestors, including the first emperor himself, our unity was the cause of the respect monarchs and emperors in places as far flung as other universes gave us. Today I vow to not only unify us to greater degrees than we’ve ever been unified, I vow to spread our influence and greatness to corners of existence it has never touched.” I remark, nobly. These remarks are received favorably by my subjects, many of whom feel heartened by what I am saying.
“I will allow historians to mark this day. For today we step off of the path we’ve been walking and we set foot onto the untamed wilderness of the future.” I say, and smile as I conclude my speech. I am internally delighted when everyone in attendance aside from the daughters of the hegemonies raucously applaud my remarks. I rise and I march off of the platform where the throne rests, only to be immediately swarmed by the various princesses in front of me.
Dozens of eager women attempt to talk to me and I do my best to answer individual queries at a speed that those around me can understand, even as I hear the exasperated sighs of the thronemaidens as they approach me and attempt to do the vital work of giving me necessary space to breathe. At the same time I can also hear the distant families of the princesses approaching, also eager to swarm me and do everything from make alliances to give me invites to their palaces and vacation homes.
The princesses are so determined to talk to me that it takes the thronemaidens nearly a quarter of a minute to reach me and interpose themselves between my potential brides and myself. Thankfully even the most skilled princesses in the room, such as Aejri, are unable to prevent themselves from being pushed back. Sif is quick to get right in front of me, giving me a nice view of her heart-shaped behind, and is quick to tell the princesses that they have an eternity to get to know me. I am quickly escorted out of the throne room by my skilled bodyguards and in minutes I find myself alone with them in the room I first appeared in the palace in.
“What a day!” I exclaim with a bright smile as I head towards the vast bed. I hear the pleasant sounds of the laughter of my thronemaidens even as Sif speaks up.
“You’ll have to do it all again tomorrow my liege!” She tells me, brightly. I laugh when she says this, even though I can already understand what she’s saying. Before she can explain I nod at her and smile.
“Yes, Sif. I know I’ll have to do it for the other forty five hegemonies and for our most valuable allies, such as the ambassador from Clearbrass. But still, what a DAY!” I exclaim, joyfully. My words make Sif smile at me even as I reach the bed and allow myself to fall onto it. I blink and during the time my eyes are shut my companions move towards the bed, and before I open my eyes I find my head cradled in Velvet’s soft, pillowy lap.
“You know your majesty… You HAVE confirmed to the empire that you’re the emperor. Which means that our place as your thronemaidens, your eternal, undyingly loyal bodyguards and servants is now secure…” She tells me, breathly. I glance at her soft lips and then my eyes trail downwards to her lovely, pale chest. I see a cute blush spreading across it, even as I stare at her diamond-like nipples.
“Velvet is correct, your highness.” Binah says, even as the tall maiden falls to her knees in front of me, and I watch her complexion darken as she studies my royalest body part. Her warm breath touches it and I bite my lip as she eyes it like a starving predator. It is at this point that I lightly scan their minds, and realize that they’ve often been close to me today… So they’ve inhaled a lot of my pheromones. Sif is the next to speak up.
“Your majesty… I think we deserve a reward, don’t you?” She asks, her eyes narrowing and a small smile spreading across her face as she relaxes. I am so focused on her that I don’t notice Binah’s twin fall to her knees and get a lot closer to me than Binah has. The long-haired blonde smiles at me and lightly blows on my naked skin, which elicits a quiet moan from me. Sif continues to smile even as Binah joins her sister and closes the tiny distance between her and I with a single, swift movement. I gasp when I feel her mouth touch my skin and I only faintly hear Sif’s soft giggle.
“The most common role of the manamutants who serve Etherscape’s emperor or empress is as their lovers my liege…” Sif states, and I smile at her and mentally command her to approach me. I exhale delightedly when Belah softly complains about her sister’s eagerness and then lunges at me, her soft lips also wrapping themselves around me. Both sisters are eagerly servicing the orbs where I suspect most ether is generated in those with the same or similar anatomy to me. Sif joins them, but she delightedly shallows my shaft and I laugh quietly, even as the remaining maidens, Shelavaranda, Chyliss, Velvet, and Thevah, all eye me like I’m a hunk of meat and they are starving. A part of me is thrilled by the hunger in their eyes.