Look, look over here. Look at the little ant-like humans wasting time putting up their Pyramids and Sealing your conduits, ignoring the reality of the situation.
Watch them slowly marching over to China, filtering out the useful volunteers from the extensive numbers of not-useful ones, and gathering up to start assaulting the undead ‘as soon as it was time to do so’, instead of just ineffectual daily harass, which had been going on since forever.
In the meantime, kick back, relax, and chortle as Undead Kingdoms clash in murderous battle in the underworld for control of the Ancient Capital’s link to the mortal realm.
-----
“You seem to have been busy, Elder.”
The domain of Infinite Sands was sunken in many places, scattered with obsidian and crystalline craters where the earth and sands had gone molten and melted, and whatever had burned far beneath them was sealed and reduced to ash and slag.
The second delivery of a million Vivic Torches had plunked down into His sands a few miles away. Thousands of surface-dwelling Beasts were trotting up, grabbing them in teeth or claws and heading away with them, shuttling them towards the fighting fields that were spread throughout the Sahara.
I’d dropped the first delivery in while He was still doing His purge, and, a bit disgruntled, He’d realized He needed to take advantage of it if He ever wanted His domain to feel pure again. Loyal Beasts had spread the Torches into the nests and colonies of all the Tainted Insects, Rodents, and Reptiles who had infested His Realm, Burning the remnants of Dark Mana away before they could re-infect the inhabitants or slip away to infect others.
The Obelisks and Pyramids I’d put up around His domain had definitely been busy recently. The whole world knew something was going on in the Sahara, but nobody was stupid enough to come in here and find out, given the levels of energy being thrown around.
I was sure the Netherlords were slapping their knees and laughing uproariously at the idea of corrupting so many of the most intolerant High Emperor’s minions right beneath His nose, forcing Him to slaughter them all instead of sending them out to conquer in His name. It was a great prank in their eyes, showing a little lizard what they thought of Him and His anger, and exactly how irrelevant He actually was in the proper scheme of things.
“They are dead.” His glittering eye studied me for a moment, then looked away. “Thank you for Sealing the Conduits in the Dark Pits they left behind, Healer Fae.”
There had been three of them in the Sahara alone, again hidden beneath His very nose.
“It was nothing. Thank you for taking so long to kill them, Elder. It bought us more time.” He could have torn through them all in probably a week or less in His fury, but instead had hunted them all down, one by one, allowed His loyal Vassals to fight for Him, Sealed and Cleaned up the fight zones, and proceeded to the next one, chewing up all the Low and True Dark Emperors that came screaming up to fight Him efficiently and crushingly. The hordes of Tainted Beasts were irrelevant to Him, as He could crush them all with His Aura alone, and indeed that had been the fate of most of them at the hands of His surface-dwelling loyal Tribes, glutting themselves on meat put to Vivic Torches, feasting on the kind of carnage you just don’t see in numbers like that in a desert.
This generation and the next were going to be the most powerful minions of their kind to ever dwell in His domain, that was certain!
“Your plans proceed, then.”
“Putting on a show and scrapping for every extra day, building up that Faith, Elder,” I confirmed.
“I have doubts as to whether bringing in these ‘gods’ will be better than the Realm Lords for me and my kind.” His great eye focused back on me with His words.
“Elder is wise to have misgivings about His place, for it will certainly not return to what it was, regardless.” Me floating there basically confirmed that. “The first benefit is that Elder and His Imperial peers will not have to be subjugated or perish, along with so many of the Great Beasts. I believe that Elder will agree that is better than what Fate the interlopers have in store for you.”
Now He did look away again. “Slavery to fight for them when alive, and beyond when dead,” He cursed venomously. “Surely this Heaven will have its own demands of us...”
“Heaven is perfectly capable of leaving you alone if you leave them and theirs alone. Heaven wants you to come to them of your free will, Elder. Nothing else is of value to them. Coercion of any kind basically makes you worthless in their service. They would rather exchange favors and pay you honorably for your time and efforts than put you on a leash. As long as you harm not those who follow them, they will respect you in turn.”
“And if their servants do not respect US?” He asked archly, knowingly.
“Fools will be fools, Elder,” I sighed. “You can only tell them so much, and still the fools will have to comprehend that sometimes you just do not poke the damn dragon.”
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There was a hiss that I was somewhat startled to recognize as wry laughter. “What else?”
“If this world is threatened, they expect you to fight for it. Heaven is not foolish, and allowing you to sit back and take advantage of weakness after we fight for the future of the world is something that will sit very dimly in the eyes of Heaven. Show your honor and your spirit before you, the duty and poise of an Emperor, and you earn their respect. Enlightened self-interest is still enlightened, in the end... and Heaven makes the very best of neighbors, when things come down to it.”
Sands and air swirled about us with His thoughts. “And this... Chaos?” He asked narrowly.
“You’re already reshaping the world by your will, were going to be driving the Humans and so many other Tribes out and redefining, resculpting the world by your wrath and will. Chaos already loves you.” I paused significantly. “Chaos also loves whoever rises up to defy you, push you back, and beat the crap out of you, too, because Chaos is like that. Chaos enjoys all sides of any fight, and anyone who rises to power by defying the order of things.”
“So, there will still be conflict.”
“Oh, my, yes. This world will still be in conflict, but it won’t be Netherlords setting up the world for their personal entry and sublimation. It will be the mortal beings contesting alone for whatever their goals are, as is done throughout most of Creation.” I just shook my head. “If anything, it will be even more active than before, since the Alignments will all be encouraging it, and the gods who represent them know the striving gives their servants the strength they want of them.”
“It is the nature of Law to want all of existence to be ordered beneath it. It is the nature of Chaos to want the freedom to choose any path, and push back against all that would restrain it. It is the nature of Evil to want it all for oneself, regardless of the price to others. It is the nature of Good to want the best for all who are Good with you, and to tolerate the rest until they infringe upon it... which they always, always do.”
“And there is no middle ground. No Neutrality,” He asked for confirmation.
“No. There is only delaying your choice, and being set upon from all sides. Neutrality is not a force, it is merely a lack of commitment. Neutrality is the sand and the wind and the light, things that do not choose, they merely Are.
“Elder has sapience and free will. He more than merely exists. To not choose is to be little more than sand.
“If this displeases Elder... Creation does not care. It is what it is.”
“Is there a way forward?” He finally asked after long, blowing moments. “I know there is a higher path. The Beast Lord confirms its existence, as do you.”
“Hmmm...” I trailed off, tapping my fingers on my crossed arms. “I do not know this for certain, but I can guess that the answer is yes... but not here.” I tapped a foot on the air. “What is the main difference between the High Emperors, and the Beast Lord and I?” I asked him.
He studied me for a long moment, not bothering to utter the obvious fact that we weren’t dragons, as a ki-rin could argue that point. “The number of Elements you have...” he finally declared with some confidence.
“Yes, as does Mok Fan, the Sevenfold Sage. It is likely that he, too, can rise to Realm Lord on this world. This is the Mortal Realm, Elder. It is not a realm dominated by Earth and Fire, nor Ice and Earth, nor Water. It is made of all of them, and all of them together are far, far more powerful than any one Element alone.
“Your specialization as a Beast means that this is not the ideal Realm for you to reach the Level you want. To accomplish your ambitions, you will have to leave this world behind for another more attuned to what you are.”
“Such Realms exist?” He asked, intent now.
“Both High and Low, yes. Technically speaking, Elder could enter the Netherworld’s realm of Balefire and might find what He seeks. Likewise Ice Emperor could seek out the Soulchill of the Netherworld, and the Ocean Emperor the Sanguine Seas and Rivers of the Underworld carrying their loads of souls to and fro.”
“To do so is to accept the Dark Mana.” His voice was both coldly disdainful and acknowledging the temptation.
“Indeed. Has this been offered to Elder before?” I asked astutely. “I do not think the Netherlords would be ones to overlook such simple, primal temptations, although if they would allow you to Ascend is a different matter entirely.”
“There have been dreams sent to me, dreams I soon realized were not my own, and the truth of them I could not verify, while the consequences of them I could easily infer. I will not become their pet dragon!” He half-snarled.
“As you say. Other Realms do exist. The Nirvanan Realm of the Lords of Light has nothing to offer you. But Realms of Fire, Ice, and Water exist among the Heavens, and they also exist among the Primal Realms of Matter, where true Elementals the size of worlds and greater dwell. You would not be a mighty High Emperor there, however. You would be a dragon among His peers, Elder.”
He blinked slowly, turning His head to look about His domain, His Awareness reaching far and wide. “It is not that the world is small, it is that the part of the world that is suitable for me is...” He murmured at last, almost a sigh.
“Indeed. The Mortal Realms are of all Elements, Elder, and is thus best for those who are of all Elements, too.”
“But we do not know where such Realms are, nor how to reach them.”
“I am also sure that Elder has considered that both the Beast Lord and the interloping Realm Lords might have knowledge of such things, but the latter have no reason to gift knowledge of other Realms to the likes of us. The more ignorant and isolated we are, the better, such that they went to the extent of Sealing sight of our world from other Interlopers of their caliber. Only the Beast Lord already being bound to us allows Him to still be aware of us, and it has placed His own Realm at great risk.”
“Bringing in the gods would open the potential of reaching such Realms to us.” I didn’t look back at the way His thick tail started to undulate over the sands behind him.
“Yes. Although I speak for them no more than I do you. Some will demand a price for the knowledge, some will award it for service and honor shown... the gods are as disparate in their interests as the Elements, and moreso. It depends who you wish to deal with.”
“And who would I wish to deal with?” He asked, rather surprising me with the question. I supposed His pride wasn’t as big an issue with an area He obviously knew nothing about, and beings greater than He.