It would take time to properly convert the town, but the construction projects were well underway and that allowed certain minds within the Swarm to congregate. Heraclius, Ant-Termite General, Nasi, and his newly converted Chamberlain Ylva, met up within the shared mindspace of the Swarm to talk.

"As far as I understand it our master has all the knowledge that we have or at least can access it when needed."

Ylva said as she looked to the more experienced converts for confirmation which she immediately got from the General and Nasi, and Nasi continued the train of thought.

"Can you at will differentiate a grain of sand from another grain of sand? Yes, but you won't do it at a simple glance. What we are doing here is preparing the knowledge so that The Sovereign can best use it."

"Noted, well I served as a Chamberlain and Chancellor for my former liege here, so I can give the...two? of you more or less effective guidance to our most immediate threats."

"Good, then start with that. If I am going to manage the campaign outside of my already hard work dealing with the threats from the enemy ants, termites, and wasps I will need to understand our foes."

"...Indeed, I am sure those are mighty but we have higher priorities with this war based on what I have been told. Anyway, we are in the Kingdom of Chilvale's heartland. We are far from any border but we are also far from the centers of power in this nation. In this local County we have 2 other Baronies that neighbour us to the east and north. South of our position is mostly lawless lands that fell into disarray after their old Count died, if we want to reach the ocean quickly then it is through these lands that we have to advance our forces. The nearest city proper is Tormia which is the seat of Duke Karsin who in turn holds dominion over this entire region of Chilvale."

"Instead of going through each and every noble like it is a list why don't you just speak about the relevant facts and notable individuals in this Kingdom."

Baron Heraclius chimed in as Ylva got carried away and her lecture became more and more mired in excitement and detail. She took a moment to compose herself while the other parties in the conversation patiently waited for her.

"The Queen of Chilvale, Readore Maradakis, the sole Platinum Rank Adventurer of this Duchy Hera Ysga, the Usurers Guild, and Count Tolmur of Ostail are the people who serve as the most notable dangers to our Swarm. Readore is not only a powerful Monarch with many political alliances behind her, she is also an incredibly powerful magic user who specializes in some obscure form of water magic. Hera is the nearest Platinum Rank Adventurer to our Swarm and she specializes in fighting multiple opponents and she is famous for being practically immune to diseases and poisons. The Usurers Guild or rather "The Honorable Society of Money Changers", are dangerous because they are the wealthiest collection of individual on the continent and wield that wealth like a weapon. Count Tolmur is the foremost General and Strategist who is known for being a devious bastard."

"I can second the description of Tolmur as a devious little prick, he is not a favored General by the majority of the nobility because of his scurrilous ways. But he will be the one that the Queen would call on to fight us and he might be able to outtrick even our Master. I don't know Lady Ysga personally, but I have seen her fight and she could have held off and beaten the entire force used to attack Hor, without any reinforcements and she would not have been bothered at all by it."

The two humans stopped as Nasi increased the weight of his presence. Nasi felt like a massive vice that reached around their heads and could crack their skulls by just being there, so when he made himself more known the sensation became even more overbearing.

"Magicians, Generals, Money Grubbers, and Adventurers are nothing for us to be truly worried about. They are individuals, and an individual no matter how powerful they are will forever be meaningless compared to the wastness of a Swarm. A drop of water...regardless of how significant it might be is inconsequential next to the Ocean. By all means continue the lecture, but never lose sight of the fact that individuals are ultimately meaningless and without true value."

Nobody pointed out that Nasi was himself an individual and it took a bit of time before the awkward silence after his interjection ended and the discussion about the future strategy came back into the swing of things.

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Mar felt the buzzing of their Swarm as they took a moment to truly appreciate the work being done. Construction was well under way and it wouldn't take long before Hor had proper infrastructure to serve as an instrument of their will. The Avatars were all getting into their assigned duties with proper gusto, Queen Meath especially added worth to the Swarm by producing a veritable tide of Soldiers and Workers. The Hor Collective would have to prepare the infiltration group soon, as it would not take much time to have the "armies" ready for deployment.

With everything going so well Mar allowed themselves to explore their newest acquisition. An entire realm which was theirs and theirs alone, the divine realm that once belonged to Old Yoss was unrecognizeable. When Mar had first entered it, the realm had been a sprawling valley full of farming fields and idyllic farmhouses. After Mar had claimed it the realm had began to change and it still seemed to be a work in progress as their nature melded with and twisted the little pocket of the Divine Plane to suit the Sovereign Swarm.

The actual fields were mostly left alone by the tidal wave of change, but that was the only obvious remnant of what this realm had once been. Buildings had been destroyed and reformed into enormous beehive-like structures, streets forming complicated grids made up the majority of the ground now, and long webbing fences served as the boundaries between different sections. Bees, spider, and fungi were seen practically everywhere, some even covered the trembling souls that inhabited this realm.

Mar was busily watching everything as they walked down the streets and truly grasped that this entire world...every strand of it and everything that lived in it was theirs. All the souls of the dead who had been caught here by their tethers of faith, and all their knowledge could be extracted. Mar was unsure what other benefits this place had, but they would find out in time. Knowledge was more than a good enough prize already and even if this place couldn't be fully exploited yet, it would be in time.

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The entire realm...twisted itself yet again as a presence touched the borders surrounding the entire pocket dimension. Mar felt it instantly and knew that whatever had touched it was far stronger than they were at present, so humility would be the correct approach. It seemed that the presence was content to wait as nothing more happened for several moments. Mar destroyed and reformed their "body" near where the presence was actually touching the membrane.

At the edge of space stood a man, he was dressed in purple robes inlayed with platinum threads, but tha was where the finery ended. His body was bulging with fat and he had a mischievous smile. The strangest part of him was his eyes, they were hollow and transluscent and through them Mar could see endless currents of energy pulsating and sparking like a thousand suns. Magic, like Mar this deity was not entirely born from faith like Old Yoss had been.

"Ahh, you came quickly. I must say that I am impressed by all the changes you have made to this realm."

The voice that came from the man was silky and soft like morning dew, the voice of a concerned teacher or a friendly neighbour. Not the voice of an Archmage and certainly not the voice of a god, but they knew that appearances could be distracting. So, Mar only canted their burnt head and waited to see what he would say further.

"It has been a very long time since someone underwent Apotheosis in such an...explosive fashion, and I thought I should be the first to welcome you to your new existence."

The Magus bowed deeply with a strange flourish of his right hand serving as the opening before he continued.

"I am Alaric Murzar the Archmage of Transgression and Patron God of Magic Users, and it is my pleasure to greet you here at the border of your domain."

"Mar...The Thrall-King of Hor."

"Mymy, what an...evocative title the world has given you. I sense that it is not all of what you are, but I am not here to pry your secrets from you. This is as much a transactional affair as a matter of curiosity and courtesy, or I at least hope that will be the end result of our first meeting."

"Elaborate."

"Well, I am a man of many interests and you are a most curious new addition to our evergrowing collection of gods. I also am a man who knows how difficult it can be to be a new god in a world filled with established pantheons. Independent divinities like you and I do not survive long in our respective roles unless we are clever enough to outlast the challenges that comes in our early divine stages."

"I can handle it."

"I am sure you can, but a helping hand has never been a bad thing has it?"

Alaric gave Mar a thin smile at that and gesticulated grandly in what he clearly saw as an inviting gesture as he waited to hear their response. Mar thought for a moment and considered pointing out how the "helping hand" of imperialism had impacted their past world, but ultimately decided against it.

"Heh, you are coming here like I am some desperate maiden adrift in the sea. I am far more than some simpleton who has stumbled onto godhood. And I would be a simpleton if I blindly trusted someone who openly called himself, The Archmage of Transgression."

"That may be so, and I apologize if I have caused offense. Let me at least present what I offer and what I would like to ask for. Right now you are playing some kind of game in the Kingdom of Chilvale, and I could aid you in ensuring your plans succeed. As a god you are fortunate in that enemy pantheons cannot give information about your nature and schemes to their followers, or at least they can only do so as vague visions. I am sure exceptions will be negotiated as the other gods of Chilvale send their representatives to discuss the Divine Protocols with you."

Mar hid their ignorance of the term "Divine Protocols" as it would be humiliating to ask for clarification, and they gestured for the Archmage to continue rather than responding with words.

"At any rate what I am offering are goods, services, and information that I have estimated that you could be interested in. What I would like is some information in return along with services that I am sure you could give me."

He snapped his fingers and caused several objects to materialize in the "air" before him. Three books, three free flowing pages of parchment with drawings on them, a glowing sphere of grey energy, and a wooden staff with a ruby-eyed serpent as the top piece. Mar could read the title on the first book as it was a small booklet covered with grey leather with golden letters on the front and the spine. "SGS: Soul Guidance Systems, what are they and how do they change YOUR reality?" The second book was a large tome with an uncountable amount of pages and a seemingly shifting latticework of glowing glyphs on both the front and the back cover. The last book was simple and brown with the word "Dossiers" emblazened on the front. The border of their world made it impossible to examine the other items with anything more than the eyes of the "vessel" that Mar used.

"My senses has determined you are one of the very few Dimensional Travelers who has reached godhood in our world. As such I thought you might have use of a book detailing the mysteries of Soul Guidance Systems and the hidden secrets that comes with them. The Spelltome is one of my own design and it is a living Spelltome at that. It will aid Mages and other Magic Users in discovering hidden and new aspects of the magic they already practice. The last book is a collection of dossiers about all the nearest and most powerful gods that you should be aware of. The three documents here are magical architectural blueprints, which I sense you can use in ways that I can't. I have also brought with me a concentrated miracle which I am willing to bestow you and an enchanted staff that you yourself can wield here in this world as a divine weapon."

"I...I think that we might have a productive conversation after all Archmage...why don't you step in and we can continue our negotiations here? I swear that you will come to no harm...I swear it in my name."

Mar felt her own trait bind the promise and the Archmage smiled in return as he stepped in through an opening that Mar created in the barrier.

"Why thank you, and yes I think I would like to talk to you very much...Thrall-King."