The first claimants to meet with me are the farmers. To resolve all potential disputes, we’ve gathered together everyone in my burgeoning little empire that wants to start up a farm and brought them here for the meeting. There are about two dozen of them altogether, and they make for an odd group, but that’s just the nature of my multispecies, multicultural little city.
A few vampire lizards seem to have set their sparkling eyes on a cut of land for themselves and I’m glad to see that they’re aspiring for something more.
Not that I was worried.
They had it rough back on their home world, conscripted into the army and forced to fight for all eternity to defend a society that they’ll likely never get the chance to participate in themselves. Here, with the war done, they have more opportunities than they know what to do with.
Besides them, there’s quite a few of the reptiles that make up the greatest portion of the colonists that moved here with the local lord. They have aquatic features, webbed hands and feet, and they’re rather short compared to most others, making them impossible to mistake for anyone else.
There are a few different people aside from that. Insects and apes, one half-serpent and a few rat-like rodents that have clearly brushed their fur and worn their best bow ties for the occasion.
“The easiest claims to settle will be the uncontested lands.” Nel says, waving first to the rats. “Hama and Tora are looking for some underground space to focus on their mushrooms.”
The part of the map she indicates is an underground cavern which was once managed by Loekan and his root mages. There’s a small pond and it’s probably rather nice down there, it seems a shame to pull up the flowers to seed mushrooms.
The alternative sites that they’ve claimed as back up prove to be much smaller and less conductive to the large scale farming that the pair are clearly hoping to work on.
“Do you have any further arguments that might affect my decision?” I ask the pair as they nervously stride forwards at my attention.
“We haven’t been able to help with your war, and we haven’t got much to offer, but if you would be so generous as to give us some land we’ll donate half of our produce to you from the first harvest to the last.” Hama, the male, says.
I try to settle my surprise at the offer. It’s more than generous, but at the same time it doesn’t quite feel right.
“Nel, your thoughts on the offer?” I ask. Closing my eyes and making it clear that I’m thinking so I’m not interrupted.
“The offer is good. Very good. But if we make this a habit, we’ll be moving a lot of goods. We’d be running the markets. I can’t do that alone, we’d need to get merchants we can trust to take over for us.”
“Do we need it?” I ask. “How is our situation with trade goods? How are we going to handle taxation? I’ll need taxes, or some alternative income eventually, to pay people under my direct employ like Red and the members of my army.”
“I have plans for that. I was going to bring it up later, but…”
“What is it?”
“There is a way for us to effectively create a new currency out of mana.” Nel declares, and I can see her smile through my Skill. “We can discuss the details later, but it’ll be more than enough to establish ourselves in the trade economy. Even Red agrees with the idea.”
Nodding slowly as Nel gives me a brief nod.
“Sorry for the wait.” I say, nodding to both Hama and Tora. “I’ll grant you your primary land request, but I’ll refuse your offer in regard to your harvests. I’ll ask instead that you make the best farm that you can, whatever that means I’ll leave to you.”
There’s a silence spreading out through the room, the only people not surprised by my refusal of the offer is my lovers, who seem to have expected as much from me.
“Do you wish to pursue the smaller land claims as well?”
“No, your greatness. Thank you! Thank you, so very much!” The little rat squeaks, rushing to his partners side as the pair run about in celebration.
“We’ll make the best fungi farm you’ve ever seen!” Tora shouts.
It’ll be the first fungi farm I’ve ever seen, but saying that would just take the wind from their sails so I stay quiet. The pair pull themselves to the side of the room to continue their excited discussion there.
We continue as such moving on to a farmer who wants to claim a section of forest to breed birds and gather their eggs. Apparently, this includes a whole ecosystem approach where the trees are seeded with flowers and moss to attract bugs that will feed the birds.
Next is a surprise, though it really shouldn’t be.
The aquatic lizards want to farm the shallow waters above the city. They’ll be working with seaweeds and fish, and they’ve already scouted the farming locations.
It takes a little back and forth with the individuals to set up a division on the map that satisfies them all, but they’re relatively easy to work with. The greatest difficulty actually comes from the farmers who are too quiet, intimidated by me. I have to try and read them to see if they’re happy with the current plan or not. Nel is a great help in that.
When we’re finished, we move on to the final and most disputed divisions. The farmers have claimed all of the workable lands outside of the walls it’s up to me to decide who gets what.
It’s too early to consider carving down the mangroves forest to make room for more farmland. Before that I’ll need a better understanding of the local ecosystems. I’m fairly certain that if we knock down enough trees the land will actually sink into the lake, so we can’t let that happen.
Even if much of the cavern is still wild, I do intend to eventually subdue, or eliminate every wild beast in here. As much as I like the atmosphere of the wilds, my people deserve a safe home, good food, and room to grow.
Finishing up with the divisions of farmland, we send the farmers out, while they excitedly discuss how they’re going to get started.
The next group to deal with is those looking for residences in the first district of the city. It’s here where the colonists and the beasts that I rescued from the surface have decided to make their claim.
It’s clear that there are some who have claimed far more than they need, while others are claiming just a single room for their family. It’s quite a mess to sort out, only made worse as I bring up a few concerns.
“First, I want you all to consider between you, if you haven’t already, how much noise do you want to make and at what times? I don’t want you guys living in stress because you didn’t think this through properly. Secondly, I want to know if any of you will be making awful stenches, or anything else that might bother your neighbours. I’ll give you a little time to discuss if you’d like.”
They of course dive into a loud conversation, that nearly devolves into an argument at a few points, but they settle themselves before anyone has to step in. After much discussion, they split into a few different groups, but they don’t quite seem sure of themselves yet. Before the discussion can drag on and waste all of our mornings, I step in.
“For now, everyone who’s made a claim on this district is in the room with us. I’ll decide on your homes, as per your original claims and if there’s trouble you can move to another home in the same district, or trade with someone else if they agree. No forcing trades, or trying to claim every spare house as yours during this time, there’s more than enough homes for all of you.
“After two weeks, you’ll all return and we can decide on permanent residences.” I say. “Is there any issue or complaint?”
They unanimously agree to the offer and head out in deep conversation that isn’t going to end soon. Two weeks should be enough to decide on their neighbours so long as no one decides to learn how to play the trumpet right after.
Slouching on the throne, I feel my precious time draining away as I deal with these little things. I need to hurry up and get some management types to deal with this for me.
“Next!” I shout.
“They can’t hear you, you know?” Nel says, smirking my way. “Don’t worry, I sent the message downstairs for you.”
“That reminds me, who was it that brought our food up?” I ask. “I probably should have thanked them, right?”
“Just someone who couldn’t find anything else to do. She was happy enough to help out, and seems trustworthy enough.” Nel says. “It’s good to have help.”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Well, I definitely need to thank her then.” I say as the ground trembles from the massive footsteps slowly pounding their way up the stairs. I’m sure he’s having some trouble with the small size of the steps, but he doesn’t complain when he steps into the room.
“Giant, good to see you. Everyone treating you alright?” I ask, as the massive man steps into the room. A smaller gremlin walks by his side. I already have some idea of the reason they’re here considering the land that they’ve claimed. To say that it’s ridiculous is an understatement, but that only speaks to the real intents of their request.
“Thank you for seeing us.” Giant bows his head and the gremlin by his side does the same.
Interestingly, it doesn’t seem like he’s simply following the larger man’s queue, rather he seems fully aware of the situation, and I can feel the calculations running through his eyes. Very few of the gremlins I’ve met have come across as intelligent, but he’s clearly an exception, much like Loekan was.
Unlike on Earth where the differences between races is nearly to point of being purely cosmetic, here we have species that are still discovering their higher intelligence, alongside both wild beasts and species of highly developed intelligence.
Does this mean that there’s some floating brain species out there that’ll look at me like I see the gremlins?
Probably.
It’s difficult to accept, but a little easier to acknowledge than deluding myself into thinking that humans are at the peak of intelligence.
“If you haven’t already been told, I’m Kyra Baker, an Empress in the making.” I say. “I’m familiar with Giant, but who are you?”
“Fodder.” The small gremlin replies, tactful in his tone while saying something quite ridiculous. That’s not my own mind pressing the name on him, it’s just an accurate translation of his words.
“Fodder?” I ask.
“It is what Loekan called us. I decided to keep the name to give it new meaning.” He says.
“Well, I won’t judge.” I say, “But if I might ask, were you leading the armies that we were fighting in the city?”
Giant twitches but the smaller man doesn’t react at all.
“I was leading them, yes.” He replies simply.
“Good to know. I hope we don’t end up enemies again.” I say. “Moving on, I’m guessing that your wide claims on whole districts is about more than just yourselves?”
“My people. What remains of them, at least.” Fodder replies. “Even spread out we wouldn’t fill this city anymore. Many died, and many more left with Warren.”
I have it under good authority that Warren has left for another cavern nearby, which means we won’t have to worry about him for the immediate future.
“Well, don’t waste time standing about. Come closer and look at the map.” I say, waving towards him. Vii sits on the side of the room, her eyes glazed over, while Eshya has fallen asleep by her side.
Adler, however, is paying much more attention. Her ears are lowered, and her gaze is stuck on the ground at our feet. She seems terribly ashamed of herself, or perhaps of me, and while she’s trying to hide her expression she’s failing badly.
“Is there any district that would be best?” I ask Fodder, “And how much can I trust that your people won’t cause us trouble?”
“They won’t. They’re obedient to power, if nothing else, and you’ve shown yourself as strong enough to keep them behaved.” He says, looking around at the map. “This district here would be fine. Now, can I ask what you want of us?”
“I want you to keep your noses clean.” I say. “Don’t pick fights, and don’t steal things.”
“What I meant was, what purpose will you give us? Will you send us out hunting? Is there a battle you need us to fight?”
“I don’t really have a need for you to hunt, and you’re all too weak anyway.” I say. “Red’s still running classes, so you can join them if you want and whoever she accepts can be proper soldiers. Other than that, try crafting things? Farming? I’ll be setting up a few opportunities for those unable to do anything, but I need a little time before I have anything prepared.”
Specifically, I need to get the new support devices handed out, and I need some sort of school or academy to help people develop useful Skills. The gremlins aren’t the only ones without any Skills or abilities that would help them develop careers.
“I could teach them to build?” Giant offers, looking down towards Fodder.
“That works too,” I say. “If it’s a project that benefits the city, I might be able to get you some building materials together, and of course you’ll be fed regardless. I’m not about to leave you all starving.”
Red has been slaughtering much of the wilds of the cavern to train her soldiers, and we’re not at all short on meat. We might be out of hunting grounds soon enough if we’re not careful, though. I’ll have to discuss that with the others this week, actually, because I get the feeling it’s not going to take us very long to reach that point.
Fodder looks a little confused as we quickly confirm that Giant will retain ownership over his home, before they both leave the room. Fodder has potential, hopefully he uses it well and I don’t have to kill him as he tries a revolt.
I need to get this throne packed with mana soon, because I do not want to be caught by surprise.
My favourite vampire warriors are the next group to come to sort out the paperwork for their homes. It’s a much nicer atmosphere and makes the work a little easier to manage. They take the fourth district, and they’ve already sorted out how the homes are going to be split between them.
Some of the quickly formed couples break down into tears as I finalise everything and Nel notes down who owns what property. Something to help us for any potential, future disputes.
Lakesh isn’t the only one with a distant expression on his face after glancing at the loving couples. Their people live long, it’s guaranteed that they’ve experienced some shit, and left some people behind.
They shuffle out of the room, their darker gloom not enough to overwhelm the excitement of the few who are already getting to work on building a family and a home.
“If I may speak up.” A familiar face stays behind. “I was meant to be here to help you develop proper manners, but you’ve not seen fit to even spare me a moment of your time.”
Her voice drips with venom as I keep a forced smile on my lips. I… may have forgotten about her at some point when I was trying to avoid her. I’m not sure how much good it would’ve done me wasting time with her classes on formality, while the war was raging, but I shouldn’t be rude.
Veralia, the formality teacher that followed me alongside the rebels from their home dungeon. She used to be so much more formal with me, partly because of my relationship with the dungeons. It seems that my charm has worn off.
“Feel free to make yourself at home.” I say, waving about the room. “I could use your assistance in keeping everything lordly in here, so stay and judge us, maybe?”
“Yes, your highness.” She bows. “First, stop slouching and straighten your hair.”
I stifle a groan as I do as she says, inviting the next group in.
Thankfully, it’s only Roach looking to confirm their claim on their own home tower.
“You won’t need any more room for your children?” I ask. “It is a tall tower, I suppose.”
“When they grow up, they can prove themselves to you and earn their own homes.” Roach declares, bowing low and giving thanks before taking his leave. Beetle is back at home tending to their eggs and couldn’t come.
This large city is already feeling rather small. It’d feel pretty bad not having any room in this city by the time his kids have grown up. Just a little more heat under my feet, keeping me from staying still and stagnating down here. So long as I can develop space magic, I’ll always have somewhere to expand to, thankfully.
The final group of claims to deal with today is from a group of crafters that are trying to claim the whole third district as guild property. I have some idea who’s behind this, and I’m not about to let him mess about and screw over my precious crafters.
Just as I expected, Khet steps into the room, standing tall as he leads the subdued group of crafters inside. Many of them seem incredibly uncertain of themselves, and many others refuse to look up at all. Unfortunately, it is a common response from those who aren’t familiar with me.
“Thank you for your time, Empress.” Khet bows low at the waist. “I hope there has been no contesting bids for the third district of this city?”
“No, but you have raised a few concerns.” I say, meeting his eyes. “This guild has formed rather quickly, and it seems that not a single crafter living in this city has escaped your reach.”
“It is in our best interest to face you as a unified front.” Khet replies with a disturbing attempt at a charming smile. “We are but crafters, and alone we are weak. We can’t stand up to an Empress like yourself.”
“Yes, that is the purpose for a guild, Union, or whatever, but it also opens up the potential for crafters to be abused by the managers of said guild.” I push onwards before Khet can try interjecting. “Homes and shops shouldn’t be considered guild property. I’ll split the district between all claimants individually.
“Before you can start scheming any further, your property rights are going to be recorded and, at this time, any exchange of property needs to be approved by either Nel or myself.”
“You want to crush our guild?” Khet asks, pretending to be taken aback. A few of the others behind him shuffle uncomfortably.
“You can make whatever guild you please, but if you cause trouble for my city, or my people, I’ll be forced to straighten it out. That means that any one of you are free to work outside of the guild, and I’ll do what I can to ensure that you’re protected from any retribution.”
Khet takes a step back, waiting in silence a moment before nodding his head.
“If that’s your wish, then who are we to refuse.” He says.
“Good. Let’s handle the details, then.” I say looking over the map.
It seems to me that Khet was trying to position himself in a powerful position within the guild to control the rest of them, and then the market through them. Essentially forming a sort of monopolisation over the products of our crafters, which could be troublesome.
I’ll wait and see what he does next.
I get the feeling Khet isn’t done yet, he has aspirations. So long as he doesn’t take direct action against me, or any of my people, he can play his little games.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Skills & Stats
~Mana Form:
Current mana density: 3842 units
~Mana distribution:
Category Current Max. Defence 20% 100% Offense 20% 100% Mana Sense 20% 100% Recovery 20% 100% Gluttony 10% 100% Misc. 10% 100% Efficiency 100% 100%
~Favourited Skills:
-Tag and Film
-Trapping
-Mana surge movement
-Annihilation defence
-Annihilation flame burst
-Annihilation net
-Eyes of an Empire
Adaptions:
-Quick perception mind
-Annihilation Heart
-Clean bowels