A week passed, with Elinor only leaving the safety of her isolated tower to utilize the Life Fruit’s energy for her nightly army cost. She glared up at the impenetrable snowfall covering the sierra to the north of her fortress with a brooding glare; Iris had yet to return from her mission to spy on Baxter and his group.
Edmon’s imposing figure stood beside her throne; she had it moved to the north to study the direction Iris was in. It wasn’t as if she had been immobile, but the fact she hadn’t returned to report in and the inability for anyone but herself to sense her movements within the Nexus meant that she couldn’t send anyone to her exact location.
Her former father and mother had vehemently opposed her leaving to meet with her, which Elinor had to admit was the wise decision, but the silence annoyed her to no end.
She sent the obnoxious Jukal, Rigrach, to fly around the area after gaining his physical form back, yet his flight around the sites was met with silence; his speed was far slower than Iris’ had been, and it took some time for the bird to traverse the landscape.
There wasn’t any indication he was an Undead unless you cut him open at this point, but his large black eyes were an indicator of the unordinary; they seemed to absorb the light around them, making it appear as if they released a black hue.
At first, each new day tightened Elinor’s stomach; now, every hour carried the worry Iris’ life might be snuffed out, or something dreadful had happened to her, and so far, Rigrach was useless at finding anything of importance.
All the bird reported were signs of Quen’Talrat ruins with Ri’bot and other strange creatures living in the wreckage. They had supposedly built onto the structures, and a few battles seemed to have passed between areas, but it was a very remote and barren area with grass that held little nutrients for grazing.
Many advancements were being made from her relentless Undead, continually working to bring her vision to life and build a safe place for their Empress, but Elinor’s focus remained on the north.
Iris shifted constantly and almost instantaneously to various degrees across the northern lands, which gave Elinor the impression that she was on some kind of teleporting mass. However, there was no way of knowing why she had yet to return or if she’d been captured. It was becoming more likely that the Spider Queen might have been discovered and trapped with every passing day.
It was currently 13 A.M. out of the 30 hour day time table, and the daily reports for the Empire’s progress had been ongoing between different representatives, speaking through the Nexus; all visitors had been barred from even going into the Throne Room since the start of Iris’ mission.
Food was prepared and left at the beginning of the Throne Room grand hallway for a maid to fetch. Currently, only her Head Maid, Emelina, and the 12-year-old maid, Aileen attended to her since they were the only women that didn’t have family, and Elinor would keep her word with allowing her Maids free-time; that left the rest to help other units.
The gains this week were advancing in a positive direction. Lucky Blue Smith, the Publicist that acted as an intermediate between her forces and the living, had been making great strides with the Elite Quen’Talrat and Quin’s instruction on their technology.
Gwen seemed to be warming up to the young man after their first introduction as he worked with each group. A trial had been held for the Delthax earlier that week with Tiffany being delegated her authority in overseeing the final judgment in her stead; she was too focused on Iris to officiate. A few Warriors were willingly executed for their crimes against the humans while most were given to Tiffany since the experience would probably be worse than death.
The ominous feelings crowding her mind wouldn’t disperse; everything they’d come up against was more or less manageable and far outclassed by the Spider Queen. Now, there was an otherworldly threat that had set their sights on her, and Iris was in mortal danger without anyone capable of offering support.
Word had spread to Violet through Azalea, and she could sense their angst when within the fortress walls; she couldn’t blame them. Camellia didn’t know the danger her mother was possibly in, and Elinor sympathized with them by reflecting on her own lost parents. Even if the Thélméthra didn’t hold the same emotions as humans, they were surprisingly similar.
Elinor passively listened to the reports, keeping up-to-date on the progress her Empire had made within the week’s time; she would soon leave this tower to head south for the events her Ambassador had planned. No word had passed between her and Klaus within the week to inform him about the new threat.
However, Elinor had continued to level her Skills and Abilities within both Systems. She’d learned much more about the Religious System and was nearing her needed goal to maintain her current army’s size, which was excellent since the Life Fruits were growing ever more unstable by the night. Her minion capacity and Death Energy pool had been her focus within the week.
States:
Lich’s Conquest I: (Cooldown: N/A Cost: 25DE/Daily Duration: Conditional; Range: Nexus Of The Empress) Reactive Aura, Level Five, Novice, Rank Four; a state that grants certain benefits and requirements when engaging in territorial conquests. However, if not in a direct campaign against a force that holds land to take, this does not come into effect.
* Cost Reduction: While it may cost a daily amount of Death Energy, it reduces the total percent cost of the daily total by 15%.
* Furor: Increase all minion Attack Speed and Attack Damage by 5%
* Sacrifice: 10% of the total army must be sacrificed during the reset; minions can be prioritized over others. This is by number, not the strength of the minions.
Base Lich Tree Skills: These Skills will slowly be upgraded and absorbed by more powerful versions further up the Tree.
Artificial Body I: (Cooldown: 15 Seconds Cost: 9DE/Daily; Duration: 1 Day; Range: N/A); Reactive, Magical Type, Summoning, Level Five, Rookie, Rank Max; a body can be molded to fit the user’s personal image of themself. Small custom modifications can be made, but alternate forms cannot be fashioned at will yet.
Life Tap II (Enhanced By Monarch of Death): (Cooldown: 25 Seconds; Cost: Regenerative; Duration: Until Broken; Range: Five Feet) Active Channeling, Magical Type, Summoning, Level One, Versed, Rank Max; corrupts 10 Life Energy per 5 Seconds. This Skill upgraded so rapidly throughout the week from the massive amounts of Life Energy corrupted from the Life Fruit.
* Rapid Draw II (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration; N/A) Reactive Proficiency Skill, Magical Type, Summoning, Level One, Versed, Rank Three; Increases the corruption rate by .5% per minute of consecutive draw to a maximum of 30% until broken.
Death’s Reprieve I: (Cooldown: 1 Month Cost: N/A; Duration: 1 Day; Range: N/A); Reactive, Magical Type, Summoning, Level Five, Novice, Rank Zero; the daily resource cost for a day can be postponed, but the price following night will be tripled.
Racials:
Death Pool III: (2,829DE Cap (487DE Before Investing Points); Currently 1,134/2,829DE) Passive, Summoning, Level One, Intermediate, Rank One; this energy source is affected by the Endurance Stat. The glow of Monarch of Death’s crown jewels and the user’s eyes increase based on its current levels.
* Overpowered III: Reactive Link Skill, Summoning, Level Four, Versed, Rank Ten; grants a 19% reduction of Death Energy loss on Energy to a limit of 1,500% (Max: 42,435 Death Energy) more can be stored temporarily, however that will not be at a reduced loss. Excess Energy has a Decay Rate of 8 hours, plus the amount of loss reduced.
Imperial Presence II: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: Once Sensed In Any Manner) Passive Aura, Magical Type, Empress, Level One, Versed, Rank Three; forces the user to act in an imperial manner. It makes them more dignified and regal while also implanting that mental image in weak-willed creatures around them.
* Lesser Aura of Supremacy III: (Cooldown: 5 Minutes; Cost: 20DE Per Minute; Duration: N/A; Range: 35 Meters) Active Aura Link Skill; an Aura Skill that casts Horrify on others; if Horrify fails, it casts Fear.
* Horrify: Overwhelms all senses, forcing the victim to focus on the user while being totally unable to function mentally and physically for a time. Resistance rolls will be cast every eight seconds.
* Fear: Forces those present to run in terror or tremble in place, experiencing a horrible dread. Effects last for eight seconds and will not renew once outside of the aura field, but the person’s lingering bodily response will impact them.
Empress Branch: These are skills that force The Empress to behave a certain way, curbing her old habits.
Nexus Of The Empress II: (Cooldown: N/A Cost: 15DE Daily; Duration: N/A; Range: Ten Miles); Passive Aura, Magical Type, Empress, Level One, Versed, Rank Max; the evolution to Spiritual Link I connects every Minion within a specific range. This branches out to Intelligent Minions, unlike Spiritual Link, allowing them to act as command hubs.
Emotional Control I (Evolved From Emotional Loss II w/ ): (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A) Passive Cluster Set; Level One, Versed, Rank Max; (formally Emotional Loss II, which evolved into its current state due to Imperial Presence and the Religious System’s influence). The Empress’ emotions are evened out, allowing her to think clearly in stressful situations. Any emotions dampened by Emotional Loss will continue to have a lasting effect.
Monarch of Death II: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: 75DE/Daily; Duration: N/A) Active, Cluster Set, Level Eight, Rookie, Rank Six; the physical manifestation of the user’s authority as the Empress of the Dead. The following skills are a part of this cluster, meaning they do not work if this main branch is not active.
* * Life Tap II (Enhanced By MoD; Includes RD): (Cooldown: 25 Seconds; Cost: Regenerative; Duration: Until Broken; Range: Five Feet) Active Channeling, Magical Type, Summoning, Level One, Versed, Rank Max; Corrupts 12 Life Energy per 5 Seconds. This Skill upgraded so rapidly throughout the week from the massive amounts of Life Energy corrupted from the Life Fruit.
* Lesser Minion Mastery I: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: MoD Active; Duration: N/A; Range: 25 Meters) Passive Skill, Magical Type, Enhancement, Level Two, Novice Grade, Rank Max; doubles all minion base Stats, excluding Tenacity, with an additional 5% increase for those within range, and grants 15% bonus experience. It does not stack with other minion enhancing effects, including Lich’s Conquest.
* Prose of the Potentate II: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: See Above; Daily Use; Duration: See Above; Range: N/A) Active Skill, Magical Type, Summoning, Level One, Versed Grade, Rank Two; allows The Empress to talk and read any language her minions can, which is then shared with the rest of her host. However, this means there can be errors if their education was faulty. She may suffer consequences should her minions not have the proper vocabulary to communicate at a higher level.
* Plight Of The Empress I: Active Skill, Magical Type, Summoning, Cluster Set, Level One, Novice, Rank One; a set of skills that function as emergency options.
* * Call of the Empress I: (Cooldown: 1 Week; Cost: 10%DE; Duration: 10 Minutes; Range: 30 Meters) Active Skill, Magical Type, Summoning, Level One, Novice Grade, Rank Two; sends a nova of life energy out that raises all corpses in range of The Empress’ current position, bypassing her summoning limit. They will be at the strongest the creature was in life, bypassing all resurrection restrictions with their best suitable Class, determined by The System for the Empress’ defense.
* * * The Undead cannot be revived once the flames of life have been extinguished.
* Herald of the Empress II: (Cooldown: N/A Cost: 5DE Per Butterfly; Duration: 45 Minutes/Renews Cost To Stay Active; Range: 20 Meters) Active, Cluster Set, Level Six, Rookie, Rank Six; the Empress’ butterflies are used to revive and identify potential minion candidates.
* * Minion Pool II: (Cooldown: N/A; Cost: N/A; Duration: N/A; Range: N/A) Passive Skill, Death-Type, Level Five, Versed Grade, Rank Four. Increases The Empress’ Minion Pool.
* * * Unintelligent: 1,250:674 used (Previous Week 150; 126 used)
* * * Intelligent: 250:36 used (Previous Week 69; 36 used)
* * Raise Skeleton II: Active, Magical Type, Summoning, Level One, Versed Grade, Rank One; the Empress can select between two Undead options to raise. Increased levels grant her minions more of their original strength when revived, but the price may increase.
* * * Intelligent: (Cooldown: N/A Cost: 25DE (x2 Per Grade) and the Butterfly; Duration: N/A; Maintenance: 2DE Daily/x2 Per Grade); Undead that has their spirits returned to a reformed body.
* * * * Color/Grade - DE Cost/Maintenance Cost
* * * * White/Poor - 30/2
* * * * Green/Common - 55/4
* * * * Yellow/Uncommon - 105/8 (Quin/Garu’s Cost)
* * * * Blue/Rare - 205/16 (Valdar’s Cost)
* * * * Purple/Heroic - 405/32 Emelina’s Cost)
* * * * Red/Epic - 805/64 (Amra’Core/Camellia’s Cost)
* * * * Orange/Legendary - 1,605/128 (Azalea’s Cost)
* * * * Dark Orange/Mythic - 3,205/256 (Violet’s Cost)
* * * * Pearlescent/Transcendent - 6,405/512 (Iris’ Cost)
* * * Unintelligent: (Cooldown: N/A Cost: .5DE (x2 Per Grade) and the Butterfly; Duration: N/A; Maintenance: .5DE Daily/x2 Per Grade); lifeless husks raised and augmented without the spirit for fodder use.
* * * * Color/Grade - DE Cost/Maintenance Cost
* * * * White/Poor - 5.5/.5
* * * * Green/Common - 6/1
* * * * Yellow/Uncommon - 7/2
* * * * Blue/Rare - 9/4
* * * * Purple/Heroic - 13/8
* * * * Red/Epic - 21/16
* * * * Orange/Legendary - 37/32
* * * * Dark Orange/Mythic - 69/64
* * * * Pearlescent/Transcendent - 133/128
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* * * Daily Maintenance Cost:
* * * * Lich’s Conquest: 25DE (If In A Territory Conflict); -15% Total Cost
* Artificial Body: 9DE
* Nexus Of The Empress: 15DE
* Monarch of Death: 75DE
* Intelligent Minions: 2,680DE
* * * Rarity: # Minions / Individual DE
* Uncommon: 3x / 8
* Rare: 14x / 16
* Heroic: 12x / 32
* Epic: 2x / 64
* Legendary: 1x / 128
* Mythic: 1x / 256
* Transcendent: 3x / 512
* Unintelligent Minions: 370DE
* Poor: 608x / .5
* Common: 66x / 1
* * * Total Daily Cost: 3,149DE
* Total Daily Cost: 2,676.65DE (W/Lich’s Conquest)
Elinor had leveled her Minion Pool and Death Pool by making sure to use them as often as possible. The increase had been substantial when she reached the 3rd Rank and the Intermediate Grade; her Death Pool increased by 850 in one bound.
She’d given Garu, her Ethereal Clan Ri’bot, oversight of the tar and mud pit excavation, yielding many Ri’bot skeletons. The piles of bones were brought to the Entrance Hall to be gathered by the Unintelligent Quen’Talrat to bring up for her to resurrect on an hourly cycle, but the remains of the pits close by were swiftly drying up, and none were of any significant quality.
It had increased the amount of work that could be accomplished within her Capital City, and the forces had grown by such a degree that all of her Intelligent Undead had a squad they were in charge of to boss around for the work.
She could thank Valdar’s diligent efforts for the continual replenishment of her Death Energy. Her religion was spreading rapidly, and the entire Prume Clan had fallen under her influence without bloodshed after the Chief had accompanied her High Priest back to the city to understand what was happening within the valley.
Ri’bot missionaries had been trained in the basics of the growing religious beliefs, spreading to all the Clanless hotspots, locations delivered by Violet’s continual sensory web that found new hidden pockets of toads and Yaltha’ma throughout the jungle.
Much of the city’s western side had been cleaned out, or so she was told, and the new monkey-fox recruits each sided with the two different factions, which is how El’Co’Ca’s Hidden Ones had grown to 674 members while the main body of El’Ra’Ca’s group numbered 3,217.
The creatures were doing good work in cleaning up the areas surrounding her palace. El’Co’Ca had her faction aiding Gwen and the humans while the bulk of the Yaltha’ma followed her brother in ridding the western section of their feces.
Adding both parties to her religion had helped significantly, but the System remained reasonably simple with the teachings that were being spread. She was sure it would evolve with their beliefs, and the constant influx of Ri’bot had invoked Antonietta to request help in the kitchens to help provide for the gathering creatures, much to the Wixum Clan’s delight.
Work had begun with exploring the massive greenhouses in the northeast, and Tiffany had picked out what would likely be the most healthy food to plant with Antonietta’s assistance. There were a few fast-growing crops that would help in the short-term.
Even with the colossal farming space, eventually, they would run out of room, which is why Tiffany tried cheering her up with some rambling conversations about ideas she had of tilling the northern lands of the weeds and terraforming the area. It wasn’t incredibly exhilarating to Elinor, but she listened to keep her mind busy from worrying about Iris.
Amra’Cora spoke about an underground tunnel under construction when she was alive to quickly traverse from the keep to the opposite side of the mountain range for effortless passage but was unsure of its whereabouts.
The Elite Hunter had been quite busy throughout the week, directing repairs with Edmon’s oversight on priority through the Nexus. She could tell he was a bit frustrated at times with communication errors that passed between them, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it since no one would be able to defend her if Baxter or his allies made an appearance.
Lucky was currently meeting with each leader of the Ri’bot, Yaltha’ma, and humans, working out housing arrangement areas. The humans were taking the closest buildings surrounding the palace, and a few strange vehicles had been salvaged by the Elite Hunters to allow easy access between the court and gardens for daily tilling efforts. There were only a few transportation vehicles, but they were big enough to take over two dozen humans on the wide roads.
The Yaltha’ma apparently had more than enough living space since Ke’Thra’Ma had designed the fortress with the small creatures acting as maintenance support. They’d forgotten much of the daily tasks throughout the generations, but Amra’Cora knew enough to get them back on the right track.
Tiffany’s experiments were starting to make some progress, and she had successfully broken into a branch that she believed would grant her the ability to meld the Religious System and Undead System, but only time would tell. Elinor just nodded at her updates since it was mostly speculation, though every new ritual brought the Witch running with squealing joy.
A ritualistic grid had been fashioned around the palace to allow the Witch’s searching eyes to find anything hidden to strengthen their observational area; the space above the tower had been the most difficult for her to do since it required a lot of energy to link the rituals in such a large apparatus. Nothing came of their precautions as of yet.
Her maids were having a wonderful time, which made Elinor happy; every so often, she’d peek in on their family time to pass the time. There were still reservations and nervous tip-toeing around specific topics, but people were starting to settle into their new lives.
The humans worked together to find solutions to their minor problems rather than coming to Lucky for every issue that came up, and Gwen was a big part of that process.
Elinor hoped Iris would return soon with news so she could explore the city that was slowly becoming more operable. Several dozen of her unintelligent minions had been on a scouting mission to explore the entire fortress and send a message to Edmon if any new living thing entered their perceptive field.
So far, quite a few predators had gathered within the northern areas, which had destroyed a few of her weak skeletons; Quin was swift to respond in capturing them for Tiffany’s rituals. Many of the stronger predators acted as good sources of energy and resources for her witchcraft.
Quin was somewhat frightened of Amra’Cora from some history they shared in the past, but the powerful Quen’Talrat didn’t seem to even recognize the young Elite Warrior, which was embarrassing for Elinor’s first Intelligent Undead.
What she really wanted to do was raise her Head of State candidate, but he remained in the Life Room, awaiting the time she’d call upon his spirit. Her pool had reached a point that it was an option; however, she wanted to first be independent of the Life Fruit before buckling down on her next Transcendent Royal Court candidate, and her former parents cautioned that it would be best to wait for a combative unit instead of an administrative one.
Elinor agreed with their assessment, but the more bodies brought to her feet, the more she realized how rare that actually was. Her weaker unintelligent minions were certainly intimidating to the local wildlife and creatures but were far from reliable in combat; they were utter fodder when it came down to it and didn’t receive nearly any of the advanced perks of the Intelligent Undead.
More of her valley was becoming accessible with Violet’s relentless efforts. Though the process had taken a lot of energy from the powerful Spider Sister, it had yielded phenomenal results thus far. Violet hadn’t finished her wide sensory net across the valley, but through her constant search, they’d discovered many hidden pathways underneath the land which hadn’t existed a century ago.
Yet, there had been no indication of the decay-specters using them; however, there were signs of other creatures that the sisters hadn’t encountered in their life that had used the underground system as recently as two decades ago, branching into their mother’s network.
Rigrach had been sent on aerial missions to scout the land beyond if they needed to take quick action to help Iris, mapping out the trails Amra’Cora showed him on an old map within the library. Some pathways had become difficult to traverse, but a few still existed between the mountains.
Elinor listened to the reports Lucky made on their recent meeting, discussing how the humans would soon be moving out of the palace and into the surrounding buildings. Several families had opted to use the houses closer to the greenhouse district, deciding to dedicate themselves to the harvest, and even if her maids had the day off, they still supported their families in their daily tasks.
Mauricio Ojuda, her Groundskeeper, had been extremely busy with fashioning furniture while instructing the human and Ri’bot on specific craftsmanship arts while Leonora Gentileschi detailed the work on Elinor’s own furnishings. However, the Groundskeeper had been most busy overseeing a ship that two-hundred of her Unintelligent Undead, two humans, and five Ri’bot with knowledge on the subject were in the process of constructing.
She got to her feet, hips twisting to the left; her green irises swept the expansive room of strange artifacts. Elinor decided to keep all of Ke’Thra’Ma’s items in their places until they could be adequately inspected since the great white ape had chosen to surround himself with his most valuable treasures, according to Amra’Cora.
Edmon followed her as she moved between them, studying the objects; this had been a daily habit of hers since she was confined to the room for the week. Every time she inspected them, something new caught her interest that pulled her mind away from Iris’ long departure. She was just waiting for the makeshift shipwright’s report; he’d been charged to complete it by today and was given as many workmen as he requested.
Kumi’Relta, the sole Hunter Class of the Quen’Talrat Elite Squadron, had been conscripted to help utilize his knowledge about the power gems his race used in its design. He had no understanding of their creation, but their use was somewhat known to most of the giant gorillas.
He had selected a wide assortment of the jewels from the collection Pepe Fontanez, her Treasurer, had sorted and documented with Federico Fallas, a Curator, and Eloy Sandoval, her Royal Chronicler. Eloy took several minutes each day within a private call to Emelina to get a general grasp of Elinor’s actions in the day to record them.
A soft sigh left Elinor’s lips, turning away from the artifact in front of her to stare north again. Edmon thought a journey to the south was actually an excellent idea with Violet and his protection, and Tiffany agreed; Azalea could manage Violet’s sensory network while she was away, and the youngest Spider Sister had been brought into their daily meetings as the next ranking member within her mother’s Unit’s chain of command.
Edmon had gotten into the habit of speaking to her through the Nexus, in the off chance someone was listening to them; they couldn’t be too careful with a creature that had strange devices from multiple worlds. “Has anything changed with Iris?”
… No … she hasn’t moved a significant distance from the last teleportation.
He repeated the previous conclusion with a few added thoughts since their last discussion on the matter, making Elinor’s lips fall a little. Her emotions slowly returning throughout the week was welcome, but it also came with some odd balancing.
“The fact Iris’ location teleports every time Rigrach reaches a specific distance in his flight patterns shows there’s an automatic defensive matrix. He can’t keep making those sweeps, or they’ll get too suspicious. I suggest he spend more time on the other side.
“Using the maids to act as our messenger as not to draw their eye back to the city is a solid strategy. However, since Iris is not reaching out through the Nexus to relay information tells me that there could be methods they have to listen to even our private connections. She was able to get onto whatever structure they have within the clouds with her stealth, but if we hope to do the same, we’ll need another Assassin-Class to attempt it.”
Yes … but as you’ve said, there’s no one we can trust with that if Iris herself is being so cautious … we’re stuck … she’s probably stuck there for some reason, and there’s nothing we can do without another member of the Royal Court with some special abilities.
Before he could respond, Elinor powered through in her week-long induced frustration.
We’ve been searching the swamps, I’ve been increasing my levels as much as possible, and we haven’t found anything even close to Transcendent Grade, though. No, we haven’t even seen a Rare Grade in those pools, and now I’m supposed to go south, or I might ruin Klaus’ plan that he’s been setting up for the past week that I dumped on him out of my own hubris. She growled.
Yes, the Empire is expanding, and I am getting more powerful, but that means nothing if we have to deal with an entire council of enemies that are more or less as powerful as Iris. No, she bit down on her thumbnail with agitation, I need someone that can help support us more, which means I need to continue leveling my Death Pool, but none of that matters if I don’t have a powerful Undead to raise … I’m hitting a wall.
“Yes … which is why finding such a figure in the Nalvean Capital should be our next move. There is nothing you can do from this tower except wait, and even if Iris did call for help, we couldn’t act so rashly…”
I know … it could be a trap. She mumbled, vision narrowing.
Emelina was the perfect picture of grace beside her, but she knew the woman wished to help ease her burden. She must have also been excited to join her in the south since she’d have more time with Klaus, but that was only a minor distraction in Elinor’s mind at the moment.
I must have faith in Iris to accomplish her task … but this is the first time I’ve felt like I could really lose one of you. I … can’t lose Iris.
“She knows that,” Edmon smoothly responded. “She will take the utmost caution, which is the most credible reason why she has yet to return. A second infiltration mission is not desirable; she must gain as much information as possible before she leaves.”
An entire week, though … an entire … week, Elinor repeated.
“It just proves how dangerous our foes are.”
… I suppose you’re right. Klaus will need to be on his toes when we arrive … we need to find another powerful figure to resurrect without starting a war that will pincer us on both fronts.
“A meeting with the leadership, then.”
A short puff of air released from Elinor’s lips, and she returned to her throne’s side. How long until the boat is complete?
“Soon.”
He wasn’t wrong, Mauricio was heading toward her from the river’s edge, but the antsy emotions that were slowly returning with Emotional Loss being absorbed into Emotional Control had caused a swirl of unease in her core.
Lucky had just finished his report, which she had only slightly paid attention to. He’d mentioned the human’s elation upon her promise that when she returned with the Clavex Clan, she would raise more of their loved ones for various tasks that would best suit their potential.
She’d gained a decent amount of Intelligent slots, but the issue was her daily cost. If she was going to raise another Intelligent Transcendent Undead, then that would increase her daily maintenance by another 512 Death Energy, which didn’t count any of the possible Skills she could gain from using all those points she’d spent on her current list of abilities in enhancing her existing Undead.
Plight of the Empress I had come off cooldown, and even if she wished to use it to continue leveling up its proficiencies, Tiffany and Edmon convinced her to save it in case it was needed with Baxter’s looming threat. She felt like her hands were literally tied behind her back, restricting her actions.
After a short amount of time, her Groundskeeper made contact, informing them that his task had been completed.
Finally, it was time where she could act and leave her tower; she’d almost felt like a trapped princess over the past week.
Tiffany bridged a connection with her. “I wish you a safe trip, Dear! I’ll hold down the fort while you’re gone; I’ve whipped up a pretty nasty ritual if we come under attack, so don’t worry too much. Just enjoy yourself; everything will be fine!”
Okay … now, I’m really worried, Elinor mumbled, walking to the elevator with her two maids and bodyguard. You don’t go saying everything’s going to be fine before going on a long journey … it’s fiction one-o-one, Tiffany.
“Oh, goodness! You’re right; oof … uh, well, maybe we will have some trouble. I’ll handle everything, though!”
… I’m counting on you.
“Of course, Empress!”
Edmon cleared this throat. “... If something does happen…”
“Yes, yes, Honey, I know,” Tiffany said in a manner that made it clear she was rolling her eyes. “I’ll send someone running back to inform you of the situation.”
Elinor didn’t want to say it, but she’d know something was wrong if her Undead suddenly started dropping like flies.
Letting the conversation die, she glanced to her right at the twelve-year-old Undead Maid beside the Head Maid; she was doing her best to hide an excited smile. She’d been hearing tales about the Nalveans from Valdar when he had time to move between activities. Elinor had hopped in to listen from time to time, too.
Excited? Elinor asked, giving the girl a small smile.
“Oh, very excited, Empress!” Aileen squealed. “I just … I want to see the salamander people and watch them waterbend like Katara!”
A soft chuckle escaped Elinor’s throat; her enthusiasm helped distract her. Yes, I’m excited, too. We’ll have to be on our best behavior, though; we don’t want to start a war … yet, I think. We’ll see what Klaus has planned for us.
“Mhm! Emelina … oh, umm, no, that’s not right … uh, Head Maid Emelina! Mhm! She’s really excited, too!”
Elinor felt a twitch pass through her connection to the Head Maid, but the action didn’t reflect on her serene face as she spoke through the Nexus. “Perhaps he will have good news for us on more powerful Undead that can help bolster the Empire’s strength for the future.”
Let’s hope. Elinor whispered.
Quin greeted her in the Throne Room, fully fleshed out with thick gray fur and a muscular build. “Greetings, my Empress,” she bowed, holding down one of her hands to act as Elinor’s seat on their journey.
Quin, you’ll have to tell me a bit about your life on our journey. I’m sure Aileen would like to join in the story.
“Please!” The girl smiled, hands tightening around her stomach as she tried to keep her composure.
Of course, Empress.
Two more Skeletal Quen’Talrat took Edmon and the maids with the Doom Guard’s instruction. Violet would meet them shortly within the jungle after teaching her sister how to operate the silken network.
The ride to the boat was much smoother than what she remembered from Quin’s skeleton form, which probably had something to do with her Mount Class. She had to admit that sitting in the giant ape’s large hands was comfortable.
Violet met them in her human-form half-way to the river, and Elinor frowned upon seeing the Spider Sister. She looked somewhat gaunt, and there were bags under her black and white eyes, showing how drained she was after her week-long web weaving endeavor.
“Empress,” she curtsied, voice not reflecting what her body couldn’t hide, and they continued their journey.
How soon will your energy be restored with rest, Violet?
“Eight hours, Empress. I should be at peak condition when we arrive at the Nalvean Capital.”
… Rest-up on our journey. I need you at your best.
“I will be,” she replied with a short nod, easily keeping pace with Quin through the dense foliage.
The ship that greeted them was an interesting design that Elinor thought was reasonably impressive. It wasn’t that foreign of a structure, with three dragon-fin-like sails and a deck with a lower hull. The vessel wasn’t all that large, but they only had a week to construct it, and it would do.
As she boarded, she noticed the glowing yellow crystals, somehow attached to the sails and decking, all shimmering with various colors of light. Each of the Clavex seawayers she’d brought bowed when Elinor crested the edge; they’d navigate the ship south, back to their homeland. Settling in, they began their journey.