Devourer

Chapter 164: Serve in Darkness, Deceive the Light

Ordias expertly twirled the butter knife in his hand with expert precision. He looked up at Rosa who was carving a gash into the stone table with her nail. Each time she ran her nail across the stone it let out this irritating screeching sound. The gash was almost half a centimetre deep now. The two of them surrendered an hour ago and now they were sitting in a meeting room inside Imperial Camp as they waited for the Empress and the Great Beast to arrive.

The Empress and the Great Beast were apparently attending to some matters, which included them storing all the corpses of the undead. The Great Beast mentioned something, about this new Necrotoid idea.

If Ordias had to venture a guess he would bet that it was some kind of cross between a hive creature and the undead. Either way, Ordias did not want to deal with whatever horror the Great Beast could dream up.

“Your going to cut the table in half at this rate.” Ordias muttered at Rosa, who just scowled at him.

“What are you going to do if I don’t stop? Stab me?” Rosa asked sarcastically as she looked at the butter knife in his hand.

“Don’t be childish. You were just played, the Crow Father wouldn’t actually give you anything that was useful. He played you as he did many others before you. He is perhaps the last true Humanoid Ancient. Did you really think you had his measure?” Ordias replied dryly, and he saw Rosa scowl in response.

“Don’t be so smug, he knocked you and your pretty Blood Knights out like he was swatting a fly.” Rosa spat back.

“As he did for your monsters, honestly it’s hard to tell which ones he had more trouble with. On a personal level, it was like swatting a cockroach and flea. Inconsequential on both accounts.” Ordias replied, not a hint of irritation in his demeanour.

“So now we wait for our grade?” Rosa replied irritably.

Ordias raised a brow as he stared at Rosa. She was uncharacteristically twitchy, she must be really nervous.

“A word of advice, Rosa.” Ordias said calmly, and he watched as she paused her fidgeting to look at him curiously.

“Calm down.” Ordias said as he narrowed his eyes at her.

Rosa paused for a moment before exhaling and waving her hand over the gash on the table. There was a flash of magic, and the table repaired itself.

“Do you think we passed?” Rosa asked uncertainly, showing a rare bit of vulnerability.

“I don’t know but the fact we aren’t dead is certainly a good sign.” Ordias replied softly.

Ordias knew that they had performed rather poorly. They barely did any damage to the Great Beast’s hive. He once spat on the other races for growing weak in this era of order and peace. However, now he has been thoroughly humbled. He knew the vampires have been declining but he had no idea they had degraded to such an extent.

The Great Beast’s hive was truly an army of the ancient past. Yes, the Hive creatures sent against the Crowfather’s creations performed poorly but there was one thing that was conspicuously absent from the Hive. Artillery was not utilised, if it was up to Ordias he would just bombard those creatures into submission. Why even engage them in melee?

The only reason he could think of was that he wanted to test the beasts personally. It wouldn’t be much of a test if he just bombarded them into the submission after all. The tactical weakness of those creatures was clear as day. Yes, you could in theory put a barrier around them but hives usually handled magic barriers by just shooting it with more things than the barrier can handle.

Accuracy through volume was a common hive tactic afterall…

Then Ordias sensed someone approaching, he turned his head and saw this beautiful red-haired human woman enter the tent. That must be the Empress, the stories do not do her beauty justice. She was wearing this beautiful red dress that was covered in gems and phoenix feathers. It was a dress that would even make Rosa jealous. Phoenix feathers were not exactly easy to come by. She looked young, with a face that looked like it was carved by a master sculpter. Her hair was a fiery red and her eyes shone like rubies. Even with her dress Ordias could tell she had an extremely womanly figure. The low cut of her dress showing of her ample busom certainly helped.

Ordias could immediately see the political advantages this would bring. If you looked this good there would be many who would be distracted by her beauty. The fact that her dress had a plunging neckline to show off her ample bust and generour swell of her valley was a clear indication that she was perfectly willing to leverage this advantage.

As he looked at her, the report that she managed to seduce a rival king into invading was starting to sound less like embellishment. Ordias knew many vampires who would do anything to get their hands on a woman like her. Furthermore, he heard she was currently unmarried which only added to her charm and allure. Ordias half expected that she hasn’t taken a consort because she wanted to milk this advantage for all it was worth.

“Greetings, apologies for the wait.” the Empress said as she entered, she was followed by this white humanoid hive creature. He sensed Rosa fidget slightly at the sight of it. Ordias would bet good money that was the same body that beat Rosa to a pulp.

Ordias glanced at the creature and he saw a wide, malicious grin appear on its smooth white face, revealing rows upon rows of curved serrated teeth.

“Hello Rosa, you look all healed up.” the creature said with a low laugh.

“Friend be nice.” the Empress said and the creature just replied with a chuckle.

“Come we have much to discuss.” the Empress as she simply walked to a seat and sat down without much fanfare. This was surprising usually, rulers demanded decorum. For the human race especially so, their lives were so short they didn’t have the time to get tired of it.

The creature which Ordias assumed was the Great Beast calmly sat down next to her and reclined into the seat.

“I am Empress Cecilia as you should know. This is my dear friend the Great Beast, he is in a borrowed body but I trust you know that.” Cecilia said as she gave Rosa a look and she stiffly nodded in response.

As she finished, Ordias sensed movement in the ground. Then he heard the splintering of wood as if something was breaking the makeshift floor of the tent. After that, he saw this white box-shaped thing slowly rise up between Cecilia and the Great Beast. All the while Cecilia just calmly stared at the box slowly rising out of the ground. Then the top of the box opened up and a bottle along with some glasses rose out on a small platform.

“Friend what is this?” Cecilia asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

“A wine cooler.” the Great Beast said as he waggled his fingers eagerly for a moment before taking the ice-cold bottle of wine and pouring a glass. Ordias watched as he poured himself a glass then poured her one.

“If you were human you would most definitely be an alcoholic.” Cecilia said with a light chuckle.

“Then it’s lucky I’m not then.” the Great Beast said as he took a sip.

Just as he took a sip Ordias sensed more movement in the ground and he looked to his right and saw the wood splintering beneath him. Again this white box appeared but this time when it opened up there was this strange appendage that came out instead of a bottle. There were a pair of glasses as well.

“Put the glass beneath the nozzle.” the Great Beast said with a grin. Ordias did as he was bid and put the glass beneath this tube in the appendage and it began to dispense blood. Ordias’s eyes widened as his glass filled.

He paused for a moment before taking a sip and found the blood delicious. It was arguably the best blood he had ever tasted. The best blood were usually from young women, their blood was the sweetest and this one was so very sweet.

“The good thing about a hive is that you can have things custom-made.” the Great Beast said and Ordias nodded as he got a glass for Rosa.

“Well I suppose this is a good opportunity to get into the reason of this meeting.” Cecilia said, with a laugh.

“You said the two of you are willing to join us and we are quite willing to take you. But there are conditions.” Cecilia said calmly as she placed her hands gracefully on the table.

“Lose the slaves.” the Great Beast blurted out suddenly.

“Yes… that. I would have put it a bit eloquently with more decoration in my speech but yes that is essentially it. Lose the slaves. With us being able to produce your blood for you, there is little need for you to have slaves.” Cecilia said calmly.

“That only handles the blood but what about other services? Someone needs to clean our homes and do the hard labour.” Ordias countered, and the Great Beast just chuckled.

“My hive can handle that, everything you need my hive can provide I can assure you they will out perform any humanoid slaves.” the Great Beast said calmly.

“Well there is one thing else.” Rosa said.

“Ah yes, the pleasures of the flesh. But I’m afraid you will have to exercise some restraint. I will not begrudge anyone’s desires as long as it does not infringe upon anyone else’s rights. Do what you want, lay with animals for all I care but the rule is no assault. We punish such actions very heavily.” Cecilia said as a cold edge appeared in her eyes.

“And what would the punishment be?” Ordias asked curiously.

“You get sent to the Black Box.” Cecilia said ominously.

“The Black Box?” Rosa asked.

“My playground. Oh, I do love my experiments. Hanging is so wasteful or I guess in your case burning.” the Great Beast said as he flashed a savage smile.

“The things I could do with a Vampire’s body. What fun…” the Great Beast said with a chuckle and Ordias felt his hair stand on his end. The Great Beast was smiling at him as if he was hoping he would do something stupid.

“Give me an excuse, please do.” the Great Beast said with another chuckle.

“We have no issue with any nighttime activities as long as both parties are willing. However, keep in mind extortion is not permitted. Bound thralls will remain at your side since there is nothing we can really do about that. Severing a soul link is very dangerous and if it fails it will leave the subject Tranquil or even catatonic. Plus the soul-bound thralls do seem to enjoy themselves.” Cecilia said as she gave Rosa a knowing smile.

Ordias reclined back into his seat as he took another sip of wine. This woman was not your usual human. It seems she too partakes in the dark arts. She speaks as if she has a soul-bound thrall herself.

“Are further soul bindings allowed?” Ordias asked.

“Of course, it requires both subjects to be willing after all. However, a soul snare is not permitted. Basically, consent is important in my empire. No one would feel safe if that wasn't the case. Everyone is the master of thier fate, or at least that is an illusion I like to portray.” Cecilia said and she gave him a smile that seemed eerily similar to the Great Beast’s.

“So what is behind the veil?” Rosa asked.

“The rule of the world. The strong take and the weak provide. But I see no reason for the cage to be poorly furnished. Happy sheep are obedient sheep. Plus it looks good for heaven, so there is utility in this facade.” Cecilia replied with a chuckle.

Ordias noticed the moment he stepped into this camp that the entire area was heavily covered with anti-scrying magic. The magic was old, well beyond anything he knew. This was old magic, very old magic…

If heaven was watching all they could do was look from a distance. Remote magical observation should just yield a blur, the only thing they would be able to see was that there was something there. This was the reason why she was speaking so freely.

“I see. I hear you have a rather interesting slum in Averlon.” Rosa said and Cecilia smiled.

“You are free to visit, but you may find the rules quite strict. ” Cecilia said a chuckle.

“No biting in case you were wondering. Hurt the whores and you get hurt way worse.” the Great Beast said.

“But I assure you, you won’t find more beautiful men and women. My friend is about to offer beautification services to the people. One of the things I want to remove from this world is ugliness.” Cecilia said as her gaze turned far away.

“Flesh is easy enough to manipulate if you know how. Appearances are one of the easiest things to change actually.” the Great Beast said as he channelled his power and created this small cute rodent that looked like a ball of fur. Frankly, it was adorable. It was so round and it had these adorable big eyes. Ordias knew many of his family back in the Elven Forest would love one of these.

“You like them? I call them the Fluffers, they are all the rage in Averlon now.” the Great Beast said as the small ball of fur scurried over to Rosa and started rubbing its soft body against her hand and purring.

“So you just make pets for fun?” Rosa asked in confusion as she ignored the Fluffer.

“No for state revenue. These creatures are sterile and only the state sells them.” Cecilia said with a smile.

“Ah clever.” Ordias admitted.

“They are quite affordable and they live for quite a while. About five years or so. They also act as convenient listening and surveillance vectors.” Cecilia said and Rosa instantly withdrew her hand as she stared at the sickeningly cute creature.

“The reason I am telling all of you this is because I would like the two of you to occupy a position of importance. You see I have plenty of people working in the light but it is hard to find suitable people to work in the dark. Plus I hear you vampires work quite well in the dark.” Cecilia said and Ordias sat up in his chair.

“What do you have in mind?” Ordias asked.

“I am making a special operations division, independant of the regular military. Well I am making several of these divisions. Montis has one and you Ordias Derenge will have an army and a black ops division as well. You will only answer to me and my friend here, no one else.” Cecilia said and Ordias nodded in understanding.

“As for you Lady Maledicta, an excellent position in the Tower has been vacant for some time.” Cecilia said and Rosa leaned in interest.

“The Tower?” Rosa asked.

“Her playground.” the Great Beast said as he nodded at Cecilia.

“The Tower is a facility focused on the Dark Arts and it needs a leader. We have many lost secrets to unravel and many ways to apply them. I have long felt Necromancy and Blood Magic have many interesting applications. I would like you to head this division.” Cecilia said and Rosa’s eyes lit up at the offer but there was some uncertainty in her eyes.

“I hope I won’t just end up in a lab?” Rosa asked.

“Oh research is not the only thing you will be doing. As you know the old world is built on magical wonders. The Istland Academy of Magic is a political power in it’s own right. It owns little land but it hold great sway over the nation. I think the head of a Dark Arts research facility would also command significant sway.” Cecilia said and Rosa paused for a moment before nodding in assent.

“So do you two agree to our terms?” Cecilia asked and the Ordias looked over to Rosa who nodded. Ordias nodded as well and Cecilia clapped her hands in satisfaction.

“Excellent…” Cecilia said as she picked up her glass and took another sip.

“I think the angels have held sway over this world for far too long. I hope I can count on your support to crush our enemies. It won’t be long before the angels take issue with our strength. The elves would also not take kindly to a strengthened Necoronas.

On that topic…” Cecilia said as she put down her glass.

“How long could you get all of Necoronas under our control.” Cecilia asked.

“About two months, but my fortress may be already lost to the Elves.” Ordias stated referencing his own fortress which was very close to the Elven forest.

“Oh don’t worry about that. I sent a pair of hives to guard the border with the Elves to ensure they don’t take what is mine.” the Great Beast said with a grin.

“And how did the Elves react?” Ordias asked curiously.

“Poorly but their happiness is not my concern. They are too proud to serve anyway. It is only matter of time before we clash. If things get too bad I may just destroy them first so the angel’s can’t team up with them. But then again, there is this elf that is doing quite well as a middleman… So perhaps it won’t come to that…” the Great Beast mused.

“Elf?” Ordias asked curiously.

“Oh she’s an exile or a runaway or something. She’s working as an ambassador for me at the moment. She is making progress. Its very slow progress but progress is progress I suppose.” the Great Beast said idly as he took another sip of wine.

“Interesting…” Ordias muttered as he cupped his chin.

“You seem you might be able to help with this.” the Great Beast said.

“Possibly there are many in the Wood of the Ancients that sympathise with my views. An insurgency might be possible.” Ordias said and that got the Great Beast’s interest.

“Insurgency you say? Hmmm, now that its very interesting.” the Great Beast replied with a chuckle.

“Well it seems we will work quite well together.” Cecilia said with a wide smile as she raised her glass.

Let’s toast to a fruitful partnerhip…