Elinor allowed Butter to introduce herself to the father she never knew and moved toward one of the chairs she’d used to talk to Valdar, deep in thought as the sobering storm beat against their newly created shelter. Her unique looks, along with the whispers of what she had done, drew quite a lot of attention from the throng of humans and ri’bot, yet no one disturbed her while she brooded.

  Nadraca would require more time to consider the pivotal decision that could shape her entire clan, possibly fretting over the fact she shouldn’t be in this position or making these calls; however, it wasn’t like she could pass them on to her Mother Superior. So, the High Priestess sat on a wooden stool, reflecting on her options.

  Overall, Elinor had done everything she’d initially set out to accomplish. She had her foundation and a foothold in this alien world, albeit with some enemies that needed dealing with, but that would come in time.

  Her focus wandered between girls her own age, including the one she’d saved from being gutted, sitting together and whispering to one another. Surprisingly, they even giggled from time to time, seemingly able to find something to brighten the hell that was thrust upon them.

  I should be like them… A teenage girl, thinking about boys, cliques, and hobbies… but I’m not.

  Elinor’s mind turned to the seed that Butter had referenced when they first met, the one that had corrupted her spirit and killed her. She still had the skeleton of her old body since the blonde was convinced she would be able to utilize it to regain a physical form.

  Ever since that moment, something changed inside of me… or maybe it was revealed. Roman and Virgil are right: I don’t act like a typical sixteen-year-old girl. Yes, certain aspects of my personality haven’t changed in the slightest, yet my thought process has definitely matured.

  Sensing Butter, Tiffany, and Edmon winding down, Elinor finished pondering her next goal; she had to push ahead, and her [Rising Empire: Budding] Feat gave her the means to swiftly expand while her newly founded Court could take many tasks off her plate.

  Carlos, help Butter and my father secure a suitable mount from the few dead horses that were brought back; you were a rancher, correct?

  “I was, indeed, Empress! Right this way, My Lord.”

  She could feel her father’s discomfort at the title, yet knew he had to get used to it if he was going to properly represent her developing nation; it was no different than any other political title, in any case. He was a governor, and people could recognize him as such.

  Butter was bubbling with excitement. “Ooh! Yes, and while I’m at it, I can begin scanning all the dead for the best candidates. One second; let me grab Virgil so we can start laying out the list he compiled of those to be raised first.”

  A small smile lifted the corners of Elinor’s mouth. As overly bright and cheery as her golden sister was, Butter did know how to work and lead—of course, they were supposed to be twins, so she had to live up to some expectations.

  You read my mind. We will reserve a third of our slots for those on the list on priority; the rest will be resurrected by need and position we need to be filled.

  “We are on the rise, Priss! I’ll look for the best candidates to take their place in the Serving, Military, and High Courts… and maids—lots and lots of maids. After all, they also need a break to spend time with their families.”

  Tiffany’s smirking eyes were on the Death Kight’s back as he exited to meet up with the terrorist. “Well, I have a whole world ecosystem to keep me busy, sweetie, so I’ll be excusing—”

  Actually, I have another task for you to prepare for, Elinor smoothly interjected, drawing The Witch Queen’s orange gaze. Is it possible to create a megaphone or voice-amplifying effect with your rituals?

  “Hmm.” The woman folded her arms under her bust, spinning in a slow circle and making her new black, shin-length dress wrap around her legs. “I’m sure I can come up with something, given a bit of time.”

  Work on that, she ordered, glancing up at the myriad of glowing flowers that radiated light for them. I want you and my father to deliver a speech to all of the humans. I believe I’ll be able to negotiate for all of them at this point, and it would be good to have some way to disperse information.

  The Witch Queen absently fidgeted with her ponytail, pulling the slightly messy clump out to reconstruct it. So, walkie-talkies are preferred… Oh! I should be able to repurpose the devices they brought to function off some other source of energy than electricity. Give me some time to research it! Now, what source of power could we use?

  With her Royal Court now engaged in setting up her next course of action, Elinor’s attention turned to the other ri’bot camps and her undead beyond the safety of the shelter. Mika, Adoncia, and Audrey were off on a hunting expedition to secure meat, fruit, and other forms of extra food—all of which may be confiscated by Tiffany for whatever occult purposes she might need them for.

  The only thing left to do was gather the three expedition leaders and hash out the final deal. Everything up to this point had been negotiations, and now she was in a position to finally set it all into stone.

  Garu and Quin were taking care of communicating between the various ri’bot supervisors and Nicole to make the space livable as the night progressed. Many of the humans would more than likely be retiring to bed soon, and quite a few had already, but there was still much to be accomplished.

  Her primary objective was to strengthen her hold over her citizens, persuade them to trust her, and, eventually, develop that into a sense of belief in the empire they were building; no kingdom was built by a single person.

  From what Carlos told her, the actual population of the town was just over six thousand; naturally, they wouldn’t catch every person or household in the vicinity. This left her with roughly a thousand two hundred bodies, not including animals, and the three thousand living citizens—she could work with that.

  She needed to promote repopulation, of course, but doubted that would be much of an issue since the people would be drawn together and form bonds in the alien world. Still, from what she learned in biology class, the diversity of genetic pools would become an issue over time, and she had an eternity to live. Then again, magic existed, and perhaps they’d discover a solution in due course.

  She swept the throng, taking note of the stats the rancher had given her. There was a surplus of women overall, making up the bulk of the living since they tended to be more submissive, and it was even worse with who was taken. As could be expected, it was the opposite for the corpses, meaning her undead pool would make up mostly males in the end.

  Roughly two thousand one hundred women and nine hundred men… more boys and elderly than men, and three hundred of the total are infants below the age of four. It’s going to be rough to travel through the jungle… It may take us more than a month, and it’s a lot of mouths to feed.

  Eyes tightening, she watched the stacked bodies continuing to be taken out of the tractor-trailers; each had been packed to the brim. A lot of the dead women would join her serving court since she needed a good number of staff to manage things, which would likely make people aggravated due to their scarcity. More undead were required as soon as possible to begin foraging the jungle for their travel needs, humans would just be the beginning.

  She rose to her feet upon seeing Nadraca’s glare, no doubt debating if she should send someone over or make the journey herself. Butter was still going through every corpse with an anxious crowd more focused on her father’s passage through the field of bodies, hoping their loved ones would be returned.

  Elinor gave her twin the freedom to begin the resurrection, having gained a modicum of trust in her High Monarch—her twin was slightly useful, she had to admit. With every new addition to their empire, belief would spread, giving her more Intelligent slots to fill in a cycle. She would get to know them on a more personal level as time went on.

  Not wanting to waste her time going between three parties, Elinor went to a nearby Delthax warrior and prompted him to gather the three expedition leaders to the location when they were free—it was time to solidify their plans for the future.

  Returning to her chair, she made small talk with Valdar as he left Nicole in the hands of his Plant Callers to inquire about her plans to feed so many mouths and the dangers on the trip back to his territory.

  Elinor slowly guided the conversation toward the north and the fortress Quin’Alse mentioned, causing the elder to go silent for a time while observing the giant silver-furred ape move about the camp, relaying Butter’s orders or directing humans to various activities with Gwen’s guidance. Thanks to her [Prose of the Potentate] skill, the four-armed ape acted as her loudspeaker with her naturally booming voice.

  Valdar slowly began to unfold the stories of his youth just before the Fire Wars began, shuddering as he thought back to the times. He’d never seen the horrifying White God that was Ke’Thra’Ma, yet he heard all the terrified mutterings, having only been old enough to serve as a supply runner and messenger during the War of Sorrows when the quen’talrat were united under the iron rule of their Ke.

  According to Quin, Ke stood for ‘He Who Stands Above All,’ the devastating ape had apparently never seen a wound mar his fur, seemingly indestructible—Quin couldn’t accept that he was gone. Yet, Valdar had heard the stories of those that managed to escape the fortress when the Crawling Shadows swarmed and the quen’talrat Bloods split into their own factions again. They’d fled, scared after seeing the state of The White God and the damage the burrowing fiends had done to him.

  Still, despite the horrific state of the colossal ape, Valdar heard less than ten percent of the most elite forces among the united races made it out of that battle, yet it turned the tide, ending the Ke’s reign and ushering in the start of the Fire Wars—the extinction of the quen’talrat.

  As for their fortress city, it remained mostly intact, at least, so far as Valdar knew. The Crawling Shadows had created just enough chaos to allow the company to enter and retreat before suffering the same fate as the struggling apes.

  However, all he knew of the place since was its reputation and the omen told by one of the other Great Races—a ri’bot term—that a calamity would arise should any of them take the area for themselves, so it was left abandoned. Despite most species being too scared to even approach the city, he’d heard rumors that semi-intelligent scavenger-like creatures called Yaltha’ma now inhabited the area.

  To Elinor, it sounded ripe for the taking, with the potential for powerful soldiers waiting to hear her call, but their conversation came to a halt when Nadraca and Fennel joined them.

  The Roxim high warrior stood instead of taking a seat like the disgruntled woman. “What is this final deal I’ve heard about?”

  Motioning to Nadraca, Elinor smiled. “First, what is your answer, Nadraca? I will swear it in front of Valdar, and you know he is a man of his word.”

  “Hmm?” the wrinkled blue toad scratched his arm. “What does she speak of?”

  Playing with her pendant, the woman streamed out a long breath. “You can produce fabric to be molded by our tailors in four months to a year?”

  Fennel clicked his tongue in what appeared to be a whistling gesture. “Wow. Big business for Nalveans, I hear. Hehe.”

  Valdar made a similar impressed sound as she nodded.

  “I will speak plainly, Nadraca… If there is a silk cartel among the Nalveans, I do expect there to be retaliation when some, as they might see it, lowly ri’bot slaves step on their toes, which is why I will be sending Garu and a few others to support you. I must have an understanding of how the Nalvean Empire functions.”

  Elinor sat back with an amiable tone, crossing her hands atop her lap. “Send a few of your people to oversee my operation, if you must. I highly doubt you will be able to replicate it due to my Mystics, but so they can send reports back on how things are going. I will be utterly transparent with you.”

  Working around her jaw, a growl came from the toad’s throat. “You… do not have a license to do business with the Nalveans, nor a foundation with them. So, you will be using us as a middle tooth to go through our already-established relationship. Am I correct?”

  “To start with, yes,” she relented. “That being said, I am willing to continue to trade with you below market price so that you can make a return on your investment and sign a contract. I am a believer in one’s word, and I believe documentation is required when making propositions like this. You are leasing the humans to me, and their freedom… is your freedom. How does that sound?”

  Valdar wore a small grin while rubbing his chin. “Too good to be true, Empress, and this contract of under-market prices will persist for how long… or will there be renegotiating once freedom is secured?”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “I am not stupid,” she chuckled. “Once they and you are free, we will renegotiate the terms, but protection is also given in this contract. As I said, I am going forward with the assumption you will be entering a ruthless industry. Is this an unfavorable deal for me? Yes, but there is no other way I can convince you to give me what I need. What will it be?”

  Nadraca closed her eyes and rubbed her chest where the grenades had gone off, working through her grudge. “I accept your terms… with one exception.”

  Crossing her legs, Elinor could guess what that was. “Which is?”

  Vision opening, the woman glared at her. “The long creature that controls the water will go to the Nalveans; as you said in regard to your father… it is non-negotiable.”

  “Hmm. Let me offer you some advice,” Elinor slowly whispered, focus shifting to the slumbering and bound snake woman. “From what I have found concerning her, she is a sadistic sociopath that revels in the pain of others. I do not believe she will make a good gift to the Nalveans, and it could come back to bite you.”

  Releasing a long sigh, Elinor resigned herself to the potential conflict. “Still, should that happen in the timeframe of our contract… I am obligated to protect you until you are free, but I will add a clause. If the Nalveans expel you, then you are technically free, and thereby, so will the humans be to join my empire as citizens.”

  Fennel leaned to the left, considering her offer. “I have never heard of a more one-sided deal. Haha! She could kill you all here with the army she’s gathered and take them herself, light lickers.”

  Elinor presumed the insult was in reference to the artifacts that they clung to as the woman’s nose twisted with agitation at the blatant disrespect the Roxim showed her clan, but Elinor came to her defense.

  “On the contrary, Fennel, if I did that, I’d lose all of the respect and support I’ve built from Valdar. Though, I am not so unbending as Ke’Thra’Ma in acknowledging the benefits of working with others. Why waste effort and resources on conquest when I can gain far more through trade and negotiation?”

  He grunted, looking away while considering her words.

  “Do we have a deal, High Priestess Nadraca? The humans’ freedom for yours?”

  “I… can only speak to the modicum amount of influence I have in my clan, and I hope the Mother Superior will support me, but… Yes.”

  Knowing she wouldn’t budge on the sadistic prison warden and not particularly eager to deal with the trouble she was bound to incite among the other humans, Elinor considered it a partial win to dump her on the Nalveans. In fact, she could pose a potential threat to them as time went on that her empire could solve, further indebting them to her.

  “Excellent. Now, I will also require two pairs of garments for each of the humans, which will leave you plenty to trade to give the Nalveans a taste of our future merchandise,” she added at her scowl. “I will only take what the humans need, and I have an Ambassador that will soon be raised to support you on your return. I am sure he will be useful. I will have the contract written up soon enough.”

  Brushing past the topic and turning to Fennel, she started to push a little more on redirecting the purpose of this tournament he was so eager to participate in.

  “Ahem. As to the Roxim… How about you bring your leader to discuss the topic of revitalizing your clan at this neutral sanctuary in three months’ time from today’s date? It will give me enough time to stabilize things in Valdar’s territory and gain a better understanding of the Valley itself with its clans.”

  Fennel’s smile widened. “Will you bring the Elite Hunter? My chief will want to see her prowess himself and the one who holds her leash.”

  “Certainly,” Elinor chimed. “As we bargained, weapons for everything else, and we can go over that in the coming days as we wait for the storm to die down. We are all in agreement?”

  They all accepted, causing a huge weight to lift off Elinor’s shoulders.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she said, rising to her feet. She had only needed Valdar to be present so he could understand her direction and goals while reinforcing her word. “I have many things to attend to… Ah, and I need your warriors to go with quite a few companies of my undead to show them the ropes of hunting and navigating the jungle. I look forward to working with you all!”

  Her cheery demeanor became neutral as she left to spot the dozens of skeletons erupting in emerald flames. Humorously, Butter was going back and forth, her subordinate butterflies working overtime to deal with the cost. Her sister had identified several key figures who would become quite important in the long run, including a US State politician candidate that had come on the bus ride to garner positive news-press.”

  Klaus Klossner, Emelina De la Vega, and James Escobedo, is it? Elinor asked as all of the recovering souls straightened at her approach—the notifications having come through earlier, along with many others. Around them, their loved ones nervously fidgeting, unsure what to do in her presence and likely struggling to associate the undead with the people they had known.

  Klaus Klossner: Serving Court - Poor-S - Ambassador - N/A - Lv. 1

  James Escobedo: Serving Court - Poor-S - Head Butler - N/A - Lv. 1

  Emelina De la Vega: Serving Court - Poor-S - Head Maid - N/A - Lv. 1

  Theresa Pecha: Serving Court - Poor-A - Assistant Head Maid - N/A - Lv. 1

  Angélica Tesoro: Serving Court - Poor-A - Maid - N/A - Lv. 1

  Valerie Meyer: Serving Court - Poor-B - Maid - N/A - Lv. 1

  The three didn’t stumble in their responses, voices clear and precise, James giving a woman in her mid-fifties a parting hug: his wife, who looked awkward at best as she received the skeleton’s affection, and would also be shocked to see her husband returned to his youth in the coming days.

  “Yes, Empress.”

  “Indeed, I am.”

  “May I be of service?”

  It had been less than fifteen minutes since they’d been raised as Butter continued to go down the list of people to enter their empire due to merit via the initial assault on the Hub-Crystals.

  Walk with me. As for the rest of you, she commented at the others as Butter casually introduced them to the Empire, continuing to raise more before using the caged animals to restock their energy. Learn quickly; there is much to be done in a short time, and the sooner you fall into line, the sooner you will regain your youthful body.

  Smiling at her father in passing, he nodded, focus returning to the beautiful black Percheron warhorse as he examined the Nightmare that had become his steed. The ominous steed radiated a faint aura of death, his eyes frothing with the same blue mist as her father; both could summon a set of night-black armor with sapphire gems encrusting its thematic design.

  Accompanied by the flaming skeletons, Elinor made her rounds to observe everything that had transpired since their arrival, speaking to the three newly appointed leaders with particular skill sets.

  I understand it will be challenging since you have a wife, James, but I will need you to support Ambassador Klaus on his mission in the Nalvean Empire in the next few days. I want you to pay close attention to their rules of etiquette and customs.

  Elinor’s tight mouth lingered on a father and his daughter, who were playing tic-tac-toe in a small patch of mud with their fingers. It may last several months before I can relieve you, but I will send someone you can train when available.

  He didn’t hesitate. “May I explain my absence?”

  “By all means, inform her of the important role you will play. Are there risks? Of course, but Garu, Klaus, and yourself will be instrumental in helping us plant our roots within a well-established empire, giving us resources we otherwise couldn’t obtain.”

  “I will spend what time I can with her… I was told that to regain my ability to speak, I would need to go on hunting parties and serve my calling within the Court. Is that correct?”

  It is, Elinor bluntly replied. Any questions, Klaus?

  The skeleton shook his head, voice deep and displaying more life than she expected from the politician. “No, Empress. I’ll figure things out on my own time and get more info from the… Clavex is their clan name if I recall. I suppose I should ask the monarchs for rules of etiquette within the Empire?”

  A thoughtful hum shook in Elinor’s throat as her focus drifted up to the tall skeleton; he’d been joking through a private channel with the Head Maid beside him, trying to get her to laugh.

  I have no restrictions as to who you want to… date, so long as it is consensual. I have a feeling my father and Tiffany will set more of an example of what is acceptable, she mumbled, trying to block out The Witch’s flirtatious plucks through the Nexus at her father.

  As for you, Emelina, I need you to organize a method for all of the humans to select two pairs of workable garments for them to take care of because it is all they will have until we can produce our own.

  The three accepted their mission and broke away, leaving Elinor to stop in front of the center area, where all the humans were now being ushered away by Carlos to various areas or to join loved ones. She glanced at Roman, who sat nearby, dark sunglasses hiding his eyes.

  “Thoughts?” she whispered, observing the bustling activity of her rapidly building forces and waiting to see what the legendary blind general had seen with his mystical sight.

  A silence followed for several seconds as the man smiled. “Cunning, ruthless, and adaptable… You aren’t the same girl I saw on the bus, but, heh, I guess I’m not the same man I was either. It’s interesting, no?” he hummed, stroking his beard.

  Elinor chuckled, spotting Tiffany performing some kind of ritual that had many curious as they watched her. A flash of orange light on the wood collected into a flame-eyed crow, causing the children to gasp and clap at the magic show.

  A familiar? Elinor asked through the Nexus, waiting for Roman to speak his mind.

  “Indeed! Currently, I can summon a few different creatures, but crows have their advantages in scratching symbols. It will be especially helpful with the network I need to make this speaker system you want to be fashioned. I have wonderful reception from witch and warlock candidates! You must train them up young. Hehe.”

  Her father’s amused voice followed. “She’s trying to show off because most of the adults are scared of her, and who doesn’t want to be a knight? In other words, we have a bet, and I’m getting more recruits eager to pick up a blade, so she’s attention starved.”

  “Humph. I am not an attention whore!”

  “Your words, not mine,” he chuckled. “Do all the magic tricks you want, but a lot of parents saw how you treated the last girl. Maybe be a little more gentle and you’ll see a better turnout.”

  “Yes, well… I didn’t have many options at the time. By all means, coach me, sweetie; show me how to charm the ladies,” she snickered. “Wait… I didn’t mean it—Edmon!”

  Laughing inside at their bickering and flirting, Elinor’s attention was snatched by the blind man next to her as he grunted and rose to his feet.

  “I will stay for a few more days to get better acquainted with the languages, and then I’ll set off on my own to explore a bit… We’ll probably meet again in the coming months when I find what I’m looking for.”

  Elinor sighed, reading between the lines. “So, your goal is to uncover the truth behind the Scarlet Hand and their interest in us since I’m taking care of everyone else and setting up a city you can fall back to when needed.”

  Walking away, she felt content with the exchange; they would be tentative partners moving forward. “I look forward to hearing your stories, old man.”

  She looked up, hands clasping behind her back while spinning to observe all she’d won: they had a sanctuary in the jungle to be thankful for, clothes, and food. Nicole had brought them clean water and light as the rumbling storm outside beat against their wooden fortress.

  Quin’s massive presence gave the humans security, while Edmon and Tiffany’s schools provided them with hope at gaining power of their own to stand proud rather than cower as a victim. Carlos and her two first maids were members of their community, distributing answers, even if only through whiteboards at the moment.

  Finally, Elinor was their stable rock, always in control and fighting for their survival to the point of conquering death to return the lost. Belief in her budding empire was rising with every loved one brought back into a mother, father, or child’s arms.

  A new host of skeletal maids dispersed on Butter’s orders as Elinor listened to the rain and wind through the small openings that brought fresh water, several making their way toward her to provide a chair, asking how they could be of service.

  Directing them to a few projects, Elinor sat in her chair and closed her eyes, entering her inner world to the sounds of a piano as she folded her fingers in her lap and stared at the blue-flamed fireplace, enjoying a sense of peace for what seemed an eternity.

  She absently checked the final portion of her Level Up: the new Feat. Sadly, it appeared that she was still suck with the limit of three being able to be equipped, and all three of [Phylactery], [Butterfly], and [Artificial Body] were too essential to swap out; nevertheless, she looked at her choices:

  [Share the Vision - Active - 10 DO/5 Minutes - Share 20% of an attempted controlling effect among undead within the Nexus. Cost modified by Control Resistance.]

  [Telekinesis - Active - 1 DO/5 Kg/5 Minute - User spends Death Energy to lift an object up to [5 meters] away that can be moved within that radius. Duration modified by Strength, Constitution, and Endurance. Weight lifted per Death Orb modified by Power.]

  [Minion Sight - Active - ? DO/10 Minutes - See through a minion’s eyes. Modified by [Monarch of Death] and Penetration.]

  She dismissed a few right off the bat due to the other options having far more use at her current stage:

  [Telekinesis] could be useful if highly advanced, yet with the cost of Power being a primary modifier, it wouldn’t scale well with her currently. Perhaps in the future, if it showed up again, she would consider it.

  [Minion Sight] was too niche and somewhat unnecessary at this time. She could see its uses, but while they were encamped, there wasn’t much point.

  No, the true winner would be [Share the Vision]. After the battle with Shade, she understood just what level of beings were out there; without Tiffany’s aid, she would have been helpless, and needed every last edge she could get.

  Decision made and focus reset, she leaned back into the chair and thought about what the future may bring.

  I’ve won the first battle. More will come. I need to be ready.

  She would need to level—lots and lots of leveling—to build their supplies and strength for the fools that would rise against her immortal empire.

  Room coming back into focus, she began plotting the rest of their journey to Valdar’s territory and everything they’d need to set up their own temporary base in this world that was now their home.

  She would claim this land—even this planet if need be. Her empire would rise, it was certain—inevitable. She would crush the enemies beneath her heel, whether it be Krava, the Scarlet Hand, or even the Whispering Shade; she expected it would take as much, and many more would stand against her. This was her empire. And her rule would not be denied.