Swarming Sovereignty

Lia carefully placed the sleeping Amelia down on her bed, alongside a note instructing her to come find Lia and Rose when she woke up. Straightening back up, she absentmindedly dried her shirt with magic, and made her way back out of the room to where Rose…her wife was waiting.

“How is she?” Rose asked.

“Tired.” Lia said. “I don’t know if you felt it, but at the end there, right before she fell asleep, she did…something.”

“I did feel something a little odd.” Rose admitted. “Do you have any idea what?”

Lia shook her head. “We’ll just have to wait until she wakes up to ask her, I suppose.” She bashfully reached a hand out, grabbing Rose’s hand and beginning to walk down the corridor. “I…this still doesn’t feel real.” She admitted. “All of the girls I knew used to fantasize about what life married to a ruler would be like, and you came up a lot in those discussions. And…here I am, living it out.”

“Did you?” Rose asked, smiling slightly.

“Maybe once or twice.” Lia admitted, turning to the side. “But I know better now. If I had been married to the old you, I might have been able to live the high life, but it wouldn’t be the same as falling in love with someone. That’s the kind of thing money can’t replace.”

“I may not be able to show you the high life right now, but I’ll give you all the love you want.” Rose said, suddenly scooping Lia up into her arms and planting a kiss on her lips.

Lia let herself melt into the kiss, simply enjoying the closeness with her wife. When they finished, instead of putting Lia down, Rose continued to carry her towards their destination, looking every bit the cool and gallant figure Lia had imagined the Ruby Emperor would have been.

“I like this you the best.” Lia said, resting her head against Rose’s chest. “Cool and loving. Your old self has nothing on the real you.”

“I like you more.” Rose said. “I wouldn’t trade you for the world.”

“That really means something, coming from someone who actually had the world.” Lia giggled.

“And I meant every ounce of it.” Rose said. “The world is overrated.”

“I suppose I’ll just have to keep it all for myself after we finish conquering it, then.” Lia teased. “I was planning to share, but if you don’t want it…”

“I never said that.” Rose said quickly. “I’m sure I can find some more enjoyment in it now that I’m with you.”

Lia was snapped out of the private world she entered with Rose by the sound of someone clearing their throat. “I, um, brought them like you asked, Mistress.” Ophelia said. “If this isn’t a good time, though, we can wait.”

“Sorry.” Lia said, carefully climbing out of Rose’s embrace. “Thanks for that.”

“Of course, Mistress.” Ophelia said. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, you’re free to do whatever you want for now. Go take a rest or something, you’ve earned it.”

“Thank you, Mistress.” Ophelia said, turning to her wife. “Mary, I’m going to go watch over the kids, okay?”

“I’ll come find you when I’m done.” Mary said, patting her wife’s head affectionately.

Ophelia left, and Lia began to speak. “Lily, Mary, I’ve called you here to talk about jobs for enlightened civilians. Lily, we’ll talk more in a moment, but I want to talk with Mary for a moment first.”

Lia looked up at Mary’s face. “I know you were a civilian before, but you also have quite a bit of combat potential now.” She said. “However, I’m not going to force you into a military role if you don’t want to. What would you like to do?”

Mary paused, drumming her fingers against the table she was standing next to. “May I work part time as one of our homeland defenders?” She asked. “Just a few hours of training each day to get stronger, so I can help protect us if we ever get attacked.”

“I’m fine with that, so long as you’ll spend the rest of the working day doing something else.” Lia said.

“Of course.” Mary said. “I was hoping to take up work as a tailor again. I noticed that almost everyone has only one set of clothes, and I would like to fix that. It’s going to be a challenge, since everyone has such different body types, but it’s a challenge I’m up to.”

“That sounds fantastic.” Lia said. “Speak with Lily later and we can get you set up with tools. I don’t know if we’ll have anything made explicitly to measure people, but I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

“No need.” Mary said. “My analysis Skills allow me to take a person’s measurements without any of that hassle.”

“Very well, then. Go find my mothers and explain to them the situation, then come find Lily when you’re done.” Lia instructed. “We will likely be here for an hour or two while we hammer out details, so if you’re done before then come check here first.”

“Of course, my Queen.” Mary said. She turned and slithered out of the room, leaving just Lily behind.

“Lily, thank you for your hard work.” Lia said. “Before we begin, is there anything I can do to make your job easier?”

“I need more overseers, my Queen.” Lily said. “If we find people with redundant skillsets or skillsets we are unable to use at the moment, I would appreciate it if they could be preferentially assigned to me until I have five overseers.”

Lia nodded. “Consider it done.” She said. “Now, down to business, as we have more civilians joining us, I wish to find them all gainful employment, so we need to take stock of what jobs we can feasibly perform at the moment, and what important things we’re missing. What are your thoughts on the subject?”

“We need a blacksmith.” Lily said immediately. “This campus has a forge, so we are just in need of someone capable of working it. The weapons and armor we have are nothing more than serviceable, and even those aside, it would be nice to be able to make tools for farming. We can convert creatures to things that approximate tools, but being able to actually produce the actual tools would be beneficial, even if we end up only using them for conversion, though that seems unlikely.”

Lia nodded. “With the families that are coming in, please look over their abilities and send in any requests you may have to me. If some have exceptional combat abilities and production abilities, we will likely have to use them to bolster our military, but I will prioritize your requests when feasible.”

“I appreciate it, my Queen.” Lily said, pushing her glasses up. “I would also like to set up a school. We have many children who are not doing much, and it would be a disservice to them not to teach them the skills they need to be able to live later on in life. I would like to ask that, once a week, you would allow me to request one person to take a few hours off of their regular work to teach the children about what they do.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” Lia said. “Rose, what are your thoughts?”

“I agree.” Rose said. “Exposing the children to many different jobs will help them decide what they want to do in the future.”

“There’s your answer, then. Just give us your request at the beginning of the week so we can plan for it. Oh, and take any building you need for the schoolhouse, and feel free to remodel it as necessary.”

Lily nodded. “Thank you, my Queen.” She said. “And finally, for the last of our pressing needs, I would like to begin mining operations in the Spine. We are lacking in both stone and metal, so I wish to begin by expanding the cave we have our portal in, both to quarry and look for deposits of resources we can use.”

“Umm…” Lia looked to Rose, who looked lost in thought.

After a few moments, Rose spoke up. “I think that is fine.” She said. “But if it gets too dangerous, we will need to pull back, I do not want to lose too much of our workforce in an accident. However, this must wait until we have someone experienced in mining, or custom-built conversions that know how to prevent cave-ins.”

“Understood.” Lily said. “As for the rest…I am looking for skilled workers for other professions, but they are not my priority. Much of the manual labor can be handled by drones or more specialized conversions, so we are not in need of that sort of workforce, either.”

“Good.” Lia said. “Now, do you have any other specific proposals for projects?”

“Yes, about expanding the farms…”

Brom, King of the Glens, nervously pushed open the door, trying desperately to keep it from showing as he walked up and took his place at the table. The other countries had called for an emergency meeting after the footage from the tracking orb had been circulated, and he was no doubt going to have a difficult time explaining himself.

Brom usually wasn’t one to complain, that was Owen’s job, but it just wasn’t fair. His country had been where Amelia was born, yes, but he was coming to realize that he simply had no way of controlling her actions. She was too strong and too unstable for logic to get through to her, and here he was about to take the fall for it.

“Brom, good of you to join us.” A woman said, voice as silky as ever. Her name was Alisha, and she was perhaps the biggest threat at the table. She was a ruthless monarch, infamous for back alley dealings and being willing to dirty her hands if it meant improving her place at the world stage.

If any of the people here had potential to try some sort of alliance with the swarm, it was her, and Brom was powerless to stop it. If she came to negotiations with incomplete information, as Brom had, she would dance on the palm of their hand while assuming she had the better of them. And, if she were to be converted…Brom had no doubts her nation would fall. Slowly at first, as she subtly maneuvered things in preparation for one fatal strike.

And he couldn’t even warn her, not that she would listen to him. The Oath prevented him from sharing any of the vital information he had gleaned from his short conversation with Lia, Amelia, and Ophelia, and that fact was certain to become evident at this meeting.

Not knowing about Brom’s inner monologue, she continued. “Come here with your tail between your legs now that you’ve failed?” She taunted.

“I am here to aid in whatever ways I can, limited though I might be.” Brom replied stiffly. “As I have been saying, this threat is not one we can afford to take lightly. We must come together to deal with the looming danger, for it is greater than any we could handle alone. But that matter is best left for the meeting proper. Marcus, I do believe I am the last one here.”

The de facto head of the group, Marcus, nodded. He was emperor of the largest nation in the world, one that had retained the Ruby Empire’s capitol city and heralded itself as the Ruby Empire’s true successor. “There is no point wasting further time.” He said. “You have all seen the video. Brom, do you have any insights for us?”

Brom took a deep breath, carefully wording his statement so as to share as much information as he could without running up against the Oath. “It is as you have seen.” He said. “The Hero has decided to reject any country’s backing, and is working on raising an army of her own in the Spine. My scouting party, though they have not died, is no longer with us, and it would likely be safe to assume that further small forces would meet their fate.”

“You seem to know what’s happened to them, Brom.” Alisha said. “Do share with the class.”

“I am unable to say.” Brom said. “If I could, I would. I am currently feeling quite threatened, and worried about the future of our world.”

Alisha raised an eyebrow. “We are well aware of that, Brom. You have said so before.”

“I felt it worth repeating at this specific juncture.” Brom replied calmly.

Another of the monarchs, Isaac, frowned. “Are you worried that the Hero will be unable to deal with the Lord of Monsters? Without proper support?”

“That is not a concern.” Brom said immediately. “In fact, I have full faith that she will defeat the Lord of Monsters, eventually. She has unprecedented power, however, and I am worried the collateral of her conflict would be devastating.”

“You can just come out and say it, Brom.” Emily, the last of the monarchs who was able to make it on such short notice, said. “We’re all worried about this necromantic army thing she seems to be cooking up, you’ve been dancing around the subject for a while.”

“I cannot say that.” Brom said. “Though such a thing would usually be my foremost worry.”

“Fine, then.” Alisha said. “Do you have any insights at all you can share with us, or will we need to do all the work ourselves?”

“Unity is our best asset at this juncture.” Brom said. “We cannot afford to be fractured at this pivotal moment in history.”

“It is clear that Brom will not speak more on the subject, so let us move on, then.” Marcus said. “Has anyone else present managed to learn anything?”

From there, the meeting proceeded much the way Brom had anticipated. There was a lot of arguing, a lot of conjecture that was close to the truth but not quite there, and no one listened to his input. And finally, after hours of tense discussion, the meeting came to a head.

“It seems that the current sentiment is that this generation’s Hero is unfit to deal with the Lord of Monsters, and is too powerful to be controlled. As such, I am formally opening a vote regarding summoning a Hero. Those in favor, raise your hand.”

Marcus, Brom, and Emily raised their hands, and that was that. “Then, with the majority in favor, we will attempt to summon a Hero in the temple of the God of Space. As is protocol, we ask that each country seek volunteers for the ritual, and have them ready in one month’s time. Dismissed.”

Brom sighed, standing up and leaving the room. On his way out of the building, however, he was stopped by Alisha. “So, you seem to have made an Oath, Brom.” She said, a nasty smile on her lips. “Care to share your method of contact with the Hero?”

“I cannot say.” Brom said. “But I can say that I know what you are thinking, and I would plead for you not to try it. You are playing with something you have no way of understanding, and the personal consequences to you would be dire were you to make a single mistake. I know my word is untrustworthy, and is liable to be ignored, but if my circumstances are as you seem to think, perhaps my opinion might hold a little more weight. The Hero is not some silly young girl, and this is not to be taken lightly.”

Alisha’s smile grew. “I see. That’s all I needed to know. Well, remember, if you ever need a way out of your Oath, Aura is more than willing to have new vassals.”

As much as he hated to admit it, it was a route he was seriously considering. He wouldn’t let the Glens become Alisha’s territory, she was far too ruthless and egotistical for him to subject his people to, but Marcus or Emily’s kingdoms had potential.

He…would have to pitch that to those in the higher offices. It would be a hard sell, as it would require dismantling their current government entirely and taking everyone in a position of power out of that position, but the potential threat of the swarm was too much to ignore.

“I will keep an open mind.” Brom said. “Now, I must take my leave, I have many important matters to attend to, and I cannot afford to waste even a moment. Goodbye, Alisha.”

He turned, walking away from the woman, though he could still feel her mocking gaze on his back. While he was unsure what he could do in this situation, one thing remained sure – dark days were ahead.

Fighterman481 I've mentioned before how I feel bad for Brom, and I do. I mean, the world just seems intent on making his life hard and it's kind of my fault. But at the same time, it all felt like the natural conclusion of things I set into motion long ago. It's like watching a slow motion train wreck, except the train is a remote control train and I'm holding a broken controller.

...And also occasionally throwing rocks on the tracks by introducing characters like Alisha. Look, the metaphor is falling apart but the point is that things don't end well for him.

...For a given value of don't end well? I'm sure he'll be ecstatic after he's converted, if only because he won't have to deal with life constantly giving him the short end of the stick (at least with regards to this incident) anymore. In a twisted way, he's lucky that Lia likes Ophelia, because Ophelia is definitely going to put in a few good words on his behalf. But, uh, that's not for a long time yet. I don't see him giving up hope and joining the swarm or anything, so, yeah.

Also, full disclosure, I have no idea how things are going to turn out with Alisha. I thought she would be a fun seed to plant, and we'll see where it ends up going.

Anyway, next time we're probably gonna...uh, let Lia's family know about the marriage, maybe talk some more with Amelia, so...look forward to it, I guess?

And, as always, thanks for reading!