Cleaning up the city was done a lot faster than expected, and that was mainly because of the tower spirits. Though at this point I've taken to calling them city spirits. The gnomes, the golems and the earth sprites have been helpful in gathering the dead, both ally and enemy alike. And with Nefisat's direction and involvement, everything was being rapidly put in place.
The tower spirit was little miffed though, apparently she didn't get the chance to use her newly designed weapons system in the battle as she had to keep her focus on the shield, and find a way to minimize the overall damage to the city. It took me a considerable amount of time to calm her down, and in the end that credit does not go to me, but to Malek who whispered a promise no one else but Nefisat could hear.
But that aside, we've been able to get our home back to what it looked like in just three hours. Which meant that the attack was not as devastating as I had thought it to be, at least not to the infrastructures within the city. But with that out of the way, we immediately commenced the burial for those who had fallen. Of course we all took a short rest, and it was enough time for me to figure out how to use the [HEAL] rune in a wide area and on multiple people.
And so here I was once again, performing another burial ritual just days away from the last one. It was upsetting, but it is what it is. Life won't stop being whatever the hell it was because I felt useless and inadequate. So I had to take the bull by the horns and wrestle with my inferiority complex, I don't mean to sound narcissistic, but I've achieved too much, done so much good. The amount of bad I've experienced should never overshadow that; if anything it should give me the strength I need to be better and do better.
Pain won't ever be missing from my life, and that's because; the path I've chosen has assured me that pain and I, would be a constant companion until I get to the end of this journey. I think in the end I'll get used to it, or grow numb. But I'm not sure, and that's because I've no idea what the future might hold. I just have to make the best of every situation I find myself in, that's the right thing to do.
There was no need for a flowery speech, or beautiful words.
Today was a day of grief, and we'll all experience it in a respectful silence. Without a doubt this was the proverbial calm before the storm, and our enemies whoever they were should be quaking in their boots. Because we will be coming like a storm, unstoppable and unconquerable. The anger of a typhoon, hurricane, a tidal wave, a volcanic eruption and a freaking ice age. All combined into one bad tasting dish of payback, I almost felt sorry for them.
"Today was supposed to be a day of celebration, a day where every father, mother and child would be thankful and happy for the chance to be part of something bigger than life, bigger than wealth and bigger than a covenant. A family. But people who hate to see the smiles on our faces had thrown sand in our food, soured our joy and took, greatly from us.
I'll make no promises, and that's because without a doubt we all know that we're going to be painting the streets and earth of the pit red with blood in retribution for the sin that's just been committed here. So today I'll let you grief, and I'll tell you the name of what you're fighting for. The name of your home and family, the people who have been taken away from you. So that when we usher in destruction and death upon wings of fire and ice and fangs dripping with blood, our enemies will have our name etched all over their lips.
ETHERNALIA LEONIS!
Ethernalia can be loosely translated as the eternal ether, or essence. It can also in translated in the ancient vampire tongue as the eternal night. And I don't think anyone needs to be told what Leonis means. This is your home, your city, your kingdom, your empire!. Soon! We'll let our enemies know, how much of a folly it is, to mess with the Night City of Leonis. So all of you please do me a favor...…prepare for WAR."
There was no excited clamor or wild yelling. Just a ferocious look of determination on the face of everybody standing here. This was an important part of our lives, and we will be making the best out of it.
[CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING YOUR MISSION.[MISSION: In three month create either a village or town like community for the vampires under you./ REWARDS: Kingdom Building System, Access to the Trans Universal System Market, A bowl of hot Noodles.] YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED THE KINGDOM BUILDING SYSTEM LEVEL 1, AND A TERMINAL TO THE TRANS UNIVERSAL SYSTEM MARKET. AND ONE BOWL OF STEAMING CHOW MEIN]
[CONGRATULATIONS ON CREATING AND DEDICATING A HISTORICAL MONUMENT FOR YOUR CITY. AS LONG AS THE OBELISK OF THE 70 STANDS. ALL DEFENSES AND NATURAL RESISTANCES OF THE CITY ARE INCREASED BY 20%, PROTECTECTION AGAINST SUPERNATURAL ATTACKS IS INCREASED BY 20%. THE SPIRIT OF THE FALLEN WATCHES OVER YOU.]
[CONGRATULATIONS ON CREATING A HISTORICAL FESTIVAL FOR YOUR PEOPLE. BLOODLUST REDUCES BY 50% ON ALL BLOOD SAINTS DAY. BUFF STRETCHES FOR ANOTHER 1 MONTH AFTER THE FESTIVAL, LOOSING 10% OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE WEEKS. DURING THE FESTIVAL PERIOD, ALL CITY DEFENSES IS RAISED BY 30%. THE SPIRIT OF THE FALLEN WATCHES OVER YOU.]
[CONGRATULATIONS ON GAINING A BLOODLINE AND CITY GUARDIAN. AS LONG AS THE CITY GUARDIAN LIVES AND STAYS WITHIN A 100 KILOMETERS OF THE CITY, ALL CROP AND PLANT PRODUCTION IS INCREASED BY 30% WHILE GROWTH TIME IS REDUCED BY 20%. A SPECIAL TOKEN HAD BEEN BESTOWED ON THE CITY. IT WILL SERVE AS IDENTIFICATION FOR IT'S RESIDENTS, AND FOR VISISTORS.]
As soon as the stream of system messages came to an end, a shiny black stone popped out of the earth. It came up on the west side of the palace, and was completely hidden to everyone but me. And as if that wasn't enough, a temple of sorts, well not really a temple, it was more like an circle of pillars growing around the black stone, like stone hedge back on earth. Only this one had ornately crafted bronze pillars. Funny thing is, I couldn't see all this happening with my eye, rather I could feel it and experience it with my mind.
There was a rumble as a wave of energy spread across the square. But this wave of energy didn't disperse, rather it seemed to hang over the atmosphere of the city, giving it a breath of life in the midst of our grief. I looked down at my people, watching on in abject surprise as a bracelet made from a kind of green metal showed up on their wrists. I didn't have one, and neither did Asha, in fact every other person who I had already given or had a variation of the power crest did not receive a bracelet.
It was obvious to me that the bracelets were the identification token. And it was inexplicably connected to the spirit or consciousness of the city.....Nefisat. Going by the looks of shock on the faces before me, they were hearing her voice for the first time. With this; surveillance over the city was absolute.
Of course some would say something about invading their privacy, but that Token only functioned within the bounds of the city. Outside of it, it would probably dissolve into nothing. A similar tactic has been employed by other cities, and it has worked for them. This would put crime of any sort out of business, and help us sniff out any spy or enemy hiding amongst us.
I turned around, and looked at the obelisk, still burning with it's green flames. All of our dead had already been placed into it, and in a way, I felt as if the flames had experienced a qualitative change. They were more pure, clean, spiritual. There was now a sense of otherworldly aura, and a supernatural spice to it. A presence that sent tingles over the surface of your skin as you stood close to it. The spirits of the fallen.
Asare and Kuyait came up beside me, standing with me in silence as the vampires all dispersed. Nefisat having a chance to talk to them was nothing more than a distraction, for most of them, it would help them get over their pain. It won't be the same for the rest, but at least they each had someone to talk too.
And Nefisat had enough processing power to put an intergalactic affirmed super computer, with a quantum AI capable of advanced mechanics and building molecular fusion generators, for trans galactic space travel. Just like a world tree. What I'm saying is, Nefisat won't have any problems talking to every vampire in the city at the same time, with individual conversations.
"What's our next move now master Kael?" Asare asked as he watched the flames with me.
"There's no hurry. First we have to get our hunters in the black district back home. With the blood farming rapidly becoming accepted, we wouldn't want for food. Blood would just be a variety, and for that I can have the dungeon provide for us. I have a feeling that after my fight in the conference, and the tragic yet victorious battle with that priest; we're going to be having an influx of immigrants, both vampires and other races alike. But before anyone gets in, have Nefisat and Nasir conduct a thorough investigation, and have Gus help them.
So in the span of a week as that is going on, I need you both to divide what's left of the army into six divisions. We already have the police force with Magellan as it's head. We need a magic division and that would be further divided into different sub divisions at both your discretion. You're mages after all. We need a cavalry, an armored cavalry division. I've spoken to Malek and he seems to have come up with a design for mid weight battle suit, along with vehicles for the job. Though I suspect in the end he would just be making them a division of mech pilots. However this division has to be trained with close quarter combat in mind, rather than the conventional mecha pilot training."
"But that would put the cavalry and the infantry in the same division. Going with the template of modern warfare, there are no more cavalry of infantry soldiers. Just pilots for the Mechs. Of course I don't think Malek has the capability of making a fully functional Mech at this point in time. The guy is a mad genius, but I don't think he's that mad. It would take a lot of testing and structuring, not to mention a shit ton of money and materials to build one. I believe it should be a battle suit division Master Kael. That's something Malek can come up with and outfit properly." Kuyait suggested.
Well she wasn't wrong about the Mechs. That was an undertaking that was much too early for me to pay attention to. Resources wouldn't be a problem, not with Nefisat and her ability to create literally anything from the elements. To be honest apart from food, I don't think we would ever lack anything. Everything I've gained has been gotten in such a way, that I and my people would be self sufficient.
"The fourth division is naturally the blood moon Envoys. They're the elite, and even though they're all vampires, I hope that sometime in the future, it's a division that encompasses a variety of races. Even humans and werewolves. All special missions, or when we need to make a statement or a play for power will be handled by the Envoys.
I will personally oversee their training, though I'll need help with the magic stuff. The fifth division is supposed to be an assassination, infiltration and espionage division, whose only confirmed member is Gus. You're a lot more familiar with the vampire's you've trained, so if you think there's anyone that fits the bill, set them aside for that division.
Originally the sixth division would have been either an air force or a navy. But we lack water, and while there's more than enough space to fly and shoot things, we don't have the ships to do so. So the sixth division would be the already established hunters. And that's what they're going to be doing. Hunting down our enemies.
The hunter division will work hand in hand with the other divisions, chasing high value targets, and criminals. The police are the shield, the magic division the sword, the battle suit division the spear, the spy division are a scalpel, taking care of things with a surgical precision. The Envoys are the big guns, making loud noises and knocking heads and asking questions later. The hunters just for the sake of being cliché will all be females.
And they're are the lionesses of the pride. They're the vanguard, and the true face of our military might. So this is your assignment Kuyait, Asare. In one week, assemble me six divisions that will put terror in the bones and soul of every man, woman, and child in Shearath and the known universe who makes the mistake of even thinking ill about us. We're done playing nice!"