After the goblins had been defeated, their second-in-command willingly surrendered and asked for merciful terms. Everyone settled down in the dracaena's underground lair to discuss the fate of the goblins.
As the leader of the people who saved the dracaena and handily won the battle against the Goblin Lord, everyone looked at Gil expectantly. Maria leaned close to him. "Hey," she whispered. "Everyone's looking at you. Try to make a good impression. There's no reason to be nervous, Gil."
"I'm not nervous."
"Yes, you are. You took down a demon lord in front of everyone here, remember? The dracaena and the goblins know better than to try something, especially with you." Maria placed her hand on top of Gil's. "Of course, if you're not feeling up for it, I can take over. Are you going to chicken out now?"
Gil shook his head. "Not at all. I'm just worried the dracaena won't see eye to eye with what I want. It would be unfair to ask them to forgive the goblins and let them live in the forest."
"Ah, you can relax. I've already come up with something."
"You have?" Maria whispered in Gil's ear, outlining a plan to integrate the goblins into their town. Gil smiled wanly. "As brilliant as ever, I see. I should have just asked you sooner." Maria grinned. "As you should for a lot of things. Anyways, everyone's waiting for your response. Well?"
Gil took a deep breath, facing Medusa and the goblins. "Well, I just want to say what's on my mind, if that's alright." When everyone nodded, Gil continued. "I don't think we should impose penalties on the goblins."
Medusa raised her eyebrows. "For what reason? The goblins attacked us and killed many. You want to give them a pass?"
"No. I know it's unfair to ask the dracaena to forgive the goblins, but hear me out. This whole conflict started because the goblins were literally starving and because a jinn manipulated them. While the goblins aren't free of blame, they're not the ones who started this. The ones we should really be after are whoever ordered the jinn, Alnod Marsh, to raise a massive hobgoblin army to take over the forest."
Medusa considered Gil's words. "You're not wrong, but jinns are the servants of demon emperors. Strong as you may be, it won't be easy to defeat one. Then there's the possibility that multiple demon emperors were behind this scheme."
"You're right. I'm not strong enough to tackle a demon emperor, which is why I'm not planning to go after them for now. But here's what we can do." Gil nudged Maria. "It's your turn now."
"What do you mean? I already told you my idea. There's no reason for me to speak."
"Perhaps, but credit should be given when it's due. That was your idea, Maria. You're my second-in-command, remember? We can't make it look like I'm the one who does everything. That wouldn't be fair to you."
"I didn't care much about the credit, but alright," Maria explained her idea. "Even after the war, the goblins number at fifty thousand. It would be a waste not to use them."
Euryale tilted her head, puzzled. "What do you mean? Are you saying you want the hobgoblins to join us?" Maria nodded. "Think about it like this. We suspect a demon emperor could be behind the birth of the Goblin Lord. If that's the case, they might strike again. But, because of politics, they won't be able to come here personally. They'll be restricted to sending their servants to do the deed, lest they want to deal with other demons emperors who are waiting for an opportunity to get a part of the forest. While demon emperors are tough, their servants are much more manageable."
"Are you suggesting we have the hobgoblins join our forces and fight with us?" Medusa asked.
"More than that. I'm going to assimilate the goblins into the forest and have them inhabit my town." The goblins got up, shocked. Their second-in-command was bewildered. "But why? After everything we've done?"
"Simple," Gil answered. "I've decided to carry all your sins upon myself."
"No, there's no need to do that! We are undeserving!"
"Well, too bad. I'm not changing my mind. I made a promise to Lord Bleak to take care of you guys."
"You did?"
"Yes, I did." The hobgoblins sat back down on the bench. Medusa turned to Gil and Maria. "The two of you proposed having the goblins live in the forest, but are you really going to cram all of them into your town?"
Maria got up. "Well, as I said, it's more than that. What Gil and I want is for everyone here to cooperate. My town can give goods and items, while the dracaena can offer freshwater from the swamp, and the hobgoblins can provide their labor in return for these things." She turned to the goblins. "No lazy bums allowed!"
The hobgoblins teared up, joyous that they now had a future they could look forward to, much better than their grim past. They bowed their heads to Gil and Maria. "We thank you! We'll work hard; in fact, we'll devote our very lives to it!"
"That's the spirit," Gil laughed. "What do you think, Coraline?" The naiad materialized next to Maria. "I think it's a lovely idea, Lord Gil. The naiads can provide the goblins with the forest's resources, keeping their hunger sated for a long time." The dracaena were shocked to see a dryad, all except Medusa. It was the missing piece of the puzzle: one that confirmed everything. The naiad really had entrusted Lord Gil and Lady Medusa with the protection of Silverlake, and it wasn't hard to see why. "Very well. Your plan is more than mere ideology and offers lots of benefits. The dracaena look forward to working with you." Gil and Maria nodded, signaling the same sentiment.
Coraline addressed everyone around her. "Well then, as the pulsar who wishes to found a new nation, I declare Lord Gil the head of the Silverlake Federation!" Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and knelt to Gil, who was confused. Why was he the head of the entire forest? Wasn't it the naiads' job to protect it? He didn't appreciate the responsibility being shoved on to him, but he had no choice but to accept. Everyone in the room had already submitted to Coraline's decree.
Alyyiah wrapped her arms around Gil's arm. "Well, Lord Gil? Don't you have anything else to say?"
"Alyyiah, I'll inform Gil of what he needs to do, without any assistance," Maria wrapped her arms around Gil and pulled him towards her. "We have some important things to discuss. Leave us be."
Alyyiah smiled mockingly. "I'm sorry, Lady Maria, but it seems you do need assistance. Poor Lord Gil is awfully nervous, and you haven't made much progress calming his nerves, it seems. I believe I'm better suited to handle this. Why don't you give some final remarks as Gil's second-in-command? The audience is waiting."
"Hmm, you're right, Alyyiah. It turns out I do need assistance. While I talk with Gil, why don't you deal with the audience? You are my personal assistant, right? I could use a hand."
"I am offering my services, Lady Maria. However, those do not include filling in for your speeches. Would you kindly let go of Lord Gil now?"
"I don't think so." Gil forcibly shook them off. "Enough, you two! I thought my arms were going to be ripped off." The dracaena, Onis, and goblins laughed. Gil sighed. "More importantly, to the dracaena and the goblins, I appreciate your wholehearted agreement with me. As the newly appointed ruler of Silverlake, direct any complaints you might have to me. My goal, and now yours, is to create a nation here in this forest where sentinels and demons can live in peace. Let's all do our best towards that end, ok?"
The dracaena and the goblins cheered with approval. "Yes, my Lord!"
The leader of the hobgoblins intercepted Nova. "About your village...I wanted to apologize for what I did. I murdered your brethren, and because of the kindness of your Lord, I am getting away from it." He placed his forehead on the ground. "If you still wish to exact revenge...now is the time."
Nova shook his head. "When we first became servants of Lord Gil and Lady Maria, we were given titles symbolizing our ranks."
"I am a knight!" Holly cheerfully announced. "I am a bodyguard to Lord Gil and Lady Maria." Nova nodded. "Atticus is an instructor, teaching the ways of the sword, and Jaco is a spy, secretly gaining intel on our enemies and recruiting others to do the same. Andromeda is a shrine maiden and teaches people the arts of weaving, cooking, medicine-making, and spells. Lastly, I hold the title of a general, sharing joint command with Alyyiah over military affairs. As such, it would be a blunder to take the life of a good warrior and more foolish to kill his underlings. It would be most foolish of all to disobey Lord Gil and Lady Maria." Nova's lips transformed into a soft smile. "Still, if you wish to make up, then be loyal to our lords, and I'll consider that my apology." The leader of the hobgoblins nodded as Nova waved goodbye. "Yes. I swear on my father, Lord Bleak, that'll I'll be as dutiful to Lord Gil and Lady Maria as I possibly can be."
Later that day, Maria decided to give names to all the hobgoblins and started with their leader. "Do you have a name?" She asked him. The hobgoblin shook his head. "No. The Goblin Lord was supposed to give me one, but he's gone now."
"That's of no consequence. I'll form a bond with you. In honor of your father, starting today, you will be known as Bleak." The hobgoblin swiftly kissed Maria's hand. "Yes, Lady Maria! I swear total loyalty to you!"
"Good. Now go bring your men. I'll be forming bonds with all of them as well." With that, a line of fifty thousand goblins formed in front of Maria, every individual goblin giddy about receiving a name. Maria had spent ten days naming all of them and collapsed when she was finished, again due to quanta loss, recuperating under Andromeda's care. When she awoke, she leaned on Gil's shoulder as the two rested their backs on a sleeping Volpes. "Isn't it incredible, Gil? It's only been ten days, yet the hobgoblins, I mean the gargoyles, have already done a lot. I guess their evolution really helps."
Gil nodded. "Yeah. We have an aqueduct and a water mill now, thanks to Bleak. We even have a sewage system, and thanks to the dracaena, available freshwater! Now, we're finally building roads!" When Maria had been asleep, the hobgoblins had evolved into gargoyles, and Bleak had become a Goblin King. With the manpower they provided, new works were being built daily. A city hall had been established, as well as local government buildings and plazas. As their city developed and grew, it would become more challenging to supervise. Maria planned to appoint municipal leaders assigned to care for a given portion of the nation. Hagas had been appointed the elected overseer of these leaders, who would report any issues to Maria. He and Alyyiah had been tasked with selecting said leaders. As for Maria and Gil, a royal court had been established, which would be their new residence and a meeting place for national government officials. Gil's face shined as he looked upon his city. When people stop fighting, he realized that great things could be accomplished and hoped he could show off a prosperous kingdom with Maria to all of Yggdrasil.
Worry abounded in Dirram. The Queen had sent spies to observe not just Gil but all of Silverlake, and they came back with news of a ghoul rampaging with an army of hobgoblins three hundred thousand strong. Now those spies had sent a letter to Kanetaine, who read it aloud to her advisers. "My Queen, the ghoul had evolved into a Goblin Lord by the time we had written this. However, his life was ended by the sentinel whose activity you ordered us to observe. What shocked us was that he had with him a solid army comprised of both sentinels and demons. We recorded leprechauns, a star, and even multiple Onis as part of it. What was most striking was that a vampire, specifically a Count, had worked with the sentinel to defeat the Goblin Lord and shared a close relationship with him, which to us bordered on love. Lastly, the goblins that survived the battle have become allies with the sentinel and have all evolved into gargoyles."
Kanetaine glanced at her advisers, all of whom had incredulous looks on their faces. The letter was damming, and many would scoff at it, finding its contents unbelievable. However, everyone around Kanetaine knew the spies would not joke around on matters as serious as this. The sentinel, only a boy, called Gil, could best Dirram's military on his own. Now, he had monsters as powerful as an Oni and even a Count loyal to him. He also now had the allegiance of fifty thousand gargoyles, a formidable force on its own. With all this, Gil could destroy Dirram and many nations in Eastern Tenebris. That thought troubled her deeply, and it no doubt did the same to her advisers.
But only one thought occupied Kanetaine's mind. The sentinel had incorporated his kind into an army of demons and even gave some high-ranking positions. It surprised her that the demons were loyal to them and followed their orders rather than rebel. It told her that the demons were compliant with the sentinels, meaning there were no conflicts between them. They trusted each other enough to fight side by side in a large-scale battle, and the letter implied both sides shared a strong bond. But her interest was focused on the Count. This vampire's relationship with Gil seemed romantic to her spies? While Kanetaine knew of interracial marriages(she was married to Ray, the sentinel who led the Pegasus Riders), they were rare. Sentinels and demons despised each other for the most part. Vampires were one of the most powerful races, and they resided in Bloodbound. Only members of nobility evolved into Counts, and it begs the question: how did Gil woo her? The vampiric nobles hated sentinels with an almost religious zeal. It intrigued Kanetaine that Gil had won a Count over, and now she wished to meet this boy who had been her administration's single thought for the last month. She turned to her husband, Ray. "Gather all of the Pegasus Riders and have them ready for battle. In a week, we will depart to visit this sentinel called Gil and find out his true motives."
Dirram was not the only nation bothered with recent events. News of the Goblin's Lord's death had reached Aurora, the kingdom of the skies. It was situated on five floating islands and inhabited by winged citizens, ranging from harpies to phoenixes, and ruled by Sun, a phoenix who reigned as a demon emperor for millennia. He sat on his throne, looking outside the window near him. Aurora had just come out of a war, and there were still efforts to rebuild. The kingdom was the size of a big city and had a smaller populace than other nations. Hence, its military lacked in numbers, but thanks to Sun's efforts, it made up for that in individual strength. The most recent example of this is when it routed demon emperor Carrius's forces ten years ago. But the military lost a lot of its strongest troops, and it never fully recovered. Luckily, other nations had recognized Aurora's power and negotiated trade deals with them, and now the sky kingdom was an influential trade power. It could finally focus less on the military and more on development, but now an annoyance may ruin that.
Last week, Sun had heard the news of a Goblin Lord roaming around Silverlake. It was mere hearsay, but the Queen of Dirram changed the picture. Sun had asked Kanetaine to inform him of anything describing the Goblin Lord, and he was shocked by the reply. To him, it implied that a sentinel resided in the forest and ruled over a wide assortment of demons. This sentinel was also the one who defeated the Goblin Lord and on his own, indicating that he was a pulsar at the very least. Pulsars were exceptionally rare: less than five percent of sentinels evolved into one, and the one he was dealing with was a child. Sun had no doubt this child was gifted; he might even surpass him one day.
Sun also wondered what the sentinel was planning. The child had formidable demons serving him. However, judging from the letter, the demons were not being subjugated by the sentinel. They were doing so willingly. What's more, this child had integrated both sentinels and demons into his forces, and there was no issue at all, no arguments over the chain of command. This last part led Sun to believe the sentinel was not malicious towards demons. It was further supported by his relationship with a Count of all people, which, according to Kanetaine, "was romantic." It made Sun laugh. It sounded like a fairy tale, but he knew Kanetaine wouldn't waste his time, lest she wanted her letter to get labeled as insulting. Dawn knew Kanetain would not let such a threat so close to her kingdom remain and would see the sentinel herself sooner or later. He planned to do the same, for he found all this to be entertaining. The last ten years had been peaceful, yet very stale and boring. He hoped the sentinel could shake things up.
Sun summoned his aide, Dawn, who was also a minister in Aurora. Sun had the appearance of a middle-aged man with brown skin and hair that matched his eyes. However, two fiery red wings projected out from his back, and he had talons for feet. "You called for me, your majesty?"
Sun nodded. "Have you located this sentinel called Gil?"
"Yes. The spies found his residence to be a city-sized dwelling. The populace is diverse, consisting of gargoyles, Onis, leprechauns, and even other sentinels."
"What have you observed or found about it?"
"The sentinels and demons live peacefully. The city is bustling with life. I've never seen sentinels and demons being so happy around one another or treating each other as equals. In fact, many citizens are married to the opposite race." This confirmed Sun's suspicions. The sentinel in question displayed no hatred towards demons, and he seemed to enjoy their company. But Dawn's description still amazed him. The city he characterized sounded like something out of pure fiction. The residents there acted like the war was over, and sentinels and demons could now live happily. Only they were living happily, even though the war was still going on. It gave Sun an idea of what the sentinel might have been after. Was he trying to build a coalition of demons and sentinels to oppose the war? Sun needed more information before he could conclude anything. "Dawn, later today, Queen Kanetaine is planning to visit that city, correct?'
"Yes, your majesty. One of my men reported seeing the Pegasus Riders fly above him." Sun knew that was the most elite group of soldiers Kanetaine had, and he thought they deserved their reputation. They had taken down the armies of multiple nations while they numbered at a sparsely two thousand. The Pegasus Riders were a force to be reckoned with, and Kanetaine was not joking around. Sun decided it would be best to have his troops join Kanetaine's forces. "Dawn, assemble a group of soldiers and assist the Pegasus Riders. I wish to get an idea of what the sentinel is like as well."
Dawn bowed. "Yes, your majesty." Privately, Dawn wondered why Sun wasn't going personally. As a demon emperor, even a pulsar should pose no threat to him. Dawn had thought Sun would order him to attack, but he did not. Was there something else he wanted? Or was it that Sun had another goal besides the extermination of an enemy close to home? Dawn put these questions aside; it was not his place to question orders. He would find out soon enough what Sun's objective was.
Within minutes, Dawn gathered a group of one thousand soldiers. "By the command of the demon emperor Sun, we will assess the sentinel who rules over demons in Silverlake! Ready your wings, and let us be off, men!"
Karem looked out his window. A salty taste formed on his lips, yet he was exhilarated. Rubrum Deus had turned out to be correct, and now there was something for him to look forward to. Hope lay about on his couch and noticed his expression. "You don't seem disappointed, even though a new demon lord wasn't born."
Karem shook his head. "Oh, I am, but only a little bit. That battle was a magnificent scene." Karem gave a devilish grin. "That vampire was beautiful, given her age, but that pulsar...what should I do with him?"
Hope giggled. "It seems you're coming up with another plan. Well, in case you need assistance, the jinn alliance will lend you one for cheap." Hope vanished into a cloud of black smoke. Karem cackled as he thought of an excellent idea.
He would destroy that city the sentinel had built and murder all its citizens. Then, he would absorb all their souls and finally awaken as a demon emperor. However, he would not waste his power on those he deemed weak. It would be much simpler to have another nation do his bidding. Rubrum Deus had sway over parts of Tenebris, including the Vasea Empire, which was the last sentinel empire in the demon realm. It was also where the Sentinel Holy Church was headquartered, a religious organization dedicated to destroying all demons "who oppose the will of God" or who went against sentinels. Privately, though, the nation was plagued with corruption. The nobles there, including the king, were fervent followers of Rubrum Deus. Karem thought they would serve as an excellent pawn in his scheme.