"Jesus Christ… I didn't miss this feeling at all."
I dropped my Wraith Form with a groan and looked out upon the spacious cavern far below the tower.
While everyone was healed up and resting, I was on the brink of collapse. Yet, I traveled to the hidden level to check up on Lana and Zaraxus, hunting for experience rather than prospecting for dark metals.
Zaraxus was the strongest undead I had and my Doppelganger was just as strong as I was, which wasn't very much without magic or sorcery. Lana, however, was even weaker but was undoubtedly stronger in life. A one hundred percent decrease if measured mathematically. As the one with the most growth potential, the journey was for her more than anyone else.
In the meanwhile and for the fifty years that have passed since the tower began its construction, most of the Bobs have remained here, toiling above or carving out the bedrock into an industrial facility that could rival anything in the explored realms.
Though Robert was the foreman, the overseer was none other than the gentleskull himself, Simion Lumbarde, working with the full zeal of a cultist now that he knew of what awaited him in the near future.
With Darekhil, Forgruna, and their companion, Thordrohilda sworn in and caught up, I was sure they would soon be filled with just as much fervor. Though the road map for the undead industry was much different than the one they were to traverse.
The world, Maru at least, had been in what could be compared to the Renaissance when I left. If what I heard and read about the explored realms of Nonus was true, they pushed past the industrial age decades before my birth. If not altered to befit our magical reality.
While those in Hill Base were worming their way through the industrial revolution, my undead was here, using their endless, dilated time to steam past the post-industrial revolution. And it was all done here, a few kilometers below the tower.
We started with gravity-spun flywheels. Massive cylinders of carbon fiber and copper coils, spun to an absurd degree to power our first factories. Paving the way for more power generation and more factories and more constructs that soon swelled beneath the lake above and sank ever deeper towards the Darkworld below, where hydroelectric and geothermal energies were available in excess.
With mass production and an abundance of power came an easier means for the tower's construction. Though it still needed magic and it still took decades for roughly 200 undead to complete. Now that we were here, however, the road to the future would only get longer.
The precursors to such futuristic technologies I dreamt of had to be perfected and mass-produced before such a thing came to be. All of them. Cars and boats had to be altered to fit this world before tanks and battleships could be made to my liking. The same went for gliders and hot air balloons evolving into planes and model rockets and then on into fighter jets and ballistic missiles.
Radios. Computers. Lasers. Even nuclear fusion needed to be perfected before cybernetic or nano-implants became a reality for my people. For my family. For those like Caia and her child and the many young and old in Hill Base, who just wanted to live in peace.
Only then would I be comfortable leaving them on their own while I explored the realms.
Only then would I not have to worry about them.
That required the road to be traversed by the time we returned to Maru. In turn that required this train to move a lot faster. I needed more undead.
Even with my Doppelganger picking up much of the slack. I needed more.
Since I left campus, most of his time had been spent here or in my lab upstairs, toiling away with Carbury's horn. Besides the holy symbols for Zakira and Opal, I used a piece of it in Zaraxus' war scythe at the behest of Cononthoth and tainted it with death magic. Making it a magical weapon, according to Forgruna, though I was under the impression it was already magical by the account of the horn.
Regardless, the healing marrow was withdrawn and put into storage while the rest of it was taken by my Doppelganger to be made into a few things. A smoking pipe, a pen, and a flute. Leaving a bit of spare material that was crafted into a pair of rings on a whim. The scraps, on the other hand, were stored to either be snorted later or used as potion ingredients with the rest of Carbury's parts.
As for my new toys, only the pipe and pen were for me. The flute was for my future bard and the rings were for whoever. Though I had no idea what any of them even did. If anything at all.
I could ask Zook, I supposed, but figuring out for myself was far more preferable. For the flute at least. So I assumed my Wraith Form and ascended through the floors until I came upon the lounge, where I saw just the person I was aiming to see.
"I understand now!" Ritrix bounced up to me the moment she noticed my presence.
"You... understand?" I shook my head.
"Why everyone wants to follow you." She beamed. "I think." She then turned away, frowning and tapping at her chin before she turned back to me. Smiling. "At least why I want to. I'll do it." She wagged her small finger at me. Then her voice boomed with power. "But only under the condition that I'll never have to be alone. I'll join the Legio Noctis."
"We are all your family, Ritrix." My voice boomed through my smile. "Space or time… not even death can separate us."
Though resolute, she still seemed apprehensive as the darkness reacted to our new pact. Her eyes, vibrant and green, darted this way and that while she let out a few nervous chuckles.
"Your timing is impeccable, by the way," I said, handing her the flute. "I recently made this. Would you like to test it?"
"Sure!"
The instrument was out of my hands before the words even left her mouth. While impressed, I was more so anxious and stepped back to sit on one of the contouring sofas stretching about the place.
The first whistle seemed to set off a grenade of strings, splaying them out to latch onto the minds of those around her with the first note. While they didn't touch me, I could indeed see them. There were but a few. Silky threads, thrumming in the simple tune of Ritrix's performance. Slow and elegant it was, it enthralled those around us to turn their gazes to her. Their mouths hung low and their eyes remained wide while Ritrix, lost in her own melody, spun about on the central dais in a slow dance until the notes drifted to still silence.
Being no longer stimulated, the strands soon withered away soon after, releasing the few humans and the half-orc from their charmed stupor.
"That was amazing." I gasped.
And though she bowed, Ritrix gave me an apologetic look. "It's nice but… not my style." She held out the instrument with both hands.
"Because you use your voice." I nodded affirmatively while taking the flute.
"…Yeah." She nodded and looked at me. And her olive skin stretched into a belated smile.
"Comedy, right?"
"Yeah." She smiled wider. "Are you a fan?"
"A bit." I nodded. "But… well." I sighed. "You'll find out tonight."
"Oh? O- oh, Amun!" She shied away, giggling into her hands.
'Yeah, phrasing.' I turned to those around us with a sigh. "Anyway, it's time for our lessons."
While Ritrix shied away at the back of the group, we were joined by many others as we made our way past the first floor. Many of them mentioned how impressed they were by the library and more so about the books they found in their rooms. Though it was a bit creepy, they were copied in such an easy-to-read manner that they couldn't help but be astonished.
Rather than talk their ears off just yet, I only thanked them for their words and guided them into the labs on the second floor. Particularly, inside an alchemical lab filled with mortar and pestles, beakers, and hot plates.
"Welcome to Brewing 101!" I grinned after taking the center. Then gestured to the arrangements prepared on each station. "You'll find before you, fermented Amanita mushrooms and the dried heart of a magical beast. In separate bowls, you're to grind both into a paste or powder before mixing it with three parts distilled water. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer it for twelve hours. Then strain it and let it come to room temperature before infusing it with your blood.
"Therein lies the recipe for a greater healing potion." I smiled. "Now listen to me talk while you work."
They seemed taken aback by the lecture ending in such an abrupt manner. At least until their Doppelgangers rose from the floor to assist them in the parts they missed.
After I gave them an oversimplified lecture on the four fundamental forces and how they related to my magic, I went into a semi-detailed and holographically assisted lecture on atomic and molecular science before concluding with a summarization of germs and a promise to break out the microscopes in our next class.
For now, however, I left them with the thought of uncountable creatures too small to see, living among us, and let them know that, as the Bodhi Tree has done for us, textbooks were deposited in their studies for them to read later. Allowing me to move on to the most important lesson of the day.
Our hierarchy.
"Now, before I begin. I need everyone who hasn't sworn in, to either do so now or leave the classroom at this time. Legion-talk is for Legionary ears only."
To my surprise. Bazzric stood up and spat before anyone could speak. "Not here!" He turned and jerked his head in the same motion.
Alright." I shrugged. Then followed the storming dwarf outside. And a few others followed as well. Hogaz and Elurial, standing off to the side as they wanted to speak to me next. Ash, seemingly indignant about having to leave, but standing off to the side like the aforementioned pair. And Urshure and Phelia, seemingly indifferent about it all.
"The God of War admires your talent for destruction."
"Oh?" I turned to the rugged dwarf with raised brows.
"Aye." He growled. "Keeps giving me the same dream. About you."
"He wants you to follow me?" I guessed.
"Seems that way." Bazzric shrugged. "I don't care one way or another. So long as I get to destroy, I won't face his wrath."
"There will always be things that need destroying." I boomed, grinning at him. "And the God of War is one of the few that I seek to get acquainted with.
<
The call of her name in his native tongue was a lure that Urshure couldn't have resisted, no matter how hard he tried.
I felt her watching him as he came over, Cononthoth. Ironically or not, it was her who he asked about the moment he stepped before me.
"Tell him this." She growled before I could respond, giving me no choice but to prepare to play the telephone game. < < < < Bazzric, having long grown tired of the Draconic conversation, muttered some obscenities under his breath and walked off while Urshure muttered his agreement. "Good." I shook his hand with a foul grin. "There's much about the past that I'd like to ask of her." "Hey, listen! I already made my choice, but I just wanna know." The half-high orc woman paused to stomp to my front, unconsciously forcing me back a step upon realizing just how… overbearing, she was up close. "Why are you doing this?" "Because my home is the inverse of a birdcage." I bluntly said. "Maru has legions of powerful creatures trapped beyond a single barrier. It gets breached, and chaos breaks loose." "So?" She shrugged. "You're strong enough to do it alone." "I doubt that." I snorted. "I mean, yeah, I could probably kill them all and deal with the portals. But after that?" I turned to her and Hogaz both. "I can't lead the cities, nations, and empires that will rise from the ashes of war. But what I can do, is give the right people right the tools to excel at it." "I see," Hogaz muttered after a short moment. "Others have told me that you don't care to distinguish between good and evil? Would you then, have me do things some would consider evil, despite me wanting to do good?" "Oh no." I quickly shook my head. "The only thing I 'make' my subordinates do is learn, train, and teach. Everyone has a choice regarding everything else. "More or less anyway." I shrugged. "The Moonlight represents the good side of the Legion. If you want to help people and bring change to where it's needed most, go to the church to be blessed by the Moon. If you wish to fight and kill those who need killing without caring for morals, go to the temple and be graced by Twilight." "Selflessness and selfishness then, is it?" "That's one way to put it." "Hmm," Hogaz grunted. "Here's the thing. I am not powerful." He gestured to Elurial. "But I still wish to do something in this world. I wish to do good. It's why I came here. To gain insight on… otherworldly powers that wouldn't corrupt me. And… well, you're a devil. Could you… help me with such a thing? Without… without corrupting me?" "To be candid, I'm unsure if I can make you a Warlock. But whether it be through enchantments, blessings, curses, or runes, I'll do everything in my power to help you. And no, I won't corrupt you." "I don't care about being a Warlock or a good person." Elurial spat. "I'm a Barbarian. I just want to be strong and live free." "Then there's no better place for you." I smiled. After they swore in and walked off, the last two shambled toward me. Ash and Phelia. Two dissimilar beings of fire. Though they could not have been more different, their words were more or less the same. "I have nowhere else to go." They both said. Though for Ash, that had been a constant since the day he was born. He only wanted a home. Friends. Belonging. As a kindred soul, as the only half-drow half-devil in existence, I could only sympathize. But Phelia, she came here with Zarzok. So Zarzok was all she had. But now, he was with me. And though she wanted to come along with him, she had no wish to fight. "Fighting is not the only way to serve," I told her with a gentle smile. "We may be a Legion, but we are a Legion only in name. We are explorers. Builders. Healers." I nodded to her knowingly. And after accepting her pledge, followed her inside to the still waiting candidates. "Alright." I faced them with a sigh. "As I explained earlier, no matter your jobs or specialties or Classes or even rank, each Legionary will be paired with their Doppelganger and one Shadow Undead. Though they can and will fight, their primary tasks are logistics and communication. "The Legio Noctis is a meritocracy." I began pacing. "To be promoted, you must be recommended by the Doppelganger or shadow undead of someone outside of your immediate chain of command. For you all, that will be the peers among you. Don't worry about rivalries or bickering getting in the way of you being promoted. They are unable to lie to me." Pausing, I allowed a stream of Moonlight to fall from my hands and form a diagram, detailing the ranks for the living along with their benefits. "As a result of this accelerated course, you all will be promoted to Captains come our evolutions. As a Captain, you'll be in charge of companies composed of four, fifteen-troop squads and their partners. Along with an executive officer, a noncommissioned officer, an engineering officer, and a labor platoon of lesser undead. "Three hundred nineteen members. That is the minimum personnel count of a company, minus undead. Your companies and all others that come after will be the most forward unit of any Legion. Completely self-sufficient. As the Captains of these units, your pay will be seven hundred-fifty gold per week. And you will receive back pay in that amount after these six months are complete." I declared. Causing a few choked guffaws to erupt from the crowd. "In addition to that is a personalized set of enchanted equipment and a custom vehicle, plus another tower. Not for your homes." I gestured to the tower surrounding us. "But for your company headquarters. "You all-your companies-will be filled with those you find next year. You will train them as I train you now and in turn, they will train their subordinates. Come that time, your companies would have grown into Battalions and our organization will then be a Regiment. Hopefully, we'll grow into a Division by the time our work here is done. "When we reunite with our allies in Maru, our Division will have finally become a Legion." I continued after conjuring an annotated map of Hill Base, shocking the Epethians to their core. " The Legion's primary mission is to breach the barrier in Maru and reclaim the portals for humanity. Then humanity will decide what to do with them. After that, you all may retire. Or, if you wish, you may continue serving and join me as I explore Betrarth and the other realms." "As we explore, we'll be making new Legions and leaving them in their territories while we press forward." I continued, showing them the path I carved across the realms. Complete with the moons floating high above the astronomical swathes of land. "The best of you will be the ones to form or head these Legions. Will they be schools where future Legionaries come to learn of their Classes, or will they become metropolises or groves with a culture influenced by your very life? That will be up for you to decide. Whoever that may be. "That is the road we march on. This Legion is commanded by me." I jabbed my ribs with my thumb. Then pointed to my knight. "Led by Toril. Jaimess is the Executive Officer. Ed is the Chief Engineer. Lucia is War Master. And Rohesia works in Civil Affairs. There is us. And then you. That is the chain of command. Now... "We are what Light fears!" I spread my arms before maniacally screaming with mana filling my voice to such an intensity that it caused the beakers to rattle atop their hotplates. Then Zaraxus and the Bobs stepped forth from the shadows lining the rooms. Chanting as one. "We are what Death Reveres!" "We are the Shaded Sun!" I shouted. "We are the Bloodied Moon!" The dead sang. "We are Blessed Hope!" "We are Eternal Doom!" "WE ARE LEGION!" "WE ARE NOX!"