Olga.
***
They'd been talking and eating, for over an hour. Here, in this alabaster courtyard floating between dissimilar forests.
I'd been eating too. Though there had been few words to fall from my lips other than incredulous comments aimed at no one other than myself. For good reasons, though.
First, we weren't the only creatures here. Killer whales and dolphins, with skin as rich as silver and as deep as onyx, swam peacefully throughout the space. Uncaring of how close their calves came to the squids or octopuses or the tentacled shells drifting among them. Or even the wolves pouncing from platform to platform to playfully nip at their fins.
Second, there was a lot Amun was asking of them, his Captains of the Legio Noctis.
They were already tasked with devoting the next year towards power leveling their classes. And next year, they'd go abroad to learn the inner workings of the guild they've already created. On top of that, Amun wanted them to form not just parties, but companies numbering in the hundreds. He wanted them to create retirement and vacation worlds here, inside his realm, for them and their subordinates and citizens to dwell safely in. And more, he wanted them to raise guild towers that would float above the surface. The Shards of Mani, he called them.
All of that, Amun wanted them to do. And Mani knew what else.
Still, though, they loved every bit of it. They looked forward to it with the zeal seen in all young adventures and then some. They listened intently to his words and openly made plans to bring them to fruition once they'd been spoken. Then quickly shut their mouths to listen to the next set of orders intently.
It was as admirable as it was terrifying, seeing the devotion Amun was able to instill in them in such a short time. Not just by appealing to their material wants and needs, though that had been done in excess, I could see it was much more than anything words could make sense of that drove these people into following him. And I could see that same devotion burning in Doyle's eyes.
Not a hard feat, though, considering I sat right beside him. But even if I were sitting across the table or, dare I say, across the space, I would have noticed the steaming plate sitting before him, still filled to the brim with food.
"As promised." Amun then said, pulling my eyes to him just as he released a school of wise rock pebbles to befall us, even Doyle and I. "These are for your worlds within Eotrom. And." He waved again, releasing another school of darker, yet radiant pebbles. "These, you are to hold on to until your companies have been formed.
"And that, finally, is the last of our business." He sighed deflatedly in his seat. "You are hereby free to stay in the realm for one month. Though, only one week would have passed outside. After that, it's down to the surface with few, if any, trips back until next year. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."
"Few!?" Elsgril spat with a thrust of his hand up the vertical bridge. "How'm I 'posed to scour the world out there for a fine orc chef 'n just a month?"
"You'll find a way." Amun smiled.
"By praying," Zakira added.
"Bah!" Elsgril thrust his arms upwards and returned to his mug, grumbling something or other under his breath.
Finding my opportunity, I then leaned over the table and stared right into Amun's eerily dark eyes. "And what of us?" I asked, gesturing to me and Doyle.
"Whatever you please." He both shrugged and motioned at my hand with an ivory pipe he promptly began stuffing with smokeleaf. "You, Olga, can take that pebble and create a world for yourself, or raise a tower on the fourth level. Though, it may be lonely in there for a while."
Looking around, I couldn't exactly see myself living inside the world, divine and grandiose though it was. So, with respect, I bowed in my seat. "I- I think I'll create a... world. Thanks."
"And thank you for all that you've done."
"You don't have to thank me for doing my job." I playfully scoffed.
And he only smirked wide. "Likewise.
"Regardless!" he then stood from the table, pulling everyone's eyes from my embarrassment. "I have a Troop to speak to and several undead to promote, so I'll see you on the sixth level. After that, Ed and I have several hundred thousand potions to brew. So… see-"
"WAIT!"
At once, everyone turned to face Ritrix, standing tall atop the table with an accusatory finger pointed at Amun. "That can't be it!"
"I mean… it kinda is." Amun shrugged. "We're going to celebrate soon."
"But, shouldn't the people be here? Shouldn't there be like… a dance or something?" She thrashed her arms about in frustration.
"Well, I wanted to give everyone time to get settled in. But I get your point. So…" he turned his gaze up to tap at his chin for a few seconds before lowering his eyes to her once more with a wide smile. "How about this? I've seen mentions of Sinestro's Quartet hosting a concert at the end of the month, at a famous tavern in southern Nevstan."
"The Purple Leopard?" Doyle and I simultaneously guessed.
Ritrix spun on her heels to face us immediately. "You've been?"
"It's a bit of a right of passage for second-years. Leaving the south without trying their roasted leopard and hot rum is a crime." Doyle chuckled in nostalgia.
"And the dried snake served at the Purple Wyrm too!" I added.
"True." Doyle nodded. "But the nights in Rhar are pale in comparison to the Leopard. Or Nevstan as a whole."
"And there you go." Amun clapped. "We'll meet in the city of Chor, Kurnak province of Nevstan for the concert. And after, we'll have a dance of our own. Here, with all the citizens. Agreed?"
"Works for me." Ritrix plopped into her seat with a wide smile. But Amun was gone before she even turned.
"Well." Toril rose from his seat with a long sigh. "I'm going to explore."
"Me too." Lucia stood a second after Toril took the form of a lightning bolt and streaked away, leaving clapping thunder and a woman encased in bronze wings following in his wake.
Naturally, the others followed either in groups or as individuals; flying, falling, or riding in variations of the divine chariots we arrived in, leaving Doyle and I as the last ones standing in Amun's private realm.
"It's out into space to weave our worlds, I guess." I finally rose from my seat with a dreary sigh. "It's been so long since I've seen my tower."
"Me too." Doyle chortled softly. Then seemed to hold the same words I was thinking from being spoken.
I wish Zeff were here.
***
Amun.
***
"I do not own you, I'm aware. I consider myself a friend to you all and nothing more, even if I haven't treated you as such.
"You've helped me considerably over the years, if even by your company alone. Yet, I've kept you all cooped up within my shadow domain for years. And now, you've remained in this realm for decades. For that." I humbly bowed. "I apologize."
"Why?" Stewie bobbed up and down from his perch atop my shoulder. "The darkness was our home. And now, you have given us a new one. We are grateful."
"The rat's words hold true." Jake hissed. "You made us special. Our young is special. As is their young. They grow strong in this place, thanks to you."
"Some more special than others." Chako, the divine orca matriarch, giggled as the younger calves in her clan swam daringly closer to the floating platform on which the dusk or lunar or, in one case, umbral animals were gathered around me.
The truth of her words was more inaccurate than she believed them to be, however, for all of the troops were as special as her immense clan.
And more.
They, and every other creature within the realm, spent upwards of six decades inside the moon before our entry. Building habitats, hunting, foraging, reproducing and drinking the potent divinity around them, and thus many of them- my favorite creatures and the Menagerie- had been implanted into my profile and in some cases, turned divine. Albeit in a highly general sense.
The only specific creatures in the profile were still devils, though my relationship with them was said to be tenuous; and Umbra Draconis, Shadow Dragons.
With devils being my kin and shadow dragons being a thing of my creation, they were exalted, but not divine as, say, the Cervidae Family Tree.
True deer. Elk, deer, moose, reindeer, and other similar creatures roaming through the Silverstream Forest were among the minority of creatures outside of the Menagerie to absorb the most divine mana during the realm's maturation. Like the elks that carried us here, that influx of energy granted them powers that set them above the other creatures roaming the world.
So too was the case with the Menagerie after bonding with either moonlight or twilight. Though, it went beyond naming dire wolves or rabbits or orcas as divine creatures. Rather, like the true deer, entire families, genera, or in some cases, orders were assigned to my profile as a result of their mere presence inside my domain.
Like the Cervidae Family, Canids, Cetaceans, Cephalopods, and the Lepidopterans were associated with the Lunar aspect of my divinity while Serpents, Felines, Owls, Rodents, and surprisingly, Mustelids had been touched by Twilight.
More than their proverbial immortalization in pantheons, however, the most intriguing reward of those creatures- and nature itself- being a part of my profile was the ability to converse with animals without the use of Corvus' ring. And, so long as I was within my realm, without divine mana to boot.
As great as their situation was, however, I didn't want to leave them trapped here any longer. For that reason, I gave them wise rock pebbles too. One to form worlds for themselves in the space outside and another to create a lair in the peninsula far below. A forward base for them to explore and grow as I intended to.
"I do not own you. I never have. Thus you are free to roam the worlds in this realm or explore the surface below. If you don't have to means to return here on your own." I paused to scratch the two horse-sized wolves curled up beneath me, "I will give you the means to do so in due time."
"No need." Skoll and Hati both growled. "We are old. The whelps lead packs of their own now," the former said, followed by the latter barking. "They have changed. This is their home."
"Ours is here, with you, where we will remain until we die gloriously." Skoll proudly huffed.
"And in death, we will begin anew," Hati concluded with a gentle nuzzle before Pora Bora fluttered down to a perch on my knee.
"And I will remain with the other, darker, you."
"I will go with whom I chose to fight beside." Tao leaped off the edge after a solemn look back. Then one by one, the troops left to lead their lives as they saw fit. Thus ending the legacy of the Tenebrous Menagerie and marking the start of something new.
"And that leaves you a lot." I turned just as Lana, Zaraxus and their respective squads stepped from the shadows of a nearby platform, a tiny dais in comparison to the fields of undead standing tall at their backs.
"That wasn't weird at all." Lana unceremoniously snorted.
"You've never talked to animals?" I snickered. Then full-on laughed at her sheepish reaction to the question. "Anyway, it's time to reorganize you all."
"Simion, Carbury, and the shadows partnering with the Captains will remain as they are. As will the 20 skeleton labor captains, their assistants, and the small Duergar companies beneath them. That leaves roughly sixteen skeletons, forty zombies, fifteen hundred Gray Dwarves, and all the other types to spread across forty-seven people.
"Lana, Zaraxus. You, your squads, and Rocky will remain with me as always. And I'll take thirty Duergar as my labor force." I paused as Lana organized the troops on an inverted platform held in place above her and the Death Jarl, then paused again to chortle at the undead stone giant lumbering above them all.
"Thirty more will go to each of the Noctis Captains." I continued. "As well as at least one Derro, Durzagon, and Orog each. The remaining skeletons and zombies are to prioritize joining those in combative roles and divide yourselves evenly upon dismissal."
"Here." I threw Lana and Zaraxus pebbles as well. "Go down to the surface to make your lairs and await my summons. Make sure you make them as inviting as possible. We'll be needing more troops. As for the rest of you." I turned to the remaining members of Zaraxus' squad and the other, lesser undead. "It's time for your promotions."