"Ugh." The umbral form of my ancestor's hands- Henry Cole, lifted his ghostly hat to swipe his spectral hand over his incorporeal hair. "I never knew my head could hurt in death."
"Let us start from the bottom, shall we?" Telman Cole, father to the Necro King and son to the great pirate captain, swept his slender hands across my underworld in a suggestive manner, turning to and fro my other ancestors before his long-dead eyes fell to me. "You are a monk? The Way of Death's Door?"
"Yes," I confirmed for not the first time from atop my necrotic throne. "If I understand things correctly, my ki is inversely proportional to my health. The closer I come to dying, the stronger my ki will be."
"Cole was said to be a monk," Corvus muttered. More to herself than to me, it seemed. "The Way of Void."
"So I've heard." I rolled my eyes.
"In his day, he was called the Mad Void Monk." She turned her gaze to me and paused, letting the rest of her words unsaid for us to ponder. At least until Telman broke the silence.
"And you are a… Grandmaster Artificer?" Telman asked.
"At the seventh level."I nodded. "My next few… tasks is to learn the art of enchanting before I scour the realms for evidence of runes."
"The language of time immemorial." Telman explicated immediately. "From a time long before the portals. Before even the dragons and giants warred, some believe. When gods and our first ancestor- when Zefroth, roamed the Mortal Plane.
"According to my son, the evidence you seek is somewhere in Betrarth."
"Such direction is as aimless as he is." Corvus snorted. "But the Path of Zefroth. That intrigues me. This, I presume, is the ancestor you dream of? Do they continue?"
"I assume so. And yes." I nodded again. "Every day. The path tasks me with learning how to live as a devil, creating warlocks, and learning about our history. And eventually, assimilating with our ancestors."
"As only you could. A being of the void, you are." She cryptically assured me before her eyes darted swiftly to my wrists. "There is your other class, however. Rogue Devil. Soul Mastermind. It appears you received what you asked for." She smiled cutely. "Your specialty is now deals and curses."
"And being a rogue will be easy for you. There's two of you after all." Azrael, my grandfather and the creator of the first spell I ever learned, knowingly winked.
I gave him a sly wink back. Noticed by Henry alone. "Are you to be a pirate?" He smiled wickedly.
"Not me, but one of my subordinates is forming a pirate fleet. Although." I chortled dryly. "His ship may be overkill."
"Overkill matters not for you." He smiled wider. "More meat for the grinder, as they say! Or, maybe it does matter." His smile suddenly flattened. "You're all… godly now." Darkblood's hands waved dramatically. "It's weird."
"You didn't believe me before?"
"Seeing is believing." He shrugged.
"Touche." I heartily laughed.
"Moonlight and twilight, I've come to understand." Telman scratched his great beard. "But… mana? You are the god of mana."
"Yes. And I'll eventually be able to give or take mana away from people. And, I'm the god of engineering. Merging magic and science to create things like this."
"Wow." Henry whistled low in response to the dozens of silver screens floating about them, showing them videos of the Moonsliver and the other, much smaller vehicles owned by the Captains.
"That is overkill."
"Perhaps." I shrugged. "But the seas are a part of my moon domain. And with exploration also being within my divine profile, I intend to have my fleets explore all of the World Seas.
"So, Captain." I turned the youngest of my fanged ancestors. "Tell me all about a pirate's life."
***
After a quite lengthy conversation, I stepped out of my necrotic world and emerged in a land not unlike it. The skies above me were plain. But blue instead of black, with a blazing orb positioned low enough in the sky to cast eerie shapes from the dense field of flowers and trees- a one hundred shaded web of verdant greens hidden beneath white pillows, rather than the endless shades of gray I saw below.
There was a chill in the air, biting distantly at my skin. Birthed from the gelid winds that traveled undisturbed over the Nonus-Betrarth World Sea until they barreled into the Jovian-sized bay that housed the Bodhi Peninsula. Being dozens of kilometers lower than the tree and the wilds it accompanied, those winds rolled over the southern lands almost indefinitely. Halted only by the arid gusts that periodically came in from the Nonus to the far west.
Thus the southern end of the Bodhi Peninsula was on the cusp of winter.
Yet, as I gazed across Crater Lake from these eroded shores, I saw a sheet of ice in the far distance, broken apart by the eroded edge of the crater peering out above the everlasting white. Winter was here, brought on by an unnatural occurrence in the middle of Crater Lake.
A Death Jarl formed his lair there.
Which was fine. Zaraxus was free to place his lair where he pleased. Yet, it inadvertently made my task all the more difficult.
My curiosity- and impatience- got to me. After finishing my alchemical endeavor and smelling the roses between the borders of Mazi and Nevstan, I found myself unable to wait to move further down the rogue path. For it was then that I'd be able to summon my closest devilkin.
That said, I had a scroll from the duergar stronghold Though I was guaranteed to gain a familiar further down the rogue path, I simply couldn't wait that long.
More so, the booty I received from that duergar raid had yet to be utilized. Besides the golem summoning talismans and the enchanted items, my interest lay with the fiend-summoning tomes.
One, in particular, had the true name of one such entity. And, though it said not whether it was demon or devil, I felt as if an introduction was long overdue. So, with a fairly large diamond in hand, I scoured the coast in search of a windbreak pouring in from Zaraxus' lair.
I found it after not too much meandering. Some thickets that'd been hollowed out by some creature and subsequently abandoned, leaving a thorny shell just tall enough for me to stand in.
More importantly, it was just wide enough for me to carve an intricate circle into the dirt and to stand at the entrance after placing the diamond at the center.
Then, I started chanting. Singing in a guttural and nefarious language while the diamond raised and glowed with the light of blackened blood until it widened, forming a wide portal that gave views of a fiery world. And then I called out.
"Lily!"
A heeled foot stepped out at once. Attached to a leg with rich tan skin, naked and smooth until the wide hips met a leotard-covered waist, and out swung a bulging bust suffocated in tight leathers.
Then came the other leg, followed by a set of clawed, almost leathery hands that grasped the edge of the gate and gracefully pulled to reveal a stunningly alluring woman with crimson red hair, hiding a set of plump lips, peeled back into a smile while her piercing eyes sized me up and down.
And then she approached under the gust of bat-like wings, her pointed tail swaying lazily behind her until she stopped close enough for her ram-like horns to nearly brush against me as she, unnervingly, took a whiff of me.
"Mhmm." She tantalizingly licked her lips. "Fancy being called by a god!"
"Fancy a duergar stronghold holding the true name of a succubus." I heartily snorted.
"Oh! King Maso?" She bounced forward. Then reclined back suddenly with airy eyes. "Yeah. He was a good one to keep alive. Loved pain."
"Oh?" I smiled at my shadow, and at the bashful response of the duergar king hiding within.
"What about you, though?" Lily brushed against me entirely and started, subtly, shifting her weight between her feet. "Up for a little fun? Or would you let a gal like me tag along on your little adventure? I'd love to say I've been with the rogue god of devils."
"Maybe later." I brushed away her whispers immediately. Though I had full intentions to let her tag along. Not as a part of my squad, of course, but somewhere within my unit.
After all, succubi had a way of gathering information like no one else.
That said, she was annoying.
"Well?" She brushed against me a second time.
"Sure." I groaned. "You can tag along for a while."
"Sweet!" She beamed in place, only to instantly sober up and look around to see the dome of thorns. "So, we're in Paradise? Where?"
"Nonus. The southern half of the Bodhi Peninsula. On the northern coast." I explained while leading her to the beach, and then faced about. "The land continues for some fifteen thousand kilometers to the south and is ruled by twelve kingdoms. Approximately seventy-seven million souls call this place home. And for the next year, it's our playground."
The prospect made her fly a loop overhead, screaming "Lucky me!"
"Yes. Lucky you." I rolled my eyes. "Now sit here with me. Are you hungry?"
"Ooh, a romantic?" She plopped down with a giggle.
I rolled my eyes again. "Hardly. I'm hungry, and we're waiting for someone to arrive."
"Who-"
I sensed it long before she spun to the west. But, considering it hardly a threat, I let it pass until the human pushed through the brush and immediately threw his fishing pole onto the ground.
"Ah! Fiends!" He shouted. And I just couldn't help myself.
"Ah! Human!" I cried as I spun about to eye a not-so-harmless young man fearfully.
He brandished a short sword and waved it threateningly between us, shouting. "Stay back!"
"Don't be stupid." I snorted.
"No, no." Lily waved to me. "I've got this."
Shrugging, I turned away to watch the coast as the sun, to my back, dipped to its nightly hiding place. The newfound silence was like rewatching a show as an adult that you've seen as a child, making me dread her inevitable return and be thankful that her action served to make her less… excitable.
"Is he dead?" I asked over my shoulder.
"No." I heard her shrug. "But he will be soon. Poor guy. Didn't even last long."
"Nice."
I rose without another word. And when I returned, I had a fresh shadow undead soldier trailing behind me.
"He works for you now," I said to them both, then turned a cold gaze to the succubus. "And you, Lily, work for me."
She eagerly, and somewhat lethargically, nodded her compliance.
"I'll tell you about your job later. For now, just… enjoy the sights I guess."
Again, she nodded her compliance. But my attention was to the two pinpoints of light in the sky. One, an infernal red, and the other, a pulsing bowl of mana.
Watching Hogaz and his quartermaster fly into shore was one of the few moments I found myself bursting with pride. And from what I could see, they were as well.
Even in the gloom of dusk, his moon mail armor sparkled brilliantly beneath his Noctis cloak. In a rare instance, Hogaz removed his palm from its comfortable position on the hilt of his weapon, the Wave Razer, to greet me in typical Noctis fashion- leading to a moment of confusion between Lily and the quartermaster.
"Another cutie." The former giggled.
I turned a glare onto her immediately. "I will void you if you suck a drop from my subordinates."
She took the warning almost in a panic, flapping her wings to push her several meters away and in turn, giving me and the pirates a bit of privacy.
"Vexx. Captain… Silvertusk." I fought back a laugh while nodding to them both. "How do you fancy the ship?"
Hogaz gave her a subtle nod, then she stepped forward with an expression full of enough zeal to scare even me.
"With confidence, I can say I speak for the entirety of the crew when I tell you the ship is beyond belief or comparison. Even the dwarves are impressed with the hardiness of its construction. I am surely impressed with its elegance. Its speed. Its power! I daresay, we are invincible on these waters!"
"Not so." I flatly said. Then recanted with a shrug a few seconds later. "The ship is. But with its current crew, it is not. As such, Captain, I'm giving you and your crew between six months and one year of time to train." I paused for consideration, then gestured to the copper-skinned half-elf before I continued. "Obviously, you have a say in this as well."
Being a seasoned pirate- and an acquaintance of my dad, apparently- Vexx didn't hesitate to address our concerns. "I share the same thought. However, the other pirates in these waters will seek us out once they learn of our abandoned island. They may be intimidated by our ship, and rightly so, but some foolhardy pirates will fire upon us without thinking. I'm afraid we have not the time nor real estate to train."
I left it to her Commander to explain.
"We work for a God, Vex. Time is meaningless to the Legions."
"What he means to say is, you'll be training in a realm of distorted time. Whether it's six months or one year you spend inside, one day would have passed when you emerge. And you will then take your leave to enjoy Sinestro's concert before setting off on your journey around the peninsula."
"H- how?" Lily and Vexx both stammered.
"Whatever you decide, training begins upon your return to the ship," I said to Hogaz before turning to the still wide-mouthed Lily. "And after the concert, you'll be going to Chor to open a brothel.
"Now, let's go." I turned, spawning a small globule of purple energy above us all, plucking us from the ground simultaneously. "We have an appointment with Gloom."