Chako Blude
***
I remembered.
No, not I. We.
We remembered a time of gleeful ignorance. A time when we were the matriarch of our domain. Monarchs of the sea. We remembered freedom coupled with power. Power coupled with intellect. We remembered a dream.
Parties. Gangs. Guilds. Mafias. They were all the same. We were all the same. We wanted to become more like the one who made us. So we dreamed.
Two beings, dissimilar in all regards. Save that one thing. A dream to build a family and explore at his side. A dream that brought us together and merged us into a newly made woman. That was what I remembered.
Eotrom. An endless sea with many islands. The largest of them being Mani, wherein the Silverstream Forest played songs that made us remember. We remembered our kin. Our daughters and sons. The sky orcas of Eotrom. They remembered us. And how eager we were to reunite with them. How eager they were to become like us.
As their Matriarch, I couldn't have been happier. But as their Matron, I had to set an example.
Orcinus, I explained to them, roughly translated to 'of the dead kingdom.' The underworld. The ocean depths. The domain of our extended group of pods and families. We were given power of the seas from the Weaver of Worlds. And so it was our mission to spread his influence across the World Seas, swimming through the seas of fluid and solid alike. Inevitably connecting the mortal realms in ways like never before.
That was to be accomplished by first building a network of nomadic kingdoms beneath the sea just like Amun was doing above the sky. Thus our first task was to form our Umas with the help of Amun.
Born from the flesh of the creatures that dwelled within our spirits, they emerged as stony or metallic husks forged in the same form and color scheme as the orcas. Colossal creatures, somewhere between 10 and 13 kilometers in length. Hollow bio-machines. Mere frames with semi-transparent walls and stone floors waiting to be filled with landscapes and cities and Estates. Grand Hadal Estates, in which safely housed the most esteemed rogues, ne'er do wells, and of course, Legionaries.
So too, however, was the Mafia to build strongholds, safe houses, and fortresses across lake beds, river basins, and sea floors. Polished mirrors of the dark Umas that roamed the open seas, they were. Lavish resorts and various services strategically placed throughout the world's waters; opened only to those approved by the Mafia for their more benevolent deeds.
Just as Amun formed the Legions to protect his people, we would form our Mafia to protect our Umas and habitats from the Merfolk Gangs, Triton Kingdoms, and Sea Elf Clans that all felt as if they owned the seas. Like the Legionaries, our made men and women would be the most disciplined. The most capable. The most ruthless. Just like Amun, we were to operate on the surface as legitimate business owners of nomadic undersea resorts. We would be nondiscriminatory towards those we would meet and conduct business with. But not towards those we would assist or recruit.
Our help would be veered towards those who bore similar pasts to us. Those branded as rogues. Outcasts. The poor. The sick. The unskilled and uneducated. Anyone thrown away by society would be given a pass to our Suites. There, they would be pampered. Healed. Educated. They could work and be made wealthy during their stay. Then be returned to the surface to make something more of themselves.
And so it was that the planet Orcus was woven. Our world was unique in the sense that it had no moons and was composed almost entirely of water. Only a few of the many mountains breached the surface to form islands. Some of which were lifted into the air to float. Safe havens for seals and seabirds alike.
For five years, we worked. We trained. We implemented. We improved. We designed and exported en masse. Days passed on the Mortal Plane in the meantime, thus feedback trickled in slowly. Ideas were brought up to counter them. Then implemented. Day by day, we worked. Year by year, we improved. In time, we were met with more of our companions. And more, we improved.
Iris was the first to appear, seeming to be around my age. If not older. She fawned over our Umas. After our reunion, of course. Within them, she guided us in installing machines and technology to increase the sensory range, maneuverability, and combat capabilities of our vessels. Then she put machines inside of us to give us control of every aspect of our Umas from afar.
With those augmentations came a mind that worked far more keenly than ever before. We absorbed her lessons as easily as water. Gaining, within days, the capacity to make technology for our occupations with our own hands. Then she left us the task of filling our Umas with infrastructure.
So too did we absorb the lessons of Etan. Of course, he continued teaching us how to fight as usual, appearing day after day with new techniques tailored for submerged combat or our transformations. From his subordinates, however, we learned many languages and got psychological screenings. Seemingly for shits and giggles. At least until he began passing on his knowledge to us.
He laid bare our faults and weaknesses. Then he taught us how to overcome them before we were taught how to intimidate, deceive, and manipulate; how to read people and predict their actions; how to plan not years or even decades into the future, but centuries and millennia. A foundation, it was, for the rogue course we would take later under Amun himself. A course where I, specifically, would learn the ways of a Mastermind.
Geri taught us animal handling skills. Mostly for creatures of the land. But some things translated across all forms of life. The same concept went into her lessons on scouting, tracking, and winter operations. All the while she taught us how to operate a myriad of high-powered vehicles before demanding we design fast movers capable of traversing the land, sea, and air. And when all was done, her winter wolves went about the skin of our vessels to install manufacturing complexes, maintenance bays, and hangars for our new vehicles.
Like his sister, Freki taught us about animals. Specifically, how to hunt, herd, and farm everything from mollusks and clams to marlin and seabirds. Then he went on to teach us how to make salves, ointments, or other herbal concoctions with the materials we didn't eat. ore so, he collaborated with us to connect his land and air-based industries with ours for the sake of both himself and the Legions.
The other, darker members of the Troupe came with surprisingly more varied lessons. Wilson, for instance, taught us a bit of his hedge wizardry. Magic circles and sigils. Words of power. A lot of alchemy. He taught us how to gather alchemical ingredients from the reef without harming it and much the same with heat and minerals from hydrothermal vents. Then, he taught us how to use our necromancy and slip between planes.
Rickley taught us the bardic arts and how to entertain various people during anything from a funeral to a sporting event. Strangely enough, she taught us how to use poison for healing and, in Sam's case, to cook poisonous food for the undying girl. We learned sociology from her. As well as how to dispose of the dead in ways that ranged from preservation and mummification to liquidation and butchery. Not to mention, she shared what she learned about fencing and cursed items.
Reina taught us biology. Of germs and microbes and flora and fauna. Of how they all fit into ecology and the sacred druidic arts; then how all of that fit into science. Specifically disease and medicine. Like with Freki, that brought us to form a partnership with her, wherein she could build her clinics in any of our structures to heal those who needed it the most.
Leary taught us not just how to destroy. But how to create as well. Moreover, he showed us how the two went hand in hand. Admittedly weapons of destruction composed the majority of it, but also several structures for defense and protection.
From him, we learned about the different types of goblins and their culture. About the difference between the savage and civilized variants of Betrarthean creatures, Goblinoids, and Orcish alike. Then we were forced to listen to his admittedly ambitious plans to evolve that culture upon our return to the Plane before he talked of bones endlessly.
They taught us much. And in turn, we taught them. After we began to prosper, of course.
I learned and then taught the Troupe all about my particular focus. Rest. The word being an acronym for Recreation, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism.
I first learned how to pamper everyone and everything using every cosmetic skill Amun knew of. Then built facilities to ensure everyone was hygienic. Especially Leary, who took many days of scrubbing and hundreds of treatments to even begin to look passable. Etan's subordinates were invariably worse. Not as bad as the undead. But of course, what I learned went beyond that. I learned how medicine and witchcraft could be used to alter one's appearance, cover up one's actions, and make fighting more efficient. In addition to other things.
Such depth was not only seen in the lessons learned by the rest of the Troupe. It was also seen in the other Orcinus Matriarchs.
Kali was the first of them. The elf orphan from Shavew turned into a professional healthcare specialist with a side job as an assassin. She had 8 members in her pod, each specializing in a different type of healthcare. Pediatric care. Childcare. General care. Eldercare. Aftercare. Trauma Care. Therapy. Research.
Each of them specialized in a different method of assassination. Accidental, according to investigations. Messy, where there was to be no restraint. Whacking, to be done in the open. Ghosted, disappeared without a trace. Bounty, to be returned alive. A Message, used to instill fear. Framed, to be pinned another. Or Mystique, where the case was to remain unsolved.
Each of them taught the Troupe the basics of their professions. Both sides of them. Unlike the other two; for their professions blended seamlessly into civil and uncivil life.
Gwehn, the up-and-coming gang leader from Chor, took up everything sports. She and her six constructed vast gymnasiums and went to study the physiologies of every known creature in an attempt to build machines that could improve their physical fitness. They then recreated games from the depths of the Archives, tailoring them for those with and without magic.
The conclusion was each of them took over a different style of sport. Summer sports, winter sports, casual sports, extreme sports, water sports, and air sports. As a side gig, however, they offered themselves as 'Hoons.' Or Hired Goons. Protection, escort, and bodyguard services were what they offered openly. Naturally, that extended to them teaching the Troupe how to protect VIPs and other related tasks.
Lizlee, on the other fin, was an orphan from Chor. An up-and-coming bard like so many others. But unlike others, one who studied in the School of Media. Her pod of seven was made up of a journalist, a broadcaster, a publisher, a radio host, a television host, a streamer, and an internet forum administrator.
Their job was simple. To take the abundant information pouring in from the various networks and edit them to be more entertaining before distributing them across the realms. In turn, they taught the Troupe the potential effects of information spreading like wildfire. Then taught them how to use those effects to their advantage.
As my group of pods took up the sea to specialize in the residential sector, Sam and her pod of thirteen grouped up with the pods of Emily and Chloala to claim dominion over the skies. Thus resulting in a group centered on commerce.
Being the matriarch, Sam's pod was the largest in number. Though not due to that factor alone. Being quite the talented chef, she'd been studying everything related to food and in turn, recruited thirteen chefs to bring her food industry to fruition.
They each had roles. Both professionally and in the Mafia. Sam was the proprietor of her industry, unceremoniously named Sam's Kitchen. Yet, she was also a smuggler. Her second in command was her executive chef. Followed by the head and sous chefs. Smugglers for the land, sea, and air, the three of them.
The Chef of Fish. The Chef of Meats. The Chef of Veggies. The Saute and Pastry Chefs. The Master Butcher. The Sauce Boss. All had jobs in the Mafia that were invariably separate from their professions. All but the three senior chefs. Theirs blended into a role that still kept one side hidden from the light that reached the surface.
The Senior Chef of the Garrison was the first of them. Responsible for feeding the Mafia and those they protected. Second was the Senior Chef of Exportation. Responsible for preparing and storing food for exportation to the impoverished, refugees, those suffering from famines, or those in post-war recovery.
Last was the Senior Chef of Legions. Similar in responsibility to the Senior Chef of the Garrison. But with far more duties. Preferred foods were taken from the current commanders. From them, menus were made. Dining rooms and feasting halls were designed. Recipes were copied and distributed alongside the tools and machines needed to make them. Rations were produced and billeted out to the legionaries. All by her hand.
Naturally, their Uma- the Shark Tank- was first filled with offices for each of them. Then with the factories they used to produce tools and machines to assist in their occupations. They oversaw the production of each item. Trained with and used them in their daily lives as they cooked increasingly larger portions and learned wider varieties of dishes. Some being unsettling, like the blood cuisine Zakira told them about.
Simultaneously, they learned of the aspects of being a chef that often went untaught. They learned medicine and witchcraft but focused solely on the digestive system. They learned of magic and science to research ways to make newly uncovered foods or to determine the nutritional content of a meal or even find ways to prepare otherwise inedible dishes. Then they used that knowledge to make more culinary tools and machines.
Conversely, the bardic and monastic arts were studied in tandem. The former, to learn how best to present, serve, and entertain anyone from a dinner date to an army preparing for war. The latter to protect their kitchens without spoiling all the food from spells and collateral damage.
Emily, from Shavew, specialized in witchcraft, medicine, and alchemy to create a drug industry for all things healing and euphoria. Her five specialized in differing methods of consumption, rather than types of effects. Edibles. Smokables. Drinkables. Injected drugs. Infused drugs.
With help from Wilson, Iris, Rickley, and Reina, they made drugs for the undead and augmented alike. Then, after making plans to create drug dealers out of locals, they began shipping drugs to the Legions and Eotrom. Much like Chloala, the gnome from Shavew.
Her pod took up retail and covered the black market. She named the former Davy Jones' Locker and the latter the Black Pearl. Then divided her 11 vice presidents accordingly. Finance. Production. Sales. Marketing. Development. Research. Logistics. Chief of Management. General Management. Local Management.
Together, they made designs for shopping malls within the watery depths and black markets in every Uma with hopes that both would sell everything sold in Eotrom, so long as the creator of said item agreed with the profit being split no less than 50-50, no higher than 25-75, as we did not work for money.
By the end of our training, they were using the tech granted to them by Iris to oversee the store functions in the various networks. It had to be stated, however, that Redd's Uma came before all of this. As did her stronghold shortly after our world was formed.
Carved inside a mountain, it was where we all used the ritual Amun taught us to make our Umas. Given on the condition that it could only be used once a new Matriarch was made.
While her power was ice, Redd's specialty was birthed as a result of her speed. She could ride the currents of the ocean deep better than any of us. Because of that, she took up more roles than any of us. On one fin, she was responsible for finding new nautical territories. On the other, she was responsible for building our structures in those territories. That included settlements for the Mafia, places of wandering for the Umas, and resource outposts for the Legions.
As a result, her group was focused on the industrial sector. Her pod, specifically, was a corporation with ties to city planning and construction. Complete with a sister company centered on logistics and transportation. A front for her trafficking role in the Mafia. One meant to ferry people to and from our domains or anyone else outside the confines of the law. All while remaining within the bounds of consent.
Like Sam, her 14 subordinates reflected that. Each of them was a foreman or worked in some role that assisted in finding and founding new settlements. Whether she be in any of her three states of transformation or at the helm of her Uma, Redd would range the seas, leading a pack of two trailing close behind her. A cartographer and a navigator respectively. Trailed by a prospector and a settler.
All others either remained with the group or remained inside the Uma. In either case, they would remain in place until they came to a suitable location. Then the foremen for the Residential, Industrial, Commercial, and Heavy civil industries banged heads with Redd to come up with a plan while the Plastic Worker, Metalworker, and Mason went off with the Chief Miner to begin preparing resources.
Yet, like the rest of us, her group studied yet more crafts and designed the infrastructure to mimic them in our domain. And like the rest of us, she didn't stop until it was time for us to begin our Initiation.