Amun Za'Darmondiel-Nox.
30th of Sextrand, 1492.
Shujen Bay Shore, Shujen Kingdom, Southern Bodhi Peninsula.
1:57 Pm.
***
While Zed Legion toiled outside to prepare for the Legions' return from the Darkroom, I took the Troupe's clones and the Legionaries' Doppelgangers to Eotrom to establish what they wanted in terms of blessings and boons, and more, to finish upgrading their undead.
Speaking of, the Doppelganger spell was still by biggest blessing from my ancestors. Using its innate abilities strengthened over time, I could pass along all the information regarding divine materials, technology, blessing, and boons with just a glance. In turn, the Legionaries' Doppelgangers could pass along the information to the originals by slipping back to their shadows and returning here both weeks and seconds later due to the wild effects of relativity.
Moreover, my divine mana allowed me to bless them without effecting their counterparts, who were still toiling in the Darkroom. And so, we got to work without delay, starting with the undead.
As per my orders, each Legionary had at least two undead in need of upgrades: one killed by their magic if applicable and another killed by their doppelganger and thus made able to be raised as shadows. On top of that, the recent changes to Simion required the recall of everyone's lore skulls, being tended to by Iris, Reina, and Selph.
Of course, the lesser undead would go first.
In the time since, many of them had taken enough lives to be granted the mental capacity of a child and thus returned to Shade Palace to become Undead Knights. Though only a few were promoted past that to Undead Senior Knights, much less Undying 'Night' Captains; or as I called them, Uncs.
Therein was the first step - imbuing the countless skeletons and zombies with enough necrotic energy to raise their mental capacity to that of an intelligent adult and return them to my Under, where they would undergo advanced combat training and be educated in all appropriate skills from the skeletal master artisans, the Bob's.
Through the efforts of Wilson, they were given necrotic upgrades in their putrid flesh and hardened bones, granting them an evolution that coincided with the magic they were slain with. Souls, supercharged with lightning; mummies of paper and crystal; metallic skeletons; draugr with molten flesh, and more. Horror Knights, all of them. And on to Dread Nobles, once enchantment-riddled adamantine coated their bones and crowns covered their heads, adorned with the colors and insignia of their units.
From me, those Nobles of Dread received powers of electricity and flight imbued into both their bodies and the flesh of their mounts, thus promoting them to Monarchs of Doom. And then the fun began.
After placing Duke's zombie next to Lucia's, I let the floodgates loose and sent eleven streams of divine necrotic energy flowing into the undead, while the doppelgangers' attuned magics poured. Simultaneously, I was letting my electricity flow into Toril and Duke's undead while Lucia split her wing magic between hers and his; and so too did Peter, infusing Duke's wraith with the properties of wind and water.
A facsimile of my essence was assisting Zakira's stone clone funnel moonlight into her death knight while doing the same with Hogaz and his merman. Likewise was true for Opal's clone and the youngest undead in the room; the new vampire spawn, Khaless Noqutyl.
Everyone else, having affinities, powers of their own, or aids from the Troupe, continued pouring every type of energy they had into the beings until, slowly but surely, the undead developed into greater forms.
Some became wreathed in elemental energy that began crackling or sizzling through the flesh the moment they reformed. Others grew legions of barnacles or brambles from their flesh and bone. But no matter the form, their handlers pulled away once the evolution completed, leaving my energy as the only flow until the sea green energy bathed them in light.
Meanwhile, the same tune was happening to the undead's subordinates. Dozens upon dozens of undead soaked up the energies of those I guided towards them, each absorbing fewer amounts of the energy until those at the end had only an ember to receive; and then I switched tunes.
Cursed, wicked mana flowed from my cursed well into the dozens of undead belonging to those most distinguished Primes, sprouting everything from horns and wings to grow from their heads and backs, accented, in some cases, by barbed tails and eyes of fiery darkness.
Simultaneously, divine twilight blended with the fiber of their beings, spreading draconic or owl-like feathers across their once-leathery wings while the blessed moonlight and glorious twilight turned their horns and eyes silver or gold, cleaning up their flesh and emaciated visages with much-needed color, or the lack thereof.
The energies of the ArcaTech followed, carving arcane circuitry up their arms to their temples, where it burrowed into their minds to neural weaves and machine parts using whatever was available - even the very energy, in one case.
Multiple new connections to VoidNet were registered before a final burst of divine arcana shot from my spirit like an expanding bubble that tore as it passed over the undead, rather than popped, leaving spiritual echoes atop their bodies, glowing with facsimiles of arcane wells.
"With these boons of power, magic, and enchantments of the divine tier, you are granted the title of Umbra Imperial. For those of you who do not belong to the Primes, my classmates, this station is where you will remain. You are dismissed. The rest of you remain here. Meditate. Soak in my ki and be trained in the way towards Death's Door. Become the Noctis Sages of your Legions and Empires."
It may have seemed like overkill. They may seem to absurdly powerful, but they would remain at this level until I learned how to craft runes. Which, if my intel was correct, wouldn't be for at least a century, when the voyage to Betrarth begins. And it would take even longer for their undying shadows to reach that level.
To an extent, that also applied to the Legionaries themselves. Those currently in the Darkroom would graduate as the highest ranking officers in the organization. Their subordinates would number in the millions, at least. Thus, their magic had to reach billions. They had to become the deities of my pantheon. Especially if our enemies were elven deities.
However, not all things would be so simple.
The first problem was, I didn't have the divine mana to turn them into deities. I could make them powerful champions or, at most, demigods, but not the eternal deities I aimed for.
The second problem was their arcane wells. Though some had their wells expanded before, that hadn't happened recently, and they hadn't grown by much. Despite being granted arcana, their wells were the same size as before.
Lastly, the Divine Sea was both too general and too specific. On one hand, it only allowed me to grant mana to my faithful and arcana to my clergy, clerics, paladins, and warlocks, besides the divine mana that powered their abilities - the highly conditional and personalized power that flowed from my spirit to my followers.
They were problems most severe. But... well, I'm the Elven Devil. Devils loved loopholes.
The first and most obvious loophole was the Void Devil's Tongue, paired with curses intoned in Deep Abyssal. Such things could even transcend even time and space, becoming irreversible, even for me. But even that would not complete the equation. Neither would the second loophole, as it were.
My station as the God of Mana gave me some control over spiritual bodies and the organs within them. While weak now, able to impose evolutions and little else, the prowess would strengthen further down the path. However, all I needed for now was the ability to impose a spiritual evolution, much like the creatures of my pantheon, whilst in my presence.
Cursing the spirit in Deep Abyssal gave the power a proper foundation, for the spirit was made for change to begin with. When paired with the soul ties that made my Legionaries my warlocks, it granted the curse an alternative divine energy source to siphon from - my divine tree - and guidance - developmental stages layered atop the tasks and perks of their warlock paths.
In melding with their warlock paths and perks, the curse's effects on their bodies were amplified. But the thing that would grant them the levels of personalization and fine tuning I imagine for them would come from the most basic thing a god could give: blessings.
Above all, the subordinate legionaries would 'inherit' the abilities of their Primes, ranging from immunities and passives to spellcraft and eldritch perks that grew with each step down their paths. Moreover, they would all be augmented by whatever branch of technology they affiliated with, to varying levels, based on rank. The obligatory Data Shards and Biogold implants to make the most of the networks, of course, but sometimes augmentations skeletal or muscular systems too.
Aside from that, every Prime would receive a unique type of lair stone. Some were to be imbued with the souls of fighters, others with the ArcaTech's essence or the Troupe's divine energies to become Champion Temples and other fantastic things.
Other blessings had been seeded earlier by the Troupe, watered by their efforts, nourished by their feedback, and were made ready to be harvested now, freeing their worlds for the perfected generation to take root. The branches of technology Iris designed for them and the flora and fauna Reina crafted them; the methods of recreation and agriculture suggested by Blude and Freki. Transportation. Codexes. Potions. Funeral rites. Training.
So it was. The rest would be designed by them. Thus, I told the Primes to prepare before tapping into the Well and truly turning them into the deities of my pantheon.
Surprisingly, more or less everyone had an idea of what boons they wanted by the time we relocated to Ilium. The subordinate Primes collectively wanted what their Imperators had, with a few alterations or exceptions.
Many wished for their existing equipment, their unique power armor and iconic weapons, to be upgraded and mass produced by the ArcaTech and or the Tech Goddess, to be inherited by their legionaries. Others wished the same for their familiars, vehicles, or augmentations. But there were a few notable exceptions.
Beyond that, nearly every non-human became paragons. Including Duke, Curious Twig, Veil of Shadows, all four goliaths, and every dwarf in the Legion.
Duke, and, curiously, the Felipians, Curious Twig and Veil of Shadows, gained transformation abilities by evolving into paragons; a giant harpy eagle in the formers case, and big, big cats in the latter's case.
The Goliaths saw their stone-like skin soften into something like a callous-tough hide that oxidized into a wide range of colors, from the shales and purples of drow to human shades to goblin greens and yellows. What used to be chiseled stone-hide made to mimic clothes truly metamorphosed into stone, sometimes in their namesake. Yet it was topped with crystalline growths akin to armor coupled with metallic tattoos.
Zarzok and Phelia both grew wings. Summonable wings of pure infernal energy turned to leather. So too did they gain growths similar to the goliaths. Only sleeker and more like scales and horns.
On the other end of the spectrum, gnomes and halflings saw no changes in their physical appearance. Like Rickley, Ritrix and the other halflings saw their innate ability to charm grow into a natural low-level psionic ability.
On the contrary, gnomes saw their innate illusory abilities enhance and merge with their natural proclivity for the crafts, creating something resembling an innate scanner, hologram projector, and augmented reality terminals to aid them in their work.
High and Wild Elves were much the same. For both of them, they grew in strength, putting them on par with at least a strong half-elf, if not the average human; on top of an increased constitution. Unlike Drow Paragons.
Being now in my domain, Night Elves saw many boons. The most notable was the variation of color in their eyes and, more importantly, the negation of their photo-allergenic mutation. Their hair remained silver, yet grew more voluminous.
As the physically strongest elven subspecies, their height and strength grew to match that of humans. The selective breeding that turned drow males into weaker, more meek versions of themselves was all but reversed, making many drow females more thrilled than ever for the future.
What made all of them ecstatic, however, was the evolution of their innate abilities. Levitation turned to flight, and they could now manipulate darkness, besides seeing through magical darkness.
Of course, Elsgril Silverforge led the charge for the dwarven masses with his three blessings at the ready. He demanded to become not just become a Paragon but an augmented paragon on top of having a divine forge - the Silverforge, with his last blessing being the Integration ability of his Imperator.
Coincidentally, that opened up a can of worms with the other high-ranking dwarves demanding the same two boons in one on top of various other things. Like Els, Forgruna became an augmented dwarven paragon with a divine workshop; the Drakehorne.
Being the devil that I am, I allowed the loophole. Such things were to be rewarded for those with the guts and guile to claim them, after all.
Thordrohilda did the same, but with an item. She claimed the first blade made in the Silverforge in the name of their dwarven gods; then had the ArcaTech give a final blessed upgrade to her Diamondblade. to be copied with lesser versions for her subordinates.
In true dwarven fashion, Darekhil did the same, but in reverse. Using my gravitational spell, God Craft, I compressed and carved a literal mountain of igneous rock, crystal, and metal into a suit of armor and powered it with the ArcaTech's blessing. Then, it was taken to the Drakehorne to be blessed by the dwarven deities to behave like its namesake. Not a weapon, I learned. A fish. Thus, the Mail of the Mountainpike allowed its wearer to flow through both thick battle and solid mountains like a fish through a swift river.
There was one dwarven outlier, however. The Augmented Dwarven Paragon, Bazzric Baal.
Unlike the others, Bazz was in the 1st Legion and had an idea born of someone else. His patron. The Marulean God of War. Again, he told me his Sutark was a fan of my work and, as a fellow Marulean God, wished for me to enhance his destructive power via an eldritch tool, with conditions. The same thing he wanted, coincidentally.
For that, I needed a demonstration.
I took the opportunity to look over their changes while he prepared them. Quite interestingly, the only changes to the physical appearance of dwarven and also gray dwarven paragons came from the noticeably bushier and curlier beard paired with ram-like horns; things the former said placed them closer to their deities.
That aside, all dwarven paragons gained an increased ability to sense and manipulate stone and metal, almost to the point of being able to chisel, sculpt, and forge with their bare hands. On top of that, their constitutions increased to the point of being able to ingest poisons and inhale toxins, the latter due mostly to their beards acting as industrial air filters. Above all, they gained resistances to both heat and electricity. The latter even accumulated in their beards.
Being augmented in tandem with their development into paragons, they had the same suite of implants everyone else received, besides arms seemingly made from solid metal, yet riddled with seamless openings for the many tools and small manipulators housed within, plus a few odds and ends.
Bazzric Baal was the exception once again. His mind was his own. Thus, he became a paragon only, for his body belonged to the God of War. His soul, then, became mine when he joined the Legions. Now, I was blessing his spirit. And so, like Sutark did for his body, I had to forge tools and cement them to his spirit and soul.
His weapons were cruelly large blades. Almost like fat scimitars connected to the bone of his wrist via burning chains. They didn't even seem sharp. Only a wedge shape that seemed more suitable for crushing than severing.
Contrary to popular opinion, it wasn't the chains themselves that burned but obscure markings etched into the metal from end to end. They produced what I discerned to be something close to alchemist's fire if it were from the elemental plane of fire rather than a magichemical reaction. Still, though, it oozed from the inscriptions as liquid fire, which opened up a few possibilities.
"Hmm." I tossed my head. 'Two things, huh? Let's see...'
The item to be tied to his soul was a simple task, at least. The Nuclear Carapace was basically a power exoskeleton with an adamantine breastplate attached, infused with a lot of my electromagnetic mana, a small bit of Volterum, and a smaller bit of my nuclear mana; although it looked nice.
It could absorb tremendous damage, transform it into energy, and radiate it from Bazz's body like a hellish star. And like his blades, he can never remove it. Of course, the same would be true for his final blessing. But there were so many possibilities, and I wanted to give him an ability, not just an item, and something that would synergize with his existing abilities like the Carapace.
To that end... "Those are runes, are they not?"
"Dwarven Sigils." He corrected. "Relics of the Bonju Tribes."
"Interesting." I nodded. "I'm aiming to do something like it. Remember that scrap of heap you used to get to Rook Island? I plan on giving you an ability that will power such creations. I just need a key."
"It don't have to be these." He said, pulling the blades behind his back to have them disappear in comical fashion. "He just wants my ability to destroy to be somethin' of yers."
"Oh, these will destroy." I grinned, designing not quite gauntlets, more like exoskeletal gloves with detachable fingers, each infused with a piece of his spirit and the ArcaTech's essence to create ten Eldritch Engines.
An excited gleam passed through Bazz's eye once the information passed to him, and he was on his way with all the others. But above all the fantastic boons and exotic blessings I gave, there was one person who stood out above them all.
He did like Toril and the Valkyries, who chose one of their blessings to be the same set of armor and gear bequeathed them. However, he took it far beyond that, and did so before I even passed on the information to his Doppelganger. He knew exactly what he wanted to become.
In his quest for might and glory, Samson stumbled into the fictional and non-fictional entries for super-soldiers hidden in the deepest archives of the net. Ever since, I was sure it had been nothing more than a pipe dream festering in his mind.
Once he learned of Iris' ability and later, Reina's craft, however, Samson saw a means to make his dream a reality. And so, once they graduated and yet before they were paraded to Eotrom, he was the first to approach me, Iris, and Reina.
To achieve his dream, Samson and his many subordinates sought to become human paragons. They were the only ones willing to do so, as it made a rather… uncouth visage.
A human paragon was as large as a Silverback, with a mouth that looked the part; though they were still omnivores. They had somewhat of a mane around the neck, yet despite their bestial visage, were smarter and had a higher control over their emotions and base instincts than humans. The larger arms and legs gave them great jumping ability and grip strength, allowing them to live arboreally and run on their knuckles or upright at great speed.
Like many, however, this was not permissible for Samson and his lads, as he called them. Thus, he went to Iris and Reina to refine and augment his body. Two operations in one. A loophole I proudly let him exploit like the devil I was.
And so, their flesh was reworked in the Life Center, removing from them their mane of fur, pronounced jaw, and overtly ape-like stature while retaining everything else in more or less in a more… superhuman form as before, being taller, broader, and more robust both inside and out.
With Iris' touch, arcanites infused the Samson's Aluminum and Rain affinities in the skeletal systems of his lads; both individually and fused. And with that, they became augmented super soldiers.
And so it was that their third blessing came from ArcaTech as an upgrade to the power armor and war machines Samson himself designed. Though they were upgraded using the same divine nanites used in their skeletons, no such nanites remained in either their bodies or their armor.
It was their augmentations that gave them control of each molecule of mithral, adamantine, and other materials infused with Samson's Aluminum Rain, allowing the armor to take on the form of a wreath crown and drizzle a sleek suit of armor over their bodies in milliseconds. Thus giving birth to the Rain Men.
With their boons distributed and complete, I moved on to the next order of business. "Now then, you'll all be getting paid early- today. Second." I waved to bring in their undead. "One Noctis Sage for each Legion and an Umbra Emperor for each Corps. And lastly, congratulations.
"Now go on." I shooed, shepherding them away from Ilium and out into the Mortal Plane, where my a part of my conscience was sitting in my Metaphysical Form with the Zed Legion, waiting to watch the Legions descend on the Mortal Plane.