Once Morpheus managed to establish basic communication with Halvar, a bright idea popped into his head.
So far, the only supernatural thing was him. Halvar didn't know anything like him. However, if he were to stand atop of this world...
The odds of finding a clue behind his current state would be possible through Halvar. At most, he would learn more about the world.
The first step began with getting money and reclaiming Halvar's status. Halvar didn't know much about the rest of the world, however he knew about the North.
Just the North alone could be called a world. Just around 20 years ago did they met civilization of humans across the vast mountain range.
The so called World-Severing mountain range seemed to split the entire continent in two and were it not for boats that went across, who knows how long would people think it was the end of the world.
Not to mention that the North alone almost no one travelled through from one end to the other.
The vastness of such land and enormous mountain ranges in the extreme north and south isolated the North quite a bit.
Such a large unclaimed area gave way for ten thousand conquerors. Apparently, just one small 'unit' of land couldn't be traversed in a few days.
It took 7 days with minimal rest and one of the best steeds. If Morpheus had to calculate from the top of his head.
It would be around 800-1200 kilometers if horses were used as a measurement, which kind of blew his mind when he thought about it.
To this day. Not all the land had been claimed in the North and still there are hundreds of those "units".
Morpheus was apparently located on a pretty undeveloped cell. Not due to poor location, but just pure luck.
Being almost a unit away from the Sea of Life made everything a very rich land for farming.
Nobody had taken ownership of the entire coast of the Sea of Life. Only through decades of settling down and exchanging information did people realise that the 'sea' was just a lake.
Lake is so big that it should be worth at least a couple of dozen states and some estimated even hundred or more.
While Halvar knew something about the South. His knowledge couldn't extend past the surroundings of the south of the Sea of Life.
Anything further than that would be filled with hearsay. Halvar himself had been the 4th son of the Sherstover tribe.
The people didn't interact much with the outside world. The fertile land was plenty.
With the never-ending fauna. Need for skin, meat and other such things were always supplied locally and at most traded with the neighbouring tribes.
Halvar Sherstover had been born as a bright mind. Quite an underappreciated gift in this age, not to mention that his 3 brothers had already entered adulthood.
Due to such circumstances. Halvar never expected to lead the Sherstover people and was quite content with alchemy.
Legends say that the South mastered alchemy to such a level that making gigantic explosions was possible.
The power to launch objects at a tremendous speed scared any thoughts the Northen tribes had about conquering the South.
If they couldn't fully claim the North, how would they dare to invade someone with such mysterious power.
Through alchemy and his research. Halvar travelled a lot across friendly tribes to learn any kind of possible alchemy from them.
Thanks to his travels, he learned to be self sufficient when he ran out of supplies one day and was still 2 days away from the nearest settlement.
After which he learned a lot from hunters as well. Sherstover tribe neighboured 7 other tribes with 6 of them being neutral or friendly thanks to the isolative nature of the tribe.
Nonetheless, there would be enemies even if you do nothing. The Furun tribe, which stood to the east of Sherstover tribe, demanded tax.
Such tax came because they believed that the river flowing into the Sea of Life called the Rial river belonged to them and taking from the river meant stealing their resources.
With the lack of tribes behind the Furun tribe. They were closest to the 'headwater' they claimed originated somewhere from inside their territory.
No one could deny or prove such a thing, because no one cared. A generation ago, such threats were just that.
Threats.
That changed when the new young tribe leader took over the tribe. He renamed the tribe to the Tribe of Life and had one goal in mind.
Athánatos did not take the surname of his tribe.
For he thought it wasn't worthy. Once he obtained the entire Sea of Life, would he rename his territory and create an immortal legacy behind!
Only then would the ground beneath him be worthy of sharing part of his name.
To unify the tribes around the Sea of Life! Anyone that dared to oppose in his own tribe vanished.
Tribes that denounced his rule were going against the will of the Sea of Life! Whoever went against him would be met with fierce retaliation.
And with the Sherstover tribe ignoring their 'tax' for a long time, the young Athánatos thought they were the perfect scapegoat.
With their territory lacking iron deposits and no army. The Life tribe invaded without any prior notice and it was pure slaughter.
They slew hundreds on the very first day on the periphery of the two tribes, and the lucky survivors managed to inform the tribe head too late.
In just 5 days, the entire tribe had been ransacked. With just the Sherstover town being left for last.
Athánatos with an army of hundreds gave the people an ultimatum. Either they slaughter the entire remaining tribe or the people must kill the tribe leader and their entire family.
One hour! That was the time he gave them as his army chanted a war song. Except some people, most wished to fight to death.
But the Father of Halvar knew that it would not matter. Their own people didn't have more than 10 iron spears and most of their weapons were axes for chopping wood.
On the other hand. The entire enemy army had leather shields, an archer division, and long iron spears of high quality.
So, he ordered his 3 sons to take away their mother and sister to go and hide in neighbouring tribes.
Then, Mennesker Sherstover stood tall on the 3 meter wall as he pierced his heart. His body falling over the wall for the enemy to see.
The gate began to widen and the Life army cheered. In a swift swoop, they entered and ransacked the town of anything valuable.
Athánatos kept his word and spared the people. Their lives weren't worth more than his words, after all.
His conquest didn't end there. Through the allure of endless glory and charisma, his army snowballed into thousands in just a month.
At that time, did Halvar know what happened. He couldn't do anything at all against the ever-growing army that viewed themselves as the saviours of the Sea of Life.
Their motto laid in one logic. The surrounding tribes were leeches, and they were the saviours! They deserved to coexist with the Sea of Life and treat it as it should be.
In a month, Athánatos unified 3 tribes, including the Sherstover tribe. Though he didn't massacre the other two tribes and just gave them an ultimatum.
If they dared to resist. Their fate would be like the Sherstover tribe. Such warlord wouldn't frighten Morpheus if it weren't for one thing.
Athánatos wasn't reckless! He saw that in order to wage war; he needs to have a stable territory supplying food and weapons.
So, with the access to the Sea of Life. He created an entirely new concept that was never before explored.
The Sea of Life was the mother of all life! She created the Northern People and through her blessing were they able to live off her grace.
Anyone who polluted Sea of Life sinned against their creator. At first the thought spread slowly, but when a few zealots popped up in nearby tribes.
The popularity exploded. No one ever stopped to think about their creator and the one behind the birth of the world.
A visionary! They called him the chosen one that descended upon the world to cleanse the blind people and show them the path.
3 months since Halvar lost his family, did he meet Morpheus. Right now, they were around 8 tribes away from Athánatos and the tribe of Life.
But when he consolidated his vision and gathered enough talents. Who knew how far he could go...
In Morpheus' world, such men never got to keep their Empire's after death. But when alive? They could take the world on.
Now the question remained. What to do? Although Halvar didn't have a deep bond with his family, no one would be content with serving the one who massacred his family.
Including his 3 brothers who sacrificed themselves for their mother and sister during their escape.
The latter two went missing, too. In such circumstances, Halvar would never kneel for Athánatos and his vision.
Not to mention, he met Morpheus.
A wild card that was about to make waves much higher than Athánatos would ever be able.
After all, one is a visionary ahead of his times. And one was the inhabitant of the future!