Evolve

by Derek Belfield

  Slate laughed. This entire game was going to be too much. "Not likely." He said simply. "If I were members of the Circle, I wouldn't place myself within killing distance of the new leaders." He continued, meeting the eyes of every individual in the room. "You're all here because your leaders thought you were disposable. I wouldn't be surprised if the people outside thought you truly represented them, but I am not so easily fooled." The people around him began to shift uncomfortably in their seats.

  "Personally, I don't care what you call yourselves." Slate continued, harshly. "I'm here for one reason, and one reason only. To deliver the terms of our new ownership of Bastion. We are the Scourge, our only mission is to conquer the world for the Lord of Light." He looked around the room, noting faces that had recognized the name of the deity.

  "In pursuit of that goal, I'm offering the entire city a choice. Join the Scourge as a Faithful, Guardian, or as one of the Scourge. Or die. We will not enslave you, and we will not play games with your souls." Some in the room looked hopeful at the last statement.

  "However, we are ultimately here to fight a war, and I'm not interested in leaving individuals with a knife at my back. You can tell your leaders that I will set up an advisory body in my new government. It will be staffed by twelv—ten representatives chosen from among the people, a Governor, and a representative of the Lord of Light that has yet to be chosen. You have a week to decide who among you is going to represent the living. Anyone trying to flee the city will be hunted down and slain."

  The group's faces had turned a paler shade than when they arrived. This could not have been the result they expected from this meeting. Slate watched them, satisfied that his message had come across exactly as intended. He stood up, and his mate copied the motion. He left them with one last thing.

  "My Lady consort and I will be in the stronghold while we plan our next course of action. I look forward to seeing some of you in the coming weeks." Everyone in the room felt a chill in their gut as they realized the implications of not seeing him in the coming weeks. He strode from the room with his Lady Consort in tow. The streets outside were quiet when they had left. Either the crowd had grown bored, or the Guardians had taken the opportunity to disperse them.

  Slate mused as they made their way back to the stronghold located in the inner city. Shale left him to his thoughts, knowing that his devious mind was spinning the plots they would all need to survive. He needed time that he didn't have. They would finish consuming the bodies and then head out during the night to see if they could scout out the situation at Lighthaven. Once they had a better idea of what was going on, they could decide what they were going to do about Bastion.

  As it stood, they couldn't convert any of the citizens right now. Their way of doing that was back in Lighthaven and Slate was unwilling to use the city token at this moment before knowing if he needed to abandon or keep Bastion for the Scourge. He hated being in the dark. He vowed that as soon as he was able to establish himself somewhere, he was going to develop an intelligence organization. He couldn't be everywhere at once, and if he wanted to conquer the world, he would need information.

  Chapter 26: The Heritor Ascends

  It took them much of the day to finish the bodies in the citadel. They had netted a total of 675 biomass each. It was a princely sum, but Slate knew that it would be spent quickly. He was reticent about using the biomass right now because he wasn't sure what he would need with the next evolution. He wasn't even sure when Lucidus would allow them to reach the next evolution. If he was a betting man, it would only be after a solution for Lighthaven was found and the fate of Bastion was resolved.

  The room wasn't exactly clean, but it was a magnitude better than the way they had found. Acid made an effective all-purpose cleaner. Both of the monsters had grown tired of eating long before they had finished. Now that they didn't even need to eat for sustenance, the task became rote and boring.

  Thank the living light. Shale muttered. We're finally done.

  Slate silently agreed. Now we need to figure out what's going on back at Lighthaven. He said.

  Shale stretched her body sinuously. I was growing bored. She said. Let's kill things.

  Slate laughed at her response. While she was okay with leaving the citadel to up her body count, Slate was concerned that their lack of presence within the city would cause the Circle to grow emboldened. There weren't that many guardians in the city. In fact, there were far more citizens of Bastion than there were of his warriors. All it would take is a group of them to realize it, and his hold on the city would disappear like the smoke and mirrors it relied on.

  His position was untenable. He couldn't withdraw his forces to go help Lighthaven, and he didn't have the patience to wait for word from the village compound. It had been almost a full day since the attack, and he hadn't received any more system messages. He hoped that in this particular instance, no news was good news. He would be able to figure out the situation on the ground tonight and hopefully make a better decision.

  Slate and Shale activated their new abilities and turned themselves entirely invisible for the non-magical eye. In the magical spectrum, of course, they shone like miniature bonfires. The only drawback to their mana-forged bodies that Slate could see was the fact that in mana vision, it was easy to spot them from a significant distance. He hoped there would be a mutation that would alleviate that particular weakness of theirs.

  As they left the citadel, they were surprised by Guardian horns sounding in the distance. Slate looked at Shale with confusion. Are we under attack? He asked. Shale shrugged back. If so, let's get it over with. She said, simply. They sprinted towards the small wall that separated the inner city with the citadel and its small collection of buildings from the rest of the town. With a running leap, they launched themselves to the top of the wall to get a better look at the commotion.

  What they saw puzzled them more rather than less. A group of elves were running down the main avenue towards the citadel from the northern gate. Slate could see that in addition to them, there was an escort of elves that paced alongside them. Every time a curious citizen entered the street, one of the guards would roughly shove them aside and threatening them with their blade while the elves continued down the path.

  Perhaps we should wait at the citadel. This looks important. Shale suggested. Slate nodded numbly at her suggestion. They returned to the front of the fortress and remained on the wide stairway to the entrance. Slate stood tall with his hands clasped behind his back. He was trying to contain the nervous energy he felt, but his tail agitatedly sweeping at his feet, betraying his genuine emotions. Shale, for her part, seemed more collected than he did. While he was worried about the potential political and social ramifications of tonight's actions, she was happy to leave the plotting to him. If they needed to shed blood, she would shed blood. Until then, they just had to be patient. Slate found himself envying her disposition this evening.

  A short while later, thirty-six elves led by Lieutenant Burnheel rushed into the courtyard. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the Guardians sighed and almost collapsed. Startled, the two Scourge leaders moved forward, but Lieutenant Burnheel put up a hand gesturing them to stop. In between heavy breaths, he explained. "My Lord and Lady, Lighthaven has been attacked."

  "We know Lieutenant, please tell us what happened."

  Burnheel drew himself up, emboldened by the tone in the Heritor's voice. "Five-hundred men led by a corpse-like man on a dark horse attacked the compound." He took a breath, a hitch in his voice. "Governor Merus ordered the royal guard to escape with the clutch and this…" gesturing to a woman by her side.

  Slate's face took on a grave expression. He recognized this woman, changed as she was, from Merus's memories. It was his wife Lucelynia. He knew that if she were here, the worst would have happened at Lighthaven. He would only have sent her away if he knew they were all going to die. Shale looked at the woman in curiosity and then shock as she could feel Slate's thoughts and emotions with
in the Scourgemind. A massive wave of grief rose up in both of them. Tears began to fill Shale's eyes as she felt like one of the last ties to her past had been cut off.

  Lucelyania walked forward and held out a blue crystal token shaped like the temple pyramid of Lighthaven. Slate quietly accepted her offering, and the woman returned to her place behind the captain. A system message popped up in his vision, but he dismissed it hurriedly. It wasn't time for city management. He could feel the sense of loss in them all, and he couldn't allow his emotions to be seen on his face.

  Every man and woman in front of him were heroes. They had escaped the ambush at Lighthaven at significant personal risk to deliver the Scourge and the token. Slate knew that because of them, there was a chance that all was not lost. His mind began to sift through the ramifications, and he realized with a little blessing from Lucidus, they might end up in a better position rather than worse.

  He hardened his voice to address the royal guard. "My Guardians." He began. He placed particular emphasis on their title to convey to them that they represented every meaning of the word. "You have saved the Scourge, and the sacrifice that you made will be worth it." Slate immediately saw exhaustion spread across the faces of the royal guard. They had traveled on foot for twenty-five miles in a single day. All they needed to know at that moment was that the journey and the comrades that they had left behind were worth something.

  "Please take your charges into the citadel." Slate said. Shale echoed him, emotion thick in her voice. "They're safe now." She said. "You're safe now." The royal guards trudged into the citadel and began to gently remove eggs from their rucksacks. They placed them in the lowest floor and quietly walked out one after the other. Slate signaled to Winterborn who had been watching the ordeal and jogged over. "Yes, my Lord?" She asked.

  "Lieutenant, find lodging close by for the royal guard. I want them to get some rest tonight." He gestured to some of the abandoned buildings within the inner city. "These look like they used to be barracks, so if we can keep them within the inner city." The lieutenant saluted. "One more thing." Slate said. He pointed to the citadel behind him. "The future of the Scourge rests within these walls. Do not let anyone through."

  He turned to enter the citadel and Shale followed him inside. I need to talk to Lucidus and see what we can do about our territory. I don't want to leave the clutch alone though. Can you watch them? Slate asked her.

  She looked at him as if he had asked her something stupid. It was a silent glance that Slate felt only she could pull off so perfectly. You're asking me to guard our clutch—the one that came out of my body and represents the hope of the entire Scourge? She asked him dryly.

  Yes? He replied.

  Her eyes narrowed. Idiot. Go upstairs and fix the city.

  Slate didn't reply, feeling as if he had done something wrong but not quite sure how he did it. He raced up the stairs as Shale sat on the ground in front of the eggs. For a moment, he felt as if they had indeed come full Circle. He had found her in the forest in that same position. Since then, they had been on a whirlwind adventure that hadn't stopped.

  He raced up the winding staircase that took him to the top floor of the citadel. Communing with the Lord of Light here felt like it was appropriate. He sat down in a position mimicking Shale below, and he held both the city tokens, one in each palm. As he did so, they both began to glow, and he closed his eyes, seeking a connection to his deity. It had been some time since he had practiced, but he went through the motions and used the magic of communion that he learned what felt like an eternity ago.

  The thought made him sad. He had learned this spell from Merus. Life indeed had come full circle for him. The magic snapped into place as if the Lord of Light had been waiting for him. He opened his eyes to find himself in the endless white expanse that he was coming to recognize as Lucidus' domain. He looked down at his hands and noticed that they were now empty.

  Lucidus' form coalesced into view and Slate rose to his feet to greet her. "Lucidus." He said and bowed deeply.

  The god smiled at him before speaking in a hauntingly beautiful voice. "You have done well, Heritor." Slate frowned.

  "I have lost Lighthaven and half of your Guardians." He replied in a flat tone.

  "That's not entirely true, the god said. You have gained me a city with a host of new followers. My power on this world has increased tenfold. You even have the city token from Lighthaven. It isn't as lost as you think."

  Slate rose from his bow to study her face. She was either being entirely serious, or he couldn't discern her plots as well as he thought he could. She answered his thoughts in the irritatingly intrusive manner she always did.

  "You're right on both counts Heritor. I'm being serious, and you're not as smart as you think you are."

  She clapped her hands. "Now, let's get to business. You and I have something of a working relationship, and I respect that. You're a capable tool, and I've enjoyed watching your progress in Somnium. First things first." She said happily. "I'm going to allow you to fuse my temple with the citadel in Bastion. Lighthaven will no longer be a territory, and its resources will transfer to Bastion. Ultimately, it's a safer place for my temple anyway."

  Slate gave her a confused look. "Isn't Lighthaven under attack right now? I can't believe that you're simply going to drop it here. Will you be transporting the enemy as well? Should I be concerned?" Slate asked.

  Lucidus gifted him with an ironic smile. "Oh, ye of little faith." She said. "Isn't that the phrase? No, the territory is entirely uncontested. There is not a single enemy left alive in the entire forest."

  Slate was about to ask more questions, recognizing the vital intelligence that the god could provide, but she waved him to silence.

  "Next, the city of Bastion will be officially claimed by the Scourge, and I expect that you'll need to spend some experience and biomass to purchase some upgrades. I've held onto the extra experience that you earned from the golem for this occasion. I will even gift you with enough biomass to select the upgrades that you think would be best to ensure the Scourge's safety until the clutch hatch." Slate nodded his head. These were all immensely useful things that Slate didn't take issue with.

  "Finally, I will allow you to advance to your next mutation. Normally, I wouldn't allow it to become available until you had converted the citizens of Bastion, but I think that your transformation combined with the transformation in the city will be a sufficient show of my power." She tapped a finger to her chin as she thought out loud. "That should be enough to convert most, if not all, of the citizens to your cause."

  Slate was happy with all of the changes that Lucidus suggested. In fairness, they were all things that benefited her cause, but they personally helped him as well. He was about to ask more questions from the Lord of Light when she wagged her finger at him.

  "No, I've answered enough of your questions. You're haven’t been truly faithful to me, and for someone who prizes loyalty above all else, I don't know why you expect more than the bare minimum from me. Slate frowned at the rebuke. She wasn’t wrong. He hadn’t been very enthusiastic of her dogma as of late. He resolved to try a little bit harder to be more genuine with the Lord of Light. If only so that he had a better chance of surviving the coming conflict.

  “That’s exactly what I mean, Slate.” Lucidus berated after reading his thoughts. “We have something of a business relationship because you’re constantly thinking about what I can provide to you. Not what you can provide to me. Understand that pouring my power into someone without faith is significantly more difficult with someone who doesn’t have faith.”

  “Bah,” she spat. “If you want more information, why don't you consult with my future priests?" With a contemptuous wave of her hand, he abruptly regained consciousness.

  He had been lying on the ground, and a series of system messages were vying for his attention. He decided he would tackle the city first.

  Congratulations! You have completed a secret holy quest: The Scion of Luci
dus. The Lord of Light charged you with conquering a city for the Scourge. You have successfully attacked and won the town of Bastion to her cause. She has blessed the city by moving her temple from Lighthaven to Bastion. The following effects have been put into effect:

  -Bastion has joined the faction the Scourge

  -All architecture in Bastion has been transformed into Scourge architecture.

  -All damage to the city has been repaired.

  -You have been named the Scion of Bastion

  -The city of Bastion has become the capital of the Scourge Empire.

  Slate grinned as the first and second promises of Lucidus had been fulfilled. There was a blinding light flash that stemmed from his body and spread throughout the entire city. Slate had been forced to close his eyes at its brilliance, and when he opened them again, he found himself sitting on a throne within an opulent throne room that was more richly appointed than their previous throne room in the temple.

  Looking around, he was in a large octagonal room. At each point of the octagon, a sizeable shining pillar held up the floor above them. Outside of the posts was a ring of corridors. Along the walls tapestries of fighting guardians and attacking Scourglings. Looking around the room, Slate realized that the decorations chronicled the birth of the Scourge, starting with him, and following his journey before ending with the capture of Bastion. A massive shining city took up the majority of the last tapestry and Slate assumed that if he were to exit the throne room that he would find the tapestries inspiration in the city outside.