guide to ruling a fantasy world

When was the last time I woke up as rested as this morning? I looked through the window, the sun was leaving streaks of light on the dust floating in the room, the birds were singing, the castle staff was buzzing around occupied with their morning chores and Elizabeth was lying next to me, still sleeping with her head on my heart. How I've missed this warmth, how I've missed waking up next to someone that I care about… I brushed a strand of hair from her face, her ears wiggled, she moved and opened her eyes.

"Good morning, Liz, slept well?" I asked.

"Yes…" She gave a shy smile. "Your heartbeat is really soothing."

"Good to know." I stopped for a second, trying to pick out the right words. "If you'd like, you can listen to my heart every night. If you want, that is…"

"Yeah, I'd love it!" She smiled. "Can we stay like this for a bit longer?"

"For as long as you want."

"Thank you, my lord."

"Yeah, about that, you should stop calling me lord… It feels weird that the girl I'm with calls me that."

"Then, demon king, or your highness, or should I be calling you my king?" Elizabeth asked, genuinely confused.

"Just Adam is fine." I answered. "Or, if you want to, you can use my real name - Isaac. Whatever is fine, as long as you don't use any stuffy titles with me."

"I couldn't! Even members of the royal family call the king by their title." She protested.

"Yeah, no, that won't fly with me." I said. "I am a being from another world, someone that stole the power of a god, do you really think that I'd ever adhere to some lame custom like that? Besides…" I scratch the back of my head. "If you're really coming with me to the other world, it will be really awkward to explain to the people there why my girlfriend calls me something like lord or king."

She thought for a while. "Very well, I'll call you Isaac… When we're in private or in your world."

"Good enough."

We stayed in bed for a long while after, not talking, just relishing in each other's embrace and comfort. I couldn't remember the last time I was this happy, relaxed and at peace.

But time waits for no one, not even a god, for a very hungover lusty elf barged into the room. "No fair! How could you two just sneak out of the ball to play by yourselves? What about the little old me? How could you just leave me alone and passed out on the floor?" She started pouting.

I sighed. "What do you want, Luna? You didn't come here just to annoy me, did you?"

"Straight to business, I see. Well, you're right about that, Lady Carnal and the rest of the advisors are calling for you to come to the war room to discuss the future plans on how to fight the humans."

I turned to Elizabeth. "Well, you've heard her, Liz, got to go…" I gave her a kiss and got out of the bed. Both girls blushed when I did and it took me a long second to realize that I was completely naked. Worst still was that my first order of business was to cover my face and not my crotch.

Finally, after getting dressed, I walked out of the room and went to the war room where my advisors were already waiting. "Good day to you, lord." They all said in unison and bowed as soon as I entered.

"At ease, my lowly subjects." I commanded. "You guys ruined something very comforting for me, so I'd like to know the reason why. If the reason isn't up to my satisfaction, I'll start killing."

"I assure you, my king, the reason is of utmost importance." One of the advisors stated. "The northern castle that guarded the frontline has fallen to the enemy. Our situation is dire. If the advance of humans isn't stopped, I fear that the war will be lost."

I looked around the room just to see a mob of old men and women, fear and anxiety evident on their faces. "Then, what do you guys suggest?" I asked. The room went silent. After a minute or two, I broke the uncomfortable silence. "It seems that you, geezers, are quite useless, no wonder the kingdom of Icathia has been struggling for so long."

"Then, what do you suggest, my lord? You surely must have a plan if you reprimand us so much." One of the advisors said. While his words and their tone were pleasant and polite, I could sense the malice in his words."

"What do I suggest?" I asked nonchalantly. "No clue. I never claimed to know the answer, but… Why don't we ask the younglings for some advice?"

"By younglings you surely do not mean the former king, do you?" One of the advisors inquired.

"Why not? That one seems to have a head on his shoulders and enough bravery to stand against me. Those qualifications far surpass your own."

"But he lost and had to be spared in the end! How can such a disgrace be worth anything!?" One protested.

"Are you questioning my decision? The decision of the demon king?" You could feel the blood lust seeping out of my every pore. "Are you sure that you're qualified to stand against me?"

"No, it's just that…"

"I thought so." I turned to one of the guards. "Bring the former king - Yama here. Oh, and the other kid… You know, the pale one with black stripes going down from his eyes - Bel, or Beli or something…" The guard bowed and compiled.

Not long after that, Belial - clad in elegant white robes and Yama - dressed as a mixture of a dilapidated prisoner and a beggar showed up in front of me and bowed. "We've come, as the king commanded." They said in unison.

"The northern fortress has fallen, what should I do?" I asked.

"If I may, my king…" Belial was the first one to speak. "With your power and the two dragons accompanying you, it would not be hard for you to annihilate the advancing army. Be sure to leave a few survivors, that would guarantee the word of your great power spreading in the enemy ranks and it would undoubtedly send shivers down the spines of their men, destroying their morale and will to fight, making them a non threat."

"Wise words, Beli." I turned to the other one. "Does your opinion match his, former king Yama?"

He glared at me, but answered nonetheless. "If you show your power by going after the king in his castle, alone, you won't have to kill so many people. Even if you end the war by destroying the enemy army, the resentment between the races will not cease, it will grow even more, leading to another war in the future."

"That's why we should kill all the humans." Belial interrupted. "By doing that, there won't be any left to fight us."

"Do you know just how much work it would be to destroy an entire race? Besides, if we did that, it would send a message to the other races that we're all cruel monsters that spare neither women nor children." Yama said.

"And with that, no other race would ever dare to challenge us." Belial stated.

"Or they all will unite against a common enemy in us. Do you want to fight the entire world?" Yama asked.

"If we must." Belial answered. "Besides, just by killing the king, the peace that you so desperately crave won't be achieved, since they will simply crown a new one."

"Killing the king was never my intention." Yama stated and turned to me. "My king, all you have to do is send a warning to the current king - if you value your life, obey. By putting the king's life in danger, but purposely not taking his head, you gain the control of said king. By doing that, you gain control of the entire nation."

I thought for a moment. "Yama is right, I am far too lazy to keep warring for the rest of my life, we'll go with his proposal." This seemed to surprise Yama and irritate Belial, but they both bowed and left the room. I also dismissed the rest of the advisors until I was left alone with lady Carnal.

"Is this the outcome you desired?" I asked.

"Yes, my king. With this, the war will come to an end and by acknowledging the opinion of Yama, you started forging a bond between the two of you. That bond will become the cornerstone of his service to you. By showing Yama's strategic thinking in front of the other advisors, you proved his worth, garnering the respect of the advisors towards him, allowing him to lead as your proxy in the future with more ease. Finally, by pitting Yama against Belial, you once again ignited their competitive spirit. This will, once more, help them both to grow in the future and it might even help them mend their relationship."

"You thought about everything, it seems. Why don't you become my proxy instead of Yama, you seem far more qualified than him in the first place."

Carnal bowed. "Your words flatter me, king, but I've never been good at working under the spotlight, I prefer the shadows, in there, my true strength can be seen.

"Do as you please. Oh right… Why do you want Yama and Beli to make up? I won't lie, Beli was kind of an ass for betraying his lord so easily, won't he do that again? His loyalty seems flimsy at best." I asked.

"Belial isn't a bad kid. His world simply shattered when Yama - his lord and friend - someone Belial thought invincible - fell so easily. His blind loyalty towards Yama turned into rage and disgust. Think about it, how would you feel if someone you relied on and cherished like a god, failed in the only thing that actually mattered to you? Wouldn't you be devastated yourself?"

"Final question - how did you know what Yama would suggest?" I asked.

"I was the one that taught him from when he was but a baby, his whole personality, thought patterns, feeling and emotions, all that is Yama is what I wanted him to be. It's as simple as that." Carnal smiled.

Join me on patreon at patreon.com/BonsaiCat for early access to new chapters or buy my book 'How to rule a fantasy world' on Amazon. It's the same stuff that you read here, but I fucked up with the naming and the book is already out, so fuck it, let's go with this name for the book. I appreciate all of your support and your forgiveness for my utter incompetence. Best regards, BonsaiCat.