Swarming Sovereignty

Marcus, the Sapphire Emperor, sat nervously at the table, watching the time. He still didn’t think that this meeting was a good idea; technically speaking, there was no binding Oath or anything that would stop the swarm from attacking everyone there, just the knowledge that the gods would smite them for it, and he doubted the swarm would change their minds.

Still, the consensus among the group had been that they must attempt diplomacy before going to war. Everyone had seen their announcement, but no one actually meant that they would accept no compromise. There was always something that would get someone to stop what they were doing, though that was often overwhelming force. And…Marcus wasn’t so sure they could properly show overwhelming force, not when their opponents were two Heroes.

So, they would have to play confident, pretend they felt that things were under control when they weren’t. If they could feign confidence, they might be able to shake the confidence of their opponents, though, once again, the fact that their opponents had two Heroes made shaking their confidence a little harder. They’d just…have to convince them that two Heroes couldn’t beat the rest of the world’s highest leveled people, regardless of how true that was.

All of a sudden, the air shifted, the hushed conversation that had filled the room stilling. Marcus looked away from the clock and towards where the Glens’ portal entrance was, then did a double take. He had initially passed over it, but there were five new people standing at the far end of the table, away from both the doors to the Glens and Aura.

He recognized Amelia and Alisha as a matter of course, and had seen Lia and Rose in their broadcasts, but the last member of their group was a mystery. She was a blue-haired wolfkin in a simple but well-tailored dress, and the more he looked at her, the more familiar she seemed.

“Right, so, this whole thing.” Amelia said. “Let me preemptively answer some questions for you; yes, we teleported in here, no, your wards aren’t good enough to keep me out. The only things keeping me from simply teleporting into each of your chambers and converting you are that I don’t know your exact location at any given time, and that I know your conversions wouldn’t change too much yet. Of course, that will change once the war is underway and you have more valuable information on troop movements and the like, but that’ll be later.

“The wolfkin is Nailah, formerly known as Brom. She still remembers everything, and aside from the fact that she is now loyal to us, she is otherwise unchanged in personality. And, finally, please feel free to look at any of our statuses at any given time; we’ve made some big claims, and we would like you to realize that we are, in fact, completely serious with what we say.”

Marcus debated that for a moment, then opened up Nailah’s stats.

Marcus frowned. She was clearly a garmrkin now, that much was clear, but…what was a fluffmaster hydra? To his surprise, as he wondered about that, another window popped up. He read it over, frown growing deeper as he did.

Everything about this status was insane. The system itself seemed to have been ever so slightly tweaked, with the areas usually reserved for a person’s Job and race having been combined into one, and the Titles and Skills lists shortened, but even aside from that the race made no sense. How was having three bodies even supposed to work? What happened when she got tired or one of the bodies was knocked unconscious?

And…a quick peek at the Titles and Skills revealed that this was, in fact, Brom. She had all the same titles she had used to have, save for the King Title, and though her Skill list had expanded significantly, most of Brom’s major Skills were on there.

Out of morbid curiosity, he began to examine the others.

Living equipment? That didn’t sound anything like what the Alisha he knew would want to be, not to the point where she had it as her active Title. And, if she had changed that much…what was to say that Brom hadn’t, too? A quick check of her race revealed that she had been converted with all of Aura’s greatest treasures, but surely that wasn’t enough to shift her entire worldview, right?

That was something he had to unpack later. He needed to finish examining the others before the conversation started in earnest, or he would be at a disadvantage. So, he started with Lia, then moved to Rose, and ended with Amelia.

Marcus stopped cold as he beheld Rose’s status. Those numbers…that was…what? She was bound to only ten percent of her full potential, and even that was enough to make her one of the strongest people Marcus had ever seen, all at level three. He couldn’t help but scroll through her Titles and Skills, and the more he did, the more alarmed he got.

The Titles did indeed indicate that she was the reincarnation of the Ruby Emperor, memories and all. It was always possible that Amelia had somehow messed with the system more than she already had, but given the fact that Rose also had a Blessing from the God of War, he was inclined to believe it.

Even if Amelia had tricked the system into giving out an erroneous Title, a Blessing wasn’t something the gods would take lightly. For important people, ones who were under the gods’ eyes the most, there was no lying about something like that. Not without a smiting. But, were those not bad enough, she also had a Virtue title and had somehow become a Hero. Did…did that mean the swarm had three now?

Marcus shook his head; he’d ask that question later, if he found the opportunity. He still had Amelia’s status to check, as much as he was dreading looking at it.

The status was significantly more intimidating than Marcus had been expecting. He had seen a Hero once, gotten the chance to examine him and see his status, and it paled in comparison to Amelia’s. It was no wonder she could pierce wards when she had that much Mana with that high of a Magic stat. She could fill the role of a dozen mages before even taking into account any Skills she might have had, and that was with her being bound. Without…she seemed completely untouchable for normal people, and her Skills made the problem an order of magnitude worse.

Marcus gave a silent prayer of thanks to the gods, thanking them for binding Amelia and Rose’s stats. Were they not bound like this, Marcus suspected that they alone might have been enough to hold back the coalition’s armies.

Amelia took a seat at the table, an infuriatingly cocky expression on her face. “I believe I’ve illustrated the differences in our capabilities, so don’t get any funny ideas.” She said lazily. “And don’t be like Alisha was; I may be speaking right now, but I am not in charge, I’m simply laying things out before we begin. Lia and Rose will handle things from here.”

Lia nodded, taking a seat at the table. “Speaking of Alisha, I’ve seen some of you give her strange looks. Yes, she’s…different. When she attempted to make a deal with us behind all of your backs, we turned the tables on her. We intended to simply make her less rebellious, but Amelia did not yet understand what was and wasn’t normal, and went overboard. Rest assured that this was not our intention, and it is a mistake that we will not make again. Now, with that out of the way, please do tell me why you have called this meeting; I believe we made our stance perfectly clear during our announcement, did we not?”

The other rulers looked to Marcus, who internally grimaced. “I believe we can find commonalities.” He said. “This need not come to war; I understand that, as a fledgling nation, you are worried that we will attempt to rob you of your holdings and subjugate you, and have chosen to preemptively strike instead of waiting for a sneak attack. We assure you that we will respect your sovereignty and allow you a full seat here at our meetings. I believe we can find a solution to this problem that will satisfy both of us, if you are willing to negotiate.”

Lia sighed. “While I would love nothing more than to end this without violence, I’m afraid that simply is not an option we have. We are not like normal people, and even if everyone here agrees to let us be, there will be someone in the future who takes affront with our very being. Time and time again history has shown that all it takes is one or two bad people in the wrong places to throw the world into chaos, and that we cannot stand.”

“With all due respect, I do not think a possible bad future is worth such extreme measures.” Marcus said. “If you are willing to fight now, why not wait and fight the one or two countries that may come against you, instead of fighting all of us?”

Rose locked eyes with Marcus, and a chill ran down his spine. Though her body was youthful, those eyes…they were the eyes of someone who had seen everything, an ancient person who knew better than you. “You forget to whom you speak, Sapphire Emperor.” She said coldly, and Marcus had to resist the urge to shrink down in his chair as her obvious disdain washed over him.

“This is an easy thing for you to say, the one who directly benefited from the shattering of my legacy.” Rose continued. “The one who twisted my empire into something diametrically opposed to the principles of peace that I taught. This will not end with one or two kingdoms; eventually, long down the line, there will always be someone for every kingdom, it is only a matter of time.

“There are only two ways this ends. Either the swarm is defeated, or the swarm expands to encompass every living person. If the end is the same, there is no reason to delay the process, especially when we can provide a higher quality of life to people in the process.”

“Are you insinuating that we don’t treat our citizens well?” Another of the rulers, Emily, accused.

“For some of you, it is true.” Rose said calmly. “However, even if that is not the case, we can provide things that you either cannot give them or refuse to give them. We can offer them a source of unlimited, ethical labor that will ease their lives, and though it may not be enshrined in law, people often still discriminate based on race, shunning mixed-race marriages or segregating themselves into communities of only those like them.

“We will end this. When everyone is so radically different, has the possibility to be anything they choose in the future, we have an understanding that, at the most basic level possible we are all people. This is something at the core of the swarm, a shared experience unlike anything else. We will offer people autonomy, freedom from caste systems and unfair treatment under the law, we will strive to do our best to aid even the most remote and unseen portions of our populace, to improve their lives as much as we can. The means may be distasteful, but for now, the ends justify them; the suffering of war will be frontloaded, but the benefits to the people will outweigh this suffering.”

“And what happened to your principles of peace, then?” Marcus managed to say, fighting through the pressure of Rose’s gaze. “How can you condemn me for what you yourself are doing?”

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “You misconstrue the situation.” She said, voice low and dangerous. “Where we are fighting for the people, for your citizens, your wars are for you and your elite. The average person is far more likely to lose their life or the life of a loved one in your petty wars than they are to see even a scrap of benefit.

“And even the way we conduct our war is more ethical than you. We have vowed to the gods themselves to keep any military service on a completely voluntary basis; anyone is free to leave at any time, for any reason. We do not conscript innocent farmers for the purpose of acting as disposable bodies on a battlefield, we provide them with the training and tools they need to stay alive. Not a single person is to be sacrificed should they not will it, something none of you can say.

“Even our enemies receive better treatment than you give your own soldiers. We will not kill a single one of them, not unless doing so would result in grave injuries or death for their opponents. Those we defeat will be treated exactly the same as every other citizen, there will be no torture, no prisoner of war camps, nothing.

“We will not poison your water, and we will not make your soldiers prisoners in their own minds, forced to watch as their body betrays their comrades. There will be no taking of slaves, no pillaging of villages or suffering of civilians. We will not rain magic of mass destruction upon your lands, and we will operate with the understanding that each and every life is precious and unique.

“We won’t rely on dirty tricks to succeed. Our tactics will minimize all suffering, for both our own troops and our enemies. It is a bold statement, and I am aware that most of you do not believe me, but our actions in the coming months will prove this. These are mercies that we have the leeway to provide, so we will.”

She paused for a moment, then nodded at Lia. “Do you have anything you wish to add?”

Lia nodded, giving Rose a smile. “Anyone who wishes to visit the World Tree under temporary truce is welcome to do so; simply leave a letter wrapped in a white flag at the highest point of your castle, and we will pick it up within the week. We will not settle for any peace that does not involve a full surrender…though those of you who might wish for an extra reward upon your conversion, such as choosing exactly what you will be converted into and receiving more powerful options for conversion, may make a deal with us. Help us end this war with less bloodshed, and you will be greatly rewarded.”

Rose stood, casting a cold glance at Marcus before looking at the rest of the assembled rulers. “That is all we wish to say, and we will not hear any of your arguments. You hold nothing with which you can sway our stance or intimidate us, and further talk is pointless. Amelia, please, take us home.”

Amelia snapped, and then the group was gone, teleported out of the building as if they had never been there. Marcus frowned, surveying the rest of the group. “I told you all this was a pointless endeavor.” He said sourly. “All we’ve gained from it is a peek at their statuses, and the knowledge that Amelia can pierce anti-teleportation wards. We didn’t even get a chance to properly attempt diplomacy, they just showed up, said their piece, and left.”

“Yes, but we at least have confirmation that Rose truly was the Ruby Emperor.” Astrea, Cardinal of the Religious State of Astrum said. “The Blessing was genuine, and the gods would not Bless someone making such an egregious lie. That knowledge alone is worth this meeting. We can assume that she is leading their armies, and her tactics have been studied to death. We can use this knowledge to further refine our strategies against them. And, if their claims of how they will fight are accurate, that too will provide us another edge. We lost little and gained much, I feel.”

“I…suppose you have some valid points.” Marcus admitted. “But I fear the seeds of discord they sowed may prove to be dangerous.”

“None of us are seriously considering that offer, right?” Emily said dismissively. “The reward just isn’t worth the risk. If we’re discovered, we’ll be killed, and for what, to be made a little “better” after “conversion”? That doesn’t seem remotely worth it, I’d prefer to go out kicking and screaming, fighting to the bitter end. If they’re being truthful, then it won’t change how they treat me, so…why bother with their deal?”

“I concur.” Isaac, King of Misthaven, said. “There is no point to accepting defeat if our struggles lose us nothing.”

Marcus sighed. “I suppose. Let us put that aside for the time being, though; diplomacy has failed, now it is time to discuss action.”

Fighterman481

So, I didn't come into this intending to lay out all those status windows, but I figures it's been a while, and we'd never actually seen Amelia's status, so I took the opportunity.

As with the speech Lia gave, I'd ask that you cut me a little slack with all the politicking here; I'm no politician, and this isn't exactly my forte, and I wasn't going to spend days researching stuff to make this scene work, this isn't the series for that. Yes, both parties could almost certainly have handled it better, but I would need a lot more time to think on that to make it so. For now, we'll just have to make do.

Anyway, next time we'll...probably do a bit of preparing of armies, so...look forward to it, I guess?

And, as always, thanks for reading!