The Guardian gods

The Emperor raised a hand, cutting off Vellok's sharp retort. His voice, though still calm, held an edge of urgency. "Enough, Vellok. Kaelen, we did not come here to dissect your recent actions. The demon lord Zarvok presses forward, his army unchecked while our own forces are consumed by internal conflict. Our previous strategies, while well-intended, have proven insufficient against his peculiar advance."

He stepped closer, his veiled face radiating an undeniable gravity. "We need your unique insights, Kaelen. Your unparalleled experience on the front lines, and yes, your recent, shall we say, re-engagement with the ogre generals. This war cannot be won if our own house is divided. How do you propose we rectify this, brother? How do we unify our forces and turn the tide?"

"We are unified," Kaelen began, his voice soft, almost a whisper, yet it commanded attention in the hushed hall. "But if we want this bond to be stronger, I will need full authority over the Ogre forces and their people. That means my name as the King of Ogres will finally mean something; it would be recognized as a position of power within the Empire."

Vellok shifted, a protest forming on his lips, but Kaelen continued smoothly, his gaze unwavering. "Another thing I would like is full command over the Ratfolk and their people." He paused just long enough for Vellok to clench his jaw, then pressed on. "I know of your plans to bring down the number of the Ratfolk, and I will no longer stand against you on that. But as a warrior, and out of respect for the Ratfolk that fought with me, if they are to meet their end, they should meet it with a sense of recognition and fulfillment, of having accomplished something. A sense of accomplishment which you two cannot provide for them, and I can."

Kaelen leaned forward slightly, his eyes gleaming. "If you need further conviction, you should have noticed the instability within our army and the soldiers donning the abyssal armor. I have a simple and effective way of solving that." With that, Kaelen sat back down, giving both the Emperor and Vellok time to consider his words and proposal.

Vellok's jaw was clenched so tight his teeth might shatter. "Full authority?" he rasped, his voice barely a whisper, yet laced with venom. "Over the Ratfolk? You speak of respect while dismantling the very chain of command we rely on for the war effort!"

Kaelen merely held his gaze, a subtle, almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips. He let Vellok's words hang in the air, allowing the Emperor to feel the full weight of their desperate situation.

The Emperor raised a hand, silencing Vellok's simmering protest. His veiled face was unreadable, but his shoulders seemed to slump with the burden of his decision. "The lives of our people, the very fate of the Empire, hang by a thread, Vellok," he stated, his voice devoid of its usual power, reduced to a weary admission. He turned back to Kaelen. "Your proposal for the abyssal armor... explain it"

"I take it you agree to my terms then, brother?" Kaelen said, a happy, almost gleeful note in his voice.

"The abyssal armor issue can be solved in a simple, but truly barbaric way. You made the mistake of seeing our current soldiers as normal, reasonable men, which they are now far from, due to the corrosive taint of the Abyss."

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial, almost chilling whisper. "You have to learn from the demons, brothers. My way is to have warriors under you go free and battle as they want, to their heart's desire. Give them time to fall fully into their state of madness. Let the Abyss consume their individual will. That is when you interfere – not when they are merely struggling, but when their minds are completely fractured, when they are nothing but raw, undirected rage."

Kaelen paused, letting the implications sink in. "Then, in a swift and overwhelming show of absolute control, you don't merely kill a few. You shatter them".

"You demonstrate a greater, colder will than the Abyss itself. You force the very armor to acknowledge your dominance. Their ravaged minds, stripped bare of all other thought, will then latch onto that singular, terrifying image. From that point of sheer, primal terror, and the armor's own instinct for preservation, they will fear and obey you"

"That is impressive, brother," Vellok spoke, his tone holding a genuine note of interest this time. The sheer, brutal pragmatism of Kaelen's solution seemed to resonate with him.

Seeing the silent, reluctant agreement from both Vellok and the Emperor, the Emperor himself spoke, reiterating their war plan. This time, however, Kaelen's name was seamlessly woven into the strategy, his new authority over the ogre and ratfolk forces clearly outlined. The core of their strategy, which once excluded him, now hinged upon his participation.

Finally, before they prepared to leave, the Emperor's veiled face turned back to Kaelen, his piercing blue eyes hidden beneath the hood. "Since you desire command of the army, you won't mind then going to the front lines and taking full control back yourself?"

Kaelen's brow furrowed, a flicker of genuine displeasure crossing Rattan's face. "I still am not yet in full health, Your Majesty," he began to argue, a protest forming on his lips. But as his gaze met the Emperor's unwavering blue eyes, and he saw Vellok calmly walking towards the exit, an unspoken challenge hung in the air. Rattan swallowed the rest of his words, realizing he had no choice. With a curt nod, he stated, "Understood, Your Majesty."

"Good," the Emperor replied, the single word carrying the weight of a decree. He then turned and walked out, Vellok beside him, both emerging from the mansion's grand front doors. Outside, plenty hidden eyes stared at the gate where teh emperor and Vellok came from before flying off.

Many were eager to know what had transpired, but with Kaelen's home now devoid of any living servants, there was no way of finding out. Noblemen and officials, smelling an opportunity, began to send their own people to Kaelen's mansion as "thoughtful gifts" of maids and servants. They hoped to place spies and curry favor with the now influential ogre king.

Inside his grand, silent hall, Rattan was fuming. The thought of going back to the front lines filled him with dread. He was a puppeteer, not a a soldier. He despised the idea of being forced to perform in front of thousands, if not millions, of people, putting his own life at risk. His carefully crafted persona as a grand manipulator was at odds with the role of a front-line general.

His only saving grace was that the Emperor and Vellok's greatest hope for him wasn't to fight the biggest battles. They needed him to lead the army, to command the chaotic empire forces, while they themselves would deal with the "bigger fish" Zarvok and the two divine figures. Rattan's specific task was to manage the army's cohesion and, most terrifyingly, to handle any of the unknown sixth-tier figures who might show themselves.

Alone on his throne, he desperately wanted a word from his guardian, a guarantee that he would be safe. He was so close to having everything he ever wanted, and the thought of losing it all on a battlefield, fighting someone else's war, was almost unbearable. He should be a master of control, but in this moment, he felt utterly powerless.

Phantom, his silent observer, had relayed the Emperor's plan to Ikenga, who in turn shared it with the demon lord Zarvok. The news of the impending sixth-tier mage assault landed with the weight of a thunderclap. Zarvok's initial reaction was one of surprise, followed by a surge of pure, unwarranted protective instinct. He was about to give the command to recall his demons, to pull them back to safety before they met their ends in the Emperor's gambit.

But he hesitated. He was a general, and generals do not squander their pawns, yet he was about to be more than a king, and he was supposed to look at the bigger picture. He was conflicted, but a cold, hard logic won out. The Emperor and Vellok's plan, while designed to destroy his forces, was actually working in his favor. A battle fought in the deep Abyss, far from the world that was to be his prize, was a battle he had already half-won.

He also weighed the value of his forces against the value of his spy. Recalling his army now would make the Emperor and Vellok suspicious. They would realize someone was leaking intel, and Zarvok would lose a valuable chess piece in Phantom and Ikenga. So, he bit his teeth and looked away, allowing the inevitable to unfold. However, he was not completely done. Following his decision, he stopped the deployment of all fourth and fifth-stage demons, a grim compromise to preserve his most valuable troops. He would accept the casualties, but only for a greater, more crucial victory.