.^^ ArchLich's ^^

— Josef —

Deep inside the mountain that held the abandoned dwarven city, my dragon mountain, I had decided to build something of a laboratory, to research some of the things I'd been curious about since I'd arrived here.

The entire laboratory was only viably accessible through teleportation, having no noticeable entrances or exits, and only one physical entrance, a reed-thin air hole at the bottom of one of the several mithril mines deep in the mountain, and was buried as far deep as I could reach with the Tree.

Foreseeing a problem with containment, I asked the Messenger what would happen if I created the same magical silver stakes that had kept the Undead oil from exiting the Grove, around James' house.

'Considering you are now a True Archmage... I imagine it would hold even an ArchLich, should you be so inclined. I would advise against chanting, however.'

I frowned. 'Why not?'

'As an ArchMage, your magical prowess, (though rarely exposed,) is quite simply incredible. Chanting, however, exponentially increases the power of a spell. The reason ArchMages don't have to chant is that even just thinking of a spell creates an effect of SS+ Rank. With a Chant, you would create a Mythical Enchantment. Think of it this way: If you try to Chant up a Fireball, you will unintentionally create a Dying Star.'

'Oh... so, if I try to make an Undead Barrier... what would that make?' I hummed.

'Possibly a True Death Rune, which completely obliterates all forms of Undeath, and would ruin the point of your experiment.'

'So if I added that to the barrier around the forest, it would not effect the interior of the mountain, until the Undead tried to teleport out?'

'It's entirely plausible, yes.'

'Cool, let's do that. Also, move that air hole into the Kiln, and change the fire to whatever is the biggest and best fire I can possibly create, simultaneously protecting the rest of the room from it. That way only something immune to fire would survive the trip in or out physically.' I nodded, and pushed my fingers into the dirt, at the edge of barrier.

With my other hand, I began drawing a magic circle, full of runes from several of the Runic languages; Elder Futhark, Short Twig, Long Branch, Germanic Sigil, Grecian Alphabet, and even some Japanese I remembered from lessons I'd taken, about four years ago.

I paused, laughing softly at the memory. My son-in-law had been very bad at English, so I'd learned Japanese to communicate with him better. He was a nice boy, I'd enjoyed his company, even though I'd had to play the tough father at first, when my son Ilan first introduced him to me.

"What's funny?" Vanya spoke behind me, making my shoulders tense reflexively.

"Memories of my youngest son. You coming to check on me?" I smiled over my shoulder after I'd relaxed. The fact that I couldn't hear her was a constant factor to keep me on my toes.

"Working magic with Nihon Runes reminds you of your son?" She asked, sitting on her heels next to me, examining the circle.

"No... just the Runes. My son's husband was Japanese, and I learned the language to speak with him. My son was quite pleased that I approved of his lover. It's a nice memory... anyway! How'd you get through the barrier without me knowing?" I frowned at her.

"It just let me in." She shrugged, and pushed a hand through the barrier slowly.

It bowed and cracked around her hand, then shattered open, allowing her through. Seeing this, I frowned slowly. "You mean you broke it open."

She grinned guiltlessly. "Perhaps, from a certain point of view."

I snorted derisively at her innocent face, and then added in another two layers to the magic: the first regenerating the barrier with the mana of the sunlight, moonbeams, and even the earth itself, if there was a surplus available; the other layer strengthened the barrier several times over, while including a door that would serve as the single entry point of the forest to outsiders, centered around the Mine-cart tracks.

The last change I added was to expand a secondary barrier, just as powerful as the first, that would encompass all of my land, protecting it as the first barrier protected the forest. It had several dozen gates, to lessen the annoyance, and the Guild was given license to guard the gates, (partly because they would do it anyway, and partly because I liked making them work,) which would lessen the amount of rude or inept guards, which, of course, no one appreciated.

As soon as the circle finished, the hole closed, nearly cutting Vanya's hand off, before she yanked it back, hissing in pain. I healed the wounds with a thought, and then chanted the spells, one by one, then again, once for every one of the Runes, empowering each with the maximum amount of mana I could possibly fathom. I took short rests, between each chant, and even used a few of my finished mana crystals to refill my mana, despite their importance as a slowly-renewed resource.

Vanya narrowed her eyes when I finished, staring at the pulsing ring of Runes, then glanced at me. "You're aware that that's too much power... right? That will explode, without a proper-"

I stabbed a mana crystal into the center of the circle, letting it melt and fill the Runes, truly immortalizing the magic circle. "You were saying?" I asked smugly.

"Oh don't you get snobby with me!" She shook her head, punching my shoulder.

"Don't tell the True ArchMage how to do Magic, then." I remarked dryly.

"True... but I thought ArchMages didn't have to Chant?" She asked suspiciously.

"That's only because the magic gets too powerful if we do the chants. I wanted this to be the very best I could manage, so I did my best." I explained, and in the far distance, I vaguely saw a barrier Activate, encompassing my entire Barony.

"So... I see. But why Anti-UnDeath?" She asked, staring at the markings.

"Because necromancers are a thing, and Undead are a particular fear of mine. Something about the idea of a soulless puppet trying to kill me..." I shook my head and stood up, stretching my wings to their fullest with a groan of delight.

She nodded. "I can't say I share that fear, but I do understand it. Now, I came to tell you that Lady Mara demands your presence; something about an issue involving a human Lord and an Elf getting into a spat which wrecked a blacksmith's shop."

I groaned softly, and nodded. "I'll be there in a few moments, at the most."

"Alright. Good bye, for now. Also, I'd like to take you for another drink, after you're done?" She asked, unnaturally still, actually showing her nervousness by attempting not to show her emotions.

I smiled warmly. "I'd like that. But not so much, this time, I like to remember my nights." I warned her.

She grinned wickedly. "No promises."

—

The laboratory was surrounded finally by a very large and thick shell of pure silver, with a vague anti-UnDeath charm craved in, but not too powerful of one. Either way, it was just a precaution.

I laid out the six humanoid bodies in my bag on the magically-chilled marble slabs, and began healing their flesh, but not restarting their hearts, just yet. I understood the concept that, in this realm, a soul was required for free will, but I wasn't sure what created the soul.

The union of two souls during intercourse? That couldn't be it. If that was the case, rape-spawn wouldn't have souls, or their souls would be poisoned. Was it reincarnation? A set, finite number of souls in the universe, cycling endlessly? If that was the case, where did they come from? Who created them?

Every pantheon in every realm claimed to be the ones who created man, but science proved that theory wrong, unless someone would like to tell me that the gods had spent 6 billion years evolving humans from Apes, which I found doubtful, as their creation stories were more along the lines of 'I plucked an apple, then planted it, and it made a thing'.

The more likely story would be that the gods were a precursor race of extremely evolved creatures, casting away their flesh and growing into cosmic powers over the Eons, then seeding life on some planets for their personal amusement, or perhaps as a several trillion-year long science experiment. I wasn't arrogant enough to think that humans were the only sentient life in the universe, and obviously some must've been around long before humanity, so that begged the question: what is a soul, and why do we have one, if animals and monsters don't?

'You're thinking too hard. Souls are just the quantum amalgamation of your thoughts, memories, and emotions, built in the womb as a mass of quantum data, which is expanded upon as you age. Upon your death, the memory portion of your soul is scrubbed clean, and then you're reincarnated wherever you are needed. Messengers like me are charged with that part of the cycle.' The Messenger chuckled at my apparently amusing query.

'And is there a fixed number of them? Are they created and destroyed? Does time wear them down until they break and are tossed out or repurposed? If they're created in the womb, when do they get reincarnated?' I frowned.

'It's rather simple: if the body doesn't create a soul, we place one in it, or it fails, and is born miscarried. Also, the mother's body and any number of heath complications can cut that short, of course. When souls can't go on, we release them into the quantum realm, where they are dissolved into the fold.'

'But not the souls of heroes.' I sighed.

'Exactly. Your souls are of a higher caliber: very valuable, and very sturdy. You can handle multiple lifetimes, without having your memory scrubbed. That means you accumulate experience and skills, and are eventually quite useful.'

'And when will I be called upon to handle some great evil? That's why I'm here... right?'

'Have you considered that you are already combatting a great evil? The re-enslavement of the Dwarves was eminent, had you not intervened. That alone is a meaningful victory, more than any 'evil empire' toppled, or 'foul demon' slain. So, worry not about your purpose, for now. Continue to correct the evils you see, that's all we can ask of you.' She chuckled softly.

I hummed, and looked back at the bodies. 'That is slightly comforting to know... so, it's entirely possible to replicate the birth of a soul, and give these people new souls? Or I can summon more Heroes for you, placing them into these bodies and allowing them to assist me in ridding the world of the injustices that can be easily removed?'

'I would not advise that course of action, Josef. The gods decide who gets summoned from your realm, not you. Do not offend the gods by attempting to take their place.' She has a serious, warning tone, which raised the hair at the back of my neck.

'I see... then what about cleansing their memories, and letting them start fresh? Could you remove the memories that made them assholes, leaving them with everything else, like social decorum and basic knowledge, the skills they'll need to get by?'

'That I can do, yes. Would you like me to?' She asked, her normal tone returned abruptly.

'That would be nice... but first I'd like you to make a few phylacteries, one for each of them. ArchLich's are more useful than Zombies, after all, and they will be classified as UnDead, Correct?' I clarified.

'Correct. Regardless of the heartbeat and soul, they died and were brought back. Therefore: UnDead.' She agreed, and suddenly a shard of crystal embedded itself into each of their hearts, surrounding the heart in a thin structure, like a secondary ribcage. The souls of each of them were carefully scrubbed clean as I watched, then implanted, though kept unconscious for now.

I nodded, and then began altering their bodies and minds, raising their stats up to SS+ and gifting them the Skills they'd need to be what I needed them to be, Soldiers, Assassin's, and Emissaries, even, under my Banner. The two humans, I made sure to make them younger, back into their primes, and then built up their muscles and bones to acceptable levels, so they weren't scrawny anymore, despite their high stats.

All six were made identically female and elven, because of my intended placement of them, as Vanya's Royal Guard. Well-muscled, but still with the slim elven figure, cropped red hair and the trademark pointed ears, of course. A little of my blood was used to imbue them all with the blood of the Fae, making their eyes glow gold for a moment, before settling as a crystalline emerald green.

After making sure all of my changes were pushed down to the genetic level, (meaning they would be passed on through procreation, and they could procreate just like any other person, despite their label of 'UnDead',) I Gifted each of them with Warrior, ArchMage, and ArchLich, all three as Mythical Skills, simultaneously placing them under my direct command for emergency control, should one of them go off the reservation. That happening was incredibly Unlikely, I realized, seeing as my subordinates were immune to corruption of any kind, but it was always best to be prepared.

'Are you sure it's wise to Gift such power to these creatures you are creating?' She asked, cautiously.

"Yes. They need power to do what I need to ask of them. Gifting them with higher intellect and strong bodies will ensure they are not taken advantage of, and that they are successful with the tasks I give them." I shrugged.

She sighed, but I felt the ArchLich's phylacteries begin to heat up in their chests, accepting the new abilities and spreading them through their bodies, getting them acclimated before they woke.

While that was working, I used the Kiln, a superheated oven of improbable proportions, to work some of my best metals into armor and weapons, fitted to their frames and fancy-looking. They were going to be Royal Guard's soon, after all, and they needed to look as spiffy as possible while not losing any practicality.

Slowly, very slowly, they began to wake, groggy and confused, and wake each other up as well. Once they were all awake and standing in front of me, I nodded.

"That'll do... very nice. Now for your armor and weapons." I dressed them in some clothes made of the same Silk as my sash, which I'd managed to replicate, and then the armor. "Wonderful! Now, just so we're clear: you are my new Royal Guard. Your children will be guards, and seeing as your bodies have an expiration date of about 200 years, I expect multiple spawn from each of you. Other than that, you will spend your time protecting those I place in your care, and also me, though I will very rarely require your assistance. Now, you should familiarize yourselves with your bodies and skills, get used to them."

They looked at each other, then themselves, and began stretching, getting used to the armor and weapons, a longsword and dagger, as well as the Elf-Bows they'd originally had when they tried to kill me, the assassins at least. (I'd made new ones for the others.) After a few minutes, they seemed to be accustomed, and looked to me for further orders.

"Of course, you'll stay here for now, but soon I'll be needing you as guards for a Queen. Do your best to study the books and maps on the shelves, familiarize yourselves with the information I am providing you." I gestured at the wall of bookshelves, which filled itself with all of our combined knowledge of both magic and the kingdom's. All of them had held a serious amount of knowledge in their heads, and I had stolen and absorbed it shamelessly. Now I had to feed it back to them comprehensively.

They nodded, and sat in the furniture surrounding the bookshelves, reading the books avidly, which was a promising sign. Satisfied, I sealed the kiln, to close the escape route, and then let myself be pulled home by the Tree, which was far less sickening than the first few times.

—

The northern nation was apparently a collection of scattered islands, primarily populated by three things in abundance: Dragons, Elves, and Fae.

"The tribes each democratically elect an elder representative to go to the Moot, and they decide raiding patterns, punishments for major crimes, and the rationing of food in the summer. To become Queen, you must gain the support of the Matriarch of each Tribe, and then defeat the previous Queen in Mortal Combat. And yes, we've had kings before, many times, but they don't last long. The elders eat them alive." Vanya chuckled, leaning against the side of the boat casually, despite the twelve-foot swell.

"I had assumed that the 'Barbarians' would be human, and that they would have an entirely dictatorial government or a meritocracy, but I suppose fuck me for the assumption, eh?!?" I chuckled, gripping the side of the boat tightly.

'That name is rather misleading, yes. The 'Barbarians' are merely a tribal society. They have all the same accommodations of a similar sized society, they simply cannot farm on their lands. The dragons do not allow for the harvesting of crops.' The Messenger explained.

She grinned. "Oh, only if you're up to it! You look a little too green for me at the moment."

I frowned at her, and then sat down slowly. "I've always hated boats. Always. I prefer Mountains and forests. I feel safe there." I complained grumpily.

She smirked and ignored me, and then looked up at the sound of some sort of Bell in the distance, oddly enough, even though we were surrounded by nothing but open water. "Ahh... we've been marked as Prey. Ready your weapons!!!" She barked once, and the entire deck of the ship came to action, scrambling for weapons and tightening down seemingly-random ropes.

A whistling sound caught my attention, and I caught the grappling hook an inch from my face by pure reflex.