As Nimh listened to Sebastian and Keira talk, he came to realise that abolishing the societal norms of this world would not be easy.

As it turned out, there was a massive population of slaves within the undercity. Most of them were relegated to whores and labourers. A small portion was slaves used as fodder in the fighting pit.

None were ever enlisted in the Prime’s army.

And that was just a drop compared to the flood of slaves throughout the City-State that was Hatalmas.

So he sat, listening as Sebastian Stain both taught Keira and looked towards the both of them for advice on how to restructure the undercity. It dawned on Nimh that he was in over his head.

After hearing about the original function of the gang lords, Nimh understood the value of having reliable individuals acting on his behalf. He was doing much the same with Sebastian now. But the more he listened, the greater his desire to burn this city to the ground. He wouldn’t, of course. He needed to start somewhere, and he already had Sebastian on hand.

“What if instead of gangs, we have associations controlling the sections of the undercity?” Keira asked. “The associations can start implementing changes, like no more slave contracts and create a safer place for the F Ranks to live.”

“It could work,” Sebastian said. “The problem is the core function the gangs offered. The undercity had to be enough of a hellhole so that people are desperate to leave. They would be driven to the fighting pits and the best fighter would be enlisted in the army, escaping the undercity. It lets me make my quota for the Prime and push for better recruits. Without that desperation, I’m not sure how I can make people want to fight, much less see enlisting in the army as a prize worth striving for.”

Scratching his chin, Nimh piped in. “Why not train your own people and have them enlist?”

Sebastian shook his head. “The army is not the kind of place you enlist in if you have a better option. The wars with the other City-States may not be big news to us, but outside, it is a huge mess. Normal citizens can escape the conflict, but if you are in the army, you are more likely to die a month into the fighting. Only one in a few thousand make it close to the twenty-year requirement to become a citizen and be discharged.”

‘What is the average soldier Rank?” Nimh asked. “Surely, they don’t send A Rank or S Rank fighters to war?”

Sebastian shook his head. “The highest is C Rank, higher than that are kept within the City to keep order. It also ensures that if the army fails the bulk of the Prime's resources are close at hand to deal a decisive blow against any invaders. no one lower than E rank is accepted.”

“How is the army structured? Are the command staff chosen by qualification or capability?”

“Structured? I’m not sure. Sometimes talented recruits get trained to be officers, but they don’t rise high. Most of the command staff are trained from the big families within the City. They play at war, using their achievements to barter for position. Mostly they just get people killed.”

“Sebastian,” Nimh said cautiously. “Would you enlist in the army if I asked you to?”

Sebastian’s face grew pale. “I would.” The hesitation in his voice made Nimh feel guilty for asking.

“Relax Sebastian,” Nimh said with a smile. “You are too valuable to send off to the army. But I do want people there. Do you have any particular people that cause you trouble? Alternative criminal elements that do things even you would call unacceptable.

Shaking his head Sebastian frowned. “Most people like that I either kill or have forced into a slave contract. You don’t keep that kind around or you might get a knife in the back.”

Nimh sighed. Sebastian had been quite an efficient leader. Ruthlessly so.

“Okay, back to Keira’s question. I don’t disagree with making the undercity safer. I need a more stable area to train F Ranks up. As for the army issue, I do not think volunteers will work.” He eyed Keira and her gaze was icy. Did she know what he was going to suggest?

“When was the last enlistment?” he asked.

“There is an enlistment every month. Eight conscripts across one hundred and twenty-five undercities.”

Nimh had been unaware of how many undercities there were. Now he knew there were three City-States, each about the same size, though Hatalmas had a greater number of S ranks, no doubt the Prime holding as many cards as he could. Nimh did not doubt they were trained personally by the Prime.

“That isn’t too bad,” Nimh mused. “When is the next enlistment?”

“In six days.”

Nimh nodded. “Okay, well let’s shake it up slightly. There are eight classes in the fighting pit right? The champion from each class enlists, so I want the second, third and fourth place of each class bought to me. I can’t do much for the winners of this round, but I can do something with those twenty-four men.”

Sebastian nodded, taking notes.

“I like the idea of the undercity having associations instead of gangs. Find people that you trust and get people to work. We need to form some guidelines and make sure they stick to them. Any law-breaking will be sent to me directly. Anyone that can’t work will need to be sorted out. If they’re crippled, we can see about fixing them. If they are fully disabled, then we can figure something out. Children need to be trained, but first, we need people that can train them on mass.”

He turned to Keira. “I will keep training you as I have, and you can train a group when I am confident in your abilities. We will be adding Sebastian and his E Ranks into those sessions. We will also be adding sparring and combat tactics. Are you comfortable with that?”

Keira nodded; her icy blue eyes determined.

“Sebastian, I want your E Ranks for three hours each day. You can set up a rotation so that you have some on hand as you need them. I only want to spend nine hours a day working with them, so we can organise a roster. I will remain at Wolfgang's base, so the training can be done there”

“It will be done.”

“Alright,” Nimh said with a tired breath. “Let's make some Laws.”

The law-making process took the better part of the day, leaving all three exhausted, though Sebastian left with a bounce in his step, eager to put the day's discussion into practice. Keira looked like she had been squeezed dry of motivation.

“How are you feeling?” Nimh asked, stretching.

“I did not think there would be so much involved with maintaining a city, or I guess, running one.”

Nimh shrugged. “It is what it is. Between you and me, that is the stuff I want to avoid. I am increasingly feeling that Sebastian will be an excellent mayor or viceroy if we put some work into him.”

Keira frowned. “How much of what you did to him will last?” she asked.

“I am unsure,” Nimh replied. “Tainting a spirit doesn’t change the intelligence of the subject, but it does align them somewhat to the nature of the person who tainted them. I do not think Sebastian was fundamentally a bad person, but he has been twisted. That was reflected in his children to a degree. As for how long it lasts? It is hard to change one's nature. The effect will be stronger now, and as it takes firmer root, he will develop with it as a cornerstone of who he is.”

“And you can do that to anyone?” she asked.

They locked eyes and Nimh could feel her trepidation.

“It is not so easy,” Nimh said seriously. “In theory, it is possible for one person to taint an entire planet. The problem is one person can only have so much spirit, it is not an infinite source of power. To taint someone, you need to infuse a fragment of your own spirit into them. Too little, and it will have barely any effect and you might as well just attack their spirit directly. Too much, and you run the risk of damaging your own spirit.”

“Your spirit will reform over time, though if you go around splicing fragments of your spirit everywhere, it will weaken, and you will need to train it to become what it once was and that is a painful undertaking. Remember this, you can do almost anything conceivable with the arts. But there is always a price to be paid.”

“Paid in pain?” Keira asked.

Nimh did not answer immediately, looking into her eyes. “If you are lucky,” he said at last. “Yes, paid in pain. Just remember to do your due diligence before doing something stupid and reckless.”

“What price did you pay to do that to Sebastian?” Keira asked in a whisper.

“A surprisingly large portion of spirit,” Nimh said honestly. “And a mark on my conscience. You remember what I said about the spirit bond?” Keira nodded. “Well, a piece of me is in Sebastian now. If I close my eyes and focus, I can connect to that fragment and feel everything Sebastian feels, know everything he knows and in a small way, control him.”

“Though to do those things will leave my body totally defenceless, a body without a spirit to safeguard it. The greatest cost though is if Sebastian dies, so does that fragment of my spirit. And I will feel that for the rest of my life. The greatest risk of tainting a spirit is if you require too much spirit to complete the procedure, it can kill you when the subject eventually dies”

Keira stared at him, stricken. “That is a stupid risk.”

Nimh nodded. “There is actually more. Sebastian was tainted before, which means the Prime may know he has been tainted again. May, mind you. From what Sebastian said, it is possible the Prime tainted a lot of people, which means his spirit sensitivity has probably been dulled.”

Keira looked lost and Nimh smiled. “All we can do is prepare,” he said confidently. “If the Prime comes knocking tomorrow, then I’ll handle it.”

“He’s S Rank,” Keira argued. Nimh shrugged.

“If we collide, I do not think it will be a contest of the physical arts, though I do not like my chances of fighting him in the spiritual arts either.” Nimh shook his head. “Anyway, those problems are for another time. Are you ready to train?’

After leaving the tower, Nimh led Keira on a run through the undercity. They ran like shadows as the undercity had been cloaked in the shadow the great walls shrouded it in. There were still a few hours until night and Nimh pushed Keira hard, utilising every movement form he had.

By the time they returned to Wolfgang’s building, stopping only after reaching the training room, Keira was covered in sweat, limbs shaking from the exhaustion. Nimh smirked, glad he was still ahead of her in terms of sheer physical capacity.

“Meditate for a few hours,” he commanded. “You may find it easier to tap into your spirit in that state. If you haven’t by the time you recover, practise the restricted training I showed you yesterday. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll be on the roof doing my forms.”

Keira nodded, sitting in her meditation pose. Smiling to himself, Nimh made his way to the roof

He was excited to try performing his forms utilising the cognitive arts. This was going to be an interesting experience.