Ch. 12: Dominance and Authority 4

“Before Ganel comes with this Kosok Kre, let me ask you something, my lord.” Falth stood at the ready next to Rainier with Sataska close by. The twins, Nera and Tero were going through Falth’s command of protecting Rainier and took positions relatively close to him keeping watch with their polearms at the ready. “Do you know about magic?”

On a side note, Nera’s weapon was a glaive with two edges on opposite sides of the pole on both ends of the hafts. Tero’s weapon of choice was had a narrow spear tip at the top with a single but long half-moon edge below it.

“A bit embarrassing to say, but not much.” Admitted Rainier. He had gained a few hints of magic through the encyclopedia, but not an actual entry for magic itself. He attributed that to the fact that magic was too vague of a subject to have an entry.

“Understandable since you are a human from a world without magic.” Falth had been told about Rainier’s origin. And while he was initially surprised, he mentioned a few other such occurrences that had happened during his lifetime, though it was still a rare event. “Well then… Where to begin?”

“I’ve heard a little about these elements, perhaps there? I’m rather curious.” In many stories Rainier had read and from various games, there was always the general natural set of elements. He was curious since there seemed to be more than just that in Ademptis.

“As you wish. Before that even, I should mention this special word: Concept. A concept is everything in Ademptis and the universe. The concept of life, death, fire, emotions, animals, theocracy, justice and so on are all concepts that could not exist without being introduced to this world by the corresponding god of that concept. Many researchers dedicated their whole life in unraveling the mysteries of concepts and achieved very little. Perhaps the biggest breakthrough was that there existed special items imbued with concept essence by the gods themselves. These special enchantments are unrivaled in their potency and uniqueness.”

‘Like the Razor of Envy… And Garavan’s Masque. They must have been imbued with the concepts of envy for the razor and emotions for the masque judging by their encyclopedia entries.’ Rainier instantly broke through the mystery behind his special items by chance.

“Since concepts are too confusing to truly understand, I won’t spend any more time on them.” Falth shrugged as if saying there was nothing he could do. “As for the natural elements, there are twelve total: fire, water, air, earth, light, darkness, life, death, wood, metal, flesh, and cosmic. Cosmic often goes by other names though, like ‘null’ or ‘natural’ but cosmic is the most common term. Most species in Ademptis are born with a random natural affinity towards one element, though we dhampirs are born with solely darkness affinity. Aside from the natural affinity, sentient species can learn to specialize in other elements, but very few can learn to use more than three in their lifetime. The last thing I want to mention are the various levels of understanding and skill in using magic, five in total. The weakest level is the tropospheric level, and then from there it is the stratospheric level, mesosphere, thermospheric level, and exospheric level.”

“What can these various elements do?” While the fire, water, air, and earth bit was pretty obvious, Rainier had never heard of the rest in fiction.

“Fire commands hot energy and the flames that perpetuate such heat. Water commands the precious liquid that keeps everything and everyone alive as well as cold energy. Earth commands the stones, crystals, and soil of the land as well as neutral energy. Air commands the inviable gas the surrounds all of life as well as the climate that controls weather.”

‘So even the four basic fantasy elements are fairly different than normal.’ Rainier stroked his fuzzy chin. It seemed he had a need to shave which Rainier thought off topic.

“Light commands not only the visible spectrums life looks through, but the holy might of the sun’s solar energy. Darkness commands the veil that erases light as well as the moon’s lunar energy. Life, albeit a passive form of magic, soothes and revives the weary and hopeless, it can also bring animation to inorganic vessels. Death is also a passive element, but brings solace to the depressed and lonesome; it also commands the art of necromancy which brings animation to organic vessels.”

‘I thought death and darkness magic would sound more menacing. It seems even evil sounding magic may actually do the most good in Ademptis.’

“Wood simply commands the numerous array of plant life in Ademptis, so while the magic may be weak in a wasteland it can be quite powerful in a forest. Metal is weak in offense but holds the most powerful defensive magic. Flesh can be malicious or virtuous in how it’s used as it commands the ability to heal and rend animal flesh. Cosmic energy is without a doubt the most mysterious and most unwieldy of magic as it commands the natural forces in the world such as gravity, space, mass, and other such untouchable laws of nature. Concept magic could also be considered an element, but it is not due to it belonging in the realm of gods.”

“Though I expected as much, it’s a complicated array of information that is hard to completely understand in one sitting.”

Falth nodded with a wry smile. “Yes, not even the most gifted of prodigies can swallow the mysteries of magic all at once.”

“Can you use magic, Falth?”

“Yes, I am a triangle elementalist, a magic user who can command three elements. And the ones I use are my natural darkness, fire, and a minor specialty in cosmic. Though I trained more in melee combat, I still have decent proficiency in my magic.” Falth spoke with utmost poise. “I am confident enough to believe I could take on a good hundred or more foot soldiers or more without even relying on magic. Though my specialty lies in guerilla warfare.”

This all gave Rainier a lot to think about. One thing Rainier was skilled in was sorting information in his mind and pondering the possibilities, it was a necessity for someone who read as many books as he had. Of course there was no doubt that in the history of Ademptis that someone utilized the vastness of magic into numerous tactics. ‘Hm, I’ll improvise on this later.’

“Lord! Here is Kosok Kre.” Ganel finally arrived with his spear planted on the ground, firmly announcing his entrance.

The eight legged spider human calmly strode in, the chittering noise of his spider feet sounded like raindrops on the stones he walked over. Though Kosok Kre was calm, there was a hint of nervousness visible to Rainier.

Behind Kosok Kre was another dhampir that had its weapon wrapped around Kosok Kre’s neck, a type of polearm with a spear tip and a sharpened hook like a sickle next to it.

Rainier broke the tension in the air first. “It hasn’t been too long since I last saw you. So I can only guess this must be urgent?”

“Yes… And now that it seems you have these powerful beings under your command, I am certain you could help.”

“If you say so. Anyways, what did you need help with?”

“Do you remember me mentioning that unknown race of beings inhabiting the northern end of the plateau?”

“What about them?”

“They are venturing further south than before, even coming into contact with one of our nests. They entered the next and slaughtered everyone inside it, even smashing the eggs into pieces. It has been unanimously decided to assemble a full army and remove them from the plateau.”

“And what does this have to do with me?” The arachnacosa should deal with their problems and Rainier would deal with his, that’s what he believed.

“One of my scouts spied someone among the foreign race, someone you might know.”

“I might?”

“It was another human.”

Rainier’s eyes widened and his spine received a sharp jolt. “You said a human?!”

“Yes, hence is why I came over to tell you. You said you were the only human as far as you knew, so what does that make this human? Before you ask how I know exactly he is human, my scout was one of the arachs you met with me. He said this being felt oddly similar to you and I agree.”

“I wonder if I can talk with him.” Rainier desperately wanted to understand why he was here, so far the best clue was this human’s sudden appearance. However… “Even if this person is human, why do you need my help?”

“I have seen from you firsthand just how dangerous humans are. Their mindset is incomprehensibly crafty; my kin do not understand this. They simply want to ravage the intruders with a conjoined force. What I want to ask you is for your help, or at the very least, your advice in dealing with the invaders.”

“My lord, there is simply no point in assisting the arachs. There is no benefit for us if we help. Of course I do not presume we take up arms as mercenaries.” Falth offered his personal advice to Rainier.

Rainier nodded in agreement. “Even so, I do want to make contact with this human whether he’s an enemy or not. If he’s an enemy, I’ll side with the arachs. If he’s an ally, I’ll once again be facing the arachs in battle. I’m already too annoyed in having enemies attack me at every turn, though I bet the Ladia could easily handle the arachs.”

“Very.”

Kosok Kre didn’t feel insulted. He already knew that those with power and strength were allowed to be arrogant. It was their prerogative in the world of Ademptis. Still, he was feeling quite apprehensive.

In all honesty, Kosok Kre respected Rainier’s mindset. He was set on survival and thus didn’t turn down any option whether it would save a life or end dozens. It was those that stuck to a single set of morals, whether evil or good that perished early in this world. You either lie down and die, submit to the strong, or become powerful enough to command the weak.

“Then how about this. Kosok Kre, I will help you against the invaders and this human…”

Kosok Kre’s eyes brightened in hope. “Then-”

“But in exchange, all of the arachs will come under my command and eventual rule.”

The words of a tyrant. The saying of one lustful for power. And the declaration of the conceited.

“I won’t rule with cruelty nor will I disrespect the arach traditions and beliefs. All I want is for you to hear my call when I have need of arach might in the future.”

Rainier knew full well what his words implied. He meant each and every one of them. The true path to survival in his mind was to become an untouchable presence, a leader of men and creatures.

“You… Are not kidding?” Kosok Kre almost couldn’t believe the words coming out of Rainier’s mouth.

“I am entirely serious. What, you want it down on paper?”

“It’s just… I’ve never heard anything so audacious.”

Even the dhampirs around them could hardly believe Rainier’s words. The only ones with reactions other than surprise were Tero who seemed to have an eternally blank face and Falth who was giddily chuckling like a monkey.

“Then what’s your answer?”

“I don’t speak for all of the arachs as a whole, only a good third of them are truly loyal to me. The rest are divided amongst four other leaders who may not be as interested in your demand.”

“You don’t mind? I’m surprised.”

“I have always held a hope for my people. That we would someday stop hiding on top of the plateau and enter the world as a major civilization. Of course something like that can only happen after centuries of growth, but for some reason you make me think that you can make it happen even sooner. The elder of my people are content to stay alive among the lands we’ve hunted on since we first settled here. However, I believe in a new world that is open to ambition. Sitting there is boring and won’t bring any glory to the arachs. Even if you are human, you are wise and tenacious enough to fulfill my dream.”

There was certainly an air of charisma orbiting Kosok Kre’s speech. Rainier couldn’t help but feel moved by his words. “Well then, any objections guys?” Rainier posed this question to everyone around him.

“It wouldn’t do for me to doubt the lord’s words.”

“Whatever you say! I’ll stand by you through every hardship!”

“Admirable…” Tero’s eyes opened a little wider as he practically whispered his praise.

Only Nera wasn’t influenced as easily as everyone else by Rainier’s charisma. Nera closed off a section of her mind so that Tero couldn’t interfere with her thoughts. ‘This human is too odd. He’s far different from the weak ones I once knew. He can talk big like them and he’s just as arrogant as them.’ Nera’s eyes narrowed. ‘Yet why is he so confident? He isn’t skilled in combat or magic. He has no admirable skills that suit a leader. He may have mental domination, but other than that there is nothing noteworthy about him.’

So just why did everyone seemed so drawn in to Rainier? Nera could not fathom the reason.

“Kosok Kre, relay this message to the other arach leaders word for word.”

“Alright, shoot. My memory is very good, it needs to be in order to have memorized the amount of spells I have.

“I understand you are about to lead your forces into a failed siege on the invading forces. Well do not fear because I am willing to help you under the single condition that I am given lead command of your forces. If you worry that I am going to fail or are not qualified as a leader, let me assure you I am gifted with a superior level of knowledge in any type of warfare. You will not lose with me in command. After all, I have the knowledge of some of the greatest generals of all time.”

Rainier did not lie. Sun Tzu, Hannibal, Charlemagne, Nobunaga Oda, and even Shaka Zulu, Rainier has read about the exploits of each of these extraordinary leaders including their tactics.

With his knowledge from earth’s past generals and his own mind constantly improvising, Rainier was confident he would not lose even to another human from either Ademptis or his world.