The Chapter of the Eight Dalmarck

Coming back to sense after that jump, I could already feel the planet draining my power.

I should have around a dozen years until I would have to at least physically leave this planet. Maybe I should control a champion then?

Well, that’s for later. Looking back at my people that I brought with me, I could see that I was missing a few.

What a shame and I thought I did so well… Just stands to show how hard it is.

I now have the form of a ten meter armored me. Just an aside note but it may be useful for later.

“Is everyone fine?” I thundered through the skies so they would all notice.

“My lord, our ears are sensitive so you shouldn’t put so much effort into shouting. I am sure we would have heard at a lower volume”

Tactful, asking me to shut up in such a way. Lets hope he will realize whom he is talking to next time, or otherwise he may regret it.

“Start settling in for now. I am going to look for maybe a better location”

With that I set off together with Solhok, Valtr and Harkness.

Eris and Sellese stayed with the Carn, helping them to set everything up. The area around where I had started the magic core lines was next to a river that I had named after Sellese with a small variation.

Further down the river, it passes through the mountain range with a few smaller ones closer to us than the main host. The river also splits of to the east just before it reaches the mountains but that didn’t go so far.

Surrounding where we came to was mostly plains with a few small unimportant forests here and there.

For a fact, that’s what most of the eastern portion of the Dalmarck continent is, river, plains and mountains. Not that I can complain compared to the desert to the west though.

Passing the land, looking for a better spot, I couldn’t help but notice the large amount of monsters and animals present. It has been some time since I released them on the continent though.

Something that alarmed me even more though was that the amount decreased the further we went from the Magic core line. I couldn’t use my power over much since it would lower my time on this planet so while I immediately went back, it still took me around a month.

The first thing that greeted me on my return however was the new graveyard. I counted 30, which was a lot for this settlement. Walking to the few wooden huts, I felt Eris coming towards me.

“We have been attacked”

“By monsters?”

“Yes, and a few beasts too. Sellese and I tried to hold them all back but if we had then we would have to leave quite soon, which would have killed many more”

“Good call. We need to gain a higher population though”

“That would take centuries just to gain those 30 back. Not to mention that the monsters and beasts reproduce way faster than us”

“We can’t stay here for that long… Our race is too unsuited for these circumstances. For now try to improve these houses and get a wall going, maybe after that a castle or something. Eris, what did you do with the lights of the fallen?”

“I brought them to me mostly intact and have them still”

“Good, for now keep collecting the lights of our fallen. If I were you I would start to think of what would entice the Carn to primarily follow you or become a priest of yours. Maybe allow them to see or use these lights”

“I would not start such competition now, as there are still many dangers to them. Those monsters will return”

“They will survive, no worries. But that competition between us is a system I am going to add for them though”

Eris the ever serious sighted and walked away muttering.

“He and his foolish plans…”

I walked to the current houses and proceeded to gather all of the Carn.

“Everyone, I have deemed this a good enough place to settle in even if the magic core line attracts monsters and beasts. Frankly, that line is also a prime reason for staying here. It saddens me that we already lost 30 of our kin but I will think of something to increase your numbers. I do hope you are all putting in the necessary effort though.

Yet, even if our numbers are low, we must have a way to govern ourselves. I have come with a specific house system; you will all create a House, and if a man weds a woman then the man joins the House of the woman and all the woman’s children belong to her House. The man must serve the House until its obligation of marriage has finished after which it can return to its old House. Those Houses we can further complicate later but for now that rough sketch is enough.

I have an idea that the Houses would be quite big but still quite a few of them and in any future cities they would have a presence. Now, in those cities, the local Houses that will be smaller compared to the Great Houses, will vote for the delegation of control over said city to one of those Houses. The House that has the most things of the city in control is the one who rule the city. Delegations would be like control over the garrison, the upkeep of the city itself, management of the temples and other stuff that we will no doubt make ourselves.

For now though, we will rule directly and allow you a little time to form Great Houses and local Houses”

With that speech, I left them behind. They were also most likely confused but I was their god after all, they couldn’t deny me my wishes. Or at least they shouldn’t.

Feeling a tad bored, I took one of the Carn aside before I would start the population dilemma.

“Young one, try to give this sword magic”

I asked him while I took an ordinary sword from within me.

“My lord, that is a very beautiful thing”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t seen a sword before?”

“No my lord”

“Then what have you been doing your whole life?”

“Only building and practicing other useful skill that a pioneer would need as you had told us”

“Ugh, sometimes I am forgetful yes, but to forget to teach you how to smith and defend yourself! Regretful and forgetful is what I am. No, matter I will teach you so you can teach others. Lets start with smithing then”

We all set to work and in a few months we had a wooden palisade that covered around 200 square meters that went in a rough circle around the settlement from one side of the river past the elevated ground our temple is going to be to the other side of to the river.

If that was too wordy for you, imagine a rough C shape with the open parts bordering the river, that should do about it.

We had several monster attacks but we let the Carn’s magic deal with them.

Only a few injuries on our side which was because of Sellese’s protection and healing and they used the monster corpses to get a few tasty meats on the fire. Luckily the monsters were mostly manticores and ogres so we could eat them all right.

Together with Berren, the Carn who I had been teaching crafts, we made a plan for a temple for me that would include a forge and other such utilities that I totally could dig in if I ever wanted to use mortal tools. On the reproduction problems, I have started on artefact that should mostly solve it while not removing all the original Carn.

It will however be made on this plane so even if it doesn’t degrade in power, it would still be a lot weaker than otherwise. Currently I am working on designing a mason’s tool together with Berren so that he should be able to replicate it. That’s when I heard a massive crash though.

“Attack! Something from the river!” I ran outside to see something crash into me.

I, Berren, saw my god get hit by the body of a large serpent.

Seeing the walls sway dangerously, I immediately ran out. The river serpent was now fully out of the river and within our walls.

“Serpent attack! Our lord has been hit!”

I started to form a spell by weaving its components together and chanting for extra strength and speed. As I finished the spell, I shot the fireball towards the serpent. I could see it body writhe in pain but it didn’t look like it would die any time soon though.

Then, If I thought it was in pain before, now it would be in heart wrenching agony if I cared about the cursed thing.

It screams filled the air and I can’t think of anyone that wouldn’t have heard that.

Its body hits everything in its madness. I see several people get smashed by its tail or in their houses hit by its body. Then it went still and from under it came an angry god. Where he had lain under the thing, there now was a burnt hole where you could see within its blackend hollow scales.

This was merely another reminder that gods are above and beyond us.

That thing crushed me! Me, Asen!

Healing the few bruises, I now look upon the dead carcass of a blue river serpent. Damn, it seems like we have to do something about the river too but what we have now took enough wood already.

Not to mention whatever houses we have to rebuild.

I also hope that no one died or otherwise I would really need to get on with the artefact and I was just having fun with Berren.

One day, I am going to shove all this responsibility up someone’s ass and laugh before making new ones.

I know, sounds counter intuitive but its true.

Even the politicians of my old home did that. During the next month, I gave the shade we had brought with us power so that he could create a new source. It took a year of my time here off but with it, the Carn could create a shade them selves if they gave it enough power.

With those few shades we got easy manual labour going and build my temple within a year. They just started on Eris her temple as she got them interested with the promise of necromancy.

Solhok has been sulking these last months as few of our people are interested in the sword. My temple would have to be redone soon to make it bigger but for now the equipment inside were okay.

How to make an artefact. Well, for starters it requires skill and strength.

More skill though so mostly only the white gods made them. I started by getting some marble that was in the area and infusing it with my influence and power.

Eventually after a day or so, it was white with a few blue and red streaks through it and I could start the real work.

hcIn my realm I had already seen that mortals used magic differently. They had to actively make the structure of the spell, which one could think of like making a puzzle with pieces that could fit into any other but only a small piece of the overall picture could be incorrect and seeing it would make you blind.

Its similar but for the spells they could chant power induced words that quickened this process or strengthened the spell.

Immortals, most likely some monsters and us gods create these spells intuitively most of the time to achieve what we want. It’s only when we don’t know what we want or how we can do that when we draw a blank.

After I make this artefact, I would have to leave though as it should take up most of my remaining power after my outburst of the previous year.

My spawn would also have to leave then since being there without me present dampens their power enough that they wouldn’t be able to leave anymore.

Continuing on with the grail artefact, for this thing I actually have to make a spell pattern for my influence to stay settled in. Not to mention stabilizing such an object of power.

The titanic complexity of it would rival that of a Great Fire. I first had to form the groundwork by laying up an illum, something that’s guides the magic to where it is needed.

Next I added a few separate spells and wove them together with an arfon, which binds spells together regards less of compatibility even if that could cost your life.

After another year, it was finished.

This Grail of Blood would have my original Carn give birth to more numerate and different, maybe even lesser, Carns.

They would have to drink from it and from then on only one child for every 500 of theirs would be one of the original carn.

One month before we would leave, I gathered all of the Puris Carn in my temple and told them they would drink except for the religious ones.

“You will drink from this grail and when you do, you will from then give birth to the Juris Carn. Sometimes you will give birth to another of the Puris Carn from your House. You will be the elite and only Puris Carn can belong to a House. Further more you all have to obey me and it will further our civilisation”

The carn that had told me to be silent when we came to this plane spoke up

“My lord, we are honoured and will strife to form ourselves to your image. But perhaps you could speak slowly and induce it with sense so we can understand”

“You would never know how it is to be god. We have all the time we need yet always need more than we have. Not all can write the story but all can participate. You have foregone your right to speak to me as such, beware the next time” I said.

Then all the Houses came forward except those that would serve our temples and drank from the Grail of Blood.

Berren and his love were mine from then on.

Their House would serve my temple for as long as it stands.

All of my spawn bound a House to their temples except for Solhok whom no one would sacrifice their lives for.

War and battle are simply less valued at the start of it all than it would later be.

As we would be leaving soon, we used as much as we needed to each make their temple here.

Why be so conservative if it would not matter? I laid down the current temple and instructed Berren on what to do and I build my temple in front of his eyes so he could build so too.

Then the day of our departure arrived.

We would go to my moon to look on and regain our power before we would try to create a portal to my realm. We also couldn’t make the thing if our people had to be looked upon. And so as my last act of this age upon my people, I placed several statues around the settlement and where they would expand.

These would be my watchers, inhabited by Lights and serving to Solhok. Then we left for the moon Lucais.

As a parting gift, I gave Berren a son that would be conceived in five years. I can’t do this for all of them as it would not solve the problem so instead I had done as I had.

I bade my future champion good bye and left for the heavens.