Zinna arrived at the workshop and stopped at the central chamber hall that lead off to the different workshops designed for each different craft. She still found it amazing that the structure had just sprouted up like the tower that they’d been forbidden from entering since it literally grew up from from its dais. The subtly of snake motifs and statues reminiscent of the Autarch itself becoming more pronounced as the structures of each dais alongside the daises themselves slowly refined themselves over time. Leaving her to wonder at what sort of grandeur the realm would have once it reached its peak.

A door ajar showed her their patron already putting metals into the snake head shaped furnace before moving on to sort out lumber for whatever it was that it was forging. An aptitude tester as the Autarch had called it. The infrequent changing of forms had been bizarre and confusing to get used to but after two years the frequent changing of address for the being had been gotten used to.

She continued along the paths enjoying the well made but as of yet unrefined manner of the structure. The dichotomy of the realm and its owner were a strange thing. With how the being moved like an advanced novice while also in the same way some rusty grandmaster might. The Autarch’s body and mind out of synch as the body required the hours and dedication to perform the acts so clearly remembered and mastered from the mind.

She was still amazed at how it had taken the highly unpleasant experience of what the Autarch had called awakening them to the energies to make her capable of seeing it. Her entire being slowly growing sharper and more fluid as she continued to practice what she was taught.

The athletic, stretching, movement and balance exercises had helped immensely in changing her walk from an almost half hearted shuffle to a more graceful walk. Sechid though glided across the ground now, having been much more graceful in the beginning. She let her spinnerets spin as she held her hand up and watched the silk move up like she was a snake charmer. It still left her breathless in wonder the minute yet life altering changes her body had gone through since she’d begun to assimilate more with chi and mana.

Her attention on the snake charmer’s dancing snake she was making her silk do left her shrieking as she entered the tailoring workshop as Sechid’s upside down face dropped down in front of her own face. As she struggled with the miniature heart attack she’d just received the Spider was giggling her abdomen off hanging from the ceiling.

“You really need to learn not to do that when your walking around Zinna, one of these days you’ll fall of the edge of one of the daises.” Sechid giggled as she spun around and lowered herself down as her mandibles clicked together as she giggled.

“You know I hate it when you do that.” Zinna pouted, using her strings to whip Sechid’s lightly in retaliation. Sechid’s yelp of surprise and little jump from the whipping bringing a grin to her lips. “That’s what you get.” She responded to the angry glare Sechid shot at her. A sudden pressure in the air making both realize to keep their shenanigans to this level and not escalate things further.

Sechid let out her version of an annoyed clicking of the tongue. “One of these day’s I’m going to enjoy beating you.” She growled low, their naturally competitive instincts towards one another due to their races having on more than one occasion caused them to get into trouble with their patron.

“Yeah…” Zinna replied half sourly before she remembered what the Autarch was doing and what it had explained when it had shed its Kainaat form, as they called it. “Actually I think the Autarch is going to further our education soon.” She said as she grew a playful grin.

The suspicious narrowing of eyes Sechid sent her as the spider moved to the workstation she had clearly been using. “How so?” She asked carefully.

“It’s making something called an aptitude tester right now in the forge.” Zinna said pointing with her thumb behind her towards the central chamber hall. “Apparently we are to get our magical talents appraised so we can learn more of what suits us. Ep!” She started though she could only let out a short squeak when twenty threads shot out and wrapped up most of her torso and pulled her towards the spider.

A spider who had a wide near manic grin on her face. “Tell.Me.Everything.” She commanded as she stared intently into Zinna’s eyes. The intensity causing the moth to swallow in the same manner nervous pray would when caught in a spiders web.

So she did the only thing she could, she told Sechid everything the Autarch had shared with her before flying off to the forge. Sechid listening on with rapt attention, her eyes glimmering more and more as Zinna spoke.

By the end Sechid undid the threads wrapping Zinna and hugged her as her excitement bubbled over. “Can you check if the threads are strong in the shirt I was sewing?” She asked as she ran out the door.

It had been the Autarch who’d suggested they check one another's work and it had allowed the two to become something along the lines of friendly-ish rivals in tailoring. Both had a passion for the art and while Sechid had clearly overtaken her in weaving something about manipulating threads had allowed Zinna to be much better when it came to stitching and the like. With a sigh she walked over and inspected the shirt Sechid had made.

It was a dress shirt rather similar to the usual vest suit that the Autarch usually wore though clearly sized for Sechid herself. Moving her eyes over to the mannequins the Autarch had made of not only all its forms proportions but Zinna’s, Sechid’s and Ilphas’s sizes to allow for variations of measurements to consider for their work. The dungeon spirit having learned from the Autarch to turn more corporeal by solidifying the mana making up his body allowing him to wear the clothing they made for the man.

It was usually Ilpahs’s requested clothing that was the most exotic and difficult to make as they learned more of the fashions from what the Autarch and Ilphas commonly referenced as the Imerithian golden age. The Autarch having even requested a few made for himself despite the shape changing clothing it already wore.

It did make them happy when their patron asked them to make full wardrobes giving them the tips and points to improve upon as it went through movements it would require to be able to given each article of clothing's purpose. There was a certain level of pride when they managed to do as well as their current abilities allowed and then taught to bring it to an even higher level of quality and begin the process of improvement once more.

She smiled as she saw the stitching Sechid employed had become even more refined. Then she furrowed her brow and left the tailoring chamber to find Sechid. The spider easily found staring in through the open door into the forge chamber.

“What are you?” She asked as she looked over Sechid’s shoulder and into the forge.

Within was a scene straight out of myth. The Autarch’s clothing having been stripped down to simple forging cloves and pants with the starskin on full display. The singularity they’d both first through was a black blue fire wreathed sun prominent in the middle of the Autarch’s skin as it went through growing and waning phases of either side of the sky above them.

The duality of proficient beginner and unparalleled master providing an interplay with the floating pieces of glowing metal spheres floating around the Autarch. A rhythm hummed with a bell like quality to it underplaying every hammer blow used only once before a sphere was moved off the anvil and another moved to take its place. Each sphere wreathed in different displays of power. One in blue ethereal fire, another arching with blue electricity another with green the forth in glowing with mana and the fifth emanating the gentle white golden glow of chi. The clear differences in the metal spheres colours and the hammer coming down on the glowing metal causing sparks to dance off the anvil almost making it look like some primordial god forging stars.

“Woah.” Both said in unison having never really observed the Autarch while in the forge, it rarely went there after all and till now they’d always been busy with one training regime or another.

“Really does hammer it home doesn’t it?” Sechid said quietly as they moved to the side to be out of direct sight of the Autarch.

“We really are being trained by an actual god.” Zinna said half in a daze from the sight they’d witnessed.

Both looked at one another and laughed together the unreality of their new reality finally dawning upon them in full given the rather rare displays of power the Autarch performed. So far simply flying or telekinetic abilities which they knew of already from their universe of origin not really hammering that fact home.

“Ah ladies.” Ilphas said as he walked into existence a few meters away from them. “I’m wondering if perhaps I could ask you two to make something for me?” He said the friendly and outgoing elven dungeon spirit smiling his warm smile at them.

“What are you wanting made?” Sechid asked first.

“It’s actually for you two.” He said with a mysterious smile. A smile both had come to hate.

-

“I hate this!” Sechid panted as she slumped into the garden chair. Her hair slick with sweat as her species had a variation of canine’s manner of sweating due to their strange chitin covered bodies. Sweating through hair from the scalp as she’d found it was a highly conducive material for heat or cold. Something she hadn’t known until her patron had decided to examine her with magic as well as skip off to get a few biology books on her and Zinna’s species.

“It isn’t that bad is it?” Zinna asked calmly, though it was only her voice that was calm as the dishevelled moth slumped even harder in her own chair.

“It’ll get easier.” Mors said as he continued to perform the same exercise as them, only as he was a god he was doing it in such a manner that made their difficulties seem trivial. Tendrils of mana spread out from beneath the small disk he’d conjured up and acted like the legs of some demented spider as he moved around with it as slowly a comfortable chair was growing from the disk for him to sit in.

“You are a god so this is easy for you.” Sechid groused at seeing the casual mastery on display.

Mors simply smirked at her. “You know I was originally mortal right?” He asked with a casual wave of his hands. “I had to learn all of this as a mortal, since my rebirth all I’m doing is relearning something I’d mastered to the point of instinct. Do not compare yourself with me.” He then said as he stared the spider down with amusement twinkling in his eyes.

“But its’ been two months since you made the aptitude tester and tested us. When are we going to hear the results?” Zinna asked before sending a thankful smile to Ilphas as he manifested a few glasses and a pitcher of chilled fruit juice.

Mors frowned a little before he sighed a bit and dissipated the mana while still hovering in the air. He made a considering hum while he rubbed his chin as he landed on the chair prepared for him at the garden table opposite the two.

He first pointed at Sechid. “You will make a talented sorceress in poison, shadow and witchcraft with a minor talent for enchanting. You will also make a rather talented formation artist and sound artist when it comes to chi.”

Sechid blinked at that. “Sound artist?”

“A chi musician in short. Usually able to debilitate or empower with sound as well as disable other sounds around you.” Mors elaborated before he pointed at Zinna. “You on the other hand are more of a magus with talent for illusion, enchanting and abjuration. As for Chi you will make a very fine refiner and rope martial artist.”

He then clapped his hands and a delicious meal of steak, potatoes and salad sprinkled with a little garlic and mushroom sauce appeared before them. “Well no use grousing as you both need to reach a level of mastery to learn any of this so dig in and relax.”

Ilphas joined them as the mana body he manifested grew more real after being introduced to chi after extensive free time research by him and Mors using their enchanting and refining arts upon his core. This had allowed him to taste and eat once again and he often enjoyed meals with them now as well as feel the clothing made for him and by him for himself on his skin almost perfectly.

“Soon you girls will be ready to begin cantrip training. I’ve requested that Master Mors teach you at least one cantrip of each school of magic so that you can understand why the aptitude tester is such a vital little cheat-like tool for your developments.” Ilphas said as he placed a large tankard before Mors, the tankard filled with a frothy beverage.

“Here you are Sir, try the Amtherian ale I’ve brewed recently.”

Mors’s eyes glimmered as he took an experimental sip before they simply lit up as he took a large swig of the beverage. A bell like chime of absolute bliss rang out from Mors as half melted into his seat in clear luxuriation of the taste of the beverage. Enjoyment that only grew when he tasted the stake and a sip of it afterwards.

Ilphas chuckled as he made a tankard of another ale for himself and gestured at it. “Would the two of you like a summerith beer?”

“Why not an Amtherian ale?” Sechid asked with her equivalence of a raised eyebrow.

“Because it would most likely make you mana drunk for a few seconds before your body would explode from a chi overload.” He answered near deadpan.

Zinna swallowed before asking. “Why is Mors drinking it then?” Sechid had to agree even if he was a god why would he drink such a seemingly dangerous drink with simple steak.

“Because at this point anything mundane doesn’t’ have an effect on me and my advancement in mana and chi arts require a drink this strong simply for a sip like that to grant me a simple pleasant buzz. You’ll both be finding that the simple pleasures of this steak will be overshadowed once we manage to raise some indigenous cattle, beasts, birds and fish with mana, etheric or chi rich meat. Once that happens this will seam almost bland in comparison it is both the blessing and curse of advancement as your sense of taste will expand and richer variants of flavours are open to you.” Mors answered as he clearly appeared to be enjoying his meal to the fullest.

“Not to mention it also enriches the flavour of mundane food like this in the meantime.” He then added right before putting another forkful of steak potatoes and greens into his mouth.

“Huh… Death’s a gourmet who’d have thought.” Zinna muttered before she and Sechid burst into giggles as Ilphas and Mors chuckled. Their patrons usually easy-going attitude with some clear boundaries regarding respect had made a relaxed and rather pleasant experience staying in Ktep even if some of the exercises sometimes felt hellish to accomplish.

“I’ve noticed a more gluttonous attitude towards food when you’re Kaainat and you hardly eat at all when your guise is the Autarch.” Sechid mentioned.

“Life’s a glutton and Oblivion requires nothing to sustain itself for everything eventually ends.” Was Mors near flat toned response.

“So its a matter of each forms aspect?” Zinna asked and Mors nodded. “Then what is the aspect of creation? The big serpent?”

The question didn’t come as a surprise as he’d clearly noticed them having woken up to see him soar through the sky in that form the previous night. He finished the last bite of his meal and refilled his tankard with a wave to take a large sip to wash it down.

“The Minghse is the aspect of the cycles, of life and death, creation and oblivion and the cycles therein, it is the sum totality of my being. The Autarch, myself and Kaainat are all capable of the act of creation as creation has an aspect in all the other three.” He explained.

“Leather requires the death of a beast, life requires the beast to have lived, either way in the act of creation the objects previous form is subjected to oblivion.” Ilphas gave his opinion on the matter. As usual his strange simple yet strangely cryptic way of explanation.

Mors nodded but also rolled his eyes.

They continued with small talk for a while as the other three finished their meal. Mors larger size having contributed to larger portions taken with each bite. Mors simply enjoying the ale in his tankard during. They decided to enjoy small talk and simpler more play oriented mana manipulation games around the table before splitting ways over the evening.

Sechid retiring to put the finishing touches on her mana and chi enriched silk tailored pants suit with a broad tailcoat to be draped over her abdomen which stuck out behind her waist at the tail bone area. Two more narrow tails were at the front with a further two coming down between the opening between her forward facing and backwards facing legs. With a buttoned on pants fitting for her species flowing down six of the seven segments of her legs.

It was a style of servant outfit modified for her kind that Ilphas had shown her through his mana image. She and Zinna had deliberated on having uniforms made and had decided to try them out in different designs until they finally “graduated” and had the final designs as they took up their posts as his servants and possibly part of his pantheon if they actually reached godhood.

That left her half mindedly working while she daydreamed, something she hadn’t done since she was a child. Things had certainly changed for her it made her snort.

From almost being forced into prostitution through forced upon debt to the possibility of godhood. Things had certainly taken a turn for the strange but certainly in a positive way.

-

“The construction is going well and we should be finished at around the projected six year time table given. This design though is rather… unique in that the underlaying structural steel mesh addition that you provided had to be placed so precisely and the precise coordinates of the placements of not only the additions within the facilities but the facilities themselves around the planet. Though the increased wealth the cult now enjoys and the streams of revenues we’ve obtained through selling the gemstones and that wondrous clay you’ve granted us and the wide investments of those funds are paying dividends now. That along with the same standard of recruitment having stayed the same we’ve consistently been getting a fresh batch of initiates to the cult since your teachings were handed out.” Albert said as he handed me the small tablet with the details on the cult, its finances and the currently ongoing construction project on the planet Amerith which I’d gotten the deed for from Zak’thul’s first mission.

I flipped through it as I stayed in the Autarch form now most of the time as I visited to check on my cult and play around with my more void based abilities. The organic ftl capability I’d mutated was like a long-range teleportation organ. The minimum distance was around a thousand kilometres and if I didn’t wrap myself in my energies tightly before departure a shock wave was released at the point of origin. Easily enough to cause a compression explosion at the origin point while in atmosphere.

“And the acquiring of generators and equipment for each facility? I imagine the robotic workforce is providing the precession currently required for the project?” I asked after I looked over the design grabbing elements from Persian, Egyptian, Cambodian and Korean design elements and philosophies to create a facility with inbuilt mystical defences and the ground work for arrays once I eventually acquired the planet itself into my realm. I’d even gotten permission and everything. She’d even pointed out that once the scourge was over their home world would be the perfect counter point to Amerith.

“They have been coming along it is simply we have to wait until we can afford a sufficiently sized orbital storage facility for the materials, furniture and equipment and other resources we have to acquire simply so we have everything ready in preparation for the projects next stages.” He answered before adding with a smile. “There have even been a few pioneers answering our openings or even asking if training for positions would be provided given how some of them are a bit esoteric or more considered ancient cultural heritages or ancient hobbies kept alive through niece kinds of people.”

I sent him a mental smirk. “A paradise is an enticing offer after all.” I said before chuckling. “Do make sure that once they come in for the interview the requirements and choice they will have to make.” I added then as I flicked over to the designed end of the projects, small towns centred around the facilities all dedicated to different aspects and arts I could teach and required for the future.

The teaching of the mortal knowledge of the system that would connect with them once the planet was finally claimed was also included once they had accepted it. I had a few spirits I’d raised follow along and weed out the trouble makers and those that were there for other reasons through possession or accidents or the occasional heart-attack if the individual met the requirements for it. There was a certain type of individual I needed for each population that would surround and within each facility. My intentions and offer being of choosing which of the life oriented races I could create in my realm I should reform them as. An ability Sas’seshkaneth had told me realms had for the accepting of a peoples from either created world or outside universes. It was sometimes how demons and angels were made from certain champions of their faithful.

“Will that really happen?” Albert asked him having asked to become a Woodkin and had at first been baffled at the added requirements of nanny androids and programmable teacher droids. “Will we really be reversed in age while keeping our original minds?” He elaborated his question and I sent him a mental grin.

“Its unfortunately part of the process. Thankfully you will experience it as a waking up in another body type of phenomenon. The nanny androids are to help keep you all alive and take care of you while I provide the teachers and guardians in the forms of golems, living armours and constructs I am currently making within my realm. So once I finish creating the awakened constructs, modify them and then train them in the arts I wish to teach you all in I cannot in good conscience take the planet and its three moons into my realm. Which does remind me are the obelisks in place in the required placements on the moons?” I asked having noted that there were two moons rich in abundant types of ore and crystal veins which I figured hadn’t been there before alongside of a primitive life sustaining third moon. All of which I’d been given permission to take along with me.

I had a sneaking suspicion I’d find all both planets I’d been given permission to take abundant in materials, flora, fauna and resources of differing types corresponding to the aspects I had ascribed to either world. My original plan of stealing a pair of planets easily seen through by the goddess and I’d been sent a communication from her on the matter. Granting me permission through a deal had made me suspect she’d had gleamed my intentions with the planet who’s deed I’d gotten. The deal having allowed me to change into a Fiend version of Kaainat in the first place as she’d allowed me to tap into a dimension filled with Fiends. I’d come to realize I now had six forms in total, with the Autarch, Mingshe, Mors and Kaainat being divine forms while the mortal form was a mortal version of Mors or Kaainat in the most populous species on the world I was on, there really wasn’t any fluidity to them.

Through following through with that deal once or twice during me infrequent visits, appearing as a Fiend here and there to root out like some karmic hitman I suspected there would be psionic, etheric and celestial influenced variants of plants and other resources she had discovered or created within her own realm to have suddenly appeared upon those particular planets and moons I had been allowed to take for myself right about when I tell her I’m ready to take them in. That type of underhanded kindness sounded like something she’d do. However my own personal realm wasn’t even the size of a single planet yet as I had a hypothesis that it would grow alongside my own advancement.

It did make me question the benevolence but according to Sas’seshkaneth I had nothing to fear as the goddess was just that benevolent when she felt a cause was just in her eyes. I wasn’t going to deprive her of that notion though what I was preparing to do wasn’t out of some notion of justice, it was simple survival. I couldn’t live properly until they were all dead. I would have to be the only serpent in my garden after all, I couldn’t have rivals who had shown themselves this underhanded and clearly hostile.

I noted Albert appearing to want to say something and gave him a mental prod to do so.

“There was a question from one of the settlers about their children.” He asked and I blinked almost owlishly at him. I hadn’t thought of that part of the populous I rubbed my chin as I hummed to myself in thought my hand drifting down to the pocket watch chain, fingertips stroking the tiny miniaturized soul crystals on my chain. Could I?

“I might be able to keep their souls safe until the parents are ready to have them once more if they haven’t come of age already.” I muttered softly. “However I am not at my peak right now so this option might be much more of a sure thing or others might have opened up before the time comes I claim the world into my realm. I still need to build my strength and realm to accommodate the world after all. They will be granted a solution and a choice if they still want to go through with it once the time comes.” I said sending a mental reassurance to Albert, I felt his surface thoughts revolve around his own family and children.

He smiled and nodded before moving on to some of the exciting projects they’d manage to set up with the intellectual challenge I’d given them. The way they had codified and applied advanced silences and AI. assistance to create entirely new and efficient magic if only through simulation. Magic I was perfectly capable of replicating given my own internal stores of mana to do the job. It had spawned heavily enjoyed “mage” groups among the cult as they focused their research into specific schools of magic. Druidic and Necromantic magic having the most numerous members though I’d warned them off messing with void, eldritch or dark magic. It was corrupting to their kind and would do more harm than good for them but not to me as these energies shared an origin with myself in a way that made me immune to its corrupting touch. There was however a small number of AI. put to work on those schools of magic within a separate and isolated data space overseen by a specially programmed AI to monitor the “sanity” of each of the three within. Any dips and the entire thing would be put on pause and events analysed by myself to then delete the research strain or the AI outright.

The more physical threads of mystic research had enchanting and crafting professions have a rise within the cult as well as hobbies that even some of the settlers had taken up. The craft of runes and sigils in woodworking, blacksmithing and other such handicraft had grown when I’d shown them a growth totem placed down in a pattern around their farms causing crops to grow slightly larger, with better taste and bountiful harvests. The unknown part of those totems was of course how healthier and heartier the people also became from their effects from an interweaving of mana and chi in the totems construction. Thankfully I’d been granted a few specific types of arcane circles that would only grant the beneficial effects such energies would give without any contamination of those energies leaking into her world with it. I’d change them once I’d acquire the world into my realm of course but there were still far too many unknowns. I’d begun to figure out some way of moving through the imposed barriers of a cultivation and had already managed to almost finish the [The Forms of the cycles] quest. Deciding to call it with simple ways, life was serpents wrath as it relied on fast, primal and savage moves that allowed for nimble dodges integrated with moves formed through Druidic magic.

Death was Serpents fang as it was agile, precise, lethal and intentional with influences from shadow magic and necromancy woven into the moves to make an art that was as at home in a war as an assassination.

Creation was Serpents revelry as its influences were drunken styles, dance, acrobatics and free form creating a fluid style that seemed both almost made up on the spot as well as highly adaptable. Etheric arts, wind, water and evocation magic were woven into the style.

Lastly Oblivion, it was in one word brutal. Strong, tough and as inexorable as the unstoppable force infused with the immovable object. Within it however there was the strange and the eldritch as I infused it with Oblivion, Eldritch and Void magic with small influences of necromancy.

With Life and Death being mixture of Chi and Mana martial styles and creation having an adage of Aether and Oblivion having Eldritch felt like a sort of cycle had been obtained but I had yet to fully integrate and master these styles. I had at most gotten the mundane move sets of the martial art and had taken a few trips simply to practice against normal martial artists that dotted the galaxy using mortal form to hide my identity. With mortal form restrained to what the race was capable though thankfully I was in as peak physical form as the species was capable of. It had certainly allowed for some rather fast refinement of the styles as I gathered practical experience but if I wanted to refine the mystical aspects I needed something this particular universe wasn’t capable of.

Either way if things were going to proceed as I had decided to half schedule it I’d take a further four to six years to train Sechid and Zinna to an acceptable standard to allow them to reliably self-study and improve without me for a little while. That would allow me to check up on the little Scion and be a bit more involved in the cult as I teach them lesser arts from time to time so that they would be more familiar with the energies touch that would most likely be on offer for them to have an affinity to once they were born once more within my realm.

I stood as I grew a desire to visit the forge once again. Rebuilding and beating out the rust of skills built up from the previous lives felt invigorating. I looked at Albert and place a hand on his shoulder. “Do not worry Albert you are all doing what you can, how you can for this project to work. I will not deceive you all on this. Now excuse me there is only so long I can manifest in this world now that I’ve come to its creators owner.” I explained as I’d come to an agreement of doing the Fiend play once or twice more over the next years until my students could study further on their own.