Devourer

Chapter 36: A New Queen

I took a step back from the cocoon as it ruptured and from it emerged a creature that looked rather humanoid. I got the idea from the advocate dude I met earlier. I will need an advocate and I rather not use any piece of trash I find lying around. The queens were rather terrifying creatures, with the large armoured crowns on their heads, sharps blades and rows upon rows of serrated teeth. The Queens were also large, being about as large as a small house. They were only the ones who could really communicate with anyone else considering they were also the only ones that were smart enough to have a decent conversation.

What’s more the queens tended to talk down to other species. I can feel the disdain for everything dripping off their consciousness. If I just imagine what would happen in a conversation with other humanoids I can already hear lines like “greetings lesser creature” being thrown in.

So I needed a diplomat and ambassador that the humanoids won’t feel too weirded out by. Thus came my first creation. As she collapsed out of the cocoon and gracefully stood back up I finally got a good look at what I had created.

She had a sensor dome and white skin just like me. Her head was long, extending rather far backward to allow room for the brain matter that she would need to command the queens. I gave her the sensor doom because I need her to be able to read people, tell if they are lying or if they mean any harm. From the back of her head extended a tail like appendage that was tipped with a spike. I am going to test a design with this trait, I’m curious to see how this will work out. The tail can extend and split into four, allowing her to use the tail to move rapidly across any surface by using the tail as legs kind of like a spider. It also doubled as an offensive weapon as she can quickly strike with four spiked appendages simultaneously. That will be a nightmare to defend against an unprepared opponent. Oh yes and those spikes were laced with venom so that’s another thing as well.

I gave her an elongated neck and shoulders covered in a regal collar of armoured plates that extended outwards in almost like a crown shape made of thin horns. She had four arms just like me but her arms were thin and slender to give her a graceful appearance. But that doesn’t mean she was weak, she could most certainly snap a gold ranked adventurer's neck or bend metal with those arms. Her hands were four fingered with retractable talons, those talons were of the same grade as my Kaiser Blades. So those were three inch knives on each finger that could cut mithril.

On her back I gave her wings similar to the ones I had. My idea was to design two sets of creatures, one for above ground and one for under ground. That way it won’t be too weird if a hive of burrowing creatures was controlled by a flying monster. I don’t want anyone to know these guys used to be the Armazaftund. I want them to think that these guys have always served me. It should be easy enough for them to uphold the deception since I can control them with directives.

As for her lower half I gave her legs since it would be more familiar to the humanoids as compared to a snake's lower half. The idea for her was to be alien yet familiar. If she looked too much like a human or any other humanoid she would seem like someone was trying to imitate them which would raise eyebrows. The idea I went with was that she was an ancient precursor to most humanoid races. So I designed her to look slightly similar to the present humanoids. I know what most of the humanoids look like thanks to some of Cecilia’s books so I made her resemble them slightly. 

She had wide hips that led to digitigrade legs that ended in three taloned feet similar in design to the lizardkin. I modeled the angle of the leg joints closer to the other more odd races that I haven’t come across like the Vulpine that look like anthropomorphic foxes. She was about two and half meters tall, making her much taller than your average humanoid. Okay maybe that’s less than the really tall ones like trolls but the high elves were the oldest surviving race and they were like two meters tall tops. The high elves as far as I knew were the most innately powerful humanoid race. They live so long they might as well be immortal by most of the other races' standards. Then again the Heirs of the Firstborn seemed to be exceptions, they could pop up in any race and their power matched even the most powerful races in existence. But I suppose that’s a topic for another time.

“Who do you serve?” I asked as I sensed her consciousness connect into the hive mind.

“I serve you, great one.” she replied in a melodious voice that sounded almost ethereal.

I tested and probed her psyche and I found her mind to be a powerful presence in the hive. She is easily the most powerful mind in here, besides me of course. I could tell she was very intelligent which is good, since I gave her all that brain matter for a reason.

“You need a name…” I muttered as I looked her up and down.

Something that showed her status and would roll easily off the tongue… 

…

…

I got nothing…

Yeah photographic memory, have the brain capacity to control an entire race of creatures mentally… can’t come with a name…

Oh for fucks sake…

Maybe I’ll ask Cecilia, she might be able to think of something...  I guess…

Well that’s that I guess…

It’s been four days since I started working on her, I guess I might as well get the hive moving towards Averlon. I’ll get the hive settled down in Averlon first then I’ll go try out that [Mutagenic Parasite]. It apparently lets me mutate and alter existing organisms outside of the hive. The change is limited based on the base template of the creature and I could decide if I wanted to add their minds to the hive mind. I would need a lot of practice on this one, since this would be my key offering to some of the humans. 

Well I should probably get on with it then…

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.♚.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

Sir Dane sat nervously in the room of an inn. It was a musky dank place, utterly unfit for someone of his stature. The last time he was in Peeler's Pit it was to put down a riot. Now he was sitting with his Knight Commander and his fellow knight Sir Holt as they waited for Princess Cecilia.

“Why have you brought me here? Enough with the riddles, out with it.” his Knight Commander finally snapped impatiently.

“Knight Commander please… this is important… we cannot tell you…” Sir Dane began.

“Cannot tell me?” his knight commander snapped in reply, his face slowly turning purple.

“I came here because I trusted you two, you are the best knights I have. But remember who commands you, we all have many duties with that rogue beast slaughtering our friends in the adventurer’s guild we do not have time for this. 

WHY AM I HERE!” his knight commander thundered.

Then Sir Dane heard the door open behind them. He turned to see Princess Cecilia gracefully shed the hood that was covering her beautiful visage. Her flaming red hair and red eyes glittering like rubies.

“Greetings, Knight Commander Rober I hope the years have treated you kindly.” Cecilia said warmly.

“Princess Cecilia?” Knight Commander Rober asked in shock as he stood up.

“What? How?” Knight Commander Rober asked in confusion.

“This is why we couldn’t tell you why we brought you here. Thank you for your trust sir.” Sir Dane said with a bow.

“Trust? Why couldn’t you tell… a plot? But are you truly Princess Cecilia?” Knight Commander sputtered in reply, his mind reeling.

“My good Knight Commander, do you remember when I asked for your counsel in a hallway in the east wing of the palace all those years ago. The time when I wanted your opinion on how a grain reserve would improve your knight's ability to do their duty?” Princess Cecilia said.

“Yes… I told you a parable…” Knight Commander Rober said cautiously.

“Yes. From ashes to mirth our lives are decided by the whims of fate.” Cecilia replied as Knight Commander Rober’s eyes widened in shock.

“Your Highness.” Knight Commander Rober said as he fell to his knees. Sir Dane and Holt both did the same following their commander. The sound of their armoured knees striking the half rotted wood floor echoing out.

Cecilia calmly approached and she knelt down before the loyal Knight Commander.

“Rise good knights.” Cecilia said gently as helped Knight Commander Rober to his feet.

“How… I thought you were dead…” Knight Commander Rober replied.

“It is a long story… that is why your loyal knights could not tell you why they brought you here…” Cecilia said.

Cecilia then recounted what has happened, her imprisonment, her escape, her alliance with the great beast and now what her father has done to Hearthstead. She of course didn’t mention the prophecy and merely spun the narrative of her father being power hungry. With a village burnt to the ground it wasn’t that hard of a sell all things considered…

“If you need proof please listen to this.” Cecilia said as she placed the audio recording device.

Now in addition to the old audio there was more. The eyes of the knight’s widened as they heard the voice of their king roar out of the small device.

What do you mean your operatives failed?

You said they were the best you could find!

Your grace, the mage was skilled, very skilled, her identity is unknown

I suspect it might be the Princess…

She is a very gifted mage and she has had nothing but time to practice the arcane arts during her imprisonment

If you recall she constructed her first original spell at eight years old

So she is trying to turn my own knights against me…

Possibly with the evidence at the scene it would be easy to persuade them or at least sow the seeds of doubt

Yet my knights have not sought an audience…

Treason in my ranks…

Very well, Sarana make preparations for a purge

If the knights prove themselves disloyal we will need to cull the traitors

Your grace, with respect. If this fails… it will be the end of your reign…

It will be the end of my reign if my own knights turn against me!

I will not let that happen, you know what is at stake.

If we fail it will be both your head and mine will be on the chopping block

Your grace…

THAT IS A COMMAND! 

Make your preparations…

Cecilia inwardly smiled as she listened to the recording. In reality that whole both of their heads on the chopping block thing wasn’t talking about the people lynching the pair of them. It was talking about what heaven would do if they found out about the prophecy…

But the knights didn’t need to know that…

“A purge…” Knight Commander Rober said shakily.

“Yes, my father in his bid to remain in power has decided that your long years of service are something to be easily discarded. He has clearly shown that he does not value the lives of his soldiers or his citizens. He has on all accounts broken his oath as protector of the realm.” Cecilia said solemnly.

“Then we must act… we cannot allow this to happen. He won’t stop at one village…” Knight Commander Rober muttered.

“Yes, he won’t. He burned that village just to get information on my friend. What will he do when his crown is at risk?” Cecilia asked.

“Yes, he will… but what of your friend? That beast has killed dozens of adventurers. Why would you ally with it?” Knight Commander Rober asked.

“He was the one that freed me. He is no dull beast my good Knight Commander. As far as he knew, he woke up to see a group of humans trying to kill him. Is that surprising that one as powerful as him would not strike back?

A human would not react much differently. My friend is quite reasonable, Knight Commander. He has a sharp mind and his life spans far into ancient times. I dare say he is the wisest individual in the region.” Cecilia said.

“How old is he?” Knight Commander Rober asked cautiously. 

It is common knowledge that what is old is powerful. Size is not a good gauge of strength, it is what lies within that matters. An individual’s strength can vary from a cup to an ocean and when the creatures of old fought the legends say they could sunder mountains. Even today millions of years later some parts of the land bear the scars of ancient battles.

Cursed desserts in the middle of jungles. A frozen island in the tropics. A mountain that looks like it has been cleaved in twain. Cliff sides that are made of black glass. Many vestiges of a time when gods walked the world. 

“I do not know, he has never shown me his full strength. Best to not show your full hand until necessary, at least that’s what he told me. I can tell you he is at least as old as the Elysian Empire. The vault he was sealed in had some of their old magics. I saw some old runes of power within.” Cecilia said.

“Elysian Empire… if we let this go on, more adventurers will be butchered…” Knight Commander Rober muttered as all the implications started to sink in.

“Yes, I saw a fight between a gold ranked team and my friend. It wasn’t a battle, not even a fight, it was slaughter. Their spells and attacks bounced off their hide like common stones and his blades cut an adventurer’s mithril shield in half with a single blow. 

But not that surprising considering we use mithril because the old alloys are lost to us and we no longer possess the knowledge to properly capitalise on mithril’s ability to hold enchantments.” Cecilia said with a shake of her head.

“We cannot beat him Knight Commander Rober, if he has survived the empires of old we do not stand a chance. We cannot kill what we can barely understand.” Cecilia said.

“Yes, we fight monsters by capitalizing on their weaknesses. There is no guarantee we can even exploit the weakness even if we knew what it was…” Knight Commander Rober said with a sigh.

“That is not all, in truth if I wanted to take the throne by force I could have already done so. But I cannot do that, a violent usurpation would throw our nation into chaos. We cannot afford that now, especially with Tralis and Beralis at each other’s throats.

Lady Sarana tells me they are already at war and Tralis is winning. Tralis is ruled by a usurper house, Lady Sarana has sent me concerning news about their leadership.” Cecilia said grimly.

“What kind of news?” Knight Commander Rober asked as he narrowed his eyes, the steel of an old warrior showing in his gaze. Although he did not always agree with that spymaster, as a military commander he cannot deny the utility of the information she provides.

“The crown prince is a brute. He razed a town that refused to surrender to him. He found a particularly beautiful mage and he wanted her as his personal toy. But as you know mages are not easy to tame, we can strike and kill with nothing but our minds. 

So he subjected her to the Rite of Tranquillity.” Cecilia said darkly.

The Rite of Tranquillity was a form of dark magic. Cecilia herself is familiar with it and she knows how to use it. It is a cruel form of the arcane, it is essentially a form of magical lobotomy. It is speculated that the Rite of Tranquility severs the connection of the individual from their font of ether. Which is where all creatures are believed to draw their power from.  

It turns the victim into a dull drone-like creature that obeys orders blindly, the individual is only left with their most base instincts. Leaving only their three core instincts behind, the desire for self preservation, sexual reproduction and social inclusion. This means if you keep them safe and fed, while praising them like one would a dog, a victim made tranquil will do anything to make you happy just like a common pet. The only difference here is that you could sleep with your victim and chances are they will enjoy it because the tranquil aren’t that picky about their partners.

After the Rite they have to be trained after the fact on how to maintain their own personal hygiene and how to eat in a semi presentable fashion again. It is most commonly used to turn enemies into pets for the cruel and desirable individuals into toys for the perverse. 

“The Rite of Tranquility…” Knight Commander Rober said through gritted teeth. Cecilia knows the Knight Commander hated this spell with a passion. He has on many occasions said it would be kinder to hang the victim, better to die than live like that. 

“If Tralis wins and they annex Beralis they will be uncontested in power in the region. Without my friend they will be unchallenged as they march south. My good knights look at me, do you think that vile prince would let someone who looks like me walk away unharmed and unsullied?

Would you be willing to watch me get subjected to the Rite of Tranquillity and turned into a toy? Let the prince bend me over a desk and have his way with me? Let me carry his vile progeny in my belly as he exploits and mistreats the good people of our nation?” Cecilia asked, making her statements as graphic as possible.

“Never… my body will be cold before I let that happen...” Knight Commander Rober said through gritted teeth.

Cecilia could hear his gauntlets creaking as he clenched his fist. Inwardly she smiled, it was almost too easy. She was beloved by the people when she was still in Averlon. The people grieved when they thought she passed. Now they have an unjust ruler at the helm, with a just and capable replacement available. 

Now they have a common enemy to rally against. A vile creature of a prince to demonise. There’s nothing like a crisis and copious amounts of fear mongering when you want to unite people…

As her only friend likes to say…

This is going to be good...