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AR Chapter 341
🕑 Added 2025-03-11 04:00:00 +0000 UTC“That which you speak is of great import and interest. I would greatly appreciate an opportunity to delve more profoundly into the deeper meanings of leadership. I am sure that the Alpha’s input will be of great value.”
Though the Alpha (and I was getting more and more of a sense that the title referred to the pair, not either individual) had said that I should just go out and speak with the people of Tala, I quickly found myself frustrated. The keelish of Tala were all much more intelligent than the regular keelish I’d encountered thus far. I remembered the unremarkable members of the swarm when I’d first hatched, how they’d struggled to speak at all. Sure, it hadn’t been long before I’d entirely outgrown them, but they’d remained the bulk of the swarm. I’d elevated my brood to be impressive, powerful, and intelligent, so I’d largely forgotten the bestial minds of those I’d been surrounded by.
Then, in the indlovu’s savannahs, the keelish we’d found were, frankly speaking, stupid. The only exception to that had been Farahlia’s swarm, half of their minds infantilized by her magic, and even so they were far and away the most intelligent swarm we’d found.
Now, in Tala, there were hundreds of keelish, all speaking in an almost primordial dialect of the Keel tongue, and though they each saw me as powerful, they also were convinced of the almost divine power of their Alphas. A large part of me wanted to rip through the Alpha’s home and tear them apart, to prove to everything watching that Ashlani was in charge now. After all, I’d seen that establishing myself as overwhelmingly the most powerful keelish would make most of those around me follow my lead. And, even with their heightened intellectual abilities, I could feel deep inside that the keelish of Tala would do the same.
Even so, I didn’t want to do that. The Alpha, collective though they may be, had seemed to be generally supportive of me stepping in as leader over them. Though, how I would do so without violence came to mind with struggling steps and general confusion. I fought to speak with the keelish as I had diplomatically as a human, the way I’d carried myself coming back to me without any clarity. The ingratiating tones and inoffensive posturing grated on my very soul, and every moment I spoke without offending, I wanted to rip my frills off. It was an affront to my soul, and I couldn’t stand it any longer, even after only the third attempt.
As I walked away, Farahlia approached me, her steps hesitant.
“What?” I snapped at her.
“I do not wish to offend you, Zaaktif, but what are you doing?”
“I’m attempting to speak with these keelish.” I grated out. “Is it not obvious?”
“Why are you treating them as equals? You’re so far above them, and I can guarantee they feel it. You’re an existence miles above them, and you’re… acting cowardly.” She cringed back as soon as she said it, and for a moment, I nearly lashed out at her. She thought I was a coward–no. I pulled my irrational rage back. I took a deep breath and thought about what she’d said. Not that I was cowardly or I was weak, just that I was interacting with these keelish as if I were weak. Long ago, I’d made the decision to act not as a human but as a keelish, and I’d largely done so. Now, here, when with keelish, I was acting like a human. I hadn’t engaged in diplomatic meetings at all with keelish, except to browbeat any resistance into submission, but since I wasn’t trying that now, I reverted back to humanity’s ways. I scoffed.
“You’re right.” I shook my head at my own foolishness. “Thank you, Farahlia.”
Without any further ado, I strode forward into a small group of keelish, speaking with each other about something I didn’t care about. I wasn’t humanity’s form of polite, I just interrupted them. After all, as a Keel, even if they didn’t know it, I was above and in charge of them.
“How do you keep yourselves fed? There’s not enough prey in the lands nearby to sustain you all.”
“I would assure you that another would much better serve your purposes, as I am not one of the hunters. Thus–”
“Guide me.” I commanded, drawing on [Imperial Bearing]. The change in my bearing and how I treated them was immediate. I chided myself as the group of five changed their bearings immediately. Instead of reticent, hesitant, or angry, they fell in line. Of course they would respond to Keel, brought by Nievtala herself to guide them into the re-establishment of the Empire of the Saharliard.
“The vast majority of our sustenance is drawn from the ocean. You have seen the highest form of our hunters, I presume?”
“The Sik’Tal khatif, yes.”
“Those names… they are the correct ones for their caste. I do wonder where you came by such information. I do hope that such a question is not an imposition upon you, Lord Ashlani. If it does so be, please pardon my impertinence.”
I drew on most of my [Skills] to ensure that the five, and those nearby eavesdropping, were fully convinced when I said it.
“I am Ashlani, the first Zak’Tal Keel in hundreds of years. I was born and created to be a ruler over all keelish, to lead our people to civilization, power, and safety. To strengthen my position, I have been granted the ability to converse freely with Nievtala, the goddess of victory, conquest, and domination. We were made in her image, and she has bestowed wisdom on me as I have grown from strength to strength. With that wisdom, I have learned the location of our long-lost ancestral homeland as well as the way for my subordinates to ascend to once more be Keel, something beyond mere keelish and khatif.” I gestured at myself and Brutus as I said as much
“That… is wonderful, Zak’Tal Ashlani.” The keelish I’d been speaking with, a snooty female, spoke with a quaver in her voice. “There is much that we here in Tala have felt at the tips of our claws, but each time we reach, the ineffable remains such, and we are left incapable of finding what we so desire. I wonder if your presence will serve to grant us that which has been held outside of our grasp for so long.”
“It should. Now, show me to where the Sik’Tal begin their hunts.” I said, happy to have made headway on convincing the keelish to subject themselves to me. In the back of my head, I couldn’t help but hear Nievtala laughing at me.
❮❮You act like a human and get treated like one. You act like a Keel, and wow, what a surprise, you’re treated as one!❯❯
Her mocking words echoed in my head, but I didn’t mind, since what could I do to a goddess anyways?
Comments
No_Creative_Name
Edited. Thanks!
Veldorn
" into the reestablishment of the Empire of the Saharliard." re-establishment
