No_Creative_Name
patreon
AR Chapter 328
🕑 Added 2025-02-20 04:00:04 +0000 UTCAs soon as we set foot outside of the bounds of New Nievtra, Sybil’s plans were immediately apparent. The entirety of my keelish subordinates were arrayed in mostly straight lines, saluting me as I left. Instead of the human fist to chest or hand to head, though, they cocked their heads to the right, exposing their throats in submission. Their hands held what weapons we’d produced thus far, a smattering of crude spears and poleaxes held high in the hands of those closest to the exit from our city.
Sybil stood just beside the entrance carved in the ancient stone, and as I took in the view, she shouted out, “Our Zaaktif, Ashlani, leaves to gather more to his Empire! In his absence, we will create a city to last beyond the lifespan of his hundredth descendant! We will create and be the throne to which the wise submit!”
“We are the throne!” Echoed hundreds of voices.
“Our Zaaktif is the peak which casts the long shadow. May his shadow stretch over our Empire and never falter. We too are his shadow!”
“We are his shadow!”
“He will go forth in power and conquer in dignity! Victory! Victory by fang and blood!”
“VICTORY BY FANG AND BLOOD!” shouted and repeated one thousand voices, the sound filling the air and warming my heart.
I walked forward, and the cheers began to die down. Before they could completely go silent, though, I drew on my sonilphon and shouted, “Victory!”
Raucous cries filled the air, repeated again the keelish cry of battle. I wasn’t leaving to war, but the battle of bringing the foolish and uninitiated of our people to heel was a battle nonetheless. As hundreds of voices clamored in support of my declaration, Sybil stepped up next to me, the rest of my Keel who wouldn’t travel with me behind her. Each was loaded up with several ant corpses, enough for each of my pack of ten to have at least two apiece.
“Thank you for this.” I spoke to Sybil. “It will be important for our people to see me leaving in glory. Their loyalty will be reinforced when they see my successful return.”
“Of course, Zaaktif.” Sybil spoke with her usual complete professionalism. “I will ensure that your plans for development are followed and expanded upon if given sufficient progress.”
“Thank you, Sybil.” I grinned as I pulled her in close and nipped at the base of her frills playfully. “I’ll miss you.”
“You will be fine.” She responded, her usual wry humor coloring her tone. “But I too will miss you. Be safe.”
“Of course.” I grinned and turned back to the rest of my Keel. Foire was teasing Silf about how he hadn’t evolved to Keel yet, Took and Brutus exchanging terse commands, and Vefir couldn’t keep himself from fussing over the party to ensure that, preparatory to our escape, we were all entirely healthy. Shemira walked up to me, her face in its uncommon serious expression.
“It's most important that you return safely. Before gaining a single additional follower, before anyone else’s life, you need to come back alive. You are the entirety of what holds our people up from the dirt.”
“I know, Shemira. You make sure nothing slips by under Sybil’s notice.” My mate in question perked up and growled deep in the back of her throat at the insinuation that there could be something so simple that she forgot, so I continued, “Her focus is so completely on the larger agenda that the smallest details can slip her attention.”
“Which is why I have my own subordinates. There is much that I cannot address individually, but I have built a system to ensure that there are no unexpected predators looking to leap on our flanks when we are occupied elsewhere. You do not need to concern yourself with me.”
“I will merely serve as an additional line of defense to ensure that the malevolent machinations of the rest of the world are wholly unable to disrupt the perfect plans my cautious companion has meticulously mapped.”
Shemira’s imitation of Sybil was accurate enough that the exaggerated mannerisms made me laugh audibly. Sybil couldn’t keep her tail from twitching in agitation for a moment, but then settled herself down and sighed before looking up at me in mock surrender.
“Go well, travel in strength, return in victory.”
“Of course.” I answered and then, with a flick of my tail and a twist of my hips, I turned to lead my party of guards, scouts, and single diplomat to the north. Leaving behind my people, I walked onward. There was much to do and see, and I looked forward to the discoveries we’d make in the land we’d already claimed as our own.
[Sybil POV]
As Ashlani’s pack disappeared over a deep crack in the mountainside, Sybil gestured for Etra to start pulling the distracted keelish back to their assigned tasks. Though he said he appreciated all she did, Ashlani didn’t understand exactly how many individual parts to her work there were. In a way, his suggestion that she’d need Shemira’s help to keep an eye on everything was slightly insulting. Even if it was also merited and true.
“Do you have anything you’d like to ask me to do?” Shemira leaned heavily against Sybil as she asked, and at last, they were close enough in size that it didn’t serve to nearly knock Sybil prone. “Beyond what we’ve already decided I should do to support you?”
“Not at this time.” Sybil flicked her tail. “I believe that everything will move smoothly for now. As soon as the length of Ashlani’s absence truly settles into the troublesome, though, is when there is sure to be no shortage of additional problems appearing.”
“And why can’t we just have Took kill them all?”
“Because the Zaaktif desires to have an Empire to rule over, not a small group of elite Keel. Though we have now embraced the value of the strength of the individual, we should not forget how many problems we were capable of circumventing and destroying with the power of numbers. Beyond that, I believe that Ashlani’s plan to continue to expand our numbers is inspired. We will become much more capable of keeping ourselves safe from those who come to destroy us if we have sufficient numbers to keep our enemies from leveraging their own against us.”
“Do you really think that they’ll come to hunt us like he said?” Shemira flicked her tail and asked, not for the first time.
“Yes.” Sybil said plainly, remembering the representation of their goddess as she stood above Ashlani. “They will come, and we must be ready.”
