Black Magus

‘Is he a God or a Devil? Well, that depends on who you ask.

While Devils can and do indeed dwell among us, some would tell you that the Gods left the Mortal Plane eons ago. Locked in their divine realms, they depend on their faithful to affect reality as we know it. Others will say, in this age, that they too are living among. They and their demigods, scattered across the Planes of Existence in hiding. And yet more will say they live among the stars- nay, they are the stars.

But what I believe is not the question. I know these things to be true.

I, and everyone else here, have had the pleasure of meeting one such being at least once in our lives. A Devil, to some; to more, a God, trotting about the realms in the guise of a man. To me, he is all three in a single being. Two sides of the same coin and the line set between them. A mixture that yields the laziest being in existence.

Oh, yes. Do not be surprised. He is indeed the laziest man I know. But with that laziness, comes a potential for opportunity.

Not for him. For his followers.

Delegation.

Perhaps that is his true power. As a man, at least. To find individuals who are aptly suited to do the things he simply doesn’t want to do, and lead them to success. Greatly so.

As a God, his power comes from a vast pool of knowledge that seems to have no end. That knowledge is indeed the very cause of his laziness, I think. But, as I said, it was such a degree of laziness paired with his knowledge that allows the vast metropolis you see around you to exist.

That isn’t to say he is a man of inaction, though. Besides those most-esteemed explorers of his, only a few of us here have been privy to him putting all of his focus into a single task. In peacetime, such sights invigorated the populous and imbued them with an unbendable work ethic. But, those who have witnessed his strength in times of war have all returned to describe him as the same thing. The same thing, in fact, as the ones with experience in dealing with him.

And so, to answer your question. Yes. Both separate and together, he is.

And now, here is my question for you: Would you like to meet him?’

'The Bithisarean Gazette. Vol. 7. The Royal Inquiry. Pt 4.’

***

It was far too easy to take flying for granted in this world. In a way, it was like exploring Saturn’s airless moons with unlimited fuel reserves. Anywhere on the Mortal Plane was within my reach at any time. Making the act of walking all but obsolete. However, that wasn’t to say it was useless. Inefficient, yes. But not useless.

In the short time it took for us to walk the three kilometers to the village’s outskirts, I was able to get an accurate mapping of the terrain and log the data in my Eternal Eye for later use as well as finalize the plan I had in mind for the place.

It all depended on the collective’s decision, of course. But if they agreed, I planned for us to spend the next tenday or so sprucing up the place to our standards, as I was confident that such a relatively small investment would pay off dividends in the future. Naturally, the first step towards achieving that was gaining their trust. Luckily, however, my senses were hinting at the fact that this town was in a state of desperation. And despair brought as much caution as it did hope. As such, this had to be approached carefully. So I halted the party a few ways away from the town for a last word.

“I’m aware that our clothes and accents may give us away, but don’t tell anyone we’re from overseas, don’t tell anyone Roheisa and I are royalty. And please.” I paused to face the Princess. “Don’t tell stories about the past.”

“You don’t have to tell me that, Amun.” Roheisa sneered. “That’s obvious.”

“Alright.” I pointed to the town with a sigh. “Now then, it sounds like there’s a construction project going on. I estimate at least two dozen people to be working on it, not including the guards. So, try not to look intimidating. And let me do the talking.”

“You can hear them from here?!” The Princess incredulously asked.

“One of the benefits to being half-elf.” I humbly shrugged. “My senses are better than most animals.”

“Must be nice,” Roheisa muttered under her breath.

“Very.” I chuckled. Then turned to resume a casual pace in silence for the last several hundred meters.

As I saw from above, the village sat atop a ridiculously wide plateau that, in turn, sat at the base of a spur facing southwest. Even with the mountain behind it, the platform seemed out of place. The sheer walls were unnaturally straight and stretched upwards of forty meters off of the ground. The town itself was made accessible via a slim staircase placed at the plateau’s center, behind two armed guards who were watching us with careful eyes; meanwhile, on the rim above, dozens of what appeared to be civilians labored intensely to construct lattices and frames from wood and stone while dozens more moved behind them to encase the skeleton in condensed earth.

Once we were around 100 meters away, the guards crossed their spears to block off the entrance and shout. “Halt and state your business!”

“I seek to purchase land!” I called back while continuing to approach and eventually came to a stop just out of spear reach.

“What kind of land?” One of them squinted.

“Commercial.” I nodded, then gestured to Letta and Giorno. “Enough room for a tailor and a watchmaker’s shops and homes.”

After a long pause, the guard craned his neck to signal the rugged men and women dressed in matching brown, green, and limestone-white leather armor and helmets watching us from above. All but a few of them were armed with spears and short blades. Save a few archers and a particularly tall and seasoned man descending the stairs with a great axe strapped to his back.

“You, come with me.” He pointed toward me, then grunted at the others. “The rest of you will stay 'ere.”

With nary a look behind me, I stepped after him past the gate and ascended the stairs to see what was by all rights a normal village in its first stages of life. The platform itself was a relatively elliptical space with four-by-five kilometer dimensions that’d been sparsely and randomly dotted with charred houses, shops, inns, and taverns filled in with winding dirt roads and young trees. From what I could gather, no planning went into creating a proper design for any particular piece of infrastructure. The only order to be found came from the large stone hut sitting to the right of the gate, the neat row of shops or houses lining the mountain, and the cathedral-like building towering above the geographical center.

Even more prevalent was the stench of death, which was more like a sweet smell to my necrotic nose. It poured off dark splotches on walls and bits of char on rooftops in waves so intense it voiced the vengeful whispers of the newly departed into my ears. It could even be seen in the living, in their weariness and anger.

“You’ll talk with the Mayor.” The guard spat over his shoulder with a manic grin. “Any funny business and we’ll kill your friends.”

I said nothing and only nodded at him to open the door. Prompting a huffed breath of annoyance to be pushed through his nose before he caught up to lead me up a staircase hugging the walls of the foyer to a set of double redwood doors, where he briskly knocked twice before entering. The interior was an elliptical office filled with nothing but an arrangement of dying potted plants, a few chairs, and a giant redwood desk set center before a floor-to-ceiling window.

Sitting behind the desk was a beak-nosed, tan-skinned man with slicked-back black hair and a lean build similar to that of my father’s. Adding to his uncanniness was the perpetually stern gaze that flicked between me and the guard before he monotonously said. “Good morning, Rodin.” Then gestured to me to ask. "And who is this?”

“A strange elf with strange attire.” The guard, Rodin, respectfully bowed. “Claims he wants to buy some land.”

“My name is Amun.” I cut in with a bow of my own. “And, I’m only half-elf.”

“Well, Amun.” The Mayor sat up in his seat and gestured to an empty seat with an open palm. “Take a seat.”

I did as obliged and the guard, Rodin, went over to stand in front of the door with his arms clasped before his waist.

“Did you speak the truth to the captain of my guard, Amun?” The mayor blankly asked.

“I did.” I nodded. “I seek to purchase land for my watchmaker and tailor.”

“For your watchmaker?” He repeated, punctuating the words with raised brows. “And your tailor?”

“Yes.” I amiably nodded to gesture out the window. “I estimate that they can bring significant income to this place. Speaking of which.” I turned back to him with a cordial smile. “What can you tell me about the place, Mayor?”

“He will be asking the questions!” The guard spat behind me.

“This ‘place,’ is called Hill Base.” The Mayor calmly, yet contemptuously replied with no acknowledgment of his Captain’s outburst. “This is a land of refugees, of sorts. Full of we.” He gestured to himself. “Individuals who have grown tired of the Epethian hypocritic way. We have resolved to forge a life of our own, out here in these unclaimed lands. We have been here for over three years now and have established ourselves as an industrial town.”

‘Perfect.’ I internally grinned before adding. “Though, it seems things have been rough of late.”

“And what brings you to that conclusion?” The Mayor blankly blinked.

“Excessive security at the gate. Nearly all of the citizenry drafted to construct a wall. Signs of fires. Pools of dried blood.” I shrugged after completing my list. “You were attacked by something or someone, and I’m willing to take care of that problem for you.”

“You can take care of it.” The mayor finally scoffed. “First you can buy land, now you can fix our problems.”

“Yes.” I nodded again. “And I can fix all the other problems you may have as well. Your food problems. Your construction problems. And of course, your security problems. All I ask in exchange is land for my artisans.”

“How do I know your… ‘artisans,’ are not spies, Amun?”

“Because Hill Base is not a place that warrants the need for espionage, one. Two, because your enemies aren’t the type to use spies,” I curtly explained. “Scouts, maybe. But not spies.”

“A good answer.” He nodded. “But then, how do I know you do not wish to usurp us?”

“Because we wouldn't be having this conversation if that were the case. And I have far greater ambitions than ruling a hamlet in the woods.”

His lip curled into a sneer but fell back to its placid demeanor in the same instant. “Let’s say I agree, how long will these tenants be staying in Hill Base?”

“For at least three and a half years.” I quickly said. “The decision for them to stay after that is entirely yours. And theirs.” I belatedly added.

“Hmm.” He sighed after a few long moments. “This seems too good to be true. It appears that I have nothing to lose, and yet everything to gain. What’s more curious, is that that seems to remain true for both of us.

“That said.” He continued after another pause. “I will accept your proposition. So, Amun, here are the terms of my request. You are to be accompanied by Rodin to fight our enemies while your party remains outside. He shall verify the completion of this request. Upon your return to Hill Base, we will tour the city and have your… artisans, decide on a plot of land, where they will reside for the next three and a half years, minimum.” He rose to extend his hand. “You have until the end of the week.”

“I’ll be back before sundown.” I stood to meet his hand, grinning wide.

As our hands met, the platinum snake given to me by the guild association jumped to life, slithering down my arm to emerge from my sleeve and wrap around our hands in a tight embrace. Thus Prompting Rodin to leap into action.

“Rodin, NO!"

I heard a dull thud land behind my head, but my attention remained focused on the platinum snake. Specifically, on its head. Where a large growth swelled to twice the size of its head, split down the middle, and flattened into two sheets of metallic paper that subsequently detached from the serpent.

[Request: Extermination. For quite some time, Hill Base has been living at the mercy of a merciless group of bandits. In exchange for two parcels of land, Mayor Johann Silas has agreed to conscript Amun into service to eliminate this threat with the Captain of his guard, Dukeen Rodin, as a companion. Deadline: 9 Hours, 43 Minutes.]

After the serpent slithered up my arm to wrap around my bicep, I looked up to see the mayor gazing towards the ceiling with an open mouth, then turned to see Rodin shamefully pulling his sword out of the ceiling.

“That’s coming out of your pay!” Mayor Silas coldly growled to Rodin and apologetically bowed to me in the same breath. “Apologies on his behalf.”

“No harm, no foul.” I quickly waved it off.

Eliciting a strange gaze from the Mayor before he broke out with some cordial small talk. “So, you are an initiate?”

“I am.” I nodded.

“And this is… platinum.” He held up his tablet. “I heard of the Association got a new commander. But, this is the first I've seen of their work. I assume this means you are of platinum quality?” He turned to me.

“It does,” I nodded again. “As are the rest of us. Including the two seeking residence here. If that gives you any solace.”

“More than you know.” Mayor Silas smiled for the first time. Then began shooing me outside. “We shall speak later. You have a quest to complete. But, first.” He paused to shift his gaze past my shoulder. “Rodin, a word.”