The Empires Rise

With Laxreal's oath completed, I helped him up. "Let me get the gatehouse in before Draemish has a bigger fit that isn't done yet." Jumping to the correct menus, I select the gatehouse and consider where to put it.

The northern wall would be a good option since it leads to the docks. The same can be said about the east, which leads to the mining outpost. Scratching my head in frustration, Xelyphe steps in.

"Why don't I ask Draemish which wall she wants the gatehouse to be on? We can figure out if we want to have multiple later so we don't overextend ourselves for the time being."

"That is a wonderful idea, Xelyphe." Laxreal chimes in. "Why don't I go with you? Maybe we can get her to work with some people to get the start of a military district started?"

With that, the two of them head out of the manor. "I need to get better at delegating things," I mutter. A rustling of wings alerts me that Ritotorous has come over.

"Yes, you do, Drake. But not all rulers or lords were born knowing how to lead. Take it one step at a time. There are plenty of people out there who have been worrying about you. Go see them and return when you have cleared your head." He says to me.

With a deep breath, I nod and head outside.

- Ritotorous POV -

I beat my wings in frustration at how much Drake gets bogged down with little details. I see a deep shadow in the corner of the manor. Reaching out with my mind, I brush up against another being.

"Eleanor, I know you are hiding in the shadows. Come out so we can talk."

With a flourish displaying her heritage, she comes out, bows to me, and says aloud. "As you command, oh bringer of the end."

I quickly look around to see if there is anyone around. "Enough of that. You know just as well as Laxreal that I don't like those titles. Why are you stalking Drake?"

"Answering the great one," She says now with a more playful tone. "I am having a hard time finding what you see in that boy. From everything displayed thus far, he doesn't have a great aptitude for death energies and seems more aligned with life than anything else."

"It is not what he can offer me through his alignments. It is what he can offer me in terms of his fresh view of this world."

"You know of this world?"

"Yes, but not much more than what PUN lets me see. For the most part, this world should have ended a millennium ago. I need to figure out how it holds on and watch as life sprouts from it again or bring it to its end."

"I understand your sentiment," She says while finally standing up. "But why must you take this guise? Does the boy need to be fooled as such? Or are you worried about something else?"

"This is the only form I have been allowed to bring in. My status has shown him of my origins, but not fully. I must keep up the guise and only give information that would be a guide in this world. Otherwise, the penalties will be deadly for him. Let us speak of this no more. I must get back to Drake. He has shown some incredible things to me so far. I have high hopes for this boy."

With a quick flap of my wings, I take off from the railing on the stairs and proceed outside to see what Drake has been up to.

- Drake POV -

After a couple of hours of wandering around the settlement, I look up and determine the right time to return to the manor and figure out what that last token does.

Once I get back to the manor, Xelyphe, my father, and my mother are all waiting outside for me. "Why the sudden family meeting?" I pleasantly ask them.

"Drake, I think it is time that we all talk about what is going on and what the future for the family looks like." My father starts. "We haven't had much time to talk as you have been busy. Can we please go inside and discuss everything and devise a plan for the next day?"

My mother has a supportive hand on his shoulder, and my sibling nods beside them.

"Yes, we can do that. It will take a while to explain everything, though."

"We have time. Dinner won't be going anywhere." My mother says.

We all head inside, and it takes an hour to explain everything that I know to them. Once I am done, I look at them, "What do you think would be best for right now?"

Xelyphe answers, "I think we should get the gate up so Draemish doesn't go ballistic. Next, I think we use what tokens we have left to get more defenses up. Everyone has accommodations; another night of sharing won't hurt anyone."

My father nods along with this plan. "We should also think about setting some basic traps. We might get lucky and have the enemies fall into them."

"OK, so what should we do about the professions that everyone has? I know I haven't gotten mine to level up for some reason."

"Have you tried asking Muiress?" My mother asks.

"No," I sigh, "I am concerned he will just bring up the fact I haven't built him a separate home from Vranjaya. Now would be the best time to do so, I guess."

"Maybe you can use making his accommodations a higher priority as an incentive to help you understand your profession. It makes sense to trade since you have something he wants and visa versa." Xelyphe offers.

"That is true," I look at them, seeing the scheming part of them I have come to know as we grew up.

"Maybe we could set up a board near the manor's entrance, and people can make requests. I know it is a bit early, but maybe we can start to get things organized faster. You can also put something up to get people to focus on certain objectives."

With that thought, gears start to work in my mind. "And when we get enough people in the settlement, maybe we set up a mission or adventure hall. When the tasks are completed, they can earn points to request certain buildings, materials, or training from others?"

"Exactly!" They say with excitement. "It will be hard to start, but I am more than willing to take over this task."

"First, I need to figure out what this token does." Raising the mythical token in my hands.

- Mythical Token of the Fog: Upon use, the user can select one of several options.

Spawn Specific Resource Outpost

Outpost X2 Level Up Token

Move Settlement Buildings Token

Instant 2000 Tier 1 Resources -

I am trying to get more information about what these options do, but nothing comes up. "I need to get my commanders and original party here. I don't want to make this decision without some more minds."

Xelyphe stands up, "I will head out and be back within 15 minutes."

Watching them leave, I turn to my parents. "Have you figured out what your professions do yet?"

"I can take stone resources and make things with them. Mostly decorations right now." My father says.

"Woodworking is as it sounds. I need wood for me to make things. On the list are things like bows, arrows, and furniture."

Nodding along, we continue to converse till Xelyphe comes back with everyone.

"Drake, I better hope you have that blueprint for the gatehouse ready," Draemish says right when she sees me.

"I do. I didn't want to place it down anywhere without consulting with you. Also, didn't Xelyphe tell you I had the blueprint earlier today?"

"I saw her earlier today, and it was never brought up." She says, growling at Xelyphe.

"Hey," They throw their arms up in defense. "It's not my fault that the first thing you do when seeing me is make me start running and practicing." And quietly says, "You didn't even allow me to say anything about it, so I figured it could wait."

With everyone here, I inform them of the token and what it can do. "Do we have any ideas for which one we should get?"

"Honestly, I think it would be best just to get the instant resources." Shadow starts the conversation. "It would let us get more towers up faster and have more places covered more heavily."

"The instant resources would be a good option, but I think we should instead focus on getting the specific resource outpost." Laxreal counters.

"Why?" Vranjaya asks.

"Easy. We don't have any way to accrue some of our resources. Getting the outpost would allow us to select the needed resource; with some people working it, we could get more help without worrying about running out any soon."

"That does make the most sense," Strauvana says.

"What would the resource that we need them most be? Uxa asks.

Looking at the materials menu, I show them.

- Materials Menu

Tier 1

Wood - 404

Stone - 364 (+10 daily Tiny Mining Outpost)

Metal - 1854 (+0 from Small Mine)

Food - 550

Tier 2

Wood -

Stone -

Metal -

Food - 0 (+1 Per 5 days Fishing Pier) -

"From what we have, I would sssay that wood isss the resssource that we need the mossst." Vranjaya points out.

Laxreal looks over the options again. "Drake, did you ever use the outpost upgrade token that we first received for defeating the Control Point Guardian?"

"I haven't. We could save it for if we ever found a wood resource."

He looks at the gathered group. "I would say the specific resource outpost would be the best suited. We could level it up one time instantly. We might even use it as a defensive option to grow out from."

"Why would you say that?" Draemish asks.

"Because, when we captured the other outpost, a small amount of fortifications came with it. Nothing more than a fence considering its size." He answers.

With this final declaration of this information, everyone agrees that we should get the Specific Resource Outpost.