World Seed

Master Ferlin sullenly walked over grabbing Aerwyn"s attention.

"Thank you for your warning and your aid. The people of Setrhyn owe you a great deal of grat.i.tude." He said bowing humbly towards Aerwyn.

"How many were lost?"

"Too many... but we"ll survive. What about Lyr?" Master Ferlin paused and changed his mournful expression to one of strength as if to show to Aerwyn that the Fae"Laran are survivors.

"Some escaped to Ardin with Nyris. He"s around here somewhere and should have a better understanding of their situation."

"That"s good to hear. Tylin told me that you would plan to go after the humans. Are you?"

"He knows me well, i"m about to head out now. I"ll be back once they"re dealt with to help out around Setrhyn."

"Good luck. I won"t be able to repay you if you get yourself killed."

Aerwyn smiled and nodded before calling his undead to gather around him. He wanted to ask about the cannon that now sat unattended a few hundred meters away as well as how to divide up the mana cores and other loot but figured that it was best left for another time. Nyris chose to stay behind and help out around Setrhyn which wasn"t surprising. The necromancer had barely slept in two days and exhausted his mana during the fight so Aerwyn didn"t hold it against him.

It was now time to deal with the insubordinate humans that refused to fight during the battle. Normally when he resurrects an undead in the midst of battle they automatically fight but some of his humans simply stood around during the battle, not lifting a finger to help. He didn"t believe they could outright refuse his orders but perhaps like Erit, they could simply chose a different interpretation of his words.

He wore a cold expression as he rode atop his zin beetle over to the violet eyed humans and spoke with a harsh, cold voice.

"All of you can no longer call whatever lands you hail from as home, your home is wherever i choose to lay my head. You shall no longer have friends, family, or lovers, as those are for the living. You shall no longer serve whatever lord, or king, or emperor you once did, for i am now all of those things to you. You shall no longer pray to whatever G.o.d you once did, for i am now the one who shall hear your prayers at night.

You exist to further my goals. Some of you will struggle with this fact as you did during the battle. Make no mistake, your souls are mine. If you believe your death will free you of this burden you are sorely mistaken, there will be no reincarnation for you.

No... What awaits you after death is a fate far worse than even a necromancer"s soul being torn asunder for a thousand years in the underworld. At least the necromancer can find some solace in knowing the suffering ends... What awaits you is the darkness of the void, MY darkness, and there you will stay suffering endless torment for an eternity, used as nothing more than nourishment for my power..."

Aerwyn paused and looked over each and every undead human before him. They had varied expressions but none that looked to be insubordinate.

"Now... Where is your home?" Aerwyn harshly snapped his words.

"Wherever you lay your head, lord." The undead humans answered in unison.

"Where are your families?" Aerwyn harshly snapped his words again, louder this time.

"Families are for the living, lord!" The undead humans answered even more loudly than before.

"Who do you serve?" Aerwyn raised his voice once more so that he was still louder than their previous reply.

"We serve you, lord!" The undead"s answer boomed out.

"And who is your G.o.d?" Aerwyn asked more quietly this time, speaking at a volume that one might use when speaking to a lover as if to check and make sure that they were still listening.

"You are, lord!" The undead voices boomed out once more.

"Not a single human shall leave the forsaken lands alive. Do you understand me?"
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"Yes, lord!"

"Good, then let us go."

Aerwyn turned his zin beetle and caught sight of Erit staring at him with the fiery admiration of a fanatic. Ignoring her, he continued to turn and saw the faces of each of his named undead show a similar sense of admiration to varying degrees. Aerwyn laughed in his head at the unintended zeal he created within his already loyal undead.

His "great one" persona that he had previously used on Frakki appeared to have done it"s job and the humans quickly fell in line behind him. Of course what he said was mostly lies he came up with on the spot to appear more domineering. While Nyris did say that he was stealing souls from the reincarnation cycle, neither Aerwyn nor Nyris knew where they ended up once the undead died but the humans wouldn"t know the difference if he embellished his power a little bit to scare them into submission.

They traveled at the max speed that the goblins little legs could handle, however it was still much faster than a bunch of tired humans could move, especially if they believe they already made it to safety.

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Earl Abery took off his stifling hot helmet and caught his breath as the remnants of his army took a break in the forest a few kilometers from the dark elven village. They had been running in the summer heat for for almost an hour and the thirty kilogram armor he was wearing was beginning to make his limbs go numb.

He and his men had already used the majority of their mana to strengthen their bodies for the battle and then once more to flee. Now that he was forced to use the strength of his tired body alone, the armor became nearly unbearable for him to walk in. He plopped down on a fallen tree and looked over the remnants of his men.

Their numbers had been dramatically reduced and Earl Abery could only see a few hundred amongst the trees. He would need to wait for Marshal Dolan before he could get an exact headcount but no matter what the number was it was unacceptable. He brought his hand to his forehead as he cursed himself for not fleeing when the bird-like creatures first appeared.

He believed that his men would be able to handle one or two necromancers and now he would have to live with the reality of that decision. Looking up through the trees he saw the bird-like creatures circling above that had followed him for the past two days. They were like a vengeful spirit that refused to let him go in peace, sticking to him endlessly.

"If we survive..." He thought and sighed aloud.

After resting for twenty minutes Marshal Dolan walked over with his report.

"Go ahead." Earl Abery didn"t bother with the politeness expected of a n.o.ble.

"...We lost-"

"Just tell me how many are left."

"Four hundred and eighty six, my lord..."

The number took the air from his lungs as it felt like he had been hit with a brick wall. These men were his most loyal supporters, some who even knew the truth of this expedition that risked the gallows for simply agreeing to follow him up here. They weren"t forced to come here following their lord, they came by their own free will to help him and now most of them lie either dead or undead.

Earl Abery wasn"t a religious man but today he felt as though the G.o.ds were punis.h.i.+ng him. The thought angered him, where were the G.o.ds when his farmlands were taken from him by his brother and Marquis Verden. Where were the G.o.ds when the blight destroyed the harvest. Where were the d.a.m.ned G.o.ds when the people of Abery starved. If losing his only son and his most loyal men was the G.o.ds justice then d.a.m.n the G.o.ds.

"We"ll rest for another half hour and then continue on. Choose some men that aren"t as tired as the rest and have them act as scouts on our rear. I don"t believe that necromancer will be kind enough as to let us leave else he wouldn"t have those d.a.m.ned birds watching us." Earl Abery spoke and pointed up.

After their short break they began marching at a slow pace, no longer having the energy to run like they had done when they fled the battle. They continued marching on for only twenty minutes before the screams of the scouts they had left behind echoed through the dim forest. It appeared Earl Abery"s gut was right once again, the necromancer had no intention of letting them leave.