141 Schemes and Trickery

"Hey! Wait up!" A voice cried out behind Ava.

In the eerie darkness of the underground world, Ava had been in her almost her entire life, it was difficult for her to see her sister, given the cloaking nature of the strange and mystical armor the woman wore, but it was easy for the young dwarf to hear her. The young warrior was already comfortable in the heavy armor of her people, but even her comfort wasn't enough to keep the armor from being tremendously noisy.

The sounds of heavy footfalls were fast approaching Ava. She had a smile on her face as she listened to the telltale noises of her sister's approaching form. The two were inseparable, and Ava was well-known for her speed and precise, while Aoife was known for her sturdiness and her resilience to the potent magics of the dark elves.

At the moment the pair found themselves patrolling the edges of the contemporarily fallen dwarven territory once known as Goldenheart, a shimmering dwarven settlement beneath Puerto Rico, destroyed and sacked long before Atmost summoned a demon who'd later engage in considerable, self-destructive acts.

This was a moment of fate for the sisters. It was only when Aoife managed to catch up with her sister and notice a strange sight out in the wilderness beyond Goldenheart that the cogs of destiny began to turn.

Creeping ever closer to her home was the first half of an army of dark-elves. This strange militia would be the first of a horde that would eventually destroy

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In the present, I listened to my servant. Ava was ready to bargain.

"Master... I beg of you, please aid me in avenging myself." She told me, her voice filled with sincerity and unusual conviction. The tiny dwarf was a surprisingly powerful, and oddly classless individual. I had learned firsthand of Ava's surprising might and even been party to seeing her destructive might be unleashed on those she or I deemed her foes.

"You know everything I know. Please... give me the power I need to right the wrongs my sister inflicted on me. Allow me to finally correct the injustice I suffered at her hands!" She said, almost shouting. This was a mistake, and it turned the attention of some of the demons gathered around us to her. Their crazed eyes left the bodies of their victims, countless human men, and human women alike many of whom still had blades impaled inside of them, and turned to her.

There was a look, a promise, of violence in their gazes. They didn't speak but demons didn't have to speak to be heard. They were focused sorts and had ignored Ava until now, thanks to the promises of violence their head-priest had offered them. That said, Ava's outburst drew their attention and I heard their queries in my mind.

"Master... May we offer this one to you?" "Dwarf flesh is delicious. Their pain and blood must be more so. Pain for the god of pain?" "She looks delicious. I wonder if we'd be permitted to breed with her before sacrificing her..."

The thoughts of the incubi were a tangled web of emotions and rantings about violence. Many of their minds were overflowing with joy at the thought of wreaking havoc on normal mortals, not ones created to be their playthings but ones whose origins were mundane. Ava was one of the very few mundanely originated mortals, a natural member of her kind, to ever step foot in this tower. And thus in her, they saw a perfect chance to give me a sacrifice and also slake their bloodlust. But until now they had largely ignored her, since I was with her. I suppose her outburst made them wonder what I was thinking.

"Did the daft bimbo finally do it? Has our king finally lost his patience?" "Will our king finally let us take her?" "I wonder if he'd let us remake her..." "If we can't transform her, I wish he would at least use her as a chair... Or a toilet." "I imagine that the incubi would love her if we removed her vocal cords. She could use that mouth for something that matters." "I could serve him much more thoroughly than that loudmouth."

The succubi were less into bloodletting and purely violent endeavors but their thoughts would have still frightened intelligent mortals who possessed the means to hear them. The succubi were fixated on the transformation of mortal flesh and they viewed my companion as coldly as they viewed any other mortal. I could respect the impartiality of their disdain for Ava. Some of them even mildly envied what they saw as her position of prestige at my side.

I was silent, and I didn't mentally command them to fall on her either, so after a few moments the demons huffed and turned their attention back to their victims.

"Ava, inform me of the precise powers you seek." I commanded, curious to hear the thoughts of the dwarf. She had offered me her memories, all of them when I first conjured her to my side nearly a month ago. In that time I have shown her the wonders and dark cruelties of my powers. I had even shown her my ability to grant classes. That said, my words were a mere smokescreen. I knew, vaguely at least, what sort of powers she sought. That said, my focus wasn't on her.

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While my physical form was in my tower, my mind was elsewhere. Or rather it was in multiple places at once. One of those places was the area where I originally built my tower. This was at the edge of the settlement of Oscuridad.

The area outside of the settlement was a strange place. The tower was gone, I took it with me when I created my floating island home. Instead, where it once stood there was an empty space. This empty space was unoccupied and consciously ignored by the residents of Oscuridad. It was here where I began to enact a particularly unusual scheme.

The first thing I did was mentally target the ground where my tower once stood. I focused on this place and began to activate a particularly unusual and potent power of mine. "Enrichen the illusion".

This exceptionally deceitful power was one I had not yet used in my life, but with it, I would be able to pull off an extreme deception. Inwardly I smiled, as I felt a menu appear in front of my mental view.

[Greetings! Welcome to the Illusion menu. This menu exists to facilitate the usage of exceptional illusion and enchantment powers. Your usage of "Enrichen the illusion" has caused this menu to appear to aid in the execution of your will. Please describe the illusion you seek to create and bring to life.]

This menu was fascinating to me. I took a second to read it and prepare my mental description of Ava's sister, the dwarf named Aoife. The dwarf had a memorable appearance and was easy to describe. I mentally communicated that appearance to the menu, and a smile crept across my face as I watched the power begin to activate.

The area that I initially targeted began to glow, a fierce and almost violent light filling the empty space. This light was initially empty, merely an impossibly bright glow deep underground. But that changed in a matter of seconds. Within moments a faint outline began to appear within the light, a silhouette in the shape of the dwarven warrior Aoife.

The light began to vanish not long after it initially appeared, and I watched with great joy as a figure with the exact appearance of Aoife began to fully appear before my mind's eye. The dwarven warrior wore the metallic armor of the dwarven warrior and had her same hairstyle. That said, the dwarf was a distinct and wholly separate living creature.

She came into being with her eyes closed. She stood still for a moment, while I wove together a soul for her. Crafting a simple soul for the simple being was no challenging task and indeed I had spared greater effort for my mortal creations created using powers granted to me by the life domain, because they served a greater purpose than this thing would.

Crafting a soul was an easy enough task. It simply required will and a modicum of patience if the soul was meant to possess real power. This soul wasn't. When I finished the immaterial process of crafting a soul for the dwarf, I mentally hurled it into the being's body. This process immediately awoke it, and her eyes shot open as she took her first breath.

The final step in the process was for me to share with her the knowledge I needed her to have. Which was something I hadn't done yet. And something I couldn't do remotely. At least not from this remote. I had learned that the hard way over the course of the last three weeks. I had to be in reach of a person to safely transfer memories to them, and even that I could only do through my "Tactile Teaching" power. So it would have to wait, for now. Instead, I crafted a link between my creation and myself and gave it its first command.

"Go to the nearby community and seek out Aoife. Tell her her sister is coming and you are there to help." I told the creature I had just created.

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"I seek the power to humiliate my sister. Eternally. I seek to become a necromancer." Ava told me, her eyes glistening with joy at the thought of the violence she hoped she'd soon exact on her sister. I chuckled. I knew what she had planned. Or at least I knew a bit of it. Her plans weren't fully formed when she shared her memories with me.

I chuckled as she spoke. Her plans for revenge were simple, but I didn't hate that. The fact that it was her sole true desire made it even better. I wasn't even opposed to aiding her in getting her revenge, I just didn't want Aoife to die for so silly a reason. That was why I thought it was worth using my "Enrichen the illusion" power to save Aoife from the plans Ava had in mind for her. Ava watched my silent chuckle and fell silent herself for a few moments. Eventually though the dwarf spoke once more.

"Master... What must I offer to you for you to think it worth aiding me in fulfilling my desires? Must I start a cult in your name? Must I dedicate my soul to you? My... body?" The dark dwarf asked, tears pooling in her eyes as she spoke. I audibly laughed this time, before speaking.

"Oh, Ava... I plan to aid you. In fact, I have already begun to do so." I told the dwarf, as I quietly targeted her and bestowed upon her the necromancer class. Her eyes flashed a vibrant shade of blue as her menu opened up in front of her and alerted her to the prize she sought. And more than that I wasn't done either.

"What you shall offer me is extensive, little dwarf. But in exchange, I shall grant you all you seek. You shall have your precious revenge." I told her, my own eyes shimmering as I spoke. This visibly excited her, her cheeks flushing with delight as she considered the sudden reality that her longest goal was within her reach for the first time in her entire life.

I knew what Ava was willing to give up in exchange for her revenge. And the darkest recesses of my mind was already hard at work imagining the actual price she would pay. The heavy price I would demand after I helped her achieve her childish dreams of revenge. But for now, I had other things to focus on.

"I am being... generous." I informed the dwarf, as I quietly targeted her with one of my newest active powers, "Class Manipulation". I had activated it once before, targeting another necromancer out of curiosity to see how it worked on a physical level. The results were amazing to watch.

I selected her newly received class and boosted it significantly, sending it skyrocketing from level one to level 12 in an instant. The dwarf had been a necromancer for less than a minute when she suddenly and violently shuddered and nearly fell to her knees.

I was infusing her with experience, altering the very makeup of her soul even further than I had just by bestowing upon her a class. And in the case of necromancers, this was a dangerous thing to do that suddenly swamped one's soul with the potent energy known as "unlife energy" which infuses all necromancers, something I learned when I first used this power, so I was prepared for it and found it amusing to watch.

"Ugh..." The dwarf muttered, as unlife energy caressed her soul and warped her very being. I chuckled, amused by the sight of the pained being.

"This is the power with which you will eternally harry your sister's soul. Feel it caress your being, and remember that this is it in a friendly, somewhat controlled state. What you are going to do to your sister is far worse than this." I told her, having familiarized myself with some of the components of unlife energy during these last few weeks. The power of the evil energy was one I was beginning to be familiar with. Especially how it touched and corrupted the living.

Ava began to smile as she realized the sinister reality of my words. She knew that I was telling the truth. Or at least that I was telling the truth as far as she understood. In a very real sense, I was telling the truth. I intended to help Ava get her revenge against someone.

Whether or not this someone was Aoife was a matter of debate. If someone was the same race and gender as someone else and had all of their memories, how far apart were they from being that person? It ultimately didn't matter all that much to me, but a part of me was keenly aware that it might one day matter to Ava, if this deception were to be discovered.

Aoife was one of many worshipers of mine whose memories I possessed. I intended to impart her memories to the illusion I had created and use my powers as well as the dwarf's potent charisma, which I began to boost via a blessing even while I was watching Ava suffer for her power, to fool Ava into thinking that the living illusion was truly her sister. This scheme would let Aoife live a life unimpeded and unendangered by her sister's wild machinations, while also giving Ava everything she ever wanted.

Ava spent nearly a minute on her knees. Around me, my demons snickered at her misfortune. The evil creatures enjoyed the sight of her suffering and I felt a number of them experience a renewed burst of devotion to me after watching me cause even a worshipper of mine suffer. In time though, Ava stood up and I chuckled as I examined her.

[Name: Ava (Level twelve necromancer)

Species: Dwarf (Dark)

Alignment: Neutral-Evil

Personal virtue: Diligence

Personal vice: Wrath

Magic sensing: Ava is a dark dwarf, a bizarre mutational offshoot of regular dwarves. Dark dwarves are naturally tuned to evocation magic, and are capable of casting evocation magic without much training. Her soul is tuned to necromantic magic, due to your intervention and abilities.

Faith sense: Her soul is well-tuned to the acquisition of power and her uniquely ambitious nature and simple goals make her an ideal candidate to become a witch.

Authority detection: Ava serves you whole-heartedly. Her only other desire, aside from serving you, is to avenge herself with regard to the indignities she suffered at the hands of her former masters. Her target? Her sister, Aoife. Once she has done that, she'll be ready to devote herself entirely to your glory and to your ambitions.

Soul sense: Ava seeks to serve you with all of her being. She is a pious sort, as are almost all dark dwarves. She could do well as any sort of religious class, but especially as a specialist like a witch.

Reading through the table only brought a smile to my face. I grinned in Ava's direction and summoned a few friends to aid her in her journey, a pair of undead driders I had special plans for. Imbrosa and her mate, another beautiful and sinister fusion of dark-elf and spider appeared next to me.]

Ava gasped as she studied the frightening and inhumanly beautiful undead. Not that they would be undead for much longer. My plans for the pair of them were especially unique and I felt like having them accompany Ava and myself as we embarked on this little quest to aid her in finally achieving her life-long goal.

My plans for the two driders were distinct and unlike any plans I had for any other creatures I had met to date. I planned to do something about the strange sort of unlife the two driders were locked in. Plans that involved the usage of some of the powers I had worked the hardest to obtain.