Matreemony

Matreemony

Year 133

The rifts opened. I sensed it, vaguely, my magic sensors detected fluctuations. But... nothing, at first. I wondered whether they are a group of invisible or stealthed demons, like the one that attacked the previous set of heroes. Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

Quiet. Very, very quiet. Maybe they are not on our continent? If so, that would be a welcome relief. But then, which continent?

No matter, local matters first.

Kavio struck a deal with the merchants guild for the establishment for a scheduled hauling arrangement between the new trading outposts, and goods began to flow. We charged very steep fees, so that those who made the trip themselves could still earn good margins. That worked, of course, since the beetles were free labor. They are sustained by the subsidiary trees which hosted them.

That meant new goods! Which was always fun. I spent time going through the new kinds of produce and output they made. Especially plants that were not native to this area of the Freshlands.

I have yet to find any non-hybrid plants in the Rottedlands, but these new trading partners are an entire continent away. Surely there are types of plants that are different, so, we were also potential customers. Jura helped to request for a catalogue of plants native to those 3 new trading kingdoms, and from that, I increased my crop and herb varieties.

[Crop varieties increased. Unlocked Cucumbers, Capsicums, Red Barley and Native Blacktatoes]. [Herbal variants increased. Herbal patches will now spawn more types of herbs]

New types of trees and plants too, some of which are not commonly found in the existing freshlands.

As a magical tree, I naturally have a boost to the growth of trees around me. The way this ability presented itself is by amplifying the growth speed of existing trees, amplifying and magically assisting the trees seeds to spread, by mechanisms which I have yet to truly understand, to outright creating the trees. That said, I dont think its really me thats creating these regular trees, and more of me somehow telling the system or the god that spawns creatures, monsters and vegetation to create something at a certain location. Or at least, thats how I suspect it works.

That said, the limitation of these ability, is that I can only boost existing trees, or for the creation of trees, trees that I have already seen or are naturally native to this environment. So, now that there are these new varieties, I could potentially improve the biodiversity of the valley and the Freshlands with these new plants, if they dont prove to be overcompetitive and wont crowd out the native. That said, Trevor and the artificial minds have assured me that they will actively monitor the population of all types of plants and would act accordingly.

These new trees were not that suited for the Freshlands, and perhaps that was why they were not native. In some ways, they are more... tropical than our temperate forests. So, we had to introduce them into areas where the weather was warmer and more humid. There were some such patches in the reclaimed Freshlands.

Im quite willing to introduce new species to the Freshlands because its essentially a blank slate that was once wiped clean by the demonic corruption. The existing species and types of trees that appear in the Freshlands are honestly rather uniform, and the temperate-adapted trees only survived with some of my passives. Perhaps some time ago these plants were also present in these environments, but I dont know.

In either case, the present level of diversity in the environment can be increased.

There were also new types of insects and bugs that came from these faraway places. I wonder whether some of them would turn out to be pests. No. Correction. Pretty sure some of them will be pests, but for now Im willing to tolerate them. I recalled that there were all sorts of parasites, bugs and stuff that would sometimes cause infestations and massively hammer the productivity of plantations and fields. Its not a problem, between my own abilities, the druids, and the farmers skills.

Still, trade related pests. Unwanted, but they happen.

-

I thought about the issue of noble skills and whether that was something I wanted to meddle with. There was something about meddling with the lives, essentially stacking the deck, that makes me feel a little repulsed. I believed in meritocracy. At least, in some form I still do. But this honestly is unfair, isnt it? But the world never was fair. Everyones dice is loaded in some way, differently.

Master, a choice must be made. Consider that if we grant this right of marriage to the nobles, it will empower the nobility in the long run.

Is it bad to further empower the nobility? Are they not already strong, relative to the regular folk? As it is, the common man with no special skills and levels would find it very hard to oppose a noble with better skills and higher levels. The inequality is already entrenched in the System. This whole hereditary issue is merely an outcome of that entrenched inequality.

I decided that choice was important. My memories of all the pain and death was clear that, yes, power is important, but so is the ability to choose. I could assist and do some matchmaking, but anything will be voluntary. Parents, and the child must both have the option to change their mind.

Or was I being too lenient? In a world where monsters and people of a high level dont hesitate to flaunt their power... was this a foolish, naive thought process? It felt foolish.

Master. Perhaps they should be only allowed a limited set of choices. Total freedom is unacceptable. Not when they could choose to attack us. Patreeck said. It is apt to consider these allies of ours in a symbiotic relationship. If that relationship were to turn hostile or one-sided, it is very much in our interest to eliminate them.

Unless the Master were to implement some kind of shackle... Jasmine suggested. Or their make their class powers conditional?

Which thus leads to our next question, master. Do you have the ability to retract the powers of the aeonic classes, should they ever turn hostile? Trevors turn to ask a question. Masters abilities are very much that of a support class. An incredibly powerful support class with a niche offensive power.

There are some powers I am clearly able to withdraw. Familiars, for one. But classes... I cant take them back once Ive given them to the people. It only made sense, because a class is essentially a part of their soul spring, it didnt make sense that I could have them back so easily. Or familiars like Juras Bamboo, which is essentially a spiritual companion.

I briefly attempted to withdraw the aeonic classes, but it seemed it doesnt work like that. Strangely, it was Lilies who provided insight into how my aeonic variant classes work.

Essentially, I cannot take back the class, but each of these classes have a set of inbuilt rules that should they be broken, the class itself would be lost. Its like if a hero of justice suddenly committed an act of evil, they would lose their hero of justice class.

Powers any economist would probably kill for. Instead, we are using it to maximise aeonic missionaries and entrench the Freshlands social, cultural and religious influence in neighbouring states. But I suppose that would be later, after I have stronger control.

Earlier, I won the first crusade because the crusaders were a coalition army, but now Im essentially the head of a coalition, and Im trying to fuse the coalition together into some coherent, stable form.

After thinking for a long time, I decided to award the marriage, in principle, to the senior clergy, exceptional Valtrian Order and Valthorns retiring from active service, and selected nobles, at a 30:20:50 ratio. In short, the existing nobles would be rewarded for their loyalty with the marriage-partners from these faraway kingdoms. As a coalition, I needed some carrots. At the same time, these marriages would be conditional, and require both partners to be converts of my faith. I would, accordingly, grant some blessings and gifts as their patron.

The other half of the candidates would be granted for well performing clergymen. The clergy are part of a social aspect, and they would require the official and unofficial status of the royals more than my Valthorns. Being married to royalty would allow them to tap into the unofficial networks that these royals have.

For Valthorns, I decided it wasnt necessary to have them be part of this entire matchmaking process, but I acknowledged that some of the Valthorns would eventually retire from service, and intend to settle down. This would be a potential reward for their long service, at their choice. It was unlikely that I would use the quota Ive set aside for the Valthorns, so I would use them for my priests instead. I summoned the senior representatives of the Freshlands, the decarches and the Valtrian Order to announce my decision to the envoys. This meant, 8 of the princesses and princes will be wed to the priests, and another 7 princes and princesses to the nobles.

Trevor and my fellow artificial minds had already compiled a list of nobles and priests that they saw performed acts that expanded the Freshlands, and after a quick review of their achievements, I went ahead with it. The nobles, if they themselves are unmarried, could take the award, or assign it to their children.

A day after the award, the decarches came to highlight some concerns.

How would the princesses live with our priests? The gap in lifestyle would be too much and too large. They saw the marriage between the royalties and the priests as essentially setting them up for failure since they wouldnt get along and the gap would mean these princesses would generally view their marriage as nothing more than a punishment. For these aeonic priests, would these marriages be a distraction from their real task of expanding the faith?

Some nobles too had concerns and worries. One of the noble I awarded the right to marry was rather poor, simply because his land was still developing and it would take a while for him to amass any kind of wealth. Building wealth as a noble is a long process, unless one has exceptional skills and abilities. The right to marry a princess was stressful.

It did not feel good how quickly the complaints and concerns emerged. I had the impression they wanted this!

I summoned the decarches and priests again, and most of the decarches, being the first generation of high priests, proposed that the weddings as sweeteners for our allied kingdoms. There were some kingdoms that had shifted allegiances to the Freshlands, before I captured the six Ports.

A reward for changing allegiances early.

I thought about it long and hard, and spoke to the priests whom I awarded the rights to. They were all overwhelmed by the idea of marrying a princess. These were hardworking, driven people who spent most of their time in villages giving out aid and converting more and more people to my faith. Its stressful.

Ah.

I had made a mistake. I should backtrack.

So, I rescinded the awards, and gave them to those kingdoms that changed sides. These marriages enhanced the links between the kingdoms. I just hoped they didnt eventually transform into a net that trapped me instead.

-

The temples expanded the blockage to cover the entirety of the continent. They are essentially forcing the kingdoms on the Central continent to choose. The temples are essentially saying, Attack the Freshlands, or this blockade will last forever.

Some of the kingdoms and nations from across the Central Continent are amassing their army, and yet they are fearful of attacking. The demons have appeared, and until they have certainty over where the demon king will spawn.

Its really the fear of the unknown, the leaders of this generation lived 40 years under the implied protection of Harris and gang. For 4 successive demon kings, the kingdoms and nations could live without much worry because the heroes are already here. For some of the kings and rulers, they never lived through this period where theres no hero.

Fear and panic abound, and so, the kinds of messages Kavio and the diplomatic corps receive are also mixed.

Hilarious, isnt it? Yvon said at a meeting of the Valtrian Order, comprising the senior Valthorns and various other individuals. Every month, theres a summary of all diplomatic communications circulated to the Valtrian Order, the Valthorns, the senior Aeonic Priests, and also the Council of Representatives.

Why are these kings asking such things?

Its fear. Jura said. He remembered the days of New Freeka. Its a strange feeling to feel powerless before a demon king. Its like hiding in a house when a storm hits, and this time, the storm hits when ones outside.

For the other group of rulers, theyve got utmost confidence in their own abilities, and that they didnt need heroes. Of course, their own priests and wizards had attempted to counsel them otherwise, but these rulers are probably the spoiled brats who now have power. Or maybe they are just idiots. These groups are taunting me, and theyve sent nastily worded missives. Theyve also talked about raising an army, but didnt actually deploy their army anywhere out of their borders. Probably posturing.

-

This is the mad rush before the demon winter, the time for the grasshopper to build a stockpile before the snow falls. The time for preparation.

By now the living societies must have adapted to the presence of these almost regular 10-year cycles. They only deviate by a small amount, and yet society is no better prepared for it.

I wonder whether they feel like it's an economic recession that always inevitably arrives. Patreecks insight into the minds of the regular folk suggests that they dont even think about it. Most of the citizens plan at most, a month ahead. Nobles and merchants would plan a year ahead. But the idea of 10-year plans would seem really silly for these mortals who feel that so much can change in a few years, that 10-year plans are moot from the day they are made..