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. 

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 don’t think it’s really me that’s 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, that’s 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 don’t prove to be overcompetitive and won’t 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.

I’m quite willing to introduce new species to the Freshlands because it’s 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 don’t 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 I’m 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. It’s not a problem, between my own abilities, the druids, and the farmer’s 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, isn’t it? But the world never was fair. Everyone’s 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 don’t 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?” Trevor’s turn to ask a question. “Master’s 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 can’t take them back once I’ve given them to the people. It only made sense, because a class is essentially a part of their soul spring, it didn’t make sense that I could have them back so easily. Or familiars like Jura’s Bamboo, which is essentially a spiritual companion. 

I briefly attempted to ‘withdraw’ the aeonic classes, but it seemed it doesn’t work like that. Strangely, it was Lilies who provided insight into how my aeonic variant classes work. 

<A covenant is the heart of any divine-specific class. The covenant broken, the class and skill, impaired.>

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. It’s like if a hero of justice suddenly committed an act of evil, they would lose their hero of justice class. 

“But what are the rules of my aeonic classes?” 

I couldn’t answer that. 

But my aeonic priests seemed to have a theory.

Faith. Belief. Intent. In a way, classes behave quite like soul contracts. They give the individual power and abilities, and at the same time, impose conditions on them, and shape their thinking. I would have to accept that this is a risk I have to take with any supersoldier, and can only have a second layer of oversight from Jasmine. 

In a way, it’s quite like Lausanne. I invested in her, and now she’s somewhere out there, living her life as an adventurer. I needed a talent management programme, and succession planning. Indeed, I cannot guarantee every individual’s loyalty, but I could, as a whole, improve my chances. In short, I should do what trees do. Go forth and multiply~

No. Spread my eggs into many baskets. 

Ugh.

Still sounds strange. 

I wonder why I still come back to this topic even though I’ve already set up the Valthorns and the Valtrian Order, and now an additional priesthood and Treeology School. Is it because I expanded the Freshlands too quickly, such that I do not have enough talent to manage a sprawling federation of somewhat-loosely associated states?

The envoys were not in a good position. The agreement meant that some of the princesses and princes were due to be marriage partners, but the envoys, until now, have not had any news. Their kings pressured them for updates. 

“Are the planned engagements on? Who are the candidates? Our princes and princesses aren’t getting any younger!” Again, choice. These poor children don’t have it. The norm for arranged marriage is when they turned 16 or 18 for humans, depending on the society, but for elves and other races, they have different ages of maturity. But generally, their women only get married later, when they are at least 30 to 40, since their children are considered extremely young, even though they are already 30 years old. 

It’s tense. And insulting. Why isn’t the wedding happening immediately? These kingdoms are wondering whether we were looking down on them. The task of managing the politics with these 3 neighbouring kingdoms fell on Kavio, and he struggled. Even though he said what I meant to say. 

I decided to then summon the 3 envoys to meet me. All three meetings happened in a similar manner. They were brought to a location in the Valley of the Unrotten, before the Tree of Prayer.

“Hi Envoy.”

They all cower before me. Typical. Intentional. 

“I heard that there’s been a fuss about weddings and the candidates.” I mentally spoke as authoritatively as I could. I could sense their legs shaking. “Let your kings know that I have yet to decide on who deserves the hand of their children.”

People are weird. I had Kavio tell them the same thing, but they refuse to believe it. But when I tell them, they believe it. It’s really about who-says-what, rather than what-was-said, in politics. So absolutely annoying. 

I mean, I’m trying to delegate, but it’s annoying when all these other people want the ‘source’ or the ‘truth’. Dammit.

-

News of the rifts being detected came in. Mostly in the Eastern Continent, apparently, but they’ve yet to see any actual demons. The rifts were spotted opening, and then... closing soon after.

The temple’s blockade and embargo is still in force, so it’s really harder to get news, but we have our own informants. As long as [message] is still operational, we’d still have news. So far, they haven’t seen any demons.... Which is strange. 

Or the news just isn’t getting in?

Invisible demons? The Valtrian Order requested for more information. 

-

As the year went on, we had the first batch of accelerated graduates from my school. They were quickly sent to the ‘front lines’. There were a lot of social issues to be solved, and well, the graduates would have to pick things up as they go. Strangely it reminded me of my time when I first started work. 

It’s a difficult job, but they have the entire administrative machinery behind them. For many of the smaller villages, they mostly appreciated the help, and quickly warmed up to the presence of these new priests. But cities with existing temples, and nobles who are already believers of other religions, were a harder nut to crack. For smaller villages, where temples and priests visit sporadically, there always was a vacuum that could be filled. It’s only because the priests of the other temples rarely devote themselves to smaller villages, and generally set up in the larger towns.

So this was the strategy the decarches adopted. The bulk of the population in the Freshlands and it’s neighbouring kingdoms are in the rural areas anyway. This strategy, however, depended mainly on having a large number of priests. Even so, there are population centers unserved by the 4 temples. 

One of the clear weaknesses of this world is lack of objective data. Most nations have a vague number of their total population, but that’s an estimate that’s affected by the quality of data collection. 

Since I have the power of ever present surveillance, it’s a lot easier to then build a database. I could very accurately do a live count of how many people live in any particular city, how many refugees moved from place to place, their overall economic condition and all such datapoints. 

Powers any economist would probably kill for. Instead, we are using it to maximise aeonic missionaries and entrench the Freshland’s 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 I’m essentially the head of a coalition, and I’m 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 wasn’t 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 I’ve 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 wouldn’t 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. It’s 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 didn’t 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. 

It’s 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 there’s no hero. 

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

“Hilarious, isn’t it?” Yvon said at a meeting of the Valtrian Order, comprising the senior Valthorns and various other individuals. Every month, there’s 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?”

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

For the other group of rulers, they’ve got utmost confidence in their own abilities, and that they didn’t 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 they’ve sent nastily worded missives. They’ve also talked about raising an army, but didn’t 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. Patreeck’s insight into the minds of the regular folk suggests that they don’t 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..