text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, grimdark, dystopia, war]
  
  Upon entering the throne room, Mortimer paces near his throne, looking up when you arrive. He certainly doesn't look like the fop you remember, his clothes are now partly torn and dirty. He doesn't look like he's bathed in days making his hair to stand up in a way that would almost be laughable if he wasn't currently possessed by a demon. His eyes give off an unearthly red glow.
  
  The throne room itself is in shambles and pieces of dead bodies, entrails and blood are practically everywhere. A large broken crystal lies nearby, you can only guess that's Zelvix's former prison.
  
  Semra says nothing. She just looks at you nodding, and reaches out for your hand. You give it to her and she grabs it. She then begins chanting. You take the opportunity to cast your mind shield spell on Decena who stands nearby watching every direction.
  
  "So, THIS is what you've brought to beat me with Semra? I would've expected better from the likes of you. I don't know why you're even chanting that nonsense, it isn't going to work on me you know." Zelvix says. (It certainly isn't Mortimer anymore just on how deep the voice is alone)
  
  While the three of you stay silent, Zelvix continues to talk.
  
  "I have no idea why you continue to blame me for your father's death. Even I can't control my underlings all the time. Your people made a deal with me and I collected, what's so wrong about that?"
  
  Semra continues to chant.
  
  "You believe this woman? She holds a grudge longer than some hell lords do and at least they do for something reasonable like a stolen soul or something. She's just whining. Bah, I'm done with her anyway, I offered another deal when she first arrived here for old time's sake, but she refused."
  
  Zelvix's banter is still met by silence.
  
  "Anyway, how about you two? Oh no. No, I don't think you'll do. You're too much in love with this one. While I think under different circumstances twisting your mind would probably be child's play, I believe your master's presence makes it a bit too much of an effort to even try. You want his approval so much that you'd probably strip naked, get down on all fours and open your ass, pussy and mouth at the same time to an entire company of orcs if you thought it would please him. Blind loyalty is such a beautiful thing at times. Shit, I should be so lucky to instill such devotion. Oh well, guess that's why there's torture." Zelvix says to Decena.
  
  Everyone continues to remain silent, but Zelvix now turns his attention to you. You didn't feel it before, but you start to feel an oppressive presence within your mind.
  
  "Now you I can work with. Can't work with bitches anyway, too fucking emotional am I right? I'm sure you know what I'm talking about considering the company you're keeping. You think a svelk female is bad? Heh, try a demon girl. Your dark elves don't have shit on them. Lots of fun at parties though!"
  
  You redouble your efforts to block out Zelvix's words...
  
  "I have to say, you're quite skilled for a mortal. I'll even admit, I like your style, showing no mercy to your enemies, ruling your territory with an iron fist, I can appreciate a mortal that rises above his slug like station. And you were quite low weren't you? You were practically an abortion waiting to happen then through a minor mistake you got kicked upstairs. Good thing bureaucracy sucks doesn't it? It's okay though, you made the most of it and that's what really counts. I mean here you are talking to me, one of the greatest demon lords in the infernal realms..."
  
  At this point you'd almost make a deal with him just so he'd shut the fuck up. He continues to pace, but you notice he holds his head for a brief moment.
  
  "Hrmm, starting to feel something...no it's gone now. Nice try Semra, but you're not getting anywhere. Now who was I talking to? Oh yes, the Eternal."
  
  You suddenly feel an even greater oppressive feeling on your mind. Between trying to support Semra, protecting Decena and fighting off Zelvix, you're starting to feel the burden.
  
  "Not easy is it? Protecting everyone? (Sigh) I don't even know why you're helping Semra anyway. You know she'd backstab you if it ultimately served her purpose. You're not a stupid man, you have to know that she's just using you right now and it's not even for petty revenge. Well some of it is I suppose, but there's something greater here at stake and she's trying to achieve it. Let me tell you..."
  
  Zelvix's deep voice fills your mind despite your best efforts to block it out.
  
  "She's trying to revive the svelk Empire. Y'see she actually thinks by somehow killing me that the so called curse I put on the svelk will disappear. It's complete shit of course. The reason for the svelk downfall is their own doing and none of my own. I didn't cause their civilization to suddenly descend into civil war and rebellion, that had been coming for centuries long before I arrived. All I did was provide a service. A world saving one in fact. Why in certain circles one might even consider me a hero!"
  
  You feel a greater drain on your energy as Zelvix continues.
  
  "I bet she even told you that I'm planning on unleashing an army of demons on this world didn't she? Pfft. Please as if I need to worry about such things, I have my own kingdom in the infernal realm with millions of subjects and even more souls to torment! If its one thing I've learned as a demon lord, it's that you should only conquer what you can actually hold. I had a brother once who learned that lesson the hard way. Got his head chopped off by a mortal for his troubles. Hahahahaha! My brother was a fucking idiot!"
  
  Zelvix laughs at his last statement, which is then followed by a roar of pain. Mortimer's body falls to the ground and he begins twitching and convulsing.
  
  "FUCKING BITCH! I'LL RIP YOUR SOUL APART! RAAAAARGH!" Zelvix shouts while Semra keeps chanting. If anything it's given you a bit of temporary relief, but only for a little while.
  
  "Well, it seems our little dark skinned whore has been doing her research. I may have underestimated her. The flaw of arrogance comes with being a demon lord I suppose...(Sigh) Very well then, as much as I've enjoyed chatting with you, I can see I'll have to cut to the chase...."
  
  You try to think of pleasant thoughts to block out Zelvix, such as ones with your time with Alison, but Zelvix won't be ignored.
  
  "Look, here's the deal and it's not even going to cost you your soul because I know you're too smart for that. What it is going to cost is a little bloodshed and that shouldn't be a problem for the likes of you, especially considering you never liked ol' Morty anyway. Just kill Morty, I'll take care of Semra and then I'll be heading back to the infernal plane because honestly I've had enough of this world."
  
  You give no response, but you can feel your willpower getting to the point where you almost want to give in...
  
  "Hey wait a minute. Maybe YOU want to kill Semra? She's in the middle of her spell right now and you're so close, there's never been a more perfect time! You'd catch her completely off guard. You could easily take that dagger that she once stabbed you with and at last do what you've always wanted to do with it. Remember just like the time when you two were exterminating gnomes? Don't you wish you could've taken that opportunity instead of following your orders? Well you have no one giving you orders right now. What is stopping you? You know you want to and all I want is to be free from this world. Kill Semra and I'll happily open up a gate and return home."
  
  Zelvix deep melodic tone begins to make your mind succumb to his persuasion attempts. Never before have you experienced such a powerful force of raw will. Even in a few other instances where you faced a psychic assault it's never been quite like this. Granted it's in his favor that what he's proposing isn't anything you'd object to doing either. The ONLY thing that's giving you pause is the fact that it's a demon lord telling you to do this.
  
  "Ah...I see you don't trust me...smart. Tell you what, I'll sweeten the deal. You seek to conquer and bring order to this miserable world do you not? You have the skill and ability, what you lack is time. So you seek immortality do you not? An immortality that even eluded your old master, and wouldn't you like to succeed where he failed? Your answer lies where you've always known it to be. The Isle of Mortos. I know you've made a halfhearted attempt at trying to locate it again. Would you like to know where it is exactly located? I can tell you right now if you just kill that...ARRGH!"
  
  Zelvix once again feel the effects of Semra's ritual. At this point Morty's body is desperately crawling over to Semra in an attempt to reach her. Also just as you suspected Zelvix uses some sort of magic to bring the bodies from the room behind you back to life, except these aren't singular walking corpses. The pile of bodies have melded into each other creating a giant mass of flesh slowly rolling towards all of you howling and moaning while arms, legs and heads twitch about from it. It might be too big to get through the doorway, but you imagine that its sheer weight and girth will just break through the sides of the walls.
  
  You're still staggering from your recent mind assault, but now that you're no longer being mentally attacked, you take a quick assessment of the situation.
  
  Decena prepares to hold off the abomination by herself, Semra is still in her semi-trance and Zelvix continues to drag himself over to Semra.
  
  > help Semra
  Decena's a good warrior, you're sure she'll be able to handle the abomination trying squeeze through the doorway. Plus the quicker Zelvix gets banished, the quicker this all stops. Now that you've been given a temporary relief from the mental attacks, you run over to Morty's body and drag it away from Semra. You also hold him down and begin repeatedly punching him in the face.
  
  Morty's possessed body struggles against you and while it's certainly stronger than it should be, it can't break free of your grip and won't be reaching Semra anytime soon.
  
  Zelvix's power is fading, but he's not out of it yet and in between trying to break free he establishes contact with you mentally again.
  
  "Ragh! Argh! Fool! You would deny your destiny of immortality? I told you I would tell you how to find the Isle of Mortos! Is that not what you want? You think...ARRRGH!" Zelvix's bargaining is interrupted by the agony of his impending banishment.
  
  Soon Zelvix will be gone and this will all be over, yet isn't there a way to get what you want as well.
  
  You think so and respond back to Zelvix.
  
  "Zelvix, you've got little time left, so I'm proposing a deal to YOU. Tell me the location of the island now and I'll kill the svelk bitch myself. You don't have any options here."
  
  You hear a deep chortle inside your head.
  
  "Mortal, we ALL have choices. I know you and I know this game. You phrased your proposal in such a way that you didn't specify WHEN you were going to kill Semra...actually you didn't even say Semra. You just said svelk bitch. That could be any of them. No deal, I'm not telling you shit. A good attempt, but I'd rather die than have my last moments be one of being outwitted by a pathetic mortal!" Zelvix says
  "Considering you're still stuck in Morty's body and going to be BANISHED in it, I'd say that's already happened."
  
  Zelvix doesn't respond, instead you just hear a great bellowing inside your head, this is also followed by a scream nearby, you turn your head and see half of Decena underneath the mass of murderous flesh that has finally managed to break through some of the wall in an effort to reach you all. Decena still struggles to fight, but she's overwhelmed by the writhing mass of limbs striking her and the horrible rows of sharp teeth biting into her flesh.
  
  "NO!" you shout and run over to help her by hacking away at the disgusting flesh blob. It has little effect other depriving it of a few less flailing limbs. You only succeed in chopping off a few chunks even when you attempt to freeze it in place (Which only slows it down rather than properly freezing it completely) You try to pull Decena away, but she's stuck and her lower half being devoured, shredded and crushed all at the same time. The strength in her is already leaving.
  
  "I'm sorry my...Emper..." She manages to utter during the chaos of this situation.
  "Don't talk! You'll get out of this, I'll think of something! I'll...FUCK!" you shout in frustration and still hacking away at the mass.
  
  The whole time you've been distracted, you haven't paid any attention to the main conflict which is that of Zelvix who fortunately was still too weak to reach Semra.
  
  A final unearthly wail from Zelvix and it's a sign that the end of this conflict is near.
  
  Morimer's body twitches and convulses one last time and you manage to turn your head just in time from your own battle to see a red spirit like mist rise from his body. An angry demonic face can be seen briefly followed by the red mist completely dissipating. In front of you, the mass of flesh you've been fighting goes completely lifeless. Mortimer's body is also lifeless. Whatever spark that was keeping him alive was only due to Zelvix's magic and he's truly gone now.
  
  And then the blob of flesh you were fighting becomes lifeless as well and you are able to pull Decena away with some effort. It's too bad though, she's missing parts of her legs and even some of her innards, you can't even imagine how much blood she's lost.
  
  "Oh shit, I'm sorry. I should've been there for you, I'll make this better, I'll make this better..." you start to say and begin to cast your healing magic, though surprisingly Decena manages to interrupt you by weakly grabbing at your hand.
  "No...don't...let me die a warrior's death. Don't shorten your life span for me...the Empire needs you..."
  
  You hold Decena closer to you, it won't be long now.
  
  "Emperor...I love you..." she says looking up at you.
  "I...love you Decena." You respond back.
  
  These words causes a brief smile in Decena's final moments. It's all she ever wanted, your love.
  
  The funny thing is, it's at this very moment that you realize that you could've probably had a real relationship with her. She was more than just a lovesick student that you thought you were re-enacting your experiences with Semra with. She was a worthy mate and potentially your successor.
  
  And now that's all gone.
  
  You wipe your eyes and get up off the floor, pondering your great loss today. In fact you've completely forgotten about Semra, though she hasn't forgotten about you, and she's been watching you the entire time.
  
  "While I hate to disturb your moment of introspection, we need to get the hell out of here before your army starts bombarding this place now that the barrier is down. I imagine that you probably gave that order or something similar to your army correct?"
  
  You ignore Semra.
  
  "Hey are you listening to me? Look, I know you're upset about losing your little warrior girl and I'm sure she was a lot of fun in bed, but you need to get over that now. I mean utter devotion is a beautiful thing, but really at least Alison was her own woman and not someone looking for constant approval." Semra says as she walks over to you.
  
  "Well I guess that's why you'll always be the true woman for me, right Semra?" you answer and grab her hand.
  "What?" Semra says.
  "That's what you're always telling me isn't it? I mean any woman I have any sort of feelings for seems to die. You on the other hand survive everything...heh...just like I survive everything...it would seem you're right we ARE meant to be together..."
  
  At this point you put both of your arms around Semra's waist. You can sense that she's genuinely surprised by this sudden show of affection for her. You can also feel her attempting to read your mind, but she'll see nothing there but a strong desire to take her right there on the floor.
  
  "Hmmm, while I don't mind this sudden enthusiasm lover, we really should..." Semra starts to say before you shut her up with a kiss. She tastes exactly like you remember and it's intoxicating.
  
  You waste no time in stripping off your bloody sweat drenched clothing, and Semra despite her concern that your army will start bombarding the city, loses that worry as well as losing herself in the moment.
  
  Then soon the pair of you are naked on blood stained floor and as you thrust into Semra, you try to ignore your aches and pains from your earlier battle.
  
  It's almost like your first time...
  
  Well other than the fact that a rotting mound of dead bodies lies nearby, along with Decena's corpse which probably hasn't even gone completely cold yet.
  
  This is wrong in so many ways, but after your great loss today, you're going to get something out of it. And that something ISN'T Semra's magical svelk vagina even though you've convinced her that it is.
  
  Semra has to know something about the Isle of Mortos or at least how to get back there. She's been around long enough and given her relationship with Casimir who was a former "citizen" there, the chances that she knows something is very likely.
  
  "Mmmm yes! Yes! Ravish me! Ravage me you fucking abomination of nature!" Semra exclaims and slaps you hard in the face.
  
  Semra's having so much fun that she doesn't seem to realize you're getting to know her in an intimate way that you're sure she didn't want you to. It's difficult trying to hide your true intentions to Semra, but you manage to do so by filling you own thoughts with a mixture of lust and hatred. You also think about how much you want to slit her throat. It's certainly enough to be convincing since it isn't exactly untrue.
  
  In her state of arousal Semra's mind is much less guarded, as her focus is no longer one of defense, but one mostly of pleasure. While part of her is expecting you to try to kill her and she's certainly prepared for it, that's not your goal at least not today. It's the perfect cover as far as you're concerned.
  
  You see many things about Semra's life, some very interesting, some rather mundane, and some even sort of surprising to you.
  
  For example, just before Semra pushed you away during your first mental joining, there was another she was upset about losing, though you didn't see it the first time, namely an infant son. Apparently demons had killed and consumed part of it before Semra and her father could save it (Which then soon lead to her father's death). You can only imagine it was their baby together.
  
  This loss explains a few other things you see which must take place later on in her life, such as a bored one night casual sexual encounter with some svelk warrior that also resulted in pregnancy. This must've been Eldolith's father since she was born soon after.
  
  Her relationship with her daughter was never a good one and it's apparent she saw her daughter as something barely better than...well "the lesser born" as most svelk would say. Perhaps Eldy was a constant reminder that she was NOT Semra father's offspring and never would be.
  
  But you're not here to delve into the tragic past of a very broken woman, you're here to find out vital information that you know she must have.
  
  And you think you've just found it.
  
  You see a continent that you've never seen before. It isn't Evigrus and while you've never been there, it's not Nyttrus either as there is no trace of jungle. The place has large tracks of forests and several ruined cities. Inside such ruined areas you see groups of svelk fighting each other. Other groups wander the countryside in the usual nomadic manner that you've traditionally known them to do.
  
  Oddly there doesn't seem to be any other race living on the continent, or at least no other sentient creature. (Strange beasts you've never seen still seem to exist though) Another thing that stands out though are these large circular structure made out of mithral. They seem to be all over the continent though it looks like most are damaged in some way.
  
  This has to be the svelk "home." It is. You gain all this information from Semra's mind which is like an open book at this point. And these circular structures are portals, or they used to be. They probably lead all over to different parts of the world and that includes...
  
  "DECIEVER!" Semra suddenly shouts and tries to punch you, but you hold her down her arms. She's on to your plan now.
  
  "Don't fight it Semra, just lay back and enjoy it." You mockingly say and try to probe her mind again, but she's already taken steps to block you out more effectively. You've learned all you can, but it might be enough.
  
  Finished with Semra mentally, you "finish up" with her physically as well before letting her go. Predictably she punches you in the face and crawls backwards from underneath you.
  
  "So was it good for you?" you say, holding your face.
  
  Your continued mocking is met with a blast of fire that you just barely block with a magic field.
  
  "I know where you're going Semra. You're going back home to Dokkrus to ironically try to do something you were criticizing me for. You're going to try to resurrect the Svelk Empire again. Try to unite the tribes as it were. That's good. We all should have a goal. I know what mine is."
  "You think yourself so clever, but if you try to pursue what we both know what you're trying to pursue, be prepared to suffer considerable losses." Semra warns.
  "What could I possibly lose Semra? Tell me, because I'd truly love to know. I have no more loved ones for you to kill. The Empire? You told me I'll lose that when I die anyway. My life? You think I fear death? You know I don't. I only seek to MASTER it."
  
  You pick up your pants and start to dress as you continue your monologue to Semra.
  
  "In the past you've mentioned about how my efforts of world domination and expanding the Empire are all in vain because I'll eventually grow old and die anyway just like Casimir. Well congratulations Semra, you motivated me to avoid his fate because unlike him, I will succeed. I WILL become truly immortal and NOTHING is going to stop me."
  "Well, then its good we had one last tryst because I can see now you're leaving me no choice!" Semra shouts and resumes her magical attack.
  
  You block the magical bolts and try to run for some sort of cover. Semra casts a poisonous cloud, you remember that one, but this time you're able to get out of its range, though in doing so you are hit by her follow up attack, which involves throwing a dead body into you. You fall to the floor face first as the body slams into you a fairly fast speed.
  
  "Shit!" you groan and turn around with the body still on top of you, and that's when you see that it's Decena's. Her dead eyes stare into your own and then you feel a kick to your face that probably would've taken out your eye had Semra been wearing her sharp toed boots rather than her current state of undress.
  
  "It's been fun lover, but you need to learn the last lesson and that's no one lives forever." Semra says...and then the roof of the palace starts collapsing on the pair of you. It would seem the bombarding of the city has begun.
  
  Seizing the opportunity, you push Decena's body off of you and try to stab Semra with your dagger. Unfortunately between your exhaustion, the crumbling ceiling and Semra's alertness you miss, but instead of trying to attack back, she takes the survival approach instead.
  
  "Next time Eternal." She says and runs out the entryway
  "Next time Semra." You mutter and pick up Decena's body before making haste for the exit yourself.
  
  It's difficult carrying Decena's body while tired and trying to avoid being blown up by the bombarding. Doesn't help that you start seeing airships approaching.
  
  "Sheesh, Flevas. Glad to see you're not fucking around, but this isn't helping me!" you mutter and quicken your pace.
  
  Fortunately, you manage to get out of Dequilet before it's completely decimated and fortunately there is a pause in the bombarding when someone with a telescope spots you just outside the destroyed city walls. You make it back to camp in one piece.
  
  "Emperor! My apologies, but I thought..." Flevas starts to say, but you're not in the mood to hear anything.
  "Forget it Flevas, you were doing your job...just (sigh) here..." you say and lay Decena down.
  "Have her body shipped back to the capital, she will receive a war heroes' funeral."
  "Certainly my Emperor." Flevas says and snaps his fingers to have some other troops move her body.
  
  "I'll be in my tent. Don't disturb me." You say and retire to your bedroll. As you allow your body to at last embrace the rest it needs, you think about Decena's last words to you.
  
  "Don't worry Decena, your sacrifice wasn't in vain. The Empire will always have me because it IS me and I will live forever. I promise." You say as you close your eyes.
  
  > ... 
  Year 56
  
  You enter Brenda's office where upon she smiles briefly at you, though with everything you have on your mind, you don't return the gesture instead you just nod.
  
  "Hello Brenda, I trust you and Warrick are still enjoying your new marital status." You say guessing that what's put her in better spirits as of late.
  "Yes, Emperor. I'm happier than I've been in a long time. Thank you for performing the wedding personally."
  "Think nothing of it. Though I didn't think you'd ever remarry, let alone Warrick. But if you two are happy then that's good. You should hold on to that as long as possible for one never knows when it will suddenly be taken away from you."
  "Um...of course my Emperor. We certainly do cherish our time together." Brenda responds at your rather grim comment.
  
  "Anyway, I came here to let you know that the new Eternals have been released from their tanks. You'll be training them soon." You say.
  "I'll be looking forward to it. I trust they met with your standards?"
  "Yes, most of them seem to be very much like the third generation though perhaps with signs of displaying higher intelligence overall. Under your guidance, I have no doubt that they'll be just as effective as the third gens." You reply with a sigh.
  "Is there something wrong my Emperor?" Brenda asks.
  
  "Yes, it's Nyttrus. The place is becoming a pain in my side that I don't want to be bothered with, but I find that it might become necessary to step in personally soon. We've got more than a few strongholds there now, but the Iznac are far from being beaten, unfortunately most of the humans there are sick or dead due to disease and Iznac magic. Flog's also dead and the orcs have become slightly less disciplined as of late without his calmer leadership. There have been a few reports of deserters running off into the jungles and forming their own communities. Just glad Snilkez'ka is still alive and the kobolds are holding down the forts there until the third gens arrive."
  "Couldn't you send airships to bomb Nyttrus to speed things up?
  "They don't really have the range to travel across the vast oceans yet though Elam's working on fixing that with the gnomes. In any event if they did have that sort of range I might be inclined to have them try to find Dokkrus first since that's my real goal."
  
  Brenda tries to give you some words of encouragement, but they don't improve your mood. Instead you just leave Brenda, once again wishing her well on her new happy marriage.
  
  You spend a few days wondering whether or not you should head to Nyttrus with the third gens. Ultimately you decide not to as you're still hoping to hear something soon about Dokkrus. As soon as you get word about that, you want to be on the next ship going there. You don't want to be in the middle of a conflict that you know you'll be compelled to complete if you directly get involved.
  
  In the meantime you go back to more mundane matters such as ensuring that the rebuilding of the new Nakol province remains on schedule. You also take time to hone your magic abilities; in fact since your "intimate" mind connection with Semra, you actually feel a little more powerful or rather you gained a brief insight into spells she never taught you during training.
  
  A few weeks pass and still no word about Dokkrus, however you do get bothersome news about Nyttrus again.
  
  You're informed of the latest problems on Nyttrus by Kivan who received a message about it in the middle of the night. The Iznac have apparently unleashed a powerful "secret weapon" in the form of three very large flying lizards. And these aren't wyverns either. They are creatures that Casimir once told you were rare even back in his day. They're dragons and apparently they've already destroyed one of your forts on the continent.
  
  This isn't news you wanted to hear. Now you're going to have no choice, but to go over there.
  
  You still can't do all this alone though, you still want to wrap this war up as quick as you can and you'll need some competent tacticians and strategists to do that. Snilkez'ka has her way of doing things you're sure, but they probably work best with other kobolds she commands.
  
  The third gens are good warriors, and a select few of them are indeed leaders, but most of them are rather...well unimaginative sometimes. You don't think that's the fault of Brenda's training, but perhaps just a tendency towards conformity due to their creation. In fact you can't even think of a single one that has stood out to you during the war with Nakol. Hopefully the fourth won't have that problem when they're ready.
  
  So you make up your mind that General Flevas should accompany you. The elf is pretty much the best one you have right now and you believe his vast scouting skills should come in handy. Given that all the orcs ran off and rebelled, you also won't have to worry about Flevas not being respected as a leader. The third gens and kobolds seem fairly neutral towards him.
  
  You go back and forth on whether or not to bring Galen. His magic would most certainly help against the dragons, but you're wondering if you want to put up with his tendency to complain. True he's much better at not doing it, but he always manages to find a way.
  
  Who you really wish you had is Decena. She would've been perfect for this mission since she already worked well with the third gens. Just another reminder of your loss.
  
  Maybe though you just need another Eternal. An Eternal who always likes "vacations" away from his usual duties, namely Warrick.
  
  He certainly commands respect amongst the Eyes and besides you he's probably the next most feared name in the Empire. As Sightmaster he's also skilled in less traditional forms of warfare, which will come in handy in the jungle filled continent. Of course the only concern with bringing him is that leaves the "mainland" of the Empire, relatively... well the word isn't undefended, but without a major figure to oversee any possible problems that may crop up. You suppose Brenda and Kivan can handle things if something really gets out of hand.
  
  Which brings you to another problem and that's taking Warrick into a war in the first place. Warrick's job at one time was probably a bit more dangerous, but as you've established order over the continent, stomped out dissension and all of those other necessary things, it's become even more like a "desk job." Warrick still keeps up on his training and such, and you know if you called for him to assist he'd jump at the chance not just out of loyalty, but because he always has a bit of desire to get in the middle of things again.
  
  He could very well get killed and a better head of internal security, as far as you're concerned there is none. His loss would be even greater than Decena's you believe. Though it's the more "moral" problem that surprisingly has you rethinking this.
  
  Warrick just married Brenda, the pair of them don't see each other every day, but they're able to do so when they can. It's the happiest Brenda's been since she was married to Roldan. If Warrick was to die, well you can only imagine what that might do to her. So if you lost Warrick, you might be "losing" Brenda as well.
  
  Of course that's all speculation. You don't intend on losing Warrick at all, but you have to prepare for that possibility and the repercussions of such things.
  
  > take Warrick with you
  You need to take care of this situation on Nyttrus and the only way you're going to do that is with people you know that are going to be vital for the task. (Which also why you decide to leave Galen here.)
  
  You go to see Warrick at the Eye Headquarters, he's a little surprised at your sudden visit, but happy to see you as always. He's even more excited when you tell him you want him to come with you to Nyttrus.
  
  "Of course Emperor! I have to say I'm glad for this opportunity again. The last time was when we went to New Dessel together and while I'm glad it worked out anyway, I was always a bit disappointed we never got to fight along side each other." Warrick says.
  "Well I'm fairly certain that will definitely happen in Nyttrus. Anyway, I'll be leaving in a few days, will that be enough time to get your affairs in order and delegate various responsibilities here?" you ask.
  "Should be, I'll get started on that right now."
  "Good, then I'll see you in three days."
  
  Thinking nothing more of this, you return to get your own affairs in order, explaining to Kivan that you want regular reports on the Empire sent to you in Nyttrus. The second day comes around and it is you who gets a sudden visitor although perhaps not totally unexpected.
  
  "Emperor, I told her you were busy, but...argh!" Kivan says as Brenda pushes him aside and into the wall. She looks very upset, but apparently she knows better than to come in armed while in such a state of agitation. (Not that doesn't mean she still isn't potentially dangerous)
  
  "Kivan, I'd suggest you leave us alone." You say, to which he nods wincing at his aches and closes your door. Brenda continues to stare at you.
  
  "Well? I know you didn't come all this way to wish me well in Nyttrus, say what you need to say."
  "You know that my loyalty to the Empire is absolute. You also know that Warrick's loyalty to the Empire is absolute as well. We were trained to do everything in our power to ensure its survival and success. I TRAIN all those new Eternals so that they learn that lesson as well. To know that the good of the Empire is above ALL, no matter what."
  "And I know this Brenda. Your actions everyday are proof of your dedication. Yours and Warrick's."
  
  Brenda begins nodding her head in agreement in a rapid motion while breathing hard.
  
  "Yeah...SO WHY THE HELL ARE WE BEING FUCKING PUNISHED?" she shouts.
  "I wasn't aware I was punishing Warrick, has he said he doesn't like the new assignment he'll be accompanying me on?"
  "Hah oh...oh of course not! Not good old loyal Warrick! He of course feels honored by this assignment. He doesn't even know I'm here, because if he did, he'd try and stop me from getting himself killed!"
  "You seem to lack faith in your husband, I know him to be a skilled warrior."
  "Of course he's a fucking skilled warrior! He's also not a young man anymore! He's not as fast as he used to be, he's not as strong as he used to be and you want him to fight fucking dragons? And unlike you he doesn't have the advantage of powerful magic abilities to help keep him alive!"
  "Brenda if you haven't noticed I'm not exactly young myself, why the hell do you think I want his help? Because I greatly increase my chances of survival against three flying lizards and an army of savages! And contrary to popular belief magic is just another tool for battle, it's not some wonder solution to win wars. If it was and I a