Spellheart 9: Chapter 35 (Patreon)

You know what they say. If you want a job done right, do it yourself. The more power I gained, the truer that felt.

These days, it was within my power to delegate everything besides fighting and sleeping with my matriarchs.

And in truth, that's all I thought I would be doing by the time I reached this point. But there was something satisfying about a job well done. About being there in the thick of it, even if that meant wading through a mountain of paperwork.

Maybe I'd been away from Earth too long, but I was actually eager for the upcoming round of interviews. There was no need to trouble Illiel or one of my daughters with conducting them.

And there were quite a few interviews to be had. Even more elves wanted to work in my Sacred Grove than I had hoped for. The streets were lined outside Castle Mac, and I sat comfortably in my office as they streamed in one at a time as guards let in each applicant.

"Welcome! Thanks for coming to this interview. Have a seat," I gestured to the chair before me and folded my hands on the desk. "So it says here you were a shop clerk? What caught your interest about working in a Sacred Grove instead?"

"You did." The elf licked her lips as she stared me down from across the room.

I nodded and scribbled something down on my notepad. "I see. It'll be a lot more manual labor than you're used to. It'll be rough."

"You can be as rough with me as you like..." the elf I was interviewing drooled.

"Interesting..." I jotted another note down in my notebook. "Now, let's take a look at your qualifications for this position..."

The elf ripped off her shirt and her breasts bounced free.

I frowned. "I suppose I should conduct a rigorous test of your qualifications..."

I ended up interviewing what must have been half the elves in the Hearthwood. The single half, at least. I didn't remember job interviews being this entertaining back on Earth, but I was almost disappointed when they were over. Almost. After all, the best of them would be moving on to a second round.

I had my selections scribbled down on a sheet of paper, which I handed to Mac. He picked it up with one of his new golem-tech hybrid cleaning drones that I'd helped Argona build recently.

[I will sterilize this entire room, don't worry. And you can burn this paper. I have already scanned it.] Mac said.

I shrugged. "Suit yourself. So do you agree with my selections?"

[Mostly. While you were engaged in your interviews. I was holding a more practical series of interviews outside.]

"Glad you have my back, Mac. Now, I'm off for a bath with the Whitewood Clan, then to the Personal Chambers. If you spot my matriarchs, ask them to get themselves situated in the usual positions. I'll be there by sundown."

[Humans...] Mac let out a long sigh. [Incredible magical power, and this is how you spend it.]

"What can I say?" I laughed. "A lot of people hate their jobs. I'm not one of them."

***

That night, Sava finally broke through to the Sorcerer realm.

"My powers have grown to new heights!" Sava declared the moment she reached the Sorcerer realm. "Now, as a Sorcerer, my intellect and skill are unmatched! It's my turn, love. I saved your old hammock, and it's time for another non-stop vitality harvesting session! I'll keep you locked in my laboratory for--"

She dove for me, but just like when she was a wizard, I easily overpowered her. I was nearing the Demigod realm in body cultivation, after all. Sava stood no chance. The Sorcerer realm's boost went mostly to her ego.

"Alright, I can see the meglomania's gotten her. Ladies, tie her up again and show her that just because she's a Sorcerer doesn't mean things have changed." I released my other lovers, and they all dove on top of Sava as I pinned her arms. Under my firm grip, she soon turned from haughty Sorcerer back into the meek little alchemist I'd grown to know and love. She even seemed to enjoy the process.

One of the things I'd learned from my time as an orc chieftain was that elves were natural opportunists. When they had even the slightest bit more power than you did, they would be haughty, demanding, overbearing, and arrogant. When you had even the slightest bit more power than they did, they quickly debased themselves as submissive adoring bootlickers. Generations of living as cultivators had probably bred the behavior into their genes as a survival trait.

There was always something a bit entertaining about watching an elf shift from one persona to the other. They really were such fun to conqueror. While I still had a bone to pick with all the factions that ganged up to destroy the Elven Star Dominion, I couldn't say I wouldn't have done the same if given half a chance.

"Just you wait! I'll be a Sorcerer soon!" Eltiana crossed her arms and scowled at Sava. The others bobbed their heads in agreement. If I didn't hit demigod first, I was going to have my hands full.

But what Eltiana said was true. Sava was the first to tip over that edge, but all my matriarchs were pushing closer to the Sorcerer realm. The only one trailing behind was Korra thanks to her late start, but soon the Hearthwood Clan would have more Sorcerers than any other clan in Deania or the surrounding countries.

From there, they'd just be waiting on me to hit Demigod. At that point, we would be one of the world's great powers. And I could stand side by side with my old friends as equals. It would be a good day, and it was coming soon.

With the Satyr King's troubles behind me, the only problems I had going forward were the incoming end of the world in the form of the end of the Seventh Golden Age, and my robotic twin hiding in a pocket dimension planning who knows what.

Thinking it through now, those both sounded rather bad. But they were distant looming threats rather than immediate ones bearing down on me. I had time. Time to enjoy myself, slowly build my power, and work on my Sacred Grove. In the past, I might have felt incredible stress and angst and the threats looming over us. But all I felt now was calm certainty that I could handle what was coming, come what may.

***

I took a brief trip to the Rakaren Queendom, the Ancient Tree Temple, the Circle of Necromancers, the Lifekeeper Sanctum, the Sunspire Queendom, the Sakaku Clan, Golden Sword Sect, and the Auqualian Isles. I had to check on their bunkers.

We had a good arrangement, and I didn't want it to come to an end when the current Golden Age came to an end. Especially since Sam and Dean planned on keeping their clans small next time around and wanted to foist off the burden of stabilizing the region we lived in on me. It would be best to have loyal powers with good relationships with the Hearthwood Clan running all the neighboring regions.

I was treated quite well on all my stays.

In the Ancient Tree Temple, Teilinith and Feilinith bright me right to their pyramid.

"Sit here." Teilinith waved me to a throne at the top of the pyramid.

"Everyone should see their ruler," her sister added

I glanced at the two elf-sized chairs sitting side by side. They'd been torn out of the ground and cast aside, leaving only one single throne for me. They were clearly thrones meant for Teilinith and Feilinith. "You two sure? I don't want to leave both of you standing in your own domain..."

The two green-haired sorceresses ripped the chairs out of the grown and grew one in my size out of vines and wood. I shrugged and took a seat.

"Behold! The Patriarch!" the twins announced.

Lining the streets around the pyramid, elves bowed in unison. A moment later Teilinith and Feilinith both went to their knees on either side of my impromptu throne.

"Ladies, there's more than enough room on this chair to share. Here." I grabbed the twin rulers of the Ancient Tree Temple and pulled them into my lap, much to the cheering and excitement of the crowd below.

They wanted to hold an enormous feast in my honor after that, but I had to decline. I was here to work after all. Per my instructions, Teilinith and Feilinith had been digging a bunker to keep as many of their people alive as they could.

The two of them were quite skilled in their own right, but neither had the advantage of my Earth magic.

In the past, my aspect had been disparaged as a utility aspect, good for earning a living but not as good in direct combat. I had proved conventional thinking wrong time and time again, but that didn't mean they weren't right about Earth zeal providing good utility.

I did in minutes what would have taken the twins months of work. I built several more bunkers, large enough to preserve the lives of everyone who so kindly welcomed me into their homes here around the Ancient Tree Temple. It was the least I could do for such a warm welcome.

Next up was the new Sunspire Queendom, formerly known as the Sunspire Kingdom. Not to be confused with the old Sunspire Queendom, which had been supplanted by the Sunspire King to make the Sunspire Kingdom.

Now the Sunspire King was rotting in Tivana's mother's dungeon, where he was no doubt subject to the whims of the kind of elf Ethan loved to warn me about. Tivana's mother reminded me a bit of a more devious Eltiana given the powers of a demigod. I shivered at the thought and actually felt a little sorry for the Sunspire King.

At any rate, thanks to my help, the princess and daughter of the former ruler of the Sunspire Queendom had retaken the throne and ruled once again. I'd never really taken the Sunspire Queendom under my wing, but she was one of Tivana's friends and had been through a rough patch, so I felt some responsibility to look out for her.

My visit there was a lot more straightforward. I showed up, the Queen herself came to greet me, and a few of her nobles ooed and awed at me.

"You're looking a lot better." I said to the princess. It was true. When I'd dragged her out of the tower she'd been starved and mutilated. Thanks to the Medical Bay and the Hearthwood's Spirit Healers, her cultivation had been restored and she had all her limbs once more. I didn't even see a scar on her.

"Thank you, Patriarch," the former princess, now Queen lifted the hem of her dress and bowed in my direction. "And let me just say here and now that you are welcome in my home any time. There's no need for you to ask for an invitation or announce your arrival. The palace guards have standing orders to let you in right away whether you're expected or not."

"That's very kind of you, and I may take you up on the offer." I congratulated her on a job well done getting her realm back in order again, and we chatted a bit. Then I got to work reinforcing what they had so far and was on my way. The newly minted queen seemed a bit disappointed with the suddenness of my departure, but I had somewhere to be.

That somewhere was the Auqualian Isles. I was worried my reception here would be less than welcome, since I still had their Soverign collared and lounging about in the Hearthwood.

She'd been the one to unite the islands under her banner, so I feared that in her absence everything would turn back to feuding island states.

But apparently my captive was better at running her nation from abroad than I thought, because I was greeted by a half-dozen wizards upon my arrival, each of them powerful matriarchs of the various clans in the region.

"The Auqualian Isles welcomes the Patriarch of the Hearthwood Clan." The bowed in unison, looking less like bitter rivals and more like the maids of the Whitewood Clan.

"You all are too kind. So did you carry out my instructions?" I asked. "They're very important."

They glanced at one another nervously. Eventually, they shove the weakest matriarch to the front to speak for me.

"Patriarch, we have done as you commanded, though we don't understand the need..." the nervous wizard said. She winced and refused to meet my eyes, as though afraid I would lash out in anger at being questioned.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and gave her a comforting pat. "I understand completely. You're stepping into the world of Demigod politics, but there are some very important things going on. I suppose at least one of you should be in the know to make sure you're doing things right, since your Sovereign has made herself a bit too comfortable lounging about my castle as my half-dressed captive. How would you like to be my assistant here?"

"M-me?" the wizard asked, eyes wide.

"Yes, you. I shall share important secrets that concern the fate of the world with you and you alone. Then, I'll entrust you to see my will done here in the Isles. Of course, such a position of authority will require a boost in status and power for you..."

The other wizards all rushed forward.

"I volunteer!"

"Wait, Patriarch, I have always been your loyal servant here and could certainly carry out your rewards better!"

"Patriarch, please, grant me the honor of serving you!"

"You must be tired from your long journey, Patriarch! Please, stop by my clan so I can massage those tired shoulders."

"Screw that! Patriarch, my clan and I are yours to do with as you please. Just show us the smallest token of favor..."

The great matriarchs of the Auqualian Isles, recently so fiercely independent, no longer fought over land and territory. Now they fought merely for the opportunity to win my favor. It was a bit tedious, but it would likely be healthier for the average elf living on the islands.

There would be no more wars between islands. No more endless chaos or invasions as the various matriarchs vied for control. If that meant I had to be the recipient of a little too much attention, it was a price I was willing to pay.

"Are you tired, Patriarch? Please rest a moment. You can use my chest as a pillow!"

"Fool! My chest is far softer. The Patriarch would never stoop to resting his glorious head on your tiny nubs."

"You evil vixen! You are simply trying to get the exalted Patriarch to breed you before me! I shall be the one to to be gifted with the Patriarch's divine seed."

On and on it went. I learned to tune them out eventually though as I inspected each of the various bunkers around the area.

"Not bad. These'll preserve the lives of quite a few True Mages and bellow. Your descendants will thank you. When I give the signal though, you'll all have to come to the Hearthwood and report to me without delay. If you don't, you and your kin will probably die. That's all I'll say on the matter for the time being," I said to the wizards as I departed.

I pulled the first one I talked to aside and gave her the real scoop on the end of the Seventh Golden Age and how the Planetary Defense Constructs would be hunting for wisps to power them for a few more centuries.

She nodded gravely, and now that she understood my intent I empowered her to keep the others on task and make the decisions I would make. This was really the only way to manage any large organization. Even as a cultivator it was impossible to govern everything yourself.

Next I went north to the Sakaku Clan. Shakaran was there, along with Kysalian. I saw both of them often enough in the Hearthwood though. With the young mistress of their clan, Sharian Sakaku, living full time as Nela's personal servant, they stopped by often.

It was hard to remember that the Sakaku Clan once posed an existential threat to the Hearthwood. And that they'd wiped out Nela's Songstone Clan before my arrival in the Hearthwood. They probably wouldn't have been around if not for the fact that they'd been under the influence of the Cult of the Unblinking Eye's mind control stirring up trouble in the region at the time.

All of it was rather complicated, but the Sakaku Clan were good sports about their defeat, and they'd done a good job filling out my orders already, so my presence was hardly needed. I saved the time for my next two stops, both of which were going to be more troublesome than the others.

I'd captured most of the higher-ups of the Golden Sword Sect, leaving them severely weakened. With little more than a few True Mages to maintain order, they hadn't made much progress at all.

Or really did all that good a job maintaining order, by my estimate. The formerly beautiful sect looked like it had divided into camps as people fought over the remaining resources in the sect's stockpile.

It was a bit sad to see the once-mighty school and regional power reduced to a few squabbling True Mages and their followers. Maybe I was blaming myself, since I was the one who had decapitated their sect and imprisoned their leadership in the Hearthwood.

I would have to allow my prisoners a bit more freedom if this place was to be put back into order. I left shortly after looking the place over with my own eyes.

The Lifekeeper Sanctum was even worse. Before I attacked, most of them had been taken over by Timeweaver Spiders. In a way, I'd actually saved them by running around their settlements kidnapping every wizard I could find.

If I hadn't, the Timeweavers would no doubt have continued to infiltrate their numbers until every elf in the Lifekeeper Sanctum was nothing more than spider food.

But that didn't change the fact that all the Lifekeeper Sanctum's wizards were in my dungeon and not here leading their people. They hadn't made much progress building a bunker for themselves either.

Perhaps I'd throw them and the Golden Sword Sect together in some impromptu shelter I constructed on the fly. It wouldn't be furnished, well-stocked, or remotely organized, which was the main reason I was having the various factions under my leadership do so much of the work themselves. But it would exist. That was something, at least.

I left them as they were as well. My mood was still good, and I found I was better at putting broken civilizations to order when slightly annoyed. I didn't want to kill the good vibes I had now, so I would save that for another day.

The Circle of Necromancers was a welcome surprise though. Perhaps it was because they were close to the Hearthwood, but they'd made the most progress on my orders of everyone. They lacked powerful Earth cultivators to do the digging, but they made up for it with a massive undead labor force.

Instead of one large bunker, they'd opted for several smaller ones at the location of each of the major cities I'd ordered constructed. It was a good solution, and not one that I thought needed my interference.

Satisfied, I returned to the Hearthwood. I'd spent enough time looking in on others. I hadn't seen my own city from the air for some time.

<Note>

Sorry for the delay guys. I've been pretty caught up in publication stuff for Amazon Apocalypse. Speaking of, that's going live July 1'st (this Saturday) so you have until Friday to read the old version here. That's when the chapters are coming down.