07/01/2010 | 12:00 AM
Location: Abandoned Trainyard, Northern Brockton Bay Area, Abandoned Factory.
The week passed by quicker than he knew.
"Lets see..." Through the days after he created the Priests of the Draconic Tyrant to take care of the dragons underneath his base and had the Priests of the Lusting Heart take over the Merchants, he focused entirely on making Priests. From that day (at that hour) to now, it has been at total of 6,305 minutes. Every 3 minutes, a Priest would manifest from the Cauldron, and since he did not switch the created monster... "Two thousand one hundred and one- One hundred and two, now." Just then, yet another Priest was born. He has 12 Priestley Orders, 12 different Gods that his priests have been following, so he sought to make each order have roughly the same amount of Priests, to keep a neat balance in his future Empire.
He scratched away at his notes while he thought about what he was building up to, and why he had separated his empire. He wanted divisions that took care of themselves, with loyal subordinates created by the cauldron that would never falter and never betray him, and since they came from the Cauldron of Monsters? It was all but guaranteed. An empire always falls once it gets too big, so if he wants an empire that would embrace the entirety of earth bet, he needs to think this through.
The Everloving Hearth - Healers, Home makers, bakers, cooks, Protectors of the Innocent. They were responsible for the future House of Healing, a magical hospital. They were the ones who would support the little guy of his empire, who he decided would be focused more so on the whole instead of the individual, but because he also cared about the little guy (to some degree), he decided to have the Everloving Hearth to be dedicated to healing not only the body, but the mind and the soul by making the empire itself feel like a home, building it up from the ground up.
The Silver Moon - Illusionists, deceptions, philosophers and quite good artists. They were going to be essential to some war tactis that relied on deception. Such as hiding an entire army with the cloak of shadows in a moonless night, sneaking behind enemies to attack them, infiltrate and influence the actions of enemy commanders through the use of clever illusions, or simply become artists for the empire to watch as they paint the world with colors and sounds normally not seen around.
The Untamed Wilds - Ruthless nature, hunting, chasing, and dying. Brutal and unapologetic. They were going to be responsible for keeping the wilderness wild and protecting the natural fauna and flora of his empire. They would keep the tight balance between the wilds and the tamed lands, keeping nature as a part of the empire because Damien knows how important nature is and he intends to preserve it as much as he can, going to far as to planning how to trap Zion into an empty world to kill the fucker or bully him into committing suicide.
The Unending Waves - Adaptable, ever searching for ways to succeed at anything they want. They were going to be responsible for seafaring and trade, which will be a constant when his nation takes over the world. Until then, they are also going to protect his shores. Then once overseas trading is back on the menu, they will become captains respected for their work out in the sea! Some might even become marine biologists.
The Green Moss Boulder - Caring, gentle, growing and spreading. The exact opposite of the wilds, these priests would be the farmers, the ones who would grow the wheat and harvest it, the ones who would raise the animals and slaughter them. They will be caretakers of the tamed beasts such as cows, sheeps, chickens, and so many other animals that have been domesticated and tamed for human companionship or consumption.
The Allmighty Forger - Smart, analytical, and quite ready to learn. These priests would be his kingdom's stepping stone in researching Tinker tech and how to implement it in their home with magical equivalents. They already are analyzing some of Squealer's tech, and in some days they promised to show what they have discovered so far with many of them describing it as both "fascinating" and "frustrating", and knowing what he knows about Tinkertech in general? Yeah... He just hopes his priests can glimpse a little bit of the bullshit that are Shards.
The Evershine Sunbringer - Entertainment, lights, music, and more. Worshipers of this deity seem to always be good at singing, dancing, or arts in general. These priests would be the entertainers of his empire, as well as the bards spreading propaganda in the form of catchy songs. They, alongside the Priestesses of theSilver Moon, would be the building blocks of the culture of his future empire. Shaping public opinion, creating traditions, and even spreading memes to make others think about his empire in a positive light.
The Masked Mistress - Stealthy, shadows, bleding in- they were his spy network. They would seek out and find anything he wants to know, anything he wants to learn. They already have become quite spread out around Brockton Bay, having found many stash houses for the Empire Eighty-eight, Honored Ones, ABB, and even some stash houses for very elusive and wandering Teeth that they did not touch. They also found all the stash houses from the Merchants, that they emptied out completely.
The Bloodied End of War - His most eager and bloodlustful warriors. These priests would be in the front of any battlefield he fights in the future, killing any enemy they might find in the way. They are also going to be the guards of his kingdom, seeing as not all of them are bloodthirsty all of the time! In fact, many are quite peaceful people and very charismatic. They all have some scars on their bodies and are extremely skilled in weaponry, he has already promissed them that he would build a coliseum for them to compete in.
The Abyssal Mind Devourer - Responsible for the ever expanding and growing network of mental communications and mundane communications, these Priests were quite the eager learners. They have been gathering any and all information they could, making their own library full of books and digital copies of books they could not get the physical copy for. In fact, one of the objectives of the Abyssal Mind Devourers is to accumulate all the knowledge that exists in this world. Many of the priests have already made PHO accounts to watch out for interesting bits of information or misinformation, with many even making physical copies of fanfics for "achival reasons". He ignored the fact that many were smut fanfics.
The Lusting Heart - Love, lust, desire, and obsession. These priests were the embodiment of either one aspect or all aspects of their deity- all were breathtakingly attractive, supernaturally attractive even, with many being able to seduce others so fucking easily that even Damien found himself on the other side of the teasing flirting of various different priests of the Lusting Heart. Male priests, because the moment they noticed he only reacted to being flirted on by men, it was like the floodgates were opened and suddenly he was the newest piece of meat to be teased... It was a nightmare for him because he didn't know how to react to people flirting with him. So he moved on...
The Draconic Tyrant - The caretakers of dragons and other draconic beasts, or that's what they were going to be. Essentially servants of the many, many dragons his empire will have. Of course not all of them would be servants, since he has learned that once a bond has been properly established, the dragon will allow the priest to ride it, making their relationship that one of a rider and dragon- quite the honor, for what the excited dragon riders told him. Dragons and dragon riders seemed like a good mix, but the arrogant dragons would pick their rider very, very carefully, which is why only 6 out the 10 dragons his cauldron brought upon existence had riders.
All the Churches had a total of 175 Priests.
All with abilities that aligned with their Gods, all loyal to his budding Empire, and all being at the peak of their physical strength even if they looked older or frail. With many of his priests having only being literate enough to read books but with no knowledge of the modern world, he sent them all to learn- it was obligatory, after all. At least high school levels of education were the standards set, with most of the Abyssal Mind Devourer and Allmighty Forger Priests seeking knowledge beyond that level.
"An empire, like anything that grows too big, dies due to its own weight or the lack of ways to feed itself..." He tapped away the pen at his chin, thinking. An empire, like any beast, could be either carnivorous or herbivorous- It could expand continuously due to war and conquest, or it could expand due to diplomacy. The first option was the fastest, since conquering another nation all you needed to do was to kill their ruler and the ruling family and establish yourself as the new ruler while ruling with an iron fist. Diplomacy was slower and involved a lot of marriages, but it served as a more pacific way of expanding and spreading lineages. "But in a modern era, you need to adapt." He thought a bit about it- How does one conquer, in a modern way?
Culture.
If you can't conquer a country by storming it with your troops, you invade it by implanting your own culture in the place, wiping away all culture that was there before yours. Like in Ireland, in Hawaii, and any other places that were conquered by an empire, you first suppress the natives of that land and make them into you. By force if necessary- what? Native languages don't get lost willingly! You have to stop others from speaking it.
"...money could also work." Buying land? Yeah, but then he'd need several different companies all generating profit to at least pretend to be corporations, and then he expands to that land slowly until he has enough land to legally claim a place for himself... Or he could just invade it. "But those lands would also have a powerful army, powerful weapons, and powerful propaganda to paint me as a tyrant, monster, villain... Then, then they can turn the citizens of the empire against their ruler and cause a civil war." And to combat that, he would need to establish an unshakeable reputation as a "good guy" that would be shattered the moment he started throwing monsters around to conquer places. "...why do I even care about being seen as a villain...?" That question made him pause.
Why is he even afraid of being considered a villain?
He already was a villain.
[Congratulations, your Rank-D Cauldron of Monsters has been upgraded to Rank-C!]
[New Monsters Available]
[New Sigils Available]
[Upgrade Requirements:
- Maintain a territory for 2 Weeks (0/2)
- Sacrifice 100 Humans (0/100)
- Sacrifice 10 Empowered Humans (0/10)
- Create a Palace (0/1)]
[New Bonus Power Available!]
"Ah, right on time..." With a smile, Damien called upon the new options of the cauldron. "Huh, interesting..." The Parahuman he sacrificed to the cauldron was a minor character. Well, he was a person, but on Damien's story? He was nothing but a footnote.
His name (as far as Damien was able to find) was Creep, and he wanted to join the Teeth. His Priests of the Masked Mistress found him first. In a dark alleyway, drunk, rapind a woman while using his power to make her bleed. His power was a weird mixture of blood based Telekinesis and tactile bleeding inducement- basically, anyone and anything with blood that he touched caused them to bleed profusely, blood which he could telekinetically control and mold as constructs easily. It was fascinating watching his struggle against Slimes after the small squad of Priests of the Masked Mistress apprehended the man by knocking him unconscious before moving his victim to the nearest hospital, but she sadly died of blood loss before they even got close... Creep was a necrophiliac, it seemed, because after doing some digging, a few of his Priests of the Abyssal Mind Devourer gave him reports of corpses found around Brockton Bay dating back four months, all of them showing serious signs of blood loss and being severely brutalized- the majority of these corpses were attributed to Hookwolf of the Empire Eighty-eight, mostly because it looked like something he'd do, so investigations went nowhere.
Anyway, having captured the oh so rightfully called "Creep", Damien had his goblins hang him above the cauldron before they bled the monster- but then he woke up in his cell and started using his powers to kill a lot of goblins, so he had to send in the slimes and the managed to swarm him. Their acid melting the blood he used, and soon he didn't have enough blood in his body, which made him pass out again. He was then thrown in the cauldron and promptly died! At which point Damien threw in the other nazis and boom, a new rank up. "Huh, interesting..." He had already looked over his options for Rank C and made his choices, taking two monsters and one sigil, but he also was looking over at the new "bonus" power. He apparently had two bonus powers? He didn't bother checking them before, but they kinda explained how his goblins and slimes were able to dig so easily...
He had [Cascadin Fractures], [Aesthetic Shift], and his new [Consumption] power.
And consumption granted him something new too... [Blood].
Consumption
[Your cauldron will often find itself quite peckish, seeking to devour things. Don't worry, as long as you feed it, it will also give you a proper reward! Depending on what you feed your Cauldron of Monsters, it has a chance of giving you a new Sigil or a new Monster.
This has a cooldown of one month. ]
Aesthetic Shift
[At any time, you may permanently alter the appearance of each variety of monster, to such a degree you could make a Goblin appear to be a kobold. This cannot greatly alter overall size (you can make Goblins four feet tall, but not six feet tall), and will not significantly impact functionality.]
Cascading Fractures
[Your monsters will often find small caves and tunnels wherever they explore the underside of the earth. With very little actual excavation, they could establish a tunnel, a meter wide at its thinnest point, that spans hundreds of miles.]
These were his [Bonus Powers], and honestly he never really tried changing the appearance of his goblins before... He should, maybe, try it later. The other bonus power, however, explained just how easily his monsters could dig! His slimes found it so easy to melt through earth that he half expected them to just be like that, not even questioning it. 'And now I know...' He looked, then, at his new monsters and the new sigils he had- One new sigil being given to him by the cauldron itself.
The very first "monster" was quite similar to his Priests, but they had another name...
Arcane Knights
[Takes 120 seconds to produce.
Arcane knights appear to be normal humans in the prime of their life. Magical foci have been engineered into their souls, allowing them to vent some of the bubbling magic that fills it.
You must choose three magical effects your arcane knights are able to produce, such as healing, teleportation, fire manipulation, telekinesis, object enhancement, or physical augmentation.
The manner in which they wield magical power is unsuitable for permanent effects; anything that is not instant (like healing) will end in hours, at most, without regular upkeep. Emerge wrapped in well-made chainmail armor beneath concealing robes, wielding slim steel blades.
Arcane knights are universally literate, but have a very poor education by modern standards.]
A new type of monster to infiltrate the city around him and take it over, slowly, setting up the dominos until he is ready to make his move. The next monster, however, he chose exactly to help him do that! They were a bit ugly, but they were masters at their craft.
Trolls
[Takes 16 seconds to produce.
Misshapen creatures, hovering around five feet tall and wrapped in thick layers of fat and muscle. A good bit stronger and even more dexterous than orcs, but incapable of running and devoid of combat instincts. Very good at all forms of crafting, but require time to design new creations.
With the appropriate materials, such as monster parts, magical substances, or minerals of particularly precious or sturdy nature, they can forge magic items with a wide variety of effects, but they are limited in how potent an item they can assemble alone.
Emerge with a belt of simple hand tools, all they need to turn the appropriate materials into magic items and sturdy structures.]
With these monster, he could accelerate the Tinkertech research by a lot! And the best part? It seeme that they worked wonderfully in groups, or so Damien believed, even if they were... not great at defending themselves. And at last, but certainly not least, the sigils. He took the one he chose because it would help him build his empire and his underground base easily, the second one came as a bonus and a surprise to him.
Engineering
[Whenever your monsters assemble structures or transport construction materials, much less physical strength is necessary.
Where previously you might need an orc to exert the necessary force, a goblin would suffice. Provided enough workers are in place, all steps involved in building and excavation- including the planning process- can be completed four times as quickly. Structures built mostly by your monsters are much more stable; they will not degrade over time, and do not require any significant maintenance.
Until such a structure collapses completely, it will remain just as stable and resistant to further damage.]
Blood
[Your monsters are innately capable of a form of bloodcraft. By infusing blood from any source into any material or finished item, it can be augmented, enhancing existing traits or adding new qualities.
The effect of this varies based on the quantity of blood, its source, and the nature of the subject being infused, in ways that can, with study, be predicted and extrapolated from.
The more blood is used to empower a single subject, the less efficient this becomes.]
'This... this can help.' With more gains than he expected, Damien turned his mind to the report given to him by one of his many Abyssal Mind Devourers, a message that came directly from the Wild Team.
It seems like the Protectorate is trying to separate them.