Gorum grumbled quietly as he walked to the ballroom, the emissaries attempting to console him on what upset him despite not knowing what it was.
"Master Gorum! Master Gorum! Please tell us what's troubling you and we'll take care of it! It's our duty to help you as members of your sect!" Said a rather heavy-set and curvaceous female Orc that led this particular pack of emissaries, struggling to jog along with Gorum's walking pace, her body jiggling and rippling with every step she took.
"Exactly, we're here for you Master Gorum! Anything at all and we'll do it!" added in a young elven man who moved with the orc, his effeminate walking style looking akin to a power walk than a jog like the orc.
"I've told you already it's nothing, honestly..." Gorum once again dismissed their concerns in an exasperated voice, his pale cheeks flushing red under his helm as the emissaries doted over him like a group of adults trying to please a small child.
Gorum was getting tired of their constant negging although he knew it came from a...strange...place of love, he still didn't fully understand why they loved him in the first place. The idea of someone caring about him was still a fairly new concept but he could still tell they were going overboard! He was an aged warrior of almost divine caliber, he didn't need people pampering him in the slightest.
'Whatever' he thought as he arrived at a large set of doors and waited for all the following emissaries to catch up.
Once they arrived Gorum pushed open the doors, and to his slight surprise, there weren't any more officials. Only emissaries, the Omens and other shady characters; likely field operatives such as warriors, mages and sneaks. To further his surprise, speaking in a semi-circle with Damia and the tall gray man was a voluptuous, blue skinned demi-human woman wearing puffy jade green robes with lavish gold and black embroidery. She was adored in finery; silver sapphire rings on every finger, gold ruby bobbles dangling from her long pointed ears, a row of emerald amulets across her chest from her neck.
And above all else, she radiated power.
Adjusting the wide and floppy hat black hat atop her head, she peered up at Gorum, her iris glowing red with mystic power.
"Idalia?" Gorum said, beginning to walk towards the three, the emissaries all stepping aside to make a path and not impede him.
"Oh Gorum, we were just talking about you! Weren't we, Damia?" Idalia said with a playful and drunken purr in her voice.
"Er, that's right. We were, in fact, discussing you Gorum." Damia said with a twinge of embarrassment in her voice. Like a housewife caught gossiping, she squirmed a bit; an odd sight to see of such a large creature.
"Well, I'm glad you were thinking about me but... what are you doing here? Did they invite you as well or had you already joined..." Gorum asked, still quite confused, but a little relieved. If she was going to be a part of the organization, then he might as well finalize his membership since she was the only obstacle in his opinion.
"Gorum...did no one tell you? I'm the organizations founder." Idalia said, sounding a bit disappointed.
'You're...the founder? How's that possible? I was under the assumption that Omens Order was at least 9,000 years old." Gorum asked.
"Well, Gorum, do you think that I could be older than I look? I turn 10,128 in a few months you know. Hmph, whatever, I should take it as a compliment shouldn't I? My age aside I'm sure you're curious as to why I actually started the order, ultimately betraying the Ugdual Royal family's rule." Idalia responded, sounding somewhat offended at first.
"When I first pledged loyalty to the royal family I was only 120 years old, barely a baby by the standards of my kind. Back then the Ugdual continent was split between maybe 4 or 5 different kingdoms that were constantly waring with each other. I had chosen what was once called the Hurda Fiefdom and used my wisdom to guide them into uniting the kingdoms and forming the Ugdual royal family. Took maybe...100 years? I was really struggling back then, a lot less experience, a lot less power." Idalia chuckled to herself and picked a wine glass of table, sipping on its contents.
"Of course, that first few years of rule were chaotic, but then it calmed down like I expected." She took a other sip.
Hrmph, didn't stay that way for long, though. Soon enough corruption started to snake its way around the upper ranks of nobility, then slowly trickled down into lower ranks. Dumb brats who didn't know my talents were overtaking their parents' positions and thought that they didn't need to respect me. I could've handled that, but what ruined it was that blasted church! When the church made its footing they started outlawing 'heretical' magic and began condemning non-human races." Idalia said, taking a long gulp of wine afterward. Once she filled her glass again she continued.
"Needless to say, a demi human archmage such as myself was viewed to be highly heretical! I was chased out of the kingdom I helped build, the kingdom I DID build. All because some snot nosed, shit assed brats and puffed-up bloated bishops couldn't respect me as what I was! And no one helped us demi humans, the humans of the kingdom all turned their backs on us." Idalia grit her teeth, grinding them as she spoke.
Another long gulp of wine.
"So I vowed to get my revenge, deliver those fools their comeuppance! I stared gathering power, gathering those the kingdom mistreated and spat upon. Eventually, after enough time I reintegrated under my new name, Idalia, and secured a position as Brave of the Kingdom. Easier to topple it from the inside you know?" Idalia set her wine glass down, huffed and picked it back up to finish it.
"So.. questions?" She said, craning up at Gorum.
"Many, but I'll just ask a few instead." Gorum said, crossing his arms. He didn't have any questions about her alcoholism though, he already knew.
"So what exactly is the plan, do you want a hostile takeover? A civil war? I mean, revenge doesn't really seem like the answer to a situation like this..." he said, garnering a surprised reaction from nearly everyone in the courtroom but Idalia and the gray man.
Their surprise wasn't unwarranted, after all if anyone would be all for a battle, it would be Gorum. Considering his usual violent approach to situations it was quite the shock.
"No no, that's a last resort Gorum! Put such a silly idea out of your head! Peace, peace is what it's all about!" Damia suddenly inserted herself into the conversation, frantic in her dismissal of war.
"Damia is right Gorum, I would hate to have such a cataclysmic war...but if push comes to shove that's why we would need you! We plan to overtake peacefully, show how much power we have and force the enemy to surrender, you'll be quite useful in that effect. Plus, you would come in handy either way when it comes time for the status shift." Idalia reaffirmed Damia's point, patting the big spider on one of her legs.
"Status shift?" Gorum asked.
"Yes, the status shift. The shifting of power and status between races. No longer will demi-humans be given the short end of the stick! Humans will no longer be able to hold a noble title for at least 5,000 years, save for yourself of course." Damia chortled a bit, reassuring Gorum a societal advantage once they took over.
"And with the help of the Saintess and the the damn near rest of the world, we'll ensure the humans of the country re-examine their positions in life when we have them scrabbling around in the muck for the next 5 millennia! Of course, there will be a few humans who get some unjust suffering but there was a larger number of demi-humans who suffered, so call it a generational penance!" Idalia added on, starting to ramp up her speech to the emissaries in the room.
"And you Gorum, you suffered the prejudice of humans all your life despite being one! Though you caused much suffering on the side of the innocent by blindly following the orders of the kingdom, you made up for it enough with how much you've scarified and suffered for the good of all people. Besides, it's not as if you knew all the suffering was taking place, you were just doing your job. With your help we can turn the tables on those greedy fucks and when all is said and done, you can enjoy your twilight years in peace!" At this point Idalia was preaching, posing as she shouted to the whole room.
"I see... I should have figured it out sooner, so much could have been avoidable." Gorum slowly hung his head, looking to the floor as he covered the face of his helm with his hand.
"M-Master Gorum!"
"Don't cry Master Gorum, it's okay! We promise!"
"Lift your head, Master Gorum, you're still a hero!"
Some spoke up and tried to comfort Gorum as he hung his head, attempting to cheer him up as they patted his legs and offered consolation.
"Don't be like that Gorum, this is your chance to help fix things." Damia tried to reassure Gorum, stepping her hulking body a bit closer in a well-meant attempt at comfort.
"Gorum, how about it? You'll help right things, won't you?" Idalia placed a hand on Gorum's knee, that being the only appropriate spot she could reach with their height difference.
"Honestly, I'm an idiot for not noticing all this sooner. Whatever, after I'm done here I'll just have to go slaughter the current incompetent nobility and instate new nobles." Gorum huffed and lifted his head.
"Say wah?" said Idalia, a mere millisecond later her whole body being lifted into the air, pierced through the midsection by Gorum's spear.