Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

When Brax finished his meeting with the lawyer, he got into his car and headed back home. He worked out and kept himself busy until it was midnight. He was then, once again, able to log back into Evolution.

Lucan appeared in the virtual world. He looked around and found Silent materializing next to him.

As soon as she fully took form, he pounced on her. She was no longer as resistant to physical contact since she had spent the night at Brax's place.

They were in an empty forest with no one around. Lucan kissed Silent as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She didn't stop him from feeling around under her armor and taking a few squeezes. Their mouths stayed locked together for several minutes. Eventually, Lucan pulled back.

He smiled when he saw Silent shy expression. Her face was red and her head hung down as she didn't dare to make eye contact with him.

He chuckled and summoned his flying carpet. They bot got on and flew towards the entrace of the dungeon he had just created.

It wasn't long before the Windy Willow members stepped out.

"Boss, you are back. Here is out report."

Lucan took the report they had written. He found it very useful. They had found a few things that made the game unbalanced and a few places in the terrain that they were able to take advantage of to disrupt the current balance.

"Good work." He said before heading into the dungeon.

Lucan was surprised to see Silent follow him in. He thought she would have run off to Destol to play.

The play testing had earned him a decent amount of dungeon points. 2,000 were added to the amount he was able to use. With this, Lucan made some changes according to the report handed to him by the Windy Willow organization. After that he had enough dungeon points to add towers to one of the lanes.

Now he just needed more points to complete the third lane, then test it a bit and he would be able to open it to the public.

Leaving the dungeon, the Willow plays returned to continue testing.

"What would you like to do?" Lucan asked. Since Silent was following him around, he knew that it must be for a reason.

"Whatever you like is fine. I just want to be with you."

Lucan chuckled and looked her over with the eyes of a hungry wolf. He reached out and put his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"Anything?" He asked with a mischievous smile.

Silent blushed. "Not that, we have to have a wedding first."

"Then it is decided. We shall pick a place and set a date to get married. Come, I have marked out several good locations while I was looking around. Come with me and take a look, see if there are any that you like."

Lucan took her hand and pulled her onto the flying carpet. He took a seat and pulled her into his lap before zooming off into the distance.

Lucan was relaxed and playing around but things were much different in the material realm.

***

Grand Magister Faylen paced back and forth. Very quickly, a messenger rushed into the room filled with Baramores top officials.

The Grand Magister took the report and read it carefully. He sighed after he finished. Faylen slowly sat down and it looked as if he had aged a great many years, just from reading that report.

The gather officials murmured to themselves, but none had the courage to ask what was written.

Grand Magister Faylen didn't keep them in suspense for long.

"Sigh, things aren't good this time. Last night we lost three cities in the outer territory to the drow."

Gasps could be heard throughout the room.

"But that is not the worst of it." Grand Magister Faylen said. "It appears that the drow are headed our direction. If nothing happens, a force of over two hundred thousand will be here withing a week."

If things were tense before, the conference room was now like a mad house. The officials began to panic. Their entire army consisted of only one hundred thousand soldiers. Even if they assembled everyone, they would still be out numbered two to one.

But assembling everyone was virtually impossible, the one hundred thousand soldiers that made up Baramore army were spread through out the country. The rebellions in the south had died down since the drow outbreak, bur if they pulled back their soldiers, it was likely that they would lose their footing and have to concede the southern plains.

"This is bad, this is bad, what will we do?"

"There is no way we can hold of against the drow."

"We are done, finished. There is nothing we can do."

The officials started to panic as they talked among themselves. Even Grand Magister Faylen wasn't sure of what to do.

"We should warn the people so they know what is coming?"

"No way, it will be harder to escape if we have to share the roads with the people."

"Yes, let us not say anything, sell everything you have of value, then take the money and leave. This is our best option."

Grand Magister Faylen shook his head. He didn't consider himself to be a morally great person, but abandoning the citizens? That was something he wouldn't do. He sighed while trying to think of ways out of this mess.

One of the newer council members, a young man who had still remained uncorrupted by politics spoke up.

"How can you all talk like this? The people chose us to act in their best interest and you are only concerned for yourselves. It it disgusting."

"Hmpf, Nicholas, you have barely seen the world, what right do you have to speak." Said another council member.

"Yeah, just take this as a lesson from your elders. The situation now is adapt or die. We don't have time to concern ourselves with those from the lower rungs of society. If our council, the nobles, and his majesty survive, then our kingdom can rebuild wherever we are."

Nicholas angrily slammed his fist on the table. "A king, without people is nothing. If the people don't survive. Then the king and this council are pointless."

"You do what you want, we won't stop you." Said another council member getting up. "I will go inform his majesty. My brother has a dukedom in the regal mountains, we can go there to wait this out. It is far from any drow activity."

"Ah yes, good idea."

"Count me in."

"I will get my family ready, how about we all teleport their tomorrow."

"Good, good, hopefully the king ill come with us."

The council members quickly scattered and returned to their homes, leaving only Nicholas and the Grand Magister Faylen.

Twenty four hours passed and the palace was deserted. The king had emptied out the vault and left with the council members for the regal mountains. They were able to pay the teleportation fee to travel to such a place, but it was a price the ordinary citizen couldn't afford. And if the people knew what was coming, who would be willing to part with their gold. They would likely keep it for themselves and ry to teleport as far away as they could.

Nicholas returned to the empty council room. Everyone had fled and left the nation behind. Well, not everyone. Grand Magister Faylen still remained, but that was because he had given up all hope, he didn't even have the will to trey anymore. He slumped in his chair and just stared out the window.

Nicholas wanted to hate Faylen for giving up, but he couldn't bring himself too. He sat at the table dejectedly trying to think of something they could do.

There was suddenly a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Glen Filament walked into the room. He was the head of the magical research department.

"Where is everybody? I have been looking for some one to approve my funding request." Glen said.

"They are gone. All the nobles have abandoned Baramore along with the king." Nicholas said.

"What?! How can that be? What will happen to us?"

Faylen sighed and looked at his friend Glen. "The drow are coming. Two hundred thousand. There is nothing we can do."

"There is really nothing we can do?" Glen asked.

"Nothing." Faylen replied.

The head researched took a moment to think about it.

"Why don't we just move?"

"The king emptied the vault and took everything. It may be cheap to teleport within the country, but we can't afford to teleport the citizens out of our boundaries."

"I know that." Glen said. "But if they can teleport here, can't we just walk over to Lucan's. He seems like a pretty reasonable person."

Grand Magister Faylen quickly stood up. "How could I forget. Yes, yes, yes, we are connected to the shadow realm."