Evolution: A Warlock’s Rise To Power

Lucan gave out his orders and made his arrangements. An hour later he entered the shadow tunnel with Silent and Alasan Swift. They were headed to Avalon. Since the tunnel had been enhanced so many times, they were able to arrive in minutes.

The city was quiet. The people were out and moving around but the atmosphere was dark. Even if the citizen hadn't been informed of what was happening, they weren't stupid. They knew something was wrong.

People talking on the street, quietly whispered to each other and hurried about their business.

Lucan, Silent and Alasan entered the royal estate. When the guards saw them approach, they hurriedly went to get Grand Magister Faylen.

Twenty minutes later, they sat with Grand Magister Faylen, Nicholas, and the few government leaders who didn't flee already.

"Lord Quilldrake, I hope you have brought us good news." Faylen said.

"I am willing to help, but you must understand my position."

"Yes, yes." Faylen said excitedly. "Please explain what we can do."

Lucan looked around the room and let his eyes fall on everyone of the people from Baramore. "Since you are still here, I believe you are the few people in Baramore's government that truly puts the people first. If you were like the greedy bastards who have already run away, I would have rejected you without hesitation. The biggest issue is that Baramore is a large country, while I am simply a Baron. Taking everyone in is a threat to my position. I have a single city the size of Avalon, a small newly developed city, and dozens of villages. Just looking at the raw data. If even half of your people were to come, mine would be greatly outnumbered."

When Lucan closed his mouth, Silent handed him a glass of water to take a sip of.

"Are you saying that only some people can come? You want us to decide?" Nicholas asked with an annoyed expression. He understood the position Lucan was in, but choosing who could go to safety, and who would be left to their own devices was something he definitely didn't want to do."

"You will have to make decisions, but it will not be like that. My people estimate that your population should be around 15 million, is that accurate?"

"Yes, that is correct." Grand Magister Faylen.

"Okay, the largest city in my territory is Destol. I will my wife, the Governess of that city, tell you more about it."

Silent straightened herself in her chair and then spoke to the group. "Destol is currently being developed into a city of arts with a focus on entertainment. Its current population is just over 4.2 million. It has been decided that 1-1.5 million people will be able to migrate to Destol. Construction of temporary housing has already begun. If needed, it is possible for 2 million to move to Destol but that many people will put a strain on the natural resources in the area."

Lucan nodded, with a satisfied expression when she finished speaking. He they turned to look at Alasan.

Alasan nodded to the Baramore elites and they started speaking. "My name is Alasan Swift. I oversee that capital of my Lord's territory, Shadowsweep. Our capital is currently growing at a fierce pace and is in a constant stage of expansion. With .9 million citizens, we are able to take in around 4 million people. Outside of Shadowsweep we have a mining operation that is in constant need of people. The land under Shadowsweep is very mineral rich. The mining operation, led by a group of dwarves, have recently submitted a request to build a city under Shadowsweep. Before we were aware of your situation, we had decided to delay the underground city project for a year or two, Shadowsweep had built a strong foundation for ourselves. But now… we have decided to move the project forward."

Alasan began to shuffle through his notes before finding what he was looking for. "The underground city has been given funds to start it's development today. Normally it would take a great deal of time to build a city from nothing, but we are talking about dwarves building a home underground. No one can compare to their building speed in that situation. We are willing to let up to 3 million people live in the underground dwarven city that is being built. Two different mines that have already been depleted are being connected as we speak. Over 5,000 workers have already begun carving homes into the stone underground. We have been lucky enough to find 5,000 dwarven works, don't underestimate their work ethic or craftsmanship, they will be able to complete 10,000 homes a day. Currently they are working on large scale dormitories to house many people at once. The dormitories will be built near the surface, allowing those who are underground, to access Shadowsweep. After the dormitories are built, we will begin to develop the underground city beneath Shadowsweep."

The officials from Baramore nodded. Although none of them wanted to live underground, they were familiar with the speed that dwarves were able to build. Even though it wasn't ideal, they understood that the dwarves could quickly create safe housing underground. On top of that, there were a few races that wanted nothing more than to live underground.

"That accounts for half of our population, what about the rest?" Grand Magister Faylen asked.

Lucan continued. "Because of the timing of your request, we have also move up the development of a new city. However, it is going to be near the borders of the dark territory. The dark territory is the land in the shadow realm that has no ruler. It is where beast and magical creatures live and prosper. I won't lie, it is a dangerous area. We plan to build a city on the Dragon Spine Hills about twenty-five miles from the dark territory. It will be a city that you all will develop on your own."

Nicholas frowned. "This… are you pushing us to the most dangerous area?"

"Yes." Lucan said, mater-o-factly. "But it is opportunity. I will only be sending a few people to the city that you create. I will provide resources to get you started. You will pay taxes to me like my other cities, but you will be free to develop how you please, and I will also build a teleportation device that is connected to the rest of my territory. It will be hard for you all to hold your positions in my other cities, but if you decide to go to the Dragon Spine Hills you will be able to lead your people how you see fit, as long as it doesn't go against me. The dark territory may be a dangerous place, but there are many rewards and treasures waiting to be taken. It will be the easiest place for people to change their fates and strike it rich. The new city will be allowed to have a guard force of fifty thousand people, but you may not have your own army. With Destol, Shadowsweep, the underground city, and Dragon Spine Hills, we should be ablet o take anyone that want's to come. Does anybody have anything to say before I continue?"

Lucan looked around the room. The officials from Baramore understood that although the situation wasn't ideal, it was the best offer they were going to get. Those chose to remain quiet until Lucan finished speaking and they were fully aware of all his demands.

"Ok, I will carry on. First, you have to dissolve your army within one week of arriving. I will be opening recruitment into my own army. For those who wish to join and sign an agreement to be in my army for at least five years, I will let them decide which of the four locations their families will live in. For those who have made a career of being soldiers in your country, I will listen to their requests of which area they prefer to be station in. For those that are officers and the higher ranked members of your army. They will be given tests and on passing will retain their same rank upon coming into my army. This applies to ranks bellow general. I hope you can understand why I won't let your people directly control my armed forces."

The others nodded. It was already a good thing that Lucan let the officers maintain their positions.

"My second condition is that anyone who wants to come to the shadow realm, must become my acolyte. This only applies to those who have a class slot open. For those who have all their class slots full, their will have to swear an oath to me. This is to protect me and my people. At the slightest whiff of rebellion, I will crush all that oppose me. To be truthful, you simply have to many people. I can't afford to take any chances."

The officials understood that Lucan was taking a big chance in helping them out. Their were many benefits for him, but it was incredibly dangerous.

"With your people coming, I will meet the population to requirement to become a duke. Before that, I will have to become a count. I need to work on my own personal strength to be able to continue to rise through the ranks. When I become a count, I will be able to appoint three lords to work directly beneath me. If the city on Dragon Spine Hills id developing well. I see no harm in appointing who ever you all decided to rule there, as one of my lords. And there will be additional opportunities for advancement when I become a duke. If everyone is willing ot work with me, I will not forget you. We shall all grow together."

"I believe we can agree to all these things." Grand Magister Faylen said. "I am sure there are many more things we need to discuss but those will be minor details."

"Yes, you can settle those with Alasan. For now, I think it is time to inform your people and see who is willing to leave." Lucan said. The others agreed and began to get moving.

***

Two thousand Windy Willow players rode on their mounts as they hurried to their destination. Shifty Willow, who had recently been promoted, rode beside Sturdy Willow.

"Hey Boss…" Shifty said. "What are we doing this time? I know that Lucan hired us, even including the B team this time, but I don't know what we are doing."

"Don't worry about it." Sturdy said.

"But… I heard some of the guys talking at the fortress, and I heard them mention "Population Control" several times. Are we… you know…"

"We have been paid and taken the mission assigned to us. We will fulfill the terms of the contract. Don't concern yourself with minor details right now. We will have a hard fight ahead of us with heavy resistance. You should be making sure that you are in peak condition if you want to do well in our coming battle."

Shifty was feeling uneasy, but nodded and didn't ask about the mission again.

"Let's pick up the pace, we need to reach the Dragon Spine Hills quickly."