“That’s not the only thing that should be on the order of business. There’s also the problem of the blood madness that Returner Abominations like me are experiencing.” Bytra said.
The 4th Ruler of the Flames was among the clones that had absorbed their original counterparts, giving them a fresh start at life. Returners, however, would start as pure beings, with only the memories belonging to their life as Awakened.
Over time, they would remember all the atrocities they had committed and the pain that they had endured after turning into Abominations. It caused them psychotic breaks at random intervals that had cost the Organization many missions and even more casualties.
Every slaughter ended up having too many witnesses to kill them all, and by reporting the Abomination’s location, their enemies had been able to unravel what the Organization was working on.
Because of that carrying out the next steps of the Master’s plan was not much more difficult.
“Last, but not least. We must discuss the issue of the Returners that didn’t join our ranks. They know too much. It’s enough for one of them to be captured or be willing to side with our enemies to expose our location and long-term goals.” Tezka said.
After Lith had killed his clone, the Master had performed the procedure again, turning Tezka into a Warg-Abomination hybrid. Losing his prized artifact, Endless Night, was worth the power he had gained in return.
On top of that, Bytra had already Forgemastered him a much better piece.
She was the rising star of the Organization, and everyone groveled at her feet to get in her good graces or have something crafted. She had already updated all of her Forgemastering techniques, reaching an unparalleled level of skill.
Bytra was one of the reasons why the Council was tempted to offer Abominations a seat. She was the only living Ruler of the Flames and her creations dwarfed ancient powerful artifacts.
Bytra was the only one who could recreate an outdated enchanted item with modern techniques, giving it new life. The Master and Xenagrosh were the only ones who had her unconditional love.
The Master had taken her in as a daughter, providing her with all the materials and books she could dream of. The Master had even predicted the risks of blood madness and had treated her the moment the first symptoms appeared.
Xenagrosh, instead, was her only true friend and partner. Original Abominations considered Returners as usurpers, while Returners deemed Originals as heartless monsters.
The Master had a hard time bridging between the two factions, but luckily, Bytra and her relationship with Xenagrosh helped him to find a way to make things work out.
Xenagrosh was the one who had brought Bytra back in the fold and with her Origin Flames, she was the crucial ingredient in all Forgemastering experiments. The two of them were the living proof that nothing separated Originals from Returners except their own prejudices.
“Last my Chaos ass!” Abthot roared. “As the representative of Eldritch Abominations, I demand to know what’s the status of the research to make us evolve as well.”
The Master sighed in stress. Between living their own human life and keeping all those powerful creatures in check was a mammoth task.
‘I would love to rub his nose on the fact that they were the ones who refused to take part in the clone experiment, but the situation is already tense as it is. Between the lack of food and their personal agenda, regular Abomination are on the verge of mutiny
‘I wish I was in a bard’s tale where the hero always has followers who are blindly loyal to him, ready to throw away their lives and ambitions for no good reason.
‘Also, in those stories both good and bad guys seem to find money growing on trees whereas I have to work my ass off to procure the necessary funds for the Organization.’
“Here is my proposal.” The Master stood up, but they were the only human sitting at the round table while the others were all titans, so the change in height was barely noticeable.
“There’s only place for a big predator in the Garlen continent and that’s going to be us. From now on, kill all the undead you met on sight. No quarter given, no mercy shown.
“Wipe out the Courts if you find them and don’t hesitate to ask for reinforcements. Avoid only Liches, they are a beast that it’s not worth poking without a very good reason.
“By seizing the undead’s backchannels and possessions, we’ll solve many of our problems. Also, in the long term, their disappearance will lead the Kingdom to lax its security again. As for the blood madness, from now on Returners must always work with a partner.
“This way if one of them goes on a rampage, the other can stop them. We don’t have many Returners, so I expect Originals and Eldritchs to give a hand.”
Bytra instinctively leaned against Xenagrosh’s arm, who held her hand and made Bytra blush. Everyone smiled at the scene, yet no one but the Master was sincere. Xenagrosh could wipe the floor with the ass of most of those present at the same time, while Bytra was their golden goose.
They were a match made in heaven and both were loyal to the Master. Their friendship heavily tipped the power balance and turned the Master’s proposals into orders.
“Rogue Returners must be left alone.” The Master continued. “They are not a threat. On the contrary, they are already part of the Organization. It’s just that they don’t know it yet. They are facing alone the humans, the undead, and even the blood madness.
“We are their only family and hope. If you find them, be friendly. It’s only a matter of time before they come knocking on our door. Lastly, about the concerns Abthot expressed, I’m doing my best, but I’m only human, after all.
“Find me Thrud and her perfected Arthan’s Madness or at least capture Dawn. With her ability to mass-produce the light element I could feed all of you and fuel my new project at the same time.
“Without either of them, I can only continue with the cloning experiments. All in favor?”
Those present raised their hands in unison.
“Excellent. Assembly dismissed. Xenagrosh, Bytra, please stay. I have a mission for you.” The Master said.
***
Contrary to Lith’s expectations, the following months were devoid of bad news. Summer came and left, followed by the quietest fall Lith had lived ever since he had enrolled in the White Griffon academy.
Over time, the Kingdom adapted to the undead threat and soon a new balance was reached.
The state of alert remained high and Lith didn’t get a single day leave, but with two other Rangers helping him to keep the Kellar region safe, no matter the situation, things never got out of his hand.
The reports of undead sightings had become a rare occurrence. Unbeknown to him, the Abominations were silently contributing to stabilizing the Kingdom, forcing the Undead Courts to split their resource between the human’s and Abomination’s side.
Just like Leegaain had predicted, the number of the undead couldn’t grow indefinitely and was bound to return to the pre-migration level. On the other hand, however, only the most powerful and cunning of the undead from both continents survived.
