Empire Of Souls - Chapter 161

The enticement of creating his own avatar was too great. Although its expense and future development would be extremely costly in ‘Soul Potential’ it was absolutely worth the cost. This body would be independent of his main body, but it would still be his consciousness within the body. He could be in two places at once, but most importantly it would allow him to develop abilities that he never could obtain before. He was especially interested in magic, this was a power that never existed on his world. Well, except for in fantasy and mythology.

It was a huge lure for him, it would allow him to do things he could never imagine. Blending whatever useful scientific knowledge in his possession with magic could lead to very promising results. At least these were his initial thoughts on the matter. It would be a difficult process though. He had given some thought to it, but since most of his knowledge was no longer of use in this world and he had no real understanding of magic, he hadn’t had a chance to do thorough research. This was a long term goal. Even if he created an avatar, it would still be some time until it reached a sufficient level to partake in this kind of research.

“For now I will just have the gnomes and dwarves I created, along with the magic casters already under my authority, do some limited research. Dwarven and Gnomish technology is already quite intriguing, but not nearly on the level of the technology from my world. What sets it apart are the magical elements. Runesmithing, enchanting, alchemy, these are all a very interesting merging of technology and magic. I don’t know how far these two very different systems can be combined. Will I be able to replicate some of the technology of my past in some aspects by combining these? It is uncertain, but worth the investment. Even if it just means progressing current technology and magic a decade or two, it would be worth it.”

Aleks spent some time considering how he would make use of his new subordinates after they left, but there were a variety of issues he needed to address and couldn’t spend a significant amount of time on this one thing. He spent some time traveling throughout the new town and surveying the many construction projects going on. He also visited Lenia who was training soldiers and organizing their new military forces.

Warriors were being separated into groups and only the most elite, or those with the greatest potential were chosen to be soldiers. Other warriors were allowed to train, but would instead be given a set of choices for future work. A large organization was in the planning stages and hadn’t been officially established yet, but these warriors would be able to join the organization which would be divided into departments. These were explorers, surveyors, hunters, and treasure seekers.

There were no official names or titles for these warriors just yet, and a charter of rules and governance had not yet been established. Ultimately the warriors would become those who explored dangerous wilderness locations and mapped out unknown territory, surveyed for resources and catalogued everything they came across, hunted wild animals and dangerous creatures, and those who explored ancient ruins and other dangerous locations in search of treasure or historical artifacts.

It would be something similar to an adventurer’s guild, but Aleks didn’t just want to recreate an adventurer’s guild within his territory. He wanted a government run organization that was structured and rigid with clear rules, punishments and rewards. What he did not want, was that mess called an adventurer’s guild filled with rowdy and chaotic rabble with loose rules and barely any regulation of its members. This differed from nation to nation and it wasn’t fair to lump all in the same boat, but it was the general reality. They were independent organizations and that wasn’t what Aleks wanted. Alek’s organization would be an enormous entity regulated strictly by the government. Each department of this organization would focus on a specific skill set and they would work independently, or in cooperation with each other when necessary.

Seeing the excellent job Lenia was doing in managing the many warriors and subordinates, Aleks was quite pleased. She had gained much prestige among the warriors and there were no issues with her management of them. The warriors fought fiercely and competed earnestly to earn her favor and the honor of being chosen to serve in the elite army. Those who weren’t chosen, while somewhat dispirited they didn’t make the cut, were also still expectant of their future work. They were not being abandoned, it was just that their role would shift to something which was equally as important.

Everything within the settlement was moving along efficiently, which was a testament to Lariel’s ability to run a nation. The labor force was already divided and allocated to necessary jobs around the settlement whether it be construction, farming, or manual labor. Those soldiers who had surrendered were being put to work as slaves and didn’t dare slack off. They were constantly being watched by other laborers who had been with Aleks for a while now or by those who had come to worship Aleks as their deity. Aleks didn’t even need to do much, those who worshipped him would take care of any problems that arose and Lariel was greatly respected. Just the sight of her coughing while hard at work moved most hearts. People were only too happy to be of service to her.

There really wasn’t anything for Aleks to do and his trip around the settlement was a distraction more than anything else. Wherever he went, a host of servants and guards would go with him. There were those who carried his palanquin, maids there to serve whatever needs he had, and elite guards assigned to keep others away. It was bothersome to Aleks, but he went along with it because it had all been arranged by Lariel. He could at least give her this much. She constantly reminded him that he was no longer the man who wandered the world in anonymity. He was now a ruler and he needed to act like one. This included all of the extra additions that went with it, including his entourage. Aleks didn’t see the need for all the pomp and ceremony, but he could at least indulge Lariel in some ways.

Aleks was quite impressed with the design of the city and had praised it repeatedly. Everything had been considered, the necessary government facilities, all of the structures that would be necessary for a growing population, etc. Lariel had considered many things and this left Aleks with not much to do when it came to his role as a ruler. This served his purposes just fine. The city itself had been designed with the palace at its center with all major government facilities also being constructed in the same district. There were several districts under construction, each which would have a wall separating them. An outer wall was also planned which would surround the entire city.

At the entrance of the valley, which was several miles from the site of the capital city, a series of fortresses were planned. The mouth of the valley was a dozen miles in length and a few fortresses connected by walls would eventually be built along the entrance of the valley completely sealing the valley off. In the future, if an army wished to attack the capital city, they would have to break through a series of defensive fortresses and then break through the outer wall of the settlement, as well as fight their way through all the inner walls separating districts. It would be an extremely costly endeavor and this was assuming Aleks wasn’t present. With Aleks there, who could possibly succeed once all of the defenses were built? There were also many defensive magic installations planned, but all of this would take time. It was only the beginning stages of development. Luckily, they did not lack for resources or manpower.

More importantly, Aleks spent time using his connection with the land to explore some of its depths with his consciousness. His ability to sense with his consciousness was limited to the valley that was fully within his domain, but just in this valley alone were a wealth of resources of all kinds. There was an abundance of ores, lumber, stone, fertile soil, and wildlife. Since it had been completely cut off from the rest of the Steppes, there were no dangerous creatures within the valley. Only outside the valley would such monsters be found. This made the construction of the new city and surrounding facilities a much simpler process.

Aleks also discovered that with his connection to his domain, he could cause positive changes to the land and its resources. He could alter ores and change their very substance into more valuable and rare ores, and he could do the same with the animals and vegetation within his domain. Normal and average trees and plants, could be changed to more useful and rare trees and plants at the expense of some ‘Soul Potential’. The cost was determined by the rarity and inherent value of what he wished to change it to. Even if he lacked certain resources, he could change the ordinary resources within his territory into more useful ones. This not only meant that it wasn’t necessary to import anything, he could use this ability to develop a burgeoning export economy for his nation if he so wished.

As long as he had enough ‘Soul Potential’ he could do many things. Even with the cost of maintaining Lariel’s help, the more people that worshipped him, the more SP he would have at his disposal. His land would lack for nothing and his people would be fulfilled and prosperous. This was based on an assumption that he could keep his nation safe from the many lurking dangers.