"You want to host... a tournament?"

Corvus stood by the window in the throne room of the grand castle. He stood with his hands behind his back, his iconic hood shielding his most handsome face from view as he looked out over the capital city of his humble new empire.

He didn't answer the aids incredulous question, letting the poor man stew in silence. This particular aid had been serving Corvus for the last year, and since he was a puppet up until a few weeks ago, he was used to the Lord's strong and silent demeanour.

Damien was his name and he was dressed in a suit, as he always did. He highly valued the refined and elegant class of the old world over the barbaric nature of the new one, as he stated in his own words. Still, he made sure to pick himself out a suit that had a long tail coat and crisp white gloves, almost making him look like a butler.

With blonde slicked back hair and cold eyes, he alone intimidated enough people to act as a sort of test. If they couldn't stand the simple piercing gaze of his assitant, then they were hardly going to stand up well to the Lord's overbearing aura, even when he did his best to withhold it.

It wasn't as bad in crowds or in public settings, where the power and intimidation could almost be felt as a safety blanket for the public. A big fish for them to cower under when the danger came, and a display of the raw power they had defending them.

But when you are meeting one on one and requesting something from your Lord, suddenly that aura has an entirely new feeling. It was the difference between witnessing the awe inspiring power of a nuke, versus finding one flying directly towards you.

Lacking an response to his question, Damien probed further,

"I'm sorry My Lord, I don't seem to understand... well anything. For what purpose? What sort of tournament would you want to even host?"

Corvus seemed to ignore him again, staring out the window at all of the people going about their lives beneath. Of course he didn't have to do that, he was still connected to all the various guards that were not just in this city, but all the other ones.

He had patrolling guards as well as ones posing as statues within important parts of the city, such as market places. Through their eyes he could watch someones life in the smallest details, he could see the smiles on their faces, the worries furrowing their brows and more.

Yet he didn't do that, instead choosing to simply look out the window like every other person, watching them scuttle about below like little ants.

It wasn't for egotistical reasons, or to make himself feel superior. Far from it.

"If you object to the idea so much, then what would you rather have us do?"

Corvus spoke calmly, not sparing his assistant so much as a glance. Damien frowned slightly at the question. Many others would cower from him, trying to convince Corvus that they didn't dislike the idea or pander to his feelings as if they were so pathetically fragile a simple disagreement would spell the end of their lives.

Not Damien though, that's why Corvus liked him and kept him for the job.

"I simply fail to see the point in it, My Lord. Surely our time and resources would be better spent working on refining our infrastructure. Securing the newly aqcuired territories and making sure there is no descent.

Your rule in the new cities is still shaky at best."

Corvus nodded a few times, finally glancing over his shoulder towards Damien.

"Tell me about the latest conquests then."

Damien nodded, manifesting a clipboard from thin air and flipping a few papers over the top. In reality, this clipboard was his Knowledge gift.

It was a strangely dull and mundane form for such a wondrous gift, but Damien seemed to enjoy it. He made a display of flipping through multiple papers, as if he was having to search for the right information, muttering to himself as he did so.

An entirely unnecessary process, The papers were infinite and all it took was one flip to find the right piece of information. But Corvus allowed him his little show and held back a chuckle, before Damien finally found what he was looking for.

"Here it is, the report. The Black Wraith and the Dread Knight carried out swift, precise strikes at your instruction. Resistance was lacking as they had recently suffered beast attacks and were functioning in an entirely archaic class system that completely abandoned the non powered while those with power simply used it to make themselves fat and content.

Something about rules of the jungle, what utter nonsense..."

Damien clicked his tongue in annoyance and shook his head, unable to stop himself from adding his own commentary to the report. As for the names he mentioned, the Black Wraith and the Dread Knight, those somewhat dramatic names referred to Bob and Carnifex respectively.

As they were responsible for a lot of the conquering, as well as spent a lot of time on the field, they had become well known both by their allies and by their enemies. They were part of the collective known as his Harbingers.

Along with Bob and Carnifex, that group consisted of; Astra - otherwise known as the Oncoming Storm amongst a host of other names, Lee - otherwise known as the Omen, Alfie - Otherwise known as Pestilence, and finally Juniper who had been given the name of Nature's Wrath.

They were all very dramatic names, spawned from hushed whispers in the depths of the night. People wondering which Harbinger of Death would be the last thing they saw. For many, they did not even see the person, just the marks of their presence, which spawned the names.

Since Fox was focused on training more, he never got himself a name, and unfortunately for Omelette he was never seen as anything more than a beast, and so was never deemed enough to be given one. Although in his mind he would always be the Roaming Shadow of Death.

Alfie and Juniper had been focused on the north when they were partaking in conquests, and to be honest it had been a while since Corvus, or any version of him, had seen them since then. Who knows, maybe next time he checked up on them they would have some little saplings.

Holding back the mischievous giggles at the thought of his friend struggling with little plant babies, Corvus focused back on Damien who had just finished his unimpressed mutterings.

Corvus held up his hand before Damien could continue with reading the report he already knew the details of.

"That's all well and good. But what does it say about the people themselves? What do we know of their talents, not just the evolutionary ones. Simple ones such as art, carpentry and masonry.

What about their feelings? Not just one being conquered, but in general. About each other within the same city, and about their neighbouring cities. What do they feel about being part of a new whole, and do they feel seen or simply a place to be conquered?"

Damien paused for a moment, his brow deepening into a more frustrated frown as his mouth hung open as he searched for words that never came. Failing to find the right thing to say, He clenched his jaw as his eyes scanned the documents. He flipped a few more pages, flipped back to the one he was on previously, then let out a deep sigh.

"It says very little about such things, My Lord."

"Exactly. I know that reasserting our foundation is important, but we cannot do that with just the talents of Ravenkeep alone nor can we do it if we don't know the talents of our new people.

And that is how I want them to see themselves, as part of this whole. Our new people, not just another conquered city.

We have all been through wars and conquest, fought beasts and monsters both in the shape of man and mutated from them. It is time that we introduce these new people to what Ravenkeep has given to its own people.

Peace, prosperity and fun. Plus, what gives people a sense of drive and a feeling of belonging more than friendly competition? Fighting against one another to show that you are the greatest!"

"Ah... So a tournament. Now I understand, thank you Lord. Although, there is still the question of what kind of tournament. What will they compete in, exactly?"

Corvus strolled over to his throne without hurry, sinking into the chair and slouching in a relaxed manner like he didn't have a care in the world. A smirk formed underneath the darkness of his hood.

"Everything."

"E-everything?"

"Yes, Everything. I want to understand the talents of these people, so we can't just focus on one thing. We need competitions for all sorts, to find the best diamonds no matter what rough they lay in.

Carpentry, Masonry, Sword Fighting, Hunting, Art, Poetry... the list goes on. Ask the people what they would like to compete in, and we shall make it happen. Oh, and think of a good name for it too.

Who knows, If this goes well it could become a wonderful tradition."

Damien nodded hesitantly, striding out of the room to get started on the Lords tournament. As for the Lord himself, he waited until he was all alone before pulling an envelope from underneath his cloak.

'It's almost time.'