The Hell is This (D)

The two men had come to an arrangement; Domen would be watching over the troops and land which had previously been gained by Jack and in return, Domen would facilitate a place for Jack to continue to perform his experiments as well as get away from his wife and family life. Before assuming role as ‘leader’ over this area, Domen would have to actually go there and visit it. As it were, he would know nothing about this area save for the fact that it existed and there were troops that came with it. He wouldn’t even know the names Pride’s Bastion, Ceila or Jonah; he would just know that he got something and judge it to be good. Therefore, the time came to pass where Domen would have to get his tour of the area claimed as well as meet those who would be directly under him for the time being.

A few days would have passed, giving Domen time to come back to this, in a manner of speaking, as well as give Jack whatever time he needed for whatever purposes, and a time to meet would have been set up. Today would, of course, be the time to meet. As such, the demon would have returned to hell, coming down the same hole which he had done the time before, and arriving at the same location where he had first met Jack, in order to then proceed to the place where he would be leading.

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In time Domen would make his descent from above and come into view of Jack and the Seat of Pride. Flying in a diagonally downward arc, the demon’s arms would be resting at his chest with his gaze on Jack to confirm that he was indeed the demon for which he had been looking. Before long, Domen’s feet would come to the ground that stood before Jack at a distance of about ten feet or so and he would walk upon the soul of Onitoshi, taking in a deep breath of the cursed demonic air. His chest would lower as he would exhale the homely smell and proceed in his final steps before he comes within conversational range of Jack. “Blood mage,” he would greet, “it is good that you are here to greet me.” Among the things that impressed Domen was punctuality. Being on time, or before time, was a great thing because it reduced the effort of having to wait or location someone or something. Domen liked for things of this nature to fall into his lap, as credit would be claimed to things going in accordance with his will. Additionally, things that coincided with his will were generally good by default and worthy of his benevolent attention. Instead of a traditional greeting and space filler such as ‘how are you’ or ‘I hope all is going well’ Domen would assume his presence was greeting enough. Though he were not skipping about, he was quite internally eager about the domain he would be acquiring.

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Domen lifts his gaze to take in the broken buildings and rubble before him that was to be called ‘The Seat of Pride.’ The name seemed something that Domen could get on board with; that wouldn’t need to be changed. As for the current landscaping that was going on there, it would have to be change into something that was a bit more befitting of the name. Still, seeing a place in ruin might be a letdown to some, to Domen it was just fine. It gave him a change to build from the ground up, which was something that the sheep he had at his disposal would be used for. It was interesting to hear that Jack had conquered this area; Domen hadn’t given much thought to how the blood mage had come across this area until now. The talk of the clans would be mostly foreign to Domen; if he had heard rumor of them in the past, he would have forgotten with his transition through his lives thus far, but he got the gist of what they probably represented as units. The strategic properties of the land resounded well with Domen as well. With an insightful nod, Domen would comment, “good.” It seemed like the transition was going across all too well, but then again, since it was part of his will, such a thing was to be expected. Commenting on the troops, he would ask, “what are the numbers of units which are currently under rule?” Among the units, his hope was that at least some held the ability to do things like build. If not, then they would probably be gaining numbers in conquest as one of the first orders of business. But after that question, Jack would be free to continue.

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The picture was painted clearly that the level of disorganization that was visible in looking over the land also extended to the troops that were guarding it. Whereas Jack may not be a logistics person, Domen prided himself in being a good shepherd, one able to keep tabs on his sheep for various purposes and reasons. Still, Domen would not fault the demon for acknowledging a facet of leadership in which he held no interest. This would be like playing Sim City for Domen; something he enjoyed much as chicks enjoyed playing the Sims and similar games in the old world that used to be called the present. With a nod, Domen would confirm, “that is fine; it gives greater gain for me. I will strive to build from this foundation of nothingness to create something. No, it may even be better this way.” With the information gained, he knew that there were clans and that they were disorganized but gathered under Jack. Domen speaks, “the ideal of clans will have to be erased, as there will only be one clan; that which I lead. These clans can easily be converted into brigades or guilds which should sooth the minion’s desire to hold onto some aspect of their former loyalties. This will come to pass in due time.” Looking to Jack, Domen would ask out of interest, “as for your facilities… do you prefer to work here or upon the surface? And of your family, where would you naturally reside?” Domen was in the process of gathering together his thoughts as he mentally mapped out what all he wished to do.

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Domen’s arms fold at his chest as he listens to Jack’s answer. He wasn’t opposed to admitting that humans were indeed unique things. The thing that separated them from ants to him was their variety, physically, mystically and emotionally. With the answer given, the mental response would be that Jack seemed to have things under control on his end, but of course, there would be a laboratory built in the Seat of Pride to house his needs as well. In his mind, how humans and other beings responded to the atmosphere of Onitoshi would have to be different from how they would react in their native climates. As for the question that comes in, Domen would not have thought much about Onitoshi during his time. The question was a bit vague in itself, since Domen had existed before the resurrection before his most recent one. Still, he would continue with the memories closest to him as he would look around and comment, “I haven’t ventured much around here in the time that I’ve returned, but I do remember a grand coliseum that housed battle between the Oni Lords of this world as well as a large city which stole technology from the humans in an attempt to recreate the luxuries they had in the City of the surface lands. They lacked the moving mechanical devices that transported them here and there, but seemed to grasp the ability of harnessing the human’s energy source.” Remembering back further, he continues, “the gate keepers of old are no longer at their posts, but it does seem… quieter…”

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From here, Domen would pretty much be good. Jack’s suggestion would be fine, since it would allow him to get to work on things without being bothered. “That is fine,” Domen would speak, “in your absence summons a minion to perform menal tasks for me in my orientation with these demons.” He would need a gopher to do his bidding along with his personal gopher whom he would summon to assist him momentarily. Aside from that, he would seek out the leaders of the various clans and inform them of everything that would be required of them. Since Jack would have probably done the foot work of telling them they were under new management, it would reduce the number of battles that would have to be fought in order to further subdue the masses, but he would clarify, “I assume the clan leaders know of my arrival?” With a positive answer on that note, Jack would receive his nod to depart, pending the summoning of one of his former minions. While Jack does this, Domen would call forth his own minion as he lifts his arm and speaks into existence, “come forth.” A small red gem on the back of his wrist would shine brightly and detach from his skin in order to hover over the ground at chest level before forming into the humanoid version of his fairy disciple, Paco.

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With his manifestation into this realm, the boyish fairy would formulate with golden blonde hair pulled into a puffy ponytail wearing odd garments mixed with blues and whites. Nothing about him really said ‘tough’ but he was a fairy in human form, after all. “Master!” comes the complaint from the small talkative fairy, “you left me in the form for far too long!” Ignoring this, Domen’s attention is on Jack for the remaining time that he is there. The information would be duly noted and he would have the names he needed to meet some of the first ones he would want to meet. When Jack departs, Domen sends Paco to go forth and into the skies and begin the official survey of the land. With Hctib’s arrival, Domen would look to the youth and command for him to first take him to see Ceila; she would have to be tamed first. After that, he would meet with the Stone and from there commence his inauguration into these lands.

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