Chapter 20
Top Dog
Central-Prime, District C-1, Central Sector, Dominion of Nylos
The door to the council chamber opened and out walked Mordekai, his robes and face flecked with no small amount of blood. Gally cowered behind Giger. As Giger had no one to cower behind, he was left with no choice but to act braver than he felt at the moment.
"Have a nice chat?" he asked Mordekai, masking his unease with his usual sarcasm.
"They proved to be as obstinate as I was expecting," Mordekai replied. "They wouldn't have committed to doing something so stupid otherwise."
Giger found himself at a loss for words and all he could do was ask, "Now what?"
"We'll see if I can put these dogs to heel," Mordekai said.
"And if you can't?"
"A lot of poor souls are mouldering in shallow graves here, Giger. It would be some sort of justice if the people who put them there would join them."
"You'll kill them all, the entire Cerberus Guild?"
"If they defy me."
Giger thought that Mordekai was sounding more and more like some kind of demon lord by the day, but he decided against putting that thought into words, especially when the blood had not even dried yet. However, even without saying anything, his face apparently was giving away his disapproval because Mordekai gave him a critical look.
"Would you have rather I let them kill all the Ancients? And us? You know we would be dead if I hadn't woken up."
Giger did not have much of a proper rebuttal, but still he replied, "I get fighting fire with fire, but a lot of stuff still ends up burnt in the end."
"So long as more of what matters is saved, the losses are acceptable."
"That's a lot of power to have in the hands of one person."
"It's the burden I've carried ever since I became heir to the legacy of Belmond Weiss."
"Not even Belmond Weiss himself had the kind of power you do."
"Not the raw magical power, perhaps, but he had other forms of power that are currently out of my reach, though I may have taken my first step closer."
This conversation was interrupted when Bogdar approached Mordekai with his head bowed and his arms crossing his chest like some sort of religious supplicant.
"Mat Zemlya, your command?"
Mat Zemlya was some sort of goddess from a half-remembered folk tradition. Bogdar had changed quite a bit ever since Mordekai demonstrated his power by filling the Hollow Sea. Even more so since Master Zarzadu was killed for defying the other masters, Bogdar had completely devoted himself to Mordekai and was working to win others to this new pseudo-religion with Mordekai as the central object of worship. Mordekai did nothing to discourage this. Giger wanted to believe it was simply because there was some practical value to fostering such a dedicated following and not because it was feeding the growing ego of this newborn goddess.
"Gather the others up above," Mordekai said. "I would speak to them."
"It shall be done, Mat Zemlya," Bogdar replied.
They returned to the surface and Mordekai went up to the second story where he would have a more commanding view of the Cerberus mages below. They had not been given an exact count of the Cerberus Guild's numbers, but it was supposed to be somewhere around three hundred and about half of that number were assembled.
Standing on the edge of the broken floor, looking down on the sea of masked faces below, Mordekai spoke to them, saying, "The Cerberus no longer has three heads but one." He pointed to himself. "The Master of Masters is no longer in Central but right here among you. Except for Zarzadu Spasek who they killed, the old masters were obedient dogs but unwise. They clung to their foolishness to the end. You can see what it got them."
He ran his fingers down his cheek and held up the smeared blood for them to see.
"Two paths lay open to you. You can either be at my feet or you can be under them. Join me, safeguard the Ancients and we will learn their secrets. The glory of the Cerberus Guild will be restored. Nylos need no longer be a barren wasteland. You have seen what I did at the Hollow Sea. It is only the beginning. This land could be as a paradise.
"Or you can stand against me as the old masters did. You can seek my blood and the blood of the Ancients, but it will be your blood that is spilled out, and I will wash my garments in your blood just as I washed them in the blood of the old masters.
"Decide! And be quick about it! The foolishness of the old masters has left me in a foul temper."
'Submit or die,' a fitting ultimatum for the budding demon lord. The Cerberus mages muttered amongst themselves. It was not long before Bogdar spoke out.
"The old masters are dead! Mat Zemlya is stronger! Stronger than the old masters! Stronger than the Master of Masters! Mat Zemlya is our new Master of Masters! Bow! Bow down! Bow down to Mat Zemlya! Bow down to our new master!"
Bogdar set the example by being the first to prostrate himself before Mordekai and others soon followed. As the momentum spread through the crowd, any who might have been hesitant simply followed along rather than find themselves separated from the pack. In a matter of mere moments, not a single one remained standing. This did nothing to allay Giger's concerns about Mordekai's ego being fed. The display of total submission was a veritable banquet.
Mordekai descended to the ground level, floating down in an unnecessary display of power. Normally mages were more sparing with how they used magic, but Mordekai did not have the same limitations as a normal mage, in all senses of the term.
Again, Bogdar asked, "Your command, Mat Zemlya?"
"We will have to make some adjustments to the chain of command," Mordekai said, "but for now, we will leave the existing leadership assignments in place. We need to round up strays and ensure their loyalty, then we can focus on better securing our position."
"About that," Bogdar said, "I should warn you that we are not the only dogs in Central's kennels."
Mordekai did not seem surprised by this in the slightest.
"So the Orthus Guild is still active as well? I would have figured. No doubt Central keeps them close for their own protection."
"It is as you say," Bogdar replied. "But now that we are off the leash, Central is sure to sic them on us."
"Then we must be ready for them," Mordekai said. "I've already cut off three heads. What are two more?"