James felt a strange and unsettling sensation of severance as Mina pushed his physical body into her bag.

  He got the impression that his astral form was somehow less substantial than it had been, and that perception disturbed him for a moment. Would he be able to reunite with his body later? Had the connection been somehow broken permanently? What sort of space was the inside of that bag? But he did not make time to sit still and contemplate the matter.

  James was a man of action now, even if he had been otherwise once.

  He reached out to the wyverns that he had sent to accompany Alan and Mitzi on their journey with the Fisher Expeditionary Force, and he pulled.

  Then James’s weightless spirit form hurtled across space faster than he had ever experienced before.

  Fortunately, this time he didn’t feel the wind passing through him. Perhaps he was moving too quickly for matter to touch him. Or maybe that feeling had been an illusion before.

  And then his astral form was in close proximity with the wyverns, and he did not have to dwell on the sensations of a disembodied spirit.

  James instinctively jumped into the body of the nearest wyvern. The creature’s wings skipped a beat as the brain adapted itself slightly to accommodate the body’s driver, but it took only a moment. James had piloted these beasts before, and his mastery over their bodies was almost as total as his control of his own.

  He hovered in the form of the Great Solar Wyvern, the sun beating down pleasantly on his body. James felt every bit of the solar energy the beast was absorbing through its substantial surface area as if it was immersed in a warm bath.

  He had the chance to catch his breath. He felt more secure now that he was attached to a body again, and the sensations of flight were as exhilarating as they had been the previous times that he occupied the bodies of these creatures.

  This is the life, James thought with slight envy. You’re such simple beasts. Just flying and fighting and eating, wherever I send you… And such graceful, durable bodies too.

  That last thought reminded James of the condition of his own body, which had been wrecked by the System’s purge of the Norse god.

  The Great Solar Wyvern bared its teeth as James became slightly enraged at the System for attacking him, albeit in the process of ridding itself of an unwelcome intruder.

  No, what I’m really angry about is the fact that I was too weak to take the hit, isn’t it?

  For the moment, he was unwilling to dwell on that thought, though James knew that he would need to consider how he might strengthen his own body further at some point. It was intolerable that he should be forced to flee his own flesh like some skulking spirit driven off by an exorcist, and for what?

  Just because he couldn’t take a simple blunt force attack from above. There didn’t appear to be more to it than that.

  At this point, I should really be beyond getting taken out in such a simple way.

  He shook the wyvern’s head—his head, for now—and then began flying the monster in a slightly downward spiraling loop. The wyverns were so high in the air that the Fisher Expeditionary Force were little more than ants on the ground below. The area was almost entirely clear of tree cover, so James could still see them well enough to tell that they were walking forward rather than in the midst of combat, but he wanted a closer look.

  As the Great Solar Wyvern broke away from the Great Berserk Wyvern, Great Sound Wyvern, and Great Venom Wyvern and began circling downward, James saw that a few heads near the ground had shifted to look up in his direction. There were a few people pointing and talking about the beast he piloted, clearly.

  Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be upset or frightened, which James would have considered an understandable reaction to a winged behemoth descending from above, even though they theoretically knew that these creatures were James’s possessions.

  James’s monster drew closer to the ground, and he saw that there were more than just the humans, Goblins, and humanoid monsters that comprised the Fisher Expeditionary Force down there.

  Walking interspersed among James’s people were dozens of giant tortoises. Each specimen appeared to be roughly the size of a moped. James assessed the overall situation in an instant.

  Interesting…

  The creatures were clearly not enemies—or at least not overt enemies—of the Expeditionary Force. The tortoises were walking alongside James’s explorers, and the reptiles moved exactly as slowly as one would expect from the ‘tortoise and the hare’ stereotype. Alan and Mitzi appeared to be in animated conversation with two of the creatures at the front of the group.

  Could there be enemies concealed? Maybe they’re being led into a trap.

  He scanned the environment again, looking carefully for hidden enemies now, but there seemed nowhere they could conceal themselves. The area was sandy and dry, populated with well spaced southern pine trees and broadleaf grasses that would not provide groups of monsters with good concealment.

  There could still be something underground or camouflaged. I don’t seem to have the same level of Perception in this body as in my real body—well, of course I don’t. I didn’t give these creatures my eyes…

  James shook his head and looked down at one of the tortoises in the lead. It appeared to be bigger than most of its brethren, and James wanted to know if it might pose a threat if he accidentally said something to anger it.

  Identify.

  Keystone Gopher Tortoise, Lv. 14

  Huh. It’s pretty weak, then, right? I mean, it would have been decently leveled back in Orientation, but it’s like, this creature made it out of there and then just stopped trying.

  Then again, maybe it had. That might explain why the tortoises were walking with the Expeditionary Force. They weren’t interested in making the effort to kill them.

  It must be pretty peaceful in this neck of the woods if they’re not that worried about leveling…

  James used Identify on a scattering of other tortoises, but they were all lower level than the first one he had tried the Skill on.

  Then he closed the gap, flapping down to where Alan, Mitzi, and the lead turtles were with big, noisy movements. All eyes shifted overhead as the wyvern wheeled above them and James began to speak.

  “How are things going, my dear explorers?” James asked. The voice that emerged from the wyvern’s mouth was croaky and a little unnatural but still clearly his own.

  Alan turned back to the tortoise beside him.

  “This is just the man I’ve been telling you about,” he said. He looked up at James again and smiled. “Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit with us, Your Majesty.”

  The tortoise simply stared up at James, the reptilian mouth slightly agape. He found he could not read the creature’s expression at all. Perhaps the difficulty was because it was of an inhuman Race, but James made a note to himself that he also did not have access to the full range of his social Skills while he was inhabiting this body—he guessed he would need to rely exclusively on the Great Solar Wyvern’s own Skills. He would need to be careful with the diplomacy here; he did not have his usual safety nets.

  James found it slightly odd that Alan was calling him “Your Majesty” rather than using his first name, but recognized that it must be because the old man was playing the role of diplomat with another Race.

  In that case, I’ll oblige and act the part of king a little more than I usually do.

  “I have been a bit busy, but I don’t allow anyone under my protection to go overlooked for long,” James replied, speaking in more absolute terms than he otherwise would.

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  “We have been well protected, sir,” Alan said, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Thanks to your creatures.”

  James quickly read through the wyvern’s memories of the last thirty-six hours. They played before his eyes like security camera video that he could pause or fast forward at will. In only a few seconds, he knew all that had transpired of importance to the group’s security since they left his borders. Apparently, the wyverns had intimidated a flock of woodpeckers to secure the Fisher Expeditionary Force safe passage across the birds’ territory. That had been yesterday.

  And this morning, two of the explorers had fallen into a sudden sinkhole. They were clearly not native Florida residents, as all the telltale signs of an emerging sinkhole had been present even before they walked into the zone of danger. There had been a subsidence in the ground, a few scrawny trees were slumped at improbable angles as if they had been partially felled, and the soil happened to be dry enough that there were visible cracks around the circle the men walked into.

  Ignoring all of those indicators, the two explorers walked right into the middle of the emerging sinkhole, their weight caused the sinkhole to finally emerge, and the Earth swallowed them up. Fortunately for them, as they cried out for help, the wyverns were nearby and dove into the ground to save them.

  They’re smarter than I might have given them credit for, James thought. He hadn’t been certain that they were intelligent enough to follow his instructions beyond killing enemies. Good job, guys…

  James watched a little beyond that point and saw what had happened next. Shortly after the fall was when the explorers met the tortoises—who crawled out of the hole the explorers had fallen into, shortly after the wyverns had returned to the sky.

  “I see a couple of my people fell into your sinkhole,” he said, gazing down into the lead tortoise’s eyes. James did not intend this, but to his own ears, his voice sounded ominous coming from the wyvern’s mouth.

  The monster visibly swallowed down a lump in its throat.

  Alan looked as if he wanted to say something, but Mitzi placed a gently restraining hand on his shoulder.

  “So, this is what a Ruler looks like,” the head tortoise said in an old, creaky, but distinctly male voice. He seemed to be speaking to himself.

  “You have never encountered a Ruler before, then,” James said.

  It wasn’t really a question. It made sense of all the facts before him. The lack of any aggressive aura noticeable in this area, the casual ease of the interactions between the tortoises and the Expeditionary Force, and the fact that the tortoises were all relatively weak and yet did not appear to be afraid of predation.

  There was no Ruler here. This was unclaimed territory. Free real estate, should there be someone who wished to take it.

  “W-we have not, Your Majesty,” the tortoise replied, lowering its head in what James interpreted as a bow. The tortoise’s tone was respectful and somber. “Your form is magnificent. I can see the power and grace in every inch of flesh. I understand why other life forms would bow to one such as you. And you have my sincere apologies. Please consider it my personal mistake. If I knew your subjects would walk above our home, I would have carefully marked areas of likely subsidence. Someone could have been hurt in that fall, if not for Your Majesty and your, er, brothers.” He pointed with his head at the wyverns that remained high in the sky above.

  “The tortoises were kind enough to escort us to the limits of the territory they occupy,” Alan said in a gentle but insistent voice. “I think they have more than made up for any temporary inconvenience.”

  What, Alan, you don’t trust me to be nice to the poor tortoises? James was slightly amused. It was endearing how Alan had become protective of these creatures after meeting them a matter of hours ago.

  “Consider your apology accepted, noble tortoise,” James said.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” the tortoise said in a tone of genuine gratitude.

  “I should also acknowledge that the shape you see is not my real body. It was formed from portions of my real body, combined and manipulated via a Skill I possess. My true form is human. And I am known by the name, ‘The Fisher King.’”

  The tortoise’s eyes widened slightly at the explanation of James’s true, human nature, but he said nothing to that.

  “You are guiding my explorers to the edge of your territory,” James continued. “And I understand you have been with them for hours. How large is the territory you occupy?”

  “It stretches in that direction further than the eye can see, Your Majesty,” the tortoise said. “We do not reckon distance as humans do, but in the days when I was a young tortoise, before the change came upon us—” James guessed that he meant the System—“it would be further than we would have walked in a lifetime.”

  James stared down at the creature, thinking. This situation seemed very strange to him, and not at all consonant with his experience of the new world so far.

  “How is it that you have remained in control of this territory since Orientation ended?” he finally asked bluntly. “No other creatures have come to take it from you? Even without a Ruler to lead them, I think that many enemies might challenge you for rule of this land.”

  “I suppose the land is not particularly desirable, Your Majesty,” the turtle said in a nervous tone. “I do not know that I would even speak of control of territory. What we have, we share willingly with those who live alongside us. We have heard monstrous beasts pass overhead before, but as we live underground, we have never crossed paths with them directly. And none of them has ever stopped and settled here. There are many who do settle here, and we make room for them in our tunnel systems. There are some frogs, snakes, and burrowing owls, among others. But no strong, predatory species. I believe the land, which has few animals living on its surface, does not produce enough food to interest a strong Race. As a consequence, none of the Races residing with us have Rulers either. We have been a bit nervous about what we might do if some of those passing predators took an interest in what goes on beneath the ground, but so far, so good.” The tortoise moved its forelimbs in a sort of shrugging gesture.

  They just share what they have with other creatures who show up, huh? Are these tortoises hippies?

  “You are in need of protection,” James said after a moment. He spoke in a more formal tone now. “You have been fortunate thus far, but without a Ruler, you are defenseless if anyone should finally take notice of you.”

  The tortoise bowed its head again, then slowly nodded.

  “Yes, Your Majesty. You are probably correct. I appreciate your wise advice. I lived for many years in the world that humans built leading up to the change, and I know that your species are the strongest and most adaptable predators in the world. I recognize that rather than providing your insights, you could simply kill and consume us yourself. I thank you for your mercy.”

  James listened for any hidden meaning in the tortoise’s words, but all he heard was sincere gratitude.

  Is this what it means to be a prey animal? he thought. You’re grateful simply to not be eaten? James felt the beginnings of contempt in his wyvern stomach but shoved that emotion down. It was useless now—and perhaps unfair. When I was merely an ordinary human, did I feel this sort of disdain for the weak when they submitted to the strong?

  He had no easy answer for that.

  But as a Ruler, he had committed to protecting many individuals who were weak as individuals. The group was strong together, even if the individuals who comprised it were seemingly powerless.

  This tortoise is wise to curry favor with me anyway. Why do I feel the strange desire to eat him and lay waste to his home?

  James recognized that the origin of that impulse might lie with the body he currently inhabited. All of his wyverns were natural, ruthless predators.

  With a slight effort of Will, he suppressed the Great Solar Wyvern’s instincts and spoke again.

  “I was not simply trying to give advice,” James said with as much warmth as he could manage. “As a Ruler, I often expand my territory. I would be willing to place your land under my protection and make you a part of my dominion.”

  The tortoise appeared stunned for a moment—its head withdrew backward slightly, almost as if he wanted to go into his shell. Perhaps it sounded too good to be true.

  “Why would Your Majesty wish to do that for us?” the tortoise asked slowly. “Is it sheer benevolence? With respect, it has not been my experience that humans are always so generous.” He swallowed another lump in his throat down. “Would—would Your Majesty require that we periodically send members of our colony to be eaten by yourself and your other servants? Is that the price for protection of the rest of us?”

  Jesus Christ.

  “No,” James said slowly. “You mentioned that you share resources with your neighbors. Well, if you have something that I need, I would ask that you give me some resources too. And if an enemy trespasses into my territory, or if there is another territory nearby that I wish to occupy, some of you would act as my agents. In exchange, if your homes are ever invaded, I would drive the invaders away.”

  “That is all?” the tortoise asked, tilting his head from side to side skeptically. “Your Majesty probably recognizes that we are not particularly good fighters, but—if you truly wish to have us—I believe that we would be happy to come under your protection.”

  “Very well,” James said. “I have some matters in the center of the Fisher Kingdom to deal with first, but I will try to extend my aura to cover this region within the next week.”

  My recovery couldn’t possibly take longer than a week, right?

  The tortoise closed his eyes for a few seconds, and James wondered if he had somehow fallen asleep. He was clearly a very old tortoise. But then the old reptile opened his eyes again. James thought there was a slight gleam in his glossy black eyes.

  Then, as one, all of the tortoises within view turned in James’s direction and bowed.

  And the Fisher King added what seemed to be a large amount of territory to his domain without drawing a weapon or killing a single enemy.

  I should return to my own body, James thought. I just made these reptiles a promise. Let’s see if I can get back into the condition to actually keep it…