Vaid Empire: Conquest

Vaid Empire: Conquest

is a massive fantasy series that aims to mix

erotica

with the quality of a published novel. New chapters and artwork are released every month for free, with the completely optional possibility to receive early access on the official Vaid Empire Website. The Series focuses heavily on worldbuilding, story, and characters.

The world of Ayphieal is shattered and chaotic, with kingdoms and tribes of six distinctive races vying for territory amongst themselves. It is only when a young human warrior finally pushes back against the chaos that the world begins to shift towards order.

***

20th of Iahta, 14 AVE.

Shai Domain, City of Shai.

"Ah, The Potentate summons his fellow representative like a pet," Sinshi chuckled bitterly as he entered the council chamber. Nearly waddling as his robe dragged over the floor, he made his way to the table. "You don't care to rise for another Dril? How shameless."

Seated in The Potentate's chair, Varse gestured from across the massive round table. "Long has it been. Join us, if you would."

The fat Dril claimed one of the twenty-eight empty chairs. He eyed Salik as the masked man stood beside Varse, arms folded. A shiver ran down his back at the deadly red gaze, yet it was the man standing on the opposite side of The Potentate that truly flared his fear. Dressed in a dirty loincloth, Jidun stood with his wrists shackled together.

"I requested your presence months ago, Sinshi," Varse said coldly.

Casually tapping the table with a ringed finger, Sinshi tilted his head. "After you've already had months to get your affairs in order? I required the same. It's a curious thing when an opponent...I'll say...

removes

most of your pieces in a game."

"You proclaim us opponents? Very well. It'll be best if we speak plainly."

"An opponent indeed. You simply wouldn't listen to reason, my dear Potentate."

Varse scowled. "What reason did you offer but a bribe and a threat? Now, I'll do the same and offer you the latter, as it's all you'll understand. The men you sent to assassinate me are gone. Every. Last. One. I've filled the ranks of our agents with men of true loyalty."

"Yet Jidun still breathes." Sinshi offered an expression of mock surprise. "But I suppose you were never one to kill a fellow Dril."

"I said to speak plainly, Sinshi. You're well aware that Jidun is a hybrid." Varse held up his hand to silence the representative. "He has already confirmed your knowledge of his nature. You know the consequences for concealing a hybrid's secret."

"Wasn't personal." Jisun rattled his chains before Salik's fist hurled into his stomach, silencing him with a wheezing breath.

Face hardening, the fat Dril leaned back in his chair. "Blackmail then, dear Potentate? That whore Tsida had more of an influence over you than I suspected."

Varse's stern expression masked a flare of rage. "In the decades following her death, I've watched us devolve into bickering and corruption. Were her bribes all that truly held The Council together? Are your bribes all that sway them now? Reasoned arguments and civil debates should change a rational mind, yet you've proven that only corruption shall guide our fellow representatives. So be it. I'll twist your wealth to benefit our people."

Sinshi sighed with dramatic annoyance. "Then what must I do for The Domain? Donate to build bathhouses? Fund the grand library your predecessor always wanted?"

"Nothing of the sort. You'll do exactly as you do now. You'll continue to bribe and sway The Council."

Perplexed, the fat Dril leaned closer. "My Potentate?"

"You hold influence over them, and now, you're mine," Varse replied coldly. Such words brought him no pleasure. "You'll bribe them to stay away. A retirement of sorts. Though our positions are for life, you'll all remain in whatever private estates or palaces your greed has earned."

"Yet, my Potentate, The Council cannot function without-"

"They'll exercise their right to send a proxy in their absence. Proxies of

my

choosing. Individuals that shall sign every proposal I bring forth," Varse explained firmly.

Sinshi's face twisted with disgust as he rose from his chair. "You'd see The Domain become a dictatorship?"

"A temporary measure. We're spiraling, Sinshi, falling until we'll be little more than a nuisance for the humans," Varse explained. "I must forcibly correct our course to ensure our survival."

"A convenient excuse to spit upon centuries of tradition."

"Don't you

dare

speak of tradition!" Varse burst from his chair as his voice ripped through the chamber. "You've torn our values to pieces, granting me no choice but to attempt to salvage what remains. I shall do so

alone

."

"Total power in the hands of a fanatic. The founders would shun you out of shame!"

"Let them, for I'll do all I can to correct the errors that allowed beings of your nature anywhere near power! I shall rewrite our laws until The Domain is rebuilt into what it should have always been, a just and rational society. We'll strengthen ourselves, leaving no room for petty internal bickering."

"And when you've had a taste of total control? When you realize you're no different than my 'cabal' you so righteously scorn?"

Varse eased his anger to a simmering tension as he straightened. "That day shall never come. You believe I sought this end? I was called to become Potentate, and thus, I served. I was forced to retaliate against the men you sent to slay me. I shall accept power now, only when the alternative is our destruction. You've never understood a simple fact, Sinshi, so I shall state it clearly. I'd be more content farming Tsrisu than sitting upon a throne."

"Yet it's a throne you'll accept." The representative shook his head with a scowl.

"And a throne I shall discard when The Domain is secured."

A mocking chuckle escaped the fat Dril as his disgust remained. "Potentate Varse, mighty savior of Shai. The people shall see the truth." He twisted one of the rings upon his swollen finger. "Though tell me something, selfless dictator. You and I share Jidun's secret. If the punishment of harboring a hybrid is exile, we'll share the same ship if you ever reveal my deeds. What shall you do if I call your bluff?"

Varse pressed his knuckles against the table as he leaned forward. "Should you refuse my demands, I'll talk. Should you succeed in your shameful attempts to kill me, several of my associates shall talk. The citizens shall learn of your crimes, and even the least faithful Dril shall demand your exile." Varse sighed. "And when they know I've committed the same crime by maintaining Jidun's secret, I shall happily follow you into exile. I'll depart the only land I can ever truly love if it'll mean you are dragged away at my side, for at least then The Domain might stand a small chance. What's one man's life worth for the safety of all others?"

Gritting his teeth, Sinshi hesitated for what seemed an eternity. "Take your power then, my Potentate, yet never forget that we had our reasons, just as you do. Judge us if you'd like, for the entire Domain shall one day judge you just as harshly."

"If I'm successful in my aims, I

expect

them to. Sole control of a realm by a single man is an abomination, yet you've offered no alternative." Varse's stern tone softened, sounding weary. "We were granted a land of absolute freedom and a population dedicated to finding rational solutions. It was a dream worth defending, maintaining, and if no man shall stand at my side to do so, I'll forge us anew myself."

Knocking over his chair with a loud crash, Sinshi bowed his head in mock respect as he backed away. "Then I'll leave you to it. Become a dictator in all but name,

my selfless Potentate.

"

The door slammed heavily as Varse watched him depart. Slowly, he sat down with a sigh before dismissing Salik. "Return Jidun to his cell. Ensure he is comfortable and well fed, for his stay has become permanent. I want guards around him at every hour of every day."

Jidun opened his mouth to protest, only for Salik's fist to once again silence him as he was dragged away.

In moments, Varse found himself sitting among twenty-eight empty chairs, alone in the empty Council chamber. He rubbed his tired eyes, imagining a field of white snow stretching into the distance, a peaceful life of farming that should have been his. He watched it fade.

The Domain was his, yet Varse's expression never changed. He had claimed to despise power, to only seize it reluctantly. He claimed he'd love nothing more than a simple life, free of prestige and politics.

What a terrible thing it was to realize he meant every word.

50th of Onis, 15 AVE.

Kingdom of Harin, Nighri.

The port of Nighri appeared quiet and still as neat lines of white cloaked legionaries stood on display. A single wave of The God Emperor's hand permitted them to cheer as the ramp was lowered from the command ship to the dock.

Cendra stood proudly beside her father, hands clasped behind her back as she watched the royals disembark. Having previously joined their own forces together in the city of Wirmri to grant their God Emperor a proper display, the king and queen regents of The Empire's kingdoms waited their turn to bow before their ruler.

Seniority under the imperial throne came first, it seemed, for King Foin and his family took the lead. Stepping onto the deck, the king and his concubine were accompanied by their sons as they bowed.

Curiosity claimed Cendra as she turned her head to observe Irith's reaction, standing on the other side of Dominax with Nafalya. Both women carried Arinax and Zela, and Cendra watched as Irith's lips subtly curled into a smile as her mate kissed Enalia's hand.

"It's a

pleasure

to see you once more," Dominax smirked, taking in the concubine's all too familiar scent. She smiled with a blush, caring little how Foin shifted uncomfortably.

As if mirroring her father's expression, Cendra joined him in scowling as they both assessed The King of Domexia. The secret eunuch had only grown larger in their time apart, decorated in jewels and silks. She watched him closely as her father greeted him with enough acknowledgement to avoid the whispers of the legion. The man had earned little of the luxury he clung to, a fact that no doubt disgusted The God Emperor. She sensed it, understood it, and was forced to present a false sneer of judgment. After all, what had

she

earned for herself?

"Your holiness, allow me to once again introduce you to my pride, my heir. Our Prince Fonax!" Foin announced, clearly eager to remove attention from his blushing concubine. He gestured as the young man stepped forth from between them. A fit and tall young man, his short black hair and face could have been copied directly from a portrait of The God Emperor himself during his youth. He bowed with a smile, a charming expression that brought a raised brow of amusement to Cendra's face as Foin continued. "He was far too young during our last encounter to truly speak as men."

"Rise, boy, and stand proudly." Dominax eyed him with satisfaction, all too aware of the true cause of the swift progress in the west. "It appears The Empire must thank you for several victories."

Fonax took the praise in stride, displaying only the regal confidence of a future king. "But of course, for I fought in your holy name, your majesty."

A tingle of unease found Cendra as she watched. Fonax was playing to the crowd, hearing their fervent cheers as Dominax clasped his forearm in respect. Her secret sibling had already collected his prestige through battle, yet what of her? She felt herself blushing as ambition danced within her father's eyes, pointed elsewhere.

She subconsciously moved her hands to feel the flatness of her belly as the second prince was presented, gaining a small relief. She had rid herself of the abomination a month ago, despising herself as she had orgasmed during the private birth. Pleasure was hardly the correct word, for it had been mind shattering, utterly natural, and deeply

humiliating

. Would the pain ordinary humans felt during birth have been preferable? A proper punishment? It hardly mattered now, for she had refused to learn where the girl had been taken afterwards. Now, Clin stood at her side, eyes distant as he held Cliax.

Enalia presented the second boy, a young Prince Foin named after his legal father. Cendra hardly noticed Irith's kind words as she retreated into her own thoughts, nor when the family finally stepped aside. It was only when Queen Regent Elmia of Cendia began to descend the boarding ramp that she finally returned to reality.

Clad in a mix of white armor atop a short dress of skintight chimira silk, the warrior queen's boots clicked as she stepped to bow. Small gasps arose from the crowd, and as Cendra observed the small group of personal servants gathering behind their queen, her breath caught in her throat. There, placed to the side as if nothing more than an ordinary slave, stood a female Lish.

"How good it is to see the namesake of my kingdom once more," Elmia interrupted Cendra's thoughts after greeting her ruler. "It's comforting to know we fight in the name of a divine beauty."

Cendra struggled to maintain her prideful façade. She granted the woman a firm nod of gratitude before her father interrupted. Gesturing to the young man behind Elmia, he coaxed him to step forward. "Ah, Prince Galis The Younger returns. Come. I'd assess you closer."

Cendra turned her attention from the nervous boy to peer at the Lish, a sight few humans had ever encountered. The humanoid's slick amphibian-like skin glistened in the sunlight, concealed by no hint of clothing but the metal shackles binding her wrists behind her back. Her nude body almost appeared to mimic the vibrant colors of a poisonous creature, displaying a complicated pattern of orange and black. Of course, her strangest feature rested atop her entirely hairless head, for a bioluminescent bulb hung from an appendage jutting from her forehead.

Elmia seemed to savor the glances of many onlookers towards her utterly rare slave with a silent pride, yet Cendra's curiosity briefly pulled away. Watching the prince crumbling beneath her father's intense gaze, she couldn't help but smile. Though hardly younger than Fonax, the second Galis nervously brushed aside his long black hair as Dominax frowned in disappointment. She felt herself straighten up further as he gripped his mother's hand when they finally stepped aside. She'd find no true rival

there

.

The next arrival had been the first to fall in the north, for Queen Regent Felza of Kinia joined them upon the dock. Her purple dress held only the most essential pieces of armor, appearing more decorative than protective. To her side, a servant carried her heir, the young Prince Felic.

Cendra couldn't help but blush with amusement. It was a curious thing to sense her father's blood in each of the heirs presented to them, an open secret that coaxed her ambition. Was it simply a Vaid's nature to dominate? To control? To spread their blood onto every throne? The next child was no different, for as Felza made way for her fellow northerner, she sensed the power within the child cradled in the arms of Queen Regent Quinla of Spirexia.

Dominax allowed the gorgeous Arkos hybrid to take his arm when their greetings and displays of respect were concluded, leading her like a close lover as the group followed. Cendra sensed Irith's expertly masked jealousy, along with something...

more

just beneath as Quinla held Prince Loir to her chest.

Clin abandoned her side to grant commands to the massive cheering legion as they walked. A sea of white cloaks fluttered as they moved into various formations, while others began to haul cargo and supplies. The port fell into well-organized movement as the royals departed, making their way towards Nighri's stronghold.

***

"The final war before all humans lay beneath a single throne.

Unified

." Elmia folded her arms with a grin.

Having granted the royals several hours to settle into their temporary quarters, Dominax coldly eyed the many markers upon the map as they all gathered around the carved table. "It's only fitting that we should face such resistance. Tell me, what do you all see?"

Every royal and advisor studied the map, hoping to satisfy his question. In the end, none dared to offer an incorrect answer.

"An opportunity." Dominax gestured to the map. "This boy King has contented himself upon slaughtering our men through smaller skirmishes in the west as we claimed his cities, yet where does he stand now? We've broken the east of the kingdom. We've shattered the west. No doubt he has withdrawn to a stronger position, yet I have every intention of forcing him to face us directly."

Fonax caressed his chin in contemplation. "Harin's royal army was a worthy foe to be sure. There were times I doubted our victory, even as we never faced his main force directly."

"The very point of why you've all been summoned. With the east and west under our control, the full power of The Empire shall sail upriver towards the heart of Harin, claiming city after pompous city until Siril can do little but face us directly," Dominax explained.

As her father began to detail his plans, Cendra glanced across the table to see Fonax staring at her chest. Realizing he had been caught, he simply smiled, a gesture that forced a blush of rage to her cheeks. Was this young man, this secret brother, so secure in his prestige that he could ogle an imperial princess openly? She folded her arms to conceal herself, knowing her opportunity for victory approached.

With a gesture from The God Emperor, Clin stepped forward to address the room. "As the bulk of our forces sail north, a smaller branch shall break off to besiege the eastern city of Kisrin."

"We were tasked with claiming the east. Shall I take the lead, your holiness?" Felza questioned.

Dominax remained silent for a long moment. Then, after a hard glance toward Irith, he firmly shook his head. "The command of this branch shall be granted to my own daughter, our Princess Cendra."

The group looked to the princess in surprise, yet several nodded in approval. Cendra straightened up proudly, reveling in the announcement. For the first time in a long while, she felt Clin place his hand gently upon her lower back. "I shall not fail you, father."

"See that you don't, for Queen Regent Elmia shall act as your second in command," Dominax replied sternly, continuing to address the group as his eyes met Irith's with lingering disapproval. "Let us hope her ample experience proves enough."

Elmia bowed her head as she continued to hold her son's hand. "What an honor it shall be to serve beneath Cendia's namesake. I'm certain my father would have been proud to see such a day."

The mention of old King Galis caused Felza to look away, remembering Alrin's victory over the beheaded ruler.

Hesin's metallic voice echoed from behind his mask after Dominax concluded his explanation. His stance was nearly mirrored by Nafalya as she stood as close to him as possible, watching his every move. "Will that be all, my lord?"