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.
***
45th of Twic, 15 AVE.
Kingdom of Harin, Great City of Visti.
The inevitable fate of the azure city arrived with thunderous steps. Sealing the ports had proved useless, for the legion fleet merely landed upon the beaches and marched towards the blue walls. The God Emperor had come for his prize.
Standing atop the gate, the largest in the entire Human Basin, Princess Witla peered down. Her reddish-orange hair flowed in the breeze, standing proudly without a hint of the war raging within her. The men were observing, waiting. Young boys trembled at her side. Old men stood wearily. Did dead kings watch her now, or were they long gone?
None were left to save them. A lucky few of the men around her had witnessed the destruction of her brother's army in person, having been separated during their retreat. What little remained in Winexia had been captured when the city fell. Now, with both Kinia and Spirexia under The Empire's control, none in the north remained to stand against them.
There was no question who led the horde below, for a silence fell across the land as The God Emperor peered up at her. He raised a severed head for all to see. His silver eyes never left her, piercing, glowing.
No longer could reports of her brother's fall be questioned. Even far below, the blistered head made her lips tighten. There was no place for emotion. Not here. She'd allow no song to speak of her tears.
She met his gaze, knowing she held no leverage. Their farms and mines had been seized, and resistance would only lead to prolonged starvation. She could only hope the creature behind those strange glowing eyes retained a hint of humanity.
A soundless breath escaped her as she turned towards the gatekeepers. With a nod, history was sealed. The colossal gate began to rise, and the greatest human city in the world fell without a single word.
***
Dominax granted Siril's head to a legionary as the gate winches groaned and creaked. Thousands stood with their blades ready behind him. Only when the gate opened fully did he step forward with Irith and his advisors just behind.
Entering the city, he closed his eyes to savor the moment. After decades, they had arrived. When he was satisfied, he watched the fiery-haired woman descend the stairs against the wall to kneel before him. Two decorated servants hauled a heavy box made of gold, placing it at her knees.
"God Emperor Dominax of House Vaid," the woman announced in the imperial tongue. "I submit Visti to your control, yet I ask you to grant my people the mercy you showed the citizens of Winexia. I must have your word."
"You knew the futility of that when you opened your gate. Long have you called us barbarians and savages. How fortunate you are to be wrong," Dominax replied coldly, towering over her.
Seeing she'd get no better answer, she hesitantly unlatched the lid of the box. Opening it, she revealed a golden crown within, safely stored away during wartime. "Then I, Princess Witla of House Harlin, present my brother's crown."
Dominax watched her offer the ancient object with firm and elegant hands, impressed by how they concealed the emotion he sensed within her. Claiming it, he watched sunlight gleam off its surface. "As decorated as your king, yet that didn't save him." He tossed it back into the box. "Gold may melt or bend. You'll find that mine cannot be destroyed so easily."
Witla stared vacantly as slaves retrieved the box, hauling it along as The God Emperor began to march down the street of smooth brick. She was broken from her trance when Clin reached down to help her stand. "My lady," he said before granting her an apologetic look, seeing that the street had torn her vibrant blue dress. He allowed her to follow at his side as the legion filled the street in neat lines, led by their ruler towards Visti Castle.
"Then this is how they lived while our ancestors suffered in huts for a millennium," Dominax said as the blue buildings passed by. They seemed unending, one after another. The windows had been blocked, yet he could sense them inside, passing hundreds of cowering citizens. Occasionally he spotted a curious child peeking from behind drapes, only to be snatched away. "Wealthy, protected, yet still they match us for blood. Endless raids and skirmishes in the south, while a single war between northern kingdoms devastates their populations for a generation. No longer."
Irith felt a chill, knowing all too well the reality of his words. She felt as though she were walking through a memory. The buildings had subtly changed in the nearly two decades since she had last stepped foot in Visti, yet never did she believe she'd ever return. Not truly. She whispered directions into her mate's ear as he led them through the massive city.
With every step, Dominax felt his ire growing. "
Briza, I've arrived,
" he thought to himself. She should be with him, at his side as they savored their victory together. Instead, she was in Nitri, rotting in the dirt beside her mother. He had avenged them, avenged humanity itself, for no future human would be born outside his Eternal Peace.
For a single moment he allowed a thought of Xenia, banishing it quickly. The
vile
traitor had done her part, he couldn't deny. By pulling him from the river all those years ago she had unknowingly ensured the fall of the oldest human kingdoms.
The castle came into view, imposing, yet a grin crept across Dominax's lips. As fabled and ancient as Visit was, The Grand Pyramid dwarfed its legendary stronghold. Squat and wide, the castle was lined with thin towers, their blue ariz paint fading near their tips under the sun.
They ascended the stairs outside the castle, the very place so many kings had stood to address their subjects. If the city had been a memory, Irith found herself in a dream as the main doors were hauled open to reveal the throne room. Stretching far, the throne at its end, the chamber was unchanged. Passing the many pillars decorated with deep blue banners, Irith moved with uneasy steps, knowing she had been at Enil's side the last time she had entered. Her twin's enemy strode towards the throne, her mate, the father of her children. She gripped the hilt of her sheathed sword for support, feeling unsteady as she slowed her pace.
The great throne sat empty as Dominax stood before it, a polished seat of stone etched with intricate patterns. "For nearly a thousand years the rulers of Harin have kept the throne warm for my arrival. Their every decision, wise, foolish, cruel, may be discarded to the wind, for their Era is at an end. The age of chaos takes its final breath as an age of order and peace prepares to take its place." He sat down slowly, sensing echoes of the past. How many had come before? "Now, we may begin. Long live The Vaid Empire!"
"LONG LIVE THE GOD EMPEROR!" shouts erupted through the chamber and out into the city as the legion cheered.
Dominax leaned back on the throne, his advisors at his side. Humanity was his, unified, yet they stood against the world. One conquest ended, and another rested upon the horizon.
Never would he stop until all of Magnius lay under his protection.
48th of Twic, 15 AVE.
Kingdom of Harin, Great City of Visti.
Arinax shivered as he pulled his cloak around himself, squeezing his mother's hand. He wasn't certain if the cold of the chamber was the source of his unease, or the way his father stared at the bodies in silence.
Resting upon stone slabs, the bare corpses of Queen Regent Felza, Gravis, Zovix, and several deceased Privictis recruits had been placed on display, their skin cleaned of blood by slaves. Had they been able to recover Elmia's body from the river, she would've joined her morbid companions.
"Such is the price of war, child," The God Emperor's deep voice finally broke the silence. "Look upon a hint of what we lost, the worthiest of our fallen. A single battle. A single war. Such is the nature of living beings. Such is why we are necessary."
Arinax flinched at each word, feeling as though his father's voice would creep into his soul and claim him. "I...understand..."
Dominax offered no warmth as he turned to his son. "No. Not truly, but you will. You shall reign after I've abandoned this world, and on that day, my Eternal Peace shall be yours to uphold. Look upon their faces."
Behind the boy, Irith released his hand to hold his shoulders, protectively pulling his small body against hers. "My love, perhaps we should wait until he is older."
"He is older than the youngest of our warriors in training." Dominax stepped closer, placing his hands atop hers. She stood firm, yet his intense gaze offered no compromise. After a moment as she endured the silence, knowing she must bend or break, she finally slid her hands out from underneath his with a hidden scowl. This would not be the battle in which she'd risk everything. Not yet.
Arinax reluctantly obeyed as his father's firm hands forced him closer. The slabs were low to the ground, making his legs tremble. Fear urged him to close his silver eyes, yet he fought his terror, bearing it in silence.
"The dead in this room are but a sample of history. Countless beings have been slaughtered under the rule of lesser leaders. Countless after us will fall without the order and stability we shall bring." Dominax swept his hand to gesture to the bodies. "Witness the faces of death, son. They fell because a northern king clung to his power and throne, rather than submitting to the understanding that we know what's best for them all. His people will gradually be divided, relocated, and mixed with other populations within The Empire. In time, we shall become a unified civilization of a single culture and language. Such is my design, the structure of peace."
Nervously, Arinax nodded. Every instinct begged him to retreat to his mother's side, yet he fought to remain still.
"All but one of these faces share your blood. Your brothers. Your sisters," Dominax explained. He paused, feeling his jaw tighten as he suppressed a concealed rage. When it passed, his deep voice poured forth as if it were a mist oozing over his son. "The time will come when your own descendants shall spread across Magnius. Granting them a world of peace is but the beginning, for beings of our blood deserve to live in stable prosperity. Do not fail me. Do not fail
them
."
Irith realized she was fidgeting with her fingers as she watched, her tension easing only when Dominax led the boy from the bodies. She joined them at a table against the far wall, seeing where the three crowns of the northern kingdoms had been placed upon its surface.
