Chapter 3: Savior
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Ryuk watched as the knights ran for their life with the one who pleading for their men's life was walking away leaving the shirtless older man in the square alone with everyone who had survived the ordeal, the citizens slowly got up to stare at their savior with varying degrees of thankfulness to even reverence like he was some kind of god.
The older Sith Lord simply walked over to sit down on a piece of rock in an obvious thinkers pose as he was beginning to think of what he should do now as he had demonstrated his power on this planet but now he has no idea on what to do now until someone spoke up causing him to turn to see an old man standing just a bit away, probably out of fear then anything but that was a given.
"M-My Lord?" He exclaimed though stuttered slightly yet he wanted to get the bearded man's attention which he achieved.
The Sith Lord of Knowledge straightened up his back slightly and shrugged his right shoulder lightly as if to indicate to speak which the older man nodded "Thank you, I wish to say this, on behalf of the villagers of Carne Village, you have our unending gratitude for saving us in our time of need, if there's anything you desire then please say your piece and we hope to give it to you."
Ryuk looked curious as he never expected anyone even a primitive being to openly try to reward a Sith Lord since the Sith took what they wanted without needing to ask, something Ryuk preferred not to do as such things often had problems which the primary benefit of asking or being rewarded is that they always came back.
The thing about fear to Ryuk is that it gives quick results but it will ultimately backfire, it paled in comparison to the likes of Loyalty through favorable actions because forcing a creature through fear was good but gaining their loyalty was even better so this whole mess with fending off the village attackers may had bought Ryuk loyalty from this primitive village.
At Least until Ryuk could figure out how to fix together a beacon to send a distress signal to the nearest Sith outpost.
Ryuk returned to his thinking pose obviously trying to figure out what he could want as he already established publicly that he cared little for money which was an obvious lie as Money was the second greatest source of darkness and currency held a certain darkness that the bearded Sith Lord often used for his experiments on the force.
So the bearded man returned to face the older man whom Ryuk assumed was the leader of the village. "Well as I established early, I do not care for money so there's one thing you may give me" Ryuk stated as he got up to face the old bearded chieftain.
"Women?" The old slightly gray haired village chief stated as he had experienced of his lands lord often coming and taking a woman for his own a couple times so if a man didn't desire money, that usually left the only other valuable thing a man could desire.
Ryuk had a dumbfounded look as he did not expect he would have to explain that he wanted knowledge but having given his identity as the Lord of Knowledge, it should've been assumed that information was what Ryuk wanted, he didn't want woman given his taste leading to the younger variety, though that aspect was a hidden love, as such Ryuk had to speak up "Uh…no, I'm not the type of man to force a woman into bed with me, I was indicating that I wanted knowledge of the nearby surrounding territory."
The chieftain blinked before having a relieved smile as he looked at the villagers who were all staring at Ryuk with an even greater love and appreciation for the man which the Sith Lord had loved as he would prefer to be seen with such love and kindness and in essence forming loyalty to him.
It took about a few minutes for Ryuk to be led towards the chiefs personal home which seemed to be much larger than the rest but that was a given as a leader tended to have the largest house out of the rest of the villagers, a concept Ryuk had intimate knowledge of due to his own upbringing before joining the Sith Empire that Darth Revan was leading.
After being led inside the large house, Ryuk was informed of most of the effects of the world he was on which led to him learning he was located in the village of Carne which was a backwater village, the chiefs words, that was situated on a border between two continents that is led by two of six superpowers that govern the known world.
The first continent that Ryuk was in was led by the Kingdom of Re-Eztise which is led by a monarch known as Ring Ramposa the Third yet given the state of the village and how poorly its situation was regarding their local lord, Ryuk felt deeply annoyed.
Despite being a Sith Lord, he valued loyalty through friendship, assistance, happiness because loyalty earned is loyalty that's Unbreakable as Fear is powerful and gives quick results but the moment a side props up with better conditions will lead this 'Loyalty' to break quickly.
Ryuk learns of some of the politics behind the Re-Eztise kingdom which is separated in two factions that constantly tries to claw power that was meant for the king himself and due to this, this leads the political court do nothing to earn loyalty or reverence, something the Bearded Sith Lord had learned quickly when serving Revan during the Jedi Civil War.
The discussions had furthered to the neighbor of the eastern continent which is led by a significantly more powerful kingdom or by the name of the Baharuth Empire who values the military might as well as increasing the livelihood of the citizens which Ryuk immediately respected as this seemed like a proper Sith Imperials dream, loyalty and reverence aplenty or rather what Ryuk believed was needed especially given a Sith Lords rule.
Ryuk remembered that these 'Knights' tried to roleplay their existence as knights of the Baharuth Empire but he sensed deception in such words as such Ryuk had a mental note to visit this empire personally to see if it's as grand as the stories from the chief indicated.
Anyway, the discussions continued to the next superpower of the world which was the Draconic Kingdom which is led by a Dragon Lord, by the name of Draudillon Oriculus who was rumored to be a descendant of a dragon which is seen to be the most powerful creature in the world, Ryuk wondered it this dragon queen was as powerful as the real thing and wondered if she could be a match to his most powerful of force abilities.
He learned the Draconic kingdom is currently in a war against the Beastmen Tribes that consume humans as their primary diet which seemed increasingly disgusting to the Sith Lord of Knowledge.
The bearded man in his past had known of a Sith Cult that existed on Korriban, long before Ryuks time, that they believed they could gain power by cannibalizing their fellow Sith which was actually true during the Sith Mans research in the force to learn such power can be gained through a myriad of methods but that was the most crude and often sickened Ryuk.
Anyway, the Draconic Queen has asked help from the other super powers for assistance to push back the beastmen tribes yet the only one to send such help was the Theocracy yet they seemed more likely pushing the beastmen enough to destroy the Draconic kingdom then actually helping.
Treachery, the most unforgivable act towards sentient life and something Ryuk wasn't proud of when the woman he respected and who taught him to use the force on par with the greatest Sith Lord in history was betrayed by Ryuks fellow disciples in the force, he also betrayed her as he did nothing to save her from his fellow disciples and wasn't proud that he was technically the weakest of the four last Sith Lords in the galaxy given he wasn't a wound in the force.
A concept that showcased one to gain incredible abilities by tearing a wound into the force itself and using one as a catalyst for the wound, it was due to this concept that both Sion and Nihilus were both significantly more powerful than a traditional Sith Lord.
Some even could say Ryuk was also a wound but not directly, Ryuk didn't tear open wounds but rather gazed into the force directly to learn of powers that is seen as impossible to achieve which Ryuk's greatest feat was the ability to manipulate time in itself, there was more ways to gain everlasting power without damaging the essential aspect of life.
Back to the matter at hand, Ryuk learns of the exact nature of the Slane Theocracy which is a nation with a religious aspect which made Ryuk think of the Jedi Order but much more zealous with a mixture of church and state and if that were the case, it would've made the republic a more formidable foe.
The chief then goes into conversation of how the commerce worked in the Re-Eztise kingdom by showcasing a scale and did a few things with a gold coin along with the conversion rates which was a common 100 Copper to 1 Silver, to 100 silver to a single piece of gold and such for Platinum.
Copper was essentially chump change for both lower and upper class as copper was mainly used to buy minor things, though silver is typically used for household expenses as most lower to middle class families typically have several dozen copper for monthly expenses including taxes to both the royal family, the kingdom and to the local lord if they are on their land, the local lords however can impose strict or light taxes to both keep the economy pumping or to enrich themselves which was a rather common practice especially for the lord that owns the land of Carne.
As Ryuk was learning about everything about the landscape and local superpowers, the door opened to the chief's house and a man of rather significance exclaimed "Chief! Another band of warriors is approaching fast" the chief would look worried and quickly gets up.
"I'm sorry Lord Ryuk but I need to see if we are being attacked again" The old chief would state and immediately leave the house, Ryuk sighed as he got up to follow suit just behind towards the edge of the village and the two would see a band of warriors closing in.
The chief sighed in relief then looked over to Ryuk who's seen floating the pebbles in his right hand through this mysterious ability Ryuk told the older leader was called 'The Force' "You need not worry Lord Ryuk, it's the banner of the Re-Eztise Kingdom"
Ryuk would see the banner that the troop of one hundred warriors would have which the man would sigh as he dropped the pebbles down to the ground then laid his hand by the side.
The lead man would raise his hand causing the troop to slowly halt before he himself approached with a serious gaze, the man was a bulky dark tanned man wearing plated Chestplate armor with brown combat pants, his face was a nearly shaggy beard as Ryuks yet with a slightly dirty brown hair, all in all the man appeared almost similar to Ryuk except the Lord of Knowledge was much slimmer and didn't have a shirt or Chestplate.
The man approached on horseback until stopping to see the village chief and the mysterious shirtless bearded man but Gazef felt off with the bearded man as he had a presence about him, a presence of fear and danger including those yellow piercing eyes of his "Greetings, I am Gazef Stranoff, Warrior Captain in charge of the Re-Eztize Warrior Troop Unit and you are?" He asked both the chief and Ryuk.
"I am Peter Mulligan, Chief of Carne Village and this is our savior, one who has arrived during our time of need, He is Ryuk, Lord of Knowledge" The chief introduced himself as Ryuk while the Lord of Knowledge crossed his arms and gave a slight nod which Gazef seemed to nod back as if a form of respect.
Gazef turned his attention fully to the shirtless bearded man "I see, on behalf of King Ramposa the Third, you have my thanks" Gazef exclaimed to Ryuk.
Ryuk didn't respond but he did give a nod but his attention is now towards the back of the warrior troop as the dark skinned warrior captain was explaining things to the chief, Ryuk would see what appeared to be a line of warriors in matching outfits that seemed to make the Lord of Knowledge compare to the outfit he once wore as a Warrior of the Sith during Maleks Reign.
'Ok so this whole attack was a trap and I'm guessing this Gazef must've been the target if they revealed themselves now' Ryuk thinks to himself but his attention is brought back to Gazef who was trying to get his attention, from what Ryuk saw, Gazef Stranoff wasn't on the horse and was standing abit away from him.
"Sir Ryuk? Are you listening?" Gazef asked as Ryuk seemed to have been in thought in the past few moments until his eyes landed on the warrior captain showcasing Ryuk was now paying attention.
"Apologies Sir Stranoff, I was thinking about my past so before you go into what you were wanting to discuss with me but I believe we are under attack again" Ryuk then points out towards the horizon where gazef's followed until he looked extremely serious to find a group of mages in the distance with white armored humanoid looking creatures in the air.
"Sunlight…" Gazef stated with disdain in his voice as he finally figured the truth behind these attacks.
The chief looked extremely worried and said "Warrior Captain! Lord Ryuk! What should we do?!" The old man asked as while he was a leader, he valued both of the greater men before him and desired their orders more than his own.
The bearded Sith Lord turned towards the chief "Get everyone into your home and try to blockade all opens except for one window and the main doors" Ryuk orders which the bearded chief gave a hesitant nod and started running shouting for everyone to gather at his home.
Gazef kept his attention to the mages in the distance then shouted "All men! Defensive Line now!" All of the armored soldiers would roar as if to indicate they understood and they all began moving a single file line in front of the village then they all kneeled with their shields raised.
Ryuk watched as these men moved into their assigned position with clear interest 'Curious, such uniform even in the face of doom, I applied their ability to keep calm' Ryuk thinks to himself until Gazef spoke up, getting Ryuk out of his mind.
"Lord Ryuk, what reward do I need to grant for you to assist, it's obvious you are quite powerful so what do you want to help" Gazef exclaimed as he turned to face the bearded Sith Lord whom was watching the mages from the distance.