Yo Dam that took waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. Explanation and comment replies after this chapter. I kept y'all waiting long enough. Holiday themes are ahead, but still part of the actual plot. Enjoy.
Rising shadow
Arc 2
Chapter 9
Ancient days.
Lance knocked on the door of Weiss's room and entered as a cleaning minion let him in. It had been three weeks since he had found Weiss and Blake, and since then they had been getting things moving. True to Ruby's words, Weiss had proven to be an asset. The tower, while still rather sparse in its decorating, was now truly a dark stronghold. Its walls and floors were repaired and reinforced with a dark marble-like stone that glistened with a haunting blue glow from the mana that naturally ran through the dark structure. Crude effigies of the minions' tribal runes showed scenes of the overlords of yore's wars and conquests. His throne was still little more than a very large and spiky chair, luckily now with more back support. Weiss had, to Lance's surprise, modeled her room into an office with a simple wooden desk and chair, a leather-bound tome laid on a lectern close by the desk, while her sword Mythasther rested on a stand on a cupboard. A curtained corner of the room hid the mistress' bed.
Weiss looked up from a pile of rocks on her desk. A full basket of other stones stood next to her desk. Weiss and Lance had, up until now, mainly built a professional relationship. The huntress stated that she first wanted to focus on getting the plan going before she would seek out how she would fill in the lover part of the mistress position. After all she had been through, her main concern was Salem. If and when they were able to actually get the hand of time, she would be more open to romance. That didn't mean she didn't like his company,
The dinners and tea times with her team, Penny, and Lance were quite liberating, even if most of their conversations consisted of joking about world domination. A big discussion point was what their capital would be. They were leaning towards Miangary as it was sunny, covert, and defensible.
"Sire, thank you for coming. I'll cut to the chase I believe that the caverns we found close to the tower do indeed hold some type of metal."
"You're unsure?" The Overlord asked, not used to the young woman being doubtful in her abilities.
"I know mining, I am the heiress of a mining company after all, my lord. But the bounty my family's company was after were glowing crystals containing the power of nature itself. It was a fair bit less subtle than the signs most metals leave. I know a bit - my father made sure I wouldn't waste any potential resources."
She held up one of the rocks that had some strange blue streaks in it.
"I'm pretty sure this blue material is a hint of some sort of metal, although I don't know which one it is. That means it's not a material found on Remnant, which could mean it's a valuable resource, but it could also be useless for all we know."
Lance nodded. "Have a group of browns mine some and bring it to Giblit. I want to see if it's useful."
"As you command, my lord. I'll make the preparations."
With their business concluded, the Overlord chanced a less serious conversation.
"I heard you sing a while back," he said. The look on the huntress's face was enough to make his words halt in his mouth. Her pupils shrank to pinpoints as she took a step backwards and her chest heaved up and down. "I... I'm sorry. It was a slip-up. It won't happen again." All color had left her face and a bead of sweat tickled over her forehead. Lance stepped forward and took her shaking hands in his own.
"Weiss, I liked it."
"Y... you did?"
"Go see Quaver after you're done for the day. Darkness knows he's been haunting me about putting a band together again, and I trust you a hell of a lot more to choose songs than him."
Surprisingly, Weiss started to beam and hugged him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
The mistress left her lord confused. He needed a breath of fresh air, the day was nearing its end, and the temperature at the tower's summit was pleasantly cool at this time of day. He made his way up the staircase and to his surprise found Ruby sitting on the edge of the roof looking out over the red meadows that surrounded the dark tower.
"Ruby?" Lance asked as he approached the young woman, taken aback by the mark of tears on her face.
"Lance?" Ruby, on her turn, was also surprised by her lord's appearance, quickly wiping away her tears, hoping he would not think her weak. Ruby patted the spot next to her as casually as she could manage, glad to see she had not drawn her master's annoyance.
"Back home, it's the ancient days." Ruby said in a soft voice.
"Ancient days?" The overlord asked, interested to hear about Ruby's past. He had come to like the young huntress over the past weeks, at first mainly for her usefulness, but that had developed further. She had been the first actually pleasant company he had been in, bearing his family. Ever so slowly, they were moving away from using "master," and into using his actual name. She had occasionally called him "darling." As they had started to casually flirt, but she still didn't feel like they had reached a place in their relationship where she would consider herself anything more than a girlfriend.
"The ancient days are a holiday back on Remnant. Nobody really knows what they used to be about, so much of our old culture has been lost in conflicts. Now that I'm thinking about it, it must have been echoes of the fight against Salem. Nowadays, people usually pick something to celebrate gods, good fortune, or just surviving another year. I knew some kids at combat school who celebrated being little shits to a counselor."
"Sounds like we should recruit them. Evil comes in many shapes."
"I believe they might actually be interested. Anyway, nobody really celebrates in the same way. Some throw lavish parties while others try to give to the less fortunate." Her silver eyes filled with a mirth born from irony and she let out a laugh. "Can you believe I actually used to do that stuff? Anyway, there were a couple of overlapping things common though - family feasts, singing, gifts, stuff like that." She pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. "This is the second time I'm not home for it. Dad must have heard we are presumed dead by now. I wonder what I'm going to say when we meet again." She looked over at Lance, an eyebrow raised. "How about your home world? Any late-year celebrations there?"
"We do actually. Or at least the village my parents are from. Nordburg had a holiday called midwinter. Apparently, Mom and Dad met as kids one midwinter."
"And he was kicked out only to return years later and sweep her away to a life of dark romance." Ruby finished his sentence
"Wait, how do you know that?" the overlord asked.
"The labyrinth showed me flashes of your world's past. Did you guys do anything special for Midwinter?"
Lance nodded. "Dad believed in the old saying that living well was the best revenge. Well, to be more accurate, he helped Mom go by that saying. His go-to way of taking revenge was burning down houses. Anyway, usually he used this time of year to ask his mistresses what they would like to have or do." Lance put an arm around the young woman. "So, what would you like for Midwinter?"
Ruby thought back to the early years of her life and remembered. It had been a cold day as she and Yang looked out of the windows and saw her parents. Dancing in the light of the broken moon. That was the first time she had an inkling of what it meant to be in love. She had promised herself she would one day be there and have what her mother had. She got on her feet and offered Lance her hand.
"Darling, would you dance with me?"
Taking the offered hand, the overlord rose and placed his hand on the huntress's waist and led her in the first steps of a slow dance. Over the roof of the tower, as the bright red orb that functioned as the Abyssal realm's sun descended towards the horizon, the smell of burning pine trees was faint on the breeze.
"I didn't take you for a dancer," Ruby mentioned, genuinely surprised that the son of a dark god emperor from a different dimension knew how to move in a sequence that did not involve violence.
She saw his eyes leave her, trailing towards the pendant on his gauntlet. His red eyes suddenly were far away. She put her hand on his cheek as they kept moving in circles over the crowned rooftop.
"Tell me."
Under the Abyssal sky, where a mockery of stars and moon now glowed, he told her.
Lance clasped his brother's hand and pulled him up "Not bad at all coller me surprised." The elder had said. Lance was genuinely surprised at his younger brothers improvement. Nero looked back at him with a half scowel on his tanned face as he fixed his messy hair.
"Spare me, the one time I impress you its because of mother insisting that I know how to dance."
Lance raised an eyebrow "Dance? How the hell did that help you in fighting me?"
"Footwork I guess, mother said I should need to know how to dance." The boy put up a snobby voice in a mimicry of his mother "A lord should know how to dance cant have you stepping on a lady's toes like some no good peasant."
A snicker left Lance's mouth "Ha after dad took power there are no ladies left. Any girl that I met would probably be overjoyed to be stepped on by the child of the overlord."
a giggle came from the doorway "And everyone who does not want that is a rebel to be crushed." Titania bounded in. her Long scarlet hair in a ponytail and clutching a staff with a minion head "Can you teach me?"
The brothers frowned "Cant your mother teach you Tiny? I mean she is a queen is she not."
The half elf looked as if she had been slapped. Mother does not want me to dance, says its not becoming of a witch.
Lance grunted in anger at his sibling being talked down to. "She is mad. Even if we discount the state of the world right now we have plenty of records showing you are impressive at your age even for eleven royalty."
"Thank you Lord brother." said Titania half mockingly.
He had clasped his sister's hand. "Alright Nero show us how we do this shit."
The rest of that day had been filled by laughter as they had stumbled, fallen and stepped on plenty of toes. That night there father had called for the band to banish the silence of his halls and saw his daughter step confidently to the middle of the throne room as she called for an ancient elven war song her dance was accompanied by ribbons of fire that sprung from her arms that banished the winters winds. Her brothers shared a glance.
"Juno is going to be furious at you." Lanced grinned.
The middle sibling laughed "Not as mad as Fay is. Look at her." And indeed, the fallen queen looked as if she had been told her skirt was on fire. Her glare turned towards the boys and Lance flashed her his blade. Unbeknownst to him, his mother gave her own glare to Fay from between the boys as she slung an arm over their shoulders. "I haven't seen Fay look like that since Juno summoned a spider to bed for some experimentation."
"Mother, why did you tell us that!?" Lance said with a disgusted look
"Lady Kelda, that's not something I wanted to know!" matching his brothers tone.
The teasing mistress pulled the boys closer. The proud look on her face clear. "And I haven't seen your father and sister smile like that in long, long years."
The world came back to him as he put more speed in his steps, sweeping the young woman off her feet and spinning her in his arms to her great laughter. They parted. "One day I want to meet your family and I hope you get to meet mine as well. Now then, I believe there are some other lovely ladies that you need to attend. Call for me when you go to rest, my darling." She winked seductively as she let her fingers trail on his chest as she walked away.
Lance looked up at the star-like orb above him. "I wish you two could meet."
He turned away and made his way down the tower. When he reached the private quarters, he heard Blake's distressed voice.
"Oh, Darkness, not again! Why do you keep dying?!"
Quickening his step as he felt a spark of panic at her words, when he entered the central room he was greeted by a rather odd sight - a familiar pair of legs that were stuck in the wall. A group of minions were pulling at them, obviously trying to get the trapped person loose. Minions were not really bastions of wisdom, but Lance had to admit that he didn't really see a way to fix the situation himself.
"Oh thank the dark god you're here, Lance. It's Penny. She is... well." Blake had run up to him and pointed at the master bedroom. Following the direction of his mistress, he found Penny's torso hanging from one of the walls that was not, as he suspected, on the opposite side of where he had seen her legs.
"What in the?" Lance said with equal amounts of shock and concern about the situation.
Blake nodded. "I wanted to see if you were available. And then I found her like this."
The meaning of Blake's words was not lost on Lance. The both of them had come to a conclusion: they were young people who could use an outlet for their frustrations and trauma. Which had led them to be, as Blake called it, "friends with benefits." They hadn't crossed the line from making love to being lovers, but they had grown closer ever so slowly. Lance had probably been up for a session of fun, had it not been for Penny's current situation. In stark opposition to Blake, with whom he had a mainly fiscal relationship, his relationship with Penny was far more emotional-based. They were living weapons that suddenly had the chance to seek out love. While Lance wouldn't let himself go too soft, it did seem that Penny liked to act as she had duped it, "lovey-dovey." The overlord did have to admit he liked her doing so, even if he couldn't reciprocate it in full, something she didn't seem to mind.
The android in question stirred and opened her eyes. "Oh hey, honey."
"Don't you 'hey honey' me!" Lance said, still startled at the state the young woman was in. "How the hell are you alive?!"
Penny blinked and sighed. Placing her head in her hand, she said, "Hold up, I'll be right back."
Blake wanted to ask where Penny was planning to go while being stuck in a wall, only for Penny to disappear in a flash of blue light. When Penny appeared again, she did so next to Blake, causing the Faunus to jump into Lance's arms with a hiss like an enraged cat. The huntress's cat ears were pinned back, and her teeth bared.
"What and how?" Blake asked, still clinging to Lance.
Penny gave the two a mischievous smile and disappeared again. However, her voice still lingered in the room. "I am the tower heart, remember? What you just saw is just a magical construct I create to experience life. I can be anywhere in the tower."
The air rippled as a dark-skinned Faunus appeared, a lion's tail waving behind her. "I can look however I want."
She slowly switched back to her own form but now had a set of red panda ears and a matching tail.
"Do you like it? If so, let me know. I'm open to suggestions."
Blake looked at her wide-eyed. "I have questions. Also," she poked Lance in his chest, "rule: you are not asking her to look like my mother if the three of us are having fun."
Penny tilted her head. Lance could see the gears turning in the ginger's head. "Can I look like your twin?"
Blake looked at Penny while her ears suddenly went upright. Lance could have sworn he heard a sound that was similar to a cat purring as a snickering Penny took the shape of what Blake would look like if she had been a ginger.
After a moment of contemplation, the blushing mistress gave her answer. "Yes."
"Ohhhh, naughty little kitten," Penny teased.
Lance narrowed his eyes. "Wait, you are doing all of this without much effort, so how did you get stuck in the wall to begin with?"
Penny looked sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, uhm, well, I wanted to see the world outside of the tower for a bit, so I hopped in the portal and, well, apparently I can manifest only in what is considered your realm, so the moment I stepped out, my consciousness was catapulted back here and, well, I just kinda got stuck. Are you going to put Blake down?"
The faunus didn't notice herself leaning into the overlord, even if her relationship with the overlord was mainly physical, he did make her feel safe when she was in his arms. With a partly exsasturated sigh, she leaped out of his arms back to her feet.
"So, what have you been up to, my master?" The title was spoken with a hint of catty humor on Blake's part.
"Weiss acted strange when I mentioned that I heard her singing. At first, it looked like she thought I would beat her bloody."
Blake frowned. "That's strange. Weiss loves singing. Back at school, we used to tease her about what we called her shower concerts. She never seemed to mind."
Lance rubbed his chin. "Ruby mentioned it being the ancient days. Maybe something related to that."
Before Lance could register what happened,
Penny was an inch away from his face, smiling ear to ear. "Can we celebrate ancient days? I never celebrated before, my dad always had to work and I couldn't join the academy's festivities because, well, I'm an android, and my cover wouldn't have lasted long over dinner."
Lance chuckled. "Back home, my dad always tried to grant his mistresses' wishes. I try to follow the tradition. So what do you want?"
"I want to party like an idiot," Penny said as she twirled and slightly altered her appearance to have slightly pointed ears, striped stockings, and a short dress with a mini skirt.
"You like it? I've always wanted to play a mall elf."
Lance raised an eyebrow. "Is that how your world's elves dress?"
Blake facepalmed and shook her head. "We still need to get you educated on so many things on Remnant."
Penny took the Faunus in a sideways hug. "Well then, my sister mistress, why don't you start by telling master what your newly blackened heart desires these ancient days?"
Smiling, Blake shrugged. "A holiday feast with mead. And Ruby told me about the whole neckless and ring deal. Can I have a look in the Vault and pick something for myself?"
Blake couldn't help but smile as she let her greed out. When she had been a child, the ancient days had been a time of humility. She had been proud as she had skipped down impoverished streets bringing food to those who had nothing. Every year it was another destination. If the place they were was very anti-Faunus, they would run over the roof tops and drop the food down chimneys in bags. Looking at it through new eyes however, made her anger flare. She had realized that she had never truly celebrated with her parents. No dinners, no presents, no singing of songs or telling of stories. All because of the way Remnant was, how people had made it. Well, to hell with them. That would be her revenge. She had given enough. The world owed her for every time she had taken the hits for it against Salem. It was time for her to collect and no pleasure would be denied to her, be it the small joys or the lavished luxury.
"Food is a bit scarce in variety at the moment." The overlord apologized, annoyed he had to deny her a reasonable request.
"Actually, master, while scouting the lands around the tower, I found a small village. Probably some of the civilians that got thrown off the bridge like us. I was on my way to tell you, or well, that and scratching an itch. When I found penny imitating a hunting trophy." Blake said, shivering as she saw Lance's black aura flare like it often did while training.
"And like that, you have just fulfilled my midwinter wish, an actual honest to evil plundering. Penny, can I leave the preparations to you?
"Of course. Please, if you find someone easy on the eye, don't hesitate. We could use some maids. The minions lack a certain aesthetic."
Blake watched the overlord leave and turned to her fellow mistress. "Did you just ask master for maids as a gift? And what aesthetic?"
"Yes, I did and the type that looks good in a maid outfit. Yes, I tried putting a minion in one and I miss the ability to wipe my memory."
Blake raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't we just dress up?"
Penny frowned. "Blake, we are mistresses. We are masters, queens. We should only ever be seen as submissive to him. If we go around the tower like that, what message would that send?"
Blake nodded and grinned, now looking forward to it. She hoped there was a human among them. She would love to be the first faunus to hold the whip
To be continued…. And soon I hope!
Finally, that's done. I don't even want to know how many times I have had to rewrite this chapter. Eventually, I was just like, "You know what? It's almost the holidays. Let's try a little special." Low and behold, this Saturnalia miracle, because it actually worked out. Or at least, in my opinion, I hope I didn't mess up the phasing with the small time-skip and hope that everything was explained properly. And that all of you have enjoyed.
Now, about the next chapter. I'm super excited, because after nine chapters of mostly setting up our overlord with the lovely ladies of RWBY + P, it's time for our boy to get out there by himself and kick some ass. As well as to introduce the first group of heroes based on another franchise. Let's see how our overlord fares on his own (+ minions, of course). Also, find out why Weiss suddenly got the big panic. I'm already working on it and hope to release it before the new year, but I make no promises. Which brings me to my radio silence. I'm just going to say it: my head was toast. Dad was hurt, meaning there was no rest at home. Job, as much as I like it, is hectic. So, I wrote when I could, but it did make it harder. At one point, I felt myself hitting the burnout danger zone, so I decided to book a vacation and just put my writing on hold until then, so I could keep the little sanity Athena bestowed upon me. Had a lovely writing getaway, and while I didn't really get far with this fic, there are some other works I did get progress on. I want to thank you all for your patience.
Speaking of thanks, Wardemer & darthkratos24. Thank you both so much for your comments. They both have points I should work on, and that's why I started writing fics to start with, so I can train before trying original works. To go over some points in detail:
Wardemer: I get why you think that getting Team RWBY was a bit too easy and that Yang may have needed to be benched a bit longer. This is my thought process. My idea of the story was not so much to have the team be Lance's main conquest, but more to tell a story of how they together grow into the role of dark royalty during the greater conquest. The difficulty and story is not how he gets them in the spot of mistress, but how they take to that role and the relationship he has with them. I hope it's a story worth following. I am glad you enjoyed it this far and hope to see more great feedback from you if you consider it worth your time.
DarthKratos24: Well, I can see your point on Lance. However, I fear you might have overlooked one detail. He likes the people he has interacted with so far. He is a very nice guy to his mistresses and those he considers his inner circle. Everyone outside though, well, you'll see. I'm not going to ditch the armor entirely. But it's damaged, and without the right materials it can't be fixed. It's better to walk around in a slightly weaker, intact armor like leather and chain mail than a ruined set of plate mail. As for the random stuff, I can only say that pacing is one of the things I still struggle with in writing. All the more am I glad that you brought this to my attention so I can work on my explanation of this story. I will try to explain the dealings of the dark brother and the elderlord (who, in case it was confusing, is the overlord from the original game that got himself stuck in the abyss) later on in the story. Please be patient till then.
Well then, my friends, that have helped me take the next step on my writing journey. To you all I say thank you, and if you allow me to, for a moment, to speak from faith, I say to you all:
Yo Saturnalia
Festive Yule
Merry Christmas
Happy Hanuka
Happy holidays
May whatever gods you do or don't follow smile upon you and may you always be welcomed home by kind smiles and warm meals in the coming year. And may whatever hardships that come your way only serve to strengthen your hearth and sharpen your mind.
Yours in Fantasy, Firebird's child.