"What is that?"
"Is something like that even possible?"
"How are they so powerful?"
"Empires are impossible to comprehend."
The Noikatol Kingdom had gathered at a large, open spot, situated in a location with the least amount of vegetation in the Petrichor Savannah. Their bodies trembled as they stared at an artificial rocky hill being constructed at speeds visible to their naked eye.
Primary Nature—Gracious Inheritance!
Tiny figures walked in and out of the hollow section within the artificial rocky hill, Prana flashing out of their Human Avatar to condense into large, rocky chunks unleashing a suppressive effect.
Nature—Rocky Intimidation!
It was the Primary Nature of the Rockatrice, an Advance Silver Grade Pranic Beast. The Varahan Empire had captured a large number of them and relocated them into its territory, following which they were reared for use.
An adult Rockatrice gave birth to as many offspring as possible. The healthy ones were set aside to be nurtured while the remainder were consumed by Wean Clansmen and turned into Natures that they bestowed upon Free Humans working on the railway project.
Everyone dispatched on the railway project had reached the peak of the Body Stage, while the overseer had entered the 2-Life Stage. As all of them had Silver Grade strength, they were a force to reckon with, especially since the entire group numbered in the hundreds.
Of them, eight were involved with the construction of the rocky hill that would serve as a Station in the Petrichor Savannah. Constructing the station using Rocky Intimidation was to keep it safe from external harm.
This way, no Pranic Beast from the region would unnecessarily target the Station and damage the setup established within it.
Close to four hundred Free Humans worked tirelessly deep underground, moving to and fro in their Human Avatar forms.
A shade of pale orange on a texture of ivory, coarse to the touch, with black hues along the joints; the appearance was distinct, for the Human Avatars were made using Vara, a mineral obtained through grounding the tusks of Empyrean Boars.
The concentration of the black hues varied slightly based on the Empyrean Boar the respective Vara was sourced from. Over the years, the Free Humans were able to identify the disposition of each other based on the black hues when they assumed Human Avatar forms.
When a Free Human receives Vara from a Wean Clansman, they become part of the respective Clansman's force, aligned to them from all societal standpoints. Unless the Wean Clansman dies, they were stuck with that person and could only cultivate through the Vara they obtained from the Clansman.
Technically, the Gold Inheritance Art didn't restrict them on the Vara they could consume to forge a Human Avatar. The tusks of all Empyrean Boars could be ground into powder and built into their Human Avatar.
But Yarsha Zahara intended to form a sense of collective belonging in the Free Humans, forcing them to protect her family. As a result, she created this societal rule, which forced a Free Human to only receive Vara from one Wean Clansman for the rest of their life.
This ensured that, whether from an emotional standpoint or simply in terms of benefits, the Free Humans would give their everything to protect the Wean Clansmen they had aligned towards. And the greater the quantity of Vara a Wean Clansman could produce, the larger the force they could operate.
The resources they were able to amass also increased accordingly.
Pranic Beast Nests!
The Varahan Empire maintained thousands of Nests, with each belonging to a Pranic Beast race. The respective race was grown there, similar to poultry for the sole purpose of consumption of their Natures by the Wean Clansmen.
A Wean Clansman's wealth was directly related to the number of Pranic Beast Nests he/she controlled, for Natures were used as a currency in the Varahan Empire.
And, the best way to control more Pranic Beast Nests is to exert influence in the terrain where the respective Pranic Beasts lived. As a result, Wean Clansmen with a decent amount of power expanded outward, sending envoys deep into Pranic Beast territories where a decent chunk of Free Humans lived.
These people were recruited into the fold of the respective Wean Clansman while a railway would be laid connecting the place to the Varahan Empire. Following that, the newly recruited people would be granted Silver Grade strength through Vara Human Avatars, following which they would hunt for Pranic Beasts from their native region.
The Pranic Beasts would be captured and enslaved, gradually turned into entities similar to poultry through selective breeding, and made part of a Nest. When the time is right, the Wean Clansman would arrive at the region through the railway and consume as many Pranic Beasts from the Nest as necessary and grant the Natures to the Free Humans who contributed the most.
Rearing Pranic Beasts netted the maximum benefits in their native region where their numbers ballooned without issues. Many Wean Clansmen were of this opinion, including MunuBuntara, the Wean Clansman who intended to spread his influence through the Petrichor Savannah.
The Varahan Empire had a rule that only Wean Clansmen at the Life Stage could expand their influence into other regions and control such regions. Born 12 years after the Second Major Disaster, MunuBuntara was talented enough to reach the 2-Life Stage at the age of five, following which he sent a team of Envoys to the Petrichor Savannah.
Petrichor Savannah was one of the regions mapped out by the Varahan Empire's scouts as a suitable location for expansion by the Wean Clansmen. But it wasn't placed much value due to the lacking resources of the place.
However, the region itself was vast enough that MunuBuntara was interested, prompting him to purchase exclusive rights of ownership and development to the place. These rights were a system Yarsha Zahara installed in place to ensure Wean Clansmen didn't fight each other.
Therefore, once MunuBuntara purchased the rights to Petrichor Savannah, he was the only one allowed to make contact with the Free Humans of the region, develop the place, and basically do whatever he wanted with it.
Once he received the rights, he immediately sent the Envoys to make contact with Tssrah Noikatol and brought the Noikatol Kingdom under his wing. And now, the Free Humans under him were working on establishing the railway, connecting the Noikatol Kingdom to the Varahan Empire.
"Steady!" An overseer in charge of creating the tunnel for the railway shouted as he managed the Free Humans under him. Pointing at one of the spots, he shrieked, "The gravity is weak there. It'll create a shock when the railway is travelling through the spot and damage the goods. Correct it immediately!"
"Yes!" One of the Free Humans who had been resting got up in response to the shout and walked towards the spot. He activated his Human Avatar and unleashed the effects of one of the Iron Grade Natures he had been bestowed with.
Nature—Drifting Tunnel!
It was the Primary Nature of the Shifting Ants, one of the three races native to the Guna Caves. Their power formed the fundamental pillar behind the railway network.
The Free Human activated Drifting Tunnel and applied its effects on the spot to faintly tune the effects of gravity so that it was in sync with the rest of the tunnel. Otherwise, any irregular concentrations of gravity would gradually accumulate dust to grow in size and eventually become an obstacle within the tunnel.
These irregularities would continue to appear while the tunnel is in operation due to various causes, such as wear and tear of the walls of the tunnel where the effect of Drifting Tunnel was radiating from, the forces of gravity waning over time, or any external factors that might damage the setup.
Even the simplest release of Prana from a Free Human could cause some changes, which would quickly accumulate over time due to the volume of traffic using the railway. So, regular maintenance was a necessity.
One team was in charge of finishing the tunnel, one team laid down railway tracks, and one team was in charge of logistics, providing supplies from food to medicines and even Elixirs, when necessary. Finally, the last team finished the rocky mountain, which acted as a natural fortress that protected the Railway Station.
"Tssrah Noikatol?" The overseer in charge of building the Station approached the Noikatol King and introduced himself, "I am Wepetay, assigned by Lord MunuBuntara as the Petrichor Station Overseer. If you're fine with it, I intend to walk you through the process of becoming a part of the Varahan Empire."
"Y-yes, it's my pleasure." Tssrah Noikatol intended to maintain his dignity but found himself shrinking meekly in the presence of Wepetay, a 2-Life Stage cultivator with Silver Grade strength. All Free Humans in the Varahan Empire had Silver Grade strength.
The fact that he had established himself as one of the closest underlings of MunuBuntara spoke volumes of his prowess, which was head and shoulders above his peers. As a result, the sheer presence he emanated was overbearing for Tssrah Noikatol who had witnessed Silver Grade existence only a few times in his life.
"Please don't be intimidated by me." Wepetay noticed Tssrah Noikatol's state and patted the latter casually, "We'll all become part of the same force in the future. I am not sure if it's possible for you at your age, but your children and grandchildren will come to possess the same strength as me."
His expression hardened a little, "You're still the Noikatol King, so you need to maintain your title's dignity. After all, once you're absorbed into the Varahan Empire, Lord MunuBuntara will take over your identity as the Noikatol King."
"That is…my honour!" Tssrah Noikatol felt it hard to believe upon hearing that his successor would be a Wean Clansman, one with Gold Grade strength at that. It instantly elevated the line of Noikatol Kings to grandeur, one they could all be proud of.
"When a Wean Clansman gains control of a territory, they'd take up the identity of the Free Human Kingdom that had existed there." Wepetay stated, in pride, "This is to honour the Kingdom's history forever, so that we'll never forget our past, no matter how strong we become in the future."
"Following the customs dictated by the Empress, Lord MunuBuntara will rename himself as Lord MunuBuntara Noikatol." He continued, "He'll officially be crowned as the Noikatol King by the Emperor once he gains control over this region."
Wepetay then stared at the people of the Noikatol Kingdom who stared at the Station in amazement, "For that to happen, we need to educate your people first. Following that, our team of experts would carefully destroy the Human Avatars of all the children, youths, and able-bodied adults. We'll train you until all capable ones enter the Body Stage and attain Silver Grade strength."
"Only after that will we enter the Varahan Empire using the railway."
"How…will you teach us?" Tssrah Noikatol expressed his confusion, "None of us have a formal education or even any written records for the matter. All our Information Slips contain limited records."
"That's not an issue." Wepetay smiled and raised his hand, following which a Free Human brought forward a suitcase, opening it to reveal a delicate glove.
"This is…?" All Tssrah Noikatol could feel was a strange presence emanating from the glove. But he had no idea as to what it was. "What is it exactly?"
"A Glove Slip," Wepetay stated in absolute pride, "One of the legendary inventions among countless in the Varahan Empire."
"Wear this," He prompted Tssrah Noikatol, following which he handed over a piece of Empyrean Boar's tusk to the latter, "Now, read this Information Slip."
"I can only use an Information Slip made out of Katol…" Tssrah Noikatol stopped speaking, gawking in shock to see that he could access the piece of bone as an Information Slip, experiencing a surge of information in his mind space.
"Don't be shocked by just this." Wepetay laughed and gently nudged a Noikatol King petrified by the sheer incredulity of the item in his hand, "At this rate, you won't last until we enter the Varahan Empire."
"What you're witnessing is a mere speck of dust when compared to the Varahan Empire's legacy!"