The Collector continued, delineating its plans. Its ashen white figure stood tall, even with the slight hunch from its oversized back muscles. Its large dorsal fin jutted out from its back with arcs of faint electrical humming buzzing around it.

The mandibles on the sides of its helmet-like carapace maw clicked together while its four red, slit-like eyes flashed.

"The swarm that stays here shall be a conquering force led under the supervision of the specimen known as 'Thrag'. Said specimen has evolved from champion to elite and possesses enough natural potential to become a secondary carrier unit," said the Collector.

"Conquer? We fight the humans now?" came a wondering question from the swarm.

"No," said the Collector. "The conquering force is to not engage with any tinkering force unless an explicit order has been granted by me. When engaging a tinkering force, escape should be of the highest priority.

The time to conquer the tinkerers will come later, when I have returned from beyond the Rift with the necessary power to do so.

What the conquering force below the Rift shall focus its martial efforts on will primarily be dungeons. It will begin to clear as many dungeons as possible while minimizing losses. Any severe wounds, I may heal remotely, but true resurrection requires my immediate presence.

Thus, engage in moderate caution, but do not unnecessarily fear bodily harm. Should the newly appointed carrier unit deem so, it will send a mental distress signal to me, and I will respond with immediate healing.

Focus on clearing the dungeons closest farthest from tinkering capability and work yourselves inwards, though not so close as to draw immediate attention."

Thrag's kneeling figure before the Collector spoke out.

"Sovnar," said Thrag, having been educated on proper titling by Kandak and Goromir. "How will we know where to strike? For far too long, our people have avoided any dungeons. Never cared for them."

The Collector signaled its mental intent to the elder, and the elder nodded and came forwards.

"I will guide you," said the elder. He smiled faintly. "And with my magic restored, even aid you in battle. It has been long since I have whetted my magic in blood."

"I am eager to see your might also, elder," said Thrag. "Even when we were unevolved, I had always thought you highly with your tales and knowledge. It is comforting you will be by my side to lead our people here."

"Hoh hoh," said the elder, nodding at the recognition. "It is heartening to know that there was such respect for me even when I was frail and weak."

The Collector watched this interaction and felt satisfactory that now that the goblin swarm was more intelligent, it possessed far more recognition and deference to the elder, likely having understood to greater degree the extent to which the elder had guided the tribe from harm with his knowledge of wind currents, the patterns of the Great Storm, the passage of Shadows, and so on.

Previously, the swarm had only recognized strength and treated the fragile elder as more of a convenience than someone to be recognized.

The Collector would have preferred also to leave one of the twin elites behind to train this portion of the swarm, but the twin elites were deferent to tradition, and tradition as members of a 'First Hand' made it such that they would never leave the Collector's side, acting as its personal guard.

A kingsguard equivalent, as the elites had put it.

The Collector spoke again. "The elder will guide you, and Thrag will lead you in combat. You shall defeat and conquer the dungeons, and in each of them, assign a worthy unevolved one among you to stay within it and take in its energies, ascending to elitehood.

As you reach elitehood, your connection to me will grow stronger, and through the trace amounts of warp energies inherent in dungeons, your connection will be further amplified such that you may communicate directly with me.

In this way, many of you shall become leaders of your own territory."

The Collector looked at Thrag. "This shall necessitate that you abandon this post as this dungeon's 'boss' and grant it to another in this swarm, for you shall lead, not remain stationary."

"I understand. And all the better for me," said Thrag. "I far prefer fighting and moving than sitting around." He paused for a moment. "A question, Sovnar."

"Proceed."

"I do not know how many dungeons there are, but will our numbers not eventually grow thin? When enough of us must remain in these dungeons," said Thrag.

"That is certainly so. Yet, accounted for," replied the Collector. "The secondary purpose of the conquering force is to conquer further additional goblins. There are more among your species here, that is known to me. They are gathered under different banners and social groups known as 'tribes.'

This too, is one of the reasons the elder shall remain. He will lead you to these tribes and usher them into the fold of this swarm."

"They…they may not appreciate the rule," said Thrag. "Their minds have not been opened to you, Sovnar."

"Another predicament that I have accounted for." The Collector raised an open palm towards Thrag's kneeling figure. "Come forwards. Your ascension into a carrier unit shall remedy this concern."

"It is an honor," said Thrag as he came forwards with his fist over his heart in reverent salute. Another form of etiquette taught by Goromir.

"Bare your heart to me," said the Collector. "For I require access to your cardiovascular system and spirit root circulation."

Thrag bared his chest, and the Collector slammed a clawed hand into it, easily cleaving through the flesh until its fingers reached the heart and gently held it. It surged magical energy colored red into its hand and enveloped the heart, initiating another sequence of Higher Calling.

Thrag froze up, his red eyes growing dim as blood began to trickle out from his mouth.

The Collector had researched the nature of Higher Calling and made modifications to it. It could not enhance elites into a further evolutionary form for it seemed that elites could not ascend to lords. Lords and elites were of entirely separate bloodlines that had surprisingly little overlap, which explained further why it seemed that the lords were so physically inferior to the elites.

The Collector initiated Higher Calling on the elite specimen before it to make its biological form more malleable in a way not dissimilar to how the Collector could reduce down into purely malleable biological ooze in its cocoon.

Magical energy began to swirl around the specimen 'Thrag's' body. Mana colored red, green, and blue that formed a triple helix of threads that slowly built up and encased the specimen in a cocoon of fluxing energy.

This way, the Collector could grow forth a larger tendril on the elite's head and also enhance it even further, allowing the elite to draw from the Collector's own Higher Calling voice and impart suggestion to the goblins it encountered, though at a lower level than the Collector.

Still likely enough to rally simple minded goblins to the Collector's cause.

In addition, the Collector could now do this –

Three pliomatter tendrils of pure, raw red muscle emerged from plates of carapace on the Collector's back and curved around to point at the elite specimen. Their ends rippled as the muscle condensed down into tapered, sharp points, and then they dug into the mana cocoon, going further and stabbing into parts of the elite's body.

The moment the Collector had obtained its adaptation to create its Cluster Drones, it had theorized that with Higher Calling, it could simply create these drones as parts of goblins.

Cluster drones by themselves were extremely unimpressive specimen. They were small, flying balls of biomass and genetic material that were used primarily for utility, ejecting a projectile here or emitting a sensory field there depending on what genetic material they were invested with.

However, with Higher Calling making the genetic structure of goblins malleable, the Collector calculated that it could simply make the goblins, especially the elites with their already sturdy bodies, as drones, grafting genetic samples it no longer needed into them.

One of the tendrils glowed red as it pumped in the genetic code for the Flametongue Salamander.

Another tendril glowed a pale blue as it transferred the code of the Shockstripe Eel.

The max number of genetic samples any cluster drone could possess was two, and that limit did not stop here. Overloading this specimen with foreign samples was liable to cause an irregular mutation. In addition, the genetic samples could only come from those the Collector were not utilizing right now.

In essence, it was as if the samples it possessed comprised a pool, and any unit taking form that pool would have to return it for it to be usable again.

The Collector chose these samples with purpose. Without the Collector warding away the Shadows with its Blessing, the conquering swarm would be left to deal with the Shadows. Thus, the Flametongue Salamander genes to grant permanent light and further reverence among other goblin tribes encountering the elite.

The Shockstripe Eel was to grant the elite aquatic capabilities and more combat power.

With both of these samples incorporated and soon, Breath of Life to enhance both the elite and the conquering force's stats, it was likely that no ordinary creature nor straying tinkering force would ever stand a chance against the conquering force.

Of course, the conquering force was not primarily supposed to be a militaristic one. That was what the Collector presented their role as to them, for it sensed that the goblins were far more positively predisposed to being labeled as 'conquerers'.

In practicality, they were more surveillance units to track tinkering movements in below the Rift so that the Collector knew what to expect when it came back down.