Azrael half dragged half marched the village chief towards the closest hut, ignoring the stunned faces of the other villagers. They could deal with it. It wasn’t like he was the one who was making it hard to have a conversation.

Arriving at the house he pushed the door open with his foot and seated the village chief on the closest surface, before turning to him.

It irritated Azrael that they had built here, despite his warning that they weren’t prepared for the dangers of the forest. And despite building here and despite his warning, they had prepared – nothing. Absolutely. Nothing.

It irritated him that he needed to use these people and it irritated him that people could be so… so… clueless. So helpless, careless, and unprepared.

Azrael began speaking and the village chief shrank back, away from him, trying to press himself through the wall behind him.

“Why” Azrael asked “In all the god forsaken places you could choose did you build your village here? I warned you of the dangers. I warned you that you and the rest of them weren’t prepared and yet you still built here. You could have gone back to the other village, or gone back to your plains, but no. You chose here.”

He watched the village chief cower on the bed, seemingly shrinking back even further, in fear. Azrael felt something snap inside of him. The head of the village was… pathetic. That was the only word Azrael could think of.

If it weren’t for the fact that he needed them to level, he would have just left them, letting them fend for themselves. They would try and they would die. His fingers twitched and fire flickered around his hand as his mana reacted to his emotions. Turning on his heels he made up his mind and walked out the door.

“All right, listen up!” he shouted to the milling villagers “Here’s how it’s going to work”.

He paused to see that he had them all, before continuing

“You’re all weak. Each and every one of you. None of you are going to survive. Everything in this forest is stronger than you. Bears, boars, wolves, Everything! Your men are wounded and you cower in your homes. You will die.”

The villagers were silent, hanging their heads. It seemed that they did have some shame for how pathetic they were. He took the moment to observe them. In the group in front of him there were thirteen villagers. Four women, five men and three children. Two girls and one boy. All of them hung their heads, except one. One of the girls, the one he’d found tied up, glared at him. He ignored her.

The village chief emerged from inside the building, looking shaken. He joined the rest of the villagers, as Azrael began speaking again. He let out a breath and continued, this time in a gentler tone.

“All of you chose me as your lord, which means that if you die it’s my problem. I don’t like problems. So, here’s how it will go. I will train you to protect yourself and for the first while I will hunt for you. I will do this until you are strong enough to do this by yourself.”

The villagers all looked at him with incredulous faces. A small glimmer appeared in their eyes, replacing the burning shame they had felt earlier. Maybe they saw him as a new hope, a saviour, a saint, a hero. He intended to quash that. He didn’t need gratitude. They could hate him all they wanted, but if they wished to challenge him, then the consequences were on them. They’d already seen what he could do to a village.

“In return you will work for me. You will serve me. If I need help, you will help me. If I need food, you will feed me. My will will be your will. This forest is mine, this village is mine. What is yours is mine. My word and will are absolute. There will be no argument.”

He surveyed them silently. Their gazes were doubtful, fearful. The little glimmer in their eyes flickering like a candle in the wind. He felt like a tyrant, but he didn’t run a charity.

“I will give you a choice. Stay here, serve me, become strong. Or leave now, leave this forest and I will forget you.”

Azrael made sure that his voice brooked no argument. This was not a negotiation, or a discussion. This was a choice.

He saw them all hesitate, fearful and hopeful at the same time, but nobody wanted to be the first to make a move, to disturb the fragile silence.

Then, slowly, the village chief bowed his head. A second elderly man he hadn’t seen in the fight followed his example, before the rest of the villagers all bowed their head in silence. The matron, her son, the wounded men and even the little girl who had been tied up and was hiding at the back glaring at him, all bowed their heads along with the others.

He nodded to himself. This was how he’d expected it to go. They had fled from tyranny in their last village and had started a new village here. There was sure to be some anger at their own weakness. He understood that all too well. They were pathetic, but he’d just offered them what nobody had ever offered him. A way to grow past that weakness.

But just because he was willing to help them didn’t mean he was going to put up with any of their problems. He was using them. This was an exchange. Nothing more. They weren’t his problem. He just needed them to not die. He didn’t need them fighting between each other or bringing their problems to him. He also didn’t want to deal with whatever problems they had in the future. If they wished to leave, then that was okay, but what he did not need was them using him to get stronger, only to try and betray him. This was a one-time thing. He would give them strength and they would supply him with things in exchange. What they did after that didn’t bother him.

“From now on there will be three rules. Don’t betray me. Don’t betray each other. And don’t bother me unless it’s important. Anyone that breaks these rules will be punished.”

He looked at them “Dismissed.”

Azrael watched as they all hesitantly rose and dispersed to their houses. Several new notifications popped up in their wake.

Congratulations!

Through successfully commanding the people you have gained the skill [Leadership].

[Leadership]

Your men are your sword, their valour your shield.

Your commands are more likely to be executed properly. Orders which are followed are more likely to yield greater results.

[Lord’s Domain]

The people are a lord’s power.

This skill provides you with a passive, low level awareness of your domain.

Current Additional benefits:

New Beginnings: All citizens of your domain temporarily gain an increase to village building related skills.

Gratitude: The moral of your citizens will temporarily not decrease.

Respect: All decrees that you issue will yield greater results.

Congratulations!

For successfully issuing your first decree to the people of the land you have gained a level in ‘Lord’

WIS+3, END+2, STR+2.

Swiping them away satisfied he turned to head back to his own home. It seemed that his choice was correct. Already he had gained seven new stats.

Retrieving his spear he was about to pass the tree line when he had a terrible realisation. He hadn’t actually gotten round to building his house yet. He walked back and grabbed the leaving village chief by the shoulder once more.

“I need a house.”