“I do not determine this moment,” Queen Diana continued. “I do little more than put aside my pride and be the first. Leviathan waits to see if the peoples of Great Britain will do as the Beasts do, and follow their Ruler and their Queen.
“He is waiting for you, the people of these Islands.” She took a deep breath, and everyone heard a single thump, and they all knew what it was.
It was the Queen of England, taking a knee to a greater power.
“Join me, and take a knee to Emperor Leviathan. You cannot lie to Him, do not bother if you are not sincere, you fool nothing and no one. Take that knee and make this oath... and if you cannot, if the people of England and Scotland, Wales and Ireland, Man and Wight and all the stones we call home cannot, then we shall flee our homeland and find another from which to rebuild.”
It hung in the air for a long moment, among the cars that had stopped on the streets, the trains that had glided to a halt, the trams and bicycles that were no longer moving, the offices and the front lines.
Even the Aquatics paused, looking at the sky, sensing in their own way who was listening, and their attacks stilled for a moment at the thought of what might happen here.
“Emperor Leviathan, Greatest of all Whales,” Queen Diana began slowly.
Knees slowly struck the ground. One by one, waves spreading from the first to do so, following their Queen, who had led them in a rough peace and now in true war, they went down to take this pledge. Quiet voices repeated that name, and it hung in the air with a power all its own.
“We, the people of Great Britain.”
“We, the people of Great Britain,” repeated in whispers and calls, mostly quiet, some emphatic, some disbelieving, many reluctant, most resolved despite all that.
“Ask Your forgiveness for our transgressions against Your People and the Tribes that follow You.”
“Ask Your forgiveness for our transgressions against Your People and the Tribes that follow You.”
“We offer ourselves in service to You, and our children, and all that come after us, that we be known as one of the Tribes of Emperor Leviathan.” This was also repeated slowly, the consequences to be imagined, but also to be accepted.
“Let the islands of Great Britain be ever known as one small part of the writ of Emperor Leviathan. If You call, We shall answer. If You Order, we shall serve.”
The words seemed to rise and harmonize, synchronize and echo in the air like quiet thunder. Listening Aquatics with their heads raised seemed to be flinching with every syllable.
“Please accept our sincere Oath and our service, and Command us as You will.”
There was a pause, and every Human and Aquatic on the islands shivered at the same moment. A massive, distant Will, the power of a True Emperor, however light, touched those Words, and those who had voiced them. Those who had merely mouthed them could feel a sharp tearing in their throats, choking and gasping, while those who had been reluctant yet sincere felt their teeth and tongues ringing with the confirmation and acknowledgement.
The sound didn’t come from the ground, or the sky, or even the waters. It seemed to rise from within their bones, vibrating out as old, old magic swirled, something older than the Human species and far more potent than the magic any Sage knew of. It sung and rolled within the bones and the blood, the mind and the soul, a Song they didn’t know, but would never forget for the rest of their lives.
The Great Beast and True Emperor Leviathan had Spoken!
------
I released a breath long-held as I heard Leviathan Emperor’s acknowledgement reverberate across all the islands. Queen Diana sobbed in relief, recognizing what it meant, while her advisors all gasped and shook, a couple of them gasping and coughing badly as they did so.
All of the others turned to look at them, the two members of Parliament flushing deeply under all of those gazes as they realized what that meant.
Queen Diana regarded them icily as she rose to her feet. “It would be best if the two of you left Britain soon.”
Both of them swallowed, staring at her, and then their eyes dropped in despair and rejection. They knew that before they exited the castle that they would be relieved of all duties and authority, and their careers were over. They could only retreat ashen-faced from the room.
“There is agitation among the Aquatics,” I murmured, looking around at nothing, tapped into a Commune with Nature VIII+1 that encompassed the whole of the British Islands. “They are now aware they are in the territory of Leviathan Emperor. Leviathan has not seen fit to claim a territory in the past, nor has a Land Tribe ever bowed to Him. This establishes a powerful precedent, and is exactly what the Three High Emperor Powers did not want to happen.”
Queen Diana closed her eyes, reaching out with her own Awareness. “Yes. I can... feel the change in the writ of authority. I did not even realize it was there...” She shook her head in amazement at the subtle revelation.
“It is because you are a Ruler, and your tribe has backed you. You would not be able to feel it if they did not. Being a Sage was only part of the requirement.” I bent Noble slightly, drawing her eyes to the Will Tokens hanging from it. “You should be able to feel these far more clearly now.”
She stared at them for a long moment, starting to raise a hand towards them, and then, surprising her advisors, bowed to them slightly. “I do.”
“You are servants of Leviathan now, and soon enough all Beasts will know and recognize this. It comes with, ah, responsibilities and awareness that you and your people will have to learn. While the Emperors largely ignore conflict between minor Tribes, at the higher levels you also carry His name with you, and trying to wield it as a weapon or shield without His approval generally carries a death sentence for any Beast who would do so.
“If you have Contracted or Summoned Beasts you can speak with, they can cover this in far more depth and nuance than I can. Their instincts are far more accurate than written rules of etiquette and behavior, and Humans by and large lack awareness and understanding of the older world they live in.”
The Queen of England took a deep breath. “May we speak with Him?” she asked carefully, honorifics and all.
“I believe all of your advisors know they do not have the status to speak with Leviathan Emperor.” Queen Diana turned around to look at them, and, still looking a bit pale, all of her court, Sages or not, bowed their heads in shameful acknowledgement.
“Come.” I swirled up a Portal that looked like a nexus of waters, and stepped through. Queen Diana looked down at her robe, shrugged to herself, and followed through after me.
---
The Confluence of Waters dropped us on a long dark surface. Waters seemed to be streaming by at unnatural speeds, the winds and waves misty and unreal to look upon. Queen Diana turned around to regard our surroundings, wondering where she was, and paused as she saw the dorsal fin towering higher than the greatest antique sailing ships behind her.
I knelt formally, and Queen Diana hastily followed suit. “Queen Diana of the Human tribes of Great Britain and Healer Fae greet Leviathan Emperor!” Noble began to hum along as my words hit several key Notes, and the Manafield thrummed around us, visibly changing and streamlining the incredible, casual power on display all about us.
Notably, we could now see through it, and beheld a whole lot of titanic Whales riding the Seastream of Leviathan Emperor!
“THE TINY ONES ARE HERE,” the air thrummed all around us, impossibly bass and flowing as whalesong became words. “WE GO TO CLAIM OUR NEW TERRITORY. ISLAND QUEEN, YOUR TRIBE WILL ASSIST US IN THIS FIGHT.”
“This one receives Your order, My Emperor!” Queen Diana accepted instantly, knowing that was the only acceptable reply.
“This one offers congratulations to Leviathan Emperor! Your Imperial Majesty has also claimed the North Pole?” I asked Him, reading into His words.
“YES, LITTLE HEALER.” That fact was also going to be shaking the seas. “WHITE WOLF EMPEROR CLAIMS THE ICE, AND I CLAIM THE WATERS.”
Such could generate conflicts if the spheres overlapped, but Leviathan was not a creature of Ice, and so did not care. White Wolf was not of the Water, and so also did not care. Together, the two could create an incredibly potent domain together!
It also meant I had to make a Pyramid for the two of them, and fairly soon. “This one still needs finish off the new Death Zone in Auric Tyrant Emperor’s domain, Your Imperial Majesty. This one will fulfill her promised obligations!”
“THERE WILL BE GREAT NEED OF YOUR HEALING SHORTLY, LITTLE HEALER,” the Greatest Whale stated. He could not command me, per se, but He could certainly strongly hint!
“That is why this one is here, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“WE COME FROM THE NORTH THROUGH ALL THE SEAS. BRING YOUR TRIBE, ISLAND QUEEN. THERE WILL BE A GREAT FEAST THIS DAY!”
The swirling nexus of Waters appeared beside her once more. Queen Diana gave another glance to me, still kneeling there, although not His vassal. I nodded once to her, and she rose and stepped through it without another word.
Speaking with and advising Leviathan was a status earned, and her people were fresh new Vassals, not an Emissary of multiple Emperors. In some ways, her status was above mine, as she had a tribe beneath her of millions, and in other ways it was less, as I had the acknowledgements of multiple Emperors.
It was the way of the world beyond Humans!
------
Unlike the devouring of the White-Shelled Salamanders, the Whales announced they were coming blatantly the whole way. Those seas were now their territories, the writ of Leviathan Emperor, by the will of the tribes that dwelt upon the islands within them. Further out into the ocean, yes, the situation was in flux, but the coastal waters were now those of Leviathan, and He was coming to claim them.
The fact that Sea Tribes He loathed and had conflicts with for ages were packed into them was only a great bonus.
The weakest-willed of the Sea Tribes did indeed break and run, knowing what was coming. The Sea Emperors behind all this did try to maintain continuity, outnumbering the Whale Emperors as they did... but when the Human Sages joined those Whales, well, that was no longer true.
The primary conflict was always in Water, Sound, and Psychic measures, and the Whales had incredible resistance and power in those areas. Poison might be trotted out, but was minor and of lesser use against the Whales.
Humans had no such restrictions on what they might throw against the Aquatics, and with the Whales energetically countering all the magics of the Aquatics with brutal force, they were perfectly free to unload.
The depths of the seas had never been so lit up as they were for that day. Tens of thousands of Whales, many of them mounted by dozens of Human mages, tore through the seas in a devouring wave of flesh and colossal displays of magic. Waves a mile high smashed and clashed in displays of power, suns and storms lit off in the depths, mountains were raised and then razed, Light flashed and flared and cut, and Whalesongs in dreadful harmony Sang like horns of war and swept the seas with bone-shattering power.
The Whales feasted on packed Aquatics like they had never dared to do so in their history. One by one, the Tribes and their Emperors quit those seas, driven back by the combined power of the Cetacean and the Primate Tribes.