With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Mr Zoat · 2025-05-18T08:19:58+0100

TFTwink said:
Error in the markup.

Darko said:
"they would"

Duke Long said:
'they'
'to'
'built'
'lever'?
'is'
'recognised'
'effective'?

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · 2025-05-18T08:37:33+0100

Mr Zoat said:
Mid-Autumn, IC 690

It's been six years since the Saderan legions under Prince Zorzal El Caesar fought here. The lagomorph tribes who once lived here are physically stronger and faster than unaugmented humans, but have only cottage industry and little higher learning. Unlike most tribal societies I've encountered, they also have a highly uneven birth rate. Almost all of their children are female, with the few males being physically unimposing and getting closeted as a result.

Ah, a return to the 'Gate' world, and the continuation of Ringified-OL's story. And of course there are bunny-girl tribes, with a lady-heavy gender bias. I suspect we can guess what that subplot title refers to, then...

The other oddity is that the female warriors raid their neighbours to acquire male slaves whom them can rape and use for non-combat related labour. I'm not sure if there aren't enough of their own males to maintain the population or they just don't like sharing. They used to be a constant irritation in the Saderan Empire's border regions, which is one of the things that promoted the invasion.

I'm guessing their males just can't keep up with the demands of the ladies. Especially if they're not overly fit and strong.

The other is… It's not like the Empire doesn't know what happens when warriors fight soldiers. Slaves and new fertile land available at a relatively low price? Who could resist?

Prince Diabo's eyes shine with the orange light as he stares through the ground at the decaying remains beneath it.

An inevitability of such cultures. There must always be expansion, after all.

"How.. many died here?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know. This is a long way from my temple, and I wasn't paying specific attention to it when it happened. Why-?"

And the legions probably didn't bother recording the deaths of 'primitives'.

"We tracked the progress of the campaign. Every.. battle. The legions didn't bother taking any of their weapons with them due to the low quality of the metal."

"Yes?"

Just plenty of prisoners, I suppose.

"I see the corpses of warrior bunnies, but very few weapons. And I see rope around their arms and legs."

"Ah. Probably the old or very young, then. Those who couldn't survive the march to the slave markets in the Saderan Empire proper."

Heartlessly pragmatic. And entirely what I'd expect of the psuedo-Roman Imperial troops.

"But there is work for the old and the young! And we were settling the area, they didn't need to march them anywhere."

"I'm not sure what you want me to say, Prince Diabo. The officers of the legion were looking for an easy profit, and other than the legionaries mustering out in the area, there weren't any settlers to pay them for the sub-prime slaves. They might have gotten less money than they theoretically could by only taking the most physically able, but it was a simple and reliable profit. If you scan in more detail-."

...Oh. I certainly hope they kept records of who oversaw the sale of the captives, then, and question them about the loss of lives.

His eyes flare again.

"Small skeletons, and skeletons with a low mineral content. They were the old and the young."

"I'm a little surprised that you're surprised. When was the last time you saw an old slave in the market?"

I doubt they value intellect and learning in their slaves, especially if they consider them primitives.

"I live in the capital! Naturally, we get the highest quality slaves, that doesn't mean that the rest should just-. It doesn't mean that the rest should just be killed because it's too much effort."

"We are planning to start a rather large war."

But there's a difference between the killing of enemies in hot-blooded battle, and the casual slaughter of captives in a cold-blooded desire for profit. I see Diabo is strongly inclined towards honourable and civilised wars, not this...

"There's a difference between fighting another nation and killing bound prisoners. Or do you not see it that way?"

"Oh, no, I agree completely. I just wanted to get you in the right headspace for your next meeting. And to see how assertive you have become."

Ah, an object lesson for the young man, then. Something to push him towards sympathy for the people he's meeting with. But not into full compassion, of course.

Three years managing the Saderan Empire's gun development project has caused him to grow a bit more of a backbone. And he needed it. Alchemy isn't exactly a popular field for Imperial nobility, and it turns out that when the main delay in gathering materials is the time it takes to collect and boil vast quantities of excrement… Well, the isolated location of the works wasn't primarily down to a need for secrecy, and the smell also resulted in the place being run by slaves and a couple of slightly crazed alchemists who needed royal patronage.

For the potassium nitrate needed for gunpowder, of course. Sulphur is easier, but, well... There's a reason classic D&D 'Fireball' material components include sulphur and guano.

The insults rather died off once he demonstrated the first wyvern-dropped barrel bomb, and ended completely when the first production model cannon battery was demonstrated against a stone wall.

"Then I suppose I should begin."

Heh. Especially amongst those who didn't see the Earth forces in battle, I bet. I see Ring-OL is pushing this world towards a more Renaissance-level of technology, whether the local gods like it or not.

He raises his left hand and I glow for a moment before we transition, appearing in the middle of a warrior bunny encampment near the edge of their former range. They were expecting him-. Us, but swords and spears are drawn despite how useless they'd be. I take a moment to study the women here, and it is just women. Bunny warriors from outlying territories who didn't hear their former queen's call to arms, reinforced by survivors and refugees. But this part of the country was sparsely populated for a reason. The soil is poor, there isn't much game, and the closest people they could raid have solid walls and defences. There was just about enough for their former numbers, but from the looks of things that is no longer the case. In addition, many are carrying wounds that haven't had time to heal, or amputations where the wounds couldn't be healed.

Desperate and starving. The kind of people that do foolish things that might get them killed...

Their best option was the raid the newly build Saderan settlements, but they know perfectly well what would happen if they tried that.

"I am Prince Diabo El Caesar. I am here to speak with your chief."

The Saderan legions would come back and finish the job they started, without mercy, of course. And the only Lapines remaining would be slaves...

Turning up without an escort, either of praetorians or blunderbusseers, is a statement in its own right. In other places it would suggest weakness but on Falmart, where everyone has heard of Apostles, it's a statement of power. 'I am the next thing to a god', it says. 'Take a shot if you like, I could do with a laugh'.

I wonder if the rabbit-folk have their own gods, or some who at least look at them with fond amusement, or if they got wiped out by stronger deities...

"I am Chief Eithne. What do you want?"

Muscular, not wearing much, clipped ears and manacles indicating a former slave. The chains attached to the manacles have had a leaver shoved into them to pry them apart, but I'd guess that the manacles themselves are more than their primitive metallurgy can deal with. She looks irritable and tired.

Removing them would be a good show of power and mercy, as would healing them, but I suspect Diabo would need to be more invested to muster that much Avarice.

"Hungry? Allow me."

He waves his left hand, and a table laden with foods appears from subspace. Cured sausage, jars of pickled and otherwise preserved vegetables and fruit, and a smaller quantity of fresh bread and fruit. Jugs of water and wine. Nothing that cost a great deal in the capital's markets, but all things the locals desperately could do with.

They're probably subsisting on forage and hunting, but the more people around, the more they need to feed them and that isn't sustainable...

The local women can't quite help themselves twitch towards it, but they control themselves a moment later.

The chief looks bitter. "You know that we can't refuse. Just say what you want in exchange."

Kind of sad that they're so resigned, but she probably understands very well their tenuous position...

"The Saderan Empire will soon be at war. Next year, most likely. Certainly not longer than another year after that. Our former auxiliary suffered significant casualties during our war with the Men in Green. I wish for the warriors of your tribe to take their place. You would serve as scouts and skirmishers, under my command."

And now I'm getting flashes of Viera, from Final Fantasy's Ivalice setting. Their warriors are probably not too different to what they'll be doing here.

"At war." She tilts her head slightly. "So the Empire will have fewer legions protecting its people."

"True. So it would take us a little longer to completely exterminate you if you tried to attack us than it would otherwise take. But that it part of why I'm making an offer at all."

Better to have them as friends than a distraction.

"And what do we get?"

"Food. Water. Our forbearance. And for those of you who complete the ten year term of service…" He looks around the gathering. "Imperial citizenship."

Which would mostly protect them from slavery, if nothing else.

There's a quiet intake of breath from all around.

"You would be granted an area of the former Warrior Bunny lands, and your occupancy would be recognise by the Empire. You would be subject to our laws… But you could actually live, rather than…" He looks around again, this time focusing on the tents and cook fires. "This."

A very tantalising proposition. But can they open up long enough to consider it fairly?

The chief snorts. "And what is the chance that we will survive? What stops you killing us off just before that?"

"You, convincing us that you can be useful as free women, and not just as slaves. And frankly, what we're offering costs us little."

But to them, it's so very, very much. He's certainly learned the benefits of negotiating from a position of power.

And having scouts with their physical abilities, who don't need hard-to-provision horses to remain mobile and effective, would be very useful. People remember Agincourt, but there were battles in the same campaign where the English were caught out of position and overrun. We need to make sure that doesn't happen, because it will be another generation before the Saderan Empire can be as profligate with manpower as it was before the gate opened.

They took that many losses? Kind of impressive, especially with how quickly the conflict ended with Diabo's interference.

The chief is clearly on the verge of saying yes, but a little-

"I also took the liberty of purchasing others of your kind in the slave markets. Including two males. Naturally, the would be placed under your command."

Given his potential funds, he could probably have cleaned them out entirely. But this is only the hook, not the line or sinker.

-push, and her eyes light up, and he has her.

"I agree."

I see he's learned to use the more esoteric aspects of the Orange Light quite well.

Prince Diabo smiles, and gestures to the table.

"Then eat, drink and be merry. For tomorrow, you march."

'We march' would have been more friendly, but I doubt he'd be walking with them either way.

So, three years since the last 'Gate' segments. I'm surprised Ring-OL hasn't tried to leave yet, but evidently he'd rather beat the local gods at their own game, and a few decades as a Ring is hardly an inconvenience. And it looks like he's trying to change up the game, by bumping their tech level up a bit. Wondering how the local gods are taking that bit of gamesmanship?

Coltsguy · 2025-05-18T08:39:06+0100

More GATE? Nice.

WereDragon · 2025-05-18T10:32:52+0100

Mr Zoat said:
Mid-Autumn, IC 690

Nice to see this universe again. Harkens back to the early episodes when Power Rings Were Awesome.

Prince Diabo

Paul's disciple is coming along well. Learning the power of bribery and of turning problems into features.

With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

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