“Why’s she here?” Shemira asked, looking down her nose at Farahlia. Standing among my elites, I was notably taller and bigger in every way than even Took and Brutus.


    “Farahlia has proven herself capable, and though there remain no small amount of quibbles between you, she has proven herself by how quickly she was able to achieve evolution to khatif. There is no doubt that she will become a central member of the Empire before long, so there is no need to alienate her or her position. After all, she was never directly adversarial to us or the Alpha’s aims, and thus deserves equitable and fair treatment.”


    Though she didn’t say as much, it was obvious that Sybil was reminding Shemira of her own introduction as one of my followers. Shemira didn’t appreciate the dig, leaning forward to lean her head against Sybil’s. Neither of the females spoke, though the subtle movements of their body language communicated a certain level of frustration on Shemira’s side and an unflappable knowledge in her own correctness from Sybil. Less than a minute later, Shemira pulled her head back and no longer spoke about her opinions on Farahlia’s presence.


    “Any other complaints?” I asked, and though there was only the barest edge to my voice, the shuffling of feet and glances at each other from my elites immediately died. They looked at me, gazes expectant.


    “Great. As Sybil mentioned, we are no longer a swarm of keelish. We are in the process of making ourselves into an empire.”


    “What is an empire?” Vefir asked as I looked into his eyes. A part of me wanted to complain at his ignorance, but more impactful than that was the fact that it was information they all deserved and I had. Not only was I establishing a country, I too was in the process of creating a civilization from the ground up.


    “A country, one ruled by a single emperor. A place where we can be safe from other countries, like the Veratocracy, and keelish can be in control. Where we can lay eggs, raise hatchlings, and live how we desire.”


    As I explained it, it was obvious that my elites like the idea more and more, but it was, unsurprisingly, Trai who spoke first.


    “Are you going to have eggs? Is that why you want to make an empire?”


    “Males don’t lay eggs.” Vefir said, a patient look on his face.


    “Yes, I know that females lay eggs. I would imagine that the Alpha’s mate will be Sybil, but I wasn’t sure if he’d have rutted a different female by now. I don’t know how long someone’ll need to be gravid before they lay, but I know how the eggs are made.”


    Trai shook her head in disappointment, and I was struck by how Trai was, well and truly, an adult. Since she was a generation below me, I’d, without conscious thought, considered her a child. However, she wasn’t that much younger than my brood. Trai had been maybe four or five months old when she’d laid, and Trai hatched before we left the Martanimis. By the time we left the Veratocracy’s lands, Trai was nearly two months old, and about halfway to adulthood by khatif standards. In the months since, she’d entered adulthood, and I hadn’t really thought about that since.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    “No, I don’t want to create an empire solely so that Sybil and I can raise hatchlings in peace. That is a part of what I want, but, beyond that, the New Empire will be the source of our continued survival. We have seen already that there are other countries that will want us all to be exterminated, and we need to be strong enough to keep them from slaughtering us all. Most of us have seen what would happen if the Veratocracy sent twenty to thirty of their High Speakers to attack us. Perhaps we’d be able to kill them all or drive them off, but there would be a huge loss of life. We wouldn’t be able to support ourselves through a couple rounds of that attack, so we need to do something now to ensure that when they do come, we can protect ourselves.


    “The Empire, The New Empire of the Saharliard, will allow us to grow even faster, to gain some measure of legitimacy in the eyes of our enemies, and be protected from being wiped out like so many mindless monsters. There is risk in announcing ourselves to the world at large, of course, since they may decide as a whole that we need to be stamped out, but if that’s the case, they’d do that anyway.”


    “Thus,” Sybil spoke up, “it is necessary that the entirety of those who will be the leadership of the New Empire under Ashlani understand what the plan is to ensure that our new nation progresses perfectly under his leadership. This will require your strict cooperation, and there are already assignments prepared for each of you.”


    I flared my frills in approval of her statement, and I watched as the few whose drive seemed to have died in these past days perk up. An assignment was all they needed, and with something to strive towards, I saw, especially in Percral, that the pride of their callings settled over them. In fact, I felt that this designation, formally being made to be the leaders over keelish and khatif alike, was the last step to unlocking their evolution to Keel. My own foolishness settled over me, and I wondered how I hadn’t consulted with [Evolutionary Exemplar] these past days to help on this final step.


    I took the time to give each individual their assignment, as well as to designate what the order of command was for each branch we were establishing, with Took serving as the general and captain or whatever else we decided to call the leader of the military and hunting branches. On the hunting side, Foire served as her second in command, while Percral headed the foreign military and Ytte the domestic. The policing and militia organization fell to Shemira, Brutus heading his own organization beneath her, the elites assigned to my guards, the Alqat.


    With each new designation and task, Farahlia looked more and more lost as she was left behind from each. As the last one to receive my command, she stood glancing back and forth while posturing as well as she could manage.


    “I will be our emperor, our Zaaktif. Ours can only truly be an empire as it grows larger and stronger. For that, I will require your assistance, Farahlia. Once there are several more Keel to fill our ranks, I will set out to find and subjugate every keelish that we can find. You’ll assist me in my journeys, serving to ensure those we find willingly fall in line below me.”


    Farahlia perked up, looking at me in disbelief. “Truly? You’ll trust me on this journey?”


    “We won’t be alone, but yes. Shemira and Sybil will be needed here, so you will assist me in my subjugation of our ignorant fellows. It will be a small while, but you’ll need to be prepared to leave when I say. Select up to five individuals to accompany you for your personal guard, and I’ll let you know when we’re ready to go.”


    “I will go and do as you command me, my Lord.” Instead of flattering and fawning, the female was genuinely grateful, and she bowed before me.


    “Very well. Now, I suspect some of you have a particularly long rest awaiting you. Go and, if possible, sleep now.”