“So, tell me about yourself?”
Vaksavar was struggling to believe his eyes and ears. Moments ago, he had been sitting on the floor, heavy chains around his arms and legs, being essentially kept as a pet. Suddenly he was now sitting on what was essentially a golden throne with plush red cushions, the chains having been replaced with a long, flowing red cape. The rest of the room, what had been a dingy cell with a small, barred window and a plastic, translucent prison wall, had also suddenly changed, from horrible conditions to something a king might consider as too much. Everything was gold, from the walls to the table to the cutlery and chalice in front of him. The only non-gold item in the room, aside from Vaksavar himself was…
“Uh… hello, High General… What is going on?”
Lord Kenon smiled as he summoned various plates of food, all of which smelled far too good considering how average the food actually looked.
“I realised I was stifling you all too much. Archivists a few months from now will see a sudden drop then influx in birthrates or hatch rates or whatever it is you call the spawning of your young. So, while I have given the rest of your kind all an… incentive to reproduce a little, I thought I would take you on a… well, let us call it a date.”
“You have that much control over the average Rethavok? That you can force us into breeding cycles?”
Kenon waved his hand, summoning a bottle of red liquid. He poured a glass for Vaksavar first and then for himself.
“You misunderstand. What I am doing is stifling emotions. I realised I pressed the wrong buttons and had made you all unwilling to breed. I just fixed that issue. I have been tweaking my control over the Rethavok and noticing… mistakes. Those I shall fix later though. I want to hear from you. Hear about you.”
“Why?”
Kenon leaned forward, reaching for his drink and taking a sip. “Because you are a curious individual with unknown loyalties.”
“I swore loyalty to you.”
“So you would not be killed.”
“Well…” Vaksavar sighed. “Of course. I did not wish to die. I can do more by your side than I can anywhere else. I could have done more in my previous position, but you… somewhat dislodged that.”
“Would you want a return to the way things were?” Kenon asked.
“Of course I would!” Vaksavar snapped. “You keep me in chains and enslave my kind, of course I would like to go back to being one of the most respected Generals alive and not being in chains!”
“How about I make you Vice General? I cannot take the chains off you, I do not trust you enough, but you are worthy of my attention and you are an intelligent being. To kill you would be a crime to all of Rethankind when I know you have potential.”
“I do. I have potential to heal the rift between those you control and those you do not.”
Kenon smiled some more. “Exactly. I want to offer them a place with the rest of us, in exchange for their loyalty. They should not suffer out in the cold.”
“Even…” Vaksavar hesitated. “Even Rethais Rethianos, assuming he is alive?”
“Hm… Well, maybe not that little monster. Or any of your previous High Generals. But I do want to test your… potential. As you said.”
Kenon helped himself to some food. Vaksavar stared at it nervously.
“That is just food, yes?”
“It is not drugged or anything, if that is what you are asking. As I said, I have no desire to harm you. But I have no desire to let you go either. I want you by my side, a willing accomplice.”
“Very well…” Vaksavar took a small spoonful of food. It was some kind of carb-heavy stew, very heavily seasoned. Weirdly, it was also at the perfect temperature to eat, not too hot and not too cold. And it was delicious. Everything Vaksavar tried was delicious. This made Vaksavar suspicious though.
“You like the meal?”
“I do. Perhaps too much…” Vaksavar put the spoon down. “I feel like you want something from me.”
“I want you to be happy. And I want you to be willing.”
“What for?”
“Greatness.”
“But I was already great. Until you changed that.”
Kenon grunted, leaning forward. “I am not talking about being a general, someone eventually lost to the history books. You could become a demi-god. Someone who rules by my side for centuries.”
“I do not want to rule over slaves.”
“And we will not. Changes will be made. We shall start small…” Kenon smiled again. “Eat up. We have work to do.”