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The Compassionate Despot

  "Hmm, I don't see anything amiss with the deal though I would like to add an additional clause before I except." I asked, I wasn't firm on it but I would like to know before hand what type of person or rather Entity this daughter is.

  "I'm intrigued, here for so little a time yet you desire something more than knowledge, what is to Entities as Money is to Mortals?" The Honorable Tyrant asked.

  "I would like to meet the person who might command my services directly" I asked adding a bit of flair to my normal everyday language.

  "You can meet her, though keep your wits about you young lad" the Honorable Tyrant stated with a smile and dash of humor, though what charm he might have was ruined by those black holes that he had for eyes. The Lord of the Sunlit Night leaned over to an attendant, and whispered into their ear, the attendant nodded before crisply turning around and walking out.

  "Now while we await my Daughter, let me see what paradoxes you have available, my daughter is some distance away so we have plenty of time" the Honorable Tyrant stated as leaned slightly back into his plush armchair.

  "A measure of potential, or a view into my personality?" I asked the probing question, I assumed that by seeing what Paradoxes I had the most understanding then he could gauge who I am.

  "Why can't it be both with a mixture of healthy curiosity, Hmm?" The Tyrant stated dramatically as his hands moved with his words.

  "In that case I have, The [Towering Depths], the [Roving Tides], [Mournful Conquest], and [Night's Shadow]" I stated and their was look of confusion as I mentioned both [Night's Shadow] and [Roving Tides].

  "Interesting, I know of the Origins of the [Roving Tides] and [Night's Shadow] both powerful but irrational figures" He stated as the Lord moved forward clasping his hands together in a show to interest.

  "Tell me about it, I met the Origin of [Roving Tides], though I haven't met this [Lady of Anboto] character, though her paradox doesn't interest me so I don't care" I explained shrugging.

  "Yes the Origin of [Roving Tides] is certainly a personality from what I hear at least, and wouldn't pick either of their own domains" the Lord of the Sunlit Night nodded along as he spoke.

  "Okay how about [Mournful Conquest] or [Towering Depths]?' I asked curiously, but just then a crisp triple knock on the door interrupted the Lord as he was about to speak. A feminine voice spoke but it wasn't light or airy it was neutral but carried in air of authority even in that neutrality.

  "It is me Father, you requested my presence?" She asked on the other side of the door.

  "Come in, come In, daughter." The Tyrant, stated warmly, and the daughter opened the door and entered. She was tall with a strong but slim build like a mix of a warrior and a princess though the princess part mainly came from her cascade of blonde locks and a silken gown, almost like a Victorian period drama yet the scenes of charity and tyranny was unsettling. Her eyes bore the same all consuming black holes that immediately offset any beauty she possessed as she stared down at me without emotion.

  "I am the Compassionate Despot, daughter and heir to the Honorable Tyrant, Lord of the City of Sunlit Night, you are?" She stated her name and title line for line like a pompous aristocrat. No wonder we Americans rebelled if every introduction was a small paragraph.

  "I am a possible recruit, I lack a bound Paradox, so please call me Eldritch" I stated politely as I offered my hand but I refused to bow and do all the proper addresses and the like that I had read about in history class. Instead of responding she turned to her father, the pair exchange looks for a moment.

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  "Yes, I plan on recruiting young Eldritch here, very rarely is it that we can pick a paradox, and if we invest in him we could get a very useful servant and then ally" I had been about to protest about the servant but until he finished his sentence with ally.

  "I see, once you bind a paradox we should spar, I assume you are from the mortal plains?" She asked as if she already knew.

  "Yes, on a newly integrated world" I stated and she nodded along, her face didn't seem to move at all, unlike her father who was very lively with his facial movements.

  "Yes, you ascended mortals always have interesting paradoxes... Wait a moment why do I see a connection to the Divine?" She paused half way through her sentence with her eyes squinted in suspicion.

  "HA—, you noticed yes our young fellow here is a Tri-Nature, his mortal self has a Cosmic Origin, and he has a part of himself stretched to the Divine Plains!" Her Father stated as he clapped his hands together as he smiled brilliantly. Once again the eyes ruined it.

  "Not bad, you might just make a good lieutenant, or mercenary" she stated before she turned to her father.

  "Yes Darling you may leave" The Tyrant stated lightly shooing her off.

  "Thank you father" she stated before turning around and leaving.

  "Her Mother is the Cruel Heroine, a frosty one my wife, she was slain by a now dead Entity, Despotissa isn't powerful enough to bring her back yet, until then she's gonna be a bit odd" he stated before looking off to distance before resuming.

  "Hmm, I think I'll go with it, I accept your offer" I said offering my hand to shake his hand to which he took he smiled.

  "Bring in the contract, please?" He stated and one of his servants exited the room before continuing.

  "I want you to sign as Eldritch, it will work as long as you recognize it as a name, once you bind a paradox we will have to resign, but thats a small matter." The Tyrant explained taking two long weirdly shaped pens from seemingly nowhere.

  The servant carrying the rolled up document came back in a minute or two and offered the document to the Honorable Tyrant. He scanned over it and signed the first line with his signature before handing it to me. The words turned from something that looked vaguely like Cyrillic script into clean English.

  ...Contract

  1. The Entity denoted on the first line, will offer access to the Arcanum of the City of Sunlit Night, and their own personal anecdotes to the Entity Denoted on line two.

  2. The Entity denoted on the first line, will not intentionally cause harm that exceeds the requirements for training the Entity denoted on line two.

  3. The Entity Denoted on line two, will serve in Five campaigns of a military nature from the start of an official declaration of war to a singed peace treaty for the Entity Denoted on the first line.

  Signed: The Honorable Tyrant

  Signed:.

  ...

  Seeing everything was in order I took the pen and route in nice cursive handwriting 'Eldritch.' The document flashed over and rolled up into a ball. I dismissed a system notification that told me I signed a magically binding contract.

  "Okay, now thats over with, Serious Jester?" He asked and a servant appeared from the wall, a figure with strong posture and in a jesters outfit.

  "Yes, milord?" The Serious Jester asked leaning down crisply. The Tyrant flicked his hand and like a magician a folded piece of paper appeared.

  "Take this list and guide Eldritch around the Arcanum" The Tyrant said handing the note to the Jester before turning back to me.

  "Now Eldritch me and you will meet every other day or so, the end and start of each day is denoted by a clock tower, coherent time is hard to keep here Paradox we have to to import it, so only the clocktower remains consistent in the whole city." He explained something that sounded completely nonsensical, importing coherent time?

  With that the Tyrant was off.

  ...

  Back to the tutorial

  Mortal plains, Kien's P.O.V

  ...

  I felt hands pull me up, looking back I saw a misshapen staircase of rock and webbing, that would have given a work place safety official a heart attack. Letting them, knowing they where under Anastasia's guidance I passed out with their feeling of being carried like a small child again.

  I awoke some time later in my bed by the smithy. My body ached as it complained to me belatedly, ignoring it favor of gaping stomach, I stumbled up and to the puppet that was happily cooking a giant bowl of stew. Feasting on the stew, the various flavors mixing in wonderfully. Stretching my body I walked up to Anastasia'a mad scientist laboratory. Coming to large door I knocked on it three times before Anastasia opened the door.

  "Kien you're up!" She said I could tell that she was doing the spider equivalent of smiling. Looking down at the I returned the smile.

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