Whispers of a Dead Empire

Chapter 35

Hello Hello! We are nearing the end of the preparation arc! Since I know that many of you may be getting antsy about stuff. From here, there are only going to be a few more chapters before we get to the adventures once again! Sorry about that, I got wrapped up in building up her character, and the mobs. Mostly due to the fact I don't feel like most dungeon cores focus on that as much as they should. From here, we have only about eight more chapters as Calixa, keeps building her empire and power base. Enjoy and let me know what you think 

I did some final tweaks on the uniform, like adding drawstrings at the bottom where the feet are and adding a rank patch on the breast and a grey patterned camouflage to top it all off. Once I was happy with that, I saved the template and worked on various destroyed designs. I really just wanted to outfit them all with clean uniforms, but I know that was impossible at the moment.

I created a handful of variations. Some were tattered and worn, while others looked like they were cut through with a sword and drowned in blood. Once I was happy with them, I saved the templates and dismissed the screen. Now all that was left were the ranks for the military.

I wanted to ensure that everything was uniform and there was a clear path of leadership. What should the lowest rank be? Should I stick with modern-day military ranks, or should I go further back in history and use terms like legionary? The thing was that I didn't quite know how ranks worked back in times of antiquity, so I would use hybrid terms. That seemed like it would be the best bet.

With that being said, the first rank would be called recruit, which all freshly summoned undead for the military, regardless of tier, would receive. As for a rank patch, I wouldn't give it one. The next rank would be legionary, which I would designate with a single thin horizontal black bar. Now, what should I create for ranks after that point? Let's see, I think it would be best to start from the top and work my way down from there. I have a captain who oversees the legion here at the stronghold. Obviously, there are higher ranks, but at the moment, that is the highest rank I will afford to anyone in the military. The next highest would be the Lieutenant, who was the second in command. But should I split up the rank? Make a first and a second lieutenant? I thought it over for a moment and decided that is what would happen.

I would designate Aaron as a second lieutenant. The first spot would still technically be open, though I did not know who would fill it yet. Maybe I would create a boss for that role. Now I had to create a ranked patch for each. Yay, for me, more designing to be done. I stared at my screen for a moment and tried to think of creating rank insignias without drawing too much from Earth.

But that was a task that I found difficult. I kept finding myself drifting towards what I know instead of what I could make, and it was a hard habit to break. I really wanted to create something unique and something that I could be proud of. I stared at my screen as I wracked my tired mind for something I could use.

I think for the officers, I would do a variation of stars and stripes. For the first lieutenant, I would give one silver star; for the second, I would give two. For the captain, it would be two stars next to a golden bar. I would thankfully work out anything higher later since I didn't have anyone up that high yet.

Now all that left was the warrant officers and everything in between. For these guys, I would give them chevrons and break them into three different tiers. A warrant officer first class, second and third. The first class would get one chevron, the second two, and the third three. They would function as commanders and masters in their fields and eventually get promoted out of the main ranks and into the officer ranks. Though I was still a bit iffy about that role and may change it in the future.

Now I just had to work on the foremost army ranks. I already had recruits and legionaries, and now I just wanted to have some diversity in ranks. Something for them to work toward and to better organize everything. What rank would come after legionary, though?

I think I would refer to those after legionaries as principles, and I would give them two dark horizontal lines. Principles would act as a squad leader, and then above them, I would have specialists, which I would denote with three dark horizontal lines.

I saved all the templates I was working on and dismissed the screen. Thank god that was finally over. It was a bit nerve-wracking for me. So much to think about, and I didn't quite have the energy to think things through. The last group that I had to make ranks for would be the honor guard, which I will name the praetorians. The only actual ranks I would give them would be a neophyte, private, sergeant, and captain, and I'll switch their outfits to a royal purple, with the officers getting black tied into the mix and Alessia getting to wear straight black with a purple cape.

As for their rank insignias, each rank would get a single shooting star that increased with the rank and with the captain getting a handprint. Once I finished with it all, I saved the templates and spawned one in for Alessia. Since she was already here, I might as well see how well it fits. I included drawstrings and tried to keep the waist a specific size; I hope I could get most of them in a one size fits all category, but I'll work on the sizes if I need to.

The clothing spawned as I lay back in the bed, determined to take a quick nap. "There is some clothing there for you to try on. If it's too small, I'll make adjustments to it when I wake up. There are two rank patches there as well; one goes on the shoulder, the other goes on the chest. If you have questions for me, wait till I wake up. I'm far too tired to care about it at the moment." I mumbled as I wrapped myself up in blankets. I could feel annoyance bubble up, which was what usually happened when I got tired. Crabbiness that stemmed from sleepiness was usually the culprit, and I didn't want to take it out on anyone. I pulled the blankets a little tighter around me and drifted off to sleep in the fuzzy warmth that surrounded me.

I awoke a few hours later feeling well-rested. My body was recovering faster than expected from all the strenuous exercises. At this rate, I could increase my training hours since I could sleep off most of the pain. I sat up and yawned, and looked around the room. Alessia was still sitting at my desk, but she was clad in the uniform that I made for her. Her hair was still tied up in that high ponytail and came down to her shoulder blades.

Her flesh was a little more opaque than before, and I could see that she had a slight tan. Two golden orbs locked onto me the second she noticed I was awake. "Good morning Alessia," I murmured through a heavy yawn. My bleary eyes looked around the room, and at that moment, I noticed I smelled, and I immediately wanted a bath. That would be the next item on my to-do list before making more clothes and going back to training. This time I wanted to practice using weapons and then on my own with my soul magic.

She gave me a bow, and her lips moved. This time, a faint whisper filled the room. One that I couldn't make out since it was so quiet. Yet, it excited me. She was so close to being able to speak, and I couldn't wait. It would make things easier than just having her write out everything.

"Anyway, how do you like the outfit? I wasn't sure that you could wear it since you are a spirit. Can you stand up and show me?" I moved my blanket back and stood up. I should really make my bed, but I was feeling lazy if I was going, to be honest.

Alessia nodded and stood and spun around. The cape that I made billowed out around her in the wind like a set of black wings. The royal purple outfit hung from her body and seemed to fit her. Maybe a bit too long, but I would make a pair of boots so they could blouse them or tuck them in. I know I said I wouldn't take too much from Earth, but I couldn't help it.

I brought up my menu and quickly designed a pair of combat boots. I wanted something lightweight yet sturdy for them. I also know that it was gonna cost me a fair bit of essence to make due to the lack of materials for it at the moment, but it couldn't be helped. I'll just ration them out to the important figures first and then work my way down. I tweaked the design for a bit of bit before eventually deciding on a boot that went part way up the shin. I scaled back the colors a bit to match the black and purple that Alessia was wearing. I worked on the sole and tread of the boot for a little while before I decided that I was happy with it.

I doubt that these boots would be all that effective in a world like this, but I had to keep up appearances after all. I spawned a pair for her and a pair for me since I decided that these boots looked kinda sexy, and it would save me time designing clothes for myself later on. I ignored the price that appeared for spawning it; I mean, what I don't know won't hurt me after all.

The familiar moats of light floated down from the ceiling and started to coalesce into the shape of the boots. While they were spawning in, I opened my menu and started to think about what I wanted to wear. I mean, I designed clothing for everyone on this domain but myself, and I wanna splurge a bit. I could figure it out while I got ready for my bath.