Amelia and Ophelia: The Former Grand Duchess and Saintess.

While Spithe was busy with his mission, Amelia and Ophelia made their way to a mass grave which was close to them, its location being given by Irly who had sent a massive list containing the locations of more mass graves. Once they arrived at the sight, they found it was close to an abandoned clan village that was in ruins thanks to the Hinterlands Army when they came to kill and subjugate everyone. At the grave site, the dual monarchs saw the familiar faces of the Violet Brigade who were all sweaty and tired, with their armors dirty and banged up as if they had just finished fighting something. Smiles were on their faces once they all saw the dual monarchs approach and they all walked forward to greet them. 

"Hey there Your Majesties! It has been a while has it not?" Lily Rymor, the brunette and pretty leader of the Violet Brigade greeted with a smile and a bow, followed by the rest of the Violet Brigade 

"Hello there Lily, a pleasure to see you again. Although I wished it was under better circumstances" Amelia replied with a small smile as she nodded at them 

"I feel the same way Your Majesty, but can't be picky nowadays hahaha" The brunette mage replied with a small laugh 

"Indeed...Anyways, where is the grave?" Amelia asked 

"You are standing above it" 

{!} 

Both monarchs looked down and took a few steps back, with both of them having shocked expressions on their faces. 

"Well, its one of them Your Majesties" The raven-haired Erma Hal chimed in as she looked at the dual monarchs 

"Explain" Ophelia ordered as she looked at the adventurers 

"Well Your Majesty, we have dug out three other graves nearby and the area and they are all equally spaced, the 4th one is right below you, we just haven't dug it up yet" The blue-haired skirmisher Pillia Yris answered her with a straight face, pointing to some mounds of dirt that were behind the adventurers 

"Yep! We were surprised as well when we realized that there was more than just one of these things!" The twins, Gilly and Tilly added

After hearing there were 3 other graves, the dual monarchs moved past the adventurers and walked to the top of the dirt mound. Their eyes went wide as they saw 3 massive mass graves, with bodies stacked up in an unorderly fashion. The corpses in these graves were all in different states of decay, some of them were dressed in tattered or burned clan robes while others were wearing nothing at all. 

"Seems to me that the Hinterlands Army was more productive than we thought...to think they could hide all of these bodies while we marched southward...disgusting" Ophelia commented as her eyes narrowed and a scowl formed on her face 

"This is going to take a lot of Holy Magic...why don't we-" 

"Why not use the carnomancy magic given to you by Goddes Histy, combine it with your Holy Magic, and see what happens" Ophelia cut her beloved off with a suggestion that made Amelia reveal a surprised expression 

"Right...we can...but I am unsure of how successful it could be" Amelia replied to her with a thinking expression 

"We can try with one corpse then, if it works...we can do the rest, if not...the standard Holy Magic combo will do the job" The raven-haired empress stated 

"Right...let's do it then, I always wanted to use the new carnomancy powers I got, but I never really saw a way for me to use them, then again I never really tried" The blonde empress replied with a shrug 

A few minutes later, they pulled a body from the mass grave before them. It was the body of a young teenage orc girl whose flesh was a dark grey color and half of it was gone from the body, revealing some dirtied bones underneath. The tattered clothes on the dead orc's body told signs of her being cut open by a bladed weapon of some sort across her chest and that was what killed her. 

"This corpse looks good enough, let's give your powers a try" Ophelia stated as she and the Violet Brigade, plus some Halkare Imperial Engineers watched from the side 

"Ok...here goes nothing" Amelia said as she closed her eyes and focused on her carnomancy magic, unlike when she was reviving people in the Kingdom of Amma, she was assisted by the God Harcun who brought back those whose only remnants of life were their souls or even some limbs while she brought back those who still had their bodies intact. Amelia was expected to bring everyone here back regardless of the state of their body, with the carnomancy magic she was granted being centered around manipulating flesh, blood, and bones. Creating and removing flesh as well fell under carnomancy. 

Steadying her breathing, Amelia's back suddenly sprouted several tendrils that were black and gold in color, the colors shifting around as they moved from her back and towards the body on the ground. The tendrils wrapped around the legs at first before making their way up the rest of the body, giving Amelia the feeling of whatever she was touching on the body. From the dirty and grimy bones to the rough and dead skin, it sent shivers down Amelia's spine but she steeled herself as she needed to see this through. The tendrils snaked around the corpse and into what remained of the internal portions of the body, finding rotten organs that were far from ever being repaired. 

'Fwoooo....let's do this' Amelia thought as she began to channel Holy Magic and Carnomantic magic into the tendrils 

The tendrils began to glow a soft hum of black and gold as the tendrils securely wrapped around the limbs and torso of the corpse, lifting it into the air. The carnomancy magic manipulated the dead flesh and bones of the body, trying to get them into proper position, creating new sections of dead flesh that was being pumped with Holy Magic to give it life once more. The process was tiring but after a few minutes, Amelia shouted out 

<Resurrection!>

As the body of the young orc was finished and placed back slowly and safely on the ground. Amelia's tendrils disappeared back into her back and everyone waited with baited breath as they looked upon the now-breathing body. 

"HUFF....HUFFFF....Haaa....so it worked" The young orc girl stated as her eyes went wide and darted around while her breathing got heavier as she took it all in, with everyone else watching having the same reaction she did. 

As the young girl sat up, she locked eyes with Amelia before she stood up and walked over to the blonde empress before kneeling and then bowing in dogeza form, with her forehead near the ground. 

"I am Hanily, the former chief warrior of the Huraza Clan...I am thankful that you have brought me back to life...the Goddess of Creation told us in the afterlife that someone with the power to bring back the dead through the manipulation of flesh and bone, a magic bestowed by the Gods" The young orc replied as she kept her head close to the ground 

"I am thankful for your name and your welcome. I will be reviving the rest of your people-" 

"Wait!" Hanily cried as she raised her head and then quickly stood up, looking at the woman before her 

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Amelia asked as she looked at her with a tilted head

"Before you revive all of us, I must tell you that there will be those who will still need convincing to join your cause, despite the Goddess' words. My clan, the Huraza Clan has already sworn our loyalty to your nation through our oath with the Goddess, so rest assured that once we are brought back, my clan shall do our best to assist and I know my chief will personally wish to meet you once he is back on his feet" The orc girl added with a small nod 

"Alright then, thank you for the information. We will be spending about a few weeks to revive everyone however, so once we are done bringing all of you in these graves back, you will have to stay inside a city known as Outreach while we rebuild your clan villages that will be turned into towns and cities" The blonde empress told her with a small smile that made Hanily's heart skip a beat and blush as she felt a wave of calmness and reassurance wash over her 

Once Hanily moved aside, Amelia looked at her beloved who was wearing a smile on her own face and nodding at her to begin. Prompting the blonde empress to get ready to begin her duty. It took a full hour until Amelia was able to bring everyone in the 4 mass graves back to life. Each time, she would use her tendrils to pick up 50 corpses and pump carnomantic and Holy Magic into these bodies to bring them back, with the carnomancy creating new flesh, nerves, bones and muscles while the Holy Magic restored the dead body and filled it back with the original soul of the dead person. After finishing her job, there were 3 clans that had been brought back thanks to her efforts, the formerly aforementioned Huraza Clan of orcs, the Kitaro Clan of Boar beastkin and the Dentei Clan of harpies. 

Amelia also felt extremely tired and worn out by the end, something that Ophelia remedied as she embraced her lover and held her tight, reassuring her with a deep and love field kiss on the lips and pouring her own magic from her nearly limitless supply into Amelia's body to rid her of her tiredness. 

Once the clans were all brought back and organized, they were placed into a convoy of wagons that were sent on their way northward towards Outreach. 

As the wagons and their occupants finally disappeared out of sight, Amelia breathed a sigh of relief as she fell into the arms of her beloved, despite her being rid of her tiredness earlier, she was still mentally exhausted from the immense magic she had to output to bring these people back, her SS-Rank magic capacity always needing constant resupply after each successful resurrection. 

"Are you ok Amelia?" Ophelia asked her with a concerned expression as she looked down at her 

"I am Ophie. Just a little tired as all, this was way more draining than last time" Amelia replied to her with a smile she looked up at her and placed her right hand on Ophie's right cheek, drawing a smile from her beloved as Ophelia leaned in and the two locked lips again 

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The next few weeks were spent going around their newly captured territories and digging up mass grave after mass grave and resurrecting the people inside these graves, most of them had the sane reaction of thanking Amelia for her services and promised their loyalty on the spot to the dual monarchs. Some however, decided to be fucking assholes and basically insulted the monarchs for taking too long before riding away in the wagons to Outreach, although those who did were given a severe beating by the others who were also resurrected. 

As the weeks went by, the last of the people in these mass graves were brought back to life with their bodies and souls intact. Amelia, who was always exhausted after reviving a group, was able to get by because Ophelia served as her battery when her own magical energy was depleted. With the job now done and the front to the south now stabilized, the dual monarchs went to Outreach two weeks later, to meet up with all of the newly gathered heads of these clans that they had managed to bring back from the dead. 

Arriving at Outreach, the dual monarchs saw that the city was now sprawling with these newly resurrected people walking about and interacting with one another. Irly had sent reports about those who arrived quickly adapting to the situation they were in and began asking to set up shops like ones that sold trinkets, blacksmiths or restaurants and cafes, even magical shops where one could sell magical items or teach magic for a price. It looked to the dual monarchs that most of the people here were intending to stay and that did bring a smile to their faces. 

"Do you think they will agree with what we will say later Ophie?" Amelia asked as the carriage trudged along the well-paved road towards the main meeting hall in the center of the city

"Well...I hope they do in all honesty. I would hate having to deal with some group that just wants to have their old clan restored and not be integrated into the empire. While it would mean ultimately isolating them, it would also show that we are fine with those we help just taking it for granted. We cannot show that later, we have to show them that they no longer have a choice to restore their old clan, that they are now on a new continent with new management that will care for them" Ophelia replied to her as they both looked out the window 

"And if they don't?" 

"I have a counter for that. A simple showing of the majority. Those clan leaders can claim all they want to be the representatives of their clans, but if the people they represent show that they wish to join us, then there will be leeway for us to challenge them on their claim" The raven-haired empress explained with a smirk 

"Ohhh....I hope it works then" The blonde empress replied with a nod of her own 

"Oh it will...At least I think it will...we will just have to wait and see, plus if all else fails. We can just bank on your magic" 

About 15 minutes later, the dual monarchs arrived at the main meeting hall called the "Great House" as it was the second largest building in the city besides the Governor's Office that Irly was using as her headquarters which was also conveniently a few blocks down the road to the west of the building. The Great House was a large rectangular building with fine and detailed architecture running along the faces of the building, in Ophelia's eyes, the architecture and design of the building were reminiscent of the architecture from her renascence period from her old world mixed with some classical elements. The center of the building had a large dome right above it, coincidentally that dome was right above the main hall inside the Great House, providing a high ceiling and some beautiful natural light into the room. 

Stepping out of their carriage, the dual monarchs walked up the steps of the Great House flanked by Black Guards, with Erhet personally slithering behind them. On the outer parts of the stairs and in the roads and balconies near the entrance the dual monarchs were walking on, people who had been resurrected and reunited with their families cheered for them as they saw them go up, with both monarchs stopping for a moment to wave and bow to them before going inside, putting smiles on their faces. 

Inside the building, the dual monarchs were greeted by the sigh of Irly's subordinates moving around and setting up or moving around furniture, stacks of papers and other items that they were using as they were recording the data on the tribals who had entered Outreach. A lot of these papers were citizen application forms that had been given to the tribals once they got here, it was an optional paper of course as the dual monarchs knew that if these refugees who had fled to their territory suddenly found themselves pledging allegiance to a home that was not theirs, it would leave a sour taste in their mouths. By presenting it as an optional paper to fill out, a paper that in actuality was just a trap the dual monarchs set up as they had every intention of uniting the continent regardless, they had unexpectedly won the refugees over. This illusion of choice was one that the refugees took in a heartbeat once they saw the grand city and homes they now found themselves in, they saw a glimpse of a higher standard of living that the Halkare Empire offered and they took it in a heartbeat.  Bypassing the need for the dual monarchs to enact contingencies in case the refugees and clans flooding into the city still wanted independence. 

Passing through the main lobby and taking some turns, the dual monarchs found themselves before a pair of large wooden doors that led into the main hall where the gathered leaders of the numerous clans were waiting for them. Standing in front of the door was Irly, papers in hand a wearing a slightly nervous expression as she looked at her monarchs, greeting them with a bow as they neared her. 

"Your Majesties. I hope the mess along the way was not an inconvenience for you" Irly stated as she bowed 

"It was not, no need to worry about that Irly" Amelia replied to her with a smile 

"In fact, it was quite nice seeing some sort of mess, reminds me that this empire has a lot of gears working together" Ophelia added with a smile of her own 

"I thank you for the understanding Your Majesties. Now, let me tell you some things before you head inside" The elven Minister of Interior Relations stated as she looked at her documents in her hands 

"Let's hear it" The raven-haired empress nodded 

"Right. There are a total of 72 clan heads inside the room, out of the 72 there are 42 clans led by the Huraza Clan of Orcs and their leader, Chief Harrow who have already pledged their allegiance and wish to be incorporated into the empire, with them also trying to convince the other clans, then we have 12 clans led by the Tree Roamer Clan, a clan of centaurs led by Chief Gorrah who are openly against being incorporated into the empire and want their rightful land back, and finally, we have 17 clans and their chiefs on the sidelines who will make their move was the meeting is in full swing or after an argument is made. They were rowdy earlier to the point of nearly fighting but Clan Leader Yamato and Iris quelled them after subduing an arachnia from the opposing side and a boar beastkin from the affirming side" Irly stated as she finished looking through her notes 

"Thank you for the information Irly. Do you have the papers prepared?" Ophelia asked her

"Yes Your Majesty. The signed application papers are ready to be presented if need be" The elven Minister of Interior Relations stated with a smirk 

"Excellent, await our signal if we need it. Anyways, wish us luck as I think we are going to need it" The raven-haired empress finished as she turned her gaze to the door 

"Of course Your Majesty. Good luck and Glory be to you both" Irly finished as she bowed and excused herself, leaving the dual monarchs facing the door 

"Nervous Ophie?" Amelia asked as they held onto one another's hands tightly 

"Of course I am. But with you by my side, I think I will be fine" Ophelia replied with a heartfelt smile, making Amelia blush and giggle 

"Right, let's get this show on the road then" 

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The door into the main hall opened and the clan leaders saw the dual monarchs walk into the room with poise and power with each step, the light coming down from the glass dome above bathing the room in a steady glow that made the pair of monarchs look like angels. The room was arranged in a semi-circle fashion with 3 ascending rows of seats on the left, right, and in front of the dual monarchs. The clans led by Chief Harrow were on the right, the neutrals at the center, and the opposition led by Chief Gorrah on the left, at the center of the room were Chief Yamato and Irly, who turned and bowed to the dual monarchs as they approached them. 

"We greet Your Majesties" The pair said as they bowed, smiles on their faces as they moved back upright 

"Hello there, we will take it from here you two so just stay over by the right" Ophelia stated as she gestured to the right with her hand 

"Of course, Your Majesty" Both of them replied as they walked away, with Ophelia looking at Amelia who gave her a nod to begin 

"Right. Good day to everyone gathered here today, as you may all know by now I am Empress Ophelia Erstad of the Halkare Empire, and the woman beside me is my wife and fellow Empress, Empress Amelia Erstad. Now, we have come before you all today as we have spent the last few weeks reviving you and your fellow clan members after you all suffered under the blade of the Hinterlands Confederation. A nation we detest and have since rid of this continent. Most of you have pledged loyalty to the empire and have asked to join, some of you are still on the fence on whether or not to join, while a few of you...have chosen to demand their independence and the returning of their lands" The raven-haired empress stated as she turned her glance from right to left, locking eyes with Chief Gorrah who snorted and pawed the hardwood floor with his right front leg 

"Before we say anything, I ask the opposition to give us their reasoning as to why they wish to reclaim their independence" Ophelia added as she and Amelia turned in to filly face them, their expressions stoic and unreadable 

"Isn't it obvious?!" Chief Gorrah roared as he stomped on his front two legs 

"We will not be part of a nation that has kitsunes and elves! The Hinterlands Confederation was made of up those wretches as they were the ones responsible for killing us all!" The centaur chief roared as the other 11 behind him cheered him on 

"Anything else?" Ophelia asked 

"Yes! I have read and heard the claims from your so-called advisors like that kitsune bitch over there that this empire is different from the Hinterlands barbarians that the kitsunes and elves in this nation are a far cry from the murders who brought death and destruction to us all, but I do not believe their lies! You are the same as them, conquerors who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal of unifying this continent. You call yourselves noble but you are no less monsters than the one you had slain, AND! our people were better off before your damnable army came marching southward before even those Hinterland barbarians came after us! So I reject you and your nation! I reject even the orders from the Goddess we had received in the afterlife! To hell with you and your nation! To hell with the Goddess! I will not accept this! We will not accept this!" Gorrah finished to thunderous applause from his 11 cohorts, while the undecided looked on with slightly worried faces, and the group led by Harrow looked at them with disgust 

"With that idiotic rabble Gorrah, you shame us and yourself, but forsaking the orders of the Goddess herself and cursing those orders is an entirely different matter, you are nothing more than a waste of flesh and a mistake made sentient" Harrow replied as he eyed down Gorrah who snorted at him 

"Right....now, before anyone starts fighting. We will tell you something, Amelia?" Ophelia interrupted them as she looked at her beloved who nodded at her 

"Now Mister Garroh. You and those clan leaders behind you have declared that before we even came and even before the Hinterlands Confederation came, your clans were thriving yes?" Amelia asked as she stepped forward 

"Hmph! Are you deaf you bitch?! Do I need to repeat myself?!" Garroh replied, annoyed and pawing the ground, seeing that his reaction caused Clan Leader Yamato to step forward but was held back by Ophelia who stretched out her arm 

"Answer the question" Amelia coldly shot back 

"Hmph! Yes. We were doing much better before any of you invaders rolled around and that is a fact!" Garroh repeated, with the cheers from his cohorts getting louder 

"Hmmmm....now that is just a bold face lie" Amelia replied

{!} 

There was a collective gasp in the room as Amelia dropped her reply, with the cheering from Garroh's cohorts stopping as they all looked at her with wide eyes. Garroh's expression on his face turned from annoyed to furious as he stepped to the blonde empress, his eyes narrowing as he used <Appraisal> to try and read her stats. 

{!}

"GHAAAGH!" He shouted as he stumbled back and fell on his ass, his head spinning as small bolts of lighting danced around his head before disappearing 

"I would advise trying to use <Appraisal> on me and my beloved as those with lower power rankings are unable to read them and get electrocuted and temporarily paralyzed for their troubles" Amelia added as she turned her gaze from the groaning centaur on the floor to the rest of his cohorts who were now sweating bullets as they looked at her 

"Like I was saying Garroh and co. You are all lying about things being better before us and even the Hinterlands arrived, the truth could not be farther from the bullshit you have presented to us" She added as she stepped away from the opposition and towards the center of the room 

{!} 

Amelia took a deep breath before she unfurled her numerous tendrils of black and gold that sprouted from her back. They reached up past her and into the air, arranged in a circular formation before they began to pulsate a golden light and in a few moments, a massive golden orb hovered above the formation of tendrils. All eyes fell on the golden orb and eyes went wide as the clan leaders could see their own memories playing from the orb, with silence filling the room moments before a chorus of voices emitted from the golden orb that quickly subsided as Amelia dissipated the orb and retracted her tendrils. 

"My Carnomantic magic that was used to bring you all back gave me the ability to see all of your memories as I was placing your souls back into their bodies. I saw every single memory from the youngest child to the eldest person in each of your clans, I can tell you now that things were not alright before we came, no. It was worse" Amelia stated as she turned back to the opposing side who were now silently panicking 

"Before we came, you 12 clans were fighting one another in pointless battles, telling one another lies about the other clan to ensure there was always something to fight about. All because it kept you 12 in power and to continue your own sick amusement of sending your fellow clan members to fight and die for a cause that was all a lie" The blonde empress added with a growl, her fists tightening and her expression hardening 

The room fell silent as everyone looked at the panicking opposition who couldn't even muster up any rebuttal out of the fear of her just showing their memories to the assembled group of worse, to the rest of the now revived clan members. 

"Now, with that out of the way, we have something else to tell you lot. When your people came here, they were given an option to sign a citizen application form if they wished to join the empire" Ophelia stated as she snapped her fingers, pointing at the door 

{!} 

The door then opened as Irly and several clerks entered the room with large stacks of paper that they set at the feet of each of the group, with most of the clan leaders all looking at them with confusion except for the opposition who were scared by the amount of papers that were placed before them. 

"Each of your clans has 4,000 members excluding yourself and in those piles before you are the signed application forms of each of those 4,000 people from each of your clans. Now, I am not one to point out the obvious, but it seems to us that your clan members, the people whose best interest you have in mind and represent, are all willing to be part of this empire" Ophelia stated as she looked around the room 

"To you who are undecided, I ask that you do what is right for your people, join them, and be part of the empire, we shall respect your culture and welcome you with open arms, you will have a voice in the Imperial Council regarding policies of the nation, the benefits are endless for you and your people so we implore you, do the right thing and help us in our mission to unite this continent" Amelia stated as she approached the clan leaders in the center set of seats, looking deep into the eyes of each of them and pouring as much honesty as she could from her heart out to them 

"But to you dozen who deserve to be hanged for your crimes. We offer you two choices, either to swallow your pride and accept our rule without question or resistance, or we expose your true selves to the masses and permanently shame you and your name before executing you" Ophelia stated as she looked at them with a serious gaze that sent shivers down their spines 

"The choice is yours" Both of them said to their respective groups as a moment of silence then followed

It was a very quiet 10 minutes as the two groups exchanged gazes amongst each other and hushed words that Ophelia and Amelia could hear despite their hushed tone. After the 10 minutes were up, the undecided group of clan leaders stood up in unison before bowing in full and then returning upright

"We greet Your Majesties as loyal servants. We shall serve" They stated in unison, making the dual monarchs smile briefly before turning their gazes to Garroh and his group 

They all had scared expressions as they looked at the dual monarchs but after a tense moment of silence, Garroh was the first to bow down, going the full mile as he fell on all fours and placed his head on the hardwood floor, with his cohorts soon following shortly 

"We greet Your Majesties as loyal servants. We shall serve" They stated as well, with the dual monarchs flashing smirks as they saw them do this 

"Good choice" Both of them stated as they kept their eyes on the still bowing opposition 

A/N: And there we go! I hope you all enjoyed the content of this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed the political side of the story from time to time, even if it does not seem interesting enough. If you got comments or reactions to the chapter, let me know in the comments below and as always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!