The Witch-Queen of Westeros (ASOIAF SI)

[DoorAlarm]

"Good god, how many of you fuckers do I need to kill before you leave me alone?" I demanded, thoroughly exasperated by now.

There was no response to my question, of course, as the utterly silent ice zombie charged me, its blue sword shining ominously as he swung it at me.

I didn't even bother dodging, having gone through this song and dance dozens of times already. Instead, I just watched as the sword shattered as it struck my neck.

The zombie, to his (its?) credit, reacted quickly, hopping back even as it raised its hand toward me like it wanted to launch a spell at me.

I didn't give it the chance as I raised my own hand, pointed my palm at him, and obliterated him with a ball of energy.

As I lowered my hand and stalked off, I didn't even bother examining the damage that my blast had caused. Why would I, after all, when there was literally nothing of value to destroy considering this place had naught but ice and snow?

---

When I'd first woken up in this place, I'd been confused. And why wouldn't I, considering I'd woken up covered in snow and yet not feeling cold at all?

Then, I'd become afraid. I had no idea where I was, I had no food or water, and I was surrounded by a winter hellscape.

However, after accidentally firing off an energy blast, I'd been intrigued. After some experimentation, that intrigue had turned into ecstasy.

I had superpowers now, god-tier ones to boot if my suspicions were correct, which after a day or so of experimentation, they turned out to indeed be.

Now, however, I was mostly really bloody fucking annoyed. Yeah, I had superpowers, but what good were they when I was lost in the middle of fucking nowhere, surrounded by murderous ice zombies?

And so here I was now, sitting on top of a torn-down tree, glaring angrily at nothing in particular, fear and anger alike growing within me as the reality of my situation began to dawn on me.

Was... Was I alone in this world? Did other humans live here, or was it just zombies?

I snarled, jumping up to my feet. No. No, fuck this. I refused to believe that.

Chances were, I'd just gotten unlucky and ended up in this world's equivalent to Antarctica.

I just... had to keep looking, that's all.

As if to taunt me, that was the moment that a group of zombies decided to ride toward me on equally zombified horses.

I sighed. Well... At least they weren't actually a threat to me. Hell, I was probably doing a favor to these things by removing their more brain-dead members.

---

"Oh my god." I breathed out as I stared at the pair of men dressed in thick furs as they stalked across the snow. They both flinched, whirling around to stare at me, spears quickly being aimed my way before pausing as they saw that I wasn't a zombie. "Actual, living humans!"

The two hunters glanced at each other for a second before turning back to me, still tense. "Who are you, weirdly dressed woman?" One demanded, glaring at me with a surprising amount of hostility.

"Whoa, relax!" I said, putting up my hands in a show of surrender. "I'm... Hm." I paused, stopping myself from saying my name.

I had a chance here that few ever got ahold of, the chance to reinvent myself, and like hell was I not going to take it.

"You can call me... Alarielle." I finally decided, totally not stealing the name. Nuh-uh. "But enough about me! Who are you two? Do you guys know the nearest city? I haven't eaten anything for, like, a week."

The two men stared at me, then at each other, then back at me, their spears still solidly aimed at me.

"... Right." The same one that had spoken before slowly said, his rugged and muscular features not having softened even a bit. "Are you a witch, woman?"

"Huh? A witch? Do I look like I have a pointed hat and a flying broom?" I asked, confused. At their equally confused stares back, I just rolled my eyes. "Of course I'm not a witch. Now, if you wouldn't mind, could you kindly point me to where the nearest settlement is? I'd really appreciate it. Also, stop calling me 'woman'." I said, just a little bit peeved. I'd just chosen an awesome new name, and they still called me 'woman'? Lame!

However, instead of doing as asked, the two men simply relaxed slightly, finally putting away their spears. However, despite the seemingly benign action, something about them nonetheless seemed to shift, becoming more... malicious.

"Think she's a crow?" One asked the other, leering at me. "Bit far from the Wall, ain't she?"

"Maybe." The other responded, walking towards me with a smirk on his face. I just stared at them, befuddled. "Doesn't really matter, does it? I really wanna take this bitch for a ride or three."

"Oi, the fuck are you- WHAT THE HELL?!" I screamed as the one walking to me just straight-up groped me, grabbing my right arm with his other hand.

"Shut up ya cunt. I don't know what a woman like you's doing here, but you're coming with-"

For almost half a dozen seconds, I just stood there, far too in shock at the suddenness of it at all, doing nothing as the guy tried to tug me toward him.

Then, my mind rebooted. And when it did, pure, boiling fury erupted within me.

And so I slapped him without holding back.

To say that the guy's head exploded like a watermelon would be an understatement. It was more that it was reduced to a fine, red mist.

The other guy gaped at what had happened, his eyes wide as he watched the headless (and also somewhat shoulderless) body of his comrade fall into the snow without so much as a thump.

I wasn't all that better, as I looked at my bloody-covered hand and the corpse of the man I'd just killed.

I... I didn't really feel anything. It felt like I'd just slapped an annoying mosquito, rather than killed a living, breathing human being.

"W... What..." The other, still-living rapist stuttered, taking several steps back even as he whipped his spear back out. "S-stay back, witch! Stay back!"

Slowly, oh-so-slowly, I turned to stare at him.

The man screamed and tried to flee.

He did not get very far.

 

[DoorAlarm]

"So you're part of a cannibal tribe? The 'Long Fingers', wasn't it?"

"Yes! Yes, dear Gods, yes! Please, let me-"

"Tell me more about these 'women raids', as you called them, and of the other tribes."

"Please, I beg of you, I didn't-"

"Tell. Me. More."

---

Well, if there was one good thing to come out of this, it was that my first kill was practically guilt-free.

I hummed a small tune as I walked through the forest, still lost in thought from all the information the cannibal rapist had, uh, volunteered after some encouragement.

Apparently, these people referred to themselves as the 'Free Folk'. They lived north of what the guy called the 'Wall', below which lived the 'Kneelers'.

Basically, these guys were the nomadic Mongols to the southern Chinese.

Great. I find humans, and they're all cannibalistic, raping, sexist, and homeless barbarians. Just my luck.

... Okay, I was probably being a bit uncharitable, but sue me, their first impression wasn't all that great.

I rubbed my chin, pondering over some of the other things I'd been told even as I casually fired a thin energy laser at a trio of wolves that had gotten a tad bit too close, causing the beasts to yelp and flee.

Greedy little things. They already had two corpses to feast on, they'd get fat if I let them eat me too.

Now, where was I... Oh, right. The fact that these people stole women from their homes to basically use as sex slaves.

Needless to say, I wasn't a big fan of that policy. Nor of the several others he'd mentioned.

The question now was, did I care enough to do something about it?

"Man," I said aloud, forcing down my embarrassment as I started speaking to myself. "This is quite the kerfuffle, ain't it, Alarielle? You end up in a fancy new world, with fancy new superpowers, and the first thing you discover is that the people here are all bastards. It's almost like someone put me here on purpose."

I paused, glaring up at the sky, raising my fist and shaking it at the sky. "Well, you know what big G?" I screamed like a madwoman. "I'm not falling for your tricks, you smarmy son of a bitch!"

I harrumphed, lowering my fists and briskly walking off, head held high as I waited for lightning to strike me.

Predictably, it did not.

... I think my powers might be messing with my brain a little bit, I decided, letting out a sigh as my shoulders slumped.

God damn it. I couldn't ignore this.

Some would say that with great power comes great responsibility, but frankly, I... just didn't really care?

How was it my problem that these people were backward savages? Besides, what if that guy had just been an outlier and the people were actually perfectly civilized?

I mean, I doubted it, but it was a possibility!

I sighed again. Oh well. I guess I could go and check out the other tribes in the area and see what those are like.

If they were horrible, Fallout-style tribes that ate kids and sacrificed babies for the lolz, then I'd do my civic duty and evaporate them. If not... I don't know. I'd decide later.

And so, with those heavy thoughts in mind, I continued making my way through the snow-filled land with nothing but vague directions, a confused sense of responsibility, and an admittedly not small amount of curiosity.

If I'd known the path that this trip would lead me down to... Well, I think I'd have probably taken it anyways, to be honest.

---

"Huh," I said aloud as I stared down at the tent-filled village some distance away. "Not seeing any skull thrones or sacrificial altars quite yet, so that's a start," I murmured, hopping down from the stone I'd been standing on and walking toward the village.

If I'd had any less confidence in my ability to survive anything less than the complete annihilation of the planet, then I might have been more cautious. As it was, though... A few barbarians with pointy sticks just didn't really intimidate me anymore, especially not after having faced down hundreds of spooky-scary ice zombies, all of whom had died pathetically easily.

Regardless, forcing myself to refocus on the situation, I entered the village proper, watching curiously as men, women, and children dressed in heavy furs went about their primitive lives.

In turn, I too was watched, first with confusion, and then with caution. Not unsurprising, considering that everyone here probably knew each other.

Thus, I would honestly be lying if I said I was surprised when a trio of tribesmen stopped me, staring at me with a critical eye.

"Who are you, woman, and why are you here?" The leader demanded, and for a moment, I felt a sense of heavy deja-vu, causing my lips to twitch.

"Weeell~" I said teasingly, smirking at him. "I'm here to be your new leader, of course!" I said proudly, puffing up my chest.

The trio, and several of the nearby tribesmen who'd been staring at the confrontation with curiosity, just stared at me. Then, after their disbelief passed, the leader started laughing loudly.

"Lass, you're a funny one." He finally said after an entire minute of laughter, wiping a tear from his eye before sobering up. "You know, you're rather beautiful. Say, how about you-"

Right. I wasn't gonna go through this whole song and dance twice. Taking a step forward, I grabbed the man's arm, causing him to shut up and raise an eyebrow, obviously not impressed.

That changed pretty quickly, however, when I launched him into the sky with a flick of my wrist, using my inner energy to avoid tearing him apart as I did so.

His screams were quite cathartic as he flailed in the air, and I calmly put my hands behind my back as he fell back down a half dozen seconds later.

Still, considering that he'd tried asking me out instead of just straight-up molesting me (god my standards were low), I decided to be merciful, catching him as he fell down, once again using my inner energy to avoid having him go 'splat'.

The entire area was silent, with everyone watching me with stunned faces. The man in my arms whimpered pitifully.

"So," I said casually. "You guys wanna call up your boss so that I can usurp him, or will I have to start shattering a few skeletons?" I asked mildly.

Needless to say, they chose the first option.

 

[DoorAlarm]

Horton's steps were hurried as he jogged through the encampment, his closest friend right behind him as they both marched to what might very well be the fight of their lives.

When one of Horton's wives had run into his tent while he'd been busy discussing the tribe's next raid with his lieutenants, he'd been slightly surprised. When she'd started screaming that a witch wanted to see him, he'd been quite concerned.

Now, as he rounded a corner and came upon a sight that had left him gaping like a newborn toddler upon seeing a giant for the first time, he found his concern turning into fear.

Men and women with whom he'd been fighting alongside with for years now lay helplessly on the ground, groaning in pain and completely unable to move.

And at the center of the circle of defeated warriors, a woman- no, not even. A girl stood, hands on her hips and with a satisfied smile on her face as her head turned slightly, her eyes focusing directly on Horton.

Horton's heart skipped a beat, and not in a romantic way. For all that the kneelers down south might call him and his people savages, he knew that he wasn't stupid. He might not be a genius like his first wife, or a social savant like his friend, but what he did have was the ability to understand an opponent.

And right now, this girl did not consider him or his people her opponents at all.

"Ah." She uttered, her voice surprisingly soft and high-pitched, her accent strange as she casually removed her foot from where she'd been keeping it atop a fallen spearwife. "And so comes the big boss. Took you a while, didn't it?"

Horton remained silent, clutching his stolen kneeler sword with both hands, even as his friend and the rest of the quickly arriving tribe did the same, staring down the girl with as neutral an expression as he could manage, taking the opportunity to examine her further.

As highlighted by her accent, there was no doubt this girl was a complete foreigner. Her skin was pale white, her hands soft and without callouses, and she wore her long, black hair free.

To add to that, she was also fairly tall, not overly so but quite a bit more than most women. More than that, she also visibly lacked muscles, looking more like the delicate kneeler ladies down south than a proper Folk woman.

However, what stood out the most about her was, without a doubt, her clothes. She looked almost like a prostitute, with a skirt that barely went down to her knees and a scandalously short black shirt that left her belly button and arms exposed.

In any other situation, Horton would have barely spared the girl a glance, assuming her naught but a common whore. As it was, however, with dozens of men and women at her feet and looking completely unbothered by the freezing winds striking her bare skin, the girl cut a nigh-mystical figure.

"Why are you here?" Horton spoke, his entire examination having barely taken a few seconds. He took a step forward, aiming his sword at her. "Are you here to merely mock us, witch, or are your purposes nefarious?"

"Oh my god, why does everyone call me a- you know what, it doesn't matter." The girl sighed heavily, flicking her hair back with a motion of her head.

Then, she pointed a palm at them. Horton tensed, wishing for a moment that he'd grabbed his shield as an ominous ball of blood-red light formed in the with's hand.

"Let me spell it out for you in the universal language." The witch spoke, a smirk forming on her face. "You guys will kneel to me, and for as long as I stay here, you'll obey me. In exchange, I'll protect and help you."

She raised her hand to the sky. "If you refuse, well..."

The red ball abruptly fired out from her palm, traveling so fast that Horton barely saw it move. A few seconds later, however, he definitely saw the explosion that lit up the sky for a few moments.

He was almost forced to his knees as a harsh wind abruptly smashed downwards onto them, and he heard several of his people gasp in terror at the show.

"The next one will be directed right at you." The witch finished her speech, looking mighty pleased with herself as she put her hands to her hips, smirking at them all as though this was naught but a game to her.

Slowly, painfully, Horton righted himself, glaring at the witch. Then, he spoke, his voice tight but unyielding. "No."

The witch blinked, clearly taken aback. "What?" She half-asked and half-exclaimed, having obviously expected a different answer. "The fuck do you mean by no?"

"We are the Free Folk," Horton spoke, drawing himself up even as he took a step forward. Around him, the entire tribe was silent as they watched the showdown between their leader and the mysterious yet terrifying witch. "We are many things. Strong. Resilient. Ruthless. Unyielding. What are not, however, are kneelers!" He roared, taking several steps toward the witch.

Surprisingly, the witch actually stepped back, looking a little intimidated. Horton capitalized on it ruthlessly. "You may be powerful, witch. You may have defeated our warriors. You may be able to defeat me. But you will never be able to break our spirit!"

The tribe roared their agreement, and at that moment, it mattered not if they were men or women, children or elderly, sick or healthy... At that moment, they were simply Free Folk.

And the Free Folk would rather die than kneel.

The witch's head whipped around, staring at the gathered tribesmen all glaring at her. None approached, but their hostility was nonetheless obvious.

Then, she looked back at Horton, and he saw that her face had contorted into a rictus of pure rage, her hands clenched tight.

"I see." She said, her words far louder than they should have been. Despite her clear anger, her voice was deceptively calm as she spoke. "How admirable. You savages actually have something going for you. Congrats." She praised venomously, taking a step forward, her now reddened eyes still fixed on Horton's tense form.

She spread her arms out, almost as though she wanted to hug someone. "So, in lieu of that, I'm gonna be merciful. Instead of kneeling, I'll accept you simply bowing down to me. Do that, and as I said before, I'll protect you and bring you savages to highs you'd otherwise never reach. If you still try and defy me..."

Suddenly, an impossible pressure descended upon everyone. Horton gasped as he was driven to his knees, feeling as though the hand of the largest giant ever was pressing down on his very soul.

Around him, people cried out as they too fell, and the earth itself shook. Rocks and snow trembled, some of it even rising into the air and failing to fall back down.

"... I will annihilate you." The witch finished, practically snarling the words as she glared down at the panting Horton. "So, make your choice, scumbags. Serve and be useful, or die pathetically. What will it be?"

Horton answered by forcing himself up, feeling his very soul begging him to lie down, and letting out a war cry as he charged her.

By the time the sun rose once more the next morning, the Snow Rider tribe had been reduced to half of its former numbers, with the majority of those remaining being children, elderly, and women.

Unfortunately, it would be far from the last tribe to suffer such a fate.

 

[DoorAlarm]

"Ew." The witch, Alarielle, dryly said, nose wrinkling as she looked at the soup being offered to her. "Yeah, I ain't eating this. Looks and smells like shit." She proclaimed, handing the food-filled bowl back.

The thrall woman who'd cooked it meekly and fearfully took it back, scrambling out of the tent like the Others themselves were at her tail. Xonxas did her best not to react to the childish and, frankly, disgustingly spoiled display.

Had this been one of her children pulling a scene like this, she would have had them whipped until their behinds bled red. But, alas, the witch was not a child of hers.

Also, she could probably kill Xonxas by glaring at her too hard. So, you know, there was that too.

"The fuck was in that thing anyways? Boiled shit?" Alarielle complained, casually throwing her feet up the table, the delicate-looking things clad in fancy yet utterly foreign-looking shoes, completely unsuited for walking in, at times, waist-deep snow.

"That was meat soup." One of the other 'councilors' spoke up in a tiny voice, looking as though he'd much rather be anywhere but here at the moment.

Xonxas couldn't blame him. After the witch had butchered all those that resisted, she'd boldly demanded all the lieutenants gather so that she could establish some 'ground rules', before then proceeding to storm off towards a completely random tent.

And so, here they were. Three men and one woman, all of them tired, afraid, and uncertain of their futures. The witch had killed three out of four of all the warriors in the tribe, after all. Even if she were to somehow die right this moment... Well, chances were they'd all have to split up and hope to be taken in by the nearby tribes and clans.

Because if not, they were nothing but walking bags of meat waiting to be consumed.

"Oh?" The witch asked, interested. "What kind of meat?"

"Um." The same councilor squeaked out, the large, muscular man making for a rather comedic image as he fidgeted and flinched as the skinny slip of a girl stared at him with wide, curious eyes. "The only one we have right now...?"

"Right, and what meat is thaaa..." She trailed off, her expression going blank. "It's human meat, isn't it?"

Nobody answered her. The witch's eye twitched, and Xonxas couldn't help but scoot backward a little.

The sudden clap from the witch startled them all, the movement too fast for their eyes to see. "Right. That's gonna be stopping right now." She proclaimed, her voice sharp.

Then, she turned and pointed at the man with whom she'd just been speaking. "You, funny guy, go and tell them that you won't be eating humans anymore. If they complain, tell them they can either do as I say or have their spine shoved through their asshole. God knows you lot likely deserve it."

"O-of course, lady witch." The man acquiesced like a coward, fleeing immediately.

"Stop calling me that!" Was the witch's answering howl as the man tore away from the tent. "It's lady Alarielle! A-la-ri-el-le! Get it right for fuck's sake!" She grumbled, falling back into her seat after a moment. "Whatever. Anyways, for the rest of you, tell me about how you guys usually live. If I'm gonna civilize you people, I need to get a baseline." She said, the insult flowing from her lips without even thinking about it.

Xonxas' fist clenched, and she did her best to keep her face neutral. This witch was so alike the southern kneelers, what with their constant prattling about them being 'uncivilized savages' that it was almost funny, if it wasn't also so depressing.

Because, unlike the kneelers, Xonxas couldn't just laugh at her as she did to the kneelers as they were tied up and thrown into their ship's hulls, to either end up as thralls or emergency supplies.

"Well, Lady Alarielle... What would you wish to know first?" Another one of the councilors spoke, causing Alarielle to think about it for a few seconds before shrugging casually.

"Dunno. Like, what's your day-to-day life like? How do you get food in this shithole of a wasteland? What's the politics around here like? Things like that, yeah?" She explained, growing more and more curious with each word that came from her mouth.

"My lady," Xonxas spoke, the honorific tasting like vicious poison as it left her lips. "Our tribe was an old and powerful one," Before you came along, went unsaid, "And much of our strength was gained through reaving the soft and weak men of the south. Much of our daily lives, by necessity, revolves around such raids." She explained.

The witch's eyes twitched, her frown obvious. "Seriously? Don't you guys, I don't know, hunt and gather? Or, like, farm?" She asked, and just from that, Xonxas knew that the girl's understanding of their lands was piss-poor.

"Farming in these lands would be a fool's undertaking, my lady," Xonxas said patiently, her fear of the witch keeping her tone polite despite her desire to spit in her face. "No crops would ever grow in this freezing land, and hunting is a dangerous thing when many of the things we would hunt could and often do end up hunting us instead."

It wasn't that they didn't hunt, of course, because no matter how much some of them might wish to, they could not always be raiding. It was just not their main source of wealth and food.

The witch's frown deepened, and her eyes darted to the many trophies adorning the tent. "Huh. And... all of these things that you guys have- swords, spears, shields, pots, carpets, tapestry and shit... That's all stolen?" She asked, her face showing that she already knew the answer.

Still, at their answering nods, the witch sagged, a scowl on her face as she crossed her arms under her chest.

"You guys are fucking savages." She proclaimed, as though she had any right to judge their way of life. "And let me guess. The majority of the women outside, those that didn't try to fight me, are slaves. Am I wrong?"

She wasn't, of course. "They are thralls, my lady." The councilor said after a short bout of silence, his voice small.

Thralls were nothing to be ashamed of. They were the mark of a successful reaver, and were a sign of status. Alas, what did status and wealth mean in front of this woman capable of wielding magics capable of annihilating entire war hosts?

"Right." The witch sneered, jumping to her feet. "Well, first things first, these dumbfuck raids will stop, as will the slavery. It's barbaric, and honestly, it's really making me reconsider my decision to take over instead of simply obliterating you all."

"My lady!" The other male councilor exclaimed, anger, shame, and panic curling within his voice. "That's... We can't do that!" He trailed off as the witch glared at him, but still managed to grit out the words.

"And why would that be?" The witch scoffed.

"We would starve, and our tribe would die," Xonxas spoke up, voice tight. At the witch's glare, Xonxas kept her gaze steady, refusing to be cowed on this simple and honest truth.

For a few terrifying moments, the witch looked as though she was ready to just kill her there and then. Thank the Gods, however, she ultimately held her hand, leaning back on her chair with a derisive scoff.

"Whatever. We'll talk about this later." She declared. "Regardless, that can't be the only thing about you guys. Tell me more." She demanded.

And so, the gathered tribesmen did.

Unfortunately, Alarielle was not particularly pleased with their explanations.

 

[DoorAlarm]

It was a silent walk back to the village as I returned from my latest hunt, the corpses of two large bears carelessly slung over my shoulders.

I was not greeted with cheers. People did not come streaming out of their tents to greet me, and children did not look at me with eyes filled with wonder.

No. Instead, what greeted my arrival was absolute silence. I looked around, seeing barely a few souls in sight, with said souls quickly scurrying away as I stomped through the village, my heart tightening more and more with each step I took.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be, I thought glumly as I arrived at the center of the village, shrugging the two massive corpses off of me.

"Leana!" I called out loudly, feeling my fingers twitch as the woman answered my call, hesitantly stepping out from her tent and walking over to me, her face torn between fear and anxiety.

That look alone did not bode well, I immediately knew. She was the woman I'd put in charge of the remaining savages while I went out to hunt something for them, mostly because she was one of the most learned and well-educated people I'd found due to her being a bastard of some lesser nobles down south or whatever.

"My lady... I..." Leana struggled to say, flinching at the look on my face.

I sighed. "How many?" I asked tiredly, running a hand through my greasy, dirty hair. God, how I missed being able to have proper baths...

She cringed, fiddling with her fur shirt in a clear sign of nervousness. "Twelve, my lady." She whispered.

I remained silent, closing my eyes even as I took a deep breath, counting to ten and back several times over. Then, I looked up at the cloudy sky, staring at the sun that was hidden behind a particularly thick cloud.

It had been two weeks since I'd taken over these savages. Two weeks of stress, anxiety, and anger as I struggled to keep these people alive, most of whom I knew probably deserved death.

I wish I could say that I had handled it with grace and experience and that I had solved all of their issues singlehandedly. However, to say such a thing would be nothing but a bold-faced lie.

The truth was that I had no idea what I was doing. For all of my strength, for all of my power, for all that I could annihilate the entire village with a single blast... None of that helped with actually keeping them alive.

It had started slow, at first. First, the food supplies began running low, then water did as well, and then commodities. The people were restless, the surviving warriors angry and humiliated while the more civilian-oriented were fearful of my presence.

In hindsight, I should have tried to do something. I could have tried calming them down, tried to relax the tension, tried to bond and get to know these people.

However, frankly, I didn't and still don't want to do that. These people were savages of the worst kind, slavers and rapists and cannibals one and all, regardless of the fact that it was necessary for their survival.

I breathed out, opening my eyes and looking back at Leana, who was tense as a spring, her pupils blown wide with fear.

My gut clenched, anger and shame and guilt mixing together into a disgusting morass of negativity.

I hated how even the people I found tolerable were terrified of me, and I hated how I'd grown so used to it at this point. But, perhaps most of all, I hated how a not-so-tiny part of me relished in it.

I'd been a college student before this, and not a particularly impressive one either. I'd been a faceless nobody, just another body in the sea of people coming and going through the day.

Now, however, I might as well have been a god to these people. A god of terror, perhaps, but still a god.

"I see." I forced myself to say, pushing down on my warring thoughts. "How many are left?" I asked the woman, stepping away from the corpses and making my way over to my personal tent, my little haven of peace in this shitty wasteland of scumbags.

Leana, like the good girl she was, followed me. "Um... Around..." She hesitated, clearly afraid to say it. At my look, she nonetheless relented. "There are just six people left, my lady, including me." She whispered.

"Jesus." I cursed, turning my head to stare at her as we stopped before my tent. "Six people? Does that mean they took the kids with them too?"

At Leana's meek nod, I couldn't help but sag, even as I gave out a hollow chuckle. Leana nervously chuckled alongside me, taking several steps back as I started outright laughing, throwing my head back as I did.

It didn't last long. "I should have just evaporated them all," I murmured, my laughter trailing off abruptly into a violent snarl. "Now, these fuckers will just go back to what they were doing before. I knew I should have just let fucking loose!" I hissed.

This exodus wasn't the first one, far from it. Ever since I'd taken command, people had been gradually fleeing into the forest, heading out towards the nearby tribes and clans. At first, I'd tried to stop it, threatening death on anyone that attempted to leave.

That hadn't worked, obviously. Between the food and water issue, my insistence on them stopping their barbaric practices (who the hell sacrifices living animals to fucking trees? God!), and my orders to free the thralls, the savages had apparently decided that braving the deep forest, my wrath, and the chance of being rejected by their destination tribe was better than remaining under me.

It stung, I will admit. It stung a lot, especially because by the time I'd realized that things had already fallen apart, it had already been too late to stop it, and no amount of threatening to turn them into a red mist would stop it.

And so, here I was. Surrounded by a ghost village now inhabited by only those who straight-up couldn't leave, all of them because of injuries, I'm betting.

It felt like I'd failed. I'd put so much effort into this, all the beatings I gave to those who defied me, the hours and hours spent hunting down elusive beasts, the days spent scheming about how I could civilize these people... All of it turned out to be completely useless.

"Fuck it." I snarled. "Gather everyone in the main tent. I'll be there in a bit." I ordered Leana before entering my tent, closing the curtain-fur that acted as a door a moment later.

I didn't bother hearing her response as I made my way over to my crappy bed which was actually nothing but a pile of furs. Thankfully, I didn't actually need it since, just as I didn't need food or water or even air, I didn't need to sleep either.

That being said, in moments like these, I found it came in handy as I collapsed into it, burying my face into the coarse fur.

"God damn it," I murmured, tightening my eyes. "Fuck this. Fuck them. Fuck these savages with a fucking fuckstick." I rambled, letting the curses flow from my lips like water. It made me feel a little bit better, at least.

I felt like a failure. It had felt good to finally feel like I had a purpose in life, that there was finally something meaningful that I could do. Now, it just made the taste of defeat all that much worse.

I don't know how long I lay in that bed, tossing and turning as anger and depression warred within me. In the end, though, I eventually forced myself to get up.

My chest felt like it was full of lead as I then made my way over to the main tent, tearing its 'door' open as I stepped inside, glaring at the assembled host of weak and sickly savages.

There were five men and two women, one of whom was Leana herself. The moment I entered, all eyes landed on me, their fear obvious.

However, at this point, I couldn't bring myself to care.

"I'm done," I said simply, smirking at the confused looks on these people's faces. "You're free. Go. Leave. Fuck off. I'm going south where there are actual baths and actually good food, and with people who aren't fucking savages for company." I bit out.

Nobody said anything, and yet, the looks of sheer relief on their faces spoke a thousand words.

And by god, did it hurt.

It shouldn't have, and yet, it did. It felt like I'd just been stabbed through the heart with a rusty spoon, and my fists clenched in response, anger surging through me.

Well, if they didn't want me, they could go and die on their own. See if I care!

I'd wanted to give them one last gift before leaving, something that would have helped their chances of survival.

Now, I found that I didn't care. I'd go and heal some people who actually deserve it, like all the animals I'd basically tortured while I'd practiced this power of mine.

I whirled around and stomped away. There was nothing that I needed here, as I had no basic bodily needs, so they could keep all their shit for all I cared.

Well, everything except for one thing.

I made my way back to my tent for one final time, pointedly not looking at the deserted village as I did. Once inside, I stalked over to my 'desk' and grabbed the thing on top of it.

A map.

It wasn't amazingly detailed, but it was still far more than I could have hoped for. While my skills for reading maps were, uh, lacking, I was sure that between all my powers, I could manage.

Satisfied, I once again headed out of my tent, feeling slightly happy at the thought that this would be the last time I would consider this thing as my home.

However, what greeted me outside wasn't at all what I expected.

Leana stood in front of the tent, twiddling her thumbs nervously. She squeaked when I came out, acting more like a scared kitten than a person as she looked at me with naked desperation.

"What do you want?" I asked with thinly-veiled hostility, glaring at the woman suspiciously.

I doubted she thought she could assassinate me. There had been a number of attempts already, and all of them failed, the perpetrators all dying soon after (or, well, at least the ones I could catch).

"Take me with you!" The girl blurted out. At my stunned look, she quickly fell to her knees, bowing her head as deep as she could. "Please, I beg you, my lady. I, I will do anything you say! I will serve you for life! Just, please, don't leave me here!" She begged, tears streaming freely from her eyes.

I blinked, really looking at Leana for the first time.

She wasn't a legendary beauty, but that didn't mean she wasn't attractive. She was short and skinny with wild brown hair, and yet nonetheless possessed a chest and ass that I had no doubts made her rather desirable to men.

Which, in all likelihood, was the reason why she'd been kidnapped and then kept as little more than a sex slave despite her learned status.

I remained silent, just staring at the girl as she continued begging, clearly desperate. Unlike many of the other women here, Leana was not strong of body (nor of mind, really), and she had never adapted to this hellhole. She was also, to be frank, a coward, which I suspected was the reason why she hadn't run where so many others had.

But at the same time... She was also one of the very few people here that I wouldn't call a disgusting savage, and for all that she could barely speak a few words to me without stuttering, she was nonetheless rather pleasant.

I sighed. "Alright." I acquiesced, my mind already recalculating how I would need to go about this journey now that I had a tag-along that actually needed things like food, water, sleep, and shelter. "I guess you can come with me."

"-I will never betray you, I pro- huh?" Leana stopped, blinking at me. Then, when she finally registered my words, she gasped in relief, thank-you's pouring forth from her lips.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved her off, grabbing her arm and helping her to her feet. "That being said, if you come with me, then let's make a few things clear. You obey me without question, clear?" At her nod, I continued. "Good. Also, no whining. I'll do my best to help, but until we're past the Wall, I don't want to hear a single complaint. Capish?"

Although she looked confused at my lingo, Leana still nodded eagerly, practically sagging in relief.

Despite my earlier mood, I couldn't help but smile wryly. "Mm. Go and get ready, then. Meet me over at the south exit of the village as soon as you can." I ordered, amusedly watching as the girl scrambled to obey.

I knew that I was most likely going to regret including her in this already probably annoying trip, but... Well, I wasn't completely heartless. Besides, at least I wouldn't get lonely, and maybe she'd even stay with me as I explored the south.

Which, speaking of, I couldn't wait to do just that. I would literally kill for a bath and some clean clothes, honestly, and all these rumors about nobles and such had me curious. I was eager to learn more about the southerners and see their castles and palaces.

Hell, maybe I could even meet their king. That would be pretty cool!

 

[DoorAlarm]

"Well damn. I'll admit, that's actually a really fucking impressive wall." I said with perfect honesty, looking up at the towering barrier of ice and stone with almost child-like awe.

Leana nodded nervously, her legs swinging nervously as she rested atop our travel cart, practically buried underneath all the furs we'd collected along our relatively short journey.

Of course, by short, I mean a fucking week-long journey that felt like it took an eternity and a half, but considering that we traveled with nothing but our bare feet and this barely-not-falling-apart trash heap of a cart, I'll take what I could get.

"Urghuburg." Said the moaning heap of broken flesh that had once belonged to the latest excuse of a man looking to 'steal' the two of us.

"Shut up already." I snapped at him before turning back to continue gaping at what I'm pretty damn sure would be considered the eighth World Wonder back home.

"Umm... My lady?" Leana spoke up, fidgeting as she did. "Should... Should I get rid of him?" She asked tentatively, her eyes flickering over to the moaning body not too far off from the cart.

"Huh? Ah, Nah. No need." I denied easily, not tearing my eyes away from the wall. "Let's leave him as a message like the last few."

Hopefully, this time they would get the hint. It was already annoying having to beat up entire villages every time I needed to restock our supplies, and between that and having to almost constantly kick the asses of the plentiful rapists looking for an easy mark in two lonely and (in my humble opinion) very beautiful women, I was starting to get tired of fighting these idiots.

"R-right..." Leana murmured, shivering a bit as she glanced at the man, her hands tightening the furs around herself even as her legs closed tightly.

I glanced back at her but refrained from saying anything. Despite our journey together, Leana and I weren't friends, not really. At best, she was a semi-loyal minion, and at worst, she was a cumbersome tag-along. I didn't know her well enough to comfort her.

And even if I did, I wasn't a bloody therapist. I had no idea how to help enslaved and repeat rape victims.

"SO!" I half-shouted, startling Leana and tearing her out of whatever thoughts were running through her pretty little brain. "I've got a pretty good plan on how to get over that thing," I said brightly, smiling widely at Leana as I did. For some reason, the girl only grew more nervous.

"We're gonna jump over it!" I declared, grinning widely even as excitement flowed through my veins at the idea of using my powers again.

Not that I hadn't used them, of course. Considering that there had been practically nothing to do during our journey, it would be more accurate to say I did nothing but practice with them for an entire week, but, well...

Actually using them for something that didn't revolve around beating the ever-living shit out of scum sounded like a pretty nice change of pace.

"J-jump? My lady, I-I don't think that's a good idea!" Leana yelped fearfully, inching away from me slightly.

I scoffed. "What're you talking about? It's a great plan!" I smirked as I grabbed the reins of the cart with one hand before effortlessly dragging it forward, ignoring Leana's stuttering as I did.

This girl really needed to loosen up a little. She was way too tense considering she was practically walking with what might very well have been a god in human form.

Still, regardless of her complaints, it only took the two of us around fifteen minutes before we were standing before the great wall. I craned my head backward, looking skyward with gleaming eyes.

I could barely see the top from this angle, that was just how tall this monstrous thing was.

And I was gonna jump over it.

My grin widened even further as I closed my eyes, focusing inward and onto the nigh-endless energy coursing through of me.

As far as I'd been able to determine through all the experimentation I had done so far, I had three main powers, each of whom was powerful enough to make me a natural disaster in its own right. Together, however, they made me into something so much greater.

And the best part was, I knew damn well that I was only scratching the surface.

My first and most straightforward power was my strength. It was definitely the least versatile, since there are only so many ways you can make use of your ability to pulverize trees by flicking your finger at them, but it was also my most powerful.

The second of them was my durability. Axes broke on my skin, swords slid off of me, and arrows bounced off uselessly. I was also pretty damn sure that I was immune to poison, considering all the assassination attempts, but I wasn't 100% sure.

And finally, the power that I would be using now and also my favorite, my inner energy.

It was this power that granted me the ability to fire blasts capable of annihilating villages, that allowed me to heal wounds, and so many more things.

And as I reopened my eyes, grabbed the cart with both hands and channeled my energy, I fully intended on making use of one of those 'things'.

Leana yelped, holding onto the cart as though her life depended on it as I lifted the entire thing up, holding it together with my energy as I did.

I wasn't sure if what I was doing right now could be called tactile telekinesis or whatever else, but considering the idea for this little application of my energy came from comic books where the heroes were able to hold up trains and somehow not make them fall apart, I felt like that might have been the right name for it.

My legs tensed as I crouched, energy flaring around me so powerfully that trees were crushed and uprooted, the snow melted, and stones were sent flying away. It was only thanks to my efforts that Leana and the cart didn't befall a similar fate.

Leana's screams grew in volume, her eyes wide as saucers as the ground rumbled, shaking lightly even as my muscles tensed even further.

And then, finally, I jumped, willing my energy to reduce my and the cart's weight to as low as I could manage for now.

And, just like that, we flew.

It was exhilarating. It was everything I could have ever dreamed of, as the ground grew more and more distant even as the top of the wall grew closer.

I laughed bright and loud, my love for my powers only growing even more as we sailed upward like birds taking off.

When I'd first landed on this world, I would have never been able to do this. Back then, my energy had been smaller and harder to control. Not by all that much, mind, but it was enough to be significant.

My grin grew even wider at the thought, and as we finally passed the top of the wall, our achievement celebrated only by my laughter and Leana's terrified screaming, I made myself a promise.

No matter where life led me, no matter how beautiful or horrible this world was, no matter how difficult it was going to be... I was going to master my powers, no matter what.

After all, if I could achieve this kind of freedom with only some half-hearted lazy exploration less than a month into my new life... What was I going to achieve a year from now with fully dedicated training?

I couldn't wait.