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His father's secondary measures were...extensive, to say the least. Whatever the _cukani_had been rendered down to, Lorenus needed to figure out both a means of detecting it and how to engineer it himself, because the sheer strength of the drug had been more than sufficient to leave him all but insensate to the outside world for nearly a full day. By the time that it burned through his system, he had left both Dumisani and Sithembile completely fucked, dripping from both ends and with their cocks flaccid and unable to get hard regardless of physical stimulation.

Shaking his head as he slithered away from the elephants, he made his way instead to the throne room. His slaves were already waiting for him there, from Jelani the jackal perch, to Noru the rabbit that he had lent to the court, to Mesun, his panther attendant, and Raya, his monitor lizard and spy. The four of them had been assembled by the Old Hump himself, Ano having come back from whatever duties had claimed him for a time.

Lorenus slithered to the jackal, slowly dragging himself up the well-trained slave, shaking his head as Mesun and Raya pulled a table before the throne. It was a map table, showing off the lands of the Empire and the lands that surrounded it, as well.

"What have I missssed?" he asked, hissing tiredly.

"Very little, my lord. The Empire does not move much without the say-so of the Emperor, these days," the camel said with a bowed head. "There is little that you cannot influence, oh Emperor."

"Ssssave the sssweet-talking for later," he muttered. "I have a headache."

"Do your balls ache as well, oh ruler?"

"Old Hump...I sssswear..."

"I apologize, oh Emperor. I have studied the letter that you left behind, and I can imagine what your wishes are. But if you will state them plainly for all of us?"

The naga shook his head, looking down at the table. He had never thought that he would get to this point so quickly, but now that he was head of an Empire, the path forward was truly inevitable. His father had become a problem, and he needed to do something about him before it got worse. And more to the point, he needed to take steps to deal with the other lands around the Empire before his father took steps to ensure that he was completely boxed in.

"I want to conquer the world," he hissed.

"Then let us see our options, oh Great Emperor."

The camel stood on the other side of the map table, leaning forward like the administrator that he had become. The Old Hump had ever been the one that managed Lorenus's slaves, but he had many other talents, talents that his father would have been most displeased to learn about if he had ever taken the time to study the slaves that his son cultivated. Ano had the mind to see through the different possibilities, to see the stumbling blocks, and more than that, to see the tools that might be assembled through an action.

He was not as brilliant as a serpent, but he was crafty and cunning. A useful man, provided that he was kept happy, and that was something that Lorenus took the time to ensure.

"We are surrounded on all sides," Ano said, dragging his fingers around the borders of the Sizwe Empire. "At the south and east, we have the coastline and sea. To the southwest, our new 'allies,' half of the forest serpents, while their more arboreal relatives still debate whether they should join us at all. To the west, mountains blocking us from the wastelands..."

All very defensible borders, Lorenus knew. They wouldn't have to fear someone backstabbing them once they had the snakes dealt with. The Forest of the Flying Serpents was not a land of great enemies, but it was a land of great resources, and the lumber would give them something else to trade, something else that would bring coin or food into the land. That was something that they were desperately in need of after the last few wars and the change in regime. The Sizwe had been pushed to their limits, and now...

War must come, and soon, but if I don't do this intelligently, I will not have an Empire to rule afterward...

"To the north?" Lorenus prompted.

"There are two concerns. First, the Land of Six Tribes," Ano said, tapping the table. "Your little slave prince, Thulani, was from this land. Six tribes vie for supremacy in that land, always pushing to see who is the strongest. Unfortunately, they have a habit of allying against any incursion into their land, and they are strong warriors, as our scouts in the Snakelands found out."

Lorenus nodded, looking at the crater marks that were left on the map. The one time that the snake lords of the desert had bothered trying to wage war against the tribes, it had been a massacre. Even the intelligent slave soldiers that they had put to use against the tribes had been routed horribly, and the border had been dug out, creating an impossible entrance to the land of the tribes. Tunneling was impossible, as was any sane approach. They would be massacred in short order.

He knew that Sithembile had all but taken the monkey and primate lands, which meant that there was a weakness on the border. However, with five other tribes waiting for someone to step over that line to fight them...

I will have to try some new trick...

"And adjacent?" he asked, laying his chin on Jelani's shoulder .

"The Gila Lands, Master," the camel said, stroking his finger across the border. "Neutral parties, for the moment. It was how Prince Dumisani was able to visit us on the trade mission so long ago. He passed through their lands and then passed through them again on the way back."

"And we cannot usssse thisssss oursssselvesss?" he asked.

"They are neutral because of their trade status, and because they have the mercenaries to back it up. Unless we have the funds to pay for an army to cross their lands, we'll be pinned right here, or be forced to go through tribal land and down the indefensible border."

That was not what he had hoped to hear. For all that he had succeeded in taking the Empire, it seemed that he had been pinned in place just as well. He leaned forward, looking down at the table.

The map showed that the nearest tribe was the primates, and just north of them were the jackal people. The same as Jelani, and he cocked his head to the side.

"Do you remember anything of your people, perch?' he asked. "You have permisssssion to sssspeak."

"Very little, sir," the jackal muttered, his shoulders stiff and level, his body carefully stilled to keep it from shivering and shifting during his speech. "I was caught in a border raid when I was little more than a child."

"I ssssee. Do you remember anything at all?"

"I remember runners, and the quality of speed over all else."

He chuckled. That would explain a great deal about how much hypnosis had been required to still Jelani to a proper perch. The man had been very difficult to keep stiff and frozen like this, but if his culture was highly mobile, that would explain a fair chunk as to why.

The rabbits were nowhere to be seen, but he imagined that they were part of those that lived in the Great Plains, west of the Gila Lands and situated on a plateau that looked down on the rest of the lands. Much as he wished otherwise, it seemed that they were limited to either conquering their way through the tribal lands, or finding some sort of deal with the Gila people. Either way, they were bound to lose a great deal of resources making it happen.

But it would be better than trying to sail there...

Not only would he need to send all of the armies of the Sizwe north to match the forces of his people, stripping the borders bare in the process, he would be chancing himself against a long coastline with many naval defenses. The desert of the Snakelands was well-patrolled on the coast, mostly because of the various attempts at piracy out there, and while he had gained the services of the sharks of the south, as well as the orca people, they were still being integrated into the Empire. The Snakelands had the long-time services of the hammerheads, a shark tribe that had great experience in boarding ships unseen and taking them from their rightful owners.

No, a naval approach would be doomed to failure without much more prep time than he had.

I cannot wage an easy war, not after Sithembile waited for so long and nearly caused a famine...I cannot buy my way through...so I must trick my way into power...

Lorenus tapped his fingers against the jackal's other shoulder. Unasked, Mesun the panther approached, carrying a goblet of water. Lorenus sipped at it absently, shaking his head as he tried to imagine what he might do to open a route for himself.

"Old Hump?"

"Yes, Master?"

"If we are drained from war, how are the othersss on the map doing?"

"Well...As far as I have been able to glean, the primates and lions are the worst-off among the Land of Six Tribes. The spiny lizards and the cheetahs are doing particularly well, considering that they have been able to diversify and supply themselves with trade goods through craftsmanship rather than merely through raiding and farming. The skunks and jackals are middling, well enough off to survive and thrive, but not able to do much extra just yet."

Lorenus nodded. A pity that he had given his word to Thulani not to invade the primates, but that would take care of itself over time. As for the other weaker tribe...

He stroked his tail towards the lion lands. Among the Six Tribes, the primates bordered him and the Gila, with the jackals north of them and the desert above that. The lions bordered him and the sea, and they had the skunks north of them. So long as the tribes were vying for supremacy, they would continue to cause each other trouble, and if the lions were truly decimated, that meant that they would be desperate for anything, even peace with their most hated enemy.

One long-term gamble, but this one...yes...

"Sir?" Ano asked.

"Ssssend two shipssss and one boar unit to the border, here," the naga said, tapping the map with his tail. "Noru will go with them."

"Me, Master?" the bunny asked, crossing his arms behind his back. "I will happily go, but you have only just regained me."

"And you will be usssed hard before your departure, fret not," he said with a small chuckle. "But with the troopsss going north, I want someone...harmlesssss among them."

The room filled with laughter. Noru, above all save Raya, was far from harmless. However, the rabbit's image was such that it projected a certain vulnerability, and with a tribe that was already damaged and fearful, it was good to put bait out there.

"What am I to tell them, Master?" Noru asked.

"Tell them that they are...invited to the Empire. Not to join, of coursssse - they wouldn't do that - but to come for giftsss."

"Gifts, Master?"

"Yes. Giftssss."

At a guess, he would imagine that the lions were desperate for more workers, more people to fill out their tribe again. They were among the weakest when someone of that species should be among the strongest. The lost pride would lead to concessions, a need to explore options that they wouldn't otherwise take.

And that would mean that they would come to him, and then they would be open to a different sort of suggestion. He smiled. Lions, properly bound, combined with the support of properly-trained slaves...yes, that would go a long way towards security a sixth of that land, and without any full direct action from him at the same time.

His slaves smiled with him, though he imagined that only Ano and Raya completely understood where his thoughts had bent. The camel leaned over the map, tapping the land of the primates.

"And them, great Master?"

"They will be left alone, for now. My 'gift' of their prince bearssss poisssson."

"You have left a trap with him, Master?"

"I have left him with mirrorssss of my eyesssss."

The slaves all stared for a moment, then gradually got the idea. Lorenus's gift to the departing prince had been a slow spiral in the back of his eyes, something that almost no-one would be able to notice, but one that would gradually act as a mental poison to the entire tribe. They would slowly lose bits and pieces of their ability to remain independent, their will sapped by the spiral every time that they were around the prince, until he was their one remaining strong-willed member.

The rest would be more than willing to fall under the banner of the Sizwe when he offered them the chance, and the prince? Well, he would find himself ill at ease among his own people once again. The departed monkey would be back in the fold soon enough, and then things would change again.

Lorenus leaned back a little, smiling. His father might have all the pieces in his favor for the moment, but the game had begun. A few more resources extended, and he would have a few more pawns of his own. And after that...

This is the gamble, he thought, looking over the map. If I gain what I think I will, then I'll have the food and supplies to make it through the starvation. If I can secure my borders with the snakes, then I will have a powerful empire with a great heartland. And if I can gain the lions and push towards the rich tribes...

There was a great deal of ifs involved in that, but no great campaign reached its end without some risk. Once the first domino fell, all the others would fall with greater ease, and even if someone managed to reach out and snatch one further down the line, he was creating a flood. It would carry itself to the end.

"Before you go, Noru..." He smiled. "Let'ssss all have ssssome fun."

The End