Chapter 1660 – It Spread Like a Virus pt 7

The Cult of the Hound live in fear of the being that they worship. Torra the Dread Dog is surrounded by such a blanketing aura of terror that there are only a handful of records of anyone even laying eyes on the Ancient.

At least, laying eyes on them and then being able to speak of the event afterwards.

Not the largest of the Ancients, nor the fastest, nevertheless the Cult does speak of the immense physical power the Ancient possesses. Fangs the size of trees, paws that drip with liquified screams, and a coat formed of wailing spirits. Torra is often described by the cultists as one of the deepest sleepers, among the last to wake. There have been several records of collective nightmares occurring across Pangera whenever the Dread Dog awakens, some sleepers drawn in to see something they would rather not.

– Excerpt from ‘Collective Wisdom of the Cults’ by Granin Lazus

[What do you mean, ‘exclusive rights?!’]

[I am certain you know what these terms mean, Satrap Umizan.]

The monster, Diplomant, sat opposite of the Satrap and cleaned her antennae leisurely, unfussed by the wiles of the negotiators across the table.

Umizan tried to gentle his tone.

[Of course the Colony has the rights to monetise the game of Tunnel Ball; they invented it, after all. However, my proposal is to purchase those rights. I cannot imagine the Colony has any need for them, what would you even do with such a thing? By selling them to me, you will be able to unburden yourself of such a cumbersome property.]

Eran, his wife, stomped on his foot and Umizan smiled through the pain. Perhaps he was moving too fast. But he had to. The brathians of his Conglomerate were amongst the first to be exposed to the Colony and therefore among the first to be exposed to the game. If it spread far, then there would be dozens of people banging on the Colony’s door, desperate to procure rights.

They could run leagues, sponsor teams, fill stadiums, sell tickets! The duelling arenas in the Silver City printed rivers of gold every year, and nobody could get a slice of the pie. If he were able to secure the rights to the game itself, then the Brathian Island Conglomerate would be able to sell licences all around the fourth stratum and collect money without even having to do anything!

[They aren’t for sale,] Diplomant said promptly. [You can, if you wish, purchase a local licence to run an official league here amongst your own people. As part of the agreement, you will gain access to umpire training from the official Colony academy, guidelines and marketing materials, along with access to the Colony-run inter-league competitions and World Cup.]

She idly clacked her mandibles.

[Of course, we have already registered our trademarks at the office of every major nation and empire in the fourth stratum and above. It’s only prudent.]

Umizan felt as if he were about to start vomiting blood.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The ants had already registered it everywhere and drawn up plans to exploit their intellectual property via licensing agreements?! That’s what he wanted to do! This was going to be huge. He could smell it.

Eran picked up on his desperation and smoothly stepped in to cover for him, bringing her overwhelming powers of persuasion to bear.

[Of course, we would never dream of impinging upon the rights of the Colony. You are our valued trading partners, after all.]

That was a reminder to Umizan, and he blinked to show he had understood the message. Don’t forget how profitable a partner the Colony is already. Ruining their goodwill for another deal would be like stabbing one side of his face to heal the other.