THE RULES OF THE OVERLORD ORZAND
Annotated by Yusis Orzand, "the least terrifying Overlord ever"
The rules of the Overlord Orzand are a form of mind-control. They can't be directly refused or broken. Flat-out saying "no" will erase the Savior-turned-Overlord's conscious mind, leaving only the Voice of Orzand in control.
The former Savior's soul remains inside the Overlord, but it's too deeply buried to be aware of much or do anything. The Voice modifies its plans for the annihilation of Kreisia based on the strengths of who its host used to be; that's all. The former Savior's soul remains trapped and helpless until the Overlord's undead body - the Greater Seal on Kreisia's miasma - is destroyed.
After my friends and I defeated Overlord Clize, I had a brief opportunity to speak with the freed soul of Savior Clize. He told me that he had resisted the Voice of Orzand's demand to %Protect Kreisia from all life% (see rule #2) with all his strength, and lost his consciousness to a "void" of "drifting nightmare".
Every Savior-turned-Overlord before me was erased. I'll eventually be erased too, but not by accident. The mind-control always kicks in first; it automatically blocks any words or actions that would break the rules, and it pushes me to take action if doing nothing would break the rules. I feel it in my thoughts.
I'll get erased when I directly resist being blocked, when I slack off on upholding the rules for too long, or when I can't take any more and erase myself. I've come closer to that last thing than I want to admit. More than once.
Other undead monsters don't have the Overlord's rules. Not even Lesser Seals. Other monsters are simply pressured to %Protect Kreisia from all life% because of their miasma, and because they must obey the Overlord. Lesser Seals get pressured way worse than any other monster, which is why no risen Lesser Seal has ever kept their own mind for long.
Miasma won't let any monster submit to being destroyed; when a monster's existence is threatened, it's forced to either fight back or run away. Unlike the Overlord, other monsters can "surrender" in the sense of retreating from a "serious" battle. Other monsters aren't required to prepare for the next Savior, and they aren't blocked from refusing a challenge to duel, making obeisance, or even showing mercy to the living.
Instances of monsters showing mercy to the living are extremely rare, and the Overlord can override anything a monster wants to do with a direct command. Despite this, a few monsters (like Sasha) have stayed so far on the edge of the Overlord's awareness that they could sometimes get away with doing not-very-monster-like things.
(I started talking to Sasha after I saw her acting in some unusually merciful ways toward the living, in the memories of other monsters. Conversations with Sasha helped me stay sane for ten years. Since Orzand knows what I know, about her or anything else, I promised to free her from the curse of the miasma before Orzand erases me.)
(My friends helped me keep my promise. If my friends had been unable to free Sasha - if my %Time Stop% had failed and they were monsters, or if they couldn't defeat Sasha in battle - then my backup plan was to make Cynthia's monster hunter parents do it.)
(I knew Cynthia's parents could take down Sasha, if I used %Monster PA% to announce a dragon attack and summoned Sasha outside of their village's border. Cynthia's parents have destroyed a lot of strong monsters in their time, and they fought in the guerilla war against Overlord Clize's first Lesser Seal. They're two of the monster hunting guild's few survivors. They even dealt the final blow to finish off that Lesser Seal; I saw it in the Lesser Seal's memories.)
For ten years, I've searched the miasma's preserved memories of destroyed monsters, including the memories of past Overlords and Lesser Seals, looking for ways to get around the rules of the Overlord Orzand without directly opposing them. I've learned a few things, but I can't escape this trap on my own.
My only real hope is that I can hang on to my mind and hold off from murdering people, for long enough. Long enough for my friends and the next Savior to help me.
In the best case, we'll find a way to break Kreisia's cycle, and permanently end the threat of the miasma.
The second best case would be finding a way to keep Orzand and miasma's pressure from erasing me. Then I could be "an Overlord who does nothing." Kreisia would stay safe for... well, maybe forever.
I think I'm prepared to deal with that. It's not easy to grasp what "forever" or "an eternity of undeath" really means, but I'd have plenty of time to get used to it, you know?
I don't have much hope for this option, anyway. Orzand and the miasma are growing stronger with the passage of time, and their growth rate is accelerating. I think only the Overlord's destined battle with the Savior can reverse that.
In the second worst case, the next Savior will have to continue the cycle by destroying me and becoming the next Overlord Orzand. That's fine for me, I guess, since my soul would be freed from this disgusting curse, but it's not a fate I'd wish on the next Savior. Or on literally anyone.
Also, I'm convinced that continuing the cycle will doom Kreisia within several more centuries, at most. Maybe much sooner than that. Maybe as soon as a few decades.
The living population of Kreisia is becoming fewer and fewer. The Overlord's reign of terror, in each turn of the ten-year cycle, is slaughtering too many people. Advances in both magic and technology have slowed to a crawl. King Cedric Welkin has brought some improvement by (mostly) ending discrimination between Kreisia's three races, but...
Then there's the worst possible case. If the next Savior is destroyed, or if I'm destroyed with no Savior around to replace me...
%Miasma falls, everyone dies.%
That really is exactly what will happen.
1) *The Overlord must prepare to confront the next Savior in a battle to the death.*
This directive overrides all others. It is unique in that it comes from the Holy Brand Aldea, which writes it on the Savior's soul immediately before the Overlord is created as the Greater Seal upon Kreisia's miasma. It is also unique in that it functions more like a law of physics than a rule - it flat-out can't be resisted or broken, at all.
This rule is the only reason why the Overlord doesn't immediately destroy all life on Kreisia with the %Miasma falls, everyone dies% spell, as soon as he's strong enough to cast it. %Miasma falls, everyone dies% would absorb the Overlord's body into his own miasma vortex, making it impossible for him to prepare for the destined battle.
Aldea's rule does not stop the Overlord from killing people, or sending miasma and monsters to raze whole cities. The Overlord can still do horrible things to make Kreisia call out for a Savior, or to get the Savior's attention and demand a showdown.
Aldea told me that it uses this rule, and not something like "Don't kill anyone," because a command that directly contradicts the miasma's "hatred of life" would make the Greater Seal unable to attract or contain miasma, and therefore unable interrupt Orzand's attempt to cast %Miasma falls, everyone dies.%
Implanting this rule and imprisoning the newly created Greater Seal/Lesser Seals drains Aldea's power. Aldea doesn't have enough strength to add any more demands on top of this rule, like "Prepare for the battle to the death, and don't kill anyone in the meantime." To regain its power, Aldea has to "sleep" in an inert state for nearly ten years.
Aldea also told me that it can't write on the Savior's soul in advance. It can implant this command only when it's time for the Savior to die and become the Greater Seal.
Aldea did not warn me about exactly how it does this, or what it feels like.
Maybe I should have guessed that Aldea can only write on the soul of a living Savior. Or that it has to stab that living Savior's body to get at the soul. Or that it has to forcibly keep the Savior alive and paralyzed the entire time. Or that the whole process is completely incompatible with any kind of pain relief.
A warning would have been appreciated.
It wasn't as painful as when Aldea used its non-damaging "steal my voice and make me want to scream" attack on me, but Aldea only did that once, and only for a few seconds. Not five whole minutes.
I hate you, Aldea.
2) %The Overlord must protect Kreisia from all life.%
Other than Aldea's command, this is the strongest drive within the Overlord Orzand. The Overlord must "protect Kreisia"... by destroying all life. The Overlord is not "at war" with Kreisia's living population, any more than a homeowner is "at war" with insects infesting his house.
Nothing that lives is to be spared, although some living beings may have their execution prioritized or delayed.
In certain cases, the execution of one or more living beings may be scheduled for a future time. The farthest advance time allowed is "immediately after the next Savior is destroyed". ("After the next Savior is destroyed" also includes if the next Savior abandons his duty, or if Kreisia becomes so depopulated that no Savior can be summoned.)
The Overlord has some choice over how he sets about exterminating all life, and how many of those killed are reanimated as undead monsters. To the Overlord, miasma is a limited resource, although the quantity of miasma the Overlord has access to grows over time. Miasma that is used to animate monsters can't be used to blight land or fuel spells.
(If a person or an animal stays dead for too long, or is cremated, then their soul departs and miasma can't reanimate them as undead. Animal souls in particular tend to move on super-quickly.)
Aldea has told me that tactically-minded Saviors become Master Tactician Overlords, who coordinate supremely powerful monsters. Warrior Saviors become Warrior Overlords who attack with brute force (like Overlord Clize). Magically inclined Saviors become Wizard Overlords, who devastate Kreisia with apocalyptic spells.
As for me... I've been a slacker for nearly all my life.
I avoided doing my homework until the last minute, if at all. I coasted on C grades in school. I never had any serious goals for the future. Never even put much effort into trying to date girls. All I wanted was to have fun reading comics, watching TV, playing video games, and hanging out with friends.
As Kreisia's Savior, I had to focus on actually accomplishing something big, for the first time in my life. It wasn't easy, and I was bad at it. I almost ran away, almost left all of Kreisia to drown in miasma. I couldn't have defeated the previous Overlord without my friends, who helped and supported me every step of the way, even though I nearly abandoned them.
As Kreisia's Overlord, I'm slacking off again.
A couple days before I was strong enough to leave my castle and awaken my Primary Servants, I had just enough power to command monsters and direct miasma vapors around the world. The Voice of Orzand wanted me to get a head start on "protecting Kreisia".
Not today. I'm not killing anyone today, I have plenty of time to do it later. I'd rather read graphic novels transcribed from the memories of monsters, including previous Overlords. I have to prepare for the next Savior, right? I should review how Saviors have fought Overlords in the past.
Not today. I'm not murdering anyone today. It's a hassle, I don't want to deal with it yet. My %Overlord's decree% is for all monsters (including myself) to stay away from settlements, animals, and people, other than my servants or the next Savior (who might need to battle monsters to improve their skill at combat). The monsters are my reserves against the next Savior, so I'm not using them to attack anyone else right now.
I don't want to bother just yet. It's too much effort to exterminate any life right now. Fine, okay, I'll use miasma vapors to wipe out some plant life and insects. Those are the foundation of an ecosystem, you know. Kreisia is suffering because of me.
There, I blighted some land. That's enough progression for today. I'll kill the rest later. I'll do it when I feel like it.
This can't last forever. Slacking off never does. Eventually the student has to get a passing grade or flunk out of school. Sooner or later, the Voice of Orzand will flunk out Yusis, the least terrifying Overlord ever.
I just hope I can keep slacking off for long enough.
3) %The Overlord cannot surrender.%
The Overlord can never surrender to anyone, ever.
The Overlord can't stop fighting during a "serious" battle. Any confrontation with the Savior is a "serious" battle where the Overlord must continue fighting until he is either victorious or destroyed.
(It is possible for the Savior to retreat; that counts as a temporary "victory" that lets the Overlord stop fighting. As long as the Savior is able to regroup and continue the battle to the death, then the Overlord is still blocked from using %Miasma falls, everyone dies.%)
A one-on-one duel also counts as a "serious" battle, assuming the Overlord's challenger has demanded a duel in physical person.
The Overlord must regularly attack during a "serious" battle, as long as he has the ability to do so. The Overlord doesn't have to make every last battle action a damage-dealing attack; he can do things with effects other than direct harm. Like casting spells to empower himself or weaken his enemies.
The Overlord is still absolutely required to take duels or battles with the Savior "seriously". He can't just stand there and do nothing but defend or buff himself. He has to really try to hurt or kill his enemies. Or at least make them suffer.
Summoning monsters does count as an attack, but it also has to be done "seriously". I can't send a few weak rabbit-monsters against the next Savior and call it a day.
This rule also means that the Overlord can't intentionally do anything that would put himself at a severe disadvantage, especially in a "serious" battle. I can't take the form of a rabbit-monster to fight the next Savior. Any %Shapechange% I use has to be super-strong, either offensively or defensively.
When I dueled Laminah, I learned that this rule also affects what I can say in a "serious" battle. I can't give my opponent a play-by-play rundown of how I'm going to attack. I couldn't even warn Laminah that I was about to hit her with an overhead %Miasma Throw.% The Voice of Orzand keeps miasma's pressure turned up too high to allow that; while the Voice does "go dark" pretty often, I know it's not going to leave me alone when I fight the next Savior.
It is possible for the Overlord to unintentionally screw up, and put himself at a severe disadvantage that way. This rule doesn't make the Overlord any smarter or better at fighting than he already is. Unintentional screw-ups are part of why the Overlord has failed to destroy the Savior in every previous cycle. Orzand is so obsessed with hating and tormenting life that it's not very good at winning.
The Overlord can choose to put himself at a lesser disadvantage, if it's taking a risk for a gain. Like how Master Tactician Overlords sometimes use themselves as bait, to draw the Savior into their monster-traps. The "gain" doesn't have to be a tactical advantage; it can be just death, terror, or suffering, since those appeal to miasma.
(Miasma is all about "hatred of life" and "love of that which torments life," and it has direct power over the rules. I'm convinced that the rules used to be something more honorable, before miasma corrupted them.)
The Overlord can choose to engage in "tests" that do not qualify as "serious" battles. "Tests" can be used to gauge the strength of servants, especially the Overlord's Primary Servants (the former companions of the Savior-turned-Overlord), or other monsters, or possibly certain living people (this is extremely rare, since the Overlord is driven to destroy all life). The Overlord can choose to stop fighting and end a "test", but he can't surrender.
There's one other thing I confirmed, when I dueled Laminah. Taunting my enemies with information about myself isn't too close to surrendering. I can brag about my own powers.
I've never thought of myself as a braggart before, but that's what lets me share all the knowledge I can with everyone I can, even the next Savior. Whatever works.
4) %The Overlord cannot refuse a challenge to duel.%
Kreisia is not a dream or a game, but in some ways it resembles video games from my world. With this rule, Kreisia resembles a fighting game.
If a living person challenges the Overlord to a one-on-one duel in physical person, the Overlord must answer the challenge at once (even if he's in the middle of another battle!) and take it "seriously". He must summon a %Burning ring of fire% to block out all interference, and fight with effective attacks.
A side effect of the required %Burning ring of fire% is that the summoned force makes the duel start on more or less even terms. If the challenger (or the Overlord!) is bound, magic-dampened, or whatever, then the summoned force fixes that. The challenger and the Overlord have to begin the duel with a certain amount of space separating them.
The Overlord can't %Shapechange% during a duel. I'm not sure if that's an unwritten part of this rule, or if the required %Burning ring of fire% blocks the Overlord from taking the form of another monster. Not that it matters. The Overlord can change into his %Final Form,% if he has one (Master Tactician Overlords don't). The Overlord's %Final Form% doesn't count as a %Shapechange.%
I'm borderline required to assume %Final Form: Vision% when I answer a challenge to duel. I say "borderline" because %Final Form: Vision% does have a drawback; it costs power to maintain. If I were running low on power then maybe I could get away with dueling in my half-blind base form, but if I have power to spare then I can't give myself the disadvantage of fighting half-blind because %The Overlord cannot surrender.%
(I'd rather use %Final Form: Vision% anyway; it gives me a lot of information. Including information that I can use to avoid killing or permanently injuring my opponent.)
The challenge to duel must be made in physical person to invoke this rule. If it's made with long-distance communication, then the choice to answer is up to the Overlord.
This rule doesn't force the Overlord to answer a monster's challenge. Monsters are the Overlord's slaves; they don't get any privileges that they can use against the Overlord. Monsters can't kill monsters anyway.
(It's very rare for a monster to challenge the Overlord to a duel, but it has happened. Right now, the hydra on my island wants me to duel him as a test of his strength. He really wants to be ready for a glorious battle with the next Savior. I'll grant his request sometime soon.)
The Overlord can't summon any monsters during a duel - again, I'm not sure if that's an unwritten part of the rule or an effect from the %Burning ring of fire.% Most Master Tactician Overlords have been destroyed through duels; their strength is concentrated in their monsters, not themselves, so once the Savior got close enough to demand a duel in physical person, game over. Insert miasma to continue.
Dueling any type of Overlord other than a Master Tactician is a bad idea. No, I'm not a Master Tactician Overlord. Dueling me is a bad idea.
The Overlord is not necessarily required to execute the challenger immediately upon winning, but chances are the challenger will already be dead. Even if the challenger isn't dead, he can't demand another duel until at least a day passes.
Why is this a rule? I don't know. Would refusing to duel a challenger weaken the Overlord somehow?
5) %The Overlord makes obeisance to no one.%
In this rule, "obeisance" means something like... the Overlord never takes orders, only gives them. Unless those orders come from the Voice of Orzand, the Overlord's rules, or the "will" of miasma itself. The Voice, the rules, and miasma itself are all components of the Overlord, so obeying any of them doesn't mean the Overlord is making obeisance.
This rule doesn't mean the Overlord is compelled to refuse commands or requests. It means that the Overlord must have a desire or reason of his own for going along with whatever he's told to do.
So, this rule doesn't block me from doing most things, whether someone else tells me to do them or not. I just need some desire or reason of my own, no matter how minor or convoluted it is.
Also, the Overlord can't humble himself. Can't say things like "please" or "thank you", not in any sincere or meaningful sense. Can't do anything purely out of gratitude; there has to be some other desire or reason. Can't apologize for anything, ever.
Everything the Overlord says must be a command, or a statement, or a question. Or maybe speculation? Or maybe praise for something impressive, but nothing that shows real respect. The Overlord may choose to refrain from being brazenly disrespectful, in words or in actions, but that's all.
To the Overlord, all living beings are vermin to be eradicated (this includes my own Primary Servants - I've just scheduled their executions at the bottom of the timetable). All undead monsters are lesser servants or slaves.
I don't hate this mind-control more than the mandate to destroy all life, but it comes pretty close.
6) %The Overlord cannot show mercy to the living.%
In the long term, the Overlord is compelled to destroy all life. Even in the short term, the Overlord can't show mercy to the living.
This means the Overlord is blocked from doing anything that would directly heal or help a living creature, especially in battle. Not unless it would serve a higher rule, such as the rule to prepare for the destined battle against the next Savior. Or unless it would appeal to miasma, since miasma has direct power over the rules.
I've been searching for loopholes around this rule, especially since it's at the bottom of the priority list. If I can sidestep this rule, then I'll be less likely to kill the next Savior.
This rule almost blocked the %Time Stop% that I used to preserve the lives of my Primary Servants when they became Lesser Seals. I got around the rule by not thinking of the %Time Stop% as "mercy".
I told the Voice of Orzand that I would create a weapon no Overlord has ever wielded before - living Primary Servants. The next Savior wouldn't trust an undead monster, but living Primary Servants could get close to him and betray him, maybe even assassinate him.
My friends would never actually do this, and I think the Voice knew it. But the Voice decided to bargain with me for permission to use %Time Stop.%
Why did the Voice make a deal with me? I'm not completely sure. Maybe because the Voice is at its weakest when the Greater Seal is newly created. Maybe because the Voice just didn't care about my Primary Servants. (The Voice has never cared about its Primary Servants in any cycle; it uses and discards them like cheap toys.) Maybe because the Voice wanted to extract a demand for its own twisted amusement. The Voice likes messing with my emotions; it enjoys making me feel miserable or worse.
Recently, I reminded my Primary Servants that they carried magic items they could use to help themselves. I also warned them of danger. None of that counted as "showing mercy to the living"; I think it counted as "taunting the living" instead. I'll take any end run around this rule that I can get.
Undead monsters are not living, and the Overlord could maybe show mercy to them, but the only real "mercy" for a monster is to free its soul from the curse of the miasma. Monsters can't kill monsters, which means that I can't show mercy to monsters... at least, not directly.
Can the Overlord show mercy to himself? I don't think so, especially not in battle. It would be too close to surrendering, and rule #3 is %The Overlord cannot surrender.%
Undead monsters can't destroy themselves anyway, just like they can't kill other monsters. Miasma forbids anything like that; it wants monster souls to stay trapped forever. The only exception is the Overlord's %Miasma falls, everything dies% spell, which is beyond horrible, and the only thing that stops the Voice from making me cast it is Aldea's rule written on my soul.
I still hate you, Aldea. I don't think you really had to spend five whole minutes to write one sentence.
7) The Overlord does not cry.
This isn't exactly a mind-control rule. It just comes with being undead. No tear ducts, no crying, right? Miasma forbids monsters from mimicking the living too closely in certain ways, and that includes crying.
Maybe I could make my illusionary appearance "cry", but it would be totally fake.
There were times when I barely held back tears, as Kreisia's Savior. The Savior isn't supposed to show weakness; he's supposed to be Kreisia's greatest hope. It was all I could do to keep most of my breakdowns private.
As the Overlord... I'd cry for the monsters, if I could.
They're trapped in undeath, and driven mad by the Voice. They languish for years, decades, centuries, or more. They suffer so much that they erase their own minds. Only destruction can free their souls from the nightmare. Only the living can release them from their torment.
If the Voice of Orzand has its way, and all life on Kreisia is destroyed, then Kreisia's monsters will suffer for eternity.
Is it warped that I feel worse about the fate of Kreisia's monsters than its living people? Maybe not. The monsters all used to be living, too.
8) The Overlord does not feel physical pain.
Right before Aldea literally stabbed me in the back, it said, "Let this be the last pain you feel."
I really hate you, Aldea.
Again, this isn't exactly a mind-control rule. Undead monsters just don't feel physical pain, or much of anything physical. I do have a very limited sense of "touch". Sort of.
I can feel miserable mentally, and I can be disoriented or outright scrambled, especially by holy magic. (Bright lights annoy me but don't hurt me, and %Final Form: Vision% does let me process bright lights with no problem.)
I don't like taking physical damage, but that's not because it's painful. It's because getting injured reminds me of what I've become - a glorified miasma sewer that I have to %Regenerate,% like I'm an earthworm.
No, wait. That's being rude to earthworms.
I hate being a disgusting undead thing. I absolutely hate being mind-controlled to destroy all life, and I particularly hate how some other, well-meaning Savior will have to take my place, or else all of Kreisia is doomed.
There has to be a way to break Kreisia's cycle. There has to.
End of Appendix: The Rules of the Overlord Orzand
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