Silence reigned over the foothills, of the awe-inspiring mountains rising above. Within this deafening silence, walked a single figure, that of an Automaton. It marched slowly, and deliberately, towards the gate carved into the range, basked in the warm morning light that gave rise to a thick, shrouding fog. Its humid veil swept over the gate and concentrated around the Automaton as if it were attempting to conceal the gate from an unwanted intruder. The fog's attempt, however, was ultimately futile against the Automaton's optics which could observe any or all of the electromagnetic spectrum as required by the Automaton for operational purposes.
Unimpeded by the fog, the Automaton drew ever closer to the gates.
Upon reaching a distance of merely five kilometers away from the gate, the land rumbled, and the Automaton paused its march.
The rumbling scared off animals and mysterious creatures the Automaton had never seen before and reached its climax as the origins revealed themselves.
All four of the statues standing before the gate had awoken, ready to ward off any who would dare trespass upon the land they guard.
"Unknown Entities Spotted..."
"Initiating Contact With Unknown Entities According To Universal Article 17E, And In Accordance Of Current Primary Objective..."
"Unknown Entities, Disarm Yourselves Of Your Weapons And Proceed To Communicate In Your Native Language, As Specified In Universal Article 17E, Communication Will Begin Upon Successful Language Match Or Translation..."
The Automaton's commands were being repeated in every language in its database for the best possibility of communicating with these unknown entities. However, clearly, these entities did not understand or care about what the Automaton wanted, as one of the massive statues raised its war hammer high over its head, and swung down, towards the Automaton with fierce determination to destroy the trespasser.
"Estimating Threat Level..."
"Threat Level: Z..."
"Adding Observed Action To Attempted Assault, Deterrence, And Obstruction..."
"You Are Assaulting Nylus Corporation Property Assigned With A Task Prioritized As Level A, Your Rights Under Universal Article 17E, Are Hereby Forfeit..."
The Automaton's left shoulder tip peeled apart, once again revealing the small, red crystal within. The statue's hammer that was bearing down towards the Automaton, suddenly, and in a bright flash of red light, burst apart at its head, sending chunks of rock flying in every direction, even into the statues themselves who did their best to protect themselves from the high-velocity stone projectiles flying in every direction.
The statue, whose hammer's head had been blown apart, collapsed onto its back, riddled with impact marks on its chest. It was also missing its left arm, a portion of its head, and a large part of its right shoulder. The other statues had not gone unharmed by the storm of stone that had been blown their way, although none were missing any limbs, and had, thankfully for them, only suffered minor damage.
Their opponent, the Automaton, stood below, its shoulder still open, and the red crystal's promise of destruction still shining brightly.
The three remaining statues lost themselves in a fit of rage against the black menace that had destroyed one of their ancient brothers. Charging forward with all their might, upheaval followed every step the statues made.
Unfazed by the charging statues, the Automaton firmly embedded its feet into the ground as its left shoulder crystal shone brighter by the moment. With its posture secured, the Automaton unleashed oblivion from the small crystal that seemed to have no end to its ruinous energy.
In a single instant, the world was awash in red light, as a red beam cut horizontally across the sky, slicing the statues in half. The beam continued through the statues and separated the mountain's top from its base, causing an avalanche of boulders and small rocks to fall upon the gate and its surroundings. The red guillotine of light faded off in the distance as it parted clouds and continued to travel far beyond.
Tremendous quakes rocked the area due to the impact of the falling halves of the statues and the rockslide occurring on the mountain.
Sunken knee-deep into the ground, the Automaton disregarded the destruction it had caused, as it placed its hands against the ground and extended its arms to free itself from the ground.
"Threat Eliminated; Proceeding With Primary Objective..."
The Automaton gave little heed to the tremors and showers of rock that fell from the mountain as it continued onwards towards the gate that held steady against the quakes and boulders ravaging the area.
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Far from the mountains, bustle permeated the wide streets of a city that shone as a beacon of hope, joy, and new beginnings for all those who wished to have another try at success. Shops, inns, homes, and a variety of other buildings lined the city's immense main streets and showed scarce signs of poverty.
The alleys branching off of the main roads were lit by the soothing, cyan glow, of mana lamps, leaving no place for shadows in which thieves or other vagrants could use to prey upon those who used this magnificent web of paths to travel at their leisure to any part of the city they desired.
However, even a city such as this has its own underbelly of crime, no matter what security there is, or how prosperous and happy its people are, there is always room for the underworld to take root.
The main streets all spiraled outwards from the resplendent castle that lay at the heart of the royal capital, serving as the center of the entire Gaemon Kingdom, the wealthiest and mightiest human kingdom in the local region.
Strange vessels flew high above the city. Some carried cargo like food, seeds, materials, smithing supplies, luxuries, and even more things required for the daily life and operation of the kingdom. Another significant amount of these vessels carried people from all over the kingdom to their destinations. A few of these vessels were engraved with an emblem of the Kimordian heavenly beast, the immortal guardian of the country, this identified the ships as the ever-vigilant security forces of the nation and the city. The smallest portion of these vessels had strange apparatuses attached to their outer hull which were transmitting the audio of a ceremony occurring within the castle; a ceremony that everyone within city quieted down for as they listened to the Archduke's speech.
"Today! We, as a people, come together to bear witness to the holiest of unions, between our beloved Princess, Sophia Gaemon, and the most daring Prince, Keiden Orben."
Cheers and applause rose from the city, sounding even into the throne room of the castle where the wedding was taking place.
"Our distant neighbors, the people of the Orben Kingdom, on this day, shall become our brothers and sisters. Our long alliance will evolve into a bond of family. We shall aid each other as one does family. And now, together as family, we shall no longer need to fear an invasion from the dwarves! Our love bound bond shall not forgive the dwarves should they dare to invade the land of our brothers, of our sisters! On this day! We set in motion the start of a new era! An era that shall lead us to greater prosperity, greater joy, and greater safety for ages to come!"
The city's exhilaration filled the air and sounded for kilometers beyond the city's walls.
"I will preside over this holy marriage, and I am proud to be given this honor by our esteemed King, Aimor Gaemon."
Calm and silence slowly returned to the city as the people ardently listened to the Archduke's words.
"Now, a few words from our revered Queen, Milinda Gaemon!"
The quieting city once again burst into cheers; respect and admiration filled the air and hearts of all citizens of the Gaemon Kingdom for their great Queen.
"Thank you, everyone. I am the Queen of our great Kingdom, I have command over an army of millions, I am a mage of exemplary power, but more importantly than all of these, I feel blessed as a mother, to see my lovely Sophia find someone she wants to devote everything to, as I have. Decades ago, I gave up my study of magic in the academy to follow the love of my life, the most unreasonable man I've ever known, and now my husband, Aimor Gaemon. In those days, I was a mere little girl chasing the valiant Prince of our Kingdom, but I put reason in that unreasonable head of the Prince, and through our time together in situations of danger that were most certainly just as unreasonable as the Prince, we grew together, our love forged in the perils of combat. My daughter and Prince Keiden have been through just as much to reach this point. Their love bloomed even while they were separated by the Dwarven mountain range that proved most hazardous, even for a Prince or Princess, to cross. And now, after all of their hardships, their hearts will be linked as husband and wife for all of eternity!"
Applause and cheers rocked the city; exuberance overflowed at every turn, even in the underworld of the city.
"Thank you, Queen Milinda, for your words."
"It was my pleasure, Archduke Heivon."
The people of the city once again began to quiet down as the Archduke resumed speaking.
"Today, Prince Keiden, the love between you and Princess Sophia shall be cemented in the annals of our two Kingdoms; everyone present in our royal capital, Aurhon, shall be earwitness of your determination as a couple. Our divine guardian, the Kimordian, shall be the heavens witness of your union; our and your, King and Queen, bless your marriage with all of their heart.
Prince Keiden, do you promise to stand by Princess Sophia's side as her husband in health and sickness, in joy and sorrow, in fortune and misfortune, do you promise to love, protect, and hold no truth from Princess Sophia with all of your might?"
"I do."
"Princess Sophia, do you promise to stand by Prince Keiden's side as his wife in health and sickness, in joy and sorrow, in fortune and misfortune, do you promise to love, protect, and hold no truth from Prince Keiden with all of your might?"
"I do."
"Prince Keiden, would you stand before our divine guardian and say that Princess Sophia will be the eternal love of your life?"
"I would."
"Princess Sophia, would you stand before our divine guardian and say that Prince Keiden will be the eternal love of your life?"
"I would."
"Princess Sophia and Prince Keiden, you stand here to declare and seal your promise of marriage. Your vows shall be eternal; none shall have the power to undo your promises. You shall define your union through your intentions, through your vision, through your will."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The Archduke paused, waiting for absolute silence to reign over the crowd. Outside, the entire city had gone silent enough to hear the smallest cough in the farthest of alleyways.
"Prince Keiden, as you look into Princess Sophia's eyes, please recite your vows."
"In the sacred presence of the Kimordian, I, Keiden, choose you, above all others, Sophia, to experience the wonders and sadnesses, the triumphs and failures, of life with me;
I promise freely and openly, from my heart, to give you,
my respect,
my understanding,
my trust,
my devotion,
my tenderness,
my strength,
my counsel,
my love,
and my very life for all of eternity, even in death, our souls will climb the heavenly stairs as one,
this is my solemn vow, with heavens' agent as my witness."
"Princess Sophia, as you look into Prince Keiden's eyes, please recite your vows."
"In the sacred presence of the Kimordian, I, Sophia, choose you, above all others, Keiden, to experience the wonders and sadnesses, the triumphs and failures, of life with me;
I promise freely and openly, from my heart, to give you,
my respect,
my understanding,
my trust,
my devotion,
my tenderness,
my strength,
my counsel,
my love,
and my very life for all of eternity, even in death, our souls will climb the heavenly stairs as one,
this is my solemn vow, with heavens' agent as my witness."
At the wedding ceremony, as Prince Keiden and Princess Sophia finished reciting their vows, an aide brought forward, to the Archduke, a radiant, white crystal box adorned with black mana gems of the mystical and rarely seen Space element. Opening the box, the Archduke took out two; pure white rings, adorned with even larger black mana gems of the Space element than the ones embedded on the box.
"These rings have been forged from an eternal feather of the Kimordian. They represent the vows and promises spoken today.
They reflect the commitment those words inspire and all your hopes and dreams for the future.
They are a bridge for your souls to communicate and be bound to one another."
The Archduke placed a ring in both Prince Keiden's and Princess Sophia's outstretched hands.
"Prince Keiden, as you place the ring on Princess Sophia's finger, please repeat after me:
This ring I give you
Is a symbol of my love and conduit for my soul.
I pledge to share with you my heart,
My land, and all of my worldly goods."
Keiden held the ring in his fingers as he took Sophia's hand and repeated after the Archduke as he brought it close to Sophia's ring finger.
"This ring I give you
Is a symbol of my love and conduit for my soul.
I pledge to share with you my heart,
My land, and all of my worldly goods."
Keiden smoothly slid the ring onto Sophia's ring finger as he finished repeating after the Archduke.
"Princess Sophia, as you place the ring on Prince Keiden's finger, please repeat after me:
This ring I give you
Is a symbol of my love and conduit for my soul.
I pledge to share with you my heart,
My land, and all of my worldly goods."
Sophia deftly mirrored Keiden's movements as she repeated after the Archduke.
"This ring I give you
Is a symbol of my love and conduit for my soul.
I pledge to share with you my heart,
My land, and all of my worldly goods."
Sophia also smoothly slid the ring onto Keiden's ring finger as she finished repeating after the Archduke, and held Keiden's hands
"May the vows and promises you have made today be as eternal in your hearts and souls as these rings are on your fingers."
A thunderous shrill descended from the skies over the city and resounded throughout the streets and nearby lands. All who heard the cry felt their heartbeat quicken, and their breath draw short, for that was the sound of the Kimordian's approval of this wedding.
"Our divine guardian, an agent of the heavens, has blessed this marriage, that is a sign the heavens themselves bless this marriage; in the lost name of our ancestors, may your love be eternal even in the divine realm."
The reverberations of the Kimordian's shrill lasted for seconds on end, and when they finally did stop, the Archduke continued the ceremony.
"Throughout this ceremony, Princess Sophia and Prince Keiden have vowed, in our presence and heavens agent, to be loyal and loving towards each other.
They have formalized the existence of the bond between their hearts and souls with words spoken and with the giving and receiving of rings.
Therefore, it is my pleasure to now pronounce them husband and wife.
Prince Keiden, you may now kiss your bride!"
Keiden's eyes shone with passion, as he gently took Sophia into his embrace and kissed her, the sensations he'd felt when kissing her before were like a soft spring breeze compared to the loving warmth of her soul that he now felt radiating into himself due to the rings' soul linking effects.
Once again the Kimordian's shrill descended from the skies, however, this time, its cry was filled with joy that seeped into everyone's hearts all over the city, even those beyond the city's walls could feel happiness tingling at their hearts.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, for those of you who have come to witness this union and for those of you listening, it is my pleasure to present the newly united couple, Prince Keiden and Princess Sophia."
Cheers and applause, once again, arose from the city and the crowd present within the castle's throne room. A festive air spread to every inch of the city as celebrations got underway. The airships finally stopped transmitting audio as the ceremony came to an end, and the after-party began.
The faces of every citizen glowed with pride and joy towards their kingdom and its distant brother. The infectious rapture filling the city was being amplified by the Kimordian's previous cry of delight, promising that the remainder of the day and night would be a long and hearty one.
Within the castle's throne room, the Archduke loudly cleared his throat, silencing the crowd present.
"Everyone, please follow Princess Sophia and Prince Keiden to the castle's garden for the after-party, there you may see and congratulate them."
Following the Archduke's words, Princess Sophia and Prince Keiden led the crowd to the garden, where large tables had been set up, each table held a tremendous amount of food of every variety one could dream of.
Back in the castle's throne room, two men sat atop two very different thrones as they watched everyone follow behind the Princess and Prince.
"Brother George, I don't believe I need to remind you of what will happen if Keiden somehow disappoints, or hurts my little girl, right?"
"*sigh* Brother Aimor, you need not worry yourself, if my son dares do anything to hurt little Soph's feelings, I will personally teach him how to be a gentleman."
King Aimor's throne was made of polished white marble and inscribed with lime green depictions of a large bird crossing its wings in the protection of a city from an invading army of, clearly, small sized human figures that wore incredibly thick armor and stood beside giant featureless golems.
King George's throne, on the other hand, was made of grey limestone rock and was adorned by various types of mana gems, even space element ones like on the crystal box and the rings it had contained, in the shape of a broadsword running horizontally across both sides of his throne.
Quiet slowly filled the throne room of the castle as the two men stood up from their thrones.
"Brother George, I believe we should join the party, after all, what is a royal wedding party without us kings?"
"True, I cannot imagine a party without us fathers embarrassing our lovely little son and daughter."
Both kings laughed as they exited the throne room, and entered the garden that was filled with a relaxing symphony and the sound of lively conversations.
"*sigh*... Brother George, I must go find Milinda before she drinks too much, else I shall not have any sleep tonight."
"Of course, I-"
King George was interrupted by a flood of red light blinding everyone present, including himself. By the time he reopened his eyes, he could see that Queen Milinda was casting something and followed her eyes to a red wave of energy that was approaching the city at an incomprehensible speed. The wave's trajectory would make it pass over the city, but that would make it collide with the hundreds of airships present in the city's airspace.
Unease filled everyone present as they gazed upon the red tidal wave that was growing ever closer.
Beyond the city's walls, a crude, massive barrier of mana appeared in the wave's path. Following the appearance of the barrier, Queen Milinda finished casting her own that was clearly much more refined than the first to appear, but much smaller. Mages in and around the city followed the example and created their own barriers behind Queen Milinda's and the mysterious first one, all to strengthen the city's defense against this mystifying wave of energy.
It took mere moments for the sinister wave to cross the distance and collide with the massive mana barrier, the Queen's barrier and that of many mages throughout the city and its surroundings.
The collision was violent beyond all threads of imagination.
A black tear upon reality itself tore open at the center of the impact.
Whitish-blue flames radiated out from the edges of the scar in the sky, swallowing over a hundred airships in an instant. Rapidly evaporating moisture in the air blanketed the city and sky in a layer of mist, but just as suddenly as it had come, the fog was blown away by the explosion's strangely delayed shockwave that shattered windows and the eardrums of many people within and around the city. However, the worse was not over, as pieces of airships began raining upon the city, some as large as a hundred meters, others as small as a few centimeters. Many people and buildings were crushed by the larger pieces, while the smaller fragments started several fires throughout the city.
Chaos filled the previously joyful hearts of everyone as they watched, ran, or even prayed to the heavens for safety, and the heavens provided.
Descending from the skies was a titanic, blindingly white bird with streaks of black and lime green flowing through its feathers. It flew down and destroyed pieces of falling airships, the hurricane-like winds accompanying its arrival extinguished some of the smaller fires, but caused several larger ones to grow in intensity.
Further worsening the calamity was the fact that many mages had suffered brain hemorrhages, or even died, from overexerting their mana in defense of the city, in the castle's garden a majority of the mages had been able to take the strain, but a few apprentices couldn't. One of these apprentices was Princess Sophia, who was being cradled by Prince Keiden as he yelled for Queen Milinda to aid Sophia.
The Queen heard his desperate cries and proceeded to push her way through the dumbstruck guests ignoring whoever was in her path as she made her way towards Sophia and Keiden. Falling to a knee next to Sophia as she arrived, Milinda did her best to heal her daughter, but in the end, all she could do was stabilize Sophia's condition from becoming any worse. The sounds of havoc from outside of the castle drifted into Milinda's ears, her sense of duty as Queen called to her, told her she had to leave, to help her people, to save those she can.
"Keiden! Stay here, with Sophia. I must go to help my people. I trust you to keep her safe during this time. Do not fail me."
"I will not let anything happen to her, even should it cost me my life; this, I promise!"
Tears silently slid down the Queen's cheeks as she stood up and rushed out of the castle to aid her citizens, no matter how much she may have wanted to stay with her comatose daughter.
No one could believe that such a catastrophe could happen, especially on this day, a day where both kingdoms were supposed to celebrate the marriage between Prince Keiden and Princess Sophia. A day that had been blessed by the heavens themselves, and yet there was no hiding from the sight of the royal capital ablaze, of pieces of airships crushing buildings and people, of lives being torn asunder, and of the tear in the sky.
----------------------------------------
Far from the royal capital, unaware of the tragedy it had caused, the Automaton reached the gate and stopped to inspect towering construct, for but a moment before it raised its right arm, placed its hand on the gate and pushed.