"Often it is discussed how much of a logistical nightmare the construction of the Vermilion Highways was, in the Imperium's wars against our cousins to the east it was a prime target for all manners of spells, miracles, and other forms of long-range warfare. In this manual we will go through some of its history, the people that built these highways, and our many victories and failures against it"
Field Manual for Imperium Officers 3rd Edition Revised.
"...We have information from Lucrezia's new Goddess Ally, the star sector has been locked down to a particularly treacherous part of the galaxy..." Men and women ran past Richard and the Matriarch of Clan Silverbrand speaking of the upcoming war "...No dragon support, no Divine Support besides her forces, the All-Father is leery of messing with someone that managed to evade his sight for so long..."
"I've always fancied visiting these moon elven cities you know? But they were barred from regular people for no good reason, and now we have our port right into the heart of their capital, Little Lucrezia truly is the gift that keeps on giving" the Matriarch smiled a sadistic grin "and a grandchild as well! I am suspicious of prophecies and Future Reading but this once, I shall not complain about it" Arriving at a room planned for the meetings to come, Richard beheld the "Sea of Stars" as Lucrezia called it.
"Now grandson, speak what ails you so. For it is clear in your face" The wizened woman spoke with a tenderness only a grandmother could and so Richard laid his heart bare to her, she nodded and replied when a particular topic came up but mostly just listened. He felt a great weight lift from his shoulders and heart as he finished "Tell the young Lucrezia to seek me out afterward, we may not be tied by blood but it is only right that I also give support to her in these trying times" The Matriarch tapped her fingers on the table.
"Losing her family...that isn't easy on anyone. Sometimes I see her staring off towards the north and whispering..." Richard recalled that particular early morning memory. "She asks for absolution, but not for the crime of Kinslaying. It is for something else, related to our daughter...when I asked about it, she couldn't speak of it. In her own words, it was something All-Father himself had asked of her."
Richard continued.
"She also fears being a bad mother, a negative example to be followed, and turning her child into that vision...I keep telling her we have everything to make sure the child will be raised right but I know a part of her doubts even the most watertight of plans we have in place" Richard spoke and the Matriarch smirked.
"Grandson, no plan, no matter how good, will survive contact with the enemy, and this is no different. But I understand your point here as you are much like your mother in these matters. Listen closely, for I will impart you the wisdom of someone who had to raise too many children." She leaned in closer as Richard did the same, silently thanking the gods for this moment.
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There was a mystique about the Divine that Richard held sacred, in his heart of hearts the casual way his peers interacted with those who were on a different level of existence was a little heretical, still he was a flexible person and saw to remedying this perceived failure of his with knowledge Such thing was not easy to get if you weren't powerful or under the direct command of the ones in charge, luckily for him he had plenty of the former as friends.
It did scare him, knowing there were entities above the All-Father, or aliens like the Hivemind around but as he deepened his research on the Gods, their allies and enemies, and the greater pantheon of the universe he was in he managed to keep it at bay. For now, at least he still felt that the Hivemind was a bit too loose and that the Gods needed to censure it further but he had no say in that particular business.
Speaking with its Partition as a favor by Hope was a terrifying experience! The being did not find Richard particularly interesting, unlike his beloved Lucrezia or Hope, but it wasn't rude or anything, thankfully. Their talks had been mostly about traveling through the space between stars, and the dark of the cosmos, be it to other galaxies, star systems, or planets.
Astral Lanes, shaped by the entity itself in its absolute power, allowed it to bridge the gap where mass teleportation by mana couldn't, especially in places where no Mana Cores were installed, or whatever equivalent of such power as the Hivemind explained in detail how unique this aspect of reality was to All-Father's domain. In other places where it had waged war, things didn't work by the same rules.
"...No need to worry about anything beyond that little human, your prey is yet to truly ascend into a realm where you would have to deal with parallel realities or go to other universes!" the words haunted him, Killing this rogue Goddess was not going to be easy that's one thing he was sure of it! And so Richard made the pilgrimage to an exceptional place, to petition for more firepower.
It was as if the war machines of Wulfgrem weren't scary enough.
"All Father be good, it is golden!" He couldn't help but stare in awe and reverence at the splendor of the realm of the Gods before his mortal eyes. He was sure this would take many days and favors to pull off, but funnily enough, all he had to do was ask his Patron Goddess. He didn't even need to call Hope! Getting to talk with the Hivemind was harder somehow, and that made him smile, at the very least.
It was time to grab Dragon Support!
He found himself alone while exploring the Capital, Divines all around him spoke in hushed tones and walked fast as the city never slept or so legend said. Richard was almost tempted to go off and forsake his meeting with the current leader of All-Father's armies. With volition, he didn't know he had Richard marched to the grand temple that housed Morugarius.
After a while, his own Patron deserted him, saying it was his duty to win over the Goddess. Richard accepted such a challenge with open arms and soon found himself staring at a huge set of black iron doors. It was a weird choice for one of the most powerful Divines out there, but he wasn't one to argue about it, at least not now that he needed her support for his expedition.
Ushered by an unseen force, Richard walked into the temple and was guided without words toward a grand audience room, a small voice in the back of his head was telling him this was an ambush. The Foe that his beloved had stricken down was the one true love of Goddess Morugarius after all and she had all the tools at the ready to attempt his life.
Not a good time to get paranoid he thought to himself as whatever was guiding him stopped, Richard faced another door this one less ornate and very...practical, seems this room was used for these sorts of deals.
Morugarius herself stood before him and sat in a plain wooden chair. No fancy armor and face covered by an impressive helm that was rumored to scare off those that had weak minds and hearts, a plain white tunic covered her tall frame as red gold eyes stared at him. It was her face that amazed him the most as the entire thing shifted and morphed in unnatural ways, a small part of him finding the whole thing alien and vile.
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"Of course, it is her face that you end up choosing in the end" spoke the Goddess, without the usual gravitas the Divines were so keen to use when talking with mortals. Richard stood in stunned silence as Lucrezia's face popped off from the horrible twisting of flesh and muscle, yet the red gold eyes remained as a tell of the deception. Or an attempt of seduction by the Goddess.
The latter being very unlikely, Richard thought to himself as a way to snap out of the daze.
"If this is in jest Lady Morugarius, then I will appreciate it in goodwill for I do not seek to upset your Ladyship" Richard spoke as he bowed. A very specific and old form meant for ancient Heroes blessed by the Gods. It never did hurt to butter up the client a little as his mother oft' said! "I am afraid the eyes are not that intense, but then again my beloved does have a neat trick when she has all of her blessings active at once..."
The Goddess waved her hand as to dismiss such topics "You came to petition for military aid, and yet I can feel the very bones of Lucrezia's military might as we speak. Her forces are so great I have experienced Sphere Growth unheard outside of Wartime, her innovations and that of those who aid her so realm-shattering that we had enough Divines band together just to keep pace in the eternal arms race, did you know? Those golems you call armor are so destructive I had to personally aid in the rebirth of forgotten magical techniques just so the Mage Gods didn't petition for censorship."
The Goddess sighed. It was a very tired and resigned sigh Richard felt, one that told him much, and so he prepared his best pitch. Alas, the Goddess was not done yet. More words were coming, and he would have to bide his time for a perfect window of opportunity.
"This charade you are up to isn't about me; it is about my wife, isn't it? Your beloved," the word had venom dripping off it. "She wishes to humiliate me as payback, and I know it. She could've asked Mother personally! But no, she sends the man to get things done. How very old-fashioned!" Morugarius snarled at him in a very humane way. Richard was taken aback by the gesture and the whole thing if he had to be honest.
Less of an ambush, more of a ranting and shouting session? Well, it is a good thing dealing with irate people is a learned skill of mine!"
As if flipping on a light switch, lighting a candle Richard launched into a proacted verbal assault at the fuming Goddess, if the All-Mother had designed to send Her of all people to test him then he would win this with flying colors, Morugarius ill-intentions be damned. For every offer he made she had a counteroffer, concession, and tax flowed out of her divine brain like a great river whose source had been blessed with deluges of rain!
An oft-overlooked aspect of warfare, one his Beloved paid her due diligence and he was more than happy to help her in it was the monumental yet boring work of keeping the army well supplied, fed, and with good morale. Richard understood then that Morugarius who no doubt had dozens upon dozens of minor divinities and demi-gods to delegate such tasks, and yet being the War Deity she was still was a part of her domain and thus he found himself slowly but surely building up good rapport with the Divine.
Seldom had she the chance to debate such topics it seems, after all, who in their right mind would dare to question their Divine leader? Ordained by the Creator of all that is and will ever be in this universe at that? And so Richard found the perfect in to petition for the campaign. Dragon support as All-Father intended: Shock troops of unparalleled power augmented with Lucrezia's Magi-Tech.
Morugarius was already aware of the project. It was part of her domain after all! But still, the Goddess stalled and stonewalled him out of misguided notions of revenge for her Umaries, Goddess who once had Vermilion venerating her...Richard held sigh after sigh as he struggled to not burn the paper-thin bridges he had built with Morugarius for it would not be possible to do that again.
He was of one mind about this entire issue. Hope was the cudgel he wished to employ, but he was overruled by pretty much everyone in the group, Lucrezia included, as she did not wish to antagonize Morugarius further. He couldn't contact All-Mother directly, for she was indeed the mother of all dragons and the one they respected above all else. Military matters of this caliber were resolved with Morugarius.
A savage part of his mind debated putting both Goddesses to the ground, but such a chaotic approach was not well received either... So Richard once again went on the offensive, parlaying with the Goddess as he sought to undermine her attempts of stonewalling and outright refusal with his keen experience as an accomplished merchant. It wasn't easy and All-Father as his witness the Divine was a solid wall but after what felt like hours, plenty of water, and not even a single break for food he managed to crack her shell and get his Dragons!
The room had gotten silent after it, Morugarius tapped the table with her slender fingers in quiet resignation and a hint of pride. At him how odd Richard thought to himself as he studied her face and body. Maybe the Goddess was lying to him via these signals? He couldn't know and more importantly, it wasn't good for him to doubt his instincts in these important moments.
"One more thing, Mortal." Morugarius's voice had taken on a sterner edge. Take good care of your three friends, for their actions will shape your daughter's future." With a hand wave, the Goddess was gone, and Richard was left alone in the room, flabbergasted at the revelation and scrambling to think who the hell she meant by that. Then it hit him.
"Lucrezia will not be happy hearing this," Richard thought to himself as he left the room. Panic and fear rose within his frame as he tried his best to control it. One foot after the other, he whispered and focused on the action. Come what may, he would not falter!
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The teleportation to their base above the moon was always a tricky bit of magical maneuvering that left Richard sick for a good while. Kaine told him that was quite common but not to the extent that Richard experienced, sometimes going on for a whole hour! frankly, it was embarrassing as he prided himself on being a punctual individual who didn't make his clients wait around the shop.
"Often I forget how impatience grips you humans, such power in a glaring weakness that one must wonder if the All-Father had this in mind when He created you lot..." By his side was an imposing figure clad in ornate armor and with blackened gold scales. Tilting his head to the side the Dragon in his humanoid form gave Richard a toothy smile "...But I must confess, you are unique in being this waylaid by a teleportation spell, Commander" High Marshall Pra'Iver showed his teeth in amusement.
Three companies worth of the very best shock troops in reality, Richard would've asked for five but he was told to not get greedy. 300 Dragon bodies ready for the meatgrinder of war as long as Lucrezia had them geared (Morugarius refused to spare any supplies sadly) which was actually good news as Kallista was positively giggly with the fact she was lording over some of her "cousins" to get them up to speed with Magi-Tech.
Pra'Iver ran a tight ship, his Marshalls spoke good of the High Marshall when Richard had them interviewed, this wasn't their first time doing these types of engagements "Wet work often gets pawned off to my little warband, there's little glory in upkeeping an empire as huge as the All-Father and my kin are a prideful lot. The sheer glory of conquering a star system oft overshadows putting down rebellions or fighting in shadowy wars" Pra'Iver explained.
Richard found the Dragon a unique fellow, often he would get sidetracked in philosophy and rhetoric. Talking out loud and to himself at the oddest of times which was certainly unique compared to the other Dragonkin Richard knew, in this, he found a weird rivalry with Lucrezia out of all people! Richard was more than aware that his beloved loved a good debate and the two had come to exchange heated words more than once in the interim following his talk with the Goddess of War.
Getting up from his chair as the sickness washed over him for good Richard moved towards the elevator that would lead both to the hanging bay, where their fleet was being tuned for even more firepower.
"I must say, for someone as sharp as your Lucrezia, her belligerent nature is twice as scary." Pra'Iver spoke after a while " In her Domain Cousin Kallista showed us your "doomsday"? weaponry, to think Lady Morugarius didn't enact a crusade on you and yours right there and then still makes me wonder if the Goddess doesn't have a bit of admiration for Lucrezia, even after everything she did"
Pra'Iver and Richard stared at the ships and for a moment silence fell around the duo before being broken by the High Marshall "This conflict will be an Anvil for your lot. And I can't wait to see its consequences" Pra'Iver's face morphed into his true form, the huge maw smiling with teeth ready for the slaughter to come.