Sitting up on her thrown room, Queen Augustus, also known as the Pretentious Eileen is busy whiling away her time with what could only be considered boring castle tasks. There is no king in this land, there never was - if there ever was one moreover and infinity more, it has yet to be heard of. In fact, I would gather that there will never be a king - this could very well be a kingdom of fiction that we're talking about here. Anyway, Queen Augustus was known to be quite loyal to the court, even in times of war.

Speaking of which, there was a war, a nasty war. It was ravaging the lands around the kingdom of Mantara, and if it weren't for a mystical energy barrier, Mantara would be a warground. Maybe it was an ancient device that was built up when technology was at its peak - these days, and in the case of many MMORPGs and RPGs, this kingdom was lost (ala Atlantis) and all that was left was the legacy of their technology. Were there weapons and lost martial arts? Hardly, this is a medieval setting that couldn't conquer a kingdom even if they wanted to - hence the wars around the kingdom which have been raging for the last millenia. The entire planet in fact, is at war. The kingdom of Mantara seems to have escaped this fate - making them one of those mythical places that are said to be peaceful, or as close to utopia could get in a war stricken society. Strange how such a place gets central focus, when it is considered to be an isolationist country - Mantara is anything but an isolationist country. Due to the spec that is writing contingents and strains, I will be forced to say that I cannot devote an entire book, nor a fiction column to the kingdom of Mantara.

On Queen Augustus;

Queen Augustus is descended from a long line of royalty (herself and her bullshit). She is an angel from heaven that has come down to bestow her divine wisdom to all; this means that she will hark when spoken to, and will lurk when others cause trouble. Queen Augustus does not like anyone spreading gossip and rumors in her court, nor does she like anyone in the kingdom engaging in such drivel. Due to her fantastic powers as an angel, Queen Augustus can seemingly walk as one with the landscape or through solid obstacles with so much as a stride - her abilities are uncanny, but her intelligence less so - she's only been in this kingdom for the last two millenia. What Queen Augustus intends to do here, what her time is spent doing and even if she were to turn into a legend in its own right - she has yet to reveal; this author has inside information that can yield such an interest.

'Grand Utopia' were the words whispered to her from a fantastic tree in the forest one day. People in this world are told to avoid talking to brush and rocks - so they listen to trees instead. Trees can be ill folk - and Queen Augustus, at the time the Pretentious Eileen, believed such wisdom could be used to take over a kingdom. It worked. The kingdom has been suffering from her ill intent ever since - don't let the utopia moniker fool you.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The castle Queen Augustus lives in is from five hundred years ago, having lived in at least three other castles herself, Augustus prefers this one to the others - she had slave labor from other kingdoms build the walls - once build, they were released to their fates in the outside world (usually death). Most of the castle is used for business as usual throughout the kingdom, but a few rooms are used for entertaining guests, sleeping quarters or looted treasure from other kingdoms. Did I say that Augustus was a peaceful queen? She is - within the kingdom walls - outside she keeps her arrogance at high levels - the kingdom of Mantara has been waging war against neighboring kingdoms for some time now. In fact, Mantara's success is entirely based on the fact that it has been pilfering, plundering wand waging war with others from around the plaet for several millenia. Queen Augustus may be an angel from heaven, but she is a demon warlord in its own right.

Such things pilfered include a forcefield generator (protects the kingdom interior), lightweight polymers and alloys that are contained within the kingdom walls and flooring. The shield generator flows well above the clouds, so it never rains here, save for what flows in through underground channels. Those underground channels are probably actually a good way for the enemy nations to get in - but none have ever found them - those that would venture to such a thing, would probably see that they are heavily guarded - it is a futile effort anyway. To the outside world, Mantara projects imagery of fantastic futuristic space craft - this is just an illusion by a holographic generator - also built into the shield generator. It is actually a backwater kingdom that was colonized a long time ago - all that is left on this planet, is the occasional piece of equipment that has been left for descendants to come. Mantara uses several such pieces of equipment (forcefield/holographic generator). However, the kingdom is most certainly backwater - the only thing that would say otherwise is the horse chariots and wooden huts and store fronts that litter the streets. Hay is everywhere and dirt must be imported for a natural look. This place could best be described as a civilization that has taken abode in a once stormy fortress that is protected from an outside world.

Translation: It was. That tree's ill reckoning described a place fantastic and beyond like measure - it fell apart due to misuse of the civilization's tech; all that was left was a few steel buildings and some older equipment. This would make the perfect fortress if anyone could find it - too bad it was lost to time. Queen Augustus, being an angel, had access to this information in heaven. It was found - and she brought peace throughout the new kingdom with a few sets of followers, and used tyranny to drive evil from the land. It was a wonderful system and worked quite well. It might also help that the entire fortress city was built into a mountainous ravine - unknown to even Queen Augustus herself is the fact that most of the fortress is not at the ravine, but is infact built into a system of caverns within the mountains themselves.