V9: Chapter 8
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Interlude: Celia
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Consciousness returned to me and I opened my eyes to the familiar canopy of my bed.
The rest of my room, however, was in disarray.
“My lady, you’re finally awake.” Catherine’s voice drifted my way, while I sat up. The steady beeping of arcane machinery of the Ancients combined with the subtle hum of magical tools. My room was laden with magical power. All of which was dedicated to facilitating healing of the Undead. Healing me. “You were out for two days. It was an assassination attempt.”
“The time for duels of honor has passed, then.” I grunted and took off the blanket. Newly-grown, pale skin was over my right arm and most of my torso. Faint memories of flame and shrapnel came forward in my mind. Shrapnel that did more than just cut into me. “They must have used many old artifacts to make that bomb.”
“We extracted over eighty pieces of enchanted silver from your body. Were either Mallory and Christine not yet fully blooded, you’d be dead.” Catherine offered me a solid hand and let me onto my feet. I only wore baggy, airy sleeping trousers below the waist. It was improper to walk about in such a state under normal circumstances, but I had just survived a most grievous blow. My teacher, thus, said nothing. “We acted on the plans you prepared for the occasion.”
“Who tried to claim the ring?”
“House Donnovan colluded with House Pictor and House Vitra.” The most conservative and least amenable to change of our whole council. They refused any compromise, and demanded a return to tradition. Some were swayed by words, others with concessions and promises, but they held true to their beliefs. Now, they were gone. “They are all now being drained of their ichor as we speak. The rest of the council approved.”
Extraction of ichor was to take from the body of Vampires the essence of their power and immortality. It was a rare, fatal punishment. But one that allowed for the destruction of a lineage to be the seed of a new household… or in this case thousands of soldiers. House Donnovan, Pictor, and Vitra were gone, and no new noble house was to replace them, instead I will make fledglings in the thousands, they will grow, they will be blooded, and they will mature, then I will have them make fledglings of their own. In a few years, I will be able to have a whole division of powerful warriors in my armies.
“Then, with my survival, we’ve made inroads towards finding some sort of victory.” I went to the balcony out of my room. I was in the Citadel, living overlooking the whole of the capital, and grimaced at the state I found it in. There were streets being unbarricaded. Districts were up in arms, and protests were ongoing. Counterprotests against them were barely being stopped from coming to blows. I tapped into my citizenry, to those who once never had a voice before under our rule, and they grew in strength and power within weeks. The assembly of people that I envisioned to counter the council divided and divergent, and their only common cause was the marginalization of those who ruled over them before. I knew already why they were protesting. “The Igniters wish the whole of the Nobility dead and the Spearheads wish to protect them.”
The Igniters had a single, overarching goal: to take my proposal of reformation to its utmost. It will be a land of equality without nobility, whether the nobility releases their powers willingly or not. Necromancers flocked to their cause, and they held power in the industrial districts and the towns where most materials were produced. Working with them, allowing them to employ Amalgams and larger beasts as undead laborers, made productivity soar. However, as they gained more power and influence, they asked me for more, and when I denied them, the only way to appease them was to take power away from the nobility.
The Spearheads, meanwhile, rose in opposition to them. They were born from those who aspired to become nobility themselves. Fledgling immortals who intended to rise to prominence and gain wealth and power for their bloodlines. They worked with merchants and invested their wealth and power, so that our lands would invite more trade from outside, and since they acted our coffers grew and grew. However, they opposed the elimination of the Council, or even the recalling of their rights. Their perceived, future rights as soon-to-be-nobility.
From the two coalitions came forth immense amounts of wealth and production capacity, but keeping them in line and content was a challenge.
“Yes.” Catherine bowed her head and joined me at the balcony, but not before placing a coat over my shoulders. It was not my old coat. It was a new one. The other one must have been no more than rags from the attack. “I’ve barely managed to convince the remaining noble Houses to not place themselves in seclusion.”
Seclusion meant at least a century away from mortal affairs. They would seal themselves away, using magic to carve catacombs into mountains, and sealing away the entrance by recreating rockfaces. Within the dark halls, they would settle, and they would take with them artifacts, knowledge, experience, and power.
“In the face of Armageddons and change, they choose to run. After people they called their own tried to kill me.”
“My lady…” Catherine trailed off, and shook her head. “I am afraid to admit it, but I believe allowing them to seclude themselves will be the right choice. Their continuing presence is only driving all to a fever pitch.”
“The Spearheads will have something to say.”
Catherine shook her head.
“If the current nobility leaves, they leave behind a vacuum for officers, officials, and many positions. The Spearheads will be placated. The Igniters will celebrate their perceived foes leaving as a victory, but we can give them more control over the factories as a prize of their own.” My teacher sighed and looked upon the city that I saw now. With this decision, by having the nobility abdicate, we will remove from the equation a terrible power that is fueling much of the protests. We lose much, but our gains will be significant. “They will be easier to control without such a singular thing polarizing so many to near-blows.”
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I considered it for a moment, closing my eyes, and for a moment there was no city at the foot of the Citadel.
Only the armies of the Houses, united, under a single banner was triumphant against the hordes of monsters that came forth to protect their homeland.
An army that I have not seen since that day.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw the city built around the Citadel since then, filled with so many people that were not a part of that battle, but were not citizens under my rule.
“Make it so. Give them the word that they may seclude themselves, and may we meet again in the future under better circumstances.” I could not tolerate it. Not any longer. No after the attempt on my life after the changes I made catapulted us so swiftly past our previous heights. We can forge armies within weeks and have them armed. Our coffers were full and we were hiring specialists from all walks of life to our city. Our university was full of scholars, our ministries were recording and issuing my decrees swiftly, and our courts were fully functioning. “Have the Council Hall refurbished. Look upon records of the past for the institution once used by the Ancients to allow all to have their voices represented.”
“Yes, my lady.” Catherine bowed and left me to my thoughts.
Some doubt crawled into my heart as she left me with only my healing wounds and the cool winter air.
Was this truly the right path?
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Interlude: Riegert
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I will never be used to how prophetic Jack’s words could be.
After killing the assassin of the Academy, he bid me to trace his steps and fend where he had come from. It seemed like a simple mission, so I questioned why I was being given a whole expeditionary force for the task, as well as instructed to call for help if the need arose. Jack decided to be enigmatic at that moment, simply stating that caution is needed when it came to dealing with a faction that had access to demonic blades that could corrupt Champions instantly, and I dropped my line of questioning.
Now, after bringing a part of the body to many mages, extracting its essence, and tracing its path of destruction with spells dedicated to finding traces of it… I found myself looking upon a large crater in the middle of nowhere.
A crater filled with horrific monsters.
I took down my long lenses from my eyes and shook my head.
“Another aerial strike. A few more strikes from the mages as well.” Oswald addressed me, putting down his own sights. He went from stronger rejuvenation after the last campaign. Gone was the scarred and weathered man with a bare head. His wisdom was plain to see in his eyes, but he had short hair close to his scalp, and he wore Citadel alloys as armor. If I met this Oswald decades ago, when I first met him, I would’ve thought him a lordling from some wealthy Academy household. “They do not seem to be very effective, general, but they are working.”
“Any word from the fliers regarding our neighbors noticing our presence?” We were in unclaimed Academy territory, primarily thanks to it being close to the Death Lord’s territories. Our closest neighbors were the Guardians, but a day’s ride away were the Merchants. Two days and the Forgers could be here. The Wardens kept a close eye on the region, too. “We may have to ride out, if we’ve been noticed.”
“Latest report was just a few minutes ago. We’re clear.” I ran the numbers in my head. Mages needed time to rest between strong bombardments. Our aerial cavalry needed to be re-armed before they can fly out, as well. Half-an-hour, then fifteen minutes of violence, and then another half-an-hour. From the results of the first barrage, we’d need three more cycles of attacks. Four hours. Then, searching the wreckage thoroughly while lacing it with explosives to deny it, would take half a day. If we haven’t been found yet, and if we’re found in the next four hours, we still had time.
“Three more bombardments. Kill as many as we can with that, but then we need to be cautious of our neighbors and take the site. We need to be out here in a day, so make sure the men are ready to work through the night to search the location and deny it to the enemy with explosives.” Oswald gave a nod, and began directing the officers standing ready behind us. In moments, my commands were coursing through the command center. I received a written copy of it, and I validated it, and it reached the rest of the officers. If they made any mistakes in their commands, they rectified them, before heading over to their men. In less a half-an-hour, my commands will be known to the whole of the expedition, and five thousand soldiers will do as I bid. “Oswald, has the response—
“Already here, general.” Oswald produced a slim letter from inside his cuirass. Black in coloration, it was obvious that it was high-priority communications. The seal upon it was our nation’s crest, and it was alive with magic. Any attempt to open it without the right magic would set the letter aflame. And, even then, the letter itself was written in a cypher. A cypher that needed a magical lens to look upon. With espionage being the primary focus in the coming years, we invested heavily in securing our most vital communication lines. All the riders of the high-priority lines were Iterants, and their loyalty was almost beyond belief. “Arrived just minutes ago. Rider has already swapped and is ready for another run. They’re a different breed.”
They’re not mortal at all, in fact, but Oswald didn’t know that yet.
I opened the letter, undid the seal with my magic, and pulled out the monocle needed to read it. There was a blizzard of words, phrases, and non-intelligible scribblings over the paper. The lens got rid of all the unnecessary portions and revealed the true message, like it was simply, plainly written on the paper.
It was almost laughable how simple the message was, if not for the sobering thought of how the message would be used by our enemies if they received it.
Leaving the Goddess’s protections to Iterants. King of Wisdom in the north solving mind-replaced bodies by Scholars. Rita and Myself leaving Capital to assist with requested transport capacity.
We had a Nature Goddess.
We discovered people with minds replaced in our most northern lands.
And, finally, we had no Champions in our capital.
We had the ability to move thousands of troops and assets across the continent in a day.
Simple, important information that I would never wish for our enemies to know.
I burned the letter in my hands, after reading it, with just a whispered phrase. If I did not, it would’ve burned up within three days by itself.
Nothing writ in the letters was kept recorded.
Reinforcements were on their way, meaning that Ilych and Rita were going to be here, and we’ll be able to leave swiftly as I told them to bring enough transports for everyone and everything.
Giving me a bit of room to work with.
“Oswald?”
“Sir?”
“I’m placing you in command, while I put these creatures to the test.” Oswald opened his mouth to disagree, but again looked at the crater. The ruins of a strange, massive vessel were at the center and filled with Ancient technologies. Surrounding it were strange machines armed eerily like the Demons described by Khanrow. Our normal weapons were barely effective. I had a feeling Conquerors with Citadel weaponry would be very effective, and our new cannons would be very powerful against them, too. However, since I read the reports, I had wondered: was a Champion enough to slay one of the Demons in their infernal machines? “If you think I’m going to lose, I give you permission to deploy our specialists to save me.”
“Aye, general. Good hunting.” Oswald gave a nod and bow. The man I knew was still there, beneath all the newfound youth and health. A grin formed on his face, and I mirrored it without thinking. “Don’t hog all the glory. Remember some for the rest of us.”
“I’ll try.”
Now, then.
Time to see if a strong enough axe arm and a keen mind can do something about the terrors to come.