David took a deep breath, taking a moment to revel in the air of Vyris. He lived in the capital, yet the streets had a distinct smell and quality. The palace was rather stuffy and hard to breathe in after long periods, and he always saw the streets as a nice reprieve from that suffocation.
As he walked past the many bristling businesses and historic structures, people bowed and waved in his direction. He wasn’t even wearing the royal mantle, yet his presence and face alone was enough for people to determine his identity. It made sense as his likeness had been plastered all over Vyris and central Arlin in the form of portraits and statues. His face was even found on some of the lin exchanged in the stores surrounding him. Unlike with the previous emperors, all of the depictions appeared to be exact replicas of his actual form. David Arlin was an inherently beautiful man that, according to one artist early on in his reign as emperor, did not need any artistic interpretation to appeal to the public. His perfect porcelain skin and blonde hair shone through in any crowd. It also helped that he was taller than the average citizen, although not to an excessive degree.
He was the perfect specimen, with only minimal amounts of it being up to design. He was carefully groomed each morning to fit the mold that he had given to himself. David didn’t just have to look perfect. He had to appear to be perfect at everything. Any small slip or failure and the nobility would surely start searching for a way to quickly remove his head. At least, more so than they already did right now. Assassination attempts on his life had gone from a genuine threat to a relative nuisance. It was rather amusing seeing them cook up new and creative ways to off him and replace him with some other asinine royal who they could turn into their new puppet.
That was what made the current sight of the emperor so odd. There was a distinct lack of any royal guard flanking him as he wandered through the streets and passed by his constituents. He even heard a few of them quietly murmur about it to each other.
If only they knew…
There were at least ten different people all in position surrounding the emperor while hidden in plain sight or on the top of buildings. Almost every citizen near him had an igniter or burner trained on them in some capacity. Since his route had been planned, regular guards and soldiers had been laid out to check for any potential avenues of attack beforehand. All that the normal citizens saw was Emperor Arlin casually strolling through the streets of his beloved Empire while flanked by his rather quaint advisor. Compared to the shining beacon that was David, her beauty felt rather muted.
David’s movement stopped when he noticed a small girl run out of one of the stores and over to his side, calling “Mr. Emperor!”. She couldn’t have been over 4 years old, so her pronunciation of the title was slightly slurred. Behind her he could see a woman, who he presumed to be the child’s mother, yelling and trying to stop the child from approaching him. The woman immediately stopped as she saw David crouch down to meet the girl’s height.
“Hi there. What’s your name?” He gave the mother a beaming smile to calm her down before turning back to the young girl.
“Lily!” She loudly declared. The other people in the street had begun to gather to watch the curious interaction.
“That’s a beautiful name. Lily, I have to say that it’s been a while since I’ve heard someone call me ‘Mr. Emperor’. Tell me, do you know what my first name is?”
The young girl pondered for a bit before responding “Emperor?”, which caused the mother to look completely mortified. However, David simply smiled and gave her a pat on the head.
“It’s actually David, but nobody calls me that for some silly reason. However, if you want to call me Mr. Emperor, that’s fine with me.”
The young girl seemed completely unphased by the situation, although he heard a small snort come from his advisor. She was clearly enjoying watching the interaction.
“Lily, why don’t you head back to your mom? I think if I hold you for any longer, she’s going to faint.” He gave her another soft pat on the head before standing up. The girl nodded at him before scampering back off to her mother. The woman, who appeared to have yet another child peering out from behind her hips, took a deep breath as soon as her daughter returned to her. She gave David a silent thanks before he went on his way. After moving a short distance, he felt a soft jab in his gut coming from Erin.
“Enjoying yourself, Mr. Emperor?” She playfully remarked.
“What, am I not allowed to say hi to a random little girl?” David gave her a nudge back, and the two of them continued on their way. Despite the casual nature of the walk, they did have an actual location.
A rather unique one.
***
There were many things in Vyris that were unable to be found anywhere else, and the Iron Snake was one of them. The massive technological marvel had its creation started under his predecessor, and was one of few things that came out of his reign which David could say was good.
The Iron Snake had many words that could be used for it. One of them would be imposing. It took the rather simple concept of the iron chariot and increased it to a ginormous size so that it could carry massive amounts of people on it while moving from location to location. Having been inside a chariot himself as part of an event to build morale for the troops back in the 8th campaign, he also understood the massive difference in comfort between the two of them. Having an attunement meant that he was relieved of a majority of the horrid effects of the magore inside the machine of war, but that didn’t affect the stuffiness and uncomfortable positioning. The Iron Snake may not be as comfortable as his personal carriage, but it made up for that tenfold with its speed and carrying capacity.
It was a historic creation, as it was the first time magore technology had created something for civilian use.
The capital of Arlin had a rather pragmatic design. It was almost entirely circular, heavily walled and fortified, surrounding the large city with the palace sitting in the complete center. It was much like a creature, albeit something one might find in the horrifying forest of Corith. If one were to view it like that, with the brain as the palace and the buildings as its organs, the Iron Snake would best be considered a central artery. It surrounded the capital in an almost perfect circle, allowing for a citizen on the edge to get to almost any side of the city within a much shorter period than walking. It was unable to be on any unique path unlike its chariot brethren, as it was only able to move along set rails.
It was a genuine marvel, and watching it speed around on its tracks from location to location while those inside casually talked or waved at passersby felt extremely novel. It felt like a glimpse into the future of magore technology that was only a small distance away from them. After his recent visit with the head researcher who he believed to be named Joseph, that future felt ever more real.
However, unbeknownst to most of Arlin, there was a fact that turned the Iron Snake from an impressive display of technology into a bitter disappointment.
It was a failed prototype.
The potential of travel using magore had already been glimpsed through the chariots, but the impracticalities were immediately obvious. Being near the magore reaction would poison those inside of it after a period of time, making longer distance travel impractical. For travel to be useful for the general public, it had to somehow bypass this restriction.
This meant that Arlin had to do what it does best, and that would be to use the people it had at its disposal. Quite literally, in the case of the Iron Snake.
The head of the snake contained the main magore reaction. There were two types of people in the front- Those with attunements and those who would die. Those with attunements were the drivers who controlled when the snake moved, while those inside the head were penal laborers who worked and controlled the actual reaction. Due to the proximity and amount of magore, those who worked inside the snake’s head were quickly killed off by its venom. Their average life expectancy was around two weeks to a month. David could distinctly remember a recent news article being published about a man surviving four months as a worker in the head of the snake, breaking the previously set record of two and a half months set by a rapist. He was a debtor who failed to pay back an exorbitant amount of lins built up over nearly a decade, the number of which the article heavily emphasized. The illustration of the man's face looked as though his flesh had melted like the wax of a candle.
This meant that the Iron Snake was not only an impressive advancement in transportation, it was also a fantastic execution method. However, this was merely a byproduct of its nature as a prototype. The Iron Snake in Vyris was meant to show the potential for a system that could be used to transport people across wide swathes of a nation, perhaps even across the nations in the empire. However, killing those who manned the beast in such a quick period made the endeavor prohibitive in distance and cost. Those who surrounded the Third Emperor at the time, seeing this inefficiency, abandoned the project of expanding the system. They lacked the foresight to imagine ways that the creation could be improved or be made safer for those inside. It was the status quo, and they hated changes to the status quo.
Thus, the Iron Snake would remain trapped inside Vyris, forced to go in circles while killing those who helped to give it life.
David was here to hopefully set it free.
***
There was a general murmur surrounding him as they both stood at the eastern station, awaiting for the snake to arrive. It was one of four, all of which were placed in the cardinal directions. They would be riding in the tail carriage, which was the most luxurious. This was for several reasons, most notably being the fact that it was the farthest away from the magore reaction.
The meeting was to be done while on the actual snake as it moved. Why Erin had decided it would be this way was beyond him, but his best guess was that it was to set the mood. The loud clacking and clicking of the rails is not exactly something he would describe as ambience, but he understood the sentiment.
The back carriage had been completely emptied out that day and made so that only the emperor and his guard would be inside, along with their specific guest- the transport minister.
The transport minister, who was named Roland, had a fitting physical description for his job in that he looked reminiscent of a strig. He had lanky arms, lanky legs along and an elongated face that was just screaming for horns to be placed on both sides of it. It didn't help that the long brown-ish red hair, which had been tied up with a bun at the back, was only a few tints away from the creature's fur color.
Once the snake arrived, David and Erin made their way inside and were immediately greeted with the minister. He was taller than David by a fair margin due to this stretched physique, which often caused him to crane his neck when they met. They shook hands and moved over to some finely embroidered seats next to a slightly ajar window with a table separating them, with David's seat facing the back of the train. Erin had already plopped herself down first and had placed herself near the window
I guess she enjoys riding this thing.
“Good to see you again Roland.”
“And you as well, Davey.”
Roland was one of the few members of his court who he had the opportunity to put in place after the third’s reign, which made him a trusted ally. While not the same level of connection as Erin, the two had a storied history and shared in many of the same ideals. He was put in his position after David had removed the previous after revealing a massive corruption scheme which leeched off of the public road systems in Arlin. The routes of trade were made with shoddy materials and wore down rather quickly, as the funding had been sapped off by the minister.
They first met during David’s time in the imperial college. It was an important institution that took in the nobility of the empire and trained them to lead it into the future. There was a slight meritocratic side to it, where people from commoner families could be enrolled. This was either through showings of exemplary intelligence during an open exam or having a well renowned family member in the military. Roland was part of the former, having gotten in thanks to scoring well on the exam. David was fascinated by him for his perspective into the daily lives of a normal citizen of the empire and the two of them became fast friends.
Just like him, Roland had the belief that the empire could be improved if it moved past its current status quo. His ambitions were not of the same scale, but very few were. When searching for someone to trust with the important job of maintaining the future of transport in this expanding Empire, Roland was his first choice.
“Enjoying yourself, Erin?” asked Roland, noticing her peering outside at the crowds. She responded by playfully sticking her tongue out at him. Erin had followed David into the Imperial Academy and was also cordial with Roland. Just seeing her stick out her tongue brought back vivid memories of the two constantly teasing each other while David attempted to de-escalate.
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“Oh come on. You put this meeting on the snake just because you wanted to ride it, didn’t you? She was the one who picked the location, right Davey?”
David gave a casual shrug of indifference. “What would I do without her?”
“I swear Davey, you can’t rely on her this much. It’s kind of sad.” he playful chided. The moment was interrupted as they started to feel the snake power up again. Its wheels began to turn as it ran along the tracks. Those at the station watched in awe as something that should be immovable began to hit high speeds.
“I guess this is the right time.” David said while stretching his back. “How’s the project?”
Roland became pensive, his mouth going slightly diagonal. “Our progress is continuing. Hornel should be a good source of the metals we need for the rails, but I imagine we have enough spare steel lying around to get a good distance done. That’s all worked out, and I’m sure you could get the labor forces for it after that campaign is over.”
Making the tracks for the snake using prisoners of war? Roland, you’re sounding a lot like your fellow court members.
“No, I’d rather avoid doing that. Building the rails could create a lot of job opportunities for the lower class.” David’s eyes naturally wandered out the window and to the city. “The slave labor market is already flooded because Pluma won’t stop exporting them.”
“Pluma being unwilling to stop trading and not caring about hurting other markets? Color me surprised.” Roland sarcastically remarked. Being close to the Emperor, Roland was very aware of his frustrations with the coastal trading nation. One time, he had brought Roland along on a visit to Pluma’s capital to look at their port infrastructure. It was rare to see him get visibly angry, but simply wandering through the streets of Duskarna caused David to seethe. The rampant corruption there was as palpable as the fog that covered its cobbled streets.
“I can work on the logistics for the labor later. How’s the progress with the head?”
Roland took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. His exhale was audible even above the clacketing wheels.
“It’s possible. That document you shared with me about the new refinement? That’s probably going to be able to make it safer, but we’d still be killing them. We’d have to rework a good portion of it from scratch to make the process less dangerous while maintaining efficiency. I’ve been able to locate a few researchers from Morath who could help us, but that’s suggesting the governor would be willing to give them to us.” There was a bit of irritation now visible dancing behind Roland’s eyes.
“What’s the issue in Morath?”
Roland shook his head. “It’s not just Morath. It’s all of them. They just don’t get it. They think it’s a novelty that won’t do anything for our networks. They’re all so focused on their individual territories that they can’t see the opportunities a system like it could provide.”
David took a moment to study his old friend’s face. He could see there was something deeper.
“There’s a but, isn’t there?” David tapped his finger on the table.
“Yeah. They don’t see the merit as a transport for citizens. But, I think they might see some interest in supporting it if you sell it to them as a way to carry cargo. They might see something if we push it as an economic tool rather than a civic one.”
“But it is an economic tool,” he emphasized.
Roland simply shook his head. “They don’t see it like that. It’s not direct enough. You want a big project like this, especially something that’s going to require this amount of resources and manpower, they’d need to see direct and clear profit. The expansion of trade through transport doesn’t have quick and simple numbers you can put on a chart, no matter how hard Erin might try.”
There was a brief respite as he let the words sink in. The Iron Snake was a project he’d been ruminating on for a while during his reign, one that he wished to see completed. Arlin was a massive empire, and the snake could build lines of connection never before seen. It would create some greatly needed unity between all of its disparate territories. He could see it so clearly in his mind, yet it was denied to him by fools. Perhaps if the project was not cut off in its infancy to be forever forced to go around in circles, he wouldn’t need to be here.
“Davey, trust me, I’m right there with you. I’d like for this to be used for civilian transport. But if we want this project to really get moving, we need to take it slow.”
David sighed. Looking to his right, he finally noticed that Erin had stopped watching the window and was now jotting down notes.
“You’re probably right, as much as I hate to admit it.” He replied, hiding his deepening irritation with the court.
“Sometimes I forget how much you dislike it when you’re wrong about something. Erin, please tell me you’ve at least tried to change that.” Roland smiled as he relaxed in his seat.
“When have I not been trying to change that?” Erin placed down her pencil and turned back to the window. “If you’re done talking about the snake, I suggest you talk about the other thing I mentioned in the message I wrote for David.”
Right, I had almost forgotten about that headache.
“The slaves? I don’t know. It’s not really my type of thing. I get that you want to keep it out of the court, but it’s just not something I can really give input on.” He said, taking a second to stretch.
“Told you.” Erin happily interjected. She was pretty smug about the fact that she was right.
“It’s still bothering me. Keagan is following them, but I don’t know if he’s able to stop them. Especially with their leader…” David’s voice trailed off. The image of Grayson’s face flashed in his mind. He felt a small lurch forward as the snake began to slow down. It was about to reach its destination, the northern station.
“Have you looked into reinforcing the roads? If they’re going from the roads, just attack them there? Keagan said they were going from camps and refineries, so you can just predict where they’re going.” Roland stated plainly.
You said this wasn’t your type of thing?
“We don’t have the forces for that in Boralis. A full scale ambush on a large group of mages wouldn’t work.” David put his hand on his chin, drawing the map of the Empire in his head.
Erin let out a deep sigh. “I remember telling you that we have the forces in Corith.”
Roland shook his head in disappointment. “You really should listen to her more Davey.”
But that means we’d have to let them through the border. I’d prefer to limit casualties as much as possible.
“I guess I’ll look into setting up something in Corith if things get out of hand.”
“If you think it’s that much of a problem, I say you should ta-” Roland’s words stopped midway. However, it may be more apt to say that his words were denied, as a dense blue beam pierced its way through the wall of the snake and through the man’s neck.
Roland’s eyes widened as his brain caught up with the rest of his body and noticed that he was lacking his throat There was a disgusting gurgle that came out of him as he began to slump forward and his blood started to spill onto the table. Erin let out a shriek of horror at the sight and immediately jumped away from the window and scrambled onto the floor of the train. A nearby guard moved over to quickly grab David’s arm and pull him away from the window and the direction of the shooter.
Roland?
As the snake’s path finally halted, the body of Roland stopped moving. His friend was dead, and he hadn’t even been allowed to finish his last sentence.
***
“We’re currently searching the streets in the direction of the shooter. He most likely used an igniter to hit him from long range.” the soldier solemnly announced. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, soldier. Please, continue your work. I’ll be heading back to the palace soon once the carriage arrives.” David maintained a strong smile. The soldier paused temporarily as he noticed the small bit of blood that was on the emperor’s shirt before quickly running off.
David and Erin sat by each other, Erin having nestled up next to him. She was resting upon his chest and was still slightly shaking. David had seen violence like that before. He’d even seen it happen to people he had known very well. Erin was not used to brutality and got sickened by the sight of it rather easily.
This was a message.
It was a message to him specifically. A threat. The shooter could have targeted either himself or Erin, but they choose to target Roland instead. It was a deliberate shot at a very deliberate target.
The message they wanted to send through this was very, very clear.
Stay in line.
It had to be a noble. The trip had been planned, but it wasn’t made official. Even for those who knew about the meeting, only a select few knew which specific station he would start and arrive at. The shooter was placed in a deliberate location, one where the snake had started to slow down to the point where one could land a successful shot. Hitting a moving target made the trajectory harder to read and being on the snake meant his personal guard couldn’t immediately react until the carriage came to a rest.
Someone, perhaps someones, wanted to talk with him through a method they knew would catch his attention. Something within David told him there was little chance they would stop there as long as he continued to move forward.
He’d gone ten years as Emperor and had maintained power. He’d dealt with a multitude of assassination attempts and plots within his own court. However, this was the first time in a while where they had gone after something that was personal to him.
They had crossed a line. He had no clue what specifically motivated them to take such an action. He’d angered them in so many small ways that this could easily be a culmination of those emotions.
For some odd reason, he couldn’t help but laugh at the depravity of it all. Only someone who had grown up in such wealth and opulence could take such grievous actions for something so petty. He had just expected for them to take action a little later instead of during such a pivotal time in the Empire’s expansion.
David understood it very well. He even understood that part of this situation was entirely his fault. They had forgotten what his wrath looked like. They had grown placid and comfortable, expecting that the emperor had softened up. Now, they had stoked a flame that shouldn’t have been touched.
In their arrogance, they had just garnered the full and undiluted wrath of the sun that burned in the core of Arlin. No matter who they were, what position they held or why they committed their act, only one potential fate would meet them all.
They will all burn.
***
Somewhere in the western side of Central Arlin, a man named Orven hummed a small tune as he made his way out of the bath. It was a tune a minstrel he had recently hired for a party had played, and it had been stuck in his head for the past week. It was worth noting that Orven wasn’t a man who would be considered to have a talent for singing, so he was extremely off key.
As he turned to look in the grand mirror placed in his bathroom, he sighed at the sight of his head. He was starting to bald, and it was becoming more apparent by the day. He’d been grooming his gray hair to cover the bald spot, but the prospect of that was becoming ever more unrealistic. He was one of the oldest members of the royal court, and the soft wrinkles forming on his cheeks showed that. Wiping himself off with his towel he changed into his nightgown and made his way to his study. The halls of the mansion were quiet this time of year, as his family would go to visit their relatives in Peroa. He had stayed behind to help his fellow nobles deal with some issues in governance.
Arriving at his destination, he opened and closed the heavy door made of Corithian wood. Sitting down in his swivel chair, a recent creation imported from Rolith, he took a moment to stretch. If there was one trait that had come with his age, other than a decrease in hair, it was a love of foreign imports. Over the years, his mansion had become a melting pot of items from the many nations which made up the empire and even those outside of it.
There was an orderly knock on his door, he gave permission to enter. Inside came a small young woman with dark skin, darker hair and eyes as white as the moon. She was a recent acquisition of Orven from the land of Uril, and his new favorite slave. He didn’t call her a slave as he found the term rather off putting in reference to those who worked in the household. The title of “personal attendant” was a lot more comfy for his tongue. She wore a well embroidered maid’s outfit that had been custom made for her after she arrived a few months ago, which likely cost half a year of salary for a subject in his domain. The black and white dress perfectly complemented the dark skin color he found himself so enamored with.
Her name was Nadine, although he had no idea if that was her birth name. Slaves that were sold on the market often had new names given to them that the seller believed would attract buyers. She was extremely subservient and well trained for such a young slave, although the process of training had likely been rather extensive. By the time he had purchased her, she already had a complex web of scars that covered her entire back. In the right lighting, the scars seemed to take the shape of a small tree. Orven thought there was a macabre beauty in that, and had even given her the nickname “Sapling”.
Nadine made her way over to his side and placed down a few documents with a newspaper on top of the pile before quickly excusing herself from the room. When he picked up the paper and saw the first page, his eyes immediately widened. It was an illustration of the Iron Snake, along with a headline announcing the murder of Minister Roland that had occurred two days prior.
Upon seeing such a headline, there are many responses a citizen of Arlin could have. Shock, horror, sadness, or even just indifference. However, Orven didn’t give any of those reactions.
He smiled.
If he were to put a word to his exact emotion he was currently feeling, it would be satisfaction. The same type of satisfaction one might feel when finishing a project or getting through a long day in the royal court.
Orven swiveled to look out the window and into the beautiful sunset, a great compliment towards his current satisfaction. As of two days ago, the Empire was now on a path to a greater existence. It was a wordless, albeit brutal, way of telling the Emperor to take his time and not get too ahead of himself in his ambitions. The lives of the peasantry in Arlin were merely tools for its growth. Roland was just one of those peasantry who had risen to a station above where he deserved.
The position of transport minister was for one who truly deserved it, rather than some nobody who was fortunate enough to get into the Imperial Academy. Roland was intelligent, but he had no respect for the history and traditions of the empire. For years he had pestered the court, acting as an intermediary for the policies the unruly young emperor wanted.
Now, he was no longer an issue and the young emperor had hopefully learned an important lesson. That was the job of the court, after all. They were to control the urges of the leadership and keep them on the right path. Sometimes, such as with the young emperor, they had to take a much more aggressive approach.
“If only he was as smart as his predecessor…” Orven murmured under his breath.
With pride in his breast and a paper in his hands, Orven happily watched the sun set over the horizon of his beautiful domain.
Until he himself was plunged into total darkness.