[Deep Forest, Frostland, Nothun]
Mystrene was a well travelled woman. She had met the snake-kin Lamias of the Great East, she had seen the water-dwelling Merfolks of Nun Sea, had encountered the dreaded nightfolks of Greyscar and even glimpsed upon the sight of the ever elusive fairies. Yet none of them were ever more peculiar than the… "human" before them. They had talked in length, the human and her liege lady. He spoke of the most outlandish claim, of how he was responsible for the fallen star and how it wasn't a star but instead a flying ship. Even the archmagi of the Imperial Theocracy couldn't do that. His claims were nothing short of miracle instead of sorcery. A manner of achievement only could be done through the power of the divine rather than the arcane work of mortal hands.
Yet for all of his eccentricities and insanities, Mystrene couldn't help but 'study' the human with deep interest. He had the most peculiar yet similar appearance to that of elves. Much like the knife-ears, his face unblemished, and with a body seemingly sculpted by their revered Sky Gods. However, unlike the elves who were fragile as glass, the human clearly had defined strength hidden beneath his thick attire. Though it was incomparable to a true warrior like Alastria and Laura, it was obvious that this human either had experience with hard labor or it was naturally expected of his kind. Also, Mystrene silently observed, there was something vaguely appealing with the way his ears curved to a rounded edge instead of the sharpened point like the elves.
The human spoke of the most wildest things, of how his people sailed through the stars and found this world, how they trade with beings across many realms. Mystrene studied her liege lady's calm expression, though if one looked hard enough, one could see the slight twitch of her ears that suggested that even the ever stoic Bold Wolf was baffled by the human. However, Mystrene noted, Vesna seemed more interested in the carriage he rode—and what a carriage it was indeed.
The magus still couldn't wrap her head around the nature of the vehicle. What manner of sorceries allowed for its functions. Everything regarding the metal wagon was a piece of artwork that not a hundred dwarven crafters nor elven arcanists could ever imitate. She had examined the vehicle multiple times from a distance, yet it revealed naught even a sliver of secret to its mechanics. The fact that it was made of metal and glass of all things was enough to rouse some interest, added to the fact that it propelled without a beast was another matter entirely. For a moment, Mystrene pondered for what manner of price this carriage would fetch amongst the continents and what the Imperial Magi would be willing to pay to obtain such a divine piece of contraption.
The human, who introduced himself as Elton Triske Sevielle, a noble lord no doubt judging from the way he carried himself, his exotic attire and his most fanciest of names. Mystrene listened closely as Lord Elton of House Sevielle spoke more of himself and his purpose for coming to this land of all places.
"May I ask, what manner of carriage is this? I have never seen something quite… bizarre," Lady Vesna remarked, eyeing the vehicle for the twentieth times.
The human beamed, his charming smile drew quite the attention of some soldiers. "Ah, this is what my people call an off-road thaumic vehicle. More specifically, the Fenrir-Class Extraplanetary All-Terrain Light Vehicle. Or just Fenrir if that's too mouthful for you."
"Quite the name," Lady Vesna quipped diplomatically, most of the word and its meaning lost to her. "Befitting for a noble, I suppose."
"Oh this is no luxurious vehicle I assure you, I'm afraid I'm not entitled to such expense for this journey," stated the human.
"Is that so? Say, tell me more of this… Federation you serve under. What manner of kingdom is it to possess such an incredible wagon?"
"Huh," the human paused, furrowing as he struggled for an answer. "It is… a very influential one amongst my people and has dominion over many territories across Orion Arm. We also make a lot of profits, establishing trade with other 'kingdoms' to bolster our power."
"A merchant empire," Alastria spoke as all eyes turned towards her. "You sound like the merchant aristocracy of East Datrika."
"What kind of sorcery even is this?" Mystrene finally voiced herself as her curiosity and frustration finally reached its peak. She was a learned woman, but she doubted even the brightest of sorcerers could make heads or tails of the iron beast. "This is not the work of any Elemental nor Glyph magic I am familiar with…"
She noted how the human perked at her declaration of 'magic', muttering something about "Gate of Warcraft" or something along the line before he replied to her question. "Ah, I'm afraid that is beyond my field of expertise. I am no esper– I mean, sorcerer. That is a question best suited for the engineers."
"Say, do all yer people look like you? Cause hot damn," Laura grinned, trotting her horse closer to the 'Fenrir', her eyes leering at the human through the rolled down window pane.
"Laura!" Hissed Mystrene, mortified that the chief knight dared to talk in such a manner to a nobleman. She could even see from the corner of her eyes how the liege lady herself frowned in disapproval though kept it unvoiced.
Though it seemed the human took it as a jest and chuckled along with the knight. "Tis the work of bio-engineering and gene therapy, I fret I'm not the result of something natural."
Mystrene was once more reminded of this not-elf's foreign nature as he spoke nonsense again. Speaking to him was similar yet different to that of an elf in that both conversed in manner of riddles most confusing to follow. However, where the knife-ears would try to use the most eloquent words they knew, this human simply talked of all things alien. Not that it surprised the magi much, she had seen and interacted with many different races and cultures, each with their own eccentricities and uniqueness.
It was then she noticed, the forest began to slowly part and more of those strange stumps were present. Their gaze trailed over the destruction, some in discomfort, but kept those thoughts to themselves. A few minutes later, they came across the residency the human had claimed to be built merely under four days. Mystrene's eyes widened, her grasp upon her magi-staff tightened as her gaze followed the vast expanse before them. She might have not travelled here, but the magus knew well enough that there was no such… town a week prior to this.
For a brief flicker of moment, the magus' eyes turned to the rest, where she caught sight of the gawking Lumberton, frozen Thaunar and most of all, the shocked Clawtun. It was a town far from 'humble' as the human claimed. A twisted steel fence erected around the settlement, where it barricaded the vast clearing littered with orderly buildings of the most queer architecture. Each no bigger than a commoner's cottage, yet made of a fusion of stone and metal and glass. There were several mighty poles stretched across the town, erected near their incredibly polished road.
Mystrene examined further, where she noted several odd totems? Sculptures? Established near the fence, yet when they encroached closer, the magus realized those things—whatever it was—were moving, swivelling their strange long barrelled head. She was later told that they were "auto-turrets", a golem of iron built to defend their town. The entourage were silent as they slowly walked towards the newly built town, some soldiers had forgotten all of their wariness as they stared dumbly around them.
However, what caught their attention the most was the fortress-sized structure that hung furthest from them. A large sword-shape construct with the most peculiar of design. Mystrene knew not what manner of craftswomen these humans employed, but their work was enough of a display of their skills. Around them, more humans walked about, some had chosen to root themselves and gawked at the newcomers, a few had taken out the strange rectangular objects in their hand.
There were more of those 'Fenrir' around the town, all of which moved with such speed and precision no carriages of theirs could match. Mystrene let her gaze lingered, their footfalls felt deafening even with the ever present activity around them. Hells, she could even see several large golems carrying out boxes that dwarfed her horse.
"Milady, I think we've discovered something no mortals ever had before," Alastria whispered to their liege lady in awe. Then, as if to support her statement, the odd fortress they saw earlier suddenly rose to the air. It was a sight that was enough of a shock to the soldiers, and admittedly, the knights too. Even their liege lady couldn't keep the surprise out of her face when she saw the massive sword further removed itself from the ground, a strange shimmering light rippled across its body, like a translucent coating of magi-barrier Mystrene once saw a College Magi conjured. Then in an instant, the massive sword cracked the sky, flying at speed supposedly impossible for its size.
"What in Deep Hells was that!?" Laura bellowed, hardly hiding the fear in her voice as her grip to her rein tightened.
"Ah shit, sorry about that. I should've warned you about the Loki," the human replied sheepishly. When all eyes turned to him, the human further clarified. "That's uhh… that's one of our sky-ships that I told you about. It is the Loki-class dropship more specifically."
"You call that a ship!? That is a flying fortress!" Laura exclaimed her disbelief, still reeling from the awe-inspiring (and terrifying) display of power before them.
The closest thing Mystrene could even compare it to was the legend of the Ice Queen and her Fell Palace of the Sky that told of the Queen's flying palace that sat high above the clouds, propelled by the power of Gale Magic. Not that such a thing was possible of course, no amount of wind spell could carry a cottage, let alone an entire palace. She knew now at least that the human might not be as mad as she thought he was.
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The human had departed from his 'Fenrir-wagon' and led his newfound visitors around the town in which they had come to call the 'Front Pioneer'. The town was large, though no more than Blackfell that surrounded Fort Blackshard. Each housing was made of expensive and refined materials one could only find in a palace, and that was excluding the amount of metals used to build a mere humble cottage. From this short tour alone revealed more than enough to Vesna that these "humans" of the "Federation" were immensely rich, a wealth of which especially bolstered with their craftsmanship of sorcerous contraptions that seemed far more complex than the impressive clockwork, cogwheels or the fabled 'steam power' of dwarven machines.
She herself had seen one of the dwarven contraptions, and none could match the sheer scale, complexity and intricacy these beings possessed. Vesna and her women were shown many things, those lumbering iron giants called the 'Gigant-units' that were apparently manned by actual people and created to lift heavy objects, not too dissimilar to Imperial orc laborers. Then there were the miraculous "sun-lanterns" as Alastria had described them that lit up the street when the dusk encroached.
Vesna could only imagine how much such a simple item would impact their civilization. To claim possession of a lantern that did not burn nor wither, and empowered by the light of the sun, the heat of a flame or one of their so-called "wireless psionic charging zone" was nothing short of a miracle. Yet, that wasn't even the scratch of it all. As night quickly made its way and darkness enclosed the sky, the human offered them a stay for the night for which was met with gratitude by the soldiers.
Vesna, Mystrene, Laura and Alastria had chosen a shared abode for them to discuss this newfound discovery for the night. Even their simple lodge held many marvellous trinkets and contraptions. Warm water conjured from a silver faucet, couch and chairs that could mold itself to befitted a person comfortably, doors that operate via unidentifiable sorcery and the ever shifting glass pane for which could alter its translucency. Not to mention, despite the rather bare and simplistic nature of their decor, there left no doubt to the quality of their furniture even without their magic.
Vesna knew naught what fabric composed their couches and beds, but she was willing to offer a sizable coin to have one in Fort Blackshard. The Lady Realm gathered her knights as they sat under the bright yet soft radiance of the foreigner's affixed "sun-lanterns". Silence befell them for a moment before Alastria was first to speak.
"These people are suspicious."
Laura scoffed. "I dunno, they seem great to me. 'Sides have you seen their men? It looks like heaven here!"
Mystrene sighed as she stated over Laura's comment. "Speaking of their men, did you all notice it?"
"That they're goddamn hot!" Laura declared.
"Aye I noticed it too, at least half of them were men," Alastria ignored Laura's outburst. "What more, it seems that they sent both women and men to do heavy labor."
"What?" Laura blinked. "They let men do heavy work? Have they no shame? Who would even have the heart to subject those pretty boys to such a gruelling task!?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Laura. Those… 'Starfolks' aren't elves. They don't talk like one and certainly didn't act like one," Mystrene chided. "It seems that they view their men to be just as physically capable as their women."
"How odd, though I suppose it is not the strangest I've heard," Alastria commented. "I know for a fact that our distant cousins from the Great East, those Dune Howlers, were the same."
"Aye, but even they don't force their men to do heavy work," Mystrene added. "It is quite… disconcerting to say the least. If I have a husband, I would rather he stay at home child bearing than be subjected to tumultuous work like some mere commoner."
"Well, with those arcane machines of theirs, I don't suppose their work would be that arduous," Laura pointed out.
"What do you think, Lady Clawtun?" Alastria directed the conversation back toward their liege lady who was currently deep in thought. The woman paused, her gaze lingered over the starmen's sunlit lanterns and their stoneworks.
"They are rich," Vesna opined. "And they are eager to trade. I knew not why these so-claimed 'Starfolks' chose this frozen wasteland to establish a trade here of all places. I found their presence here… dubious and their contraptions alien at best, but there left little doubt these Star People have with them gifts that could benefit the North greatly."
"I know at least that the Imperial Magi of Westria would kill to get their hands on some of the stuff those 'starmen' have with them." Mystrene proclaimed nervously. The very idea that this knowledge could leak out and reach the elves of Westria was concerning to say the least. The Imperial Magi weren't known for their respect and patience. If there was something to catch their attention, the elves wouldn't hesitate to claim it as theirs, consequence be damned.
"I don't mind me'self on some of those 'sun-lanterns'," Laura uttered, her eyes trailed back to the unwavering luminescence from the ceiling-affixed lanterns. The fact they burn so brightly and clearly yet without a sliver of heat to be felt was unlike anything they've witnessed. Though, the Magus had claimed to have once seen glowing corals belonging to the merfolks. Not that Laura trusted that claim much.
"Do you trust these people, Milady?" Alastria questioned. She herself didn't seem too bothered by the sudden appearance of the 'humans', but someone had to play the devil's advocate, she reasoned.
Vesna frowned, leaning against the oh-so-heavenly couch, pondering over that statement. She wasn't sure what to make of the Star People and their strange ways. They were bizarre in almost every form imaginable, bringing with them innovations unseen anywhere in the Realm since the First Age of Arcane. To trust a congregation of strangers who didn't belong to the Realm in the first place sounded quite foolish, and perhaps it was. Though they showed no inclination of such, Vesna had no doubt that if their 'mundane' machines were anything to go by, their weapons must be as equally bizarre and miraculous.
"A pertinent question," Vesna carefully answered. "Do I trust them? Nay, I trust them as much as I trust any strangers who come to our lands. However, much like my foremothers and those before them who had accepted trades with the seafaring Nunerians, the freelancing Woodmirrori and the fine crafters of Mount Ironstalks, I cannot deny the potential these foreigners bring with them."
"I see no problem with this. As long as they are not foolish enough to point their blade at us, the Northmaidens of Frostland know how to uphold a deal," Alastria proclaimed.
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[Front Pioneer, Deep Forest, Nothun]
Elton stood calmly before the holographic apparitions of several men and women, each held great power and influence over the Federation. Their features obscured behind the Veilmask© Smart Software System that did well in hiding everything save for the vague silhouette of their bodies.
"How went the First Contact?" Interrogated the first voice, a flat nametag hung above his head;
Codename: Icarus-I, Head Management of Public Relations
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"Perfectly," smiled the man. "The natives seem quite amiable and polite enough, though understandably apprehensive of us, but I surmise that all it takes is a little 'shock and awe' on our part to shift their stance of us, or if that fails then I suppose a little show of power wouldn't hurt. I also have with me a short precursive summary of their culture, or at least from what I can glimpse of our short conversation."
"Then please continue," said another voice, a small feminine figure that was obviously of Titanian descent. Her name tag read;
Codename: Wonder-II, Head of Extraterrestrial Societal & Cultural Interaction
Elton briefly parsed through the mental list he had written down in his implant before he answered. "They came from a nation-state region known locally as 'Frostland' or something of that equivalent in their language. Though I'm not quite sure yet, but judging from their level of technology, behavior and designated official titles, as well as a few things confirmed by the natives themselves—we can safely conclude that this is a feudal monarchy state with the same cultural and societal values as that of 15th Century Europe."
"Are we looking at the kind of people that burn women for witchcraft?" Uttered the word of one of the silhouetted figures whose hands interlocking with each other and his chin rested upon his knuckles. His name read;
Codename: Banner-III, Head of Finances
"No, fortunately. In fact they seem quite open to active psionics, even employing what seems to be officially trained esper militia. Though, on that 'women' part… I think it's the opposite here. They're a highly matriarchal society it seems like."
"Oh?" Icarus-I perked, though he seemed more or less disinterested. "I suppose that will give us some materials for PR work. Once I get my colleagues from Mars to agree, this planet will be the perfect goldmine for feminist-related product placement. I imagine a world full of discount amazonian warriors would fetch quite the attention from our youngsters on Proxima."
"We can talk about merchandise later. What more can you tell us about them? Are they a threat?" Wonder-II immediately inquired.
"Not so far, no. We can handle the swordsmen—or, er rather, swordswomen easily enough. Even if their strength and speed couldn't quite match the mercs' augmented exosuits. It's their 'wizards' we ought to be worried about. We haven't got a read on her Psi-Index yet, so we have to assume she's a 9th Tier threat for now."
"How was your progress with the mining facility anyhow? I hope you didn't forget your main objective in your excitement, Mr. Sevielle," the voice of Banner-III intoned.
"Our drones are still looking for the ideal spot for our mining outpost. The planet is rich with resources, that much we knew from the start, but the fact remains is that we still have to look for the most optimal location far out here in the cold. The Constructor had done great work drilling up mineral deposits deep underground, but iron, lithium, copper, sodium, magnesium, aluminium, potassium and calcium are just common elements we can find anywhere else on the Colonized Worlds. It's the rare, precious, stuff that we're really looking for. With the level of equipment these natives had, and of what we can see from satellite imaging, I can safely say that Gaius is a vast untapped treasure—and that's not even including really valuable stuff like aetherite and thaumium."
Elton had personally seen himself a chunk of raw aetherite. A crystalline material made of exotic particles that existed only in the extradimensional plane known as the 'Fold', where all psionic phenomena originated. Though they could be extracted only in small quantities but when brought to Material Space, even a milligram of aetherite could fundamentally alter the metaphysical properties of any elements it was infused with. One only needed two grams of aetherite infused with a kilogram of any element to produce the strange and enigmatic thaumic alloys. In fact, most of their basic construct materials were made of various thaumic alloys that ranged from the ever common terrasteel to the invaluable polytitanium. Yet all of that paled in comparison to a truly purified thaumic metal such as the coveted thaumium that was said to be fully capable of unrestricted reality-bending of the most outrageous scale. In sooth, that was one of the primary reasons of the Federation's adamancy in claiming Caesar System as theirs, throwing their best legal teams, PR department, espionage mission, sabotaging operation, blackmail, bribery and a little media manipulation to have the Unified Systems agreed to their demands, and even that was met with heavy criticisms from some groups (most of them were puppets played by their rival colonization contendors, but that means little to the Federation).
"I hope for your sake that there won't be any complications. Our sponsors are quite the adamant patrons, they have put their trust on the Federation and it is imperative that we deliver on our promise. If you have trouble looking for suitable locations, you are free to use all available resources from the Ethereal Wing. The Systems' would probably make a fuss out of this, especially the ORE (Outer Rim Environmentalists) Party, but that's just a small setback. Once we get started on our mining operation, the result will hopefully shut them all up."
Elton merely nodded at that, secretly doubting such a claim. Even if by miracle they were to discover a world full of concentrated aetherite deposits, there would still be those in the Systems that would denounced the Federation's effort in the interest of humanity. Because that was all they did, bicker and squabble like their predecessor of the United Nations and its now-collapsed rival, the Martian Independent Coalition, formed three decades after the red planet's colonization. The Unified Systems was supposed to be the improvement of both the UN and MIC, but nothing much had changed save for scale and scope of their operations. How would anybody expect a coalition of nine worlds to govern and cooperate with fifty colony systems across the Orion Arm was anyone's guess. Mankind hadn't been competent all those millennia ago, and that tradition was not to change for millennia to come.
"I will do my best to prove the Federation's worth. With this initial contact, one of our goals is established. All we need to do is come to an agreement with the local sovereign so that they can provide us with raw resources, lands and—if they're willing—manpower in return we share with them some of our (Federation-approved) technology."
"I am pleased to hear such confidence in your voice, Mr. Sevielle. I sincerely hope you keep this attitude up for the foreseeable future. Who knows, maybe if this progresses any further, you will find yourself a promotion in your hand," said Icarus-I before his holographic image flickered and dissipated.
"I wish to keep a tab on this in the future, Mr. Sevielle. Oh and a warning if you will, although we can afford to cover up some of your slip-ups, try not to go around guns blazing too much. Even our influence has its limits. Keep the violence at a minimum, but if you found yourself in a rather… unfortunate circumstance, I implore that you plot your next plan strategically. Shooting a bunch of natives might stir the wrong kind of attention back at Sol, but with a little bit of flair in narrative I'm sure we can pull the support of Human Supremacists from Venus and Europa. I heard there are… orcs in this world, correct?"
"From what I can tell, yeah." Elton answered diplomatically, slightly worried at the tone of the conversation. "Though we haven't met them yet, we've only seen a few satellite images of them. They look like your classic Tolkien brutes that we expected of them, quite violent from what little we can parse. However, either that's just their culture or the satellite drone caught a rather unfortunate but isolated incident is yet to be determined."
"Well, I'm sure with a little theatrics done in a controlled environment would encourage the Unified Systems to give us some leeway with our actions," declared Wonder-II, the ghost of a smile graced her silhouetted lips. "See if you can use that to our advantage if things ever go south."
"Of course, Madam," exhaled Elton, expecting such an answer. "Though I doubt we'll find any conflict in this cold climate."
"One can never be too careful. Especially with your line of work. Nonetheless, I expected the best result from our best teams. Please do keep in touch with me soon."
"Yes, Madam," Elton replied half heartedly as their projections all winked out of existence. The man stood awkwardly for a moment before he gathered himself and took a deep breath. "Well, another day at work I suppose."
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[Crown's Berth, Nothun, First Realm]
The Firn Stronghold, one of the mightiest keeps of the North that sat deep in Crown's Berth situated at the southernmost part of Nothun, near the southern bay where it was warm enough for the ice to melt and seaport established. However the Berth was still of the North and the cold seeped deep into the blood and bones of the lands and its people. There lay a great harbor of the most grand scale, built by the queens of the old who saw it fit capitalized upon the Berth's prosperous trade route. The northern sea, despite her wrathful and wild temperament, was still the home of sailors and merchants who sought to trade their wares and goods from the far lands they came from.
The sight of foreigners standing ashore the harbor was common for the people of the Berth and the exotic wares brought by those same outsiders were a welcome commodity for both noblemaidens and commonfolks alike. It was something Her Majesty Edryne Vamatheon enjoyed looking at, even at a distance where it was impossible to see anything else than the congregations of ant-sized ships gathered near the Grand Pier.
Edryne of the Great House Vamatheon was of Autumn Grazer's blood. Much like any stag-kin Grazers, her kind sported a pair of furred ears, a short tail and twin mighty antlers carefully grown to boast her strength and virility as all female Grazers do. She was a mighty warrior during her younger years, and had led three different wars in her lifetime, one of which saw her ascension to the throne after the death of her mother.
Edryne had spent nine years of her life as the respected 'Northern Queen', the true ruler of the coldest realm and the rightful crown bearer of the Arctic Kingdoms. Truth be told, the Vamatheon was unsure how she felt being the realm's queen. She felt that she had done a decent enough job handling most of the realm's hurdles, but even the mighty Grazer felt it tedious with some of the tasks set before her. Yet concurrently, Edryne also enjoyed the power and freedom being the realm's Northern Queen provided her. To have tasted the finest wine and slept with the charmest bachelors was a boon none could rival. However still, sometimes Edryne cursed her fate to have betrothed herself to a warlock of a husband.
Oh he had all the charms and good-looks of a prince as was told in bard's tales, a young and handsome bachelor of the most purest heart and gentlest voice, with a face that could make any woman's heart weak with but a mere sight. Edryne herself had fantasized of becoming the knight in shining armor, saving said callant in distress. A dream she regretted now she knew of the man's true nature. A spoiled bratty prince whose detestable temperament only grew ever more loathsome as the King Consort of the Northern Queen.
It pained Edryne despite it all, she couldn't quite look past the man's charming face. Oh how she wished to strangle that cockhead given the chance, but never had the will nor time to satiate that urge. That, and the son of a bitch always knew what to say or do to calm her nerves, if only for that moment. Speaking of the warlock, Edryne's eyes caught sight of the only good thing ever came out from that man, their eldest child, a growing stag who carried herself like the true queen of Crown's Berth.
Oh how she wished her second and third child was of the same character.
"Queen Mother," spoke the lass, her bright emerald eyes were that of her father, but her vibrant scarlet hair and twin antlers was that of her mother's. The crowned princess looked up to her parent, a smile graced her face. "I've returned from my joust and won all the tourneys."
"Hah, I knew you could do it, lass!" Edryne chuckled, her arm leaning against the stone wall of the keep's balcony. "Let me you, when I was but a young fawn, I was known as the greatest champion of the North! All men flocked to me when my name was mentioned! Tis a family tradition of the noble Vamatheon House!"
"Yes, of course, Liege Mother," smiled her daughter. Her gaze then swerved out to the open air, where the expanse of the realm's city sprawled before them. A great congregation of stone and wood built from the finest crafters and forgers one could find in the north. The crowned princess had learned during her younger years that Crown's Berth was built above a massive complex of hot spring, and their ancient ancestors had ingeniously built channels underground that allowed for the warm water of the spring to spread equally across the Berth, simultaneously heating the lands enough that no snow would accumulate on the street.
"It is a wonderful thing ain't it, Ewana? This sight? Sure, the elves have their Citadel but none of their fancy mage-work could match the authentic efforts of our hands. Your ancestors built this city when the dwarves still used bronze tools, it took generations for Crown's Berth to become the mighty foundation of what it is now," Edryne beamed in pride. She clasped her hand over her daughter's shoulder, staring the young lass straight in the eye. "When the time comes, young stag, your place on the throne will dictate the future of our people. You needed to guard not only the Berth but the whole Arctic Kingdoms itself. There will be noblewomen who want to stab your back, noblemen who will try to pry your power through their venomous viles. Remain steadfast, my daughter. Hold a tight grasp of your crown and let none dare sink their fangs to you."
"Speaking of fangs, Mother. There was a heron that arrived from Frostland, it concerned the Bold Wolf who spoke of the encroaching Tribes and their loathsome vipers. Those barbarians have been ever more bolder these days, some had even raided villages and towns from Rockstone and Lakelinger."
Edryne's face immediately fell to a scowl, once more reminded why she hated her duty as the realm's queen. The Vamatheon sighed as she waited for her daughter's personal opinion.
"Personally, Mother, I would just get rid of those savages. Their presence is unneeded, there is very little they provide for the Arctic Kingdoms," Edawa said.
"If only it was that easy, Edawa. Tell me, where do the Mountain Tribes reside?"
The young Grazer blinked, confused before she answered. "The Old North?"
"And pray do tell me, where be the Old North?"
"Further beyond Frostland, deeper than the Deep Forest."
Edryne nodded, pushing herself from the stone wall and motioned her daughter to trail behind her steps. "Then do tell me how you propose we send our soldiers to the Deep Forest? A journey of more than a sennight worth of marching, all of that just to hunt down a few, scattered, barbarians deep within unfamiliar territory? One inhabited by wild beasts that those shamans of the Tribes commanded."
"I hear the Snow Guards of Frostland hunt the Tribes easily enough in there, we could use their help. After all, it is they who requested our assistance," argued Edawa.
"You presume the Goldspears of the Crown would listen to the Lady Realm of another House?" Edryne pointed out, her words gave pause to Edawa. "Tell me, if the Bold Wolf were to take command of my women, would they listen to her?"
"N- no…" Edawa eventually rescinded with a frustrated exhale.
"I know it is irksome that we allow some wildmaidens of the Old North to freely roam and scour our lands, but the fact remains that they are too little of a threat to warrant an aggressive action when much of the realms elsewhere needed my personal attention. However, make no mistake. Your concern over the barbarians is warranted and should be kept a close eye on. I will send a heron to Lady Clawtun if she needs any assistance from me. I have more than enough gold and swords for the rest of the realms."
"Aye, Queen Mother. I will make sure to inform the scribes."
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[Front Pioneer, Deep Forest, Frostland]
The 'Front Pioneer' was a marvel of a town to the natives of Gaius (or they called it the "First Realm"). For the last one and a half days they had stayed there, the soldiers of Frostland had indulged their curiosity in exploring the place, still wielding their blade and clad in armor. To say the least, it made for an odd sight—like a bunch of cosplayers amidst an official Federation business. They watched in rapt interest as the Gigant-Class Heavy Loader Unit carried large packages like iron ogres loading a carriage full of sandbags. Then there were the remarkable horseless metal-glass carriages of different forms carrying themselves across the neatly arranged settlement.
Other than the smaller four-wheeled Fenrirs, there were the Jotun-Class Heavy Transport Truck, a much larger, nearly mammoth-sized, vehicle that boasted six spherical wheels. Much like many of the Starfolk's contraptions, the giant automobile was built to be sleek and angular. The trucks, much to the native's awe, moved just as quickly and smoothly as the Fenrir.
Most however had gathered at the outskirts of where the 'sky-ship' flew yesterday, their gaze solely locked upon the myriads of strange winged metal contraptions whose purpose was not difficult to discern. Even the Magus, Mystrene Melnari, was not exempted from the crowd. The sorcerer had long since pulled out her book and charted down all she could with her quill. It was a little irritating for her to have to constantly melt the ink, though a task made easier with the 'sun-lantern' the Starmen had so graciously given to her and the other knights.
The magus still puzzled over the fundamental mechanics of the device, for all of her prodding and experimenting, she couldn't for the life of her discern how it functioned at all. She could parse a trace of magic within, with how her magi-staff seemed to faintly hum near the thing, but that was as far of an answer she got off the object. Perhaps a question only the humans could answer, though she doubted they would relinquish their secrets that easily.
Speaking of the Starfolks, Mystrene's eyes wandered back to the rest of the town, seeing both men and women setting up the foundation of their newfound lodges (which she still found it hard to believe to have been built in four days). If one ignored their ears, they really looked no different than elves, if only a little bigger and much less fragile if what she seen for the last hours was any indication. Their kind had all unblemished skin much similar to the elves, though without the marble smoothness one would associate with the knife-ears. There was a certain rugged expression to them, especially so with the males.
Mystrene found herself staring at three of them, all of whom stood a distance away from her and the Frostlandian soldiers, but their gaze were unmistakable. The sorcerer studied the three carefully, noting their impressive thick armored shell that left no gaps, not even a slit for their eyes—though she could just attribute it a quirk to their miraculous sorcery. Their armor, she realized, were expertly forged where each segmented piece was carefully placed over one another in a strange multilayered fashion. Mystrene imagined from the thickness of their armor that it must be heavy, however, whether it be the testament of their warrior's strength, some strange mass-related enchantments or the peculiar nature of the armor's material itself was an enigma. Though, it wouldn't surprise the magus in the slightest if it were those three.
Their front helmet especially, a flat metal plate with six peculiar onyx gemstones located near the side of the front face panel. Since Mystrene knew not of optic sensors, the magus merely assumed them to be for decorative purposes. When one of them caught sight of her staring, Mystrene froze for a flicker of a second, her grip upon her staff held firm but steadied herself as they waved at her, in which she awkwardly returned.
Truth be told, the magus didn't know what to think of them.
Laura had taken a liking to them, though whether it was because of their incredible sorcery or because of their men, Mystrene wasn't sure. Alastria was a bit apprehensive, but there left very little doubt that the knight was intrigued by the Star People and their strange ways. Lady Vesna had her suspicions but even she couldn't deny the potential trade benefits these visitors from beyond brought with them.
The soldiers of Frostland were obviously awestruck by their astonishing display of sorcery. She had heard their exalted whispers of the Starfolks, especially when it concerned their bachelors. Not that Mystrene herself couldn't understand. In a world where women outnumbered men three to one, the sight of the Starfolks who not only had the beauty and elegance of the elves, but also none of their arrogance and vanity was a literal godsend for the maidens of Frostland. A thought she silently berated herself to have fallen so easily like the dishonorable grace that was Laura Lumberton.
"So what are you doing out here, lad?" Mystrene's brow twitched as she heard the all so familiar voice of the aforementioned rambunctious knight. The magus turned to see the same knight leaned against a wall beside one of the "human" who had just seemingly finished with his task.
The man looked upon Laura with surprise before he answered with a polite smile. "Ah, doing my job?" His eyes trailed over to the rest of the natives. "So you guys must be those uhh… whatcha call it, Howlers? Issat correct?"
"Aye, Snow Howlers to be exact," smirked Laura, one could obviously see her eyes trailing the human up and down like a wolf. "Say, I'm impressed with yer people's magic. It's not some borin' spells like our magus."
Mystrene gritted her teeth at that slight but relented as she approached them both, it was to be expected of the knight after all. The magus could see Laura smiled at her encroachment, but the magus paid her no heed. Someone had to leash the hungry wolf lest she offend their newfound neighbor. The sorcerer was quick to intervene when the chief knight was about to add something else to the conversation.
"Greetings, I apologize for my… associate's rudeness. Though a knight, she is a rather uncouth one. I do apologize again if she offended you," Mystrene asserted, shooting a glare at the knight, who merely rolled her eyes.
"We're fine, spoilsport. Tis just an introductory discussion, is all. Don't tell me you are not curious of these star visitors as well?" Argued Laura.
The human merely chuckled at that. "It's okay Miss…?"
"Magus Mystrene Melnari," the magus answered, pushing down her anxiety. Truthfully, the sorcerer had very little interaction with males outside of her own family and it was in this instant that Mystrene regretted her action. She should've left Laura to her own device.
"Ah, it's a nice name. Mine's Adam," the human smiled much to Mystrene's panicking dismay. The sorcerer froze in place, unsure to what a proper response would be at this point. Thankfully, she was saved from further embarrassment when the man continued. "I work as the engineer around here, keeping the machines functional and all."
"Ah, so yer the runesmith of these amazin' magic-contraptions, eh?" Laura piped.
"I… guess so? Though, what you see here in the colony isn't my work."
"Still, a pretty impressive work if I do say so me'self. I don't think even the knife-ears on Westria could ever rival what yer people built," Laura continued, her hand vaguely gesturing over the rest of the area.
"Say…" the human suddenly turned his attention to Mystrene and the panic rose back within her. "You're a magus? Like, you can use psio- I mean, magic and stuff?"
"Uh- ah, yeah. I can uhh… throw ice and stuff," she blurted instinctively. 'Throw ice!? What was that about?'. Much to Mystrene's betrayal, she could hear the slightest snicker from the knight. Once this was over, the magus would ensure to enact retribution to the chief knight. For now however, she had to deal with the danger that was social interaction.
"Oh cool—no puns intended by the way—so you like what, manipulate water chemicals or was it more of a temperature control?" The human, Adam, grew ever more curious to her magic.
In any other circumstances, such a question would have met with a prideful declaration from the magus as she went to length in explaining the intricacies of her arcane gifts. However now it was as if her tongue was tied and her body made of brass. Mystrene stood for a moment, trying to ponder over the question whilst her racing conscience conjured various images of what needed and needn't be said. Much to her mortification and relief, Laura interjected.
"Kemikal? Temperate control? I'm afraid I don't speak scholar-speech."
"Heh. Well in any case, I do hope you don't find our presence here uncomfortable. We, of the Federation, are explorers seeking peace across the universe. It is through cooperation that prosperity is born," said the man with a smile. Though, Mystrene couldn't help but feel like the statement was rehearsed, though not that it mattered much. The fact that these strangers crossed the heavens to seek peace and trade was a welcomed addition to the realms. Only the Gods both of the East and the West knew how much of a commodity peace really was. Even in this time of relative silence, conflict still brewed behind the scene—and not just the threat of the barbarians either.
"Eh, it's no problem at all. Yer arrival is a surprise to be sure, but I don't think our liege lady would disagree that you lots could provide somethin' useful fer us." Laura swivelled her head, her eyes locked especially on the sight of one of the humans lifting one of their metal boxes. "Sides, I think y'all make for good eye candy."
"Syr Laura…" growled Mystrene in embarrassment. To hear her speak of such vulgarity was bad enough, but for it to be in front of a strapping callant was worse. The magus quickly tried to remedy the situation, her hands motioning in circles. "I- I do apologize for her behavior. I assure you we have other um, nobler, knights in our employ."
The human however, merely laughed before he addressed Laura with a playful smirk. "Wow, can't say I have been hit on before. But thanks for the flattery, that's a real confidence booster."
"Oh? How can that be, surely a fine chap like you is constantly pestered by dirty scoundrels no?" Laura said suavely, leaning forward as she said that. Mystrene could only roll her eyes at such blatant hypocrisy. The knight then shifted her weight, one arm raised in a gaudy attempt to accentuate her bicep. "I assure you if there is any who dares lay their hands on you I will make quick work of them. Have I ever told you what they call me in these lands? I was known as Laura the Great, Master of the Seven Blades!"
Adam the human blinked unsurely as a nervous chuckle escaped him. "Wow, okay, can't say I've had this kind of flirting experience before. Look lady, uhh… Laura, was it? You mind if I offer you for a drink or two later?"
Laura in return beamed. "It will be my pleasure Adam the Runecrafter of Federation." She stated before giving the man a theatrical bow, followed by a wink before she stood up and ambled away, with Mystrene trailing behind her in annoyance.
"I cannot believe you get away with that!" The magus seethed. "How can someone like you be a noble knight?"
"Hah! It is good to know my charm works even to these Star People!" Laura grinned proudly, her attention then shifted to the magus. "Well if ya need any help wooing the coves, you can always ask for me advice!"
"I'd rather die in a ditch," grumbled Mystrene.