Part 2
Three months later—Hydaria
It was a place too grandiose to be called a meeting room, but it served that purpose for the royalty and nobles of the Hydarian Imperial Palace. At one glance, one could discern the exquisite architecture of a prospering nation within this single room that was not even made to be shown to outsiders. Long table made out of the ivory of an unknown beast, seats inlaid in gold and jewels, and floating chandeliers that did not touch the ceiling through magical means. It was a room out of a painting.
Numerous Hydarian nobles and military generals gathered in their respective seats, each of them debating amongst themselves about the century-long continental war they waged abroad—of armies lost or territories gained, of people subjugated and resources taken. At the very end of the table lies a seat like no other, a throne more like. The throne was made out of bones which had been coated in gold and embedded with jewels. Sitting on such an opulent art piece, a leader. King Noctimus Vi' Hydaria. He was a man with majestic long blonde hair and a sharp, intimidating mug of a face. His gaze killed beasts, stare turned toddlers into stone. He was a handsome man by all rights, but he was a fruit better never eaten. He wore exquisite regal clothing of purple and red, with various jewels and accessories embedded.
"Your Majesty, our forces in the north managed to retake some key villages for food transport. This way, we can continue sending more troops there." A noble said
"You jest! What we need is to go further on the defence with our depleting aetherus supplies." A general interjected.
"We still have capable warriors and Arch Magus on our side, we must not let the enemies think we are weak by going on the defence. There is a chance some of them will create a temporary alliance to take us down!" Another noble chimed in.
The bickering of nobles and generals threatened to bore the king. He rested his head with his right arm on the throne. He did not care to reply.
A knock came from the entrance. They opened the door immediately after. A Hydarian knight appeared with two gentlemen behind him.
"Your Majesty, distinguished lords and generals, Baron Alana q'Fazquez and his eldest son Garvin q'Fazquez have arrived."
The two Fazquez could not look more different. The father, Baron Alana, was a frail wrinkled old man who walked with a cane. He seemed perpetually tired, although his tidy moustache and facial hair and noble outfit still gave him an air of dignity. Next to him, Gavrin was the symbol of young adulthood, wearing an attractive and trendy noble outfit and slicked back brown hair. One would think Gavrin was his father's grandson.
The two newcomers entered the room and kneeled on the floor with respect. "We greet the eternal sun of the empire." They both said in unison.
"Rise." A voice with a regal quality, King Noctimus simply waved them to stand. "You have kept me waiting."
"We apologize, Your Maje—" Baron Alana interjected.
King Noctimus cut him off. "I know your excuses, do not think me a fool. You were in one of your little vacations again, Baron Alana, weren't you?" The king replied sternly.
Baron Alana swallowed his word and had a look of fear on his face.
"Your territory lies in the frontier before the great forest. In a sense, I entrusted you with the occupation of those uncivilized savages. Something usually reserved for Counts. They are managing our occupation of the Southern Islands quite well. Some of those dirty subhuman islanders serve us quite well, I hear they are popular in the service industry." King Noctimus wore a devious smile.
All the nobles in attendance chuckled along hearing the king's words.
"They sure are! I hired some of them for my garden, they can be lazy but they get the job done cheaply." A noble said.
A military general pointed at Baron Alana. "You lost us the Osmanians! Their children show great promise as future soldiers, born warriors they are. If we had managed to complete our occupation, we could have conscripted more of them to the front! You must take responsibility for this, Baron!"
Many other nobles complained similarly. The King raised his hand to stop the commotion.
"The Osma Reaches is one of our biggest providers of aetherus, something that is key in strengthening the powers of the Magus and knights. And you know very well it is not a simple matter to retake that region, we would have to divert some of our forces away from the frontlines." King Noctimus said with a frown.
"With all due respect, Y-your Majesty, we simply helped with the deployment of knights and storage of aetherus from Osma, you never gave us formal rights to—" Baron Alana said hesitantly.
"What did you say?" The King stood up from his chair and hurriedly walked to Baron Alana, who shrank into a pebble before this tall regal king. "You dare call me a liar?"
"I'm not—"
King Noctimus grabbed Baron Alana's hand and stretched out his other hand. From the sideline, a Hydarian knight stepped forward and gave the King a dagger.
The king put his face next to the baron and whispered, "You know the punishment you give to those savages when they're too lazy to harvest aetherus, no?"
"Your Majesty! Please!" Baron Alana said. A trickle came down his pants, he was urinating himself in utter fear.
"Well, you have also been too lazy to harvest aetherus, in a sense, yes? You can't even keep some servants on a leash. So you get to keep your life, but this is what it will cost you." He said softly, almost sensually.
The King slashed the dagger and cut off both of Baron Alana's hands. The old man shrieked in pain and passed out.
"Get this thing out of here." The King waved and several knights took the Baron and the hands outside the room.
Gavrin was like a statue, a look of shock and fear could be seen on his face.
"Now, the son." King Noctimus approached Gavrin and patted his shoulder. "I still need you."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty!" Gavrin replied.
"From here on, you will be Baron Gavrin q'Fazquez. Your father will be under house arrest in the capital indefinitely." The king declared.
Gavrin's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "At your service, Your Majesty." he did not have any choice but to comply with every word at this moment.
"Obviously, your barony will not have the formal right to occupy Osma, you have lost that chance with your failure. But tell me about this...Aksha, I keep hearing about it." The king said.
Gavrin was surprised once more, he gulped down his saliva and replied, "I did not encounter the Aksha, Your Majesty! I almost slept through the attack and managed to escape unscathed."
The room erupted in laughter.
"What a coward!" A general said.
"They're all cowards, those deserters from Osma, but you boy, are something else."
The king raised his arm to stop people from interrupting him again, and they all complied immediately. The king stared at Gavrin who tried to keep a straight face.
"I see." The king patted the young Baron's shoulder once more and smiled gently. "Then do a good job as the new Baron of Fazquez. I will decide if your family will have the privilege to go to Osma again or if I will have to send you to the frontlines. You are dismissed" he said chillingly. His words shook Gavrin to his core.
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Gavrin collapsed on his bed. He looked to his ceiling with a tired face. He had changed into his sleeping robe. The moonlight cast a shadow on his dark room. Gavrin was staying in a small villa that the Fazquez family owned in the capital city of Insomnai. He had suddenly been summoned to the Hydarian capital with his father by the king.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"Evui, I miss you," he said lovingly. "My beloved, my faith in you was tested today, that man is...terrifying. But I did not yield," he said.
"That's glad to hear." A familiar voice said from somewhere in the room.
Gavrin jumped up from his bed in surprise, leaning on the window frame, a hooded man in an all-black strange outfit could be seen, his face hidden with some sort of helmet underneath the hood.
"Aksha!" Gavrin exclaimed. "Please, do not surprise me like that, maybe someone could see you, don't be near the window!" he said.
The Aksha tilted his head. "You still don't understand, do you?" he approached the bedside table and 'touched' it, but his hand went through it like an immaterial ghost. "I am not here. I exist in your mind only and no one else can see me. I told you this many times before."
Gavrin sat on his bed tired. "I know, I know. It's just...not normal. And I had a long day."
The Aksha and Gavrin were conversing in Hydarian, although the Aksha certainly had a slight accent to his speech. The hooded man returned to his previous position of 'leaning' on the window.
"The king was certainly quite intimidating." The Aksha said.
"You were there!?" Gavrin replied.
Aksha shook his head. "I simply saw what has been recorded by your eyes. My apologies, I do not like to intrude on your privacy but this is entirely too important of a matter for me not to interfere," he said.
Gavrin sighed. "Well, your desire has come true, I am Baron now. My father was...too old and he had spent his days living in indulgence and opulence, he had been on a vacation to the winery for quite some time before this."
"You don't seem too fazed that the king chopped off your father's hands," Aksha replied.
"I can hardly call him my father. He was already old when he had me, and we were never close. He was also the reason why my mother died sick and alone, with his self-indulgent lifestyle." Gavrin gritted his teeth.
"Won't be touching that baggage." The Aksha chuckled. "So, how long?"
Gavrin looked at Aksha seriously. "From my estimate, four months. They seem to have some setbacks in their military."
"Longer than I thought, that's good." The Aksha crossed his arms. "And your position as Baron will see some of our other plans reach their fruition more quickly than I had previously planned," he said.
Gavrin nodded. "Yes, you want that secret trading network with my territory in the frontier so I can send you goods from the kingdom, but what can we get in return? that part you have not told me. Forgive me, but you would understand this, the town of Fazquez is not exactly a thriving one, my people's taxes were also spent frivolously by my father." he said.
The Aksha replied, "Do not fret. We have not been idle these past three months. You would be...surprised to see the current Osma. We are no mere tribes anymore. Soon, we can both trade on more equal terms. But I will tell you the details of this later. I need to take my leave."
"Wait!" Gavrin stood up from his bed again. "How is Evui? Did she leave a message for me?" he said with a blush on his cheek.
The hooded man sighed. "You fucking lovebirds." he disappeared from the room.
"WAIT!!!" He screamed to the disappearing shadow of the Aksha.
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Manusya awoke in a room and took off his virtual reality helmet. He wore his normal outfit on the bed. He had injected a universal chip into Gavrin when they kidnapped him. He was capable of not only communicating with Gavrin long distance but seeing with his own eyes the Hydarian kingdom and what it was like. A majestic yet imperialist kingdom, Manusya had noted that the Hydarians were certainly quite relatively advanced and he had learned a multitude of things about their culture, geography and military power. He had also managed to fully learn the Hydarian language in his time absorbing it from what Gavrin spoke and heard. He also gained other valuable knowledge such as the state of the century-long war in the continent and the existence of other colonised territories in the southern islands, occupied by Hydarians and other nations and exploited for their resources.
Manusya's room looked similar to the interior of his spaceship, made out of metallic materials and space-age technology. He had a shower, a wardrobe, a refrigerator and a dining table—it was a standard room back in the Ark. And yet, the window in the room showed the gargantuan life tree in the Osma capital of Prana. Manusya had disassembled parts from the spaceship to construct his new house in Prana. It was a house he had always wanted and could never get, complete with a kitchen downstairs, a living room, a guest room and a workshop basement.
He heard a knock on his door.
"Come in," Manusya said.
The door slid open automatically as he said that, to the surprise of the person who knocked. It was Evui.
"Aksha." She bowed respectfully. "How was the...call with him?" she said with a reserved shyness.
Manusya sighed. "Stop. He is fine." he waved his hand. "Is it ready?" he asked.
Evui nodded. "Yes, Aksha. Everyone is ready and waiting."
"Then let's go." Manusya walked out the door. He stared at Evui as he passed by her.
What an amazing woman. He thought.
Evui had become something akin to Manusya's secretary and assistant for the past three months. He had found that not only was she very capable, but she was also incredibly ambitious and sought to establish her position under the Aksha. She was, of course, also driven by her longing for her Hydarian lover, who could only be reached through Manusya.
Love, it's foreign to the humans that I knew in the ark. Manusya pondered. But I'm starting to become jealous of the affection they both showed each other. I wonder.
Manusya shook off such unnecessary thoughts and walked outside. He had built his house just outside of Prana. Most of Prana's traditional houses were still intact. Manusya had ordered several essential things to be constructed for the past three months: a military barrack, modern farms (both farmlands and livestock) and new residential districts. He was planning to leave all the traditional houses that existed throughout the Osma Reaches mostly as it was. This was done for cultural preservation and Manusya's sentimental preference. These traditional houses would one day serve as museums and cultural sites. His building sites were all outside of the perimeter of the capital.
We lost a great deal of history in our escape into the cosmos. But even back on our original solar system, we put aside history for other things. I want these people to not be 'modernized' by my influence, but develop as a society to greater heights by still keeping their traditional heritage. Manusya thought as he stepped outside.
"Commander!" A squad of Osmanian soldiers who were guarding his house greeted him with a military salute. They all wore spray-painted carbon fibre outfits similar to what the Ohms wore on the day of the Hydarian fortress attack. These Osmanians were not hunters anymore, they were soldiers. Manusya had conscripted all able-bodied citizens, regardless of gender, to the new Osmanian military. Every citizen received basic training for one month, but those who both showed potential and willingness to serve the new nation could enlist in the military officially and receive the privilege of entering Aksha's magical realm—the virtual reality—to train. Within a short amount of time in real life but a significant duration in virtual reality with the time dilation, the first batch of trained soldiers was born.
"At ease," Manusya said. The soldiers returned to their post in a disciplined manner.
He turned to Evui as he suddenly remembered something. "How are the children?" he said with a solemn face.
Evui's face darkened. "They are...being rehabilitated as per your instructions. It will...take more time," she replied.
Manusya's face turned melancholic and he squeezed his fists. "I see. Then let us depart to the site."
He began walking as soldiers and Evui followed him.
After the rescue of the young children of Osma from the Hydarian fortress, Manusya discovered something insidious. All the children were utterly traumatized. Many of them exhibited violent and rash behaviours, while others withdrew completely from the presence of adults. All of them showed signs of abuse, both physical and mental. The Hydarians have performed all sorts of evil upon these kids. They have utterly crushed them as individuals and turned them into nearly soulless pups. It was an atrocious sight, seeing those kids that Manusya had rescued acting in that manner. He had immediately ordered the rehabilitation and therapy of all the Osma children, supervised by Erectus, the ship's artificial intelligence.
I will craft a better future for these children, where they can be kids, learn and play, to become anything they wish. Manusya thought as he walked.
Manusya's party walked for approximately forty minutes until they reached the site for the first-ever completed residential area.
"It's the Aksha!" Someone pointed at his arrival.
"He's here!"
"Glory to the Aksha!"
Everyone cheered as he approached. Their faces seemed brighter than ever before. They had experienced all sorts of miracles for the past three months. From the 'discovery' of farming crops, the magical realm that the Aksha controlled and magnificent golems—the delivery bots—helping them construct buildings and houses. Their hopes for a brighter future were at an all-time high. And now they believed they could truly be a nation that would be able to not only repel but perhaps even defeat the Hydarians.
"Aksha!" A young voice called out, Numa sprinted and hugged Manusya again. Numa had latched on to Manusya like a bear's cub. Perhaps the boy had discovered a parental figure, or maybe an older brother.
"Yes, yes. Now let me work." Manusya smiled and pushed Numa aside.
"You're always working!" Numa replied with a tantrum.
"Well, you need to study more," Manusya replied and the boy crossed his arm angrily.
Manusya removed all the distractions and looked at the first residential area. It was beautiful. Manusya had decided that Prana was going to be where his new capital city would start at its centre. All of the different tribes from villages came back to their respective villages and stayed there. Manusya would not yet call upon the different villages to move here until the residential districts were ready. To not create tensions between tribes, he was not going to prioritize the people of Prana, nor would he create segregated neighbourhoods according to tribes. Although tensions may still arise, the intermingling of tribes was important, as Manusya believed this 'unity in diversity mindset would be important if more ethnic groups would join his nation in the future. This first residential district would house families he selected randomly.
Manusya had consulted with local elders and builders. He was not going to create something that did not have the Osmanian identity at its core. With the help of Erectus and virtual reality, Manusya and the Osmanians constructed a 'modern' house made out of bricks and cement—simple materials he could create with the help of the robots—in virtual reality. The Osmanian 'architects' were stunned that they could simply make any building they desired. With the assistance of Erectus and records of architectural measurements, their collaborations crafted houses that were advanced, and sustainable yet had elements of Osmanian cultures such as specific shapes, colours and decorations. Afterwards, with the help of delivery bots and the labour of the Osmanian army, the construction of this first residential complex was completed.
He walked to the front of the crowd and looked at everyone. "Without further ado, the first residential district is now open!"
A cheer erupted from the crowd. They could not wait to see their new dwellings.
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ART
King Noctimus Vi'Hydaria
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