A few hours later...

28th of April, 09:00

On the flight deck of HMS Ark Royal, 105 miles off the coast of Pais, the former Atlantic Ocean

A roar can be heard as several Flight Deck crews ran to their positions. Several aircraft handlers wearing yellow coloured tabards can be seen exchanging hand signals before silver wings, a cockpit and fiery jet exhausts flash past them.

A fifteen-ton monster launches at almost 180 knots as it's pushed electro-magnetically and pulled down the catapult until it lifted off the deck of the carrier. The carriage then returns to its starting position as the jet blast deflector is lowered to make way for another monster, the monster that is the Rafale FRS.4 (Rafale N) aircraft.

(Author Note: The Rafale N is the proposed naval two-seater version of the Rafale M that was to be used on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier before it was cancelled due to budgetary and technical constraints, however, here, it was never cancelled and is currently in use with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and yes, the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers here are all fitted with CATOBAR.)

Inside "Viking 2", one of the four Rafales from 802 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) flying today is Sub-Lieutenant Hugo Baugé, an athletic and confident pilot, and Sub-Lieutenant Cooper Carr, a calm and steady WSO (Weapons Systems Officer/Wizzo). Both of them have flown together since the Elementary Flight Training at RAF Barkston Heath, despite their differences.

(Author Note: And no, RAF and FAA pilots do not have call signs, well, other than nicknames at least. Instead, individual flights/squadrons are given call signs, for example, the call sign "Renegade 1/2/3/4" was given to the two Wildcat helicopters and the two Merlin helicopters from 815 and 845 NAS that participated in Operation Buckthorn.)

Hugo: "Cooper, you think we're going to encounter some strange magical creatures here?"

Cooper: "Bullshit, one-eye."

(Author Note: "One-eye" is naval slang for the word "idiot".)

Hugo: "Come on, Cooper, it will be like a dream come true."

Cooper: "...Only for an otaku like you, Hugo."

Viking Leader: "A flight, this is Viking Leader, steer to 025 and maintain angels 13, over."

(Author Note: "Angels" means the height of a friendly aircraft in thousands of feet as such, angels 13 which means 13,000 ft.)

Hugo: "Viking Leader, this is Viking 2, roger, out."

Hugo slams the throttle forward, engaging the afterburner and manoeuvred his Rafale to the left, following the other three Rafales in a finger-four formation. That was until Cooper picks up a target on the radar and immediately reacts to it.

Cooper: "Unknown contact, 20 right at 13, 225 knots closure. Viking Leader, this is Viking 2, contact one bogey, 030 at 40 miles, 225 knots of closure, over."

Viking Leader: "Viking 2, this is Viking Leader, roger, out."

Hugo: "Cooper, you sure the thing's flying at only 225 knots? That's as slow as a bloody biplane."

Cooper: "Surprisingly, yes."

Hugo: "This is getting even more interesting."

Viking 4: "Viking Leader, this is Viking 4, contact three bogeys, 035 at 35 miles, 250 knots of closure, over."

Viking Leader: "Viking 4, this is Viking Leader, roger, out. A flight, this is Viking Leader, steer to 033 and maintain present angels, over."

Hugo: "Viking Leader, this is Viking 2, roger, out."

Cooper: "We're now a minute from the coast, the RAPTOR (Reconnaissance Airborne Pod Tornado) pod is ready as well, try not to mess this up, Hugo."

Hugo: "Of course, Cooper."

* * * * *

At the same time...

The Port of Coralodor, Coralodor, Kingdom of Pais

The Port of Coralodor, the largest seaport of its kind in the peninsula and possibly the region if not for the Franco-British Union, was crowded with galleys and galleasses alike. Although most were merchant ships, some were part of the Paisian Navy.

While the city walls were guarded by the city's garrison, the skies above the city were protected by twenty-four wyverns from the 5th Wyvern Squadron that is permanently attached to the city's garrison.

One of the wyvern knights flying today is Woodenbluff, an experienced knight who has survived several engagements with the Quistadorian wyvern knights, considered by many to be some of the finest knights on the peninsula. He wasn't flying as part of the routine patrols today though, instead, he was helping a new member of the squadron, Velcerth, to familiarise himself with his wyvern and to learn how to perform different manoeuvres.

Woodenbluff: [C] "Get used to it, kid."

Velcerth: [C] "I will try my best, sire."

Woodenbluff: [C] "Good."

They continued flying around the port for a while, although Woodenbluff was used to such a sight, Velcerth was amazed, after all, this was his first time in Coralodor.

Velcerth: [C] "The view from up here is amazing, don't you think so, sire?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Woodenbluff: [C] "Well, it's rather unclear unlike the view from the ground."

Velcerth: [C] "I couldn't disagree, sire."

Woodenbluff: [C] "Heh."

That was until four specks appeared on the horizon, followed by a flash, a roar, and a knife-edge pass between the two at 400 feet. Just as the strange creature was about to fly past Woodenbluff's left, he could see through the transparent canopy and realised that there were two humans inside.

Woodenbluff couldn't see their faces, however, because they were wearing some kind of helmet that completely concealed their faces. Other than that, one of the humans sitting in the back was holding some kind of instrument as well as giving him the V sign while Woodenbluff was forced to close his ears because of the roar coming out of the strange creature.

The strange creature rockets past his wyvern and disappears. Woodenbluff wasted no time turning his wyvern in an attempt to follow the strange creature, to no avail. On the other hand, Velcerth has just regained control of his wyvern.

Velcerth: [C] "What was that...?"

Meanwhile, in the cockpit of the Rafale, Cooper checked the pictures he took of the two wyverns, even though he found it unbelievable, especially since Hugo spoke about it, the proof of their existence was in the camera, so he had to concede.

Hugo: "Cooper, did you get the picture? I told you there must be magical creatures here, mate."

Cooper: "Heh. Of course, I did. Anyways, let's get out of here, we still have a job to do."

Hugo: "Right away."

Hugo slams the throttle forward, engaging the afterburner and climbs back up into the clouds. The four Rafales' job was to take low-level aerial reconnaissance pictures of all coastal cities within the peninsula.

Meanwhile, inside the city, the majority of the citizens who watched the event unfold, panicked. The garrison was quickly alerted and in a hurry, manned the city walls.

John, who watched the bizarre incident from the port, was amused, but not before he reminded himself that he still has a job to do, just like those airy fairies.

(Author Note: "Airy Fairy" and "Wafu" are the naval slangs that are used to describe a member of the Fleet Air Arm.)

John continued walking until he took a sudden turn into an alley and disappeared from the crowd that gathered outside. Then, a young woman peeked around the corner before walking into the alley, seemingly trying to find him.

Unfortunately for the young woman, she ran into a group of four-five drunk people. As she tried to make her way past the group, the group surrounded her and blocked every possible exit.

Drunk 3: [C] "Well well well... Look at what we have here."

Drunk 1: [C] "...A young and beautiful woman like you should come with us..."

The young woman sighed as the group burst into laughter. She raised her arm and muttered something under her breath before blue flames raced towards one of the drunk men.

The man soon caught fire as it burned through his clothes. The other four men were surprised that she was a magician, but a lone magician couldn't stop all of them.

All of them wasted no time pulling out a knife and charged towards the woman as she assumed a defensive posture, trying to chant another magic spell before the distance between them rapidly decreased.

But she was too slow, her spell wasn't ready by the time they reached her. One of the men lifted his knife high into the air. "This is it..." the voice echoed in her head as she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

However, only silence followed the realisation that she was still unharmed. She opened her eyes, to see the drunk man being stopped by John, the man she was trying to follow.

John: [C] "These minging lads are rather annoying, don't you think so?"

(Author Note: "Minging" is a naval slang that means two things, drunk or ugly.)

John twisted the man's arm and punched him in the face before pushing him down to the floor as he screamed in pain.

Drunk 2: [C] "Who the hell are you?"

John: [C] "That doesn't matter because, in the end, I am still the one who beats you up."

Another drunk man charged forward in an attempt to subdue John, only to be kicked in the testicles as he fell to the ground.

John: [C] "Ouch, I am sorry, that wasn't intentional."

The man attempted to stand up, but, he was quickly knocked to the ground once again by a knee strike right at his face that convinced the two remaining drunk men to stop fighting.

John: [C] "I'll make you an offer you can't refuse. Help your friends up and leave, otherwise, you know what's going to happen next, don't you?"

The two quietly helped their friend back up and left the alley while the young woman stood up and tried to leave, only to be pinned against the wall by John. Her beautiful long white hair appeared out of the hood, the young woman was none other than Christine.

Christine: [C] "W-what are you doing...?"

John: [C] "I am sorry, but, that's my question. Why were you following me?"

Christine: [C] "...You know I could just scream right?"

John: [C] "You won't. Otherwise, you would've burned me to ashes with that magic of yours."

Christine: [C] "...I was only looking for my brother, now, could you please let me go?"

John: [C] "Is that so? Yesterday, you and your old man seem to be gossiping about me and my fellow merchants and today you followed me everywhere, why?"

Christine: [C] "How can you speak the ancient language then?"

John: [C] "...The ancient language?"

Christine: "You could speak in this language, couldn't you?"

John: "And why's that a problem?"

Christine: "...It's a long story, come with me and I will explain it all to you."

John: "Don't try anything funny."

Christine: "I won't."

The two walked out shortly afterwards. John decided to follow Christine, albeit remaining cautious of the lady's unknown motives.

* * * * *

An hour later...

28th of April, 10:00

The Fence of Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Dust rises from afar as several Quistadorian knights rode towards the former Gibraltar-Spain border, leading them is Sigmund, the Sergeant-Major General of the Southern Imperial Army.

Although they were visibly confused by the fact that Gibraltar wasn't guarded by massive walls they were expecting but instead, small fences. Some of them even openly boasted that they would be able to conquer Gibraltar within a day with these little fortifications but they were stopped by Sigmund, who noticed that this wasn't the town of Tariq he once knew.

As the knights reached the gate, they were stopped by a small fence gate which was soon opened. As soon as the knights made their way inside, they were surrounded by armed men in awkward attire and holding magical equipment, Sigmund believed these were the soldiers that fought his knights days earlier at the village of Cantagon.

The knights were forced to dismount from their horses and hand over their swords, some tried to resist but Sigmund forced them to concede.

It was then that Sigmund was separated from his knights and brought into the police and customs building, where he found himself astonished by the technology and infrastructure inside, it was as if he was in one of the five superpowers. He sat down on the comfortable sofa and it wasn't long until he realised that this room was far more comfortable than any other rooms he has ever been in.

The delegation from Gibraltar soon arrived and he was greeted by the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Michael Palmer and the Governor of Gibraltar, Vice Admiral Sir Jeremiah Berry and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Marsh, the commanding officer of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment who has been anticipating his arrival, they shook hands before beginning the meeting.

Michael: [C] "I assume you're the one who sent the letter demanding that we surrender our city to this "Quistadoria Empire" of yours?"

Sigmund: [C] "Of course."

Micheal pulled out the paper that listed the demands but he didn't even bother reading it. He immediately tore it apart and threw it into a nearby trash can, surprising Sigmund.

Jeremiah: [C] "In the name of Her Majesty the Queen and the Franco-British Union, I cannot and will never accept any one of these demands."

Sigmund: [C] "Very well. Then, in the name of the Emperor, you shall face the consequences. We shall meet again on the battlefield and your people shall pay the price."

Jeremiah: [C] "We will see, my good sir."

Sigmund stood up and immediately walked out of the room, marking the beginning of the Franco-British - Quistadorian War and the Fifteenth Siege of Gibraltar...