Sky of the kingdom of Narlux

26th passage 2 Eteyar 1600

26th May 1972

The continent of Lirgo is bathed in relative peace, with human nations quarrelling amongst themselves for interests that are all the more futile than the others, remaining in their barbarism and total primitiveness. This is what Hocerhu wrote in his cabin as he began to fly over an island called Iwux inhabited by dwarves. "How pathetic these people are. he thought to himself as he was startled by the sound of someone banging on the metal door.

On the other side of the door was another dark elf, this one wearing his characteristic military outfit and looking as if he wanted to ask something.

Hocerhu looked the soldier up and down before sighing. "What do you want?" He asked, knowing exactly why the soldier had come. "The captain wishes to have you at his table." Informed the soldier.

Hocerhu stared at the soldier attentively. "I thought so." He muttered before answering the soldier. "If he's that insistent, tell him I'll be there, sooner or later, we've got to give him this report." He replied with very little interest in his voice before closing the door on the soldier.

Once again alone in her cabin, Hocerhu approached the porthole to look through. All he could see was a cloud illuminated by the faint light of the moon, with the ground below plunged into complete darkness Withdrawing his gaze from this uninteresting sight, Hocerhu turned back before getting ready for dinner with the captain.

Hocerhu was now in the officers' quarters, just outside the canteen door. He took a deep breath before opening the door. In the distance, the captain was sitting at a table and noticed the man's arrival. The captain immediately stood up to greet him. "Sit down, Hocerhu. We have much to discuss this evening." The captain said before sitting down again.

The captain was surrounded by a small number of officers who were chatting amongst themselves. Hocerhu finally came forward to sit down at their table and start dinner. The moment Hocerhu had been dreading came when the captain put his fork down beside his plate and began to speak. "The treaty will be formalised by next week. Have you sabotaged your laboratory as the king demanded?" Asked the captain directly without a single scruple.

Hocerhu was silent for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. "What a horrible choice to let so much research time disappear." He thought, before finally answering. "My valuable research present on site was destroyed as requested. The laboratory was sabotaged and made difficult to access. I would have preferred to set it on fire, but that would have been too visible to the locals." He replied.

"Excellent news. What have you done with the Toutchal complex?" The captain asked curiously. "The underground networks were flooded, making it very difficult to get through. The outside has been modified, which will definitely give the primitives the impression that it's an old abandoned city." Replied Hocerhu, tense under these words, not wishing to reveal that the pump system was malfunctioning and lacking in magic, flooding half the complex.

"However, it saddens me that this law has strengthened to the point of forbidding me to do my research." Said Hocerhu in a calm and composed voice. "You know it bothers the king as much as you do. If the WOIC (World Organization for International Cooperation) hadn't discovered our experiments on this continent, he wouldn't have tightened the law to the point of banning all expeditions to the reserves and threatened to destroy any vehicle sent there." Explained the captain.

"Now we need to find another way of obtaining the resources we need for our research." Hocerhu replied in a calm and composed voice.

"There was also something else the King wanted to know about your research that he hadn't informed you about. Project Dimension's travel attempts have now been halted. It is already too late to influence those accursed civilisations out there." The captain explained, pouring himself a glass of wine.

Hocerhu couldn't believe his eyes. The fruit of his family's labor was unfortunately halted. Deep down, he was filled with rage at the news. "How can His Highness want to stop the very basis of my research? My family has been working for centuries on a way to make a stable passage. It's even the reason I lived with those primitives who served as my sacrifice." The rest of the table looked at him in silence before the captain replied. "Your future is bright, but this other world can no longer be explored by yourself. They have become exactly like our enemies, whatever your father may have done there." Hocerhu could see where the king's reasoning had been taken, that now this dimension was becoming dangerous to their magical hegemony. "I see what you mean, but I'm sure I can still make them understand the benefits of ma..."

"See for yourself, your father and his team have already tried to teach them magic. All that happened was a massacre in this town called Salem, if I'm not mistaken." He finished.

But Hocerhu didn't have time to retort when he was cut off by the sound of lightning falling nearby.

"What are they doing on the bridge?" the captain asked loudly before leaving the room in a hurry, leaving Horcerhu with the rest of the officers.

Hocerhu was now standing on one of the few gangways leading outside. From his point of view, the airship was sailing in complete darkness, surrounded only by its own light.

"What a bunch of hypocrites, they were the first to want to open up this programme so they could spread magic wherever it was needed, and now they're abandoning the programme just because of a few machines [https://img.wattpad.com/aac80207500ca4a7b23c40496f9c2f9f1f675273/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f524646484f646452637134646e513d3d2d313434393635373133312e313765333163336233616336646432323532343133303432393036302e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

"What a bunch of hypocrites, they were the first to want to open up this programme so they could spread magic wherever it was needed, and now they're abandoning the programme just because of a few machines." He complained angrily.

gateway

"What's going on here?" Asked the captain as he opened the door leading to the command post. He soon noticed, through the large glass window facing the command post, a sky half-covered by a large cloud mass which was illuminated by lightning flashes here and there.

"Captain, you've come at just the right time." Said the officer in charge of navigation.

The captain gradually approached the officer before sighing. "What exactly is the situation?"

"We've deviated our course to head directly south to avoid this storm cell, but it's doing nothing, it's getting closer and closer to our position." The officer explained, pointing to the storm which was beginning to take over the entire horizon.

The captain remained silent, which only increased the anxiety of those on board. "We have no choice." The captain muttered with a sigh. "Reduce speed. Your attempt to avoid this storm was a wise decision, but we're going to have to ride it out. Bring us back on course and maintain our heading." He ordered the captain, before turning to the rest of the crew. "Keep an eye on the onboard instruments and report any information provided by them."

Under the captain's orders, the crew members carried out their duties immediately, leading the aircraft into the storm. An hour had passed since the airship entered the storm. Horcerhu, like all the other passengers, was now confined to his cabin, waiting for the storm to pass.

"Now I can't even take a bath." He complained as he pulled out some of the writings he had stolen from some of the countries on the continent he had left behind." The wind was crashing against his cabin window, producing a swaying effect throughout the aircraft.

Suddenly, Horcerhu, still at his desk, was illuminated by a strong light coming from the cabin window. Before he had time to react, a deafening noise echoed through the room before a git occurred on board.

Before he had time to react, a deafening noise echoed through the room before a git occurred on board [https://img.wattpad.com/b9df5cf83d1f0461fd8a9f46accd5dcc7fb2aa69/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f626f303064586947746e477657773d3d2d313434393635373133312e3137653331646438353538343138373431313638313233393835372e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

For the captain, the situation was dramatic. The worst had just happened as the crew received a barrage of information from the onboard instruments.

"Engine 2 has lost thrust and a fire has broken out in it. said one of the crew members.

"What's the state of the balloons near this one?" Asked the captain, as the whole crew grew increasingly anxious. But before there was even time for any response, the lights on board began to flicker.

On board, the officers were desperately trying to maintain control of the ship as the port list became more intense.

"Captain, we've lost a balloon as a result of the engine fire and we've got leaks on three more of them." Signalled one of the crew members in an alarmed tone.

The captain tried to remain calm as each flash of lightning heightened the tension among the crew.

The captain had to make a decision. It clearly wasn't his favourite, but he had to make it. "Close the valves on all damaged balloons and evacuate the helium inside. Get all ammunition overboard and get the passengers to the escape pods." He explained. "We need to buy time and keep the airship in the air as long as possible." He finished.

___

The light turned red as someone knocked on Hocerhu's door. Without waiting for permission, a soldier entered, visibly tense from the events. "Immediate evacuation of the vehicle, follow me to the evacuation point. He said before turning on his heels.

After the soldier arrived, Hocerhu had just enough time to retrieve his leather satchel before leaving his cabin.

In the corridor, the other passengers hurried towards the back of the aircraft. Like Hocerhu, they were all scientists recovered from the Toutchal complex.

___

"Have you found a safe area to start the evacuation?" Asked the captain from a sound tube.

"We're looking at what looks like a large flat area from our position. It shouldn't be long before we reach it." Replied the soldier, whose voice echoed through the tube." This response reassured the captain that an area had been found and that the capsules could be dropped in a flat area.

___

"All passengers and non-essential personnel proceed to the evacuation area." The voice repeated tirelessly, echoing throughout the airship. As Hocerhu got closer and closer to the evacuation zone, he could feel that the stress and panic of his colleagues was unbearable. But who was he to judge them, he thought, as his hand kept shaking under the impact of the events.

Finally, after several minutes of walking through the crowded corridors, Hocerhu found himself in the evacuation area, a large room with several series of very narrow capsules, each containing a seat. "The evacuation area has been found, it's a large plain with small hills. There don't seem to be any primitive villages in the vicinity, which will give you several hours' respite. Once your capsule is on the ground, wait for the storm to die down and gather round at the crash site. For anyone too far from the crash site, a transmitter will send out a mana pulse, allowing the rescue team to locate you when the time comes." The soldiers explained as the capsule doors began to open.

Hocerhu was now strapped into his capsule, waiting like so many others for the evacuation, when suddenly the loudspeakers in the room were activated, revealing a deep, calm voice. "Dear passengers, this is your captain speaking. I'm sorry that your return journey has taken such a turn for the worse. The evacuation is about to begin. Unfortunately, we will be landing in a hostile area, so I would ask you to remain in your capsule until the storm has passed. Our follow-on airship has been informed of our situation and will join us as soon as possible." The announcement ended as a tremor was felt in the airship, before the hatches holding the capsules in place opened, allowing the capsules to begin their fall into the night sky.

___

"All the pods have gone, Captain." Informed the man behind him.

The captain, hearing the news, turned around. "Very well, I doubt the airship will last much longer. Let's start the descent before evacuating ourselves." He continued as the lights continued to flicker under the shaking of the airship.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

___

The wind whistled through the metal of his capsule, while Hocerhu was now in a calm environment, surrounded by the wind and the sound of rain hitting metal.

After several minutes of falling steadily through the storm, Hocerhu was shaken by the sudden opening of the parachute. As the wind began to buffet the capsule, it was illuminated by the light produced by the airship as it violently hit the ground several kilometres from its position.

Time passed in slow motion as the capsule, carried by the winds, slowly approached the ground, which was completely blackened by darkness, leaving nothing to be seen as it descended. Suddenly, Hocerhu's capsule hit the ground with a loud thud.

Through the capsule window, nothing was visible until a flash of lightning illuminated the surroundings, giving Hocerhu a glimpse of the landing area outside. He saw a tree not far from the capsule, with a dirt road further beyond.

Hocerhu quickly freed himself from his capsule and inspected the surrounding area. The tree was covered by the parachute of his capsule and was therefore extremely visible to anyone in the vicinity. Hocerhu remembered the information he had gathered about this island.

It was an island which appeared uninhabited on the surface, but which was teeming underground with a species of small humanoids who had begun to exploit the steam. Their very presence on the island had been enough to discourage human populations from settling there.

Remembering this detail, Hocerhu turned back, opened a hatch in his capsule and took out a rifle with an ammunition belt and the capsule's transmitter. "Of all the places it could have crashed, it had to be on an island inhabited by a vile mechanical civilisation." He lamented, before looking for somewhere to shelter from the rain.

___

Several kilometres away, the smoking carcass of the airship was being scrutinised by watchful eyes. "Divine messengers crashed." Muttered a young dwarf who was curious to hear an explosion coming from the surface.

Taking his eyes out of his spyglass, the dwarf rushed to the lantern beside him before pressing down on the lever, rotating the metal plates and revealing the light from his lantern. As the light flickered, he sent the message to other dwarves in the surrounding mountains.

___

Hocerhu was now alone, sheltered in the hollow of a small cave. The rain outside was still raging, but now sheltered, Hocerhu, under the weight of events, dozed off sitting on a rock, weapon still in hand.

___

Fifty metres down, a few kilometres from the crash site, the excitement was at its peak. The dwarves were in a frenzy, receiving a great deal of information about the crash site.

The town of Darkforge was located to the north-east of the main island. Like all the towns in the country, it was located underground and inside it was home to a population of 30 000, making it the largest town in the region.

Sitting in his office, a richly dressed old dwarf was reading the many documents that were beginning to accumulate concerning the divine emissaries that had fallen from the sky.

Next to him was another dwarf who seemed to be waiting for his reply. "My lord, what do you wish to do with this event?" The man asked the nobleman next to him.

"Bring troops to their aid, they will certainly offer us divine artefacts in exchange for our help." Replied the nobleman, placing the documents on his desk. "Also inform the Queen of our discovery." He finished.

___

Several hours had passed and the storm in the sky was finally beginning to calm. At the crash site, the crew, who had already gathered, were busy organising the rescue and coordinating the efforts of the various groups on the ground. With the help of the other survivors, they had already established a safety perimeter around the crash site.

"Captain, we have already accounted for a quarter of the survivors; they are now present here." Informed the soldier.

"What's the situation with the Aerom?" Asked the captain.

"It's flying over the channel that separates this island from the mainland, but the storm has calmed down enough on their side for them to send us a plane with supplies." Explained the man.

"That's excellent, it'll give us extra help." Replied the captain.

Suddenly, the captain was startled by the shrill sound of the hangar door falling to the ground. Turning as quickly as he could, he saw the survivors all excited and happy to have opened the damaged door, before one of the men quickly approached him.

"Captain, at first glance, the vehicle is still largely usable." Informed the man, inviting her to follow him.

The captain was standing in front of the silent hangar, the vehicles in front of him had been salvaged during the evacuation of the Toutchal complex and were due to be taken back home.

While the few mechanics in the makeshift camp were busy diagnosing the vehicles, they were surprised when one of the mechanics started one of the vehicles, causing a mechanical hum to echo around the room.

As one of the vehicles was started, the captain decided to end his long silence.

"Start as many vehicles as possible. All those that start up will be sent out in teams of three to search for signals sent by the other escape pods." He ordered.

___

Several miles away, the dwarves were observing the crash site where three motor vehicles emerged before disappearing into the surrounding plain.

"I never thought I'd see the day when that happened. Said one of the dwarves as he watched the vehicles speed away.

The leader of the group also watched the headlights of the vehicles gradually fade away from the light of the torches in the camp of survivors.

"After a crash like that, they'll need care and food, so let's hurry and get moving to help them. ordered the dwarf.

After an hour's descent from the small mountain on which they were stationed, the dwarves were now on the plain, just 1 km from the crash site.

___

While the encrypted communications from the vehicles sent out to search for survivors were taking place regularly, the captain was alerted by one of the soldiers making his rounds. He had observed a series of lights approaching their position. The sky was beginning to be illuminated by daylight, making it possible to make out the silhouettes still a kilometre away from the crash site.

"The natives have arrived." Muttered the captain as he removed his binoculars.

He immediately turned around, facing the crash site, before speaking at the top of his lungs.

"Soldiers, a native troop is approaching our position. According to protocol, every vile tribe that possesses the knowledge of science is an enemy. So don't let these natives get any closer to our positions than where they already are!"

The captain's message had just been given, and the soldiers and passengers rushed to collect weapons in preparation for the coming confrontation.

Weapons in hand, each person positioned themselves in such a way as to be sheltered in case the natives retaliated.

Each person was ill-equipped, but even so it would have been enough against the group of dwarves closing in on them.

The silence was palpable. Everyone capable of fighting was in battle positions, waiting for the signal.

The captain was still watching the small army approach. This one flashed a lantern as if to signal its desire to communicate, before... "dash!" announced the captain in a loud voice, unleashing a deluge of fire on the dwarves.

The deluge of fire that fell on the dwarves was brief but devastating. The soldiers had the advantage of surprise, and the dwarves, despite their courage and determination, were no match. Within moments, the small army was disorganised and the survivors fled before they had time to retaliate.

The captain watched the carnage with great satisfaction.

He was relieved that his men had managed to repel the attack. "I need a small group to capture any survivors." Announced the captain.

As soon as the order was given, the only functional vehicle in the camp set off towards the scene of the confrontation, remaining there for around twenty minutes before returning with around ten bodies as well as food supplies and damaged medical equipment.

The captain looked at the group of dwarves in front of him. Their eyes were consumed with rage and anger. "Kill those who are unconscious, they will be of no use to us."

He ordered the soldiers, who led them out of the tent and coldly shot the unconscious dwarves. After that, the captain turned to the three survivors, horrified and furious.

He took a chair and sat down in front of them, armed with a pistol, before asking them a question. "What is the reason for your group's visit?"

___

Hocerhu awoke from his sleep and emerged from the cave, illuminated by the light of day.

He got up, picked up his rifle and started walking.

The first thing he saw was a sky that was still grey, with columns of smoke rising from the surrounding factories.

After a quick glance, Hocerhu picked up his compass and began to follow the course the airship had been travelling on before the crash.

The ground was still muddy from the previous night's storm.

After an hour's walk, Hocerhu was surprised at the turn of a path when he heard the sound of an engine.

Not entirely sure of the technology possessed by the dwarves, Hocerhu hid in a bush before the vehicle passed in front of him.

It was a vehicle equipped with tracks and a machine gun on the roof. Recognising the vehicle, Hocerhu climbed out of his bush before gesturing wildly.

___

"Send in the army!" Shouted the old dwarf as the troops who had gone to help the Divines were completely massacred.

Furious, the nobleman gathered his troops and ordered the army to be prepared for the imminent retaliation.

The Divines were going to pay dearly for their attack on his assistance.

The nobleman also contacted the capital to inform them that the Divines had attacked his relief group with extreme violence and to announce that a punitive army would be sent.

___

The survivors were looking happily at the horizon. For about thirty minutes, they had been in regular contact with the plane sent by the Aérom, which was now in radio range. After an inspection, an area had been found for the plane to drop supplies to the survivors while awaiting the arrival of the Aerom.

In just a few minutes, the point barely visible on the horizon had become clearly distinct.

Passing the crash site once, the plane made a second pass before dropping the supplies using an innovative method called parachuting.

As the plane headed back towards the Aerom, it sent a message to the survivors. ~An unknown army of 5,000 men is closing in on you from the north, they will be within range within the next hour.

The message from the plane made the survivors tense, as they had to face an army on their own.

"You heard the message, get shovels and prepare U-shaped shelters." Ordered the captain, as a large proportion of the survivors moved to prepare the defence."

After an hour of hurried preparation, the survivors were ready to face the army in front of them.

The dwarves had set up at a relatively safe distance from the survivors' weapons and seemed to be organising themselves.

While the tension was at its height and no shots had yet been fired, the survivors could hear the characteristic cries of the wyverns used in this part of the world.

They flew over the crash site and sent light signals to the dwarf army. Observing this, the captain grabbed the handset of his magiccom and gave his orders. "Shoot those weak wyverns before they try anything."

Immediately, the airship's anti-aircraft defences were activated, lighting up the sky with the amount of ammunition fired at the wyverns. The surprise of the attack enabled two of them to be shot down, while the others quickly turned back.

Seeing the enemy attack on the wyverns, the small army began to move, bringing a small detachment equipped with their muskets.

The dwarves didn't even have time to fire a single shot when they were greeted by a hail of bullets that stopped any attempt by the detachment.

As the survivors of the detachment took cover behind the few rocks on the plain, the survivors, still entrenched in their defences, were quickly surprised by an attack from their flank from a cavalry force emerging in large numbers from the surrounding forest.

It was quickly met by the vehicles used to retrieve the survivors. With their great mobility and armament, they fired at the mass of ponies in front of them.

At the same moment, a bang was heard, quickly followed by many others. It came from the dwarves' artillery, which was beginning to fire on the weak defences of the survivors, at times sending survivors flying on impact.

Seeing this, the captain laughed. "He really thinks our airship is no longer usable." He exclaimed enthusiastically.

Before three cannons on the sides of the airship came to life with difficulty before firing.

The impact of the shells was far more devastating than those of the dwarves, but they were soon silenced after the ammunition that had not been thrown overboard ran out.

After more than two hours of fighting, the rescapers were running out of ammunition. Only one vehicle remained, while the other two were hit by infantry fire.

Seeing the enemy fire gradually diminish, the dwarves regrouped for a frontal attack, leaving their position and accompanying their wyverns for the final offensive.

The wyverns got close enough that some were shot down by the anti-aircraft defences, while others managed to destroy some of the anti-aircraft defences.

The battle was starting to get ugly for the survivors as their ammunition began to run out. Suddenly, there was a series of violent explosions in the dwarf army.

~This is the Aerom, we have been informed of your debacle and have accelerated our speed to join you.~ Announced the sizzling magiccom.

In the distance, a large mass in the sky was now visible. The airship, although at a great distance, was close enough to annihilate the dwarf army with its cannons.

"Fire on those closest to us." The captain ordered the soldiers who still had loaded weapons.

After a long debacle that lasted another good hour, the dwarves were driven back in absolute disorder, leaving the Aerom to rescue the survivors.

30th passage 2 Eteyar 1600

30th May 1972

Horror was all that crossed Prince Mekso's mind as his army arrived at the scene of the confrontation. Everything had been deserted, but the rotting corpses of his compatriots were still there. It was impossible to tell which body belonged to whom, because the bodies had been destroyed.

He looked up and now observed the hulk of the airship that had brought the divines here. "The diviners? No, they should be called demons." He thought to himself as he looked at the carnage they had left behind.

After leaving the carnage, the prince headed for the town of Darkforge, which had apparently suffered an attack from the divines before they left, according to the words of the nobleman who ran it.

The town, once rich and prosperous, was now largely in ruins. Everywhere the Prince looked, he saw nothing but burnt-out buildings and rubble. The city's great factories, with their chimneys rising to the surface, were now destroyed by the explosives that had been planted there from the surface.

Turning his gaze, the prince saw a charred little girl with a doll in her hand. She seemed to be looking at him with eyes full of terror, while the rest of her body was buried under the rubble.

Suddenly, King Herdug woke up with a start. "That bad dream again." He thought. Rising from his bed, he walked towards the large bay window in his bedroom. On the other side were the streets of Berlin plunged into complete darkness.

It had been over a month since the King had been lodged in Berlin. After several meetings with the German government, it had been decided that he would sleep in this hotel for the duration of his asylum.

After a moment looking out onto the street, the King turned to face his bed before lying back down in it. "I wonder why the frequency of this nightmare has increased." He asked himself before closing his eyes.