Beyond?

by Andur

  66. ~Fortress.~

  “They are coming in their black ships from over the sea to take the souls of those who encounter them. Many are taken away and vanish between the waves. Their soulless army is growing day by day, waiting in the shadows.”

  -The Southern Legends.

  Eastern Plains

  Azir

  This is so cool. Just placing a few stepper discs out here in the middle of nowhere was enough to relocate an army from our capital to this place. To transport the common soldiers we even used three of the bigger discs which my team devised for transporting goods and materials.

  Then Helen's workforce of two hundred Gejene got to work and created this fortress. I wish I had that kind of building power permanently under my command. But I guess that won't be allowed. Nict has a population of about twenty million people and there is only one real magician born for every five hundred normal citizens. The number varies a little from year to year, but it comes very close. There are a few more than the birth rate implies, since some magicians' lives last very long. That means that there exist only roughly sixty thousand magicians in the entirety of Nict.

  If you divide that by seven, since all clans have roughly the same size, you end up with nine thousand magicians in each clan. Of course each clan is bigger than that since even if someone does not have magic abilities, if his line has an ancestor who was a magician, then he would still belong to the clan. There are also people like my father, who can use magic, but don't have the power to do anything of real value with it. The potential of having children with magic ability is enough for membership.

  It still shows that Helen mobilized between two to three percent of Nict's most potent building force to accomplish this. It surely isn't easy to divert so much of a country's resources on a whim. A democracy would have fought for years over a decision like that.

  What we built here in the middle of nowhere is a hexagon shaped fortress with three layers of defence. There are forty-metres-high towers at each point of the hexagon to provide nice platforms for attack and defence. The fortress is big enough to hold the army's third reserve force, which consists of fifteen thousand normal soldiers with two hundred mages among them.

  Since this is supposed to be a show of force Helen called upon all clans to add their power to the mix, so we ended up with roughly seven hundred mages.

  Inside the three walls with a height of twenty metres and a thickness of five metres is a small, compact town with living quarters and a small palace in the centre. Of course the Gejene didn't use their ability for all of this. The walls for example were raised from the ground by the Tinn by using their telekinesis, then they were compressed. The Veit swarmed out and enchanted the structure to strengthen it. By now the outside of the wall is covered with so many spells that it started shimmering in fluorescent blue light. Most of the buildings were created in a similar manner to conserve mana.

  The ability of the Gejene served only to give everything the last touch by adding metal where it was needed. They even spent the time to give the walls a shiny exterior of silver and gold, just a thin layer to show off.

  What we ended up with is a shiny structure with a size of six hundred square metres.

  If the people of Quinn aren't impressed by that, then I don't know what to do.

  Since this could evolve into a war I invested the time to take a look at our army, but I have to say that I couldn't find any mistakes in their approach. I suppose that the frequent attacks by the southern nations forced Nict's war machine into ruthless effectiveness.

  Their protection and warding spells are decent, combined with the Veit's ability of long term enchantments their equipment is light and more resistant than heavy steel armour.

  The Eddin provide perfect battlefield healers and the Tinn can ward off most projectiles with their ability. A typical fighting force of Nict consists of one magician from each clan and one to five hundred normal soldiers. The magicians provide protection from magic and spells while they advance together with the soldiers, whose sole purpose is to protect them against sneak attacks.

  In a war situation the biggest danger are strategic class spells. A normal living being has a certain resistance to magic since it's instinctively protecting itself against foreign influences. But this protection is very weak if you aren't trained in manipulating your own mana. It's possible to train a normal person in personal resistance against such an attack and there are special forces who have this training. Though it requires a mage to train with the soldier in question. To do so with an entire army is simply impossible.

  For example, if a group of common soldiers is caught without the protection of a magician in an open field, a Tinn could easily kill them by snapping an important blood vessel in their heads.

  It would be straining to the magician, but not impossible to do so. An Anja could attack with Inferno, a spell that burns a living being's mana and jumps from mana source to mana source. A tightly packed formation of soldiers would be the perfect target for such a spell. A magician can easily counter such an attack by taking forceful control of his mana pool. If there is no one to stop such a spell an entire army could be easily lost within minutes.

  The possibilities and spells are endless, that's why magicians who are working for the military are investing a lot of time in studying ways to attack and defend against such attacks.

  They have certain spells to ward their own troops against low cost attacks, but the essential point is that an army without protection from magic is doomed.

  That's why watching Quinn's army from afar makes me wonder how they protect themselves. Quinn must have some kind of device which absorbs mana or disturbs the formation of spells. After all they also brought down one of our satellites.

  They parked their fleet of vehicles in ten kilometres distance from our fortress. Unfortunately I can't find out what they are using to stop magic, but they must have something. I suppose that the relevant device is in that big train-like thing of theirs.

  They have about four thousand vehicles of different sizes and judging from the mounted guns their artillery must be impressive. In a fight everything will depend on our ability to shield ourselves. Advancing on them might end badly since we have no idea of the nature of their protection.

  I take a look down the outer wall of our fortress and inspect the shiny wall. Since there isn't much to do right now I decided to leave Helen and Lucas back at the small palace in the middle of our fortress. They are preparing everything for our guests.

  Raising my eyes I find three vehicles approaching us. It's the heavily armoured transport of the prince and two small, three-wheeled vehicles as escorts. Seems like they intend to accept Helen's invitation, trusting us not to take them as hostages. I guess no civilised nation would do that. It would destroy any hopes of a diplomatic relationship between our countries. The transport should arrive here shortly.

  I slowly walk along the wall to the heavy main gate in it and let my gaze wander over the green, grassy plains. A guard on the wall is on sentry duty and I step to his side. He is watching the approaching vehicles with great concentration, not paying any attention to me.

  “How is it to see someone who despises all magic and is supposedly free of the magician's shackles?” I ask him, interested in his point of view.

  “Why should we be shackled by our protectors? How can you speak like that about the people who use their granted powers for the greater good!” He turns angrily around to take a look at me, but upon seeing who I am he drops to his knees. “I am sorry for snapping at you! Please forgive me!”

  I scratch my cheek in thought. “Stand up and return to your duty. I was just interested in how a normal citizen sees the situation. If that's the average commoner's opinion, then I am glad.”

  He nods and stands up, returning his attention to the approaching vehicles. I leave him there and activate levitation magic to float down to the main gate. A quick thought accesses the mana net and informs Helen and Lucas of our approachi
ng friends.

  At the gate I find Stella, Sola and Xander waiting for me, so I land at Stella's side to inform them of the situation. “They are coming; should be here any minute now. I think we can already open the Gate for them to show that they are welcome?”

  All of them are dressed like me in stylish black and white robes, embedded with silver linings. The official garments of the ruling house. Xander looks a little tired while Sola is holding onto his hand, but otherwise he seems fine.

  I recall our short private conversation this morning. He asked me how I manage to deal with the female attention during the night. Apparently Sola is a little enthusiastic when it comes to bedtime activities and Xander isn't taking the reduced time for sleep too well.

  Sola nods and gestures for a guard to open the main gate. “We are doing this to impress them. Having them standing in front of closed gates would probably convey a feeling distrust.”

  Xander doesn't seem to be too happy about the idea. “If they attack us we are offering them four members of the ruling clan as easy targets.”

  That's true, but he forgets that we are surrounded by countless protective charms and the Veit took extra care of our robes. “I think it'll be fine. I watched while the Veit were enchanting our robes. They are as good as steel armour and there are some nice spells against all sorts of possible attacks embedded in them. I was truly impressed by their ability. Olivia herself worked on our garments and she is the successor, waiting in line to be the next clan head of the Veit.”

  He nods and seems a little more relaxed when the big transport from Quinn enters through the main gate and halts on the open area directly behind the gate. The fortress is tightly packed and there is just a small square of twenty metres free space behind the gate. The square is enclosed by three story buildings which provide quarters for the soldiers.

  The ramp of the vehicle opens once again in the already familiar manner and our guests exit their transport. This time their clothing seems a little more subdued, but it is still outrageous to look at. Leon is wearing a multicoloured, smoking suit and Giana chose a shimmering dress which changes its colour in the sunlight.

  Sola greets them with a smiling face and outstretched arms. “It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Sola Gejene, First Princess of Nict.” Then she introduces the rest of us.

  Leon's and Giana's eyes draw my attention. They aren't just smiling and trying to remember our names, they are constantly surveying their surroundings too.

  I try to stay in the background as much as possible. First, I already proved myself to be bad with this kind of situation. Second, listening and learning is sometimes better than speaking your mind. I wonder if our little hidden surprise already managed to make his way here.

  After the introductions Sola leads us towards the mansion, where Helen and Lucas are waiting. The prince and princess are accompanied by four guards with guns, while our whole group is flanked by two lines of soldiers with spears and swords.

  I have to update our soldiers' weapon technology when I have time. Though judging by the scout's rifle, which scratched my drone, the offensive power of their handguns shouldn't be strong enough to penetrate the armour of our guards. They would have to hit a gap in the enchanted armour.

  “You have an impressive fortress here. Do you have as much problems with the nomads as we do? I can imagine that they don't like such a structure in the middle of their beloved plains.” Giana attempts to get the conversation going while we lead them to the mansion.

  “It's not like we would bother to ask them. It's hard to negotiate with someone who doesn't have an acknowledged government, but I guess that they have long since learned that it's better to stay away from our borders. The southerners aren't as smart in that regard.”

  Giana nods and smiles. Her eyes wander to me and then back to Sola. “So I take it that all of you are mages? There are no normal people like me in a position of power?”

  Xander answers her question. “There are people without magical power in politically important positions, but they are all associated to one of the great magical clans in one way or the other. Some normal people have their own private companies and are very wealthy traders, but they don't have political influence.”

  Leon snorts and swipes at the present soldiers with a fast movement of his hand. “I don't see why a whole society should be governed by a minority. How many magicians did you bring to this fortress? It must be a sizeable part of your government if I think of the ratio between people who are born with the curse and normal ones.”

  Stella's eyebrow twitches and she nods. “There are more than a million people who belong to a clan. I think bringing a few of them here isn't that much of a problem.”

  She just told a half lie to them with a straight face. There may be a million people affiliated to a clan in one way or the other, but we still have much less magicians who are worth being called as such.

  I try to substantiate her misdirection of our visitors.

  “Dear, since magical ability is obviously inherited by blood. Isn't it reasonable to think that a society which locks its magicians away and turns them into slaves of their religion reduces the pool of people with the trait in question? It's a small wonder that there are still any magicians born after a few hundred years of persecution. One might think that they are hiding themselves from the authorities. Suppressing certain elements of a society always forces some of those elements to hide their true nature.”

  Maybe I made a little mistake by assisting Stella. The rest of our way to Helen and Lucas is enveloped by a deadly silence.

  I think I hit the nail on the head?

  67. ~Circumstances.~

  “This page belongs to the log book of the great Pirate Captain Saltfoot. Page 204/500

  Date IR-23-100-5432, Crew: 127, Location: Eastern Sea 332S/132N

  Found a cargo vessel from Quinn and captured it. We threw the ten captured seamen overboard. I decided to head back south to replenish our resources.

  Loot: 10 sacks of salt, 50 barrels with wine, 100 bars of raw iron, 100 trusses of wool, 100 barrels with oil

  Date IR-24-100-5432, Crew: 127, Location: Eastern Sea 322S/112N -Nothing

  Date IR-25-100-5432, Crew: 127, Location: Eastern Sea 302S/102N -Nothing

  Date IR-26-100-5432, Crew: 127, Location: Eastern Sea 285S/100N -Nothing

  Date IR-27-100-5432, Crew: 83(-44), Location: Eastern Sea 247S/99N

  We came across a frigate from Quinn. They gave us a good fight, but underestimated what it means to go against Saltfoot! Harharhar. Have to find a pirate bay though... running low on pirates.

  Loot: 20 cannons, 10 barrels of gunpowder, 63 guns, 53 swords, 100m² canvas

  Date IR-28-100-5432, Crew: 83, Location: Eastern Sea 272S/101N -Nothing

  Date IR-29-100-5432, Crew: 83, Location: Southern Sea 265S/100N -Nothing

  Date IR-30-100-5432, Crew: 82(-1), Location: Southern Sea 258S/98N

  -The old Freddy vanished. He had night watch and the sea was rough. Probably he fell overboard. I don't care, won't turn the whole ship around to search for him.

  Date IR-01-101-5432, Crew: 140(+58), Location: Southern Sea 255S/105N

  -Replenished resources and pirates in One Eye Bay. Decided to take a look at Nict.

  Date IR-02-102-5432, Crew: 140, Location: Southern Sea 244S/96N -Nothing

  Date IR-03-102-5432, Crew: 140, Location: Southern Sea 231S/96N -Nothing

  Date IR-04-102-5432, Crew: 140, Location: Southern Sea ?/? -Came into a big storm. Don't know where we are. Too many clouds.

  Date IR-05-102-5432, Crew: 139(-1), Location: Southern Sea ?/? -One of the new ones complained, threw him overboard.

  Date IR-06-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Found a black ship, decided to follow them and ask nicely where the fuck I am... with a gun of course.

  Date IR-07-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -They are sailing faster than I thought.

  Date IR-08-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Still following the
m.

  Date IR-09-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Still following them.

  Date IR-10-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Lost them.

  ...

  Date IR-23-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Land ahead!

  Date IR-24-102-5432, Crew: 138(-1), Location: ?/? -Wrong coast, wrong animals, wrong fruits. Have never been here before. Something ate my errand-boy. Hard to find a new one out here in the middle of nowhere.

  Date IR-25-102-5432, Crew: 138, Location: ?/? -Found a city at the coast. The people are strange here. All of them care only for their work. They don't even complain when we take their stuff.

  Date IR-26-102-5432, Crew: 99(-39), Location: ?/? -Bitches went mad and attacked us without warning! Three black ships are hunting us too.

  Date IR-27-102-5432, Crew: 1 (-98) Pirate Captain Saltfoot, Location: -121S/-145N -The black ships caught up to us and we got boarded. They killed most of my men and took the rest away. I hid in a barrel of rum. Had to remove Freddy first though... old, drunken bastard must've fallen into it and drowned. And we thought that he died a good pirate's death in the sea. Instead he drowned heels over head in a barrel of rum... if only the others knew.

  The ship is now drifting and too damaged for one person to handle it. I'll put my log in a bottle and throw it into the water, maybe someone finds it. I'll try to swim to the coast and make a living there. Won't be easy with one foot though... I think salt dissolves in water? Haven't bathed in years, I think now I remember why I stopped bathing.”

  -Message in a Bottle.

  Eastern Plains

  Azir

  We enter a big room inside Helen's new, luxurious mansion. The Gejene didn't spare any expenses to make the centre of this fortress look like it belongs to someone who can throw away his money. The conference room is on the top floor of the mansion and grants a good view of the surrounding plains in all directions. The walls are made from glass and are almost invisible. Even the ceiling is made out of a dark coloured, glassy material. A big, golden candelabrum is hanging from it. There is a big, three sided table with many chairs in the middle of the room.