"In less than three years, my glorious railroad with span across the great nation of Metamoore reaching from the blackest depths of the Grey Woods, to the shining Miagana sea where our first terminal has already finished construction-"

It was a magnificent, fierce, speech; the man's harsh but ever so sonorous voice bouncing off the gilded walls of Meridians capital, as fat senators and councilmen hung onto every dripping word. It was the future of their country after all, the great iron beast with its thick, black, breath that would unite the massive stretch of land from the ice locked capital to the edge of the cerulean ocean. It would be the greatest project that the country had ever dared to hope for, or try to complete.

Cornelia Escanor couldn't care less. She had no interest in her husband's great undertaking, or his speech to equally boring men and women or the results that would follow. All she knew was that this glorious railroad meant hassle and hardship for her. Even now, as she tried to keep a polite and lady-like face up, she could feel the tiny furrows appearing around her brows. Her mother's warnings about wrinkles echoed in her mind.

Seated directly across from her, her sister-in-law and best friend (coincidentally) hung on to her brother's words with a bated breath; her hand tightly grasping her latest suitors hand, the girl completely riveted. Elyon thought living on the frontier with the expansion of the rail would be a grand adventure, and begged her brother to indulge her whims and allow her to join them in the wilds. Dimwitted as Cornelia sometimes found the naive girl, she was thankful for the burst of optimism and full hearted loyalty that Elyon always provided; and most importantly any excuse to escape her husband to tend to his sister. The marriage of Cornelia and Phobos Escanor had been one of any number of marriages that took place among the noble and wealthy families of Meridian, one of necessity, profit, and convenience; but utterly without love. It certainly was not what the young girl had always imagined in her early childhood fantasies, though her husband was handsome with cropped silver blonde hair and sharp green eyes; Phobos Escanor was without a doubt, the most cold and uncaring man she should ever have had the displeasure of meeting. He had spent their wedding night pouring over plans for his railroad, and penning letters to a childhood friend in Sevit; while Cornelia waited, afraid and alone, in their marriage bed. That had been the norm of their marriage ever since. Phobos had joined her perhaps once or twice in their conjugal duties but never with any love or even lust it seemed on her behalf. They would break their fast together with Elyon, and then Phobos would steal away to work on whatever project had taken him at the time while Cornelia and Elyon went about their days, shopping in the great plazas of meridian's marketplace, dining at the best restaurants, and idly watching handsome lords prance on their horses as a great wistfulness grasped at her heart. It was a most idealyc and wonderful, gilded prison.

Except now even her most favorable distractions would be taken from her and replaced with the vast loneliness of the meridian wilds, she would have no one for company save Elyon, and be forced to bear the brunt of her loveless marriage in a railcar a thousand miles from home. Saying nothing of the dangers that they would certainly face in the uncharted lands past the capital. Cornelia clung to the silken sleeve of her petticoat in horror; her brain conjuring up images of fearsome wild animals with huge, white, fangs dripping with blood, endless forests with branches so wide and leaves so thick they blotted out the very sun. Her nanny had told her stories of the great Wilds Beyond, and they all ended with copious amounts of blood and no small lack of tragedy. And she had no galiant hero upon a white stallion to protect her, only Phobos on his, albeit very beautiful, but very docile white mare and his small derringer pistol that somehow she doubted he knew how to use.

"Oh Cornelia, isn't this exciting?" Elyon cried, as her brother finished his presentation with a flourish and the people hooted around them. Cornelia held her tongue but gave her friend a small nod in the affirmative even as her heart clutched desperately within her chest.

"Oh brother, that was simply wonderful!" Elyon thrilled as she lept to embrace her brother, her vast silk skirts billowing. Phobos reeled from the sudden display of affection but quickly regained himself to pat his sister gently upon her back.

"Why thank you darling sister," he drawled; and the unsettling twisting of her stomach appeared once more as it always did when she watched the siblings interact. Elyon was meant to have inherited the company from their parents, but it was her brother who truly desired it. Since Elyon was happiest being courted by young men and not planning railroad designs she had let her brother run the company in her stead. She knew that this had spawned a deep resentment of the young woman from her brother, even though she herself was unaware of it. She cared more for her dear friend than her husband, and it always worried her, how...naive Elyon was when it came to the dealings of people; especially her brother. but no warning the young blonde could bestow upon her friend was ever heeded, and eventually for the sake of their friendship she had stop trying; but had never stopped watching her husband with a cautious eye.

Her husband, as she had liked to think, had the heart of a weasel but all the mannerisms of the noblest of men. He was tall, and sauve with green eyes that seemed to smile even when he wasn't; and in the end there was only thing that made the man smile, and that was money. Coin, paper, gold, land, stocks, Phobos had his hands on all of it, and was always looking to gain more; and he was very, very, good at getting people to give him more.

He gave his wife the briefest of glances as he snaked his arm around her waist, she resisting the urge to squirm, as she always did.

"Are you sure, darling sister, that you wish to join us? I would feel much better knowing you were here, safe." Phobos asked Elyon, as Brian, her ginger-headed companion, helped her down the stairs out the conference room.

"Oh please stop trying to stop me from going brother! I have been looking forward to this for months!" Elyon cried, her pale, pink, lips caught in a pout. No one had ever asked Cornelia if she would like to stay in the safety of the capital, she mused. Though she would never abandon her sister in the depths of the wildness if she insisted on going, and certainly not with her brother.

"I would never deny your desires, darling sister, but I must of course state my worries for you, mustn't I?" his words always strangely dragged out when speaking with his sister.

Elyon laughed, the sound high and bright and beautiful, and many a young gentlemen turned their heads after the sound. It even made the corners of Cornelia's lips start to turn into a small smile.

"I will be fine brother!" she stated, her pink silks perfect and clean and her high starched Leyrian collar still standing straight despite the heat. Cornelia was having trouble trying to picture the girlish young woman in pants, let alone roughing it in a railtown; and that was to say nothing of herself in such a place.

Phobos laughed, the sound cold, even as his chest rumbled against hers.

"Very well then, I have a present prepared for you, incase you did insist upon joining us. Come, it is down at the station waiting for us. Our things have already been packed, my ladies." he informed them. The visit in the capital had merely been a detour before the train ride to Miagani terminal, the only part of the rail completed, and from there to the edge of civilization. Could you even get a good tea that far out in the wilds, she wondered blankly.

The group wandered down the white steps in the capital, Phobos and Brian discussing a contribution to the railroad coffers as Cornelia tried her hardest to ignore the conversation. Elyon bubbled with laughter, and with a whirl of pink silk and lilac petals kicked up the fallen bits of flowers from the huge trees lining the walkway. They smelled sweet, perhaps even too sweet as the first of the rot set upon them. Cornelia would miss them, she mused slowly.

The Capital Station was always busy, even before it had been used for its current purpose. Supposedly it had been a sight of a great battle against a dragon in the legendary times; before Meridian had lost its magic and the creatures that needed it to survive. Now, the Trans-Metamoorian hub station stood proudly in its centre, huffing black smoke and screaming whistles for departure. People milled about the depot buying tickets and waiting for loved ones to return. As of now, the train only went to the towns of Torus Filney on the northern border of the capital lands, and Longora, the large city on the edge of the Miagani Ocean, a popular destination for people from Sevit to enter Meridian. From there the railroad would span down the southern length of the country to the gold rich city of Cahaiz, and all the wealth within it would then be accessible to the capital city. But, beyond that as her husband had so eloquently put, the rail would serve to unite the recently war-torn country of Meridian back into one solid homeland.

In truth however her husband had little interest of resolving deep blood-bound conflict save lining his pockets; and Cornelia even less so, as long as there was gold to spend and time to spend away from her husband. Now however any hope of that seem dashed, where would a proper lady such as herself spend time on a rail town? Full of brigands and ruffians and dirty young men with no thought save conquest. A cold shiver tracked up the line of her spine and she held herself tightly as they neared the back of their train. Elyon dashed ahead of them eager to see her present, though Cornelia had some inkling of what awaited her. The back of the train was for steerage and horses. Certainly her horse, Lady, a beautiful grey mare dappled with black spots would already be loaded for the journey, along with Adira, Phobos' white mare. And Elyon had been begging for one of her own…

The wooden side of the cart slid open with the practiced ease at Phobos' command, and next to their own horses stood a beautiful, tall, palomino gelding with light straw-colored locks running down his mane as he pawed anxiously at the ground.

Elyon shrieked in delight, and uncaring of her beautiful silk, dress hopped into the straw laden cart to run a soft hand down his muzzle.

"Oh, he's beautiful!" she squealed, "Is he really mine?"

"Of course, dear sister. He's been trained by the finest horsemaster in the capital, and is ready for a delicate rider such as yourself. He will obey any and all commands without question and shall never throw you." Phobos said proudly. Cornelia found herself staring at the gorgeous animal before them. Phobos was fond of showering the both of them with lavish gifts which Elyon deemed as his way of making up for his personal coldness with them at times. Cornelia knew however, it was just a way of making himself look better in public. Still, the horse was a magnificent gift. Elyon fawned over the animal for quite a while, until Phobos gently ushered them to the front of the train to load for the final boarding, A matter which proved slightly more complicated once Elyon started saying her tearful goodbyes to her latest suitor. When they could hold onto each other's hands from the rail no longer; were they finally forced apart. Elyon buried her head into Cornelia's bosom, tears tickling her skin, even as she took a seat next to her own husband in their private car. Cornelia dutifully stroked the girls soft locks as she cried, through the girl had barely known the man a week.

The cabin was lavishly decorated to Phobos is personal taste, with rich satin curtains laced with gold trim and huge mahogany desks filled to the brim with paperwork. Even the seats they now sat upon where hand-embroidered with golden thread and filled with lush down feathers. Wooden slats separated the cart halfway and protected the area that would serve as their bedchamber for the duration of the trip, inside an equally rich bed sat and an iron clawfoot tub served as the final piece of finery away from their home. Behind their own cart sat Elyon's which was decorated equally as lavish as their own, although more in the girls own taste. And still beyond that was yet another fine cart but Cornelia was not sure who it was supposed to house.

After a few minutes Elyon's morse seemed to fade away and she pressed her face against glass pane separating them from the fast-moving outside world. Neither girl had ever left the capital before, though Cornelia found no curiosity within her, only a sick, cold, feeling settling in the bottom of her stomach, as she watched the great city turn from buildings into endless plains.

"Are you alright?" Phobos finally asked her, the first words he had spoken to her since his speech in the capital.

"Yes, I'm fine," She declared suddenly wishing herself as good a liar as her husband. Elyon was far too excited to notice her distress, and her husband didn't care. She felt horribly alone, and not for the first time in her two year marriage did she feel the overwhelming desire to weep.

Blood. Why was it always blood? He had seen enough blood for a lifetime, spilt enough blood for a lifetime and yet here again he was covered in it.

"Father, please?!" he gasped. He held the limp body in his arms praying for some sign of life; even though the skin beneath him was already cold. Surely he had not survived the war to come home to this? No…

That had been a month ago. Now, Caleb sat in a stagecoach, his head between his knees and his hands clutching his father's hat. There was nothing left, and the only sign of new hope was on the railroad; and so that was where he was going. His army issued 45. was strapped at his waist, and even now he could feel the heat off of it burning into him. A deep rage gnawed at him, clutching at the very beats of his heart and filling his veins with boiling lava. No, there was no hope for Caleb. Only vengeance, but vengeance didn't put coin in your pocket. He had spent his last savings trying to find his father's murderer, and now broke, his last dollar spent on the stagecoach to get him there, he was traveling south to seek new fortunes on the railroad.

The area he was traveling in had been torn apart by the war, even now buildings that could barely hold themselves up dotted the landscape, huge holes ripped open by cannons and gunfire and ash where fires had raged. He remembered the war all too well. Bodies piled high on both sides, too heavy, too many for the carts. Soon not even the ground could hold them all, and they had to resort to fire.

Caleb shook his head, he had to think past that. He must. The war wouldn't help his father, wouldn't help him. We won, he told himself, the same words that they had told him at his fort when he dragged the body of his partner from the battlefield, though the breath had already left him. We won…

The carriage came to a grinding halt that rattled the windows panes nearly out of their sockets. Caleb grabbed up his belongings, pushed his father's...his...hat on top his head, and swaggered out of the stagecoach. Haven, the ever moving front line town of the railroad greeted him. Or perhaps the stench of Haven greeted him, would be the better term. The smell of manure, from many sources wafted up from the ground, and horse, and most noticeable the reek of unwashed humanity permeated the air. A nobler man would have turned his nose, but it was familiar to the Caleb; it reminded him of his fort, Ogden, in the southern mountains.

Haven was little more than a very large collection of tents of various sizes, and a few small wooden buildings made to tear apart and rebuild quickly. The paths were caked with thick mud with wooden planks laid across. It was working hours, so the town was empty save for the whores, barkeeps, and a few administrative personnel milling about the town.

Caleb approached a small dias where a dark haired man sat at a desk, furiously scribbling. He stood, silently at the edge of the desk looming over the small man who held up one finger to stay him.

"Name?" he finally asked, still not looking up from his papers.

Caleb cleared his throat, and pulled a sheet of his own paper from within his coat pocket. He set it before the man, who whipped it up and squinted at the writing, never once looking at Caleb himself.

"I, ah, got a letter from one of your, um, building men here recently; offering me a job as a walking boss. I'm Caleb Hansen, Captain in the 13th regiment of Metamoorian Army, sir."

"Ah, yes. Mister Tubbs told me to except you. Very well. He's inside the rail office. Go on in, no one else is here presently."

Caleb tipped his hat to the man and strode towards the rail office. It was the nicest of the small wooden constructions, with a fancy sign that read in bold letters, "Escanor Rail Company." Two women in bright, and scandalous clothing giggled coyly at him from a large tent, as he crossed the mud pits, but he merely nodded his head politely at them as well. This only seemed to cause the giggling to intensify. Maybe later…

Inside the office, a young man with bright ginger hair and wide framed glasses sat at a desk. His messy stack of papers sitting precarious close to the end of the desk and ink dripped down the front of the desk while the man chewed nervously at the end a pen. His white satin cravat was checkered with black spots that Caleb suspected were ink as well.

"Mister Tubbs?" Caleb asked, dropping his luggage loudly upon the wooden floor. Martin Tubbs let loose a high pitched squawk and jerked back from the desk, his papers flying up as if they were caught in a hurricane.

"No! No! No!" he wailed, trying to snatch them from the air. Caleb watched in mild amusement, as the man hurriedly murmured apologies to him before he knocked the ink upon the floor as well.

Caleb cleared his throat as Martin frantically searched the drawers of the desk for a rag.

"I'm Caleb Hansen, I uh, got your letter…" he trailed off, unsure the disorganized man would even remember. Martin's eyes widen, and he left his ink stained towel upon the ground to stare at him.

"Yes! Now I-" he trailed off, and started digging through his papers once more though with some sense of purpose this time. When he emerged from the stack he held up a single sheet below Caleb's nose. It had designs for what appeared to be a bridge upon it. A familiar bridge.

"I certainly hope that wasn't one of yours Mister Tubbs." he deadpanned. Martin laughed, an awful nausly sound that seemed to trail on forever.

"It was! One of best! Didn't stop you from taking it down in less than half an hour I heard. You must have studied building at some point in you life then?" he asked.

Caleb shook his head no, and Martin let out a surprised but highly enthused sound. Caleb found the man a bit to..erratic...for his tastes.

"Really? That's marvelous? You know I studied in the great halls of Carhaiz for years before they would let me build anything? Then once the war started I was basically just set loose! Oh I got to build roads, houses, forts, oh but I loved bridges most of all. My point? Ah, yes I had one, umm. Bridges, yes!"

He drove back into the pile, while Caleb stood wide-eyed, wondering perhaps if ought to turn around and leave again. Martin finally procured a huge map of Meridian marred with notations and scribbles focused in one area.

"For years traders have had to bypass the Hoogong Gorge, either attempting to cross in the lowers parts, miles away from the trade routes, mind you, and dangerous or avoiding the whole thing entirely to the west, and that puts them right in the path of robbers and brigands from the nomads, so that's not good either." he rambled on.

"Um, yes, ah, back to the point." he gestured to the gorge on the map with an ink stained hand. "Mister Escanor wants the bridge over the gorge. Which of course has never been attempted. Now most men can't tell a girder from a spandrel, and I need someone with some experience to help me take plans into reality."

Caleb blinked and held back a laugh. "And you think a retired army captain has the vision you're looking for?"

"Yes! I mean, yes! Clearly you have some natural inclination for the finer points of architecture!" Martin fumbled.

"I'm good with gunpowder sir, not much else. Blowing up bridges don't mean I'm any good at putting em up."

Martin pouted, he had never seen a man pouted before, before his lips curled into some vain attempt at resolve.

"Regardless Captain Hansen, I, with full authority from Phobos. P. Escanor, am prepared to offer you the position of foreman of this railroad."

It was Caleb's turn to blink now.

"What?" he managed to spit out; words had never been his forte after all.

Martin looked slightly more determined by Caleb's unsureness.

"Yes, I've spoken with your previous supervisors and they all speak highly of you and your vision. Rest assured Captain Hansen this isn't some wellborn job where you sit in the office all day. You'll be right there working with and watching the men and making plans and people into one. That's something I trust you can both do well, and even enjoy?" he asked.

"Surely there is someone better qualified to run your construction than me?" he finally asked, taking the map from Tubb's hands to gaze at the route of the un-built rail.

"And I'm sure there was someone better than a young, southern crackpot to hire to plan out this rail, and yet here we are."

"And here we are," repeated Caleb. Yes, he though, here we are.

I do not understand why I cannot be at your side during this venture? I am one of your top investors after all….

I'm not your wife, you can't just tell me where to stay and when to go and…

I have as much at stake in this as you do….

Please…?

Thick clouds of richly scented smoke filled the cabin, nearly blocking the papers and their eloquently worded pleas from his view. Phobos Escanor groaned as he crumpled up each letter and flicked them into the fireplace across from his desk. Signing, he inhaled a deep drag from his cigar and pulled at his hair. He still wasn't used to the short length, through it had been that way for over two years now.

His wife was already sleeping in their bed, and his sister had made her way into her own cabin some hours ago. Now was the time to get real business done, he still had to transfer the funds from the logging stands into...where actually were they going again? Oh, yes to buy land on the other side of the Grey Woods to pay off…?

Phobos rubbed his temples. He had too much in too many places right now, his personal bank account only bluffered from emptiness by a monthly pay-off from an account in Sevit. But without his diversification, he would not have the funds to even pay for his railroad; despite the government having fully funding the project.

It didn't matter, President Himerish was a fool; full of big, impossible ideas that he expected Phobos to make into reality in the noblest of ways. Dreams didn't just come to life! They were dirty, and hard, and only the strong could make them come to life.

Yes, Phobos Escanor would get everything he wanted, no matter how he had to get it, or how long it took him; he would see the world squirm in his grasp.

It occured to me that I have never written a story with the whole W.I.T.C.H gang before. I needed to fix that. So, I present to you WITCH in the wild west! Basically Meridian meets 1860s Earth, complete with guns, racism, sexism, death and all that fun stuff! Yeah… Anyway, Caleb, Cornelia, Irma, and Phobos will be taking center stage for the first part of this story through all the witch girls will be featured at some point. Some canon ships, and some not obviously, through more will be paired together as the story goes on. And by god, since I actually have this one planned out better than most, I hope I can actually finish this one. Thanks for reading! RoR out.