Warning: never got Mana serious.
By lord Martiya
Firearms glossary
Walther PPK: smaller version of the Walther PP series pistol. It's famous as the weapon of choice of James Bond, while Adolph Hitler preferred the military-issued PP version to kill himself. It's one of the most used, widespread and copied pistols in the world, and is produced in Germany and United States (under license), and was produced even in France. It came chambered for .32 ACP, .380 ACP, .22 LR and .25 ACP rounds (the recent PP-Super can be chambered even for 9x18mm Ultra rounds).
Lupara: literally 'wolf-shot', it's a break-open two-barreled sawed-off shotgun. It was created and widely used in Sicily for wolf hunting (hence the name) with particular 6mm pellet shots (called 'munizionamento spezzato n°4', literally 'broken round #4'), sometimes linked with iron wire to make more damage to the target (this particular ammo was used mostly in Calabria). As it's easy to conceal, this weapon was a favorite of the Mafia organized crime syndicates, both in Sicily than in U.S.
General Dynamics GAU-8 Avenger: it's a seven-barreled hydraulic-driven rotary cannon. This anti-tank weapon has a rate of fire of 3900 rounds per minute fired in short bursts, and uses extremely powerful 30x173mm caliber PGU-13 High Explosive Incendiary and PGU-14 Armor-Piercing Incendiary ammo. Its recoil has a power of more than half of the maximum combined output of the jet engines of the A-10 Thundebolt II (better known as Warthog) close air support-ground attack aircraft. Little note: the Avenger is an anti-TANK weapon...
FN Five-seven: made by the Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, this handgun is designated to incapacitate and/or killing military personnel wearing light body armour, and uses 5.27x28mm rounds made by FNH. In real world, it was designed in 2000 and released in 2004. Here, someone had it in 1998...
CHAPTER 04: DROIDEKA? NO, WORSE...
Just outside Novosibirsk(1) a girl was traveling along the Trans-Siberian Railroad in first class reading a journal. The sight of four men wearing dark black suits approaching her caught her attention enough to pull her attention away from the journal. It really didn't surprise her that they came to a stop less then a meter away from her.
"Follow us, madam." one of them said.
"You're better than I though: I wasn't expecting you guys for another week, ne." she replied. "But you made a critical mistake: there are no other people in this cabin and I have no problem in killing you, ne. Last Tale My Magic Scir Magister."
A blazing fire consumed the cabin's interior, incinerating everyone but the girl.
"Now I'll have to find another way to get to Wales. Negi-bozu, I won't be long, ne." she said to nobody. "Why am I talking to nobody?"
In a class council Qiao informed her classmates that she found rooms for them in the local seminary and the attached high school.
"Fuck!" Evangeline exclaimed.
"Language!" Ayaka shouted.
"Well, I have no problem with the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, but I can't suffer his fan girls. Seriously, can you imagine how much damage they did?! Roman women had rights that modern women only recently reclaimed in the 20th century; they lost them after that idiot Constantine gave the most conservative Christians cultural dominance(2)! Science got almost blocked for 1000 years in the West, and if you dared declare that Earth was not in the center of the universe you could be burn(3)! Do I have to continue?"
"Uh..."
"Well, I chose that place for two reasons: it's free and we can damage and destroy it at pleasure!" Qiao declared, showing a contract.
The class ran to read the contract, and saw exactly that.
"We are not worthy..." Haruna said, looking Qiao with adoration.
"You're a weirdo but still a genius." Chisame said.
In the meantime the Fighting Girls were checking their ability to destroy it with the flimsiest reason.
"Hey, not all Catholics are so bad!" Kasuga Misora said.
"Better be prepared." Mana replied.
Ku Fei asked something.
"I don't understand..." Sakurazaki Setsuna replied.
After deciding to dedicate more time to study spoken Japanese, Ku Fei took some paper and wrote her question: how'd Qiao managed to do that?
Cremona, office of the local bishop.
"See? I signed it! They can live in the seminary! They even have copies in Italian, Japanese and English!" the bishop shouted happily.
"Well done. Here the photos." D1 replied handing a package.
"But why blackmailing me with those?!"
"Well, you're responsible enough that we had to FORGE something to blackmail you." D1 replied.
"I didn't mean this, and you know!"
"But it's funnier this way. Now, to answer your question, I hold a grudge with the personnel of the school. Goodbye, and remember, Giulio, short speeches after the communion(4)."
After the class reunion, Evangeline returned to her home. It was a while from the last time she cleaned the house, so it was a mess.
"Damned Nagi, you'll pay even for this..." Evangeline cursed. "Why did you had to seal my powers?! Now I can't even clean because I get tired too soon..."
"Now I understand why you asked for that function." a voice interrupted.
Evangeline immediately pulled out a machete and nearly hit the girl who managed to appear behind her, thanks to the tantrum distraction, but stopped. The girl was an apparently bored. From her appearance it was clear that she had some European, possibly Italian or Mediterranean, and her short curly reddish-brown hair, flanked by a forklift with a crate.
"Nishizawa Rei, when will you stop to appear behind me?" Evangeline asked.
"When you'll stop being distracted." she replied calmly.
"Cut the crap. Is it ready?"
"Ready for testing."
"Ku ku ku... Fu fu fu... FWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! TAKE THIS, NAGI SPRINGFIELD!!! I'M A STEP NEARER TO MY LIBERTY!!!"
"What a weirdo..."
Evangeline and Rei realized that Chisame and the class journalist in training, Asakura Kazumi, were present and heard Evangeline declaration.
"You saw and heard nothing." Evangeline said.
"I'm smart enough to know." Chisame replied.
"Wait, why should we shut up?!?!?!" Kazumi asked, as a good journalist should do.
"Is this an adequate reason?" Rei replied, the reason being her German-made, .25 ACP chambered PPK handgun.
Kazumi nodded with great passion.
"Good girl." Rei stated.
"Asakura, I'm in a good mood." Evangeline declared. "So, if happens what I think I'll give you a scoop worthy of that journal you want to work for. By the way, who's the crazy publisher of that journal?"
"Jodansha(5)!" replied Asakura, scandalized that somebody in Japan didn't know of that craziness.
Chisame began to cry out of desperation.
Tendo Akane was venting her rage on two practice dummies, one with a pigtailed wig and one with a long straight black wig and toy pistols. Earlier that day Akane had found her wayward fiancé flirting with Mana (the flirt consisting in the two of them laughing while recalling an old successful and funny mission while drinking some of the high-quality tea sold by Evangeline(6)), and when she tried to beat up Mana to be free to punish her fiancé (if she attacked Ranma directly Mana would have shot her, remember?) she was thrown in a pond and then dosed with Instant Jusenkyo of the Drown Boy Spring. Granted, the effect of the Instant Jusenkyo was temporary, but still she was humiliated and furious for being unable to 'rightfully' (in her mind) punish her fiancé.
"Tomboy was defeated by Gunslinger Woman AGAIN, wasn't she?" asked Shampoo appearing behind her.
"Piss off!" Akane replied.
"Tomboy has to remain calm, Shampoo is here to help against the common enemy."
"She beat you with no effort."
"That's why Shampoo and Tomboy are not alone. Come. On the honor of the Amazon, Shampoo swear to not mean harm to Tomboy if Tomboy accepts to help."
Akane gaped. There was always much hostility between them, but they had a thing in common, and it was that both strictly to their own crazy codes of honor, in Shampoo case to the point of fanaticism, and Akane knew that the Chinese Amazon would not break a promise on her own honor. But wasn't Akane on her 'To Kill' list?
"Obviously, the truce will expire after Gunslinger Woman is no more to be killed." Shampoo added.
"Ah... OK. What do you have in mind?" Akane replied.
"Come."
Akane followed Shampoo, and met her new co-conspirators: Kodachi and Ukyo.
"Welcome, Tendo-san." Kodachi greeted her.
"What are you doing here?!" Akane asked.
"Teaming up against Tatsumiya-san?"
"Akane, Tatsumiya Mana is a cold-blooded killer, physically stronger than Ryoga, versatile at least like Happosai, stealthier than the Koga Sword master and armed with a ridiculous amount of firearms. None of us can take her alone." Ukyo explained. "In fact, I'm not sure we can defeat her even all together..."
"I didn't mean this. Why do you want Mana dead?" Akane replied.
"She's a danger for Ranma-sama, and I shall not let her live." Kodachi answered coldly.
"Yeah, same thing." Ukyo added.
"Honor requires her death." Shampoo stated. "Means are not important, so Shampoo will help you. Speaking of means..."
Shampoo produced useful items, and asked Akane about a certain thing of hers. For the first time in her life Akane considered Shampoo a friend and an ally. Too bad that Shampoo had Death-Kissed her years ago and was just waiting to have Ranma for herself before carrying the death sentence(7)...
Mana was happy, sort of. She wasn't still over her fiancé's death, but with Ranma's vicinity, Ryoga occasional visits (his girlfriend was now living near Mahora, and they dated often), Ryoga's crazy dates (so crazy that they were special articles on the Mahora's journal, even more of the occasional sighting of the School's Vampire), some pals in the Corps (especially Kaede, with whom she shared a similar work ethic) and even Evangeline's cruel training and teasing (the vampire had decided to play matchmaker with her and Ranma) she was slowly returning more her old self. Still she would let nobody surprise her, even when she was thinking at Evangeline's observations on Ranma's well build body. That's why she immediately let her round packages fall to pick up two luparas in her trench coat without showing them.
"Reveal yourself, Tendo Akane, Shampoo and you with the bondage ribbon." Mana said.
"THAT'S A RHYTMIC GYMNASTIC ITEM!!!" Kodachi roared.
The three young women (or overgrown children, in Mana's opinion) showed up, Kodachi in her trademark leotard with her ribbon in hand and a backpack, Shampoo in a Chinese fighting suit with her chui and Akane dressed with samurai armor over what she guessed be Akane's infamous battle douji(8) and armed with assorted samurai weaponry.
"Why are you here?" Mana asked.
"You'll leave Ranma alone, or else..." Akane threatened.
"I tried to be polite. Now go to that Kuno idiot and fuck yourself or something else, because if you attack me you'll die."
Akane unsheathed a katana, and her two companions spread out. In that moment Ukyo appeared near Mana to cut her using her giant spatula. Only to discover that Mana was pointing a lupara at her without even looking.
CRACK!
CRA-CRACK!
CRACK!
The shots from the luparas were dodged, but not completely, and all the four aggressors were slightly hurt. By shots tipped in one of the most painful substances known to man, platypus venom(9). After that she dropped the luparas and took a huge bowie knife modified to be used as bayonet to cut the throats of her attacker, beginning with Akane to give them mercy (most people who experimented platypus venom consider death a better fate).
"Do you realize that you were still alive because I didn't want to hurt Ranma? But now you attacked me, and I have a reputation." Mana told her. Then she decided to vent on her the frustration at the anticipated Ranma's reaction: "Well, at least he won't remain hurt for you for long. We're yet good friends, and men appreciate sexual compulsive women. Still, Ranma will remain hurt for Kodachi's, Shampoo's and Ukyo's deaths..."
That was the last straw: Akane was dumb enough to believe completely at Mana's words, and forced herself to attack Mana. Thanks the skills gave her by the battle dojo and her moving way faster than usual, she almost managed to punch the sniper woman (who was also caught off-guard), who caught her punch at only a few cm from her face.
"So, you wish to annoy the coroner when he'll try and identify your corpse..." Mana commented before giving Akane a left punch with all her strength.
Akane's helmet was smashed, and Akane herself flew in the bushes, but her head was not disintegrated as expected.
"Ha! You can't hurt me like that! I ate the super-strength soba(9)!" Akane boasted.
While Akane's pals, who in the meantime hided themselves to give their doses of antidote to the platypus venom (all of them had some blade soaked of platypus venom for various purposes and carried the antidote in case they cut themselves) the time to fight the pain, mentally called her an idiot for revealing their ace in the hole, Mana smiled.
"So you finally accepted you're more male than female and decided to have moustaches." Mana provoked her.
"WHAT?!?!?!"
"Don't worry, you'll die like men die in modern time."
Mana pulled out a weapon.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!" Ukyo commented.
"THAT'S CRAZY!!!" Kodachi shouted.
"MANA IS FANATIC!!!" Shampoo screamed.
"YOU'RE PSYCHO!!!" Akane shouted.
Well, they were justified: Mana's weapon was a General Dynamics GAU-8, a monster weapon long 5.06 meters and with a weight of 281 kg. Mana's one was even modified to retain the ability to shoot long continued bursts and select the rate of fire.
"Don't smile: those shoots are for you." Mana said, translating a quote from her favorite song, Gli Spari Sopra (literally: 'Those Shoots') of Vasco Rossi. Then she began to shoot her 30mm explosive-incendiary rounds, tormenting her terrified foes with near-misses.
"Chachamaru, attack!"
FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-BABOOOOOM!!!
A rocket barrage hit the zone, disseminating tear-gas who only Shampoo and Mana managed to defend from (Mana using Kodachi's gas mask, throw at her by the blast of a couple of rounds). Then, all wearing gas masks, appeared a laughing Evangeline, a camera-wielding Kazumi and a clearly annoyed and webcam-wielding Chisame, immediately followed by a mask less tall green-haired machine-eared girl dressed as a French maid and a masked Rei.
"Good work, Chachamaru(11)." Evangeline said.
"Thank you, master." the maid replied.
"Master?! THAT'S SLAVERY!!! I'LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED FOR THIS, MCDOWELL!!!" Akane shouted.
"IT'S A ROBOT!!!" Chisame replied.
Before Akane got a chance at replying, Chachamaru performed the Norimaki Arale's infamous trick of saying hello with the head in her hands, giving the most stereotypical otaku evidence for that.
In the meantime Evangeline took an unexploded bullet and soaked it with the water, making it explode.
"Greek Fire(12)-tipped incendiary rounds... It must be really expensive." she commented.
"Actually, I was testing them for the producer." Mana replied.
"A most successful test, apparently." Evangeline replied looking at the devastated surroundings. "Now, business. You four idiots, did you really believed that I won't spot this killing attempt?"
"What attempt?" Akane replied. "We were attacked!"
"Do NOT insult my intelligence. I looked at you all the time. And, by the way, in the gas there was a skin-absorbed element that neutralized your doping, so don't try to escape, China girl!"
"Me is Shampoo!"
"Whatever. And I was still controlling, and I have witnesses and filmed evidences that you started the attack and Mana just overdid. So, I can punish you. Tatsumiya, capture Shampoo."
Mana shot the Amazon with a tranquillizer bullet, knocking her out.
"Now, what will I do you?" Evangeline said.
The day later Ranma was talking with the Fiancé Brigade.
"What made you believe you could defeat Mana?" he asked. "Seriously, you were about to be killed and she just got half-serious!"
"HALF-SERIOUS?!?!?!" Akane screamed.
"Yeah. You don't want to be near her when she starts using bombs..."
"Your friend is quite interesting, Saotome, but you are in the shooting area." Nabiki interrupted.
After that, Nabiki started to apply the punishment Evangeline decided: shooting targets to make the Fiancé Brigade, all nice and naked, drop in a poll full of an irritant agent, advertised by the school journal in Kazumi's article about the facts. The numbers of paying shooters were staggering, and Akashi Yuna was one of the best, bested only by some member of the shooting sports clubs and the shooters from the Military Club...
Omake: Joining the D-Team
Hello, my name's Giulia, but you probably know me as DN or Her Imperial Majesty the Medeia(13). Lately some people wondered why I joined the D-Team or they let me join, and apparently there's a rumor that I used a spell to let me in (and when I find some evidence I'll make Albireo Imma pay. Yes, I know it's your fault). It's true in a sense, but it wasn't a mind-control spell. So, here's the real story.
It happened in 1998. I was already a powerful mage, and my full powers were just activated. I was feeling all powerful, and I was on a date with my boyfriend. Then, that happened.
"I feel dizzy... Take me home..." I said.
Obviously, he didn't. Instead, he took me in a hidden place, and began to touch where he wasn't supposed to touch. Yeah, he spiked my drink to drug and then rape me. I fall into that as an idiot, and Fabio, that damned fox, will never stop to remind me of that! Well, that's the price of being too confident.
"Stop... immediately, or else..." I threatened him.
I don't remember what he exactly said, but he tried to fool me into believe that he was the D1. Then, a familiar voice said told him that he was fucked enough for the attempted rape and that he didn't need to fuck himself more than that. At that point I lost consciousness, and when I wake up I found myself in an unfamiliar bedroom and dressed in a dark MALE pajama.
"You woke up sooner than we though." The Familiar Voice said.
I turned my head to look at him, and saw for the first time the D1. Or, better, I saw for the first time my old friend Enrico as the D1, and trying to hide himself in the darkness of the room.
"Care to explain, Enrico?" I asked.
"Who's Enrico?" he replied.
"I know you from the day after your birth, you can't fool me."
"Uff... Well, it happened that your boyfriend drugged and tried to rape you." he replied after turning on the lights. "As I was..."
"Stalking me?"
"No, stalking HIM: I didn't trust him."
"Jealous?"
"WHAT?!?!?!" he screamed while blushing.
"I know you too well for not noting that you're in love with me."
"Aww... However, it wasn't because I was jealous, it was for my instinct. Doing my work, it's something that you have to develop. And I was right. So I caught him. Now, your turn. How did you managed to recover in five minutes and 47 seconds? Your trick, I mean."
"I'm a Medeia."
"Uh... And you fall for that?"
"I'm a healer, not an omniscient being! Just out of curiosity, what did you exactly did to me?"
"Only changed clothes, yours were a bit dirty."
"Well, I suppose I should thank you for saving me."
At that point, I kissed him. Yes, it was my first kiss, why? Uh? I never gave a crap about that First Kiss Fetish. But, apparently, Enrico did, and his embarrassment was so cute that, well, I continued. I said him: "And this is my thank you for not abusing of me in my sleep.", and then... French Kiss, and placed his hands on my breast and my butt! He recovered immediately and kissed me back for a couple of minutes, then ran away in the bathroom. From his embarrassment every time I asked him what's happened and the fact he returned with different pants and probably panties, I believe that his reproductive organs got a bit carried away, if you understand what I mean. Even I was a bit embarrassed by kissing who was, at the time, just a friend, even if a close one, but Enrico knew me well enough to understand that I did it only as a spectacular thank you and didn't misunderstood my feelings, even if he was happier.
"Well, what's happened to him?" I asked after he explained me that he didn't misunderstand.
"We have chained him, and will invent something for him." he replied.
"I'd like to deal with his punishment myself."
"I understand, but he's a D Team prisoner, WE will punish him."
"Good. How can I join?"
"What?"
"How can I join?"
"Look, to receive our Five-seven you'll need to prove yourself in combat facing one of us, and I'm not sure you could handle it."
"I can defeat all of you. Go and chose my victim, and please don't face me yourself, I won't like humiliate you. Especially because you won't fight back..."
"I'll do, if it can save you from the dangers of our job. Do you know what we do?"
"Investigations, body guard duty, assassinations, demolitions, theft, recovering lost objects, and all the rest. And with me you could become the best of both worlds."
"We'll see."
After I changed back in my clothes (they washed them fast), Enrico led me to their HQ arena. Yes, I was in their base, and the other six Ds were waiting for me. I recognized the D5, Fabio, as Enrico's best friend and even the most dangerous and the only one that at the time could defeat me, but my foe was D4, Andrea. The most delicate one, as I later discovered: he was not only incredibly strong, but could even dose his power with ease.
"You can still back off." Enrico warned.
"I'll win with one spell and my fingers." I replied.
"Uff... Begin!"
Then I used the spell that let me in: a Water Dimensional Bridge under Andrea's foot, blocking him in his place and having his leg just before me. Then I took his boot and his sock, and tickled into submission the Boy Who Kicks Skyscrapers Into Oblivion. I entered the D Team without even showing my real combat abilities...
What's happened to him? Well, I used my potions and the full power of my Colchian Magic(14) to brainwash him and doing some alteration to his body. Last time I saw HER, just two minutes before he recovered his memory while retaining the full knowledge of what he did, he was a bitch for a high-ranking member of the Peeper's Council.
Footnotes
(1)A Russian city. It's the third largest city in Russia and the largest in Siberia, as the administrative center of both the Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District. It was founded to provide settlement for the workers of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in the site of the future railway bridge on the Orb River.
(2)Historical fact: Roman women had all the civilian rights of Roman men. After the First Council of Nicaea, Christian priestess disappeared, Constantine gave them cultural dominance and at the fall of the Roman Empire women had almost no right.
(3)They did it to Giordano Bruno.
(4)Well, when I was still a child and a Catholic I went to a midnight Christmas mass in the cathedral of Cremona. After the communion, the bishop, a guy named Giulio (I don't remember his surname), spoke for half an hour, maybe more. At that point, seeing that he was nowhere near the end, I shouted "A Giulio, taglia corto!", literally "Giulio, shut up!". As D1 is my alter ego in the story, he would recall that stunt. Ah, good times...
(5)If you ever read the wonderful and crazy manga Haikara-san ga Toru (literally 'Here Comes Miss High Collar', known in English as Smart-san and Mademoiselle Anne), you don't need to read this note. If you never read, you need to know that Jodansha (literally 'Joke Inc.') is a small publishing house who publish the magazine Jodan Club. On this magazine are published news articles and works of various authors (at least one of them, Edogawabata, is a sort of vampiric monster with a living mummy as assistant). In the years 1918-1923 its workers were Aoe Tosei (director and publisher, the incredibly handsome bastard son of the wife of a rich banker. He loathes working in bank, and in the beginning was so msogynist that the mere touch of a woman provoked him a bad urticaria until he was exorcised), Hetsura Iwao (a kimono-wearing man infamous for mocking the antics of his co-workers and wanting to kill authors late with their works but leaving alive their writing hand), Aiso Yoshio (he's even more mocking than Hetsura, but has very strange antics), Kobi Urita (the nose less one who exorcised Aoe every time he had his urticaria, he does most of the work. In the end of the manga he unknowingly promised to marry Tsumeko. Poor bastard...), Hanamura Benio (the protagonist of the manga, this crazy woman, flatter than a surf-board and manlier than Saotome Nodoka's ideal man, was the one who cured Aoe of his misogyny (and unwillingly stole his heart). She's the 'godmother' of a yakuza she beat during an attempted love run, and she repeatedly beat the crap out of a military officer who continued to provoke her and, when wrongly imprisoned as anarchist (at the time a crime, and not only in Japan), forced the police, the guards and the other prisoners to go crazy) and Fukurokoji Tsumeko (a sort of oni badly disguised as a woman, she was compared to the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the giant moth Mothra (that time Benio was compared with Godzilla, and won), a giant snake (Benio defeated her with a giant slug comparison) and a yokai. She considered Benio a rival for Tosei's mother wanted her to marry her son but he refused being in love with Benio. She ended marrying Urita when it seemed that Tosei was marrying Benio).
(6)Well, we know that Evangeline is a sort of tea lover who lived for all the time tea was known in Europe. Why should she not sell some of her tea in excess, obviously at high price?
(7)If you remember well, Shampoo gave Akane the Kiss of Death early in the series. The only logical reason I can find about her not killing Akane while sometimes tormenting her with the notion she's stronger is exactly this: Shampoo is not as cold-hearted as she sometimes acts and is just waiting to have Ranma in love with her before killing Akane exactly to not make Ranma suffer. And before you ask why Shampoo here is trying to kill Mana in spite of her being Ranma's best friend with Ryoga, it's for the simple fact that Mana is way much stronger than Akane or even Shampoo so she doesn't have the options she has with Akane.
(8)An infamous sentient suit Akane entered in possession of in the manga. When wearing it, her skills are vastly improved. At the end of the Battle Douji Arc Ranma managed to destroy it while fighting with a too much psychotic Akane, but Kasumi repaired it.
(9)This venom is not powerful enough to kill humans, but you'll beg for death: the pain alone is enough, but you'll suffer immediate hyperalgesia (every pain you suffer, you suffer it worst) for a period lasting from a few days to a few MONTHS.
(10)It appeared in a Ranma 1/2 manga arc. A single dose, that she ate in place of Happosai, gave Akane enough raw strength to make Ryoga at his maximum seems an helpless child, but with the side effect that she'll eventually grew moustaches (she accepted to eat the antidote only after she began to grow whiskers).
(11)That's not the Karakuri Chachamaru who works as main Evangeline's partner, but a less powerful and less intelligent prototype, the Karakuri Chachamaru Mk-1. Evangeline's partner is the fifth model, and will appear later.
(12)Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman Empire (or Byzantine Empire), where it was known as sea fire (as it was used mostly as anti-ship weapon), Roman fire (as the Byzantine were in fact Romans), war fire, processed fire and, mostly, liquid fire. This substance, deployed with siphon-like flamethrowers and grenades, created a fire that couldn't be extinguished with water (and was even IGNITED by water, according to some accounts), and literally burned to ashes entire fleets and all the war machines of the enemy of the Roman Empire. The formula was known only to the regnant emperor and some authorized artisans, and unauthorized spreading of this knowledge was a capital offence. The substance was even part of an heavily compartmentalized weapon systems comprising the production of the liquid fire, its compression and heating up to be ignited, the siphons and grenades used to deploy it and the training to use the siphons, with knowledge of every part spread on a needing-to-know base (only the emperor knew all the things), just in case an enemy broke the secret of part of the system or even captured quantities of liquid fire (as happened in 814: in the conquest of the cities of Mesembria and Debeltos the Bulgarians captured 36 siphons and quantities of liquid fire, yet they were unable to reproduce and even use both the siphons and the liquid fire). Knowledge on how make and use this devastating incendiary weapon was lost in 1453 with the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire to the Ottoman, as all the manufacturer or the substance were killed by the Turkish or suicide and the last emperor, Constantine XI, died in battle leading the last charge of the Roman Army.
(13)Medeia is the transliteration of the Greek word for Media. I used it as a title because his literal meaning is 'The Woman Who Gives Advice'.
(14)Giulia/DN normally uses a magic based on potions, like the Medea of the Greek myth and her aunt and teacher Circe. The two were COLCHIAN, not Greeks (in the myth Medea was even regarded as the ancestor of the Persians, arch foes of the Ancient Greece), and their magic was quite different than the one of the Greek mages. And a bit more powerful, as Medea could revive dead.