The Holy Arsenal

Lescatie wasn't the only place where activity as bustling. To the east, in the nation of Malum, work is also being done. The nation lies south of Manesk and Weslple, possessing long tracts of coastline like the latter. Like Welsple, Malum is a nation that is familiar with steam technology, one that stands on the cusp of an industrial revolution. Yet while Welsple is a nation of scholarship and academia, Malum was the heart of Sax-Juton industry.

It was unsurprising, for many ruins lay within Malum territory. They are the remains from the era of previous demon lords and held many relics from those distant ages that survived the passage of time. From the few fragments of history recovered, it is inferred that Malum was the heart of the ancient Coygani Empire that stretched from the eastern shore of Welsple to the borders of modern day Lescatie, and north into Gothian territory. The nation was powerful, rivalled only by the Order coalition to its west. It did not worship the Chief God, and according to angels and saints, collapsed under the weight of its own sins. Then the monsters came in and finished them off.

Yet it wasn't the end of the empire's legacy. The Coygan language spoken by nomadic Sax-Juton peoples who settled the region was learned from the survivors of the Coygan fall, and the comparatively rapid advance of Sax-Juton technology can be attributed to reverse engineering Coygan artefacts.

Coygan artefacts are valued, and the Malum monarchy defended them fiercely. Indeed, the Malum Holy Arsenal was less an armory and more of a castra, a massive fortified town dedicated to the preservation and reverse engineering of Coygan artefacts, though modern developments are also held. Enclosed in the fortifications are many structures, but the most impressive was the central keep. Every room in it was dedicated to holding relics from the Coygani times.

The other structures in the Holy Arsenal were largely storerooms for raw materials or workshops, the latter occupied by tools powered by steam. In most cases, magic was used to provide the heat. Burning coal produces smoke, and petroleum was far too expensive.

Inside one workshop, Acton worked tirelessly, watched over by his leanan sidhe assistant, who is in human form. Both are dressed in the attire of blacksmiths. He carefully milled a piece of metal with a drill press. The drill itself was powered by a small steam engine. A while later, Acton smiled as he powered down the drill and held up his handy work.

"It is done," Lyria said, "at last."

Acton nodded. The object was indeed a major challenge. First, he casted an object which resembled a cylinder with a rectangular prism running along its length. He then meticulously drilled away the excess metal until it was finished. The finished object is the receiver of the Mosin-Nagant.

"Well," Acton said, "this is the receiver, completed at last."

"It took many hours and several machines," Lyria said, "not to mention all those drill bits."

"Ha, ha," Actonn laughed, "well, we have completed the bolt, except for bolt head, bolt spring and firing pin."

"Uh," Lyria sighed, "can we take a break? We've been using up basically all our spare time to make this blasted object. I must confess these mechanisms take up long periods of machining times. Yet the Mosin-Nagant is considered a simple weapon?"

"There is little skill needed in most parts," Acton replied, "in fact, the production processes can be broken down in simple, highly repetitive steps."

He paused for a bit before saying, "Yet I do not know how the ammunition works. What is the 7.62x54R?"

"No idea," Lyria said, "but right now, my brain is losing control to my stomach, which won't be handing control back until I have filled it with something. Can we go now?"

Acton sighed, "You go on ahead. I'll pack up everything first."

Lyria transformed into fairy form and shot out of the room like a comet that trailed sparkly particles.

Acton blew the metal powder off the receiver before putting it into a bag. He then ensured that the machine has completely powered down. Finally, he walked out of the workshop, heading to the nearest cafeteria.

A little while later, he arrived. Lyria had already occupied a space. She was tearing into a piece of bread. As Acton sat down, a waiter arrived and placed two bowls of salad down.

"Easy, girl," Acton said as picks up his bread, "your food won't be going anywhere."

"But I might," Lyria said, "because the Queen has been summoning fairies like mad and sending them to Lescatie."

"Huh?" Acton stopped eating, "Why?"

"Haven't you heard?" Lyria's assault on the salad paused, "Aine has been sending fairies to Lescatie in an attempt to intercept Astramille. The soulless man who tried to cure Francisca."

"Ah," Acton began eating again, "yes. Stella claimed he could cure Francisca."

"Now he is on the run," Lyria continued, "probably because he failed and the king is trying to murder him for being a pretentious prick. Should we even take him seriously?"

"Well," Acton said, "the mechanism of the Mosin-Nagant is effective. It allows rapid cycling of ammunition and powder that has been loaded into a cartridge. The machines we currently have are adequate for manufacturing most of the parts. Engineers should be able to design and produce the rest."

"Huh?" Lyria said, "So it isn't that much more advanced than what we have?"

Acton shook his head, ate a piece of salmon before continuing, "In terms of difficulty of manufacture, the Mosin-Nagant isn't much more complicated than high end wheellock muskets owned by rich people. In fact, it is mechanically simpler and can be made with no skilled labor. Provided we manage to create a production line where we have all the necessary machines."

"Yet the gun is useless without ammunition," Lyria said, "and a gun without ammunition is just an overpriced club that looks like a gun. You gonna figure out what 7.62x54R means?"

"I know what it means," Acton answered, "it refers to the dimensions of the cartridge. But if we can find Astramille, the other secrets of the weapon can be unearthed. If anything, why don't we travel to Lescatie ourselves? You can travel through Aine's dimension, right?"

"Are you serious?" Lyria rolled her eyes, "The Lescatie capital is massive. Searching for one person in it will be borederline impossible. Not to mention Astramille is said to have already left the city and is heading our way. Hell, Queen Aine has mobilized massive amounts of manpower already."

She swallowed some salad, "One priest and his Leanane Sidhe isn't going to make much of a difference."


It was high noon when Aeris, Adelais and the vanguard they led arrived in Wahnor. The small formation of light cavalry arrived in the small village. Like the knights of the vanguard team, Aeris is clad in plate armor. Meanwhile, Adelais is dressed like the nuns of the Order, though she too had armor guarding her arms, legs and chest. Some mounted archers in chain mail and some plat armor also followed, along with two mages.

"I can smell the demonic energy from here," Adelais muttered, "this isn't a small skirmish. This is a major invasion."

Aeris frowned. Monsters haven't been this bold for a long time. Well, except for the time that dragon yanked the crown off her head and escaped to tell the tale.

"I did not foresee this in my visions," Aeris muttered, "then and again, I have never asked about when the next monster was coming."

"Well," Adelais glanced over at her younger sister, "did you use your prophetic powers or something?"

"Yes," Aeris said, "recently Mimil asked for me to foretell the possible paths Astramille took to escape Lescatie."

"Huh," Adelais said, "and why? I thought it took a huge, expensive setup?"

"I got Mimil to cough up most of the money needed for repairing the detection wards," Aeris smirked, "a worthy investment. Astramille, well I couldn't see him in my visions, but I saw Gali in a weird outfit transporting a coffin out of the eastern gates of Lescatie. I told Mimil one of these days, Gali will smuggle Astramille out in a coffin."

Adelais seemed surprised, "Really? Such a cunning man."

"Not necessarily," Aeris grinned evilly, "he could actually be dead and Gali might be trying to bury him. Who knows? And who cares about that worthless fool?"

She glared at the little village in front of her, "We have monsters to purge."

Aeris jumps off her horse, and Adelais follows. The duo slowly walked towards the village from a hundred meters away. Aeris clenched her fists and raised them shoulder height as she walked forward like a professional boxer. That was her fighting style, to get close to an opponent and hammer them with punches, kicks, knee and elbow strikes. At arm's reach distances, even Wilmarina, who is said to be Lescatie's greatest hero, can't beat her without bringing out her ice powers.

Adelais, on the other hand, leans more towards the mage type. She relies more heavily on spells, though a magic boosted hit from her long staff can crack the skull of an unsuspecting monster. The staff is held in her left hand. Her sword, a Gothian blade that belonged to a sword and dagger set (the dagger she gave to Astramille), she held in her right hand.

Behind them, knights in light armor watched. Most were armed with spears, though some had crossbows and longbows.

At the village, not a single sound was heard. The village appeared to be deserted. This attack on Wahnor was nothing like the last one. The last one caused a few men to be kidnapped. This one left the village empty.

"That's odd," Adelais said, "I do not detect a single living monster. Yet the demonic energy is there. Could this be an ambush? To attack us while we've travelled far on horseback and not at peak condition?"

"I feel alright," Aeris smirked, "and only smashing in the faces of a few monsters would make me better."

The duo walked into the village. Some of the men dismounted and followed on foot. The rest remained on horseback.

"Puzzling," Aeris said as she continued stepping forward, "perhaps the monsters are laying an ambush. Are they using spell jamming?"

"Or they have already left," Adelais frowned, "it has been at least a day. The monsters know we would arrive quickly. Perhaps this is a diversion?"

"If that is the case," Aeris growled, "then we better hurry up with this area. Take the survivors back to Lescatie. A good plan would be to evacuate all of Lescatie into the capital itself, or to any fortified city."

"And what of the logistics?" asked Adelais, "Do you know how difficult it is to evacuate all citizens? In Lescatie territory, there are at least six million people. Do we even have enough fortifications to accommodate them?"

Suddenly, Adelais paused. She then muttered, "We've got company."

"Huh?" Aeris turned around.

Adelais raised her staff inn her right hand while pointing forward with her left index finger. A barrier sprung up in front of Aeris, which blocked two star shaped metallic objects.

"Shuriken!" Aeris exclaimed as the barrier then dissipated and the shuriken dropped, "We have Zipangu monsters?"

A kunoichi suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke. She then lunged forward attempted to slash at Aeris with her sword. The third princess didn't even step back. Instead, she stepped forward and blocked the attack with her left arm. Almost simultaneously, she landed a powerful knee strike on the kunoichi's stomach. While the ninja monster girl staggered, Adelais joined the attack. She darted to the side with a speed not usually associated with mages and cast an orb of lightning. The kunoichi jumped back, the attack missing.

"Watch it!" Aeris snapped, "You could have hit me."

"Heh," Adelais smirked, "come on, sister. I know you have what it takes to avoid that attack."

The mounted archers swooped in as they fired off their arrows. The kunoichi quickly dodged the attacks and increased the distance between herself and the order detachment. But this was exactly what Adelais expected. She immediately charged up an attack and cast another one of her previous lightning orb attack.

As the orb sped towards the kunoichi, other mages cast their attacks, ranging from fireballs to cutting winds. With incredible speed, the kunoichi dodged them all, the attacks hitting the ground around her or places more distant.

"Not bad, monster," Aeris complimented, sprinting through the dust, "but let's see how good you are against me."

The kunoichi growled under her mask but prepared to fight anyway. Aeris didn't hesitate. She immediately launched an array of punches, palm strikes, chops and finger strikes. The kunoichi matched her blow for blow, but Adelais joined the fray. She cast a support spell on Aeris, sending energy into her armor, particularly around the gauntlets. Aeris responded by attacking harder.

Another mage on horseback chanted something before pointing his wand at the kunoichi. The ground beneath her froze. Although the zipangu monster girl quickly regained her balance, Aeris landed a knee strike right on her face. The kunoichi staggered, and blood flew from her face.

Suddenly, Adelais cast another spell. This time to intercept more projectiles.

"We've got ourselves a welcoming party," the princess declared, "I am going to return the favor."

An explosion of smoke at Aeris' feet caused her to stagger back. Another kunoichi had appeared and lashed out with a short tanto. The princess was unable to avoid the attack. The demon realm silver clashed with her armor. Yet the steel plate blocked the demon realm silver blade, as the kunoichi hadn't had time to properly charge the blade with her energy.

With remarkable speed, Aeris regained her footing and launched a palm strike. The second kunoichi deflected the attack with her arm. The princess takes several steps back with superhuman speed.

Meanwhile, Adelais unleashes her next attack. From her staff, she unleashed several bolts of holy energy. The kunoichi dart to the side. They were wise to do so, for the bolts exploded with great force, leaving multiple charred craters.

"Geez," the first kunoichi muttered, "you're crazy."

"What now?" asked the second.

They couldn't finish, because the other mages continued their attack. The kunoichi were forced to retreat.

"Do we chase them?" asked a mage.

Adelais contemplated the question before replying, "No. Investigate this place. I want to understand what happened. Then we return to Lescatie immediately."

"What is the point?" countered Aeris, "The monsters fled already. Time spent here is wasted. Don't bother with the search. Lescatie needs us more."

"With all due respect," a mage added, "I think Adelais is correct in deciding to examine this area. There might be important clues left behind."

"Haven't we established that this may be a diversion?" asked Aeris, "Or worse, an ambush?"

Adelais glared at Aeris, "We should at least let our horses rest. Find some easily defensible structures and occupy them."


Hey guys, sorry for the delay. Major plot changes involved after reading the MGE side guides (the fallen hero one and the mermaid one). No, the mermaids won't make an appearance. But more heroes will be involved. While the side guides threw me off my original plot, they opened up new possibilities that I intend to exploit.w

And as you can see, the introduction of modern firearms (admittedly in pre-production numbers) is underway. But it will be quite a while before the new weapon plays a significant role on the battlefield.