"Full clemency to all those who arrive. You will not be judged for your past. So long as you ensure that you keep others reasonably safe, you will not be prejudiced against by the state. For instance, werewolves will need to reside in special containment facilities during the full moon, but otherwise may live full lives," Raven announced, causing a murmur to spread through the crowd. He allowed this to occur for several moments.
"At the moment, the Union is embarking on a rapid expansion of its magical industry. In particular, this means large opportunities to work in a large variety of careers in various industries. You will be provided with training where necessary, and be properly compensated," Raven promised, causing yet more murmurs from the crowd. Community leaders of various species from across the world were gathered, and many seemed pleased by his speech thus far.
"Any individual who remains for a year will be granted citizenship in the union should they wish to acquire it, along with all the benefits."
"What about conscription?" an old vampire asked sagely, causing a hush to descend on the crowd.
"I am pleased to announce that conscription ended as of last week. Apart from mandatory basic self-defense training, which can be waived by a proficiency test," Raven assured, thankful he had the foresight to force the point through before this meeting. Many muttered their approval at this, and more than a few seemed convinced.
"Magical laws of the safe cities have already been discussed in the prior meetings, and has not changed. However, I wish to bring a clarification to a question from the Greek speaker for the Vampires. The court system will remain separate from the rest of the Union, and has been modelled after ICW standards with modifications. The point on no imprisonment stands, due to the limited infrastructure, only fines, community service, execution or exile will be permitted as punishment. This was discussed in the closed session yesterday, and voted upon by the majority present."
He paused, allowing the message to sink in. While there was grumbling, no one outright raised an objection, a sign of the progress made and the eagerness of all parties to get this pushed through.
"As of right now, we are pleased to announce a carrying capacity of seven thousand in the five established areas. When the residents move in, many will hopefully aid in the construction of more facilities to enable further expansion. To aid this, the Union is prepared to invest the sum of three million galleons over the next five years from our own coffers."
There was applause at this, to which Raven waited for several moments before gesturing for silence. "Onto the final matter of tributation. The Union will waive its right to the five percent of all transactions for three years, and commits to reinvesting eighty percent of any budget surplus to the expansion of or construction of more new safe cities. The latter arrangement is to last for a period of ten years." When he finished, one of the vampires leapt up in wild applause, soon joined in by the thousands of other delegates, who whooped and cheered at the news.
"Hail the Raven!" one of the delegates cheered, and it soon became a thundering chant among the delegates present. Were it not for the secrecy oaths involved to hide his identity and this project from the noses of other governments, he would likely be the most famous individual in the magical world. Raven hid a smile. It was going exactly as planned.
-Break-
"It seems you have caught the eye of the minister's grand niece," General White chuckled. Raven merely quirked an eyebrow. "You do have a penchant for making useful relationships, don't you? An admirable trait."
"Sir, with due respect, I doubt you pulled me from my work to compliment me. Has something happened?" Raven questioned.
"Something delightful indeed. We opened applications for immigration a week ago after introducing the safe city protocols you drafted, and already there are thirteen thousand authorised applications, with another one hundred and twenty seven thousand applications pending."
"That's equivalent to a third of our current population already approved," Raven mused in wonder. "Beyond even my ambitions, I must admit."
"Indeed, we are working day and night to prepare for such arrivals. New cities along the baltics. Already they are competing for the right to name their town Voronagrad. It seems they wish to honour you, Raven."
Raven adopted a look of surprise, causing the General to chuckle. "You underestimate their gratitude for such an opportunity. The Minister is most pleased, and sends his congratulations. Without a doubt, if you wished for the position, soon you'd have a strong enough voter bloc to do so."
"It is not my intention to go into politics so early, General," Raven chuckled.
"A shame, the paperwork is getting too much?"
"I've hired several assistants and we are still receiving more than they can even sort, let alone work through," Raven sighed, causing the man to chuckle commiseratingly.
"The bane of every administrator. Regardless, we are both busy men, so I shall dally no longer. You're training a very special woman in combat."
"Me? Surely another guardian could train them," Raven postulated. The General merely chuckled.
"They were quite insistent it was you, in fact. And in exchange for fifty million galleons up front to construct several joint cities in the East, the minister hopped aboard the chance and signed before I could even think of protesting."
"Who is it?" Raven sighed, knowing the point was mute. Paperwork would have to wait.
"They're waiting for you in the training room."
"Here?" Raven asked incredulously. The General merely nodded, looking slightly agitated at the point.
"Indeed, another one of their conditions. Well, don't keep them waiting." Sensing the dismissal, Raven saluted before walking out of the General's office, saluting several guardians and conversing with several of his assistants briefly before heading to the training area.
Inside, he nearly gaped at the sight of Jade, who was practising some katas. At the sound of his footsteps, she stopped and rushed towards him, pulling Raven in a tight hug. "Raven! We meet again!"
"So we do, Jade. Was your flight a pleasant one?"
"It was...interesting, to not take a portkey for once. I was shown the sites for the new safe cities, most impressive work."
"I must ask by who," Raven purred, tracing a finger along her jawline and causing a shiver to pass through Jade.
"The minister, of course. He let slip it was you who pushed through the idea, as well. Most impressive, it explains the werewolf and vampire exodus from China then. However did you manage to get such through? Perhaps from a bit of looting?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny," he responded amusedly, causing her to chuckle.
"Well thanks for sparing China out of it, the minister sends his regards."
"So tell me, how does a chief of security become the chief diplomat who assigns herself to the Union?" he queried, wrapping a hand around her shoulder. She sighed comfortably at the motion.
"I decided it was time for a change of pace, you could say you inspired me to have a bit of reflection after our letters. Grand uncle was most proud, he approved almost immediately."
"I'm glad to hear that. I suppose I have you to thank for the trade deal regarding the new joint cities?" She merely hummed a 'yes'. "Well, if you wanted to come close to me, you could always have just asked for dinner."
"Now where would be the fun in that? I admit I always wanted to spar against the famous Raven. At least here, we can protect both our reputations."
"Nothing lethal?"
"Apart from that, everything goes," she smirked, wrapping her arm around him and tossing him forward. Rolling to brace the impact and turning to face her, he tutted at her cheerful smirk.
"That wasn't nice," he chided, through a light smile unwillingly emerged on his face as she gave a laugh. Lunging towards her, his respect for her raised a notch as she skirted out of the way, trying to land a kick on his back. Grabbing her leg, he yanked, causing her to stumble slightly, though she wrapped her other leg around him amd pushed with her hands, knocking him over and straddling him as the two quickie retrieved daggers and pointed them at each other. Wryly, she began grinding her hips
"Is that another dagger, or are you just happy to see me?" she teased, letting out an eep when he thrust up, causing her to lose her composure and allow him to reverse their positions, with his knife pressing on her throat while she held hers at his chest, right above his heart. After several moments, he slowly moved backwards, giving her space to spring back to their feet as both stowed their daggers.
"Magical, then?" she asked, withdrawing his wand. He nodded in agreement, and she quirked an eyebrow. "Forgot your wand?"
"Don't have one," he answered, waving his hand and sending one of the benches hurling towards her. QUickly, she rolled under it, before firing a blasting curse as it reversed mid-air, striking towards her again. Turning to glare at a smirking Raven, she fired off several cutting curses, which Raven simply twisted his body to allow them to fly harmlessly past.
Clearly pleased herself, she transfigured several of the weapons racks into golems, which lumbered towards him, picking up the muggle weapons and firing bullets. Raising a shield with one hand boredly, he used his other to fling bolts of energy, crippling the golems with strikes to the arms, legs and head.
His sixth sense tingled, causing him to roll forward and narrowly avoid getting pulverised by a blast from Jade, who continued firing several curses at him. Eagerly, he deflected several back while charging towards her, bolts of energy forming in his hands.
This day was looking better already.
-Break-
"Tell me about your favourite and most hated mission," she asked, sitting across from him in the canteen. There was no one else present save for them, and the two were sipping spoonfuls of borsch soup.
"Fair enough."
"Your target, Oliver North, responsible for the funding of anti-communists in Cuba. Eliminate him quietly. He's under secret security protection due to his closeness with Regan, and has his own personal guards. He is a wizard, so be weary of magical defenses." General White instructed. Raven nodded in understanding.
"How am I to get to him. He is in America, and they are notorious for their protective wards around the entire country.
"Indeed. You will have to travel the muggle way. As far as the magical world is concerned, you were never there. Understood?"
"Crystal," Raven sighed. He soon found himself boarding a plane to Western Europe, which changed over to a plane across the Atlantic, until he landed in Washington DC. Stepping off the plane, he was in wonder at just how many people could be packed in one place. Hundreds of people in his immediate vicinity all going about their own business, and that was at one of the hundreds of gates in the airport!
Passing through the security checks with the assistance of shielded briefcases, he hailed a cab, ordering, "To the White House."
"Yes sir," the cabbie quickly assured, stepping on the gas and joining into the traffic. Raven took the time to admire the surroundings, largely low rise buildings squatting around large, ornate buildings made of quartz, marble and stone in the style of the Ancient Greeks. They passed by the capitol building, followed by the White house, where the cab driver stopped outside.
Paying the man his fare, he stepped out of the cab and retrieved his two briefcases, wandering by the historic white building and down several bustling streets until he spotted his target: the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. It was impressive in size, with large renaissance style windows and pillars in the front facade. In a back alley, he quickly changed into gear, and left his civilian clothes there for when he came back.
He reached out, and sensed that the wards pressed against the side of the alley. Pressing his hand just outside, he concentrated and sensed, before nodding to himself, pulling a tungsten plate and cutting his finger, allowing his blood to drip down. Healing the wound with a touch of magic, he began drawing several overlaying symbols with a quill, until he nodded satisfied, sending a jolt of magic through it.
He felt it slowly poke a hole through the wards, until it was just large enough for him to slip through.
Grabbing his rifle, he climbed up the side of the building, reaching out with his senses, and cursed when he sensed there were two snipers outward. Grabbing a can of pepper spray, he tossed it overhead, causing it to land behind.
"What was that?" He was relieved when both snipers released the grip on their rifles and turned around to look, allowing Raven the opportunity to leap up and grab their heads, slamming them together and knocking both unconscious.
Quickly slinking along the roof, he found the skylight he was looking for, right atop the office of his target. Looking for an open spot, he cursed when he saw that it was sealed shut. This was not in the plan!
Quickly, he pressed his eye against the stained glass, happy to see that the man was alone. Visualising himself below, he apparated down, causing the man to look up confusedly, a scream on his lips when Raven raised his rifle and fired, killing the man instantly. Quickly locking the door, he rushed to the man's side, pulled a piece of hair, then rushed flames through his hands, carefully burning the body until there was only a pile of ash before vanishing that too.
Apparating back up, he quickly retrieved his can of pepper spray, about to leave, a job well done when a shout interrupted, "Hey! Who are you!"
"Shit! Derick's down! Freeze! Aurors!"
Without hesitation, Raven leapt off the building, quickly grabbing his briefcase and tungsten plate before apparating towards the airport. Knowing that they would follow him in a few minutes at most, he quickly changed into his civilian clothes, stowing his equipment before casually walking into a bustling street.
Behind in the alcove, he heard several quiet pops, before several men and women in robes hastily ran out, looking around before frowning. As he turned a corner, he hid a smirk. They had lost him.
"Wow," Jade mused, impressed, shocked into reverting back to Chinese. "So the Contra affair was staged by the Soviets?"
"Indeed," he nodded wryly. "As for my most hated, definitely Chernobyl. That was a fucking disaster. Wraths and other creatures were attracted by the radiation and mutated.
Engineers Alexei Ananenko and Valeri Bezpalov, accompanied by the shift supervisor Boris Baranov, nervously trooped into the room, where Raven eyed them speculatively before offering them reassuring nods.
"Gentlemen, the Union thanks you for your service. You will now be let in on a secret. Magic exists." Raising a hand to forestall any argument, he barked, "There isn't time. What you need to know is that you are being protected by enchantments. I will accompany you inside and protect you from mutated magical creatures, but it is up to you to navigate the controls. Move out!"
Quickly obeying, the four men trooped out of the briefing room, the three muggles wearing protective radiation suits while Raven wore advanced armour and a magical rebreather. Prying open the door, they began to wade through the water that had accumulated. A floating spectre with blood dripping from its circular mouth the size of three fists floated towards them, causing the three muggles to whimper in fear as Raven stepped forward, firing a blast of electricity, which seemed to do little that cause it to grunt. Sighing, he blasted it with a torrent of flames, which caused the creature to scream, cracks of red emerging on its skin as it began to glow brighter and brighter. "Duck!"
He raised a shield to protect them, just in time for the creature to implode, sending a torrent of water flying everywhere and for electric wires to spark violently. After several moments, the situation calmed, and he beckoned them forward.
They continued in silence, sneaking past several glowing ghouls fighting over a piece of glowing rubble, and descended deeper into the lower levels of the reactor. As they were now fully submerged, their progress became far slower, though thankfully there did not seem to be any aquatic creatures. Several pieces of rubble fell down, nearly crushing them, and stopped only by Raven's timely blasts of magic.
After several hours of wading, the three men found a half submerged control panel, and quickly began flipping switches and pressing buttons. Unsure of what they were doing, he merely watched, his senses reaching out and detecting mutant creatures mostly converging near the reactors and far away from them, but a few stragglers lingering nearby.
Several avians suddenly descended, trying to peck through the protective clothing of the three men, who waved their hands, trying to get rid of the creatures, who had somehow grown teeth in their long beaks. Sending several bolts of magic at them, they squaked and flew towards him angrily. But now out of the range of the engineers, he sent a blast of fire, roasting the avians. Miraculously, they seemed unaffected, and he ducked out of the way of their talons, before firing bolts of electricity, which finally seemed to do the trick, causing them to fall onto the ground with thuds.
Seeing the men stare, he barked, "There's going to be more, so hurry!"
Once the three men returned to him and nodded, signalling they had finished, they waded back outside, back down the descending waterline slowly being drained, past the still fighting ghouls, and out the door. All four breathed a sigh of relief as cheers from the gathered soldiers erupted.
"That...was far less dramatic than I expected," Jade admitted, blushing. Raven nodded.
"Those are the worst missions. When you fear something will happen, but it never does," he mused wisely, causing her to hum in agreement. "But what about you? Any interesting tales to regale?"
"A few," she admitted, "even if none are quite as dramatic as your first. My best was probably during an uprising while the minister was in Xinjiang. Magicals assaulted us, and we had to fend them off for three days until reinforcements finally broke the siege. We started off with twenty guards, and left with three."
"Impressive," Raven complimented, carrying his finished tray to the disposal area, followed by Jade. "But let's get back to training, can't have dear grand uncle finding out that we're just chatting all day, no?"
-Break-
"Raven, we need you to deploy to Berlin. It has fallen. Here are your targets," General White passed him a folder. Opening them, he found three photos, and sighed. Erich Honecker, first secretary of the GDR, Horst Sindermann, president of the people's chamber, and Willi Stoph, chairman of the council of ministers. It didn't help that he had no idea where they were.
-Break-
Two targets down, one to go. He had tracked the paranoid Honecker to a remote bunker in the forest near the border with Poland. Sneaking through, he sniped two patrolling guards before floating over the barbed wire fence.
Sneaking through the compound, he spotted several mercenaries guarding the entrance, clearly werewolves judging by the aura they projected. Slinging his rifle, he pulled out a pistol equipped with silver bullets and fired three precise shots, killing all three and causing them to drop dead to the floor. However, some alarm must have triggered from this, as a howl was heard, and he heard the footsteps of several guards as they returned from their patrol routes to secure the buildings. Yells were heard, though he waited patiently over the small mound, and pulled out his rife, waiting patiently as an entourage of guards rushed out, surrounding his target as they rushed to the edge of the ward, no doubt to apparate or portkey.
A single bullet ended that, piercing through the man's skull and causing shouts of horror from his guard and Raven quickly extracted himself towards the edge of the manor, killing a few guards who spotted him before tapping his portkey. "Loyalty or Death."
Author Note:
Another chapter, this one's dedicated to Lord of Erebor. Those events passed already, so it unfortunately had to be a flashback. Hopefully you enjoyed it though, I definitely had a blast writing them. While definitely stretching the truth a bit, I've tried to remain authentic as always. First part is a setup for the future, but is a progression of the visit to Xi'an along with Raven and the General's discussions on reform. While both sides of the magical union will fall, the extent of a 'Russian' magical country will continue to stretch over much of Eastern Europe, including the baltics where the safe cities are, though the Balkans will secede, having been effectively their own country through those resistant to the Reds hiding out in enclaves. On another note, While Raven and Jade have a healthy respect and tentative friendship that will evolve over time when Harry enters the political world (but that's a looong way away), I can't see them ever forming a romance. She's twenty six and he's ten, even if he looks sixteen and she twenty three ;) As always, tell me if I did a good job or not in the comments, follow, favourite and share. Until next time, toodles!