City of Ravenna, Elkia

Surveying the piers from the top of an observation tower, the harbor master was feeling bored. He had been occupying his position for decades, and he knew pretty much everything that was going on in the harbor under his jurisdiction. He heard a noise behind him, and turned to see his young attendant, that delivered a parchment and quickly dove back down the stairs.

The harbor master put on a couple of glasses, marveled again at the quality of the elven-made lenses, and gave the document a cursory look. It was an amendment to the list of ships that were expected on that day. One name actually picked his interest: Walrus.

The Walrus was the first of a new class of giant fishing ships built in the Eastern Federation using blueprints that rumors attributed to Emperor Sora himself. Every single ship built by Immanity was made of wood, but the Walrus and her sisters were different. Three times longer than the largest vessel ever made in Elkia, they were made of metal and equipped with advanced navigation systems that allowed them to fish much further away from the coast than existing boats. And they had a human crew.

The werebeasts were never known for their maritime or fishing proficiency. All of the opposite, actually. It's not that they did not like fish… they totally did. The proof was that since they joined the Empire, Ravenna's export of fish towards the Eastern Federation had been raising steadily. Still, for some reason, it was impossible to find a recorded instance of a werebeast travelling on a boat for more than very short stretches.

The harbor master had heard stories trying to explain the phenomenon, but he never managed to decide if he had to believe them. Had the werebeasts simply never seriously thought about building ships, or did they just hate water too much, or was it because their incredibly acute senses would make the wobbling of the hull intolerable for them?

Whatever the reason for her crew, the old man perked up at the chance of seeing a marvel of modern technology such as the Walrus, and quickly checked the time she was supposed to enter the port. After finding that piece of information, he went about his day as usual. Ravenna was an important city, after all, and there was plenty of things to do.

A few hours later he was back on the tower, with a telescope in his hands and feeling more than a little excited. First, he spotted the cloud of smoke, then a small dark spot appeared on the horizon. It took a while, but eventually that dark spot grew enough that the old man could appreciate the features of the hull and the wheelhouse. He let out an exclamation of wonder; that truly was an amazing ship. It was even more impressive because of the speed she was holding while approaching the port. Surely the captain knew what he was doing, and was just waiting for the right moment to slow down before entering the port.

But the Walrus did not slow down. The giant ship entered the narrow space between the breakwaters at full speed, and then narrowly missed a tugboat, that nearly capsized. The harbor master suddenly realized with horror that the huge metal behemoth was out of control, and was heading straight for the piers. There, countless people were loading and unloading a host of smaller wooden ships, completely unaware of the situation.

The harbor master grabbed a rope and pulled it, provoking a set of horns to sound the alarm. The people on the docks took a few seconds before realizing the magnitude of the danger they were facing, and started to stampede. The old man felt a chill running through his body as he realized that most of them were not going to make it in time. It was going to be a massacre.

Suddenly, in a midair point between the ship and the piers, a blinding spot of blue light appeared. The spot grew into a shining circular portal of about two meters of diameter, from which a humanoid figure emerged. White wings, short blue hair, piercing red eyes. A Flügel.

Sachiel gave a cold look to the huge metal leviathan that was charging straight onto her, and put her right hand forward in an imperious gesture. "Thou shalt not pass" she stated emotionlessly, and the ship was suddenly enveloped by chains of light coming straight out of the ocean.

"Your lack of driving skills makes me sick"

The Flügel stated flatly, as the ship stopped mere centimeters away from her palm. She could see that the engines were still going at full power, and that the sea was still swirling furiously around the stern, although the boat was now completely immobile.

Then many things happened in less than a second. First, Sachiel touched the bow of the ship, and immediately teleported it a good kilometer away from the piers, then she teleported herself underwater, right under the propellers, that were still rotating at full speed.

Without letting the lack of oxygen or the salty water in the eyes disturb her in any ways, Sachiel summoned primordial magical energies that manifested as glowing red strings centered around her right hand. Those strings eventually coalesced and crystallized into a two-meters long object that looked like a red metal fork with only two tines.

Following some mysterious command, the two tines intertwined together to form something more resembling to a spear, that Sachiel brandished in a single, fluid movement. All of the propellers were immediately severed from their shafts, and plunged swirling to the bottom of the harbor.

Without changing her stoic expression, Sachiel then teleported the ship beside a large empty dock, where she could be moored safely. The shafts were still spinning, but all the inertia had been dissipated, and the large hull was sitting duck in the water. Floating above the ship, Sachiel gave a spiteful glance towards the main deck of the boat.

"That's how you park a ship, dumbass"

Sora was walking along the corridor of the palace, feeling worried after hearing the last report from Sachiel. A huge ship almost ramming docking facilities because her entire crew was unconscious would have been troubling any day, but it was extremely so because it came shortly after similar incidents in the previous days. First it was and small fishing boat with only on old fisherman and his son that was found drifting away, then it was a larger fishing vessel standed on an island, and then one of the largest Immanity cargo ships hitting reefs and almost sinking. In all of these cases, the entire crew had been found unconscious, and subsequent analysis by either an elf or a Flügel had established that a significant portion of their life force had been consumed. Luckily, they were all expected to recover in due time; that was not the worrying part. The worrying part was that all of those attacks could be easily blamed on the Sirens. For what Sora had learned since his arrival on Disboard, the Sirens would normally stay on their own, with barely any contact with the other races. He really could not imagine what could have provoked such a string of attacks.

That was what Sora was thinking, as he pushed the doors of the throne room. The sight that greeted him made him forget any previous thoughts, and his mouth dropped open. Sitting on his throne, with a smug smile on his face, was none less than Tet.

"Aloha!" the One True God greeted him cheerfully "It's been a while!"

Sora immediately recovered and proceeded to kneel in front of the absolute ruler of Disboard.

"My Lord! Your presence here is a great honor. If only I had known of your visit, I would have prepared something to greet you more properly!"

Tet just laughed

"No need to be so formal, Sora! Please, stand up and sit beside me. We have a lot to talk about!"

The human obeyed and stood up, then grabbed a chair and – somehow circumspect – took a seat beside the God, that just grinned at him

"So, how have you been in my world?"

Sora made a face "It took a little to get used to it, but I feel pretty much at home right now"

"Good, that's good to hear…" Tet gave him a coy smile "Aren't you going to ask?"

Sora was cautious "Ask what, 'Why did you bring me to this world', you mean? Depends. Can I make questions?"

Tet laughed "Indeed, you can make questions, no need to be afraid of that!"

"Alright, then…" the young man said, still cautious "…why did you bring me to this world?"

The child-looking being grinned "I just thought that it was going to be hilarious!"

The man made a face "So… have you been watching me since you took me here?"

"Definitely... any problems with that?"

Sora crossed his arms "With all due respect, Lord Tet… it really has been a while since I came here, and this is the first time that we actually met. When I was transported to this world you just sent an induction video to greet me!"

Tet chuckled "Did I? Oh yes, I totally did that!"

"Which prompts the question: how often do you do this kind of things?"

The god grinned "Clever! Very clever! Indeed, I do transport a different person to this planet every year. From many different planets, mind you, and not only humans. It is extremely entertaining to follow them around and see how they adjust to the new situation!"

Sora nodded slowly "I see. And how did I go so far?"

Tet's grin grew even wider, then raised his hands and slowly started to clap

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! No one before you got even close to what you did. Most of them ends up in truly miserable situations pretty quickly, and they are just too happy to be brought back to their planet at the end of their probation year. There was one, I think, that gave it a good shot at becoming king of Immanity … but he failed, eventually. He did have a pleasant year as a teacher though…"

Sora nodded "Yes, that was my first idea too, before I was swept in the kingly competition"

"… you, on the other hand… you are something else! The humans, the elves, the werebeasts and even the Flügel… all of them are now living in the same Empire. Your Empire!" Tet gave him a penetrating look "Do you know why I am here?"

The young man felt a stab of uneasiness "Is my year of probation to an end?"

"Correct"

Sora swallowed hard, but remained silent

"So, what should I do with you now?" Tet asked jovially. He did not seem to be planning anything mean-spirited, which relieved the human considerably. Still, he refused to lower his guard.

"If it is not too presumptuous to ask, my Lord… I wish to remain here"

Tet seemed delighted "Wonderful! I was hoping you would say that! To watch you is just so entertaining! Yes, of course you can stay here! You can consider it my anniversary gift!"

Sora made a face "So, if I understood it correctly, my Lord… my anniversary gift, is something that entertains you?"

The god smirked "My, my! Am I sensing a little bit of sarcasm from you, Emperor Sora?"

The human smiled and raised his hands "Not at all! I am just confused… you want me to stay, and I already agreed to that… what is the need to flaunt it as a gift, I wonder?"

"Mmm… you are correct!" the teenage-looking being agreed nonchalantly

"May I ask another question, Lord Tet?"

The god made a magnanimous gesture "You may…"

"Would you allow the space program to proceed outside of Disboard?"

The teen-like god gave Sora a bored look "Uhm… and why whould I do that?"

"Because it's going to be extremely entertaining?"

Tet actually agreed with that, but he wanted to make it more difficult for the human, so he made a dismissive gesture instead

"How is that going to be entertaining?"

"Disboard is like a chessboard for you, is it not?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about" the god lied out of his teeth

Sora gave him a penetrating look "Sixteen races, with sixteen Race Pieces. Each of them looking exactly like black chess pieces. Coincidence?"

Tet sustained Sora's gaze and smirked "What are you trying to insinuate?"

"I am under the strong impression that you hold the white pieces, my Lord. Or am I wrong?"

"You are not wrong. But I still do not see how your silly space program is going to be entertaining for me"

Sora ignored the 'silly' comment – an obviously trap – and went straight for the jugular

"Have you ever considered to expand the chessboard, Lord Tet?"

Tet's eyes went wide, and the emperor pressed on

"In the third dimension, for example… I think that that would open up so many more game opportunities…" Sora said as if it was something of little significance

Tet remained silent for a few seconds, then burst into laughter, and clapped his hands happily

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Such a great idea! Indeed, that would make things so much more interesting! You are right, adding the moons to the chessboard that is Disboard will indeed be very entertaining! Well done, Sora! I am so happy that I brought you here!"

Sora bowed politely "Shall I assume that I have your permission to proceed then, Lord Tet?"

The one true god cooled down, and grew serious "I would like to make clear something first: what is it that you are asking, exactly?"

"I would like to expand the chessboard to the moons of Disboard, to begin with… would that be acceptable?"

Tet mulled over it "You can go where you want on the green moon. But half of the red moon will be off-limit!"

Sora nodded "Of course, just let me know where we will be allowed to go"

"I will do it right away" the One True God said. A map of the red moon materialized out of thin air, and Tet marked very precisely the off-limit area.

"Thank you, my Lord. As further step, I would like your permission to visit any other planet in this solar system"

"This solar system… what do you think that I would say?"

The emperor shrugged "I do not know how many planets there are, or how many are inhabited. I am assuming, though, that Disboard is the only one that can support life… I personally see no reason why you would forbid anyone to visit those places"

the god nodded slowly "You are not wrong there. Fine, you are allowed to explore this entire solar system"

"Thank you, my Lord… that is extremely gracious from you. Finally, if you don't mind… I wish to humbly ask your permission to extend the chessboard to every single other planet in this galaxy"

Tet raised his eyebrows "Do you have an idea of what you are doing?"

Sora did not even flinch "You asked me what I meant. This is what I meant"

"How dare you to ask me this?"

"Was I impolite?"

"You think that I cannot do anything to you?"

"I am sure you can do anything you want to me"

"And so?"

"Did I do something that offend you?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I am sorry, but… no. I really have no idea how I offended you. And I am not demanding anything, of course. I am just humbly asking that you let the inhabitants of Disboard to attempt the exploration of the galaxy"

Tet sneered "Anything else? Do you also want me to bring your astronauts directly to destination?"

The emperor put his hands forward "I am just asking you not to interfere. That is all. I would never ask you to perform some of the required tasks yourself. After all, if you were to take upon yourself to transport people from this world to other planets… there would be no space program at all…"

The god was mystified "Unbelievable… you are not backing down! Do you have an idea how greedy and megalomaniac what you are asking is?"

Sora did not change expression "With all due respect… you told me that you bring people to Disboard every year… from many different worlds … I don't think that what you are doing is greedy or megalomaniac at all!"

Tet remained silent for a few long seconds, then his eyes started to shine, and his mouth morphed into a huge smile. Finally, he laughed and clapped his hands like a happy child.

"Good! Great! I just cannot believe what you just did! Nicely done! Yes, do it! I will allow your program to explore the entire galaxy! I am looking forward to see what you and everyone else can do with it!"

Sora bowed low "You have my eternal and limitless gratitude, my Lord… I hope it would be possible to sign this agreement by swearing on the Pledges?"

Tet narrowed his eyes "Hey Emperor… are you saying that you don't trust me?"

"That is absolutely not the case, my Lord. It is the unending changing of circumstances that I do not trust. Everything changes, only the Pledges are absolute. Those same Pledges that you – in your infinite wisdom – has instituted. I was just thinking that it would be the most appropriate way to honor you and your creation. Was I wrong?"

Tet made a face "You know what? I suddenly felt like I should stay on your good side. Very well, let's sign this contract… as a sign of our mutual good will"

Sora bowed even lower "Thank you, Lord Tet. That really was a huge help"

and the contract was signed.

By the time Stephanie and Jibril joined him, Tet was gone. Sora was sure that Jibril and all of the Flügel in the palace were aware of his meeting with the One True God, thanks to their heightened senses, but he made no words of the encounter to stay focused on the crisis at hand.

After summoning both Viel and Ino Hatsuse, everyone took a seat around a table, and the council was ready to start.

"Thanks for coming, ladies and gentlemen… it looks like we have a siren situation, and I am afraid that I am very ignorant in the matter. Can somebody bring me up to speed, please?"

Jibril was very happy to oblige.

She fluttered around the table, and quickly set up a whiteboard, where she drew some sketches using magic. She then stepped aside and started to point at the board using a stick like a teacher. The only thing missing was an academic hat.

"The Sirens - and their male counterparts, the Tritons – are the 15th ranked of the wise races, right between Immanity and the Werebeasts.

As their rank implies, they are not very proficient with magic, except seduction magic. In fact, their body is filled with water spirits that they can control in a way that attracts the spirits in the body of their target. This creates in the target the impression of an emotional connection "

"Is this power gender-specific?" Sora asked

"What do you mean?" Viel asked

"Can a siren seduce a woman?"

Jibril nodded "Good question. It depends on the siren… and the woman, but that is quite rare. Usually, sirens seduce male sailors, and tritons seduce women close to the coast. This in turn made sirens much more famous, because when a siren tries to entice a man, usually the entire crew is watching, while the seduction of a woman from a triton is a much more private affair.

Sirens and tritons do not usually mate outside of their species, but they do need to consume the soul - or life force if you prefer - of other races in order to reach sexual maturity. Because of their ranking, this essentially means interacting with Immanity and occasionally Werebeasts "

Ino grunted, but made no comment, so the 'teacher' pressed on

"At the time of the Great War, they would just prey on humans and consume their life force entirely, thus killing their victims. The institution of the Pledges forbade them from killing, but did little more to change their ways. Because once they have seduced their target, there is no real conflict to be settled with a game "

Sora raised his hand to interrupt Jibril, and gave Stephanie an incredulous look "So you are telling me that since I have become the king of Elkia, the sirens have been attacking humans … and I was never informed of this?"

She shrugged "The sirens actually do not need that much energy to reach maturity… and nobody really gets hurt. It is considered part of life in coastal areas, and more or less a rite of passage for the sirens themselves. It is not something that the local nobles would report to the capital, and that is why I actually never thought of telling you"

He nodded slowly "I see… I am not sure that I am OK with this, but I see your point. Sorry for the interruption, Jibril. Please go on"

Jibril gave him a nod, and changed the sketches on the board "Because the sirens live in the ocean, they live of the resources of the sea, and never showed a particular interest in other races; except for the humans of course. For this reason, the other races also never had any real interest in the sirens, and there is little reliable information on their kingdom. Because of their need to interact with humans, though, it is widely believed that their domain is mostly located in the waters across the shores of Elkia.

The sirens were never known to be particularly intelligent and are thought to be conducting a mostly carefree existence, made up mostly of playing and singing "

"Singing? Is that part of the seduction process?"

"That… is unclear. It was speculated that it can increase the effectiveness of seduction magic, but it is plenty of examples of sirens enticing their preys without singing. What is known is that sirens and tritons choose their partner mostly based on their singing abilities.

Sora made a face "I see. Playing and singing then… Until now…"

Stephanie chimed in "Indeed, the events of the last days have been a dramatic change from their usual behavior… that must be the reason why the incidents before the Walrus were reported at all"

Ino raised an eyebrow "So it is possible that there have been even more attacks than we actually know?"

Stephanie grew slightly pale "That is … possible, yes"

Sora nodded and addressed all of his advisors "Does anyone have an idea of what may have changed in the last weeks?"

There was a moment of silence, but nobody seemed to have any ideas. The emperor nodded

"Well, looks like we are at a loss… and because we have no formal diplomatic relations, nor have any ideas of where the sirens actually live…"

"We really cannot ask them ourselves" Viel completed

Sora turned to Stephanie "Your Majesty, is it possible that the sirens actually tried to contact the local authorities on the coast… but we were never notified of it?"

The princess shook her head "I think that that is highly unlikely"

"And I believe you, but let's have a check anyway… I will send a telepathic message to all of the department governors, and then ask them to confer with all of the village on the coast to make sure that nobody has actually come into contact with some messenger from the sirens" he sighed "I will have to be very convincing that I am not going to punish anyone that ignored such messages… or they will just cover up with even more zeal…"

Then the Emperor switched gears

"And about the ships… I think we should provide them with some protection… how likely it is for a siren to seduce an elf?"

"Very unlikely" Viel answered

"Do you think that it would be possible to place at least one elf spellcaster on each of our ships in the future?"

She made a face "To put an elf on every single rowboat of the Empire is going to be problematic"

Sora chuckled "Definitely, but that's not what I meant… for the moment I would just like to avoid large ships going out of control and either ramming stuff or sinking"

Viel smiled lightly "That should be doable"

"Can you convince the senate to do it?"

She shrugged "Commerce with Elkia is increasingly important for Elven Garde… I am optimistic"

"Excellent. Next, the shores… to protect the entirety of the shores of Elkia from the tritons may be problematic. I am definitely going to ask the villagers to set up nettings as static defense, but I really do not expect that to be enough…"

Ino chimed in "I think that the Eastern Federation can help with that…"

"Dare I expect you will send someone to guard the coasts?"

"The marine environment is not that good for werebeasts, Emperor. It is noisy, and an object under water is very difficult to either spot or smell… but I am sure that we can make the job of the tritons more difficult"

Sora nodded "Thank you for the offer, I will try to have some technological help in place as soon as possible"

Stephanie was not convinced "I think we are forgetting something"

"And what that would be?"

"The crew of the Walrus was 30 sailors… and they were all unconscious. That means that the ship was attacked by a similar number of sirens… is a single spellcaster enough to take on that many opponents? And what if a village is attacked by many tritons?"

"Worry not, your Majesty… I am definitely not planning to have any elf or werebeast to face alone so many enemies… no, no, no… the role of the spellcaster and spotters is mainly to act as a whistle blower to call the cavalry"

"The cavalry?"

"That would be us!" Jibril chimed in "The Imperial Military Flügel Corps!"

Sora smirked at Stephanie "You certainly did not forget that they can teleport… they are the perfect choice to deliver reinforcements when needed"

The princess seemed relieved "I see. Yes, that makes sense"

They discussed some more before the meeting was adjourned. As he walked back home with Jibril, Sora was feeling uneasy. He was reasonably sure that he had done everything he could for the moment, but he had far less information than he would have liked, and he really was not sure how the sirens were going to react.