Overcoming Destiny

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Wireless communications"

Ch 9

Mortimer, the current elected head of the Salamander race, was having a meeting with his leaders as they discussed how best to carry out their ruler's wishes to ease public relations with the Halkeginians. "So how have the mob patrols been since we know that they're real now and will start acting like real animals at some point."

"They're doing good sir." A young gamer that was now Lieutenant of their forces based upon his experience from other games. "The more dangerous varieties closer to settlements have been eliminated. It's been a month and the weaker mobs are starting to act similar to their earth bound counterparts."

Mortimer nodded, a look of concentration on his face, before turning to his brother. "Eugine I know that you hate logistics but it's even more necessary in our current situation. How are we doing?"

Eugine sighed heavily before giving his report. "Our weapons and armor stores are in good shape for the moment till we get on good enough terms with the locals to allow us to travel freely. Courtesy of Titania's work before the transition we have a steady source of greens and vegetables on the roofs of most of our buildings. I for one am glad that she updated the city to make it livable. I shudder to think what we'd be going through if we didn't have prior preparation."

Mortimer nodded before adding his own opinion. "And if any of you hear of any dissension remind them that coming here was strictly voluntary whether they truly knew what they were getting into or not." Shortly after that the weekly meeting broke up. This scene played out similarly at each of the other eight races capital cities as well as Yggdrasil city. The leaders were glad it was going so well at the moment but with almost a hundred thousand players to keep track of there was inevitably going to be some malcontents to deal with.

OOooOO

Henrietta sighed tiredly as she rose from her bed at the palace to begin the day. It had been a month since her childhood friend had been summoned back to this world from wherever she had been for the last six months and if anyone was to be believed Louise had been on the other world for five times that and became a warrior queen in that time. Cardinal Mazarin was anything but agreeable with their countries new tenants she mused. As far as he was concerned they should wreak mass genocide on these abominations. His words not hers. She personally felt responsible for the current situation though because she was one of the instigators for her summoning Louise back. In the time since they had arrived she had seen that the Fae used magic incidentally rather than exclusively like her people did. The only thing holding her military leaders back from directly attacking the Fae was the 'sparring' match that took place between the 'warrior queen' and the 'heavy wind' a few days ago.

Flashback

"All right I've had enough of this!" Louise yelled slamming her fist into the table, cracking the solid oak surface, startling the leaders of Tristain and Alfhiem that were gathered around for negotiations.

"What is it Louise?" Henrietta asked her friend in concern.

"It's not you directly but all of your advisors here." Louise stated still livid. "You don't think that we'd be a threat to you if you decided to declare war on us."

"You wouldn't be. Our mages are superior to yours." Cardinal Mazarin stated confidently. "If the fight between the Morison scion and the former Gramont is anything to go by your people are inferior to our mages."

With burning red eyes Louise leveled a glare at the churches representative. "At the last consensus we just finished a few days ago we had almost ninety-six thousand citizens all of whom can perform magic. About twenty thousand of which are blooded warriors the rest not too far behind. Tristain might have almost a hundred fifty thousand citizens within its borders but only about thirty thousand of those are mages and less than half that have any military experience." Louise said pausing to let this sink in. "If it came to a fight who would win?"

"Then prove it to us." The Cardinal challenged. "Show us that you are superior to us."

Holding his gaze a second longer Louise turned to look toward her mother. "Duchess Vallière would you be willing to have a sparring match with me tomorrow?"

"That would be acceptable." Karin answered sternly.

"We have a colosseum for that purpose just outside of Tristainia that you can use." Henrietta offered.

"We also have one situated within the base of Yggdrasil that has protections in place for the spectators." Louise stated having calmed down glad that they would essentially be taking a break from negotiations.

The next day found the two combatants in a large clearing in the new forest that Alfhiem had brought with it between the academy and Tristainia with observation spells set up to allow people to watch the two without being close enough to be injured, having not wished to create any more arguments than necessary. Karin had her armor and weapons from her tenor as the captain of the manticore corp on. Louise had on her clothes from the first day they arrived in Halkeginia with the addition of a second sword that created an x across her back with the sheaths. "Shall we get this started?" Louise asked after sizing up her mother.

"Might as well I for one have wanted to know just how far being in the other world has made you improve." Karin said as she drew her wand sword as an expectant smile spread across her face. "Don't hold back on my account."

"As you wish." Louise replied as she drew both swords.

"Is it uncommon to be proficient with twin swords General Gramont?" Henrietta asked the somewhat aged man sitting next to her.

"It's unheard of for someone to be able to use two swords of equal length with any proficiency. Most often it's a long sword and a dagger, not two arming swords." The big general answered in anticipation for the fight they were observing.

The pair of combatants stood silently for another few breaths before Louise shot forward while Karin began by firing off air lances at her which Louise answered by twisting out of the way of a couple of them putting her directly in front of another that she would be unable to dodge when the air lance exploded obscuring her from view.

"Did she just-?" Professor Colbert asked in shock.

"Cut a spell? Yes she did." Matilda stated bug eyed, her ears twitching.

"But that's impossible." Professor Chevreuse declared just as shocked.

"Actually all projectile spells have a pinpoint right at the tip that they can be disabled with." Old Osmond stated causing everyone else to watch in awe.

Meanwhile Louise had used the explosion to disguise her movements as she side flipped over another air lance bringing her closer to Karin. Karin, using levitation, swiftly moved to another corner of the clearing. Still running Louise jumped and used her feet to push off a tree propelling her toward Karin, who was interrupted in the middle of her chanting having to use her wand sword to parry one of Louise's swords while falling back into a roll to avoid the other pulling out her wand as she did so, landing on her feet sending a blade of water at Louise. Whom ducked under it as she ignited her right handed sword creating a whip of fire that was lashed toward Karin in such a way that if Louise had been surrounded she would have cut down assailants in a twelve meter radius barely missing burning Karin's wand. Colbert was impressed at that display because he was a square class fire mage and unable to use that much control for long.

Karin levitated above the tree tops to get above the billowing dust were she was joined by Louise whom was using her six wings to hover about twenty meters from Karin.

"You're much better than I ever hoped you could be my daughter." Karin praised with a smirk. "Being in that other world did you good."

"I had incentive to improve." Louise answered shrugging. "If the ruler isn't willing to lead how can they expect others to follow?"

"Well said." Karin stated as she launched her personally created spell that earned her the name the Heavy Wind. Unlike what most people thought it was actually four spells in one. First was the siege engine which was a wall of air to knock opponents off balance followed closely by two large air drills each spinning in opposite directions to break up any other defenses and cause damage finished with an air lance that was overcharged to make it explode on impact. The spell as a whole was powerful enough to take out a squad of airborne dragon riders or a company of infantry.

Louise crossed her swords adsorbing the first part of the spell getting pushed towards the ground using a sword each to cut the two air drills but unable to dodge the air lance as she was pushed to the ground obscured by the dust of the resulting explosion.

Everyone watching was sitting at the edge of their seats waiting to see the outcome of that barrage of spells.

Karin was unprepared for the sound not unlike a clap of thunder that signaled a projectile of air flying towards her knocking her back a good forty meters.

The air bullet blew away the cloud of dust that was obscuring everyone's view of Louise. What was revealed shocked everyone present because standing before them was a large pink furred dragon standing on its hind legs grasping two eight meter long swords, one held defensively and the other poised to strike as she flapped her wings experimentally. The swords being proportional to Louise's physical size. Her clothes due to the glowing enchantment runes that were woven into the fabric grew with her.

"I'm impressed that you weren't kidding when you declared yourself Dragon-kin." Karin called from where she was hovering. "I thought it had something to do with your durability honestly."

"As you can see that is not the full meaning." Louise's much deeper and more gravelly voice stated easily carrying the distance to Karin.

Karin answered by conjuring clones of herself that dispersed around the area.

This being the first time that Louise had shifted forms since the transition, she was glad that it felt the same as it had in Alfhiem. Not wishing to give the full advantage to her mother she shifted back to human form before the earth seemed to ripple and swallow her.

Karin warily set down on one of the remaining trees standing from her heavy wind spell while her clones set down on the ground.

Louise herself could sense magic to an extent so as to see what was going on above ground with magic likened to how thermal imaging allows you to see heat signatures. 'I can work with this.' She thought with an amused smile.

Karin had been sitting observing for a few minutes mentally praising her daughter for her martial improvements. She was interrupted from her musing by rumbling coming from the ground. She was taken by surprise as Louise transformed into a dragon while underground, making lava from the soil as she transformed spitting gouts of fire destroying Karin's clones as she swept the field. After Louise cut her fire she looked toward her mother her swords raised.

"Is this enough for you or do you wish to continue?" Louise asked as she stood ready to defend herself.

"I'm satisfied with the outcome. As it wasn't a formal duel just a sparring session that you asked for." Karin answered as she landed in the clearing.

"Then we are of an accord." Louise said as she sheathed her swords.

"Well as we can see Louise fought her mother, the most powerful mage in Halkeginia barring a void mage, to a draw and she isn't the strongest of the Fae." Henrietta stated in observation. "Do you really think that this country would survive trying to eradicate them?"

The Cardinal as well as the other naysayers for an alliance with the Fae sat there trying to comprehend what they had just seen.

A few minutes later found Karin and Louise landing in the Vestri court. Karin riding at the base of Dragon Louise's neck.

"Well fur makes things easier I'll admit but what about getting hit by elemental attacks?" Karin asked.

"I'm immune to all of the elements that I control so it wasn't like I was really in any danger from anything but the concussive blast from that last part. Though they still would have hurt." Louise answered shrugging after compressing herself into human form.

"That's... Convenient." Karin added after thinking on it for minute. "Your elements are fire, earth and air. Anything else you wish to tell me?"

"Uh uh uh. You know as well as I that I can't reveal all of my secrets." Louise answered with a smirk.

"Spoken like a true warrior." Karin answered back with an equally devious smirk.

OOooOOooOO

This is chapter one of two that'll be posted today.

So if you're hoping for an authors note read the next chapter.

Chris.

Yes?

Shut up.