"So the kingdoms became a hotbed of unrest, and the feeling soon began to climb up society like a vine. Slowly wrapping the higher woman of society in the needs of men."
Tecaelis looked strained as directed team of other engineers around the base. He looked like he was having a small seizure as he looked between the clipboard and the teams he was a directed.
"You, keep working on the skyhaul that was supposed to be done two days ago! If it isn't done you can forget about going to The Picking. And you over there, quit standing around and help those fools carry in the new aura engines! I need the new designs on my desk. And for gods' stakes if you're standing around find something to do! It's Choosing Day, clean, repair, design, I don't care what you do, do something!" Tecaelis glanced down and checked 'act stressed to make everyone work harder'. Suddenly he spied Stark from the across the mechanic's yard and he beamed at him.
"Ironwood! Or is it Lieutenant now?" Stark raised an amused eyebrow.
"Heard about that did you?" Tecaelis rolled his eyes.
"Hear about it? I got screwed because of it! Promoted to a Commander Specialist on Choosing Day, it has been a nightmare!" Tecaelis couldn't help but smile as the people began moving a bit more frantically around him. "The guy that is supposed to train me is so busy that I have to learn as I go. I knew I was going get promoted, but I mean really this is ridiculous." Stark nodded, seeing and understanding what he was doing.
"Well, it seems like you have it all figured out. " Tecaelis snickered as quietly as he could, but the glanced at the clipboard then shouted at someone to get working.
"Anyway, I guess you came to commission the weapon we were told to make you." Stark nodded.
"That's the one."
"Well, follow me to the back. We keep a display with all the newest weapons and aura engines out for whenever a Hunter wants to swing by for a bit of shopping." Tecaelis led Stark into the back room where several rows of tables had been laid out. The first two had aura engines of different sizes and shapes. The rest of the tables had hundreds of shiny weapons laid out, each came with a tag that labelled the forms.
"What is that?" Stark pointed at an aura engine the size of a baseball, one of the largest on the table. Tecaelis glanced at it.
"You mean the aura steam engine?"
"Aura steam?"
"Yeah, aura engines are great and all, but for some of the most complex weapons and weapons need a bit more of a push, so we throw in a bit of steam power. Actually, it turns out that Elic uses two of them in his hammer and has a dozen more on stand by for repairs." Tecaelis waved his hand and his purple power wrapped around about thirty weapons and floated them over to Stark. "So, I suppose you want a spear like your current weapon?" Stark nodded and looked over the weapons floating around him.
"How many forms can the weapon have." Tecaelis shrugged.
"All these only have two forms, but I can start on a brand new weapon for you. The most forms you could have really depends on how different they all are from each other. That sniper we had with us used a gun with four forms, but they were all guns. And two of them were practically the same, just a bit bigger. If it was only melee weapons you could do four, but you know the rules. You have to have some rapid fire gun, so at best you could have three if you pick the right weapons" Stark nodded as he thought.
"Can you take away the ones with a gun form, I'll focus on that later." Tecaelis nodded and flicked his wrist, sending the guns back. Stark looked over what was left. A few swords, one or two bows, an axe, and a handful others. Stark frowned as he tried to find one he liked, but then he spied something still on the table.
"How about one of these?" Stark said, picking up an unpainted silver mace. Tecaelis scratched his chin.
"A mace spear? Hm, maybe. Would have to make it weigh a bit more, and it wouldn't leave much room for a gun, but maybe…"
"Could I have two separate weapons?" Tecaelis looked surprised.
"I suppose so, what did you have in mind?" Stark stroked his chin and a smug grin grew across his face.
"I have a few thoughts."
Stark moved through the crowd as best he could. Officers had special seating arrangements on the fifth level. The room was a massive octagon shape, and one of Mantle's greatest achievements. During most of the year it was simply Atlas tower, a place where Hunters of different levels and experience could study and pass the time on their specific level of the thirty level room. The top ten levels were only ever used by the teachers and accomplished Hunters. The bottom five were open to all students and going up from there required more and more reputation and skill.
But during events like this, the tower twisted and changed shape. The compartments on the lower floor moved to shrink the large arena floor into a much smaller, but still considerably large, dance floor. The compartments became bars and restaurants, bar stools got set out for anyone who wanted to sit and have their drinks. But in order for the bottom levels to shrink, compartments had to move to the higher levels. And such, each level got progressively bigger until the tower resembled more of a funnel.
Finally, Stark pushed his way to the twentieth floor and found himself stopped by a guard in front of the compartment door. Stark turned and showed the mark of 2nd lieutenant on his uniform. The guard nodded and moved out of his way.
The other officers stared at him as he entered. It was slightly uncommon to see a male officer, but it happened often enough. But most of the time the other officers at least knew who it was, they normally had at least a year of them being a Privateer to harass them into 'their place'. Stark had skipped Privateer and jumped to 2nd lieutenant during The Picking, and they despised him for it. Stark promptly ignored them all and walked to the opened window of the compartment. A serving man came but with a tray of champagne and offered one to Stark. As he reached out for it, the bottom levels began to cheer. Stark turned back to the open compartment window.
Down below the miners and the lumber men stamped their feet, cheering and shouting loudly. The cheering slowly grew across the bottom levels until it felt like the entire tower was shaking.
Suddenly the doors to the tower burst open and a horde of women washed in. Every woman with an office job or better came into the tower now and spilt out on the dance floor. Music to dance to marked their arrival. Woman mingled into the lower levels and men diffused onto the dance floor. The bartenders readied their bottles and their clean glasses.
"Amazing isn't it." A woman's voice said behind him. Stark glanced backwards. The woman wasn't a soldier, which meant she was a Royal. Otherwise, she wouldn't have made it onto the twentieth level.
"Sorry, I've already been Picked." Stark shook the golden band clasped around his wrist. "And believe me, I'd rather be with her right now if I could." The woman laughed and joined him in leaning on the window sill.
"So a woman can't speak to a man during The Choosing unless she is hitting on them?" Stark shrugged. The woman smiled warmly.
"I always love to watch all the women arrive. The festivities don't really start until they do."
"Then why aren't you down there with them?" The woman faked a sigh.
"Alas, I too am bounded by marriage." She dramatically put the back of her hand to her brow, revealing a matching golden bracelet to the one Stark was wearing.
"Mhm," Stark said. He thought for a moment. "I think that this whole celebration is a good show of what is wrong with the kingdoms."
"Oh?"
"Our society is so split, so separated from each other that we needed a damn holiday just to bring us together. Woman and men are so far apart in everything that we needed a holiday just so people can meet with each other. Even in the military women become officers right after basic training." Stark sighed. "But I suppose if it could change it would have. It all comes down to the one rule…"
"Men are expendable." The woman finished. And there it was, the entirety of the kingdom's social structure summed up in one simple rule printed in every text book of the kingdom. The one rule: men are expendable. "You not the first person to think that." The woman said slowly. "In fact, I think there are more people in the aristocracy that would agree with you than you might think." Stark shot her a sidelong glance.
"I don't believe you told me your name."
"Rachel Nikos, I am a Royal in charge of a decent size portion of southern Mantle. I handle a lot of trade with Vale." And moved a bit closer to Stark and softly said. "And only a few people know that I happen to come from Vale originally."
"So what do you want?" Stark wasn't stupid, the Royals didn't come down into the military level for idle chat. And they certainly didn't come to speak to Chosen men, and never do they come to speak to low ranking officers that only just got promoted. She looked like she wanted to deny it anyway but quickly thought better of it.
"I have heard of your recent exploit into Mistral." Rachel slid just a bit closer and lowered her voice further, "You saw it, didn't you." Stark was silent. "Ah, I thought so. I bet The Queen swore you into secrecy and everything."
"Which begs the question, how do you know about it?" After all, black ops mission hardly seemed something that would be made know to just any Royal who asked, let alone one The Queen herself wanted to keep a secret.
"There is a certain someone we both know that requires special armour made to fit his size. We keep him supplied in return for a few stories here and there."
"Elic? A spy?"
"Oh, he would never tell us something that would endanger or threaten the kingdom, no he is too noble for that. But I think you have known him long enough to know when he thinks of that town, what he thinks Vale can do for it."
"I see, and how exactly does you or Vale have a connection with Elic?" Rachel smiled.
"Vale has been… experimenting for a while and his father was part of one of those. We had let him go when the project ended without any results. That was until we learned of Elic. And now we make armour for him in return for information on missions he goes on."
"Hm, that seems like sensitive information. Are you sure you should be telling me about it?" Rachel shrugged.
"It was suggested that I feed you a few little tidbits, to make me more trusting or something like that." She said wistfully. "But I suspect that you don't particularly like The Queen's attitude with Mistral and would agree to the our proposition anyway." Stark gave her his most suspicious glance.
"And that is?"
"There is a package getting ready for transport in the midlands between Vale and Vacuo. Our Queen happens to be the owner. Several teams are being assembled, and as a Grimm Control unit you have the right to sign on for such a mission."
"So you want me to sign on and report what the package is," Stark said plainly. Rachel grinned.
"Oh, my friends are going to love you. I understand that as a lieutenant you get to have a more permanent squad instead of whoever is assigned to you for whenever you have to do a mission. So might I suggest Elic as one person for such a team." Stark mulled it over for a few moment before answering.
"I just got back from a highly dangerous mission that you shouldn't even know about, and you want me to leave during a week's worth Choosing celebrations. I assume your 'friends' sent you with something to entice me with?" Rachel chuckled.
"Oh, they will love you so much. Are you familiar with the somewhat supernatural properties of the silver eyed people, your people." Stark stared pointedly at the dancing below. "Well, in one of Vale's little 'experiments' it was discovered that when the blood of one of those people fell on armour or clothing, that those articles actually absorbed a bit of power from it." Rachel watched him for some reaction. "It was discovered that when wearing these articles of clothing that they would grow slightly stronger with the more Grimm you killed. Ever since we knew the Queen's Guard of Vale have been regularly having their blood draw for further study and use. Slowly we are replacing pieces of Elic's armour with pieces treated in the blood.
"But recently a member of The Queen's Guard died without heirs. And their amour is currently in the possession of my friends. Armour that has been past down through a silver eyed family line for generations. It has seen a lot of blood, and the power always seemed strongest when the blood came from the death of the person wearing it. If you did this for us, we could make sure that armour got into your hands." Stark thought back to the Queen and what she had said. But the people listened, did they not? Stark closed his eyes and said,
"I'll do it."