Sorry for the late update; Internet service was screwed up for more than a day.
AN: I've been meaning to point it out for a while, but I'll do it now. Halkegenian society, as a whole, is terribly weak against anything remotely resembling a modern military. A WWII spec army, even at equal numbers, would tear it apart. Modern weaponry would be even worse. Top-tier mages like Karin and Colbert would be a credible threat to small formations, even of armor, but at best they'd be even odds, and it's a lot quicker to replace men with automatic weapons, and even modern tanks, than it is a square-class mage.
The setting I'm using here (Which I will reveal the source material for at the last chapter) is a couple hundred years ahead of current real-world civilization, and has more or less had magic mixed in since modern-day tech levels. This means, more or less, that every power within Halkeginia itself is more or less borked, and I'm not going to be making any bones about that. This story has already had its big battle scene; while there may be more fights, any further battles with outcomes in actual doubt would be material for a sequel. Which I am by no means promising in any way, shape, or form. I have interest in writing such a thing, but I'm making plans for E-publishing now, as well as firing my fan-fiction efforts into high gear with Brutal Harry and the Tokyo At War story I posted last week. This story is simply the result of a plot bunny that got fed some sort of super-serum; it probably would have ended a chapter or two ago if there hadn't been so much reader interest.
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Dragon Summoning, Chapter 8.
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Louise shivered. While the sensation was certainly not unpleasant, it was also something she was altogether unfamiliar with.
"Your fur is even softer than mama's was," The girl rubbing her face into Louise's pelt said softly, and Louise could hear the grief in her voice.
Unfamiliar instincts stirred within her, and she tentatively reached out with her foreleg, carefully wrapping the girl in a hug. Brianna, the girl's twin had introduced her as. Laura, the second girl who was currently standing directly in front of Louise's large head, had thus far proven to be the more talkative twin by far, even if she was having a silent staring match with the Valliere-turned Dragon at the moment.
Honestly, it was making Louise feel uncomfortable, especially since she knew what had happened to these girls, in painful detail.
"Why are you afraid to look at me?" Laura eventually said, still pinning Louise with a harsh stare, "You're a dragon, you should know what we are. And why do you feel so strange?"
Louise shifted a little, uncomfortably aware of her own diminished linguistic abilities.
She's nice, said Brianna, You don't need to be suspicious.
Are you sure? Laura asked, her gaze softening as her attention shifted to her sister, buried in the fur of Louise's breast.
Yes, Brianna said, Besides, she can hear us.
Laura's attention snapped back to Louise, staring at the pink Dragon, who suddenly felt rather like she'd been caught spying on her eldest sister.
"Stop it," Brianna said softly, "You're scaring her. Can't you tell that she only just finished the change?"
"Sorry," Laura muttered softly, looking away briefly, shame coloring her cheeks, before crossing the short distance between herself and Louise's snout, and hugging the much-larger Dragon as best she could.
"Sorry for being mean," Laura said, "And welcome to the family."
((()))
"Oh my," Kirche said somewhat faintly, staring out at the flotilla around the Castle Valliere, "I did not expect this."
Tabitha nodded faintly in agreement; she doubted she would have had words for what she saw, even were she more inclined to speak. Though actions, not words, were appropriate when one of the flying constructs broke off from the flotilla to approach Tabitha and the Zerbst mages. Tabitha nudged Irukuku gently, and carefully shifted her grip on her staff; ready to act if needed, but not overtly threatening.
"Charlotte D'Orleans, Kirche of the Zerbsts," A booming masculine voice issuing forth from the construct said, "Princess Henrietta de Tristain requests your presence atop the Keep of Castle Valliere. The Princess is under the protection of Kyrian Armed Forces, please prevent your subordinates from provoking incidents."
Then the construct spun on its vertical axis, and sped back to Castle Valliere, moving far more swiftly than any magical beast could.
((()))
Atop the keep of Castle Valliere, Karin, Joshua, the Princess, and her surviving guards stood silently as one of the gunships approached them, the wash of its thrusters buffeting them. As it closed to point-blank range, and began to land upon the top of the keep, Henrietta's guards leaned into the artificial wind, and braced the Princess to keep her from being bowled over. Joshua and Karin were more than capable of dealing with it themselves.
Once it had landed, the gunship's engines rapidly spun down, and the cockpit canopy opened to allow the pilot egress. A tall woman leapt out of the cockpit, clad in light body armor complete with a helmet, and saluted Joshua.
"Commander Jaquelyn Chung, Colonel N'bara," The woman said, "The region is secured, and the Zerbst contingent is within one mile of the castle. The Princess' message has been delivered."
"Thank you Commander Chung," Joshua said, returning her salute sharply, "What is the disposition of Miss Valliere?"
Karin tensed slightly at the question, something that none of those present missed.
"The little pink Dragon?" Chung asked.
"Yes," Joshua said.
"She's with your sisters, sir," Chunk said, "In the Sky Tree's number two hold, we've got two class nine battlemages with EFAW on guard."
"Good work, Commander," Joshua said, turning to face Karin and Henrietta, "Let me introduce you to the local bigwigs. This is Duchess Karin Valliere," He gestured to the frigid pinkette, "Probably the most powerful battlemage of this land. She's sporting a new hand and a new arm from her previous scraps with me."
Chung nodded sharply, eyeing the shorter woman critically for a moment.
"And this is Princess Henrietta of Tristain," Joshua said, gesturing to the younger woman, "I'm sure their local customs have much more formal ways of covering it, but I'll leave that to our diplomats. Not an hour ago a personal friend of mine who is not a combatant got the top of her head cut off to protect the Princess. She is worth that degree of protection."
Jaquelyn nodded sharply again, and Joshua closed his eyes again, thinking furiously about what else needed doing in the short run.
"Alright Commander," Joshua said, "We're about to have two parties hostile to each other present, I need you to secure the perimeter, and arrange a strong enough show of force to keep people from getting frisky. Who's in charge of the infantry?"
"Major Long Wolf," Commander Chung said, "He's aboard the Sky Tree."
"Right then," Joshua said, "I'll be going aboard and arranging a detail to protect the Princess, and to check on Miss Valliere. Her magic is responsible for the Gate, and it's now directly interfacing with mine, so I may be occupied for some time, I'm leaving you in tactical control of the situation. Dismissed."
"Yes sir," Chun said, saluting again, before returning to her gunship to begin carrying out her orders.
"Joshua," Henrietta said once the Commander had withdrawn, "I wish to board this airship with you."
Joshua turned his head to look at the Princess, and considered her for a moment before nodding.
"Climb aboard," He said, then turned his gaze to her remaining guards, "You two come with."
Then he walked to the edge of the Keep, and shifted forms. None of the Halkeginians watching had the experience to recognize it, but his concentration was not all that it could have been, resulting in a more energetic transformation as fire, wind, water and earth warped around him in less than subtle ways. Karin noticed the difference, though she was unsure of its significance. Despite the difference, a few seconds after Joshua initiated the change, he stood on four legs instead of two, and the keep's battlements were only slightly worn for the change.
Joshua crouched down and twisted his tail around, using it to assist Henrietta in climbing up his back to seat herself at the join between his neck and shoulders, while her remaining pair of escorts clambered up his flanks to ride behind his wings. Once his passengers were securely situated, and had a strong grip on his fur, Joshua leapt into the air, and began winging his way up to the Sky Tree.
"Why did you wish to accompany me?" Joshua asked as they gained altitude, his inhumanly large vocal cords resonating deeply enough that Henrietta could feel his chest and neck vibrating.
"Many reasons," Henrietta said, "Concern for Louise, desire to see what your ship is like," She paused for a moment, "The desire to spend some time away from Karen and the battle she caused."
"That she caused?" Joshua asked.
"That's not entirely fair," Henrietta said, sighing then leaning forward against Joshua's neck, a bitter note entering her voice, "But her foolhardy actions are in large part responsible for what happened. I did choose to come to Castle Valliere, and it was not Karin who chose to attack... It's not really her fault, but my heart still associates her with all of my lost men right now, and I very much wish to be away from her."
Joshua nodded, which was an unusual sight when engaged in by a creature with a neck as long as its main body, but said nothing, and Henrietta was grateful for it. She curled into his fur a little more tightly, and rubbed her face into the back of his neck. Henrietta had seen Dragons fight before, and could tell that the scaled creatures she was accustomed to were definitely possessed of superior natural armoring, but she decided that personally, she preferred Joshua's fur. It was warm, good for gripping, and made physical contact a more pleasant and comforting experience.
And with all the dead in the castle beneath her, Henrietta was grateful for any comfort she could find.
((()))
Not one to stand about idly, Karin signalled with her magic for her armsmen to report back to her, then crossed the roof to speak with the Commander Joshua had left in charge.
"You are Commander Chun?" Karin asked sternly.
"Yes," Jaquelyn said, looking down from her cockpit to match gazes with the woman, "I assume you want something?"
"My men will be reporting to me shortly," Karin said, "If you are charged with organizing forces in defense of my castle, we should coordinate."
"I don't think you quite understand," Jaquelyn said, "You have attacked Lieutenant-Colonel N'bara. You are part of what we are securing this castle against."
Karin blinked, genuinely surprised by the statement, though it did not take her long to recover her train of thought.
"And you leave the officer in command alone with your deadliest potential adversary?" Karin asked, disdain in her voice, "What kind of fools are you?"
Jaquelyn stared down at Karin for a moment, before speaking a handful of words Karin did not understand into a mechanical device. Karin heard a clattering sound, and looked down to find her wand suddenly a great deal shorter than it had been a few moments ago.
"Fools with superior covering fire," Jaquelyn said, staring impassively down at Karin, "That was a precisely modulated burst from a light laser weapon. There is one light, one medium, and one heavy laser cannon trained upon your person right now. The heavy cannon can most likely cut through every wall in your castle with a half-second burst. If you initiate a hostile act, you will not live to complete it."
Karin stared back up at the younger woman, measuring her carefully, then nodded respectfully, before leaving the woman to her work.
((()))
The Sky Tree's number two hold was intended primarily for bulk cargo use, and as such, had a sizeable ventral cargo hatch. Not quite large enough to comfortably manage the wingspan of a young adult Dragon, but large enough that one could pass through on inertia without too much trouble. Joshua did so, quite accustomed to making precisely that entry, and landed gracefully (for a multi-ton Dragon), on his feet.
Directly in front of a pink Dragon about half his size. A very cute Dragon, he noticed, with his sisters seated on her forelegs, apparently having been chatting with the Dragon.
"Ah," He said, rather uncertainly, as he lifted Henrietta down from his back with his tail, "Hello Louise, Brianna, Laura. How have-"
He was rather abruptly cut off by the two girls sprinting across the room to latch themselves onto his forelegs.
I'm sorry, Laura spoke sadly into the space of his mind.
I missed you, Brianna said in a similar manner, and Joshua could feel the apology in her words.
Joshua closed his eyes, and very carefully held himself completely still, so that he would not tremble as Henrietta's guards dismounted.
I missed you too, He said, his mental voice rough with restrained emotion.
Henrietta noticed at least some of what was happening, and quietly withdrew to the other side of Louise's large, pink, furry body, to give the N'bara's some modicum of privacy. Once Joshua's passengers were fully dismounted, he carefully turned about, moving himself, and his sisters who were still clinging to his forelegs, around the cargo hatch, to the far side of the cargo bay.
I'm sorry, Laura said again.
Joshua stopped moving, then very carefully lay down, placing his head and neck flat against the deck.
I'm sorry, Brianna said, climbing off of his leg to move up to his head.
Joshua tried to find words to respond, but couldn't, and instead began to tremble with pent up emotion.
Brianna wrapped her arms around his snout, and silently cried into the fur between his eyes.
I'm sorry, Laura said again, beginning to cry into his fur herself, and Joshua could feel the shame and guilt in her mental voice.
I am the one who failed you, he quietly said, gently lifting Laura up to his face, beside her sister, You do not need to be ashamed in front of me.
Laura curled in on herself, and buried her face further into Joshua's fur in an instinctive attempt to hide.
What we did was wrong, She said, her voice taut with pain, both her own, and on his behalf.
I was the one who failed you, Joshua repeated bleakly.
That doesn't mean we should have pushed you away, Brianna said, That only hurt all of us.
Silence passed between the three for a long moment, before Joshua finally managed to speak again.
I killed him, he said.
His sisters said nothing, but he could feel their relief as their bodies relaxed slightly and they came to rest more comfortably against his fur.
Some people just need to be dead, Laura eventually said, and the rest of their time alone together passed in silence.
((()))
"Louise!" Henrietta said brightly, "How you've grown! And here you never though you would be taller than me.
Louise's flat, unamused glare was still quite recognizeable even on her new face, and it made Henrietta smile to see it once more.
"Ah, my oldest friend," Henrietta said more gently, moving up to stroke the front of Louise's snout, "It is good to see you well, I was quite worried when Wardes abducted you."
"Then-thaan-thank yehw Prihnshess," Louise ground out, her voice substantially deeper than it had been, but more even, less rough than when she had been partially through the transformation.
"I see your new form comes with a bit of a lisp," Henrietta said, smiling again.
Louise glared at her again.
"Oh, don't be like that Louise," Henrietta said, "Your change is what it is, you can either enjoy it, or be aggravated by it."
Louise rolled her eyes, lifted a paw, then thought better of it before settling for carefully nuzzling Henrietta, causing the Princess to giggle.
"Oooh," She said, wrapping her arms around Louise's muzzle, "Now you're cuddly. It's too bad you can't speak clearly, like Joshua can. I suppose it's lack of practice?"
"Swhaaht girhls say," Louise rumbled softly, nodding, and accidentally lifting Henrietta off the deck briefly in the process.
"Your Highness," One of Henrietta's bodyguards said, "Someone approaches."
Henrietta turned to see that a hatch leading further into the airship had opened, allowing a man whose features were mostly indistinguishable, due to him wearing armor nearly identical to that Joshua wore in his human form to enter and approach the Princess.
"Princess Henrietta?" He asked as he approached, and she nodded.
"A 'Charlotte d'Orleans' has been redirected to this location, as you requested to speak with her. Do you wish for us to allow her to board?"
"Of course," Henrietta said, "Thank you, mister...?"
"Anthony Dovak," The man said, bowing slightly, "Captain and Class Nine Battlemage. You're quite welcome."
Henrietta smiled at him, and nodded her head in respect, then watched as he left the cargo bay again. A moment later, the cargo bay doors opened again, and Sylphid, bearing Tabitha, Kirche, and a young man Henrietta did not recognize, swept gracefully into the cargo bay. The Dragon, not to mention her passengers, stared in some surprise at the large pink Dragon that was in front of them, and Henrietta suspected that Louise was blushing at the attention, though it was impossible to tell through her fur.
"Hello, Charlotte," She said, smiling at the tiny bluenette, "As you can see, other allies arrived, though I thank you for traveling to the Zerbst on my behalf nonetheless."
"Welcome," Tabitha said quietly, nodding at Henrietta as the pair of Zerbst dismounted Sylphid to approach Henrietta.
"I am Henrietta d'Tristain," Henrietta said, nodding to the two approaching Zerbst, "I have already met Kirche of the Zerbst, and you are?"
"I am Augustus Zerbst, your highness," Augustus said, bowing formally to the Princess, "We were informed that you were in need of aid."
"And so I was," Henrietta said, "However, unexpected aid from other sources reached us first. You still have my thanks for coming to our aid, however, and as Germania and Tristain are now allies, I wish for you to both meet Tristain's new allies, and potentially ally with them as well."
"I assume you speak of the owners of these constructs?" Augustus said.
"She does," Joshua said, striding up behind Kirche and Augustus with his sisters riding on his shoulders, and rubbing shoulders companionably with Sylphid as he strode past the smaller Dragon, "We are from a different land, arrived here via portal, first myself, and then the others you have seen tonight."
"This is Joshua N'bara," Henrietta said, reaching up to lay a hand on Joshua's snout as he came to stand beside her, "Military commander of the newcomer's forces. He fought on my behalf tonight, and called in aid from his people to defeat the forces of the Reconquista. You have seen by now, I assume," Henrietta gestured to the solid metal construction of the cargo bay they were in, "How advanced their military technology is compared to our own?"
Augustus nodded.
"My people live as nomadic merchants," Joshua said, "Trading from our airships with people who dwell upon the surface. I have come to trust Princess Henrietta, and we intend to open trade, and share our technology with Tristain. As Germania is an ally of Tristain, not to mention being less steeped in the bigotry of most of Halkeginia's magic-users, we are willing to open negotiations with your nation as well."
Augustus spent a few moments digesting their words, while Kirche took the opportunity to examine Louise's new body, a smile tugging at her lips as she did so.
"My Louise," She said, laughter in her voice, "I didn't think it would ever happen, but you've finally outgrown me!"
Louise stared flatly down at her, then leaned down her head, now of comparable size to Kirche's entire body, and smiled. As with her human form, Louise was an omnivore as a Dragon; unlike in her human form, Louise now possessed a much more impressive set of pointy, sharp, multi-inch long teeth.
"My Louise," Kirche said, "What big teeth you have!"
Augustus stared at his cousin as she reached up and stroked the pink Dragon's exposed teeth, who had a chillingly familiar shade of fur.
"Louise," He said slowly, "As in Louise Valliere?"
"Yes," Henrietta said, a feral grin working its way across her face, "Lieutenant Colonel N'bara's people also possess interestingly different magic. Louise, an old childhood playmate of mine, summoned Joshua as her Familiar, and her transformation is a result of her magic interconnecting with his."
"Ah," Augustus said, very carefully presenting a neutral expression, "I believe I will need to speak with someone of the Emperor's Court in order to arrange an accredited emissary for negotiations with your people, Lord N'bara."
Joshua nodded, before lifting his sisters down from his back with his tail.
"Climb aboard," He said, "I will give you a ride to the surface, so that you may send one of those who accompanied you back to Germania. We should also speak of Cattleya Valliere, who I notice did not return with you."
Augustus nodded, and approached the Dragon somewhat cautiously.
"I have contacted Major Long Wolf," Joshua said to Henrietta, "He is sending a guard detail down as we speak. As they are serving as your guard, they will follow orders from your commanding guardsman, within reason."
"Thank you," Henrietta said, "When you return, I have some things I wish to discuss with you."
Joshua nodded, then used his tail to lift Augustus onto his shoulders, before departing the Cargo Bay again.
((()))
Due to the late hour, further discussion ended up being delayed until the next day; the N'bara's, Louise, and Henrietta sleeping aboard the Sky Tree, while the handful of medical staff aboard the airship shuttled down to the surface to aid the overloaded Valliere healers in caring for all of the many injured throughout the castle. Because of the time difference between Halkeginia and the dimension Joshua and his people originated from, the soldiers, pilots, and physicians that had come through with the Sky Tree were easily able to work through the night, though Commander Chung put them on rotation two hours after their arrival. The humanoid war machines they had brought with spent part of the night collecting the crates that had been dropped through into the nearby forest through the Gate, before the Sky Tree passed through.
Karin spent the night re-organizing what remained of her family's retainers, and seeing to the safety of the non-combatants amongst them. She then ordered that the clean-up begin, a great number of bodies and blood littering the castle, especially the first floor of the inner keep. The Zerbst forces that had come at Henrietta's call ended up returning to Germania, leaving only Augustus, Kirche, and a small honor guard behind, who also bunked aboard the Sky Tree for the night, in order to avoid incidents between the Valliere and the Zerbst.
In the end, it was shortly after noon, during lunch, that Henrietta, Louise, Augustus, Kirche, Major Long Wolf, Captain Akusa Grant (the captain of the Sky Tree), and the N'baras spoke again at length, though Laura and Brianna spent most of the meal helping Louise get used to eating in her new form.
((()))
"This is excellent food, if quite unusual," Henrietta said as she ate a dish based upon fish in rice.
"Due to the highly automated nature of our economy," Captain Grant said amiably, "Most food is prepared by machines, as it is much cheaper than hiring a chef. Those who do choose to become professional chefs, as a consequence, must become quite skilled to compete with cheaper automated food preparation. As Captain of the Sky Tree, I happen to be wealthy enough to afford a personal chef," He paused, turning to give Joshua a mild glare before continuing, "Even if some people do not appreciate good food when they see it."
"I appreciate good food," Joshua said, currently in his human form and ignoring the man's mild glare as he worked over the hamburger and steak fries on his plate, "Simply a more limited range of it than most."
"Heathen," Grant said, before turning back to Henrietta with a smile, "Joshua and his family have eaten with me many times over the years, and the rest of his family have a much better appreciation for good cooking than the knuckle-head does."
"You've known darling long?" Kirche asked, smiling brilliantly at Captain Grant as she interjected herself into the conversation.
"Certainly," Grant said, "His family has lived aboard the Sky Tree for the last thirty-some years, since before I even became its owner. I was good friends with his parents, before the war began, and his mother was actually my Navigator."
"Ohh," Kirche said, nearly bouncing with excitement, "You must tell me all about him, I know nothing of Darling's life before he came to Halkeginia."
"Well," Grant said, standing and crossing the modest dining room to lift a digital picture display device from a shelf along the wall, "I can do you one better, I can show you."
Joshua rolled his eyes, and swallowed what was in his mouth before speaking.
"You know Grant," Joshua said, "Try as hard as you want, you won't be able to embarrass me with those pictures."
"Perhaps," Grant said, directing a smirk at the Knight, "But it's always fun trying, especially since you began building your reputation during the war."
Joshua shrugged, and turned his attention back to his food as Grant began sorting through the pictures stored in the device, before picking one out.
"Ah," He said, holding up the picture for everyone to see, "Here we go, Joshua and his family after Spaghetti with Meatballs about ten years ago."
The picture showed a pair of smiling young adults, both clearly resembling Joshua in his human form, each holding a grinning three-year old covered with red sauce stains all up and down their front, with a scowling Joshua standing between them, even more covered in red sauce than his sisters.
"What happened?" Kirche asked, humor rolling in her eyes.
"Food fight," Grant said, smiling, "The girls teamed up on Joshua, who was winning until they took the sauce pan and dumped the whole thing on him. He didn't take losing to his three-year-old sisters very well."
"I'd imagine not," Kirche said, grinning at Joshua, who shrugged.
"I was eleven," He said, "No eleven-year old likes being one-upped by his little sisters."
"No," Henrietta said, smiling at the Knight, "I suppose not."
"How does that artifact work?" Augustus asked, "I've never seen an enchantment like it before."
"It's not magical at all," Grant said, "It is based on purely mundane electronics and optics, and can display pretty much any two-dimensional image stored in a digital format. Joshua, if you'd care to demonstrate?"
Joshua nodded, and with a small 'pop' and slight burst of heat, his helmet appeared on his head. He turned to face the startled Augustus, and stared at him for a moment, before the helmet disappeared again, and he turned back to his steak fries.
"Image sent," He said to the Captain, who manipulated the device in his hands for a few moments, before holding it up to show a picture of Augustus, taken from the perspective of Joshua in Augustus' moment of surprise.
"What just happened," Grant said, "Is that an camera, that's the name for an image recording device, in Joshua's helmet, took a picture of Augustus, which Joshua then sent a copy of to this device. If I wanted to, I could send a copy of this image to any other device capable of storing and displaying digital data we brought to Halkeginia with us."
"Are such devices common?" Augustus asked, staring uncertainly at his own captured image.
"Very," Commander Chung said, "They are built into every war machine in our military, usually quite a number of them, throughout all of our airships, and pretty much every member of our society owns at least one for private use. Simple cameras and display units cost less than this meal."
"And it's not magical at all?" Augustus asked wonderingly.
"Some are," Chung said, shrugging, "But usually only to make them resistant to damage, or water, or some other such thing. Magic isn't integral to their function, and few cameras need enchantment for durability or other purposes."
"Are all of your devices like this?" Augustus asked.
"Almost all of them," Joshua said, turning to stare Augustus in the eye, "You could liken most of our machines, especially our war machines to a sword. A sword is entirely functional without magic, and if the sword is poorly balanced or of poor material, you can enchant it, but it will still be an inferior piece. On the other hand, a sword crafted by a master smith, but unenchanted, will most probably be superior to the poorly-crafted but enchanted blade. The best, of course, would be the blade crafted by the master, and then enchanted on top of that. In all cases, however, the sword is still a sword, and can cut flesh. Our technology is much like this, poorly crafted or well crafted, enchanted or not enchanted, it will still function, though better craftsmanship and enchantment will make it function better."
"Take Joshua's armor," Grant said, "Perhaps one in a million enchanters are capable of crafting work of that quality, and it is literally the finest personal armor in our entire fleet. The general design philosophy behind its construction, however, is the same used for the custom-fitted armor any of our warriors wear, it is simply more thoroughly enchanted, due to Joshua's skill and status as a Dragon-blooded warrior."
"Dragon-blood?" Augustus asked.
"You know, turns into a Dragon, breathes fire, all that?" Grant said.
"This is unusual amongst your people?" Kirche asked.
Grant blinked in surprise, and stared at the two Zerbst, before bursting into laughter.
"Heavens no!" He said, "Dragon-blood are very rare, Joshua and his sisters are the only amongst our entire fleet, and their births, only nine years apart, is extremely uncommon amongst his people. The rest of us are normal humans."
Augustus, Tabitha, and Kirche turned to look at Joshua, who smirked at them before stuffing the last of his hamburger into his mouth.
"As interesting as all of this is," Henrietta said with a smile, "We really should move onto subjects of more substance."
"Of course, Princess," Grant said, leaning back in his chair, "What would you like to discuss first?"
"Well," Henrietta said, "Considering all of your technology, what does Tristain, and Germania, have to trade that you would actually want of us?"
"That's easy," Grant said, shrugging, "Natural resources, a different system of magic, I've had reports from the ship's doctors that your magical healing is of great interest to us, cultural things such as the arts and entertainment."
"I'd hardly think that would be enough to pay for a complete overhaul of either nation's economy," Henrietta said cautiously, "Much less both."
"It may seem that way to you," Grant said, "But you have to remember just how much easier manufacturing is for us. My ship has a crew of roughly six hundred, and we'll be working full-time with our on-board resources, as well as the fabrication unit that Quint had sent through before the Gate closed. Once we have that set up, we'll probably be out-manufacturing both of your nation's combined, and eating up most of your economic output as payment for what you sell us. That'll probably translate into the six hundred of us becoming very, very wealthy on what you pay us to modernize your economies, but it'll certainly be workable."
"What will you do with all that wealth?" Henrietta asked curiously.
"Myself," Grant said, "I'll probably be hiring out your mages to enchant my ship up something fierce. Depending on just how lucrative all this is, a lot of my crew will probably be purchasing or constructing their own ships when we get back home, and in the fleet, there's not much better than owning your own ship. It's very liberating."
Henrietta nodded slowly, taking a few moments to think before speaking again.
"I'm somewhat relieved to hear that," She said, "The most substantial issues that remain then, are acclimating my people to the use of more advanced technology, and preparing the nobility of Tristain for the upcoming change in the balance of power between the nobility and the common folk. I've had an idea on how to resolve both issues in one move."
((()))
"You wish to expand the academy?" Osmond said, eyes widening in surprise as he met his Princess' even gaze.
"Yes," She said, raising an eyebrow at the elderly man, "And, unfortunately, I must take Professor Colbert off of your hands to serve as head of the new branch. It will ultimately answer to your authority, but aside from that, be wholly independent from the normal operations of the already existant branch of the Tristain Academy."
"And what will this new branch teach?" Osmond asked curiously.
"Science," Henrietta said with a grin.
((()))
End chapter 8.
AN: I'm definitely running out of steam for this fic. I'll still be running it through to completion, but it won't be as detailed as it otherwise might have been.