Hyperdimension Standard Time: [10:00] December 28th 20XX
Location: [The Lost Island of Keisa]
When the time came for the group to leave the mainland, Karen had gathered everyone who wanted to travel with her: Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Yuuki, Haruka, Ophelia, Miyo, Izumi, Filia, Adelphos, Hamil, Leonard, Reiner, Eldin, and the families of those SMD members. They chartered use of the Perseus for a one-way trip to that part of this world and were told that the area is outside the CPU's fast-travel network so once they departed, they would not be able to easily return, though contact would still be possible with the gauntlets Miyo and Ophelia made and distributed to everyone in the group. Even though they were faced with that outcome, none of them were not swayed at all. When the day came to depart to terra incognita, aside from Garrus and Wrex; plenty of farewells were given to the people who fought alongside them against the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime before they boarded the Perseus.
Near the end of their journey, everyone who had traveled who had helped fight ASIC unexpectedly received a significant number of gifts in their inventories and Karen smirked rather proudly. While it hardly fazed Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Haruka, Ophelia, and Yuuki since they're all from the same world but appreciated the gesture nonetheless; Miyo, Izumi, Filia, Adelphos, Hamil, Leonard, Reiner, and Eldin were rather surprised at the gesture and were very confused about it all. Naturally, it required explanations from Karen and the others for them to understand the reasoning behind it.
After about two and a half weeks at sea, the Perseus had reached the vicinity of a moderate sized island with plenty of forests and mountains and it is connected to what seems to be a massive landmass through a small walkway made completely of sand though considering it is surrounded by water, it is entirely possible it is only usable at certain times. After hearing of the imminent arrival, everyone gathered on the forward deck to deliberate the situation.
"There it is: the lost island of Keisa. Raesa Marlene lives on that small island with her folks. I imagine we should go meet with her, but while she's friendly, she's not exactly good with crowds so let's keep the number of people meeting with her to three: Me, Wrex, and Karen." Garrus explains rather calmly about the situation regarding with the shaman the pair have been working with.
"If you think that is wise, we'll work with that, but what about the rest of us? What should we do?" Katsuo inquires with a rather valid point in mind since direction has only been relayed to three members of the group.
"I want you all to scout out the continent and find potential sites to build our new nation's capital. However, we'll set up a camp near the edge of the water on the mainland. We'll keep the noncombatants there while the rest of of scout." Karen says with the same kind of aura and authority she once exercised as Solaris in Aincrad. Although it is rather rusty, it has clearly evolved into a different state over the years.
"Got it. You'll have to ask these guys if they can help keep us supplied. We have limited food and we don't have any tents. While you deal with that front, I'll help lead the expeditionary teams." Filia interjects as she takes off her armor for the first time, as far as anyone has seen, since she joined the group since she said she wanted to keep her connection to the SMD alive. The clothing underneath the armor is quickly seen as a long sleeved shirt colored peach with an apricot colored collar and she's wearing gold colored shorts with a vertical line pattern to them.
"I'll make sure it's taken care of somehow. Don't worry about it. And wow, that's unexpected from you Filia." Karen mutters out of mild surprise seeing that the usually serious Filia have such casual attire under her armor "Dang. If someone were to rate her shorts, it would be classified as 'Grade A' Zettai Ryouiki. I had no idea Filia could look so girly after everything I've seen of her."
"Even I like to kick back every now and then. Besides, now that the time of the SMD is behind us all; I am putting my armor to rest." Filia explains as applies some pressure to her shoulders and rotates them "There we go. My arms have been rather stiff for a while now."
After deliberating the situation, the group leave the Perseus and divide into their groups to go about their own duties. It was decided that Karen, Wrex, and Garrus would go meet with Raesa and her family; Filia, Mamoru, and Katsuo would lead teams named Dragon, Wolf, and Phoenix respectively, with Haruka, Yuuki, Ophelia, and Izumi staying behind with the families and the others were divided into the different groups: Filia had Reiner and Eldin accompanying her, Mamoru had Adelphos and Leonard, and Katsuo had Kazuto, Miyo, and Hamil following his lead.
Karen, Wrex, and Garrus walk across the nearby sand-bridge to the smaller connected island and notice a large log house hidden deep within the island's forest at the foot of the mountain ranges which surround most of the island. There are also plowed fields surrounding a great deal of the residence and are tended by what seem to be earth, wind, and water elemental familiars.
"This is the place. I find it both funny and a little irritating that you made it here so easily Karen."
"Why do you say that Garrus? Was it challenging?" Karen inquires before noticing the familiars and simply stared in awe.
"Challenging...I guess that's a term that can be used here. Wrex and I spent a decade deciphering all of the puzzles the shaman's family established to find this place, and when we found that their home was hardly a month away from the four nations, hidden behind a special magic field, we were so mad. I wish Thraaklon had told us of that before he died since I had wanted to keep an eye on Miyo since she was still a little kid and needed a parental figure in her life and I wanted to ensure she had a stable life."
"I can see why you would be angry about that now Garrus." Karen simply muses as she hears this new information from Garrus "Anyway, who do all these familiars belong to?"
"They belong to some ancestor of this family who brought them into existence. They're apparently immortal beings who were assigned to manage the fields, shrines, and granaries on this island. That's pretty much all they can do since their intelligence are about equal with an average krogan, hence; not very."
"You have a lot of guts saying that in front of me Vakarian." Wrex says with a degree of hostility before proudly laughing "Normally I would never be this amused by a turian but you are one of the few people I would consider a true friend."
"Well, you won me over with your heartwarming personality Wrex. I imagine it's not much of a challenge since you won over every Krogan clan in existence after your contributions to curing the Genophage, and let's not forget Bakara's assistance."
"Fair enough. It actually makes me wonder how she and Mordin are faring a little since we've been here twelve years."
"I still can't believe you named your firstborn daughter after him. I had presumed you were joking with Shepard."
"Who is this Shepard? I heard the name mentioned once or twice."
"He was our leader: Humanity's first Spectre and the man who brought about the destruction of the Reapers. He was undoubtedly humanity's strongest soldier. Humans, Asari, Turian, Salarian, Batarian, Geth, Krogan, Vorcha; nothing was able to stop him when he got serious. The only ones who managed to succeed were the Collectors and they were more or less wiped out when Shepard came back. His background was far from easy but it only proves that we should never underestimate the Alliance." Garrus explains as he stares at the sky, with a proud smile on his face as he talks about his leader back in his dimension.
"What was his background? I can't help but say I'm intrigued."
"He was born on Earth surviving in the criminal underworld. He joined the Alliance military when he became of age since he wanted a better life for himself. His military record was quiet up until a massive Batarian attack happened on a planet called Elysium when he was on shore leave. He was up against ten thousand enemies on the surface and he held them all back on his own for several hours until reinforcements from the Systems Alliance arrived and drove them back."
"Woah, and people thought I had an impressive record in terms of combat; it pales in comparison to that."
"Don't be discouraged; he was his own person and the same applies to you. Don't think for a moment that you have to achieve impossibly high standards."
"Thanks I suppose. Now, where is this Raesa?"
"If she's not here, she'll be at one of the temples in the mountains. While this is their home, they spend a great deal of time up there since all of the magic they've used over the years turned that area into a place for them to use their more complicated magic rituals. Wait here and I'll see." Garrus says as he walks forward to knock on the door to the building.
Instantly after the door opens, Garrus gets tackled by a young girl with waist long green hair and cat ears on the top of her head and lands near them. Her attire is similar to what Karen wears in her goddess form but with the bottom half of the hakama being largely absent though it covers her lower waist enough. In addition, there is a faint shimmer around the girl's body when she rapidly showed herself and tackled Garrus. Karen draws her sword out of surprise but what surprised her more was that Wrex of all people forcibly lowers Karen's sword and solemnly shakes his head, telling her to stand down.
"You certainly have mastered your 'steelification' spell Raesa." Garrus mutters with a cough from how he just got tackled in the stomach by the young girl.
"Tehehe. Thank you Garri. Oh, you're here too Wrexie? And who's this?" Hearing Raesa say this made Karen remember when Airi was younger since she gave her and Makoto nicknames themselves: Ren and Koto.
"Raesa, I have told you not to call me 'Garri' and the same applies with Wrex. And this is Karen. But listen, I need to ask you two things."
"And what would that be?"
"First. Get off me; you're heavy when you have that spell active." Garrus groans as he says this, with Raesa getting up after hearing it "Second. Where are your folks? Including us, we have about forty people who need shelter and food."
"Everyone but my mother is meditating in the mountain. Come in and meet her."
The trio enter the house and walk toward the dining room of the house, with Raesa heading back outside, to find a woman with forest green colored hair, with her hair having indentations similar to cat ears near the top of her head, and electric blue eyes wearing only a plain white strapless dress with a small green ribbon on the front and has spring green wings on her back with it having four segments on both sides.
"Welcome travelers. It's been a while since I've seen anyone not among my family here. Before I had only seen you, Wrex, and my younger brother: Spark."
"Spark? Where have I...wait. Miyo mentioned him!"
"Miyo? Are you talking about a girl called Miyo Hanari? My brother told me a while back he met a girl with that name and she impressed him. But the thing is, I haven't heard from him for the last couple of months, and he would always send a letter atleast once a month. Do you know what happened to him?"
"He uh...He's actually dead. If I heard her right, he died some time this year."
"Oh my. That's horrible! But I had suspected something bad had happened when he sent me this letter." The woman exclaimed in dismay before getting up to walk over to a nearby box and pulls out a neatly folded letter and brings it back to the table "Here, this is the last letter Spark sent me."
They gather around the woman and read the last letter Spark had sent his sister
"Little sister, one of my acquaintances in Planeptune's Guild has told of me of a dungeon that has been discovered not too long ago. The approximate location is to the south of Planeptune. I'm preparing an expedition to gather materials you could use for your magicks in addition to an information gathering Op. I am thankful your distance from dungeons has kept you safe, but there has been rumors of growing intellect from the monsters living within. I'm going to ascertain the truth of this and report what I find. Take care of yourself and your family little Bae'lin. Give Raesa my regards. I'll come visit when I take care of this. Spark."
"So the monster issue has been happening for quite a while like Miyo said. And it claimed Spark's life in addition to Driin."
"Karen, let's get to the point. We need to get supplies to everyone." Garrus interjects rather solemnly since he wants her back on the important subjects.
"Oh yeah. Miss Bae'lin, I need to ask your family for help. I came with a group of forty to establish a new nation on the nearby continent. The thing is, we don't exactly have many supplies and we'd likely run out by tomorrow night."
"Establishing a nation? You must be a goddess."
"That I am."
"Well, I can say one thing with great certainty: We don't have enough food to feed forty people on such short notice but we are more than willing to share our excess food with you. However, we can create temporary housing for your followers with our magic. I'll go talk with my husband and the others and set things up." After saying this, Bae'lin instantly vanishes, leaving Karen, Garrus, and Wrex on their own.
"Woah. Instantaneous teleportation magic? That's unexpected."
"She can only use it on this island and on Keisa. If I know this family, they'll be helping set up camp by the time we make it back to the others. Let's get back and try to make the families comfortable until we can develop proper city infrastructure."
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [18:00] December 28th 20XX
Location: [The Lost Island of Keisa]
After returning to base camp, Karen, Garrus, and Wrex find Raesa's family have finished building a series of buildings made entirely of earth materials for the group.
"You finally made it. I guess it must have taken a while walking when we can teleport freely. My family easily agreed to your request to construct temporary housing for your people, but food is still an issue." Bae'lin explains with a calm, near angelic, voice as she leads some of the people into some buildings.
"We'll find a way to get by Bae'lin. Tenacity is an interesting virtue of humanity after all." Karen explains rather proudly as she walks toward the others in the camp.
"I see. I heard from everyone here that three teams have been sent into the surrounding areas. But can I ask why this action was made?"
"We're trying to learn the terrain of this continent so we have expeditions scouting. We're also trying to coordinate the perfect area to establish our new city. Speaking of that, I should contact them." Karen voices this rather casually before pressing a few buttons on her gauntlet arm "I'm requesting update reports. What have you found?"
"This is Wolf team. We've found a huge forest a few hours to the northeast of base camp. We have found many plants and fruits that should be able to keep us fed for quite a while, though mass transport will be tricky because of how far away this place is. Adelphos and Leonard volunteered to get some for us all. I'm returning to help draw a map of the region."
"Dragon team here. We've spotted massive mountain ranges to the north which seems to divide this clearing from the rest of the continent. By the time we got close to those mountains, it would be sunset tomorrow and we lack the gear and time to safely proceed through mountainous terrain so we're returning to base camp."
"Phoenix team reporting. We've found nothing but wide open plains out here, though the large expanses are perfect for large-scale colonization. It's getting late so we're returning to camp."
"Okay; the teams have given their reports and they're all rather interesting, and promising for the ritual I need for the creation of this country. I've been studying these books Histoire gave me to find out how to establish a nation in the first place. But even the basics are incredibly complex, I barely understand it."
"Even you can't understand it Karen?" Ophelia asks, with her being utterly surprised at the thought. She then has the thought that if Karen can barely comprehend the contents of the guide to use her power as a goddess to create a nation, then she strongly suspects no one else would understand.
"Barely. I would ask Caelus but she's been silent ever since we destroyed ASIC, so I have to figure things out on my own. Whether it's her trying to teach me to use initiative or not, I can't allow inexperience to hinder our progress, so I'll find a way to compensate for this."
"I'd expect nothing less out of you Karen. Ever since I met you in Aincrad, you've had a really stubborn streak and a strong desire to commit a hundred and twenty percent."
"Thanks Haruka. I'd better get to work on understanding the contents of this book since we all need proper homes soon." Karen smiles at the compliment and she activates her temporary HDD to fly up to a small mesa nearby and lays out all of the books around her and gets to work on studying how to actually make her nation.
"Mmm...I do wish Karen had asked Vert, Blanc, or Noire about the subject though. While Noire seemed unwilling to divulge information, she might have if Karen had asked, Blanc seemed friendly enough underneath her temper and Vert seemed to truly like Karen. And while I don't really like insulting people, Neptune appears utterly incompetent when it comes to this subject. I think Vert or Blanc would have been very willing to give information on the subject." Even though Haruka was optimistic about Karen's resolve, she was rather realistic when it comes to the current situation since everyone is in a mildly precarious state on the landmass.
"Yeah, I won't disagree with you Haruka. While Karen seems a little uneasy this time, I know her well enough that she is not someone who admits defeat easily. I believe that if we put our trust in her, she'll pull through."
"But I can't help but worry if she can handle it. She has shouldered a lot of burdens and I am fearful that she may collapse under it all one day."
"Once again, I can see that. I talked with the others from time to time and they do say she heavily involves herself in all of her operations back in Aincrad. While she shared credit among everyone when victories were earned, but when she faced failures, she took all the blame herself. As strong as she is, I can't help but worry for her state of mind."
"Agreed. But let's stop it here; Karen is frightening when she's mad." Haruka states with a nervous smile as she walks away, not wanting to make her mad.
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [12:00] December 31st 20XX
Location: [The Lost Island of Keisa]
Over the next couple of days, the group had spent their time combining their knowledge of the nearby terrain into a map that has been distributed to the three group leaders as Leonard, Izumi, and Bae'lin had been helping Karen draw massive magic circles around the clearing as she discovered that this is a required part of the ritual to create a nation. According to the book, normally it'd fall to the goddess to do it but her inexperience with magic in Gamindustri made her ask the three experienced magi among them to help with that part, though there was nothing recorded that forbade outside assistance. The complexity of the task was made evident when it took an hour to make each individual magic circle and it took six hours for the trio to complete the necessary number of circles across the clearing while ensuring the nearby forest is kept since the colonists need that forest for its food until a proper self-sustaining food supply can be established elsewhere.
When the time came for Karen to commence the ritual, she had to go to every magic circle and instill a portion of her power into each one. According to the guide books Karen had been studying, the magic circles will always remain inert unless a goddess herself instills power to activate it and the final phase requires direct goddess involvement. After she is sure that all of the circles are finished, she follows the steps in the book and proceeds to the apex of the area to finish it.
"Okay. Here we go." Karen hums as she sits down in a lotus stance, with the magic circles resonating to her presence.
"Karen, this is extremely important. The city you create will be based on your thoughts and you can't change it later."
"You're finally talking to me again Caelus?"
"Only because you're doing something irreversible. I want to give you fair warning."
"Well thank you regardless Caelus. I haven't heard a peep from you since we left the mainland. I was concerned."
"Yeah well, you're welcome. Now focus."
Karen mentally nods in acknowledgement and she clears her head to allow for the image of the city she wishes to create materialize in her mind: A futuristic city which would eventually allow the creation of technology that would be able to send people back to their own worlds. When this image is successfully materialized, the entire field began glowing very brightly which made everyone cover their eyes. When the light fades, a very urbanized city, with patches of green nature across the area, appears all around them and there is a building that tower all others; this building itself appears to be an amalgamation of smaller buildings on its own island off the shore. In addition to all of the city's infrastructure, a number of ships also materialized in a nearby harbor area.
"Woah. This makes me think of a futuristic Tokyo." Katsuo mumbles as he gazes at the surrounding cityscape.
"Now we just have to properly colonize this place. Garrus, you've indirectly talked about places you've seen on your decade long journey. Are there people who want to join our community?"
"Tons. Before now, there were only four places truly safe; and those four places were the four countries in the 'mainland'. They didn't have the ability or desire to travel long distances on slow ships, but if we show people this new nation exists, they'll likely flock here since they lived rather perilous lives living away from the goddess' protection. If you'd like, we could take some of those ships and bring them here."
"Do it. And while you're away, we can begin laying down foundations. I'll claim that tower as the head of the government."
After Karen gave this order, Garrus and Wrex walk toward the ships to revisit old settlements and gather settlers for the new nation.
"I'm going to go with them Lady Aqua Heart. They could use all the help they can get." Leonards says this with Adelphos and Reiner following him in the direction of the ships.
"Have to say Karen; you certainly are overcompensating yourself on this one." Katsuo grins rather confidently when he hears that Karen essentially claimed the biggest building in the country as her home.
"Hey, I'm this country's goddess and I built this place. I deserve it. Though, it'll be a nightmare getting around it, and let's not forget cleaning it. Miyo, Izumi, I want you two to help administer the country."
"Urk...that was one thing I was afraid of to be honest. Well, I do want a sanctuary for people who went through what we went through. If I have to act like a secretary, so be it."
"Karen; what are you going to name this nation?" Kazuto inquires as he leans against a nearby wall.
"Hmm. Based on what I know; goddesses create their nations with a desire to protect their citizens and enrich their lives. On paper, it is considered a paradise." Karen then shifts her gaze in the direction of the northern mountains Filia reported during her early patrols "I'll name this nation...Arcadia."