Only one day in, and this mission was already the weirdest one Yuno had been on yet.
Where to even start: The entire squad minus Lucy was here, including the captain, we were going to a different country, and there was no clear plan of what to do next.
It seemed like, for now, the mission was just reconnaissance, but if that's truly the case, why did we need the entire squad here? That was only ever done for major battles. I need to expect a large battle then, except I have no idea when or where it could come. For now, the plan was to establish a hidden base in Diamond, then locate and spy on the shining generals. From there, we can directly oppose their plans.
"We're crossing the border right now, so get your cloaks on and keep your voices down. Stay in formation and follow my lead," Vangeance called out.
I looked below and saw the border. There was a clearly defined trench line dividing the kingdoms, with a long fence running across both sides. There were clearly some Diamond patrol mages down there, but we were flying way too high for them to notice us, and the combined might of the golden dawn makes a rather good concealing spell. Border security that weak won't be a challenge. We do still need to get away from the border, where there won't be much military presence and we can blend in with ordinary citizens.
After our clean pass, we glided over the landscape of Diamond and started our search for a town. The land we passed over was quite barren, just consisting of fields with no trees in sight. It remained that way for the next few leagues. After that, we were entering a desert that consisted of nothing but sand dunes. I'm not sure why there would be a town out here, but from this high up we should be able to see something soon. The first thing that came in sight were a few traveling caravans of merchants crossing the hot desert. Well, they have to lead to a town. Vangeance clearly had the same idea and we set off in pursuit.
Eventually, we did indeed arrive at a city. Built around an oasis in the barren desert, it was lush with greenery on the streets. Much like in Clover, there were busy market streets and people bustling around. If not for the distinctly different architecture, I'd almost believe we were in Clover. However, unlike the red bricks and soft angled roofs common back home, this place used a lot of sandstone, combined with flat roofing and decorative domes that gave the city its unique style. Now, we need to set up a base. "Captain, where should we land?"
"There's too much empty space around here right now, so let's move farther away. I saw a cave earlier, that will be our base," Vangeance responded quietly.
We went away from the city to look for the cave. It's hard to believe there could be one in land this flat, but there it is. It's just an unassuming hole in the ground. We flew inside, finally landing and getting off our brooms and vehicles once we were comfortably underground. The cave opened up and appeared to go much deeper, but we didn't go too far. We stayed close to the front and set up some tents. Decent first day in Diamond.
"Well, what next?" I asked to no one in particular.
Vangeance replied saying, "We need to start figuring out where exactly we are. Our targets are, of course, the eight shining generals, so anything that gets us closer to them or figuring out their motives is a plus. Yuno, you have the most, ahem, experience, with commoners. I'd like you to head out and meet some locals. Take someone else with you."
Experience with commoners? Really? Guess it's to be expected. Everyone here is a noble after all, so who could even pass for a commoner among them? Frankly, no one could. Well, there's one person who'll embarrass me the least.
"Mimosa, let's go," I said.
"Of course, I'm happy to help" she replied softly.
Great, now to meet the locals.
We walked into the center of town without any problems. It seemed like a standard day, and no one saw anything weird. They were just going on with their own business. The ordinary people are really the same as back home. Just goes to show that most people here probably don't even care about the conflicts since they aren't really affected. Here, life just goes on.
Now, where to actually find someone to talk to? "Any ideas of what now?" I asked Mimosa.
"Oh, I know. Let's stop by a restaurant. They're great places for meeting someone."
We did exactly that. Outside on the main street were a lot of vendors trying to promote their business. "Best meat in Kufa right here," one of them said. So the city we're in is called Kufa. Interesting. Anyways, we passed by all of those and stopped at the first active place we could find. It was very busy here and people were grabbing food and sitting at tables outside to eat, all while meeting new people. Perfect for us.
The next few minutes seemed like a breeze. We waited in line and picked up a meal consisting of lamb and rice. As we sat down, we were soon joined by another person.
"Don't mind if I sit here do you?"
"Not at all," I responded. "We were looking to meet someone new. Just visiting so you're the first local I've talked to."
"Well nice to meet you then, names Maryam. Don't get a lot of visitors out here. The giant desert just outside the walls tends to get in the way of that, Now that you're here, you can experience some of our culture. I swear we're all pretty open and outgoing, mostly. But there's so much to see here. What about you guys, where'd you come from?"
Well she sure was chipper. Can't exactly say we're from Clover when we're actively at war with them, kind of. Only thing that makes sense to say here is a country not on this continent. Good thing I know someone from such a place who tells plenty of stories from her homeland.
"We're from a faraway country called Fiore, over the oceans on a different land. You've probably never heard of it though," I said.
"That's cool. Most of us haven't ever seen people from the other continents. Hell, most don't even believe there are other continents out there. Even if the science says they exist, we've never made contact with ships. Yet here you are. It's probably going to be the next big discovery, proof of other continents actually existing."
"As exited as you may be, I'd really like to stay a bit low profile, I wouldn't enjoy media attention."
"Oh don't mind him," Mimosa said. "He's just a bit shy. Anyways, what all should we know about your lovely city?"
"Where to even begin," Maryam started. "The city was founded around 400 years ago by a former dynasty in this oasis in the desert. 'A beacon of life where there is none' he called it. It was the capital for a while, until the new dynasty came into power around 200 years ago and moved the capital by a river outside the desert. Still, those remnants are here and it's still the kingdom's second largest city. These days it's like most other Diamond kingdom cities, tons of focus on science and industrializing, along with some unknown research going on at the local university. I'm a student there."
"A university. So, that's like a school almost. We don't really have those," Mimosa said
"It does teaching and tons of cool research. There's a ton of work going on in understanding how people get their magical attributes. I'm working on a project involving changing someone's magic type artificially. Anyone in Diamond can join given they're smart enough. We really pride education here, and it's provided even to the lowest commoners. You won't see our peasants in as bad of positions as the ones in the nearby Clover kingdom."
Yeah, that one hurt. Hage village doesn't exactly have very much education. It's not a priority when growing up as poor as I did. What could we do other than be peasant farmers with no way out other than the magic knights, something which so few commoners can do? The central government never helped out it's people, and yet the Diamond kingdom, which I've seen as an enemy, does so much more for it's people. I've always known the Clover kingdom is corrupted and backwards, but it doesn't hit as hard until now when I see an example of another country doing it better. It's not like the concept of a university even exists in Clover. Even with the nobles there isn't a place of learning or research. Everything is about magical power and how much you have. I've strived to gain as much power as I can to change that system, to give a better life to those kids at the orphanage. Here, you can do something if you don't have great power, and supposedly it's possible to artificially change magic types.
The more I think of that statement, I realize it's completely correct. Mars from the dungeon used two completely different magic types. So he was the result of one of these experiments. Yet, he seemed completely brainwashed, with no personality. Something terrible must have happened during the experiments. Of course nowhere can be all good. There was to be some dark secret underneath, and Maryam, who's trying to show the best parts of Diamond wouldn't do that.
"You seem to be thinking of something Yuno, whats going on?" Maryam asked.
"I was lost in thoughts a bit. We don't have universities or schools where I'm from. I never really had the chance to get an education, so it's interesting seeing somewhere that provides it. How is that even paid for?"
"The kingdom pays for it. Say what you will about him, but king Diamond really values education and uses the kingdom's wealth to pay for it. It's actually pretty new, we've only had it for free since the current king took the throne."
All of it's paid for by the king, who apparently is well liked here. Not quite what I expected for the guy who's supposed to be a warmonger getting into battles with us.
"That's great that your government does something for it's people. I think I'll enjoy exploring here. Anywhere you recommend seeing?" Mimosa asked.
"I'd have to start with the university. The buildings there are among the oldest in the city, and the great bell tower is probably the tallest structure in the world. It's a sight to see." Maryam said. After this, I noticed we were both done eating, so I got up and said, "It was nice meeting you, you've helped us out a ton."
"No problem, it was my pleasure."
After Mimosa said her own goodbyes, we left the restaurant and walked down the street headed back toward the cave. Suddenly, Mimosa grabbed my arm and pulled me back. She leaned close and whispered in my ear, "Can you use a bit of wind to get us on top of this building, I don't completely trust what we saw with Maryam there." I nodded in agreement and turned into an alley before lifting the two of us on top of the sand brick buildings. Going backward a few yards, I saw Maryam on the ground. She also turned into an alley, but not to climb buildings. She pulled out a communicator device, which showed the hologram of a man I was already familiar with from Lucy's descriptions. That had to be Lotus.
"Hi Dad, the most interesting thing happened today. I met some Clover Kingdom citizens here. They were somewhat disguised, but not enough to fool me. I'm not sure what they want, so keep an eye out. I'll be back at school tomorrow, so I won't see them again."
"Well, that's something I must say," Lotus mused. "Ever since we started raiding their borders, there's never been a time for tourism, so they could want something else. I'll look into it more, just stay safe for me okay."
"Of course Dad, you don't need to worry about me all the time you know."
"Of course I do, it's my job. I need to be off now so bye," Lotus said. The communicator shut off.
Mimosa's deduction was correct. How did I not catch anything? Thanks to her, we learned a ton more. Lotus apparently lives here with his family. Since he's one of their eight shining generals who's already attacked Clover before, he could definitely know something. Finally, a clear target.
"We should get back to everyone else first, tell the captain what we found."
We returned to the cave base and briefed the rest of the squad on what happened. Captain was very quick to jump on the chance to go after Lotus, ordering his vice-captain Langris to take Alecdora and discover his residence. After that, he had Klaus take Hamon and one other to do their own scouting mission in the shadows. We were the only ones to go out in the open. Since we had already done a mission, we stayed behind with the captain. As much as I would like to do more, Vangeance was clear that this was among other things a way to show the squad how to rely on each other. All I can do is relax while the rest of Clover's strongest squad does their work.
It took all the way until the next day for any news to be heard. Early morning, Langris and Alecdora stormed the cave, with Alecdora saying, "We found him!"
Vangeance was clearly pleased and had us wait until Klaus's group returned to discuss everything. Only a few hours later, Klaus arrived. We all gathered to tell the squad what we learned.
"Yuno, you should start. Your information is the best background," Vangeance told me. I proceeded to tell them everything we learned from Maryam regarding the history of the Diamond Kingdom, its culture, and also about Lotus's presence in the city.
"This Lotus is the same one from that dungeon, right? One of the eight shining generals?" Klaus asked.
"Yeah. I still can't say I know a lot about the eight shining generals other than Lotus and Mars being two of them," I said.
"The shining generals are the leaders of Diamond's army, and the rank is supposed to be equal to our magic knight captains. Much like our captains, they lead divisions of the army. They also aren't known to do operations together, so seeing two in one place was very odd. Since they're so highly ranked, they also have a lot of information and likely make moves against our kingdom, which is why they're targets. Unfortunately, we don't know anything about the other six. Langris, Alecdora. What did you find about Lotus's whereabouts?" Vangeance said.
"Quite a lot. We found where his house is. It's the third building on the street directly north of the university's clock tower. Since he's not on any mission right now, he's there," Alecdora said.
"That's great Langris, well done," Vangeance said. "After we consolidate our information, we'll launch our raid there to milk out the rest of his information. Klaus, what did you find?"
Klaus stood up and adjusted his glasses before facing the squad. "We went back to the Maryam girl Yuno told us about and followed her around a bit, along with some 'discrete questioning.' I'm now sure I have a good sense of the current state of affairs. First off, the eight shining generals are divided between the old generation who came before the magic-altering experiments and the new generation who came after. Lotus and the other three old-generation generals are deeply loyal to the current king. In addition, Mars of the new generation tends to work with lotus. The others include one named Ladros and two other unnamed individuals. These three are the most powerful besides Mars and aren't loyal to the king. They supposedly are setting up a coup attempt."
"So if they're so divided, which one is sending the attacks on us, the new or old generation?" Langris asked.
"From what I know, most of the attacks are the younger generation. The dungeon mission I was in was the one exception. Along with gold, Lotus was targeting an ancient healing magic to bring back. It isn't that commonly known, but the king is ill. Their purpose in the dungeon was to recover that artifact to heal the king. The Diamond King hasn't actually commanded the generals for months."
"Not only are there split factions in Diamond that could be attacking us, but now you're saying the king isn't involved?" Langris asked again.
"Correct," Klaus answered. "The attacks are almost certainly coming from the disloyal generals, and it could be in our interest to keep the king alive. At the same time, Lotus hasn't used the artifact yet, so he must be missing something. That's the information I have."
"You've done very well Klaus," Vangeance praised. "That was much more than I would have expected, and it does tell us where we need to go next. It's clear the attacks won't stop until the general's rebellion attempt fails, meaning we need to capture three of the eight. For now, we should look for the next time they'll reveal themselves, which is during the next attack. We're going to find out when it's happening and protect our kingdom. Klaus, Yuno, Mimosa. You three have proven yourselves in staying undercover and gathering information, so you'll go out again. The target is either Maryam or Lotus. Find out when the next attack is happening and tell us. Langris, go with them as well, you're in charge."
The expression on the vice-captain's face was filled with displeasure. He muttered, "Must I go with the peasant" to himself, not intending anyone to year it.
"You will go Langris, because I asked you to. I put my trust in you to lead, and you'll have to learn to trust every member of the squad if you want to lead a squad yourself one day. Yuno has more than earned his place, even if the other nobles don't think so," Vangeange stated.
That surprised me. Since joining the Golden Dawn and becoming surrounded by nobles, I've been surrounded by attitudes like Langris a ton. Even Klaus, who I've gone on missions with all the time started out like that. It's gotten a lot better since Lucy as well and took a stand, but she's still only one person. As for the captain, he seems very different on this mission. He's been a lot kinder and more instructive. He completely stood up for me just now, and it almost made me believe doing a mission with Langris wouldn't be too bad. Almost.
"You all did well for today. Hamon, you're on lookout duty for tonight. Everyone else, get some rest. Tomorrow we start the next phase of our mission."
"Yes sir," we all responded.
AN:
Here's the next chapter, and it's very focused on worldbuilding and setting up the next arc. This arc as well as Lucy in the Heart kingdom are happening at the same time, so there will be some alternating.
Onto the big thing. This chapter actually goes into the Diamond Kingdom, which is never seen in canon outside a few flashbacks from Mars or Fanzell. This means pretty much everything about worldbuilding in Diamond has to be original. To do this, I decided to base it off of a real /
To find out what to use for Diamond, I started by looking at what the Clover kingdom is based on, and for that matter, what Fiore is based on. In Fiore, there's a king that doesn't appear much in day-to-day ruling, which is left up to cities. Most skilled labor including mages and businessmen are in guilds, which is a concept that screams Renaissance Europe. Even the fairy tail sign is in english text even in the Japanese original anime. Even the name Fiore comes from Fiore de Liberi, a 1300's swords master known for writing martial arts manuals that are the main source of current knowledge about historical sword fighting. It has to be based on Renaissance Europe.
The clover kingdom is characterized by a powerful noble class and peasants that work fields, which looks alot like 1000's to 1200's European feudalism during the dark ages. This is why Lucy seems to have more knowledge of science than Clover kingdom citizens. She comes from a time where more science is commonly known, especially in astronomy. Spade similarly seems to be based on Eastern Europe, specifically Russia. I've already used ancient Athens for the ruins surrounding the last dungeon Lucy visited, so I need a place to the east of that which is more scientifically advanced than Dark ages Europe. The only place that fits those requirements is the Arab world under the Abbasid caliphate. The city of Kufa is a real city from the Abbasid caliphate, and I based the landscape of the desert without many natural resources from the Arab deserts.
Hopefully this makes the worldbuilding choices a bit more clear. Leave any questions or suggestions in the reviews. I will read and reply to reviews. Knowing I'm doing something you all enjoy is what gives me the motivation to keep writing. Thanks for reading