Eostia: Harem Quest

by EostianScribe

The Gods have given mortals the power of The Gamer as a pass time. A hobby. A means to compete and relax. One goddess, however, sees it as a means of salvation; starting with one world. As such, she rolls the dice... (Harem, Citrus and Eventual Dark Content Warning)

20. Act-I-Epilogue: Forwards to the Unknown

[ - Author's Address - ]

Well... This has been a wild ride... And only the first leg of it is done. Honestly, knowing I plan on Seven Acts for this story makes it all seem daunting now.

And yes, this isn't an Author's Note this time, but an Address. I feel at this benchmark this is a good time to say something to everyone has read this story up until this point.

Thank you.

Thank you to my critics. Not to those few who said rude or dumb comments but those you who were willing to point out mistakes, typos, question the logic in a situation and my style of writing. Your honest, constructive criticism helps me in understanding what faults I have. I don't agree with each point made, but I often see where they are coming from.

Thank you to those who follow this story. It's good to know so many people will want to read the next part; especially as the Kuroinu section isn't the busiest segment of fan fiction around.

Thank you to those who comment and complement the story. Your positive responses are wonderful to read and uplift me; doubly so during a bit of a tough time that came up as this story was being written. I try and reply to every review I get; even if I miss a couple.

Thank you to Fan Fiction Dot Net and Archive Of Our Own for providing such good outlets for creativity.

Just, thank you everyone. Thank you.

This time rather then just start the chapter I will make a recommendation. Another story in the setting is called Kuroinu - Rise of the Guardian by websplorer. I enjoyed reading it mostly as the Eostias we portray are rather different then the other. I would recommend giving it a read. And with that...

[ - Author's Note - ]

With forty-two current responses the poll is coming along well; although like quite a few I've put up it's a little one sided. This story will bring the word count a little under three hundred thousand words between a four part prologue, fourteen chapters, an interlude and an epilogue; twenty parts in all. At this rate this story will end up as quite the door-stopper; for better or worse.

Anyway; we'll get an idea of what James has been up to plus his current plans, the meeting of the Seven Shield Princesses and a few... other characters have a moment on screen.

As well as... hints of what's to come.

Enjoy!

[ - Act I - Epilogue: Forwards to the Unknown - ]

It was two weeks after Prim's Party and I've gotten busy. One of my main priorities was getting the Voxluxs and ice cream makers mass produced. If I did it the normal way, well, making things would take up all of my time. So I did what a good capitalist would do; subcontract the labor!

Okay, there's a little more to it then just that.

Obviously the maids didn't have the ability to do that kind (Or any kind) of enchanting; I'd need to do that myself. They could however do everything else; assemble the parts for the ice cream maker, affix the spell stones and check it's all working. As long as I could do the enchanting then they could do the rest. Of course that would still take a large amount of time and mistakes could easily happen from the mental exhaustion of it. It would be like making the same thing over and over and over and over; if you keep going without rest or breaks mistakes will happen and what your making will be compromised.

However I had a concept from my original world that would help; the concept of mass production. Enchanting spell stones over and over would make it way too much of a pain in the ass to deal with so instead I made a small box that would hold the spell stones to make the ice cream maker, set a spell stone to it's top and set a new custom enchantment. What it did was enchant the spell stones inside with the spells for the ice cream maker.

Yes, I enchanted a device with an enchantment spell to place an enchantment. It couldn't do anything but produce the spell stones for the ice cream maker, and it took a minute between castings before it could go once more but it did it perfectly time and again. I simply gave it to the maids and they did the rest. They didn't do it for free, of course; I paid them three gold per maker which, materials factored in, cost seven to make and only put to work the volunteers. As I was selling them at seventy gold a pop that was sixty gold in profit! And the nobility and rich merchants who were buying had sent aides over to pick up and buy them; I'd sold twenty three already and still had orders to fill.

That was one thousand, three hundred and eighty gold made in two weeks. I repeat; two weeks! That was ten times more then I had at the start of this. I had to convert coins to platinum! No joke! And remember, one hundred gold made a platinum! I had fifteen platinum!

There was no shortage of girls helping on the ice cream makers with Regina Brown being the hardest worker. For the Voxlux system I offered a silver for each dozen done; they were easier to assemble after all. And yes, I also made an enchantment box for it; it did ten sets of stones in one shot meaning ten Voxlux at once. I now had almost two hundred and fifty Voxluxs in stock. As for the other project, I had only a half dozen ice cream makers in stock at current and I was expecting they wouldn't last for two days; not at the rate things were going. I had people coming from each corner of Eostia plus the Kingdoms of Nyaru and Wereagell on Eostia's eastern border. Yes, two from the former, one from the latter.

I'd also had interest from two nobles in Balanar of all places which, while closer then Nyaru or Wereagell , was on not the best terms with Eostia. I don't even know how I got people from so far away interested; my guess is the foreigners were ambassadors, visiting nobles or rich merchants already in the area. Given the travel time I had a hard time believing that the wonders of ice cream had reached the eastern border with enough speed to send people to get them in two weeks. It would likely take you two weeks to even get to the border from here!

Needless to say my father was quite impressed with the outcome and took full advantage of it; after all there were aides of nobility and upper crust merchants about; why not play not only their host but drum up investment?

Mungale was in a bit of an... Odd spot, geographically speaking. It was one of Eostia's smaller territories and we were east of the Grand Duchy of Ur with Elddale on our east in turn. To the south of us was Ferra, which also bordered Ur on the Grand Duchy's east. To our north was the Kingdom of Feoh... Which also happened to border Ur, which was south of it. You might start to see the issue. Normally being so close to two major economic centers was good for business, but most of the major roads went from Feoh straight to Ur and bypassed us through Ferra which also had the Dominion of Geofu on it's south eastern border.

On top of that aside from lumber, farming and a series of small quarries Mungale wasn't rolling around in natural resources, unlike the marble and copper rich Elddale which supplemented those industry with breeding dark elf slaves (I wish I was joking, they really did that), Ferra with it's cotton fields, spell stone quarry and trade industries, Feoh's iron mines and river ports, Ur's trade industry and one of the richest spell stone quarries in all of Sererus. So, we had to focus on something else. And while my grandfather was a bit old fashioned my old man had been trying for years to bring production industries to Mungale. And while he hadn't had that much success before, well, he had some ears to talk to now.

With the halfling aide from Ansur he pointed out that Mungale was next door to both Ur and Feoh, and a printing press could see those wares moved to the large cities in little time; and Geofu not long after. He'd been struggling to get a paper mill up for years due to constant interference from banditry and 'subsidized banditry' (That was subsidized by Elddale and the Blitzhaus clan, not that we could prove it, sadly) but it was completed now and the first paper sheets and rolls were now being sold and exported; perfect for that possible press. He's also been investing in local brewers, hoping that their wares would catch on and he's been using them during his meetings in an effort to drum up interest.

Ironically while Mungale was on a bit of an upturn in fortunes it wasn't because of what we were doing so far, rather it was Elddale's rising up in it's fortunes that was helping us; a lot of trade between Elddale to and from Ur and Feoh cut past us. Arnold von Blitzhaus did, of course, try to sabotage that by encouraging that trade going to Feoh to cut through Arafe instead or to go through Ferra to Ur but Mungale was the faster route on both cases so many merchants preferred to travel our roads. It was part of the reason why he subsidized the banditry; to try and divert the trade and choke us out. In addition, some magically inclined bandits seemed to like using explosive spells on the roads...

We of course were doing what we could to prevent this nonsense, but it cost us funds in soldiers and repairs that could have otherwise been put into infrastructure causing us further problems.

Regardless, my father was hoping all of this interest would help drum up more business in the barony. So, what was I doing with the time I saved from having the maids doing the bulk of my work?

[-]

The breath left me as I took a good, full and hard impact from the foe's weapon, dropping my own as I clutched my abs. The opponent rose his weapon up over his head to strike me again but he was intercepted by a large, cartoonish, blue beetle (That kinda looked like a Heracross, now that I thought of it) with a sword instead of a horn and carrying an axe and shield. The beast crashed into him shield first and moved to swing it's weapon only to be grabbed by the face and slammed into the floor and pushed back before being struck with the double handed weapon's head; sending the beast into it's summoner, bowling Tiffany over onto her back.

Makoto stepped in next aiming a series of slashes to the large foe, who stepped back only to roll aside as a ball of wind slammed into where he was before he charged towards the elf. I was grabbing my weapon and healing myself as Makoto dashed to intercept as he ducked Miria's arrows; spinning once with a swing to deflect the swordswoman's weapon before backhanding her with a fist to the temple. She dropped to the ground with a groan.

Aeris, the source of the wind ball, yelped and flew upwards out of reach only to have him leap upwards high enough to grab her by the ankle and use sheer weight to pull her down and pure power to swing her, sending her at me; the elf's body slamming into me before I could respond. Miria's next missile was knocked from the air as Tiffany recovered, the beetle beast rushing him from the side. As the beast reached him he hooked it with the blunted axe on the horn and pulled in in front of Miria, using it to block the arrow before kicking it at her. She jumped over it and drew her blade, descending with a war cray and a swing only for him to side step and swing his own weapon, catching her in the abs and sending her down into the floor.

The beetle rose it's weapon to attack only to be caught hard in the neck, shattering it before the foe charged Tiffany. She started to quick summon from her book but he simply threw his weapon at her and knocked it out of her hand without hitting her arm directly. Before she could cast he was on her and delivered a fist to the gut. She dropped to her knees as she clutched her abs, coughing roughly as the man panted for a moment before laughing loudly.

"Bwa-ha-ha! M'Lord, I'm so glad you've asked to spar with me with all your friends! I'm enjoying your vigor." Gregory Hammersmith bellowed out. Yes, Gregory was training with us by sparring... If by sparring one meant beating us into the ground outside of the manor in the back yard, close to the stables. After being made to feel like an absolute idiot after realizing sparring could be used to grind I decided to do more of it and test results. It was... interesting to say the least. For starters I didn't get anymore XP for it... Until Sunday, where I started getting it once more. And I sparred a bit with Makoto and got about twenty XP for it. As I thought before, to get those gains I needed a higher level foe. Thankfully I had four in the manor; Gregory, Sora and both my parents.

I settled on Gregory mostly as my father was a busy ruler, Sora was the one handling the maids and mom...

I... shuddered to think of the results from that.

Hence why I picked ole' Greg. I'd learned a few things during the sparring sessions.

One; the XP cap was one hundred for a loss and two hundred for a win (Not that I won, I got around to asking Olivia as I experimented. Hindsight being what it was, I should have done that first so I felt like an idiot again) but I could only get in twenty five spars a week that would give XP. Translation; there was a hard cap of how much XP I could get in a week. Likely those 'restrictions' put in place. Damn.

Still, I earned twenty six hundred and sixteen XP one week and three thousand the next (Boosted by the Dark Horse Bonus, of course) and popped to level thirteen. That was still good and earned me a level up to level thirteen. Well, I just finished earning it just now. On that note...

Owwww...

Riri was the only one not with us; she was getting one on one training with Sora as part of those maid duties; she went from level six to eight because of it. I dragged the others into sparring with Gregory with me as a means to get them better as well. Aeris just hit level nine, as did Miria. Makoto was up to level eight and Tiffany just hit level seven. This wasn't just good for me (As well as painful) but it was good for them too (As well as painful). These were, after all, my closet allies; the stronger they were the stronger I'd be in a sense as well.

Gregory called an end to the sparring as myself and Tiffany started healing everyone else up. Speaking of, I had finally gotten around to learning that better healing spell I put off for too long. I had no scrolls in the Manor for one and couldn't find one in the store in town, but Kara from the Adventurer's Guild was a healer when she was an adventurer herself so I asked if she could teach me one and she was more then glad to.

As such I now had Blessed Recovery, a moderately powerful healing spell. It was a much more costly spell as well when compared to Minor Heal but worth it...

Particularly when you had cracked ribs. I repeat...

Owwww...

Keep in mind, the stat points I got from the level up and finishing the act were spent. My four Regular Stat Points went to Accuracy as well as five of my Universals. The other five I put into Strength for harder hits.

Not that it helped against Gregory that much...

I split my Sexual Stat Points between Recovery and Power as they were the lowest two along with Willpower. I also spent all fifteen Regular Trait Points and ten Universal to buy Hit and Move. I saw it when I used Observe on Maia and saw the potential in it. For every five Strength I had I got one Agility and buying it got me eight Agility right off the bat. And of course, Magical Power would raise Strength thanks to Muscle Wizard causing a bit of a knock on effect. I still had thirty Universal Trait Points left, but I decided to hold onto them for now.

In addition to the sparring we've still been doing jobs in town as well with Riri; so I've been getting more XP and funds, as had the girls. All in all I was in a much better position then I had been before Halbert's little wake up call. I guess he did that right anyway.

At that thought though I wondered what Prim was up to... We'd talked on and off now she had a Voxlux (I hated to say it, but... The name... grew on me. Ughh...) and she was now off to Ken for a meeting of the Shields. According to Prim they met once every two to three months to share information and get an idea of how everything was.

I kinda wondered what she was up to now?

[-]

Road to Skyguard City
Capital of Eostia
Inside the High Kingdom of Ken

"Run! Run! Dear Goddess, Run!" The small batch of seven people were little more then a group of wandering priests and nuns, running down the road as fast as they could; the city far, far behind them in the distance sitting on the horizon, grass in every other direction. They would walk from town to town to offer their services; offering prayer, healing and wisdom. One of their number was a young boy; an orphan they took in rather then leave in the hands of a... Less then reputable Priest who seemed more interested in coins in his donations plate then using them on those he had to feed and clothe in the orphanage. Another was a bit of a cowardly, older woman who was a good healer but assumed she was purer then the rest.

Their leader, however, honestly believed in spreading the goddess' wisdom to those who needed it; spending time in cities only to refresh needed supplies or attempt to recruit more to their cause. At that moment, however, they had run into those... less interested in the word of the Goddess. Namely the Aberrant.

At seven to nine feet tall the ogres were a massive sight; their pot bellies being, in fact, muscle as opposed to fat. Thick limbs on bodies that ranged from green to a greenish gray they gave chase, grinning at the humans with long, unwashed hair on their heads, red eyes filled with glee, smirking around their tusks that stuck up from their jaws. They held thick, wooden clubs in their hand, ready to enjoy themselves in the two things they loved over all else; fighting and fucking. Sure, one of the females was too old to breed, but the other two were nice and supple and the trio would happily share them between them and with their additional friend.

Joining them was a troll, a massive, somewhat lanky in comparison creature but it's limbs were as thick as the ogres; but at twelve feet tall and with stone gray skin it was the most imposing of them all. With spiky, orange hair sticking behind it and an elongated mouth it didn't bother with a weapon; it wasn't in need of one.

Together they had given chase. The older woman had grabbed one of their number, a young man and tripped him in an effort to bolster her own efforts to escape. Even so he managed to regain his footing and dashed as she started to pant and slow. As he ran past her she found herself in the back of the fleeing group as the monsters caught up with her.

An ogre would crush her skull into a bloody mess with his club, ignoring her body as it crumpled to the ground as they jogged for their prey. For that ogre, Ungul, this was great. They wanted to have the females but other Aberrant gangs kept pushing them out of their territory. Well, none were here! So this was their territory now! All the women here was theirs to play with!

It was well known ogres while strong weren't that smart... As in they were kinda dumb. Of course, clever ogres came about once in awhile and were a real threat, but Ungul wasn't one of those. He was, in fact, dumber then most ogres. The only reason the other ogres followed him was he was stronger then them. The only reason the troll followed him was this troll was dumber then him in spite of trolls usually being smarter.

He grinned as they moved onto the usual plan of a band of Aberrant. Kill the men. Rape the women. And then kidnap the women and rape them until they had kids.

Simple.

He roared out, spreading more panic into his prey as they ran after them. So close to them...

Only to hear something charging over to them.

"Look! Knights! Of Ur!" One of the humans let off. "We're saved!"

"Help us! Dear Goddess, help us!" Another let off. Approaching the situation were four men on horse back that charged past the group of preachers and charged, the crest of House Fiorire proudly on their shields. Ungul roared in annoyance moving to swing at the first mounted knight, only for him to turn his horse and jab at him with a spear, slicing his arm softly. The mounted warriors moved to distract and surround them. The knights, by contrast, were smart, well trained and well armed and also knew that going head to head with ogres might not be the smartest idea; maybe they could do it with just the ogres with their skill and training, but they knew the troll would end them on a single, lucky hit.

It was a short fight, attempts to jab at the monsters were mostly futile. The troll's reach kept them from really getting in a good attack, but they accomplished their main goal; the civilians were able to keep running...

And rolling past those fleeing men and women was a carriage with a well made emblem on the side boasting two stars, two doves and a single rose. It came to a stop as two figures came out; the dusky skinned Carmen Shard was first, dashing out before the horses as she whistled, the knights falling back to join her and the other two knights escorting them. A second female stepped out of the carriage and sighed, Prim walking out before the knights as they formed a line, Carmen moving to flank her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Prim asked them firmly as she took a calming breath. Needed as it was, she hated fighting. Even if it was easier emotionally on her to fight Aberrant it was also a bit scarier.

Ungul chuckled. She was talking? To him? Well, he'd answer then... "I, Ungul. This now Ungul's land. I use what I want. And I want you."

"Foul beast!" Carmen let off, drawing her sword as she growled. "You will-" Prim lifted a hand up and she paused. Prim did her best to be calm and in control, but her hand still shook like a leaf in the breeze.

"S-surrender. As the Shield Princess of Ur I will stop you if I must!" She said reaching behind her. She pulled out the gift Alicia had given to her at her birthday; the wand with the spell stones in it, and as discreetly as she could drew on her mana. "I-I will not allow you to harm anyone else!" She declared pointing her weapon at them.

Ungul blinked at her, as did his cohorts. Then they all laughed at the small girl. "You!? You, tiny fuck hole, think you strong!? You think you stop us!?" He grinned before pointing to her. "Gamu. Kill men. Bring girls." The troll howled out in dominance, beating it's chest with both fists before starting to march forwards. The knights seemed nervous, but stood their ground, calming their horses as Carmen grit her teeth.

"Okay... I can do this..." Prim said to herself, pointing her wand to the troll, holding it firmly as winds swirled around it as she took a calming breath... And then...

She unleashed her spell. It was meant to be a tight, well controlled spell that sent a drill of wind into a target, to punch a hole through the aberrant. This was... A bit larger. Rather then a four inch wide drill of wind it was four feet wide.

The troll was taken aback by the level of magic used and was unable to react in time before it was slammed by the wide pillar of spiraling wind generated by Prim's magic. The wind lasted for only six seconds, but once done the upper half of the troll was gone, torn to shreds by magically sharpened gales. The forearms would be found by carrion birds within hours, flung three hundred feet backwards. Bits and pieces of troll flesh, bone and blood would splatter the ground in a line for almost a full mile

The ogres gawked openly as they stepped back, the troll's legs standing as blood spurted from the hips before it finally fell backwards with a thud on the ground. Prim blinked at the results... And stomped her feet, screeching out. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I messed up! I wasn't trying to overcharge the spell again!"

"That was... Not meant?" Ungul let off in shock. "She... Strong Magic?" Ungul started to get an idea that, yes, there was a reason no Aberrant was here, claiming territory.

"Uwhhhhuhhh, I can't just do a normal spell, can I?" Prim pouted as she hung her head.

"Ahh, it's just Aberrant M'Lady, you can practice on them all you want." Carmen told her, patting her shoulder. "Now... About the ogres..."

"Gawaahhhaaa!?" Ungul let off. "Run! Run! Dear Devil, Run!" Ungul let off as the three turned and ran for their lives. A glance behind him told him there was good reason to run faster.

The princess' dress was flapping in the wind from her new spell; a fireball held over her head at the tip of the wand, the other humans stepping away. Said fireball was three times the size of that cow he caught Tuxil fucking a week ago as well.

It was a reason to run even faster.

And then she pointed the massive blazing ball in their direction...

And a pillar of fire washed over them, like a flood of heat and flame.

By the time the spell ended three charred ogre skeletons were laying on the ground with bits of burned flesh clinging to them. The grass around them was gone; a wide, black line of scorched earth and ash in it's place for a hundred feet.

"Uuwwwhhhaahhhhh, I did it again..."

[-]

A Few Hours Later
Skyguard City
Inside the White Citadel

"Haaaah... I'm still struggling with my control..." Prim let off, hanging her head as Carmen walked along with her. Once more she overcharged her spells without meaning to... Sure, it worked out in the end but still it was mana she was wasting

"Heh, well if any other Aberrant saw that they'll leave people alone for now. And those priests were impressed!" Carmen said to cheer her up. Prim smiled softly to her as she focused on walking. The inside of the White Citadel was something to behold; the inside was a white, marble floor with lines of brass between each block; patterns set into each of the blocks. The walls were white marble with pictures hung now and then, vases with flowers adding color and nice smells. They had ascended to the highest floor of the main keep, the top of it built into a dome.

The White Citadel was the seat of power of all of Eostia and it felt like it. As she walked the long hall and glanced to Carmen she now had to deal with her new feelings.

Not just for James but... Well, a couple others. She had... noticed her bodyguard in ways she hadn't before. How toned she was, how Carmen's skin contrasted her own. And how when they bathed she stared more and more at her... And worse, it wasn't just Carmen, it was Alicia too that caused those feelings it her; desires to touch them both. Desires to be touched by them both. She didn't understand it now...

The only difference was that she had sex once! And wanted to sneak off to Mungale to do it again!

Of course she wasn't aware of the RPG-3X System. Or how after that night she lost her Virginal Maiden trait... For another...

Love Means Lust

If you feel an intense love for someone, regardless of gender or species you will feel a heightened amount of lust for them. For those you feel no true love for you will feel little real lust for them. +25 Desire Value for anyone who's Seduction and Savior Value are 75 or higher combined.

And now she had these... desires. She wanted to see James with Carmen snuggling into him on one of his sides and Alicia on the other and herself on top of him. To make love to all of them at once, to watch as they made love to each other, to make them all feel good.

She wondered what was wrong with her... But pushed it aside for now... She had a job to do, she was a Shield Princess after all.

Once at the doors at the end of the hall Carmen bid her farewell; after all she couldn't pass these doors without invite.

The double doors were eight and a half feet tall and each door was three feet wide. On each side was a member of the Dawn Templars, standing sentry as guards.

You knew that if the Dawn Templars were acting as guards what was within was important. That room was the Chamber of the Seven Shield Princesses, often just called the Chamber of the Shields.

The door was opened for her as she walked inside and took in a breath. Few people ever saw this room, and it was impressive.

It was a large room with a curved ceiling that sloped down to the windows as the whole roof of the top floor was domed and the ceiling was painted a golden color on the inside. White pillars were on the wall holding the windows that let them see out to the city past the walls. The floor was white marble with a large, circular, blue carpet in the center. A seven foot wide table, it's top made of marble, sat on top of that carpet, gold on it's edges and a pattern set into gold carved into the top. Seven, golden chairs sat around it, each with plush, blue cushions on them for comfort. Three other chairs were set to the side of the room, for times where the Shields needed someone to join them.

The wall across from the window was full of heavy, strong looking shelves. On it was books, records, scrolls, maps and other reference materials if they were in need of them. A small stove was kept for when the need of tea, coffee or some other substance was needed.

It was a room of power and hope, she had thought.

"Ah, you're here." Alicia said, turning in her seat to smile at her. Claudia was looking over a book, standing by the shelf. "Maia will be arriving in a moment; scouts saw her carriage rolling in." Prim nodded as she moved to sit next to her cousin, giving her a wide smile... And trying to look higher then her neck. Celestine calmly wrote on a sheet of paper as Lulu stuck her tongue out as she drew on her own sheet; maybe a new creation? Kaguya was at the stove, tending to a kettle with a tea set and several cups next to her on a tray.

It seemed Maia was, indeed, the last thing needed for the meeting to start.

Small talk was made for the next fifteen odd minutes before the doors opened once more. "Sorry if I'm a bit late! Was digging up something." Maia said with a wide grin. She wasted no time in moving to her seat and leaning back in it, propping her feet on the table's surface, much to Alicia's annoyance. Claudia walked over to the table after setting the book away, seating herself. Kaguya would move to the table, serving each woman a cup of tea before seating herself.

"Now that we are all gathered here today, my sisters in arms, let us begin. We shall start with our most pressing manner." Celestine began as she turned to her closest friend in the room. "Has Klaus discovered anything new of the letter?"

"A bit, yes." Claudia began with a nod before addressing the table in full. "The paint used is nothing unusual in it's make; common enough to make and buy across the land. As is the paper. He suspects that unless required these people would not use more expensive materials then needed when common ones would do. He did discover, however, that the technique for this sort of letter making was devised by the Alarians."

"Uhhh, I'm no historian, but isn't that country, like, gone? Gone gone?" Maia asked, looking to the Dawn Templar's commander who nodded once.

"Indeed, they were at war Balanar and Justical some hundred years ago; they were able to repel the latter but were crushed by the former." Celestine said, taking over the explanations. "According to our ambassadors and spies the Alarian descendants have been trying to secede and reestablish their kingdom, but to no avail."

Claudia nodded before she resumed speaking. "The Alarians used this technique for a few things; formal invitations, political documents that were highly important, identification and so on. The Alarian rebellion, by all accounts, still uses it as a means to protect and identify important messages."

"Hmmm, but if they're under Balanar rule they really aren't gonna be part of this silly Black Storm." Lulu let off, humming.

"By the sounds if it they would be more interested in this Black Storm washing over Balanar." Alicia said as she cupped her chin.

"Agreed." Kaguya said with a sigh. "This does not help us that much."

"It does suggest that whoever this 'Man of Power' is that he has an Alarian man in his employ; maybe as a mercenary." Claduia said with a soft huff. "Sadly there's not much else we can tell. There was a wax seal on it, but it was melted in the flame so we have nothing."

"Unfortunate."

"Not really..." The room turned to look at Maia as she moved her feet to the floor. "I remembered hearing about an usual case back home. Some nobleman was stabbed in an alley; no one knew how he got there, where his guard was; anything. A search, though, found something odd and I remembered when I got home what it was." She said, slipping a bag from her side and upended it over the table... A series of torn, dirty and black pieces of paper landing on the table, bits of red writing on them.

"Another black letter?" Prim let off, eyes wide as she saw it, or rather what was left of it. It was torn to shreds and there wasn't enough to count as an eighth of a sheet. But from inside the bag Maia pulled out a larger piece with a wax seal on it; mostly intact but with part of it depressed with a boot mark. With a casual fling she slid it over across the table to Claudia. She picked it up and looked to it with a frown; while partially damaged the image of a crowned skull with a blade through it was clear.

"I do not recognize the seal." She said, passing it to Celestine who looked to it before her brow raised up.

"I do, although it predates even myself." She said looking to the room. "It is the seal of Emperor Verlangen."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Maia let off sitting forwards more. "As in the guy the Shield Maidens knocked off back in the day? Empire of Brazen? That Verlangen?"

"Indeed." Celestine said, standing and walking over to the shelves. With little issue she found a book and brought it back to her seat, standing there and setting the book on it's edge so it's cover could be seen. "This was the Empire's history, as written by his hand. It is... Unreliable, as one would expect, but gives insight into who he was."

The brown, leather cover had what most of the girls thought was Verlangen's banner in full; a dark red iron cross outlined with black. In the middle was a bright, crimson skull with bright white teeth. Sitting on it's head was a dark gold crown with five visible points. The blade driven through the top of the skull jutted down from the chin with it's dark gray edge. The handle and guard was a lighter gold with a darker gold pommel and tips on the sides of the guard.

Celestine set the book down before seating herself. "Verlangen, if you asked him, was a 'Man of Power'. One who thought that might would make right and the one with the most might defined right. He was the strongest and, as such, deserved to rule. If one had no strength then one did not have a voice. He considered the Shield Maidens to be little more then upstarts who needed to be put in their place. He planned to enslave them and sell them as slaves as a means of making a point. In his last writings he acknowledged Joanna as a worthy foe, but still believed she couldn't come close to besting him. He assumed that even if all seven overwhelmed him that he would be fine in the end. By Joanna's own writing, however, he was begging for mercy when they sealed him and began pouring the sand into his casket. He was described as sobbing and screaming mess in his last known moments."

"Damn..." Maia said with a whistle. "From demi-god to toddler wanting his mommy in a minute, huh?" She said, crossing her arms under her bust.

"It was a horrible way to go..." Prim mused with a soft frown. "But it was what they had to do to stop him in the end... So... Why is his symbol being used for the Black Letters?"

"There are moments, in history, that someone with ideas of grandeur, promoting an ideology or finding themselves in a position of leadership or power that they decide they need a symbol to represent them or rally others behind them." Celestine began, calmly looking to Prim. "The Eye of Providence, an eye inside of a triangle, was once used by a religion to symbolize three parts of their religion. It was then adopted by Dominious' internal security forces; The Unblinking Eye."

"I've heard nightmare stories about how they spy on their own people." Kaguya said with a huff. "Sickening." She snorted out as she sipped her drink softly.

"There are reasons the Empire has aggravated every one of it's neighbors and why rebellions still rise up within it..." Claudia said with a nod.

"Dummies." Lulu let off with a snort.

"Could someone from the Empire be the one behind this storm?" Alicia asked, frowning as she set her arms on the table.

"No, I doubt it." Claudia said, shaking her head. "They've got too many issues with the civil war to go for us right now. Same with Balanar; they still suspect their southern neighbors may attack them."

"Okay, let's knuckle down for a moment." Maia said as she waved her hands. "Who do we know could bring up enough military power to conquer Garan and then Eostia? Assuming they could counter what the Black Citadel does."

There was a long moment of silence as everyone took a moment of thought.

Lulu was the first to speak up. "Could the Slave States do it?" She asked as Claudia took a moment to consider it.

"Hmm... " Claudia let off as she crossed her arms in thought. "Based on current reports, if they all banded together they could get an army close to sixteen thousand. If all the Limited States joined in that would be around thirty thousand." The Limited States were states in Eostia that mostly didn't allow for the owning, capture or selling of slaves but did allow for the transportation of them. In addition, in those where slavery was allowed it was only for the dark elves. "While our standing army is only fifteen thousand we have the church's ten thousand backing us up. And the free territories would back us up with over thirty five thousand troops."

"I doubt many of the Limited States would join such an endeavor." Celestine said as she shook her head. "Most maintain their status because of treaties with the Slave States or other such agreements. Longroad, Arafe and South Point would refuse them for sure. Their numbers would join ours."

"Hmm, Smol, Jetra and Elrus might join them, if that were the case, we'd lose them." Alicia said with a sigh.

"What about the Church?" Maia said with a huff. "Let's face it, there's enough rot under the facade to fill a palace. Or collapse one."

"Hmmm..." Celestine let off as she thought of it. While Larentia was the main goddess worshiped in the land there were two main branches of worship for her; the Una Verita, or Single Truth, Church and the Anima Lux, or Soul Light, Church. Once they were one, single, united church called the Church of Larentia's Light until a scandal that occurred long after the fall of Verlangen and long before she rose to power. The truth was obscured by time, history and competing agreements of who did what.

However when one referred to 'The Church' then Una Verita, often shortened to the Una Church or One Church was what they were talking about and while the general public wasn't fully aware of it there was significant corruption within it. She wasn't quite sure how far the corruption had spread but worried it was worse then she dared think. The Church had petitioned to be the official state religion for as long as she could remember, however the founding Aegis Accords prevented the combination of State and Religion. On the one side it meant that the Church had no (Direct) influence on politics. On the downside, despite being the Goddess Reborn she couldn't influence the Church in turn as she was the leader of Eostia. While both the Una and Lux Churches acknowledged her as a figurehead for their religions she had no (Direct) influence on them in turn.

The Church also boasted ten thousand troops that bolstered their wars in Garan... And was likely used for 'internal security'. While Celestine wanted to crack down on them between the significant help they offered their armed forces and the separation of State and Church had made any direct interventions impossible. She did grant what subtle favor to the Lux Church, often simply called The Faith, she could but in the end The Church was far larger, more dominant and better funded.

"It is not impossible. The Archbishop has enough reach and power to consider it..." Celestine admitted. "I do not doubt he would turn our Alliance into a Theocracy if he had the chance." She said before looking to Maia. "However I also know the man; he is a coward. He would not have the courage to enact such a plan without an overwhelming advantage within his hands; I doubt he'd ever gather such numbers."

"Hmm, maybe you're right..." Kaguya said after sipping her tea. "However in my dealing with him he's been opportunistic. He may not be willing to mastermind this plot, but if approached I could see him lending his numbers and might to the cause."

"Agreed." Claudia said crispy. "I don't doubt he's ambitious enough, but I doubt he has the courage to do so himself. He may instead let another lead and do the dirty work and double-cross them in the end."

"If we're talking powers that could join this Black Storm then there's another group we need to consider." Alicia said, leaning on the table with one arm, looking around the table. "The Black Dogs."

The room went silent as the thought dropped.

Formed and led by a man known only as Vult the Black Dogs started as another run of the mill band of mercenaries but they had grown, and grown quickly. Unlike some groups the Black Dogs weren't overly picky about who came into their membership; it was overwhelmingly filled with human males but also boasted Aberrant of all stripes in it's number. Their discipline tended to be lax; as long as you did your job Vult didn't care about much else of what you did; drinks and drugs flowed like water in their camps. It gave the Black Dogs a less then stellar reputation in regards of terms like 'honor', 'discipline' or 'loyalty' but they also had a large and well earned reputation for getting the job done.

If you absolutely needed a battle fought and won and were willing to put up with their less savory sides then the Black Dogs weren't just a solid choice; they were one of the best ones. Vult was known as a leader with a knack for tactics, uncanny strength on the battlefield and charisma as a leader. His second in command, Keane, was a capable and talented strategist and was able to manage logistics, as well as being the chief mage of the group. This third in command, Hicks, was known as an amazing scout; able to get the field information the Dogs would need for coming battles without being spotted.

For over the fifteen or so year span they've been around the Black Dogs had grown at a rapid pace; drafting other, smaller mercenary bands into itself and assimilating them into their number. Alliance reports had suggested that they had grown in size to thousands of members split into four divisions fighting across central Sererus. How large they were exactly they didn't know, but it was suggested they were anywhere from seven thousand to fifteen thousand men in numbers; by far the largest independent army in all of Sererus; even if you took the low-ball estimate.

The Black Dogs had fought in each of the Garan conflicts as they flared up and, according to the last reports, were in Dominious fighting for coin in the civil war.

"I don't think Vult would go that far, do you?" Maia let off chuckling to the others in the room. "I mean he's bold, but he isn't stupid." Maia's crush on her former leader was well known to the others in the room and for some was a good source of teasing.

"Maybe, but he is a mercenary so if there's gold in it his blade could follow to the cause." Claudia said with a sigh. "You worked under him once Maia, maybe you should see about whether or not he's gotten... odd contracts. Or letters."

"Ah, sure..."

"Mmm, aren't we forgetting about another bunch of guys?" Lulu said as she raised her hand. "Zenith." She said as all eyes turned to her.

"...Indeed, they should be considered..." Claudia said as she sighed.

To the west of Feoh was the border with Dominious. Along the center of that line on the map was the Great Atlas River. Ports in the Baronies of Cauldona and Ironside would accept and export goods making them the two richest Baronies in all of Eostia. The only reason Cauldona wasn't a duchy and Ironside a county was Dominious' presence across the river; Celestine worried that a growth in the military that would come with such promotions would cause more problems then they already had with the Empire, and with the Civil War raging she doubly wanted to avoid the mistaken idea of forces gathering to hit a weakened region. Although if things played out as she wished that would change, soon.

As that river fed to the sea in the north it would split in two directions around an island that was claimed by the Plutocracy of Zenith. Aside from the Barony of Price it was smaller then any territory in Eostia; Mungale had two and a half times the amount of land, but a mere tenth of the population. Well defended by natural cliffs and positioned at the mouth of one of Sererus' largest rivers and the sea with easy trade with Eostia and Dominious, as well as the northwestern continent not that far away it was a center of trade in the region. In addition they were one of the few nations with a peace treaty with Dominious that had lasted; the Empire using the Plutocracy as a means to gain information and trade of items from otherwise hostile forces.

Ruled by a council of merchants and elected by votes that required a base level of wealth to even have, Zenith was a haven for those who bought and sold as a living. That said if one had no wealth then one had no value in Zenith. While one could always find a way to make money those who failed were often ignored or forgotten about... Or even sold as slaves.

"The Plutocracy does not desire war; it incurs expenses that they would rather not spend." Celestine began. "However we should consider that one or more of their merchants might see... profit in new leadership in Eostia."

"Agreed." Alicia said, sighing as she reached down and pulled out the brass plate that was her Voxlux. "All the more reason to get the Voxlux's boosters up and running."

"Voxlux?" Maia said, blinking at the item.

"Ah, it's been named now, has it? Wonderful." Celestine said, smiling before looking to the three confused members in the room. "Allow me. As myself, Claudia and Klaus traveled to the border to talk with Dominious' Prince Larion we caught sight of something in Mungale; the heir of the region, one James Noxdecus, had made a means to allow his father to address the entire down through a projection of his head over the town. When we went to investigate we learned it was spun off from a means of long range, instant communication."

"Hang on, I'll show you." Prim said, standing up and moving from her seat to one of the windows. Opening it she moved out to the balcony before turning to them. Smiling she pulled her own brass plate out and looked to it as Alicia's started to ping.

"Answer." Alicia said as an image of Prim's smiling face, the same as the one outside of the window, appeared over the device.

"Ohhhhh, an enchantment huh? Based on scry and illusion I bet..." Lulu let off, her eyes lighting up. Prim nodded and her voice came from the device.

"Yes. James said that he needs devices to boost the signal to make them reach further; it doubles as a means to address the public in the way Celestine saw."

"Needless to say, we are very interested in this magical advancement." Claudia said sternly as Prim reentered the room, walking back to her seat. "The ability to share information at such speeds would be invaluable; doubly so with this shadow looming over us." The Voxluxs were turned off fully as Prim sat back down.

"Indeed, I sometimes find it difficult to speak with you all time to time." Kaguya said smiling. "It would also be a way to improve our relationships."

"He said he'd be making more of them in a hurry, not sure how mind you." Alicia said, snorting. "But he thinks he can make a lot quickly."

"That would be good, yes. However he is more important then just this." Celestine said to the confusion of everyone in the room.

All but one. "Your vision, then?" Claudia asked as their leader nodded.

"A new vision?" Kaguya said as she tilted her head. All of them paid attention; her visions were known to reveal events before they came; an oncoming Garan attack to even the Dominious Civil War breaking out.

"Yes. However it is... Unusual..." Celestine said as she took in a breath. "I'll tell you what I saw as I saw it." She took in a deep breath and shut her eyes for a moment. Once she reopened them she began to speak.

"There was... A Chess board. A chessboard of seemingly endless spaces and squares in each direction it felt, yet it also it felt as if all sides had an end, strange enough. On the one side was five, massive figures looming over the board and illuminated by a bright light. Three women, two men, although those were the only details I could see. I was given the impression they were divine beings, gods even, watching over this board. Gods beyond what we understand them to be. Before them on the board were nine figures; small statues that were like... Game pieces on that endless chess board. Of the nine figures seven were in the image of all of us; each facing the other end of the board. The eighth figure was a dark elf that I do not recognize, but the ninth... The ninth was Queen Olga Discordia."

"Olga Discordia!?" Alicia let off as she gawked at their leader. Maia, Lulu and Prim joined her in the gawking as Claudia hummed, cupping her chin. Kaguya bit her lower lip in thought.

"Yes. Strange as it is, she was there with us, facing the same direction as us." Celestine said, as her brow furrowed. "She was set up as an ally as opposed to an enemy. Across the board from us, however, was a massive and dark, swirling mist. Within it was a series of figures. Human, Aberrant, it was hard to tell. One held a massive sword but that was all of the details I could make out. I couldn't even tell if it was a man or woman, but given the letter I believe a man."

"So... The Black Storm comes..." Claudia said with a frown. "And we'll need... Olga's help to weather it." She said with some worry.

"It seems so, but there is more." Celestine said as she sighed. "Soon the swirling mist approached our pieces, creeping closer and closer... And then one of the divine beings threw something on the board. It was rounded and golden, but with many flat sides and the edges were glowing with a soft, blue light. Each side bore silver numbers; the largest number being twenty. It was like a die, I suppose, but I've never heard of any type of dice with so many sides, or that was like a ball with flat sides. It rolled out in front of us and stopped. I didn't see the number on it's top as the die... unfolded before us all and turned into a new figure. That figure shone with a brilliant, bright light and pushed the black mist back... The vision ended before the mist was pushed back to reveal the figures it hid but I could see, with absolute clarity, the figure that came from the die."

All six women looked to her as she glanced about as if they were hanging off her short recollection. Finally she spoke one more thing.

"That figure... Was of James Noxdecus; Heir to Mungale and inventor of the Voxlux."

"W-wait!?" Maia let off as she stood, pointing to the Goddess Reborn. "You're saying that guy is meant to save our asses!? Prim's crush!?"

"Indeed." Celestine ignored Prim's blush as she spoke. "As inventor or hero, I know naught, but he is the key to pushing back the darkness that comes. He is meant to stand with us, I am sure of that."

"Shiiiit... I mean, he looks cute, I guess. Could reward him as a hero." Maia let off grinning as she gave a sideways glance to Prim seeing a chance to tease her.

"Maia, such talk is unbecoming of us." Kaguya chided softly.

"Hey Prim, you got around to fucking him yet?" Maia boldly asked. "Is he hung?"

Alicia would slap both hands onto the table as she stood up. "Hey! Prim's a pure maiden! She wouldn't do that!"

"Meh, meh, who cares if she did or didn't." Lulu let off with a giggle. "Nothing wrong with it."

"Don't encourage her!" Alicia barked out before turning to her cousin. "Prim, help me set them straight!"

For her part Prim was blushing deeply and tapping her index fingers together squirming in her seat before Alicia put her on the spot. "I... Er, well..."

"You can just tell her straight up you're not sleeping around!" Alicia huffed out as she crossed her arms under her bust.

"W-well... You see..." Prim began, biting her lip. "A-after Halbert, er, ran off with me I was worried about something like that happening again..." She began as Alicia's face started to pale as her head turned to look at her cousin. "S-so... I decided to, um, well... Choose who my first time would be with..."

Alicia made a long, pained, choked sound as she looked to her cousin, dumbfounded. Maia looked equally taken aback as the Princess Knight. "D-damn... I was teasing you, I didn't think... Damn..." The Mercenary Shield Princess let off... "... Sooooo, was he any good?"

Alicia turned to glare at Maia as Prim put on a goofy smile. "Magical..." Came Prim's response as Lulu chuckled out.

" James and Prim, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! " She started to sing. " First comes love, then comes marr-"

"Enough!" Claudia said sternly as she looked around to them all. "I'm glad for the levity as much as anyone else, and glad Prim is exploring relationships as anyone else, but we need to keep on topic. And embarrassing Prim won't help with that."

"Okay, okay, sorry..." Maia said as she sat down. A stern look from Claudia had Alicia sitting down as well.

"So... Something about boosters?" Lulu let off as Celestine nodded.

"Indeed. I plan on riding to Mungale soon." She began as she resumed the meeting in a serious tone. "I want an update in person. Once I have the status of his project appraised I will commission him to both provide us with the Voxlux in as much volume as possible and to have him make all the boosters he needs to have it run within Eostia in full; and preferably extend it's range into other kingdoms."

"Indeed, this infrastructure will be required to use them in full; the benefits validates the expense." Claudia said with a nod.

"Indeed. In addition if he is as important to what is to come as my vision suggests then we all must court his loyalty and guide his growth." The Goddess Reborn continued. "As such once he is ready to install them he''ll need to travel across the Seven Kingdoms. And we will all provide escort for him. Personal escort."

"Wait, you want us to tag along when he starts his work?" Maia said as Celestine nodded.

"Yes. We will provide escort in each of our individual regions. We will provide company, entertainment, lodgings, whatever he needs. I want us all to form a relationship with him."

"Are you... Asking us to do what Prim did with him?" Lulu asked, blinking at Celestine. Alicia gawked as Prim blushed and covered her cheeks with her hands before the Goddess Reborn shook her head.

"The relationship need not be carnal. Friend. Lover. Guide. Teacher. Ally. All of these are more then enough." Their leader told them. "What relationship you want is up to you to form. But form it you must." She said with a sigh. "We have a year to become ready for a foe we do not yet see or understand. We must be prepared; otherwise all will suffer."

"So... You gonna try courting a guy for once?" Maia said to tease her leader as Prim started to stammer softly. Celestine's reply was a simple, soft smile.

"Well... He does have rather... distinct eyes." She replied in a way that Maia thought there was more to it then a possible romantic intent.

[-]

Outside of Rexterra
Eastern Balanar
Mandeville Manor

Mandeville Manor was a well built and sat off the side of a major road outside of Balanar's capital that led down towards one of the Kingdom's larger cities. The outer wall was ten feet tall and made of red brick. Pillars behind the wall helped hold up a walkway for guards to look out over to anyone coming towards it. They weren't designed to hold off an army, of course, but they could hold off a mob for a time if it came to it.

The manor itself sat on a slight hill with a paved road leading to the front door with a circular path in front of it. In the center was a water fountain with a statue of Sir Kincade Mandeville, proudly standing with one arm over his chest, one behind his back wearing a great coat, a proud handsome face chiseled into it with a full, well trimmed beard.

The manor itself was made of quality red brick; the center standing two stories tall with each wing standing four stories tall, a tiled black roof covered it all. Flowers were planted along the sides of the path leading in.

Over top of the double doors leading into the manor was the emblem of House Mandeville. Round and gold in color with a slightly darker edge and a series of slightly darker circles along the inside of the edge it was designed to look like a minted, Balanar coin. In the center of it was a black 'M' with curved accents at the bottom and a slightly off-black shade to add some depth to the design. Hanging off the top corners of the 'M' was a set of weighing scales.

On the left scale were four jewels in the same eight sided shape and arranged in a diamond pattern; red on the top, green on the left, blue on the right and purple on the bottom. On the right was a small, straight chain made into a Celtic knot with a vertical key behind it, both in silver. It was to represent the weight of wealth balanced with the weight of tradition. Many would say it fit the Mandeville Clan.

A large, eight seat carriage rolled up towards the door; well made and with the Blitzhaus emblem on it's side. With an escort of twelve, heavily armored knights the vehicle rode towards the front door. At said door Sir John Mandeville stood, proudly as he did what he could to not hunch over more then usual. Behind him was two guards at either side of the open door and a line of seven of his finest maids behind him, slave collars hidden under their outfits.

As the carriage stopped the door opened and the Blitzhaus family started to step out; Channer being the first, followed by his sister then brothers. "Uncle John!" Channer let off, dashing to the old man who smiled with a chuckle and hugged the younger man as his father stepped off the transport.

"Ah, my boy... It's been about a month, but it feels like years." The merchant said as he let go moving to hug the lad's sister who tried (And failed) to keep a neutral, bored look on her face as a hint of a smile came to her face. "How was the trip over, everyone?" He let off before shaking Jaeger's and Victor's hands before Arnold came over to him. The two men shook hands for a moment before pulling into a mutual hug.

"Ah, smooth and quiet. I almost nodded off, really." Arnold said, giving him an honest smile. "It's good to see you once more, my old friend. However long apart is too long." Dulce made a show of rolling her eyes as Mandeville chuckled.

"Okay boys, grab a maid and go have your fun!" John said turning to them. "Channer gets first pick."

"He always gets first pick..." Victor grumbled, but otherwise made no move or attempt to change the order of choice. The youngest moved right to a buxom, tall maid with short, black hair, taking her by the hand and leading her into the manor. The maid sighed. The other maids did their best to not turn and glare at their fellow maid. It was well known that Channer was gentle and considerate with the slaves he laid with.

His brothers... Not so much.

Jaeger and Victor moved to take maids of their own; the first taking a redheaded halfling and tucking her under his arm like a sack, not caring about her squirming and the latter grabbing a black, frizzy haired woman with dark skin and roughly tugged on her to follow him. Dulce moved to look at John who shrugged. She sighed.

No male slaves for her. Again. She grabbed one of the last maids who sighed in relief, the brown haired girl following her.

John chuckled as he turned, Arnold moving to walk along with him. "Ahh, youth. Nothing like young men spreading seed and enjoying themselves, hmm?"

"Indeed. Takes me back to when I was that age." The Count let off with a chuckle as the two men walked into the manor. The pair moved to their preferred sitting room, a maid already pouring their tea and setting biscuits onto the table. Mandeville sat down with a sigh, leaning his cane into the table. "Speaking of lads of that age, how is Cyrus?"

John snorted at the mention of his youngest son. "As his usual. His endeavors are returning their investments, but not at a high enough rate. If he doesn't make changes soon he'll fail to his competition."

"Damn... He's ambitious but lacks his father's edge for business... Or his brothers..." John's face darkened a little at that mention from Arnold. Cyrus wasn't his only son but he was the only son he had left.

His eldest died in the war with their southern neighbors two years ago, a war Balanar had yet to fully recover from; to the extend that King Xerander was forced to bend somewhat to Celestine's will for trade; even if he was lax on fully enforcing it. He had been close with his dear Tyrace and losing him was very hard.

His second son, Zajac meanwhile turned on him years before that, becoming an Abolitionist of all things and stealing a baker's dozen of slaves before making for Eostia. Most of the slaves were reclaimed but Zajac remained in Eostia somewhere in Ansur. Where John didn't know nor care; he had disowned him and would have him imprisoned should the chance ever arise. Zajac was no son to him, not anymore.

Son number three was Elliot and he devoted himself to the Lux Church and traveled Sererus to spread the good word. John had been quite proud of him... Until he came home carried in a pine box, or rather what remained of him; he died in a fire trying to rescue children from a burning building in some unnamed village in some small kingdom.

His forth son, Benjamin would also become an Abolitionist and move to Eostia in Ken and loudly denounce the 'crimes' of slavery and all of it's 'evils'. Benjamin would be the second son he would disown.

At least he didn't steal any slaves on the way out...

Of his three daughters none were in position to take over his business; his twins Carrie and Marie were married off to men with their own holdings who would take care of them and due to a tragic horse riding accident Holly was infertile and became a nun.

As such Cyrus was his only viable heir and would need advisors, ones John would ensure would be at his side to guide him as the lad learned from his failures.

Sadly, all four of his other sons and the twins had the right heads for business, but either by death, disowning or marriage none were in position to carry the proud Mandeville name towards the next generation.

"Thankfully he's a good sword hand. He prefers the rapier, but he's good with most blades." John said, smiling. "It helps an old man's heart; knowing he won't be as easy to kill. Still, I worry. He's all I have left to carry on my name."

"Indeed... I would not wish any of my sons to die; but I am at ease knowing Jaeger can take over the County if need be." Arnold said, sighing softly. "As well as Channer; should it come to that. That lad has his heart in the right place, but he needs to learn to harden it and use his head."

"Hmm..." John said, nodding as he moved to sip at his tea, thinking for a moment. "Indeed, indeed." He said setting the cup down. "Channer has been a second son to me here; he's too softhearted but that can be corrected and is, at times, a better flaw then too coldhearted. Both can be poison to the heart of tradition..."

Arnold nodded as he sipped his own cup. "Speaking of poisons..." He began before looking to his old friend. Slowly he would explain the events two weeks prior at the Birthday Party for Princess Prim; his arrival to Ur Fortress, his plans for the event, Victor's poisoning and the outcome of the of Prim's kidnapping before talking about the party itself. Mandeville snorted as the maid refilled their cups, emptied during Arnold's explanation.

"What a circus... Well, Grand Duke Fiorire isn't stupid enough to allow his guard detail to be so lax anymore; not for the near future, regardless. Not after that fiasco." John said with a snort as he finished off a biscuit. "Sad that brat didn't take the poison instead of Victor."

"Indeed. I got your letter about the details; any ideas on how he out maneuvered you?" Arnold asked as John snorted.

"No, not in full at least." He said, frowning. "He had a means of divining my plans when made under a scry shield and under heavy guard. I've yet to figure out exactly how he managed it but in hindsight he had to know our plans ahead of time. Worse, I lost Wesland during it all; I put a lot of investment into him. I juts wish I knew how the bastard worked out our plans..."

"...I have heard of a rumor as I went through Mungale on the way to Ur..." Arnold began, crossing his arms in thought. "One of the Noxdecuses created a means of public address; Merlin's head projected over the town as he spoke to them, or so I'm told." John frowned at the implications of that. "I don't know magic well enough to understand it, but if such communication could be used to project an address..."

"It could be adapted to a means of spying..." John finished for him with a sigh. "I've no idea how he got such a thing into my presence back then, nor how it would work within a scry shield, but I can see how if it is modified one could spy on another. Tsk." John let off, crossing his arms as he leaned back with a snort. "I underestimated him. I got fifty-odd men killed because I foolishly underestimated him."

"Sadly, young as he is he is still Merlin's son." Arnold said with a sigh, sipping his tea once more. "That little bastard's clever. He'll be a problem in the future for us."

"Gah! He is, I hate to say it, but he is." Mandeville growled out. "It's unfortunate that we cannot force a Trial by War between Mungale and Elddale... It would end the situation in a matter of days."

"Indeed... Indeed..." Arnold let off with a nod. "If the chance comes up I would force it but Merlin never gave me the chance. James may do something down the line, but without a proper casus belli I cannot force the issue. But if I could take over Mungale... If I could absorb it into Elddale or even gift it to Jaeger then the doors to Ur and Feoh open..." He let off with a grin. With the exception of Hol'canna none of the slave states bordered one of the seven kingdoms, and it benefited their slave markets simply because they could, with retaliative ease, allow slaver merchants to access the many orphanages in Thorn with a relativelyshort travel time to avoid patrols. With so many of them underfunded and understaffed it was easy to... acquire new product.

It made their markets some of the most profitable, even as Kaguya made moves to counter them. It was difficult for her, of course; few noticed when orphaned and homeless children vanished off the streets. If Elddale were to border one of the great Kingdoms as well, or better yet two of them, then it too could do the same and there were three paths for him to reach their borders; Ararfe, Ferra and Mungale.

Arafe bordered Feoh and was considered a limited state but only in as much as they allowed for the slavery of dark elves; and even then it seems as if once Arthur Leosol passed the reigns of the barony that could end as well. All other races were forbidden to be bought, sold, taken or transported as slaves and while Arnold wanted to change that limited state to a true slave state, as it should be, he respected Arthur too much to force the issue.

Ferra was a free state led by Countess Jamaica Galeraven who's territory bordered Ur and while she and Arnold didn't see eye to eye there was no feud between them and she was a neutral force for him on the Council of Lords. While she was not an ally of his if he were to overstep with her she could easily become an adversary, and Jamaica was well known to remember slights for years to come. If he had to cross her then he had to do so with caution and a worthy prize on the line; doing so otherwise was quite foolish.

And then there was Mungale...

Bordered on both Ur to it's west and Feoh to it's north and northwest Mungale was in the perfect spot to set up slave merchants to pick at the forgettable orphans who would be better used as slaves then wasted potential. However it was an abolitionist state since it's founding and based on his own family's records only flirted with the idea of changing some three hundred years past. And then Daryl Noxdecus stuck his nose up at the traditions that would have bettered his house and rebuffed the idea.

The Blitzhaus/Noxdecus feud started that day, but it wasn't until himself and Merlin that the feud went from a minor, trivial rivalry to what it was now. Arnold had made moves to have the then heir of Mungale, Saxon, overstep her bounds and was within inches to giving him the casus belli needed to call for a Trial of War... Only for Merlin to uncover the plot, disarm it and even undermine his reputation; all in less then half a week.

Arnold had never forgiven him for it. And Merlin, for his part, seemed to despise his attempts to correct Mungale.

"For now, that is not on the table." Arnold said firmly. "And as much as I have done to dislodge and undermine his rule that bastard mage hangs on like a feral dog to it's bone." He sighed as he took a moment to lift his cup up with a huff. "He might not be born of noble blood, but I must admit he's a better Baron then most... Sour as the taste of those words are in my mouth."

"Indeed..." John let off as he sighed, his friend sipping his tea. "However this creation of James', and I'm sure it's the bastard's, could be a sign of their changing fortunes." Arnold looked across from him with a frown. Before he could say anything John continued. "Clearly he's intending to use this creation as a means of communication... And if he can miniaturize it into something that can be carried or worn..."

"Long distance communication... Letting those distant to each other to talk as if across a table like ourselves at this very moment." Arnold let off with a sigh. "If this reaches the High Queen she will see the benefits within seconds. He will have her favor in... No, he already has it..."

"What!? Are you sure?" John let off, blinking as he reached for his own cup.

"Princess Prim's party... I saw the two sharing a dance; not a long one but it was a dance. The only one the High Queen had that night. Half the nobility are talking about it... And... the ice cream." While John took a moment to ask what 'ice cream' was and got his answer as Arnold explained it; he was forced to see the potential money in it... But ignored it for the time to focus on the more important thing that was mentioned.

"We must assume the High Queen is fully aware of this. That means then she'll work to implement it and quickly." John said with a frown. "And then the boy in specific and his house in general will rise in status. And as others note Celestine's favor turning towards him..."

"Business may spike and uplift them. If so, then bringing their economy to a collapse will be impossible..." Arnold said with a grimace. "Not without significant risk that would be unwise to take. Damn it..." He said, beating the table lightly with the bottom of his fist.

"Agreed. I hate to say it, but it's looking like a lost battle at the moment." John said, sipping his tea as he took a moment to think. "You'll be better served by waiting for an opening. As my grandfather used to say 'Know when to bow out and avoid a loss'..."

"'And know when to step in and claim the victory', yes. You taught me that when I was still a stupid teenager." Arnold said with a nod. "It'll be difficult to see what the future brings... But I believed I've gained the needed support to return Elddale to a Duchy. At least I'll need not have a rising Mungale County match me in prestige. Come the next Council of Lords I plan to return to you as Duke Blitzhaus."

"I look forwards to that then, Duke Blitzhaus." John said with a chuckle.

"Have you any more plans on retrieving your property yet?" Arnold asked as he sipped his tea, John sighing deeply.

"Not yet, sadly." He huffed. "As I said I lost a lot of my guards plus Welsand and a good mercenary and now a rumor popped up about how I got them carelessly killed. I had an additional dozen resignations and only four new hires. I'm not in a position to try, and won't be for sometime." He growled softly. "I'm not willing to let her go, yet, but I'm forced to admit defeat, temporary as it may be. Once I've recovered I can plan once more."

"If you need assistance in this manner-"

"I shall ask, thank you." John said nodding once. "On a brighter note; Axiom has finally decided to buy a slave."

"Really? I thought he'd get a woman by wooing her. What happened?" Arnold asked.

"A wife of his friend's left him while he deployed. With all of his money and heirlooms." John scoffed as he shook his head. "He realized a slave is much less trouble; she can't run from you and you can knock her up; no worries about 'feelings' or 'consent' or any of that nonsense as you would with a wife. She's a nice one too; young easterner in fact. He fell in love with that exotic look right away."

"Ahhh, about time he partook of the good, old fashioned traditions!" Arnold said the maid coming back to refill their cups. "My friend, it will be men like us that will not just keep these grand customs in place but reintroduce them to all of Sererus! To Tradition!"

"To Tradition!" John answered, clinking their cups together before they took a mutual sip.

Both ignored the maid who bit back a whimper at the thought of more young girls forced into a position like her own...

[-]

Mercenary War Camp
Imperial Territory of Broken Lake
South-Central of the Empire of Dominious

"We're finally here..."

"Indeed we are."

Conti and Ponti sighed as their carriage entered the war-camp. The pair paid no mind to the banners that hung around them; they'd seen them a hundred times before, if not a thousand. They did look around them, however. The mercenaries were indulging in their vices openly in the camp. Men gambling coin away or winning it. Men drinking ale, mead or whatever else they could afford. Two men smoking odd herbs that came from a land far away, introduced and grown in a nearby country they forgot the name of. But the most common vice was the one all men wished for; women.

Not necessarily willing women.

Hilda the Second had hired them to subdue and end the 'rebellion' against her 'just rule'.

Or in translation she was usurping the throne from the rightful heir that she found wanting and wanted everyone to pretend otherwise. Not that the mercenaries cared; if Hilda the Second wanted the 'rebels' subdued and was willing to pay for it then they'd subdue them; killing the men and raping the women. Lamentations of women of all shapes, sizes and ages were around them. The sounds came from the tents, from the middle of camp, all corners of it...

They rolled past a woman, visibly pregnant, forced to pleasure three men at once; another five waiting their turn at her. A naked teenager, not yet close to her eighteenth year, was dragged crying into a tent. Men cruelly laughed in a small circle as a large doberman mounted a very humiliated, wailing woman as a sign reading 'BITCH' hung off her neck. One of the camp's ogres grunted as he rutted a woman from behind, not caring that he had crushed the bones in the arms he held them.

There was no honor or mercy given from any of these men; they were like cruel animals in a sense. They were like the most primal and brutal of the beasts; human and aberrant alike. Soon their carriage came to a stop. The pair of pigmen stepped out of the vehicle and moved to stretch. "Harold, start unloading the gear!" Conti let off.

"Sure thing boss!" The man said as he and other workers moved to the wagons.

"Hey, the supplies are here!" A mercenary let off with a whoop.

"Ya guys brought ale right?" Another called out to them.

"Of course, of course!" Ponti let off with a chuckle. "Plenty of ale your boss bought already, and some more if you've the coin for it!" A holler came from the men as Conti chuckled.

"Now then, we've a meeting to see to!" Both beast men chuckled and moved to the largest, sturdiest of the tents. Stepping inside through the flaps they noted the light was low, casting shadows about the domicile. Chests and odd items were littered about in a semi organized way, but they were drawn to look at the throne set in the back; a table before it. They couldn't see the man clearly, clad in shadow as he was; not that they needed to. They knew him well enough and seen him often enough. His massive sword was leaning to the side of the throne as he looked down at a map of the Empire, rolled out on the table, illuminated by a dying candle. To one side stood a cloaked figure who looked down to the map, a third sitting on a chest to the side, the lean figure hunched over; both shrouded in the darkness as well.

"Conti, Ponti. What do you have to report?" The man on the throne said, a proud rumble in his voice emanating power and masculinity. Given how large and muscular he was power was an apt word to describe all about him.

"Our target in Geofu is making inquiries to your contact. I dare say, we have him in our pocket." Conti said with a chuckle.

"There is a chance he is playing us, but so far we've seen nothing but good signs." Pomti added as the man chuckled.

"Our man in Feoh is eager to begin and is sending reports on current events... Which brings us to the..."

"Problem..." Ponti ended for his brother.

"Problem?" The man inquired; no anger or worry in his voice; just curiosity.

"Halbert Oxford. Not only did he refuse the offer but he somehow ascertained your true identity before he was killed." Conti began, letting his brother take over.

"He kidnapped Princess Prim and tried to make off with her. Once we realized what happened we set to destroy the letter; he wrote his findings down on a sheet and we burned it to ash."

"But the Black Letter didn't burn fully. We were... Interrupted. A quarter of the letter, it seems, survived." Conti ended for them, both of them wincing at their failure to finish the job.

"Hmmm... How much do they know?" The man asked as he rubbed his chin.

"It's hard to say exactly, but our Feoh contact has a good idea. They know an attack will come in a year's time, but they've no idea who plans their conquest."

"We're compromised however; they know we have agents in their midst; even if not who they are."

"I see. Well, we took a risk and it went sour. That's how it is; you get scarred sometimes when you go to battle." The man said.

"This does mean will need to be more careful from here on, however." The cloaked man said, his glasses shining for a moment in the faint, dim light. "We don't want to give them further ideas of what's going on. We should ensure all our contacts are aware of the situation."

"And even if they don't know we're the ones coming for them..." The lanky man added. "They know someone is. They'll be beefing up to ready for us. We might need to beef up our numbers too."

"Let them ready themselves." Their boss said with a chuckle. "After all, the harder the struggle, the sweeter the prize... Now, who did you get to kill that damned butler?"

"It wasn't any of our men. It was the son of a... middling barony who rescued Prim." Conti told him.

"Although he is said to be close to Princess Prim; James Noxdecus of Mungale." Ponti finished.

"I see... Well, in the grand scheme of things I doubt he'll be that important..." The man chuckled darkly. "Let those bitches ready themselves. Let them try and secure their little fortresses to weather the tide the Black Storm will bring. They'll serve the coming Cuntry on their knees and with open holes."

[-End of Act Character Stats-]

Name: James Noxdecus
Social Rank: Baron's Heir
Title: Dark Horse of Eostia
Class: Spell Blade
Level: 13/100
XP: 3611/13000
Achievements: 25

Platinum: 15 Gold: 12 Silver: 3 Copper: 8

USP: 0
RSP: 0
SSP: 0

UTP: 30
RTP: 0
STP: 5

Regular Stats

[X] Con: 35/200 (87/3000 XP)
[X] Str: 42/200 (2071/3000 XP)
[X] End: 36/200 (2082/3000 XP)
[P] Dex: 48/200 (2004/4000 XP)
[S] Agi: 42/200 (89/3000 XP)
[P] Acc: 57/200 (2075/4000 XP)
[S] Mag: 52/200 (2627/5000 XP) (+1 from Equipment=53)
[P] Mnc: 60/200 (2301/5000 XP) (+12 from Equipment=72)
[X] Lck: 32/200 (512/3000 XP)

Sexual Stats

Sta: 15+21=36/100 (1284/3000 XP)
Rec: 19+7=26/100 (221/2000 XP)
Pow: 13+13=26/100 (1066/2000 XP)
Ple: 17+10=27/100 (1073/2000 XP)
Wil: 12+12=24/100 (72/2000 XP)
Rap: 26+8=34/100 (67/3000 XP)
Cap: 13+13=26/100 (1071/2000 XP)

Regular Traits

High Born
Your reputation with the Middle Classes and High Born is increased by +15 due to your birth. In addition your schooling grants you +500 XP

Noble Allowance

You gain 2 Gold per Day.

Gift of Steel and Silk
Your starting equipment is replaced with equipment one level higher

Appraiser
You can tell what a magical item or weapon can do by a simple examination. Gain the [[Appraise]] Skill

Spell Weaver
You can imbue items with spells and other abilities to make them better. Gain the [[Imbue Magic]] Spell

Muscle Wizard
When training your magic you also train your body. For every 5 points of Mag add 1 to your Str (Rounded Up)
-Upgrade: Now gain 1 Str for every 4 Mag

Tap For Mana
You know how to use magic to it's fullest. All magic costs 5% less mana.

Hit and Move
Your strength just makes you faster. For every 5 Points in Str gain 1 in Agi (Rounded Up)

Sexual Traits

The Power of Love
Each woman you bed will grant you 1 Universal Stat Points and 1 Sexual Stat Point

Chick Magnet
Almost every woman has an attraction towards you. Some can explain it, some cannot. Every female you know gains +25 to all Romance Values. There's a random chance of a Desire increase to women around you.

It Keeps Going and Going...
Gain 1 Sta for every 5 Con (Rounded Up). Additionally gain 1 End for every Even Numbered Level Up
-Upgrade: End gain applies for every Level Up now

Lady Luck's Lover
Raise your Lck by 50% of your Ple

Sex is Power
Anytime you gain Sexual Stat Points as a reward you also gain Regular Stat Points equal to half the amount (Rounded up)

The Speed of Sex
You gain 1 Rap per level up. Additionally, gain 1 Dex for every 6 Rap
-Upgrade: Now gain 1 Dex for every 5 Rap

Relations: Brides

Name: Prim Fiorire
Title: Girlish Shield Princess of Ur
Class: Wizard

Stat Bonus: +5 to Acc, Mag & Mnc. +3 to Con, End & Dex. +5 RSP
Trait Bonus: Prim's Pure Love – +4 to Magical Damage & Healing +2 to Magical Resistance
Bridal Bonus: Prim's Hero – All of your Resistances are increased by 3. Additionally any armor you wear gains +2 to all Resistances +2 to all Primary Stats. +1 to all Secondary Stats

Relations: Concubines

Name: Carmen Shard
Title: Blade of House Fiorire
Class: Spell Blade

Stat Bonus: +3 to Dex, Acc & Mnc. +1 to Agi & Mag. +2 RSP
Trait Bonus: Bodyguard's Duty - +5% to all Stats when defending another person

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew. Compared to the last monster of a chapter this one came out pretty quick.

James is already working hard to build himself up and getting the Voxlux ready. The Seven Shields aren't quite on the right track, but are closer then some might think, Blitzhaus and Mandeville compare notes and our villain... Is kinda showing himself.

I know, I know, I'm playing coy... Please let me...

Please feel free to comment and follow. Let me know what you think, what you like and how you think things are playing out.

Next time; Act Two starts.

Until then!

~~Eostian Scribe