THE HOUR OF RETRIBUTION IS AT HAND !
Brothers and sisters of Ildoa, God is with us ! For too long, the Empire's vile heresies have been allowed to run unchecked. The heathen Imperial occultists have dabbled into matters forbidden since time out of memory, and called forth demons from the depths of Hell to fight their war of conquest for them, hiding their heresy behind a veil of science and innovation.
Yet such blasphemies cannot be committed without drawing the eye of the Lord, who is ever-watchful and benevolent. Within the Holy See, His servants have toiled tirelessly to prepare the sanctified weapons with which this evil will be expunged from the world He created and rules over.
For He is with us always, and He has chosen us to deliver His judgment upon the heretics who befoul His dominion. Even now, the armies of Ildoa march forth into the lair of the Beast, their unstoppable advance heralded by His Holy Knights, who bear His Divine Radiance within their reforged flesh. And at the head of this Holy Crusade is the Saint, blessed among the blessed, the holy instrument through which His Will is made manifest, and all obstacles to His Grand Design are swept away …
Excerpt from the front page of the Ildoa News, December 22nd, 1925 (special edition, published following the temporary arrest of most of the newspaper's personnel).
ILDOAN TREACHERY STRIKES BOVARIA !
As our Reich finally saw the end of the Great War on the horizon with our victories on the Southern Continent and on the waves, Fate, it seems, has decided to test us once more. The Kingdom of Ildoa, who until now was, if not an ally to our nation, then carefully neutral (an understandable position, especially given the terrible cost of a modern war that this conflict revealed), declared war on us yesterday.
The reasons behind this declaration are still obscure : the official proclamation makes all manners of wild, nonsensical allegations, leading this reporter to suspect that events of a most untoward nature have unfolded within Ildoa, and that this war might not be the will of the Ildoan people at all. Indeed, the fact that it was the Ildoan military and not their civilian government nor their king which made this proclamation is as disquieting as its contents, which ludicrously accuse the Empire of having made pacts with the Devil in exchange for the tools to conquer all of Europa – nevermind the fact that the Reich has proven time and again to have no such designs over the course of the Great War !
Not unlike the Allied Kingdom, this declaration came without warning. At the time of writing, there is very little information about the situation available. Even the Imperial Army, it seems, was caught by surprise by the scale of Ildoa's onslaught : according to our contacts within High Command, all personnel has been called to answer this unprovoked attack by our southern neighbour.
However, it is clear that somehow, the Ildoan Army has passed the mountain chain serving as a natural border between our nations. There are numerous reports of enemy action all across Bovaria, with Bovariastadt itself being threatened.
We will keep you informed as we learn more …
Excerpt from the front page of the Berun Post, December 23rd, 1925.
"Hello, ambassador."
"I … Hello, General Zettour."
"You are aware, of course, of the recent events that took place at the border between our nations ?"
"Y-yes. I have heard about them. But I swear to you, I had no idea this would happen ! I haven't received any information about this from the Kingdom !"
"Really ? Nothing ?"
"Nothing ! My latest dispatches three days ago told me to maintain Ildoa's neutrality in the war. Since the Wunderwaffen were discovered, my instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were clearer on the subject than ever before. And since then … silence. I've tried to contact my superiors at the capital, but nobody is answering. I swear this is true !"
"I believe you."
"You … you do ?"
"Yes. Prior to this, we had received … concerning news, about the secret Francois supersoldier programme. We believed De Lugo took the knowledge to create more of the enhanced mages that were used in the Battle of the Rhine with him when he fled the Republic."
"I … I cannot say that he wouldn't have been welcomed into Ildoa if he had that kind of information to bargain with. The Wunderwaffen have made everyone nervous, you know. That there would be someone willing to shelter him in exchange for it is not impossible. But why declare war ? More than that, why make it some kind of Crusade ?! This isn't the Middle Ages anymore !"
"I normally wouldn't share this information, but you still have family in Ildoa, do you not ?"
"Yes. Why ?"
"Because we have reason to believe that these enhanced mages, which we call 'Eikons', have the ability to influence minds. And, perhaps because they were once soldiers of the Republic, this influence takes the form of fanning the flames of hatred against the Empire in those exposed to it."
"I … that is …"
"Strange, isn't it ? It probably sounds ludicrous to you. Unfortunately, we in the Empire have learned that there is much we thought impossible that is instead all too real. And unless you have another explanation for the epidemic of religious madness that seems to have overcome your nation, it appears our worst fears about the Eikons still fell short of the reality."
"I … oh God …"
"You and the rest of the embassy's personnel will be confined to these grounds for the duration of the conflict. This is for your own safety, Ambassador. I am sure you understand."
"… yes. Thank you, General."
"You can rest assured that we'll do all in our power to get to the bottom of what happened in Ildoa. And the head of our Wunderwaffen research has, shall we say, strong opinions about the use of magic to alter the minds of others."
Conversation at the Ildoan embassy in Berun – December 23rd, 1925.
December 25th, 1925 – Londinium
It might be Christmas, but the Round Table's work was never done. Outside, the country was celebrating the addition of Ildoa into the Great War against the Empire, but for the lords of the realm, the situation was far more complicated than it appeared at first glance.
"Well," said Kay as he looked at the latest dispatches from the Kingdom of Ildoa, "I know we were pretty much stuck waiting for a miracle, but I can safely say that none of us saw that coming."
"Indeed," agreed Agravain. "We had no idea the Holy See was assembling its own program of supersoldiers, let alone one so effective."
The Allied Kingdom had agents in Ildoa, of course. Keeping the country from joining the Empire's side in the war had been of critical importance (though that importance had greatly diminished since the Empire had started crushing all opposition with its Wunderwaffen), after all. But none of them had reported so much as a hint that something so momentous was in the works, which clearly was very annoying to Agravain. None of the other members of the Round Table were saying it, of course, but so soon after the debacle with the Second Squadron, this failure of their intelligence gathering apparatus certainly rankled.
"The Kingdom of Ildoa's political situation was already complicated," said Mordred with commendable understatement. "It hasn't been that long since the country was unified in the first place, after all, and now this. Do we have any idea how the hell this happened ?"
"It was a coup," Agravain said. "The official declaration of war doesn't make any mention of the King of Ildoa, only claims they are operating under the guidance of His Holiness. This has to have been plotted within the walls of the Holy See, and we don't have nearly as many eyes there as we do in the Kingdom. Nothing else makes sense. I don't know how the Holy See got the Ildoan generals on board, though. They couldn't have organized an operation like this without at least some preparation beforehand."
"Showing the Eikons to the generals might have impressed them enough to get them onboard," suggested Kay, using the Imperial term for the enhanced aerial mages that had first been deployed in Arene. "Even though Ildoa was careful to stay neutral in the war before, I can't imagine its leaders were all too happy with the reveal of the Wunderwaffen. They might have jumped on the chance to get some magical supersoldiers of their own, especially since our own propaganda efforts have painted the Empire as wanting to conquer all of Europa, and Ildoa is just on their doorstep."
"No," said Agravain, frowning. "If that were the case, the justifications for joining the war would be different, similar to our own intents of curbing Imperial ambitions." The spymaster of the Round Table tapped one of the papers on the table : it was a transcript from the Ildoan declaration of war, which was filled with religious rhetoric. "There's supposed to be a difference between propaganda aimed at the population and the official correspondence between nations, but in this case they are one and the same. Whoever is pulling the strings must genuinely believe in this nonsense about the Empire getting their Wunderwaffen from Hell, meaning the Holy See actually is the one in command of this … I hesitate to use the term 'alliance', since it seems to me the Ildoan Kingdom may not have had much of a choice in the matter."
There was a moment of silence as they considered the implications of that. At the moment, those agents they did have in Ildoa were running around trying to get a clear picture of the situation at the newly opened front. And if not for the many supposedly impossible things that had already happened in the Great War, the Round Table would have discarded their preliminary reports entirely. But after what the Empire had proven capable of and what had happened in Kemet, it would be a gross dereliction of the Round Table's duties to not consider anything possible. And those reports were far from reassuring.
"So," summed up Mordred, "a military coup by religious fanatics using supersoldiers to enforce their will, and with access to whatever it was that tore a hole through the mountains and let the Ildoan Army march right into the Empire's southlands. That … I'm going to be honest, that worries me a lot. Our relations with the Holy See aren't exactly the best. That's been the case since we went our separate ways on religious matters centuries ago, and our actions during the Inquisition didn't help either. Can we say for certain that, if they defeat the Empire, they won't turn their eyes on us next ?"
"That'll be an issue for later," said Kay. "For now, I think we should focus on what's happening on the field. While the Eikons are certainly a concern, I'm far more worried about the fact that the Ildoan army apparently tore a path right through the mountains."
"That's for the Prime Minister to decide in the end," said Kay. "I have been in a meeting with him : right now, Churbull wants us to draft plans for a landing on Francois. They might never be used, but if the Ildoans manage to defeat the Empire, the Prime Minister wants us to be able to say we took part in the final victory. He's also hoping that, by showing our own strength, we'll be able to curtail this religious nonsense once the Empire is beaten and avoid a new Inquisition."
"What if it isn't nonsense ?"
The rest of the Round Table turned to look at the Royal Wizard.
"Merlin," said Agravain slowly, "are you saying that the Holy See are really acting under the direct orders of God ? I am as religious as anybody else in this room, but I find that unlikely, to say the least."
"When the Not-Man manifested in Europa a thousand years ago, it was defeated by warriors blessed by a priest," said the Royal Wizard. "When it built the Nameless City in Kemet and rampaged with its horde of monsters – assuming that was the same entity – it was the priests who led the counter-attack and banished it once more. Now, a thousand years after it was defeated for the last time and promised to return after ten centuries, the Empire's Wunderwaffen show up, followed by thaumaturgically enhanced mages who call themselves 'Holy Knights' flying under the banner of one of the world's major religions. And we still don't know how the Republic got its hands on the Holy Knights in the first place."
"I'll admit it does sound possible," said Mordred, "but there are plenty of explanations for that which don't involve literal divine intervention, even if we do take the Not-Man theory at face value. The Archbishop of Parisee vanished alongside De Lugo : it could be that religions across the ages have preserved the magical know-how to oppose the Not-Man's creations, by simple virtue of being one of the only groups with the ability to preserve information throughout the centuries."
"And what if this really is God's will ?" insisted Merlin. "What if what we see as Ildoan propaganda is nothing more than the unvarnished truth, one that we have been wilfully ignoring all this time ?"
"Then," Kay cut in, "the Empire will fall. The Wunderwaffen will be destroyed, Division Y will be dismantled, and the current incarnation of the Not-Man, whether it really is Colonel Lergen or, hell, the Kaiser himself, will be slain. If your theory is correct, then isn't that the way it has always gone ? The only difference this time is that modern technology has scaled up everything involved. If God is guiding the Holy See, then we can only have faith that, so long as we do our best, He will look kindly upon our efforts."
Slowly, Merlin nodded, appearing to calm down. The rest of the Round Table let out a quiet sigh of relief and exchanged quick glances : it was clear that they'd been putting too much pressure on the old man, asking him to uncover the secrets of the Wunderwaffen then designing counters for them. When all this was over, maybe it would be time to quietly suggest that perhaps it was time for one of his apprentices to succeed him as Royal Wizard so that he could retire.
And if God really was on their side, well, it was well-known that God helped those who helped themselves. Any political or military strategy that relied on divine intervention was beyond foolish.
December 26th, 1925 – Imperial Capital Berun – Central Headquarters of the Imperial Army
In all of the Reich's history, thought Colonel Lergen, there must rarely have been a meeting as important to the future of the Empire as this one. Brigadier Generals Zettour and Rudersdorf were both present, along with Major Degurechaff and her aide Serebryakov. The latter two had flown straight from Castle Schwartzstein on their own power the moment they had received word of what was happening in the south. While Lieutenant Serebryakov was wearing her mask, Degurechaff's face was exposed safe for the thick glasses covering her eldritch eyes, and Lergen had never seen her look so worried, even when he'd met her in the cathedral of Arene after her first time using Kosmosblut.
To be perfectly honest, Lergen wasn't sure why he was part of this meeting, but General Zettour had asked for his presence, and he had obeyed his superior without complaint. Even now, with the Fatherland not just under threat but already harmed, the old man was still weaving his plots and deceits for the greater good of the Empire.
A map of the Empire's southern region was stretched on the table between them, with pins showing the estimated positions of armed forces belonging to both invader and defender. It painted a grim picture.
"The Southern Army is gone," began Rudersdorf, the old soldier as blunt as ever. "The Eikons destroyed its command center yesterday, and most of its units have either been eliminated or captured, with the rest withdrawing from the region. As of this morning, all of Bovaria is in enemy hands. Ladies and gentlemen, this has already been the Empire's greatest military defeat in modern times."
"The initial punch through the Alps ripped through the Southern Army's best troops, stationed there precisely in case the Ildoans decided to join the war," continued Zettour, pointing at the relevant section of the map. "It caught us completely by surprise."
"What do we know about what happened ?" asked Degurechaff.
"The reports are, for lack of a better word, confused. It all happened very quickly, and we are still piecing together what we can from the survivors who managed to escape and make contact. Here is what we know : on December 22nd, the Ildoan Army moved from its bases in Northern Ildoa. Our fortifications in the Alps picked up on the increased radio traffic and sent scouts to investigate, who promptly returned with word of the massive mobilization. The Southern Army was preparing for an attack when the magical radars started detecting the presence of mana signatures resembling those of the Eikons Division Y had sent them."
"In response, the aerial mages of the Southern Army were deployed. At the time, it was believed the Eikons only numbered around a dozen, and it was hoped that the mages could at least play for time, perhaps engage the Eikons in aerial combat and draw them into the range of the forts' anti-air guns."
It wouldn't have been ideal, and Lergen wouldn't have wanted to be in the place of the aerial mages playing cat-and-mouse with the Ildoan supersoldiers, but it was probably the best the commanders of the Southern Army could have done given the situation.
Besides, one shouldn't speak ill of the dead.
"Just as they were about to engage, however," Rudersdorf continued grimly, "many more Eikon signatures suddenly popped up among the Ildoan Army, and then one that was only briefly registered before the devices broke down. It was, according to those who spoke with the technicians, several orders of magnitude greater than the Eikons, and flared at the same time as the phenomenon which destroyed most of our Alpine fortifications and, well … opened a path right through the mountains." The General pointed at the map : "From what the mages who managed to escape told us, the passage goes from there, on the Ildoan side, to here, right in Bovaria," he tapped his finger to the edge of the Empire's southern region. "It is wide and smooth enough for the Ildoan Army to march through it at full speed : within ten hours of the blast, they were in Bovaria, and as of yesterday they have captured and occupied Bovariastadt, the regional capital."
For as long as nations had existed, mountains had served as natural borders between them. The Alps, between Ildoa and the Empire, had been perfect in that regard. It was possible for a determined army to cross them, as had legendarily been proven centuries ago by a general from the Southern Continent, but they were still a considerable obstacle to a modern army, and one that was all but impossible to break through if it were defended.
The Ildoan Army, however, had not walked through the mountains, but instead removed them from the way completely. So this was how it felt like to be on the receiving end of a superweapon changing the paradigm of warfare, mused Lergen. It wasn't pleasant at all.
"So, Major Degurechaff," said Rudersdorf, turning to the small girl among them, who wore a pair of thick sunglasses despite being indoors, and whose right arm was completely covered by a long-sleeved glove under her custom-sized uniform. "Can you tell us what the hell happened, and what we can do about it ?"
"This was a Mythos spell that the Ildoans used," she said decisively. "Something completely different from the Eikons, not just in power but also in nature."
"How can you tell ?" asked Zettour, not challenging but wanting more details.
"Because if that much rock had been vaporized by an overpowered attack spell, we would have felt it. I haven't had time to run the numbers, but I would expect violent earthquakes to wrack the entire continent, the entire region to be left in ruins, the sky to be blotted out by dust, ushering in a very cold and prolonged winter … at least." If anyone else at the table was as disturbed as Lergen by how casually the Major was speaking of such things, none of it showed on their faces. "None of that has happened, however, meaning that however the Ildoan superweapon did it, it removed everything in its way by displacing it elsewhere, while transmuting the matter on the edge of the area of effect somehow – otherwise there would have been collapses and avalanches as the rest of the mountains reacted to the changes. There are some avenues of research in Division Y that could potentially achieve that sort of result : Projekt V in particular, had we pushed its development to its logical end."
"Why didn't you ?" asked Lergen, morbidly curious.
"Because what we already had was very useful without being potentially apocalyptic," she replied without missing a beat. "And because, unlike the Holy See, we actually have regulations against risking to break the fabric of reality itself."
"Is there a possibility of that happening if the Ildoans use their weapon again ?" asked Zettour.
"Almost certainly," said Degurechaff. "But there has to be some kind of limit to that superweapon. Maybe it needs time to recharge, or can only be fired a limited numbers of time. Power like that doesn't come without cost. I dread to imagine what price Ildoa paid for something like this."
"Unfortunately," said Zettour, "we can't exactly test that, because there's a chance we'll run out of armies before they run out of charges. Which brings us back to the military situation. The bulk of the Ildoan forces is occupying the regional capital, Bovariastadt. What remains of our magical detection array in the region tells us that most Eikons are located there, as well as a mana signature we are almost sure belongs to whatever burned through the Alps."
"That's bad," murmured Degurechaff. "There are, what, half a million people in that city ?"
"A little over seven hundred thousands as of the last census, yes," clarified Zettour. Lergen wasn't surprised the older man knew the figure without needing to check. "Why do you ask ?"
"Because we are working on a timer here," she said gloomily. "From what we discovered in Francois, we suspected the Eikons to be capable of influencing the minds of others, turning them into fanatical zealots like them. The fact that Ildoa declared a Crusade against us, and that the Kingdom basically gave up its sovereignty to the Holy See, indicates that our hypothesis was correct."
"Oh," breathed Lergen as he realized where the Major was going with this. "You're thinking that all of Bovariastadt's inhabitants are in danger of being mind-controlled as well ?"
"Exactly," nodded Degurechaff. "I don't know how long it will take, but we risk the entire population being turned into crusaders, perfectly willing to die so long as they take the Empire down with them."
"That is unacceptable," Rudersdorf all but snarled. "These are our people. We need to move fast and destroy the source of that mental corruption. Much as it irks me to say so about a foreign presence in the Fatherland, the rest of the Ildoan Army is of secondary importance : we can force them off the Heimat later by conventional means. Major, what is the most extreme scenario on the table ?"
"We unseal Projekt M and use it to burn the entire region to ash," replied Degurechaff without hesitation. "In my opinion, death is preferable to such slavery. But I would rather we avoid doing that."
"… So would I," drily replied Zettour in the stunned silence that followed. "And, I assume, so would the Kaiser. Can Division Y defeat the Eikons without resorting to such drastic measures ?"
"We have twenty instances of Projekt U ready for deployment, eight of whom have already used Endlose Nacht once," listed Degurechaff. "Back on the Rhine, the Untoten were outnumbered four to one and suffered thirty percent casualties. Here, they would be outnumbered more than ten to one, and we must assume that our enemies have made some enhancements to their design by now – if nothing else, these Eikons will have had more time to grow used to their new abilities and train with them. If I use Kosmosblut, it will even the odds somewhat, but I'll probably need to keep that in reserve to deal with their 'Saint'."
Intercepted Ildoan propaganda broadcasts had revealed to them the name the Kingdom was using for its superweapon. Lergen hoped this was not literal : the idea of a person wielding that much destructive power was not one he wanted to contemplate.
"What about guerilla warfare ?" suggested Rudersdorf. "A series of small-scale engagements ?"
"No, that won't work," Lergen shook his head. "The Untoten needed Endlose Nacht to take on the Eikons. We already don't know what effects a second dose will have on those who fought on the Rhine : using it repeatedly in order to whittle away at the enemy's numbers is folly."
"I can't believe I am saying this," sighed Zettour, "but what about Projekt K, then ? The Ildoan Army has better equipment than the Dacians did, but I don't believe it would make much of a difference. At the very least it would keep the conventional troops busy, and would likely draw the attention of the Eikons as well."
"The Kinder don't have much in the way of ranged attacks," replied Degurechaff with a grimace of distaste. "The Eikons could just bombard them from afar until their regeneration gives out. Then there are the secondary effects to consider. I won't use Projekt K near Bovariastadt itself; I would rather use Projekt M."
"Then what do you propose ?" asked Rudersdorf with a wry smile. "We all know how you work by now, Major. You wouldn't have come all the way to Berun without at least an idea."
"I propose," Degurechaff took a deep breath, "that we unseal Projekt H."
There was a moment of silence. Barring possible Lieutenant Serebryakov, although Lergen wouldn't bet on it, everyone at the table knew what Projekt H was : Lergen himself had been briefed on all of Division Y's Projekte as part of his role in Operation Enigma. They also knew that there was a good reason why it had been sealed without ever being deployed in the field, when even Projekt K had been used once before the means to deploy it had been locked away.
"From what I recall of this Projekt, it would most definitely help," said Zettour slowly. "But when you stopped research on that Projekt, you told me you couldn't control it to your satisfaction."
"That was before. Things have changed now." Degurechaff rested her left hand on her right wrist, which was covered by a long glove that went all the way up to her elbow, concealing the price she had paid for her use of Kosmosblut on the Nazzadi homeworld. "Both the Untoten and the Werwölfe have reported new reactions to my presence since Arene. I believe that there is a chance Projekt H could be controlled now, or at least aimed at the enemies of the Reich."
"Even if you are right about your new ability to control the instances of Projekt H," said Lergen, "you can hardly be expected to stay near them at all times. How do you intend to control them when you aren't there ?"
Degurechaff grimaced, and Lergen felt his stomach twist in anticipation. "Our researchers believe they've found a solution to that problem. I've looked it over, and as long as the instances can be pacified by my presence long enough for them to deploy it, I think it should work."
"And what are the drawbacks ?" asked Zettour. "I know you well enough to know there must be some, Major, or you wouldn't be so hesitant."
She told them, in her usual cold, clinical tone she always used when speaking of things that would turn most people to madness. Lergen had been bracing himself for something bad, and he wasn't disappointed, although he desperately tried to pretend there wasn't a part of him whispering it could be worse.
There was a moment of silence as the three Imperial officers absorbed this latest revelation, eventually broken by General Rudersdorf :
"It will have to be volunteers," the Operations officer said. "Nothing else is acceptable."
"I know," replied the Major. "I have already found several within Division Y. All of them were briefed on the risks before volunteering."
Of course she had, reflected Lergen. They had known something related to the Eikons was happening in Ildoa, even if the scale of the issue had blind-sided them all. It was only to be expected that the Major would prepare a response to that threat.
"And … assuming this works," said Zettour. "What exactly would be your suggested course of action ?"
As the Major began to explain her plan to end the Ildoan threat to the Fatherland, Lergen was once again reminded that, no matter how much saner Degurechaff had seemingly become since working in Division Y, she was still a monster in the shape of a child – only she was the Empire's monster, and those on the other side were worse.
"While the anchoring of the summoned entities to the material shells prepared for them by our engineers worked as our calculations predicted, all attempts at communication with the resulting creatures have failed. Three members of the research team have been lost during these attempts, as well as seven security guards when one of them briefly broke containment before being forced back by three instances of Projekt W working together with Captain Weiss, who had recovered from his previous injury thanks to the replacement arm crafted for him by Professor Gehrman using the techniques developed for Projekt P, following the incident recorded in report 6894-A.
During that engagement, the instance of Projekt H displayed remarkable resilience and regeneration an order of magnitude greater than that already observed among the instances of Projekt W. It behaved in an entirely instinctive manner, lacking the intellect and malice exhibited by some of the other extra-dimensional entities affected by Elder magic and possessing instead strong fight-or-flight impulses. While this lack of intelligence played a key role in its eventual containment, it still caused considerable damage to the area, although thankfully this was taking place on the grounds, outside of Castle Schwartzstein itself.
By order of the Director, Projekt H is to be put on hold, and the existing instances locked within the Black Vaults until such a time as a method for control or disposal is found. In the mean time, the research and surviving personnel of Projekt H are to be transferred to Projekt K …"
Excerpt from an internal memo at Castle Schwartzstein regarding Projekt H, [Hüne], August 8th, 1923.
"The Ildoans are here. How did they get here so fast ? What happened to our defenses ? It happened so quickly, nobody even had time to run. There are all kind of rumors running around and they are all unbelievable. The Ildoans say they are here on orders of the Holy See, that this is a Holy Crusade, that the Empire has fallen to devilry and heresy and needs to be cleansed.
I'm scared. At least Laetitia and the girls are with her mother in Berun. I knew I should have insisted and gone with them instead of finishing up my work here before following. I tried to contact them, but the soldiers have cut the phone lines, and they don't let anyone leave.
How could this happen ? I thought we were winning the war. I thought Ildoa was neutral.
Where are the Wunderwaffen ? No, I know the answer. The Ildoans were too fast. I doubt Berun even knows what has happened at the moment.
They will come. The Empire won't abandon us. The invaders will be pushed back."
"It looks like the Holy Knights, that's what the Ildoans say their weird mages in golden armor are called, are perched atop every tall building in the city. They are … chanting ? Praying ? I don't know. I have a headache. It's difficult to think."
"Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord. Glory to the Lord."
"I just saw what I wrote earlier today. I don't remember writing it, but it is my handwriting, I'm sure of it. What is going on ?! What's wrong with me ?!"
"Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever.
Glory to the Lord, hallowed be His name, His will be done in His Kingdom, forever and ever."
From the journal of Cavan Ehrlich, resident of Bovariastadt, December 1925.
AN : Hello, everyone ! I'm back ! Thank you all for your patience.
No, you don't get to see the big battle. That's for the next chapter, which hopefully won't take a month to write this time (look, we all knew the frenzied speed at which I wrote the bulk of this story wasn't sustainable). I needed to do some setup. The good news is that I already have the layout of the battle written down; the bad news is that switching back and forth between this story and Ciaphas Cain, Warmaster of Chaos is a bit jarring, since the tone is quite different.
Projekt H is something people have been clamoring for me to add to this story for quite some time. I hope that I manage to do it justice. As for everyone asking about the Russy Federation : I have a plan for them that I've been working on almost since that story blew up and grew past its initially planned six parts. That plan will start to show in the next arc of the story, and that's all you're getting (though I do look forward to your theories).
To clarify : Bovariastadt is the city of Not!Munich, with Bovaria being Not!Bavaria. Yes, I changed just one letter in the name of the region. Being lazy with the name changes is an established tradition of Youjo Senki.
If you or someone you know actually live in Munich ... well, I'm sorry. It does seem to be a very lovely city from what my cursory research has turned up.
I hope Tanya's explanation of the Saint's removing the Alps made, well, as much sense as anything in this story does. Out of story, this miracle was obviously due to Being X putting a hand on the scales. I haven't run the numbers to see whether the energy involved in displacing part of a chain of mountains would be greater than doing the same as for parting the seas (assuming the same dimensional displacement + solidification at the edges of the area of effect), but if someone with a better grasp on physics and mathematics than I want to try, feel free.
That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to what happens next.
Zahariel out.