"Citizens of the Empire,
By now, all of you are aware of the events which rocked our fair capital yesterday. There has been much confusion and wild speculation, which is understandable, but ends today.
It is with a heavy heart that we must announce that, during the unthinkable attack on the Imperial Palace by a mage using Elder spellcraft of foul origins and fouler aspect, the entire Imperial Family was slain, including the Kaiser himself.
The investigation into how exactly such an atrocity was possible is still ongoing, but it has already been determined that it wasn't the work of foreign powers, but instead the result of internal treachery, with the Imperial Court having been infiltrated by the vile wretch responsible months ahead of the strike itself. Be assured that any trace of the conspiracy shall be rooted out and purged, with as much thoroughness as the chief murderer, who was killed by the Lady of Stars, Tanya von Degurechaff, mightiest of the Empire's supersoldiers.
For centuries, the Imperial Family led the Empire. Their exact role and prerogatives may have varied over the years, but their dedication to the greater glory of the Fatherland remained unchanged. In recognition of their long and distinguished service, until the end of the month, a period of public mourning shall be observed across the Reich.
Further announcements will be made as the situation develop. In the meantime, please remain calm and follow any instructions from the police and military personnel. In addition, please report any unnatural phenomenon to the military at once, but DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DEAL WITH THEM YOURSELVES, as doing so might be dangerous in the extreme, both for you and the people around you. If in doubt, evacuate to a safe distance and contact the closest aforementioned personnel, who have all been distributed contact information to the proper authorities.
Though this is a dark hour for the Empire, let there be no doubt that we shall prevail over this latest challenge as well.
May God be with us all."
Public announcement in Berun, September 4th, 1926.
BERUN UNDER ATTACK !
Yesterday, the capital of the Empire, Berun, was the site of a violent magical attack targeting the Imperial Palace, where the Reich's ruling family has resided for several centuries.
The images above, sent to us by our correspondent in Berun, speak for themselves of the devastation which was wrought during the short (a mere few minutes according to eyewitnesses) but intense battle. The Palace was reduced to rubble, but mercifully the fighting was contained to its immediate surroundings.
Nevertheless, the entirety of the Imperial Court was lost in the attack, including the whole of the Imperial Family, which had been gathered in order to pay homage to the Director of the infamous Division Y, that branch of the Imperial Army responsible for the creation and deployment of the Wunderwaffen which shall go down in History as the defining factor of the Great War.
The nature of the attack remains the subject of much speculation. Nearly the entire population of Berun witnessed an aerial battle between two creatures of immense power, one which was recognized as the Lady of Stars, Division Y's supersoldier who first appeared at Arene and was later sighted at Bovariastadt and Moskva. Her opponent, on the other hand, was an unknown quantity, albeit one whose mere sight, even from kilometers away, inspired a deep sense of dread and repulsion in every onlooker.
Unfortunately, there were no pictures taken of the fight itself that our correspondent was able to obtain.
At time of writing, the Empire has yet to make a formal announcement regarding the attack, apart from general calls to remain calm and cooperate with the armed forces which were called in from the garrisons outside the capital to help maintain order.
Though our President was in Berun at the time for the upcoming conference regarding the regulation of Elder Magecraft, along with numerous experts and other assorted personnel, we have been assured that none of them were in any danger during this sudden and terrible crisis. The threat was confined to small lake-born islet on which the Imperial Palace once stood.
Despite this tragic event, the President has announced his intent to remain in Berun for the conference, which is still slated to go on. In a press release, he declared that, since the Imperial Army was able to contain this attack so quickly, there is no danger to him remaining in Berun, while the mere fact that such an attack happened at all reinforces the need for such a conference in the first place.
At home, there have been many voices rising in protest of such a cavalier attitude from the Commander-in-Chief …
Excerpt from the front page of the Unified States newspaper The National Truth, September 5th, 1926.
"Though I was as surprised by it as everyone else, it turns out that the paperwork for Major Degurechaff's ennoblement actually went through before the Tragedy. Her official name, as far as the Reich's bureaucracy is concerned, is now Tanya von Degurechaff – I dread to imagine how much paperwork will need to be updated now, considering the influence she wielded prior to this.
However interesting this might be on its own, my investigation uncovered something of much greater import. It turns out that the same Imperial decree which ennobled Degurechaff also made her adopted by the Kaiser, with all the seals and signatures required to maker her an honorary member of the Imperial Family.
Given what she told General Lergen of what happened in the Palace in the last months, and what the wretched creature responsible intended for the future, one shudders to imagine the true motivations behind this adoption. But I think we can turn this to our advantage, even if it means making use of the schemes of the very creature responsible for the Tragedy. With the destruction of the Palace and the death of the entire extended Imperial Family, the Major is – strictly technically speaking – the next in line for the Imperial Throne.
I'm sure that, if we were to look up the family tree long enough, we could find some distant relative to put on the throne. But, since Degurechaff was adopted into the Imperial House itself, however briefly and in a … disputable manner, there is a case to make her, if not Empress, then perhaps something else.
Order must be maintained, now more than ever. And, based on what I have heard from the Americans and our visitors from the Far East, the Mythos threat is far from dealt with. In such a situation, the Reich cannot afford to even risk a fool or a coward obtaining the throne. However symbolic the position of Kaiser may have become in recent years, the authority it wields remains vast, and with the star of the Empire in the ascendant as the Great War staggers to a close, the associated power is vaster still.
I don't expect the Major to thank me for proposing this, but I genuinely believe it has to be done, and I will do everything in my power to support her – as I know her subordinates will.
… That Serebryakov girl worries me, and not just because she is a blood-drinking undead. Loyalty is to be commended, of course, but in her case, it seems to border on obsession."
From the personal writings of Brigadier General Hans von Zettour, September 7th, 1926.
September 10th, 1926 – Imperial City Berun – Charlotte's Palace
The leaders of the world's most powerful nations met in a somber and worried mood, which clashed with the luxury of their surroundings. Charlotte's Palace, the chosen location for the conference, was a marvel of baroque architecture, built a couple of centuries back by the wife of the Kaiser of the time, if the President of the Unified States remembered the briefing he'd read correctly.
The room in which they were gathered had once been a ballroom, but now the dance floor was covered by a large round table at which the assembled worthies sat. In the moment before the conference's appointed starting hour, the President looked at them all in turn.
There was the new Prime Minister of the Allied Kingdom, who looked like he'd much rather be just about anywhere else. Nobody could fault the Empire's hospitality to Churbull's successor, but the President wouldn't have wanted to be in his place anyway. It wasn't even his fault, although given what he knew of Albish politics, the American suspected most of the stuff Albion was paying the price for now would still have happened had he been in charge instead of Churbull.
The Francois President, who had formally signed the Republic's surrender and led De Lugo's denunciation, was paradoxically in a better position than the Albish Prime Minister. Sure, his country didn't have any Mythos soldiers and weapons left, and its military bases were still occupied by Imperial forces, but all the blame for the Eikons' deeds had been shifted on the renegade Vice Minister.
To the surprise of everyone, Commander Zhenkov had arrived the previous day, riding into Berun right as the city's skies were shaken by the battle between titans. A wise man would have ordered his driver to turn back, but Zhenkov had instead stopped to the side of the road, watched the entire confrontation go down, and then called on the radio to ask what the hell was going on, before shrugging when nobody had picked up and finishing his trip to find out in person. Presumably, after what he'd seen in the campaign against the Dark Mother, such sights no longer bothered him.
Sat next to the Russy officer, Miss Adashino was a pretty thing in a white robe with golden threads, who hid her mouth behind a fan decorated with some exquisite artwork and calligraphy whose meaning eluded the American President completely. He forced himself to remember that, however frail she might appear, she had flown from the Akitsushiman Dominion to Berun under her own power.
Various interprets sat on simpler chairs behind the representatives who needed them. Deciding which language would be used for the conference had been a diplomatic battle by itself. In the end, they had decided on Imperial. Strictly speaking, Albish might have been more convenient, but, well. Nobody had forgotten the Allied Kingdom's various blunders in recent years, and even the Unified States' assistance to the Reich in Russy wasn't enough to balance things out.
"Introducing Her Highness, the Regentrix of the Reich," began the herald, a bead of sweat running down his forehead the only sign of the nervousness he was feeling, "Tanya von Degurechaff !"
The figure that strode through the gates was tall, over three meters in height, and as magnificent as she was terrible. She shouldn't have been able to pass through the gates without bending over, yet somehow, she did, space bending to allow her passage in a casual display of power that wasn't missed by anyone at the table.
The President had seen images of the 'Lady of Stars' before, procured by the Unified States' operatives. He'd even managed to catch a glimpse of her in action when that unpleasantness had occurred at the Imperial Palace, though that had been from very far away, before his bodyguards could jam him into an underground bunker to wait out the madness.
But she was much more impressive in person. She was like a cut of night-sky wrapped into the form of a tall woman, shining with the light of thousands of stars. Her right hand rested on the pommel of a blade of moonlight that hung in the air around her waist, and her eyes blazed with the same inner illumination as her gaze swept over the room. Despite himself, the President felt the impulse to get up and fall to his knees, but he fought it down, as did everyone else at the table.
Then, she shrunk, and the starry radiance faded, until what stood before them was a tall young woman, with pale skin and blonde hair, wearing a mix between a military uniform and an aristocratic dress. The only visible sign that she was more than an ethereal beauty, apart from the computation orb topping the cane she held instead of her sword, were her eyes, which were still shining with the light of distant galaxies.
Well, reflected the President, that explained the normal-sized chair between Lergen and Zettour that had been left empty once everyone else was seated. It would have been awkward to have a giant standing up while everyone else was sitting down.
He bit down a burst of nervous laughter at the mental image and focused on the present situation with the ease of a career politician. The news that the mysterious Director of Division Y was to succeed the defunct Kaiser as head of state had been announced the previous day, to as much fanfare as could be mustered under the circumstances.
Popular reactions had been muted, for lack of a better word. The Berunites were still reeling from the shock of the Imperial Palace's destruction and the sight of two awesome beings, one as horrible as the other was magnificent, battling over the ruins. Right after the news that the Great War was finally over and that their nation was being honored by being the host of a conference poised to redefined global politics, the shock had been even worse.
The fact Generals Zettour, Rudersdorf and Lergen had all declared their support of the move had been the decisive factor, in the President's opinion (and those of his advisors who had accompanied him on the trip). With the nobility reeling from the deaths of so many of its most influential members, and the fact nobody in Berun was willing to go against the Lady of Stars for obvious reasons, the decree had been ratified by the Imperial Parliament within a couple of days of the initial announcement (and most of that time had been spent tracking down every member of the legislature and returning them to work).
In essence, the Empire was now ruled by a military cabal presided over by a living goddess, who had her own army of monsters utterly loyal to her, and at the very least, the admiration and respect of the rest of the Imperial Army, which had proven its ability to taken on the rest of Europa on its own.
Well, if nothing else, the President mused ruefully, the conference wasn't going to be boring.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Tanya von Degurechaff declared as she took her seat, "I welcome you all to Berun. Now, let us begin. There is much we must discuss, for the good of our respective countries and, indeed, the entire world."
Unified States President (USP) : "So, are we finally going to get some answers about what the hell happened in the Imperial Palace ? And by answers, I mean something a tad more elaborate than the reassuring sop you served the population."
Tanya von Degurechaff (TVD) : "Of course. A shape-shifter of considerable power infiltrated the Palace an undetermined amount of time ago, murdered the Kaiser, and enslaved the entire Court before transforming them into monsters akin to those which appeared in Kemet when the Nameless City was breached by the Albish expedition. It arranged for me to go there in order to suborn me. However, I broke free of its control, much like I broke the influence of the Eikons at Bovariastadt. Unfortunately, it was too late to rescue the members of the court, as they had already been warped beyond my ability to reverse."
USP : "You say that the … creature we saw you fight was a shape-shifter. And you clearly changed forms just now. So, I am going to ask the obvious question : how do we know you are Director Degurechaff ?"
TVD : "An excellent question, Mister President. Division Y has numerous protocols to check against such infiltration. After the battle was over, Lieutenant Serebryakov ran through them and confirmed my identity, along with Lieutenant Grantz and Sergeant Barchet, followed by Doctor Laurence later on."
USP : "All of whom are members of Division Y, I can't help but notice."
General Lergen (GL) : "And trusted members of the Imperial Army, whose very loyalty to their Director would demand of them to make absolutely certain she wasn't replaced by a pretender."
Francois President (FP) : "If General Lergen is certain, then I think we can put the matter aside."
USP : "Alright, alright. I just wanted to be sure."
General Zhenkov (GZ) : "Which is understandable. I know I would've asked if you hadn't. But now that's out of the way, let's get to business, shall we ?"
[…]
TVD : "Though we believe the threat to Europa has been handled for the time being, there remains other beings akin to the Pretender, that which the Albish called the Not-Man in their translation of ancient texts, across the world. I believe that is the reason for our friends from the Far East's presence here, correct ?"
Sakura Adashino (SA) : "You are correct, Degurechaff-san. As we speak, my father and his colleagues are struggling to keep the ancient evil which broke free of its shackles during the Solstice Event from reaching our Emperor."
TVD : "And there is also a threat in Brazil ?"
USP : "Correct again. People are disappearing or committing atrocities across the country, centered on a region nobody comes out of. Interrogation of the culprits, when they can be taken alive, has revealed that they seem to be under the same kind of mental effect as the Ildoan Army was prior to the battle of Bovariastadt, though with some differences in how their fanatical dedication to their unseen master expresses itself."
SA : "That does sound similar to the effects of our enemy on the unfortunate civilians who crossed her path."
TVD : "The Fox and the Hierophant – that is what the Pretender called them during our discussion before coming to blows. Two of its servants, who returned after the Solstice Event. In the Fox's case, the mana disruption broke her free of her imprisonment, while the Hierophant was awakened from his slumber – or broke free of his own chains, that much wasn't clear."
USP : "It doesn't really matter, does it ? The situation in Brazil isn't looking good. The Brazilian Emperor is very worried and asking for our assistance."
TVD : "As fellow members of the human race, it is the solemn duty of the Reich to come to the assistance of our brethren against the Mythos' dark forces. We will assist the Dominion and the Brazilian Empire against these threats, of that you can be certain – but that much isn't enough to safeguard the future."
FP : "What do you mean by that, exactly ?"
TVD : "Bitter truth though it may be, the Pretender didn't orchestrate the Great War. That was the work of mortal men alone; it merely sought to take advantage of it to further its unspeakable ends. And the Mythos will continue to try to use our conflicts against us to enter our world. If basic morality won't suffice, then let that be a good enough reason for all of us to pursue peace between nations."
[…]
TVD : "The documents that have been passed to each of you are a brief summary of Division Y's budget since its founding."
Albish Prime Minister (APM) : "These figures can't possibly be accurate ! Are you saying that the Division was only really active for the last few years ?!"
TVD : "Exactly. And, as you can see, while the sums involved are considerable from the perspective of an ordinary citizen, they are mere small change for a country."
USP : "I won't divulge the exact numbers, but you can all rest assured that our own superweapon programs have cost us a hell of a lot more."
TVD : "That's because your country's approach is unique, thanks to Mister Teslus – and, as you've no doubt realized, a lot quicker and safer, unless I miss my guess. But when it comes to a more spell-oriented approach, the cost of research is disproportionally low compared to the potential results. We might never know for sure, but I am reasonably certain the Russy team whose activities led to the Solstice Event were working with similar budgetary constraints, although they no doubt had a much less restrictive approach to human test subjects."
GZ : "You can be damn sure of it, yes. Bastards never cared for the people, no matter what they claimed. If they did, they wouldn't have fed that stuff to everyone the moment they could instead of doing more tests."
TVD : "The main issue I am trying to get to is that, while we may have had a head-start, any country could try to follow in our footsteps, even the smaller ones. If they are lucky, they will fail to accomplish anything but waste time and effort, accomplishing little beyond making some archaeological discoveries which some academics might consider of interests. If they are unlucky, they will cause another Solstice Event."
APM : "Then we have to prevent that from happening at all costs ! Make researching the Mythos forbidden, hunt anyone trying to break the interdict –"
TVD : "Yes, we must. But merely declaring something is illegal won't stop people from doing it if they believe it is in their best interests. We can and should make such research punishable, but that won't be enough. We must also do everything we can to keep nations from feeling they should research it in the first place. The reason the Empire developed the Wunderwaffen in the first place was the same reason our military has been so large and powerful compared to our neighbours : because, right or wrong, we believed it was necessary for our safety."
FP : "I see your point. And it doesn't even have to be a result of genuine concern for one's safety : any would-be tyrant with enough resources might decide the Mythos is a shortcut to power, with catastrophic results. But how do you propose we bring other countries into the fold ? By force ?"
TVD : "No. We might be able to win, if we worked together, but that would only push the other countries to desperation, which the Mythos would take advantage of. No, the key to our success lies with the T-Engine. Mister Teslus' invention holds the potential to reshape human civilization in a manner far more comprehensive than anything Division Y ever created. At the same time, the technology is dangerous and complex enough that it can be considered Mythos-grade."
USP : "The T-Engine is the intellectual property of the Unified States. And we won't part with it lightly."
TVD : "Nor would I expect you to, but I believe sharing the technology in a controlled manner is in all of our best interests. From what Mister Teslus told me, learning to build a T-Engine is a very difficult process. The Unified States would be the center of such learning, the place where the greatest minds of the entire world would go in order to study its secrets."
USP : "When you put it like that, it does sound tempting. But it wouldn't be without its own problems. For instance, much of Magna Rumeli's wealth is based on its oil exports. General use of the T-Engine would cripple them."
TVD : "Too bad for them. They, and the rest of the oil barons of the world, will have to adapt or perish. I have seen what reckless use of fossil fuels will do to this world. Scientists have already uncovered the effects of releasing so much carbon into the atmosphere as well, and I don't intend to keep the world from being destroyed by the Dark Mother and her ilk only for climate change to bring Human civilization low instead in a century or so."
SA : "Especially since you will still be there to see it, I presume ?"
TVD : "That is not certain yet … but yes, it is most likely."
[…]
GZ : "What you are proposing is essentially the foundation of a new world order, unlike anything that has ever existed before. A union of the most powerful nations in the world, bound by a common purpose and set of rules – not just to agree to follow regulations like what the Treaty of Worms sought, but to direct the course of History itself."
TVD : "I do. With the threat of Mythos propagation, it is the only sensible course. Humanity must stand united against the dangers from the Beyond. In addition, as I said before, warfare between nations is a breeding ground for the kind of despair and horror that makes one consider using the Mythos in the first place. We must put an end to it, or sooner or later, Mankind's reign over this world will come to a terrible end."
USP : "The way you describe it, it all sounds so very nice. Do you really believe we can build a utopia ?"
TVD : "No. I am not so naive as that. Human nature cannot be changed that easily : to completely eradicate conflict is beyond any of us. But it is still a goal worth striving toward."
APM : "Even you ? We have all heard rumors about what happened in Arene and Bovariastadt after your passing. This, 'Path of Stars' which appeared in your wake has spread all the way to Albion."
TVD : "I have no direct influence on the Path of Stars. From what we've been able to establish, its members aren't mentally affected like the victims of the Eikons' indoctrination."
APM : "Really ? They started painting images of you and casting aside their loyalty to their homelands all on their own ?"
TVD : "Of course not. They were traumatized, and are reacting to that trauma by acting to prevent the circumstances which led to it from repeating themselves. The people of Arene saw their city used as a battleground by those they believed were their protectors, and the people of Bovariastadt … well, we all know what they suffered."
FP : "Nevertheless, much as it pains me to say so, our Albish colleague has a point. Nobody here is accusing you of deliberately warping the minds of the civilians, but it is undeniable that your transformed appearance left a mark on the psyche of those who saw it."
TVD : "The very idea of bending people's mind repulses me. If you want to investigate to confirm Division Y's findings, by all means, so long as you respect the human rights of those concerned."
GL : "But that is outside the topic of today's discussion, I think."
[…]
TVD : "Colonialism must end, and the occupied territories must be returned to their native people – a process which will need to be undertaken with great care, or we will only plant the seeds of tribal conflict which will plague the concerned areas for generations – and with the possibility of any side delving into the Mythos, that is a risk we cannot afford."
APM : "You're asking us to abandon our entire colonial empire ?! That's absurd ! The Allied Kingdom won't stand for it !"
TVD : "You will. Because if you do not give them independence, then they shall have it anyway. It is the inevitable course of History, and would be even if you hadn't lost the Great War. And when they do cast off the chains of colonialism, I will fly to Londinium and empty the Albish Museum of every single artefact that wasn't legally acquired, before returning them to their countries of origin. Given that this would probably take me a decade or two, I would rather not have to do that, but I will if I must."
APM : "I – that is …"
TVD : "Unacceptable ? No. It is how it will be. The time of Albion dictating global policy, be it by intimidation or manipulation, is over, Prime Minister."
FP : "There's going to be a lot of grumbling about that in the Republic. The Empire has been very generous with the terms of surrender after Arene and the Battle of the Rhine, but ownership of the colonies is a point of pride for us."
TVD : "Will it still be so, when the colonials rise up in revolt against their oppressors, with guns if we are lucky, and eldritch nightmares at their side if we are not ? And they will revolt, make no mistake. You can pretend to your own population that this is about bringing civilization to savage lands as much as you like, but we all know the truth, and so do they. The very human spirit which saw us victorious over the Congregation of Michael, the Dark Mother and the Pretender means that such dominion by distant foreign powers cannot last forever."
[…]
USP : "You speak of the future as if you know what it holds. Is that actually the case ?"
TVD : "Not exactly. Being K was an achronal entity, capable of orchestrating its own manifestation by reaching backward in time to turn the mere possibility of its manifestation a certainty. I am not so unfettered from causality, but I can perceive potential futures for the world, and I see problems looming which we can take care of now with relatively little effort."
USP : "Well, that's … interesting, for sure. So, in your opinion as a seer, what do you think will happen if no union of nations is created as a result of this conference ?"
TVD : "War. Perhaps not soon, if we are lucky, but eventually. And of a scale that will make the horrors of the Great War pale into insignificance, as creatures such as the Dark Mother are brought into the world in greater numbers as countries escalate, until Mankind is wiped off the face of this world."
Excerpts from the minutes of the first day of the Berun Conference, September 10th, 1926.
"The undersigned plenipotentiaries, in the name of their respective governments, agree to the respective terms and principles in regard to the use of Mythos magecraft and other Elder magicks, per the definitions agreed upon in the Protocols' Annexes :
The summoning, entreaty, and otherwise interaction with a Mythos entity of Class Seven and above is strictly prohibited, as the risks should the containment measures fail in such a case are too great to contemplate.
The creation of enhanced troops from human subjects shall be limited to volunteers, made fully aware of the risks and expected effects of any involved procedures. In addition, joining the military of any government involved with the process shall not be considered equivalent to volunteering, and no punishment, blame or pressure shall be applied upon soldiers or civilians to coerce them to give their formal agreement. Furthermore, all enhanced soldiers shall be given full human rights, expanded to include the duty of their respective government to ensure their well-being and the satisfaction of any unusual need arising from their new condition (such as particular dietary requirements).
The use of Mythos spellcraft or weaponry where there is a clear risk to civilians is prohibited, save in the circumstances where such assets are required to protect the lives and well-being of said civilians; in such a case, the civilians in question shall be evacuated with all priority, and later examined for sign of mental and physical contamination.
In case of the manifestation of a Class Seven or above Mythos entity, all forces affiliated with the signatories must stop any ongoing hostilities at once and collaborate to dispatch the entity, regardless of the cause of its manifestation.
Any form of Mythos magecraft aimed at influencing the minds of human beings, be it temporarily or permanently, is strictly forbidden.
Inhuman entities displaying human-level intellect shall be granted the same rights and privileges as ordinary human beings, so long as they show no sign of inherent hostility to Mankind. Any reasonable efforts shall be made to assist them in integrating with human society, and, if not possible, to let them exist peacefully. Weaponization of such entities shall be treated with the same care as enhanced human soldiery.
All government agencies must remain strictly secular, as the rites of organised religion can be warped by Mythos entities for their own benefits. While individual members of such agencies are entitled to their own personal beliefs, any attempt to enforce these beliefs upon the rest of the agency shall be cause for immediate termination if malign intent is discovered upon investigation.
The study of Elder relics shall be regulated, with sites contained by a joint task force of their host nation and the League of Nations. Any information, knowledge, research material, and other elements linked to the Mythos shall be kept from the general population, in order to avoid the birth of cults among civilians. All access to the Mythos within the signatories' borders shall be monitored to ensure there is no mental contamination, following the security protocols developed by Division Y. Any other form of Mythos study shall be criminalized and prosecuted with the most extreme vehemence.
Individuals researching the Mythos shall be evaluated for mental and moral resilience, following a set of exams provided by Division Y. Those who fail these tests shall be given another opportunity to attempt them after six months, and those who pass them shall undergo a different battery of tests after a year, to ensure that the study of the Mythos hasn't eroded their faculties.
Spatial distortion effects shall not be used within the territories of foreign nations without express permission from the lawful authorities therein, and such permissions shall be subject to revocation at any time for any reason.
Elder artefacts judged too dangerous to be studied shall be remanded into the care of Division Y and consigned to the Black Vaults. For practical reasons and to avoid concentrating too many dangerous items, a Black Vault location shall be built in the sovereign territory of each signatory nation following the specifications procured by Division Y and under the supervision of their experts.
[...]
To enforce adherence to the Protocols, a special task force under the League of Nations' authority shall be assembled, composed of operatives lent by the signatories and under the authorities of Her Highness Regentrix Tanya von Degurechaff or her duly appointed successor. This task force shall monitor the research, development and use of Mythos magecraft and technology by the signatories."
Extract from the first draft of the Berun Protocols, one of the core texts of the League of Nations' charter, September 12th, 1926.
"I don't really buy the Imps' story. It sounds too clean, too convenient. Far more likely, what happened to the Kaiser was that something went horribly wrong with one of Division Y's Wunderwaffen. Or, given the degree of competence they have shown so far, someone at the Imperial Court got their hands on something they shouldn't and thought they could use it to their advantage, and they don't want word to get out and tarnish the image of the Empire.
In the end, though, it doesn't really matter. After everything that has happened, nobody dares to call them out, and we need their help to deal with this insanity in any case. Let Division Y overthrow the Kaiser and put their most powerful supersoldier as the head of state if they want to. Honestly, given the Reich's policies in the last few years, I don't expect that will change much anyway.
What's most important is to prevent another Solstice Event from happening just a few hundred kilometers of our own southern border. If Degurechaff wants to be Empress in all but name, let her have it – it's not like we can stop her, anyway.
Still, weird as she is, I don't think Degurechaff was the one who planned this, if it was indeed planned. It's pretty obvious Zettour was the one to set the whole thing up, but I have a feeling it wasn't his idea, either. He is a political animal to be sure, but he's spent his entire decades-long career playing by the rules of the Empire, and this isn't so much playing by the rules as setting the rulebook on fire.
No, my money is on Lergen. He was the one who went into the ruins once the noise stopped, and even though the Albish' screaming about him has proven to be a bunch of bullcrap, it's clear to anyone with eyes that the man has ambitions. I don't think he orchestrated the destruction of the Imperial Palace, exactly, but he sure as hell took advantage of the opportunity it presented. I mean, everyone knows he was the one officer the Empire trusted to give Degurechaff orders and command Division Y despite not being a part of it."
From the private correspondence of the President of the Unified States, September 13th, 1926.
September 18th, 1926 – Imperial Capital Berun
I laid down in bed, in my now adult human form, gently stroking Kory's hair as she slept pressed against me, having finally exhausted herself after a long hour of clinging to me and repeatedly being assured that yes, I was fine.
The girl had come all the way from Castle Schwartzstein to be with me. Well, more specifically, she had been escorted here by Division Y personnel : it wasn't like she had come here all on her own, and I would have had some very firm words with Elya if she had.
Shifting between shapes was becoming easier every day. My body was more a projection of my ascended self, and altering it was as simple as moving which aspects of it existed in three-dimensional space. A little experimentation had revealed that I was still locked in the 'Tanya' shape : I couldn't transform back into my male, adult, Japanese form, which had probably something to do with the metaphysics of how my ascension was rooted into the body I had been born in on this world.
Still, even if I was still female, it had taken a while for Kory to calm down after seeing me as an adult, which I supposed I should have seen coming. In my previous world, it had been a well-documented fact that children could react badly to their parental figures changing appearances : even something as simple as a father shaving his beard could cause panic, or so I had heard.
I'd probably have to go through this again when I returned to Castle Schwartzstein and met the other children there, I reflected. Of course, it would be some time before I could go to the place that somehow, without me realizing when it had happened, I'd come to think of as home.
I wasn't convinced me becoming the Regentrix was a good idea, but Zettour had insisted, and he was more in tune with Imperial politics than I. If giving me a fancy new title could help prevent panic and give my voice more weight at the conference, then I was willing to bear with it. With any luck, I would be able to gently push for the Empire to complete the shift toward democracy that most advanced nations had undergone in the Twentieth Century I remembered.
I certainly wasn't looking forward to my new responsibilities. I wasn't so naive as to believe I could somehow lead Humanity into a perfect, golden age. But I would be a poor time-traveller indeed if, having ended up in a position of global influence despite my best efforts to live a quiet life, I didn't at least try to prevent some of the problems which had plagued the Twenty-First Century of my previous world. No doubt new issues would pop up even should I succeed – Mankind was a fractious species, after all.
In the meantime, I would need to be very careful to avoid being turned into a figure of worship. The Path of Stars was already making too much progress in the population for my tastes, and with the section of the Accords prohibiting government bodies from being overtly religious and me being in charge of enforcing them, that could quickly become awkward to say the least.
So far, the conference had gone much better than I had feared. I supposed witnessing the destruction of the Imperial Palace and learning how close the Empire – the single most knowledgeable nation in the world when it came to the Mythos – had come to being enslaved by an eldritch entity had motivated everyone to take things seriously. That, and the fact that there were still lingering Mythos threats nobody wanted to let rise to Being K's level.
Soon, the adoption of the Berun Protocols would be publicly announced, along with the founding of the League of Nations and my assignment as its primary enforcer. Oh, they would give me a more dignified title, but it was clear that my primary purpose would be to be the League's biggest stick, save for the contents of the Black Vaults – a list of which we'd share with the signatories nations, both as proof of our commitment to the Protocols and as a not-so-subtle reminder that the Reich was still the most advanced nation when it came to weaponizing the Mythos.
My first deployment would be to either Akitsushima or Brazil. With the Americans willing to help their southern neighbour, and the Fox getting closer and closer to the Akitsushiman Emperor with every week, the Far East would take priority, although we were still going to send Division Y forces to Brazil to help investigate and contain the Hierophant.
Technically, since Weiss had been able to kill the Heresiarch in Kemet, my presence might not be strictly necessary to handle the other active Ancients. But it was better to be safe than sorry, and a clear demonstration of the League's Mythos power would go a long way to ensuring its longevity. I was all too aware of how short-lived and ineffective the League of Nations had ended up being in my old world, and had no interest in seeing its failure repeated here.
Then there was the Grandmother, eldest of all the remaining servants of the Not-Man's previous iterations. While I could, by stretching my new perceptions to their absolute limits, detect the echoes of the Fox's and the Hierophant's actions, I sensed no trace of her whatsoever. Partly, this might be due to the manifestation of Being K still messing things up in Russy, but I suspected that was more because of how much older she was, and how she had gone to ground after the battle of Moskva, while the other two were still active.
I could already tell that the Grandmother was going to be a much longer-lived problem. She had helped create the Okhotniki, saving many Russy soldiers from a fate worse than death. With the reveal of her involvement in the Not-Man's trap, however, the loyalty of these hunters became suspect. Did the procedure the Grandmother had taught to the Federation Army's medics hide some kind of backdoor she could use to control them ? Or were the runes carved into their flesh like the seal she had placed upon my own transformation, something which would inevitably erode in time, causing them to become Progeny at the worst possible moment ?
We didn't know. Zhenkov hadn't been pleased by the news, that much was obvious, and had asked for the Division's expertise in studying the Okhotniki to find out. If there was anything we could do to prevent them from being used against their own people, we would do it : as fellow comrades in the battle against the Dark Mother, it was the least they deserved.
And if our suspicions were correct, and there was nothing we could do about it, well. We would deliver them the only mercy we could. There was no doubt in my mind that tracking down and neutralizing the Grandmother would be the work of years, if not more.
I hoped that these three were the only Ancients left, the only remaining immortal servants of the Not-Man's predecessors who had survived the purges of Being X's minions. Given the vast distances between the Fox's and the Hierophant's locations, that seemed plausible : surely any other Ancients would also have been awakened by the Solstice Event.
Of course, there was the possibility that they had, but had been ordered to remain hidden – or that the Not-Man had simply failed to find them in time to give them orders and were keeping a low profile to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Only the smartest and most dangerous of the servants of the Not-Man's previous instances would have managed to survive, after all.
But all of that could wait until tomorrow. I had worked without pause since my transformation, but this was starting to take a toll on me. The sensation of fatigue was so different from what I was used to that it had taken me a while to recognize it as such, but eventually it had become clear that, even in my new state, I still needed to sleep.
I closed my eyes, relaxed, and let Morpheus take me. Despite my worries, slept came quickly, and the chamber disappeared.
The next thing I saw was a familiar bearded old man clad in elaborate robes, with a golden halo radiating from behind his head.
"I have come to parley !" Being X shouted, raising his hands in surrender.
AN : My plans to finish this story by the end of this year are in the air at the moment, since I am very busy with IRL stuff. At the very least, I should be able to finish it in January of next year.
Yes, I played fast and loose with Imperial succession laws, whatever those are in a world where magic is real (remember, the world of YS is Not!Earth, not Earth). I think that the circumstances justify it, however, especially since the Empire is canonically a military dictatorship run by Zettour and Rudersdorf by that point in the timeline, WITHOUT Division Y and the Mythos (with the only qualifier that their authority isn't absolute, since they can't just surrender due to public opinion). Putting Tanya as the head of state in order to avoid the Reich being thrown into chaos feels like the kind of move Hans "the Fox" von Zettour would pull in a heartbeat.
Sure, some people might object and complain about "principle of the law" and "complete and utter violation of the tenets of monarchy", but that's what you have the Untoten and Werwölfe for. (I am, of course, joking. Tanya would never use supersoldiers for such mundane and illegal purpose. But for some reason, when Zettour assures any potential opposition of that, they don't believe him. Curious, that.)
Next up, I finally get to explain the cosmology I came up with many, many chapters ago. Hopefully my notes still make sense to me and don't read too much like the ramblings of a mad man. Which, yes, would be appropriate, but when it's a tad disturbing when the ramblings were written by your own hand.
Also, if you have a suggestion for the name of the agency operating under the League of Nations to enforce the Berun Protocols, please share it with me, as I have been drawing a blank on the matter for the past few days.
Zahariel out.