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)

118. Act V-Ch VI: Mind the Weather

[ - Author's Note - ]

The next chapter is here! Downtime! New enchantments! Oh, and... bad weather. Yup, very bad weather. We're going to have a non-Black Storm for this chapter and see how things... shake loose. For now rather then drag out an introduction to the chapter let's get into it.

[ - Act V - Chapter VI: Mind the Weather - ]

The true test of a building isn't how grand it looks or how large it is. It's not about how many people can be inside of it or how much crap it can hold. The real test is how well does it hold up to the elements, how well does it seal against water, withstand men beating their way in... How well a building stands when challenged by what would break it is the real test.

~Durlan Blackhammer, Designer of Fortress Ur

[-]

Fort Kincaid
Central East Barony of Albia
War Room

"Right, our logistics are pushing ahead. We're already building a hub for logistics by Enderson Field." Jack von Rhack said as he pointed to the map to a town nearby Fortress Trucis Mons. "No matter if Tiffany's plan works or not we'll need the base to guard and mind our supplies. We've found an abandoned farm with a large, old barn. The structure is still stable and can be repaired swiftly enough; with a palisade around it we'll be able to guard it."

"Sounds good. I called mother and explained my intent." Tiffany said as she looked over to Jack then Zack. "She was surprised but we talked a bit more so I'd know more about Conner. I think I know enough know to ensure I can at least get his attention and interest. Still the hard part will be convincing him..."

"The noble's burden to play nice, eh?" Lolek said with a roguish grin and shrug before speaking further with a more serious face. "Cameo and Anaya are scouting ahead to Fort Tenner; they've got eyes on it and we're seeing what we can learn. They have already reported that the fort is fully manned, perhaps overmanned; it's clear they don't want us to take it. The fort is getting regular supply shipments and it seems like they are stocking up. Sadly we've not much else on that yet."

"I'm sure they'll find more. What we need to know is where is their main army located right now?" Zack said as he made a show of lifting his arm up before pointing to the map. "We've lost track of them which will bring possible problems. We don't know if they withdrew the army closer to White Angel City, moved northwards or southwards. Our scouts have had to fallback as their patrols have increased."

"I suppose we can't expect Roxellia to be sitting on her hands; she must have her own plan to counter our success so far." Tiffany mused. "If she's moving north then she must want to counter our army. But if south, what does that mean?" She asked as she looked about as everyone was silent for a moment.

"Perhaps they want to find a place on the river that easy to ford and cross, or they plan to use Tenner as a means to launch an attack..?" Jack mused for a moment. "There's a chance we're also missing something else. Either way we need to-"

ping-ping-ping-ping

Tiffany would find her voxlux pinging and, once drawn, saw the face of their High Throne contact; while the crown (And Federation of Rad, to a lesser degree) considered the Albian Civil War an Albian problem they still had ultimate authority overall... sort of; the Aegis Alliance Accords gave a lot of autonomy to each state and it was the reason that a rebellion against Albia alone was possible without every neighboring territory moving to counter or join. But even so when the throne spoke you listened because they still could put a thumb on the scales to decree one side or the other illegitimate based on their conduct or actions; while restrained there was great power there. She of course answered. "Yes, is there something you need?" She asked politely.

"Lady Embercoat; her Highness, High Queen Celestine Lucross has ordered a halt to all military operations, maneuvers and combat in the Barony of Albia for the next four days, starting with sundown tonight." She was left blinking for a long moment as the contact spoke in a formal, stoic tone. The man would soon continue speaking. "We've confirmed a large, seasonal storm descending unto Eostia from the north. It's expected to be quite strong and for the safety of all both sides are being ordered to bring their men to shelter. In the event the storm lasts longer then expected the enforced inaction will be extended. Do you understand these instructions?"

"Yes. I'll have the word spread as quickly as able." She gave a look and nod to Ridder Moedighart who nodded and drew his own voxlux, moving to the corner of the room to begin spreading the word. "Thank you for the warning..."

"Very good. Be well." The contact said before hanging up as she sighed and looked to Zack.

"If he's right we'll want to get as many of our men indoors as possible." She said as he nodded; 'seasonal storms' were known to hit at this time of year although when they arrived varied by a month in either direction. In the northwest there was a part of the ocean known simply as 'Stormwind Alley' which was known for it's swirling, powerful winds. Some ships, many of which were smugglers, would sometimes move to the edges of the Alley to use the winds to fill their sails and move forwards although it was always a risk thanks to how strong those winds would become. But every now and again it would unleash a storm in some direction. Mostly it was a light storm or merely wind and rain but come this time it would unleash larger and larger storms and at least one headed in their direction. Sometimes it didn't impact Eostia and instead slammed into Dominious or the Unknown Reaches.

How strong the storms were varied; sometimes it was a lot of wind and rain but nothing more then a normal storm. Sometimes it was light and gentle as a mere brisk rain. On the other end of things one could feel the full wrath of a hurricane slamming into the shore and washing as far south as the middle of Ken and, in rare cases, as far as South Point. While she doubted it was going to be that powerful it was clear that the weather was going to be unpleasant to say the least and that exposure could kill the unprepared. The winds were enough to blow over buildings at times; although she never seen one that strong herself. "That said we can't be too idle either." Jack said as she looked to him. "Even if we can't do anything to House Ardon right now we can still get scouts and agents into position to better report on everything, doubly so as the storm ends."

"Right... we can't move our armies ahead by the end of the day but we can move scouts." Tiffany said with a nod. "We also need to be sure everyone will have all the food, firewood and blankets to weather the storm once it does hit."

[-]

Once word of the coming storm (Nicknamed Storm O'Malley, the Celts had a tendency to nickname storms and often they ended up with names from their culture) was spread people were making preparations. Food was being stocked up by everyone (With the County offering flour and grains from it's own stores to the peasantry to help them see things through for a couple of days), people were double checking their homes and businesses and if any damage was noted it was fixed or patched quickly and everyone was making sure to have enough firewood to last the storm.

The Manor and Argon were something we weren't worried about; Mungale Manor was well enchanted to the point we had no worries and while we'd still get the wind and rain on the grounds the wind would be reduced by a good bit; enough to be manageable with a cloak if you needed to be outside. Argon City, meanwhile, bore good, strong walls and had some enchantments to reduce the wind, although not as much. Buildings within could still be damaged by the wind but as long as it wasn't too rickety it would be fine; really we were more worried about flooding then wind there. No; our worries were on the smaller settlements inside the County. That said I also had something I wanted to do during the storm. "You want to whaaaat!?"

"Test how well Enterprise weathers the storm." I told my mother as she looked at me as I doubled checked said ship's enchantments thanks to the removed panel letting me access the spell fiber mass. "I want to know how well she can handle harsh winds. By all accounts and by all my calculations she should be able to weather anything short of a hurricane but I want to be sure. If we need to use her in harsh conditions I want to be confident she'll fly in the hard winds and better to test her inside Mungale where people can help if anything goes wrong then in the middle of a disaster." As a side note I also wanted to test the Cloud Rider but only after I was sure the Enterprise could handle it and even then I'd have a rope tied to it to to pull it back to the deck if the answer was no. I was cautious enough that I set up the Cloud Rider to be remotely piloted; just in case. She was giving me a... not quite horrified look but a very worried one. "Relax. I'm not saying there's zero risk but I'm taking precautions. Worse comes to worse I can use it's stone to put up a heavier shield."

Once I was certain of my enchantments I moved my hand away and replaced the panel, securing it. "Still, it is a bit worrying to have you out there in such weather..." She let off slowly, lifting a hand close to her mouth, frowning. "If something were to happen..."

"I'll have Aeris with me as well to ensure a little extra safety. Dad as well, if he can spare the time." I replied with a smile. "Unless I need to I don't plan on leaving Mungale Manor's sight for the whole thing." I said as she bit her lip.

"Still..." I cut her off further by moving to give my mother a good hug.

"Relax... This isn't the worst thing I've faced and unlike some of them I'm prepared for this one." That... didn't seem to reassure her but she sighed.

"Like your father you're going to go ahead no matter what I say, is that it?" She said, shaking her head.

"I told you why and you know I'm not wrong either. And I fully intend to not overdo things." I said as I let her go.

"Very well... But I think I'll come along as well to keep an eye on you. And that husband of mine!" She let off as I chuckled.

"That's fine, that's fine. That said I want to keep the crew low for this one; my father and I along with Aeris can fly if things go wrong." I didn't expect things to go wrong but I wasn't going to be unprepared for it; hence the test.

"I know... doesn't make me feel any better..." She grumbled; not that I blamed her. If nothing else it was something to do; none of my contacts have turned up anything I could chase on the Church angle, nor had Akane. With nothing pointing me on my quest to disrupt the Church I need to make use of my time somehow. For now weather testing Enterprise in a storm was the best use of my time as said storm was going to shut a lot of northern Eostia down for a time.

It was annoying but that was life. "For now let's see to the rest of the bar-county." I let off; it was still semi-common to refer to Mungale as a barony. Oh well. "Enterprise is as ready as it can be for now." She'd nod as we turned to leave the ship for the moment.

Only so much time to work before it arrived, after all.

[-]

Albia Palace
White Angel City, Barony of Albia
Palace War Room

"With the storm coming we can only do much but we need to make good use of the time." Logan asserted as he pointed to the map. "With the rebels forced to slow their advance we can dig in deeper and maneuver our armies to the south towards Fort Axadil."

"That's... quite far south, to be blunt." Brianna mused with a frown as she crossed her arms, tapping her foot softly.

"Indeed." Logan said before looking to his baroness. "But I've been rather busy with a plan. One that I've begun since the start of this war as I had assumed the rebels had a strong chance of pushing to Tenner eventually; although I had not expected it so soon."

"You mean what you've been doing with the Slave Battalion?" Roxellia let off. The Slave Battalions was the name for slaves gang-pressed into military service that were used as cannon fodder for their forces; they had been mostly a non-factor in the civil war due to the amount expended in the last incursion of the Garan War and that many were freed by the rebels and some may have joined them. Their slave forces were, at the moment, maybe three hundred strong and Logan opted to not deploy them in direct combat out of worry that traitors in the ranks were waiting for a chance so they could start freeing them.

"Indeed. Rather then engage in combat they've been cutting a road through the southern forest." He replied as he pointed to the southern path of the barony; the one region of the war they'd been making gains, if slow. He took a short stick with a spell stone on the tip that generated a line of light, not unlike a laser pointer, and aimed it down, drawing a line with it that didn't score or ink the map. "It will rise up along here, over the river, through the woods and emerge southeast of Fort Tenner. A basic bridge has been competed and with reasonable strength. Not enough to last the ages but strong enough to last the year at worst."

"Meaning we have a means to get into their back lines and take them off guard." Xena Ardon said with a wide grin as she moved to crack her knuckles. "Wonderful..."

"Clever move. I would have preferred you consulted with me first, but clever." Roxellia said firmly but smiled as well. "How goes the construction thus far?"

"In fairness; somewhat behind schedule." Logan said with a soft sigh but he seemed to not move during it. "The ground has proven to be either looser or more swampy then expected. We're two weeks behind expectations but we are moving steadily forth. Depending on the terrain and effect the storm has on the road that's been built and terrain we should have it done in under a month, month and a half perhaps. With Grim Mountain holding them we should have the time. Once the road is cut we can march north up that road with our main force-"

"-and crush them..." Brianna finished with a grin. Arttra the halfling mage would be the next to speak.

"If we can catch them off guard we can trap their besieging force between our army and Tenner." He began. "If we can get enough manpower and march them fast enough we can besiege Kincaid and Seilarune before trapping the main rebel force between them and Trucis Mons while cutting off their supply lines."

"All going according to plan we can trap them and choke them out in one last stand..." Xena carried on with a grin as Roxellia nodded, looking back to Logan.

"Requisition more slaves to work the roads; I want that road ready as soon as possible." Logan nodded once.

"Aye. Most of our limitations, however, are on compacting the ground. We are using buried logs as a stopgap measure so switching to that will speed things up, depending on manpower." Roxellia nodded as she frowned.

"Let's split our main force into two; one around the capital but the bulk moving to Axadil. They'll remain there until the road is close to completion; then we'll march them in the night as long as possible to get them to the south path and the new road. Once it's all in place the southern force will move north through Tenner and Kincaid while the White Angel force moves north to ready to pincer the rebel force by Trucis Mons. We'll have them surrounded and trapped... and then I can take that little girl by the throat and kill her with my own two hands..."

[-]

Two and a half days later the storm could be seen on the horizon. By all accounts it wasn't going to be the worst storm ever weathered but it wasn't anything to sneeze at. There was no winds around at the moment and I knew that animals everywhere likely knew to take cover in the current calm. Standing on Enterprise's deck I made last minute checks. We were a sizable distance from the manor but with it still in view and fifty feet in the air. If things got too rough I could land it and then have the ship 'fly down' to press into the ground and avoid being flipped; if it held we could go up a bit. The main shield was up and I was ready to use the main stone to deploy another if the need came. Aeris and my father moved about the deck to double check a few things like the Cloud Rider on the deck as I stood my the controls, flanked by a worried mother. "That's a big storm..." I mused.

At least according to my memories it was the largest I've ever seen here. "I'm not so sure about this..."

"We'll be fine." I said, giving her a reassuring smile as I turned my head to her. "We're as ready as anyone can be." I said as I looked back to the storm as we waited for it to arrive. Aeris would move to the bow of the ship as we waited... it took a while, maybe almost an hour, but soon the winds began to pick up; leaves of the trees starting to sway and swish then seem to be pushed to one side as I watched. The grass under the ship started to stir and wave, like an ocean of green as opposed to water. The banners on the manor moved far less but even they started to shift from the wind. Aside from a very gentle breeze we didn't feel anything... yet. The full force of the storm had yet to arrive.

I wasn't gonna lie; for all my confidences and assurances I was still worried. Sure, as far as I knew everything was set, everything would hold, everything would be fine... but all it took one thing not considered, one thing missed, one miscalculation to screw it all up. Still, better to find out now then later.

Finally the wind picked up enough that loose leaves started to pick up and fly off as the trees less swayed and looked more pulled off to one side as the clouds came closer and closer. The breeze I could feel picked up and the shield started to become visible as the wind buffered into it. And then the edge of the storm came and impacted us...

For a long moment the ship shuddered with the wind; although not as hard as I expected. Indeed it was softer; I had opted to design the shield to push air around itself and away from the ship as it was mostly to ensure aerodynamics and to let something shaped like a boat sail through the air like a plane with ease; I just didn't know how well it would it would hold up to wind like this. Still we'd yet to suffer the force of the storm directly... I was keeping a hand on the controls while watching the GPS map which was dominated by the storm in question.

I tapped a finger on the controls as my mother paced behind me nervously as the clouds overhead started to close in... and then...

...impact...

Heavy, fast winds hit with a solid force as it rammed into the ship as leaves peeled off the trees with even a couple branches breaking off after a few moments. The trees wouldn't end up bare, of course, but damned if the force wasn't surprising. The Enterprise shuddered firmly under us now, not unlike during our rush to Roxford for the canal meeting but held. "So far so good." I let off as we rocked lightly. The noise was loud and sounded vicious as it blew over us. I didn't need to adjust the controls; we were stable. "Honestly, better then I expected."

"You expected worse?" My mother let off.

"It's always better to assume worse with these things." I replied as I finally moved the Enterprise in a direction; up. Slowly. Very slowly. "Let's do this gently..."

Bit by bit we rose up and while the winds did get worse and the ship shook harder it was manageable. As the storm clouds fully moved overhead we were half way between them and the ground and were holding well. "Well... this is good. Okay then. Aeris!" I called out, the blonde elf looking back as I gave her a thumbs up. She nodded and pulled something out; a remote I made for the Cloud Rider. She would use the controls to make it lift up and under it a rope slowly uncoiled and attached to a physical winch; although one powered by the spell stone I took from the vault in the Thunderblaze Mountains. I didn't need it for this job for a long time but I needed something strong enough to operate the winch without someone operating it themselves, just in case.

Soon the Cloud Rider turned and started to fly out of the Enterprise's shields and into the air and winds... and shook hard... To put it this way; it's like a smaller boat in rough waves; rising, twisting twenty five or so degrees one way, twenty five or so the next and shuddered the whole time. Yikes! Like I knew it would do worse then the Enterprise and might fail outright but that was still not pleasant in the least to watch. Like Enterprise you could see a barrier around it and soon it glowed brighter; Aeris likely using a new ability I added to reinforce the shields to better manage the winds. It would reduce the speed to under half when used but you'd have to be crazy to try that now regardless. The Rider settled but it was still rocking hard and you would get seasick on that thing. "Okay; that settles it. Enterprise can fly in this weather if the need ever calls for it but Cloud Riders must be grounded!" I let off.

(I had, of course, ordered that for all Cloud Riders previous to this and that they be put into cover or shelter to be careful, but this cemented the choice.)

I made a motion to bring it back in and Aeris tried to reverse it back but the movements were shaky and erratic. I winced and made a motion to stop before turning on the winch. Soon the thing turned and drew the rope to it then the Rider once the rope went taut. Soon it pulled the wagon back and, once in Enterprise's shield, Aeris was able to regain control and landed it. "Whew..." I let off and once it was on the deck moved around to investigate it. There was no visible damage but still...

"I'd say this was very informative... Had that been in motion in such winds..." My father let off. He didn't need to elaborate.

"Uughhhhh, I was getting sick just watching it..." Aeris said as she shook her head. "But regardless of that; it'll stay in the air but... gods, it would be horrible... You would need to be foolish to try and manage such weather in that."

"Could it be made to withstand a storm like this?" Saxon let off, adding her own curiosity to the mix... finally.

"With a stronger shield, sure... but that would require more spell fiber or a strong enough spell stone to guard it." I added. "Both would be pricey. At least if you were caught off guard you could manage a rough landing..." I mused. Once on the ground the Rider's shields would provide decent shelter, at least from the rain. A couple good blankets and enough room in the back and you could hunker down until the storm passed. It'd make for a lousy nap though.

"Agreed." Merlin added with a nod. "You would need to be a complete fool to fly in a storm so horrid; at least on something less able then James' ship." I gave a nod. He was right; Enterprise bore a powerful shield meant to handle opposing spells and that translated well to this storm. Anything lesser...

Well, thankfully no one is that stupid to fly in this...

[-]

Skies Over the Barony of Albia
Unknown Location

"I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD HAVE LANDED!" Harold DuPon bellowed out as he held tight to the controls with both hands; rain and wind managing to push through the barrier around their craft. A craft in the middle of the storm. A craft that was rattling like the tail of a very upset Diamondback who wanted everyone in a thousand mile radius to understand it's current displeasure. Their cargo rocked back and forth behind them, crates and barrels slamming and pushing into one another. He wasn't even sure it was all still there. It was a challenge to not get seasick from it all...

"WE HAVE A SCHEDULE TO KEEP!" Alice DeVain screamed back; one hand on the backrest, one on the seat as she used her body to shield the map they were using to navigate... that was now useless as they couldn't make anything in the darkness and shower of water from above.

They had been ordered to get as much of their cargo to Fort Tenner as swiftly as possible, before the storm had arrived. They'd entered Albia as the storm was about to hit and the two had argued between landing and finding shelter versus braving the weather, outrunning it and pushing forth; Harold arguing for the first, Alice for the second. Then she called up Baroness Ardon who broke the tie; brave the weather.

"WE'RE NOT GOING TO KEEP ANYTHING IF WE CRASH! FUCK! WHERE IN THE HELL ARE WE!?"

"I HAVE NO IDEA!" Alice replied to his question as he grit his teeth as the Eagle Carrier shook hard once more; lifting up before settling down roughly in the turbulent weather.

"FUCK IT! I DON'T CARE IF IT'S IN A REBEL CAMP! I'M LANDING!" He said started to push the stick down gently.

"HAROLD! WE NEED TO-"

"FUCK THAT! WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING IF WE"RE DEAD!" He replied as she looked back, trying to find a counter argument... and having none. "IF YOU CAN MAKE ANY LIGHT THAT WOULD HELP A-"

CRACK! CRICK! CRICK-CRICK! CRACK! S-H-A-T-T-E-R-!-!-!

Both heard the sound over the noise of the storm and the shaking of the craft, even their own voices. Even if they hadn't heard it then the effect the sound heralded was unmistakable; they felt the craft fall from under them, the front pointing downwards as they screamed as Harold pulled back on the controls. "GET US BACK UP!" Alice screamed out.

"I'M TRYING! SOMETHING BROKE! THE GLASS BROKE!"

"OH GODS NOOOOOO!" Alice let off as she screamed. They weren't quite in a nosedive but they were aimed almost fifty degrees down and racing to the ground as he grit his teeth. He had some control to move side to side but not enough power to lift up. He had seconds to adjust, to save themselves... but he couldn't see the ground all that well; it all looked like shades of black and dark green.

"FUCK!" Harold let off as he did the one thing he could do; grab the sword at his side with his off hand and grit his teeth. He waited to time the activation as best as he could before he used the spell stone in it; something he found on his 'Adventurer' jobs; it bore a strong shield spell that would guard the user. It was very powerful but only lasted for a few seconds and could be used only once every five minutes. Once he used it he'd also use the Steel Skin Combat Art and another called Tortoise Block; a Combat Art that bolstered the users physical resistance by almost four times but wouldn't allow the user to move at all for the seven seconds it was on; even to breathe making him hold his breath as the Eagle Carrier crashed into the ground with the force of hundreds of pounds of wood and thousands of pounds of cargo impacting at a speed measured in a miles per hour in triple digits. These three things were his only hope...

He made sure to curl up before the impact and using his Combat Arts, impacting the ground and rolling once tossed free of the Eagle Carrier. He felt a crate slam down onto him and shatter open as he rolled further, the sound of wood breaking and splintering sounding about him coupled with breaking glass. The wagon flipped end over end three times and landed ahead of him before coming to a rest. Once the Tortoise Block ended he was left grunting and shivering, uncurling and laying on wet ground unmoving and limp for a long moment before pushing up slowly, wincing hard as he got to his knees. He took stock of his body; cracked if not broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, likely more bruises then he could count, a knee that throbbed in pain and a splitting headache. He grabbed his arm with his good one and yanked it down to put his shoulder back, wincing from the flaring pain as it popped back into place and finally stood up. "Fuck..." He let off as he looked at the scene.

Barrels and crates everywhere in some variant of cracked or broken... Many were buried slightly due to the impact force of the crash. The wagon itself was nearly split in half, as if someone tried to fold it front to back. Alice... she was left a broken mess of twisted limbs and a neck that was clearly turned to one side too far. Whatever skills she had she wasn't able to use them to survive; or maybe she just panicked and forgot anything she could do.

In that moment, however, he needed to survive. He pulled his cloak about him and moved to scavenge what supplies he could; food and drink namely but he also grabbed a bottle of whiskey that survived. And corn flakes; the boxes were more intact then most. He also checked Alice's body to take her water flask and coin purse; she had no more use for them. Or her dagger. Or her sword. He could use them though.

And thus he moved off to find a sign of civilization or, failing that, some cave or abandoned building. Once he had the chance he'd report in to his Duke...

For now he needed to survive the storm...

[-]

I landed Enterprise and, once sure she would stay where she was we returned to the Manor where it was warmer and cozier. We used shields casted by myself, my father and Aeris to ward the weather off until we were inside and could change to something a little drier. Miira and Mokria were in one of the sitting rooms and watching the weather as I moved to settle down with an enchanting book; Riri carrying a tray of tea and snacks for myself and a cup of hot chocolate for Miika. "The weather is really bad out there..." The Catalan child let off, almost sadly.

"We get one of these storms once a year; although not usually this bad and they sometimes hit outside the kingdom." I replied as she looked back to me as I opened my book. "People know to take shelter once they know a storm of this size is coming; like we are now. It'll last until tomorrow sometime. Ahh, before I forget; don't rush outside once the weather calms."

"Huh?" Miika let off as Mokria gave me a look.

"Is there a reason?" He asked as I nod.

"From above these storms look like thick rings; the direct center; called the storm's eye, is calm and peaceful... but the rest of the storm is still coming." Miika winced but nodded as Mokria nodded before speaking.

"Good to know. We've storms on the Savannah but none of this power and size. It is the floods and the heavy rains we needs worry about; not howling and raging winds."

"Every place has it's boons and drawbacks." I mused as I started to read. "This is one of ours." I said a Miika moved to pad over and grabbed one of my snacks, silently asking and getting a nod, before taking a nice little cheese snack. "Luckily it'll pass by tomorrow." Late morning I assumed, maybe early afternoon. It was hard to say. For the next while I did my best to ignore the winds as Miika went back to her father to watch the weather. Miria would end up joining us and sitting down; Miika all but jumped into her lap before my sister started asking about how my testing went.

I was honest; Enterprise handled it better then I expected and while the Cloud Rider didn't crash or tilt so much to dislodge people it would be anything but pleasant to ride on in this weather. Like damn. In the event you're wondering; yes, I called up Celestine to report my experiments and that my suspicions on not flying Cloud Riders in a storm like this held. She was glad; she didn't want to send anyone out unless it was an emergency... and knew it would need to be one hell of a disaster to justify it. So grounded all Cloud Riders would stay.

That did mean if something came up Enterprise alone would be able to respond... for better or worse...

[-]

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EXPENSIVE THOSE ARE!?"

Albia Palace
White Angel City, Barony of Albia
Office of Roxellia Ardon

Roxellia winced at the volume of Arnold's voice as she looked back at neutrally as possible, if with a hint of an apologetic visage to at least placate him somewhat. "My understanding was they were fast enough to beat the storm. And that they were durable enough to handle such weather."

"Clearly you were mistaken." Arnold von Blitzhaus, the source of the now crashed Eagle Carrier replied. His son's invention (At least she was told it was his invention) was invaluable and had increased her logistics by quite a bit... and it had gone down... To her dismay it was not just for the loss of logistics she suffered but the loss of a chance to have her own enchanters study the Eagle Carrier while it was grounded due to weather and it's watchers given proper lodgings... after all while the Civil War was her number one priority what came after would be important as well and having her own air fleet would be a major boon... Ideally she would get copies of the Cloud Rider but, failing that, copies of the Eagle Carrier would be enough. "My man reported in at how hard the crash was; the Eagle Carrier is ruined."

"How well was it destroyed? Where was it downed?" She asked, trying to steer the conversation to something useful.

"Somewhere near a town called... gah, it's such a dumb name... the town of Deez'nuhtz..." Alundra winced as Arnold spat the name out.

"I am aware of it; it was founded in the Imperium era by some mongrel aide of one of the the Emperors." She replied with a snort. "Supposedly in common it meant 'Place of Families' or the like..."

As with many Catalan words there were multiple meanings; Deez meaning 'place of rest', 'place of recovery' or 'place of peace' and 'Nuhtz meaning 'kinship', 'sibling-hood' and 'wedding'. Combined it could mean 'Place of Families', 'Place of Unions' or 'Place of Weddings' and was a semi-popular wedding destination for many Albians... although in common that didn't change how it sounded like a strange taunt. "Which direction?" She asked after as he snorted.

"He has no idea; he stumbled half injured in a bloody storm woman." He said with a glare. "I wouldn't be sending a second if my situation wasn't so fucking dire by your screw ups. Remember this Roxellia; when this civil war of yours ends you will owe me much and more for what I have given and what you just lost. I will have your daughter as a bride for one of my sons."

"Tsk." She let off with a hiss. That would mean their children would keep the Ardon name (As Brianna was her heir) but putting Blitzhaus influence into her realm would be a gain for him. Preferably she would prefer Channer as Brianna's husband-to-be but she suspected it would be Jaeger instead; the worst of his three sons in her opinion. "We can arrange that if you wish..." She hated the idea but with her back to the wall she could do little else.

"More over you should be quick once the weather clears to an acceptable level." She frowned harder. "Hard as it will be to find you must recover what supplies you can and raze the rest, along with the Carrier."

"That will be... difficult..." Arnold frowned as she replied. "Deez'nuhtz is located southeast of Fort Tenner; on the rebel side of the river. I have some elements over there... but mainly scouting and skirmishing forces. One of them is, with good fortune, the Draconis Commandos who are a solid unit... but chances are more rebels are in the region..."

"Shit." He growled out before snarling out at her. "Get them there fast... Knowing of the Eagle Riders is one thing... if any of the spell glass is intact enough who knows what may be learned from it."

"Naturally." Roxellia let off with a frown of her own. "I will put all I have at my disposal to see it done." Chances were everything on that wagon was going up in smoke as she wouldn't be able to recover much, if any of it... worse of all some of what she ordered was some of the leftover dark/fire cannon shot from what stockpiles she could find. One of her enchanters were trying to recreate them (Mainly by making his own version as opposed to from trying to copy Noxdecus') and was sure he'd have some made eventually... but the sooner she had what she needed to lay siege to Kincaid the better. "It will be torched asunder..."

"It better be..."

[-]

With the winds still howling (Now with thunder and lightning! Very, very frightening! No, really, Miria needed to spend time calming Miika down) and my book well read I opted to use my time for more then books and lounging; enchanting was my bread and butter, after all. To that end I was using a small dart with the point replaced with a small, blunted spell stone, a second at it's back and another that bore a weak fire spell to generate some heat. I was testing a little idea; I made thermal vision... could I make thermal targeting? Yes, I was making a heat seeking projectile. Sure; it would be expensive as heck if I used spell stones... but I also had spell fiber to use for it. Either sheets wrapped into tubes or wrapped about bolts wholesale. I had taken some fiber out and started to work out how much power it would have; double and change the weight of a normal bolt would be able to hold the Cannon Stream spell (A weak version, but strong enough for what I'd need) and something like Fireball or Hammer of Smite but not use both at the same time... which was fine; it could reach the target and explode or slam in harder. And hey, it could scale up to ballista bolts as well for more power.

Okay, you might be asking why am I making a heat seeking projectile? What was the point? After all it was for taking out targets you couldn't see at extreme distances and would be pricey per shot, even using spell fiber. Castles and armies would be better tackled by the Enterprise's main stone, single targets would better be taken care of by the same or in person and so on. One; the idea got stuck in my head and I had to get it out somehow, so I was going to get it done. Two; there was some uses for it still. Small tight groups were vulnerable to them but it would be an excellent anti-ship weapon; imagine being on an opposing ship and all of a sudden a dozen bolts scream in and turn into Fireballs, Hammer of Smites or other spells that and raining from beyond where you can see? Maybe Dark Flares to handle shields or some piercing spell to ram through the entire ship?

I had no idea what Vult's plan for the invasion of Eostia was but it was possible he or someone supporting him had a navy, if only a merchant one; sinking his supplies would be a benefit to us all. If it could be used with a heavy crossbow then it would be portable, akin to, say, a Stinger Missile or a Bazooka while a ballista would be more akin to full missile launcher. And a lot of ships and castles still used ballista meaning anyone in Eostia could use them...

...if it worked... That was the key. And at first... it didn't. I was... ummm, not-aiming bit rather aiming off to the side of the target stone but nothing. The wind spell (A Gale Burst for the dart) worked but it didn't turn. I adjusted the stone a bit and, after a while, added two on the sides for additional maneuvering... that failed. So it wasn't picking up the target. I boosted the heat of the target stone a bit but it still didn't pick it up meaning that wasn't the issue. So maybe it was the thermal targeting that was the problem leading to some reworks.

An hour later it started to curve towards the target so I was on the right track. I started to work out the issue; I needed to make further adjustments as I was, ahhh, trying to make it so it targeted a heat signature in a direction; I needed to adjust that a bit more. I did want to prevent things from being impacted that I didn't want hit, after all. Before I knew it dinner was called; I had lost track of time it seemed... damn...

After a filling dinner I spent time tutoring Dawn for a couple hours; part lecture and part reading as I graded her work which was a simple spell orb turned into a basic light and heat source. I did need to correct her on a couple of things but if I had to give it a letter grade I'd say A-Minus. I also went back to work on my heat seeker and... made progress, but I wasn't satisfied with it. Still it was late when I opted to crash; ten at night maybe? It wasn't easy to go to bed with the storm overhead; howling winds, splattering rain and distant thunder were poor lullabies after all. Still I entered a nice, light sleep in spite of the noise for sometime...

ping-ping-ping-ping

...annnnnnd then my voxlux went off on the nightstand as I blinked and reached over to turn it over and blinked once more as I saw who it was as I answered. "Claudia...?" The tiredness showed in my voice as I blinked to her image.

"...Apologies if I woke you I..." She said; she was, like I was, laying on her side. I moved the voxlux to my bed for a better view. "...I..."

"Don't apologize..." The wear was still in my voice as I yawned a bit. "How can I help you..?"

"...I... The storm brought back memories..." She said as I blinked... and knew who they were of. "Klaus took time to study a storm like this, you know? Twenty two years ago, or so? Mmmm... It was almost as bad at this one. He took notes, made calculations, took mana measurements of the storm... He wanted to try and work out a theory of how Stormwind Alley worked, better predict it. He was so excited, running about, asking me for this and that... I... I guess... It sounds silly to call you... over this but... ... I didn't want to be alone right now... not with such things filling my head..."

"It's okay, yahhhh-dia..." I let off a short yawn hitting me as I spoke. "I can understand... I miss him too. I'm here if you need it; even if being Mister Champion is exhausting by itself at times." She giggled a bit and smiled, tinged with sadness but she smiled still, as she looked to me.

"I could have a thousand lovers from here on and I'd never forget him or his touch..."

"I pity the man following that act." I replied as she giggled. "What else did you two get up during the storms..?" I asked as she squirmed and smiled before speaking.

We'd talk for a couple hours into the night... maybe too long, but when a friend needs you you do your best. That said I was asked to come over during it once the storm cleared...

For... less then ideal reasons, sadly.

[-]

Come the morning the storm was passing; it wasn't exactly nice out there but it was calming enough to just a stern rain so I was comfortable making the trip to Geofu and Claudia's home; bringing some regulars, Makoto and Riri with me. This wasn't a pleasure trip, sadly. No this was being done as a means to fulfill Klaus' Last Will and Testament. Some of it had been taken care of but much was left to the side while Claudia mourned.

In regards to the reason for my visit; some of his possessions were requested to be given to various people including myself. Mostly a lot of magical equipment ranging from the new to the antique but also a crap ton of his research, personal book collection and even a small collection of unused spell stones. The equipment and the books could both be valuable in my work and I could always do something with the spell stones... It was... somber, loading it all on the Cloud Rider to take back to Enterprise. The books I'd leave on the ship, putting them in the shelves of my quarters. The equipment I wasn't sure about yet; either I'd take them home or use them as a basis of a workshop on the ship.

I intended to do some of the lifting myself but Riri insisted I stay with Claudia; we both helped load and sort things before retreating to Klaus' old office... while reminiscing... one of the items that was staying was an old gift I gave Klaus for a Blessmas two years ago; a brass mock up of a fireplace with a block of spell glass at the bottom that generated heat (For those long winter days) while generating an illusion of an open fire. It worked well... or so he told me until Claudia mentioned it was a little weak; I'd adjust it once I visited them. It stood at the side of a wall in his office and I was looking it over. "Hindsight being twenty-twenty I could have done more with it..." I mused.

"He never wanted to hurt your feelings; knowing the work that went into it." Claudia said as she came over to me; a glass mug in each hand. Hot chocolate with a dash of whip cream over it; one of which she handed to me. She was in a nice outfit (Gray great coat, bloomers and boots) and I wore my Armor Weave outfit.

"Thank you." I said, blowing softly on it before having a sip. With the winds down to... well, tolerable now (Still wouldn't fly a kite out there) the Cloud Rider's shielding would guard against the weather making sure nothing got wet in the rain as it toned down. Likely further north the weather was even calmer now. "Speaking of gifts; how's the blade been so far?"

"Wonderful; the heft is good and I love what you put into her. You and Lulu both." She said, smiling warmly before sipping her own drink. "Mmmm... ... I'd say I look forwards to putting it to use, but..."

"I know the feeling..." I said, sipping my own drink in turn. "...Given what the Church is hiding that time may come sooner then later, sadly."

"...copied soldiers and a false goddess..." She let off, looking towards the window of the room with a frown. "And I thought we needed to fear Vult's plots more then anything else..." She said as I moved to her side as I set an arm around her shoulders. "Gods above and demons below, what else could that twisted Church have in store for us?"

"Well we need to work that out before we find out the hard way..." I mused... and sighed for a moment, sipping my drink as I centered myself. "... But enough of that; let's not mull on such for now. Dawn's training is coming along well; faster then I imagined even. Her enchanting is coming along at a good pace; although I should focus more on her combat spells and skills... crap, circled around to-"

"It's fine." She patted my chest playfully with one hand as she smiled, even leaning into me. "It's good to hear she's coming along so well... ummm..." Her face soured a moment; likely I'd reminded her of how Klaus mentored me a bit... "I remember when Auryon arrived to the Templars; she had most of the skills but needed more then a little refinement. I was so proud once she managed to best me the first time. Yes, I was holding back quite a bit but I was still caught off guard by how well she did." She said as she took a sip of her own drink.

"Ha, my first spar with Dawn was a bit of a surprise too; using an earth spell to blind me with sand like earth mana..."

"You had her teach you the spell, didn't you?"

"I know a good trick when I see it... even if it's used on me..." I finally moved my arm off her as I sipped and finished my drink, moving to the desk to set the mug down. I'd lean my back into it as I looked back at her. "I just never thought I'd be so young with an apprentice nearly my own age... I mean you know the reasons I took her on, but still."

"It was good you did." She replied as she moved to finish her own drink and set the mug down before joining me in. "She was in need; even if she filled a need of your put upon you by others." I sighed at that.

"True. Even if I didn't need one I'd likely have taken her in as some sort of aide or found her a job." I said as I nodded as she squirmed. "She's been a help, I'll say that."

"That's good to hear. I... I know we're avoiding the topic but I do miss him, painfully." She said as she looked to the window once more. "You... ... I've woken up beside him more times then not since we wed, before then even. It feels like his ghost is next to me as I wake... and I miss his touch... Gentle as it was it was a man's touch and a woman does come to miss it." I would move a hand to her shoulder, smiling sadly as I looked to her.

"I... yeah, I was avoiding it but only because of how focused you've been on it... I've thought of him more since... what happened then before..." I replied as I sighed. "...I... I just don't want you and our friendship to be defined by who is no longer here. As hard as it is you're more then a widow and I more then his pupil. He defined us in part but not in whole."

She then punched my shoulder; playfully but it was a bit too solid, even in my Armor Weave, but smiled. "You are his pupil if you spout that nonsense!" She let off with a good, long laugh as I shrugged and smiled. "...Thank you. Not just for the friendship on offer, nor trying to take my mind to other things then what was taken from me... from us... Thank you for the support... and the firm hand." She added in with some cheek.

"Woman, I don't want to slap you but I will spank you." I warned as she laughed for a good, long moment.

"Promises, promises." She teased and wagged a finger at me. "And it was a very fi-"

ping-ping-ping-ping

"Hmmm?" I let off looking to my voxlux, seeing Celestine's face as I answered. "Cele, how are you?"

"Well enough, but something has occurred that needs your attention." She said as I paid her my full attention. "You are, by the permission and order of the High Throne, being asked to enter Albia." She began as I blinked at her. "You do not have permission to engage any forces within the barony although you may defend yourself from such if the need arises. Both sides of the contest are aware of your impending arrival and shouldn't initiate combat." I would share a confused look with Claudia before looking back as Celestine carried on from my voxlux. "To the reason for all of this; the rebels have found something strange as their patrols resumed as the weather calmed; a strange wagon in the middle of a field. It clearly fell from the sky."

"What? Did someone take a Cloud Rider out last night?" I let off as she shook her head.

"Tiffany was shown an image of it; she does not think it's a Cloud Rider." She began as I frowned. "Rebel forces have secured the location and a Crown monitor is on hand awaiting your arrival. You're ordered to investigate this fallen wagon, identify it and if possible determine a place of origin for it. We need to know where it came from and who made it; given what will be coming when Vult returns..." Yeeeah, Vult with an aerial logistical fleet sounded bad...

"I'll come along as well." Claudia said as she stood up fully. "I'm sure nothing will happen but it never hurts to have someone along."

"Very good." Celestine said as I nodded.

"Alright; I'll set out soon. I was visiting Geofu so it won't be long until I'm there."

"Thank you. With luck we'll have something soon." I told her as I nodded. "I'll let you know what I find."

"Good luck." She said before hanging up as I made a call; luckily the Cloud Rider was on the way back so we'd be off in twenty minutes. Claudia would don her armor, as would I once on Enterprise.

Next stop, Albia.

[-]

The flight over to Albia was quick, the downed wagon was outside of a large town of... ummmm, Deez'nuhtz. I could tell almost right away that it was a Catalan name but damned if it didn't sound like a childish comeback. Regardless we arrived south of it and saw rebel forces in a tight patrol and someone in a rather fancy outfit by what looked like a series of crates and barrels that were thrown into the ground by a catapult and the wagon was no better off. We would land nearby; it was a mostly clear field with a forest nearby and more then a little brush; many with berries of some sort on them.

We moved to the fancy looking man, wearing black tights and a white great coat with the emblem of the Seven Shields Alliance over his left chest and black boots who in turn walked over to me once we landed; the outfit, white gloves included, bore a thin golden trim and the great coat bore textured patterns in it. I could tell it was Armor Weave at sight and he bore a rapier at his left hip and a crossbow set to his back with folded arms. He was six three in height and was a half-elf with pointed ears visible and leaf green hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Slightly tanned skin and blue eyes would end the look. "Champion Noxdecus, thank you for the fast response, I am Ricardo Sylda. I wish we hadn't need to call you but in the end when it comes to flying craft you are the expert... our only expert." He of course had a small guard; a trio of Eostian Regulars.

(-)

Name: Ricardo Sylda
Title: Arbiter of the High Throne
Class: Performer
Level: 26
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 67

Status: Healthy, Concerned, Calm

Known Traits
[?]
[Fair & Calm] You can view things form a more neutral point of view from most and in a calm manner. +2% to Acc

[?]
[Eye For Detail] You have an eye for things that are out of place and opponent's movements. +5% to Dex and Acc

Known as one of the most loyal and honest aides of the High Throne, Ricardo Sylda often acts as an arbiter between Eostia's many noble houses to settle disputes and act as a third party to debates or deals. Much of his ability to be neutral comes from his upbringing as a Son of Celestine, given the name of Sylda by her in honor of the common born knight Caulder Sylda.

(-)

"Well someone must be trying to change that." I mused as I looked to wagon with a little wariness; I wish I brought Dawn with me as this would be a good case study for her. Claudia and Makoto flanked me with Riri near Makoto's side. "What do we know of the situation?" A handful of Mungale Regulars would be joining us.

"Not much; war supplies were found including an odd sort of cannon shot." He said as he looked off to the mess. "Food as well and powder. Some of the supplies are salvageable and the rebels will be doing so after your inspection as per the traditions of such things."

"What about the pilot? Or pilots?" Claudia asked as he looked back to us.

"One; female. Adventurer's garb but quality. She could be an agent of some house, off the books. We're looking into it." He said calmly. "There's evidence there was a second but he, likely a he, seems to have survived the impact and limped off. Maybe into town or some farm nearby. Any tracks left were blown off by the storm; only a fallen razor for a face was left to suggest a man was here." I hummed for a moment. "We'll know more as we investigate, I'm sure."

"Right. Let's have a look to the wagon then." I let off as I walked over to the wagon in question. It was wrecked; the wood was only good for burning now given how broken and splintered it was. Once inside I pulled the Radiant Gemini off my back and activated another head I made for it; a crowbar. Using it I pried planks off to get a better look inside under the wagon's 'hood', so to speak.

"Whoa... What a mess..." Riri let off as I looked inside and winced. One of my worries were gone now; there was no spell fiber in here, just normal spell glass... shattered in to pieces. There were a couple hand sized chunks, some finger sized but most were smaller then that... most... What seemed to be half a block was left intact; likely in part to the padded plate and springs it was on, part in how the impact occurred and maybe plain old luck. Moving a hand to it I frowned and tried to read it...

How do I put this... okay, enchanting is like computer programming, right? If A do B, do B for X seconds, if C stop B, etcetera, etcetera. My basic HTML level knowledge gave me a leg up on most here and made a lot of what I did easier and more easy to obscure but that's beside the point.

Now imagine pages of programming (At least forty or so) made into a soft cover book, like a phone book. Now imagine of someone cut the book in half and charred the edge that was cut to an inch. Now, try reading that...

Yeah...

That said I didn't need to know what it all was; I just needed enough of an idea to answer two questions. Question one; were the enchantments a copy or derivative of my own? Question two; who wrote these enchantments?

Answer two came faster; these enchantments were also, for a lack of a better explanation, they were 'hand written' in a fashion and like real hand writing one could tell who wrote it by how it was written. There were at least four 'writers' that I could make out... and I knew one of them by the fact I had seen his earlier works; Channer. That meant this... thing was made in part or in full by House Blitzhaus. That was curious.

As to answer one; the fact was the same spells were in use (Levitation, a modified shield spell, a wind spell) but the wind spell was fully different and a lot of other things I had added in were missing while things I didn't add were present. It was possible it was in the missing half but I should see interactions with the spells I could make out and other signs of them.

I took my time to do all of this, of course, but by the end I was sure of the main details. Channer built this, but not alone and it wasn't a direct or derivative copy. Celestine would need to make a choice on what to do with this information but if I had to guess... not much would come of this; she would likely question Arnold about it but she wouldn't do much about given that he's assisting an established lord and not 'upending an established order'. At most she would demand that all of these knock-offs were kept out of Albia for the duration.

I think I took the better part of, I dunno, half an hour or so, kneeling by the wreck before I finished. "I'm pretty sure I have a decent idea of... huh...?"

For a moment I thought I saw a... waver in the air; I thought it was something about the rain but... my gut told me something was off, something was wrong... something was there and-

-the air wavered for a moment before an arrow exploded forth from nowhere and screamed towards me like a damn rocket as it glowed red, the tip more so. Spell or Combat Art I didn't know in the moment but it was clearly meant to punch through armor; I have no idea if it could get past my dragon scale but safe bet was yes! It was fast however; my hand was still moving to my blade's grip as it reached half way, my arm rising up as I brought up the shield on the stone in my hand, drawing mana to cast but all of it would be too slow, I wouldn't be fast enough to-

-and I was able to see the arrow deflected to the side and off to a spot in the field as Claudia, blade swung out having knocked the arrow away with it stood before me. "At arms!" She bellowed out as I drew blade and shield as I got to my feet fully.

"Thanks..." I let off as I saw an Illusion drop... and exposed a number of men in black armor...

[-]

Moments Earlier...

"[We are too late. The rebels found it first.]" The man let of in Shanguanese (Which, if James had heard it, would sound oddly like Chinese). He looked to his leader who was frowning. Ju-long Wangzi (Wangzi Ju-long in a proper language he'd say) bore sharp eyes and a sharp face with cropped hair with long bangs on either side of his face. He bore black armor that was leather gambeson with layers of mythril chain mail over the plates, secured with both rivets and a thin layer resin. His helm was solid mythril with plates hanging to cover the neck and a padded mask over the lower half of his face with a thin layer of chain mail over it as well.

A pair of hook swords were set to his back, both holding spell stones in the grip under the wrap, made of mythril but given a black sheen. A pair of butterfly swords were in a sheathe at his left hip as a back up weapon if the need arose. Around him were twenty men in matching armor but differently armed; mainly spears, jian swords coupled with shields or larger blades. One of his strongest bore a nine ring sword that was a large two handed blade but one bore a staff with a spell stone on the end surrounded by an ornate cage.

"[This is unfortunate. But there is an opportunity to deal a good blow to this nation.]" Ju-long replied as he glared to the man in blue dragon scale. The one thing that identified them beyond the black armor was an emblem set to each man's armor in the center of their chest on a metal plate; circular on a gray ring, a black band separating it from another with a black interior. An eastern styled dragon was set to it with two claws, a tail curling along the outside and a long tongue sticking out of an open mouth; all in a dark red with a thin, gray outline. It was the emblem of the Draconis Commandos... and they were more then a mere mercenary group. "[His death would help bring glory of Shanguan... Yes, his death would benefit us greatly...]"

Beyond the Thunderblaze Mountains, east of the tainted Kingdom of the Wolves known as Wereagell was none other then Shanguan, the Land of the Mountain Crown. The Empire of Shanguan was borne at the foot of the mighty Mount Tianfeng by the First Emperor Quantou Boheng of the Quantou Dynasty as he led his armies to lay claim to the towns, cities and city states about the heavenly peak. Even late in his life, at the age of seventy four, he led the conquest of Goyohan Hosu before finally allowing his son to take the crown.

Before he set the crown upon the head of his son, Qing Yuan, he made a final decree; that Shanguan was guided not just by him but by the God of Conquest who spoke to him in his youth after he climbed to the peak of Mount Tianfeng from his prison of the moon where he had been trapped since the Age of the Gods. Since then he had been given guidance by the god and a promise; someday if they kept to Daofeng Zhi Dao, the Way of the Blade, they would conquer the land of Sererus in full... starting with the east then spreading across the west in a flood of iron and blood! A greater empire then even the Imperium!

He said it could take generations, centuries, millennia even but someday... the banner of the Mountain's Crown would rise over the land; east to west. Emperor Quantou left them with their Divine Mandate From Heaven!

Sadly over the time since the empire expanded, shrank, grew once more, fractured and expanded once more by blade, by will and by force... but they never forgot their mandate... but Ju-long and his men had their own part to play in it; as a mercenary unit with a single purpose. They would be hired by other nations, both those inside and outside of the east to scout their current and future foes. They would put up a false front of being survivors of the Two Rivers Rebellion to hide their true allegiances and reported back what they learned of their foes strengths, order of battle, tactics and more. They came to Eostia and was hired by House Blitzhaus as a scout and skirmisher unit against Garan... and came to bear witness to much that Eostia had made in a frightening short amount of time...

Long range communications...

A defeated Dread Field...

A means to sail the skies themselves and over the mountains...

And a flying storm ship with enough power and force to shatter navies and armies!

All the creations of one man... one man, a dragonborne even, who's creations if allowed to mature would threaten their Mandate From the God of Conquest! Their First Emperor's order was under threat... and all due to the work of one man...

...one man who was now in their sights... "[Fei. Can you slay him?]"

"[I do not think I can pierce his head; that circlet must be Mana Armor... and we know he wears dragon scale... I think my Huya Sheji (Tiger's Fang Shot) can break through it...]" Fei replied as he looked to his leader as he drew his longbow out and an arrow. "[I can make the shot from here. But no matter what we'll need to fight the rest.]"

"[The foreigners and fools will be easy to slay. Take your shot.]" Ju-long said as Fei nodded and notched the arrow taking a deep breath as his arrow began a slow glow. He kept it low and hidden by the brush to ensure it wouldn't interfere with the Illusion spell hiding them all. He made sure the Combat Art would draw his mana slowly to hide the build up; such a mage might notice it. He was kneeling by the wreck of the wagon as the Draconis Commandos drew weapons and prepared to charge. Fei took his time and didn't rush to Ju-long's approval. It would be done right or not at all; the Shanguan way, as to the tenants of Daofeng Zhi Dao.

Finally Fei stood as he lifted his bow and took aim at his target's heart, bow at full draw and took aim; lifting his arrow up ever so slightly to mind the arrow drop-

-and their target moved to look to them, confusion on his face. It was clear that he suspected something but he didn't know what he saw... at least until the arrow was loosed to it's target who couldn't react fast enough; the Huya Sheji Combat Art would reinforce the arrow to be like solid steel tip to tail, travel with thrice the speed and impact it's target with ten times the force. As draining as the art could be, that it took twenty seconds to ready when you rushed it, nothing hit like it; the force was more like a ballista bolt then a common arrow... it would punch through thick mythril armor with only moderate difficulty. Dragon scale, strong as it was, would give way as well, as easily... they watched the arrow sail to the target who moved to draw his weapon, too slow to stop his death-

-only to see it batted to the side by the whore in Mana Armor! "[Curses! Nothing else for it; charge!]"

[-]

"Tuji!" I heard as armored men charged. I clicked my tongue as Makoto sneered.

"The Draconis Commandos!" She let off as she drew the Kouzenken and it's mana blade in full. "They've no interest in mercy!"

"Neither do I!" That came from Claudia of all people as she rushed forwards as I moved to flank her; Riri and Makoto flanking me. The regulars (Eostian and Mungale) and rebels moved to join us swiftly; I counted twenty foes between levels twenty and thirty-nine. No joke. We had, maybe, two dozen and change between the regulars and rebels but Ricardo opted to hum and drew his crossbow and fired back.

The largest man with what I think was a heavy Chinese blade (With nine rings inserted into the back of the blade) quickly came to clash with Claudia who popped Tailwind to cross the last distance faster then her foe expected; he blocked the strike but was still off balanced as a man with twin hook swords used a Combat Art to jump over both of them to swing at me with both blades. "You are mine!" He let off with a Chinese-like accent to his tone. I blocked with my shield as he hooked it with one blade to pull it down, drew the other back to strike only for me to end the shield and make him stumble before using a Gale Burst to push him back before he could swing as I used Observe.

(-)

Name: Ju-long Wangzi
Title: Infiltrator of Shanguan
Class: Samurai
Level: 41
Alignment: Hostile
Reputation: 43
Status: Healthy, Aggressive, Focused

Known Traits
[?]
[Dual Strike] You are exceptional at using two weapons at the same time. +5% Dex and Agi while using two weapons at once.

[?]
[Battle Master] You are a master of combat and have many skills and techniques at your disposal. Decrease all Combat Art's recharge times by 20% and increase their effects by 5%
[Warrior of the East] Your study of war by the tenants of Daofeng Zhi Dao or the Way of the Blade has made you a fearsome combatant and warrior. +3% to Con, Str, End, Dex, Agi & Acc. -9% to Mag & Mnc.

Born into a noble house in Shanguan, Ju-long was indoctrinated into the Imperial Army at a young age and drilled to be loyal and zealous to their Divine Mandate. After proving himself against the Two River Rebellion he was given command of a unit of solider posing as mercenaries under the name of the Draconis Commandos with the aim of spying on and gathering information of enemies and possible enemies of his empire with orders to ensure their Divine Mandate of Heaven would come to fruition.

(-)

Oooooh, charming guy. Those hook swords were curious weapons; I mostly knew them from seeing Kabal in the Mortal Kombat games; flat blades with pointed hooks at the ends, crescent shaped D-Guards with the point out and a pointed pommel... and almost everything on them were sharpened; no joke, they were like ninety-five percent edge outside of the wrapped handles. "Come on, man. You can't say I'm yours; you haven't even bought me a drink yet." I quipped to piss him off, not that he needed the help by his tone.

"Silence!" He screamed as he rushed in, swinging with a blade as I deflected it and blocked the other with my shield. "I'll kill you!"

"What, did I fuck your mother?" I shot back; charging him with the shield and making him block with both blades as he slid back. I leapt back as I sheathed my blade, drawing the Radiant Gemini and split it into two swords. "I mean I'd know if I fucked a whale."

"How is this land's Champion so childish?" He growled out as he swung his blades about; the clashes sounded around us and Makoto was taking heads... no joke, I saw her lob one off at the side of my eye.

"I have a sense of humor. And no respect for would be assassins." I said as I snorted. "But I imagine someone from Shitguan wouldn't understand that."

"Silence you nongmin!" He screamed and charged once more; I didn't know what 'nongmin' meant but it didn't sound polite. I waited as I swung as he did; knocking his swung blade back and ignoring his other as I stabbed at him with my off hand; he leaned aside and hooked my pauldron with his weapon... as I used Physical Burst and planted my feet. He pulled to try and off balance me but I was able to overpower him and puled back as I swung; his eyes went wide and leaned back then let his blade go as I inverted my other blade, shortened it and stabbed down at his arm. He jabbed at my head with his other blade and it's guard, snapping my head back as the shield took it before swinging hard. I blocked with my blade as he moved to knee my ribs. My armor absorbed it well but he grabbed his weapon once more and I could feel the Combat Art coming; I rolled forwards and to the side before he yanked, dislodging the sword before he could do damage and came back to my feet.

Ring of Alarm was up and I knew where he was as I mule kicked back and knocked him away two steps as I turned to face him. My kick did little damage... and I knew someone was coming at me from my flank; both from the quick view of the field I had and Ring of Alarm I knew it was a Draconis. I waited and just stabbed backwards while casting Holyjolt Weapon on both blades; hearing a 'guh' and double checking with a glance; yup, Draconis. Ju-long snarled as his man fell to the ground (Weapons dropped and clutching his gut) as he charged at me, spinning his weapons once as I ended a blade to throw a Fireball at him; he slashed it from the air (I expected that) with one blade as I rushed in with a stab of my other blade.

He blocked but wasn't able to block my next stab as I reactivated my other blade; jamming it into his leg, punching through his armor. I meant to get the center of his leg but I got the outside instead as he grunted, punched me with his blade's guard and leapt back, kicking his leg out before starting to circle me, showing no limp. He was tough, I'd give him that much.

[-]

Qingtong Gang was one of the best warriors assigned to the Draconis Commandos... one of the largest and strongest soldiers they could spare for their project to spy on other nations. His heavy jiu huan dao, the nine rings broadsword, was his weapon of choice and was larger then normal with a near four foot long blade and he fought a woman a foot shorter with a golden hued blade as long as his, if not longer by a hint. More over she was strong enough to hold off his blade; he was sure it was some Combat Art or even reinforcing magic that allowed her to do so.

He snarled a bit and swung down, anticipating she would move back from his attack; she slid back as he hoped before he thrust forwards hard and fast, using a Combat Art to ensure his weapon would break through her Mana Armor. If he could or not didn't matter; she deflected the attack to one side and countered with her own counter swing as he slid himself to the side; only the tip of the blade catching his pauldron... but scoring into and even breaking links in his mythril chain mail; suggesting the might of her weapon. He wasn't harmed but Gang was quick to admit that she was more the a mere woman; even so he moved to press the attack once more, shaking his blade side to side to make his blade rings sound for a moment before feigning a thrust before lifting his blade and transitioning into a trio of slashes only for her to slip past the first two strikes and deflected the third only to respond with two slashes of her own and a stab followed by a another slash.

He deflected the strikes and stab before blocking the last, impressed at the effort he needed to halt the attack fully. The two would both use a Combat Art to bolster their strength and try to shove the other over only for neither to budge before she shifted to slash at his neck; breaking the lock and trying to off balance him. He tucked and rolled over his shoulder; more agile then most would guess, rolling to a kneel and turning to thrust-

-only to need to deflect a sudden thrust from his female opponent, as if she expected his real agility; the point of her blade lifting up and catching the edge of his helm with enough force to make him wince. Before he could rise a powerful front kick from the woman (Likely coupled with a Combat Art, given the force) knocked him to his back. He clicked his tongue as he rolled to his side then feet, swinging his blade-

"Ghuhhhh!"

-only for her to duck under it as she charged and rammed her blade through his guts before she twisted the blade and pulled it free. He cried out, lifted his sword and swung once more, hard and at a downwards diagonal angle at her with his strongest Combat Art. It was an attack of desperation; the damage to his internal organs was catastrophic and he could feel it... unless their mage could reach him in less then a minute he was dead.

Claudia side stepped and let the blade pass her as he fell onto his front with an undignified thud. He coughed blood and tried to rise but with the wound from the blade goring him like a raging bull his might fled him rapidly. He pushed up to all fours but his attempt to rise to his feet saw him slam back down, unmoving.

By contrast Claudia was already moving to the next opponent as Gang died.

[-]

I was struggling a hint with this guy; he was good to his credit but half the issue was his hook swords, and not just his skill with them. They weren't a common weapon and I haven't fought much like them before making them a little unfamiliar to me; they were shit as a thrusting weapon but for cutting and, obviously, hooking they were great. But what I did know from my old world of these weapons was of that one move hook sword users could do... I just started to slip back to more mid-range and popped spells at him, reuniting the Radiant Gemini with a long blade for a spear to goad him into that move...

And finally he did; his weapons glowing with a dark red aura as he hooked the two together at the end and, in a clearly practiced manner, swung them with the D-Guard facing me aiming to slash me with it or the blade's sharpened, edged pommel. I popped a Dragon Boosted Reflex Boost to give me the reflexes and perception needed to do this without being hit by the blade and likely get cut by his Combat Art which was to reach up with my off hand and grab the swung blade by it's grip. He looked shocked I could do that at all... well he'd be more shocked by what I did next. "Think fast!"

"Eh?" He let off as I tossed the Gemini to him; not threw or chucked or swung, a gentle toss like you would toss a controller to your friend as he sat on the couch... and on reflex he grabbed it before his thoughts could catch up with his actions, triggering the Shine Cracker I loaded into it and making him cry out as he was jolted by it, letting his own weapon go as he dropped mine.

I swung the blades about to grab the other sword bu it's grip as his Combat Art ended and I used Adrenaline Rush and Breaking Blow together to slam the hooks of his own weapons down into his shoulder, through his armor and into his body as he cried out. I gave a shove with his blade before recalling the Radiant Gemini to my hand, blade made once more before I swung and decapitated him. I took stock of the field; the Commandos were dead. Or looked dead; one of the Mungale guard gave one a hard stomp to the face before looking about. I saw no more Draconis Commandos standing as I called out. "Head count! Anyone hurt?"

"Couple here." One of the rebels let off as I moved off to apply healing, setting my weapon to my back. Claudia shouldered her blade but was clearly keeping watch as I started to patch people up. Aside from a few gashes everyone was fine; although one rebel was cut up across the left side badly. I got him on his feet but he'd need a couple more days to be fully hale.

"Makoto; you called out 'Draconis Commandos' as the fight started?" Claudia asked as my bodyguard nodded as she kept her own blade drawn and ready.

"They are men from Shanguan, posing as mercenaries." She began. "I heard of them as I journeyed; they hire themselves out to spy on other nations, learn their strengths and weaknesses. I passed by a town ruined by them; they had assassinated a visiting noble that was a foe of their nation."

"So why go after us?" I questioned as I kept healing people. "Even if they were hired by Roxellia they should know not to attack us."

To explain; both sides would be alerted of my arrival and why along with Ricardo's. If they attacked the rebels and just the rebels I (And Ricardo with our escorts) would be duty bound to step aside and let the fight play out as it would, no matter my opinion. I wasn't to interfere, that was it. Instead they attacked me which was a no-no; Roxellia could suffer blow back if she ordered it or there was enough to suggest she had.

"If I were to posit an explanation; the Shanguanese see themselves as the rightful conquers of the east... and perhaps more." Makoto explained finally turning off her blade and sitting it away. "You have made much and more that made Eostia a stronger, grander nations... and, thus, one better able to fight, counter and even defeat Shanguan should the need arise. That's not even going over how you could be around to fight them for centuries. He may have saw you as a threat to their Mandate..."

"I will need to report this to moth-the High Queen." Ricardo said as he looked to me. "We will know if Roxellia hired them and we will see what her answer to it all is..."

"And I have to report my own findings." I said as I finished healing. Once done I looked back to Ricardo. "I'll be taking the chunk of spell glass as evidence. Celestine's own enchanters might-"

"Master!" Riri called out as she looked to one of the broken crates and pulled something out of it. "Look!" She said, holding something up. The item was a flat, iron plate with a series of wires going up in a short column that held iron balls that were three inches in size. The top of the column was shut with normal cords; Eostian grape shot. You cut the cords, loaded the whole thing into a cannon and fired it off; the wires folded away as it was fired to let the balls spread out... but the balls here bore small, small spell stones on them. Frowning I walked over and set a finger to one, reading it... and sucking in a breath...

"These are the shot I made in the war..." I let off as Claudia frowned hard. I knew there were leftover and Roxellia were using some of them, but still... "... I wasn't aware of how many were left over..."

"It's not your fault." Claudia said as she set her free hand to my shoulder. "You made what was needed. That others use it for other tasks is sad but not unexpected..."

"I know, and even then I knew it would happen. Still annoys me." I said as I sighed and stood. "Set it back Riri. It's good to know they are here but it's the rebels to take, if they wish." I looked back to Claudia. "Like it or not we came to do what was tasked to us... We've no other business here and with the rebellion ongoing we are expected to leave once it's done."

"Of course." She said, setting her blade away finally. "Let's be off..."

[Defeated List]

20 Draconis Project Soldiery x 1900XP=38000XP
Ju-long Wangzi=10500 x 1.25 Kill Bonus=13125
+20% Hero of Eostia Bonus
Gain 61350XP Total

Level Up!

You are now Level 46!

+1 to Con, Str, End, Dex, Agi, Acc, Mag & Mnc!
+1 to End!
+1 to Rap!
+2 RSP & SSP!
+5 UTP!

[-]

As we returned to Geofu we reported everything to Celestine; I expressed my findings on the flying wagon first. It wasn't copied from my Cloud Riders but were clearly inspired by them and I couldn't claim subversion on it. More over I mentioned that at least four people worked on the enchanting part of it, including Channer von Blitzhaus (Or rather I was certain it was him, it wasn't like I could point to it and prove it in court) meaning House Blitzhaus spearheaded or was a part of it's creation. I also reported on the attack by the Draconis Commandos which Ricardo added to.

Celestine was quick to call Roxellia and demand answers; due to the situation the crown was keeping records of who was fighting for who so they learned they were hired by House Ardon and had orders to burn the wagon (Called an 'Eagle Carrier' it seemed) and as much of the supplies that survived as possible. They were ordered not to attack observers and, when it mentioned I was on route, myself as well. Another observer, embedded with House Ardon, was in the room as she got news I was on my way and confirmed her story. She denied that she had orders to attack me (The observer confirmed that as well) and didn't know why they disobeyed. They were to go after the rebels only and disobeyed orders by attacking me.

(As a side note; I don't think Roxellia would have minded if they pulled it off but knew what it would look like if she had so much as a fingernail in the attack and even that wouldn't have saved her if I had actually died.)

In short Makoto's theory (Which was shared with Celestine) was the one with the most weight behind it. Celestine agreed with that, knowing the Shanguanese better then I did... before telling me how her talk with Arnold von Blitzhaus went.

He likely knew the cat would come out of the bag sooner or later so he was ready with his reasoning; he gave one to a pair of able, independent adventurers that were seeking to be hired by House Ardon and there was nothing wrong with him supporting an ally and fellow ruling lord. All the above was true... save the 'independent adventurers' part (Not that we could prove that) but what wasn't said was he was also protecting his trade routes for slaves. He and House Angelus must be stinging in the moment; with the Albian Civil War ongoing they couldn't trade slaves with anyone but each other... which wasn't good for them.

Celestine, however, put her foot down stating the Eagle Riders were too much and too blatant favoritism and as such she gave him a choice; either he stopped supplying House Ardon with Eagle Carriers or House Noxdecus would be allowed to supply the rebels with Cloud Riders. He attempted to argue against the decree but in the end he was forced to make a choice and conceded; no more Eagle Carriers would be granted to House Ardon which would hurt their logistics.

That said once home I set Riri to sorting out what I gained from Klaus; I had to sort out and perfect my heat-seeking weapons quickly. I had suspected people would try and copy the Cloud Riders but assumed without spell fiber they wouldn't be able to thanks to the fragility of spell glass. I was proven wrong on that and underestimated what they'd risk to get into the air so I had to make the assumption that the Black Dogs or one of their allies would gain Eagle Carriers... if House Blitzhaus didn't supply them.

In short I needed to make anti-air weapons. At least I had a better idea of how to do that then most. Once I had it ready for a larger scale test I had to make sure it had the punch to bring down an Eagle Carrier at the very least...

Fingers crossed.

[-]

Unknown Warehouse
Somewhere in Peterstown City
Southern Barony of Hakla

"...This... is the best we could do...?" Amram Stellaclamor let off in a soft tone as he stood before a heavy table. He wore a simple, basic, white cloak with matching gloves and boots. He wore what seemed to be a porcelain mask but was, in fact, mythril with an outer layer of porcelain and a spell stone on the inside that worked to both disguise his voice and assist in breathing through the thin slit by the lips of the mask.

He took with him a dozen bodyguards using nondescript looking armor and weapons that were still of high quality along with his aide; clothed much like he was. The differences were Amram's mask was colored white in a wide stripe that went down the middle of the eyes and red on the outside where as his aide's bore black on the outside. "I am... aware of how they look..." He began.

"Look, I'm sayin' it... grass grows, birds sing, sun shines and I hurt people..."

"Hurt people? Laddie, what do ye know about hurtin' people? Ye don't know the difference 'tween hurtin' and ticklin'."

"Annnnd what do you know 'bout anything? You're not a Celt you're a Alglish man in a dress!"

"Tough talk eyeballs!"

Amram sighed... as a thin looking man with a club, a one eyed man with... more grenades then he'd seen anywhere before and some armored man who's eyes were covered by a helm with only a thin, shadowed slit to look out of argued... and that was those three. Then there was the man with a large crossbow who decided to piss in a jar, the masked man smoking in a corner and flipping about a strange knife where the handle split into two and folded over the blade, a man in a great coat that was giggling while fiddling with a steel... thing with spikes and a spell stone and some man smacking a... thing that looked like a small cannon on legs with a wrench... for some reason. "...but they are capable and despite their... issues... well... they were the only ones willing..." Amram clicked his tongue as his aide finished speaking. There were two others that looked... less insane. One was sitting on a crate holding an axe that looked as if it was carved or forged from obsidian given the color and form. The other was six foot five, bald and walking to them; he bore thick, heavy looking armor.

A thick, black breastplate with red sleeves likely covering more armor leading to black gauntlets. A thick belt ran from the right shoulder under the pauldron around the left hip and back up to meet it's end. Knee high armored boots in black over gray pants (Once more, likely over armor) with a mace at his left hip. The other hip held a bear shaped helm and in his right hand and shouldered was a... slab of metal; a two foot long handle with a fist size spell stone in the pommel attached to a long, flat, blunt length that looked to be a half inch thick, four feet long and a half foot wide with two spikes poking forwards and back at the top. Finally he stopped before the table and, in a show of strength, moved to hold the weapon out so it's flat was horizontal over the table, holding his arm at full extension... then dropped the weapon on the table and making the wood crack and the whole thing shudder as he pulled a seat closer before he sat. "Greetings." He said, a thick, deep Dominious accent in his voice. "I am heavy weapons guy. You may call me the Heavy." Over the biceps of his outfit, all all of his compatriots, was a basic emblem; an orange circle with a dark red ring set inside it slightly and 'IX' set inside it in red, the old Imperium number for nine.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to-"

"And this is my weapon..." He said as he smirked, hands moving to lay on the blade before him, stroking it in a loving manner. "She weighs forty nine and a half pounds and is made of solid steel, reinforced with a grade three spell stone... It took me thirty two platinum to have it forged... and enchanted..."

"...I see. You are fond of that weapon then."

"Yes, Sasha is very good weapon..." Heavy said with a smile as he finally looked up to Amram. "We are Red Nine. You hire us to challenge and slay Noxdecus Champion, yes?"

"Yes." The Cardinal let off, glad to finally get to the point. "You are aware of his accomplishments... including fending off and slaying 'He Who Knew No Failure'." Heavy, for his part, nodded for a moment but his face didn't change it's expression. "Understand; I don't overly care of the hows or the wheres you kill him, as long as he's dead. Anything short of burning a town down is acceptable to end him. My aide has given you a quarter upfront, yes?"

"Yes, indeed." Heavy said with a nod. "Normally is half upfront... but with the price being paid... we are glad for this work." Indeed, three hundred platinum was a hell of a price to pay up front and he'd... need to dip his hands outside of his personal funds to pay the rest of the nine hundred coins once it was done...

...and he ensured a tracking spell was set into a small spell stone, hidden within one of the coins... just in case they failed. Refunds was important in customer service. "I'll also appoint my aide to observe at a distance to... ensure the job is done correctly." And get his refund if things turned to shit. He then noted the silent one with the odd axe bouncing his leg as he sat on a crate.

Like all of the Red Nine he wore mainly black and red. His breast plate bulged out slightly to help deflect impacts, the pauldrons were short and rounded. All the plates were black, simple and rounded with red cloth visible over where chain mail would be under the plates. He wore a bassinet helm with rounded eye holes covered in dark red spell stone. Most of these helms bore a point over the mouth and jaw that extended slightly with holes to help one breath but there were no holes; rather discs were set over the sides that appeared to be made of spell stone as well.

In fact there were multiple spell stones in his armor now that he looked closer; every single plate of his armor bore one... and not tiny ones; the size of a thumb at least. It might have been the most enchanted suit of armor he'd ever seen, not in terms of power but in terms of number of stones... If one wasn't careful stones could drink the mana in the air meant for another unless they were all part of a larger spell stone. "Your... partners are all characters... save that one..."

"He... no, it is the one you must be most wary of..." Amram flinched at the change of tone... Heavy didn't speak with anger, upset or annoyance... it was... fear..? "Let me tell you this... I fear no man..." He moved the lean in... and he saw it, the skin pale a slight hint. Eyes dilating... the face showing the emotion clear as day. "...but that... thing... it scares me..." He finished softly... and then the odd man made his axe light on fire... that was not unusual, it was surely a magical weapon.

When it came alight with blue flame however Amram would instantly understand the fear and horror in Heavy's eyes... He was a well educated mage, he knew what it meant... The crate the man sat on started to smoke as did the ones around him... his allies backed up; doubly so the closest as they watched him until he turned the magic off...

If there was one that would kill Noxdecus... it would be him...

[ - Author's Note - ]

Yup, there we go! A non-Black Storm comes and goes, James weather tests Enterprise and the Cloud Riders to good effect, Roxellia weather tests the Eagle Riders to... worse effect, James and Claudia bond, James is making a new sort of weapon... oh, and James has his first proper fight of the Act.

To explain things a hint; Roxellia wanting to copy the Eagle Carriers is a) a reason she wanted the cargo rushed over regardless of the weather explaining why it happened (Along with maybe a little overconfidence in the Eagle Carrier) and b) a reminder of the sort of people we're dealing with here; ones who will back stab their allies for a leg up. In this case it will cost her more then she expected.

As for the Draconis Combi-I mean, Draconis Commandos, the backstory with Shanguan was a means to explain why he would be willing to attack James when it would otherwise seem to make no sense; to rid his nation of a possible future problem... and they failed thanks to Claudia who's putting the new blade through a few paces.

As for the last scene... yes, they are based on who you think they are. Yes, this is planned to be a fun (And threatening) conflict. Very soon James will Meet the Team... and as you may have guessed one will stand out as a greater then normal threat...

There's still more to go in the act as Stellaclamor sends his best... err... most available catspaws... You'll need to see how that plays out next time!

As always let me know what you liked, didn't like, hope to see and so on. Until next time then!

~Eostian Scribe