Dragon Emperor 3_Human to Dragon to God

by Eric Vall

  “Ah!” The crimson haired woman smiled and inclined her head quickly. “I am Raisa, an architect of Leyte. It is an honor to help rebuild this city.”

  “I am Azra, from Leyte as well.” The blue haired man brought his hand to his forehead in a quick salute. “I am also an architect and gladly offer my services in the reconstruction of Hatra el Shamash.”

  “And I gladly welcome your help,” I replied as I leaned back in my chair. “Hatra needs all the help she can get. You were saying about the underground waterways, though?”

  “Well, it could work,” Azra hummed out as he tilted his head to the side, “if the underground waterways haven’t been damaged during these past thousand years at all. Which, I doubt. We’re gonna have to go underground to check all of that out.”

  “Would it be possible to examine them with magic?” I asked the two architects.

  “Well, it can be done,” Azra replied as he frowned. “Using just magic to examine them isn’t flawless, though. You could miss something because you’re looking at all of it at once. Examining the waterways section by section, using both our eyes and our magic, would ensure there are no mistakes or issues we’d overlooked.”

  “Are these all of the plans?” Raisa asked and suddenly looked up from the sketches.

  “They are.” I nodded back to her as I took a sip from my goblet. “Leon’s been putting together all of the schematics under my mother’s guidance and direction.”

  Leon preened at my words for a moment before he suddenly coughed and glanced down at the floor. “Thank you for your praise, my lord.”

  “Don’t be shy, Leon.” Julia glanced over at him with a smile as she set her fan down. “You’ve got quite the talent, considering we were a ruined city, and you were educated on the remnants of our passed down knowledge.”

  “They are rather fine sketches.” Raisa smiled over at Leon. “They make things much easier for us, thank you.”

  “The most pressing issue right now is the expansion of the farms.” I tapped my fingers on the table as I frowned at the plates full of food. “Right now, they’re producing enough for us, but as the city grows, it won’t be enough. I don’t want to clear out any of the land within the city walls for the expansion of the farms, though. Not when we have all that arable land between the walls. The issue is how to keep them as a defensive structure and be able to feed the mouths of everyone.”

  The two architects glanced back down at the schematics they’d begun to spread out over the table, but, this time, there was no whispered mutterings of ideas. Raisa and Azra only stared fiercely at the plans before they both whipped their heads back up.

  “Perhaps if we raised the elevation of the land between the walls?” Raisa suggested, and excitement burned in her voice as she paced behind Azra.

  “Farming on a sloping incline?” I glanced between the two architects. “Is that what you mean?”

  “Exactly,” Azra explained as he lifted a glowing finger in the air and began to draw with it, “we’d need a day or two, at least, in order to work out the kinks of the plan and to survey the area. What we could do is create terraces and leave the area immediately in front of the outer walls for defense purposes. If we do the terraces, we could create a sort of tunnel system between the gates that would give added protection to whoever enters the city. Not only that, but we could create underground farming sections, turn those places into storage, or make holding areas for people entering the city. What do you think?”

  Azra traced slightly opaque azure lines in the air as he sketched out the city of Hatra and created what was essentially a three dimensional model of my city. It was almost like looking at a hologram, and I never expected to see something like that in the world of Inati, but it did make discussing architectural plans much easier.

  “That could work.” I nodded as I focused on the tunnels near the main gates. “That would give us multipurpose use of the area, it won’t just be farmland. I’m not exactly too fond of the idea of it being used as a checkpoint for entrances, we’d have to figure out ways to make sure nothing can go wrong. That would be a perfect target for someone to strike.”

  “Well, since you’ve said there’s the underground library, why not make use of Hatra’s own natural architecture?” Raisa suggested as she pointed toward the area underneath the city. “Expand those already existing subterranean areas, and it would be easy to create underground farms, all things considered. An added benefit to subterranean farming is the fact you wouldn’t have to worry about sourcing food during a siege or demon attack.”

  “Lord Nikolaus, what security measures do you have in Leyte?” I asked as I glanced over at my fellow Noble of the Sword.

  “If we had a barrier preventing physical violence, that would make defending ourselves quite difficult.” Nikolaus smirked as he leaned forward and added onto the model with his own glowing white lines. “What we’ve done is to have a three step entrance process. My city of Leyte is encircled with walls, just as Hatra is, but we have one additional ring. That’s the first step where everyone has to go through an identification and verification process.”

  On the magical hologram, there were now three walls encircling the city of Hatra, instead of the original two. The third wall stretched further out, making it look almost like an enormous canal curled around the city.

  “I see,” I muttered as I leaned back in my chair, “that additional ring can serve as a buffer zone if we don’t have anything within it. Or it can be an immediate defense measure if we have our military allocated within that area.”

  “Exactly, and if necessary,” Nikolaus continued, “it can serve as an area to accommodate refugees.”

  “I doubt Hatra will have to house any refugees outside of her walls anytime soon,” I replied as I shook my head, “but it never hurts to be prepared. Anything at all can happen, and once the city’s population starts to rise, we won’t have as much free space for people to move in.”

  “Have you been to the ruins of the vassal villages yet?” Aleksey interjected from where he was sprawled in his chair. “There could be more than enough building materials in those ruins.”

  “No,” I replied honestly, “I haven’t had the time for that yet. Still, I’m having the Blue Tree Guild organize a patrol to some of those areas to get an idea of how bad their condition is.”

  I tilted my head as I stared at the model. I’d been playing with the idea of a road straight to the orichalcum mine in order to make traveling to it easier, but seeing the model of the city gave me an idea.

  “Would it be possible to create a road from the main gate of Hatra to the orichalcum mine via the Asuran village?” I asked as I glanced over at the two architects. “And underneath the road on the surface, could we have a tunnel system underneath that leads straight to the mine?”

  Raisa and Azra both blinked in momentary confusion.

  “A decoy,” Ruslan murmured as he leaned back in his chair, “that way no one will know exactly where or how the metal is being brought back to the city.”

  “You got it in one, Pops.” I grinned at Ruslan and turned to face the architects. “I’ve built a temporary garrison at the Asuran village and sealed off the mine for the time being, but I want to ensure that area can withstand any attack, and if necessary, have an escape route from the city to the mine.”

  “How are you going to prevent spies from getting into them?” Nikolaus raised his concern. “It would be dangerous for the city and easy for Hatra to be toppled if they managed to get inside.”

  “And that,” I began with a smirk, “is where the enchantments in the underground library will come into place. While I’m not sure how the verification process works for other cities, I do know the Lords of Hatra had some secrets up their sleeves when it came to protecting passages within the city. It’ll take some time experimenting in the archives to get the right enchantments, but I know it can be done.”

  “I see.” Nikolaus glanced over at his Sword Aine with a smile, and
the tenseness faded away from his shoulders. “Hatra will be well defended then, not even the smallest of snakes will be able to slither their way in.”

  “That’s the plan,” I replied with a nod as I let a bit of a growl seep into my voice, “and if they do, I’ll rip the sinew from their body and let insects feast on their innards.”

  “That sounds too merciful to me,” Julia huffed as she snapped her fan open, “traitors deserve much worse. If there is any person who deserves to suffer through the torment of the burning hells and all the cruel devils, it would be traitors.”

  I didn’t have to be psychic to know who my mother was thinking of.

  Olivier. Even though we hadn’t known him long, and I’d been suspicious of his purpose in visiting Hatra from the start, he’d still been welcomed into the city as a guest. Then he spat on all of that and tried to destroy our city.

  Death would be too merciful for him.

  “All right, let’s go to the walls then.” I stood up and clapped my hands. “You said you needed to survey the area, right?”

  “Yes, do you think it would be possible to take a look at the waterways as well?” Azra snapped his fingers, and the floating model of Hatra disappeared as he stood up. “It would be helpful to see them afterwards, or, depending on how long we spend at the walls, another day.”

  “Of course,” I motioned for Dagen to follow my parents as I walked toward the entrance, “I haven’t visited the underground waterways yet, but I’m sure we have a map of them somewhere.”

  “I’ll come with you to the walls,” Nikolaus announced before he waved off two of his aides and directed them to go with a pretty blue haired girl, who seemed like she would be toppled over by a strong wind.

  “The rest of you must be curious about the inner city,” Ruslan began as he offered his hand to Julia, “if you’d like, we can show you the city before you return to your quarters to rest.”

  With that, our group split up in nearly equal halves. I headed out toward the city walls with the architects, Nikolaus, and the Sword Spirit Aine. My parents led the rest of the group on a tour of a city so they’d be able to get to know their temporary home. I was sure they’d be led down to the underground library at some point, there was no way they weren’t curious about seeing it.

  As for me?

  Well, I was more excited in getting my hands dirty and maybe raising another wall for my city.

  Chapter 9

  The walk to the main gate of Hatra was an easy one, and the two architects from Leyte talked over each other as they suggested ideas for the terraced farmlands. Their discussion was lively and completely flew over my head with the terminology they were using, but I could tell they were excited and enjoying themselves.

  “Are they always like this?” I muttered as I glanced over at Nikolaus.

  “Once they start going on about architecture and construction?” Nikolaus sighed as he discreetly rolled his eyes. “Yes, always. Getting them going is easy, but getting them to stop is nigh impossible. You’ll have better luck trying to stop a horde of rampaging desert beasts.”

  I snickered at his words. Raisa and Azra did seem like two bouncing balls of energy. They somewhat reminded me of the three dryad sisters, and I wondered what those flirtatious girls were up to, probably off on missions and patrols for the Blue Tree Guild. Even Laika’s schedule was packed with training schedules and patrols now.

  “So, what’s the secret to calming them down?” I locked my fingers behind my head as we walked. “There has to be something that would turn them off, even for a little bit.”

  “Other than knocking them unconscious?” Nikolaus smirked as he looked back at the two architects.

  “Is that really an option?” I joked back easily. “It might damage their brains, and then who’s going to figure out the construction plans for us?”

  “Alas,” Nikolaus sighed dramatically, “that is the main issue. Then the only option available to us is simply to wait for them to burn themselves out. Eventually.”

  “Or we can just put them straight to work,” I replied as we reached the main gate, “they’ll be exhausted in no time.”

  “Raisa, look!” Azra stopped in front of the gate to look at the ornate carvings. “Do you think we could incorporate some of these design elements into the terraces?”

  “Offsetting them in the pattern of a stylized dragon?” Raisa leaned in until her face was almost pressed against the draconic carvings. “That could work, the maw of the dragon could be the outer gate.”

  “Or making them look like scales,” Azra replied as he traced the shape of one of the dragons before him, “that was my thought at first. But a stylized dragon would be interesting and make for quite the striking aerial view. Especially if we make it seem like the dragon is wrapping around the city.”

  Nikolaus and I exchanged an exasperated look. Even though I hadn’t known them for very long, I could tell if we left the architects to their own devices, they would just delve down deeper into the rabbit hole of their thoughts. It was better to nip that in the bud when I could.

  “I hate to interrupt your brainstorming,” I coughed as I stepped forward, “but I don’t think you’d like to waste daylight. Wouldn’t it be better to start surveying the land before you start thinking about minute details like that? Of course, that’s only my suggestion.”

  “Of course, you’re right.” Raisa nudged Azra aside as she coughed and shook her head. “It’s better to take advantage of the daylight. Come along Azra, you need to learn how to focus.”

  “Focus?” Azra frowned as he called after his fellow architect. “Why are you shifting the blame on me and making me look bad in front of them?”

  “Because you were the first one to be distracted,” Raisa replied quickly as she glanced back to us. “Am I wrong, my lords?”

  “And so it continues,” I sighed as I tried not to burst into laughter.

  “Azra, you lost this time,” Nikolaus coughed as he tried to hide his smile behind his hand. “Let’s continue on with what we promised to deliver, we are on a schedule after all.”

  “As you saw when you arrived, this is the space we have,” I explained as I took a step into the land between the inner and outer walls. “By my estimate, it’s a mile, maybe a little more, wide. How many terrace levels would we be able to fit into this space?”

  “The walls are what, ninety feet high?” Raisa squinted up at the inner walls as she walked backwards toward me.

  “Approximately, yes,” I replied. “We haven’t measured them out, so that’s another estimate.”

  “That is no problem at all,” Azra spoke up from next to Nikolaus. “There were some measurements in the schematics Leon brought to us. We can double check them to make sure they’re correct.”

  “By the look of it, we can probably fit six concentric levels around the city.” Raisa glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled confidently. “Trust us on this, Lord Evan, we’ll have this ready for the planting season, and by the time fall comes around, all of this will be swaying farmland.”

  “I’ll leave you to it,” I responded with a nod. “I’m trusting you with the well being of my city. King Rodion picked you all out, and I’m going to have faith in his decision.”

  “You won’t regret it!” Azra called out as he jogged backwards and glanced up at the walls.

  I looked over at Nikolaus to ask him something, but blinked in confusion when I realized Aine had disappeared. Nikolaus’ Sword Spirit had been silent the entire time we’d walked through Hatra, but I’d seen her pause a few times as she took in the city’s sights like a distracted squirrel. She’d been trailing just behind us earlier, but now she wasn’t there.

  “Where’s Aine?” I asked Nikolaus as I walked over to him. “She was just behind you, wasn’t she?”

  “Oh?” Nikolaus glanced around him and shrugged. “She’s probably around here somewhere, she’s quite the curious one and likes exploring. If anything, she’ll be back by the time everyo
ne is getting ready for bed.”

  “Are all Sword Spirits like that?” I asked as I thought back to how Miraya had led me down to the catacombs.

  “They do what they wish, when they wish.” Nikolaus shrugged again and placed a hand on the hilt of his Sword. “It’s like trying to chain down wind or water, you cannot control them. You can only be their partner and their ally.”

  “Well, it’s kind of hard to tie them down if they’re Spirits,” I muttered as I glanced at the Sword at my own hip and frowned.

  Despite what I’d just said, weren’t the spirits chained down and trapped in some ways? I had no idea how or why the Swords were sentient, but their only freedom was choosing who their partner would be. Other than that, they were pretty much slaves.

  “What are you thinking about so seriously?” Nikolaus waved his hand in front of my face. “You’ve quite the dark expression on your face, is everything all right?”

  “Yeah!” I blinked and shook my head as I turned. “Let’s head to the outer wall and talk about that third wall you mentioned Leyte has.”

  “Of course,” Nikolaus replied as he followed after me easily. “What would you like to know about the third wall?”

  “How many guards are garrisoned on it?” I jumped right in to the biggest question.

  This was how I would know how big I would need to make the third wall. There was no point in half-assing something just because we didn’t have all the manpower needed to guard a proper city. Not having it now didn’t mean we wouldn’t have it in the future.

  “Fifty thousand guards are stationed full time within the third wall,” Nikolaus explained as we reached the outer wall. “There’s an additional twenty-five thousand guards who are rotated into the fifty thousand in order to make sure they are all well rested and prepared for any eventuality.”

  “Those fifty thousand guards,” I began as I eyed the space behind the outer wall, “they live inside of the third wall?”

  “Yes.” Nikolaus closed his silver eyes for a moment. “The other twenty-five thousand live in barracks, unless they have family within the city walls and then, depending on their experience and designation, they may live with their own family. Also, at any given time, a total of six thousand guards are given time off.”