Transcendence?

by Andur

  This discussion was surely going into that direction before I stated my opinion.

  Maybe the king's vision wasn't so wrong after all. Haah. I start walking slowly and leave the hall of elders behind me. There are multiple powers at work in this country. First there is the royal family. They may not have any real political power, but their divination is known to the whole nation. The advice of a member of the royal family is seen as absolute.

  Then there is me. The Great Sky-General Fingulf! I control the navy which represents the military power.

  And lastly, we have the elders. They may be good when it comes to peaceful considerations and keeping an eye out for the population. But god save us, when they get the idea to act any further. It's good that the military power isn't in their hands.

  “You look concerned, Sky General. Did something bad happen at the meeting?” My attendant suddenly speaks up from the side. He was my aide for many years by now. I didn't even realize that he sneaked up on me.

  I think I am a little too distracted. “It went well. Considering our current situation, you can be happy if there isn't an all out war. Those elders surely would be up for it. But I think I talked them out of it.”

  My attendant nods and looks back at the hall of elders behind us. “Are you sure that it's alright to keep peace at all costs?”

  I make a dismissive gesture and wave for a carriage which is coming closer. “There is no benefit in fighting over nothing. And attacking Norfolk would be even worse than fighting over nothing. We would be forced to conquer Norfolk, or at least their harbours. Our Nation can't exist without metals for our ships. And if we attacked Norfolk, they would stop to trade with us.”

  “I don't understand why the elders act suddenly like Phenex isn't a problem any more. Sure, Phenex isn't doing much for now. But that will change as soon as they get Jamaian under their full control! Their train of thought is just too irresponsible.” I shake my head.

  My attendant nods while the carriage driver stops in front of us. “I finally realize that you are a too stabilizing element within this nation.”

  “What? Argh …”

  I look towards my attendant while a burning pain spreads through my side. With a grimace, I look down and widen my eyes. A dagger is stuck between my ribs and blood is running down my trousers.

  My attendant starts to smile. “Sleep now, general. You have done your job.”

  A cold and burning feeling spreads through my body and I fall to my knees. Is the dagger poisoned? “Why?”

  “Because God has spoken to me!” My attendant smiles broadly at me. His face is distorted and he wears a really insane expression.

  I feel anger and sadness welling up inside me, a gesture of my fist unleashes all my magical power at the man whom I thought to know very well.

  My attendant raises a barrier, but it is blown away like paper. I am not a general without reason. My friend is flung into the air and lands a few metres away. His body is twisted and broken.

  I fall on my back as my vision blurs and the last thing I see is the concerned face of the driver, who jumped down from his carriage to check on me.

  And I thought, I would die in a great battle . . .

  44 - Opportunity.

  Jamaian Union, Jamai-Capital

  The Immortal Empress

  *Crack!*

  I throw the broken feather into a big box with broken feathers. It's proof that I worked too much today. Either that, or the quality of Jamaian feathers is really poor.

  “Next one!” I hold out one hand and a servant places another feather in it. The female servant is standing behind me with a box, which is filled with writing utensils.

  Today I am in a particularly bad mood. I feel the anger boiling up inside me with every new report I sign. The stupidity of some humans is limitless.

  “Do these guys really think that I am stupid!? That Jamaian noble is trying to cheat me with this report! Those numbers are totally wrong!” I hit my head onto the desk. “Maybe I should start some public executions like in the first days of my Empire.”

  The servant behind me is becoming a little stiffer. It's hard to be the ruler of a vast nation. A fast movement of my pencil and the cheating report is marked as useless. It will be sent back to the noble who made it.

  After thinking for a second, I draw a little gibbet into a corner of the report to motivate the creator.

  In that moment, the door to my office flies open and Tjena limps inside. She is carrying a big bag despite her injury. Tjena still has a slow healing wound from the abduction incident. I forbade anyone from healing her with high class healing spells.

  So everything that's left to Tjena is the low level fast regeneration magic, which she can use herself. I actually did it to punish her. She should remember this for a long time, because she royally fucked up during that incident. First with the abduction and secondly by jumping in front of me!

  There would have been no problem, if I had caught the guard alone inside my barrier. Instead she had to jump at someone, who was clearly affected by a weird spell.

  This Ascathon is actually really dangerous, I'll have to be very careful when dealing with him. And the aura, which was emanated from his wife felt also really dangerous. That's in line with the report, which I read at the Academy.

  Argh, to think that there could be a family of three immortals on this world! I am really at a big disadvantage right now.

  The door is closed behind Tjena by a guard.

  “Mislow is advancing with their troops!” Tjena is breathing heavily. Did she run here with her bad leg?

  I place my feather on the desk. “Then it's fortunate that our supplies and the reinforcements from Phenex arrived.”

  Tjena shakes her head. “But they aren't attacking us! At least not with their main forces!”

  My brain freezes for a second. “Haaah?” That's not logical! “Then who is the target? Everyone else should be their ally!”

  “They are marching against Norfolk!” Tjena signals me to wait. “And there is more! One of our ships spotted a fleet of thirty ships from the Nation of Mist and they were headed towards Norfolk too!”

  My mouth opens and closes a few times while I try to restart the gears in my head. “What's wrong with those guys! Did they turn nuts!? Why are they fighting each other without reason!?”

  “Apparently this is the reason. Artefacts like these are sold all over the continent by the Lenarch merchant house. The Nation of Mist and Mislow could ave felt threatened by this.” Tjena empties her bag on my desk and looks at me expectantly.

  I can't help it and pucker my forehead. Then I grab the artefact, which looks like a hair dryer from a technological realm. Oh, it's so long since I saw stuff like that. I totally forgot that some convenient items like that exist.

  A small infusion of mana produces a hot stream of air. A button on the device is obviously for the temperature and the stream of hot air turns cold. That's convenient, especially in this climate.

  At a glance, I recognize a shaving tool, a desk light, pocket lamps and various other devices. I start cooling myself with the hair dryer, while inspecting the other items. My view falls onto a REAL PEN! I am saved!

  “~Hahahaha … HAHAHAHAHA!~”

  Tjena looks at me like I am mad. She obviously doesn't get the joke behind it.

  I hold up a pocket light and shove it into her face. “~Look! They even carved -MADE IN SARN- into the wood!~”

  My precious aide shakes her head. “This is serious! Those things will turn our whole world upside down! And they are cheap enough to be bought by almost everyone. And even commoners can operate those tools! Just the lowest classes of servants may not be able to afford them.”

  I nod. “Ascathon flung the gauntlet into everyone's face !”

  “Then what shall we do!? This is a unique opportunity to take action! They gave us an opening!” Tjena shakes her fists at an imaginary enemy. “And maybe it would force them to pull back their forces!”


  “Why should we want that they pull back their forces?” I arch an eyebrow at Tjena.

  Tjena turns red. “I have no right to say this, but I don't want that little Sera gets hurt.”

  “You don't have to worry. If someone can build something like this, …” I point at the artefacts on my table. “... he can build tools for war too. In fact, I believe that they will get a bloody nose.”

  By holding the pocket lamp under my face and infusing mana into it, I hope to create a fearsome impression.

  “~The ghost of knowledge escaped from his prison! And there is no possibility to imprison something like it again!~”

  “~BWHARHARHAR!~”

  I switch off my little light show and sigh. “I guess I will have to change my plans. The world may start to advance rapidly from now on.” Then I realize Tjena's dumbfounded expression. Probably I went a little too far with my little act.

  While smiling, I hold the pocket light towards the servant beside me. “Take that and put all your will into it to shine. Imagine your power flowing into the artefact.”

  The servant takes the artefact with a curious expression and looks at it. Then the pocket lamp begins to shine. It's not as bright as in my case, but the provided light is decent enough to see in a dark room.

  “~Have you ever used your magic or cast a spell before?~”

  The servant shakes her head and hands the artefact back. I turn towards Tjena. “See? Now all those weak magicians know what's possible. They were never before able to cast a spell and suddenly a whole new world is open to them! Do you think that they will hold still if someone tells them that they aren't allowed to use tools like that?”

  Tjena pulls a grimace and shakes her head. “That will create a civil war! Even amongst our own Empire!”

  I sigh. “No, it won't. We will allow artefacts like this. The circumstances changed a little. I guess it's easier to deal with those who oppose the new world order than to suppress ninety percent of our population.”

  Tjena opens her mouth, but I signal her to shut up. “This isn't just an issue between magicians and non-magicians, or commoners and nobles. There will be many magicians, who embrace these new artefacts. Just think about the many people who have the potential, but didn't have the strong mind to use their powers correctly? Or those who weren't willing to put much training and effort into honing their skills? They will be on the side of the commoners. And there are actually many people in that category.”

  Tjena slowly nods after thinking about it for a second. “It will still shake our society. Everything is designed to maintain the status quo. This creates trouble to no end.”

  “I don't think that we can put this idea back into Ascathon's head. You said that these artefacts were distributed all over the continent at once? That was without a doubt a complicated logistical effort.” I pull a face and look down on my reports.

  “On the other hand, we may really use this opportunity.” A smirk wanders across my face as a bold course of action comes to my mind.

  “What are your thoughts, my Empress?” Tjena arches an eyebrow.

  “We can't attack the Nation of Mist right now. Our navy is busy with holding the current stalemate. We can't attack Mislow either, because their borders are still heavily fortified. And we can't attack Norfolk, because it's too far away.” I tilt my head and look at the ceiling. “Wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to take control of the Academy? It's just one city, so the added logistical effort would be marginal.”

  Tjena nods. “With our reinforcements, it should be possible. Especially with your elite troops.”

  A ferocious smile forms on my face and I point at Tjena, who ducks away.

  “Then assemble the troops! We will try a surprise attack through the Gates!~Why are you on the ground?~”

  Tjena struggles to get up again. “It's just a conditioned reflex! I can't forget what usually happens to something at which you point your finger!”

  45 - No assistance needed.

  Norfolk, Nord-Capital City

  The Jarl

  “Why do I have to deal with this?” I try to get into a more comfortable position, but I am simply too fat. “And what kind of stupid reason is that!? Self defence!?” I wave the declaration of war around. “They attack us purely out of selfish reasons! I hope they freeze to death while marching through our territory!”

  I am on my throne while being tended to by my wives. Life is hard if you have to be taken care of.

  “They are simply frightened of this new toy of yours. Don't you think it's time to discard him?” My second wife helps me into a better position.

  “You should realize that you burned your fingers this time.” The beautiful third wife speaks up while cleaning the nails on my left hand.

  “I didn't burn my fingers! I made more money through Sarn than in the last ten years together!” I became a nursing case long ago. To my great shame, I have to admit that I wouldn't be able to deal with my cumbersome life without my wifes.

  But despite my body, I am still looking down on most other humans. “Those guys really think that everything is good and fine, as long as they don't attack any other principalities of mine! But I can't let them do that! What about my reputation!? Do you think that anyone would give a shit about me as a Jarl, if I would lean back and do nothing!?”

  “One hundred and sixty four years! That's how old I am! And I am still being annoyed by people with half my brains. I forged the warring states of Norfolk together when I was nineteen! Back in those times I simply beheaded everyone who spouted nonsense at me!” Yes, those were good times back then. And I could move on my own!

  “We know that you will always come to the right decision dear. We are simply trying to help.” My first wife pats my cheek.

  “Haah. I know. I am just angry because humans don't understand anything else but violence. The only cure for idiocy is death. Maybe the mind magicians from Mislow are right with their brutal policy.” I shake my head.

  At that moment, the door opens and a familiar person enters the room. He walks in front of me and bows.

  “Long time no see, Ascathon Asceron. You know of the army from Mislow?” I bend a little forward to get a better look at my best entertainment. Watching this fellow made my bleak life a little more colourful. Being a politician is simply too boring. But this fellow is really interesting. Everything he touches becomes something unexpected.

  “I heard, and we are preparing to defend. Fortunately you didn't allow them access to a nearby Gate.” Ascathon smiles and looks up.

  “Well, it's the only form of protest I am capable of. My army is in the capital and it would be a pain to send them through a Gate to assist you. They would have to face Mislow while abandoning all tools of war which are bigger than a man. That means no carriages and no dragons. Our tamed dragons are our biggest advantage against Mislow. Dragons are too stupid to be distracted by mind magic once you let them loose on the enemy.” I scratch my itching belly.

  “It's almost impossible to move an army through Norfolk without supplies. I hope you understand.” I arch an eyebrow while looking at the man. He didn't change his smile during my entire speech.

  “There is no problem. It will take them more than three weeks to arrive in my principality. Fortunately this form of warfare is really slow, compared to sending messages through a Gate. I will prepare a surprise for them.” Ascathon's voice sounds confident, but I am not convinced.

  “Are you sure that there is no need for me to act? I could still send a few elite troops. They can't defeat that army on their own, but they would be a help.” I squint my eyes while thinking of my possibilities.

  *zzzzzzzzz* My third wife is done with cleaning my fingernails and is now polishing them with one of those marvellous artefacts from Sarn.

  “There is just one question on my mind. Why aren't you concerned about my course of action? Everyone else seems to overreact because of my presents to the world.” He waves his hand at the small polishing tool in the
hands of my third wife.

  “Ha! Now you are downplaying the situation just a little bit! Don't think that I don't see what this will lead up to. There will be many changes to the world and who knows what else you are planning. But it's true that I am not concerned.” I grin with glee.

  The man in front of me tilts his head in confusion. Obviously I have to explain further.

  “Haah. Look at me. I am unable to move on my own. There is no chance that I could ever win against someone in a fight. My magic may be strong, but it can't be compared to a great magician, as I never trained my abilities. Being the Jarl takes up a lot of my time.” I lean back again. “I accomplished everything I have with my head and through manipulating people! There is no difference between a human with an artefact and someone who can use magic directly.”

  I tap my head. “These artefacts can't take away what I have up here. They are no concern of mine. Just a new tool to be used in the big game.” I turn my head towards the map on the wall of my hall. It's a map of my nation.

  “Are you sure that there is no problem? The army from Mislow numbers about fifty thousand people. I heard that at least three thousand of them are magicians. That's quite some fire-power. On top they will cross through eight to eleven principalities and small kingdoms. It depends on which route they take.” I sigh.

  “While we may be a nation to outsiders, we aren't as unified as other countries. I gave orders to everyone not to assist Mislow. Unfortunately I have no doubts that some nobles will be awed by the big army, which is crossing through their property. They will think that there is nothing to lose and assist them with short-sighted actions. Like adding their forces or supplying them. You may face an army of sixty thousand. That's more than half of your population.”