The City of Tephet-Sheta was the capital of the Great Civilization, and many knew it as a city of waterways and canals, what was not so obvious to most travellers was that it extended in all directions; upward in sky-piercers and cloud-citadels, downward in deep-holds, and into the seas, extending in reefs of bright metals that extended out for miles. The capitol buildings likewise extended beneath the waves, or at least, to under-layers that were flooded with salt and sea water. Countless other atmospheres were also found, and further down, there were layers for the lava-swimming Vardine. The underwater chambers were available at variable pressures and tempratures, also. Telissat for his part, had decanted an aquatic-necrontyrform avatar, one that had twisting tentacles below the waist, an ancient form of adaptation that his organic cousins embraced.
Others among the delegation were simply content to tele-prescence via soligram, or to wear artificial gills or stranger devices. There were few who were present however, the business was after all, a matter of some secrecy.
In one form or another with him were Imotekh, a necron who did not deign to assume a physical form of flesh and blood and rather remained a machine in all aspects, the two other members of the Triarch Council which executed the office of Head of State, in conventional terms. These were the Proaldaconcigi, Devangi Pancholi ita Dyvanakh ita Merenakh, Axatirno nos Olormaranwe, and Aldaconciga Cyldno, the senator in charge of the foreign affairs commission, with them was Patrast Lygngarma nos Dunnealc, of the same commission, though officially retired.
Drifting in the freezing cold flowing waters with long flowing iridescent locks that gleamed a rosy violet hue in the shade and sky blue under the light, a mermaid with the skin tone of a buckthorn sea berry glanced with her arms extended outward before pulling her palms in to touch her fingers together in the formal greeting as she bowed her head in respect. Her soft aquamarine eyes with her iris blue pupils gently shut as she bowed and her retinue of executives were alongside her, some of them wearing enchanted jewelery allowing them effortlessly to stay beneath the water with no difficulties with breathing or difficulties with the pressure differences. Among them were humans, beastlings, dwarves, and treefolken. There was only one elven woman in their number and she appeared to be carrying a strange tool that resembled a notepad, but it the shape of the pen was like a pointed sharp bit of coral. As she touched the notepad, the colors of ink began to seep into the notepad. She wrote the date and charted the minutes carefully for recordkeeping.
The mermaid took a deep inhale as she presented her gifts of enchanted snowberries to the guests and glasses of nectar in drinkable containers. It was common for Spireans to present gifts at any meeting, and among them was a strangely beautiful opalescent harp with silvery threads that seemed to let a sweet melody that resonated with the softest touch, and the smoothest flow of water.
“It would be my honor as friends of the C’tan to present to you the Cistsea Harp, a gift we offer in commemoration of this momentous occasion.” The sweet voice of the mermaid crooned as she seemed to be comfortable in the bone chilling waters. Her fin resembled a whale’s fin as opposed to a fish’s tail. “It is offered to C’tan by the hand of the finest artisans of the Submerged Lands.”
Telissat took it in hand, his fingers stroking it as though he was quite familiar with how to play, and indeed he had seen endless images of them, the Spirean culture as a known quantity for the C’tani today, and beyond that he had the ability to comprehend information at a rate far exceeding most mortal species, “I thank you for your gift, in exchange I have a simpler one to give to you, but one that is relevant for the occasion I think,” he said, holding the harp in the crook of his arm for a moment and extending his hand, with a bubbling hiss of water displacement an object appeared in his hand, a stone block, the size of a large brick, worn on one side, it was composed of dark material, and bubbled and scorched on one side. Those who could sense the aether would feel, even in the cloying dampening of Duat, an extreme malevolence from the object, as though some ancient spell-working of tremendous power had been unleashed on it in some past age. “This is the keystone of the redoubt of Khesh-Poor, a fortress that fell long ago, in the Seventh War of Contemplation, one of the campaigns against the Great Old Ones; although the fortress fell, the battle was won. I am told that those who can tell imprints of the past from such things can still see the day it was sundered.”
The mermaid’s rosy lips slightly turned downward at the corners of her mouth as she gently touched the keystone, not activating the memories with a mana tap, as she was more than a little aware of the history of the Great Old Ones. The Devas that had served the Unholy Dragons were still lingering in the hidden gullies and lagoons within the submerged lands, and their ilk had thought to revive those long dead. The creators of the Necrontyr’s suffering, and mockers of their misfortune, to the point where they surrendered their physical forms to possess the living steel that made them become the necrons. The knowledge of this history burdened the Mermaid with a strange melancholy, as she graciously accepted the gift. She then smiled gently as she had her escorts take the gift and one of the sea sprites looked startled as he touched the keystone, sensing its malevolence and not anticipating the lingering energy’s effect.
“The Collegium will hold this beautiful and meaningful gift for all students of history and magic to understand the past of both the Necrontyr but also so that they can understand our own past in context as well.” The mermaid whispered as her smoky voice reverberated through the room. “Let us then engage in the rituals for such an occasion that we must follow in the name of our people.”
The Vice Chancellor who appeared beside the mermaid in a flash of light was covered in a hooded cloak, her skeletal form shrouded with draping robes that were left untouched by water. The depths of her eyesockets glowed with a gentle light that seemed to be friendly with an aura of kindness pervading from her intimidating form. “Calisté Chenarn, do you agree to abide by all these discussions and uphold the honor of the High Council and the people of D’halbrisir?” The voice of the skeletal woman was deep and rich with a soft contralto songlike quality to it. “And do you agree to hold to the true values of the Keys?”
“To the Keys of Transcendence, I hold and shall abide.” Calisté said as the vice chancellor nodded her head.
“And it is with our honor that we shall abide.” The vice chancellor said as the executives of the Spirean delegation also whispered “And we too shall abide.”
“May the proceedings of these meetings be for the good and welfare of all people under the protection of the Spires, and may they be void of malice, ignorance, and greed. May our hearts be filled with wisdom, strength, courage, and the will to do good for all beings.” Calisté sung with a vibration that reminded many of the legends of songs of the sirens, but conveyed the sweet resonance of a whalesong.
Being both less musical and far, far less religious the C’tani, although they had many ceremonies, set little store on oaths or given words, but still they spoke, “I affirm sincerely and truthfully my honest intention and honourable intentions,” Telissat said. That was quite simply the limit of that, at least as far as he was concerned, the aquan phrase simple to say, and with a pointed brevity.
Those behind him did so likewise, with some variation; Devangi swore rather than affirmed, but what precisely she swore by was not wholly certain, though neither of the elves seemed to bother with such a religious notion.
The Spireans began to withdraw maps and several displays of the Pony Lands and Mystria. The displays began to show various nations colored in different hues and Calisté highlighted the nation to the western woods and as she pressed it a three dimensional projection began to show the Satrapy and the High Treefolken to the further west.
“Hostilities have boiled over and the High Treefolk have sought to use the Prussians as a shield and the Greater Prussians have been acting in open hostility to our people for reasons we know not why. The hostility has been increasing with the power of the monarchists becoming more and more relevant despite their complete lack of support by the civilian populace which speaks to us of an outsider who is putting pressure upon the Republic to attempt and force us to reform into a monarchist state, subject to the former nobility who many of which reject the concept of rulership.” The mermaid said with a seriousness in her tone of voice deepening as she demonstrated another map of an island in Greater Prussia. “Our suspicions are that it derives from the influence of the newly formed Monarchist state of Allanea and its colonial state of Snogohsia, currently ruled by Duke Isder Vitellus of the lands formerly known as Lothar. The lands have been merged with the Luminasians and the people of Lothar are expressing anxieties that Ashariya and Isder Vitellis will once again return with Allanean support to reclaim the lands of Lothar and Merlon in the lowlands near the satrapy.”
“I understand that monarchist succession disputes can be solved by duelling according to the faux-laws they hold to?” Lygngarma said thoughtfully.
“This is true, but they can also have knights fight on their behalf, which allows for the Vitellis family to request of their Aranyafiri relatives to take upon this duel. The Vitellis family is directly related to the Crown Princess of Allanea, and their Princess is the daughter of those dangerous immortals who head Allanea right now and we suspect they soon will suspend democracy in Allanea itself as well to ensure that their power is secure and uncontestable.” The mermaid explained. “And this is not the most alarming aspect of the problem. If we were to by some strike of desperation or insanity cede the lands of Lothar and Merlon to the Vitellis family, then we are going to be opening another dangerous can of worms. They will be within striking distance of the capital, Carcenese lands, Cantalviani land, and Altean lands. They will pose a threat to all of the old guard in Mystria and will have undue power in a land where people do not want to be ruled by them.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” the necron asked, “there is a direct answer to all your problems,” he said, his tone in speaking Aquan was arrogant, disdainful, though not directly of those he negotiated with, “Your nobles have long interbred, this makes them especially weak,” he said, and tapped the keystone with one outstretched finger, “do as the Old Ones would. Slay them with blood magic, it would be a simple task. I have seen it done.”
A Western accented tern beastling spoke up with his eyes slightly lowered. “Many among us who are monarchist support the republic and have forsook all claims to the lands of our forefathers long ago. Some of us have even been elected as leadership and have given all we have to the people among more things in service of our people as well. Not all our former monarchists desire power, and the greater majority do not. The few that do exist lie beyond our borders where we thought the elements or the harsh circumstances would have been enough to eliminate them. They have, only by deliberate knavery, survived by plunder or by outlawed actions. The chance for using blood magic upon them would require the sacrifice of many innocent people who like myself would die in service of the republic.”
“The process can be easily refined to target an individual if their lineage is known, in the same way that one uses multiple optical effects to triangulate a position, it is possible to know by genetic study of the relatives of a person their descent and which diseases and conditions will express in them, with a near certainty; and from that one can derive a killing act,” he said, “By study of the behaviour and medical records of Isder and his relatives it should be possible to kill him with ease. This is why the necrontyr funerary practices moved to compression of the corpus to diamond,” he said.
“That is one more certain potential practice we shall keep in mind, but we have another problem that continues to recur and without clear and present resolution there will be continuous threats by numerous actors both of a hostile Prussian state and by the former Monarchists of our country. We possess limited protection that we can utilize to protect our people on land, air, and sea. We wish to solve this problem by taking decisive action among our people. It has been a growing opinion since the acts of Princess Luna and in the aftermath of the Nefreedian War that the Spires apply for C’tani Statehood, but this has also been viewed as an extreme act by many conservative circles, but they also agree that strengthening C’tani ties will protect our nation in the future and beyond. For this we wish to pursue a middle ground for our people. We wish to apply for protectorate status by the Great Civilization, and we wish to become a protectorate state, abiding by all the responsibilities that are included in a protectorate state, but also increasing our protections and rights that would be enshrined by a permanent C’tani-Spirean partnership.”
“No,” Telissat said immediately. “We will give you what you need freely, and support you as you desire and require.” He said it in part because it was expected among Spireans to refuse such things, but also in truth because it was not actually required, and he had seen once great cultures wither under such agreements.
“Very well, it is an option that we would take, but if you would guarantee our full sovereignty and independence and offer us the protection we also need, then we will freely accept this as well. However it will be with increased privileges that the C’tani will also have under our most favored nation status. Among which will be direct intelligence cooperation which will be delivered immediately to ministers of intelligence in the C’tan and we will also offer to C’tan as many advisors and strategists needed and we will need several more bases for projection of force that will be given to the C’tan in order to ensure that this protection is both broad and also done with respect by the Civilian populace.”
“Beyond this, we we also think it would be fitting to offer further assistance in rebuilding to Crystal Spires,” Telissat said, “Our policies on that are not the same as those of our erstwhile Prussian friends, it is not our habit to simply drop supplies or worse, money, on those in need, at least past a certain point, but on the other hand we do think it fitting to increase the degree of technical knowledge we have shared to date; to that end we would like to help reform the Spirean child and continuing education systems, particularly in hard science fields.”
The mermaid smiled at the suggestion and nodded her head in approval as she had imagined this would be something that the C’tani would have considered valuable. Spireans were on the cusp of developing their own native faster-than light technology, and needed only the support of a rising educated populace to allow this product of imagination to become a reality.
“This is something that the Spires values highly, and education of our children to become competitive would be something that would also fit our aspirations as a state. There are some other concerns that come to mind as well. To the west of the Satrapy, we suspect there to be an increased presence in Treefolken military power, and we suspect that there will be a near imminent threat to the satrapy and to our people even if the regime established by the Treefolk is fragile.”
“We have the situation well in hand,” Axatirno said, “the Satrapy is not our only concern in this regard. It seems certain that our western neighbours will continue to push. They believe that we are weak for refusing to deal with them thus far,” he added. “In truth it is the consequences to wider Mystria that concern us. However, we have not been as idle as they believe. We have completely renewed our military strength.”
“Our solution to High Treefolk is already in motion, as we speak,” Telissat said, “It is the same strategem as they used against you, reversed. We anticipate success.”
Patrast Wenras ita Thokt, the chief among the War Department’s coordinators, smiled, he was a handsome necrontyr, who had embraced a temporary alteration in the form of a worn mechna-tail. “The Allaneans have no idea what will confront them. They imagine they face a necron army such as they have fought alongside. I would say that they were the cause of our reforms but in truth they have been long overdue.”
“And were a part of our platform long before the election,” Devangi added.
“Quite so,” Telissat said.
“The same strategem against us reversed? So, when they joined Greater Prussia using deceit to protect themselves against C’tani military action using the Prussians as a shield? Then turning this against them… But won’t this turn undue aggression against the Great Civilization even if it is successful?” The mermaid asked with an uneasy expression crossing over her face.
“Not quite. An army already exists in Treefolk to oppose the government. It is easily bought,” Wenras said. “There is nothing they will not do for money.”
“So you will attempt to bribe the Treefolken army to have them turn on the existing Treefolken government. The question is not whether they would do it, but whether this would just not cause a bidding war between the C’tan and the Prussians to have them either fight or abide by the Prussian rules.”
“We still have the scam-pile. The Allaneans cannot outbid their own war chest. Our own money need not be spent,” Telissat said.
“Have they not already taken access from the scam-pile away from your agent in Greater Prussia? I had heard that they were looking to appoint a replacement for C’tan and Menelmacari leadership and had been considering appointing a Treefolken leader for the maintenance of the scam-pile for the future benefit of Greater Prussia. It appears they have gotten very aggressive about C’tani membership and have taken measures to forbid that access to the scam piles. Nevertheless, C’tan was made aware of how much exists in the war chest, and has done proper accounting of all its points of origin allowing for this money to be devalued further if that is needed. Inflation is perhaps a good way to outbid the Prussians with their own money.”
Telissat smiled, “You underestimate us. The goods and bullion represented was removed while the sovereign wealth fund was reinvested under our oversight. They lost the scam-pile which they used to pay for the Gathering. We had considered rebating it to the likes of the Lubyakans but that time is past. However the infamous forty trillion is still under our control. It cannot easily be banned in Allanean held territories. Certainly only a fraction will be needed to bribe the Gathering’s mercenary guards to execute them at their investiture. They are without honour.”
“Especially as the Kazanskies have decided that the troops who took our money last time are not to be trusted; the footsoldiers of corporate genocide are the other option,” Lygngarma said in his best treefolken accent.
“Well we all knew they were certainly without honor, their loyalty can be bought, and that sort of thing makes taking all of them under our wing fairly easy if we do manage to get the mercs, and unlike the normal footsoldiers, the mercenaries are well-trained and heavily equipped. There always was a drawback for trying to make one’s government as powerless as possible. That does however mean that it’s possible that the Allaneans have been preparing for such a possibility.” The tern beastling quietly murmured
“This however does not matter. What matters is that Prussian aggression must be stopped, and its interest in High Treefolk is directly proportional to its ability to maintain a threat to the Spires. We do not have as much hard power if we discount the naval deficit the Allaneans have.” Calisté furrowed her brow as she let one arm cross in front of her nervously twiddling her fingers. “But will that be enough? Will we be safe if we manage to create a civil war in High Treefolk?”
“Presuming that there will be armed defense that remains firmly under Prussian control, you mean?” The Tern Beastling asked with his eyebrow cocking in curiosity. “There will still be Prussian soldiers on the ground, not to mention there still remain reservists who are attempting to help rebuild parts of the Majstaad on a purely humanitarian basis which may go rogue.”
“We have a more permanent plan to deal with the Treefolken. The Majstaad can be retained by your own forces can it not?”
“Of course, but we did anticipate armed resistance long ago, not from the Prussians but from potentially more Nefreedians if they had managed to return. We don’t think they will, but we had a large liability from their having weakened southern infrastructure. Now what is the more permanent plan you have in mind for the Treefolken people?”
“The Allaneans defy our treaty that gave the interim government legitimacy, and seek to usurp it. They are therefore invaders, anyone attempting to form a ‘Gathering’ in place of the democratic process that we mandated. Any who participate in this treason will be put to death, this time,” Telissat said, “my predecessor was kind enough to allow the Gathering to live, despite their complicity in crimes, that would be my preference too, but the Kazanskies have ensured that I cannot afford to be so generous; likewise the overlordship of High Treefolk returns to us, we will invade it once more once provision is made to protect Crystal Spires, Altea and other Mystrian nations from reprisals, and put the Gathering, and all others who have been complicit in this perfidity to death. They will not trouble us again as ashes. It is pleasing that the Gathering are not nobles, at least, their descendants do not have a claim to their titles that we will have to deal with.”
“That IS one of the benefits of elected leadership, but of course we’re prepared for reprisals should they come. And we suspect they will come and swifter than is likely expected. I have no doubt in my mind that there is already Allaneans working as we speak to destabilize the region. I wonder however, how we will proceed on our part to help support C’tani actions?”
“All our plans up until now,” Devangi said, “Have been drawn with the underlying notion that we will be acting alone.”
“We are sure you have better ground-level intelligence in High Treefolk than we do,” Axatirno suggested, “it would be very valuable to us.”
“We have long been anticipating trouble from the Treefolken, so we will without reservation share all intelligence we have gathered from our agents in High Treefolk, and will deliver what information we have about their assets, ground support, and weaknesses in infrastructure that we’re aware of.” The mermaid said with a nod of her head. “Is there anything more we can do ensure that this will be as successful as possible or are the C’tani adequately prepared for action and if so what is the estimated timeline for movement?”
“We will move as soon as we are convinced of the safety of Crystal Spires, this is something we will need to discuss however, firstly you have asked previously about what manner of military bases can be provided,” Telissat said, “I think it is time we answered that definitively.”
“We have several strategic locations available for placing military bases, and we are more than ready to accommodate C’tani troops. The question is what the C’tan is willing to consider?” Calisté asked as she began to project the map of D’halbrisir and Vinyelaujor openly for the C’tani to see.
The doors opened once more, to admit a figure who did not move by swimming but rather moved as though carried on the currents. It was humanoid, at least in vaguest aspect, and seemed to be composed of clay that was impossibly baking dry underwater, one might take it for a golem, except that it was not a single piece of construction, but many, which wetted themselves, flowed together and then broke apart once more. It spoke, through a mouth that was a slit that yawned open, baked into pieces and then closed again as though it had reverted to primal clay once it had been spoken to. "All of them," it said. Its voice was not aquan, but rather the mother tongue of all who heard it, no matter what that was.
The Vice Chancellor’s eyesockets rounded out and the glow faded as she heard her native language spoken after many millennia and she was torn by the feeling of horror and joy. Then she realized it was a spell and the light returned to her skeletal visage. The mermaid seemed to also be surprised but pleased.
“All of them? I’m surprised to hear that you’re even willing to consider one after the horrible litigious actions of the High Council previously. They have managed to finally solidify locations that were both strategic and also very well suited for C’tani soldiers.” Calisté said with a sigh. “Legislators are a fickle folk.”
“Among many other locations, we will rebuild Fynn, Kashuan, Altair, Pailun, Machanon, Gebran, Bafsk, Gatea, Salamand, Maraq, Perseria, Idrise, Palomecia and Dayne,” the creature said, the means by which it spoke was not quite a spell, but close enough that few would question it. “We have much work to do, and construction is our passion; there is more to do in Mystria than simply to defeat petty kings. You must all be saved from the dissolution of your continent, an event which will come soon.”
“May I introduce Yggra’nya, the Moulder of Worlds, one of the C’tan,” Telissat said, “latterly released.”
The creature had indeed spoken the words in each language at once, a sort of quantum decoherence effect; the truth of reality itself was variable to such beings, and the words each heard were true for them. The difference between such power and magic was small but significant.
“Your people were able to sense the aethometric disturbances and the increasing instability with the flow of TRAPAR waves, I presume. We have noticed increasing disruptions using the Aethometers over a period of thirty years. Each year it gets at least 0.5mmNe more per square kilometer. And it only takes 1.0mNe to create an Aetheric Shift as noted in the past. Aether dispersal is a difficult task, and Terradin has failed at every juncture to get the readings to a manageable level, leaving the surface in incredible disarray, increasing the threat of Ethereal Shifting, which there is an almost regular occurrence above ground. It is a miracle they were able to keep such a low Resonance below ground at all... ” Calisté sighed as she folded her hands uncomfortably.
“Actually we listen to crazed prophets on street corners,” Telissat said, “It’s much easier that way. I assume everyone present is aware of the full background of your predecessor’s medical condition?”
“I confess my skepticism, as I don't even believe in most gods, why would he be possessed by an evil one? I… admit I suspect some other explanation that must be more feasible. I just do not know what. I am aware he bears all the hallmarks of a sacred invocation, but Maven Auryn for all his flaws is not an evil man, nor do I believe that a God of deception and illusion would ever tell the truth about anything, which makes his claim about sacrificing innocence to seal pandemonium a bit suspect. There is no doubt that Templar Auryn grows weaker and so too does the barrier between worlds, but I am not convinced yet of the direct correlation.” Calisté confessed with a shrug.
“There have been stranger things in my time.” The cloaked skeletal figure softly murmured as she seemed to let out a soft exhaling sound, and a soft glow of mana began to release into a holographic shape of a young girl. “Before the birth of Maven Auryn there was another child that was born with the same marks of possession and she was of course discarded by her people in the mountains. Our people cared for her, but over time her soul was flensed away until she was left a soulless husk, still alive but with no personality, no feelings, no indication of sensation or perception and no will to live. She withered away and her memory lives on with our people, as she was chosen of Zaiden, or so we suspect. We have little proof of these allegations.”
“It is true,” Telissat said. “We have found multiple forms of corroboration, including those that relate to others, there is no doubt remaining in the matter,” he added, “As to gods, there is little to the term beyond ‘that which is invoked’ - the gods you speak of have little significance beyond their own beings, if you believe gods per se do not exist when they are spoken of in myth, I have but to direct you to my friend,” he said, holding a hand out in a gesture toward Yggra’nya.
“A god walks among us once more?” The mermaid asked with a bow of respect. “I did not know, please explain to us your divine or terrific nature.” She emphasized as to her, she never believed in any actual namesake gods, merely powerful immortal archmagi who were masters in all arts, leading to the power of exarchhood, which was rare enough among her species.
The being compressed itself for a moment, taking the shape of a dwarf of long grey beard and sunken eyes, leaning a little to one side and smiling, “What is a god in your terms?” it asked, seeming to be non-plussed by the concrete idea of gods, its head tilting to one side as though it sought to recall some ancient epoch.
“I am the wrong person to ask… maybe, ah.” She looked at the hooded skeletal figure for a moment and then waited for an answer as there was a hiss from the undead specter as she then spoke, with her eyesockets darkening entirely to a void-like nothingness that seemed to fill the air around her with uncertainty and fear.
“A godling is an imperishable master of all arts of magic. To the point where no mysteries or limitations to the creation they are a part of no longer exists as an existential barrier. This includes any and all planes they can and do inhabit potentially and otherwise.” The feminine voice shuddered as she straightened her hooded cloak nervously. “That is at least how we define it among our people. It is sufficient enough to say ‘Mastery of all domains’ in D’ragoleth and get the word ‘God’ which makes this virtually indistinguishable from most imperishable archmagi.”
“And yet, that is not the trait of Zaiden, whom none of you deny is a god?” Axatirno asked, raising one eyebrow, “Your definition of godhood is such that even the factual Fornt would not meet it.”
“I am of the opinion that Gods don’t exist in our understanding of the word, but Zaiden is still one who is masterful at his art and should be revered as a creator and archmagi. Then again, it is not that much of a feat to accept all the other godbeings’ screwups and misfits that they made when fucking up the creation they were tweaking out.” The hooded skeletal woman laughed as the unchanging grin from her face seemed to emphasize more from her ever shifting eyes. “So if anything it is to Zaiden we owe our loyalty for not snuffing us imperishables out, and that’s good enough for us, but not enough for theologians of all stripes.”
“That’s some really colorful blasphemy right there.” The mermaid said with a chuckle as she covered her face. “That would be enough to make even the most lax Forntian Cleric screech.”
“It is sufficient to say that the beings you call gods exist, are factual, are not all they’re cracked up to be, and are related to the catastrophe that is to drown your continent in due course,” Axatirno said, “whether you worship them or find them worthy of attention is somewhat immaterial; it is enough to say that Fornt does exist, he is present among us now; some of your gods were distributed among the flora and fauna of your continent, causing beastlings of the most recent generations to rise, others are imprisoned by the Emperor of Palomecia, and yet others are simply slain, and some very few are active and intact in their essence.”
“This is of no surprise to me.” The elegantly spoken skeletal woman murmured. “But if what you say is true and the continent is doomed, then I wonder to which evidence you have drawn your conclusion from? Catastrophe comes, there is no question this is true, but it often simply rebuilds itself in a cycle of birth and rebirth each eon. I’m not sure in which sense you mean.”
“I think they mean in the sense where all life will be wiped from the continent. All… including the imperishables.” The mermaid said with hesitation.
“You act like we’re especially invulnerable when evidence points to the contrary. Most of us while technically immortal, are certainly not invulnerable. You still have a lot to learn, Calisté.” The imperishable skeleton said as she lolled her cranium slightly to one side, light returning to those big round eyesockets, and the bead of lights seemed to focus on the strange C’tani and then returned to staring at a stray bit of sea moss, not wishing to maintain sustained eye contact. There was obviously a cultural deference to eye contact, which meant the skeletal woman did not in fact look anyone in the eye for a long period of time. She also either kept her gaze whimsically upward, or lowered her head in respect.
“I suppose not, but if there is truly what you say, a large scale disaster headed for our continent, from whence does this threat emerge?” The mermaid asked and the skeletal woman answered first.
“From the gates of Pandemonium, no doubt. That IS where the threat is, isn’t it? The threat of Pandemonium swallowing up the plane of energy and matter?” The lady questioned, but this seemed to be more of a rhetorical question. “How long do we have, do you think?”
“Less swallowing than disgorging,” the C’tan-dwarf said, “It is uncertain. What can be said is that there are many more portals to the Pandaemonium than you are presently aware of, along with Zaiden sources including questioning surviving members of the Chaos Vigilant, an organizaion some several thousand years old, and confiscation of Palomecian archeotech computers from Altea for information probing. The story as we know it is a complex one.”
“HAH! The Chaos vigiliant still exist? How many of them are left? Thirty? Fifty? I’d be surprised if yet a handful exist. And yet if what you say is true, then we’re at a serious crossroads here. We have to reestablish the Order of the Vigil, but we’ve only just recovered from war, famine and death. Close but unwelcome friends of ours. How would we, alone, be able to create the Chaos Viligant even if we had full numbers? Much of what we have about the Vigil has been lost to us over time, and even our greatest sages are unlikely to have the knowledge needed to avoid serious catastrophe. What do our C’tani friends suggest, as a matter of pragmatism. We do indeed wish to outlast whatever expiration date Pandemonium has set for us.”
“An expedition to the Pandaemonium, to help the monsters within,” Telissat said. “The gate-keepers and the Palomecian Emperor perhaps. The renewal and nursing of Maven Auryn and Zaiden, both, and the commencement of works to protect the people in the event of disaster,” he said, “Hence the cities, and the desire that you should have space travel of your own.. In extremis it may be necessary to evacuate. We have devices of several sorts that can stabilize dimensions, but we are circumspect in using such things unless we have to.”
“Archeological and historographical research is also necessary,” Lygngarma said, “In finding members of the old Vigil and those who remember them we have found that the most success is to be found in High Treefolk, for they are older even than elves, and the elves in power in Ealdurim are my kin, who are not particularly old, and certainly not wise.” He sneered archly, “my ancestors were cowards and the Ealdurimites have not improved.”
“How are we to seek out the Treefolken when they have been stated to be hostile to us in numerous ways and have been using Greater Prussia as a shield from consequences of their bloody and nefarious deeds?” Calisté asked with a cringe that began from her fin to her nose. “I mean yes, there is no doubt that the knowledge would likely exist in the Treefolken lands as they are less besieged in general by pandemonium in every age, but how are we to have enough of an existing peace to investigate the vigil without extraordinary measures?”
“It is a simple matter of having the key to every gate in the Treefolken lands,” Lygngarma said, his hand reaching his pocket, drawing forth a rarity, a C’tani coin, a sleek tablet of metal imprinted with necrontyr sine-script, which he held up, “we are paying Treefolk to do it for us, find the sleeping, speak with them and pay them to come to us. The same way one accomplishes anything with this generation of Treefolken, of course their more tree-ish cousins who have slept out the current century are rather less mercenary.”
“Even the mercenaries would not likely have the knowledge, but they would certainly freely wander high treefolk with no trouble and would easily gain access to the knowledge that would otherwise be out of reach. This said, are we going to risk informing the Prussians of our intentions or shall we keep this silent in the name of peace?” Calisté asked with a sigh as she planned out how much money the Spires would need to contribute for such an expedition. It would no doubt be a large amount if they were going to do it without any support from the Tree Industrial complex.
“The term Prussians has become meaningless. They are best called Allaneans,” Devangi said with a touch of bitterness, “I would not tell them, they are not to be trusted with any useful information, it is simple enough to do and no matter of their concern in any case,” she said, “there is a destiny to such things that can be manipulated,” she added, where she brought that notion from was unclear, “scrying and selecting the right people to ask counts for more than you would imagine.”
“Scrying is also an art of great uncertainty, there have been many who have the gift, but even they describe the practice as steering a ship, difficult to navigate through a perilous stream of possibilities, many of them unspeakably horrible and some of them beyond comprehension. I know some seers who have been struck blind, deafened, or rendered mute by their arts, while others slumber for ages as they no longer can reach the vestiges of what used to be a conventional ‘self’. They are rarely sought out or created among our people for that reason.”
“In this area I think our understanding of magecraft exceeds yours, for it is something that some among our allies and our enemies, and the very founder of our nation, have raised to an art,” The necron said, “and we have means other than magecraft to determine the wisest course of action, and there are few fates as grim as our past, that is steeling,” Imotekh said.
“I imagine so, but let us hope that our future does not hold even a sliver of shadow when measured with the struggles of the Necrontyr with the Old Ones. Were the Old Ones gods, as well?” Calisté asked as she wrung her hands.
“We also wish to aid in rebuilding cities in Crystal Spires, those that are properly cited,” the C’tan said, “Cities and settlements, in this the work done by the Menelmacari will be useful as we share their standards.”
“And beyond this we need to install anti-orbital systems in Crystal Spires,” Telissat added. “Protection fields, weapons, shunt systems, other such things.”
“Anti orbital systems we have now are primitive and have been functional for half a century, but we definitely require a significant change as our enemies seek to dispel or destroy the paling itself, which would wreak untold havoc on the civilian population. Disruption of the paling cannot be treated as or distinguished from the use of weapons of mass destruction. The paling is one of our few defenses from orbital weaponry and from the other scourges from the skies.” Calisté steepled her fingers and furrowed her brow as her fins perked up at the thought of a stronger defense than the paling, “but stronger defenses have been conceptualized and not yet implemented. What do Our Friends of the Greater Civilization advise?”
“Initially our primary field weapon for defending against orbital attacks is the gauss pylon,” Telissat said, “These are comparatively small, approximately fifteen to twenty meters across, and self operating and maintaining, they can be displaced into position and are carried aboard all military craft,” he said, it was common knowledge though perhaps the details were not, “They generate a weaponised monopolar magnetic field which operates on several dimensional phases, vapourising targeted matter and dispersing it through several perpendicular realities,” he said, “the most recent upgraded units are capable of entirely bypassing surface-fields up to about twenty agrenthals in repelling-field units,” the name was one that had no translation, the name of an ancient necrontyr physicist, “this is competitive with most energy fields and the reason we don’t use ship-mounted energy barriers frequently,” he said, “they are also capable of countering phase-fields and other ‘dimensional’ defences, rapidly intercepting reentry capsules such as drop pods, nuclear missiles, and most space-borne missile munitions, though this is not their ideal operational characteristic.
“Defensively we use a variety of technological field generators, these are less immediate in deployment time and we estimate a period of between days and months to install these depending on available resources and legalities,” he said, “We do however have smaller modules capable of protecting limited areas such as cities and major settlements; in the field of active-magical defence your current system is notably superior to anything we have constructed, however I believe a key component of this is the availability of mineral-crystals of high purity?” he asked. It was clear that he was in his element here.
“Purity, luster, cleavage, magical luminosity, and many other factors that limit the Spires in creation, but not in practical ability. The finest ember can, after all, hold enchantments longer than even runestone metal, but the difficulty in finding personnel to operate the spires and the paling defenses also require attention. Magi of significant talent and expertise could be trained, but this will take some time, time we do not have.”
“We have a number of especially large crystals in storage, similar to the one proposed for the rebuild of Tabril,” Telissat said, “they were in point of fact gathered to act as the alignment crystals for a decommissioned Allananean superweapon, we also have many other industrial capacities that can make provision of such things easier. Magi we cannot supply in the same quantity, ours operate for the most part, excluding recent immigrants, on different lines from your own and the blending of this would be difficult at best, however we can provide aid in relieving other capable Spirean mages from other duties by finding replacements; we could also elicit the assistance of the Altean Grey Magi, though I am not certain that would be palatable to your people.”
