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everything past post-war 1 |
We were born 18 years ago to a single elven brown-haired woman. Most of the elves in Dweomer are brown-haired or black-haired. Blonde and red hair are very rare. It is believed that they all died off in the elf/dwarf war. So when Mom met our dad much like many other elven women. They all wanted to be the bearer of the blonde elves again. The blonde hair and pale white skin were a massive turn-on for them. Then they learn that this elf is a high noble on top of it all. Very few female elves could say no. As is the custom of this noble elf he just finds a new elven woman to impregnate everywhere he goes. He does not take care of any of the children nor does he even recognize them as his children. Even if they have lighter complexions and hair. This male elf acts like a human noble instead of an elven noble. Yet still, our mother chased after this guy much like the other elven females. She just became one of his many lovers. As soon as we were of age to learn magic we were kicked out of the house we were just 7. So she could focus more on trying to become this elf's wife. My Younger twin sister and I hated our parents. For how awful they were. Neither of them acted like an elf. They instead were just humans in elven bodies. The recruiter took care of us until we were in the academy. For that reason more than anything we stuck together. When we were in school we learned of our cousin who was a once-a-century kind of talent. My younger sister saw a picture of him and fell in love in an instant. I was thinking great he is just like our useless dad. A playboy with no real value. I was wrong he became a war hero, who saved the lives of thousands of people. People I had personally talked to. They talked about his character. That was nothing like our whore of a father. Instead of always looking for a new lover, he was rejecting all comers. He had no interest. So I thought he was gay. Why else would he have no interest in women? Yet, I was informed he wanted a woman who was worthy of him. As a girl who thinks the same way, I can relate. When we learned this it only made my sister even more gaga over this guy. Sure I had an interest as well. Nothing like that though. So many years later when she met him it broke her heart. For he was a bitter guy. A guy who was tired of the treason of the magi elite who do nothing but talk. Well, he was out there daily putting his life on the line. I understood how he felt. I have seen it daily. In both the school teachers and fellow students. I found it frustrating. Unlike me, most of them were mediocre at best. Same with the rest of the school staff. Very few people in the Lord Magi classes and High Magi classes were worthy of their titles. With the humans often being the worst. Quick to pride, and slow to learn. Instead of 7 years like me or 8 years like my twin. It is 10-14 years for them in many cases because they have so little talent for magic. Us eleven children are slowed down in the physical portion of the training. Mostly due to our small size. Without the physical requirements, we could graduate in around 3 years maybe 4 the most. My sister was put in a class with talented humans. With them being able to graduate before the age of 20. Still, 8 years like my sister is the average for an elf. Not special. Then there are their PPE values, almost always so low. That I wonder how they even graduate. The humans should really stick to being battle magi, and controlers. That is the value that many can reach consistently, at least when it comes to magic. Well the Lord and High Magi should be just us elves and other superior races. I mean throughout our lives we have three times the amount of PPE that they have as a base amount. I mean look at my teacher who I am an assistant to. He graduated 4 years before me. Yet he is only slightly better than me in the strength of his spells. By next year I would have surpassed him. Honestly, most of the human teachers are just as bad. Anyway, My sister soon became friends with this Lady. Who can push her useless brother around. For I have seen him knocked low a few times now, by her. Heck, even the local militia had no fear of him. When this woman saw me, I did not reply. She assumed it was my sister. Then that leads to the whole reason we are here today. I then finish telling her what she wants to hear from me. Well pretending she is worthy of my respect. I have had my inner monologue going the whole time we were talking. That is just how little I care. ************************************************************************ "As you can see, here they come. Normally you need someone else to cast this spell on you. With the parshoot of winged flight, you can use the spell on yourself. It was one of the requested items that the Slayer wanted for the expedition. In case someone was knocked off the barge." "Why would they fall off," Greg asked. "Did the high command really purge the academy? Because you need to know this to pass the exams. Until the forming of the Coalition, the biggest threat to Dweomer was the undead. We were required to know of all the major types of undead, their powers, and weaknesses. Most of all the most deadly the vampires." "Vampires can transform into bats and mist. This allows them to get on a flying barge. The lowest-ranked vampires form into gangs and always raid in mass. Still, even the weakest vampire can defeat a hatchling dragon. So much more so they can defeat us mortals." "They would knock off the people of the barge. Then the fallen victim would be lunch for the rest of the pack that is chasing the barge. This is why traveling north and south past the vampires of old Mexico is almost impossible." "You don't need to worry sister, I made sure they were outfitted with some of the best equipment from Dweomer. They will have energy bolt semi-auto pistols, high Magus-made wooden staves, and then the new armor on the streets of Dweomer." "Greg, you could have at least given them amulets of protection. Instead of these useless knockoffs of our stuff. A gun that uses silver bullets instead of energy bolts. The only thing you gave them of value for this mission is the staves." She then walks over to a box and pulls out a ripped-up suit of armor that is the same as the girls are wearing. "This cheap knockoff uses lower-quality material to save money. The ones that this village makes are from monsters that are herd animals around here. They are like buffalo and eat the blue grass and blue shrubs that come from the rifts. That grows along the lay line. That is the source of the leather. Then for the armor plates we use coalition armor that we have hundreds of, If not more." "The protection of their armor would be better than coalition armor for the limbs. That is it's the only advantage it has over standard coalition armor." She then creates a light blade and stabs it through the knockoff armor. The blade passes through the front and back. Then she does the same to the coalition armor except it does not pierce through the back. "I was trying to see if this thing was salvageable. That is why I took it home from the market. It clearly is not. Your allies are selling defective knockoffs that are going to get people killed. I wanted you to see this for yourself. That was the original reason I brought you here." "Now you mentioned the girl's equipment. I take it you want them to join Slayer on the voyage. Why is that?" She asks as she cancels her light blade spell. Just then the door opens as the other four lords enter the house. "Grettings my friends today with us are three guests. My younger brother Greg, and the two students Caterina, and Terinica Humbre. I just got through showing them how useless their knockoff equipment is. Yet for some reason, they think they can survive on Slayer's voyage. I still do not know the reason they want to go." "So tell us, Well my companions get seated. Caterina, please join me in finishing the preparations for the food." "I will as well, said Flower. This is a wife's duty, is it not Caterina?" "Mmm, yes it is my dear Lady." Those three left the five men and a girl who stayed quiet the whole time behind. That same girl just stared at her teacher with angry eyes. For the S.O.B. was going to set her, and her sister off to die. Needless to say, it was hell for Greg. Even his assistant for the last half of the year quit. The highest quality Lord Magus candidate for the last 10 years quit. As well as one of the highest-quality high Maguses in the last five 5 years. Both girls were offered a place to stay in a village where they would have real training, under the war veterans. instead of Dweomer. Or as Terinica called us the cushy cowards of Dweomer. Where none of the school teachers for the Lord, and High Magus training are worth a damn. Whereas only the battle Magi had real training. Of course that includes controllers. So I ended up returning alone. No trade deal, so exceptional students. I guess our only advantage is that all the senior students are human. That counts for something. This is one thing that many of us humans in Dweomer agree with the coalition. There are too many non-humans in our world. If these elves want to rebel against their betters, I guess I should show them the consequences of doing so. Just wait I will make you all pay for this. I will give my allies the go-ahead to move on to Plan B. Then we will see how well your lands run when you have no income or troops. Hahahaha. Greg is thinking this well sailing away in his sailing boat.************************************************************************ "What do you mean they quit!? What did you do? We have already been called out for being human supremacists when two years ago we failed all the non-humans. Now once again this year only humans are passing. Even though those elves were exceptionally talented." "Sure Terinica is a big loss, but her sister Caterina is more common." "You fool, Caterina is the first student to create a spell in 100 years. She is the first high Magus student to do it. The last student was a lord Magus who later became a general. Brethan D'zir will only allow so much discrimination." "If yet again, only humans are higher-ranked magi. It might cause some issues. Make sure to be extra careful next year. Most of all when an elf has three times our PPE, and is over a quarter of our city's population. As it is only 20% of the battle magi are non-human. Meaning 10 of 50 battle magi. Then combine that with the 30 humans who are the controllers, high magi, and lord magi. Makes it a total of 10 of 80 students. "I realize you might be in a tough spot Colonel being the school headmaster. I do have some good news. I am authorizing plan B. My diplomacy failed. I gave my sister a chance. Now it is time for her lands to fall by force." "When will you put the plan in play, Greg? "After the Slayer is gone on his exploration to the deep south. According to my spies, he is the strongest of the Lords. Soon, I will be the only Lord of those villages." ************************************************************************ "Two months have gone by since Greg left Sussy Summer's home. The twins have made themselves comfortable here. Caterina started to learn her craft directly from Sussy Summer's and Jannett James. Terinica on the other hand was training with the women's husbands. For she had already been fully trained as a lord Magus. She just now needs combat experience. She gets plenty of that from these grizzled veterans. She even joins them in hunting monsters Destroying Coalition long-range patrols is what she wants to do now. She can't do it yet. There has been a reduction in such patrols. At least anywhere near where the villages are. It is believed they are focused to the South where the defences are weak in the magic zone. The Northern Gun vehicles are no longer in Norman's Village. Instead, they are being used by the local militias. As their combat vehicles. Without any modifications. This allows the Militia to assist in the defence of the other villages if needed. As for Norman He and his childhood friend are still traveling. They decided to travel without a barge. They would just fly Using the techno-wizard parashoots. That lets them travel long distances at a fairly fast rate. They can travel at a speed of 125 miles an hour, for up to seven hours straight. The first thing they did was go to the market in Dweomer to locate the merchant that made the magic shield spell techno-device. The guys were in luck the merchant had six new ones. He also had a Techno-wizard device that created a light blade. He only had two of those though. Norman bought all 8 items. Then traded the blueprint of his winged flight parashoot for the blueprint of the light blade. That techno-wizard craftsman/merchant easily agreed. With their hands, and backpacks full the guys returned to the villages. To drop off the shields to the Ladies to hand out to their fellow lords. That way all five lords can have one with a few as spares. Now with a weapon and a shield, the guys were ready to travel. The greatest advantage of the parashoot of winged flight is that it does not reduce endurance so they can fly seven hours and still be in perfect shape for combat. Their flight was peaceful any monsters they came across were no threat to them because of their speed. Even if they were threatened. They each had the best armor that the jungle elves could create. The greater chitin armor. The armor gives them supernatural strength and is 3x tougher than the lioness armor. Best yet it can fully enclose the user, and filter out gases, and poisons. The armor is alive, and it can regenerate damage to itself. Greatly reducing the need to use armor spells. For they could even survive a surprise attack of a dragon. The downside of the armor is how it is made. During the ritual of the jungle elf to make the armor. The person who is to have the armor will be covered from head to two by insects. This is extremely uncomfortable and straight-up gross. The ritual lasts for 20 minutes. After that, the bugs leave you as you are covered in an exoskeleton of chitin armor. Within a few days, we were in Columbia where we learned of Maga Island. The home of Garidon's people. Before going there we learned that the Columbians were being massively pushed back by a huge herd of vampires moving south from Mexico. For that reason, we delayed going to Maga Island to help the Columbian government with the vampire horde. When the local humans saw us dive down to attack the vampires with our wings, and weapons all glowing. They cheered thinking we were angels from the heavens. With the light blade, it does extra damage to the undead. So we were killing these vampires in one hit each. When we did land it was only for a few seconds before we regained some air again. We did make sure to kill the flying bats, both the small ones and the giant ones. This allowed the people to focus on targeting the vampires. We were quickly causing chaos for the vampires. That the Columbian military used to their advantage. As they started to press the vampires from the front. If the humans could have seen us up close they would have called us a fly or a dragonfly for how our armor looked. Basically, imagine a dragonfly or a normal fly with bird wings. That was us. We continued for hours helping the locals reduce the vampires. By the time the vampires retreated. It was already getting close to sunrise. When the fighting was over we fell to the ground exhausted. Took off our helmets and then just watched as the Columbians made sure to finish off the wounded vampires. The Colombian officers came to us and thanked us for our hard work. With the battle over, we two are praised as the heroes of the battle. We were given plenty of praise, gifts, and local credits. The Columbian officers even confirmed that they could help us get in touch with Maga Island through them. For they are a border nations of each other. We were even given homes on the eastern shore of Columbia. Where we planned on making a village. To expand the trade between these people and the people of the magic zone. I even agreed to sell the magic shield and light blades to their government. As an extra in trade for the land that surrounds our new houses. We got enough land to build a city if we wanted to. That is just how thankful they are for our help. Our help was free the gifts were their way of saying thanks. Something we were happy to receive. We continued to help them every night till the vampire horde was slain. Then we went back to our new winter homes. Well, we were setting up the basics for building a village here. We were approached by the jungle elves of the south. I stayed to finish preparing this area. Well, Garidon went with them. To talk to their elders. He is the best choice for setting up the trade rights with Maga Island. I on the other hand will stay here. Even in Columbia, there are a large number of elves. As well as techno-wizards. So this nation is more my bread and butter than Maga Island would be. When I am done setting things up I will return to my lands in the magic zone. Garidon can do the same when he is ready. I taught him how to activate the circle of travel. That will link my house in Columbia to my House in my village. The problem is setting up an overland trade network. I guess I should head back home to talk to my fellow lords. Besides I need a lot of help to build a new village, and I have to find people to occupy it. To be on the same side I will bring back all the High magi in our villages here. Along with any free techno-wizards. When I returned home. I left my house to find that there was a massive change. My car lot was now empty. Many houses were damaged as well. I decided to fly over to Sussy's house, she would tell me what happened. After I arrive, I am greeted by the little girl who has recently claimed to be my future wife. I do not think much of her. I just assume that she is in some kind of game, or that she is suffering puppy love. Anyway, I greet her warmly and ask where is Sussy. "I will take you there myself. I am so glad you are home my husband. I have missed you dearly. I have greatly expanded on my learning under both Flower and Sunny. That I can now feel our God Leizak in my very heart." "Oh, excellent that means that you are close to finishing your basic training to be a High Magus, Congratulations." "Thank you, husband, I will make you some tea and treats well you speak with Lady Sunny." "That would be lovely, thank you, child." "Of course my lord, I will do anything I can for you." She then leads me to where Sunny is. That she is in the kitchen made it easier for the girl to prepare the drinks and snacks. "I figured you would be fine slayer. What all happened?" I tell her about the fast trip down there, and about being given a free home, basically a winter home where there is no snow. I also bought out the land around it to build a village. Even trade with the Columbian government was set up. The only problem there is how to get the barges there safely. "How hard were the vampires to defeat for you dear?" Sunny asks with a warm smile. "Not hard at all. When useing the lightblade, magic shield, and winged flight. Each strike either destroyed them or crippled them. For the Columbians to finish off. It just took two months of night fighting is all. Now that I am back what happened here? I saw lots of damage, and the car lot is empty of cars." "Yes, well you were away a large pirate force came to raid our villages. Your village was the only one that was heavily damaged. Do not worry the raiders did not touch the jungle elf villagers. They were mostly interested in your sale items." "Is this somehow related to your brother then?" "I believe so, we just did not dare go to Dweomer to double-check. We did lose some of our militia. Well, we beat the Raiders back so it was not a bloodless event." "Were any of the mages killed?" "Yes, one of the retired High Maguses was killed by an annihilate spell. Something we both know that no one knows how to use outside of Dweomers elite magi. Not long after they left. Leizak arrived to see the remains of his priest. who was working on creating a wooden power armor. Both the creator and the power armor were destroyed." "What did he do?" "He just asked questions and then looked around the villages. I do not know if he recognized any of the raiders. I think he might have though." "Sounds like it. Most of all if they are useing dweomers unique spells. To kill fellow Dweomer residents. You were wise to wait till I returned. I am going to go visit the Jungle Elves villagers to make sure they are all holding up well. Plus to let them know we found their cousins." "Wait husband, the snacks are ready along with the tea." "Oh, I guess I can wait a few more minutes." The girl just sighs as she stares at me. It is a little disturbing. Sunny seeing this has a beaming smile like she just cast a spell to make light come out of her teeth. To change the subject I ask the girl about her sister. She then goes on to tell me about her new routine. How she wakes up early to train with Eagle eyes or Solid. As she tries to match them in fighting style. "She acts so boyish but I guess that is how she is. I know she loves it here as well. No crowded streets, fresh air, decent people without a chip on their shoulders." ************************************************************************ "did you succeed lieutenant? Are the Lords dead?" "No sir, Their militia was stronger than we thought. Out of the 40 soldiers we sent only 7 survived with me leading them. We were quickly overpowered by their defenses. It was as if they knew we were coming." "Do you have any good news then? For instance the northernmost fade town. That had no lord to defend it." "That was the only success we had sir. There was very little resistance In the northernmost town. We were able to raid it just fine." "We also managed to steal their barge, Then we took all their vehicles with the two barges. Most of the troops we were up against ran away to the village in the Northeast corner of the fade town. So we had full control of the South West where the cars were. Because of our losses, we only had 2 barges to use. So we were forced to make two trips with them. Still no real resistance." "Good good, I need those cars to get my company going. I guess I will call this mission a wash. The main goal was the take the vehicles from them. For that, you succeeded. The 2nd goal was to kill off the Lords. For that, it was a complete loss." "Did you get any of their weapons?" "No sir, My squad was all that was left. I did not want to risk us all by taking full control of the fade town. Most of all if they set up defenses where the village is. For that is where all the mages and troops went to. As if they were setting defensive lines there. Another thing, sir, even though we and the enemy wore the same armor. their armor seemed to be roughly 2x stronger than ours was." "Yes, that is right. They use different materials than we do." "The monsters around Dweomer are very weak because of heavy hunting. So much so that armor made from them is laughable compared to the creatures around the fade towns. So on average, their armor is two times stronger, with the same level of movement restrictions. If that is all you are dismissed." I will go pick up the cars in a few days. After I forged some documents that the academy security forces and I defeated some pirates." Then took their stuff as bounty. This should help hide my involvement. It is a good thing that only 3 magi died in this raid. They were last year's graduates. So there are no major losses, as for the others they were just locals looking for some extra income. Little more than city rats. ************************************************************************ I made it to the Jungle Elves village in my fade town, after I had some sweets and tea. Where I asked around. It seems the raiders were only interested in the cars. Sure it can be a loss of income. But guns make more money than the cars do. Still to lose one of our four High Magi sucks. He was the most inventive of the four. I guess his imitation of a power armor was seen as a threat. I go over to where the hole is that used to be him. I am sorry old man, that I could not warn you about the possibility of a raid. The only people who knew were us five Lords and the loyal members of the volunteer magi battalion. Everyone else was seen as a possible spy. We will continue your work, and when finished we will name the design after you. My Lord, a woman calls as she walks up to me. I look up to see her. She then continues to tell me about the event that saw this poor man's death. It seemed that four of my recent techno-wizards. Were spies. The woman talking to me now is one of my techno-wizards as well. It also seems like the four spies left after they raided the personal workshops of the loyal techno wizards. It is a good thing I have copies of all the research that they create. That way they can get back to work without losses outside of time. I thanked the women and then called for a meeting with everyone. In the jungle elven village, they need to hear about the discovery as well. I then tell them all about what happened when we went south. About us making a new village down south for people to live in. Then as a last treat, I told them that I had the blueprint for making a light sword TW weapon. Then I told them how effective it is mostly against the undead. I then made sure that the techno-wizards got the copies of their work back. I did require them to copy the papers again. That way if this happens again. They will have backups. The funny thing is we lost 20 cars and a barge. But then gained 4 barges. Plus all the equipment of the raiders. Some of their stuff was nice most of it was standard though. Only three of them had TW stuff. It was just a simple revolver the same kind that we sell. plus magic trinkets. Being that those cars were all in bad shape. I would say that we won in the trade. After going through the full losses in equipment, and damage I went to Sussy's place. Then together with some of our mages, we would visit Dweomer to investigate the market for our stuff. We have a mark on the equipment that lets us know who owns it. The mark is hard to find unless you search carefully. When we were ready we left the villages to go to Dweomer. It was the other three retired high Magi and 4 of our original techno-wizards. Everyone in this group knows what to look for. The mark was placed on the vehicles after Sussy warned me about the chance of Greg targeting me for our stuff. The techno-wizards are blindfolded, because Dweomer is meant to be in a secret location. That only those born and raised in the city, who have been through the academy can come and go as they please. Or else a local-born merchant with a license could also do it. We get to Dweomer after only a minor skirmish with some monsters that came through a rift. I quickly dealt with them, then returned to the barge with my winged flight. I am still wearing the armor that I got for the vampire mission, the heavy chitin armor. After parking our vehicle, we got out and headed for the open market. We split up to search. I stayed close to Sussy. Even though this is a safe city. I want to protect her and her baby. She knows this and is thankful. She catches the eyes of many being a woman with a baby clearly 7-8 months pregnant. Being guarded by some kind of bug man. Sunny Sussy was always the heart of our unit. So the other guys would have guarded her just as much. Even if it looks super weird I do not care. Nor does she mind it. She just treats me the same whether I am armored up or in plain clothing. She is now too large to wear her armor. Even Jannett is too big now but she is about two months behind in her pregnancy. Well, we were searching I made to comment about naming their child after their nicknames. If a girl it would be Sunny Eagle Eye Elders. Or if a boy it could be Eagle Eye, Sunny Elders. She just laughed and said my naming sense is simply awful. "Make sure that Caterina names your children okay". "Huh, why would she name my children?" "You do not realize this because you are always on some kind of crusade event but that girl really loves you. She is putting all her effort into learning from us to be your personal help mate. She wants lots of your children. You may only see her as a child right now. Just give her ten years. When she fills out you will understand." I just thought about it for a minute then went back to looking around with her. When she started to get weak from walking on her swollen ankles. I picked her up and activated my wings to take her someplace to rest. She was surprised and even let out a yelp. I kept my speed to a comfortable 25-30 miles an hour or so. I took her to the waiting area. Where we planned to meet back up. "I know you love me as a big sister Norman. But taking a married woman away could be taken wrong." "No one knows who I am." "That is part of the problem. Why do you not go back and finish searching our area I will wait here." "Let me get you some food and a drink then." "No, Norman we came here for a mission focus on that mission, not me. I will be fine, remember I am also a three-year war veteran." Yes captain. "You have not called me that in years. The only time you say that is when you are sulking. Norman you are too old to do that. Now hurry up and search, but search well." After that, he walked away and did as he was told. The guys did a general search but found nothing related to the there villages. So the general merchants are not selling our stuff. At least nothing from after the raid. It might be different if we searched the private markets. Getting into the private markets would be difficult. Only active military are in the private markets. Only officers are allowed in that market. We would be seen through if we used an illusion spell. For now, the search will have to stop here. Sussy and the guys wanted to do general shopping. So we returned to the market. I went to the guy from whom I had bought the magic shield. To see if he had anything new. Nope, just the same things. So I left the market to return to the waiting area. Sussy soon arrived as well. We had a pleasant conversation well we waited for the guys to return. ************************************************************************ After we returned I checked on the progress of building the magic shield. They may not have the Dweomer spell for it. What they do have are working copies to imitate. I give the fully loyal Techno-wizards the plans for building the light sword. I want us to make as many copies of these as I can. For I can sell them at great profit. The Columbians saw how effective these were when worked together as a pair. Their techno-wizards are likely trying to copy the items they bought from me. To build it from a copy they need the spells to make it work. That is not something I can not sell. So when a Dweomer spell is needed I cast it myself. That increases the difficulty of making the item. Yet it is the only way unless I betray Leizak. That is something I would never do. After two weeks I take the finished products and fill my magic pockets with them. As well as carry the others in my hands. I then used my circle of travel to return to the Columbian coast. The main reason I was able to get this property is because it has 2 Ley lines within a mile of the village. For us mages that is perfect for the non-magical locals it is scary. So far none of our villagers want to move to this new village. Not even the jungle elves. So these 30 buildings that make up this ghost town are mine to do whatever I want with. I store the finished projects my employees made in a hidden compartment the size of a closet. I then fly to the city to get in contact with the Columbian military. I have to let them know I have more weapons. These two items have high demand. The Columbians are paying 3x the market rate for these TW weapons. Thankfully I understand where to go because I spent almost two months in this nation fighting at the northern border against the vampires. Flying at 125 miles an hour lets me get to where I am going fairly fast. Thankfully my Chitin armor has built-in eye protection. To prevent things from getting in my eyes from the speed I am flying. When I arrive There is a cheer. Many of the local soldiers still call me their angel of victory. I do not mind. When I landed I asked for a meeting with the local military officer. Within a half hour, I was called to the office of Colonel San Diego. He is a no-nonsense man who treats me like one of his soldiers. He does not see me as some kind of angel, or even a savior. Just a fellow soldier. For that reason, Colonel San Diego is easy to talk to. We get right down to business quickly. I told him I had brought more of the Techno-Wizard gear. There are too many there for me to safely carry here. So I requested a jeep and driver to deliver it to the city. Instead of making multiple flying trips. I have 5 magic shields and 4 lightblades. He then asked me if I could somehow make bullets out of wood. That idea caught me by surprise. I thought about it and said yes. As long as I have the die set for the bullet size you want. I then told him that my organization specializes in wood. We can even make wood that is harder than steel. If this is for vampires I would need a few week to adjust the amount of gun pouder needed for the bullets. That way the bullets will stay inside the vampire. Instead of shooting right through it. San Diego then took me to a bullet factory in the city. Where I would be given one of their bullet-setting machines. With a die set for 7.62, and 9mm Bullets. Along with a small bag of blasting caps, a medium bag of brass jackets, a medium bag of gunpowder, a semi-auto pistol, and a rifle. We then traveled to my house to get the weapons for him. As we loaded the weapons in the jeep, San Diego Left with the weapons soon after. With me now holding the parts I need to make wooden bullets. I did not realize till a few minutes later that I was never paid. I hope he does not think this was a fair trade. I will worry about that later. For now, I better get back home to prepare the wood for this new project. When I arrived I called the retired high magi to me and asked them if they think they can work on this project. None of them were interested. They already had other projects. So I went to talk to both Sussy and Jannett. They were more than happy to do it. They even got the girls to help too. I suggested that they try to find a good balance of power and reliability We want the pullets to stay inside the vampires. From what I have heard the vamps can't regenerate when they have wood inside them. For now, focus on the 9mm bullets. I do not see how to make the 7.62 that low in power without massively reducing its power. Maybe if we used black powder. Even then it is questionable. The casing is far too large. I worked on the project with the girls. Terinica begged to join me in testing the 9mm rounds. I ended up giving in. She borrowed a winged flight parshoot. We both had 9mm semi-auto pistols. We went through the magic circle to get to the Columbian coast. Then flew to the border. where we would wait for nightfall. I made it clear that if there is any trouble she is to fly back. Unlike me, she does not have a lot of combat experience. I made sure to inform the fort commander that we were doing a new weapon test. Some things that even the common soldier can use. I then mentioned that I got the idea from Colonel San Diego. That was when I was informed that San Diego was just recently arrested for corruption. It seemed that he tried to sell off the weapons I gave him. Instead of handing them over to the command to bring to the border. I soon learned that corruption and theft of military hardware are common in this nation. Now that the source of the TW weapons was located this commander will make sure I am given the proper payment for it. I let him know what our plans were. Then I requested 8 extra magazines for our 9mm. I also told him we couldn't do the same for the 7.62 because the cartridge was too big. The bullet would pass through every time. To think even a nation that is close to being overrun has that level of corruption and theft. It seems that a large percentage of the population is more than happy to sell their country out. As long as they get a good profit. Then they could escape to a different country if they are lucky. This kind of mindset is something I have honestly never seen before. Even during the war none of the factions of the Federation of Magic did this. When the towns around the great city were in trouble they all worked hard together to defend themselves, and each other. If only Chi-Town and the other Coalition States were like this they would have lost the war, Instead of us. During the day before we did our test run, I asked the locals about this strange situation. What I learned is that is a common practice. Even before the rifts, a scholar I came across told me this. Then he said from Mexico all the way South to the tip of South America all the nations were like this. So I made a mental note to only sell to the border forts of the North. When the time came for us to test the guns we flew over the border. The vampires don't seem to have the numbers they need yet for another invasion. We still came across some that were wandering around. Terinica started to shoot as soon as she got within 300 ft. I watched as the bullets pierced the vampire and forced him to the ground in pain. Well, a different vampire turned into a bat to get me. For I was closer than Terinica was. As he closed in I gave him a heal drop and knocked the bat out of the sky. The vampire bat was not wounded by my heel kick, just knocked away. Two other bats were coming for me. So this time I lit them up with the special 9mm bullets. As can be expected the bullets went right through the bat-sized vampires. Still, three shots each caused them to fall to the ground because of the large bullets to their small bodies. When the bats landed they changed back to their normal size. Where I saw one of them was missing a leg, and the other an arm. So I emptied a full meg into each of them. Terinica on the other hand still focused on the same vamp she had already hit. To save his own life he turned to mist and floated away. The two I am facing are too full of holes to escape. So I created a lightblade to end them both. The original vampire that I heel-kicked flew away to escape. The whole battle was recorded for the fort commander. Both Terinica and myself have cameras on our helmets. These bullets proved to be better than I thought they would be. When we returned we were called to his office. Where we played our recordings. Needless to say, the commander was very impressed. He then asked us to make as many as possible and some for 7.62 rifle rounds. The rifle bullets are good against vampire swarms. Plus it would likely kill a bat outright judging by the damage the 9mm did to the bats. I agreed with his prediction. Because I am the only source they have who can make effective wooden bullets. I walked away with a contract of 200 credits ber a 9mm bullet made. Then 500 credits per each 7.62 bullets made. Plus the killing I made from the lightblades and magic shields. Before leaving the fort, I requested 10 Gun Reloading Press Kits. So I could mass-produce these bullets. The commander gave me a pass to talk to the overall commander of the military forces. Who would take care of the order. Once I get to the capital. He also included copies of our fire test. To hand over. In the end, we were contracted to produce 50,000 bullets a year. He wanted a million but my population is too small for that. I would need a few years to build the population up. Or hire a thousand outsiders. We only have 1500 people. When we got to the capital, we went to the military complex. Terinica looked a little nervous about meeting the president. I asked her if she wanted to wait outside; she said no. We went to the waiting room before we were called in. Now, because we do not speak the same language, I often use the spell "Tongues." When I do so, I make sure that those around me understand that I am casting this spell to speak to them in their language. Just randomly casting spells can get you killed. I made sure that Terinica understood the importance of doing so. I would often point to my mouth and then speak in a different language to let them know I was attempting to fix our language problem. This country has many D-bees So I am sure they see this spell used often. Still, it is best to be cautious. No sudden movement and a slow cast. It is even more important when meeting high-ranked people. For there guards would be trigger-happy. When our turn came I cast "Tongues." Then I followed the guide to the president. Terinica stayed in my shadow. I then informed the guide that I required this spell to communicate. He seemed to have understood. I take it he has seen it before. I then told him I would have to recast it. Roughly every 40-50 minutes. Please inform His Excellency the President. We enter a large sparsely decorated room. With a dark man sitting at a huge desk. I go down to one knee to show subservience. depending on the culture the way your subservience can change. Even in the magic zone. For most this form of kneeling is good enough. Others demand that you bow your head and never look up at the lord. Still, some are even worse. For instance to have you down on all fours with your forehead on the ground. Where you talked to the floor the whole time. This was practiced in many parts of Asia. Where the rulers honestly believed they were gods on earth. Even though they were no different than the common man. I remember learning of this from a guest lecturer when I went to the academy. The president sees us both go down to one knee. Then acknowledges us. You do not have to kneel. I am a president, not a king. I have seen your combat video. I am impressed by your ammo. that even common men can use. What can I do for you? We were hoping to receive 10 Gun Reloading Press Kits. So that I can mass-produce the bullets for you. Why only 10, instead of 100? My population is too small to have 100+ people building bullets. Unless I outsource to my home town. Explain? My home city-state could fulfill the request of 1,000,000 a year. With no problem. I could even help you get in contact with a city representative. If you like. You do not sound so keen on the idea of me doing so why is that? Because they would push me out of the contract altogether. Like I won land for my actions. In your country, I have won land in another country as well. My home country will see it that all the profit goes to them. Nothing for me or my people. That sounds rather annoying. Is that the reason you wanted a private contract? Yes, Mr. Presidant. What if I make a small contract with you? Then make a big one with them. Will that work? As long as they do not know of the contract with me. Then yes. I am not a criminal back home, but a nuisance. Because 20 of us went against the command of our lords and went to help our allies in their war. Our lords wanted to stay neutral. To us, it is a violation to sit back and do nothing when your allies are being slaughtered. I see, I will make a deal with you. I will confirm the deal you made with our northern fort as well as get you what you need. Then when you get home send a representative from your home country to talk to one of our diplomats. Do we have a deal? Yes Mr. Presidant, it would be an honor. Good, I will send them to your village home. Tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Presidant. No, thank you, If not for your help we could have been overrun. Losing many thousands of civilians. That you would do this for strangers has shown your integrity. I will take your words under advisement. Now I am short on time. Thank you for being our savior Norman Grey. After that Norman and his shadow left the president's office, and the capital to return to the empty village. Norman requested a meeting with Leizak. After Norman got the press and loading machines from the Columbians. He returned to the magic zone. Made contact with Zeizak his god/teacher. Then requested Leizak to send a representative to Columbia. After he met with Leizak. Norman meets with his fellow Lords to discuss having the villagers make the bullets. Now with this, every villager has a job to do. The villages are now highly productive. The extra income will help to build the population. Others will see this as a place of growth, and opportunity. The meeting proved to be fruitless. The Columbians had nothing of value to Dweomer. Columbia is a mid-tech-based nation. Comparable to The Manistique Imperium. Dweomer on the other hand is a highly magic-based nation. Comparable to Tolkeen, and Lazlo, but with a much smaller population. ************************************************************************ Greg Summers contacted his sister about a strange structure near her Death Valley. With the structure being pre-rifts man-made. According to the rummers. It might hold all sorts of goodies. Please investigate this for me and give me a cut in the profits. Jannett, and I call our husbands so we can do an investigation. Too bad Slayer is in Columbia again, so he will miss out. Sure it is possible it is a trap. But Greg sounded too excited for it to be a trap. The only thing that guy cares about anymore is money. Sussy with the Lords and a squad of militia meets up with a guy who works for her brother. The guy is named Tom. He is a thin man with a thick beard, of average height. Tom leads them along on their way to the strange structure. When Jannett peaks her head out of the protective covers of her automation. I am so excited about the idea of ancient tech. Eagle eyes shouted at her, to keep herself hidden. There can always be snipers. That was when they heard something heavy fall to the ground behind them. They all looked to see Jannett dead on the ground in front of her automation. Soon lasers started to track them all, from almost every direction. Distracting them from getting their own spells cast. Sussy's automation topples over and Sussy spills out of it. Then escapes before she gets trapped underneath it. Everyone starts to run for cover well shooting at their enemies or at least guessing where to shoot. The problem is the Valley of Death is the size of four football fields. It is honestly not a valley at all. Instead, it is an open field surrounded by trees in all directions. Except for two entrances. They are only thirty feet wide. One to a Ley line, and the other goes out to a dirt road. With the number of lasers coming in at them, they are up against at least 100 people. The infantry squad fell quickly for they had no spells for defence. After they fell the 100-plus shots continued to target the 3 remaining lords. Then came the sound of rockets. As three rockets came in and through the three in the air. They crashed down and it took them a second or two to clear their heads. Before another salvo hit them. Soon it was just the men left able to run. As Sussy seems to have been knocked unconscious. Eagle eyes went to carry her instead of renewing his impervious-to-energy spell. That cost him his life. Solid managed to get into the woods alone. With everyone else dead. He then started to prepare for combat when he was attacked from behind by 3 men armed with vibro blades. These guys were far too fast to be normal soldiers. At this rate, he will die too. for every two strikes, he parries three gets though. If only he had some time to prepare some spells. The problem is it takes seven seconds to cast a low-level spell. Or 15 seconds for a medium-level spell. If he tried either he would be dead in five seconds. The best he could do was just defend himself, well trying to escape. To his surprise, these guys are faster than him. They must be bio-borgs. If only Slayer was here. He could have created a magic wall to delay the enemy. That was his last thought as his head rolled on the ground. ************************************************************************ The company of soldiers gathered around the three bodies in the field well three men who were io-borgs carried out the fourth body to drop it off by the other three. Do we need a full company, sir? Yes. Each of the five Magi was able to defeat a squad of infantry when the war started. Then when the Federation of Magics leader was killed. The five remaining magic kept fighting us. By that time they were able to kill a full platoon each. That is why we needed a full company and an ambush. Is it really them though they did not seem that strong? Are you blind boy? Did you not see how many laser shots they soaked up without a problem? That giant golem lost its leg before one of them fell. We had to use the C-1 rocket launchers to shake them up. Before we could move in. Even then they soaked up to six of them. They may look like normal humans, but they were true demons. What about you guys you engaged the last one in combat? What did you think? We would have lost one one, 2 on one would be even. I am so glad we were three-on-one, sir. There you have it. If even in melee combat they can take on multiple bio-borgs, does that not make you realize how scary these demons are? Hey, mouse. Where is the fifth one? The one who always wore a mask. The person the captain is talking to is the guy that was leading the group. Who called himself Tom. I heard he is away for a trade deal. I am sure we can lure him in no time. Now if you would be so kind as to pay our organization for getting you the Magi. You don't get it, do you? The coalition does not pay for partial work. We only pay for full service, and it has to be good service. Come on at least 40 million. For getting four of the five. Then the last ten million when we get Slayer. Oh, look at that, we found our fifth guy. As the captain said the words guy his laser pistol shot the mouse tom in the forehead and out through the top of the man's head. Look at that guys. Because the Slayer always wore a mask in battle. We can use the mouse here as the fifth. Congratulations everyone. We will all get a raise and a promotion out of this. Now gather the five bodies, and the Coalition gear off their escorts. That those scum used our weapons against us makes my blood boil. Word quickly spread that Captain Murphy brought the final chapter of the great war to an end with the death of the legendary Magi. That it took three years was something that the history books will not repeat. Instead, it will be repeated that it all happened in less than a year. Congratulations Captain Murphy, or should I say, Major Murphy? Try Colonel Murphy, Mr. Prescotti. Damn man, that is insane that you gained two ranks! I guess you would just have to work harder to catch up to me, 1st Lieutenant Prescotti. How are things going with you and your 13-year-old girlfriend? Don't make it sound like that. It was a contract by our parents. Besides I am only 7 years older than she is. It is not like I am one of those top-floor elites who have tons of underage girls servicing them. Just watch what you say. You are new blood for the top floors because of how many bloodlines were erased in the war. Yes, sir! NOTE: The top floors of the city-states of the Coalition are well known to be where the elites live. Debauchery is not unheard of for them. As can be expected the lower the floor the lower the class. The bottom floors are the city's slums. ****************************************************** When Norman returned a week later he learned what happened. He fell to his knees and screamed in rage before his eyes began to flood. He is now the last Magi, of the Magi platoon. Most of the people in his life that he was close to are now gone. Sussy (Sunny) Summers, Jannett (Flower) James, Victor (Solid) Ironheart, Edward (Eagle Eyes) Elders. He spent the rest of the day alone, wallowing in misery. He took to the air. The next thing he knew he was flying to Mexico. As he realized what he was doing he double downed on the thought of revenge. Even if it was not the vampires who did the crime. He just needed to kill stuff. Killing Vampires was always a good thing. After many hours the sun set, and he was closing in on the Rio Grande River. He lowered his elevation and started to shout out at the hiding vampires. When they started to appear before him he let loose with his bullets. Then he would clip them with his pincher claws from his Chittin armor. The claws extend when you want to use them. Even though the claws did little more the annoy the vampires. The number of vampires increased. Felling his blood lust the vampires were also ready to feast. What they did not know was that was his plan all along. He went for a large loop before diving back down. What the dumb roaming vampires failed to notice is that he now had a glowing blade in his hand. As he flew past them at full speed. Swinging his glowing blade. A new sensation hit the vampires. They were all being beheaded one at a time. between 6-10 per pass. Norman driven mad in the moment started to laugh as they were losing more and more of their members. If not heads then arms as they reach out for him. Still, he was laughing away. On the fifth pass, he created a globe on a daylight spell right above them. This caused all of them to shy away as they tried to protect themselves from the sun's rays. This low-level magic spell can't hurt them, but it can distract them. Now with them shielding their eyes and face. They are no longer reaching for Norman so he casually just kills them all. They never stood a chance against a mage with light-based spells. When they were all down he casually went to each head and body to slash them. Erasing that vampire from existence. When he was surrounded only with dust, he left to go North again back to the villages. The next day when he arrived Waiting for him were four people. Leizak is his father figure and god. Garidon his last friend. Then the Humbre twins. Seeing them he fell to his knees well looking up to his mentor. Why Leizak, Father why. Leizak just scooped the broken man up and held him with his four arms. Think Goro from mortal combat but make him 17 feet tall. The 6-foot human is a small child to him in many ways. After about thirty seconds of an embrace, Norman is let down. That is when Garidon hugs him. Then promises to help his best friend for revenge. Leizak heard that whisper and made an announcement. You are not going to head out for revenge. Norman. Right now you are going back to Dweomer. You are far too powerful for us to allow to rampage. We need to learn who, and how people are targeted by our High Magi. This is 3 High Magi killed in short order. Related to these villages. If you go to war you will drag the villages down with you. As the last Lord you have to put their safety above your desire for revenge. You are starting to understand how we gods of magic feel about war. For why we keep our distance from all-out war. When are you taking me back, and who will run the Lord's lands? By the order of our united "Will." Only us five are allowed to inherit the lands of each other. Until a child of one of us reaches the age of 16. Then that child will gain access to their parent's lands. We made this will after Greg Summers possibly killed his uncle and cousins to gain their resources. Funny you would mention him Norman? He now has full control of Sussy's lands. He can't the "Will" Said only we Lords would inherit the titles of each other. Because we did not have families of value. She looked at me when she said it meaning my uncle and her own little brother. Greg caused the death of his uncle and cousins to take over there property. Then during the funeral, he refused to go. Nor did he tell Sussy about when he knew she was in the city. So no family went to it. Greg got what he wanted so he buried the past event as meaningless. Greg wanted to get a hold of my recent gains for trade so he hatched a plan to send the twins with me. Against the vampires of the South. Except they were without any good gear. They would have died in the first battle. The twins confirm Norman's words are true. Then when I was down past the vampires. Greg sent Raiders, to take our stuff. Well, I was busy protecting the Columbians from wave, after wave of vampires. Garidon was down there with me. That was why Greg targeted my lands. Knowing the strongest two people that live there were gone. Now This happened when I was gone again. I do not know the details yet but I am sure Greg was involved. I will get my copy of the "Will" and then I will show you. All of them are the same because none of us trusted our family. There is no point Norman. Brethren has already decided. Brethren, he has nothing to do with this. These are Federation of Magic lands not Dweomers. Sure we went to Dweomer to finalize the Will. That is it. There is no way in Hell, that she would want him to take her lands and people. Most of all her daughter. Norman, he is the only family the baby has. Of course, the child should go to him. What, that is funny I went to you, and the High Magi when I was a newborn. Not to that useless uncle. Yet by your own words, I should have gone to my uncle who would have left me in a ditch well-chasing tail. You were different Norman You had exceptionally high PPE, Likely due to your royal bloodline. Like your mother, you became a major psionic user and a priest. The difference is she was a Psionic healer, then a priestess. You ended up being a Priest first, then a Major psionic healer. Because of the ethics, we drilled into you. Your compassion for the weak made you want to heal those around you, and protect them. I never thought that it would backfire like this. Where you would go off on a crusade for someone else's war. Hearing this conversation made Terinica tremble with excitement. Not only was this guy a prince. His PPE and Psionics are well above normal levels. My dad was not a prince though. So that means that Norman's mother is my dad's sister. Then her talent was far beyond his. I am starting to understand why my sister is so set to make this guy her husband. It was not someone else's war, father! We were in a federation. Members of a federation have to protect each other when one of the members is attacked. Yet Dweomer broke that truce. Just like Toleen, and many minor factions. The reason why we did is the war was started on our side. Our allies invaded the Coalition. not the other way around. Only after many D-bee villages were massacred. We saw it ourselves. Our platoon saw the destruction. That was largely why there were so many clashes with the coalition before the war started. So when the war was called half of our platoon joined the war. Then became the most powerful platoon in the war. We did not regret it at all. We protected the civilians on both sides of the war well also killing the enemy soldiers. It was the greatest accomplishment that any of us had in our lives. We all felt that way, even Sussy who was our commander. She took the rank of captain after we created the volunteer magi. Enough of this pointless arguing. You are hereby ordered to return to Dweomer. We will look after the villages. You as well as the other High magi who are retired have a crosshair on your backs. Until we find out who the real killer is we can't have you stay here anymore. Don't tell me you are putting the villages under Greg and the other Lord Magi. Not only would they kill my people. Like the demons they are. They would force the Jungle elves and other psionic users into quarantine. For the crime of being born like me. I would rather kill all the Lord magi than do that to my people. The only way I could let someone from the City control my villagers was if they were High Magi and battle Magi. People I can trust, who actually have a beating, and feeling hearts. I will not permit any Lord Magi in my lands none! You are acting like a child Norman! We are done here, don't make me use force on you. You are threatening a civil war with your words and claimed future actions. Let me ask you this then, Father? How could a Coalition army get to Death Valley and set up an ambush when we had people watching it 24/7. Someone who was a master of illusions helped them. That is the only way. Just like How they knew my companions would be passing through when they did. Once again it was for knowledge. That means someone from Dweomer is working with the Coalition. My bet is on the Lord Magi. Or a sect of them, including Greg. Even I heard that you recognized some of the dead when we were raided. That means the raiders were from Dweomer. Thus the reason they knew spells like annihilate. I have also learned from the kids that almost no one in the academy who is not human is even accepted as anything other than battle Magi. For many years now. Ever since Sussy's platoon broke rank to fight the Coalition. Will you deny these as true, Father? I will not talk about your theories, whether they are true or false. You are out of line. Now sleep. With a wave of his hand Leizak caused the exhausted Norman to fall over asleep. He then picked the elf up. Then turned to the twins. Your girls will return to the academy. Brethren never wanted you girls to leave. Caterina called out to Leizak. The academy is an enemy of us elves. Also, we know for a fact that Greg contacted Lady Sussy. Promising that there was a hidden pre-rifts artifact in Death Valley, that is why they went. Sussy and Jannett were excited about it. Greg even promised a guide. After hearing this Zeizak waved his hand again. As the twins fell over. He picked the kids up. Then turned to Garidon. I will make sure no one touches Norman's personal lands that you are now controlling. I also understand that you will be handling the trade network for him as well. Am I right? Yes, Norman informed me before he returned about the trade deals. He made with the third group of people the Bahia. They are located between Columbia and Mega Island where the rest of my people are. Just so you know if the Lord Magi try to do more than security. I will see to their destruction. Duly noted. Have a good day Garidon. Same to you Leizak, please take care of my friend. He is too much of a loose cannon right now, Like a raw nerve. He is my child, he will be safe with me. ************************************************************************ Enjoying himself, he almost has it. Soon I will not only be a Lord of Dweomer, but also an important Lord of the Federation of Magic. It is just to bad that Slayer was not with the rest. Even though the Coalition forces claimed they killed all five. For they made my minon the fifth. Of course, they betrayed me. I was not given a sent. For setting up their ambush. We will kill them soon enough. If just five magi can be equal to a platoon. Just wait till we strike them with a hundred. We gave them a chance with both groups being human. Yet they think of us as the same as they do the D-bees or aliens. It was the troops at Fort Andrews. That did the hit on my sister. I have already got the support of the volunteer Magi army. In 2 days we will be destroying Fort Andrew. Killing everyone inside for the murder of my sister and the other three, whose names I do not care to know. That will teach them not to betray us. The only reason they could build a fort there in the first place is because of our involvement in clearing the way for them. We had a deal as fellow human supremacists. Yet they backstabbed us. Us destroying their fort and maybe taking it over is just payback for our efforts in making a deal. That Murphy fellow better be there. Or I will search him out myself. Of course, the fort is named after General Andrews. He claimed the credit for clearing the path for the fort. Ha, the damn fool was walking around in circles, till we opened the path for him and cleared most of the monsters out of their way. I hope he is there too. After the battle, I will have the volunteer army collect all the Coalition gear. Slayer had the right idea. We will bring the gear back to the villages, or at least to the Death Valley where we can pick it up later. ************************************************************************ Damn, that cocky Captain Murphy. I managed to take credit for him securing this location for my troops. Even having the fort named after me. If he had told me ahead of time that he located the dreaded Magi. I would be back in Chi-Town now with a flood of young women. Instead, he was invited back with his lieutenants. Where he confirmed with the other generals that it was him and his units that cleared the way for my fat ass. I do not like this new breed of commanders. Like that Prozak guy or whatever his name is. It should have been me who killed the leader of the Federation of Magic. Well, my troops I mean that way I could take the credit. Instead, I am forced out here. As the last of the old-school generals of Chi-Town. All of my fellow generals from the war died. Then these new officers many of whom were low class took over. They should have just stayed where they were. We were fine we still had plenty of low-class civilians to sacrifice for the glory of us elite of Chi-Town. We do not need a population over half a million. Let the lessers take the brunt of the enemy's energy. Then we can go forth and finish them off when they are weak. That was the strategy of us the old guard. So what if they destroyed the burbs and eradicated most of the lower levels of the city. We needed a good spring cleaning anyway. The lower class is no better than the D-bees were are fighting. Damn him to hell for stealing my glory. I miss my bounty of slave girls, fine wine, and extravagant cooked foods. Not this slop, poor garbage we have to eat. I am an elite of Chi-Town. This is inhuman for one of my breed. What is going on out there? I am trying to sleep. So I can dream of my real life back in Chi-Town. If I have to get out of bed to investigate there will be hell to pay. "Whoever is out there making all that noise shut up, My rest has a greater value than all of your lives!" "Is that right?" "Who said that, you dare to enter the general private room. I will have you court marshaled." "Oh, don't worry General. I am here to help you sleep." Well bring the slave girl in, I always sleep better after raping some common village girl. "That will not be necessary." "What are you talking about?" Don't tell me you can't find one. There are lots of villages in the magic zone. Just raid it, kill all the males, and adults then bring the girls back to me, it is that simple. " After the general's last statement, the man's response was a quick flash of light before the general's head was removed from his body. "Here I am called evil being a Lord Magus. Yet this is beyond anything we would put up with in the magic zone. Maybe the rebels were right to go to war with this trash." ************************************************************************ Sitting on the ramparts smoking a cigarette. Corporal James was watching the night sky. Waiting for his shift to end. You would expect the monsters and demons to attack at night. Yet it is another peaceful night. Strange I can no longer hear the crickets chirping. It is too early in the season for them to die off. They should still be making noise for another month or so. Well, he was thinking about the strange situation his eyes caught a glint of something shiny on the ground 30ft down from his current position. He then was startled by the sound of a man's cry. So he quickly turned around to see a wave of over 100 armed men raiding the fort. He was about to ring the bell when his chin was caught from behind him. He was then pulled back His throat slit, then he was thrown over to the cigarette lighter that he saw earlier that caught the moonlight. On the steel zippo style lighter was a jester in the weird clothing they are always shown wearing. With the last thing he thought before his vision went black was, damn we were fools. The Federation of Magic was just bidding its time. Pretending to be weak. When they could have overrun us anytime they wanted. The alarm was never sounded. Most of the troops are sleeping. When the fort fell over 600 humans died the only survivors were the four prisoners. The prisoners were all female with bruising and cuts. Two of them were human, one was an elf, and the other was a dwarf. That day the elite of Dweomer learned that the enemy of the Federation of Magic was just as evil as the Federation of Magic was claimed to be. In other words, neither faction was the god guys. These same people who read Erin Tarn will call her a stupid dreamer. For only playing up the wrongs of the Federation of Magic, but never the wrongs of the Coalition till it was too late. They feel the same way about the nation of Lazlo in general. What is known as a constant with human elites. The New elites will always follow the evils of the old elites after 3-4 generations. Or in this case by 95P.A. ************************************************************************ Norman was allowed to return to Death Valley with Zeizak with him. To keep him under control. Garidon was with them as well. They were looking for evidence of there being a pre-rifts military structure. To their surprise, they did find something. There was a crashed spaceship, that was still smoking. When they enter it they find it is a mess. All of the bodies are of elves. From their clothing and gear, they seem to have been scientists, and researchers. They look different from Palladium elves and Jungle elves. Zeizak seemed to be just as curious. He had to take human form to fit in the ship. He used a spell to do it. The ship is not that big. It is the size of a small corvette class ship. The more they search it the more it looks like a medical research ship. They make their way to the bridge. Where they are greeted by a hologram. They use the "tongue's" spell to learn what it is saying. "Greetings strange elves your DNA is acceptable for level 1 transfusion. I see you are both base elves with a life span of only 500 years. With the common Level 1 transfusion, your lifespan will be 2000 years. Comparable to where we came from." I said ok, I will bite give me the transfusion. At my words, the hologram led us to one of the other rooms. Then told me to sit in a chair. Where a machine gave me a shot. It hurt a little but not much. Shots are rather rare in this world. Outside the tech-based city-states. "Now you will not age a day until your new age catches up with your old age. If you are around 50, you will age again until you are 200. Do you understand?" "Yes, in other words, my aging has been reduced by 3/4s. That is right. Now shell we give the other elf the same shot." "No thanks. Us jungle elves do not trust science." "Oh, what a pity. Poor primitive elf. I thought such elves died out long ago. I guess I will have to update that file. To include the term Jungle elf" "As for the elf who received the shot congratulations you are now the new owner of this research ship. My abilities are very limited. As a research ship from the three galaxies, I have only basic defensive capabilities." "That was the reason I was shot down so easily well exploring a new world. A world that has great potential. Master, please allow me to research this world." "Can you still fly, and yes you can continue to research." "Excellent, and yes, I can fly. My power is very limited right now. I spent most of my power trying to survive the reentry of this planet without being destroyed by the orbital stations." "Their power was rather high for such a primitive planet." "This is a dangerous plant what kind of defensive capabilities do you have?" "I have just the basics, a level 2 shield, and an energy cannon, I would be better used to flee than fight master." "For ship raider defenses I have internal guns set to maximum power without damaging the integrity of the ship. Unarmored people will be dealt with. I also have a security wall where I have energy guns stored for fighting off raiders. Once again these are low-powered weapons." "How fast can you fly and what do you need to recharge your energy?" "Judging the speed of sound on this planet I can travel at a maximum speed of mock 4. Doing so would greatly damage my shipboard systems. At mock 2 it would possibly cause hair fractures on my hall. Reducing the life of the ship. At mock one, all systems would be green." "As for energy sources, the Ley lines work Master, or even your own PPE can help me get enough power to fly again. I have detected many stable Ley lines that are stable enough to work for me to rebuild power and help repair my damage." "What about one that is 30 miles to the east is that one stable enough?" "Yes, master, it is not that strong but it is a stable unmoving Leyline. If you would all please put your PPE into this orb. I will be able to get the ship off the ground to that location." "I will in a moment I have another question first. how long have you been here in this location? Also, can your scans show any signs of underground tunnels or bases around here?" |