Conditor Imperatoris Duc'cec.

11th of Septara, 1492.

Arseforest City; Southligh Territory, Knighilia.

11:30.

*** Much had changed since our evolution in Trescia. Upon completing my trials in the void above, we stayed true to our name by having our Uma skim the skies, acting as the umbrella for the countless units to spread below. And for the next few months, we loomed over Rhar as streaking birds and vibrant clouds that served as a potent reminder that their unjust treatment of us and Amun would not pass without recompense. Duality was a trait inherent in the legions, however. And so, while my Sky Skimmers kept as many Rharian eyes poised above as possible, my drones had been scouring the surface to gaze upon what couldn't be seen from the clouds. Yet, it was more than that. The Undying Night surrounded Rhar's northern borders; the Lunarians had their gunships poised at them from the west; the Plagues had spread across Kasia to their east; the Deliverers had made their claims in Chaulort to the south. All as promised, though not acutely as many had hoped.

Jaimess promised Corym that after 2 strikes, the Legions of the Nox would begin playing with Rhar. While some of us have, Amun remained lenient; or perhaps he was just patient, waiting to complete the tasks Telin imposed on the Rharian king. And so his legions prepared for the Rharian war in his stead and continued to this day. All in our various ways, and yet none like the Sky Skimmers.

My swarm of drones, connected to my mind like a hive of bees, entered the realms in Rhar's Rauven Land; the place where the Rharians left their non-elven residents out of sight and out of mind while using their denizens to ensure they didn't take too much from the forest. Vacated because of Mani's Blooded, the land became prime real estate for my swarms to thrive. They proliferated across Rauven Land like slow-moving fog, consuming the resources found within to fabricate branches of my augmented fauna, leaving them in their wake to spread and map the rolling hills hidden beneath the layers and dead layers of undergrowth. Being avian in nature, my drones and the things they created were readily feasted on by the local fauna despite their inorganic nature. Yet, that was hardly a concern. For this was a time of change, and such changes belonged to the domain of one we or, at least, I had a connection to. And so my swarm, the augmented seeds they spread, and those who preyed upon them flowed from the highlands to the lowlands as great swarms that plagued the forsaken cities of Rhar, now filled with constructed creatures both arcane and not that warred for resources as all creatures did.

To the south, the swarm traveled unabated, riding the winds running parallel with the mountain range to their north as the land narrowed beneath the weight of Kasia's border due south. Its narrowest point was the border to the lands of Selheidata, filled with only three cities; the mountainous yet lowly elevated Kiragz and its sister city, Addum; as well as the port city of Zabazin along the border, with half of its land belonging to Redagh. With their entrance into such an environment, they did as all birds did and nested, albeit by using the resources gathered and the intel gained to fabricate a new generation of dissimilar creatures. And so they hatched as forms far larger than those before and spread their feathered wings, cloven hooves, and shaggy tails to sweep up and down the range to make use of the many resource deposits within. Not for the sake of us or the legions, but for those with Rharian feathers to pluck.

Those of my swarm that went west had split themselves between V'eldluiyran County and Edreth Shire. The former found less dense forests filled to the brim with ranger conclaves; most of them independent and spread amidst the wilds near the heartlands. The cities were closer to the coast toward the west, with the largest of them scattered around the vast Nauthe Lake - a sinkhole that later formed a collection point and fork for the Towceshambe and Adhkror Rivers before they flowed out to sea. The coast of such a lake was where the famous Purple Snake was found; albeit less famous than the Purple Leopard in Chor, plus 2 port cities with populations above 300,000 and a smaller village of 13,000. The latter turned northward to penetrate the canopy and gaze upon the legions' primary prey; or part of it. Corym, the Rharian rulers, and Zaos were Amun and his Troupe's prey; and so ours were the armies of Edreth Shire. They differed from the glimpses of the great Melbenzar Forest we'd seen, for their ranks were filled with a myriad of humans, halflings, and gnomes. At least, the ones who assimilated into Rharian culture, relegating themselves to a station beneath the arcane beasts and constructs and even lower beneath the elves. With nearly a third of their population standing within their ranks, their numbers were around half a million, commanded by one Rokian Heirian.

It was only now that we learned of him and his station. Now, meaning not so long after we left the Bodhi Tree to perch in the skies above the land of wizardry. I imbued a trickle of arcana into first my mind and then my eyes, making my consciousness leap across the lands of Vruria and Ligin to surmount the mountain and come to rest within the eyes of an ape with mineral wool for fur, vulcanized rubber for skin, and titanium bones.

It was strange, feeling such strong, featherless fingers gripping a vine to stay perched above a river. The Dubebun River, a few dozen kilometers east of Edreth Shire's capital city of Rildrugh. My talons - its feet - dangled helplessly while the eyes focused far ahead as mine would, magnifying the point of view toward a blot amidst the green to bring a city into focus; then magnified again, and there he was. A regal elf in white, green, and brown hide armor, shining a contemptuous light through his brown eyes and demeaning gaze from atop his armored steed as he received report after report of the many things transpiring across the Peninsula.

While the drones who continued onward had yet to reach the great forest, the same wasn't the case for those who sought Kelryn County and Hagheridiel Territory. They crossed the lands unabated, marking relatively nothing other than the animals in Amun's domains and terrain advantageous for staging, maneuvering, and recovery once the Rharian War began - data that would be replicated in every legion's training rooms before the day was done.

The crown jewel was found in the Nagwenshar Region, however. While mountainous like the range across the vast valley that was Rauven, it was less of an impassable spine and more of an unforgiving, craggy, and volcanic mound with a radius of 1,000 kilometers, rimmed in forests and split equally between the borders of Rhar, Chaulort, and the Kasian Empire; giving it a war-torn surface that was now recovering from a divine eruption.

While relatively few called it home, there were no cities to be found within; the exception being Isik'iertu, at its summit. There were only badlands, acid lakes, and desolate plains; at least on this side of the mountain. And yet, there were significant sights to be seen. Or rather, a significant sight. An elven male in proud armor of metal and leather, with a crown of polished white horns in lieu of a helmet atop a head that looked starkly similar to the Rharian king, complete with the facial tribal tattoos denoting him as an elder. A ranger and a paladin who, by the looks of it, was in self-imposed isolation, living rough amidst the few trees that grew. Or more likely that he had grown. Regardless, it was a find that was greatly rewarded once it was sent up the chain of command. And so, with that duty done, I withdrew my sights to have my mind leap across the Peninsula and return to my body, floating amidst General Fausta, Technical Archmage L'neis, and Marshal Fifif, all gazing at the exotic coastal city far below.

"Well. Into the Arseforest we go." Quaa sighed, trickling a rumbling snicker from the void above.

***

President Leiroel Aetoris.

***

"Home at last!"

I silently echoed Naevys' sentiment as I stepped through the teleportation circle, entering the winding halls and twisted courtyards of my Castle Ward. I would have voiced it openly, were it not for our guests. Not to mention, neither my castle nor his school was our destination. On the contrary, we were parading through the city streets toward the Grimcrest on the western ends, led by my long-time contact with House Za'Darmondiel and the infamous hedge wizard and alchemist of Bakewia, besides a Sapiavi of white and gray feathers akin to a white robin for some demonstration or other. Yet, they all were stranger than we'd been led to believe; or in Naevys' case, different from what we had known.

Although drow were indeed the most physically capable of elves, I had never seen a drow male as physically domineering as Eban Za'Darmondiel. His brother and the others were no different, yet that was only the start of their differences. Eyes of varying colors, not red; more voluminous hair; unreported innate abilities such as flight and a greater control of magical darkness. He displayed all of these things. Yet, of them all, Eban was the only one to have his wizard's robes covered in ostentatious jewelry, each more magically potent than the last. Wilson Koorb was just as much of an enigma. Once a man in his 70s, he was now the same age as the Eternal Champion, undying and with the metallized husk of an arm to prove it. And then there was the Sapiavi. Kerck, the so-called Grave Keeper of this Legion thrust on us by Headmaster Knagh; not without good reason, I add. He wore the mark of the Nox on his bardic robes, tailored in dark blue in addition to the hues of his feathers. Though I supposed the mark of the Nox was now the mark of the Champion.

A tumultuous drumming ensued once we left the middlemost Grimcrest gate, pulling our eyes above just as two humans, a high elf, and a Sapiavi came thundering down. A curious species, I've always found the latter, especially their Imperator, as they all had the countenance of some type of bird. The one they called Duke looked like a humanoid harpy eagle wreathed in the hide armor of a ranger - quite the formidable sight.

The humans were introduced as Prime Noctis Marshal Kanti Fifif and Noctis General Saraid Fausta. Both relatively unremarkable, save for the glimmering ruby and emerald worn by them, respectively. So arcane and so much like the Sapphire worn by Kerck. The most intriguing one, however, was their so-called Technical Archmage, a relatively young half-elf who bowed to us in the flourishing mannerisms of a Knighilian native. "E'mil L'neis." He sang with our accent.

"Well met, Skimmers of the Skies." I smiled wider than I otherwise would, for the parade was now gathered among the huts and houses beyond the gate. "I am Leiroel Aetoris, President of the Knighilian Republic."

"And I am Naevys Vupjess, Principal of the Vupjess School of Wizardry." My old friend followed and continued forth in my stead. "While we are grateful for Eotrom continuing the Headmaster's duty in keeping Polaris at bay from us, we of both my school and the President's council express concern with giving Knighilians access to such dangerous magic."

"Au contraire." Eban levitated forth with a flourish. "This is the time our kind have been waiting centuries for; yours perhaps more than mine, for your Goddess was the most correct about him. Amun is the God of Mana. And so, his presence in these realms will give worship to the Goddess of Magic. Already, his subordinates have created new magical tools to allow anyone to use magic. They've created new schools of magic. And now, the Nox is allowing these wizards to use necromancy; but being in the Nox's empire means they cannot be used in ways he would not approve. So then I ask, what reason is there to fear? Add to this his means of giving people greater densities of mana or arcana, and there's no reason for this wizarding nation to not become the focal point of this era of prowess we've long awaited."

It was an accurate claim. An era of arcane prowess was exactly what we high elves interpreted from Telin's intervention. Not some link between civilization and nature and certainly not the catalyst in evolution for our species; though those things happened as well. Still though, we were skeptical. That said…

"We are not against the idea of floating cities." I added, stepping forth. "Many consider such a thing the pinnacle of an arcane city, and most prominent wizards can use magic for flight; albeit not to fly so fast and so far as you all. Still, we don't understand the reason for anyone to learn to use such long-range spells outside the legions and perhaps our armies; other than mastering the art for the sake of mastery."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"It's not so much that Knighilians must learn or assimilate into anything, Mr. President," Kerck said. "We are a budding empire within a larger empire, united beneath the God of Mana; our Legion's culture is that of flight, reconnaissance, and spellcraft. Your republic, soon to be an empire within that union, is a scholarly nation of arcane mages who largely worship the Goddess of Magic; a culture both our citizens and legionaries wish to adopt. A culture that will be improved by sharing our magical practices and arcane tools with you. From tomorrow onward, we will truly test the limits of magic together, and in ways the most pertinent gods would approve. Today…" He flicked his bulbous blue eyes across the gathered crowd while his winged hand swept across the rolling hills, filled with emplacements of exotic design. "With the help of Lords Wilson Koorb and Eban Za'Darmondiel, the Third Prime Nest Squawk Command has organized a demonstration of these tools and practices for you all to consider."

All eyes moved to where the wing pointed. Not the emplacements, but the 2 Sapiavi of gold and blue feathers standing regally before something everyone on the peninsula recognized. A spell cannon. It appeared the same as any other cannon, minus the mithral barrels and the arcane crystals in place of wicks and boom powder. At least, it did until the Sapiavi of black and blue feathers spread his summoned a slew of materials and coated them in his arcana.

"Aside from repeating and magical ballista, the humble spell cannon was the first weapon redesigned by the Cogs of Eotrom." Came Wilson's boyish voice rolling from nearby. Yet, my eyes remained focused on the workings of the one they called Quaa, for the spell cannon's barrel quickly elongated and thinned until its end flared and opened on the sides, making a muzzle that appeared like a bucket with grooves carved into the sides. The chocked wheels meant to hold it in place morphed into 4 squat legs on pivoting joints while the summoned materials congealed to morph around either side of the breach to form dials, sights, and wheels their legionaries quickly put into motion.

Commanded by the golden eagle of a Sapiavi, Prime Executor Aior, they methodically pushed a pallet of large cartridges into position while the barrel turned and raised to point above Crater Lake. Cylindrical and capped like cigars, they stood to the height of our hips and seemed to be infused with countless coils surrounding a giant enchantment crystal; each glowing with a different type of mana.

"As you can see, this new spell cannon uses mana-infused cartridges to fire rather than the operator's mana well and their mana molding skills. Turreted wands take up that function now. But more on that later." Wilson snickered, throwing his chin toward the legionaries loading a cartridge with a blue crystal I was certain of being water. "The cartridges mean they can be used by anyone, and make them capable of launching much more potent spells much more rapidly, at a maximum unassisted range of forty kilometers."

As if they'd rehearsed with Wilson, Executor Aior's feathered hand fell the moment his words were spent, punctuating them with a percussive bang that nearly silenced our ears once the shock passed over us, leaving only our eyes to watch the shell of condensed water arcana arc high over Crater Lake.

For seconds, it rose, and only when it began to fall did a glimmering cloud of scalding water and ice billow in all directions like an opening maw; and seconds later, we heard its roar.

"Unbelievable." Naevys gasped as if in horror. But of course, his student was at the ready.

"Keep in mind, these new spell cannons were designed for the naval legion, the Lunarians," Wilson said, then gestured to the next item. "As were those. Although that particular model is the scaled-down version intended for maneuverability. An Arcane Missile Launcher."

"Like the spell?" I couldn't help but ask upon failing to see how it could work. Like the cannon, it stood on 4 squat legs, yet they were more spaced out, with strange wheels between. Unlike the cannon, there was no barrel, only a… rectangle, standing on end. Yet, like the shells, it was filled with a dissimilar crystal surrounded by exotic conduits, topped with a wide hole.

"Oh, yes." Eban emphatically nodded. "Only, you know, stronger."

"They gather arcana from the environment to fire, yet depend on the user's mana molding and the weapon's interface to aim, fire, and track the targets to ensure they hit home."

"So, not exactly like the spell."

"It would be, were the range not so great." Wilson snickered. "Unless you can sense and track a target in a range between three hundred meters and five thousand kilometers?"

A muffled boom answered before any of us could, shocking the crowd with an unbearable wave of pressure that waned as the near-solid mass of arcana belched upwards, turned north and rocketed away with haste. Prompting Wilson to try placating our minds with more assurances. "Again, these are designed to be placed on large vehicles, including but not limited to ships of both the sea and air. The next items are more up your alley, however, starting with the simplest type of magical technology. The Turreted Wand."

Unlike the other things, Quaa had legionaries stand ready beside miniature versions of their spell cannons - 3 of them - each bigger than the last, with smaller legs supporting a box that popped out a mechanical arm and mithral sleeve holding a wand at the ready. The smallest was the size of a small dog, with the wand at hip-height; the largest held its broomstick of a wand a head above eye level, while the largest had a reclined seat mounted next to the large mithral sleeve. Yet they all had the same filaments or conduits coiling down the arm to those boxes, filled, of course, with exotic crystals.

BOOM!

My spine shot through my neck as the calamitous noise shook the shores, echoed by the pulsing waves of arcana I turned to face at once, passing sights of fallen citizens and gaped maws until my eyes settled on a falling water column that nearly occluded the Bodhi Tree's trunk. But of course, these divine agents of the Champion were unfazed by the arcane missile's detonation.

"The turreted wand is simply a wand housed in a mithral barrel, connected by arcane conduits to a crystal to amplify its power, all mounted on a gimbaled turret." Wilson explained, gesturing to the legionaries attuning their mana to the devices. One by one, they stuttered and snapped to life with the speed of a serpent, pointing their ends to the shadow undead gathered in the distance at their Executor's behest. "Like the original spell cannon, it must be operated and supplied with magic by its user, but it's relatively simple to automate the process, and even simpler to operate due to the amplification effect."

In quick succession, the three turreted wands cast the same gust spell, producing dissimilar condensed masses of air that powerfully struck, thunderously slammed, and catastrophically barreled through the shadows.

"And who uses those?" Naevys asked with a flair of approval - a flair deeply influenced by the previously seen displays, I was sure.

"Everyone." Eban smiled. "Their small size makes them easily deployable almost anywhere you'd need to protect."

"Mechanical wands, however, are primarily used by the Vulcans, the Cogs, and our auxiliaries." Wilson grinned, gesturing to Quaa holding a strange brace or short club of some kind. It was of metal and wood, with a flared portion at the rear that they tucked firmly into their shoulder pockets via pulling on a grip placed around the middle, their fingers poised above a curved metal guard, leaving the barrel pointing at the ground.

"As the God-Emperor describes them, they are mechanical spellcasting devices made from broken wands, housed in a brace of wood and metal or even stone. Each side of the wand's innards is connected via magical fibers of some kind, such as faerie flax, and tangentially connected to a crystalline bolt." Wilson pointed to the metal handle just above their hands. "The bolt holds a specific amount of mana, which is pulled from the spirit when the user pulls the bolt back and is injected into the weapon when it slams it forward, connecting the circuit and allowing the spell to be fired on command. The affinities are housed here, within cartridges similar to those used by the spell cannons." He pointed to what appeared to be a box lodged in the device from the bottom, just before where the hand rested. "Above them are Tech Wands, which use the same technology. However, they are used only by the Cogs of Eotrom."

Wilson paused to let the legionaries face about and hold their mechanical wands in varying positions. The first, a rugged man, pulled it tight against his shoulder and raised it at the shadow, then jerked backward as dense beads of ice zipped across the field to pelt holes through its umbral body. Then the elven lady followed, taking a knee to cast a compressed fireball that punched through the shadow without resistance. Then the gnome finished by dropping the mechanical wand to his hip and depressing the trigger to spew out a stream of liquid fire.

"Despite the name, Tech Wands aren't made of wands at all. Instead, it's a rifled barrel formed before a closed but accessible chamber, holding its power source - an arcane crystal." I studied the devices as Wilson spoke, finding them hardly different from the mech wands, other than the improved aesthetics. It was a bit smaller, with a cylindrical drum before the hand grip as opposed to a box, and no handle to pull and push forward. Instead, Wilson gestured to a small lever just around the elven lad's thumb. "It boasts a selector switch connected to a set of enchantment crystals to regulate the type of spell from bullet, to streams, as we just saw; to scattering spells, and rapid fire, besides the safe setting that prevents it from firing altogether. The drum you see here contains affinity cartridges, but the dial at the top makes it capable of being interchanged for a different cartridge at will."

While impressive in theory, its effect was hardly any different from the mech wands. But of course, Eban came prepared for such observations, no matter how hidden they were.

"Of course," he grinned, holding up his finger. "What puts Tech Wands above Mech Wands is the power source. Mech wands are only as powerful as their user's mana well. Tech wands use the arcana of their crystals."

"Yes." Wilson nodded. "And while there is the Raphew, which I'm sure you know of, those are only used by the Legions. Primarily, us."

"Our prowess doesn't end with arcane tools, however." Eban grinned wider as he picked up Wilson's pace. "The legions have established a school of wizardry, as you've been told, formed around the creation of war spells. However, the God-Emperor has created a school of his own. Technical Wizardry. Formed on the core principle of magic, told to him by Telin himself - that one's magical prowess depends entirely on one's understanding of nature and its physical laws. And no one in the universe understands the laws of physics like Amun. Technical Archmage E'mil L'neis will give a demonstration of both technical wizardry and war spells."

With a flourishing bow, Eban turned our attention to the raven-haired Knighilian native taking hold of the weave with his outstretched arm. The vibrant energy compressed and molded as it danced around his limb and eventually manifested a coiling snake of glimmering copper, starting from his elbow and extending an arms length beyond his fingers, prompting, it seemed, the free hand to rise and put its fingers into a dance. The weave streamed to those fingers like waters down a valley, compressing the energy into a pair of funnels at each end, that transmuted into an undetectable brown mana that Eban identified as magnetism and went on to explain the principle of magnetic induction.

My eyes widened as the proof was revealed in the few sparks dancing off the copper, but this Technical Archmage was hardly finished. With his will alone, he coaxed the surrounding arcana through the coils, bringing its red glow back to its dull orange as the heat was pulled from the maw and returned to its tail, transmuted along the way into electrical energy that increasingly poured into the spell.

Just when I thought it would reach a critical mass, E'mil uttered something beneath the sparks and thrust his hand out before him, ejecting a sparking wire that uncoiled from his arm as it raced eastward, tracing a gray-blue line of a cloud above the horizon before it turned south and swept across our borders. It was upon us before I could blink. Then once more; and twice; and thrice; and more as it rose to the heavens to encircle the Knighilian Republic of a tempestuous ward of immense proportions - a serpent of bright blue, coiled atop the republic.

"While the demonstration ends here." Eban pulled our agape maws and wide eyes down after several moments of observation and contemplation. "I assure you that the schools of Divination, Mirages, Charming, and Conjuration are no different. Amun's immense knowledge can be used to expand our limits of magic and spellcraft to unseen heights, and it all begins here. Perhaps that is true for the School of Summoning too, but that's the extent of our God-Emperor's knowledge for the next few days."

"Ah. The summoning course, correct?" Naevys rocked on his heels. "I'm curious how the great Necro King's doppelganger will react to his great-grandson's many changes."

"As is he, I can assure you." Wilson snickered. "However, this also presents an opportunity. Not just for Knighilia to gain his knowledge of summoning, but for you to gain permission by the Nox to use necromancy. A wing for the wizarding college of necromancy, just like all the others."

'And there it is.' I internally sighed. I wasn't exactly opposed to it. In fact, I was always morbidly curious about the extent of the Nox's necromancy, as I'm sure many wizards were. On the contrary, it was my people who had an aversion to the so-called dark arts. Or rather, the assumption that they would have to be opened up to the dark arts like the people of Shujen were, only without the destruction. And so… "I'll agree if it is placed underground, although not so deep as to be isolated."

"There's also the matter of Ash, the Djinni." Naevys added. "Though he has other classes, he became a wizard to gain insight into using his sorcery. Considering Amun is one as well, besides their god, just as Faenya is the goddess of magic, not to mention the Bodhi Tree and Polaris' policies will no longer prevent us from doing so, I believe it'd be the perfect time to build a school or college for sorcery."

"Of course, of course." Wilson nodded to his teacher as if it was hardly a concern. "More importantly, your cities being put in the sky means you can have extreme mana zones and calamitous arcane territories spread across the lands or, regarding the Skimmer's lair stones, the sky."

He paused to snicker, not at his words but Eban approaching with a charming smile to pat me on the back with surprising strength. "The sentient species can't be the only ones with magical prowess in this budding Knighilian Empire of magic, after all. The beasts and the lands themselves should be as well."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.