Chapter 209: The Long Night

Viv was still chugging regenerative potions by the time Stormrider was done with her little bath. The adult dragon shook off purifying water in great gouts like the universe’s most annoying dog, minus the fur thankfully. Meadow sniffed in her direction, to which Stormrider replied with a very loud hiss.

 

Romance was definitely not in the air.

 

The group of enlightened saurians—plus Viv—reconvened near the cave system’s entrance on account of being so freaking large no room could accommodate all of them. Solfis remained quiet at a distance, his mood contemplative. That or he was in diagnostic mode.

 

Stormrider broke the metaphorical silence by aiming her thoughts at Viv. While Arthur had a bubbly viciousness to her, Storm Rider was harsh, haughty, now that Viv had a moment to assess her. It tasted of charged air and the stark presence of nearby peaks, jutting from the clouds like old teeth. It also lacked a certain cohesion, which made grasping the concepts more difficult.

 

I was hasty in how I treated you.

 

The Old One would not extend his trust, or ask us to cooperate with one unworthy to stand with us.

 

You are still not a dragon.

 

Her pupils narrowed. Viv held the gaze, used to monstrously powerful creatures taking exception to her manners.

 

I still disapprove of the young one allowing you on her back.

 

Although I cannot deny you are a mighty pair.

 

Such cooperation debases us. It is unnatural.

 

You are human. Your kind is wingless and pathetic.

 

Such spectacle roots unworthy ideas in the mind of both our people.

 

Arthur hissed as well. She was truly fearless.

 

Speak for yourself, idiot!

 

My cave is warm and safe, and filled with treasure.

 

Minions toil for my pleasure.

 

Mother and I, we are strong!

 

Stormrider reared back in outrage.

 

This thing is not your genitor!

 

Arthur hissed back a challenge. She was much smaller but that was the thing. She was always smaller, but her magic was insane for her age.

 

“Alright, enough!” Viv interrupted, then she sent the same message with her mind.

 

Enough.

 

You have no say in what we do, She-Who-Rides-The-Storm’s-Darkest-Clouds.

 

You are not our kin. You are not our leader.

 

We do not recognize you.

 

We all follow the orders of Judgement.

 

That is all you can demand of us.

 

The large dragoness revealed knife-sized teeth in what could charitably be called a smile.

 

For now.

 

Many of our kin will come from the mountains and the islands and the forests at the Old One’s behest.

 

During the next conclave, many will protest your behavior.

 

The conclaves can be very persuasive.

 

Arthur huffed with amusement.

 

The next conclave, so in fifty years?

 

I will be fine.

 

Now leave us alone!

 

Viv continued with what she hoped was a calming voice.

 

This isn’t relevant to our current predicament.

 

Our task is clear.

 

We need to stop the horde first before finding who sent it.

 

If you are healed, I suggest we depart.

 

The adult dragoness gave Viv another measuring look. There was a certain tension in the air, and Viv got the feeling she was about to be told to fuck off. Meadow did something surprising, however. With a single step, the large green male shuffled closer to Viv, his aloof presence as stable as a mountain. This seemed to tilt Stormrider to the side of courtesy.

 

Very well.

 

Although I am loath to be seen helping humans, spreading undeath is even less desirable.

 

I will be patient.

 

We should find the horde first, to assess how strong and numerous they are.

 

Viv shook her head.

 

I have already done this, however, we need to check their new speed.

 

I want to know when they arrive.

 

The dragoness huffed in what Viv assumed was assent. Solfis stood up as if he had followed their conversation, causing Meadow to sigh.

 

He is very heavy.

 

“Hey, thanks big guy. You’re a great dragon.”

 

***

 

The horde was still on course, but it was now more nebulous than ever which would mess with Sahin’s plans. Viv made notes, then calculated their approximate speed by staying on top of them for around ten minutes. Sometimes, groups of revenants gathered in strange formations, lying on the ground and possibly destroying themselves to create strange flesh sigils that burnt black in Viv’s eyesight. She believed those were emergency relays from the construction. It felt like mage work: cold and calculated.

 

There were still necrarchs moving, and she was in no hurry to engage them. Her chest still hurt from the blast, and she’d lost enough blood for it to be a concern. Potions and stats could only carry her so far. She needed some real rest this time.

 

“We should head back.”

 

//Acknowledged.

 

The dragons flew in loose formation. As they approached the end of the clouds and the human lands beyond, they were joined by two more; one barely as large as Arthur. Most of them veered south before they could land before Sinur’s Gate anyway. Stormrider sent one last parting thought Viv’s way.

 

There are caves there that will offer us haven.

 

And space.

 

We are only on your side because of what we are against.

 

We are not allies.

 

… what are you doing?

 

Contrary to the older dragon’s expectations, Meadow and Gale were also heading towards the humans. It was Gale who replied with a hint of apologetic shame.

 

Fish sauce.

 

The large green one displayed Solfis still held between massive claws.

 

I will return this one.

 

Also, fish sauce.

 

They left the other dragons confused and quite possibly intrigued. Viv was delighted to see that Arthur’s gastronomical offensive on the dragon’s unprepared taste buds was already yielding dividends. Her daughter was truly a devious strategist. How could someone who had fed all their lives on raw meat resist the sweet and tangy burst of flavor from this precious liquid? The slightly spicy aftertaste? Not like any sort of food could ever get spicy enough for creatures that spat napalm.

 

It was the perfect plan and Viv was all for it.

 

***

 

Viv made for her room, her feet heavy with exhaustion. It was a sign she really needed some sleep. Sahin kept pace with her at a respectful distance, the last in a long line of friends and allies telling her she couldn’t allow herself to die.

 

Viv pretended she was completely fine. One thing about walking on open ground now was that there were always a lot of eyes on her, so she couldn’t show any form of weakness. Except complaining. That was allowed.

 

“The hadals report something similar, Your Majesty. Irao went there himself. That will be problematic.”

 

“More than a little, yeah.”

 

According to most calculations, the undead horde would make contact a little past local midnight the day after. That meant fighting in near complete darkness since the deadlands were always covered in clouds..

 

“Fortunately, we have prepared for this eventuality. We have an abundance of torches and magical lights ready. Unfortunately, no amount of those can pierce through a shroud of smoke and darkness. Our soldiers will not be fighting at their best.”

 

“Can we have some back ranks hold lights at the end of their spears instead of the usual tip? I know the shafts allow for different sorts of ends.”

 

Sahin tilted his head to the side.

 

“There will not be enough time to forge them in sufficient amounts, however, there is another way. We can simply attach mining lanterns to spear shafts with some twine. I will make the request immediately.”

 

“Please do.”

 

She entered her room and immediately froze. There was a presence here. Dark mana.

 

It was familiar.

 

“Come on out,” she warned.

 

Three youngish hadals sheepishly emerged from behind her dresser.

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Train.”

 

“Train.”

 

“Rails?”

 

“Get OUT!” Viv screamed at them.

 

The little shits scampered off through the window, which Viv locked behind with a huff of annoyance. That would teach her to keep the bedroom ventilated. This was going to get annoying really fast.

 

Viv also wanted to have trains so that she could stop relying so much on the very limited mage population available to her. Portals were hungry hogs. She didn’t mind other nations spending their precious mana resources on them, but she didn’t think the caster population would accept becoming glorified door openers. Trains were where it’s at, because they were the most efficient way of carrying a shit ton of stuff over great distances on land. Trains and strategically placed portals. The issue was that even mana and skills couldn’t make quick production a thing. They needed more tools, including measuring tools, and her perfect memory couldn’t scrounge up hints of renaissance and early industrialization technologies. She had to be patient for now.

 

In ten years though… There was so much she could do with enough time. Floating platforms using gravitite, though it would be hard to find much as far away from Helock as they were. Hell, she could create a glass tube, put a portal at both ends, create a vacuum inside with annihilation mana, drop a ten kilograms rod of enchanted steel inside and then wait a year doing something else so it could slowly accelerate, then return and switch the bottom portal destination to, say, the air over the capital of Baran and drop said rod on top of the palace at ninety nine percent of the speed of light, thus causing a massive thermonuclear explosion. As her online friend Gevaudan would say, parry this you fucking casuals.

 

There was so much to do that wasn’t fucking physics up the arse for some cheesy strategy. Agriculture here was helped by the gods and skills, but people were still using a three-field system which allowed the field to lay fallow for one year. She knew of a four-year system thanks to school, and although Nyil didn’t have the necessary turnips, she was pretty sure they had something equivalent. Some of her people were already experimenting with crops, just as they were experimenting with plows and measuring tools and tempering techniques because they knew through her that improvements were possible. All they had to do was find them.

 

Time was on her side but it was more than that. Because she was the ruler and she could decide how to allocate resources, she allocated some of them to science and experiments, not as some hare-brained distraction and a luxury but as an actual way of improving life. The previous outlanders had brought change through highly specific improvement they were familiar with. She brought change by altering the mindset of her subjects, by teaching them the basics of experimentation, and then providing financial incentives. It wasn’t up to her to transform Nyil with science. It was up to them to adopt the methods she taught, and then bring the changes themselves.

 

Hell, maybe they’d make steam-powered super computers. And wouldn’t that be cool.

 

But first she had to protect them, which meant going to sleep now.

 

***

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

 

The dining hall was deserted. All those with enough rank to populate its august seats were now out there running last-minute drills or double-checking enchantments. Sidjin had specifically promised to flay anyone who woke her up early, so Viv had gotten a full night. It was a testament to her stupid vitality score that it had only taken her one night to recover from serious internal bleeding.

 

Sitting alone at the end of this long table with cooks bringing her some tasty dishes gave her a feeling of fanciness that could only be ruined by a massive golem opening the nearby window for a proper conversation.

 

//Your Majesty.

 

“Good morning to you. What’s up?”

 

//I have spent significant time searching my database for a voice matching the one relayed by the golem.

 

//However, and despite the entity’s assurance that we would have enough to figure ‘her’ identity out, I have not yet succeeded in this task.

 

“Well, what do we know?” Viv asked, sipping on sweetened kava.

 

//The entity is most likely inhuman.

 

“Agreed on that. No one alive except another black elemental would be able to move that much black mana.”

 

//The entity is female.

//The entity’s pronunciation hints at northern Harrakan origins.

//The entity’s pronunciation shows a noble descent.

//The entity’s wording when it comes to imperial loyalty shows training in governance.

 

“She knows you.”

 

//Unfortunately, I was very famous at the time of the fall.

 

The golem marked a pause here, reminding her that he was a Big Deal.

 

“So we’re dealing with a noblewoman of northern descent, trained in Imperial governance and possibly versed in magic. Surely that narrows it down quite a bit, yeah?”

 

//No.

//Although some regions and some areas of the empire allocated roles to specific genders, female nobles were encouraged to join the Imperial administration.

//It was seen as a prestigious role given the difficulty of the entrance examination.

//Therefore, trained northern noblewomen with a knowledge of the arcane were numerous.

 

“Oh, smart of them to use everyone to the best of their abilities.”

 

//I was led to understand that it was done for proper bloodline mixings.

//Imperial positions allowed eligible young females to encounter a wide variety of eligible males, also of good breeding, from various parts of the empire.

//Or so Irlefen told me.

 

“What a romantic.”

 

//Sarcasm against Father detected.

//Engaging default answer.

//Default answer denied due to offender’s rank.

//Appropriate answer found.

//Delivering now.

//Haha.

 

“You could have just told me to piss off. Anyway, ok, so there are many women who fit the bill but that’s not all. Do you know if there were any elemental archmage of the black candidates among their ranks at the time?”

 

//As I already told you before, anyone with such a skewed distribution from birth would have died.

 

“Then we’re dealing with someone who wasn’t on the verge of transforming, either someone who was altered by the catastrophe, someone who could turn into a lich, or a very talented necromancer with a knowledge of golemics. We’re not looking for the average court animal, but someone incredibly focused with the will to remain mostly sane throughout the years. Someone of incredible mental fortitude. If we can’t proceed by elimination, then let’s make some assumptions. Who would be the most strong-willed individual capable of the feat you’ve seen, who was also a woman and possibly focused on the arcane?