Steel and Mana

Chapter 191 – Welcome to Avalon

Matilda Zimmerman was traveling alone, leaving her sons to their own and to try and govern the earldom while she was away. It was the first time the three had a chance to do something without their mother's supervision, and Matilda hoped she wouldn't return to a burning mess.

"Whatever... if they screw it up, I can blame them for it." She muttered, drinking in her carriage, remembering how much she hated traveling. It was so hard to keep her glass straight and not spill the wine everywhere.

Then, there was the smell of horses and the fact she had to sleep in her carriage because the trip would take a week if not more, to achieve. She wanted to look at it as vacation, but by the time they crossed the Black Lands, she was ready to give up and head home. Only after they were within the Duchy of Wheat did she notice that the road became smoother, less bumpy, and even their speed had picked up.

"What's this?" she asked, leaning out of her window. She realized they were on a surprisingly wide stone highway, making it easy to balance the cup of wine in her hand. Her accompanying soldiers could easily surround her carriage and even leave enough space for others to pass by them.

The quality of the road was superb, and it was visibly new. It was... weird. Not because she had never traveled on one like this but because even her region only had one at its southern border, connecting it to the core provinces.

With the help of the smooth road, their travel sped up considerably, and after riding for a few more days, they arrived at the border of the Frontier. No... At the border of Avalon.

"What... is this?" she asked, failing to close her mouth. She was not expecting an answer because she was greeted with a massive river, one that she didn't remember hearing about.

More than that, there was a wide, tall, arching bridge that was being built going right above it. Shocking her, half of it was already ready, able to let them pass in a single file with their horses and carriages. What was more incredible than the size was that the workers here were using magic! She was sure of it; they were lifting slightly glowing chunks of stone as if they weighed nothing, working at an incredible speed, putting it together like a puzzle for a child. It was as if they could do it with their eyes closed.

"Welcome to Avalon; what is the purpose of your visit?" asked a young voice. When she finally broke out of her amazement, she saw a young teenager dressed in an elegant black and gold uniform talking to her guard captain. The boy was surrounded by armored, well-built soldiers holding their helmets under one arm and a gigantic halberd in the other.

While his soldiers were dealing with the inspection, she examined the warriors that greeted them, licking her lips. Luckily, her guards followed Matilda's instructions to be cordial and cooperative from start to finish. Scrutinizing all of them, the youngster was cute, but... those hunky bodies next to him? Now, that was something she was loving already.

"We need to validate the invitation." The boy said calmly, "Avalon is currently closed to visitors without a proper permit.

"Here!" Matilda exclaimed, finally returning to reality as she walked down from her carriage. She knew that they were just making it hard for them; everyone should recognize their crest from afar, plastered all over the flagbearers and on her carriage. Yet, she wasn't angry. She played these games long enough to know that this was their way of showing their power to them, a trivial thing, really.

"Thank you." The boy smiled, taking the note stamped by Leon's seal, which proved he had invited Matilda to Avalon. "I am First Lieutenant Polo, and I'd like to welcome Lady Zimmermann to Avalon." He saluted after reading the note and giving it back. We will escort you to the city. Please, follow us!"

While saying so, he waved a hand, and Matilda could see one of the soldiers further away, wearing a weird backpack. He detached a device from it, slotted a little crystal inside, and then connected it to his helmet, putting it on. As for what that did... she didn't know. But she was happy to see that there were even more big, muscular guys around her. This was finally looking like a proper vacation.

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"Sovereign, we have a report! Well, two!" Merlin laughed, rushing into the garden where I was pushing my kids on the swing we built for them.

"Hm? What happened?"

"We had the first live test of our radio helmets! For now, the prototype with the backpack signal booster managed to send voice messages from the borders straight back to our temporary station here in the city! The sound was clear enough, and the transmission was almost instant!"

"Oh? Great! Does this mean Matilda has arrived? It should be that time, no?"

"Yes, she was received by our soldiers and is now being escorted to the city."

"Great! Go tell Yuri to get into the Princess. I will go get Sasha, and we will welcome them to Avalon. Mikki!"

"Coming!" she shouted back, hurrying to me and blushing as I gave her a kiss. I let her continue playing with my kids while I walked with Merlin, preparing to 'work.' It was the first time we would indeed act as an independent nation, even if we wouldn't tell it outright. But it was also time to make our neighbors understand that, from now on, we are no barbarians but the local power that everyone else around us must reckon with.

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"What... is... that... thing?" Uttered the guards accompanying Matilda, either out loud or within their minds, prompting her to stick out her head from the carriage once again.

What she saw was a massive machine standing in the distance, tall as a building. Its body was painted salmon-pink and decorated with images of hearts being struck through by an arrow. Then, that thing turned and began moving, scaring the horses as it approached them. When it finally stopped, way too close for their comfort, an otherworldy, distorted voice boomed from who knows where.

"Welcome to Avalon, Countess Matilda Zimmerman, leader of the Grand Duchy of Irgath."

"Gods above... what is that monster...!?" She exclaimed before drawing in another sharp breath. Even though terrified, she also felt a child-like wonder, wanting to see that thing move again.

"That is one of our machines that defend the Pass that leads to the beasts' world." Polo exclaimed proudly, dropping back within the escorting group of soldiers, declaring it proudly. Deep down, he was dreaming about the day, sitting into one of them and piloting his own. He just had to keep performing well. He already passed the tests, and he was doing his best to remain the number one candidate by doing his duties to their fullest.

"One of...?" Matilda asked, catching the real meaning behind his words. Suddenly, she was reminded how badly the Tobrok family had lost against the soldiers from the Frontier.

At first, she thought it was just arrogance and a flawed strategy that caused it. Not realizing the difficulty of their predicament and ignoring the cannons pointing at them. Now, she was no longer sure about it. Nobody has ever considered anything about the Frontier. It was an ancient, underdeveloped region, only notable for the fact that there was a passageway to the other side of the impenetrable mountains. A route that needed to be defended... against beasts. Reaching that point, she finally understood, or she thought she did. She no longer found it strange or weird but, instead, awe-inspiring.

"How wrong we were..." she whispered, watching the massive, two-legged machine as they passed by it. They were heading towards the city and its pristine walls decorated with multiple black, gold, and purple flags.

It all made sense now. When she was little, she heard many stories about monsters, tall as a tower, walking the land, eating people, and destroying cities. She thought they were tales to scare them, the old lore blown out of proportion. She learned about the times when the walls were breached and when tides of monsters broke through, but they never mentioned their sizes. Now, seeing this machine built for war, she already knew those fables were real. More importantly, the young soldier just said it was one of many...

"Ishillia is unbeatable..." She thought, finally convinced that standing with Duke Kustov was the right choice because, in the end, they were now backed by the Empress herself. "I will need to be as agreeable as possible... maybe even find a fourth husband. It isn't too late! Come on, girl, you can have a fourth; maybe this time, he will be capable of more than causing you a headache!"

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Far away from Avalon and the capital city of Ishillia, in the heart of the Geth Empire, Emperor Kadosa IV was reading reports that were making him furrow his brows. It began with the sudden edicts of the young Empress of Ishillia, enacting multiple decisions that outright ignored the nobles living in her empire and affected the regular citizens instead.

She was, in a way, doing something similar to how their empire was functioning. With a smaller size, his homeland was split into five regions, governed by 'nobles' who were, in reality, nothing more than governors or, as their official titles held, Cardinals. They organized the land and its people, ensuring the laws were upheld and the citizens could enjoy the peace and perform their duties.

There were many laws that ensured that although Cardinals were the extensions of his power, word, and laws, just as he was the extension of the Goddess Orsi's teachings, they could never amass enough power or followers to cause trouble to the throne. This meant that Emperor Kadosa IV had to keep track of everything that was happening and discuss it with his ministers and advisors while managing his empire. Some may look at it as a drawback, but for him, this was what made it possible to place himself as a graceful and caring Emperor in the eyes of his people.

For him, ruling the empire was a game of faith. He enacted laws that gained the favor of its people, ramping up faith in his power and decisions, so when needed, he could give harsh or outright selfish orders, spending some of that faith and goodwill he earned. Right now, he knew he was sitting on a tremendous amount of good faith, and if it came to war, people would stand behind his cause, no matter what it was.

To his eyes, what was happening within Ishillia was very similar. The new Empress began working on building up her own faith with her people, forcing multiple noble families to act upon her new orders and start supporting their people in a way that was, in noble eyes, a waste of money and resources.

"Call upon my ministers and cardinals, we are going to have a meeting. The happenings within Ishillia have a chance to evolve into a civil war."

"Truly?" His leading advisor, an old man who grew up alongside his grandfather, asked, surprised. "Is it really that serious?"

"It is." Kadosa nodded, giving the report to him, and as he read it, the old man couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, looking up from it directly at his Emperor.

"They publicized the formula behind their mortar?"

"This means that the royal family has given up on one of their controlling factors over nobles and citizens. They are loosening their grip on their leash! They cultivated an air of backstabbing and harsh politics for eons. This loosening could easily lead to chaos, but... if the new Empress understands it, that can only mean she is willing to risk everything to change."

"It could also spell the end of Ishillia."

"It could." Kadosa nodded, closing his eyes and touching the amulet he always wore under his clothes. "Or it could mean that she doesn't care because she is confident in herself enough to pull through. We will see... We... will see."

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