Chapter Thirty Seven

*** Almighty Narrator ***

At first one could only see a bright light descend from on high, then its outline became clearer and clearer until everyone witnessing the event realized that it was a man made vessel. It stopped some distance below the clouds. The engines roared mightily as it halted the descent, the very force caused the earth below to tremble. The closest people below the descending vessel were flattened by the air pressure, it was as if the gravity below them had suddenly and explosively increased. There were a number of injuries but no deaths.

In a state of utter shock the people above ground stared the massive vessel the likes none had ever seen before descended from the clouds. It was vast, a quarter mile in length and half that in width, not a patch on the square kilometer of the Island Class vessels, but it made up for it with its robust display of powerful engines and arsenals. It was similar to a sky castle class except that instead of four blimps it has four massive gravity engines very similar to the engines of the Island class sky ships. The crystals that power and channel the power of gravity are brilliant and massive diamonds colored blue to prevent the lense like diamond from creating blinding refraction. The very air around the engines was distorted due to the high levels of gravitational manipulation, being within the gravity well put a strain on the ship’s engines.

The vessel was lined twice from stem to stern with railgun cannons each sporting fifty caliber rounds and several hidden arsenals from larger cannons to missile mounts. The vessel was largely undermanned and most of the gun positions were in varying states of construction, but even in its incomplete state it was still a vessel worthy of fighting armies.

Its descent had been an incredible sight to see, it almost appeared to be free falling to its destruction as the atmosphere burned brightly around it creating a trail of grey smoke. The ship itself was in no danger, its engines would keep it from striking ground and it was designed with shields so powerful that even if it did strike ground some of the crew would survive.

Four individuals could be spotted making a dive off the vessel at incredible speeds.

They hit the ground hard creating craters but none of them were hurt, the lead among them approached a child easily recognized as the prince of Boraia. The lead man strapped a vest with gems on the child and as if rehearsed the boy lifted off as the four men followed behind one by one.

Once the boy ascended and boarded the massive sky vessel it began to ascend at an incredible rate. The very clouds parted by mysterious forces exuded by its powerful engines. Just as quickly as it had come it had also gone, the whole event had lasted less than twenty minutes.

***Bastion Cazador ***

The vessel that descended from the sky confirmed to me what I had only an inkling knowledge of, my son was beyond the norm. Many royals from other countries and representatives had gathered after the vessel had left to discuss what was going on. I was forced to be at the center of these discussions as it was recognized that it had been my son that had summoned the vessel.

The sheer power exuded from the giant ship was uncomparable. I felt that it was designed for the conquest of countries, of continents, maybe even for the conquest of the very world.

I didn’t bother explaining myself, instead I declared a total withdrawal from the southern continent, keeping Boraia in the academy suddenly seemed greatly unimportant, even more so a hindrance.

After my son left to complete his mission I set about working on my own.

If I was to draw all who opposed the royal family into a single meeting place then I would need to start writing many letters. The first day after he left I set about getting that done, I needed an excuse to gather them so I made one up, I would be announcing my surrender to claim as the first prince to my own son. That would surely draw everyone to the capitol.

After sending the letters I excused myself from the academy and handed over all governing responsibilities to the men who had replaced me before of the territories of the northern half of the continent. Ulrick would be staying behind to lead the governors.

At first I had wondered why my son had not taken us with him from the very beginning but I shortly realized that we were the second demonstration of Boraian power. Many royals including those of Bulbaria sought to have us arrested, many were afraid of the power my son controlled and it was largely understandable. They all knew fairly well that the vessel alone would be largely unstoppable.

A man appeared at our door on the second day after my son had left and quickly alerted us to our peril. A large group of armed men would soon descend on our home to arrest us. The man seemed to be from Boraia but he wore a mark I did not recognize on his chest. It was that of a red eye in the middle of a black sun on a white flag.

My wife, Eleanor, Sophia, and everyone else of the house was quickly gathered so that we may escape. This man led us through the streets in an almost supernatural manner, he was constantly muttering into a crystal in his hand as he veered us from street to street avoiding every single patrol and guardsman.

Once above ground we found ourselves quickly surrounded but even then the man remained calm giving me confidence that he had a way to get us out. While Eleanor was a magnificent fire elemental, Sophia an earth elemental personally trained by my son, and my sword skills were not shabby, that and if you threw in the fact that my wife is a clerical healer then we form a truly formidable force. Unfortunately quantity has a quality of its own.

Before they could even come close to threatening us three black airships shaped like arrowheads and at least a hundred twenty meters long materialized as if from thin air high above. They unleashed fire from above, invisible magic struck the ground around those that attempted to corral us. This magic was like nothing I had ever seen before, it would come from the ships leaving a trail of thundering air as it would strike the ground with enough force to leave a small crater.

Soon after a couple dozen men dressed in black bearing the same black sun insignia dropped from the ships striking the ground softly. They landed as if the very air was at their beck and call. They strapped vests to each of us before pulling us into the air and into the safety of the vessels above.

They refused to answer any of my questions replying only that we were going to be dropped off at Boraia by the orders of my son.

***Leo Cazador ***

It surprised me how far the illuminated had taken things. They applied much of what I was teaching them in very creative ways, to have built an orbital station already…

The Dreadnaught Class was designed as airtight as the docking station which floated high above in space. The station was designed to absorb sunlight and convert it into mana, mana conversion had been one of my early developments, the amount of energy that could be drawn from sunlight out in space was more than enough to fuel the station. This station was classed as an Orbital Dock class. Dreadnaught Huracan was the most complete of the three stationed on the Orbital Dock, it was designed to house five such vessels. So far it was the only one of its kind.

The Huracan also happens to be the only mobile vessel among the three.

Science was truly starting to evolve here in this world, they were already thinking about alloys, lightweight materials, artificial fibers, and even the effects of space on a person. The dreadnaught was designed with an artificial gravity system to keep the inside of the vessel at a constant normal earth level.

While I had spent time wallowing and in stagnation the Illuminated had continued to grow and expand regardless of me.

The Huracan is incredibly fast, by traveling into space and then coming down again I was able to cross the distance that took a flying castle class almost a whole week in just a handful of hours. I had descended without the Huracan dropping down instead in a very forward thinking dropship, a dropship! Ha…

*** King Edwards ***

*Knock*

*Knock*

“Grandfather?” A voice tore me away from the paperwork that was constantly filling my desk.

“Son?” I looked up surprised to find my grandson at the door. “Shouldn’t you be at the academy?”

“Indeed,” the boy nodded and came in sitting down across from me.

“How’d you get back?” I asked. “I didn’t even know you were on your way here.”

“I’ve made father a proposition grandfather,” the boy spoke.

“What is it?” I asked after he didn’t continue any further. “First off, how are you? A letter reached me telling me you had lost your power?”

“Indeed,” the boy nodded. “But, that doesn’t matter right now, I am about to change Boraia, grandfather. I will make it into an empire that will survive the test of time.”

“...?” I raised a brow.

“It begins with the deaths of a few,” he explained.

“And your father agreed to this?” I asked confused. How could this benefit the country?

“First let me tell you how I will begin the change,” he said. “Then I will tell you what I will do for the country.”

I said nothing.

“It begins with the deaths of chieftains,” he began. “Among them will be Boraian nobles and politicians, followed by their families. I will eliminate every element in the country that will desire to oppose me and prevent the nation from prospering. The chief’s have not been a detrimental force towards the government as of yet, but I need them out of the way as I will need their islands and what resources I can take from them.”

“That…” I was about to say something to stop him from continuing to spill nonsense.

“After I am done with the killing and the take overs,” he continued. “I will bring prosperity to the country. I will make it better than it has ever been. What I have given so far is but a fraction of what I can give the country. Flight was only the beginning. Within a year hundreds, even thousands, will be able to travel throughout the country without needing to board a sky ship. They will no longer need wagons or horses to cross from city to city. Merchants will no longer take a year round trip across the country selling their wares, they will be able to do it all in a week’s time.

“I cannot tell you yet how exactly I will be doing this, how I will replace the thousands of slaves who harvest the wheat with efficient machinery that will make handpicking costly and ineffective. You saw what I could do with my magic when I had it, before I lost it I learned how to apply it into the everyday life of the common man.

“I will not tell you that, after I am through, we will no longer have to worry about Bulbaria, because, after I am done, Bulbaria will be but an insignificant insect to the might of Boraia. I will make it so that all beyond our country tremble in awe at the mention of the name of the Boraian Empire. I only need for you to take the first step with me as father already will.”