Steel and Mana

Chapter 395 – Avalon’s Plans

Chapter 395 – Avalon’s Plans

I was standing out in my garden, enjoying the warming spring air, the returning songs of birds, and the sun shining down on me. It was the perfect companion to read the latest reports coming from Markoth, detailing that my Father had managed to clean out three monster nests, banking us not only new cores but also actual CC mines.

The only bad part of it was that the mines were... well, ravaged. Almost depleted. It still reinforced the theory that the beasts had come for it, that they eat its contents. Somehow, they manage to evolve in a way that consumes CC, and although they can't break it down, they can fuse it and create their cores. No wonder after killing them, my Father found a massive yet weird core in each of them. Although he is not a mage, he did mention that their cores looked more raw in the process of fusing as they were not yet symmetrical or smooth, instead ragged, looking like tumors, mud clumping together unevenly.

I am preparing a group to retrieve them as soon as possible so we can study them. If they are still unstable variants, we may not be able to use them in new mechs... But it also made me think about the issues this brought forth for us, for everyone.

The beasts that come over and then nest in mines, where they can consume CC. Maybe even grow. What will happen when they gestate enough and start to wreak havoc once again? Will they also multiply? With the details of the reports in my hands, they will. None of the mines my Father raided had only one of those bastards. There were multiple of the same kind, of the same variant... tsk. We may already be infested in the east. Not good.

I hoped that Edric's speech at the Union meeting a week ago would be enough, and from what I saw, it may very well be, but we need to act sooner. About... well... right now, I guess. So, I invited Mirian over for a talk outside of the Union meeting, just between us as Avalon and Ishillia's leaders. The others are not yet at a level that could realistically contribute to this endeavor.

I was just thinking about it when I heard footsteps coming behind me. Turning around, I watched as Empress Mirian entered the garden in a flourish of a violet silk gown, speaking with Sasha and followed by her son, Veron. I knew Emperor Milan was visiting his sister, and their daughter, Fila, was in the care of my kids... I was simply surprised that Veron was not with them and was coming along to this informal meeting. Maybe Mirian was raising him to take more and more responsibility... Good. I do hope that Arthur and he can work well together in the future.

“Leon,” she said, nodding at me as they got closer, “When will you gift me a few more machines? I was just trying to liaise with Sasha here, but she refuses to sell any.”

“We can make a deal, but only because I have a proposition here that will need your cooperation,” I replied with a slight bow of my head. “Or you already guessed it, so that is why you are bringing it up now?”

"Maybe," Mirian’s smile sharpened. “A private meeting... That’s what concerns me. I know how you operate.”

"Am I that readable?" I asked, looking at Sasha, who just smiled while answering.

"Sometimes."

"Ugh... Well... No matter. I appreciate you coming in person,” I continued, nodding at Veron, who returned it politely but stayed out of the conversation, only observing it with two eyes and two ears. Just as I guessed, this was his learning years, just when I followed my mother all those years ago... Nostalgic. “What are your opinions of Markoth?" I asked, drawing my thoughts back onto the topic.

"That we must interfere. I guess that is why we are meeting now." She declared, glancing at Sasha, who just shrugged.

“That is a given," my wife agreed. "We already decided that I would visit Markoth myself.”

"Is it that bad?" Mirian muttered, furrowing her brows.

“That’s because this time, I need to.” Sasha nodded, "The monster burrows, the consumed CC mines... They need someone with an affinity like ours to get a read on the situation."

"I'm just surprised that you are not sending Merlin," she said, looking at us and watching as we exchanged gazes.

"He will have a different mission, one that is why I actually asked you to meet us." I continued, "We decided that we need a fortification, one that is... On the far side of the Pass. That’s where we intend to build a fortress. A proper one, to block the monsters before they even enter the corridor.”

"You are mad..." Mirian’s brows furrowed even deeper, but she could see we weren't joking. “You mean to fortify the entry point? ”

"Yes," Sasha explained. “Every year, they push down the Pass. And every year, we hold the line. But we need to build on this, or we will always be nothing but reactionary... If we have it built, we can destroy the tide before it reaches us. If we meet them further out, we will have more defenses ready to stop them from ever getting in.”

“I agree with the logic,” Mirian replied carefully, “but you must know what lies beyond that edge, Leon. That land isn’t just unclaimed—it’s outright hostile. Unstable, unknown, and horrifying. If you build a fortress there, you’re inviting the beasts to your doorstep.”

"They are already coming every year, Mirian," I told her as straight as possible, my tone calm. It was something I had thought about a lot... and I believe the dominoes were already falling, and there was no way to stop it. Not since I began intervening. “Just search in the history books. How frequently did the monsters come before... well... before me?”

Mirian tilted her head, finally catching on to what I was saying.

“You... do have a point.”

“Sadly,” I chuckled, “I have looked through the past, searching all that I memorized, and whenever there was a breakthrough, it was never like this. It was never like every winter had massive beats coming. Hells, even while I grew up, there were many winters when nothing happened. Something changed, and that something is probably the things I introduced. For whatever reason, they are coming, coming, and coming. And we see no end to it.”

"..." I watched as she stiffened, understanding where I was coming from. “I understand. We don't want to be like Markoth... By the way... Is Markoth your vassal now?”

"More or less." I nodded with a weird smile. "It wasn’t something I sought to acquire, though. After tens of years of attrition, they had nothing left. I just couldn’t refuse them—not in good conscience.”

“I'm not complaining,” she chuckled, "I'm just warning you that rebuilding a kingdom may bankrupt you."

“We are not going to rebuild Markoth,” Sasha corrected her. "We are going to reform them, turn them into a second Avalon. Their territory needs a lot of years to heal, but we don't have that much time, not with these winters. So, we will build a fortress for them and turn Markoth into a stopgap. We will support them but also arm them in the future.”

"Can they do it?" She asked, looking at us with a questioning gaze.

"They can." I smiled, "I don't need them to do anything else but hunker down and operate the cannons we are bringing over to them. They have the CC mines, as ravaged as they are, to have ample ammunition. I will turn their Pass into something that blasts any monster into pieces before it has time to get through."

"I do hope you are right." She muttered, arms crossed, thinking, "Who will man it?” she asked. “You can't be in two places at once.”

"And we have arrived at the crux of the problem." I sighed, smiling a little. “That’s why I asked you here.”

"Now I see." Mirian chuckled, copying my smile.

“We want Ishillia to stand with us,” Sasha said. “As our allies. When the fortress is built, we would like you to send soldiers to help us man it—not now, but in the future. Let them train there, learn the terrain, the way to fight monsters.”

Mirian didn’t respond right away. She closed her eyes, thinking for about five minutes before opening them, her smile still present, her eyes akin to those of a fox.

“You’re asking me to risk lives on foreign soil.”

“We are asking you to save lives." Sasha pleaded, "Across all our lands.”

“You know Ishillia’s past." Mirian continued, "We’ve built our legacy on conquest. Fortresses like this remind me of the wars we started. Well... It will be a nice change to do it, not to conquer others but to defend them.”

"So... you are... agreeing?" Sasha asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

“I will send troops, yes." Mirian nodded. "When the time comes, I’ll commit Ishillian steel and blood to hold the fortress with you, even to build it.”

“Thank you, Mirian.” I began, but she raised a hand.

“Don’t thank me yet,” she said, licking her lips. “I am not doing it for free.”

"I didn't ask you to do it for free." I shrugged, opening my arms, "Lay it out. Hold nothing back!"

"Sure." She hummed. "First, I want my own Knights—not just a single machine for me to play around with. I want my own squad. If you want me to play ball, I need the players for it."

"Reasonable." I nodded, already expecting something like this. Honestly, I was expecting her to ask for the airship's designs, but she did not. "What else?"

"Better armor. The soldiers I am sending there to protect against monsters need the same protection as yours. If they aren't the same, even I would think you want to bleed us out. If my people constantly die while yours survive..."

"I get it, I get it!" I shrugged. "We can design new armor for soldiers who are going to be manning the Pass, both here and in Markoth."

In reality, I already had such a design prepared. They were barebones, not magical at all, but still powerful and resistant, better than any heavy armor available nowadays. I am not stupid, and I don't want meat shields on our walls. I want soldiers who can go and defend it without needing to be replaced by some poor bastard because the three before him died in a wave.

"That's all?" I asked, smiling wearily, making her chuckle.

"Just the part that came to mind. Don't worry... I will think of more before we put it into writing." She giggled innocently, making me sigh again, but oh well. It wasn't a bad deal. If we want to secure the land that is behind us, I need allies. Trustworthy allies at that...

...

....

......

Dagar Khun was a majestic city and the ancient home of the Khulmans, whose empire stretched across the endless steppes, conquering their territory during the same years when the Vasas and Ishillians were battling for dominance in the west.

When spring arrived, windy as always, their massive banners snapped loudly in the wind. They were blood-red with sigils of horseheads, surrounded by golden flames. Today, a meeting was being held in the central Hall of Ironsky, their main palace, where the Empire’s leader, their Kahn, was listening to his vassals and their reports, summarizing the passing winter to their overlord.

The Hall itself was no palace of marble and gold, as most emperors would build it. Instead, it was a fortress temple shaped from dark stone and blackened bronze that had seen many wars yet never fallen before its enemies. Within its deepest part, upon the throne of the Empire, sat the current Emperor Tula-Kahn Rhanak, Ninety-ninth Son of Toobu, as they called themselves. As it was an empire that held one of the godly artifacts, the Gauntlets of the God of War, Toobu, there was a legend that its bloodline originated from God himself.

As for how true it was... Nobody knew by now. Still, Rhanak was not a man who would walk around in soft silk gowns. He was a warrior, and his armor was worn and layered—steel lamellar over thick furs dyed in blood. His braided beard was clasped with bones of foes he honored enough to take a piece of them, and his fingers rested lightly on a ceremonial scimitar that was made not of steel but of monster bones. On a small stand beside the throne sat the Gauntlets of War, the godly relics of the God Toobu himself. It was always with the Emperor, always showing that the bloodline of the Gods was alive and well.

At that moment, though... Silence hung in the chamber as the imperial herald knelt, head pressed to the earth, nervously waiting.

“Rise,” the Emperor said, “Tell me what stalks the steppes this year around... Damned beasts...”

"That... that is the issue..." The herald’s mouth trembled. “Your Radiance… it is what does not stalk them.”

The room's mood shifted again. This should not be the case. It was weird enough that this winter seemed calmer than usual. But that didn't mean anything. Or... The moment the thought struck the heads of the others present, murmurs rippled among the high commanders lining the sides of the hall.

“No monsters crossed the northern frontier this winter,” the herald continued. “No beasts came through the Dead Lands, My Lord.”

Tula-Kahn Rhanak leaned forward, his dark eyes narrowing, his aged face hard with lines creasing ever further.

“Are you sure about it?” he asked in a cold tone.

“No, Your Radiance,” murmured the still-bowing man. "But... the other riders are also saying... that it is the truth."

"My Kahn," A man spoke up, stepping forth from the others at the side. He was Hokhun of the Ashen Lance, an aging general, one who was there to stop the very first tide that decimated their northern neighbors. “I lose scouts every season, even when our border tribes evacuate ahead of the tide. Yet this year… nothing? I do find it inconceivable.”

“What do the Shamans say?” the Emperor asked.

“They say they saw fire in their dreams,” An aged, shriveled, tiny woman replied grimly, her face hidden behind a cascade of animal fur. “Flames... Godly flames. Burning deep in the northern mountains. And a sky that wept ash.”

Her voice was like sandpaper rubbed against metal, one that turned heads. Even the younger captains, usually too proud to flinch to show their worth, now shifted uneasily.

Emperor Rhanak stood slowly, the sound of his bones cracking. He walked to the window slit behind his throne, gazing toward the far-off north. He remembered the monsters... And the casualties. “Speak plainly. Did you see signs of slaughter?”

“No, Great Kahn. We crossed into the ruins of the Dead Lands... but not far. Only a few days of riding... There was no fresh devastation.”

"Interesting..." the Kahn muttered, touching his beard and playing with the small bones within it. "Send a hundred riders north." He snapped at the people behind him, "I want to know where the monsters have gone this winter."