Chapter IV: Speak Softly

Northern Reaches, Qua-Toyne

August 17, 2526 XY

The ship had not been built for luxury. Or so Emilia thought when she stepped into it. It was smaller than the RAN destroyers she had seen in the museums but larger than the ferry boats dotting the rivers of Kiavalar. The back of the ship had been flush, giving way for a helipad that was missing its helicopter. Instead, the space was used for large crates provided by the foreign service. They were filled with goods, gifts and other materials needed by the delegation. She was surprised to see a well-designed interior, resembling the conference rooms of the foreign service headquarters. The air-conditioned space had a large oval table in the middle and chairs around it. Additional seating was lined along the walls and a large TV hung on one side of the room. The people that had entered with her made themselves scarce, brushing up on information and notes about the new nation. Of the 20 anthropologists, diplomats, military officers, scientists and other experts that had made up the expedition, only one had piqued her interest. She had expected a serious, self-centered man, declaring the importance of the delegation and its success. Instead, she spent the greater extent of the journey conversing with a quiet and reserved man. During briefing, he had outlined the objectives with precision, only to ease the mood with well-placed witticisms.

He had explained how the ship that they were on was actually a vessel used for important meetings. Its relatively low size meant that anyone looking to do harm would ignore it and look towards larger prey. While the thought was comforting, she still would have preferred making first contact with a more neutral looking vessel. As it were, the ship had one too many guns for her liking. Of course, it did not hurt to make a statement and present with at least some strength. She was not dealing with a modern nation, but rather a medieval kingdom with a potential for radically different belief systems. On that front, she liked the idea of strength.

Near the last leg of their journey, she had found herself in the dining hall of the ship. She sat at one of the window-side cubicles, going over the last of the details. Truthfully, they hadn't known much, anything extrapolated by the smart people back home was entirely speculative. She misliked relying on speculation. She hadn't noticed him enter the dining hall, nor had she seen him take a seat opposite to her. So, when the commanding voice of Illyen spoke, she was taken aback. "Sorry?" She asked, looking up from the sheets of paper on her hand.

"I asked if you needed anything... For the talks I mean. You requested some things from the Foreign Office and were denied, no? I understand that things got a bit heated." He said for a second time.

"Oh." She replied. Heated was an understatement. She had found herself yelling at an unnamed clerk back at the foreign office, demanding to see the Foreign Secretary. The goals of the expedition were changed, and she found it extremely frustrating. "I'd have at least two more senior diplomats and a dozen other things. I'd also like more info on the damn place, it's like trying to play a game of 'guess it'. We barely know anything about them." She added with exasperation.

Illyen found that amusing, but also felt sympathetic. With a soft chuckle uncharacteristic of his personality, he spoke again. "So, would I. Yet, we must make do with what we have."

Emilia knew the officers of the High Kingdoms Military were subdued fellows, but how could he be this calm in a scenario such as this. She was about to ask the very thing but decided against it. Instead, she took a sip from her drink and asked, "So, how come they sent a seamarshal for such a matter?"

Illyen smiled, leaning back into his seat. "You think this assignment is below me?"

"N-no, I meant no offence. I was just curious. We'll speak about something else."

"No, it's fine. There's not much to it honestly. Back when I was a Captain, I was posted on one of the ships assigned to patrol the Cralasian Sea. I guess I built up a knack for dealing with unpredictable situations there. At least that's what HiCOM thinks."

"And what do you think?"

"That doesn't matter. I was given a job; I'll try to fulfil it to the best of my abilities."

"Surely that's not all."

"No" he replied after a moment of thinking. "I don't know how much headway we will make. In my experience, people tend to be more hostile when facing something new, something you don't understand or recognise." He leaned forward and tapped the papers Emilia held. "And I bet that they'll find us new."

"So, what would you suggest we do?" Emilia asked, curious to see where this would go.

"Tell me miss Ceres, have you seen how the Ceironians and Fazarians deal with nations they deem lesser than themselves?" He questioned.

She had. They had a very particular way of dealing with those cases. It was also something the HKA government would never approve of. "Gunboat Diplomacy." She finally answered.

"Correct. A show of force, just for them to see how much we can do. It makes them much more open to discussion than other, destructive options."

Emilia shook her head; he might have had a point. it was the wrong one. "But then there are two issues presented by that. Firstly, it would set a horrible precedent of force rather than diplomacy. Secondly, we know nothing of their culture. Sure, it might dissuade them from any aggressive measures. But it might just as well embolden them against us. The latter case could even close any window for diplomatic talks, permanently."

Illyen smiled, 'was that a test?' She thought to herself before Illyen spoke, "Agreed miss Ceres, I believe we are in safe hands then. You'll handle the talks just fine, no matter their outlook on things."

"And if I cannot? I don't suppose your high command has quick response forces ready to extract us. Although I guess we don't need them seeing as how our delegation has around forty soldiers as a security detail. I would say it's a bit excessive, although it's not my place to assume that."

"No such force is present I'm afraid. As for the soldiers we have around, they're mostly from Army Intelligence and Army Engineering. A dozen or so are from the Scout Corps. They're not exactly your regular Infantrymen. Make that clear to whomever we are meeting, would you? I would not have them thinking we don't trust them outright."

She had the sense that there was more to it than he was letting on, but she didn't push it further, instead offering a simple affirmation as she returned to her work. Illyen on the other hand had gotten up to leave. "Well, I better go prepare." He said, putting his arms behind his back.

"Prepare?" she asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"We're nearly there." he motioned towards the circular window beside their cubicle. Emilia looked out, seeing a mass of land beginning to come into view near the horizon.

Maihark, Qua-Toyne

August 17, 2526 XY

Prime Minister Kanata was pacing around his office, anxious at what was about to happen. Many thoughts buzzed around his head. He kept them away, focusing more on looking presentable. They needed to make an impression; a good display meant a potential ally against the Rowlian threat. He gritted his teeth as the thought of Rowlia came to mind. The brewing conflict against Rowlia had been long in the making. He had hoped it would take longer for them to attack. At this stage, Qua-Toyne cannot stand against them, even with help from the neighbouring kingdom of Quila. But he needed to defend Qua-Toyne.It was not just about his duty as prime minister but also the devotion he had for the gods. Hark Rowlia had preached a perfidious version of the Faith, persecuted many demihumans, even elves! Kanata was brought back from his thoughts by a voice, "Relax Kanata, we will see this through,'' said the soft voice of Rinsui. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rinsui had been instrumental during his tenure as Prime Minister and Kanata hoped Rinsui would come through for him again during the meeting with the 'new nation'.

"How can I relax? This new nation could be a trap set up by Rowlia or even already allied to it! Even if it weren't, we cannot be sure of their intentions!" Kanata responded with apprehension, and he turned towards Rinsui. The Foreign Minister had been sitting at a table, along with a senior diplomat. The Ministers of Military Affairs and Internal Affairs were also present. The Internal Minister spoke next, "I wouldn't surmise that Prime Minister. They seem friendly enough, sending a diplomatic mission and all."

Rinsui nodded, "They already informally apologised for trespassing as well. I wouldn't take that as something someone with hostile intentions would do."

"They even saved one of our ships patrolling the northern waters! There are rumours that they had giant Iron ships that killed fire dragons!" Joined the voice of the Minister of Military Affairs in agreement.

It seemed his cabinet were of one mind in this matter, it calmed him down a little. "Very well, then we must try to establish amicable relations. We need all the help we can get against Rowlia," said Kanata.

"It'd help if we knew at least something about them. I wish we had more time for a more coordinated meeting." stated Rinsui. This was not the first time Kanata had heard about this, both Rinsui and the senior diplomat had requested that the meeting be delayed so that proper preparations could be made. Kanata had rejected the thought, but now, he thought of relenting. He sighed and said, "Well, they are supposed to arrive soon, I don't think we can delay the meeting now."

"What if we could? I mean, they are here for a first meeting after all. Why not show them the city and get them to rest, tell them you are busy elsewhere and will be with them as soon as possible. They must have come a long way for this meeting," suggested the Minister for Internal Affairs. "While you keep them busy, I can try and dig up as much as I can about them, that'll leave us better prepared."

The rest of the room nodded, "Very well then. Me and Rinsui will leave for the capital to make it more believable," said Kanata as he put his hands on his chin.

"You cannot!" Came the sudden voice of the senior diplomat as everyone turned towards him. "I-I mean sir, if you leave and they find out, they may take offence to it and leave. We cannot risk that."

"Lad's got a point," came the agreeing voice of the Minister of Military Affairs.

"Very well, me and Rinsui will stay in the government building. Inform all the staff, make sure everyone thinks we are busy elsewhere," commanded Kanata.

"Actually sir, I believe I may have informants who might know about this new nation. With your permission, I will contact them. However, it will take some time as they live outside Maihark. I think the Foreign Minister would do a better job at stalling, he is more experienced than me afterall," suggested the senior diplomat Jair. Kanata had known Jair for a while now; he had risen up the ranks of the foreign service due to his expertise in dealing with and uncovering information about Rowlia.

"This can be done..." Kanata replied, turning to Rinsui for confirmation.

Rinsui appeared hesitant and... curious? No, Kanata could not quite place the expression. "Alright, but attend to your informant with all haste. I do not know for how long I can stall them," Rinsui relented with a sigh.

As that was said and done, a soldier rushed into the room, handing the Minister of Military Affairs a small note. After reading it, he spoke. "Well, it seems our guests are here." the Minister of Military Affairs announced.

"Let us make our way then gentlemen," said Rinsui as everyone shuffled out the room to make their way to the port.

At the port, Kanata was not happy with what he had seen. The docks were lined with various ships, merchant vessels. He had ordered the dock to be cleared for the diplomats. He turned to look for the Internal Minister but he had already left. So had the diplomat Jair. "They're merchants, they say they carry goods from Altaras and Sios. They were heading for Gahara before they spotted pirates. So, they came here for safety," said the Military minister.

"That's another thing we have to deal with soon, these pirates are getting stronger every day," replied Rinsui.

Their conversation was stopped as they all saw it. A ship, no larger than a caravel within their navy. It was painted a very dark shade of cyan. It was unnaturally tall and appeared like the stories of old. It was close enough for Kanata to clearly see the flag hoisted on the top of the mastless ship. It was a pattern of lines, blue, yellow, cyan and white. The ship itself appeared to be speeding towards Maihark. Kanata surmised it used a magical means for propulsion. He held his breath, 'Just who are these people?' He thought to himself. It did not matter; he would see them become allies. He needed to.

Barsat Desert, Peryzium

August 17, 2526 XY

A group of researchers in white field research suits were spread around a stretch of desert within Peryzium. They had been there for hours, accompanied by a detachment of soldiers. Celine was one of the researchers there; they had been called into the area as puzzling reports had made way to the Federal Government. Organised and dispatched within a day, they had arrived at the relative location presented within the report. After what seemed like hours of searching, they finally found the source of all the fuss. It was a small oasis within the seemingly dead desert. A speck of life, the lake seemed to have spontaneously materialised when the 'transference' occurred. The thought was still troubling to Celine, she had not completely come to terms with the fact. The conundrum infront of her provided for a good distraction. And soon, she and her team were deeply absorbed in their work. They had taken many samples and done double that amount in field tests. Celine was working with a particular sample of rock when one of the soldiers had approached her. During the research expedition, she had come to work closely with the individual. With a smile, she said, "Captain, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing really doc, just wondering how long you think we'll be here. The sun's gonna go down soon, we'll need to set up camp eventually. If we stay here overnight that is," the captain answered. She was an Ahitereiran soldier who took particular pride in her work. "You know, you can just call me Kira, I wouldn't mind," the captain added.

"We should maintain a degree of professionalism in this matter, don't you think?" Celine asked.

"Maybe you're right. Say, what you guys working on anyways?" Kira questioned, curiosity coursing through her as she took a seat beside the researcher.

Celine appeared unresponsive for a moment, Kira assumed she was too deeply engrossed in her work. After a moment of somewhat awkward silence, Celine replied, "Don't know yet. Well, this Oasis somehow formed overnight. There was no previous record of this place's existence. Even those trees are a day old despite looking fully grown."

"That seems weird."

"Positively. We cannot yet piece together what's causing all this, but similar reports have been made all over the HKA. Some of the folks back at the lab think this was a result of the transference. We're trying to figure out the specifics now."

"Well, shi-" Kira was about to say when she spotted something from the corner of her eyes. "Doc, don't move." She warned as she got up and brought up her rifle. She whispered something to her radio as chatter buzzed on the other side. "What is it?" comes the concerned voice of Celine, who started to get up.

Kira trailed her gun towards the shrubs where she had seen it, "Saw something move, didn't the report of this place also include something about something attacking cattle in the area?"

"Yes, but that was determined to be a fabrication from the local villages. There's no creature out here that can possibly attac-"

Then they saw it. Three pairs of beady eyes stared back at the two of them. The eyes belonged to an oversized scorpion, just about the size of a human. Its brown and orange exoskeleton was covered in dust. It had two large pincers that had moss and fungi growing on them. The otherwise normal-looking skeleton had a tail that split at the middle, giving way to two sharp stingers. It made an unnatural clicking sound before rushing towards them.

Sounds of gunfire rang out into the quietness of the desert, followed by an insectoid screech. Before Celine could process what was happening, the scorpion lay dead in front of them. "Guess those locals weren't lying" Kira mused as she brought up her radio, "All units be advised, perimeter compromised... large scorpions, probably more of them around, converge on baggage train." She then turned to Celine, "Damnit doc, what was that?"

Celine finally noticed that Kira was shaking and breathing heavily. Ignoring it for the moment, she headed towards the corpse of the scorpion. "It's a desert scorpion... that grew and mutated it seems."

"How'd it get through the perimeter!? no way no one noticed something like that."

"Desert Scorpions can burrow into the sand quite easily; I think they can dig through the sand as well."

"We gotta get out of here. Let's head to the baggage train."

The pair heard gunfire all around them as they headed towards the trucks that brought them here. When they reached the location, they saw a battle raging between soldiers and a large swarm of scorpions. From their location, it looked like a sea of brown and orange surrounded the convoy of troops. The scorpions were held at bay by machine guns and automatic grenade launchers mounted on the trucks.

Kira turned to the doctor, "Doc, stay behind me, we gotta make a run for it." Celine nodded.

"Let's go," Kira said, breaking into a sprint, the doctor trailing close behind her.

Maihark, Qua-Toyne

August 17, 2526 XY

The steel vessel gracefully edged into the harbour and slowed to a halt. The docks were too low for the ship to be properly docked. Thus, it dropped two smaller boats hanging from cranes on the sides of the ship. Rinsui watched as the boats then quickly made way to the dock where the Qua Toyne delegation was waiting, leaving behind a streak of foam and water. Kanata had left moments prior and that had left Rinsui and Shinkei as the only senior government figures receiving the foreign delegation. He had hoped they were less arrogant than the Parpaldians whom he had come to loathe dealing with. Rinsui was a veteran diplomat, however he could not help but feel anxious. Many things were riding on his ability to stall them. Many more things were riding on whether or not he can befriend them.

Upon docking, the boats were quickly roped in by servants and dockworkers, it gave him a chance to look at them closely. They were comparable to a small fishing vessel used in the northeast of the country. Although they lacked the sails and rigging expected in an ocean-going vessel. The boats were made of a material unfamiliar to Rinsui but were painted black. A small bridge extended from the boats and settled itself on the dock. Then, out came an entourage of people in strange attire. The clothes they wore were a collection of colours that Rinsui found dull. For a moment, he thought that maybe they were poorer and could not afford the vibrancy of colours that the Rowlians or Parpaldians enjoyed. 'No that can't be. More likely that they have some sort of cultural reasoning behind their choice of colours,' he corrected himself in his head. Rinsui cleared his throat and made a friendly smile, "Greetings friends, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Maihark. I am Rinsui, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This is Shinkei, the Minister of Military Affairs."

Two of the people emerging from the boats stepped forward. One of them, an elf that eerily reminded Rinsui of Kanata, spoke first. "My thanks, Minister Rinsui. It is a pleasure to be here. I am seamarshal Illyen Kanbiran of the Royal Alaxian Navy. This is my colleague, Emilia Ceres. She shall conduct the diplomatic procession on behalf of our nation," he motioned towards the second person. She appeared human, with brown eyes and hair. She edged forward with a warm smile and extended her hand. Rinsui clasped it as she shook his hand. Rinsui remembered this as being a greeting the Mu favoured, 'does this mean they are related to the Mu after all?' He asked himself as the woman began: "Foreign Minister, let me be the first to officially apologise for trespassing on your air space, and it is good to meet you."

"Likewise miss Ceres. The trespass is forgiven; however, it would be helpful if you could detail why, it had occurred... to better help us understand the situation at hand," he inquired as he noticed the seamarshal saluting the military minister and striking up a conversation with him. He turned again towards Emilia as she said, "The circumstances and reasoning behind it can be discussed further when proceedings begin, Foreign Minister. Shall we continue."

They were in a rush. This was bad news for Rinsui, he needed to tread carefully, he didn't want them to run out of patience. "Certainly... However, the Prime Minister is currently busy trending to some... domestic matters. We would like to give you a tour of our city in the meanwhile, it is a custom of ours."

Emilia turned to Kanbiran, who briefly paused in his conversation to nod. Turning back, she spoke with uncertainty "Very well Minister Rinsui, lead the way,"

---------------------------

Emilia had tried to listen to all that Minister Rinsui had been telling them. She found it extremely hard to do. A part of her didn't really care about it at all. As the Minister went on about the various structures and quirks of their history, she felt her mind drift to more novel things like the vacation she had lost. Instead of enjoying a day at the beach, she was riding in an uncomfortable horse cart on a cobbled street. The seamarshal on the other hand was busy talking with the military minister. They had been going at it for the entire duration of them being here. Emilia found it amusing that despite literally being from another world, the two of them had been made such quick acquaintances. Eventually they were dropped off in what appeared to be a large square and some sort of palace. "The Palace of Maihark is home to the governor of Maihark. It also served as the home of the administration of the region. The palace is built to the likeness of the government building in the capital," explained Rinsui as the party listened to him like a bunch of tourists listening to a guide. Occasionally, Emilia asked vague questions to at least present the sign of any interest. Eventually, Emilia found herself saying, "Does this mean we shall be meeting the Prime Minister now?"

"I am afraid he is still delayed. I wholeheartedly apologise." replied Rinsui promptly. He paused for a moment, before adding, "However, you must be extremely tired after such a journey. Would you care to retire within the palace for now?"

Emilia was about to answer before Illyen stepped forward, "We highly appreciate the offer, minister Rinsui. However, our standing orders are to retire to the ship if talks are delayed," he said, netting him a raised eyebrow from Emilia.

"I see, then we shall escort you back to your... ship," said Rinsui, he wasn't a fan of the idea, what if they left? Yet, their wish had to be fulfilled.

While on their way back, Emilia found herself sitting beside Illyen. She took the opportunity to ask in a whisper, "Why did we lie to them? I don't remember any such orders."

"They are delaying, intentionally. Don't know why. I don't think staying in their palace is a good idea right now; call it a hunch." replied Illyen in a similar hushed tone.

Emilia could only nod at that. The rest of the ride back was relatively peaceful, except for the occasional curious glances and stares from bystanders. However, when they had arrived near the docks, they were spectators to a large commotion. Emilia looked at Rinsui, who was just as puzzled as her, "What is happening?" She found herself asking.

No reply came as she saw the minister for military affairs bark a series of orders to a couple of guards, who dutifully ran into the gathering crowd. What she did not notice is Illyen whispering into an earbud. Within minutes, the curiosity of the crowd turned into panic as yells and clangs of steel were heard. One of the guards emerged bloodied, declaring to the military minister "Commander! We are under attack!"

A thousand questions raced in Emilia's mind, filtering out the howling of orders from both the military minister and Rinsui; she only came to her senses when she heard Illyen speak. "Mr. Rinsui, what is the meaning of this?"

Much of the crowd had dispersed and before Rinsui could answer, they saw what had caused the panic and terror within the crowd. Beyond them stood a large column of soldiers, looking ancient in their plate armour and spears, they were barely held at by the military minister's soldiers, who fought a desperate gambit.

"Akita, where are the damn wyverns?" asked Rinsui, foregoing any form of subtlety. The military minister replied, "They're all out on patrol, it'd take at least an hour for them to get back. Seamarshal, miss Ceres, I apologise, but your safety is of our utmost concern, we must escort you out of here." As the group started to turn back towards the direction of the Palace, Emilia first heard the same clattering of steel, then she saw it, more soldiers, like the ones from before, blocking their way. They were effectively trapped in between to large columns of enemy soldiers with only a handful of guards to protect them. The military minister drew his sword, as did a few of the other officers and advisors, and he roared, "Protect the guests! At all costs!"