"Marv! More coming over the river!" Miyuki heard the ranger shout as she notched another arrow. The second team didn't have a wizard, instead having a reasonably strong battle priest with them. Multiple flashes of searing fire blasted from his small mace, knocking enemies off their feet and causing their clothes to burst into flame. He was also providing multiple buffs in tandem with Marv, bolstering both groups and drastically improving their odds.
"I got them! Handle what's here so far!" a robed man in the back yelled back as he cast a spell to freeze the water temporarily, locking many of the reinforcements in place or incapable of crossing.
"How many do you see?" the second paladin, a man with a mustache, requested as he blocked a crossbow bolt aimed at Piper. The shield held surprisingly, with the bolt bouncing off and creating a small dent. A bright flash was barely seen on the receiving side, acting as a miniature flashbang.
"Still over fifty. Can we really do this?" Dina replied. "Tyran? Can we do this?"
"You're the one who wanted to help! We just joined in because it was the right thing to do! And yes, We can!" the paladin shouted back as he slammed his shield into two assassins, breaking the jaw of one while bringing down his war hammer on the other to finish them off. A gold-ranked adventurer party backed up by a mithril-rank group had come to their aid. Miyuki couldn't have been happier. Tyran wiped away some blood from his mustache and spat, mumbling something about the taste. A minor cleansing wave erupted from him as he cast a [Aura of Purity] to remove any poisons that could affect them. That sadly also removed the ointment from Dylan's daggers.
"Well… crap…" the rogue mumbled out as he resorted to rogue 101, lots of stabbing. "Marv! can't you just blow them up or something?!"
"You expect me to do that on a whim?!" his teammate replied.
"Yes! I expect you to do that on a whim! You're a wizard, aren't you?! You just froze part of a river! Turn them into goop or something!"
"It's not that simple!"
"It's never simple with you!"
"Moooooooore staaaaaaaabbings!"
"Can't you just erect a wall of stone?"
"I can't hear you over all the idiots I've set on fire! Literally!"
Luko managed to get back up with some help from the male paladin, jumping into the fight as well. The numbers continued to come to push them back, forcing their hands. The royal protector unleashed the full power of her sword, carving through four in one swing and turning their bodies into infernos launched back towards their colleagues in a hail of burning viscera and bone. Dylan slit the throat of another, cut the hamstring of third, and threw a knife into the forehead of a fourth heading towards Dina. "All this for two people? What the hell did they do to cause this? And where the hell is the border patrol we've heard rumors of?"
"Probably on the other side of the border, duh! We're standing on it!" Marv shouted out as he cast a fireball at two assailants. Five somehow managed to daisy chain over the ice on the river, crossing the ice and heading directly for Miyuki. "Heads up! Cut those bastards off!" the caster of the Orc Destroyers was immediately occupied with another assassin, bringing up his quarterstaff to block an attack and hold the line, while others defended the young teenager by herself.
"Are we still in the empire?" the half-orc berserker, Nirgorn, asked.
"Technically? Yes, barely" Tyran informed him.
Dina notched an arrow and aimed, but it was clear something was happening to her as she tried to make sure not to hit the kitsune just trying to keep her head down, the princess covering her head and closing her eyes as she had never been in a real battle. If her aim was off, the arrow would hit the girl, and that would be the end of it. She focused everything she had into making sure to hit the lead attacker, with the energy she wasn't noticing coursing into the projectile about to be unleashed towards them. She felt light-headed, her hands starting to give out as the arrow flew, firing off like a railgun and suddenly disappearing. The bow that fired it shattered from the immense energy that it couldn't contain, the force projected through it from its user. Time seemed to slow down for that last second as a blade was coming down towards the girl before the unthinkable happened.
Multiple massive explosions slammed into the ground around the assassins, with unknown bolts raining from the sky with enough kinetic force to cause tremors after their impact. Anything caught by the rounds was blown to pieces. It was like rain from a god coming down to punish those who would dare attack the girl, long rods of metal using gravity to become deadly weapons. All of that from one arrow. Marv's eyes flew open wide, never seeing an archer do that much damage with a single strike. "Holy shit…" he mumbled. Some spells could cause mass destruction, one was even known by him, but he'd never believed Dina was able to come close to that. He also understood that she wasn't anywhere near as powerful as some of the deadliest wizards. He was sure of it because he wasn't anywhere near them, and he knew how scary they could be.
Unfortunately, the ranger was spent after just that last shot, keeling over unconscious from whatever she just did. "Dina!" Dylan yelled out and raced to catch her before her head hit the ground. The concussive blast around one explosion slapped the princess into the dirt and knocked the wind out of her. Well over forty assailants were obliterated nearby, however. "Wake her up!" he shouted to the battle priest.
"Don't know how! She's spent!"
"You don't have a blessing or something like that to wake her up?!"
"Not something that normally is taught in my faith!"
"Then what is?!"
"This!" the priest repeatedly beat an assassin over the head with his mace, bashing his brains out onto the ground. He then caused a wave of concussive force to ripple from his body, knocking multiple assailants onto the ground. He promptly finished the combination with a second spell that caused golden chains to erupt from the ground and wrap around the bodies, most of which snapped the necks of the killers.
"Hell! It works!" Marv replied in the distance as he knocked away the sword from an attacker and blasted him back with a rock barrage.
"What the hell kind of god do you worship?!" Dylan snapped in disbelief.
"The god of justice!" the priest yelled out, pinning another ninja. "You. Will. Repent!" He finished caving in the skull of a prone assassin, looked up at everyone and realized he was covered in blood. "Not a bad day's work."
(Recommended Song: Epic Score – Vengeance)
The rest of the adventurers were starting to be surrounded by the remainder, even if they had the upper hand. Luko backed up and bumped into Tyran, with the paladin taking a more defensive stance. The dark elf blade dancer bounced from one assassin to the next, passing Dylan in the process and taking the head of a nearby target with her as she continued on, a shadow becoming physical through the hundred or so enemies before them. The half-orc, Nirgorn, swung a massive bat that caught three of the ninjas in the arc and threw them down the side of the river skidding across the breaking ice. There was a new problem now, as the leader seemed to mumble something in a shadowy mixed language, causing all of his remaining forces to start multiplying with shadow copies of themselves. "Alright… do we have a plan for this now?" Marv questioned Tyran. The paladin just looked at Piper, who typically was in a good mood. Her mouth had a grimace on it, worried that they had bit off more than they could chew.
That was when a thunderous crack was heard, then another, and another, with a disruptive explosive tossed into the middle of the attackers causing the shadows to disperse in a puff of smoke. The assassins were being picked off, their heads exploding from something firing at very long range, well beyond a catapult or trebuchet. Miyuki had no idea of any weapon that could do that, yet someone was firing them and getting closer… or were already there. One assassin was pulled into the weeds, a sickening sound of a neck cracking afterward. That was when a noise that none of the killers wanted to hear came, something they didn't understand was attached to a potent flying monster.
A silver dragon was out for a quick morning sweep across the skies and noticed the commotion, believing it could help out the adventurers of the Clockwork Empire. A wave of frozen breath washed across the area the assassins were standing on, turning the field into so many art sculptures. The rest immediately cut and ran as the dragon turned overhead, coming around for a second run. There was absolutely no chance of fighting against anyone with that capability, let alone the security team popping out of the weeds in ghillie suits, yellow optics barely seen underneath. The flying citizen was given a signal from down below to stop its assault and head back to its home, which the giant creature complied with.
The princess raised her head and saw that they hadn't been surrounded once, but twice now, with these unknown soldiers just tracking their movement, no other sound coming from the environment. They hadn't interfered at the beginning due to not yet understanding who was the one at fault, Luko and Miyuki, or the ones coming after them. Their assessment was of potential criminals escaping, not of people running to get away from an assassination attempt. For all she knew, they had been there the whole time. "Who are you?" Luko asked, pushing the teenager behind her with one hand while her katana was held out with the other. Both of their eyes shot to the sky as a bright light shown down from above, then two, as a pair of drones tracked their movements.
By the gods, the assassins never stood a chance…
The armor they wore was nothing like the royal protector had ever seen, and they clearly weren't living creatures in any books she had read. Not once was she able to hear them, which was astonishing just how frightening that was to her. They were ghosts. "Customs and immigration are further down the road. If you want to enter The Clockwork Empire, you need to do it the right way, ladies," she heard come from the much larger form leading the team. A massive square shield was strapped to its shoulder like a pauldron, with small bricks attached to the outside of it meant as reactive armor. "As for both adventurer teams, your assistance is appreciated, but not required. Please move along."
"Where the hell were all of you? If we didn't intervene, they'd be dead!" Dylan snapped.
"We were closely monitoring the situation, sir. No harm would have come to them," the commander responded.
"Like hell you were…" the rogue grumbled out as he helped pick up the unconscious ranger. He didn't know if they were telling the truth, with the possibility they would have started fighting right when Dina had fired the first arrow.
"We… uh… I…" Miyuki had no idea what to say, stumbling over her words. This wasn't their main military. That thought had now occurred to them.
"We are requesting asylum within your empire," Luko interrupted as she slowly lowered her blade. The soldiers looked at each other for a moment, not once speaking before a much larger flying form arrived, aiming a spotlight down at their position and coming down with a ramp door slowly opening at the back.
"Reason for requesting it?" the leader asked.
"There are those who would want our deaths within our country."
"Are you criminals escaping? We will return you to your local law enforcement if that is the case."
"We're simple travelers, just trying to get to our caravan." The commander looked at the rest of his team.
"There hasn't been a caravan detected in three days at this section of the border, lady. We should warn you, we can detect if you are lying and consider that suspicious." The bodyguard made to speak again, but no words came out. There was nothing she could say that wouldn't sound off without giving the truth.
Her charge stepped forward and put her robed hands out in front of her friend in a T pose. "My name is Princess Miyuki Shizunagi of the Seong Neow Republic. I come to your country to escape enslavement," the teenager shouted out, making Luko glare at her. The girl flicked her tails out of the hole in her kimono.
"What are you doing?! What happened to keeping your identity hidden?!" the woman snapped at her through gritted teeth. It was an insane move to pull, as they still didn't know if they could trust the military here. "We could have just kept our mouths shut!"
"We were already attacked! They know if we are lying! This could speed the process up! We –"
"Checking with SECCOM of this province. We have a confirmed acknowledgment from higher administration, it's been raised to the top. You two are coming with us," the medium fireteam leader informed. "Correction… standby… adventurer teams, you are also requested to come with us."
"What? We didn't do anything wrong. We just helped, and we're being arrested?" Marv questioned.
"Not arrested. Your presence is requested directly by the empress." The caster looked at Dylan and blinked, then at Piper.
"Weren't we hoping to get an invitation somehow to the ball?" Tyran chuckled out, looking at the rest of his team. "I guess grouping up with of all of you has helped in that regard."
Four Hours Later
(Recommended Song: Two Steps From Hell – Eria)
Eve ran down one hallway to the next, zipping between maids at the White Palace with Tariq following her, eventually being dodged by Jeeves as he spun around and walked backward while keeping an eye on them. Even though the old Artinian mansion was technically the fourth home and not quite as robust in amenities as the Clockwork Castle… or the airships… or the cottage inside the pocket dimension now built into a large house… there were portable systems added in and drilled through walls to provide a somewhat enjoyable stay. Wiring was added for the light fixtures with smart fiber wallpaper, along with mobile generators installed in each room. Cameras were added, with adaptive metal detectors at the doors and an electronic security suite placed in a spare room.
The doors had fingerprint readers on the handles and chip readers, only allowing the visitors for the night to go where they were supposed to go and staying away from where they weren't. The maids, at least the human ones, were coded in for areas that were further away from the ball so as to put less stress on catering. Once they got their first glimpse of an auto maid arriving and taking care of one room by herself in a few minutes, they thought they would be out of a job that night. Thankfully, they were relieved to hear that would not be the case, with Duncan actually standing up for them and… groveling. The empress was perfectly fine with it, even being asked at the end to increase their wages a small bit. They had to go through extensive training to maintain the palace.
What they received was a full package deal, room and board given, with some of the quarters commonly used by VIPs and instead converted into private lodging for the help. The auto maids certainly didn't need any of that, even finally giving the women a chance to have days off to relax every week. To top that off, their pay was doubled at the cost of increased responsibilities and holding themselves to a high professional demeanor in the presence of the nation's ruler and dignitaries. They were expected to always work in two maid teams for duties to speed the process up and keep everything running smoothly while the empress wasn't there. Some of them nearly cried tears of joy at getting far more than they expected. This provided a more personal experience for visiting dignitaries instead of a clinical stay.
The whole place would be stripped down and demolished later, worrying Duncan. What calmed him down was the acknowledgment that a new palace would be built in its place with a few days. This plan wasn't going to happen for at least a month or two.
As Eve dipped around a corner in shorts and a cat T-shirt, with Dahlia quietly following the entire way, Tariq finally caught up as they entered the main ballroom with quite a few walls demolished to expand the size of it to Duncan's dismay. A mural on one of the panels was torn down, showing a great battle from ancient history of how Artinia had come to be, no longer cared about as they altered storage rooms surrounding the central area into more dancing space and seating. Portable tables were erected and covered in fine cloth, doilies were placed with fine china and crystal glasses, the chandeliers were replaced with newer LED systems that could be programmed with ambient settings and even rotate.
The food wasn't out yet, with a wide assortment for most palates to enjoy being concocted in the kitchen, all of it with new high-end equipment that had the human maids in awe. There were even allergen-free meals being cooked, with no giant cauldron sitting on a fire or meat hanging on hooks freshly brought in. Refrigerators were installed, with vegetables from all over with herbs and spices arrayed on the countertops. It was an assembly line, with not just hundreds of delectable dishes, but enough to feed thousands beyond those invited. Spare food was going to be given to anyone still considered poor outside the palace walls. It was not considered alms as most expected, as the standard way of providing the food was the remainder of a dish or table scraps with a trencher. The people were able to enjoy full meals equal to the aristocracy, though without the fine china. This was unheard of, with compostable utensils, cups, and plates.
The young princess shot through another door on the other side as an auto maid deftly moved out of the way, eventually heading down another hallway that led to a staircase leading to the second floor, and finally to her mother's bedroom. It was remodeled as best they could with new furniture added, insulation injected into the walls and paneling layered on. Selene sat in a chair in front of a multi-panel mirror with Adesha and another battle maid, Emerae Orange putting her makeup on. Every time Emerae circled around her creator, her spiral pigtails dangled and bounced from the sides of her head, a bright and peppy attitude with a smile. That smile would follow her into any battle that might include her, potentially telling the enemy that she reveled in combat, even considered malicious as she'd dismember a foe.
Eve's mother opened her eyes after her mascara was added with a spray pen, blinking twice as the little girl ran to her side with Tariq waiting at the door with Dahlia as Emerae worked on her dark red auburn hair. "Hey there, munchkin, how'd your exploration of the palace go?" her mother asked as her daughter climbed onto her fluffy lap, a dark purple robe wrapped around the woman's body.
"What's that big door downstairs?" the white-haired girl questioned.
"Ah… that's… um… you don't need to worry about that. It's pretty boring down there with nothing to really see."
"Okay."
Nothing except a goddess that I haven't yet met and don't know how she even acts.
"Mommy?" Eve asked.
"What's up?"
"How long are we staying here?"
"Two days. Why? You don't like it here?"
"Aren't we going back to the big ship in the sky?"
Selene gently poked the tip of her daughter's nose, making her giggle. "Very astute. We'll be sleeping there, yes. I just don't feel the need to rest in this home right now with so many guests arriving."
"But… why are you putting that stuff on your face down here?" Eve asked as she cocked her small head, the black hairband with two floppy bows on the sides keeping her long white mane from falling over her shoulders much.
"Because I was wearing ordinary clothes before all of this and needed to speak with Tariq's father about things between our nations. Mommy has some things to do before the ball even happens. How are you getting along with him, by the way?" her mother responded. While his son kept Eve company during the day, traveling with them to the White Palace for the festivities and getting the chance to be a kid instead of a prince, Gazi sat around with Donovan and the empress dressed in simple boring clothes alongside Aldemir. It felt almost refreshing to not be studied as royalty and, instead, sitting around in comfortable attire with the dev in sweats. The sultan was good-natured in many ways and quite easy-going outside his own borders. He could finally introduce his wife, arriving just out of a cold front on the ocean. She had a minor illness, which was quickly cleansed by an accompanying sorcerer, acting a bit like her husband. Very few guards were needed, trusting in the empress to honor and protect a VIP and his family from another land.
"He's nice, but really… um… what's the word…" the young girl spoke, trailing off as she didn't have a very expansive vocabulary just yet.
"Formal?" Her daughter nodded quickly. "That's just how he has been brought up. You were both able to play, at least, right?" Again, another nod. "Good."
"Why do I have to wear those clothes tonight?" Eve asked. Her dress was going to be a powder blue with frills at the shoulder straps and reaching below her knees, with black strap shoes. There would be bows in her hair to accentuate her white hair. She was recently taught how to curtsey when introduced to someone, with Melsia providing in-depth instruction alongside Dahlia on how to act like a proper little lady in front of others, at least to a limited extent. She didn't have to act like that all the time, just when dignitaries arrived and saw her. If she didn't understand or know how to act, Eve could simply stay quiet and let Dahlia or her mother speak for her. When she felt uncomfortable, her instructor would have whoever tried to talk to the girl change the subject… or else.
"Because sometimes you wear special clothes for special occasions like tonight."
"Do I have to wear them all the time?"
Selene cocked her head in confusion. "No, not at all. It doesn't fit right or something? What's wrong?" she said, eyeing her daughter and worrying that Jeeves hadn't appropriately measured. Everything that the dev wore felt as if it was the most comfortable ever created.
"No, it's just… I like the shoes I'm wearing now. Those make more noise on the floor. They, um, slip too. I don't like them."
The dev giggled and poked the girl's stomach gently, eliciting a laugh from the child's mouth. "It's because the floor here isn't like the floor back at the castle. Just bear with it for tonight, and you can wear your sneakers again later. I'll check with Jeeves to get some rubber stick-ons sprayed on, so you don't need to worry."
"Okay. Mommy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"You look really pretty."
"Thank you, sweetie. Now, run along for a few more minutes, we're almost finished. I'll come to find you, and we play for a little bit before the ball." The empress felt perfectly fine with allowing Eve to be out of her eyesight with the exorbitant amount of security in the area. The perimeter defense, as well as internal escorts, were everywhere, with hidden turret emplacements ready to pop out if an alarm was activated, emergency caches, and most windows locked. Four security were at every door, two on each side of them. Evacuation plans were in place alongside new interactive maps meant for those who didn't quite have a higher education, telling a person 'you are here' at the arrow and providing directions to restrooms vocally. Despite trying to show she was calm and relaxed, the dev was anything but that.
Most of what she was feeling was annoyance that she was going through a formal act like this, inviting people she didn't really know or connect with in any regard. Unlike Earth, there was no need to have a party of this caliber; there was no reason to socially network with many of the aristocracy, even if half of them were entirely on board with her laws and regulations. While there was some stumbling in figuring out how to work within the system, they eventually started to eke out some wealth. As an old saying goes, "you have to spend money to make money." So many of the old corporate fat cats on Earth didn't understand this concept, continuing to try and squeeze blood from a stone, and constricting employees by keeping their pay low.
The only ones that were still causing issues were the cream of the crop, eventually having a meeting with the empress at their urgent behest during the ball. The rest that were attending this party were all in agreement with what she was doing, looking for new opportunities to expand their businesses. From what she was told, only the ones coming to the meeting were going to wear older fashions, the ensembles far too expensive to waste and show what remained of their old money still around. The rest bought into the new designs, moving into a mixture of Elizabethan era frills and velvet. The bottom rung rich and wealthy were actually enjoying the empire changing things.
Once the makeup and clothes were put on, the empress stepped out of the room, ready for the ball still many hours away. Morlan and Elsei walked by from their bedrooms, both wearing their armor. "Uh, no."
"Your majesty? What's wrong?" Morlan asked.
"The armor. Wear a suit, Mor."
"I… I-I thought you would want –"
"The full plate is good for inspiring heroism and fear on the battlefield. I need you in a uniform or tuxedo to inspire elegance and respect, possibly some terror. I don't need heroes, I need them to see a Director of Internal Investigations." The warrior seemed to look sheepish, the reason seeming to be apparent. Selene rolled her eyes and smirked. "Let me guess, you forgot your suits back at the Clockwork Castle?"
"Yeah…" he replied as he looked at Elsei. He didn't realize some of his luggage was still in his room.
"Well, alright, go see Jeeves. He's tailoring up a storm right now. From now on, have a few pairs here when you're in Aureos. You obviously have quarters here as well, and it's not like I'm restricting you from entering this palace." Both of her subordinates bowed to the empress and headed off.
Just before they turned the corner, Morlan stopped and looked at her. "Your majesty, I had a question if you'd be willing to answer."
"What's up?"
"Would you be willing to allow further training for us?" he queried.
Selene seemed confused at what he was getting at. "You've already gone through special forces training, at least part of it. You're due to another few months to finish all of it. Is that what you're referring to?"
"I was… actually hoping for experience with some of the weapons your soldiers have available."
"Ah… uh… well…" the dev looked away and chuckled nervously. "We… I…"
"We'd just like to expand our horizons is all," Elsei continued for her partner.
"Accentuate your current equipment?" They both nodded. "I'll… you…" She stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Focus on the training you're in now, we'll worry about future-proofing you two later. No telling what we'll do for Boltar…"
"Understood empress, thank you for considering it," the elf replied as she bowed to the woman. They then continued out of sight. She brought up her character sheet and inventory in her Hud, checking over what she had just worked through in the past few days.
Before coming to the White Palace, she had made sure to try and get to level 400, with the intention to, at some point, head down into the dungeon to speak with Xaxara. Having a few extra levels, even if her skills and attributes were already restricted at 500, made her feel a little more in control alongside the Artifact armor and weapons that were crafted. She still didn't understand why her limit was already reached, worried that there was no reason to increase her level anymore, or that there could be a restriction she needed to figure out how to break. A quest of some sort, either out in the field or "finding herself" with some meditation, might be in order.
Her tech tier had finally raised another step, with Early Extrasolar Era now the de facto position she found herself in. The schematics received didn't stun her, with a good hour spent as she tried to make sense of everything smashed into her brain, with the intent that the next tier would improve on what little was learned. The basic premise of it was to start creating space stations outside of a solar system, reaching another star without thousands of years passing, and intermediate level long term space survival without a planet and still stay in a gravitational link to the sun, so the bases wouldn't be left behind as the galaxy slowly shifts. While it was the early form of the triple exploration tiers that allowed to peek their heads out of their star system, it wasn't going to be a picnic. If she decided to send anything out beyond the system's rim, it would be an expedition fleet designed for a long-term mission.
There was no real chance to use most of it yet, as her empire was still just getting up into space with the stations in far orbit, a base almost complete on the moon as well. Most of the work done at the moment was to get the space stations up and running, the moon base online, and the hundreds of probes and satellites launched towards the next planet nearby to check for resources and capability of easy terraforming. Four more mining facility platforms were being constructed in the asteroid belt, with their attachment to other major asteroids coming in the next month. Once the space elevator was online at midnight, and the first space station reached phase 3 construction in two weeks, they'd expand rapidly. The idea was to create more orbital bases even faster, eventually having the prospect of creating a space ring surrounding the new world or others.
All of this work to move mining to asteroids allowed the rights to the planetary mines to be given over to companies willing to buy them up, at least in non-restricted zones. The residual effect was the replenishment of the natural resources found with Selene's skill in Gathering and the unique ability [Renewable Resources]. That would last for at least the next decade before it would wear off, requiring either the government to step in again temporarily, or the mine to eventually run dry after years or decades. This made those mines worth way more than the rights would generally be, not only the original ownership causing a rush to grab them up, but also the fact that they would last a long time. The money given at the auction had to be given to the cities or towns, not the royal government. That gave a surge in cash flow for the mayors to spend on parks and theaters, with more public events happening like art festivals or wine tasting.
A primary concern that had cropped up was the Orb of Experience dipped in the secondary color connected to action points used to upgrade the tech tier. Selene hadn't seen it do that since she started attaching all of her automatons to it. That meant the number of points being pumped into the artifact wasn't keeping up with newer tier costs. She quickly figured out an exponential model for the data and realized that at best, with her empire still being continent restricted, she could only go up another two tiers before it was mostly drained and needed to wait for a refill. While the orb could hold an infinite amount, the dev had apparently reached a critical crossing point that she was taking more out than they were producing. Expansion of the empire was needed, or it would soon take years before she could improve. That expansion was going to be upstairs and underwater. Conquering other countries didn't thrill her, and the effort to put into incorporating the people into her empire and all of its annoyance seemed like more work than just terraforming other planets with new technology or building star bases. Why waste effort on fighting others when there was plenty of real estate elsewhere unclaimed or waiting to be artificially constructed?
That's probably what aliens think out there, if there are any. No point in wasting time on an occupied planet if there are trillions out there for the taking. If someone is capable of moving from solar system to solar system easily, then it is possible they can terraform and colonize with just as little effort, probably not even care about being on the surface anymore either.
(Recommended Song: Jordy Chandra – Coffee Evening)
"I'm impressed with the education of your maids here, empress," she heard from behind. Selene turned around and noticed Gazi walking up smiling, suited for the event in a royal blue kurta with green embroidered leaves through it, coupled with cream-colored trousers. A ceremonial sword was in a scabbard attached to his black belt, cinched with a circular golden buckle. A red turban was worn, keeping his long black hair bundled up. While his shoes were pointed at the toe, they resembled a more conventional design compared to what she observed in Tal Salunbal, likely due to him wanting to dance with his wife.
"Ah, I assume you are referring to the human ones, not my creations. They had some time to read the books I see. I'm working on improving what they know," she replied with a returned smile. He put his arms out for a hug, which she accepted. In the past few days, they had found a friendship quite easy to build between them, with even a few petty arguments to help their neighbor rule more efficiently. Selene admitted it was refreshing, and annoying, for the sultan to tell her to take a bit more direct approach with her troops inside towns and cities, at least at first, even if they didn't do anything other than walk right through. It would show the people they were there, if not in the general vicinity all the time.
"Yes, they know almost as much as my farmers," Gazi chuckled out, with the empress looking sheepish. Artinia wasn't very competent with making sure everyone knew their ABCs and 123s. It was all for control of the lower castes, to keep them under the nobility's thumb. "It's alright, I understand you came into power only recently. I know that face, you feel as if they are not showing the best of your empire."
"No, I mean, sort of." She took a deep breath as he raised an eyebrow at her, the kind of look she'd get from a close friend. "We're doing our best to get things back on track, less war and more a chance for enlightenment for everyone. Education, art, culture. It's… going to be a long process."
"It always is. Our founder for Tal Salunbal did not build our kingdom overnight," he commented with a chuckle.
Rome wasn't built in a day… despite how fast automatons construct cities now…
They both started walking down the hallway from her bedroom and down two flights of stairs towards the inner courtyard. While still cold outside for the sultan, they wouldn't be out for long. "May I ask you a question?" she said as she turned to look up at him while heading to another set of doors.
"Of course."
"How did Tal Salunbal deal with Artinia in the past? Was there ever a neutral or better relation between kingdoms? What about the Kohar Confederacy?"
Gazi averted his gaze and thought for a moment. "That… feels as if that is a loaded question. Given how the royalty of Artinia thought of anyone that wasn't within their borders... were they ever able to negotiate with us would be more apt. The relations between our countries was always poor."
"Did they?"
"Twice if I recall, both times I believe the king, not the most recent be advised, threw a tantrum and stormed out. There was no compromising as we would have liked; he wanted his way, and we were willing to give part of it in exchange for trade rights in the north. You can see how that turned out in the end. As for the minotaurs, they… well, they didn't exactly like that we wouldn't hand them some cropland for free. To them, there was an unused territory that hadn't been moved into yet, they wanted it. We refused as they had no claim, we had plans. That was the end of all negotiations from then on. The Seong Neow Republic… we don't have any connections to, I don't think anyone does."
"Huh." They both continued towards the throne room, now having the wall to the ballroom knocked down to open the area up for dancing and the buffet. The throne itself was also removed, replaced with a new clockwork mechanical chair just like the one in the castle back in the valley. The tile on the ground was ripped up and changed to marble with soundproofing below, as the empress knew the noise of hundreds of feet was going to turn into a cacophony on the ears.