Beacon of Hope

Princess Tactician, the nickname given to her amongst nobles and other influential figures from military background. Despite being young, Leona anticipated where and when death angels would arrive, though the threat was taken lightly by many since in theory, they were only known as territorial beings sighted in the far eastern lands and as such thought to be only a menace in that region.

But upon studying more about magic currents, Leona noticed a strange pattern in their behavior, that being why they never moved from the eastern region, much like how global wind currents come and go as the temperature rises or lowers, great changes were occurring in the magic currents of the world because of the end of the war. With that she theorized that there would be a chance the death angel would migrate from the east towards the west. The first battle ever fought against such menace was the Battle of Lugna Plains, the green small hills that formed seemingly endlessly towards the eastern mountain range were painted crimson. At the time nobody knew how to kill those abominations as they came in different forms and sizes, many could fly, others could attack at range, but every single one of them was driven by one thing. The hunger for human flesh.

After rumors spread about the massacre and how total defeat was avoided due to a battalion of knights sent from a certain Arcadian noblehouse, many of the Citadel's efforts were to prevent such things from happening again, though it wasn't long before reinforcements from the capital stopped coming and eventually they were left to fend the fiends on their own. Unbeknownst to Leona, the Crossford family used to have a sizable army of knights at their disposal, but since many didn't return from the battle of Lugna. Knowing how dangerous their expeditions were, many potential servants shied away from her family, leaving them only known as people to avoid.

"Even if you don't wish to fight the horde at your doorstep, aren't you simply sending soldiers to their deaths if they go outside the protection of the citadel walls? That is the same as throwing away your only advantage against those things!"

Leona was having an intense discussion with the commander about the strategic decision of bringing the fight to the enemy instead of waiting inside the safety of the walls. Though even with every logical explanation possible, commander Kurt didn't seem to budge about his own approach to the matter and instead was insisting on how it was the best for the general populace to not have the battlefield on their doorstep.

"Princess Leona, how can the people of Akrapocalis live without worry if the death angel threat is so close to our doors?"

"Tossing their lives away for a facade for the common folk is just as absurd!"

"Ours is a city of innovation, if the brilliant minds of our engineers can't focus on their tasks how are we supposed to progress forward in exterminating the death angel menace?"

"Huh?"

The look of doubt became obvious on Leona's face as the commander mentioned a way to defeat death angels. As it was widely known at this day and age, death angels were practically immune to anything that wasn't holy magic, until now that is. Her astonishment amused the tall dwarf, prompting him to call one of the workers to bring him one of the experimental weapons they called rifles.

"Hey, someone bring me the experimental rifle for our guests to take a look at."

Leona's eyes sparkled with interest upon seeing the weapon up close on the worker's hand. Unlike the muskets which had to be loaded with gunpowder and then with a steel shot, the mechanism was loaded from the top with individual round casings holding the projectile already loaded with said gunpowder, the gun itself housed five rounds which could be increased to six once one round was loaded inside the firing chamber. The whole design was much more polished and elegant than what her mother had originally invented, which was already considered a huge step forward considering most of the human populace couldn't cast even the most basic spells at the time.

Upon being handed the rifle, she was surprised by its weight, being heavier than what she had thought to be. The finely crafted wooden stock sat comfortably against her slim shoulder as if it was second nature. She was given a few dummy rounds by the aforementioned worker and upon understanding the mechanisms of the gun, she nimbly pulled the bolt back, opening the top breach, loading five rounds before chambering the ammo before pulling the bolt back once more to load the sixth bullet.

"This is… amazing. That aside however, how is this weapon supposed to kill a death angel?"

"Oh it's not about the weapon itself, although that plays a major part in it. Once you go to Londria you'll be able to talk to the inventor himself. I'm not some kind of engineer, I just keep things running along the battlefield."

She pulled the bolt back, which ejected a round which she caught midair. She inspected the ammo by rotating it around her fingers, the brass metal seemed odd at first but upon thinking about it a little more she remembered a class back in the academy that mentioned how that specific kind of metal was more resistant to corrosion. She handed the gun back to the worker who was waiting patiently to go back to his post, then turned to the commander who had an amused expression curling up his face. Leona briefly cleared her throat before saying.

"Interesting. Well then… if you truly believe this to be a good strategy then I won't question it, after all this is something I did not account for."

Meanwhile Krieg stayed right behind Leona, as if looking after her and Phoebe was further back still, looking around the place with Lest beside her. The commander chuckled before offering her a way by standing sideways as his big right hand showed a clear path between the storage mess.

"I'll show you to your transport, this way."

The group followed suit, though Frey already knew of what was in store for them, Lest was just as curious as Leona as they traversed to the far corner of the supply depot, where the mountain of stacked wooden boxes started to clear up.

"Wait… what is that?"

In the very middle of the spacious depot, there was an unusual contraption made of metal and wood, it looked like a bathtub in Leona's eyes but since it had two thick boards made of wood and dark spiked wheels suspending the whole thing off the ground she could easily guess that it wasn't the aforementioned bathing recipient. Around it there were three workers wearing different uniforms from the rest, while the majority wore green overalls they had a finer blue velvet coat and held stacks of paper with a thin ballpoint pen which Leona also had no idea what it was.

"It's a motorized snow vehicle. We call it sledge."

Frey started to explain.

"Though this one is technically a failed prototype since nobody can run this thing at full capacity without going through a mana shock."

Phoebe blinked a few times, seemingly outraged by the foolish idea before saying.

"Don't tell me this thing feeds on the mana of its user."

"Not on the mana specifically, but the spell. Fire spells that can cause small explosions are used to move the cylinders inside the engine which propels the whole thing forward. The thing is though, we don't have lighter materials to build this thing with and if we used wood for the whole construction it could potentially become a fire hazard for anyone inside."

Notably, Frey seemed very knowledgeable about it. Leona on the other hand couldn't believe what she had just heard, the idea to use explosions of a spell to make a hunk of metal move was just too bizarre for her to believe, yet she wasn't about to dismiss everything the captain had just said. She knew about the existence of engines but only for the sole purpose of moving machinery for material processing and production of goods. Not in her wildest dreams she imagined to have the opportunity to ride a horseless vehicle.

Frey let out a somewhat relieved sigh whilst looking at Leona.

"Or that was the problem until a few days ago. You see Princess, sir Krieg here told me some feats you are capable of and to be frank I was quite intrigued by his tale. A blue flame spell is notoriously known for being highly destructive and coincidentally, our manafication engine works on the principle of using explosions in order to move the inside parts to create movement but the main issue was the lack of a powerful mage in the first place."

Leona gazed upon her hands, she was still getting over the fear of her own powers, but at the same time she knew how important it was for them to succeed in this mission and if that vehicle really worked to their favor, it was a chance she couldn't miss.

"Then I assume it hasn't been tested before?"

Krieg voiced his concern from over Leona's shoulder. It was imperative that he'd ask about it since if they were to ride it, he needed to be completely sure that his liege would be safe.

The Princess braced herself by closing both hands into tight fists close to her chest and taking a deep breath looking at Frey straight in the eyes.

"Very well. When can I test this invention of yours?"

"Right now if that's alright with you Princess."

Kurt chuckled as he turned around giving his farewells.

"Until we meet again Tactician. Hopefully our next encounter will be on a more positive note."

Without saying anything back, Leona simply nodded as the towering man walked away. She couldn't quite hide the bitterness of knowing that soldiers were sacrificing themselves if there was an easier option, but that wasn't her battlefield nor her people. She started to follow Frey amidst the heavy populated midsection of the depot, all the while noticing the various stares and whispers coming from the crowd.

The motorized sledge was elevated just a little off the ground, the platform itself was round and it could rotate on its axis for easier positioning. Once Leona came closer she noticed the previously hidden chains now hanging from above the prototype with heavy looking materials, at first it made her uneasy but seeing Frey casually stroll under it made her feel safer. The captain raised her hand in a greeting to the nearby engineer who had his hands full with notes and a wrench which had seen some use since most of the metal had a lot of visible scratches. He raised his hand back and with a short nod he greeted her back.

"Hello captain. We're done with the last touches, we added frostburnt silver for the piston parts as well as the explosion chamber as you instructed, but are you certain that this will work? The extra magic mitigation will make it safer in theory but wouldn't it make it more difficult to move the parts even with magic?"

Frey chuckled, before shaking her hand in front of her in an apologetic way.

"Trust me, those parts won't last long if what I heard is true. I already have our mage here to test it out."

The captain stepped to the side letting Leona take the spotlight for a moment as all three engineers approached her with bated breath, as if they were looking at a godly artifact of some kind, albeit also maintaining a healthy distance from her.

"Welcome to the main supply and armament depot."

One of the engineers greeted her.

"If you wouldn't mind, we would like to see your magic in action as soon as possible."

Another showed her the way to the contraption by walking along with the Princess. Krieg maintained a consistent distance from Leona in case he needed to protect her.

She climbed up the elevated platform and stood right beside the strange vehicle. It was made to tightly fit three people with one of the leather cushioned seats facing the rear of the transport with a hatch giving access to the circular explosion chamber. The front seat had a steering handle made of metal which was easily on arm's length and a sturdy looking lever protruding from the floor of the vehicle.

"This allows you to steer the whole thing."

Frey approached Leona's right side while pointing towards the horizontal handlebar to introduce her to the. She then moved to the lever down near the seat.

"This is the brake system we developed in a hurry so it might not work as intended. So we'd rather have you not rely on this."

"Right… how can I test this engine of yours before you explain to me how this vehicle works?"

"Oh, it's right here."

The captain tapped the back seat's leather cushion a few times.

"See that small hatch? If possible I'd like you to release a small quantity of the fire spell you've been known for. Don't worry about the explosion, the hatch closes itself to prevent you from harm."

Leona shifted her weight from one leg to another as she sat down on the rather stiff seat. She adjusted her back comfortably before taking a deep breath with both hands close to each other. All the engineers gathered around to witness her power, all the while Krieg and Phoebe watched from afar hoping everything would be ok.

"Alright, here goes."

Her eyes closed. She pictured flames inside her mind turning blue as they raged fiercely, consuming every drop of air around into a blazing inferno. Once she opened her eyes again, there was a vibrant blue flame, smaller than a golf ball, swirling between her hands. Everyone around was in awe as she let go of the highly explosive ordinance, tossing it inside the chamber.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as the orb of fire entered the engine. The hatch thankfully worked as intended and closed the moment the spell entered the chamber but then right after it there was a ground shaking rumble as the engine started to move, puffs of smoke from the explosion's leftovers exited the exhaust pipe below the vehicle.

Everyone was taken aback, even workers that passed by stopped to marvel at the working invention, it was just the second time in many years that it worked inside that depot, it was thought to be just a failed prototype until just now.

Leona on the other hand was dumbstruck, being inside the vehicle meant she could feel the rumbling of the manafication engine going through the seat directly to her bones, it was an otherworldly experience though not an unwelcome one. She looked at the people surrounding her immediate vicinity, all of them staring at her holding their breath.

"Did it work?"

Leona cluelessly asked while staring at each one of the unknown faces looking at her. Captain Frey grasped Leona's hand tightly with eyes full of tears.

"If it worked? You did more than that! You saved a lost dream of mine!"

"We did it captain!"

"Hooray!"

The cheers seemed endless, hearing those voices of joy made Leona feel happy inside. After so much time loathing the powers she had acquired through studying and hard work a small sense of relief filled her mind. The strength that was nurtured by her mother seemed pointless until just now, Leona blamed herself for misusing the powers taught to her and in result, never moved on from it and even before she could make amends to her past errors, her mother died in front of her eyes.

'Thank you mother for allowing me to learn by your side.'

She thought as the cheers started to fade as distant sounds in her ears. Instinctively, her eyes looked around, everyone seemed to move slower until they stopped completely as if she was being locked in another time and space.

"Not bad at all Leona."

An unrecognizable male voice echoed in her head. Without showing any sign of surprise, Leona called out towards the speaker.

"Is it you that did this?"

"Hah, is that the first thing you ask a mage you just met? I'm here to warn you of this expedition, if you are unprepared, one of you will surely perish. Ask the elf captain, learn what you can of the Arc family, they'll be an asset in Londria."

The tone of his voice caught Leona's attention somewhat, which prompted her to try and prolong the situation.

"Wait-!"

But it was in vain, the moment she uttered her voice the world seemed back to normal and everyone was still cheering as if nothing had ever happened. Without being able to ignore what just transpired, Leona decided to talk to Frey but without all the prying eyes aimed towards them. The Princess tried her best to speak louder than the current shouts of cheers, but just loud enough so nobody but her would hear.

"Captain Frey, I know this is sudden, but can I have a word with you?"

"Huh? But of course! We still have some time to do a few last changes before you can depart."

"What can you tell me of house Arc?"

The happiness in her face suddenly vanished as those words left Leona's mouth, instead, her gaze seemed to wander aimlessly as her voice cracked under the stress she was put in.

"M-may I ask why you require such information?"

Noticing her strange change of behavior, the Princess decided to prod a bit more on the matter with her.

"It's just some rumors I heard about them, but I'd prefer if you could tell me more about them."

Frey looked around nervously waving and nodding her head to disperse the attention towards them before doing very subtle motions with her hand for Leona to follow whilst quietly saying.

"I have a private room where we can talk, come."

The Princess nodded and stood up from the leather seat, Krieg noticed them walking away but before he could follow, Leona dismissed his worries by closing her right hand into a fist in front of her chest, telling him everything was fine.

Both walked away from the curious crowd towards the back of the depot where there were individual rooms set up for the higher ups, although they were made of metal just like the rest of the depot. Inside, there was a coiled metal appliance near the far wall along with a bed with missing sheets. In the middle of the room there was a simple wooden table with two chairs, one on each side of the table.

Frey moved closed the door behind Leona and took her hat off on a coat hanger near the doorway.

"Take a seat, I'll get you something to drink while we talk… about this curiosity of yours."

The captain went around the table and filled two mugs with dark hot liquid from a tall recipient before turning around to serve the Princess and sit on the opposite side of the table. Leona looked at the strange beverage sitting in front of her.

"What is this?"

"It's called hot cocoa. The commander said we should have it every once in a while to calm down the nerves."

Leona took a sip of the beverage and was pleasantly surprised by the sweet taste as the toasty liquid warmed up her cold cheeks.

"The flavor is quite good, I didn't imagine this quality of beverage being served to soldiers."

"Well it was the commander's idea."

Frey melancholically swirled the warm liquid inside her mug before sighing deeply.

"About the Arc family. I won't ask who told you about this, but they once were a proud generation of engineers in Londria. Building and inventing all manner of things, from improving the city's life conditions to fend off enemies from the kingdom's borders. It was all thanks to them and their innovations of machinery and magic that made the great northern glacies habitable."

Leona couldn't help but wonder why she was warned about such a family that seemed to be the sole reason why the whole Londrian Empire still stood in the frozen regions of the north. It all seemed too great, until before Frey finished her sentence.

"Arc, is our former family and the sole reason why we cast our names aside. Because they are the reason why death angels exist."