Three Floating Fortresses in Vanyalond
"This place is huge...." One of the Wyvern Riders comments with an exasperated tone.
He couldn't help but be impressed of it, after all this fortress could easily hold 8 to 10 thousand men judging by how large the surface was, but the underside of this flat surface suggests that there are more than enough rooms that could facilitate arms production or even farming.
"No level of magic could make this fortress fly. None that I know of at least" The Wyvern commander analyzed the amount of cannons and their barrels had, they already knew of chain guns but what was this? It has a sleeker, more clean design compared to the ones he was accustomed with back in training, he didn't even know where the operator would sit and fire in this thing.
"Should we bring back the golem? It's been spraying that weird blue substance and scrubbing the wyvern meat for a while now"
"NO! We mustn't steal from a Floating Fortress, the lords of the floating fortresses have immense wealth, but they also have immense power! Do not make the same mistake the Royalty of the foolish human kingdom Reyn" The Diplomat spoke in a feverish voice, he was visibly scared about all of this, so to were the veterans of the escort, they were terrified of what this place had to offer.
Everyone stayed very close to each other, their wyverns just a few paces ahead of them like a living wall, it cannot be understated how powerful and rigid wyvern scales were.
PSHHHH
Suddenly the Elven group heard an unfamiliar noise, they all turned their heads to see an opening into the insides of the fortress, everyone was tense when the brightly lit room had appeared with what looked like paintings and the banner posted on the walls.
But as they inched their way towards the opening something yelled out.
"Stay where you are! Hands up and do not move, we will let you in shortly" The Elves jumped at the shout and command, instantly revealing complex magical circles and a green hue permeating from the Elvish Riders, the Diplomat also prepared a spell this time however instead of a green hue it was purple.
"Stand back Sir Ilus!" The Commander shouted with a angry tone.
"Ah yes alright." Ilus relaxed for a bit and the purple hue was gone, he was unsure if they could win this fight but by all means they had to fight if the Lord of the Fortress wants to, they have always been notorious at tricking raiders and treasure hunters with their sweet and succulent whispers of fortune fit for a nation.
"Protect Sir Ilus the Diplomat at all costs!" A shout of 'Yes Sir!' and Ilus was surrounded by multiple layers of invisible spells.
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Inside of the Command Room of the Ausmerzer Zwei.
"Hmmm...Interesting" The Commander caressed his chin as he watched the footage from the cameras, the scene of the Elven Group using the wyverns as shields and the Elves pre-emptively casting their spells.
"Tell them to stand down, I'm worried about the repainting costs the Elves would make"
"Yes Commander" A push of a button then the speakers cackled to life repeating the phrase 'Lower your weapons! You will be escorted inside momentarily so stand down!'
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"What the?!?!" All 20 of the Elves jumped when they heard this voice that spoke with an echo, like the Gods are speaking to them from above the clouds, in heaven.
"Sh-should we do as they say Commander?" Ilus asked, frightened by the sudden voice as he looked from left to right while covering his ears.
"I say we keep our guard up, we don't know what the Lord of the Fortress would do"
"We mustn't provoke him any longer! We have a mission of establishing a formal line of communication with the three fortresses"
"Hah. I wonder how the other diplomatic teams are doing"
"We should wait here and let them come to us. They said that someone would escort us inside"
"And we'll all be killed by the monsters in the catacombs of this strange fortress"
"We can't even beat a dragon let alone a Floating Fortress, it'd be better for all parties to hear each other out"
"AGH SHUT UP ALREADY!" Everyone shut up when they heard the ferocious shout, some had already lowered their weapons just from the shout.
"Calm yourselves! For now we wait for the escort AND THEN we negotiate a treaty with him" The Commander spoke and plopped on the ground with his butt, the rest of the group followed suit since nothing has happened so far.
The noise coming from the weird cylindrical shaped objects that spewed fire leaked into their ears covered with noise dampening magic, a type of magic that not only mutes the sound of the target but can also be configured to deafen everything around them besides the targets, kind of like a walkie-talkie with an earpiece that can switch to different wavelengths or in this case mana wavelengths.
The boredom sets in and the gravity of the situation had finally settled in on the group of elves, they couldn't talk much since they had nothing to talk about, some were tending to their wyverns while the others were inspecting their equipment.
"Hey Diplomat! Based off of the formation the Floating Fortresses took. Do you think they're allies or what?" A peculiar question rose from a riders mind and couldn't help but ask Sir Ilus.
The diplomat took a thinking pose, a finger supporting his head from the chin as he wandered in deep thought from his lax position, his back resting against a metal box of some sorts with a propeller rotating clockwise.
"Most likely, there have been accounts from other countries in the West of duo floating fortresses but not a trio, something isn't right about this" Everyone besides the Commander were intrigued by the words the diplomat uttered, there have already been cases of two floating fortresses flying side by side near countries before?
"What did they demand?"
"The subjugation of that nations people" A dark expression was put on the diplomats face as he recalled the archives, a place full of knowledge available to commoners like him and his family, a special place to learn history, the arts, lower military skills and other intriguing things the Federation has wrote down through the canal of time.
"Let's hope they won't be the same" A rider prayed with his memento as he gave a kiss to it, a holy symbol within the Federation, the nail of Medina.
"Looks like the escort is here!" Another rider reports as he took his rifle and aimed at the group of men.
"What the-" Elven men face to face with living shadows, men clad in a dark leathery armor of some sorts with metal helmets and body plates, a far cry from a modern military you would see in the Western world.
"I am Gerhard Schmidt and we will be escorting you to the Commander. You must give your weapons to me and we will handle the rest" Despite the intimidating appearance it looked like these people were reasonable, so the Elves thought, but they were reluctant to give them their rifles, sure they could blast them with magic but the flying things with barrels on it would decimate them in seconds.
"If possible we would like to remain armed.. for safety reasons" The Commander of the Elven Diplomatic Group stood forward with a glance to his left and right, both sides with the same soldiers wearing the dark uniform with rifles held pointed to the ground.
"And you are?"
"I am the Commander of the Elven Diplomatic Security Party, Iliam Bardne" The Commander spoke with a fierce tone and a stiff salute as he introduced himself.
"It is fine. My commander has told me that he permits you to be armed as you will pose no threat" This statement ticked most of the Elves, especially Sir Iliam Bardne.
"We should get going now, the Council and Her Majesty awaits the news" It was a good thing that Ilus rushed in between them, they couldn't afford anymore delays and the situation at the Great Forest is constantly heading towards a downward spiral as the barbarians and the monsters that reside within the Forest continue into the border.
"He is right you know, the Commander is currently waiting for us" Gerhard spoke in a matter-of-factly tone, the distasteful tone of this person was getting into the nerves of Sir Iliam.
"Then right this way everyone"
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"It's so bright!" One of the Elven riders exclaimed.
A corridor lined with paintings of famous german figures and the banner they had all seen outside, this was rather strange, a bit uncomfortable to some but it just showed that whomever the lord of this fortress is, they have a long line of history in a bright white light.
"Who are these people, Sir Ilus do you know who any of them are?" Illiam pointed to one of the paintings where it depicted a man atop of a horse with a flowing cape behind him.
"I am sorry but I don't know who any of these people are, Can't we just ask Sir Gerhard?"
"What would you like to ask me?" Hearing his name, he immediately turns his head around to face them while walking down the spacious corridor.
"Ah. It's nothing" Illiam spoke in a rather spiteful tone in contrast to speaking with Ilus the Diplomat, for what was the reason was beyond Gerhard but he cared not. Atleast for now.
"Woah.." The Elves were wide eyed once they saw this sight, a large room full of people and what looked liked minature metal golems, everything was brightly lit up with chandeliers and wall lights attached on the ceiling and walls. The men just kept conversing amongst themselves, some were participating in activities in another room with a ton of noise leaking in, those weird golems delivered drinks and food wherever, it was like a pub for noble, no, it was suited for royalty, that was how luxurious it looked in the eyes of the new worlders.
"Wh-what is this place Sir Gerhard?"
"haha, it's just the lounge area, the rooms adjacent to it are the game center, theatre room and the sleeping quarters for the soldiers."
"What ranks are these fellows then? Surely they must be of significant rank to enjoy such extravagance like this?"
"They are all soldiers actually"
"W-what? Wait are you serious? What about the other two floating fortresses? Do they have the same rooms?"
"Yes, they were all made by my country, Deutschland"
Everyone of Elvish descent were flabbergasted by the words that have been coming out of this mans mouth, a human kingdom capable of deploying floating fortresses without magic, Illiam and the Security group could only shiver at the thought of more of these fortresses flying above the capital.
'Deutschland... We need to learn more about this country' Ilus just watched as German soldiers entered the theatre room with a box full of popcorn and drinks with wide smiles, those carefree smiles, what kind of soldiers are they if they live such a life like this.
"It must be a very rich and prosperous country huh? The Federation cannot afford the bare minimum of rations for every soldier fighting the barbarians to the east of the great forest, I'd like to imagine having all of this aswell" One of the riders spoke up, Ilus and Illiam however couldn't utter a word to refute the harsh truth, this war was draining the treasury, everyone is sick of it and the Queens loyalist group are preaching for the Queens return as a central figure instead of a puppet the Elders use as cheap political talk to get the masses agreement.
"Let's all strive for an equitable alliance, I hope that our paths intertwine not as enemies but as friends, this was actually the reason we are here Sir Gerhard"
"I feel the same, your language may differ from my language but our cultures and our peoples appearance are the same fundamentally, I've heard all about it from 1st Lieutenant von Waldschmidt"
"You've met the Elven dragon?!?!" The Elven riders all piled onto the question Illiam asked. How could they not be shocked at this revelation? The Flying Ace that fell of from the Royal Family, an outcast in the Elven Aristocracy and Royalty that had been adopted by a renowned Naval Admiral. There have been many rumors and stories about this certain individual and her ventures throughout the open ocean and within the high mountains of the Great Forest.
"We-well can save this talk for later, right now we need you to meet with my Commander" Gerhard took a step back because of the pressure, their expectant eyes and gasping mouths, but they had to continue forward abit, it seemed like they were losing sight of that because of all of the things they've seen so far.
"He's right, the Queen is still waiting for the news"
*cough* "Sorry I got carried away when I heard Ilga's name from you and that she went to Deutschland" Illiam bowed his head, apologizing his attitude so far.
A few paces forward and they entered another corridor, still the same luxurious items posted on the walls with occasional personnel and golems passing through.
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Gerhard motioned the group to stop, he took a step forward and knocked on a dark wooden door, it looked like they have arrived finally, Ilus and Illiam and the rest of the Elves were tired from the scenes, they encountered a golem handing out beverages, dogs covered in metal that had cannons on its back, soldiers that could rival the tallest elf in the federation.
"Everyone can take a seat for now, the Kommandant is busy as of the moment, you can call for me whenever with this phone alright? Just spell out Gerhard with the electronic keyboard and hold this device to your ear"
"Thank you for everything Sir Gerhard, you've done a lot for us"
"My pleasure, farewell for now I've got work to do"
"See you later Sir Gerhard" As swift as a soldier the escort left with the german named Gerhard at the helm, like a pack leader and his pack wandering through the wilderness.
"He seemed like a nice fellow right?"
A minute of silence has passed and the calm music playing inside of the finely furnished waiting room made a relaxed atmosphere, there was a board game of some kind and a moving picture posted on the wall, the cool breeze from the box with ridged holes on it excited Ilus who just couldn't stay still in his sit, the same for a majority of the elves besides Illiam.
Suddenly the door opened to reveal a golem with a uniform on, the animated metal servant walked into the waiting room and held the door open.
"Excuse me. The Commander would like to see you now" It said in an artificial voice in Finnish.
"Ah thank you" Ilus bowed and walked inside with Illiam.
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"Hello gentlemen, how was your experience on the Ausmerzer Zwei?" A old man spoke while seated on a comfy leather chair, the portrait of a man with a mustache behind him, a portrait everyone was familiar with already.
"We have enjoyed it immensely, we thank you for your hospitality Sir.."
"Sir Heinrich Guntram Schunster, I am the Commander of the New World Deployment Group First Lieutenant Ilga requested in her meeting with the Fuhrer"
"A pleasure to meet you Sir Schnuster, I am Ilus der Poppet, a member of the Federation of Meriavel Foreign Diplomatic Corps and this is Sir Illiam din Jani, a member of the security group"
"Let's talk business shall we?" Motioning the two to sit down on the chairs provided.
"That would be appreciated"
"I have already received my orders to destroy the barbarians within your eastern territories with anti-partisan and anti-guerilla tactics and confirmation from Her Majesty, the Queen. But the local governer of Vanyalond is prohibiting us from making landfall"
"We can assure you that we have no knowledge of the orders the Her Majesty has posted, most likely the Elders are withdrawing information from us, the State of Vanyalond can be counted as a semi-autonomous state that functions as a nation within a nation with its own parliament and constitution, what is binding us all is the agreement the great unifier has made in the past and the Queens might enforcing it. What I am trying to say is that the Governor has to get approval from parliament in order for you to land, which would take at least a week or so or a month at most"
"There's bound to be special clauses then? Our Fuhrer has ordered for the swift removal of the barbarians to finalize the alliance treaty"
"It would be most beneficial to have you as an ally, but rules are rules and we strictly abide by them, you've mentioned clauses regarding this and yes there has been historical examples and the Governor bypassing parliament to enact special laws, but we've yet to gain a casus belli"
"Well what about the barbarians in the Great Forest? I've heard that most of the Federations economy is within there"
"We aren't exactly affected by the barbarians, we have lived a well-off life here because of the states coastline and a massive trade route to here and back, there's also the fishing industry and deep sea monster extermination, we have a diverse internal economy that helps keep a sustainable and healthy economy, we pride ourselves with self-sufficiency as Vanyalondian Elves"
"Either way we are going to have to enter into your airspace, we can instead sign a special treaty regarding the Fortresses then, do you have any laws regarding commercial or civilian owned aircraft flying over the state?"
"No...Not exactly"
"Well we just so happen to be a Luxurious passenger ship, all of the things you've seen here are for all intents and purposes 'self-defense systems' only"
"What about the soldiers in the lounge room then? I can argue with the parliament members that the machines on this fortress are for self defense but the vast number of soldiers inside will raise a ton of eyebrows"
"Those are just workers, a majority of them are combatants equipped with protective gear but the other half of the ship is full of civilians and maintenance, nothing to worry about"
"Haah, well if you put it that way.. I can convince the Governor, but we have already sent two other diplomatic groups to the floating fortresses besides yours so if we see any discrepancies from their reports and ours your legitimacy would be hurt regardless of the Queens order"
"Fear not my friend, we are not here to hurt you and your people, we only want friends in this new world"
"Well we can wrap it up here, I think I can convince the opposition with the details here, any time now and you should be able to head to the Great Forest"
"It would help us a ton if we could also set up one of the Ausmerzer Zweis here as a Command Center, just a plot of land anywhere in the state that is state owned that has a flat surface would be swell"
"I can bring that up but it would raise more eyebrows"
"Our Fuhrer only wants the best for his soldiers and his partners in this conflict"
"Us too.. Well we can end it here now, I believe you don't have anymore requests yes?"
"No that's all, pleasure doing business with you Sir Poppet"
"And to you too Sir Schnuster, may our Goddess Meriavel bless you"
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It had already been an hour by the time the Elves checked their watches. The reactions from the Elves was a treat for the German occupants but it was time for them to part ways.
At the Vanyalond Chamber of Deputies.
This building has served as the stage of parliament within the State of Vanyalond, it has been built at the end of the Great Civil War between the Imperials and the Reformists after the death of the Emperor. Much blood was shed within the grounds of this sacred place that holds certain power to govern the people of Vanyalond.
The chairs of the Chamber separated the two parties, those in favor and their opposition, Elven men and women dressed in suits hurled their words like daggers at the other side trying to convince the Governor of the State in this little debate.
"They are encroaching on our country AND our state! Why should we let them inside?!?!" A member of the Opposition spoke with a fiery tone, other members of the opposition nodded and yelled in favor of his words.
"Do you live under a rock?!?! The Federation is under attack by the barbarians to the east! We should welcome the fortresses and let them deal with the barbarians alongside our forces" The same scene erupted this time however it was in favor of the motion of letting the Germans inside.
"That's right! We are already in economic stagnation because of the raiding fleet! Our State Capitol will fall in on its weight before the barbarians step foot on our soil!"
"What would you do then if they ask for unreasonable demands after the fight!? We must consider their goals in the grand scheme of things! They might take our people in as slaves if they're successful!"
"Calm down, we've been reassured that they are not looking for slaves nor do they wish to annex any land within the Federation"
"Mere words aren't enough to convince us. They are lying for sure!"
"We have lie detectors for a reason! And they haven't responded to the words uttered by the commanders"
"That's because it requires mana to operate and it checks the sudden fluctuations of mana whenever someone says something untruthful! This is basic Mana manipulation, I highly doubt you didn't learn any of this in school"
"Enough! THE QUEEN has specifically asked for the support of the Germans! The Queen is higher authority and her power is absolute, going against the Queen is subject to our laws of treason!" Silence for a bit, but the words of those in favor were not heeded by the opposition, they who are afraid of the Germans and what they might do, just like the Human Empires at the other continents who has sent unreasonable demands to the Elven tribes before the grand unifier.
At the upper viewing rooms of the Chamber of Deputies, a group of tall and imposing figures dwelled there as they watched the chaos beneath them, their guards as heavily armored as a wyvern with a force of destruction comparable to a hundred strong men, these behemoths that wore iron were simply known as the Ubersoldat.
"Agh, Das wird eine Weile dauern, wir sollten wohl noch ein bisschen warten, huh?"(Agh, Well this will take a while, we should probably wait for a bit huh?) A man spoke in a sharp tongue while he munched on a caramel coloured treat with his hand simply known as popcorn by the german.
"Ich hoffe nur, dass diese grässliche Darstellung eines funktionierenden Parlaments nicht auf Deutschland übergreift."(I just hope this atrocious display of a functioning parliament don't spread to Germany)
"Der Führer hat Herr Speer zugehört, es würde nicht lange dauern, bis unser Führer von seinen Ideen beeinflusst wird."(The Fuhrer has been listening to Mr. Speer, it wouldn't take long for our Fuhrer to be influenced by his ideas.)
"Ich bezweifle, dass der Führer seine Ideen übernehmen würde, der Nationalsozialismus hat den Krieg als oberste Ideologie gewonnen, wenn nicht etwas Drastisches geschieht, werden wir in Zukunft keine Veränderung in Deutschland erleben"(I doubt the Fuhrer would adopt his ideas, National Socialism has won the war as the supreme ideology, unless something drastic occurs we will not see any change in Germany in the future)
"Beten wir einfach dafür."(Let's just pray so.)
"What would you like to drink Sir Gerhard and Sir Joachim?" The server caught the attention of the two men, they just looked at the guards then back at the waiter, if the guards let them through then the server was clear.
"We'd like some water please" the german who wore a sharp charcoal suit spoke with a soft smile, the server then filled their glasses with the cold beverage then left promptly.
"Die Übersetzer sind aber sicher praktisch, oder?"(The translators sure are handy though huh?)
"Ja, wir hätten große Probleme mit den Elfen gehabt, wenn sie eine ganz andere Sprache gesprochen hätten. Gott sei Dank war das nicht der Fall"(Yes, we would've struggled alot with the elves if they spoke an entirely different tounge, thank our lucky stars that wasn't the case)
Another knock came from behind the duo, this time it was the face of a familiar elf.
"Sir Poppet! So good to see you"
"Its nice to see you too Sir Gerhard and welcome to the Chamber of Deputies"
"Ah, you must be the diplomatic attaché, my name is Joachim Ribbentrop, I've been called here on short notice by our leader, The Fuhrer Adolf Hitler to initiate talks here"
"Yes, thank you for coming all the way here Sir Joachim, terribly sorry to keep you here, we should go to the Diplomatic Chambers now"
"If you don't mind, we can stay here, it's as good as any place and I'd love to hear their views of the Fatherland"
"That shouldn't be a problem, well this calls for a little bit of history about the two sides of the debate"
"Those in favor of the topic are seated at the right whilst those opposed to it are seated at the left, this was tradition carried on by the first elven tribes of the continent where duels and sparring were more common, hence that became this"
"Interesting, tell me Sir Poppet, with the royal order by the Queen who commanded that we let through, there is still a scene like this"
"Well the revised constitution of 1623 act 1 basically makes the Queen a monarch with no authority, the Elders have the power but times have changed, the barbarians are testing the power of the Elders, they command hundreds of thousands of soldiers who aren't loyal to them but to the crown, the Queen"
"Whose side are you on then?"
"I am on no-one's side, I am simply an observer, anyways, the reason the Queens powers were revoked by the law was the death of the King, the King who brought an end to the Mad Emperor at the battle of Meriavel in 10 BME or Before Medina Era, the King died in an ambush set up by the Imperial Terror Cells within the Great Forest while the King commanded a special task force in order to kill the remaining Imperial loyalists in 8137 CME or Common Medina Era, the Queen luckily gave birth to 20 healthy children with our Queen and Kings abilities, many of whom left the Palace and the Royal Family in their own volition"
"What has made the Queen active again then?"
"We are not sure what the cause was, but some speculate she has gotten over the death of the King while others suspect that Her majesty would dive into the dark arts of necromancy"
"Necromancy? Do you mean the magic Sir Falmus use?"
"You know Sir Falmus?"
"Yes, he has actually clashed with our armies when we were still at war in Europe"
"You are lucky he didn't set his eyes on your people, he has a deep rooted hatred for humanity after all"
"We were lucky indeed, the reports of the carnage that occurred in a town where he fought us still sends shivers down my spine, we managed to convince him with a trade deal"
The noise beneath them started to dwindle as the Judge struck with his mallet, "We will be taking a short break, please return in 20 minutes"
A majority of the room besides the Germans stood up and prepared to leave, a few conversations were heard here and there as blurry echoes within the large dome structure with the crest of the Royal Family hanging from above.
"Ah! Looks like we're taking a break. Do you guys want to stay here or should we head outside for a bit?" Poppet asked the germans with a exhausted look on his face, probably from all of that talking he just did.
"We'd like to stay here for a bit, it would be a hassle to move our guards somewhere else"
"If that's the case then alright, I'll bring some snacks and beverages here for the next round of the debate"
"Thank you"
A nod and a smile was all the suited elf made before departing, the two germans just looked at each other with an exhausted smile then they both sigh.
"Das wird eine Weile dauern..." (This will take a while...) Ribbentrop spoke with the same expression of dread and exhaustion on his face.
Gerhard couldn't agree more.