V10: Chapter 2

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  Interlude: Celia

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  “It could all be lies.”

  “It doesn’t matter if they’re all lies, what matters is that his people believe in his words. As always, in his lands, his word is truth.” I walked with Catherine through our newest factory. We walked on walkways suspended above a long and massive fabrication floor. Beneath us, looked after by Necromancers, were Skeletons doing the same tasks again and again. Here, in this factory, they were assembling our newest line of rifles of the same model used by the King of Wisdom’s forces against the Death Lord. We were producing so much that it was easy to sell them to our allies… and fuel the war over the Warden’s Citadel. “Have you finished taking account of all the people who disappeared in the last few months?”

  “I did. Over three thousand disappeared across all our lands. Most of them… were holding menial jobs. Shopkeepers. Tavern workers. Carriage drivers. Individuals who can gather information with ease, but could do no or little harm.” Catherine didn’t need to say it. Perhaps, these Iterants were truly as the King of Wisdom said they were. A people from the Ancients who wished to observe us, who opposed his rampant seizure of lands, and who he implied were the reason why he stopped his advance against the rest of the nation. “The highest position we found was a clerk for a clothing manufacturer that made produced winter jackets. They were all capable workers… and they’re missed.”

  “When the King of Wisdom called on them against the Wardens, they fought and died by his command.” I did not know if I was reminding myself or Catherine. We reached the mid-point of the factory. The rifle was assembled. Now, it was being packed into crates. Five rifles per crate, wood shavings keep them from jostling, and the walls of the crate were lined with tins filled with bullets. In moments, hammers sealed the wooden crates, a thin layer of wax applied, and they were hauled off. A crate will be selected for every batch of two hundred and searched for defects. “They seized another Divine Engine. The opposite of their current one from those who betrayed them to join us. We don’t even know what they can do, yet the King of Wisdom rid himself of thousands of informants and spies for one of them.”

  I did my utmost to see past the surface, to think, and place myself in his place.

  He had so many advantages at his disposal. His lands were the most populous, his technology ahead of us by years, and his industry was something we could barely match with new innovations and espionage. Then, there was his military. He had nearly fifty thousand professionals separated into four armies, with dedicated support wings, supplemented by Citadel Guardians, the finest transportation network in the continent, and finally they will soon each have a flying fortress to support them in combat. The cost of all of that was immense, only possible through his four Citadels, and the wealth generated by his citizenry through the selling of goods from factories.

  His hands were tied with development and construction, yet still he rid himself of a key advantage solely for what he called a Divine Engine.

  “Catherine, we need to discover what those are. Or, perhaps, we need to send out another expedition in hopes of finding one for ourselves.” Catherine paused at my proposal, ceasing to float by my side for a moment. I knew why. We have just sent one out there mere months ago and haven’t heard of them yet. My knights were out there, amidst the enemies of our ancestors, and toiling to find something in those lands to bring back. “I know. I said we can barely afford to send another out there now... but I can’t risk you and the others in the King of Wisdom’s lands. He will have his finest defending them, and he will not spare you for a ransom. Our only course is to search for the truth ourselves.”

  I descended at the end of the factory, onto a loading dock, where containers awaited. Each one held a hundred cases of rifles. Five hundred rifles, and the rest of it was filled with boxes filled with ammunition. A nearby factory was filling containers with our attempt to mimic the rations of the King of Wisdom’s army, while another was producing winter uniforms. Four containers and five hundred mortals can be armed, clothed, and fed for a month.

  The King of Widom had this long ago, yet our nation’s coffers were becoming flush with gold as we began to sell it to our erstwhile allies.

  He had kept it all to himself to maintain his advantage.

  A part of me screamed that there was a reason why he did not sell his old stock of weapons and take the riches I was now amassing, but with the cost of the recent civil war, the entombment of so many noble clans, and we need to improve… I could not ignore it.

  “Take the proceeds of this sale and prepare another expedition. We’ll take on a debt from the Merchants if we must.” I drink from a multitude of poisoned chalices now. The teachings that I was raised upon barely assisted me as I ruled my new nation. So many voices clamored for my attention, so many desired so many different things, and I struggled to decide, to plan, and to lead everyone through the calamities that loomed over us all. “A great and terrible war is coming. Perhaps the final war, before the enemies of our ancestors finally reach us. It will decide everything.”

  Catherine bowed at my words, and I stared at the departing shipment filled with bullets, uniforms, and rations.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Once it reaches the Merchants, I will not know where they go. Wealth will change hands, and soon enough, money will change hands, and the shipment will follow it. Will it embolden the defenses at the border between our lands and the King of Wisdom’s? Or, will the weapons reach the lands of the Wardens, where everything has collapsed and multiple factions fight for the Citadel once controlled by Khalai? The land where so many are dying to take one more Citadel?

  I gazed at the sky.

  Smoke rose from the factories and filled it, casting everything in darkness, and when they grow too heavy gray ash will fall.

  I spotted one such mote of ash and held out my hand to catch it.

  Children no longer play outside on the streets any longer. They all attend academies and spend time in dorms. Goods fill the shelves of markets, and many clamor for them, but our landfills are expanding more quickly because of their fragility. Though we do our best to help our people, there are still those who live in squalor and poverty. Our hospitals report more cases of malaise, as well as loss of interest. Even as we scramble to emulate the places where people can relax in Jack’s kingdom, more and more of my people suffer.

  The cost of our empowered industry, our newfound strength, and our wealth came from the suffering of my people.

  No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to reach him.

  I read the reports by my delegates and the staff that followed them.

  The streets of his capital were wide and expansive with trees on the sidewalks and as barriers dividing lanes going different directions. The buildings were tall, clean, and windows with glass planes were the norm. Every building was spacious and filled with light, and the clothes of the people were simple but rugged and vibrant. Small businesses were aplenty, children spent time with their parents happily out of schools, and those parents were often making more children with one another. The resort where they stayed was one of luxury and leisure. A place where every worker could visit at least once a year, so that they could be free of obligation and concern, as the fruit of their own labors.

  There was no squalor, no one without a home, and even with our efforts to spread the misdeeds of their king… no discontent.

  The more I tried to emulate him, the more I tried to do as well as him, the more I felt that was but a fool dancing in the palm of his hand.

  But that doesn’t mean I can simply give up.

  Not after all the deaths and departures I have caused.

  Not with all those who I am responsible for now.

  I let the mote of ash fall away from my hand, and felt Catherine’s hand on my shoulder.

  “Focus on the good that you have done so far, Celia. Without this, without all that you’ve done, we’d be there fighting for the Warden’s Citadel against the Merchants and Forgers. It is thanks to these changes here and in the Academy’s former lands that we have enough to stay out of the current conflict.” I always shared my concerns with her. The weight was too much for me to carry alone. Advisors from the new factions in my lands came and went, their councils appointing new ones every few months, as to prevent power from pooling into their hands. Now that they were entrenched against their foes, they were casting their gazes upon their own organizations in search for power. I knew this, because I was making sure that they never gathered enough to challenge my rule. “We can make things better once we are sure of the future of our people.”

  A thought bubbled up to my lips.

  Though I hesitated to say it aloud, I allowed myself to speak to my teacher.

  “Would we not be sure of the future of our people if we accepted Jack’s rule?” Catherine was silent at my words. Her ghostly visage stared forward, not looking my way, as she maintained a stoic mask. “We’ve destroyed so much. We’re losing so much. All for the sake of filling the world with weapons by selling them to the Merchants so that we can fill our coffers. It may lead to a better future, but what if I had just bowed my head?”

  “You couldn’t have. And, right now, you can’t.” Catherine spoke frankly and harshly with a tone that I almost forgot. It was the tone of a teacher. My teacher, even before I joined the Academy. Many times, in my formative years, I had listened to this admonishing tone that sought to prevent me from making mistakes. “The nobility would’ve stripped you of all your power and waged a reckless war that would’ve left us all nothing more than serfs. Now? You would be deposed, our lands set alight by the new powers we’ve created, and again we would be subsumed.”

  “I could’ve spoken. I could’ve bowed my head, and pleaded to be heard. Perhaps, I could’ve swayed enough hearts. Perhaps, I could do so now.” I protested.

  Catherine’s reply was simple and brutal.

  “You are not the King of Wisdom, Celia. You know this. He seizes moments, takes them apart, and pries from them impossible results. That is why he leads. You lead because you are the best of the Guardians of the Moon.” My limits were clear. My lack of ability came forth from my teacher’s mouth without hesitation. Then, the stunning words. The best of the Guardians of the Moon. I looked at her and there was no gentle smile, no encouraging grin, or even a nod of acknowledgement. Only stoic, resolute belief. “No other could’ve done what you’ve done. The Guardians of the Moon are here now, capable of seizing a brighter future despite all its flaws, because of you. You are not him, but you are better than any other leader besides him.”

  She floated forward and faced me with her ghostly visage.

  Then, she bowed to me with her hand over her heart, before raising her head once more.

  I am no longer a child whose hands she can hold, and assure that all would be well if I did my best.

  “I know no other amongst the Guardians who could’ve done as you have, Celia. Be assured of that.”

  With those words, she went away to do as I bid, and amidst the narrow streets I turned my gaze past the squalor, the dark clouds, and looked upon the Citadel looming overhead.

  The ring on my hand that controlled it felt as heavy as a mountain, but thought of removing it and giving it to another amongst my people never crossed my mind. Having it taken from me by the King of Wisdom as my people were defeated? Yes, along with the wreckage of the city around me and everything we had expended, that thought did occur.

  But I knew not one other amongst the Guardians who would go to such lengths, let alone do away with traditions and empower others as I have.

  Perhaps… perhaps that was enough for now.

  I took a shuddering breath, then forced myself to walk forward, with back straight and eyes facing forward. Whatever comes next, I will do all that I can for my people, even if it costs me my life, my pride, and my legacy. If that entails surrendering to the King of Wisdom, and my head being taken from my shoulders, as to ensure my people’s survival? So be it.

  But until that time comes, I will strive to ensure all the sacrifices my people have made are not lost.

  The Guardians of the Moon have earned the right to try to inherit the Ancient’s will as any other nation that now stood.