Forever Future 1.7 PBEM game

[Max_Smirnov]

Leonardo's Invention

It was a rare sunny day in the Forest of Isis, just a few miles south-west from the outskirts of Thebes. The summer of Kingdom Year 2322 was in full swing, and the large clearing where the strange contraptions stood was filled with bird and human voices. Princes Azuria couldn't tell what purpose could these machines serve, or tell what the mock-up wooden army on the other side of the clearing was for, but she could definitely smell brimstone in the air. That was at least a bit curious.

"I have answered your summons, sister," she said, approaching Cleopatra and her staff, including her sister's all too pampered advisor, Leonardo. "But what about that ridiculous suggestion to wear armor?"

The Queen shrugged, her perfect-fit plate mail making almost no sound at all. "Glad you were able to make it here," she adressed Azuria coldly.

"Like I had any choice, after you took my command of the fleet away," the princess squinted her eyes.

"Oh, the fleet." Queen's voice was dismissive. "Morningstars are history. You aren't exactly fit for coast guard duty."

These words stung, even if Azuria understood the truth behind them. Her beloved fire ships, reduced to coast guard. Back then, onboard her flagship, stationed in Busiris, she was planning to defy the orders and attack Japan again, but, in the end, she relinquished the command, hiding her disappointment behind a mask of contempt and indifference. The constant improvements in foreign shipbuilding and navigation turned Morningstars from fast and deadly predators into lumbering husks of wood.

"Princess Azuria!" Leonardo da Vinci bowed, dressed in plate armor as well, only much less ornate than Cleopatra's. "I am so delighted you were able to join us for this little presentation! However, I have asked everyone involved to employ protective measures, as I can't guarantee..."

Azuria scowled. She hated this man. "Fool! Nobody is going to tell me what I should be wearing! I'd prefer walking around naked than to dress in one of those stupid iron shells!"

Cleopatra raised her hand and squinted her eyes at Azuria. There was no hatred in this gaze, just immense coldness, that reminded the Princess of the frozen seas of Japan.

"Leonardo da Vinci. So far, all the investments I've made in you have paid of handsomely," began the Queen, more for ears of Azuria and gathered dukes and generals than Leonardo's. "From intricate plate armor to ingenious siege engines, countless improvements flowing from your Workshop turned the Egyptian army into a peerless war machine. Yet, only what we're about to witness today is supposed to be the pinnacle of your work, right?"

Azuria rolled her eyes, while Leonardo nodded eagerly.

"Oh yes, Your Majesty. The inspiration was sparked by Napoleon's secret research of explosive powder. He hasn't deployed this new technology yet, to keep it as an ace in his sleeve. I was not only able to reproduce French results, but improve upon them, and while I'm sure they're developing similar devices now, we have overtaken them considerably. Not only that, but while they are simply trying to develop bigger versions of their hand-held weapons, I've already taken it several steps further... as you're going to witness in just few moments."

Cleopatra gestured to proceed, then asked, over the sound of a dozen helmet visors being shut: "What are they called again?"

"Cannons."

"LIGHT THE FUSES!"



To the deafening sound, the hellish contraptions spat fire, and almost instantaneously, a series of explosions shook the ground, tearing half of the mock-up army to pieces in a blink of an eye, splintered wood flying in all directions. Never before in the history of mankind so much destruction was unleashed with so little effort.

Leonardo chuckled with relief; none of the cannons misfired or exploded, the demonstration was proceeding flawlessly. Azuria, still blinking, stupified, felt a slight sting on her forehead. She felt around there with her hand, only to see blood on her fingers.

"YOU..." she said in Leonardo's direction, rage overwhelming her stupor. "You're going to pay with your head for this...!" She moved to skever the hateful man with her saber, only to be stricken by Cleopatra's armored gauntlet. The princess dropped flat on her ass, feeling more blood in her mouth, but the humiliation burned much worse than physical pain.

Cleopatra turned to the rest of the gathered crowd.

"If anyone else than my royal sister dared to raise their hand against this man, they would face slow death by burning. Is that clear?"

Everyone knew she wasn't joking. Azuria knew her older sister tried to protect shreds of her younger sister's dignity, but she was blind with rage none the less. Still, she managed to keep a straight face and stand up with as much dignity as she could muster. Not here, not now, but someone was going to pay dearly for this, she promised herself.

The demonstration continued, the incident almost forgotten in the wake of all the remaining wonders Leonardo presented this day. Multi-barreled cannons that mowed down whole formations of wooden soldiers; short barreled bombards loaded with incendiary grenades; grapnel shot, causing widespread destruction at short ranges.

"If I only had some of those on my Morningstars, maybe they could..." said Azuria.

"It's pointless," answered Leonardo, clearly being in Queen's favour now. "The design itself is outdated, the ship too slow and too cumbersome to make good use of this new weapon."

"Then how about those... Caravels?" She spat out the word like it was a curse. Surely, not only the Japanese were building Caravels now, the Egyptians learned how to build those ships a while ago now, but for Azuria, they were the hateful symbol of the demise of her fleet's importance.

"Sure, we can mount some light weapons of this type on Caravels, and we will be doing so, but such ships are simply too small, and their construction couldn't bear the stress of a heavy cannon, so we can't unleash full potential of these new weapons with Caravels either."

"I'm sure," said Cleopatra in a strangely grave tone, "that you have already came up with something to overcome this limitation?"

"Of course!" smiled Leonardo. "I've already started work on a new generation of ships, far larger and sturdier than anything built before. Carrying a hundred cannons each, their destructive power will be unmatched!"

"You must realize where this deadly race you started will eventually lead us..."

"Hey, don't blame the scientist! I merely developed what you wanted, Your Majesty! If it wasn't me, somebody else would!"

"Yes... I have anticipaded such an answer," said Cleopatra.

"Truly!" said General Imhothep, cutting into the conversation. "Let those southern barbarians have their useless inventions! Knowledge to the people, hah! They're already paying for this with peasant unrest! It's we, of the North, who are the masters of death!"

"Indeed we are," said the Queen, her dark gaze looking at the distant horizon. "Indeed we are."

---

Azuria felt immense relief when she finally disembarked her personal Caravel. She made it back to her new palace in tropical Busiris, leaving the dark and incomprehensible excitement of the royal court far behind, along with the Theban rains and mists. That, and Lia awaited her here, perhaps the only friend she ever had. Immortals were few and far between, and all the others she knew were too appaled or scared of Azuria to even approach her.

"They all went insane, Lia. I feel out of place there. No, not with Big Sis being my superior, and certainly not with that hateful man around. I should probably order his death once he finishes this new ship design. He'd been around for too long already..."

"Hey, Azu, stop it now, would you? Stop tormenting yourself over and over again. You have a vacation now, make the most of it!"

"Uh, what...?"

"Fun! Do you know what it is?"

"Lia, I have no t-... what...?"



"Oh, I like this face so much better."

[Eerion]

The song of tens of horns destroyed the morning peace of Ectabana’s Forest. The expeditionary force of Japan, unloaded their forces south from the city, was preparing for battle. Without setting any big camp, forces began to build siege towers.

The whole army of Persia was on the move, and the time was against them. Of course the conquest of city was unpreventable. Templars, the strongest land forces even created, were the core of this army, having the bloody huscarls as their support. Victory was inevitable, yet allowing the Persians to bolster their defences meant nothing, but unnecessary casualties.
No reasonable leader is going to let his soldiers die if it’s avoidable.

Date Masamune was sitting in his tent. Plan, set in motion this very morning, was flawless. Templars, assaulting the city from three sides using a siege towers were supposed to first claim the walls. Capturing the gates and letting the main forces enter the city was next. He looked at his royal guard made of these perfectly disciplined and almost fanatic soldiers. No man could stand against them face-to-face.

The siege towers were on the move. Covered by wet furs, to prevent them from being set ablaze by the enemy, they slowly proceeded to their destination. Not all of them had templars inside, some, which were in the range of catapults were empty, used only as a decoy.

The gangplank was dropped. The holy soldiers assaulted the walls instantly pushing aside enemy phalanx soldiers and spearmen. Wearing the full plate armors and bearing shields almost as huge as them they were an immovable force. A Tsunami, slowly flooding the defenders. However, the defender’s morale did not waver. They were fighting like cornered dogs, trying to maintain the distance between them and Japanese. Only this allowed them to use their weapons effectively and defend against the invaders. Most of the attacks were repelled, yet still few of them went through. With every falling templar, a there was a yell of victory. Gravely wounded Persians sometimes tried to use their remaining strength and weight of their body to push aside soldiers from the walls. Always with themselves, to be sure their plan succeeds. Still, no matter which tactic were used, every kill claimed many lives of defenders.

The gate was opened. Thousands of huscarls charged through to destroy any remaining forces. Seeing the gates were secured and no arrows were shoot anymore, Date followed them.

Date Masamune in his full plate armor.

At the gates of the was a pile of bodies. Persian corpses, mostly military but you could see few civilian clothes around. Around them there was a single templar. Sitting next to the well, he was drinking peacefully not paying any attention to burning houses or the dead around. Just as if he went on a picnic with his family. The only proof that he was fighting a moment ago was an empty sheath. The sword of his was lying nearby, completely covered in blood and guts of the enemy.
Seeing as the commander enters the city, he stood up only to follow up with a big bow.
“The city is yours my lord. The enemy has fallen and the remaining enemy soldiers are now being disposed of by your huscarls.”
“Good” Masamune answered, taxing the piles of corpses. The majority was definitely Persian. “What about our losses?”
“Greater than we anticipated. They were resilient and brave. But still around half of our assault forces are standing.”
“Perfect. Ask your people to put out the fires. We must prepare the city for their reinformcements.”
“Yes my lord” Templar bowed again.
“Send out a courier. Tell our leader, that the city is ours. Our small expedition was a great success.”

[Eerion]

“What are you doing?” The kid asked.
“Writing a speech. Or a warning? Maybe both” Hanekawa responded without looking at the small girl.
“I’m bored. Let me help you!”
“I can read it for you when I’m done, so you may say what do you think about it. No more”
Small Haruhi sighed. She approached the big world map on the wall and started moving her finger over the lands. The ones she could reach of course.

The young God - Suzumiya Haruhi.

“Read it! Read it!” The kid was like a geyser. Full of energy and exploding whenever she gets interested in something.
“To whom it may concern.
Recently, our ship has successfully sabotaged the Egyptian supply lines. This was, but a revenge for all the treacheries they committed in the past. Their sins are far greater than this simple deed, yet we are kind. Our ships withdrew immediately after this action.
As of now, we consider the past incident with Egyptians as finished. Unless provoked we shall not bother the inhabitants of northern continent anymore.
Yet make no mistake. We won’t allow any trespassing. Every single ship that enters: the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Storms, the Sea of Ice, as well as southern part of Indian Ocean and western part of the Great Icefield, is going to be considered hostile and will be sunk without any warnings. At the same time it will be considered an attack against Nippon, and will result in our immediate retaliation.
It is not a threat, but a warning against those both wishing for harm or death of Japanese people and those neutral to us. Do not even think about getting close to our waters.” Hanekawa read the letter with a serious tone.
“Harsh! Do you think it will work?” Haruhi asked. She sat on the table, crumpling few maps or orders. The kid was only ten years old, yet her brilliance was unbelievable.
“Time for being soft has long passed. The very moment we trust Old Lands again, they surely will use it against us.”
“If you say so. But there is one more thing you need to mention.”
Empress looked at the kid. Waving her legs and smiling, she looked just like any other child. It’s her mind and words that made her so different from everyone else. Horo, her mother, mentioned the similarity between them every now and them. Still Hanekawa felt something different about this kid. Something completely out of this world. Maybe it was the fact, that she had weird powers, leading to weird incidents from time to time.
“I know. Still, for now I’m not sure which words I should use.” She wrinkled her eyebrows.
“Or rather, how to explain it, so it would make any sense?”
“Yes. I was wondering...” Hanekawa’s accidentaly looked at old message of Arturia. “I think I have an idea!” She went back to the table with unfinished letter. In the meantime Haruhi picked up the old Celt warning.

“We have commenced an assault against Persia, and these lands should be ruled by Nippon in near future. As Celts assaulted India without any international objections, we shall not accept any either. Any open action or sabotage against ours or Persian forces will be treated like attacking our homeland, and treated appropriately.

Signed
Hanekawa Nekomimi III
God Empress of Nippon”
“Yes, it’s a good and clever one” Kid agreed. “This make any objections unreasonable.”
“The question is, is the north going to be reasonable?”
“Who knows?”


They walked slowly toward their sleeping chambers.
“You do not have a man” Haruhi spoke out of blue
“I don’t need one. They are but a fools, stupid and easily exploitable.”
“But you need a heir to the throne, you know? I’ve heard your mother mentioning it earlier.”
“You too? Seriously...”
“And what do you think about it?”
“Forget it. I’m not a breeding dog, that’s going to do anything to have a kid.”
“And if you won’t find anyone worthy? What about succession?”
Hanekawa stopped for a moment. She had never desired men. Having few female servants to enjoy took care of her desires, but... she knew someone has to inherit the throne. Still she felt like puking, just from the idea of having sex with any of this retarded royalty.
“I can help you” Haruhi said seriously.
“What?!” Empress was taken completely off guard. It was the last thing she could expect to hear from ten years old female. No matter how intelligent.
“You are cunning. Like a fox. So you shall give birth to one.” The girl grinned.
“What kind of magic are you trying to pull off?” Hanekawa got seriously scared.
“Do not worry. You will be proud of your kid. Beauty and Intelligence, it’s going to have it all.”
The woman started walking faster, leaving Haruhi behind. This little runt had mysterious powers, and this single fact was making her very nervous. Way too nervous.

[Max_Smirnov]

Periodical turn 150 report. Enjoy!

In the Wake of Change:
The Renaissance
A Report on World Affairs, published by the Theban University, Kingdom Year 2400 (250 AD)



The Map of the Known World


THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT

The last few centuries brought many changes to our Kingdom. New inventions in sea travel, flowing from Japan, have seriously shaken our naval and economic power, while their books, cheap and produced in unbelieveable quantities, flooded the whole world and ended the uniqueness of the Great Library of Thebes. However, our country had already recovered. Our new merchant routes, banking system and natural resources, excavated in quantities unheard of before, have substantially improved our treasury. Our science remains unmatched, both in theoretical (the discoveries of Galileis shook the whole world, while our fine arts and architecture remained unmatched until very recently, when Japan entered their own Renaissance) and practical areas (our mastery of gunpowder sets us apart from the whole world, barring France, and - coupled with Leonardo's engineering improvements - makes our armies practically invincible. No barbaric horde of axe-waving warriors, no matter how numerous, can stand against muskets and cannons).
What's more, Her Majesty, Cleopatra, promised our people she's going to rebuild our ancient naval domination, and with that, our pride as a nation. With the ever-present threat of Indians, and growing ambitions of Japan, not to mention the French buildup (while they're our peaceful neighbours, we can't allow them to ashame us with their military strength), a strong defensive force is needed more than ever before. The new generation of warships, being currently built in shipyards all over our Kingdom, should prove to be as much of a shock to the rest of the world as the Morningstars once were.



The military docks of Pergamon


THE KINGDOM OF FRANCE

The French, being a nation most closely resembling ourselves in their ways of thinking, have followed a similar route of Egypt, first badly shaken by the new inventions, then quickly recovering. While their sciences remain less advanced than ours, their peacefully and rationally developed Kingdom is now a very populous and rich land, its economic power unmatched by any other nation. While there is talk about Napoleon Bonaparte having plans to use this enormous potential for expansion, so far there is no indication of such inclinations. None the less, rumours a raging far and wide, ranging from talks about Napoleon planning to raise an enormous army, to speculations about all this wealth being pumped into a world-encompassing spy network (possibly aided by the Jewish people, who, undoubtedly, pioneered and are largely controlling our current large-scale trade with France).



The City of Paris; in the foreground, one of the French Secret Service operatives, armed with a firearm


THE CELTIC EMPIRE

The great war with India put an enormous strain on Celtic society, causing enormous casaulties, widespread unrest (which Empress Arturia chose to qualm by force) and further stagnation. However, while the land to our east became a gloomy place, a keen eye reveals positive signs as well. By the combined influences of the alliance with Egypt, the looting of the Indian lands, and Celtic own ingenuity, their Empire is slowly beginning to come out of the dark ages, with improved trade, sanitation and maritime technologies. While it still might be centuries before they develop manufacturing techniques known to the modern world, the foundations have already been laid. With their numerous cities and corrupt, but effective in its own way, administration, the empire commanded from Arturia's fabulous (even if comparatively small) capitol someday might once again overtake Egypt in the terms of population, if nothing else.



A Celtic soldier by the grave of his brother, killed in the war


THE HOLY NIPPON EMPIRE

This ever-growing power in the far South, ruled by a string of Divine Empresses and religion-based law, had finally made its long-anticipated move to claim new territories under their rule and faith. As their target, their choose the weakest and closest lands of Persia, bringing yet another plague on those peaceful people, already beleaugered by bloodthirsty Indian warlords. The Japanese themselves are claiming that they're just bringing Persians into the fold to protect them from harm... as long as they're willing to convert to Japanese religion and bow before the Divine Empress, that is.
The current Empress, Hanekawa, while reviled by many, is also considered one of the most brilliant rulers who ever lived. Her decision to end the monopoly on knowledge, everywhere else held by the ruling class, and provide education to the lowly peasantry, at first seemed like lunacy, and indeed led to some uprisings and minor heresies. However, it is increasingly becoming clear that this new 'Age of Reason' is also bringing great boons to her nation. First, their seafaring revolution, then their commonly available books (printed through means unknown anywhere else in the world), and now, arts and architecture matching ours, in the last few centuries they have progressed enormously, not even mentioning how much damage the news of their inventions brought to the more cautious regimes like us, France and Russia, their Haruhi Gospel, translated into every language, causing common people all over the world to question the eternal order of things. Now, as the comparatively primitive, but numerous and fanatical armies of the Empire have been unleashed, we might well be witnessing the most momentous period of Japanese history. We can only hope the successors of Hanekawa will be more conservative and satiated with the seemingly inevitable addition of Persia to their territory.



Japanese cavalry


THE WARLORD STATES OF INDIA

Despite the loss of two cities, the power of India is anything but diminished. Neither Arturia's black magic nor the military might of her empire could bring her victory, and the Celtic invasion was brought to a crashing halt at the gates of Delhi, the moment Gandhi mobilized his warlords and mercenaries into one huge army. Facing increasing war weariness of her country, even seemingly-unshakeable Arturia was forced to sign an armistice. Obviously, she had met more than a worthy opponent. Meanwhile, the loss of Kootanad and Tiruppur seems insubstantial, since Gandhi managed to find a way to unite his great country into a single body once again - by the means of religion. The Hagia Sophia, built in the mountain fortress of Calcutta, gave the Indians common cause far greater than just conquest, and turned Gandhi into even more divine figure than Arturia. To take further advantage of that, he named one of his generals a Maharaja, ruler of Delhi, and moved his court to Calcutta, no longer a leader, but a teacher and divine guide. The only downside of this move seems to be the inherent enmity of this new Indian religion to all other faiths, making any betterment of their relationships with Japan - their only, if distant and cautious, ally - seem impossible. After all, there can't exist two True Faiths, and Haruhi's Gospel isn't exactly welcome in India.



The only road to Calcutta, with a view of the Hagia Sophia


PERSIA

This beautiful, but backwater country had been ravaged by foreign invasions since ancient times. Now, however, it is perhaps facing the greatest threat of all - the Japanese invasion. The Indian warlords were attacking just for quick land grab and looting; the Empire of Nippon has much grander plans of expanding their Only True Faith. The Persians have mobilized their forces, but, although large in numbers, they're poorly trained and primitively armed. It seems unlikely they'll be able to thwart Japanese conquest indefinitely - the Empire is much larger than Persia, and for every Japanese who falls, there will always be another one, eager to fight for his God, country and Divine Empress. On the other hand, there still is the elusive Prince; it would probably require a miracle to save Persia now, but many people, who like such kinds of stories, believe this mythical figure is perfectly able to make a miracle happen. Meanwhile, the current Great Visier of Persepolis, the formal ruler of Persia, remains completely silent, hiding behind the impressive walls of his capitol and bodies of his elite guards.



The walls of Persepolis


THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

For centuries now, the Romans have been closely allied with their great neighbour, the Japanese. While their Senate remains extremely wary of any foreign influence, including the Japanese, the symbiosis was inevitable, especially in the face of the ever-present Russian threat. Many wealthy Japanese are visiting this bountiful (in both gentle weather and exotic women) land, and the ties between both nations grow stronger than maybe it's even comfortable for the Roman rulers. The boons of this symbiosis are more than obvious, with all kinds of modern Japanese technology proliferating into the Republic, but on the other hand, the immense cultural influence of the southern empire may present a darker side of the cooperation, the knowledge of Japanese language already being pretty much a prerequisite to gain knowledge and wealth, by reading Japanese books, visiting great Japanese cities and making deals with Japanese VIPs.



A bath-house in Pompeii, built Japanese-style for wealthy visitors from the Holy Empire


THE RUSSIAN OLIGARCHY

The recent intellectual storm that ravaged the world reached even that distant country, destroying many tenants of their ancient civilization, but it remains to be seen if it's for good, or for bad. The Russians are still unwilling to open to other countries, preferring to just take what they want, their Longships a periodical, but quite real threat to fishermen and merchants of Egypt, Celtic Empire and Japan. Despite all their secrecy, it is quite obvious that the shakedown of old, fossil constructs like the Forbidden City or the Court of Sevastopol must've caused a lot of unrest, but, at the same time, surely awakened the forces of progress. As of now, Russians are at the verge of their own Renaissance and it's probably a question of time before this great country will join us in the modernity.



The harbour town of Odessa, one of the main bases of Russian pirates

[Eerion]

The snow was gently piling on an archery target. The gentle arrow hits weren’t strong enough to make it fall to the ground. Tens of guards of the Royal Palace were practicing their archery skills.
Perfectly synchronised, watching them was a pleasure.

“Ready! Aim! Throw!” The commander yelled. The arrows hit their targets perfectly.
“Ready! Aim! Throw!” Every few second these three commands could be heard, followed up by a quiet noise of stabilisers and sound of wood hitting the target.
Hanekawa was looking at this training from the balcony. She seemed to mildly enjoy this peaceful situation. War on the north did not put much strain on the capitol, also her child was sleeping.
A female kid with nine tails. A fox, as foretold by Haruhi. She indeed casted some weird spell on her two years ago, and it wasn’t long before she got pregnant... out of nothing.
The castle was in uproar, however, no one dared to question the words of 2 Goddesses. And the fact that few non believers turned into cats stopped any comments from spreading.
She called her daughter Ahri. It wasn’t a Japanese name and to be honest, Hanekawa herself did not know what does it mean. She just dreamt about it.
“An unusual name suits unusual times” she answered when asked once.

She looked at the archers again. They did not care about the snow or wind. Born in such environment had to adapt. Their bodies and skills changed to suit this land. Continuous shooting, while completely disregarding the wind and temperature was out of reach of any other nation. Maybe some of French, living around North Pole might have withstand the cold. Still it was impossible for them to become so perfect in the art of the bow.
Yet it was nothing, but the twilight of this art. North is already completely dominated by gunpowder. The black sand of death, that’s what Persians called it when they saw the few hand guns in hands of Japanese nobility. Manufacturing muskets is slowly developing in Japan. In order to be competitive they are about to discard the experience and beauty of thousands of years.

Soon the swords will lose meaning, as it won’t be possible to charge fortified gunners anymore. For now the shield and armor of the templar can withstand musket fire, but it is only a matter of time before firearms will become stronger. Cannons, invented by Egyptians slowly draws the line closer. The line, marking the twilight of close combat fighting, as there won’t be need for it anymore.

“Fortunately, Persians do not possess skills and capabilities to produce it” Hanekawa said to herself, while turning back. “Plenty of time will pass, before these weapons will become commonly used. And when it happens... I must move training grounds somewhere else. Muskets are too noisy and annoying.”

[Max_Smirnov]

---

T H E . T H E B A N
i s s u e . 1

july 2500 (AD 350)
Printed in Rottschild's Print Shop

---

Glory to Her Immortal Majesty, Queen Cleopatra!
Long live Duke Hyropsis, the Theban Commissioner!
Buy mead from Royal Meadery, the best meadery in the world!

---

Immortal Until Caught - Leonardo Da Vinci Assassinated!

The secret of Leonardo's absence at the great commemoration ceremony at Rhakotis was solved when the royal guards have found his body in his chambers of Theban Palace. Indeed, the great scientist was reportedly caught with his pants down, and unknown forces left him, as well as an unnamed young boy, with their throats slit. We certainly wouldn't want to be in the shoes of those unknown forces, when Her Royal Majesty finds out who and where they are! Before you start wondering if a similar fate met Princess Azuria, who was also absent, our contacts already have informed us that she simply never left Busiris and is as full of energy as ever.

The Queen of the Seas - Sunk!

The small harbour town of Rhakotis, a couple dozen miles west of Thebes, witnessed unusual happenings during the huge festival, held by our great Queen in commemoration of 2,500 years of her enlightened rule. The gathered crowds were able to admire three biggest and most modern of our warships, HMS Hydra, HMS Kraken and HMS Wyvern, sailing into the small harbour. Everyone was curious why there was fourth warship anchored in the Rhakothis Bay, the former Princess Azuria's flagship, the original Morningstar, looking tiny and insignificant next to the modern warships. The mystery was solved when the three Ships of the Line opened up at it with full broadsides, a hundred cannons each. The conqeror of Japanese fleet was literally blown apart in a blink of an eye, not so much sunk than simply erased from the face of the ocean. Everyone was awed by the power commandeered by Her Majesty's Ships.

Nobility Outraged - Foreign Heroes Recognized by the Queen!

During the latter part of the ceremony in Rhakotis, Her Immortal Majesty recognized two foreigners, who have distinguished themselves in the service of the Crown. First one was a mercenary buccaneer of ill-renown, Francis Drake, who recently returned from Russia with his cargo bays laden with wealth beyond measure, most of which he donated to the royal treasury. The Queen knighted the foreigner, awarded him with the official rank of Commodore, as well as the freshly finished Frigate, HMS Hind, the fastest ship on all seven seas. The other one was General Heliconnen, who had drawn into a trap and annihilated a whole Indian army in Himalayas, while commandeering an outdated force of swordsmen and spearmen of third its size. The Queen awarded him with the hereditary title of Baron. The crowds cheered the heroes, while the Theban nobility was only murmuring with anger on their faces.

The Excalibur is a Hoax, Declares the Theban University

While our alliance with the Celtic people grows stronger, and visitors from the great land to the east already a common sight, the notion of them being smelly and primitive held only by unenlightened by now, their Empress, Arturia, stays a mystery. She never gives public speeches, and nobody had ever seen her without that famous black armor. Meanwhile, a scientist from Thebes declared he had analyzed all the alleged sightings of her black sword, Excalibur, accomplishing supernatural feats, like crushing gates of Kootanad or severing columns of tyrant's palace at Tiruppur, bringing the whole structure down on the heads of the tyrant and his guard. The scientist declared that each of these incident can be explained away as a fluke, without recoursing to any supernatural powers. Meanwhile, we know how our Readers are interested in the mysterious Empress, and rest assured, that we are going to unveil some of that mystery! More in the next issue of The Theban.

---

[Max_Smirnov]

377 AD: The Fall of Delhi



Brian yawned and left the tent where his unit was garrisoned. First, he looked to the west, at the phantom shapes of the Himalayas. Then, to the north, at the towering walls of Delhi. He got used to this sight, and this foreign land of heat and sand, so different from his home steppes of Calleva. Every province of the Empire was ordered to provide a huge contingent for this new India campaign, and the poor land in the east was no exception. Two thousand armed men, the Empress' orders were absolute. Having no other choice, Calleva gathered a force of barely trained shepherds, armed with slings, many of them barely older than kids. Just like Brian, who saw his first facial hair growing only after he arrived here.

"It's been calm this night. Too calm," said an older Celt, smoking a pipe and watching the distant citadel with squinted eyes.

"Uncle? Are you saying...?" asked Brian.

"It's been days since her personal guard arrived, along with all those machines. I used to hear the hammers all day long. They stopped. The Brass Hammer must be ready."

Brian knew that his uncle was referring to the enormous ram, that was being built to crush the gates of Delhi. Its huge head arrived several weeks ago from Numantia, along with several thousands of Arturia's elite knights and crossbowmen, her own private army, armed with the best weapons the Empire could offer. Plate armor and ballistas, far better than Brian's tunic and sling.

"It's not long now," said the uncle again. He looked at Brian and sighed, his eyes filled only with sadness.

It turned out he wasn't wrong.

By the time the worst heat had passed, and the sun was slowly sinking towards the western horizon, the Celtic armies have left their tents and gathered in orderly ranks, holding swords and siege equipment, shaded by few siege towers, far too few, but there was no hope of gathering more in this dry and forebodding land. Brian looked around. It was a sight to behold. From this side of the citadel alone, fifteen thousand highly trained Blackguards, aided by a few thousands of Indians, who hated their merciless rulers to such extent that they have allied themselves with the invaders. On the western and eastern sides of Indian capital, more blackguards, reserve forces of few thousand each, looking like swarms of beetles from the distance. The northern side was barely visible, and Arturia's elite soldiers seemed to be hidden behind a hill. Just a few mounted figures, almost dots. One of them had to be Arturia. A silent, expressionless, unfathomable ruler, but always in full view, like some statue of black obsidian. All in all, close to forty thousand warriors, the greatest army ever gathered in one place. Against the legendary fortifications of Delhi.

It's been more than a year since this campaign started. There was no summer nor winter in this land, just incessant heat scorching the sparse vegetation and people. The Celtic armies took Delhi in two huge pincers, fighting many battles and loosing several thousand men just to complete the encirclement. The Indians were conscious of their plan, but despite their best efforts, Arturia's war machine couldn't be thwarted this time. Finally, their capitol was fully surrounded. No one was able to leave it or get inside for the past several months. However, taking the citadel by hunger was impossible. The invaders were struggling to get enough food to feed themselves, all villages in fifty mile radius already looted and burned.

There was just one option left: assault. Arturia just waited to gather as many troops as possible. Still, it didn't look well. Delhi, being quite small as a city, was at the same time a huge citadel, incessantly fortified for who knew how many millenia to protect its ruthless, immortal ruler. It was built on a steep hill and surrounded with two concentric circles of walls, dotted with dozens of towers. It was obviously designed to repel any siege. And that was a scary thought, when Brian suddenly realized he might be trying to scale these walls in just a few hours... Suddenly, a great murmur rose amongst the ranks of warriors:

"It's him! Sir Lancelot is riding here!"



And Brian could see him, the peerless knight, the greatest warrior in the Empire, by many considered the only Celtic knight unsullied by any of Empire's all too evident corruption or Numantia's decadence. A tall figure clad in gray plate armor. His visor was raised, showing his handsome face as he slowly rode in front of their ranks. If there was any man everyone still believed in, it was him.

"Warriors of Brittania!" He shouted. "I know many of you are asking themselves the question, why are we here? What is there to gain in this foreign land of death?" People started to murmur. His words struck true. Surely, the Empress was expanding the borders of their Empire, surely, she was trying to make it strong, surely, she was always fighting alongside them, but who could really understand her? And she never showed any concern for their doubts, always simply demanding complete obedience. Ruthless, unaproachable, was she even caring for their lives at all? Was she even understanding her people?

"Shame on you!" shouted Sir Lancelot, freezing everyone. "We are here to bring down an evil tyrant, and ensure the bright future for our children! And even without that, where is your pride! Men! She expects all of us to die for Brittania tonight! We're going to prove her wrong! We'll show her, and those barbaric Indians, how fights and dies a true Celtic warrior!" He drew his sword and made a sweeping movement. "The Indian rebels will assault first, weakening the defenders. We're going after them, and by my knighthood, I swear, we shall take both of those damned walls by the nightfall, even if I'll have to do it alone! For honor! For Brittania! Advance!"

A great cry rolled over the massed infantry, as the Blackguards were saluting the knight, and soon, it was far too late for any doubts. The great river of men started to flow towards the imposing walls, gathering momentum. On the walls of Delhi, Indian warriors started to gather, and in the towers, short, moustached Himalayan archers started to attach strings to their bows. The bloodbath was about to start.

---

"So how it is progressing?" asked the Maharaja of Delhi, clad in full plate armor, raising his voice not to be drowned by the turmoil of the battle. His expression was bored. He didn't even bother to hurry out of his harem and arrived to the command post more than an hour after the battle started.

"Everything is good, my lord! The celtic dogs are climbing our walls like monkeys, numerous like stars in the sky, but it's all for naught! The death is their only reward!" answered the underling. He choose not to mention their own losses, why to lose a head in a winning battle? They still had plenty of reserves.

"And that *****? Where is she?"

"On the northern hill! With just a handful of people. We're not being attacked from that side."

The Maharaja clenched his fist. "It's obviously a trap. Stupid *****, does she really think I'm going to fall for this? I'll add her to my personal harem later," he chuckled. "First, let's crush these insolent dogs who dare to assault my walls. Is my troop gathered?"

"Yes, my lord!" Said the messenger. The main square of Delhi was indeed crowded with close to two thousands of heavily armed horsemen, Maharaja's favourite force, composed of most ruthless, bloodthirsty, infamous and expensive mercenaries he could hire.

"We shall grind them into dust! Open the gates!"

The massive, brass doors started to open, first the inner pair, then the outer. Some of the surprised Celts started already to converge inside. They were to die first when the mercenaries charged, simply trampled by the stampede of hundreds of warhorses. The mercenaries cheered, that first blood frenzying them for the slaughter that was about to begin.

---

"Sir! Look, Sir!"

Prompted by the squire, Sir Lancelot turned to look down from the outer wall of Delhi, his armor and blade covered with blood of Indian swordsmen and archers. He was already able to fulfill the first half of his oath, securing one of the towers. Now all that remained was to widen the foothold, sweep this portion of the wall, and proceed to the inner...

"No. No, no, no..." he said, suddenly frozen. Down below, the Celtic warriors were mowed down by the hundred, a wedge of steel-clad cavalry plowing through their chaotic ranks like a great galley through water. In some places, the Blackguards managed to form a spirited defense, through their superior numbers and courage, if nothing else, but in other areas, retreat was already starting. "We have left the gate unsecured... Where are the Indian rebels?"

"Already wiped out, Sir!"

"No, we can't leave it like this! Men, we're climbing back down!"



Brian felt like he couldn't flee even if he tried, fear freezing him in place, stripping of any dignity. His sling already seemed so inadequate when the battle started and the powerful and skilled Blackguards started dying like mere flies, trying to climb the walls of the citadel. He couldn't see that clearly, but thousands must've died there in just a matter of an hour. But now, it was worse, so much worse... The Indian cavalry rode out of the gates and plowed through Celtic army until it reached its rear. Where the main body of Calleva's slingers was located, along with his uncle. If the blackguards were unable to stop the horsemen, the shepherds stood no chance at all. They simply disappeared, those trying to run easily caught and struck down with axes and swords. And now, like a tsunami, the front of the Indian cavalry was heading this way, proceeded by a wave of doomed, fleeing Celts.

Suddenly, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" Asked a tall warrior, wielding a red lance. "Run, before it is too late. You did your part, I'll take it from here." Maybe it was his mischievous smile, so unbefitting the carnage around them, that broke Brian's stupor, or maybe a sudden flash of recognition.

"Your lance... is that... Gae Bolg? But they say you died..."

"Thousands of years ago, I know. And maybe the world is already too old for heroes. Well, then I guess I'm really unwelcome here..." he smiled again, this time much more dangerously. "Too bad."

---

The Maharaja had lost his bearings a while ago already. Only chaos and death were surrounding him, and even as he prided himself for his ruthlessness, his stomach seemed to have its own plans. Simply too much gore and noise. But it seemed they were winning, they must've killed thousands of Celts by now. And now the Celts were running. He turned his horse... and saw one figure that wasn't running, just standing there, ignoring everything and looking straight at the ruler of Delhi with an intensity that scared him.



The Maharaja shook his head. What was he thinking? Scared of one man? He shouted his bodyguard to spur their horses once again, to grind that insolent bug beneath their hooves... Then he only saw a flash of red, and suddenly he was on the ground, his horse missing. Before the horses of his own men crushed him, he saw a lance protruding from his chest armor, thick steel pierced along with his black heart.

As for the man who killed him, some claimed that they glimpsed a figure of legendary Cú Chulainn before it dissapeared, swallowed by the Indian cavalry, but who would really believe such stories?

---

Metal hit metal, shield deflected a strike of a wicked morningstar, then a sword was thrust, skewering the Indian mercenary and throwing him off his horse. Sir Lancelot was never interested in such decadent rituals as tallying his kills, and in the last fifteen minutes he killed too many men to count anyway. He wiped his brow and turned his horse to look for more enemies, finding only his loyal companions. Many faces were already missing in that gathering. But they managed to eliminate the rear guard of the Indian cavalry...

"My lord!" A young messenger rode to his side. "I passed the orders to the Pentraethian regiment, and they managed to intercept the tip of the assault! It's looking good, the Indians have lost their speed are are being slowly surrounded! Their banner had fallen and they stopped to work like a single unit!"

Sir Lancelot sighed with relief. People were still dying, trying to conquer the outer wall, but at least the threat of complete anihillation was averted...

"Hey. What's that?" he pointed his sword at the gate. Obviously, the Indians were expecting their cavalry to return, and haven't closed them yet... "Men!" he shouted. "Quickly, follow me! You," he adressed the messenger. "Find the leaders of the closest units, tell them to assault this gate at once!"

He spurred his tired horse, and his group of fifty companions managed to make it to the gates before the Indians reacted. Such fear was of the Maharaja, that they feared to go against his order and close the gates until it was too late. But they reacted pretty quickly when a stream of Celts started to pour inside the city, spearheaded by an unkillable knight in grey armor. A retreat was sounded, to fall back from the outer to the inner walls and the city proper. In the ensuing chaos, the blackguards were able to get some payback, but they had no siege engines to attack the inner walls. The opened southern gate was the only viable way inside now, after Sir Lancelot and his companions managed to cut down the first defenders rushing there and save the converging blackguards from being trapped in the chokepoint of the inner gate.

---

The sun was already setting over the raging battle, but neither Arturia nor her detachment of eight thousand men haven't moved an inch. There already were signs of unrest or even open defiance (if only out of her earshot), why were they standing here, while their compatriots were dying by the thousand? And why was she sitting there, on her horse, just watching? Was she enjoying the slaughter.

"My Empress!" one of the leaders approached her. "I think it's high time we moved. Sir Lancelot managed to breach the southern gate, and made it into the city. But he is unable to receive many reinforcements, and thousands of Indians have surrounded his position! They are outnumbering his force, and it's only a question of time... My Empress! The eastern gate is weakened, if we charged straight at it, maybe we could..."

"All die," she said coldly. "Order the crossbowmen to start throwing flaming arrows at the middle of the city. That should keep most of the Indian force on the southern side for a while. Move the Brass Hammer to the northern gate. Everyone else, dismount and follow me."

"But Sir Lancelot..."

"He will be remembered. Everything... will be remembered."

---

Thousands of burning arrows darkened the sky, then started to fall on Delhi, igniting numerous fires. The defenders of the northern gate tried to mobilize, but their arrows and spears and rocks could do little against the massive ram or the flood of elite Celtic knights. The head of the ram broke after felling the outer gate, but Arturia had another ace up her sleeve, several jars of explosive powder bought in the West. Explosions shook the ancient walls, and the inner gate crumbled. There was still a dozen hundred defenders here, but their resistance was futile, the knights rooting out one nexus of resistance after another. Arturia herself proceeded along the main street, beheading anyone who dared to stand in her way.

When the remainder of Indian force, still a few thousand strong, finally clashed with the intruders, all they could do was to prolong the inevitable. The slaughter continued till the break of dawn. Meanwhile, Arturia made sure all the scrolls from the local university were secured, and that Maharaja's harem girls, scholars and magistrates were secured and shackled for shipping back to Numantia, where she was planning to return as well. Only then she arrived at the small plaza where Sir Lancelot made his last stand.

Arturia's forces arrived here in time to save a handful of his companions, but for the great knight, possibly the greatest swordsmaster alive, possibly the last true swordsmaster, it was already too late. He was still alive, but bleeding from a dozen of wounds and beyond mortal help.

"You left us... to die... here!" he accused the impassionate figure in black armor, standing next to the barricade of - mostly Indian - bodies that was surrounding him. "I... I tried... To believe in you! To... understand... But... Now I know... You really do not... care... for the hearts of your men! I... I curse you!"

Arturia just closed her eyes. "No curse you could throw at me means anything next to the one I am burdened with already."

He spat. "Then just kill me already!"



She nodded slowly, and a swift strike of the Excalibur followed her gesture.

"For you, the pain ends here..." she whispered, then turned away, paying no heed to the pale faces of her soldiers.

[Eerion]

The great city of Sapporo dominated over surrounding areas. One of the greatest cities in eastern Nippon as well as an impregnable mountain fortress, guarded the one and only ship canal between the Inner Sea with Antarctic Straits. The channel itself was a wonder in itself, as it was build artificially for millennia’s. Despite the extreme conditions, the whole project was a success. And now, the another incredible project was just finished here. The first of many cathedral’s, the result of teaching of Haruhism was finished here.

“It’s quite enormous, isn’t it?” Hanekawa said looking at the building. Ahri was sleeping peacefully in her arms. She was hugging or even sometimes biting one of her tails while dreaming.
“It definitely is. A building worth of the nation of Gods” Haruhi agreed. The white walls, covered with delicate ornament showed the might of the nation and professionalism of its people. Two soaring spires made the building visible from any point in the city. Even though the cathedral wasn’t as big as the castle its beauty made it look as impressive.
“Let’s go inside” Hanekawa ordered. Hundreds of nobility started gathering on the square behind.
The great gates opened, allowing the ruler to enter inside. Suzumiya, walking beside her, gasped. The interior was even more impressive. Columns and ornaments were completely made of gold. The floors and walls, made of higher quality marble than on the outside perfectly combined with the most beautiful metal on the earth. Ceilings, on the other hand were completely covered in paintings referring to the words from the Haruhi Gospel.
“It is... insane” Young goddess murmured.
“Not really. Half of our region capitols are right now building exactly the same thing. Do not forget that we are the greatest producer of the gold in the world. Half of the world use gold coins made of our metal. And this is proof of our wealth and power. No one but us can allow to use so much of it for a decoration.” Nekomimi answered calmly. She anticipated such question. After all, it had to be impressive. It was even for her, living every day in luxury. For a commoner this is yet another proof that this country is ruled by Gods, not humans. “Let’s move on. Our seats are in front. Let these daimyo get inside.”
“How long the ceremony is going to take?” Haruhi asked wrinkling her brows.
“Few hours perhaps. With one or two breaks for feeding Ahri.”
“It’s going to be a long day” She answered, while looking at the painting portraying her own birth.

[Eerion]

We have landed at daybreak. The order was simple - capture the city called Ashur with one swift attack without creating any siege machines, usually needed for such operation. The Caravels, stationed nearby were to use their cannons to crumble enemy walls allowing us to move into the city. That’s what we were told. I looked slightly worried at my musket. It was about to be used in the heat of battle for the first time, so we were unsure of the outcome. However, the words from our Goddesses soothed these worries somehow. They know everything, so how can a simple human deny their words? I grabbed the stock a little bit harder and looked ahead. We were getting closer.

The rumbling of cannons was terrifyingly loud. Our enemies had to cover in fear before the weapon unknown to them before. Stone walls, old and obsolete, began crumbling after the very first volley. With every big chunk of rock falling off, templars roared. They were the cream of the top with insane morale, unlike us. They wanted to fight and to kill.
It wasn’t long before the crack was big enough to let us perform an assault, yet no order for moving out was given. As we waited, slowly losing our steam or nervousnes, we saw our ships turning around and sailing away. The sun managed to peak the sky, before their masts vanished from our eyesight, yet we didn’t make a single move.
“Commence the attack! Templars! Onward to victory!” our leader, Uesugi Kenshin yelled shortly afterwards. Horns followed his voice giving all of us signal to move out. For some reason whole army was marching at the same speed. I could not see anything ahead, but was sure of one thing. Walls were empty. Inaccurate fire not only destroyed part of the wall, but also grazed everything around. No one would want to stand on a place, which was about to crumble at any moment.
I smiled. No enemy arrows and templars in front to protect us. It was too easy.
“Templars! Halt! Musketers! Forward march!” A sudden command stopped us in our tracks. I looked at Motoharu, the leader of our division. He looked as confused as the rest of us, still the orders were absolute and he did not dare to qestion them in any way. With my heart, trying to escape and run away, we passed the templars. They looked extremely annoyed, as they faces showed nothing but a readiness for fight and slaughter.
What stood in front was a spiky wall made of shields and spears. Spearmen and phalanx soldiers filled up the crack with their own bodies and armors.
Oh my Goddess came to my mind.
“First row! Move forward!” General yelled. Our enemies were only about one hundred fifty feets away from us. Unsuspecting.
“Fire!” he yelled. A sea of fire and metal flew forward piercing the archaic shields of Persians. Yells filled with pain, louder even than the gunshots, soared the sky.
“Second row! Forward!”
I went forward. Now, without anyone in front of me, I could see everything clearly. A splattered blood and wavering sea of shields made me realise how much of a fool I was questioning this weapon. Motoharu yelled the order, so I instinctively put the stock on my shoulder.
“Fire!” I pulled the trigger. Ground and remains of a wall got covered in blood. I saw several bodies falling down creating cracks in their defences. Terrified eyes I saw between shields reminded me of scared animals.
barbaric fools I thought running back
It didn’t even take 10 volleys for the human wall to crumble completely. We retreated allowing the bloodthirsty templars to slaughter the withdrawing enemies.

We entered the city through the captured gates. Wherever I looked, were bodies of dead Persians. It was hard to find any templar lying on the ground. The armors of soldiers we passed by were covered by blood, yet it almost never looked like their own. I looked at the sky. Not even half a day has passed since we have landed and the city is now ours. With almost no losses we crushed enemy city. Me, a simple peasant could kill seasoned warriors without thinking what was going on. Without any fineness or paying attention.
This is the power of technology. The power of Nippon!

Japanese soldiers, equipped with heavy armors and muskets

[Max_Smirnov]

---

T H E . T H E B A N
i s s u e . 750

november 2652 (AD 502)
Printed in Rottschild's Print Shop

---

Glory to Her Immortal Majesty, Queen Cleopatra!
Long live Duke Nakrikis, the Theban Commissioner!
The Theban Royal Mead - a brand like no other!

---

Life Is Good, says a Noble

When one looks at the splendour of main streets of Thebes, Luxor or Pergamon, with their luxurious residences and expensive stores, one cannot help but think that most of that wealth doesn't belong to people of high birth. The palaces of the merchants, while frivolous, are rivalling the biggest castles in terms of accumulated wealth, and all those riches sprang up in just a few centuries, not millenia. So we have asked Lord Kamizonos, are the nobles upset about this?
"Not at all," are his words. "I even like to leave my countryside and visit bustling Thebes from time to time. I'm enjoying the commotion and novelty. As for their riches? They're fleeting, easily lost, while we, the nobles, own the land. And we have our loyal knights, while the merchants are surrounded by flatterers and backstabbers. As it always was and will be. Besides, such shady and low pursuits as trade are grossly unbefitting a noble man, as it shows in the horrible tastes those rich plebeians have. Money can't make up for noble birth, as anyone sensible can immediately tell; a plebeian thinks that expensive equals beautiful. It's in their lowly blood and cannot be changed."
While this is quite heartwarming to hear such a gentleman, one of his claims seems a bit outdated. While the lords have their knights, Her Majesty's own force had grown enormously since the ancient times, and she commands whole batteries of artillery, regiments of musketeers and fleets of giant warships no lord could ever afford, their knights being merely one of the parts of Egyptian might.

Arturia's Tastes

While the private chambres of Empress Arturia are still impregnable to our inquiries, we have managed to learn something that shows she does have, after all, some human vices. Our emissary was admitted to the Imperial Palace, being a part of the group of Egyptian engineers hired to help the Celts to build their first Mill. He managed to have a talk with her chef.
"When it comes to food, she's an absolute tyrant," are his words. "The food has to be served immediately when she demands it, and she likes to eat a lot. The more exotic food the better, we have whole trade routes dedictated to importing various delicacies she fancies. It's not an easy job, since she's, you know, not very talkative and wouldn't openly tell you what she likes and why. And if we don't do well enough, oh boy. She becomes angry, and I mean, angry like you or me, not that cold death stare she sports all the time. She breaks things and makes snide remarks. It's actually almost funny, that is, until she strangles a cook or breaks his legs."
It seems even the emotionless Empress isn't above some human pettiness and passion!


Dragons Never Existed, Declares a Theban Scholar

"The calculations, derived from Leonardo's works on flight," are the cryptic words of Academician Prykizis, "show clearly, that a beast of a weight greater than a man couldn't fly; the power of the wings grows with square root, while the body mass with the cubic root. Maybe if their bodies would have been very light for the size, but what about those scales and armor, then?"
To which the authority in the field of zoology, High Scholar Azhali usually replies, that dragons indeed were light, because they were filled with fire; fire is lighter than air and has energy to power wings far greater than blood has, the only problem being tapping that energy. And do I even need to mention the fossilized remains of great, scaly creatures discovered in the mines of Luxor?"
"Pure ezotheric babble, even if widely accepted", answers Prykizis. "Everyone knows what usually happens to any living thing that is on fire. Death by burning. As for the fossilized remains, there were some big bones, and there were some scaly creatures. Only that none of those scaly creatures was bigger than a chicken. And least none from those which were found. One is certain, the invisible to the naked eyes structure of those remains is similar to that of currently living beings, so they really lived in some distant past. I may not have a microscope as big as the High Scholar has, but it's not size that matters, it seems."

---

[Eerion]

Date Masamune looked at the walls of Persis. Many people in the past looked at them in awe. Tall and made of stone looked mighty. But it wasn’t happening anymore, especially for Date. No longer the height mattered, now it was thickness and resistance. Yet, these foolish Persians were slow at learning their lessons. Too slow.
He wasn’t fortunate enough to have a cannon support from caravels nearby. Yet it wasn’t a big issue since he had more than enough gunpowder available. Packed in a big barrels it was almost as deadly as a cannon.
“We’re attacking tomorrow.” he gave an order to his adjutants.

The templars went first, covered by muskets fire. His personal invention, called “Suppressive fire” prevented Persians from shooting at marching templars. It required a lot of supplies in order to maintain it, yet luckily it was of no issue. They marched very slowly. Templars, wore a full armor and had to carry even heavier barrels.

The sun peaked the sky, when the preparations were finished.
“Begin” Date ordered shortly.
The explosion, ignited by musket fire was enormous. The stone walls shattered and even thought Japanese army stood as far as they could, the flying stones managed to kill few of their subordinates.
Ignoring that fact, a massive army moved forward. Whole army moved forward, giving the defenders no time to regroup. They got into the inner city with ease. They quickly blocked all the roads allowing the shooting divisions to deploy. Ruins of surrounding buildings, set on fire by the explosions looked abandoned.
Until the first arrow flew from there. And tens of them afterwards.
Templars charged forward, slaughtering the hiding soldiers. It wasn’t long before they all scattered fighting in the surrounding area. Date, arriving just shortly after wrinkled his brows.
“It’s not looking good” he muttered to himself. His ranged divisions were not covered by anything. Enemy archers using hit and run tactic could easily overpower them here.
“Soldiers! For a circle around the breach! Prepare to defend!” he yelled. Then he saw a divisions of phalanx showing up on the opposite roads along to the wall. They gave up on their tight formation for the sake of mobility and charged at the defenders from both sides.
Masamune smiled. “They are even more stupid then our templars” he thought. “Soldiers! Kneel fire!” he yelled. “Fire!”

There were the yells of victory and cheers heard nearby. Persians were surprisingly happy about something.
“It’s not looking good” Mori thought. He considered charging forward to reinforce whoever was losing there, yet he knew it may turn out really bad. Then his scouts appeared.
“There is a central square nearby. Apparently templars were lured out from the main force and swarmed. We saw hundreds of dead Persians, but it looks like they still won. We also could hear gunshots coming from the breach, so rest of the army fights over there.
“Good. Go back and wait until Persians move to support the rest of their army. We should intercept them.”
“Yes my lord!” Huscarl saluted. He said something to rest of newly formed scout divison and scattered in nearby buildings.
“Let them think they are winning.” Mori thought to himself. “No one expects Japanese backstabbing huscarls”

[Eerion]

“No one expects Japanese assault” Mori thought to himself. “Yamato Damashii!”
“Chaaarge! Let them taste the spirit of Nippon! Slay as many as you can! For Nekomimi! Yamato Damashi!” Date yelled. He charged forward, leaving the huscarls and musketeers behind.
The right flank of Egyptian army besieging Persis, stationed nearby expecting nothing. They were taken completely off guard. The slaughter began.

“My lord, the Egyptian army is on the move! Large battalion landed on our shores! Ships carrying them opened fire crushing the walls! We have heavy casualties! Third huscarl division ceased to exist. We have embodied the remains to the second one, but still it’s not even half of the original size” Scared and nervous messenger was speaking very quickly.
“That’s not what we expected” Date Manamune bit his lip “Were you able to notice the units of their main division?”
“Only the hand musket armed cavalry. But we expect there are some cannons and musketeers behind!”
General sat down.
“Their wings? What do they consist of?” He asked.
“Pikemans. We believe there is nothing else on their flanks”
“Possible reinforcements?”
“Our last informations regarding the Assault Corps are from few days. Even if they already know what is happening, what is unlikely, there is no chance they can make it in time.”
“So it means. This is our last stand, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so, sir” There was no hope in the words of messenger.
“Where is your home, boy?”
“Tosa, sir. I’m from the Chosokabe clan.”
“That’s a lovely island. I’ve been there once. Tell me boy, how many people have you killed in the last battle?”
“8 sir. We, the Chosokabes, are very good with ranged weapons. We were the masters of the bow, but we adjusted to this new technology!” Youngster said it with pride.
“That’s a lot. Tell me boy. Do you mind killing few more?”
“As many as you order me to, my lord!”

Generals royal guards entered the camp, slaughtering the soldiers before they even managed to grab their weapons. Egyptian rules and perfect equipment made them extremely powerful in battle. But it was all in vain, when taken by surprise.
The huscarls reached the camp. First musket fire was heard from behind.
“Slay all of them! Get rid of this northern scum!” Masamune yelled. He looked at the enormous size of the camp. “There’s way too many of them.” he thought.
“Slay them all! For Nekomimi!”

[Max_Smirnov]

546 AD: The Battle of Persis



It was the largest armada ever assembled. Large enough to carry thirty thousand ground troops and hundreds of cannons halfway across the globe. It took them half a year to sail from Memphis to the western shores of Persia. They had to make two stops, first at El-Amarna, then at Sakha, to restock the food supplies. Still, the fleet somehow managed to make the whole trip without being noticed; in part due to the fact that Cleopatra didn't involve any of Egyptian knighthood, the operation being carried out entirelly by her own ships and mercenaries. In part, it was a matter of neccessity. The nobles wouldn't really like to participate in an open war with Nippon, too little reward for the risk involved.

Now, the plan was nearing its fruition. The ground troops have disembarked a few days ago, forming a dozen-mile wide half-circle around the ancient city of Persis, surrounding it while still leaving one avenue of escape should the enemy choose to do so. The fleet itself assembled once again, still unnoticed, massive shapes of Ships of the Line, covered by the night, slowly approaching the barely lit harbour. The silence was absolute. Persis fell to the Japanese assault just a few days ago; the surviving population was still shocked, and the docks, normally bustling with fishermen, seemed abandoned.

"What a stroke of luck, isn't it, Baron?" asked Commodore Pyrris, the captain of the Egyptian flagship, HMS Hydra. Even though the crew was at full battle readiness, the moonlit deck was mostly empty, sailors moving about in silence, like ghosts. In contrast, the huge man standing next to the captain was more than substantial, clad in ostentatiously rich robes and weighing almost three hundred pounds, composed mostly, it seemed, of fat and gold. There was something revolting about this man, and Pyrris preferred to look directly at him as little as possible. He watched the silent city instead. "The reports said Persis was defended by a huge garrison. They probably did half of the work for us, the Japanese didn't have the time to recover. It amazes me they took the city at all."

"One man's luck is another's undoing," answered Baron Heliconnen, the commander of the whole operation, his charismatic voice in stark contrast to his repulsive visage. He seemed to be in an unusually jolly mood. "An unassuming baron with just a few villages to his name is going to bring down the mighty conqueror, Date Masamune. Just because of some bad luck. Or good luck. Look very, very closely at that port, Captain. Tell me, what do you see?"

Pyrris flung a spyglass to his eye.

"It seems the Japanese finally noticed us. Torches, axemen, they're scrambling troops to the pier, to deny landing... They probably still have no idea what they're facing."

The Baron chuckled. "What else?"

"Strange, some expensive looking boat... Japanese banner, but it's not a war banner... Hmm, a diplomatic ship? Here?"

"O ho ho, one more man with awfully bad luck. What else? Can you see... the immortality?"

"The immortality?"

"The only kind of immortality available to men like us. Let us begin, Captain. Great and horrible deeds are awaiting to be done."

---

"What are they? Reinforcements from Japan?" Genda Shirou, the newly appointed head of the diplomatic corps, was rubbing his eyes. Truly, his country was amazing. Returning from two years long trip to Russia, where his former superior took a permanent residence, the young diplomat was amazed to see Japanese flag over Persis, and then immensely honored with the opportunity to meet the legendary Date Masamune eye to eye. Immediately after the meeting, though, Genda was sent back to his ship; Masamune couldn't guarantee his safety or proper residence in the still troubled city. Genda felt immensely humbled that the old general would go to such lengths to care about a mere diplomat.

"Unlikely, Sir..." his bodyguard seemed uneasy for some reason. His hand was already on the hilt of his katana. "You'd better head back under the deck..."

"Nonsense. Who else could just sail into a Japanese harbour like that? These ships look too big to be Persian, either. In fact, far too big... And far too many... Do we even have that many ships of the line?"

"Sir! The design... iron plated bows! Leonardo's secret technology! These are Egyptian ships!"

"What?! You must be..."

"Here they come...!" shouted the bodyguard, moving to forcefully pull Gendo off the deck, before everything was drowned in the noise of hundreds of guns and muskets being fired. They never stood any chance. Gendo's small ship took the first broadside fired by HMS Hydra and was reduced to burning splinters.



The Egyptian fleet continued the barrage long after the Japanese have retreated, leaving bodies and burning houses behind. The main army arrived the next day, ten thousands of elite cavalry and four hundred heavy cannons. Their barrels stayed cold; there was no Japanese soldier left in the city.

Having a force far outnumbering the former Japanese garrison, and containing thousands of plate-armored halberdiers, Heliconnen had little trouble in completely subjugating the surviving Persians. The indescriminate destruction his cannons have brought upon the city made the recent Japanese assault seem almost pale in comparison. The Baron took a residence in the most representative, if not easily defensible palace, completely trusting his overwhelming manpower.

The messenger reached him when he was in the middle of dinner, gorging himself on the best wine and meat that could be looted from the city.

"...And so, the Japanese force was completely annihilated. Date Masamune is confirmed killed. It took twelve halberdiers to take him down."

"How many dead?" perked up the Baron.

"Thankfully, just over fifteen hundred. That's only thanks to our unmatched plate armor and recent advances in medicine. We have great many wounded though. If this was happening a hundred years ago, we could be looking at six thousand dead here. We took most of our losses while trying to approach their musketeers, and while their bullets were rarely able to kill outright, you cannot brave such barrage unharmed, even in plate armor. Still, we have to ship thousands back to Egypt. Out of five regiments, only one is in full readiness, and another one can be replenished with the lightly wounded after they recover. The remaining three, well, lost for good."

The Baron shook his head.

"How many dead in total, Colonel. Ours, Japanese, Persian, military and civilian."

"Well, including the Japanese siege... twenty thousand Persians, twenty thousand Japanese. Plus at least thirty thousands civilians."

"Hmm... Have we outdid Arturia and Delhi then? I think the figure was close to seventy thousands there as well..."

"Uhm. We have found some interesting documents on Masamune's body. You will find them most interesting; it seems he was quite a thinker and his insights into the current state of the Japanese Empire could possibly generate quite a storm in our ruling circles. Their concepts of administration and the way of ruling are simply astonishing."

"Good, good. So the old man took the honorable way out. But it seems I have put far too many bodies in his way for him to weasel out of this... So sad. Colonel! This concludes Phase 1. Pass the sealed orders concerning Phase 2 to your peers. We'll be starting soon. Now, if you'll excuse me... I had another meeting underway when you arrived."

The Baron smiled at an astonishingly beautiful Persian woman who was sharing the table with him.



"So, the Prince seems to be a reasonable man after all. Yes, I'm quite comfortable with the general idea of what he is proposing. The details, however... they need some working out..." his smile turned into a repulsive grin. The woman, however, didn't flinch.

"That's what he expected. Don't get us wrong, though. You're ruthless conquerors, just like the Japanese. Only for now, you're lesser of two evils. Your dark tyranny is better than their desire to posess our souls. And your appearance might discourage them from attacking more of our cities."

"Indeed. I'm not interested in your soul, pretty pet. It's your body the Prince gave me as a gift."

"Only for now. Until the negotiations are complete. And I'm only doing it for him and for my country."

"Such a pure maiden. If you're as skilled as you're proud, he couldn't give me a more perfect gift... Let's see if Persia has more to offer than just sweet screams of agony and fresh food." He made a slight gesture. "Very well. The negotiations are postponed till tomorrow. For now, I shall savour you. Not too quickly. Let's begin with something innocent... And you're wearing too much clothes to start."

[Eerion]

Three girls were sitting in the room and looking at the map of Persia.
“It looks pretty bad” Ahri said with a grim look on her face. She was growing fast, and it wasn’t long before Hanekawa decided to end her childhood.
“You think so?” Hanekawa said “Persis have fallen, we have lost Date, but... this is all. Ectabana is still standing and with their defences they should be able to hold off enemies. If I recall correctly, the leader of the defences is the son of One Eyed Dragon, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct. Date Masamune left his son Hidemune in charge of securing the city before leaving for Persis campaign.”
“We have to help him! Ectabana may not survive on their own!” Young girl insisted
“The chance that their navy will intercept our reinforcements is just too big” Haruhi answered calmly “We do not wish to repeat the past”
“Are we abandoning them?”
“No, we are not” Hanekawa said quickly. But before we send our reinforcements we have to ensure our work will not be in vain.” She stopped for a moment “Haruhi. What about the goverment concept we shared with Russians and Indians while ago?”
“They accepted our gift, however, both countries are still reluctant to put it into action. They may think it’s a sabotage try of some kind. I don’t know. Well it was worth trying.” Suzumiya responded
“Cleopatra feels so mighty, so she acts cocky. Even thought it wasn’t of great use, friends should be generous from time to time. That’s also a lesson this bltch has to learn.”
“But what about our homeland? What shall Nippon do?” Ahri was slightly shaking. Still young and inexperienced, she was concerned about any possible danger.
“Nippon shall show them what we are capable of.” Haruhi said, looking at the Empress. “You have a plan already, don’t you?”
“Indeed. I will explain everything to you tomorrow. Both of you are going to be responsible for that.”
“We?” Both girls answered completely surprised. “What about you?”
“I may be off for some time. There are few people... I need to talk with.” Empress looked at the map.
“One person in particular” she added. “I shall start with the Dragon of Echigo. Call him to me.”

The Dragon of Echigo. Uesugi Kenshin.

[Eerion]

The forces were moving quickly. After the fall of Ashur, the Assault Corps marched north to continue the conquest. Ten thousands of templars supported by eight thousands of musketeers. The monstrous power was adcancing towards Susa burning everything on its way. The line made of scorched earth was almost perfectly straight as no Persian army was able to stand against them.
Until the messenger has arrived.


Shimazu Yoshihiro, the leader of Assault Corps.

“I’m glad my orders have reached you in time Yoshihiro” Hanekawa said.
The commander of Assault Corps, Shimazu Yoshihiro kneeled before her. Her visit, kept in complete secrecy was the last thing he would have guessed. Still, she was standing before him. Wearing a perfectly fit leather armor with a breastplate on top. Two handguns were attached to the both sides of her belt and there was a sheathed katana on her back. She looked like a heavy armored scout rather than a powerful warrior. Still no one dare to question her choice of clothing or how safe it was.
“No force could stop the words of a Goddess” the commander responded. “I do not know the circumstances, however, I prepared the army as you asked me to. For last several days we were dispatching scouts all day long to ensure the Persians will not track us, at least not so easy.”
“You did a good job. I’m sure your men did your best, but on the way here we spotted a garrison marching to reinforce their defences. I don’t know if you let someone notice you or some wise commander figured it out, but enemy forces are moving alongside the river just few hours from here.”
“How many of them?” The general was clearly dissatisfied by this information.
“Several thousands of slingers. At least it looked like so. We had no time to check it out properly” Empress pointed at the map of the area “I’m going to split your army. From now on you’re in charge of musketeers and the supplies. Maintain the current course, as I’m going to intercept and slaughter these barbarians. We shall meet afterwards and plan the assault on the city.”
“My lady.” Shimazu wanted to confirm what he had read beforehand. He had to confirm something with his own ears. “The walls of Persepolis are high and sturdy. Even though they made a mistake and moved some of their forces to reinforce Susa in anticipation of our attack, they have still more than enough to hold us before their main forces arrive. Forgive me my insolence but how do you wish to breach their fortifications?”
“You care about your soldiers, don’t you? I shall forgive you questioning me... this time.” Empress answered coldly. The general kneeled down and bowed, asking for a forgiveness. “I have some spies within the city walls. They will open the gates for us and join us in the slaughter, when we will strike at night.”
“Yes my lady” Yoshihiro answered.
“Prepare everything to meet me in a few days. Tell your soldiers to be ready for battle, as there won’t be time for preparations”


The painting of Yazdi.

“My prince! You have to wake up!” The delicate girly voice snapped him out from his dreams.
“What is it, Yazdi?” The prince sat up on a bed rubbing his eyes. Two concubines in his bed also woke up. He looked at them and sent them off with a simple hand gesture, as he knew such situation doesn’t happen unless it’s an emergency. The messenger waited until they left the room and said.
“The enemy has breached the walls. We were betrayed by our own men. They allowed enemy army to enter the city!” The girl voice was constantly rising. She looked terribly worried, surprised by the whole situation, as she wore nothing but a see through night gown. Being his first concubine, she was an outstanding beauty in every possible aspect. The nervousness, seen easily on her face, only made her look even more charming.
Prince stood up and started putting on his clothing. As a careful man he always kept up his armor and weapons nearby. “What’s the situation right now?” He asked while arming up.
“Our men somehow managed to stop the march of their templars, however, it all fell apart when their musketeers showed up. They are moving slowly shooting down everyone be it a civilian or armed soldier. Covering each other backs they are invincible for our partisan units. They move slowly, but steadily. It’s just the matter of time before they reach the palace my prince!”
Prince, fully armored, appeared at the doors. He was wearing a fine leather armor incrusted with valuable gems from the Himalayan range. The top notch of Persian military capabilities, suited for fighting in the desert and not rusting like the plate armors other countries were using. He had a sword and his legendary dagger attached to his belt.
“So we have to warm them properly it seems. We have some bows at the armory. We might be able to hold them off at the inner walls before reinforcements from Susa or Egypt show up. Hopefully my messenger did well in Persis.”
Yazdi looked at him with fear in his eyes and responded gloomy.
“One of the gates leading to the palace was sabotaged.” Seeing as the prince stopped for a moment “There were few concubines and soldiers within the palace that worked for Nippon. They opened the gates and destroyed the mechanism. It cannot be fixed in short time.”
The ruler of Persia put a hand on his mouth and sighed.
“What happened to them?” He asked, following his concubine with his eyes, as she passed him by and entered his personal armory.
“They were executed on the spot, but it was too late. The palace bound to fall my lord. You have to escape. Run to Susa using the escape tunnel your great grandfather created after the fall of Persegarde.”
“And abandon all my family ever created?” He responded in rage “Abandon the hundred thousands of Persians who live in this city?”
“They are doomed already my lord.” the First Concubine showed up, carrying a longsword on her back. “But you still can live. You are the embodiment and spirit of Persia. Persepolis may fall, yet if you are alive there still is hope. Egyptians may reclaim the city for us if we pay enough. Or...”
Prince put a finger on her mouth, preventing her from continuing her speech.
“It’s ok” he whispered to her ear. “I will fulfill your wish. But I’m not going alone.”
“I shall follow you everywhere” She said while embracing him.

They were inside of a smelly tunnel looking like a sewage drain. Wide enough for two people to pass each other with ease it runned under whole metropolis up to the fields north from the capitol. unused for long time it was completely covered by moss. The fire of a torch allowed them to see few meters ahead, as the everything was complete dark.
“We shall be around the city walls by now” Yazdi broke the silence. They were walking as quickly as the slippery ground allowed them. They closed the entrance to the passage, yet the ominous feeling was forcing them to hurry up.
A loud sigh stopped them in their tracks.
“It took you longer than I anticipated. You’re not in a hurry, even though your country is burning, are you, dear prince?” A mysterious female voice spoke calmly. They’ve heard the sound of the steps and moment later they noticed a beautiful woman with a cat ears. She was pointing a gun at them, while holding the other one in her hand.
“Hanekawa...” Prince said while gritting his teeth. “Who else could pull of such impudent and shameless plan if not you” he said, while grabbing his dagger. “You conquered half of my country and now you’re here to finish me off personally?”
Empress nodded with a gentle smile.
“I have a bad news for you” he pressed the tip of his dagger. A dry wind blew from within the weapon stopping time for everything and everyone but its owner. Both girls, fire from the torch, everything stopped moving. “It is your end not mine” he said whilst taking a step ahead.
“Is it?” Nekomimi suddenly grinned while pulling the trigger.
Eyes of the prince opened widely, as the bullet pierced his right arm. He fell to his knee dropping the dagger. Shocked and wounded he spoke more to himself than his enemy. “How?”
“Haruhi, a Goddess prepared a medallion for me. It nullify all the magic your artifact is capable of.”
“How... did you know about it... and the passage?” He looked at her with pain and hatred in his eyes.
“You are strong, but naive. Plenty of your servants were also my servants. They were telling me about everything you did. Your dagger is a well known mythical item. You showed it to thousands of your soldiers during the war with India. It was just a matter of time before my scholars told me everything I had to know... and prepare for facing it.” Hanekawa spoke, while looking at the slowly evaporating sand inside the hilt. “And the tunnel... It was known to only few people, but unfortunately one of them served me.”
“Who... betrayed me?” His face displayed terror. He looked at Yazdi, but she didn’t move as if set in stone. The magic of the dagger of time worked on her flawlessly.
“I won’t tell you but it wasn’t her. At least your ***** was loyal to you.”
“Don’t... insult her.” The immense pain was slowly getting over him. Remains of gunpowder were inflaming his wound.
“I’d love to chit chat more with you, but the sand of your precious weapon is running out.” She pointed the second gun at his head. “Farewell, Prince of Persia. Your country dies together with you tonight.”
“Cur...” The bullet smashed his skull splashing the blood around.
Hanekawa threw away the guns, pulling out the katana. “My medallion also protects me from that” she said, while cutting off the head of the first concubine with one swift move.
Even though she could see the line at her neck, the head did not fall off.
“Creepy” Empress commented, as she turned away and approached the dagger. The last grains of sand within the hilt were already evaporating. “I don’t think this weapon could accept any of my people” She stepped on it, crushing the glass handle. The body behind her fell to the ground. She looked at the dead ruler.
“I wanted to let you die bravely. On the battlefield like the great leader should. Your fate was sealed from the very beginning and this pathetic alliance only quickened your demise. It’s a sad fate, dear prince. But don’t worry. Those who took away your chance to die a warrior’s death shall pay. It’s just a matter of time... the one you don’t control anymore.”

The legendary dagger of time