~| Deep within the northeastern reaches of the Kalesian empire, along the shores of the river Velk, high in the Kargan mountains |~

Peace. That was the rule of the land. Back when she had been a child, the very idea of peace in the area, let alone entire region had been laughable. Back then, anyone traveling between towns needed to do so in well-armed caravans. Now, anywhere more than ten hours’ travel from the borders of the empire was safe. The roads were patrolled by the imperial legions, the wilderness by Bargal irregulars. Even the beasts of the wild knew now to avoid the imperial highways. Sure, she knew they crossed the roads frequently, but not even feral bargals attacked travelers. It was just as she had envisioned it so long ago.

She climbed the path as she frequently did. Sometimes, it led along the river, but other times it did not. Where the river had picked the shortest route down, people could not do the same. At the usual place, she turned off the path, heading out onto the outlook. She was simply dressed, with clothes lacking any significant ornamentation. Her boots were designed with two purposes in mind: comfort and safe footing.

The outlook was bare of any growth, bare stone atop a sheer cliff. She stopped a few steps from the edge, a bit wary of the edge. Though she knew every stone intimately, she had never quite overcome her respect for heights. She moved about the outlook, then found her favored spot. Only then did she turn back out, looking over the expanse of the empire’s heartland. Below her, the mountains stretched for hours, giving way to rolling hills, vast forests and endless plains. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Looking to the east, she could see some of the lines of the imperial highways. Where the land itself preferred irregular shapes and curves, the highways were mostly straight lines, only curving where the terrain could not be easily molded to permit straight lines. To the casual observer, nothing about the roads looked out of place. But she was no casual observer. She had been watching the roads every day. She had seen how there were more troops marching west than there were marching east. It was subtle, for there were a lot of troops marching east as well. Not that she needed to watch the highways to know this. She turned around, returning to the path. She had much further to go that day.

~| Two hours later |~

The woman had now arrived at the southern outlook. She had made good time. But then, she always did. Far below her, the river churned, slowly eating away at the rock face. Eventually, she knew, it would eat enough to destabilize the overlook. It was inevitable. She did not mind. It was the way of the world.

She gazed out, watching the distant construction. A mere two decades earlier, it had been bare mountains and forest. Now, the deep end of the valley held a massive fortress-city. A true marvel of engineering. Tens of thousands had contributed to the construction. Though far more spartan in its ornamentation, the sophistication of the fortifications were close to rivaling the imperial capital. Though fairly wide, the valley was also the one reaching furthest into the Karak Claw mountains. Gazing out towards its terminus, she could see even more fortifications there, including a massive wall that protected the valley. Its gates were invisible from this distance, but she knew they would be open now.

The sides of the valley were lined with villages and military encampments, for though only the finishing touches upon the fortifications of the fortress-city remained, it had not been built to house the sheer number of people involved in its construction as well as a good portion of the imperial army. She smiled to herself. It was impressive what men and women could achieve if they put their hearts and minds into it.

While the other end was carefully concealed, here there was no need to conceal the true purpose behind the whole fortress-city. None who entered the valley did so without permission, and only a select few had left again. Back when the whole project had been planned, it had quickly been determined that preventing most from leaving again would be the only way to reliably keep all foreigners from knowing about it.

Most fortresses were surrounded by a single wall, maybe two. This city was not like those. Sure, it had walls like them, but while she referred to it as a single city, it consisted of two nigh-identical fortresses, with the tallest and thickest walls facing the wide passage between them. Walkways and tunnels connected the two, but each could function without the other. In time, she knew, the fortresses would be expanded deep into the mountains themselves, providing room for tens of thousands more.

If the purpose of the fortress-city had been simply as a safe place to live, the wide passage would have been a massive defensive weakness. But that was not its purpose. In the face of the mountain, at the deep end of the great passage, the massive opening of a tunnel could be seen. It was wide enough for forty men and women to march beside each other. But this was not, of course, visible from the overlook. No. This she knew for other reasons.

“Milenka Alena Kysely.” She said in a normal voice, not bothering to turn about. At first, nothing happened. She appeared to be all alone. Then the underbrush on the far side of the path broke apart, revealing another woman, this one dressed in nondescript leathery armor made from the hide of a large, scaled animal. “Tell them it is time.”

“At once, Cisárovná.” The second woman, Melenka Kysely, bowed deeply, then drew back. Less than two minutes later, the skies above the valley changed. It was subtle at first. Imperceptible to any who did not know what to watch for and when. From the east a large cloud moved in. Up until then, the skies above the valley had been a clear blue, only broken by the two full moons visible at this time of day. The moment the shadow of the cloud hit the edges if the fortress-city, it slowed. Then it transformed. Where it once had been a random shape, the woman could see how it now took on the shape of a massive fist.

Even this, while improbable, could happen naturally. What came next, none would ever accuse of being anything other than magical, for next the light of the sun, once blocked by the cloud started filtering through, shining down upon the ground like rainbows. She knew it looked impressive, but also knew that it was all an illusion. There was no evoker she knew of capable of manipulating the skies in such a fashion. Or rather, to do so with any sort of control.

At first, activity in the valley seemed to pause as the illusion unfolded. Then things started moving once more, with clearly renewed purpose. By the time the illusion faded, the military encampments along the valley were breaking up, moving like immense dark green serpents down to the valley floor, where they merged together. Within an hour, the head of the serpent started marching, heading into the tunnel. It would take many hours more before the rear end of the imperial legions entered. She did not feel like watching any more. After all, she did have an empire to run.