As soon as Kareet asked about who the crew were, Vigdis started laughing. ”That’s a good question, because half of us aren’t even supposed to be on board.” She managed to get out before recomposing herself, ”That includes me. Many of us just took shelter on the ship when the shipyard was attacked. I haven’t had the time to familiarize myself with most people yet, except those I work with. We engineers have been busy with… You know.” She quietly pointed at several dents in the hull where bigger rocks struck it or parts have been ripped off. ”We built her well.” Vigdis said with evident pride, looking over the mass of metal that managed to survive missiles built to take down ships bigger than her and then slamming into the ground with just three dead and two major injuries. The NSIA will be happy.

”But in general, the original crew are explorers. Some former military, as the Jotunheim’s owners needed well-trained people who could work independently. The ‘stowaways’ I assume are mostly dock workers who happened to be nearby as in my case. When people are shooting at you, a mobile fortress sounds like a good place to be.” It was also fortunate a lot of the stowaways were from Norway, a country that still conscripted both genders, but that was another piece of information Vigdis judged would be best kept quiet about.

”Actual history is a very extensive topic, between more than 200 nations on Earth alone, plus all the colonies. It would probably be best to learn your writing and make the translators work with text as well as spoken word, that way we could simply give you any written records we have with us.” She tried to explain the scale, though unsure if historical notes were something they had saved in some dark recess of the computer banks. ”The ship itself was built to explore distant worlds. The ability to travel faster than light- well, it probably isn’t actually faster than light, I think that’s fundamentally impossible, but I’m a metallurgist, not a physicist. Anyway, the ability to travel to worlds other than those around our sun is new to us. A decade ago, a species that had this ability showed up at our doorstep so to speak, asking for aid and in exchange, they would explain this technology of theirs to us. Then we had ourselves a fight over who’d get to host them and benefit from this the most.“ Nope, still not proud of their warrior culture, ”Sound familiar? Naturally, those who got their hands on this knowledge started working on it right away, and we’d just finished the Jotunheim when someone attacked it. I don’t know if they wanted it for themselves, or were opposed to using this technology, it doesn’ really matter. Except something went wrong when we tried to use this propulsion method to get away from the shipyard quickly, and instead of ‘on the other side of Earth’ we ended up here. Come to think of it, humans have a record of accidentally finding something useful or interesting, land and new cultures inhabiting it included. Historically speaking the first order of business is to establish a spice trade.” Well, after violence and putting the locals’ stuff into museums, but let’s not be British.

@Catharyn

Kolvar Stilmyst

Kovalr thought for a moment about Zey’s questions. He would like to know what it would feel like to experience what humans do in their daily lives. But he knew he would not do anything nefarious while disguised as a human. The only issue would be having to convince Zey that he didn’t want to infiltrate and cause chaos among them. “I understand your concern captain Zey, but I assure you my intentions are not sinister. I only want to study your people’s anatomy.” He could tell that Zey was quite tense when he requested to study the human body, so he would have chosen his words carefully.

“I can but it would take some time for me to fully copy the form of a human.” He would need to work quickly because he would not get a chance to study them properly if the bodies are ash. “Very well I agree to these terms. I promise you that I mean no ill will by studying your people’s anatomy Unfortunately I cannot study the anatomy of a deceased subject, it would be more efficient if the subject was alive. Would it be okay if I studied one of your living crewmembers?.” Kolvar placed a clawed hand on his chest replicating similar gestures humans would make.

Kolvar felt annoyed he was having so much trouble trying to convince them to let him study their anatomy. Again he wasn’t going to do anything nefarious with his findings. But he understood that they would need to be careful of interlopers. He wanted to write a book about their history, culture, and anatomy. Although with everything going on, he would need to put that on hold. Kolvar tapped his claws together in a melodic manner. The thought came to him of the possibility of disguising himself as one of Sibermine’s men and infiltrating his camp. But really that would only make things more difficult for the humans to escape.

Given Nellara's previous reactions, one would expect her to be angry or make a bitter expression as General Kvarr told her about the harsh truth that would follow a possible conflict between Mythadia and the Ascension, but surprisingly enough, instead of reacting like that, Nellara let out a treacherous smirk as she looked directly towards the General.

"If the situation was different, I would have agreed with you, General. Fortunately, this war is one neither one of our nations can afford for two very important reasons..." Nellara said with a treacherous smirk as she raised her hand, showing two fingers as she spoke.

"The Mythadians might be religious fanatics, but the ones ruling them aren't idiots. They know that a war with the Ascension, even though the probability of victory is high, won't leave them unscathed..." Nellara began explaining.

"Peace in Kanth-Aremek, especially between the powerful nations, is only maintained due to the delicate power balance that currently brought wars and conflicts to a halt. A war against the Ascension would leave Mythadia weakened and the other nations wouldn't ignore that opportunity." Nellara continued.

"Especially since Mythadia already has a history with their warmongering ways. The reasons other nations might have to take that opportunity would be too many to ignore. To eliminate a possible threat now that they are weakened, to deal a decisive strike to the weakened Mythadia and take the spoils of both wars to themselves, without too much losses..." Nellara continued, lowering the first finger.

"The second reason are the presence of the humans. Even if they end up maintaining a neutral position should a war start, it is clear that they will refuse trade with a warmongering nation, considering how cautious about their own knowledge they are. In the chance they will pick up on arms to stop said conflict, even though they aren't technically part of it, it is also certain that they will support the defending side." Nellara said, lowering the second finger.

"Thanks to those, as long as we maintain a defensive posture, we can afford to defend our pride, our borders and our territory from Mythadia without fearing a war. If, despite this, we still lower our heads and let Mythadia invade our borders with an army, disrespect our territorial authority like this, there is little to no guarantee they won't keep breaking the treaties, going further and further into our territory, knowing we fear them and won't react." Nellara said, with a serious expression.

"Each one of these reasons might a risky gamble by themselves, but due to the complex situation Kanth-Aremek finds itself in, both with the delicate power balance and with the arrival of the humans, those are gambles we can afford to take with little to no fear, General... And if we win theme, we won't have to lower our head neither to the Mythadians or any other nation ever again." Nellara finished with a determined expression.

---

That night lightning quaked sourceless to the west beyond midnight thunderheads, but never quite reached the Jotunheim. Itxaro watched it as it crept ever closer in the darkness like some malevolent spirit dragging itself towards the living, only to break and dissipate as fast as it formed. The sky cleared, and Itxaro watched as an endless river of stars went past, each one foreign and brilliant and new to her eyes.

She slept fitfully after that, her leg like an evil visitant in the bed with her, itching as torn flesh healed. No more painkillers. Doctor's orders. Itxaro had enough to occupy her mind after the strange day so it bothered her little.

The sun rose over jagged, snow-peaked mountaintops to the east, though Itxaro was up well before it. After yesterday's madness, Shirik had made her an offer too good to pass up - a naturalist tour of sorts. Itxaro had never been hunting or fishing in her life, but time spent learning the local flora and fauna would be better than staring at an FTL engine that wouldn't function until the more practical-minded engineers were able to restore power. The two agreed to meet by the nearby lake downhill from the Jotunheim which she had only seen from a distance, and was eager to see up close.

Itxaro gathered what she figured might be useful and packed it all into her sea bag. A cargo net, some duct tape, an MRE, and a crudely welded “fishing pole” consisting of an aluminum pipe with a few rings welded on and a spool of plastic wire, along with some even more rudimentary metal fishing hooks. She doused the sea bag in her homemade borax concoction, hoping it would prevent the canvas bag from igniting on her back. Booted, pistoled, shotgun slung across her shoulder, and feeling like some kind of itinerant vagrant, she let Chief Zhao know her plans before making her into the wider world.

Once out of sight from the Jotunheim, Itxaro unpinned her white hair, letting it tumble down savage and unkempt, and wriggled her arms free of the grey jumpsuit's sleeves, tying them at the waist, before throwing on a crumpled ball cap embroidered with the Jotunheim's logo. The simple change made her feel more herself, as if she was going on a camping trip instead of stranded on an alien world. Itxaro smiled to herself before pressing on through the trees, watching as strange birds flushed from each branch at her passing.

------

Shirik didn’t sleep like most. For weeks or even months at a time, they didn’t sleep at all. All throughout the night, they gathered sticks and tall blades of grass to fabricate fishing tools. When the morning came, they were by the lake which was fed from rivers that ran through the entire countryside. The fish that swam through were native species all the way from Mythadia. It was the perfect place to catch something.

By the time Ixtaro came down to meet them, there was already a thick, grassy line in the colder water. On the ground next to Shirik was a large net made of woven grass spread out to wrap a fish up once caught. Shirik’s cloak was propped up with branches like a small tent, and they sat cross-legged on the shore. Silent and unmoving like a statue.

And entirely aware of Ixtaro approaching from behind. ”There you are.”

"Here I am," Itxaro confirmed as she strode past the dwarf evergreens nearest the lakeshore where rich soil transitioned into loose sand. "Didn't think I'd miss this, did ya?" Itxaro asked rhetorically, sweeping the landscape with a free hand. The glacial lake was surrounded by tall pines, or what passed for pines on this planet, and the shore was studded with polished rocks intermingled with soft dark sand. On the far shore, a herd of bison-like creatures with what looked like green grass growing on their backs waded into the turquoise water and drank deeply. Birds the color of slate with trailing plumage circled the area, and occasionally one would dive into the mirrored surface of the water below and emerge with some aquatic creature trapped in their long beak. It was all beautiful, unlike anything she'd seen back on Earth, even in old footage before the ecosystem started to crumble.

Itxaro turned her attention from the scenery to Shirik's fishing implements; similar to her own improvised equipment, but more... Crunchy. She emptied the contents of her bag onto the sand before taking a seat next to Shirik. "I'll be real with you Shirik, I haven't been fishing since I was a kid, so any pointers would be much appreciated. What's today's catch?" Itxaro asked as she fumbled with her own rod and line.

”That depends entirely on what takes the bait. Nakaresk, Greenjaws, Soreltails, or more could be swimming through here. Water from this lake runs through rivers all the way from Mythadia and the mountains to the north. You could catch anything here.” Shrink was in another one of those mellowed out moods, apparently. Who would’ve guessed the tree knew a thing or two about nature?

There was barely a sound on the lake beyond the distant din of work happening from the Jotunheim. ”I have no need for food, but there are few things that mend rifts quite as well as something cooked to perfection and shared among the people.”

Itxaro clumsily threaded her line through the rod’s rings and looked it over with dismay. Graduated from the best engineering program in the USASR and you can’t even make a primitive tool. Nice. She shrugged, figuring it would have to do, before attempting to tie on a hook as she spoke. “Naksek and Soretails, right. Think they’d like beef stew? No one on the Jotunheim does.” she tilted her chin to the emergency ration on the rocks nearby, which was labeled SAVORY BEEF CHUNKS WITH POTATOES AND VEGETABLES. She’d had the meal only once, and that was one time too many.

No need for food. What the hell is going on with this planet? Itxaro racked her brain thinking of life on earth that didn’t require any form of sustenance at all and drew a blank. It seemed contrary to the laws of physics and what little she knew about biology. Then again, neither of those included magic in their calculations. She decided to leave the topic for another time.

“You sure that’s a rift you want to mend? Seemed like everyone was pretty happy being at eachother’s throats,” Itxaro said as she remembered yesterday’s shouting match. She was all for it, of course, but had a sneaking suspicion it would simply end up like last time. Or worse.

Itxaro opened up the MRE and quickly attached a piece of “beef”, or whatever it really was, onto her hook and resealed the package before the fetid smell of synthetic meat and barely-edible vegetables reached her nose. “Maybe Silbermine doesn’t have to know about this cookout?” She cast her line, nearly snagging herself with the hook in the process.

”You already know what Silbermine intends to do. I expect Zeynap finds both sides to have merit. She will do as she wishes, and you will inevitably follow her lead. Silbermine’s type is one I’ve watched tear this world apart for countless years. More so than most people alive today in this world. His knights follow him because they must. Without a lord to uplift them, they might starve or be cast out to the lowest of their people.”

Shirik idly watched Ixtaro with that contraption of hers. Was it metal like the rest of their strange objects? Curious.

”Nellara means well. I know this, because it is in her nature to be so. The place she is from is a night and day difference to Silbermine. Divine right and self-affirmation are things that cannot exist together. So, no. I don’t believe Silbermine must know. But that isn’t for me to say. The Ascendancy will value you all as partners in trade, and Silbermine values you as a political token. I stand to gain nothing from entertaining either of those, but you and Zeynap do. It is her decision to invite him. Not mine.”

Itxaro stretched her long limbs out before her, digging furrows into the sand with her bootheels before settling into a figure four with her sore leg sitting out straight. She scoffed at Shirik’s first comment. “Zey’s gonna do whatever she wants to, and most of the crew will follow, but that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna go along with it. C’mon.” Itxaro reeled her line in idly as she spoke, hoping the movement might draw in some strange fish.

“And what’s Silbermine’s type? Nobility? Or just someone with power? We’ve had both back home, and both types are assholes. What separates the Ascendancy from Mythadia, aside from how those in power get it?” Itxaro said, giving up on trying to tempt any fish and instead turned to face Shirik. “Doesn’t matter if you’re born into it, ordained by the Gods, or earn it, either way you’ll abuse it. Hurt those weaker than you. Exploit them for as long as you’re able.” She was dipping into Marxist rhetoric, just a touch, to see how receptive Shirik would be. Purely out of curiosity, of course.

She shrugged her broad shoulders and looked back to the lake and the distant mountains. “Between you and me, I think we can outplay Silbermine. That’s half the battle, right? Play his little game, take his money, then be done with it. But if the benevolent rulers of these nations don’t want to play politics, then fuck it, let them slaughter eachother out there,” Itxaro said, nodding her chin to the northern fields. She didn’t mean this. In fact, the thought of nameless soldiers killing each other for plunder horrified her. But Itxaro hoped it proved her point; they could resolve this without bloodshed if they just tried.

“Pretty novel idea, I’m sure it’s never been done before.” Itxaro thought she felt something tug at her line, but after excitedly reeling it in there was only the hook and bait. She sighed after casting it back out into the lake. “I thought you said there were fish here.”

After hearing everything Ixtaro just said, Shirik had to think of how to best explain the way things worked around here. ”I have watched both of their nations rise up from nothing. I am older than both the Ascendancy and Mythadia’s nobility, much older. This is how they’ve both been for centuries. They are both set in their ways, for better or for worse. I won’t pretend that siding with either is a flawless decision. Mythadia’s faith dictates how they rule, and those in the lowest rung of their society are forced to stay there for the sake of the nobleman’s power.”

Shirik noticed a ripple appear across the lake’s surface, but continued. ”In the Ascendancy, there is no help. You aren’t forced to stay in a caste like Mythadia, but no one will help you obtain anything. You work for everything you have, and the slightest lapse in success can mean your downfall. Merit, and merit alone is what they judge a person by, so much so that your family would be imprisoned for leaving behind an inheritance for you. In your situation, Ixtaro, they will only entertain your presence so long as you have something of material value for them. But they won’t lie about it.”

”If a fire destroys their homes, they are expected to either pay for their home to be rebuilt, or to build it again themselves. You are on your own in that nation.”

Another ripple. Closer this time.

”I care very little for that heartless nature of the Ascendancy, but Nellara’s presence is far less sickening than Silbermine’s. He’s a warlord. A conqueror, who only cares for himself. He wants to claim your skyward vessel because it will make him powerful beyond measure in the political sphere of Mythadia. Others would flock to his House and pledge their loyalty, their skills, and their weapons to him. I told you I was a soldier. I went to war against people like him.”

Itxaro turned Shirik’s words over and over in her head. Initially, she’d considered the Ascendancy the better choice, but now she wasn’t so sure. Their commitment to “meritocracy,” as they deemed it, seemed to border on insanity to her, like some sort of demented libertarianism. Every man an island. Any state that operated with this economic system, Itxaro figured, would have collapsed decades ago, but Shirik said the Ascendancy had been like this for a long time. But where does the wealth go? Capital is almost always accumulated in the family first and grows from there. What does the state do with the money, if they’re seizing the assets? Certainly not investing in the welfare of their citizens.

Feudalism, for all its woes, at least offered a system of support. Peasants supported eachother and their lord, while the lord offered some measure of protection and charity in return. Not perfect, and more exploitative than outright capitalism, Itxaro considered, but certainly less cruel than “every man for themselves.” She determined that there must be more to it than what Shirik was letting on. Itxaro reminded herself that she was on an alien world and her framework for social analysis might not apply.

Itxaro sat in silence for a few moments, returning to reality just in time to see ripple in the water near her improvised bobber. Her body tensed, but the ripple faded and she relaxed.

“Alright, so say you are us. What would you do in our situation? Join the Ascendency and go to war? ” Itxaro asked; it came off as sarcastic, but she meant it as an earnest question. She spread out her legs before bringing her knees up to her chest. She held the aluminum rod in her prosthetic hand while the other idly drew circles in the sand.

”I would side with neither of them. I’d find my own way to walk and see what the path leads to.”

The bobber dipped into the water for just a moment and reappeared on the surface but it went unnoticed. Only when the line drew taut and the spooled string began running did Itxaro realize she had a fish on the line. She also realized with a twinge of shame that she’d forgotten to include any method of reeling the line in when constructing her fishing rod; just rope on a stick.

Itxaro dug her feet into the loose sand and braced herself just as the line ran out, but whatever had taken the bait was larger than she’d anticipated. Much larger. In an instant Itxaro was pulled to her feet as she struggled with the rod. ”Uh, Shirik, how big are the fish in this lake?” She asked nervously.

”Very.”

The fish yanked aggressively in answer and flung Itxaro to the ground. She came up spitting sand from her mouth. Itxaro tried to let go of the rod’s crude handle, but her prosthetic had locked up in response to the slipping metal and wouldn’t budge. The fish rallied and pulled again, dragging her closer to the water’s edge. She frantically braced her free hand and feet as best one could when belly down. “Shirik - help!” She didn’t notice his own line growing taut.

Shirik resisted the Herculean urge to cackle. Looking back at their own line and then Ixtaro’s, Shirik flicked their fingers towards the water, and a small fireball the size of Ixtaro’s skull was lobbed forth into the water. In response, a fish leapt up out of the water, scared by the sudden flash of steam.

The fish had Ixtaro’s hook between its jaws, and landed just inches away from her. It was 3 feet long, covered in bristly red scales and had whisker-like appendages protruding from its body. Shirik then grabbed their rod with both hands and hauled on it, dragging a fish out of the water slowly.

As it broke the water’s surface, mud and sand flicked up in every direction as the absolute behemoth on Shirik’s line was revealed. No shorter than Ixtaro was tall, and at least 2 feet wide. The fish had a flat face and dark gray scales, with stubby appendages that looked like feet. By the time it left the water and flopped for oxygen, Shirik could no longer drag the beast forward.

Now they were cackling in amusement at this catch. ”I haven’t seen one of these in centuries!”

”Jesus, Shirik. Give me a warning next time,” Itxaro said in disbelief as she watched the fish bow and shudder on the shore. What she wanted a warning for, Itxaro wasn’t sure. Giant fish, fireballs, perhaps both. They were monsters to be sure, bigger than anything she’d seen dragged from the water before.

Itxaro stood up and wrenched her prosthetic free of the now mangled aluminum rod. She shook like a wet dog, trying to rid herself of the sand now covering her body. “Thanks though. Didn’t think a city girl like me could catch a fish like that, did ya?” Itxaro added as she swiped away sand clinging to her arms and stomach. She couldn’t help join in Shirik’s laughter, both at the absurdity of the situation and out of relief. “Wasn’t planning on a swim this morning. What do we do with these big bastards now? And what the hell do you call them?” She eyed the two fish suspiciously, as if they had somehow conspired to drag her into the lake. Itxaro kept her distance from them.

”What I caught is called a Murkmaw. Yours is a Soreltail. Now, all we have to do is drag them up the hill and cool them. That’s why I brought the net.”

---

After binding their catches in the grass net, the two hauled their catch back up through the woods and into the clearing between the Jotunheim and the Ascendency’s camp. Shirik led Ixtaro to a small clump of 3 feet tall wooden sticks embedded in the ground. Next to it was a setup that allowed slices of meat to be hung over the ground. Under it was a smoking put full of blackened wood, smoking like the night of the crash.

”This is the part where you learn why I am the greatest heat mage to ever walk this land,” Shirik proclaimed in a near uncanny amount of confidence compared to any of their previous conversations.

”All I need from you is the sharpest knife you can bring me.” As they said this Shirik began tearing bark off of trees.

Itxaro shook her leg, still ridding herself of sand that had crept into her clothes, and rummaged through her pack before brandishing a large combat knife in its sheath. "Alright, world's greatest mage, let's see what you can do," Itxaro teased as she watched the Iriad work.

"I still want an answer to my question that Murkmaw so rudely interrupted, by the way." She held the sheathed knife out to Shirik, hilt-first. ”What would you do in our shoes?”

Accepting the curiously shaped metal knife, Shirik confided. ”I would ignore the bargains of political leaders. I would pick a direction and simply walk. What happens after simply happens. If I became the king of the strange new world or died within the hour, then I would have done both on my own terms.”

“Hmm. Ok. Not really an option for us, but good to know.” Shirik’s answer didn’t exactly provide Itxaro with a great alternative, but it certainly spoke volumes about what kind of being they were.

With that being said and done, Shirik slowly dragged the Murkmaw up over one shoulder and unceremoniously dropped it onto its back, over the spikes where it was impaled. The Sorelrail was impaled upon the spikes beside it in the same way. Shirik quickly and thoughtlessly scraped away every single scale in minutes. They then removed all the extremities from the Murkmaw with near surgical precision, laying them gently on the grass net along with a handful of sappy bark strips. The Soreltail was on the same way, except the fins were kept as well.

The next thing Shirik did was open them up, slicing away even, calculated chunks of flesh in rectangular cuts. There was enough flesh on the Murkmaw that Shirik skewered at least three slabs on every spike. Ixtaro was reminded of pinchos morunos, a sort of kebab, in the way they were laid out. She watched, obviously impressed with Shirik’s deft knife handling. In ten minutes, the guts of the Murkmaw were fully looted from its corpse. Blood began to well inside the newfound cavity, but this was intended.

Shirik did much the same for the smaller Soreltail, except they cut away its meat in longer strips, which were then cut in half and then fourths and laid across the cooking spit beside the spikes. These were higher above the ground. The smoke rose up and would eventually dry the meat out, making it edible for weeks after, or feed people for one evening if it was shared.

Shirik stepped back and began to draw shapes out of fire. A glowing ring of yellow light encircled the spikes, as the light arched over like the frame of a dome. Shirik raised their arms over their head, and the ring slammed itself into the dirt without a sound, causing the grass and the ground itself to ignite in a brilliant fire. The wooden stakes were untouched by the blaze, but the heat began to cook the meat slowly.

They then drew a small circle with one finger, and threw it into the pit like a frisbee, causing the smoke beneath the Soreltail to come up in greater volume. Shirik walked over and picked up the bark stripes, slowly dropping the sap on them onto the Murkmaw meat to add flavor to it.

With another hand, they made a circle over the harvested fins that quickly seared the very air around them, drying the fins out and cooking them in seconds. Strange as it may sound, the fins of a Soreltail tasted very peppery when cooked soon after being severed from the body.

”The feast will be ready shortly. Tell Zeynap that she is more than welcome to attend, and bring as many guests as she would like. I can feed over 30 people with this catch. I’ll tell Kareet and the Castigator shortly.”

Itxaro looked over the spread, barely to contain her excitement to eat food that hadn’t been pickled in fetid chemicals for several months. It might poison her, but judging from the smell of roasting fish, it just might be worth it. "I'll let'em know, see if we can't have the science team check if this is safe to - ah, fuck it."

Itxaro grabbed one of the skewered fins, from the Soreltail she thought, and bit into the flaky flesh. It was cooked through, so hopefully no risk of parasites, and the taste was exceptional; richer than she'd expected, dense, and almost spicy. "Oh yeah," Itxaro said as she chewed with a grin, "Not bad, chef, you've outdone yourself. How'd a tree get so good at cooking?"

Itxaro started to walk off in search of the commander, food in hand, but turned back to the strange creature tending to the fire. they were truly and utterly alien in every sense of the word. And yet, this alien had likely just saved her life an hour ago, and was now attempting, in their way, to broker some kind of peace between the humans and Ascendency via medieval barbeque. I think I owe him. Big time.

Itxaro wasn't big on thank you's, but she tried. "We'll have to do this again sometime. Maybe hunt some grazing animals, or at least something that won't try to drown me."

Shrink nodded to Ixtaro, and as she left, they turned and shouted in Kareet and Vigis’ direction.

”Kareet! You’re invited to eat with us and the humans shortly! Tell the Castigator if you see her!”

And then they turned their full attention to the food.

---

General Kvarr hummed to himself for a moment before answering. “With respect, Castigator, it sounds quite like you do agree with me. I do not want to diminish the effort you have placed into finding these conclusions, but rest assured you are not the first to think of them.” Kvarr gestured to the map, particularly to the Ascendancy’s northern border. “I am sure one in your position is aware of the territory disputes we have been having in the north. The discussions there have centered around the Sovereignty, though the true threat is Narkant. It is fortunate for us that S’toric nations are often mostly concerned with fighting each other, as they would have already turned their attention southward without that distraction. Yet, I know them; I know them quite well. If they were to see blood in the water, to identify a weakness, they would pounce without a second thought. You have correctly recognized that Mythadia faces a S’toric threat from the north themselves, but unfortunately, we also have that same weakness.”

The S’tor general shifted his focus to their present location on the map, right at the border of the Ascendancy and Mythadia. “We could put forward a military defense. Demand that our foes leave and defend this ground with force. Make no mistake, with everything I have heard of these Human visitors, it would be worth the risk. Yet, there is another way we can play this game. You have been trained extensively in the ways of war, Castigator, so I do not begrudge you approach the threat with war at the center of your mind. A few lifetimes ago, war was all that occupied my thoughts. Then I met a wonderful woman who opened my mind to other ways of thinking. Mythadia is a land where tradition reigns supreme. If we give them no justification to fight, it is much more difficult for them to muster support among their factions for a war. So, we present the Humans as a neutral entity; representatives of a foreign nation. Give them that status, and it is no longer the Ascendancy that Mythadia would be declaring war on. If we cede this little stretch of land to the Humans, for their use, then by Mythadian law, they would have to declare war on their nation to march upon it.”

Kvarr leaned back from the table. “From what you have said, we should have the advantage in negotiations with our visitors, yes?”

---

---

Kareet quietly looked up at the Jotunheim as Vigdis drew her attention to it. Most of what she described seemed to confirm the comparison between Humans and the S’tor. They preferred to use former soldiers as explorers, and had even been driven to Kanth-Aremek as a result of warfare, albeit unintentionally. At least, as long as Vigdis was being honest. This interview, and any others she could have with the Humans, would be useful, but she would need to be careful about relying purely on their testimony when she was writing the encyclopedia.

“Written records would certainly be of immense help.” Kareet responded. “I mean no offense by this, but, every answer you give seems to ask more questions than I can even think to write. Your world, your people, are so entirely alien to anything I have considered before. I do not know what it means to move faster than light, or why you question if it is possible. I do not even know how fast it is that light moves. Or why you would go through that much effort for just a spice trade. I feel like other goals would be more valuable. I could ask a dozen questions on every sentence.”

Kareet laughed briefly. “Well, I suppose I will never learn anything if I do not start asking. You didn’t come here on purpose, but if your ship can move as fast as you say, then how far away do you think we are from Earth?”

Kareet did hear the Shirik shouting about the invitation to eat, though regardless of how hungry she may or may not have been, she would not be the one to end their interview.

@gatemirage

"Ah, a force mage! Interesting...How much weight can you...pull?" Silbermine replied, not stopping the onslaught of fruit entering his gullet.

"Temple or not...it is evidently of great importance to them...And so worth protecting." The sound of wood chopping, clanging metal and clopping hooves filtered through the draped entrance to his tent.

"It is not so much falling apart, as about to fall down...the hill i mean. So i suppose the first thing I want you to do is assess the likelihood of that happening. As fast as possible. Forces are already in motion beyond your wildest imagination! Now please, my Glen-at-Arms will give you something to eat before night draws us to sleep."

With that, a barely perceptible wave of the hand signalled for Subira to make herself scarce.

”We did meet here today to answer your questions. Ask as they come. I won’t be able to answer all of them, thus they’ll filter themselves out. As for those you won’t think of, tomorrow is also a day, and so is the one after.” Vigdis looked toward the cookout and lifted up her mask, taking a deep breath before putting it back on. ”That smells good. We could move over if you wish. Then we could involve other people. I think Dr. Ibarra knows a lot about history, actually.” the Engineer offered.

”Spices were historically very valuable, back when the height of exploration was sailing around the world in wooden ships driven by sails. I assume Kanth-Aremek isn’t the same everywhere, Earth definitely isn’t. Spices grown where it’s hot and dry can’t be grown where it’s cold or wet and so on. And if something is hard to get, it means the people who can get it can ask a high price for it.” She elaborated, briefly considering something before continuing, ”The speed of light is, according to common understanding, the upper limit of how fast something can move. The heavier an object is and the faster it’s moving, the more effort is needed to further accelerate it. Light is massless, it doesn’t weigh anything, which is why it can achieve… well, the speed of light. You would need to expend infinite effort to get anything that weighs something to move that fast.” She judged this to be harmless information. It would be a while before the locals could use this information for anything. Frankly she was proud of getting through it without having to use the word ‘energy’ once. ”But I don’t know if there isn’t some gap in my understanding of things the ship could have taken advantage of. The reason for trying to go as fast as possible is to shorten travel times, as celestial bodies are very far apart. Even the moon or the planets you can see in the night sky with your own eyes are so far away I feel confident claiming you cannot imagine such a distance, no offense intended.”

”As for how far from Earth we are? Good question, and one we’ll have to find an answer for if we ever want to return home, so let’s unpack it.” Vigdis started counting points on her fingers, ”One, the jump from Earth to here was instantaneous. To my - limited - understanding of the jump drive, that shouldn’t have been the case. This would imply we are close. Two, this world has an oxygen-rich atmosphere. More so than Earth. If a planet capable of supporting life was close to Earth, we would’ve found it centuries ago. That leads me to believe we are very far away and that the jump drive performs better than expected. Discounting the whole ‘accidental activation’ part, that… that needs work.” Vigdis chuckled, ”If the relevant equipment is intact or can be repaired, if we can see Earth’s parent star from here and if we can learn the axes of Kanth-Aremek’s orbit around its sun, we’ll be able to calculate the distance.” And don’t think about what will happen if they can’t find Earth.

---

It was certainly accurate to say that Kareet could not understand most of what Vigdis was explaining to her. Even if she understood her, literally speaking, Kareet did not have background knowledge to be able to appreciate its ramifications. Vigdis said that the speed of light was as fast as anything could go, which was easy enough to understand, but Kareet did not yet know the impact of having that knowledge. Yet, everything that Vigdis described, Kareet dutifully scribed down into her notes to preserve that knowledge for later use.

“Ox-y-gen.” Kareet repeated the word. It did not translate, so she sounded out the word as best as she could. “I think some of you have mentioned it before, but I don’t know what it is. I think, if I remember right, it is why the book Itxaro gave me is apparently prone to catching on fire. You say it is something our air has a lot of, yes? And…you would have been able to tell that our air has so much of it all the way from Earth?” She said, both astounded and confused by the suggestion. She was on the planet and did not know what oxygen even was, but Vigdis claimed they could see it all the way on other worlds. “What is it, and why does it mean a world has life?”

Nellara heard General Kvarr's words in silence. While she didn't blame the general for being careful, it appeared he had missed the point of her explanation.

"General Kvarr, the S'tor won't move if we don't give them reason or opportunity to do so. This is exactly why the gamble I mentioned should work. Both ours and the Mythadian empire are in a similar situation. Neither one of us can afford to start a war, both due to the S'tor and the humans. This is exactly why we can stand our ground and defend our borders instead of letting do whatever they want." Nellara said, explaining her thoughts to the General once more.

"It is not just a matter of thinking about this situation with war on one's mind or not, General. It is more than just defending our pride as well. If we do not firmly stand our ground and protect our nation's territory and interests, the Mythadians will keep testing how far they can push us around until they start freely taking our territory, our resources and send their soldiers into our cities because they know we won't react. Even if their military is stronger, we cannot lower our heads and accept as they challenge us, General. The only thing it will happen if we do so is Mythadia taking our territories and resources without even having to fight for them." Nellara said once again, looking at him with a serious expression.

When the General mentioned his idea of ceding that particular stretch of land to the humans, she took a moment to think about it. While it wasn't exactly the approach she would have to deal with that situation, it could work in their favor if done correctly.

"Hm... A diplomatic approach. Ceding this territory to the humans would definitely make them see us more favorably and it would also be a discreet way of telling Silbermine and his rabble that this territory was ours to decide what to do with... And in case he has something to say about our decision, it would only make them look bad for the humans." Nellara said, reflecting about the General's plan before she let out a smirk.

"It will help us both to make the humans see us in an even better light and to deal with Silbermine. It won't eliminate the need for us to firmly stand our ground in future, similar situations with Mythadia though. Sooner or later, we will have to make our stand, General. If they continue testing our tolerance, that is." Nellara said with a serious expression.

---

Among the Ascendancy’s military, much like the Ascendancy itself, there was a certain culture of individual prowess and ambition. For a commander to debate their superior and make their own contributions to strategy was not unexpected. For Kvarr, to be challenged was even encouraged, as long as they could follow orders in the end. However, Kvarr was a man who had joined the Ascendancy when it was still young, and his pedigree up to that point had included decades of warfare between the S’tor splinter states that formed after the collapse of the Kolodon Empire. There was not a hint of uncertainty in his reply. “I do suggest that you learn from my experience in this, Castigator, because I will say that I most certainly do understand the tendencies of the S’tor better than yourself. I know how they will respond.”

“Make no mistake, if any army, of any origin, were to breach our borders and threaten our sovereignty, they would find themselves having to fight for every hill and valley. However, it is most unwise to give in to the provocations of a grown noble child. His insults, his aggression, it is intended to pull a particular response out of us. Silbermine cannot will the forces of Mythadia and Acanata to follow him in a war all on his own. He has to give them a reason to be willing to fight, and I intend to deprive him of the justification he requires. Mythadians, on the whole, are not an aggressive people, and they are not our enemies. We will hold firm, but remain courteous. We will show, and expect, the appropriate amount of respect for guests upon our land. Their own traditions demand that they treat with us with a certain amount of honor and respect.” Kvarr explained. The Castigator demonstrated her passions clearly, and he expected little else but disappointment from her that he was opposed to giving the same show of force she seemed to desire.

“You are stepping onto a larger stage than what you are accustomed to. Rest assured, Castigator, one does not have to be bold and boisterous to show strength. Only those who are insecure in their strength feel the need to make a constant show of it. Let our reputation walk ahead of us, and we will not need to threaten them.” Kvarr added.

It had been a long night, but his mind would not quiet to let him sleep.

"That noise, I have heard it before," J'eon scowled.

It was the exploding rock. His captors had stopped for the night, and one of them had brought a rock for the fire ring, yes. Only as the fire grew hot, it began to smoke and hiss! Then it had exploded, sending shards of rocks that even reached some of their number, chained as distant as they were.

Their leader demanded to know which of them had gotten a rock from the stream? Of course, it was not smoke, it was steam, boiling inside the rock from the heat of the fire!

"But that... was not steam," J'eon rumbled. This was more than just working metal, even strong metal. And somehow they could control it.

---

He rose, going to the place where one could speak to the crew.

"I have a question, about the strange noise that we heard up on the hillside yesterday. What is it you used?"

“Hmmmm.” Zey’s eyes narrowed, and she looked up into the many eyes of Kerchak, the bird creature standing before her. She hadn’t figured out any of the body language cues that made communicating with fellow Humans much easier.

“Ok, how about this. If you can find someone to vouch for you, I’ll allow you to heal all of the wounded crew and passengers without pay. You can learn more about our anatomy, but I never want to see you turn into one of us without my permission. We’ll have a big problem, and we don’t like big problems, do we Ezra?”

Zey looked at the armoured mercenary stood with his big gun next to her.

“Can’t stand them, ma’am.”

Zey looked back at Kerchak.

“I’ll have some of the wounded brought out today so you can get started.”

Zey’s earpiece pinged, and Anselm came through comms.

“Department heads to the conference room to finalise supervisor allocations.”

That would mean Mallory (who was head of the command crew when she wasn’t needed for executive decisions), Zhao Jiayin (engineering), Eva Edwards (Survey), Edward Fortin (Science) and Duncan Feng (Medical).

---

The Department heads hustled into the conference room - they were all busy but equally keen to secure more resources for their teams.

“I don’t need stupid people in my team. Give me sensible ones who’re good with their hands.” Zhao kicked off the meeting on a cordial note.
“Hold on, you’re not the only one who needs people who’re good with their hands, Zhao.” Feng replied in a calm, even tone.

“Though at this stage i’ll take anyone who won’t faint at the sight of blood.”

“We all need sensible people who’re good with their hands. But I wager that in the science team curiosity is the trait we’re in most need of. The equipment is all fairly self explanatory! The pieces that still work, anyway.” Edward Fortin chuckled.

---

Zey stalked over to the commotion surrounding what appeared to be some large fish.

“Dr Lambert, we have some more alien food here - can you bring the testing kit please?”

She then addressed Shirik and Dr Ibarra.

“Nice catch. Where did you find this?”

Vigdis would’ve been delighted to know that what she set out to do worked out. Right now, no one would know what to do with any of it and she was still being open and sharing, but some day, someone would go back to those notes, go “Hang on, what if…?” and be inspired to do something that may otherwise have taken decades or longer. Either that, or someone fucks up royally and soon she’s gonna be explaining high-carbon steel to Ascendancy blacksmiths so they can start producing arrows that can penetrate Mythandian armor with some degree of regularity. But to be honest, she wouldn’t even mind coming back here - intentionally, with sufficient supplies and with a way home! - and passing on what she knew. A university with her name on it, maybe a statue in every capital… Here and now, Vigdis, here and now. And keep the status quo.

”Matter can exist in multiple states. Take water, for example. If it’s too cold, it freezes into ice - a solid. Heat it up, and it melts into water - a liquid. Heat that up even more and it boils away into steam - a gas.“ The locals must have known this, but now hopefully what might be new information would have some link to known things, ”There’s more matter states but they’re not important now, we’ll be talking about gasses. The air we’re breathing is made up of many gasses, water vapor being one of them for example. One of these gasses is one we call ‘oxygen’. This is the one that every creature we know of needs to live, so I’m assuming it’s what you are breathing too. So any planet that has a lot of oxygen in its air is interesting because things might be living on that planet. There are eight planets in our system, only Earth has any oxygen in its air at all, it’s fairly rare.” It was an oversimplification of course, discarding star types, magnetic fields and goldilocks zones, but she was trying to stay on topic and keep it simple. She was rambling enough as it was. ”It’s also the gas that fire needs to ‘breathe’. One of the possible ones, anyway. And the air here has more oxygen in it than the air on Earth. And as I’m sure you’ve figured out yourself by now, more oxygen for a fire to burn means things combust more easily. That’s why one of the things we need from you are fabrics, most of our clothing will burn too. This even extends to our tools, even the markers we’ve been writing with were made of metal because that shouldn’t catch on fire even here.”

Explaining spectrometry would be a bit tougher than that. ”Starlight isn’t made of one color. It appears white, but it’s actually a combination of many colors making it look that way, like when a painter mixes red and blue to create purple. A rainbow? That’s the white light being split into its component colors. And when light passes through enough gas, it absorbs some of those colors. We have devices called ‘spectrometers’ that can measure the amount of each color in light. Let’s say you are the observer on Earth, my finger is kanth-Aremek and my fist is the star it circles around.” She held up a fist and then moved her finger between it and Kareet, simulating a transit. ”A small portion of the star’s light passes through the atmosphere of that planet, and it absorbs some of the light. We compare the light from the star to the light that passed through the planet’s atmosphere and since every gas absorbs a slightly different color, we can tell which gasses are in that planet’s air.”

Silbermine fell asleep early, content from a hearty meal of foraged fruits and fungi. He woke at dawn with aches in his joints but a ripple of excitement in his stomachs. His ears twitched - he could hear more Glen making camp, down the hill.

He called two retainers who worked quickly to fit Silbermine’s barding. Then he gathered Sir Sweven and most of his Glen-at-arms, and headed for the sound. Just a few Glen remained with the camp, entrusted with a horn to sound the alarm if the Ascendency tried anything.

They had to skirt the Jotunheim’s burned out clearing to traverse down the hill. Silbermine looked out at the magnificent, broken temple as they did so. It still awed him to think that this enormous mass once flew through the sky. He was determined to find out how.

He turned his gaze out towards the marshes of Sudenúr. A cluster of brightly coloured tents fluttered in the morning breeze. The ground around them was abuzz with activity already. Engineers organised the supplies they’d brought, and knights marshalled their servants to build shelters and defences.

Silbermine clopped down the hill, tracing back the trail of destruction the Jotunheim had left in its wake. The assembled Glen all looked up and came to greet him. They’d conversed the previous evening, but Silbermine was quick to take some of their vellum and retreat back to his tent. From there he had carefully scribed a series of letters and edicts for his supporters back home and across Mythadia.

His message was clear - he had discovered a new race of peoples on the edge of this sorry March who were supremely powerful and in possession of vast wealth. Silbermine entreated them to send Lightning mages as quickly as possible. He called in a lot of favours, but also dangled the carrot of exotic knowledge, divine enlightenment and unimaginable treasure.

When Silbermine reached the crowd a second time, he gestured to Sir Sweven and took the letters, holding them aloft.

“The righteous might of Mythadia shall be with us in our quest to learn from, partner with and protect these Humans. Who will go forth and deliver my will to our friends and allies?”

There was no shortage of volunteers. Silbermine picked his most loyal soldiers for the task. He then sent a group of Glen to Ertiseda to find a tailor and bring them here. It was an Ascendency town, but with a large minority who visited Mythadia regularly. He didn’t foresee major problems if the Glen were respectful.

Finally, Silbermine set to establishing a party to look for this ‘large box’ the Human captain Zey had mentioned. This took a significant amount of time, as many Glen wanted to get involved. Too many, as it would leave the camp open to attack. The squabbling lasted a long time, and after a while Silbermine smelled cooking up on the hill.

Taking his leave, Silbermine clopped back up the hill with his entourage in tow. Cresting the ridge the Jotunheim sat on, Silbermine spread his hands to show he was not a threat.

“Greetings! We go to look for this ‘large box’ you speak of, Humans. We beseech you to join us and bring your practiced eye to this hunt.”

Silbermine drew nearer and saw they were cooking fish. His stomachs rumbled, even though he could not eat what was on offer.

---

This time, the subjects that Vigdis described were something that Kareet could wrap her head around more readily. They built upon topics about which she already had knowledge, or at least seemed closer to her own knowledge. They knew air was needed for fire, but the Humans knew what part of the air it was, and according to her, it was also needed to breathe at all. “So…oxygen is a part of the air, and it is what we need when we breathe in? And since we have more of it, that’s why Itxaro warned me that book would burn, and why your Captain is prioritizing getting fabrics from us.” Certainly, that information did make some of their stranger actions so far make more sense to her. “I have noticed that you all wear clothes all the time, like the S’tor. Is that what you do on Earth too, or is it just because you are here on Kanth-Aremek?”

The explanation Vigdis gave for seeing oxygen all the way from Earth was more difficult to grasp, though not hopelessly so. She knew what a rainbow was, and the idea that they were made from light being split into different colors was not so outlandish. She did not understand how light was being split to make a rainbow, but that was not important for what Vigdis was explaining. From what she was saying, it seemed like oxygen left an impression on light when it passed through the air, which their “spectrometer” could see. Even if the details were all far beyond her understanding, the idea itself was not. “I do not know how you could possibly see the air of a world so far away, but I have no reason to doubt you. How long did it take your scholars to make all of these discoveries?” She asked as another thought came to mind. “I wonder if your knowledge would be able to make improvements to my own inventions?”

Itxaro hopped aboard the Jotunheim to make herself something approaching presentable, shaking the sand out of her hair and boots, and throwing on a clean jumpsuit. She still looked a little wild as she returned to the makeshift commons area outside the ship. They’d dragged together a variety of crates and other detritus from the crash to create something approximating a long dining table. No five-star accommodations to be sure, but the view wasn’t too bad.

As the mixed crowd of humans and aliens gathered to take a slab off the massive roasting fish, Itxaro noticed several other dishes appearing alongside. Simple fare, mostly forage from the surrounding region along with whatever rations the locals had brought with them on their trip.

A regular Thanksgiving feast. Hope this doesn’t have the same second act.

Itxaro caught a glance at Zey, who beckoned her over. Curious about their catch.

“Thanks, but it about caught me,” Itxaro replied to Zey. “If Shirik hadn’t been there, you’d probably be down an engineer. Or I’d be very wet, at least.”

Itxaro turned towards the mountains and gestured with a knifehand that followed the path they’d taken. “Shirik showed me a huge lake up there to the south. Past the foothills, there’s a valley where the water gathers; you can just barely see the other bank if you squint. Runoff from the mountains feeds it, cold as hell and crystal clear.” She turned back to Zey. “Like nothing back on Earth. If we have any anglers aboard, they'll want to see it. Mallory seems the type.” Probably more detail than Zey wanted, Itxaro considered, but she’d been excited to share her discovery. A crack in the façade.

Itxaro took her leave to join the festivities but looked back to the commander. “The fish isn’t too bad, either. Hasn’t killed me yet, anyways, though not for lack of trying. I’ll save you some, commander.” A faint smile on her lips as she left.

---

For Itxaro, it’d been a good day so far. A day to shape the days upon. She’d taken her seat at the long table, feeling like a disciple at the last supper save for the strange company. Human crew and Ascendency strangers, all intermingled in this peculiar convergence. A mosaic of shapes and forms, clothes and faces. Tentative conversation at first made more difficult by the translators, each individual grasping out for connection across the expanse of unfamiliar worlds and experiences, but common ground was soon established. Family, food, home. Comforting human voices and laughs interspersed with crow-like croaking and cackles.

The first real step in interspecies diplomacy in Itxaro’s eyes, a fleeting moment of communion and a fragile harmony amid the chaos.

Then she saw a familiar equine silhouette in the distance.

“Oh, goddamn it.”

As if in response to her expletive, many of the Ascendency citizens and soldiers stood up abruptly and took their leave together like the Red Death had just arrived at the abbey doors. He’s going artifact hunting.

Though the feast was far from over, Itxaro stood up and sought out Zey.

“What’s the move?” she asked in a hushed tone, her mind racing with possibilities. “I don’t have an inventory on hand, but there’s a lot in the shuttle bay we can’t let them find. We'd lose leverage and gear. No way we could outpace them on foot, and they know the land. I guess we can either get the Ascendency's help, or work with Silbermine.”

Itxaro paused, returning to the first thought she'd had upon seeing the Glenn.

“Think they'd let us ride them?”

The Department heads hustled into the conference room - they were all busy but equally keen to secure more resources for their teams.

“I don’t need stupid people in my team. Give me sensible ones who’re good with their hands.” Zhao kicked off the meeting on a cordial note.
“Hold on, you’re not the only one who needs people who’re good with their hands, Zhao.” Feng replied in a calm, even tone.

“Though at this stage i’ll take anyone who won’t faint at the sight of blood.”

“We all need sensible people who’re good with their hands. But I wager that in the science team curiosity is the trait we’re in most need of. The equipment is all fairly self explanatory! The pieces that still work, anyway.” Edward Fortin chuckled.

"It would be nice," Mallory said quietly, "To have our pick of the best from a world-wide pool of candidates."

He pauses for a moment, resting his face in the palm of his right hand, then looks up. "Sadly, we no longer have that choice. This handful is the only available human workforce we have until we begin having babies and expanding our pool. As it is, there's already concerns we may lose some of our people to the locals - and the wealth of knowledge they possess."

He surveyed them gravely.

"They will make mistakes. They will make a lot of mistakes. After a week, we can try swapping some of them out - but I can pretty much guarantee that the replacement will not be any better. So I must depend on you to train the people you've got, just as I must train the ones assigned to the Command staff. Find a use for them, I'm sure there's some basic menial duties you have more experienced people doing, so this will free them up and offer opportunities for training."

"Now, we may be able to obtain some recruits among the locals to assist us with jump-starting our generators, but they're mostly as untrained as our passengers," he paused, glancing around the table. "We have our work cut out for us. Any questions?"

It was then that a Glen approached. Not Silbermine, good riddance, the blacksmith that had been part of Kareet’s group. ”Hello again.” J’eon had questions too. What the heck, she was there, she had the answer and she saw no harm in sharing it, might as well. ”What, you mean the gunshot? When the Tekeri hunting party approached our team? That’s just what some of our weapons sound like. The older models, when not fitted with a suppressor. Be careful around humans who look like they might be shooting something, these older weapons are actually loud enough to damage our hearing.” She still remembered how strange shooting coilguns felt when her basic training company first went out to the range. Discounting the sonic cracks if firing supersonic, the muted ‘click’ of a coilgun was no louder than the snap of a crossbow’s bowstring compared to the loud bark of powder-driven firearms.

She stopped herself short of offering J’eon a seat by instinctive reaction before answering Kareet’s questions. ”Yes, we do wear clothing all of the time, except a few very specific occasions. Being undressed in public can land you in trouble with the Poli- the guards.”

Something in Kareet’s voice brought Vigdis back to her childhood, hearing a hint of the same awe and wonder she experienced when her father was telling her five year old self about the ships he flew and the planets he flew between. ”More than a thousand years and thousands of scholars. You may think of us as some incredibly wise people, but really all of us that you see here are standing on the shoulders of giants.” She took care to sound properly humble as she spoke of the scientists who came before her, whose labor made for the foundation and staircase that they used to reach the stars.

”Your inventions?” For a moment, a hint of admiration of people like Ixtaro or apparently Kareet, those who discovered the new rather than just taking the known and implementing it into practice as she did appeared in Vigdis’ voice. ”I’d say most of your inventions could be improved by what we know, seeing as any non-magical invention of yours has been known to us for hundreds of years by now, judging by the way your societies are organized and the sort of technology - such as weapons and armor - you’ve demonstrated and comparing to how long ago we used these things. That’s assuming magic hasn’t surpassed what we could do without it. I’ve also said already that I don’t want to do that for the benefit of one nation.” Vigdis reminded Kareet, ”But now you have me curious, what have you invented? If or when the political negotiations go horribly wrong, trying to preserve the balance of power will get thrown out the window as we turn to fully supporting whoever helps us survive and any improvements to your designs could be implemented faster if we had time to think about what you have.” She leaned forward with anticipation.

"Yes, I... Understand, General Kvarr." Nellara said, breathing deeply as she heard his words in silence.

Even though she didn't like the General's passive stance towards Silbermine and the Mythadians, she knew how much experience he had against the S'tor. To claim she could understand and foresee their actions better than he could would be arrogant of her... And she knew that well.

In another hand, just as the General mentioned, there were other ways of dealing with Silbermine without having to give in to his provocations...

"Depending on the outcome of this situation, we could even demand reparations from Mythadia for Silbermine's actions. He did, after all, gather a small army inside our borders. If his provocation attempts don't have any results, he will have a lot to answer when he goes back to Mythadia..." Nellara said, thinking after considering the General's words.

Until that moment, she could agree with the General's words with no issue, but when he mentioned they should treat the Mythadians as guests, she frowned her brows, looking at him with a shocked expression.

"With all respect, General... Guests do not bring armed soldiers inside our borders, nor they gather a small army and establish a military camp... Our 'guest' clearly sees us as unworthy of giving us the honor and respect his tradition demands him to. While I am not suggesting we should take an offensive posture, I am suggesting we should stand our ground and protect our borders." Nellara said with a firm expression.

"We don't need to show any courtesy to those who showed us none. We aren't a weak and pitiful nation to allow them to step on our pride as they want. As long as we act defensively, we won't give them any reason to attack us." Nellara finished, looking to the General and expectantly waiting for his decision.

---

This time, Kareet had no trouble at all understanding Vigdis’ meaning. In their world as well as her own, it seemed, no one ever truly worked alone. Scholarship fundamentally built upon the work of their predecessors. To “stand on the shoulders of giants”, as Vigdis put it, was an apt phrase. Though, Kareet was coming to realize exactly how unique their situation was now. The Humans seemed to have centuries more progress in the pursuit of knowledge to build upon, so what would happen now if she were to have the chance to learn from them?

Kareet had to think a moment on how exactly she wanted to answer Vigdis’ question. How would be best to describe her invention, considering what she had learned of them so far? The first machine that had used her mechanism was a siege weapon, though it had found many more uses since then. Indeed, her siege weapons had not yet been used in battle, but barges operated by her mechanism traversed the Ascendancy’s rivers every day. “In my travels to Mythadia, I was inspired to create a new type of mechanism.” She answered. Turning aside for a moment, she reached into her backpack and pulled out another of her notebooks. She flipped through a few pages, then laid it out between them, beside Vigdis’ tablet. On the pages were a series of complex, finely-detailed blueprints of a variety of machines, all operated by a gear-driven mechanism. On the pages she could see now, there was what appeared to be a ballista, an elevator, as well as what looked like a paddlewheel boat’s propulsion mechanism. On a different page, there were mechanisms that were not attached to specific machines, but concepts, resembling a gearbox, that could be used for different purposes. On some of them, the gears were arranged to allow a user to change which parts of the mechanism were being powered by the motion of a single, central gear. The only thing that was not apparent from the diagrams was what was powering the drive gear.

“You see, for a Lightning mage, or any mage really, performing a complex task is more difficult than a simple task. That…probably sounds obvious, but what I mean are that power and complexity are two different things that contribute to overall difficulty. Let’s say you have two boulders, one half as heavy as the other. If a Force mage had to simply lift both of them in the air, then it would be easier to lift the lighter one. But if the Force mage had to start focusing on maneuvering the lighter one between obstacles, or something of the sort, it might start to become just as difficult, just as taxing, as lifting the larger one. My mechanisms use gears to perform different types of tasks, all from the singular motion of a lightning mage rotating a central steel gear. It lets one mage do the work of many.” Kareet explained.

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General Kvarr’s expression betrayed some mild amusement. “You are getting close to it, Castigator. With all he has done, Silbermine would be quite a poor guest. But you have to understand, Mythadians are mired in quite a bit more formality and tradition than ourselves. The formality they inherited from Kolodon, but in their culture, it builds off of even older traditions. Trace the Glen to their roots, and you will find a nomadic culture, with certain expectations for hosts and guests alike, when they come upon another’s land. Other Glen would not judge Silbermine harshly for trespassing on our land. What they would judge him for would be as a disrespectful guest. When Silbermine’s allies arrive, should we treat them with honor and respect, then it will be quite shameful for him to do anything less than to reciprocate. It will very much set the tone for negotiations.”

The S’tor straightened up and gave an understanding nod. “Your concerns are understandable, but I would also point out that treating them as guests upon our land does still insist upon it being our land.”