Steel and Mana

Chapter 381 – Winter in Avalon (1)

As some of the people within the Theocracy called it, after witnessing it, 'the iron serpent' rolled through the plains, body slithering through the land at an incredible speed, spewing white, hot steam into the air. From where it shot out, it was melting the snowflakes that dared aim to fall down on the massive boiler at the front. It was something that everyone wanted. Everyone within the Union was going to have... And they all understood why the moment they first let it carry them around.

At that moment, inside the first-class compartment, High Cardinal Damar of the Tentian Theocracy watched his breath fog the window before letting it clear, thinking of the same thing, watching the snow-covered scenery rush by him. No horses could match the speed they were traveling with, and no animals could drag as many carriages as this metal beast did.

"What a machine... A gift of the Gods..." He mumbled as his gloved fingers traced the velvet-covered armrest, just as luxurious as the altar cloth in the Grand Cathedral, in his home, at the seat of power of the Theocracy.

The compartment he was given to travel to Avalon was a jewel box, showing that the faraway country understood how to impress the rulers of other kingdoms. Mahogany panels were carved with never-before-seen precision and symmetry, brass fixtures were polished to mirror-shine, and he had the fortune to lie in the softest chairs and beds. He was satisfied—more than satisfied.

"I can't wait to see the city now..." He chuckled with a golden cup in his hand, sipping on his favorite wine that he had brought along, as usual.

Across from him sat one of his close advisors, Bishop Marholt—pale as the snow outside under his fur-lined hood. He handled the travel, the motion... less amicably. His body jerked as the train hit a curve, his stomach turning along with it, feeling just as sick when he was forced to take trips on a boat. Along them, in the same car, sat the junior priests flanking their leaders, glued to the windows as they clutched their talismans hanging from their necks, lips moving in silent prayer while being amazed by the excitement of their journey. Damar had already noticed that one boy, barely sixteen, kept glancing at the ceiling whenever this train blew its loud horn, expecting the metal rooftop to collapse upon them.

"They built all this?" Marholt whispered, fingers tightening around his armrest, gulping down something big, wanting to come up his throat.

Damar didn't answer at once; he just sipped his wine, letting the taste sting his tongue. Outside, the massive mountains, the end of the world, could already be seen. Their trip took multiple days to complete, but it was worth it. Especially this train ride part. The only thing that could be even better is to ride one of those flying machines... One day. Maybe even sooner than anyone would think.

"Yes," The High Cardinal said at last. "And soon we will have our own. Then, we will sell passages like peddlers hawking cabbages." He tilted his glass, watching the liquid slosh. "We already announced them as miracles from the Gods. We must make sure everyone understands that the knowledge comes not from men but from God Wyland. From his gift, the Book of Magic. Knowing how to manifest the Gods' wills is what makes this possible. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Um," A novice priest—bold or foolish, it was hard to tell—leaned forward. "Your Eminence… are we truly the first of our Order to see Avalon?"

"Yes, my child." Damar smiled, taking no offense. "This... Avalon is too far for us to ever visit before. We ought to make sure our presence will illuminate their land and their people. A Godless place is a sinful place, after all."

"Of course, Your Eminence!" The boy blushed, maybe because he realized what he had just done, speaking to the High Cardinal so blatantly... or because the holy emissary of the Gods smiled at him. Maybe both.

A moment later, the train’s horn split the air again, now, for the young boys at least, sounding like one of the Gods' instruments, signaling their arrival. Turning to their sides, watching through the frosted glass, the city of Avalon erupted into view.

They were here... And if everything went as Damar expected, his people had already laid the foundation to make sure what he wanted would happen.

...

Stepping off the train, wearing his ceremonial outfit, Damar expected himself to be forced to keep it pulled up. After all, he wouldn't want it to sweep the dirty snow around his feet. Yet... the platform was void of it, kept clean and without icing over. Looking around, he could see how iron arches criss-crossed overhead, riveted together in patterns that mimicked something like they called back home a sacred geometry. It was... similar to how their temples were built, being able to support ceilings erected so high. The realization made Damar’s teeth ache. Still, it didn't last long as his eyes moved away, watching as porters in crisp, black uniforms unloaded their pieces of luggage with clockwork efficiency, putting them onto something akin to a hand-drawn cart. Then, he was made to jump a little as hot, white steam was exhaled from the train engine ahead of them, blowing a whistle one last time.

It was then, turning towards the front, that he noticed the... He didn't know who they were, but it made all of his hair suddenly stand on edge. They were big. Massive humans... Almost two heads taller than he was, wearing black armor and skull-faced helmets... They had to be Avalonian guards, standing at attention, their weapons alien compared to the straight, metallic blades of Tentia’s paladins. Theirs were... colored like bones. No... Were they made out of bones? He couldn't really tell. What made him shiver was their glowing, red eyes that never wavered as his entourage finally all were standing on the platform. Then, he noticed that a normal-sized human in a black and gold uniform was walking toward him.

"Your Eminence." A young man, maybe only a teenager, with a friendly, respectful smile arrived to greet him. "Welcome to—"

"Where are the faithful?" Damar interrupted him, scanning the crowd; well, he tried, but there was no crowd to welcome them.

"...?" The young man blinked his eyes, his brows furrowing, the smile vanishing from his face. "Pardon?"

"Your people. Do they not come to witness the arrivals of the Gods' messengers?"

"..." Another pause. Then, he continued carefully, choosing his words, "We can't have anything to… disrupt the Sovereign's schedules."

Damar’s ear only twitched as he scanned the station again, this time not letting him be hung up on mundane things. Instead... he was looking for clues. No murals of the Gods here—only steel beams and paintings of regular people? Because those, for sure, weren't depictions of the Gods.

It also meant that this Avalon needed their guidance, that the strength of the Gods' words was weak here. He would change that, and he would enjoy doing it.

Behind him, Marholt also recognized the 'issue' and, in turn, muttered a prayer, asking for forgiveness. Yet, before his words could be overheard, Damar silenced him with a glance.

It was not time yet.

But soon...

...
....
......

On the same day when High Cardinal Damar's train had arrived, a second locomotive rolled into the station at midnight, its wedge-shaped front pushing the freshly fallen snow out of the way. Where the Theocracy’s train had been purposefully at the top of luxury, this one was much simpler. It was an older model, but still... it was just as glorious and adventurous to ride as the one that brought the Theocracy's leadership to Avalon.

Inside of this one, the Geth Emperor Attila I watched the mountains blur past while traveling, seeing lands that he never knew existed. It took them days to come up from Geth, a distance that his predecessor couldn't even imagine before. No, that wasn't right. He did imagine it; it was what caused his death. His campaign was doomed to fail; he understood it now.

"Emperor..." He whispered, tasting the title again. He knew he was young and inexperienced, yet he carried his murdered uncle’s crown on his head and the future of his people on his back. But things were looking up. They were allowed to join the Union, as Avalon's Sovereign promised. He was even invited along with the others to this winter meeting. Of course... he wasn't coming alone. He was accompanied by two of the Dukes in his Empire and General Albert, the one who was making most of the decisions in the Geth Empire nowadays. But Attila understood why. His insight was always better than his own, and he was teaching him. Making him ready.

"Kadosa IV... They killed him because he stood still," Attila murmured to himself, a reminder of what he must avoid.

"Hm?" General Albert looked up from his thoughts as the trains slowly stopped. "Your Majesty?"

"Just thinking of my predecessor." Attila’s breath fogged the window. "He called Avalon’s an upstart nobody. He never accepted the fact I am seeing now. Look, even in the middle of the night, the station before us is as bright as day." He said with a genuine smile. "Don't worry, General... I can see what Kadosa couldn't."

To his Emperor's words, Albert said nothing and simply nodded. The numbers spoke for themselves—Avalon’s rail networks moved more grain, iron, people, or anything else in a day than Geth’s horses could in a month. They needed this miracle. They needed it badly.

In turn, Attila flexed his hand, the leather glove creaking, getting ready to disembark the train. He’d burned his uncle’s tapestries and melted down his gold plates to sell them… to keep the Empire afloat. Even if he was young, barely understanding the complexity of such a giant entity, he understood how terrible of a shape their empire was.

"Have the others arrived yet?" Attila asked as they disembarked, his breath fogging up before his face in the cold night.

"To my knowledge and calculations, the Theocracy should have arrived before us." Albert curled his lip as he answered, "My advice is to avoid associating with them."

"Really?" Attila flinched, surprised, "Aren't they close with Avalon? I do remember your lesson about how they buy significant quantities of their weird plants. The ones we also began to cultivate."

"That is business, my Emperor," Albert whispered, watching the massive soldiers appearing from the shadows and a regular-looking man walking towards them. "It is different than... politics."

"Complicated..." he muttered back, his eyes locked onto the same figures, amazed by their height and glowing red eyes. "Sometimes politics and business are the same, sometimes not. I am still not used to this."

"It is situational," Albert answered in a hurry but then straightened up as the Avalonian officer approached them.

"Welcome to Avalon." The young man said the same officer who had welcomed Damar and his entourage into Avalon.

"The honor is ours to be invited," Attila answered with a polite bow. He was still the Emperor of Geth, and it would have been weird if Albert did the talking all the time.

"It is already late," the man continued, gesturing towards the exit while people around them began unpacking the Geth envoys' luggage. "Please follow me into the city and to your lodgings while staying in our city. You will have a few days to settle in and explore the city to your heart's content as we are still waiting for some to arrive."

"What about weapons?" Albert asked suddenly, pointing at the sword hanging from his belt. "Do we need to surrender them?"

"No," the young man answered, his smile remaining constant. "But you won't need it. We don't prohibit you from carrying it inside Avalon, but..." he stopped, glancing directly into Albert's eyes. He did so with such raw power that even the general felt his blood run cold. "There is a saying... when a sword is drawn, it won't go back until it drew blood. So please be aware. If you pull it out, it is akin to raising your weapon against Avalon."

"What if we are attacked by someone else?" He asked, not budging, but the Avalonian simply smiled at him again.

"Don't worry. This is true for everyone. They won't have the time to raise their weapons. We are part of the same Union! We are allies, Emperor of Geth," he continued, looking at Attila, "We need to be united. And our Sovereign called you here in this cold winter to show you all... why."