Dark Crow Rising

Walking into the command centre, I move to take my seat and flinch when I see it's already occupied. The Prince turns his head my way only slightly and returns his focus to the immense array of equipment at his disposal. Despite knowing he's likely having some trouble taking it all in, not a bit of it shows. Most of my staff remain, anyhow, so he need only say the word.

However, I can't help but notice the tense air between all of those who remain. Never mind their thoughts about me these days, the guards are all Union troops now. Signs of the old government are already vanishing and the marks of the Seven-Peaks are hanging and screwed into the walls and panels. A section of the room has even been set aside as a training area of sorts.

Not that it seems to be needed, the Prince's want for control extends even to his general staff. It's all completely quiet when it comes to them. Only the striking of keys and the whirr of the computers. I have half a mind to say it's the people being programmed with how they're behaving.

Turning my attention to the screens, I take note of how he's still using Thrurstradtur's reconnaissance corps to handle our view of the situation. I could spend a while thinking about why this is the case, but, I find the view more interesting. Union air-naval assets are already on the scene and attempting what we were doing beforehand. Only, his choice of weaponry is purely magical.

Whatever these airships are, their semirigid-inspired shape is clearly there for more than just mechanical nostalgia. Though I cannot see into them, their interior is not entirely a mystery to me for magic burns off of them much as a coat of oil might when lit on water. This wind-magic will suddenly focus around a system of runes, either purely physical or using arcane mechanics that then fire a projectile. How these weapons differ from a typical spell, I am not sure though they're certainly an advanced display of engineering talent.

I do not recall anything from Suhurlodst's Mechanical House quite matching up to this. They have always either presented us with physical munitions with spells stamped into their bodies or a focusing device. Maybe I am assuming too much and the view simply doesn't offer a great enough vantage for me to properly take it in. Regardless of what these airships are capable of, they do not seem to be able enough to deal with the giant.

Spatterings of power fire off in a machine gun manner while other airships take their time to prepare charged shots. Naturally, the Prince is also trying his luck at attacking from all possible angles. However, one thing I am beginning to notice is that he's not exactly committing a whole lot to this attack. Only his smallest class of airship and not a whole lot of them.

"If you wanted combat data, we were engaged in our own weapons tests before your usurpation of the country." I remark, turning to him while he keeps his sword between his legs. The pretend cane is gripped at the handle and held up towards the screen most blatantly showing the giant.

"I have already looked it over and have already begun sending copies of it to all air-naval forces." the Prince explains and that just makes my brow rise.

"Then you know this is a pointless affair, you need to strike it properly or continue on from where we had reached. We have records of spell usage and by the looks of things, your airships here are not firing physical munitions." I say and he shakes his head slightly.

"Omniships primarily use the blessing of our land as their source of strength. Primarily." he tells me, his mouth repeating the second word to come out for emphasis.

"Still, my point remains."

"You must see beyond the need to test for killing power and think of surviving. We face a foe beyond our wildest, most vile of nightmares. A creature of incomprehensible scope that saps the magic from the land. The blessing our Mighty Lord Jhrarda so righteously allowed us." he goes on and I frown in thought.

We know by extension of the fact we managed to get bombs and artillery rounds close to the giant that shielding is useful. But, the danger of what happens when that shield breaks makes it unthinkable to put soldiers or witches that close to the giant. Assuming we could even get that far, the giant is not relying on touch to kill the world. We will be purged without a massive finger laying down on any of our wind-caught bodies.

I suppose the Prince is a far more heartless man than I could possibly comprehend him as. While I have heard that for all its religious changes, the Union still engages in the tradition of the death wagons. Their officers, their men of responsibility still bring back their dead to the families they belong to so they may seek atonement. Not once, however, have I had a single report that the Prince is bringing back his own dead.

How alien this inexplicit faith dedicated to one of the evils trapped in the lunar prisons is...

"Grandguard Inerish." the Prince goes, catching me by surprise. Getting my wide eyes back into order, I straighten out.

"Yes, Prince-to-Ascend Jhrartur?" I ask, minding where his eyes are focusing.

"To what extent can I disable the city's magic intake technology? Naturally, this question extends to all other mountain-states and locations with similar power generation." he asks of me and I catch my people also listening in to such a request. There is something quite mad about a want to leave this entire city disabled.

"It's... It's possible to reduce the intake to such a degree that only essential functions for the city will remain." I explain despite my lack of familiarity with the option. It was always within my power to reduce the city to a frozen husk, even more so after the Clockwork Council gave me their blessing but this...

"I want only the lifts to the lower levels to remain active and power for the Gnomon." he orders and I nod, slowly. The hairs on my body refuse to go down and I look out the main line of windows. The fleet assembling within the eyeshot of the city is unending in scope. Hundreds of warships, each more than a kilometre long.