Dark Crow Rising

"I guess I should be thankful my men are no longer as stretched as they once were but this is... Their patience is breaking, I know it is." I comment, reading over one of many reports that have come in since the Prince's orders went out. The populace isn't too happy about losing access to every modern amenity with the simple flick of a switch. I need to find some way of securing batteries and other independent power sources for the people.

To stop them from going cold or hungry, though, I have some grim curiosity here...

The city is in a state of total chaos and the claustrophobia of such a metropolis has never been greater. With the loss of the city's population control and other such technologies, people are either trapped in their homes or clogging the streets. I should try and make a case to the Prince but I doubt he will show any leniency to the plight of Thrurstradtur's people. He wants his fleet to be taking in all possible magic.

At some point as well, I will need to speak to those in charge of Suhurlodst. I doubt they're handling this any better than we are especially when as a magic school, their dependency is far greater. I've already caught sight of Union troops marching into the city of scholars and putting it into lockdown. The Prince's younger brother is now also using his personal warship to intimidate the students into submission.

There will be no rebellion headed by an army of witches. There will be no rebellion at all. I need to do what I can to keep everyone in line while we go through this turbulent time. First and foremost for the sake of this land's future, we must allow the Union to focus on the giant.

My right hand moves to cover my mouth and my lips press up in the gap between thumb and index. Opening and closing the pried fist, I stroke my cheek with the side of the finger. My thoughts have reminded me of something important. The Prince is aiming to make a serious attempt against the giant at some point today.

I was not personally called for so this will have to be something I attend by force if need be. If I cannot get into the command centre, my office remains accessible to me despite the Prince's invasion of it. Getting up, I walk to the door with my secretary eyeing me the whole distance. My hand grips the handle and I move it slowly until a welcoming click motions me in.

"He's either not cared to or does not know how to change the locking system." my secretary remarks and I close the door back up. Turning towards her, I start to brush away at my uniform idly.

"Please try to make sure he does not. The Union will be engaging in their second attempt to handle the giant and I would like to remain in the loop. While I cannot speak entirely to the character of this Jhrartur, I know he doesn't trust me." I ask of her and she leans forward a little, eyebrow arching.

"I don't think he trusts anyone. He engages in so little talking when it comes to all the ornamentals. I've never seen a group of officers so... Guessy, with what their commander is up to." she recalls and I nod so as to provide an answer but not to also be lost in verbal confusion. It's hard to fathom why the Prince keeps so much of his strategy within his head, especially in such a modern situation as ours. Armies have not been so small as to be dependent on a single officer for a long time now.

Yet, despite this, nothing in the Prince's known military record paints him as solely a tactical genius. While the reforms he has implemented upon the Union's armed forces have made them a drastically different monster to what they were several hundred years ago. The Theocracy is still what it was, the empire so powerful and skilled at war that it received the direct blessing of Waionr himself. The Valkinvar are its wardens for the faith that the country generated around the bloody concept.

And Prince Jhrartur has reduced it to a single albeit great city that bridges two continents. All in less than ten years. The exact timing of the breakthrough at Giant's Victory escapes me, but, when I first heard of those airships of his being properly reported by the Theocracy... I recall I lost a lot of sleep back then.

The Theocracy was beginning to fall and not even the might of the Valkinvar could stand against the Seven-Peaks Union.

In the many debate halls across the city, many of which I have snuck into without a soul noticing til the end. I have heard many conversations about the Union's full title. Seven-Peaks Union, many find it to be utterly arrogant, including me. But, with every day and victory that passes, this title becomes a reality.

The Jhermonikra, the Jhermonikra of that country, rather, they saw no point in naming themselves after what they had. They named their entire empire after a dream to see all of Jherikra united like it was in ancient times. Long after the gods left but before the Time of Liquid Mountains. A forgotten, unknown period of five elemental great powers and one who had never seen the wonders of a land defined by a guardian stone.

The Ancient Jhermonikra challenged the world with weapons beyond our capabilities and technology we can never replicate. The lack of an active Wind Mountain gave them clarity to so many things not even Suhurlodst can see. We have so much technology dependent on what the ancients made and most of it will never be made properly again. There are no craftsmen these days, only scavengers.

Though Thrurstradtur was never built by the ancients and Suhurlodst was never made by the survivors of the Liquid Mountains... We owe it all to that lost and forgotten people. The functions of this city that are so essential for daily life all have their origins in dug-up ruins. Perhaps that is what this giant is, it's a tool of the Ancient Jhermonikra.

"I guess that theory makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? A weapon that drains the world of magic, a force that is unnatural to what you lot were." I mutter to myself, catching the attention of my secretary.

"Noisy thoughts?" she asks, offering a quick smile between key presses.

Offering one back to her, I nod a little, "Yes, just my thoughts being a little too noisy."

Going quiet, I offer one more nod and head on my way to the command centre. I'm not far removed from the office before I start to lose myself in all that has changed since the giant became a problem. A lot of behaviour is forced as of late, the men all seem to hold varying degrees of contempt for me. While some will commit to their duties without issue, I can tell there's a remark on their minds and ready to leave their lips.

Others aren't so professional.

To say nothing of the troops the Prince brought in with him and the marks of gunfire on the walls in the lower levels of the Gnomon. I've heard from many that there aren't many bodies to recover and it's not because it was a fairly bloodless affair. No, the weapons these Union soldiers are equipped with, they're oddly in line with the giant's power. The utter destruction of a living being by attacking their magic.

More dug-up technology from the ancients no doubt, all of what the Union uses these days must be. Though I am no wind witch, my lineage being that of fire and dark magic, I can still feel out for it. I have lived among the people of the Land of Wind for long enough to know what their magic feels like. The Union troops reek of something else, something strange and exotic but familiar at the same time.

Catching onto the noise of the command centre, I dismiss my thoughts and walk in on the vast display of screens. Minding some of the Union's staff, I head to a console still manned by one of my men. Taking him up on his offer of a headset, I put it on and listen in on the communications between airships. It's near entirely wind-based coding, whistles and songs on the wind that you need to learn.

Returning the headset, I let the analyst get back to work and join the Prince at his side. He looks slightly my way and returns his attention to the selection of screens. They show both the few dozen airships he has ready to deploy and the bridges of a few of them. The commander of one of them comes into view while this battlegroup moves into position.

The giant is watching the airships advance, that much is clear with the explicit recon focus on its body... Hm, what are you thinking, unknown giant? Your thoughts have not been the clearest to figure out if you have any at all. Whoever your pilot is, if you do have one, what are their goals?

Much as the Prince has been right about this rail thing, I doubt you're doing all of this over some students.

"Captain-Engineer Redsaal, you may begin the operation." the Prince orders and the oddly ranked air-naval officer salutes the Union way. The Prince does what he has to on his end of the call and his arm slightly moves to offer his grace.

"This is Captain-Engineer Redsaal of the Royal Jhermonikra Airship Thunderous Brawler, all airships move into attack positions." the officer commands and the flying broadsides split themselves up into a staggered line of shifting lengths. Some of them maintain a direct course for the giant, their shields as coating as cotton candy is on its stick. The rest present their broadsides and several thousand cannon of mysterious make, well into the five digits.

The giant straightens out and shifts its gaze across the many barrels it is faced with. Oddly enough, the way its head is moving reminds me of someone eyeing the familiar. However, what is familiar is a known danger and the giant raises its sword and assumes the position of a trained fighter. Honestly, as a fellow swordsman, I cannot offer much insight towards the problems of its stance.

A worrying line of thought to consider in the slightest-

"All in the gunner position, open fire." Redsaal commands and the sky lights up into a shade of warbling pale blue. There's no pattern to the way the guns fire, it's all at once in an attempt to overwhelm the giant. Though the guns are distanced to minimize collision, the gap is closing. The giant can see this and it leaps back into its dunes.

Mountains of sand rush up and around its dark, skeletal feet and with a readied blade, it thrusts. Explosions bloom across the horizon and it comes barrelling through the mysterious force. The Prince noticeably twitches in surprise, his eyes unable to turn away from the sword. He was sure it was going to be destroyed?

"Loose formation, fire when able." Redsaal adds as the Thunderous Brawler narrowly avoids colliding with the giant, the sparks it makes testamenting that fact. The airship on its right with a presented broadside is not so lucky and it is run through. With a pop, the shield is broken and the ship's hull snaps like a twig when the giant's bulk makes contact. The wreck manages to hold its form long enough for the giant's crushing foot to step down.

Some cannonballs make contact and erupt to seemingly no effect, others struggle to make it through the aura. One airship even guts itself completely when the shots detonate preemptively. Narrowing my eyes, I watch that unfortunate vessel make for an immediate presentation of the other side. Perfect half-spheres of destruction cover that lost side.

"Nine metres plus one, huh?" I remark, earning a spiteful glance from the Prince. He growls and returns his attention to the screens.

"Attempt ramming manoeuvres." the Prince orders and most of the airships back away, guns still ablaze. Whatever communications are going on I cannot hear them. Though, Redsaal is offering a prayer to the crippled airship as it diverts all power to its rear engines. Two spikes of wind magic drive thousands of tons of shattering steel into the giant's gut.

The giant stabs its sword into the ground and its free hand grips the airship. Squeezing. The torrential dust falls to the ground and the sword returns to a dual-handed grip. My eyes follow that of the giant's as magic rains from above.

One of those Union cloudwalkers is bombarding it with a vicious tornado. Magic-drained dust is kicked up for thousands of kilometres and rains out into the still magic-rich lands. Fireballs of raw magic erupt across the landscape and the giant reaches up for the distant machine. So far out of reach, the mechanical marvel is safe...

"Cloudwalker, mind your pos-" Redsaal says, only for the giant to leap into the skies with all it has with so much sand racing after. Our screens empty or blocked, one of the recon airships makes an erratic turn to follow the giant as darkness blots out the Orbital-Halo. Swinging its ginormous sword, the black matter collides with the walker, tearing it in twain.

The giant twists in the air and presents its downward thrust towards the closest, tilted airship, all cannons erratically firing up.