Steel and Mana

Down at the southern edge of the continent, at the shores of the massive, almost endless ocean, snow was a myth. Yet, just in this lifetime, it was the third time it had arrived at the far end of the Sar Empire. Right at that moment, too, snowflakes drifted down in a delicate dance, dissolving as soon as they touched the much warmer surface of the sea. Its waves rolled in a repeated pattern, white-foamed ripples hitting against the reinforced piers, their rhythm becoming the perfect clock. The docks within the city of Haria had been built and rebuilt multiple times in the past, as both the desert and the ocean were trying to eat each other. They were constantly expanding back and forth, forcing the city to periodically rebuild the docks and innovate, but it was the first time so many people worked on one project.

On either side of the main construction site, the scaffolding of the shipyard reached toward the sky as lines of workers, both from Sar and Avalon, moved between their assigned positions, carrying timbers, bolts of canvas, and piles of freshly made metal plates, being constantly bolted to the body of the greatest ship ever built. Despite the winter and the snowfall, the air was just about a few degrees above zero, causing the Avalonians to barely wear anything besides their working clothes, while the people of Sar were cursing and battling against the heavy cold.

"Prince Arthur," Emperor Ahnud Sar V said beside his two guests, his voice pitched a bit higher to carry over the dockside noise without straining it, "I trust Avalon will approve of our progress. Your Father has sent us a fine design, and with the help of your workers, the vessel should be sea-ready before winter ends."

The Emperor's formal and elegant robes were layered against the cold, and while they should be airy and thin, he was now forced to wear multiple sets on top of each other to stop himself from shivering. Yet, no matter how many clothes he put on, the chill still found a way to tickle his spine. Watching, Arthur could see it in the faint tremor of his gloved hands when he clasped them behind his back, making him chuckle inside, but his face remained calm and polite.

"Ahnud's voice can barely hold itself together," Leyla's thought whispered inside his mind with apparent amusement. "I counted three attempts where he managed to hold back a sneeze. I wonder if there will be a fourth..."

"Don't tease him, sis, he is doing his best. They are built for sand, not snow." He replied, keeping his gaze on the great ship under construction before them, shielding the fact from the Emperor that they were communicating while remaining silent. "When visiting us, they mostly stayed in their chambers too... I guess, snow is not their thing."

"Too bad. It's cool~!" She giggled as an answer, happy with her pun.

While talking, the group reached the nearest slipway, where the first destroyer-class ship sat within its wooden supports, keeping it straight. Even half-finished, her lines were already lean and sharp, wholly different from any of the other vessels that Sar or the Theocracy had ever built. Every plate of her hull was meticulously installed with precision, overseen by Avalonian supervisors, and double- and triple-checked before moving onto another part.

"As per your Father's goodwill of allowing us to name it, she will bear the name Dawn," Ahnud said, gesturing toward it with a hand. "It should encompass the goal of our next year... And the fact that with its birth, it is the end of the winter, in which she was born."

"Was he always this melodramatic?" Leyla asked, raising an eyebrow while listening, sending her thoughts to her twin.

"I don't know. Maybe this is how he is with friends and allies? I am not his biography writer." Arthur shrugged, but outside, he just nodded, smiling at the Emperor, "Maybe he is trying to show a different side of himself to us, knowing we would report it to Dad."

"It feels... what Mom Luna used to say while reading her own manuscript... Cringe."

"Come on," Arthur glanced at his sister, shaking his head, "Don't be too harsh on the man." And then, turning to the Emperor, he said, "An apt name, Your Majesty. She'll carry it well! When the time comes, you will see that its name will be worthy to lead your fleet into the new decade ahead of us."

"Oh, come on, not you too?" Leyla moaned in his mind, looking away so Ahnud wouldn't see her rolling her eyes.

"Yes," Ahnud's eyes smiled slightly. "It will be a great reminder of the alliance between us. It shows a better future instead of pointing towards a turbulent past. It is why our Union works, is it not?"

"Exactly." Arthur smiled back at him, ignoring his sister's moaning in his mind.

Continuing their trip, they walked along the ship's flank, watching the crews up on the scaffoldings, riveting the plates into place. It was a strange mix as two kinds of flakes were flying down from overhead, one being the constant snow, the other the orange sparks from the Avalonian tools. It was the same way the desert looked right at the moment, in the middle of this long winter.

"This cold," Ahnud spoke again after a pause, "is the greatest enemy for our work. Otherwise... we may have already completed it."

"It's colder back home," Leyla spoke up finally, instead of another mental message to her brother, "Much colder."

"And your people are used to it." Ahnud nodded, without taking any issue with her tone, "I would bet a lot, Princess Leyla, that you would not enjoy our summers." He shot back with a slight smile.

"That is..." She faltered, shrugging, "Yeah, I think you are right. It should be an oven in here!"

"He got you there." Arthur sent his thoughts over, making her sister growl.

"Come on... They think they're freezing to death, meanwhile, I could almost take my gloves off. I am sweating even under my jacket!"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

While bickering like siblings do, the Emperor led them further down the pier to where the ship's armament was being assembled before installation. Here, the Avalonian influence was even more apparent, as more than half of the workers were from their side. They were working on the housings of the cannons, mounts for the broadside guns, and the aiming mechanism.

"We have your Minister Kraus to thank," Ahnud continued with a nod. "He and his team have been… eye-opening. He also told me that the sister ship in Tentia will be built differently."

"Ah," Leyla perked up, sending a thought to Arthur, "He is fishing for details, who has the advantage. Play it cool!"

"I know," Arthur shot back before speaking, "They're progressing around the same space, but they are creating the ship inland," he confirmed some details for the Emperor, "It'll be assembled in sections and moved to their southern harbor, where they put it together for real."

"I see," Ahnud mused, his gaze drifting to the sea, knowing he may not get more out of Arthur, even if he pushes it. "Let us see whose sails unfurl first when spring comes... Well. I should say, whose engine will run first, as we no longer use sails with this ship."

"He's enjoying this rivalry... I guess." Leyla's tone was half amused, half wary. "I hope this is not another future reason why to go to war..."

"They couldn't do it," Arthur replied, "Being part of the Union, it would not be permitted."

"It will be your job to make it sure," She smirked a little, "After Dad steps down, it will be your responsibility to ensure it remains true."

"I know... That's why we are here."

In the end, the tour had ended with a return toward the Emperor's private chariot to take him back to his personal palace and courtyard across the bay. By then, the wind had picked up a little, bringing with it a sharper bite from the north as the light was dimming, as the sun was setting behind the clouds. Yet the work crews were still there, beginning to light braziers and Edmund Lamps along the piers to warm their hands between shifts and illuminate the metal framing of the Dawn. There was no stopping... day or night, it didn't matter as the construction never stopped.

"I thank you both for honoring us with your presence," Ahnud said again after they arrived back home, turning to face them fully. "I assume you will honor me by accompanying me for tomorrow's breakfast before you leave?"

"We'll be there," Arthur assured him. "Thank you for your hospitality, Emperor Ahnud."

"Please," His nod was slow but firm, watching Arthur, dealing with him as if he were already the leader of Avalon. "Then I wish you a pleasant night."

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

The royal guest quarters were nothing like any Avalonian rooms the twins were used to. The walls were warm plaster framed by carved cedar beams, their surfaces decorated with bright calligraphy in a bronze color. A dozen glass lanterns hung from the ceiling, their colored panes scattering different patterns across the tiled floor, turning it into a kaleidoscope of color. It was evident that they were built to be airy and cold, to shelter them against the heat... But it was winter now... so it felt colder than usual, even with all the lighting, and even for Avalonians.

Arthur had been told when he asked that the palace wing they were staying in once housed Ahnud's Father during their long naval campaigns against the Theocracy in the past. He could see it... the rooms were built in a way that... It exuded unnecessary flashiness and unused space just for the sake of it. After getting to the giant bed with his sister, they realized that both of them felt exhausted, which was a good thing... It didn't keep them up, talking about something useless, and instead, both of them had gone to sleep early, under the cover of four blankets.

Arthur should have slept easily... Instead, the moment his eyes closed, the dream he was about to have was torn open by fire, coming in from nowhere.

It was molten, lava-like light, coming from the edges of a volcanic opening. Incredible, almost painful heat seared his lungs as he breathed in, taking a deep whiff without wanting to, while the ground vibrated beneath his feet as if something recognized his presence, growling at him.

Stepping back, the scenery changed around him.

Snow and rising steam blurred together into white mist before clearing, and he could see strange warriors bursting from an unseen barrier, crimson light coming off from under their skin, summoning armors that resembled those of what Avalon was using. Just... more sleek... and red. They also held bone-crafted weapons, and the four of them, scattered, hunting beasts.

"Beasts?" He wanted to ask, and just as he did, his vision shifted without him moving.

Now he watched as a serpent-like creature hissed in pain, its tongue slashed apart and bleeding... Then, before he could see more, another flash as a scaled raptor was coming for him, only to lose its wing in a single stroke of a... sword. The images kept coming in flashes, making him see a bear-thing collapsing under a spear's attacks, an armored monster denting and cracking under two hammering fists until it was no longer an animal, just gory meat.

"Where..." he muttered again, feeling this wasn't his body. And he wasn't wrong, because he stood high above them, with wings of flame coming out of his back. "My hands? No...." They were indeed not his hands. He wasn't in control, and this was not his own memory. Not... his voice either...

"We need the blood of our descendants… before we run out of time."

Arthur's eyes snapped open right then, sitting up in his bed, gasping for air, sweating, and his chest felt tight, his fingers going against his hair, all wet and sticky.

"Arthur…?" Leyla woke at once, sitting up next to him.

"I saw something... Again..." He muttered, making her sister's eyes fully snap open as she leaned closer, putting a hand against his forehead.

"Damn, you are burning!"

"I know..." He sat up straighter, elbows on his knees, rubbing his face. "Not just a dream this time around... It was... much, much more vivid. It was like… I was looking through someone else's eyes... Different memories... I saw..." He furrowed his brows, trying his best to remember the dream that was almost close to slipping through his fingers, "Damn, I would really need Galahad's brain right now!"

"Relax!" Leyla soothed her, using her own robe to wipe his face and hair. "It's alright..."

"I saw..." He kept forcing his brain to function and recall it, "Four of them against four monsters... And they... They... won. Yes... Easily killed them. I could feel the heat of the place...."

"Stop forcing it... You're going pale," she said softly. "I told you those dreams were not good when we were little... Why didn't you shut it out?"

"No," He shook his head. "This is a warning... And it's clearer now than it used to be. Before, it was just shapes and sounds, maybe whispers. This time… I could see the details! Feel his thoughts, like they were my own."

"I hate this," Leyla exhaled slowly, her gaze lowering, holding her brother's hands. "We need to go home and tell Dad. As soon as possible."

"Maybe I will have more to tell until then," he said, slowly calming down, "I'm curious..."

"But curiosity isn't worth the price!" she scolded him, "Every time you let it in, it gets more dangerous!"

"Or it warns us about danger," Arthur replied, "I wanted to understand it, sis. I think it can help us in the future..."

"Arthur..." Her hand rested briefly on his forearm before leaning in for a hug, not worrying about his soaked body. "Then you need to be careful. Dreams like that, or more like visions, whatever they are, they're never free. Something on the other side knows you can see it... Just think of Mom Mikan and her situation!"

"If that happens..." He smiled, hugging her back, "I can wear my own, cool tattoo on my back, no?"

"Idiot..." She chuckled, but she didn't let go, "Just don't put yourself into harm's way... I don't want to lose you..."