Steel and Mana

The trains rolled into Avalon's station without issue, plowing the snow to the side and whistling as they came to a slow halt. By now, it had almost two dozen platforms, heading in all cardinal directions, but the most popular route was towards the South, through Ishillia, and from there spreading between the Geth and Sar empires. Thanks to Avalon, the western edge of the continent was already used to seeing them, and new railways were still being constantly built, connecting not only the capital cities but also reaching smaller and smaller regional hubs to the benefit of everybody. At the moment, it was cold in the morning, but at least the snow had stopped for the past two days, even if the clouds remained thick above the entire North. Hot steam was coming from the slowing train's chimney, melting the snow on the shiny machine, as the train itself was brand new but not Avalonian at all. It was of Ishillian design, made black with gold and platinum plating, belonging to the Empress herself and serving as the ruling family's private vehicle.

As Mirian stepped out of her car, wearing a thick fur coat, her attendants followed in perfect sequence, even though everyone knew that they were not really needed inside of Avalon. Taking a deep breath, she couldn't help but smile, shaking her head, always feeling a bit small when she came visiting, especially seeing how massive the station had become in just a few years. Just then, on a separate track, from the east, a whistle cut through the air once again.

She watched as another, non-Avalonian engine rolled in, being brass-trimmed and its boiler overpolished to a silvery, reflective state with the symbol of the Goldlight Guild carved right on the front of the train. After coming to a stop, Chairman Alvor stepped out first, as usual, wearing all smiles and oozing effortless confidence, his fur coat pulled tight. Mirian couldn't help but smile to herself even more, as even if Atuvia was one of the closest allies of Leon, she had something even better by now... An alliance via marriage.

"It seems like we were perfectly timed, huh?" She asked herself as another whistle came.

The next train that arrived bore the sigil of the Sar Empire, looking like the desert itself with their imperial crest put on its massive boiler on both sides. Emperor Ahnud Sar IV walked down after it came to a halt, probably one of the rulers who dressed the thickest, his whole face wrapped up in three scarves, having his honest thoughts written all over his face... even if it was only his eyes that were visible: damned winter.

"This is deliberate..." Mirian told herself, because just as she was going to take a step, another train arrived, belonging to the Geth Empire.

Theirs had been painted white with rose-gold accents, and its plates were engraved with the Medallion of Life's repeating design. Emperor Attila I, still one of the youngest of the prominent leaders, stepped down, holding a thick book in his hands, looking up at the sky first before gazing at the other rulers, nodding as they began converging at the same place.

"Welcome." A woman walked up to them not long after, her red hair tied up in a bun, wearing thick clothes. Looking at her face, it was already lined enough to show her age, but she still looked... healthy. Almost young even.

"It is rare to see you, Lady Louise," Mirian said first, inclining her head, smiling at her.

"I just can't say no to my grandchildren's requests." She smiled back, looking at the rest of the group, "My son welcomes you, but he is currently unable to be here personally. We have a situation going on at Avalon's Pride."

"Is it bad?" Emperor Attila asked, his face darkening, and Louise waited a little before nodding her head.

"World ending bad." She said simply, making the others almost falter and slip on the platform, but then she smiled, as if it was nothing noteworthy, "But which winter wasn't like that before? Arthur will tell you more about it. This way." She waved a hand and began leading them towards the station's entrance, prompting the group to exchange glances and now understanding why their invitation was so serious.

What brought them out of their dark thoughts was a low rumble. At first, they thought another train was approaching, perhaps a smaller one hidden behind the platforms... But... No... This noise? It had not that kind of reverberation to it... When they noticed them, they could immediately tell that they weren't trams either. But... then what? Because something was coming. As they neared, they watched as three blocky machines rolled over the street, relatively big, coming on four wheels. The shape was unlike any carriage they had ever seen... As they were boxy yet elegant, unlike the tractors they were familiar with, and each was painted in a different color. The first was deep crimson, the second storm-blue, while the third was emerald green, with polished chrome trimming shining on all three, their warm, golden-glowing lamps throwing light before them.

"What... are these?" Alvor asked at once, his breath visible in the cold air while his eyes were already calculating what price they would fetch. "Some new form of tram?"

"I don't think so," Mirian's brows furrowed slightly, "No track is visible under them," she whispered. "They are unbound and free to go... wherever. They aren't halftracks either, so... not military vehicles."

As she said that, the lead car came to a slow halt in front of them. When its doors opened, Leyla stepped out, and they could see the white leather seats within, the insides looking like a luxurious carriage yet different, much more... modern. She smiled proudly, clearly enjoying herself and the experience of driving Avalon's newest inventions, which were also the perfect advertisement right now. It was driven by the Sovereign's family, ferrying Emperors... And everyone could buy one in the future? After their big announcement and introduction, the following day, there were already lines to sign up for the required classes and tests to purchase a... car.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Welcome to Avalon," Leyla chuckled, looking at them, "My brother sends his salutations and apologies for not being able to greet you personally at the station. But he's preparing the Council Chamber, and we came to bring you there."

Behind her, two more doors opened as the other two cars stopped, prompting Galahad and Fila to step out of their respective vehicles, dressed properly. Her eyes softening, Mirian caught a proud smile on her daughter's face as the two exchanged a quick glance.

"There is always something, huh?" Mirian's eyes flicked between her daughter and the vehicles. "I see Avalon continues to enjoy surprising us," she murmured, "Your Father has a weird obsession with that saying of his..."

"Well," Galahad smiled politely at his mother-in-law, "If we stopped surprising you, Lady Mirian, we'd be failing my Father's legacy."

"Hah!" She laughed, while the others also shook their heads, except Alvor, who agreed and wasn't afraid of letting everyone know.

"Please continue the trend," the Chairman added, "I love it."

"We are glad to hear! Please!" Leyla gestured gracefully toward the cars, enjoying her role, "If you'll allow us, we'll take you directly to the Palace. The roads are clear, and it's faster than any tram or walking."

"I don't think any of us would say no to this." Emperor Attila declared, as the group quickly split up and entered the cars, finding the inside spacious enough, more spacious than some of the carriages they had previously ridden in their lives.

Of course, Mirian sat with Louise in Fila's green car, while Attila and Ahnud chose Galahad's vehicle, leaving Alvor to sit with Leyla. All of them were seated on plush seats that felt more hospitable than they expected, with the interior air subtly scented and comfortably warmer than on the outside. When the keys were turned, they could feel the rumble as the cars began to move, rolling out of the station and into the open avenue. They couldn't believe how easy it all seemed, and how fast it felt despite everything... Having nothing else to control it than a big wheel and seemingly a few pedals. And a stick in the middle. Huh...

Watching them move through the city, they saw as people turned to stare, most of the Avalonians dressed in thick coats, their breath white, saluting or bowing as the convoy passed, clearly just as fascinated by the machines as their passengers were. It was then that they noticed that Avalon had changed a little. New, steel-made panels were now planted along the avenues and their intersections, glowing red, while the road they passed through had a green signal.

"Are those...?" Alvor asked, making Leyla nod.

"We call them traffic lights. For now, we are in the middle of implementing them. Later on, they would guide the flow of traffic. Red: stop. Yellow: Prepare to go or stop. Green? Go. Easy to understand, and they will help a lot in the future. Of course, we are still testing them and will need proper finetuning in the future, but we are hopeful."

"When will it be on sale? I mean, this machine, not the lights. We are still in the middle of building power stations to install electric lighting in our cities... Doesn't matter! So? Cars. Yes? Buy? Yes?" He asked, turning into a child, almost beginning to beg Leyla for a fair price.

"No idea." Leyla chuckled in answer, "Don't ask that yet, because..."

"Because?" Alvor pressed, feeling curious when he saw how Leyla fell silent all of a sudden, and not because she had to look where she was going.

"You will have your hands full. You'll see."

Going silent again, Alvor just leaned back and watched the scenery, catching children playing in squares and building a massive snowman the size of a shed. In the distance, beyond the skyline, the colossal shape of the Camelot was also visible, and with the arrival of a second airship from the North, he could tell that something was going on indeed... Avalon's military was mobilizing to its fullest; that was the feeling he got.

Inside the other cars, the visitors were silent at first, but not for long. Ahnud Sar's fingers drummed against his knee, his eyes narrowing as he watched the same scenery, coming to the same conclusion.

"You've built an empire that none of us can catch up to," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head, "I don't know how to feel about that."

"Don't think too hard of it," Attila looked at him before Galahad could say anything to the two sitting in the back, "We should only focus on what we can achieve."

"Hold onto that thought," Galahad spoke up, looking into the rearview mirror while speaking, but telling them not much.

"Should we be afraid?" Ahnud asked, remembering what Louise told them just a minute ago.

"We don't know." Galahad shrugged, watching the green light they passed by, "What I can tell you is that we made contact with the Vasas, and they are now at the Pride..."

"Friends or...?" Attila gulped.

"Friends." Galahad answered after a brief pause, "But we have something unleashed... A monster that is worse than the Guardian was."

"Worse?!" Ahnud flinched, "Are you sure...?"

"Sadly, we are." Galahad looked at them, their eyes meeting via the rearview mirror, "Arthur will tell you everything."

While he was scaring the two Emperors, in the third car, Mirian was smiling, sitting next to Fila, watching her focus and drive, using smooth hand movements as if she were just using her magic.

"So? What about grandkids?" She suddenly asked, but Fila was apparently ready, and she didn't even press on the brakes. She just looked at Louise, who acted as if it were the natural question that should be answered.

"We aren't thinking of having one yet." She answered simply, and seeing her mother opening her mouth again, Fila just glanced at her with one eye, "Yes, we already did it. No, we aren't trying for it. It will happen when it happens. Stop asking."

"Haaah..." Both Mirian and Louise sighed at the same time, in the same way as the Empress looked back at Leon's mother.

"Galahad had the same answer," She shrugged, opening her hands, "Like a rehearsal... So I also stopped asking."

"Mhm..." Mirian nodded, looking at Louise with understanding, "Well..." She leaned back, "I'm just asking... because if the world is about to end, you should at least experience what it means to be a mother."

"I don't think the world will end," Fila answered confidently, "Not when my Galahad is also working on stopping it from coming true."