NOVEL NEXT A&O Volume 2: The Long March South – Chapter 5: Projects (Part 2)
After wrapping things up in the laboratory, the duo monarchs bid farewell to Tree City and then boarded the carriage as they were making their way to the port of Radensburg to the northern coast, the main conduit that links the siren clan's underwater city to the empire. And as the duo were still sifting through the reports inside their carriage, Amelia let out a cough as she locked eyes with her beloved.
"Something on your mind?" Ophelia asked, placing the report she was reading down on the side
"Yes, I wish to discuss further my adventurer's guild plan" Amelia answered with a nod
"Alright then, let me hear it" Ophelia replied, a smile on her face
"Well for starters. I wish for a small amount of the treasury for it, I do not know how much but I do know I will need it if I want to give the plan a proper start" Amelia began as she took an empty piece of paper and began writing on it
"How much do you need? I created a currency system during my time here while waiting. We have Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper as the ranking of coins. Copper is the one with the least purchasing power, while Gold is gold, enough said. The system itself is like this
10 Copper = 1 Bronze, 15 Bronze = 1 Silver, 25 Silver = 1 Gold
I had some help in finalizing the system but this is the basics of it" Ophelia said as she conjured up the coins, each of them having a print of Spithe on either side of the coin.
"Hmm....then I think about two? three hundred silver? I am assuming that is enough, but if our treasury is not enough then I can make do with less"
"Oh! No need to worry, I believe we have more than enough for your project, the mines I ordered specifically for the creation of currency are doing well and besides, we are also earning a good amount of money" Ophelia stated with a large grin
"Hmm? I get the mines but what do you mean earning a good amount? I thought this was an isolated nation for the most part and we had a closed economy " Amelia asked, curious as to what her lover was talking about
"Well, we have been trading with a chain of islands to the north, the Demon Kingdom Of Amma, rich nation really but they are also in need of what we export them, raw and untampered magic-filled monster crystals, they can't hunt any on their island chain as most of them were hunted to extinction and they also destroyed the dungeons they were spawning from" Ophelia answered her
"Ooo, interesting. But anyways, back to my plan" Amelia said
"Mhmm, continue"
"Well, I plan to enlist help from many of the people who came with me, many of the adventurers from the Erstad Duchy came with us and were acting as guards for the civilians. They need some work and I wish to help them" Amelia began again
"Considering the fact that we have assigned a good amount of the Black Guard to foraging and hunting monsters, we are draining the army of crucial manpower. We are also depriving the people who do not produce for the government their livelihood as you have the lion's share of the blacksmiths and resources, which is a problem as those merchants and blacksmiths need to buy the resources to make their products but considering they don't earn much, they can't buy the materials they need nor have anyone to ask or request for help"
"So to combat all of that, I want the adventurers to act as the foragers and hunters, hand over their materials to the merchants and blacksmiths, and get paid by the guild and blacksmith for their service. It allows us to have normal people who are not part of the army increase their strength, provides the people a new way to live, allows the blacksmiths and merchants to have clients and providers, and most importantly, will give our people, both natives and escapees a way to get stronger before they join the army" Amelia finished with a satisfied smile
Ophelia looked at her and a smirk appeared on her lips, her beloved had provided her with a very good proposal that covered bases she overlooked as not really important. Compared to her lover, she always focused on the bigger picture even back in the duchy. She reflected back when she had to make the tough decisions for the good of everyone, sacrificing the time and effort of some farmers or even some townsfolk just so that more people could reap their hard work. Or when she had to force herself to harden her heart after many people died from a plague that rocked the empire when she was young.
"You can't save everyone" Those were Percy's words to her whenever Ophelia grappled with the guilt of not doing enough, and soon it became common for her to say it to herself when things went south, it became a sort of consolation saying for herself. Using it to justify her early actions as she forced the people in the duchy to work harder and clamped down on them to get quotas up, here and there she would lessen the burden to make sure they were fine, she also did her best to car for those who did not outright die and soon it allowed her to form bonds with the people of her duchy, they saw her actions as necessary considering the circumstances they were in. Plague, a war that had just concluded, a short famine, they all saw her actions as justified as to ensure more people to survive, something that Ophelia worked towards. But at times when she was alone, she would reflect on the things she had done and be reminded of the people who perished along the way, people who perished so that others could survive.
Heck, even her plan to save the duchy was just that, a plan to save her duchy and hers alone, not the Hillsbrooke Empire, not for anyone else, but her own people and some others whom she had accepted into joining the escapees. Sure there were the visions that had guided her to the plan, but even without them, she doubted she would have saved anyone else besides her own. That's why seeing Amelia try to create plans for those excluded by her own brought a very warm feeling into her heart and soul, because even if she couldn't save everyone, she was damn sure Amelia would, making sure no one was left behind, and that was one of the many things she saw inside Amelia that truly won her heart.
"You will have all the funding you need darling, we are the rulers of a new empire, nothing is too expensive nor too cheap" Ophelia said with a loving smile as she sent a flying kiss Amelia's way
"Thank you Ophie, thank you" Amelia replied with her own smile and flying kiss
A few more minutes would go by as the carriage trudged along the paved roads, but soon they were able to make it past the final vestiges of the forest and appear on a hill overlooking the port of Radensburg.
"Radensburg in sight Your Majesties, we will be there soon" Erhet announced as she slithered beside the carriage window again
"Thank you as always Erhet, stop the carriage for a moment, I wish to look at it from this hill" Ophelia ordered, with Erhet nodding and lightly smacking the side of the carriage with the head of her halberd
The duo monarchs stepped out of the carriage as it stopped, the hill they were on provided an excellent view of the destination before them, a bustling port city that was still constructing. The bay of Radensburg was a wide crescent-shaped bay, with two lighthouses on both far tips of the crescent. The water in the bay itself was a shimmering clear blue and in the bay at the moment were a lot of large merchant ships built in the four months prior to transport out the crystal shipments to the Demon Kingdom of Amma, with some ships entering the bay coming from said kingdom. The facilities lining the bay were all still under construction, different dockyards and port facilities all still being built by dwarves, elves, sirens, humans, and other races under the Halkare banner. Opposite the bay, the land surrounding Radensburg was also under construction, new housing areas, new market districts, and even a military district were all under construction alongside the port facilities and dockyards.
"She will be a beautiful city in the future Ophie" Amelia remarked as she looked upon the city
"I agree, she will be magnificent" Ophelia agreed as she wrapped her arm around her beloved
The duo then hopped back into their carriage and made their way into the city, they passed the construction areas and made their way towards the northern edge of the construction area. Sitting on the edge of the construction area was a small set of well-built guardhouses resting on the side of the beach and manned by several Black Guard soldiers, all of them standing at attention at the sight of their monarchs.
"This is the drop-off point for the Siren clan, from here on out we will be meeting Udaria and her parents who lead the Siren clans, are you ready Amelia?" Ophelia asked her as she looked at her beloved
"I think I am, but how will we get down there?" Amelia asked with reasonable concern
"Simple, we have two options, option one is to digest some food that helps us breathe underwater without the need for gills and then coat ourselves in magic to protect and keep our clothes dry, using air and water magic to navigate the deep, or we can just surround ourselves in a air bubble and then go down, using solely air magic to navigate" Ophelia answered her as she tied her hair up into a ponytail
"I would like the food instead, can't imagine the annoying strain of keeping an entire air bubble around me as we go deeper where there is more pressure" Amelia said as she began to do the same
"Good choice, although I wouldn't see us running into trouble with the other option considering I could always just cast for both of us" Ophelia chuckled as she finished getting ready, conjuring up a pair of white and fluffy marshmallows in her hand that were retrieved from her item box
"Oooo, that's what we will be eating?" The blonde empress asked with a small smirk
"Mhmm, here eat up" The raven-haired empress answered as she handed her lover one of the marshmallows
As the duo ate their marshmallows, the calm waters along the shore moved more actively, the waves crashing onto the shore more and more, failing to mask the sight of several things moving below them as they neared the beach. The guards and the duo monarchs were unconcerned, merely watching the unidentified objects get closer, and when they did they were not things but people.
Stepping onto the shore dressed in her usual white dress, with her beautifully blue siren tail quickly morphing into a pair of legs, was Udaria and she wore a smile on her face as she locked eyes with the duo monarchs.
"Greetings Your Majesties! I am here to pick you up!" Udaria stated with a large smile and graceful bow
"Good to see you Udaria, and thank you as well for coming all this way" Amelia replied with a nod
"Indeed, it is good to see you too Udaria, and thank you for helping us set up the meeting"
"Of course Your Majesties! Mother and Father as well as all the Siren Clans are loyal subjects, they have been dying to meet Her Majesty Amelia since the wedding but considering the projects that you assigned them, they were unable to" Udaria replied
"Ahh, an oversight on my part. My apologies" Ophelia apologized as she gave her a small bow
"It's fine Your Majesty, Mother and Father were also stubborn in the fact they did not want to leave a job incomplete and half-assed"
"Then they have my thanks as well"
"Ok! Now, are both of you ready?" The siren asked as she glanced them up and down
"Mhmm, we have eaten some food that allows us to breathe underwater for the next eight or so hours and we will be coating ourselves in magic to keep our bodies and hair dry, and don't worry, we both know how to swim" Ophelia answered the siren
"Great! If you will just follow me then" The siren said as she quickly dipped back into the water
Ophelia and Amelia shared a glance and a nod before taking off their shoes and following Udaria into the water. They followed behind her as she continued to go deeper and deeper into the water, the clear blue water allowed the sunlight to illuminate their surroundings even as they were reaching the bottom of the bay where the Siren Clans resided.
It was a large and expansive city that spanned the entire sea floor of the bay all of them of different shape and architecture from the ones commonly seen on the land, with spires and other tall buildings dotting the city, some spires rose above the rest of the buildings along the city, each one of them looked like carbon copies of each other. These were defensive towers that Udaria herself had designed and with the help of the Halkare Research Department, dispersed a barrier that spanned the city, as a sort of safety cover from the ships above, as if any ship sank in the bay, it would just rest on the barrier being projected before being swept away out of the bay.
As they reached the sea floor, the duo monarchs were greeted by several other sirens that swam over to meet them, each of them of different colors along their skins and scales, all except two who shared the same color as their siren guide. The two of them were also older than the rest that had come out to greet them as well as being dressed in more intricately designed tribal robes that were way better than the ones the other sirens were wearing, and all of them were smiling as they gazed upon the duo monarchs.
"Your Majesties. Welcome to Port Raven, the main Siren city of the empire" The siren spoke as he and the woman beside him bowed towards the duo
"Ah, Chief Persophose and Mistress Val, it is a pleasure to see you both again" Ophelia nodded at she looked at them
"Likewise Your Majesty, especially since we can now meet Her Highness Amelia" Val said as she looked at Amelia with a smile and a bow
"It is a pleasure to meet you both as well, Your daughter has been a great help on the surface so I am very excited to see where she got it from" Amelia replied with a nod, with the two sirens smiling in reply
"We are glad to hear that Your Majesty" Chief Persophose said with a bow
After a few more minutes of exchanging pleasantries, the duo monarchs followed the sirens into the city. They greeted and waved back at the sirens who came out to see their monarchs, all of them visibly happy and curious as to their presence as they were all trying to understand how they were able to stay so long underneath the water without so much as a massive reading in any form of magical energy. As they swam behind Udaria and her parents, there were even some kids swimming near them, each of them giving the duo sea flowers before swimming away with a happy expression. After a few minutes of swimming, the group stopped at the edge of the city. Just past them was the end of the protective barrier and a large drop that opened up into the rest of the sea bed, it was dark though and even the shining sun above that pierced through the clear blue waters could only do so much.
"We are here Your Majesties. We have also accomplished the task you gave us in contacting and rounding up the members of their species that were peaceful. Many of them followed and now just await our call" Chief Persephone stated with a slight nervousness as he turned to the duo monarchs
"Alright. Thank you Persophose, I advise you to hang back for this" Ophelia stated with a nod, with the siren chief complying as he and his family moved back a few feet.
"Alright Amelia, this next part is all on you. I will need you to promise me however not to immediately go all slash and smash ok?" She added as she turned to her beloved
"Hmm? Why?" Amelia asked, her eyebrow raised
"Just promise me ok? I need to hear it"
"Hmmm. Ok then, I promise not to go all "slash and smash" ok?" Amelia promised with a confused expression
"Ok great! Thanks love, you got this!" Ophelia replied with a small smile as she kissed her on the lips and cheek before swimming a step back
"Ok Persophose, hit it!" She shouted as she turned her gaze back to the siren family, with Persophose nodding
BWAAAAAAAAANNGGGGG!
Chief Persophose called out into the dark and empty sea before them, the sound being familiar to that of a foghorn from Ophelia's world. It reverberated all around them and the sound traveled far into the empty expanse before them. When the call ended there was a moment of silence, Amelia glanced back to Ophelia and then back to the siren family, trying to see if there was anything else that was to follow the sound. Ophelia gave her a nod and mouthed the words "Just wait a moment" when they locked eyes. Amelia let out a sigh as she nodded at her lover's words and then turned her gaze back towards the dark expanse, trying to see if anything was coming.
{!}
Suddenly, the ground began to shake as something was coming, Amelia's eyes frantically scanning the dark to see the cause of the shaking. Her eyes piercing through the darkness and seeing several large figures rapidly swimming towards them, her eyes widened as she recognized the shapes of the creatures, and her hands instinctively summoned and unsheathed her pair of daggers before going into a fighting stance. She tried to calm herself down by slowing down her breathing which helped somewhat as a giant creature suddenly shot up from the edge, its massive figure darkening the surrounding as its body blocked the sunlight from the sea floor.
It floated a few feet away from the edge, its massive body on full display. Its lower half was nothing but groups of massive tentacles of differing lengths, the upper half had six massive arms with four that ended in gigantic claws while two were just giant tendrils with smaller tendrils attached to them, the body of the creature was covered in overlapping shells that resembled multiple layers of plate armor, and its head resembled that of a hammerhead lightly bent backward to form a sort of V that had the nose in the center right below the V. It had six eyes with three on each side near the nose that were all boring down on the woman before it. To many they were seen as harbingers of death, a creature with no name, but to Amelia, she knew them by the name of 'Leviathan'.
[I have answered the call Chief Persopohose] The creature stated with a booming voice as it continued to look down at the woman before it
"Ah To'rth. Well, these two here are our rulers, Her Majesties Empress Ophelia and Empress Amelia" Persophose said as he gestured to the two women
[Ahh I see....wait...you] To'rth said as he moved slightly closer to the human nearest to it,
{!}
SPRKKKK!
[GRAAAAAWWHHHHHHHH!] To'rth roared in pain as he tried to read the stats of the mortal before him, but instead of seeing the stats, he was immediately enveloped in a storm of lightning bolts that crackled all over his ancient body
Amelia's expression darkened as she cranked up the voltage on the spell and the roars of the Leviathan before her became louder and louder, her eyes filled with silent fury as her memories of how she got her tag filled her mind, forgetting what she had just promised to her beloved and focusing on one objective: Kill the damned thing before her.
"Amelia! Stop!' Ophelia shouted as she immediately made her way back to her beloved and smacked her head, bringing her out of her murderous state.
"Wha, wha!" Amelia exclaimed as her expression returned to normal and she cut off the spell, her eyes widening at what she had just done, her expression that of horror as everything came back to her and when she turned to her lover, Ophelia could see her eyes watering.
"Shhhh, it's ok, it's ok. I was at fault for doing this to you" Ophelia said as she embraced her and began to soothe her, a regretful expression on her face
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Amelia repeated as she tightened her embrace
[You...you have the power to kill a Leviathan....Are you the one with the tag <Leviathan Princess>?] To'rth asked as he slowly floated downwards, his body's regeneration slowly kicking in to repair the scorched and torn pieces of his body
"Yes...yes I am" Amelia answered as she pulled from Ophelia and looked up at To'rth, her expression calming down
[I see....please, accept my apologies] To'rth said as he bowed his head
{!}
"You are not mad? or even enraged?" Amelia asked with wide and surprised eyes
[No I am not. You hold the title of a monarch and the tag of the monarch of the Leviathans. Something that could only have been done if you had slain Kru'the The Betrayer, the bastard of our species that betrayed our last Princess and damned us into hiding] To'rth said as he moved closer to the edge, resting his limbs on the rock as support.
[I do not need an explanation of how you killed the bastard, all I need to know is that he is finally dead...I and what remains of the Leviathan Clan swear our allegiance to you and your descendants for all time] To'rth added as he bowed his head, with several other Leivathans floating up into view behind him and also bowing their heads
'Well, that could have gone better. But at least we got the results we needed' Ophelia thought as she moved over to her lover and placed her hand on her shoulder
"It's up to you whether to accept it or not Amelia. I am leaving this in your hands" She said with a slightly regretful expression as she had intentionally withheld information about the project she had tasked Chief Persophose and caused her to relapse into the monster that slew the leviathan all those years ago.
"Thank you Ophie...I guess I had to get over it someday no?" Amelia replied with a smile as she embraced and kissed her again before returning back to the Leviathans
"I may not be the best in ruling but I accept your pledge. I may still be cautious around you all but I hope to get over it someday" Amelia said she swam near to To'rth and looked at him and all six of his eyes
[If I may Your Majesty, may I gleam into the memories of that day? I cannot use magic upon you without your express permission, the tag blocks me from doing so] The Leviathan asked with a concerned tone
Amelia was silent but she gave him a nod, and as she did, To'rth quickly found the memory he was in search of. All he saw was a burning coastal town, blood-red water, thousands of bodies strewn about, men and women of all ages some children and even the elderly, a cackling Kru'th in the distance, and Amelia covered in more wounds and scars staring daggers at the cackling Leviathan. Letting out a defiant roar as she calls down upon a pillar of blinding light.
To'rth stopped looking into the memory as he pulled away, subtle shaking, and his expression while unreadable was that of fear. He steeled himself as he bowed to them again and things had finally cooled down.
"Right, now that everyone has cooled down and things are ok. We have a lot to discuss so get ready" Ophelia stated as she took Amelia's hand in hers and they both looked at the Leviathans together
Amelia smiled as she nodded, her hand tightening the grip which helped calm her down. She was not back in the Hillsbrooke Empire and that dreadful day, instead she was with her beloved and they had business to do, business that would help expand their little empire and help secure the bright future they were aiming for.
A/N: Hello! So here is the next part of the Projects Chapter, the next one will focus on the chat between the duo monarchs and the Leviathans and then some construction before we get to the next set of chapters. I hope you all enjoyed this one as I had fun writing it and if you have any thoughts or comments or even questions, leave em below for me to read. As always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!