Steel and Mana

Chapter 561 – Awaiting

After a few days, which flew past me pretty quickly as I was mostly resting and getting my bearings together, I was finally feeling well enough to not move around like some ninety-year-old veteran. With back at a presentable shape and from, I also called on the Union leaders, and on a bright afternoon, we were having a meeting aboard the Camelot. The long table set up in the middle of the room was filled on one side with my wives and children, everyone sitting in order of when I married them, then by their birthdays. Then, across from them, sat Mirian, Merlin, and all the Union leaders who had been summoned. They had been informed of, well, about everything. From start to finish, all about the Vasas, Ignis, all the necessary details. What really sold it for those who missed out on the big battle was that they saw the burning pits were still going strong, every soldier and mech doing their best to clean up the thousands upon thousands of beast corpses before the Pride. Not to mention, most of the landscape now looked like how I imagine Verdun did after the battle was over. It wasn't anything that would win a beauty contest any time soon... Anyway, they were not the only ones at the table, because Sa'Ith and two of the other surviving elders were also sitting with them, causing many to take multiple looks at Sa'Ith.

Learning that she was a bonified Vasa, that the old tales were true... It was both a surprise and a bit of a... scare. But it wasn't as big a shock. I even expected something to happen when Sa'Ith and Mirian met face-to-face, but... Nothing.

"The Spear of Death..." Sa'Ith said, a half-smile on her face when they shook hands, "Did you know it was once ours?"

"No, I did not," Mirian answered, raising an eyebrow. "Did my ancestors take it?"

"Yes, they did." Sa'Ith nodded, "Ishillia, who was originally of a branch family, was an exceptional warrior and leader that my Sect sent to control some of our lesser territories. He was... very talented, and if he had been a pureblood Vasa, he would have probably been able to vie for the Sect Leader's position. Well, he still did, because, through his tenacity, he earned the respect of the Spear and took it from us... That is what kicked off the war, which lasted for four decades and ended in our banishment."

"Wait... Old Ishillia was... A Vasa?" Merlin asked, surprised.

"Not exactly." Sa'Ith chuckled, "He wasn't part of the Sect officially, and because of that, he wasn't taught of our ways. But he was a subordinate, supplied by our Sect, strengthening him, because it was easier to have loyal people govern our vast lands than..." But she stopped, realizing he was going on a tangent, "Anyway. It is all in the past. He won, we lost, that's simple. It does not matter anymore."

"Yeah..." Mirian said simply, making Sa'Ith chuckle. "It was a long time ago."

"Indeed."

It was amongst that exchange that I took my seat at the head of the table... and when it creaked, making me grimace, the talks also ended. Oh well... It's better this way, so I don't need to awkwardly wait for them to finish.

"Alright," I started, not wanting to babble for too much, "let's get the obvious out of the way: We won."

"And we now have the world ending calamity under shackles," Yuri added, glancing at Arthur, "And under complete control."

"We do," My son nodded, summoning the chains, showing it to everyone, "Turns out... It is connected to me, altogether. And I mean, altogether."

"Which is part of the bad news..." Merlin shrugged and began explaining.

From what we managed to discern, through Mikan, Morgan, and Meyli's spells, enhanced by Merlin's theories, that chain was indeed connecting the two more than just linking them in body. It was all but sure that the chains linked to their souls, too, which is why Arthur could sense if Ignis was agitated and regulate her without thinking about it. It was happening almost subconsciously... and I wasn't happy about it, but... There was nothing else I could do about it.

"So..." Alvor looked at me, then at Arthur, "Avalon has an even better weapon than your mechs..."

"A ticking time bomb if you ask me." I grunted, "And no, we are not thinking about using her against anybody. Too dangerous..."

"It is..." Attila leaned forward, his elbows landing on the table with a knock, "If the people know about it, the Union will fall apart because they will fear Avalon as they feared the Vasas in the old, Ishillian times. I may be the youngest here, but I learned a lot from history... And it many times keeps repeating itself."

"Sadly, he is right." Sa'Ith nodded, "We once had Ignis, too. And now..." She looked at Arthur, her gaze softening, not saying anything more, just shaking her head. "But this time around, you know of our mistake and you are not destroying yourself." She brightened up, talking to Arthur and me, mostly. "You now can take a different route than we did, and go even further!"

"We don't need to announce who or what Ignis is, and in fact, I don't intend to." I said with a serious voice, "I am telling you, because we are allies... And if you want to leak it, if you want to break up our Union, go ahead. Be the one to do so." I shook my head, waving their gazes away, "Ruin what we have built... Be my guest."

"And see how your people react to that," Luna whispered under her breath, snorting a little, making everyone quickly exchange glances.

"Well," Alvor chuckled, shaking his head, "Atuvia stands with Avalon. No questions about that."

"My Ishillia does too," Mirian steepled her fingers, looking at the others. "The greatest threat to the world is now captured. That alone shifts the political landscape of the entire continent. However… Avalon had shown they are always willing to cooperate and share, only taking up a sword when they are threatened. As long as my family line lives, I will make sure they remember that, and we can remain close partners."

"Yes," Sa'Ith said quietly, "And they will always have allies on this side of the world, too." As she spoke, everyone slowly turned to look at her, "We cannot return to the continent. The God's Formation prevents us from doing so... But we will stay here and guard Avalon's Pride. That is our purpose from now on. As long as a Vasa lives... they will always be here."

"I am not going to refuse such dedication," I leaned forward, looking into her eyes, "The Pass has always been meant to be the shield between the world and the monsters. If you want it… this can be your new home, and you won't have to guard it alone."

"And we could trade..." Alvor started already, making me chuckle, leaning back and letting him go on a little more before finally stopping his rambling, because he was eying Sa'Ith as if she were a new goldmine.

"There are still two issues, as I started!" I raised my hand, drawing all attention back to me. "Let's start with the one we can do nothing about: The countdown within the Gods' Formation. As per our prediction, we only have about three to four months until it stops or activates... When that happens, whatever comes next will probably be era-defining. So, we should converge here when it happens. Agreed?"

Looking at the people, everyone simply nodded, not wanting to miss the date when possibly, the Gods themselves will return. Haaah... I don't even know what that will mean for us, but... I am not going to worry about it. Maybe they can do something about Ignis and Arthur's connection, take that bitch out of the picture, throw her into the stars, or something.

"The second issue is more... urgent. We can pretty much confirm that the Khulmani gauntlets are gone. For good."

"They won't take that lightly." Emperor Sar spoke up, shaking his head, "We already had a weird relationship with them after all that happened... Now this?"

"They should be happy they can live in such peace." Mirian snorted as an answer, "If the Gauntlets were summoned and used in such a way, it was the will of the Artifact. That is all! And if they become angry... so what?" She looked at Lancelot, "We already have an heir that could replace their whole bloodline."

"Jila won't go back." My son answered, shaking his head.

"I am talking about your son." Mirian continued, her Ishillian blood resurfacing, "Percival is the son of Jila, who was chosen by the Gauntlets, and also the one who still has massive support in Khulman. Even if those voices are currently silent." She continued, looking at everyone, "I am not saying you have to move there... But I am saying that if Khulman acts up, we can make sure they fall in line."

"We will get there when we get there!" I rejoined the conversation, glancing between them, "I don't think they would announce the disappearance of the Gauntlets. Of course, they can't keep it under wraps for long either... So, we will send an invite to the Khan to be present when the 'Gods' return. If that doesn't explain things for him, or if he refuses to see the big picture, I am fine with letting our relationship cool or turn outright icy."

"What if they start attacking our caravans and block our reach towards the east?" Attila asked, looking at me, "That part of the continent is very hungry for what we have, finally starting to hear the rumors of the difference between the two sides of the world."

"I am not worried about that." Alvor answered for me, "With what Avalon shared with us already, Khulman does not frighten us. And they should not, even if they have the numbers. If they raid our caravans, we can use our mechs to guard them, use armored trains to transport the goods... What will they do? Shoot arrows at them?"

"They can still sabotage the railway," Attila warned him, but Alvor just shook his head.

"I am more versed in the way money and opportunity wage their battles," he chuckled, "If we set up an embargo on Khulman, avoid their territories, go around them, they will be isolated and slowly wither away. I saw the future," He continued with utter conviction in his voice, "And it is not going to be possible to reach it alone. They can try, but they will simply fall behind as everyone around them speeds up. My Atuvia had gone through it, and we fell apart, but that also made us reborn as you see us today. It was a painful reform... but we are stronger than ever. Maybe one day Khulman will fall, too, and in its place, new countries will be erected, from the different tribes and from those... There will be many who will join us. I am sure of it."

"That is a serious possibility." I agreed because I had seen such things happen, not to mention that it was inevitable.

I know how globalization works, and once it begins rolling, there is no going back. I had let the genie out of the bottle, and there was no way to return it. But it was not a bad thing, as long as we can keep the peace. I don't think that part would be hard for at least a few decades if not a century... There were enough wars, enough bloodshed, and people will prefer peace, at least for a generation or two. Then, when those who no longer remember how war actually feels, burning and leaving marks right on their skin, and then they become the leaders of the countries we see now... Well... The choices will be up to them. I will not be there anymore, so I can't and won't worry about it, and I should not. If they want to burn down paradise, be my guest!

"We will do as Alvor said," I nodded after a brief silence, "We will inform the Khan what happened, show them the truth, and he can decide what he wants to do. If they cut ties with us, so be it... We won't be aggressive towards them, but we won't ask for forgiveness or give compensation to them at all."

"Why should we?" Arthur suddenly snorted, and I looked at him with a bit of surprise, while my wives only smiled, along with Yuri's loud chortle. "They should be happy we won. Compensate them? For what? Saving the world?"

"The Sovereign speaks well," Sa'Ith agreed, crossing her arms, "I don't know who these Khulmans are, but whoever thinks anyone should be compensated, then they are delusional."

"We will see what happens," I chuckled, leaning back, "I can't predict the future... but for now these are the two issues that we face."

"I wonder..." Merlin mumbled, leaning back in his chair, "What will the Gods say about it all..."

"We will see." I shrugged, shaking my head, "It is not that far off anyway... Plus, I do have a few questions for them." And before anyone else could say anything, I raised a hand, "I know you all do! So... everyone should write down their own. We will come up with a list... The last thing we need is for our coming visitors to look at us like we are a bunch of uneducated children, speaking over each other."