I would have to be a blind fool to say that there Divinity beats out humanity in every aspect. It is simply not true for we can point it out in such an unarguable manner that the definition of the word needs to change for us to even pretend to be on the playing field. It is not strength, nor lifespan, joy is imasurable and capacity for good is subjective. Rather, the one thing that almost every creature on this world possesses and we lack is the capacity for sacrifice.
The truly blind of us try to stretch the definition of the word. To say that because we give endless ti, that is our sacrifice. Or that sohow not using world-shattering power is sacrificial, even though we all inhabit the exact sa planet. It is an arrogance not prideful, but wholly vainglorious to be unable to admit this difference.
Mother birds will shield their nests with their own bodies to give the eggs a chance to hatch. Animals will fiercely protect their young, taking endless and permanent punishnt. Humanity’s self-sacrifice is baked into their souls. It is such a fundantal aspect of their being that most are not even conscious of it. They take it to such a degree that the extres are even viewed by us with concern, such as in the case of the flayed ones during the Age of Monsters. Now, during Heroism, we watch the best of mankind throw themselves into certain death with a smile.
The greatest of Divines killed through these purges were not duelled with but sward. Heroes seem to relish the opportunity to be the first to give their lives in the charge against one such as Kon of Slaughter or Alina of Extermination. Divinity could not and can not stand against that mindset for Divinity is unique and holy and far too precious to lose their lives. I assu that even if our world was threatened with destruction, today’s Divinity would still squabble as to who should go to face the threat and their doom.
The newly ford Kassandora talks of Divine organisation, and how Divinity should be forced to learn the rationale of expendable human soldiers, yet she wages a fruitless campaign. She is talented, but she is young. I am sure her thods will adapt, but any of her plans involving Divinity will first need to have Divinity broken and made to heel. Humanity only beca aware of this trait when I pointed it out. When I talked of the need to eliminate Kon, the uproar was about what would happen if he was assisted by other Divines. How could one truly strike at a God of Slaughter and expect other Divines not to intervene. Yet once the charge began, and once the first major Divine was killed, everything changed.
For a thousand different magics and a thousand different blades went up against Kon. And to his side ca no one. If even ten Divines had answered his call, then the Age of Heroes would have never began.
For how many Divines would actually sacrifice themselves if given the chance?
How many tis has a Divine sacrificed themselves?
The answer, all of us know.
Precisely zero.
- Excerpt from Arascus’ Private Writings, this section is dated to Pre-Worldbreaking.
So ideas were stupid. So ideas were never done before. So ideas were so genius that once thought up of, the only question that remained was how soone had not thought of them earlier. Elassa gazed up at the Imperial Drop Tower. This was certainly on the forr stage of that, although the Empire was filled almost entirely with stupid ideas that sohow, through sheer force of will and combined effort, managed to create sothing far grander than them.
The Goddess of Magic gazed up at the tower now that she had finished her installation of the long-range transmutation crystal. A set of mana batteries were fitted as well, although these things were almost impossible to test. Magic was not predictable science, in theory, a transmutation enchantnt didn’t require energy. She had learned it simply rearranged atomic bonds, through that knowledge, it was made even more efficient. Potentially, it could last a century, in practice, in may burn out in a matter of hours. The amount of ash in the atmosphere was an unknown, the level of energy the rune would expend, the winds, whether Tartarus open up their portals… It was just too many unknowns to handle.
But it did work. The crystal had transford piles of ash on the ground into fat diamonds all by itself. Half of those diamonds had been lded together to create the batteries that powered it now. Elassa gazed up at the tower, a monolith of steel now painted silver. The top was narrowed down to a long speartip, a taproot designed to penetrate into the ground and hold the structure stable upon impact. The inside had been repurposed, although Elassa didn’t care much for shock absorbers or a crew bay.
Her eyes focused upon the piece of the tower at the bottom, although it would be the top when it landed. Her gemstone was there, steel plate were being screwed with so sort of detonation chanism to tear them off upon landing. She didn’t understand the science or engineering whatsoever, her desne was magic. Divines should stay in the damn fields frankly. Arascus or Theosius would probably marvel at it. She just saw n hanging on ropes suspended from a steel vine of scaffolding ard with screwdrivers. They swung in the wind and barricaded the massive crystal-clear gemstone. It was larger than Elassa, easily the size of small bus. Enchantnt runes ran from it upwards in swirling veins to connect it to the batteries that Elassa had brought along with hair.
Her eyes strayed two massive tubes on the backs of trucks that were waiting, parked nearby; booster rocks repurposed from the Imperial Space Program sat on the backs of massive cargo trucks.
On one hand, Elassa knew she should return to Arcadia to keep make sure that her mages were doing the work. On the other, Arascus had told her to install the tower and wait for orders. So she waited, the wind slowly breezed in the air, a loose collection of mages brought over from the Lubskan Kaczaw College of Magic were stood around and ensuring that the winds never got too fast to slow construction, and that no rain ca. They were amateurs, the lot of them, Elassa didn’t even waste her ti on trying to teach them. They should be channelling the winds around them rather than trying to brute force cold clouds of early winter back, but it didn’t matter. If they wanted to be taught by her, they should have been accepted into Arcadia.
Teams of engineers scurried along the ground as they spread out tarmac over the soil. There were probably plans to turn this location into sothing important, but Elassa cared so little for it that she didn’t even know the na of whatever this site was called. Her curiosity remained upon how exactly magic was being integrated into the…
Into the Inter-Continental Drop Tower.
To have a floating castle island or a flying castle was considered once of the most prestigious feats one could do in magic. And now technology had managed to catch up for Arascus to order what this fucking thing was be mass produced. Elassa didn’t want to lose the war of course, and it should work, but she almost wanted for the towers not to work. If Olephia’s monopoly on uncreation had been broken though, why could her monopoly on magic not? And in such an unenforceable manner too.
“Goddess.” Gustav, one of the chief engineers at the site approached Elassa. Or engineer-captains. Or generals. Or whatever the rank was called. He had a moustache and his na proudly displayed on a tag on his dark shirt. “Did you hear?” Elassa stared at the man’s bald head for a mont, the sun reflected off it into her eyes.
“Hear what? I do not read minds.”
“The First Strategic Missile Corp was attacked.” Elassa just stared at the man. And that was supposed to matter to her? As impressive as the 1st SMC was, it bore the number because Kassandora obviously planned to have a second, a third, maybe even a hundred of the things.
“What by?” Elassa asked and the man stared at her for a mont.
Gustav shook his head. “I don’t know.” Elassa nodded and said nothing. Very well, the 1st SMC was attacked by an unknown party. Kassandora was probably already on the case. Maybe Iniri and Baalka, once they figured out an actual way to hold their plague-monster or whatever it was the two designed, would be sent to assist. Maybe Neneria, she should be arriving soon, the woman had to take the long way around Arika to get a ship, and then sail back. She should be able to handle it. Or Anassa or Irinika…
Elassa’s hand idly brushed for her phone, now that the bald chieftain of construction had told her about it, she half-expected Kassandora to ring and tell her to go assist. A call had not co through, it probably wouldn’t by now unless the land needed restructuring.
Elassa smiled to herself. That’s why she wasn’t called. Her and nuclear bombs simply did not mix. Satisfying. Gustav kept on staring at her for a mont, scratching that bald head of his as if he had sothing more to say. She wasn’t Kassandora, she wasn’t Arascus. If he wanted to speak, then he would speak. If he wanted to remain silent, then he would remain silent, and that was that.
Elassa kept on watching as a massive crane brought up another steel panel. Smaller brick-like blocks had been fastened onto the drop tower. What those did, she had no idea. She should ask, it was sowhat embarrassing though. That wasn’t her desne. “Actually, Goddess.” Gustav interrupted her watch, n were climbing up the scaffolding to move out of the way for that massive panel being hauled into position. “There is sothing else I’ve received and was asked to give you.”
Elassa turned towards the man fully now as her mind narrowed down the targets. Not Kassandora, she was the sort to handle problems herself. Not the rest of her sisters, none of them were on talking terms with Kassandora. Not the White Pantheon, they weren’t on talking terms either. Maisara would handle her own business and she wouldn’t make accommodations like this. That left three: Malam, Helenna or Arascus. The first would take pleasure in it, the second would sidestep the conversation, the third treated her as borderline incompetent in anything that wasn’t magic. That wasn’t even a mistake. She was a scholar, a teacher and a magician.
The man shuffled from step to step and brought out a small booklet from his pocket. It was borderline tiny, Arascus’ work imdiately. Malam and Helenna sent snivelling little letters that intended to get on her nerves. He took a step to the side and extended it to her. “It’s from the Emperor’s office.” He said. Elassa had already worked that out, it didn’t need to be said. She rolled her eyes and took the papers.
Diagrams, pictures. Of suits and swords and rifles? And not even modern ones, but in an ancient style, with plate armour and shields. Not entirely ancient though, they had ammunition carriers and holsters too. Her eyes shifted across the stupid little pictures, suits of armour with runes that were utterly aningless, although she doubted that the author or whoever had envisioned this knew anything about magi… by God Arascus & Goddess Kassandora. She rolled her eyes, of course it was them. With a rune prototype done, Arcadia’s magicians could just copy and paste the long-range transmutation crystal.
“What is this?” Elassa stared at the diagrams. She was supposed to help with armour? Call Theosiu… Well, he was in the White Pantheon, but what was this? Seriously? Since when was she a damn armourer? She closed the booklet and read the title.
Gustav replied. “I think it’s the armour for the n who will ride the tower.”
Guidelines and Aims.
Imperial Drop Shock Knights.
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