Whereas not unheard of, it is exceptionally rare for a state to truly be independent of Divine presence. There have been small, rogue kingdoms in the past, before Worldbreaking even, that successfully managed to expel Divinity from its borders. So were done in bloodshed, so were done in treaty, so were done because the Divine in question happened to be myself and left because I was asked. The sa problem always rears its head in this state, which is that humanity will eventually create its own Gods. Of States, Of Nations and Of Lands will simply appear where there is no grander concept to fulfil the need for the spiritual.
And these Divines will always have so push and pull on the local cultural sphere. In the Empire, Arascus’ touch is omnipresent obviously. The lands are clean, the concept of dirtiness in the cities is beneath the Imperial populace, thus it is not allowed. One of the few non-administrative laws that are uniform in the Empire is a ban on littering. Yet Arascus’ influence is obvious.
It is more the influence of his daughters that I am interested in. Kassandora and Malam, for example, are obviously given the standard sort of recognition that we would expect for such concepts as War and Hatred. The Imperial Military is effectively a second state within the Empire, it transcends local national boundaries and is entirely in her reign. The Special Imperial Service, likewise, exists on a similar level. Even children know what it ans when the black cars of the SIS turn up in broad daylight to pay a visit to a ho.
But the others? This question shattered the White Pantheon: Zerus, Alkom, Sceo, Elassa, Leona had statehood forced upon them. It was simply indecent for them to be major Divinity and to not have cults and temple-complexes. Kavaa rebelled against the idea, she forbid her na to be used in hospitals and sanctuaries. Ultimately, she was so unwilling to claim statehood that the Orders of Clerics beca her touch upon the world. Now, I can only gaze upon the hypocrisy. Every hospital in the Empire has a few Clerics dedicated to it, along with a small shrine to Kavaa.
Yet within Imperial Divinity, the presence of Arascus’ other daughters is minor. Olephia runs art-shows when not in the field of battle. That is all. Irinika, I have learned has plans to start a tobacco plantation to sate her own addiction. It is insulting that a Goddess as grand as of Darkness seemingly is satisfied with just that. We would have given her a more prominent role in the White Pantheon. Baalka has almost no presence whatsoever, although Fer tells that her sister plans to start a specialist school of virology. Anassa is even worse, what the woman does in her downti, no one seems to know. Harass her own sorcerers is the best guess…
But upon inspection, the system does work, and the system is very orderly. Malicious Divinity, Anassa, Fer, Olephia, Baalka & Irinika are sequestered off to pet projects and All Divinity is sequestered off. Kassandora runs the Military and does not touch the civilian sphere. Malam runs her SIS and cares little for matters of agriculture.
Arascus has done a great thing indeed. He has managed to take such universal concepts as War and Hatred, Beasthood and Darkness, and carve out kingdoms for them within his Empire.
I do not understand how we did not see it imdiately.
- Excerpt from “Imperial Bureaucracy Review, First Edition”, written by Goddess Maisara, of Order.
Agrita stepped over the corpse a demon, its armour shattered by high-calibre bullets from the small turrets of the INS Kroliecz. One of the heavy cruisers that had been purposefully beached in order to secure an imdiate fortified area. The music still played from the Kassandora and the battleships that were anchored off the beach, although the volu had been dimd. There was no reason to be bursting eardrums of the soldiers here.
The andering sloshing of the waves, the surface of the Eparika coated with ash was closer to the thick sludge left behind in a landslide than anything resembling a liquid, was obscured entirely by the din of engines. Ship engines that let out a steady and continuous tiger’s purr and the loud scratching whine of tanks and trucks disembarking from the holds of the heavy cruisers. Crashing as more ground was pulled up, the floats of the ICDT tower were being pushed from behind by another pair of massive cruisers, their bows specially modified with rubber rings to not damage the ships.
Agrita pushed the thought of wanting to micromanage the operation away. Olonia had said as much, and she had seen how staff officers could manage operations. She wanted to, but she knew that the most she could do was throw the entire landing attempt into chaos. She would not even allow her herself to turn around to look down upon the beach that was becoming a forward a base.
Instead, she just stared at the horde of demons that was assembling as a response force in the distance. Thousands of them, tens of thousands, steaming in from all directions. Flas walls had already been put up, along with what the soldiers had referred to as theatre curtains: thins walls of fire that obscured sight lines. Their equivalent to battlefield smoke. Agrita felt the weight of the huge rifle in her hands. Saksma had a similar version. Olonia had been intent on taking the sa style of gun as she used back in Ibya.
Of Lubska stood by Agrita’s side, of Doschia by Olonia’s side. Three giants in full Imperial combat plate, new suits apparently. The thought that they were doing this operation and still field-testing new arms had crossed Agrita’s mind several tis, she decided not to dwell on it. The guns had gone through their tests already. Apparently.
Hopefully. “What do you think?” Agrita asked as the three Divines stared off at the horde in the distance. Two miles? Three? Not far away. Demons of all shapes and sizes, the chaff would be shelled. It was the sorcerers and firecasters that Agrita was worried about. A few greater demons, the size of barns. Those, Agrita had seen crush through tank and truck and charge through organised infantry fire.
“When I taught Tanit, I let her co to her decisions herself.” Olonia said. “What do you think?”
“I think we should shell them.” Agrita said.
“I agree.” Olonia said lightly.
Saksma glanced at them, then back at the front. “That’s it?” She asked.
Olonia answered with her own question. “Should there be more to it?”
“Shouldn’t there?” Saksma asked. The first teams of infantry finally began cresting the hill. Imperial soldiers in the grey fatigues that were used underneath Ashen Skies. In this darkness, the almost perfectly lded into terrain, all with wraps over their mouths and with small packs on their back. The main supplies would be unloaded on the beach, it was Olonia’s idea not to weigh the n down with full long-distance kit.
“A full volley to start whittling their numbers down.” Olonia said. “We won’t be able to fire around the tower anyway.” Agrita quickly made sure to put that to her mory. It was obvious, she was no doubt she would have thought of it in the heat of the mont, but it was that Olonia saw the problem pre-emptively. She began to move her hand to the radio that hung off her chest and Of Lubska stopped her. “Not yet Agri.”
“Why not?” Agrita asked.
“Let the infantry dig in first. Let so tanks make it to the ridge.” Olonia didn’t even sound like she was showing off. It was just a weary, resigned little tone. Almost quiet. “They’ll be confused for a mont, and then they’ll charge.”
“So we just watch them from here?” Saksma asked, Agrita stared at the force in the distance. The Demons were lighting massive pyres and rearranging so formation. Hellsteeds, obvious by their manes of fla, were conglorating into groups on the flanks and moving away.
“Have you never had a lesson with Iliyal?” Olonia asked.
“You an before Separation?”
“No.” Olonia said. “Ahhh, recently? He gave a one just before I went off. It was just an hour.”
“No.” Saksma said. Agrita looked at Olonia too.
“Since when are you getting lessons with Iliyal?” She asked.
“Before Ibya, he just gave so tips.” Olonia said.
“I can’t believe you were surprised I rang Arascus when you have lessons with Iliyal.” Saksma rolled her eyes and groaned. “What was it about, then?”
“First of all.” Agrita said. “There’s a difference between Iliyal and Arascus.” Her gaze shifted from Saksma to Olonia. “But Saksma’s correct, are you his favourite?”
Olonia didn’t even bother replying to Agrita’s baiting comnt. “This, he said is sothing you have to know to experience, and that there’s nothing like it.” She raised a hand to point at the distant army. “There’s them.” That hand pointed down. “And here’s us. And we’re stood here, and they’re stood there, and both of us are waiting for the other to charge as we prepare for our own.” Olonia pursed her lips and stared. “In Ibya, it was like this. Demons running at us as I forbid my n from shooting to conserve ammo. They had to dig in and wait to make every shot counted.”
Agrita felt a chill go down her spine. The infantry to their sides were beginning their trench excavations as captains gave orders. One of the tanks was coming close, another got stuck in the mud. Down at the beach, most of the vehicles suffered from the sa fate. Mages were floating in the air as they reknit the sand into stone and pushed the heavy vehicles out of their jams. “And you did it without armour.” Saksma said quietly. Agrita only swallowed her spit, she felt as if she was about to faint because there was an army ahead of them and no major Divine behind. And to think that Olonia had done this multiple tis.
“Without ships.” Agrita whispered. She glanced at Olonia again, who stood like a statue and stared at the army over there. “And with only two thousand n.” The entire fleet had more ten thousand soldiers altogether. And more could be brought over, the trip there and back was only a matter of hours.
Olonia burst out in laughter. “You girls sound like you’re about to faint.” She pointed to the Tartarian army again. “Do not worry about that, that’s not our problem today.” She turned around, Agrita and Saksma turned with her. The beach had been turned into a base already. Sandbags had been laid out, roads of stone were pulled out of the ground, vehicles were moving up paths in the mountain, n were burying golden statues and disks that they had found underneath the ash. And the floats of the massive ICDT tower had reached the beach. “That.” Olonia pointed to the huge tower laying on its sides. Magicians and engineers, not even soldiers, were working on the platform, slowly releasing the tension from the ropes that held it bound to make sure that a ship would not be accidently sunk. “Is our problem.”
Agrita turned to the demons, then to the tower. That enemy force ahead of her was dangerous true, but it was just an enemy force. It was an army they had to fight and shell and kill. She turned back to the tower. That though was not a military problem, that was so feat of engineering that no amount of practice would have ever prepared her for. It was Arascus’ and Elassa’s madness given form, and it was their best shot at victory. “We have to bring it here.” She said. “It won’t stand up on the beach.”
“You’re the boss.” Olonia said, turning back around. “I hope you know how to move that thing.”
Agrita had no damn clue. She turned around to look at the army. The nervousness now was replaced by relief. That army was a problem she could handle actually. “All I know is that we’re not moving from this position until we see clear skies above us.”
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