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| ===Chapter 5
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| *Not finished, just backing up existing work in case of a mishap...
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| *After research, considering replacing all mention of 'Northmen' with 'Hyperborean' which just sounds less tacky and rolls off tongue better. The term sources from Greek (just like Hyperion) and means 'people from beyond the North Wind'.
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| ''Not quite what the phrase 'Flying Armada' was meant to describe...''
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| But that was exactly what it felt like to Kaede, as she crouched low enough in her saddle to hug the insubstantial 'mane'. Her ''Phantom Steed'' galloped among over a hundred other riders. Yet aside from the blue-white Oriflamme leading the formation, she could only see glowing red orbs hanging of dark silhouettes -- as though guidance lights on the wings of modern aircraft.
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| In addition to his own staff, bodyguards, and Princess Sylviane's armigers, General von Manteuffel also brought along three dozen other officers to organize the operation. Given the importance of the entourage, the entire ''Black Lancers'' company of the Knights Phantom rode escort in a massive combat box formation.
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| Of course, Pascal had dragged Kaede in. She had packed the black pseudo-uniform in her bag as a possible overnight change of clothes, and it came in handy for blending in amongst the officers. No one had objected so far, but she earned plenty of curious stares.
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| Reynald, on the other hand, had returned to the academy. The General had taken advantage of his trip and sent along orders for the battalions rallying there.
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| In the depth of a cloudy night, the massive squadron dashed through bone-chilling winds and a thin flurry of snow. Were it not for the magical temperature control built into her undergarments, Kaede was certain her joints would be frozen stiff by now.
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| Despite its availability to Hyperien magic, ''Teleport'' was not an efficient spell for long-distance travel. Amusingly enough, its developers considered 'folding space' the easier part of the spell. Target verification procedures built into the magic were far more complex and limited its operational range.
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| After all, maps were misleading; the world was round, and far from perfectly spherical. Finding oneself a kilopace above or below ground held deadly consequences.
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| Therefore, ''Phantom Steed'' remained the primary means of long-distance travel for most Hyperien mages. The spell had many forms, including variants for creating shadowy barding for existing mounts. But its basic version conjured a pseudo-physical 'horse' that held good weight and knew no fatigue.
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| Kaede's only problem had been that the mount and saddle looked insubstantial, as though she sat atop a sculpted cloud of dense black smoke. Given that the magical steeds could gallop five stories above ground at over eighty kilopaces per hour, it easily summoned a mild case of acrophobia for those unused to such means of travel.
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| She had actually thanked the darkness for obscuring her view of the ground below.
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| "<u>We are almost at Nordkreuz. I give it another half hour,</u>" Pascal sent over their private telepathy channel... or so Kaede thought.
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| "<u>How can you tell?</u>" she asked, speaking her mind in the middle of a yawn.
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| They had been riding all night. She would be nodding off by this point, if she wasn't deathly afraid of falling. Although logically that was impossible; Pascal didn't trust her riding skills -- or lack thereof -- so he had cast a sticking spell that glued her butt to the saddle.
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| It had started to itch hours ago... Not to mention the chafing on her upper thighs as she didn't actually wear any pants under her skirt, just thighhighs.
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| "<u>The same beacons placed in every settlement and major location that guide teleportation can also be tapped by a ''Pathfinder'' scanning spell,</u>" Pascal explained. "<u>I know exactly where every landmark within fifty kilopaces is in reference to myself right now.</u>"
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| ''They don't even need satellites for a decent GPS...''
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| Kaede yawned again, not that anyone was watching. The night brought many blessings, and amongst them was an end to all staring, whether it be contemptuous or curious.
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| "<u>You sure you want to bring me on this?</u>" She inquired. "<u>It's one thing for a company commander to have an aide. Staff officers are already in an advisory role.</u>"
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| "<u>Consider yourself an assistant staff officer then,</u>" Pascal replied. "<u>I did acquire permission from the General to bring you, if you were wondering.</u>"
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| "<u>When did that happen?</u>" She glanced over to Pascal's figure, whose own smoky mount galloped across the air no more than ten paces away. "<u>I wonder if you at least got a raised eyebrow out of that, given he's about as expressive as a rock.</u>"
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| "<u>A very ambitious rock, seeing as he brought me on his staff because he took the opportunity to station his own protégés in the optimal command positions.</u>"
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| Uneasiness permeated Pascal's mental voice as he went on:
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| "<u>Assuming this operation is successful and the King hands out fair promotions, von Manteuffel will probably be able to count two-fifth of the army's upper command structure as his former direct subordinates -- their loyalties divided between him and the King.</u>"
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| The greatest concern for any ruler had always been the loyalty of the army. Coup d'états overthrew far more governments than peasant rebellions or foreign aggression ever could.
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| Yet before Kaede could speak, it was Sylviane's tired voice that rang across her mind:
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| "<u>Not to mention your own position in this. Did you tell the King about it during your private chat?</u>"
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| Kaede almost jumped in her saddle, if she wasn't glued down to it.
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| ''Is this a three way link? Who else is in this...?''
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| "<u>I am not certain it is my place to say...</u>" Pascal answered his fiancée. "<u>Doctrinal factionalism within the army is one thing, but I do not want King Leopold to see me as an element of the political factionalism.</u>"
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| "<u>If the King is serious about developing a friendly relationship like you said, then it may benefit you to tell him about it,</u>" Sylviane suggested, only to append one word in emphasis: "<u>maybe.</u>"
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| "<u>More 'maybe' than normal here,</u>" Pascal replied. His tone then switched to one of wariness: "<u>Father once said that the King should never be taken at face value. Makes me wonder just how much he wants out of a closer relationship -- other than my link to you and Emperor Geoffroi, that being the obvious one... Kaede what did you think of him?</u>"
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| "<u>I thought he was pretty laid back for a King,</u>" Kaede replied. "<u>Although he seemed quite capable.</u>"
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| A brief moment of silence gave her the sinking feeling she just flunked Pascal's latest test.
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| "<u>Kaede you don't deal with nobles much do you?</u>" Sylviane asked, more curious than condescending.
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| "<u>I don't really deal with ''any'' nobles before Pascal summoned me, Your Highness.</u>"
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| "<u>She mostly talks to history books and prays to flying pasta,</u>" Pascal commented with enough nonchalance to accompany a shrug. "<u>And just the three of us in this link, Kaede,</u>" he noted after her formal address.
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| "<u>I didn't even notice you set this network up,</u>" Kaede remarked. "<u>I thought ''Telepathy'' spells were suppose to give a light ring inside the head?</u>"
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| "<u>That is because I tied our familiar bond to the ''Telepathy'' I was talking to Sylv through</u>," Pascal explained. "<u>Joining individual links is the basis to forming networks. I would imagine there are quite a few among this squadron at this moment. Sylv also has a channel opened with all of her armigers, for one.</u>"
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| ''No wonder it's so quiet. Everyone is chatting away on smartphones inside their head,'' Kaede thought.
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| Then it struck her: why Pascal hadn't said anything for several hours already.
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| After the last few weeks with him, Kaede wasn't quite used to feeling like a third wheel.
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| "<u>Either way Kaede, I asked the General when I sent you off to change. It is also normal for a mage to bring their familiar along, provided that you can keep up...</u>"
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| "<u>Not exactly a ''normal'' familiar,</u>" Kaede cut in to add.
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| "<u>No. Familiars do not normally fool Imperial assassins either, and he did read my report on that. I only asked so I could tell anyone who objects that 'the General allowed it',</u>" Pascal sent back with a thorough dipping of smugness. "<u>As for your role? Being 'eyes and ears', I would like for you to stay with a front-line unit on the flank. It will give me a better battlefield view and saves an adjutant for passing orders.</u>"
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| "<u>So... pretend to be a walking pair of binoculars?</u>"
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| "<u>Learn to judge battlefield deployments yourself,</u>" Pascal added, an edge of sternness working into his voice. "<u>We have had plenty of tactical discussions during our research, so this is as good an experience for you as it is for me. If you must do something, I can enchant ''First Aid'' onto your ring and load whatever spells you need into your runes. But I want your eyes on the field as much as possible.</u>"
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| "<u>Why ''First Aid''?</u>" Kaede was curious. Her martial training may be completely amateur, but even that was better than not a single drop of medical background.
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| "<u>Because only basic spells can be put onto a spell activation item, and because you can perform basic healing even better than Parzifal, just because of your nature,</u>" Pascal explained.
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| "<u>The Samaran body? I did read that my blood was a healing magic enhancer.</u>"
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| "<u>More than just enhance,</u>" he emphasized. "<u>Ever wondered how healers could work when any mage's body that refines its own ether naturally repulses foreign ether from other mages? Healing non-mages is easy. Healing mages, however, require a special focus to compensate. Samaran blood is ''never'' rejected in a transfusion. Likewise, healing spells -- and only spells that cure or calm, for whatever reason -- cast through Samaran blood gain a limited ability to bypass ether rejection. The blood also lose potency as it is used more. So effectively, your entire body full of fresh blood is a spell focus of the highest quality.</u>"
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| Being called a top quality trade good wasn't exactly a very flattering comment. But then, Pascal merely stated the facts 'as is'.
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| ''I should just be thankful that Pascal is decent enough not to see me as a bottomless bag of gold,'' Kaede thought.
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| "<u>Yes, I remember being 'medical supplies'. But I don't remember seeing Parzifal carrying any vials of blood around with him.</u>"
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| "<u>Samaran blood is not cheap, part of why you should never leave secure grounds by yourself,</u>" Pascal added, completely serious. "<u>But ask Parzifal about his bloodquartz stasis rod next time. He keeps it stored inside his right glove.</u>"
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| A gryphon near the head of the formation squawked, piercing the rhythmic background of beating wings. As though a roll-call, its comrades immediately responded with similar cries, expanding around the massed formation like a ring of sound.
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| But this was no parade. It was a collective challenge by the gryphons.
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| The ''Black Lancers'' was the oldest of the Knight Phantom units and had an uniformed tradition: out of a full company of one-sixty, its entire combat force of one-thirty-six all rode gryphons -- muscular beasts who wore plated armor over their eagle heads and lion torsos even as they flew. Unlike most Phantoms who emphasized mobility above all, these knights specialized in frontal assaults and close-quarters aggression.
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| ''What's going on?''
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| Before Kaede focused on the telepathy to ask, Sylviane updated them from the front:
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| "<u>Skywhale. An armored one.</u>"
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| As though on cue, a deep, soothing mew echoed across the open skies. The overhead clouds parted just enough for some illumination by 'lunar' light, revealing the creature that provoked the gryphons' senses.
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| The sperm whale hovered in midair a good distance away, casting a shadow that obscured an entire farmhouse barn under it. The beast was even more colossal than its Earth equivalent, and would need a clearing the size of ice hockey rinks to land. It also had tentacle-like appendages extending out from underneath the small side-flippers, and the huge, block-shaped head glistened a metallic shine.
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| But the most interesting detail was the man-made, vehicular compartment strapped beneath the belly. Behind it dangled massive cargo nets, although they were mostly empty at the moment. In the shadows of the night, Kaede thought the skywhale appeared similar to fantasy concepts of a dirigible airship.
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| She had read about them after Parzifal spoke of Reynald's familiar. Wild skywhales traveled across the northern skies in tight-knit, highly-protective groups. Adults were too powerful and intelligent to tame, therefore the only skywhales that worked with humans were those summoned as a familiar during early childhood and brought up over the course of a decade. They were easily the strongest beast of burden on Hyperion, but only for the lucky few who had one for a partner.
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| "<u>Whose flags?</u>" Pascal asked.
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| It took nearly a minute of continued flying before Sylviane confirmed her answer:
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| "<u>Grand Republic Merchant Alliance.</u>"
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| "<u>So there are Samarans on board?</u> Kaede's interest was instantly peaked.
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| It was weird to ''be'' a Samaran without ever having met or known one.
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| "<u>Not necessarily,</u>" Sylviane replied. "<u>Samarans are a bare majority even within the Grand Republic. Plus many skywhale merchants immigrated there since Hyperien nations tend to commandeer and draft them during wars.</u>"
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| Kaede could imagine. These floating leviathans could use war elephant tusks for toothpicks.
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| "<u>How do they stay afloat?</u>"
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| "<u>Magic.</u>" Pascal replied simply, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
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| But Kaede went on. Reading about them was one thing, but seeing them? Her incredulousness needed venting:
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| "<u>And what do they eat?</u>"
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| "<u>Large animals, anything from sharks to mammoths,</u>" he explained this time. "<u>Cattle and reindeer herders treat them like a roaming natural disaster, since it takes an army -- and willingness to take massive casualties -- to take down a pack of skywhales. For that reason, commandeered skywhales are usually thrown at the enemy as shock units to break battle lines. Works splendidly, except their massive size attracts so much fire that the whales are usually maimed or killed. We reimburse their owners for the loss, of course, but...</u>"
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| "<u>--Not enough to substitute something invaluable to their lives.</u>" Kaede finished for him before finally peeling her eyes away.
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| She had managed to leave the rest of her thoughts unsaid: 'just like all the other husbands and sons in the army'.
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| The existence of magic changed many aspects of Hyperion, but it did nothing to erase the fundamental flaws of human societies. Wars were still provoked by the ambition of statesmen, while its cost was paid for by the working class.
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| ''Politicians -- can't live with them, can't live without them.''
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| <nowiki>----- * * * -----</nowiki>
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| Situated by the lake that merged three of Northern Hyperion's most important rivers, Nordkreuz was a major trading hub built into a fortified port city. The urban districts featured wide streets, huge market plazas, and large taverns built to three stories tall, all surrounded by thick, sloping stone walls behind outer rings of wooden fortifications and earthworks. As a strategic location, the army maintained both a large garrison and considerable infrastructure here even during peacetime. Mobilization for war then added no less than three massive army camps situated just outside the walls.
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| With its main streets lit by ley-line-powered magical lanterns, the city was easily visible to approaches by air. After hours of riding over rural darkness, Kaede finally felt her return to civilization.
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| The Knight Phantoms escorted the officers all the way to Nordkreuz's Keep before departing to set up their own encampment. The shell keep actually extended out from the city's fortifications by bridge, built atop a motte raised from an artificial lakeside island. The construction was quite militaristic for a Landgrave's estate, although it did offer peace and quiet from the urban quarters, as well as an excellent scenic view of the lake and countryside.
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| It was also Kaede's official place of residence as a member of the Landgrave's household, even if the place felt as displaced from 'home' as it went.
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| After touching down in a small courtyard, Pascal dismissed his mount back into thin air and lead the entire group into his home. Arriving halfway between midnight and dawn did not stop the servants from greeting their new lord. Lined up in two neat rows with a dozen maids on one side and half as many footmen in the other, they did their best to look polished and alert despite the hour.
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| The Majordomo was a six-foot (183cm) tall senior in his late fifties with large gray eyes under salt-and-pepper hair. Square-faced with winkled red cheeks, he was just plump enough to reveal a pot belly. He and his footmen wore uniforms similar to Victorian-era suits -- white dress shirt tucked under black jacket and trousers. Despite what seemed a perpetual frown, his insistence on formalities at such an hour revealed a clear pride in his profession.
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| "Welcome home, Your Grace," the majordomo began as he led the footmen to a simultaneous bow while the maids curtsied.
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| "Thank you, Karsten. Although I am still the man who left for academy months ago," Pascal replied a bit sheepishly, which was most unlike his usual 'rightfully noble' self.
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| ''Perhaps he still isn't comfortable fitting into his father's shoes.''
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| "Of course, Your Grace," Karsten nodded but did not reduce the formalities by a single step. He then turned to greet the Princess Sylviane and General von Manteuffel: "Your Highness, Your Grace, welcome back to Nordkreuz."
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| "Pleasure as always, Karsten," Sylviane beamed back without a hint of fatigue.
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| The Princess had yet to break the unison link with her phoenix, and the golden white-blue embers drifting off her bathed the entire courtyard in illuminated warmth. Her usual wisteria eyes burned a bright electrical blue, while her dark-plum hair swayed in a pale cerulean. Even the steel breastplate, spaulders, and skirting that covered her battledress emanated blue flames as though freshly hammered by a sacred blacksmith.
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| The entire ensemble reminded Kaede of a flame burning on pure oxygen, forming a stark contrast between radiating presence and the cool gentleness of the Sylviane's smile.
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