Chapter 04

Chapter 04 – On the way to Lors

Celeste, and her newly appointed lieutenant, Jules Cross were getting ready to depart for Lors. Normally a trip there would take about a week on the fastest magic high-speed horse but, due to the special order issued by the Patriarch, they had the Arcane Carriages on their disposal for the trip.

The Arcane Carriages were carriages powered by powerful magic that reached enormous speed levels. The trip to Lors would take just three days and, from there, the trip to the front lines in the Nameless Land would take eight days. Adding a day for the dwarves to load all the necessary materials on the carriages it would take twelve days to reach their destination.

“General! The preparations are ready! We should be departing.” said Lieutenant Cross.

“Indeed Lieutenant.”

Celeste boarded the Arcane Carriage. It was the first time she rode one. It was strange riding a carriage with no horses. It was all white and made of some kind of light metal. Getting on it she got a really weird feeling.

“First time riding one General?” asked the magician who would drive it.

“Yes. But I had read about them. They are the pride of the Magic Research Institute.” said Celeste as she was sitting in the luxurious passenger’s seat.

“You will see why soon!” said the driver.

When all the soldiers and the Carriages were ready to depart, the drivers started chanting the spell to activate the arcane powers that would move them. The carriages were engulfed in a purple light and their wheels started to move.

“Amazing! They’re really moving on their own!” said Celeste who leaned out of the window to confirm that there really were no horses pulling the carriages. “Where did you get the idea for this?”

“Well…” said the driver “it would be a lie to say we didn’t get some inspiration from Technologica. Their so-called cars… they moved without horses. So we figured we could do something like that with magic. But still it required a vast amount of magic energy so it took many years to develop and that’s why we use it only after special orders by the Imperial Army.”

“I see… taking ideas from the enemy and using them to our advantage isn’t all that bad.”

Celeste sat down at her seat marveling at how fast they were traveling. They already reached the gates of the city. Of course, after an Imperial order, the road was cleared from any carriages. The trip they had to make was of the utmost importance, so every citizen should contribute to making it easier.

Soon, Luminus was starting to get further and further away from them. Celeste got her head out of the window again and looked at the city in the distance. Luminus was the center of the Empire and the religion that united it. Before it became what it is today, it used to be named Zeneris and it was the capital of the Aurian Kingdom, the biggest of the western nations of Phantasmagoria. Back when the continent was made up of various countries, Aurian was the place people from all over gathered to study magic and find fame and fortune as adventurers, vagabonds or even knights in service of the kingdom. Aurian even traded with countries in Technologica quite often.

But everything changed once the teachings of Amosa spread in the land. The Amosian religion favored the use of magic above all and condemned technology created by humans as a hybris to the god Amosa. Technological advancements were an abomination that had to be destroyed. Of course the people of Phantasmagoria, who always preferred to use magic over mechanical devices, were quick to believe in the god whose followers preached that ultimate happiness would come upon anyone who came to them.

And this religion soon united the land. However it wasn’t a bloodless unification. The human believers of Amosa from the west, waged a war and occupied the east and also forced the non-human kingdoms of the Dwarves in Lors, the orcs in Nomaria and the mer-people of New Ismena to ally and become part of the new Empire. Only the elves of Everwood managed to stay out of the conflict by isolating their kingdom with powerful magic, not allowing anyone to come in or get out. The elves always possessed a superior kind of magic, thus the Empire decided to leave them alone.

But after the Empire was established under its first Emperor, who was also the Patriarch back then, it decided that it should convert the western continent of Technologica and force them to abandon their so-called “heathen” ways in the name of Amosa. Of course Technologica, which always had relied on technology rather than magic, responded negatively to the Empire’s surrendering calls. The countries were quick to unite in a Federation that started for temporary reasons and, soon, became permanent. Just like the Empire in Phantasmagoria, the Republic of Technologica destroyed all the countries in the western continent and made them one.

And then the Eternal War started. Using a narrow patch of land that united the two continents across the Central Sea, the so-called Nameless land, that, as the legends said, had risen from the sea bottom five hundred years ago, an all-out war between Phantasmagoria and Technologica broke out. It was practically a war between magic and technology. Everybody expected this war to be a bloodbath. What they didn’t expect however was that this war would never end.

“It’s been almost two hundred years…” thought Celeste. “It would be great if we could win this war and end it once and for all… Maybe the old Amosian believers didn’t use the best methods to unite us but it had to be done. So we could face this enemy… I hope we can finally teach them the ways of Amosa.”

Celeste was a big believer in the religion. Ever since she lost both her parents in the front lines when she was eight, believing in Amosa was what gave her strength. That and Rex.

Lieutenant Cross broke Celeste’s train of thought by remarking that the trip seemed like it would go smoothly. Celeste nodded her head. She was used to long distance trips since she went back and forth to Luminus from the front lines for the past five years. From times to times they would get assaulted by big monsters but it was nothing they couldn’t handle.

“Though, we’ll probably run into some monsters. God, I hate random monster encounters!” said Cross.

“We could always use the extra experience don’t you think Lieutenant? But don’t worry; with that speed it would take a really big and strong monster to stop us.”

“I hope it won’t happen. I don’t think I am strong enough to handle it…”

“And what role do I play here? I am a Rose General Lieutenant don’t forget!”

The lieutenant laughed. Celeste’s confidence was refreshing to him. He used to serve Lord Joshua before he was assigned to serve her. At first he didn’t like the idea of serving a little girl but she seemed alright.

“We have to go all the way south, pass near Everwood while heading east and then enter Raeyl Valley and go south and we will be in Lors territory.” said Celeste while looking at a map she had brought with her. “I know this is an urgent mission but I am excited to go there!”

It looked like the White Rose General was already enjoying her first task. The trip to Lors would prove to be completely uneventful.