The Storm King

The air sang, warbling pleasantly as Silver Spear took flight. It had been almost completely repaired according to Nestor, and more, with a complement of six Ulta suits added to its arsenal. This hardly made it a carrier, but the relatively—compared to Mari’s suit—small twelve-foot-tall Ulta suits were strong and capable of a great deal of destruction.

Watching in near-trancelike bliss, Leon watched the Thunderbird Clan ark rise from the hill it had landed upon and turn west, facing the strait separating Kataigida from the Sword. His Kingdom had made great strides in ark development over the past fifty years, integrating not only the new materials he’d secured but also the giants, allowing for far greater power and control to be had over their home-built arks. Despite this, Thunderman arks were still primitive in comparison to the arks wrought by his Clan in times long past.

The harmony with which Silver Spear moved, the way it sliced through air and magic alike, was a thing of such visceral beauty that Leon could only stare in awe. Silver Spear embodied elegance, not wasting a single spark of power as it effortlessly moved into position.

Within the vessel, Leon felt a charge begin to build. He could feel space around the ark distort as more magic was pulled in, providing greater power for what was going to come next.

It was going to take minutes to charge, however, so Leon glanced at one of his observation companions.

The giants’ migration was over, the last of the giants transferring out of Rakos’ stone body years ago. Thirteen thousand giants, a full thousand more than Leon had to begin with thanks to their efforts to grow their numbers, meant that he was flush with wisp-analogues to experiment with. Rakos itself, meanwhile, finally vacated its gleaming stone body in favor of one forged by Leon himself.

There, in the light of the sun, Leon could admire his work.

Rakos’ new body was made entirely of gleaming gold-colored bronze. Its carapace was hard and angular, lit up with decorative tattoo-like runes that glowed brightly enough to visibly shed light at high noon. By human standards, it looked muscular and authoritative, made more so by Leon taking a page from Nestor’s book and giving Rakos’ faceplate only light suggestions of facial features. A hint of a nose, a skull-like head shape, and faint runic lines along the brow to give some impression of eye sockets and eyebrows.

None of this impacted Rakos’ ability to sense the world around it, though, especially with the sensor suite Leon had packed into its frame, now hidden behind the heavily enchanted carapace.

Leon had labored long over the golem design; he had to lean on Nestor’s expertise more than he’d ever admit, but the design was still ultimately his. Working on that project served as a welcome distraction when frustration with his wireframe—which Mari was still insistent on calling a ‘Raime device’—grew unmanageable. Even Nestor acknowledged his work in his own way, offering only token disparagements when Leon was finished forging, enchanting, and assembling the whole thing.

As a result, Rakos had a new body, built not only for dexterous movement but also for sheer, raw power. Rakos could grow within, its power completely unimpeded thanks to the advanced engine inspired by the arks, MALLs, and Ulta suits that Leon had inspected over the past fifty years. The giants were masters of earth magic by necessity, and their stone bodies had limited them more than Leon had known; while Rakos had reached the seventh-tier on its own before their migration to Kataigida, it had been the only giant who’d managed to do so in their old stone bodies. Now, there were no less than five stone giants who’d achieved the same feat after being given new golem bodies, and Leon quietly hoped that they would be more capable of tier ascension going forward.

Now, Rakos stood at Leon’s side, not even the faintest trace of aura emanating from its frame—Leon had ensured that no such magic was lost, hoping to extend the giants’ lifespans and make it easier for them to gain power by making them more efficient users of the magic that sustained them. Still, Leon knew even without sensing its aura that Rakos had achieved the human equivalent of eighth-tier power in the years since he’d given the giant the new body.

“Out of curiosity,” Leon began wondering as the charge in Silver Spear continued to build, “what’s it like to pilot an ark?”

As Rakos answered, the few others around Leon, amounting to several of his Tempest Knights, the Jaguar, Nestor, Mari, Frode, and several Raven elders, went quiet to listen to the answer.

In a clear, sonorous, but deep and drawling voice that carried with it a metallic echo, Rakos described, “What is it like to move one’s own body?” Its voice was now much more moderate, no longer grinding and vibrating like an avalanche, and somehow striking Leon with a sudden, if brief, spike of regret that Lapis wasn’t still around. Rakos continued, “After learning through the guidance of pilots using cloud glass, we learn to fly and operate arks without thought, moving as easily as we might run or swim through the earth.”

“Arks have more powerful sensor enchantments than your frames, don’t they?” Leon pointedly said. “And more power. Does this affect the feeling at all?”

“It does,” Rakos conceded. “Through your grace, we connect to the world more closely than we ever have when operating an ark. Perception, feeling the world around us, is enhanced beyond description.”

Nestor interjected, “If you want to know for yourself, Your Majesty, then we can arrange for you to try to fly Silver Spear using cloud glass if you’d like.”

Leon easily picked up on the subtle jeer in Nestor’s voice, but he was in far too good of a mood to lower himself and meet him on his level. Hells, he’d even used Leon’s style since they were out in relative public, even if he’d only done so with audible reluctance.

“That would be great, Nestor,” Leon replied.

“We’re almost ready,” Nestor responded, his tone neutral, but Leon picked up on the subtle hint that betrayed the dead man’s disappointment that Leon didn’t offer up any verbal ripostes.

Putting it out of his mind for the moment, Leon turned his attention back to Silver Spear. The ark, repaired with Titanstone and Lumenite, and with a giant replacing the ark’s damaged wisp, was stronger than Leon had ever seen it, and was, he hoped, about to prove its strength.

At the tip of the spear, so to speak, armored panels slid open to reveal the barrel of a massive Lance, glowing almost white hot as all the magic the ark was absorbing fed it. The shortest of moments after opening, a blinding flash of white erupted from the revealed weapon, carving a deep trench into the water of the Veins of Vigilance.

And then it was over; the weapon fired just as fast as a conventional Lance, but the damage it did was another level entirely. The valley carved by the blast of light magic took quite a few seconds to fill in, and Leon could still feel the heat and light from the blast. Most of the water the weapon hit vaporized instantly, causing a vapor explosion within the straits and nearly birthing a new cloud above.

It was hardly a city killing weapon on its own, but the damage Leon could do with more destroyers so heavily armed would be immense. Unfortunately, there was no time to try and reverse-engineer this weapon and add it to his fleet. Even if they could, he doubted that he still had enough Lumenite to try. He had to get to the Nexus to get more if he wanted to increase technical and industrial capability enough to build more of these weapons.

‘Or maybe I could just wait a thousand years to build that industrial capacity myself,’ he thought rather sarcastically, feeling almost dirty at the mere suggestion. Immortal he may now be, but that didn’t mean that he had unlimited time. Who knew what could happen to his family, or his or Valeria’s mothers, if he were to wait that long?

Hopefully, he wouldn’t need more than two destroyers so heavily armed.

After the successful firing of the weapon, those watching broke out into dignified cheers—or undignified cheers, as was the case with Mari and the Ravens. Nestor was the most dignified of them all, remaining completely still and stoic when even Leon madly grinned in appreciation.

“There will be no further tests,” the dead man disclosed. “The amount of maintenance required to fire these weapons puts even these fools’ fire cannons to shame.” He dismissively nodded at the Ravens, likely referring to their giant Flame Lances that they’d been testing when Leon first arrived in Raiginn seeking their support for his claim to the throne. Those weapons, he’d been informed, were so powerful that they melted many of their internal components, requiring extensive maintenance to fire more than once.

Still, he appreciated the power that the Lances possessed.

“How much maintenance?” Leon quizzed. “Do we require rare materials to use it again?”

“We can fire once per day, roughly,” Nestor explained. “Any more than that and we’ll burn Lumenite. Three, maybe four shots, will render the weapon inoperable until we replace its Lumenite. So long as we keep firings to once per day at the most, we won’t have to use any rare materials.”

Leon glanced at the strait again, the water now having collapsed back into the valley carved by the massive Light Lance. “Any way we can cut down on that maintenance requirement?”

“A full day of maintenance is what is required for the crew to get the weapon ready again,” Nestor clarified. “A good, well-trained crew might need less time, but not by much. If the ark is taken to an arkyard for more in-depth service, ground crews can get it ready to fire again within half a day. Assuming properly trained and highly-skilled arksmiths are available to do that maintenance, of course.”

“Of course,” Leon murmured. Regardless of its limitations, he was glad that the weapon was now functional. It required a giant to take the place of the otherwise standard wisp—which Leon was making slow but steady progress on learning to make—to be used, but he’d intended for all of his most powerful arks to be operated by giants in addition to the human crew, anyway.

“Keep me informed,” Leon ordered. “I’ll be away for a while, but I want updates on all our other arks.”

“Easily done,” Frode responded.

With that, the demonstration was over. Unfortunately, Silver Spear, Bright Intent, and Bolt in Shadow remained his only operational Thunderbird arks. The five he’d received from the Director, including Storm Herald, Jason Keraunos’ personal ark, required a prohibitive amount of Titanstone, more Lumenite than he was willing to spare given its scarcity, and Aurichalcum that he simply didn’t have, to be completely repaired. The Ravens had done what they could, but after fifty years, their work was more about studying the arks rather than trying to repair them.

Bolt in Shadow was nearby, Leon’s family, old retinue, and a complement of Tempest Knights, some equipped with Ulta suits, and Cassandra’s small detachment of personal guards from Evergold aboard. He also had Cristina, Asiya, and Cristina’s guards accompanying him. This demonstration was the last bit of business Leon had wanted to see before leaving for the mainland.

He now had slightly less than a year remaining on Aeterna, and he wanted to make one last tour before he left the plane that had been his home for so long.

---

It had been fifty years since Leon had left Kataigida, and the closer he got to Occulara, the more nostalgic he felt. While he could ‘see’ both it—and the Bull Kingdom—with his magic senses, being in a place was infinitely more impactful than simply seeing it from a distance.

Now, he was back. Bolt in Shadow was too large to land in his old villa, but the Director was gracious enough to lend Leon an arkpad.

The man himself was present with a large greeting party when Leon and his family disembarked. Leading from the front, the Director knelt before Leon, followed only a moment later by Penelope, and then the rest of Heaven’s Eye. Leon knew many of these people, but the three that caught more than just a passing glance were Narses, Talal, and Ajax, the latter two promoted to Leon and Emilie’s old positions, respectively.

Leon quickly called the Director and the rest of Heaven’s Eye to their feet. They were out in the open where everyone could see them; while the Director had sworn himself personally to Leon and put the resources of Heaven’s Eye at Leon’s disposal, Heaven’s Eye was still nominally neutral and independent. Leon didn’t think the Empires were going to make a fuss over this since Leon and the Director were going to be leaving soon, but he still didn’t want to put them in an awkward position by flaunting Heaven’s Eye’s diminished independence.

“Leon,” the Director warmly greeted after getting back to his feet. “Welcome back to Occulara.”

Leon reached out and clasped the old man’s hand. The Director’s grip was strong, and up close, while he still looked just as aged as he ever did, he felt younger. His eyes were brighter, he was smiling without restraint, and he held himself a little more loosely than Leon was used to.

“Director,” Leon replied. “Seems like reaching the tenth-tier has done wonders for you.”

The Director laughed. “I won’t deny that, but I still feel my age. A little more power won’t make my knees ache any less.”

“Then all you have to do is achieve Apotheosis,” Leon cheekily bantered.

“You say that so easily.”

“If someone like me can achieve it, then anyone can,” Leon replied with only a little more seriousness.

At least the Director was polite enough to quietly laugh, but Leon made a mental note to have a more serious discussion with the man later about achieving Apotheosis. While having subordinates stronger than he was could be dangerous, he trusted the Director enough to want to add his power to his growing Kingdom in earnest. He was just as insistent with his Tribal elders who’d reached the tenth-tier, though many were less optimistic about achieving Apotheosis than he was, even with the aid of ambrosia.

Leon continued his greetings, starting with Penelope.

“Welcome to Occulara, Leon,” she smirked.

“Thank you for coming out to see me,” Leon replied as he gave Penelope a once-over. “You’re looking… familiar.”

Indeed, she’d cropped her hair boyishly short and worn a formal black Heaven’s Eye uniform. The tight pants and form-hugging top showed off her well-toned figure without showing much skin, and sparkling in the sun’s light was the eye symbol of the Heaven’s Eye Merchant Guild, emblazoned over her heart. More than half a century had passed since they’d met, but she’d seen fit to style herself exactly as she’d done the day they’d met.

Leon added, “I saw you and for a moment thought I was back in Ancon waiting to get off the yacht and take my first steps into the Ilian Empire.”

“Good old days,” Penelope reminisced. “Apologies for being a bitch to you.” She nodded first to Leon, then to Elise at his side.

“It’s fine, Penny,” Elise replied. “Everyone’s entitled to being bitchy sometimes.” She reached out and took Penelope’s hands. “We’re friends now, aren’t we, so what does it matter?”

She and Penelope shared a quick hug, and Leon continued with the greetings. He gave Talal a warm greeting. He’d changed quite a bit since Leon had met him. Back in Akhmim, Talal had been a fat, greasy, slimy merchant with a penchant for bullying others using his position in Heaven’s Eye. Now, he was trim, clean, and a respected member of the guild. By Leon’s accounts, he was highly goal-oriented, honest, and loyal.

Narses the White was next. Leon had fond memories of parties with the Chief of Security, and the man greeted him just as boisterously as Leon had expected. However, Leon kept his words brief, for while he and Narses had done much to expunge vampires from Heaven’s Eye, it was an old friend and his wife who were more important in this case.

Alcander and Sofia quickly came forward, but it was their sons whom Narses was most exuberant about meeting.

“Look at these strapping lads!” he roared, unconcerned about modesty even though Leon’s arrival had been welcomed by a massive gathering of guild members. Narses wrapped Cosmo, the elder, and Elias, the junior, in one arm each and lifted them easily, laughing all the while.

“Nice… to meet you!” Cosmo called out, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity even as he tried to subtly work his way free.

Elias, meanwhile, laughed just as boisterously as Narses and looked ready to start wrestling right there.

“Uncle!” Sofia reprimanded. “Remember where you are!”

“I’m always aware!” Narses replied. “I just don’t care!”

Leon chuckled, then left the family to continue their meeting. Cosmo was fifty years old, and Elias was only a few years younger, yet neither had ever met their grand uncle in person before. Leon didn’t want to overshadow their meeting.

Next came the man whom Leon was quietly most looking forward to meeting.

Ajax.

“Leon Raime,” he warmly stated as he held out his hand, which Leon gratefully clasped. “It’s been a long time. Your grandfather would’ve been proud to see you here.”

“I hope he would be,” Leon smilingly replied. Kyros had kicked Artorias out for marrying Serana, as he recalled, so while he held some small doubts as to whether or not Ajax was right, he at least took the compliment as well as he could. “You’re looking well.”

The mountain of a man looked unchanged in the years since his and Leon’s first meeting back in Heaven’s Eye’s tower in Teira, when Leon was still so young he was barely considered an adult, and completely out of his depth in the Bull Kingdom. Even all these years later, Leon was still enormously grateful for the help that Ajax had rendered, as if he hadn’t helped Leon create his fake identity, even as thin as it was, Leon didn’t think he would’ve survived this long.

‘Justin probably would’ve gotten to me before I befriended Valeria,’ he darkly thought.

It was good to see Ajax again, and good to also see that the man had used the few bottles of ambrosia that Leon had spared him well, rising to the eighth-tier. He spent more time than with anyone else exchanging words with Ajax, though Elise drove much of their subsequent conversation. Like Leon, she hadn’t left Kataigida in half a century, so this was her first time seeing her uncle in person in a long time.

Once all that was over with, Leon spared little time greeting everyone else. He had few other friends in Occulara, and he was only there to reminisce. He’d stop by again on his way home, so for the time being, he just wanted to head back to his villa that he still owned out in the suburbs and wander around for a few days.

The goodbyes, he figured, could wait until his return visit.