Imperator Duke.
10th Legion, the Sky Skimmers.
***
Nothing ever went as expected when Amun was involved. That was something I learned long ago.
I thought the Bodhi Tree to be one thing. Only to be proven wrong by Jaimess Winston bullying those less fortunate.
I knew Amun's clan to be entirely malevolent in all but one case. Only to be proven wrong by him standing up for Peter and rising to lead our class benevolently.
I thought our instructors would teach us things we never considered. Only to be proven wrong when Amun announced the opening chapter of his guild.
I thought I would lead a corps of flight specialists. Only to be proven wrong when the few Sapiavi who flocked to me were accompanied by a squadron of prospective mages.
I thought I knew what technology could do. Only to be proven wrong when Iris Cole appeared before me. A human merged with the machine.
She birthed within me a drive to become more proficient with this technology. The devices of the three networks, ManaNet, VoidNet, and NoxNet. The vehicles created by Edward. The augmentations created by them both. Thus I began tinkering- we began tinkering, giving worship to the Divine Engineer by bettering our knowledge and skills.
We used the blessings granted to us to design, develop, and create our own fleet of sky ships. Yet still, those two sent more machinations that never ceased to impress me.
Naturally, my first task beyond that was for each of my subordinates to master the art of flying at the altitudes and speeds I could. Or close to them. What I did not expect, however, was to create the first-ever Advanced Skill Training Course in the Legions as a result.
While I was attempting to surpass the speed of sound in Rhar, my Doppelganger had been above the mountains, using my tower as an impromptu training ground for my subordinates and the machines sent over by Amun and Edward. With the help of my fellow Sapiavi and Civil Chief, Kerck, as well as my Engineer, Quaa, the course became more structured and streamlined as the days grew into weeks, eventually creating a course that Legionaries could come to for advanced flight certifications.
Naturally, each of my members had to go through the course in its entirety. After the entry level, they were educated, trained, and tested on their prowess using the MagiTech flight aids made by Edward for us.
The Combat-rated Aerial Mobility Satchel, or CAMS, as they were called, was nothing more than an armored satchel worn on the small of the back; filled with a number of enchantments and devices. To anyone outside the Legions, that was it. In tandem with the Noxweave our uniforms were made from, however, the stitching within came alive with deep blue energy.
They weaved into the devices and our bodies alike, those stitchings, burrowing into our spirits, minds, and bodies in ways that powered our gear, untethered us from the ground and amplified our magical or mana-molding prowess.
Our mana veils intensified into nearly solid things. Enveloping us in a suit and mask of crystalline feathers that provided us with air in higher altitudes, sealed us away from extremely low pressures, kept our bodies both warm and cool, and hydrated us as well.
Above all, it integrated with the NoxNet to fill our field of view with an array of lights and dials, giving us a wide range of flight data in real-time. Even for my fellow Sapiavi, it was invaluable, for it allowed them to know my precise speed, altitude, heading, the air currents, and where the horizon was, even as we flew through clouds or otherwise visually limiting conditions.
To that end, learning the meaning of each symbol was paramount before the Legionaries moved on to the second phase of their training, wherein they familiarized themselves with the Aerial Vehicular Armor; or AVA.
No matter if it was the altered Valkyrie Armor or light-powered armor like mine, the piece of MagiTech acted like a suit of armor for our armor. It boasted enchantments and machines alike to boost the offensive, defensive, and maneuvering capabilities of each unit, allowing them to operate at full capacity in the air almost indefinitely.
To do so, they were made much larger than any suit of armor ever seen. They were around the size of the smaller fighter craft Edward made, yet still functioned as armor. The increased space allowed for all the essentials to be housed on a platform that could remain in the skies; allowing us to use it as a mobile base if needed.
Only when we mastered maintaining and operating them did we move on to the fleet of proper aircraft; and there were many. 1 and 2-person fighters. Manned and unmanned vehicles for reconnaissance and surveying. Massive bird or fish-like things that could transport uncountable tons of resources- or people.
We all mastered the CAMS, AVA, and Sky Ships. But of course, we all favored one over the other. Thus my Corps were born, or the first three at least. Cams Wing, Wing Ava, and the Skimmer Wing. The final Wing wasn't established until later when a new flock and a shipment of heavily armed aircraft caused a drastic shift in our focus.
It happened just before Edward entered Knighilia. In addition to sending them, he shared the blueprints for the Spell Cannons invented in Bakewia some time ago, then released his upgraded MagiTech and ArcaTech versions to us; including variations for our sky ships.
They were… incredible. Devastatingly so. However, they gave Marshal Kanti Fifif and General, Saraid Fausta a grand idea.
They took the other humans boasting affinity cores along with those with elvish blood and focused only on spellcraft, aiming to create a class of specialized spells for long-range engagements. In effect, it required us to create the first-ever school of magic in the empire; and more, an entirely new class of spells. War Spells. Based on the humble Bullet and Bolt Spells.
The results were both mana-intensive and miraculous.
The formula the mages worked out required them to form some sort of hollow shell of mana, in which they imbued the trap spell of their choice before laying spell after spell atop it like feathers around a central body. Stages, Amun called it.
One or many explosive spells may be packed inside the shell, for example. Trap spells, given the condition to go off at a certain altitude, after a certain time, or simply when they hit something. Another spell was designed to guide it to its target in flight. Another spell was designed to send it flying. Yet another spell was designed to merge the parts into a single spell.
With this, simple bullet spells could be extended in range and fired in great arcs to land on distant targets; Mortar or Artillery Spells. So too could they be made to explode in midair; Flak Spells. Domain spells could be packed with energy and released from the skies to devastating effect; Bomb Spells.
Missile Spells with exceptionally long ranges. Cannon Spells with relatively short ranges. Grenade Spells with even shorter ranges. Chain-gun Spells for large, fast-moving, or grouped targets; they developed it all, in turn creating a wing of magical specialists centered around anti-air and air defense operations.
Meanwhile, another type of development was underway in Knighilia with the 3rd Legion.
In spreading their machinations across the Republic, they managed to attract the attention of the native high elves and convinced many to join the Legions. Among them was E'mil L'neis and Anten'll Nyrhlasru, my Technical Archmage and Doctoral Witch respectively; and they each brought different things. ArcaTech things.
Anten'll had in her possession, the POTTER Mk I. A vessel that looked both like a scaled-down version of Zakira's Grav Bike and an upscaled broomstick. The bristles were of fire, and the stick on which the witch sat was as wide as a horse's back, with a large pod beneath to fit patients in.
Although it was never meant for us, the POTTER was tested thoroughly. We documented their top speeds, turning radius, stopping speeds, and altitude limits by pushing them to the limits of their engineering. We broke many. But each time we identified the cause and reported back to Edward, making each new version better than the last.
Naturally, the same was true for the item E'mil had in his possession, which was meant for us.
The RAPHEW was a gnarled stick with a flat, oar-like base that'd been carved and padded to fit neatly in the shoulder. The grip for the hand had a small talon-shaped crystal inlaid where the finger rested, with the tip facing towards the innards of the device, where what appeared to be a ring of roots connected the shard to the larger crystal at the end of the wand.
The aforementioned ring was where a cartridge of sorts was to be inserted. Though it was described as such, they looked like vibrant crystals fashioned onto metal pins with a protective sheathe to cover them. While unassuming, each held a different type of magical affinity that was imbued into the mana sent through 'trigger', where a glowing filament amplified and fired the energy from a crystal shard at the end.
It greatly expanded the capabilities of the non-magical beings like me, my XO, Aior, the other Sapiavi, and the many humans, halflings, gnomes, orcs, and others in my Legion. As such, our tactics changed once again. Everyone was issued a Raphew with, at the very least, a kinetic cartridge. Including me. In turn, we established the first marksmanship course and extended it to encompass cannons, bows, and crossbows on top of the spellcraft we developed.
Throughout it all, I continued mastering the use of my newfound perks while my ever-increasing subordinates did their diligence in completing the tasks to obtain their master classes. They used CAMS, AVA, and Sky Skips alike to scan the lands below a sector at a time, identifying everything from resources and points of interest to prospective recruits and hidden locales.
Throughout it all, our castle in the clouds had been heading to Knighilia, where we hoped to recruit a few more wings into our Legion. But alas, things were more difficult than expected.
The high elves who wanted to come were already here. And the wizards of Knighilia cared little for flying. Especially after Edward's work made it all the more easier to traverse their country. Likewise, War Spells and the Raphew were for the Legions only. Thus some of us doubled back to hire mechanics and the like in Bakewia before we tried our luck in Shujen.
There, we managed to find a fair number of recruits, although nothing along the likes of what I expected. Regardless, the winding rivers and sprawling forests of Knighilia and Shujen saw another development in the Legion.
What was dubbed Low Operations came as a result of flying low and slow beneath the canopy, following winding rivers and deep dales, and finding obscure places in which to land, and camp.
While it allowed us to remain unseen by the greater lands, the same was not true for localized areas, thus we saw much conflict and thus grew proficient in conducting surveillance and attacking ground targets with passing sweeps.
Naturally, that ceased as we departed from Shujen. We did not go to Knighilia, however. Edward was working in the region; and through him and the bards, Willard and Ritrix, they managed to send over enough prospective diplomats and other such administrative types from the land of bards.
They integrated seamlessly, electing to stay in the Cloud Castle as the Signal Wing, wherein they would use the many devices to assess and relay information, manage flight paths, and provide overwatch the many groups, squadrons, flights, and sections during their daily patrols above the lands of Ligin.
In those vast lands, Toril and his knights roamed. Their very presence saw great storms abound. Thus revealing the next step for my path and the coming training phase for my Legion. Everyone from those in the Anti-Air Wing to those in the Signal Wing redesigned their skills, tactics, and equipment for operations in tempestuous environments. Storm clouds, hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes.
That continued until the current moment, wherein Mani appeared to grow as it descended to the edge of the skies to peer down on Crater Lake.
While the display was dazzling, the effect of our worlds pouring over the realm was most interesting. It saw everything from the lands to the creatures within change. Dormant volcanoes erupted. The mana density increased and Extreme Mana Zones popped up everywhere, giving rise to a wave of precious metals and magical materials that would surely create a rush among the locals.
Moreover, it would surely cause dissent among them. I could already see many people displaced by the disasters. Others were suffering from the abundant energy around them while yet more were tormented by the pets and domestic creatures they once lived beside.
I could see much. Though I could not see all. Thus I wanted to imagine how King Corym was reacting to his sacred forest changing before his eyes. And yet, I could not, for the greatest change of all happened to us.
Amun's grace saw the mana wells of our subordinates increase in density to at least that of diamond. Many of us were granted Arcana. But only us founders of the Legio Noctis were granted divine mana. And from that divine mana came gifts and boons to our subordinates.
Warlock or perhaps sorcerous abilities, I knew not. I knew only that everyone in my Legion obtained something that allowed them to mold and bend water, air, and lightning with ease. And yet, there were differences.
Both afar and nearby, there were differences. Leagues away, other Imperators saw their subordinates be blessed by virtue of Moonlight or Twilight. Or even Mana. Legions like mine, however, saw a wave of blue flow into our spirits and souls, affecting our minds and bodies differently.
The Anti-Air Wing saw their cannons connect with their minds before folding in on themselves rapidly. Reducing their sizes to more manageable designs that could follow their partners through the skies.
Similarly, the Signal Wing saw their senses expand alongside their minds, allowing them to see as their sensors could see, hear as their receivers could hear, and speak as through their transmitters.
The Skimmer Wing saw their members connect with their sky ships in ways they never thought imaginable, allowing them to control their now-ArcaTech vessels as easily as they could their own limbs.
Those of Wing Ava saw the divine blue glow disintegrate their armor into a web of vibrant strings that flowed into their flesh, augmenting their bodies with the abilities of their power armor while their AVA tossed aside its enchantments and recycled the hardware that once kept it running, reforging it into arcane-powered thrusters and shoulder-mounted Raphew.
Those of Cams Wing saw their CAMS evolve into slim and sleek ArcaTech flight suits of sturdy silk, magic-infused fleece, and metallic feathers, granting them increased protection whilst supercharging their gear beyond normal capacities.
Everyone saw their Raphew evolve, taking on the grays, whites, and dark blues of the 11th Legion while also becoming more streamlined.
Those of the Squawk Command, however, saw all of the above and more. They saw both their CAMS and their personal equipment disintegrate and meld with their bodies wholly. The most notable of them all was Anten'll and E'mil, whose POTTER and Raphew integrated with their bodies like the many machines contained in the body of Iris.
And then there was me, who got all of the above and more.
[Blessing of the Divine Engineer Received: Transformation - Augmentation, Swarm Hive Cortex.]
[The touch of divinity that has been seeded within you has attuned your mind, body, spirit, and soul with the machines and Biotech creatures of the sky, granting you the means to fabricate and control swarms of automated aircraft of varying sizes.]