Chapter 3: Smoke and Signs
She was led to a room within the main building of the Office which was on the same side of the building as the field they held the test in. She didn’t know what this meant for her own results, as she was not provided with a certification like the others that had passed. Although, from what Colonel Holt had said, she was probably a C-Class Mage, she thought.
That was enough to get a scholarship into the Imperial Mage Academy, she knew. What else it meant for her, she didn’t know, but rather than feeling worried she instead felt calm.
The Lord would provide.
The Lieutenant paused, looking at her heavily as they came to a stop outside the room. She stared back, tilting her head in curiosity.
“Is there a problem, Lieutenant?” She questioned, wondering why they had stopped.
Lieutenant Gers shook his head, whatever thought going through his head remaining a mystery as he instead merely said, “Good luck, Miss Krowner.”
His piece said, he moved to the side of the door, taking up a guard position and indicating her to pass through to the room beyond.
She smiled, “Thank you for the escort, Lieutenant.”
He nodded, not replying as she opened the door and entered into the lounge beyond. Inside, she was met with the severe gaze of a boy the same age as her, wearing an Eisenriech Army dress uniform. Standing behind him, hat in hand, was an older man, dark haired with a thin moustache. His own dress uniform had a lot of silver lining, in contrast to the seated boy.
Said boy’s green eyes narrowed at her, hands clasped in his lap as he took in her appearance. On the table before him, one of the testing orbs lay upon a pristine white cloth, inert and dull. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the wall that faced the field was entirely transparent, allowing those within the room to watch the proceedings without those on the outside to notice.
“Erika Krowner?” The man asked, causing her to break her gaze with the seated youth and nod towards him, “You are before Prince Maximilian Von Englesheim, Third Prince of the Reich. Current Governor-Prince of Eisenburg.”
She curtsied, just as the matron of the Church had taught her, “My liege. It is my deepest honour to meet you.”
Despite knowing that this would happen before it did, she still felt her heart start to beat faster with excitement, now that it had arrived. The Royal Family were sacred, said the teachings of the Church, but Prince Maximilian was special to her. He was the one God had told her to serve, the one her dreams had led her towards.
She didn’t know why, but this meeting was preordained. She was exactly where she was meant to be. Now before the young Eagle, she could see why he appeared that way in Dreams. His gaze was certainly sharp enough to belong to that majestic bird.
“Miss Krowner.” The Prince spoke his first words, “Interesting last name. I take it you are a ward of the Crown?”
“Yes, my Prince.” She replied, keeping her gaze lowered, “I live in a state orphanage, although God be praised, the Church supports and provides for all our needs.”
“I see.” She had displeased him with her answer, but she did not know why, “In that case I will look into the situation there. If my suspicions are correct, the lives of you and many others from there are about to change drastically.”
“If that is your will, Your Highness.” She felt flattered that he was taking an interest in her life like this, although the confusion remained, “We will be honoured by your consideration.”
“I would be derelict in my duties if I did any less.” Was his response, “Rise, Erika. We have something important to discover.”
She rose out of her curtsy, meeting his gaze with her own. Impulsively, she made the symbol of the faith on her body, the downward facing triangle being formed with habitual ease. She touched the Virtues in her preferred way, subconsciously.
Compassion, Duty, Honour.
Stomach, Heart, Right Shoulder.
She paused, realising exactly just what she did, but the Prince didn’t seem offended, rather his look took on even deeper consideration, as if he was staring into her very soul. Still, he completed the ritual, touching the Virtues in a different order, starting with his heart and ending at his stomach.
“May our meeting be blessed.” As the most senior in the room, he finished the greeting.
At his words, she felt as if a great weight had fallen from her shoulders. The Prince was a man of faith.
She smiled brilliantly at him, taking the seat opposite the Prince as he indicated for her to do so. Once she was seated, the man behind Prince Maximilian spoke once more.
“It is a pleasure to meet one so talented, Miss Krowner. It is good to see the future of the Reich is so bright.” His voice was rich timbre, aged from smoking like many older men, “My name is General Hugh Lestride. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you, General Lestride.” She answered, finding it difficult to look away from the Prince as she did so, “Your words do me much kindness.”
The General nodded to her, while the Prince leaned forward slightly, drawing her gaze back to him instantly, “We called you here, Miss Krowner, due to your results against Colonel Holt. I noticed a peculiarity with your Rating, but with so much distance from where the test was held and this lounge, I wished to confirm my findings with more certainty.”
“I apologise if I disrupted the Rating in any way, my Prince.” She responded, contrite and growing slightly worried, “If I can assist you in any way, I would be glad to do so.”
“You are not in any trouble, I assure you.” He reassured her, face still calm, “You are aware of the Rating Orbs, correct?”
He indicated the crystal before him, to which she nodded, “Yes, my Prince.”
“Good.” He nodded, “Then simply do the same with this one as you were doing with the others.”
He spoke, reaching forward and touching the Orb, turning it a brilliant red with a single finger. The buzz was back as she reached her hand towards it, but it was much, much stronger than it was back on the field. She could feel her skin tingle where it touched the cool material.
Still, she used her Aether in the way the kind professor had taught her and the orb turned blue. The General sucked in a breath, looking at the scene with shock. The Prince considered the shining azure ball for a moment, before he clasped it more firmly, the buzz growing stronger and stronger. She scrunched her eyebrows, focusing on not letting the ball of Aether slip away from her, this being much more difficult than against Holt.
Eventually, however, the Prince released his grip, looking at her with a calculating gaze and a small amount of something else.
“It seems you were correct, my Liege.” The General’s words were soft, before he nodded towards her and stepped away, opening the door and speaking in hushed tones to Lieutenant Gers.
As he did so, the Prince broke his silence.
“Miss Krowner.” His voice was careful, giving away nothing, “Are you aware of Siegfried von Metz?”
“The strongest Mage in the Reich?” She had heard the name in her history classes, the man in question being a hero for his actions in the War of Unification.
“The very same. You are aware of him, good. In that case, you will understand the seriousness of what I am about to say.” The Prince leaned back, looking past her, “There is only one other Mage who has managed to usurp my control before, but even he struggled to do so. You just repeated his feat, brand new in the field and without much difficulty.”
She made the connection quickly. Of course the Prince would be able to train with Siegfried, the man being his mother’s sworn Knight. If that was the case…
“I’m… the strongest mage in the Reich?” She questioned, the very words themselves sounding blasphemous even as they passed from her lips.
“Indeed.” The Prince confirmed, causing her breath to catch in her throat as his eyes returned to her own, “Now, I have an offer for you, Erika Krowner. Listen well to what I am about to say.”
---IHIHIH---
The smoke curled thick as it trailed up to the rafters of the stately room. As was customary, cigars of different blends and exotic construction hung from many a lip of the gathered officers. It was a vice for the members of the High Command, but as such things go, it was a relatively harmless one.
“The keel has been laid.” A thick voice spoke, filled with frustration, “However, we have been given several notices of delays for the guns and armour.”
August von Wolfradt, cigar burning under his thick grey facial hair, merely nodded at the report from the dark haired Großadmiral Konrad von Treptow, before he raised an eyebrow at a clean shaven bespectacled man who sat across from him.
“Ah, yes.” Johann von Falkenhorst, Reichminister of Armaments, cleared his throat and looked down at his pages, “This has been an ongoing issue. All naval factories are reporting long delays and missed targets. When investigated, the causes are easily remedied, but the sheer number…”
“So the sabotage continues.” A black uniformed silver haired woman growled, the Minister cringing at the words from Oberkommando Lieselotte von Silberkreuz, her silver pointed triangle gleaming at her throat, “Yet all those arrested will be out on bail and back at work within a few days.”
“That is my understanding, correct.” Johann spoke, sounding as if he wished he could say anything else.
“Not necessarily.” Hedwig, the Commander of WIG, interjected, “After all, within Eisenburg Martial Law has been declared. If we recommend that saboteurs join the over criminals at the gallows, I doubt the young Prince would disagree.”
“I must strongly object.” The Minister spoke hurriedly, wiping sweat from his brow, “Criminals are one thing, especially the reprehensible type slated for execution, but doing the same thing to workers…!”
Generaloberst Dietrich Von Kranach blew out a puff of cigar smoke directly at the minister to his side, scarred face grinning as he did, “Relax yourself, Minister. It was merely a suggestion. I doubt the little Prince would have agreed anyway.”
At the Chief of the Army’s words, the Minister sagged, “Still, I must stress that any disruption to supply lines must be carefully considered. Airship freight is a delicate process and we are already running behind schedule.”
“Do not blame me for your own shortcomings.” Growled Admiral Helena von Herren, seated to his other side, red hair as striking as her single eye, “The delays come from your factories, not my ships.”
“Is this correct?” General Viktor von Seydlitz asked, turning to Generalleutnant Rudolf von Haeften, Head of Logistics, “Has the delay reached such a critical point?”
“Not entirely. In certain areas it is dire, but it is actually ahead of schedule in others.” Von Haeften replied, voice even as always, “It would actually be better if it were one or the other. As it is, productive factories are forced to wait for unproductive ones, causing chaos in the Airship schedule.”
The Chief of Staff nodded, leaning in to whisper something that Hedwig couldn’t hear towards his mentor. The old General waved him away, seemingly considering the issue deeply. Everyone waited for him to finish his considerations, either out of respect or fear, but they waited for von Wolfradt all the same.
Hedwig found it amusing how the man had mastered controlling a room without a single word. HE wished he could to the same when he held meetings with WIG, but alas, Flight Mages were not so easy to corral.
“Execution is too far. The men doing this are merely following the orders of their patrons, which means that should we proceed with that route, the ones behind them would merely escalate.” The Uber-General spoke, his word becoming law, “However, such delays in the production of our naval vessels are intolerable. General von Haeften, would it be possible to approach Prince Maximillian with plans to open up a naval armaments factory in Eisenreich?”
“There are several defunct factories that could be used to do so, provided the Prince gives the funding. It will complicate the Airship network further though, with Eisenburg being so far away.” The man replied, tilting his head ever so slightly in thought.
“We could handle it.” Helena von Herren’s voice was firm, “It will serve the dual purpose of allowing us to gather more iron from the mines there as well.”
“As the Admiral says.” The Quatermaster finished.
The Uber-General nodded, turning to his chief of Staff, “Draft the proposal if you would, von Seydlitz.”
“Yes, General.” The other man replied, taking a deep draw of his cigar s he did so.
Nodding, von Wolfradt then declared, “Very well. Your concerns have been notified and a plan for rectifying them has been decided upon Minister. This meeting of the High Command is officially at an end.”
Despite his words, not a single person wearing uniform stood. They remained seated, staring at the now visibly distressed Minister.
“Yes, well…” He swallowed, “There is also the matter of the Army following and carrying out the order of Martial Law in Eisenburg-”
“The Army serves the Kaiser.” Dietrich spoke sharply, “Are you suggesting that General Lestride should ignore a direct order from the Prince?”
“No! Never!” The Minister hurriedly denied, “It’s just that the Prince only arrived last night and the order is already in effect. Several members of the Stag questioned whether General Lestride received permission to act as he did or-”
“He received permission, directly from me.” This time it was von Wolfradt’s voice that cut him off, “Should any members of the government have an issue with the decision, they are welcome to raise it with me directly.”
“Ah, then in that case… Yes, understood.” The minister hurriedly gathered his notes, pushing his glasses up as he did so, “Please excuse me!”
He swiftly left the room, the smoke swirling as the opening of the door disturbed it.
Hedwig grinned at the interaction, speaking as the door closed, “I wonder if he is aware we know he is behind the sabotage.”
“He’s lucky I don’t shoot him.” Konrad grumbled, eyes narrowed.
“He is merely a symptom. The cause is beyond any of us to challenge.” Von Wolfradt’s voice was filled with warning.
“Indeed.” Hedwig responded, “Speaking of, may I deliver the proposal for the new factory to the Prince personally? I need a reason to visit Eisenburg officially.”
Von Seydlitz looked to von Wolfradt, before agreeing at the other man’s nod, “Very well, I shall inform you of when it is finished.”
“Thank you.” Hedwig nodded, locking eyes with the Uber-General, who slowly nodded back.
“Hedwig has something to discuss with me, it seems. Please enjoy the hospitality of High Command until you return to your posts.” Von Wolfradt spoke.
The other officers finally rose at that, saluting the General and moving out of the meeting room, talking amongst each other as they did so, except for the one-eyed Admiral, who stood saluting, glaring a hole into Hedwig’s head.
“Admiral von Herren, I have news for you about the new Flotte-Krystals. I will find you later and we can discuss it then.” Hedwig knew what she wanted, of course.
“I will hold you to that.” She promised, before raising her salute even higher and leaving the room.
All that remained was Hedwig, Uber-General von Wolfradt and General von Seydlitz, who had remained seated.
“Their loyalty makes you a threat, you know.” Hedwig spoke casually, reaching into his briefcase.
“I am loyal to the Throne.” Von Wolfradt responded calmly, despite Viktor bristling next to him, “I always have been.”
“But not who sits upon it, I notice.” Hedwig pointed out, producing a sheaf of documents that he presented to the Uber-General, “Which makes this rather awkward. You are the second person I have shown this to.”
August did not need to ask who the first was, frowning around his cigar as he opened the file. He read in silence, passing off each page to the man on his right as he finished it. It was a testament to his self control that he didn’t react to what he saw, contrasted with von Seydlitz much more poorly hidden reaction.
“How reliable is this?” He questioned, still reading.
“Verified through three separate channels. I could send more, but I believe it’s enough to say that the intel is actionable.” Hedwig replied, interlocking his fingers as he stared at the older man, “I wish to stress, by showing this to you I am breaking a standing order.”
“I see.” The Uber-General replied, “What were the orders you were to give to Maximilian?”
“Retreat north until Army Group South could mobilize and destroy the enemy within the Eisenburg valley.” Hedwig revealed without hesitation.
“What orders were you going to give him?” The next question was immediate.
Hedwig smiled at that, enjoying the rare moment of being seen through, “None. Far be it from me to order a member of the Imperial Family. I would provide him with the information and be at his disposal for anything he decided to do.”
“Clever.” The man complimented, “In that case, I approve of your plan.”
“My thanks, Uber-General.” Hedwig nodded, causing von Seydlitz to pose a question.
“My apologies, should we not be more worried? This is a possible invasion, after all.” He spoke without conviction.
“You know why we aren’t. Levan is many things, but militarily competent is not one of them.” Hedwig answered him.
“Indeed. This will be a brilliant test for the young Prince.” August, for the first time this meeting, smiled, “Let us see what my old student is capable of.”
---IHIHIH---
“You disapprove.” The words broke the silence between the two uniformed individuals who had remained in the room after the new strongest Mage in the Reich left.
The General didn’t fidget, but his jaw tensed. The Prince had dealt with many older men who had disagreed with him, or who had taken issue with what he was doing. There were the types to profess that it wasn’t their place to speak, those that thought they could talk around the issue and worst of all, those who thought he cared for their lectures, using age as a way to bridge the gap in their status.
The General eventually spoke, proving the Prince’s faith in him was not misplaced.
“She is very young.” The voice was careful, but not hesitant.
“She’s a month older than me.” He pointed out, leaning back considering the implications of that statement as the General’s scowl showed no improvement, “But I understand your point. She is staggeringly naive.”
“Indeed.” The General nodded, “It just doesn’t sit right with me. Please forgive me my misgivings, Your Highness.”
“There is nothing to forgive, I share them.” The Prince sighed, looking towards the ceiling, “She was raised in a state orphanage run by the Church. She seems to have taken their teachings to heart, including the one that all members of the Royal Family are divinely ordained to rule, sacred guardians of the Reich. I could ask her anything and she would not refuse.”
“You do not agree with their teachings?” The General questioned, “You made the sign of faith with ease.”
“The Royal Family is blessed, all of us.” The Prince disagreed, “God has given us great gifts, but equal burdens. That is it. We aren’t divine, we are as human as everyone else.”
As much as such a fact aggravated him, he thought privately.
The General wisely did not pursue that line of thought, “I see. I feel I must ask, my Prince, is declaring someone with that belief your personal Knight wise?”
“Wise or not, I had no choice.” Maximilian said, eyes locked on a point only he could see, “I trust you, General. Your conduct has been impeccable and our interactions has only increased my opinion of you so far. So, allow me to share, if you would.”
“I would be honoured.” Lestride’s voice contained emotion detectably for the first time.
Pride.
Prince Maximilian nodded, before he started to explain, “The Reich is in crisis. It’s slow, insidious and hidden from most, but the corruption in Eisenburg was atypical only in scale, not in scope. All across the land, money is changing hands, deals are being struck and the interests of the Realm are treated as a secondary concern. In this sort of climate, suddenly a Mage who can rival the great Siegfried himself appears, vulnerable, with no guardians or backers.”
He released his clasped hands, turning them into fists in his lap, “I am not blind. My actions, both here and when I was in the Capitol, have made powerful enemies and many of them. Letting any of them have access to a Mage as powerful as Erika has proved to be would be catastrophic. As would letting such a talent go to waste, when it could serve the Realm. Therefore, I had to act.”
“...Your concerns are heavy, my Prince.” The General spoke, understanding in his tone, “I apologise once more. You have my word that I will support you with all of my power.”
“Thank you. Your loyalty does you credit.” The Prince breathed, thoughts turning fully to the subject of their conversation, leaving the rest of his motivations unsaid.
His dreams of death, fire and destruction. The Reich weakened, stuck in between two ravenous neighbours. Then, appearing before him in the midst all this, the strongest Mage in a generation.
He could not think of it as anything but an omen. Whether it was a good one or a bad one, he had a sinking feeling he already knew.