A Song of Blood and Sunlight (ASOIAF / Warhammer Fantasy / Soulsborne)

[ATP]

Here,Bloodthister fighting more modern knights:


Jokes aside - thanks for good chapter,please continue,and...why Volantis is heretical,and how they survive Sothorys? worms and insects there supposed to eat people alive from inside.
And ,what offended them? there are only ruins and wild animals there.Well,kind of apemans,too.

 

[Enuma666]

To be honest, I expect the plot in the games of throne more than this entire oc war, frankly if you only make a war with several elements taken from different parts this becomes boring

 

[Trafford]

"Dear, oh dear, what was it? The Hunt, the Blood, or the horrible Dream? Oh, it doesn't matter. It always comes down to the Hunters' helper to clean up after these sorts of messes. Tonight, Gehrman joins the Hunt..."

Gehrman, the First Hunter

***

Codex: The Ancient Tomb Expedition

In the Year 4,551 an expedition was conducted by several people when the vast underground labyrinth was found underneath the city known as Yharnam. When they discovered the Ancient Tombs, several people led the Expedition into the depths; among them, the most notable were five leaders of the Expedition.

Master Willem and Big Hat Logan represent the Byrgenwerth, occultist of ancient Gods Laurence and one of the famous warriors from the Age of Strife known just as Gehrman, who acted as their bodyguard. Aside from them, there were two more people who were local nobles.

One of them was the ruler of the region that would be once known as the Grand Principality of Reikland, Gottfried Isebrand Holswig-Schliestein and Lancelin Cainar, who ruled the City State of Cainhurst.

These few people conducted the first Expedition into the Ancient Tombs, where they found the substance later known as the Old Blood and were the first people in the Lordran who encountered the vision from the Great Ones.

***

From a distance, everyone could see gathering clouds high above the Skycrown Gate and the Battle Wizards and Sholaars calling the Winds of Magic for their help. Omnious-looking storm clouds were gathered in one place, as out of nowhere, they started striking hundreds of lightning bolts at the Daemon Horde beneath them.

Each of the thunderbolts that struck down charred hundreds, if not thousands of Lesser Daemons in a split of a second, and their intensity and power were only increasing with each passing second.

Upon this happening, the Daemons started panicking because their numbers were drastically dropping down at tremendous speed under the barrage of the lightning bolts, never-ending dwarven siege engines that were bombarding them to oblivion.

And just as the storm clouds dispersed, tens of Griffons flew high in the air, carrying huge packages with their claws, and when they were above the battlefield, they were dropping them in free fall mode.

Upon contact with the ground, they were exploding in the green fire, a direct greeting from the Gnomeregan, the capital of Gnomes and Thinkers of the Holy Arcadia Empire. Soon enough, the entire battlefield was enveloped in a new wave of explosion and death as the Daemos were dying life and right.

***

On the walls of the Skycrown Gate, the location of Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes.

"My Lord, My Lord, the 6th Imperial Legion has arrived!"

Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes took out his sword from the corpse of Greater Daemon and managed to sneak upon the walls of the Skycrwon Gate under the concealment of the shadows and powerful Chaos Magic.

Still, he was killed by the son of the Elector Count of Sylvania when Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes looked over at the officer who reported this news and sighed in relief.

With the addition of another Imperial Legion, they could coordinate with the Silver Knights, Reiksgarde, and Holy Knights to launch a counterattack.

Even right now, as they were speaking the majority of the Daemon horde lay dead, either from various traps prepared by the defenders, Artillery or Battle Wizards. And that was not talking about several tens of thousands that were personally killed by the Holy Imperator.

The outbursts of the legendary legendary Golden Light of Holy Destruction could be seen even from the distance of the Skycrown Gate, as with each outburst of the legendary aura, tens of thousands of Lesser Daemons were incarnated to the nothingness.

The current numbers and lack of truly powerful Daemons on the battlefield signified the time for a counterattack by the Imperial Forces.

Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes could see that his father was already raging on the battlefield as he turned into a mist of hundreds if not thousands of bats, which were killing everything in their path.

As the Vampires, the children of the night, they commanded very powerful Blood Magic and could control Blood as they wished, which gave them a very special standing in the Religion of the Great Ones because they were considered as "progeny" of the Formless God of Blood.

Not to mention, one of the greatest Noble Houses, the House Vileblood, were something that could be considered as Primogenotrs of the Vampires, as they were truly the masters of masters of Blood and Blood Magic.

Current Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes learned under the Vilebloods of Cainhurst and even married the niece of Lord High Magistrate Annalise Vileblood, the Queen of Blood.

"Prepare for the counterattack! Send down the order!"

With the walls being mostly cleaned up, it was time to clean up the remaining Daemons that were running here and there under the walls. There were something around a few hundreds of thousands of Lesser Daemons remaining on the battlefield.

With the remaining ammunition being used, it would cut the number to approximately 300,000 Lesser Daenmons, which was from an initial number of 2,5 million, a good result.

This they could already handle with combined forces of 2 Imperial Legions, Provincial Amry, Reiksgarde, Holy Knights and Household Guards of Noble Houses. Soon enough, as Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes sent down the orders, the soldiers started gathering and preparing to march.

***

With the 6th Imperial Legion

General Rundstadt was hurrying his soldiers to the Skycrown Gate as they were intercepted by the messenger of the Elector Count House of Draculya-Tepes bearing the newest orders.

"General Lord Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes has ordered the counterattack against the Daemons; their numbers have been cut enough; we can start the cleaning operations already."

General Rundstadt of the 6th Imperial Legion raised his brow because he was surprised that they were missing most parts of the fight, but it seemed that the Skycrown Gate was very well defended, prepared and it seemed that the addition of Holy Imperator on the battlefield turned the tables considerably.

Having someone who could kill Greater Daemons and even Daemon Nobles in a split of second if the enemies were careless was something that significantly increased the efficiency of the Imperial Forces.

Without the heavy hitters, the strong commanders, Leaders... and elite forces of the Imperial Forces could turn their focus on the Lesser Daemons and putting someone on the level of Reiksgarde or Holy Knight among the ordinary Lesser Daemons would for sure end in a bloodbath.

"To the Gate! Prepare for battle!"

General Rundstadt, upon receiving the order, led his men to battle, with each of his Legates that commanded over three Divisions of the Legion ordered their forces into the formation.

They were going to meet the enemy head-on, so he was a bit worried, though not for the result of the battle because that would be won, but for his granddaughter, who was in command of the 3rd Division and was the newest Legate of the 6th Imperial Legion.

***

MC POV

When I saw that the Skycrown Gate was dropping everything they had in their arsenal against the Daemons, I knew that they were already preparing for the counterattack. Soon, the Gates would open, and the glorious armies of the Holy Arcadia Empire would march with sharp blades and Faith to slay the foul powers of Abyss and Chaos.

I looked at the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand, whose armor was cracked all around the place, and he was bleeding from several parts of his body.

The corrosion done by the Golden Light of Holy Destruction was getting more and more prevalent to the point where it started destroying parts of his body from the inside.

Yet, to my surprise and not to my surprise, the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand was still fighting with even bigger ferocity and brutality than before; the power of his Patron God was getting stronger and stronger...

'Of course... we are on the battlefield, full of carnage, blood and war... naturally Khorne would get tremendous power from it, and everything went to the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand to make him even stronger... fortunately the Senior Hunter from the Worskhop should arrive within a few minutes at last...'

This entire place was constantly empowering the Daemon Lord of Khone... in the end, it was his domain; if not, then Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand would have long ago fallen to the corrosion of the Golden Light of Holy Destruction.

While the Daemon Lord was stronger than me by a significant margin, while both of us were technically speaking Level 6 existences, there was a great disparity between us as the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand was undoubtedly stronger.

Yet under the corrosion of the Golden Light of Holy Destruction, he was getting weaker and weaker, but due to blessings of the Chaos God of Blood and Skulls, Martial Honor and War, who was using the lingering aura of the entire battlefield to empower his servant, he was still standing.

And not only standing, but that bastard was still attacking, forcing me too completely go on the defensive, as I was forced to use Ghal Maraz to block his overpowering blows that were getting stronger and stronger.

It didn't take a long time to realize that the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand entered some sort of Blood Rage or higher state of Blood Rage?

I don't really know because I am not a Demonologist, but he lost his rationality, that was for sure.

Even though when he previously entered that Blessed State, which Chaos God Khorne gave him a bit of his power, he still retained a piece of his own mind. But right now, he was only a maddened beast unleashed on the opponent; he really reminded me of some very powerful Clerical Beasts.

Upon the relentless and unending assault of the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand, I was using practically everything I could to stall him down for a moment so that I could deliver some fatal blow to the maddened Daemon Lord.

As I dodged the enormous waraxe of Khorne, I dropped my weapons as I unleashed a massive Arcane Blast on the chest-belly region of the Daemon Lord's body, blasting him several hundreds of meters away.

In a split of a second, I conjured hundreds of lighting bolts, which all shot toward the still-flying Daemon Lord at full speed, falling onto his body as the Daemon Lord roared in pain from being bombarded by the lightning bolts.

Lore of Heavens the Azyr was Magic in which I was very proficient... aside from the Arcane Magic that was unique to the people who reached Noble Blood of the Old Blood, I focused mostly on the Lore of Heavens because of its destructive capabilities.

Suddenly, as the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand was about to stand up, a huge two-handed longsword shot through the air and buried itself in the shoulder of the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand.

In split of a second, a male figure wearing a long leather trenchcoat landed on the two-handed longsword that was buried in the should of the Daemon Lord, taking a pair of daggers and slashing them at the neck of the enormous Daemonic Beings before he tore out the longsword and jumped back.

"Your Holy Majesty."

The Senior Hunter of the Workshop has arrived, and now the tables have turned... I prepared my Holy Lance and looked at the Daemon Lord with a grin because now that the odds were in my favor, it was time to dance...

***

3rd POV

Atop on the walls of the Skycrown Gate, the Heir of the House of Draculya-Tepes was finished cleaning the last Daemons from the parts of the walls as he raised his head upon hearing the battle horn.

"All Soldiers ready! The reinforcements are here; send them back to the Abyss! Prepare to open the Gate!"

He saw that the 6th Imperial Legion had been lined up in front of the closed gate, together with parts of the 11th Imperial Legion, Provincial Army of the Grand Province of Sylvania, Household Guards of Viceroys and Baron, Silver Knights, Holy Knight Executioners of the Healing Church and Reiksgarde.

"Open the Gates!"

He shouted as he saw his father, the Elector Count of Sylvania, decapitating another Greater Daemon of Khorne as an enormous Bloodthirster fell onto the ground dead and several tens of the Skull Canons exploded into the bloody mist.

Soon enough, as he issued the order for the gates to be opened, the enormous gates of the Skycrown Gate, which were about fifty meters high, started slowly opening as soldiers beneath them got ready for the fight.

Battle Wizards were preparing the spells, Priests of the Healing Chruch were prying for Blessings from the Great Ones and on the walls of the Skycrown Gate, the Artillery forces were loading for the last shot to clean the way for the soldiers.

Everything happened too fast, as the Hellstorm Batteries and Canon fired at once, targeting the hordes of the Lesser Daemons in front of the gates, clearing the way for the charging soldiers.

And as the explosions quieted down, the soldiers started charging, calling for the Glory of the Holy Arcadia Empire, the Holy Imperator and the Great Ones in their fanatically loyal zeal to the Great Ones and Holy Imperator.

The thunderous charge of the Knights of the Holy Arcadia Empire, be it Silver Knights, Holy Knights of the Healing Church, or the sworn protectors of the Divine Throne of the Cinder and Sunlight the Reiksgarde, were charging on the enemy as some more weak-willed Lesser Daemons starred escaping outright.

Some of the Lesser Daemons were not really strong-willed creatures; they were cowardly as it could be... and when they sensed the overpowering Holy Aura originating from the Imperial Soldiers, they started escaping.

With the addition of another Imperial Legion, they started systematically exterminating every single Daemon that remained on the battlefield under the leadership of Reiksgarde and Holy Knights.

***

MC POV

Now that we were two on the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand, we didn't need to say another word, as we just looked at each other and knew what to do exactly.

The Senior Hunter and I flanked the Daemon Lord from both sides and started relentlessly attacking the enormous Bloodthirster. The Senior Hunter was holding a huge claymore Holy Sword that was radiating the Holy Power of the Great Ones.

"Use the Arcane Prison!"

The Senior Hunter shouted at me as I nodded and prepared the special Arcane Spell that was used for trapping more powerful Cleric Beasts. Within a split of second, several rods of pure Arcane Energy appeared around the Daemon Lord Azigth.

Almost instantly later, the Senior Hunter hacked with his Holy Sword Claymore into the chest of the Daemon Lord Azgith as the Daemon Lord roared in pain because the Senior Hunter hit the weak spot.

I didn't waste the opportunity and while the Arcane Prison was still in effect, the Golden Light of Holy Destruction burst out from both of my weapons as I charged at the Daemon Lord Azgith, piercing through his heart with the Holy Artiact of the Great Ones.

And to my shock, even this didn't kill this Daemonic monstrosity as it was still continuing to fight at full power. The power of the Chaos God of Blood and Skulls was keeping the Daemon Lord going on...

But it didn't last for long because after my attack, the Senior Hunter buried his claymore deep into his brain and immediately afterward, I raised the Ghal Maraz that erupted with the Golden Light of Holy Destruction and smashed apart his skull.

And again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Until nothing remained from the skull of the Daemon Lord.

***

3rd POV

Skycrown Gate, Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes landed on the walls of the Skycrown Gate as he hopped down from his Griffon. The fight on the ground basically ended when the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand.

With the death of their leader, the entire Daemon Horde quieted down because, without their leader, the Daemons were like headless chickens. Now that their leader was dead, there was nobody left in charge, and coupled with the fact that Daemons suffered tremendous losses, they started escaping.

The Lesser Daemons, contrary to the Greater Daemons and all Daemons at or above Level 4, basically behaved more or like on their instincts; those were the most important things for Lesser Daemons...

"Start cleaning up the battlefield... pursue them till the end of the Tartarus Pass..."

Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes looked at the battlefield as he issued his orders. This was a hard fight... there were many losses; he could see that the 11th Imperial Legion suffered severe losses...

The Provincial Army of Grand Province of Sylvania, too, and there were also a good number of Reiksgarde, Holy Knight Executioners of the Healing Church that perished on the battlefield and the Silver Knight Order suffered the most in the battle.

"If there are even more battles like this, we need to seriously reform our military forces... the number of Greater Daemons and Noble Daemons within the horde was something outrageous."

Elector Count of Sylvania said because this battle showed that while the Army of the Holy Arcadia Empire was strong but seemingly ineffective against opponents that contained a lot of powerful beings.

Normally, the armies attacking the Skycrown Gate didn't contain so many Greater Daemons and Noble Daemons. Typically speaking, there were maximally a few Greater Daemons and maybe one or two Noble Daemons.

"As I am seeing this father, this would be a topic for the Landsraad or maybe even Great Convention Council..."

His son Jubstacheit arrived shortly after because he, too, left the battlefield as now all of the powerful enemies at Level 4 or above were already dead.

The Great Convention Council was something that was called only a few times during the existence of the Holy Arcadia Empire. It was basically a boosted-up version of the Landsraad; just there were many more people attending aside from the Nobility of the Empire.

Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes knew that a few decades ago, somebody proposed to create a new elite force within the Imperial Military, mainly to create a new breed of super soldiers, even Level above Reiksgarde or Holy Knight Executioners of the Healing Church.

Unfortunately, it went into nothingness because there was, technically speaking, no need for such radical measure, and the Healing Church also wasn't that much thrilled at that.

'It seems that the fusion of Religious Power and Imperial Power is inevitable after this...'

There were rumors that sooner or later, the Emperor would fuse the two types of power into one, directly under the Divine Authority of the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder.

It was progressing slowly, but the process started a few decades ago when even the Emperor changed his official title to the Holy Imperator and the state was approaching more and more theocracy...

This, technically speaking, wasn't really good news for the Nobles because the already immense power of the Imperial House would be so strong that there would be basically no chance of any kind of opposition.

'It seems that some things are really inevitable...'

With that being said, the battle of today was won.

Hail the Victorious dead!

***

MC POV

Several hours later, after the battle ended, I was listening to the reports of losses. Thanks to Magic and famed Imperial Bureaucracy, counting dead wasn't any problem... at least from the technical side, because it was my least favorite aspect of the battle.

"The 11th Imperial Legion has suffered 18,645 deaths; the 6th Imperial Legion suffered 4,599 deaths, Provincial Army suffered 9,411 deaths. From Household Guards of the Noble Houses of Grand Province, there are varied, but they are around 3,000 or so... Aside from these..."

The Elector Count of Grand Province of Sylvania was reporting the numbers, as I saw there General Rundstedt of the House Rundstadt, who commanded the 6th Imperial Legion, and General Tamuc of the 11th Imperia Legion.

Siegfried Tamuc of the Viceroy House Tamuc of the Grand Principality of Reikland, but had the appearance of a typical Fenrisian because his father was actually from the Grand Province of Fenris, from the House Lothbrok.

His 2.5-metre height made him look like a veritable pillar himself, and the tens of little brown pigtails for his beard that were blowing in the wind did nothing to diminish his image. The gemstones, metal rings, animal teeth, and other such trinkets braided into his beard clanged against each other in the wind.

"Aside from these... 71 members of the Reiksgarde perished on the battlefield and 67 Holy Knight Executioners also perished. Deaths from the Silver Knight Order have reached 2,789."

Hearing those losses made me realize that they were indeed too high; it was unusual but also understandable because rarely do so many high-leveled entities participate in one battle, as most of the Reiksgarde and Holy Knights perished against the Greater Daemons and Daemon Nobles.

In the end, they were Level 3 beings, and even with their superior training and equipment, going against Level 4 Greater Daemon was extremely dangerous, especially when the Greater Daemon was blessed by the Chaos God of Blood and Skulls.

The sole good thing was that due to the system I created within the Empire, replenishing the losses would take only a short time. Every single citizen of the Holy Arcadia Empire was required to learn how to fight and actively practice, or else there were sanctions.

The Reiksgarde and Holy Knights would replenish their numbers from the Silver Knight Order, who in turn would recruit from the Imperial Legions, who would recruit from the Provincial Armies and the Provincial Armies would recruit from the broader population of the province.

This created rather a sturdy wheel when replenishing deceased soldiers relatively easily and fast, so I estimated that within a few upcoming weeks or, maximally, months in the case of Reiksgarde and Holy Knights, the numbers would return back where they were.

Still, the 11th Imperial Legion suffered the biggest losses for the past few centuries, not only within the Legion itself but this could be said to be the biggest losses from a singular battle considering the number of Legions and other Units participating within it.

"That would be all gentlemen..."

I was woken up from my train of thoughts when every pair of eyes turned on me.

"This battle pointed to the ineffectiveness of the Imperial forces when dealing with an opponent that has far more high-leveled entities within their ranks... aside from the pure fact that something is happening in the Abyss. First thing was Daemon Lord Demogorgon, whom I killed in the continent of Westeros and now this..."

People here weren't surprised to hear that the Daemon Lord Demogorgon was killed by me, even though it happened only a short time ago. But, considering the gravity of such information, I knew that immediately it happened, it was relayed back to the Homeland.

Everyone could see that something was happening in the Abyss, but nobody could tell what exactly was happening in there.

"Is it something related to the Great Game or not?"

The Great Game is the name given by the servants of Chaos to the endless struggle for influence and dominance in the Realm of Chaos the Abyss, the Dark Lands, and across many of the mortal worlds out there.

In the civilized realms of the material plane, where the Four Major Chaos Gods, their Daemon servants and, their various mortal Chaos Champions and other followers clash in the endless wheels of carnage and death.

Many legends mention the "Great Game", a mythical contest of war and wits fought between the four Ruinous Powers. The Dark Gods ally with one another only when it suits them and often fights against each other for the most spurious reasons.

Tzeentch, Slaanesh, Nurgle, and Khorne constantly compete to become the most powerful of the Chaos Gods. They are united only in their determination to finally destroy the Material Plane or conquer some mortal planet.

The Great Game is played out in three arenas. The first was naturally the Abyss itself, then it was the entirety of the Material Plane and the third were their own personal kingdoms, known as the Realms of Chaos.

Within the Realm of Chaos, the four major gods send armies of their Daemons and the most powerful of their mortal champions to assault each other's domains. However, the defenses surrounding their infernal kingdoms are almost impossible to breach.

The second theatre was the entire Material Plane, where the forces of the Ruination were invading the planets and nothing suspecting worlds that fell into the Chaos. Rarely the worlds were powerful enough even to defend, not to mention to push back the forces of the Dark Gods.

"It is highly possible... Reports from Marian Cross indicate that either one of Four is making a major move or there is someone attempting to become a new Chaos God."

Aside from the Four Major Chaos Gods, there were many Minor Chaos Gods, but the Minor Chaos Gods were actually not of that importance because they were not really that powerful and they actually feared to set foot on the premises of the Azyr.

The last time one attempted to do so was killed by Lord Gwyn during his Apotheosis, so the Minor Chaos Gods were a bit reluctant to do so.

"That is highly disturbing, Your Majesty."

The Elector Count of Grand Province Sylvania said as others wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"Yes, it is... but there is nothing we could do about it; we don't have any means to influence the happenings in the Abyss... though there is actually one thing we can do."

I then remembered one of the reports I got from the Directorate of the Imperial Military Intelligence.

"After the reformation of the military forces and elite Units, I plan to launch a systematic attack against the Skaven."

The Skaven, sometimes known as the ramen, the Ratkin, the Children of the Horned Rat, or the Underfolk, are a malevolent and diabolical race of large, intelligent, humanoid rats that inhabit a massive, inter-continental, subterranean empire known in their tongue simply as the Under-Empire.

At the very heart of Skavendom lies the horrific city of Skavenblight, the ratmen's capital city and the probable birthplace of the Skaven race. Most of their territory is within the Dark Lands of the Lordran, but there are many places, even within the territory of the Holy Arcadia Empire, where they took root.

"You suspect that this upheaval has something to do with the Great Horned Rat?"

General Rundstedt asked as I nodded because that was what the reports indicated.

"Actually, yes... While we know that as right as now, the Great Horned Rat is one of the Minor Chaos Gods, we have confirmed that its powers are greatly increasing and its Pantheon is getting stronger; maybe the happenings within the Abyss have something to do with the Skaven."

Skaven were the scourge of the Lordran, and they were constantly embroiled in conflict against the Dwarves of Khaz-Modan and Fenrisian of the Grand Province of Fenris, as those were two mountainous areas of the Empire.

"Dwarves would be pleased when they heard about making a move on the Skaven..."

Yes, they would, but we would need to hit them systematically, breaking their strongholds under other Provinces because right now, Reikland was the sole province where there was no Skaven presence underneath.

The Reiksgarde and Holy Knights made sure of it, but the last time it was checked was a few decades ago, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Skaven stronghold even underneath the Reikland as they reproduced with the speed of light.

"Yes, they would... but we need to prepare for that properly... the Skaven are an underlying danger to the integrity of the Holy Arcadia Empire, and we need to push them back into the Dark Lands."

If we push back the Skaven into the Dark Lands, we can get hands-on access to their underground lairs and pathways, which could very well reach the other continents.

Perhaps, reaching even the of ends of the Essos, Sothoryos, Ulthos or any other landmasses that may or may not exist within the Azyr.

***

3rd POV

Faust, the City of Miracles, around the same time

The battle of the Skycrown Gate has been going on for some time already, and during the time Karl Franz was away, his newest fianceé was left in the Blackrose Castle as she was familiarizing herself with the new environment and also physical changes...

The digestion of the Old Blood always drastically improved the physical attributes of the person who drank the Old Blood, so one needed a lot of time until they once again learned how to control their physical strength.

But for that, the Healing Church was kind enough to send a teacher for Cersei, who was right now a small bundle of nerves, considering the fact that her fianceé went to a dangerous war and the fact that she probably developed an unhealthy obsession with the man.

And the teacher was none other than Vicar Amelia because the Healing Church felt that something was amiss with the situation and wanted to take advantage of it; every player always wanted to get an edge in the game.

Cersei was the daughter of Tywin Lannister; she wasn't that stupid to see that they were attempting to use her because of her lack of background within the Holy Arcadia Empire, either the Byrgenwerth or the Healing Church...

But she was rather okey with it, no matter how pissing off it was to her, but at the same time, she was also using them to obtain more power and build her own support base.

"You are doing well, my child. You have taken to the control lessons very fast, but achieving even greater control over your power would require more time. Still, to be able to reach level 3 through the First Blood Ministration is an impressive feat, even considering the wider Imperium."

Vicar Amelia wasn't flattering her right now, but just telling the truth because people rarely reached higher than Level 2 in the First Blood Ministration.

"Do you have any news from the Skycrown Gate?"

During the past few hours that her fianceé was away, she was very nervous; Cersei had a hard time admitting that she grew very fond of her fianceé. Not only because for the first time, someone actually asked her what she wanted to do, but he also spent a lot of time with her and entertained her whims.

Allowed her to train, taught her, laughed with her, and sparred with her.

"Actually, yes. The battle has been won and under control; his Holy Majesty would return back to the Faust soon enough."

Vicar Amelia said to soothe her nerves as the young daughter of House Lannister relaxed considerably.

"But for now, you should focus on training more because if not, then your opportunity to sneak into His Majesty's bed wouldn't come."

Soon enough, the young woman blushed in mild embarrassment because the sole reason she didn't really sleep with her fianceé was that her physique couldn't withstand it.

***

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[ATP]

Thanks for another great chapter, Trafford !

Empire here could do more then you arleady proposed - made better soldiers,and wiping out skavens is good,but what about better technology?
They should be capable of mass-producing our 1870 tech,with breachloading steel guns,gatlings and modern rifles.
And,flamethrowers,too - Khorne could not get blood,when it is burned.

Tunnels to Essos or Ulhos - could be good,dependably when you get,but Sothorys....monsters and locals there are bad enough,but insects and plagues there would kill everybody send there.

P.S You covered Dwarves and vampires here,but what about other races?
Are there Elves,ogres,giants and halflings here,too?
Not mention friendly Tomb Kings,especially some well known Queen!

 

[Trafford]

Thanks for another great chapter, Trafford !

Empire here could do more then you arleady proposed - made better soldiers,and wiping out skavens is good,but what about better technology?
They should be capable of mass-producing our 1870 tech,with breachloading steel guns,gatlings and modern rifles.
And,flamethrowers,too - Khorne could not get blood,when it is burned.

Tunnels to Essos or Ulhos - could be good,dependably when you get,but Sothorys....monsters and locals there are bad enough,but insects and plagues there would kill everybody send there.

P.S You covered Dwarves and vampires here,but what about other races?
Are there Elves,ogres,giants and halflings here,too?
Not mention friendly Tomb Kings,especially some well known Queen!

Click to shrink...

The so-called Industrial Revolution within the Empire has just started only a few years ago, so it was related to new things, right now they are focusing on incorporating Magic into the new technological gadgets, thus creating a full-fledged Magitek Civilization

Other races would be covered later, Nefertara I think already was mention or will be mention, not sure in which chapter... Elves, a bit problematic race right now, because I am rather unsure where to insert them, Ogres are technically speaking part of the Orklands as they are categorized all under the Greenskins in my fanfic, but yeah, we will see the Ogre Kingdoms at the later date...

 

[ATP]

The so-called Industrial Revolution within the Empire has just started only a few years ago, so it was related to new things, right now they are focusing on incorporating Magic into the new technological gadgets, thus creating a full-fledged Magitek Civilization

Other races would be covered later, Nefertara I think already was mention or will be mention, not sure in which chapter... Elves, a bit problematic race right now, because I am rather unsure where to insert them, Ogres are technically speaking part of the Orklands as they are categorized all under the Greenskins in my fanfic, but yeah, we will see the Ogre Kingdoms at the later date...

Click to shrink...

Magitek - i like it,you could made working aiships with magic and their technology level.Carpet bombing enemy with magical bombs,maybe something making dust explosions?
Or magical napalm like wildfire,but stable and safe for users.

Elves - use them,where your story need it.They do not need to be WF clones,or WH40 assholes,but somebody who help your story work as you wish.

About other races - GRRM ,except childrens and his giants who could be in your Empire or not,wrote about some kind of lizardmen,flying people and mermens.
You could use them for good or bad end,too.

 

[ATP]

Trafford , i have few ideas which could be useful/or not/ in mixing magic with technology:

1.Thermobaric warheads - you need 1969 technology to made them,but if you use magic,you could made them in your story
2.Recon drones - you could use birds as such,if you warg into them.That is how warging should be used,by the way.
3.Guided bombs - you need at least 1943 technology for that,but with magic you could made them.
4.Radio - you could not made it,but magical radio should be possible to use for magical users.
5.Magical bullets and schells - much more deadly then normal.
6.Airships propelled by magic.


I think,that there is many other things which could be done,but i thought only about that

 

[Trafford]

"Great Resurgence and the Noble Houses of Westeros

When the Great Resurgence of Magic started in the Azyr, the ones that took the most significant changes were the contiínents of Westeros and Essos. When it became clear that the old order was dead and the new had come, people started adjusting to it.

Wizards and Sorcerers started appearing in Westeros; the long-forgotten abilities like Greenseers, Wargs, or Water Controllers were resurfacing one by one. Naturally, the changes were not only within the common people, but most significant were among the Nobility of the Seven Kingdoms.

Due to the return of Magic, people got physically stronger, faster, and more powerful. Due to their connection with the Lordran, some even prolonged their natural lifespans. Many Noble Houses rose to greater heights, and even more, were destroyed and forgotten by the passage of time.

Most notable of the period was House Stark of the North, who obtained power branches of Ice Magic and Warg Magic, naturally the connection and relationship that Lord Rickard Stark built with Elector Count House Stark an Russ.

Then there were House Nymeros Martell, famed for their various Magical abilities related to the Sand and Earth, but most importantly for the Water Control ability as descendants from the ancient Rhoynish Water Mages.

Aside from these two, there were naturally House Baratheon, famed for the strong affinity for the Lore of Heavens and House Lannister for the connection to the Lore of Metal.

Naturally, in a situation like this, it would be important to also tell something about the Greater Houses of Westeros that actually perished with the Great Upheaval of Magic.

Houses Tully and Tyrell became extinct directly due to the Great Upheaval of Magic because their Lineages were far more inferior to older, more powerful Magical Lineages of the world, which included many of their own vassals."

From the book series Great Resurgence written by Archmaester Marwyn of Citadel, Year unknown

***

Codex: Great Convention

The Great Convention is a treaty of the Unification of Lordran and the foundation of the Holy Arcadia Empire. It was brokered between the Imperial House Holswig-Schliestein, Greater Houses, The Healing Church, Byrgenwerth, Workshop and the Holy Arcadia Empire itself shortly after Emperor Karl-Franz unified Lordran.

Every Article of the Great Convention began with the term "The Forms must be obeyed."

One could think of the Great Convention as the constitution of the Holy Arcadia Empire and the contract between all factions of the Empire to coexist with each other.

***

The aftermath of another assault on the Skycrown Gate, which was termed as Fallings of the Dark, was instead a bittersweet victory. While the battle was won and the integrity of the lands of the Empire remained intact, the number of dead was high.

Especially considering the fact that many of the deceased were the members of the Reiksgarde and Holy Knight Executioners of the Healing Chruch. Silver Knight Order also suffered relatively high casualties together with the Imperial Legions and Provincial Army.

So yes, it left a weird feeling in many of the higher-ups with the Imperial machinery, and it was clear that this topic would need to be addressed. This attack showed them that they needed to focus more on cultivating high-level professionals and powerful combatants to fight against the Ruinious Powers in the future.

In regard to the Reiksgarde and Holy Knight Executioners, their number was relatively low because the Orders had only exactly 1,000 members. No less and no more, which has been shown to be not enough for the current needs of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

The dark times were coming, and they needed to be prepared for whatever they would encounter. It was clear that the relatively peaceful times of the Lands of Ancients had come to an end; now, the turbulent times were waiting for them.

But the Holy Imperator Karl Franz I. Holswig-Schliestein von Reikland de Anor was actually awaiting them with glee and happiness. The turbulent times that were coming for the Lordran, and later for the Westeros and Essos, and then for the entirety of the Azyr were also an opportunity.

An opportunity to bring the Holy Arcadia Empire to new heights... he was waiting for the opportunity, for the time, and he was already properly preparing for it. He already got some reports from the High Schoalrs of Byrgenwerth that the entire Azyr was undergoing another wave of Magic Resurgence.

Which was a shocking revelation in itself because of the consequences it was bringing with it...

While not entirely confirmed, it was very likely that the density of Magic would be increased significantly in the following decades. Soon enough, Westeros and Essos would be reversed into how they looked several thousand years ago and would be full-fledged magical continents.

And that was not talking about the mysterious landmass known as Sothoryos, which was something recorded rather extensively even within the Imperial Archives.

***

MC POV

It was finally the end; the final ceremony was nearing the end, as we were transporting the corpses of the deceased for burial. The members of the Reiksgarde to the Anor Londo, Holy Knights to the Yharnam, and Silver Knights to the Cainhurst.

Where their names would be engraved to be forever remembered as the heroes of the Imperial who put down their lives for a better tomorrow and fought against the evil forces of the Chaos and Abyss.

The losses of the Reiksgarde and Holy Knights were different from all others... they were all men and women whom I have known personally. To a great degree because they all represented the pinnacle of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

I could name every single one member of the Reiksgarde and Holy Knight Executioners because they were men and women whom I personally Knighted to the positions of either Reiksgarde or Holy Knight Executioners.

Not to mention, this would significantly weaken both organizations for some time, but on the other hand, to not see just the negatives, this was an opportunity for me to consolidate power in the Empire... once again.

And it also gives me a reason to finally create the Stormcast Eternals, as it was proposed a long time ago.

But since the Empire suffered such great losses in this battle, mainly thanks to more than 150 Level 3 Beings and several Level 4 commanders that fell, it changed the entire situation.

It gave me the reason, and that was all that was needed.

Still, having the Healing Church under the Divine Throne and completely merging together the Religious Power and State Power was very into the one was very appealing to me.

Still, that was for the future and something that would be announced at the Great Convention Council in a few months, probably in the half year because that was the fastest time how we could get it together.

"Soldiers of the Holy Arcadia Empire, proud sons and daughters of the Lordran. You have fought valiantly for the glory of our nation! Some of you died for protecting what you hold dear; some of you died against the blades of Ruinious Powers. The sacrifices that you made for the Empire shall not be forgotten, and they are never forgotten! The names of the dead shall be revered as the heroes of the Empire, as the Saints and Saintesses who put down their lives so the others could live in peace! Glory to the Victorious Fallen!"

I finished the speech atop the walls of the Skycrown Gate while looking at the Imperial Forces from the 6th Imperial Legion, 11th Imperial Legion, Provincial Army, elite forces of the Holy Arcadia Empire, and other units and people who participated in the Fallings of the Darkstorm.

"Glory to the Victorious Fallen!"

"Glory to the Victorious Fallen!"

"Glory to the Victorious Fallen!"

The Imperial Soldiers shouted in cheer because they were happy about the victory and also because there were never-forgotten soldiers with the Holy Arcadia Empire who died in service to the nation.

After I finished my speech for the soldiers, I wasn't very keen on remaining at the Skycrown Gate, so after exchanging some pleasantries with the Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes and his heir, I returned through the portal to the Faust.

***

Faust, the City of Miracles

After I returned to the Faust, I went directly to the Blackrose Castle, and I just wanted to sleep as I fell down on my enormous king-sized bed because I felt really exhausted from today's battle.

The walls are adorned with rich, deep colors such as burgundy, dark green, or royal blue. Elaborate, textured wallpapers with intricate patterns of damask, floral motifs, or ornate designs cover the walls from ceiling to wainscoting.

Gold leaf accents are hand-painted onto the intricate patterns, catching the light and adding an air of decadence. However, considering the status of the Imperial House, it was relatively modest; some wealthy Nobles or Merchants were even more opulent.

The room's focal point is a large, intricately carved four-poster bed with a towering canopy draped with rich fabrics like velvet, silk, or brocade. The bedposts are adorned with ornate finials, and the headboard showcases detailed woodwork or tufted upholstery.

The bedding is a combination of layers of fine linens, lace-trimmed pillows, and a sumptuous duvet.

Matching the bed's grandeur, you'll find a vanity with an ornate, tilting mirror surrounded by intricate carvings and delicate scrollwork. A dressing table holds an array of exquisite crystal perfume bottles, hairbrushes with ivory handles, and a silver tray with delicate jewelry.

Near the windows, there's a chaise lounge or a plush seating area upholstered in luxurious fabric, providing a cozy spot for reading or leisure.

A writing desk is placed against one wall, featuring intricate inlays and compartments for writing materials, and a plush; upholstered chair complements the desk.

I rarely felt this kind of tired like today, but all things considered, I was spending the whole morning and noon with Cersei shopping, and afterward, I went to the Skycrown Gate and fought against the entire Daemon horde.

Together with the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand.

Before the sleep took me out of the Waking World, I suddenly heard knocking on my door, which was rather surprising because there were not many people who would be disrupting me.

Aside from the fact that it was already evening.

"Enter."

I said while sitting up on the bed, though with my accurate hearing, I could hear who was knocking on the door. It seemed that my newest fiancé couldn't really wait to meet me, which was something that made me happy.

Being desired is always a very satisfying feeling.

"You were trying to stay awake just for me?"

I was genuinely surprised because she underwent the Blood Ministration only a few days ago, so her body was still in the adjustment period. When a person underwent the Blood Ministration, the process of adjustment and becoming a full-fledged superhuman took time.

And that time was measured in weeks, but even right now, Cersei had some qualities that were showing themselves, mainly enhanced senses learning capabilities and her physical strength could already overpower trained adult men.

That was rather impressive for a fifteen-year-old girl who had just now received the Blood Ministration. I estimated that within ten days or so, she would be strong enough to compete physically with powerful Orks and, within three weeks, Nobz.

It would take her at least two months or so to reach the standard physical capabilities of Level 4, but that was to be expected because she made a jump with her Blood Ministration.

"Isn't that obvious?"

She huffed at hearing such an obvious question.

"So you were worried for me... that's rather cute."

In truth, I wouldn't expect that she was still awake because she was worried about my well-being, which was indeed how it sounded... it was cute.

Hearing that, I knew that she huffed in annoyance but nevertheless sat down next to me.

***

3rd POV

Indeed, Cersei was somewhat worried about her finaceé going into such a dangerous conflict, even though they had known each other for a very short time. However, at the same time, even within Westeros, it was common for people who didn't really know each other to get married.

Mainly to secure the benefits for the Noble Families.

So, she didn't think that their relationship was developing fast; on the contrary, she would appreciate it if it went even faster. She had to admit that she found the entire persona of Warrior Emperor that her fianceé had highly appealing.

Not to mention, he was much older, appearance-wise, naturally, which further enhanced his charm in her eyes. And this was all without taking his personality and his efforts in supporting her dreams into account.

"Vicar Amelia relayed to me the news that the Skycrown Gate was under the biggest attack since probably its establishment."

Now that they counted the number of Greater Daemons and Daemon Nobles, it was indeed probably the most noteworthy attack on the Skycrown Gate since it was built.

"Yes, we lost many good men and women in that fight... but their sacrifice won't be in vain, and at the same time, it will allow me to smoothly call Great Convention Council to pass some more radical reforms..."

Karl Franz and Cersei were sitting on the bed and just talking because he found it weirdly comforting. Even with Maria, when they were not doing anything and just talked, it was something that was comforting on many fronts.

"What are you planning to do?"

She asked curiously as she played with her golden locks.

"Consolidation of power... reforms of the military and fusion of Church and State, soon enough the Healing Church would fell under the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder, as we all every other military unit within the Holy Arcadia Empire."

Cersei could agree with this sentiment because, in her head, everyone and everything should be under the might of the Divine Throne and the authority of the Imperial House. And now it would happen; she could see that the might of the Imperial House would be unmatched.

"So, would we continue our tour of the City tomorrow?"

She asked because today, their nice time together was cut short when he needed to depart for the frontlines to fight against the forces of Ruination. Still, she was rather satisfied with the results because she found many excellent pieces of jewelry, weapons, and other things that she bought.

"Yes, but after a few days, we need to depart for the Anor Londo, and the journey there would take some time."

Karl Franz said to her annoyance because she knew that three Holy Cites and Anor Londo were interconnected together through portals, something that she learned very fast.

"Can't we take the portal? Right now, we are in Klandor, and the journey to the heart of Reikland will take more than a few weeks."

She pointed like a little kid because she wasn't a fan of spending another few weeks in the war wagon, especially if they could just take the portal and arrive at the Anor Londo, the City of Gods, in a matter of mere moments.

"No, we can't... entering the Anor Londo in a more formal way through the main gates, and everything is another form of ceremony. Aside from that, there would be an Imperial Procession due to the situation on the frontlines and Skycrown Gate as I killed another Daemon Lord."

Hearing that once again brightened her mood because, during the time they spent together, Karl learned one thing about Cersei. She loved formal occasions like this, absolutely loved, and she was natural at them.

Contrary to Maria, who, when heard words like "Ball", "Dress" or something else in this direction, she was washed over by dread, and she tended to escape. So, from the gloomy mood, Cersei was eager for the format procession as she wanted to pick the best dress.

"Yes, yes, tomorrow we will go and pick up some formal clothing for you... I think there should be some shop in the Faust for that."

Karl said because he was partially just guessing right now, as he didn't really know if Faust had something like a shop for formal dresses for women. Considering the purpose and size of the City; it was highly possible that it would not, but for now, he didn't want to squash her excitement.

"Thank you very much."

She gave him a kiss on the cheeks and wrapped her hands around his neck like a koala for several seconds straight.

"You know, something like this is for certain..."

As she was pressing her body against his in a rather seductive position, which he didn't know if it was intentional or not, he noticed that her physique was becoming more and more toned and shaped.

All the training, physical exercises, and different diets started doing wonders; as for now, Cersei was spending most, if not all, of her free time either training in combat or reading books.

She wasn't her imp of a brother, who was buried in books since the day he could read, so at the start, she had some problems with concentration and learning because it was vastly different than being taught by a Maester.

"Today I read about the regime at the Schola Progenium... and I must say that I find it pretty strict..."

Karl Franz didn't know if she was going to complain about it or what, but he still entertained her thoughts about it.

"It is... very strict, but at the same time, it is the finest educational institution with the entire Holy Arcadia Empire and all people who graduate from there are considered as elites among the elites."

While Karl Franz never attended it as a student, he would often go to give lectures at some of the finest Imperial Universities.

Mainly at the Schola Progenium, Diesdorf Military College and Aquailla Academy.

"You would be okey; just a good advice: don't try to use your nobility status there... it never ends well in those cases."

One of the reasons why the Schola Progenium was considered the finest institution within the wider Imperium and also the one that brought the best result was its very strict regime.

"In there, the only thing that matters is merit and nothing more... even if you are a child of Elector Count, if you don't behave, you would still be punished like if you were a commoner."

Indeed, the conditions of the Schola Progenium were harsh, sometimes pretty harsh, but the results were speaking for themselves.

"..."

For several moments, his fiancé was looking at him, not knowing what to say because such things would be considered unthinkable within the Westeros and Essos.

"Don't worry about that... you will have some time to adjust to the new environment. I already spoke with the Headmaster about that and also, you would be fostered at Lady Annalise, so if you have any problem, you could ask for her help."

She had every advantage that she could get her hands on; most of them originated directly.

So, for that reason, Cersei was rather calm, but that was only still she didn't arrive at the Schola Progenium.

"But don't worry about that right now."

Karl Franz stated as he kissed her on her lips.

***

The next day, early in the morning.

While Cersei wasn't a morning person, but today she was as early up as possible.

Because today they were going to pick up a dress for the formal occasions, and naturally, because Karl Franz was essentially bullshitting yesterday, he needed to call his personal tailoring team from Anor Londo.

The good thing about that was that he didn't need to go through the arduous process of shopping, but at the same time, he would need to be present at the tailoring of the dress and all things around it.

Fortunately, as these were the Imperial Tailors that were making all of his clothes, not like he had many because his wardrobe was relatively modest, they worked really, really fast and precisely.

So even though something like a formal dress would take a lot of time, he knew that they would get it done very fast, and he also knew that it would be the most perfect dress for his little golden lioness.

So straight from the morning, the entire team of more than twenty best tailors of the Holy Arcadia Empire were working non-stop on her new dress. Because she would be participating in the Imperial Procession next to him, she needed to look as good as possible.

Nothing lower than perfection was not acceptable.

After her dress was finished, or rather after all menial tasks were done with it, like taking measurements, picking up the colors, themes, and trying the models that were already prepared, they could go to finish their tour of Faust.

"Please try this, my Lady; this is the material from Alpha-Class Danger Beasts, made from the fur of a Twin-Headed Golden Lion. It would be the perfect material to make the ornaments of Lions on the dress."

Her dress would be rather thematic because it would combine the colors of House Lannister, red and gold, together with patterns of Lion and Griffon, which were the symbols of her birth house and the Empire.

"And could you integrate the Sigil of the Twin-Tailed Comet and Imperial House?"

Hearing her ask made Karl Franz raise his brow because it was actually pretty smart with this. Not only would she, in one move, present her own birth House, but also the Imperial House and him as her fianceé.

"Of course, My Lady. Is there anything that you wish to add?"

The head tailor asked her as she nodded her head.

"Actually, yes, make it seem more traditional and conservative... something that would be appreciated mainly by the old noble families of Lordran."

Cersei certainly knew how to make the first impression, something that Karl Franz didn't really care if she wore a modern dress that was popular these days among the young noble ladies of the Empire or something more traditional.

Clothes were the most important on these occasions because they reflected status; they reflected the thoughts of the person who were them and could also send out powerful messages.

"It shall be done, my Lady; the first model would be done within eight hours."

The Head Tailor was a rather lean middle-aged man with long black hair and a rather gentle appearance. Eight hours was actually a very short time, but considering the skills of the people were confined to the title of Imperial Tailor, it was to be expected.

Yes, there was a title of "Imperial Tailor" awarded to the personal Tailors who worked in the Imperial Palace and were creating the clothes of the members of the Imperial House.

After they got her the dress, Karl Franz took her back on the tourney through the Faust, as the City itself was enormous, and because of the lack of people, it looked like a ghost town, but it was also a very tranquil place.

They returned to the Faust because it was already noon; they had spent almost three hours in a designer room with the tailors and stylists who were working on her dress.

***

MC POV

I was showing Cersei around the Faust; we were going from one place to another. One thing unique about the Faust was that, after we checked the Trade District of the City, we went to the other District of the Main Floating Island of the Faust.

All three Holy Cities and Anor Londo the City of Gods, were always tranquil and peaceful due to the fact that all three, despite their vast size, had relatively small populations, giving the places another kind of charm.

After the Faust, Anor Londo was a city that had the smallest population, numbering only slightly above a hundred thousand or so of permanent residents, which was only a little more than the Faust had.

Yharnam also didn't have a big population of permanent residents, as most of its inhabitants were members of the Clergy, Priests and, naturally, the pilgrims that were going on pilgrimage to the Holy City of the Healing Church and Religion of the Great Ones.

Because it was noon, we went to the restaurant where we were originally going yesterday for dinner, but the launch was also good. Ironically, though, the restaurant where we were going was opened by one of the former Imperial Chefs who were in charge of the kitchens in the Imperial Palace of Anor Londo.

This alone attracted a lot of Nobles, high-level Professionals, and powerful Wizards that were living in the Faust. Some were coming even from the far corners of the Empire to try the cuisine of Chef Osmont Jamelin and his wife, Edelina Jamelin.

It was a mix of traditional Brettonian cuisine with elements of Reikland's traditional cuisine and obviously, every single dish was made from very precious and rare ingredients.

"It is empty here..."

Cersei stated as we went to a huge building that looked very unassuming and was similar to other buildings that were in the other districts of the Faust.

"Yes, it is... not many people have money to pay even for a single dish prepared here, not only due to the prestige of this place but also because the ingredients are something that would bankrupt some lesser Nobles."

I said as we were led to the top floor, to private VIP cabins reserved only for the guests of the highest honor.

Obviously, only after we signed into the book of guests did the restaurant could throw around its newly found status of hosting the Holy Imperator.

Not that I minded that... capitalism was developing within the Empire at a steady pace, and more and more people were trying their luck with becoming entrepreneurs, merchants and so on...

"Greetings, Your Holy Majesty, My Lady. Have you chosen your meal?"

As they sat down behind the table with a good view of the rest of the city, as they were on the top floor of the building with the best view, a waitress came to them. I had to admit that by standards of beauty, she would be ranked at the upper percentage and she wore a rather stylish yet simple uniform.

"Yes, Special Menu Number 3 two times."

I said after I skimmed the menu quickly.

It consisted of a simple appetizer of Egg Benedict made from Royal Flame Chicken, a Class Gamma Danger Beast, onion soup made from Brettonian Onions and cheese from Two-Headed Brown Cow, the main dish was Fire Dragon Steak made from the meat of Special Class Flame Dragon, and desert was a surprise of the chef.

The price of one menu was a staggering 5,000 Gold Reichsmarks... which was a very high number for a single dish, but as I said, this place wasn't even for ordinary nobles or merchants or Professionals.

Only for the most powerful or richest.

And the fact that it was in the Faust also didn't help the prices to get lower.

Anything that was stationed within the Three Holy Cities and Anor Londo wasn't ordinary.

And of course, we had the meal for free, because the restaurant "Fat Dragon" could use it as an advertisement for their place. Naturally, any spot that was visited by the Holy Imperator would attract a lot of people just by this fact alone and they were greatly capitalizing on it.

"A real dragon meat as the main dish?"

Even Cersei looked at the menu skeptically because the average adult dragon was a Special Class Danger Beast that would require Level 5 to subjugate it... this was extravagance not even her father would entertain and even Tywin Lannister, with all of his gold, wouldn't pay 15,000 Golden Dragon for one lunch.

"Yes... though restaurants like this are relatively rare within the Empire, not many places offer ingredients of powerful Danger Beasts, so most are only with the Three Holy Cities, Anor Londo and Provincial Capitals..."

She nodded at that because that seemed logical; even most nobles wouldn't be able to pay for that, but she enjoyed such luxury and spending money. Though at the same time, I was already instilling into her that it was okay to spend money as long as you could make it back.

So, as one of the tests I prepared for her was to create an alternative means of business...

In her family, they knew how to make money and gold; her father was a prime example of that fact.

I already heard that he was taking note of the Empire and established a chamber of commerce called Lannister Trading Company that would focus on reselling things imported from the Empire to the rest of Westeros and Essos.

It was a rather smart move because Westeros and Essos represented an enormous market, especially the Seven Kingdoms, some of the Free Cities and Empires further east.

Even the Imperial House itself, aside from various investments, had a trading organization called CHOAM, or by the full name Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, under its control.

"So, have you decided on what to do with the task?"

I asked; previously, I offered her an initial investment of 20,000 Golden Reichsmarks so she could create her own income. One of the common problems of Monarchies was that the ruling families were typically using the state money on themselves and sometimes too much of the state money.

On Earth, it led to the fall of many regimes because sooner or later, the extravagant lifestyle of the Royal Family would be very hard to sustain, so for that reason, I created a rule for myself and my future descendants that they got only a very limited amount of money from the Imperial Treasury.

If they wanted more, they would need to earn it by themselves and that was a rule even I followed to make an example. Even Maria, if she wanted something, she would work as a Monster Hunter, a very profitable job and equally dangerous.

Most nobles followed this example with the Empire, either from their own initiative to not look bad and incompetent before the Divine Throne or Landsraad or from their own initiative.

"Yes, invention, creation and selling of beauty products for women."

I raised my brow at that because while it sounded clisché or something in that way, this was actually a very lucrative market. Considering the fact that things like soap or beauty products were exceedingly rare with the Westeros and Essos.

Even in the Empire, women would pay an extraordinary amount of gold for anything related to beauty care, be it soaps, various oils, potions against wrinkles, or potions prolonging youthful appetence or rejuvenation.

"We are rather devious, are we?"

She agreed with me proudly, actually very satisfied with herself on this one.

"Actually not, I will be just providing what the people need and get gold for it... as simple as that, though I will need how to bypass father's influence, I don't want to share profits..."

Now she was speaking like a true Lannister; I suspected that if Tywin heard her, he would be proud... considering the fact that his eldest son wasn't really bright mind aside from the swordsmanship and combat and his youngest son was an imp...

"If you were a man, you would certainly be venerated as the genius of millennia within the Seven Kingdoms."

I couldn't help but tease her a bit, and also, I also wanted to see her reaction to my provocations.

"So what? I will show them that I am better than all of them combined together."

She said haughtily with brimming confidence, something that I really found appealing to her; she had good potential... Indeed, she wasn't naturally some genius or someone so talented, but at the same time, those things could be made with some hard work.

"Then I am proud of you..."

When I said that, I noticed a lone tear escaping her eye, which she very fast wiped to hide that she was crying. Probably, unfortunately, chose a combination of time and words because I suspected that this was something she wanted to always hear from her father.

Cersei Lannister was always very eager to prove herself that she was as smart or capable as her father... It was one of the bad habits that she had; she always tried to prove she could live up to the Lannister reputation that her father built.

That and her overconfidence were something on that I needed to thread carefully... because such habits would typically end not very well...

***

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[ATP]

Tully and Tyrrels perished....NOOOOOOO !

Jokes aside - it was obvious,they do not have old magic,and many of their vassals had.If i remember correctly,one of Tyrrel vassals was giant descendents,other children,and there could be mermens,too.

When magic come back,their days were numbered.

Dragon steaks...i remember at least one manga focused on food made from magical beasts.

P.S i hope, That Starks would not get any Tully doughters here,maybe some Russ instead? and.what about Arryns? did they get wiped out here,too?

Found one of food dungeon manga/finished,97 chapters/ turned into anime.Here:


Manga is good,dunno about anime.

 

[Trafford]

Tully and Tyrrels perished....NOOOOOOO !

Jokes aside - it was obvious,they do not have old magic,and many of their vassals had.If i remember correctly,one of Tyrrel vassals was giant descendents,other children,and there could be mermens,too.

When magic come back,their days were numbered.

Dragon steaks...i remember at least one manga focused on food made from magical beasts.

P.S i hope, That Starks would not get any Tully doughters here,maybe some Russ instead? and.what about Arryns? did they get wiped out here,too?

Found one of food dungeon manga/finished,97 chapters/ turned into anime.Here:


Manga is good,dunno about anime.

Click to shrink...

The political climate in the Vale of Arryn is vastly different to the of the Reach and Riverlands due to several things. Firstly, the Reach is pretty vast and there are several very powerful Houses that are much older than the Tyrells and had high political aspirations. For example, the House Hightower would be the best one, and in the Riverlands you have Freys who despite their rat-like House and nature, had numbers... Not to mention that neither Tullys or Tyrrels were respected or venetrated by their vassals, that was very different compared to the other Kingdoms... for example the North where Starks ruled supreme, same about the Westerlands and Stormlands or Dorne...
Vale of Arryn too had very high degree of loyalty towards their House not to mention, their Lineage of the First Arryn who conquered the Vale is special, contrary to the Tullys that were basically serfs for the Greyjoy before the Conquests and Tyrrels that had questionable ties to the Garth the Green Hand, who was something akin to a progenitor of the majority of the Reach houses.

 

[ATP]

The political climate in the Vale of Arryn is vastly different to the of the Reach and Riverlands due to several things. Firstly, the Reach is pretty vast and there are several very powerful Houses that are much older than the Tyrells and had high political aspirations. For example, the House Hightower would be the best one, and in the Riverlands you have Freys who despite their rat-like House and nature, had numbers... Not to mention that neither Tullys or Tyrrels were respected or venetrated by their vassals, that was very different compared to the other Kingdoms... for example the North where Starks ruled supreme, same about the Westerlands and Stormlands or Dorne...
Vale of Arryn too had very high degree of loyalty towards their House not to mention, their Lineage of the First Arryn who conquered the Vale is special, contrary to the Tullys that were basically serfs for the Greyjoy before the Conquests and Tyrrels that had questionable ties to the Garth the Green Hand, who was something akin to a progenitor of the majority of the Reach houses.

Click to shrink...

Thanks! in Tyrrel case,basically any other old family have better claims to be Garth descendent,Tully become important with dragons and should fall with them,and Arryns are old family,too.

But,would Arryns survive here ? they supposed to have children blood,too.At least Griffin Kings which ruled there.
By the way - would Arryns get griffins,if they survive?

 

[Trafford]

"Most of my children have already grown up, and many of those who haven't are only a waste of resources."

Ironblood Lord, Elector Count Jacques d'Orleáns.

***

Codex: WAAAGH!

"Waaagh!", which is a guttural slang for the word "War!", is an almighty phenomenon, an almost spiritual calling to war that fills every Greenskin with frenetic energy. It is the will of Gork and Mork made manifest, a power visible to Greenskins in many ways.

Shamans, as Greenskins calls their wizards, are also directly connected to their Gods. A Shaman can tap into that green power to blast foes or rouse Greenskins to greater heights of violence.

A Waaagh! is akin to a migrating invasion when some successful Warboss throws everything he's got against his chosen enemy and all the other species of the Greenskins flock to join him. It is truly a sight to freeze the blood - an unstoppable sea of green-skinned monsters swarming across the horizon, whooping, jeering, and yelling their barbarous war cries.

The Waaghs are periodically military campaigns / migrating invasions that the Greenskins unleash on the Lordran as part of their eternal desire to seek out combat and war. The term is an essential part of the Orkish "Kultur" around which the entire Greenskin society, if it can be called that, revolves.

The world quakes in fear of the resounding roar of the Waaagh!

***

3rd POV

Several weeks later, some kilometers away from the Anor Londo.

For the past two weeks and some days, Karl Franz and his fianceé, Cersei Lannister, were in the armored wagon en route to the Anor Londo, the City of Gods and Capital of the entire Holy Arcadia Empire.

Anor Londo was stationed in Grey Valley within the heart of the Grey Mountains; it was one of the most defended areas of the entire Holy Arcadia Empire.

The enormous Grey Mountains are so high and rugged that only a few passes cross them and cross over them; otherwise, it would end in sure death. The mountains are riddled with Dwarfen tunnels because the Grey Mountains, since the establishment of the Holy Arcadia Empire, were heavily militarized and many mining operations were started.

In the past, the Grey Mountains were the nest for the Greenkins, Mountain Trolls and even Skaven. Coujnmtless holds high above the region of Reikland were seas of Orks, Goblins, Gretche and naturally Danger Beasts...

Danger Beasts remained within the Greay Mountains till this day, but every single Greenskin, Mountain Troll or Skaven were brutally purged when the Holy Arcadia Empire was established because it was unacceptable that the Capital was a dangerous area.

The lower slopes of the Grey Mountains, however, are an important resource for the feudal lords of the Reikland. Here, they have sunk many mines, extracting minerals such as iron, gold, marble, and precious gems.

Now, the entirety of the Grey Mountains was turned into one enormous and comprehensive military complex, which was typically used to train the members of the Imperial Legions, Silver Knights, Reiksgarde, Holy Knights and other military units with the Imperial War Machine.

To make up for Cersei, Karl Franz took one of the biggest and most luxurious war wagons that were available within the Faust, so at least they had far more room.

So they were enjoyed rather a big luxury in the War Wagon; most of their time was either spent by reading or by cuddling and kissing.

Karl Franz noticed that his faicneé was becoming more and more affectionate with him and didn't have a problem with even more... intimate matters and acts.

Probably due to the culture of Westeros, where many people married without really knowing each other, she didn't have that problem. Such things were rare within the Holy Arcadia Empire because of the courtship period between people.

When people entered the courtship, they had a certain period of knowing each other; within the noble circles, this period was usually something around one year, sometimes even more, especially for the Elector Counts or other prestigious Lineages; the timeline was bigger.

So in the Empire, there was typically a long period before the marriage where people got to know each other.

"We would be soon arriving at the Anor Londo, we already passed most of the Gray Mountains, and we should already be in the perimeter of the city."

Kral Franz said as he looked through the window of the war wagon. They were already within the premises of the Anor Londo so that they would be soon enough arriving at the Celestial Gate...

Cersei was already wearing the clothes that the team of Imperial Tailors had handmade for her, and even the Holy Imperator had to admit that they were breathtaking. Combining multiple elements of symbols together but still maintaining the traditional and old-school feel.

The Imperial Procession was something rare; the last one happened around one hundred years ago when Karl Franz led Imperial Armies to crush the WAAAGH! of Ork Warboss Gnork that rose in the Grand Province of Brettonia and unleashed brutal WAAAGH! on the Empire.

That was one glorious sight, countless Greenskins rallied around the entirety of the Holy Arcadia Empire and even the attacks on the Grand Province of Orleáns got several times worse, to the point where most of the Reiksgarde was mobilized to fight against the Orks.

Fortunately, this Warboss was only Level 5 and didn't have many high-level Professionals, so the situation was resolved relatively swiftly.

Orks often depended on huge quantities like Daemons of Chaos, but contrary to the Daemons, they often lacked high-level Professionals; those were rare within the WAAAGH!.

"And it seems that we have arrived at the Sen's Fortress."

Sen's Fortress was a large fort that guarded the entrance to the Anor Londo... if someone wanted to enter the City of Gods, then there was only one sole path leading to the Grey Valley and that was through the Sen's Fortress.

The Fortress was Mastercraft made by the best dwarven stone shapers, blacksmiths and engineers and was generally considered an impregnable fortress. Guarded by the Silver Knguith Order, Battle Wizards and Reiksgarde together.

And there was also one Senior Hunter permanently stationed at the Sen's Fortress because it was in the end entrance to the Anor Londo. After controlling their documents, the war wagon passed through the Sen's Fortress and slowly headed towards their final destination.

***

One hour later, Gray Valley

"It seems that we have arrived..."

Karl Franz said when the war wagon stopped after another one hour of traveling in front of the gates of the Anor Londo. Both of them exited the War Wagon, while Cersei looked around, noticing that the area was...

Not what she expected...

Everywhere were trees, while the place was blending with nature, it didn't even remotely look like the Capital of the behemoth of the Empire like the Holy Arcadia Empire was. She compared it to the King's Landing or Marienburg, which looked like more advanced cities.

"Welcome to the Capital of the Holy Arcadia Empire, City of Gods, Anor Londo!"

Karl Franz said theatrically as he spread his arms and pointed at the enormous looking gate of the Anor Londo, called Celestial Gate. The walls were high, very, very high and made from some kind of pure white stone, but still looked very sturdy and robust.

Anor Londo was a majestic, towering city that exuded an atmosphere of grandeur and beauty despite being steeped in darkness and decay. The city was situated around a mountain and was characterized by its towering architecture, intricate stone structures, and towering spires that reach towards the sky.

The city scape is dominated by its Imperial Palace,, built on the top of the Ashen Mountain, overseeing the entirety of the city with breathtaking beauty and wonder.

As the Holy Imperator took her hand, the gate of the Celestial Gate started opening slowly, under the music that was played for the start of the Imperial Procession, with tens of Reiksgarde and Holy Knights swarming around them, marching in perfectly orderly formation as their pristine armors were reflecting the sun rays that were falling on them.

"Rember, always smile, occasionally wave at the people and advance slowly with me..."

Karl Franz said as he took her hand and they continued together as the Celestial Gate opened and they entered the Anor Londo, the City of Gods. The entire alley was protected by two lines of Soldiers from the 1st Imperial Legion, which was stationed in the Anor Londo.

They were wearing their full armor, but contrary to the other Imperial Legions, whose armor was a combination of heavy leather, chainmail and some plates and helmets with facemasks, the soldiers of the 1st Imperial Legion had full-plated heavy armor and halberds.

"All Hail the Holy Imperator!"

All of the soldiers raised their halberds high in the air, creating a roof-like pattern for them to pass, as Karl Franz marched hand to hand with his fainceé, behind them, members of the Reiksgarde and Holy Knights.

There were thousands of people in the streets, cheering on the return of the Imperator because it was a big day. The news of the Holy Imperator slaying two Daemon Lords had already spread around the entire Lordran and people were celebrating such a feat.

The Daemons were the most hated and longtime enemies of the Holy Arcadia Empire; anyone who killed such a powerful Daemon would earn tremendous honor and typically also a rise to noble status.

As Karl Franz looked around him, he noticed that the majority of the inhabitants of the Anor Londo came to welcome back their ruler with cheers and happens. Aside from that, there was also immense respect and worship upon seeing the Holy Imperator.

The streets of the Anor Londo were wide, and the buildings were also very high, in typical old Lordraneese architecture.

Or In other words, during the night, Anor Londo was a pretty scary place, but when the sun was setting, it was one of the most beautiful sights in existence.

Cersei was walking with her arm interviewed with her fianceé as she was occasionally wawing at the people of the Capital. She was also surprised by the living standards of the people in the Anor Londo because everyone was wearing clothes that would put most of the nobles of Westeros to shame.

Naturally, the living standards of the commoners within the Holy Arcadia Empire were very high, much higher than that of Westeros and not to mention Essos, where the living standards were the lowest.

When she asked him why he was bothering with the smallfolk, he told her that people could live without the state, but the state cannot exist without the people. When the common people were pressed too much, they could also rise in rebellion and if the Monarch had the support of the common people, then he wouldn't need to fear any rebellion.

"Smile more and wave higher... We would be walking for around half an hour more."

The Holy Imperator whispered to her as she nodded and continued waving her hand and smiling at the people. They were using the longest path that was leading to the Imperial Palace.

Like other cities, Anor Londo was divided into several districts: Imperial District, Administration District, Trade District, Residental District, Cathedral District and Arcane District.

Every District was separated by layers of walls, while the Imperial District was actually protected by three layers of walls.

Among the crowds, there were also many members of the Nobility, ranging from the Grand Paladin Houses to members of Elector Count Lineages, Healing Church, or descendants of powerful Professionals that were living within the City of Gods.

"It is... far more impressive than you told me..."

The triple walls separating the Imperial District from the rest of the District were called Walls Maria, Rose and Sina. The three sets of walls were standing proudly, protecting the small sole mountain, while each set of walls was interconnected with each other with bridged.

This was the most protected and impenetrable place within the entire Holy Arcadia Empire, a masterpiece of the Bronzebeard Clan and the entirety of the Dwarves of the Khaz-Modan.

The protection of it befell onto the City Guard and 1st Imperial Legion, which was responsible for the safety of the Anor Londo.

Actually, every single Provincial Capital and bigger city had the right to have a City Guard so that it wouldn't be that burdening the Provincial Armies that are typically responsible for the safety and order within the entire Province.

"Yes, it is... one of the marvels of the Holy Arcadia Empire."

The trio of walls of Maria, Rose and Sina was something that was built on the order of Karl Franz; it wasn't part of the original Anor Londo. He felt that the Imperial District wasn't protected enough, so he ordered for this trio of walls to be built around the Ashen Mountain on which the Imperial Palace was built.

The Imperial Palace itself was built on the Ashen Mountain and was overseeing the rest of the city from its heightened position. The Imperial Palace itself was an imposing fortress palace, as it was built by Lord Gwyn with military purposes in mind as the first thing.

They passed through the checkpoints of the walls Maria, Rose and Sina and after they reached the last checkpoint, they appeared on the Ashen Mountain, standing right before the Imperial Palace of the Anor Londo.

Before them was a monumental fortress-palace that appeared like a cathedral with a huge stairway with the members of the Reiksgarde already in formation as they awaited their arrival at the Imperial Palace.

Karl Franz saw on the top of the stairway a General-Kommandant of the Reiksgarde, Atreus Atredeis and someone whom he didn't anticipate being here. A woman with shoulder-length blonde-silver hair, wearing the garbs of Hunters, was standing next to the General-Kommandant Atreus Atreides.

He could see her yellowish silver eyes shining as they locked their looks at each other; no words were needed to convey what they wanted to say.

"Maria..."

Karl Franz was surprised to see Maria here because he didn't think she would be patient enough to play with the Imperial Procession and other ceremonies. He thought that she would arrive only when all of these things were already done.

He felt a bit that Cersei stiffened when she looked at Lady Maria Vileblood of the Astral Clocktower because he swore that he saw some imaginary sparks between them take place as both women were observing each other with keen interest and newly formed rivalry.

"Your Majesty, Holy Imperator."

The General-Kommandant of the Reiksgarde Atreus Atredeis stepped forward as he kneeled in front of the Holy Imperator as a form of greeting, though he soon stood up after Karl Franz motioned him to stand up.

Atreus Atreides, as the General-Kommandant of the Reiksgarde, was responsible for the safety of the Imperial Palace of Anor Londo, and only a very limited number of people could enter the Imperial Palace and pass the so-called Ultimate Gate.

"Karl."

Contrary to what would one expect, Maria soon enough ran to him and enveloped him in a huge hug, completely ignoring his runic armor as he felt the imaginary bear hug forcing him to gasp for air.

"Maria, you would crush my armor..."

The Holy Imperator said jokingly as he put her down on the ground; Maria Vileblood wasn't really a fan of protocols of conduct and anything even remotely related to them, something that wasn't really appreciated by her mother, Annalise Vileblood.

Still, with her personality, it was clear that Maria wouldn't be inheriting the title of Lord High Magistrate of the Cainhurst, the City of Silver, as that responsibility would for sure befall the child between him and Maria.

He knew that with Maria's personality, she wouldn't be interested in any kind of politics or anything even remotely connected to it. So even for that, he needed someone to fill that role, so that was also one of the reasons why he was planning to take multiple spouses.

Not to mention, there was another more strategic reason, which was that, the Imperial House as it was right now, had one member... which was he himself, so technically speaking he needed to repopulate the Imperial Hosue and spread his superior Bloodline and heritage.

He knew that any of his children would become high-level Professionals without many problems so it would be only a boon for the Empire. If all of them reached just Level 5, even that would be considered as a tremendous increase in power of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

"So, you are the new one? Rather plain... and weak..."

Meanwhile, the Holy Imperator was lost in his thoughts; Lady Maria looked at the Cersei who was latching on his arms and said with a provocative smirk. Something that Cersei was warned beforehand that their "union" would become a thorn to many...

And naturally, many would either provoke her, mock her or try to challenge her; one of the first people would be Maria Vileblood, but mainly for different reasons compared to the rest of the people.

"Maybe or maybe not, for sure it is, that my assets and 'feminity' is much better than yours."

She immediately bit back, something that not many would do, but contrary to what most people would think Maria laughed hearing that.

"Good, at least you are not a coward... confidence would be much needed in upcoming years."

Maria had known Karl Franz for a long time, they had been together for centuries and she remembered when they first me at the Workshop as they were both pupils of the Gehrman the First Hunter.

If Karl Franz was regarded and venerated as the Father of the Holy Arcadia Empire, then Maria Vileblood would certainly be the Mother of the glorious nation. She was the one who supported Karl Franz in his endeavors of unifying the Lordran.

She was one who shared his hardships and happiness; she was also the sole person who knew about his past life and everything related to it; one could say they were soulmates in every single sense.

"Maria Vileblood, Heir of the Lord High Magistrate of the Cainhurst, Senior Hunter of the Workshop at your service."

Instantly she went to the more professional side of hers as she clapped her legs together and gave her traditional Imperial Noblity bow with a formal introduction.

"Cersei Lannister, no glorious titles to yours, but soon there would be."

Young lioness tried to imitate the greeting to both Karl's and Maria's chuckled, as Maria already started taking liking to her, because she was bold, confident and round... not to mention that soon enough they would be living together at the Cainhurst.

"Come on you two, we need to give Cersei the tour over the Imperial Palace at first and then talk about some things in private."

Karl Franz said as the enormous gate leading to the Imperial Palace, the Ultimate Gate was opening and welcoming the return of the Holy Imperator.

Both of his fianceés took his side, with Maria taking his left arm and Cersei his right arm, as they entered together into the Imperial Palace of the Anor Londo guided by the contingent of the Reiksgarde.

***

MC POV

Courtyard of the Imperial Palace

Despite the huge size of the Imperial Palace, there were not many people up there. Actually, it was rather empty. Imperial Palace housed only a very small number of people; aside from the Reiksgarde, there were some servants, cooks, butlers and so on...

Though the total number of inhabitants didn't exceed 1,000 without the Reiksgarede naturally, which was for a palace of these proportions too little one could say.

"So, how was your trip to the Westeros?"

Maria was one of the few people who knew about my trip to Westeros and the real reason why we were actually going there.

"Rather good... shame the appearance of Daemon Lord Demogorgon cut it short, but we obtain a lot..."

Minister of Foreign Affairs Carla Linda Schopenhauer should arrive at the Westerlands around this time, plus or minus a few days to negotiate the rest of the agreement with my future father-in-law.

According to some Scholars who were left in the Westerlands together with one Division of Silver Knights, it seemed that some new precious metals were found within the mines of the Westeralds...

Including Titanine.

Yes, there was only a bit of it, but the possibility of Titanine Mine was something that couldn't be ignored because Titanine was the most precious metal within the entire Lordran, often even termed as Godmetal.

It seemed that the Magic Resurgence was slowly showing itself within the Westeros and more and more magical metals will start appearing there one by one. Of course, soon enough the effects would be felt even on the Lordran.

"That good that you brought someone back? What was the reason?"

I was sitting together with Maria in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace while Cersei was unpacking her things in what would be her room at the Imperial Palace until we are wed; then she would move to my chambers which I am right now sharing with Maria.

Of course, we don't have separate chambers... wink.

The courtyard was encircled by imposing walls of aged, weathered stone. Turrets rose at intervals along the walls, their conical spires reaching towards the heavens. Delicate tracery, intricate carvings, and latticed windows adorn the walls, casting delicate shadows in the light that filters down from the sky.

The ground was a mosaic of stone slabs, each worn smooth by centuries of footsteps. Moss and ivy have taken root in the crevices, their verdant fingers crawling upward in a slow, deliberate dance. A central pathway, framed by gravel and bordered by overgrown hedges, beckons you deeper into the courtyard's embrace.

Sunlight trickled through the intricate stained glass windows that lined the upper reaches of the courtyard, casting a kaleidoscope of colors onto the ground below.

In the midst of the courtyard, a stone fountain stands as a quiet sentinel. Its basin, sculpted with meticulous precision, cradles water that trickles from the mouths of grotesque gargoyles perched at the fountain's edge.

The sound of water murmuring and splashing provides a soothing counterpoint to the courtyard's dramatic ambiance. Torches and lanterns, strategically placed along the walls, flicker to life, casting dancing shadows that seem to conjure stories of long-forgotten times.

"Would you believe that the same reason as you? The Fate? Not to mention, she has a good potential if it is developed properly."

I said as I looked around the courtyard, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere of the place, which was very relaxing on my psyche.

"You seriously think that?"

Maria asked me suspiciously because it wasn't every day I praised someone, and at the same time, she was wondering for my reasons.

"Yes, she has a good mind, though your mother would need to beat a few bad habits out of her, but aside from that she has the potential to become an excellent politician and schemer. Aise from that, apparently she has a very powerful aptitude for Magic according to the Supreme Patriarch Balthasar Gelt."

Hearing that made Maria relax because I knew that while she wasn't really against me having an "harem", she knew that several centuries ago when I was just a teen from my previous life, it was my dream.

But she had the condition of approving my choices, not in this one as it happened too soon and out of nowhere.

"And the rest?"

And naturally, the political ramifications were another thing... especially with the Great Resurgence of Magic in Azyr.

"The Westerlands has strategical reserves of Lacrimas, Dimeritium and from the latest reports, they even found Adamantium, Orichalcum and even... bits of Titanium. Not to mention, the Westerlands could be used to propagate our interests within the Westeros and Essos."

How unfortunate it was that the Holy Arcadia Empire didn't have enough manpower to actually wage wars outside of the Lordran. Yes, we may have some if it was carefully planned, but unfortunately, as we were right now, there were many factors tying the majority of our forces down in the Lordran.

"What about the rest of the Known World? Essos, Sothoryos and Ulthos?"

Maria asked with excitement because she actually wanted to travel and see the places for herself. She had a very adventurous spirit and wanted to explore the Azyr; she already traveled through the majority of the Lordran; actually, we traveled mostly together because it was a thing for us.

Or in other words, we could spend time alone and fuck as much as we want.

"Essos is a mess that we are staying out for now, though the Imperial Intelligence Agency would soon start infiltrating it; there should be a few rather dangerous factions within the Essos and the other two are big unknowns."

I said as I remembered that Essos right now was a very dangerous place and had a significant presence of Magic, not to mention it was very big. Not as big as Lordran, but it would be big enough to accommodate 6 or 7 Grand Provinces as Lordran was an enormous continent.

Even though for most of the part it wasn't inhabited, something that was neglected for many millennia couldn't done in a few centuries as repopulation of the Lordran was taking a long and it would take a long time.

"Not to mention it would take a long time for the Imperial Intelligence to penetrate deep into the Essos, especially into the Eastern Essos beyond the Bone Mountains."

Western Essos was divided between the so-called Free Cities and Slaver's Bay with Dothraki playing one of the most significant factions within the entire Western Essos. The Eastern Essos was largely unknown to us, aside from the Golden Empire of Yi Ti and Shadow Lands.

"How is the situation with the Stormwind?"

Stormwind was one of the Grand Provinces within the Empire, under the control of Elector House Cross. It bordered with Grand Province of Orleáns, Grand Province of Faelon, Grand Province of Caladan and Grand Province of Munn and was right now one of the more problematic territories within the Empire.

Mainly due to the badlands of Stormwind that were not under the control of the Empire but rather under the native highlander Barbarian Tribes. Their population was rather high, numbering a few million and they were very strong.

Most of their men and women were natural-born warriors; all of them were gifted with unnatural physical strength and vitality which made them rather fearsome opponents on the battlefield.

Not to mention, many of the Barbarians have innate resistance against Magic, rendering most of the weaker Battle Wizards and Spells virtually useless on the battlefield. Which made the situation considerably worse, and now they were united under the single banner.

Barbarians eschew the use of magic and technology, as they believe the use of such devices will only weaken their resolve. Barbarians have frequently expressed disdain for magic and those who wield it. Renowned for their combat prowess and arrogant demeanor, Barbarians appear to be perpetually girt for battle.

They excelled in physical combat; through the harsh conditions of the Badlands, they grew into a hardened society, and due to their constant clashes against the Orks, they were masterful warriors that elevated combat and killing to the art itself.

"Not good... the newly proclaimed Barbarian King, Worusk has declared himself as the second coming of the Immortal King Bul-Khatos and rallied to his banner all of the 32 Barbarian Tribes, and their army is right now numbering more than half a million or so according to the last reports. They have started concentrating at the Harrogath their Capital and there are talks of them declaring their own Kingdom..."

When I heard Maria saying that I sighed heavily because the situation got even worse than I expected.

"And on the higher end?"

It seemed that the full-out conflict with the Barbarians was indeed inevitable and it would hurt a lot. Nonetheless, when this was done, there wouldn't be any organized force within the Lordran resisting the might of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

"That is where we have an advantage for sure; the meeting in the Landsraad is scheduled for the next week. Elector Countess Klauda Marian is also asking for full-out mobilization of Hunters of the Workshop against the Barbarians..."

That was certainly a heavy question; the Hunter of the Old Workshop had never been mobilized for war since the establishment of the Holy Arcadia Empire. Ordering one or two Hunters was one thing, but mobilizing the entire Workshop was an entirely different matter.

"This is actually good... once again, is everything playing into my cards..."

I said with relief as Maria raised her brow at me, which led me to explain the future of the Empire and my plan to completely merge the Healing Church under the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder.

And naturally, the creation of the Stormcast Eternals...

"You would need to call the Great Convention Council for a move like this, but it is worth it even though there may be some opposition. With this done, the Imperial House will have all of the power in its hands."

I nodded at her words because for centuries I have been working diligently on this... The complete merger of Healing Church and Divine Throne wasn't something that was birthed in my head only recently.

And fusion of all elite forces of the Empire into one single coherent force directly under the Divine Throne and fanatically loyal to the Holy Imperator was also a long-term plan, but I knew that it would require time.

The unification of the Lordran showed me that... that it was impossible to do at the same time, so I bid my time and I had enough time.

For centuries, I have been preparing for this, creating my Image, strengthening the power of the Imperial House and slowly weakening the political and military power of the Nobility within my Empire.

With my reforms, it was easily done and after people adjusted to them, it became the norm.

Just like my other reforms will become the norm soon enough.

"Having a few thousand pinnacle warriors at Level 4 would ensure that the Empire withstand the passage of time."

Yes, it would... the Old Blood wasn't the only method within the Empire that could gift someone Agenlessness. Even though the average Level 4 Professional could live about two and half thousand years, I wanted the Stormcast Eternals to be Ageless.

"Yes... for that, the Night Well Plan has to come to fruition as soon as possible."

Only a few people knew about this plan; among them were Maria, High Chancellor Luca Brewster, Supreme Patriarch Balthasar Gelt, Gehrman the First Hunter, founder of the Byrgenwerth Big Hat Logan and Master Willem, Lady Annalise Vileblood and Grand Theogenist Volkmar the Grim.

The establishment of something like Nightwell would be something that would propel the Holy Arcadia Empire into a new age.

It would also be the symbol of my Divine Right given by the Great Ones to rule the Mortal Realms. Ironically, though, I wasn't the first person who came up with this idea; but rather, I am just finishing the dream of another...

Of the Lord Gwyn himself in this matter.

***

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[T4ndoris]

TFTC! I wonder what the night king is now:/. A frost Daemon? An elder god avatar? A random experiment? Also i hope Mc remember Euron greyjoy cuz the guy is more or less the antechrist in books so beware the kraken(even more since you know, cthullu)

 

[ATP]

TFTC! I wonder what the night king is now:/. A frost Daemon? An elder god avatar? A random experiment? Also i hope Mc remember Euron greyjoy cuz the guy is more or less the antechrist in books so beware the kraken(even more since you know, cthullu)

Click to shrink...

I think,that SI arleady take him as prisoner.
That aside - why fight Stormwind at all? if they win,they would have bigger frontier with orcs,and local population hating them.
About united elite forces,i have some idea:

 

[Trafford]

I think,that SI arleady take him as prisoner.
That aside - why fight Stormwind at all? if they win,they would have bigger frontier with orcs,and local population hating them.
About united elite forces,i have some idea:

Click to shrink...

They are not fighting Stormwind... rather within the Grand Province of Stormwind, there is a significant population of Barbarians within the huge region that is known as the Badlands which is not under the Imperial control... basically the last part of the territory of the known Lordran that is missing for the Karl Franz to tell that he rules the entirety of the civilized Lordran...

About the elite force, Stormcast Eternals... check them out as they look immensely cool...

 

[Trafford]

TFTC! I wonder what the night king is now:/. A frost Daemon? An elder god avatar? A random experiment? Also i hope Mc remember Euron greyjoy cuz the guy is more or less the antechrist in books so beware the kraken(even more since you know, cthullu)

Click to shrink...

Hmm... I didn't exactly decide what the Night King would be in my story, but he would be a threat even the Holy Imperium would need to take maximally seriously... I was thinking of making him the Lich King with intentions of ascending to Godhood like in the WoW...

And no... MC didn't forget about Euron, his status would be addressed in upcoming chapters...

 

[ATP]

They are not fighting Stormwind... rather within the Grand Province of Stormwind, there is a significant population of Barbarians within the huge region that is known as the Badlands which is not under the Imperial control... basically the last part of the territory of the known Lordran that is missing for the Karl Franz to tell that he rules the entirety of the civilized Lordran...

About the elite force, Stormcast Eternals... check them out as they look immensely cool...

Click to shrink...

Another reason to not fight them.Now those barbarians must fight orcs,when Emprah conqer them he would have bigger border to cover and barbarians fighting him in his state - becouse barbarians do not want empires and civilization,but freedom.
Better have Conan the barbarian as neighbour,then 30 conqered tribes fighting him to their last breath.

Hmm... I didn't exactly decide what the Night King would be in my story, but he would be a threat even the Holy Imperium would need to take maximally seriously... I was thinking of making him the Lich King with intentions of ascending to Godhood like in the WoW...

And no... MC didn't forget about Euron, his status would be addressed in upcoming chapters...

Click to shrink...

Good idea,canon Night King from show was weakling killed by Arya.If he fought your Emprah,Karl could die from laugh.

 

[Trafford]

Another reason to not fight them.Now those barbarians must fight orcs,when Emprah conqer them he would have bigger border to cover and barbarians fighting him in his state - becouse barbarians do not want empires and civilization,but freedom.
Better have Conan the barbarian as neighbour,then 30 conqered tribes fighting him to their last breath.



Good idea,canon Night King from show was weakling killed by Arya.If he fought your Emprah,Karl could die from laugh.

Click to shrink...

Imperium is going to conquer the Badlands, not the people; the Barbarians would be all exterminated to the last one, aside from a few that would serve as specimens for magical experiments... they are danger as many of them are corruptible to the Great Powers of Ruin and they won't bend the knee for the Imperium so the extinction is the sole solution... and for the border issue... check out the discord for the map of Lordran... entire Badlands Region is located at the edge of the Stormwind of Peninsula

 

[ATP]

Imperium is going to conquer the Badlands, not the people; the Barbarians would be all exterminated to the last one, aside from a few that would serve as specimens for magical experiments... they are danger as many of them are corruptible to the Great Powers of Ruin and they won't bend the knee for the Imperium so the extinction is the sole solution... and for the border issue... check out the discord for the map of Lordran... entire Badlands Region is located at the edge of the Stormwind of Peninsula

Click to shrink...

Then,it is no problem.Unless...new borders with orks would be longer then old one with Badlands.They would need more soldiers in this scenario.

 

[Trafford]

Its peninsula... meamning there is sea not orklands

 

[Trafford]

"Beware of the creatures of the Old Night..."

Source Unknown

***

Codex: Rune Knights

Rune knights were an ultimate display of power amongst the humans. Originally archers, defenders, frontliners, or even mages, they all had the ability to bear runes on their bodies. A Mid-Tier rune would raise the might of a melee fighter by thirty percent, putting a Level 1 Knight on the same Level as Level 2.

Rune knights were strategic forces, and legendary mages were strategic deterrents. Knights that have more than 3 Runes on their body. They are the elite of the Holy Arcadia Empire's armies and the turning point in his arms race and development of combat tactics for war.

Rune knights differed based on the Rune sets they used, but the threshold to form a Rune Knight was very high. This made many Noble Houses vie for the creation of Rune Knights among their Household Guards as the core of the Guard and elite force.

And thus, many powerful families had accumulated forces that were unique to them, the Winter Knights of the House Sark an Russ, Iron-Blood Knights of the House Orleáns, or Sardaukar Knights of the House Atreides.

***

"Combination of the Old Blood, Runes, Nightwell, Grail Essence and Holy Empowerment of the Great Ones would indeed push the standard to Level 4."

Maria stated as she thought it over... reaching Level 4 was probably the highest that they could create. Still, with all of these augmentation methods, they could create a top-notch Level 4 Professional.

Above that, everything else was incredibly challenging, even with the usage of the Old Blood and mastering it to a great degree. While the Old Blood gave off tremendous benefits, it was actually very difficult to master, like very, very hard to master.

Only a tiny percentage of people could reach Level 5 and higher Levels; they could be counted on one hand as it was relatively rare. Still, if everything were combined together, they would create a very powerful Level 4 warrior.

With great versatility, combat prowess, and even the potential to reach Level 5 for some of the more lucky ones . Still, even if they didn't reach Level 5, I predicted that with their capabilities, training, equipment and skills, one squad of Stormcast Eternals would be able to defeat even Level 5 beings.

The concept of Level wasn't really good, but it was the closest thing that we have come up with to categorize the strength of various beings so we could adequately send soldiers at them...

It would be rather a foolish thing to send ordinary footsoldiers at the Nobz, for example, as they would just pick them apart like nothing.

So for that one, the concept of Levels was pretty useful, but physical strength and speed weren't everything in the fight, so even though the concept of Levels was widespread across the Lordran, it wasn't everything.

Not for every species, it was very accurate, like it was for Daemons, Danger Beasts, Cleric Beasts, or some species of the Greenskins. For example, in the case of humans, it was sometimes very hard to accurately say someone's Level or his combat prowess.

Even though I was Level 6, I would have a solid chance against even Level 7 Greenskins and many of the Omega Danger Beasts. Naturally, I wouldn't really dare to fight Daemon Princes because those were entirely different realms of power due to their connection with the Chaos Gods.

"I also plan in the future to expand the Silver Knights at least by two Legions... having additionally 20,000 Silver Knights patrolling the Lordran would do us only good and with a finished wall at the borders with the Orklands, we may as we need it."

Maria agreed with my words...

Now that we have finished building an enormous wall entirely severing the Orklands from the rest of the Holy Arcadia Empire, it would create hell. Yeah, the idea was to hold Greenskins from the lands of the Empire, but this would only motivate them to attack us even more.

But at least most of the residential areas would be safe from the raids and attacks by the Greenskins. The Greenskins were a plague to the territories of the Holy Arcadia Empire; they were the ones who ravaged our lands the most and thus, they were considered as one of the prime threats.

"That seems rational... the presence of Silver Knights is needed to complement the standardized Imperial Legions. And with the wall separating the lands of the Empire from the Orklands, the Ork Tribes and Klanz would launch frenzy attacks... probably even more than till now."

The raids of the Greenskins on the territory of the Holy Arcadia Empire were the prime source of resources for the Greenskins. The Orks didn't build; they didn't farm or produce anything; they couldn't really create things; they could only wage wars, conquer and destroy things.

They were as simple as that.

"Even right now, they are attacking it, but not in great numbers; apparently, some of the greater Tribes got into conflict with each other, so right now, they are busy killing themselves."

I said one of the most typical Orkish things that could ever happen. The entire society of the Greenskins was separated into Warbands, Tribes, and Klanz. A Tribe consisted of multiple Warbands that consisted in turn of Orks and other species that were creating the Greenskins as a whole.

On the contrary, the Klanz were a more permanent thing because they were a permanent social grouping of like-minded fighters often marked out by the colors and crude Ork glyphs they displayed on their bodies and banners.

An Ork Klan is a massive group of Orks who share an enduring philosophical viewpoint on Greenskin's life. The great Greenskin thinker Orkimedes once postulated that "thinkin' iz for gitz, but everyone'z a git, so's ya might as well think like some other gitz" which has come, through the years, to mean the klanz.

While Ork tribes are constantly changing groups of Greenskins, breaking apart and reforming, Klan ties are more stable and enduring. Ork Klanz are the philosophical delineations representing the various aspects of the Orkish character.

Each klan has its own colors, markings, defining characteristics and ways of waging war.

"Stupid Greenskins... still, we need to reinforce the wall; when the Greenskins within the Orklands cease their conflicts, they will attack the fortifications with their full force."

Nobody exactly knew the size of the Orklands because it was almost night impossible to go around it with ships due to the Green Energy that was all around the Orklands. And nobody would really dare to wander into the Orklands because it was pure suicide.

While the forces of the Holy Arcadia Empire had some preliminary understanding of the Orklands, there were some minor expeditions into the Orklands done by the Empire or by the House Orleáns, so we knew some things about that dammed land.

"Should we retire to our chambers?"

Seeing Maria's stare at me, I nodded as we went to address some important "issues".

He was away for several weeks and now, Maria certainly had some tensions that she needed to release because her fianceé was away from her for a long time.

'Life is good... indeed...'

I thought, certainly a bit weirded by the statement inside my head, considering my past life on Earth.

***

3rd POV

Imperial Palace of the Anor Londo, several days later.

Days were passing relatively fast within the Anor Londo, the City of Gods.

Of course, they were for the Holy Imperator when he was spending the majority of his time with Maria as they were literarily fucking like rabbits, or he was helping Cersei to accommodate better to the Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace of the Anor Londo was enormous, so it took a good few days for Karl Franz to show his newest fainceé everything around here. Yesterday, he also took her to the animal/danger beast zone...

If it could be called that way because it was more luxurious than the entire Red Keep of Westeros.

And it was a place for Griffon Deathclaw to live, though not only him but also his mate, who now laid a clutch of eggs, so soon enough, there would be small griffons flying around the Imperial Palace.

Aside from that, after lazying around for a few days, he knew that it was time to get back to work, so he was already sitting inside his office. On the contrary to his status, his own office was a relatively small, cozy place.

There were a few leather chairs and a leather sofa of dark black color made from the leather of powerful Dangers Beasts. At the same time, there were a few pieces of furniture around the room, as the Holy Imperator himself was sitting behind a huge wooden table with stacks of documents in front of him.

On the table was a huge Lacrima Crystal that served as a transmitter for messages that needed to be delivered directly to him. Since the morning, he was tending to his paperwork, and there was already a considerable amount of it for the three weeks that he was away.

It wasn't a lot; he would actually have it done in a few hours because of the sturdy bureaucratic system that he had created in the Holy Arcadia Empire. If not for that, then there would be much more paperwork than it is right now.

"What is the next thing... Report about Euron Greyjoy... I kinda forgot about him that he was still within the Imperial Dungeons."

Karl Franz stroked his chin as he thought over the matter; he then made a mental note to solve this later, but not to forget, he also signed the paper to transfer the prisoner into a different part of the Imperial Dungeons for the VIP Guests...

It seemed that the madman was making a problem in the prison and constantly provoking guards, and he even managed to attack one of the guards who let himself be provoked by him...

He would need soon to deal with him; his experiences with naval warfare would certainly be useful for the Navy of the Holy Arcadia Empire. Now, our Navy was in a rather pathetic state; the Holy Arcadia Empire never really invested a lot of resources into the Navy.

The Empire, in the first place, never really needed a powerful naval presence for because there was no need for it till now... Most, if not all, fights and battles that the Empire led were done on the ground or in the air.

The Navy was put on secondary priority, and it was used only for delivering supplies and nothing more. Yet, with the addition of the contacts with the Westeros and now with potential expansion to the Essos, Sothoryos and Ulthos, there was now a great need for the Navy and even strengthening the Air Force.

"Now... what is there now... Nation Wide Portal Network Act?"

This was something that was talked about for a long time already because many were proposing to interconnect all of the major Cities and points of interest within the Holy Arcadia Empire with the nationwide portal network.

Right now, only six places were connected, and those were Anor Londo, Yharnam, Cainhurst, Faust, Skycrown Gate, and Ironblood Fortress at the Grand Province of Orleáns, which was the main defensive point against the Greenskins.

"It indeed has a great merit... though it will cost a lot of Reichscrowns and the maintenance won't be cheap either... but I guess we can still commercialize it and let it make money on its own maintenance, maybe even make back the initial costs..."

Of course, using the Portal Network won't be free and would require some money to use; Karl Franz was already thinking of how to make money from it. And what new taxes he would get to create... but not many or too high, as that would be detrimental to the Empire.

As the time continued to flow, soon enough, Karl Franz noticed that it was time for the Landsraad meeting, or rather, the meeting of the Landsraad would take place in one hour, so it would be prudent to be there ahead of time.

***

MC POV

"Do you want to go with me to the Landsraad meeting?"

I asked Cersei and Maria, or more like, the question itself was directed more at the golden lioness than the Lady of the Vilebloods because Maria would never voluntarily go to something as boring as the meeting of the Landsraad.

"I would be naturally delighted to go."

Cersei answered first with glee in her eyes because she was curious about the politics of the Empire, but to my shock, even Maria agreed with it and would go with us. This was something that I wasn't really expecting.

"Maria, you wanna go? Are you okey?"

I asked with faux concern as her brown twitched in anger.

"Of course I am okey, you dolt!"

Nobody could blame me for this because it was indeed really weird for Maria to actually participate in the meeting of the Landsraad. So, I suspected that something interesting would be taking place today within the Landsraad.

Perhaps judgment of some unruly nobles? Or Kanly between some hours... who knew...

"Yeh, yeh... we should come to be there ahead of time; I want to avoid flooding in."

Maria nodded at my words while Cersei looked confused until Maria explained that "flooding in" was that, when the meeting of the Landsraad was starting, most people and representatives of the Noble Houses would typically arrive in the last half an hour before the meeting started.

***

The building that houses the Landsraad was located within the heart of the Administration Discritct of the Anor Londo and looked like an enormous dome with a much smaller building adjusted to the dome.

The dome of the Landsraad was to rise from a massive granite podium 315 by 315 meters and 74 meters high to a total inclusive height of 290 meters. The diameter of the dome was 250 meters.

Inside the building of the Landsraad was a massive apse covered with gold mosaics and enclosing a giant silver statue of the symbol of the Holy Arcadia Empire, depicted as a Griffon beneath which is situated a throne for the Emperor and seats for the High Council.

From the podium there, speakers would be able to address more than several thousand people altogether. The entire place could house a few thousand people seated in three tiers of seats enclosing a giant circular arena.

"It is huge..."

I heard Cersei say when we were seated in our seats, with Maria sitting next to me and not in the seat for the High Lord Magistrate of the Cainhurst, the City of Silver.

The Imperial Nobles were divided based on their rank and affiliated with the Lesser Noble Houses, Greater Noble Houses, or the Healing Church and also had voting rights with the Landsraad...

'Though soon their votes would even formally belong to the Imperial House.'

"Yes, it's actually the building of the Landsraad is one of the biggest administrative buildings within the entire Holy Arcadia Empire."

I said as the huge building started getting full of people, most of them belonging to the Lesser Houses of the Nobility, as the Greater Houses consisted only of the Elector Counts and Lords High Magistrates.

About the next twenty minutes, more and more people were arriving at the meeting of the Lnadsraad, and soon enough, the entire meeting would start. Even the members of the High Council of the Landsraad were in their places, sitting beneath chairs beneath us.

"Order!"

Soon enough, throughout the entire place, the voice of the High Chancellor of the Holy Arcadia Empire was heard as he officially started this meeting.

"Now it seemed that everyone had arrived. I would like to ask for Elector Counts of Fenris and Khaz-Modan to maintain the civility of this fine institution and avoid any inappropriate behavior."

High Chancellor Luca Brewster said as he looked at the Elector Count of League of Khaz-Modan, Magni Bronzebeard and Leman Star an Russ Elector Count of Grand Province of Fenris sternly because both of them made a mess in the past few meetings.

"Now that we have all calmed down, we can start with the program and first voting. The program shall be as follows. 1st theme would be the Judgement of the Viceroy House of Mussilon of the Grand Province of Brettonia for misconduct, poor administration, abuse of power and other things. 2nd thing on the program is Kanly between Houses Lothbrok and Rundstadt. 3rd point on the program is the situation with the Barbarians at the Grand Province of Stormwind and the proposal for the Crusade by Elector Countess Klauda Cross and the last thing would be a speech for the Landsraad by His Majesty, Holy Imperator. Now let's proceed to the vote for the program."

After the lengthy reading done by the High Chancellor Luca Brewster, the members of the Landsraad started voting and soon enough, the program for today's meeting passed with 0:1,000.

"Now let's start with the first topic on the program, the Judgement of the House Mussilon."

As he said, everyone turned their sight in great anticipation because the last situation like this happened more than four hundred years ago. Rarely did the Viceroy Houses mismanage their territories enough for the Landsraad to intervene.

Most things are solved just by written notice from the Ministry of Domestic Affairs and some warnings and fines.

"Why does everyone look like we are going to watch some mummers play or what?"

Cersei asked as both me and Maria chuckled in amusement hearing that question.

"Because, technically speaking, this is the show... last time Viceroy House was judged at the Landsraad was 512 years ago with the House Bergenrein, where entire lineage was executed, so everyone is rather excited to see the drama."

When I said that, I could feel her shock because things like this would almost never happen in Westeros. Even if in the Westeros, the noble killed a few peasants, nobody would care, but in the Lordran, the situation was different.

Mainly because it was required to enforce very strict order and due to how developed the society of the Holy Arcadia Empire was, I knew that common people needed some sort of security against the members of the Nobility or they would cause problems.

And this wasn't talking about the fact that it gave me a perfect reason to sort out the bad apples that were leeching on my nation and have them all killed.

Soon enough, members of the Imperial Legion, more precisely the 1st Imperial Legion, together with one Grail Knight, dragged there a refined middle-aged man, who looked rather fat and sweaty as he was dragged into the meeting in chains.

"Julius Mussilon of the Viceroy House Mussilon of the Grand Province of Brettonia, you stand before the judgment panel of the Landsraad for abuse of power, mismanagement of your territory, non-action against the Ork WAAAGH! that appeared within your Viceroyalty three months ago which led to the death of several hundred of commoners. Furthermore, members of your House are or already were convicted for the murder of several commoners, and your Heir has been convicted guilty and executed for disobeying military orders of the Provincial Army under the leadership of Commander du'Lac."

Hearing all of that made the Nobility murmur among themselves, as everyone's body whispered while the main star of the event was sweating even more. Hearing the accusation, he knew that if he managed to get swift death, it would be considered a good result.

"How do you plead?"

The High Chancellor asked, as all eyes were on Justin Mussilon, who looked like he was about to faint at any given moment.

***

3rd POV

"He looks like a pig seeing butcher."

Now, hearing and seeing this, Cersei understood why her finaceé told her that this was a show. Because it indeed was, the fat man who was previously very important and rather powerful nobleman of the Empire was now sweating like a pig and he was stuck at what to see.

She remembered that Viceroys were the highest rank of the Lesser Noble Houses and were, technically speaking, the highest nobility status that one could get elevated to within the Holy Arcadia Empire.

If she had to compare it with the standards of the Seven Kingdoms of the Westeros, then Viceroys would be the most powerful Bannermen of the Wardens, though their military and economic power was far more powerful.

"Justin Mussilon, do you plead guilty or not?"

The High Chancellor Luca Brewster asked for the third time already, as the fat man in question was looking around, unsure of what to say, before his sight fell on the figures sitting on the highest parts of the Landsraad.

"Your Majesty! Please! I served well, paid taxes, and took care of the territory as it was ordered! Your Highnesses, please spare my life!"

So the only thing that he could do was, technically speaking, a rather crafty move because he planned to appeal to the youngest woman with golden hair and emerald green eyes who was sitting next to the Holy Imperator and plead for his life.

Considering the fact that she looked very young, probably around fourteen or fifteen years old, he thought that his plan might succeed. Unfortunately for him... If there was one thing that Cersei Lannister wasn't good at, it was forgiving people...

The golden lioness meanwhile looked at the Grail Knight standing behind Justin Mussilon and gave him a subtle nod, which made the Viceroy smile as he thought that he had succeeded, only to be met with an armored fist on his face as he fell on the ground groveling in pain.

Instantly afterward, one swift kick to the head knocked him unconscious.

"As it seemed that the Viceroy Mussilon refused to cooperate, it would be taken that he chose not to plead guilty. In regard to gathered evidence, the House Mussilon shall be stripped of their Title, their lands and wealth shall be confiscated by the state and all members of the House Mussilon connected with offenses shall be executed. Members of the House Mussilon who were not involved in any criminal activity but were aware of them were sentenced to a lifetime in the Death Battalions. The rest of the members of the House Mussilon shall lose all of their privileges and will return all possessions that they got from the House Mussilon."

With the judgment passed, the guards took the unconscious head of the former House of Mussilon to the chopping block. All people within the Landsraad understood the very moment when the accusations were read that the House Mussilon was done for.

"You did good for the first time... I knew that he would try to use you to get mercy for him or perhaps his House."

Karl Franz knew that the moment the accusations were read and he brought Cersei, that they would try to manipulate her for her to plead with him...

It could have probably worked with anyone else from Westeros because in Westeros, it was almost impossible to send entire Hosue to their death for something that most if not all, Nobles consider as something inconsequential.

With Cersei, who was a pretty ruthless and cruel person...

There was no chance, so for him, he was curious to see the situation develop.

Interestingly enough, the situation developed as Karl Franz predicted; she wasn't the person who was moved by something like this, not to mention in her head that all traitors deserved to die with their whole families.

"Now that the judgment of House Mousillon has been concluded, we can move on to the secondary topic. House Rundstedt has declared Kanly against the House Lothbrok."

As the High Chancellor proclaimed that, most of the people grinned hearing that; Maria looked amused by that, The High Chancellor was tired and Cersei looked confused as she leaned over to me.

"What is Kanly?"

She whispered and I proceeded to explain the fundamental nature of the word, term or even tradition at this point.

"Knaly is basically an enactment of formal feud or vendetta in a matter that complies with the Great Convention between Noble Houses, or even other subjects of the Empire; there is even a list of those who are entitled to declare Kanly. Basically, the act of Kanly is a way to allow bitter disputes to be resolved without a declaration of war and unnecessary destruction."

She looked genuinely surprised that the Empire had something like this.

In Westeros, one of the reasons why the Seven Kingdoms never really advanced beyond something other than what they already were was the fact that most of the Lords of Westeros were busy fighting with each other for petty reasons or scheming against one another.

Karl Franz created the concept of Kanly for this very own reason. Soon enough, two people walked up onto the podium. One of them was a gruff-looking man with blonde hair, a beard in the style of braid and electric blue eyes; basically, everything around him screamed the word viking.

Meanwhile, the other one looked like a refined gentleman and was much younger-looking than the blonde-haired man. He was also wearing a three-piece suit of the latest fashion within the Empire, contrary to the armor and wolf skins worn by his opponent.

"Now, please, Viceroy Berengar Rundstedt, to step forward with the reason for the Kanly and proposal."

Berengar Rundstedt was the son of General Rundstedt of the 6th Imperial Legion and certainly, he inherited some demeanor of his father.

"Thank you, Your Excellency. The reason for this Kanly is simple... this barbarian with a half-frozen brain has impregnated my sister and refused to take her as her wife and I demand satisfaction for his dishonor."

Karl Franz scoffed because this looked like a boring reason for a Kanly...

Though it was amusing to have two similar things taking place within the premises of the Landsraad.

Last time, it was Head of the Elector Count House Orleáns attacking Elector Count Leman Russ an Stark for sleeping with his daughter...

Within the Empire, the Landsraad was responsible for resolving conflicts or even hearing out the petitioners. In Westeros, the practice of hearing out the petitioners was up to the King, but Karl didn't really want to deal with this, so he delegated this responsibility to the Landsraad.

He dealt with only the most serious cases that required his attention.

"So, how would this be resolved?"

Cersei asked Karl from the side as she watched with interest.

"Depends... Fenrisians have a lot of rivalry with the Nobles of the Reikland and Brettonia to a certain degree, mainly due to differences with their cultures and traditions..."

The people of the Holy Arcadia Empire were gruff and hard people; considering the conditions they were living in, it wasn't anything that surprising as the danger was in every single corner.

So, the Imperial Nobility was much less focused on their petty squabbles with each other and rather focused on working for the "greater good" if it could be called such.

"They would probably shout at each other for some time, then fight in single combat to decide the conditions... Lothbrok certainly made a mistake, as he made the woman pregnant and if he didn't care for the child, then he would be viewed as a coward, especially among the Fenrisians; it would be a stain on their honor."

Maria said from the side, though hearing this was a rather great shock for the young Lannister from Westeros because Westerosi's practice of bastardy was completely opposite to the beliefs of the Empire.

"Ygnyrd Lothbrok, you have a podium."

Before the two of them started shouting at each other, High Chancellor Luca Brewster said with tired sight because this was the part that he hated when mediating meetings within the Landsraad.

Fortunately, most of the nobles, according to the Imperial Tradition, decided their own conflicts with single combat and only some more serious cases that would typically create scandals were brought to the Landsraad.

"Thank you, Your Excellency... It was not my fold that the woman spread her legs for me when she was so frustrated."

As expected from the Fenrisians... their tact was nowhere to be found, while most of the people here just chuckled hearing that, including the Emperor and Maria Vileblood, but Cersei gasped.

"You bastard! I will put your head on pike!"

Berengar Rundstedt lunged at the Fenrisian and threw him a punch directly in his face.

Unsurprisingly, the gruff-looking Ygnyrd Lothbrok dodged to the side, as his electric blue eyes narrowed his eyes and returned the punch and knocked the Berengar Rundstedt to the ground.

"Order! Order!"

Swiftly, both of them were separated by the soldiers of the Imperial Legion, separating the two brawling noblemen.

"For breaching the sanctity of the Landsraad, Berengar Rundstet, you are fined with a fine of 50,000 Golden Reichscrowns."

50,000 Golden Reichscrowns was a relatively high penalty.

"Now, as usual, we will proceed with the single combat to decide the outcome. Viceroy Rundstedt, what do you wish for as a form of satisfaction from the House Lothbrok and Ygnyrd Lothbrok?"

High Chancellor Luca Brewster asked tiredly as the Head of the House Rundstedt collected himself; whole he was enraged, he didn't really care about the fine, but he was more fearing the reaction of his father.

Old General Rundstedt would be actually delighted that his eldest daughter, Adelheid Rundstedt, would finally be married and even have a child. She was always pretty much unruly, and for the past decades, the only thing she was doing was dedicating her life to the Imperial Legion.

"I demand that he marries my sister or provides remuneration to the House Rundstedt..."

He said after some time of consideration because this was the best thing that he could get from the Lothbrok. He was also aware that the Kanly must be resolved to prevent any conflicts between the Nobility to prevent them from not working together.

"I never said that I won't marry her, though..."

Ygnyrd Lothbrok voiced his opinion from the side, which made the Berengar Rundstedt narrow his eyes at him. This one statement basically buried the hot-headed Berendar Rundstedt because it made the entire Kanly pointless, so the entire procedure went forward very quickly.

"Now that Ygnyrd Lothbrok said his piece, the Kanly of the House Rundstedt has been resolved before it could even start. Now for the last part of the program, which is a proposal of the Crusade against the Barbarian Tribes of Badlands by the Elector Countess Klauda Marian."

With each word, the situation was getting increasingly tense because the Barbarians in the Badlands became more and more powerful. Soon enough, they would represent a grave threat to the Empire.

Even right now, they were representing a significant threat, with their military potential, which was very strong and the Empire would need to take them seriously if they decided to launch the Crusade against the Barbarians.

***

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[ATP]

So, here were are once again...

Christmas is here, ding dong ding dong that is the song, the year has passed... so I wish you all a merry Christmas, a peaceful time at these holidays and a happy new year that is soon coming in one week...

And as usual, support me on the patreon, without the Patreon and patrons supporting my work there, I wouldn't be able to write or publish even a single sentence...

Thank you very much and hopefully we see each other on the patreon...

Trafford

Click to shrink...

Merry Christmas for you,too.

Asking Cersei for mercy - poor dude must never hear about Lannisters.
Orkimedes - remind me old soviet joke about philosophy being invented by two soviets - comrades Pantarejew and Pietia Goras.

And,he should use more technology in his army - peasants with good muskets could still kill knights.
And they need little training.
You could have large number of cheap militia which still could kill strong enemies that way.

 

[Trafford]

"Let the gold flow; there is nothing better than feeling of the gold."

Minister of Finance of the Holy Arcadia Empire, Blackgold Savek Stormhammer of Clan Stormhammer

***

Codex: The Healing Church

The Healing Church is a primary religious organization of the Holy Arcadia Empire, founded in Yharnam by Laurence the First Vicar and the very first Grand Theogenist of the Healing Church, shortly after the Expeditions into the Ancient Tombs underneath the Yharnam.

After the special condition of the Old Blood was given to the first humans by the Great Ones and the primary God of the Pantheon, the Formless God of Blood Oedon, Laurence, who was already a famous occultist, established a Church to worship the Great Ones and created the process of Blood Ministration.

The Highest Authority of the Healing Church is the Grand Theogenist, whose presence is only second to the Holy Chosen of the Great Ones, the instrument of the Great Ones in the Mortal Realms.

The upper echelons of the Church are collectively known as The Choir, which consists of the Vicars. They are the highest-ranking members of the Healing Church tasked with running the Religion. The Choir members are also voting on the new Grand Theogenist of the Healing Church.

***

The situation with the Barbarians in the Stormwind was looking terrible, far more than that... half a million combat-ready Barbarians, with many of them being High-Level Professionals, and they would soon enough march on the rest of the Stormwind.

The children of the Bul-Kathos were dangerous, and for years and years, they were being ignored by the Holy Arcadia Empire. Now that the Empire pacified situations within their Homeland, the only thing that remained were the Barbarians.

"Honored Members of the Landsraad, the situation with the Bul-Khatos and Harrogath is grave, and their threat already exceeded what could one Grand Province handle on its own; according to the latest reports, their army is numbering over half a million and still increasing."

Soon enough, the Elector Countess Klaud Marian stepped on the podium to deliver her petition for the Landsraad.

She was a woman of average height with a slim, fit physique. She had blonde hair and lightly colored purple eyes, and a large scar marks the upper portion of her face in an "X" formation, meeting between her eyes.

She wore the uniform of the Exorcist Knights of the House Marian uniform, which consisted of tight black pants worn under a skin-tight, sleeveless top with tails on either side of her legs, all trimmed in gold.

She also had thick gauntlets on her arms that almost reached her shoulders, as well as several belts that bore pouches along the back.

One-half of her face was covered by hair, which was a bit longer to cover half of her face completely, and she wore round red earrings.

"If we do not act swiftly and they march on the Stormwind, then the Province could remain only on the defensive; even with the combined forces of the 10th Imperial Legion and Provincial Army, we don't have enough manpower to subjugate the Badlands completely. For that, I ask the honored members of the Landsraad to declare the Crusade on the Children of Bul-Khatos and annihilate them once and for all."

Klaud Marian was the wife of Cross Marian; both of them were professional Daemon Hunters, and they were actually not even members of the nobles in the first place. Both of them were just ordinary Daemon Hunters till a few decades ago.

Karl Franz once met the couple when they were hunting for a powerful Daemon Lord within the Dark Lands and somehow, they managed to get into the position of Nobility within the Grand Province of Stormwind, which didn't have an Elector Count House as it was directly under the Imperial Administration as it was most problematic region since the establishment of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

"And what of their Leader? The new Barbarian King Wokun?"

This question came from the Elector Count of Caladan, Atreus Atreides, who was also participating in the meeting of the Landsraad. While he was General-Kommandant of the Reiksgarde, Karl Franz didn't really forbid him from doing his duties to the House.

"Confirmed Level 6, at least at the peak of it according to the energy readings that our Wizards managed to get their hands on. They have a few Chieftains among them that are also at Level 6, and there are several at Level 5; they have been gathering a lot of strength at a later date."

This caused murmurs to run through the Landsraad because the Children of Bul-Khatos were stronger than they had thought. Still, unfortunately, the Barbarians were silent for a long time, and the Holy Arcadia Empire needed to deal with preventing Orks from intervening in this...

Without building the wall at the south of the Grand Province of Orleáns, they couldn't pick up the fight with the Barbarians and risk of Orks and Barbarians allying with each other to push the Empire on two fronts simultaneously.

Aside from that, there was also a constant threat of Powers of Ruination intervening in that so that it would become a three-way war against the Empire. But now that the Orks were technically speaking solved thanks to the wall, it was one-on-one.

"The Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder acknowledges that the Barbarians of the Badlands need to be purged. Is there anyone who wants to say something before we proceed to the Vote?"

The High Chancellor Luca Brewster asked as he scanned the entire Landsraad with his eyes, and seeing that nobody had anything to say, he then initiated the voting procedure.

Voting within the Landsraad always went very swiftly as most Noble Houses came have sent representatives to sit on their Seat within the Landsraad with clear instructions on how to vote, not to mention it was streamed through the Lacrimas or they came by themselves.

Karl Franz from his throne, who was overseeing the entire Landsraad, was pushed yes for the motion as soon as the entire voting procedure had ended, and now it was time to read the results of the Vote.

"The Landsraad has decided. The motion proposed by the has passed in the ratio of 0:1,000. The Children of Bul-Khatos have been declared the enemy of the Holy Arcadia Empire, and the Empire would launch a Crusade against them with one sole purpose of annihilation of the Barbarians of Bul-Khatos and conquer the Badlands of the Stormwind."

Soon enough, the entire Landsraad erupted in cheers as the Holy Arcadia Empire marched once again to war and expanded its territories. The Arcadians were always keen on expanding their territory, even though they rather focused on empty territories for pioneering.

"Now the Holy Imperator will officially declare the Crusade and also give a speech for the Empire with one important matter."

Instantly, the entire Landsraad quieted down as Karl Franz stood up from the podium and stepped on the speech desk to give the speech for the Landsraad as he would officially declare the Crusade against the Barbarians of the Badlands.

This was the standard procedure as all of these acts were declared officially by the Holy Imperator; it was one of the few things that Karl Franz, as the head of state, was formally doing within the Landsraad.

"Honored Members of the Landsraad, according to the wishes of the Landsraad, it is time to deal with the threat that is endangering the sovereignty of the Holy Arcadia Empire. It is finally time to address the threat of the Children of Bul-Khatos and put an end to their existence for all eternity. In the name of the Holy Arcadia Empire, I declare a crusade against the Barbarians of the Badlands. All other things would be left to the Imperial Bashar, who would devise the entire operation."

As Karl Franz declared the Crusade against the Badlands, the entire Landsraad stood up and clapped their hands in cheering thunderous applause upon the declaration of war. For Arcadians, the war was something that was welcomed by all because they could obtain a lot.

Commoners could have risen to the status of Nobility while existing Nobles could obtain merits and additional rewards for performing well in the War.

Not to mention, if they managed to pacify the last problematic territory within the Homeland, a lot of Imperial Forces would be available to be deployed at the other parts of the Empire.

"And as the final thing in the meeting, Landsraad, I have some serious thing to announce."

Suddenly, the whole Landraad quieted down as everyone waited for the further announcement.

"Due to the situation with the Skycrown Gate and the losses the Holy Arcadia Empire has suffered at the battle against the Daemon Horde led by the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand, I have decided to call a Great Convention Council to discuss certain matters that would influence the Holy Arcadia Empire for the millennia to come..."

This came out as a great shock to all members of the Landsraad because the last Great Convention Council was during the time when the Holy Arcadia Empire was established, almost seven or eight centuries ago.

"Order! Order! Order within the halls of the Landsraad!"

High Chancellor Luca Brewster said as the entire halls of the Landsraad quieted down in mere minutes. When Karl Franz finished his speech, it meant that the meeting of the Landsraad has been ended.

"Now that all has been said, the meeting of the Landsraad has been concluded."

Karl Franz then went to Maria and Cersei, who were waiting for him, as they, then departed back to the premises of the Imperial Palace of Anor Londo.

"It was rather interesting?"

As they were sitting in the armored carriage and were heading toward the Imperial Palace, both women had heavier clothing on them, as it was getting cold at this time of year in the Reikland.

In truth, Lordran, in its entirety, was a rather cold place, even with the warmest provinces, which were Munn and Stormwind would be considered cold in Westeros. Most of the country was as cold as North in the Westeros most of the year.

Only a few weeks during the years, it was getting warmer, but only in certain areas of the Lordran.

"Then you didn't see anything; if there are territorial disputes or conflicts between merchants, those are far more interesting, or if the conflicts between Wizards are brought to the Landsraad. Such cases are exceedingly rare, but those are the most entertaining."

Lady Maria said with a chuckle that today's meeting of the Landsraad was relatively boring, and even Karl Franz agreed with her statement because it was mildly boring. He would rather prefer Wizards squabbling with each other; that one proved much more entertaining.

"Don't worry; in the future, you will need to participate in every meeting of the Landsraad, at least from the start, then you can ditch it on the representative."

Karl Franz scoffed hearing that because he didn't like Cersei getting Maria's bad habits and corrupting her. She certainly had a lot of bad habits that he didn't wish for Cersei to learn from her.

"Maria, stop corrupting her."

The Holy Imperator hugged Cersei and jokingly said as he looked at the Lady of the Vilebloods. In truth, from his side, it was a half-joke; he didn't like anyone else getting Maria's bad habits of not fulfilling her duties.

"I am not corrupting her, just giving her advice on what to do... you know... It's boring..."

Maria said with a frown, looking at Karl Franz and Cersei Lannister as she would much prefer fighting with Danger Beasts or anything than just doing some boring administration work and so on.

"Don't worry... Cersei would not be like you, who is constantly running for her duties; she would be a prime example of a splendid politician."

The Holy Imperator stated as he kissed Cersei's neck, causing the young girl to giggle as she felt Karl's hands roaming down to her body, as she was feeling increasingly horny.

Karl Franz hadn't slept with her yet because her body was still acclimatizing to the Old Blood, but he noticed that she had been seducing him for the past few days.

She grew increasingly bold during her stay at the Imperial Palace.

Karl Franz didn't know the reason for that, but he knew that it probably stemmed from her talking with Maria; they were constantly together and whispering something and giggling to each other.

"You are spending too much time with Maria lately... it has been turning you into little minx..."

Karl Franz said as he groped her breasts, causing the young woman to moan uncontrollably.

"Maybe... I have something that I want to have..."

She whispered into his ear with a seductive tone of voice as he shuddered slightly, hearing her tone of voice.

"Wait a few more weeks until your body completely assimilates the Old Blood, and I will fuck your soul out of your body."

Karl Franz whispered into her; as she visibly shuddered when she heard that because that was exactly his plan to do. While she was around fifteen years old, she already had a body worth of seductress, and her beauty would make others to kill for.

"I cannot wait for that already... my dear Emperor..."

She returned with a whisper as she bit his earlobe a bit.

***

After the end of the meeting of the Landsraad

As the meeting of the Landsraad ended, the entire Imperial Warmachine started working because the orders were set.

The speech of the Holy Imperator in the Landsraad and his declaration of Crusade against the Barbarians of Badlands soon enough resounded through every single Noble House of the Holy Arcadia Empire, and everyone started working.

The Imperial Bashar of the Holy Arcadia Empire had already started working on devising plans of invasion against the Barbarians of the Badlands.

These plans were already contained the usage of the Stormcast Eternals and also the plans of sabotage and subterfuge against the Children of Bul-Khatos.

The Holy Arcadia Empire needed more time to prepare their forces, and aside from that, they needed to create the Stormcast Eternals as they wished to deploy them in fight and test their capabilities.

They would also be immensely useful against foes that power as the Children of Bul-Khatos.

They would at first sabotage the Children of Bul-Khatos so they couldn't move against the territory of the Holy Arcadia Empire sooner than they would be prepared. The Imperial Intelligence had already sent tens of agents into the Badlands to carry out countless sabotage missions.

Imperial Bashar Jacques Orleáns was more than eager to devise a plan to exterminate the whole species of Barbarians. When they would be done with them, there would be no single Barbarian remaining and they would become just pages in the history books.

Soon enough, the entire Imperial Machine would start moving towards the Grand Province, Duchy of Stormwind, with a great deal of eagerness and anticipation. Even right now, many of the high-ranking people of the Empire were setting their sights on the Stormwind.

"They are surely working fast..."

The Holy Imperator sat on the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder as he was overlooking the panorama of the Anor Londo from a throne room, which was an enormous empty hall capable of fitting two or three thousand people easily.

Countless enormous pillars made of carefully crafted stone supported the roof, and beautifully crafted pieces of artwork decorated the entire throne room of the Imperial Palace.

At the same time, the most eye-catching thing within the Throne Room was the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cider. An enormous bright gold throne shone with a magnificent brilliance, slowly appearing from the gold-red ring of light.

The enormous throne was 33 meters high; on its back, countless precious stones were set and a man could faintly be seen floating behind this chair, spreading severity, dignity, and even terror out all around.

Countless gems were ostentatiously inlaid behind. In its faintest inner part, one could see a Buddha's silhouette. Mighty and dignified, it could even be said to emit a sense of pressure.

At the top of the back of the chair, there was a semicircular bright red gem that seemed like the sun looking over Mother Earth. But its brilliance was dark orange colored, giving the impression that it was bringing doom and terror.

At the height of the chest of this figure, also at the back of the chair, an intensely dazzling golden-red diamond gem could be spotted. Each crest line drawn on it seemed to try to show the man's formidableness; a huge part of it released a bright brilliance.

At the front of this wide chair, one Dragon and one Griffon were carved on the left and right sides, respectively, seeming as if they were roaring. Countless magnificent decorative patterns seemed to fill the back of the throne completely.

The radiant fluctuations of spiritual energy spreading out from it seemed to give all spectators an urge to bow down in front of it.

"Your Holy Majesty, Euron Greyjoy has been brought before the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder."

Karl Franz heard the voice of Grand Chamberlain as the Euron Greyjoy was brought in the sealing chains before the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder. He looked much worse than he looked when he was captured, but that was to be expected as he spent a lot of time in the Imperial Dungeons.

"So, what shall we do with you, Euron of the Crow's Eye?"

The Holy Imperator asked rhetorically as he looked at the chained Euron Greyjoy, who still managed to raise his head with a mocking smile as he looked at the Holy Imperator of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

"I have a proposition for you... servitude to the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder or death. Choose quickly; I don't have the whole day for this thing."

Karl Franz stated causally without anything else, and as he expected, Euron Greyjoy accepted everything that he proposed because, in the first place, the Crow's Eye was a survivalist and would do anything for his own survival...

"Begin the Soul Binding."

The Holy Imperator said neutrally as he tapped on the armchairs of his throne, which lit with a red crimson light that then shot towards the Euron Greyjoy, binding his soul and very own existence to the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder.

The Soul Binding Ritual was a procedure that bound someone's soul to the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder and thus to the person of the Holy Imperator. It made it impossible for the person who was bound to the Divine Throne to betray the Holy Arcadia Empire or to damage the Empire with any other means.

Knowingly or unknowingly.

"Now, you will assume the position of Admiralty within the Empire and start reforming the Imperial Navy from scratch. Are we clear?"

Seeing the Euron Greyjoy nodding his head, Karl Franz continued with his instructions. The Soul Binding Ritual made it impossible for anyone to betray him, so he was more at ease...

"If you perform well, you will be reformed; if not, then you will be executed?"

Seeing him once again nodding his head, he ordered the Reiksgarde to bring him away from the Throne Room. Euron Greyjoy knew that his only option for his head to remain safely on his neck was to bow to the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder.

"Is there anything else?"

Karl Franz asked the Grand Chamberlain as the man nodded. It was rare for Karl Franz to have more than one or two audiences even per week because most people knew not to bother Imperator with meaningless stuff.

And most of these things could be resolved through the stable Imperial Bureaucracy.

"Yes, Your Holy Majesty, there are several people asking for an audience today. The first one requesting the audience with Your Majesty is the Minister of Finance."

As he said that, as a Grey Dwarf stored in the room, he had a stocky and strong build like most of the dwarfs; his skin was though colored like that of a Gay Iron. His beard and hair were of striking ginger color.

Blackgold Savek Stormhammer was nenber if the Stormhammer Clan.

The Stormhammer Clan was a large Clan of the Grey Dwarves, so large that it had its own kingdom. Blackgold, in particular, was a very special one; his affinity lay not with alcohol but with appraising ore and gemstones.

He also had great talent in Magic, which, combined with his love for gold and unique appraisal abilities, netted him a position as the treasurer of the Elector Count of Khaz-Modan. He was very good with finances and making gold, which led to him being named as Minister of Finance.

"Greeting yer Majesty."

Karl Franz nodded at his greeting and greeted him back.

"It is always a pleasure to have you here, Minister; how what was that important which required your presence?"

The Minister of Finance nodded and passed him a huge stack of papers as he skimmed through them very fast before he turned back his attention to the Minister of Finance.

"And?"

The opening of trade routes to the Westeros and Essos presented an enormous opportunity to make gold out of them. There were already talks within the Imperial Court about expanding the territory of the Holy Arcadia Empire into unclaimed territories of the Westeros and the continents of Sothoroys and Ulthos.

"As you can see, CHOAM is very interested in opening the trade with the trade with the Westeros and Free Cities of Essos; the potential there is enormous. We can make enormous amounts of gold for the Empire and also the Imperial House."

Minister of Finance Blackgold Savek Stormhammer answered that they would need to do something with this situation; without the Emperor's consent, it was impossible to move with the trade.

CHOAM was controlled mostly by the Imperial House, which controlled 51% of the CHOAM; another 29% was controlled by the Holy Arcadia Empire or the state itself and the remaining 20 was divided between the Elector Count Houses, Byrgenwerth and Vilebloods.

***

MC POV

I kept hearing about the situation with the trade with the Westeros and Free Cities of Essos; the CHOAM would be restless about it for sure. Sooner or later, we would need to officially establish trade with other parts of Westeros beyond the Westerlands.

And the topic of expansion of the Holy Arcadia Empire was another problem because I was swiftly against conquering something that already had natives. I wasn't keen on dealing with the problematic local population or so...

I would agree to the expansion, but only in case the territory was unpopulated or if the territory had a population that couldn't be integrated into the Holy Arcadia Empire and we could safely exterminate them.

Even right now, the Lordran was enormous and the Holy Arcadia Empire was big enough to fit the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros into its territory several times over.

"They can start, but for now target only Westerlands and North due to connections we have established or will establish. The rest of the Seven Kingdoms needs to wait, make the secondary targets for primary trade Dorne; they have a lot to offer even though they are not aware of it... or they would have a lot to offer."

In Westeros, I was interested only in Lannisters, Starks, Martels and Baratheons because they had the strongest magical lineages. When the Great Magic Resurgence happened in full force, the Houses that had weak magical blood would fall for sure.

Tyrells, Tullys and Arryns were living on borrowed time now that the Magic started returning to the world.

The Magic in their blood was almost none nonexistent or too little, and once their vassals who had more powerful magical bloodlines obtained tremendous power, it would change everything.

In the Lands of Ancients, this wasn't something new truth to be told.

Targaryens would fall sooner or later and they are related to the Valyria, which is a big no-no for the Holy Arcadia Empire; if anything else, there would be many zealots who would try to do everything in their power to annihilate anything even remotely connected to the Old Valyria.

"I will pass the word to the CHOAM, but there are more things to discuss... The most prominent is Dwarves are pestering us to start the research into the Valyrian Steel and are asking for an increase in budget for the Blacksmith Guild in this project."

That was only natural; once they all heard about the existence of the Valyrian Steel, the entire Blacksmith Guild wanted to figure out how to re-create it. The metal of Valyrian Steel wasn't the best magical metal, but it had something that others didn't...

It could be mass-produced exactly like the Valyrians did it.

"And why are they coming with this to me and not the Radcliffe or even Lady Annalise for something like this?"

I didn't really understand why the united petition of Blacksmith Guild, Engineer Guild and College of Engineers was going directly to me and not to the old Radcliffe, who was Minister of Development and Innovation, or even Lady Annalise Vileblood, who was Minister of Domestic Affairs and Territorial Management.

"Because they are asking a rather big sum of money and they are also asking for military intervention if needed. They want to obtain examples at any cost, and if they can't buy it, they want to take it by force, not to mention they want to send someone to Qohor to obtain information about reforging the Valyrian Steel and everything they could obtain from there."

This was a rather dangerous play they were playing.

Still, at least I can now understand why they brought it to me as a united petition, as it required authorization to conduct military operations on foreign soil.

"Valyrian Steel has been categorized as a Strategic Resource for the Imperial Military and will allow any operations to uncover its secrets. We need to obtain it to completely retrofit the standard armor and weapons of the Imperial Legion to that of the Valyrian Steel. With that, we would have better chances at facing Orks, Daemons, and other forces that are dangerous to the nation."

Ordinary soldiers of the Imperial Legion would get tremendous upgrades if they got weapons and armor from something like Valyrian Steel.

Their combat prowess against Daemons would increase more than ten times because right now they were depending on Runes and enchanted weapons to combat the powers of ruin.

"I will relay your words to the CHOAM, Your Holy Majesty. Now, if yar excuse me..."

Then the Minister of Finance Blackgold Savek Stormhammer excused himself and left the throne room while the other people requesting audiences were coming here and there; altogether, there were three more.

It was an unusually high number, but at least their requests were important, so they all needed to go through me, and all of them had something to do with either the Westeros and Essos or the domestic affairs with the dangers that were looming around Lordran that needed my immediate attention.

"Care to repeat that once more, High Scholar? What exactly do you want?"

The last person to request an audience with me was one of the High Scholars of the Byrgenwert, someone more precisely from the Order of Amethyst Order who was also, at the same time, Magister Patriarch of the Amethyst Order.

"Naturally... we have found residual traces of Higher Elder Lich within the North of Westeros... the aura is very powerful and strong, probably around Level 7?... Without further information, we are not sure, but right now, we are amidst gathering information, for that, we want to conduct an expedition into the Lands of Always Winter."

So we can rule out the Night King is not the Night King because that one wasn't that powerful, but in his place being the Lich King?

This was terrible news; many people still remembered the times of Negash, the greatest necromancer who was venerated as the God of Death, who was the terror of the Lands of Ancients for whole millenias until he was brought down.

Nobody wanted to see another Lich King rise somewhere because they were powerful creatures, far more than anyone could think and if they were given time to develop, then it would be even more fucked up.

"What the fuck..."

I touched my forehead as I couldn't help to curse as I looked at the Viggo Hexensohn, who was standing before the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder and awaited for my response.

"I will allow it, but under the condition that you will coordinate with the House Stark an Russ and the Silver Knights in the Westeros who are doing some things there... and I don't want any mistakes, are we clear?"

As I asked that, Magister Patriarch of Amethyst Order and High Scholar of Byrgenwerth nodded his head as he immediately agreed to my conditions.

"Of course, Your Holy Majesty, do you have any other instructions?"

He asked me as I nodded.

"Yes, I have... Elector Count Leman Stark an Russ received an additional order to collect natural flora and fauna from the lands beyond the Wall and Lands of Always Winter and start transporting them to the Lordran."

In one move, we would obtain a lot of things for the Lordran, and at the same time, if the speculations about the Lich King are true, then it would indirectly weaken the Lich King because he would be deprived of creatures like Giants, Mommoths, Shadowcats, Ice Dragons and so on...

Not to mention, those Dangers Beasts were rare even in the Lands of Always WInter, where due to the harsh conditions, they couldn't flourish, but within the Lands of Lordran, they would be able to reproduce once more.

For example, the silk of Ice Spider was told to be even stronger than steel; it would be a great addition to the Empire. Clothes made from the Ice Spider Silk would not only be maximally comfortable but also protective and defensive.

"As you wish, Your Holy Majesty."

I gave the Magister Patriarch Viggo Hexensohn nodded his head before he left the place, leaving me with my thoughts.

Indeed, I was contemplating this situation because, sooner or later, it would need to be addressed more throughroughly.

Unfortunately, the Great Magic Resurgence didn't mean that only humans would get stronger, but also that beings like the Lich King would experience explosive growth of their strength.

"And the Orks as well... Deams would get stronger with stronger Magic. And the things that were in the continent of Sothoryos... fortunately, till now, they are only sleeping."

Not everything was looking good; the reports about investigations of the Sothoryos were still flooding in because the continent was almost as big as the territory under the control of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

Preliminary investigations showed that it was mostly uninhabited, but there was something powerful and mighty slumbering within the Sothoryos. I was deeply unnerved about that, but hopefully, it won't wake sooner than we are ready.

***

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[ATP]

So,barbarians would be gone.Good.
And ,they knew that Others are lead by Lich King.Also good,but where is friendly Tomb Queen Khalida?

Taking ice dragons,giants and ice spiders from Far North - very good,add children.Maybe they would not die off here?

Taking new lands in Westeros and Ulthos - good,but Sothorys? monsters there could be killed,but main problem are insects and plagues there,and your Empire could not fight it with their technology level.

P.S Valyrian steel supposed to be made with blood magic - so,better do not try that.

 

[Trafford]

"There are the enemies on our borders, Lord Tywin."

"Enemies? I don't see any enemies... I only see walking corpses that are still living..."

- Famous dialogue from the times of Robert's Rebellion between Lord Tywin Lannister and General Reban Greiss

***

Codex: The Holy Knights of Golden Lion of Corrin

The Holy Knights of the Golden Lion of Corrin is a militaristic religious Knight Order that was created in the Westerlands of the Seven Kingdoms of the Westeros, in the capital city of Westerlands, Corrin.

The history of the Holy Knights of the Golden Lion of Corrin is very short, but they managed to gather countless military achievements, mainly against the Orks, Heretics, followers of Faith of Seven, Danger Beasts or enemies of the Westerlands.

The Knight Order was created in the worship of the Pantheon of the Great Ones by a man known only as Shaddam. All members of the Holy Knights of the Golden Lion of Corrin are the Runes Knights and are empowered by the Divine Grace of the Great Ones.

***

Around the same time, Westeros, Westerlands, Lannisport.

Tywin Lannister was spending probably his last months as the Hand of the King for King Aerys II., due to many reasons. As the old lion expected, the diplomatic ties with the foreign nation beyond the Sunset Sea indeed created even a greater rift between the King and the Hand.

Now the Mad King was looking at him as a traitor and it was sure that sooner or later he would be either stripped of his position as Hand or he would give up the position on his own, that remained to be seen.

On the positive matter, this allowed him to spend most of his time within the Westerlands, personally overseeing the developments there. With the addition of the Silver Knights, he was begging to build the standing military; it was swiftly proceeding.

Another reason why Aerys was looking at him like a traitor, no one of the Seven Kingdoms had a standing military aside from the Household Guards of the various lords.

Though one positive thing about the messy and problematic state of the Seven Kingdoms was that every King couldn't intervene in how the Lord Paramount ran his Kingdom.

So, when Tywin Lannister decided to strip his bannerman of the right to raise the banner and establish the standing military, nobody dared to protest against his decision.

Either from the fear they had for him and the swarming Arcadians were also making anyone think twice before doing anything. This made all other Lords Paramounts look at Tywin Lannister with a great deal of wariness because the Westerlands were growing too fast...

Surprisingly, the Lord Paramount and Warden of the North, Lord Rickard Stark copied this and started creating his own standing military. Contrary to the Westerlands, nobody really cared about the Northmen and mostly ignored it.

'Foolish idiots... when the Starks establish ties with the Stark an Russ, they would become much more powerful and only second to the House Lannister that had the support of the Imperial House and the Healing Church which would play a crucial role...'

Tywin thought as he was striding through the halls of the Casterly Rock as he had scheduled a meeting with the Lion Council that was established by the model of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

Though today, there would be a new addition to the Council, who was Reban Greiss, someone whom he recruited from the Empire to act as the future General of the Westerlandese Armies.

Reban Greiss was a graduate of the Schola Progenium, and after graduating, he served in the Imperial Army for several decades before he established his own Mercanry Company and then fought for another twenty years until he was recruited by Tywin Lannister through the Imperial House.

***

Casterly Rock

"Everyone present?"

The Lord of the Casterly Rock looked around as he sat with several people; among them most notable were his brothers Kevan Lannister and Gerion Lannister, his sister Genna Lannister, and a few of the most important vassals of the House Lannister.

"We can then start... how is the army training faring?"

The old lion asked as he looked at General Reban Greiss.

Normally, Tywin would never give someone such an important position like this without any care, but he signed Geass with the man, which was facilitated by the Wizards and also, the man took an Oath in front of the Great Ones.

"It's going slowly but steadily... With the Red Guards combined with the mercenaries from the company, consisting of the core, we have managed to bring together 15,000 Soldiers stylized after the structure of the Imperial Legions."

It could have been better, but unfortunately, Westeros didn't have a tradition of standing militaries and armies. Not even battle strategies were common when waging wars, as most of their methods of waging war consisted mainly of charging towards the enemy.

"And the officers?"

Tywin Lannister already invested a lot of gold into the recruitment of officers from the Schola Progenium, Diesdorf Military Academy and Aquila Academy to become officers within the fledgling Lannister Army.

"They are acclimatizing well and working on cultivating their own Junior Officers, but we need time. The most problematic thing, as usual, is teaching the common soldiers battle tactics, and then getting them into the shape is only a secondary problem."

Due to the illiteracy level of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, they were experiencing some problems when teaching the common soldiers battle tactics.

In the Holy Arcadia Empire, this wasn't much of a problem because even commoners could read and write, thus making it much easier for them to undergo specialized military training which also consisted of basics of military strategy and battle tactics.

"How long till we have a coherent fighting force that could even remotely be called a professional army?"

The Lord of the Casterly Rock questions the newly inaugurated General of the Westerland Army.

"At least a few months, due to problems with literacy... without basic strategies or tactics, we cannot proceed to more advanced training."

As much as disheartening it was, it was still rather good results; teaching uneducated peasants required a lot of manpower and time. He wanted to train his army to be at least on a similar level to the of the Imperial Legions, but that required time.

"Then continue with it... on the other note, has the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Holy Arcadia Empire arrived?"

He asked as he looked at his brother Kevan Lannister, who nodded his head.

"Arrange meetings as soon as possible... has the other thing been taken care of?"

Looking at the hooded man who nodded to his question, Tywin revealed a very satisfied grin.

"Splendid... he was just a waste of space and a grave mistake of our late father... Marrying Lannister to a worm like a Frey, foolish idiot."

One of the greatest mistakes and remains of the rule of the Tytos Lannister the Laughing Lion was the marriage between Genna Lannister and Emmon Frey.

Something that had been addressed already because Tywin Lannister hated the fact that such an insignificant and pathetic house of cowardly weasels was allowed to marry the daughter of House Lannister.

At least the sole good thing is that no children came from their marriage as of yet, so he could now marry his sister to someone of better standing, which would actually bring more benefits fo to the Westerlands.

"My spies have told me that King has grown increasingly paranoid after the Arcadians landed on the shores of the Westerlands... and now he sees enemies right and left; nobody is no longer safe from his anger; I think it should be most appropriate to remain here My Lord."

Tywin contemplated about the words of his spymaster, he new that Aerys was looking at him like he was a traitor, but at the same time, it wasn't easy to just give up the position because, if handled incorrectly, it would create even bigger problems with the Crown.

Nevertheless, if it came to the worst, he had plants just to close off the Westerlands and ask the Empire for intervention. Due to the Westerlands being encompassed by a huge mountain range, it gave the region a very good defensive position and could be easily defended.

Even though the Imperials wouldn't be thrilled at the idea, he knew he could essentially bribe them to get it with Lacrimas and magical ores that were right now being mined in the mines of the Westerlands.

"I have already decided to do so... but it needs to be done in a way that it doesn't create suspicions. Now tell more about the situation in the North; what exactly is happening there?"

This was the most interesting question for the day because the North was the most reclusive part of the Seven Kingdom, generally ignoring everything that was happening in the south of the Neck.

And yet, despite all of this, even the Northmen were sensing the changes that were coming up to them. But it made sense; the Starks didn't rule the North for ten thousand years for nothing and were not Kings of Winter without a reason.

Tywin guessed that their Bloodline was the strongest and most potent in the entirety of Westeros; it was strong enough to have risen to the position of one of the Elector Counts of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

"After the representative of the Empire met with Lord Stark, they had a very, very, very lengthy conversation and after that, Lord Stark ordered the borders be closed and started doing the same things as your Lordship within the Westerlands."

After the Arcadians landed at Westeros, Imperator sent a messenger to the House Stark with several letters and even communication with Lacrima; it seemed that everything was done on their end as well.

"Right now, they are in the process of training an army, repairing old forts and castles and even the Moat Cailin is being repaired by the Imperials that arrived from the Empire several days ago; we can conclude that they got into touch with their brethren from the Lordran."

That would be certainly concerning, considering that the North held immense military potential and they had one certain thing that all other regions lacked. Internal unity, though, aside from the House Bolton, but may meet its end sooner than anyone could think of.

In the North, aside from the rebellions done by the House Bolton two times or so during the past ten thousand years, the entire Kingdom was extremely stable, with everyone doing their part.

The reason for that?

Like in the Holy Arcadia Empire...

There were bigger problems to solve than to focus on power plays between nobles and petty squabbles.

"Send a representative to the Winterfell to establish ties; both of us have connections to the Lordran, meaning the power balance would soon shift towards House Lannister and House Stark. Those upstarts in Riverrun and Highgarden would be for sure scheming something."

He held great disdain for the opportunistic Houses of Tully and Tyrell, but if everything that he heard about the return of Magic to Westeros, he knew that sooner or later, they would fall.

In the Lordran, it was a rather common occurrence of Noble Houses falling into obscurity, even from the ruling positions, if they were not maritally and magically strong enough. And certainly, the Trouts of Riverlands or Roses of the Reach were not strong enough for what was to come.

Among their vassals that were many houses with much older lineages and more potent Magical Blood that the investigations of the Wizards showed, and once they got power into their hands...

Then, the result would be questionable at best.

"Brother, we are right now finishing the additional fortifications of the Casterly Rock and adding Anti-Air elements into the Castle. According to the Wizards and Engineers from the Empire, it should not be enough to take down True Dragons, but it would be enough to take down Valyrian Wyrms with a few shots."

Kevan Lannister was in charge of the Casterly Rock and one of the things that Tywin ordered as the first ones to do was fortify the Casterly Rock as much as possible, according to the standards of the Empire.

They even hired some of the Imperial Engineers that helped them to pinpoint weak points in the Casterly Rock that were already addressed, and many defenses were installed on the Rock, with other places being remade into more sturdier and stronger versions.

"Excellent. Is there anything more to report?"

The Lord of the Casterly Rock asked before one person stepped forward with a message to be read.

"There is a message from the Castellan Atreides that the Silver Knights under his command have encountered something that seems to be... Greenskins."

While some people in the room were confused about what it meant, some were pale beyond reason because the Greenskins were spotted on the Westeros.

This was terrible news, but it wasn't something that was that shocking, as they had been warned by the Wizards that the Magic Resurgence wouldn't be just through the pink garden.

"And? Have they been rooted?"

The Greenskins were a menace even to a mighty nation like the Holy Arcadia Empire; even they couldn't entirely deal with the green scourge that existed since immemorial times within the Lordran.

And here in Westeros?

It would be beyond terrible because they were much weaker than the Lordran.

"Yes, they were surprisingly weak... mostly consisting of Gretchen, Goblins and ordinary Ork Boyz... they have probably managed to arrive only due to the resurgence of Magic and it would get only worse."

The Greenskins in the Westeros presented a grave threat and yet, at the same time, if they were this weak, they also presented an opportunity.

"Immediately start hunting them down alongside the Silver Knights; we will have to temper for the soldiers with blood and iron. Inform all Lords within the Westerlands about the situation and we will use it to strengthen our grip on the Kingdom and to ensure there is no opposition to the incoming reforms."

While the Greenskins presented a grave danger, they were also an opportunity to achieve greater control over his vassals, to have a common threat against what everyone could unite and also as a means to train his future army.

Bandits and brigands were rare within the Westerlands because even before this, Tywin Lannister would often order his Household Guard to search and kill all bandits and brigands to ensure that his lands were safe and to have real training for his Guards.

"It shall be done..."

Now the last thing at the meeting was the restoration of the Castamere.

Castamere was a ruined castle located south of the Crag and west of Ashemark in the northwestern Westerlands; also nearby is Tarbeck Hall. The former seat of House Reyne, Castamere contains gold and silver mines.

Named after a nearby pool of blue water, Castamere began as a mine like Casterly Rock.

After building curtain walls to guard the entrance with two stout towers, the Reynes constructed keeps and halls. As the gold and silver dried up, the mine below was widened and converted into halls, galleries, bedchambers, and a vast underground ballroom.

While the surface fortifications resembled those of a minor lord or landed knight, nine-tenths of the castle was subterranean. The fortress of Castamere was still a formidable fort that could be used as headquarters for the future standing military.

For that reason, he ordered the Castemere to be repaired and also scouted for potential usage as mine once again. Now that the Magic has started returning to the world, it also means new veins of ores were appearing in the ground...

"As you ordered we sent the request to the Dwarves because they would be the most suitable to repair the Castamere, and there are a few Dwarven Clans that have answered and are interested in restoration... though..."

He decided to hire Dwarves for the reconstruction of the Castamere because the Atreides Heir told him that none would do it better like the Dwarves and for what is to come, there was no time to be reserved.

"What do they want?"

Agamemnon Atreides already warned him that Dwarves were problematic to negotiate because they were too proud and strong-headed about their creations.

"The Longbeard Clan has agreed already to the request, but they want access to some Adamantite..."

His brows twitched a bit hearing that, but he found the conditions of the Longbeard more doable as he looked a them over the conditions put on by the rest of the Dwarven Clans; others wanted far more things than some metals and ores.

"Why do the Longbeards want so little compared to the rest of the Clans that we addressed?"

Tywin Lannister knew that there was something much more behind this; from what he heard about Dwarves and Gnomes, he knew that they were greedy and masterful merchants. So if they were not making a profit in this, Tywin knew that they were making it in some other way.

"Because soon enough from what we were told, the Conclave of Forge would be assembled to vote on the new Council of Three Hammers and thus new Elector Count. Longbeards are vying for a position on the Council right now, and they want to gather achievement. Castamere would be another achievement for them that they could present at the elections."

Now it made sense why they were so eager...

"Then we need to use maximum of it, they will probably make the Castamere to the fortress on the same level as Harrenhall if possible, which would greatly benefit the Westerlands, but for that, we need more gold."

Money was key to everything and everywhere.

"We are already discussing the possible cooperation with CHOAM, House Gausser and surprisingly even your daughter has written to us about her intent of creating a Chamber of Commerce that would be selling perfumes, soaps and things in Westeros and Essos so that this aspect would be covered very swiftly."

This was a good solution, but it would need more time and while the House Lannister was rich, in truth what was known only to Tywin was that, before the Great Resurgence of Magic, several of their mines were showing signs of depletion.

Now it was being solved with abundant magic, reforming the environment, but that would take time,e so he has been thinking about borrowing money.

"That would take a long time; we need to borrow some substantial sum."

This would be the fastest way to get their hands on the amount of gold they needed for construction projects, like the reparations of castles and forts, manning the army, building fortifications around the Westerlands or building proper roads.

"Should we ask the Iron Bank of Braavos?"

His brother Kevan asked, as most had the same thought, but within Westeros, the number of Banks was zero, and in the Essos, there were a few. Naturally, there was the most famous bank, the Iron Bank of Braavos, followed by Rogare Bank in Volantis.

And in the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, there was the Celestial Bank, which mainly dealt with the Eastern Essos and the area of the Jade Sea.

"No... they would once again rip us off like they are doing it constantly due to lack of competition; we shall ask for a loan from the Black Monolith Bank. My future good son told me we would get the first loan interest-free; for sure he wants us to propagate the Imperial interests, but the gold is gold."

That is not true entirely, as the Golden Reichscorwns were much purer than the Westerosi Gold Dragons and had three times higher purity, so one Golden Reichscrown was equal to three Westerosi Gold Dragons.

"For how much?"

Black Monolith Bank was another entity on the level of CHOAM within the Holy Arcadia Empire and was directly controlled by the Imperial House solely as it was established by the Holy Imperator himself.

"How much do we actually need to finish everything up?"

The final sum should be in several million, and truthfully, it wasn't that terrible for the House Lannister, which was obscenely rich.

"At least 1 million of Gold Dragons and another million and half of Golden Reichscrowns for the Dwarves, Weapons, Armors and other things that we are ordering from the forges of Khaz-Modan. In Westerosi currency, it should be 5,5 million Gold Dragons altogether."

That was indeed an extremely high number of Gold, but Tywin Lannister knew that it was necessary. For centuries, maybe even for millennia, nobody made some structural changes to the Westerlands and invested a lot of money into the Kingdom.

Not like the situation was different in other Kingdoms of the Seven Kingdoms, and now the time has come to finally do it all in on go; that was the reason why it was hurting so much.

"Then do it... we can get the gold back at a later date, but the investments must be done at all costs. We will pay half directly from out coffers right now and borrow the 1 million Golden Reichscrowns from the Black Monolith Bank."

While everyone had their hearts bleeding, they were also aware that change was needed and they needed a lot of money to cover the costs of all projects that were in active state.

***

Lordran, Holy Arcadia Empire, Anor Londo, Imperial Place - Imperator's Chambers

"Yes! Yes! Harder! Hardeeeerrr!!!"

In the Imperator's chambers, Lady Maria Vileblood in all of her naked glory was screaming into the pillow as her lover was drilling his enormous meatpole, stretching her folds apart and bringing her to ecstasy with each thrust as her asscheeks jiggled.

"Com... ing..."

With one swift powerful thrust, he released his hot seed directly to her deepest parts as they were having sex for several hours straight already.

"Pause?"

He asked then, as Maria barely had any energy to reply to him, from the intense lovemaking that they both were practicing right now.

For the past few days, they have been fucking like rabbits because the Imperator was rather pent up from the trip and Maria was also equally horny, maybe even more than him.

"Yes..."

She muttered quietly as he hugged her closely and they just laid on the enormous king-sized bed and stared at the ceiling of the room.

"Why didn't fucked her yet? She has been seducing you every day that little minx... so young and already behaving like a whore for her fianceé."

In fact, Maria was rather fond of Cersei, so she was curious why the young girl wasn't here together with them.

"You know why... and at the same time, I think some time will do her only good; she is too used to getting everything she wants."

Karl answered, but at the same time, he too was eager to tame the young lioness in bed and turn her into a blabbering mess in their bed that she wouldn't even know her name.

"I want to know if her tongue is as skilled at other things aside from sarcastic remarks..."

Indeed it was very tempting for him... such a haughty lion squirming underneath him and sucking him off eagerly... Just thinking about it was making him go hard once more and ready for action.

"Are you prepared for the Great Convention Council?"

Lady Maria asked her finaceé / lover as she turned over in bed.

"Yes, everyone is already aware of their roles. The Healing Church won't be a problem because as the Chosen One of the Great Ones my authority with the Religion is much higher than even that of the Grand Theogonist within the Church..."

Everything was prepared, everything was long ago decided and even the Great Ones supported the choice through the Tattoo on my back that was signifying the status of the ultimate leader of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

The creation of the Stormcast Eternals would be more problematic because several of the Grand Provinces would, technically speaking, lose their elite units. Chief among them were the Brettonians with their Grail Knights and the Healing Church lost their Holy Knight Executioners.

"Caladan wouldn't be thrilled to lose their fabled Sardaukar to the Stormcast Eternals..."

Maria muttered several of the Grand Provinces would be losing their signature units to fuse all of their specialized aspects into one superior greater warrior.

"No, I predict that even Brettonians would raise a fuss about that, but they will have no real choice in this just to accept the reality. The situation is fucked up and right now, we don't have enough manpower to compete with the Daemons at full force and that is not even speaking with the other threats."

Karl Franz knew that Brettonia, Caladan, Healing Church and Byrgenwerth would be bitching around that they lost their elite military units.

"Naturally, Cainhurst has no problems with the creation of Stormcast Eternals."

The Holy Imperator nodded his head hearing that because he knew that Cainhurstians didn't care about politics, the only thing they cared about was the creation of a perfect warrior, a perfect Knight that was the embodiment of the Cainhurst.

Even the fabled Aquila Academy was training and educating young knights was located at Cainhurst. The Holy City of Silver was famous and fabled for their generations of knights for whole millennia...

"I know..."

The creation of the Stormcast Eternals would greatly change the military capabilities of the Holy Arcadia Empire in this new age. It would allow the Empire to combat against the Daemons and Ruinious Powers far more effectively and not depend on other factors to achieve victory.

One Level 4 Stormcast Eternal, clad in the best armor that Empire could produce, bearing the best weapons the Empire could give them, engraved with the most powerful Runes the Empire had in their disposition and learning all ways of wars and combat they had developed.

In times of turmoil, they would be the frontline against the forces of Chaos and no longer the tragedy of the Stormcown Gate be repeated if they had something like Stormcast Eternals in their arsenal.

"Troubled times are coming for the Lordran and the latest reports from the Westeros are also not very good."

Karl Franz muttered as he hugged his lover close to him, with Maria laying down her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"But where is a risk, there is also an opportunity..."

He subconsciously nodded when he heard Maria say that...

"Yes... an opportunity to either go to annals of history or raise to the greater heights."

***

Headquarters of the Office of Imperial Military Intelligence, unspecified location with the Holy Arcadia Empire

The Headquarters of the Imperial Intelligence was located deep under the ground in a location that was known only to the Holy Imperator and a few selected people. Even the members of the Imperial Intelligence didn't know where their headquarters was located.

When the Agents were called to the Headquarters of Imperial Intelligence a special magical portal was opened for them through specialized crafted Lacrima Crystal for one-use only.

In a certain room of the Headquarters a tall man who looked to be in his late twenties or perhaps in his early thirties was sitting on a simple leather chair and surrounded by the paperwork.

Despite his youngish appearance, he was much older, and his real age was around three hundred years or so already.

His most distinguishing features are his long, vibrant red hair and a Phantom of the Opera-esque mask on the right side of his face. He had a goatee and eyes the same shade of red as his hair and wore wire-framed glasses.

"Is the information confirmed?"

He asked as a report landed on his table, and after reading it, he was unsure if it was good news or bad news, probably The Imperator himself would decide on what to do with it and what stance they should take.

"Yes, only right now the news of what has happened in the Yi Ti has reached the Western Essos and crossed the Bone Mountains and to verify the information we even sent several agents there through teleportation. It is truth; they indeed descended down from the Celestial Mountain and a new hegemon has risen to the East."

The Eastern Essos was in as much mess as the Western counterpart, but at the same time,e the concept of unified nations was more prevalent within the Eastern Essos than the Western Essos.

One of the biggest nations that even maintained contact with the Western Essos and Westeros was the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, but it seemed that the Golden Empire of Yi Ti was no more as they were speaking.

The Golden Empire of Yi Ti is a realm located in the eponymous region of the Further East of Essos.

It is the supposed successor to the mythic Great Empire of the Dawn, which, according to legend, fell during the Long Night. It is ruled by a God-Emperor, who is worshiped as divine, though in the present day, the God-Emperor has little actual power beyond the limits of the capital city.

The Golden Empire of Yi Ti was weak...

Emperor Bu Gai was a weakling with no real power, which was stealthily usurped by his Minister, Grand Nobles, Generals that were still loyal to him or Imperial Eunuchs who were playing their own game.

Approximately a year ago, a man and woman appeared within the Yi Ti, the Dragon Emperor Xen Yan and Moon Empress Quai Yin, a pair of Immortal Cathayan Dragons and they essentially overthrew what was known as the Golden Empire of Yi Ti.

The result was...

Golden Empire of Yi Ti is no more, with an entire former Imperial Line, all Nobles, Eunuchs, Imperial Ministers and others have been executed and all of their families have been purged to the last descendant.

The Celestial Empire of Grand Cathay was born in its place led by the Celestial Dragon Emperor Xen Yan and his wife Moon Empress Quai Yin.

"With ongoing Magic Resurgence and the power they have at their disposal, with a decade or two, they should be able to get together considerable fighting force and unify the entire region... this could influence our interests within the Sothoryos and Ulthos, perhaps even more surely the Shadow Lands."

Cross Marian was Elector Count of the Duchy of Stormwind, even though he left the position to his wife Klad Marian and assumed the mantle as Director of the Imperial Military Intelligence.

"Good work... increase the monitoring of the Eastern Essos and monitor further progress. Now the only things that are standing in their way are Jogod N'hai and cannibals of the Thousand Islands, should they unify that..."

That would be territory on par with the entire Grand Province... but that wasn't really important; the important was that their population was even right now bigger than that of the Holy Arcadia Empire as a whole.

That was the reason why the Imperial Intelligence was taking them so seriously; even though most of the nations of the Westeros and Essos were not big, but they had a much bigger population and as the Magic was returning to the Azyr, they would gain power.

'If the Grand Cathay could be made into an ally, we would get a powerful ally against the forces of Chaos.'

The Director of the Imperial Military Intelligence then passed the report further, as it needed to be delivered to the Holy Imperator as soon as possible.

***

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[ATP]

North forget about Riverlands - great,they would not lost their lives here for notching.
Brandon would get better bride then Catelyn,Ned probably come back without finishing learning under Arryn,and lyanna would be not sell to Robert.
But - which girl would get Brynden and Ned here,and who would marry Lyanna?

Poor Catelyn and Lysa,but - still better then canon.

Yii Ti destroyed,and new Cathay arised - SORRY,NOT POSSIBLE.Old emperor was weak,but Yellow Emperor of Cardossa was not.
His magic would be stronger,too,so he would survive - and create some kind of Chaos Kingdom there.

Leng - too little we knew about them.So - Trafford could decide,what exactly dwell there.The same goes for Stygoi and Kadath.

P.S goblins in Westerlands - good,that there are no rape goblins from GS.And Castamare is place of genocide - i see amny undead there.

 

[Trafford]

North forget about Riverlands - great,they would not lost their lives here for notching.
Brandon would get better bride then Catelyn,Ned probably come back without finishing learning under Arryn,and lyanna would be not sell to Robert.
But - which girl would get Brynden and Ned here,and who would marry Lyanna?

Poor Catelyn and Lysa,but - still better then canon.

Yii Ti destroyed,and new Cathay arised - SORRY,NOT POSSIBLE.Old emperor was weak,but Yellow Emperor of Cardossa was not.
His magic would be stronger,too,so he would survive - and create some kind of Chaos Kingdom there.

Leng - too little we knew about them.So - Trafford could decide,what exactly dwell there.The same goes for Stygoi and Kadath.

P.S goblins in Westerlands - good,that there are no rape goblins from GS.And Castamare is place of genocide - i see amny undead there.

Click to shrink...

For the Sorcerer of Carcossa, he didn't even rule any part of Yi Ti, only the Carcossa, which was a city located in the middle of the lake, surrounded by mountains far from the Golden Empire of Yi Ti. Not to mention, the Celestial Dragon Emperor and Moon Dragon Empress, as Cathayn Dragons, are entities of huge might and raw power...

The rest of the things remains to be seen... no comment on anything more...

 

[ATP]

For the Sorcerer of Carcossa, he didn't even rule any part of Yi Ti, only the Carcossa, which was a city located in the middle of the lake, surrounded by mountains far from the Golden Empire of Yi Ti. Not to mention, the Celestial Dragon Emperor and Moon Dragon Empress, as Cathayn Dragons, are entities of huge might and raw power...

The rest of the things remains to be seen... no comment on anything more...

Click to shrink...

Thanks ! i thought,that yellow King becomed Yellow Emperor and ruled part of Yi-Ti.Thanks for correcting my error!
Other possible dangers -
1.Stygoi and Kadath - we only knew,that something nasty and powerfull unlive there,so you could made them whatever you like.Some liches,probably.Or maybe tomb kings?
It would be funny,if one was ruled by Queen Khaloda who actually do not want invade anybody,and could be reasoned with.

2.Leng - except tall womans we have underground city with some aliens who hate other humans.Again,you could made them whatever you want.

3.Sothorys - wxcept ruins of Valyrians,there are black ruins of unknown origin,where everybody who try to live there vanish.
Again,you could made them whatever suit you.

4.Asshai and their mages - they do not look like Chaos,but you still could made them so.

Ulthos is unknows,so you could made it whatever suiy you,again.Maybe elves ?

P.S Who is drowned god here? some Nurgle demon?

 

[Trafford]

"All Hail Arcadia!"

- Author Unknown

***

Codex: Altdorf

Altdorf, also known as the City of Spires, is the Capital of the Grand Principality of Reikland and the historical seat of the House Holswig-Schliestein. Altodorf is home to some of the most prestigious educational institutions within the entire Lordran, aside from Faust, hosting the branches of the Eight Colleges of Magic.

It also housed another great institution, which was the Imperial Engineer School, founded by famed genius Leonardo da Miragliano, where some of the greatest inventions in the history of science have been made.

***

Several Days Later, Throne Room of the Imperial Palace, Anor Londo, Holy Arcadia Empire, Lordran.

MC POV

"How should we proceed with the information, Your Holy Majesty."

A few days ago, information about what has happened within the Eastern Essos found its way into my ears. It was a very dangerous piece of news because it meant that a new player appeared on the board.

Cathayan Dragons were actually well known within the Lands of Ancient, but they were a species that was long believed to perished; the Everlasting Dragons were considered as a mere Legend, a Myth of no considerable significance in the modern age.

And yet, two of them apparently appeared; it was no mistaking it, those Banners and names; there was no mistake that the Dragon Emperor Xen Yan Moon Empress Quai Yin were a couple of Cathayn Celestial Dragons.

A very powerful ones and very dangerous ones.

They could either become the greatest ally of the Holy Arcadia Empire or its greatest foes, depending on whether they have some kind of expansionist tendencies, but that was for the future to see; for now, we can only wait.

Like a pair of proper fence-sitters.

"Nothing... a living pair of Cathayan Dragons... so fascinating..."

I muttered while thinking over the matter of the Celestial Empire of Grand Cathay that rose in the ashes of the Golden Empire of Yi Ti... it was almost a wondrous thing to see, but at the same time, I wondered how this would influence the state of the Known World.


"We will do nothing in regard to the Celestial Empire of Grand Cathay because that is all we can do... nothing. Sooner or later, depending on how the situation develops, we will meet either as allies or as foes, and for that, we need to be prepared."

Even right now, as we were speaking, the regions of Yi Ti were probably the most populous throughout the entire Essos. Lordran has a lot of things to do to increase its population, but soon enough, the population growth of Westeros and Essos will slowly go down to a certain degree.

Another thing was that the Magic never really died in the Eastern Essos; it just got weakened, and one of the reasons why the Magic actually got so weakened were the dammed fucking Valyrians.

If not for their dammed greed and foolishness, then the Magic wouldn't be in such a crippled state within the Essos, but at the same time, this also raised the question of who the hell repaired the damaged Leylines?

"As the Imperator commands."

The Imperial Bashar Jacques Orleáns spoke to the Holy Imperator who was sitting on the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder. Imperial Bashar was the title for the supreme leader of the Imperial Military and thus, he was basically my second in command.

And there was no one better for the position than the Iron-Blood Lord, Jacques Orleáns, who has held bay against the endless hordes of the Greenskins that constantly wanted to destroy the Empire and conducted expeditions from the Orklands.

"Is everything prepared for the Great Convention Council?"

I tasked the Imperial Bashar with the preparations of the Great Convention Council together with Lady Annalise Vileblood.

One of them was responsible for putting all things together, while the other was responsible for the safety of the Great Convention Council, considering the sheer number of people that would be attending.

The Great Convention Council would take place within the premises of the Landsraad and compared to the normal meeting of the Landsraad, there would be much more people attending.

Aside from the members of the Imperial Nobility, which included all Lesser Houses that held the title of Viceroy, Baron and Grand Paladin that were required to participate without exceptions, there were also Generals of all Imperial Legions.

Representatives of all military units and beaurecrats of the Imperial Administration, also, all Vicars of the Healing Church would be present with a very long list of Professionals, as every single one classified as Level 5 and higher was obligatory required to be present.

There would be at least a few thousand people attending the Great Convention Council because everyone who meant something within the Holy Arcadia Empire was needed to be present at the place.

"There is also something more to report..."

Before I could dismiss him, the Imperial Bashar stated that he apparently had another thing to report.

"What is it?"

For sure, it would be another related to the Westeros or Essos; those were the most commonly talked about topics within the Imperial Court.

"Reports from the Westerlands of Westeros indicate that Greenskins were spotted within the Westerlands; it is possible that a Warband has found its way there."

Fucking green menace... the moment Magic started appearing in the Westeros, the Orks Greenskins were also appearing. Not like it was unexpected; the Greenskins were always drawn to the place with Magic.

They fed on it passively; it was their preferred environment, which they liked the best and needed to thrive.

"And, did they deal with them?"

I left there enough Silver Knights to deal with some weaker Warbands if they had enough support of ordinary soldiery... If the Warband wasn't very big, then the Silver Knight there, under the leadership of Chapter Master Agamennon Atreides, were more than enough to deal with them.

"They are assembling an army to deal with them, as it seems that there are only ordinary Orks together with Gretchen and Goblins among the Warband and even the Boss isn't a very powerful one, so they should be able to solve that problem rather quickly."

I nodded, hearing the report about the situation within the Westerlands, as the Orks presented a great danger to the denizens of the Westeros. Still, with some help from the Empire, they would obtain the knowledge of how to combat the Greenskins.

"Send them some information about the Greenskins and a book on how to combat them. The knowledge is power, and without the right procedures, they would only create a doom for them."

Combating Greenskins was, technically speaking, more problematic than it sounded. It was not enough to simply kill them; but they needed to be exterminated specifically to prevent them from re-appearing in the land.

As their entire species was half-organic and half-fungus, they could reproduce through the spores that were released upon their death. And once the spores were released, the new Orks would be created within a short time.

"It shall be done; we shall send them a complete copy of the bibliography on the basic combat against the Greenskins and methods of dealing with the Spores."

I nodded at that, but that wouldn't be enough; they would need some more Battle Wizards because the Magical methods are the most efficient when dealing with the Greenskin Spores.

"It would be disastrous if the Greenskins gain a stable foothold on the Westeros; they need to be pushed out from there."

Indeed it would be...

***

3rd POV

Soon enough, the Great Convention Council, as practically everyone was already present at the Anor Londo, was bustling with people. There were never so many people within the Anor Londo, but now, as the Great Convention Council was called, everyone was obliged to attend.

Though the situation soon returned to normal because most of the people would leave the Anor Londo the very moment the entire Great Convention Council had ended, most people that came to the Capital were from the outside of the City and had duties in their own territories or posts.

Holy Imperator Karl Franz donned his clothes, which consisted of a relatively simple yet luxurious-looking black outfit with wave patterns and golden trimmings. He also wore a black leather trenchcoat that was crimson red inside with a huge symbol of the Holy Arcadia Empire on the back of the trenchcoat.

The Landsraad was full; everyone was there ahead of time and waiting for the Holy Imperator. People were sitting in their places, everyone starting from the Imperial Nobility to the Professionals who reached high levels of power and were the backbones of the Imperium.

Even some of the living legends of the Imperium were present, like the Gehrman, the First Hunter, Big Hat Logan, Master Willem, Villem, the First Vicar of the Healing Church and many, many others were present.

"Presenting, his Holy Imperial Majesty, The Holy Imperator of the Holy Arcadia Empire, Lord High Magistrate of Anor Londo, Elector Count of the Reikland, the Lord of Sunlight and Cinder, Royarch of the Lordran, Heir of the Old Blood, Lord of the Ancients and the Chosen One of the Great Ones, his Holy Imperial Majesty of The Empire, Karl Franz I. Holswig-Schliestein von Reikland de Anor."

As soon as the booming voice of the Chamberlain of the Landsraad sounded through the premises of the enormous building, everyone stood up from their seats as the national anthem of the Holy Arcadia Empire "All Hail the Empire" sounded.

"Truth and hope in our Fatherland!

And death to every foe!

Our soldiers shall not pause to rest

We vow our loyalty

*
Old traditions they will abide

Arise young heroes!

Our past inspires noble deeds

All Hail Arcadia!

*
Immortal beacon shows the way

Step forth and seek glory!

Hoist your swords high into the clouds

Hail Arcadia!

*
Our Emperor stands astride this world

He'll vanquish every foe!

His truth and justice shine so bright

All hail his brilliant light!

*
Never will he be overthrown

Like mountains and sea

His bloodline immortal and pure

All Hail Arcadia!

*
So let his wisdom guide our way

Go forth and seek glory

Hoist your swords high into the clouds

Hail Arcadia!"

As the national anthem finished playing and people stopped singing, everyone remained standing and waited for the Holy Imperator.

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

The Holy Imperator Karl Franz saluted, which was met with thunderous applause, with the entirety of the council mimicking this statement.

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

Karl Franz observed the subjects of the Holy Arcadia Empire as he stepped forward to the speaker's desk.

"Sons and Daughters of the Holy Arcadia Empire... you have been gathered here in the Great Convention Council, which has been called for the second time since the establishment of the Holy Arcadia Empire at the end of the Age of Strife."

Everyone remained standing as they listened to the speech of the Holy Imperator. People knew that it wouldn't take long for the Great Convention Council to end, as the people of the Empire were rather simplistic and efficient in their approach.

"The times have been changing; the old order which we have lived in for more than six hundred years is coming to an end. As many of you are aware, Forces of Ruin, the powers of Chaos, are becoming more and more active, and the situation at the Skycrown Gate has shown us that the situation is far more grave than we initially anticipated."

Everyone from the people present has already heard that there were two consecutive appearances of Daemon Lords after one another. One of them was at the new continent with which they made contact.

Westeros and Daemon Lord Demogorgon and then subsequently, at the Skycrown Gate, the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand.

This was very disturbing, especially at the Skycrown Gate, where there was an entire group of Daemon Nobles and Greater Daemons following the horde, which, if not for the timely intervention of the Holy Imperator together with the elite forces of their military, would result in the disastrous ending.

"And as you have certainly heard during the last siege of the Skycrown Gate, the Reiksgarde and Church's Holy Knight Executioners suffered the gravest losses since their establishment and the unification wars. This has shown us that the change is needed within the Empire and that our old rules need to be adjusted for the newer and bigger threat."

Everyone shuddered when they considered that both Reiksgarde and Church's Holy Knight Executionrs suffered losses of around 8% of their overall number each.

Considering the standard equipment, power, skills and training of each individual member, such number was staggeringly high.

Very, very high...

"We need to address this danger correctly and this is not all..."

Karl Franz skimmed everyone with his eyes as he presented other pieces of information that was right now available only to him and selected a few...

"Since we have made contact with the other continents of the Azyr, we found a few more threats that are categorized as Apollyon-Class threats to the Empire."

When I said that, everyone started whispering to each other because this was completely changing the playing ground. The Holy Arcadia Empire categorized threats into several classes based on how much destruction they could cause.

There were five Classes of threats as they follows:

Euclid-Class Threat

Keter-Class Threat

Thaumiel-Class Threat

Apollyon-Class Threat

and finally, the Empyrean-Class Threat.

The Euclid-Class Threat were the local ones that could endanger some minor cities and towns or even, in some cases, the entire Barony of the Empire. The Keter-Class Threats had the power to endanger the entire Viceroyalty or major cities within the Empire.

Thaumiel-Class Threats were capable of endangering the entire Grand Province and Apollyon-Class Threats presented a danger to the entire Continents.

Empyrean-Class Threat was World-Ending Danger.

A good example would be, Clerical Beasts were normally categorized as Euclid-Class Threats, while weak Orkish Tribes were at the Keter-Class Threats and powerful Ork Warbands were at the Thaumiel-Class Threats.

The entire Greenskin population was put on the Apollyon-Class Threat.

The Empyrean-Class had only one subject...

Forces of Chaos.

Only the Forces of Chaos could be classified as such because only they really presented a world-ending threat to the entirety of the Azyr.

"One Apollyon-Class Threat is found on the continent of Westeros and one has been noted on the continent of Sothoryos... and the continent of Essos is still in the process of gathering information. Aside from that, just a few days ago, we got news about the re-appearance of the last of the kinds of Everlasting Dragons, the Cathayan Dragons in the Eastern Essos, where they established the Empire of Grand Cathay..."

The Apollyon-Class Threat in Westeros was the Lich or whatever was living in the Lands of the Always Winter, while the Threat in the Sothoryos was largely unknown, aside from the fact that it was extremely powerful.

Now that everyone heard it, people grew tenser because none of these things were good for the Empire. Most of the Apollyon-Class Threats would get tremendously stronger if they managed to destroy the entire continent and then they would represent a grave danger to the Empire as well.

"So in regard to these situations, The Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder has decided to make into power several reforms that would be addressing the situation that our Homeland is and would be facing."

Karl Franz stated as he looked around him and everyone now grew tenser about what was to come.

"The first decision that has been made and blessed personally by the Great Ones is the immediate fusion of the State and Religious Power into the one. From today, the Holy Imperator would also be the supreme leader of the Healing Church."

The Holy Imperator said with an almost divine-like voice; as a symbol of the Oedon, the Formless God of Blood appeared in its full glory in Karl Franz's brows, signifying the blessing the Great Ones, as more and more runes of the Great Ones were appearing around the Holy Imperator.

Upon seeing this the members of the Healing Church that were present at the Great Convention Council kneeled in worship as they turned their eyes to the Holy Imperator, full of veneration and worship, as they looked at the representative of the Great Ones at the material plane.

Though there were some who were surprised at the sudden course of events, there were some who had already waited for something like this to happen, especially the Elector Counts and those who were more politically apt.

The Healing Church was a very, very powerful entity within the Holy Arcadia Empire and the fundamental existence of the Empire was tied to that of the Healing Church and Faith in the Great Ones.

Only thanks to the Old Blood did the Empire stand strong for centuries; thus, the significance of the Healing Church and its power within the Empire was great.

And even though many knew that the Imperator had a great deal of authority within the Church itself, it was not enough for the man who was Emperor of such a mighty Empire.

He wanted to obtain complete and total dominion over the Healing Church because even though the Healing Church was loyal to the Chosen One of the Great Ones; it didn't change anything about the fact that they were a separate entity from the state.

And that one thing was changed today on the Great Convention Council.

"And subsequently, it has been decided that a new unit of the army is needed... They shall be my finest warriors, these men and women who give of themselves to me. Like clay, I shall mold them, and in the furnace of war, I shall forge them. They shall be of iron will and steely sinew. In great armor, I shall clad them, and with the mightiest weapons shall they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight them. No Magic shall oppose them as they shall be born of it. The Blood will protect them and aid them in their grand quest. They shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Ruin, Heretics and Terrors of the Old Night. They are the Defenders of the Holy Arcadia Empire and its people. They are Stormcast Eternals, the embodiment of storm and rage...and they shall know no fear."

Everyone could see where this was heading...

"From today, all special military units of the Holy Arcadia Empire shall be reformed and reforged into the Stormcast Eternals and their first deployment shall be the Crusade against the Children of the Bul-Khatos."

Silence, utter silence took over the premises of the Landsraad as everyone was trying to process what had happened. It was clear that the situation was grave and that the Imperial House managed to increase its power countless times over and over.

The situation has changed too much everybody was certainly nervous about the ever increasingly rising power of the Imperial House, but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it, aside from letting it happen.

While the Brettonnians were conflicted about the loss of their Grail Knights, Caladans about the loss of their Sardaukar, Stormwindians about the loss of the Exorcists and other Grand Provinces that had some native specialized units were upset about that, there was nothing they could do about it.

Soon enough, the Stormcast Eternals would be created, and once that came to truth, everyone could see that the standard of the Stormcast Eternals would be around Level 4, which would give the Imperial House tremendous power, even far bigger than it was right now.

And even right now, it was far bigger than all other Elector Counts...

However, at the same time, many of the Elector Counts already anticipated a day like this because it was clear that the Holy Imperator wouldn't be satisfied with less than absolute control of the Imperium.

It wasn't really secret that the Imperator wasn't really pleased about the existence of many specialized units that existed with their respective Grand Provinces and it was also no secret that he would be sooner or later move against them and disband them.

Or merge them into one coherent organization directly bound to the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder like it was done today. Simultaneously, everyone could see that the Holy Arcadia Empire as a whole would get countless times stronger with the addition of something like the Stormcast Eternals.

Such an organization would elevate the combat prowess of the Imperium to new heights, far higher than anyone could dream because, with the soldiers so strong like the Stormcast Eternals, they would have immense war potential.

With the addition of the Stormcast Eternals, the ability of the Holy Arcadia Empire to fight against powerful foes, higher Class Threats would be much higher and they could even start thinking of even expanding into the unknown.

When Karl Franz finished his speech and announcement, after several minutes of silence, everyone started cheering and clapping their hands or saluting to the honor of the Holy Imperator of the Empire.

"Truth and hope in our Fatherland!

And death to every foe!

Our soldiers shall not pause to rest

We vow our loyalty

*
Old traditions they will abide

Arise young heroes!

Our past inspires noble deeds

All Hail Arcadia!

*
Immortal beacon shows the way

Step forth and seek glory!

Hoist your swords high into the clouds

Hail Arcadia!

*
Our Emperor stands astride this world

He'll vanquish every foe!

His truth and justice shine so bright

All hail his brilliant light!

*
Never will he be overthrown

Like mountains and sea

His bloodline immortal and pure

All Hail Arcadia!

*
So let his wisdom guide our way

Go forth and seek glory

Hoist your swords high into the clouds

Hail Arcadia!"

After his speech ended, the national anthem of the Holy Arcadia Empire started being played once more, after which end, Karl Franz saluted to the glory of the Imperium.

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

"All Hail the Arcadia!"

***

Imperial Palace, Anor Londo, Holy Arcadia Empire, Lordran.

Karl Franz was in his study, reading the reports about the progress since the Great Convention Council. Even though only a few days had passed since that moment, the entire Imperium was already working on making his words to a reality.

The easiest was actually the Healing Church because the only thing that was needed to do was for the members of the Choir to pledge their loyalty to the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder and for the Great Ones to bless the Divine Throne once more, tying the fate of the Healing Church and its very own fundamental existence with that of the Imperial Dynasty.

Still, the Holy Imperator didn't intervene in the runnings or daily matters of the Healing Church but only dealt with the most important matters of the Church. Other things, as were now, were left to deal with by the Grand Theogonist as he was doing a good job even before.

With the Healing Church spearheading the reforms, everyone else soon enough followed after without much resistance. About the second thing, which was the establishment and creation of the Stormcast Eternals...

For that purpose, the greatest minds of the Holy Arcadia Empire were called together to figure out the process of the Forging of the Stormcast Eternals, as that would require a lot of resources and skills.

They would need a perfect way to combine the various methods of getting stronger and increasing the physical parameters so that they won't clash against each other. Still, with the knowledge and capabilities of the brightest minds of the Imperium, Karl Franz didn't doubt that it would be solved as soon as possible.

"And that is all, Your Holy Majesty."

Another stack of paper found its way to the Imperator's table, one by one, the reports were arriving as many things were taking place within the territory of the Imperium within such a short time.

But the Arcadians were very efficient folk who valued efficiency and a fast approach.

"You can excuse yourself... I will take a look over it as soon as possible."

The Holy Imperator stated as the papers landed on his table and started looking over them; they were reports from the Stormcast Research Group consisting of Scholars, Wizards, Knights, Priests, Hunters and practically everyone who was working on the Stormcast Eternals.

They were right now starting to create the layout for the various augmentations of the Stormcast Eternals. That would take some time because it wasn't easy to merge so many augmentations together, but fortunately, the Old Blood has proved itself to be a splendid binder.

***

POV Maria Vileblood

The Imperial Palace was always pretty empty and sometimes due to this emptiness of these halls, it was also pretty creepy. Especially at night, it could be even terrifying, considering the enormous size of the buildings themselves that were in this place.

Still, it also had some weird calming feeling on my nerves as I was walking to the study of Imperator, or in other words, my lover slash fianceé. He made a quite mess with his announcements at the Great Convention Council and practically scared to shit several of the Noble Houses.

The creation of something like the Stormcast Eternals and its merger with the Healing Church meant that the Imperial House would exert even greater control over the Imperial Nobles.

Even my mother was a bit upset about the loss of the majority of the Cainhurstian Guard, but at the same time, if it meant that the Empire got stronger, so be it. In the end, sooner or later, the House Vileblood would become part of the Imperial House.

Perhaps some Cadet Branch or whatever, it was also highly possible that a future Imperator would emerge from the House Vileblood of the Cainhurst.

When I arrived at Karl's study, it was full of papers and reports about the developments across the Empire. Most of the reports about ongoing reforms were directly going to him, so I don't doubt that he must be pissed beyond belief.

He hated this part of being ruler because it meant that he had a lot of administrative work to do that he was rightfully abhorred actually to do. There were a lot of documents on his desk waiting for his signature and unfortunately, no matter how he wished for that, not everything could be pushed to the High Chancellor.

"So, how is the work treating you?"

I asked, seeing him jerk in his seat because I appeared like a ghost next to him, or perhaps he was too engrossed in his own work.

"Just wait... once it will await even you if Lady Annalise will get enough of the job and will proclaim you as the new Lord High Magistrate and your time of playing around will end faster than straw could burn."

When I saw his grin, I got irritated almost instantly because there had been talks in the Cainhurst of my mother wanting to abdicate from her post of Lord High Magistrate. Hopefully, these rumors would remain only as rumors because I have no wish to be inaugurated as one.

There are more problems with it than they are worth; if possible, with a bit of skill and manipulation, I could get rid of it and pass the title to my children. Yes, that, would be splendid and I could continue Hunting...

"Did you come to gloat or do something productive?"

It seems that he got irritated from such a high amount of paperwork...

"I came to visit you and this is how you treat the love of your love?"

I asked with faux anger as I sat down at the leather chair opposite to his desk and observed him while he was working. Truthfully, I was doing this rather often; there was something wonderful when I was watching Karl working, his conviction, and his dedication to the work.

"Maria, while I love you with all of my heart and soul, sometimes you are really insufferable pain in the ass. Just because you are skipping all of your duties and even right now, you are probably scheming to skip the generation; not everyone has that luxury..."

I smiled a little as he said that we had been together for centuries, though a long time it took for us to make the final step. For me, there were not many courageous to even approach me, especially considering my personal power and the fame or infamy of the House Vileblood...

That certainly made most of the potential suitors to piss their pants, and another thing was that not many men would stomach of women being far stronger than them. For Karl, the reasons were obvious after he told me of his past life, which was another shocking revelation in itself.

"I love you too... don't you want to take a break?"

I asked as I made myself comfortable in the leather chair, batting my eyes at my lover who was writing some papers.

"No, I have a lot of work to do..."

Guts of that man he didn't even look at me when I was in the mood for some steamy sex in his office... wasn't this what men never should deny?

Though sometimes I forget that Karl is indeed not an ordinary man, but his conviction and focus were unbreakable as Titatine. But I am also not an ordinary woman and it would be a shame on me If I didn't catch the attention of my man.

Sitting on the leather hair, I bit my finger as I slowly spread my legs, trailing down to my sacred cavern while looking at Karl who was working. Slowly revealing my assets to the light of the world, as a moan escaped from my mouth...

When he heard that with his accurate senses, his sight turned to me, completely ignoring his paperwork and other things, as I grinned...

I batted my eyes at him, playing with my nipples with my left hand as my right hand started rubbing my pussy.

I knew very well that in front of such divine sight as me, he wouldn't be able to say no, which soon became a reality, as stopped his work and slowly came to me with a predatory grin.

'This would be a long fight...'

***

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[T4ndoris]

Damn, ASOIAF, Bloodborn and Warhammer fantasy was already a pretty grimdark mix but you add SCP fondation to it? I hope i never get to be isekaied in such world, 40k almost seem to be less horrific, TFTC!