The night was dark, but the fleet could already see Talos’ Cradle on the horizon.

Its forges produced so much fire and light that they could be seen from many nautical miles away. From his window in the flying Foresight’s private quarters, Kairos thought it looked more like a candle than a fortress.

The great Travian-Lycean fleet sailed on calm, shallow waters that once used to be land. Though the city-state of Thessala had borne the brunt of the Thalassocrator’s power, Mithridates had also targeted naval bases in the region. Smaller islands around the fallen state had sunk below the waves, and the fleet’s amphibious scouts kept finding corpses in the depths.

How many of Kairos’ troops would join them by the time dawn arrived?

That will depend on this meeting, Kairos thought as he turned around to face the people present. All of his key officers and commanders had gathered around a table, from Agron to Dispater. Cassandra, Labienus, Ultor, Julia, Thales and Andromache were all present, alongside foreign auxiliaries like Queen Euthenia of Orthia and General Petra from the Achlysian mercenaries.

It was Thales who surprised Kairos the most. He appeared strangely calm considering they were about to besiege his birthplace and kept his modified control rod in his hands as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.

“Are you anxious, Thales?” Kairos asked him.

“I would lie if I pretended otherwise, sir,” Thales replied. “But the better word to use in this scenario is… excited.”

“Are you eager to take vengeance?” Agron asked him with a raised eyebrow. “You were banished from this place after all. I understand if you wanted to level it to rubble.”

“I want nothing of the sort,” Thales replied to the minotaur’s question. “My dearest wish is to see my creator and all of my automaton kindred freed from Mithridates’ control. No more.”

“Because you think they will take you back with open arms?” Agron seemed more confused than anything. “I wouldn’t expect gratitude if I were you. At best they’ll give empty praise and promptly forget about it.”

Thales hesitated to answer this truthfully.

“I know,” he finally admitted. “Once, a part of me hoped that one day my exile would be repealed and that I would be allowed to practice my craft in peace. But… I realize now that they are incompatible. Lord Talos swore to uphold the laws of Thessala and they haven’t changed, even if the city has perished. No automaton may create another automaton, except Lord Talos.”

“Promises and oaths can be overcome,” Andromache said with an ominous smile. “I can tell.”

Of course she did, Kairos thought. Obeying an oath to the letter wasn’t the same as upholding its spirit. He had learned that lesson painfully and come to realize that nothing trumped genuine loyalty.

“My kind was enslaved long before Mithridates,” Thales replied with a hint of bitterness. “They merely lost the few freedoms they could enjoy. Even if Lord Talos were freed and changed his policy, I have no desire to return. My place is in Histria.”

“And you will always find a home there,” Julia promised warmly. “I would dearly miss your company.”

“You are too kind, Lady Julia.” Thales glanced down at his control rod. “Returning as liberator will be vengeance enough, Agron. This will break our chains.”

Once a small wand covered in runes, Thales’ control rod had been modified with metallic parts. Shining ruby jewels were encrusted on both ends and connected to each other by golden lines. Brief bursts of lightning coursed through the metallic parts as if the device overflowed with energy. Kairos appraised the item with [Magical Knack], his Skill immediately providing him with interesting information.

Thunderrod of Thales

Magical Item: Rank 3.

Value: 50,000 Gold Coins.

A modified control rod by Thales Thundercatcher. While it allows the holder to influence the mind of the eponymous [Hero], the device has been sabotaged to act as a potent weapon against other automatons. If an automaton other than Thales Thundercatcher touches the device, an energy feedback will reverberate to any control rod connected to them and destroy it.

“Are you certain this won’t harm you?” Kairos asked with some worry as he invited everyone to sit around the table. A sketch of Thessala before its destruction and Talos’ Cradle had been laid bare for the group to study. “Your own soul is connected to the device.”

“I cannot say, sir,” Thales admitted. At the war’s onset he had been reluctant to even show the control rod to others. “But I am willing to suffer temporary malfunction for the sake of freeing my kin from enslavement.”

“What I fear is that it might not be temporary,” Julia replied. As one of the automaton’s closest friends, she was clearly concerned for his safety. “You are putting your own life at risk here.”

“Aren’t we all, Lady Julia?” Labienus asked. “This is war and everyone present tonight might pay its bloody price.”

Cassandra’s expression darkened, but not as much as Dispater’s.

“Lady Julia, I am thankful for your concern,” Thales said, “but this goes beyond me. This concerns the fate of my entire kind. If I am to suffer… I will consider it a small price to pay so that my thousand brothers can one day hope to live freely.”

Kairos observed the automaton. His hands didn’t fidget as they usually did, and he kept his back straight. His crystal eye shone brighter than it ever had. His very demeanor had changed. The shy, self-critical engineer who Kairos had to all but browbeat into joining the hunt for the Nemean Lion was nowhere to be seen.

“You have grown strong, Thales,” he said.

“Only thanks to you, sir.” The automaton nodded profusely as he briefly returned to his own self, much to Kairos’ amusement. “If it were not for your encouragement, I wouldn’t have obtained a [Legend] nor acquired the knowledge to modify my control rod.”

“Will it work though?” Dispater asked, his defeat in the north having re-taught him the value of caution. “My Skills tell me that your device can disturb the control rods of automatons. It might work with lesser ones, but in Talos’ case, we are hoping that a [Hero]-made device will destroy a device created by Hephaestus himself.”

Thales looked down. “I cannot say if it will destroy my maker’s rod… the chance is slim indeed.”

“The true value of this asset lies elsewhere, Lord Dispater,” Julia said as she came to her friend’s rescue. “Talos crafted all the lesser rods used to control his automaton army. He might still be connected to them in some way.”

Dispater crossed his arms with a frown. “You believe we could disable his automated army through him?”

“This is my hope,” Thales confirmed, his tone suddenly less confident than before. “But all theories require testing, and… as I told Lord Kairos and Lady Julia before, there is a risk Lord Talos might not need a control rod to control me at short-distance.”

Julia smiled ear to ear. “If the worst comes to pass, we have a countermeasure.”

“A countermeasure?” Thales asked in surprise.

“My wife has developed a Legendary Skill that could potentially cripple Talos’ control over automatons,” Kairos explained. Though it would depend on what her Legendary Skill considered an item.

“Truly?” Something in Dispater’s question reeked of quiet jealousy. “I knew you had developed a [Legend], but I didn’t know one of your Skills could affect a [Demigod].”

Julia’s smile faltered. “Much like Thales’ solution, we cannot know if it will work unless we test it and I doubt it would affect Talos for long in any case. But my ability can become our trump card if we play it correctly.”

Kairos knew his wife also had a misgiving about the Skill that she kept from the assembly. Namely, the way it could potentially affect Thales. Julia didn’t want to test out her theory unless forced to.

“Before we discuss how to counter Talos, we must settle another matter.” Kairos turned his gaze to Euthenia. “Namely, Orthia’s status.”

Queen Euthenia bristled. “My city’s status? I have already committed all of my remaining forces. What more do you want?”

“Is now the time to discuss it, my other half?” Andromache asked with a frown. “We are almost in sight of the enemy.”

“Do you want me to marry a Lycean on the spot?” Queen Euthenia glared at Labienus and then Dispater. “Which one will it be? The young or the old? Why not both at once while we’re at it?”

“I won’t force you to marry anyone against your will.” Kairos had already seen where bad matches led. “And I want to settle it now because her role in the operation might be critical and we cannot allow hesitation. I want to set the record straight between us.”

His wife presented Queen Euthenia with a copy of the Travian constitution, complete with a contract. “Here is what we offer you,” Julia said. “Orthia can choose to join the Travian federation as many other cities have.”

Labienus raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. “Not the Lycean Republic?”

“Our original plan a year ago was to have the Thessalan League divided between the Lycean Republic and the Travian Federation along various lines,” Dispater explained with a sigh. “Orthia was supposed to become a province governed by the Flavii while I would have taken Pergamon for myself. Thessala, meanwhile, would have joined the Travian Federation.”

Euthenia immediately caught on, her eyes set on Kairos and Julia. “You are the Flavii now and Thessala sank.”

“We can decide who between the Lycean Republic and the Travian Federation will administer a given region,” Kairos confirmed. “I will offer you the same proposal I gave to cities who joined our alliance. You will be recognized as Orthia’s queen and be granted partial autonomy within a given framework. You will have to release the helots from slavery, contribute to the federation’s tax base, join our military pact, and open your borders to other federation members.”

Queen Euthenia snorted. “These are essentially the same terms that Mithridates gave me, minus the helots bit.”

“An important distinction,” Julia replied softly. “To allow your slaves to rise out of poverty, they will also be granted some of the Orthian state’s lands. The poor’s debts will be canceled. We have seen that freeing slaves without redistributing means of production leads to social unrest. Since they toiled on your country’s behalf without being ever given anything in return, we believe this is only fair.”

“You will cripple our economy,” the Orthian queen argued. “Will you at least repeal Sertorius’ decision to defang and exile our nobles?”

“No, we won’t.” Julia’s lips pursed, revealing the sharp teeth behind. “We both know they will always remember the glory days and cause unrest.”

“So instead you will give rise to a class of merchants and ex-slaves indebted to you?” Queen Euthenia’s eyes shone with disdain and bitterness. “Do you think I don't see your ploy? You leave me in charge but make sure I won’t ever have the power to challenge you again.”

“We offer you to become the queen of all Orthians,” Julia clarified their proposal. “Not just the elite at the top. No one should be excluded from governance because of their birth or gender. I thought you would understand that after being treated like a bargaining tool by others in a position of power.”

The Orthian Queen looked away, her eyes thoughtful.

“Unlike Mithridates, we won’t have a weapon of mass destruction pointed at your city,” Kairos added. “We won’t leave a token force behind to occupy it either. Orthia will lose its independence, but it will keep its autonomy. Your people will also have a voice in the federation’s assembly instead of none. I will not interfere with your governance. You will be allowed to marry whoever you want and choose your successor among your subjects. You could even choose a drunk and a whore for all I care.”

Euthenia locked eyes with Kairos. “And if we rebel in the future?”

Kairos’ voice turned as cold as ice. “I do not give third chances.”

“As I thought.” The Orthian Queen sighed as she read the document. “You won’t interfere in common governance? Do you swear?”

“So long as you respect the Travian peace and our federation’s constitution,” Julia replied as she presented the document. “We will need your signature.”

“Must I sign with my blood?”

“If you wish.” Julia chuckled as she pointed at an inkpot and feather at the table’s edge. “Otherwise we have less dramatic alternatives available.”

Queen Euthenia glanced at the feather, then at the document, and finally at Kairos. “You have been the bane of our civilization, pirate king,” she said. “It was your raid that put the first nail in my nation’s coffin. This scroll is the last one.”

“And if I had to, I would do it all over again.” Kairos simply couldn’t forget the sight of the helot slaves forced to fight as meat shields for Orthian noblemen. He knew he would have intervened even without Mithridates’ involvement. “We will never get along and I know you will bear a grudge against me for the rest of your days. That's fine, I despise everything your city stands for. But if we are to have lasting peace, we must learn to compromise.”

“How have you compromised?” the queen asked bitterly. “You? A foreign conqueror who took my ancestor’s lands by force?”

“I wanted to tear down Orthia’s walls, disperse its people, and make sure it would never rise again,” Kairos admitted bluntly. “But someone convinced me that this would be Mithridates’ way.”

Cassandra chuckled. “Mithridates wouldn’t have listened to me.”

No, probably not. He would have probably forced the Orthian queen to marry him the same way Sertorius considered doing once the war had ended.

Queen Euthenia glanced at Cassandra and then back at the contract. Her eyes kept an ember of defiance, but Kairos could see the resignation in them. This was the best deal that she would get for all of her people and the only one allowing her to keep her dignity as a ruler.

“Fine, I accept your terms,” Euthenia said as she signed the document. “Better the Travian than the Lyceans or Mithridates.”

Now they had to make sure there would be a city left to administer. Mithridates wouldn’t forgive the slight.

Once the matter was settled, the war council began in earnest. Kairos pointed at the region’s map and the area around Talos’ Cradle.

“According to Nausicaa’s naval scouting, the Thalassocrator isn’t present and only a small part of the fleet defends the Cradle,” he explained. “Teuta’s new flagship isn’t among the vessels.”

“My brother’s strategy is working perfectly,” Julia said. “Mithridates’ spies told their master we would move east to help the Thessalan resistance and Teuta moved most of her fleet and the Thalassocrator in that direction. We have surprise on our side, at least until their patrols notice our approach.”

Cassandra was less optimistic. “A larger fleet wouldn’t have changed much. Thessala’s Acropolis has never been taken when it had land around it. The sea and sharp cliffs surround the mountain today, and the place is probably even more fortified.”

“It can only be taken by the skies,” Agron declared. As usual, the minotaur always surprised Kairos with his keen insight. “Which I assume is why we gathered on this flying ship and discussed the Orthians’ fate.”

“Exactly,” Kairos confirmed. “Talos will almost certainly come out to defend the place the moment he sees us. The Foresight shall engage him in battle. The fleet will destroy the amphibious defenses and an aerial force shall do the same with the long-range weapons protecting the fortress.”

General Petra immediately voiced her skepticism. “King Kairos, with all due respect we cannot hope to take the place, let alone hold it, if the automatons fight us.”

Ultor, who had remained silent so far, suddenly seemed interested. “How so?”

Kairos wondered if the [Demigod] took this assertion as a challenge.

“We can destroy the weapons outside the fortress, but storming its confines will cost us dearly,” General Petra explained. “There will be a killing machine behind every door and we will have to fight them room by room. I have checked the sketches we could make of the fortress and there is a choke point every ten meters. It will be an utter bloodbath.”

“And you won’t starve automatons out the same way your brother-in-law did with my city,” Euthenia added. “You cannot negotiate with mindless thralls or intimidate them.”

Kairos sighed. “I know. But we can’t leave the Cradle’s forges to produce more soldiers for Mithridates.”

“The solution is pretty obvious to me, though Thales won’t like it.” Agron raised his Songaxe. “What we can’t take, we destroy. We bomb this machine nursery to dust after shattering its defenses.”

Thales flinched at the minotaur’s words, but Labienus immediately argued on the military strategy before the automaton could say anything. “Have you lost your wits, minotaur? We don’t have enough fire rods to destroy a fortress of this size.”

“We don’t need to. We know the structural weak points, the right number of explosives in the right place will bring it crashing down into the sea.“ Agron glanced at Thales, his harsh expression softening. “Unless you have another suggestion, my friend?”

“I… I have none,” the automaton admitted. “But even though I provided the structural weaknesses of my birthplace, I am not comfortable with this plan. I was crafted in these forges alongside my brethren. There is nothing else like them in this world.”

“You are wrong, my friend,” Julia said with a soft, reassuring tone. “You have already crafted automatons in Histria.”

Thales remained sullen. “None of them have souls like I do, Lady Julia. I am building monkeys while trying to emulate a man.”

“Because they were not crafted by a [Demigod],” the queen argued. “The forges matter less than the blacksmith.”

“Less than a year ago, you didn’t even have a [Legend] Thales,” Kairos reminded his friend, “and you couldn’t make an automaton at all. I believe you undersell your successes and don’t give yourself enough credit. With time, you could perfect the automaton creation procedure. Maybe even become a [Demigod].”

“I… thank you, sir.” Thales offered a nod, though the words didn’t reassure him. “But I beg you. The Cradle’s destruction must be a last resort once all other options have been exhausted.”

“I swear it,” Kairos replied immediately.

Julia glanced at the officers present. “I suggest that Thales be the one making the final call after we disable the fortress’ external defenses. This is his homeland and he is the main reason why we gathered enough intelligence to attack it in the first place. He is entitled to that choice.”

None voiced their disapproval.

“Thank you, Lady Julia,” Thales said as he clutched his control rod tighter. “I… I will not fail you.”

“You won’t,” Julia reassured him. “I don’t need the sphinx to tell me.”

Speaking of Aglaonice, Kairos wondered how many hours they would wait until she sent the signal. The sphinx was using her magic to obscure divinations targeting the fleet and would warn its commanders of an impending attack.

We don’t have much time left, Kairos thought. The cover of darkness wouldn’t protect them forever.

“If I may, Lord Dispater.” Everyone glanced at Ultor. “I wish to be part of the forces storming the Cradle from above.”

“Has your duel against Romulus awakened your appetite for blood?” Dispater asked with an iron gaze. “You won’t fight Talos?”

“I fight to the death,” Ultor replied with laconism. “And we mean to spare Talos if we can.”

Dispater chuckled darkly before turning to Cassandra. “Where will you go, my good daughter?”

“I will command the air attack on the Cradle with Euthenia, Lord Dispater,” Cassandra replied. Kairos immediately noticed a sense of greater familiarity between the two of them. Tiberius’ death seemed to have made them closer. “I will be dropped there with Agron and other frontline [Heroes].”

“Then Ultor and I will follow you.” Dispater turned to face Kairos. “If our commander agrees.”

Kairos had the feeling he said that for the sake of the others present, as a show of support. “I will allow it.”

Ultor would have been useful against Talos, but the gladiator struck Kairos as more at ease on land or fighting people his size. Their foe was a mountain of steel. Only maneuverability could hope to prevail against him.

“General Petra and Labienus will command the fleet while Queen Euthenia will lead the aerial forces,” Kairos declared. “The rest of you, yourself included Thales, will stay on the Foresight to distract Talos and hopefully free him from Mithridates' control.”

Andromache took a deep breath and asked the hard question, “And if we can’t?”

Kairos glanced at Thales, whose body language had turned somber. The automaton examined his control rod before nodding sadly at Kairos.

“Then we kill him,” Kairos replied with grim resignation. “Now to your stations.”

The war council disbanded immediately afterward. Euthenia’s group left first on the back of griffins and pegasi, while Labienus and Petra were returned to their flagships by flight. Only Julia, Andromache, and Thales remained within the captain’s quarters.

“I am truly sorry that things reached this stage, Thales,” Kairos apologized to his friend. “We will do our best to subdue your maker non-lethally.”

“No, sir.” The automaton shook his head. “I cannot ask you to pull your punches when so many lives are at stake. Lord Talos’ might is immense and a single strike of his can snap a ship in half. I… if things come to it, I will understand.”

He would understand, yes, and regret it all the same.

“What about the children, my other half?” Andromache asked Kairos with worry. “I worry about their safety during the battle.”

“They are in the cargo hold with Aurelia and under close watch.” Kairos had considered putting them on another ship, but the possibility of Beast Cult spies and assassins had convinced him otherwise. The Foresight would be in the thick of the battle, but it was a living vessel ready to defend its captain’s family and crew against anyone. “My mother is enjoying her grandchildren’s presence as much as she can.”

Julia’s looks darkened. “Is there truly no other way, husband?”

“There are four,” Andromache replied with a scowl. “Kairos is one, Nessia another and your children the rest of them.”

The Telchine race could make many wonders by mixing steel and blood, but always with a heavy price. To create a weapon capable of striking Lycaon through Taulas’ enslaved soul, Kairos had needed the sacrifice of a family member.

Only life could pay for death.

He and his mother had a long, long discussion about this… and Aurelia remained adamant that as the oldest member of the family, she would make a better sacrifice than her son and grandchildren.

“Between us, I hope that the Cradle might have a magical weapon capable of killing Lycaon.” Kairos admitted. “Knowing Mithridates, he would never ally with someone he can’t dispose of later.”

“It is a fool’s hope, my other half.” Andromache shook her head. “If this king of fools had such a weapon, he would have used it against us.”

“He already has a trump card that can destroy Lycaon,” Julia pointed out. “The Thalassocrator. We all know it’s only a matter of time before he uses it to sink Lyce below the waves. Wolves cannot swim long without land to return to.”

Or he might use his shard of Poseidon’s trident the same way King Triton did in Orichalcos, Kairos thought. If it had transformed a powerful, inbred prince into a mighty dragon, what power would it give to a [Demigod]? What kind of horror would Mithridates turn into if he were to use his artifact as a weapon rather than as his ship’s engine?

“Sir, if I may, I suggest we contact Lord Orgonos if you haven’t already,” Thales argued. “We have excellent relations with him and he has done a great service to Lady Andromache in the past.”

“A great service?” Andromache chuckled. “A quaint word to say that he made my life worth living. I have already sent him a message and many prayers. We are still waiting for an answer.”

If they would receive a positive one. Orgonos sealed Lycaon because he had no way to kill him.

Even the gods couldn’t answer every prayer.

Kairos sensed a chill going down his spine, a feeling of impending doom. His [Seamanship] Skill had detected a maritime hazard. Almost immediately afterward, a strident sound echoed across the Foresight.

Aglaonice’s alarm.

“We have been detected!” Kairos shouted as he rose from the table. He and his allies immediately moved on to the Foresight’s deck. Andromache grabbed her scepter, Julia a fire rod, and Thales tightened his grip on his own weapon.

Within minutes, Kairos had leaped on Rook’s back and they flew ahead of their ship. His griffin struggled a bit more with his flight than he did when he had two wings of feathers, but his metal one proved adequate.

Kairos hoped it would prove enough to stem the tide of steel ahead.

Of the city of Thessala, nothing but water and a hill of steel remained. From the current distance, Talos’ Cradle no longer looked like a candle in the dark. It had become a colossal pillar of metal and stone topped with chimneys. Burning flames rose in the skies above it, blanketing the stars with smoke. A swarm of winged automaton birds flew in circles around its thick windowless walls while the same fire cannons that had struck Kairos’ fleet along Boeotia’s coast protected the fortress by the hundreds. An army of automatons manned them with soulless efficiency. The Travian King couldn’t see any door in this foreboding furnace of destruction.

A small fleet of ships equipped with catapults and ballista defended the Cradle’s waters. Stranger protectors lurked in the waters too: colossal sea serpents of steel and clockwork krakens the size of battleships.

But none of these defenders were as impressive as Talos himself.

As Kairos witnessed the colossus’ full glory, he realized that the tales didn’t do the father of machines justice. The first of all automatons was so tall, so big, that although he rose from the sea the waters only reached up to his waist. Talos had been crafted in the image of the god Helios which Kairos had slain, his body made of the finest bronze. However, his beautiful face was now covered with a horned helmet of gold and silver. Two furnaces of searing flames peered through them at the incoming armada while mighty hands held a steel hammer as long as the Foresight itself.

Even the dragon Kairos’ crew had fought in Orichalcos looked smaller in comparison. Only Gaia, mother of all things, could rival this titan in size.

“So big and shiny…” Even Rook was slightly intimidated at the sight.

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Kairos reassured him. “Let’s go.”

Talos raised his hammer to the skies as Kairos did the same with his spear.

Lightning and wind thundered as the Dance of the Automatons began.