August 16

Maihark Beach

Under the calm summer sun, several figures played around along the beaches of Maihark, while some lounged about. On a nearby patio, elegantly dressed men and women enjoyed wine and the cool ocean breeze.

President Lee set his glass down and asked an elven waitress for a refill. While she performed her duties, Lee felt a simmering heat coming from his left. He turned around, finding his wife staring at him with malicious intent. “Woah, c’mon now Mary. Honey look, I’m just curious y’know; haven’t seen an elf well, ever. I swear it’s nothing bad or anything…”

“Haha,” she grinned evilly. “You’re so cute when you’re all flustered like that.”

“Oh, huh.” Lee glanced at the table across from them and saw a few of his buddies in the Secret Service sharing a few giggles. He didn’t know if they were laughing at him or something else entirely. “Well anyway, you think it’s time to open up Qua Toyne for tourism? Seems pretty nice here.”

Mary placed her hands on his. “Yeah, the sunsets are pretty nice too. This is a good place to visit, but by opening this place up… I don’t know. I’d hate to see this place get all crowded like those beaches in SoCal or Florida.”

President Lee sipped his wine as he rubbed his wife’s soft hands. “Yeah. This place is pretty perfect. Looks better than Quila, safer than Louria… it’ll be hard finding another good spot like this.”

“What about that empire up north? The big one.”

“Parpaldia? Well, I did see the pictures and videos from Ambassador Anders and the sailors. It looks amazing, like a real fantasy city, but with like European touches. But I mean,” Lee sighed, “I don’t have great feelings about Parpaldia. The diplomats we sent are a bit iffy about the place, and the people are pretty arrogant, according to that Kaios guy. On top of that, their capital looks so great, but look at their other territories. It’s like they milk them dry…”

“Oh, those poor people,” she said.

“Yeah. Makes North Korea look good in comparison. These Parpaldians seem off. I wouldn’t want any of us getting stuck there.”

“Yeah, makes sense. How about the untouched lands above Alaska? Wait, that makes me wonder: how is Alaska still cold, but those countries above it have like good weather?”

Lee shrugged. “I… don’t remember. You can look for Dr. Pollan at NASA if you’re really interested, but I think it’s because of currents. Something about being lucky with a cold current even though it’s lower in latitude here in Elysia compared to Earth. And I wouldn’t really go for those untouched lands. Haven’t been touched by humans, or elves, or anything. But they’re full of monsters and stuff. We could read the Topa Kingdom file as a bedtime story if you want,” Lee suggested.

“Ehh…”

Before Mary could answer, Lee’s phone rang. “Can I not catch a damn break,” he muttered as he checked his phone, looking for the identity of the caller. “Oh…” He picked up the phone saying, “What is it?”

He listened to the man on the other end speak, taking in the new information.

Mary noticed President Lee’s expression. “Is it urgent, Tommy?”

“Yeah,” Lee sighed. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay dear,” she said.

Lee got up and walked toward the beach — away from the other partygoers — to privately discuss the new situation. “So,” he spoke into his phone, the sound of waves crashing echoing in the background. “The Gra Valkas Empire, huh? Strange how two nations have been summoned already: ours and theirs. Are there any more?”

“To our knowledge,” Steven said over the phone, “Not yet. The captured spies have been quite helpful in accidentally revealing information; they’re quite arrogant and boast about their technological prowess. We know that the Gra Valkas Empire, which is the large continental territory with the large quantities of atmospheric pollutants, is from a planet known as Yggdra. There, they were the premier superpower. It seems that conquest was the name of their game, and they have applied the same concepts from Yggdra to Elysia, subjugating nearby primitive nations and even challenging a local superpower, one known as Leifor.”

“Must have been a grueling war,” Lee said.

“On the contrary, Mister President. The Leiforians surrendered after a ship quite similar to a Yamato-class battleship bombarded their capital. Our local intelligence in the region is lacking, but we can see the Gra Valkan flag being raised in numerous Leiforian regions. This news is also corroborated by reports from our Mu associates in Esthirant. Smaller bombardments and bombing runs have been reported, likely due to resistance groups.”

“That sounds… unsettling. What else do we know about this faction?”

“Aside from the general level of their technology and economy, we know that they may have rules of war. According to the captured spies, the Gra Valkas Empire was a signatory to numerous international treaties, but their actions in Leifor suggest that they have abandoned any agreements made in Yggdra. We should be able to find out more information as the Gra Valkas campaign progresses.”

President Lee kicked some sand as he sighed. “So much pain in this world… We oughta let them know that we won’t take kindly to such barbarous and savage crimes. That reminds me, how are the contact procedures coming along?”

“Still working on it, sir. Foreign Affairs is a bit wary about establishing contact with an aggressive nation like Gra Valkas. They are considering radio as an alternative means of official first contact and are currently drafting up plans and scenarios.”

“Alright, that’s good. Damn, crazy how a local superpower fell in a day.”

“Sure is, sir.”

“Well, I’ve gotta go get back to my wife. Oh wait, how are the kids doing?”

“They’re still enjoying the magic show, sir.”

President Lee smiled. “Good. Now make sure they don’t sleep too late. Keep me updated.”

“I will, sir.”

——

Holy Milishial Empire

A Certain Bar in Cartalpas

Located along the southern coasts of the Holy Milishial Empire, Cartalpas was an important trade hub. Positioned almost literally in the center of the world (as far as the denizens of the Central Continents are concerned) and in a densely populated strait, Cartalpas is also a center of culture and information. The skyline of the city reflected this, with bright skyscrapers stretching to the sky. Magical lights illuminated the streets in a number and elegance fitting for what is currently regarded as the greatest superpower in Elysia.

In all of Cartalpas, one bar in particular was quite popular among the merchant and corporate communities. Agents from large companies and traveling merchants settled in this bar whenever they were in town, for this bar was also frequented by the most knowledgeable and talkative of men. A mere whisper uttered in this bar could send companies tumbling and markets crashing, or provide an insight that could lead to innumerable wealth.

One such delicate topic was that of Leifor’s downfall. On a colorized magic screen — yet another reflection of Milishial magical superiority — an Elven reporter spoke into a microphone. “I’m Alana Forlen, and welcome back to Milishial News Network. Here at MNN, we pride ourselves at providing you news almost as fast as news happens! For today’s story, we’ll be taking a look at the rumors from Leifor.”

The camera focused on the building behind her as she spoke. “I’m here at the Leiforian Embassy in Runeopolis with the Leiforian ambassador, Horan Talmot. Mister Talmot, the Central Continents are quite worried about the situation in the west. Who is this new foe, and what exactly is going on over there?” She offered the microphone to the man dressed in fancy Victorian-era attire.

Horan bore a grim expression — one befitting of a man who had just lost his home. “The rumors you hear of Leifor’s demise are true. This new foe, the Eighth Empire or the Gra Valkas Empire or whatever they call themselves, are a scourge. Like savages, they descended upon the defenseless island nations to the west, subjugating them with no regard to our relations with said island nations. We failed to defend our vassals and protectorates; the Gra Valkas Empire was simply too powerful! They wiped out the fleet and wyvern lords we sent to intercept with just a single ship, then proceeded to lay waste to the capital. Our imperial palace was targeted and His Greatness the Emperor was unable to escape. He and his family were killed, along with thousands of others who were unlucky enough to be caught by their indiscriminate attacks.” Horan shook his head slightly, his expression clearly demonstrating vehemence and hatred toward the Gra Valkans.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Mister Talmot. What will become of Leifor itself?”

“With the Emperor gone and no clear line of succession, we have little options. Our generals wanted to coordinate resistance efforts against the fleet of landing vessels that soon followed, and one did. However, those scum simply laid waste to miles of residence along the beaches. Thousands of innocents died, along with our valiant warriors who never even had a chance to land a blow. After that incident, it was decided that we should simply surrender, lest more of our citizens suffer this unjustness.”

“So what will you do now?”

“Alas, with the loss of my country, I have no job.” He shrugged. “I suppose I shall ask some associates if there is anything I could do to support myself.”

As the televised interview pulled away from the topic of Leifor and focused on the details of the Gra Valkas Empire, the merchants began discussing. The room erupted into chatter as bewildered customers took in the news that Leifor, a superpower, had lost to an unknown barbarians nation in a single day, to a single ship. After a few minutes, a beer-bellied man stood up and loudly proclaimed, “Is there anyone who knows a thing about this Gra Valkas Empire?”

The bar quieted down as a man in a dark suit stood up, his clothes designating him as a Mu National. “Yeah. I was in Leifor signing a deal for my company; we were buying Tears of the Wind God for experimental purposes. As we were out on company testing waters, we heard several loud explosions toward the open ocean, where we saw those wyvern knights and ships go earlier. We felt that it was a bit dangerous, so we hid behind a cove. Then, we saw the ship.”

The drunken merchants leaned in, rife with anticipation.

The Muan businessman held on to his drink. Speaking with disbelief and the inability to fathom what he had seen, he described the vessel. “It was large, much larger than even the La Kasami, which can be considered a dreadnought comparable to the Holy Milishial Empire’s battleships. This other ship though, it was like a SUPER dreadnought. The cannons were gigantic, probably close to 50 centimeters in caliber. The speed was also ridiculous for a ship that size, but not unrealistic. I talked to a few analysts from the company and they think that Mu and the Holy Milishial Empire could probably produce such a ship in the near future.”

A confused patron asked, “When you say near future, just how many years are you talking?”

The Muan shrugged. “A decade maybe?”

“So… you’re saying that the Gra Valkas Empire, at least in terms of shipbuilding, is more advanced than even the two greatest superpowers of the Central Continents?”

“Well, not necessarily. We theorize that we can construct such a vessel, albeit at great cost. They likely only have one of these superweapons. Still, the overall sophistication of the design is worrying.”

A new voice chimed in: a man in Napoleonic attire. “This talk of unrealistically and disproportionately powerful summoned nations is quite a headache, isn’t it?”

The beer-bellied man responded, “What do you mean?”

“Gra Valkas isn’t the only summoned nation. To the great east, past Rodenius, there is a nation known as the United States of America. I have not visited their lands myself, but I’ve heard of their achievements. A fleet of three thousand Lourian vessels surrendered to only five ships and several dozen aircraft, which, by the way, also travel faster than sound.”

“Faster than sound?” The Muan said, aghast. “Do they use magic?”

The Parpaldian shook his head. “Maybe, but all sources I’ve spoken to claim they are a purely mechanical nation, having had no exposure to magic on their home world.” He then produced a wristwatch and offered it to the Muan, who analyzed it with surprise. “I’ve had the luxury of doing business with their corporations, and my heavens are their products of high quality.”

The Muan raised his eyebrow, making an impressed face as he nodded. “Why, you’re completely truthful. This craftsmanship is… uncannily precise!”

“And not only that,” the Parpaldian added, “They have incredible sciences unknown to the rest of the world. I was at Esthirant when their fleet arrived, and let me tell you, the Gra Valkas Empire is no match for them. They may be able to swipe down Leifor’s wyverns, but America’s iron dragons? I doubt it.”

While the patrons of the bar discussed the implications of the summoned nations’ emergence, news of these so-called “barbarian” countries spread. Doubt proliferated, with many dismissing these stories as unbelievable rumors and hearsay, but none were able to argue against the effects these nations left on Elysia. A lingering question was then left in everyone’s minds: if these nations were summoned, then why?