Sonaran Royal Castle10 A.M. Local Time
Month 5, Day 21, Year 237
"According to Kelmithus" reports, Your Majesty, these Americans have been able to defeat the transported n.o.bian army with ease. They have not suffered a single casualty."
One of the generals at the meeting objected.
"That"s preposterous! Not even the Divinians could easily defeat a force that powerful!"
A colleague of Kelmithus, another Master Wizard, interjected.
"It makes sense when you consider the alleged capabilities of these people. Vehicles with greater performance and functionality than the Mekkanese, skyships that are mult.i.tudes faster than those of the Divinians or Mekkanese, structures that are significantly taller than even the tallest buildings in the Divinian Empire. Surely, their military capabilities can be discerned from just their civilian technologies alone, which vastly outperform those of any civilization in the Central Continents."
After further discussion, King Selios shamed his generals for their ignorance, and decreed that his diplomats should attempt to secure, at the very least, a non-aggression treaty with the Americans. Furthermore, any trade agreements would be useful in solidifying their relationship between the United States.
Sonaran Royal Castle, Guest Lobby
1 P.M. Local Time
Diplomat John Perry was the a.s.signed representative for the mission. A skillful negotiator back on Earth, he was selected for his strategic excellence and his ability to see through unfavorable terms. With Alpha team catching up on the magic and history of this world, Perry would be debriefed on the politics of Gaerra while he waited for the meeting to start.
After complimenting the food, Perry and his team were taught about the various relationships between countries on Gaerra.
Although Sonara was a Federation, the king held most of the power, but could easily be dethroned by a consensus amongst the Sonaran Parliament. Understandably, this threat resulted in wise kings, who perform as excellent leaders. King Selios reflected this ideology, as he has been able to successfully withstand n.o.bian a.s.saults.
"Tell me about the war."
Kelmithus enlightened the Americans, skillfully exaggerating some details in order to appeal to their sympathy. There were some details he didn"t even have to exaggerate, such as the wholesale slaughter of entire Sonaran villages at the hand of the n.o.bians. The merciless n.o.bians sought to wipe out the sun worshipping heretics off of Eanif, and to the Americans, it seemed like an ethnic cleansing. The horrified Americans would carry their sympathetic feelings into the meeting later on.
After learning about the war between the Sonarans and n.o.bians, the diplomatic team also learned of the relationship between the five great powers of the Central Continents: the Divinian Empire, Mekkan, the Eanif Imperium, the Quod Republic, and the Orc Horde. The Divinian Empire and Mekkan had a sour relationship, with the Divinians looking down on the magically inept Mekkanese, even going so far as seizing territory from Mekkanese-allied states, who had magically inept inhabitants. Kelmithus surmised that this would provoke a war between these two powers sometime in the future.
The Eanif Imperium was a secretive superpower, concentrated in the northern half of the continent. They boasted military strength that was slightly subpar compared to the Mekkanese, being able to field biplanes and this world"s version of Maxim guns.
The Quod Republic was situated in North Obeg, with unknown capabilities. It is known, however, that they have been at war with the Orc Horde for centuries at this point. As guardians of the human lands, they have received a.s.sistance from the Divinians and Mekkanese in the form of equipment, technology, and mana gems.
As for the Orc Horde, they were considered a nuisance by the surrounding human continents. To the Americans, the Orcs shared similar traits to the Mongol Horde of Earth history, albeit more brutal. Unlike the Orcs of many fictional tales, these Orcs were described to be fairly intelligent and magically formidable. Apparently, they were capable of creating war machines and had a magical attunement of about 30%. Although not as developed as the human nations, they had an advantage over human counterparts: brute strength. The Orcs constantly raids nearby human settlements every few decades in order to replenish their numbers, since Orcs reproduce through human females. Those who are captured are kept as slaves in the Obegs and kept alive until infertile, at which point they are executed.
"How barbaric…"
Sonaran Royal Castle, Diplomatic Offices
2 P.M. Local Time
The meeting between Perry and his counterpart, Foreign Affairs Advisor Sindis, commenced. Sindis was as skilled as Perry, and at times used her alluring appearance to gain a tactical advantage. Perry, however, was trained well enough. He was a professional and conducted his actions as such. The two first discussed trade.
"The food your royal chefs served me earlier was quite delicious. My people would love to have these food items exported to my country."
Perry handed Sindis a list of food items, selected based on the Americans" research the day prior.
"5 million tons total?!? How can we even fit this much cargo through that tiny portal?"
"Our scientists, with the help of Kelmithus" research and some students at his academy, were able to find a way to enlarge the portal. In exchange for these food items, we can provide infrastructure and food items of our own, which we believe do not exist in this world."
Perry provided schematics for roads, highways, and railways, alongside advertis.e.m.e.nt-quality pictures of tomatoes, cinnamon, steak, and honey.
(Wow, so delicious…) Remembering her orders from King Selios, Sindis replied. "We accept! You can begin construction at any time, and we will allot you 100 square miles of land around the portal so you may build your facilities. This will be a 10 miles by 10 miles plot of land around the portal itself, which you may use as you wish. In addition, we will provide a square mile of land in Sonaris for the construction of an emba.s.sy. Consider this a reward for defeating the n.o.bian advance force. However, please note that this land may be under threat of attack by the n.o.bians, as your land is in between them and Sool Fort."
The United States, having antic.i.p.ated a situation like this, had already dispatched a diplomatic team to the n.o.bian Empire. Their meeting will begin tomorrow.
With land secured and a trade agreement finalized, Perry asked for some standard materials, alongside some unusual items.
"We have mithril ores that we can sell to you… but glowing green rocks and burning black liquids and rocks? I don"t see why anyone would want those. The Mekkanese contacted us last year about burning black rocks, so we gave them access to a mine near one of our mountain ranges. As for the glowing green rocks, I must ask about that first…"
Sindis proceeded to question a subordinate, asking her to contact some surveyors. After a few minutes, Sindis received her answer.
"We have some glowing green rocks in a cave system by the South Grenden Plains, but all of the miners who have been sent to that area returned sick. They might be cursed."
"Oh, that"s alright. We know how to ward off curses and evil spirits. Well, I suppose this agreement can be tentative. Can we survey for resources in your lands before we finalize this section on materials and resources?"
"Yes, of course. You may survey whatever open territories you wish."
"Excellent. On top of all this, we will provide a discount to all Sonarans for the various stores and restaurants we plan to open near the portal. You will be able to travel there and use our services after we establish a dollar-sodar exchange rate."
As the meeting concluded, Sindis had a final request for Perry. King Selios, noticing the cannon mounted atop the M2 Bradley, asked for a demonstration. Perry, not wishing to displease the king, asked command for permission, which was granted.
Outskirts of Sonaris
4 P.M. Local Time
The M2 Bradley IFVs that escorted the diplomatic convoy were brought to some plains outside of the Capital. The Sonaran King was accompanied by his cabinet and his highest ranking military officials. Placed about 500 meters away from the IFVs were solid rock constructs, summoned by the mages as targets. The king and his acquaintances eagerly awaited the show, discussing potential outcomes.
"That Cannon is very lengthy, it must be very accurate and powerful!"
"I"ve seen larger cannons in the Divinian Empire"
"The Mekkanese also have larger cannons; like the Americans they don"t use magic in their weapons! I wonder how the Americans compare."
"I remember seeing a vehicle like this amongst the Mekkanese a.r.s.enal. They called it a tank."
Discussion continued further until it was time for the demonstration. The first portion of the demonstration involved firing the main cannon of the IFV. The head of the Bradley, housing the 25 mm auto cannon, swiveled toward its targets on the field.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
In quick succession, all three rock targets were obliterated, drawing various gasps from the crowd. The king himself raised an eyebrow.
The second test was a demonstration of firing on moving targets. The mages were instructed to move a rock golem around the field. To truly impress the onlookers, the Americans decided to move the vehicle as it was firing.
BOOM!
The fire control system of the M2 Bradley compensated for the movement of the vehicle, adjusting the barrel of the 25mm gun to remain on target, and to the surprise of the audience, the rock golem was destroyed.
To the Sonarans, who had only been recently informed of the Divinian and Mekkanese tanks, this feat seemed like it required intense magical focus. Not even the best armor mages of the Divinians or the most trained tank crews of the Mekkanese could hit a moving target so far away, while their own weapon was on unstable ground. The sheer amount of calculations that had to be done in order to predict the position of the target and angle the weapon properly was nothing the world had before seen. It was theorized that only the Axons would be capable of such a feat by this time, after 5,000 years of development.
For the final demonstration, the mages were instructed to summon a cl.u.s.ter of 5 rock golems.
Vwoosh!
Suddenly, smoke appeared from a component of the M2 Bradley. To the onlookers, it may have seemed like the vehicle suffered an equipment malfunction and was smoking. This thought was immediately erased as the crowd saw a trail of light emerge from a compartment, headed toward the rock golems. A BGM-71 TOW missile streaked toward the golems, reaching its target in just seconds due to its terrifying speed of about 300 meters per second.
BOOM!
An explosion erupted near the target, and when the smoke dissipated, nothing was left except for small rock fragments that littered the ground.
"We need the Americans as our allies against the n.o.bians," King Selios reflected. "We have almost nothing in our a.r.s.enal that can defeat this metal monster… We must never fight against the Americans."
And thus, the demonstration concluded. The diplomatic envoy began their journey home, toward the portal. As the moon rose and the skies darkened, a shadowy individual could be seen in the background, casting a communication spell.