145 Chapter 8.0 - State of a Nation

A man sat with his family. It was a fairly large family, and mostly human. There were two changelings and a pair of Demis children as well. Although they were his children, most of them were plated. In his nation of Thul, families were important and children often did not leave their home, instead burrowing or building next to their parents. Family dinners were a time of community.

This man was the king of his nation, and although he was getting on in years, he still was spry enough to have children. He did not benefit from the timeless body like his wife, but with enough magic, anything was possible, so although he was near 60 years in age, he looked not a day over 40. This King's favorite time was telling stories to his children, and although most of them were plated, they still sat and listened. Who would ignore the words of a king? And his children had long learned that these were not made up stories, but simply fanciful renditions of historical facts. Plus, it made their father happy.

"Alright children, what story do you want to hear today? The old wolf and the Legion? How about the tale of the daemon knight? Oh I know! How about the tale of the golden queen!"

"We want to hear about Serin the forever king!"

Jeffrey gave a bit of a smile. "I told you that one yesterday! I told of how Serin the Great fled from his home, persecuted for his power, and founded a nation of many people."

It was then one of the older children that spoke. "Father, you always tell that story. In fact, you always tell the stories from back then. We have never seen this fairytale place, and you and mother only speak of its richness and wonder. We want to know what it is like now. The only way we know it is real is by its embassy, which is guarded at all times by the dark masks."

Another child spoke up, "Yeah. If it wasn't for your stories, I would assume that the Nation of Haven was a land of evil, lorded over by a daemon. Their embassy guard broke little Harry's arm when he tried to climb the gate to pick a persimmon!"

Jeffrey's smile faltered, "Well, it's true that Haven is a little less open than it was before. Other than myself and my attendant Nabi, I am unable to allow entry for other people. As for little Harry, he was warned and the guards had good reason. Haven's enemies are not above using children as weapons. The fact that he broke his arm and not his neck was by the good grace of our allies. He was healed within a few minutes so it was of no consequence."

"What about our Dragon Riders? Aren't they given permission to bond in Haven?"

"Sort of. They are permitted by special gate from here to the Preserve Region, which although connected to Haven is technically the domain of Queen Narissa. And there they must reside. They are not allowed entry into any of Haven's regions, nor are their riders allowed to enter those region's airspace. As is our agreement with Narissa and Lord Serin, we have a standing military pact. We provide the totems to call forth the additional food for dragons to hunt and the riders to tame them. Narissa nurtures the dragons, and Haven provides the protections of the Preserve Region, the infrastructure, the weapons, and the dragon's and rider's weapons and armor."

"Why is that father? What happened to make such a great place so inhospitable to even its allies."

Jeffrey did not want to explain this. Although most of his children were adults, they were still his children. He wanted to hide the cruelty of the world away from them. He then saw his wife, the mother of most of their children in the corner. Most of them were either already plated or almost old enough to plate. She looked at him and nodded, giving him the go ahead to tell this story to his children. The story he hoped would have resolved before he had to tell it.

"Alright. This tale is not one to be shared, and I will only tell it once. Many parts of it are secrets to our royal family. Do not tell your friends, your classmates, or adventuring buddies. Do not speak of it again except to me within the confines of my office. But remember this tale well, because it tells of how a few foolish humans changed the world for the worse."

Jeffrey began his story, with the rapt attention of his family. He had been dreading the day he would have to explain why his nation was allied to such an inhospitable neighbor. Other than his eldest daughter who led the dragon riders now, none of his children had ever set foot in Haven.

"A long time ago, there was once a mighty king, Sovereign of his land. He had a loving family and had created a nation where all people were equal. His was a land of happiness and wonder, blessed by the divines, and bringing together the best parts of so many different people. Despite their many differences, Haven's people lived in harmony, and had their path been undisturbed they would have led our world to a golden age. This much I have told you in other stories, but it is the starting point for our tale.

However, this is a world that swallows the weak and tests the strong, and while most nations fought each other to ensure their place in this world was protected, Haven found its strength by looking inward. The Northern Kingdoms and Grand Woods Alliance used each other as whetstones to keep their armies sharp. But their weapons, as finely honed as they were, were no match for the might of Haven. Had they brokered deals with the Sarween Technocracy they might have been a match, but Sarween had taken a terrible blow due to their own folly and were also focused on inward progression.

Things would have continued this way, Haven increasing in power slowly while its neighbors declined, but seeing this as the inevitable outcome, Haven's southern neighbor, the GWA, brought a monster into this world.

Just as Haven had brought forth the patron Divine Gideon, the Keeper of the Gates, and how we had eventually brought forth our patron Divine Krul the Beastmaster, The GWA had petitioned the divines for a beacon of purity for humanity, and the divines answered, sending forth Mephystra, patron divine of the pure, the divine undying flame. With her power, and their penchant for cruelty, the GWA struck a terrible blow. They had found Haven had only one weakness, and using nefarious means, they assassinated the royal family of Lord Serin, leaving his cottage castle a smoldering hole in the earth. This trick was only able to be used once against Haven, but it had its effect."

Jeffrey looked a bit distraught. His story stopped. "I was there at the funeral. The Spring sun may have shone, but there was not a smile to be found. Serin the Great, even with all his power and might, looked like his soul had cracked." Jeffrey continued his story.

"Haven, fearing for the future of all of its endangered peoples, then adopted its newest policy. It closed off its doors to all but those on a very short list. Merchants were not allowed to pass the Merchant area at the front of Haven, no matter how many years they had previously done business. Each gate was guarded full time by soldiers prepared to shoot on site. Even with my access, I must request entry into Haven."

"So what happened after that?"

Jeffrey frowned. "Haven went quiet. We still receive the occasional diplomatic missives, and any requested aid is honored, but our interaction outside of diplomatic issues is almost nonexistent. Lord Serin used to have the bright smile of a man full of life, and most of the alliance were friends. The GWA under the guise of the cult of Mephystra, got exactly what it had wanted. it had burned away the only weakness Haven had, which was Lord Serin's empathy towards his neighbors.

Haven, fearful of future infections of the cult, did ensure to clean out all threats in its nation and abroad. After cleaning his nation of all perceived threats, He took his team of inquisitors and a copy of all agreements written and signed between himself and those nations.

Serin then gave each nation an ultimatum. The entirety of the population of each allied nation or city would be inspected for betrayal or Haven would cut its ties and abandon its embassy with that nation. Serin demanded to cut off all infections at the source, and let it be known that there were new rules for those that wished to stay in Haven's alliance, and it's good graces.

We, of course, all complied. Here we passed with flying colors as we had nothing to hide, just as those did in the Corvid Society and the Collective, but not so in the Citystate of Ston. They did in fact unanimously submit for inspection, but for those who believed they could hide their darker motives, it was a bad plan. There it was known as 'Bloody Tuesday', as the amount of people who wished ill upon Haven or its people was inordinately high."

"Why was it called Bloody tuesday?"

"Well, on that day Serin used his magic to make those who wished ill upon Haven's races glow with a bright red light, and then informed the populace of stone that these were the enemies in their midst. Neighbor tore apart neighbor, and in one swift violent stroke, Serin let the citizens of Ston decide the course of its own path. It was cruel, but it had to be done."

Jeffrey spoke as if he was trying to convince himself. His children didn't probe. His story continued

"After that was handled, Lord Serin had to ensure that those in charge of each nation put the equality of races as its newest ideal. Thus we entered into an agreement that was to be known as the Blutpakt.

Each nation's leaders were to sire children of non-human descent. In the eyes of the cult of Mephystra, this was a pure betrayal of one's species, and would secure us as defiled, therefore making us forcibly join a side in the eventual battle to come. For the city of Ston, their leaders required anonymity, so an alternative was permitted. Lord Serin showered Ston with food and wine, hosting a Harvest festival like no other. Since there was no royal family in Ston, instead a large portion of the next generation was born non-human. It was said any additional nations that joined the alliance would be required to do this as well."

"So that's what happened over the last 20 years?" It was Jeffrey's oldest

Jeffrey looked serious. "No, that's what happened within a month of the funeral."

The children were stunned. Jeffrey continued.

"Haven knew it would lose out in numbers against enemies like the GWA and Northern Kingdoms. So they adopted a new policy. Haven would reproduce. Haven's population exploded. Due to racial differences, certain populations became larger in number quicker. Their population started at a little less than 5000. Now I would estimate it's much higher than that. When I last came for my yearly diplomatic mission, there were cadets everywhere in the streets from their Fortress Academy, and my estimation their standing military force is easily over 100,000."

One of his quicker children did the math. "Father, that's not physically possible. Assuming that the population was a slight majority women, with a starting number of 3000 there would only be two years of childbearing before they would be bringing unplated children into battle, which was against the rules we have all signed. Even if all 3000 of them gave birth every 9 months, even if they all gave birth to twins, it shouldn't be more than 18,000 plated adults."

Jeffrey smiled, "No, it really shouldn't. Originally it was said that Demis would volunteer to increase the population, but thankfully Serin found a spell. It was a life magic spell that increased fertility. Using his powerful high magic, children were not born one or two at a time, but six or more at a time. It also reduced the gestation time of whomever it was cast on. Normally this magic would kill the caster, but Serin the Great was not bound by such trivial issues.

And with an increased merit system, children became more important than military achievements. Also take into account a few things.

Additionally, almost all Demis children, hearing that they were bred to stop a war of extermination, forced their own plates, causing several additional cycles of birth exploding their population as well.

Then there was the surrogacy initiative. Haven reached out to allied nations and enemy nations alike, peppering the land in leaflets from the sky. Women who volunteered to bear children of non-human descent were paid a noble's sum per child. If translated in a place like where Serin grew up, a serving girl could earn 10 years of wages per child sired of non human descent that was given to Haven."

"It couldn't have been too many people who took up that offer to make a difference, could it?"

"Well, you must remember that the Citystate of Ston was still recovering. Jobs were scarce and if it wasn't for the aid provided by Haven, most of the fairly large populace would have starved. When you look at it from an angle of survival, it makes sense.

The amount of credits that flowed into Ston is why the city that had been bombed out and should have taken over a decade to recover is now called the 'Jewel of the North'. And they weren't the only ones. Every mother of our nation volunteered. As Haven had increased our childhood survival rate, it was the least we could do. It also does not hurt that they paid us in floating infrastructure. We were once called the 'cliffdweller' nation. Now we are called the 'children of the sky'. In fact, other than the GWA, I don't know of any nations that did not take up the offer.

"What about the special races you said. The Forged, the metal ones. Or the brain worms?"

Jefffrey smiled, "Well Forged are made from the sinful souls of humans washed clean and precious metals of the mountain. Serin had an excess of the latter provided by an additional war tax, and with the former, well, Serin began purchasing prisoners. Nations both allied or not learned that Serin would purchase their criminals. Other nations knew that Haven's races ate human flesh, but with an extremely high offer price even Haven's enemy, the Northern Kingdoms, took them up and emptied their prison cells to fill their coffers. All of those who came to Haven in this way were given an interview, and if they were truly criminals their sins were washed away and they were given new form as a Forged. For those who were innocently sold to Haven, Haven gave them a choice. Sanctuary and power of a Parasite passenger, or be given a weapon, 2 weeks of rations, and led out the back gate, exiled to the wild.

If you remember a few months back to the trial of Malachi, the merchant who was caught swindling us? Well at his trial, there was that one of Haven's 'ferrymen', the masked and cloaked trial representatives from Haven. Although Malachi was given a light sentence of community service and fines, the ferryman was there, and had I as the king decided to pass a harsher sentence, but our agreement with Haven we would have been offered a substantial reward for Malachi, as Haven sees the condemned not as people but as resources."

The children were quiet. Then one of Jeffrey's Demis Children asked, "So that is why whenever children are bad, the other parents chide us saying 'the ferryman will get us'?" Jeffrey didn't like the expression, but it was factually accurate. "Yes, but it still isn't right to tell that to a child."

"How many forged are there now?"

"I truly do not know children. Haven's population is a state secret and stopped being mentioned in its missives over a decade ago. My estimation is just that. I do know that they fully populated their capital to its intended capacity, as well as the biome region, foundry region, and 6 other regions. I know this because of the formal missives declaring these regions under the control of Haven, and on my visits I can see different products being marked by the regions they came from."

"What has Lord Serin been doing during this time? Did he get remarried?"

"He did not."

"So he has no family."

"Well not exactly. He has a mother and father, as well as many brothers and sisters…

But this was not enough in the eyes of the representatives. As Serin prepared Haven for its future conflict, Haven's Representatives feared that Serin may take his own life in the depression that had swallowed him, so they tried to send their most beautiful women to seduce him, trying their best to give him some tether to this mortal coil. He had flat out refused and even threatened each of those who had attempted it.

Things came to a head when during a meeting with his representatives he threw back a serving girl that was being too friendly, and she was injured as a result. I was at the meeting at the time, so I saw first hand the look of pain and sadness in his eyes. I don't know if I agreed with the representatives' plan, but I did agree with their assessment. Serin needed to leave heirs. At that incident it was then that his friend, the Old Wolf Jericho, reminded him that he was just as responsible for ensuring that Haven's population increased.

You see children, Lord Serin is fair and believed that any law he enforced he also had to follow, so he participated in Haven's reproduction efforts, but did not take a wife. These children were all deemed children of the harvest. However, whether these children were given special instruction, or just being of Serin's bloodline, they excelled to stand above their peers. At least that is what I last heard.

I have heard rumors of a secret group, trained by Serin himself, called 'the forsaken'. Most of us not involved are pretty sure these are his children. As much as he holds his flame for his deceased family, he cannot disregard those of his blood so easily. His broken heart still beats."

"What about the other nations? How did they react?"

"Well the Northern Kingdoms are at status quo. They have not been able to advance, but they have had no incentive to. For the first two years there were many participants in Haven's surrogacy program, but when the Grand General received a cease and desist warning by a Herald of Mephystra, those still pregnant were rounded up and their unborn were, well…

They stopped offering to participate in the program. Other than that, The Northern Kingdoms' growth is what would have been expected if they had no external threats. Sarween has just surpassed their former strength, as they are finally starting to pull more and more exotic materials from their public raid dungeon and, well, the GWA has been preparing for war. Our spies tell us that their number of soldiers nears four hundred thousand."

"Who do you think will win?"

"Not a question about that in my mind. Had the GWA had a numerical advantage of 100 to 1, maybe they would have won. But I am sure it is nowhere near that."

"That's enough about doom and gloom. Do you have any questions not related to such sour subjects?"

"Did any new races appear?"

"Yes, there were the Fae and the Dryads."

"Tell us about those."

"Well, I have only met each one once, and I am only slightly sure of the extent of their involvement.

The Fae look like elves, but their eyes are much larger ears much longer, and from their backs there are wings of a pixie. I saw one being used as a mail carrier for documents, and I can only assume they act as such. I did not know if it was a personal or natural trait, but the Fae I met was highly excitable.

The Dryads however have 'revolutionized public transit', or so I have heard. I don't know how they did it, but they did."

"You seem to not know a lot, father."

"I know, and I truly fear what I don't know."

He did not wish to tell his family the shift from Egalitarian to an Oligarchy. He did not want to speak of the trials, the executions, or the experiments. He did not want to talk about Haven's spies he knew were in his own nation from his friend, who did not trust even him. He did not want to speak on the dragon hunts, the Snapped, or the vile things his spies had heard as rumors since what he knew as true was scary enough. He did not want to tell them that his proxy, Nabi, had to have his mind scraped whenever he witnessed something he shouldn't, and that although Nabi did not remember what the procedure was like, something in his mind terrified him of it.

He did not want to tell his children that he feared Haven.

***

Serin Sat on his golden throne, in the assembly hall that was his new home. Since the incident, he had refused to return to his cottage, but sleeping in the corner of the grand assembly hall was no way for a Lord to rule, so a castle had been built around the assembly hall, a grand fortress, imposing in its magnitude. Previously the largest building in Haven was its Cathedral. This building dwarfed it, and was armed and armored against the worst powers Haven's enemies could muster.

Ansar, Scion of retribution, took his normal station as bailiff of the court. Juni, the high inquisitor of the court, stood with her first set of eyes on the accused, a gem no longer present in her forhead. Serin listened as the prosecutor, a masked member of The Forsaken, gave testimony.

"The accused was forcibly extradited from the Northern Kingdoms, and has been identified as a sleeper agent for the Chimaeras. The evidence is available for review by you, my lord, as well as the testimony of the agents present at the extradition. Additionally physical artifacts of their operation were seized and collected, and are available for your purview when they have been cleaned, scrubbed, and certified."

Serin waved his hand. "I trust the evidence is beyond reproach. Scion Ansar, does the accused glow in your sight?"

"They do not, my lord."

"Good. That narrows down the accused possibilities for punishment." Serin looked at the accused.

"Accused, you do not have the right to a name. However, I will give you a choice to how you perish. Option one, your mind is destroyed, as a Parasite snaps your consciousness and you will be used as a host. Your name will then be worthy of speaking, as it is the last memorial and a final thanks for your sacrifice. Option two, your soul is washed clean and transformed, and you are reborn as a weapon of war, again granting your name a right to be spoken,as it will be the only part of you that remains. Since you did not directly do harm to a changeling, you have waived your right to have your body consumed alive by our voracious citizens. Many have yet to taste combat with humans."

The accused narrowed their eyes at Lord Serin, "You forgot the final option. That I Suffer not the alien" and then they closed their eyes, as the accused willed activation of their [self immolation]. The flames did not come.

The prosecutor slammed his heel into the hand of the accused, snapping him back to reality as his broken fingers caused the accused to scream in pain. The prosecutor spoke.

"Oh, were you expecting the release of death? Maybe to join Mephystra in her pure embrace? Well, the moment my team bagged you, that window of that opportunity closed."

The Accused eyes grew wide, as the realization dawned. Lord Serin waved again, "Try to show some restraint, Prosecutor. That body is resigned to become a home for a parasite or a waiting spirit. Either way, its wasteful to damage the resources. Now Accused, make your choice."

"I refuse."

"Fair enough. Juni, what are our current numbers?"

"Roughly 25,000 forged and 1989 snapped parasite agents. However we again have been requested to not take anymore non-volunteers for the parasites."

"Fair enough. Juni, scrape his mind, then wipe it, then deliver him to The Forged Processing Plant. Relay the information provided to one of my enthralled attendants."

"As you wish Lord Serin." This time, as Juni stared at the accused, a second set of eyes opened above her first. The accused eyes lit up, and his screams filled the hall.

***

Serin sat at his throne, his last appointment complete, when in walked a person Serin was not expecting. "Representative Jericho, it has been a long time since you have graced me with your presence outside of our normal meetings."

"Spare me boy, there has been a development. You will want to follow me."

***