Axium

CHAPTER 22

XRenia sat on top of the glass dome of her palace gazing unthinkingly out at the sea in the distance. So worldwide war it was then, whatever that entailed though she wasn't sure. I had been almost two hundred years since any significant battle had taken place and magic and technology had made leaps and bounds since that day. Now spells and explosives existed that were powerful enough to wipe entire continents off the map or even rip the earth out of orbit. If one of the nut jobs they fought against got despite enough everything she knew and every one she knew could possibly vanish leaving nothing but a chard husk of a dyeing world behind.

She didn't seriously believe it would happen but it was a very real possibility.

Verin reached out to her trying to comfort her but XRenia's grandfather chose that moment to blast him with a squad sized magical projectile of some sort. Verin tried to protect himself with a shield but as the attack slammed home his barrier crumpled and smashed into him snapping his index and middle finger so far back they touched his wrist.

XRenia crumpled over as Verin's pain plowed into her and she looked up through his eye to see her grandfather glaring down at him. "Never lose focus!" He growled. "Even a moment's distraction could mean yours or someone else's death on the battle field. Do you understand?"

Verin nodded as her Grandfather knelt beside him and started healing his hand.

"And you," her grandfather continued still looking at Verin but obviously talking to her. "Stop moping around and go do something productive. What's done is done and no amount of slaking will change that. Just own up to it and get on with it."

She frowned up at him, or she would have except she wasn't there. Verin slowly stood up as he flexed his healed fingers, gave her something like a mental hug then closed himself off from her so he could concentrate on not getting his limps ripped off.

She sighed slid down the side of the glass dome and floated over to where some of her citizens had been working on a garden but now sat hunch around some type of tablet projecting a small screen.

At seeing her come down towards them they started to scrable to their feet but she waved her hand and said, "No that's okay stay were you are. What you watching?"

"A news report," The man named Peter answered. "Your people are erecting a wall along Terra's eastern border."

"They are?" she asked as she flew closer to get a look.

The man nodded

On the screen a female reporter droned on about rising tensions while in the background thousands of Terra's citizens worked at forming a golden barrier.

She watched for a few seconds then overcome with curiosity and worry pushed open a rift and walked through.

***

She came out high above the town she had bought the bean buns from just a few days ago. To her surprise her father was also there half a mile away and staring down at the large mass of people constructing the golden shield and the smaller groups working on forming what looked like crystal weapon spirals.

She flew over to him and he nodded at her as she approached but his expression felt odd to her; his lips were in a tight line and his eyebrows furled. It wasn't exactly anger pouring off of him but close. "Dad what's going on?"

He sighed. "Are people are boycotting King Brokon and they have more or less declared war against him and his people."

XRenia drew back. "What? Why?"

"A few hours ago he called you 'A w***e whose only skill is using her body to gain political power.'"

"He what!?"

"I was none too happy when I heard his statement either," her father said his face sour. "Are citizens on the other hand have taken it personally."

"Oh," she said then added a moment latter. "I am flattered but.."

"I know this is not their fight," her father said and reached out his hand. The golden shield the citizens were slowly erecting expanded to it was almost two meters thick and six meters high then exploded in size racing along the border until she could no longer see it grow. Seconds later a heavy weight enfolded the area and she found it a lot harder to keep herself aloft and at the same time she became acutely aware that her father's magical force arrange itself in such a way even she would have a hard time opening a rift.

"That should keep them safe and prevent them from putting them self's in harm's way," her father stated sourly.

Conflicting feelings rose inside her as she watched her Dad seal the border. While it was always closely watched not once in Terra's shot history had it ever been closed like it was undeniably now.

Her father nodded at the people far below interrupting her thoughts and said, "They've notice us."

She pushed her feelings a side and smiled as she waved at the people that had been willing to put their lives on the line for her.

They waved back.

After a few moments her Dad swished his hand forming an illusion of them leaving through a rift and at the same time hiding the real them from their view.

As they faded from the people's view she crumpled over in pain as her Grandfather's fist slammed into Verin's gut.

"Focus Boy!" he roared pushing him up against a wall. "Do you want both you and her to die?! Because you both will unless you focus!"

Verin swallowed and nodded as he brought his attention back to what he was supposed to be practicing and she suddenly found herself back in her own body and in you fathers arms.

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. She smiled sheepishly at him and floated herself out of his arms as she said, "Verin was watching what I was doing instead of what he was supposed to be practicing and grandfather.. ah punched him for it."

"Ah yes I remember your mother's training quite well," he said as he let her up. "It wasn't... pleasant," he added

"Really? I though grandfather would have gone easy on her."

"Your grandfather didn't train her, my mother did," he said as he opened a rift. "And at the time they weren't on the best of terms."

"Really? Why?" she asked.

He waved his hand signaling her he wanted her to go first as he said, "Well your grandmother you see wasn't exactly pleased with my choice. Your Mom came from a rich and pampered life style and your grandma wanted me to marry more of a punk, tomboy, warrior type. Keira was the exact opposite of that."

Huh, who would have known, she thought in amusement as she flew though the rift. But then again XRenia guessed that made sense, Grandma herself had told her she didn't fancy the political game while her Mom and Dad much preferred having a sit down, to have what her Grandma had referred to as a good old fashion throw down.

***

They came out in the war room where her Mom and Grandma stood hunched over the massive map that sat in the middle of the room.

Her Mom stood up and flew over to her father and kissed him on the forehead then touching down she wrapped her arms around him as she said, "You did the right thing."

He breathed out heavily. "I know, It's not their fight," he said his words echoing his earlier statement as if he was trying to convince himself.

XRenia walked across the glossy floor to the map curious about what her Mom and Grandma were looking at.

The giant shifting map was currently zoomed in on their western border or rather the mountainous rang that ran along it.

"How goes the planning?" her Father asked as he and her Mom strolled up behind her.

Her Grandmother waved her hand and the map zoomed out. "It's perfected we just have to pinpoint where their armies are going to gather. As you know are northern border is now covered by our.. a, ally," she said with particular distaste and XRenia had to agree she was none too pleased with how things had turned out. "and our eastern and most of our southern border are surrounded by water, water witch Mathis and I have been pouring energy into for over sixty years so no mage with half a brain will trespass over them. Which means all that's left is this section here."

The map shifted showing Terra's western border that slowly curved down to their southwestern border then connected with the sea.

"That's a lot of land to pick from," XRenia said.

"Yes it is," her Mother agreed. "However, Father believes that King Brokon being elected leader of this seven nation coalition of theirs will gather somewhere along this mountain range." The map sifted to where it had been when they walked in."

A rough humph sounded from her Father as he said, "Dad's right that man could never resist the urge to grand stand on top of a mountain and shout his demands."

XRenia glanced over at her Father, to her surprise underneath his schooled features she felt an aurora of barley contained rage emanating from him. She had never seen him so mad before, there must be more to what Brokon said then what he told her to make both him and Terra's people so mad.

"It seems your both right," her Grandma said. "I believe I just found his selected staging point." She touched the table and it zoomed in to a large flat plateau on top of one of the mountains. "Scouts have been up and down are border none stop all morning but this is the only place they made an effort to make it look like that had never been there. They almost did a perfect job of it to but I felt the reminisce of the rift they use to port in then when I found nothing it struck me as odd so I sent out a VTP bot. It just sent back these images." A scrying unfurled in front of her showing barely recognizable rolling images of three young men talking to a floating screen. "The areas been scrubbed but you can still see for yourself."

"Yes, Looks like they are talking to a counsel of some sort. This is defiantly their chosen staging point," her Father said agreeing with her Grandmother. "How does this location affect your plan?"

"Let me see." Her Grandmother frowned in concentration and the map rose to eye level then cut its self away showing a perfect representation of the typography underneath the indicated mountain. After a moment she smiled and said, "It doesn't, in fact we couldn't hope for a better location."

"That's good to hear," her father answered.

XRenia's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "What exactly is the plan?"

"This," her Mom said pulling out a small rectangular black box from underneath the table and placing it on the map.

The sliced mountain faded away replaced by a battle field showing the world's armies one side and the six of them on the other side. Suddenly the mountain the enemies were standing on dropped out from underneath them then roared as it rolled like a wave shooting hundreds of feet in the sky folding back over top of the armies crushing all of them at once.

She stepped back in disbelief. "We can do that?"

Her Grandmothers eyes twinkled. "We can. And the spells have been in place for many years, though just like you no one in their right mind would imagine such a thing is possible."

XRenia shudder, trying to figure out how she herself would counter such an attack; with as much magical distortion something like that would cause opening a rift would be impossible even for her and if the ground really did move at the same speed the simulation had depicted she couldn't possibly out run or out fly it. Thousands upon thousands were going to die in an instance with no chance in the world whatsoever.

Her thoughts must have reflected on her face because her Father said, "No sugarplums it doesn't kill them it traps them hundreds of feet underneath the earth each with their own separate pocket. We will release them eventually."

"In the meantime though," her grandmother said taping the table. "We will attack each capital in quick succession stopping the war even before it fully begins."

The image of them floating in the air over the crushed armies shifted into eight separate simulations each having its own scrying over top of it with details on every spell and movement down to the very millisecond.

She whistled out load as she pursed them; everything was perfectly choreographed every weakness in the capitals exploited every living obstacle depicted in real time and readjusted for as the simulations ran over and over again. Reconnaissance and calculations of this magnitude most of taken years to establish. Apparently the nations of the world did have something to worry about she thought as her Grandmother beam with pride at her reaction.

"So.." she said. "What happens once we capture all the world's leaders?"

Her Father hung his head and looked down at the marble floor. "We aren't capturing them."

"What?!"

Her mother laid a hand on her back. "We won't have the resources or the time; everything has to happen with in fifteen minute of the initial assault. Or things could go very bad for us, so it has to be a clean sweep, nothing and no one left."

"Oh..."

"This is one of the reasons I tried so hard to avoid this outcome," her Father added.

"And I messed it up," she said staring forlornly down at the table.

"Oh, no sweetie. That's not true," Her Mom said wrapping her arm around her.

XRenia pulled away. "Yes it is. All these people's deaths are going to be on my hands. This is all, my fault," she declared waving her hands at the displays showing her and her family leveling entire security forces and rooms full of politicians in a blink of an eye.

Her Father caught her hand and pulled her close to they were eye to eye. "Yes, what you say is to an extant true. But this has been brewing before you were even born your recent actions are just the tipping point," He said softly, "This dose mean though that it's time for you to grow up and see the world as it really is and take responsibility for your actions."

She swallowed hard, and nodded. Her Mom wrapped her arms around them and the room fell into silence as her Grandma took the black box her Mom had place on the table and put it back in the vault under the war table. The detailed plans faded away leaving a plan map.

Taking a deep breath XRenia said, "I guess I need to get cracking on Thaxium. Helping the people there will at least help pay some of my debt to humanity."

Her Mom pulled away. "About that sweetie, Thaxium is going to have to wait. Your Grandfather is a wise powerful man but even he can't possibly rule over all the nine nations at one time. Once this is over you and Veran will be tasked with overseeing his kingdom and the one King Brokon currently governs."

"What!" She exclaimed as she nearly tripped over herself unhinging from here fathers arms.

"Your Father and I will be taking over three of our own as well," her Mom continued.

"But I don't know anything about governing a nation! Much less two!"

"Don't worry about it dear. You'll get the hang of it in time," her grandmother assured her.

"And all of us will be here for you," Her Father added.

She stared at all three of them unable to believe her own ears. This whole thing was insanity. How could they expect her to take control of two nations just like that? She wanted to stomp off and fly away like she had the last time they had dropped something like this in her lap. But as she thought about doing just that she realized that this was actually all her fault. She sighed. "Okay.. I understand," she said. "I will do my best to be a benevolent ruler when the time comes," she mumbled.

"That's all any of us can ask," her Father said smiling at her.

She looked up. "And Thaxium?"

"It will have to remain as it is," her Mother told her. "Maybe in time we can attend to it or maybe it can be your and Verin's offspring's kingdom."

That was not the answer she was hoping for and having children was last thing on her mind right now. But once again she reminded herself all of this was of her own making and forced herself to nod in understanding. "Is there anything ells I should know?"

Her grandma shook her head, "No, sweetie not right now. Mathis says he will go over the rest with you and Vifctif once he's done with the boys training. Go get some rest."

She nodded again waved to her Mom and Dad and pushed open a rift.

***

She came out above the beautiful green verdant hill side she loved so much and plopped herself down under the great oak tree.

She sat there for some time gazing out over the grasslands and listening to the birds sing as a soft wind blew across the grass and played with the leafs in the tree, but the amazing view and refreshing breeze no longer calmed her as it once did. For some reason it just didn't feel like home or were she belonged any more. She sighed and stood up. She probably needed to be doing something productive any way.

But what? Her mind wandered to Verin and the food he had brought her. Despite him doing his best to wall himself completely off from her she could still feel when her Grandfather's brutal training landed a hit. He was going to be utterly tired and exhausted by the end of the day and having a good home meal like he had given her would be nice.

Yes that's what she would do. But how? She didn't have a clue what he liked.

Neo or his people probably did tho. XRenia started to push open a rift and stopped herself as she realized Verin was not the only one she should be thinking about. She actually had her own kingdom she should be concerned for, albeit it was extremely small. She needed to protect and provide for her small group of people for the many years to come.

XRenia floated up into the air. Protection wasn't a big deal a few more turrets and some powerful spells could handle that but providing for them... It would be best for them and her if they could be self-sufficient but to do that she need resources.

She pushed against the fabric of reality reopening the rift she had just closed a few minute ago and walked back into the war room.

To her surprise only her Grandma was still there.

The beautiful goddess of war's hair floated above her shoulders and her gown flapped against her curvaceous figure as she hovered in the air pouring energy into the war room's map.

At seeing her she floated down to the floor and frowned, "Sweetie? I thought I told you to get some rest."

"I can't Grandma I have a few citizens already that I need to provide for when I and Verin take over our new roles."

Her Grandmother nodded in understanding and said, "You could just take them with you."

"I know, but.."

"I understand," her Grandma said pulling out some items from the vault and handing them to her. "This will fertilize the land," She said giving her an oddly shaped elephant statue with a rather large butt.

"You lift its tail and it will a ... magically manure your fields."

"What?"

"I know it's a bit of a unique design. Just don't ask where we got it from," her Grandma said with an odd grin as she continued, "This will help you establish a self-planting, watering, weeding and harvesting system," She said handing her what looked like a self-extending flag pole. "And this should be enough to buy the seed and other things you need.

XRenia took the money and the pole along with the oddly shaped elephant statue and put them in her dimensional inventory then kissed her Grandma on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Your welcome dear. But there is no reason to thank me they were meant to be yours any way."

"Still thank you," she said as she pushed open a rift and walked through.

She came out in the kitchen of her palace and said to the woman working on trying to prepare dinner, "Who wants to go shopping?"