I have been enrolled by Arascus to bring about a military worthy of Empire, so I shall. The single greatest issue faced is also a cause of its strength. That is the Divines and the various forces they have brought with them. Whereas they are great, sudden bursts of strength and power and they are necessary in this day and age for securing any sort of realistic powerbase, they also bring with them their own tried and tested traditions, their institutionalized habits and their own loyalties. Note that these loyalties are to those abstracts of history rather than interpersonal relationships. We are not declaring an impossible war on facets of consciousness here.

Although fingers are commonly pointed to Fer and the Beastmen she has brought, they cause the least issue. The Beastmen, violent and brutal though they are, possess only the most basic type of organisation. They are easy to point to for they look bestial and terrifying, but they are ran by Fer’s word and Fer’s word alone. The decided hierarchy is one of strictly effectiveness in battle and their traditions are ones of campfires, stories and food. Interpersonal grievances are resolved through trials of combat and settled almost immediately. Loyalty and kinship are their most idealized virtues. Although they have personal possessions, these are almost universally limited to what they and their slaves can carry on their backs.

What many construe as barbarism in the beastmen is merely a case of a lack of martial discipline. In this fashion, they are the easiest candidate for integration for there ancient codes are so loose and malleable that instead of being supplanted, they can merely be adjusted.

Compare this to the case of Irinika and her Shadows. From the outside, one could even call them an organisation as loose as the beastmen. There are some fools that even believe they will easily be integrated. From the inside though, the Shadows exist in all strata of society, some are terribly wealthy whereas others are nothing more than beggars. Their rituals and tests are archaic and composed of humiliating rites of passage. They have their own creeds and worst of all, these creeds are different depending on what internal cult one belongs to. To try and corral them into useful subjects would require a total upending of Irinika’s own laws. Loyalties are both factional and interpersonal as well as being behold to Irinika herself.

The Sorcerers of Anassa and the unnamed followers of Malam are two sides of a similar coin. Both are trained personally by their own Goddesses. Anassa tempers with arrogance, pride, confidence, stubborn-will and elitism, Malam strips her men of morality and feeling and makes them behold to no one. Whereas none of the latter’s will challenge their Goddess, internal cullings are frequent and assassinations in bids for grabbing power are commonplace.

Traditional military missteps regarding logistics, training of soldiers and of leadership, maintaining discipline and strategic doctrine simply do not matter. Every problem caused by these issues is magnified tenfold and every benefit is halved if this the foundation the Imperial Military wishes to build its fortress upon.

If the Empire wishes to succeed, then these organisations have to be dismantled and replaced by a single structure. This, there is no compromise on.

– Excerpt from the text “A New Imperial Military”, the founding document of the Imperial Military written by Goddess Kassandora, of War. Published before the Great War.

Iliyal took the phone Mikard passed him with a steady hand, it was a huge thing used for internal communications that worked on an internal network which should function even if the world was ending. The rest of the Imperial Council all stared at the elf with a steady gaze. It was almost funny how a single set of words could change the atmosphere in a room so greatly. He put the phone to his ear. “This is Iliyal Tremali, the current Hand of the Emperor, speaking.” He said slowly.

For a moment, the idea that this could be some joke flashed through his mind. But if it was a joke, it was a sorry one. Thievery it would not be, of every Divine out there, Fer would be the most difficult to steal from. Maybe she thought it funny though? But even though Fer liked jokes, this would have been pushing ever for her. Explanations and ideas flooded through Iliyal’s mind like a web of lightning that grew and expanded until it was a stifling swamp. If Iliyal was about to hear the news that Fer had died then he would go for the bottle right now. “Second Expedition, Vanguard, Third Brigade, Captain James Allson.” The man through the phone replied professionally.

And just like that, the sun of certainty had come to burn away the flood of doubt within Iliyal’s mind.

Just like that, it became a terrible desert of instinctual, scorching confidence.

Just like that, Iliyal knew there had been no thievery and this was no joke.

It was real.

“What is the issue Captain?” Iliyal replied as he would if he was talking face to face with a subordinate before him.

“They’re digging out.” James Allson replied immediately. Nothing more needed to be said. Iliyal took a deep breath and forced his fingers to relax their grip over the phone. Those words were enough. Memories of the Great War’s Ashen Skies and of cities being swallowed under an eternal flood as gateways to the other world opened up within their walls flashed before his eyes. Skies clogged with ash and swarms of demons so countless they blocked out the sun. The mountain-sized archdemons and their princes. The screams when Be’elzebub locusts appeared and the screams when they fed. The national Gold Ban to counter Mammon’s prying eyes. The silent parody of War’s Orchestra that was Legion. “They’re digging out general.” He repeated again. “Tartarus, we got to the rift and we saw it. We saw…” The man trailed off. “Apologies General, I got here as fast as I could but-“ Iliyal interrupted him.

“From the beginning Captain.” Iliyal said. A new Gold Ban would have be put into effect immediately. His mind went to the logistics of enforcement.

“We got to the rift an-“

Another interruption. “What is the rift?”

“The crack in Arika. Where it broke when Ela-“

“I’ve got it. Continue.” Iliyal said again. “Keep it steady.”

“Thank you General.” James replied through the phone. “Goddess Fer scouted it out. We saw them blasting the ceiling and we saw sand falling.” He trailed off. “And that’s all. Goddess Fer gave me her seal and told me to inform someone above immediately. Her words were ‘They’re digging out.’” The silence went on for a few moments, one man was lost at explanation as the other was lost in thought. Iliyal snapped himself out of the dooming spiral at how unprepared they were for a surface war.

“Is that all Captain Allson?” Iliyal asked. Through the large phone, the Captain breathed heavily and finally acquiesced.

“That is all.” He replied definitely.

“You’ve done a good job.” Iliyal said. “Stay where you are and await further orders. They will come soon.” Without even a thought and with a quickening heartbeat, he instinctively stopped the question that always came about in these situations automatically, it had been done a hundred times before. “Take a rest and hold onto the Seal. The Goddess will retrieve it herself.”

“Of course Sir. Thank you Sir.” Captain James Allson sounded as if he was about to cry with relief at the words he just heard. Iliyal turned the phone off and passed it back to Mikard. He turned to the table of curious gazes and took a deep breath. He thanked whatever forces there were over him for not drinking today as he breathed slowly and heavily. Iliyal’s black uniform rose and fell and rose and fell silently as ideas and explanations cascaded through his mind.

An endless storm thundered through Iliyal’s mind as he raced for solutions. There were none. Ashen skies. Gold bans. Pesticide procurement. Mobilization. Divines. Iliyal saw the council waiting patiently for him. The minister of Infrastructure, Arkinson in his black suit, looked around. “Mikard.” Iliyal said. They needed to get moving. The first step would be the hardest but once the pace was set, all they had to do was maintain it.

“Yes Sir?” The Rancais assistant said in that flowing accent everyone had down here.

“There’s a map in storage, fix it to a board and wheel it here.” Mikard nodded. “The largest one. It’s to the right of the door.” Iliyal said again and fixed his gaze on the man who was holding that phone in his hands as if he had become a statue. A clap woke him. “GO! GO! NOW!”

And with that shout, the atmosphere shifted again. Iliyal made it a point of policy not to raise his voice at the men. “May we know what is happening?” Trosk asked as politely as he could but Iliyal had trained too many men to know when tone was being maintained out of rank and rank alone.

“Not yet.” Iliyal said. If it had stunned him then these men would be shut down entirely. Or maybe they wouldn’t, it had stunned him because he knew what he was facing. “First I will assign your duties. Everything that I say here will be started by tomorrow. Anyone

“It’s always better when there’s a reason.” Trosk said and the Treasury’s John Marshall nodded. When those two were agreeing, that meant he was losing them.

But frankly, these men weren’t important. The only one that Iliyal would have any remorse on replacing was Menith and that was because he had spent his own time on that elf’s education. Remorse had never stopped him before. “I’ll start assigning duties.” Iliyal declared. “Gentlemen, civilian procedure ends now.” Iliyal snapped his fingers. “Under authority bestowed upon me by God Arascus of Pride and our Divine Emperor, I am ordering total Imperial Mobilization.”

He looked around at the stunned room. Supposedly these men had been chosen because they had served in their own fair share of conflicts and now they looked so stunned that they could have been gormless little children. Iliyal got them moving, if they didn’t have the map to draw points of interests then he would issue the general commands that didn’t require anything. “Enzo.” Glaiei’s first name, it was always good to operate on a first name basis. From a higher up, a first name was both a whip for action and an aphrodisiac for camaraderie. “ContraLab in Northern Rilia. Chemical labs, yes?”

For a moment, the Minister of Science looked stunned that Iliyal knew of it. Sometimes the elf thought that these men seemed to forget he had been alive when these companies were being founded. “Yes sir. They specialize-“

“I know.” Iliyal said. They worked in agriculture making fertilizer and pesticides. “When you leave this room, contact them, tell them to expand their production facilities and to prioritize pesticides.” In the past, dwarven runes had safeguarded from Be’elzebub. That luxury wasn’t around nowadays. Glaiei blinked and nodded before asking his next question.

“Any specific type?” Well, at least it wasn’t a bad question.

“Airborne ratkiller.” Iliyal answered. “Something to be deployed against swarms. If there’s nothing effective then.” He turned to Arkinson from Infrastructure. “Issue notices to fire departments to prepare for toxic gas. Pull this year’s training forwards to tomorrow. Send it out today.” Arkinson’s eyes bulged but he nodded quickly.

“Menith.” Iliyal said. “Same thing, tell Biochemicals to up production. It’s all hands on deck. Mobilization quotas, push and have refineries running around the clock. Throughout the night, extend the work week.”

“Understood.” Menith said, his back straight.

“Trosk.” Iliyal said. “Extend the work week on all military-critical jobs.” The man’s eyes widened, his eyebrows rose but he too nodded. “Send inspectors to all urban bunkers now. For the rural population.” Iliyal took a deep breath. They were always a problem. Countries needed farms, but farms were awfully hard to protect. “From southern Epa first and then going north, start handing out reserve rifles. Tell farmers to pick them up and tell them to reinforce basements. Issue materials, steel sheets, nails, carpentry goods and so on if need be, I know we have plenty.” If there was one thing that Arika provided, it was those. The man nodded. “And issue a ban on gold for all public sectors. Remove it from offices and from any place where there is any sort of document that details as much as what speed limits we have.” At though, the man’s eyes bulged.

The tone was incredulous and it sounded as if the Minister of Internal Affairs could not even believe what he was hearing. “You want a gold ban?”

“Out of every military installation, laboratory and house of government. Have the police do it. Menith, send MP if Trosk requests it.” Iliyal explained as quickly as he could. Too many levers had to be turned. “Put them into storage into separate warehouses.” They had never done confirmation on whether gold had ears but it certainly had eyes. “In that order. The military should not have anything but.” Iliyal turned to the minister of War. “Menith, send word down the chain now, no trinkets, no medals, no accolades, nothing gold.”

“Understood.” General Menith said. He tapped his fingers on the table for a moment and made a stupid face. “Now?”

“No! Tomorrow!? When?” Iliyal roared. “Now man! Now! You of all people know how we operate.” Menith nodded and brought out his phone. A few of the other men looked at the faux-paus but no one said a word. Iliyal did not care even as Menith stood up and walked away from the table to stand in the corner of Paida’s grand banquet hall and quietly send word to the various armies of the Empire.

“Sir.” Trosk said and stopped Iliyal from rounding on Glaiei.

“What?” Iliyal snapped back.

“A gold ban is impossible. Research and the military aren’t even my depar…” Iliyal did not even waste a moment of time. Every minute here was a minute they were utterly wasting when they should be throwing coal into the engines of Empire. Iliyal pulled the pistol from his belt and pulled back the slide. It clicked once as a bullet was loaded and then again when Iliyal flicked the safety off as he aimed the barrel straight at the minister of Internal Affairs.

For a moment, the room was deathly silent. “Why do you do this Wilhelm?” Iliyal’s voice was as cold as death. Trosk’s blue eyes stared into Iliyal’s and the elf hoped this minister, lazy though he was, could see the seriousness. The human shut down entirely, not even saying as his eyes flicked to the barrel and focused on it. Very well, if he would not speak, then Iliyal would speak for him. “Because if you think being Minister of Internal Affairs means you’re irreplaceable, you’re sorely mistaken. By today your position will be filled. By tomorrow, I’ll have a dozen men just like you clamouring for that seat. By the end of the week, your legacy will be reduced only to the paragraph I write on today’s report to Arascus on why you needed to be shot.”

Trosk nodded immediately and slouched onto his seat. The smartest words of this little exchange finally said the smart thing. “I understand.” He said.

“Sit up man.” Iliyal snapped. Tardiness, he would not take if the fucking world was ending. “I’ve seen beggars with more spine than that.” Trosk sat up, nodding again. He even managed to pull his head up. “Good! News stations as well Trosk.” Iliyal quickly thought of well else should go. “Any piece of infrastructure you deem critical.” Trosk nodded and raised his hand. Iliyal didn’t bother with the exhausted sigh. “Your mother gave you a mouth so you could speak.”

“We won’t have the storage for it.” He said.

Not a worry. “Menith.” Iliyal snapped his fingers and pointed to the elf in the corner. He excused himself and pulled his phone away. “What arms do we have? How much has been sent off to the Second Expedition?” The elf shouted back across the room as if he was giving a military report. That’s how Iliyal trained his generals, the smile of satisfaction curling his lips up simply could not be helped.

“Small arms we have plenty of. The Lubskans keep the K1 in stock and we’ve got the Kirinyaan rifles in-“

“Keep them in Arika.” Iliyal knew of those. “What of heavy arms?”

The hesitation and the pursed lips said all that needed to be said. “Most of the machinery bar the airforce.” Menith’s tone revealed he knew and Iliyal did not need to be told. If they could not fly over the Sassara then the airforce was defeated already. “Land vehicles.” He shook his head. “We have what the Second Expeditions sends up to repair and logistics trucks. Bridgebuilders run on a similar chassis as-“

“Spare me the details.” Iliyal said. No time to discuss retrofits. “Mobilize as much as we can. Empty the storerooms. Every hand you can spare that can hold a rifle is to-“ Iliyal saw the door open. It was Mikard again, with another assistant as they carefully wheeled on a huge map of all Arda that had been crudely stapled onto a corkboard with wheels. They had been smart enough to bring markers too. Iliyal extended his arm behind him to show where he wanted it and kept on issuing a command. “A gun in every hand. Don’t care what or who you find. Pull students if you need to.” And Iliyal turned back to Trosk. “That’s your warehouses. Sit statues next to ammo crates.” The man nodded immediately. “How long on the calls Menith?”

“Almost done Sir!”

“Hurry it up!” Iliyal shouted as yet another issue entered his mind. “Wilhelm.” Iliyal kept his tone hard as he realised the issue with this administration. In times of peace and when it was quiet, then Internal Affairs had little to do but report books. Now though, it was too much. That was obvious. The ban on gold would be overwhelming enough and they were the ones responsible for courts as well.

“Put the National Colleges on lockdown and all mages are to drop their civilian duties, return and await further orders. Then, I am relinquishing Internal Affairs of the Bureau of Magic, make them independent.” That could be done from Arcadia anyway. “Divine Affairs.” Helenna’s job for the time being. “Propaganda.” Also Helenna’s. “And the SIS.” There was no need for the formality anymore. Malam would be reporting to Iliyal directly. “The SIS will assist with the Gold Ban, if anyone dawdles then don’t solve it yourself, Malam will have teams ready for you.”

All the men stared at Iliyal as if he had just upturned the entire Empire. The whole point of the Bureaus was that they were sliding blocks. Each one had a director, a minister or some other oh-so-high-and-noble title. Goddess Kassandora had designed it in the spirit of the Legions, re-arrangement was as simple as passing word that there was a new person to report to. No time to waste on it. “MENITH!” Iliyal shouted. “CALLS!?!”

“Finished SIR!” The elf shouted and raced back to the table. He didn’t bother taking a seat. Iliyal didn’t care. He turned and looked over the map. Guguo and the UNN weren’t Imperial, they could be the writing space for now. The first line drawn was one in black over the Sassara. That should be roughly were Allson’s so-called Rift was but it didn’t matter. The whole place was just uninhabited sand.

“Have you rang the Arikan forces?” Iliyal asked. “Sokolowski, Ekkerson and Zalewski.”

“Not yet.” Menith shouted back instantly. It was pure military reporting at this point. Good that the man had caught on they were in a state of War and that this was no time to try and cover up mistakes.

“Pull what Ekkerson has in the coastguard to Sokolowski and Zalewski. Sokolowski is to be made Protector-General of Arika, give him that title and put the Imperial Provinces under him. He has it all, strategies are his own but…” Iliyal trailed off. He knew the annoyance and destabilization that came from when one commander interfered with another. But Iliyal had not served in the Great War to shrink back from issuing commands now. “Tell him he doesn’t have the men to hold the border. Use the Kirinyaan Invasion lines there and pull back in the Ashlands to the south. Skirmishing tactics and use the terrain. Tell him that’s my advice and it’s his reign.”

“And if Uriamel comes?” Menith asked.

“Then Uriamel comes.” Iliyal replied. He doubted they would. Elassa and Olephia had destroyed how many of their cities? Arascus had taken the undersea nation and broken them over his knee. “We don’t have the time for that.” Iliyal looked up to the heart of the Empire as it stood. Epa. On this map, it was just a short stroll across sand, through habituated north Arikan. At least they had the sea. That should give them a week more of preparation. If things kept at the pace of the Great War, then they had a month.

Somehow, Iliyal doubted that. “Tell the fleet to station in Rilia, take over all non-critical civilian vessels. Foreign Affairs!” Iliyal shouted behind himself to another of the ministers. “Send a message to every nation in North Arika bar Khmet. Our ships will be in their ports and for evacuation procedures.” Iliyal drew a line straight north from the centre of the Sassara. The Second Expedition’s Vanguard had been tasked with the Epa-Arika North-South Highway. If the communications came from them, then that meant the crack in the surface was coming from somewhere there. Hopefully. “From this line, go east and west. Save as many as you can.”

“Understood Sir.” Menith replied as Iliyal looked over the map. Every pair of hands in the Empire would be an extra pair of hands to hold a rifle and their experience would be useful in the counterblow. Foreign Affairs spoke up behind him.

“And what of Khmet Sir?”

“If they ask.” Iliyal took a deep breath. “Then tell them to pray.” Frankly, that was the only hope they had at this point. “Give them some reasoning. If we have vessels to spare then send them and give word to evacuate east by land.” The simple fact of the matter was that Khmet had more than a hundred million and twenty souls in it. That was more than the rest of the region combined. They weren’t going to be moving populations of those sizes in this short a time.

Onto Epa then. Rilia would be hit hardest. The nation stuck out like a spear. Rilia and Gracja although Gracja was White Pantheon land. Iliyal took a deep breath. With Maisara and Fortia going rogue though, the White Pantheon should not have an army to move with. But Arcadia was close by. “Arcadia will be the starting point.” Iliyal would need to go there and sort out the battle plans himself. The mages would not listen to Imperial Generals unless they were him. He cut a red pen and drew a line from the capital of magic along the coast until it hit the Rilian Border.

“Epa will be split into three fronts. East.” Iliyal began writing on the map. “Rilia.” He drew a rough outline over the country. “And West.” Along southern Rancais and along Esberia.

“Sir.” Menith said.

Iliyal already knew where this was going. “Is this going to be about Esberia not being part of the Empire?” He asked.

“Yes Sir.”

“Trust me, they will join when they see what is coming.” Iliyal said. “The fleets will hold the sea. Give the admirals full authority over coastal administrations and organise them how you see fit.” Frankly, the navy was the least of the worries. “The Second Expedition’s Checkpoint System is now null. It no longer exists from this point onwards.” Iliyal stared at the map. Hands. They needed hands. Hands would come from North Arika but Second Expedition was the problem. It would take a month at least to pull the troops back and if they did, then all the hard-won land would be given up. But land lost could be retaken. The entrenchments would need to start as soon as possible. “Remobilize the penal Legions. Empty all of Epa’s prison, conscript them all. Mobilize the populations. Issue it as soon as possible, Helenna will have a conscription letter prepared for you by tonight.”

“And what of the Second Expedition?” He may as well have asked what of their entire military.

“How fast is communication to the underworld?”

“Depends where.” Menith replied. “To the Holds, we have phone lines. But to the troops?” It had been the same issue as the Greening Campaign of the Ashlands. That had ran out of seeds whereas the network expansions were thirsting for wire to lay down.

“Goddess Kassandora is down there. Tell her we are preparing a defence.” Iliyal turned back to the map. He looked up as he smiled. If there was anyone he would know would know what to do, it would be her. “Tell her we need as much of the Second Expedition as she can spare but that we’ll need Divine support. Elassa is top priority, we need her and at least another. Send word to Olephia and station her in northern Rilia for now. Divine Affairs will assist you with petty Gods for now.”

Iliyal turned around and clapped his hands. “Do we know what we are doing?” He said. The whole table nodded, bowed, a few stood up and saluted. “Good.” Iliyal said. “GO!”

And so they rushed out of the room as phones began to ring and orders were being given. Iliyal stared at the doors as they closed. There was still Arascus to ring. There was still the issue of all major Gods being underground or in the UNN. There was still Arcadia to corral. Iliyal smiled as he pulled out his phone. Arascus would be first, then Helenna and Malam. Then the Epan National Divines.

He had not told them what was coming.

Ashen skies and End Times.

Apocalypse.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep