Unfortunately, ME3 wouldn’t have aged well. That is, if the committee didn’t destroy all copies. Though in the event the committee falls, it might help city planners figure out where some of the old landmarks were located.
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I think it’s time to reveal the easter egg I put in Chapter 464. You were on the right track with Jakob Dojima Daitai Ryu. Jakob’s nickname is “Jake,” and the rest spells…DDR.
- 2
Jhator
Ilmarisen Takomo - December 2
The sun was going down now, and the air was getting colder as night drew nearer. It was an almost normal December evening in the Urals, which meant temperatures would be freezing at night. The emphasis was on “almost.” Yekaterinburg, one of Jerusalem’s first strike targets, was not far away, and fallout and dust particles had begun spreading this far into the mountain range, weakening the sun’s light. The winter of 2038-39 looked like it would be a long one. That was not good for Wilhelmina’s group. The bunker had been thoroughly trashed. The battle destroyed the bunker’s electronic systems, including heating and lighting. And the worst thing was, the planes in the hangar were useless. Gebhard cursed and pounded the wing of the last plane.
“Why did they have to sabotage all of the planes?! Now blowing them up, I can understand, but just leaving them alone if only to sabotage them?! What kind of invader does that?”
“What are our options?” Wilhelmina said.
“Well, only thing we can do now is try to travel on foot to a nearby airport. Oh, who am I kidding, Jerusalem bombed all airfields in this part of Yavdi. Don’t count on finding any helicopters either, none of them have enough range to go anywhere meaningful except Yavdian cities that are most certainly under Crusader occupation.”
Sounds like somebody really went to extremes to make it almost impossible to fly out from here in any direction. Seriously, why do things have to be so inconvenient?
“We can’t just sit here and freeze to death. A feel like a haw gaw.” Izinchi was starting to lapse back into a Caledonian accent. With her stomach just barely patched up with some first aid bandages, she was putting more effort into not bleeding out than speaking Brandenburg Standard.
“Which is why I suggest Plan C. We head south to Persia on foot.”
“On foot?! Awa' an bile yer heid!” Sometimes, the Caledonian sounded like its own language.
We wouldn’t last on foot. Even if we solved the injuries problem, we’d still need to find food. And then shelter. Maybe I should’ve joined the Scouts like Mom wanted. Then we’d get that part down. But then there’s the issue of getting there. We don’t know where to go other than south. Even if we did, it would take weeks. Anything could happen. And even if we somehow made it to Persia, there might not be a Persia left by then.
“We don’t really have another choice. But we may not have to travel the whole way on foot. While I was reviewing satellite maps in the command center before GPS and Tianyan both went down, I noticed there was a small mountain village about a couple miles south of here. They might have cars or other vehicles we can use.”
“Wilhelmina, what do you think?”
Uh…are there even roads we can drive those cars on? We’re in the middle of the Urals. I doubt there would be any roads that aren’t around the bunker or leading back to Yekaterinburg.
“Certainly beats waiting here to either freeze to death or for Crusaders or Chinese to try their luck at killing us again.”
Wilhelmina looked at Enonon. It was back in its case and set against a wall.
I still don’t know what I did. All that power coursing through me…am I the best person to wield it? Why me? I could’ve killed all those soldiers back there. Maybe even Elias. But would that have been right? Killing soldiers who were only doing their job and following orders? What about Elias? Killing him might be great and all…but then the power vacuum. Things could get even worse if Jerusalem loses its leader and nobody knows who’ll replace him. Or maybe they do, and they choose someone even worse. Someone who might just fire the rest of the nukes.
“Okay,” Gebhard said, “Let’s gather all of the supplies we can get on hand, maybe find some winter gear—especially you, Wilhelmina, I don’t think your dress is going to hold up much longer.”
Wilhelmina looked down at her dress. Somehow, she had stuck with it for many years, even after arriving in Russia. Mostly because she had no other outfits. Now it had become severely tattered in the last battle.
I hate to say it, but this won’t do. I’m surprised nobody noticed sooner. This dress is almost completely falling apart. I’m lucky it’s still wearable. The alternative is…let’s not think about it.
Despite trying her best to clean her glasses, she couldn’t scrub off Franz’s blood.
“Oi, did you see Samir and his guys?” Izinchi said. “We should tell them.”
“Samir said he was going outside,” Wilhelmina said, “I’ll go check on them.”
She walked to the end of the runway and entered the meadow where just recently the kids had been playing. Samir and his squad looked to be hauling bodies out to the cliff, but instead of burying them, they were arranging them in lines. Friedrich and Ilyana sat on flat rocks, quietly watching them.
“Uh, Samir?”
Samir looked up. “Yes?”
“What are you doing?”
“We call it jhator. You know it better as a sky burial.”
“A sky burial, huh? Always heard it was a thing in Mongol culture, but I never saw it in person.”
“Jhator is an act of generosity on the part of the deceased. We believe after death and the departure of the soul to the afterlife, the body that remains is just that, a body. There’s no need to preserve it anymore, so why not just dispose of the remains in a way that gives back to nature?”
“So in leaving the bodies out for vultures to eat, you’re giving back to the environment.”
“Just as nature intended. Definitely eco-friendly, since we’re not wasting fuel and causing pollution with cremation.”
They watched the Yavdians continue laying out the bodies. There were a lot of them, not only Yavdians and exiles but also Crusaders and Chinese. Wilhelmina looked up and saw vultures already circling in the sky above them.
“What about the bodies of Joseph and Franz? I don’t see them there.”
“Oh, them? I was thinking you’d want to give them a proper Roman funeral later on, so we put together some makeshift coffins and buried them in the meadow. Over there.”
He pointed to two mounds of dirt on the edge of the meadow, marked by rifles sticking out of the ground with helmets placed on their tops. “We’ve also done the same for our Tsar-Khagan and Chancellor Amur, as per their personal requests.”
“I see. Thanks for letting me know.”
Though we really can’t move the bodies and hold a proper funeral anytime soon. Maybe ever.
“It’s the cycle of life, isn’t it? We’re born from the earth, we live, and we die. Our bones return to the earth and nourish other living creatures. Vultures are symbols of renewal, of life coming from death.”
Vultures…very different from how Uncle Karl talked about them.
“I’ve heard the metaphor used differently. That people are vultures or roadkill, and one must be the vulture and eat roadkill to avoid being roadkill.”
“That metaphor, frankly, is flawed. I mean, we’re all roadkill in the end, right? So what does it matter being the vulture or not? And vultures are vultures. It’s in their nature to eat scraps. Can’t fault them for that. Sometimes, it’s good for vultures to eat roadkill, because they’re just returning the dead back to nature. They’re not the ones doing the actual killing.”
“And it’s not like everyone is a vulture.”
“Yes, that comparison is very restrictive, only imagining some as winners and others as losers. True, there will be those who abuse their power—I’ve talked about them plenty already. But everyone else shouldn’t just roll over and accept their fate. We’re not vultures and roadkill. We’re people. And we all end up the same way in the end: providing nourishment for life elsewhere to carry on. Doesn’t make sense for some of us to oppress the rest of us and be, to borrow that flawed metaphor, the vultures over us roadkill.”
He speaks like he’s some old sage. In a way, he reminds me of Mom. Or even Grandpa.
“I never believed in that metaphor anyways. It was always thrown around by my uncle long ago.”
“I keep forgetting he’s your uncle. It’s weird to know the same family produced you two.”
Sometimes, I forget he’s my uncle too. Especially after the last two years.
“Sometimes, I wished things turned out differently. I wished we didn’t have to end things like this. That my uncle would still be my uncle, my mom would still be alive, and the Reich carried on as it always did.”
Sometimes, I wish this was all a bad nightmare. I’d pinch myself and wake up in 1998, back in my old room in Mom’s place. I’m 16 again. It’s the middle of the night. The PlayStation is over by the TV, empty because I had loaned Final Fantasy VII to Gunduz last year and she hadn’t given it back yet (spoiler: she never gave it back—I’m still salty). My Jugdral map poster is on the wall with all of those inspirational quotes from Lewyn and Sigurd and Shannan and the others. My early access plushie of Erin is on my desk, next to the bobblehead of Palla I later gave to Frederica. There’s a notebook open. Scribbled in the margin around my high school notes are my thoughts on the Final Fantasy VII ending and what Gunduz probably thought about it (pretty sure she just stopped playing at some point). Yeah, I probably should’ve been writing about typical teenager stuff like grades, unfair teachers, bullies, and crushes…well, I did write about that stuff—maybe there’s something about Franz there I can’t recall. Just not as much as my reaction to the stuff I was playing. Mom walks into my room and asks why I’m up at such a late hour when I have school first thing in the morning tomorrow and it’s exams week, and I cry into her shoulder saying I missed her so much. She pats me on the back, saying nothing happened to me, she’s still here, and everything’s okay. And behind my crying and sniffling, I hear the sound of cars driving on the street late at night. The sound of pedestrian walk signals beeping. It’s Berlin in the 1990s. There is no Jerusalem, and the Cold War is long over. The man in Brandenburg Palace is Grandfather, and the man in the Chancellery is not Elias Anhorn. I’m safe here. The world is at peace, for the most part. Everything is right. But that world no longer exists. Unfortunately, it hasn’t existed in 40 years. I pinch myself, but I’m still here in 2038. No amount of pinching or wishing to go back will change that. This is reality. I can’t change that, even with my new power. Only thing I can do now is cut my way to the future I want, just as Dimitri told Edelgard, and hope it’s like what I had 40 years ago.
“An understandable sentiment,” Samir said, “I always wished I could see my family again. But they’re dead.”
So you feel the same way. I totally understand. We all want to go back, don’t we?
“Do you know they’re dead, though?”
“I asked around my neighborhood. Any survivors in the area. From what I heard, the nuke came down almost right on top of my house. They didn’t have a chance.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Sometimes, the universe just deals us a bad hand.
They continued watching the soldiers lay out the bodies. Wilhelmina walked over to Friedrich and Ilyana,.
“Are you two okay?”
“Grandma…are Dad and Grandpa really…gone?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Dad…is gone…like Mom…”
It’s my fault. I got Joseph and Lisa killed. Lisa went off on her own with Justin and Jessica to get Enonon for me. She died to get that sword to me. And what did I do? Reject the sword, because I was scared. Scared of what it meant. The responsibilities and duties that came with it. I didn’t want it. So it’s like she died for nothing. Same with Joseph. He died because I messed up. I got trapped, Franz faltered and died, and Joseph saw no other way than to do what Lisa did and buy time for me to escape. Time I didn’t use. Because I was scared again. I got them killed, and I still don’t know how to give their sacrifices meaning. So they died for nothing. Yes, you could say I tried avenging Joseph once I got the power. But the fact is he died and needed avenging in the first place because of me. I needed to clean up my mess. I even failed to do that. Elias is still alive, plotting his next move. Friedrich’s lost both of his parents. I’m his only family now. He’s only 6.
“I’m sorry.”
“Make them pay,” Ilyana said.
“What was that?”
“Make them pay for what they did. They killed our parents and grandparents.”
Uh…excuse me, young lady? Aren’t you also 6?
“Aren’t you a little young to be talking about revenge?”
“Do I have a choice? We have to fight back, or else we’ll be next.”
This girl’s acting way older than she looks. What is it with the youngest people in our group acting older than me?! It’s kind of scary, really. Those eyes of hers…that fierceness and determination…when I see those eyes, I remember how I felt when I was charging at Elias. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.
“I didn’t ask Grandpa to do it,” Ilyana said, “But he didn’t listen. He’s…gone now. I couldn’t stop it.”
“It’s my fault, Ilyana. Not yours.”
“But I…still feel this way. Please, make it stop! Make them pay!”
Wilhelmina looked at her hands and concentrated, making energy swirl around them briefly.
“I…I’ll try my best. I’ll try to protect you two.”
“Where are we going to go now, Grandma?”
“We’re going to Persia. I know some people there.”
“I’ve never been to Persia,” Ilyana said, “What’s it like?”
“It’s…sandy. You could say it’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. But the people there are very nice and friendly once you get to know them.”
As of 1997. Who knows how much they’ve changed in the last four decades?
“Really?” Friedrich said.
“I promise you, we’ll be safe there.”
“You said we would be safe in Russia!”
“Grandpa said we’d be safe in Yavdi.”
“Look, I don’t know what to say, but we can’t stay here.”
I hope Alexandra’s still there. And it would be nice to catch up with Gunduz.
With the sun setting, the soldiers quickly finished placing the bodies. Izinchi and Gebhard emerged from the hangar, carrying several military backpacks. Gebhard had put on winter combat fatigues, while Izinchi had found a large overcoat.
“We found warm clothes for everyone,” Izinchi said, “Especially for you, Wilhelmina. No more chittering.”
“Even for the kids?” Samir said.
“Joseph packed some warm clothes for Friedrich, and I presume Vasily did for Ilyana too,” Wilhelmina said.
“Yeah, we looked through their rooms,” Gebhard said, “Sorry. I know it’s hard losing Franz and Joseph, after what they tried to do for you. I know from experience.”
“It’s okay. We’ll at least put their belongings to good use. Anyways, Izinchi, what outfit did you pick out for me?”
Izinchi handed Wilhelmina a backpack. Wilhelmina looked inside, seeing a set of casual winter clothes. There were some warm pants that didn’t look too restrictive, as well as a purple shirt. Unsurprisingly, there were no optometrists in the bunker, so no new glasses.
“I know they’re nothing out of the ordinary, but you wouldn’t be recognized in them.”
“That’s fine. I like ordinary.”
“Anyways, I radioed the village,” Gebhard said, “Fortunately, neither Jerusalem nor China went their way. I don’t think the people there speak German, but they seem to have understood me. They’re sending someone to pick us up.”
“On foot? I’m pretty sure it’s still too far away to walk to.”
“Not exactly on foot.”
“So they sent a car or something?”
“Uh…about that…I don’t think this village has roads, let alone cars…”
Wilhelmina heard the neighing of horses and the clacking of hooves echoing through the shadow-covered valley below.
“How rustic.”
---
Since Izinchi is from Edinburgh, I decided to give her more Scotticisms in addition to her Nahua slang.
- 2
Seeing so many family members die in front of her at the age of 6 is bound to leave lasting scars.
- 2
Sorry I have not commented on this one and the last one before now. I took a small break from reading during the holidays.
Yea Gunduze can be scary sometimes but at least she is on our side.
This makes me think of something. During the Middle Ages didn't non-religious buildings have to be smaller than the largest religious building (I forget if it was a Church or Mosque)?
Well at least Josh is not that close to Angelica's group (with them being in Vienna and him being in northern Gaul). However I will feel better when they are not on the same continent.
At first I was still unsure but then I realized DDR is the abbreviation for Deutsche Demokratische Republik.
It makes me think of the Kenny Rogers song "The Gambler" in were it tells you that you have to know how to play the cards you been dealt.
It is all in how Ilyana uses that fierceness and determination.
No worries. I was actually thinking of switching to a single weekly upload for at least this week anyways so people don’t have to catch up that much after the holidays.
She may sound scary, but she means well.
I’m not sure if it was a fabrication from later historians or if it really happened in some areas, but i distinctly remember hearing about it in Age of Miracles (which is where I got inspiration for my Nullification Acts) and maybe somewhere else. I’ll have to look it up at some point.
Yeah that threw me for a loop when I visited Germany and the museums all talked about the DDR.
A lesson all three of our protagonist groups are slowly learning.
And the mentors who teach her how to use it as well.
Yet another wonderful conservation between Wilhelmina and Samir. I especially how he deconstructed the vulture metaphor Jerusalem. Samir is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters now, it feels like he's a spiritual successor or Oskar in a way.
Judging from Ilyana’s reactions to the death of her family, I can see her having to grow up pretty fast, but the same can be said for little Fredrich. Seems like those two only have each other and Wilhelmina now.
Judging from Ilyana’s reactions to the death of her family, I can see her having to grow up pretty fast, but the same can be said for little Fredrich. Seems like those two only have each other and Wilhelmina now.
Let’s hope Josh doesn’t come after him then…
The three of them are the last Hohenzollerns in the world. They’ve got no choice but to grow up fast if they are to survive.
How very ASOIAF for little Fredreich and Illyana to grow up fast, especially with a crap sack world. I think they're gonna have a hell of a journey to adulthood. Hopefully the nightmares will be over but something tells me that won't be the case.
Also Zen if you are still planning to do the revamped CK2 plotlines I hope I can contribute more to it cause I got a few ideas as well. So okay since we established that Alexios Komnenos acted as both regent and protector to Fredreich the Glorious wouldn't it make sense if he was declared Co-Emperor of the East? I've read how child Emperors never really prospered in Rome so during Fredreich the Glorious' childhood years Alexios and a regency council would have taken steps to avoid civil war in the ERE, maybe both Fredreich the Great and Komnenos would meet somewhere in neutral ground that bordered both the ERE and HRE to help prevent the entire system from falling apart. Alexios being acclaimed co-Emperor (and de facto regent) would have helped stabilized the ERE plus a marriage to the Doukids to keep them in line, cause let's be honest, Fredreich the Glorious was half Doukas but it wouldn't have been enough to protect him if we look out how OTL's Komnenos dynasty went. So yeah just some suggestions I wanted to point out. Plus it would make sense as to why the Komnenoi stuck around for centuries and were trusted enough to be regents (like Augustine Komnenos himself)
Also Zen if you are still planning to do the revamped CK2 plotlines I hope I can contribute more to it cause I got a few ideas as well. So okay since we established that Alexios Komnenos acted as both regent and protector to Fredreich the Glorious wouldn't it make sense if he was declared Co-Emperor of the East? I've read how child Emperors never really prospered in Rome so during Fredreich the Glorious' childhood years Alexios and a regency council would have taken steps to avoid civil war in the ERE, maybe both Fredreich the Great and Komnenos would meet somewhere in neutral ground that bordered both the ERE and HRE to help prevent the entire system from falling apart. Alexios being acclaimed co-Emperor (and de facto regent) would have helped stabilized the ERE plus a marriage to the Doukids to keep them in line, cause let's be honest, Fredreich the Glorious was half Doukas but it wouldn't have been enough to protect him if we look out how OTL's Komnenos dynasty went. So yeah just some suggestions I wanted to point out. Plus it would make sense as to why the Komnenoi stuck around for centuries and were trusted enough to be regents (like Augustine Komnenos himself)
Now that you bring up ASOIAF, I'm getting some Lyanna Mormont vibes from Ilyana. Their names even sound very similar.
I'm still planning on doing the CK2 rework, although I have only been doing some light research as I want to focus on this arc for now. But it's nice to spitball some ideas every now and then.
I like the idea of co-emperor. But if Alexios were to get the title, what's stopping him from just swooping in and taking the throne for himself once Friedrich the Great is dead? That's happened a few times in actual Byzantine history, if I remember correctly. Unless Friedrich and Ida managed to convince Alexios to stay loyal somehow, which would have to have happened as the in-game regent did stay loyal. I don't think I recorded who that regent was and I doubt the save file saved that information, so I could fudge the story to have Alexios as the regent. But Friedrich the Glorious most certainly did not marry a Doukid in-game, and I'd rather not retcon that out since I can find the names of spouses quite easily in the save file. It turns out Gunhilda is actually his third wife. His first wife was Konstantia Gavras, and she is the granddaughter of Theodoros Gavras and mother of Saint Wilhelmina. She died in 1113 I think, which is when Friedrich remarried to a Arab named Shoukouh, who...doesn't have a dynasty (and had one daughter who died childless). She died in 1119, after which Friedrich married Gunhilda. Maybe Friedrich just had a thing for lowborn women. So there's no room for a Doukid marriage to Friedrich (actually, see below for why this can't even happen at all in universe), but I could see Ida convincing Alexios to be a loyal co-emperor.
I could also see the Komnenoi being brought around to support the Hohenzollerns by bringing Theodoros Gavras into the equation. Looking at Theodoros' Wikipedia page, it seemed the Komnenoi were very scared about his political ambitions and military prowess. After Theodoros married a Komnenoi and legally invalidated his son's marriage to Alexios' daughter, Alexios imprisoned his son, leading Theodoros to attempt a rebellion (which failed, and he got exiled to his old job of border patrol duty against the Seljuks). Although the real rebellion was merely to free his son, maybe here Theodoros has greater ambitions and sees an opportunity to seize power during Friedrich the Glorious' regency, following in the Hohenzollerns' precedent (or maybe to oppose the Hohenzollern takeover). This would lead Alexios to reach out to Ida and Friedrich the Great, probably at a neutral ground somewhere in Croatia (setting the precedent for Illyria being a bridge between the German and Greek halves of the empire). The icing on the cake is Theodoros' death date in the save file: November 1104, just 7 months after the Restoration began in April. Perhaps Alexios was involved in Theodoros' downfall, or Friedrich the Glorious was cleaning house now that he could do that, or maybe Theodoros made a deal with the Worm cult and was brought down with the rest of them. It could work.
Now that I think about it, having Friedrich the Glorious, a son of a Doukai, marry another Doukai wouldn't work due to it violating church law. That's why things fell apart between Theodoros and Alexios in real life when Theodoros married a Komnenoi and made it illegal for his son to marry Alexios' daughter, due to them now being close relatives by marriage. The Doukai and Komnenoi's reputations would mostly come from Anna Doukaina being the mother of Friedrich the Glorious and Alexios Komnenos being his protector and guardian. If that's not good enough for either house, I could see some of Wilhelmina's siblings or children marrying Doukai or Komnenoi. I might have even done that in-game, or the AI may have done it on its own. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure one of the Kaisers married a Komnenoi at some point. Will have to check later.
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Ah right I somehow forgot that bit on relatives marrying each other being very controversial, frowned upon in the Orthodox church too if I recall. Illyria being the bridge would be rather fitting considering a lot of history that went on there in later centuries too. Oh yeah I can see Turtledove TTL making a book on Alexios seizing power instead of remaining loyal. The amout of politicking involved during the regency would be pretty well documented in both the west and east. And speaking of ASOIAF, it's how I imagined the court scenes would go in TTL, speaking of which, I'm slowly constructing a decent plotline for Symphony though just like GRRM it's the tangling plotlines that set up Winds and onwards that is getting tricky. Hopefully I can get it all to work.
I am however close to constructing what TTL's Long Night would look, most especially the connection to Westeros' fondness for the Edd name, which is to say, variations of the first Azor Ahai's name.
I am however close to constructing what TTL's Long Night would look, most especially the connection to Westeros' fondness for the Edd name, which is to say, variations of the first Azor Ahai's name.
Pretty sure it’s frowned upon by the Catholic Church as well, which would make the scheme extremely bad on both sides
And a good way to bring the spotlight to a province I otherwise ignored.
If Alexios took power, I could see a Komnenid Restoration happening a couple decades later than expected only to have to deal with a resurgent Persia, the HRE electors disavowing the Hohenzollerns and electing someone else after their failed stunt at unifying the two empires, and the Hohenzollern crusader kingdoms in the Middle East becoming major powers in their own right (or they could have been overthrown and returned to Islamic rule).
Sounds nice. Still looking forward to that.
Interesting. Never heard of that. Is that a theory or something you came up with?
A Nice Place
Ural Mountains - December 2, evening
The sun had now disappeared behind the mountains, covering the valley in shadow and the peaks in an orange glow, although the hues weren’t as vibrant as they could be due to the fallout in the sky. The steady glomping of the horses’ hooves against the cliffside road echoed across the valley. Wilhelmina’s horse lurched underneath her, and she struggled to both stay on and hold onto Friedrich and Ilyana. She had some experience riding horses in the past. Her mother had been part of the Roman equestrian team at the 1977 (yes, 1977) Summer Olympics in Chicago and won a gold medal there. She taught Wilhelmina how to ride a horse when she was a kid, but she dropped the hobby after a few years.
Sometimes, I wish I continued my lessons. I can barely control this horse. It constantly feels like I’m about to fall off! At least it’s easier than wielding a sword.
“Hey, if you’re wondering, no, I’m not going to help you all the way,” Sophie suddenly said.
Wilhelmina looked to her right and saw Sophie riding on another horse with no trouble.
How does she do that? Put on all that armor and ride around not only without trouble but looking good too?! Meanwhile I’m just trying not to fall off this horse, and I look like a mess. Franz would’ve said something like ‘Behold, your future Kaiserin!’ if he were still here.
“Yeah, I figured as much. Probably should start taking lessons again.”
“Once we arrive in Persia, that is.”
“Do they have horse riding schools in Persia?”
“Don’t you know the Shahbanu? She might know someone.”
Gunduz…where to start?
“I haven’t seen her since we were teenagers. I hear they call her Gunduz the Blunt now. I’m not surprised. She always called me Princess Four-Eyes. Don’t tell her I told you, but she’s just as much of a geek as I am, even if she tries to hide it. Though I’m not sure if she can help me with tutors.”
“Well, I know you’ll figure something out.”
“I should also take up fencing again.”
“Bet you’re wishing you listened to your dad more, right?”
I wish I continued those lessons too…sorry Dad.
Her dad had been on the Roman fencing team in Chicago in 1977, and that was how he met Wilhelmina’s mom. He also taught Wilhelmina some fencing lessons, but she had stopped practicing long ago, as had happened with her equestrian lessons.
“He was pretty strict with his lessons, but looking back…I miss them a lot. I just miss my dad.”
“I miss my dad too,” Friedrich said.
“And mine,” Ilyana said.
“We’ve all lost people we love,” Sophie said, “I lost my parents too.”
“What did you do?”
“I made them pay. I took back control of my life, and my country.”
“How?” Ilyana’s eyes lit up.
“A lot of blood and steel. But no price was too high for me. Bethune, curses be on his name, stole my family from me. I couldn’t let him do the same to the rest of my country.”
“Hold on a moment,” Wilhelmina said, “You can see her?”
“See Aunt Sophie? Of course I can! Just like Ricky!”
“Ricky?”
“I preferred Freddy…” Friedrich complained.
“Too bad! Ricky it is!”
She pronounced it like “Riki,” which gave off a different impression to the group’s resident CRPG enthusiast.
Introducing this year’s legendary Heropon!
“Sophie, why didn’t you tell me you could talk to the kids?”
Sophie shrugged. “I thought you knew. You did know I was talking to Friedrich.”
“Yeah, but Ilyana too?”
“She’s a Hohenzollern so I guess that works?”
“How does this stuff even work?”
“I honestly don’t know myself.”
Weird. Aren’t force ghosts in Starkrieg supposed to be all-knowing or something?
“Are you really Sophia? Or are you just a figment of my imagination?”
Can she read my thoughts?
“I can’t answer that.”
“Because you can’t or you just don’t want to?”
“I just told you, I don’t know myself. I’m just here.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Uh…let’s not go down that rabbit hole. It gives me a headache.”
“You get headaches?”
“Ow, can we please talk about something else?”
“Okay, fine! Is this related to my power?”
“Finally, something I can answer. No. Unrelated. I didn’t give you that power. Or direct it in any way. So that was all you. Congrats, I guess.”
Yay. Sure.
“Is it related to those times I saw my mom while I was doing the meditation stuff?”
“Yeah, same deal, I know that much. But the power is unrelated.”
“What is my power anyways? You seemed to imply you know more about it.”
“Yeah, I had it before.”
“You did?”
“Way back when.”
“Is that how you beat Malcolm Bethune?”
That one play suddenly got a lot more boring than she remembered. Whose bright idea was it to edit out the cool laser shooting and glowing swords?
“Nah, I tried not to use it, unless I had to. Though by the end of my life, I was in plenty of situations where I had to use it.”
“Like what?”
“Oi, Wilhelmina, who’re you talking to?” Izinchi said, riding up from behind.
Oh come on! You aren’t even struggling, and I know you exist!
“Uh…the kids?”
But Sophie—and her horse—were gone.
Damnit!
“We were talking to Aunt Sophie!”
“Oh, that imaginary friend of yours?” Izinchi said. “How quaint.”
Nobody else could see Sophie. Just myself, Friedrich, and Ilyana. We’re all Hohenzollerns. So it seems only Hohenzollerns can see Sophie? But if Friedrich and Ilyana can see her…do they have my power? If not, can they get it?
“They have the wildest imaginations. Amazing how well they’re handling things. Especially since it’s only been a few hours.”
“Can’t believe that all went down earlier.”
“Same here. Still trying to figure what’s happening with me.”
“So yer a superhero now? Shootin lasers ’n stuff?”
“Eh…maybe. I don’t really know.”
She made sure Enonon’s case was securely strapped over her back.
“All I know is…this power…it’ll let me change things now.”
I keep saying that like I know what has to change but really I don’t. Only the blatantly obvious stuff like ‘take down the evil empire before we’re all nuked into oblivion.’ When it comes to everything else, I’m just winging it.
“I sure hope so,” Izinchi said.
“Let’s just hope there’s still something to lead once we get out of these mountains,” Gebhard said.
After another hour, just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the peaks, they arrived at their destination, a small Yavdian village nestled at the bottom of the valley, between a frozen lake and a large forest. It was quite small, compared to even the bunker. Wilhelmina noticed a mix of architecture styles among the buildings. There were some Roman-, Russian-, and Finnish-style houses, but most of the houses were Mongol-style gers, semi-nomadic tents whose entrances all faced south. There were no paved roads or cars, and although there were a couple electric lights, there weren’t many. Most lights came from hand-lit lamps. The villagers looked Mongol from their faces, while their clothes looked Finnish with some noticeable Russian influences.
“Nadad tuslamj kheregtei!” Samir said. “Someone help us!”
The villagers quickly ran over, shouting quickly in Mongolian. They helped Izinchi off her horse and led her to a nearby ger marked with a Red Cross symbol.
“Will she be okay?” Wilhelmina said.
“This village may be in the middle of nowhere, but there’s a good doctor here,” Samir said, “30% of our population is still at least semi-nomadic, so our doctors have to learn how to work anywhere, instead of only in the big cities. Anyways, let’s get the rest of us to somewhere warm.”
---
First thing on their agenda was dinner.
Wow, I just realized I’m starving! I could go for a good schnitzel right about now. Oh wait. The committee probably banned schnitzel as blasphemy. I wouldn’t be surprised.
They had now gathered in a large dining ger. Wilhelmina’s group sat at a table near a fireplace, warming up while their food was prepared. Wilhelmina had put Enonon’s case under her feet to avoid drawing more attention than she already did. There were several families eating the table here, some of them occasionally looking over at her. Kids were asking their parents something in Mongolian.
If we look that out of place already, imagine if Izinchi was here. Do they burn witches or demons or whatever here? Or is that a distinctly German thing?
“Grandma, what are they saying?” Friedirch said.
“I don’t know.”
“They’re asking why you look different,” Samir said, “This village doesn’t have much contact with the rest of the world, like a lot of places in the Urals.”
That’s pretty obvious.
“Despite being not that far away from a government bunker?” Gebhard said.
“I don’t think the people who built the bunker were aware these people were here. Either that, or they didn’t care at all. Neither the General Secretary nor the Tsar-Khagan cared about these people.”
Wilhelmina continued waiting for their food. The nearby families kept sneaking looks at her and the others, though they were bad at hiding it.
“They don’t know who I am, do they?”
“Probably not,” Samir said, “We’ve been trying to roll out Internet access in this part for many years now, but the project’s been stalled for just as long. Nobody wanted to foot the bill.”
“And TVs?”
“Not many people have TVs here. The mountains make it hard to get a signal.”
“The last thing I saw on the bunker computers before we left was TV satellites from Russia to Afghanistan going down,” Gebhard said, “Han’s attack against SVI took out Internet and TV networks in this area. It’s not that it’s harder to get a signal, there isn’t even a signal to get, unless we go through ground-based radio transmitters.”
“Then how do they get news?”
“The daily newspaper. Unlike in the old Reich, we still value our local newspapers. What, were you disappointed nobody recognized you?”
“No, I think it’s great.”
“You do?” Gebhard said. “You’re our princess!”
Yes, but I’m a person too. I’m not a god.
“I mean, nobody’s going to try to murder me here, like they did in the bunker. It would be a nice place to lie low before we head to Persia.”
“Interesting. You’d rather just…be forgotten?”
Definitely. Mom wanted that for me, to grow up like any other Roman. I didn’t get that, but I still wanted that. The aristocrats threw a fit when Mom wanted me to go to a public school. “Why is the princess going to a random school any old commoner child can attend?” “Where’s the security for this school? Can’t a random criminal just walk in and shoot?” “What kind of example will we set for our people and our children if the crown princess’ own daughter starts speaking like a gangster and learns dangerous ideas?” “Is that who we want sitting on the throne, a girl with no respect for tradition? A girl who worships these godslaying video games instead of learning the values of our thousand year old empire?” When they couldn’t convince Mom, they went to Dad. Dad was always fearing for his little girl’s safety, so they struck a nerve. I remember the arguments going on and on late at night. The tabloid reporters always circling the house, treating this like a soap opera. All the kids on the playground taking bets on when the divorce would happen, who would file the papers, who would get custody, and if I had to move away. They patched things up by the time I went to high school, but they never really got much time after that, because 2001 happened.
“It would be nice to be treated like a normal person for once. I hope Friedrich gets to live the normal childhood I never got. But don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to hide again. That’s not going to solve anything. Once Izinchi recovers enough, we’re heading south.”
“Yeah, we can’t stay here forever. Nothing against these people, but I’d feel more comfortable staying in a place with actual walls. Fewer places to aim a gun at me.”
“Remember the last place with actual walls we stayed in?”
“From what I remember, you were responsible for the security.”
“Under your leadership, old man.”
“Kid, I'll have you know I’m the youngest Roman to have ever made general! I was 30! Even Hugo Doukas was 50 when he got his promotion!”
“Your math is off. Wolfgang Ludendorff was 24 when he made general and 25 when he became MD. At best, you’re the second youngest.”
“…How do you know all this?”
Dinner was finally served. A waiter set down a large metal milk jug on the table. Wilhelmina could feel the heat radiating from the jug, even before the waiter opened it and she could smell the hot barbecued lamb meat inside. The waiter reached in and put slabs of meat, some still attached to bones, on each person’s plate. Wilhelmina looked at her portion, which looked very juicy but also lean.
It’s no Constantinople steak, but it’s good enough for me.
The waiter asked something to Samir in Mongolian, who nodded. The waiter then reached into the jug again and took out some fist-sized stones, all blackened from the heat. He handed a stone to Samir, who tossed them between his hands once it had cooled down enough, not flinching at all. Other stones were placed next to everyone’s plates.
“I don’t think that’s an egg,” Friedrich said.
“It’s not an egg, silly!” Ilyana said.
Wilhelmina noticed there were none of the usual eating utensils on the table. “So…where’s the fork and knife?”
“Oh, we usually eat khorkhog with our fingers,” Samir said, picking up a rib.
Gebhard had already started eating. “Wow, this is great! I haven’t had a good barbecue rib like this in years! Though with it cooked this well, I’m wondering something: how’d you get it done between us sitting down at the table and now?”
“Oh, no, they didn’t wait until you were here in person. As soon as I radioed we were on our way, they started cooking. This typically takes an hour and a half to cook.”
“You couldn’t have found something that doesn’t take as long to cook? We still had to wait here.”
“What did you expect, more cabbage rolls? It’s custom to serve khorkhog to guests. We couldn’t not serve you this.”
I’m not in the mood for cabbage. Not for another few months.
“How do you cook this anyways? Might try my hand at barbecuing when I get my hands on a grill.”
“Okay, first you need to cut up the meat into small pieces. Leave in the bones if you can. Heat a dozen or so of those rocks over a fire, then put them with the meat in a jug for about an hour. Simple.”
“What’s the point of the rocks?” Wilhelmina said.
“They cook the meat and take out the fat.“
“I mean why are you tossing them between your hands?”
“Oh, this? Hot rocks are a Yavdian folk remedy for a lot of hand issues. You should try it out.”
“Yeah, if you want to burn your hand,” Gebhard said.
Ilyana impulsively picked up a rock with both hands, and Wilhelmina’s eyes widened.
“Ilyana!”
Ilyana didn’t flinch. “What?”
“That rock will burn you!”
“Not really. It cooled down already.”
“Just…be careful then.”
“Try it, Ricky!”
“Uh…” Friedrich said. “Maybe later.”
“Won’t that defeat the purpose of a hot rock?”
“Come on, the food’s getting cold,” Samir said, “Eat up!”
They dug in.
Oh, damn, this is delicious! Better than loads of five star restaurants! There’s something about this that says it above the rest. Something you’d only get from homemade cooking. It’s a lot like what Mom and Dad used to make. You can just taste the nostalgia and the homeliness. I can’t stop eating—mmph, oh, that hit the spot…
By the way, I’m going to start ramping up to 3 uploads a week. This week will probably have 2 uploads, and then back to 3 next week.
- 2
Some breathing time to get Wilhelmina's thoughts on her being an icon to people as well as how her powers tie into her lineage. Nice.
Oh, there's going to be a lot more breathing time coming up. Lots of time for everyone to reflect on themselves when they're in the middle of nowhere.
- 1
Lot's of breathing room indeed while being served by folks who probably have not seen the literal sky falling no thanks to Han's shenanigans, ignorance is truly bliss for these folks. Hope the Crusaders don't find this village tbh, that'd be a small consolation in a crapsack world like this.
My own idea, my take on the era of Heroes and whatnot is pretty much literal, Gregoras TTL would borrow concepts of every mythos, Greek, Mesopotamian, Egyptian you name it in creating the world of Planetos, as well as being inspired by Tolkien dividing the timelines into Ages. The Age of the Gods is where all the deities of the world have physical form, the Seven-Who-Are-One are literal gods (though implied to be Elves who took on human form), the Lion of the Night and the Maiden-Made-of-Light really did walk on the Earth and helped their offspring create the Empire of the Dawn, the age of Heroes would soon follow after this where all those myths that appeared in both Westeros and Essos actually happened, though not precisely as was written down or pass by word of mouth. This would be the Empire of the Dawn's golden age, a time where the Children of the Forest would commune with the colonizers in what would become Old Town. After that the First Men would begin appearing (No idea how they came about yet in my notes but it usually involves those descended from the Dawn's citizens mingling with the other humans outside of the Empire. And then centuries would pass by, history happens like it did in OTL ASOIAF until finally, the Amethyst Empress (Who is credited to be the first Valyrian looking human) is sacrificed by her brother, the future Bloodstone Emperor, and thus initiating the Long Night. Mind you this is still a work in progress so I doubt I will ever be able to release my take on the first Long Night, hell even the ASOFAF and Hymn plotlines other than what I got.