HS3 - Ch1

A few dozen knights rode along a stone road on horseback. All but one of the figures had animal ears and a tail. Each of them wore a black uniform with a silver trim, plus a breastplate. The emblems they bore indicated they belonged to the Imperial Army.

The only human in the group, Nathan Straub, raised a hand and gestured for everybody to halt. He pointed at a nearby well. Within a few minutes, they had all dismounted.

Nathan didn’t give any more orders, and instead watched as his beastkin subordinate, Fei, did so for him. Fei—also known as Jafeila—was a beautiful cat beastkin, and had luscious black hair, tufted black cat ears, and a bushy tail that always seemed to need grooming. Also, her breastplate drew plenty of looks from men, given the curves it failed to hide.

“This is our last stop before Vera’s castle, right?” Fei asked Nathan as she handed over her horse to the knight taking care of them.

Said knight smiled at Nathan, her wolf tail brushing the grass as it wagged back and forth. He smiled back. Fei rolled her eyes.

“Should be,” Nathan said, as Fei dragged him away from the flirtatious knights.

“It’s kind of weird that she’s not in her tower anymore. But I guess lots of stuff is changing now.” Fei shrugged as she took a swig of water from her canteen.

Over two months had passed since he had invaded the Federation. One month since the Amica Federation had officially become part of the Anfang Empire.

A little over twelve months ago, Nathan had lived in a different kingdom, defending a fortress at the edge of the known world. He had lost everything, and then been offered the chance to go back in time to change it all. Or so he had thought.

In truth, he now stood in a different world than the one he had been born in. He had been born Nathan Martel, and had taken over the life and body of Nathan Straub. But most things remained the same, and he had used his knowledge of the future to prevent the end of the world.

Which is why he was standing in a quiet meadow with a few dozen beastkin knights, traveling to the new fortress of one of his subordinates. Over the last year, he had stopped the demonic invasion that happened in his original world, captured the instigator, and then conquered the Federation.

“Not everything is changing,” he replied, ruffling Fei’s hair and brushing her ears.

She giggled and batted his hand away. Her tail curled around his leg, showing her true opinion of him. If they weren’t in the open, he knew exactly what she’d do next.

But they were in public, and almost every eye in the clearing was on them. Most of those eyes exuded jealousy, as the beastkin knights glared at Fei with flattened ears and low-hanging tails.

The few male knights in the unit smirked and went about their business. The purpose of this stop was to feed the horses, refill canteens, and have a quick snack before the last stretch of their ride. The sooner each knight did their part, the sooner they could relax.

Not all of the knights were women, but most were. The process of ending beastkin slavery in the Federation was a long one, and these knights represented some of the first that had been freed when the Empire took over. They had voluntarily requested to join Nathan’s army—or more accurately, to join the Imperial Army under his command.

Nathan was a Bastion. One of the most powerful and influential individuals in the world. He controlled reality-bending binding stones that dotted the world, and in turn had some of the strongest warriors in the Empire under his command. Fei was one of those warriors, known as a Champion. A sapphire gleamed in her collarbone as proof that she was a Champion.

“It’s going to be a little lonely back at Gharrick Pass,” Fei mused. “Everybody’s moving over here, into the Federation.”

“Former Federation,” Nathan corrected. “We’re still in Anna’s duchy.”

Fei rolled her eyes.

“I know that. But this is still the Federation.” She pouted. “It looks like the Federation. Everybody talks differently. The cities are the same. And except for Torneus, all the regents who ruled the Federation are now dukes who run their old provinces. New flags and a different coat of paint doesn’t change a country full of people.”

Nathan stared at her.

He placed a hand against her forehead, and another against his own. She scowled at him and knocked his hand aside. Giggles came from nearby, as the knights reacted to their antics.

“Who are you and what did you do to Fei?” he asked.

“Funny,” she muttered.

She had a damn good point, though.

When Nathan invaded the Federation, he didn’t conquer the whole thing. Instead, it surrendered. The former rulers of the Federation became high-ranking nobles in the Empire and kept their land and status, except for one: High Lord Torneus, who became the scapegoat for the war.

Torneus’s land had been given to one of Nathan’s closest allies, the noblewoman Anna von Clair, who became a duchess. Nathan had become a national hero overnight. He commanded the military of an entire duchy, had secured the largest expansion in the Empire’s territory in centuries, and was connected to the end of beastkin slavery in the Federation.

All of which was connected to why he was here right now.

“That’s why we’re here, Fei,” he said. “That’s why you trained everybody here. Beastkin slaves from the Federation, who are now free knights defending it under their duchess. The world changes day by day. A coat of paint might not mean anything right now, but if we deliver on the peace everybody wants, then it will mean something.”

In reaction to his words, every single one of the knights raised a hand to a patch on their uniform. It was the crest of the Straub family, but with slight changes.

The normal crest consisted of a stylized helmet on top of a white shield and black background. This crest added a pair of black cat ears and a series of different animal tails around the helmet.

Nathan grimaced. He shooed all the knights away, reminding them to take care of their duties before they headed off.

“You still don’t like it?” Fei asked, tilting her head.

She didn’t wear the patch.

“Fei, strictly speaking, the crest they’re wearing is treasonous,” Nathan said flatly. He didn’t keep his voice low, as he’d already told his knights countless times to remove the damn patches.

But somehow, they always came back. It didn’t help that a lot of his subordinates encouraged the things.

“Isn’t it just a sign of their loyalty to you? Anna’s soldiers wear her emblem.”

“Anna is a duchess. Her soldiers serve her,” he explained for what he felt was the thousandth time in the last month. “I’m an officer in the Imperial Army. I serve Emperor Gorthal, and nobody else. My soldiers serve Emperor Gorthal, and nobody else. Signs of allegiance to others, including me, is… well, let’s just say that history is full of examples of what happens when armies are more loyal to their general than their nations.”

“Anna likes the emblems. She encourages them in the knights I’ve left with her,” Fei said.

“I know,” he ground out.

Fei rubbed his back.

A gust of wind blew through the meadow. The long grass rustled and the few nearby trees swayed. Villages stood nearby, along with their farms. Farmers worked their fields.

It was late spring, and the first harvest of the year was rapidly approaching. Nathan knew that everything was far more complicated this year. An invasion had happened. Countries had dissolved. Laws, taxes, and land ownership were shifting beneath the feet of the farmers.

In the end, these people wanted to grow their food and go about their day. They didn’t want to worry about bandits, silly tax changes, nobles they never met, or changes to slavery laws when most of them had never even seen a beastkin.

Seeing the farmer reminded Nathan of his role here, and the changes he had made.

In his world, nobody worked these fields. They had been overrun by demons. The farmers he now watched had likely died well before that last dreadful night.

This peace had been won through the blood of an entire world that only Nathan knew about.

He wrapped an arm around Fei. She smiled at him and pressed herself against him in kind. But her smile wavered when she looked at him, before she gave him a squeeze.

They returned to the road. Right now, they were on a road north of Tartus, the former capital of the region. It had belonged to Torneus, and was still the largest city around.

Instead of heading to Tartus, Nathan rode to a fortress further north, on the border of Anna’s duchy. Nathan was the only Bastion in the duchy, and he had complete command of the Imperial Army in the region. And also of Anna’s army, given how close he was to her.

The terrain grew increasingly rocky, and the road turned to dirt. They were ascending as they rode, and goats could be seen wandering around. No villages occupied this land. The land looked unworkable. Fertile, but full of rocks.

Nathan knew there were quarries and mines not far from here, but they used a canal to carry their massive loads of rock and ore to Tartus. Countless tributaries ran into the nearby Amica river, and one of them had been canalized to transport materials.

The small fort that Nathan now saw had been built to defend that canal. The locals had several names for it, as the fort was ancient. But these days, it was known as Kravum Rock, named after a famous Bastion.

The fort was tiny and weathered. A single layer of tall sandstone walls sat on overlooking bluffs. A much taller keep stood within those walls, and it was also built from sandstone.

A handful of soldiers bearing Anna’s emblem greeted Nathan as he rode in. Fei took charge of her knights. He took the opportunity to slip inside the keep, while she ran through a few short drills and had them unpack their supplies.

Despite the weathered exterior, the inside was full furnished and clean. Nobody greeted him, however. In fact, there was nobody inside at all.

The keep was a tall, narrow building. The central hall filled most of the space, and an empty meeting space filled the far end. Vera was alone here, besides the few soldiers outside. Nathan doubted that she’d redecorated. Most likely this place hadn’t seen much use.

A double door gate stood at the far end. Magical runes glittered on it, preventing access. Nathan was the only person who knew how to open the gate. He had engraved those runes into the door, after all.

If somebody looked at the keep from the outside, they wouldn’t see that gate, however. It didn’t lead anywhere in this plane of existence.

Ignoring it, Nathan instead descended into the basement. A locked door was in his way, but he unlocked it with magic. He had coded the basement’s magical lock himself, so it couldn’t stop him.

The moment he reached the bottom level of the keep, he heard mumbling. As expected, Vera was down here.

The floor consisted of a single large room. A glowing orb sat in the stone flooring, surrounded by decorative engravings and writing. The orb appeared to be a dull monochromic white, with two black bands running across its surface. It was known as a binding stone, a magical artifact that enabled its controller to bend the fabric of reality.

Nathan controlled four binding stones. That made him very powerful, as far as Bastions went. Normally, the further a Bastion got from his binding stones, the less powerful he became. But with multiple binding stones, he had a near limitless reserve of power anyway.

A gorgeous woman stood next to the orb. She wore a blue robe and gleaming white jacket that emphasized her hefty cleavage. Her usual assortment of golden jewelry was nowhere to be seen, however. Her flowing red hair fell to her waist.

“Waste enough time down here?” Nathan said loudly as he exited the staircase.

The woman, Vera, turned. She smiled at Nathan. “I wouldn’t call it a waste. I’m a sorceress, and what better way to learn more about magical theory than to observer it in the real world?”

“Uh huh. So, what amazing magical theory have you learned from observing a sealed binding stone?” Nathan asked as he joined her.

“For one thing, it’s not inert.”

“Of course not. Only the Watcher Omria has the power to seal away the power of a binding stone,” he replied. “They can bend reality. Anything less than the power of the goddess isn’t enough to shut one down.”

Vera frowned. “I’ve never heard of a binding stone ever being permanently inert. If Omria seals them away, how do we keep awakening them? How do demons keep invading?”

That was a damn good question.

“Now we’re getting into the secrets of Bastions,” Nathan said. “The more you learn about binding stones, Messengers, and the way magic works, the more your faith is tested. That’s why Bastions take oaths to Omria not to share or abuse those secrets or the power of the stones.”

“And it’s why heresy is so dangerous,” Vera added with a frown.

Both of them grimaced, but for different reasons.

Vera had flirted with heresy when she had worked with the Federation last year. Although she had sided with Nathan and the Empire in the end, it still raised questions about her.

By contrast, Nathan was up to his neck in heresy. The difference was that almost nobody knew. When his world had been destroyed, he had sided with a demonic Messenger—one of the greatest enemies of a Bastion—in order to have a second chance. He didn’t regret his decision, but it made his words ring hollow.

His faith in the Watcher Omria had been tested.

And it had shattered.

“The short version is that binding stones can reawaken one another,” Nathan said. “All I did here was put a seal on this one, so no other Bastion could claim it.”

“At least, until you teach me how to claim it,” Vera said.

“Once I’ve trained you,” he said. “That’s going to take a while. I promised you an apprenticeship, but I’m not skipping the part where I confirm that you can be trusted with the power of a binding stone.”

“Trust,” Vera repeated with thin lips and raised eyebrows.

Nathan gestured for her to join him on a walk upstairs. They began to ascend, and he locked the doors behind them.

“Yes, trust,” he said. “Power changes people. A binding stone is power on a level that most people can’t comprehend. Bastions can create precious metals from nothing. They command armies and elite warriors capable of destroying armies. Women throw themselves at them—men in your case.”

“No, thank you,” Vera said flatly. “I already told you that I’m not interested in that side of things. My entire life has been one of seclusion, and I liked it that way.”

“That doesn’t help your argument for becoming a Bastion.”

She remained silent as they walked through the empty main hall. They walked up the steps to the upper floors, until they reached Vera’s private quarters. Like everything else in the keep, it was small and cramped. Most of the room was taken up by magical knick-knacks, but there was a tidy bed and dressing table.

“I’m willing to change to become a Bastion. A lot is changing in my life. It’s why I came here early and left my tower behind,” Vera said. “You’re giving me the chance for something that I nearly gave up on. But I’m not interested in a legion of subservient beastkin whose tails wag whenever I’m near them, and whose expressions scream ‘breed me.’”

“I feel you’re making a statement,” Nathan said. He leaned against the open window in the room.

Vera pointed outside, where Fei was drilling with the beastkin knights.

“Your reputation among the beastkin isn’t exactly a secret. And I’ve been in your castle in Gharrick Pass quite a few times. The way your servants and knights look at you is downright indecent.” Vera smirked. “If I didn’t know better, I’d suggest you’re taking advantage of them.”

“But you do know better.”

“I do. Fei is too possessive to let you sleep with half the beastkin in the province. Plus, you somehow found the time to ride out here alone. Most of your Champions and knights are elsewhere. If you were as busy as the rumors suggest, you wouldn’t be wasting time on me,” Vera said, her obscene hand gestures making it clear what she meant by “busy.”

“The rumors are that bad?” Nathan asked.

“Whether they’re bad depends on your perspective. But yes, your reputation as a womanizer is reaching Leopold’s level, and the beastkin sing your praises at every opportunity. People put two and two together.”

Ah, Leopold Tyrim. Nathan’s superior and the right hand of the Emperor. He was a cunning old man who had staunchly supported Nathan.

“He’s doing better, I hear,” Nathan said.

Vera’s expression darkened, and she looked away.

Several long seconds passed. A clock ticked in the room. Shouts drifted upward from below and inside.

“I heard from Anna. Supposedly he’s made a full recovery,” Vera said. “Or at least, that’s the propaganda. I saw what that Messenger did to him at Gharrick Pass. His chest was…”

Vera closed her eyes.

“That’s what it means to be a Bastion, Vera. As immensely powerful as you’ll become, it’s tied with the duty to fend off endless waves of demons,” Nathan said. “Right now, I’ve sealed away the demonic portal of this fortress using runes. But the demons will be gathering. Once you become a Bastion, we’ll need to go through that gate and destroy them.”

He was referring to the double door gate in the main hall of the keep.

Every binding stone came with a dangerous penalty. A portal to Hell—or some other strange world—was permanently connected to the location of each binding stone. Demons constantly invaded through them. Rarely, a powerful demonic general, known as a Messenger, attacked.

Messengers were like Bastions amped up to the nth degree. A Messenger had defeated Nathan in his original world, defeating countless Champions effortlessly. A couple of months ago, he had defeated a Messenger in this world with Vera’s and Leopold’s help. Leopold had nearly died in the battle.

“Have you asked him about me?” Vera asked. “About whether I can become a Bastion? He blocked me from entering the academy and becoming a Bastion the same way you did.”

Nathan sighed. “I did.”

“And?”

“You won’t like his answer.”

“I haven’t liked anything Leopold’s said for years, Nathan. I can take his rejection. Tell me,” Vera pressed.

“He said that it was my choice and that he approved of my decision. That it didn’t matter if he approved of your entry into the academy, because others within the Empire would prevent you from entering it now,” Nathan said with a grimace.

Vera stared at him.

Slowly, she stood next to him at the window and looked down at the knights below. He didn’t know what she was looking at. Her gaze seemed distant.

“After all of these years,” Vera muttered. “And it still doesn’t matter.”

Nathan remained silent.

“The beastkin down there know what’s coming, don’t they? They’re salt of the earth types. Freed slaves, become beastkin. That’s why you brought them here, after I came here early, when you told me not to rush,” Vera asked.

He refused to answer.

“You don’t like it?” She looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “Anna’s encouraging those patches. Lines are being drawn. It’s like a rumbling in the earth. You’ve made enemies in the Empire, by helping Emperor Gorthal and Leopold. Those who support you are making their allegiance clear.”

“It’ll mean treason,” Nathan grumbled.

“No, it’ll mean civil war. The Emperor is the one who ended slavery. Your enemies are his enemies, at least right now. The Nationalist faction are feeling stronger, because the Empire is stronger than ever, but also weaker, because the hero of the Empire isn’t one of them.”

“It damn well shouldn’t be coming to civil war, either,” he snapped. “This isn’t… Dammit, isn’t the whole point of the Empire’s complex system that the nobles elect the next emperor?”

Vera stared at him. “I feel you have something to unpack there, and I’m not the one to do it. Are you visiting Anna soon?”

He snorted at her implication that Anna was the equivalent of his therapist.

“I think it’s natural to oppose civil war,” he said. “And yes, I’ll visit Anna after this. But first, I think we should spend a few days going over some basic Bastion training.”

Vera brightened up at the change of topic. The training allowed Nathan to take his mind off the heavy topics of the day. While the politics in the Empire were shifting rapidly, he allowed himself to focus entirely on training his new apprentice Bastion.

After a few days, he left Vera and the knights behind at Kravum Rock. He and Fei prepared to ride south, to Tartus.

One of Vera’s topics sprung to mind as he mounted his horse.

“Change, huh,” he said, staring at the cloudless horizon.

A lot had changed for Nathan, and he had changed a lot. The world he lived in now had nothing in common with the world he came from. Predicting the future was impossible.

But he was still a Bastion, and had years of experience and the support of many talented people. Fei smiled at him and he smiled back.

They rode to Tartus, where he would meet Anna in the capital of her new duchy. They needed to make preparations for the coming problems.