The OP Lich is a Returnee

Chapter 173 – Visitors

“Your Majesty, the envoys from the Saharan League are here.”

I looked up from the sketch I was making, the latest iteration of an idea that been rolling around in the back of my head since the first time some zealots tried to shoot me with magically-amplified bullets, right after I returned to this world. Sure, the attack had been utterly unsuccessful, but that was primarily because the Purifiers had chosen a target they stood no chance against. But their weapons did have some promise to them.

The ‘Sanctified Spellrifles’ they had wielded were interesting. The weapon itself was nothing special, but their thaumaturge priests had cast a spell on them to increase the velocity of a bullet exiting the barrel, thus increasing the energy produced without doing things that might damage the gun itself. It was a small boost, but noticeable. Enough that the believers would truly think that the weapon was ‘blessed’, which would add power to the magic.

The ’spell rounds’ were really just normal bullets, that had a rudimentary form of imbuement in them. Nothing as formal or effective as anything I could do, of course, but each bullet was painstakingly etched with symbols of their belief, effectively drawing mana from the world around them to enhance their power, and make them especially deadly to the undead. That was not something that could be done quickly, or easily, of course, and it is why they weren’t terribly common in this world, and why her advisors who had helped train the first batch of Warriors in England recommended semi-automatic or single-shot weapons over fully-automatic machine guns.

Still, the things had sparked an idea. It wouldn’t be terribly useful for someone on the Path of the Mage, but for those on the Way of the Warrior? It could be a game-changer, much like the Mageblades were.

Turning to the ghoul who had come to announce my guest, I nodded, and said, “I will receive them in the throne room.” As the ghoul bowed and turned to leave, I took a moment to tidy up the small private workshop in my castle. It was primarily dedicated to enchantment design and magic theory, giving me a place where I could work on my different projects in peace, rather than interfering with the busy work of my people at Athelian Arms.

I smiled as I walked to my throne room. My crafters were steadily growing as Enchanters. By my estimation, they were roughly a third of their way through their growth to true mastery. After all, they were mortals, and required things like food and sleep, and they still needed to keep working on their primary crafts, which reduced the time that they could devote to practicing with enchantments.

Still, it was probably time to start considering bringing in new apprentices, to expand the studio. Teaching the basics to an apprentice would help the journeymen grow. The question was whether I started looking for those who were already master craftsmen, or take the time to train them in enchanting and their craft side-by-side.

There were advantages to both styles, of course. If you picked those who already knew their craft, and were now adding on to it, then you could move more quickly into producing pieces that were truly exceptional. However, someone who was already trained had more unlearning to do, so that they could properly imbue items, and they would likely be older, and have a harder time picking up enchanting, especially if they weren’t a studious sort. Those who trained in their craft and enchantment together took longer to reach the Journeyman and Master stages, but they tended to have a more instinctive knowledge of imbuement, with it being almost muscle memory, like how a trained blacksmith does not need to consider each swing of the hammer, because his body simply remembers the speed and strength of the motion.

That was a thought for another time, however, so I put it aside as I reached the throne room, and sat upon my throne. Moments later, the main door opened, and Galeren, my meticulously preserved Greater Zombie Seneschal, entered, with two humans following behind him, one man and one woman. The man I recognized, since I had dealt with Kontar Safar several times before, but the woman was a surprise, to be honest, since most of the countries in North Africa, which formed the Saharan League, did not have a reputation for gender equality. If a woman was coming all this way as an official envoy, then that meant she was important, in more ways than one.

Galeren bowed formally, as he always did when admitting official guests and envoys. “My Queen, I present to you the envoys from the Saharan League, Kantar Safar and Doctor Samima Tazi.”

“Let them approach, as welcome guests.”

“Her Royal Majesty, Queen Akagawa Kaori, First of Her Name, World Traveler, the Deathless, the Dragon Ascended, the Heroine of the Elements Undivided, Conquerer of Haerth and its Minions, Mistress of the Dead and Ruler of the Damned, Archlich and High Contractor of Murena, Agent of the Goddess of Death, Chainbreaker, Archmage of the Elements Undivided, Destroyer of Athelia-That-Was, Demon’s Bane, Legend-crafter, Weaponmistress, She Who Wields Both Spell and Blade, the Lost Sleeper Returned, and Lich Queen of Risen Athelia bids you approach, as guests of the realm, so that you may deliver the message you have come to convey.”

At the Senechal’s words, Safir and Tazi approached, until they were closer, and offered formal bows, in the custom of their countries. Safir was the first to speak. “It is a pleasure to see you again, your Majesty. Hard to believe that it has been two years already since the unleashing of the seals, and yet it feels as though the time has gone by in a flash.”

I chuckled at that. “Well, as I recall, we’ve both been rather busy, Mr. Safar. For myself, the East Asian Alliance has asked my help not only in establishing defenses on the border of our shared territories, but also in providing advisors to aid in the training of new troops. And, of course, I’ve been continuing with my crafting, and consulting with Phantomline on different developments.”

Safar smiled in return. “And while I may not be as involved with the League of Saharan States as you are with the EAA, for a mere mortal, I would say my time has been stretched thin. First with ensuring that the Guardian from the Seal of Death was properly taken care of, as he began teaching at the University of Cairo, and later with being one of the people going about and helping bring people together as the League replaced the nations of North Africa. I’ve spent so much time flying over sand that I see it in my nightmares, now.”

Yes, the League of Saharan States (more commonly called the Sahran League) was actually the melding of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Chad, Nigeria, Niger, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Benin. Not all of those countries were, strictly, part of the Sahara Desert, but since the majority of them (and all the largest players) were at least touching the desert, if not wholly inside it, they got the final say on the name. Essentially, the Saharan League comprised the overwhelming majority of the continent, north of the Equator, which gave them a lot of leverage in the new world landscape.

From what I’d read, the Saharan League was based along the idea of a federal system, with the League being the ultimate law of the land, but each of the former countries being a state which could maintain their own local governance. Not a terrible setup, honestly. Much like the United States was envisioned. Of course, the current state of the US showed how that could go wrong, if people did not pay attention, and took things for granted, but that was a problem for the Saharans, not Risen Athelia.

“Well, if you weren’t doing something right, then I’m sure you would have gotten a break by now,” I chuckled. “But who is your colleague?”

“Ah, my apologies. Doctor Tazi, here, is the head of the Department of Arcane Studies at the University of Casablanca. While her primary training is as a thaumaturge, she also is a Hydromancer. Tomorrow, while I have meetings in Tokyo, I believe that she will be visiting Doctor Akagawa, your sister, since they’ve been conversing professionally ever since she published her thesis.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you at last, your Majesty,” Tazi said, with a bit of nervousness in her voice, her head bowed slightly. Like most mortals, she was nervous upon meeting me for the first time, in all my power. “The work you and your sister have done in advancing our understanding of magic have caused us to reevaluate much of what we were fundamental facts about it. For an academic like myself, I can scarcely imagine a better time to be alive.”

“I am pleased to hear that my sister’s work is well received abroad. I know that my own work has been a tad bit disruptive to the academic world—”

“Disruptive?” Safar muttered, loud enough that I knew he meant it to be heard, especially by the look in his eyes. “Like saying the ocean is wet, or space is vast, no?”

I offered a mock glare to the man, which he answered with a shameless smile, before turning back to Tazi, who looked more relaxed, now that Safar had cracked a joke. “As I was saying, I know I’ve disrupted the academic world somewhat, but my sister has been trying to make a name for herself on her own merits, so I am eager to see what may come of a closer partnership between herself and those who work in other countries. So, what brings you to my door today?”

“Well, working with my assistants at the University, we’ve put together a proposal on a way to revolutionize travel in the League. Well, perhaps not ‘revolutionize’, since it is more taking old ideas that simply wouldn’t work for what we needed, or with the technology of the day, and applying new magical concepts to them.” I leaned forward upon my throne, intrigued, and motioned for her to continue.

“In the past, a rail network connecting the nations of North Africa, and especially the regions deep within the desert, was unfeasible on many levels. Fuel and water for steam engines, in the desert, was the main stumbling block, of course, as were concerns about sandstorms burying or destroying tracks, and the lack of ready materials to build and maintain the network. However, with the change in the global economy, and how getting fuel to different areas is far more difficult than it once was, this caused people to look at older ideas, and see what might be made to work.”

She took a breath, and said, “We had already begun looking at the possibility of using Earth Magic to create the tracks, rather than traditional materials. It would be taxing, sure, but less troublesome than finding and shipping wood crossbeams and steel rails, only to haul them out to the desert so they could be put together, just in time for a sandstorm to bury kilometers of track under meters of sand. To say nothing of the risk of monsters attacking the train in the wilds between settlements.

“So, when Doctor Akagawa mentioned the ‘mana engines’ that Phantomline and SAIC are developing, it seemed the perfect addition to the plan. And, if enchantments could be made on the tracks as they are created, to keep the weather at bay, and perhaps dissuade animals and monsters from making life difficult for the trains? Then the idea of a Saharan Rail Network may become a reality!”

“Ah. And I assume that the reason Safar brought you to me is because no one on this planet has more knowledge about the different methods of magical logistics networks than I do?”

Safar chuckled. “I figured that you would, at the least, be able to see any obvious pitfalls, your Majesty.”

“I can already tell you that such an undertaking is beyond the scope of any normal business concern. The concepts for a ‘magical train’ will work, and the idea of using Earth magic to change sand to stone and metal is a good one. However, you would need to set preservation enchantments upon the entire length of the tracks, as well as wardings at regular intervals. Of course, the wards won’t do any good against intelligent creatures, or human bandits, but you will at least keep most monsters away. However, the scale of the work needed would have to be a military project, or have military backing, at least to start. Even if all you were hoping to do is connect the various capitals and port cities in the League, you are talking about potentially millions of kilometers of track to build, enchant, and maintain.”

I considered things for a moment. “I am certain you will be speaking with Phantomline and SAIC to either buy the engines, or allow Phantomline’s Egyptian facility to take the head in developing them. However, setting up the enchantments and wards is not going to be a simple or easy task. However, it is possible that Risen Athelia could hire out some of our builders and craftsmen to help in this process. Even so, it would not be an easy, or cheap, process, but I would be willing to offer a discount if my people can bring back the designs, so that we might consider ways to improve transportation within the EAA.”