Devourer

Chapter 121: New Home

Balder sighed as he looked down at the map; it has been months since he left Divonia.

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To say the journey has been harrowing would be an understatement. On the path down the western coast of Divonia his fleet has been beset by pirates and Naga. This wasn’t that bad since the path they were taking was a heavily protected trade route that was controlled by the Divonia Empire and the Merchant Princes. Although the lack of escorts flying their colors did attract more attention. His fleet was a beat up mess back then and it was even more so now. So when they were moving along that coastline they were seen as easy targets.

The Merchant Princes were cold to their overtures. They were willing to buy some of their people as slaves though. However, after the Archangel’s chastisement of Divonia they had returned all the gold they had extorted from Balder’s people. The Emperor even gave him a free light cruiser as an apology and a token of goodwill. If Balder was to be honest, he would have done the same, what was a ship when you might face the wrath of an angry Archangel. Or even worse two angry Archangels. If Uriel brought her husband Mihael along the next time, corrupt nobles might find themselves as ashes drifting in the wind.

This extra money allowed Balder to buy more food and supplies for his people and he also found out something interesting. The Divonians and the Merchant Princes were at odds. They usually were at odds but things have been heating up recently. The destruction of the Northern Clans and the rise of the Averlonian Empire has kicked the region into a state of tension. With the future now uncertain the two great powers were now lashing out. Both boasted a massive navy, a large population, vast stores of riches and a powerful military. A new war would be the most destructive thing in a thousand years.

This news only added credence to a thought Balder had. In the distant past, his ancestors once made a prophecy called the Feast for Crows. The old tales likened the current era of Heaven’s Order to a calm before the storm. Heaven’s Order has also been compared to a beautiful tapestry that covered the true face of the world. This tapestry must be maintained by the virtuous and the faithful. However it was said that one day the end of this idyllic era will come. The tapestry will unravel and reveal the true face of the world, the same world that the old gods found themselves in. A world of violence and brutality, where might makes right, virtue was cheap and lives even cheaper. When the Great Order finally collapses the crows will feast. The storm was coming and Balder needed to give his people shelter from it. The north was lost, he needed to make sure the heirs of the north were not lost too. But that was easier said than done…

The attacks from pirates and Naga got worse once they sailed past the Jagged Peaks and towards the Valley of Plenty. That stretch of ocean was dangerous, since it was basically unguarded. The Jagged Peaks made it impossible for a port to be constructed. The problem wasn’t just the terrain, it was the dwarves living in the mountain range. Once the Divonia Empire tried to make a port but all they got for their trouble was a half completed port that was blown to pieces.

Thankfully they didn’t lose any ships as they passed the Jagged Peaks. The Valley of Plenty was an insular culture so they flat out refused to take them in. They at least gave Balder a fair price for food.

But the next leg of the journey would be the most costly. They lost eight ships and almost ten thousand people. They managed to save most of those aboard the ships but now the remaining ships were overcrowded and they were low on food. One of the ships that went down was a cargo vessel that held a good portion of their food, so now they were on the verge of starvation.

That leg of the journey took them in between two dreaded places. The Isles of the Dead and the Azure Sea. Trapped between the cursed waters of the Azure sea and Harrowed Mist from the isles made it so that the fleet had no room to maneuver. The Naga attacks also got significantly worse since the Azure Sea was the seat of power for the Naga. The Naga that they fought previously were probably exiles or distant raiding groups. But when they were near the Azure Sea the fleet found itself beset by the Naga home guard. They were better trained, more powerful and better equipped. Balder and his men just barely managed to fight them off and make it through. However, most of their equipment was now heavily damaged and barely functional. The Naga were using Abyss Steel weapons and the Northemen’s own weapons didn’t hold up well against them.

Then when they got to Eastern Voleria they were offered a place there. But as expected they were asked to fight for the nations. When he found out what they would be fighting, Balder got back on his ship and raised the anchor. The Mugummans were intensifying their raids and the Naga was becoming more active. Balder initially thought if they were to settle here they would be raiding the Mugumman Jungle not fending off concerted attacks from the Mugummans. The forest was also growing increasingly hostile, they even stopped sending scouts into the jungle because not enough of them were coming back. If settling in Eastern Voleria meant fighting a war while being stuck next to the Azure Sea and the Mugumman Jungle, Balder might as well have accepted servitude in Divonia.

So now he was on his last option, he was now trapped here. His ships would not survive going back up north. They would be torn to pieces if they went near the Azure Sea again. Thus he was now sailing to the new Averlonian Empire that was supposedly ruled by an ancient beast. In his mind the logic was simple, Eastern Voleria was certain death but they might have a slim chance in the Averlonian Empire. Even slavery was better than being devoured by the Mugumman Jungle…

Yet… something wasn’t right…

Balder looked up from the railing of the steering deck and saw the idyllic scene before him. This past week was the safest and most peaceful time he has had ever since leaving Divonia. All he saw as the occasional trading ship. No pirate, no naga, nothing. Just calm sailing…

“I don’t think I have ever seen someone being disappointed by peace and quiet.” the voice of the captain said.

Balder turned to see Skall Greyhide looking at him from behind his brown braided beard. Skall was his best Captain and if it wasn’t for his naval command skills his people would have been drifting with the flotsam near the Azure Sea. He was a bulky man, in his mid thirties and tanned skin from being out of sea most of his life. He didn’t originally serve Clan Frostfang, he served another Clan but he was the best seamen they had. So the Clans chose him to command the flagship of the armada.

“It’s too calm… even the Naga are gone. What could scare the Naga away from these waters? We were attacked even when we were off the coast of Divonia.” Balder said and Skall grunted as he shifted his gaze back to the waters ahead of them.

“What can make even monsters fear? Something worse...” Skall said in a low voice.

Before Balder could reply he heard the bell at the crows nest ringing. They must have sighted something.

“When you ask for trouble do not be surprised when it finds you.” Balder muttered to himself as Skall barked orders to get a report from the crows nest. It didn’t take long, a few minutes later the report was here.

“A fleet, two dozen ships on intercept course.” Skall said and Balder felt a chill go up his spine when he noticed some dots had appeared on the horizon.

“They are fast…” Balder muttered as he looked at the dots. If the time was so short between the crows' nest spotting them and the fleet appearing on the horizon it meant the ships were moving rapidly.

“Shit… ancestors preserve us…” Skall said and Balder turned to see him looking through a spy glass.

“Should we ready for battle?” Balder asked and Skall just lowered the spy glass, his face a shade paler than usual.

“I don’t know.” Skall said as he handed Balder the spyglass.

When Balder looked through the spyglass he felt his stomach drop. He saw red armored ships that were glowing with enchantments. The sails were enchanted as well, he could see runes glowing on the cloth. They were large, heavily armored and much too fast for a ship of that size. He could see the amount of white foam being kicked up at the front of the ships and he knew there was no way in hell they were out running that fleet. But that wasn’t the worst part, he recognised some of the weapons on the ships.

“Spell cannons…” Balder muttered as he lowered the spy glass.

“I think we are about to meet the Wardens. The old stories do say that the Wardens in the south still have some old Elysian Empire ships. No chance in hell we are going to beat old empire era ships.” Skall said and Balder nodded in response.

“Those cannons out range anything we have.” Balder said with a grimace.

“What do we do?” Skall asked, his voice not as steady as it normally was.

“Reduce speed, dead slow ahead. Raise the white flag and do not enter combat formation. Let them know we are not hostile.” Balder said and Skall nodded. They both knew this was their best chance, a fight would be certain doom.

All Balder could do was watch with fear and trepidation as those red armored vessels approached. They were fast at full ahead, they were easily much faster than his ships. He watched as the fleet split off into two as they moved into flanking positions. If they fired a broadside from both directions Balder’s fleet would be cut to pieces. But yet it didn’t look like they were moving into attack positions. They were just surrounding them, eventually the red ships were sailing parallel to Balder’s fleet. They were now completely trapped and Balder could now get a good look at the ships. Honestly, Balder wasn’t even sure if his ships could even damage some of these ships. All he had were some slightly enchanted ballistas and scorpions. The Warden’s ships had this massive ballista on a mount that was glowing with ether and they were pointed right at his fleet. That ballista looked like it was more for attacking castle walls rather than shooting at wooden ships.

“Half ahead, raise the flags for parlay.” Balder ordered and he watched as his ship went ahead of the fleet before returning to dead slow speeds. Sure enough he saw the opposing flagship slowly approach until they were sidelong on the right of the ship. They couldn’t drop anchor because they were in deep waters so this crawl of a pace was the best they could do.

Balder looked over at the armored ship and saw the flags indicating that they wished to come aboard. Balder sent the order to reply with a yes. It wasn’t long before he saw a group of red armored wardens stand on an enchanted pedestal before teleporting across the gap of the ships onto the deck of his ship.

Yeah they were definitely dead if they fought. That was a lightning strike platform. The older ships from bygone areas had these special platforms to teleport boarding soldiers short distances onto the decks of enemy ships. Balder steeled himself as he descended from the steering deck and approached the red clad Wardens.

“Greetings good sirs.” Balder said cordially.

“State your business, you are trespassing in Averlonian waters.” the Warden said gruffly.

“We are refugees. Fleeing from the chaos of the north. Every other nation has turned us away. You are our last hope.” Balder said and he saw the Warden pause at his unexpected words.

“You are from the north? Ferusrakan or Northern Clans?” the Warden asked.

“Northern Clans. I am the Jarl of this group of refugees. I am Jarl Balder Frostfang, pleased to meet you.” Balder said and the Warden nodded slightly at those words. The Ferusrakan were more brutal and less civilized than the Northern Clans. Balder hoped that reputation would count for something.

“I am Admiral Johan, of the Averlonian Wardens.” the Warden replied as he brought his hand over his heart in salute.

“The north you say, I hear the Angels and Syndicate are at war.” Johan said and Balder nodded.

“Hmm, and I assume you seek refuge in the Empire.” Johan stated and Balder nodded again.

“Yes, we can work to earn our place.” Balder said.

“That is naturally the requirement. For integration into the Empire I cannot promise anything. I must first report this to the Empress. But regardless there should be little issue if you truly desire to join the empire. However, know that if betrayal is on your mind, the Empire is not kind to traitors and enemies of the state.” Johan said as his tone grew cold.

"Of course, I am willing to submit myself for interrogation.” Balder said as he privately wondered what kind of interrogation techniques an Empire that uses beasts will utilize.

“There will be no need for interrogation, the Great Beast’s hive has specialized creatures that can determine if someone is lying. You merely need to answer some questions and you will be determined to be speaking the truth.” Johan said calmly and Balder tilted his head in confusion.

“So your judicial system is based on the independent judgment of monsters?” Balder asked tentatively. A basic contemplation of this system drew an obvious concern. If the judicial system trusted the judgment of the beasts implicitly then there would be a serious concern of the beasts just condemning undesirables.

“Not all of it, only the most important cases are inspected by the Great Beast’s hive. The judgements of the hive have been verified by the judicial system. They are accurate enough to be used in national policy.” Johan replied, his tone betraying the fact that he expected this question.

“Now then do you have any other questions?” Johan asked and Balder couldn’t help but ask a nagging question on his mind for the past few days.

“We didn’t spot any naga or pirates in the region. The pirates I can understand but the Naga is odd. How have you managed to make the Naga avoid your waters?” Balder asked.

“We didn’t do anything. Rumor has it the Great Beast went into the water for some excursion and after he returned the Naga left us alone. We aren’t sure what he did, the only people who know are probably the Empress herself and the inner circle.” Johan replied.

“We have also received reports that the Naga have heightened attacks on the other nations. It appears they are giving the Divonian Empire and the Merchant Princes a lot of grief. Not surprising since the Great Beast has effectively driven them from their usual hunting grounds.” the Warden said and Balder nodded in understanding.

In his heart he felt a conflict in his heart as he realized the hardships he had endured getting here from the Naga was due to the Great Beast’s intervention in the region. At least he can take comfort that those who lost their lives at least helped buy the rest a path to safety. If what the Warden said was true then this place must truly be the safest place in the world. Provided of course all that was said wasn’t complete lies and they weren’t all about to be fed to beasts.

“It seems your ship has sustained damage, looks like Naga attacks. It seems driving them away from the Empire has caused you some grief.” Johan said and Balder wearily nodded. The Warden, seeing this nodded sympathetically.

“We are currently dealing with a refugee problem as well but because of that we are quite prepared to take on your people. They will receive jobs and with honest work they can live safely in the Averlonian Empire and prosper.” Johan said as he turned to look at another Warden that looked to be his subordinate.

“Fetch some food for these poor souls. We do not have much aboard to store but we can get you more food and help once we dock in Beralis.” Johan said and Balder nodded gratefully.

Balder couldn’t help but sigh in relief. At last it seems their trials might be over. If all of this works out then he has done what his ancestors wished. It seems his people just might live on yet. The Northern Clans are not lost yet…

Thank you…

This is all we could have ever asked for…

Perhaps the angels really are watching over us…

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