The OP Lich is a Returnee: Omnibus 5 - Books 16-20 (Lich Returnee), page 18
I smiled back at him. “That is the great strength that the Undead have when facing the living. The undead are persistence hunters taken to the absolute extreme. Never giving up, never tiring. They just need to outlast the enemy, since every enemy who falls will rise again to replenish their ranks. And when troops see one of their celebrated heroes, their Champions, perhaps a friend or brother-in-arms, now fighting against them? Even the sternest soldier will quail at the sight.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have a wicked heart for war, your Majesty?”
“From a Canadian, I’ll take that as a compliment,” I chuckled.
“As it was intended,” Menton nodded. “But bringing things back around to the potential troubles, the ASN is looking to find ways to help ensure that US ambitions do not end up resulting in nuclear war. Which means building coalitions and making plans.”
“And you want Risen Athelia to be part of these plans?”
“Not as a direct participant, if possible. Given the current administration’s temperament, that would probably send things over the edge. However, you’ve mentioned in various forums about fortifications that had shields which could protect them from enemy attacks?”
“Ah, that makes more sense. I assume you’re looking for a way to protect different areas from nuclear strikes, as a way to ‘short-circuit’ the possibility of US nuclear aggression?”
“Putting it simply, yes. Obviously, we don’t expect anything for free, but it ought to be in everyone’s interest to keep nuclear war from happening. A defensive option would help as a deterrent, without being too provocative.”
“Yes, I can see that. However, creating a shield that could cover, say, Toronto, and still stand up to a nuclear blast? That is not something that is done quickly. Not without having a strong supply of mages on hand, using ritual magic to cast the spell. The mages of one of my legions could shield their legion from the explosion, but a city shield? You would need enchantments, specially made and likely draining as many mages as you can get to power the thing, or you would need to tap into a ley line. Either way, it would take time to build, and mages to supply enough extra power to block that powerful of a blast.”
“I suppose it would be too much to hope that the time would be something reasonable, like a few months?”
“Sadly so, Ambassador Menton. You would be looking at years of work, at a cost of hundreds of millions of Canadian Dollars on the low end, for each city protected in this way. There is a reason why, even in the other world, such shields were only constructed for capital cities or other points of paramount strategic importance. And, even then, the shield would only protect what is under it, but above the ground.”
Menton nodded sadly. “My government didn’t think something like that was possible, or we would have heard of it being used to protect areas in Risen Athelia, or the rest of the East Asian Alliance, but we needed to ask, all the same. Duty to our people, and all that.”
“Well, I would not say that I don’t share your government’s view. However, part of the reason Risen Athelia does not greatly fear nuclear weapons, despite not having them ourselves, is because any use of such weapons on my land would only empower my armies. Even with a submarine launch, we would have five minutes to prepare, and my diviners would have enough warning to shield the legions. Any civilian deaths would cause a huge upswell of Death mana, and the radiation would not harm my undead, but simply make them toxic for mortals to be around. After the fallout is ‘killed’ with magic, you would have an army that is very, very upset. The country that launched the missile would soon cease to exist. At the very least, if the current administration tried something like that against my lands, or those of my allies, then Washington, DC would become an abattoir. And that is if I decided not to create some ‘infectious’ undead.”
“Do you think the EAA would be interested in a defensive pact with the ANS?”
I smiled at Menton, and said, “I will pass the message along, but that is obviously something that the full Alliance Council will need to discuss, along with all sorts of official talks between our organizations. Still, I know that Japan, at least, would look favorably on something that could help contain the American rogue state.”
Chapter 184 – Embassy
A quick message to Malo after Menton left set things in motion on that front. I did not need to be personally involved in those discussions. The diplomats would do diplomat things, and eventually one of them would come to me with a proposal that I would either agree to, reject, or suggest alterations to it. Either way, I was quite comfortable delegating that kind of work.
I didn’t have any further meetings scheduled this afternoon, so I changed into my miko robes, before taking a pair of the death knights as escorts, leaving the remainder on guard around our rooms, and Malo. I had twelve knights with me on this diplomatic venture. Two each were guards for myself and Malo, another two were guarding our rooms, and the rest were providing security for members of Malo’s staff. Once my new embassy was built, they would help provide security for the site.
Clearing the site and beginning construction was why we were headed out. I ignored the press in the hotel lobby, and none of them were willing to get too close, or too pushy, with my death knights there. People truly did act differently in the presence of guards, even though everyone knew that I was the single most dangerous person in the city right now, and the gulf between me and number two was wider than the ocean.
I did not bother with a cab, or pulling out the carriage. Instead, I summoned steeds for myself and my knights, and we began riding through the streets of New York. Interestingly enough, it was legal to ride a horse through the city, and you didn’t need a license for it. Of course, you still had to obey traffic laws, but that was a minor thing.
The embassy site in Hell’s Kitchen was on 10th Avenue, between West 48th and West 49th Streets. The property was roughly 6775 square meters, and would be perfect for my needs. I just needed to get rid of the ugly building that was standing there, first.
Thankfully, being a master of Death magic had some benefits, in this regard. Death was, after all, the element of Entropy. All things age, over time, and Death magic could speed that along. With a wave of my hand, the building shuddered, and then collapsed into dust before me. Even the foundation was turned to dust.
Earth magic built a new foundation for me, out of solid granite, infused with my power. I did not need to worry about plumbing or power needs, since I intended magic to take care of such things. I intended for my embassy to be as self-sufficient as possible.
Next, I lay down wards, protecting the site from magical and physical attacks, and preventing any who meant ill will towards Risen Athelia or its citizens from entering. It was the same type of ward I had on my Seattle residence, though with a bit more power. For those who were my friends and allies, this would be the safest spot in the city, a fortress despite the looks.
More Earth magic created the building itself, in ceremonial Athelian architecture. Before my ascension as the Heroine of the Elements Undivided, I would never have been able to do such work so quickly and easily. Now, with my grasp of the elements expanded and my powers greatly increased, it was simplicity itself.
The basic formation of the building was a kind of simple that made it complex. From the square base of the foundation, and the three-level underground parking garage, the building rose, turning as it did so. Each level turned forty-five degrees from the one below it, so that, on the seventh floor (eighth, by the American counting), the building had completed a full rotation.
I did not do this simply because I could, or because it was a perfect showcase of my skills with magic. The twisting of the building, combined with the runes set into its very walls, caused mana to flow towards the building, making it the magical center of New York City. Oh, I was relatively certain that someone would probably get very upset when they eventually figured out what I’d done, but I couldn’t be bothered to care, honestly. This bit of petty revenge wasn’t hurting anyone, but it did serve to make my embassy a power spot, for whatever I chose to do here. I didn’t have any concrete plans, of course, but I’d learned a long time ago that you could never have too many weapons in your arsenal.
Along the outside of the embassy, I created sculptures in the stone, a series of images. They started with my class being summoned, and told the tale of the forty years I had spent in the other world, with all my tragedies and triumphs, and then of my return. The final image ended with the undoing of the Prime Seal, and my becoming the Dragon Ascendant, Heroine of the Elements Undivided.
Inside the embassy, I used Earth magic once more to create two sets of stairs, leading from the lowest part of the parking garage to the rooftop. On the ground floor, I created a circular platform of black stone, roughly the size of an elevator, which could be powered by magic, if one knew how, allowing them to cause the platform to rise or fall through perfectly shaped circular openings in the floors, going all the way up to the seventh floor. Gems inset in the floor at each level allowed someone to channel mana to call the elevator to them, while a sophisticated barrier spell kept anyone from accidentally falling down the shaft (or stumbling off the platform in transit), while allowing people on and off when the platform was stationary.
In the parking garage, I used Light magic to create several permanent lights throughout the levels, ensuring that they would be safe and well-lit. I also hooked them into the ambient mana so that they needed no upkeep or maintenance. At that point, I had all but reached the end of the tasks I needed to see to, personally, in the creation of the embassy, so I summoned my architects and builders, and let them get to work on the interior. They had the plans and the expertise for making a functioning building suited for the living, so I let them do what they did best.
According to the plans I had seen before the ground floor and the first two floors after that were going to be offices, primarily, along with records and such, with all the things an embassy would need. Floor three was a storehouse with a massively increased internal space, making this one floor just over thirty-one square kilometers in area, with room for enough supplies to feed a thousand people for a year or more, even without the hydroponic gardens. It also held the mana generators and water conjuration machines, so that the building would always have power and water, unless someone managed to completely cut off the building from all mana for an extended period of time.
Going back to the floor plan, Floors four and five were for the guards, both living and dead, and had barracks, armories, and training rooms, so that their skills did not atrophy. Floor six was the ‘important’ offices, for the ambassador and their chief aides. Floor seven held two massive suites. The first was for the Ambassador, obviously, while the second was for me, when next I visited the city.
None of the rooms were furnished, yet, but that was tomorrow’s problem. There were still two more things I needed to take care of. First, there was the creation of teleport pads. One on the first floor, allowing people to teleport from the Embassy to any of the main cities of the kingdom, or for people to quickly get from official buildings to here. The second was on the sixth floor, and was a strictly VIP thing, with only a few people having items or knowledge of the exact spellwork needed to target the pad.
The final thing I needed to do was to arrange the most visible line of defense for the embassy. For that, I needed to head to the roof. From my storage dimension, I summoned four skeletal dragons. Not so large as the one I brought to DC, of course. These were the skeletons of younger dragons. Not so powerful, perhaps, but more maneuverable and less likely to cause massive panic. Each of them was roughly the size of an elephant, but was stronger than a Warrior who had just achieved mastery over their Way. The four of them, together, would be more than a match for even the newborn heroes, at least for now.
Once I placed the dragons at each corner of the building, letting them look out upon the city, I turned, and noticed that I had caused a bit of a commotion. It had only been five or six hours since I started the construction, but I was not subtle as I made my way here, and hadn’t tried to hide my work, so I wasn’t surprised that there were news crews, paparazzi, and police just outside the property line.
With a flutter of magic, I cast a Slow Fall spell on myself, and stepped off the edge. Gently, I coasted down, like a leaf through the air, until my feet touched solid ground once more. As I made my way to where my Death Knights still stood guard, just off the sidewalk, I smiled at the lone police lieutenant who approached, despite his fear.
“Hello, lieutenant,” I said, loud enough for the news crew nearby to catch on their microphones. “What brings you to the Embassy of Risen Athelia this evening?”
Whatever the lieutenant might have been expecting me to say, it clearly wasn’t that. Still, it only took him a couple seconds to recover from his shock. “You rode a skeleton horse, with knights in armor, through the middle of Manhattan. Then, according to eyewitness accounts, you turned a building to dust in an instant. And now, hours later, there’s…this,” he gestured to the building, voice incredulous. “You’re telling me this is an Embassy? And are those dragons on the roof?”
“Oh, yes. I bought the property over a week ago, all the paperwork filed properly, and all that, and informed the State Department that I was making it the Athelian Embassy to the United States. As an embassy, this property is Athelian soil, and subject to Athelian law. The building formerly on the site was demolished, and the new building has been constructed, all in accordance with the relevant Athelian building codes.
“Also, as an Embassy, and sovereign Athelian soil, Risen Athelia has both a right and a duty to defend this building from hostile forces, just as the United States has armed soldiers and guards at their embassies around the world. But don’t worry, the dragons are just part of the defensive measures, and will be less prominent once the full defense plan is set in place. For now, they will suffice to ensure that anyone attempting to break through the wards or otherwise cause trouble will be detained for questioning. Those four may not be as powerful as some of my more deadly creatures, but all four are skilled at hunting, and are a reliable line of defense for the embassy.”
The lieutenant’s eyes crossed for a moment, as he tried to wrap his brain around the way that I was telling him the only laws that mattered for this site were my own, and that yes, the undead dragons were my equivalent to posting armed guards at a US embassy in, say, France. However, he quickly came to the time-honored conclusion that this was not his problem, and turned to go make reports to his superiors, who would likely kick those reports to someone else.
Unfortunately, his walking away left an opening for the reporters to close in, but since they’d spent so long watching, I decided that I could do some PR work. Holly would be so proud of me. And it wasn’t like the embassy would be ready in the next day or two. Still needed to arrange furniture and decorations for the public spaces, but that didn’t need my personal attention. If I didn’t give the reporters something to talk about, the vultures would be hounding me incessantly.
“Hello, ladies and gentlemen of the press. Risen Athelia is pleased to be stepping into the international community as a partner and friend to those who are friendly to us. As you can see, we have just begun building our first embassy on the American continents. It will still be a few days before it is fully ready for official business, of course. However, I am willing to answer a few of your questions.”
Chapter 185 – Preparation
“Oh, Akagawa-san, you give me the most wonderful gifts! Though I wish you could have arranged for a better time of day? Or at least let me know ahead of time so I could prepare!”
I chuckled as Holly Gibson rushed to my side the moment she entered my suite. It was the morning after I set about raising the Athelian Embassy here in New York, and Holly had called at seven to ask to see me. Somehow, she’d made it here by seven-thirty, arriving just after room service delivered a good breakfast for three, since Lilah Morgan had come with her.
“Yes, well, I may have underestimated just how much of a stir my actions would cause. The people in Risen Athelia and most of the East Asian Alliance are already used to methods like these for building. And, naturally, they are used to seeing me on horseback, along with my guards.”
I shrugged my shoulders, and said, “But what of you Holly? And Lilah, I trust your firm has been pleased with the work we’ve given you over the last few years?”
Holly just shook her head. Her expression looked annoyed, but I could tell from her voice that it was a show. “I’m good, Akagawa-san. Just had to wake up early because someone made the news in the middle of the night and didn’t bother to tell her publicist! But I did watch your interview, and you did well. Of course, none of the reporters pushed you too hard, either. Most likely, they were worried that if they did anything you considered rude, you’d take their soul, or something.”
“Oh, my, no. Not for a reporter being rude and pressing too hard with their questions. I just would put a silence spell around them, so that not only could they not speak to me, but they wouldn’t be able to hear anyone else, and then I’d continue the interview.”
“You can mute people in real life?” Holly said, in wonder. No doubt, she’d encountered many people that she wished she could use that ability on.
“Ahem,” Lilah cleared her throat. “What mechanism does the spell use? It isn’t a direct attack type of spell, right?”
“No, it is an application of air magic. Basically, you create twin walls of air with vacuum between them. Complete soundproofing in an instant. Doesn’t do anything to the individual or individuals inside. Making it so that the barriers move with them and don’t cause wind shear when contacting things like doorframes or people is a matter of skill, naturally.”
