Chapter 41 - Sha Naqba Imuru (Patreon)

"True Dragons are an incredibly ancient, intelligent, reptilian mortal race whose forefathers lived many thousands of years before even the Elves set foot in the Lands of the Ancient Lords. Today, they are few in number compared to the times of old, when they dominated the Known World and the air was full of soaring Dragons, tussling for supremacy in the primeval skies.

With the decline of Magic, so did the number of the True Dragons, and the ones that reamed today were of the lesser, reclusive breed that spends much of their time asleep in hidden mountainside lairs or sunken caverns. Although fewer in number, dragons are still creatures of vast power, and when they are roused from their deep slumber, their deeds and actions are the stuff of legends.

That often put out the question of where the True Dragons went and how they disappeared from the face of the Known World. The answer was rather simple.

During the excavations by some of the Imperial Scholars of the Holy Arcadia Empire and Celestial Empire of Grand Cathay, it was found out that most of the True Dragons went into crystalline hibernation, where they would use their powerful ancient Magic to creature crystalline-like substance around their bodies that is one of the toughest materials in the Known World.

When the crystalline substance envelops their bodies, the True Dragon will go into very deep hibernation that could last even for thousands of years if there was a need. Most of the True Dragons went to the depths of the Earth, somewhere at the start of the Age of Fire, when the Magic started to decline in the world after the end of the Primeval Age.

Another notable thing was that, during the existence of the Valyrian Freehold, the very first generation of the three Dragonlord Houses that later became known as Triarchs found such Dragons deep under the Fourteen Volcanoes and became their partners, bringing the Blessing of the True Dragons to the fledgling Valyrian Civilization, which then allowed them to tame the Valyrian Wyverns that were living all around the Valyrian Peninsula.

Valyrian Wyvern were peculiar creatures, in fact. Wyverns are cannibalistic predators that are known to be a distant offshoot of the Dragon race. At a distance, one could easily mistake a Wyvern for a Dragon, but there is none of the nobility of spirit of Dragons in these debased and cruel creatures. One of the greatest differences between Dragon and Wyverns, aside from their size, is that Wyverns are bipetal creatures, with their front legs being fused with their wings and the Wyverns being unable to spew fire.

Interestingly enough, the Valyrian Wyvern was capable of spewing fire, and they could grow till their death; some of the most famous Valyrian Wyverns, like Balerion the Black Dread or Terrax the Monstrous, were even larger than some species of the True Dragons and equally dangerous and ferocious.

Unfortunately for the world, after the Doom of Valyria, this wonderful species became nearly extinct, and due to the internal Civil War of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros between various factions of House Targaryen, Valyrian Wyvern were officially declared extinct soon after.

Only after the expedition of the Holy Arcadia Empire to the Ruins of the Valyrian Freehold and the subsequent acquisition of several eggs of Valyrian Wyvern did these beautiful creatures return from extinction.

Nowadays, one could find the Valyrian Wyvern freely flying over the Lands of the Ancient Lords, and a large population of them is also living in the Celestial Empire of Grand Cathay in the Eastern Essos or in the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan."

- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Chapter 35 - Dragons and their Subspecies

***

???

Millions were marching on the lands of the High Elves as the lands of the Ulthuan were under siege. Immeasurable numbers of Daemons started appearing all around the island nation, without restraint and without anything holding them back. They attacked the cities and fortifications of the High Elves with great zeal and newfound ferocity. 

Chaos Cultists kept summoning more and more, the Corsairs of the Lustria attacking the Ulthuan in the grandest fleet that the known world had ever known, all under the orders of the Ruinious Powers.

As such, their decree was to be followed.

Orks were clashing against the Daemnmons in a never-ending cycle of carnage, as well as against some of the remnants of the High Elves. The entire island nation has returned to the battlefield filled with nothing more than carnage, blood and corpses; the previously beautiful and silent paradise is no more.

Only death and destruction remained.

On the visages of the white cities, mighty High Elves Magisters of Magic were fighting the never-ending hordes of chaos before being overwhelmed by their sheer numbers with ease, and in different parts of the Ulthuan, hundreds of ships of elven design were spacing to the east.

Hoping to find the sanctuary within the borders of the Holy Imperium.

The Well of Eternity was almost lost. The last of the Swordmasters of Hoeth and Grand Magisters were defending the miracle of Magic with their very own lives from the Daemon, Cultist. 

One could even see the Drukhari fighting against the Daemosn of Chaos because the Powers of Ruins were enemies of all.

The hordes of the Daemons seemed to be completely unstoppable in their momentum as more and more of the Daemons were materializing in the Material Plane and tearing their way through the previously silent and beautiful land of Ulthuan. 

The Daemons of Khorne revelled in this degree of carnage, while of the Grandfather Nurgle were seeding their plagues and corruption everything, destroying the nature so tenaciously cultivated by the High Evles.

Somewhere else, the Daemons of Tzeench were scheming about their plans for the future and the complete demise of the High Elves as one of the grand pillars of the mortal races of Azyr, and the Daemons of Slaanesh were enjoying the pleasure of emotions that were turning into the whirlwind of despair and doom.

***

3rd POV

Lands of the Ancient Lords, Holy Arcadia Empire, Grand Principality of the Reikland, Holy Imperial Capital of Anor Londo, January of Year 10,282 - of the Imperial Lordranese Callendar 

Suddenly, the entire Imperial Palace erupted in chaos when the Holy Imperator blacked out and wasn't wake for several days straight. The Stormcast Eternals were recalled to the Imperial Palace, aside from those who couldn't be recalled, and martial law was declared in the entire Holy Imperial Captial of Anor Londo.

The entire city was under lockdown as the Imperial Legion, Battlemages, and Silver Knights patrolled every single centimeter of the Holy City. Aside from that, several Hunters of the Workshop were placed at the Imperial Palace to bolster the guard of the Stormcast Eternals because having several Level 6 Senior Hunters and one Level 7 Master Hunter increased the security to the maximum.

Even the Byrgenwerth and Colleges of Magic were ordered to send their most powerful Battle Wizards and Magicinas to bolster the magic defenses of the Imperial Palace in case something happened.

Within the entire Holy Arcadia Empire, such an occasion was absolutely unprecedented because it never happened before, and nobody could predict that Imperator would suddenly enter a coma out of nowhere. 

During the entire time that Karl Franz was sleeping, both Maria and Cersei were allowed to stay with him, as Maria practically didn't leave his side at all. Everyone could see that the future Empress of the Holy Arcadia Empire was very worried about the state of her betrothed.

At the same time, probably for the first time since her inauguration, Lady Maria Vileblood took the duties of the Lord General-Kommandant Prime of the Stormcast Eternals seriously as she was personally taking care of the defenses of the Imperial Palace.

It was also she who ordered the Holy City to permanently close its gates until the situation with the Imperator was solved. One may be seeing an overreaction to the situation, but Maria knew that Karl Franz was the spiritual pillar of the Empire.

If something happened to him, then it would seriously hit the Empire as well, not to mention the succession of the Empire isn't clear, or it would be more precise to say that there is no succession to the Divine Throne of Cider and Sunlight because Karl Franz didn't have an heir.

He only had two fianceés, one of which was the Heiress of the House Vileblood, but he didn't produce an heir for over eight hundred years of his rule over the Holy Arcadia Empire, so in the most extreme situation, it wasn't out of the question that the Empire could crumble apart, but such scenario wasn't really probably.

The various Grand Provinces had very close ties to each other, not to mention they also needed each other in many aspects, so the most possible scenario was that the Empire would turn into an Elective Monarchy where the Elector Counts would choose the ruler from the Elector Counts and not from the Imperial Line like Karl Franz intended it to work.

"Do you know what is happening?"

Maria heard the voice of her future sister-wife Cersei Lannister as the young woman arrived at the Imperial Place from the City of Silver, Cainhurst, a few days ago, shortly after Karl Franz fell unconscious.

She had to admit that she matured a lot during the time she spent within the Lordran as seeing the wider world made her curb her arrogance a lot, and she also developed a much better personality after shedding majority of her spoiled and arrogant attitude that she previously held.

For a moment Maria contemplated what to say, at the end, she decided to go with the true version and not the things that were told to the others. Only a very close number of people were aware of the true reason why Imperator fell unconscious.

Mostly it was members of the High Council of the Empire, Commander of the Stormcast Eternals, and so on.

"Sha Naqba Imuru... He Who Gazed Into the Deep... it is the very peculiar ability that Karl obtained after reaching Level 6, and it is his Bloodline Ability, just like yours, which is the Golden Rule or ability to control Lions. Unfortunately, it is not an easy ability to control, and it is not simple Clairvoyance like Divination Magic, no... the Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star allows one to see countless futures, all alternative realities and the endless possibilities that are fated. Because Karl isn't technically strong enough to bear it; he was overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information from the Sha Naqba Imuru when he had a vision as he couldn't consciously control the ability. We need to wait for several days until he wakes up..."

Maria wasn't the person who easily trusted others; she had a rather strong distrust for other people, but it was she who was spending a lot of time with Cersei during her stay at the Lordran if she didn't count Cirilla, who was also present in the Imperial Palace.

So she decided that the young Lannister was rather trustworthy in her opinion, even though she was a cunning politician, something that Maria didn't like about the girl. In this regard, she found Cersei similar to her mother, Annalise Vileblood, because her mother was never a warrior or straightforward person.

That didn't mean that her mother was weak; that wasn't true at all as her mother was one of the most powerful Sorcerers in the entire Lordran, but she was someone who was home as much as using the political intrigue and schemes as using Magical might crush her opponents.

Maria took after her father in this aspect and held a strong distaste for the political backstabbing and scheming.

"Has this happened before?"

During the time Cersei spent in the Lordran, she realized that she was a rather foolish young girl when she thought that her familiar lienage meant that everything in the world was for granted as her name and family were just small players in the greater scheme.

Sure, she was rather talented, that was for sure, and her Bloodline was rather powerful, as she found after she drank the Old Blood. But she also knew it meant nothing if she didn't have real power in her hands, as she learned when she met many scions of the Imperial Nobility.

"Yes... several times in fact. The activation of the Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star is always rather random for Karl, and depending on the vision, he would black out, but till now, he was always awake within one week or so..."

Maria knew that this wasn't the first time that Karl suffered some side effects from using the Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star too much. The ability is indeed rather too "overpowered", like he used to say about it.

And it was true because seeing the infinite number of possible futures and endless possibilities was something that was already on the level of Gods, in her opinion. Maria was aware that if the Sha Naqba Imuru acted itself, then something serious must have either happened, is happening, or would happen to the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan.

Judging from the effects of the Sha Naqba Imuru on the Holy Imperator, she was rather sure that it should be something big. Partially, Maria wished to see the High Elves to fall as much as possible... even though they were all technically allies against the forces of Ruination, she hated the Ulthuan to core.

The grudge between the House Cairan, which was the predecessor against the Royal Lineage of the Ulthuan, was legendary across the lands, and it was passed on to the successor of the House Cairan, House Vileblood.

So, in reality, she wasn't that opposed to the idea of the High Elves falling to the Chaos, even though they were one of the very few nations in the world that could prove to be allies to the Holy Arcadia Empire against the powers of the ruin.

Right now, only the Celestial Empire of Grand Cathay was, and for whatever reason, the Orktarius Empire of the Greenskins also was "ally" in this aspect, even though they hated each other.

Westeros had potential if it was unified, but, alas, it was rather close to the Lands of the Ancient Lords, and it had a very high population; it was decided by the Imperial High Council that Westeros could not be allowed to unify under a single ruler in true sense.

"Anyways, lately, I heard that things were getting heated in my homeland. Even people in the Schola are talking about it."

Cersei suddenly said because lately, she had heard a lot of rumors about the conflicted state of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. While her father didn't say anything during their last talk through Lacrima, she noticed that he looked far more tired than usual.

On top of that, one of her closest friends that she made in the Schola Progenium was the daughter of one of the biggest merchants with weapons within the entire Imperium, and she told her that her father was planning a voyage to supply weapons to the factions within a the Westeros.

Rosenstein was a family of merchants originating from the Grand Province of Reikland, and they were one of the biggest businessmen with a weapons in the entire Lands of the Ancient Lords.

Though nowadays Cersei found out that one could count Westeros and Essos among that count. Even the Emperor owned part of their Chamber of Commerce, she almost wanted to scoff at the prices that they were going to charge Essosi and Westerosi, beucasde they were outragerous.

Some said that the Rosensteins were richer than some of the Elector Counts themselves, but those were only rumors. Still, their Chamber of Commerce was one of the best and very profitable to be able to attract investments from the CHOAM, Imperial House, and some Elector Counts.

And Cersei knew that with the quality of weapons and armors that the Rosensteins were going to be selling in the Westeros and Essos, they could really charge anything they wished because nobody else could provide the goods on the same level and of the same quality.

"Yeah... it seems that the civil war in Westeros is now imminent now that the Patriarch of the House Star has been killed in the King's Landing and Crown Prince apparently kidnapped and raped Lyana Stark."

Cersei didn't really know what to think about it, especially considering her previous infatuation with the idea of marrying Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. She didn't know if the rumors were true, but she was aware that truth or lie, it diidn't matter at all.

Everything that mattered was the fact that people thought that Lyanna Stark was kidnapped by the Rhaegar Targaryen and that he raped her. Nothing else mattered for the common folk and so.

She also knew that even though it was possible that the two of them eloped together, considering that Lyanna Stark's fianceé was Robert Baratheon, who was rumored whoremonger and most frequent visitor to brothels, it wasn't that surprising.

Even if she had done the same situation, she would never want to wed some whoremongering drunkard like Robert Baratheon. Sure, he was apparently a very formidable warrior, and from what Cersei heard, he was one of the first Westerosi to have some rudimentary grasp on Mana and was able to achieve Level 1 Physical strength.

For that, he became rather famous among the upper circles of the Holy Arcadia Empire, as everyone tended to keep an eye on the powerful individuals from the other nations. In fact, it was even a paramount part of education within the Imperium to know all strong individuals from Westeros, Essos, and other parts of the Known World.

"In fact, it is a miracle that the war didn't erupt much sooner... after King dismissed my father from the position of the Hand of the King, the number of Houses lesser or greater that he offended to no end is growing at an exponential rate."

Cersei stated that when she started attending the Schola Progenium, one of the major courses that she was attending was on politics. She was very skillful in the area of politics, and many of her teachers praised her for it, so she understood the implications much better than others.

"So, how do you see it?"

Maria asked the young lioness for Maria; this was just another way to test her future sister-wive's knowledge about politics, though she herself was rather curious because she didn't really have an in-depth understanding of the political situation.

Such events like civil wars and so on were absolutely unfamiliar to the Lands of the Ancient Lords, even though they were common, like an Ork fungus in Westeros and Essos.

"It is clear that Royalists would consist of the Crownlands, Reach, and Dorne, albeit the last one would be fighting more against their will. Stormlands, Vale and North, are basically another Triumvirate in this, and Westerlands, under my father, won't join either and most probably would focus on reaping benefits. The only ones that remain are the Ironborn of the Iron Islands, but they are more inclined to raid the shores of Westeros during the time when everyone is waging war. For sure, they would most likely attack the Reach, Westeralnds, and North and also target the supply lines on the sea."

Maria listened as this was rather similar to what she read in the reports from the Office of Imperial Military Intelligence. The two sides were rather equal for the moment because the Resurgence of Magic equaled the grounds between the two factions even more.

Still, due to some military reforms adopted by the House Stark, they had some advantages, as they managed to create some sort of military. It was still better than the forcefully conscripted levies and peasants.

"And what of the Essosi interference in the civil war?"

Right now, there were inflicted of reports from the Office of Imperial Military Intelligence and even from the Officio Asassinorum about the strong foreign interference in the Westerosi Civil War.

By all indicators, especially from the Triarchy of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh, then from the Free City of Braavos, and lastly from the Volantis and the Red Temple of the Lord of Light. All of these factions showed some movements that they were going to participate in the mess, and each one of them supported different sides, as it seemed.

"Highly possible, but most of them are just eying the resources of the Westeros. Volantis would mostly likely support anyone going against the House Targaryen just out of pettiness, Triarchy would support anyone who would give them an oath that they would stop meddling in the Stepstones, and Braavos is hard to say, rather it would depend on the stance of the Iron Bank and House of Black and White, though I would bet more on the Royal Faction."

Volantis had rather bad relationships with the House Targaryen since the Aegon I. Targaryen participated in the war between the Triarchy of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh against Volantis on the side of the Triarchy. 

It seemed that they didn't forget that one. The stance of the others was rather complicated to guess because Braavos wanted to obtain as much as possible from the entire Civil War, and almost nobody could predict what the Red Priests would do.

"That is rather an accurate prediction. Still, the interference of the Essosi factions will complicate a lot of things."

Maria could see what they wanted to obtain from this entire intervention, but it wasn't according to the wishes of the Holy Arcadia Empire became the reports of the Office of the Imperial Military Intelligence indicated that the power of the Magic Organizations in Essos was growing at a staggering rate.

Apparently, preciously most of the Magicians in the Essos depended on some kind of Sacrifice or so, but nowadays, the Shadowbinders could perform powerful Magic and kill their enemies from miles away without a problem. Red Priests could turn entire companies of trained soldiers into ashes with a single spell, and there were rumors of Necromancers capable of raising undead soldiers in hundreds upon hundreds.

These Magic Organizations not only consisted of Magicians, Sorcerers, and other types of Magic Users but also of talented Warriors who managed to use Mana and were able to perform superhuman feats.

And it seemed that in some of the Free Cities, it was rather boiling inside, as these organizations wanted to take over some of the Free Cities. Within the Volantis, it was a prime example of such tensions because the Red Temple was right now in a very tense relationship with the Volantene Nobiltiy, and there were rumors that maybe the city would change its ruler in the future.

"And what is the preferred state of the Empire? For sure, the Imperium must have some stance toward the current events in the Seven Kingdoms."

Cersei asked Maria as they sat in the logue, and servants served them tea and snacks, the best pastries made by the most skilled Imperial Chefts of the Anor Londo.

"Fall of the Targaryen Dynasty, for one, would be a great start, but at the same time, we cannot let those of Essos grow stronger too fast, as they already have a headstart above the Westerosi, and we need to maintain the thin layer of balance."

Right now, it was clear that while in Westeros, Magic was almost non-existent before the Resurgence of Magic, in the Western Essos, while greatly weakened, it still existed, and various groups related rather prominent positions of power due to the tidbits of Magic that they possessed.

If these factions were to be allowed access to the resources of the Westeros, it would be catastrophic because the change in the playing field would be drastic. Not to mention, quite a number of these organizations, especially the Warlocks of Quarth, had some sort of connection with the Ruinous Powers. 

It was no wonder that within the Essos and Westeros, the Magic was looked at with a certain level of doubt because of its unclear connection with the Ruinious Powers. Many of the Warlocks and Sorcerers sold their souls to the Forces of Chaos so that they could obtain greater power.

That was also the reason why there were so many rumors among the Westerosi and Essosi that the Warlocks, Sorcerers, and basically any Magic Users were using sacrifices to obtain the power they wielded.

From a certain point of view, it was true.

As the two women were talking, suddenly, a Grand Chamberlain of the Imperial Palace, Sebas Tian, rushed into the room with an almost ecstatic expression on his face.

"My Ladies, the Imperator is awake."

Nothing more needed to be said as Lady Maria bolted out of the room with the superhuman speed of a Level 6 individual as it was hard to see even the aftershadows of her figure when she disappeared into the depths of the Imperial Palace.

At the same time, Cersei followed more modestly, though she could understand the distress of her sister-wife during the past days. From what she knew, Karl Franz and Maria Vileblood were courting each other for many decades, and they were really dependent on each other.

***

1st POV - Karl Franz 

Dammed visions... they are getting longer and longer with each time, and it's even more painful. Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star was one of the abilities that I didn't dare to use carelessly, and only after reaching Level 7 would I have some rudimentary control over it.

Only after one reached the Level of Demigods, would one obtain the complete conscious control over the Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star as it was an ability that was never meant to be hands of the mortals in the first place

I understood why.

Until then, the manifestation of the Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star is completely random. 

I was in my chambers... that's good. It seems that the last vision came to me when I was contemplating the state of the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan, and now everything was resurfacing.

Having such a strong vision meant that the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan were in deep shit, and most probably, some of their Kingdoms were on the verge of falling apart or falling already.

If not, I would have the worst vision, most probably implicating the entire Lands of the Ancient Lords. So, there was still a very good chance that the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan could be saved.

The real question was if they should be...

I had rather a strong compulsion just to let them fall to the Chaos and whatever mess was taking root on their dammed island. On the other hand, they were one of the few nations that could truly stand up to the Chaos, though it seems that their own self-proclaimed superiority finally got back at them.

In the end, there was no choice.

No matter as I hate it.

Though, obtaining a new Grand Province to the Empire would be nice, as the Island of Ulthuan is much smaller than the Lordran, and after the fight with the Forces of Ruin, Cultists, Greenskisn, and Dark Elves, large parts of the Islands would be left uninhabited or inhospitable for a long time.

We would need to send a large relief force to the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan, but at the same time, we would be adjusting my original plan. Most of the High Elven kingdoms were not that useful in the long run and the prospect of devouring their legacy for the Imperium...

Was...

Thrilling.

Far more than that, because the temptation was enormous. 

There were so many things that I coveted in the Ulthuan and the centuries that I was Imperator taught me one thing...

Even though the High Elves took the threat of Chaos seriously, they would never be sending their forces to fight the Ruination Powers en masse. And that was a great problem because most of the forces of Chaos were currently concentrating in the Dark Lands on the continent of Lordran.

The Old World was the home of the Ruinantion...

The High Elves would maximally take care of the forces of Chaos in their own territory, but the real thing was that almost none of them were on the Ulthuan. And for a good reason, just like not many were in the territory of the Holy Arcadia Empire, and the Empire was often sending expeditions into the Dark Lands to fight against the threats.

Especially against the rising Chaos Lords, Warbands, Chaos Sorcerers, Daemon Princes who were getting to powers, and so on. I knew that if we weren't doing this, then the Imperium would be long ago overrun by the forces of the Chaos.

The High Elves didn't care if the forces of Chaos were rising in the different parts of the world, but because they were so dependent on their magical Defes around the Ulthuan that they tended to disregard everything else.

Completely different approach compared to that of the Holy Arcadia Empire that would work even with the Greenskisn if it meant that we could eradicate some Chaos Warband or Daemon Horde.

It was the mindset of the High Elves and confidence in their Magic and power that made them stagnant. Yes, the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan were still very powerful, but realistically speaking, the Holy Arcadia Empire was already more powerful than them.

And once the Hextech Weaponry and Hextech Technology were implemented en masse within the Holy Arcadia Empire, then the Ulthuan wouldn't be a threat at all. 

It was the fate of the arrogant ones that they were stagnating, and now that the Powers of Ruins somehow managed to bypass their Magical Defeses and land on the Ulthuna in great numbers, they were royally fucked up.