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The time before the equinox festival passes quickly: Phyr continues inserting himself into Edric’s operations, making himself increasingly useful over long days but fast weeks; Vector does more or less the same, just in a different sphere, catching up with Phyr every night or two before he dines with Edric. For his own part, Edric moves things along, and advertises the Hell out of the upcoming tournament, sparing no expense to make sure the occasion is suitable to all parties. Alice, true to her nature, refuses to play along and remains confined in the dungeon - afforded every amenity she could want, but stared down 24/7 by overwhelming firepower.
Finally, the day has arrived. Edric, Nori, Phyr, and Vector alone know its true significance - the launch of Phase Four - though many suspect. There is also a nice man in the city today. No one seems to think much of him, or the strange questions he asks, except that he is rather nice and otherwise completely unremarkable.
The tournament grounds, built a few miles East of Thousand Bridges, are basically a football stadium (American or European isn’t important; it’s not like anyone of this world knows what those are, anyway): crowds gather in stands to all sides, with a skybox above and hotly-contested seats along the inner perimeter below, the field divided in half while striped referees mark the boundaries. Crowds file in throughout the morning, from seven to nine, as gymnastic teams and marching bands provide entertainment below. Edric watches all from his seat on high; Phyr sits at his left hand, Nori at his right; Vector has a seat on the sidelines, at eye-level with the action, heading a security detachment to supervise Alice.
At ten sharp, a referee takes centerfield and holds a speaking stone aloft. As she speaks, her voice is carried by echo stones throughout the stadium: “GOOOOD MORRRRNING, LADIES, GENTLEMEN, NONBINARIES, AND THE REST OF YOU! Do we have a SHOW for you TODAY!” Raucous applause resounds from the stands. “Warriors from around the globe, soldiers from every army, prisoners and wanderers and adventurers, all gathered to TEST THEIR MIGHT!” The crowd roars as the referee takes a low bow. “No one has arranged such a tourney since our High Queen and King - gods rest their souls-” the crowd murmurs along, Gods rest their souls, “-held the Tourney of Fallen Houses near the end of their reign.” The ref bows her head for a moment of silence, and the arena is overtaken for one solid second by an eerie stillness, as the crowd holds their breath and contemplates the passing of their erstwhile rulers.
“So it goes,” the referee exclaims, raising her face as she thrusts a fist into the sky. The crowd cheers at her gesture, and she continues: “One reign ends, and another begins! Here, today, we host the first tournament of High King Edric Nadab, gods protect him.” A gasp ripples over the crowd; then they say in unison, as if by rote, Gods protect him, followed by thunderous applause. “And what a tournament it is! We’ve got it ALL for you, folks! Battles large and small, soldiers and warriors, prisoners and gladiators, the famous and the unknown - all off them, vying for the ONE TRUE PRIZE: a chair at Mister Nadab’s table, the very seat of power in the new world to come!” The crowd erupts into uproarious cheers and chants - this-and-that hero, or cause, or province pokes up here and there throughout the din and fury. “But before that, High King Edric, gods protect him-” gods protect him, “-has a few words he would like to share.”
A hush falls over the crowd as Edric takes his feet and raises a speaking stone. “Friends. Altilluvians. People of Third Earth.” Dramatic Pause. “I stand before you, only a man in name - but a king in deed. I may not take the Broken Throne on Moristella, but word shall spread far and wide of what I have done here. What you have helped me accomplish. The culmination of all that effort - is today.”
Edric raises a hand and lowers his head, calling for quiet. In the rapt silence that ensues, you could hear a sparrow fart at midfield. Then there is a rumble, as of a far-off thunderstorm - people look up and around in confusion at the clear blue sky. As the rumble grows, Edric speaks again: “Many of you have heard whispers of what has been happening underground. A piece here, a piece there. You have seen the technology we build, and how we use it. To empower, to protect. But now, gods walk among us once more - and the first of them has chosen me.” Edric sees that the crowd is getting nervous, as the ground itself has begun to tremble. “Be not afraid,” he says in a warmly reassuring tone, “For I come bearing glad tidings. The War for the Broken Throne has, at last, come to an end.”
Edric makes a gesture to Norissiel, who activates a spellstone: presently, a great scrying window opens over the field, followed shortly by eleven more just like it, all facing out to the crowd. They show the Long Fall, from a ways off and high in the air. Water tumbles over in uncountable billions of gallons, fed by mighty rivers that all have their head in the Notosynoro Mountains to the East and South - but as children learn when studying the Thirteen Wonders of the Natural World, almost none of this falling water reaches the ground. Because Long Fall Lake is so high, and Eversummer so far below, almost all of it disperses into the atmosphere as tiny droplets that float through the air, giving Rainbow Basin its name and Eversummer its climate.
Now, as the crowd watches, an enormous shadow spreads behind the water where it still falls thick and heavy from the lake above: a thin, dark line that grows and grows as the earthquake continues its crescendo. Then, from the darkness comes a pale green light - thin and dim, at first, but growing in its own turn as the yawning darkness before it.
The crowd gasps as one when the falls break, revealing a massive steel and concrete superstructure enveloped by a glowing magical shield. As the earthquake finally begins to fade, wonder gradually replaces fear, and Edric seizes the moment, saying, “How to stem the tide of war? Behold! The Grand Dam!” He sets aside the speaking stone and takes a seat to let the crowd marvel as the frightfully large machinery continues moving the massive segments into place.
Phyr turns to him and says, “That’s your master plan? A dam?”
“Eversummer is the breadbasket of the world,” Edric says, shouting just to be heard over the rumble. “Sure, there are lots of other farms all over the place, but only Eversummer has the year-round sunshine and water to always be putting out food without magical intervention. Ceena and Mephistopheles have been bleeding their people dry, while Lila has been sowing chaos with her eco-nuts, as has Dara with her crack commando squad, trying to undermine both their strangleholds. Meanwhile, I’ve been up here, quietly teching up - and now I can put my masterstroke into action, with you on my side.” Edric winks, but Phyr just looks at him blankly.
“Won’t that flood this whole area,” he asks.
“Not that kind of dam. I’m not bottlenecking Long Fall Lake - I’m diverting it to the sea. All that water, suddenly taken out of the picture, will disrupt Eversummer’s climate in a big way. The others can surrender, or fight over a world that’s slowly starving to death, as their forces desert bit by bit or succumb to the inevitable.”
“So - let me get this straight: you’re starving the world, to force everyone to your side?” Nori narrows her eyes at Phyr’s incredulous exclamation as he summarizes his understanding of Edric’s plan.
“I’m inviting the world to join my side. If they choose to stay where they are…” Edric trails off with a shrug. Phyr mulls this over, nodding his head as the rumble holds steady while the Grand Dam continues moving into place. Nori takes a deep breath and turns her gaze back to the crowd below.
Then Phyr says, “Omelets and eggs, I guess. I don’t think Alice will see it that way, though.”
Edric shrugs and says, “I think Alice is gonna be a stick in the mud, no matter what I do. So: she can either join up with the new Big Kid on the Playground, or she can sit and whine about it while I do what I want anyway.” Phyr looks down and sees Alice and Vector speaking heatedly in their seats. Edric follows his gaze and says, “Why don’t you go see if you can keep the peace, eh? Let her know that if she doesn’t quit making a scene, she’s welcome to wait the tourney out in the dungeon.” Phyr nods and heads off, grateful for the break from Edric.
“Of course it’s gonna force their hand,” Phyr hears Alice shriek as he approaches her through a narrow concrete vomitorium. “The motherfucker just started a countdown timer until Eversummer becomes part of the Forgotten Wastes! The others are gonna have to do something to resolve the impasse, because now it finally can’t last forever! But do you think they’re gonna see reason, or take drastic action?! Either way, Dickhole up there’s gonna be sittin’ pretty - it’s not a matter of whether it works, it’s a matter of how many people suffer and die until there’s no more fight left in the world!”
The guards make way for Phyr as he walks up to them. “So which did you do,” Phyr asks as Vector and Alice turn to look at him.
“Excuse me,” Alice says impatiently.
“When it was you and yours on the chopping block - did you ‘see reason’? Or did you take ‘drastic action’?” She looks at him like he’s stupid for a second, and he continues: “Someone had to be Last of the Breed, right? You gave in, others suffered and died, and you joined up. So which was it? Seeing reason or drastic action?”
“I did what someone would eventually have done,” Alice says slowly and sternly, “Because the threat was staring us all in the face. All anyone could do was try to make good on it after the dust settled. This is different - he is creating the threat, not responding to it.”
“Isn’t he, though,” Vector asks. “I was in Salinas, I saw what Ceena’s war machine did to that city. Instead of drawing it out, Edric is taking decisive action - I think he damn well is responding to a threat, by not letting it play out and cutting it all short.”
“But it’s gonna play out,” Alice groans, pulling at her hair with both hands. “He’s just making it faster!”
“Just like you did, right,” Phyr asks. Now Alice stares at him like she’s stupid. “The whole thing played out after you said Yes to them, just faster.” She fumes silently for a moment. “It’s like Vector said, two months ago or whatever in Supermax: it’s already gotten ugly. Everyone’s hands are dirty. He can’t change that - but this is only Phase Four. Phase Five is still a post-money economy, and getting there is gonna suck, but things will get better after that.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he listens to me,” Phyr says insistently. “Edric may be corrupt, but Deirdre isn’t evil. The going’s gonna be rough, but Dee works best with her back against the wall. Maybe it just needs to get to that point, one way or another, before it can all be turned around.” Alice is flabbergasted, and she looks to Vector in appeal; but he just shrugs and tips his head in Phyr’s direction. “I gotta head back up,” Phyr concludes with a sigh, “So are you gonna play nice during the show, or do we have to put you back in your box early?”
Alice stares levelly at him for a beat, then takes her seat in a huff. Vector and Phyr share a nod; then Vector sits back down next to her while Phyr returns to the skybox.
By the time Phyr has returned to Edric’s side, the quake has finally ended, and the dam is in place. Edric takes his speaking stone back up and addresses the crowd once more as the scrying windows blink out of existence:
“The Grand Dam is the key to peace on Third Earth: while it diverts all the Long Fall into the sea, the armies that threaten the good people of the nine provinces will crumble apart. It cannot be destroyed, for the very water that flows through it powers its shields, and I have teams of guards, technomancers, mages, and engineers in place who shall see that it is maintained in working order. We here in Altilluvia will be fine: the very same technology gives us plenty of mana potions to keep our own farms thriving under the very same shields; and I have a store of noob dung to ensure that any guerrilla strikes that make it through our natural defenses are swiftly put to rights. We are safe, and we shall share that safety with all who come to us and bow to my rule. And when the war is won, there is a Great Valve that will redirect the water right back down the Long Fall, restoring all to how it was before! So do not worry: if your home is threatened, you shall have a new home here. And after the equinox festival is over, you all may go and spread the word of what you have seen. But for today: eat, drink, and be merry! Your High King commands it!”
Edric finally sets the speaking stone aside and takes his seat once more. Applause builds slowly throughout the stadium, gradually gaining volume until it reaches a fever pitch. Whatever anyone thinks of his plan, it is nevertheless decisive action, and they can do nothing to stop it - and win or lose, no one thinks it wise to show the least defiance to the man who just declared himself High King with a god at his left hand.
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