Synthetic Survivor: Machine Age

The pounding barrage of artillery echoed in the darkness and under the moonlight they came in the hundreds. Thousands of metal men surrounded the once proud Freetan Theocracy, confining them into a small stretch of land a few kilometers that surrounded their territory.

Their capital, the city they were most proud of and once housed the most powerful magic user in the entire theocracy, was getting reduced to nothing more than heaps of rubble and scrap.

The grand pillars of their cathedral collapsed during the first onslaught. The collapse killed a thousand worshippers and frightened commoners who sought shelter inside. The Pope's Estate was never recovered, before the first onslaught even began, it was thoroughly scrapped and its materials used for barricades.

They barricaded themselves in, every nook and cranny of their houses, shops and buildings were emptied. They got anything they could lay their hands on, anything they could use to protect themselves.

Alas, everything was in vain. Their efforts mattered not for their enemy has made it so they were indeed doomed. Not even their goddess whom they worshipped with all their hearts and poured their energy to came to save them.

The heroes she called upon received her gifts but did not answer her calls, all of them went their own way, abandoning her and the Theocracy. The Blue Goddess, as she was known, watched from the heavens above as all her efforts were crushed beneath her.

"It can't be.. it cant be!" She said to herself.

"These demons, these vile demons! I should have listened, I should have listened to the Higher Deities. I was a fool"

The ruling magic council of the Theocracy sent word to the other countries, even sent a magic message to the Republic and the Empire. Their neighbours replied in scorn, they did not want to get dragged into a war they knew they would lose. The two superpowers? They said they will look into it but no indication that they would send even the slightest of assistance.

The Dioz Kingdom to the south suffered its fair share of problems. The Freetan Refugees clogged their roads and swarmed their frontier cities and towns. Banditry became rampant and a severe famine took hold in several frontier provinces.

"Your majesty, dissent is spreading amongst the populace here in the capital! They demand that you prevent the Freetan refugees from threatening our borders further!" The chief advisor told his king. His king was sitting on his throne, quiet and blank.

He opened his mouth to speak only for him to utter a single word.

"No"

The entire courtroom went abuzz with whispers. Several influential nobles raised their voices and voiced their objection to the king's decision.

"This is outrageous!" One of the nobles shouted while he pointed his finger to the direction of the window behind him.

"Beyond this wall, beyond this castle and beyond our capital lie our citizens! Our people, be they the lowly peasants to the riches of the merchant class, we need to protect them! We need to secure them and ensure our own future! Why must his majesty let these people from another country who had harassed us, mocked us, insulted and killed our people entry into our kingdom?...

The noble went on to call one of the servants. The servant brought with him a wooden c.h.e.s.t, there was something inside that was moving.

"Behold!" The noble announced as the entire audience of the courtroom watched him with clear intent.

He opened the c.h.e.s.t and pulled from it a severed head.

The entire room was filled with gasps. Many whispered to each other and many were outraged.

"Why did you bring such a defiling abomination in front of our king!?" One of the king's advisors shouted.

The noble looked him in the eye and continued.

"This abomination that you speak of, is my son! My heir, my blood and my child!" He announced in a bout of anger. The entire courtroom was abuzz once more, this time the atmosphere was leaning towards the noble.

He threw the severed head across the courtroom, landing a few meters from the king. The head was already a few days rotten yet the dark blood still somewhat tainted the carpet.

The king, however, was unfazed with the reckless and disrespectful actions of the noble. He just stared at him and then stared at the head. He observed it for quite a bit while the courtroom settled down, it was sacred law to silence oneself when the king shows interest at a certain object and was quiet.

Even the noble knew that rule well and obeyed it. Regardless of his position as a noble, if he were to disturb the king with his anger even if the king showed interest and kept quiet, he will be hung and his family sold off.

The king took a few minutes before he raised his right hand. He closed his eyes and his mouth and gestured with his left hand for the entire court to sit. The court obeyed and all except the noble was not standing.

The noble, though he feared for his life, swallowed his doubts and his woes and readied himself to face whatever the king had in his mind. He was ready to give it his all, even if in the end he was to be executed, even the slightest of change was enough for him to accept his fate.

'All I want is justice' he said in his mind.

The king opened his eyes and lowered his hand. He stared at the noble for a few more seconds before speaking.

"Justice" he said.

The noble did not say a word, he began to sweat and this was not a normal reaction for him. He was nervous, not because he feared punishment, but because he feared that his efforts may only be in vain.

"In my kingdom, justice is above all. The law must always uphold this justice for it is a sacred right to each of my citizens. I understand your frustration, I understand your anger. You wish for me to proclaim these fleeing people our enemy and bar them from our country, but won't it do more harm than good?"

The king's words stunned the court but none spoke a word and only turned their attention to the noble.

"How can something of a proclamation such as that do harm for the kingdom?" The noble questioned the king. The king chuckled.

"We have enough forces and manpower to do the proclamation but what if these fleeing people start hatred against us?" The king asked.

"They are of no concern! My king, can you not see what has happened to their beloved church? To their armies and mages? They have all been wiped out. Not even the Pope survived.."

Some nodded while others raised their chins.

"May I remind you, your majesty, that Pope killed your father and took your mother from you before she too was killed" the noble became a little restraint in his tone. The entire courtroom fell silent upon hearing his words.

The king stared at him, though he did not speak or move, the noble saw in the eyes of the king the anger that he had kept hidden and secure in his heart.

"Your majesty.." the noble humbled himself and knelt before his king.

"Please.. save us from these people.. they have taken much from us, why should we allow them to take even the land, the property and the homes of our very own people?" The courtroom looked at the king, his eyes gleamed with emotion.

"I do not want, nor will I let them take more from us!" The king's tone changed and his voice was rough and deeper. His expression changed to that of a snarl and he trembled on his throne.

"But.." he said.

"I fear that we may need these people. These metal men that we have heard have performed wonders and disasters. To think they would defeat the Freetan Theocracy and even kill their most powerful mage was something that only the elite of the elite states could do. We cannot stand alone if these beasts that we call the metal men sharpen their fangs and point them towards us, do we not?" The king reverted to his original state. Calm and collected but observing and calculating.

The noble understood the point the king was making but his stubborn heart won't let him accept it.

"Your majesty, we still can't let this be!" He said. His stubbornness became apparent when the king tried to mediate a deal that would have lead to a decision that was neutral for both sides. The noble was having none of it.

Soon, the courtroom was abuzz once again. This time they disapproved of the noble's disagreement and stubbornness.

"How dare you act in that manner and refuse the king's decisions! What else do you want? !" Shouted the king's advisor.

One of the younger nobles raised his voice, a daring move that would soon change the course of the kingdom's history. His action was unprecedented in the sense that nobody, not even his closest allies expected him to make such a bold move.

"I will lead a delegation to talk with these metal men!" He announced when he stepped forward from the crowd of older nobles.

"What?! Preposterous!" One of the older nobles shot his suggestion down. "You are basically committing suicide young man! Do not embarrass your late father with your stubbornness as well!"

The young noble smiled. Ignoring the objections of his seniors and his fellow junior nobles, he walked towards the stubborn noble and bowed to show his respect.

He then turned towards the king, saluted him as a military officer and knelt before him as a noble respecting and honoring his wise king.

"Your majesty, I implore you that you accept my offer. Peace may still be achieved even in the slightest, we can't expect the Republic or the Empire to look after us. We are merely insignificant ants that are stuck on a small piece of land to the south!" The young noble begged.

The king rubbed his beard and asked him.

"Who are you?"

The young noble lifted his head and answered.

"I am Fedrix, your majesty"

The king started to stroke his white hair before falling silent.

The courtroom went silent, the king was again showing interest and was deep in his thoughts. They must not impede in any way.

The young noble and the stubborn noble stared at each other, nodding in agreement and fright of what was about to transpire.

"Fedrix, if I recall correctly, your father was an astute military commander who served the kingdom with his brilliance both in the field of combat and in the war room. He brought us glories and many victories throughout his service, am I correct?" The king asked.

"Yes, your majesty" the young noble answered.

"Then, with such a background and you being a military commander yourself, how can you possibly lead a peaceful delegation to these metal men? We are talking about diplomacy here, talks that can become a powerful tool or a dangerous weapon" the king made his doubts known to the young noble.

The young noble smiled and answered with confidence.

"Your majesty, a commander of the army does not always plan or lead battles. We also need to lead negotiations with the enemy be it a cease fire, a white peace, or even a surrender. I have had experience with such negotiations and my father has thought me many more techniques and ways before passing away. I assure you, I will not disappoint"

The king smiled back after seeing the confidence he had after he said his answer.

"Then, I will only allow you if the noble beside you agrees to come with you" the courtroom gasped and once again they whispered at each other. The king was ready to make his decision and he only needed the stubborn noble to finally accept.

Everyone looked at the stubborn noble, some were frowning at him while others were just staring at him with open mouths.

Seeing the pressure that was crushing him from all sides, the stubborn noble's heart was broke open.

"I.. I accept.. your majesty" he said.

The courtroom erupted into cheers and joyful shouts.

"Long live the king! Long live the king!" They shouted in unison. Everyone formed a circle around the two nobles who were brave enough to state their opinions and even challenge the king. Though their actions, specifically the stubborn noble's, were completely unacceptable, the fact that the king let them be was proof of their success.

The king was not weak nor was he manipulated but it was he who was most with victory on his side. If the delegation was successful, it would spare them the need to accommodate the refugees alone or, if push came to shove, would lighten their loads if the metal men proposed killing off the refugees in exchange for the Dioz Kingdom's acceptance and obedience.

But the king knew he had to find a way to not become a vassal or a puppet under them. Though he thought that such a thing was more than likely to befall them if the metal men imposed harsh treaties that would undermine their independence, he needed to find a way to lighten the load.

For Fedrix, his plan worked. He would be given a chance to talk with these metal men whom his father claimed to have seen in a dream of his a day before he passed away. Fedrix was only a young child of 10 when his father passed away when he talked about the coming scourge. The end of the world, as he coined it. They called him mad and the very next day when he died, his warnings were forgotten by everyone except his son whom was resolute to finding out the answer.

"I hope you are ready, Sir Gilfred" the young noble said to his partner.

"Fool, we could've saved us is trouble if we just massacred these people who trespassed our border. You are only leading us to our deaths" Gilfred said.

"Then why did you accept? The king gave you a choice, did he not?" The young noble snickered.

"If I rejected, I would have been executed" Gilfred said.

The young noble smiled as he got the answer he wanted.

"If you look at it this way, either way we go, we will die"

The king smiled as he finally reached an agreement with everyone. He had other plans if such talks were to be successful, he would now be counting on Fedrix and his stubborn old partner to lead the delegation.

"Then, I hereby declare, the creation of a delegation to lead talks between our kingdom and the metal men. May peace and prosperity forever reign above us!" The king announced when he stood from his throne the joyful cheers of the court filled the room everyone went their own way with a smile on their faces when the meeting ended.

Most of them left with a smile, Gilfred, on the other hand, drowned in his anger.