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- Sep 7, 2019
- Location
- Jurassic Park
Friday, November 5th, 1886
Emily Caldwell, the 28-year-old Empress of the Caledorian Empire, was unbelievably tired right now. She’d been under the illusion when she’d come of age ten years ago that she could do exactly as she liked, but ruling one billion souls while raising a son virtually by herself since the death of Prince Consort Julius when he was two disabused her of that notion. And she’d hardly slept a wink in the two year duration of the Surabamba Rebellion, which had just concluded this September in the Empire’s favor, and had to peacefully stop the Great Whalers Strike last year that halted almost all shipments of whale oil and nearly caused economic disaster.
Then, just this morning, she’d received a scroll from the Imperial Eye confirming the “accidental” death of Eastern Orngath Commander William T. Scovetska in a boating explosion that she’d ordered after he overruled her direct command not to massacre innocent civilians at the Battle of Sanctuary Trench, the final battle of the war. Even though this had resulted in the needless deaths of 10,000 Surais, Bambans and merfolk in the capture of the underwater city, the rumors he resented her and had been organizing a military coup finally pushed her to make this hard decision.
To say Emily needed a vacation was a understatement.
But now she couldn’t sleep because her seat inside the sparsely furnished and slowly lumbering Goliath was rumbling from its slow, heavy movement. It also constantly swapped places with two others on the narrow, frozen forest road that concealed Castle Abrulla de Aberycymru, at the northernmost point of the northern Abrulla mountain range and just south of what remained of the Columnis Glacier, in order to conceal which one held the Empress.
Emily now fervently wished for a vacation from her vacation.
Not that she minded the spartan accommodation; she’d have more than enough pampering once she reached the castle. Meanwhile, while on tour at the Battle of Dha Saluna in May towards the end of the land campaign, she’d ridden inside a Goliath to show the soldiers that she wasn’t above them. And when she’d convened the Imperial Senate together with her advisors and ministers of government into the Imperial Concordance to announce her intention to holiday until February 5th 1887 (aside from a brief return to the capital of Radiant City for Foundation Day on January 1st- she wouldn’t miss that for the world!) and appoint Sir Roger Perth as Steward to sign bills on her behalf, they had informed her that it was predicted to be too windy for the royal airship, Twin Blessings, too icy for her houseboat the Empress Minerva, and too slippery for an autocarriage. The Goliath did have the ability to remain stable on the ice due to its sheer weight, so they were quite right to advise her to use it. But it did have to take so long?
“Wesley,” she wondered in the direction of the private to her left, “do you have any idea why we have need so much security?” More than normally accompanied her everywhere, in any event. She couldn’t even go out to her own lawn without a security retinue these days.
After he finished picking his jaw up off the floor and pointing to himself in disbelief that Her Royal Highness, Mother of All Caledoria would talk to him, Wesley replied, “W-Well, Your Highness, our orders from the Eye were to be on the lookout for any Surai or Bamban assassins who may hold a grudge. So we brought three Goliaths today and are taking a great deal of care with our ruse.”
“First of all, in here it’s just Emily. Please, I insist,” she begged, also sighing at the mention of her clairvoyant babysitters. “And second of all, I thought that my visit had soothed the spirits of my subjects.” In truth, she had been nervous that her speech to the assembled crowd at the Port of Chenkarat on September 28th hadn’t been quite effective until a few moments after she finished when the throng broke out into cheers.
“True...but there are always malcontents.”
“Quite right, unfortunately,” Emily said, exhaling some guilt as she replayed every strategic choice she’d ever made in the prosecution of the Empire’s largest war since her father James ordered the conquest Surabamba in the first place during the Goliath War in 1865, carried out by her uncle and regent Fitzpatrick. Even at the age of seven, she’d questioned whether this was a bridge too far...but she knew that once they owned it, losing any territory to rebellion could mean the end of the entire nation, so had decided to carry on with the war, ethical or not.
But Emily was jarred out of her reminiscence when the Goliath suddenly came to a halt, throwing her, Wesley and most of the other soldiers to the floor.
“Whatever is the matter?” she exclaimed once she recovered her footing.
“Ma’am, it appears we’ve encountered a broken down carriage in the road,” the pilot said as he viewed the situation from one of the two massive portholes in the front of the mechanical monster. “Should we shoot it? This is a common ploy used by Abrullan bandits to ambush convoys such as us.”
“Gods, no! I’m going to investigate.”
“Your Highness, if I may!” the copilot attempted to object.
“Hush now. Tell the other pilots to hold formation. That’s an order.”
Emily Caldwell, the 28-year-old Empress of the Caledorian Empire, was unbelievably tired right now. She’d been under the illusion when she’d come of age ten years ago that she could do exactly as she liked, but ruling one billion souls while raising a son virtually by herself since the death of Prince Consort Julius when he was two disabused her of that notion. And she’d hardly slept a wink in the two year duration of the Surabamba Rebellion, which had just concluded this September in the Empire’s favor, and had to peacefully stop the Great Whalers Strike last year that halted almost all shipments of whale oil and nearly caused economic disaster.
Then, just this morning, she’d received a scroll from the Imperial Eye confirming the “accidental” death of Eastern Orngath Commander William T. Scovetska in a boating explosion that she’d ordered after he overruled her direct command not to massacre innocent civilians at the Battle of Sanctuary Trench, the final battle of the war. Even though this had resulted in the needless deaths of 10,000 Surais, Bambans and merfolk in the capture of the underwater city, the rumors he resented her and had been organizing a military coup finally pushed her to make this hard decision.
To say Emily needed a vacation was a understatement.
But now she couldn’t sleep because her seat inside the sparsely furnished and slowly lumbering Goliath was rumbling from its slow, heavy movement. It also constantly swapped places with two others on the narrow, frozen forest road that concealed Castle Abrulla de Aberycymru, at the northernmost point of the northern Abrulla mountain range and just south of what remained of the Columnis Glacier, in order to conceal which one held the Empress.
Emily now fervently wished for a vacation from her vacation.
Not that she minded the spartan accommodation; she’d have more than enough pampering once she reached the castle. Meanwhile, while on tour at the Battle of Dha Saluna in May towards the end of the land campaign, she’d ridden inside a Goliath to show the soldiers that she wasn’t above them. And when she’d convened the Imperial Senate together with her advisors and ministers of government into the Imperial Concordance to announce her intention to holiday until February 5th 1887 (aside from a brief return to the capital of Radiant City for Foundation Day on January 1st- she wouldn’t miss that for the world!) and appoint Sir Roger Perth as Steward to sign bills on her behalf, they had informed her that it was predicted to be too windy for the royal airship, Twin Blessings, too icy for her houseboat the Empress Minerva, and too slippery for an autocarriage. The Goliath did have the ability to remain stable on the ice due to its sheer weight, so they were quite right to advise her to use it. But it did have to take so long?
“Wesley,” she wondered in the direction of the private to her left, “do you have any idea why we have need so much security?” More than normally accompanied her everywhere, in any event. She couldn’t even go out to her own lawn without a security retinue these days.
After he finished picking his jaw up off the floor and pointing to himself in disbelief that Her Royal Highness, Mother of All Caledoria would talk to him, Wesley replied, “W-Well, Your Highness, our orders from the Eye were to be on the lookout for any Surai or Bamban assassins who may hold a grudge. So we brought three Goliaths today and are taking a great deal of care with our ruse.”
“First of all, in here it’s just Emily. Please, I insist,” she begged, also sighing at the mention of her clairvoyant babysitters. “And second of all, I thought that my visit had soothed the spirits of my subjects.” In truth, she had been nervous that her speech to the assembled crowd at the Port of Chenkarat on September 28th hadn’t been quite effective until a few moments after she finished when the throng broke out into cheers.
“True...but there are always malcontents.”
“Quite right, unfortunately,” Emily said, exhaling some guilt as she replayed every strategic choice she’d ever made in the prosecution of the Empire’s largest war since her father James ordered the conquest Surabamba in the first place during the Goliath War in 1865, carried out by her uncle and regent Fitzpatrick. Even at the age of seven, she’d questioned whether this was a bridge too far...but she knew that once they owned it, losing any territory to rebellion could mean the end of the entire nation, so had decided to carry on with the war, ethical or not.
But Emily was jarred out of her reminiscence when the Goliath suddenly came to a halt, throwing her, Wesley and most of the other soldiers to the floor.
“Whatever is the matter?” she exclaimed once she recovered her footing.
“Ma’am, it appears we’ve encountered a broken down carriage in the road,” the pilot said as he viewed the situation from one of the two massive portholes in the front of the mechanical monster. “Should we shoot it? This is a common ploy used by Abrullan bandits to ambush convoys such as us.”
“Gods, no! I’m going to investigate.”
“Your Highness, if I may!” the copilot attempted to object.
“Hush now. Tell the other pilots to hold formation. That’s an order.”
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