Side Story: The Machina Princess

It’s been six months since the battle that ended the war against the demons. During that battle, my sister and the demon king both vanished, and the demon kingdom fell apart. One had been their chosen one who was supposed to finally grant them their providence, so with him gone, their morale dropped like a wrench down a mineshaft.

I had heard rumors that his eldest daughter had plans to take over, but those plans didn’t seem to be going well. Thus, our kingdom finally saw some peace, and I could get back to working on my projects.

Like fixing my mother.

“Mom, are you awake?” There was no answer when I knocked. There never was. I let myself in like always. She was sitting up in bed and staring out the window at the same spot where the skill trees used to be.

When I was still just a small child, the Demon King Ond attacked and burned down all the skill trees. It had been the worst attack on the kingdom in recorded history, and if not for that Prophet of Light, we would have become defenseless with no way to produce new soldiers or adventurers. Or a new saint… I looked down at my feet before stepping into Mother’s bed chambers. There was solemn air about the place, but it seemed even more so today.

“I’m here to make adjustments, mom. It’s that time again.”

“Ceatha…” She always called me by my sister’s name.

“Yes, mom?”

“My arm hurts. Can you use your healing spell? The one I taught you.”

“Just close your eyes. It’ll feel better soon.”

As I approached her, she had her eyes closed tightly. I could see the dark bags that had formed under them in the forty some years since that day. I tried to ignore them as I took out my screwdriver to begin making the adjustments. The elbow joints always got loose by the time her weekly checkup came around. It was the best I could do working with these ancient machina. No matter how hard I tried to replicate the design, our modern machina was incredibly inferior. Nothing I could make even came close to the quality of these salvaged arms.

After I finished adjusting, she opened her eyes and looked down at her arms, squeezing her fingers together. “Thank you Ceatha.”

“Anything for you mom. I shall take my leave for today.”

She patted my head. “Make sure you take your sister out to play sometime. Being the next saint is a lot of responsibility for a child.”

“I will do my best.” I quietly left the room and closed the door behind me. I started to walk down the hall back towards my workshop, when suddenly I found myself on the floor; the contents of my tool bag were strewn everywhere.

“Whoops, my bad.” A maid snickered as she walked past me with a group of others.

“Careful, you don’t wanna catch what she has. I can’t believe you touched her, Margaret.” They were most likely on their way to tend to my mother. It pained me to know those were the kind of people staffed here, but there wasn’t much I could do. I gathered my scattered tools and put them back into the bag on my waist. It was more trouble than it was worth to deal with them.

When I arrived at my workshop, one of the guards was standing out front of the door.

“Hello, sir. What brings you today?”

“Lady Alima, you have been summoned by his majesty.”

“Again?” I scratched my head. “Tell him I’ll be over after I wash up.”

“He requests your presence immediately, m’lady.”

I stopped and took a deep breath. Ever since the new king took over, he has been consistently unhappy with my work. The old king stepped down after we had won the battle against the demons. Then his son, Baseag, had taken over and immediately began changing a lot of the staff around the castle. As the only machinist in the country, my position had been safe so far, but there was always high tension during my meetings with him.

I quickly grabbed a change of gloves, the only thing the guard would permit me, and headed up to the throne room. After knocking I entered quietly. Baseag was the only one in the room.

“You should know what’s good for you, elf. Kneel before your king.”

This little upstart would always begin our conversations with that. It really puts a damper on everything. I approached him and kneeled.

“You called for me, your majesty?”

A creepy smile crawled across his face. “Yes, good. I’m sure you’re aware why I called you here?”

“I do not, your majesty. I am afraid I was called away while I was still finishing up my morning rounds. Is there some special task you wish for me?”

“Yes, indeed there is. Now that the Demon King has been defeated, we have decided to do some restructuring around here. Did you know, for instance, that there were actually very few demons in that hodgepodge they called a kingdom? Probably a few thousand total in a country with a population in the millions.

“Our current plan is to try and absorb the human settlements in the demon lands. Brodiaea is a human kingdom after all. And with that absorption means expunging any demons who still remain.”

“So, you want me to create a device to help in driving out the demons?”

The king laughed. Baseag sat there laughing while on his throne. The look of it infuriated me, but there was nothing I could do. “I’m afraid that your assistance will no longer be of any concern.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I said it before, right? Brodiaea is a human kingdom. I don’t care if you are half human, or have royal blood, or whatever else. I’m offering you this meager chance only because you are that fool’s sister. You are hereby banished from the Emp- er, Kingdom of Brodiaea. You have until the end of the month to remove yourself and that husk of a Saint.”

“WHAT!” I lost my calm collection that I usually tried to keep. This rotten little upstart! I knew he had it out for me, but this is too far! “You are banishing me? After all I’ve done for the kingdom and its people? And you just tried to say Empire, didn’t you?!”

“That is enough! You should be grateful I’m even giving you this much time! Now, get out of my sight! If I see so much as a glimpse of you, I shall speed up that sundial. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sheesh. I’ll get out of your frizzy mustache.” I very calmly walked out of the throne room, shutting the door gently behind me so that the guard outside wouldn’t be concerned. The throne room was sound proofed, unfortunately thanks to me, so the guard wouldn’t have heard anything. Still, about 16 days to get out of here… it wouldn’t be easy. It would be better than cleaning a steam pipe with a pencil, but not by much. The main issue was moving mother. The workshop I could fit into storage crystals and take with me, so it wasn’t much of a concern. I was really grateful that sis had developed that technique in a way that I could use it, since I can’t normally use photomancy.

Stil… would mother even want to move? Would I have to trick her or take her against her will?

As I was thinking a little too hard, I didn’t notice when I bumped into someone while walking. “Oh, I’m sorry… um…” It was one of the sages from the Tower of Rainbows. “Lord Green?”

“Red.” The cloaked figure replied. The voice was neither masculine or feminine, but it did not seem angry.

“Er, right. Sorry. What brings you to the castle today? It’s rare to see you outside the tower.”

“I have been summoned. I fear it is nothing good.”

“Might be the same as me. I was just banished and have until the end of the month to pack up.”

“I see. That is quite concerning. Did he say why?”

“Something about the kingdom being for humans and something about an empire.”

“Dear me, that is troubling. Perhaps he wishes to withdraw the special rights given to the beastkin? I wonder what of the faeries?” The voice still did not seem troubled, but the figure shook their head.. “Have you had word yet from your sister?”

“No, nothing. I’ve been looking every day for a sign that she might still be out there. It’s always the same.”

“Do not give up hope. I believe in her.”

“Woah? Do you really think so? What makes you so sure.”

“I loved her.”

“You guys are allowed to love?”

“Not anymore. But, I still believe.” The cloaked figure began to walk past me. “Check the southern skies on the new moon. The God of Shadows keeps well to the ground.”

“Don’t you mean the God of Rainbows?”

I could see a smile under the hood. “Perhaps.” And then they walked away.

I will never get used to those people… what could they have meant? Still, the night of the new moon was tomorrow. The new moon was when photomancy was theoretically at its weakest, as neither the sun nor moon were present as a lightsource. Is that why the sage spoke of the God of Shadows? What would it have to do with my sister?

Still, there wouldn’t be much time to think about it. I had to prepare for departure today. The observation could be saved for tomorrow.

I went to my room and stored all of my belongings in my data crystals. I made sure to write on the crystal which ones I was using for each different type of item. It was important to keep these things sorted, so I had a special pen that was dark enough for me to see. It was something that my sister had made for me. I knew I had to find her, but I just didn’t know how...What was it that Lord Red had meant? How was it going to help?

I had everything packed quickly, the next step was to return to the lab to pack it up as well. I still had a couple days until the new moon, so I planned on just sleeping in the lab until then. I would need to make plans for moving my mother out as well. She wasn’t in the best condition to be moved, but what are we supposed to do?

I worked swiftly in packing up most of the equipment in the lab. I had no way of knowing what were my own belongings and which ones had been lent to me by the kingdom, but I didn’t really care at this point now, did I? The only thing I left out was the observation terminal. I had been using it every night since my sister disappeared, and I would need to use it again soon if what Lord Red said was true. It was about midday, so I decided to go get some lunch. Normally I would cook for myself using my magically powered oven, but I had already packed that away. It was a shame that the fire rods needed to produce them were so hard to come by, or else I would have built some for the people in town too.

And speaking of town, that was precisely where I had planned to spend my lunchtime! Today was my last day of work, as it were. I knew that I needed to save money for this journey, but that just reinforced the fact that I should treat myself just a little bit.

I made my way down to the town surrounding the castle. I call it a town, but I suppose it is a big city. I just wasn’t really sure how big other cities or towns were to compare it to. I made my way to my favorite restaurant, a cafe named “Peace of Cake.” Not the most original name, but it was the only restaurant in town run by faeries. It was also one of the few places I did install one of my ovens, so I knew that the food quality was always better than the other shops in town.

“Welcome, Lady Alima!” a faerie waitress flies over to greet me as I enter.

“Nope! Not a ‘lady’ anymore. I got banished.”
“Oh, um. Is it safe to be here, then?”
“Yeah, the bastard gave me ‘til the end of the month, though I will probably be gone sooner. This will be my last visit, so go ahead and give me the specials.”

“R-right away la- er… Miss Alima.”

I sat down at my usual spot at the bar. “Peace of Cake” was a haven for beastkin who liked to come to a restaurant without human influence. It wasn’t that humans didn’t visit the cafe, but most of the ones that came here were of mixed blood like I was. However, it didn’t usually see demon customers. That was why the person a few seats down from me raised some suspicion. I had nothing against demons, even if my inventions were used to hurt them in the war. However, seeing one this deep into our territory was truly a sign of the peaceful time we lived in.

“Here’s your drink deare. Spiced it up a little for your bad day.” The faerie had returned with a cup of tea.
“Thanks.” I took the cup and sipped the tea. It was sweet, and seemed to melt some of my troubles away.

“So, did he say why you were banished?”

“He’s going on some damn human supremacy imperialist kick or something. I would advise having some countermeasures in case he comes after this place. It’s pretty well known that beastkin visit frequently.”

“We have ways to move the shop if it comes to that. Thank you for the warning, dearie.” The faerie bowed and flew back to the kitchen.

“Don’t worry about the faeries. If they get killed, they will just turn to dust and revive from their flowers. All of their possessions and memories are still in one piece…Wish I could be as carefree as those little ones.” The demon at the other end of the bar had spoken up. She had a tired voice, but didn’t seem like she was that much older than I was.

“You sound like you have experience in killing faeries.”

“You kill a lot of things in war. Whether by your own hands or by the weapons you make…”

“I… I suppose so… You stayed here after the war?”

“Was less of a walk than returning back to a country that didn’t exist anymore.” The demon drank down the rest of her glass. “Guess you all will see the cruelty of the humans, too.”

“I see… I hope that is not the case…”

“You seem pretty easy going for someone known as the Machina Princess.”

I tensed up as I looked at her. “I think you have me confused for someone else.”

The demon cackled. “Nope, that reaction settles it. You’re the one that built those damn handheld canons.” She pointed to the weapon I had holstered on my belt. “Those things pack a punch.”

“I can’t take credit for these. They’re all recycled schematics.”

“Still, it was pretty damn smart of you. Using machina to supplement the lack of magic in humans… Ond thought he was so clever wiping out your magic trees and then waiting for the adventurers to get old...” The demon looked down at her glass. “I am just glad the damned war is over. Hopefully that idiot will have been the last Demon King.”

“I am surprised a demon would be able to say that.”

“Demons don’t really have a sense of hierarchy like humans do. The Demon King position isn’t always the same lineage like your royal family or whatever, the title goes to the strongest demon, regardless of sex or status. It just so happens that strong demons usually sire strong demons.”

“So then… shouldn’t the strongest demon become the Demon King now that Ond is gone?”

“If only it were that simple… there is a ritual to the Dark God or something… I don’t really deal with religious stuff.”

“What about Ond’s daughter?”

“What about her? She can’t even use magic. She has been clinging to her daddy’s title and waving it around like it means something. I have a better chance at becoming Demon King than that brat. I’m probably the strongest left alive at least.” The waitress had returned to fill our glasses and give me my food.

“Ah, thank you.” I picked up my spork to start eating my food. The shop’s specialty was a fruit salad made with exotic fruits that only faeries knew how to grow. I didn’t know the names of most of the fruits, but I did know that they were delicious.

“Looks like a crowd is coming. Best to end our conversation there.” The demon pulled her cloak up over her head as she looked out the front window. I looked out and indeed the lunch rush was starting to come in. “Remember the name Skøn, and that nobody is just when it comes to war.” I looked back over to the seat, and the demon was gone. Only her empty class and some coins remained where she had once been sitting.

A few uneventful days passed while I prepared for my observation. I had prepared a mobile chair for mother so that it would be easier to move her around. All I needed to do was follow the Lord of Red’s prophecy…’the southern skies on the night of the new moon’... I pointed my observation terminal to the south. The terminal itself mainly consisted of a telescope, but also included a pair of resonance crystals that could pick up sound from the direction the telescope was facing and relay it to me. I usually had this function disconnected, but I needed every tool at my disposal for tonight.

I looked through the telescope to see the ruined plains where the battle was fought that ended the war. The plains where my sister had disappeared… I held back a shiver that ran down my body, and kept my focus on my instruments.

Hours passed. I sipped my tea to keep awake. I wasn’t really one to believe in prophecies, but I had somehow taken this one to heart. Was I just getting desperate? I sighed and went to pack up for the night, when suddenly the resonance crystals picked up some noise. I looked through the telescope and saw it!

A light.

A single small beam of light was flying up towards the sky. It seemed to travel forever into the stars. I looked around for the source of the light, but the plains were barren. Not a single person, animal, or even plant graced its surface. A moment passed, and I swore I heard a voice through the resonance crystals. Or perhaps it was just a wish?

‘Alima... I hope you see my beacon. I hope you’re still doing okay…’

My sister was alive!

And I knew exactly where to find her.