The air was cold and the pines and spruces of the forever green forest were covered in glittering snow. The NATO battlegroup had scouted the wilds over the last two weeks but hadn't found anything interesting or important. The ships were lazily traversing the sky above the untouched, primordial forest. The land below was harsh but bountiful. Full of wild animals and monsters alike...

"It's so boring!" Victory complained.

"You've made me aware of that issue twenty-seven times already." Captain Fiona didn't even raise her head from the report she was preparing. After a moment, she put away her fountain pen and looked at the Elf-like golem with a sigh. "However, I will agree with you. By all observations, this is just a snow-covered forest."

"I'm glad this assignment will end soon." Victory deliberately set up as many red flags as possible.

"End? We've only mapped half the wilderness. At this rate, we will spend the next two or even three weeks mapping the rest of this Gods forsaken place." Fiona stared flatly at the window.

The golem sighed and puffed her cheeks. "The Ebrusians are sweeping the southern parts of the forest and they, at least, found some ruins."

"To be fair we found ruins as well."

"It was a watch tower! It barely counts! They found an entire city!" Victory protested. "I-" Her eyes went wide. "The Metakan Fifth Fleet just discovered the site of an ancient battle. They requested our immediate support."

"Proceed on a course straight to the flagship!" Captain Ravenna ordered in the tone of someone who had just avoided a death sentence.

"Aye, aye, Ma'am!" Victory immediately saluted.

•••

"By the everlasting flame of Empress Hestia!" Fiona exclaimed in shock seeing the well-preserved wrecks.

"I'm calling Avalon right now..." Victory stated that while the Captain simply nodded her head. "I'll be damned..."

"What?" Fiona focused her gaze on the Golem.

"I'm detecting multiple Balantican signatures. Among them is Spear of Annihilation, the flagship of the Balantican Empire at the time of their fall." Victory reported and hesitated for a moment. "However... It's dormant, Captain Fiona. The ship is in a much better state than Vishnu at the time of its recovery by Arcadian forces so the reason why the battleship is dormant is unknown. I tried to hail it but there was no response."

"Great... As if fighting with golems in Vanushka wasn't enough." Fiona sighed heavily but the communication officer raised her hand.

"Ma'am! Avalon on the line!"

"Open channel!"

"Aye!" The officer flipped the switch and the translucent figures of Emperor Theon and Empress Amber appeared on the bridge.

"I would like to say good afternoon everyone but that claim is not certain until we determine whether those ships accept Amber. If not, this might be a very ugly afternoon..." The Emperor welcomed them with a sigh.

"I would rather not repeat the Vanushka scenario..." the Empress shook her head in a tired expression. "Let's proceed, Captain Fiona. Ask the Metakans and Iceleonians to remain at a safe distance. We explained everything to Guad who is going to join us in a few moments."

"Yes, Your Imperial Highnesses!" Fiona bowed her head.

The ground forces were deployed at the fringes of the ancient battleground. Two companies of the Praetorians and one company of the Mobile Infantry simply jumped from the Victory's deck. They slammed to the ground without choosing to be slowed down by the fall absorber gel. A fall from that height would kill any normal person but the advanced armours of Praetorians and their undead nature protected them from the fall damage. The Mortal soldiers wearing the Living Armours were nearly impervious to the environmental damage and all of them were the most elite Guardsmen. They swiftly split into mixed formations and entered the closest Balantican derelicts.

"The state of the wreck of the Balantican flagship is unnatural. Without periodic maintenance, the wooden hull should have decomposed a long time ago." Victory commented on the sight transmitted by the team investigating the hull. "The interior bears some evidence of fighting so most probably, Spear of Annihilation was boarded... That is very surprising. I have no records of the Balantican ships ever being boarded."

"I assume it was due to the strength and technological disparities between the Balantican Empire and its enemies?" Theon Avalon asked calmly.

"Yes, my Lord." She confirmed. "I can't imagine a scenario where the Balantican battlegroup was forced into a situation where they were boarded. Normally, the battlegroup should disengage and retreat."

"Oh? In that case, I am going to prepare you an entire series of simulations. I can't allow your imagination to be this limited..." The Emperor chuckled. "By the position of the wrecks, I can safely assume they were making their last stand, Victory. The Balanticans had nowhere to run, this was, most likely, their last outpost. The question is, who defeated them?"

Victory nodded and, a few moments later, Emperor Guad joined the illusions of Emperor Theon and Empress Amber. The Arcadian rulers were explaining something to the Metakan Emperor, who occasionally nodded, but the audio was muted. In the meantime, Victory watched in anticipation as the team made their way to the ship's core room. The doors were closed but the team managed to open them without triggering any alarms.

"The room is one big mess, Ma'am..." The Mobile Infantry lieutenant leading the team commented. The inside was very dark and, before enough soldiers entered to illuminate with their Armour's light sources, it was too dim to properly observe it from Victory's bridge. "It looks like something exploded here."

"Because it did, Lieutenant." Victory clenched her fists. "It appears the Central Core underwent its self-destruction procedure. I'm shocked that the ensuing fire did not devoured the ship... Wait. If the Core Chamber is still relatively intact, can you retrieve the log slates? They should be in one of the places I highlighted for you through the Sentinel Network."

"A black box?" Theon Avalon looked at the golem with curiosity.

"Something like that, my Lord but far less sophisticated." Victory confirmed. "They are a copy of the ship's logbook and an independent registry of the major encounters and events."

"It's still useful." He nodded. "Captain, once you confirm the status of the remaining golem ships, begin active scans of the area. If there is even a splinter remaining of whatever destroyed the Balantican battlegroup, I want to know everything about it."

"As you wish, my Lord!"

The minutes stretched into an eternity before the reports started coming in. All the Balantican golem cores had undergone a self-destruct procedure but the core on one of the smaller vessels, somehow, retained its basic function. However, the main data storage on that ship was completely erased and the cracked golem core had retained just a few automated functions. One of them was maintaining the ship and, since the small vessel's bow was blown into pieces, it was considered connected with the other wrecks and, thus, the mystery of why wrecks were preserved was solved. Victory had begun scanning the area and, while preliminary results weren't promising, Captain Fiona Ravenna continued scans while Victory focused on the Balantican ships.

"The Balantican ships weren't scavenged. All remaining weapons and shields were in their places." Victory commented on its newest discoveries. "However, all of them are destroyed and I can only describe it as done manually... Each cannon, shield rune, and other supporting systems were destroyed."

"Your Majesties! We have found something!" Fiona raised her voice. "It's large. Nearly the size of a Sabre-class destroyer and... It's metallic!"

"Send two recon teams in a CB-90, Captain Ravenna. Victory, continue the inspection of the Balantican wreckage site." The Emperor ordered. "Once you receive the logs and access them, inform us with your findings."

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•••

We were sitting in the war room of the Palace while a detailed hologram was built in front of us. Before the Metakan Emperor joined us, Amber and I decided that, depending on how well preserved the Balantican ships' systems were, we should share some information and perhaps some technology of the Balantican Empire with our allies. It was the best way to prevent them from hiding any future discoveries from us. Guad was calmly sitting on the opposite side of the round table and diligently observing everything.

"Should I know something about your connections with the Kingdom of Balantica?" Guad asked.

"It wasn't just a Kingdom, Guad... I'm the successor to the Balantican Empire." Amber shrugged with a sigh. "It's complicated... By the time we discovered something more substantial than just records and testimonies of my past, we already had ships like Dauntless. So no, I see it in your gaze. We haven't used Balantican tech to accelerate Arcadian magitech..."

"I wasn't exactly asking about that... But hey! Good to know. I was more concerned whether there were some remnants of that... As you say, Empire, just waiting to kick us in the butt while we relax for a moment." Guad sighed.

"Oh, definitely!" Amber chuckled bitterly.

"Great..." Guad rubbed his face with a tired groan.

"It shouldn't be a huge problem." Amber waved her hand dismissively. "I was acknowledged as the rightful heir so the Balantican magitech should obey me. That being said, as a general rule of thumb, do not approach that tech when you find it, even if you think it's broken. Hmmm... Especially then. It's not worth it."

"No, seriously, Guad." I stopped him, seeing his disbelief. "The tech we shared with you and the tech you are going to develop in a decade or two on your own or in cooperation with the rest of our allies should be on par with most of what you could find on Balantican ships. There may be one or two things currently too advanced for you but we are going to share most of it with you anyway."

"Okay..." He nodded, very slowly. "To be honest, there are some things we would like to have access to but I trust you. If you say we will be able to obtain a similar or better magitech on our own, then there's no need to risk exploring the Balantican derelicts just to cut the time... We learned it the hard way. I guess we would have to understand Balantican magitech in the first place, so we won't save that much time, after all."

"Correct..." Amber nodded. "I assume you have found some Balantican artefacts?"

"Indeed. I can give you a list if you want but it's nothing particularly important. Or, just like you said- anything you already had." He answered honestly but suddenly hesitated. "Although... Hmmm... We have fragments of Balantican clothing. It's a fascinating material, light but extremely durable and resistant. We weren't able to replicate it. We would be very interested in obtaining that particular technology if it's possible."

"Hmmm..." I hummed and looked at Amber. "I don't recall anything like that in things we found."

"That is interesting, indeed." She nodded with a thoughtful expression. "Could you send us this material? I could check if we found something similar or have any knowledge about it in the archives we found."

"That would be great! If our scholars are right, that material would be perfect for Navy uniforms." Guad brightened.

In the meantime, the illusion hologram on the table grew considerably showing the details of the area surrounding the battleground.

"I think we can share that technology with you, as long as we have it, of course." I nodded at Guad under Amber's approving smile. "To be honest, I thought about Balantica-related knowledge. I think we are going to share their history, law, and description of their magitech with our allies, albeit the latter without details. I would like to properly understand all their magitech before we share it. But, sooner or later, some of their tech will be available for study at the Royal University of Avalon."

"We appreciate the openness of Metaka and Iceleon as well as your involvement with the NATO operations. In turn, we would like to increase, over time, the new study directions available for foreign students in Arcadia." Amber joined with an optimistic smile. "However, we need to make sure it's something even worth teaching as a separate discipline instead of simply making it a course. Some things should stay in the past, and the Balantican Empire is one of them."

"I'm glad to hear that but I wasn't expecting so much disdain for their legendary and mysterious nation. Anyway, I will trust you that there is nothing worthy of studying in the wrecks we found." Guad shrugged.

"Once we make sure they are safe, we can invite your scholars to the more detailed investigation later in Avalon. You will see on your own that there is nothing particularly impressive." Amber decided and I nodded in agreement.

"That's great!" He smiled, a bit surprised by Amber's statement. "As the heir of the Balantican Empire, you have all rights to all discovered artefacts. But, if it's true that Arcadia has already surpassed the Balanticans, then I guess shedding light on the mystery of the Balantican Empire shouldn't hurt you."

We fell silent for a moment and watched the newest wreck slowly revealed on the table. It was a rusted-out ruin, full of holes, and without any details suggesting how it might have looked during its peak. However, I could already tell that this ship was far more technologically advanced than the Balantican airships, although its capabilities remain a mystery. It was obviously a steam-powered ship with the remnants of the unmistakable paddle wheel on its side. I noticed that Guad's eyes widened.

"Our scholars were working on similar propulsion systems for our ships..." He admitted in a hollow voice. "It's an advanced system we developed over the years when we pumped and desalinated the oceanic water. But only recently have our scholars realised how much potential the steam has..."

"Steam-powered ships were in use for nearly two hundred years of which one hundred fifty years were their peak usage..." I hummed with crossed arms. "They were very close predecessors to the ships that the Arcadian Navy took many design choices and inspiration from."

Amber and Guad looked at me with a mix of tension and relief. It was a stare of people who knew, very well, the implications of my words but still dared to hope that I had a ready solution. Of course, everything depended on how this potential enemy had progressed since these were active and what technological level they currently possessed. However, if their ships weren't much better than the wreck we discovered, their threat level wasn't much higher than the Balantican. After all, a steam-powered ship was the same target to a missile as a sail ship. I was about to comment more, but we received the urgent transmission from HMS Victory. I immediately put it on the speakers.

"My Lord! I managed to read the data slates retrieved from Spear of Annihilation. It looks like the Balantican ships were destroyed by the single ship belonging to the Dark Empire. The logs are hectic and devoid of many details but it's clear the enemy possessed overwhelming firepower." Victory's voice was serious. "The Balantican forces were exchanging fire with the enemy for nearly two hours and it seems like both sides were very dedicated to killing each other. The fact that a single enemy ship was able to fight six Balantican warships is very disturbing."

"To be honest it's a very good sign, Victory." I smiled instead. "I assume that the Balantican wrecks were not drastically better than IBF Vishnu?"

"No, my Lord. In fact, IBF Vishnu was a top-of-the-line frigate while the ships in the Spear of Annihilation battlegroup were much older. While their golems were more experienced, their systems were in far worse condition than Vishnu's." She replied.

"Now, with your current armament, how long would it take you to destroy a similar Balantican Battlegroup?"

"Less than ten seconds, my Lord." Victory answered almost instantly and I almost felt how awkward she felt about it.

"Since that warship needed nearly two hours to, basically, trade itself for the Balanticans', I'm still pretty confident we can fight them. How long ago did this battle take place?" I asked confidently.

"Over eight hundred years ago. According to the data slates, the descendants of the ships' crews managed to create a small but functioning community right here. You were right, my Lord. Balanticans had to stay and protect this place. If you are willing to look, we might find some remains of their town."

"There are no records of Balantican survivors finding their way to Metaka?" I looked at Guad.

"Nothing I'm aware of." He opened his hands in a shrug.

"The records say that they never managed to reach out to the local population. However, knowing the bias of the Balanticans, we can assume they were happy they had no neighbours. The closest known people lived in Ebrus, hundreds of kilometres away." Victory added in a helpful tone.

"Hmmm... So, eight hundred years ago, a Dark Empire had steam-powered airships." I summed it up. "Depending on what the Dark Empire developed since then, their technology might be a challenge or nuisance for the current Arcadian advancement level. However... I can safely assume that their ruler or someone close to the Dark Emperor was a summoned Hero. So a lot of things will depend on their knowledge drive and whether the Dark Empire improved their technology."

"Eight hundred years ago, the Dark Empire sent a scouting mission to Aderon and, since then, they had not returned." Amber leaned back on her throne and put her hands together. Her expression was as if she had bitten something very sour. "We don't know what it means or if the Dark Empire still exists..."

"I don't like it either..." Guad ruffled his hair. "I know that I ask for much but we need something more substantial than the promise of your help in case of any attack, Theon. The Dark Empire conquered the entirety of Aderon at one point."

"Right." I nodded with understanding. "For now, I will deploy two destroyers and four corvettes, once they are ready to station in Metaka and Ebrus. Their radar systems, combined with the technology I'm going to transfer to you, will help ease fears once your people find out about this... Hmmm... I think we have to discuss an expanded Arcadian presence in Metaka, Guad."

"A similar base to the one you have in Iceleon?" Guad tilted his head.

"Ummm... That base is more of a winter resort than a military base, but kinda?" I felt how my Poker Face triggered, masking my blush. "I will investigate the situation and let you know but, most probably, I would like to subjugate more Dungeons. With a bit of luck, there are some along the shoreline."

"There is one..." Guad nodded and looked at me with curiosity. "But why on the shore?"

"Because I'm going to build an Iron Dome mixed with Aegis Ashore..."

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