Azur Lane: Sunset

by madhat886

Chapter 25

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In his office George Frederick Ernest Albert the king of the United Kingdom read the latest report of magical items found in Britain. Thanks to the visiting American Klabautermanns who can sense magic, they have found several items that are indeed magical. They just had to present the object to one of the American Klabautermanns and they just told them if it’s magic or not.

The biggest find was what was found in Fyvie Castle in the hidden room in the charter room. The curse is very specific: death to the lord of the castle or blindness to his wife if anyone disturbs it. To get around the curse using the radio of the American Klabautermann who went to the castle to see if there is anything magic and did found there is magic in the hidden room, George just strip the lord of the castle of his title and rank, leaving the castle without a lord. The American Klabautermann then broke into the hidden room and found another magic cube that Sunset used to summon the Klabautermann. (1)

The cube is now under heavy guard and being studied to unlock the secrets of the cube. The lord was given back his title a a large reward for the magic item, to incentivize others to search their homes for hidden rooms that might contain a magic item. Which has many people now searching their homes for hidden rooms that may contain a magic item, word of the magic cube the same kind that the new Russian Empress has in her possession has already spread in the newspapers.

That discovery lead to a race to find more magic cubes, searching and looking through ancient records for any mention of magic cubes. Nations posted huge rewards for any found, along with anything magical in nature, with living beings being worth more alive. Which seeing how villagers in an India village had wanted to eat the flesh of the female naga captured by soldiers who open fire on the mob after someone had said that eating her flesh will give them magical powers, it’s needed to protect them from people who believe in such tales. Like how in Africa there are people who believe that people who are albino, if eaten will grant them powers or having a part of them will grant them good luck.

George made it clear that any living magical creatures found are to be treated well and kept alive at all cost. He has the authorities in all the colonies of the empire combating misinformation about magic, especially concerning the living ones, as rumors and plain wishful thinking about cures and other things that can happen if eaten or processing a body part. Anyone caught trying is to be shot and if they survive hang, to serve as a warning to everyone else. The naga has already proven her worth in revealing magic knowledge, while the dead villagers didn’t offer anything. (2)

With Sunset not answering any letters, he had to communicate through Maria about the wisdom cube. Maria wrote back that the cube if used incorrectly will be used up to summon only one Klabautermann, Sunset using magic is able to get around the one time use. Leaving George with the problem of having a wisdom cube but if he uses it wrong it be only a one time use, like a match. And to create a new one, Baba Yaga has admitted to Maria that wisdom cubes are older than her and how to make a new one she has no idea. All she knows that it is possible to create a new one by having enough magic energy and using one to make a new one, or make an object into one that can summon Klabautermanns. George is trying to have the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross to be the magic object to summon Klabautermanns. (3)

All this interest in magic and how the Roman Klabautermanns who were around when Jesus Christ was alive, has caused conflict with the Church of England. With many claiming what they’re saying are lies, while the Roman Klabautermanns point out why would they lie about it? What would they gain, they’re not humans and have nothing to gain from telling them the truth of what the real Jesus was like and not the one that only exist in the imagination of wishful thinking and what they need their savior to be, to justify what they do. And that they’re not using it as an excuse to allow them to do horrible things and say it’s for their god that only exist in their head. And that he was a middle eastern man, not a white man.

As for him being son of god, the Roman Klabautermanns said that was added later, he never once claimed while he was alive to be god’s son. That what his followers did after he was gone and turn on each other to gain control of the faith they created around him that he never had wanted. And with centuries passing after the events of the New Testament with hearsay and political tampering, the Roman Klabautermanns barely recognizing it when they read a copy the Bible. The Vatican has been quite about it and hasn’t made a statement about magic or what the Roman Klabautermanns are saying. (4)

Groups have formed against the use of magic, saying it’s against their god. But the governments aren’t going to stop researching magic, if they don’t other countries will just leave them behind. Which George made it clear where he stands in learning magic, either they learn or the power of the empire will weaken as the 4 countries that do have Klabautermanns become stronger.

There was talk of Wilhelm being forced to abdicate the throne before their niece made herself known to be still alive and has magic powers. With him giving up his right arm and using the German Klabautermanns to rebuild his nation, has cause a turn around in his popularity with his subjects. He’s already made laws protecting magic users and non humans in hopes of attracting them to reveal themselves and join the German magic department he created.

The magic scepter that allows him to summon and order the German Klabautermanns around has other powers besides summoning. He’s able to move objects around by telekinesis, agents seen him showing off by lifting war wreckage and clearing the area in a matter of minutes. The agents did report that Wilhelm was tried afterwards and had to sit down, Sunset did say that using magic is draining, even if one is using a magic tool to do it, taking a mental and physical drain.

Wilhelm is teaching his son Friedrich how to use the Zauberer Scepter, which is the name he has given to the magic scepter. Agents has seen the crown prince using the scepter to summon more Klabautermanns, testing it on smaller ships, bringing to life several old tugboats and smaller sail boats. He had to stop as he said his head started hurting, which his father told him that using it too much will do that.

In the Ottoman Empire, sultan Mehmed VI Vahideddin is also teaching his heir in using the sword to summon Klabautermanns. If the sword has other powers, Mehmed hasn’t shown it yet in public. The Ottoman Klabautermanns are also rebuilding the empire and strengthening the royal family’s hold on their lands.

The American government is still split and the upcoming elections will be eventful for the country. There are stories of the American Klabautermanns who are staying in the country, making themselves home in the black communities and other minority communities. Where they’re rebuilding homes and helping the people there while doing nothing for the white communities that are racist to the minority community. They also protect and attack anyone who tries anything, with the local law enforcement unable to do anything without being crippled for their trouble. A picture of a black Klabautermann holding the still alive white sheriff who has his arms and legs removed made the headlines. And there was nothing anyone could do as only another Klabautermann could fight another Klabautermann.

Besides it was tried and in Tulsa, Oklahoma the white community was completely destroyed. Some Klabautermanns had made themselves home on Black Wallstreet as it’s called. Some white men had blown up one of the Klabautermanns with a bomb, it worked but the other Klabautermanns nearby went on a rampage with them using their real ship bodies to fire upon the white community till the ones responsible were given over to them. The ones responsible were lynch and left in the ruins of their town. There was much outrage but the Klabautermanns just responded that they’re just treating the whites as they treat non whites, so they don’t see why there’s so much outrage when the whites did it all the time. (5)

The Klabautermann that was blown up is being rebuilt by her sister ships. While it is possible to kill a Klabautermann, unlike humans who stay dead. The Klabautermanns can always be rebuilt. (6)

Which is why he made sure that there are laws being push through to give full equal rights to all people who live in the empire. He couldn’t afford to have the royal navy going on strike because of them not being white. The Americans showed what happens when the Klabautermanns are displeased with their country. The United States is now completely defenseless in any naval matters, leaving all oversea territories completely helpless if any nation decides to take them. But with the threat of American Klabautermanns attacking to reclaim anything that was sized, is scaring off any would be attackers.

George turn his attention to the reports of the most powerful country in the world now, Russia under the rule of his niece Sunset. She chase out the Japanese from Korea and has allied with the kingdom. He’s expecting for Korean Klabautermanns to appear any day, in a big song and dance show for all to see. Something that he rather enjoyed, the songs that Sunset knows has spread and given birth to new kinds of music.

Sunset is moving fast, with the Klabautermanns and her not needing either the nobles or the church on her side to maintain her power, there is no one to keep her in check or keep her from making changes. She’s gaining support from the peasants by improving their standards of living. Not caring how the nobles are displeased with the changes she made but with military now being mostly Klabautermanns there’s no chance of causing civil unrest like what happened under her father’s rule.

And there’s Baba Yaga the witch of the forest who is her court mage, with centuries of magical knowledge. With the secret library of Ivan the Terrible being found and the magic books found within, there’s no telling how powerful Russia will become. Along with Tesla who has his own city where people like him could study and research magic and new technologies. Russia if far ahead and only gaining strength.

George seeing how Sunset is taking an interest in Asia and in Japan, he has given the orders not to give her any reason to take an interest in them. She kicked out the Japanese from one Asian kingdom already and there are other kingdoms. China with all the unrest happening there and there’s word of Puyi the emperor of China seeking to ally with Russia. Once Sunset makes her move, all he can hope for that England won’t be caught in it.

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Author's Note

1 - The sealed room that has a curse on it is real in Fyvie Castle.

2 - Some people are worth more than hundreds of others, especially when those people offer nothing of worth.

Like picking between a soldier who is trained as a field medic over a YouTube influencer who videos are about celebrities and what new fad is hot, in a zombie outbreak.

I shouldn’t have to tell you who is more valuable to have.

3 - The game doesn’t explain where the wisdom cubes come from or how they’re made. So I’m making things up.

4 - One of the oldest surviving bibles has a note written on it asking people to stop rewriting a page on it. As books back then were all hand copied and for anyone who has ever hand copied something from a book for notes, how many times have you taken shortcuts in writing or added something that wasn’t on the document you’re copying?

With that said would it really be that big of a surprise that people who hand copy the Bible didn’t change things by adding and taking out things?

5 - As I said before I’m not going whitewash or pretend the ugly side of history didn’t happen just because some people rather just pretend it never happen. Like what happen in Tulsa, Oklahoma where a white mob destroyed the black community and has taken almost a hundred years for the city to admit it happen.

6 - That’s the main problem with mechanical beings. They can be destroyed but keeping them from being rebuilt is a completely different problem.

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