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The strength of a nation is now measure by the number of Klabautermanns the nation has in its service. With how the Klabautermanns are able to regenerate their cargo, they quickly pay for themselves. Oil tanker Klabautermanns are the second most sought after Klabautermanns, with them being used to replace fuel sources. They don’t make as much oil as an oil well but for smaller nations, the oil tanker Klabautermanns are a keystone resource.

The tanker Klabautermanns are brought at high prices from the nations that are able to summon Klabautermanns, with some poorer nations becoming bankrupt from buying just one tanker Klabautermann. As the Klabautermann cost isn’t just from the cost of the building of the ship but also the cost of filling the oil tanks of the tanker Klabautermanns. As the restoring the cargo of the Klabautermann only works if they have a cargo to restore in the first place.

For all the hardships in gathering the money to buy a tanker Klabautermann or use an already made oil tanker ship or build their own for the summoning reducing the cost. The tanker Klabautermanns quickly paid for themselves as they reduce the need to import oil. The Klabautermanns couldn’t restore their cargo quickly as it took hours and lots of food for them to do that.

The cargo that the Klabautermanns carried on them can all be restored by them eating, but there’s different rate for what type of cargo. Food items are the fastest to restock, fuel is in the middle, while restoring ammunition takes the most. Other cargo items also have different rates of being restocked and how much food they Klabautermann needs. Because the Klabautermanns are able to eat anything, the food given to them could be things that people didn’t like eating or couldn’t eat. But the smart nations know better than feeding their Klabautermanns poorly.

The cargo of precious metals is tightly regulated and restricted to stop inflation from happening. With the metals going to the mints and treasuries, as there is enough gold, silver, and copper to make lots of coins. But there is a huge market for precious metals and where most of the metals ended up, as they’re used to make electronics for the new machines that are coming out of Russia. For gold, silver, and copper make excellent conductors for electricity.

The most sought after Klabautermanns are the warships, having proven themselves in the Great War. Against human soldiers, only weapons that can damage a warship could harm them. Combine with how they can turn themselves back into full-size warships crewed by armed copies of themselves, who are much weaker and easier to kill but make up for it with being much stronger then a normal human and as long as their warship body is intact, more copies could come out and fight.

The need for Klabautermanns soon outpaced the rate that shipyards could build a ship, as warships could take years to finish. Causing nations to turn to the older ships and shipwrecks, to sure up their numbers. The submarine Klabautermanns have all but found all the sunken wrecks and picked up the sunken treasures. With some digging up wreckage from places where a ship sank but was too deep at the time to get and was buried over the years. The submarines also began mining and gathering resources underwater that humans couldn’t do without expensive equipment. (1)

Soon the shipwrecks that could be found were all gone, with only the shipwrecks that are in far off locations or in very deep waters left. Leaving nations especially the landlock ones dependent on buying ships or Klabautermanns from the nations that could build or summon or both, for ships or Klabautermanns. Some nations used river ships, much smaller then some of the ocean going ships but are still better than nothing.

Then there is the knowledge of magic, needed to be able to summon a Klabautermann. Magic schools have sprang up in just about every nation, learning the secret magical arts that have all but been stamped out by the church. Said church has lost much of its power as government leaders are now ignoring them as they spoke of all magic being the work of the devil. For they see how advance and powerful the Russian Empire has become.

Under the rule of Empress Sunset, the once backwards and stuck in the past nation has become the most powerful nation. With both science and magic, she turned the vast country into an empire that past rulers could only dream about. A network of countries where trade flowed, alliances made, and an army completely loyal to her. The factions that past rulers had to deal with, have lost most of their powers as the royal family alone now controls the army. And for the people, the Empress has made sure that their standards of living has been raised, where they have food, clean water, shelter, medical care and other things that they didn’t had before that made their lives easier.

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Russia -

Like how her human family usually ate together during meal times, Sunset continued to uphold that tradition. Having lunch with her husband James and her 4 year old daughter Katarin. Sunset is eating 3 whole roast chickens with onions and potatoes by herself, due to her size and using magic burns up lots of energy, Sunset is a big eater. James is having beef and cabbage with a melted cheese with chunky tomato broth. Katarin is eating grilled fish with mustard and mushroom sauce. In the room with the royal family is Standart and other Klabautermanns standing guard.

“How are things going with the transportation department?” Sunset asked James.

Since marrying into royalty, James had to learn how to act and present himself as the emperor of Russia. With his past experience working in the transportation and logistics while he was still with the US army, James was place in charge of fixing the mess that was the roads and train lines. Which he did before he married Sunset as he helped her with getting the trade goods and other supplies from one place to another. It’s how he got so close to Sunset where romances between them just happen.

“Going well enough. The Klabautermanns at the transport hubs are keeping a close eye on all important shipments. The main depot is always busy,” James said.

The main depot, named Romanov Western Depot is the main transportation hub for trains for the western half of the empire. The terminal is used to transport workers and cargo between several industrial facilities. The Romanov Eastern Depot does the same for the eastern half of the empire, nearly all trains pass through the depots.

There has been lots of trains going to Groznyj Grad,” James said.

“Tesla is working on making a new electrical engine to make electrical powered automobiles,” Sunset said.

The door open and a Klabautermann came in with a telegram. She handed the telegram to Sunset who reads it.

“Roosevelt is dead,” Sunset said.

“He’s dead?” James asked surprised at the news of his old general’s death.

“Death must had taken him while he was sleeping, otherwise there would had been a fight. We must prepare to attend his funeral. He was my general after all,” Sunset said and looks at Katarin. “You be staying here with grandma.”

“Ok,” Katarin said.

“Katarin is staying?” James asked.

“Why?” Sunset asked.

“Well, it be nice for her to meet my side of the family,” James said.

“True…, my side isn’t that close,” Sunset said as most of her family she treats with disdain. “We just double the Klabautermanns that be coming with us than. And grandmother can hold things down while we’re gone.”

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Author's Note

1 - There’s lots of resources under the sea, but like getting oil from the sea bed, would cost a lot to get.

2 - In real life Roosevelt died in 1919, he lived longer in the story thanks to some magic healing.