The grand temple of Viirium was debatably one of the largest and most impressive structures ever created by (mostly) sentient life. Acting as both a place of worship, as well as their governments new base of operations, the crimson red pillars that kept it stable towered into the sky. Reaching towards the heavens that their goddess seeked to conquer next after she was done with the material plain. It's floors crafted from the corrupted stone of Barrad, they were an impossibly deep shade of black, almost as if stepping foot in these hallowed halls would send one straight into oblivion.

Indeed, for the majority of the Hundreds of thousands of slaves and automatons that had worked tirelessly on this mega project over the years, these hallowed halls would indeed become their oblivion, their corpses simply becoming another material for the construction . And yet, for as grand as the halls of the temple were, today they were practically empty, those few who were there doing their best to keep to the shadows. Viira was in a foul mood today, and everybody knew better than to stand in the path of an angry goddess without a VERY good reason.

She sat in her private chambers, the size of the average Griffonian peasant's entire house, stocked with the greatest luxuries from across the world that her subjects could obtain, her beautiful robes and bedsheets crafted from the softest silk. Her furnature crafted by the most talented equestrian wood workers out of exotic woods from the jungles of south Zebrica. However, there was nothing in the material world that could make her feel better about her subjects utter incompetence. Watching the battle through a magical projection of the area, until at least she could at last no longer hold her tongue.

"I have given you everything you could possibly have needed. Clockwork warriors, battalions of loyal warriors on enough performance-enhancing stimulants to bench press an elder dragon, and I directly froze all the rivers in your path solid. So, please explain to me HOW THE FUCK YOUR ARMY WAS ENCIRCLED BY ZOMBIES!"

Viira screamed into the magical communicator she was using to contact her commander whose name she did not know, and quite frankly did not care to learn. The halls softly shaking from the sheer energy her rage was producing as any subjects in the halls outside for their lives to escape another potential discharge.

"THEY ARE JUST A BUNCH OF WALKING CORPSES! I WOULD SAY THAT ANYBODY COULD HAVE OUTSMARTED THEM, ALTHOUGH CLEARLY THOSE HUSKS ARE ONLY THE SECOND MOST BRAINLESS THINGS ON THAT FUCKING BATTLEFIELD"

"W...well my goddess" the commander whimpered into his communicator, very aware that the wrong word would cost him his life "w...we were not expecting them to have tanks, I...if you could offer us some more support..."

Viira stared silently in shock at the insolence of the pathetic excuse of a man that was supposed to be holding her northern border against the dread league, her hair, and then entire body starting to glow as unimaginable magical energy flowed through her. To imply that somehow HIS failure was HER fault? The piercing gaze of her ethereal purple eyes shot daggers into the poor fool, even though he couldn't actually see her stare, he could somehow still feel it searing into his face.

If looks could kill... And very unfortunately for him, in this circumstance they very much could. The commander, and pretty much anybody within 50 feet of him, was turned to ash near instantaneously in a flash of magical energy. She then projected a message directly into the heads of her remaining subjects on the battlefield: "IF YOU HAVE NOT BROKEN OUT OF THIS ENCIRCLEMENT WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR, I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF." Just as she was finishing her message though, there was a faint knock.

Fully prepared to turn whoever was at the door inside out for daring to disturb her in her private area, she restrained herself when she noticed the familiar mechanic glint in his gem eyes. She did not bless him with a smile, but the cold gaze of indifference was MUCH preferable to her fury.

"Greetings my goddess, I have come to discuss with you another potential invention that could turn the war in our favor!"

Viira let out a groan, she should have known that Leopold would only ever show his face outside the workshop to beg for more funding
"Very well, what useless pipe dream do you wish to drain the empires coffers for this time?"

Leopolds respectful smile did not falter at the goddess's harsh barbs. Indeed, it actually grew a little stronger at the fact his idea had not already been shot down "Do not fear my goddess, the prototype is already functional, You do not have to spend a coin until you see it in action. Do you have the time for a quick demonstration, or shall we book an appointment for later?"

Viira let out a small sigh. If anybody else had shown such presumption to her, she likely would have had them whipped for her amusement, yet she must admit, she had a small soft spot for the mechanical bird, and it was undeniable that his clockwork workers and warriors had done wonders for the nation... "Very well, lead the way."

Leopold beamed, leading the Goddess, still faintly glowing from her earlier magical outburst, down the hall "As you know, we have been experiencing a... Shortage of qualified leadership", Leopold explained as they made their way down the seemingly never ending halls of the temple. Of course, he left out the part about the reason for the shortage being viira's refusal to properly train them, as well as killing them at the slightest inconvenience.

"However, Asinti and I have been working on a solution to that particular issue. And we believe we have finally figured it out" Viira raised an eyebrow at that. Asinti and Leopold had both always been loyal subjects to her since she obliterated that insane fool Ambrosius, but they occupied 2 very separate spaces. To see them collaborating on a project like this, without her having to force them no less, was a rare event indeed.

The 2 finally arrived at Leopolds workshop, finding Asinti, and to her surprise, a very confused-looking silver star already waiting. Although the zebra and lich both straightened up and stood up in respect as viira walked into the room. Frankly, to call it a room did not do it justice, it was more like a warehouse. Across the long stretch of its walls, hundreds of prototypes for Leopold's toys dangled in various states of completion, half of which she could not even guess their purpose.

Especially mysterious was the contraption in the center of the room. It seemed to be a computer like the kind they used in overseas universities, however it was gigantic, towering at least 3 times her height. From it, wires flowed like vipers leaving their dens, all connected to a strange table. Leopold gestured for the other 3 to follow as he made his way over to the table, dismissing any clockwork workers into the halls so they could talk in private.

"This, my goddess , is the answer to our high commands lack of experience. "Leopold then flicked a large switch on the wall nearby as the slumbering giant whired to life, the lights flickering at the intense energy demands required by the groaning computer before eventually stabilizing, causing Leopold to let out a small sigh of relief that he did not plunge the temple into darkness. Suddenly, an explosion of light erupted into the space above the table.

It took their eyes a second to adjust to the magical projection. It was split into 4 separate sections facing each side of the table, each of them displaying the same message. "Input required". Viira stared at the device in confusion. How could this possibly train her men in leadership?

"Now tell me, what's the problem with mock battles?" Leopold posed the question rhetorically. Although he did not have any cards with him, viira could tell by the way he stood that this speech had been rehearsed many times in preparation for this moment

"they take forever to set up, cost too much equipment needed on the front lines, and they do not simulate the harsh realities of war. They don't simulate being ambushed, they don't simulate disease ravaging your camp, they don't simulate the fog of war, they don't simulate death! We need to train in actual combat. However, we cannot risk sending green generals against actual opponents, and decimating our own forces is not cost-effective. However, I believe me and Asinti have figured out a way to accurately simulate-"

Suddenly, the ex-slave made his way to the front. Viira could not help but let a small smile inhabit her face at this. They were clearly quite proud of this. "This is no simulation." Asinti corrected the mechanical bird. "This is hardly even a computer program, one would more accurately call it a machine-assisted spiritual projection. It works by-" Viira was paying half attention to her subjects torrent of mystic jargon with her conscious brain, however, she was deep in pondering about those words with her second mind. Of course, her powers already allowed her to project her consciousness where she wished, but for such a power to be possible for the non-magical could be truly revolutionary.

"Please Asinti, our goddess is a busy woman, she does not need to endure your rambling." Leopold suddenly cut off his companions rambling, the zebra shooting him a glare in return. Viira was glad to see working together had not changed those two. "We could sit here and explain the technical aspects of this marvel until the Blue Moon festival, however..." Leopold bent down next to the chair, pulling out a strange looking mask of some sort, connected by wires to the table

"Perhaps it would be easier if we just showed you."

Author's Note

Hey! This is part 1 of my submission for the EAW contest that I'm publishing early to get general feedback. So, any praise/critisism you have would be greatly appreciated