Amelia Thornheart

Chapter Forty-Four: Human Mince

The next day, with only a few hours until they landed at Asamaywa, Amelia was dragged away from her game of Drunk Demon’s Hand where she’d won a significant chunk of Dagon’s monthly pay and was led by Serena out and onto the deck of the Vengeance.

“Wow!” Amelia exclaimed, stepping out into the open air and pointing towards the front of the ship. “You can see the airflow!” Like the aircraft from her world, the Vengeance had flaperons. The large panels that extended off the port and starboard side of the ship's hull could be adjusted from the bridge to affect the ship’s roll and help generate lift. An opaque air stream erupted from their tips, trailing the ship's length.

“It’s called trailing vortices,” Serena explained. “Happens due to differences in pressure along the flaperon. Atmospheric conditions around the Nai inlet and its mountains are ripe for it when we’re at full sail.” She gestured, and Amelia saw the enormous port and starboard sails fully deployed and catching the westerly winds. Good winds could reduce fuel usage by as much as a third, and most vessels took advantage of this fact as much as possible.

“Here,” Serena said, leading Amelia to the railing and pointing down. “That’s Nai.” Far below was a plateau city tucked into the end of an inlet. “They were the last kingdom in the East to fall during the Long Discordancy and the first to re-establish themselves. See how their position is uniquely defensive?”

Amelia nodded. Mountains hugged Nai on three sides and only a thin path a few kilometres wide was passable between the mountains and each edge of the inlet. On the eastern side, this gap narrowed into nothing as the mountains reached the continent's edge and on the western side the passage opened up to the vast expanse of the wilderness.

“Only one chokepoint to defend, right?” Amelia asked. At the end of the western passage, a large wall separated the territory of Nai and the wilderness beyond. Of all the plateau cities she had seen so far, Nai looked like it had cleared the wilderness further from itself than any other, although the total area was likely less than Kenhoro’s surroundings. “Hey,” Amelia continued, pointing down. “You can see earthworks where each previous line of defence was.” It looked like Nai expanded its territory in no fewer than a dozen separate offensives throughout the centuries.

“You’ve got good eyes,” Serena said approvingly. “Each Terra Firma’s Overlord closely controls territory expansion. If we take too much too quickly, it’ll trigger a reaction and the ensuing monster wave could wipe out a city.” Amelia nodded. She found it incredible how this sprawling Empire was forced to coexist with this great wilderness and its dinosaur-like inhabitants.

She glanced over Nai and its surrounding towns. Dozens and dozens of small fishing vessels were sailing from one side of the inlet to another; nets spread wide. In a manner similar to waterborne fish in her old world, the continent edge was where the majority of airborne fish life was found in this realm. “Looks like living here would be cosy!” Amelia called out happily. Nai reminded her of a quaint seaside town.

“It’s a popular holiday destination for the citizens of the Three Sisters,” Serena replied. “Nai is Nina’s favourite city. House Halen owns a small estate in one of the towns. It should be…” Serena's eyes narrowed as she searched the land below. A moment later her brow furrowed and a frown appeared.. “...I’ve forgotten,” she eventually mumbled.

“Must be so nice to be so rich you can forget about all these extra homes you own!” Amelia grinned and began strutting about the deck in her best impression of a stuck-up noble. “Why yes, Sir Chesterfield! The theatre was most- oops!” Amelia pretended to trip over something. “Oh my! What was that!? It appears to be yet another estate I own. They seem to pop up everywhere these days!”

Serena rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her belt-holstered pistol. “You trying to get shot again, idiot?”

“Always,” Amelia fired back with a smile.

“Don’t forget, you’re soon going to be so rich you can begin buying multiple homes across the East,” Serena explained pointedly. That morning, Amelia signed an updated contract. Some of the provisions of the previous contract revolving around Amelia needing to use her healing powers on Serena’s orders were possibly illegal now she was a Lord-Prospect. Nevertheless, a new contract was signed where Amelia was simply an advisor to Serena - now Lord Halen - and her monthly pay doubled to two thousand four hundred denarii! It was an enormous sum, equivalent to three hundred soldiers!

For now, House Halen was handling her funds until all the official paperwork for bank accounts for House Thornheart could be processed. House Thornheart! Amelia was the newly minted head of her very own noble house! In the near future, she’d even get to create her very own sigil and have her insignias crafted! Amelia wasn’t sure what her sigil would look like, so she needed to find time to go over records of other houses for inspiration.

“The Three Sisters will come into view soon,” Serena said, pointing to the horizon. The Three Sisters; the cities of Asamoto, Asamaywa, and Asamino were where Serena grew up, with Asamaywa being home to House Halen’s core estate and the academy they would soon be attending as instructor and teaching assistant. They would stay at the estate where Serena’s mother resides. Judging by the expression Serena made on her face when talking about her, it seemed the mother of Amelia’s girlfriend would be much less accepting of their relationship than the soft-hearted father!

Well! Amelia would simply have to kill the woman with kindness! If she saw how powerful she was, surely the demon mother would come to understand how safe and protected her eldest daughter was from Amelia’s wards!

Right?

Still, a small ball of anxiety refused to go away, and Amelia was glad to be distracted by the beautiful sights offered by the Vengeance’s deck. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing towards an area outside Nai where some kind of worksite was established against one of the mountains. “A mine?” Rail was laid into tunnels, and Amelia’s sharp eyes could see they were bringing out minecarts filled with rock.

“Ah, not quite. They’re building train tracks through the mountain. Soon, Nai will become connected by rail to the Three Sisters. With the help of mages, they’ve been blasting their way through the mountain range for more than ten years now. I think they’re on target to finish next year.” Serena had a look of pride on her face, clenching her first. “Once it’s done, it’ll be one of the greatest achievements in the East! To tame even the mountains themselves!”

“Mmm!” Amelia hummed happily. “Do you think I should help? I could-”

“Idiot,” Serena interrupted, reaching out and ruffling Amelia’s hair. “Let us have our achievements! Knowing you, you’ll level half the mountain range and walk away whistling!”

“Hehe…” Amelia smiled, retying her hair. As she tried to think of a comeback, she spotted another point of interest. On the outskirts of one of Nai’s towns was a series of great stone pillars formed concentric circles from which long columns of pillars stretched to the east and west. The construction seemed important as the nearby towns avoided building near them. “What’s that?” Amelia asked, directing Serena’s attention to the mystery.

“That’s the Needles of Nai! Guess who put up all those stone pillars?”

“Uh, the Empress?” Amelia guess.

“No one knows!” Serena declared with a sly smile. “They’re old. Really old. I’m not exactly sure how the archaeologists know but apparently it was built thousands of years before even the first human caravans arrived in this realm! They could be five thousand years old! Imagine what they’ve seen. To those stones, the Empire itself must seem young! See those two columns extruding from the main circles?”

“Yeah!”

“They align perfectly with the summer and winter solstice. Whatever ancient demon civilisation built them, it must have been a grand undertaking.” Serena cast a glance at Amelia. “Why did they build them? What gods were they worshipping? Was it a site of religious pilgrimage… or something else? Very mysterious, aye?”

Mmm! It was tremendously mysterious! Amelia quickly filed the Needles of Nai away as yet another tourist destination she would visit! The pair made small talk as the Vengeance crossed over the Nai inlet into the mountains. Not long after, the Three Sisters came into view.

The sight was breathtaking! Across the eastern edge of the mountain range, the urban centre presented a great conglomeration that was perhaps ten times larger than Kenhoro! Amelia could make out the three distinct built-up areas that were the plateau cities of Asamoto to the north, Asamaywa below it, and Asamino below that. However, these cities had long been joined into one huge metropolis with buildings and towns sprawling out not just on the ground floor but throughout the mountain range!

There seemed to be a never-ending stream of ships docking and leaving. Dozens of plateau lifts moved people and cargo to and from the ground while it was all interconnected by an extensive web of tramlines and rail. Even from this distance, Amelia could see so much movement constantly going on. Grand buildings, larger and more impressive than anything she had seen in Kenhoro were littered about. The architectural style of the Three Sisters was similar to Kenhoro, with tiled garble roofs, although there seemed to be a much greater usage of stone than wood.

She turned to Serena and saw her girlfriend looking at the distant metropolis with a gentle smile. The last time Serena was at the Three Sisters was over a year ago.

“Welcome home!” Amelia chirped. “How does it feel?”

“Good,” Serena said. “But also, an unusual feeling of… tension. It’s strange.” Serena shook her head, and with one last look at the horizon, walked away from the railing. “Come on, let’s get ready.”

They made their way through the ship towards the captain’s quarters. On the way, any sailor they passed would offer a quick salute to Serena. Interestingly, many of them also nodded towards Amelia. Her recent ascension into Cascadian nobility had caused a notable change in how she was treated on the ship, and everyone seemed to treat her less casually and talk to her in a more respectful tone.

Except for the ship’s Head Cook, who seemingly would have ordered the Empress herself to do the washing up should she ever have dinner on the Vengeance. Last evening, Amelia’s protests had been ignored and she’d somehow been corralled into another short shift in the kitchens. “Once a chef, always a chef!” had been the rallying cry that had shut down her complaints. Still, it was nice to feel part of the team, working towards the common goal of feeding the hundreds of sailors aboard the ship.

“Something you should know,” Serena said once they’d returned to the familiar Captain’s Quarters. Serena shut the door and sat at her desk. “The Three Sisters has almost no human population. There are no human districts like in Kenhoro. You’re probably going to be stared at. A lot.”

“I can handle being stared at.”

“Of course. Of course…” Serena nodded, twiddling her thumbs. “I just want to prepare you. It’s not so much discrimination you’ll face as much as curiosity. Not many humans pass through the Three Sisters; most human travel in the East only goes as far as the cities on the northern edge: Kenhoro, Tanhae and Nachon. That travel will mostly be natives of the Sabanis Dominance and sometimes the Federation. Chances are you’ll be the first blond-haired human a lot of the public have seen outside of photographs. Some areas outside the city might have never seen a human in person.” Serena shrugged. “It’s going to be different from Kenhoro.”

“I suppose my lovely eyes will only add to the spectacle of my arrival?”

“Ha!” Serena leaned back in her chair. “That’s one way of putting it. Yet, it’s not the general public I’m most concerned about. Experiencing your capabilities is very different from only hearing about it from rumours which have no doubt spread all over the Three Sisters. You’re young, and some might outright deny you’re a Speaker. You’re human, and some might disregard your new-found nobility. Just… don’t expect to make friends with everyone.”

Amelia nodded. “Alright, I’ll keep my expectations low.” It was perfectly understandable and Amelia didn’t carry any assumptions that anyone would automatically accept her. At least, not until they witnessed how cute and powerful she was.

“And finally…” Serena took a breath. “There’s my mother. She’s a bit…” Serena held out her palm, turning it this way and that. “Not exactly a lover of humans. It’ll take more than one meeting before she warms up to you. I received communications from our estate earlier this morning. She’s expecting us for dinner. So, just…” Serena sighed. “Expect some awkwardness.”

Well, this hadn’t helped with her anxiety one bit!

“Now I’m dreading it,” Amelia said, prompting a sympathetic smile from Serena. “Still, it’s just us and her, right? Nina is still working in Centralis.”

“Right,” Serena nodded. “We can manage it.”

“Hmm… Captain,” Anathor piped up from the mounted moose head on the wall. “Communication just came into the bridge. You might want to hear this.”

“Tell me, Anathor.”

“Hmm… it’s your mother. She communicates her delight at seeing her eldest daughter after so long. She looks forward to having you and Lord-Prospect Thornheart over for dinner this evening alongside Greatlord Oshiro and his wife.”

“Ah…” Serena bent over the desk, head in her hands. Those hands moved upwards and firmly grasped her horns. “Fuck.”

“You seem anxious,” Tomes said, peering through his spectacles from his desk. The quartermaster was doing paperwork, scratching away at the paper. Amelia couldn’t help but pace back and forth, stopping only to practice her curtsy in front of the room’s mirror. After Serena left to oversee the docking process, Amelia couldn't bear to sit around and had come to Tome's quarters to distract herself. Not long after, they had been joined by Dagon, who had just been relieved by Serena.

“She’s got a very important dinner coming up,” Dagon intoned from the room’s sofa. The First Officer sat reclined, picking his teeth with a toothpick. “Heard it from the Cap’n. Guess who it’s with, Tomes?”

“Hmm…” Tomes looked thoughtful. “Given that we’re coming into dock in Asamaywa, the wonderful home of our famous Captain…” the quartermaster tilted his head with pity. “It was nice knowing you, Miss Thornheart.”

“S-she can’t be that bad!” Amelia cried, exasperated. Her knot of anxiety had grown into a monstrous ball. “Serena’s father was nice enough! And her sister! Why’s everyone looking at me like I’m going to be eaten!”

“They call her the Devil of the East,” Dagon said, moving his fingers to dance the toothpick across his hand and back. “Aint that right, Tomes?”

“Right you are, Dagon.” Tomes looked at Amelia with a solemn expression. “Men stutter for a week after receiving one of her verbal lashings - isn’t that right, Dagon?”

“Damn right.” Dagon flicked the toothpick into the bin. “One small slip of etiquette, you’ll be chewed out and what remains served for supper. Ain’t that the way things are, Tomes?”

“Spot on,” Tomes replied. “Remember that pretty little noble she dressed down at that ball? It’s been a year and she hasn’t left her estate has she, Dagon?”

Ahh!

“I feel sick,” Amelia groaned. “Tomes, is this curtsy okay?” She performed her best curtsy, utilising every bit of enhanced dexterity her new body afforded her.

“Hmm…” Tomes adjusted his glasses. “Seems passable. The real test will be the dinner. Isn’t that right, Dagon?”

Dagon nodded. “The Devil of the East is known to keep a particularly fine table. Hopefully, Miss Thornheart here remembers how to carve.”

“C-carve!?” She didn’t know how to carve! “Surely I won’t be expected to!?”

“Listen,” Tomes said, leaning forward with one hand extended in the mock action of a carving knife. “Carve away from the bone.”

“Away from the bone. Right!” Amelia nodded intensely.

“If it’s venison, cut it in thick slices. If it’s mutton, medium. Beef, thin.” Tomes motioned the sizes with a finger and forefinger, and Amelia tried to burn them into memory. “Oh, and if they serve choco, try not to saw at it. Long, smooth motions.”

“Away from the bone, away from the bone. Venison thick. Mutton medium. Beef thin.” Amelia chanted the knowledge to herself with one finger on each temple.

“Aye,” Dagon said. “But be careful, they might go super fancy and serve human.”

“Human? What do I do then!?”

“Human? You take the knife and sort of…” Dagon took a hand and mocked a mincing motion against the sofa cushion. “Mince. Quite thoroughly.”

“Right, right,” Amelia muttered. “Venison thick. Mutton medium. Beef thin. Human mince.”

Dagon sniggered, and then he and Tomes burst out in laughter. The sudden change in atmosphere knocked Amelia’s mind into gear.

These… these idiot demons!

Amelia scrunched up a piece of paper and threw it at Dagon, who headed the projectile across the room towards Tomes, who slapped it straight into the bin. If Amelia weren’t so annoyed, she would compliment them on their demonstration of teamwork!

“Very funny,” Amelia sarcastically intoned, folding her arms. “This is your revenge against me winning your wages, huh!?” In response, Dagon chuckled, reclining and flashing Amelia his chunky white teeth.

“You’ll be fine,” Tomes said with a smile. “You don’t become such a well-known figure in eastern social circles as the Lady of House Halen without having tact. You’re a Lord-Prospect and a Speaker. She might prod a bit, but she won’t cross the line, even if she doesn’t like you.” He shrugged. “Besides, the Captain will be there; she’ll bail you out.”

“Nah, she’s gonna be too busy clutching her horns, Tomes.” Dagon piped up. “Greatlord Oshiro and his wife are going to be attending.”

“Oh dear,” Tomes mumbled. “At that point, you might as well invite the Dragon and be done with it.”

“Not helpful,” Amelia complained. She was going to complain further but was stopped by the ship rocking slightly and the structure creaking. The ever-subtle hum of the ship’s lift engine whirled down.

“There it is,” Tomes said. “We just docked.”

They had arrived in Asamaywa.