Chương 27: Megailia

As the outsider boats reached our shores and our flying boats returned, I looked for Olav and my father. I hoped that they hadn't gotten injured during the fight with the sea creature, because I didn't want my father to get hurt, and Olav was both a vital source of information and a family friend. I also scanned the flying boats returning to the island, and quickly realized that the injuries and deaths of the islanders wasn't as bad as I had feared.

Perhaps two flying boats had been lost, but most of the people on those boats hadn't been killed. The island had only lost two or three people, with another few permanent injuries and an assortment of less important injuries. Considering how massive the tentacle from the ocean had been, and how powerful the creature had seemed to be, two deaths and a few permanent injuries was definitely far better than it could have been.

Finally, as I was tallying up losses to the village, I located my father right as the healer finished fixing Sallia's ears. I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked over my father and his colleagues, all a bit shaken up and bruised, but alive. The village chief was also making his way towards Olav. I turned to my friends and family, before I let out a breath of relief. Felix was safe. Sallia was safe. My mother and father were safe. Olav, Claus, and my father's other two colleagues were safe.

Everyone I cared about had come out of this catastrophe alive and without any permanent injuries. My father and the other fishermen were still talking to each other, so I didn't intrude on their conversation, but I waved at my father, to let him know my mother and I were fine. The moment he saw me, he stopped talking mid-sentence before running towards me. Then, he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

"I'll talk with you and your mother later. I'm glad that both of you are safe." My father said. He set me down, before giving my mother a hug. Then, he warily eyed the ocean.

"Stay well away from the ocean for now. And the outsiders." He paused again, eyeing the village chief, before looking back towards Olav.

"Actually, do you want to sit with me and listen? Olav has said that since it's no longer just a personal matter, he'll tell us everything he knows about the outsiders. It won't hurt to learn that information as soon as possible. The outsiders have requested that we give them some space to tend to their wounded and dead, which will likely take a few days. The village chief has decided to allow it. Meanwhile, we will be holding a village meeting tomorrow to talk about what we as a village will do now.

Knowing more information in advance won't hurt."

"Okay, dad," I said. I was very interested in what Olav had to say about the outsiders. It could be a matter of life and death for the village, and even if I was a seven year old with little influence, I still wanted to know as much as I could about potential threats to the village. Sallia, Felix and I followed after my dad as he returned to the small group of people surrounding Olav. Once the village chief joined us, he nodded at Olav, who took the village chief's nod as an indication he should begin speaking.

"The outsiders're from somewhere called Megailia Theuku Uftokraturia, which is like a real big village. But the scale of Megailia's far larger'n one of the villages we live in," said Olav.

"How so?" Asked the village chief, frowning as he listened to Olav.

"How much bigger are we talking? Do they have villages with thousands of people living inside of it, or something?"

"Much bigger'n that. Our village has maybe 700 people? 600-700, give or take a bit? Across all o' the villages of the islands, I'd be surprised if there were more'n 10, 000 people or so. And that's a high estimate for our population, honestly. The capital city o' Megailia has 'bout 30, 000 or 40, 000 people in it. An' they've got a fair number o' smaller villages'n towns that answer to 'em too. They're probably 'round 150, 000 or 170, 000 people total. I frowned, doing some quick evaluations in my head.

Despite the fact that the Empire of Megailia called itself an empire, a population of 150, 000 people didn't make it sound like it was actually an empire. That kind of population felt like it fit a city state more. However, although it didn't sound like we were dealing with a genuine empire, the resources and military of a city-state were still more than enough to overwhelm the islands. I frowned, but my expression began to brighten up as I realized the situation may not be quite as dire as I thought.

While our small village had no way of opposing the city-state 'empire' of Megailia, and even united we would still struggle in a fight against Megailia, geography was a huge factor on military strength. Based on how infrequently people showed up on these islands, it must be difficult to reach our islands from any nearby lands. In addition, if Megailia had any competing empires, it would be impossible for them to ship their army out to sea for an unknown number of weeks or months to deal with our islands.

After all, the number of days their troops were traveling to or from our islands was equal to the number of days their troops were away from their country, leaving their country undefended. If my assumption was correct, and reaching our islands from the mainland was a long and arduous journey, our situation wasn't as dire as I had first thought. The village chief, however, was focused on something else.

"How can such a big village exist? And where do they live? We haven't seen any other islands in our surroundings, even if we fly far above the island, or if we fly in one direction for a few hours. As far as most of our fishermen have seen, our surroundings are just endless ocean." Olav frowned, as if he was trying to figure out how to explain a city-state to the village chief.

"Well, I've heard that in the islands ya have legends that you fled here from the mainland 'bout ten generations ago, right? And ya founded yer villages here after fleein' from a famine?" The village chief nodded.

"The stories I heard from my grandfather indicate something of the sort, yes. I've never been entirely clear on the details, but it is said that we fled here from a famine long ago, and discovered a land of abundant fish meat. Since this was a clear indication of the Ocean Mother's favor, we settled down here, and developed our current lifestyle after a few years of experimentation and growth." Olav nodded.

"Ah thought as much. I…" Olav stopped, his voice growing unexpectedly choked up for a moment. He took a deep breath, before he started again.

"Long ago, I didn't live here'n the villages. I'm sure a lot of ya already know I came from somewhere else. I used to be part of the Megailia Theuku Uftokraturia, or the empire of Megailia for short. It.. it was a good life at first, but…" Olav managed to choke down a sob.

"My wifen' ma daughter got sick. Then me mum' and da' got sick too, and I kept carin' for 'em. But they never got better, until…" Olav paused, shaking for a moment.

"After they… they returned to the Ocean Mother's embrace, ah left. There was nothin' there for me anymore, so I got my fishin' boat and sailed west. I thought I'd just keep sailin' until I returned to the Ocean Mother's embrace, and then I'd see my beloved and my little girl again. But I managed to feed myself as I traveled, until I reached a point where the fish got much bigger. Then, I landed here right as my fishin' vessel started to break down.

So ah thought it was a sign from the Ocean mother, and kept on livin' here…" Olav took a few more deep breaths, before he regained control of himself.

"Anyways, I know a bit 'bout the Empire of Megailia." I couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Olav. Losing one's entire family to a disease sounded horrible. The village chief gave Olav a few minutes to calm down before he continued questioning him. Finally, he began to speak.

"I've also heard that when you first saw the ships, you wondered whether they still considered us to be part of their empire?"

"Yeah, long ago you were probably part o' Megailia too. Ya see, back when I lived in… when I…" Olav's throat caught again for a moment, before he pushed forward again.

"In Megailia, a few hundred years ago, there was a famine. Nobody alive now was alive back then, but the storytellers say it was real bad. A lot of smaller families, and even some small villages packed up'n left, tryin' to reach other countries or undiscovered lands to find new sources of food. The fact ya speak Megailian is a pretty good indicator that ya probably came from one o' those villages, even if yer accents are a bit hard to understand.

An' there are a few regions of Megailia where people with blonde hair and blue eyes are really common. The outsiders'll probably also pick up on that, which means they might assume you're part o' the empire or someth'n." This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. I nodded, turning Olav's words over in my head. After hearing his description of Megailia's history, I was inclined to agree with him.

If we weren't descendants of Megailia, it wouldn't really make sense that we spoke their language, even if we had an unusual accent while speaking it. The real question was what kind of attitude Megailia would have towards us now, if it became aware of our existence. If our island had no valuable resources, I was inclined to believe they just wouldn't care about us in the first place.

After all, we were a geographically distant people that would be a huge pain to take control over, and an even bigger pain to keep control over. Stationing troops here and supplying them would be expensive because of how hard it would be to ship weapons and supplies to any garrison, and if they initiated a hostile takeover of the islands they would need to be constantly wary of an uprising here.

Storm season could also turn their supply lines into a huge mess, and extracting resources from the islands also required enough manpower to fend off land beast attacks. That meant that any conquest of these islands would be painful and costly, and keeping the islands under control would be a constant expense. However, I also didn't know how valuable floatwood and pearls were to the Megailians. If those two resources were valuable enough, they might be willing to pay the price of conquering us.

In other words, it came down to how aggressive they were, and how much they valued the resources of our island. In the best case scenario, perhaps they would simply trade for our resources instead. That was the best case scenario, and given our geographical advantages I hoped they wouldn't want to actually conquer us. However, if they felt we demanded too much in trading, or if they were a more aggressive country, trade might not be their first instinct. I sighed.

I was more than a little worried about what the outsiders would do, and I could see the village chief working through the same questions in his head. His thoughts might not be quite as detailed as mine, because the concept of 'armies' and 'city states' were likely less familiar to him, but I could see he was still thinking deeply about what Olav had said. I decided to give him a little nudge, by asking Olav some questions that might point out more relevant information.

"How many hunters does such a big city state have? Such a big number of people must have a really amazing amount of hunters. Do they have anyone like the village chief, with 11 runes?" I asked, my tone bright with childlike curiosity. I saw Felix's eye twitch, before he coughed once, trying not to laugh at how childish I was acting. Sallia managed to keep a straighter face, but I could see the corners of her lips curving up awkwardly as she tried not to smile. Olav turned to me, and then grimly chuckled.

"Their 'hunters' are called soldiers, little Miria. As for their number… they probably have a few thousand that have seven'r more runes, and a few thousand that have four ta six runes that they can call upon in times of need? I doubt they could field more'n 10, 000 soldiers at most, and doin' so would be a last resort."

"Would they send those hunters here for us to see? I've never even heard of so many people with seven or more runes! That's amazing!" Olav paused, clearly thinking about my question, and the village chief broke out of his thoughts and paid very close attention to Olav's next words.

"I doubt they can send that many troops here. Last I knew, tensions with the Thivanians were heatin' up, and diplomacy with a lot of other neighbors was dodgy at best. But if the diplomatic situation's changed, that might change the number o' troops they can send here." Olav trailed off, deep in thought.

"As for their most powerful people, when I left, the emperor o' Megailia had sixteen runes, and most people guessed he was out o' absorption essence and wouldn't advance any further. He also has an elite guard, made o' people with thirteen to fifteen runes, but those people are very rare. Those with 9 ta 12 runes are considered uncommon in Megailia, and thirteen ta fifteen is downright impressive.

In Megailia the amount o' resources like fish cores is a lot lower compared to tha number o' people, so most people need ta advance by absorbin' mana from the air around them. It makes it much harder to advance, so the average strength o' their citizens is definitely lower than here'n the islands." The village chief's eyes widened, as he heard the numbers Olav was talking about.

An emperor with sixteen runes must have sounded terrifying to the village chief, who took great pride in his eleven runes, and the idea of thousands of hunters was obviously horrifying to him. Even the idea that there were multiple people in Megailia who had 13-15 runes sounded horrifying, since nobody in the islands had ever reached that number of runes.

"What does someone with 13 to 15 runes do, Olav? I know after every three runes the abilities they give you change. What does 13-15 do?" asked Sallia, doing her best to follow my lead and 'guide' the discussion towards Megailia's military capabilities. I listened closely, because I was quite curious myself.

Even if none of the three of us had any chance of forming even a tenth rune this life, learning more about the absorption magic system of this world might help us in the future, if we encountered a similar magic system in a future world. Olav chuckled.

"I have no idea. Those people guard the emperor, and they're very, very rare. I doubt either of us'll ever see someone with that number of runes, and we certainly won't ever see the emperor. He has more important things to do than visit little areas like ours. Thankfully," said Olav. I breathed a sigh of relief. Evidently, the emperor wasn't the kind of leader who charged at the front of his troops. If a larger military force sailed into our islands headed by a sixteen-rune monster, the islands would be finished.

After listening to all of this, the village chief frowned, before taking another look at the camp the outsiders had established. It was far enough away from the village that it would take several minutes of walking to reach them, even with our supernaturally enhanced physiques. However, it was still close enough that we could see them easily.

"Do you know how the… Megailians will react to our village's existence? Will they be hostile towards us, or want to trade with us, or will they simply not care…?" Olav frowned.

"I reckon it's either trade or war. The pearls and floatwood on these islands are too valuable ta ignore completely, so they'll definitely want some o' both. I don't know what method they'd be usin' to get 'em, though. If it's trade, ya might be able to get some metals or somethin' here in the islands, which could help ya along. But if it's war…" Olav shook his head.

"That'd be real unfortunate. I can't say which one they'd be wantin' though." The village chief sighed.

"Thank you for sharing all of this information with us, Olav. I appreciate you talking about a subject that must have been painful for you, and I won't let this information go to waste." The village chief thought for a moment, before turning to my father.

"Silas, do you know of any fishermen who can alert the other villages of what happened here? While many of them have probably seen the great tentacles from the creature of the deeps, and they should have noticed the foreign sails on our water, it's best to alert them to the information Olav has given us. In addition, I believe it's best for all of the villages to discuss what we should do as a group.

If the Empire of Megailia decides to seize control of our villages, this may be an existential crisis we need to work together to solve. I believe it's best to invite the foreign chieftains to our village for a meeting tomorrow night, near sunset." My father pondered for a moment, before he took a guilty look at me and my mother.

"I'm willing to fly to a few of the villages and let them know, chief. I know a few other fishing boats would also be willing to do so." Then, more quietly, he turned to my mother and I.

"Sorry, sweetie. Sorry, dear. But the village is in need right now." I felt a bit nervous, as I thought of the giant tentacles that had erupted out of the water less than hour ago, and the possibility of my father running into them again. However, after a few moments, I realized the odds of him running into the creature again were low.

The creature hadn't displayed any interest in the boats of the island, even as our ships rescued drowning sailors from the sinking boat - all of the creature's ire seemed directed at the outsiders. In that case, he should be fine. Hopefully. My mother did not share my thoughts.

"Dear, maybe it's best if you don't go. There can always be someone else to take news to the other islands. it doesn't have to be you…" My father sighed, before gently pulling my mother in for a kiss. He whispered something in her ear. I didn't know what he said, but my mother deflated with a sigh, and then nodded.

"Come back safe." After a few final details were nailed down and my father notified a few other fishermen of the village's need, my father set out to request the other villages come for a meeting, as well as to carry news of the Empire of Megailia and the history of the islands. Tomorrow night, we would see how the other villages responded.