Volume 4, Chapter 4 – The Tournament. Reconciliation with Uyana Through the Loss of Teeth
Volume 4, Chapter 4 – The Tournament. Reconciliation with Uyana Through the Loss of Teeth
Operation "Not a Word of French." 09:30.
Uyana and I kept walking. I stopped asking questions when we entered the capital — not through the checkpoint, but through underground catacombs with a guide in a T-shirt and a cigarette. Apparently, Uyana doesn't want to be seen in the capital, or doesn't want seals put on her weapons. I don't know. But when we came out, I just... Gasped. No — I was fucking stunned!
A population of one million — the capital of Ruma. All the houses were built in the same green brick style, but here it was constantly cleaned and looked simply stunning — like walking through a city of oxidized copper.
Five-story buildings covered the entire area inside ten-meter-wide walls that ringed the city, with wide thoroughfares of tightly fitted stones radiating from the center in all directions, breaking off into narrow alleys between the houses.
In the center stood a tall iron building with a magical half-dome that literally glowed with white granular light, shielding the castle roof from any strikes from above.
CITY transport ran along the main arteries! Narrow magical trains without wheels glided over lines of magic with various patterns, constantly fed by workers who walked along these lines, casting magic from their hands and pouring it into the surface. The trains looked like ordinary rectangles with a huge nose housing magic absorbers, and the passenger seats were roofless — like some kind of carriage.
Everything was divided into districts, perfectly separated by narrow roads. The tiled roofs were laid so that from above you'd think they were blocks cut deliberately, so they wouldn't accidentally merge into one big platform.
Walking these alleys, with green metal railings hanging overhead where citizens smoked or just lay sunbathing — it was pure pleasure.
And suddenly an airship appeared in the sky — but the place where the propeller should be was boxed in. Clearly, Ruma was hiding its air technologies — which was probably why Rekhilon froze when I mentioned air transport. And next to the airship, planes flew by — but they quickly dissolved into the air, leaving only a small transparent silhouette in the sky, faintly reflecting the sun. These planes looked like arrows, but with something underneath, also sealed in a box.
And I'd already seen plenty in this world — how various countries hide their weapons under tarps and cloth. Maybe there's a cold war going on here?
I definitely need to find out. Because that's exactly what it feels like. But not now. This city is mesmerizing.
I admired the dense traffic — from ordinary horse carts to magic cars, their rear engines also sheathed in a cone, hiding everything from the world. It seems magic as a transport technology is monopolized here. The whole world rides carts, while Rekhilon has a fleet that flies across the seas at a hundred km/h. Ruma has aviation that can transport people — and I think if someone published blueprints for such engines, the local FBI would deal with them quickly.
And so we walked these narrow alleys — which even had SEWAGE. Together with Uyana.
"Are there many mages in this world?" I decided to ask, examining the balconies.
"Mages are a species. They're born with the ability and train for a long time. Every thousandth newborn is a mage," Uyana explained calmly, following on my heels.
"And why do they hide magic engines?" I couldn't resist asking, turning a corner.
"They're secret technologies. Each state managed to invent a unique engine. Some invented air travel, some water travel, some weapons of mass destruction," Uyana ran around the corner after me, immediately regaining her composure. "The problem with creating engines: you can't just take one from a ship and make it for a plane. It's a complete reassembly of components and adding various types of magic. It's literally a broth where every pinch changes everything."
"But why not give the residents normal transport?!" I didn't understand.
"Because if the mages working for the government switched to creating peaceful transport, they'd lose momentum," Uyana parried quickly.
"..."
I walked into a park enclosed by houses on all sides. The greenery smelled of rich spring aroma.
(And what if... What if I took this on instead of them? They'd build what they want, and I could sell ordinary cars to this world... That way I'd fulfill my wish to start some kind of business. It's unlikely to hurt the global balance, since they're focused on magic, and I'd give them cars — and if they like it, I'd supply gasoline too.)
(But that's for later... For now...)
I thought, looking at Uyana. Preparing to have another serious conversation — about how she serves me not because she wants to, but because my aura broke her.
"Uyana... Ahem," I cleared my throat, sitting on the grass. "I want to talk..."
Uyana slowly approached and, holding her skirt, sat on the ground.
"What happened?" she turned and tucked back a stray strand.
I sat more comfortably and turned away from her, examining tree bark — remembering the first time I fired a rifle. (Those were the days...)
"You know... I have one and a half million followers... (Uyana: HOW MANY??) But... That's not the point. They're different from you, and I accepted them. You know why?" I spoke quietly, trying to hide nothing.
Uyana calmed down and nodded "No."
I kept looking at the tree, confessing to it.
"They're the souls of mages who fell into the Silent Silence and died there, wandering for hundreds of years across that endless desert. And when I appeared, a fire lit in them, and they decided to worship me — not because I'm an Archon, I think, but because it gave them the right to some kind of life," I continued sadly, with a lump in my throat. "But you... You're completely different. You're free, and you had your own life! A special one! Yes, you're the head of a syndicate, but that was your choice!" — I turned sharply to her and took her hand, looking into her eyes. "And I broke you. You became a shield for me only when you saw my aura. Is that what free people do? People come to you for other reasons, and they make a choice — and I took that choice away from you..."
Uyana pulled her hand away and slapped me across the face.
"Hurts?"
"Enough," she knocked out a tooth.
"But now listen to me!" she stood up and walked to the tree I'd been confessing to. "I! Am! A person! And to consider me a slave is..." — she punched the tree. — "Rude and painful! Yes, I saw your power (punch), yes, I fell to my knees because of it (punch!) But! I also felt all your emotions. All of them, absolutely. And it broke me — not into being some punching bag or doormat. I saw an opportunity to become something more than the head of crime! — she turned to me and crouched next to my head. — And you think telling me how bad you are is cool? What's cool about it? I'm loyal to you, but I MYSELF decided to be this way and follow you — not to be some fanatical little idiot with an Archon-wiki in hand."
"But! (Uyana: I'm not finished!)"
"If you try to parry with the argument that I'm obeying wisdom — yes, any mage, seeing an Archon, would do it on primal instinct! And do you know how often mages see Archons?" — she cracked her knuckles, looming over me, her face blocking the sun.
"Roughly... in years?"
"ZERO! An Archon is a god. And their word is law. The wisdom they speak is what any mage must carry out," she added, already sad. "And you... You insulted me by thinking I'm a fanatic... Maybe I am a fanatic — but not a stupid one!"
"..." — I didn't know how to react.
I have a knocked-out tooth. (Fanatics hardly knock out their gods' teeth... That's the one thing reinforcing her words, making me believe her monologue. She really decided to follow me herself?.. That sounds... So sweet? Not every day a syndicate follows you — not to kill, but to protect.)
I looked at the formidable Uyana and smiled, gaping with my hole and bloody teeth.
"Fank you... This wath a miftake. I thought like an egoift, but now I fee how it all weally is..." — I answered with a smile.
Uyana calmed down and, with a deft motion, went poof — and my tooth reappeared. (Magic...)
"Let's go, Archon. Let's register for the tournament."
"You too?"
"Of course," she straightened up, returning composure to her face. "And I'm sure I'll only lose in the tournament to your blade."
I stood up, still tapping my new tooth with my fingers. (Like new — not even a cavity.)
"I think you're exaggerating..."
"Let's go — we still need half an hour on the Rumalin to the arena."
"On the what?"
"The Rumalin!"
—
The Rumalin... It's a train! Only different. A very large nose section that literally scrapes the magical platform, with railings on the sides. Five mages constantly work on it — but this Rumalin is only used for civilian transport during tournament days. According to Uyana, it's a military asset, and of course, all engines are covered by a huge cocoon. Military knights walk through the car — they're very different from regular cheetah knights.
Instead of metal armor, they wear something like chainmail — but it shimmers like chrome. Their weapons are sealed in large rectangular cases with a lever for quick access.
(Amazing transport. But the constant, intense stares of the special forces are frightening — as if they see right through every passenger. They pass by, sometimes tapping their little cases against the corners of the seats.)
(If an entire military train was reassigned to transport, what awaits me inside this tournament?..)
We moved away from the capital at sixty km/h. The scenery changed: first villages and fields, then tall fences on the right, enclosing something unclear. We drove onto a bridge over a wide river, crossing to a new bank — where I saw...
Countless tents in the fields, bonfires, and thousands of people showing off their swords and armor. The train continued and, turning left, revealed the tournament grounds.
A bright green pyramid, built of perfectly even stones, towered in the center of the entire tent city — with a green beam shining from its peak, rising into the sky.
And above the pyramid flew two invisible aircraft, emitting thick blue and green smoke, forming the flag of the Kingdom of Ruma.
List:
— Get into sports. (In progress)
— Start some kind of business. (In progress)
— Find a partner.
— Plant a tree.
— Learn a new craft.
— Ride a horse.
From this world:
— Learn the language. (Completed)
— Become independent and not rely on the officers. (In progress)
— Become proficient with weapons. (In progress)
— Master fencing at an excellent level. (In progress)
— Win the tournament. (In progress)