Personal System Calendar: Year 00015, Day 1-28, Month VI: The Imperium
Imperial Calendar: Year 6859, 1st to 28th day of the 6th Month
---
Reviewing the Remaining Days Before Their Arrival
The tenth day of their journey marked their arrival at the river coasts of Ogind. One might assume the capital city of Count Xavior's territory would sit further inland, but that wasn't the case. It actually spanned from the river coast all the way upstream, built along a visible elevation change in the river itself, one gradually reshaped over generations so that the lower, wider stretch of the Great Central-Western River stayed connected to the upper mainstream river flowing down from the mountains. As mentioned before, this kind of engineering, interlocking water dams that could be filled to raise ships across an elevation change, was common practice across the Empire.
Here, though, the city had approached the problem differently. Given how heavy traffic tended to be in a port city, they'd built multiple entrances allowing two-way water traffic, accommodating ships of every size. Cargo vessels like the GMV were generally limited to the Great Central-Western River coast itself. The city's lower river tier ran roughly 30 km in length, and portions of it had been dug down over centuries to establish the baseline elevation for everything built above it. Above that sat the middle tier, rising gradually from the coast up toward the elevation level shared with the rest of the surrounding landmass. And above that, the top tier, or ground tier, where the bulk of the city of Xavior actually sat.
To break the tiers down more clearly: the top, ground-level tier ran 30 km north to south and 10 km east to west, west being relative to the Great Central-Western River. The middle tier ran the same 30 km in length but was only 1 km wide, dug specifically to serve as a buffer, gradually carrying loads up from the river below. At the top, massive cranes and pulleys hoisted cargo the rest of the way. Below both sat the lower tier, the river or coastal tier, spanning 30 km in length and 5 km in width. This was the busiest, most commercially active part of the city, while the top tier served mainly as residential space and other civic functions. The middle tier acted as the buffer between the two, though it had been built into something genuinely luxurious, offering the best of both worlds.
For reference, the geographical elevation of the cliff walls along the continent's rift lines could run 120 meters or higher, depending on whether a full mountain had once stood there. That figure accounted for the ocean water that had already filled the valley or rift beneath it, meaning the 120-meter mark was measured starting from where the great river itself sat. The lowest points, where the cliff soil had eroded most over time, sat somewhere between 5 and 20 meters above the waterline, though that too shifted somewhat with the natural rise and fall of the water level, since the entire river system connected back to the wider oceans and seas, which rose and fell under the gravitational pull of the three moons.
As for the capital port city of Xavior specifically, its lowest tier sat only 2 to 3 meters above the waterline, low enough that most of the larger ships stopped there directly to load or unload cargo.
The city had other entrances too. On its north side, within the walled portion of the city, sat a river descending from above ground, once a waterfall feeding fresh water down into the Great Central-Western River.
Centuries of soil and rock erosion had gradually reduced that elevation naturally, and the city had worked to reduce the cliff face further still, though carefully, not so dramatically sloped that ships could gain enough gravitational speed to be carried straight down the elevation change.
Like the tiered system of the city itself, this section had also been built in tiers, though without interlocking dams that filled with water to raise vessels to the next elevation. Instead, deep basins had been dug into each tier, roughly 150 by 150 meters, running alongside the natural water flow. Only near the cliff face, where it actually mattered, had that flow been reshaped into something closer to a slide canal.
On the tiered side, each basin served as a holding point, where ships would wait their turn before being raised by the water elevator itself, a mechanical system capable of lifting up to six small ships at once, none larger than the smallest class of sloop. Ships lined up to fit within it, were sealed in alongside a volume of river water, and lifted like an elevator, powered by magic and supported by twelve massive pillars capable of ascending or descending the full elevation change. Once the gears turned and carried the platform up to the next level, the ships would move into that tier's basin and wait there for their next turn. Three such elevators operated in total, each carrying ships gradually up or down the length of the above-ground river, one basin at a time.
(See the accompanying cross-section diagram, "The Port City of Xavior — Elevation Cross-Section," for a visual layout of the tiers, the natural slide system, and the elevator mechanism described above.)
Access to this system came with restrictions. A vessel had to measure under 20 meters in length with a beam under 6 meters to use it directly. Anyone wishing to pass through the dug channel into the city itself needed to be registered with the city and carry proper certification of affiliation. Alternatively, visitors could rely on the city's own sloops, which ferried passengers from the main river up through the elevation change instead.
The river above the city had split into two branches: one following its natural course, the other dug deliberately to divert a portion of the flow toward the city itself. This served two purposes: supplying fresh water to the city and its farmland, and offering smaller ships direct access into the city from the upper mainland river above. Several canals ran throughout the city to support the diverted river. Ships obviously couldn't use these canals, but smaller boats could navigate them easily. The entryway into the city via the river system included a pair of large metal portcullises that could be dropped in the event of an attack, positioned on the northern side relative to Maya Village, above the elevators, with a second access gate dug from the east, giving the river two possible directions to travel.
The natural upper river ran wide enough to accommodate ship traffic, but most vessels couldn't safely descend the natural path directly. Even after extensive excavation to soften the grade, it remained a steep drop, safe only for the smallest ships, like sloops, able to ride it down by gravity alone.
Where the river split, retaining walls had been built along both the tiered section and the natural gradient, particularly near and within the city, turning them into proper man-made river canals wherever the artificial channel had been dug, allowing two-way access throughout.
To put it in more concrete terms: imagine a small sloop arriving at the port city from the north along the Great Central-Western River. Looking east, off to their left, they'd see the upper stream river descending from the elevation above, split into two distinct paths. One side flowed down a natural, gradual slope, almost like a slide. The other followed the tiered system, complete with the water elevator capable of raising or lowering ships between tiers. Both were remarkable feats of engineering in their own right, each serving a different purpose: the sloped side for direct passage down to the Great Central-Western River, the tiered side specifically built to move ships up toward the river above. But using the water elevators came at a steep price. Ships were also thoroughly inspected before being allowed into the city, then let through the eastern water gate, which connected onward to the natural river upstream. Still, for anyone who needed to move ships and cargo upstream, the cost was worth paying, since it made the goods more valuable by the time they reached their final destination.
Xavior held a full monopoly on the route, being the only bloc capable of offering passage upstream via the water elevators, and profited from it steadily all year round. Several kingdoms further upstream that relied on this entryway had already struck deals for discounted rates. That alone, despite Arwen's collapse, was a large part of why the Xavior Bloc remained the strongest of the competing blocs in the region.
It also stood to reason that this was technology Maya Village could eventually adopt for its own waterways, one that might directly cut into the need to build a dedicated water settlement along the Great Central-Western River at all. Or, just as easily, it could end up supplementing one instead of replacing it, depending on how things developed.
The city's overall elevation ran somewhere between 120 and 150 meters above the waterline. The lower tier sat 2 to 3 meters above the water, the middle tier around 80 meters, and the upper tier claimed the highest ground of all.
Since the Maya delegation was traveling aboard a ship far too large for the smaller access routes, they approached the coastal port side directly. Sailing aboard the GMV Skipper meant relatively straightforward access, though with plenty of other ships loading and unloading cargo, they still found themselves waiting in line. Upon landing, they'd need to clear customs and explain their reason for arrival to the relevant officials. Ordinarily, they could have used the city's river-boat service to travel directly up to the higher tiers, and that had, in fact, been the original plan. Unfortunately, according to the port officials, the water elevator system happened to be under maintenance, which they said could run for a month, leaving them with poor timing and no choice but to make the climb between tiers on foot instead.
That had been the situation ten days earlier, when they first arrived near the port. Now, on the fourteenth day, the GMV Skipper was finally cleared to dock at Xavior's port.
They said their goodbyes to the GMV Skipper's crew there, since the ship would only be stopping briefly to restock before continuing further south toward its own destination. The farewells were heartfelt. It had been a meaningful journey, especially after the life-or-death situation they'd all shared together only a few days prior.
---
A Rough Welcome
Once they'd landed, it was obvious at a glance that this wasn't an ordinary group passing through. Kitted out in full armor and uniform, flag in hand, they clearly looked like an escort for someone of importance. Though the city had known the delegation was coming, they hadn't been given a specific date, which meant no one was actually there to greet or guide them upon arrival.
A handful of city guards approached instead. One of them, louder than necessary given how close he already stood to the group, spoke up first.
"You there! What business do you have here in Xavior?"
He and the guards with him moved to surround August and the rest, though Chief Red stepped forward before things could escalate.
"Greetings, sir. We're envoys from Maya Village, we are here in a diplomatic capacity to meet with Lord Xavior. We were given a letter by your envoy, with instructions to present it to the appropriate personnel upon our arrival."
The guard looked them over from head to toe, clearly deciding these weren't people to be underestimated, especially the blond one with green eyes. Suspicious as they seemed to him regardless, letter or no letter, he couldn't quite decide whether it was genuine or forged. Either way, tensions were still running high in the wake of Arwen's collapse, and he intended to get to the bottom of it. He was also a bit a person whose mindset was that he was of the superior noble warrior lineage, which was true in some capacity because of his family tree.
Chief Red offered the letter. The guard snatched it out of his hands, more roughly than necessary, though Red let the disrespect slide rather than risk starting trouble here of all places.
"Give me that."
He opened it to check the contents. The lord's seal appeared authentic enough, by his own assessment, but his suspicion won out regardless. "And where exactly did you get this? Assuming it's real, that's still a rather important letter for people like you to be carrying around. Your whole group looks suspicious for a bunch of diplomats, if you ask me."
His voice carried loud enough that people nearby had started to take notice, a small crowd gathering to watch from a distance.
Someone in the crowd murmured, just loud enough for August to catch it. "Ah, there goes Matsubi, starting trouble with newcomers again."
So, in August's mind at least, this clearly wasn't new behavior. Just another repeat performance.
It might have looked like a random inspection to an outsider, but it wasn't, not really. This particular guard had a habit of finding new faces specifically to harass.
"Well, sir, it was given to us by Diplomat Minstrif Entt."
That got the guard's attention. Even he recognized the name of one of the lord's most trusted men.
Fortunately, a moment later, a supervisor arrived, drawn by the commotion.
"What's going on here, explain the situation to me, Matsubi."
The guard flinched at the sound of his name, his earlier bravado draining out of him almost instantly. He launched into an explanation of his supposed suspicions regarding August and the group, every word of it laced with exaggeration and outright fabrication, twisting a situation that hadn't existed into something far worse than it was.
The supervisor, well aware of Matsubi's history of causing scenes like this, had his doubts from the start, though Matsubi's connected family had kept him in his position regardless. Still, it seemed worth confirming things directly with the people standing in front of him, people who, if nothing else, certainly looked strong enough to back up at least part of Matsubi's story.
He turned to Chief Red and asked whether any of it was true, then sent a runner off to contact the lord's office to confirm. A minute later, the runner returned, visibly pale and shaken, relaying what he'd been told.
He leaned in and whispered, "Sir, they're VIPs. They should be treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. They're powerful individuals the lord specifically wants to be on good terms with."
The supervisor flinched at that. Matsubi had turned a diplomatic welcome into a full-blown diplomatic incident. Internally, the supervisor cursed him thoroughly, running through every insult he could think of.
"My deepest apologies for the earlier discourtesy, good sirs. My subordinate here gave you an entirely unnecessary hard time. We'll escort you to the lord's residence right away."
He remained visibly shaken but kept his composure, professional despite it all. Matsubi, meanwhile, still seemed genuinely confused about what exactly he'd done wrong, right up until his superior pulled him aside for a thorough dressing-down. That was when it finally sank in. This time, not even his family's influence would be enough to save him, not once word of this reached the lord's ears.
The delegation from Maya was then escorted, with proper ceremony this time, toward the lord's castle. Their first day in the city had turned out to be a far more frustrating welcome than anyone had expected.