Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Some shocked gasps echoed in the silence after the bomb was dropped.

"This building will be our embassy and the Tree Route our land. What does all this mean to you? It means all of you will have a choice to make. You all have seen and experienced the current Delta, will you stay here or will you stand with Minas Mar?"

Seth paused to let what he just announced sink in. The separation from the governmental structure that existed prior to the apocalypse and the foundation of essentially a new nation. It seemed like an obvious choice, but the decision was harder than one may think.

They had other options. Seth could have used Iego to try and strongarm Delta into compliance. They could have used force, or even try to turn everything around with political schemes and magic powers.

However, all of it was bothersome. In the end, there was someone behind Longbottom. Someone with a goal. Someone who schemed from the shadows but played by the rules in the open. Delta was a murky and complicated swamp to Seth, and the blacksmith just didn't want to deal with it.

And why should he? In comparison to all that, going independent was easier. They had back all their stuff. The people that were important were here. Once he cut ties with Delta, he would just have to protect what was his. And if people suffered under Delta's rule? Well, they could always migrate to Minas Mar.

"I know, this may sound scary, dystopian even. Society splintering apart in the face of the apocalypse. A totalitarian regime led by a single organization that has no worldly power to answer to. And it's exactly that.

I will be brutally honest. In our current world, power is the only thing one can trust. Whether one gains power themselves or follows those with power for protection. You have all made your choices. Minas Mar has power.

The question you have to ask yourselves is: Do you trust us? Will you trust us not to abuse our power, even without an obsolete system watching our hands?

We promise to adopt the common laws of Urth. We promise to work with the System Church and Chrona. We promise the Tree Stations self-governance. But all of this means nothing if you don't trust us, and our promises.

Once we announce our independence tomorrow morning, all of you have the choice to stay with us, or cut ties with us and fend for yourselves in Delta."

Seth paused again. He knew that this was a heavy decision he asked from these people. One might even call it unfair, to ask them to decide to leave their homes for an uncertain future within a matter of a day.

Although Mary had assured him that everyone had a good opinion of them and would surely join, Seth wanted to be as honest as possible. The bard had deliberately not used the , or any other active speech skills.

He knew that this was a hard decision that could lead to him losing many of his people, but he wanted them to make a true and mostly unaffected decision. There was no use in persuading people that would come to regret their choice later on and blame him. But of course, there was no reason not to sweeten the deal.

"I know, this is a hard decision I ask of you. Especially of those who have lived in Delta their whole life. But I guarantee you, that it won't be to your disadvantage. We offer all members of Minas Mar and their family members free housing at a Tree Station and location of their choice.

The offer of free housing also extends to any citizen of Urth that decides to migrate to Minas Mar before tomorrow morning or is guaranteed for by one of the members or their families. If you have any questions pertaining to migration and housing, you can ask our staff members."

With free housing, he struck an instinct that had already persisted for a long time before the apocalypse and had only grown stronger afterward. On Urth, where living costs were cheap in general, thanks to low energy prices and technical advancements like automated subterranean farming, rent was the biggest cost and worry for the people.

After the apocalypse, the location where one lived became more important and the prices fluctuated strongly. Offering free housing didn't come at any cost for Minas Mar, since they owned everything in the Tree Stations, but it was a massive bait for ordinary citizens.

By offering the same to people from Delta that came at a recommendation by people already present here, would allow people to possibly bring their whole social circle, the one thing apart from the nostalgia that could bind them to Delta.

Minas Mar on the other hand, wouldn't complain about having more people to fill them and work at the Tree Stations. The bard made it clear that now was the golden time to join, awakening the fear of missing out as an additional factor.

After the official announcement of independence, the migration process would become a lot stricter and obviously, housing would not be free anymore. After all, Minas Mar wasn't running a charity. Ending his speech with the announcement of the housing, the screens across the building finally turned off.

"What about Delta and Ypsilon? Do you think they will accept a new district?" Gin asked into the room after the speech ended.

"Even if they don't, what can they do? Neither economic nor military sanctions are a threat to us. They can acknowledge it or not, it won't change anything.

Gin didn't say anymore. He and the others adventurers that came from outside had seen what Minas Mar was able to do, more so than even the staff or their families. It was hard to believe that Delta could have anything that could rival Minas Mar. Especially with the Hero suffering an anticlimactic defeat.

"Well, then, I will see all of you again tomorrow morning. Then we will see how many new citizens our new District will have."

…

The audience in the auditorium had changed. There were still the Lords of Minas Mar, some other members, and people from the new auxiliary guilds, yet the biggest part was made up of strangers that were invited.

They were representatives of the current biggest media outlets of Delta. Their business had been recovering well after the districts started stabilizing again. Not just that, they were also the quickest to adopt the new technologies introduced by Chrona for their own needs.

Now they had been invited by Minas Mar, the one guild that had not only made a thunderous return but also bit back against the overreaching leadership of Delta. The guild that had singlehandedly defeated THE Ben Harker, the dog of the regime, in a fair duel.

"What do you think this is about?"

"I bet it's about their plans from now on."

"Do you think they will address the duel with Harker?"

"Why are we even here... We shouldn't speak with this kind of terrorists."

Wild assumptions were whispered among the excited journalists, but some also had negative opinions of Minas Mar. After all, they did retake their building with force and used hostages to force a negotiation.

All the clamoring died down when the tower master finally ascended the stage.

"I welcome all of you, as representatives of Delta's Media. You have been invited today to bear witness to a joyous moment. The birth of a new district. After Delta's transgressions and unjustifiable decisions over the past month, we have decided to declare our independence as the new District of Minas Mar."

It followed a shocked silence before the room exploded in a storm of questions.

…

With a sigh, Seth sat down in his quarters. The press conference was finally over. They had worked a lot over the past few days to prepare and manage their independence. The conference had been like a recap of everything that happened in such a short amount of time.

Heavy thoughts burdened Seth's mind. Even though this seemed like the easiest way out, the blacksmith started to realize that he probably couldn't continue just being-

A pair of gentle hands suddenly wandered over his back up to his shoulder and interrupted his thoughts. He could already smell her mild perfume before she whispered into his ears. Hugging him from behind, her soft mounts pressed against his back.

" We should celebrate." she quietly breathed in his ear.

"I'm not really in the mood...."

Her hug became tighter and her soft cheek rubbed against his.

"I know, and that is exactly why. Even if you tried to hide it, I know that the past few days have burdened you. We are not cut out for this political stuff. What you need is a distraction. We all need a break to relax after the past month and especially these days."

It was weird that he only noticed how tired he was after Mina drew his attention to it. She was right, they all needed a break and a way to vent.

"Okay, let's do that. I will open the banquet hall tomorrow." " Good, there is also someone I want to introduce to you tomorrow. But for today, you are mine."

With that, the poor blacksmith fell prey to a ravenous beast and was not seen again, until morning.

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