Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Piece of the Puzzle

April 26, 1640

Lean Know Forest, Qua Toyne

Exotic avian species sang tunes from the treetops, mimicking the joyful sunlight radiance that pierced through the forest’s canopy. Their chirps resonated well with the wind that flowed through the hollowed branches the birds sat upon, adding to the joyful ambience of the environment. The eternal harmonization was then interrupted for the first time in decades by the alien sounds of branches snapping and human chatter. 

“This is as far as I shall go, Emissaries. Guardians Mina and Wol shall meet you here shortly,” a voice came from the ground level. 

As the guide left, the group kept their voices low out of respect for the beautiful, sacred place. They admired the natural excellence of the forest, which seemed more perfect than even the Qua-Toynian agricultural fields. Amidst their wonder, they failed to notice the appearance of Guardians Mina and Wol. 

The female elf called out. “Doctor Jackson?”

“Ah!” The archaeologist jumped backward, startled. “Oh goodness, my apologies. I didn’t see you there,” he gave a nervous smile. “Yes, that’s me. Doctor Gabriel Jackson, nice to meet you,” he offered a hand to the elven duo.

Mina and Wol stared at the hand blankly, unfamiliar with American customs. Instead, Mina simply introduced herself. “I am Guardian Mina, and this is Guardian Wol,” she said, gesturingto the man beside her with an elegant motion of her hand. “We have been instructed to guide you to the inner sanctum of the Sacred Forest. There resides a clearing where we have maintained for centuries a preservation spell on an Emissary artifact. Please, follow us.”

Doctor Jackson led his team, walking closely behind the Guardians. They struck up conversation, curious about the forest’s history. “I remember reading texts that describe this forest as the last bastion of the Alliance, but what makes this place sacred, exactly?” Jackson asked.

Wol explained, “This forest was home to the goddess of the elves, whose name was sacrificed in order to save the few survivors of the intelligent races. We were pushed to the brink of extinction, backs cornered. The rest of the world, along with the western shores of the Rodenius continent, had fallen. Our ancestors were all that remained: thousands of soldiers and not more than half a million refugees. With everything at stake, the Alliance decided to risk everything on a last resort, forsaking the deployment of elves as support mages and instead sending them on a monumental task. Valiant heroes defended our elven ancestors while they prayed to our goddess, seeking aid. She answered. Of course, what is the point of creating something and loving it, only to allow it to be destroyed by evil? She told the elven mages that she would summon the Emissaries of the Star God, saviors who would annihilate the demons that plagued the world. And with a burst of light, she did. Unfortunately, interference on this scale was prohibited by the gods, and so she was punished. The moment her light blessed our skin, everyone had forgotten her name. Her name may have been lost to us, but we continue to honor her legacy here in this forest.”

Jackson felt moved by the touching story; a tale of love and sacrifice. “That’s very honorable of you to do that,” he said, following the elves past an ancient warehouse-like structure that seemed incredibly out of place.

“Indeed,” Mina said. “We still hold faith that one day, her punishment will end and we may be united with her once more.” She guided the Americans through an ornate set of stone rings, emerging into a clearing with the fabled artifact sitting in the center, metallic sheets and glass canopy shining under the bright Elysian sun. “We have arrived,” she informed the Emissaries, whose jaws had all dropped. 

“Are you well?” Wol asked.

Dizzy from the surprising revelation, Jackson barely managed to nod. He stammered out, “Wh- What is that? Is that the artifact?”

“It is,” Mina said. “Have we failed to preserve it sufficiently?” She asked, concerned about the Emissaries’ reactions.

“Oh, no, no. You’ve done an excellent job, rather!” He rushed to the perfectly preserved fighter, marveling at its condition. “How long has this been here?”

“For tens of thousands of years. Legend suggests that this artifact has remained here since before the arrival of the Mu continent,” Wol answered, joining the Emissaries as they gawked at the artifact. He and Mina watched the Emissaries converse among themselves with great interest.

“This looks exactly like a Hellcat,” one of Dr. Jackson’s colleagues pointed out. 

“No,” Dr. Jackson replied. “It IS a Hellcat,” he said, pacing around the World War 2 era plane. “This… This is conclusive evidence of my theory that we are indeed the Emissaries! There’s been a lot of great hints in the past, like the similarities between our flag and the flags depicted in Elysian historical texts – or… Or pictures from Topan and Esperantoan texts!” He exclaimed. Lowering his voice to increase the dramatic effect of his discovery, he continued, “But this, now this, is the missing clue! The final piece of the puzzle!”

Confused by the Emissaries’ ecstasy over uncovering their own history, Mina asked, “Dr. Jackson, do your people have no recollection of your heroism here? I know it has been thousands of years, but surely something must have been preserved?”

Dr. Jackson shrugged, “Not that I’m aware of. I’ve heard rumors of the military frolicking off in strange environments, time travel, and all the like. Most of these rumors… A lot of Americans have simply written them off as conspiracy; too far-fetched and ungrounded to have ever occurred.” He then had a new consideration as he listened to himself speak. “And… this technology – this aircraft right here – is from just under eighty years ago. I bet there are records of whatever happened here, but the government has probably kept it hidden.”

Mina’s heart churned for the secrecy, slightly offended that such heroism has not been honored. “Why would they do such a thing? Why would they keep the victories of your heroes a secret?”

“Well, as far as I know, there has been no conclusive evidence of magic – much less dimensional travel – on Earth. A tale like this would’ve created a lot of chaos, I suspect. But, now that we do have evidence, maybe we can finally start telling stories that should be told.”

—-

Washington D.C.

President Lee felt his world spin as he listened to Dr. Jackson’s live report from Qua Toyne. “Good Lord, and you’re sure of its authenticity?”

“As sure as can be, Mister President. Thing is still surrounded by some strange magic bubble, which I’ve asked the Lean Know Guardians to maintain for now.”

“Wow,” Lee said, speechless. He rested his head on his hand as he leaned back in his chair, still processing the information. “How’d the plane even get there?”

Dr. Jackson shrugged, “The Guardians didn’t seem to know, sir. I had Dr. Nakamura analyze it, since he’s got a specialty on World War 2, and he said that there was some extensive fire damage to the engine. Likely scenario, plane got hit by a fireball and had to glide down. Whatever task force was summoned there couldn’t repair or destroy it, so it’s been sitting there ever since.”

“And so, that plane has been sitting there for longer than the Giza Pyramids have been on Earth?”

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“That’s correct, Mister President. My research team also investigated the surrounding area, and the Guardians brought us to an abandoned warehouse. It seemed like there was an attempt to establish some sort of permanent base here, but whatever task force was here instead left in a hurry. They did establish some oil mining operations, which would explain some of the ancient ruins found in Quila.”

Lee remembered the interesting discovery made when they first established contact with the Quila Kingdom. Some of the oil wells there were in operating condition and later traced back to Mu, but some had deteriorated almost beyond recognition, ravaged by thousands of years of erosion. These decaying structures served as additional evidence of the United States’ presence in Elysia. “So, a higher power really summoned an American task force here…”

“Right, sir.”

“To fight some demon horde, led by Nosgorath? The same being we killed outside of the Topa Kingdom?”

“It would seem so, sir. My analyses of documents and artifacts in that region corroborate the findings here.”

Lee watched the trees sway in the background of the video. “To think that we actually had a real-life Philadelphia Experiment. God, this is a side of American history that nobody’s ever known.”

“It is, sir. It would really help my analyses as well if I had access to any records pertaining to these events…”

Lee understood Dr. Jackson’s implication. “I’ll look into it. Hopefully Director Klein won’t mind, especially considering we’ve got bigger problems now.”

“Right we do, Mister President.”

Lee’s talk of bigger problems got him thinking about the summoning of the Emissaries in the first place. Did they randomly pluck an American fleet from existence during World War 2? Was it after the war? Did Presidents Roosevelt or Truman know about – or even prepare for – this? “This… creates a whole new host of problems… Incredibly powerful deities truly exist here. I always thought that some sort of freak magic experiment brought us here. I fear what these beings are capable of.”

“Not much, Mister President,” Dr. Jackson reassured, “These gods have a strong policy of non-interference, unless there’s some sort of extinction level event.”

“Extinction level event?”

Dr. Jackson nodded, “In the case of the Emissaries, they were tasked with saving the surviving Elysian humanoids from extinction at the hands of Nosgorath. In our case, I believe we’re meant to defend this world from the Ravernal Empire.”

Lee sighed, head hanging low. He had hoped that the Ravernal Empire’s return would turn out to be impossible, but as the months dragged on, more evidence pointing to their existence continued to pile up. Ancient satellites and their beacons, Annonrial claims and foreign policy, and now, the will of a god – the list went on. 

Dr. Jackson interrupted Lee’s thoughts, “Mister President, I’m no military advisor, but I suggest we start preparing for this scenario. I could use some more personnel to help with translations and expeditions. Those beacons have been a real tough one to crack, sir.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Lee said, the reality of the situation settling in. “Send Steven a budget proposal, and I’ll see what I can do about it.”

“Thank you, Mister President. You made the right choice, sir.”

The video call ended, leaving President Lee slumped in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He knew very well that he should prepare, and preparations should certainly be easy. However, more pressing was his ability to convince Congress and in turn, the American public, of the urgency of their preparation. He could leave such an issue for a later time and let his successors handle it, but such a course of action would leave him riddled with guilt. Preparing now would be the right thing to do. His approval ratings may cry out and the public may become more agitated at a sudden revitalization of the military-industrial complex, especially with economic recovery still incomplete, but a few years of preparation could mean all the difference between victory and complete annihilation. 

He brainstormed excuses, scratching off almost all of them. His train of thought then led him to the current state of the world, making a stop at the situation brewing in the west and the threat rising from the south. If he wanted to enact change, he would have to do so during a time of crisis. It was only a matter of time before a massive conflict interrupted between the Gra Valkan Empire and the Elysian Defense Initiative, with the Annonrial Empire representing a potential third party. Although the thought of it disgusted him, he actually hoped that war would occur, just for the sake of being able to justify heavy preparations against the Ravernal Empire.

Ready to take action, Lee dialed up the Speaker of the House on his desk phone. “Miss Schiefer, we need to talk.”

“What of, Mister President?”

Lee’s expression darkened. For the first time since the initial transference, he felt gut-wrenching trepidation. Even then, it wasn’t as drastic. Now, however, with Dr. Jackson’s discoveries, it became certain that this new threat wasn’t going to be one of a crashing economy or lost ties to Earth. This new threat was one that could threaten their very survival and thus, Lee answered accordingly. “The fate of the nation.”

——

Author’s Note: 

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