"Not giving in to anger is the illusion of the wrathful,

not feeling fear is that of the cowards."



The harpies had long since forgotten how to fly.

Those who were lucky enough not to spend their entire lives locked in a cage producing eggs had to go unnoticed if they wanted to maintain their freedom, often hidden in remote hermitages on top of the mountains.

What in ancient times was a source of pride and boasting had become a curse, and being able to soar in the skies showing off their splendid wings had turned into a taboo, something to be feared and discouraged.

In the end the feathers had become ruffled, thinned out, and it was now impossible to find a harpy that could do anything more than glide for short distances, obviously on the condition of diving from great heights.

Before she too ended up in a cage, Xylla had been an energetic and lively girl, who loved to challenge fate and proudly display her superb golden wings.

Too bad that one of those reckless glides of hers had made the slave hunters discover the existence of her village.

All of a sudden she had seen her homeland burn, her companions who were too old or too young slaughtered as useless, while she, along with the few unfortunate ones left alive, had been turned into a hatching animal, forced to incessantly lay eggs which then went on to enhance the dinners of some depraved nobleman.

It was therefore not surprising that all this had made her an empty soul, who fed on hatred, and who found the mere fact of sharing the same room with a human unbearable.

Hera, Martha and the others, after being freed, had found their place, and were now trying very hard to leave behind the horror that they had somehow survived.

But not her.

She couldn't.

The fire burning inside her seemed unquenchable.

So she spent her days walking non-stop through the streets of the city around the Castle, always ready to pick a fight with anyone she didn't like, whether human or monster.

She hated this place, but she knew she had nowhere else to go, and in the short time she had been there, she had caused so much trouble that no one, not even her friends, wanted to have anything to share with her anymore.

One morning she was walking in the market area, once again teeming with life, as it hadn't happened for several years, with the blank expression and the uncertain step of someone proceeding by inertia, without a real purpose.

If only she hadn't been distracted by the darkness inside, she would have realized that those three National Guard soldiers sitting around a tavern table enjoying the sun, fresh air and cider were talking about common haradveni eggs, a Maharadi's large bird.

"Seriously!? Did you eat one of those eggs?"

"Not just one, three!"

"I don't believe it, you're telling me a lie."

"And yet it is the pure truth. There was this filthy rich merchant. I was one of his grooms. He had paid a lot of money for that animal. One morning I arrived and the eggs were right there, ready for the kitchen. The guy who was supposed to get them was dead drunk, so I took them home and made a nice omelet with them."

"This is crazy. Even with our new salary, a month's wages wouldn't be enough to afford even one."

"Tell us then, what was it like? They say they taste heavenly."

"Well, nothing exceptional. They call them Gaia's blessings, but in the end they were just tasteless little eggs. I had to put a mountain of spices in them to make them barely decent."

Xylla approached the three soldiers with lowered gaze, ruffled feathers and clenched teeth.

"Just tasteless little eggs, you said? Do you have any idea what we went through to produce those tasteless little eggs?"

"Uh!? What are you talking about..."



The Great Hall of the Castle had changed a lot in the space of a few months.

A large round table with thirteen seats had replaced the pompous golden chair of the previous Governor, and hanging on the wall was now the great red, white and blue banner of the Free State, instead of the imperial flag.

Daemon looked around at the members of his government, trusted people chosen solely by looking at talent and skills rather than lineage or species.

"Everybody raise your right hand." he said, being obeyed. "We swear to respect the constitution of the Free State, to act and decide in the interests of its inhabitants, and never to abuse the power vested in us."

"I swear." they all said together

"I declare this session of the Legislative Assembly open. As per practice, I would like each of you to first report on the status of your current assignments. Let's start with the governors of the three prefectures. Rutte?"

The old mayor, now governor of the entire Dundee region, rose to speak.

"The dismantling of the ghetto is almost completed, while the construction of the new housing area near the mines is proceeding according to schedule, and some buildings have already been assigned. According to our estimates, the entire village should become fully habitable by the end of the month."

"The public order situation?"

"Nothing to report. All citizens are cooperating with each other in the collective interest. If I may say so, only last year I would have considered it impossible. Monsters and humans working together so closely, old slaves dealing with their old masters as equals."

"Watch out, Governor." Adrian smiled from the opposite seat. "These terms are now abolished."

"Sorry, it's just that I'm still struggling to realize it. We were never a slave-owning people, and many of us did not share the fanaticism of the Empire. But without realizing it we had become accustomed to this situation. The Revolution opened our eyes, and reminded us how we really want to live."

"This was just a first step." Daemon said. «Many things will still have to happen before humans and monsters can truly consider themselves free and equal citizens among themselves, but the world certainly cannot be changed in a few months. Now, let's continue. Let's move on to the Basterwick situation."

The speaker was Tielde, a small landowner whom the people of Basterwick had appointed as their representative in place of the deposed Van Lobre.

"I can confirm that the plague has been completely eradicated, and the situation in Basterwick has returned to normal. Both the activity of the fields and all the other production chains have fully restarted. I want to add that the National Guard soldiers were of great help to us, and this led many young people to sign up as volunteers."

"The National Guard replacing the legions and citizen militias was a great idea, if I may say so." said Oldrick, now in the guise of General. "In this way we offered a solution to long-time militiamen before they could abandon themselves to brigandage. It is also a way to offer a better future to many young people and emancipated slaves without particular talents."

"The army has always been an attractive career for those who have no prospects in life or have seen their previous ones collapse." Daemon said. "Obviously maintaining an army has a cost, but it's better than having the streets full of unemployed and vagrants. Now, the state of the Castle. Zorech?"

"Nothing to report at either the village or the fortress."

Zorech still seemed like a fish out of water as governor of the most important of the three prefectures; it was Daemon himself who proposed him for that role, which he accepted only after much hesitation.

It was more of a representative assignment, but perhaps it was just a way for Daemon to demonstrate once again how much respect he had for the man who had acted as his father, entrusting him with a place in his regency group.

"Let's talk about our economic situation. Mary, what news do you have for us?"

Mary too still had some problems in truly conceiving the position she found herself in, although since Daemon had entrusted her with the place of finance minister she had demonstrated on several occasions that she was more than capable of taking on that role.

"The treasure you and Adrian recovered was very useful to us. Thanks to it we were able to pay off a good part of the debts that the old province had accumulated over the years and stabilize our finances."

"And as for business." Borg stood up, and paradoxically with that always dressing in such a flashy way of him, he seemed to be the only person not out of place among all those sitting around that table. "You will be happy to know that they are fully resumed both with the southern nations and with the Empire. And the places left empty by those who did not want or were unable to renew their contracts have been filled by others."

"Mr. Borg is doing a truly extraordinary job."

"Never as much as yours, my girl. I thought Daemon was exaggerating in singing your praises, but I have to change my mind. I find the potential investors, but you're the one who successfully closes the deals."

It was a very rare thing for Borg to compliment someone so sincerely, and although not everyone was happy to have him as a member of the council, his merits and talents were indisputable, especially now that they matched Mary's.

"Anything else?"

"Well, actually yes." the girl said almost fearfully. "The fact is that I received an offer from a Union merchant company. They need pitch for the ships, but rather than invest they would like to directly rent one of our wells over which they can have exclusive control by stipulating a ten-year contract. In exchange, in addition to paying the rent, they offer to hire local labor."

"Do you think this is a good agreement?"

"I... I think so."

"Then why did you need to come to me?"

"What!?"

"At the risk of being repetitive, I want to say it one more time. You are all here not because I like you, but because I trust your abilities and your judgment. We are no longer under a monarchy, and there's no longer a king who has the last word on everything. You are here to help me get this nation back on its feet and prosper. Therefore, as long as you are willing to take responsibility for your actions, you do not need my approval to make a decision. I've been clear?"

"Yes. Certain. I'm sorry."

"By the way, how's the store in Dundee doing?"

"Fine. Ms. Bonbi is doing a great job, and the customers are satisfied. If this continues, I will soon be able to open another shop here at the Castle too."

"Evidently you are an excellent teacher, as well as a good minister. But now let's move on to other questions. The state of the mines."

"Here I am." Passe said. "All the fields, wells and mines are in full operation. The guys work hard, eat like pigs in the evening and go back to work the next morning even more motivated. Nothing to report even at the loggers' camps and sawmill."

"Make sure Grog and the others don't overdo the revelry. Now that they are no longer slaves, they must learn to manage themselves both at work and at play. There's no point in filling your belly one day and then having to fast the next."

"I do what I can, but apparently they still have trouble understanding that they have become free men."

"Sometimes we forget that being free also entails duties."

"Since you like to talk Adrian, why don't you report too? As Home Secretary, what can you tell me about the state of our food resources?"

"The fields have all been cleared and arranged, and will soon begin to germinate. Rather than lose control of their lands altogether or face trial for their crimes, Van Lobre and the other landowners agreed to continue managing their old estates for the state. But this doesn't solve our food problems."

"Yes I know. Feeding slaves the bare minimum so that they don't die of hunger is easy; guaranteeing them an adequate food supply is completely different."

"There's also another problem." said Mary «To deal with the lack of money and accustom emancipated slaves to owning their own property we are paying them for their work in food and other basic necessities, but this is inevitably affecting our food resources. For now we are compensating by purchasing wheat and other foods from abroad, but managing not to go into deficit in the accounts is becoming increasingly difficult."

"Not to mention the army." Oldrick said. "Forty-five thousand mouths to feed is a lot, and with this rate of enrollment we will soon exceed fifty thousand. Nobody cares if a homeless person dies of hunger on the street, but if that homeless person becomes a soldier then he needs to be fed."

"Leaving aside the fact that moving from an economy based on slavery to one based on the work of private citizens is never easy or painless, we all know well that this province has always had a problem with food resources."

"Our land is rich in mines, pastures and mountains. But poor in fertile land in which to sow."

"It's not entirely true, Rutte. The land is actually very fertile. You just need to look at the density of the woods or the ease with which wheat grows to realize this. The problem is that the terrain is often too steep to grow crops on. And in this regard, I thought of a possible solution that I would now like to bring to your attention."

Daemon nodded to two attendants standing near the door, who unrolled a large illustration depicting some sort of stepped structure on the wall.

"What are they?" asked Passe. "Terraces?"

"I heard that this system is already in use in Xi-Zian. In this way it would become possible to cultivate even along the sides of a mountain or on the slopes of a valley."

"Can it really be done?" asked Mary

"I suppose so, provided we create an effective water supply system to guarantee irrigation and allow the elimination of excess water. And if the fields thus obtained were to be assigned to emancipated slaves to cultivate them for the benefit of the entire nation we would also have many fewer unemployed people."

"It seems like a very ambitious project. Are you sure we will be able to put it into practice?"

"What do I always say in these cases, General?"

"Imagination rules the world." Oldrick replied with a smirk

"Everything can be done if you have the right determination. And there's another thing I would like to talk to you about. As you all know we are essentially an exporting nation, and we sell minerals, stones and other raw materials to many nations, but apart from sawmills we have no industry. If we managed to build new industrial centers for the processing of what we produce from the land, our income would increase considerably, and we would also be protected against any embargoes that someone could implement against us."

"Specialized workers would be needed." Adrian objected "And currently we have few."

"There doesn't need to be many of them, as long as they know how to teach the trade. The primary aim of this maneuver is to fight unemployment. The problem with turning slaves into free citizens is that you end up with more workers than you actually need. The way of weapons is a possible solution, but creating too large an army would be seen as a threat by our neighbors."

"I get it, so it's killing two birds with one stone." Mary said. "Let's expand and differentiate our economy, and create jobs in the process."

"But training a highly specialized worker takes time, otherwise you risk producing poor quality goods."

"I'm surprised, Borg. You should know very well that introducing second-choice goods but in large quantities into a stagnant market such as those of the Empire or the Union often guarantees even greater income than that which would come from selling valuable goods. The time will come when we will make ourselves attractive to even more sophisticated customers, for now let's be content with earning as much as possible. So? Do you agree with me?"

There wasn't even a need to call a vote.

"So the proposal is approved. We will start by producing metal tools and work clothes. Adrian, you will choose the land to build the new industrial center. Borg, you find the buyers. Mary, get the necessary resources. Talk to investors, and if necessary offer equity shares as collateral."

The rest of the meeting continued without further interruption, until everyone had reported what they had to say about their respective assignments.

"Very good. That's enough for today. We will meet again in two weeks, and by then I already expect the first reports on the two new projects. This meeting is adjourned."