Tenebris Renasci: A World of Magic and Gunpowder

Alexander leaned back in his seat, watching as the city gave way to a large open space filled with tents and flags that had red and gray colors.

Well, that certainly is not our flag.

There were several men and women dressed in red and gray uniforms, their caps were gray and their rifles seemed to have larger magazines compared to the rifles of the pathfinders.

"Elise, who are they?" Alexander asked as he pointed towards them.

Elise glanced over in the direction Alexander was pointing as she looked for a place to park.

"They are pathfinders from the Ambur kingdom, why do you ask my lord?"

Elise responded, parking the carriage

a good distance away from the unveiling.

"Well, their uniforms looked so….. different," Alexander answered.

Elise stood up and then jumped down from the carriage, before reaching her hands out to help Alexander down.

"Well, that's just how the Ambur kingdom works, they always employ the newest technology, I wouldn't be surprised if they come out with an automaton at this point," Elise said with a chuckle.

Alexander was doubtful about that, even with all the technology available back on Earth robots were still clunky.

Elise placed Alexander on the ground and began to straighten out his clothes.

Once she was done she started to make her way towards the unveiling, with Alexander in hand.

The crowd was a mixture of people ranging from high-class nobles and scholars to the common folk and children.

As they made their way through the crowd, Alexander noticed that pathfinders from both kingdoms were placed strategically throughout the crowd.

I guess they aren't taking any chances.

Alexander's attention was eventually drawn towards the wooden statue and tent in the center of the event.

The tent was full of audio equipment, and a microphone was in the middle of the stage.

Woah, it seems technologically has progressed further than I thought.

After a moment of waiting, two carts were rolled out onto the stage after emerging from the tent.

They had a large cloth covering them, however, Alexander could still make out the shape of a small rectangular box.

As the carts rolled out on stage, so too did a man dressed in a red and gray suit, whose eyes glowed a bright green.

Stepping to the microphone, he began to smile. "Hello citizens of the Fallen Kingdom," the man paused as he looked at the crowd, waving to everyone with with a wide grin.

"Today we are here to unveil the newest technology created by the Ambur kingdom, this technology will revolutionize long-distance communications, no more will you have to rely solely on the newspaper for the news, with this technology long-distance communication goes from days to seconds!"

The crowd began to murmur, and the man's smile grew wider, it seemed this was the reaction he wanted.

He raised his hand for the crowd to be silent.

"I know, it's unbelievable, but with Queen Charlotte's innovative mind anything is possible and to show you, I'm now going to unveil….."

He paused as two men dressed in suits removed the sheets from the carts, revealing two radios.

"…..The radio!"

Holy shit!

The crowd erupted into awe and applause, Alexander hesitantly joined them despite his confusion and shock.

His eyes were wide in amazement, he'd seen way more technologically sophisticated machines sure, but this felt as if he was witnessing history firsthand.

This world is progressing right in front of his eyes, and whoever this Queen Charlotte was, has certainly made Alexander curious.

The man waved his hands and the crowd began to die down.

"Now, there are several…."

The man moved his finger in a circle.

"…hiccups at the moment, including the fact that there aren't many broadcasters inside the Fallen Kingdom, HOWEVER, you can tune into stations from the Ambur Kingdom." He said with a smirk.

The man walked towards one of the radios.

He turned a dial and pressed a few buttons, then extended an antenna from the back of the radio.

The radio quickly began to crackle to life, and a voice came through clear as day, reporting on a news broadcast.

The crowd was silent as they listened to the news, "…and in other news, the Pathfinder core has committed several more zeppelins towards the war effort against the Western empire, with Queen Amber's leadership this war will be over swiftly…"

After the report on the war update, a patriotic song began to play, causing the crowd to cheer loudly.

The man calmed the crowd down again as he walked back towards the microphone, "We will begin building stations within the Fallen Kingdom soon. However, you can buy a radio right now, for only 16 golden Embers, we are shipping them in by the dozen, so it won't be long until you can get your hands on one!"

He had a large smile on his face as he looked at the crowd.

There were mixed reactions at the price, for nobles it was a reaction of acceptance and smiles, but for the common folk, there was nothing but frowning and frustration as they began to clear out for the unveiling.

Well, I guess it pays to be rich, I have to get one of these radios, for the information and the entertainment.

As the crowd continued to disperse, Alexander and Elise made their way towards the stage, where a line of nobles were eyeing the radios and the spokesman was describing the functionality of them.

As Elise and Alex joined the queue of nobles, Alex couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

He never thought it before, but he'd been reborn as a noble so his life was certainly going to be easier than the common man's.

How the hell did I get so lucky?

As Alex grinned at his fortune, the line grew smaller and smaller until eventually, it was their turn.

The spokesman greeted them with a smile.

"You folks are in luck, this is the last one." He said, before gesturing for a man to come forward, it was a pathfinder from Ambur, and in his hands, he held a radio.

The spokesman then pulled out a small notepad, "That'll be 16 golden Embers, or if you want you can put it on credit." He smiled at Elise, it was a big toothy smile. The kind a car salesman has when he's selling a used car.

Elise opened her pouch and retrieved several small sheets of gold. "We have the Embers on hand."

The spokesman began to scribble on his notepad, then held out his hand.

Elise placed the Embers in his hand with a firm press.

"Jean, my good man, hand these fellows their new radio!" The spokesman grinned as he spoke to the pathfinder with the radio.

The Pathfinder approached Elise and handed her the radio.

Alexander guessed it was heavier than Elise had expected because she staggered a little.

"What in the heavens is in this thing?" She asked as she adjusted the radio in her hands.

The spokesman's eyes widened with excitement, "Well you see thanks to several new inventions, the most innovative among them the vacuum tube….."

The pathfinder, Jean, who handed Elise the radio, spoke with a deep sense of annoyance in his voice.

"Raymon, if I have to hear that damn speech one more time,"

The spokesman, looked at the pathfinder with a wry smile, "Sorry, I get carried away."

He then turned back to face Elise, "If you are curious, we will be selling manuals shortly, you should speak to me then."

He then smiled as he turned back to his tent, the Pathfinder following suit.

Elise turned to face Alexander, "I guess it's time for us to head out as well my lord." She said, adjusting the radio one more time before they headed back to their carriage.

As they walked Alexander couldn't help but notice a shirtless child playing in the alleyway with a bucket on their head.

The child waved a stick around wildly as if it were a sword.

What an idiot…. I could find a way better stick than that!

Abruptly, almost as if fate herself was annoyed with Alexander, the child's stick flew out of their hands.

And headed directly for Alexander.

Fuck….

Alexander's eyes widened as the stick smashed directly against his nose. A sharp pain quickly followed, then spread to his cheeks.

Elise panicked as she looked for a place to put down the radio, eventually, deciding to lower the radio towards the ground

"Elise no!" Alexander shouted as he held his nose.

Elise looked up at Alexander with confusion and concern, "but my lord!" She exclaimed.

"I'm fine, but I don't wanna damage that radio." His voice was muffled and pitched.

Elise looked conflicted, eventually turning her gaze towards the child in the alleyway, they were running towards them, as the bucket on their head bobbed back and forth.

"I'm so sorry!" The child exclaimed as they removed the bucket from their head, revealing a pretty face and bright blue eyes.

"Are you ok!?" They asked.

Well hey, I am now.