Let’s play a game. This is set in the same world as that story I wrote (and am now trying to sell)…
The Khazarian golem had an old, faded France-over-Sea sigil on its left shoulder; I wasn’t sure whether this meant that it had fought in the War, the sigil was meant to be disinformation, or whether it just liked the Bonaparte dynasty. Although probably the first and third weren’t really contradictory. After all, the French were allies with what was left of Khazaria, these days. For that matter, so were we.
It’s funny, really. After the first big War we thought that we were going to stop having these sorts of scraps; and after the second big War we had to stop having them – but twenty years later and here we are; still cleaning up the dog’s breakfast that we made of the Great Settlement. Bavaria against Brandenburg, and let’s never say that it’s us against the Russians. We can’t have that. We also can’t have a reunited Central Europe, which is why the operation tonight…
…So. What happened next?
Ok, so you’ve got the world advancing into the equivalent of our Cold War. Which to my mind stayed cold at least partially due to nukes. So what are this world’s magical nuke equivalent? A somewhat controllable, dimensional barrier shattering banestorm? Magical plagues? A wide area death spell? A flight of dragons? Demon summoning? [you have read Operation Chaos by Anderson, right?] Poison fogs? Widespread mind control of some sort? A massive bad luck curse? Citywide polymorphing? Raising a volcano? Massive plant growth and control, to the point of destroying buildings? Some sort of necromantic effect? [zombies are so passe, skeletons, maybe] Summoning lovecraftian horrors?
Actually, for the most fun, each nation or group should focus on one different effect. Or, each nation focuses on one particular magical college, and the spy vs spy game is centered on learning arcane secrets, and making sure the other sides don’t learn yours.
That actually goes well with my preferred [somewhat wacky] laws of magic: The Laws of Firsts and Repetition. The very first time something is done is the most powerful. And something done over and over becomes easier.
So tonight the plant and animal focused dashing Washington spy and the earth and fire focused beautiful Russian spy must cooperate against…
The Duchy of Schmoditten-Schloditten is a tiny freckle among the states of the Rhine Palatinate, but it was admirable for my purposes – small, unnoticeable, backward, possessed of an eminently bribable civil service, and on the western border of Brandenburg. The town could be charitably described as “rustic”, but if one knew where to look, suitably comfortable lodgings could be obtained. And, in said lodging, lolling in a chair on the other side of the fire from me was the third person of my cabal (if a golem can be said to constitute a person).
Francesco di Buonaparte liked to affect elements of dress that he fondly believed derived from Corsican banditti: big hat with a turned up brim, a waist sash around his ample middle. The striped pantaloons, I thought, were a bit much, but I forbore from saying anything as he poured his third bumper of Rhenish of the evening. I was beginning to have a doubt about employing him in my plan, but he had the name and, most importantly, the blood.
The golem (whose name, I understood, was Gefikst) gave off a slight rumbling sound. In truth, all golems rumble slightly – something to do with the grinding of subterranean gears, as it were. But this rumbling had more of a displeased sound to it, as if, despite its apparent Bonapartist leanings, it was less than amused by our visitor.
This is quite good.
Insomnia is a wonderful thing…
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I’ve no clear idea of where this is going and I don’t know how things work in the In Nomine ‘verse – this was something I had to write down after reading your starting paragraphs and the world-building link. Want to continue?
Oh, I can finish it; I’ve already written out most of it in my head.
I will be delighted to read the final result.