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The Three Realms The Three Realms (Book 6: The Eternal Age of Unity)

3 Realms 6-5

Over the next few days, everyone got to work getting the Galdredan Railway fixed. Now that no one had to worry about bombs whizzing overhead, trains could run as normal and fix things. There were quite a few craters that severed the rail lines. As rail traffic was the major source of goods, repairs to the railway were given top priority. Dame Galya Gronsar, the Orc Controller of the Galdredan Railway, was very succinct in what was needed for repairs. She once thought her Mechanica engines wouldn’t be the most efficient, but after the Mechanica Trial’s results and after seeing them in action, she was never happier to be wrong. One of her engines, a Mechanica woman named Lushar, was marshaling freight cars in the quarry she was inspecting. Once Lushar had a break, Galya came up to talk to her. “There she is!” she praised. “The model of efficiency herself!”

“Dame Gronsar, hello!” replied Lushar. “How are things?”

“They’re looking up. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that we’re repairing things so quickly. I had though repairs would take the better part of the month, but it looks like things are going to be done in half that time! The ballast trains have been practically flying out of here like clockwork and they’re lining up perfectly with railway tie production!”

“What about the actual rails themselves?”

“That’s the only slow part. Smelting down metal’s a rather involved process and, given that we lost good engines and staff in the War, it’s taken a lot of wind out of people’s sails.” Lushar lowered her head.

“At least those engines that lost their lives were scrapped respectfully.” Galya nodded in agreement.

“And speaking of engine numbers, I’ve noticed that you’re the only engine here. Have you really been clearing out the quarry on your own?”

“Yes, Ma’am, but I won’t turn my nose up at help.”

“That’s good to hear. I’ll be transferring Rushak here to help you before the day’s out.”

“An excellent decision, Ma’am! I know it’ll make him happy to work in the quarry again!”

“I just have to admit, I’m astounded you went this far on your own. Don’t you get tired, even just a little bit?”

“Honestly, I found a way to do this all day.” Galya arched an eyebrow.

“Really? How?”

“Gumption and commitment, Ma’am.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” confirmed Lushar. “That’s all an engine needs to have a long, fulfilling career.”

“You’re an inspiration to everyone with that attitude,” praised Galya. “I have to say, though, there are those on the Board of Directors that are sorely lacking in that regard. …Well, I’ve inspected enough of the quarry. I need to head to Dropath Harbor.”

“My next train’s heading there, Ma’am. I can take you there.”

“That sounds perfect! It’ll save me the mana for a teleport spell, and I’ve always enjoyed a good train ride in a brake-van.”

“Let me just pick one up and we’ll be good to go!” Lushar headed off, found a brake-van, attached it to her train, then returned to the front. Galya and the Conductor entered the brake-van, the workers checked the couplings on the train, then gave the Conductor a thumbs-up when everything was good. The Conductor blew his whistle and waved the green flag. Lushar and her crew looked back, then she blew three short blasts from her whistle to indicate she was ready as well. Steam then entered her pistons and made her wheels turn. The train picked up speed and they travelled down the line. The line went through the Southern Continent’s rare green area before leading to the familiar rocky terrain leading to Dropath Harbor in the south.


While the train was moving, someone cloaked in an invisibility spell was at a set of points. The person used a hammer to make the points move so it would switch tracks to a line that led to a set of buffers at the edge of a pond near the signal box. The person then set a barrel of liquid mana near the points and punctured the barrel, letting the liquid mana spill onto the tracks. They heard two short whistle blasts and dashed into the bushes nearby. Lushar rounded the bend and saw the spilled mana! “DRIVER! BRAKES!” she called. Her brakes came on hard, but it was too late! She skidded into the spilled mana and was sent down the wrong line. She went so fast that she crashed into the buffers and slithered into the pond. Her head was dunked underwater, so she pulled it out and gasped for air. Once she finished spluttering, she looked at the situation she was in. “…Okay! So…that happened!”

“Lushar!” called Galya’s voice as she ran up to the engine. “Are you all right?!”

“I’m fine, Ma’am. Just wet. You?”

“My end was the least affected.”

“Draynak, Voruth, how about you?”

“We’re okay!” replied her driver, Draynak.

Sweet Ones, what happened?!” asked Galya.

“There was a leaking barrel of mana next to the tracks,” explained Lushar.

“What?!” yelped her fireman, Voruth. “Who’d be dumb enough to put a leaky barrel there?!”

“Probably the same yutz who set the points to this line!”

“I’ll call for help!” declared Galya as she opened her makeup mirror and cast a communications spell on it. “Upend my railway’s operations, will they?! Someone’s gonna answer for this!”

“I hope so!” agreed Lushar. She then sighed. “Bust my buffers, the day started out so well too!”


A male tank engine Mechanica, Rushak, brought cranes, a flatbed, a medical coach, and one of the Mechanica engines of the local Railway Investigations Agency. The cranes put Lushar onto the flatbed as it was discovered that her brakes locked her wheels in one place and flattened out the bottoms, so she had to get new wheels. The RIA engine, an Officer Julnath, inspected the points with his crew. The Signalwoman, a Frostik named Rulja, was quick to give her statement and surrender all her security footage. When the footage showed nothing, Julnath’s crew checked the cameras themselves. What they found was VERY disturbing. They found evidence of a Realmfleet-grade scattering spell, designed to play the same image on a camera as if nothing had happened. It was used a lot during the Final War to confuse the cameras of the Realm Trinity Empire when Realmfleet officers infiltrated their bases. Because of this finding and the fact that it was a spell beyond Rulja’s skillset, Rokalla and the Narvens were informed. Rokalla assigned the Endeavor to assist in finding the saboteur and Arsha handed out assignments to the crew, determined to find out who was the monster behind this and to hopefully prevent lives from being lost so early into the current Age of Unity.

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