A/N: I still don't really like the first scene and Landar's rocket live-fire demonstration.

Especially the rockets, I keep feeling like it's missing something.

Clatter clatter bump.

Cato watched Landar sigh up at the sky as the cart rolled onward.

"It doesn't feel like we're on an expedition," Cato muttered.

"Mmm..." Landar shrugged.

Bump clatter.

All around them, the slow but continuous footsteps of the column of Guards and Iris retainers continued the march northwards. The Iris group however had their own carts and carriages, along with servants to keep the rekis in line.

It would be a scene of aristocratic luxury if not for the fact that each of those Iris servants were also lower ranking clan members and were able to use summoning stones in their own right.

"Why not have some tea to pass the time?"

The gentle voice drew no reaction from either of them. After all, Cato had been hearing Landar's mother trying to fuss over her every day since they left the Iris compound. Even he had given up reacting to each and every one of her attempts to get Landar to talk to her father.

It did not help that Yan insisted on continuing his training even during the travel. Even now, Yan was sitting in a large basin of water with an Iris servant keeping him wet.

Cato looked up at the cart immediately behind his and saw the bare chested figure of Landar's father. The stream of water dripping onto his back was blown off in clouds of condensation by cold air fans that kept his lethal overcharge fever to a comfortable level. And even Cato's vague undeveloped magic sense could feel the power from the massive enchanted iron plate Yan was sitting on, slowly drawn up into the Iris patriach to maintain the overcharge.

Yup, still at it. The glow of light dancing under his skin was also another product of the investigations and charting of training methods. While not as revolutionary as the overcharge training, it was found that performing the Light creating training within the body improved the rate of power gain by as much as twenty percent. Kupo had suggested as much when she hypothesized that the Light creating training was forcing the body to concentrate magical energy into a smaller amount of magic density, effectively forcing the magic into a higher energy state. Performing the training inside the body increased the amount of flesh exposed to the high energy level. Kupo was more concerned by the direct confirmation of magic energy generation being linked to bits of the body, but the Iris were all over the increased training efficiency.

As might be expected, Kupo and the bunch from Pastora attached to the expedition as doctors were keenly observing the training. This time, they were trying out simultaneous overcharge, Light creation and magical control training all at once. It needed constant meditative focus and an external power supply to keep the overcharge while the trainee's magic was in use, but the time saving of a continuous training method that also worked to improve casting speed was something the Iris really liked, no matter how impractical.

Cato wished he could do something like that just to pass the time. Being on expedition was mostly very boring while he rode or walked from place to place.

Once Landar and Cato had run through the notes and finished writing most of the 'software' for the second generation magic circle, they had sent the notes and diagrams back to Minmay using Ka. Ka could not transport the completed prototype back however, so they would have to wait for weeks to be able to progress further.

Landar's mother spent her time preparing food and chatting to the clan people. Yan filled his time with training.

Landar sighed again and sipped at the cup that her mother pressed into her hands.

"Ah, I wish I could use the rockets as fireworks," she muttered.

Cato pretended not to hear that.

The army was camped halfway to the northern city ruins, a sea of tents and cooking fires surrounding the supply tents in the center. None of them had moved for the last three days.

Shoes. They were laid low by the lack of shoes.

The soil in Ektal was soft and fertile, especially in the Central Territories. A thin leather sole with cloth wrapping sufficed and for the Minmay Guard and levy soldiers, that was all they were going to get.

Once they were past the Snow Wall however, the terrain had changed to a hard rock with a dusting of sand. The river helped to keep the ground damp with thin grass covering, but even so the marching over the harsh terrain had destroyed the shoes far faster than anyone had anticipated.

The supplies of leather and cloth for the cobblers had run out in a week. The parties and nobles with their own supplies or sturdier boots still had functional footwear but the main army couldn't march a third of their strength.

Erin had immediately wrote orders for Fort Yang to send them all their supplies of footwear, but she could already hear the jeering. Of all things to ground her army, it had to be shoes. They had water, they had food, they had weapons, but for the lack of shoes, the glorious Northern Expedition Army was stuck.

It was only sheer luck that the zombies were dumb enough to focus on her army, milling around the edges trying to collect enough forces to attack. They hadn't cut her off from Fort Yang. Erin had immediately sent the one Reki cavalry formation with air cover on sorties to attack and provoke them into killing zones.

She didn't want the army to face a huge attack without a fort to back her up. Attacking before any large concentrations could be gathered was only common sense, but the zombies refused to engage if the numbers were too lopsided. Only her one cavalry platoon could catch them too.

So her infantry platoons were being sent out at barely favourable odds and taking the losses to destroy small zombie packs. It was irritating and bad for morale.

The shoes would be coming from the south. Any day now...

Kobel patted the reki under him, trying to sooth it of its irritation. Unsuccessfully. The desert wind carried a fine sand that made the dog-like creatures' noses run. It hadn't stopped ever since they left the protective barrier of the Snow Wall and the rekis were in a foul mood because of it. That Kobel had only a few months practice in the saddle did not help matters.

His lowly scout squad had grown into a small platoon of experimental Fuka Rangers. Scraped together from the few fukas that had responded to Kobel's proposed recruitment, they were each something of a rebel. Despite the general poor treatment of fukas and unconscious discounting of their abilities that even now still occurred in Minmay, Kobel had only managed to attract those fukas who were outcast from their social circles for one reason or another.

It made them all somewhat strange for fukas but they had no problems learning Ems and sprinting faster than a reki. So Kobel did not complain.

"Sir, there's shuffling footprints about ten minutes southwest. Less than a day old with all this sand around. " Enay reported in as the fuka slid to a halt next to the watering tray. The sand fluffed up in dusty clouds as the ranger skidded to a halt. He at least had the decency to look chagrined when Kobel eyed him balefully.

One of Kobel's best trackers and rangers, Enay had been effectively kicked out of the fuka community when he lost his family and had the fur on his ears and tail and half his face burnt as a child. Learning to survive by himself in the forest gave Enay a tracking ability unmatched in all the Guard. Enay was possibly too young but a little fudging got him accepted by the Guard anyway. The pay and food was better than what the boy could get on his own.

The occasional childish behaviour could be overlooked. Wanting to look cool all the time by jumping or skidding or just horsing around made the rest of the platoon treat Enay as something of a mascot.

"How many zombies do you think there are?" He asked.

Enay cocked his head, thinking for a moment, "maybe thirty human and six reki? -ish. Not more than forty total. "

Kobel nodded his acknowledgement of the report, ignoring Enay's impatient bouncing. That was around the same size as his own force and possibly too small to have a shooter. It would be best to destroy them before they could link up with another group.

"Sulee, ride back and report that Third Scout group has found an Enemy group and will move to engage. Report our location and expected enemy count. " Kobel said. As she mounted up, he paused her with a thought, "also mention that we need more water here. The rekis are drinking more than usual with all this dust. "

"We going to fight?" Enay perked up, gripping the Model 2 slung over his back. The boy was practically bouncing on his toes now, in expectation of his first real battle.

"We are. Get the rest of the platoon ready. Enay, you ride in front and follow the trail. We move in ten minutes. "

The sandy hills eventually revealed the clump of zombies Enay was leading them towards. The zombies were up and moving again, this time towards Kobel now that his group was close enough to attract the zombies away from the main army. Meanwhile Kobel's group had ridden for hours, they and their rekis were tired and only the crest of the hill was blocking them from being harassed by light beams.

"Darn those zombies," Kobel cursed. It seemed the new light beam behaviour had spread to every group now, they no longer wasted their shots against the side of a convenient hill or trench. Which meant that if Kobel's group tried to charge, the one shooter that was present would start killing people, and they couldn't even wait for the beam to be charging before popping up to fire back.

He deeply regretted bringing only three portable mist shields and no knights who could cast one.

Kobel glanced over the rest of his platoon, thirty humans and fukas combined, all of them looking to him for instructions.

"Enay, use a shield and take a look over the crest. I need to know how close they are. The rest of you, ready bayonets and grenades. "

The zombies were getting closer and trading shots at long range would only cause casualties. The other scouting bands had found out the hard way that zombie shooters were now about as accurate as a Model 2 and in fact out ranged bowguns entirely. The new model gun, now also called the Model 1, was on par with zombie light beams for accuracy and zombies were far tougher to bullets than humans were to burning. Fuka Ems were also no defence.

Better to use the crest and take the zombies in melee. With luck, the shooter wouldn't get more than a single shot off.

Enay readied the open frame of metal in the shape of a shield, turning the surface into a shimmering waterfall of Mist magical material. Thus protected, he pushed the shield over the edge of the crest and peeked around the side.

"They're charging. " Kobel nodded at the report, the slapping sound of feet on sandy ground was quite telling. "They'll be here in half a minute at most. "

"Keep an eye out. All right, bring up the rekis too. "

At his command, each of the riders whistled to their rekis. Smart as the mounts were, they understood the signal for ambush. The rekis rushed up to their human partners and crouched beside the scouts in a line. The soft growls and bared teeth signaled their readiness to fight alongside their human masters.

"Set guns to inertia. " The order drew questioning looks but they obeyed. Inertia enchanted bullets were ridiculously deadly but didn't work against the zombie's black mist. And a squad that had a shooter also had that protection.

Enay's shield flashed once as the shooter discharged a shot in his direction. Save for a flinch, Kobel's scout was unharmed. "Here in 5," Enay said, scrambling back towards the line.

"Grenades, number one!" Kobel shouted and six fire shells lobbed over the crest. There was a gout of flame shooting upwards. "Ready, fire as they come!"

Then first zombies, still on fire, crested the hill and immediately blew apart as most of the squad sent bullets their way. Like Kobel had hoped, the black mist surrounding the zombies was busy dealing with the fire and the inertia bullets tore into them viciously.

"Charge!"

And the whole squad, glinting bayonets in hand and war cries on their lips, went forwards the short few meters to the top of the hill. Ahead of them was the rekis, yelps of excitement as they charged ahead of the humans and fukas. Right on time into the zombies coming up behind the first doomed line. The zombie shooter fired once, the lead reki's head exploding into a shower of boiling blood and gore. Then they were into a whirlwind of tooth and steel against deathly strength.

Kobel slashed, stabbed and kicked with a fury, the one Em he knew lending his arms strength enough to punch his bayonet clean through his target's chest. The zombie reki snapped at him but the long metal barrel of his gun kept the impaled zombie away. With a bang, his loaded bullet blew its head off and Kobel whirled to block another zombie's grasping hands with the gun. He didn't get to retaliate, his trusty mount bowled it over with a bark and tore the human zombie in half with its hindlegs.

In a few seconds, the melee was over. Scattered around were chunks of zombies, already being tossed and kicked into the burning pyres of living fire splattered on the down slope. Kobel panted, letting the Em drain away from his arms. The last of the zombies went under a pile of rekis, torn to shreds mercilessly.

A quick mental headcount put them at light losses. Apart from the one reki mount, there were no deaths and only three casualties with recoverable injuries. For even numbers, this was very good.

Scratch one for the living.

Landar ran a hand over the rocket body. Steel rolled into a cylinder, tipped with a short cone and sprouting stubby fins at the base. Oiled to prevent rust. A nozzle at the bottom built to incredible precision, fins aligned precisely, the incendiary rocket was a culmination of Minmay's technological achievements. The requirements for making a reliable rocket weapon had needed the rocket team to recreate micrometer gauges and microgram measurements.

The idea that differences smaller than the eye could see made a huge difference in the flight of the rocket was almost revolutionary. Vernier scales had been considered the be-all and end-all of length measurements, more precision than anyone could ever need.

Oh, how naive everyone was!

These rockets made to micrometer precision still had an inaccuracy of a hundred meters at their maximum range. Able to fly three kilometers, these weapons would be able to strike the enemy without worry of retaliation.

And today, she would have the chance to prove its worth.

The observation balloon floated high above the battlefield, signalling the position of the zombie group. Despite the continuous sorties to cut down enemy numbers, by the time the shoes had arrived, the zombies had managed to gather a large group of over a thousand and were collecting more.

"Range estimated 2.4 kilometers," read the signaller from the balloon's flags, "elevation down 40 meters. "

The alchemist behind Landar scratched at his paper, running through the calculations to get the calibrated settings for the launchers. "Elevation 4.6 and wind..." he glanced at the windsock, "make that half a mark east. "

Landar watched the alchemists make the adjustments. Elevation screws were turned to the appropriate mark and the alignment dials moved with care. The rows of rockets sitting in their metal brackets beheld the future of all weaponry.

"Fire one!" she shouted when the adjustments were made. The fuse was struck and one rocket screamed off into the sky.

Behind them, the watching crowd of Guards and commanders jumped. It was a sound no one had ever heard before, an ear-blasting roar that quickly dropped in pitch as the rocket sailed away faster and faster. A quirk of the last design had given the rocket a distinctive sound that was unexpected but not unpleasant.

It sounded like victory. A streak of fire and smoke drawn into the blue heavens with her deadly brush.

There was a distant bang and a plume of red flame in the distance. The spotter in the balloon waved a flag.

"On target," said the signaller.

That's what she wanted to hear! "Fire all!" Landar cried, throwing out an arm grandly. If they thought the one rocket's roar was surpri-

Landar shielded her eyes with a hand. Heat from the rockets' red glare caressed her face, the smoky smell of rocket fuel, an unending chorus of descending screams. Each one a flaming arrow heralding a rain of steel and fire. An orgy of power and destruction soared from her grasping hand. No speech was possible over the din of the rockets.

It was over all too soon. The wails of rockets died away, to be replaced with a pattering of bangs like rain on a metal roof. Next to the intimidating column of smoke that was the result of the rocket launch, the distant sounds of the target had much less impact. Even though anyone would prefer to be on this end of the rockets.

A lopsided grin plastered on her face that didn't want to go away, Landar turned around to the speechless observers.

"How about that?" she said.

No one had anything to say. Perfect.

Many histories of the period focus on the innovations brought to the world by Cato Lois and Landar Iris. Many examples have been quoted in each of their fields, from the metalworking lathe that brought manufacturing standardization, to the first instance of rocket artillery known as Landar's Trumpets for their distinctive blaring sound.

The impact of even his limited knowledge, when planted in the fertile seedbed of the guild-based manufacturing industries, cannot be understated. However, it is the opinion of this author that far beyond the raw improvements brought by better materials, machines and magic, the improvements in the organization of people and practices is of equal or even larger importance than that of the actual technologies themselves. This was often overlooked even during that tumultuous time, even by Cato himself.

The period documents many innovations in organizations. Before, the guilds functioned as collective bargaining structures for craftsworkers, with the most organized also providing training and limited support. Sales was disorganized, supply was another guild with sometimes hostile relationships. The pre-modern corporate structures that were introduced, of the systematization of production that permitted workers with little training, of a unification of the sales, production and innovation processes, all that provided the base for eroding bottlenecks in the process of turning the raw materials into saleable products.

With the guilds, a piece of iron ore might sit for months before being processed and later sit for yet more months waiting for an order for some iron tool before being sold into the user's hands. Post-Purge firms had input to output delays of less than a month, exceptional cases, especially in steel and magic, were sometimes less than a week. And this would only improve with the later introduction of long range communication and Just-In-Time principles.

The introduction of nation-wide transport networks, unified law enforcement and a centralized tax structure that brought down legal barriers to trade and allowed the provision of resources from all across the Federation. Before, that piece of iron ore might be mined out of the ground in one province, sold to a merchant who had to pax taxes, transported across three different provinces, each with their own tax, legal and commercial barriers, and eventually brought to a city to be sold to the Ironworkers guild. More than half the time, the iron ore was waiting to pass those barriers and sitting idle while negotiations were conducted and further transport found.

After the establishment of the Minmay political hegemony within the region, most of those barriers vanished along with the destruction of the special interests that resulted in them. The same iron ore was now transported in convoys or over rivers and did not stop until they reached the outskirts of the city itself, whereupon they would be transferred to Minmay Ironworker company's furnaces, as the centralized law and tax allowed the ore to be purchased by that company before it was even dug out of the ground!

Similarly, the unified currency, though still on a gold and silver standard, along with the sea of 'production notes' issued by those companies, allow trade to flourish on a never before seen scale. While there was no modern floating currency and central financial authority did not exist, the effect of purging the shadow wars conducted with mercenaries by the guilds allowed a stability to rise from the growing financial power of the firms. Eventually, their promises of shares of their production or investment came to be respected to the extent that some of them functioned as de facto currencies, if not de jure with the later rules for financial trading. They were traded and counted as favours between those companies needing them.

All this brought down the barriers to production, reducing the time delay between demand and supply and creating an environment that allowed the much celebrated innovation to flourish. Without these changes to the society and economy, it is doubtful that Cato's scientific efforts would have yielded as much progress as it did.

It is of much irony then that despite the emphasis and effort spent on Cato's scientific and engineering innovations, most of these other important innovations resulted from simple letters, unofficial meetings or even just an expressed underlying assumption of Cato's that was later implemented by businessmen or politicians. Or were introduced almost accidentally, as is the case of the financial currencies.

The epitome of this lack of emphasis was in the organization of companies. Rather than starting with the changes of the law post-Purge, the corporate structures had already begun forming months before that failed uprising. A company that provisioned military supplies had been the recipient of Cato's advice on the canning process for some time and its changes in internal structure had begun long before everyone else copied them. The sparse records of the company indicate an increasing centralization of decision making power and streamlining of internal processes as the letter exchange with Cato continued, growing first from the research arm as demands for results put on ever increasing time pressure, and later into the manufacturing and sales.

The letters themselves also change over time, where the initial innovations were described as expensive side projects or new development, while later research efforts became a core corporate activity, supported by manufacturing and supply links to partner companies.

These changes were mirrored to different extents in other companies of the time. Rather than celebrated and remembered with the push for standardization, the massive rise in magical complexity and the improvements in machine power, these innovations were introduced quietly, forming a silent change in 'the way things worked' that is poorly reflected in official accounts.

- A Economic History of the Early Expansion