Hard Magic

1909

The international leadership of the Grimnoir Society had come together for the first time in a decade. The meeting room was plain, the building drab, and little would a passerby know that some of the most important people in the world had gathered there in secret.

"General Pershing, we are honored to have you as the newest member of the international leadership. Your bravery has saved the lives of thousands."

He hadn't come all this way just to get his ego stroked. "What about my proposal?"

"As commander of the American members of the Grimnoir Society, you are aware of the mighty challenges that face us. I'm afraid that we cannot honor your request at this time."

Pershing pushed away from the table and stood. "Respectfully, I think you're wrong. We need to recruit more people. Not just Actives, but anyone who has the courage to stand against the Imperium. The Chairman is our greatest threat. The time to strike is now. The longer we wait, the stronger he becomes. We need to build an army and take the fight to him. We need more knights. There's strength in numbers."

"There is more strength in secrecy," one of the younger Europeans said, his English rough, his pronunciation stilted. "War is brewing here, and I fear that our kind will be drawn into both sides. The Kaiser is already building Active units. I, for one, fear our own governments more than I fear the Japanese."

"Then you're a fool," Pershing snapped. There was a collective gasp. "The Kaiser is a Barnum clown compared to the Chairman. He's no mere politician. He's a force. The Geo-Tel events have been blamed on meteorites, but we all know what they really were."No one in the American government believed him, but these people should understand. They had to. "What if it had been your country that was about to be evaporated?"

"Then I would still listen to the knowledge of my elders," the European looked to the three men at the head of the table for confirmation.

The elders deliberated quietly amongst themselves for a moment, before the one in the middle finally spoke. "Our strategy remains the same for now. We will contain the Imperium, but we will not risk an open battle. Secrecy is paramount. General Pershing, you will protect the Geo-Tel device in the event that we ever, God help us, grow desperate enough to use it, but I do not ever foresee the need to use a weapon so terrible that its firing would be felt through the very fabric of all worlds. You will report the location only to the Grimnoir elders, in the case that something should befall you."

"You're all making a terrible mistake." Pershing stormed from the room in disgust. Mar Pacifica, California