England wasn't made by its people, it was made when the Normans, Vikings by any other name who had been such a thorn in France's side they preferred to capitulate and give them land rather than fight, invaded this island. The French themselves? Gaul became France when german Franks invaded and took over. Russia was no exception to this historical pattern of strong invaders making a land their own when the Varangians invaded and formed what would become the Great Princedom of the 'Rus. Of the Russians. 

And today was the day Titania fell to this pattern as well.

This tantalizing crumb of history was lost on most if not all but General Tolstoï as she flew in a gunship above 'Geological Formation B48', a rocky fjor hidden from praying eyes. She watched by the tiny window as bellow in difficult terrain and gray weather the Myr, Vostok and Novoprospekt unloaded its cargo of machines and men and they began a long trek toward 'Mountain 511'. They were tired, they were hungry but they were also ecstatic. This grey landscape with beyond tiny green valleys and white mountains were like paradise compared to the place they came from. A new beginning. "Strela-7 is in flight, I repeat, Strela-7 is in flight, going to M511 from GFB48... So this is home uh?" The pilot said with a smirk.

He turned around to look at the passenger, the general among them. "General!" Inexpressive, Tolstoi turned around to look at the pilot, who continued. "General! We made it! But to you the honor, should we name our new home Veronikagrad?" 'Veronika's city'. Those around her were stressed, she wasn't known for her sense of humor and visibly this pilot didn't know that. She however, smirked, and answered. "This fjor... The Vostok will be disassembled, it will be Vostok harbor. Out settlement... It will be called Holmgard." The pilot turned to look at his copilot who merely shrugged, no one knowing what the hell this meant. "Correction Novoprospekt, we are heading to the settlement of Holmgard from the Fjor of Vostok!"

"Roger that 10/10 Strela-7, onward to Holmgard, good luck and god be with you!"

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Holmgard or... whatever name these 'Dwarves' gave to this city, it would be their new home. From the outside, there was naught but a gate, a large and impressive gate cut in the very stone, no doubt an impressive fortification by all standard, dwarfing most if not all stoneworks of Earth. This mighty fortress however had fallen in a night, its garrison ready and battle hardened after many fights with tiny green monsters the men called 'Goblins', no match for the elite spetsnaz.

As the report went, they infiltrated during the night, they weren't even subtle as they burned out the goblin burrows but yet the stunted folks hadn't expected anything. The entry was violent and made on multiple point on the upper levels as Gunships assaulted the Gate, distracting key elements of the enemy defense. The elite commandos then made their way down, terminating any potential hostile as they went with grenades and flame throwers. No survivors. The lower levels however, had been sealed.

Veronika and her entourage arrived now as she could see the men priming explosives on what was an entrance to the lower levels. They'd send it crashing down and gas everything down bellow, no point in falling in an easy ambush. As the situation was explained however, Doctor Volodin who was admiring the frankly ingenious device they all stood before (This gate was made of solid granite and must weight several tons!) Turned his eyes to what he at first thought was a continuation of this mechanism to see it was something... else. They were in the middle of an enormous plaza with support beams all around but this metal construction held reservoirs of water and a small table with primitive oil gauges and a lever. He was no engineer but simple logic told him this looked like... He pulled on a lever, curious, and the entire 'Plaza' they were on began to move, downward! A massive elevator! Surprised, he stepped away as the body guards of the General pulled him toward the center. "Get back! What have you done?!" All around them screaming as no one quite understood what the hell was happening and the platform lowered itself, the strangers in this city throwing beams of light from their gun's mounted flashlight into the increasing darkness.

Around them, a much more developed architecture! Windows, doors, bridges and... little men with beard. "Target in sight, instructions?!" The elite spetsnaz turned toward their veteran commander who himself seemed about to speak but turned to Veronika, the General and commander in chief, not daring to speak as the, surprised, merely looked in facination at these Dwarves.

Finally the elevator stopped and around them, these little things, some with armors, most with weapons, looked at them. "GENERAL, ORDERS?!" Said a practically panicking soldier but Veronika held up a hand to stop them from shooting. These people... females, young ones, old and unfit to fight and in their eyes... fear. "They are no menace, look at them..." She simply said with a soft voice, the corner of a smile on her face. She stepped forward and looking around, saw one. He was old, with a grey beard and a massively ornamented armor and a crown. Their king. Her heels clicked on the stone floor as she moved out of the group. Her face the dwarf thought, it looked like a snake. Just when he thought to himself he'd move to strike the next step the viper thought, she stopped. "Aslanov!" She screamed. "YES GENERAL?!" A voice answered above their position. Red dots danced on the bodies of the dwarves, some trying to 'get them off' by ruffling their clothes. "Let them learn of the faith of their soldiers, if you would." The sound of heels clicking on the ground and seconds later, an armored body falling on the ground between Veronika and the dwarven king. The dwarves took a step back as she, defenseless in nothing but clothing, moved forward and bent down to take the weapon, a hammer, that this dwarf clung to even in his death. The dwarves could see the holes that had ripped through his heavy armor. Taking the hammer, she looked at the king... and dropped it. It was all she needed to do and quickly, the king did the same, his few servants following quickly. 

With a satisfied smile, Veronika turned toward Leonid. "Decypher their language, learn what you can. Put the king under arrest, the others put them to work." The bearded and terrified scientist silently nodded. "And Doctor!" He looked up timidly. "Next time... a warning, before you touch anything suspicious."

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This city, it had probably taken centuries, millenniums even, to build! So much labor, sweat and blood. Even for humans with their engineering, this would have been no small task. And now, just like that, it was all theirs. The dwarves collaborated. Oh there was a couple incidents, especially when what could only be seen as burial tombs were destroyed as in such a massive hall they would build the foundry, nowhere else would do, but after a demonstration of the Human's awesome powers there was no more resistance. These creatures were smart enough to realize their lives were forfeit the moment they stopped collaborating. At the moment they didn't know the true extend of what they had found, this city, it was connected to rich mineral deposits stretching well beyond the human's imagination! But for now, they'd satisfy themselves melting armor and weapons to shape as drills and other tools... along with the small mountain of gold in the Palace of the King. Though to be honest, General Tolstoï would have preferred an equal amount of food. The dwarves had some agriculture but this couldn't feed everyone. Other methods were needed.

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And one such method was, well, piracy for a lack of better word.

The man of interest in this particular story however was a Jollian quester, a man of ambition who heed the call of the king in hope to receive riches and notoriety to better his life. What the king wanted right now was information about the World Eaters and this he would provide by going Eastward! The captain of this ship was a merchant who wouldn't risk going to the East most islands where the World Eaters were told to have already established their dominion, but he'd take him some of the way and after, well, the quester was a resourceful man, he'd improvise! What he didn't think though, was that the World Eaters would find him. 

"KRAKEN!" 

Sleeping under the deck, the man's eyes went wide open as he rushed to his sword and above deck. Krakens in these parts?! Didn't the naga keep them subdued!? He went to the deck with the rest of the crew as around them the sea churned and bubbled. Soon, next to them, a tower of iron emerged. It went higher and higher and higher until suddenly, a fortress of metal emerged! He like the crew stand in awe as forms could soon be seen on the tower. Out of nowhere, a voice boomed, talking to them in a strange language. Someone went to his knees and began to pray, dropping his weapon. Another joined him and then another. When there was the sound of thunder and someone fell dead in a puddle of blood, all did the same, dropping their weapons and kneeling. The figures began to descent the tower...

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Summary:
-The Vostok is disassembled in the fjor for parts to be brought to the new settlement.
-A minor dwarven hold is subjugated in a night, its warriors slain and population subjugated.
-The food situation continues to deteriorate, becoming critical.
-The Myr and Akula are sent home to fetch reinforcements.
-The Novoprospekt is sent to scour the sea for trade ships that can have anything useful, especially food, and takes a ship with a Jollian questor on it.