Inspection of Dawn

After rearranging all her belongings by bringing them into the Inner Universe, Astur leaves for Dawn. With her are Elizabeth, Kretea, and Ystur. Ystur is forcefully dragged along by Astur. Kretea is following as her attendant. And Elizabeth decided to come along with Astur just to make sure she isn't causing any trouble as she did previously.

Ever since the takeover of Dawn, travel between it and the Sea of Trees has become significantly faster as a direct road going from Aeternum to Dawn has been established. In just under an hour, Astur's group arrives at Dawn.

Compared to the last time Astur saw the large town, it has changed immensely. Even from the time of the first attack by the Crusaders, Dawn has changed significantly since then. The temporary structures have been dismantled while several layers of tall walls stand in their place, surrounding Dawn from tens of kilometres out. Now the Fortress of Dawn is one of the most fortified territories of the Holy Oulvgar State. Compared to the old and outdated stone and concrete structures that protect the Kingdom of Virpal, Dawn is a fortress of metal, and in several places, the fortification has begun to incorporate the newly created organic metal further increasing the durability of the fortifications.

As their car is driving up to the fortress gate, Astur says, "I read the report, but it's definitely more impressive in person."

"My Father has always had a talent for designing military structures. With the Oulvgar's talent for construction, such a grand fortress was created at an amazing speed. Perhaps if things in the world were different, he would have been an architect instead of a warrior," Kretea says.

"I'd call doubt on that last line. The Tur has always been a combative race. Even if his main profession was that of an architect, he would probably still keep a side profession as a fighter in some capacity," Astur says as they pass through the Gates of Dawn.

Driving through the fortress town, the situation with has also changed since the initial occupation. Initially, fear and uncertainty were widespread among Dawn's residents, but now the people have mostly returned to their daily lives. Although many of the people had to look for new jobs with the change in administration, the need for workers didn't decrease and those people quickly found new work alongside the Warband and the Oulvgar. In fact, many of the people who had reservations about working or living alongside beings that are distinctly non-human have changed their opinions about them. Although there are still some stubborn ones who dislike non-humans, they won't publicly show it. For the majority of people in Dawn, the change in the administration hasn't been a bad thing. The clerical government-related jobs may have disappeared and were replaced with jobs requiring hard labour, but overall, the people of Dawn don't have much to complain about. First and foremost, taxes are far lower than before, no one can raise complaints against this, not even the few who dislike the change in rulers, after all, who can so no to fewer taxes. Overall, there isn't much to complain about for the common people of Dawn, life is good and they make more money than before.

The only people who have discontent with the changes are the former officials and clerks sent by the Kingdom to govern the town. They lost their jobs and with most of them being of lower nobility or related to them, these people naturally couldn't stand a new job as a farmer or construction worker. The only upside for them is that as long as the fortress is in a combat state, the gates are always open for people to enter and leave as they see fit. As such, those dissatisfied officials who could leave have already left.

"It's good to see the people are content," Astur says as she looks out the car window.

"A shame things aren't the same in Hadrow," Elizabeth sighs.

"I've seen the report. Although there haven't been any real problems so far, the people of Hadrow are clearly more discontent than the people of Dawn. It's thanks to the large Oulvgar presence in the town that is keeping them under control. It'll be a problem if a revolt occurs during a siege, we should arrange for more personnel to be stationed there, but we can decide on the specifics once our inspection takes us there," Astur says.

After they tour around the city, Astur and the others arrive at what was once the Central Hall and Mayor's Office. Now, this building has transformed into the main base for the Warband. Its purpose hasn't actually changed as many of the day to day operations of Dawn are still processed here, although the building has more fortifications than before and has been completely militarised.

As Astur and the others exit the car, a member of the Warband clad in heavy armour exits the building, "We've been expecting you, Lady Astur. Please follow me, I'll take you to the Warden."