Autonomous

Chapter 7: The Capital

August 8th, 1701, 9:00

"So, this is the true capital of these people."

After their experience with the Fleet Week parade, the delegates had returned to the train and continued on their way, having made it to the capital at around 11:00 P.M. late at night. Since then they stayed at a pre planned hotel building where they would get to explore the city and learn from it's historical monuments once the sun rose and morning came along.

Now it was a new day, finding themselves waking up in an alien land, in and alien building, and in alien beds that were provided with each individual room set up for them.

Standing outside in the balcony, Lady Isabell looked out upon the impressive city with awe and wonder. The architecture here was astounding, it puzzled her how they even made buildings out of these shapes without risk of them falling apart or becoming dangerously fragile.

"Then again, they can make full iron ships fly." Isabell reminded herself, recounting the events of yesterday where she and the other delegates witnessed the presence of many airships flying over that city.

The city itself was indeed massive, filled with towering mirror like structures that reached up towards the heavens above, with roadways and bridges interweaved between the buildings and paving the surface below. Of course there were still greens and vegetation for aesthetic purposes, so the whole environment wasn't all mirrors and grey everywhere. The amount of time and effort needed to construct such a massive network of roadways and structures on this scale was unimaginable. It was a question of whether or not even the Great Sorcerous Empire could mimic or accomplish a similar feat.

Just off from the city was what looked to be a sort of port just outside the parameters. However it wasn't for trade or commerce as the body of water in which it was set up lacked connection on any rivers or streams, so how was it still present without having evaporated? Instead the port was a housing location for more of those airships seen earlier. They were docked across the lake with their lower hulls completely submerged while their upper hulls remained exposed. Guess they were designed to be buoyant so they could settle and float in water. Despite them being dubbed as airships, it seemed they operated normally as ordinary warships while partially submerged.

There indeed was a lot of learn about these people and their engineering marvels.

Morning breakfast at the hotel was of similar quality to what was served during the train ride, if not more enjoyable and higher in variety. Being served were buttery biscuits, oven cooked bacon slices, and pan fried eggs. Included were also various cereals, toasted bread, fried sausages, sliced fruits mixed with grapes and small berries, flatbread wrapped into rolls you could fill with whatever items you wanted, gravy, spicy red sauce, butter, peanut butter, cheese, and avocado spreads. It was an entire all you can eat buffet fit only for a ruler or figure with a stature of extreme wealth and power. Yet here they were, among peasants...they don't actually seem like peasants, who were enjoying and feasting on the same buffet as them.

"This is what we have planned for the day." Agent Sandoval announced as he sat alongside the delegates in a booth located in the corner of the hotel dining area. "We've got around two hours to ourselves, because the president isn't expected to meet you until noon. So until then, I think might be the best time to explore a few historical sites around our local area of the city. Give you all a little bit of background to our nation."

"What kind of monuments?" Sir Gilbert asked as the knight used a fork to stuff a sausage into his mouth.

"Statues depicting very important people of our past, specific dates or causes, I do believe Veteran's Field is just a block away from us."