Tyranny of Steel

Honoria had spent a week gathering the necessary troops and supplies to bring back to Austria. This would be the second of many journies that her vessel would take across the Atlantic to ensure that the Military Colony in the new world was adequately maintained.

As per usual the journey to the New World was largely uneventful, in fact without Berengar to entertain herself with, or ships to pirate, the third Queen of Austria was dreadfully bored throughout the entire voyage.

Upon arriving at the docks in Austria, Honoria stepped off her vessel and greeted her husband, who appeared to be doing well. She instantly grabbed ahold of his neck and kissed him passionately on the lips; a single phrase escaped her lips as she did so.

"I missed you!"

Berengar chuckled upon hearing this before inquiring about how his family was doing back in the fatherland.

"How is our son? Or my other children, for that matter?"

Honoria immediately began to summarize what had transpired during her time in Kufstein.

"Alexandros is doing well; that milk cow Linde keeps him well-fed; as for Hans, he and that girl Veronika are getting along well enough. As for Helga, she is growing like a weed; I swear by the time you return, you won't even recognize your daughter.

Kristoffer and Katherin are perfectly healthy, and Adela seems to dote on them significantly. Speaking of Adela, her relationship with your sister appears to be deteriorating by the day. If it weren't for Linde, I think Henrietta would have gone mad with loneliness; she misses her big brother dearly."

Berengar's brow was immediately raised when he heard this last part; he could not help but ask what had transpired between his sister and his second bride.

"Linde and Henrietta are on good terms? What exactly did I miss?"

A smirk appeared on Honoria's lips as she shrugged her shoulders, feigning ignorance.

"Who knows? Whatever Linde is planning, I am sure it is something sinister, you know how she is..."

A wide grin appeared on Berengar's face as he reflected upon the current status of his harem. Though the women forced themselves to get along for his sake, there was no doubt some deep-seated issues under the surface.

However, this wasn't some harem anime where all the women got along as if they were their best friends. This was real life, and historically harems had always been particularly brutal. The fact that none of his women had killed each other yet was a good sign.

After getting reacquainted with Honoria, and the situation back home, Berengar asked the following question on his mind.

"So, did you get the supplies I asked for?

Honoria put on a happy smile as she nodded her head before acting like an innocent child in response to this question.

"I got everything you asked for. Did I do good, daddy?'

Berengar grinned as he patted the young woman's head; his response was like a doting father to his daughter.

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"You did very well!"

Immediately Honoria smiled in response and kissed her man on the cheek; after doing so, she began to depart towards the fortress, leaving behind a few words for Berengar.

"I am going to go get some sleep; I'm exhausted from the journey; you are welcome to join me!"

However, Berengar shook his head; he had too much work to do now that the troops, livestock, and supplies had arrived. With the arrival of another hundred or so military personnel, it was time to begin overhauling this fortress into a more permanent settlement.

After a few hours, the supplies were unloaded from the ship, and Berengar was standing in the middle of the fortress introducing the new men to the settlement that they would be staying in for the duration of their deployment.

"Men, you have entered the mythical land of Vinland. Our operations here are highly classified. All of you have been chosen due to your abilities and because you have been trusted with the security clearance necessary to know of these lands.

As you may be aware, when you were given this deployment, you were made aware that it would last for a year. Afterward, you can return to the fatherland and seek a different position, or you can choose to return.

For those of you who wish to make a permanent settlement in this foreign land, you will be given special privileges here in the new world, such as political positions and ownership of property. Our objective here is simple; this land is our living space; In the coming decades, I fully intend to settle our excess population here in Vinland and carve out large swaths of land for our Kingdom.

So it would be best if you established ties to the native population, scout for valuable resources, and most importantly of all, maintain a self-sustaining, permanent settlement. I won't lie to you; as you build this colony here in Vinland, the fatherland will progress ahead of you, and when you finally return, you may be astounded at the changes that have occurred in your homeland.

However, what you accomplish here in Vinland is of dire importance to the future of our Kingdom. The resources in this place are abundant and untouched. They will be critical for the continued prosperity of the fatherland.

Of course, you may also be aware that we are currently seeing massive population growth in the fatherland; because of this, in a few generations, it will be challenging to sustain our population with the minuscule land we currently hold on to.

Even if we have united the German States; in a hundred years, there will still be too many people to house effectively. Thus Vinland, the first of our Colonies, will be of dire importance for the continued growth of our people!

As a perk of being the first men of the old world to step foot in Vinland, you are free to take any of the local women as your concubines; that is of course other than those which I have already laid claim to. Be aware that the laws that exist in Austria still apply here in Vinland, as you are currently standing on Austrian soil!

Thus, I will conclude my speech by welcoming you to the New World, one of limitless potential and prosperity for our Kingdom and the German people! For King and Fatherland!"

Upon finishing his welcoming ceremony, the soldiers broke out into salutes and repeated the words that Berengar had spoken.

"For King and Fatherland!"

Berengar gazed upon the men gathered with a proud smile; now that the settlement had been established, he had opted to bring over Army units instead of Naval Infantry. For the time being, as the King and Reichsmarschall, he acted as the Supreme Commander of this Expeditionary force. However, when he finally departed in a few months and returned to the fatherland, he would leave a military governor in charge of the colony.

With this speech concluded, the new arrivals quickly set to task setting up shop in their barracks and establishing familiarity with the settlement. In the following days, they would teach the native labor force who had submitted to the Austrian crown the knowledge necessary to maintain a proper Austrian Agricultural System and construct Austrian-style structures.

As for Berengar, he immediately regrouped with his concubine, who was currently speaking with a group of Mohawk tribesmen who had gathered at the settlement; tears were flowing from the young woman's eyes as she held onto her sister in a loving embrace.

Her younger sister was only a couple of years younger than herself and was quite beautiful in her own right. The two siblings shared a moment of silence as they mourned the loss of their father. Kahwihta struggled to express her feelings as she questioned whether not the news she received was accurate.

"Ojistah, my dear sister, is what you say true? Has father passed?"

The sixteen-year-old girl silently nodded her head as she reflected on the difficulties their village had suffered after Kahwihta had been exiled.

"The great chief passed away from the plague that ravages our lands. Our brother has taken control; I tried to plead with him that you were right, that these golden-haired men are, in fact, gods, and that this disease was the result of our hubris. Yet he did not listen; like our father, he has sought to gather the other tribes in an attempt to destroy this settlement.

I left with the survivors of our tribe who listened to the truth; we have come here to submit ourselves to the authority of the gods from across the great sea and ask for forgiveness for our arrogance. Will you not speak to them on our behalf?"

As the two young women were talking, Berengar arrived, and when Kahwihta's sister gazed upon his handsome visage, she too felt a desire to submit to him. Kahwihta noticed the lustful expression on her sister's face, but rather than scold her for gazing upon her lover in such a manner, she grabbed ahold of the girl and presented her to the Austrian Monarch.

"My Lord, this is my sister Ojistah; she is sixteen this year and has come with many of the survivors of our village to plead for your forgiveness. Will you not take pity on her and accept her as one of your women?"

Berengar gazed upon the beautiful young woman and her equally beautiful sister with an awkward expression. Did Kahwihta know what she was saying? He asked for clarification on the issue as he spoke to the older of the two sisters in the German tongue.

"You want me to take her as a concubine?"

Immediately Kahwihta believed she had offended the god by insisting upon such a subject; she quickly bowed her head in response and humbled herself before him.

"Only if you are willing to do so!"

A brilliant idea formed in Berengar's mind as he realized the advantages to such a thing; he quickly latched onto the two young women's hands with a grave expression as he led them to a secluded area. He spoke in his native tongue towards Kahwihta in a stern tone as he did so.

"Your peoples' sins will not be easily forgiven; if you two sisters wish to repent for your father's actions, then you will have to do so together."

Thus while Honoria slept in her husband's cabin, Berengar brought the two native sisters to a barn so that he could enjoy a threesome with the two of them.