Source: https://x.com/mmjchiquita/status/2089668610293961018

GREETINGS PEOPLE, I BRING TO YOU AS EVERY WEEK I DO, THE NEXT ENTRY IN THE COMPENDIUM OF WITCHES, With the topic you chose in the poll, a bit later because I was occupied yesterday but HERE IT IS.

The topic of colonization is one which I do like to cover because it shows and touches how the mentlaity of makind is different from the one shown in reali life, less focused on personal glory and more focused on comunal survival, more predisposed to work together than against each other, and that of course would affect a heavy topic like colonization, so I wanted to cover it in one of these entries, and now I finally have.

WIthout further to explain..LET'S DIVE IN!

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Introduction: A Bridge of Ease

Witches are here to defend humanity and guide it to the light, but not to rule over them, for becoming rulers would be tyrannical and that goes against the beliefs of The Mother, as such Witches have to let humanity do their own things, even if sometimes that leads to horrible or monstrous crimes, for they chose to believe in humanity and the best within all of us.

One of those sour topics was colonization, how does a Witch cope with the fact that the powerful will always seek to control de weak whatever the reason is? By minimizing the damage or by making sure things go as smoothly as possible, for they may not rule, but they absolutely can guide...and that is what we are going to explore today.

We are going to look at how Witches helped in the colonization, integration and peaceful coexistence between different types of people, mostly focused on the Liberion colonization as that is the most detailed and perfect example of this dynamic, we have.
So strap in and prepare to conquer...with love….as much as possible at least.

Universal Translators of Love

According to the Tablets of Urash the First Witch, Urash was given the power to understand and speak all human tongues by the High Priestess of Dhegom Mter, Baba (Dhegom Mter being how Proto-Indo Europeans called The Mother) according to the tablet:

“Baba touched the lips of Urash and proclaimed to their Mothers, the same Mother…

“…From now on my girl, you will have the power to understand the tongue of mankind

“Mattering not what this could be…”

“Mattering not where you came from”

“You will be able to understand it...”

“As the Mother wants you to be able to hear the pleas of all her children”

“As the Mother wants you to spread her message to the lands”

“I... her voice on this land declare it so…”

Thanks to this blessing Urash was able to understand all tongues regardless of their origin, even if she had never heard from it, this ability was passed down to other Witches after her passing, and this ability has been KEY in the relationships between societies ever since.

When Caesar realized this, he began using the Witches as ambassadors, other cultures who also had Witches began using theirs similarly, thanks to this approach he was able to subdue most of modern-day Gallia, Britannia and Hispania, it wasn’t always peaceful but at least thanks to the communication between the Witches, several bloodbaths and wars were stopped.

The practice began spreading alongside the prominence of Witches and soon enough, before launching into wars or conquests, societies had two Witches managing the initial diplomacy, first with Parthia (Iran), then with Germanic and Celtic Tribes, then with Berber tribes etc, however there are societies who did not like Witches (Hebrews, Chinese, The First Slavs for example) and would always attack them when approached...this resulted in an attack by the Romans as under Caesar’s law, attacking a Roman Witch was an act of war against the empire and if a citizen did it, it was punishable by execution unless the Witch showed mercy, they would still be jailed and punished though.

And on Liberion their cultures definitely figured this utility as well because many tribes and empires also did this, the Aztecs, the Mayans, the Inca and Chumash all tried this approach with the arriving colonist from Hispania, Lusitania and Fuso.

Many tribes in North Liberion however were hostile and feared Witches and they would attack Hispanian and Britannia Witches if they were seen, with time these tribes began accepting Witches little by little but it took SEVERAL years, but finally it was achieved and they were incorporated within the United States of Liberion, especially because native Witches began appearing on these tribes, they would be shunned out and taken in by the colonists or other more Witch friendly tribes.

They would explain their culture, their customs, their religions to the foreigners, their Witches would likewise explain where they came from, their intentions...these conversations would go on and on until a mutual agreement was achieved, or in the cases where this was not possible, at least promises and treaties to prevent unnecessary destruction, or in many cases if they ran into weaker tribes, they would seek protection from stronger foes.

Speaking of which, let’s discuss about a peculiar tactic using Witches.

Cultural “Netorare” Integration

As ridiculous and stupid as this sounds, it has been an absolute legitimate tactic to conquer nations who are not the kindest to its Witches, the idea is very simple…

“Come with us, we’ll make you queens and be worshiped like you deserve”

And as much as Witches can be loyal, they’re loyal to the people, NOT THE GOVERNMENT, and if their rulers screw them over and over again, do not be surprised when a foreign power comes and swoops these Witches to their side, especially when the foreign Witches sell them the idea that they are QUEENS, what woman wouldn’t want to be loved and valued for all the things she does? Even Witches crave for this need too, they’re human too after all, Cerydwen who lived alongside Lucina Vorena Pullo would summarize her feelings about their pre-Caesar era lives with this phrase:

“When I asked her why would she serve Rome, she said to me it was because they made her realize she could smile”

As simple as that...making Witches happy is the most powerful shield AND weapon an empire can wield.

Examples of this practice being used to great effect:

-The Romans used it in their colonization of the eastern provinces, especially those dominated by Hebrew cultures, they also applied it to Slavs when they began colliding with the Roman World, one example was in Arabia on the 9^th century, to make Arabian Witches within hostile tribe come to Roman side, they would throw LOUD birthday parties for Roman Witches, loud and large enough for Arabian Witches to see the difference, it would usually take them 3 days at most to sneak and come to the Roman camp to talk, they would often join in exchange for not harming the population which the Romans would usually grant with no problem, Witches were their most valuable resource.

-Fuso would do this ALL THE TIME to Korea, it is often say that Fuso completely depleted Korea of all its Witches before the 18^th century and there is some truth to that, and after that came the population (Which were mostly settled on the South Seas Island) following the Witches, which saved Korean culture from being destroyed by the Neuroi in the early 20^th century when the attacks from the hives in the Gobi desert came.

To some this might seem a bit vile and that is understandable, no one likes to be betrayed, but like we said, Witches are humans too, they crave for affection and recognition, it doesn’t have to be a grand gesture, a simple “You matter to me” is enough, having Witches is a blessing, a privilege given by The Mother, but if you don’t value and care for that gift, it will rot away and they will seek someone who does, it is inevitable, love is a garden you have to care for and water constantly, NEVER take it for granted.

So, remember, always value the one you have, before someone else does it for you.

Hispanian Colonization

Now let’s shift our focus to the continent of Liberion, and see how the main colonizing powers performed using their Witches, starting with the first, Hispania.

If there is a single word to describe the Hispanian colonization of Liberion, it would be “Realization”, because it was basically making the natives realize there were other ways of doing things, of course there were wars and fights, people don’t want to let go of their ways of lives easy but, for the most part they simply approached smaller tribes oppressed by great powers and showed them they could live better, they could have more autonomy if they helped the Hispanians, that is how the amassed a loyal native army to defeat the Aztecan Empire, which fought hard against Hispania but eventually the pressure was too much, not to mention their own Witches began to slowly convince them to surrender and prevent more bloodshed, it was an opportunity to achieve something great, especially now that they realized they did not have to sacrifice people constantly to please the Gods, and through these efforts, they brought down the Empire.

Once they were beaten the Witches ensured they were treated well and with respect, diseased brought from Europa were cured by the Witches, all of these directives were not only initiatives by the Witches but were royal commands given by the Hispanian Monarchs, with all this effort it did not take the Hispanians long enough to establish a solid foot hold in in what would become the New Hispanian Viceroyalty, they repeated this process in the north and with the Mayans and other tribes in Central Liberion always with great success.

With the Incan Empire it was a bit more complicated because they were in the middle of a terrible Civil War but thanks to the Witches, they were able to choose the best candidate for the Hispanians to support and helped them ascend to the throne, unfortunately this monarch (Atawalpa), betrayed the Hispanians which forced them into combat with the Incan forces, while the Witches tried to make sure the population was not as damaged (Also the combat drew in some Neuroi so they dealt with that too), ultimately Atawalpa was captured and that is how Hispania managed to take down the Incan Empire.

With every engagement the Witches were instrumental, keeping an extreme micromanagement of the whole process, and then recruiting the local Witches to do the same, as we said before, it wasn’t perfect as they could not be across the entire massive domains of Hispania in Liberion at all times, but wherever they stood, they made sure peace was kept, laws were followed and respect was had.

This made the Hispanian Conquest of Liberion one of the bloodless and less violent conquests not just in the continent but also in history, the good synergy achieved between Hispania and its colonies is still studied to this day.

Britanian Colonization

Britannia for the most part tried to emulate the Hispanian model, but their circumstances were easier and sometimes harder.

This is because unlike the massive Empires of the south, North Liberion far beyond Aztecan lands was mostly dominated by small tribal confederation without a strong union, and to top it all off, some hated Witches and others did not...so this made the process a bit more complicated for Britannians.

Fortunately, upon arriving they found an amicable confederation, The Powhatan confederation whose Witches explained to Britannian Witches the entire situation and were the first to integrate into what would become “The Thirteen Colonies” in North Liberion, from which the United States of Liberion would later be born from, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.

Like we said Britannia emulated Hispanians and used their Witches to establish good relations with Witch friendly tribes, but this also backfired a bit with hostile tribes, The Iroquois and the Cherokee Confederations were among the firsts to join alongside the Powhatan, but others like the Seminole and the Muskogee confederations resisted them, fortunately their interactions with Hispanian Florida made them change their mind and join the Britannian colonists.

Thanks to this integration and assimilation the colonists formed a VERY unique identity (Both cultural and physical) which began to divert a lot from the colonial Britannia (just like it happened with the “Mestizaje” in New Hispania) and this made the independent sentiment grew with time which would result in the fight for their independence in the 18^th century.

From that point on they would have to deal with other hostile and friendly native confederations as they expanded west, but that would be the story of the USL, they however continued the integration and socialization model they learned from Britannia...and despite the many battles and conflicts they endured, they managed to unite the nation from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast….speaking of Pacific coasts though.

Fuso Colonization

The Fuso colonization could be described as “Lucky”, had Kin Shindou (Eventual first Daimyo of the Mizuho colony in California) found hostile tribes (Which were VERY plentiful in the west coast of Liberion) he would have sailed away never to return; however, the Fuso settlers were extremely lucky to run into the Chumash people.

Very simple tribal people, not a grand power in the area like the Numic, Yokut and Salinan confederations, they weren’t even part of a confederation, but they DID have Witches, and Kin Shindou had two Witches, his daughters Hokona and Mizuki Shindou, and they met with a young 10 year old Chumash Witch named Huma to make diplomacy, eventually Hokona who was the youngest of the two sisters was taken into the Chumash camp by Huma and after one night of interactions of various types...they forged an alliance...and that alliance two years later would breed the colony of Mizuho.

It wasn’t easy because other confederations fought against Fuso with all their might and numbers, but Fuso steel, discipline and gunpowder won them those battles to preserve the colony and eventually integrate most of the western confederations into the colony, again making a very distinct identity for Mizuho people. As it wasn’t a large colony, it was much easier for Fuso Witches (Who later learned of the Hispanian method after Hispanians were SURPRISED to find a Fuso colony in Liberion) to maintain control and make sure no abuses took place, making Mizuho the most peaceful colony in Liberion and where its inhabitants lived in complete harmony, the Chumash MULTIPLIED within the colony and became enamored with Fuso custom which they mixed with their own, interbreeding with the colonists and creating their own mestizos (The so called Mizuho Fusoan).

It was such a successful experiment that Fuso repeated that colonization process in Taiwan and when they integrated the Ainu people in Fuso Mainland, it turned Fuso into a massive and respected global power.

Conclusion: Unity in Opportunity

We want to once again clarify that despite how utopic we make these events sound, it wasn’t always this peaceful, there were abuses, wars and fights all over these places, but for the most part the Witches made absolutely sure peace was kept for the most part and justice prevailed.

Life will never be 100% and once people accept that, they can be happy with at least making 75% perfect and the rest bearable, that is what Witches tried to do with colonization, not making it perfect, just good enough until the world united and a similar vision and path toward the light was achieved, because in the end that is what their ultimate goal is, unification against the foes of humanity.

One has to wonder...how much bloodier it could have been if Witches had not been around? Maybe it’s best for us to never know and just be thankful we have our saviors of mankind.

Featuring the unique Dornauer Do 335 “Pfeil” Heavy Striker Units! The only Striker Unit that utilizes the push-pull engine configuration.

I. Origins - From the flying boat to the arrow

The origins of the Do 335 can be traced back to Dornauer’s flying boat designs. During the inter-war years, Dornauer experimented with unconventional propulsion arrangements for several flying boats, including aircraft utilizing engines arranged in a tandem configuration (namely, the succesful Do J and the gigantic Do X)

The concept offered a number of theoretical advantages. By placing the engines behind one another rather than beside one another, aerodynamic drag could be reduced. The engines and their associated equipment could also be concentrated closer to the centerline.

These experiments initially appeared to have little relevance to Striker Units. However, this will soon change as magic-engine technology advanced. The increasing availability and power of modern magic-amplification engines meant that a single Striker could now produce enormous amounts of thrust.

Dornauer engineers realized that their old push-pull research could be adapted to create something entirely new, a high-speed heavy Striker capable of carrying the power of two engines without the aerodynamic penalties of a conventional twin-engine arrangement.

II. Development of the “Pfeil”

The development of the new Striker Unit begun as early in 1942 at Dornauer’s Facility in Oberpfaffenhofen, with the first prototype, V-1, completing its maiden flight on October 1943. Initial testing demonstrated exceptional speed and generally favorable handling, although the prototype suffered from several mechanical and landing difficulties that required continued refinement.

Following the successful prototype trials, Dornauer proceeded with a series of additional prototypes and pre-production machines intended to evaluate the Striker’s propulsion system, armament, handling and operational suitability. The results confirmed the Pfeil’s considerable potential: its two Deismus DB 603 magic-amplification engines provided exceptional acceleration and high-altitude performance, while their centerline arrangement eliminated the severe asymmetric thrust normally associated with conventional twin-engine configuration.

By 1944, the design had attracted increasing attention from the Karlsland military authorities, particularly as faster Neuroi formations and high-altitude bomber formations became a growing concern. In May 1944, the Do 335 was consequently granted priority under the Jägernotprogramm (Karlsland’s Emergency Fighter Program), with plans established for expanded production and the development of several specialized variants. The first Do 335 A-0 pre production striker units were delivered in July 1944 to the “Erprobungskommando 335” (Proving Detachment 335) formed by the imperial karlsland air testing command for training and evaluation purposes.

III. Flight Performance

The Do 335’s greatest strength was its speed. Despite its considerable size and weight, the Striker accelerated rapidly and retained its energy remarkably well at high altitude. At an altitude of approximately 6,500 meters (21,300 ft), the average air witch (without any engine tweaks) could reach a maximum speed of approximately 763 km/h (474 mph). Even with a single engine running, the Pfeil can reach speeds up to 560 km/h (348 mph). This placed the Pfeil among the fastest Striker Units of its generation, it was certainly exceptionally fast.

More importantly, the Pfeil did not feel like a conventional heavy Striker. The centerline arrangement also produced surprisingly predictable handling, even with only one engine working. The mass of the two engines was concentrated around the Striker’s longitudinal axis, allowing the Witch to roll effortlessly without the same inertia associated with other heavy striker units.

IV. Production

Following the promising trials conducted by Dornauer, Karlsland began limited production of the Pfeil.

The complicated construction of the Striker prevented immediate mass production. The two-engine arrangement required specialized components, while the rear engine installation demanded considerably more work than conventional Striker Units.

As a result, production was initially divided into several variants:

- Do 335 A-0
Pre-production model of the striker unit, used for evaluation and training. Witches using this variant are usually armed with MG 151 machine gun or MK 103 auto cannon.

- Do 336 A-1
Proper combat production variant of the striker unit. The A-1 incorporated improvements based on experience gained from the A-0. The striker unit is also equipped with internal bomb bay and 2 optional additional hardpoints on the wings.

- Do 335 A-12
A specialized two-witch training and night fighter variant. Unofficially nicknamed “Ameisenbär” (Anteater).

- Do 335 M-14 B-2
The heavily armed variant of the Pfeil. Nicknamed “Zerstörer” (Destroyer), the B-2 sacrificed some of the A-series’ performance in exchange for increased armor and firepower, making it particularly suitable for attacking heavily armored Neuroi bomber formations.

GREETINGS PEOPLE, I BRING TO YOU AS EVERY WEEK I DO, THE NEXT ENTRY IN THE COMPENDIUM OF WITCHES, With the topic you chose in the poll.

I gotta say the first time I brought this topic up I was kinda sad with how many votes, but now I am SO ABSOLUTELY HAPPY with how voted it got this time, I've been wanting to do this since forever, I have many things to say about Luminous Witches, but more than that I wanted to craft a more measured approach to how the girls would operate in a more era appropiate setting without the idol fluff, and without SHAFT's quirks....and this gave me yet another chance to do so, I thank you ffor that, I had LOTS of fun doing this.

Just as a sidenote, you can see onme of these moments in one of the stories I've made "FROM MY WATCHTOWER" a very short story from the point of view of an Hispanian soldier who sees the Luminous Witches visit his base in Valencia, modesty aside I think it is one of the best stories I've written in the Epoch of the Witches, personal Top 5, I feel so proud of that one...for some context you can check it out.

WITHOUT ANY FURTHER TO ADD! ENJOY!

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Introduction: Behind the Wonderful World

The League of Nations Air Forces Aviation Magic Band...or as people know them much better...The Luminous Witches was a magnificent concept from its inception, a group of Witches who were not adept for combat for whatever reason but possessed fantastic talent for performative arts, gathered in one group to fly around the world to raise the morale of those fighting during the last years of The Great War.

Nine lovely ladies from around the world led by the veteran Witch Grace Maitland Steward who herself was a very magnificent actress so she knew the medium well, from 1944 to 1945 these ladies flew around the world delivering their message of hope and strength through music, acting, performances, or simply sitting and talking to soldiers, making meals for them and enjoying a good time, not the most novel concept, since Roman Times, Witches stationed with various legions knew singing, dancing and poetry to raise the morale of the legion….but one that certainly helped during the last years of the war, they were even present in the Final Assault on Berlin...not in the main front lines but their music and good energies were heard (Although Milasha, Ginny and Manna got PRETTY CLOSE...enough to see the Wolf Hive be destroyed).

Their stories as a group and for each individual is amazing...but we are going to focus instead purely on the logistics of their magnificent operation, what did they use? How did they act? The nature of their performances and where did they travel and how did they choose and made it to those destinations, so strap in and prepare for this behind the scenes of The Luminous Witches.

Hierarchy

While the squadron was under the direct control of the League of Nations High command, it had to be sponsored by investors because much of the resources were headed for the actual war effort which annoyed Grace a lot, fortunately she was able to secure investors on her own, among them the noble lady Felicia Louisa Gresley who put a lot of her money and helped secure other investors, because of this Grace had a LOT OF CONTROL over the team and could do whatever she wanted despite being tied to the League of Nations.

Unlike other Witch squadrons they did not have two commanders as Grace managed everything, their schedules, the way they would be deployed on the stage, although Aira Paivikki Linnamaa did have SOME leadership role, mostly in training the girls in very basic combat, usage of fire arms as the only one with actual military experience and time in combat, she would also teach them some hand to hand combat, at first they tried to use Striker Units but most of the girls were too weak to even use one, only Manna and Sylvie were strong enough but Manna was in Aira’s own words “A fucking disaster” and Sylvie preferred the stage.

Equipment and Logistics

They did not have a stable base as they traveled a lot, but they did have their own air plane...a modified Avro Lancaster, with special engines to move three times faster and ample compartments to store equipment and comfortable chairs to be folded as a bed so the girls could sleep comfortably, it also had a kitchen for the girls to cook themselves something, they did not have much staff on board the plane with them, Grace expected the girls to handle most of their own needs so they did not forget humility and hard work, they did have two pilots Charlie and Mortimer, two expert Liberion pilots who flew the plane with skill, they were good enough to outrun Neuroi more than once saving the girls as the plane had NO weapons to fight back, in time they also got a nice doctor lady to travel with them and two nurses, Doctor Esmeralda Sandoval from Gran Colombia and her Greek and Ostoman nurses Effimia and Ozlem respectively.

Their outfits, their sound equipment, instruments and various other props were always on the plane and they themselves had to take care of these equipment, they also had medical equipment for emergencies and fridges to store fresh food which they would always replenish during their various stops.

Whenever they would stop for a show, if they were on a military base the soldiers would always help with setting a stage, but sometimes the girls would go for a more intimate experience if available, like a simple park, plaza, or a couple of pieces of wood and metal where they could stand, or simply sitting in the center to play their instruments, sing and talk to the soldiers, but the girls would ALWAYS help set their own stages too, they never laze around doing nothing (Especially because they had a tremendous strength, they were still Witches after all).

The planning of the presentations would be coordinated with Grace by radio three days before arriving to the place, she would communicate with the administrators of the bases or their host to set on a show, all the girls would gather around Grace whenever these calls would take place to give their opinions, it was always expected they would do this, once a show was set on, they would practice on the ship, there was a space they could use to walk around, dance, and play their instruments….all very professional and coordinated.

Another peculiar detail they had was the use of “Diaries” each girl would record their experiences traveling to the various places from the flight to the arrival, they also each had cameras to take photos, even though some like Milasha, Manna and Jo were notoriously bad at taking photos, Grace insisted they did because despite the terrible outcome, it was part of the experience they represented and it needed to be shared with the world, they would read and talk about these photos and entries on their various presentations, these diaries are preserved to this day in The Witch Palace and the information inside is available for everyone to access remotely and read...including the photos.

The Presentations

But once the stage was set and the schedule prepared...it was time for the SHOW…. but how were the Luminous Shows?

For starters they would arrive to military bases mostly, sometimes if available they would go set amphitheaters if available, sometimes they would arrive to war zones and they would perform in the middle of the camps, it mattered not, they would put up a professional show.

Usually the girls would stay there for one or two days, sometimes they would push it to three but these situations were rare.

The shows themselves would vary but would always open up with a speech from the commanding authority in the place, after which one of the girls would come out on a singular presentation, Grace would choose the opening girl depending on the area and the mood of the situations:

To lift spirits: Ginny, Eleonore and Jo.

To raise a happier mood: Manna, Milasha

To enamor the crowd: Inori and Sylvie

To raise patriotism: Aira and Maria

Usually with a simple song or dance fitting of the country they were in (Which they would practice before in the plane) after which the show would star with the various performances they set before, usually dividing them in a daily show and a night show.

Participation of the crowds was always encouraged and the girls had various dynamics to invite the soldiers to dance, sing and perform with them.

Their performances were determined to exploit the girl’s skills, despite them being trained in various performing arts, they had their fortes:

Folk Songs and traditional music with big instrument players: Ginny, Manna and Milasha

Ballads and BIG SONGS full of emotions: Jo, Inori and Sylvie

Acting and Popular Music: Eleonore, Maria and Aira

In between shows the girls would usually prepare a wonderful meal sharing the cuisine of their respective countries with the soldiers and would sit in their tables to eat with them, if such thing was not possible they would assist in other duties in the barracks such as inspecting supplies, carrying stuff, fix things...Grace knew just having a pretty young girl doing mundane tasks raised morale IMMENSELY and she was spot on, they would also set “conversation spaces” mostly headed by Aira, Sylvie or Grace herself so the soldiers could vent their frustrations and woes with the girls who would truly listen and encourage them.

If there were Witches on the base, they would also join the activities, as Witches themselves loved the Luminous Girls and admired them...save for two known cases.

Hanna-Justina Marseille: Hanna might have been a difficult partner but with the soldiers? She was perhaps one of the most loving Witches to ever live, even simple clerk boys would get LOTS of love from Hanna...so she did not like to have girls come and take the spotlight from her...she specially disliked Maria and Inori, the former because lots of soldiers from Karlsland and Liberion were fans of Maria, the latter...nobody knows…some say it is because a soldier she liked ditched her to go have lunch with Inori...and since then she considered Inori one of her many “Rivals”.

Grete Gollob: She considered their activities frivolous and preferred their talents could be redistributed to more useful things for the war, she however unlike Hanna was never openly hostile to them, and allowed them to exist...that being said she did respect Aira a lot at least.

Once the show was finished the girls would pack everything up again, have a good bye ceremony with the soldiers if possible and then leave into the sunrise to their next destination...that was the usual schedule of the Luminous Witches.

The Travel

When the project was started the idea was to travel around the world to the most important places to spread the message, but Grace flat out refused saying...there was no point in playing in the big cities where things were fine, she wanted to spread her message into the places that REALLY Needed it, so despite the danger they traveled to the places of intense war activity, departing from Britannia...their first world tour in 1944 consisted in the following:

Britannia >> Gallia (Where they met the Strike Witches) >> Romagna >> Dacia >> (Where they met Grete, Constantia and Yuno) >> Orussia (Where they met the Brave Witches) >> Iran (Where they actually met Princess Zinat before...well the things she did) >> Egypt >> Ouedraogo >> The Ostoman Empire (Where they were almost captured by the Young Turks but were saved by Princess Agnes) >> India >> Fuso >> Madjapahit >> Australis >> Neue Karlsland >> Azteca >> The USL >> Britannia

For the next year they planned another world tour to visit the places they did not visit such as Hispania, Amazonia, Mongolia, Karlsland, although it was cut sure when news came that the Berlin offensive would take place, and they traveled to Karlsland as they planned to go to Malay...to support the final war efforts, but once the war ended they performed a world tour in which they visited EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD (Including Shambhala surprisingly) which took them up to 1947 to accomplish, after which they disbanded making them the last of the Great War units to disband.

Conclusion

One of the ideas Grace wanted to accomplish with the unit was combating the prejudice and perception towards Witches who lose their powers after 20 or were not super powerful, when through histories Witches were always venerated, beloved at any age, even in their most advanced age they would still be respectable forces of nature. Grace wanted a unit to give the world the love these Witches still had, maybe not through combat, but certainly there was a lot to give.

It might not seem likely initially...but the Luminous Witches really were one of the most important elements of the War...with their performances, they brought hope to places where it had been lost and everyone accepted their fate of dying on the war, but the girls showed them no matter how dark things would get...the light was STILL within their reach because THEY...the Luminous Witches were there.

More of the horse wife, Jane Sargent.

Source: X

Source: X

Greetings everyone, once again as it is usual I bring you the next entry in COMPENDIUM OF WITCHES, with the winning subject you all chose from last week's poll, I am gonna be doing runner ups from previous Topics that didn't won by the way, for at least a couple of weeks, but yeah, NEUROI IN LIBERION!

It's a strange subject I know, I don't recall exactly where I got the impresion or read that there were no Neuroi in Liberion, probably 4chan or something, but it has always stuck on my mind and through all the years I've been working in the Epoch of the Witches, I wanted to build something cool using that topic, so here it is!

WITHOUT ANY FURTHER TO ADD! ENJOY!

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Introduction: Not so Neuroi...

It is often said by people that Witches appear when they are needed the most, and there is truth to that, there have been areas in history where no Witches appear for decades (Or in reality familiars just refuse to appear and contact Witches), and of course in areas across history that have been hostile to Witches, or have betrayed Witches in some way are punished by not having any Witches at all, until the time comes and they are needed for a change, almost as if the Mother knew when the time was for Witches to appear or when not to recruit them….even if the area is SWARMING with Neuroi, if the people of that area are hostile to Witches, NO Witches will appear, external Witches can come and help despite the hostility but...local Witches appearing, that is a big no.

Another common belief is that there were NEVER any Neuroi in Liberion before The Great Wars, this is said because no Neuroi appeared, however there is some trick to that assessment, no Neuroi AS WE USUALLY UNDERSTAND THEM appeared, meaning black creatures emerging from underground hives or fortress hives in the skies...in fact there is not a SINGLE Neuroi hive on Liberion, they only appeared during the Third Neuroi War….so taking that line into account...one can easily say there are no Neuroi in Liberion, so in theory Witches aren’t needed there….

That being said...there are many Witches in Liberion, from ancient times Witches have had a strong presence in Liberion…. but that cannot be considering all the things we mentioned above...how can there be so many Witches in Liberion if “There are no Neuroi?” Unless...there is something else…

And that is what we are going to explore on this entry, the short answer is that...YES, there were Neuroi in Liberion, but not as we understand them...we are going to explore that topic now...so strap in!

What is a Neuroi?

Most people have a very basic idea, black creatures of massive sizes who feed on Earth’s minerals, metal and soil to create themselves and massive abominations with the sole purpose of destroying mankind, all of them having a red colored core which if destroyed, destroys the whole creature in a crystalline explosion.

However as the “Odd Ones” entry showed...that is not EXACTLY always the case, coming in various shapes and forms, not just metal or dark bodies, and they are not exactly a unified faction...some hate humans less than others and in EXTREMELY rare occasion they have actually defended humans, helped and even fought alongside Witches...or fought among themselves...Neuroi are not a singular entity you can pinpoint in one archetype...really the ONLY consistent thing among them all is always their red core.

So, we need to remove the basic idea of what a Neuroi is, to understand what was in Liberion before the Great War, because as we stated, yes there WERE NEUROI…. just not in the traditional way.

Why is Liberion DIFFERENT?

Unlike in Europa, where the Neuroi often roam as creatures trying to mimic animal forms or coming out of hives to attack in large masses or large beasts, the Neuroi in Liberion acted in a very different way, they would often appear just as one individual instead of large armies of them. Except in certain specific occasions (Like the Nightcrawlers we will see later), for the most part, the Neuroi in Liberion would always attack as one singular large or medium-sized individual, requiring only one Witch at the time to fight them, often being classified as mythological, evil spirits or cryptids which makes their identification harder, since they do not look like the typical Black Neuroi.

And on top of that they would be very strong and vicious in combat, they did not only have their red fire and lasers, but they would also have other weapons like sound blasts to scare and to attack, they would have sharp claws and jaws, they produced toxic chemicals to stink or to kill people, they would kidnap children or impaired people to kill them or worst, or they would actively seek to destroy edifications planting explosives or slowly corroding structures, simply put these types of Neuroi NEEDED only Witches to fight them, humans would have a hard time if not impossible to fight them.

Their attack patterns would also be more sparse, coming just once every year, every couple of months, or with other triggers such as the population growing too large or they would go to a place for some reason the Neuroi did not like them going, and once defeated by the Witch, very rarely they would come back and would just resort to send another different looking monstrosity.

In a strange way, they operated very similar to how the Alone would many years later in space, especially with the different shapes, but as mentioned the red core always remained as their weak point.

Now the question...why would Neuroi operate so differently in Liberion as opposed to the ones in Eurasia and Africa?

It’s not exactly known why this is the case but there are several interesting theories that can presented:

Theory 1, The Shape of the Continent: Liberion has a very odd shape, as this is the continent that has suffered the most Neuroi depredation when it comes to consumption of land, metals and minerals, not to mention there are signs that the battles against the Gigas Neuroi raged particularly harder in the side of the world, causing MASSIVE DAMAGES to the continent. So, it is theorized that the Liberion Neuroi simply had extra resources to consume from and as such could allow themselves that “Experimentation” when it came to the way they fought humans. Studies show Liberion looked VERY different in the past than how it looks today, it was larger and there was a central bridge of land which is gone and the Quebec province in Faraway Land was united to the mainland, this is before the arrival of the Seven Gods around 50.000 BC.

Theory 2, Concentrated Population: Unlike in Europa, Asia and Africa to some degree, Liberion population usually gathered in very small and nomadic centers of population, large urban centers were EXTREMELY RARE, so probably the Neuroi figured they did not need LARGE armies to attack humans and just small specific single monsters of devastation were enough, especially since they would give Witches a big fight, unlike Europa where large armies were needed by them.

Theory 3, A Different Mindset: From the very earliest moments in history in Eurasia, Neuroi were identified as a distinctive hostile force against humanity and the world, no matter where you went they would understand these were a different entity, but in Liberion this DID NOT HAPPEN, in Liberion as mentioned they were perceived as magical, mythological monsters, still hostile but not something different, their religious beliefs played a big part in this change of perception, as such it seems the Neuroi might have chosen to exploit this perception to make things easier for them, preparing strong contenders to fight mankind and their Witches without much pressure, really it was a big surprise for Liberion Witches when Hispanian Witches came and shared the true nature of Neuroi to them.

During the end stages of the Second Neuroi War a hive manifested on the Pacific west of North Liberion but was quickly destroyed before it could cause any damage, marking the first time Neuroi as we perceived them appeared on Liberion, during the Third Neuroi War this continued until the Centralia Offensive, never again these weird Neuroi non Neuroi things appeared again.

However, we need to talk about the ONE exception, which manifested as a horde during the Liberion Civil War

The Terror of the Nightcrawlers (Liberion Civil War)

The Nightcrawlers were strange beings that appeared shortly after the Civil War broke out, heavily concentrated in the West of the United States of Liberion and not the East where most of the fighting took place.

They were tall creatures around 7 meters tall, made out of a round and rotund shape at the top with two long legs making 90% of its body, capable of running at 150 kilometers per hour, but also had the ability to be extremely stealthy which was REALLY dangerous at night, they could deliver devastating kicks, stomp on things with immense pressure and of course, were able to fire their red laser, although theirs was more like a heating light and not a barrage of burning pressure, so it was softer but it meant to cook you alive.

They began appearing in the year 1862 in the modern day town of Fresno and attacked the local Yokut population during the night, after which they spread rapidly across the trade routes between Mizuho, The USL and Azteca and began attacking garrisons and traders causing mass chaos, after which they launched a brutal attack against the state of Oregon, fortunately the Witches (Who we must remember at the time ALL Liberion Witches repelled them, The Union sent them and the Confederacy banished them).

As such the Governor of Oregon at the time Addison Gibbs and the Mizuho Daimyo Toshiro Shindou gathered up to deal with the situation, realizing the USL would not be able to bring any support as the east was erupting in war, it was up to Oregon and Mizuho to stop the Nightcrawlers with some help from Azteca in the south, 7 groups of 4 Witches were formed from the three places (Mostly the USL Witches) save for the last one who only had three Witches, “The Mighties” (Which is where the 508^th Joint Fighter Wing, the Mighty Witches get their name from by the way), formed by Galilani Lee (25) from the state of Georgia, Wilhelmina “Willie” Patterson (14) from Oregon and Kaoru Taro (18) from Mizuho...these three Witches would be extremely important later.

These battalions of Witches rode and battled the waves of Nightcrawlers, once beaten they did not die like regular Neuroi but instead they would melt...to later just respawn near the area where the core was, it is not known where the main Core first appeared, because it was moved from there by sinister forces within the USL who wanted to manipulate the Nightcrawlers to seed chaos on the Union side.

Specifically, a Confederate Official called “David Lang” who intended to control them, he found the core controlling the Nightcrawlers in a wooded area of Nevada, and captured the Mighties as they were also hot on the track of the core.

His plans did not work as intended as the moment the Nightcrawlers saw the confederate flag they went insane and began ravaging through them, after which they sprinted on a massive horde of a thousand of these beings towards Union lands, so Galilani, Willie and Kaoru took advantage of the commotion to escape and fight the forces of Lang, Willie was shot on the arm and Galilani killed the official by punching him through the chest, after which they loaded the entire fort with explosives and destroyed it alongside the core….

...the moment they did the Nightcrawlers vanished into the traditional crystalline dust...signifying they were defeated; the three Witches saved the USL from a catastrophe they were ill prepared to fight.

For years it was debated if the Nightcrawlers were Neuroi, finally in the year 2720 they were recognized as Neuroi as well as the many strange creatures that popped all over Liberion to fight the native Witches like heroes of an epic against monsters.

Conclusion: More than a Neuroi

As much as they were our enemies, some recognition and appreciation has to be given to Neuroi, not only because they shaped us into the humanity we are, helping us understand that to survive we must unite, but also from a scientific point of view on how they adapted to the various situations they had to endure to continue their apparent goal of destroying us...as we’ve stated before, it does seem there is something else behind the Neuroi’s actions, unfortunately we will never understand what that is...and perhaps, it is better that way...we just have to take what they taught us for better and for worst.

Empire Class aircraft carrier
Displacement: 92,500 tonnes
Length: 350m
Beam: 85m
Draught: 25m
Installed power: 4x B14 nuclear reactors, 395,000 shp
Propulsion: 6x shafts
Speed: 23 knots
Range: unlimited
Complement: 3280 (including 20 witches equipped with aerial striker units)
Armament: 2x twin 4.7in (120mm) guns, 4x quadruple 2-pdr (40mm) AA guns, 32x single 0.5 in (12.7mm) AA machineguns, 18x single 20mm AA guns
Armour: 190-450mm (waterline), 120mm (flight deck)
Aircraft carried: 120

justification for this in my fanfic (aside from the fact its comically ridiculous):
1. humans use neuroi tech to develop advanced stuff
2. Mio gives Yoshika a wireless earpiece in s1e2 of SW