La Macchina
For years the Italian Wars had raged, as foreign powers did battle on Italian soil. Even the Papal States weren't immune to the bloodshed, despite the efforts of the Pope's best holy mages. The city-states of the north were forced to take sides, and to Giovanni it was all becoming quite monotonous. Right now they were with the Germans against the Spanish, before they had been with the French against the Venetians, tomorrow...who knew?
But the wars dragged on, and court alchemists and magicians alike were tapped for new ways of winning the war. Spells of Protection from Bullets were cast as often as possible, invisibility was conferred on assassins, magic was used to scout and send messages across the battlefield. And in the workshops of Florence, engineers had finally produced something they promised would change the war.
Giovanni flipped through the instruction pamhplet he had been given and peered down from his lookout vantage in the peak of the conical war machine. Down below, sitting atop the water tank with her legs crossed, was the only woman in his crew. He considered her a woman, anyway, despite what the alchemists said about elementals. The undine would power the hydraulics that made the wheels turn and trundled the war machine forward. Apparently she could do it with no more mental energy than a man could walk, which was maddening, yet at the same time completely reassuring.
"Lisa, are we ready?"
"Ready, captain!" she said, throwing him a smart salute and winking. For some reason the generals had insisted she wear a uniform, one with a dress down to her ankles and a feathered cap. Giovannia ignored her. According to the alchemists Lisa was no more than a person-shaped concentration of elemental energy. She had no desires, thoughts of her own, or convictions. And yet, she seemed like any innocent young woman, skipping down the streets of an Italian village. Save for the fact that her skin was seafoam green and her hair was a blue so dark it was almost black.
"Man your posts!" Giovanni shouted. His crew scrambled to positions, manning the four-pounder guns. Giovanni peered out through the vision slit and saw the Florentine line pull apart like a curtain. And now it was time for the war machine to take center stage.
The Florentine infantry had held for almost three hours. They had taken a terrible pounding from the Spanish guns, but now the firing stopped as the enemy artillery scrambled to readjust their weapons, aiming them at this new armored threat.
"Incoming!" Giovanni screamed. A few moments later cannonballs struck the conical bronze shield, making it ring like a bell and glancing off. Some buried themselves in the turf, others ricocheted into the packed ranks of Florentine soldiers. Still the machine trundled forwards.
"Saint Mary! The armor held!" he gasped, though of course that was obvious to the crew. If it hadn't worked, they'd all be splattered across the inside of the machine. Including Lisa - she could be damaged, the alchemists said, though if killed she would merely return to elemental energy. Still, Giovanni thought, glancing down at her, he wouldn't like seeing that happen.
The Spanish line drew closer, until the mass of soldiers sharpened and Giovanni could make out individual pikemen. With the war machine finally in gun range, so Giovanni gave the order to start firing. The first four-pounder belched flame and its shot plowed into the front ranks of the Spanish infantry. The gunners quickly pulled it back and reloaded it, while the other two guns fired as well. Giovanni smiled at the way his crew was working so quickly, the drills had been exhaustive but they hadn't been truly prepared for the cramped conditions inside the war machine.
Soon one gun after another was firing, and the Spanish infantry was giving way. The machine was truly intimidating, so far it had held up against direct shots from their artillery with only minor damage, and its had allowed the Florentines to put what was essentially a new artillery unit right in front of enemy lines. Giovanni pumped his fist as another volley mowed down a line of Spanish pikes. The he glanced over to the left.
"We have incoming cavalry! Prepare the blades!"
The Spanish cavalry had swung out in a column as was riding at the machine. While Giovanni doubted they would do much harm, if they swarmed all over the machine they might be able to disable it in some way. Several of the guns facing in that direction fired, stalling the charge. By the time the Spanish cavalry swarmed around the machine, one of the men was ready at the lever.
"Now!"
The crewman pulled the lever, and deadly scything blades popped out of the sides of the machine, just under the guns. Springs uncoiled and gears turned, and arms swung out, cutting down horses and men like wheat before a reaper. The cavalry panicked and drew back, some men firing pistols ineffectively at the war machine. Then the Florentine's flying artillery began firing into them. While the Spanish forces had been occupied with the war machine, the Florentines had moved up their artillery and cavalry, and now they were hammering the panicked and disoriented Spaniards.
As the Spanish withdrew, Giovanni looked down from his command post. Lisa was holding on to her arm, water gushing from between her fingers. A bullet must have ricocheted through one of the cannon ports...
"Captain? I've been shot."
Giovanni's chest tightened as he leapt from his chair down into the bowels of the war machine. He grabbed the medical bag - he wasn't even sure if it would work on an elemental, but at least he could staunch the...bleeding? Suddenly everything had become so confusing, and his heart was pounding.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asked his crew. Some of them shuffled their feet sheepishly.
"You said to report casualties..." one of them said lamely. Giovanni finished tightening a bandage, it was soon soaked through with her "blood", but they'd get an alchemist. Lisa just stared at him, not even in pain and unaware of whether she should be grateful. Giovanni turned on his crew.
"She is the most vital part of this machine. If she is damaged - no, injured, we may very well be doomed. Next time, inform me, and then ensure her safety before returning to battle. That is an order!"
The crew looked at each other, some nodding and offering Giovanni salutes. Lisa was more than just a mascot or a passenger, she was even more than a piece of equipment. She had an...innocence about her. Giovanni had seen that from the beginning.
Maybe the crew would see it as well.
***
Later analysis concluded that the war machine was not quite as key to the Florentine victory as it had seemed. It had racked up only a few dozen casualties and had disrupted the Spanish general's command of the field, but the element of surprise was not likely to last very long. Eventually some manner of response to the war machines would be found - the engineers were already anticipating several, from gnomes attacking it from below to bombs planted in its path - but for the Florentine generals, it had proved itself worth the cost and time needed to produce it. And if they could field a formation - well! Orders were sent back to Florence immediately.
***
In a cluttered workshop in Florence, amid-half finished art projects, machinery, and bubbling alchemical solutions, Leonardo da Vinci looked down at the order for three more of his war machines within the year. He sighed and reached for a notebook to being writing down instructions, pushing aside his sketchbook in the process.
The Florentines had possession of his original designs for the war machine now. If they were going to be built anyway, Leonardo at least wanted to be sure his inventions were built right.
