I had spent the rest of the day and the night carefully sewing the Dawn of Aeromancy poster to one of the old dresses that I had purchased from one of the Lomb second-hand shops. Thankfully the old poster was painted atop a thin, soft canvas, so it worked just fine if it was a bit folded and warped out of shape atop the front of my body. I had no idea how I would connect one of my crystals to power her yet, so I had to push a bit of my mana into her about once every ten minutes, which was mildly annoying. Thankfully, I was going to meet with someone that could help me figure out this problem.

After a quick, filling breakfast at our usual table at crepe cafe, Lambert and I headed straight to the artificer’s shop. Antoine greeted us, stepping dramatically out of his office as the front door of the shop clicked closed and magical binds flipped to cover up the shop’s windows.

The artificer’s goggle-covered lenses spotted Dawn on the front of my dress.

“Good morning, Juni! Is that a… depictomancy poster sewn to your dress?” He asked curiously.

“Yep,” I smiled. “Dawn, this is my friend Antoine. He’s my personal artificer.”

Dawn looked at Antoine from the dress. “Nice to meet you, Antoine,” she said. “I’m Dawn Huron.”

“...Huron?” Antoine rubbed his chin. “How very... curious. I’ve never met a painting with a full name before.”

“My artist is Ambiss Huron,” Dawn said. “Juni gave me the name.”

“Ah!” the artificer smiled. “She is quite the creative gearbox!”

“How did your tests with the material I provided go?” I asked.

“Oh, simply marvelous,” the artificer clapped his gloved hands. “You were right. The crystal lattices can absorb magical radiance projected from other materials pointed at it. It's got the highest grade of Dunkoff-radia integration I’ve worked with.”

“Dunkoff-radia?” I inquired.

“Every magical materia projects a certain resonance of magic. There are some materia that can absorb this resonance and change properties. The quality of type-integration is rated on the Dunkoff-radia scale.” Antoine explained. “The crystals you gave me absorb every resonance and take on all of the properties, growing tougher and changing ever so slightly. It’s a truly fantasmagoric materia because the gem integrates all nearby magic into itself, adapting and slowly hardening. In a week the organic gemstone had absorbed all sorts of magic I’ve shot at it. When it hardened it became a perfect materia that was able to redirect the same resonance with ease. It’s truly an artificer’s dream.”

“If I give you another gem, would you be able to integrate it with Dawn, power her with it?” I pointed at the portrait. “I’d like to keep her animated for as long as possible.”

“Ohhh, I think I can indeed,” Antoine’s lenses clicked at Dawn’s activation rune.

“Excellent, I shall leave her in your care then,” I said. “Be back in a couple of minutes.”

I took Saccy off my shoulder, placed the backpack on the floor and climbed into the Folding Seed.

The artificer’s lenses clicked at my backpack.

When I emerged, having changed out of my dress into my armor, Antoine was still staring intently at my bag.

“Is that… a Folding Seed?” He asked.

“Yeppers,” I nodded, handing Dawn and one of my hair-crystals to him.

“Fortuna Madeline!” The artificer swore. “You’ve turned a Folding Seed into a backpack?!”

I nodded, laughing at his expression. “She does the job well. Her name’s Saccy.”

“It’s letting you in and out?! How are you operating the entrance?” The artificer asked. “Why isn’t it broadcasting its Charisma allure at us and making us into drooling idiots?”

“Trade secret,” I smirked.

“She probably broke it just like she broke me,” Dawn commented. “This girl is dangerously creative. You should run while you have a chance, because she’s going to break you too, foolish artificer.”

Antoine closed his mouth. I started laughing. Lambert joined in with a chortle.

“Come now, I am not so easily dissuaded,” the artificer smiled, rubbing the back of his head. “You are a very curious drawing. The first one I see that can crack jokes. How are you able to formulate such complex thoughts?”

“A professional depictomancer never shares her secrets,” Dawn smiled. “If you’d like to learn the magical arts to make living paintings like me, apply to the Nemendias Arcanarium.”

“I wish. I am a bit too old and don’t have the time or finances for that,” Antoine sighed. “Nemendias is outrageously expensive. Plus, I’m not a highborn. I don’t think they’d accept me.”

“There have been lowborns who went to Nemendias,” I said.

“What?” Antoine stared at me. “Who?! Isn’t it a school for the highest aristocracy?”

“Well... one lowborn. His name was Thomas Cole,” I said. “He was an Undertown debitor who got into Nemendias.”

“A lowborn who got into Nemendias,” Antoine whistled. “When did this happen? I bet that the aristocracy were extremely pissed off!”

“They executed him one hundred and sixty years ago,” I nodded.

“Ah,” Antoine nodded.

“There are other Arcanariums,” Dawn commented.

“Dawn, stop promoting Arcanariums to us,” I laughed. “Nobody here is going to an Arcanarium.”

“You don’t want to go to an Arcanarium?!” the painting stared at me, her eyes filled with disappointment. “Juni! You won’t get anywhere in life without a degree! Nobody is going to hire you!”

“You sound just like my grandfather,” I laughed. “I can make money as an Adventurer.”

“A filthy… dungeon diver?” Dawn sputtered. “No! I refuse to work with a diver! You must promise me that you will graduate from Nemendias Arcanarium.”

“Are you seriously making demands of me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “After everything I’ve already promised you?”

“I want to help you unlock your full potential,” Dawn said firmly.

“You heard Antoine,” I rolled my eyes. “It’s expensive.”

“Irrelevant,” Dawn said firmly.

“They only accept highborns,” I added.

“Thomas Cole got in,” Dawn insisted. "It sets a precedent."

I stared at the girl in the drawing. Her amber eyes fiercely glared back at me with far too much determination.

“You’re going to Nemendias,” she insisted. “Whether you like it or not.”

“I don’t want to…” I mumbled.

“I’m not giving you a choice,” Dawn growled.

Lambert started to laugh.

“What?” I turned to the inspector.

“I think you’ve encountered someone who’s just as stubbornly determined as you,” Lambert said. “Maybe more.”

“It is rather amusing,” Antoine added. “You’re arguing with a drawing.”

I wanted to argue, wanted to fight. I opened my mouth and Dawn shook her head, watercolor gemstones glittering in the painted rays of light, skyships moving behind her.

“It’s not a choice that belongs to you,” she said.

“Are you making it for me?” I asked. “Forcing me on a path because you have to sell education to people?”

“No,” Dawn said, tilting her captain’s hat.

My eyebrows went up. The Astral Tree knew… something. What could she want from me?

“You want me to go to Nemedias because Ambiss went there?” I asked.

“Yes,” Dawn said.

“You want me to find all of her paintings and open their eyes too?”

“Yes,” the painted girl said.

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes. “I have no idea how I’m going to get in, but okay. You win this round, painting!”

The painting of the adult chimera nodded with a smile.

Antoine shook his head. He wasn’t taking the painting seriously, likely didn’t know what Dawn was, likely didn’t see her as a network. He retreated into his workshop and returned holding two silver bracelets.

“Are those… mine?” I looked up at him.

“Indeed,” the artificer smiled proudly. “Give me your right hand, please.”

I offered him my right hand. One of the artifacts unfurled into a hundred moving silver ribs and smoothly wrapped around my right wrist.

“I… can take it on and off, right?” I asked, staring at my new magitek tool.

“Of course,” Antoine said. “Left hand, please.”

I lifted my left hand and the artificer snapped the other silver bracelet onto me.

“You should be able to detect them in your System listing,” the artificer stated. “I was able to add a very wide array of various materia and hexagrams into your focus tool!”

“Stats,” I whispered.

Name:

Yulia Ishenko

Juni Tokimorimïtuti

Grogtilda Lic Misem

Age:

[-]

4 years

13 years

Species & Subtype:

Astral Phantom

Chimera Stripling

Juvenile Human

Level:

5

Experience:

645/1800

Health:

5/5

Stamina:

5/5

Mana Capacity:

5/5 [+1]

Mana regen:

5 m/hr [+4]

Strength / Fortitude:

1 [Mitchell Shield]

Agility / Folding:

1 [Air Compressor]

Dexterity / Dominion:

5 [Pneumasomatic Actuators] - [Tethered to Chimera body]

5 [Pneumasomatic Actuators] - [Tethered to Human body]

Vitality / Anima:

21 [Slow Mirror]

Charisma / Resonance:

1 [Allure Halo]

5 [Invisibility]

Magic / Power:

1 [Battery]

4 [Generators]

Luck / Destiny:

1 [Luck Tree]

Intelligence / Mind:

1 [Calculator]

Wisdom / Seeking:

1 [Seeking Arrow] - [Damaged]

Soul: In Dominated Folding Seed [Saccy]: 12 [Pneumasomatic Actuators] - [Active]

8 [Pneumasomatic Actuators] - [Damaged] In Dominated Chimera Stripling [Alessi Tokimorimïtuti]:

3 [Pneumasomatic Actuators] - [Active]

1 [Pneumasomatic Actuator] - [Damaged] Armacus 1: [Foci Lv 1] [Light Lv 1]

[Voicecast Lv 1]

[Identify Lv 1]

[Pathfinder Lv 1] Armacus 2: [Foci Lv 1] [Light Lv 1]

[Voicecast Lv 1]

[Identify Lv 1]

[Pathfinder Lv 1]

I saw my new armaci at the bottom of the list. There were five spells listed to each one.

“That’s it? Five spells?” I asked. “I expected… more.”

“You are only Level Five, my lady. As you level up your body or change location, more spells will become unlocked to you,” Antoine said. “The integration is absolute. The five base spells are safe, permitted legally and are good practice for a novice. Feel free to test them around the shop.”

“How do I use them?” I asked, shaking my arms.

“Open your hand like so and mentally direct your armacus to activate,” the artificer said.

I copied the position of his hand and mentally prodded my right armacus to activate. The right armacus unfurled into a gun-like shape. I wrapped my hands around the handle.

“Use your thumb to switch between spells,” Antoine directed me.

“[Foci] will eventually magnify your existing skills, [Light] will make a light, [Voicecast] is a communicator, [Identify] will identify things for you and [Pathfinder] will guide you to your destination if you use it on an artifact map."

I noticed a ring with five runes that I could spin around. I spun it, clicking through five runes. Foci didn’t seem to do anything. Light made a very small, pale, white light shine from the front. When I switched to Voicecast, Antoine stepped closer to me and tapped his bracelet on my unlocked armacus.

The spell in my menu expanded to:

[Voicecast] :

+ [Artificer Antoine Delamond Kovalzek]

“You can now call me from anywhere in the Empire,” Antoine said. “The hex-beacon towers will re-broadcast your voice to me.”

“Will it work deep underground?” I asked. “Will it work in the Dungeon?”

“Results may vary,” Antoine admitted. “Magical interference can block the signal. If it does you can try to aim it directly at Illatius for better reception. The higher level you are, the more you will attune to the armacus and the better the connection will work.”

Lambert tapped his armacus to mine.

[Voicecast] :

[Artificer Antoine Delamond Kovalzek]

+ [Inspector Lambert Cu Durer Archibal]

“Use command ‘define self as…’ to label your Voicecast ID, otherwise people connected to your armacus won’t be able to call you.”

“Define self as... Diver Juni,” I said.

“Voicecast Diver Juni,” Antoine said into his silver bracelet.

I felt an odd sensation in my right hand. The blue menu flashed to:

[Voicecast] :

[Artificer Antoine Delamond Kovalzek] [

[Inspector Lambert Cu Durer Archibal]

“Say connect or disconnect,” the artificer ordered.

“Connect,” I said.

[Voicecast] :

[Artificer Antoine Delamond Kovalzek] [=]

[Inspector Lambert Cu Durer Archibal]

“Testing,” Antoine spoke into his bracelet.

[Testing] his voice manifested in my head.

“This is neat,” I said. “Disconnect!”

The call between us dropped.

“Want to try contacting Lambert?” Antoine asked.

“Nah, I got the gist of it,” I said. "I'll play with it some more later."

“Very well,” the artificer nodded. “Feel free to test Pathfinder and Identify around town with Lambert after. The best map of the town is hanging in the Constabulary Station.”

I nodded.

“These are amusing, but I honestly expected more,” I sighed. “Guess I’ll have to grind extra hard down in the Dungeon to level up some more.”

“Once you’re in Nemendias you’ll level up quickly and unlock many spells,” Dawn commented. “The students of the best Arcanarium in Illatius receive the most enriching education and most filling meals in the Empire.”

I rolled my eyes at her declarations. Did the Astral Tree have connections to Nemendias Administration? Could she somehow pay for such an overpriced education? Did a painting have... savings? Hidden treasure belonging to her artist? I had no idea. Dawn was a mystery to me. I wasn’t sure what limits she had exactly. Limits… hang on, what if she told Antoine everything about me while he worked on her?

“Be back with the armacus cleaning kit,” Antoine vanished in his office.

“Dawn, you won’t tell the artificer about our… relationship while he works on you… right?” I whispered at the drawing.

Lambert made a small choking noise. It sounded like he was trying to stifle a laugh.

“Do I look like an idiot?” Dawn rolled her eyes. “I don’t tattle on my friends. Do you really think that countless, wise inspectors and pilots would talk to me in their stations over the years if I even made a peep about their cases or secrets?”

“You’re going to tattle on the nobles for us,” I said.

“Only if they are indeed fomenting a Threat against Humanity,” Dawn said. “I might be a painting but I took a Vow to serve the Empire!”

“Right,” I nodded. “As long as you don’t tell anyone my secrets.”

“Your secrets are safe with me,” Dawn purred. “My lips are sealed.”

“I’m not listening in on your secrets,” Antoine yelled out from his office.

Lambert facepalmed.