"You're going to imitate Raiden. Kerv is your shield, and I am your brains? Do I get a pin?"

Bellavarn grinned almost evilly.

"Now you know everything; you have access to everything. You could run away with that necklace along with the clothes on my back and I will trust your decision."

"That is stupid."

"Indubitably."

"I'd like to know your full plan before I sign up. You know by now I'm now a fan of work."

"That's a lie. Stimulating work is precisely what you've been waiting for. How far did your tests take you?"

Ester didn't deny that she started. She pulled out an entire table from her necklace. It was tall enough to keep the trunk underneath and support the weight a dozne objects. Most of it was metallic components. There was also a banana.

"This is everything important, including your test dummy."

"Right. The test dummy."

Ester narrowed her eyes.

"The banana."

"The banana."

"You were going to use it to examine bruising."

"That is brilliant. I like your idea better."

Ester rubbed her eyes.

Bellavarn laughed nervously.

"Right. Well. You can put away the banana. We won't have a working prototype for a while."

Ester whisked it away and waited on an explanation. Bellavarn reached for a water pouch on his waist and took a large gulp. Normally his days were spent in silent contemplation, study and work, but now it was time for a lecture.

"The Three Laws of Motion by Issac Newton. Newton surmised the fundamental truths of the world that we live in. The author of Art's Fundamental Rules had the same thing in mind. Can you listen and read at the same time?"

Ester gave him a look with clear meaning. Bellavarn handed Ester the proper reading material.

"Here. Perusing through the book may help retain what I am saying. "

Her interest was great enough not to question the chair moving in behind her. Nodding once, she accepted the seat and crossed her legs. On the other side of the table, Bellavarn started his lecture.

"Starting at the First Law, Newton states an object in motion tends to stay in motion. Imagine a rock sitting on a hill. It won't move unless a force is acted upon it. Imagine I push it down the hill. It won't suddenly stop halfway down. The rock will continue rolling, picking up speed, until it eventually crashes or slows to a halt. What stops it is either the wind resistance and/or the terrain it is tearing up."

Bellavarn paced as a public speaker would, moving from one spot to the next to personify the moving topic.

"The Second Law states that the force of the rolling rock equals mass times acceleration. Bigger boulder, more force, harder to get rolling, and also harder to stop. A smaller rock could be rolled down the hill with less effort, but the impact would also be smaller."

"This seems like common sense to me."

"It should. However, it has to be pointed out and actively thought about. Please save any comments or questions for the end."

Bellavarn almost laughed at himself. He finally understood things from the teacher's perspective.

"The Third Law is the most important. When two objects interact—two boulders—they apply equal force again one another in opposite directions."

He picked up two marbles from the table of potential props.

"Two objects of equal size. If I take each in a different hand and roll them into each other..."

The rolling sound they made on hardwood was pleasing. So was the *tink* when they bumped.

"...not much happens. The force cancels out. Now, if I take one of these marbles and roll it against, say, this crystal ball."

Not bothering to ask if this was the reason he wanted a crystal ball, Ester observed the marble get flung out of the way when pitted against the larger sphere.

"A larger object with more mass will win against the less dense object 99% of the time. Outliers aside, Newton's Third Law helps us immensely because it is the foundation of my plan."

Ester went back to reading the drivel inside the primer. It was filled with needless flowery words, but she saw the connection Bellavarn was putting together. Her comprehension was so great that she took over the lecture.

"The First Law: A spell cast will continue until it's completion. Simply put, it means that there is always an effect, even if that effect is the dispersal of energy. Regardless if the outcome is desired, it can be measured. If it can be measured, it can be improved."

Ester stood from her chair.

"The Second Law: The size of the Spell amounts to how much mana is supplied and the speed at which it is given. Does this mean what I think it means? It would explain the Duchess."

Bellavarn vibrated with energy. Holding it in was agonizing.

"Magic isn't limited as we are lead to believe."

Ester continued reading.

"The Third Law. Two conflicting spells cast separately will counteract according to the First and Second Law. For example, if two magicians dueled, and both cast a fireball of the same size and speed, they would completely cancel each other out."

She looked up.

"How old is this book?"

"At least a hundred years."

"I've seen older books with no mention of casting magic."

Bellavarn was shaking with indignity.

"I love it, I really do, but you are jumping from one conclusion to the next. Are you going to spell it out or shall I? Pun intended."

Ester ignored him and continued reading. Recognizing his cue, the words practically spilled out of Bellavarn.

"Judging by how this is the only book I've found that mentions casting magics, there was a significant purge of the knowledge within the last century, and we have been relegated to enchantment magic only. How such a thing is possible within such a short timeframe boggles the mind but it means that my mother either knows the secret or instinctually understands it. She can cast Ice magic without talismans, just like how mages of old could cast fireballs! Can you imagine? A world that moves past the limitations of enchantments into the realm of active casting? And to think that world existed but a century ago... How are you not totally freaking out right now?"

Bellavarn threw his hands up. His voice reached a crescendo while Ester remained immersed in the book. She answered him in a way that seemed to crush his hopes.

"Yes. The implications are there. However, there is no possible way to unlock said knowledge. Whoever or whatever hid it went to great lengths and won't see it come back easily. The Duchess could be accepted as an anomaly. Bringing back casting magics would be an upheaval of the natural order."

"But the excitement."

"Are you ten? I thought you were a rising star that was smart enough to position me at your side but the way you are acting is giving me doubts."

"Ow."

Bellavarn dusted himself off.

"I know that the information is not actionable at the moment. I was merely excited by the prospects. The work we are doing is in fact more important. Bringing back the old world is a nice concept but we don't have the time to do the research or battle the power that crushed it in the first place. We need to grab hold of the opportunity lying at our feet."

"You're the one with knowledge of another world. What is this weapon supposed to be?"

"Banana."

Ester recoiled.

"What?"

Bellavarn held out a hand and reiterated.

"I need the banana."

Ester's expression indicated she wanted to slap him. He clenched his jaw but it didn't come. A banana landed in his hand. Thanking her, he turned it in his hand. It had a noticeable curve. Almost no bruising. A bright yellow weapon.

Moving Ester aside, he repositioned the chair to the far corner of the tent. Stepping back far enough, he aimed his banana at the innocent chair.

Ester watched, befuddled at the look of complete concentration Bellavarn exuded.

*Splat*

A yellow paste splattered against the wooden chair.

"What the hell was that?"

"A test run. I did it by accident back when I was a hermit. Recreating the event was harder than I anticipated."

"Explain or I am going to throttle you."

"You wouldn't."

The look in her eyes said otherwise.

"You would. Okay. It turns out that bananas are receptible to mana. I circled mana to my hand as fast as I was able and the banana ate it all instantly. The result caused it to explode outward and smack into the chair. That's what gave me my idea."

He hurried after Ester's glare intensified.

"We are going to skip crossbows and guns and move straight into science fiction. Gauss weaponry is pretty much imaginary on Earth, but it is possible with the introduction of magics. We won't need ammunition, black powder, or even batteries. All we need is a bit of engineering and we will have weapons we can power ourselves, more accurate than any throwing weapon imaginable. Those components on the table are the basics of what we need to construct a pistol capable of hitting an enemy at a distance of 30 yards, stunning, or killing the instant the trigger is pulled. All concealable within a pocket. Anyone who saw it would have no idea what it did until it was too late."

Ester countered.

"A weapon needs to be drawn. How much power would it take to stun? How can you make sure you get it right? Will the effective distance change according to power input and a person's natural mana reserves?"

Bellavarn's smile returned. This is why he chose Ester. She knew all the right questions.

"Hypothesizing is good. Newtons Laws will help us with that. It is a shame I zoned out during the lecture on Magnetism. It wasn't easy to understand so I stopped trying. My fault. Now it's our turn to pave the way."

"You're aware of the consequences."

Ester framed it as a statement, but Bellavarn took it as a question.

"I asked your help to build a weapon. Not an ordinary one, but one that could change the fate of all future warfare. Damn the consequences. This weapon is the key to our survival and living long enough to snag the depraved bastard who murdered our friends."

"Revenge is a confession of pain. If you're going to change the world make sure everyone remembers why."

Their attention drew to the table. Together they rolled out the schematic of a weapon. Some would say it was only a theory at this point, but historians would call it a signed declaration of a changing era.

Summoning a pen in her left hand, Ester filled in the title, beginning their crusade.

The Cross Project