Chapter 19

More troubles on the horizon

The queen and I meet in the usual room to discuss recent events and although the expedition’s progress is too insubstantial to pique its interest, my new theory of Undeath does.

“You think a lack of strong feeling is what kept you sane? But aren’t strong feelings what create undead in the first place? How do you reconcile these two facts?”

“I have always been an eccentric: I used to have dreams of greatness, but neither amounted to anything. I suppose my regrets proved strong enough. Still, I would like you to note that since most Undead do not usually have a will of their own, they cannot be considered insane or hateful. They simply act upon an accumulation of instincts, obsessions, and fears.”

“Dear, a mass of instinct devoid of rationality sounds insane enough to me.”

“You may be right; it is quite probable that the ‘collective’ does not have any agenda most of the time… it may even have many conflicting ones.”

“In that case, wouldn’t the expedition be better served from not having you on-site?”

“There is truth in your words. I thought about it as well but concluded the benefits of my presence exceeded the dangers. My senses make the exploration and navigation much easier, and I am probably the only one who would recognize what we are looking for, anyway.”

“Infinite space is too good a prospect to pass on. It would revolutionize transportation, storage, and even urbanism.”

“The exact functions have yet to be determined, but I admit attaching this level of security and complexity onto a trashcan seems very unlikely. “

“I am sorry, but I may have to delay your return. There is a matter for which I require your assistance: we will soon receive a visit from an empire’s emissary and I wish for you to be present.”

“But I have no ability whatsoever in politics. I did not know what the word meant until recently!”

“They are likely to ask for our assistance in their war with the kingdom, or at the very least, for our neutrality. The problem is: the empire has elevated treachery to an art, they are devious enemies and fickle allies. Whatever their true goal, your ability to read meaning and feeling will prove useful.”

“Your Majesty, I cannot see through lies and half-truth, the way your people played me is proof enough.”

“Oblige me please, any small advantage will go a long way against this kind of opponent… and I find your presence reassuring.”

What can I answer to that? “Very well your majesty, I will make myself available.”

“How very kind of you. On a more somber note, One True God believers in the south have been perpetrating acts of rebellion against the state. My spies believe a representative of the faith or a high-ranking official from the kingdom will soon come to make demands.”

“What kind of demands?”

“The usual: equal treatment for humans and other nonsense. The content matters little, all they want is an excuse to declare a holy war.”

I do not get them. What is so good about war? “I am no expert, but even I can see that fighting on two fronts at the same time is a terrible idea.”

“It is probable they have already opened more fronts than that. They are in a constant state of with their southern neighbors, as they are their main source of slaves.”

How dreadful. “How can such a nation work?” Although, I wonder if it really is my place to comment, considering our use of the Children.

“Slavery is the backbone of their society, so apart from a few specialized jobs, others have to own some or join either the army or the church to ensure their subsistence. The problem with this model is that it cannot work without a constant influx of slaves and plunder. War keeps their country together and prevents the population from looking too attentively at the massive inequalities: as long as there are enemies and monsters, all their failings can be shifted.”

“I still do not understand why they need to wage war against the empire and us at the same time.”

“They don’t have a choice in the matter, war with either opens an opportunity for the other to strike. There is also a difference in intent: they wish to conquer the empire as it will get more slaves, more resources and eventually more converts, but the war against us is one of eradication as their god command they remove monsters from existence.”

“Should we not use this opportunity to strike full force then?”

“I cannot say how yet, but I expect they intend to keep us occupied one way or another until they are finished with the empire.”

Do they really expect a few rebels to stop the full might of the Korok knights? Is the empire really this weak? Or do they believe all humans will naturally join them to fight us, monsters?

The Queen continues. “The quality of our knights and mages is incomparably higher, but in return, the loss of a single knight hurt us more than the loss of a squad hurts them. Adding basic training, it takes the kingdom less than twenty years to replenish their losses, but a great Korok to reach maturity at the age of sixty, and eighty for an elf. Sure, our soldier stays able for hundreds of years but when the human life expectancy is only around sixty but that only makes the gap harder to deal with.”

It shakes its beautiful head slowly with an air of sadness. “The difference in longevity makes it hard for humans, and at a lesser level the Koroks, to join the elites: by the time the longer-lived species have finished their training, their counterparts are retired or dead.”

I did not read much about war, but I do remember a few words… Terrible words “Terrorism and guerilla warfare? Is that what you expect?”

“I was about to make equipment for my Knights, but assuming you can gather enough crystals it would not be impossible to extend the production to other units.” Even if say that, I do not think it is possible to make enough for every knight, we will have to switch to metal at some point.

“Thank you, but even if we include precious gems, I doubt we have enough material in the kingdom.”

“I wonder if there is a scientific theory on the origin of crystals…”

“I see. If you cannot find them, make them. An interesting approach, I will ask my subordinate to look for scholars with that kind of knowledge.”

It was just something I said out of curiosity. “Most obliged, my Queen. I will take your leave. There is much I need to do and very little time.”

“Please, do, and know I am very sorry for burdening you so.”

My failing attempts at following etiquette make me feel like a kid talking to a teacher… good thing, the Queen does not care.

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I briefly use farsight to look at the destination and teleport in an empty corner of my workshop.

“How is it going?”

The nearest apprentice freezes and perks his ears in fear. “My lord?! I did not hear you enter. Um, we made the four golem cores, but with such tiny scraps Elaric is the only one who can inscribe anything at all.”

I know I am the one who said to use scraps, but rather than getting stuck, I would much prefer if they used larger quartz.

“We might have to equip the whole knight order with the spell I gave you earlier, so start looking into our stocks. Oh, right, I am going to meet with the master. Tell Elaric to join us as soon as possible.”

I have no clue who Elaric is and I really need to find a way to differentiate among them, something more efficient than size and fur color… I hate it when I mix people’s name, it is so embarrassing. Maybe giving them some brooches with their name written in mana under the pretext of a gift will do the trick.

I knock before and enter the office. “Good afternoon master.”

“My lord, you are the new master.”

I sit in the only chair that suits someone my size. “Technically, I am the Grandmaster, and then again only in name: you are the one doing the actual administrative work. Anyway, someone will join us soon, and so far, he is the only one I know who has been able to reproduce my finest engraving techniques. He is still a student, but I want him to impart his methods to everyone, starting with the staff.”

“That’s great news, there are a lot of mishaps and even in the best case, the engraving is nowhere as fine as your student, much less yours. Crystals and magic organs are rare and precious enough that we will greatly benefit from any small reduction.”

“I sure hope so. How is the integration of crystal carving in everyday’s technology going?”

“Very well, sir, although it is still too costly for many applications. Nevertheless, as long as one can bear the increased cost, there will be a massive increase in efficiency in almost every area.”

“Almost?”

“The spells for heating and cooking benefits from being put directly on the metal, but even in those cases there only benefits in using one of your power sources.”

“It makes sense. Are there oth...”

My sentence is interrupted by a knock at the door, probably Elaric. This one I definitely must remember! I activate my own clairvoyance enchant to etch his features in my mind.

“Please enter.” Says the master.

I finish my previous sentence. “Have you found other cases in which carving the Words of Power directly in metal is more efficient?”

Elaric enter the room and wait patiently for us to finish.

“No, sir. Before you came, it was almost impossible to fit a long spell unto a decently sized apparatus, so there weren’t so many uses besides cooling, heating and water production.”

“Elaric,” I say to the newcomer. “your technique is beyond that of any other apprentices and staff member. I would like it if you could instruct the staff in your methods.”

“If I must, sir… but what about our research?”

Ah, yes, he is one of the few obsessed with research and the bag of holding in particular.

It is impolite of me, but I ignore him as I have more demands to make. “Master, I want you to form a team to investigate replacement materials for crystal as well as another to find if there is a way to link a power source to a crystal enchant.”

“As you wish, my lord.”

“Elaric, for the time being, teaching your method supersede anything else… but if it is agreeable to you, you can participate in both of the research I mentioned. In fact, I would much prefer if you did.”

“Will I be able to rejoin the team researching the bag of holding afterward?”

“I am not punishing you. You are doing excellent work, but we are pressed for time and we need the rest to catch up, even if it is only a little: we all need to do what we must before we can do what we want.”

I get up and leave the room. “Alaric, let us walk together.” I have seared his appearance in my mind, but it will not help much if he drastically changes his haircut or dyes his hair… I really need to hurry and make these brooches.

While we walk, I explain to him. “As things go, we are bound to run out of resources soon, even teaching your method will only give us a small respite.” I leave the part about the dragon/calamity and the possibility of almost endless resources in the vault out. “That is how important these researches are! New materials and a method to divide the spell components are a must, so feel free to explore any promising avenue independently of seniority.”

“I… I had no idea the situation was so bad, sir.”

“Since all living creatures gather mana inside themselves, organic materials seem particularly promising. Take as much money as you need from the workshop’s fund and acquire some magic beast carcasses.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I am counting on you. Do not hesitate to try anything and everything and ask me or the master if you need more funds.”

“It will be done my lord; you can count on me!”

“Nice answer!”

This one is really devoted to the spirit of inquiry… if I had a face, I am sure it would be smiling. Even with the threat of the dragon/calamity, there is no better time to be alive: there is always something interesting going on.

I leave Alaric behind and head back at the workshop. On my desk is one enchant I do not recognize. “What is this one for?”

“For cooling or heating air, sir. It occurred to us that depending on the situation, armor can get very hot or dangerously cold.”

The spell is similar to the one found in a cooler, in the way it displaces the heat rather than directly alter the temperature. I think it would have worked better with a medium other than air, but the consumption is low and it can easily be used both ways… However, I fear an army of thousands, leeching or expelling heat might create more problems than it solves.

I take the crystals, use farsight to find a place over the camp and teleport back.