(Alex, 16)

I think Jason enjoys the fact that the printing press was already invented in this world. The reason I believe this is because ever since our return from the Festival of Spirits training camp on Tuesday, thousands of posters went around Varil City in such a way that if someone doesn't know about them, they're a moron.

Attention Everyone!!

Sageson Magical Technologies will be revealing several new products!

Some for the rich, some for the common man!

Want to know what those crystals are popping up all over Varil City?

Come to the announcement and find out!

This Felday

Dragon King Plaza

1 PM

He also had speakers out advertising the gathering at the hours when people were coming or heading to work the most, as well as in the evenings, when everyone was heading home from an evening or afternoon out.

How much thought was put into that? Actually, I'm betting Sage Harold had a hand in all of that, considering this is probably his realm of expertise.

So now, my crew and I are waiting at the plaza, the bitter autumn air staved off by space heaters five feet in height and spaced pretty nicely. They look like giant stone blocks a couple of feet in width, with control runes on one part of them. Jason mentioned them to me already, so I only gave them a few curious glances while others are staring at them with amazement.

I learned by way of watching a street rat try to mess with the heaters that the control runes are locked – no one here can use them. These ones were probably locked to magical signatures to prevent anyone brave enough to try and touch the new items from changing the temperature in the area.

It's not hot, but it's comfortable, and since the control panels don't seem to be warm, that's an added bonus to these things.

Looking around from the crates I'm standing on with the others, I notice that there must be hundreds of us here. There is a wooden platform erected at one end of the plaza, where three large signs have been erected, with quite a few locations listed on two of them.

The ones on the left sign are all in red, and the ones on the right are all in orange, with fewer locations than the red. Many of them have red lines or orange lines beneath them and it only took me a moment to figure out that they were locations of warp crystals.

As for the lines, they're likely locations a warp crystal here can link to. There are several items covered by cloths, some on tables, some by themselves, on the platform, and one of them is a rectangular box that's tall enough to conceal a warp crystal. It's not the only large one, but based on its dimensions, it's probably a warp crystal, especially since this plaza supposedly has an orange one, but I haven't seen it.

The central sign is just a giant, blank grey board, and it's piqued my curiosity. Why did Jason leave that one empty?

Giving everyone another look, there might actually be more than a thousand citizens filling this plaza, all packed together. Only glares from my crew keep people from trying to shove us off these crates, which we brought for this.

Well, the crew brought them. I spotted them on the crates already and joined them. According to Mikey, Adam gave him the crates, and they decided to break them in by using them here.

Looking around, I spot Adam and Elise near the front of the crowd. I don't see the royals, but I expect they're either watching from somewhere where I can't see them, or they've already been shown all of this.

Actually, I do see Niko. He's easy to spot, since there are only eleven teens in Varil City with black hair, and they are standing near Adam. Huh. When did the Marrans cut their hair? Other than Niko, all were keeping their hair at the standard, longer length for those from the north.

My gaze wanders back up to the platform, where there are several Sageson Magical Technologies employees standing about, as well as two Royal Knights and two Royal Mages. There are quite a few members of the Royal Guard here as well, even without the royals, so I'm betting they're acting as crowd control.

Regular city guards probably already had their hands full enough and might not be able to act well in such a crowded situation. Usually, something like this is a royal event, which usually has Royal Guards. City guards simply don't have experience with such large crowds.

Right at one in the afternoon, a purple rectangle forms in the air on the stage, and everyone falls silent. I enhance my sight, only to discover what the third sign is for.

It's now showing an image of the figure stepping through the gate, Jason himself. He's dressed in his casual outfit of pants and boots, only instead of his vest, he's wearing a proper, blue and purple tunic that looks somewhat formal, his belt's buckle the same crest of the dragon as what's on his Crystal Crest.

People will probably think that's just him using the image of the sacred dragon.

I let out a groan when I see him as I cancel my spell. Jason is wearing his necklace, the two bracelets, and those hairpins that he always wears above his left ear. I told him to leave the accessories at home, but it seems that didn't work for him.

He does look pretty nice, though, even with those.

"Hello!" His voice echoes through the crowd as people no doubt marvel at the image on the board behind him and the gate spell that's fading away.

How is he projecting his image onto that board? I know that back on Earth, we had technology that could do that, but I don't see a thing that would imitate that. Or is he using his magic directly to do that?

Well, a benefit of being me is that I can ask him when we head home.

"As many of you know," he says, his voice continuing to reach even those furthest from him in the crowd. "I am Jason Jeshema, the son of the Sages, and the person in charge for Sageson Magical Technologies while my mamas and papas are away. And today, I have the pleasure of revealing to many of you some of our newest inventions!"

As he talks, he gestures to a rectangular object hidden by a sheet, sitting by itself, and one of the employees approaches it.

"As you have all no doubt noticed already," he smiles. "This plaza is quite warm, is it not? In fact, I've noticed that many of you have removed your coats and cloaks because it's so warm. That's courtesy of one of the new inventions, a space heater."

The employee removes the sheet from the object, revealing a smaller version of the space heaters, standing at only two feet in height.

"These devices," Jason tells us as the image on the board changes to the smaller space heater's. "Are capable of warming rooms and small houses entirely on their own, and yes, they do come in smaller than the ones here in the plaza. In fact, we only made the ones warming this plaza specifically for this event, because we decided that just because we're hosting something when it's cold, that doesn't mean we need to be cold, does it?"

There are murmurs of agreement throughout the crowd.

"Now," he says. "Many of you are thinking 'these are probably just for rich folks'. Nobles and other upper-class members of society can already afford to keep their homes warmed, so yes, they might also buy these. However, the inventor of these was looking at something even the common man could buy!

"While we do have a limited stock," Jason says. "Thanks to utilizing an assembly-line style construction method, we can produce these somewhat faster than you would think, and that is helping us to keep their costs down even more."

He brought assembly lines to this world, and as I think that, I realize that the Sages used something akin to one to construct those clocks.

"And so," he says. "For the standard heater this size, it may be possible to purchase one with only a month or two of saving, rather than sitting an unobtainable desire! The heaters have several settings, allowing you to adjust how warm it makes your room or home."

As he speaks, the employee indicates the runes, which Jason talks through the uses of, the screen showing all of it. It's definitely a live feed. But how are they doing that?

I return my attention to the demonstration, where they are showing how to change how the mana battery, and that it can use the kind that can be charged by anyone, meaning that even a commoner can extend the use of the battery if they can use magic.

"And yes," Jason says. "If a business wishes to purchase a larger one to warm an outdoor space, such as an outdoor dining area normally closed during the winter, we will be producing those as well, and you can expect to be able to purchase them starting next week!"

He gestures to the employee, who moves to the next item, the screen changing to show that. It's another box-like object, this one a little bigger than the space heaters.

"Are you tired of needing to wait for hours for something to dry?" Jason asks. "When you're washing your clothes in the winter and need to hang them up inside, letting it drip and drip and drip?"

This is a laundry dryer, isn't it?

"Well!" He grins, and the employee removes the sheet, revealing a block-like object with a front door. "Allow me to introduce to you the laundry dryer!"

Yep.

"Put your clothes inside of it," he says as the employee opens it, revealing the chamber within. "Close the door, turn it on, and while rotating the chamber inside, it will dry your clothes through heating magic! This is a process that can take up to two hours depending on how wet your clothes, sheets, towels, and whatever are and how many there are! That said, it can also take half an hour or less for a smaller load! Now, I know most of you are thinking 'I won't be able to afford this ever', and you might be right.

"But!" He smiles. "That's why we have several buildings throughout Varilsy that have several of these within! Instead, you go there and, for a small fee, dry your clothes! The fee you pay is so that we can upkeep the laundry dryers and keep their mana batteries charged full, and we've set it to something we know you can afford, so you don't have to worry! And if you need to go about and do other stuff while it dries, each laundromat will have an employee present at all times to ensure only those who put laundry in can take it out!

"And if you're wondering if there will be a version that cleans the clothes for you," he scratches the back of his neck, his face reddening a little, and the screen changes to show this. Someone is actively changing what it shows. "We had technical difficulties with that one, so it will be awhile yet."

That earns chuckles from the crowd.

"Anyway!" He grins at everyone. "If you do want to buy one for your home, you can contact Sageson Magical Technologies, and we can arrange for the sale of one to you! It may take up to a week to receive it, however, as each one is built to-order!"

The crowd murmurs a little as the employee moves to yet another rectangular object.

"Now," Jason grins. "This is something I'm sure many of you will be saving up for. You all know how many of those wealthier folks have cold rooms to store things to keep them good longer, yes? Entire rooms enchanted and powered regularly by magicians – and lately, mana batteries or mana generators – in order to keep things cold or frozen?

"Well!" He says as the employee unveils what is most definitely a refrigerator. "Now, you can have a much smaller version in your own home! The refrigerator and freezer combo can keep your food cold or frozen! It runs off just a few mana batteries, and can run for months before needing them changed. When it does, an indicator light will come on warning you at least a week in advance…"

He continues discussing the fridge's uses and capabilities. One of the selling points is anyone being able to have a cold drink on a hot day. He even brings up that he knows no one wants that right now, but that it's definitely something to look forward to with the coming summer.

Rather than moving to the item I'm pretty sure is the warp crystal, just because of the box-shape dimensions and the fact that it's in the center of the stage, the employee steps to the back as another approaches the table.

"Now," Jason says as the screen changes to show him again rather than the refrigerator. "How many of you have been late for work, academy, university, lessons, a meeting, or something because you woke up late? Because you had a hard night the night before and simply didn't wake in time to leave? Have you ever wished you had your own personal servant to wake you up?"

As the crowd mumbles their agreement, the employee unveils an alarm clock, the screen changing from Jason back to the clock.

"Well, we can't give you a servant!" He grins. "But we can give you something far less costly and which takes up far less space! This here is a clock, and while a clock this size usually runs upwards of five thousand Varilan varru, this one is only six hundred! And it functions as an alarm clock! What is an alarm clock? Why, it's a clock that gets noisy at a certain time, like right now!"

The alarm goes off, and even from back here, we can hear it.

"Now, this one," Jason says as the employee turns it off, the screen showing how he does it. "Was set up to be noisier than normal, just so that everyone present could hear it. I bet any of you who are feeling sleepy from the cozy warmth of those heaters was woken back up, right?"

There are murmurs of agreement from the crowd.

"Well!" Jason says. "This is something any of you can have! It works by…"

He walks everyone through the operational method, which is pretty basic, and I can tell a lot of people are interested in it. That was definitely one way to make sure to grab everyone's attention again. I hadn't realized it, but the cozy warmth was making me tired again.

"Who here has wished," Jason says once he finishes the demonstration of the alarm clock as the employee and screen's image moves to a what appears to be a thick tome or tablet beneath a sheet. "That they didn't need to use a wood fire stove or pay for a rather expensive enchantment that only has two settings just to cook a meal? Who wishes they didn't need to use a fireplace to cook their food? Who wishes they had something smaller, which took up less space? Something they might even be able to take on a picnic, even?"

Quite a few people in the crowd voice their agreement.

"We have a solution to that!" He says as the employee unveils… it's either stone or ceramic, I can't tell, but has a cream-colored ring on the surface of it. "This here is a miniature stove! It runs on a mana battery, and yes, the kind you can recharge yourself works for that! The ring you see on the stove is the warming space!"

He walks everyone through how to use the portable stove, which has an adjustable temperature panel. The employee demonstrates its use with a saucepan and some water, letting the water boil, and he touches around the stove, not touching the ring, and doesn't react to it at all.

Of course, he could be using magic, but people will probably figure out it actually does work that way once they start using them.

"Now," Jason says as the next item is focused on, the employee moving to it. "How many of you wish you didn't need to wait several days after news reached Varilsy just to hear it? Are you tired of finding out the weather mages realized there would be storms that evening, but because you don't have connections, you didn't know?"

He asks a few more questions like that, making me wonder which media thing he brought over from Earth. With the invention of the comm plates, I knew it was only a matter of time before other stuff would start to show up.

"Well!" He grins. "We have it here!"

The item is unveiled, and while it looks like an ordinary, unassuming box with only a few runes and a strange square to mark it as something different, I realize what it is immediately.

"This here," Jason indicates the radio. "Is a radio! Now, I'm going to direct your attention to the space heaters, where you'll find more have been set out!"

I look to the nearest space heater, noticing for the first time a radio sitting atop it. When did that get there? Or was it always there? Jason did mention during their demonstrations that the tops of the space heaters were safe to the touch, so it's possible they were always there.

It's then that I realize there's a Royal Guard by every space heater, something I had briefly seen but not paid attention to when I arrived. I had only thought they were there to deter someone attempting to steal them, but maybe they're there to prevent someone from stealing the radios?

"The wonderful Royal Guards helping keep everyone here safe today," Jason says. "Are going to turn them on, and you'll see what they can do! Or rather, you'll hear what they can do!"

He already has a station set up?

The Royal Guards reach over and turn on the radios, and the air fills with the same person speaking.

"For those of you just tuning in," the man says. "This is Varil City Station One, the newest way to receive your news in Varil City, and I am Eric, your broadcaster for right now. If you tune in to Varil City Station Two, you can receive a live update on the current weather predictions made by the Royal Weather Mages.

"If you aren't at the Dragon King Plaza right now," the broadcaster continues. "Sageson Magical Technologies has revealed several items already that can ease the daily lives of citizens everywhere, from a machine that dries your clothes without you needing to hang them up all over your home and across the street to a clock that you can set to perform an alert at a certain time, and several more useful products.

"Also for those just joining us," he continues. "We have royal guests Prince Jacob Varil and Princess Lina Varil here with us right now."

The royals at wherever the broadcaster is?

"How are you two today, Your Highnesses?" The broadcaster asks.

"We are well, thank you," Jacob responds, his voice clear and crisp. The sound on this is better than the voices from radios on Earth, based on my memories. Or maybe those were older ones? Either way, this is amazing. "Thank you for having us here. For those of you tuning in now, my sister, Lina, and I will be here for another two hours, and at three this afternoon, we will address inquiries many have made about Varil's relationship with Mar."

Which gives enough time for this to end and people to marvel over the stuff, even possibly test out the crystals.

"And at this moment," Lina says, and I hear a few people make appreciative noises upon hearing her voice. "Jason Jeshema is unveiling the radio, so to those of you listening to us from the plaza, we give you our greetings."

"And now," Jason says as the Royal Guards turn off the radios. "It is time for you all to learn how they work!"

He teaches everyone present how to operate the radios, which work quite basically, but also run off of mana batteries, including being able to use the ones which anyone can recharge. He seems to emphasize this a lot.

"Now," he smiles. "You are all probably wondering why I keep mentioning that you can recharge the batteries. While many citizens can use magic, many cannot as well. Even for adults, it does not often take more than a week or two of practice to sense that magic and learn how to use it! And with the next item-"

A female employee approaches the final item, the one I am positive is a warp crystal.

"-I am sure many who do not already know how to use magic will learn how!" Jason says. "How many of you have gotten home from a long day at work only to discover that you're missing stuff you need to eat? Or that you want to take a bath or shower, only to find you're out of soap or shampoo? But at the same time, you don't want to make that fifteen-minute walk to the market to buy what you need, then make another fifteen-minute walk back?"

Almost the entire crowd responds in confirmation, even some of my crew adding their own agreement that they've had that happen to them.

"Well!" Jason grins, stepping to the side as the employee removes the sheet, revealing an orange warp crystal. Magic was definitely holding that sheet up, because there is no frame there. "Here is the solution! For a small fee of Varilan varru and a little bit of mana, anyone can use one of these crystals, which I'm sure you've all seen throughout Varilsy, some of you may have even seen me personally setting them up!

"These are warp crystals," he announces. "And they are all linked together in a network. While each one does have a limited range, we tried to set them up in such a way that we covered the most distance. What's more, even someone with red magical power can use them!"

That earns some cheers from a few people in the crowd, but not many. Just wait, people, just wait. Jason said he wanted to fix a certain issue first, and based on everything else I know, by the time he finishes, there will be a lot of cheering.

"Now," he says. "As with all things, there are some limitations. For example, if you only have red magical power, you can only warp to a crystal within the range of a red crystal, but, you can still warp to any! So if the nearest crystal to you is an orange one, and you need to run down to the market, you can walk up to the orange crystal, activate it, and warp to the red crystal nearest that market as long as you're within the range of a red crystal!"

Jason goes on to explains the limitations of the crystals, but also their usefulness. For the range of a red crystal, it costs five varru, while the range of an orange costs ten. Even with this, I can tell people are uncertain. Most will probably be hesitant to consider using some of these items, but especially this one.

At least, until it becomes a common thing, which might take years. Generations, even.

Then, Jason calls for the crowd to pick somewhere on the boards with the listing of the warp crystal locations with a red underline, which is the range of this orange crystal. He explains that the employee will go there and buy something from a shop of the crowd's choice, to show how it works.

The decision comes down to Sweet Market Street, for a shop that sells chocolates with a store-branded paper wrapping. The employee steps up to the pedestal, and we can see on the screen her placing her hand on the panel on the top. A screen of light appears above her hand showing all of the crystals it can warp her to and their cost, and she uses her other to pick the location for the Sweet Market Street.

Then, she puts a five-varru coin into the slot beside the panel, and the screen tells her to place her hand against the crystal and push her mana in. She obeys, and once she's put enough in, she disappears with a red glow.

"And she's gone!" Jason says. "Don't worry, folks, I have personally tested these extensively, so she will return! We did manage to get rid of the after-effects of using the crystals that caused you to believe you were a dragon doing whatever you wanted. Maybe that was just me dreaming last night? I do have some funky dreams sometimes, and being a dragon would be pretty impressive, right?"

The crowd chuckles in response to that, and Barry snorts beside me, rolling his eyes.

"He really knows how to keep people entertained," Barry says.

"He's a goof," I tell Barry. "He's been so serious lately, I was beginning to think that the hyper goofiness I saw when I first met him had gone away."

Jason entertains the crowd for a couple of minutes, then above the ring of posts holding the ropes to block off entry to the crystal from all directions except where the pedestal is appears a series of images formed of light, red X's, including one that appears in the entrance opening.

A moment later, there's a red glow, and then the employee reappears, holding up the paper packages of several chocolates, the screen showing them to be from the chosen shop.

Jason has her demonstrate another one, with the orange crystal range, and this time, she's sent to a florist, returning with a bouquet.

Jason talks a little more about the new products, then the demonstration is concluded, and the radios are turned back on so people can tune in to the news with the royals, who are discussing with the broadcaster about how useful the warp crystals will be, including that they were pretty amazed by it when they were allowed to use them.

They royals were given access to them already? When did that happen? Jason! Why wasn't I allowed to use them?

Or are the royals lying about that? Having the prince and princess sanction them might help to alleviate some worries, though there are people who might not believe those are actually the royals, even if they have heard the royals' voices before. This is new stuff, after all, and the people speaking could be anyone with magic used to alter their voices.

As some people disperse, I leave, noting that Jason stayed long enough to move the warp crystal, its rope guard, and its pedestal back down to the ground beneath the stage, then help the employees move the new products through a gate back to wherever they were before.

Since he's left, I tell the crew I'm heading home so that I can see Jason when he returns, and they bid me farewell as they listen to the radio.

It takes me longer than normal to reach home because of the crowd, and Cecilia pours me some tea as I sit on the couch. I notice that there's a radio sitting on a table in a corner, the volume on low, and realize that they were probably listening to the entire thing from here.

Based on what I heard of it, the broadcaster and royals were discussing the plaza's events as they were ongoing. Could they see what was going on? How close were they?

Eventually, Jason arrives, stepping out of a gate and collapsing onto the couch beside me just as Eden arrives home. Cecilia turns off the radio as Jason pulls off his tunic to swap it for a vest.

"That was exhausting," Jason says as Cecilia goes to pour him and Eden tea. "I want to throttle Papa Samuel for making me do that! I told him that he and Papa Harold would have been better, and he said 'Nope! Your invention is the big reveal, so you get to do it!' and then ran away!"

The way that's worded… was the crystal the only thing Jason brought? Or was it just because the big reveal was one of his things?

"Where is the broadcasting center?" I ask Jason.

"Near the palace," Jason answered. "I had a building bought just for that, as we need plenty of space for it. There's a mana generator powering the enchantment that allows it to broadcast out. The second station receives updates directly from the palace's royal weather mages whenever they change their predictions, and is going to just keep updating us on the weather. It's a constant stream, so most people will likely only tune in for that. We know a lot of people will be hesitant to use things at first, but within ten years, most of those will probably be common, everyday things."

"The warp crystals are probably going to be the most hesitant," I say. "And how come Jacob and Lina got to use them already? How long have they known? You told me they were secret to the point that not even they knew, even if their papa did."

"They found out this morning," Jason tells me. "They used a couple of the ones here in Varil City, though with planned routes and Royal Guards at each of them. Word will probably spread from the people who had seen them using them. I had actually already heard a few people talking about how the royals had touched one and disappeared or had simply appeared at one. It didn't bother me that word had already begun to spread about that one, as the big reveal would still catch people's attention anyway."

He takes a drink of his tea, then stands and looks at Eden and me.

"I'm going to go take a Aurum for a ride," he says. "I've been up since three this morning preparing for this and just want to relax a bit. I'll see you two later."

He opens up a gate and steps through it, then I look at Eden.

"Isn't riding a horse just going to make his ass sore and him even more exhausted?" I ask, and Eden snorts. "I don't think Jason thought that through. He's probably going to take a shower and just collapse on his bed when he finishes exercises Aurum."

"Probably," Eden responds.