The muffled sound of machinery can be heard as Councilman Eranor and his apprentice, Aya, make their way to the testing rooms at the Nanite-Automations wing.

Aya: "I'm telling you, it's trying to communicate with us. It’s completely uncoded, it’s just reacting on its own accord."

Eranor: "This had better not be one of your elaborate jokes. Especially not after last time’s incident."

Aya: "HEY! I promised I wasn't going to anymore after last time, but you have to admit it was pretty funny when you-"

Eranor: "AH, AH, AH, don't even mention it. Let's just get to the test chambers so you can show me what they're doing.”

The chamber doors slide apart, revealing a very clean lab, meticulously organized and neatly labeled with all kinds of expensive looking equipment made to work on nano tech. Despite the focus on merging magic and science in the nation, most researchers tended to lean more towards their specialties, it was only in the last decade that Magitech researchers began working with both side by side. As such, most councilmen were assigned or chose an apprentice who was talented in the opposing field. In time, their apprentice would become a proper MagiTech researcher, and be assigned a position in the Council.

Atop a table in the center of the room, there were several, cube shaped containers. Each with a different variation of nanites inside. Among them were a few typical varieties; pre-programmed composite alloy nanites designed to do very simple tasks, programmable composite alloy nanites for more elaborate functions, programmable crystalline nanites for a variety of magic oriented functions, and centered on the table was an experimental mixture Aya had been working on for the last year and a half.

Their composition was that of both variable composite alloys, with crystalline features and at their core a tiny piece of a pure magic stone. Naturally creating something so complex at such a small scale took up entirely too much time. Seeing their potential, Eranor offered to program standard automation nanites to recreate them. Many a mishap later, they'd gotten a large enough quantity to start experimenting.

Eranor: "Alright, enlighten me, what are they doing this time?"

Aya: "Well, since programming never seemed to work out much, I'd been trying to use Arc lattices and Kobold mage bloodstones with animation spells. It's not exactly flawless since they don't really have a poper body, but just watch."

Aya places the arc lattice into the container and sets the bloodstone into its centerpiece. Generally, an Arc Lattice is used in animation, or reanimation, spells for any number of humanoid objects, such as golems. It essentially takes the place of a nervous system, and is consumed during the spell. Using any kind of bloodstone will give the golem an enhanced comprehension level. Kobold mages are relatively low on the scale, but allow for above-average command comprehension. Using these on standard or purely crystalline nanites has yielded no results, as the standard nanites are unrecognized as a usable body, and the crystalline nanites caused too much magical interference at such a small scale, in addition to being too fragile alone to be used as a vessel.

After setting the bloodstone into the Arc lattice and closing the container, Aya begins chanting an animation spell. In doing so, the Arc Lattice and the bloodstone give off a glow as they fade and seemingly dissolve into the pile of nanites, which shortly after finishing the spell seem to be shifting around in the container. The mass appears more like a fluid as it shifts around in the container, awaiting some kind of interaction.

Eranor: "Well, this isn't far off from what we normally deal with, with that much I'd imagine you might be able to get a few basic actions out of the mass, although it’d hardly be worth the material cost if it's less efficient or capable than our programmed variants.”

Aya: "I know, but just wait for a bit. I've tried giving it a few commands, and it almost seems like it can hear what I'm asking for, but it doesn't understand. Then it starts changing shapes."

The pair watch on as the mass continues to shift, and after a few minutes without any interaction, it begins to condense into the shape of a sphere. Then its color changes. It takes on the appearance of a bloodstone, although unlike the one Aya used, this one is considerably larger, and its coloring indicates that it's of a higher purity.

Aya: "See what I mean? None of these nanites are programmed, and I haven't given it any commands or interacted with it whatsoever. Yet it’s taking on the appearance of something, that for all intents and purposes it wouldn’t even know exists.”

Eranor: *sighs* "I'll give it to you, I wouldn’t be able to explain that. Mind you, however, that since we’re not programming these, the fact that they’re doing anything without instruction could be cause for concern."

Aya: "We can set up a containment spell around the lab to keep from going anywhere, but think about it, if at this level it's able to make requests, assuming that's what this is, we might be able to properly communicate with it. Who knows, maybe it’s sentient."

Eranor: *Thinks to himself for a moment* "Well, it'd be a waste not to at least see what the outcome is at this point, I'll write up a request to for an appropriate bloodstone, but for now make sure you dispel the animation, we can't leave it like that, unsupervised"

Aya quickly dispels the animation, and the nanites quickly begin to revert back to their original shape and state. She takes note of everything they'll need to gather, and takes her leave. Eranor notified the distribution center that he's in need of a high grade bloodstone, and was told that they'll receive it in 2 days time. Generally, most items can be acquired in a moment's notice, but distributions has strict guidelines and policies for higher rarity items, to prevent them from getting into undesirable hands. Needless to say the waiting period was unbearable for Aya, as her excitement grew.

Several days passed before all the necessary materials were at hand. Eranor and Aya reconvened in the testing chamber, and prepared to re-animate the nanites. This time everything was being monitored, for record keeping and the off chance that something goes horribly wrong. As soon as the containment spell was completed around the lab, Aya began the process again, this time with a larger Arc Lattice, and a bloodstone roughly 4 times larger than the previous one. Without any hesitation, she chanted and began to re-animate the nanites, this time with a much brighter, nearly blinding light as the lattice and bloodstone once again faded and dissolved into the mass of nanites.

Straight away the nanites began to swirl within their container, taking on a multitude of shapes before settling as a sphere, once again. There it sat, completely still, with a myriad of colors darting around its surface, until it went completely dark. A moment later, a single word appeared along the surface of the sphere.

S: "Weak."

Eranor rubbed his eyes a bit, unsure of what exactly he was witnessing.

Aya: "What's weak?"

S: "Form."

Eranor: "What's wrong with your form?"

S: "Incomplete."

Eranor and Aya looked at eachother, then back at the sphere. Was it possible that this was in fact a sentient being? Artificial intelligence has been a commodity for quite some time, and even most mid-tier animated or higher creations are capable of basic conversation. But this was different. There was no software implemented into these nanites, and there are no records of approved animated creations having true self-consciousness apart from the will of their creator. This sphere, or whatever it chooses to be, is aware of its own state, and is actively communicating with them.

At this point, they’d opted not to dispel the magic, and keep it in its current state and containment, to further question it as to what it needs to be “complete.” What had seemed like a simple task, however, proved to be quite difficult, as the more they questioned the sphere, the more apparent it became that it did not have exact knowledge as to what it needed to be whole. Several weeks into the questioning process, the head councilman had requested for Eranor and Aya to come to the capitol building to discuss their findings.

The Capitol building itself isn’t a great distance away, it’s centered in the city of Amcaster, with most of the research facilities surrounding it, only a few miles apart from each other. Upon arriving, they were escorted to their meeting room by a pair of Guard Sentinels, humanoid animations resembling Paladins. The pair are ushered into a small meeting room with a round table and a lone figure on the far end. The guards stay posted outside the doors as they enter.

Xavier: “Welcome, esteemed guests, and thank you for coming on such short notice. I’m the Head Councilman, Xavier Veremire, pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Eranor: “The pleasure is all ours, Sir Veremire.” He bows his head, “Eranor Hamblin, Councilman of the HIVE facility, at your service. And this would be my apprentice, Aya Silva.” *Aya bows at the mention of her name.*

Xavier: *Nods and gestures to the open seats* “Please, make yourselves comfortable. With formalities out of the way, I’d like to begin discussing your recent discoveries.”

The pair take their seats, the room is mostly empty aside from a few cybernetic holo-crystals on the walls and table, likely just for information and presentation purposes. It was a bit odd to be meeting in person though, since most meetings nowadays would occur through Holograms, or long distance communication spells.

Xavier: “It goes without saying that the council keeps all research and development within its facilities confidential, and on a need to know basis. We’re not the first to experiment with combining magical and scientific technologies, but we certainly have the highest known concentration of talented individuals, and knowledgeable experts working towards the same goal. I believe you two are acutely aware of what that goal is, correct?”

Aya: “We’re essentially trying to find ways to automate the less desirable occupations, and more dangerous occupations so that all citizens can lead healthier, happier lives, Right?”

Xavier: “Yes, in a way that’s one of our main objectives, along with establishing the necessary infrastructure to expand, and spread the ideology that we’re meant to work together, and not compete with each other to progress. That, and we’ve actually had a secondary objective come up in the last few years.”

Eranor: “With all due respect, this is the first I’ve heard of anything of the sort. The only recent additions we’ve heard of was the increase in demand for self-instructed automation, or depending on your interpretation, ‘living’ creations capable of learning and making appropriate decisions without any intervention.”

Xavier: “And that,” *grinning* “is precisely what our secondary objective would entail.”

Aya: *shifting in her seat* “I’m sorry, maybe I'm misunderstanding what you mean, but if it’s in line with our original goal, wouldn’t it just be part of the process, and less of a secondary goal?”

Xavier: “Allow me to explain.” *several images appear on the table as he begins* “A few years ago, an expedition team had discovered what appeared to be a ruin, from the olden times, several hundred miles Northwest of Amcaster. The following months were spent sending exploration and archaeological teams in to figure out its purpose, if it had any, and bring back any artifacts or other items of potential value.”

Aya: “But what does a ruin have to do with our automation research?”

Eranor: “Patience Aya, let Sir Veremire finish.”

Xavier: “It’s alright Eranor. Inside the ruin there were numerous depictions and ancient writings we believed to have been for record keeping. However, after deciphering the texts, we realized it wasn’t historical. Although many depictions did reference our gods, the ancient texts are written almost as a premonition, detailing an event of sorts.”

As Xavier waves his hand across the crystal on the table, the room is illuminated with a holographic reconstruction of the walls of the ruins. Murals and depictions of Arcaeya, the goddess of magic, and Aldimir, the god sciences, lined the walls. Seemingly telling the story of how they each had gifted their knowledge and power unto the mortals. On a separate wall, line after line of text can be seen, with a translation superimposed over the writing:

“Our knowledge and powers which we’ve bestowed upon this mortal realm are neither gifts nor curses, but an opportunity. A primordial being threatens the very existence of this world, should your kinds be capable of maturing and developing quickly enough, you may yet be able to put a stop to its destruction. Many worlds have already fallen prey to their own selfish desires, and have failed to bring about their salvation. See to it that you do not join them in damnation.”

Xavier: “Having deciphered that much, we immediately sent in multiple teams to scavenge every inch of the ruins for any more information, and we came across these obsidian tablets.”

Shortly after placing the tablets on the table, two blocks of translated text appear just above them:

“We remain hopeful that there are those among you who will see past your own mortal folly, those who can set aside their differences and bear the fruit of the seeds we’ve sown among you. Among you now walks the metaphysical presence of our labor, and quite possibly your only hope for salvation.” - Aldimir

“Only through the marriage of your new found knowledge, can a vessel capable of summoning our Prince be obtained. But be warned, for the only vessel that will be chosen, is the one that brings about his greatest potential. The Catalyst of Creation, A soul of the forgotten ones, and an Ethereal apparatus will all be of aid to you. Search for him, and he will surely reach out to you.” - Arcaeya

Xavier: “These two were found about a year ago. They took a bit of time to decipher as they seem to have been written in a different language altogether. Since then we’ve been contacting individual facilities for progress reports, and to locate any potential anomalies that may have occurred since our request, which is why you two are here today. I understand it may be a lot to take in, so I’m willing to answer any questions you two may have before we move on to the matter at hand.”

Eranor and Aya take a moment to collect their thoughts. It’d make sense that none of this would have been public knowledge, but surely the council members could have been informed shortly after its discovery.

Aya: “How come it took so long for us to find out about this?”

Xavier: “Well, initially we had planned to simply seek out the materials described before attempting to make contact with something we know next to nothing about. However, word made its way up that several of the surrounding facilities, including some that were exclusively magic or science based, had been experiencing some kind of anomalous behavior. Anywhere from prototypes displaying irregular behavior, to influxes of magical power. We also got word from an allied nation that some of their facilities had experienced similar anomalies, all around the same time period.”

Eranor: “But that would mean it’s likely these effects have occurred in other regions as well.” His eyes widened as the sudden realization came to mind, “and anyone aware of its existence could call it forth with the right vessel!”

Xavier: “That’s exactly right, and from what we’ve gathered, there are four other ruins similar to this one scattered across the continent. Two of which have been confirmed to be in enemy territories, the others have yet to be found. With that said, time is now of the essence, and that brings us back to you two. From what I’ve heard, and seen, you two appear to be the closest to making contact with the Gods’ child, their Prince of sorts. What can you tell me about it?”

Eranor: “Well, it’s only been a few weeks, but since we were able to communicate with it, we’ve been trying to figure out what it’s missing. Though, with the information that’s on those tablets, we may be able to narrow it down significantly.”

Aya: “Yeah, the original materials were a reinforced Arc Lattice and a bloodstone. We may have been on to something though because an ‘Ethereal apparatus’ sounds similar to an Ethereal Arc Lattice to me. It’d responded well when I showed it a stronger one, so maybe an Ethereal one is what it needs.”

Xavier: “If that proves to be the case, then we’ll already have two out of the three final components. We’d seen the footage and reviewed what you two had been working on, and we deduced that a ‘Soul of the forgotten ones’ is actually just a different wording for an incredibly rare bloodstone. We had to source it from a neighboring nation, and it certainly was not cheap, but this is what we have to offer.”

Xavier places the bloodstone on the table, its size nearly five times larger than the one they’d used for the second animation spell. The bloodstone had a light glow to it, and its color was slowly shifting between different shades of red and blue.

Xavier: “If comprehension increases with rarity, then this is as high as it gets. This is an Elder Dragon bloodstone, possibly the only one currently in existence. Which leaves us with one mystery material, the ‘Catalyst of Creation.’”

Eranor: “About that, I’d been putting thought into it, and it’s likely that a Philosopher’s Stone would fit that description. It certainly is a catalyst, and although it doesn’t directly create anything, it does have transmutative properties. Unfortunately, it’s not something that will be easily obtainable as we have no Grand Alchemists in Amcaster, and even then there are very few who have ever succeeded in creating them.”

Xavier: “I see, I’ll make preparations to locate one, or someone who can make one at once. In the meantime, your next objective should be figuring out how we’re meant to fully awaken...The Prince, if you will. We haven’t a moment to spare, we can’t risk having them summoned in enemy territory.”