The gaggle of alchemists and knights swarming over the device brought an inevitable grin to Landar's face. Exclamations of surprise rang out as they discovered one new feature after another. It was like watching children in a new shop, poking at everything curiously.
She had unveiled the spell launching device, getting two university porters to drag it out into the test field, and invited everyone to come take a look. The sun was bright and the skies clear, with the usual bustle around the university far away in the distance and muted by the buildings. For some reason, no one had wanted to build anything in the direction of where Landar and the alchemists tested new spells and inventions.
She hadn't even overshot the boundaries in the last week, that last fix of hers should have suppressed the angle problem for good.
"Amazing how you managed to build that all by yourself without even letting anyone know what it was," Cato said. Landar just shrugged.
The device sat on a table placed at the corner of the field. Twin rods of steel spaced ten centimeters apart and nearly a meter long, the rough metal surface crawled with complex magic. At the loading end, a steel framework fixed the rods to each other and clamped down onto a steel plate. Two other plates were placed next to the device, also shining with magic but clearly deactivated.
Underneath the table, connected to the rods through a hole, was a large steel box with a door at one end. Magic wafted from it and the bag full of loose magic crystals beside it. The shovel lying on the table drew many curious glances but it was non-magical and no one could figure out what it was used for.
Along the right arm and the top of the plate holder, two loose metal pieces held in brackets could be slid up and down, clearly connected to the device.
"Do you think you're going to tell us any time soon?" Minmay pointed at the alchemists, who were starting to argue, "they might decide to skin you alive if you keep quiet for much longer. "
Landar snorted, walked over to the desk and grabbed the shovel, "stand back everyone, I'm now going to show what this does. "
She held open the door of the box below the table then shoved a shovelful of crystals and dust into the box. Closing it then tightening the door caused some mutters. The seal was nearly perfect, the magical signature of the crystals had disappeared. Cato recognized the arrangement, it was Mari's low magic evapourator, a prototype method for extracting magical power from the crystals, Landar must have worked with her to make the technique work as an enchantment.
Then the box flared with magic, power crawling up the connection into the twin rods. Landar pulled the slider on the plate downwards and immediately, the power surged through the plate into a ball in front of it, between the two rods. A magical connection formed between the two rods, behind the spell, spreading out into a wave of fast moving magic that shot down between the rods, dragging the spell along and hurling it into the air.
Before the spell had even left the device, another was already forming in front of the plate again. Landar pushed the slider down further and the wave of magic appeared sooner, when the spell was still weaker, firing a stream of weak magic into the plain. Pulling the slider on the rods down reduced the power of the magical wave that hurled the spells, consuming less power and firing slower spells. Cranking the non-magical gear at the base of the device levered it upwards, changing the angle of fire.
The spells in the air all drifted downwards under their own power, impacting into the ground in an arc determined by the speed and angle they were fired in. The ground burst into the pure red clouds of magical fire, scorching the blasted soil and sending a hot wind back to the spectators behind Landar.
Cato stared at the sight, not even minding Landar's laughter. He wondered where to even begin. Minmay beside him looked equally floored.
Behind him, the watching alchemists and knights burst into hurried conversation as the firing rate slowed and Landar kicked open the door of the box to shovel more magic in. Then she unfastened the plate from the device and replaced it with one of the two sitting on the table.
One spell after another were flung out of the device, landing and bursting on the ground into clouds of magical disruption. The knights started to make even more noise now. Then Landar put in the third plate and positioned a small metal holder between the rods.
Cato sat up very straight as she placed a fist sized rock from the ground onto the holder. She moved the two sliders all the way to maximum. A spell formed between the rods over the rock and nothing seemed to happen despite the huge amount of power building up in front of the plate. Then Landar tapped the power slider and the rock disappeared with a nasty crack. A plume of dust exploded upwards from outside the field.
Landar turned back to Cato and bowed politely. The triumphant smile on her face at their shellshocked expressions was not at all polite however.
----------------------------------------
"You have clearly outdone yourself," Cato nodded.
Landar beamed at his praise.
"It was the Academy's loss to let someone like you stay out here," Hino said.
"I can't imagine how many new things you had to make to get it all to work!" Mari shook her head, "the evapourator I knew about, but am I right in saying that that plate controls which spell is created?"
"Actually, the plate casts the spell itself!" Landar stuck out her chest proudly, "the base section creates the stabilized spell bubble, the plate controls what goes inside. "
"I've heard of such things, but they've only been toys," said one of the alchemist teachers, "this is the first time I've seen a enchantment spell actually used to cast other spells!"
"That's because no one's ever found a use for it," Landar said, "any mage can do better than a spell, and if a mage is powering a spellcasting spell, you're still limited by the power of the mage. But a spellcasting spell connected to a source of power, like magical crystals or a staff? That isn't limited. "
"You've used such things before," Cato said, "like those automatic aiming wands you put in the house in Corbin. "
"Exactly! But the Academy always thinks that anything complicated I make is not practical!" Landar snorted, "this time, I'll show them 'not practical'!"
"The wands in the house could only be charged by someone as powerful as you, but this runs off-"
Minmay cut Cato off with a clap, "an impressive demonstration, but you should have this discussion later. I believe the Minmay Guards and the Knights will be interested in obtaining some. What does the staff recommend?"
"Agreed!" Instantly said most of the university staff who worked with magic.
"I think some parts need improvement first," Cato said. Everyone looked at him incredulously.
"What?" Cato looked back, "isn't it obvious that complexity in magic has been severely underrated? Rather using it to fire plain magical bolts with a few special techniques applied, I think there is the potential for a wholly different style of magic. From what little I know, there's no real reason why this thing can't be made smaller. After all, Summoning Stones are even more complicated and far far smaller. "
Hino shook her head, "Cato, complexity can let you do a lot of things but honestly, you're not someone who has fought on a battlefield before. " The small woman shaking her head sagely was bemusing but one did not become the leader of the Order of Knights without combat experience. "Sometimes what you need is a sledgehammer. A bigger version of that," she pointed at the device, "and with more magical crystals. That's what we need. "
The discussion started up again, with a number of the knights looking at the thing speculatively. As if considering how they could get one for themselves.
Cato looked at Minmay and sighed when he got a nod back. The Minmay Guards weren't going to wait for a better version either.
Landar tapped him on the shoulder and lead him away from the buzzing crowd. "What was it you had in mind for improvements?" she asked.
"Can the spellcasting plates be made the size of wands?" Cato asked back.
"The reason why this thing is so big is because it's hard to create spell circuits when you can't see them," Landar said, "you can't fix what you can't see and with a spell that complicated, you're not going to get it right the first time. "
"That's also why I asked you to develop the spell circuit enchanter, surely you used it while making this thing. It probably needs to be improved first though. "
Landar looked at Cato, staring at the alchemists examining her device. No, he wasn't looking at the thing, he was seeing something else. Something only Cato could see. "What exactly do you have in mind?" Landar asked, half afraid of the answer.
"We've also established in that house that spells can share information," Cato looked back at her and then out towards the direction of the city. "Imagine a city with enchanted ground. Magical power is added to the ground at stations that process and store magical crystal. This power flows through the enchantment network into the city. Into the walls of buildings or any object touching the ground. Mobile nodes, spellcasting enchantments that draw on the power, can be anything you like, a wand, a staff or even your breakfast spoon. With a tap, a command, anyone can cast a spell that has been registered. If you make a spell, a new function, you can create your own spellcasting enchantment that casts it and share it with others to use through the network. "
He sighed, looking pointedly at the summoning stone on a bangle around Landar's wrist, "ever since I worked out that Summoning Stones are really just spellcasting devices, I've been toying with the idea of using a magically charged environment to cast spells. Magic can be a utility just like water and electricity in my world. "
Landar was starting to understand why the alchemists around her never seemed to understand what she was doing. The idea of putting a spellcasting device with a source of power as well as having parts that could be swapped to cast spells, that wasn't something they would have considered. The vision she saw in her head, of her spell plates launching dozens of spells into the air at once, like the rows of artillery in Cato's world, wasn't something they could have thought of.
Similarly, the vision in Cato's head wasn't something Landar could have thought of herself. Why indeed have dedicated devices for spellcasting when the casting, the controls and the power source didn't have to be the same enchantment? Why even move the heavy power source box with you? And yet, just like the alchemists didn't understand her, Landar had the odd feeling that she wasn't quite understanding Cato's vision.
Somehow, despite her earlier resolution, she didn't quite feel like strangling him anymore.
"By the way, Landar, what were you going to call that thing?" Cato asked.
She smiled weakly, "a spell cannon. "
----------------------------------------
Dear Kalny and Tulore,
Unlike Cato's prediction, the various varieties of wind eye bread mold do not appear to display antiseptic effect. However, some of what Cato considers a bacterial colony displays the antiseptic effect, a 'halo' around which very few or no other colonies grow. Keep a sterile zone with magic disruption enchanted plates and a general low intensity disruption field was necessary to isolate bacterial colonies from the mold.
Nevertheless, I shall endeavour to learn how to identify these antiseptic colonies by their shape and colour. I suspect that there is more than one type of such bacteria, some of these colonies cannot grow in the presence of others. An identification and a chart of which types the kill others is in progress.
We may have different antibiotic candidates to choose from, although like Cato says, some of them might well be toxic or have unwanted side effects. Nevertheless, once I have isolated samples, I will leave it to Kalny's expertise for bulk fermentation and Tulore's for purification and chemical modification.
Be aware that a number of Pastora members have already expressed extreme interest in the project and I have had to send them samples of the curse-breaker and the theory of antibiotics. Time stands for none other than Selna and we had best polish our expertise in the production process if we wish to succeed.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Kupo
----------------------------------------
The musical tradition in Inath had been staid and dying for a long time. Folk tunes and musicians played jingles and short dances for peasants and occasionally, an odd noble or two. Singers and bards gave their voices, laments and hymns of the ages long past, of glory forgotten and of mighty heroes who wielded them. Like the waning of humankind, the life and energy of the musical arts declined with it.
And so when the first orchestral concert burst onto the scene in Ektal capital city, it was to a nearly empty floor that the band of thirty played. Such a huge band was unheard of, none of them could possibly earn enough to eat, especially not with the low opening prices they charged.
The song they played broke nearly completely with the musical traditions of Inath.
Three days later, the shallow pit they performed in was completely packed, with the King of Ektal himself reserving a box for his family in the best position front and center. The musicians' burnished steel instruments, polished to a mirror shine and hand tuned into harmony, were things unseen before.
"And so since we have a special guest here today," the immaculately dressed host bowed deeply to Ektal, "we also have a special performance dedicated to you. And so without further waiting, we present the Fanfare of the Lands!" He bowed again.
"Eee!" Ektal's daughter bounced excitedly in her seat as the musicians adjusted their instruments. That earned her a light bop on the head from the crown prince and a round of stifled laughter from the seats around them. She settled down with a red face, but not too red. The other songs were exciting enough already.
The first blast of the song took the audience by surprise, a loud cry from the trumpets that buzzed through the crowd. Marching to a quick tempo, the brass band sent hearts racing and befuddled eyes with visions of grandeur. Like boots raining on packed ground, like the beat of human energy, the song pounded the blood through the body. The final phrase, the same as the first but grander and pompous, rang loud and triumphant, a lone trumpet soaring seemingly above the clouds and the sky itself.
Ektal didn't even bother restraining his son from leaping out of his seat. Not when he himself still felt the buzz, the sheer energy of the song.
Then the band started up again and the world disappeared into a melody of sound.
"I have to wonder," said his wife, the queen, after the all-too-short concert, "how they managed to afford that. Someone had to have given them the money to buy all of those instruments and practice. "
Ektal smiled and shrugged mysteriously, "it was a wonderful performance. I'm glad someone paid for it. "
After all, he couldn't let Minmay have all the new toys, could he?
----------------------------------------
Under economic pressure, the farmers, millers and peasants had come to Minmay city in search of work and a better life. Farming had become easier, with Reki drawn plows, water and wind mills, and systematic formulae for fertilizers and irrigation schedules. Spread earlier than the books, the full impact of the farming improvements were already beginning to be felt all over the Federation.
The first harvest using the new techniques came from more land and yielded far better for each bit of soil. The price of food crashed and ironically, the farmers became poorer. Many of them who moved to poorer soils that depended on their tools and externally supplied fertilizer found themselves unable to afford to farm.
In contrast, the cities and towns had become easier to live in, with food and transport prices falling everywhere and increasing in volume. They had become places to find work, to learn a trade and to find life partners. The economy obliged, new water driven factories and workshops multiplying to take advantage of the cheap labour.
However, the growth of services had not kept pace with the economic change sweeping through the lands. Ballooning populations caused hastily constructed houses to mushroom up wherever there was space, there was no possible method the masons and bricklayers could keep up with the sudden spike in demand, even with the armies of hands seeking work. Law and order was bad, hygiene was worse and safety abysmal.
The poorer districts had grown into a slum, a byproduct of the explosive growth of Cato's technological revolution.
The new experimental matches were still unsafe and toxic, and far too expensive to afford. Many peasants borrowed their fire or kept slow burning wicks in oil for keep-alive flames. With the slums made out of waste wood, scraps of cloth and whatever else was handy, the fire was more or less inevitable.
"Fire!"
The shout rose and echoed through the dense paths even as tendrils of smoke began to curl around the doorway of stricken house. Everyone knew that fire was dangerous in this environment and the shouts sent parents scrambling for children and everyone else for their valuables. The flames were licking the sky before the first families had left the twisted streets into the relative safety of the open fields outside the city.
----------------------------------------
"Defend the workshops!" "Get the men!"
"Listen here!" Minmay's shout brought men and women to a screeching halt in the university courtyard. It cut through the haze of panic and disorganization. "That will be the headquarters, I'll command the defence from there!" he pointed at the cafeteria, "all messages should report to here!"
The chancellor's strong voice steadied the crowd, replacing fear with confidence. He pointed at the two guards still standing at the university gates, "the two of you take everyone over there as messengers and go find out where the fire is and how far it is spread. Send them back here with the reports. " Minmay looked sharply at the mess of random passersby, "the city needs your help, this is not optional. "
The guards scurried off and rounded up groups of drafted runners.
"Go to the Order," he said to the receptionist, still sitting behind his desk. Minmay drew a sheet of paper from the stack and scrawled a hasty commission, "give them this and tell them it's urgent! Then go to the barracks and roust out the Minmay Guards. Tell them to gather here. "
"Someone fetch me the map of Minmay from my office!" he shouted and three university staff sprang away instantly, "and Cato, go find Landar and see if she can't rework her spell cannon to shoot freezing spells. Just in case. "
Cato nodded and went. Clearly Minmay was well suited to be chancellor.
----------------------------------------
"I can do more than just that," Landar said, "but there's no time, like you said. And done!"
She waved a hand over the hastily reprogrammed spell plate and a bolt of magic shot out to hit the table nearby. The edge was deathly cold, just how she liked it. "I just need your help to move it..."
Landar turned around to find Cato already bundling the two firing rods carefully into a small wooden trolley. They loaded the parts onto it with a shared grin of mutual understanding.
By the time they got back to the courtyard, two platoons of the Minmay Guards were already assembled, all of them with scavenged buckets of varying sizes.
"Ah, you're back so quickly!" Minmay came out of the makeshift command post, "go with group two. Both groups are to head to 7th Avenue, there's a esquire oil refinery burning next to the river. Go!"
"Help them with that," the sergeant pointed from his squad to Cato's trolley. The guards grabbed the spell cannon and the second trolley he was dragging behind, heavily laden with more bags of magic crystals. "We move out!"
Behind them, a clatter of voices and boots heralded the arrival of the third platoon. Minmay was directing them to demolish houses around the industrial quarter to form a firebreak when they had left.
The streets were packed with people rushing around trying to rescue anything they could. The Guards shouted, shoved and pushed aside anyone who got in their way, and they hurried through the city to the stricken refinery.
Built down in the slums by an enterprising group of small time traders, the slowly solidifying cakes of esquire oil had begun to melt under the heat. The fire lapped up the fuel gratefully and had begun to tear down the building's structure, destroying holding tanks and loosing waves of burning oil into the street beside it. Dark acrid clouds of smoke rolled upwards, darkening the sky even under the strong afternoon sun.
"Clear the street!" the sergeant shouted, peeling off a small group of the guards to hurry people away, "all others, form bucket line!"
The remaining guards hurried down to the riverside with their buckets and began to haul water into the developing blaze. The wall of heat radiating off the burning buildings around the spill poured sweat down Cato's body and he couldn't help but admire the courage of the guards, who were barely new recruits just a few weeks ago. He scrubbed away the sweat, trying to quell the uneasy feeling. What was wrong? The new empty warehouse next to the factory was slowly collapsing and the houses behind the firefront were already fully ablaze.
He realized what the problem was just as the first bucket of water reached the burning oil spill.
"No wait! Don't pour-"
The spray of water hit the burning oil and flashed into steam, splashing a cloud of steam and oil into the air. The fireball sent the guards scurrying back, Cato could feel the hair on his face curling back from the blast of heat. They nearly broke right there, bucket-filled hands trembling. How could they fight a fire that exploded on contact with water?
"Avoid the oil!" the sergeant's commanding voice brought, "cut down the houses on the street sides, use the buckets on the walls to stall the fire!"
The guards split their line hurriedly. The nameless sergeant turned to Cato, "it was the oil, wasn't it? We can't use water on an oil fire?"
Cato nodded.
"Then it's your turn," the sergeant said, "there's only one way to fight this fire if water doesn't work. "
With a blast of magic, Landar directed the spell cannon at the building, firing a stream of magic at the biggest tanks of oil while Cato and two guards shoveled crystals into the charging chamber.
The spells deployed as they hit walls, oil tanks and beams. Instead of creating fire, the spell instead sucked heat out of the surroundings without restraint, plummeting the temperature below freezing in an instant. The melting tanks of oil froze solid and the burning beams choked abruptly. Stray spells landing on the ground cut swaths through the mat of fire, leaving trails of frozen oil behind.
The wind changed, coming from behind them and pushing the fire away from them. It also fanned the flames but Landar choked them out with her freezing spells. The heat lessened a little and the guards leapt into the gap with their water buckets.
Turning the cannon on top of the trolley, Landar hosed down another section of the factory then covered the wall of the neighbouring shop as the walls began to catch fire despite the guards' best efforts. With a stream of freezing spells on their side, the guards began to advance steadily, claiming sections of the factory and carrying away the frozen oil to a safe place.
Minutes passed as they continued to fight the wall of flame. The spell cannon hosed down one building after another, which the guards then rushed to demolish with shivering hands and frosty breath. Then Landar paused.
The sergeant looked back at her, stopping his endless stream to commands.
"What's wrong?" Cato asked.
She frowned and shook her head, "just... a feeling. Magic?"
Cato gestured at the shovelful of crystals in his hand. They still had more than half their stock and it was beginning to look like they might win this battle.
Then a soft glow shown down on them from above. A red glow, pure red like the colour of magical fire, a vast and diffuse magical signature accompanying the glow. In the clouds of smoke coming from the burning slums on the other side of the burning zone, tiny specks of red flakes were appearing in the sky and raining down onto the outskirts of the slums beyond.