The disruption bolt smashed through the wall, breaking up into uncoordinated wisps of magic that dissolved into the air quickly.
"A ten units shield of one times one meter size can be penetrated by a one unit disruption bolt," Cato noted down. Then added a short note, "barely. The bolt does not survive. I think that's a pretty good indicator we're approaching the minimum. Landar, if you would?"
Landar nodded and leveled the barrel of the spell cannon at the shield after restoring its strength. The modified cannon had a longer barrel and much faster acceleration of the spell. Chakim stood behind her watchfully. After two days ago when she became so completely drained that she could barely get up in the morning, Chakim was simply not going to let Cato do it again.
The bolt punched right through, diminished but not broken.
"And with one more unit of power spent on accelerating the spell, the same bolt goes through," Cato nodded, "I think that explains the spot failures of the dome shields during the Greenspring battle. "
"This is the first time I've seen a disruption bolt go through a shield," Quinn commented, "we usually have to grind shields down unless they're just interlocking weaker shields in formation. "
"It isn't all that useful," Tarral shook his head, "they're spending almost five time as much magic in making the bolt move faster than in making the bolt itself. You might as well just fire more bolts and break the shield. Magic bolts move by themselves already, why should you need to spend more magic just to make them move faster?"
"Leave it to them and get working Tarral," Quinn said.
"Can you make a stationary disruption bolt, Landar?" Cato asked, still writing on the notepad.
She nodded and simply fired the spell cannon without activating the arms. The bolt hung in the air, slowly dissolving. Then to everyone's surprise, Cato took out a ruler and began to measure the size of the bolt. Sliding the magical sensor up and down the ruler gave a rough estimate of the size.
"Um, what are you thinking?" Landar asked.
"Given the tests, larger bolts have a harder time getting through shields without being countered or breaking apart," Cato said, now measuring the thickness of the shield, "I'm thinking this is due to the distribution of magic in the wall. "
He pointed at the wall of magic, "when a disruption effect remove the magic at the impact point, the magic in the other areas of the shield flow towards that point, in order to even out the magic in the entire wall. Since our tests use disruption effects from a single caster, Landar, the bolt gets through if it has more magic than the amount it encounters while going through the wall, we established that equivalency first. When a bolt hits the wall, the total amount of magic it encounters is a function of the size of the bolt, the thickness of the wall and the flow rate of magical power. The last part is what I'm trying to measure. "
"So," he drew a small diagram, "there are a few possible models for how magic could distribute itself in the spell. It could be simply random movement, or actual directed motion like how bolts have a natural speed. I've made some model equations to predict how the bolt might work but I've no idea which model is correct. That's why we're doing this. "
Landar peeked at his notes and made a slightly strangled sound. The simple diagrams of the circular shield and bolt, as well as the cylinder the bolt would sweep through the shield was simple enough to understand. Then the annotations of diagrams and flow of magic from each hypothetical section of shield turned into a monstrous maze of symbols and algebra.
The model equations were made of differential equations. Something that Landar was despairing about ever getting her head around despite reading Cato's notes for the fifth time.
"Do you do this all the time back when you were studying?" Landar asked.
Cato didn't even look up from his scribbling, "I did this in first year of university. This is simple. Just ordinary differential equations. I don't have the confidence of being able to use the more complex models without making too many mistakes. "
He looked up when he was done, "well then, this will get rather repetitive but I need to test a series of shields with successively faster bolts. "
An hour of testing resulted in the mountainside acquiring a new series of scars. Firebolt penetration was concluded to be worse than disruption, as expected. It still took nearly half an hour of figuring afterwards but Cato eventually finished his calculation.
"I think the gas pressure equations might fit. The speed of 'sound' in magic, hm?" he grinned, "maybe ten meters per second, give or take twenty percent. Not very fast actually. In fact, it's suspiciously close to the maximum natural speed of a magic bolt without accelerating it further that I'm tempted to say they're related. "
He nodded at Quinn who looked like he wanted to pack up the spell cannon.
"It makes sense to be linked," Landar said, "if your guess that the magical power inside a spell's boundary behaves like air, then it does make sense that the natural speed is linked to how fast it can move. To cast a moving bolt, you build up a 'wave' inside the spell and let it carry the spell forwards. "
"It's not the same though," Cato scratched his head, double checking his math, "a sound wave isn't really motion of the gas, but magic really does move in bulk-"
Tarral cut into their musings, "Hey, we're done packing, can we get moving now?"
The two of them looked up to find all the knights already mounted and the cart waiting for them. Except for the crate they were sharing a seat on, everything else was already packed.
Landar sprang off and looked up the steep trail towards the closest ex-mana crystal mine. "We can do the brain busting later," she said, tugging on Cato who was still scribbling with the crude pencil, "time to go get what we came here for. "
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Report on Minmay Characters of Note
Secret, for Inath Royal Court only
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Cato Lois
Age: 21
Description:
Male.
Short black hair and medium height. A thin unmuscular young man with pale skin. Known to dislike formal clothing.
Current Location: North of Minmay on a private expedition
Important Notes:
Originated north of Wendy's Fort. How he got there is unknown.
Has an unusual lifeforce, probably related to his known disability of not being able to use magic at all. Cause unknown.
Suspected to be a human being from Earth like the Hero based on the Hero's impression of his writings. Contradicted by the fact that the Hero does not possess the same disability. Also contradicted by the fact that he has made no effort to contact the Hero despite knowing the Hero is from Earth.
Known author of the six books of knowledge. Strongly suspected of having written more books of knowledge that are currently unreleased.
Leader of Minmay University. Plays advisory role to many Minmay merchants and guilds. Does not appear to have major commercial interests relative to his knowledge except for CaLa consultancy and Minmay Fuel.
A remarkable number of spies are known to be shadowing him. Purposes and organizations unknown. This man may be one of the most watched persons in Ektal country apart from King Ektal. Minmay is also known to have posted a number of discreet guards to escort him, at least twenty identified knights in plain clothes were counted over a period of a day. Cato himself appears only aware of a small amount of this activity.
Known to have good relations with Fukas, has sponsored charitable efforts towards sheltering Fukas in all towns in Minmay region. Despite attempts to be fair, Cato holds distinct bias against people and organizations who treat Fukas harshly.
Known allies:
Landar Iris - Mad Alchemist of Wendy's Fort, lead magical researcher in the University, see separate sheet
Chancellor Minmay - see separate sheet
Ryulo - Fuka, see separate sheet
Iris Summoner Clan - has familial connection through Landar, owed political favour
Kalny - largest food merchant in Minmay region, supplies Wendy's Fort, known to be developing many of Cato's ideas
Muller - owner and architect of a major builder's guild in Minmay region, also known to be developing many of Cato's ideas
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Polankal - peasant, Cato's secretary, potential source of information if she can be bribed?
Hino - Regional Leader of Knight Order of Minmay, known friend of Minmay, see separate sheet
Willio - Regional Leader of Minmay Ironworkers guild, known to be independently working on many of Cato's ideas
Kupo - Ex-Order of Pastora member, has recently become a member of the University, may be a spy for Pastora
Potential allies:
Elma Carin, Klaas - Corbin town Ironworkers guild, past history of animosity, recent deals have led to warming of relations
Potential enemies
Michi Tirem - Commander of Wendy's Fort defence
King Ektal
Known enemies:
Chancellor Duport - Missing, see separate sheet
Rany - Duport's son, missing
Light's Edge - Em master, captured by Iris Summoner clan, now missing
Mayor Corbin - captured by Chancellor Minmay's forces
Assessment:
Potentially destabilizing social force.
Assassination is unlikely to succeed due to his having many strong allies with vested interests in keeping him alive.
Known possessor of vast amounts of knowledge and techniques, very strong potential resource if recruited.
Control of his knowledge is an absolute priority to gain large advantages, deny said advantages to others and to maintain stability.
Potential second Hero is unlikely due to combat disability.
Vorril's Note - we don't need a second Hero, the best thing that could happen for our war against the Enemy is for Cato to make and sell better Spell Cannons
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Chancellor Minmay
Age: 36
Description:
Male.
Blonde, lean and well-built, dresses as noble of Ektal country. Known to like expensive perfume.
Basic physical training for self defence. Alchemist training, little used.
Current Location: Minmay City
Important Notes:
Chancellor of Minmay region. Steadfast enemies of Chancellor Duport.
Strong political acumen, known to never overspend his treasury.
Works extremely closely with Cato, many of the new reforms in the Minmay region originate from Cato's ideas.
Currently acting leader of the University while Cato is away.
Inwards focused policy, with no history of political or military adventures. With the notable exception of Duport. Maintains close working relationships to major influences within Minmay region, guilds and the Knight orders. Weak relations outside of his region.
Is currently occupying Duport's territory by force. His wife and daughter are representing him there.
Highest level commander of the Minmay Guards, a dangerous army of trained peasants under his direct command.
The Minmay Guards have won one major battle against almost four hundred of Duport's knights. Despite the known weaknesses of Duport's recruitment, Minmay's army is of unknown fighting power and poses a threat to the power stability of the Ektal country. Minmay's known reluctance for war and low militancy reduces their influence however. The Guards are known to be equipped with three spell cannons and three army shields, currently the only organization in the Federation with such strong magical devices. Other armaments include iron and steel equipment, charged wands and enchanted weapons and armour.
Key personnel:
Cato Lois - personal advisor, director of Minmay Bank
Arthur - Butler, acting mayor of Minmay city when Minmay is not in residence. Ex-knight now on permanent retainer to the Minmay household
Aesin - Wife, has strong social connections with the mayors of the Central Territories, popular with peasants due to running a number of charities and food kitchens
Reiga - Captain of the Minmay Guard, second only to Minmay himself; retired knight, spends his time training new recruits and administrating the Guards
Curasym - Commander of the Minmay Guard division occupying Duport's territory, recruited from the first batch of Guard trainees
Minmay Guards - number approximately two thousand, estimated five hundred still in training or standby in Minmay City, the rest are occupying Duport's territory
Potential enemies:
King Ektal - see separate sheet; Minmay has extended a peace offering to King Ektal which is still being debated in Ektal court
Mayor Selabia - under house arrest for participation in the war, Minmay seems reluctant to appear to punish the mayor publicly, possibly for political reasons
Known enemies:
Chancellor Duport - missing
Mayor Corbin - captured
Assessment:
The Minmay region can be a testbed for radical ideas proposed by Cato. Organizational principles observed to work can be adopted by Inath court.
Power balance in Ektal region is destabilized by his recent capture of Duport's region. If his control solidifies and the Minmay Guards improve their weapons, Minmay can become the central political figure in Ektal, even if not in name.
Minmay is unlikely to want to be Ektal's King. The Inath court influence on his region is indirect at best.
Infiltrators in the Minmay Guards are providing information on their training techniques and tactics. Such could be considered for implementation in Inath too.
Recommendation:
Encourage isolation to contain effects of his power. Such encouragement suits Inath's purposes and will gain favour with King Ektal.
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Landar Iris
Age: 20
Description:
Female.
Long black hair and black eyes. Pure blood Tsarian descent. Disdains formal clothing and often seen wearing heavy work clothes in daily routine.
Current Location: North of Minmay on a private expedition
Important Notes:
Only daughter of the second branch family of the Iris Summoner Clan. Has two younger brothers.
Currently estranged from the clan for unknown reasons.
Chakim from the Iris clan is escorting her under orders of her father.
Studied at the Academy for four years after she left her clan, left when she achieved a formal grade of Masters. Leading expert in alchemy and a Greater rank summoner.
Close confidant and friend of Cato. Potentially being used by Iris Clan to gain familial ties?
Known inventor of the magical arrow, spell cannon and army shield.
Assessment:
A Greater rank summoner is not the strongest personnel but still higher than most others. Strong alchemist knowledge and high power due to being a summoner makes her a strong combat support asset for any party.
Ties to Iris clan are weak, leaving a possibility of being open to recruitment for Inath.
Unlikely to work separately from Cato, rumours of romantic involvement. If she can be recruited, Cato may follow, and vice versa.
Recommendation:
Potential recruit but unlikely to succeed. Efforts are better spent on Cato himself.
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King Ektal
Age: 44
Description:
Male
Light brown hair, small trace of Tsarian descent. Taller than average height.
Important Notes:
Ruler of Ektal country.
Potential enemy of Cato and Minmay, King Ektal's power is precarious due to Minmay's current strength.
Has strong ties to local knights and criminal underground. Runs a private information network, mostly focused on Ranra and internal security.
Known history of assassination and spying. Does not hesitate to display military power when required however.
Refer to previous information collections.
Current stance towards Minmay is wariness. Has four of the strongest largest parties in Ektal country on retainer against's Minmay's threat.
Known to be attempting to copy the model of the Guards, has been purchasing large stocks of enchanted weapons, armour and wands through his underground connections.
Recommendation:
Subtle encouragement of his suppression of Minmay without being too committed.