3rd of Ianua, 1491.

Eldereach County, Protectorate of Bakewia.

8:12 AM.

[Grandmaster Artificer, Step 7 - Grandmaster Alchemist.]

[To continue the path towards becoming a Grandmaster Artificer, you must learn the Basics of Enchanting by mastering the use of the Mana Scalpel and Mana Chisel, then learn enough of the art to carve your first ten Sigils.]

***

Though I wasn’t stressed or traumatized, that little exercise served as both a catharsis and a warm-up to prepare me for the most-anticipated day of my second life. Not to mention, it gave me some surprise tools that would come in handy later.

I was across the border and nearly to Bakewia’s capital within five minutes, streaking above the main road and over three cities of magnificent spires and wide winding roads. But all of them were tame in comparison to the city of Shavew.

Sitting atop a delta that fed into a bay that opened up into the Western World Sea, Shavew was a port city that blended the aesthetics of multiple fictional genres. There were, of course, the horses, carriages, spires, and castles of any fantasy setting. But with so many magical creations it blurred the lines of science fiction. Stoneless aqueducts trailed through the city, the water flowing on enchanted ley lines that flowed into domiciles from chimney-like points to settle into unseen cisterns. Many more of them boasted boats and ferries that carried people to and from the various districts.

There were no sidewalks or pedestrian walkways, I came to learn after crossing into the airspace proper. Only plates and platforms were found at the end of the city blocks. Enchantments meant to imbue civilians with a number of magical effects that all gave them the same ability. Flight.

Already possessing such an ability, I meandered along with the crowds of drifting humans, gnomes, dwarves, and other species to soak in the view with my divinely wicked eyes. Like any port city, docks were hugging the waters to the northwest. Of all places, however, the Harbor Districts were the least impressive. They seemed to focus heavily on riverboats. Not a surprise when remembering the pirates operating around the Peninsula's shores. It would only make sense that the magical trinkets pouring in and out of Bakewia and its northern neighbor, Knighilia, would be prime targets.

Across the bridge to the northeast, however, was the region I entered from. Priest Bridge. Named after the rows of chapels, temples, and churches that stretched past the great arched entrance and the magnificent bridge at its end, granting clear views of the semi-frozen waters in the far distance. The Dawn Bowl was behind these grand buildings, where the nobility dwelled. Shielded from the hustle and bustle of the streets by the temples on the northeastern side and the river leading inland on the opposing side. Like most nobles, they even had a private gate facing directly south. Aptly named the Sunrise Gate.

Regardless, I had nothing to see here. And so, I continued over the bridge, arriving at a fork with a market wedged between. To my right was the Harbor District while the left led south down Sunset Bank. An extension of the market, I soon realized after making my way down the lane. The stalls, stores, and stands increased in intensity with each step while the residences piled up on the rising hills leading to the west, giving them a great view over the frozen waters of the bay and an even greater view over the town.

It struck me as odd that the nobles would forsake such prime real estate. But after seeing the stables and barracks of the military around the bend, I began smiling under the assumption that the ruling party, or at least the military commander, wasn’t an idiot. My assumption was only doubled when I spotted my destination sitting adjacent to it. If the craft was as dangerous as it’s been implied, they did well to have the up-and-coming artificers under close supervision of the military.

Within seconds, I was stopped before the strangest building in the strangest city I’ve ever found myself in. It was the sole structure in the city composed entirely of wood. And not only that but it looked like a miniature Bodhi Tree. Not to say it was small. Only, in comparison to the actual tree, it was.

When I entered, the gnomish assistant either didn’t notice my new eyes or didn’t particularly care. He mostly paid attention to something behind his desk I didn’t care to see and ordered another gnome to show me to my quarters after verifying my Identity with the Bodhi brooch. This gnome was a bit more talkative. But only because she had to tell me the house rule. Essentially, we could not leave until we received our license. Though we would still be given passes to go about the town and procure equipment. So, if we had any other classes to pursue, it was best we worked quickly.

I assured her it would be no issue and she handed off a pair of tomes with the instructions to read and understand the material. Then she was off.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

The room granted to me was a quaint bedroom with a partitioned section that doubled as a lab. Other than that, there was a door sitting opposite the bathroom. One that I assumed to be a storage area until the gnarled surface of the door peeled apart to reveal a familiar face.

“Is this how it’s been for you this whole time?” Ed waved his book in the air with a despaired laugh. “One glance and you remember everything?”

“Pretty much.” I shrugged, then laughed as he fell into further despair over the side effects of one little blessing. “That said,” I smirked as I plopped myself down with my tomes. “I still like to take my time and read now and again.”

“Right.” He turned away, chortling as he waved over his shoulder. “Well, I’m gonna check up on the others. Let 'em know you’re here. Oh.” He turned with a childish grin. “Nice eyes. Real scary.”

“Shut up.” I laughed, shaking my head, and once he was truly gone, I released my animal companions from my shadow and lit up my pipe to begin reading.

After opening a few windows, of course.

Of course, I was enthralled with the findings. It was as I suspected when I was younger. The art involved imbuing a finely tuned spell into an object via crafting sigils onto the crystal. The sigils, intricate though they were, represented simple facets of the enchantment- or ways the spell was to function. These were called the Six Aspects of Enchanting.

The first was the Base, which determined whether the power source was to 'ebb' or 'flow.' In other words, if the enchantment was to use a measured portion of mana until it ran dry or outright stream mana from the environment in a constant fashion. Of course, each had its pros and cons. The former was the enchantment’s power being limited by the wielder’s Mana Well and density and the latter being limited by the ambient mana of the region. Here in Bakewia, that was somewhere in the Slush region. The added con, however, was that in a denser region, the ambient energies could affect the other aspects.

The second Aspect was the Scale while the third was the Intensity. In terms of an illumination enchantment, which commonly used fire, Scale was the size of the fireball, correlating to its luminosity, while Intensity correlated to the heat output. One was cranked up high while the other was tuned low to create the equivalent of a light bulb.

Following those were the effective Range and Rate of Operation. That was to say, the Range was the distance, direction, and duration of the enchantment in terms of the spatial-temporal coordinates of x, y, z, and t. Meanwhile, the latter determined if the enchantment’s operation was to be instantaneous, periodic, timed, or constant.

Lastly was the Trigger and, though not an Aspect, the Quarrel was just as important. With the former being self-explanatory, the latter was the architecture or object that was to be enchanted. Much like a bolt for a crossbow, the Quarrel was the most important aspect to consider, as its design had to account for the enchantment from the start. Likewise, the enchantment had to be made to such a size as to fit the object in the first place. It was, in short, where the energy was to be sent after all.

That was only the beginning, however. Each aspect was essentially a unique language. Each had its own ‘Standard,’ or base designs, but there were hundreds of characters among the aspects to learn and use to fine-tune enchantments to unfathomable degrees. Rather than just learn, I decided to update my blueprints and opened my mental app with glee.

With the added knowledge, I went through every file in BluLine, creating sigil arrays for the many enchanted items I'd already designed, and used my inspiration to create hundreds more. When that was done, I moved on to the other apps to design more and used those designs to come up with more enchantments that could facilitate the creation of those designs. Designs for terraforming. Enchantments for designing weapons and gear and habitats and magical technology. Enchantments for entertainment and of course, logistics.

By lunch, I had a completely updated database in my second mind and after wolfing down a fine meal, I followed the signs and lines to the study room to meet the excitable gnome. After- what was by now- a customary double take, she resumed her normal, boisterous greeting and pulled me aside from a concentrating Ed to give me a short lecture on the tools and medium of the trade.

Aptly so, the tools were likened to a blend of clay and stone sculpting tools. A chisel, hammer, and scalpel, all made of mana in a way dissimilar to the mana forging known to be used by elves. On the contrary, it was similar to the Mana Hand technique used by wizards and sorcerers or anyone else with a strong grasp of mana molding. If there was any difference, Zoop told me, it was the shape of the tools I molded out of mana that mattered. A skill that required fine control. Doubly so once I began carving crystals.

After she digressed, she went on to reiterate that, unlike a magically imbued weapon, enchantment crystals acted as a self-contained spell that was meant to be cast on or through an object. The sigils influenced how the spell behaved, essentially making it a custom spell. While effective, the con was that enchantments had one specific use in comparison to the broad or generalized effect of a magical weapon.

Though it was agreed upon to be a crystal, the medium was said to be a homogeneous mix of metal, stone, and energy that would congeal to form a raw crystal. Thus the hammer and chisel was the preferred tool to shape and carve into it. As such, our task was to master this technique and use it on a mountain of inert crystals to create ten sigils as quickly as possible. But, being not only half-drow but the walking God of Mana, it took me literal seconds to master the technique and begin carving away. And Ed, after a subtle blessing, only minutes more.

Seconds, it could’ve been, but he preferred to play as if he caught on to my actions. Not that Zoop was paying attention. Still, though, I didn’t let the accomplishment get to me. Instead, I tinkered and experimented and created as many different types of chisels, hammers, scalpels, and other instruments as possible. Then went to work on the test medium to compare them all and find the most efficient model. And when that was done, I went to work practicing every sigil found in the book. Lost in the joy of fulfilling my lifelong goals until Zoop came to tap on my shoulder.