EPISODE 29: Future Plans 3
-Edryan Queendom, Year 7291. Season: New Beginning.
As Minerva snoozed gently on my lap four women and one man discussed the fate of a country.
“Operation RAIL,” Liana asks. The Captain of the Royal Guards had her eyebrows scrunched together while a few crumbs from the honey-soaked pastries remained on her lips and chin.
I let out a small chuckle at the confusion of Liana. While Mariam spoke up beginning the explanation for me. “Operation RAIL is his Highnesses plan to unite the country under a unified system of movement. Making the logistics of the entire nation run smoother. I believe he intends to use those extra-large batteries he keeps in his ‘secret base,’” Mariam said with a shake of her head.
“It is a secret base,” I refuted. Not allowing New American to be disparaged. “It is where my Hero Golems – HUEGO, HELA, and HECTOR, were born!”
Mariam let out a heavy sigh. “If you want it to be a secret base, how can you allow anyone who’s worked on it to live? You need someone who is willing to be completely ruthless around you. I will see which of my Lashes qualify.”
“I disagree, a simple binding oath can also do the job,” I argued back.
“Let us stay on track,” Queen Titiana mediated. Giving me a gentle smile and a wink as she spoke next. “It is a secret base! Let us discuss the benefits of this operation.”
I smugly leered at Mariam who just rolled her eyes. While Margret picked up on discussing Operation RAIL. “We have extensively tested RAIL or His Highnesses Rail Accelerating Inertia Locomotive to the third generation. RAIL-3 is far more efficient because of the three-strand twist developed by Lawryn Adel. Power from the core can move far swifter through the battery and into the engine that pushes the train along. Operation RAIL expands our small subway network into the above ground and begins the transportation of goods and services.”
Margret paused at this point and tapped on one of the various pieces of jewelry she wore. A worshipper of Goddess Madris always displayed their wealth in some form or fashion. Jewelry is the most common method.
A detailed map of the country appeared, and she brushed away some of the scattered items on the table to make room. The fading sun – set over a portion of my destroyed study. Margret crafted a few mage lights for us to see by. “With Edrya as the head we’ve managed to gather five main points in which we will first connect the RAIL System.”
Five points were circled in red a black line drawn from the capital to each. Every circled area was a major city in Edryan lands. I took over from here and explained the rest.
“These lines would focus trade on Edrya causing all goods to move through us before nearly the rest of the country. If you wished to travel from Laguu, the Oni Capital and largest city near the Luffer Mountain range, you’d first come to the capital. From here you’d be able to travel to Ogun’s Rest and the Musa floating Isles within a day.”
“How would we protect these RAIL Systems?” Liana asked before continuing. “What would the Merchant Association say about this and the Spatial Convocation? They’ve managed to hold a majority on every spatial mage trained in the country. My father can only do so much as the Royal Representative but…”
Minerva snuggled in closer as I considered Liana’s questions. This had been the major cause of tension and stress for me and the RAIL System I wished to develop. Magic is a lifeline of the country and when it comes to mages with spatial affinity, who held one of the rarest if not rarest affinities, they were the shakers and movers. The people who kept the economy in Edryan and much of the continent moving. It was well-known and had always been a source of tension for the rulers of each nation.
[Spatial Mage] was a class that held great importance simply because of its ability to manipulate space. Of course, that wasn’t the only use of a [Spatial Mage] as the high-level ones could manipulate space enough to teleport people and goods places. The reason they were vital was because of a skill all [Spatial Mages] unlocked at level 35, (Dimension Alteration). (Dimension Alteration) was a spell that did exactly as its name said: it alter the dimensions of a non-living object. Basically, the spell could make a 4x4 room into a 12x12 room with the power of the mage and a few enchantments to help stabilize it. These alterations were not permanent as you’d need to be level 75 [Spatial Mage] class line. That high level served as the barrier to unlocking your third class. Only those who hit such a high level could make things such as completely permanent spaces. These are spaces that do not need to be fed mana to continue functioning. Something that I or a [Inscriber] such as Karla was far from being able to make happen.
This came into importance because the Spatial Convocation trained the majority of [Spatial Mages] within the country and convocation members were oath-bound to the convocation. There were similar groups in this world and Edryan. This is a world where Houses and things of that manner, ruled. You could become a [Blacksmith] but a [Blacksmith of Coal] from House Coal would start with far better skills and attributes. Starting you off with an uncommon or perhaps rare class instead of the common [Blacksmith]. Receiving more attributes and a higher rarity class made it a given why most chose the route of belonging to a House. Not that there was much of a choice anyway.
Imperius Academy and College was my answer. After graduation, you’d work for my royal family for 15 years. Afterward, you’d be released as a free agent to the market. I was hoping these free agents would find a way to introduce innovations to the market as a whole. Coming with the reputation of working for the royal family was not small. Of course, I was introducing Imperius Law to further help this.
I’m only lacking time. If I had another five years and more students trained.
Shit!
“Currently, my plan for the Spatial Convocation and Merchant Association is to shift them slowly over to using the RAIL System. I would allow the merchants to purchase a License of Commercial Goods. The new license would allow them to use the RAIL System in the same manner they have with the convocation mages yet with more features. In fact…,” I said. Coming up with most of this on the fly as I spoke. “I believe they’d be more than willing to begin a shift to using RAILs. After they learn they could have a journey from Laguu to Ogun’s Rest and the Musa Isles in a matter of hours instead of days. Such a trip now takes nearly a week. Imagine if you could cross the country without the use of carriages and beasts of burden.”
“A License of Commercial Goods?” Margret questioned. She was my closest confidant when it came to working and introducing any innovations and this was the first time, I mentioned such a thing. In my past life, I was no business major or anyone that held any trading and transporting goods experience. Yet my connection to Minerva seemed to tingle as I spoke.
“Yes, I believe it would be a great way to regulate the goods and trade within the Edryan market. This license would function as a pass to allow free trade within the Edryan borders for Edryan merchants. Rules such as the Stable Price must still be followed but merchants without the license would be subjected to fines. This will give Edryan merchants an advantage over those who come from outside the country,” I paused here to drink some of the beverages presented to us. As maids came about with a table that held our dinner.
More connections began to form in my mind, and I spoke fast in excitement. “We can introduce the RAIL System with my official coronation as the Crown Prince. The RAILs won't take more than a few months to be built. During this, we can pull the second and third-year students of Imperius Academy out for an expedition. Use them to protect and help build the railroad itself. We can begin building the rail to Laguu while I tour the country and recruit for my army. Perhaps I can find a way to introduce the Mark of a Citizen.”
“For the defense…,” I began looking at Liana. “Isn’t there an Adventure Association?”
I paused here and took a breath. A small ‘chirp’ from a now-awake Minerva alerted me to the stares of the women around me. My mother, Queen Titiana, appeared amused. With a soft gentle smile on her lips. Mariam held a hand on her forehead clearly lost at my tangent. Margret was taking notes. Writing down every word I spoke. While Liana was nodding seriously but I knew she was lost as well. I'd been around her too long to know that serious expression was a sign that I’d lost her a few paragraphs ago.
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“Chirp, Chirp!”
“Yeah, I’m hungry too. Perhaps some food will help me get my thoughts in order so I can explain better,” I responded to Minerva. Placing the chick in my arms as we moved to the table.
“Do you know what’s good to feed owls?”
“Chirp, Chirp!”
“Interesting, so owls usually eat a variety of small animals?”
“Chirp.”
“Baby owls usually eat what their parents feed them?”
“Chirp!”
The knowledge of an owl’s diet pours its way into my head. The bond Minerva and I shared grew warm as the information came. The information was something I’d never known myself. I’d probably be able to guess it, but it was a certain fact on Earth and that knowledge was shared with me. Now it’s up to me to explore the limits of this perk.
----------------------------------------
I walked into my lab with a fresh mind and an ecstatic pace. The lab was not as large as I could have made it. Standing only around 20ft in height and 40 in width. On one side was what I called my think box. It held drawing boards and various blueprints with runic scripts written throughout. Some were of extremely basic rune combinations that would create a spell with a certain effect. Others were long schematics that would make a device operate in a certain manner. The thin box was where I let all my fantastic ideas out.
The exploration cage was where I let those ideas come to life. Whether it was providing the mana for a spell to function or building a small niche device. Piled up on the side of the exploration cave were several half-finished experiments. An inscribed metal box with a glass window was on the top of the pile.
“Chirp?”
“Yup, it’s a microwave. It runs through the fire rune and several connecting runes to prevent fire from actually occurring. Right now, it just makes the internals warm once activated. The only problem is there’s no timer so if you leave theirs a chance you come back to burnt food.”
“Chirp. Chirp.”
“It's here because I consider it a failure. Most Edryans just cook their food fresh every day. It’s rare for leftovers. That’s why I introduced the fridge. A CGB can run it for around a month because it's not as intensive as a golem.”
Minerva seemed to nod along atop my shoulder. The Keeper of the Codex was surprisingly small for emerging from such a large egg.
“Chirp? Chirp. Chirrrp!”
I paused in my surveillance of the room. Giving Minerva a scratch on the chin and a treat. Over the last few days, I became more acquainted with my perk. Although she held her own physical body. Minerva was very much a part of me. I could feel our connection and I believe it was soul deep.
“You’re right. The microwave and fridge could be sold together as a pair! One to keep your food lasting longer and another to heat it! I can tackle that another time. Jarvis, how goes the manufacturing of Citizen Coins?”
I stared at the Hero Core and Military Grade Battery Version 4. It floated in place through the potency of its magic and runic scripts woven into it. Whereas its predecessors were the size of a softball. This core was easily triple that with several hundred lines of rune script written upon it. Rings with advanced scripts inscribed upon them spun slowly around the core. Flashing purple as a script was activated and a command was sent out.
“Good evening, Lawruthian,” the core flashed a deeper purple than those of its rings and a pulse of the same-colored magic escaped it and traveled deep into the earth. The very air vibrated as it spoke its rings flashing as it activated a spell of vibration that helped it synthesize its speech. After several moments of silence, a pink spark of magic emerged and traveled to Jarvis’s core.
“Monday has alerted me that the Mark of a Citizen is 38% complete. Accounting for roughly 19 million of the Edryan population.”
“Alert her that the capital will need at least 3 million. To be delivered by the end of the month. My official coronation will begin then.”
[Chosen of Madris] has activated!
Effect 1:
The Greatest Gift
Gather the Faith of the People and convert them into attribute points.
You have been awarded 10 Attribute Points.
I brushed the notification away. This was the second time it happened and after the first, I quickly found it a nuisance.
“The message has been delivered and confirmed,” Jarvis said.
“Show me your matrix.”
The spinning rings around Jarvis’s core slowly paused in their rotation before coming to a complete stop. The glowing scripts dimmed in their lighting as Jarvis went into a low-powered mode.
“Chirp?”
“This is the (Adaptive Learning Algorithm) it is a living spell that I developed with the help of Margret Musa…”
“Chirp?”
“Yes, she’s the one with the large chest and the scary eyes when she glances at you with magic.”
Minerva shuttered and drew in closer to my neck making me smile while I gently cooed to the owlet. Once she calmed down, I continued.
“…Anyway, with Margret and Madria’s mother's help I created the (ALA). Hmmm, I think you’ll like Madria and Amaya.”
“Chirp?”
Her mother is High Priestess Marna, you met her when she showed up to court a few days ago. Together with them, I spent a good portion of my childhood reshaping the Edryan you’ll see today.
The (ALA) is a complex runic spell script that is designed to take inputs and deliver outputs through several methods. When the Hero Golems first came around, they had little option but to react to events happening. Even today the HGs still need the external inputs to develop and deploy themselves in any manner.”
“Chirp?”
“Don’t huh me, basically they’re robots built with magic. They can take commands and do actions based on those commands, but they can’t do anything on their own. You Intent also matters. With the system now activated more so than ever.”
“Chirp. Chirp. CHIRP!”
“No, I’m not going to go all Skynet in the Prime Plane… unless…?
No, nah, it’s not going to happen. I created the HGs because I needed someone I could trust nearly absolutely.”
“…Chirp?”
“Yes, I trust my mother but well…”
“Chirp.”
“You’re right Minerva,” I said smiling as I fed the owlet another treat.
“Already a week since you’re birth and you’re lecturing me. I’ll tell her tomorrow no matter what. She deserves to know. Right now, let's finish what we came here for.”
Saying so, I removed a perfect spherical crystal from my pocket. Slightly gulping at the potency of the mana I held within my palm. It wasn’t comparable to the birth of Minerva, but the power held within could run an HG for three years.
“I don’t know why I always get scared I’ve done this several times now.”
“In fact,” I spoke directly to Minerva. “I’m the only one who changes all seven HGs.”
The owlet just turned her head as she got comfortable on my shoulder to sleep. Apparently, I was disturbing her. A small chuckle escaped my lips at the fact.
“(Inspect).”
Oblix Mana Core
Type: Item – Battery
Core Charge: 100/100
Core Integrity: 100/100
Standing: Product of New America Research Center.
Description:
A highly concentrated and condensed sphere of mana packed into the Oblix Mana Core. The mana within has taken on liquid properties and if freed will burst out in an explosion of power.
I carefully set the core back in my pocket and took a long hard look at the old nearly depleted core of Jarvis. The HG without a body remained silent but its purple display was flashing with all types of signs. A slight wind picked up in the lab as this process happened. Removing the Oblix Core wouldn’t shut them down, but it’d be damn near. The MGB-4s could subsidize their expenditure by absorbing the mana of the air and using that to power themselves. That process could provide enough power to remain in a low-powered state. I did not know what would happen if the (Adaptive Learning Algorithm) stopped receiving mana.
I didn’t know if my Hero Golems would die.
“I don’t intend to find out.”
Carefully, I removed the old and nearly deleted core. The fascinating outer shell of where the core was stored was pulsing like a heartbeat. The material upon which the (Adaptive Learning Algorithm) was inscribed. The old crystal held a yellowish tint to it from use. Incomparable to the clear-ish white of a fresh core. The core went into its lowest-powered state. The rings fell atop one another and rested on the core itself as all but the centermost purple light faded. The core flashed a dull version of its color. Quickly I brought out the new core and placed it within. Sparks of purple lightening fell to the upper and lower placeholder as they came together clutching at the core tightly.
A relieved sigh escaped from my lips. “One down, six to go!”