"Domain!" Hand on my staff, I take control of the Mana around me. "Are you ready?"
""Yes."" They answer at the same time.
"Do you even need us for this?" Apricot then asks with a smile.
"I will always need you." I smile back at her. "But, for this test sample, probably not. We already know the Enchantments work, and there shouldn't be any way for it to get hot enough to be an issue."
"Then get on with it already, you've still got movies to copy." She makes a wrap it up gesture with her hand.
"Heheh." Amelia laughs. "I hate to say it, but she is right. I know you wouldn't have us anywhere nearby if you thought there was even a miniscule chance of it going wrong."
"Fine, I'll get on with it then. Who knew making a nuclear reactor was simpler than building a car?" I grumble and take out the lead covered pebble of Autunite that Hayley was carrying around.
"I think that's because here you can 'see' what's happening with your magic. Instead of having to build something from scratch." Amelia offers with a hint of amusement at my attitude.
I just purse my lips and move on; more than a little annoyed that I can do this, but can't make an automatic transmission.
Extracting the uranium and fusing it together leaves me with a tiny grey marble smaller than a pea. The pellet moves through the lead and slots into a hole in the top of a large, leaded glass tank full of conjured water.
"You said it would glow." Apricot says accusingly.
"I still need to enrich it. Mirror!" I'm not so much enriching it as using Magic to create a miniature breeder reactor. By moving the u235 to the center and having it bombard the u238 with neutrons to create more fissile materials. While also using Light Magic to reflect any escaping high energy particles back in. "Looking good. It's converted a fraction of a percent already. Speed is slowly, but steadily increasing..." I keep an eye on it as the reaction grows, moving the fissile elements into the center as it proceeds.
"I just wanna see it glow, already." My orange haired wife complains again after a minute
"Coming up on five percent." I answer her. "Pulling back the mirror now... And, there's your glow." The tiny sphere of grey metal is now surrounded by an eerie blue glow. "Energy generation is low but steady. Everything has stabilized... Well, as stable as radioactive materials get."
"Oh, that is so weird." Amelia shudders. "I know you explained that faster than light thing already. But why does it feel like that?"
"Interesting. Hmm." I dial in on my own Water Magic. "That's what light magic feels like... Seems that since it's being generated through interaction of high energy particles and water, you can feel it through your Water Magic. Can you try manipulating it? I'll drop my Domain." I say a bit stunned, I had no idea this could happen.
"I'll try." She drills her focus in, trying to grasp hold. But, from here it feels like it's just slipping through her fingers. "Nng, so close." Amelia groans before Apricot places her hand on Amelia's back, and I can see their link open up wide. Several echoed *Dings* sound off and each one brings her closer to grasping the Light. Until finally...
*DDDDDIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG* The overly loud reverberating tone of an Awakening sounds out.
"Oh gods. Temmie, is this real?" Amelia's looking at a notification that only she can see.
A *Ding* in the affirmative answers her, followed by two more that sound suspiciously like System-chan is saying 'Good job!'.
"Babe, Sweetie." Amelia starts tearing up. "I just Awakened myself to Light magic. How? How is that even possible?" She pulls us both into a hug.
"I did not know that it was." I say flabbergasted. "I don't think anyone did. You know what this means though? If you can get one..." I prompt her.
"I could learn them all and become an Archmage like you." She gasps at the idea.
"It certainly bears investigation." I grin and then Apricot and I each kiss one of her cheeks. "You are amazing, you know that?"
"You really are." Apricot agrees.
***
"Light!" Amelia casts for probably the thousandth time in less than an hour. "Is there anything?"
"Nothing." I slam closed the last book that even mentioned the Awakening process. "Not a word about it. People with multiple aspects will spontaneously gain access to them all, even if they're Awakened to just one. Something like this is unprecedented."
"Any ideas then?" She sends a glowing fish to swim past my head.
"One." I look at Apricot. "I think your bond was the only thing that made it possible. I tried to control the light with Water Magic just like you did, and I didn't even get close. Maybe if I had Mastery already." I shake my head, unsure.
"Sorry, no clue what happened. Never heard about anything like this either." She shrugs.
"Are there any Fae libraries?" I ask hopefully.
"Not that I've ever heard of, but I'm not much for reading." She looks a bit sad that she doesn't have anything more to offer.
"Don't worry about it." I walk over and give her a hug. "We know it happened once, so chances are it has happened before. Once I feel Larendath can hold it's own, then we can go around and talk to the Fae on this continent." Seeing the look on her face, I quickly add. "Or not, or just no pixies. Or, whatever your comfortable with."
"Yeah, sweetie." Amelia backs me up. "Don't let our enthusiasm worry you. Sorrel loves his puzzles ...as long as they don't involve gears... and I'm just happy to be with you. Magic or no." Amelia smirks at me when she mentions the transmission.
"No, it's alright, just caught me by surprise. I guess." Her face says that she's not telling the whole truth, but Amelia and I decide to let it go after a quick glance. "Guys, I mean it." She adds with a huff after catching the look we shared.
"Sorry, but you can't blame us for wanting to keep you from being hurt anymore." Amelia says and hugs Apricot.
"Okay, but let's just drop it for now." She looks at the ground with an embarrassed flush to her cheeks. "How's the Rune holding up? Any issues?" She changes the subject.
"None, it's perfectly stable." I've been keeping a magical eye on the prototype this whole time. "Thermal failsafe is working, but hasn't been needed. The moderator is working just as intended and switched from reflecting light, to absorbing and re-transmitting when the Mana Stone filled a couple minutes ago." I walk her over to look out the window at the green light that's now coming from the tank.
"Already?" Amelia says surprised. "Even for a tiny Mana Stone, that was fast."
"I told you that stuff has a lot of energy inside, but the speed is mostly down to my concentrated heat collectors, they're actually over powered for the tiny bead that's in there. And, the whole tank has dropped in temperature by several degrees, despite being in the sun." Pride bleeds through into my voice.
"Brag, all you want." She laughs. "But, only one of us did the impossible today." She copies my old stunt from the Southwood inn and creates dozens of light flowers.
"Hah. She's got you there." Apricot slaps my back.
***
We're in the middle of dinner when I sense a carriage pull up outside. "Oliver's here." I say flatly.
"This better not be about that bitch." Apricot flies up from her plate. She's been trying to spend more time human sized, but still prefers to eat while she's smaller.
"I don't think so." I say with a frown to match the man outside. "Not from the look on his face at least. Kaitlyn, Turner, please excuse me." I set my cutlery down and stand up.
"I hope everything's alright." Amelia's mother says quietly.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"It'll be fine Mom." Amelia re-assures her with a pat on the arm before getting up to follow me. Apricot landing on her shoulder a second later.
"Good evening Oliver." I open the door just as he reaches the landing. "What brings you out of the castle on this fine evening?"
"My apologies for intruding on your evening meal, but we might have a situation that your new creation is uniquely suited to solving." The court wizard says gravely.
"It's in the back right now, shall we?" I gesture to the archway.
"I must admit I would like to get a good look at it." We walk into the courtyard. "It certainly looks powerful." He runs a hand over the sleek lines. "Would you be willing to modify it to carry more people?"
"How many, where, why, and how fast do you need them there?" I sigh deeply.
"Me, and at least a dozen Mages to Riverton as soon as possible." He pleads. "We just received another messenger bird saying that a small army with a dozen mages was making an early push for the border. Riverton only has one decent mage, and his apprentice."
"So, you want to take the Capital's best to counter this threat?" I raise an eyebrow. "Just days after I warned you of the risk of assassins?" My voice is a mix of disbelief and mockery.
"I know!" He spits. "But we don't have any other option. If they take the city then the rest of the country won't be far behind."
"There's always another option." I say calmly. "We just take the Queen and her daughter with us. They won't be expecting it, and I can protect them better than even you."
"I know you think you're powerful, but-" The aged Court Wizard lets some of his arrogance leak out.
"Oh, look it's the Queen." I cut him off, and conjure a stone statue behind him.
"What?" He twirls around. "I didn't-"
"Feel a thing?" I interrupt him again. "I figured out how to bypass that trick of yours when I was helping Amelia learn how to do it."
"Fine, you've got some skills, but-"
"What's this somehow the air is being pulled away from the Queen? And, oh no... There's a very slow laser firing at her. What's this? Not an equally slow fireball, too? If only there was someone her that could stop even one of these, let alone all three." I openly mock the man.
"You want to play games? Fine, I'll show you how it's done!" He pulls a wand out from inside his jacket.
"Better hurry up." I warn him. "She's gasping for breath now, won't be long before she loses consciousness."
"Nng! What the hell?" He groans and sweat starts forming on his forehead. "Time to get serious, then. Domain!" He takes control of the Mana in the area. But, I just look at him pityingly as my spells aren't even slowed.
"Anything else? I can give you some Mana Stones if it'll help." I hold out a pouch with a few hundred Stones inside. "I hate acting like this, but Deluca's outburst earlier made it clear that I can't hold back anymore just to spare someone's feelings. Not while there's a war on." I let go of my mask and let him see the sadness in my eyes.
"How?" He gasps out still trying everything he can to stop me. Pulling out dozens of different spells, switching focus to each of my spells in turn, hoping to find a weakness he can exploit. "You're only level five."
"Six, actually. I dinged a few days ago." The projectiles are less than a meter away from the statue now, and the air pressure is so low that any human would have died by this point anyways. "Have I proven my point, yet?"
He finally gives up, and slumps to the ground. So, I lets my spells wink out of existence. "What are you?" He looks up at me with a mixture of fear and awe.
"Someone who never wanted it to come to this. I'm sorry." I reach down to give him a hand up. "Go gather your people at the castle, I can get you there by morning. And then, I think it's time to show the Cendassans that they picked the wrong target."
"Thank you." He bows over my hand. "I know you don't want to fight, but with you on our side, we can't lose."
"There won't be a fight." I shake my head; exhausted more from the idea of what's to come, than from overpowering him Magically. "We're just going to have a nice chat with the enemy general and his mages. This paints a target on me sooner than I would have liked, but it was going to happen eventually."
"It's okay Sorrel." Amelia wraps her arms around me as a tired old man, shakily walks back to his carriage.
"It will be." I hug her back. "Come on, dinner's getting cold." I pull her back towards the house.
Apricot shifts and takes my other hand. "Mmm. I know you don't mean it to be, but is so fucking hot when you do stuff like that." She pulls close, sandwiching my arm between her breasts. "I can't wait until we get to Riverton."
"Thanks for bringing a smile back to my face, you perverted little pixie, you." I chuckle and kiss her.
***
"Your Majesty." I get out of the Rocket and bow.
"Count Rumex." She steps forward with her daughter by her side. "We thank you for your service." She states with a regal nod of the head.
"Is that really going to take us all to Riverton in just a night?" The princess asks while staring at the car.
"Yeah, I just need to make a little modification." I smile and take out the last of my modified cherry wood, a few cotton seeds, a jar of latex rubber, and a small crate of silica. "It's not going to be very pretty, but it'll get the job done."
All at once, the wood flows out joining with the rocket and reforming into a large boxy shape. The silica melts into large glass planes, that seat themselves into rubber gaskets around openings in the wood. The cotton turns into fourteen single beds and one double, along with curtains and carpeting and a few seats. All in all, it takes just under a minute for a double-decker sleeper bus to stand where the Rocket once was.
"Shall we?" I bow again and open the door with magic.
"You do know how to put on a show." She laughs before boarding the bus.
"There's a lounge and Royal compartment upstairs." I explain following her and the Princess in. The rest of the Mages snapping out of their stupor, and trooping forwards a second later to the sound of Apricots giggles. "Everyone, please take a bed, and we can get under way."
"I was hoping that we could speak." The Queen prompts.
"Of course." I nod and head up stairs with Amelia while starting the engine with a spell. Once Vivian, Faye and Oliver follow us I begin to turn us about and head for the palace gate.
"We're moving!" Princess Faye plasters herself to the window. "Uh, mister Sorrel..." She clutches her doll to her chest while looking nervously at the approaching gate.
"Don't worry." Apricot floats next to the little girl. "You just saw him build this in a minute, do you really think a wall is going to stop us?"
"Apricot!" She squeals, and gets so got up with the pixie that she doesn't even notice when I make enough room for us to pass through.
"You know those walls are enchanted to prevent something like that from happening, don't you?" Oliver shakes his head at my casual disregard for what he thought were secure fortifications.
"Eh, I'll add making better ones to my research list." I say tiredly. "What did you wish to speak about?"
"I was going to chew you a new one, Archmage or not, for presuming to tell me what to do." She snorts. "But, damned if you aren't right, and I can tell that you really don't want to be doing this." She drops into a seat, all pretenses gone. She's not a Queen right now, just a worried woman.
"Ma'am." I open.
"Just call me Vivian, please." She interrupts me.
"Vivian, then." I take a deep breath. "I don't want any of this, and I am truly sorry for dragging you and your daughter into this. But, if I and my wives are to have any peace then Cendassa needs to fear not just my strength, but your power as well." I start laying out my plan for her and the wizard.
"Are you sure you can guarantee her safety." Oliver asks after I finish speaking. He get three blanks stares in return, one from me, one from Amelia, and the last from Queen Vivian. Poor Apricot would have given him one too, but she's stuck on princess duty. "Sorry, had to ask." He raises his hands in surrender.
"The thirteen of you will be there as backup, just in case." I say to allay his fears. "But even if all the Mages are as good as you, they won't be needed."
"Mommy, look!" Faye bounces over to get her mom's attention. "We're already at Rosemarrow."
"I really need to quit underestimating you." Oliver says with a sigh before walking up to the window and peering out. "At this rate we really will get there by dawn."
"Mhm" I nod. "There's still a few stragglers on the road, once they clear out, I'll really be able to open it up."
"It's just like we're flying." Faye holds her arms out like she's pretending to be a bird.
"Oh, Amelia won't let me make any aircraft, I think she's afraid of heights." I tease both the girl and my wife. "Hey, no hitting. You're setting a bad example for the princess."
"Hahaha." Vivian laughs at Faye's expression.
"Can you really make one of these that could fly?" Her eyes go wide at the thought.
"What do you think?" I make her a paper airplane with a simple motion rune to spin an oversized propeller attached to it's front. It's light enough to go slow without stalling, but I still need to use a bit of magic to make sure it doesn't hit anything in the small lounge.
"I think we are very lucky to have you on our side." Her mother says as the princess follows the plane around the room. "I also think that it's getting close to your bedtime, little one."
"Aww, but I was hoping Uncle Sorrel could make another movie for me." She doesn't quite whine, but get's pretty close.
"Upgraded to uncle already?" Her mom smiles. "Well, I suppose you can stay up for one, if..." She raises her finger. "Uncle Sorrel is willing to." She looks at me with amusement in her eyes.
"Oh, I don't know." I put on a fake worried face. "I've got to pay attention to the road, who knows when a cow might wander away from its farm and get in the way." I conjure a herd of winged bovines to chase after the plane. "If only I had some way to let you watch movies without having to focus my attention on it." I shake my head in faux disappointment.
"Oh, quit teasing her." Apricot does a roll around the lead cow, making me smile.
"Hahaha. Oh fine, you spoilsport." I take a wooden case from my inventory and kneel down to present it to the princess. "A certain pixie has been bugging me to make this for her." She gives me the stink eye for my pun. "And, I knew you would love it too, so I made a copy."
I open the lid to reveal a Rune projector and over a dozen movie cubes. I could have fit them all on one, but this is easier to make and add more movies to in the future. "You should watch this one tonight, it's only an hour long. That way you don't stay up too late." I slot Dumbo into the device and press play after setting it next to the window.
"All those things are movies?" She says, awed. I left out Iron Man for obvious reasons, but other than that, she got a copy of every movie I've translated so far, mostly Disney cartoons.
"Yes, they are." I tousle her hair before turning to the Queen. "If there's nothing else, I really should be behind the wheel while driving. Need to conserve my magic for tomorrow, after all."
"Yes, of course. And, thank you for yet another wonderful gift." She smiles as her daughter starts laughing at all the baby animals being delivered by stork.
Once downstairs, I turn the tiny driver's seat into a bench big enough for the three of us. "You girls mind if I play some music? It's not a road trip without some tunes." They just shake their head and snuggle up next to me.
An infectious bass riff starts up, followed a few seconds later by the drums. Then Jack White's voice sings "I'm gonna fight 'em all. A seven nation army couldn't hold me back". The girls give me a look that I pretend not to see. Instead, I just tap my fingers on the steering wheel and nod my head to the beat.
"Thanks, I needed to get that out of my system." I say once the song ends. Petting Amelia on the head with my free hand when I see some tears welling up in her eyes. "Don't cry babe, it's all going to be alright. How about some *Spanish* guitar? It's just the right mix of relaxing and energizing for a late night drive. And no silly lyrics to get my wife upset." Apricot hugs Amelia with a fierce look on her face.
***