The first thing I notice when I start reading: every sheet of paper has 'TOP SECRET written' across the top in big letters. Below that though... The first one is titled 'How to check manastone duplication.' It's about our manastones?!
I mutter along as I begin to read, to sound out the unfamiliar words. "Ensure mana crystal positioning provides adequate view of externalized structure..." That's as far as I get before stopping. Just from the first bit, it's clear I'm not going to understand any of this, so I shuffle through the papers until I find one that looks like a better starting point, a silent agreement from Reena filling the back of my head.
TOP SECRET
Manacraft Basics
Required Tools:
Manacraft Sigil
Mana Crystals
Imprinting Pen
Oculus
Crystal Cart
Tongs
Gloves
......
'Manacraft.' That's a new word...
There are neatly drawn pictures of each tool right next their names on the paper. While the cart and tongs are obvious enough, it does fill me in on the rest of the strange names. The 'manacraft sigil' is the huge metal spiral in the floor, 'mana crystals' are the things I've been calling manastones until now, for lack of a better name for them. The 'imprinting pen' is the long pen made to hold the mana crystals, and the 'oculus' is the viewing eye thing.
Below the list of tools, the paper gets into instructions, so I keep reading.
Warning: If any tools are missing, do not proceed with manacrafting and notify your superiors immediately!
NEVER TOUCH MANACRAFT MATERIALS DIRECTLY!
......
"Uhh..." I side-eye the stuff on the table. I've touched all of it before. Is it really supposed to be dangerous...? Then I shake my head and continue.
Step 1: Place manacrafting target in the center of your manacraft sigil. -This should be a manastone!
Step 2: Attach mana crystal to crystal cart and place on the spiral of your manacraft sigil.
Step 3: Use oculus to confirm externalization of target structure.
......
I stop there. "Externalization of what...?" I briefly page further through the other notes, and I keep seeing that same term appear over and over, but there's no explanation of what it means. I sigh, "Alright, let's just give it a try and see." I can feel Reena hovering, a poke of desire to speak up - to explain something - but she continues to stay silent for now.
I follow the written steps, reluctantly obeying the giant warning not to touch anything directly. Even if I've already touched them before, you never know... Since I don't have a manastone like it says, just use the mana crystals. They fit in the slot in the center of the giant spiral and they seemed to work last time. I put the earth one in the middle, and the water one in the cart.
When I plop the cart in place, the metal track between the two stones immediately begins to glow. I remember last time, the same thing happened with whichever mana crystals I put down. Fire and earth I think...? That was when they pushed mana back and forth between them until they seemingly balanced out.
"Step three..." I mumble, grabbing the oculus. Our divine armament for seeing mana is also named Oculus, there's no way that's a coincidence. I wonder if Rostor named it after this little mana viewer, or if it was the other way around...?
With those wandering thoughts, I put the viewer up to my eye to 'confirm externalization of target structure,' whatever that's supposed to mean. What I see though, makes my jaw drop. "That-!" I lean in close and stare. It's the mana structure! I can see it!
Seemingly floating in the air, barely a centimeter above the water crystal in the cart, there's an instantly recognizable white glow, exactly like light mana when it's inside a mana structure. From it, a sort of transparent tube extends upward a short distance, about the length of my forearm, before it fades to nothing.
Well, it certainly explains what 'externalization of structure' refers to. It's literally floating outside the crystal somehow. I can only see it through the oculus, but I guess it's not that surprising, since mana isn't usually visible anyway...
Of course, I have a few immediate questions seeing this. First: why is it coming out of the water crystal instead of the earth one? The instructions said the one in the center of the sigil is supposed to be the 'target.' So why is it working backward? Secondly: from what I remember about these crystals, the one in front of me should have a segment attached to its base of light, with water inside. I think that's why all the mana inside it converts to water. The glowing image of the structure I see in the air now doesn't have that second piece, it just kind of fades away at the top...
I take some time to consider my questions, and look over the instructions one more time. "Ah." The fourth step says to move the cart to change what I see. One little push, and the floating structure shifts. The core with its light moves down, disappearing when it touches the tip of the crystal. That leaves the floating image showing nothing but a mostly see-through rod. I push the cart a little further, and the piece at the other end appears, all the way at the top, on the end of the rod. A little bubble with a glowing blue light in it, for water.
"Ok, that answers one question..." For the other, I ignore the safety warning this time and follow a hunch I have based on when I did this last time. I touch the glowing line of metal in the floor between the two crystals and push my mana inside. Just like I remember, when it glows like this, it'll hold my mana without me needing to push it anywhere. Like an odd, temporary mana well of some kind.
I wonder if that's what makes this 'mana sigil' special...? It's called a sigil, so maybe it has something to do with sigil magic...? But the only sigil I've seen used a bunch of weird hand motions and spoken words, so I'm not sure...
Reena's giggling to herself at the random thoughts wandering through my head, while most of my focus stays on my mana. Pushing inside, I take one look at the mana flowing through the metal, and I think I have my answer. The earth mana is flowing over into the water crystal. I swap the earth crystal and put the fire one in its place to confirm my guess, and when the water mana goes across to the fire crystal, I find that the floating image comes up over top of the fire crystal this time.
"So it's whichever one the mana is flowing into. Like the structure is getting pushed out or something..." And now that I think about it, manastones usually pull in mana, don't they? So of course if I had one I could use here, it would always be the one the mana flows into. "Though you don't have to put it in the middle, you could put it in the cart, couldn't you?" I wonder to myself. Well, that's not really that important right now.
I pull the mana crystals out so they won't keep sending mana between each other and return my attention to the instructions at my side.
Step 4: Reposition crystal cart on manacraft sigil to change view of the structure.
Step 5: If required, use imprinting pen to modify mana nodes.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Warning: Only modify mana nodes according to your orders!
That's where the instructions end. I pick up the pen and roll it between my fingers. If this can be used to change mana structures, the same way I can change them, I'm not going to test it. At least it seems pretty clear how to use it based on the instructions. Put a crystal in, and touch the pen to the floating bit of light - a 'mana node' they call it - to change it. That's my guess anyway.
"With all these tools, even humans can mess with magic..." I think aloud.
"Yes," Reena finally speaks up to confirm my thoughts. "Humans figured out that with the right magical tools and components, they could replicate some of the things you can do." Oh right. Now that she mentions it, I can do all of this on my own already. Because I can control mana directly. Then Reena adds, with disgust boiling under her words, "And this is what they use it for," and gestures around us.
Yeah, all of this is used to make manastones and rail units, isn't it...? That lowers my mood somewhat, but I remind myself that they only make us into rail units since we have the blight anyway. It's a better option than letting us turn into monsters. Then we would just hurt people instead of helping our country. And with our enemies making rail units, we need them too, or we'd immediately lose the war.
"Roster, that evil-" That's all Reena says before she catches herself and lets go of my soul keep her thoughts from reaching me, so the bottomless pit of hatred suddenly pouring out of her doesn't swallow me whole. I blink rapidly, forced to catch my breath when the feeling passes. I did not realize Reena hated Roster so much.
I didn't realize it was even possible to hate that much. Like... like the entire world with everything in it, all packed into a box and warped into nothing but pure hatred...
When Reena connects to my soul again, that feeling is entirely gone. "Sorry about that, Aria," she apologizes, wordlessly adding that she didn't mean to overwhelm me like that.
I can't help but ask. "Why do you hate Rostor so much?" It was so sudden, she's never showed anything when he came up before. Is it something recent then...?
"Oh, it's nothing much, just personal reasons between us gods." She's obviously downplaying it. "You don't need to worry about it." Despite her words, I can feel the way she cuts her emotions from coming across to me with her response. To hide how angry she is at him from me? But why...? Of course she picks up on my suspicion, but doesn't comment on it. She probably doesn't want to talk about this. I guess I'll let it go for now...
"So," I try changing topics, "this 'manacrafting' can be used by humans to work with magic, right? But where do they get all this magic stuff anyway?"
There's a hint of gratefulness when Reena responds. "A wide variety of sources. That oculus for example. There are a number of magical creatures with eyes that can see mana; that was made from one of them. For the mana crystals... Hmm..." She takes some time thinking, then sighs. "I'm sorry, I'm not completely sure what I'm allowed and not allowed to explain about that one. I can speak on things you already know, so... You've been to the noble district, remember? Was there anything there that stuck out to you there?"
"Uhhh... Everything?" I reply dumbly, but shake off the weird topic change and think back on my memories there. "The houses were painted in lots of colors, and had the gods' marks on them. They had grass, and flowers, and lots of servants..." I continue tracing my thoughts back through my trip, into Karl Liffan's house, meeting Lady Kelly, "all the colorful decorations everywhere... and the glowing lights instead of candles...-"
I blink a few times when I strike that thought and feel Reena react. Eyes closing in focus, I picture that one glowing crystal I saw sitting on a table while I walked past. I'd thought nobles might be using mana light their houses somehow, but that crystal glowed all on its own, without any mana or anything.
With that picture firmly fixed in my head, Reena finally speaks. "It's called 'glowstone.' While it is hoarded by the nobility to the point most commoners don't even know it exists, it is known to humanity. So it's fair game for me to tell you about," she snickers.
"Oh."
"Glowstone is known to exist in just three locations on Loqaterna. First is a swath through the northern and eastern areas of Shonamakase, mostly along shorelines, where it can be found sporadically and in small quantities, as well as in larger deposits deep underwater. Second is in the the far northern mountains of Liantra. And third, is in the Great Knife Mountain Range, directly on the border between Melphira and Bromunst."
My mouth falls open slightly. So it's right near where we're always fighting at the border? Are those the border mines I've heard about?
Reena waits for me to consider that, before explaining further. "Yes, the border mines constantly change hands according to who can hold the territory. While metal ore can be found near the surface, glowstone is found deeper down. This glowstone was discovered during the temporary cease fire between The Long War and the current rail unit war. When the nobility of the two countries realized how valuable glowstone was, the border dispute over the mines reignited the hostilities between the two countries."
"Hmm..." I consider that for a bit. "So, the mines are the reason we started fighting? What about us? How do the rail units come into this?"
I receive a small head shake from Reena. "As far as I can tell, that was purely incidental. Roster introduced rail units and changed how wars are conducted, but make no mistake, Melphira and Bromunst would be at war either way."
So the real cause of the war is over the border mines - and the glowstone inside them? That's why we're all fighting like this? And we even dragged Eschalle and Shonamakase into it since they're our allies...
I mull that over a bit more, before stepping back. "So that's glowstone, but... wait, how does that apply to what I was actually working on?" I have to shake away all those thoughts about the war, because now that I actually think about it, that's all completely unrelated to manacrafting. ...Isn't it?
"Sorry, but I can't say," Reena replies unhelpfully. "However," and I can feel her pushing, like she's giving me a hint. "Here are some things you should know about glowstone. Like you've seen, it glows - all the time, without fire or any apparent interaction with another energy source. White glowstone is called 'low-grade' and is the most common type found. High-grade glowstone glows in a variety of other colors instead, and is much more rare, mostly located deeper underground."
I take what she's told me and turn it all over in my head a few times. Glowstone, glowing without an energy source, without any mana... And it's valuable? Enough for countries to go to war over it? But I've only seen it used for lighting noble houses. Is that really important enough to go to war? Especially since it was back before there were rail units - does the nobility really care that little about the soldiers working in the military?
"Just how valuable is glowstone?" I ask.
"It varies massively depending on the exact type, but you're looking at a minimum of one hundred thousand barr for raw, uncut glowstone." I'm surprised by the number, that's way lower than I would have thought by how she was talking about it. I almost spent that much on paper and ink at that general store after all. Though Eryk said it was really expensive paper...
When Reena catches my thoughts on the price, she adds, "Like I said, that's the absolute cheapest price for the raw materials. Anything of good enough quality for most normal uses and you're looking at a million and up, easily." Oh, that's much more in line with what I was thinking. Still, I'm not sure where to go with that. I've got a number to tag onto 'super expensive' now, but why? As far as I know, it glows. So it's basically a replacement for a candle. But candles really aren't all that expensive, you could buy thousands of them for the price of glowstone.
So, is it because the glowstone doesn't get used up like a candle, so you never need to buy more? Or because there's no fire involved, which makes it safer than a candle?
No no no no, none of that can be right. Glowstone is so valuable countries have gone to war over it. I may not understand how nobles think, but you don't fight massive wars over better candles. That would be insane. "There has to be more to it..." I grumble, scratching at the side of my head. But nothing is immediately coming to me.
"Well, it's about time you got back anyway," Reena reminds me. "Just think about it. And you're welcome to ask more questions whenever you want. I'll... try to answer them... If I can." That doesn't exactly make me confident... I catch Reena's guilty sigh and realize a moment late that she totally heard that thought. Ugh, this is what it's like being on the other end of soul telepathy...
"A-ah, no, it's fine," I try to assure her quickly. She just waves it off for now, and reminds me to get going. "Sure." I take another glance at the papers in my hands, since I didn't quite read through all of them yet. I'll have to do that the next time I come back. I quickly clean up and put everything neatly back on the table.
"Mm," I hum, and double check the items after putting them back, taking a few moments to memorize how they look. I should be able to tell if they move around at all next time. Somehow, it feels strange to me that no one seems to use this room at all, for months at a time. "Well, I guess if it's only used for manastone stuff..." I mumble while trotting over to the spot where the hidden door to the entrance should be.
Pushing on the wall, I have to move back and forth a bit before I find the exact spot, where the door swings inward at my touch. In the tiny little connecting room, I say a brief thanks and goodbye to Reena, then let my mark fade.
Trying to be careful, I put an ear to the wall and listen the best I can. I think I hear the handlers' voices. Maybe they're calling us into formation. I gulp. Reena was right, I have to get back. I grope along the wall for the little indent, the spot that feels like it's made for putting a tiny mana crystal in, until I find it.
I ready myself. In one movement, I push a bit of mana through the connection in the wall, and step forward, just as the door slides aside. Not a moment later, its near-silent swish back very nearly catches me in the side before I'm past. Woah, I guess if I use a smaller amount of mana, it closes faster-
My thoughts halt when I realize that there isn't a whole crowd of rail units on the other side of the door. They're off to my left, still standing in the huge doorway that connects the entrance and the long hall. Between me and them, a line of handlers stand. They're looking away from me, at the crowd of rail units, and they're speaking loudly.
"It can't be that difficult!" Wait, I recognize that voice. It's, uhh...
Looking at the handler speaking, I watch him turn, remembering who it is at the same time I catch sight of his face from the side. Kurt Ordlyn. I don't know what to do, so I stick with the most rail unit thing I can possibly think of: nothing.
I simply stand in place and watch the men for a bit as the Kurt continues shouting at the other handlers for being incompetent. After a few long moments, I do think to move away from the wall where the door is, standing right near the center of the large entrance room instead. I don't want them thinking I've been up to anything...
"But sir," one of the handlers speaks up, "it was definitely here before. And we checked everywhere already. There's nowhere else it could be!"
"Maybe you missed it," Kurt growls. "I did not wait two months to be told that you idiots can't even use your eyes." Then he suddenly shouts louder. "Rail units! Where was the last place you saw unit 1A?" I barely suppress a jolt. He's looking for me?!
Of course, a dozen rail units in the front point straight at me when he asks. I am standing directly in front of them in plain sight, after all. He takes one look, then spins around, face utterly bewildered when he finds me standing right behind him, in the middle of the empty room.
He flings a hand out in my direction, but addresses the other handlers again. "How on Loqa did you miss that?!"
I do my absolute best blank stare, not letting any reaction show as the whole group of handlers turns my way, just like Kurt. For all they hid their expressions while we were growing up to keep us from learning about emotions, they're really bad at it once anything out of the ordinary happens...
Those thoughts are pushed away when Kurt stomps up to me. "Unit 1A," he addresses me. I don't respond of course, except by looking way up at him. He speaks in a low voice. "I told you to report to me when we met next, to tell me what Quint Varish wanted you for. I didn't expect it to take two months," he growls through his teeth.
Uhh...- Oh! That's right, he did command me to do that! I'd completely forgotten about that! My mind starts to spin. What do I tell him? After that long delay for me to bring back to mind what he's talking about, I give a flat, "I remember," in response.
"So, tell me," Kurt commands.
Of course, I'm still reeling. Varish wants to buy me. As some kind of servant? Do I explain? Do I lie? No, I can't even lie when I'm pretending to be human, what if I mess up and show emotion in front of him? But I can't delay any longer or it'll be suspicious.
"He wants to make me a concubine."
"He WHAT?!"