It hadn’t taken long for Sebastian to turn everyone’s attention back to work, and he was busily running through Gerand’s ideas and haphazard blueprints by the time Jake finished assembling his new arm and showed up. “Flight just isn’t going to be feasible for something constructed out of such a heavy material. The energy usage would drain it in moments when you take into account that every movement would also burn up energy. Even standing in some positions would probably drain it faster than it charges. What I was thinking we could do instead of fully feathered and fleshed out wings like Gerand was proposing is a retractable skeletal structure. We have room, since it doesn’t need organs, and if we made the tips blades or sharpened spikes they could serve as an addtional weapon as well as something that can be used as a brace for stability or balance. They would also be a complete surprise to anyone that hasn’t already seen them if they could completely retract.
“Oh, hey Jake, are you done? What did those guys give me before I woke up? I didn’t even realize how weird everything was until a little bit ago, and my mind still feels sort of fuzzy. My arm hurts again too, but I think I’ll pass on getting more of whatever it was. We were just going over everything and working out a plan.” Sebastian turned back to Jasper. “Is that enough to get you guys going again? I doubt we will be making any other changes, so once the wings are sketched out you guys should just try to finish it before Gerand gets any more bright ideas that make me want to change it again.” He gave Jasper a friendly pat on the shoulder, which was awkward because he wasn’t normally the touching type, and smirked as Jasper’s face spasmed through an odd mix of irritation, outrage, disgust, and horror. Sebastian was fairly sure a couple of those were sparked by his casual approach to Jake’s presence though.
Jake was definitely fighting off a smile as he held up the assembled arm. “Just finished the final touches… unless you want me to dye it pink for you? No? A shame really, it might keep you from losing it. Oh, well,” He heaved a great big sigh, “I suppose we should get it attached so you can show us all how you plan on making the damned thing work.” He carefully guided the prosthetic onto the socket and twisted it until it latched. “Okay, I showed you the other clasps before, but this here is the one that will keep it from twisting and detaching itself accidentally.” He gripped the uppermost portion of the prosthetic arm and Sebastian was surprised to find that it actually slid upwards a bit before it twisted in the opposite direction from the arm itself for a short distance before latching with a firm click.
Jake indicated a couple slight indentations on the ring that had moved. “To release it you have to press on these two spots to release the catch, and you will probably have to put more strength into twisting it that you might expect. It is meant to be a little stiff in the event that the catch is accidentally released. Trust me, you don’t want your arm to come off anytime you aren’t deliberately trying to take it off.” He took a few steps back and folded his arms, waiting patiently for Sebastian to do an inspection.
The entire thing appeared to have been made out of slightly different variations on the mithril alloy. Where the bones had been a brightly shining silvery white color with a faint bluish tint to them, the cables had a darker, more greyish tint to them. They were also mostly hidden behind an interesting array of fairly thick plates that had been textured somehow to make them both easier to grip, and considerably less reflective. The plates extended all the way down the hands to the very tips of the fingers, growing thinner and more delicate as they went. For the most part they were stationary, as though they had been attached to the bones themselves and not the cables, but at the joints they had been designed to flex and move smoothly. It was actually just small gaps at the joints that the cables were at all visible. Sebastian was awestruck, the sheer level of craftsmanship that had gone into the arm was well beyond what his wildest imagination would have considered possible. Particularly considering the time frame that it had been built in.
Jasper snorted in disbelief. “So you didn’t even bother to get a useful arm? Sure, it looks nice and all, but you don’t have a way to move the thing, and it’s probably twice as heavy as your other arm. Which means it’s gonna throw off your balance on top of being useless for anything other than drawing attention.”
Sebastian shrugged, then winced as the weight of the arm tugged against the socket embedded in his arm. Sure enough, the damned thing was at least twice the weight of his other arm. “It’s fine. Although in retrospect I think we should have waited to assemble it until I could put an enchantment on all the pieces separately, I don’t know if I can do it all at once without messing something up.”
Jasper quirked an eyebrow at him. “Enchantment?”
Sebastian ignored Jake’s irritated glare and started to shift his focus to the enchantments the arm would need. No, Father. You must let go. Like you did the first time. Give your magic to your enchantment with only the desire to claim this arm as your own. It’s the only way to fix yourself.
Sebastian groaned. “What do you mean just let go? I might explode if I do that! Are you sure it will work? What if I do it and still keep having problems with my magic going out of control?”
Soothing warmth flowed up his arm. It will be alright Father, I don’t know how I know, but I am certain this is the only way. Sebastian glanced around, noticing that all three of the dwarves had taken a few steps away from him. He smiled at them, certain he both looked and sounded unhinged. As that thought crossed his mind he realized it might not actually be wrong. He was hearing a voice in his head, and that episode this morning that he only vaguely remembered as a bunch of screaming, and the color purple for some reason, was solid evidence that he was going insane. He decided that he might as well run with it. His arm ached and he was starting to get a massive headache from the constant siphoning of his mana, if he exploded, well, at least it wouldn’t hurt anymore.
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“Alright, the voice in my head promises that everything will be okay if I just go ahead and do it all at once, so here’s hoping it isn’t trying to trick me into turning myself into a rat or explode.” He was about to start pumping mana into his body enchantment, but two things stopped him. First, he didn’t really have much in the way of mana right now due to it being siphoned away, and the second was that he was still standing in a room that was probably uncomfortably close to the heart of a volcano. If something did go wrong, this was the last place he wanted to be standing. “Uh, we should probably not be in the forge when I do this. Can we go back to the room I was in when I woke up? Or wherever you have the others staying?”
Jake nodded. “Certainly, the doctors are probably wanting to look you over again by now anyways, so we should go there. Do you two want to accompany us and watch? If it is anything like when he enchanted my hammer it will just glow a bit before suddenly doing impossible things.”
Jasper snorted. “Like I’m going to miss seeing him try to make that arm work like a normal arm?” Gerand just nodded his head, practically bouncing with excitement.
They headed back across the Forge and out the way they came in. Sebastian sighed in relief when the doors closed behind them and the noise level dropped to a dull roar. The walk back was considerably faster this time, since Sebastian wasn’t stopping to gawk at all the piping and gears that connected to practically everything in sight. It wasn’t that he was any less interested in it all, it was more that his new arm was heavy and awkward, and he wanted to be able to put the sphere down so he could actually work on things instead of poke at them awkwardly with the one or two fingers he could spare at the moment.
The dwarven city was an impossible miracle of science from his perspective. Everything was powered by the steam turbines Jake had mentioned, and the city was filled to the brim with gadgets that made their lives easier. The lights were the most interesting though, the city was brilliantly lit by a lichen that glowed in an assortment of colors. The dwarves grew it almost everywhere, and it served the dual purpose of providing light and oxygen, keeping the air fresh and sweet scented. The majority of it was an off-white color that was remarkably close to what Sebastian would expect from regular daylight, with the other colors used as decorations.
Still, they made their way back to the hospital, or so Jake called it, quickly. Once there, Sebastian was subjected to a battery of questions and inspections from a group of dwarves that were definitely irritated with the prince for taking their patient from them. When they were finally done, Sebastian found himself sitting on the bed he had woken up on, a bit nervous. The enchantment that was woven throughout his body was very much unstable, and he wasn’t really sure he would survive this. He took a couple deep breaths and steeled his resolve though. He may not be sure about how this would end, but he didn’t have any doubts about what would happen if he did nothing. Eventually he would lose control and die, possible taking everyone nearby with him when he went.
“Okay, I’m going to start I guess. Are you guys sure you want to be here? If something goes wrong… well it could be very bad for anyone close to me. Maybe even anyone in the building, cave, cave building? The way you guys have carved a city into all these stalagmites and stalactites is fascinating.” He shook his head. “Distracted myself again, alright here goes nothing. Can you give me back the mana you’ve been taking if I don’t have enough?”
Yes Father, relax, all will be well again soon. Sebastian nodded and closed his eyes. He flooded mana into his flesh the way he had the last time, clearing his mind of all thoughts other than the desire to make the new arm a part of himself. He felt a flood of energy pour up his arm at the same time as the sphere in his hand pushed yet more mana into his system. Pure chaos flooded through his mind and body, iridescent light poured from his skin in fluid waves as his senses went haywire. He could taste copper and iron in the back of his throat, he could smell purple, he saw silvery clouds in the shape of short people rapidly backing away from him. The velvet caress of an impossible breeze rippled across his skin. Yet through it all his mind clung to a singular thought, ignoring the mind warping impossibilities that assaulted his senses. This is my arm. This is my arm! Mine!
Suddenly, after what felt like an eternity, the chaos simply vanished as though it had never been there in the first place. Sebastian opened his eyes slowly. His entire system still thrummed with power, and his eyes were blazing swirls of chaotic light. He marvelled at the swirling energies around him. It ebbed and flowed like the waves of an ocean, and when his gaze fell on the dwarves he watched as it splashed off of them as though they were the rocks on the shore. He glanced down at himself, and saw that the thin intricate filigree of lines that coated his skin had shifted again. They had become thicker and many had merged together, the impossible to follow patterns had become simpler, now looking more like a style of tattoo he had seen on a merchant once. The magic they contained had definitely not gotten simpler though. Only stronger.
Jake and Jasper looked shocked and more than a little afraid, while Gerand was practically vibrating he was so excited. Sebastian lifted his arms and stretched, a slow smile spreading across his face as he realized the new arm felt exactly like his original one had, no longer heavy or awkward. Jasper started to sputter in disbelief as Sebastian clenched his hand into a fist, then let it go and shook his hand while wiggling his fingers. “It’s perfect!” he declared, and he stood up, eager to test it more. A sudden wave of dizziness hit him, and he staggered a bit, catching himself on a nearby chair. The back of it splintered in the grip of his new hand, and he winced. “Er, sorry? I guess I don’t know my own strength yet? Wait… I can feel it! I can feel the wood!” He slapped at his forearm with his left hand and his smile got even wider. “It didn’t hurt, but I can feel with it! This is amazing! Wait… where do you get your wood from if you don’t go to the surface?”