All of the stone and metal work was done and the only major construction project remaining on the sect house was the dome. Several large sheets of curved glass would be fused into one piece and strengthened with mana. They had commissioned the glasswork at the very start of the building process, by John’s recommendation, and had taken delivery the prior week. Laurel had been meticulously etching runes for the enchantment and smoothing out flaws ever since. The glassmakers had gotten quite a bit of business from the burgeoning sect, as the new building had been constructed to allow for as much natural light as possible. Unsurprising from the remnants of somewhere called the Sun Mountain. As such they had done their utmost to match the specifications given on the pieces that would form the dome. Unfortunately, with mundane methods it was ultimately impossible to avoid a few deviations from the measurements needed. John had hesitantly pointed these out to Laurel as they carefully arranged the pieces in the temporary wooden scaffolding constructed for the purpose. Laurel had in turn assured him that since she intended to cheat shamelessly by infusing the whole construct with mana and intent from the City Core blueprints, it would all work out in the end.
Laurel balanced on a small platform on top of the scaffolding, just beneath the crown of the dome. Peering out between the supports, she could see they had amassed a larger crowd than usual. Their reputation in the city was about to change in a big way. The rumors of a magic building would be flying up the hill as soon as the spectacle got underway, Annette would be thrilled. She took a moment to offer up some thoughts to the wider cosmos, for the sect members that had already moved on, for those that didn’t survive the fall, and for Borin, their most recent fallen member. From the depths of her memory she pulled up everything Farin had ever told her about his crafting hobbies, then it was time to begin.
As Laurel closed her eyes and spread her arms out to either side, golden light trailed off her fingertips and towards the glass. One by one, each of the thousands of glyphs she had etched began to glow as the mana poured into the glass. Sweat dripped down Laurel’s brow, but she didn’t dare move to wipe it away. The blueprints from the City Core gave her a focus for the obscene amounts of mana she was channeling, but even with that assistance the delicacy was almost beyond her. It was taking every ounce of focus she possessed to keep control over the tendrils of mana as they split, and split again, like veins carrying life to every section of the glass. If she allowed too much in too fast, the entire thing would shatter outward. Too little, and the pieces would fail to fuse, and likely crack to the point of ruining the engraving.
Time slowed down. The only thing Laurel could sense was the ambient mana flows, and the only thought in her head was ‘don't let go’. It could have been minutes or days that she immersed herself into the enchanting process. Right when she was sure she would explode or pass out, she felt the dome ‘click’ into place. She took a shaking breath as she ever so slowly eased her full awareness back into her physical body. Hesitantly she opened her eyes to see the result.
“Fuck. I can’t believe it worked”. What had been a dozen sheets of imperfect glass resting on temporary scaffolding was now a crystal clear, perfect hemisphere that had fused into the stone of the roof. Laurel cracked a smile and laughed. The power of the enchantments was humming at the edge of her perception. Defensive formations, far sight, temperature control options, and a host of other features would be accessible from the room below.
As Laurel returned to equilibrium she heard cheering from the crowd outside. Good to hear the locals appreciated the success, as well as the overtly magical show. She climbed down from the scaffolding to see Annette and Adam beaming.
“We did it.” Adam announced, slowly turning in a circle. “It seems impossible but we’ve really built something here.”
Annette smiled in agreement. “And now it's time to make it something to be proud of.” She started pulling fabric out of her bag. “When we go out to meet everyone, it should be as members of the Eternal Archive. Put these on''. Laurel felt tears well up when she unfolded the fabric and saw the emblem of her sect embroidered in silver on the back of one of the loose shirts she preferred. It had been over a year since she woke up alone in a forgotten dungeon. Now she had a reborn sect, new friends, and all the freedom and responsibility of leading them into the future.
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They quickly changed and walked back out of the building to a renewed cheer from the denizens of the flats. The light show had attracted an even larger audience than she’d first realized. Laurel jumped on top of a discarded wooden box and sent a twist of mana into the air to make sure her words carried out to the crowd.
“Thank you, thank you! It is my privilege and great pleasure to announce the revival of the Eternal Archive. We are an organization of cultivators, which you might know as sorcerers or witches, committed to the preservation of the knowledge and history of the people of Decorra.“ The short speech was met with more cheers. Laurel was certain most of this was going over the crowd’s head, and they were mostly cheering the atmosphere. She could live with that for now. “Now that our citadel has been built,” another pause for cheering, “we are looking for students. Anyone interested may inquire from noon to 18th bell, First, Third, and Fifthday each week for the next month. We will also be looking for mortal staff. Healing hours will be noon to 15th bell on Fourthdays. Now let's celebrate! Food and ale are available for all in the adjoining field, provided by the Rifle and Crown.” This was met with the largest cheer yet as the crowd dispersed around the field to enjoy the refreshments.
The Skycrests approached Laurel as she was talking with John, insisting that he and the crew stay and join the party as guests of honor. “Masterful move with the snacks for the crowd, dear” Theresa complimented.
“Thank you, but that was all Annette. She thought we might have a crowd to mark the occasion and she was more than right,” Laurel said.
They chatted for a few minutes before wandering off to get drinks. A few enterprising souls had brought out instruments, and the day was taking on the air of an impromptu festival. Annette and Adam were proudly showing off their uniforms and answering questions to those in the crowd who were curious about how a magic school would work. The rest of the Radas had shown up in force, including the elusive John, Annette’s brother who must have been on shore leave. Even Leander was gathering an audience. Annette had given him a uniform as well, though of less fine material, more suited to children. He was proudly responding to questions from some of their usual onlookers.
Eventually the nibbles ran out and the party wound down. Observers drifted back into the city and their normal lives. The building was still bare bones, and the deliveries Annette had spent so long arranging would begin arriving in the next week. Beds were more comfortable than bare stone, so even Annette, Adam, and Leander left, with the anticipation of new beginnings on the morrow.
Laurel would stay and cultivate overnight, both as security, and to finish the last task she had for the building. A City Core was mostly a metaphysical construct, not something you could actually touch. But as the amount and turbulence of the ambient mana increased, so too did the need for a physical location to act as a focus and anchor. Laurel had been compensating for this with her daily cultivation, but that was just a bandage and not a long-term solution. It was time to do things properly. She returned to the rotunda on the top floor, directly under the center of the dome. John, in his usual quiet way, had ensured his team removed the wooden scaffolding while the party was going on, leaving the room empty but for bare stone and moonlight filtering in from above.
For the second time that day, Laurel reached her spirit into the City Core. This time, she encouraged the mana to concentrate directly in front of her instead of flowing away. As more mana built up, a structure began to take shape. Once more, Laurel felt things snap into place. The mana solidified into a solid crystal pedestal coming up a bit past her waist. Golden light flowed up and down in thin streams from where it merged with the stone. A rainbow of other colors appeared in tiny motes that spiraled around the gold strands. The top was a smooth sheet of crystal, embedded with a top-down view of the city and surrounding countryside, etched out in gold, blue and green. It was still not fully mature. Classically, this stage would be what turned her settlement into a Village, with more work needed to reach the status of Town, City, and beyond. But in time this would help map out the infrastructure of the city, aid in defense, and act as a way to send and receive messages to other City Cores. Moreover it was a promise to the people of the city, even if none of them knew it. She was here, and she would stay, protecting the Core, and bringing them wonders even modern technology couldn’t dream of.
Before settling in for the night, she approached the west wall. Annette could decorate the rest of the building, but this wall would remain bare. An opportunity for the members of the sect to honor those that went before, into the wider cosmos or passing beyond the veil. The building still thrummed with mana and possibilities. With little effort, she forced her will into the stone of the wall, watching as it flowed like sand to form a small alcove. A vial filled with ashes appeared in her hand, which she placed inside. Another flick of her will and the stone flowed back, this time with a single name etched in a light hand. Borin had suffered for her mistakes, and Laurel would not do him the dishonor of hiding that fact. Satisfied, she pulled out some pillows and found a comfortable corner to meditate in, bathed in the moonlight and the glow from the pedestal.
She would rest and recover from what had been one of the most tiring days she’d had since she awakened, and figure out the rest tomorrow.