Kala seemed a little nonplussed by my admission. “Is that really a bad thing? I mean, if you can create something that can end the war, why wouldn’t you?”
At first, I was going to respond to her with exasperation, but then I realized that her ignorance was solely my fault. “Right, you wouldn’t understand the scope of what it is I'm talking about. Let me try to put it into perspective for you. My people don’t have magic, so we got creative with everything we did, and that extended to warfare. We have technologies and concepts so devastating that we can level cities the size of this one like it was child’s play. There would be nothing but rubble left. While I admit that I’m not an expert in the application of military technologies, I know enough that anything that I make could do some serious damage.” Explosions were mostly chemistry and physics after all, the engineering side could be bypassed with the application of the crystals.
Kala seemed to be taking it more seriously now, but she still had a questioning look on her face. “Okay, I can understand why you might be hesitant to use it if it’s that destructive, but still, as long as you’re careful with it, then it should be fine, right?”
I shook my head. “That’s the thing with weapons, it won’t stop with just this. Let me put it in a scenario so you can understand what I'm talking about. Imagine there are two people who hate one another and want to kill each other. One of them makes himself a sword to attack his rival. His rival sees this, and needs a way to survive it, so what does he do?”
“Make armor?” she asks.
I nod. “Yes, and now the rival who made the sword sees this and needs a way to get through the armor, so, he makes himself a crossbow to pierce it. The other man sees the crossbow and makes something to block the bolt, creating a shield. Now with the shield in play, they have to create something that can nullify their defense, and thus come up with a ballista. The ballista needs to be destroyed, so the other makes a catapult. The catapult is a problem, so they make a trebuchet to outrange it. Do you see where I'm going with this?”
Understanding slowly creeps onto her features. “So, you’re saying...”
“If I unleash something truly devastating upon this world, someone will either try to make something comparable, or better than it in order to counter whatever I make. Even if it takes them a while, just seeing what I do can get them thinking, experimenting, and ultimately making something that could end up as a mistake. Not to mention the possibility that they tamper with things they don’t properly understand and end up destroying something that they didn’t intend to.”
It seemed like she was finally able to grasp the full extent of the situation, even bishop Yolder who was listening in appeared to understand. “I see.” Kala began. “Then, what are you going to do?”
I sighed. “I’m not sure. It seems like the only way to get Larvell to support me, but if I'm going to do this, then it needs to be done very carefully.”
“I concur,” Yolder stated firmly. “Once a weapon is made, it is always used. Even if by some miracle it only sees the light of day one time, that single instance could be disastrous if what you claim is true.”
“It is, more so than you might even be imagining right now.” In fact, I didn’t even know what the extent of the damage I could do was. A simple explosion would be easy enough, but that would be limited by the energy output of the medium, in this case, the crystals. If I got creative, though, there could be some very evil inventions. Lasers could be possible by bending or directing light into concentrated beams. Vaporizing water in a certain area, like the water inside your body, could result in massive casualties depending on the effective radius. I might have been able to even create and focus radiation, but that could have lasting damage to an area, so it probably wasn’t a healthy choice.
That last thought made me consider something for a second. Wait, could I split a fucking atom using magic? Sudden dread sprang up inside me with that implication. Unleashing nuclear devastation on this society of swords and bows would flip the world on its head. I recalled that I touched on the subject of atoms with Kala once before when we first met and was thankful that A, she seemed to be skeptical about it, B, it was a while ago at this point so she may have forgotten, and C, she wasn’t inclined to produce weapons or even perpetuate violence. From now on, all knowledge about atomics is under heavy lock and key. This world wasn’t ready for it.
Yolder finally responded to me after there was a moment of contemplation on everyone’s part. “Whatever you choose to do, or create, please do so with the utmost of care.”
I nodded. “You can have my word on that at the very least. I will be sure to spend some time properly considering all my options and ideas. Hopefully, something will come to mind that won’t completely upheave the power dynamics of the world.”
“I appreciate your consideration, Lord James. Too many in your situation would simply create the weapon and not care about the consequences that may come from it.”
“Yeah, but before I can even start the creation of one, I need to get access to some crystals that are larger than your average batch. Maybe Evixus can facilitate, or at least point me in the right direction?” I was mostly talking to myself, but Yolder still replied.
“Well, I'm not one to advise on matter of military concern, so I'll stay out of your business in this regard. Still, I hope that you find the best path forward and I will pray for your success.”
Yeah, you don’t need to do that. The less the bitch is involved in all this the better. What came out of my mouth was a little more diplomatic. “Thank you for your support. If there’s nothing else, then I suppose we will leave you to your work and be on our way.”
Everyone appeared to agree with that plan, and we said some quick farewells before making our exit. I needed something to distract myself from the looming task in front of me, so I engaged Kala in a brief report on her time in the church.
“So, how did things go on your end? I hope Yolder didn’t give you too much trouble.”
She shook her head. “No, Yolder was great. He was kind, warm, considerate, honestly everything I would imagine a grandparent to be. His assistant, Adder, though, was another story. When I told him who I was representing, he immediately became cold, dismissive even. Honestly, I could feel the disdain from him at times. It was annoying, and I wanted to claw his face by the time I was done trying to talk to him.”
I rubbed the back of my head a little. “Yeah, that might have been my fault, at least somewhat. He didn’t like how I was negotiating with the bishop for support and even questioned the validity of whether I was actually the goddesses chosen or not. I respect him for having the spine to be openly skeptical about me, but he does need to calm down a bit though. He can be hostile towards me all he wants, but if he tries getting confrontational with you, then I will pluck one of those horns out of his skull.”
Kala chuckled and then leaned her head on my shoulder while still walking. “I love you too, but you don’t have to worry about me so much. I’m a big girl, I can deal with some angry people every now and then. You just focus on what you need to do.”
I hummed and tilted my own head to lay against hers. “I’ll try, but you are, and always will be, my first priority.” Her happy smile didn’t escape my notice, and we continued to walk closely with one another until we reached our lodging again.
Once we got there, I sought out Evixus to ask if he could help with acquiring a larger crystal. The proper looking butler considered my request for a moment before answering. “I think that will be a little outside of my allowed limit of items I can simply provide to you. However, I can get you in contact with a provider through which you can negotiate a deal for such a crystal if you wish.”
“That should work just fine, thank you. If we can meet today that will be best, and if not, then please try to stress the importance of this deal with them so we can meet at the earliest possible time.”
“Of course, sir, I will do my best to expedite the process for you.” With that, the man made to exit, but I stopped him with a quick question.
“Before you go, does this building have a private room for meetings? I need to have a quiet conversation.”
“Of course, there’s a room set aside not far from the dining hall. If you keep moving past it, it will be the double doors on the left side.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure, sir.” He dipped his head before turning and leaving to fulfill my first request.
After Evixus disappeared me and my group made our way towards the meeting room. It was easy enough to find as one of the few rooms in the building that had a double door. As we arrived, Kala posed a question.
“Why did you need the meeting room? Did you arrange to talk with someone later?”
“No, this is for us, all of us.” I said while looking at the entire group behind me. “Just needed a private space to have a candid conversation without being dragged for my lack of social decorum.” I pushed the door open and made a gesture inside. “Everyone, please come in and get comfortable.”
After they all walked past me and into the meeting room, I closed the door behind us and had a quick look around. The main piece of the room was a large and expensive looking table that had a dozen seats around it and was topped with a few candelabras that weren’t currently sporting any lit candles. One the far left of the room was a big stone fireplace that was also unlit right now though could probably keep the room toasty even in the dead of winter. It didn’t matter if they were lit right now because we weren’t going to be here long enough for it to make a difference.
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Everyone took a seat and got comfortable. Of course, Kala was beside me, but everyone else was nearby as we took up a good portion of the table. It was nice to sit down with everyone again, but this was meant to be a serious conversation, and my look reflected that as everyone paid attention to me.
“You all were present during the conversation I had with Kala and the bishop, and you know that I'm thinking about making a weapon. This is a decision that will affect not only myself, but most likely steer the direction of conflict in the world for the future. Jorn and Otar will be particularly affected as they have stated their desire to remain in the service even after the war ends. There’s a good chance that whatever I make may come back in another form and be used again, possibly against us next time. So, the question is, as soldiers, do you think I should do this?”
Everyone sat around with appropriately contemplative looks on their faces. They had heard of the stakes before, the amount of damage that could potentially be done. I let them think for as long as they needed. I wasn’t in a rush to start this project, and it was quite a heavy topic. Eventually, it was Hargon who spoke first.
“To be honest, it makes me nervous. When you spoke of destruction enough to level a city, I kept imagining what happened to the tower at Yol’vastume after you sabotaged the crystal. If you are capable of making that a common occurrence, then every battle will see casualties in numbers that will make any war before then appear as a small skirmish. However, I know you, James, and the last thing you want is to make that a reality. You’ve gone out of your way to conserve lives even if taking them was easier. I trust that whatever you end up making, it will be restrained enough as to not cause destruction on such a scale.”
The brothers nodded along as Otar said what was likely both of their opinions. “Agreed, there’s no reason to not trust James with this. Besides, we need every advantage we can get in this fight, and I'm sure that whatever you end up making is going to be awesome to see.” Both of them were grinning widely at me, completely flipping the mood.
“I’m not adverse to taking a gamble.” Ulthises started only for Jorn to interrupt.
“Really? Wow, we totally didn’t know that.”
“Oh, shut up and let me speak!” There were a few snickers here and there, but they remained quiet after that. “Anyway, while this might be a gamble, I say the odds are in our favor, not to mention the payout is an end to the war, which will likely mean that any further fighting will be small in scale if it happens at all. Anything negative that might come from your weapon will be heavily outweighed by the benefits peace will bring.”
“Well said, Ulthises.” Holdrem complimented. “The goddess would not choose someone so inept as to sow chaos through the world with intention. We must trust in her design, and by extension, our friend who has exemplified the aspects that a champion should show; bravery, compassion, and mercy being a few of them.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I swear Holdrem, you’re doing it on purpose now. Just because I was plucked from my world and set on a mission in this one doesn’t make me some paragon of virtue. Besides, you’re all braver than I am. Death doesn’t mean nearly the same thing to me as it does to you.”
Holdrem held up a finger. “Ahh, but that’s where you’re wrong. While the results may be different in your case, we too shall be reborn in the cycle, just not as directly as you are.”
“Alright, alright, enough, we’re getting off topic.” I tried to steer us back towards the matter at hand and thankfully Holdrem yielded the tangent as Velian was the last to voice his opinion.
“Frankly, I don’t care much about the consequences. If it will bloody the Thrainain’s nose and end the war sooner, I say go for it. We can deal with everything else when we aren’t fighting for our lives.”
I wasn’t really a big fan of the damn the consequences approach, but if he wasn’t opposed to me doing it then that was fine. “Alright, so no one has any objection to me creating this weapon?” All of them affirmed as much with a few head nods. Conflicting feelings warred within me. “I’m honestly not sure if I should be happy or not that you are all being supportive of me. Part of me wishes that you might have given me a reason not to do it.” I let out a sigh. “Well, that’s that then. No more pushing it aside. Let’s get this done.”
With this meeting adjourned, we exited the room and spent some time simply relaxing in the lounge thinking until Evixus returned. It took quite a while, at least an hour by my reckoning, before he returned.
“Forgive my tardiness, Lord James, but I am pleased to report that the proprietor of the mining business, upon hearing that it was you who requested their services, rushed to put together a cart with a collection of their goods for you to see. They appeared to be quite eager to please, so perhaps you might get a favorable deal.”
“That’s great to hear. Thank you for your assistance, Evixus. I hope I can count on you in the future should I have need of it.”
“Naturally, sir. It is my duty to serve. I wish you luck in your negotiations.” With a quick bow the man proceeded to remove himself from the situation now that his task was done. I readily admit that having someone like him at my beck and call was handy, but I hoped I didn’t grow to be overly reliant on such services in the future.
Putting aside my admiration of his services, it was time to see what this merchant had in store for me. When we exited the front door there was a large cart out front with a Droln waiting beside it. He was a bit smaller than some of the Droln that I had seen, not as intimidating physically. Perhaps that had to do with his chosen career path. The still large individual perked up when he saw me and took a few steps forwards before dipping his head and introducing himself.
“Greetings, Lord James, it is an honor to be able to make your acquaintance and I’d like to say just how much of a privilege it is to be providing my services to you.”
This was a greeting that I was becoming disturbingly familiar with. Sometimes it seemed that people traveled from near and far just for the chance to kiss my ass. Pushing down my near constant feelings of distaste, I moved on with the greeting.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice. I appreciate your expediency, but I think I missed your name.”
“Of course, I apologize for my rudeness. My name is Corven, my lord. I am at your disposal.”
“Well then, let’s see what you have for me.”
“Certainly, right this way.” Corven moved quickly to the back of his cart where he dropped the back gate and proceeded to pull out several boxes one by one. They all hit the ground with some weight behind them, betraying the contents as the heavy crystals that I was in search of. After he had four crates lined up, he pulled the lid off one of them, revealing the glowing insides of a plethora of crystals that shimmered with power.
“I made sure to select the larger crystals that we had in stock as you requested. If these are inadequate for your needs, I may be able to source a few more that are bigger still, but they are in short supply.”
I checked what he was offering by reaching in and extracting a crystal from the pile. The one I removed appeared to be about as long as my forearm and twice as thick. It was certainly a good size, and a lot could be done with it, but just to be safe, I looked for some that were larger.
While I continued to dig through the various crystalline formations Corven watched on with eager, if somewhat nervous, expressions. This was probably a big deal for him, and I bet that if I did end up buying something he would use that as a sales point for any further business he might do. It seemed it was his lucky day, because with a bit of heft I managed to pull a crystal the size of my whole arm and just a bit wider from the pile.
The glowing mineral was flipped and scrutinized from various angles. Its geometrical form had barely even a scuff on its surface. It was perfect for my needs. Big enough to carry, but not so heavy as to impede me seriously while having enough space for many different runes to be placed upon its surface. Magical strength does come in handy sometimes.
With my selection made, I turned back to the merchant. “If you have a few more around this size and quality, I will take them.” It wouldn’t hurt to have backups just in case.
After a bit of searching, three more crystals of similar size and shape were collected and presented to me. With my selection made, the haggling commenced, and while he did seem eager for the deal to go through, he wasn’t about to let me practically steal the rather expensive crystals from him. Some back and forth and a few gold coins later saw me becoming the new owner of some rather large magic minerals.
Everyone was satisfied with the outcome, and I had my friends help me carry the crystals back to my room. I tried to help as well, but they took over, quite insistently. It became clear why with some thought. Lords don’t do physical labor, at least not in the open. I just sighed and let them carry on. Appearances are a pain to maintain.
Once everything was back in my room, I was now left with the weight of my task. You’d think that with all the examples that were given, all the knowledge that I could use to create something, that it would have been simply a process of elimination. In truth, my mind went blank. I spent the longest time staring at the shimmering surface, a frankly beautiful natural resource, and it was destined to be twisted into a tool of mass destruction.
Maybe it can be something tame? I began to think of my little self-defense project that I did on the way here. It was simple and capable of disorienting a group, but the only problem was it needed the element of surprise to be the most effective. I doubted Larvell would be satisfied with that.
If I tried something too advanced like lasers, that would steer this world in the wrong direction. The killing potential of crystals would then far outweigh any defensive options they could come up with for a long time. In the end the result would be armies fighting fire with fire, sort of like how warfare in my world changed drastically with the invention of firearms.
Explosions? Too wasteful, crystals aren’t cheap. Creating vacuums? Deadly maybe for traps, but they could be avoided, not to mention deadly for allies who got too close to the invisible radius. Maybe I could reverse gravit- NO, no, don’t mess with physics. The last thing I need is to accidentally create a black hole or some other nightmarish lovechild of magic and fundamental aspects of the universe.
I buried my face in my hands, wondering just how I was going to do this while not being the cause of an apocalyptic chain of events. This had to be something familiar to the world, yet repurposed or empowered to the point where it can be used as a weapon. I wracked my brain for just a hint of an idea, calling upon everything that I knew of this world to find something that fit.
The basic elements were already accounted for and able to be defended against. Making them stronger, like adding additional elements to fire, might yield some results, but it wasn’t likely to inspire the same amount of awe that something new would. Was there some aspect out of the ordinary that could be used?
My mind turned towards the Warden and their control over plants. It seemed like a powerful skill in the right circumstances, but one that was entirely dependent on the environment around the battlefield. There had to be something that I was overlooking, I could feel it, like a tickle in the back of my mind. I went further back into my memories, trying to dig up a hint.
I crawled backwards through time in my mind. This introspection of my own history led me to a realization that my life in this world was progressively improving the more time I spent in it. It was rather depressing to think of what my life was like when I first came here, and it became even worse when I reached the point of my stay in the Thrainian capital of Fulvrist under the ‘hospitality’ of Alathos.
While I didn’t want to relive my time in that dungeon, a moment near the end of my stay did strike me, ironically, like a bolt of lightning. I latched onto it, and tried to pick it apart to see if it would work. It was made by someone else already, meaning that they were experimenting with such things already, so it wouldn’t be more than maybe a decade or two before it would be in the open. If I chose this, then the only thing I would really feel bad about was taking the invention away from someone else who by all accounts earned it. Maybe I could make it up to them later.
For now, I would take this bit of inspiration and work the requested ‘miracle’ out of it. I returned to the crystal with newfound determination. This was close enough to the realm of the arcane that it wouldn’t completely shatter the current dynamic of the world, and it was powerful enough to neutralize a large swath of any army if used properly. This wasn’t even to mention the awe it could inspire as many saw the event in the sky as the workings of the gods. I’d say, it was time to harvest a bit of that divine wrath for myself.