“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the word and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
Antoine de saint exupery
. . .
‘I’m building a boat’ was simpler said than done. Growing a boat was even more challenging, even if I was cheating and using magic to do so. In theory, there would be a lot of advantages to growing it from a single piece of wood. But holding the magic together to get it to grow correctly was incredibly challenging and time-consuming.
An Elendil tree and its wood would happily grow in any specific direction and way that you wished it to should you be able to commune with it, as Lady Acacia had taught us how to do that. Spellsong and mana manipulation allowed me to lay down the lines I wished the wood to grow along, and along them, it grew like magic.
Watching the wood follow the glowing green lines visible only in my mana sight was still otherworldly. Like drawing lines of light on a computer to design, I imagined, created, and fed the lines with my mana as the wood grew along them, my magic turning fantasy into reality. Once grown, it was solid, physical and real, no longer only a mental construct in my head. Elendil wood was similar, if not better, to teak wood as far as I could tell. It was a very dense, hard and strong wood that would form a fantastic boat if I could get everything correct.
The important part being, I could get everything correct. . .
My first attempt at growing one was . . .
A spectacular failure!
It looked like a boat, and it floated like a boat, but while it looked like a modern, sleek racing monohull on the outside, it left a lot to be desired, according to my father, on the inside, and that did not take into account how it actually handled on the water. My hull had been too thick, and I had failed to include any bulkheads. Which meant I was relying on my magical hardwood a little too much. Also, I fused the rudder to the stern and the keel board to the hull. Not my finest moment. Boats had moving parts for a reason, and mine didn’t move. That didn’t mean that I couldn’t continue to experiment in my mind fortress with plans and attempts. Maybe once I had achieved a decent monohull, I could try a multihull or maybe even foils. But rather than continue via trial and error, it was time to watch a master at work.
In the end, I had to watch my uncle build one first to understand what I was attempting to do before I could grow my own. It was not a complete waste of time, though. The practice and completion of my first sailing vessel. Gave me several levels and even a few new skills.
Ironically the first to level was
Farming (Lv50 ->59)
It turned out that growing wood, even if it wasn’t to eat, was important enough to start levelling the skill. Especially if it was a significant amount, which I was. Even though it was a small boat, the amount of wood was large. One of the problems with growing a boat in the caldera was getting it down to the water afterwards, and the heavy wood had required several of our clan members and uncles to shift it down there.
Draw (Lv52 -> 58)
I was doing a lot of drawing in an attempt to lay it out correctly. Getting the right sweeping lines of modern ships was challenging without computers to provide the correct formulae and drawing tools. Despite my errors, I created many beautiful drawings to recreate the boat I wanted.
Sketching (Lv27 -> 35)
I had more than one skill related to drawing. It was time they levelled up, and seeing as they were all only tier 1 skills, maybe it was worth consolidating them into a tier 2. Where the line between the two skills was difficult to judge, but the system continued to do so.
Drafting (Lv26 -> 34)
They were the same but different. Different focuses on the development of the skills. They overlapped one another. I drafted, sketched and must have drawn a hundred different dream boats. Struggling to find the one that would hopefully work the best. I had settled on starting with a monohull.
Measurement (Lv19 -> 28)
Always measuring twice before cutting was not necessarily applicable in this situation. However, I still did a lot of measurement to ensure it grew in the correct directions and to the correct dimensions. The levels up in the skill showed this.
Blacksmithing (Lv10 ->11)
I even gained a single-level making a few of the metal parts. However, I was not planning on cladding the hull in metal just yet or maybe never, depending on how well the Elendil wood held up over time in the water.
Carpentry (Lv10 –> 20)
It helped that I built a complete boat, even if it was not fully functional at first; the synchronistic nature of crafting meant that a single project could level far more skills than a single fight might. Though this project, in particular, was taking far longer than a single fight. The carpentry was more akin to gardening than what my uncle had achieved. The second time around, he watched and was amazed by my magical method as I had been by the magic nature of his high skills and their use.
Sense Mana (Lv68 ->75)
The process meant that I was constantly using sense mana to make of what I was working on. Directing my mana to form the lines required and encouraging the wood to grow along them. The lines were a little more organic and curved, but I was reminded of early Tron ‘esk cinematography and the films. The way the wood flowed slowly along the lines in my sight was mesmerising, if slow and continually taxing. At least with a material that was alive and still growing, it did not need to be completed in a single session.
Spellcraft (Lv59 – 63)
While I was predominantly using Spellsong to sing the wood into shape, it was not the only magical skill I was using. Especially when working late into the night, the occasional light spells to help my supporters added up. I had far more mana than most despite the majority of it disappearing into the Elendil tree to support its growth along the lines I wanted.
Spellsong (Lv55 – 63)
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The fact that I used it so much did mean that the elvish spell skill caught up to my more traditionally human method of magic. Singing to a tree was one of the more unusual activities that I had attempted recently, but it was difficult to argue with the results, no matter how silly I may have looked or sounded.
Obviously, my tier 3 skills, Expel Mana (Lv64 -> 70) and Mana Manipulation (Lv63 ->69), also saw explosive growth, and despite their higher tier seeing as that was the majority of what I was up to, they continued to level. But they were not the only higher-tier skills to increase. The level of thinking it took to hold it all in my head has the mana and wood flowed saw, Parallel Processing (Lv40 -> 50) jump up alongside Material Manipulation (Lv33 – Lv40) even though it was moving significantly slower than cloth when I worked on moulding a glider shape out of my clothing it still counted as a form of material manipulation with my mana.
I also gained a new Tier 4 Skill - Magic Carving (Lv1 – 5)
In my attempts to separate the various moving parts required to make it functional in the water, I had to carve into the wood to separate the pieces before reattaching them. The easiest way to do this had been to use my magic rather than any tools. I now had magic carving, which would prove incredibly useful in designing my next boat. I could smooth out mistakes in the growth of the wood as well as cut away parts that were fused together when they should have been separate. It was wonderfully fun to work with the wood when it responded to the simplest touch forming shapes beneath my hands or falling away where I needed it thinner.
That was not the end of my skill growth, even my Tier 5 skills levelling from the project.
Mind fortress (Lv25 ->26)
This was where the majority of my planning took place. Attempting to plan, build and form the hull there, believe it or not, prevented me from making a few more major blunders. Though my ideas did not always hold up to the constraints of reality when reproduced in real life as opposed to in my mind.
Multiple minds (Lv4 ->5)
Each mini-me had a different opinion and design that they wanted to be included in the overall production in reality.
Callen, the Sailor, seemed focused on how fast we would be able to make the boat. His designs rapidly escalated towards modern-day sailing ships' catamaran and foil versions.
Caelus the Merchant mainly pointed out the importance of requiring a certain amount of space for provisions for consumption or selling, although the emphasis was on what and where we would be able to sell them. Therefore, what type of goods would we be able to carry and whether or not we should have a larger hold simply for cargo?
Kasai the Mage seemed most intrigued by modern-day technology's possible magical mechanical applications. The problem was that most of them needed metal to take the stresses we planned on adding. One day that might be a reality. Alternatively, magically reinforced Elendil wood might be able to hold up to the stresses, but that would require further testing.
Thankfully my mind had not grown any more crowded with the extra level.
Polymath (Lv10 ->14)
My second attempt was a lot better. With the hull half the thickness, it was already significantly lighter, according to my cousins who carried it down to the water for me, than the last one. However, seeing as I had included the bulkheads this time, it was even stronger despite requiring less wood to grow it. I also had my first version to cannibalise, providing any extra wood required.
Once I had proven the viability of my hull and its nature, I had to recreate the sails. Sails in my former world had gone through a variety of permutations. Currently, in the Compass Kingdoms, while Ponente favoured the square sails of medieval times, the Libeccian favoured the more scalene triangular Arabic sails, which Egypt might be remembered for. Mine would be a little more modern, still triangular but more upright. This would have caused endless arguments with my father had I not been able to use my trump argument of this is what they looked like in my old world. He wasn’t a traditionalist by any means, but he did like using what he already knew worked.
I added more than one and had the option of a box kite to launch upwards for extra thrust when sailing with the wind. I was exceptionally proud of my design; obviously, only the best material would do. Our sea silk was an exceptionally strong and light material meaning that despite the large area covered, it still weighed remarkably little. It also offered a wonderful material to use should I get my glider designs off the ground.
. . .
Of course, if you are building a magical boat, it has to be truly magical. I might not be able to truly understand how the runes functioned on the former assassin’s boat, but with my senses and Lady Acacia’s guidance, we were able to see, copy and recreate them on my own. In fact, the size of my boat was mainly based on the size of the assassin’s boat due to precisely that reason. It didn’t hurt that it gave me a new skill to go alongside my Magic Carving.
Rune Carving (Lv1 -> 3)
The magic additions to the boat included a rune for invisibility, a rune for speed, a rune for wind, and buoyancy alongside a shield should we ever be forced to fight for our lives. Magic mana mote lanterns, my own creation, filled the interior with light enough to see by. Reducing the need for fire onboard a wooden boat.
But that was not all, though. The second set of sails included Lady Acacia’s enchantments embroidered into the sea silk sailcloth. Reminiscent of Irish Celtic knotwork, the spell forms wound their way around one another in unending knotwork, providing durability and strength to the sails. They would not rip or tear even in the strongest of hurricanes or burn from enemy fire, even self-repair themselves should they be actively cut or pierced by weapons or monsters.
She also insisted on providing Elvish embroidered enchantments for my sea silk clothing, making me look more like an exiled Elvish prince aboard his Elvish ship rather than a feudal baron from the princedom of Ponente. I didn’t mind too much when the clothing was enchanted to stay comfortably cool in hot weather, welcomingly warm in cold weather and throughout all weather, whether hot or cold, bone dry. They did not work if I went swimming, but as soon as I emerged from the water, with the exception of my hair, I would find myself dry again. A wonder of a world with a system and well . . . magic.
. . .
This was obviously only my second attempt, but everyone else was also putting forward their efforts that they would like to be included. From the Church of the Lodestar, I received their most recent efforts in cartography. Maps that spanned the world. Suddenly the Wester Isles, a small cluster in the Azure section of the Azimuth Archipelago, seemed so much tinnier in comparison to the rest of the wide world. It was easy to see how the House of Lords in Ponente were more worried about my vote's political weight than any economic impact my small fiefdom might have on the kingdom.
While Mother had outfitted the sails and rope for the rigging, my Father provided all the other bits and bobs a medieval man needed for sailing, from hooks to lines to buckets. There were a surprising number of odds and ends that were required. When I grew my final ship, I would grow these as well, but for now, this would be enough for my first solo trip around the isles.
Arawn, as always, insisted on a proper complement of weapons, never mind that I could use magic. Arawn and Namir insisted that metal lasted longer while mana might run out. I had two of everything. From swords to shields, bows and quivers, I was fully equipped. I would not be taking any pirates anytime soon, but I could hopefully fend off a boarding party. However, running would always be preferable to full-scale naval warfare when sailing solo.
. . .
Conversation at dinner sometimes returned to persuading them, mainly my mother, although Aleera was similarly alarmed at the possible departure of her font of new mercenary ideas.
“You’re building a boat. You’re going to sail away from us. It’s inevitable.”
“Not forever.” I pointed out. “For long enough. Our job is to build a boat strong enough that will allow you to sail back to us safely.”
. . .
After several test runs on the inner lagoon to work out the kinks, when the day arrived for my first solo trip to Wester Levante, Little Wester and back to Wester Ponente, I was almost unsurprised that our repurposed Slaver would accompany me on my first ‘solo’ trip.
“What you didn’t expect to sail completely alone on your first solo trip.” That seemed to be the resounding opinion of my family and advisors.
“Yes, it’s not like I haven’t sailed a boat solo before,” I answered, exasperated.
“Yes, but I was always there to help out if necessary and catch any mistakes before they happened.” Father objected and had the entire family and a crewed vessel to back him up. I would not be departing alone.
“Well, may the best boat win.” I challenged, chagrined. We would have to see if he could keep up with my modern marvel of nautical engineering.