In a crucible within a small furnace in front of Astra, metal was being turned to liquid. The golden-haired woman watched it with a single eye of the same color, through a window into the furnace. She watched as the bar sunk into the container until it disappeared from her sight. How something so strong and hard could become so weak with the application of heat always amazed her. She signaled an assistant nearby to work the bellows a little harder. He did so for a bit longer, till she signaled for him to stop.

She then walked over to the furnace with a pair of tongs and opened the small door. She reached in with the tongs and removed the quart-sized black crucible, walked over to a mold, and poured the liquid metal into it. For a moment the liquid-filled into the mold as she poured.

Then there was a hissing sound, and metal spurted from the mold. Astra reacted in an instant and threw the crucible and tongs away in a safe direction. She then reached out with both her hands towards the mold, as if to hold it.

Her hands never made contact, however, and just hovered around the mold. Drops of molten metal continued to sputter and fountain out of the mold but never reached her hands. They were stopped by some invisible force field before they could get that far.

After a couple of moments of there was an explosion of metal within the magical ward, then the sputtering stopped, and Azara retracted her hands.

She stomped once on the ground with her foot, expressing frustration, before she looked over to her assistant with an annoyed look on her face. Or rather, an annoyed look on half her face. A large portion of her face was covered by a black patch that wrapped around part of her head and descended over part of her face. Long side-swept bangs were then combed over this, as if to shield it from attention. The rest of her hair was tied back into a ponytail. When she spoke her voice was sharp and she spoke in a monotone.

"What was that, Icarus?" she asked.

The man, who was a young Aerician with light brown hair, short, and with a muscular frame looked confused a few moments, before he shrugged.

"I prepared the mold as you asked, I don't know what happened," he said. Then he began to examine the ruined mold

"Water got into it, somehow." the woman replied. "We will do this again."

"Very well, but may I suggest something?

"What?" she asked. Her eyes were not directed at Icarus anymore, but at the failed casting and the metal all over the immediate area where the mold had been. Steam was a powerful thing, and just a little moisture could cause a lot of trouble.

"What if we did not cast this part? Certainly, it would be easiest this way, but if it were forged of iron it could survive the stresses we wish to put it under far better. I mean, when the mechanism snaps forward over and over again this piece could fail. The stresses are relatively high." he explained. “Furthermore, it could be a good chance for me to develop the precision carving we’ve been developing, to cut metal into precise shapes.”

She nodded, thinking over his suggestion before responding. "That is a good idea. I will allow it, but you must be willing to do that work. I will have other things to attend to."

"Very well, Lady Elefthera, I will go to the smith's and get right to it," he said, before running off.

Astra then walked over to a nearby table, on which was laid out an elaborate drawing of some sort of device. It was some sort of engine. She wiped her soot-covered hands onto her black, silver-trimmed, robes. She realized it would be better if she were wearing an apron, but didn't mind it too much. After all, she had chosen the color black because it was practical for her work, it wouldn't show grease or coal stains as easily. That, and it matched her other appearance quite well.

Beneath the drawing, she scribbled a couple of notes, then grabbed some paper and began to write down some brief calculations. She then grabbed a book of tables and flipped through the pages for a bit, before her concentration was interrupted by a voice talking behind her.

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"Astra?" the voice of Ezmeralda said. "Plans going along alright?"

Astra turned to see Ezmeralda examining the remains of the failed casting.

"Just a minor setback," she replied, speaking curtly.

"Well, how minor? What is the scale of what you are building now exactly?"

Astra shrugged. "It may be a good thing. Icarus is going to try and turn it into a good thing, anyway. Scale? Large."

"Well, what is it exactly? What function is this device going to have, is it magic or just mechanical, and why are you building it?" her mother asked, feeling concerned at Astra’s brevity. Astra had always been someone of very few words, but in the years following her accident, it had become much worse. It wasn’t that she cut herself off from people, but that she was even quieter than before. She showed the same passion for her work, but she didn’t show it when talking to others and showing off her achievements.

"Well...it is one of those self-moving wheels of mine," she replied.

"Ah yes, those. You know, the idea of putting those to work spinning wool was excellent. It has improved the Arussan industry in wool production quite a lot. Also, grinding, that has helped the farmers quite a bit too, though many still prefer the windmill. So what is this one going to do? This casting is rather large, I can't imagine what such a part is for."

"Yes, quite large. This is one of the small parts. The wheel will be for mining purposes. A pump." she explained.

"Hmm, what an interesting suggestion. Metal and ironwork taking the place of horses and oxen. That could change many things." Ezmeralda observed, looking over the plans. "I must admit though, I'm a little confused by all this. Your thesis on that equation of yours was impressive, but I couldn't imagine it leading to all of this."

"It is only the surface. We now know how volume and pressure are related, but not why," she replied. "I will leave it to better alchemists than I. I want to make something of it."

“I’ve heard many alchemists have just taken to calling themselves chemists now,” Ezmeralda commented.

Astra nodded but didn’t respond to this.

"You know what I'm more confused by is how you manage to juggle this and your work in enchanting. Powerful artifacts and impressive machines, it is unique mage work. Even I wasn't this diverse in my studies at your age." she said. "I'm quite proud of you."

Astra nodded. "Thank you, mother. May I ask why you are here?"

"I've come to ask if you'd be willing to come away from your work here for a bit. I’d like you to accompany me north, on a trip."

This caused Astra a little confusion. "Why? Didn't you send Azara? Did she ask you to come?"

Ezmeralda shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Well, she didn't exactly ask me to come, but I've been bored lately, and she has encountered trouble in the north it seems. I'm a little worried about her."

"What kind of trouble?" Astra asked, with concern written on her face. “Is it...that trouble?”

Astra’s mother scoffed and waved the suggestion away. "It is the warring kind. The real trouble. The human-made trouble. It seems some conflicts in the North are closer than even I had anticipated. My plans may even be accelerated thanks to this. The important thing is that Azara needs our help." she replied.

Astra looked dismayed and then turned to look back at her machine plans for a moment. If conflict broke out that could put a lot of her plans behind. The entire machine might never be built. If Azara needed her though, that needed attending to. To the north it was.

"You know, mother, that I will not be using my fire. I do not know how I could be of much help."

Ezmeralda shook her head. "It has been many long years now since you have, and I wouldn't expect you to now dear. I just need your head and expertise, and it would be nice just to have you around, and to go on a journey with you again. Any magecraft assistance is secondary."

"Alright. I will pack my things. I assume we are leaving tomorrow morning?" Astra said, as Ezmeralda leaned forward and gave her a hug, which she returned in a halfhearted fashion.

"Indeed. You know me all too well." her mother replied, before hurrying off.

Plans made a day in advance, quick departures, sudden changes to the world, and more. Yes, Astra thought, this was her mother. Caring and kind to her ever since she was little, always willing to help or to send encouraging words. Respectful, but with a tendency to overrun boundaries by mistake. She knew this person all too well.

Thus she also knew that much blood was probably about to be spilled, many people were going to lose more than they thought that they could, and lives were going to be changed. For Lady Ezmeralda Elefthera, it would be another little adventure.