The sun was low in the sky when Copperopolis came into view. Dellen had spent most of the last two days either sleeping or discussing what to do once they arrived in the city.
It was odd, seeing her in the distance, buildings and spires unmoving, the usual dance of the landscape absent. He felt both tension at what he thought might be coming, and a sense of… relief to see the city again. In a way, he felt like he had been born anew on the balcony with Gilgamesh. He might not remember the details of his childhood, but Copperopolis still felt like home.
An hour later, they alit at the large port on The Mercantile Guild’s home cog.
Dellen had never approached it by air before, and the Mercantile Guild had, until recently, only welcomed ships originating from Copperopolis, or from other branches of their own guild. That had changed, there were two vessels docked there bearing unfamiliar markings. Shapes that he had never seen in the sky before, he was willing to guess that those shapes heralded foreign vessels docking for the first time.
The Windward Ember touched down in a landing port, and Captain Branaxthus let the engines spin down.
“Welcome to Copperopolis,” he said to the group, but his focus was on Miss Thornbrook.
“Thank you, captain,” she replied, “Your trip was as timely as you promised. If you’ll excuse us, we’ll take our leave of the Windward Ember and wish you lucrative trading with the locals.” She gave him a nod and turned to Dellen. “I am looking forward to meeting this Lady Lockridge.”
Dellen led her through the guild docks as quickly as was practical before hailing a carriage that would fly them to the Lockridge Estate. Finnegan touched his wrist as he opened a door for Miss Thornbrook, “Lord Northcote, I need to get to my family.”
Dellen looked at him, feeling a bit confused, “Why? Whatever is coming, it seems like it has not started yet.”
Emotions flickered across Finnegan’s face faster than Dellen could interpret them, “Maybe,” he said at last, “But I feel the need to see them. Maybe they can come with me to Evergale and get themselves up to First Trinity, or maybe I could guide them, then whatever happens they’ll be ready, or a least readier.”
Dellen held in his amazement, Finnegan had been out of the city for a smattering of days, and yet, after having been raised to First Trinity, he was almost certainly one of the most powerful local-born Aetherforged in the city. “Do what you think is best.”
Finnegan nodded and closed the door, politely, behind Dellen, leaving him in the carriage with Miss Thornbrook, Eliza, and Gilgamesh.
“This would have been awfully cramped if Finnegan came with us. You need to make sure there’s enough space for me,” Dellen answered his complaint with a smile, but otherwise ignored the griping.
“Is this how you usually make your way around the city?” Miss Thornbrook asked.
“A bit like Evergale, Copperopolis was once always in motion,” Dellen explained, “The dynamic movement was more complex than your rings. I have a room, now useless, in my manor devoted to city maps showing where the various cogs would be at any given time of day.”
Eliza laughed, “It’s amazing what nobles will spend money on.”
“I spent hours in that room memorizing how to navigate the city,” Dellen protested.
“That system sounds difficult,” Miss Thornbrook said, cutting off the teasing.
“Perhaps,” Eliza said, “But there was a beauty to it, an ever-changing cityscape, beautiful moving bridges, buildings moving up and down, or spinning on their foundations. The city doesn’t spin anymore, and it has… Well, it has lost some of its charm.”
“That sounds inconvenient for the people using the buildings that spun or went up and down,” Miss Thornbrook noted.
Dellen burst out laughing, “I’m sure it was.”
“When did the city stop spinning?”
“A few days before we arrived in Evergale, no one is quite sure why.”
Dellen turned his gaze out the window and chose not to correct Eliza’s statement.
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Fascinating,” Miss Thornbrook said, “I wonder what it would take to make the city move again. Machinery does have a tendency to break when it falls into disuse. It would be sad to see such a marvelous feat of engineering fall into disrepair. It could be fixed, of course, but the time and expense would be prohibitive.”
“Fixed?” Dellen asked, an eyebrow high on his forehead, “By who?”
“I haven’t seen the machinery, but possibly Clifford Brattle, Alfred Huddleston, or Rosalind Cannon. They are all higher Trinity than I, and they all work with Terra Aether, which I imagine would be necessary for crafting on this scale.”
Dellen repeated the names to himself, trying to memorize them. Eliza made a quick notation on the pad in her lap. “Are there… many people in those Trinities?” Eliza asked.
“No, my dear, the effort it takes to climb, makes every Trinity have fewer occupants than the one before it, apart from First Trinity. I would guess that fewer than one in a hundred, maybe one in a thousand, Aetherforged progress beyond Second Trinity, that ratio repeats itself, or even gets worse for Third Trinity and so on.”
“So those three people you mentioned are?”
“The highest Trinity Aetherforged who use Terra Aether that I know of on the continent.”
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“On the continent?” Eliza asked.
“There are a few, Euzuth, Mitus and Lurun. We’re on Mitus.” Miss Thornbrook saw Eliza’s open mouth and sighed, “I will get you some maps.”
Fascinating as the names Euzuth and Mitus were, Dellen was more interested in the caveat in Miss Thornbrook’s words, “How many high Trinity aetherforged could there be on the continent that you don’t know about?”
“Not many, we make waves, people notice us,” her voice became a touch dry, “People from other cities make pilgrimages to see us and ask for help.”
Eliza’s cheeks coloured, but Gilgamesh had a harsher opinion, “Seems to me she insisted on this little trip, you do not owe her anything… Well, except that she had all of you forged. That was helpful of her.”
“Thank you for coming to Copperopolis,” Eliza said, “We both have people here we care about.”
The carriage brought them down, just outside the Lockridge Estate. Impressive gates that stood open and allowed them to see the meticulously maintained grounds spread out with an array of hedges and flower beds. Dellen remembered when he had visited after the wreckage of Thaddeus’s attack, and the grounds had been marred with broken debris. Looming in the distance, the main building was an imposing mansion made of dark stone and ornate ironwork, its tall windows reflected the sunlight. Upon the door was a crest of a lion rearing up on its hind legs, large enough to be seen, even at a distance.
Dellen opened the door, and Miss Thornbrook took her first look out at the gates, “Well, your people might not know much about forging, but it seems that the finer points of luxury have not escaped your notice, this is lovely.”
“Wait until you see Dellen’s, excuse me, Lord Northcote’s estate,” Eliza said.
“Is your home like this?”
“Not quite as grand, the Northcote’s have not flourished in recent years,” Dellen said with both honesty and modesty.
“What about you?” Miss Thornbrook asked Eliza.
“I live in a small townhouse, if you imagine that the street is a book, I live on a page, a thin page at that.”
Gilgamesh gave out a whistle, “Is that how most people live?”
Dellen led them along the path to the mansion, stopping just short of the entrance door. The door was adorned with a brass knocker disguised as part of the lion’s head, which seemed to watch them intently as they approached. He rapped the knocker on the door and stepped back to wait.
Moments after their knock echoed through the entrance hall, the door was opened by a well-dressed servant who regarded them with polite curiosity.
“Good afternoon Albrecht, I’m here to see Lady Lockridge, could you please tell her that I have guests?”
“Indeed, is Lady Lockridge expecting you?” Albrecht asked.
“No, please tell Lady Lockridge that I have brought with me Eliza Montgomery of the Copperopolis Chronicle and Miss Thornbrook, of Evergale.” He gestured at Miss Thornbrook, watching as Albrecht took in the scope of her steelskin.
Dellen suppressed the small wave of pleasure that came from the small widening of Albrecht’s eyes. No matter how well trained the man was, Miss Thornbrook had to be the most impressive visitor to ever set foot within the Lockridge Mansion.
“Yes,” Albrecht said, dragging out the word, he snapped his fingers at a footman, “Thomas, go inform Lady Lockridge that we have guests.” The footman took off at a pace that only just escaped being called a run.” Albrecht turned back to their group, “Follow me if you will.”
Albrecht then led them through the long corridors of the estate to the room where Lady Lockridge had first offered Dellen tea. The large double doors stood open, and Lady Lockridge was out of her chair, waiting like a welcoming host.
Gilgamesh spoke up before anyone could say a word, “Miss Thornbrook does not know about me.”
Lady Lockridge disguised her acknowledging nod as a greeting. “Lord Northcote, Miss Montgomery,” she paused and took in Eliza’s steelskin and Dellen’s scars before she scrutinised Miss Thornbrook, “You must be Miss Thornbrook, a delight to make your acquaintance, I have so very many questions about Aetherforging, I hope you will entertain them.” She returned to Eliza, “Before you left you had not undergone any aetherforging, and yet now I see you, with steelskin from your face to your hands.”
Eliza snapped her fingers and flames danced over her fingers, then her cheeks flushed, and she stopped.
“No need to be embarrassed my dear, unless I miss my guess, you are more forged than I am myself, you must tell me how you accomplished it.” She gestured around with a hand, “All of you, please sit, sit. Albrecht could you send around tea with some biscuits?”
“Certainly, my lady,” Albrecht said, retreating from the room.
“Dellen, what has happened to give you all of these… distinctive scars?” Lady Lockridge asked in a delicate tone.
“The ship was in a hard place, I had to choose between using too much Electrical Aether or crashing.”
“There was no way for you to avoid this?” She asked, subtle emphasis on you, Dellen knew she was asking about his time loops.
“Unfortunately not, but my scars seemed to have faded as a result of my last forging, perhaps with a few more materials I won’t look quite so grim. Scars like this are not entirely uncommon in those with my affinity.” He said, thinking of the electrical initiates at the Order of the Red Truth.
“You are Lady Lockridge,” Miss Thornbrook said, breaking into the conversation and speaking for the first time. She took a seat on a velvet-lined chair.
Lady Lockridge visibly put the matter of Dellen’s scars aside. “Yes, I am. Now, can one of you tell me why all of you are here?”
The three of them explained the rarity of unforged outside of Copperopolis, and the potential uses of the unforged for skilled members of the higher Trinities. Lady Lockridge’s face grew especially concerned when Dellen shared that he had found bodies vivisected, with their chests cut open where a core should be found.
“Let me see if I understand this, you have brought Miss Thornbrook here, a Pyro Aetherforged of the… Seventh Trinity to Copperopolis to prevent other high Trinity aetherforged from descending upon us and wreaking havoc.”
“Yes,” Miss Thornbrook confirmed.
“And how long might we expect you to stay in the city?” Lady Lockridge answered.
“It will depend on your citizenry, as soon as there aren’t any adult unforged in the city, then your vulnerability comes to an end. I will personally assist as many pyro affinity unforged as I can, though resources will be a bottleneck.”
“Northcote industries should be able to alleviate that problem, though I cannot repeat your generosity and provide materials for free,” Dellen said, “When it’s for tens of thousands, I need to be able to cover my costs, or I will break my house.”
Miss Thornbrook and Lady Lockridge both nodded, “Of course, you cannot be expected to provide alloys for an entire city.”
Lady Lockridge looked curious, “Do they all need to be of the First Trinity to be safe, or would forging copper or iron protect them?”
“A single alloy should be sufficient, even a partial forging of a single alloy.”
Dellen felt a quiet relief, silver was much more expensive than iron or copper.
“Nice that your coffers are safe,” Gilgamesh said, “You might even make a profit out of this.”
Guilt suffused Dellen’s thoughts, he was going to try and make a profit. Was it greedy to try and breathe life back into Northcote Industries?
“How long do you think it might take to accomplish these forgings?” Lady Lockridge asked.
“For me to bring an unforged citizen with a pyro affinity up to First Trinity? An hour if I want to guide their understanding of Aether so they are unlikely to be a hazard to themselves and others. If we’re discussing an incomplete forging? One that leaves them with little to no skill, but useless for… harvesting? That could be accomplished in a matter of minutes. It might feel abrupt and startling to the unforged, but they would not be injured in the process.”
Lady Lockridge released a little sigh, “It seems that for the sake of practicality, it would behoove us to assist people with these partial forgings. Of course, that only helps those amongst us with a pyro affinity. Many of my people have been with me for years, would you be able to demonstrate on those of my staff, who are willing, that you can bring them up to First Trinity?”