“Absolutely not. How could you even think of such a thing?” Stefan asked, he and Dellen were standing near the station where citizens with affinities for Electrical Aether were being forged.
“He does appreciate that you don’t have to ask for permission, right?” Gilgamesh said.
“You do appreciate that I don’t have to ask for permission?” Dellen asked Stefan.
“This is a noble house, not a school, temporary or not!”
“Stefan, this city is going to erupt with violence if all of these new Aetherforged are not taught how to use their Aether in a responsible manner! That consideration aside, please consider the financial aspect of this idea.”
“What financial aspect? You want people to run amok in your family’s sacred halls.”
Dellen nodded to try and make sure Stefan felt like he was being listened to, which entailed another two minutes of angry ranting. “I hear your concerns, and I even share some of them.”
“You do?” Stefan said, slowing down and slightly narrowing his eyes as though waiting for the next half of Dellen’s thoughts.
“I do. We still don’t know what the best path forward will be for Northcote Industries, but right now there are a lot of new Aetherforged who will want lessons and will pay for them. These Aetherforged will go on to lead all sorts of different lives, but I will tell you one thing. I don’t recommend that any of them leave Copperopolis until they reach Second Trinity, at a minimum. For someone with Electrical Aether, like you or me? I don’t recommend leaving Copperopolis until they’re comfortable using magnetism to catch themselves during a fall, or throwing lightning around.”
“I can’t throw lightning,” Stefan said, sounding peeved.
“That’s something we should work on,” Dellen said, creating a small ball lightning and tossing it between his hands. Stefan’s gaze tracked the crackling energy as it sailed back and forth between Dellen’s palms. “Most people beyond our city would not see a reason to comment on this little display.”
“I think you might be wrong about that,” Gilgamesh said, “You were better with your Aether than most at the Order, still, I don’t think anyone here is at risk of becoming too skilled for the outside world.”
“None of this convinces me that you should convert the Northcote family estate into a school,” Stefan said.
“It will let me raise goodwill among the citizens, as well as raise our profile in the city. It may even make the banks re-consider our lines of credit.”
Stefan looked like he would rather be having any conversation other than the one that he was having with Dellen, “Yes, but do we have to let everyone in here?”
“We’ll make areas off limits, we’ll create classrooms, and we will use a lot of locks.”
“Yes,” Gilgamesh interjected, “Because locks work so well on you.”
Dellen contemplated telling Stefan that locks would be best made from non-magnetic metals, but elected to keep that to himself, he did not think his work with locks was a usual application of Electrical Aether, it was probably best not to point the idea out, lest it spread. Every door in the city needing a new lock could prove… problematic.
“I suppose it’s true that you are currently the most famous noble in the city right now. Though Miss Thornbrook is confusing people, everyone wants to know why she isn’t a noble.”
“My point exactly, her power, and what she is doing is creating a natural position of authority. If the Northcotes start a school, we will be creating something similar.”
“My lord, Dellen, you are the only Northcote left, it’s not ‘The Northcotes,’ it’s just you.”
“You’re going to live for centuries, you have lots of time to change things so that it’s ‘The Northcotes’ again,” Gilgamesh said in an atypically reassuring voice. He followed it up with a tone that felt more in line with the companion that Dellen had come to know, “Of course, if it wasn’t for your time loops I’d place your chances of survival as abysmally low. You seem to have a knack for finding hard situations to squish yourself in. I wonder if that was a family trait.”
“Let us say that you are correct,” Stefan said, “How would you even accomplish it? I trust that you have the necessary skill with Electrical Aether to teach its use, but what of Kinematic Aether, Steam Aether, and Pyro Aether?”
“There are actually many more forms of Aether than that,” Dellen said.
“There are?” Stefan’s forehead wrinkles creased from deep to deeper.
“Quite a few, for some reason, people in Copperopolis don’t seem to be born with them, I’m not sure why. My best guess is that they are hereditary, like hair or eye color.” That did not explain Lady Lockridge’s dual affinity, but the less said about that, the better. “That’s not the point, though. You’re right, I could teach a class on Electrical Aether, I know the basics, and from what I can tell, I am unusually adept for my Trinity. As for other affinities, I can hire teachers.”
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“From where?”
“From outside the city. To begin with, due to the enormous gulf in capabilities, almost any citizen plucked from the streets of Evergale would be a suitable instructor… So long as they had one of the affinities found here.”
“Is that what you’re going to do? Just hire instructors from another city?”
“I’m hoping that Miss Thornbrook will be able to assist with instructors from the Aetherweave Institute.”
A young woman that Dellen thought he recognized from Northcote Industries ran into the warehouse, when she spoke, her voice was frantic, “Lord Northcote, you need to come outside, quickly!”
“Aren’t there other people who can deal with emergencies?” Gilgamesh grumbled.
“Go,” Dellen said to the young woman, already running in her direction. Together, they ran out of the main entrance. One look at the sky and Dellen knew what had her concerned. There was an enormous airship in the sky. It dwarfed the cobbled-together assemblage of ships the remaining Aetheric Cultivators called home. “That could represent a problem,” he breathed out.
So far as he could tell, the ship was crawling across the sky. It had probably moved much faster when crossing the wilds, but now it seemed slow, almost to the point of being stationary. Dellen ran back inside to Miss Thornbrook, “We have company in the sky. I don’t think this is anything I can manage on my own.”
Miss Thornbrook maintained her usual expression of unruffled calm, “Well, let’s go take a look together then, shall we?” She patted the hand of the Aetherforged she had just finished with. “Good luck, come see me next week if you have any questions. Do be careful, and don’t burn yourself!” She bounced up from her chair, “Lead the way, Lord Northcote.”
Together, they walked out of the building, though Dellen’s stride was perhaps rapid enough to make their departure look hasty. Despite the quiet hope that had kindled in his heart, the ship had not grown any smaller in his fifteen-second absence. “What do we do about that?”
“There’s no guarantee that the Aetherforged aboard that ship are hostile,” Miss Thornbrook said.
“That’s true, but do you think it’s likely?”
Miss Thornbrook betrayed her concern only with the amount of time it took her to answer, “Maybe. Whatever the case, they have made themselves easy to find. One might almost consider it an invitation. I think we should go up.”
“We?”
“I am the highest Trinity Aetherforged in the city, or at least I was before this ship showed up, and you are the highest Trinity noble in the city, and given your current fame, perhaps the only person, aside from the mayor, who can speak for the city without repercussions.”
“Speak for the city?” Dellen asked, “No, I don’t think I can make unilateral decisions.”
“Unilateral decisions like stopping the gears beneath the city that created an Aether dead zone that kept everyone safe?” Gilgamesh asked, “Those sorts of unilateral decisions?” Dellen gave him a quick scowl. That had been different.
“Come, we need to get there before the Mercantile Guild does. I shudder to think of what sort of arrangement that reptile Gaius would make.” She pointed at a carriage where the pilot was sitting and staring with his mouth open. “That will do.” She somewhat dragged Dellen over to the carriage, “We’re heading to that ship.”
The carriage driver slowly tore his gaze away from the ship, it held his attention as though his gaze was stuck like glue, “That, that, is that a good idea? I don’t want to go up to that ship.” His eyes caught up with his mouth, and he took in both Miss Thornbrook and Dellen. Dellen’s steelskin was not as uncommon a sight as it had once been, even if it was a bit more pronounced between First Trinity and Second Trinity, but Miss Thornbrook gleamed in the light. The driver’s eyes looked over to the warehouse. It was well known in the city where the forging took place, and back at her.
“Do you want to say no to me?” She asked.
“Ahh,” the Driver said, caught between two unpleasant possibilities.
“I’ll make it easier for you. Once we’re close enough, Lord Northcote and I will jump.”
Gilgamesh groaned, “I hate it when you touch me.”
That might have been true, but Dellen knew that Gilgamesh liked being left behind even less.
The carriage driver opened a door for them despite emotions warring across his face. “The sooner you take us up, the sooner you can be rid of us,” Miss Thornbrook said, sounding cheerful once more. The carriage driver gave her a look like he was in physical pain, but he took his seat, and the engines hummed to life. Kinematic Aether became motion, and they took off and headed straight at the ship in the sky.
Dellen’s eyes raked over the ship, it was large, very large, at least six or seven levels on the inside. There were… doors on the outside. The hull was made of dulled black metal. It looked like it might once have shone and could again if it was polished. “What are those doors for?”
“Hmm? Oh, those, most likely those open for Aether weapons. They aren’t as effective as actual Aetherforged, they lack flexibility and finesse, but they are useful.”
“Do we need to tell him,” Dellen nodded at their driver, “To avoid them?”
“No, they haven’t opened the doors. This isn’t an overt threat. Yet.”
“What’s our plan?”
“Why didn’t you ask that from the get-go?” Gilgamesh asked. “I don’t enjoy seeing you die, you know.”
Miss Thornbrook answered, oblivious to Gilgamesh’s contribution. “Talk to the captain. Tell them this city is under my protection. If it’s a problem, get them to leave.”
“What if they’re Seventh or Eighth Trinity.”
“Well, that would require a stiffer approach.”
“Stiffer?”
“Potentially violent,” Miss Thornbrook clarified. “I think we’re close enough now.” Their carriage was above the ship and perhaps twenty feet away from it. Miss Thornbrook stood and wrapped an arm around Dellen’s waist. Dellen surreptitiously took ahold of Gilgamesh with the arm further from Miss Thornbrook and tried to keep himself steady as she jumped.
He saw the carriage they were on pushed down by the force of her launch. Wind whistled past his ears as they flew through the air. The drop to the ground below looked so much further than it had before they left the comforting confines of the carriage. Electrical Aether surged through his body, “Let go of me!” He yelled, already spinning up a magnetic field to help him land unaided on the deck.
Miss Thornbrook let go of him and fell away, her feet hitting the deck with a heavy thud. Dellen’s decent slowed. Once he was certain that he and Gilgamesh were fully over the deck, he released his companion to let him float down of his own accord.