Cole was sick of waiting, and had made up his mind to talk to Creighton before he ran off to scout again. Something must be bothering him, as he’d been avoiding spending any more time on the ship than he had to. Before, Creighton had been making a point of participating in every meal, despite the fact he couldn’t eat. After Creighton had defeated the dragon, and the disagreement that had followed, he’d been uncharacteristically distant. Something was driving him away, and whatever it was, it wasn’t going away on its own. Creighton was already within eyeshot and would be back any minute now, for the clouds had been descending for days, and were now far lower than they had been back when they had first entered the broiling sea.
When Creighton arrived, he confirmed Joan and Deuin’s prediction that they would be seeing the last of the Broilstorms by the end of the day. Before Creighton could take off again, Cole caught him by the arm.
“Creighton. I need to talk to you before you go back out. Please.”
“I have to?”
“It’s not like I can order you to, but you do have to.”
Cole wasn’t sure if having more people would make Creighton more or less talkative, but he’d start with just the two of them. Rodney’s cabin was the most private space on the ship, and with the man in question at the helm, Cole was free to use it however he saw fit.
“Sit down, Creighton.”
“Yes. What do want from me?”
“I’m worried about you, Creighton. We haven’t talked casually since the dragon’s attack.”
“Things to do. Am busy.”
“You and I both know that’s not true. We could get by with less than half the reconnaissance you’re doing, and the crewmen can do maintenance on the engines without your help.”
“I just, want to feel busy.”
“Why do you say that? You were plenty busy before.”
“I guess… I just not want to compete. With you.”
“I’m not following.”
“Tommen is your student. Not want to tell you how to live.”
“Creighton, you’re not serious, are you? Your insight is something I want, it’s something Tommen wants. You’ve never dictated to us. And besides, Tommen thinks of you like an older brother, it makes sense for you to want to protect him.”
“I bring what I do from Earth, but it not apply here. Kid Tommen’s age not work like this. Never risk like this.”
“You’ve told me before that youth was spent learning, but practical education like this is the groundwork for helping him grow into a real adult.”
“I know, but I worry. I put in too danger.”
“Now you’ve really lost me. You’re a force of nature compared to everyone on this boat, at least by raw strength. You might not have the form down the way some of the knights do, but you’re contributing more than your share to keeping us safe.”
“I attract danger, like dragon. If not seen before, but now I am here.”
“It’s just as likely the enchanted plates could have caught its eye, but it doesn’t matter either way. We can’t predict what we could come across, especially once we’re out of the broilstorms. Not knowing what’s coming isn’t an excuse to isolate yourself. Besides that, you being gone so much is far more dangerous to us.”
“I don’t know.”
“Have you been keeping your mana balanced? I’m worried that this is a result of the environment you’re in, only made worse with how you’re constantly consuming more to fly.”
“I feel normal. Last time I felt weird was right after dragon. Too much Order.”
“Okay, if you’re sure that’s the only reason, I need you to understand that you’re a positive influence on Tommen. He was starting to stagnate before you arrived, but with your help and encouragement he’s been making impressive progress, and I don’t just mean in magic.”
“I am glad. I go see him, if you think I should.”
“I know he’d appreciate it.”
~~~
Keith was hard at work in the foundry, the latest alloys his father had cooked up were being tested. Rust resistance was the first thing his father had wanted to tackle, and the first thing Creighton had recommended they try. Slimes made for a good enough analog, and after tempering another billet he stacked it with the others. Containing slimes was tricky business, so the plan was to bring the billets down into the depths and hunt for wild ones. Taming slimes was not something dwarves had any experience in, and finding a good black or gray slime wouldn’t be too difficult.
The testing for the rest of the mixes was being overseen by his mother. She had been working her way through the different suggestions Creighton had made, but finding out which alloys were ideal for mana conductivity was her main focus. A number of Manabulbs had already been made, but they were still having trouble pulling a vacuum. Not a single craftsman in the cloven peaks wasn’t at work, but the most effort was being put towards the explosive recipe Creighton had suggested. Progress was slow, however, as Creighton hadn’t given them nearly as clear an explanation.
Stolen novel; please report.
~~~
Seeing Tommen after so long wasn’t as awkward as I expected. He was just happy to see me, perhaps because there isn’t much to do on the Galefast, so Tommen can easily get bored. Especially when the rest of the crew is working or sleeping. The Knights and the kids both just sort of hang around wherever keeps them out of the way.
The Lieutenant Hardridge guy is with Cole and the Nobles, but the other knights don’t have anything to do unless there is free space on deck for them to train, other than Trezemek’s card games, which are all almost identical to the ones I know. That is only true when I'm not here, as when I am around everyone’s favorite pastime seems to be asking me about Earth. We’ve wandered from topic to topic, from my family to the moon landing. Trying to explain topics that are so complex is giving a real boost to my vocabulary, even if it is a bit cumbersome.
I did notice something weird, that’s both helping and hurting me in learning Wernst. It doesn’t sound anything like English, but it’s almost like the languages developed along the same roots. For example, Gauntlet means both armored hand ware and a path of trial, just like Gauntlet does, and throwing one down is considered a challenge. It’s screwing with me just a bit, as sometimes I miss the obvious similarities, and sometimes I make a connection where there is none. Tommen and Natasha still want me to transform into different things for them, but I don’t want them to expect a new form every time I see them.
Now that I'm spending more time on the ship, I’ve been working with Leona to try to wrap my head around healing magic. The mana used is called Vietae, but I’ve not used it for anything other than healing, so I’m not really sure what it’s supposed to be. Metal is metal, Ice is cold, but what is Vietae supposed to be? It comes from earth mixed with chaos, and my best guess is life? Before now I’d been under the impression that all mana was life, but my biggest problem is that it instantly disappears when I take my attention off of it.
I’m still going out for my scouting missions, but I'm doing so less often. Now that we’re past the last of the Broilstorms, I just see the open ocean stretching out in front of me, and I can get going really fast. There is more than one time where I lose track of the ship on the horizon, and I have to really focus to catch sight of it again. The plates shine brightly with how much mana they’re using, so long as I’m searching with my manasight. It’s on the fifth day of clear skies that I catch sight of a jagged line moving across the horizon.
I was flying a rough search pattern, and my last leg had been taking me southwest, but the land still seemed to be moving even after I turned towards it. I wouldn't have noticed at all if it wasn't for the setting sun, but it was moving so slowly that I couldn't be sure it wasn't just a visual illusion. The battered cliff face that came into view was familiar, as materially it is an almost exact copy of the Iron Escarpment. It’s got more erosion and deep gorges, but the same red stone. Instead of a straight plunge the cliff isn’t quite as steep, and at the base is a beach under the overhanging cliffs.
As I approached, I could feel the mana on the air was starting to tip towards order, and its derivatives. Chaos was scarce, and it felt weird after how plentiful it had been in the broilstorms. Instead of getting distracted by exploring what was in front of me, I turned around to return to the Galefast. I was tempted to see if I could provoke anything to come out and fight me before the ship got here, but that’s something I need to talk about with Cole.
~~~
Daniel and Remin were taking advantage of the dwarves' current attitude, and were transcribing a number of important texts that either hadn’t made their way down the mountain before, or had been lost. One such text translated was To Remember Calamity, written by a dwarven mage by the name of Frekain Amberlight. Remin was the one doing the actual scribing, as Father Daniel was busy with other tasks. He set aside an excerpt to be sent to Archibald, as he’d asked for anything particularly interesting. The book was written over five centuries ago, and pulled from a number of primary sources to give, what the author claimed, was the definitive retrospective of the Calamity.
“… determining an express cause of the Calamity is impossible, but the two most credible hypotheses are that it was either divine retribution, or a natural disaster caused by Trezemek’s formation having been compressed into such a short time. Fire based Elementals have always been depicted as demonic creatures that feast on mortal flesh, but not those of the water, earth and wind variations. In reality, all elementals are simply incarnations of mana, and in them no divine or demonic mana has ever been recorded, at least by any credible mage. Reports from the survivors of the Calamity conflict over this, but the vast majority of them don’t report ‘demonic elementals’. It is important to note that, while unlikely, this may be an example of survivorship bias, as any demonically charged fire elemental would have a significant increase in their aggression and lethality.
Whether or not it was divine punishment or a natural occurrence, the effect that The Forbidden Land had on mortals is undeniable, as children born there see an increase of their magical sensitivity of, on average, fifty percent. The effect has persisted throughout the generations, with average magical sensitivity increasing by twenty five percent even as far east as Delenny. It is notable that this is the biggest contributing factor to human magic coming into parity with that wielded by the elves. The Forbidden Lands were always known to be significantly richer in natural mana, and Nobles having been creating mana-rich saunas for years in an effort to emulate the effect. Despite this, no meaningful increase in mana sensitivity has been found from artificial mana concentrations, and this is an often overlooked reason as to why so many ventured into the Forbidden Lands, with most history books placing the blame almost entirely on the famine of forty five, or on…”