I always strive to make good on my promises. As one may imagine, I am therefore not frivolous in making such promises. Indeed, my true nature is to not commit to anything until I have to. There is a sweet spot somewhere between 32 and 40 hours before an event starts that is optimal to ask me to commit to it, anything outside of that range and I feel like dodging. It doesn’t even matter if I like the people or the nature of activities about the event, it is just how the world works.
Regardless, I had made a few promises of late. Jericho needs better replacement armor, and the crixtali required a return on investment for how they shared their knowledge with me. By this point, I had ventured into the Master tier of [Enchanting], which is where I would languish for a long time, as the sheer number of Skills I would require to truly master what I know were staggering. I had cherry-picked what I wanted from the lower tiers, because I had not focused on every possible type of enchantment out there, but it seemed as if I would need to branch out. I have the Skills, and indeed a good amount of knowledge and experience, but I lack the [Deeds] to amplify what I have. And the best way to get more [Deeds] is to push limits.
The biggest issue facing the crixtali is one of food, or their equivalent. While they use sunlight for energy, they require metals and gems to physically construct their bodies. Their home world was rich in such resources, and indeed they had developed excellent techniques to recycle and regenerate resources, especially their gems, such that supply would not be consumed beyond capacity. But they had essentially been blasted back to the stone age with no infrastructure to support their needs. The metals, at least non-magical metals, are fairly straightforward; melt it down and separate it. Sadly, gems cannot be melted. Well, you can, but then they cease to be gems.
I can make gems just fine, and that is the problem. I have to be the one to make them, and it would be rather convenient if instead I could just make a device where ingredients go in and gems come out. Essentially, I would have a money-printing machine, so discretion and certain countermeasures against inflation would need to be taken into account. Essentially, I needed to make ‘food grade’ gems, ones that were unstable and would dissolve or break if left uneaten for too long. That measure would prevent someone from trying to sell them for some quick coin. The other issue with gems comes from mana purity, in that if I use magic in the process of crafting them, they would normally be influenced by my mana and become tainted, making them unsuitable for the mana of the host crixtali.
The trick here is in how do I make a machine that can get around that issue? While I can circumvent such limitations when making gems by hand, I don’t want that to be my full-time job. Chemically, they are simple enough. Take topaz, for example; it is a silicate mineral of aluminum and fluorine. None of that is hard to acquire, nor is the process of creating the heat and pressure to manufacture it. Add in the appropriate impurities, and it comes out in a range of colors. That is only one gem, and it alone has many colors. Now account for all the kinds of gemstone and the colors they come in, and the logistics behind it get dicey.
Fortunately, [Material Arcane Science] has one of the most wonderful Skills known to me: [Theorycraft]. Such a boon allows me to simulate what would happen if I try to make something under set conditions. One of my [Parallel Minds] runs it around the clock when it would otherwise be idle, such that it simulates different ratios of various metals to see what kind of alloy they would make, assuming they are not immiscible. More duds than not, but I can also use it to see what happens when I try to enchant objects.
To keep it simple, I have an object like an oven in shape, with hoppers to hold various pure or manageable forms of most elements or otherwise common compounds. One area has a selector for the gemstone, another for compatible colors, and then more settings for size, quantity, and cut pattern. I felt like it should have been fairly easy to make it work since enchantments behave exactly as I tell them to. But therein lies the problem; they do exactly what I tell them to.
The ‘happy path’ works well. A pile of gems gets made. Everything else is a struggle. Gotta make sure the friggin hoppers have sufficient supply before the job starts processing. Also need to make sure no one poured the wrong ingredient into a hopper, so trust but verify every ingredient as it is used. Have to double check that the grain of the gemstone even allows the pattern to be used, and since I don’t know all of them off the top of my head, a way for users to remove patterns or colors that are incompatible. I need some way for users to map what kinds of impurities cause certain colors, because again, I am not a gemcrafter who knows the full chemistry behind gemstones. As some kobold helpers discovered, I need to ensure that no creatures are inside the apparatus when it starts, or otherwise worm their way in after it starts. The list of concerns goes on and on.
Finally, after a gem is made, I need the machine, which runs on mana and does magical things, to remove the mana from the gem. The machine did it perfectly, except the machine rendered itself as little more than modern art, for it removed its own enchantment. The first time that happened, my Crossing Guard stormed my crafting room in search of intruders, such was my rage and colorful language. After a while, they learned to just ignore anything but my code word for duress.
I did finally manage it, but the gems have to go into a separate machine that purifies them of mana. There were just too many features to cram into one box, and while it is not impossible, it remained beyond my means to figure out before populations starved. Well, they wouldn’t starve, but they wouldn’t grow stronger or create new crixtali, for as I understand it, they craft offspring instead of how biological creatures make babies. Two months of effort in my downtime, and I had a working prototype for the crixtali to field test.
Likewise, I gave them a gyratory crusher and a smelter, both enchanted thoroughly so as to mimic the effects of my [Advanced Thermal Bottle]. It lacks the finesse to be as flexible as I am, for they are designed explicitly for processing ore and recycling metal. It isn’t so much that they need it, but I figured I would show them my techniques for how I would go about the process, and they can compare it to their own technology to see if any improvements can be made in either direction.
For their part, the crixtali appeared quite pleased, and so I await their feedback and sanitized list of what combinations of settings create valid gemstones. Someday I will make more sophisticated machines that can scale up the operation, and I want it to have an intuitive and idiot-proof menu of gems they can make. The [Matrix Weavers] appeared more than delighted to get that worked out for me, and with that problem solved, I moved on to the next.
As I mentioned, I have been using [Theorycraft] to test metals. Most of my alloys involve iron, aluminum, titanium, chromium, nickel, zinc, copper, and tin. Obviously, some of those metals don’t normally work well in armor, but of course there are exceptions.
Brass holds up well for certain kinds of enchantments, even if the metal itself does not hold up well to a beating. If you want armor that blocks magical effects, use some kind of brass and the associated enchantments. This would block elemental magic, such as a person shooting lightning at you that was conjured by magic. It is decidedly less effective against natural lightning. Similarly, it blocks magical fire or acid, but not so much when dealing with natural sources. Silver, Gold, and Platinum perform well against many acids, but they are too damn expensive, soft, and heavy for armor. Tantalum carbides work well against heat, or even corrosion, but it conducts electricity too well. In short, there exists a tradeoff between each material for what it protects against, and I don’t like that. That only covers the physical aspects of the material, and it does not even touch inherently magical ingredients.
That’s why I need to magic the shit out of this new suit of armor.
On the surface, it may look like a suit of armor, one that is made of ornate plates in overlapping layers that leave no holes regardless of what position the user is in. Working out the kinematics suitable for an orcish body and having the plates lock at certain angles was a nightmare, and Jericho literally jumped through hoops to help me test it out. Eventually, I had a suit of armor that would brace when bent too far, so that someone could not break her back, neck, or other sensitive joints. Likewise, I needed enchantments so that plates would grow, shrink, or flex as needed so that, as she contorted her body, she would not find any chink in her armor that a crafty opponent could exploit.
I went through hundreds of suits of armor, comparing different alloys, layering, and enchantments to see how they fared. Also, the material of the armor itself is not just one material, but a matrix, one with little crystals of various other alloys interspersed with tiny runes physically made out of material, rather than just etched into it. [Theorycraft] has its limits, and running a full battery of tests on a living and thinking person to a full spectrum of attacks remains outside of its capabilities. A great number of Jericho’s duplicates perished, but we made sure to always keep several of them outside the testing room, so that we always maintained an ample supply of dedicated survivors.
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Fortunate for her that the trauma of her deaths don’t seem to transfer to the remaining survivors of her legions. Information and memories can be retained when one dies, as it is then dispersed amongst the remaining members. It isn’t perfect down to every last detail, but she can remember a conversation that covered simple topics or which enemies were high-threat targets. She remained a real trooper, ever positive and eager to let me tweak things to perfection. Perhaps that was due to the knowledge that she would be getting a free suit of armor, which was itself expensive, but also one so thoroughly enchanted that it would be among some of the best the world has ever seen. She would also get a new shield, weapons, and other utility items, but those should be easier than armor.
I couldn’t work on it all the time, though, even when I didn’t have meetings or other matters of state to address. By day, I would mine, refine, and ultimately craft a stockpile of obsidicrete, typically in the blocks I would need to build fortresses all along the various roads to World's End, as well as the roads themselves. With my shrines that I create, I have the means to teleport back and forth between them, so I only have to physically travel to an area once. However, they do require coins from my [Hoard] to function, which taxes the power of [Hoard] and provides thieves with additional targets for their nefarious indulgences of temptation. Platinum coins were the anchors for distant points, with gold coins serving the local area in a radius around the platinum shrines.
That whole process of mining and crafting pre-built materials for construction was intense on mana, but it did not eat up every hour of the day. By comparison, [Enchanting] was more about trial and error, and even mass production could not overtake my regeneration of mana. However, hours seemingly disappeared into thin air as I whiled away in my workshop, and often Skull had to remind me to go socialize and collect Traits with the endless supply of peerless beauties awaiting an audience with me in my bedchambers. Word got around that such women who have slept with me tend to experience a rapid increase in advancing their respective Blessing, and so I imagine some of those women wanted me for more than my ravishing good looks, charming personality, keen wit, and growing collection of dead subterranean cave snails that I keep on a spreading board.
Some eight months passed while I got things in order. All the roads in the north were finished. Every city of note was now connected to a centralized highway, and indeed, some major cities were connected to each other, all thanks to yours truly. Bridges, tunnels, culverts, aqueducts, pipe networks, and basically anything that did not involve canals, sailing, rivers, or boats was under my purview, and I had placed a shrine at every intersection and where roads enter cities. There were very few places in the north that were outside of my range to get to quickly if I needed to. The southern end of the continent remained largely unexplored by me, for people mostly live along the coast and sail everywhere. Some prime real estate exists out there for those brave enough to venture into the unknown. Probably a lot of hidden dragon dens, too, which may explain the lack of settlements.
The crixtali were holding out in the last bastions of their homeworld far longer than expected. All the armies of the world were gathered and waiting, or at least the ones that had been requisitioned for the defense of the planet. The other continents are difficult to travel to due to sea monsters and strange, magical, oceanic phenomena, with trade ships risking to venture across the open oceans at certain times of the year, and even then, only with the most valuable cargo in their holds. Ergo, the residents of distant continents would not be helping us, and indeed, they would be managing a never-ending supply of micro-incursions. Well, the dragons that live there would be helping, that is if they ever decide to get off their asses and get over here. I have never been there, but it can’t be that hard to fly across the ocean, right?
The final part of the puzzle before I can dedicate more time to World’s End involves my holdings in Berkerin. Grand Duke Archibald Melwyrr Fylthern came to an understanding one night when I snuck into his bedchambers. That came out wrong, I was there for a private chat, not any funny business. He understood the subtle threat that I could kill him any time I wanted if he got in my way by virtue of me sneaking up on him, but I didn’t flex any harder than I needed to. He also received a bag full of enchanted goodies that would make him a great deal wealthier and an assurance of my flight’s defense of Berkerin if a serious assault was mounted against it.
In return, people were told to leave me the fuck alone unless I wanted to involve them in my affairs. I pissed off a lot of people at his court, but I wasn’t there to make friends. I did investigate some leads my riccen associates provided me about who the best [Farmers] and [Herbalists] were in the area, especially any that were looking for a new career path and were bored with how they had reached their limits. A couple poached experts and a few more angry [Nobles] later, and I had staff for my latest venture. And what would that be, you ask? Why, only my patriotic duty to my home planet, to utilize [Rare Plant Cultivation] to create one of the biggest farms for potion ingredients in the world. Well, I am sure other flights have better ones, but they don’t share or advertise. I bet they just smuggle it into mortal lands for a profit, which may indirectly bring me at odds with them.
And if they allegedly get rich doing it, why shouldn’t I get in on the action? After all, the world will have an increase in demand for such goods, and I am ever happy to oblige. You may recall that I own some land, specifically a whole mountain near Berkerin. It isn’t much of a mountain any more, but rather, a terrace. Call me a stickler for aesthetics, but I made each tier the same height and perfectly round. With each tier being 20 feet high, and 50 tiers total, that is 1,000 feet of mountain that I shaped to my whims. Took a bit of convincing to get some earth elementals on board, in part because they are not overly burdened with keen minds, but I made them a few rock gardens in different areas and they love it.
Granted, the mountain is not as tall as it used to be, as the peak was clipped off. I didn’t really know what to do with the top, so for fun, I built a temple of sorts, then smashed it, so that it had the look of an ancient temple long since destroyed and abandoned. Or at least, once some weathering sets in, it will have that aesthetic. It has dragon motifs and an altar, and I really should have seen it coming, how it would eventually become a holy site for the various cults that would spring up to worship me. I just wanted something cool to look at; how was I to expect that I would get actual faithful to turn it into a real temple?
To maximize growing area, all the residential and storage areas are cut into the mountain. Most of the tiers of the terrace are covered in greenhouses, for the rare plants tend to be frail. I enchanted everything to the nines, mostly to keep it clean, in good repair, and to keep my plants alive. The [Farmers] and such do great work, but they don’t have [Rare Plant Cultivation], and so I needed a few enchanted objects to allow them to continue cultivation in my absence.
That whole affair was more of a labor of love than a chore, for I got to make something I wanted and would use as a retreat for myself and my flight. Very few people are needed to actually run the place, perhaps a hundred or so, and about two dozen whelps patrol the area to protect my crops. The staff are paid handsomely, and they have many amenities they would not otherwise have access to all the way out in the boonies, so I believe their appearance of loyalty to me is legitimate in nature. Their kids will be able to afford the best of education and get jobs pretty much anywhere, so I doubt I have to worry about crates of product falling off the wagon.
The crixtali showed me how to make solar accumulators. Interestingly enough, they also look like the giant monoliths I use to collect mana in the environment, but everything on the inside is different. They are also an order of magnitude bigger. No issue for me, for I have ample skills to manipulate and levitate blocks into position to create these structures that stand at about 500 feet tall. Eight of them ring my mountain, and together, they basically cast a giant pane into outer space that captures sunlight that would otherwise pass by our planet. Ergo, I am not stealing sunlight from another part of the world. That sunlight gets stored and distributed to my greenhouses at night, which probably makes for a unique and beautiful sight to those living in Berkerin. At least I think so because no one has filed any complaints.
Recruiting a squad of [Alchemists] and the like is a problem for future me, for the crops will take a while to grow. Getting the seeds cost me an exorbitant sum of money, somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 platinum, which left my coffers rather dwindled. The estimated profit at current market value would be around 2,000 platinum a year, but I expect the demand for potions to skyrocket. I could easily see two to four times that much until competitors find a way to up their supply.
However, the influx of assassination attempts on my person should help my coffers as I sell off the slightly used equipment that I will loot from their corpses, so I think things will be fine. Fortunately, past Emperors have already set the precedent that you DO NOT go after the friends and family of an Emperor, so hopefully even the races not so long-lived will keep the lesson in mind lest I have to enact a vendetta or two. I started having my sneakiest of whelps start tailing everyone important to me so that they are safeguarded, at least well enough that help will arrive in time.
And now, with winter approaching, I can finally retire to World’s End and catch up with the gang to see what’s cookin’. Wait, is winter approaching? I guess it depends which hemisphere I am in. Seasons get confusing when one travels so far and wide. Either way, while the various armies have not gotten so bored that they have sacked my city, there is tension in the air as I return home. The war better start quickly or there will be a riot.
