Keron
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Chapter 125 - Part of the Crew
🕑 Added 2024-11-04 18:00:16 +0000 UTC“Really? Even commoners know about it?” Anton questions.
“Yep,” Emily says with a nod. “Do you want the long explanation, or the short?”
Anton looks around, getting nods from all members of the crew who are listening to Emily quietly.
“We’d like to know about where we’re heading. The long.”
“Okay. So, Old Denntimo followed a similar system to the one Modo does currently, hiding magic from commoners and taking any they find with talent as vassals. And, similar to Modo, any vassal mage that reached third circle, the level of power I’m currently at, was given a noble title. This worked fine for a while, but a lot of the commoners who rose to power were treated like slaves by their old noble family, and a large divide grew within the nobility as the number of these new houses grew. Eventually, the new houses started a revolt and drove the old royalty from their capital, claiming half of the continent for themselves and naming it New Denntimo.”
Emily pauses to take a sip of water, looking around and seeing everyone hanging on her every word.
“They didn’t appoint a new king,” she continues, “and instead formed a system where all noble families are given a vote, weighted based on how many mages they have and favouring high level combat power. Because of this new system, and a lot of the nobles having once been commoners themselves, they started to spread knowledge of magic to the common folk, and use structured education to pick out commoners with talent to add to their numbers.”
“Does that help them grow their numbers that much?” Tony asks from the corner.
“Yes. Doing proper testing of everyone gives them a much higher number of awakened each year.”
“How haven’t they won the war yet then?” Sam questions.
“Because of time,” Emily says, finishing off her bowl. “They have a lot of first and second, and even a few third circle mages, but the country hasn’t had enough time for fourth circle mages to arise. There’s a reason I said the votes were favoured towards high level combat power. A single fourth circle mage can fight against half a dozen third with ease.”
“That sounds impressive, but how strong is a third circle mage? Can all of them do things like that large explosion this morning?” Ash asks with a shiver.
“Kind of but not really,” Emily says, shaking her head. “That was using a large-scale array carved into the basement of their mansion over a very powerful source of mana. That sort of thing requires being very good with arrays, which are difficult for most mages, and a lot of resources. So while a third circle mage can set up an array like that, it takes ages to prepare, and it has to be done in specific places. As for how strong a third circle mage is? It varies wildly, but a standard third circle mage could probably fight an armed force with around fifty people if not more. If you’re looking at a specialist though, it could go up by a lot.”
Agnes would stomp over a hundred armed mortals with energy to spare.
“Woah,” Podrick exclaims. “Wouldn’t that mean fourth circle mages can fight three hundred people?”
“Something like that,” Emily says with a shrug. “I can’t be sure, since I’m not that strong yet myself, but it seems reasonable if not conservative for the one I fought.”
“You fought one? Didn’t you say you’re third circle?”
“Yep, but I’m not a standard third circle mage,” Emily responds with a small, prideful grin.
They continue questioning Emily as they eat, the fear and tension gripping the hall slowly fading as they chat. Emily asks Anton about their next destination as the meal winds down, finding that they are docking the following evening. After they finish, Sam leaves to go crash in his bed, exhausted after having his usual sleep schedule interrupted; Tony leaves to let Angela know Emily’s taking over; and Emily leads Ash, Podrick, and Anton towards the ship’s hatch.
“Is this related to how you were controlling the ship before?” Anton asks as they walk through the ship’s confined hallways.
“Kind of,” Emily responds without looking back. “I’ll be controlling the ship using the same trick I was using then, but this is something slightly different. It’s more about seeing the ship’s surroundings.”
They stop before the hatch, and Emily reaches into her belt before opening it. Ash notices the strange way Emily’s hand seems to vanish as they watch closely.
“What’s with your belt?” they question.
“Space magic. It’s like the bag I gave Anton: it’s bigger on the inside,” Emily replies dismissively, ignoring them turning to question Anton and pulling out one of her bird scouts. “Anyway, this little guy is my scout.”
The bird spreads its wings, taking off and flying around the crew’s heads nimbly before coming to a rest on Emily’s shoulder.
“Using magic, I can see through his eyes whenever I want. I’m going to send him out to sit on top of Calypso’s balloon to look around for me,” she explains as she uses a small burst of machina to open the hatch beside her without dropping the connecting stairs.
Her scout leaps off her shoulder, sailing out of the open doorway and spreading its wings under several admiring gazes. Noticing the looks of awe on the faces around her, Emily proudly manoeuvres the bird in a series of twisting flips, elegantly performing an aerial display for them before moving it into place to perch on top of the large balloon holding the ship up. She locks the small scout’s talons onto the robust spine of the balloon and sets a single thread to monitor the surrounding desert through it, watching the clear night sky as two more threads micromanage the large vessel’s flight.
“That’s amazing,” Anton says as the bird vanishes from view. “Magic aside, that bird is a work of art. It’s so much more animated than our docking drones.”
“Thanks,” Emily replies, pulling out another bird to let them have a closer look. “They were a long-term project I only finished recently. Speaking of though, I would quite like to see your drones. I don’t remember seeing them when we toured the ship.”
“We tend not to need them much since the Mandrago family usually organised our routes for us, but I’m sure Ash can show you when we stop at Ashdon if you want.”
“I can indeed, they pale in comparison to this though, it’s beautiful. Do you have any magicless ones I could buy?” Ash asks, gently pulling open the wing of fine metal feathers.
“I don’t have any spares, but I can make you one,” Emily responds, the warmth building in her chest generated by their keen interest in her creation vanishing completely as their reactions remind her of Juliana receiving Harold as a gift. “It will have far less control than my magic ones though.”
“Really? That’s fine, thanks,” Ash says, without looking up. “How much will it be?”
“I won’t charge you. The materials are cheap, and I can make them pretty quickly now. Think of it as an apology for making you leave the country.”
“Thank you!” Ash responds with a smile, looking up and flinching slightly as they meet Emily’s cold, expressionless mask.
Emily nods and shuts the hatch, giving Anton and Podrick a chance to look at the bird before making it slip from their grasp and fly back into hers.
“Right, you guys should go rest now. I just need to keep the ship on its current course, right?”
“Yep,” Anton confirms with a nod, patting Emily on the shoulder, seemingly unperturbed by her cold stare, before turning to walk towards his cabin. “Good luck!”
Ash says goodbye and follows him, leaving Emily and Podrick alone, the small boy eagerly looking up at her.
“Is it time?” he asks with barely contained excitement.
“Yes.” Emily nods, striding past and gesturing for him to follow. “Now, I can’t promise this will work since I’ve never attempted it before, but I’m eager to try.”
She glances back, seeing Podrick following her while nodding seriously.
“It will also hurt a lot, especially if it’s successful, so be prepared. I can give you a potion to help numb the pain, but I’m not sure if that will hurt your future development, so it’s up to you if you want it or not.”
They reach a mostly empty storage room, and Podrick stops at the entrance to consider her warning as Emily quickly pushes the few crates and barrels in the room to the edges to clear space, leaving only one in the centre. She looks up at Podrick after she’s done, watching his expression of conflicted excitement settling into one of resolve as he shuts the door properly and walks forward.
“I’ll do it. And I don’t want the potion.”
“Oh?” Emily hums with a raised brow, the corner of her lips turned up ever so slightly. “Good. Now sit down on that box and take your shirt off.”
Podrick follows her instructions without missing a beat, sitting down and removing his shirt as Emily pulls out and sets up the barrier disk.
“What’s that for?” he asks as she turns to face him again.
“It soundproofs the room. I can’t have your screams waking the rest of the crew.”
Podrick shivers and gulps down his fear, chuckling uncomfortably as he’s unable to tell if she’s joking or not.
“Stay still, I’m going to run my preliminary scan now. You may feel some slight discomfort.”
Emily moves behind him, placing a palm flat against his exposed spine and shutting her eyes as she sends a tiny stream of machina into his body. She starts off with the smallest amount possible, so little it barely even penetrates his skin, being careful not to hurt him as she slowly increases the amount of energy being transferred until it doesn’t just dissipate. He flinches and squirms uncomfortably the moment the cold energy holds together within him, feeding Emily information about the muscles and nerves down to a few centimetres below the surface where her hand makes contact.
Emily places another hand on his shoulder, pushing down to remind him to remain still as she maintains the same concentration of machina and slowly pours in a larger quantity, guiding the energy to flow out from the boy’s spine. She takes her time carefully mapping his body with clinical interest, noting the differences in everything from muscle density to organ activity and even organ placement between him, Agnes, and herself.
Is this a male and female thing, or is it related to our awakenings and ascensions? I need more live test subjects if I’m going to figure it out. Preferably some pre-awakening women as well to get a better point of comparison.
Adding some less-than-savoury plans to her to-do list, Emily finishes her scan, drawing out a detailed map of Podrick’s body to compare with after trying to awaken him, before retracting her energy.
“Haaa,” Podrick lets out a laboured gasp as her machina leaves his body, sweat running down his brow. “What was that? It felt like something was burning my insides, but it wasn’t hot.”
“That was my preliminary scan,” Emily explains, seeing no reason not to inform him properly. “I used the special energy type of mechanics, machina, to flood your body and give me a detailed view of the insides.”
“Will I be able to do that?”
“If you successfully awaken? Maybe. You probably will with a bit of practice. I’m not sure what it’s like for normal mechanics controlling machina, but if it’s anything like with mana, it may take you a while to get to my level of fine control.”
“Cool! What do you need to do to awaken me then?”
“Well,” Emily says, running through the information she has on mages’ assisted awakenings in her mind. “For a mage, the process for awakening someone else is pretty simple. You just inject raw mana into someone and flood their entire body with it, focusing it around their heart. Then, the body will see it as a threat and react: either by fighting it, and likely dying or becoming disfigured in the process, or by adapting to absorb and store it.”
“Isn’t that what you just did with machina?” Podrick questions.
“Yes, but I kept the concentration as low as possible and spread it out, to try not to let your body have a full reaction to it. We’re going to try the same thing again, but I’ll increase the concentration, and I think it will be more effective if I only send the energy along the pathways that will carry it in the future. Unlike mages, who have to form new mana circuits throughout their bodies to aid in the circulation of mana, mechanics use the neural pathways already in place in their bodies. Also, I’ll focus it around your brain, that’s what will become your energy store, not your heart like a mage.”
“Neural pathways?”
“The connections within your body used to transfer signals around. It’s what lets your brain tell your fingers to move,” Emily explains. “Now, prepare yourself, this is going to hurt.”
Podrick nods, taking a deep breath and clasping the edge of the crate he’s sitting on until his knuckles turn white.
“I’m ready,” he says resolutely, screwing his eyes shut.
“Here goes nothing,” Emily responds, placing her hand on the top of his head.
I’ll start at the same concentration as last time and slowly increase it. I can always reset if this doesn’t work and I need to keep a consistent concentration like with mage awakenings, but I won’t gain any information if I instantly fry his brain, so better safe than wasting my time.
She floods his body in an instant, guiding her machina through his brain and into his nervous system, keeping it contained within the pathways as she feels him shudder slightly. Slowly, she starts increasing the concentration of energy leaving her hand, watching as Podrick’s entire body tenses before growing hotter and starting to shake. He grits his teeth and hisses, doing a good job of not screaming under the searing pain, and Emily keeps going until cold lightning is flickering out and across the surface of the boy’s skin, making his hair stand on end.
Suddenly, as if a switch is flipped, she feels a change occur and his body goes from trying to force the foreign energy out to drawing it in hungrily.
It’s working!
“AAAHHHH!” Podrick lets out a guttural scream as his body convulses and starts drawing in energy from the air around him.
Emily lets go of his head and steps back, letting the awakening process continue on its own as she watches with rapt attention. Podrick curls in on himself, his fingers locking out straight and his arms and back flexing under tension. He convulses violently as he continues to scream with tears rolling down his face, mixing with the stream of blood running from his nose.
Is he being damaged by the process? I don’t think I was. I’ll have to check his cortex afterwards to make sure there are no abnormalities.
After a minute, the lightning flickering across the suffering boy’s skin slowly dies down as Emily feels the energy drawn around him weakening. His screaming stops, and he goes limp in an instant, like a puppet with its strings cut, falling forward towards the floor.
Emily glances at the system notification sitting before her eyes as she catches him before he can drop off the crate, lifting him up and lowering him to the floor gently.
¯¯¯¯¯
Hidden-Quest completed: The Spread of Knowledge
[The Spread of Knowledge]
[Rank:] D
[Description:] As the first true mechanic of your world, you’ve taken it upon yourself to spread the vocation. Congratulations on becoming the mother of Ulean mechanics.
Requirements:
-Awaken 1/1 mechanic (Completed)
Rewards:
-Skill: Mother’s Blessing
_____
Podrick opens his eyes weakly and looks up at Emily, seeing the small, barely noticeable, triumphant grin on her face.
“Congratulations,” she says, meeting his eyes, “on becoming the second Ulean mechanic.”
Comments
Tyler Machado
This story has handled it well. It's stories like Harry Potter where a wand can be taken and you're basically a muggle that agrivates me.
lizard King
A magical focus is merely an extension of the user. It is not the source of the user's power or the end all beyond. It is merely another extension for the user to use their power in more efficient capacity. The compound of the story very good. It is so good that it is hard to skip. Good job thank you for this story.
Kermit
Yeah. I definitely have a lot of shit happening to Emily, but I put the worst of it at the start and everything else planned from now will have a lot less of an effect on her. Most of the 'dark' of the story from now will be dealing with the mental reprocussions and processing of current trauma, not too much will be added on in the future. I'm glad you're liking the combat! Mages acting as turrets definitely annoys me too. I can understand if you're meant to have an untalented character, but if your mage is meant to be skilled, why don't they use magic to move around? Surely mages should be the hardest to hit on a battlefield with their magical means? Especially if they're glass cannons. They should definitely have options for both blocking and dodging! As for wands? Magical foci will definitely be used (as seen by the brainwasher in the Mandrago family using a staff), but they are just used for enhancing existing strength. Never replacing it.
Tyler Machado
Good idea doing rock bottom here. Some have it all the time, blow after blow which can turn very grimdark. I liked her power in the battle. So many authors treat mages as if they were archers who absolutely need the support of those around them and act like powerful mages can't handle more than one or two people. Very frustrating in those stories. Just learn the bow and arrow if magic is so useless for combat. Also glad you kept wands out since they've started turning into a crutch the mage can't be powerful without.
Kermit
Yeah, if she does it within 24 hours it will be fine (in fact I've already written that happening at least once while she's escaping), but most of the testing she wants to do now will need a little longer. As for Anna? Her death was planned from the onset. Emily was never going to have living family members when she left the planet. (This is meant to be where she hits mental rock bottom before rebuilding herself through her journey) The final battle from another perspective could have been interesting, but I'm sticking to Emily's perspective mostly (I'm considering doing some one off between major arc chapters from other characters perspectives to widen the world view and show Emily from the outside if I have free time and motivation tho)
Tyler Machado
If she did it within 24 hours she'd b fine since she could reverse it. What made you decide to kill off the sister? Did you not want to deal with another character or was that planned from the outline. Almost wish you'd shown the final battle from one of the noble's POV so we could get an even better idea how terrified they were. Keep it up.
Kermit
If she did that though, she'd have to make sure her experiments didn't kill them. What would be the point of having test subjects if you can't properly disect them?!?
Tyler Machado
Cool, we can see another country soon. Also if she needs test subjects she can capture some of her pursuers. There's a lot between no killing and being alright, it's why you have to give the order for someone to be captured alive and unspoiled.
Justin Drake
TYFTC
