Transcendence?

by Andur

  On the other hand that's quite fast if you don't have the wind on your side. They spotted the fleet from the Nation of Mist already weeks ago. The reason for this early detection is that the fishing fleet isn't fishing blindly. They are always spreading out from Sarn in search patterns. So it's not by chance that they found the enemy fleet.

  I walk up a ramp to board the Resurrection. That's the new name of the Phenex ship. I found it quite funny to see the hulk being repaired after being pounded by dozens of railguns.

  “Commander on board!”

  Some people snap to attention, but I smile and signal them to relax. Den did quite a good job on training our military. I have to ask him about his past if there is time. The werewolf curse was created to make better use of normal people in warfare. That means that Den and his men were in the military once.

  I turn around and look at the two shadows, who are always lurking close to me. I already forget to notice their existence sometimes. The guards are never far when I am not inside my mansion.

  A higher ranking officer greets me with expectant eyes. “The orders?”

  I smile. “Lift off. We are going to meet the guys from the Nation of Mist.”

  The officer smiles and walks away to give orders to his men.

  I walk closer to the railing and have a good look at Sarn. It doesn't feel real if I think back on how this city looked when I first arrived here. The place is buzzing with life and new buildings like sawmills and smitheries are being built everywhere.

  The biggest change are the green houses, which are covering a great area around Sarn.

  The ship shakes a little when it lifts off. There wasn't much noise, because we are currently using just the new levitation magic. The air jets will come into action later to propel the ship forward.

  A wide grin starts to creep onto my face while the first flying ship of this world makes its entrance. I see people looking up in awe, as the fleet turns and heads out to meet the enemy.

  48 - Finding the enemy.

  Norfolk, Northern Ocean

  Ascathon

  Water! As far as I can see. Fortunately, I have a few seasoned seamen to do the navigation for me … and hopefully we don't fall into the water. The sea is cold up in the north.

  The bridge of my command ship is big and gives a nice view in all directions. It's basically empty. There is just a chair in front of a board with magical circuitry, it is placed at the front window. The pilot is the only job which requires a real magician on this ship. Manipulating the complicated circuits to keep the vessel flying is no easy task.

  I didn't have the time to adapt the controls for non-magicians. Controlling levitation magic with magical circuits alone is actually pretty hard to do. Non-magicians are only able to apply power to a circuit or not. I would need to design a logical circuit which is manageable for non-magicians.

  That's time-consuming and annoying. I will wait for a young smart head to get the idea.

  In the left corner of the room is a table for the navigator and in the middle is a big table with a tactical map for the commanders.

  The guys who are responsible for engineering have their own table close to the exit. They are after all the ones who come and go at the highest frequency.

  I turn to the captain of the Resurrection. “How is it?”

  “The core is fluctuating a little, but it should work out. We will meet the fleet from the Nation of Mist in about an hour.” He answers.

  I nod. “If there is that much time I will go and take a look at the engine room.” I turn and leave the bridge. At the corridor, I take a stairway which leads me deeper into the ship.

  The ship has four decks with the engine room at the third. I decided to place the most important part of the ship in its centre behind as many barriers as possible.

  After a short walk, I arrive in a big room. A crystal as tall as a man is levitating in the centre of the room while shimmering blue. It is made of piezoelectric glass.

  A technician is working on the circuits of the board in front of the crystal. He is probably adjusting the management of mana. My crystal engine is using the big piece of glass as a focus point to gather mana.

  It's similar to a generator, but of course the technology has its perils. Glass is very easy to break. A crack in the big crystal could cause a catastrophe. On the same accord, it could be damaged by holding too much energy.

  I look over the shoulder of the technician who is trying to tune the oscillation of the energy within the crystal to reasonable levels.

  He is using the buffers which are holding the crystal in place to accomplish this task.

  “If the oscillation is that big, you could introduce a new wave which is a reversed copy of the current one. Then both of them will negate each other.” I smile at the guy whose face became pale when he looked around. “It's just a suggestion.”

  The guy nods and does as told. A wide grin forms on his face when the hated vibration finally stops.

  I nod. “Good work. But don't forget that glass breaks if the frequency is ~too high~.”

  His smile vanishes and he starts to concentrate on his task again. After looking at the crystal for a moment, I continue my tour while checking on the various devices which are most important to keep the ship flying.

  There is still much to do if I want to create a new world order. Everyone's knowledge has to be raised in order to counteract the prejudice against technology.

  I start to work on one of the buffers which keep the crystal afloat. Before I know it, someone calls out to me and I look up.

  “The enemy fleet was sighted!” One of the officers salutes to me.

  I nod and leave my work behind, realizing that the technician was looking over my shoulder. I hope he learned something by watching me.

  The officer leads me back to the bridge where the captain is waiting. Everyone turns around and salutes to me. Even though I don't hold an official grade in my own military, everyone knows that my orders are absolute.

  I don't want to be a warrior for freedom. Being a dictator is fine too. And the people of this world don't know anything else anyway. If I would propose elections, I would most likely end up with something like the council of elders.

  Pah! It was a nuisance to shut those pests up.

  “We see them through our orbs. They haven't changed their course, so I assume that we haven't been found out.” The captain points out a point on the tactical map.

  “Good. Unfortunately, they haven't stated their intentions towards us. And I know one of their generals. It would be a pain in my ass if we killed him by accident.” I sigh while I realize the disturbed look on the captains face. “What? It would be awkward if I killed the guy who held my marriage.”

  The captain bows. “That goes without saying. So we will head directly for them?”

  “Yes, but keep a high altitude. I don't want to be in the range of their magic.” Then I grab one of the orbs for far sight and step outside onto the upper deck.

  A chilling wind is blowing here, so I cast elemental protection on myself and step closer to the railing. By relaxing my mind and infusing mana into the orb, I get a vision of the enemy fleet. They are sailing in a tight formation towards Sarn.

  I spend a few minutes to investigate each ship in detail. Then I decide on the vessel which is most likely the leading ship. It's the most colourful and has more and bigger flags than the others. A small phantom spell should be the easiest way to accomplish my task of talking to the commander of the enemy fleet. And it's unlikely that their passive barriers will be activated by a weak spell like that.

  So concentration! Imagine the proper magical circle. Incantation!

  ***

  A look around confirms my new location. Hah! Looks like it worked properly. I am on a ship on the ocean and multiple long-eared seamen are gawking at me. Having someone appear out of nowhere was probably not the best thing for their sanity.

  I poke my finger into the eye of the closest seaman. He doesn'
t even blink as my finger passes right through his eye and into his brain. Yep! The spell is working properly. I created an ethereal body which I can operate like my own. It's similar to being a ghost.

  After pulling my hand back, the seaman faints and pure chaos erupts all around me.

  "Ruun!"A Ghost!""AAAA!"

  Everyone is trying to get away from the monster. Weaklings …

  The guy isn't even hurt. He fainted on his own! And someone like that is in the military.

  Another look around confirms that the deck around me is void of people. They formed a proper line of defence against me with their weapons ready. I walk towards them and an arrow passes right through me.

  “I want to speak to the one who commands this fleet.”

  An elderly guy with pointy ears passes through their ranks. “That would be me. How dare you to infiltrate our vessel with a spell like that!”

  I bow a little. “Sorry that we can't shake hands, so a little bow must suffice. I am just here to ask why you are sailing towards my city. Thirty battle ships look a little … threatening.”

  “Ah. So you are Ascathon. They told me that you know quite a few tricks when it comes to magic. We are on our way to stop you from undermining the foundations of this world. And in case you don't listen to words alone, we brought the power to force you.”

  The elderly guy stands a little straighter while proclaiming this to me.

  “Those words sadden me. What became of the good relationship with your people? Didn't I help you several times? And where is Fingulf? I want to speak to the Sky General!” I look at the faces behind the elderly man in search of my special friend.

  “Fingulf isn't the Sky General any more. There was an assassination attempt on him and he got poisoned. I am the new Sky General and I follow the orders of our government.” The elderly guy looks straight into my face.

  The Sky General! Assassinated!? “I hope that's a bad joke! Fingulf held my marriage. That's how close we are. Tell me what happened.”

  The elderly guy purses his lips. “It was one of his aides. We don't know why, nor who was behind it. Fingulf is barely alive, but he is bedridden and it doesn't look like he will ever be himself again. The doctors said that he wont be able to move his body ever again. The poison destroyed some important nerves.”

  Grah! What the hell? I look down at the deck while thinking. Was that unknown force at fault? Did they take Fingulf out of the equation to insert this elderly guy into his position? He talks like he is absolutely loyal to the government. So Fingulf wasn't loyal? Or was he just not easy enough to control?

  “I see that you knew Fingulf better than most. So how about stopping your childish actions and visiting him at his sick bed? We could escort you there.”

  I look up. “That's something I cannot do. As the lord of Sarn, I have responsibilities to my subjects. Standing down and giving up everything which they accomplished isn't right.”

  “So we have to solve this with force? That's sad. We will try to kill as few innocent civilians as possible.” The elderly guy shakes his head.

  This guy wants to joke with me? “I hope you won't be burdened with the moral decision to attack civilians. In return I will give you a chance. Turn this fleet around right now and I won't sink your ships. There isn't anything I could do to help a ship in distress. So if it would come to it, you will be on your own.” I keep eye contact with the elderly person

  But the guy just snorts. “I hoped that you wouldn't give in. That way I can improve my status with the council of elders.”

  I close my eyes and drop my head. “It's sad that many people will die today. But I guess there is no other choice. Your fleet can always turn around if you want to give up. I wont chase you.”

  A mental command cuts the connection with my phantom and I open my eyes. A fast look around confirms that I am on the chilly deck of the Resurrection again. The globe is still in my hands.

  The news of Fingulf's unfortunate fate is disturbing. Maybe I will go and take a look at him when I have dealt with the current crisis.

  Back inside the bridge, I place the globe at its place on the desk. “The negotiations failed … I guess it's time to decide on how to attack them.”

  49 - Air against water.

  Norfolk, Northern Ocean

  Ascathon

  “How about using our railguns from directly above them? If a single hit gets through, they will have a big problem.” An officer makes the first suggestion.

  “Unfortunately I think that we wont penetrate their barriers if we attack just from one direction.” I tilt my head.

  “Then we fan out as far as possible and pick off one ship at a time like in the fjord. The other possibilities are our mana-bombs, or good old magic by our few mages.” The captain states our options.

  Unfortunately it's true that our possibilities to attack the enemy are limited. And I want to hold the mana bombs back. They are big pieces of glass, which are performing the same task as our ship's engine.

  To be truthful, they are the failed products of our attempts to create a small mana based engine. The glass wasn't cooled properly from its molten state. So the crystalline structure is faulty. Something which could lead to a catastrophic explosion. Of course the properly working ones have failsafe mechanisms.

  I intend to start those engines up and throw them onto the army of Mislow. They don't have to last longer than a few seconds until they break on the ground.

  The big explosions would have the maximum effect on a tightly advancing army.

  It would be a waste to throw them on this naval fleet, because of the barriers. “I am afraid that their barriers could withstand the explosions, unless we get a direct hit. We need the mana bombs against the army from Mislow. We will run out of ammunition if we try to stop all fifty thousand of them with our railguns alone.”

  “We don't have to use our bombs like that. We could rely on our barriers and fly deep enough to be sure to hit. If we use our railguns to shoot not directly at them, but into the water close to them, we can create a curtain of water to give us cover. The impacts from the railguns produce really big splashes.” The captain makes another suggestion.

  I scratch my cheek. “I like that plan. But we will improve the cover part by adding a little of my own magic. I will cast a spell which will create a small fog bank around the enemy fleet. We should be able to see the masts of their ships while their own vision will be seriously hindered.”

  Yes, obstructing their vision is necessary, especially because they have globes too. Although they are the simple versions, they have the same effective range for spells as us. “I will start to weave the needed spell. I hope we can settle this fast, our people need us in Sarn.”

  I turn to one of the engineers. “Bring one of the smaller cores to the deck. I guess I will need a little more power to cast this spell.”

  The engineer nods and runs off. He returns a few seconds later with a big chunk of glass. A complicated web of magical circuitry is replacing the function of the big machines of the ships core. “That's a nice one. I was always a fan of miniaturisation.”

  I grin at the engineer and grab the core with the size of a head out of his hands. Then I turn towards the captain. “I will be occupied with the spell, make sure to stop our attack if something unfortunate happens.”

  The captain nods while I step outside again. Having a direct view on my target area is a big bonus if you have to cast wide area magic alone.

  I orient myself towards the enemy fleet and the core in my hands comes to life with a blue light. Creating a fog bank on sea is easier than on land because of the huge amounts of water at my disposal.

  The power of the core flows through my being and I throw a thin web of mana over the enemy fleet. A slight manipulation of the bonding energy between the water molecules does the trick.

  A thick fogbank starts to appear around the enemy ships while I continue to channel mana into the spell.

  While my fleet starts its atta
ck, I see fireballs rising from the enemy ships and heading into our direction. I guess we were still seen in the end. But the fireball spells are slow and our railguns start to pick off the incoming attacks.

  I pour more mana into the spell and the core between my hands starts to pulse unhappy. I am drawing more mana than it can collect from its surroundings.

  The enemies continue to shoot their spells blindly and I watch as one of them gets a lucky hit on one of my ships. But our ships aren't defenceless either. The barrier of the ship's defence lights up and deflects the big explosion.

  Our ships disperse to pick their own targets by orienting themselves on one of the many sails above the fogbank.

  While passing through a curtain of fireballs, I feel my spell suddenly being affected by a foreign influence. I feel my control slip and force more power into my spell. But the opposing pressure is overwhelming.

  I add my own power to the spell in order to avoid having it break at a critical moment. My fogbank is kept in place by a pure effort of will. If I would let go of my spell, the strong wind would clear the fog within seconds.

  Probably it was foolish to think that people from a seafaring nation wouldn't know spells to control the weather on a small scale. Or am I fighting against someone else?

  Our ships finally pass over the enemy fleet and flowers of red light start to bloom under us. They dropped their payload at the last possible moment.

  Suddenly I feel a surge of power from the core in my hands. It's like something is channeling the power back into my device by force. If this goes on the core will overload!

  Probably it was my own fault for having such a thought. My bad foreboding became true the very instant I thought about it. Cracks appear on the surface of the crystal.

  I throw the crystal over board while using as much telekinetic power as possible to propel it down into the enemy fleet.

  *BOOOM*

  A red orb starts to bloom under us and I grab the railing to keep standing as a powerful shockwave shakes the entire ship.