by P. Tempest
“Good morning Sophia, I trust you slept well from the snoring I could hear through the walls,” I said with a grin as we entered the room
“Who is that?” she asked after a hasty swallow. Her arm rose to point at Airis who up until now had remained behind me.
“This is Airis, I thought having someone your own age around for lessons might help,” I said.
“I've never seen him before and you haven't mentioned him either” she said.
Crap, I'm going to have to talk fast to sell this I don't want her to know he's a golem yet, but I don't want to lie to her either. I thought to myself as I scrambled for words.
“He's new” I answered.
“Um, right. Nice to meet you Airis” Sophia said, eye him suspiciously.
“Well I spoke to Jase earlier, he is happy to have you both for a few hours of control lessons,” I said.
“We aren't with you?” Sophia asked
“No, I have to get a few things worked out first before I can handle lessons, it shouldn't be long until its worked out,” I said before adding, “Sophia, I know you was expecting me to teach you and I will, I can't right now. I'm also going to arrange for you to have someone to talk to about what happened, it may help.”
“Oh, talk to whom?” she asked
“That's what I'm going to arrange, I don't know yet, but I’ll find someone nice,” I answered
“Okay, I guess, come sit down Airis, have some breakfast. The grapes are really good,” she said, changing the subject.
Airis moved to sit next to her. His face was still blank, although hints of animation were starting to appear.
I stood watching for a moment as they sat there eating, I shouldn’t have to wait long until Jase arrived to take them for control exercises.
I was nervous, I didn't want Airis giving away that he was a construct straight away. So I blurted out, “Sophia, how are you feeling about more lessons?”
“Meh, I should be done soon shouldn’t I?” she answered.
“Depends on how well you do, you know we only have to teach you to touch it so you can suppress it. It can take a long time to get a firm hold on it. Most of my mage training was fine control, but the same principle applies.”
“But I did okay with the stones," she complained.
“You did, but that's just a baby step. You still can't stop the involuntary activations, which are what got you placed with me in the first place,” I instantly regretted saying that. Don’t cry please don't cry.
“I will do it just you wait and see, I'll make you proud,” she said.
“I’m sure you will, you could be a mage in the making,” I said with a smile. This kid is tough. I thought to myself, there was no hint of sadness on her face. Although there was a glimmer of anger.
“Maybe, still don't like magic.” she said. She pouted a bit at that.
“I know, I will just have to work harder to change your mind. It can be a lot of fun and it’s useful.”
“More trouble than its worth,” she said.
I had no answer to that. In her eyes at least it would look that way. It had taken her parents and kept her away from her friends.
“I am looking forward to lessons Tristan.” Airis said.
“Good, Jase will be here soon,” I nodded more to myself than to them as there came a knock at the door.
“Perfect timing,” I said before walking to the door. “Jase come on in, your students are eagerly awaiting,”
Jase walked in and stopped as he took in the scene.
“Tristan could I have a word please?” Jase asked.
“Of course,” I turned to the table. “Sophia, Airis, if you will excuse us for just a moment,” I gestured to Jase, “we will go through to my room, let them finish their breakfast.”
“Alright,” Jase said, his eyes never leaving Airis.
I led Jase past the table, sure he was still staring. We went through to my room.
“What's the problem Jase,” I asked.
“How is a golem wearing your face?” Jase asked loudly.
“Keep your voice down, I don't want Sophia to know. Airis is my project I want him to be Sophia's companion. How did you know he was a construct, I thought I had made him well enough to pass?”
“Tristan it has your face, are you so arrogant that you thought no one would notice. It’s clear as day that it’s not natural.” Jase started pacing around clearly agitated. “It shouldn’t be possible, how did you give it your face? It looks so mortal.”
“Stop calling him it. He has a gender. He's called Airis. I’ll let you have my notes, so you can look over what I've done, but in essence I duplicated my link to the magic. The only way to do that was to imprint a part of me in to his matrix. In some ways he is my own blood.”
“Tristan, you know golems aren’t my area. I don't understand half of what you do with them. Your own blooming makes no sense from an academic point of view. You shouldn’t have been able to produce a sentient being. Even my own feeble attempts at constructs don't live, they are tools. Very good tools but not alive in any sense. But I'm wandering again. You shouldn’t have been able to grant a stable link let alone your own features.”
I smirked as Jase rambled on.
“That can’t be its original form. I wouldn't even know where to begin making flesh and blood. Are you sure you thought this through Tristan. What if it’s unstable?”
“Calm down Jase. I'll tell you about him. No it’s not his base form. I gave him limited shifting abilities. I made him to be Sophia's companion, she can’t bond to a lump of rock she's a mortal girl she needs some natural seeming, but that wasn't the main point of making him. I wanted to get over some of the limitations of the standard golems, low intelligence, limited range and autonomy.”
“Tristan you are brilliant in this area I won't deny that, but those limitations keep us safe. You can’t give souls to machines. It’s not right. What if he decides he doesn’t want to be bound anymore? What if he’s unhappy? You could have made a being that you can’t control.” Jase stood there looking at me, his face was pale as he considered the implications.
“Jase, please calm down. I have thought of these things. Airis is just a child as yet. He will grow and he will learn, he doesn't have emotions as such yet, it’s all just simulations. I've given him a seed of life. It’s up to us to nurture that seed as we would any other.”
“Tristan, how can you be so confident? That being in there represents a massive shift in golem technology. But it’s so dangerous. Have you tested it? Him sorry,”
“I'm confident because I feel that he is well made. Yes I know I may be overlooking something, but I can’t think of everything if I don't make him. I needed to construct him to see if it was even possible. There will be questions I didn't even know needed to be thought out.”
“I guess you're right, but I'm not convinced. You need to keep a close eye on him.”
“I will Jase don't worry if there is a problem I can fix it. I made him flexible for a reason. Ah that's actually what I wanted to talk about. I need some skills for him,”
“I take it you don't want base skills. You should be able to handle them yourself,” Jase said.
“Yeah, I'm going to need some advanced modular developing skills,” I asked gently. I held my breath and looked at Jase to gauge his reaction.
Jase looked at me and just sighed, “Of course you do, you never ask for the easy stuff. You know I need the council's approval to hand out those. Is Airis suitable?”
“I know, they aren't for Airis as such. I need them for my research, I've never got to handle them before,”
“That's because they are dangerous Tristan, I won't get you the combat ones. Which ones are you thinking of?”
“Any really, I need to work out what makes them different from the standard. I've placed sockets for them in Airis’ matrix, I want to see how they integrate,”
“Tristan I need you to be honest with me. What is the purpose of all this? Airis
could be the biggest leap in golems since the dawn of organised magic. At least in terms of true artificial life. Do you really need to do more?” Jase asked.
I didn't have an answer. I looked away thinking furiously. Did I really need to push so hard? I have time. I collected my thoughts before saying, “Jase, you know I'm not very good at all this being a mage stuff. I can’t do the formulas like you can, I’m not as smart as some of the others, working hard doesn't work for me. I either get something or I don't. I feel I need to do this. It’s something I can do. It’s hard, but it’s my gift. I don't want it to be just my gift. I want it to be a gift for everyone,” I blinked back the tears that had formed in my eyes as I spoke.
“Tristan, my boy, you have time, you are growing into an amazing mage. I'll admit you aren’t as good with the formulas and the well thought out uses of power. But the things you can do are remarkable,” Jase said, he placed his hand on my shoulder and looked me straight “Give yourself time, you have only been doing this a few months.”
I pulled myself together then shook of his arm “thank you Jase. I’ll be fine. Now can you get me one of the modules? I don't need it, but I'm curious about them.”
“Yes, I can get you one, I may even have a couple down in my lab that I can let you look at, but no implanting them. I don't want to report that you used one without authorisation. I'll talk to Wizard Decon, see what he says about it,” Jase said.
“Wizard Decon? Never mind. Are you okay to take Sophia and Airis for control today?” I asked.
“Yes, I’ll take them. I need to know Sophia's progress before I can though,” Jase said
“Oh, yeah. Not reliable at all. She has successfully used her power on command, but it’s nothing she has a great deal of control over. She needs to be able to suppress it when it rises unbidden. Other than that she should be fine. I guess now I should mention, there is a faint, but very possible chance Airis could use magic too. Don’t over react. Try to treat him as you would any other child.” I said.
“How faint?” Jase asked. An edge of wariness in his voice.
I scratched my head, “I'm not really sure, he’s safe, but experimental. His full capabilities won't be assessed for a while. I need to run some tests in a few days to see that his experiences are meshing with the rest of his systems. I can’t do that unless he has experiences,” I said.
“Fine, I’ll do what you ask for now, but this is a onetime thing. I can’t, no. I won't risk you or Sophia to a dangerous experiment. If I think he's too much of a risk, I will deactivate him,” Jase said. His demeanour shifting from wary to almost aggressive.
“Okay Jase that's alright, don't damage him though, I’d have to work out what went wrong. I don't think you will have to do anything to Airis though, he seems really stable. Just be clear when speaking to him, he hasn’t got Orb’s higher language functions. I wanted to grant them to him, but they are on the restricted list for some reason,” I said, distracted by my wonderings.
“Leave the restricted list alone Tristan some of the things on it are worse than the module you're asking for. I’ll go take the kids down to the lab and see if we can make some headway,” Jase turned and walked back through the door, leaving me alone in my room.
I stood there for a moment after Jase left, giving him time to get out the door with the kids. I wandered over to my mirror, checked that I was presentable. I was, but it never hurts to be sure. I headed to the door then remembered something. The shard that Lyphia had given me. I smiled to myself as I walked over to my bedside dresser. It was sat there glimmering in the light. I picked it up, prepared for the rush of information. It came as a trickle, flowing in to me. My mine gradually absorbing the information. From the feel of the magic I could tell it wasn't permanent, but it could be if I invested some time and effort into understanding the new learning. I didn't have time right now, I should be on my way to the guild. I placed it in my pouch, the ideas and images stopped flowing, but I could feel the ones already there staying, at least for now. I checked myself in the mirror again. I looked fine. I tied up my hair. I was going to be working hard today if what Lyphia had said was anything to go by. I smiled again another look in the mirror. No I tore myself away. I couldn't spend all day worrying I have work to do. I walked to the door, resisting the urge to stay and keep checking. I wiped my palms that were oddly sweating, down my trousers. I walked out. The dining room was empty Jase had taken Sophia and Airis for the day. One less thing to worry about. I made my way through the mage's academy, it was bustling. Small groups of people wandering around chatting to each other, there were even some mage aspirants trailing along. I looked to the walls, one of the wall screens displayed a glowing sun about a third of the way through a semi-circle, late morning. I quickened my pace. I was soon racing down the halls. I ran right past the reception, Kristina was sat there as usual, I didn't have time to apologise for scaring her, Sophia had managed to make me feel bad about my treatment of the girl. It wasn't my fault she assumed incorrectly, but I shouldn’t have used it against her. I would apologise later.
The streets were clear, very few people were about. I guessed it was because of the time of day. It wasn't lunch yet. Too late for morning shifts too early for afternoon. The sky was cloudy and overcast, all in all a dim and grey day. My path to the stone guild was very short. I arrived at the magnificent building slightly out of breath, I had run most of the way there. I knew I wasn't expected, but hoped it would endear me to the guild that I was willing to stop by whenever I was free to help out.
The foyer was the same vast hall, although the patterns has shifted, a dim glow came from the floor itself. That illuminated the etchings in a different way. I refused to get drawn in again despite their beauty. I made my way to the back of the hall where one of the desk had an occupant. A man roughly my own age. He was dressed in a similar way to the other stone guild workers, but the material had a faint shimmer to denoting quality. He was a large square jawed fellow a stern expression on his face, which matched his serious tied back blond hair. As I approached, his head turn towards the echoing clunk my steps made on the stone, his pale eyes looked me up and down.
“You’re the mage?” he asked, a disappointed look coming with his words.
“Yes, I’m Mage Representative Tristan Sodden. I’m here to report for duty to Lyphia Terra,” I said.
“Well we have standing orders concerning you, Lady Lyphia is on site. Go there,” he said. He quickly turned away.
I stood there clenching my fists, How dare this bloody spark talk to me like this, he's nothing. I thought before I opened my mouth, “Who the fuck do you think you are? I could bury you alive under the rubble of this pretentious hall, and leave you gasping your last breaths, crushed beneath the stone,” I said in a hushed voice.
He gasped as he turned back to look at me. The colour in his face drained away.
I leant over the desk to make sure he didn't mistake my intent I could feel my magic swirling around the air, lending a flickering light to me.
He fell of his chair in his haste to get away as he lay on the floor with a look of horror on his face I asked
“Where is the site?” I had a very bad feeling that I already knew, so much so that a shiver went through me.
“T Th The old foundry,” he stuttered out.
I stood up straight and turned to go. I looked over my shoulder to see him pulling himself up. “Watch you tone with me next time or a may have to teach you a lesson,” I said as I walked out.
I stomped down the street, the sky then opened dropping cold rain down on me. I was still surrounded by swirling energies, I needed to get a grip before I did much else. I stood still in the middle of the pouring rain, letting the cold water wash away the residues and cool my temper. I had no idea what came over me. My emotions were all over the place. Before the man had even said I knew it would be the foundry. That didn't justify my temper which had flared before it even came up. Was Lyphia right? Are all mages arrogant and entitled, looking d
own on the masses? I thought, I didn't know if it was the case, but I usually wasn't. I just felt so frustrated dealing with unpleasant people that always thought the worst. I looked up to the sky, the rain was soothing, and I opened my mouth and closed my eyes. Enjoying the feel of the cool water running down my face, the refreshing taste. I opened my eyes I felt clearer not exactly better. My temper was still blazing, what was it that got under my skin so much. I shook my head, the rain had weakened the binding on my hair. Rather than redoing it to have it fail again, I let my hair hang loose. Another thing that could irritate me, just great. I tromped of down the street, not thinking just walking. The foundry district wasn't awfully far I just didn't want to be there. Nothing reminds you of your failures than a large chunk of town reduced to burnt rubble and ashes. I walked slowly over the shattered cobbles towards the twisted remains of the foundry. There were a group of maybe five people stood in front of my destination. They were arguing fiercely. A great deal of arm waving and raised voices. Lyphia was the only woman there she was stood slightly apart from the group a look of resignation on her pretty face.
“We have to repair it,” shouted one of the people a man. He looked to be in his late forties. Bald with skin like leather, his dark eyes glimmering with green flickers, as his magic rose.
“Cut it out Velten!” said another. He was younger paler and had hair, dirty blond cut short, he was built more solidly than the first man, Velten I guessed.
“It will be less work to repair, most of the foundations are solid," Velten said.
“Have you no thought of the people that lost everything here?” the other man said.
