Blood & Besiegement

by Jeremy Dwyer

  In order to manipulate the blocks of wood, Fantine considered drinking the waters of the Gradaken Ocean, which would allow the drinker to affect the behavior and growth of both animals and plants, including trees. However, the wood of a tree had only some of the desirable properties she sought in a building material. Out of curiosity, she utilized the anointing method – made famous and perfected by the Jenaldej Empire’s waterbinding trials – and placed a small amount on her neck, so that her body, which was not yet bound to any waters, could adapt to it on a nonbinding basis. She then planted some seeds for redwood and oak trees, but no rapid growth resulted, so she realized that she did not have the innate potential for using the powers within the Gradaken Ocean waters.

  Fantine knew that both light and darkness had immense importance – for visibility and concealment, for heat and freezing cold – and that these elements and energies affected the buildings she wanted to build and the environment around her. If she could directly control light, she would be able to provide illumination throughout the structures that she built, at any part of the interior. If she could directly control darkness, she would be able to provide subtle shading for protection from the seventy (70) suns. However, controlling light would mean drinking the Lujladia Ocean waters, but then she would not be able to control darkness. Controlling darkness would mean drinking the Ikkith Tar Ocean waters, but then she would not be able to control the light. Hence, she ruled both of these choices out. There was only one (1) reasonable choice of waterbinding that would give her the control she needed, so she skipped past the anointing test process for the remaining waters and directly drank of the Kazofen Ocean waters. Fortunately, she found that she did, indeed, have a high innate potential for using the powers they gave. In fact, she had among the highest ever.

  The powers she gained allowed her to manipulate stones and crystals in exotic and powerful ways, so that they would reflect or refract light at any chosen angle, and direct the light to illuminate and warm parts of a structure. She could manipulate the materials to filter light as needed, to give shading.

  The absence of light was not the same as the deep darkness that could be created using the powers gained from drinking the Ikkith Tar Ocean waters, but that darkness was an energy that could also be reflected, refracted, directed and filtered by the crystals. Plain darkness was just a neutral state, whereas light and deep darkness were both energies of opposite polarities, and both were subject to the effects of passing through crystals.

  She had a relatively good understanding of mathematics, including geometry, trigonometry, calculus and some combinatorics, but could not do these in her head as easily as those who drank the waters of the Medathero Ocean, nor was she inclined toward mathematical research. However, her abilities were sufficient to enable her to reason carefully about the structures she designed and to consider new possibilities suggested by altering variables in her mathematical models.

  Fantine gained a deeper understanding of light, darkness and deep darkness through her experiments with the manipulation of crystals over the next two (2) decades. She had no interest in romantic relationships or even friendship: she only wanted to understand materials, structure, light and darkness. She occasionally regretted her inability to work with wood and other botanical materials at the sophisticated level that the Gradaken Ocean waters would have allowed, but she gained so much more through the Kazofen Ocean waters she drank, because of the distinctive material properties of crystals and stones they enabled her to manipulate. Besides, it was impossible to have all the powers, as you could only drink one (1) of the great waters or drink none of them: in that case, a person would drink the waters of the Dead Waters Ocean for hydration and gain no special abilities. Drinking two (2) or more meant immediately suffering from the fatal disease known as crixalethicis, and not even the waters could cure that, because it was the waters that caused it.

  ~~~

  Fantine was now thirty-seven (37) years old, and had continually invested in her understanding and manipulation of crystals of various sorts while developing innovative design techniques to utilize them. She was a crystal-bending architect by trade, given that she could alter the structure of crystals at the finest level to realize her designs. She was also an alchemist, in that she worked to purify the water by extracting every impure element from it.

  She still worked to improve her crystal composite – the crystal shells filled with the waters of the Trerada Ocean – so that the light would pass through and be filtered to not be quite as bright, additionally taking on some of the qualities of the Trerada waters: specifically, their healing properties. Her initial work on this design – inside of the old castle where Duke Hagan had previously been – showed promising results, and was used on a large scale to build protective structures to defend against the intense heat and light of the solar alignment, known as the “inferno.” Those who stood under these structures – usually built in the form of parabolic archways elevated on stone pillars – were both protected from the burn and healed from its effects. Tens of millions (10000000) of lives were saved as a result.

  However, Fantine did not settle for this success – as great as it was, with as much fame as it brought her – and returned to her earlier notions of building movable structures that could change in shape as needed. She was reassured of the need for movable structures in an earlier conversation with another crystal-bender – Prince Emerond of the Jenaldej Empire – with whom she had worked on the actual production of the crystal composites according to the design she had developed. He was very capable at manipulating the crystals – being a drinker of the same Kazofen Ocean waters – but her design skills were far superior to his and those of most others.

  In order to build movable structures, she considered that she might need to make the structures capable of changing shape, so that the vibrations of movement would not cause instabilities or ruptures. If she only focused on making a movable structure, she would be very limited in the size of the structures produced, or have to make special efforts to harden the structures. This is the path that she chose, given that she saw an additional use for it: if a structure was hard enough to withstand the movement, it could more easily withstand an attack by an aggressor, such as a religious fanatic of the sort she had seen in the so-called “Pilgrims of the Burning Road” who had attacked some of her earlier crystal archways.

  Fantine began taking ruby and sapphire and diamond – which she was able to purchase due to the financial assistance of the wealthy philanthropist Sebastian – and she altered these in various ways to form a poly-gem composite that they could withstand any vibration.

  The heavy-lifting needed to put the poly-gem composite walls into place after she formed them was done by construction crews which were also paid for by Sebastian. He was a compassionate and generous man who had a strong conviction for using his wealth to support technological developments – if a magic that could be modeled with mathematics could be called technology – to help others. Like Fantine, Sebastian had no tolerance for the violence of religious fanatics or their mythologies and twisted philosophies. She viewed him as an ally, but neither had any attraction to the other in a romantic capacity. Besides, Fantine, thought, Sebastian was interested in that woman named Caroline, whose daughter sang the songs. Fantine, further, never deliberately did anything to make herself attractive, finding romance to be a distracting waste of time. She made a point of keeping herself unattractive – not repulsive, just not charming or well-dressed – so that she would not become an object of desire. Hardly a glance lingered on her, and this was to her liking, because Fantine’s personal fulfillment was in her architectural design and crystal-bending work and nowhere else.

  Using that poly-gem composite, Fantine designed a small tower in the shape of the frustum of a pyramid with a fourteen (14) foot by fourteen (14) foot top and a forty (40) foot by forty (40) foot base and that was thirty (30) feet in height. The construction crews had finished assembling it, and Fantine would w
ork with them, fusing each layer to the next by using her powers gained from drinking the Kazofen Ocean waters. By touching key points on the materials, they would bind together, so that the structure was a unified whole.

  There were steps leading to the top of the pyramidal frustum, and Fantine climbed these, along with the construction manager and Sebastian, who enjoyed exploring the structures he financed and that Fantine designed.

  “So, how strong is this one?” Sebastian asked.

  “It should be able to withstand any vibration, based on my earlier experiments. I built small ones, five (5) feet high, near a river. Some were planted with good foundations two (2) feet deep on the river bank, and some were planted without foundations. The ones with foundations stood reliably. Those without foundations were carried by the river, but undamaged. I followed them for seven (7) miles and was able to recover them and analyze them for structural integrity. There was no detectable damage, to either the individual layers of material or to the overall structural integrity,” Fantine said.

  “What else can they withstand? What about fire?” Sebastian asked.

  “Theoretically, they can withstand any fire,” Fantine said.

  “Do you have a practical test planned, like the ones you did using the river?” Sebastian asked.

  “Yes. We’re already in it. There is a fire inside of this pyramid, and I can see through the structure of the crystals that there is only a slight change.” Fantine said.

  “We’re standing atop a burning building, right now?” Sebastian asked, in disbelief.

  “Yes,” Fantine said.

  “You said that the fire’s on the inside. Doesn’t a fire need air to burn?” Sebastian asked.

  “There are several vents leading in to the structure, much as there would be if it were occupied, so the fire is ventilated,” Fantine said.

  “I didn’t see any smoke coming out of it. Doesn’t that mean the fire is dead or dying?” Sebastian asked.

  “The fire is very small now, so it’s dying, but not dead. When it started, the entire interior was on fire,” Fantine said.

  “How long was the fire burning?” Sebastian asked.

  Just then, another person came up the steps of the pyramid.

  “How long was what fire burning?” Prince Emerond asked as he reached the top and saw Fantine, Sebastian and the construction manager.

  “Emerond, it’s good to see you came back. After this structure was completed – it’s made of a composite of diamond, ruby and sapphire, altered for durability – a fire was ignited inside of it. It’s been burning for eighty-four (84) minutes now. It’s approximately one sixty-fourth (1/64) of its original size,” Fantine said.

  Emerond made a rapid mental calculation – he was no mathematician, but could do some mental modeling for simpler processes and only resorted to writing out his work for complex problems in design – and said: “That would mean that, every fourteen (14) minutes, the fire is reduced to one-half (1/2) of its previous size. There are six (6) such fourteen (14) minute periods in the eighty-four (84) minutes, and thus six (6) reductions in size.”

  “Correct. This material has been altered to put out fire, of it is own accord, by virtue of its structure. I’ve been experimenting with this for a number of years, here and there, off and on. I’m getting closer,” Fantine said.

  “Closer? What’s missing?” Emerond asked.

  “I need to subject it to a wide variety of stresses and disturbances, in various forms and magnitudes and from various directions. Comprehensive testing is every bit as important as initial theoretical design,” Fantine said.

  “Be assured that I have no shortage of stresses and disturbances and would be glad to share them with you, even right now,” Emerond said.

  “How can I be of assistance to you?” Fantine asked.

  “Things are, shall we say, heating up. Let’s talk…in private…on my ship,” Emerond said.

  CHAPTER 14: Architecture and Betrayal

  Fantine started heading down the steps of the experimental structure and Sebastian, Emerond and the construction manager followed her.

  Fantine turned to the construction manager and said: “Please wait down here, and record and report any changes that you observe.”

  “Will do,” the construction manager said.

  “When you have a moment, we can discuss the plan for testing this material under other conditions and stresses. We’ll need to plan out how much crystal of each type you need me to purchase for your work,” Sebastian said. He did not make eye contact with Emerond, as Sebastian was banished from the Jenaldej Empire for his words against them, and had no personal relations with their leaders or citizens. However, Sebastian did purchase materials from them, through intermediaries, and they knew this and accepted it, given that he had been financing the design and construction of the protective crystal archways that were used to defend against the solar alignment.

  “Yes. Please. There’s a lot of work to do, and we need to schedule everything,” Fantine said.

  Sebastian returned to his own ship, in the docks of the Port of Kemalorin, to wait for Fantine.

  “Are you ready to talk?” Emerond asked Fantine.

  “Yes. Perhaps I can provide some assistance,” Fantine said.

  Fantine followed Emerond onto his ship, the Lucent, which was also docked in the Port of Kemalorin.

  “Things are worse now. We’re up against fire and water,” Emerond said, in his private quarters on board the ship. He trusted Fantine’s technical judgment as well as her willingness to assist. The news of the sunfire creature had been spreading, and he wasn’t about to tell her something that was confidential, as all of the world would soon know.

  “Please explain, precisely, what you mean?” Fantine asked.

  “A sun has fallen from the sky – and it’s alive. It’s a sunfire creature, and has the power to use fire as a weapon against anyone, and it’s already begun to do so. It attacked my troops, although we were able to send it away…for a while,” Emerond said.

  “I’ve heard of some changes in the stars of the sky, but this is quite extraordinary to hear. How did this sun fall?” Fantine said, not quite believing what she was hearing was an accurate description of the events: it sounded more like mythology.

  “There was a powerful song – I think it was by a girl, named Taesa, whom the sunfire creature is looking for – if I am remembering and understanding the details correctly. The source is not proven reliable, so we shouldn’t waste time talking about it now,” Emerond said.

  “Details, however small, do matter, but we can save some of them for a later time,” Fantine said.

  “More immediately, I need to ask for your help to protect Revod from this sunfire creature. If you’re designing and building structures that can withstand fires – and even extinguish them – you’re the one I need, and I didn’t come a moment too soon,” Emerond said.

  “I haven’t fully explored this material. There are many parameters that go into the poly-gem composite – the proportions of the ruby, sapphire and diamond, as well as the low-level curvature of the crystal. I haven’t explored enough of the parameter space to be confident that I have an optimal, or near-optimal solution. I cannot yet discern what weaknesses that the material might have,” Fantine said.

  “Whatever you built that pyramidal frustum structure out of, whatever parameters define it, I need you to build another one. Any materials that you need, in any quantities, will be provided,” Emerond said.

  “Your resource coordinator needs to agree. In your region of Revod, it’s Nathan, and he is not easily convinced. Last time, someone practically had to beg him,” Fantine said. She was referring to Romana, who actually prayed to the One True God, rather than begging Nathan.

  However, Fantine didn’t believe in any sort of deity or afterlife. Even ghosts could be explained away as semi-structured residual energies left by living things after biological failure. There was a logical and scientific explanation for e
verything. Magic was just the collection of phenomena that hadn’t yet been fully understood at the deepest levels and needed a further exploration. Thus, Fantine did not even consider the ocean waters to be magic – they were just not fully understood.

  “I will work with him to get a small amount of material to build test structures with, and you can explore some different parameter values for the material proportions and curvature. If you can demonstrate the same or better or results against the fire, we will build to whatever scale is necessary,” Emerond said.

  “You said that you were against fire and water. What did you mean?” Fantine asked.

  “The Ahitan woman – Victoria – is still out there. I don’t even know what to believe any more about what her power really is. People tell me half-truths and metaphors, using word games and vague statements. I trust you, because you’re precise and not reluctant to tell me the limitations. Please, never hold that back – the honesty is reassuring: if something works only two-fifths (2/5) of the time, tell me; if something works only under the light of four (4) yellow suns, tell me. Whatever the limitation, just let me know. I’ve been led places expecting so much more, only to find out that I was getting so much less, after I’ve spent my limited time,” Emerond said.

  “I’ll be forthright about the limitations. My question still stands – what did you mean about the water? If there’s a particular problem associated with water, can you tell me its details?” Fantine asked.

  “Supposedly, Victoria has the ability to control the oceans, through some sort of item in the form of a tiara. It doesn’t have power under the intense heat and light of the aligned suns, so that’s why she isn’t using it. Again, this is based on what I’ve been told – what the world has been told – but the information came from Emeth, so I have to trust it,” Emerond said.