7 Unlimited Power 1+2 (1/2)
Reborn midst light and fire,
And with deep darkness dire.
-prophecy of the duskbringer
Present day, 4993 A.D. Sixth day of the first week of Fall...
Upon hearing a whistling noise as she entered her workplace Guppy had ducked on pure reflex, the preservation instincts developed from years of working for Friedrich as a technomancer apprentice kicking in.
While the duo of boss and employee mostly managed the perpetual occupational risks with safety measures and equipment, most of which was designed by Guppy and made or ordered by Friedrich, one still needed a quick wit and reflexes to avoid the odd piece of shrapnel.
Guppy found that while not entirely safe, working for Friedrich was certainly fun. There was always an interesting project Friedrich had her working on.
First had been training pieces, random joints, bolts, rivets, and metal pieces of all shapes and sizes. Guppy had to spend a great many hours learning how they all went together as well as the common ins and outs of the tools needed to do so
Once she had the basics down Guppy was finally allowed to help with some of the simpler public orders and deal with customers that came around, although she suspected this was mainly because her boss really disliked doing so, preferring instead his uninterrupted crafting marathons.
Finally, when Friedrich thought she was ready, he started Guppy with a new set of practise puzzles, except these were far tinier and more complex than the first sets. The delicate little mechanisms she assembled were made of strange alloys and metals, and once Friedrich was satisfied he took them down to the basement for his secret project.
To be honest Guppy had been flat out bluffing when she first met him, all she had known at the time was gleaned and guessed from what she heard from the other craftsmen gossiping about.
The juiciest tid bit being that Friedrich ordered a great many odd bits and bobs, despite their creators warning him he wouldn't be able to use them personally. His design had been flawed, far too delicate they said, for his own measured ambient mana radiation.
Guppy had gambled with her life and future that night she approached Friedrich. And won.
Guppy had quickly found that life as an apprentice often resembled that of a nursemaid. The old codger she called boss would sometimes forget to eat for days on end, especially when he got particularly involved in one of his projects.
After coming upon a moldering meal one too many times Guppy put her foot down and insisted on forced meal breaks.
Initially, Friedrich had been against it, not wanting to interrupt his 'creative processes' as he put it. But after an extended argument, Guppy convinced him by pointing out how he had an increased margin of error and number of accidents when he was sleepy and hungry.
At that point she appealed to Friedrich's pride as a craftsman, it had been a steamroll from there. Unwilling to produce Inferior products, especially while working on his pet project, Friedrich finally caved and allowed Guppy to 'mother' him.
”Good morning Master Friedrich,” Guppy called as she retrieved the catapulted bolt which lay embedded in the doorway above her.
”Have you had breakfast yet? Or dinner?” She inquired lightly.
Friedrich's ugly mug popped into view as he ascended from the open trapdoor that led to the basement.
”Dash it all Guppy, forget food, have you seen an orichalcum bolt lying around. Guppy shook her head, only her master would use a rare metal that was worth triple its weight in gold as a common bolt.
She held up the bolt in question, having retrieved its smoking form from the doorframe on her way in.
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”I'll give you this one if you'll take a break and come eat some breakfast.” She negotiated
Guppy picked out Friedrich muttering some choice swear words before he grudgingly wiped his hands on his decidedly grubby trousers and walked over.
Grabbing one of the sandwich rolls that Guppy had retrieved from his magitech fridge Friedrich munched uninterestedly on it, occasionally drinking from a flask of pressed fruit juice. While he loved liquor the dwarf never drank on the job. Not once.
Once he finished the sandwich and had his mouth clear again Friedrich lapsed into his usual complaint.
”What kind of apprentice orders their master around lass? Any other master on this street would have you out on your ear in a heartbeat”.
”The kind of apprentice who wants to see their master above ground, not permanently below it. Master” Guppy stressed the last bit with a sickeningly sweet grin.
”I was born there,” muttered Friedrich as he averted his head to prevent Guppy seeing his embarrassed face.
They thus concluded one of their many short conversations that had reached an almost scripted level after 3 years of hurling insults and overdone adoration at each other. A comfortable silence followed as they both stretched and put the shop in order.
Guppy knew that Friedrich had been hurt badly in the past. Not that he had ever told her what had happened. But it showed in how he interacted with others, he pushed others away instinctively to prevent anyone from getting close enough to hurt him again.
Despite this flaw and the dwarf's general lack of concern over his own wellbeing Friedrich had been a second father to Guppy. Teaching her a great deal about the theory of technomancy, the physical science used by magitech crafters.
While Guppy was a dull and might not be able to use magitech tools without an expensive core, she was enlightened in the 'language of metals' as Friedrich put it as she learnt and plied her new trade.
He had even stepped in one night during the first year of her internship when the debt collectors had started to hound them badly again.
He quietly made a few promises to them of what he would do if they pissed him off too badly. They had left at practically a run, pale and tripping over each other when Friedrich had released them, and while collectors still came, after that night they were far more polite about it.
After Guppy checked that Friedrich had indeed eaten, rehydrated, and tidied himself up she handed over the Orichalcum bolt as promised.
”So old man, what were you up to last night that made you slip into bad habits?” Guppy questioned.
Friedrich did not immediately answer her, instead he finished cleaning his hands in silence. Startled by the suddenly solemn air that she felt from her boss Guppy waited quietly.
Friedrich finally spoke. ”Guppy, what is wrong with this world?”.
The weight of the question settled on Guppy as she pondered it.
”A great many things” she slowly replied as she reflected upon her life's grievances.
”Yes, indeed there is.” sighed Friedrich.
”And yet I believe they are all symptoms of the growing pains a civilization experiences as it explores just what it means to exist. Take for example what happened to your mother. Magitech itself is a great boon to civilization and society, it brings us warmth, light, shelter, safety and comfort.
Just an example, should the magitech knowledge and skills be tasked towards food production no doubt it could replace the need for much of our currently used manual labor systems, which would then bring to question the need for the slave labor of the orcs that our current civilization is so dependant on...
But Magitech has a fundamental weakness, what do you think it is Guppy?”
Guppy thought of all she had learned of Magitech systems, while she could think of many shortcomings she kept thinking of her mother's situation.
”Mana” she finally said.
”Yes, Exactly!” replied Friedrich, his excitement growing as he continued to extrapolate.
”In order to operate all the magitech items that are demanded by civilization we require vast quantities of stored energy.
At first we could hunt magical beasts, their cores were energy-rich and could even be recharged. A good example of such is the city cores that power the defensive shield and beast repulsion emitters in all major cities.
But in the end, these beasts were finite in number, and as our predation grew their numbers greatly diminished. The few beasts these days are inferior and limited when compared to the mighty titans of old.
So the great minds of magitech invented a magic that allowed people to create magic crystals, opening up a whole new supply to feed the ever growing demand.
Yet despite their best efforts and intentions this magic was not perfect. However, the side effects were and are ignored for the convenience of a society that can no longer live without its most crucial energy supply.”
Friedrich paused his tirade, gathered a deep breath and continued.
”However what we are finding now is even that rich energy source is dwindling.
A thousand years ago there was no record of dulls existing. The first tested dull was 954 years ago, and since then they have remained present but rare. Or so the general public is told.
Census data tells a very different story. In my generation, there were 1.1% of the population tested as dulls. In the latest tests that came out, your generation Guppy, there were 5.9% of the population tested as dulls. The growth over the last 10 generations has been exponential.
People don't talk about it as it is still seen as a deformity in individuals by society. However, it is estimated that in just 4 more generations, magic as we know it will be pushed to the brink of extinction.”
Friedrich stopped, his arms outstretched as he delivered that bombshell on his young apprentice.
Guppy stared slack-jawed at Friedrich as she tried to process the enormity of the reality presented to her by her mentor.
Fridrich grinned, throwing off the sombre attitude he had been emitting.
”Now what if I told you that there was another way, a way to produce a virtually unlimited energy source that could be changed into whatever form of mana we require? This magitech would be so revolutionary that it would force civilization to change on a fundamental level.”
Friedrich paused again, a pained look emerged, overtaking his triumphant one and twisting his already ugly features into a frightful mask.
”I theorized this idea some forty years ago.”
”At the time I was the youngest dwarf to ever graduate from the famous Dwarven Deepstone University. I researched this idea fanatically, pouring over ancient tomes without heed for food or rest.”
”Finally, in triumphant naivety I presented my thesis and plan to the highest elders of the Dwarven race. And I was rejected.”
” 'Too dangerous' they said, 'too un-dwarvish they cried, 'an end to the guidance and traditions of our forefathers' they condemned.”
”When they found my source material it was the last straw on the Boola's back and they flew into a rage.”
”For in my exuberance, I had browsed old and forbidden tomes of knowledge. To them, steeped in tradition as they were, I was a heretic.”
”I was named Stone-cursed, exiled from the dwarven kingdom and forbidden from association with any dwarf for the rest of my life.”
Friedrich paused, pulling up his sleeve and revealing a runic glyph engraved into his right forearm. Guppy had caught partial glimpses of it while they had worked together, but she had never seen the whole thing before, it looked horribly painful, the scarring showing that whoever engraved it, had not been gentle.
Guppy shuddered as she imagined someone carving it into his flesh with a red hot knife.