Imperial Drydocks, Cero, capital of T'sarae
As the three of them walked through the long tunnel that led into the bowels of the great silver ship, Deva found it difficult to pry her eyes away from the mechanical wolf that walked along its master. Since the Forge had been informed of the inquisitor's visit, rumours had begun to spread of the living mechanism that had been born within the Red Seminary's walls, but Deva, being eternally enshrined within her own world of ether efficiency experiments and hearth systems, didn't pay much mind to any of it. But there it was, the Madrys, a machine moving independently of its own accord. Part of her was jealous of the inquisitor's creation, but what filled her heart then, to its brim, was awe. It was a marvelous design, she admitted to herself.
Being born in Cero and having never left the Aegisdome, Deva had never seen the creature that the Madrys so beautifully reflected, for wolves were native only to the frigid wastes of Muraad and the ancient boreal forests of Lanostre, but she could still appreciate the artisty that went into crafting such a beast. This was the first wolf that she glimpsed with her own eyes and possibly the only one she would ever see, and she was more than content with that.
“Deva, I must commend your work on the Grace. Functionality is beauty, and in that sense, your Grace is truly a looker.”
Father Rodion's words dragged Deva out of her musings and the young engineer smiled at him in response, pride surging through her. It was a slightly crooked smile, one corner of her lips drooping slightly lower than the other. Upon noticing this, Rodion looked closely at the engineer's face, and for the first time, caught sight of the track of feint scars lining the right side of Deva's jawline.
"Glad someone around here appreciates the old girl. But, I actually didn't have anything to do with the armor. That was all grandma. I worked on Gracey's guts. That's more my thing," Deva told him, her fingers playing with the chrome wrench in her satchel.
When they reached the entrance of the long entrance port, Rodion could see the Karamzina in full and he was now close enough to ascertain its true size. As he stared through the transparent enclosure of the tunnel, he could see the lights from the lab behind them reflecting off its powdery white hull. The ark was smaller than other modern warships, but it still cut an impressive silhouette.
“T’sukasa, that is, quite possibly, one of the most beautiful pieces of machinery that I have ever seen. Being biased, I must say that Madrys here is more beautiful, though,” the inquisitor said, turning to the middle-aged head engineer. There was no humor in Rodion's voice, and his expression remained placid and still, like the silent icefields that spread out around them.
"T-Thank you for your kind words, Your Reverence! It is high praise coming from an engineer of your caliber. And yes, it is as you say. The Karamzina is but a humble pleasure barge compared to this miracle machine you've created... Madrys, is what you called it? Incredible!" Amir exclaimed breathlessly.
"I don't know dad. I think the Zina is way cooler. The Madrys is pretty amazing, but, it doesn't compare to it at all. I mean, the Zina is a--"
"Deva. Please.
Father Rodion is a peerless engineer and artist--"
"Yeah, he's pretty great, but, look what
you built!" Deva said, practically shouting in excitement. She gestured with her hand to the ark floating in the icy water ahead of them.
The shipwright gave Rodion the same sad, pleading look from before. As if to say, please, she doesn't know what she's saying. The old shipwright expected a pair of scathing eyes to stare back at him, but instead, Amir was met with a sort of bemused look on the young inquisitor's face.
“T’sukasa, by chance, may a have the privilege of seeing her blueprints?”
"Ah! O-of course, your Reverence! You needn't even ask. The Karamzina belongs to you and the rest of Warband Phoenix. My daughter and I are here to serve."
"Yup. If you need anything at all, just ask. Me, dad and the rest of the crew will get it done," Deva added, flashing the same half-crooked smile.
“That goes the same for you, Deva. If I may, I would like to study the Grace as well. If I remember correctly, you have been assigned as its head engineer, correct?”
Deva mimed a salute.
"Sure. Let's do it after dad shows you around."
*** The grand tour of the great ark had taken them the better half of two hours. Amir led the inquisitor through the bowels of the ship, with an informative, if not well-rehearsed spiel explaining every facet of the ark's features. The head engineer was proud of the ark he had designed, this much Rodion could tell, but there was something in the feigned, almost subdued way in which the head engineer ran down the particulars of his creation that gave the inquisitor pause. There was a slight edge of fear and disquiet in the head engineer's voice and mannerisms, which Rodion, being an inquisitor, could sense like a shark smelling blood in the water.
As they reached the massive engine room, Deva jogged ahead of Rodion and her father.
"You ready for the main event?" she asked with a proud grin, turning back to face them.
Rodion stepped foot through the massive bulkhead at the engine room's entrance, the closed-in corridors of the ark opening up to reveal a great vertical chamber which stretched downwards, past the lower exterior hull of the ark. Rodion stepped to the edge of the main platform, where a dozen engineers were working diligently to finish the ark's final tuning phase. He stared down towards the yawning base of the engine room, where deep below, the Karamzina's massive slave generator hummed quietly. The mechanist could feel it immediately.
Power. Restrained. But still there. Collected in one single point. He could feel it pulsing like a heartbeat.
It was singularly unique in its design-- completely at odds with the bulky industrial engines and generators back at the capital. It was like something from another world.
The Karamzina's slave generator was sleek and beautiful-- a massive white sphere, pearl-like in its beauty, coursing with waves of feint golden light which spread throughout its surface in graceful controlled pulses. The sphere floated gently, suspended in place as if held there by some invisible vice, above a mechanical pedestal inlaid with gold and azure crystals. As if through instinct, Rodion craned his neck to look upwards, and saw a second crystal pedestal suspended from the ceiling of the engine room, lined up to oppose the one beneath it. He could feel the waves of ambient ether generating from the two pedestals, and immediately he realized that the pedestals acted as powerful anchors to moor the slave generator in place-- not only physically, but to restrain the incredible ethereal energy that resonated from the engine.
"We call it the
Ura," Amir said, walking up to join him. "It is the first, and so far, only, of its kind. A slave generator in the truest sense of the word. It is capable of recirculating Omestrian ether..." The head engineer paused. He looked into Rodion's dark blue eyes intently, as if searching to find some meaning within them.
"... and creating more of it," the head engineer told him in a whisper.
"Herein lies the future of our world. Perhaps one day, we might use its power for greater things."
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