by Eric Vall
Foot by foot, as I moved the titanium out of the cavern and followed it up the corridor that led to the surface, I could feel it liquefy. Sweat started to drip down my forehead when I began to mold the strong, resistant metal. By the time we reached the surface, it was perfectly round and reflected the world above like a mirror.
I could see my own face in the ball, my silver eyes much like it, and I could see the Terra Mages as they pushed up more stone to finish the station. Aurora’s constant white fire was just translucent enough that the reflection held a ghostly sheen to it as we brought the metal ball to the base of the train.
“It’s g-getting hard to h-h-hold the vacuum together,” Shoshanne gasped.
“Just a few more minutes,” I said calmly to reassure her as I pulled the ball apart into two dozen smaller pieces.
I needed to work quickly but precisely as I molded a piston and rod to fit perfectly on the first wheel. Since I knew each of my train cars had identically sized wheels, I willed the rest of the metal to duplicate the drum brake I created twenty-three more times, one for each wheel on the six cars. If my power didn’t have a sense of memory and let me be able to quickly recreate what I had already made once, I doubt I would have had the energy to do it.
“We’re good!” I shouted. “You can cut it off!”
They didn’t look like much, this little pile of pistons and rods that shone in the last light of the setting sun, but they were exactly what we needed to make sure our trains didn’t fall off the mountainside.
Far more impressive from the outside was the depot and foundry Haragh and Pindor created.
I told them to keep it simple, and they had in their own way. This was the first depot that was created without my explicit guidance, and it followed the structure of what we had created before except in certain subtle ways. There was a lip to the edge of the platform which made it somehow more substantial than a simple block. The roof over the workshop also had a lip on it, and the stone had ribbons of ore throughout so it caught the last light of the sunset.
“Beautiful, guys,” I said, truly impressed. “Great job!”
Haragh and Pindor looked at each other and grinned. They made a good team, as mismatched as they were, the kid and the half-ogre.
“I’ll take everyone back to the station in Eyton now,” Aurora volunteered. “We need to get our rest before tomorrow’s journey.”
I would have stayed up and installed the brake system, but I had to admit the half-elf was right. It was the kind of thing I needed some light to do, and I wanted to show the concept to the rest of the mages so they could do it themselves.
Aurora fired up the engine, and we were able to make good time from the workshop to the station. Not quite full speed, but fast enough, and facing forward. Since we didn’t have to lay down track, we were able to look out the windows and see the farmers, workers, and their children as they gaped at the locomotive. For the first time, they could see it in all its glory, and my chest burst with pride. Though I thought that could also be said for everyone on the train.
The sky was the medium gray of dusk when we arrived at the station at Lake Falder. The five of us jumped off and walked up through the town gates to King Davit’s castle. We hadn’t laid down many miles of track like on previous days, but we had accomplished a lot, and I was pretty much wiped me out.
At our room in the castle, Aurora helped me get undressed, and I was asleep before my head ever hit the pillow.
Chapter 3
By the light coming through the window, it was only barely morning when I woke to a knock on the chamber door. Aurora was curled up to my left, her fingers curled around the hairs on my chest, and Cayla slept on my right, her arm around my waist. Both also stirred at the second knock.
“Defender Flynt, more of your trains have arrived at the station,” I could hear the servant’s voice through the door.
“I’ll be right there,” I said excitedly as I jumped out of bed and began to pull on my clothing.
I smelled the faint scent of evergreens as Aurora sleepily reached out with her power and lit all the candles in our bed chamber. The beautiful, nude half-elf gave the princess a gentle nudge as she slipped out of the covers.
“Go on,” Aurora said as she tightened the braids in her blue hair. “We’ll be right behind you and will meet you at the depot.”
I gave her a quick kiss and bounded out of the room.
As I was about to leave the castle, I was hailed by Captain Mayard.
“You also must have heard we have company,” the knight said as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes. “So much for sleep.”
I grinned as I accompanied the captain of the king’s guard through the dark streets of Eyton down to the station by the lake. Moonlight on the water revealed the train, now five cars long. We were only missing the one car Korion had taken the day before to Durch. At least fifty knights and their horses were gathered around the trains, and Bagnera, our white-haired Ignis Mage, was among them.
“Look at all these lovely young people I found waiting for a train in Serin, dear,” Bagnera chuckled as she approached me.
Captain Mayard shook off his sleepiness at the sight of all the cavalry from Illaria. The scene was chaotic. Knights on horseback chatted with one another, and those of us on the ground felt like we were in a veritable moving forest of legs and noise.
The red-haired captain of the king’s guard simply stood his ground, raised his left hand, and waited. The knights nearest to him came to attention, and the others quickly followed suit. Mayard did not say a word until everyone was quiet and had turned their eyes on him and only him.
“Welcome to the kingdom of Cedis, the city of Eyton, and the court of King Davit,” the captain said in a quiet but firm tone. “I am Captain Mayard. Your commander Sir Torganet awaits you at the castle. Follow me.”
As the knights formed a double-file line and followed Captain Mayard in through the city gates of Eyton, I couldn’t help but be impressed. He had organized them, let them know he was in charge, and put them to action all without having to shout. Keeping his voice low caused the soldiers to quiet down so they wouldn’t miss anything. It was definitely something I would have to master since it seemed I was now a leader of a group of mages.
As I had that thought, they came, a crowd of white robed individuals of different shapes and sizes, illuminated by the light of the rising sun. Several familiar faces were among them: Aurora, Pindor, and Haragh, as well as non-mages, the Princess Cayla Balmier, Yaxin, and his fellow traders. Just like the knights, they were all inclined to talk amongst themselves. Captain Mayard was able to command his men’s attention with a hand and a low voice, but they were soldiers, trained to obey. My motley group wasn’t so disciplined. They needed a bit more to get their attention.
With a push of my power, I lifted the long pole and arm out of the locomotive, and brought it to the front of the station over everyone’s head. The crowd immediately fell silent as they watched it, some with their hands over their heads, as if afraid the winch framework would fall.
I sent out a small blast of my Terra magery to open a deep, narrow hole on the platform in front of the warehouse, just the right size for the pole to fit in snugly. Once it was in position, I released more energy to the locomotive and brought out the rest of the items I needed for my compound pulley: the gears, a hook, a platform, and a long length of chain. They too sailed over the heads of the wondering crowd as I brought them to the frame and attached them.
“Pindor,” I said as I spotted the young Terra Mage in the crowd, “may I have your assistance please?”
Pindor quickly made his way up onto the platform with me.
“What do you need me to do?” he asked eagerly.
“Just pick up one of the tracks in the warehouse and bring it over, if you would be so kind,” I replied with a grin.
Pindor gave me a strange look, but did as I asked. He grunted as he tried to pick up the first of the tracks, and strained, his face r
ed. I had to admire that the lad didn’t want to give up, so I gave him a clap on the back to reassure him it was fine he wasn’t strong enough for the task.
“No one outside of a certain half-ogre is up for that on their own,” I said as I caught Haragh’s face in the crowd and grinned. “Now, let me show you how to do it. Give me a hand attaching the hook and platform to the chain.”
Pindor nodded, and in unison we put together the last of the pieces of my compound pulley. The frame pivoted so we could slip the platform under the track and reattach it to the hook. Then I handed the boy the chain at the end of the pulley system.
“Okay, Pindor, try it again,” I said and stood back.
With a grunt, the young Terra Mage pulled on the chain, and the track lifted up. I helped and rotated the pole so the burden was lifted out of the warehouse and onto the platform. For a moment, I considered explaining the physics involved, how Pindor’s exertion of about two hundred Newtons had been quintupled by the compound pulleys, enough to lift a half ton of steel, but I reasoned that the science behind the trick didn’t make a difference. The important thing was, it worked.
“We’ll be installing these pulleys in every station going forward,” I said to the crowd. “Then we’ll be putting them in the depots we’ve already built. It will probably take at least two men to load the tracks one by one, but that’s going to be a lot more efficient than the process we have now.”
There was a murmur among the assembled crowd as they took it in. On Earth, this kind of pulley system was the sort of thing we learned in eighth grade, but in this world, it was new. It was such a building block to other mechanisms, I was excited to think what the brainier of the mages might do with the concept.
“If there are no questions, then all aboard!” I shouted.
The crowd of mages and traders looked at me and then at one another, thoroughly confused.
“We’re all a-what?” Pindor whispered.
“It means get on the train,” I whispered back.
“Get on the train!” Pindor shouted to the crowd. “All fucking aboard!”
I laughed. Obviously, the kid had picked that up from me. I’d grown to like him ever since he'd joined up with us. I had blown up on Wyresus, his teacher, the head of the Order of Elementa, when I let my temper get the better of me. I think “fuck off” was the phrase I had employed.
His words did the trick, though. Thirty men and women squeezed into the five cars of the train alongside the stacks of tracks, ties, and the provisions we brought for the journey. Aurora went to the engine and fired it up so that it rumbled to life.
“Show the other Ignis Mages how it’s done,” I said to my beautiful half-elf. “You shouldn’t be the only one who knows how to get the engine going.”
Aurora smiled and gestured to the other Ignis Mages in the locomotive to come join her at the engine. I watched them as they gathered around to observe her technique, all eyes glued to the steady stream of sparks she sent into the starter, as we began to move forward toward the depot at the next station, near the mine.
“Give it a try, Mina,” Aurora said to the mage closest to her, a teenage girl with long straight black hair and dark, almond shaped eyes.
The girl focused and carefully sent a stream of sparks into the engine, but was unable to keep the flow consistent. I could feel us lurching forward and then begin to fall back.
“Fire wants to take over,” Aurora said gently as the flames from her fingertips joined Mina’s in the engine. “You need to reign it in as it goes through you.”
The younger Ignis Mage nodded and doubled down on her concentration. After Mina had successfully powered the engine for a half mile, Aurora let another Ignis Mage take over, until each of them had a turn and we’d arrived at the mine, morning fully broken around us.
“What’s the plan, buddy?” Haragh asked as we pulled into the station and came to a halt.
“I need someone to train the Terra and Ignis Mages on mining ore, refining it, creating tracks and ties, and shipping them up the line, just like you did in Magehill,” I said with a smile. “Maybe you can catch up in a couple days once they’ve got the system down?”
Haragh grumbled. “Yeah, I suppose someone’s got to do it. How many mages are you bringing with you?”
I thought about the question while I floated out a frame for the winch and set it on the station in front of the warehouse.
“We could use three Terra Mages and another Ignis Mage besides Aurora,” I replied thoughtfully.
“Nine people on the train then?” Yaxin asked as he joined us.
With a pulse of my power, I created a hole in the platform and set the winch framework into it as I did a quick count. That sounded right. Four mages, plus me, Aurora, Cayla, Shoshanne, and Yaxin.
“I know it sounds like a lot,” I said and added with a grin, “but we had ten in our group at one point going from Illaria to Cedis. I wouldn’t want to go out with any less.”
“Actually, I was hoping for one more,” the tradesman said and gestured to one of his fellow traders, a tall, skinny bald dude with a scraggly beard. “Dughir has been with me for years now, and he knows his way around the north.”
“Were you the guy who brought Yaxin to the dwarves in the first place?” I asked Dughir as I levitated the chains, hook, gears, and platform into position.
“Yes, sir,” the tall, lanky trader replied proudly, “that was me.”
“The one who took everyone up the wrong valley, so you bumped into the dwarves by accident?” I added with a raise of my eyebrow.
“N-no, sir,” Dughir stammered, embarrassed. “I mean y-yes, sir, I panicked and made a mistake. But now I really know the Orebane region as well as anyone that ain’t a dwarf.”
“I believe you,” I said as I clapped him on the back reassuringly. “You’re about the best hope we have of navigating the area. I just want to ask you one favor.”
“Yes, sir?” the trader asked eagerly.
“If you’re not sure where we’re going,” I said seriously, “don’t fake it.”
“I won’t,” Dughir said with an earnest nod. “I promise.”
“Then you’re in.” I grinned. “Come on, I have to install the improved brake system.”
With a flex of my power, I levitated the titanium brake drums out of the workhouse and under the wheels of each of the five cars at the station. They were each identical, as were the wheels, so each snapped together like they were a child’s building blocks. Next, I sent a wave out to pick up five levers and fit one inside of each of the cars.
“Hey Haragh,” I said to the half-ogre as I continued the installation, “are you paying attention? When Korion comes around with the last train car, you guys are going to have to put in the brakes, because we’ll be long gone by then.”
“Alright, alright, I’m watching ya,” Haragh grumbled. “What do you need me to break?”
“Brake, as in make something stop.” I shook my head and laughed. “Right now, the wheels are braked, so they can’t move. The chains need to be tight against the pistons, and all connected to the levers. Like this.”
With my power, I floated out five lengths of chain. I attached the four shorter ones to the longest, and then I threaded the end of that one up through the floor of the car to attach it to the lever. Each of the four chains I then attached to a piston of each brake drum.
“Now, when you pull the lever in each car down, the chain pulls the piston loose, and the brake is released,” I explained carefully before I sent a flex of my power out to yank down the lever.
There were four simultaneous thunks as the pistons pulled back from the wheels.
“Alright, I get the concept.” Haragh nodded. “That’s what’s gonna keep you from falling off a mountain?”
“That’s the idea,” I laughed as I floated out more chains to complete the same process on the other four cars. “The first version of the brakes just put pressure on the wheel rim. This is way better for stopping on steep
slopes.”
“I’ll take the rest of the group down into the mine to show them the ropes,” Haragh offered, “if you know which four mages you want.”
I looked over the group, some faces more familiar than others. While I considered the options, I walked up onto the platform and manipulated the winch so I could slip the platform under the first stack of tracks in the last train car.
“Let my men handle that,” Yaxin said, and on his signal, his traders took over the unloading of the tracks into the warehouse.
Aurora, Cayla, and Shoshanne joined me on the platform while Yaxin’s men worked. I certainly wasn’t going off on this journey without them. As far as the Terra Mages I’d need to help mold the mountains in our path, I needed someone else with experience who I could trust.
“Jovion, Zerla,” I said to the middle-aged Terra Mages who had helped me battle the giant fire scorpion, “are you up for a journey north?”
The two looked to one another, but they didn’t have to speak a word. Without hesitation, they came and joined us on the platform. Jovion had wise gray eyes, a beard, and curly hair like iron wool. Zerla had long brown hair with a streak of gray, and though she was small in size, I had felt her strength and courage when we linked to battle the fire beast.
“Please, can I come?” Pindor blurted out and immediately blushed, embarrassed at his own eagerness.
“Of course, kid, come on,” I chuckled and shook the young Terra Mage’s hand as he joined us.
Pindor didn’t have the age or power quite yet, but you couldn’t beat his enthusiasm. That just left the Ignis Mage, and as if on cue, Bagnera came out of the group and onto the platform.
“Are you volunteering for the journey east and on to Orebane?” I asked the white-haired Ignis Mage.
“Oh no, dear,” Bagnera chuckled. “Now that these darling young men have unloaded the last car, I thought you’d want me to take it up to Magehill for more tracks.”