Transcendence?

***Norfolk, Northern Ocean***

***Ascathon***

Water! As far as I can see. Fortunately, I have a few seasoned seamen to do the navigation for me … and hopefully we don't fall into the water. The sea is cold up in the north.

The bridge of my command ship is big and gives a nice view in all directions. It's basically empty. There is just a chair in front of a board with magical circuitry, it is placed at the front window. The pilot is the only job which requires a real magician on this ship. Manipulating the complicated circuits to keep the vessel flying is no easy task.

I didn't have the time to adapt the controls for non-magicians. Controlling levitation magic with magical circuits alone is actually pretty hard to do. Non-magicians are only able to apply power to a circuit or not. I would need to design a logical circuit which is manageable for non-magicians.

That's time-consuming and annoying. I will wait for a young smart head to get the idea.

In the left corner of the room is a table for the navigator and in the middle is a big table with a tactical map for the commanders.

The guys who are responsible for engineering have their own table close to the exit. They are after all the ones who come and go at the highest frequency.

I turn to the captain of the Resurrection. “How is it?”

“The core is fluctuating a little, but it should work out. We will meet the fleet from the Nation of Mist in about an hour.” He answers.

I nod. “If there is that much time I will go and take a look at the engine room.” I turn and leave the bridge. At the corridor, I take a stairway which leads me deeper into the ship.

The ship has four decks with the engine room at the third. I decided to place the most important part of the ship in its centre behind as many barriers as possible.

After a short walk, I arrive in a big room. A crystal as tall as a man is levitating in the centre of the room while shimmering blue. It is made of piezoelectric glass.

A technician is working on the circuits of the board in front of the crystal. He is probably adjusting the management of mana. My crystal engine is using the big piece of glass as a focus point to gather mana.

It's similar to a generator, but of course the technology has its perils. Glass is very easy to break. A crack in the big crystal could cause a catastrophe. On the same accord, it could be damaged by holding too much energy.

I look over the shoulder of the technician who is trying to tune the oscillation of the energy within the crystal to reasonable levels.

He is using the buffers which are holding the crystal in place to accomplish this task.

“If the oscillation is that big, you could introduce a new wave which is a reversed copy of the current one. Then both of them will negate each other.” I smile at the guy whose face became pale when he looked around. “It's just a suggestion.”

The guy nods and does as told. A wide grin forms on his face when the hated vibration finally stops.

I nod. “Good work. But don't forget that glass breaks if the frequency is ~too high~.”

His smile vanishes and he starts to concentrate on his task again. After looking at the crystal for a moment, I continue my tour while checking on the various devices which are most important to keep the ship flying.

There is still much to do if I want to create a new world order. Everyone's knowledge has to be raised in order to counteract the prejudice against technology.

I start to work on one of the buffers which keep the crystal afloat. Before I know it, someone calls out to me and I look up.

“The enemy fleet was sighted!” One of the officers salutes to me.

I nod and leave my work behind, realizing that the technician was looking over my shoulder. I hope he learned something by watching me.

The officer leads me back to the bridge where the captain is waiting. Everyone turns around and salutes to me. Even though I don't hold an official grade in my own military, everyone knows that my orders are absolute.

I don't want to be a warrior for freedom. Being a dictator is fine too. And the people of this world don't know anything else anyway. If I would propose elections, I would most likely end up with something like the council of elders.

Pah! It was a nuisance to shut those pests up.

“We see them through our orbs. They haven't changed their course, so I assume that we haven't been found out.” The captain points out a point on the tactical map.

“Good. Unfortunately, they haven't stated their intentions towards us. And I know one of their generals. It would be a pain in my ass if we killed him by accident.” I sigh while I realize the disturbed look on the captains face. “What? It would be awkward if I killed the guy who held my marriage.”

The captain bows. “That goes without saying. So we will head directly for them?”

“Yes, but keep a high altitude. I don't want to be in the range of their magic.” Then I grab one of the orbs for far sight and step outside onto the upper deck.

A chilling wind is blowing here, so I cast elemental protection on myself and step closer to the railing. By relaxing my mind and infusing mana into the orb, I get a vision of the enemy fleet. They are sailing in a tight formation towards Sarn.

I spend a few minutes to investigate each ship in detail. Then I decide on the vessel which is most likely the leading ship. It's the most colourful and has more and bigger flags than the others. A small phantom spell should be the easiest way to accomplish my task of talking to the commander of the enemy fleet. And it's unlikely that their passive barriers will be activated by a weak spell like that.

So concentration! Imagine the proper magical circle. Incantation!

***

A look around confirms my new location. Hah! Looks like it worked properly. I am on a ship on the ocean and multiple long-eared seamen are gawking at me. Having someone appear out of nowhere was probably not the best thing for their sanity.

I poke my finger into the eye of the closest seaman. He doesn't even blink as my finger passes right through his eye and into his brain. Yep! The spell is working properly. I created an ethereal body which I can operate like my own. It's similar to being a ghost.

After pulling my hand back, the seaman faints and pure chaos erupts all around me.

"Ruun!" "A Ghost!" "AAAA!"

Everyone is trying to get away from the monster. Weaklings …

The guy isn't even hurt. He fainted on his own! And someone like that is in the military.

Another look around confirms that the deck around me is void of people. They formed a proper line of defence against me with their weapons ready. I walk towards them and an arrow passes right through me.

“I want to speak to the one who commands this fleet.”

An elderly guy with pointy ears passes through their ranks. “That would be me. How dare you to infiltrate our vessel with a spell like that!”

I bow a little. “Sorry that we can't shake hands, so a little bow must suffice. I am just here to ask why you are sailing towards my city. Thirty battle ships look a little … threatening.”

“Ah. So you are Ascathon. They told me that you know quite a few tricks when it comes to magic. We are on our way to stop you from undermining the foundations of this world. And in case you don't listen to words alone, we brought the power to force you.”

The elderly guy stands a little straighter while proclaiming this to me.

“Those words sadden me. What became of the good relationship with your people? Didn't I help you several times? And where is Fingulf? I want to speak to the Sky General!” I look at the faces behind the elderly man in search of my special friend.

“Fingulf isn't the Sky General any more. There was an assassination attempt on him and he got poisoned. I am the new Sky General and I follow the orders of our government.” The elderly guy looks straight into my face.

The Sky General! Assassinated!? “I hope that's a bad joke! Fingulf held my marriage. That's how close we are. Tell me what happened.”

The elderly guy purses his lips. “It was one of his aides. We don't know why, nor who was behind it. Fingulf is barely alive, but he is bedridden and it doesn't look like he will ever be himself again. The doctors said that he wont be able to move his body ever again. The poison destroyed some important nerves.”

Grah! What the hell? I look down at the deck while thinking. Was that unknown force at fault? Did they take Fingulf out of the equation to insert this elderly guy into his position? He talks like he is absolutely loyal to the government. So Fingulf wasn't loyal? Or was he just not easy enough to control?

“I see that you knew Fingulf better than most. So how about stopping your childish actions and visiting him at his sick bed? We could escort you there.”

I look up. “That's something I cannot do. As the lord of Sarn, I have responsibilities to my subjects. Standing down and giving up everything which they accomplished isn't right.”

“So we have to solve this with force? That's sad. We will try to kill as few innocent civilians as possible.” The elderly guy shakes his head.

This guy wants to joke with me? “I hope you won't be burdened with the moral decision to attack civilians. In return I will give you a chance. Turn this fleet around right now and I won't sink your ships. There isn't anything I could do to help a ship in distress. So if it would come to it, you will be on your own.” I keep eye contact with the elderly person

But the guy just snorts. “I hoped that you wouldn't give in. That way I can improve my status with the council of elders.”

I close my eyes and drop my head. “It's sad that many people will die today. But I guess there is no other choice. Your fleet can always turn around if you want to give up. I wont chase you.”

A mental command cuts the connection with my phantom and I open my eyes. A fast look around confirms that I am on the chilly deck of the Resurrection again. The globe is still in my hands.

The news of Fingulf's unfortunate fate is disturbing. Maybe I will go and take a look at him when I have dealt with the current crisis.

Back inside the bridge, I place the globe at its place on the desk. “The negotiations failed … I guess it's time to decide on how to attack them.”

.