The Art of the Craft

Amun.

[Reward - Skill: [Enchanter's Intuition] - By gazing upon the sigils of any enchantment, you can see the quality of its carving as a colored aura. Shoddy = Red. Adequate = Orange. Fine = Yellow. Exceptional = Green. Pristine = Blue. Immaculate = Purple.]

[Reward - Active Skill: [Disassemble.] Using the mana coaxed from your well, any inanimate, non-magical item or object can be deconstructed into its natural components.]

[Step 9: Intermediate Enchanter - To continue down the path of mastering the art of enchanting, you must create 100 Fine-Grade Crystals.]

***

By the time I awoke from my meditation, completed my daily training, and had my morning smoke after breakfast, Ed was throwing another crystal into a hefty pile and teased that I had a lot of catching up to do.

With no grounds on which to argue, I entered the workshop to sit through another of Zoop's excitable lectures and found myself thankful to have a teacher as interested in the craft as I was.-More interested than I was. For even I wouldn't want to repeat the same lecture for a single student.

But I digress.

The lesson revolved around a simple fact that I had hypothesized but still couldn't wrap my head around.

Enchantment crystals were not found or even produced by natural processes. They were creations. And the recipe was volatile indeed, making it far too easy to understand why one needed a grand mastery of alchemy before even attempting to enchant something.

"One half of the recipe is as follows." Zoop cheekily began with a wave of the hand, conjuring illusions that displayed approximate measurements and renderings of the named materials. "Measured in a ratio of one is Gold Dust, powdered Alchemical Silver, and Dusted Diamond. Measured in a ratio of two is Infused Quartz, as well as pulverized Dark Crystal mixed with the standard ratios of Sulfur, Carbon, and Saltpeter used in the manufacture of Boom Powder. These materials are to be mixed with two parts Distilled Water.

"The second half of the recipe is to be prepared in a separate container. It consists of dissolving five parts of Faerie Flax Seeds into one portion of Royal Water. Once both mixtures are prepared, both are to be grasped with mana." She emphasized by rising onto her tip-toes. "With mana, both solutions are to be mixed until homogeneous. At which time it will become like a stringy dough with bulbous points that you must then spread and knead into the desired shape of your crystal before you then compress it. Finalizing its shape.

"That," Zoop spread her arms wide and smiled ever wider, "is the art behind the craft, for there is no truly agreed-upon form for which the crystal should take shape. However, some are inherently more stable than others. You may find one shape can hold more or less power or range than another. The variations are potentially limitless. And that," she pointed. "Is what makes this all so exciting.

"So." She waved her little arms in a dismissive motion. "Go on. See what shape suits you best."

She didn't have to slap me in the face with a wet mop to get me to leave, for I was nearly out the door before her gesture was complete. I was practically skipping down the hall while any and everything I knew of geometry was pulled from the Eternal Eye and brought to the forefront of my mind.

A stringy dough with bulbous points. For whatever reason, geometry was the first thing my mind drifted to upon hearing those words; the second being baking.

That said, her lecture seemed... off to me. It was almost as if it was incomplete or, dare I say, a lie.

Knowing elves, I knew, at the very least, there was more to the process than what they told the humans.

Or, in this case, the gnomes.

After considering the divine aphids and the core annexes, it became clear to me that the elves had some sort of magical technology that most likely blurred the line with biotech. Either that or whatever they used hijacked life entirely. But I considered that unlikely.

Regardless, Ed's inquiry upon my return led me to realize I'd been thinking 'aloud' through the Credence Cortex, which in turn spurred a tangent filled with me describing biotech.

Being the nerd he was, Ed became engrossed in the words that poured from my mouth. He wanted to see it for himself. And truth be told, so did I, as the biotech I envisioned the elves had could only have been held by aliens on the outside- and not the kind that evolved from humans. If they even existed, those other kinds of aliens.

The humans of Nonus, on the other hand, were nuts deep into the industrial revolution. Everywhere else was lower. When anyone would move down the ladder of technological progression once more was up for debate. But it was that thought that brought back to the fundamental building blocks of the universe.

I had doubts that they had a grasp of even molecular theories. So, with the data packets of geometry, bio-engineering, and particle physics hovering in the forefront of my mind, I began producing holograms of different molecular arrangements and geometrical structures for the solution and spent hours upon hours upon hours experimenting.

Silly, though it seemed, my experiments revealed that the general consensus between the two of us was true. The most stable crystals in all regards were those with polyhedral shapes. Specifically, the Platonic Solids.

In other words, they looked like dice.

Four, six, eight, twelve, and twenty-faced solids were the most stable form of crystals among all those tested thus far. From our experiments thus far, it was safe to theorize that these solids had a baseline Exceptional Grade; at least when graded by Zoop's scanning contraption. But still, our experiments continued.

Even after the coveted words of black and gold appeared to cloud my vision, I dismissed them immediately and continued experimenting. As did Ed. We already knew what they had in store for us and more, he was curious about this game I mentioned after the epiphany regarding the dice.

In the end, we found that the most stable arrangement wasn't to mold the doughy mixture into a Catalan or Archimedean, or even a Platonic solid- although those did have a baseline Pristine-Grade. The best method was to mold the 'dough' into a tessellation. A lattice or, more aptly, a honeycomb of solids.

The solids within were Catalan solids with angles of 70.529 degrees and 109.471 degrees, making 12-sided solids with rhombic faces rather than pentagonal ones seen on a 12-sided die. In lamens terms, the only crystal shape to have a baseline Immaculate-Grade was a rhombic dodecahedral honeycomb.

The end result was a lumpy lattice of crystals that could be separated by creating a fault along the edges. And by simply making the honeycomb larger or smaller, the crystals could range from planet-sized to nanoscale.

That eureka moment served as the catalyst that made moving down the path far too easy. So much so that I hardly paid attention to the evolutions as I made the revelation to Ed.

"Many things in this universe are based on an immensely popular game. One of the most popular games of all time." I told him. "I wouldn't be surprised if Telin used it as a template for this universe. He is a nerd like you and me, after all."

"That's…" Ed scoffed, shaking his head. "I dunno what to think about that. To know that... the universe is based on a game."

"I wouldn't say it's based on it." I tossed my head in contemplation. "More... 'inspired by.' The creatures, I mean. I've played it a few times. Though, not enough to call myself an expert. I can say, though, there are many, many similarities; yet twice as many differences. The way magic is used, for example. Manipulation and mana molding. And affinity cores. And the fact that, thankfully, ambiguous things like health isn't quantified."

Ed turned his gaze up and squinted for several moments. "How would that even work?" He scoffed. "I understand, within a game. But, in real life, you just… lose one point and you're dead?"

"Or unconscious." I snickered, shrugging.

"Can't say I'm a fan." He laughed. "But I'm interested. You should make it."

"Eh." I reluctantly shrugged. "I mean, it would be kinda boring. Who would want to play a game about everyday… life?" I trailed off as the blinding light of an idea burst forth. "Or." I leaned closer to Ed, grinning madly. "I could make it about fantasy. The fantastical reality you all see my former life as. A role-playing game, with characters possessing no magic or power, other than the machines and chemicals created by humans.

"I'll call it, Spaceships and AI."

***

[Reward: Skill - [Enchanters Eye.] By gazing upon an enchantment Crystal, you can see the quality of its make represented as a colorful aura. Shoddy = Red. Adequate = Orange. Fine = Yellow. Exceptional = Green. Pristine = Blue. Immaculate = Purple.]

[Skill: [Dismantle.] Using the mana coaxed from your well, large structures like bridges, vehicles, or buildings can be dismantled into their constituent components and made ready to be reused for other means.]

[Step 10: Enchantment Creator]

[Task: To continue down the path of becoming a Grandmaster Artificer, you must create 1,000 enchantments of Exceptional-Grade or higher. 646/1,000]