We might need to start issuing minor quests with trash tier equipment as rewards. Go collect ten pieces of wood, go kill ten rats… oy, good thing there aren't any players here, or they'd think that was boring beyond belief. That was old fashioned back in the 21st century, let alone when I started developing games… "go in the name of the empress" and all that…
"That is concerning, though they knew what they were getting into, I am told." They stopped for some tea, one of the monks retrieving it from a shop that seemed to be his favorite. Most of the citizens bowed to the sultan when he passed, with few knowing who the beautiful woman next to him was. Some believed she was a new wife, whispering to each other about the ruler finally gaining a second one. "Ignore what they say, your imperial majesty, I am faithful to one and one only. She will always have my heart." Tariq looked at his father, his face curious. "Though, my children also have a piece of it as well."
"Good answer," she replied as she looked at Tariq and winked at him, the boy nodding in response. Tea was offered to the prince, but he declined after one sip, there not being enough sugar put into the cup. His father wouldn't allow him to eat too many sweets, as it would rot his teeth. Selene quietly put her hand into her inventory and pulled out a tiny bag of candy that she had crafted to give to children as she traveled around her own empire. He eagerly grabbed it from her hand and hid it in his pockets, with the dev bringing up a finger to her lips to stop him from blabbing. "Be careful not to eat too many at one time, try to somewhat adhere to your father's teachings."
The group turned around and headed towards the palace, though an overturned cart blocked the street halfway. "Move this," Aldemir commanded as his monks complied, assisting the owner with placing his wares back. Their strength was impressive to the commoners around them, not so much for the empress as she waited patiently, seeing a young girl running down an alley with her brother chasing her and giggling. A hooded figure walked past the same lane, watching not her, but the sultan. Selene furrowed her eyebrows and tracked him as he moved right by as if knowing exactly where the kingdom's ruler was.
Maybe a secret guard watching over the sultan's son? The monks are not the main fighting force here, as I've seen hundreds of other soldiers.
A second figure, this one seemed more feminine in size and shape, followed their predecessor. Once the cart was removed, they continued back to the palace. The sultan called for entertainment to be brought in as they discussed other matters, such as races not a part of the empire or kingdom. She kept most of the information about the dwarves out of the conversation, remembering to check in on their actions after it was time to leave."I have heard word of troops of circus acts and actors in your empire. Perhaps they would be willing to travel here and provide a show?" Gazi asked her as a performer juggled flaming orbs to another, not once getting their hands burnt.
"That would be up to their group, I'd rather not order them to do anything other than follow the law."
"So you are one of those. I admit I was worried I could not find another like myself in ruling over my people. Providing enough freedom so that they do not worry about my interference in all matters was paramount once I became sultan after my father passed away. My lineage has a reputation to upkeep." Selene was pleasantly surprised to hear of the endeavors he made to improve their society, even trying to get research done on coal. He leaned over the side of his throne at her cushion to speak quietly.
Early steam power? It didn't work, and they ran out of funding for the alchemists, but still… someone else who is interested in science instead of focusing on magic.
"Where is your wife? I have not seen her this entire time." Gazi lightly tapped his forehead and smirked.
"She is traveling the oceans right now, gaining new trade routes to other lands. I worry about her safety; however, she has proven a capable seafarer, and if it were not for my other half, we would not have nearly as much as we do right now." He seemed to be musing over his wife, her name not yet mentioned. "May I ask a question? I hope I am not asking much of you in my home."
"Ask, I'll do my best to answer."
"Very well, would it at all be possible to buy some of the schematics you have for this amazing technology? It could do wonders for my people if only a few of them were attained." Selene screwed up her face and closed her eyes, wincing at that. "Is that a poor subject to request from?"
"No, no, I just… we have a strict policy I put in place. I do not share my technology with those not of my empire. Uplifting someone isn't my forte, too much troubleshooting… uh… I mean… how do I say this…"
"It is alright, I had thought it was too much to ask. Perhaps, in the future, we may show what we are capable of to your empire, so that you may rethink this choice."
"It's mostly set in stone, so there is no rethinking it. I'm sorry." He gave a facial shrug and nodded slowly. "Maybe… I mean, I can provide some of the things I've given my own people, at least not the tech my government uses? I hope you understand." Gazi rubbed his goatee and looked at the multicolored ceiling.
"I do; to provide someone you have just met with similar advancements could backfire quite quickly. We have only just begun to negotiate with a non-aggression pact and allowed convoys to move between our borders without issue. Anything new that does come to us is more than welcome." That was it; there was no more pushing for her to share their knowledge.
"You'll already be getting access to some of the new magical equipment that your merchants will bring back. As a gesture of goodwill, we can look into the disease that has been infecting your farms." He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled.
"Do that, and I will see what I can do about providing you with a copy of the tome that taught us the hidden path."
"Did Aldemir not tell you? I made that, the Woad Mastery, that is."
"He did speak of it, and I cannot jump to conclusions based on what you have said. Many have tried to lay claim as messiahs; many have been proven to lie." Selene looked at the warrior monk standing next to the sultan and with a casual survey, knew each of his symbols.
"If my memory serves me correctly, [Advir's Will] on your shoulder for ignoring pain and fear, [Howl of Lowden] for increasing strength just below it by a multiplier of ten, and… well, I'd hazard a guess your feet have [Long Stride] for increasing your speed and stamina?" The music stopped as Aldemir stared at her with a mix of confusion, fear, anger, and surprise. Gazi seemed quite amused at this predicament as the commander appeared almost as if he was having an epileptic seizure due to how his face was conveying his emotions at that moment. "You should really alternate with [Sulvoran's Burning Fire], you have… what… three on your hands? Four? You need to rotate other elements for those who are resistant to flame."
"How… do you know this?" he asked, dropping his muscular arms and kneeling in front of her, his composure breaking in wonder. No one knew the names of the woads beyond the monks, and they never shared the secrets under penalty of death. Selene raised an eyebrow at him and smirked, waiting for him to already answer his question. She motioned for him to lean in a little as the entertainers continued with their show.
"If you wear hide clothing or straps with animal teeth, you'll amplify the effects. Never wear chain mail or plate, it will drastically hinder you." Gazi clapped and laughed.
"Incredible. Simply incredible. Aldemir, I believe you have found the physical manifestation of the one you believe in. The scriptures were correct." The monk stared at her, the shock wearing off as he just kneeled there, unmoving as he studied everything about her. The dev looked over at the sultan with a questioning face. "Ah, how do I say this… you are known, at least indirectly. Even the founder of Tal Salunbal had said he was not the maker of this unique art the monks use. How can I translate this… there was mention of one who creates that allowed him to survive in such an inhospitable land."
The ruler of Tal Salunbal explained the history of his people, how the biome they lived in wasn't always theirs. It had belonged to multiple demi human races, all of which hated humans. They would have been wiped out, had he not shown up, and fought back, training new warriors to stand next to him. Eventually, they pushed the demi-humans back towards the south, far beyond where the Seong Neow Republic now resided. This area became the location that the Be'arkeln Grand Tribe started. What she learned afterward was somewhat interesting, as the animal folk were not, in fact, native to the continent, coming from across the seas and starting a new life there. Tal Salunbal pulled back its borders, focusing on concentrating all of its efforts to slowly work on science as well as magic and woad tattoos. Once the founder passed away, many attempted to prove they could be his equal, with none able to compare.
Do they know about combo strikes with the symbols? Sometimes using multiple minors instead of even a medium-size could cause far greater effect than just putting the more significant inscriptions all over. Hmm… I also wonder if… they couldn't… there's no way…
"Uh, Aldemir, you use anesthetics, right?" she asked. The man looked at the sultan, who shrugged. He knew only of what the leader of the Temple of the Hidden Path explained to him, not truly attached to the religion. The monk blinked. "Oooook, I'll take that as a no… you realize inscribing the symbols into the skin was supposed to be done while numbing the nerves, or it could cause internal issues with your organs?" He shook his head. Selene facepalmed as Gazi laughed heartily, looking away from both of them as drinks were brought.
"We performed the rituals long before a battle, preparing carefully."
"With nerve inhibition drugs, even chewing on cocaine leaves, it can help with the pain. Too much adrenaline can harm the body."
"We believed pushing through the pain was a trial that proved whether an initiate can handle the teachings as expected." The empress shook her head. There was a whole process for a player to use woad ink, though in the middle of a fight, there needed to be an emergency system in place for them to regain some capability to fight. No party wanted to sit and wait at a campfire for an hour until the Woad Master was ready to get up and charge into battle again. As the dev put her hand in her inventory, she pulled out a datapad that provided an extensive survey list of the herbs that flourished in their lands, with at least five that could fit the bill and be used to calm the body or help coagulate blood on the wounds created. The entire process made everyone in the room stare with wide eyes as her hand disappeared into thin air to retrieve the electronic tool.
"Empress, I hope you understand… we are not yet allies, and you offer up this information. May I ask why?" Aldemir questioned her.
"I somehow doubt we will ever clash against each other. Having the eastern border secure with someone who I'm quite certain will look to working closely with my empire instead of breaking it down is what I'm expecting. It shows in the rule and care put into protecting its citizens." Gazi smiled at her and clapped. The entertainment stopped as he stood up.
"I'd like to show you something. It would normally be kept as a secret until the unveiling, but… I get a good feeling about you. It isn't much, at least not compared to what you have…" The empress stood up and looked around. She followed him out of the throne room and down a flight of stairs, through the whole of the palace and out the back to a winding path protected by stone arches running along the sides. There was a massive building that they were allowed inside, with multiple floors that had different experiments. Selene noticed multiple alchemists busily working on all manner of projects, even some potential doctors on cadavers. How they were keeping the smell down was beyond her, though there was a spread of some sort of salt around the bodies that looked like sulfur in color.
That should produce even more nastiness to enter the air, but somehow… it isn't… that isn't sulfur… are they working on similar quality of life improvements for the people as well? Could trade the growth enhancement pods that were invented if they can give some of that to us. It's not technically protected tech.
As they walked out to the attraction he wanted her to lay eyes on, she stopped and stared at the incredible display. It was the same project the inventor in the empire was working on before his house was burned down. They were trying to create one as well. "It isn't quite finished yet, though we're hoping to use the first one here to fly to a farm just outside the city. If it works as intended, we could make travel much easier with these." Though it was crude, the hot air balloon was amazing. It was being held up by ropes and refilled with supplies. Even with such low-end technology, the whole thing was beautifully designed.
"No gryphons?" she asked, still looking at the not quite functional transport.
"They don't nest in our part of the continent for some reason."
Never thought about that. I had zoological studies done on them already, though it didn't go too in-depth. No wonder I haven't seen anyone flying around on them beyond where Artinia was… but Be'arkeln Grand Tribe didn't have any, might have had difficulty raiding the nests? Or just didn't care…
"I take it giant eagles don't live around here as well?" Gazi shook his head in response.
"There are… large vultures, though I doubt anyone is willing to ride one of those." The dev walked forward and touched the cloth, harsh and sewn together with finger-thick sized threads. "Magic isn't as prominent as some would like to tell you. If you can cast spells, then good for you; not everyone is so lucky. In that, we endeavor to try and allow my people to take trips around our lands easier."
"We have someone in my borders working on something similar."
"Great minds think alike, an old proverb from the original founder." She turned around and stared at him, blinking. "Might I ask… would you know why it isn't quite ready? Are the hints already there?" Selene licked her lips and nodded, smirking at him.
"You're expecting me to somehow finish the design for you." The sultan chuckled and scratched the side of his goatee.
"Can't blame me for trying…" there was a twinkle in his eyes as he looked up at the sky. "After meeting you, now knowing of your empire, we may never reach your technological advancements; however, I had a dream, long before we met. I wondered if it would be possible to somehow beat our restrictions as humans, without wings, without gills, without so much that other animals have, to reach the sky or swim below the waves without needing to come up for air all the time. We would break the bonds that keep us chained to the ground, without the need for living mounts or magic for those who have been blessed with it. Who knows, maybe one day, reaching the stars we see in the night?" Gazi walked forward and stood to her left, surveying his kingdom… and gazing upon her air fleet in the far distance. He took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips, ready to continue. "I may not live to see the day we do all of this, but I can at least try and get everyone moving in the right direction, the same as Mazef Niam Razim Salunbal did when he had his vision to create our civilization."
The man looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a cocked grin on his mouth, as she brought her hand up to cover her eyes and shake her head softly. Earth had done the same thing, breaking the bonds that kept them down. Moving from trains to planes, to submarines and satellites, they continued to excel where all would believe they couldn't. Humanity could not be stopped if given a chance to exceed their restrictions. Gazi's future that he was striving to attain was almost palpable.
Smart man, smooth talker. Yet, I'm sure he's not just playing on my sympathy for his dream. I keep seeing that twinkle in his eyes, that willingness to push the envelope. If he wasn't the sultan, I could easily see him becoming an extraordinary scientist. There isn't a Nobel Prize in this world, but I wouldn't be surprised if he, or his alchemists here, earned something worth the same notability. Fact is… why didn't I think of doing this for my people? Oh, right, I didn't want to damage my empire's culture and allow it to slowly flourish through the ages as they changed. In a year or a little less, I was going to get my own empire up to this tech era… *sigh* Oh… fine…
A small smile crept onto her lips as her fingers suddenly splayed out, deciding to at least slightly give up on withholding essential information to troubleshoot the technical issues. "What are they having problems with…" she groaned out, surrendering to his questioning, at least for the time being.
"They are having difficulties with landing it, not enough weight once they get in the air."
"So let the air cool inside."
"Takes too long."
"Install a parachute valve on top, use grappling hooks at the landing zones."
"How can we steer it?"
"You… kind of don't, I mean, beyond learning how the wind blows at different altitudes. You… uh…" she stopped for a moment as she realized there was a rune that fired strong gusts of wind that they had already researched. Adding it onto small stones that could be attached to the balloon's exterior could allow it to go where it needed to go, like thrusters. Her eyes went wide for a moment as the thought hit her like a sledgehammer. "We can sell runecraft stones that will allow control of movement." Gazi was taken aback by this information.
"You have dwarves as part of your empire?"
"Not exactly," she mumbled out. The sultan blinked and pursed his lips together, thinking on that. The dwarves were the only ones who knew about that craft, and for her to have access meant her government knew more than it was letting on. He wasn't sure if that meant he needed to stay on her good side or be very wary of her. The dev could tell by his body language and his temporary silence what he was thinking. "We perform research on anything we get our hands-on, guilty as charged. I'm… willing to admit… if I could get my hands on some of that odd salt you have downstairs…"
"Hanasafa Salt? Ah, the air purifier. It's a common commodity we have." The fact universal translation didn't activate on the word meant that it was the name of some plant or ingredient they used.
"Yes, that stuff."
That shit is like baking soda on steroids. That could go a long way in improving air filter designs, maybe even work somehow in water? Cleaning soil? Four shot combo for even the most inhospitable climate: clean the dirt, pump nutrients into it, plant seeds, fast-growing. Could help Tal Salunbal too with much smaller plots of land, keeping diseases from spreading from… wait a minute, the north? Are they sharing a border with the Kohar Confederacy? Then that means…
"We would be willing to provide an even trade. Could you… maybe provide insight into the creation of those runes?" Her mouth curled up in a catty grin.
"Well, we can… at least for that rune… it takes some effort to produce though, you might not have the infrastructure to manufacture them in bulk." He leaned down in front of her face and smirked.
"The apprentice monks may be able to help with that," Gazi replied, looking at Aldemir, who stayed stoic, watching her and the escort she had.
"They use mana?"
"Not exactly…" he echoed her own words, narrowing his eyes at her. The empress gazed at him with her eyelids half shut, annoyed that he suddenly tried to find fallacies in her admission on creating the very system that allowed him to fight against an army.
"You ask this, yet you just said you created what they have harnessed?" Gazi asked, looking between them both as if finding an explanation on their faces.
"I meant internal mana usage, like those who are also magic casters. Woad inscriptions in the body draw on two sources, the essence in your blood, as well as the essence of the world around with the inks, pressed into the inscriptions." Aldemir now knew she had created Woad Mastery without a doubt. No one but the highest ranks knew of that; that knowledge wasn't written down. There were only her guards as well as the sultan and Aldemir there to hear it, however, with Tariq down below. "What? The sultan knows this, right? I could already tell," Gazi turned to Aldemir and blinked. He knew. He just didn't expect her to spew the deepest secrets so casually as if it didn't matter.
The commander of the Hidden Path monks sighed and tapped his foot, mulling over his next words carefully. She already had more knowledge than even he did. "Please refrain from explaining our art to any others… some wish to unravel the mysteries of our combat technique, our… Woad Mastery…" Aldemir looked to be straining himself as he stopped crossing his arms over his chest and pressed a fist over his heart. There was no eye contact, the monk just stared at the ground and waited for her response.
"I… see… that was my mistake, I'll keep that under advisement."
"Swear it."
"What? Why?"
"Swear it, empress."
"Alright, fine, I swear not to let anyone else know about Woad Mastery. It's not as if anyone would ask me anyway, so you can calm down." The commander seemed to exhale in relief through his mouth, settling on that. She still had far more secrets she wasn't giving anyone.
"We've been working on altering a woad symbol that would allow the creation of mana bars…" Selene brought her hand up to her chin and thought for a moment.
"[Ildiah's Peace]… that's supposed to provide nourishment when no food is nearby, along with regenerating wounds and providing mana to allies that use spells… it's an aura of sorts. What, have you been trying to split off just the mana generation?"
"We've been trying to use it to fill containers, then harden it with special tools we were able to… allocate from Drow…" The dev blinked at him, almost as if trying to understand what equipment he was referring to.
"Doesn't that stuff break when it sees daylight? I mean… I… I thought that was what happened… or am I getting my facts wrong?" Aldemir pulled from his cutoff robes and harness a vial, allowing her to inspect the contents as he rotated it in between his fingers. "Ah, forgot about protective oils. Huh, So you have the ability to make solidified mana…"
"In minimal quantities, yes."