A Prince Ready For War

The next six days went by like a whirlwind, but I never left my new paradise. Everything that I did boosted my stats, making me stronger, faster, and I would like to think even smarter. I was able to create things that hardly even made sense to me, but my hands moved like they were possessed. Once I had something in my mind, my body strove to complete it in reality.

My only breaks came from Marcella who came with the servants and guards to bring me each meal. She also would get enough brought for herself so we could eat together. I suspected it was partly to get me to eat, but I really enjoyed the short breaks with her.

"This place... It almost doesn't even seem real. How were you able to create such unreal equipment?" Marcella asked as she spent most of her time looking around my shop, rather than eating.

This was day four, and I had finished two laser engravers that would carve Divinity Rune on all the power cords that I found designs for. The craziest thing was the Automaton "Forge" which wasn't even fully operational. It looked like a long conveyor belt, but 8 different stations were in the process of being automated. 

"It is a lot of work, but it isn't really something that I get other people to help me with," I said and took another bite of the amazing sandwich I was brought. If there was one thing about being a prince, it was that every meal was fit for royalty, even if I looked like a greased pig sitting at the table that I had constructed.

The first time Marcella had come to eat with me, the guards and servants had stood around a small table I had quicked thrown together when she had arrived. The meal had felt awkward, so after they left, I took fifteen minutes to craft a few large tables, chairs, and even a few different games for the servants and guards to enjoy.

"I can't wait to see what you make with all of this!" Marcella said with true excitement in her voice that made me smile.

"And I can't wait to show you," I said, but then handed her a list of precious metals that made her face pale.

"Umm, do you really need that much gold?" She asked, looking visibly shaken, but I really couldn't blame her. It also was not my fault that gold was the most conductive metal to transfer the magical current.

"Unless you know of a different kind of metal that can be used because mithril is a no-go. Gold can be spun thin and then corded together with decent flexibility. Mithril is much sifter and just won't work well for the automatons," I explained, but then she pointed to the list.

"Then why do you still need 50 lbs. of it?!" She demanded, but then I pointed to the other wire engraver.

"Mithril still works, but only for non-flexible things like guns and other defense. I also want to try some of my own weapons I have thought up," I said, pointing at the molding table and forge. "I have a bunch of ideas, but I am not showing anything to the public until I get back from Corundum. There have been people asking questions about what I am doing, so I have got some of my connections to keep people out of this area."

Marcella nodded, absorbing the information with a mix of admiration and concern. "I understand the need for secrecy. We can't have your inventions falling into the wrong hands, especially now. I'll see to it that the metals are delivered discreetly and promptly. The treasury won't be pleased, but the safety of the kingdom is priceless."

The discussions around the practicalities of war—the logistics of supply lines, the procurement of materials, and the urgent whispers of strategy filled the air as we finished our meal. With each passing hour, I felt not only my abilities as a Master Craftsman growing but also my understanding of leadership and the burdens it entailed.

As Marcella left to arrange the procurement of the metals, I turned back to the forge. The gentle hum of the Divinatech equipment was like music to my ears, and I rejoiced in the creation of tools and weapons that would give our kingdom an edge. I worked tirelessly, my thoughts occasionally straying to the impending challenge in Corundum, yet I found solace in the knowledge that each invention was another step towards victory, another layer of protection for our people.

On the early morning of the sixth day, just as the sky began to lighten with the promise of dawn, Daelen returned. He slipped into the shop like a shadow, bearing an aura of mystery and intrigue.

"I have returned, my Prince," he announced, holding out an intricately carved box. "Within this lies the fruit of my travail. The power to change as you have requested, bound by ancient magics and a promise to be kept."

I took the box from him, feeling the weight of its contents and the weight of the promise I'd made. With this, I might face the battles ahead not as a child, but as an adult, ready to lead and fight with the full capability of my skills. I opened the box, eager to see the artifact that held such power.

Inside the box, nestled against the dark velvet, lay a simple amulet. It pulsed with a light that seemed to shift and swirl with strangely familiar colors—almost like the glow from my rune engravings.

Daelen explained, "To activate it, you simply need to wear it and focus on your desired form. To return, you need only envision your current one. But remember, this change is not without its costs. Use it wisely."

I clasped the amulet around my neck, feeling a surge of energy coursing through me, and closed my eyes to focus. When I opened them again, the world seemed different—bigger, somehow—and I knew, without looking in a mirror, that I had changed.

I met Daelen's gaze, a silent question lingering between us. "How do I look?" 

Daelen's lips twitched with a hint of a smile. "Like a prince ready for war."

I look down at my hand, my large hand, but not that huge. I had pictured myself as a 25-year-old, but the loose work clothing I had been wearing now stretched to tearing.

"How has your preparation gone?" The elf asked as I used a knife to cut my clothing off my chiseled body.

"Good. As promised, my servants secured you five large buildings in the industrial part of the city that have been converted into apartments. The deal is that I am sure there are more than enough places for your people and more to spare. You will rent them out to make a profit to build a farm outside the city on a section of land I procured. You will raise live animals, and you can feed off their life force. It will take time, but that is the best that I can offer in such a short time." 

Daelen just stood there in shock, and I swear I saw a tear form, but it was impossibly sucked back into his beady black eyeball. "I... I don't know how to thank you," Daelen finally managed, his voice thick with emotion. "You've done more for us in these few days than anyone has in centuries. We will not forget your kindness, Prince Gideon. My people will honor our word and yours."

I nodded, donning some spare clothes I had in the workshop that thankfully fit my new size. "No need for thanks. Just do as we agreed, and that'll be thanks enough. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have one more day to make miracles happen here before I go."

Daelen bowed deeply and took his leave, vanishing as swiftly and quietly as he had come. Alone again, I focused on the task at hand. Now in my adult form, I found that my movements were stronger, my reach longer, and my presence somehow more commanding—even to the automatons and magical equipment in the shop.

With each piece of equipment I crafted, with every rune I inscribed, I could feel the future changing, molding itself to a new vision, a safer, more secure Velum brought forth from the forge of innovation. But there was no escaping the undercurrent of dread. War was coming, and with it, the possibility of great loss.

I worked through the day, forging a new path for myself and my kingdom, a prince in body and spirit. The long-awaited dawn was coming, and I intended to meet it head-on, prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect my people and put an end to the madness that had consumed my father.

As the final day of preparations drew to a close, I knew that tomorrow would bring new challenges, and new battles. But tonight, I had one final dinner with a woman that I had been dying to look directly in the eyes.