Not (Just) A Mage Lord Isekai

It wasn't too surprising that Tamrie had read the mysterious signals she got by communing with the ancient and mysterious oceanic beings wrong. Especially considering she'd done so through a stone medium and had literally never done it before.

Still, the fact that the leviathans were going to show up the next day…

I suspect it would've always hit hard, but the pure surprise struck me near as hard as when I'd been hit in the gut by a jack-all springing loose from beneath a car at near-terminal velocity. Took me off my feet just as effectively as the jack-all had too. Less broken ribs but no less pain.

When I looked up, I realized Tamrie had sat in my lap, leaning against me, still in the dome near the Golden Halls.

"-they won't bundle me up and spirit me away. Especially as it's my first time leaving and all. Fans of spectacle they are, and having a new Caller join the pod's always reason for a big show, truth be told," Tamrie said. I didn't know what I missed, but judging by the sorta rambling nature of her words, it hadn't been too important.

"Sorry," I said as she paused for half a second. "Just… tomorrow?"

"S'not like I'll be pulling free o' port the second they roll up," Tamrie re-iterated, shaking her head before looking up at the ocean above us. "But aye, tomorrow. Might be, this is a good thing, what with giving our people a break from the Sahevin and all."

"That's one silver lining, sure," I agreed, kissing the top of her head. "Just thought we had more time."

"Ain't that always the way?" Tamrie asked, shaking her head. "Master Temill used to say, 'Tamrie girl, you best appreciate what you have, you never know when some gutter snipe is going to up and take it away from you. Now get those shelves stocked, this ain't no charity'. Never did figure what a gutter snipe was."

"It's a sort of tool for cleaning out gutters. Which are a thing you put on the edge of a building to keep water from falling on your head," I said, distractedly. "Though in your master's case, I think he meant pretty much anyone who could… well, do what the Bladesingers did, I guess."

"Aye, that part I got," Tamrie said, reaching up to tug my chin down to look at her. "Gonna miss this ugly mug."

"Gonna miss yours too," I said, leaning my forehead against hers. "You don't talk about your old master much."

"Still hurts," Tamrie admitted, pressing against her chest. "And now I'm gonna be adding a whole new bundle of joy and sorrow right 'long side."

"I'm glad there's joy in there."

"Course there is. Think I'd've spent so long with you, if'n there wasn't?" Tamrie asked, scoffing as she playfully shoved my chest. Then her gaze shifted to the ocean, just beyond the one-way transparent dome. "Lots of joy… Can't believe it my ownself, that they'll be here so soon."

"Best we enjoy the time we have," I said, pulling her to my feet with a grin.

"Oh? What did my tall, dark and handsome Magus Protectus have in mind?" Tamrie asked. I whispered my answer in her ear, earning a giant grin of my own. Then we spent a rather adventurous evening under the sea.

In the morning, we didn't have much time to worry about our time coming to an end. There was too much going on.

Not only were the leviathans arriving, and the new train engine departing on its maiden journey, I was supposed to meet Tillan, the bear lord.

Full day.

From what Tamrie could tell, the leviathans would arrive in the evening, so at least that could wait.

Inertia was stomping around the train, waving away people as she did a final set of checks.

It had evolved a great deal from the awkward prototyping platform. Almost resembled the diesel trains of Earth, with its long sleek profile.

That similarity ended the moment you looked past the bare profile. The engine had been carved to resemble a snarling wolf about to pounce. Even as Inertia did her checks, steam curled out of its nostrils. While that wouldn't have been the most practical design, a few simple air shield enchantments would keep the windows clear of obstructions, meaning it wasn't as bad as it could've been.

Honestly, the speed with which such a high quality exterior could be produced was sometimes startling, even though I knew that such was made much easier with all the magical tools we'd made available.

And that was honestly the most impressive thing about the highly detailed design. Not a single ensouled had been involved. It'd all been done by former refugees who'd joined Tamrie's Carvers guild, using the simple wood shaping tools I'd come up with while trying to figure out a way for folk without mana to do enchanting.

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"You good?" I asked Inertia, who had just chased off a pair of laughing dwarfs, each of whom were carrying bags full of fresh pastries. They'd attempted to offer her one, 'to appease the machine god', and while she'd let out a whistle-hiss of laughter, she was also trying to keep to a schedule.

Inertia waved a hand in my direction, shrugging. "Ready."

"That's all we can ask," I said, patting her metal arm.

She nodded, letting out a rattling sigh before shaking her entire body. After, she started towards the control cabin.

To the side, the others were gathered on an observation platform to see us off. Except for Bevel, who was just messing around before she joined us, they'd be waiting at the station in Southport when we arrived. Ari and Tamrie had some stuff they needed to talk about, stuff it was apparently best I didn't hear.

Knowing better than to question such ominous statements, I accepted my fate, serving as the pilot for the start of our train's first trip south.

Truly, so horrible.

Despite being the lead engineer on the project, Inertia barely fit through the door into the cabin, so her doing so was kinda off the table.

It was larger than a typical Earth locomotive might be, thanks to the extra width and height granted by the track's wider base, yet it still wasn't so roomy that a Forgeborn of her size could move easily.

Tresla following her in made the door seem oversized, and the contrast had a smile tugging at my lips.

Once we were inside, I inspected the many controls. It was a very physical design, lots of levers and large dials with an emphasis on durability. Which hadn't been easy to produce despite the fact they could custom press parts with frankly insane tolerances then adjust them with Shape Metal.

"How fast are we expecting this to get up to?" I asked, looking over the enchanted display. There were a couple analog displays too, though they were physical backups, simple pressure indicators in case the enchantments failed.

"Inertia says that the top speed should be similar to a loping frost wolf running downhill atop an avalanche," Tresla replied with a hint of tinkling laughter.

"Oddly specific," I said, grinning. "While still somehow not providing any details."

"Inertia was reminded of a certain chieftain by the exterior," Tresla explained, shuffling over to stand beside me. "She is uncertain of the specifics, since they haven't had a chance to really let her stretch her legs."

"Guess it's about time for that, isn't it?" I asked, looking towards one of the other nearby enchantments. One that had nothing to do with the train, at least not directly. It was one of the sentry balloons, though with a slight adjustment to allow it to capture sound as well as sight.

Usually a pointless enchantment, given how high they floated.

Pointless, if we weren't using it as a glorified video camera.

A pair of Stand's more reliable Shapers were operating the device, both of whom were a bit heavier around the middle than I was used to seeing from people on Ro'an. They were quietly talking about the potential uses of such a device for recording theater performances.

When my attention turned in their direction, one of them hit the other, then nodded back.

Guess that was my signal.

Taking my cue from Thozgar, I decided to keep it short and on point.

"Hello, people of Cape Aeternia, both old and new," I said, knowing my words and image were being projected over the cabin of the train. A surprisingly simple trick using a modification of the spell Copy Object. "This train engine is a turning point for Cape Aeternia. Not because of what it is, but because of what it represents," I said, slowly turning from the controls to face the 'camera'. "The combined knowledge and skill of thousands, building on the back of those who came before. While it might not be the first time such has been seen on Ro'an, it is ours. And it will serve to bind every corner of Aeternia together.

"In recognition, we have chosen to name it the Iron Wolf."

I stood a bit straighter, my best wolfish grin falling into place, hand resting on the lever that would set us moving forward. "Now, what do you say we see what the Iron Wolf can do?"

The cheer was loud enough we could hear it even through the thicks walls of the engine.

It was honestly a bit strange to have so much attention, but the train had become the center of a much larger impromptu festival.

The Iron Wolf surged forward with a squeal of steam and steel, the wheels exerting incredible amounts of force as they set the train in motion.

Behind us, the gathered crowd roared once more, nearly half of them scattered amongst the open top cars of the train itself.

Despite only having learned the controls the day before, it was surprisingly easy to bring the train up to speed.

The wind was pierced easily with only the barest of enchantments used to optimize the shape of our envelope.

As the train thundered down the tracks, I stepped back from the controls, allowing the trio of dwarves who'd actually been trained to run the thing to take my place now that the performance was over.

Much as I'd have loved to play train engineer all day, we had places to be.

"It's louder than I expected," Bevel said, looking around at the hissing and clanging train.

"It's not too bad," I replied, motioning her and Inertia towards the back of the cabin. "We could've made it even quieter, but we decided it was important that the engineers be able to hear if anything goes wrong."

Inertia nodded as she pushed out onto the small deck at the back of the engine, lifting Tresla onto her back. The mountainous terrain of Cape Aeternia flashed past around us as I pulled mine and Bevel's modified gliders out of my storage pendant.

Without a light push, Inertia leapt up and into the air, wings spread, using the train's momentum instead of knocking us all back. Then she shot upward as the wind caught her and lifted her and Tresla away.

"This is going to be-"

"Fraying awesome," I said in time with Bevel, earning myself a blushing smile. "It really is. Ready?"

She nodded as she looped her arms into her glider. Then she launched herself up with a whooping cry.

Once she was free, I followed, spinning upward while the train barreled south.

Cheering rose from the following cars as I soared over them, more than one mug raised in my direction as we passed each other. Was more than a little strange, how many people knew who I was, while I knew so few of their faces in turn.

I shook it off as I lifted into the air.

Time to go see a bear lord about calling off a war. Or at least keeping them from tearing out the heart of my people.