Transcendence?

***Norfolk, Sarn-Valley***

***Ascathon***

“Strengthen the inside with more clay and bricks. It has to withstand the high temperature. And don't seal the openings to blow air inside by doing so!” Really. Some things you have to do yourself.

“Yes, master. The chimney will be done soon.” Worker 'B' runs off to instruct the others.

I smack my head. “It's NOT a chimney!”

The people on this construction site are killing me. It's really annoying to instruct them on how to build a blast furnace.

“Wow! That's a big chimney! But you forgot the house!”

I recognize the voice behind me and I turn around. “Please, Kane! Not you too! It's a blast furnace! To melt iron! It's not a damn chimney!”

“To melt iron!? That big? What the hell do you want to build? How does it work?” He looks in awe at the twenty metres high furnace.

“Nothing in particular. I simply want to increase my iron production. It will be needed for many things in the future.” I shrug my shoulders. “You can never have enough metal.”

I grab a blueprint and show it to Kane. “See? There is the chamber inside. From the bottom, you blow air upwards to increase the temperature. From the top, you throw iron ore and coal into the furnace. It's a continuous process. These recirculation pipes reuse the hot air which is coming out at the top and lead it back down to preheat the new air. On the bottom, you get some useless slag and raw iron, which can be refined easier by smitheries or other following processes.”

“You fill the whole thing with iron ore and coal? Ah, that's why you needed so much. But won't it be a problem if you shut it down? I mean, there must be much molten stuff inside?” Kane looks curiously at the furnace.

I shake my head. “You don't shut it down. It has to be running continuously, day and night. That's why I needed an ensured supply of coal and iron ore first. If you shut it down, it's easier to destroy the whole thing and build a new one than to clean it out.”

Kane nods. “But I am here to talk to you about that army from Mislow. Shouldn't you be more concerned about them than about this thing?”

I close my eyes. “They will be dealt with when they are in striking range. So in the meantime, I want to invest my time in doing something useful. Like getting this damned thing running.”

Kane snorts. “Is there some kind of problem?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Not really. It's just annoying that I have to watch over every little detail on new construction sites. Simple workers who can read are too rare, so I am setting this up with commoners only. And they keep calling it a chimney, that's what bugs me the most.”

“Well. It's a chimney. It's a hollow tube with an air inlet at the bottom and a fire inside.” Kane folds his arms in front of his chest and smiles at me.

I pull a grimace and look at him like he is dirt.

“~Chimney! Ahahahaha …~”

Sera is laughing from above my head. She has been riding on my shoulders for quite some time now. I had to take her with me since everyone else had no time to take care of her.

“No! Blast furnace!” I sigh and store the blueprint away. “It will take them some time to enhance the walls. Why don't we go and take a look at my fleet?”

“Ah, yes! The fleet. Sure, why not? But I first I wanted to inform you of our great success! We managed to distribute the new artefacts evenly over the whole main continent. There is almost no one who doesn't know about them. And we made a big profit by doing so.” Kane is shining over his whole face.

I nod. “That's good. Unfortunately, the trade will go down now. The other countries besides Norfolk will surely shut down your trading companies.”

Kane shakes his head while still smiling. “That's no problem. I already anticipated that. We are prepared to switch completely to black market trading and smuggling once that happens. Unless they shut down their borders completely, we will still be able to trade.”

“~Black market … smuggling …~” Sera looks down at Kane with new eyes.

“Don't you have a cool uncle!? I will become an underworld boss, just for your father.” Kane hits his chest with a broad smile.

“It's not like you weren't involved in illegal trade before. And don't teach my daughter bad words!” I grumble while walking with Sera riding on my shoulders.

The harbour is a little far away to walk there by foot, but the time passes quickly because of Kane. He has news about what's going on in the world and I listen eagerly to the minor details.

Unfortunately, there is nothing which could hint at the reason for the activities of the Nation of Mist. These elves are too secretive.

It takes us about twenty minutes to get to the harbour. My fleet is stationed in the dry dock at the beach. There are twelve wooden ships with sails. Eleven of them are identical to each other and smaller than the twelfth ship. All ships are mounted on wooden frameworks for the time being.

The whole setting is as lively as a beehive, as many people are working all over the place. Workers are hammering, painting, polishing and accomplishing many other tasks.

The small ships have elegant long and sleek hulls. Strangely enough, some of the sails actually extend to the sides. With their length of about sixty metres, they seem relatively small, compared to the one vessel which is bigger.

The big ship has a length of a hundred and fifty metres, which is more than twice the size of the smaller ships. The hull is bulky and there are big outriggers to the sides. The ship is clearly not from the same designer. All ships are armed to the teeth.

“What do you think of my little fleet?” I look at Kane, who has a dumbfounded expression.

Then he looks at me. “I am sorry, but I think you are doomed.”

I arch an eyebrow and look at my beautiful ships. It took me three weeks to design them! “What's wrong with them.”

Kane points at the small ships. “They look nice, but the rigging of those sails doesn't work at all! They will hang into the water! And those hatches are under the waterline! I wouldn't want to be on those ships while they are being launched!”

He points to the big ship. “And that big one looks like you stole it from Phenex! Their ships have the same design! It has the same issue with the hatches!”

I shrug my shoulders. “That shouldn't pose a problem, they are intended to fly after all. Who would want to sail a slow sailing ship, if you are are able to float through the skies.” I wave one hand at the clouds above us.

Kane jaw drops while looking at the ships.

I walk closer while trying to avoid the workers, who are swarming around the ships. “And you are right about the big ship. We managed to capture a ship from Phenex and repaired it.”

The workers are still busy with giving my vessels the final touches. Like finalizing the painting and the interior equipment.

As we come closer, I can finally show Kane the long tubes at the bottom of the ships, which are acting as jets. I used a combination of wind and levitation magic on my vessels. When I am done with explaining the idea of forcing air through a metal tube to use it as a jet, I smile at Kane. “I think we should become quite fast if we forgo the decoration.”

“Decoration?” Kane is still looking in awe at the vessels.

“~The sails of course.~”

“~Who needs sails on vessels like these?~”

Sera suddenly joins the conversation and Kane's jaw drops another degree. “Did … did … she …”

I shake my head. “Hahaha, isn't it strange how fast children learn nowadays. You look away for just a second and they can already talk in complete sentences.”

Kane points at Sera on my shoulders. “You … you … realize that they shouldn't be able to talk at that age!?”

I keep my smiling mask. “I was a fast learner too. Actually I am quite happy about her potential. She will become a great genius! Hahahaha. That reminds me, how is your wife doing!? ”

Kane shuts his mouth. “She isn't my wife, yet. But the baby should arrive soon.”

I shake my head. “You can't do that my friend. You have to marry her, I will even do you the honour if you allow it! What do you think?”

Kane expression becomes a little dangerous. “I won't forget who is at fault for this disaster!” His eyes wander to Sera.

“~I just smoothed the way!~”

“What about marrying her to your child if it is boy? She should take a little responsibility after all!”

Suddenly my ear gets grabbed and twisted hard, but I ignore the pain.

.