Grey took deep breaths, staring at the mechs before him. They took a lot more out of him than he expected, but maybe that was because he hadn’t slept last night at all.
The furthest to the left was the easiest one to make for him. It was a white masquerade mask with white, opaque shields that looked almost like shimmering pearls over where both eye slots should have been.
At least they were opaque from an outsider’s view, if you actually put the mask on, you would probably see more clearly than ever before.
To do this Grey used a concept he had learned while crafting for Esmeralda, using Resin R-Frame to polarize light in one direction. It also worked exceptionally well for directing and controlling energy. If Mauve wanted, she could probably shoot lasers out of her eyes, not that she would find the best use of the mech during this.
The white frame of the mask was adorned by gold embroidery. They both served purpose and function, as well as aesthetic. Grey simply thought they would look pretty on Mauve, and that they certainly would.
But this mech would surely also help her shore up the weaknesses of her eyes until she could get a true Witch bloodline.
Unsurprisingly, most witches had Resonant Frames, but Mauve actually had a Recursive Frame. This was part of why she had been so good at casting illusions.
There were some witch doctrines that followed other Frame Paths, but the Blood Witch was not one of them.
For now, the mech would likewise cover that weakness, allowing her to emit her Frame further out of her body. That was the real purpose of the patterns.
In the future, though... well, Grey could continue to make stronger mechs as long as she could grow enough to withstand them. But Grey had a feeling that Esmeralda wasn’t a fool.
If she was going to choose someone with a Frame that wasn’t compatible with her own, there had to be a reason for that that could only bear out in time.
The Spirit Grey chose for this Frame was a bit interesting. It was a butterfly that likewise had a Recursive Frame and illusion abilities, but what made it interesting was that this butterfly—the Rippling Imprint Butterfly as it was called—could use its Recursive Frame to leave echoes of itself wherever it passed through.
This functionally gave it the ability to mimic some of the abilities of a Resonant Frame, and that was invaluable for Mauve during this transition period.
All that was left was fusing with the mech and completing the Intent stage of the crafting process.
The mech one over from the masquerade mask was a shield. In fact, its look, function, and feel was almost identical to the Turning Shield on Grey’s wrist.
He decided to knock out two birds with one stone, using the process of making a mech for Brad to both see if there was a way to fix this overpowered shield of his and lower the difficulty of making a unique mech by once again using something he understood as a template to help.
The Turning Shield was an item that Grey still hadn’t found the limits of. He had yet to use it to withstand an attack that showed any signs of it breaking or folding.
Grey couldn’t use materials nearly as good for Brad because his body couldn’t withstand the mech otherwise. But it would be an added layer of protection nonetheless.
Brad had surprisingly had a Branching Frame, not a Linear Frame. But from Grey’s understanding, Branching Frames were actually very good defensively. Many defensive items he had run into had them as the Accepted Type.
Much like his own Turning Shield, Brad’s shield folded up nicely into a little black band that would fit snugly around his wrist.
Its Spirit was the Rolling Beetle. From its description, the beetle’s preferred attack method was rolling itself up into a ball and pushing itself down from a steep hill or mountain toward its enemies.
It had the special ability to resist friction in the form of both earth and dirt, and wind as well. Meaning, it could accelerate continuously with rare limits so long as it was given enough runway.
This kind of shield would be excellent at parrying, but Grey also added a function where Brad could literally roll himself into a ball if he wanted.
On top of that, if Brad became skilled enough in its use, he could gather momentum in the midst of battle, both from his own steps and collisions he withstood, adding them to his power.
Grey was actually quite proud of this one.
The third and last mech was Amunet’s. It was a single armed gauntlet that had a hidden blade within it. The blade had three forms. A dagger, a sickle, and, her favorite weapon, a rapier. It would extend from the back of her hand like a true extension of herself, allowing for quick deployment.
But the most devastating part of the single-armed gauntlet was actually the claws. These claws would either reverse themselves and prick into Amunet’s fingers, or be turned against an enemy to nip at their skin. Both methods took a sample of blood.
Amunet’s Old One Abilities were complex. Even while she had taken them to Core Sync thanks to Grey, they were all still at Level 1 and they needed help to actually progress.
Unfortunately, time wasn’t on their side. So, Grey chose a middle ground and found a method of enhancing her most important ability. Or, rather, her two most important abilities that both went by the same name.
The difference was that one was a Body Enhancement and the other was a Mind Enhancement. The former controlled her own body and the latter controlled an enemy’s.
Puppeteering Arts.
Grey used a very special Spirit for Amunet’s, one that she actually provided herself. A Spirit that had been resting in her heart ever since the moment she reconstructed it.
Now, if he managed to nick her opponents, Puppeteering Arts would display skill at least 10 Levels beyond itself up to a Level 15.
And that just left the last mech. But it was no mech. The last true mech had been Amunet’s. This was simply a blueprint.
And it was one that Elowen hadn’t been able to take her eyes off of from the moment it appeared.