Chapter 8: Upgrades and Reverie
The weeks roll by relatively quickly. As she mentioned, Wenlianna's bankroll is enough sufficient for them to work on their project, and much of the time, as long as they keep out of sight and don't disrupt any of the Grand Duchess's events, she doesn't pry or disrupt their work.
As for a design, they've chosen for something only magic crystals can make possible. The anvils are a fraction of the size of those used in modern technology, but powered by wind-crystal pressurized hydraulics. They have to bury the bulk of the system to ensure it doesn't explode, which is the bulk of Daniel's work as Wenlianna polishes designs and commissions the anvil pieces and the shell of the actual press, which needs to withstand several thousand degrees. Unfortunately, salt's melting temperature is around half of the minimum they need to get good diamond, so they also have to make heating elements for electrical power. Ironically, graphite proves to be highly useful for electrical crystals, since graphite itself is conductive enough not to destroy itself, and graphite is much easier for them to make than the salt crystals. Now, as long as they can maintain both the pressure and temperature, which Wenlianna is also able to make simple measurements of so they can maintain conditions as stable as possible, diamonds should begin to form from graphite stones.
Now, it's been six months since they began, and the device has finally cooled. Daniel makes a rig to melt the solvent metals away once they extract the slag-covered mass from the anvils. It's all a slow process, and he has to be careful not to expose the diamond to air, lest it burn itself off as CO2 before the metal can melt.
Thankfully, they only have to get the bulk of the slag off, and then the rest can be ground away, since nothing they have is harder than diamond, assuming a diamond even formed after all of this time.
The moment of truth arrives; Daniel uses a crude file as Wenlianna watches over his shoulder, and even her sisters and the Grand Duchess are watching curiously from a safe distance. Wenlianna mentioned that they were attempting to make a gemstone, which piqued her family’s curiosity.
And, thankfully, as Daniel files, a relieving sight reveals itself behind the slag; a glass-like substance harder than any other known substance in this world, and near the top in Daniel’s world.
Wenlianna gasps, prying his hands out of the way so she can see. “Is-... Is that…!?” Daniel chuckles, allowing her to take it and inspect it. He says politely, “My Lady, it’ll be easier to inspect once it’s free of all of the metal.”
Still, she eagerly peeks at the small view of glass revealed by the scratches in the metal. “I… I don’t believe it…”
“May I finish?”
She quickly hands it back. “HURRY DANIEL!”
He resumes filing, removing the rest of the metal and revealing more and more of the diamond’s crystalline sheen. Unfortunately, the hardness of the diamond will undoubtedly chew through the bite of his file, so he has to minimize scraping against the diamond. He also doesn’t have a good way to polish its surface, so even though it does stand out from the metal, it’s definitely not going to be a particularly beautiful diamond. That said, like his world, they have ways of cutting and polishing diamond, surely, so he doesn’t worry about it for now.
Regardless, it still is very obvious what it is, especially because Daniel ensured to keep any discoloring gases like nitrogen away from the carbon by using a metal solvent, a method discovered to keep the carbon from burning, while also dissolving it into a much easier form.
Wenlianna laughs as she cradles the cleaned crystal, seemingly afraid it’ll break if she drops it. Its surface is a little damaged, likely from diamond particles being scraped across it from the file, but it’s very clearly the same thing as whatever they call diamond in this world. And, it’s about the size of a standard salt stock crystal; roughly the size of a person’s balled in fingers, minus the meat of the hand. Compared to the diamonds they’re used to, it’s humongous.
“It… it really is it…”
Aramellianna approaches, and she holds her hand out. Wenlianna eagerly hands over the crystal, and the Grand Duchess inspects it closely. She whispers, “Dear god…” as she stares at it, and the sisters crowd in as well. “Is… Is this glass?”
Daniel replies with a warm smile, “I’m willing to find out, your Grace.” He requests the crystal, and she hands it back. He sets it on the work bench and slams a hammer on it, causing the women to shriek. However, it leaves a dent in the hammer, and the crystal is unmarred. He grins, handing it back to the stupefied Grand Duchess as Wenlianna and her sisters also stare in disbelief.
Daniel knows their word for diamond, now, thanks to the Grand Duchess saying it with an amazed tone, “Diamond… it really is… isn’t it? It’s… gigantic…”
Yanidere asks softly, “Have you any idea how much that is worth, Mother?” She looks to the Grand Duchess with wide eyes as the latter allows the second eldest daughter to take possession and inspect it.
“I don’t know that such a gem could be appraised, dear Yanidere. It could quite possibly exceed the wealth of this kingdom.”
There’s an awkward silence, and Yanidere cradles it even more carefully.
Daniel looks at Wenlianna, who is also disbelieving. The otherworlder states gently, “If I may, your Grace, my Ladies; the equipment seems to be intact. Lady Wenlianna’s and my own intentions are to continue to forge such crystals for use as magic crystals. By producing these diamonds, either the market begins to identify synthetic diamonds separately, as my world does, or the value crashes if and when we can make even more. Regardless, please allow this crystal to be our gift to you for allowing us to undertake such a project.”
Their jaws drop, and even the reserved and composed Grand Duchess stares at him. “You’re giving this priceless gem to us?”
Daniel chuckles. “You saw us make it, didn’t you? We’ll make what we need, if you’ll allow us.”
She nods distantly, and the other sisters each take a turn to hold the unbelievably large gem.
Daniel adds, “I unfortunately know almost nothing about the process of cutting and polishing gemstones, so please do with it what you will, your Grace.”
“Sh-... Shouldn’t we… at least test it for our purposes?”
Daniel chuckles, “I think we can make do.”
Aramellianna clears her throat, holding her hand out to the youngest daughter, who carefully hands the gem back. She then presents it back to Daniel and Wenlianna, saying, “This is indeed a marvel of your research, but it appears to be quite flawed. If I am to receive a gift, I would like it to be one after you have improved your process.”
Wenlianna gently takes the gem, saying, “A-Are you sure, Mother? Daniel’s right. We can…”
The Grand Duchess smiles and pets Wenlianna’s cheek, saying softly, “What kind of mother would I be if I stole away the fruits of your labor just to be locked away?” She then says more sternly, “I think it is best that this creation is never discussed outside of the seven of us. Not until we can determine how best to reveal this research.”
Bunnrimae, the fourth of Aramellianna’s daughters and second youngest, asks, “Mister Daniel? Would you make one of these for me, as well?”
All five of the other women look at her with shocked expressions, but they don’t scold her. They glance at Daniel, seemingly curious as to what his answer will be. He looks at Wenlianna, who replies, “I-... I don’t mind…”
He chuckles, replying, “If Lady Wenlianna is alright with it, then I would be happy to make one for everyone here. But, please be patient. As you saw, this is a lengthy process.”
They all nod in agreement.
Once they can return to Wenlianna’s lab in the basement, Daniel and Wenlianna place the large diamond in the crystal charging machine. It’s a little smaller than a typical stock crystal, but the rig is able to hold it. She asks, “Are… Should we get it polished first?” She rakes her hand through her hair, murmuring, “Oh god… CAN we even get it polished? We might be killed for this.”
“Let’s just see what can be done with it. It shouldn’t have any catostrophic flaws interally, or it likely would have broken when I hit it with the hammer. There are enough gaps that, if the element we choose is releasing internally, we’ll be able to see. And, we’ll go slowly. I’d like to use water again, if it’s okay. It should be more likely to shear than to explode the way graphite did, in a worst case, but the increased hardness will make an explosion more damaging.”
She grimaces, and he jokes to try to make her relax. “Hey, worst case, if it explodes into tiny pieces, they’ll be normal sized, right?”
She stares at him, and then she processes what he’s saying.
With a sigh, Wenlianna nods. “You’re not wrong… Okay. Water it is.”
She begins charging it with the specialized device, and sure enough, the magic absorbs. She murmurs softly, “Strange…”
“What’s strange?”
“I can feel the magic being absorbed, like normal, but I’m not feeling much resistance.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know… Glass doesn’t provide resistance, but it glows brightly and dumps the magic being used, which means it would be dumping water if it was like glass… The magic is storing… It just…”
Daniel asks a little facetiously, “Feels like a much bigger cup to fill?”
She looks at him, still managing to channel her magic, but with wide eyes. “D-... Do you think…?”
“In our world, diamond is so strong because of the way the carbon… balls stick together. I’d have to use my words for a perfectly technical description, but basically, they bond so perfectly with all of the other carbon bits around them, there are few things that can separate them. This could be a factor in magic capacity of the crystals. Salt is relatively weak by comparison for the same reason that diamond is strong. The bonds are easier to break. That proves peculiar to me for a whole other reason.”
“You think the nature of magic is somehow tied to your… microscopic science?”
Daniel nods in confirmation. He knows she means atoms, which he hasn’t tried to explain too in depth yet, since there’s no way he can help her fully understand without explaining other parts, which he has worked on.
She finally stops charging, saying softly, “It’s only now beginning to feel like it’s resisting at all… If what you say is true, these crystals could last even longer than normal!”
“That would be even more ideal than I hoped for. That’s something I want to ask, then. Do you have to fully charge it for the magic to work?”
“No. As you said, what I do with this device merely fills a cup. A cup half full still can be poured out.”
“That’s perfect then. We can worry about fully charging diamonds when we can make a magic device to do it.”
She stares at him. “You… want to make a magic device… to charge magic crystals?”
“I hope to.”
“Where would the energy come from? There has to be a replenishable source.”
Daniel grins. “Have I ever told you about electricity in our world?”
She frowns. “You’ve mentioned it.”
“Have I ever told you how we make it?”
She replies a little sassily, “Yes. You use magic-...” She halts, realizing he asked for magic crystals charged with lightning in this world only because he knew it was possible from basic deduction using what he already knew. He hasn’t yet described how his world harnessed the power of lightning.
She blushes, squeaking, “Teach me, oh wise Master.”
“Very funny.”
She grins, but whines playfully, “Whaaaa!? I’m being serious!”
“Sure, sure. Anyways, we can do it with or without… uh… rocks that stick to each other.”
“Oh! You mean magnets?”
Daniel nods as he focuses on the word for ‘magnets’ in this world’s language. “Most likely.”
He’s always listening for words he doesn’t know, and Wenlianna knows better than anyone by now that there are many things he knows of, but doesn’t know the words for in her language. She is extremely helpful, since most of the time, if he can describe it, she can make sense of what he’s talking about. “Magnets.” He repeats the word a few times in his head to remember it. He asks, “Do you have access to them?”
She nods, saying proudly, “Mm-hmm! I’m working on a theory, but I’ve noticed, if I can make small pieces of them float, they seem to point somewhere.”
Daniel looks away with his eyes, and she frowns. She asks coldly, “What is it?”
“Interesting. That sounds like an interesting phenomenon we should…”
She sighs in disgust. “Just tell me what your world does.”
Daniel chuckles, “Sorry. We call it a [compass]. Planets behave like a big magnet, and small magnets, even with a simple design, align with magnet fields. Mmm… Invisible lines magnets form. Since they align reliably, the direction they point, in our case, is always north and south, meaning we always know, even in darkness or in a cave, what direction we’re facing. With extremely limited exceptions.”
“So… it really does point somewhere…”
“Anywhere that can imitate the polar opposite. North always aligns to south, and south always aligns to north. We can make one later and I’ll show you how it works.”
“Daniel… I want to make a machine to go to your world.” She says it fairly seriously, though they both know rather surely that it’s not that simple.
He chuckles, replying, “Sounds like magic. That’s outside of my wheelhouse.”
She frowns at him, and he holds up the box with the charged diamond. “Shall we go water the garden?” He smiles, and she looks at the diamond, briefly forgetting her exasperation. She sighs in defeat. “Let’s go. But, we’re not done talking about… what did you call it? A compass?”
Daniel nods with a smirk.
“And, the magnifying tube. You still have to make one of those. I haven’t forgotten. I’ve got a list.” She presents a crumpled piece of paper with many of the brief mentions of concepts he’s made, phonetically written out in their language, but easy to read as the English words he stated.
Daniel smiles. “We’ll get to them. But, we should test this and get another diamond cooking for your family. Do you have any connections that could polish a gemstone?”
She ponders, saying, “I can reach out to some people. It’s risky, though. If people don’t realize it’s synthetic, its value alone…” She sighs. “I think it’ll be fine. We’ll discuss it as we make more.”
“Sounds good to me.”
They make their way once more back out into the “safe” area in the remote area of the estate’s garden, where Aramellianna allows Wenlianna to test experiments. They set up the rig once more, taking cover in safety behind the low wall. They carefully check the area around them, and then Daniel hands Wenlianna the control.
She glances at him, but smiles and nods. She turns the setting low, and then she switches it on. Dialing up slowly and cautiously, a small stream of water begins to flow out of the crystal, powered by the controlling mana crystal. Wenlianna giggles excitedly like a young girl, watching eagerly as the water pours continuously. The first thing Daniel notices is that the flow is much more even than the graphite, seemingly like the entirety of the diamond is sweating profusely enough to rain water out of the crystal body.
Wenlianna asks, “What do you think? More?”
“I’d say so. It looks even to me. What do you think?”
“It looks like it’s behaving like a salt crystal. Let’s do it.”
Daniel agrees. “Do it.”
She acknowledges with a nod, turning the crystal up to half. Water is pouring out at a fast rate now, about the output of a garden hose on Earth, dumping water continuously. They watch it run for a while, and Wenlianna murmurs after a bit, “I think this is longer than last time…”
Daniel confirms with a nod. “Agreed. Remember though, Diamond is harder than graphite and salt. It’ll take more energy to break it. A lot more.”
That makes sense enough to her. They watch it a little longer. “It looks stable, though. I think we can turn it up.”
“Agreed. It’s not showing signs of strain or stress internally.”
She nods as she studies the crystal. They both slouch a little lower behind the wall, and she turns it up to three quarters of its full capacity. It’s now dumping water at a fairly significant rate, matching almost double or triple the normal hose rate he’s familiar with. It’s likely almost 15 gallons per minute pouring out of the crystal, which is really solidifying just how significant magic is. It’s moments like this which Daniel understands why their technology is relatively stalled, not needing much when magic that a large portion of the population can simply perform with their own bodies. Necessity is the mother of invention, after all.
After a moment, Wenlianna whispers, as if speaking it will cause danger to raise its foreboding head. “I think it’s working…”
“I think so, too…”
“A source of water?” asks a matronly voice very familiar to them both now. Both Daniel and Wenlianna yelp, startled by the sudden appearance of the highest ranking person on the estate.
“MOTHER!?”
Daniel pivots, staying low. “Your Grace, forgive my urgency, but please get low as we are. As a preliminary test, your safety is paramount.”
“I see.” She offers her hand, and Daniel rises partially, glancing at the crystal. Wenlianna turns it down to be safe, and Daniel helps Aramellianna down to a low seat on the grass behind the wall, and Wenlianna asks, “Mother? Did you need something?”
“Am I not allowed to take interest in my daughter’s work?”
“I… It’s… unusual, Mother. It seems sudden, if you’ll forgive my saying so.”
“You’re right, of course. But, I’ve never valued your work for what it is. I’m sorry, Wenlianna.”
“Mother…”
“Tell me what we’re watching.”
“Uh… Right! It’s a water crystal made out of the diamond. Daniel came up with it.”
The Grand Duchess looks at Daniel, and he replies, “I asked the right questions. Wenlianna did all the tricky parts.”
Aramellianna sighs warmly. “May you two never part.” She then looks at Wenlianna, “A water crystal, you say? I thought water crystals are impossible.”
“Not with diamond, mother! Its carbon is an ‘ingredient to life’, so it possesses magic! And, diamond doesn’t dissolve like normal crystals.” She whispers, “We’re going to revolutionize the magic crystal industry.”
The Grand Duchess smiles. “Your diamond furnace seems a little impractical for the standard artisan or artificer to make use of.”
Wenlianna grins, “Maybe so, but diamonds are much more stable, and their magic capacity is much higher. We could make smaller ones, and for much cheaper once the process is perfected.”
“I see.” She looks at Daniel. “Smaller ones? Such as appropriate for jewelry?”
Daniel smiles as he confirms. “Very much so. The increased capacity was unexpected. We don’t yet know the ratio. If we do downsize, it’ll be easier to circulate them in greater numbers.”
“The Stalvaltan household will handle distribution, I trust. Inform me when you are prepared to increase production.”
Daniel jokes respectfully, “I’m just a lowly assistant, your Grace. Please consult the Lady Artisan.”
She chuckles, and Wenlianna says, “First! We have to prove they’re safe and viable. So, be ready to hide!” She cranks the control to max, and the crystal hemorrhages water, and the three of them peek over the wall. The volume of water coming out of the crystal causes a large umbrella shape, dumping easily more than 30 gallons per minute of water. It’s wobbling a little, but it’s possible the volume of water is effectively floating the crystal against its own output, like a water jet.
Aramellianna observes quietly as she watches curiously, “This really is a big change, isn’t it? Are there any elements of magic these crystals can’t use?”
Wenlianna replies, watching diligently, “Water was the trickiest, but I think kinetic magic and acoustic magic could be explored as well.” She blushes cupping her cheek as she fantasizes. “Ohhh… It might even be able to store complex spells! I can’t get over how much this will change for the better!”
Suddenly, the mass of water falls, and all three of them flinch, and Wenlianna yelps, shutting it off. However, it was still dumping water until she turned it off, even on the ground. Daniel peeks, and he says, “Wait, I don’t think it was breaking. I think it just knocked itself over.”
The two women peek over the wall as well, and it’s easy to spot the crystal lying at the foot of the stand. Daniel says, “Lady Wenlianna, turn it on just a little.”
She glances at him, but follows his instructions. She turns it down and powers it on, turning it up. Sure enough, water resumes dribbling out of the crystal.
“Turn it to max for just a second. Your Grace, please stay down for the moment.”
The Grand Duchess acknowledges with a nod, and Wenlianna turns the control to max once more, waiting just a couple of seconds, and then turning it off as Daniel watches. She looks up at him from her low position.
Daniel smiles. “It’s still intact. Keep it off. I’ll go check.”
“B-Be careful.”
“I will.”
As Daniel makes his way around the wall, Wenlianna disconnects the tether that passes the magic from the mana crystal in the control device to the water crystal. It’ll ensure no mana can reach the crystal.
Daniel inspects the crystal for a moment, peering into it while holding it up in contrast to the sun. He smiles and turns to Wenlianna, giving her a thumbs up.
She returns the thumbs up, noticing her mother is confused. She blushes, squeaking, “It’s a hand sign that means it’s good.”
Aramellianna smirks. “I see.” She exhales a solid breath, pulling Wenlianna’s head close and kissing her forehead.
“I’m proud of you, Wenlie. Keep up the good work.”
Wenlianna blushes, squeaking softly, “Thank you, Mother. I’ll continue to do my best.”
Daniel approaches after putting the crystal back in the stand, and Aramellianna takes a warm breath and exhales again. She holds up a hand to Daniel, and he quickly steps closer to help her back to her feet. Wenlianna climbs up as well, brushing off the Grand Duchess’s elegant dress with her hand. Aramellianna says warmly, “Thank you, Daniel. Keep up the good work as well. I look forward to your many advancements.”
Daniel bows his head respectfully. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
She says with a warm tone, “Now then, I have had my curiosity sated. I shall leave you two to your research.” She faces them, smiling one last time. She then nods proudly and turns, heading back towards the mansion.
Wenlianna asks, “So… Endurance test?”
“That was what I hoped to ask.”
She grins warmly. “We’ll do half until lunch, and leave it on a quarter from there. That should tell us what we need to know. Everyone else knows to stay away.”
“Sounds good to me.”
They settle in to watch the crystal as Wenlianna connects the tether again and turns the water crystal on. It begins dumping water, and it appears to be stable once more.
They sit together for the next couple of hours, and Daniel does his best to explain the best way for them to make a compass, as well as how his intended electrical generator will work; a water-wheel powered one for starters. As they talk, Daniel voices a thought, “Part of what will be required to work is… is there any way to convert elemental crystals to another element?”
“Ooooh! You really do have all the best questions! As it turns out, most of the energy in a magic crystal is pure mana. The elemental aspect is like a seed, which determines what the pure mana will shift to as it is released from the crystal. Changing the seed is possible.”
“Do you have the equipment to do it?”
“I do.”
“Good. If I can generate electricity, I’m hoping to convert that energy into magic, and then to whichever elements we want so we can streamline producing crystals.”
She hums in glee. “That would be amazing… Do you think we can charge a crystal with your ‘generator’?”
“I hope so. Our job to figure it out, right?”
She grins. “You mean, you DON’T already know how to do it?”
Daniel chuckles. “I’ve been trying to tell everyone, I don’t know anything. I’m just lucky is all.”
“Pfft! Right. And, I was the most well-liked Court Mage in history.”
Daniel shrugs. “You’re my favorite.”
She blushes, squeaking, “W-... I would hope so! I’d fire you otherwise.”
They both laugh together, continuing to watch the water crystal dump gallons of water.
The future looks bright, and it’s the kind of life Daniel wishes he could have lived all along in his own world. But then, every day that passes in the new world, he finds less and less reason to want to go back.
************
Somewhere in the kingdom, a clandestine meeting takes place between two hooded figures.
One speaks with a soft feminine tone, kneeling, “Master.”
“The otherworlder has become an obstacle. His changes threaten to disrupt the order of the kingdom.”
“His inner circle is closely guarded, my Master. He is cautious, in spite of outward appearances.”
“Indeed, but he refuses to acknowledge the importance of how things are done. It is undoubtedly a result of coming from another world. The king was a fool for stepping down.”
“Perhaps it was the king who orchestrated the instability, Master.”
“I was thinking the same. However, the instrument being removed is enough to restore the order of the kingdom.”
“If I may, Master, your authority will not be improved by the elimination of one otherworlder. A less direct approach is more likely to succeed.”
“Elaborate, then. What indirect approach?”
“As it stands, a certain house’s son is betrothed to the second Princess, where once he was to be wed to the Crown Princess. It is common knowledge that the otherworlders are not of or committed to this world in the way our own are. Were the second Princess to meet an unfortunate accident, the kingdom would be remiss to favor an alien to our world over a prominent house.”
“Hmm… I see. So, they either offer the Crown Princess, or lose the support of said prominent house and their allies.”
“From what I’ve heard, there would be many houses that agree.”
The two are silent for a moment as the one standing ponders the notion.
“Yes, I do believe it would be most unfortunate. Ensure to look after the second Princess. I will ensure the rest is taken care of.”
“Of course, Master. Your will is my own.”
She fades into the darkness, and the Master retreats in the opposite direction, ensuring not to be seen. Many preparations need to be made, most important of which is ensuring the plausible deniability and alibis of the most important players.
It’s a shame that such a delicate and beautiful flower needs to fade for the greater good of the kingdom, but it is a time of turmoil. Collateral is to be expected.
***