The Incompletionist

The fae are a race of extremes. They have some unique and significant limitations, but their challenges are more than balanced by incredible advantages. Many others of many races would begin arriving in the Emerald Sea soon, but with the outpost locked in the remote reaches of the endless taiga it would likely take those without the incredible mobility of the fae several more months of travel from the nearest cities. The Emerald Sea was critical for the fae and the status of individuals or whole clans could certainly rise or fall based on their performance in unlocking its potential. The Court would judge their contributions and respond accordingly.

For Galan Loramenor and his clan to be in the Emerald Sea the stakes had to be extremely high. The brownies loved hearth and house and their precious families, but like all those with fealty to the Seelie Court they had to answer the call when their skills were needed. Where the elves were masters of woodcraft who could disappear seamlessly into the forest, the brownies were true masters of stealth. The brownies could become invisible at will, but it was rare for one to do so because they were so fast and practiced at sneaking on their own. However strong their stealth skills were, the brownies weren’t combat specialists. If they couldn’t solve a problem by sneaking and hiding, then they had likely already devised a solution that they could craft to address the situation.

The sheer diversity of the fae that had been given quests in the Emerald Sea suggested nothing short of a full mobilization from the Court. The fact that a full party of elves was serving as instructors for a single tutorial group was also extremely unusual. The elves were excellent teachers, if they were a bit stiff at times and there was no issue with qualifications with the team that had been provided. The elves leading the tutorial were odd though and the incentives must be great to entice a party like theirs to spend a year running a tutorial in a fresh outpost. The Unified System, who directly provides all tutorial quests, must have offered them an amazing quest chain and rich rewards.

When representatives of the human kingdoms, the beastfolk and the draconic descendants began to arrive the Emerald Sea was bound to become an extremely interesting place. For a short time it would provide an environment showcasing the full diversity of their land, showcasing some of the best and worst of what the regions had to offer. This type of confluence was a relatively rare occurrence and my friends and I were about to get a front row seat as the chaos unfolded.

***

It would be some months before I would return to the hotel to reconnect with my friends. For now it was time for me to focus on learning what I could from Galan and his clan about magic artifice. When I reported for the first day of my “tutorial,” the brownie that Galan had assigned to teach me the basics met me at the door. She was overflowing with energy and zeal and I gathered that she had been standing there for a few hours. I wasn’t late, she was just excited and more than a little eccentric. She was constantly bouncing back and forth on her feet as she said, “Hi, you must be Harris. I am Tanyl, a master magic artificer and Lady Lierin’s apprentice. I have never worked with a human magic artificer and I am excited to be teaching you while you are here.”

Tanyl was short even for a brownie and she wore some kind of magic goggles all of the time. She also wore work overalls and sturdy gloves and boots at pretty much all times. PPE was important in Tanyl’s workshop because she was a true devotee to her craft and at times she pushed the boundaries to the literal breaking point. She motioned me to the backroom of the shop where they had a set of overalls, boots and gloves for me and provided me some privacy to get changed. Tanyl then led me to a workbench that had been prepared for us to both use. She had a step stool and tall chair, while I had a standing stool that allowed me to comfortably work on the bench.

Tanyl was a short bundle of energy, but she wasn’t a junior magic artificer on any reasonable scale. She had also clearly earned her stripes as a magic artificer through practice and innovation. I later learned that she was a bit of a prodigy and had volunteered to teach me out of curiosity after learning about my goals from Leirin. Tanyl had an approach that favored learning by doing, but with constant discussion on my thoughts and theories. We spent a great deal of time experimenting and reviewing feedback regardless of how things proceeded. Over the next four days I learned that magic artifice was a bit like a mix of electrical engineering, computer science and artistry.

During one of our sessions, I asked Tanyl if she was familiar with Caeda, the elven magic artificer that was working as an instructor in the tutorial, and if she had any context on how her lessons might compare to what Caeda would likely share. Tanyl thought that was a very funny question. So funny that she had tears in her eyes when she stopped cackling and said, “Caeda is a journeyman elf magic artificer, likely at a level of skill comparable to a novice brownie artificer early in her career. An artificer like Caeda focuses on known designs with known applications. He has likely heard some of the information that I have shared with you, but he likely lacks the experience to put what he has heard effectively into practice. Caeda’s master would count himself lucky to study with me, and I should know because I have turned him down twice.”

Magic wasn’t built from emotions or gifted from supernatural beings, magic was built by controlling the magic particles available in the environment or generated by an individual. When magic particles were present, magic was possible. The greater the quantity of magic particles that could be manipulated, the more significant the potential magical effect. The techniques that mages learned allowed them to influence magic particles directly without the need for a device or interface. Magic artificers used devices with materials and construction techniques learned through experimentation and observation over time to influence magic particles.

I learned from Tanyl that the human capacity to directly influence magic particles was typically very limited, but that as races go the fae generally have an extremely high innate capacity to influence magic particles. This typically gives crafter fae, like the brownies, a significant advantage in the practice of magic artifice, but individual outcomes are ultimately a function of knowledge and ingenuity.

I didn’t see any reason to hold back with Tanyl, so I let her know that I was interested in magical technology related to communication, ranged combat and defense, with defense being a top priority for me. I had initially been concerned that the brownies wouldn’t be comfortable sharing information that could be used to create dangerous magical technology with me, but that fear was ultimately unfounded and I have a few scars to prove it. In my experience, none of the fae are all that safety conscious.

In my first week with Tanyl I built a modest magically powered “shield” of wind that could keep you dry in light-to-moderate rain by deflecting the raindrops away. It was about as basic as you could get, probably the equivalent of a “flashlight” that a kid made from a diode and a 9-volt, but it was an actual magical device made by yours truly and I was chuffed. The potential of magical artifice seemed so immense, I didn’t understand why it wasn’t a more prevalent discipline.

When I asked Tanyl about why her chosen profession wasn’t more popular, she explained, “There are several factors that constrain the practice of magic artifice. First and foremost, is the cost. It is expensive to practice due to its reliance on rare and highly refined materials. A magic artificer at a high level can create devices with a value that far exceeds the cost of materials, but that isn’t typically the case for those who are still learning the craft. This makes training new magical artificers an incredibly expensive affair and most organizations invest heavily in a few talents, rather than investing resources in broad training.

“Beyond the cost of materials, the time of a magic artificer capable of producing at a high level is very valuable and such skilled practitioners are rare, which makes training artificers up to a level high enough that they can be productive even more expensive and difficult for most organizations. A high level artificer is a strategic resource for a kingdom and, given the power that some of their creations can hold, some nations regulate the sale of magical devices and training in the field.

“I think that it must be very rare for a mortal to meet Grandmaster Galan. I would think that it would be impossible for a novice mortal magic artificer to receive an apprenticeship in his clan. You are beyond lucky Harris.”

This was an interesting little tidbit and it called for a little reevaluation of my situation. I was pretty sure that Galan was a certifiable board game addict. I also believed that he was genuinely interested in some of the treasures that I pulled out of the Treefort and traded to him during our initial encounter. However, I don’t think my offer to let some brownies live in the backroom of my bookstore could make up the balance in value between what I had offered and the apprenticeship, at least not if Tanyl was even in the ballpark in her evaluation of the situation. It seemed like there must be more happening in the Emerald Sea that I didn’t understand and, perhaps couldn’t really understand given the inscrutable nature of the brownies. It also seemed like maybe I ought to consider reappraising my attitude around the elder brownie and his daughter. Of course, I didn’t out of pure stubbornness and a desire not to create problems by trying to fix what wasn’t broken, but I definitely thought I ought to at least consider.

***

Just like that the first week of my apprenticeship was over. It was time to head out in the taiga again with Deldes and Delirin. I very much enjoyed the comfort and intellectual satisfaction of my week in town, not to mention the delicious food that I was able to enjoy with essentially no effort thanks to Lierin. Honestly, the improvements to the apartment also made it much easier to manage my daily life while focusing on my personal studies and my apprenticeship at the magic artificer shop. For all that I made a big deal about not being included, Lierin and her clan most certainly did a better job on the homefront than I ever would or could.

My relatively comfortable week in town made the thought of tromping through the forest with the maniac wild elf hunters all the more daunting, but it was also exciting and, I felt, the best path to get the skills that I needed to survive. This was a harsh and largely lawless place. I had absolutely been lucky thus far, but I needed to get skilled enough to survive when my luck finally ran out.