Black Magus

Imperator Edward Pascal.

3rd Legion, the Cogs of Eotrom.

***

Not to discount the others and not to complain, but I had the most on my plate out of all the founders. I was Amun's Chief Engineer. I was the 3rd Legion's Imperator. I was to be Eotrom's God of Industry. So too was I the proprietor of Pascal Industries. I was the sponsor of Winwell, initially, and then Atford County as a whole. That encompassed a lot. Yet I was never understaffed. The other founders in my Legion had ever-increasing numbers. The undead forever increased in number, as did the prospective tinkerers of Bakewia who came from far and wide, but in some cases, I also sought them out.

In any case, they trickled in after Amun and his growing Troupe left Bakewia at the end of Ianua. However, they were received by my Doppelganger, Ed, on the base floor of my tower. As I was on the floors above, fully melded into the divine energies spread throughout the floor to bring my next project to fruition.

The birth of Kit and the Omni-Wagon saw the need for Umas to be created for the rest of the Legions' founders. However, it came with the condition that Zeta, or Capital-Class Umas were only to be given to those who met the requirements to command a legion. Everyone else was to get an Alpha-Class Uma. Thus I sent out a request at once, stating my need to borrow their deeply rooted wise rocks along with a creature felled by them or brought from their woven worlds. Of course, a data packet was sent along with the request, containing everything they needed to know about the machines in ways easiest for them to understand. Even without them, however, I suspected the response times would have been just as fast.

My vehicles were that well-received.

Naturally, I made mine first. She was born from a burrowing centipede native to my home world, Preem; or the Planet of Resource Extraction, Engineering, and Manufacturing. Due to the world's industrial nature, the centipede had a body of cogs laid side by side and preyed on the metal of other creatures, using its 'venom' to melt their components and drink the slurry for its ends. Now that the Cogipede was merged with my tower, my home and workspace were separated, with the former being at the head and the latter at the tail, where they could connect whenever the Uma circled around to bite its tail as it so often did in life. At all other times, no less than nineteen modules sat between them. Two for each of my eight corps, plus a city for them to run wild in during their off times.

While Elsgril and Forgruna went off to Mazi, Matthew Reid and Quinn Leonhart remained in Bakewia to take demolition and construction requests to improve the roads and add fuel stations across the country. Their perks as artificers coupled with Amun's blessings saw the work finished in days. Thus, with their work done, they were in place to see the Uma come to life and crawl along the newly constructed road to Shavew, where it stopped a ways away from the gates to curve in on itself and bite its tail.

That alone invoked a wave of potential workers, citizens, and Legionaries eager to see the exotic contraption. The advertisement I sent across the ManaNet saw even more arrive before the day was done; including an expectedly unexpected gnome.

I wasn't too versed with the species, so I only knew her to be young for her kind, and yet older than me. She was maybe 110 centimeters tall, with a curly brown afro protruding from a loosely tied bandanna and thick goggles. A pair of heavily armored greaves, a pauldron, and a thick tool belt were all she wore besides a smithy apron, some white shorts, and a tunic the same light blue as her bandanna. Alone, that was insignificant. But her signature on the ManaNet and her introduction made that a different story.

"Hey-hey! Down here! Over here! It's me, Zazz! Zazz Zeelba!"

"Ed's Engineer?" I snorted, reading her signature. "I never consented to that, you know."

"Aha ha!" She waved an armored glove. "That's why it's a question, it is! And I'm gonna be your engineer, I am! But that's not why I'm here. My Pa wants to meet you."

"Your... Pa?" I canted my head.

"The King of Bakewia. King Zapp Zeelba."

Therein marked the start of my first staff officer's service and the beginning of my journey across the northern coast. Of course, I recruited Eomen first, yet they wanted to create and serve in my industrial army, navy, aerial force, and support corps; seeing as how the other industrial aspects were covered by Elsgril and the others. Thus I elected to find the best and brightest of various nations for my staff.

King Zeelba wound up being just as eccentric as his nephew, Zook, and Zook's daughter, Zoop. He served me, Matthew, and Quinn, a grand feast and thanked us profusely for our work throughout. Then thanked us more once we were given an impromptu show of Hogaz wiping out the pirates of Shujen Bay; during which, the gnomes veritably drolled at the Moonsliver. While dinner was winding down, he told us that with Atford County uplifted and a new, vehicle-ready road looping across the entire country, they could finally gain their independence from Vruria and cease being a Protectorate. In turn, he stated his first order of business would be to ally themselves with the 3rd Legion and Eotrom.

I congratulated him on his achievement and accepted his offer with gratitude before sharing my plans going forward. In short, I'd be extending my work elsewhere. First to Knighilia and then to Nevstan and Mazi, as Shujen was currently being 'uplifted' by Zaraxus. By the middle of the year, Bakewia should be connected through to Chor. Perhaps more.

Another round of profuse gratitude was given while our dinner wound down and was eventually punctuated by Zazz stepping before her father to ask. "Can I accompany them?"

"Of course, you have my permission. However," he turned to me. "That is up to you to decide. Will you accept responsibility for my daughter?"

As stated, she wound up being my engineer. My first officer, but not my Executor. That title belonged to a man of 66 years who was chatting it up with my Doppelganger when we returned from our dinner, Lou Lytos, a retiree of the Bakewian royal guard. My Doppelganger saw to it to whip him into shape by the time we got underway, ensuring he understood our standards while putting his invaluable experience to use in shaping our subculture; allowing me to spend the majority of my time on my task. And changing my plans.

Hogaz killed the pirates I aimed to use as an experiment for the new toys I intended to make. While unfortunate, the fault was mine for not claiming them first, thus he had to be rewarded in some way. That said, Amun claimed the creation of Hogaz's Zeta-Class Uma. Thus I was relegated to upgrading his existing ships before hiding them in a spot of Amun's choosing. And upgrade them I did.

The enchantments for forcefields, smoke screens, torch-powered engineering bays, and flight capabilities aside, I automated the weapons bays on all of their ships and fitted their spell cannons with various enchantments, allowing them to construct fresh munitions from their resource reserves and fit them with tungsten warheads.

After that came the real work. And the first Uma in many regards was the most complicated. It was the first to arrive and thus the first I would work on, belonging to the 1st Legion's Imperator.

Toril sent his Tempest Griffon's egg, of all things. Not to say I was surprised. I only struggled to make a design for the damn thing. It took until we crossed the Knighilian border to remember Toril's preference for open skies and vehicles that left him open and free. So, I merged his griffon egg with a heavily modified version of the levitating chair Amun gave Iris, then fitted the voluminous interior and mountainous throne with the wise rocks of the many founders in his Legion.

Coupled with some materials born from his world and the nature of the egg itself, the Uma boasted the innate ability to render itself invisible in the air or show itself to the realm below as it pleased, appearing as a gargantuan dark thundercloud that could take whatever shape its owner desired.

The completion of the Zeta-Class Uma, Fulgum, left me with a small break that I spent surveying the lands of Knighilia. It was both the most tamed and the most untouched land in all the Peninsula, based on all I'd seen. Like in Kasia, everything beyond the roads went largely untouched by civilization. The inhabitants occupied eccentric wizard towers and beautiful city-sized castles. But unlike Kasia, the snowy forests were pristine, with many a magic beast calling them home.

Less than 100 kilometers past the border was the first Knighilian city we came upon. Belldyard. One of the few settlements with a focus on trade due to its proximity to Bakewia. Being on the other side of Atford County made it all the better, as they were higher in elevation and thus were looking down on the Bakewian city of Soralerameno while Quinn was doing his work. That coupled with this undoubtedly magical vehicle of mine opened the proverbial door to the Grenholdia Canton. We were in contact with the rulers within hours, with the deal's essentials being their exclusive access to study some arcane industrial materials in exchange for permission to construct a transportation hut and a fuel depot.

Construction was underway by that night. By morning, the Fabrication perk saw the buildings complete and the Cogipede was underway to the capital in the heart of the country, traveling slower in its road layer configuration. Likewise, Quinn, Lou, and my four corps commanders were scattered to the arterial roads, where they were sure to gather more recruits as they passed each city. Meanwhile, I continued my work. Jaimess sent over a massive draconic centipede-like thing he killed last year during our training with Amun. After learning of its electrostatic properties, I ensured to harvest as many scales as I could while ensuring to leave enough for the temple existing in the lair stone to be wreathed in armor.

When Riheb took form, Jaimess' temple extended down the length of the body akin to a tunnel; a mountainous jungle of a tunnel, straddled by countless shoulder blades- alcoves leading down to the towers and temples of his many subordinates.

We arrived at Dawnrungar by the time the last pair of legs were complete and the thing was sent to hide in his woven world like Toril's. The Republic of Knighilia's Capital was in a time of celebration due to Hogaz's exploits in ridding the waters of pirates. And with him sailing off to the Great Ligin Bay, we were auspiciously left to receive his credit and more, receive requests. To take advantage of their newly liberated waterways, I got a commission to build a transportation hub on the other side of the Shavewell River. Within would be arcane skyports and harbors for both personnel and freight, alongside a driving track to teach a new fleet of operators just like in Bakewia. To that end, I gave Zazz her first task, overseen by my Doppelganger, and in turn, gained two more officers throughout the construction.

Ah'l L'eti was a high elf of 49 years who nearly became desperate after I told him the nature of a Technical Wizard. The half-high elf, on the other hand, was a lot more tame about the idea of becoming a doctoral witch. Both, however, virtually frothed at the mouth when I shared my blueprints for improvements to wands and broomsticks, based on the concept of firearms and the Bodhi Tree's emergency capsules. So, at the age of 27, Dorrn Everwood swore into the Legion alongside Ah'l.

While they trained and the others worked, I got to work on the Uma I was most excited and worried about. Roheisa's Vulcanox. Although there was no need for such worry, as Amun insisted he would take the blame should things go awry. But I had faith that Roheisa would appreciate the crawling mountain, Mount Craelin, I made for her.

We were done in Knighilia by the 16th of Duotra and off to Shujen without delay. By then, even the newest additions were in the swing of things, and thus Matthew Reid and my Doppelganger took them to collaborate on those promised projects; a new type of wand and broomstick for the Legions and their auxiliaries- the allied and often weaker nations we would support in the future.

What they helped Ah'l design was a smaller, more versatile version of the spell cannon. A broomstick-sized, long-range wand that could fire several basic spells; Bullets, Bolts, Sealing Spells, Trap Spells, and even Domains. The best part was that it could be used by anyone who could manipulate mana, evolved or not, as all that was needed to fire was the release of some mana from the index finger into a crystalline trigger. Crystalline threads would transfer the energy through the tip of an Interchangeable cartridge inserted just before the trigger guard, changing the mana to the affinity imbued in the cartridge before shooting it through the other thread, out the tapered end. Due to that, its versatility was limited only by the number of cartridges one could carry, giving them potentially more affinities than Amun's Zodiac crossbow.

The only downside was the cost. That, and the name, which needed far more work than the item. The stock and frame had to be made of wood from a divine tree, as anything else would burn, melt, or be scorched from the energy contained in the crystal threads. Thus the Ranged Arcana Projeting Heavy Enhanced Wand; or Raphew, was limited in supply.

For the witches, they designed a highly mobile if not quite large broomstick that could fit all the assets of a witch hut, including their patients, inside. The intent was for the witches to be able to pull the wounded out of hostile environments and keep them stable, if not treat them during transport. Called the Portable Operating Table for Trauma, Emergencies, and Rescues, or the POTTER Mk I, we could only wait and see if it would have the same success as the Raphew.

In the meantime, Peter, Veil of Shadows, Rua, and Amun's walks through Shujen's wilds and Zaraxus' work in the cities left little in the way of sightseeing. Thus my attention was turned to the Dusk Owl sent over by Lucia while we snaked through the country's underground. it was one of the simpler ones, it turned out, as Lucia's castle of bronze fit perfectly inside the creature's chest; and its divine nature made it all the easier to finish her Zeta Class Uma, Freya. Due to that, I was at the forefront of the Cogipede's exit when we stopped before the Principality of Nevstan's border some 8 days later.

We noticed it before we surfaced. We saw it on the map when planning and the Cogipede sensed it long before we approached. Yet were were still humbled to surface and witness the gargantuan wall encircling the country. It was the first and largest of our tasks in the region, given the severity of the issue. So I called ahead to Willard Rowe in Chor, who put me in contact with Princess Nevstan's court so I could explain the nature of the poison her walls were insulated with.

The work got underway in short order after that. Even then though, she saw fit to travel all the way from the capital of Laststarow to the western wall to have dinner with me. I didn't know what I expected or why I deserved such a meeting, but I was surprised to find a strifling with sulfuric-yellow skin and horns growing out of her brows bouncing into my abode. Nor did I expect her to be utterly infatuated with Jaimess. Or, as she called him, the Tengu Tamer. She talked about him constantly, refusing to let up even after I relocated the country's geographical center and sent my subordinates on a path to each city to rid their walls and buildings of asbestos. It got so bad I had to bring Willard and Ritrix in just to get some work done. But even then, I had to chime in over the Net every once in a while, lest she try and force her way into my Creation Station.

That wouldn't have boded well. For I was creating Opal's sanctuary out of a Gloom Pit Viper. A perfect fit, it wound up being, as the beast's nature allowed it to burrow in darkness and solid ground alike. Not to mention fly or swim when needed. The aftermath was a different story, however.

Our tasks were completed by the 16th of Trescia. Thus our juniors took to the shores of Crater Lake and the Misthand River to build harbors, shipyards, quays, sky ports, and other such structures while some of the staff backtracked to Shujen. Namely to study Amun's works in the growing necropolis and to recruit our newest staff member as well.

He was pointed out by Zaraxus on the Net. A blue-skinned strifling of 11 years named Lahkrius, who'd been tinkering alongside the undead. Thus Zaraxus saw fit to teach him how to lead and fight, and he'd been learning well. While he was young, his training would see him mature in record time. Thus he was named as my Marshal and began the next part of his training while the others shifted to moving people across the countries or relocating those who wanted to join other Legions.

Part of that training consisted of him observing me create Peter's Uma. Born from a soft-shell turtle in his world, it was one of the simpler crafts to make. Especially when I got my hands on the outrageous terrariums they began to make. Thus I moved on to Zakira's Uma out of a Lunar Moth, creating something like Lucia's but with an open-air theme. Well, my doppelganger did. I was occupied with more civil matters with Princess Nevstan. Despite that, I managed to copy everyone else and recruit a halfling for my civil chief. A woman of 24 years who called herself Yerda Sprigmore. A chore native, she was. Thus she talked up the Princess while I went back to the station to create the last two Zeta-Class Uma.

The largest Uma, they were, due to the nature of their Imperators. The home of the 10th Legion was a Blue Sky Whale that grew a forest on its back as opposed to a field of barnacles. It even had a few lakes populated with fish native to both above and below. The interior, however, went from countless perches, docking bays, and hangars to industrial-military complexes and residential nests the closer one got to the center. The second was a posh castle made from a Boulder Crab. Like the whale, the exterior was kept natural but lined with caves for the shadow draconic creatures of the 11th Legion and their isolative members. What was more, it was made to be modular, and thus capable of docking and undocking with other boulder crab Umas.

Throughout it all, this divine magic all over my workspace paired with the zealous behavior of Lois and Horace leading my civilians produced recurring thoughts in my mind. Memories, more like. About what Etan said.

The uncanny resemblance aside, he repeated the same things Amun himself said, but in ways that made the facts far more impactful.

Imagining the technological prowess of the beings in Amun's original realm was nigh impossible, for magic had been part of our lives since birth. Even the ancients from before the portals opened could manipulate the elements and obtain classes. Many of us were taught to perform chores with elemental manipulation. Yet they didn't even have that. Amun's ancients had to make tools just to dig into the ground. Sweeping was done with brooms made of entwined sticks, not manipulating air. They started fires by rubbing sticks together. Water had to be prospected and carried to their homes in jars they made by hand. If not, they had to dig for it or rely on the rain.

Those were just the basics. But in a time equal to the portals opening to the present day, Amun's people stepped out of the 'Dark Age' of their tiny world and into their fleets of manufactured void cities scattered across an area greater than that of the Mortal Plane. They constructed empires in that lifeless expanse, equal in space and greater in power than Maru, Betrarth, or even Youtera. Truly, they were divine. For me to then be gifted their seemingly infinite knowledge was truly a blessing.

So it was, I'd been toying with the idea of becoming a cleric to the ArcaTech. Or a paladin, assuming I could be knighted. Of course, there was no religion for Amun's Engineering domain; yet. Even then, though, Iris seemed as if she would become his cleric. And if she could, so could I. That said, there was no need to pray to him, for I had been giving him worship through the very act of working all along. And I'd been working for over half a decade. And so, I continued working, but with reverence. I continued developing, even as the worlds wove themselves above Crater Lake on that fated day. I continued creating, even as reality itself began to change around me.

Even as my legendary armor began to change; disintegrating into a stream of blue circuits that snaked into my frame and my store of wise rocks; changing, shifting- augmenting them and me into something new, I continued creating, I kept researching, planning for my expansion into Mazi, even as grimoire flipped to an empty page imbued with deep blue energy to inscribe tantalizing words before my eyes.

[Blessing of the ArcaTech Received: [Evolution] - Augmentation, Grim Gear Bio-Frame.]

[The touch of divinity that has been seeded within you has integrated your mind, body, spirit, and soul with your Legendary Armor, Grim Gear Mk IV, and the essence of the ArcaTech, turning you into an Augmented Human.]

[Blessing of the ArcaTech Received: [Mutation] - Technomancy Integration Core.]

[Your evolution has seen a Sorcerous ability awaken within your spirit, evolving your artificing prowess into a blood-born ability to integrate any piece of technology you can find or design with your Grim Gear Bio-Frame.]