Titans - March of Progress

Sain tugged on his coat a bit, straightening it out before he pushed the door to the storeroom open, and looked around for Clyde. He saw the old man sitting on a stool eating his breakfast while he scribbled some notes on a piece of paper, and he seemed rather fixated, so Sain just went and sat down next to him, looking casually over at Clyde's notes but not recognizing any of the words. They were written in the sorcerer’s language still. He sighed even as Clyde finished his food and scribbled a final note. Putting his pencil down, Clyde glanced up at Sain with his eyes narrowed and didn’t waste any time breaking into conversation.

"Sain, you look horrible. Did you eat as I said, and get some rest?" Clyde snapped at Sain; irritation clear in his voice. Sain just winced at the question. Well, that feels like an interrogation.

"I slept well enough sir, and yes I ate too. I would say my energy has gotten back to about two thirds of its usual. I just stayed up late because of the Imperial declaration" Sain answered and lifted a hand to rub his eyes.

"Ah, that nonsense. Don't worry yourself with that. You are too young to be conscripted" Clyde stated dismissively and turned away, picking up his notes and jabbing them with a finger.

“Moving on, I have come up with a new incantation and an idea that may work considering nothing we have done so far has been successful. What I want you to do this time when you force the energy into the other shard is to imagine it being trapped inside, like there is a cage around the energy. Preventing it from escaping. It may help with the process although I can’t be sure” Clyde explained, his gaze locked on Sain’s face now, observing him in a rather serious fashion.

Sain just frowned, noting how Clyde had gone from displeasure at his appearance, to complete disregard for the war, to the job at hand. Sain sighed before nodding his head to show that he understood.

“Ok, I think I got it. I’ll try my best” came the response from Sain. He probably looked rather dubious but shrugged mentally. He shifted his position on the seat so that he was directly facing Clyde now. He reached out and picked up two already filled fire shards even as Clyde reached over to lay a hand on Sain’s left shoulder.

Sucking in a breath to compose himself, Sain closed his eyes and reached for the now familiar energy in his right fist, directing it to the shard lying in the outstretched palm of his left hand. Feeling the warmth of the energy as it travelled through him, Sain forced the fire energy into the empty shard and visualized it being trapped by an invisible force, a cage like structure, and unable to escape. Clyde began the chanting of his incantation, and the energy visibly changed, from a small spread-out mass it began to condense and solidify within the crystal.

Sain finished moving all the energy into the shard just as Clyde finished his incantation and the energy seemed to lock inside, gently swirling around in his mind’s eye. Sain opened his eyes and looked at the two crystals. The previously empty one was now glowing softly and the previously full one was now devoid of energy. Breathless, he examined the new fire crystal and held it up so that Clyde could see it also. The old man looked at Sain with an obvious and almost childish excitement, grinning like a happy toddler.

“We’ve done it my boy; we have done it” the old man exclaimed ecstatically as he surveyed the item. He took on a serious expression then and hunkered down, seemingly thinking.

“But now my boy, now comes the large-scale testing. We need to see if it’s possible to move larger amounts of energy on an industrial level. If we can’t even do that, this project has no basis and will fester out. I won’t even get enough funding to dig a hole to bury my notes. So go get that for me” Clyde stated, a wry smile breaking out on his face as he pointed to a crate and motioned for Sain to investigate it.

The youth stood up and trudged over. When he reached it, Sain noticed a collection of large broken pieces of crystal inside the crate. Picking up the box, he carried it back over to their stools and placed the crate on the floor next to the shelf. Getting comfortable again, he noticed that Clyde had gotten up and moved to retrieve the bundled item that he had been wrapping up the other day. The old man now stood quietly, stroking the bundle in a fairly creepy manner. Sain could just imagine him murmuring the word ‘precious’ over and over. Shaking his head to clear it of thought, he looked at Clyde as the old man spoke out rather softly.

“What I am about to show you now must never be mentioned to another person unless you have my permission to do so. Do you understand that, Sain?” Clyde queried quietly, to the point that Sain had to lean forward to hear, even as a look of surprise appeared on Sain's face due to the tone of his master’s voice, like the man was truly awed by what he held in his hands.

Sain dipped his head showing that he understood, eyes locked on Clyde as the old man unwrapped the item, revealing a sheathed long sword. A very strange object to see in this day and age. Instantly Sain’s eyes were drawn to the sword’s pommel. The thing shone brightly; a small crystal embedded in it. It was a deep sky-blue color and gave off bright flashes of light every few seconds. But the most unusual thing was that there seemed to be shapes moving inside it, almost like there was a creature imprisoned within. Clyde tentatively touched the hilt and began to speak.

“This is a one-of-a-kind item, and I have never seen anything like it before in my life previously. The crystal in the hilt is a lightning crystal, but it seems to have some sort of entity trapped within. I believe it is possible that this entity is providing the crystal with a possibly infinite amount of electrical energy. It is absolutely marvelous” he exclaimed, a finger gingerly touching the crystal and causing a brighter than normal flash to occur. Clyde made a shuddering breath; seemingly overcome by whatever emotions he was feeling. He was like a giddy child with a new toy. It took a moment for Clyde to compose himself before continuing.

“The sword itself was found in the possession of a particular noble collector who had no idea of the true value of the item he possessed. The collector had a debt to an acquaintance of mine who claimed the sword and asked me to investigate it” he continued, his voice shuddering with every word. It really was a struggle for him to speak of this, he was so excited.

“I also believe that the crystal is proof of the very research I once conducted in my youth, into the existence of spirits and higher planes of existence. But proving that is not my goal. That is another life’s work” Clyde stated and let loose a sad sigh.

“Anyway, beyond that, the sword itself is an extraordinary piece as well. It is engraved with the runes of an ancient language forgotten to most of mankind. It is the basis for the sorcerer’s language. And from these very runes, I have come to the conclusion that this sword once belonged to the great hero Geston, the patron Saint and founder of the Holy Gestonian Empire. And before him the creator and actual owner of the blade was none other than one of the three cursed Kings, Lord Agralarch who cursed the gods and brought on the great flood that nearly wiped man from the face of the planet” Clyde stammered in an excited rush, the words spilling out before he had even formed them completely. He lifted his gaze to stare at Sain then, his eyes wide and bright, displaying that childish excitement.

Sain couldn’t help but grin like a fool, mimicking Clyde’s own attitude. He was awed by the artifact in front of him. Sain stood and reached out a hand to stroke the hilt tenderly. He felt energy from it, an invigorating yet gentle thrum. Sain was left speechless, and he looked up at Clyde, seeing that twinkle in his eye. Clyde probably knew he would feel that, and no doubt felt it himself. Sain moved his hand away and then shook his head, collecting his thoughts. He lifted a hand to rub the underside of his chin with a thoughtful expression.

“So, if what you think is true, and if the energy is endless, then you could continually transfer energy from it with the spell you just made, theoretically of course” Sain stated, his mind whirring. His very statement caused a grin to break out on Clyde’s face and the old man bobbed his head enthusiastically.

“Exactly my boy, you hit the nail on the head with that one. With such an amount of powerful energy at his disposal, a man could do almost anything he wanted. He could create such things that would shake the very earth. And needless to say, that is the outcome that is of course of great importance to many of my backers and supporters” Clyde explained, his eyes taking on a darker expression. Sain knew that look, and it was one he had seen many times. It was one of resentment. A look that appeared whenever Clyde was forced to share information or knowledge that he did not want to.

Sain furrowed his brow and scowled briefly. Without a doubt, Clyde’s backers have to be powerful underworld figures that will either sell or use the crystal for their own personal gain. Like the Red Cobra. The thought was not exactly an unwelcome one to Sain however, and he felt a surge of excitement mixed with a slight trepidation at the implications such people could have on the project.

The future that I have in my hands with this if it works is limitless. The possibilities are unimaginable. I won't have to fear people like Jalel ever again. Sain grinned then, excitement just bubbling up through him at the thoughts.