Telling Strikes and Measured Strides
Thirty-First Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC
Beryl had always thought of herself as the more level headed of her sisters, her nature neither of roaring flame or the tempestuous sea but both at once, balanced perfectly on a scale, yet there were still some things that could
irk her, folly and failure chief among them. Unfortunately, both were in evidence on the firing field today.
The Efreeti Ether Caster buried almost completely in the stony soil shook and thrashed like a wounded beast as it fired, the spirit inside trying to get loose. Its efforts were ultimately fruitless, but more than enough to throw off the aim by a hundred leagues and more. If the divination had not been clear that the being bound in the arcane mechanisms could not escape, the incarnate would not even be out there. The question remained, however, why would you build a weapon that requires binding wards over and above its own construction? The ability to overcome almost any ward, be it spell-forged or natural, was not worth anything if you could not
aim the weapon without yet more binding circles outside its own mechanisms.
"Alright let's try the lead again, ten inches this time. There should be more than enough water to compensate for overheating," she called to the crew, gratified to see how swiftly and smoothly they moved to carry out the order. The men and women of the Experimental Engineering Company were not exactly the stuff of mirror plays about the heroics of the legion, shattering chains and laying low the foes of the realm, but their task was no less perilous and no less necessary than that of any cavalry patrol in the wilds out east... which made it all the more galling that they had so little to show for a month of work.
King Viserys had asked that they do all they could to study the weapon and present methods of reproducing it, and the best they had so far was a boat full of theories and a rough outline of a plan for taking one of the weapons apart to read its innards, one that beryl would not even contemplate attempting without help to slay or banish the fel spirit.
Ether Caster Research Progress 12/25
Truth be told, Beryl had her doubts that they would ever be able to replicate the thing on any meaningful scale, at least not in a manner that was not a breach of Imperial Law. The Brazen Throne had ages to craft and secure these weapons, and even they used therm sparingly for all the arcane war machine's deadly effectiveness. Still, even if her intuition should prove right, there was likely some use for studying the base principles that allowed the weapon to contain the energies it did.
"Alright, twenty count, mark!" the incarnate called when the saw that the preparations were done. They still had some daylight left today. One might be generous with gold, but it always paid to be thrifty with time.
Again the pale light flashed through the vale, again the legionaries dutifully measured and recorded where the blow had struck as mortal soldiers and one not-quite-mortal mage carried on their studies into dark arcane workings.
OOC: Unfortunately this is a really short interlude to end the day on, but it gets the job done and offers some perspective on the Experimental Engineering Company. Not yet edited.