“We can’t reveal the existence of Spirit Magic to the public, but if I understood it correctly, you are saying that by mastering these principles, mages would be able to switch elements at will.” The King said.
“Correct.” Lith replied. “This isn’t something that only Awakened or true mages can do, but also fake mages. Imagine the ability to conjure two different spells with a single chant, switching between them based on the circumstances.
“To alter the properties even of arrays, allowing Wardens to lessen their casting time and to give their creations a greater versatility.”
“It’s amazing.” The Queen said while she tried and failed to replicate what Lith had just done.
Her lack of understanding of physics limited her imagination, but her rich experience as a mage and her Domination made her feel how close she was to achieving the same result after listening to a few words.
“Indeed.” Lith nodded. “I can’t decide what you’ll share with the public, I’m just offering you the knowledge worthy of a Magus. What you do with it, it’s none of my business.”
He could have just revealed the ability of Forgemastering wands to allow fake mages to use Spirit Magic to gain the title of Magus, but that would have angered the Council.
The Awakened community considered Spirit Magic their exclusive and one of the main reasons they still had an edge over fake mages.
Lith couldn’t make an enemy of his own people just to solve his personal problems. On top of that, sharing such information would have made him a Magus to fake mages and a joke to Awakened.
It wouldn’t be something he had created, but just something he had stolen and exploited. This way, instead, no one would be able to criticize him. This new discipline of magic was of his own making and only he could decide what to do with it.
“In addition to what I’ve already said, I’m also willing to share with the Kingdom the necessary knowledge to replicate the DoLorean’s power core. With it, once the War of the Griffons is over, you can start manufacturing trains that will connect the cities of the Kingdom.
“People will be capable of moving from the countryside to the Warp Gates freely even during winter. The quality of life, security, and the trading of merch will benefit everyone.” Lith said.
“People will not be stuck in their villages their whole lives and traveling will not be a luxury that only the rich can afford. Moving merchandise and soldiers will be much more efficient without being limited by dimensional mages. I think you can imagine the rest by yourselves.”
At the moment there was only one Light Master at the service of the Kingdom but Quylla was still too inexperienced to replicate something as complex as the DoLorean.
If Lith shared the blueprints of its power core, however, even Forgemasters incapable of using Light Mastery could manufacture it.
It was the same principle behind the widespread communication amulets, shared by one of the rare mages who have become both a Light Master and a dimensional mage, Jeron Klavin.
Hundreds of years ago he had become the second Ruler of the Flames for the Awakened and a Magus for the Empire thanks to his creation.
“We need to present your proposal to the Royal Court and the Mage Association, but this is plenty enough to ensure you the title of Magus.” King Meron said while standing up and offering Lith his hand.
“Before you go, there’s still a matter that I would like to discuss.” Lith shook it, but invited the King to sit again.
“Another request?” Sylpha was puzzled.
The deal had already been made, adding more terms would reopen the negotiations.
“No, more like a suggestion.” Lith shook his head. “Crime breeds from misery and ignorance. The best way to uproot it is by spreading knowledge and I think I know how to do it.”
He took a small amulet out of his pocket dimension and handed it to the Queen. It was made of an alloy of silver and with a green mana crystal etched on its center.
“What is this?” Sylpha asked.
“A cheap and short-range version of communication amulets. Please, imprint it.” Lith said and the Queen complied.
She discovered that the amulet was not only connected to the Desert’s interlink, but also to a private network. She also found that it contained spelling books, Silverwing’s Foundation of Magic, and many other tomes.
“How is this possible?” The Queen asked after checking the artifact with a Forgemastering Spell. “This thing has a very simple pseudo core. It can’t host so much knowledge.”
“That’s because it doesn’t.” Lith replied. “The amulet is simply a transmitter connected to a much more complex device in my lab. The current amulets are too expensive for normal people whereas this is something that most can afford and maybe the Kingdom could provide them for free.
“My idea is to create a central system in the capital of each region and make the amulets rely on it to work. This way, a local corrupted officer could be exposed since people wouldn’t need days of travel to reach the nearest army branch.
“Even those who cannot afford the paper for a single book will have many tomes at their disposal, teach their children magic or any other discipline and discover that they have a talent for it.
“Even if you just give one of these to each family in the Kingdom, you will give them the opportunity to learn, practice magic, and broaden their horizons.
“Bedtime stories would help the children to learn how to read and write and would give their parents a way to keep them quiet. During the long and harsh months of winter, people would have something to do while they are assembled in front of the fireplace.
“Also, since the amulets by themselves are useless and the central unit would be in your control, you can start by adding solely safe books and then progressively increase their number and variety.”
Lith explained to the Royals how it was possible to grow the amulet network and turn it into the closest thing to Earth’s internet. A place where even people distant thousands of kilometers from each other could talk and share their knowledge.
In a future version of the amulets, people would be capable not only to read from the mainframe, but also to write and create their personal spaces based on their common interests.
“This is a great idea.” The King asked. “Why didn’t you offer it to us as part of your legacy as a Magus?”
Lith inhaled sharply and then proceeded to explain all the problems that the internet and the spreading of magical smartphones were bound to create.
Like how extremists would more easily find like-minded individuals and dangerous knowledge would be easily leaked. How given enough time, voyeurism and stalking would become a thing.
By the time he was done explaining the range of cybercrime, the Royals had already changed their mind, considering the idea of such a shared virtual space reckless and idiotic.
“It’s a nightmare. A lot of laws would have to be changed and even more created anew.” Sylpha had already a headache at the thought. “We would need to train a new corps of Constables and keep an eye on the network.”
