Reinventing Magic: An Inventor's Tale-Chapter 99: Trial by Flight

The merchants’ excited chatter still echoed through Bryndis’ streets as Lucien stepped into Hangar Two, the cavernous space dominated by the sleek silhouette of the second Skyward Sentinel. The vessel’s polished hull gleamed under mana-lights, its anti-gravity runes pulsing with a quiet, ready energy.

Cedric Orlan stood by the starboard thruster, his calloused hands tracing the intricate wind-forged enchantments. The 4th-class magician’s brow furrowed in concentration as he double-checked each rune sequence.

"You’re late," Cedric grunted without looking up.

Lucien rolled his shoulders, the newly tailored Bryndis engineer’s uniform—a deep blue tunic with silver piping—stretching across his back.

"Had to finalize the merchant manifests with Harold. The Baron wants—"

"I know what the Baron wants," Cedric interrupted, finally straightening. His practical leather harness creaked as he gestured toward the Sentinel’s core. "Enchantments are set. Anti-gravity matrix is stable, thrusters are calibrated, and the mana crystals are at full charge."

He wiped grease from his hands with a rag. "But I’m not the one who’s supposed to be signing off on this."

Lucien exhaled sharply through his nose. Three years ago, he’d been a junior scholar in the capital’s arcane college. Now, the Baron had him overseeing flight tests of revolutionary skycraft. The weight of that trust settled heavily between his shoulder blades.

"Let’s get to work," he said, pulling out his inspection wand.

Lucien moved methodically, just as the Baron had taught him. He started with the anti-gravity matrix—the most complex enchantment web he’d ever seen. The runes spiraled outward from the central crystal housing in fractal patterns, each sigil pulsing in perfect harmony.

"Focus on the resonance," Kael’s voice echoed in his memory. "The runes should hum at C-sharp minor. Any deviation means instability."

He pressed the wand against a primary node. The crystal sang back at perfect pitch.

Next came the wind thrusters. Lucien crouched beneath the portside engine, squinting at the airflow runes. These were Cedric’s work—precise, if a bit heavy-handed with the mana channels.

"Your tertiary sequences are overcharged," Lucien noted, tapping a cluster of glowing sigils. "Efficiency drops by twelve percent when you push past the third harmonic."

Cedric scowled. "They’ll hold."

"They’ll also waste enough energy to power a small village for a week." Lucien adjusted the rune balance with careful strokes of his wand. "The Baron’s designs account for—"

"I know what the designs account for," Cedric snapped. Then, grudgingly: "Fine. Adjust them."

By the time they reached the twin arcane cannons, even Cedric had to admit the enchantments were flawless. The weapons thrummed with restrained power, their targeting matrices sharper than the first Sentinel’s.

"Combat trials next week," Lucien muttered, making notes on his slate. "Assuming today’s flight goes well."

With the inspection complete, Lucien signaled the ground crew. Overhead, the hangar’s massive doors groaned open, revealing a slice of afternoon sky. Sunlight spilled across the Sentinel’s hull, making the enchantments shimmer like liquid silver.

Cedric wiped his brow, leaving a smudge of grease. "Alright. Prep for takeoff. I’ll—"

"I’m flying her," Lucien said, already climbing the boarding ramp.

Cedric’s boots clanged on the metal steps behind him. "Since when do you know how to pilot a Sentinel?"

"Since the Baron taught me." Lucien didn’t bother hiding his smirk as he slid into the pilot’s chair. The crystal control interface lit up at his touch, projecting a holographic helm display.

Cedric dropped into the co-pilot’s seat, buckling his harness with sharp, angry motions. "You’ve flown exactly once. Under supervision."

"Twice, actually." Lucien’s fingers danced across the console. The Sentinel’s engines whined to life, anti-gravity fields humming as the vessel lifted smoothly off the hangar floor.

For a glorious moment, everything was perfect. The Sentinel cleared the hangar with elegant precision, turning gracefully toward the test zone. Lucien could already imagine his report to the Baron—’Successful trial. Ready for combat deployment’.

Then he pushed the throttle forward.

The Sentinel didn’t accelerate. It ’launched’.

Lucien’s stomach dropped as the horizon tilted violently. Alarms shrieked through the cabin. The control yoke jerked in his hands like a live thing, fighting his every input.

"YOU SAID YOU COULD FLY THIS!" Cedric bellowed, white-knuckling his armrests.

"I CAN!" Lucien wrestled with the controls as the Sentinel spiraled toward a cloudbank. "The thrust dampeners aren’t—"

A proximity alert blared. The Sentinel’s nose was pointed straight at Bryndis’ eastern watchtower.

Panic clawed up Lucien’s throat—then vanished under a wave of cold clarity. ’The Baron’s voice again: "All Sentinels have failsafes. Remember the protocols."

His hand slapped the emergency panel. "Auto-pilot engage! Return to Hangar Two!"

The Sentinel shuddered. For one heart-stopping second, nothing happened.

Then the controls snapped back to neutral. The engines’ roar muted to a steady thrum as the vessel righted itself, banking in a smooth arc toward home.

Cedric’s breathing was ragged. "You. Didn’t. Calibrate. The. Thrust. Dampeners."

Lucien swallowed hard, watching Bryndis grow larger through the viewport. "I... may have skipped the pre-flight checklist."

Cedric’s glare could have melted steel. "You nearly turned us into a fireball over the merchant district!"

The auto-pilot guided the Sentinel into a perfect landing approach. As the skids touched down, Lucien finally exhaled. "But I didn’t."

Silence filled the cabin. Then Cedric unbuckled his harness with deliberate slowness.

"You’re telling the Baron."

Lucien winced—this was going to be worse than any crash.

Shaking off the thought, he turned his attention to the Sentinel’s control system, meticulously calibrating every aspect to ensure it was fully operational by the time the Baron returned.

---

Kael and Alice continued their journey toward the Duke’s capital. Alice piloted the Sentinel with practiced ease, while Kael sat beside her, lost in thought—his mind elsewhere, locked in deep contemplation.

The first Skyward Sentinel sliced through the clouds like a gleaming silver blade, its anti-gravity enchantments humming in perfect harmony with the shifting winds.

Alice’s slender fingers glided effortlessly across the crystal control interface, her sharp gray eyes mirroring the holographic displays as she deftly adjusted their course toward Duke Marveil’s capital.

Beside her, Kael sat motionless, his gaze unfocused. The Arc Nexus pulsed rhythmically on his wrist, its Aetherium Core glowing faintly as he communed with the AI within.

"I don’t have any data regarding the King’s forces," Nexus’s voice echoed in his mind, crisp and analytical. "I cannot provide an accurate prediction. But I can calculate optimal strategies for his defeat."

Kael’s mental projection stood in a void of shifting data streams. "I already have a plan. With the Rifts opening in four years, I can’t afford to waste time on prolonged conflict."

"Analyzing... Your current strategy has a 90.3% success probability."

Kael’s brow furrowed. "How do you know my plan? I haven’t verbalized it."

A data packet unfolded before him - a memory fragment from a week prior. The image showed Kael authorizing full mental synchronization during the Nexus’s integration.

"You granted me Level-5 access during the bonding ritual," Nexus explained. "We now share a complete cognitive link."

Kael blinked. "Oh. Right." The realization should have unsettled him, but the Nexus’s presence felt as natural as his own breathing.

"You need not worry, Master. I cannot act without your authorization. My protocols are absolute." The AI paused. "Would you like to review my full capabilities?"

Before Kael could respond, Nexus projected an intricate schematic into their shared mental space:

1. Tactical Overlay - Real-time battlefield analysis with predictive modeling

2. Spell Optimization - Instantaneous mana-to-effect ratio calculations

3. Cognitive Augmentation - Enhanced processing speed during combat

4. Memory Partition - Secure data storage with instant recall

Kael’s eyes narrowed at the last entry. "Memory Partition? Show me."

The void dissolved into a starscape of glowing data nodes. Nexus’s voice took on a reverent tone. "This is everything I witnessed in my original ruins. Five millennia of lost knowledge."

Kael reached toward a particularly dense cluster - and suddenly understood.

"These are... schematics. For something massive."

"The Arcanum Forge," Nexus confirmed. "My creators’ masterpiece. With it, you could manufacture an army of Sentinels in weeks rather than months."

Alice’s physical voice pierced the mental link. "Master? We’re approaching the Duke’s airspace."

Kael’s consciousness snapped back to the present. Through the Sentinel’s viewport, the sprawling marble towers of Duke Marveil’s capital gleamed in the afternoon sun.

"Take us down slowly," he instructed. "And Alice?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Remind me to have a word with Lucien about proper thruster calibration when we return."

Alice’s lips quirked. "The incident has already been logged in Bryndis’ central records. Harold is... displeased."

Kael sighed. Some problems required a more hands-on approach.

The Arc Nexus pulsed once, its voice fading as they descended: "Shall I prepare the Arcanum Forge schematics for review?"

Kael’s fingers brushed the gauntlet. "Do it. And Nexus?"

"Master?"

"Next time, lead with the world-changing ancient technology first."

As the Sentinel touched down on the Duke’s landing platform, Kael allowed himself a small smile. The game was changing faster than even he had anticipated - and for once, the odds were firmly in his favor.

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