FVN Chapter 170: Chapter XXXIII: Firsties
Chapter 170: Chapter XXXIII: Firsties
Chapter 170: Chapter XXXIII: Firsties
"Needs more firmness" I state as I poke a rather flimsily made artificial bone atop the research table in front of me.
I hear a huff to my right "That much is evident Reyvin, it is after all merely the preliminary result." Phineas explains in a patient drawl.
My eyes move to Tolfdir who was up to that point patiently watching over our work "I feel..." He trails off "That we rushing as is, we should focus on making a working prototype with functional marrow before we focus back on the actual integrity of the bone."
Phineas nods along "As you say Master Tolfdir, making a body that would merely fall apart under its own weight would be a waste of time and gold." He flicks his hand toward his apprentice "Write that down brat."
Marwyn nods rapidly and starts scribbling everything down.
I scratch my chin for a bit before asking aloud "Would it not be more effective to use sacrificial rituals to substitute our lack of progress?"
Phineas shrugs "It could work... but we aren't trying to merely create a body" He stares at me with surprising amounts of life in his 'eyes' "Imagine what we could learn about the mortal form if we understood every single step of its creation!" A grin forms on his face "Besides, we all have all the time in the world."
"That we do" Tolfdir and I join in with a chuckle while Marwyn pretends to merge with the wall.
"Back to the point" I force the conversation back on track "We could use the rituals to speed up the process via mysticism and sacrifice and then reverse engineer the whole thing, we would, naturally, likely miss some of the smaller details but some progress is better than no progress." I explain patiently.
Tolfdir hums thoughtfully before nodding "Young Reyvin's words do hold some merit." He looks at his elder student "We could try this avenue if we find our progress stalling."
The light of excitement in Phineas' illusory eyes dims slightly and he nods with a sigh "Yes, of course, we can always make different stages of homunculus as we expand our knowledge."
His words remind me of a very important thing "Just to make sure we are all on the same page" I draw everyone's attention to me "We are not involving the Daedra with this project unless all three of us explicitly agree, is that acceptable?"
Tolfdir nods immediately while Phineas scoffs "Are you sure you should be the one to comment on involving Daedra, Lord Dagoth?" He asks mockingly and before I can even try to explain the difference he rolls his eyes "Yes, yes I understand, no need to get all excited."
I let out an amused snort "Whatever you say you corpse."
We bicker for a while before there is a knock at the door of Phineas' laboratory, the lich quickly makes sure everything is in order and not about to get damaged before he invites our visitor inside.
In steps Mirabelle Ervine and greets the three of us "Masters." She sends a passing glance to Marwyn "High Enchanter"
And wasn't that a nice bit of news? My boy finally became an expert! Though now that I think about it that might have something to do with the fact I kept throwing projects at him...
My internal raving is interrupted as she goes on "You are all expected to attend the welcoming ceremony in twenty minutes, your presence is mandatory."
Tolfdir nods happily while Phineas tilts his head "I thought there was an entire two months left for that" He mumbles.
I deadpan at the lich "It is already Frostfall you senile bag of bones."
He scoffs "I have better things to do than concern myself with something as trivial as time." The lich even raises his nose arrogantly.
Any excitement they might have held immediately leaves the new arrivals.
"I see you share my excitement." Savos smirks, receiving a couple of glares from the more bold students "So let me get right into it" He completely ignores them "Much like previous years any and all research is permitted within the bounds of the laws of Winterhold and Skyrim" He tilts his head "Or do whatever you want, so long as you don't get caught that is." The massive Argonian's mouth twists into a grin that would terrify most experienced guardsmen as he hears this bit, the Dunmer sitting behind him shivering as her instincts
scream at her.
"Speaking of research, you are all to practice safety measures and caution while around other members of the college" Savos flicks his hand toward the Khajiit and his scrolls all lift into the air while neatly folding themselves "The next time I see you wearing them like that around
others I will be confiscating them."
The cat man nods rapidly "J'zargo will remember."
"See that you do" Savos smirks but said smirk is one of pure menace "Where was I... Ah!" He
raises a finger "So long as you aren't around others do whatever you wish, if you plan on blowing yourself up kindly do so out of the range of your colleagues and preferably somewhere where your ashes might be easily scraped of the walls." He smirks "I hear the Hall
of Refinement is great for such things."
The Nord woman and the Altmer share a dubious look.
"Speaking of the Hall, any disputes among yourselves are to be solved there and under supervision" He stares right at the Argonian, causing even the beast-like creature to shiver in discomfort "Any unsupervised conflict or injury will be strictly punished." His voice is as cheerful as always but there is an underlying coldness that would shake even an experienced
warrior.
The Argonian gulps and nods quickly.
"Also" Savos draws their attention once again "Moving to the lower levels of the college is something done on your own will and the college takes no responsibility to any dismemberment, loss of hair, loss of life, loss of will to live or loss of soul freedom you might accrue below ground." He pauses dramatically just long enough to revel in the horrified looks before continuing "The same goes for the Daedric library, the moment you walk into that section of the Arcaneum the college holds no obligation to protect you save for a Master's good will."
"Back to the program, you will all have to choose..."
The Archmage goes on to explain the three school rule, making jovial, or just plain disturbing,
remarks along the way, thoroughly impressing upon his new students how dangerous a lack of caution might prove to be.
As he finally finishes the new students look like their souls had left their body, he nods in satisfaction before, much like two years prior, his demeanor shifts and he asks the question "Now then, can someone tell me... What is Magicka?"
Gib me zwei stein!
If you want to support me directly and get access to 30ish chapters (Just under 60k words) in
advance visit my patreon page patreon.com/Rastislav156
If you want to discuss the story or just meme about join my discord server:
https://discord.gg/V6NG7JS7aY (link has been refreshed)Nôv(el)B\\jnn