TBATE - Fated To Rule Together

Chapter 29 - Collecting The Seal

(Arthur Leywin POV)

Today was the day that the King and Queen of Sapin would give a speech, so there was going to be a huge event being held at City Square. I had asked Uncle Vincent to take me to the inventor known as Gideon, who was recommended by Fabian himself. Elijah decided to come with us, saying that he wanted to check out some of the shops. Amber was called by Director Goodsky to discuss something, so she went to the Academy. Dad went to work, and the rest went to do some shopping.

So, as we made our way to Gideon's place, Elijah split off from us to do his own stuff. When we entered his 'home', if you could even call it that, we were welcomed by the sweet aroma of what smelled like sewage. His butler led us to Gideon's lab, which was cluttered with bits and parts and random pieces of clothing scattered all over the floor.

Gideon himself seemed antisocial, even stating that he does not particularly want to see people as of late. Apparently, he was too cooped up trying to find a way to travel across the ocean; a special task given to him by the royal families themselves. For an underdeveloped continent like Dicathen, which was years behind on technological advancements, this would prove to be a near impossible task.

Something that Amber and I came to realise pretty quickly was that the people of this continent relied too heavily on mana. They would first have to get over that dependence on mana before they could even think about creating a ship. Or... someone with the knowledge could come forth and aid them in their conquest.

Walking up to a plain roll of blueprint paper, I started doodling the components of a steam engine whilst intentionally leaving out the most important part of the design. Gideon was practically jumping for joy when he saw what I drew, but instantly became sour once he realised that the design was incomplete. He started showing me his most prized inventions, hoping that they would entrance me enough to part with my knowledge. Uncle Vincent had stars in his eyes, whilst I had a bored look. Years of negotiations had taught me that people always save the best things as a last resort.

So, after going through countless begging and after I rejected all of his inventions, we finally arrived at his most prized possessions, which were supposed to be reserved for the royal family. I guess he must have really been stumped if he wanted the blueprints so badly that he would rather be on the bad side of royalties. His assistant, Himes, bought out two little boxes of red laced with golden trimmings., which reminded me of Amber's hair when she went into Phoenix Ascension.

Opening the boxes, Gideon revealed two pendants of the same red and gold with the symbol of phoenix wings in the middle. Red, gold and white coloured feathers hang from the sides and middle, making them look like phoenix wings and tails.

"These are made from Phoenix Wyrms." I mindlessly pointed out, too entranced by the sheer beauty of the pendants. The designers who worked on these had sculptured them into perfection.

"Hmph! That's right. Wait a minute, how did you know that?" He asked as he peered at me with a scrutinising gaze.

"I know a lot about phoenixes. More than a normal person." I said, keeping my eyes on the pendant.

"It's like you're saying that you've actually interacted with a phoenix, which are rumoured to be seen once a decade."

"You could say that." I replied, nonchalantly. Gideon explained to us that, like phoenixes, who could reserve their own life, these pendants would create a protective barrier around the user, and should that break, it would transport the user to a known safe location. Just like a phoenix Wyrm would!

After a bit of 'persuading,' Gideon finally spilt the bean on why the royal families had asked him to create a ship. Apparently, they had just discovered a new continent. With all the evidence they had unearthed, it was safe to presume that this new continent was more technologically advanced than Dicathen, and had stronger mages than us.