Chapter Twelve

The Principles of Human Motivation

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By the time Neiphi returned to the laboratory Kazia had finished with the Artifact she'd been working on and brought Kelvaran's device from the storeroom. Neiphi sat in the chair she had brought for Amelys, studying the documentation packet as she watched Kazia dismantle the outer housing of the wax cylinder recorder which would act as the receiver of the sound transmission.

"Ew!" Neiphi exclaimed, peering closely at the page, "Blood of the Maker? Ew."

That would be why the Artifact had such a strong pull on Kazia.

"Alright, lesson time then," Kazia said. "You know that certain hard substances will bind magic to objects - various metals, crystals, and the like. But sometimes to make the magic move within the Artifact, we need a liquid catalyst. Some weaker catalysts are alcohol or vinegar, but they will dissipate quickly, best for temporary applications. Saltwater and quicksilver are stronger.

Your academic tutors will teach you the physical properties of catalysts used in the natural sciences, but when we are dealing with Artifacts, we are dealing with magic - and magic comes from inside a person, from the very core of them. The more personal the elements of your Artifact, the stronger it will be, and that is why blood is the strongest magical catalyst of them all.

If you use animal blood, or from a person unknown to you, that will be about the same as using quicksilver. But the strongest blood catalysts are, in order: Blood of the Maker themselves, Blood of One Who Loves the Maker, and Blood of One the Maker Loves. It is the personal connection, the sacrifice of it, the Principles of human motivation, that make it so powerful. Blood of One's Enemy is another, although... that would be outside of my comfort."

"Would I have to kill someone?" Neiphi asked, horrified.

"No!" Kazia said emphatically. "That is strictly forbidden in the practice of Alchemy, and anyone committing such dark acts is sentenced to death themselves. No, these Artifacts only require a small vial, easily taken with a syringe. Like this one."

Kazia opened a drawer in her table and produced a syringe with a long, sharp steel needle. Neiphi cringed away.

"I don't think I could do that," she said.

"You won't be doing anything of the sort for a very long time," Kazia said.

Neiphi looked relieved.

"Now," Kazia continued. "In this device, the potion ampoule will be... yes, here it is."

She pointed into the mechanism of the receiver, where a glass bottle filled with dark liquid was connected to a tubing that wound throughout the works.

"That's Lord Meratha's blood?" Neiphi asked.

"It is, along with other ingredients. Now, this Artifact is in two parts, so-" She opened the watch to expose its mechanism as well and brought her magnifying glass around. "-there should be, yes, here."

Using tweezers, Kazia pulled from the watch mechanism a tiny metal frame that held a bit of fiber.

"You would open the seal there at the top of the potion ampoule, Neiphi can you do that for me? Very, very carefully. Thank you. Then dip this cartridge into the potion, and place it back into the watch."

Neiphi looked on with amazement as Kazia did all of this, ecstatic at being asked to help. Kazia replaced the seal Neiphi had opened, then hovered her finger over the switch.

"Let's see what happens," she said, pushing the switch.

They waited a long moment.

Nothing happened.

"I think you have to talk into it," Neiphi said.

"Well, I thought we'd at least see it power up first, but maybe. Would you like to do it?" Kazia said, closing the watch up and offering it to her Apprentice.

Neiphi took the watch, looked it over for a moment, then held it close to her mouth.

"Alchemy is disgusting and I love it," she said, eliciting a laugh from Kazia.

Still nothing happened in the Artifact.

"Well, I'll have to think on it," Kazia said, "and it's about time for your dinner, so you go on now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You'll figure it out," Neiphi said. "Good night, Mistress."

After Neiphi was gone, Kazia leaned over the Artifact and placed her hands on both sides of it. She rested her forehead down on it, and began to feel it out.

All seemed to be in order within. The connections were good. The intentions of it were all clear. She could see no reason it shouldn't work.

The longer she rested against it, though, the more that brooding cloud of Kelvaran's disposition began to seep into her, tightening her chest and bringing a knot into her throat as a profound sorrow crept into her heart.

She rose and threw a cover over the Artifact, then hastened into her apartment, tears pricking at her eyes as she tried to ready herself for the evening before her dinner was delivered.

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Kazia found Amelys alone in the carriage when she arrived, still waiting for Kelvaran. A footman handed her up, and she took a seat opposite her mentor.

"I'm so pleased that you're joining us, Kazia," Amelys said.

"It should be very interesting. Thank you for inviting me," Kazia answered. "Will Madame Brandra not join us?"

"Oh, no, she is terribly bored by these sorts of things. I thought I'd spare her."

"Oh, you will also be pleased to know that I had a first look at Lord Meratha's Artifact today," Kazia said.

"Good. And?"

"Nothing yet. I'll get started in earnest tomorrow. I do wonder, though. There is an inscription on one component. Do you know who Yilina is?"

Amelys became thoughtful.

"Will it help you with the Artifact?" she asked.

"I don't think so, it was just a curiosity."

"Well, that would be for Kelvaran to tell you should you ever move past your differences. I don't tell him your secrets."

"No, of course not," Kazia said. "I understand."

At that moment Kelvaran came from the tower entrance, skipping down its small steps and walking at a fast clip to the carriage. He was abuzz with eager anticipation, but as he entered the carriage and saw Kazia, his mood instantly darkened.

"Mistress," he said sharply to Amelys, "you didn't say she was coming."

"I wasn't sure she would make it," Amelys replied.

"Why?" he demanded as the carriage pulled away from the tower.

"She may not have felt up to it."

"No, why is she here?"

"I am very interested in your theories, Lord Meratha," Kazia intervened, attempting to diffuse the tension between them. "Mistress Amelys was explaining them to me earlier, and I quite agree with you that the natural sciences must be encouraged to diverge from magic. I expect to find your lecture fascinating."

Kelvaran shot Amelys a resentful look, clearly unhappy that she had been talking about him with Kazia, but he sank back into his seat and let the argument go. That excitement Kazia had felt from him as he approached the carriage returned slowly, as he turned his thoughts away from her and back to his plans for the evening.

The University wasn't far from the castle island, and once they had crossed the bridge it took only a few minutes to arrive. The hall they crowded into was grand, and filled with young men and women from all over the Five Nations and beyond. Several older people who Kazia took to be professors sat along the sides of the hall, and she and Amelys were ushered to seats there with them.

All around was chaos, young people happily arguing with one another about one theory or other, casually calling each other by very rude names. Off-color jokes seemed their primary language. Kazia had only a few years over most of them, but they seemed as children to her.

"These are the future of the world," Kazia murmured wryly.

"If we can provide them with one," Amelys replied.

"Was it like this at the Academy?"

"Oh, no, it was much worse," Amelys laughed.

"I can't imagine Lord Meratha behaving so."

"He was... withdrawn. I believe there were a few fights."

"Don't misunderstand, this is delightful," Kazia said, "but I think now I am glad I did not go."

As Kelvaran took the podium at the head of the room, though, everyone settled at once and silence fell over the crowd, all eyes turned to him.

He spoke clearly and powerfully, his voice filling the room, and for the better part of an hour he expounded upon the various methods of producing and directing electrical currents, methods having nothing to do with magic at all, at one point demonstrating a battery that produced a small electric light.

For the second half of his speech, he spoke of the need to find sources of energy capable of producing large amounts of electricity for cities that would not defile the land and the air, acknowledging that this would be the difficulty in bringing this sort of progress to all.

The talk was masterful from start to finish, and Kazia hung on his every word. When it ended she stood and applauded with the rest of the crowd, almost feeling as young as all of them again.

 

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