Sistina was learning to use a little more finesse to reshape her domain. Oh, she hadn’t exactly wasted it before, but she hadn’t been quite as thrifty with her mana as she could have been. With all the power she possessed, she was nonetheless pressed on multiple fronts for using it now. Between making more golems and adjusting the dungeon to be more accurate to her original desires, she had too many needs for her power, and only kept up because so many of the elves, especially the Jewels, kept donating mana.

It was in moving the strange region of the mountainside that she suspected contained the palace of old Everium that she truly learned to adjust her technique. Adjusting stone to more easily part, changing the flow of the mana… it was all small things, but small things mattered. It took more time than she liked, but bit by bit, the mysterious region was approaching the area she wanted it in, near her own chamber.

In the meantime, she had several other projects occupying her attention. First of those was rewriting Marin’s Codex, which she’d only finished the first volume of. Sistina knew that once upon a time her name had been Marin, but whether she’d actually been that Marin was something she wasn’t certain of. Based on her hazy memories, the writing of Marin’s Codex had been unimaginably distant in the past, back when the use of magic had yet to be standardized, so it was quite possible that she’d been named for the original Marin and grown obsessed with her. It was a time-consuming project, since she only had the three volumes to remind her of how they were written, and the later books were far more complex than the first ones.

The other major distraction was the Guildmaster of the Western Adventurer’s Guild, Albert Windgale. The man had been utterly flabbergasted by her existence, and had taken to coming by regularly to pester her with questions. She normally ignored him, but finally she instead decided to exchange explanations with him. He would explain the principles of artificing to her, and she’d answer his questions about dungeons, and how they actually worked. Desa was staying in the room at the same time, both for Sistina’s safety and to try to learn herself.

* * *

“Artificing functions by drawing on ambient mana via what we call an aetheric condenser,” Albert told Sistina, tapping a section of the small steam engine sitting on the table. “This takes mana that has been released into the air and uses it to power the devices that we use. Most of these devices require more mana than what can be gathered under normal circumstances, which was why the condenser was created.”

“Difficult,” Sistina murmured thoughtfully, gaze fixed on the softly chuffing steam engine. “Not much extra released. How?”

“You’re right, it was difficult. Even with the aetheric condenser, the early artificers didn’t have enough mana to power their devices properly since there wasn’t enough released mana in the aether,” Albert said, and drew four symbols on the nearby chalkboard, the runic symbols for air, earth, fire, and water. “That’s when they realized that when elements reacted with each other, they released bursts of mana. Volcanoes are earth and fire, sandstorms are air and earth, thunderstorms are air, fire, and water… it was realized that they all produced immense ambient mana, but were either too inconsistent or too dangerous to use. The most powerful known force to release mana are the tides, the interaction of earth and water, but they’re too irregular to really use. Oh, some devices use them, but not many, since most devices aren’t built to be able to use that much mana at once and overload. Usually violently.

“In the end, two types of reactions were chosen as they were the most easily replicated, and produced enough mana to be worthwhile,” Albert told her, drawing a line between air and water, then fire and water. “When water falls through the air in a waterfall, it produces significant amounts of mana. Dwarven artificers use underground rivers… sorry, I digress. Waterfalls are excellent mana sources, but difficult to find where they might be needed. Hot springs, on the other hand, are fire and water interacting. The common theory is that the first artificer to hit on the idea of a steam engine was looking at a kettle heating on a stove, and realized that so long as you had a source of water, you could use an aetheric condenser to produce the heat for a fire. The first steam engines were huge and crude, and a few exploded before we took to enchanting them to prevent further disasters. All we need is a source of water, and we can produce far more mana than would otherwise be available.”

“Fascinating,” Sistina replied, her thoughts racing through Albert’s logic. It was an extension of theories she already knew, and the basics were in the codices she’d been referencing, but it simply put them together in a way she’d never even considered. The aetheric condenser in particular was the vital piece to the entire process, and she wasn’t familiar with it at all. It was put together with familiar spell-forms, but it was otherwise complex enough she couldn’t easily replicate it. Finally she nodded and smiled. “I understand. Very different, interesting. Then engrave full spell-forms in objects, add mana?”

“Ah, yes. I’m surprised you picked it up that easily. A lot of people were skeptical that we could make it work with something that simple,” Albert told her, amused. “Are you certain you haven’t learned this before?”

“Familiar concepts, put together differently,” Sistina told him, shaking her head firmly as she tapped the steam engine carefully on the water reservoir to avoid burning her fingers. “Have hot spring, can sense mana. Mana sensed, but out of reach. This is logical. Might need to build. Steam golem?”

“That… is a terrifying thought. Please don’t build something like that. My superiors are nervous enough about you as it is,” Albert protested, the brown-haired human paling at the thought. “Your ability to build golems is bad enough, since no one’s managed to actually construct one in millennia, at least not self-sustaining ones.”

“Not easy, but not difficult. Academy has texts,” Sistina told him with a frown. “Why not look?”

“The strange woman, Kassandra, as well as the two… survivors?” Albert frowned and shook his head, sighing. “They don’t let outsiders in to look at the library. They’ve said something about trying to rebuild the Academy.”

Sistina frowned and considered the matter, then shrugged. “I will speak with them. Can understand their position, though. Your questions?”

“Right, umm, one moment…” Albert blinked, obviously pausing to get his thoughts in order before asking seriously. “Why are you so different from other dungeons? I’ve never heard of a dungeon with a body before.”

“Am very different. Was once mortal. Most memories indistinct, but there,” Sistina told him, glancing at Desa and smiling as she continued. “Died, became angel serving Balvess. Then captured by demon queen, corrupted into succubus. Betrayed and trapped in soulstone. Essence… drained over millennia, consuming memories. Soulstone cracked, essence revived seed, merged with tree. Body and spirit now one, tree is self. Very different from other dungeons. Saw Lily, remembered having body. Decided to make one.”

“You never told us all of that before, Sistina,” Desa interrupted, seeming a bit relieved to have something she could make sense of. Albert seemed to be pondering as she spoke, almost as though he was thankful for the interruption.

“Didn’t remember,” Sistina replied simply, tapping her temple gently. “Memories still fragmented. Remember mortal name, but not saying. Might cause misunderstandings. Am Sistina now.”

“It’s a fascinating explanation. I’m startled that an angel or demon could become a genius loci at all, but it isn’t something that I’ve studied. There’s so much we don’t know,” Albert mused, shaking his head and grinning. “Still, that’s just one question, and there are so many I have on how dungeons work. Why do so many dungeons try to kill people, while others just try to challenge us, like you do?”

Sistina blinked and stood up, considering a moment before approaching the board. Taking a piece of chalk, she drew one of the older symbols that she knew. The symbol was the four elements in one, and she explained softly. “Creatures are all elements in one. In battle, like your devices. Elements clash, release mana. Never considered it before. Dungeons absorb. Creatures die, all mana released. Like sacrificial magic. Refined mana, easier to absorb. Death easy, seductive… dangerous.”

“Oh! That makes an enormous amount of sense!” Albert’s eyes lit up with comprehension, smiling broadly. “I always wondered about that, and we’ve had theories for years, but I never thought that combat could actually produce mana that way! It explains why we have to destroy a fair number of dungeons, too. Now—”

The door to the meeting room opened, and in stepped Isana Dayrest. The thin, elegant woman had deeper brown skin than most other dusk elves, and her icy blue eyes came to rest on Sistina after a moment. She inclined her head slightly. Formerly forced to be the wife of Aric Evansly, a dusk elf turncoat, Isana had quickly taken up a position as the majordomo of the palace. While her quiet, distant demeanor had only just thawed over the last few weeks, Sistina had seen occasional hints of happiness from the woman, and she’d done wonders for making the palace more efficient.

“My apologies for the interruption, Master Windgale,” Isana spoke calmly. “I’m afraid that urgent news has reached the palace, and Her Majesty has need of Captain Desa and Sistina’s presence.”

Sistina almost missed how Desa’s eyes were following Isana, but after a moment she caught it and her eyes narrowed. Was that…? A moment later, Sistina shook off her suspicion and decided to ignore it. If Desa liked Isana, it was her own business, none of Sistina’s. She just hadn’t expected that, as she’d thought that Desa was contemplating flirting with Albert before this.

“Why?” Sistina asked curiously, looking at Isana.

“The mages of Sifaren have confirmed that Kelvanis has begun their assault across most of the border,” Isana replied soberly, an unusual look of worry in her eyes. “Reports indicate that the battles are not going well. The fortress of Talloak has fallen.”

“Goddess above, I hope General Dalven made it out!” Desa’s hand rose to cover her mouth, as she swallowed hard.

“The message was short, I’m afraid. My apologies again, Master Windgale.” Isana nodded her head at the man politely.

“Not at all, Lady Dayrest. The situation sounds grim, and I’ll have to speak with Sistina at a later time,” Albert replied sincerely, though Sistina could see the disappointment in his eyes.

Giving a slight smile and nod, the dryad spoke to him gently. “Will speak again. Promise.”

“Thank you. I won’t keep any of you any longer,” Albert replied, sighing as he picked up a few of his books, then hefted the steam engine with a grunt.

“If you’ll lead the way, Isana?” Desa asked softly, and the woman nodded.

“Of course. If you’ll follow me?” Isana asked, and led the way out of the room.