Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (76/?) WiP 1 (Patreon)

Hey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 76 I hope you guys enjoy! :D

Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30, Living Room. Local Time: 19:20 Hours.

Emma

“Civilization collapse is a scary thing, I do admit, but you can only be ruled by fear for so long before it starts taking over and stagnation takes root.” I began, continuing off of the conversation that had started within the dorms, but that had somehow evolved and morphed into something else during dinner, before reaching something of a boiling point now that we’d arrived back in the dorms following a rather uneventful evening out. 

I had planned on conducting the MREDD experiments whilst everyone was away.

But apparently, another evening spent away from the public eye would’ve brought a lot of unnecessary scrutiny my way, especially with the whole bird assault saga still very much on everyone’s minds.

“You interchangeably swap the terms stability for stagnation, Cadet Emma Booker. This makes me question whether or not this is a purposeful lexical choice on your behalf, or whether you lack the capacity to discern the nuances between the two.”

“It’s purposeful, Ilunor.” I responded in no uncertain terms, but only after a quick comparative vocab analysis courtesy of the EVI. “Because while I do see where you’re coming from, and while I honestly and genuinely empathize with everything that comes with uncovering the truth of being the tenth in a long line of fallen civilizations, the fact of the matter is you can’t allow their shortcomings to define who it is you are today. They should be learned from, but they shouldn’t be an outright reason to entrench yourself in…”

“Permanence?” Thalmin offered, remaining awkwardly in the middle of Ilunor and I’s conversations. 

“Yeah, permanence. And moreso, the propagation of a system that simply survives for its own sake-”

“-and for the sake of the cultural and historical legacy of those living within it.” Ilunor quickly snapped, attempting to correct me mid-sentence.

“That may be the case, and again I did say that I see where you’re coming from. But that doesn’t stop you from trying to progress avenues of policy with the intent of enshrining the well being of everyone living within it; and enriching the lives of those people living today.” 

“A system such as your own, Cadet Emma Booker?”

“I mean, that’s what we’ve been attempting to do ever since we united.” I acknowledged with a shrug. 

“It is easy for you to make such bold claims with no fear of collapse, when you yourself lack the capacity or the access to the capabilities which might bring about such cataclysms.”

“Oh trust me, we’ve had some close calls of our own.” I countered, keeping myself just on the edge of acceptable vagueness.

Something Ilunor quickly called me on almost immediately.

“Are you saying your mana-less kind possesses, or has access to realm-destroying levels of power through even more of these mana-less artifices?”

This left me at an awkward impasse, prompting me to gesture towards my gun, and the mothership drone that has since folded in on itself like a loafing cat, behind us. “You started this week off believing that a mana-less individual couldn’t exist. I proved you wrong by simply walking through that portal. You then maintained the belief that a mana-less being couldn’t possibly create constructs capable of matching or inflicting damage on the scale of a mage. I proved you wrong two times over now on that account, the first when I demonstrated the use of my gun, and the second in service of your side-quest. Just a few days ago, you maintained the belief a mana-less being couldn’t possibly achieve flight… Do I need to go on?”

“You need not go on, Cadet Emma Booker.” Ilunor replied with a frustrated huff. “However, I also need not remind you of a very important factor you’re simply not considering. And that is simply, that you have yet to consider the role the fates and the gods may play in your realm.”

“If you mean gods in the typical sense, Ilunor, how do you imagine them to survive in a mana-less realm?” Thalmin interjected, more or less destroying Ilunor’s argument in the process as his maw hung agape all the while. 

I chose to move on following that little save from the lupinor, giving the wolf a thankful nod before continuing.  

“We don’t need the interference of magical higher powers to force us into a situation of potential societal collapse, Ilunor.” I announced with a regretful sigh. “We’ve pushed ourselves to that brink several times over. And yet… we’ve managed to pull through each and every time. I guess in your mind, you could attribute that to the lack of any magical deities that affected our minds or the decisions of our leaders or whatever magical conspiracy you wanna spout. But honestly, I’d attribute it to how I genuinely believe that our better judgment won out at the end of the day. Because ultimately, we both are on the same page when it comes to this particular argument, Ilunor.” I attempted to sway the talking points into an unexpected direction, taking the Vunerian off-guard. 

“And pray tell, what could we possibly see eye-to-eye on, Earthrealmer?”

“We both value the sanctity of civilization. We both want to see it continue, and for the legacies of the past to be enshrined. But while you guys have built yourselves a museum to the past, and an altar to the present, you’ve inadvertently constructed a tomb for your future. We, on the other hand, have built a library in the bowels of a ship. Where that ship goes, and what adventures await us, we don’t know. But what we do know is that the more that library grows, the more we can improve that ship so that we can carry on our legacy, into whatever new sights and adventures we inevitably sail into.”

“I didn’t take you to be a poet, Cadet Emma Booker.” Ilunor chided. 

“Well, I guess I pick things up rather quickly.” I shrugged in response.

“In any case, perhaps you do have a point, earthrealmer.” Ilunor acknowledged, much to my surprise. “Perhaps we do value the same things. But that doesn’t change the fact that your way, is foolish and shortsighted.”

“We’ve held our own, and maintained our government for practically a millennium now, Ilunor.” 

“And the Eternal Regime has maintained itself, and the stability of its adjacent realms, ten, twenty, thirty-fold over that amount of time, Cadet Emma Booker.” Ilunor spoke without skipping a single beat. 

“Ilunor-” Thalmin finally interjected, a stoic look of confidence acting as a perfect counter to Ilunor’s bombastic personality. “-have you perhaps considered that it is exactly because of their mana-less state that they lack the same problems faced by the Nexus?”

“Explain yourself, lupinor.”

“Simply put, perhaps it is exactly due to their chaotic and independent nature, free from the inexplicable shackles that comes with a mana-based society, that allows them to create something so novel that it defies traditional cycles of collapse?”

“Perhaps it is, or perhaps it isn’t.” Thacea finally chimed in, much to the surprise of Ilunor who was about to commit to a lungful of retorts that’d otherwise probably chew up most of the night in the yappings of a deluxe kobold. “But perhaps now would be the best time to finally go about our own ways. Curfew is, after all, still in effect. And despite it being extended into midnight following the grace period, it would still be prudent to make haste with our respective personal responsibilities.” 

This abrupt and unexpected bit of mediation was a breath of fresh air, and once again proved to be successful as both Thalmin and Ilunor nodded in unison.