☀️ Arselia and Akonia

-- Riya, I wanted to say, it's wonderful that you were also inspired by Queen Laurenzia! From your song, you clearly have some experience in this; it sounded sweet even without you studying additional literature... But it seems you still found some areas for growth?

— R-riya? — the Tanarsian seemed to be jolted by an electric shock, — a v-very interesting change of nickname... — she looks away, — ... khm, and the song didn't sound sweet, but melodious and encouraging! In principle, I managed to compose a couple of my own today, if you are really curious, — she hands the redhead some texts for review, — but as you can see from them, I am not exactly a master of the pen. And originality in titles is a bit lacking. At first, I thought about calling the first one the Anthem of Stalle, since an even singularity came to mind more than once while writing the lyrics, but then I decided it wouldn't be right to put my own words into someone else's mouth. Especially when that someone was our benefactor. Although it probably would have been nice to thank her for the help she provided back then.
"Did she assemble some kind of spell-clock and somehow memorize mind reading? It would be just like our commander, with her paranoia. She'd read the thoughts of every stranger knocking at the door. And if she is a doll-head on legs, she could probably build such a gadget right into her heart. Based on what I know, it doesn't sound impossible."

Am I correct in understanding that this is a hobby and not a professional activity, so you wouldn't criticize me too harshly if I asked? )

— Exactly a hobby, — she nodded affirmatively, — at one point I thought about doing it professionally, but there wasn't enough money or time — duty was more important. Otherwise, a slightly different Alaria would be sitting before you now.

-- Regarding the means of long-distance communication, mmm, well, I'll call it "thread-mail" for simplicity, here is the kind of thing I've envisioned, -- the Knight privately and carefully gives Alaria the same folder as she gave to Quantum.

"Yes, it sounds very much like a telegraph, albeit an adapted one," thought the warrior, carefully studying the folder, which likely included corrections received from Quantum, "at this rate, Welfern might catch up to and even surpass Rheime in terms of technical progress within my lifetime. My Rheime, at least.
— Something similar existed in my world. It's actually quite funny in the context of our recent conversation. Here we were talking about caution, and then you drop a project like this, — with a smirk, Alaria shook her head, — my local colleagues might actually start calling you an apostle of Gnosis. However, in reality, I do have a number of concerns and warnings regarding your idea, even though I believe it is the right thing to implement. And these concerns are serious, so listen carefully, — these words were spoken in an extremely serious tone, letting the redhead know that the Inquisitor intended to speak with her directly, without a hint of irony, — first of all, you realize that you intend not only to place huge and expensive magic concentrates throughout the empire, but ones that will be linked to each other? You must understand this, given your experience with that mysterious magical reactor. I would strongly recommend, if there is an opportunity and trusted persons, to discuss this matter with the Bureau of Magic or another expert in this field. To think through precautions, as far as they are even possible. Because... you know yourself what a mage can do with sapphires. And here there are many of them, and they transmit energy from one to another. It could easily happen that some malicious wizard breaks into one of the less protected, more isolated towers and, performing some ritual, triggers a chain reaction through them. Or perhaps simply sabotages the entire system. But worse options are possible, by far. Starting from a series of magical explosions and ending with, say, pernicious miasmas or something that would instill desired villainous thoughts in people with weak wills. Prompting them to do things they wouldn't do under other conditions. I can imagine many extremely unpleasant scenarios where the careless and widespread introduction of towers could backfire severely if such possibilities are not provided for. That is food for thought number one, — Alaria bent one finger on her hand, — second, even outside of magical consequences, don't forget about the economic ones. And there will be some, mark my words. Building the towers will take a huge amount of gems even for Welfern alone, but neighbors will sooner or later try to do the same. This will strongly affect the prices of stones, especially sapphires. It will directly touch many areas of life. For such a case, for our purposes, it would be wise to stock up on them in advance and avoid talking about the idea to outsiders. Because shrewd dealers would kiss you anywhere for such a tip, believe me. This is a very good opportunity for them to multiply their fortune, knowing the future state of the market in advance. They could even buy out businesses involved in mining magic stones, hoping it pays off and gives them a greater degree of influence in the Welfern of the future. If my forecasts are correct, you hold information capable of granting an immense amount of power to a sufficiently wealthy person. At the same time, the lives of wizards and people like Mr. Sanderstrike will be negatively affected, as the consumables for their craft will jump sharply in price. Remember this too, so that nothing surprises you later, — she bends the second finger, — other unwanted consequences are possible following the gems becoming a more sought-after resource. Welfern's appetites will grow, and therefore, to maintain internal growth rates, external growth may be provoked. And this is not even touching upon completely absurd scarecrows, like conditional Tenebrian wizards discovering the ability to pump latent magical power from the bodies of ordinary people into a tangible form of artificial stones. I don't know if it's possible, but I wouldn't be surprised by such a thing. I think there is no need to say which sectors of business would only profit from this? — she bends the third finger, — One should not underestimate human greed. Finally, your ideas may meet opposition from certain groups, the most vocal of which will surely be Ikigai. And the more my concerns are justified, the more support these groups will enjoy. And here one must be on guard, — Alaria looked firmly into Erephir's eyes, — in my home lands, Ikigai was much worse. The original Ikigai, under Usami Kyoko. They sabotaged production, killed innocents and committed other atrocities. I hope that among Calina's followers there aren't any idiots who want the same and thereby frame the more peaceful followers of this teaching. You are friends with her and she is clearly very dear to you, which is why I am saying this, so that you can protect her. Especially if the immortal witch suddenly appears personally in Margel. I hope it comes to nothing, but it's hard not to consider such a scenario, — sighing heavily, the Tanarsian looked at her companion again, — perhaps the conversation became a bit heavy, and my forecasts are too bleak. But it is far from certain that any of them will come true, although experience suggests otherwise. I thought it necessary to warn you so that future events do not turn out to be an unpleasant surprise. Believe me, I've noticed how much you dislike them. But I also know that in the pursuit of a bright idea, one can sometimes lose their head, closing their eyes to possible negative consequences. As I already said, I believe your idea is worthy of being brought to life, and therefore it is worth preparing in advance not only for the good, but also for the bad. I hope that my fears remain just that.