☀️ Arselia and Akonia

— R-ria? — the Tanarsian seemed to be jolted by an electric shock, — v-very interesting change of nickname... — she looks away, — ... ahem, 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 Stalia, since an even fire 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 would probably have been nice to thank her for the help she provided back then.
"Did she actually assemble some kind of magic clock for herself and somehow memorize mind-reading? That sounds like something our commander would do, given 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 surely have built such a gadget right into her heart. Based on what I know, it doesn't sound impossible."

-- Is something wrong? -- Fyr clarified. -- M, if you don't like it, you can be Alari again, but I just felt like I saw skepticism in your eyes, so... There was also the option of "Lara".

The redhead seriously studies the texts.

-- You have a good, classical, ballad-like style. And the theme is martial, as I love. The music, it seems to me, fits here easily: it's easy to imagine an accompaniment of lute or guitar. This is helped by how you place strict accents, for example:

"Unseenible mother and unseen father,
I'm in pain — I could not be sou.
Will an end to my sufferings finally come?
For further I shall find no one such as you."

-- This creates a rhythmicity, I like it. Of course, if you want to move entirely toward the classics, you could try to strictly follow poetic meters, but... As far as I can tell, people are moving away from that; at least in songs, I don't recall any. In short, your modesty is false.

-- When I wrote the song, I tried to move far away from the classics toward experimentation, and I won't be modest—I really like how it turned out, simply because otherwise there would be no point in writing it ) But I am still interested in someone's evaluation, especially regarding the performance, as singing is new to me. Could you please-please listen? )

She performs.

It's actually quite funny, in the context of our recent conversation. This is how we talked about caution, and then you throw out a project like this, — smirking, Alaria shook her head, — my local colleagues would truly name you an apostle of Gnosis

-- I don't understand why? I just took someone's house apart into bricks and am trying to build another house from them; I'm not a pioneer and literally bring nothing new, other than recompilation... You all praise me, but what's so special about that? If I didn't possess the necessary skill for learning and rethinking, I would never be able to draw a new smithing rune, for example, or experiment with weapon balance and so on, stuck at the primitive level of iron daggers in my main craft.

However, in reality, I do have a number of concerns and warnings regarding your idea, even though I believe it is correct to implement. And these are serious concerns, so listen carefully, — these words were spoken in an extremely serious tone, letting the redhead know that the inquisitor intended to speak plainly, without a hint of irony, — first of all, you do realize that you intend not just to place huge and expensive magic concentrates throughout the empire, but ones that will be linked to each other?

This is food for thought number one for you

The girl paused to think.

-- Yes, I need a consultation with a magic expert, although I'll say straight away, such a scenario seems extremely unlikely to me. First, from a technical point of view, achieving the effect requires a link between a sapphire and a wheel oscillatory circuit, and they must have matching frequencies; these are not simple conditions. Second, the transmitted energy... Well, let's assume there is none. Each device has its own power source. I doubt that threads can be strengthened enough to transmit spells through them, and even if so, such a level of magic and such familiarity with the system looks like something... Something that could have been created then without any towers, simply by sending many not-at-all-suspicious spies with sapphires in their pockets. But alright, alright, I'll check; I'll drop by the Academy of Magic for that. In principle, I like that you think about such consequences.

-- ... No-no-no, wait, Zlobynya visited our headquarters with occult supplies, meaning such methods of communication are available even to non-mages; he hardly has any talent, right? In any case, he's not a professional. And what stops a truly powerful evil sorcerer from sending his henchman to Margel with slightly more advanced occult supplies and successfully teleporting a huge poisonous cloud here that will kill everyone? This is a much less fantastic and difficult-to-execute scenario, agree?

-- ... So much less fantastic that it could actually be a real attack vector, perhaps. Oh. Ha-ha. This is why I especially love talking to you )

secondly, even outside of magical consequences, do not forget the economic ones

-- Reasonable. Of course, there will be positive consequences in the form of additional work for builders; a large construction project is always great for the country. And once engineering experience accumulates, those same people can go on to build something else, even more daring, whether it be tunnels, palaces, or even houses in Krydear. But yes... It turns out that I should warn the Suzerain and make purchases. Or, given Her possession of mines, ask for certain deposits to be developed in advance, which were previously considered non-critical.

-- And I don't think Welfern will "expand" for the sake of sapphires; we have so many mountains that I don't know how many centuries they'll last, unless we are extremely unlucky and lack specifically this resource among many others.

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 no idiots among Kalina's followers 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.

-- Kalinka probably won't like that, yeah, -- the Nozenrot lowered her eyes sadly. -- But for now, her influence in her own organization is too great for anyone to engage in such sabotage, but I will keep it in mind. Eh, it's a pity, of course, that our worldviews differ so much; it saddens me to think that she may never be able to rejoice in many of my achievements the way I rejoice in hers... Although I could be wrong. Reading Kalinka's emotions is often not easy; she might put on a stern face, but in reality think far more warmly and grieve privately about exactly the same things I am now.

-- In any case, regarding Ikigai, my possible invention is a blessing. Because technical progress is very dependent on the self-awareness of the people involved in it. M, sounds egocentric, sorry... But the point is that the same physical effect can be used for good, or for evil, or one can create chaos without realizing it. And so I try to follow the first scenario, although history will judge how well I succeeded... But the main thing is that technical progress cannot be stopped; if not me, then someone else will drive it forward. Therefore — it must be guided, so that all niches in the economy are filled with well-thought-out inventions, while simultaneously keeping the country on the cutting edge. Of course, it's not always easy to account for everything, but I really try...