bookpower Chapter 426: Flight
Chapter 426: Flight
Chapter 426: Flight
The cold spring afternoon was blessedly free of clouds or wind. A perfect day for a maiden voyage. Hopefully. It was also possible it could turn into a perfect day for a complete and abject failure, but Jadis wasn’t betting on it. She had almost full and total confidence that Sabina’s first large-scale model would work exactly as intended. That said, she wasn’t willing to risk lives unnecessarily. At least, no one’s life but her own.
“But it’s my experiment and I know how it works and I’m certain that it will work exactly as intended and there is no need to worry! I am best equipped to make and adjustments or repairs if something does happen which it won’t but if it does, I can fix it!”
“No,” Dys said with her arms folded and her face set in stone. “I’m doing it and that’s final. If something happens, I’m the one with the most health. I can survive anything bad that might happen and Eir can heal me while I’m in the air if that’s necessary.”
“Also, if repairs are needed, I’m just going to come right back down. No fixing shit in midair,” Jay added from where she and her other self were putting the finishing touches on the vessel.
“But it’s my experiment!” Sabina whined childishly.
“You wouldn’t try to wear that armor you made for Jadis, would you?” Sorcha patted the half-elf on the hip. “Just look at it like that. Just because you made it, doesn’t mean you’re the best person to use it.”
“But I at least got to put on the helmet!” the smith moaned dramatically. “Can’t I at least ride in it?”
“You put on the helmet?” Syd laughed at the absurd thought of Sabina wearing a piece of armor that was comically oversized for her.
“You can ride it once we know it’s safe,” Jay assured her pouting lover. “Just be patient.”
“Fine. But you better review the controls with me again! Come here and look at this part. You need to make sure you don’t push this lever the wrong way or you’ll nosedive! Also, this part controls—”
Jadis made sure that her Jay self paid full attention to Sabina’s careful explanation of the controls. While she understood them well since she had helped Sabina come up with the design, she didn’t want to cause problems by misunderstanding some part of the controls that Sabina might have recently adjusted or modified. While that part of her focused on the smith’s words, her Syd self left the setup area to have a talk with the audience. More specifically, one member in particular, who had not been expected or really invited to join them that day.
Having left Fortune’s Favored headquarters shortly after noon, Jadis and her entire company had made their way to the southern gates of the capital city. Just as they had arrived at the gates, Severina had called out to them, causing Jadis to halt. Her delight at the fortune of having her new angelic lover join them on their outing quickly turned to dismay when she saw who was with her. That dismay had since turned to a mix of mild apprehension and annoyance since the frustrating man had proven intractable in his determination to follow them.
“I can smell you scheming from twenty yards away,” Syd announced as she approached the gold-skinned elf. “Don’t think for a moment I don’t know what you’re up to.”
“My dear Jadis,” Prince Kestil said with a thin smile, “Telling a prince that you can ‘smell him’ is hardly good etiquette. Please don’t say things that make me agree with my brother’s opinions.”
“Sometimes people in charge need to hear the things that people wouldn’t ordinarily dare to say to them,” Syd told the prince. “Lucky for you, I don’t really give a damn about etiquette or your station. It’s a great chance to hear what blunt idiots like me have to think.”
“Jadis,” Severina said in a warning tone, though her expression was pleading. “Mind your manners, please.”
“It’s fine, Severina,” Kestil let out an amused chuckle as he waved dismissively. “I don’t entirely disagree with the sentiment. I know that in some kingdoms, royalty employs individuals known as ‘jesters’ for just such a purpose. I can’t imagine ever paying for the service myself, but I will humbly accept the criticism if it is offered freely.”
That was at least one thing that Jadis could appreciate about the younger prince. Unlike his brother, the man was at least able to handle an opposing view with a sense of humor.
“Besides, I would hardly force you to arrest your new sweetheart the very day after you’ve declared your affection for one another.”
Severina made a strangled noise in her throat while her whole body went rigid. Syd gaped openly at the second prince, caught between anger at being spied on and humor at the jibe. The situation was not helped by the cackling laughter coming from Kerr in the distance.
“I will also remind you, young Jadis, that I only allow you the one assault on my person,” Kestil mildly stated as he placed his forefinger next to his nose.
Bad science aside, Sabina had taken the ideas Jadis had given her regarding the physics of non-magical flight and ran with them. Instead of doing what everyone else had done for hundreds or even thousands of years, the half-elf had crafted an arcane enchantment that didn’t try to brute force flight but instead enhance the flight capabilities of mundane physics. The designs were entirely her own, unique and unlike any other enchantment that had been documented before. They were a true innovation, one that Sabina was justly proud of.
Technically, Sabina’s enchantments couldn’t do anything on their own. Tack them onto a wagon and the wagon would just sit there. But combine those enchantments with the science of flight, or at least the basics that Jadis had given her, and those enchantments could make a vehicle soar. At least, that was the hope. The time for theory and small-scale tests had passed.
The final test had to be done.
“Stand back,” Jay told Sabina and her assistants. “I’ll pull the tethers off myself.”
A small, wooden cabin had been put together to act as the pilot’s seat. It was also where many of the enchantments that Sabina had crafted were slotted and also served as the base for the magic-powered motor that Sabina had made. The motor, a marvel of magical engineering, would turn the propellers that would give the airship forward momentum and maneuverability. Lift, though, was entirely up to the magically enhanced balloon. The cabin wasn’t permanently attached to the balloon; it was just a temporary measure they were using for this first test run. If everything went as planned, Sabina had assured them that the balloon would be able to be attached to the Behemoth wagon. Supposedly, the enchantments Sabina had crafted would be able to achieve lift with a load twice the weight of the wagon at full capacity.
Standing in front of the incredibly expensive experimental vehicle, Jadis prayed to any gods listening that Sabina’s calculations were right. They had used up their entire supply of eleria crystal and had even had to buy more of the rare and expensive material to make the contraption. If the airship didn’t work, it wasn’t just Sabina who would be heartbroken. Their wallets would be, too.
Sitting in the “cockpit” that was really just an open wagon seat, Jadis made a mental note to remind Sabina that they needed to install seatbelts.
“Pulling the tethers!” Dys shouted out as she ran around the airship, pulling the mooring lines free. “Keep clear!”
As her other self freed the ship from its constraints, Jay touched the control that turned the motor on. She felt the draw of magic leaving her, the small amount of magic power needed to start the motor negligible, but still necessary. While not every aspect of the controls required magic power to steer the vehicle, enough of the enchantments required those small sparks that anyone who wanted to pilot the airship would need to have some magic capability.
The motor whirred to life in near silence. Since the device was powered by magic, it made very little noise. Jadis didn’t engage the propellers, though. The first step was to simply take the ship a few feet off the ground. That was all.
“Come on, Jadis,” Jay murmured to herself. “If the Orville brothers could do this without being super strong, super tough, magically enhanced giants, then you can too.”
Slowly, brushing the lever that controlled lift with the faintest touch, Jay commanded the airship to take flight.
Immediately the vessel rose into the air, causing Jay’s stomach to practically fall out of her ass as she went far higher far faster than she anticipated. The shouts and cries of surprise, alarm, and wonder that came from everyone on the ground echoed across the half-thawed pasture as the airship quickly rose a hundred feet into the air before Jay managed to center the control and reach a point of equilibrium.
“Controls are a bit sensitive,” Dys remarked to a widely grinning Sabina.
“It must be because of the weight difference!” Sabina shouted in unbridled joy. “The balloon is meant to carry the full weight of the Behemoth so you’re far lighter than what is intended and Jadis! You’re flying!”
“Holy fuck, I am flying!” Dys cried out as she picked Sabina up and spun her around. “You did it! It works!”
“It works!” Sabina laughed with excited glee as Dys pulled her in for a sound kiss. “It really works!”
Jay marveled at the view as she took a few minutes to adjust to the feeling of success. The setup had taken most of the afternoon so the sun was dipping below the horizon, so the glorious vision of seeing a golden sunset in the west from the height of the world’s first airship filled her with even more pride at what her amazing lover had accomplished. What they had all accomplished. They could fly.
“I would very much like to discuss airship designs with you and Sabina,” Prince Kestil said, his silver eyes never leaving the floating marvel.
Syd grinned knowingly.
“I bet you would.”