“I …” Blaze gulped. His speech had everything he needed to say. Getting cut off in the middle threw his whole script out the window.
This was too important to mess up.
He had to keep going. “Yes. I was leading toward that revelation.”
“I assume you have more than an idea.”
“Far more, my lord.” Blaze lifted his satchel. “I have schematics and a business proposal. If we move swiftly, I could have a prototype ready for the Innovation Awards.”
“Ambitious.” Lord Gustus motioned to a side area of his large office. “Show me what you brought.”
To the left, where Lord Gustus was guiding Blaze, was a work area where a wide table sat in front of three sets of shelves. Books and scrolls filled two cases, while various instruments for calculations occupied the one in the middle. Before Blaze had a chance to even skim the titles on the shelves, Lord Gustus tapped the table. “Let’s begin with the important part.”
Blaze took out his business plan. “The initial costs may seem outrageous, but we’re bound to find additional investors at the market. I’ve begun construction?—”
“I have the business savvy to make plenty of money from a workable idea, but I can’t discuss financial agreements until I’ve seen the schematics. You’d be surprised how many terribledesigns walk into my office with the confidence of a bell ringing the time,” Lord Gustus said.
Flustered, Blaze stuffed his business plan back into his satchel. He was far more careful with his tube of schematics. The paper was delicate and held a light enchantment to keep the ink vibrant. It had barely left his canvas bag when Lord Gustus snatched the tube from him.
Not snatched. He’s excited, and I’m nervous. I’m reading him wrong.Blaze’s heart remained in his throat as Lord Gustus spread out the designs. Here was where the university had patted him on the shoulder, given him a degree, and chosen not to fund him. They’d left him with no option but to return home to Manabelt with only his education. On his way back to his childhood bedroom, he’d entreated the wealthiest elves he could get in a room, but those handful of meetings hadn’t resulted in support.
“This looks like a sailing ship,” Lord Gustus remarked.
“The first few models would need to be.” Blaze held his bag tight and fought the urge to take his designs back. There was something hungry in Lord Gustus’s expression that twisted his stomach into knots.Just nerves. Keep calm.“No one will have docking space for an airborne craft, especially not of this size, so being able to port in a harbor will be essential. Those areas are also equipped to handle cargo and passengers, allowing us to use existing infrastructure. For landlocked towns, I have a few ideas for supports that would emerge from the hull. Better done on smaller crafts, I think. At least until we develop the magic and technology to support the weight of larger ships.”
“You based your enchantments in cosmomancy,” Lord Gustus said.
“I studied at Equinal Academy for my degree in mystical engineering. I spent hours watching the gondolas and?—”
“And the Navisora craft were your inspiration,” Lord Gustus mused. “Clever work, but the power required to accomplish this feat is beyond the capacity of any machine.”
“I don’t know how familiar you are with cosmomancy, but the elves of Dun Steorra center their magic on universal consistencies. I believe we have barely scratched the surface of what is possible when we combine that with Gearwickian dedication to pulling magic into our devices, especially in regards to celestial diamonds.”
Lord Gustus raised an eyebrow. “Surely you don’t believe you’re the first to have that idea.”
“Of course not. But I studied extens?—”
“What are your predictions for failure?”
Blaze clasped his hands behind his back. His previous attempts at funding had ended with the answer to this question. “As with any great amount of energy, certain precautions can be taken to mitigate potential damage.”
“Don’t create a watch to tell me it’s raining,” Lord Gustus said sternly.
“Minor problems would result in a nullification that would render some, if not all, materials useless. Major problems could create an explosion of significant size.”
“Define ‘significant.’”
“If the engines were of a large enough size to power a retrofitted sailing ship meant for coastal waters, then a catastrophic failuremightlevel a town the size of Manabelt.”
Lord Gustus’s brows shot up, and he regarded the plans with a more skeptical eye.
The future was slipping through Blaze’s fingers once again. A pleading note tinged his voice despite his efforts to remain calm. “It’s less than a one percent of a one percent chance. Your fountain has the same odds of suddenly spurting gold.”
“It could do that?”
“A few parts would have to fail and cause a specific reaction pattern, and the fountain itself would be destroyed by the sudden transmutation, but yes.”
“Hm.” Lord Gustus returned to examining the schematics. After a long few minutes, he put his hand on Blaze’s shoulder. “You don’t allow convention to hold you back. I like that. How would you like a position in my workshop?”
