The Steel Warship flying the Imperial Flag stood anchored at sea, Dragon Rider Aircraft crossed the sky with a low hum, and fully armed Iron Rangers patrolled the beach—everything brought Wasp and Night Owl an indescribable sense of security.
On the barren, rubble-strewn coast, the landing party had cleared out a temporary foothold. High-power mobile Communication Stations and Magic Net Arrays had restored contact between Violet Island and Northport, while field Shield Generators kept out the biting winter wind. Night Owl and Wasp sat on a large rock, each holding a serving of freshly heated instant soup, feeling the chill gradually leave their bodies.
A pillar-like device had been set up in the open space before them. Its lower half was encased in a hexagonal alloy shell, while its upper half consisted of layers of stacked crystal panels. Magical radiance drifted slowly between the crystals, and a constant, even thermal field radiated outward from the device, swiftly raising the temperature of the entire campsite to a comfortable level.
Several soldiers had hung their field meal boxes from hooks beside the heating device. The food inside gradually began to release an enticing aroma beneath the heat.
The device reminded Wasp of similar things she had seen in her mentor's Mage Tower when she had still been a mage apprentice—mages of the old era would place all sorts of enchanted items capable of altering the environment in their homes. There were magical hearths that could keep an entire tower warm as spring, and ice mirrors that could cool an entire castle. Their effects were astonishing, and they were often a way for mages to flaunt both their skill in crafting magical items and their considerable wealth.
They would always create even the simplest magical item in the most intricate, elaborate, luxurious, and