Magic Energy Number One

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, House Flint Castle, Council Hall.

Eddard had been preparing the materials for his magic experiments since the previous afternoon, working straight through until well past midnight. During that time, the head lady-in-waiting, Aiju, and Wild Rose had come several times, hoping he would eat and rest sooner. With no other place available for experiments, the Council Hall had now become Eddard's testing ground entirely.

To keep anyone from running in and being frightened by the things inside the Council Hall, Captain of the Guards Arthur Stone and "Thin Pigeon" stood guard at the entrance, even sleeping on bedding laid outside the door. Fortunately, Eddard's magic did not produce the terrifying sound and light effects found in certain mystery novels. Otherwise, all sorts of rumors would probably have spread long ago.

Eddard's former status as an apprentice maester afforded him considerable convenience. With Maester Albert's corroboration, everyone in the castle knew that Eddard was researching new tools for production. The Citadel's name was well known throughout Westeros.

New types of mills, waterwheels, sailing ships, and all sorts of practical tools had mostly spread from the Citadel. During the reign of Aegon Targaryen IV of the previous dynasty, the famous "Unworthy" had once ordered the maesters in King's Landing to build him a wooden dragon that could breathe fire. The story still circulated among the common folk, so many of them regarded maesters as extraordinary men capable of turning the mundane into the miraculous.

Thud...

At Eddard's command, two Dragonglass Lesser Demons carried over iron ingots and other materials. Meanwhile, a brown bear and a Rock Mountain Cat lay lazily on the Council Hall's long table, watching Eddard and the others at work.

Maester Albert sat in a chair nearby, staring blankly at the Dragonglass Pillar in his hands. It housed a Demon Child's original form, which Eddard had given him to study. Once "Eel" Ralf truly completed his fusion with the Demon Child, Eddard would help the old maester awaken.

This maester from the Citadel was the most important talent under Eddard's command. No matter what, Eddard would not forget him. The old man's knowledge and experience would be of great help to Eddard.

"Eel" Ralf had personally summoned this second Dragonglass Lesser Demon. Although the Lesser Demon had nearly torn him to pieces, this also signaled that Eddard's Magic Awakening Plan had succeeded.

It demonstrated that, by combining the Dream World's power with the souls wandering within it, Eddard could create a group of wizards barely capable of casting spells. Although this was only a beginning, as knowledge and experience accumulated, the number of wizards under Eddard would certainly grow.

"Hiss..."

After the two Dragonglass Lesser Demons set down the materials, Eddard ordered them to build a stone platform. But the two creatures were far too unintelligent. Beyond moving stone, they could do nothing else, leaving Bran and Ralf with no choice but to stand beside them and direct them in placing the rough stones, which generally weighed around forty kilograms each.

Meanwhile, Eddard kept examining the plans Maester Albert had designed for him. The drawing had dedicated symbols and annotations, allowing Eddard to identify the alterations easily. After committing certain specifications to memory, Eddard looked at everyone working nearby.

These rough stones had been quarried from the rock formations along the shores of Flint's Finger, with some dolomite mixed among them. Eddard intended to use the rough stones for a base, while the dolomite would be used in an attempt to burn lime, which would be combined with some volcanic ash to make "pozzolanic cement."

The castle had some of all these materials, in varying quantities. Once Eddard's experiment succeeded, he would establish a production line in the workshops to manufacture the results of today's experiments in bulk, contributing to the future development of Flint's Finger.

Although the blacksmith Black was highly skilled, the iron ingots he had made still contained considerable impurities.

Such material could not produce a good cylinder at all, so Eddard still needed to rework the ingots. Soon, the large pile of rough stones had been stacked into place. Eddard stepped onto it, and as he activated the Golden Eye, countless tentacles bearing eyes appeared around his head. Apart from Maester Albert, every other creature present could perceive Eddard's bizarre appearance.

Then, under Eddard's precise control, these tentacles all took on the form of palms. They quickly inscribed a demonic summoning circle on the foundation of rough stones. As sulfur burned steadily, the surrounding temperature changed as well.

As the flames continued burning, a magic circle composed of fiery red magma appeared on the base. It measured roughly three meters across. Besides a pointed star and an outer ring, it contained runes of unclear meaning, representing the demons' seven powers of sin.

Under Eddard's control, the area occupied by the magic circle became a kind of independent space. This area would serve as the place where he heated iron and steel, or rather, as his special workbench.

Once the magic circle was activated, Eddard stepped out and stood beyond its edge. He then used his tentacles to fetch the iron ingots he had prepared beforehand. To Maester Albert, the objects floated over to Eddard, but to Bran and the others, Eddard was picking them up with his tentacles.

Boom!

As Eddard poured his perception into it, the Fire Dragonglass instantly unleashed terrifying energy. That dreadful power turned several of Eddard's tentacles directly into charcoal, while the area around him began to distort as its temperature rose.

Protected by the magic circle, the heat inside did not leak out. Only the difference in temperature turned the space into a distorted region of intense heat. Although the magic circle isolated it, that scorching energy still caused Eddard a trace of physical discomfort.

The tentacles worked continuously under Eddard's control. Whenever the high temperature inside consumed them, he used his perception to summon new ones. With the Golden Eye's help, Eddard gradually adapted and also saw the flaws and impurities within the ingots.

Under the constant baking and destruction of the intense heat, Eddard's tentacles changed into countless fine threads to adapt to the environment. Moreover, after repeated exposure to the flames' erosion, these tentacles seemed to develop a peculiar resistance to fire.

As the temperature continued changing, the ingots began to transform as well. They had now become a sphere resembling a blazing sun. Under the manipulation of Eddard's densely packed tentacles, the scorching ball of iron was kneaded into a cylinder, just like the lumps of mud Eddard had played with as a child.

Eddard used his tentacles to imitate the potter's wheel used to make clay cups. As the cylinder spun continuously, he gradually opened a hole through its center, then made its base the same thickness as the cylinder wall. After spending over an hour, Eddard finally finished making a complete iron cylinder.

Because the heat remained trapped inside the magic circle, the temperature within had not fallen much. Eddard then made a piston, a rod seal, a rod, a drive shaft, and gears in succession. Vast quantities of iron ingots disappeared at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The cylinder Eddard was making did not need to be especially precise. So long as it worked and could be guaranteed not to leak, his Stirling engine would be a success.

To make later assembly easier, Eddard specifically fitted a clasp at the rod seal. Since Ice Dragonglass would be installed in this position, the requirements were not particularly high. He only needed to ensure that the Fire Dragonglass end remained sealed.

What came next was the important step. To reduce wear and improve the seal, Eddard would coat the cylinder's inner wall and the piston with a layer of Valyrian steel. Soon, he took several small drinking cups made of Valyrian steel from a bag beside him.

Then, at Eddard's signal, "Eel" Ralf stepped forward from the side, drew a dagger, and cut a deep gash across his wrist.

Ralf's blood poured out as though it cost nothing. Bran had already prepared a silver cup to collect it. At Eddard's signal, Maester Albert hurried over to bandage Ralf. Thanks to his Demon Child bloodline, Ralf's bleeding soon stopped.

Under the manipulation of Eddard's perception tentacles, a piece of Dragonglass already infused with a Twisted Soul was brought out as well. When the three substances touched, a very peculiar reaction occurred immediately. First, the Ice Dragonglass froze the Valyrian steel drinking cup, which was already coated in blood. Then cracks began appearing throughout the cup.

Noticing the change, Eddard placed the Valyrian steel into the magic circle. Since much of the heat had been consumed, the cup changed very slowly, forcing Eddard to place another piece of Fire Dragonglass into the circle. As the temperature rose steadily, the Valyrian steel gradually melted into liquid steel. Eddard took this opportunity to try to explore its secrets with the Golden Eye.

Unfortunately, this peculiar magical item still could not be traced back using the Golden Eye. Although Eddard had tried before, seeing the Valyrian steel turn molten made him unable to resist examining it again.

The next steps were relatively simple. Eddard used his tentacles to coat the cylinder's inner wall evenly with the molten Valyrian steel. The piston's contact surface was also coated very evenly. It took roughly a cup and a half to barely provide enough. Since this was a prototype, Eddard had to be exceptionally cautious.

After conducting practical tests, Eddard would have data on the quantities required and the machine's dimensions, allowing him to make appropriate modifications and adjustments.

Thus, an enormous cylinder roughly fifty centimeters in diameter and two meters long appeared before everyone. Maester Albert had considered Eddard's plans too exaggerated, so he had modified them into their current form.

Afraid of collapsing the castle under their weight, Eddard kept supporting these enormous objects with his perception tentacles. Once the components cooled, he would move them to the castle's open ground, test them, and then transport them to the workshops in the outer district.

"This is our 'Magic Energy Number One' prototype. In the future, it will become smaller, lighter, and more powerful. But this thing is too heavy. We need to move it onto level ground at the castle as soon as possible. I'm very afraid it'll crush this place outright."

Only then did Eddard realize that he had failed to properly consider the machine's weight at the outset. This damned thing now weighed almost five or six tonnes. After such prolonged expenditure, his perception was already becoming somewhat fatigued.

With no other choice, Eddard had to order the guards to clear the area ahead of time. Fortunately, the Council Hall's balcony exit was fairly large, just big enough for the Stirling engine's components to be sent out through the balcony.

Upon receiving Eddard's order, "Thin Pigeon" and Arthur Stone, who had dutifully guarded the doorway for an entire day and night, quickly ushered everyone working outside the castle onto the first floor. Eddard then moved all the components onto the open ground outside the castle.

After setting down the components of Magic Energy Number One, Eddard ordered Captain of the Guards Arthur Stone to cordon off the area and specifically assigned four guards to watch it.

Throughout this time, the castle's hounds barked furiously, making the kennelmaster, Dogg, think something had happened. In fact, the hounds had been behaving strangely for some time, occasionally bursting into wild barking. Since there were other wild beasts in the castle, Dogg had not thought much of it.

In truth, these hounds had long since sensed the terrifying presences within the castle. Now that they sensed Eddard, they were even more frightened, for his aura resembled that of a dragon.

After dealing with the machinery, Eddard used some of the remaining white silver stone to burn lime for Maester Albert and the others to see, and told them how to produce cement.

Because "Eel" Ralf possessed the Demon Child bloodline, it gave him a small amount of mental power. When using and controlling Ice and Fire Dragonglass, he achieved considerably better results than "Housecat" Bran.

"Housecat" Bran, meanwhile, was better suited to making Ice and Fire Dragonglass, because the Children of the Forest bloodline granted him a talent for controlling soul power. Perhaps in the future, he might even develop Greensight, the ability unique to Greenseers.

Finally, Eddard assigned the future work of both "Eel" Ralf and "Housecat" Bran. Bran would be responsible for affairs at the mine, while Ralf would handle the workshops. Later, if this prototype passed its tests without any problems, Eddard would have to make another machine to send to the mine.

"All right, while we still have time, let's assemble the prototype and test it!"

After dismissing the magic circle, Eddard spoke to the others. Once it lost Eddard's support, the magic circle disappeared outright. Apart from the scorch marks remaining on the foundation of piled stones, there was almost no sign of anything unusual.