Chapter 246 — Amber's Return
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 3
To Camille, this was an entirely new age—even an entirely new world.
The mighty Empire of Gondor, the supreme glory of humankind, the advanced magical arts—every splendor he remembered had scattered like smoke. A thousand years can erase a great many things, and the brilliant civilization humanity had built seemed of little consequence before the raw power of time.
Truth be told, he felt profoundly out of place.
But a thousand years imprisoned in the Shadow Realm had granted him a will far beyond that of ordinary men. As a rule, such an ordeal produced only two outcomes: hysterical madness, or a calm that transcended mortal bounds.
He had already passed through the hysterical phase and been fortunate enough to emerge into a state where he could think clearly.
So he understood full well that he had to face reality, had to accept this new age—at the very least, he had to figure out what sort of world he would be living in from now on.
Humanity, he was told, had suffered a massive rupture in both technology and society; the nations of the present day had been raised almost from scratch upon savage ground. In his conversations with the people of the domain, he had heard of countless wonders in this era, and the regression of technology and the barbarism of modern humans left him dumbstruck—though physiologically he could no longer manage such an expression. The one thing to be thankful for was that the ancient lord who had risen from the grave just as he had was likewise a Gondorian who still retained some of that glory; under his rule, this frontier land was not quite so savage as it might have been.
To Camille, that was truly the greatest stroke of fortune.
Following Gao Yang's directions, he came to the mechanical works on the eastern side of the domain. This place, devoted to the research and development of mechanical devices, made him feel quite at home—though the machinery here differed greatly from the magecraft workshops of old Gondor, he sensed a familiar atmosphere within: technicians absorbed in research and manufacture, new ideas colliding across the work floor. It was a fine place for study and learning.
A silvery metal sphere, its surface adorned with an exaggerated grinning face, floated up before Camille. He stared at the metallic orb in astonishment, and the latter bobbed slightly up and down before him, a voice tinged with metallic vibration issuing from within: "Hello. I heard you were coming."
Camille was struck dumb once again—on the inside, at least. He noticed that the technicians around him—technicians with no magical reaction in their bodies whatsoever, and how these ordinary people had come to take part in magical research he could not fathom—were all watching with looks of curiosity and respect. It followed that the metal sphere before him must be the one in charge here. Greatly surprised, he said, "You are—"
"You may call me Nicholas Egg, or simply Egg," the sphere said with a stately bob, "I am the director of the Cecil Mechanical Works, and the sphere in charge of the mechanical research division."
"I am Camille Sraine. Just Camille will do," he introduced himself, a little awkwardly. He truly had not expected to be conversing with a sphere. He recalled now that the lord had told him there were many strange beings on this land, much like himself—and he had clearly underestimated just how many. "The lord sent me to learn from you... about how to adapt to this society. He said he found you in the Fortress of Defiance as well."
"Ah, the Fortress of Defiance... so we've finally figured out the name of those ruins. Come with me—I'll show you around this place and give you an idea of the technological path we've taken," Nicholas Egg turned, its silvery comic face sweeping over the technicians around them. "What are you all crowding around here for? Is the impact-resistance test on the new runic baseplates finished?!"