Legend:
A/N: This is when the Author talks to a character or the reader.
"This is internal thoughts."
This is normal narration.
"This is normal speech."
New words will be italicised.
Important words will be bolded.
/This is when the narrator breaks character and the fourth wall. It will be italicised as well./
/When the narrator says a new word, it is underlined. Important words are bolded./
*This is when Brimir speaks to Adam across time. Brimir also uses ASCII text emoticons when speaking. They come from here: /l/list-of-all-ascii-emoticons*
*This is when Adam and Brimir speak mentally with each other.*
*"This is when someone is recalling a memory."*
A/N: In this story, the character Adam Dasha is a character in a book I have planned, but have yet to write, which is why it is labelled a Book X-Over. It also dips mostly into the Zero no Tsukaima light novels instead of purely the anime. This story will also act as a way to flesh out Adam's inner personality, brought out by the crisis of being taken to another world, which will make Adam's own story easier for me to write for FictionPress. I hope you enjoy!
BEGIN CHAPTER ONE: Werewolfr's beginnings. And ramblings.
Adam Dasha, is a werewolf. Simply put, he is a somewhat wimpy werewolf among his kind. Academically inclined, a linguist and polyglot, an inventor, nearly a complete shut-in, and a hopeless romantic, he is a curious person, and of a curious and rare sort of werewolves. He has the in-grown capability to transform at will with enough willpower present, however, having been orphaned after birth due to his parents' untimely disappearance, he was raised as a normal werewolf in Lupus Academy, Canini City, within Furrure County of the planet Petram. Petram is an Earth-like planet, similar in topology, similar in life with werewolves replacing mankind, and all countries are first world countries and are referred to as counties by the planet Petram's House of Representatives. The countries are more steampunk in nature than earthen nations though farther along in technology, and wars are not fought but rather battles are performed as duels in colosseums around the globe, not broadcast for obvious reasons. Those who gleefully stand to fight for their nation fight against a fighter from another nation to settle a matter with minimal loss of life. Duels are not to the death, but that hasn't stopped fighters from killing each other in the past.
/Like that system is perfect. Better, but could be better yet./
Adam decided one day he would make a break for it to get some materials for his next big project. Running outside his home, more like laboratory, he locked the door and had his network seal it unconditionally until his return. That is how paranoid he was. Due to his absolute excitement, he had the network ready for connection to this new device, and he had brought it along with him to complete it immediately after buying the final components. A Trans-Universal Communicator, supposedly able to instantaneously communicate with a paired endpoint from any distance away. It was good he did so though, since as the story goes, something happens that takes him away for a long time, about one and a half years or so. Adam made a break for Canis Centre, a giant shopping complex with everything he would need for his project. Adam went around rapidly to the stores, checking for the components he needed. Finding all but one, he made a mad dash, as his name goes, around the centre again to come across a vendor about to close up shop. Rushing over, Adam quickly buys two of the final part, a simple battery core, unknowing of its latent recharging capabilities. Sitting down for a big lunch, preparing for a lengthy testing of the device, Adam finishes the device and his lunch both. He heads out to test it in several places on Petram, using the underground Hyper-Rail system to travel. As he is about to leave Catulum City, satisfied with his testing, a mirror like portal appears in front of him as he is running, and he immediately falls through it. Little did he know he would have been hit by a truck had the portal not shown up.
/Lucky boy, Adam. How good that luck is, it's all up to you now./
Whilst within the portal, in a semi-conscious state, Adam hears a voice as if he is dreaming.
"My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere! My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call!" The voice sounded angelic to Adam.
/Oh gosh, how is Louise angelic sounding at the beginning? Plot devices for the win, everybody. Way to jump start the romance./
Adam exclaimed in the so called dream, "If I'm becoming a servant or something, she's getting at least the last two of the four things she asked for." Adam let out a chuckle.
/The dryness of your humor is amazing, Adam./
"I wish from the very bottom of my heart, add to my guidance and appear before me!"
Being almost blinded by light, Adam closed his eyes, and simply waited for someone to call out again, assuming this might take a while.
/It won't take a while./
The short, pink haired girl named Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere summoned Adam. In front of Louise when the dust cleared was a rather tall man. At seeing him, everyone gasped as he wasn't moving. This man had shoulder length auburn hair, lightly tanned skin, and plenty of hair elsewhere. Other than the quantity of hair, the man looked perfectly clean and well groomed, much like a noble would be. Carrying a backpack of unknown material, with unknown things inside it, she hesitantly takes a step forward. The man stirs, then lifts his head to look at Louise with dark yellow dilated eyes, and then waits for her to talk to gauge the language used.
"Ha! Louise the Zero summoned a commoner!" yelled out a blonde boy with all the flamboyance one could muster.
/And you are getting whacked by that commoner at some point./
A/N: *whacks narrator's head*
/Ouch! Don't hit me, Author!/
A/N: Karma bro. You started it.
/Did not!/
"Don't just pull a commoner off the streets, Valliere." said a redheaded girl in a flippant tone.
/And what about stoic blue short hair? Oh, what? Later on? But she's awesome! Come on, Author./
"You can't do that, Louise! Colbert, you saw, right? Did she just pull a commoner from somewhere?" said a blonde girl with curled hair.
/Probably the first time Miss Ringlets got involved at the start./
Colbert shook his head to them and then turned to Adam to ask some things, but Louise started first.
Ignoring them, Louise asks, "Who are you?"
/Heh. Plot device numéro dos, it seems to be an unnatural level of focus in Louise./
Adam responds in an interplanetary fashion using Furrurian being the geek that he is, "My name is Adam, Adam Dasha of Canini City within Furrure County of the planet Petram."
/Nice, smooth sailing from here, everybody is totally going to understand you, Adam. Oh, and Furrurian is like Tristainian, which is actually supposed to be like Old French from Earth's Middle Ages./
"Shut up, Narrator."
/Adam, let me be./
Louise asks, confused, "Those are odd names. And what do you mean by plah-net?"
Adam responds in a geeky manner again, "A planet, p-l-a-n-e-t, a celestial body, like the one we are currently standing on."
Louise asks, "What's with all the hair?"
Adam replies flatly, "I'm a werewolf."
The class including Louise looks at him in confusion.
"Apparently werewolves aren't even in any stories here." Adam thought.
/Plot device nummer drei. I mean, come on, there's no proof of them in Zero no Tsukaima, so they don't exist here. Simple logic, really./
Suddenly, Colbert interrupts, "Okay, Miss Valliere, please just continue with the ritual. Just finish the contract and we can wrap up here."
/You seem indifferent, Jean. Lighten up man./
Louise huffs and then speaks to Adam, "You better be grateful, most people go through life without the daughter of a duke ever doing this to them."
Louise begins to lean in readying to kiss Adam to seal the contract.
/Ooooh! Here it comes, the fated moment! I think I'm going to cry~!/
"Narrator..."
/Nice Louise, be a nice little Louise, m'kay~?/
Adam replies, "I've read ancient history enough to know this is a familiar summoning ritual of some sort. Though, it is ancient history."
/Sure it is, Mr. Owl or Dog Whisperer./
Louise replies, annoyed, "Be quiet." She takes out her wand, "Pentagon of the five powers, bless this humble being and make him my familiar." And she leans in and kisses Adam.
Being the hopeless romantic that he is, Adam savors the kiss, recording every moment in his quizzical mind. He restrained himself from pulling Louise in for longer due to her attitude, believing this might be a form of caste system, much like the one that was abolished several centuries ago on Petram. Recalling that ancient historical knowledge of familiar summoning, Adam got to work remembering what the familiar goes through.
/Can't help but comment~! Here goes... Ha! Pervert. She's fifteen, you're a few years older. Fifteen will get you twenty, dude./
A/N: You've been commenting this whole time.
"I can't help but feel that a mark of sorts should be inscribed or something. How is it done? Do they bring out an iron of sorts or does some force of the universe cause it to appear?" Adam tried to figure out.
/Force of the universe. Open minds, people, open minds./
"Mr. Dasha, it may hurt a bit, but bear with it please." Colbert said. Adam nodded.
/Pfft. Understatement of the millennium. Sasha would flinch if she saw this./
"So it's going to burn somewhere, or everywhere, but since they don't know what a werewolf is, and it's evening now, I should brace myself all over for it." Adam calmed his mind, and braced for intense pain.
The next thing Adam felt was an intense fiery burning in his left hand, something akin to a very strong acid being poured onto his hand being held above a white flame. Along with that, it felt as if his entire body was plunged into some form of really hot and dry water. Having felt a large volume of pain before, not quite this much, but plenty still, Adam managed to push through it, grunting and gritting his teeth, also clenching his fists, both hard enough that a few teeth audibly cracked and blood began to drip from his palms. After about ten seconds or so, the burning subsided, and Adam relaxed and then stood up.
/Even I understated. Damn man, didn't think it would be that painful. Sorry awfully mate./
"Screw off Narrator."
/No can do, got to keep narrating the story, Adam./
Little did any of them know, the intense pain he felt was worse than it should have been, this was since magic did exist in ancient times on Petram. However, the willpower and mana conduits within the werewolves closed up due to periods of extended neglect. The dry boiling across his body was the contract forcing open those conduits, something that all familiars go through.
"That looked painful..." Louise muttered to herself, feeling pity for Adam, but maintaining her uptight noble image.
/You showed pity for someone else than yourself! *Massive Round Of Applause* Good job./
"Everyone! Please head back inside now." Colbert called out to the class. He then turned back to Adam. "May I see your hand, Mr. Dasha?" Asked Colbert while procuring a notebook in his hand.
"Sure." Adam held up his left hand for Colbert to see.
Colbert recorded the runes inscribed into his notebook. Seemingly trying to remember something, Colbert furrowed his eyebrows, and then closed the notebook. While this was happening, the students all got out their wands and flew up to windows on the outside of the building, opening them with a wave of their wands as well.
"Miss Valliere, you and Mr. Dasha may head inside now."
"Okay. Come on, were going now." Louise said agitatedly.
"Alright Miss Valliere. Are you going to fly like the rest of them?" Adam asked innocently.
"I can't fly. And call me Master." Louise replied with a huff.
"I don't see why I should. Why not speak between us like the homosapiens that we are?" Adam replied calmly.
/Don't use big words yet, Adam. I hate waiting for you to explain./
"Homo-sapie-ends? And we are not equal, you are a familiar, and I am your master." Louise replied, getting a tad angry.
"Two things. A homosapien, spelt h-o-m-o-s-a-p-i-e-n, means bipedal, or walks on two legs, and walks upright, and is also intelligent. Being a werewolf myself, I fall under that category of essentially human. A few examples of homosapiens in mythology are humans, werewolves, elves, valkyries, dwarves, vampires, and sirens." Louise grimaced hearing elves. "Seeing you and your class have taught me humans exist, and watching your reaction, I take it elves exist here as well, and on bad terms with them, too. And the second thing, just because you are my master in this contract does not mean that I must obey everything you say, you either treat me as an equal, or I will show my true colors and happily run off elsewhere, perhaps over to wherever those elves live. Do I make myself clear, Miss Valliere?"
Fuming, Louise thought over what Adam had said. You could imagine a set of good and evil mini versions of Louise having an argument inside her head or on her shoulders.
/Oh gosh golly here we go! Louise's internal dialogue that takes no time at all./
"He looks human enough, but he's my familiar! We are most certainly not equals! I am a noble for Brimir's sake!" said evil Louise, who for some reason has blonde hair and is good amount more developed than Louise.
/That's supposedly Eleonore, the eldest Valliere sister./
"He is intelligent and kind by the sounds of things. We should treat him fairly. He isn't some animal like the other familiars." replied good Louise, who for some reason looks like a well-developed adult Louise.
/That's supposedly Cattelya, the middle Valliere sister./
"He is an animal! His kind has 'wolf' in the name as well! He's like a dog!"
"He is not a dog! He is a human, he is a bit like the elves, and they are like us, are they not?"
"If that's so, that's even more the reason to treat him like a dog!"
"We don't even know if elves are truly bad, it's been six thousand years. But that's not the point. He can be considered human, so he should be treated as such."
/Yes! Keep going Cattelya, tell your sister!/
"Heresy! Don't say those things!"
"We have free thought, damn it! At least let me doubt things reasonably."
"Whatever! Fine! Do whatever the hell you want! I don't care!"
"Good. Then I'll start by replacing the hay in our room with an actual bed. Afterwards, I'll at least see if he can sit with the teachers during meals rather than with the other familiars. That should do it."
/Back outside Louise's head. We blocked out errant noise for that dialogue. Be grateful to me./
"Fine then. I don't care." said a reluctant Louise. Adam should be glad her kind side won this time. "Why don't you go explore somewhere, then head to Alviss hall in about ten minutes. Got it?" Louise ended with a stern tone.
Louise headed to Alviss dining hall to arrange for Adam to sit with the teachers for the time being. She found Colbert and asked him first. He agreed, seemingly interested in talking to Adam. She knew from that look that she guaranteed his spot in the dining hall. She then walked over to one of the cleaning staff and asked if a second bed could be added to her room for Adam. The staff member complied and set about getting one and moving it upstairs. She then sat down, ready to eat dinner.
Adam walked around for a short while keeping track of time with the device he brought, looking around the outside of the Academy. The device is called the DashaPad, a tablet computer capable of plenty of things, though he doesn't have many programs on it, just an Integrated Development Environment, or IDE, among a few essential programs. One of the first things Adam did back on Petram once he finished the hardware was to program a terrain mapping program, to form accurate three dimensional maps of the world. This was what he was doing while wandering the Academy. Monitoring both time and battery levels, Adam found his way around some, and then thought it time to return to Alviss hall.
/Way to name something, Adam. Name it after yourself. Like if Steve Jobs named the iPad the StevePad, or the JobsPad./
Adam walked over to Alviss hall to find a mildly excited Colbert ready to greet him.
"Good evening Mr. Dasha, there are some things I wish to ask you over dinner. Please follow me."
"Lead the way, Professor."
The two walked to the back of the hall, up a flight of stairs and sat down at a long table with many professors with them. Some of the professors looked at Adam with contempt, but most paid him no mind at all.
"You mentioned something about a plah-net? Is that right?" asked Colbert with a notebook in front of him.
/Notebook, giant notepad, not a laptop, okay?/
"A planet, spelt p-l-a-n-e-t. A celestial body with a very high mass that attracts objects to it by the force of gravity. What's so special about it?" explained Adam with hand gestures.
"I would like to hear about your planet."
"In turn I would like to hear about this planet I was taken to as well."
"Fair deal. What do you mean by celestial body?"
"A large mass in outer space, whether it be a star, another planet, a moon, a black hole, or asteroids, it's something with notable gravitational pull that sits in the vacuum of space." As Adam explained, Colbert was rapidly writing each word that was said.
"Could you explain those terms as well?"
"Outer space, or space as a general term, is what is above the atmosphere of a planet, it is almost a complete vacuum, which means it is devoid of any air or particle to fill it."
"Mm."
"A star, you should already know what one is, is a large mass of hydrogen gas undergoing a process called nuclear fusion, in which the elemental hydrogen fuses with other atoms of hydrogen to form helium, and releases large amounts of energy in the forms of heat and light, or electromagnetic radiation. This process also repeats with the Helium to form heavier elements. Hydrogen is the lightest and simplest atomic element in existence, and is explosive. Helium is the second lightest and is four times heavier than Hydrogen. Atoms are individual particles of an atomic element. Electromagnetic radiation will have to wait for another time, but light is a very small piece of the whole spectrum.
"Hmm."
"A moon, as you should see one in the skies above, is a smaller celestial body with no tectonic activity that orbits a planet. Tectonics refer to movement of land masses across the surface of a celestial body. My planet is a rare one in that is has no tectonics, or volcanoes, or earthquakes."
"Interesting."
"A black hole is one of the results when a star reaches the end of it's life and collapses inwards, creating an extremely dense object from which even light cannot escape. Light and the other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum can behave like particles, so strong enough gravity can pull them off course. Light bends around a black hole enough that you can see behind one from afar."
"Fascinating."
"An asteroid is a massive hunk of rock or ice or whatever it may have come from floating in space. My planet has two rings full of asteroids orbiting it a long distance away. Glad none of them have fallen to the surface. We go up there to gather some materials that are rare on the planet's surface, like Gold, Platinum, Vanadium, Thorium, and a recently discovered super heavy element called Ohmium, which is the only stable one in its range with a half-life of over fifty thousand years."
/Author, why are you torturing me by making me wait so long?/
A/N: I'm not torturing the narrator, you as the reader should not worry about him.
/But you are! You're making Adam talk for so long!/
"Shut up, Narrator. I'm talking here."
/That's the problem!/
"Interesting. Very interesting stuff, Mr. Dasha."
"Thanks Professor, I take pride in knowledge. I happen to be an inventor myself."
"As am I! This is wonderful." Colbert replied with glee.
Adam glanced at the time. He noted that if a day is also twenty four hours here, the moon would already be out.
"Professor, is there a full moon today?"
"Yes, of course. Both moons are always full every day. Almost the same place in the sky at all times."
"This could get bothersome. Twin moons are cool, though."
"Why do you say bothersome?"
"Open a new page. Let me explain what I am, what a werewolf is."
Colbert hurriedly opened to a new page.
"A werewolf is a humanoid creature, a near human, if you will, that is human under normal conditions, but turns into a werewolf under a full moon. Misconceptions people may have is that it is a full moon that causes it, but that is not the case, rather the moonlight from a full moon that causes the transformation. A rare few werewolves are capable of controlling the transformation, but the vast majority, including myself as far as I am aware, cannot do so. Since there are twin moons, the effect is greatly amplified. What I am getting at is that I need to stay out of the moonlight as much as possible. Another possible misconception is that the transformation happens completely upon contact with moonlight, what actually happens however is it requires moonlight to maintain the transformation. I am transformed, so to speak, right now, however with no moonlight, I have no energy to keep werewolf form. Makes sense I hope?"
"Surprisingly so, yes. I do understand. If I may ask, how do you know our language?"
"Simple. I've studied language a lot. In my world, I am called a polyglot, which means I know a multitude of languages, like Petrian, Furrurian, Latin, Bavarian, Elysian, Lunian, Pashan, and Neofordian. There's others, but they aren't well known enough to mention."
"Which of those is the one we are speaking with?"
"Furrurian. What is it called here?"
"Tristainian. The other languages are called Albionian, spoken in Albion, Gallian, spoken in Gallia, Germanian, spoken in Germania, and Romalian, spoken in Romalia."
"Do you know some of those other languages?"
"Yes. Albionian is spoken in Albion." Colbert said in Albionian.
"Elysian."
"Gallian is spoken in Gallia." Colbert said in Gallian.
"Lunian."
"Germanian is spoken in Germania." Colbert said in Germanian.
"Bavarian."
"Romalian is spoken in Romalia." Colbert said in Romalian.
"Pashan. Interesting that Petrian, Latin, and Neofordian are not spoken here."
"There is one I didn't mention because it is a fragile topic."
Adam leans in to whisper in Colbert's ear. "Elvish?" Colbert gives a nervous nod.
"I'll ask later. If it goes how I think it will, that one is going to be Neofordian. At least I hope so, otherwise I might be adding another language to my list. So I take it this nation is called Tristain?"
"Yes, ruled by their majesties Queen Marianne and Princess Henrietta. Our king passed away several years ago."
"So this is a caste system. That's tough to work with. My condolences for the late king. Is Her Majesty a kind and just ruler?"
"Yes, she is. She seems to be the kindest we have had in recent history, the pride of Tristain amongst the nations of Halkegenia."
"I take it Halkegenia is the continent and not the planet. Do you know what the name of all the lands together is?"
"It is called Alfeim in ancient texts. That was the name the Founder referred to it as."
"This Founder person, what was he like supposedly?"
"His name was Brimir. He was the one who created magic and passed it down through noble blood. He created the five elements..." he was cut off by Adam.
"If I may guess, four of those elements are fire, water, earth and air?" Colbert nodded. "And the last must be some kind of zero element, or void, if you will."
"Very good, yes, Void is the lost element. Over these six thousand years, Void had only resurfaced twice, both in times of great need."
"And do the familiars have any significance to the summoner?"
"Very much so. The familiar is said to be the perfect match to the summoner. It is also said that each familiar is always pulled from the very jaws of death prior to their summoning."
"Oh. That means I would have died. That's very disconcerting."
"Don't mind it, you are alive here and now, are you not?"
"I am. Oh yeah, and I have yet to try my communications back home."
"Communications?"
"If indeed we are in the same universe, I ought to be able to contact home. If not, it is one of three things, the invention for my tablet failed, or we are in a time before I made this or in a different universe." Adam pulls out his DashaPad.
"What is that glowing panel?"
"It is called a tablet. No magic, only science."
Adam began trying to establish a connection home. Adam decided to give it a few minutes as it adjusts the frequency to the input specified.
"Now, what is the most advanced technology you have here?"
"Advanced how?"
"Like, most complex. Steam engine? Solar cell? Electricity? Indoor plumbing? Self-propelled carriages? Airplanes?"
"That would be the airship. Running on windstones and a wind mages' willpower we can fly up towards the continent of Albion."
"I take it, with these windstone things then, they are a magical resource? And you said up to the continent of Albion, I take it that the continent is airborne too?"
"Indeed. A high volume of windstones caused Albion to break off from the mainland thousands of years ago and now it floats high above the oceans following the moons around the sea. When the moons overlap each other, is when the continent is closest to us."
"I see. Do you wish for me to explain what the other inventions I mentioned are?"
"Yes please, I was about to ask."
"A steam engine is a device that converts heat energy into movement, that movement is a spinning shaft, and a moving object stores kinetic energy which can be converted into electricity or used to move things."
"Mm."
"A solar cell generates an electric current when light hits it. Electricity is the flow of electrons, sub-atomic particles that are found within atoms, and that flow of trillions of electrons in something the size of my tablet for example can do some amazing things. It can also go around a coil generating a magnetic field which can draw in metallic objects, or can be sent through coils around a magnetic shaft to produce kinetic energy by spinning the magnetic shaft."
"Fascinating."
"Indoor plumbing, the supply of fresh flowing water inside a building, and the removal of human waste via a parallel system to the fresh water that takes the waste to a central cleaning facility that removes the waste from the water and cleans the water for reuse."
"Interesting."
"A self-propelled carriage is something that uses an engine, motor, or a dynamo if you will, to move itself by rotating a shaft on which wheels are mounted. This machine is called an automobile, which was shortened to car, and multiple people can travel very quickly using them. There are also small two wheeled machines called motorcycles that are powered in such a manner as well. Bicycles are like motorcycles, but use manpower to move instead. They are faster than horses as well."
"Very intriguing."
"An airplane is a flying machine that utilizes forward movement through air to lift the machine into the air. An airplane usually utilizes spinning blades or wings to push air backwards to move forwards through the air. There are also helicopters, which use spinning blades to push air downwards to lift the machine into the air directly, which allows for hovering, presumably like what your airships can do."
"Very amazing. Flight without the powers of wind. This could be revolutionary."
"I could help you with that if you want. I could be your teacher, Professor."
"That would be greatly appreciated."
"Could you draw for me an airship?"
"Certainly." Taking a couple of minutes, Colbert quickly sketched an airship for Adam to see.
"I see, so it literally is a boat that flies through the air, a literal air ship. A question first, are windstones consumed by flight?"
"Yes."
"So the continent of Albion will fall at some point?"
"Sadly, yes. It will. But it won't for several thousand years more."
"If things go how I think they will with my intervention, the continent can be landed safely at some point using both magic and technology. Back to the airship, to conserve on windstones, the wings should be much larger." Adam grabs his tablet and opens a drawing program whilst the tablet continues to synchronise with home. "If you make a wing with a rough shape like this," he draws the cross section of a wing, "the surface on top has more distance for the air to travel over, so since air wants to stay with its adjacent particles, the air on top moves faster, creating a suction force that lifts the wing into the air. The faster the wing travels, the more the lifting force, and the heavier the mass that can be carried by the vessel the wings are attached to. These wings," he points to the small wings on Colbert's drawing, "are far too small to provide lift, and they are the wrong shape to do so as well. Those are just stabilizers. The faster the ship goes with those, the less it can turn, yes, but the less cross winds can push it off course."
/Nooooo! The long explanations! Why!/
"Very fascinating. So if we put those wings on an airship, we can reduce the consumption of windstones?"
"If you move fast enough, you can likely stop using windstones altogether once up to speed. The shape of the hull needs to be changed though. With a shape like that, high speed will easily destabilize it. Also, removal of the sails is very important, since they only cause drag. Wind alone is not enough to get up to speed, you need a propeller, or rotating wing set if you will, to push the vessel forwards. The more aggressive the pitch of the blades and the faster it turns allows for higher speeds. Too steep a blade pitch, the vessel can't get up to speed, too shallow a pitch, the vessel can't go very fast. This was solved by a very high tech solution called a jet engine, where it can propel an aircraft past the speed that sound travels at."
/Don't. Do not explain the jet engine to Colbert./
"How does this jet engine work?"
"First off, your metallurgy is nowhere near good enough to make one. But I will explain nonetheless."
At this, Adam pulls up a video on his tablet to show a jet engine cross section while in operation.
"Long metal blades inside an enclosure with tight tolerances spin to pull air in to the engine, called the fan. Once inside, the air goes through many sets of these metal blades to compress the air, it is called the compressor stage, then that compressed air runs into a combustion chamber where flammable gas is sprayed in and electrically ignited, afterwards the gas continues to burn on its own, the hot burning gas then rapidly rushes out the back through the turbine stage, much like the compressor stage, but the blades are turned by the hot gas which powers both the fan and the compressor stages, and the hot gas rushing out the back produces forward thrust, this type of engine can only approach about seventy percent the speed of sound, and the thrust produced increases with speed up to a certain point. Early engines could reach about thirty percent the speed of sound, but as metallurgy got better and our understanding of aerodynamics improved, we reached where we were about fifty years ago. Now our jet engines are so advanced it would take your society about a hundred years with my help to make, they involve gearboxes and electrical assist systems to maintain a maximum speed of about ninety five percent the speed of sound. One problem with the older engines is the tips of the fan stage go past the speed of sound, disturbing airflow and greatly decreasing engine power. Current engines have the fan stage at ninety eight percent the speed of sound, barely pulling in air when at maximum speed, and both compressor and turbine stages also reach ninety eight percent the speed of sound."
/Ugh. Why? Why did I get this job?/
"Interesting information. How did the picture change while you were talking, if I might ask?"
Both Colbert and Adam, having finished their dinners, get up from their chairs to walk to Colbert's lab where they will continue to talk.
"It is called a video, a moving picture. There are about thirty to sixty individual pictures put on the display each second to make the human eye perceive movement. In older times, artists had to draw each picture, called a frame, individually. In modern times, devices like my tablet here, do much of that work for us. We put in how we want a certain sequence of frames to go, and the device, usually referred to as a computer, does it for us. The ideas are human, the device is created by humans, but the device does all the hard work of creating each frame in under a second. That video you saw there took me about thirty minutes to create. All I did was design the engine in a three dimensional design program, and then set the blades to rotate. I also cut out a cross section view so the internal components were visible, and I removed the cross section during recording of the original footage. Afterwards, I took that footage, and put words over top with arrows pointing to the different parts of the engine. In that as well, I put a little spark and a fire inside the combustion chamber, and added arrow to imitate the gas rushing out the back, as well as some distortion to imitate the light distortion caused by hot air rising."
/Their best moving entertainment is the theatre, watching a play. Stop with the technobabble, Adam!/
"Very fascinating. Does everyone have these devices? How expensive are they?"
"Well, I assume you use gold here. Gold is worth about one hundred Tarros for every gram, the average gold coin is around fifty grams, so a gold coin here is probably worth around five thousand Tarros," Colbert handed Adam a gold coin to feel the mass of, "yep, about fifty grams, and the average tablet is worth about eight thousand Tarros. This tablet however, taking into account all the features it comes with and it's processing power, along with its nearly indestructible construction, would be worth upwards of two hundred thousand Tarros. Then again, nobody on my planet needs a tablet computer this capable."
/At least we know Petram's currency now./
"What else can it do?"
"It has a very basic map of the Academy now, at least where I have been to. That map also has the terrain around the Academy estimated by distance, so it's okay for now."
"A map resides in there? Then again, that's not as surprising anymore."
/Desensitization. You are nowhere near this kind of thing. Stop getting his hopes up too high, Adam!/
"Of course not. It also has hundreds more videos like the one I showed you, thousands of pictures, or photographs if you will, it can take photographs, like this." Adam holds up the tablet after opening it to the camera program and takes a photo of him and Colbert.
"Amazing! That's what I look like?"
/The date was 6500 or so, something close. It was on this date the first Alfeimian selfie was taken, with a tablet no less./
"Yes, what you see in a mirror is flipped, like this." Adam flips the image. He then flips it back. "This however is what others see. A mirror can be deceiving."
"What other things can it do?"
"Not that much else at the moment. I haven't created that many programs for it. The system on which it operates is entirely my own. Consumer grade tablets use a standardized system that is copied across all devices sold."
"I would very much like to visit your world, Mr. Dasha. If you ever find a way back, please let me go with you."
"I will, but only if we both can return here as well. And please, call me Adam, Professor, or at least just Dasha."
"Then call me Jean, or just Colbert if that is more comfortable, for that is my name. We are academic equals. Though I think it be best that we stick to formalities when around others."
"That is alright, Colbert. Thanks for letting me sit at the table, by the way. I presume Louise asked you about it?"
"She did indeed. It was my pleasure as well. Feel free to join us professors in Alviss hall for each meal every day. You certainly earned it already Dasha, might I say. As well, using just surnames seems best, respectful and friendly."
"I'm glad, Colbert. I agree with your name sentiment as well. I might be able to consider you my first friend as well. I didn't interact with people nearly as much as I should have."
/The mark of a genius conversation, two trains of thought running side by side./
"I'm glad as well. It's been a long time since I was last able to speak so freely about technology with someone. Might I ask a bit about your life back home?"
"Just a heads up, Colbert, this is not supposed to be a sob story. I have no real reason to head back to my planet as soon as possible. Reason being is that I never met my parents since they vanished shortly after I was born. A kind old lady took me in, and I made my mark in my city by inventing things, selling rights to those inventions to companies. Due to my nature, nobody took interest in knowing me personally, and the companies never check in on me. For times like this, I have an automated submission system for patents, right to my inventions, that submits them to companies for me so they don't think I have just up and vanished. I have approximately two years until I need to be able to return home."
"You never had parents growing up?"
/Nope. I said so at the start. Then again, he isn't Deadpool or Kuro, so he can't know that./
"Werewolves don't need parents as much. We come out the same most of the time anyways. Never knew what happened to them. Using my own biological information, I have a search running for them, but all these years it always reports negative."
"That's not as sad a story as you think. I'm very much similar. My parents died while I was young. I was taken to an orphanage in the capital and raised as a noble there since I am a fire mage. Some things happened while I was in service to the king and country and so I have since devoted myself to teaching the next generation and reducing our dependence on magic, but also finding out ways to use fire magic for purposes other than destruction."
/We don't actually know much about Jean's family. So here's a rapidly fabricated incomplete backstory as a plot device./
"I take it asking what things happened while in your military service would be a very impolite thing to do." Colbert nodded. "Everybody has their secrets. Wartime secrets are especially hard to tell or even forget about. I can only assume it had something to do with killing many people with your magic under strict marching orders from the king."
"Not the king, the old general, but strict marching orders yes."
/The king was a good guy? Not so much, but not someone who would have a large village razed./
"For this fact of my planet I am very glad. My planet has not had traditional wars in a very long time. The way we resolve conflicts with fighting is a colosseum battle. Counties raise the absolute strongest warriors they can, people devoted to their own strength, but also willing to fight for the county in times of conflict. The county does a draw from their stock of warriors, and the warrior chosen is sent out to fight the other county's warrior. The first warrior down loses the battle, and thus the county loses the conflict and surrenders. If one warrior kills the other, the warrior left standing is given the death penalty by their own county for murder. No warrior has died in the last twenty years, though several battles have been fought. If the battle extends over thirty minutes, it is called off and the counties are forced to cooperate and diplomatically resolve the conflict by the other counties of Petram. This system has not failed yet since werewolves, being somewhat canine in nature have very strong loyalty and also honor. We do not die for the sake of honor though, above all else we strive for all to live as long as they can."
"Speaking of which, how long does your kind live for?"
"In years that are four hundred thirty seven days long, you could call it a Petram year, each day consisting of twenty four hours, seven days per week, the average werewolf lives to the age of one hundred eighty eight Petram years for males, and one hundred ninety five Petram years for females."
"Amazing. And years here are three hundred sixty five days long, also twenty four hours each day. How long here?"
"Quick calculation then. One hundred eighty eight Petram years multiplied by four hundred thirty seven days per Petram year, divided by three hundred sixty five days per Alfeim year, is around two hundred twenty five Alfeim years for males, and then females would be around two hundred thirty three Alfeim years."
/Your mathemization skill is level ninety nine Adam. Sick work, dude, totally rad! #werewolvianmath/
"That is amazing longevity. Although I take it that is mostly due to you being a werewolf."
"Mostly, yes."
"Our average age for male nobles is about ninety eight years, and female nobles about one hundred two years, only accounting for death by old age. Commoners are about twenty years lower on average."
/Twenty lower than nobles is just like Canada's average lifespan, seventy eight and eighty two. Canada still a part of Europe confirmed! Huzzah!/
"With my planet's technology that could be extended by about twenty years. How long do elves live?"
"Ugh. Elves live to around double a human's lifespan."
/Ugh? Earist./
"So about two hundred. That would be then extended forty years with my technology. Oh, before I head back to Louise's room, where she is likely waiting for me, could you speak a bit of Elvish for me, so I can note which language of mine it is?"
"Alright... This is Elvish, and it is spoken by Elves in the Sahara." Colbert spoke in very basic Elvish.
/Plot device. No Halkegenian really knows Elvish./
"That is not Neofordian as I hoped, but I do understand it. It is a language no longer in use, called Hansen-sans. A man named Albert Hansen was the one to invent the language, he also founded his own nation called Hansia which used to be at the forefront of technology, but the nation of Furrure soon surpassed them and then Hansia was taken over by the nation of Old Neoford, which soon after underwent a peaceful revolution, aligning them with the other nations. That was all before the global consortium came together as one nation by a house of representatives. They ultimately agreed that the nations be called the Counties of Petram and that each one be treated as a nation, but in rough partnership with each other under the Petram Consortium of the Counties."
/Hansen equals Prince Hans from Frozen confirmed hahahahah! Not. Ignore me. Don't./
"Your planet's history sounds intriguing."
"We do not have kings or queens. We have a system called a Democratic Republic. The planet has counties, each county has states, each state has cities, and each city has districts. At the district level, the people vote in a Patron from one of five parties. The Patron casts a vote based on their people for a Mayor at the city level. The Mayor casts a vote based on the Patrons and their people for a Governor at the state level. The Governor casts a vote based on their Mayors, Patrons and their people for a President at the county level. Those Presidents meet together at the Consortium to discuss trade, technology, the environment, space travel and conflicts with each other. The Presidents hold meetings with their Governors, who hold meetings with their Mayors, who hold meetings with their Patrons, who send out surveys to the people for checkups on the populous and suggestions on actions to be taken."
/Splendidly preposterous explanation Adam. Made it sound unbelievable./
"Preposterous! That's incredibly complex! How could such a thing even be conceived, let alone implemented?!"
"It's easier than you think, Colbert. It may have taken my planet a good fifty years to implement, and another one hundred to iron out the details before beginning to implement it, but it works incredibly smoothly due to the innate honor and loyalty of my kind. The leaders never betray their people by serving themselves, and the people never ask for any more than needed due to personal honor. Companies never try for unreasonably high profit margins due to honor and loyalty to the customers, and customers don't get absorbed into their devices enough to upset society. High money making companies also give the most back to society due to honor and loyalty since they want to serve the populous. The populous is fully employed since companies make provisions for each new member of the workforce. Workers in their old age are allowed to work less and less until they decide to retire. Nobody is overworked. My society is often called a utopia by skeptics, but even they admit the system works very well."
/Yep, complete global utopia. No luminarti to deal with. Happy times. Good times./
"Absolutely amazing." Adam and Colbert arrive at Colbert's lab. "Well, I must get to work on tomorrow's class lesson. I look forward to seeing you in class tomorrow, Dasha."
"As do I. Goodnight, Colbert."
Adam began to walk back to Louise's room, of course still mapping the Academy.
/Well, duh! Rather than waste time waiting for the synchronisation to finish, map the damn place!/
Adam made his way up the stairs a few floors, and then went down a hall to where he heard Louise's room was. He opened the door, and wasn't prepared for what was next.
Let's roll back a bit, we rejoin Louise at the start of dinner.
"Ha, where's your familiar, Zero?" said a blonde chubby boy.
"Shut up, Malicorne. He said he will be here soon."
"I bet he's abandoned you already!" shouted a brown haired bespectacled boy.
/Forgotten your name for now, brownie head. What was that, Author? Oh yeah, Reynald, that's this dude's name./
"No he hasn't!" replied Louise hastily.
/Unfortunately, little Louise here doesn't know that her reactions are why she is getting pushed around./
"Shut up, Narrator."
/Don't shoot the messenger./
"Oh, lucky you, looks like your familiar has arrived." said the boy known as Malicorne.
/I'm tired of having to introduce these characters over and over again. You know them by now./
"Stop sidetracking Narrator."
/Even you, Adam? Sheesh, let me speak my mind. Ahem. Wait, you're still walking with Colbert right now!/
"And I'm going to talk about electromagnetics with him in the next chapter. And grow up Narrator."
/Voice crack at the end much, Adam? You're just high strung, perfect for Louise./
"See, I told you." retorted Louise.
"Why is he going to sit with Professor Colbert? He's a familiar." said Malicorne.
"Professor wanted to talk with him. He finds him interesting enough to want to talk with him over dinner." replied Louise snobbishly.
"He's still a familiar, why does he get special treatment, Valliere?" said the redheaded girl.
"Shut up, Zerbst, it's because I wanted to." said Louise in a huff, turning away from the Zerbst girl.
"Come on Louise, human or not, he's a familiar, what don't you understand?" pressed the Zerbst girl.
/Wow. Totally couldn't see it coming that Miss Developed Zerbst would press her buttons like that. Yeah, totally a surprise./
"Shut up Kirche!" fumed Louise.
/Yay! Now I can say her name since she's been introduced! Kirche, no more Miss Development from now on. Probably./
"Let us begin." called out the headmaster.
Everyone began a prayer to the Founder for their humble five course meal.
/Of course they call a five course meal humble! What's with them anyways? Oh yeah, thar be nobles. That's what's up./
"Narrator, shut up for a moment."
/Now Miss Development, ahem, Kirche, is railing on me? What did I do to deserve this?!/
"Talk less y'old fart."
/Dude, you aren't in the story yet. You're like five chapters too early. Anyways, onwards!/
At this time, Louise began to eat in relative silence, blocking out the sneers of her classmates. Afterwards, she headed up to her bedroom to wait for Adam to return. Five minutes later, Adam opened the door.
Having been kept waiting for longer than the impatient Louise could wait, Louise had gotten angry, and subsequently forgotten about her deal with Adam.
/In case you forgot already, that's understandable since Adam talks so much, Adam laid out the ground rules to Louise about him being treated as a human, not like an animal. Louise then set about getting him dinner with the professors and having a bed sent up to her room for him to sleep on, rather than the hay she set out in expectation for an animal familiar./
Louise in her anger decided to throw her clothes at Adam and make him wash them. Upon Adam's entering the room, she began her plan.
"What took you so long?" Louse asked annoyed.
"I was talking with Colbert about science." Adam replied frankly.
"You could have told me at least." Louise retorted as if she were the queen. /That's a bit much, but kinda true./
"Do I have to tell you things that are clearly obvious?" Adam pointed out. /He's right. Fat man, ahem, Malicorne, pointed it out at dinner./
Now Louise was angry for another reason. "Are you implying that I'm dumb?"
"Not at all." Adam replied calmly.
"And what do you say to your master for making her wait?" Louise asked.
"From what I gathered, you're probably going to say something about you being a noble and being superior to me, and you've probably forgotten everything I said about an hour ago, haven't you?" Adam retorted with a quizzical eye.
Louise was taken aback by the reply. She didn't expect her familiar to have free will and talk back. It was when she was about to open her mouth again that she remembered the deal she made with Adam.
*"...just because you are my master in this contract does not mean that I must obey everything you say, you either treat me as an equal, or I will show my true colors and happily run off elsewhere, perhaps over to wherever those elves live. Do I make myself clear, Miss Valliere?"*
"Darn. But he's just a familiar." thought Louise.
"We already agreed on this. We will treat him as equal since he is human." replied the good Louise.
"Leave me out of this, I don't care what you do." stated the evil Louise.
"Fine. Then could you wash these clothes at least?" asked Louise, holding back her ire.
"Since you asked somewhat nicely, I will take them down to the maids. You should know I don't know how to wash clothing."
"What kind of familiar can't do a simple chore?" Louise let slip out of her mouth.
/Button pusher Louise back at it again. I wonder where she got that from. Cough, Kirche, cough. What? I didn't say anything./
"I will only say this once, Miss Valliere, I don't come from this world. I come from a utopian world of werewolves, towers that reach high into the sky, and machines that do most of the hard work for us. Having lost our ability to use magic, we rely on technology to make life easier instead. As a result, I do not know how to wash clothes without a washing machine, therefore I will not wash your clothes myself. Got it?" Louise nodded blankly. "Not only that but I'd go full werewolf once I step outside." Adam muttered the last part to himself and left the room.
"Lost their ability to use magic? Were his people nobles?" Louise said quietly to herself.
Adam began to descend the stairs to the main floor to give the basket of Louise's clothes to the maids.
*Adam, you told her too much. ლ(ಠ_ಠლ)*
*This is a world of magic, what was I supposed to say? ... Wait! Who are you and why are you speaking in my head?!*
*Do not worry, child. I was one of your kind once. ꒰⑅•ᴗ•⑅꒱*
*What do you mean, once?*
*I came here to Alfeim through a portal of sorts, a gate. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯*
*I was exiled from your planet due to my unwieldy magic and heretical magical theory. Elves were the predominant population here. Upon passing through the gate I turned fully human, but I accidentally attacked the Elves because my werewolf urges surfaced once more. ヽ(#ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ┌┛Σ(ノ´Д`)ノ*
*My magic was the most powerful among werewolves since my heretical theory brought out the full power of our magic. I easily overpowered their ancient magic, and caused great destruction before leaving their lands. ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ*
*Over the course of my life I developed my magical theory into four distinct familiars and categories of specialization, this resulted in the creation of the four magical elements of fire, water, earth and air. My magic is the one called Void. To this day, Elves call the gate I came through Shaitan's Gate, and refer to me as 'the great devil' and my magic as 'demon magic'. They refer to humans as barbarians, although it's not by my fault they are well behind your planet in technology. Training in magic allows the humans to keep their magic strong across generations, and not allow it to die out like it seems it had with you before you came here, though this has stalled their technological progress. o(╥﹏╥)o*
*What's your name, if I may ask?*
*Brimir le Reimir Yuru Viri Vee Varutori. That is my full name. I was also called Brimir le Reimir Nidavellir, and I came from a small nation called Furrure. (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑ *
*You're the one they pray to?*
*Oh my. They pray to me? I am not a god. What have those fools in Romalia been doing? .·´¯`(▂)´¯`·.*
*You know, I come from Furrure as well, though it's a county, not a nation.*
*What is it like now, might I ask? |_・)*
*Buildings that reach high into the sky, no magic, machines do most of the work for us, county conflicts are solved with the colosseum, global corporations exist to serve the people, people live quietly and don't ask for too much from the government, there is an unofficial curfew in place for everyone, and nobody comes out until a certain time each day to avoid transformation, those of us capable of transforming on queue volunteer for keeping the peace and patrolling at nighttime to control any transformed citizens and subdue them before any damage is caused, a few other bits. I'm an inventor myself, by the way.*
*Interesting... Our kind is much farther along than the Elves are. (ง^ᗜ^)ง*
*Why are there little faces I see with each sentence you speak?*
*Got a problem with that? f(ಠ‿↼)z*
*Nope.*
*Good. Let's be friends. ( ⌒o⌒)人(⌒-⌒ )v*
Adam in this time had already dropped off the laundry with the maids and was on his way back upstairs. He encountered a giant salamander trying to lure him into a room. Adam kneels down to communicate with it.
"What is it big guy?"
"Rawwww." Which is to say "My master wants to 'speak' with you."
"Sorry, but I have to decline that offer. I'm not interested in your master."
"Rawwww~. Arawra." Which is to say "She is really looking forward to it, you know? It won't take long."
"Nothing you say will change my mind, Flame."
"Awowo... rarwawra." Which is to say "Oh well... I can't make one of your kind do it anyways."
/Wow. I guess since Adam has that werewolf predator kind of atmosphere around him, Flame went into scaredy-cat mode./
"Hisssssssss!" Which is to say "Shut up!"
/Geez. Even Flame is yelling at me! Well, it's more like I'm yelling at myself since I have to say what Flame is saying! Ugh./
Adam returned to Louise's room. Louise at this time was lying down in her bed trying to sleep, but the thought of Adam being of what would be considered noble blood wouldn't let rest come so quickly.
*Hey Adam, I think it would be a good idea to at least tell her about your history, but if it comes down to elvish stuff, just beat around the bush with it, okay? (◍•﹏•)*
*I will, no need to worry. How old are you mentally, at least, might I ask?*
*That's cruel, asking the Founder's age. I died at the age of around twenty eight, but I act far younger than I am. By now I'm well over six thousand years old you know. ƪ(‾ε‾")ʃ*
*Well, it's good you like to act younger.*
*As far as I'm concerned, I'm still young. ٩( ᐛ )و*
"Hey, Adam?" Louise asked not in her usual tone.
"Yeah?" Adam responded cordially.
"You said your people can't use magic anymore. That means they could at one point?" Louise asked hopefully.
"That's ancient history, but yeah. Werewolves could use magic several thousand years ago. Most we can do now is barely move objects a foot away from our hands."
"How did your people lose their magic?"
"We became more dependent on technology and forgot about magic. Technology progressed at a rather fast rate in my world and we stopped using magic altogether, which led to future generations losing the ability almost entirely."
"But how can you do things without magic? Like building things and moving long distances or flying?"
"Technology does it better than magic here does by at least an order of magnitude or two. We can travel about eight hundred kilometers in just one hour, which is to say about two percent of the circumference of our planet."
"How long is one kill-o-meter? Is it like a league?"
"A kilometer, spelt k-i-l-o-m-e-t-e-r, is around five and a half times smaller than a league, so we can travel approximately one hundred forty four leagues in just one hour, and anyone can do that."
"That's a lot! How can you travel so quickly?"
"It is called an airplane, large wings and a very streamlined fuselage, or hull if you will, using very powerful thrust generating devices, called engines, jet engines specifically, can push the airplane to very high speeds with no problems at all. Heavy winds can be blowing but the artificial brain inside it allows it to land safely each time."
"Artificial brain?"
"It's called a computer, it controls the airplane, and the pilots only have to tell it what to do, or take control if it fails."
"Why would it fail?"
"It's artificial, it can break. But back to the magic thing, we used to be able to use magic, which was apparently very powerful magic, but even back then out of fear of losing control over the power, we didn't learn how to use its full potential, so we barely did anything with it. There was someone who tried to use its full potential, but he was captured and then exiled using magic of a gathered crowd of werewolves and never seen again, likely sent somewhere off world."
"Who was exiled?"
"His name was never recorded in the history books, but his magical theory was considered heresy as an excuse to stop the use of magic. To this day though, it was a good choice since our planet is a unified body of counties. There is a ladder of power, but due to a natural sense of responsibility, loyalty and honor, that power is not something to be taken advantage of, but rather something used to best serve the people and to maintain the utopian state of society."
At this moment, Adam's DashaPad started beeping. He pulls it out and upon seeing what it was saying, his eyes went wide.
"What is it? And what was that noise?"
"It connected to my home world, that noise was it telling me it did so. And it hasn't even been a day since I left."
"What do you mean 'it connected'?"
"This tablet, it can communicate across great distances almost instantly. In this case, it is connected as what is called a remote terminal to my home, which is a laboratory, back on my planet."
"Remote terminal?"
"It lets me control things in my house, and allows me access to information in a global network that connects everyone across the globe."
"So this is technology..."
"Pretty cool stuff, isn't it? If I just look here, I can see how far away I am from home. Currently it says..."
Adam's face went pale seeing the figure.
"What is it? You look pale."
"It says we are just over thirteen light years away."
"What's a light year?"
"The distance light can travel in one year, based on the measured speed of light."
"How do you measure the speed of light? It's instant, isn't it?" Louise ignorantly asked.
"Light acts like both a particle and a wave of energy. It has a speed, and the speed it travels is the maximum speed any object can possibly travel through space. Since light has no mass, it can maintain the speed of light without consuming its energy. If an object has any mass at all, even an infinitely small mass, as long as it has mass, it takes an infinite amount of energy to maintain the speed of light. We can measure the speed of light by firing a beam of concentrated light, called a laser, at our moon and use the distance between our planet and the moon along with the time it takes to return after reflecting off a mirror placed on the moon's surface. The distance along with the time taken, yields us a speed of around three hundred thousand kilometers every second, or around fifty three thousand nine hundred fifty eight and a half leagues every second." Adam sighed after this long explanation.
"... That's fast." Louise said in shock.
"Being thirteen light years away, we are around one hundred twenty two trillion, nine hundred eighty six billion, eight hundred sixty nine million, two hundred sixty five thousand kilometers away from my home. That is around twenty two trillion, one hundred thirty five billion, eight hundred sixty five million, five hundred ninety eight thousand four hundred fifty two leagues away."
"How can such a distance even exist?" Louise said in a daze.
/Apparently the big numbers are too much for the relatively academically inclined Louise./
"It is a vacuum between here and there. There are about as many particles directly between this planet and my own as there are particles in the atmosphere here within a league or two. There is no land between here and there. This distance is miniscule in the grand size of our universe."
"Amazing..." Louise said, still dazed by the sudden scale of things.
"I should probably check some things back home, see what's up."
Adam laid back on his bed, and began scrolling through news updates from home. Louise just stared, still thinking about the massive distance between Adam and his home, and about the tablet which is completely foreign to her as to how it works without magic. The real internal dilemma she was having was about how carefree he was knowing how far he is from home.
"How can he think so little about how far away he is from home! How is he not getting homesick? He's over ten trillion leagues away from home right now, and he's so casually staring at this tablet thingy!"
"Louise, you're probably asking yourself why I'm so casual about this, right?"
"N-no! I don't c-care! It's not like you can go h-home any time soon, right?"
"That may be true, but I can take comfort in knowing I am at least connected to home, and that home is in the same galaxy as where we are now."
"What's a galaxy?"
"You know what the sun is, right?"
"Yeah, everybody does."
"Well, you know what it is to humans, but not what it is in general. It is called a star, and a galaxy is made up of trillions of stars like the sun, all orbiting around a very dense center. Something called a black hole, an extremely dense collapsed star resides at the center of our galaxy, and a really massive one at that. Even light can't escape a black hole."
Louise was speechless. To hear something so fast moving and massless such as light being unable to escape something filled her with dread at the knowledge of something so strong existing without magic.
"Black holes are very far and few in between. Among celestial bodies, they are exceedingly rare. There are a mere ten million that we know of in our galaxy among the four hundred billion stars within it. There are many small black holes near the center and then the massive one that makes up the center, the core. We are about twenty six thousand light years away from the large one. The measurement for that is called a parsec, and there are eight thousand of those in twenty six thousand light years. My planet lies around eight kilo parsecs away from the core of the galaxy, that measurement is true for us here as well since we are only thirteen light years away from my home."
"How can there be distances so large?" Louise asked absentmindedly.
"This is just a tiny, tiny fraction of the total size of the universe. The universe will destroy itself before all intelligent living beings can get close to discovering even a tiny fraction of a percent of a percent of the whole of it. We even have a time set for the approximate time the universe will die, which is in a couple billion years."
"You speak as if the universe is alive."
"It isn't really, by death I mean all things die, and a process called entropy can no longer continue on since everything is uniformly out of energy, everything has decayed into heat and chaos, a complete void of all matter and elements, a soup of subatomic particles. By that time we all will have moved on to another plane of existence to carry out another life in another universe."
Louise suddenly got depressed. Hearing all this about the universe dying and everything turning void really put a damper on even her pompous noble attitude.
"Don't think about it at all. It's best you focus on the here and now, since you are alive right now, and the universe is hardly closer to dying. Look at the scale of things, a billion years is a long wait. You live about ninety years, I live around two hundred years, it would take around one hundred twenty years of absolutely perfect human memory to fill the human brain, you have literally nothing to worry about on that scale."
"You can live to two hundred?"
"Yeah. Werewolves are like Elves in how their lifespans are longer. Ours is actually a bit longer than an elf's lifespan. Although we have a special trait, if a werewolf gets a blood transfusion with a human, the human gains the werewolf's vitality and lives as long as a werewolf, also gaining our very high regeneration rate."
"I was going to ask, what about your teeth? And your hands?"
"My teeth regenerated enough to eat at dinner, and my hands stopped bleeding several minutes before entering the hall. No scars either."
"That's pretty cool. At it isn't even with magic, right?"
"No magic."
*Actually, Adam, you have magic. ( •_•)*
*( •_•)⌐■-■*
*(⌐■_■)*
*I'll admit, that sequence was cool.*
*Darn tootin' it was. ( ﾟヮﾟ) *
*But I have magic? Seriously? Didn't you say since we haven't used magic in so long we've lost the ability to use it?*
*When you were contracted, what did you feel?*
*Horrible amounts of searing, boiling pain all over, concentrated around my left hand.*
*Don't sound so pissed. I never thought one of my kind would be summoned, and this late at that. Not only that, familiars aren't supposed to go through that much pain. \_(╥_╥)_/*
*Then what happened?*
*Your mana circuits were reopened by force. You can now convert willpower into mana and cast elemental magic in a similar fashion to the mages here in Halkegenia. That effect I didn't expect at all. (⊙_ )*
*So I'm a mage now?*
*Sort of. A real mage doesn't need a focus, since they are the focus. Since you have mana circuits, you are basically a magic computer, and can channel the magic anywhere on your body. You may even learn to reopen the circuits of others with werewolf vitality. (ｏ・_・)ノ"(ᴗ_ ᴗ。)*
"Hello?"
"Huh?"
"You just zoned out for a while there. What were you doing?"
"Thinking."
*Tell her already. It won't hurt to let her know about me now. ( ￣▽￣)/*
"Really? Thinking?"
"Okay, you got me. I was talking to someone."
"Who?"
*Give her a hint, a surname hint, use my lesser known surname, Nidavellir. ヾ(-_- )ゞ*
"I call him Remi. He wants you to guess who he is by the surname, Nidavellir."
"Nidavellir? Never heard of it."
*Tell her to look for it. If those floozies in Romalia have people worshiping me, they're bound to have books galore on me and the things I did, all told from the perspective of the biased elf hating humans. ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ*
"Look it up then. I presume you like to read at least?"
"W-why would you assume that?" Louise asked too quickly.
"You confirmed it with your response time."
"S-shut up!"
"I'm going to bed now. You should too. Class in the morning, right?"
"Yes, fine. Good night."
"Sleep tight, Miss Valliere."
/And it seems that Adam has taken a liking to Louise. Not only that, but Louise accepted the telepathy instantly. Plot devices ftw!/
"Seriously Narrator, butt out."
*Yeah, don't bother Adam.*
/Both Adam and Brimir now. Almost every character has complained about me or yelled at me so far. I feel so accomplished! Hoorah!/
*Don't be proud of that, big guy. I'm almost as ever present as you are you know.*
/Bah! Whatever, just sleep until the next chapter, mate. You'll be reviv-AHEM! You'll get your part soon, don't worry./
*Stop trying to spoil the story, Narrator. Geez, you are so unreliable.*
/We'll see who's unreliable! Get ready, Brimir, I'm coming after you next!/
*And that's why you're an unreliable narrator, Narrator.*
/Ah, whatever! I'll just end it here./
And as the moon rose into the sky, all was quiet in the Tristain Academy of Magic. Outside the Academy, two shadows lurk through the woods.
"So this is the Academy of Magic, where the rumored Staff of Destruction lies?" spoke a tall bearded young man.
"Yep. I've been analyzing the magic on the vault, square class locks, four of them, each one square class of each element. The only place it is not that heavily protected is the outside, since nobody can cast magic powerful enough spells to break square class four element fortification while flying. My golem can do it though. I'll need your help later, Jean, after I lure someone out to use it against my golem." replied a tall long haired woman.
"Are you sure this will succeed, Matilda?" asked the man named Jean.
"Positive." replied the woman named Matilda.
And so the night fell silent once more, the two shadows departing from one another, the man mounting a large flying creature with the silhouette of something with the head of an eagle, and taking off into the night. Meanwhile the young woman jumped on a horse and rode back to the Academy.
"I see someone coming!" stated a guard.
"Halt, who goes... ah? Miss Longueville? Back already?" stated the older guard.
"Yes, unfortunately the vendors didn't have what I was looking for. I will have to go back in the morning before they sell out." replied Matilda, referred to as Miss Longueville. "Take care you two."
"As should you, secretary. Say hello to Headmaster Osmond for us." spoke the younger guard.
"I will. Good night and fare well." she replied with a slight bow.
The guards gave a slight bow in return and went back to their posts. As Matilda walked her horse back to the stable, a smirk came across her face.
END CHAPTER ONE
NEXT CHAPTER: Discovery of Werewólfr, the Gandálfr of the Void.
/Hey! Hey! Author!/
A/N: What is it, Narrator?
/Do I get a place in the story?/
A/N: What do you mean?
/Am I gonna be a character in the story?/
A/N: You are already one very diverse character.
/No, no! I mean, do I get a physical presence in this story too?/
A/N: Not now, Narrator.
/You didn't deny it!/
A/N: *deep sigh* What ever will I do with you, Narrator?
/Give me a physical body instead of being an extension of your mind?/
A/N: I am not you. You are not me.
/But I am you! Come on man, we are the sa… mmmmmmm!/
A/N: *tapes narrator's mouth shut with gaffa tape* That does it.
/Mmmm! Hmmmmmm! Hm mmm mmmmm! Mmmm mmmm!/
A/N: That roughly translated to "Noooo" and then "Heyyyyyy" and then "Let me goooo" and finally, "Right nowwwww". Sorry if I speak monotone. I have no emotions, period. I think. Well, without further to do, see you in the next chapter.