The Agsalud and the Gnome
Jarvey placed the gear gently into place, using the tip of the tweezers to secure it to the post. The blue of his skin shone brilliantly in the intense light of the magnifying glass he was looking through. He grabbed the soldering iron with his long elegant fingers and secured the piece in place.
Setting his tools back on the table, Jarvey slowly pulled himself from his hunched position. His muscles protested as he arched his back over the top of his chair, interlocking his fingers and stretching his arms high over his head. An audible popping and cracking sound echoed throughout the workshop.
A loud clanging and thud came from behind Jarvey, catching his attention. Turning around, he saw Gwiwer huddled under his desk, burying his head in the nook of his arm. Gwiwer was short and stocky, as Gnomes tend to be. His beard and hair were a bright red, which contrasted with his green eyes. Jarvey froze, staring at Gwiwer’s cowering figure until he lifted his head and made eye contact.
“Did I miss something?” Jarvey asked, blinking slowly.
Gwiwer looked suspiciously about the room. “Hmm. No explosion after all.” He said in a slightly high pitched, nasally voice. He pulled himself out from under the desk, standing just a head taller than it. “I was certain that the cracking and popping sounds was coming from an overloaded power source, and that we were about to be consumed in a torrent of raw aether.”
Jarvey gave a slight smile and gestured to himself. “That would be incorrect. The only explosion was the release of tension in my joints. I am interested, however, in what exactly you believed would cause an explosion. You have never queried such things before.”
Waving a dismissive hand, Gwiwer climbed the three rungs back up into his chair and spun to face him. “It’s those automatons you have been playing with lately. You keep redesigning them and then outfitting them with the strangest power supplies. I can’t fathom why you would need so much energy to operate such simple machines.”
Jarvey raised his eyebrows, “Ah, I see the issue now. You are under the impression that you and I do the same work.”
Gwiwer furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? Of course, we do the same work. We are commissioned for the same job. It is why we share a workshop.” Gwiwer waved his hands around the room. “We repair what is broken. We update what is obsolete, and in our free time, we tinker to find new innovations that can be shared throughout the city. Now you are trying to tell me that you have been doing something different this whole time?”
Shaking his head, Jarvey gave Gwiwer a sympathetic look. “The fact that you believe in such simplicities speaks volumes to how little you understand the differences between us.”
Gwiwer rolled his eyes. “Please, you are a skilled techno-wizard. I will give you that, but there is no major difference between the way I enchant items and the way you enchant items.”
Jarvey’s eyes opened wide with surprise. “Tell me this Gwiwer, how much thought have you put into the nature of the aether?”
“What’s there to think about? The aether filters through the veil, allowing certain individuals and creatures to manipulate it in a variety of ways.” Gwiwer looked at Jarvey as if he were a rude child. “Perhaps you would benefit from a bit more study. These are well known and established facts.”
Jarvey nodded his head in agreement. “You are correct, in your limited understanding of what the aether is.” He gestured to the small automaton behind him, stepping to the side to allow Gwiwer a clear view.
“You would agree that it is generally understood that the aether seeks out a type of balance in the universe, yes?” Gwiwer tightened his lips before nodding yes. Jarvey continued, “Many of the traditional schools of study have surmised that the aether seeks balance similar to the methods of water finding its level.” Jarvey raised a finger at Gwiwer. “What if, the aether is not just another element or energy that is abiding by a set of governing physics. What if, we assume that the aether is not a force, but an actual intelligent entity that consciously chooses to interact with our world in an effort to bring balance to it?”
Gwiwer raised a skeptical eyebrow. “So, if I am hearing you right. You want me to believe that the aether is actually a living entity that chooses to provide the world with magic? And I assume, the believed difference between us is that you are able to communicate with this entity?”
Jarvey smiled wide and nodded his head. “Yes and no. In my home realm we interacted with the aether in a more direct manor, allowing us to...hear, for lack of a better word, the voice or intent of the aether. It is our belief that all life is connected to and born from the aether, and that the aether is the embodiment of life itself. It is where the soul comes from, and when it is finally done with the rest of reality, can choose to return and reintegrate itself back into the aether.”
Jarvey moved in closer to the automaton. “What I do when working the enchantments into the various equipment, is infuse it with a dose of raw aether, rather than the pool that has been filtered within me. I give the device a type of soul and purpose, rather than an empowered object.”
Jarvey made the hand motions for his summoning and a sliver of light appeared just above the automaton. Gwiwer leaned forward, lowering his viewing glasses.
“What I have just summoned is a sliver of raw aether. Typically, I would not pull even a fraction of this amount through to power one of our objects, but my goal is not to create a magical machine or golem.”
Gwiwer cut him off, “You wish to infuse the automaton with a soul, to actually bring it to life.”
Jarvey nodded, “Exactly. And that is what makes us different. You use the aether to magically enhance your objects and devices. I seek to imbue my objects and devices with life itself. Our interactions with the aether are so vastly different in nature that it is hardly fair to call our crafts similar at all.”
Jarvey spread his hands and forced the sliver of light down into the automaton. A small glass container, tucked just behind the gears and servos, began to glow and pulse. After a second, the automaton began to shake and the arms and legs twitched slightly. Both Jarvey and Gwiwer held their breath as they watched the aether spread out from the container to the rest of body. Then the light dimmed and faded. The gears and framing began to tarnish and rust, breaking down into piles of rust and dust, until the light flashed out and the automaton was no more.
Gwiwer snuffed and turned back to his desk. “Not the explosion I was expecting, but I believe my point has been validated. You were applying too much magic to your device, and the result was a cataclysmic failure.”
Jarvey let out a slow breath, closed his eyes and shook his head. Returning to his chair, he brushed the remains into his garbage pale, resolved not to waste any more of his time.
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