2426 Price of Progress (Part 2)
Royal Forgemaster Rogal was a bulky woman in her sixties, with long grey hair held up in a chignon.
"We don't have unlimited funds and your idea will allow the Kingdom to do what's best for its citizens for a reasonable price. If the project ever reaches the next phase, of course." The way her eyes shone when she spoke about money and her cynical laughter reminded Lith of Nana
"Of course." Lith nodded, recognizing her as the Forgemaster who had examined the blueprints of the Black Star on the day he had been promoted to Great Mage.
'Do you believe me now, Solus? I don't remember only hot women who I've seen naked. My memory is not that of a Lich.' Yet once again his thoughts met only silence and his mood turned sour.
"I agree with Royal Forgemaster Rogal, but I also agreed with you on the day you pitched the Tablets to us." King Meron said. "Let's not think about the problems of today for a second and worry about the future problems of the Kingdom instead.
"What do you think is the most far-sighted approach?"
The eyes of the Archmages went wide not only because the Kingdom was already short on funds due to the War of the Griffons but also because Meron was asking Lith what he would do if he were the King.
"I gave this a lot of thought while planning the Tablets and how to build the best possible Web of Knowledge." Lith tentatively said to avoid overstepping his boundaries.
"In my opinion, if the Tablets program reached phase two and we start spreading them throughout the Kingdom, every medium-sized city, even those with no Warp Gate, should have their own main unit.
"Limiting the number of Boosters also limits the effects that the sabotage or malfunctioning of a single Booster can have. Let's say that a storm or a monster horde topples even one of them.
"With the current model, the rest of the Boosters would lose the signal as well in a domino effect that would leave most of the regions in a blackout until the problem is spotted and fixed.
"During winter that might take days, if not weeks based on the storms and how isolated the Booster is. Also, giving a main unit to those cities would make it safer for the people to colonize their surroundings and spread further without feeling isolated.
"What I learned during my two years as a Ranger is that the people of the north are as harsh as the climate, but not just because of the hardships they undergo. During winter, every city and village is no different from a small sovereign state.
"For a quarter of the year, words like Kingdom, Crown, and unity mean nothing to them. They are cut off from the rest of Mogar, not knowing if the food reserves will last until the end of winter.
"They live in constant fear that the next storm might be so long and violent that their pantries will empty while they can't afford to take a step outside to get their rations for days.
"That bandits or monsters might invade their homes, stealing their food and destroying everything they have worked hard to build. Their only tether with the Kingdom is the Ranger but only the village chief has a communication amulet.
"All those things make the people of the north feel abandoned and isolated. They grow resentful of the foreigners that eat their precious food and of the Crown who seems to forget about them until spring when they have to pay taxes.
"With the Tablets, instead, they would be capable of communicating with their neighbors even during a storm. To check the weather mage's forecasts and call for help when they need it without being forced to go to the village chief.
"The books stored inside the Tablets would give them something to do while they are locked inside their homes and to talk about when they gather instead of constantly reminding each other of their respective miseries.
"As a Ranger, I've lived like them every day of my tour, no matter the season. My handler was the only friendly voice I could hear and my daily reports broke my isolation, reminding me of who I was fighting for.
"I think that's what all the people of the Kingdom need right now, not only those in the north. Thrud may have split the Kingdom in two, but that was possible solely because every region perceived the others as foreigners who were taking advantage of them.
"Tablets can bring unity or at the very least broaden the horizons of those who can't look farther than their own problems."
Lith took a pause, letting his word sink as the Archmages pondered his words. The Kingdom he described was as alien to them as the Banquet Hall had been to Aran during his debut at Court.
They knew no hunger, they could travel throughout the Kingdom freely thanks to the Gate Network from their own houses, and the communication amulets allowed them to ask for help no matter the time of day or season.
"I agree with Supreme Magus Verhen." Sylpha stood up. "If the project reaches phase two, we'll make sure that the people who live at the fringes of our society won't feel even more abandoned than they already are."
"But, Your Majesty, what about the necessary resources? Where will we take them? A project this massive would empty the Royal Vaults faster than our mines can replenish them." Archmage Lema, the Headmaster of the Fire Griffon asked and she was right.
Most of the magical resources mined daily were necessary for the academies or were bought by mages who needed to further their research. Not to mention the Royal Forgemasters who consumed daily lots of enchanted metals and crystals to produce weapons for the army.
Only a little part was stockpiled in the Royal Vaults and with so many projects ongoing, there wasn't enough to build trains and Tablets at the same time.
"Part of them can be recovered from the artifacts we gained after the Battle for the White Griffon." Sylpha said. "The rest we can take from Jiera. As soon as the trains are ready, I'm going to send advanced parties to scout for mines.
"The people of Jiera don't need them and this way we won't put more strain on our magical veins with the risk of exhausting them. Also, it will give us the opportunity to establish our foothold on Jiera from which start our expansion."
Everyone nodded, unaware of the hornet nest in which they were so eager to put their head in. After the plague had brought Jiera to its knees, communications had been cut off.
Aside from the Guardians, no one in the Garlen continent knew about the monster tides or that many lost cities had escaped their prisons.
After a long discussion during which Lith's opinion was often requested and highly valued, the King's Council reached an agreement.
"It is decided, then. We'll start phase one of the Tablets immediately and use most of our resources to build trains. If things go as planned, by the time phase two starts, we should have already started colonizing Jiera." Meron said.
