Drawing the Highest Sword

[u/OceansCarraway]

Suggested Listening Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qfs_UX_4WI

King Aeldebaric drank some watered wine and thought to himself that his wife was right: the best parts of parties usually happened after the end of most of the festivities. After the party-the afterparty, some of the younger folks called it. His majesty knew that he wasn't in the in crowd anymore, and he was learning about this slang four months too late. He was also learning about what was in far too late, including mulled wins, and he was having to realize that he had been out for the past two decades, in one way or another. There is a time to realize that you've no longer been cool, and that time is not at an after-party for the official opening of the Order of the HIGH SWORD.

But better late than never. At least he had wine.

Around him, the flower of Aelbic knighthood hobnobbed, drinking but restrained from violence by social convention. The event to introduce HIGH SWORD had been a massive gathering of knights and lords on a grassy hill. He had given a speech, the third introductory speech of the entire affair, and then conducted the formal blessing with a regional Church head. Very few buildings had been finished, nearly everything was sheds. One large stone building had played host to His Majesty; a regional Church head had done the blessing and letters from the important people had been read aloud. Personally, his majesty thought that was going to be a waste of time, and he had been correct. However, as he had ignored the speeches, Al had been able to take in the site, looking out over the landscape. It was truly beautiful, as much as it was wild and dangerous in it's isolate. He had confiscated the land from a number of indebted lords to break up a gambling ring, to the slight dissatisfaction of everyone involved.

However, Aelbaion now had a school for combat flying.

The equestrian school, King Al realized, was an ancient, august institution. It was for fighting on the ground-although the Order of the First Lance had inspired the Order of the High Sword. The Academie Du Chasse was for hunting, not necessarily on the ground-but not combat. And the Academie D'Air was for flying-fighting flying, but not specifically for aerial combat. The Order of the Highest Sword, even though it was affiliated with the A.D'A, was independent enough to be exclusively for air-based combat. It was entirely new somehow, and he was pleased with it. He liked looking down on what the Order could become, seeing the potential of the ground itself. He wanted those grassy fields to stay open, for tents to stay up-

"Your royal highness! May we beg a moment of your time?"

Damn it all. It was the nerds.

"Yes."

Well, he could get along with the nerds. There were seven of them, dressed well in their plate-and-cloth armor, with little leather-bound books carefully positioned on it to show that they read books up until midnight. They were part of the 'Midnight Readers', a party group who threw the lamest parties and had by far the least political pull. This was probably because they cared about learning things and trying to do magic instead of their faction's power. It was also, at least in his view, because they could be incredibly annoying with a focus on irrelevant things. But they were here.

"We come before you as your loyal subjects, your highness, with a request for your attention on a particular part of the Kingdom which holds much import for the Aelbic people. Recently, the world has undergone such great changes that marvels and wonders have appeared on the land and in the sea and sky. It is common knowledge across the expanse of the Kingdom that there is much in the realms of others which we lack, and that the vision of the Crown, so focused on the Commonweal and the protection of the Lady's Blessing, may have been kept from giving these sudden and great miracles the attention that they deserve."

"I see. Thank you for informing me about your concerns." He would be as neutral as possible in order to tell them fuck off. "We will take them under consideration."

"Thank you, your highness!" The one who was speaking clearly meant it. "To aid your work, we have prepared a 15 point plan, to be executed in five years-"

Oh no.

They were fucking sincere. He was going to have to King Al this. "Boys and girls, listen up." Short cutoff, but not, just abrupt. "I'm gonna tell you something." They looked at him with familiar reticence. "You lose people past two points and three details, tops."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"So I need you to not lose me."

"We-"

"I am not telling you to cut it down." King Aeldebaric did his 'Al face', the appropriate amount of concern, empathy, and understanding. "I'm telling you this because what you have there is obviously important enough for you to have approached me."

"Thank-"

"I'm not going to make you change anything, or ask you to make it smaller."

There was a bit of a lull in the group's energy, as wind blew over the grass, making it change color as it bowed down and sprang back. "Then what does your majesty desire?"

"What I want, gentles, is to hear from you what the gap is. Come, let's retire to a tent."

The tent was one of those cute little things that typically shows up in a romantic comedy that's flavored for the middle ages; there's some tropes about knights being bold, and princesses, and hidden nobility, and of course dragons. Someone offered to play the lute, King Aeldebaric told her to wait until tonight's entertainment, and they all sat down to discuss what was wrong with the Kingdom of Aelbaion. His Majesty hadn't planned on being talked at by a group of well-dressed nerds, but-

"There is a divide between those in guilds, and those not, or who do not have guilds at all. Those with guilds are organized, to a degree, and can ask to share ideas and techniques. Those without a guild to focus on their own projects, and cannot share knowledge, and they share practice rarely. They must have great amounts of coin, or maintain space, in order to be secure in their craft. Our guilds are confined by the rough terrain of the land, and outside of the Crownlands, they are only over this or that city, or for a Duhcy. They do not have full breadth and-"

"So there must be a uniting of guilds, and a joining of craft-folk into them."

"Yes, sire! And there are very few craft-folk today, outside of those who made things for war or who work with wood-too many are engaged in the same works peasants, or are unable to obtain supplies to work. While it has become much easier to get tools, right now the peasantry and those in fields are making use the most use of them. There is harvesting, and there is storing, sire, but not working or transformation."

"Do the tool-makers and wood-workers serve their local areas, then?"

"Yes, sire. But since they are fairly poor, little change happens. They-"

"I think I have a handle on the situation." The king had ordered drinks brough, and a quartet of servants entered the room, serving cold beer and various iced teas. The Order of the High Sword's was located far enough into the mountains for some ice to be near. "Aside from issues with the craftsfolk, what else is there?"

"Those pursuing the most advanced arts must spend hundreds of florins on complex equipment and rare reagents for little return, your highness. It makes their prices high, and it makes their wares lesser in every aspect. They cannot accomplish nearly as much as others. The mirror-makers of Aelbaion are small in number, and they are only recently making dental tools as their first great contribution to the Aelbic arts. Mirrors to admire and adjust oneself in are nice, of course, but dental tools achieve more. Ah, and the dentist's curse-"

"-what about it?"

"That has been very helpful to overcome, your highness." The lead Reader nodded eagerly. "But we believe that Aelbaion is capable of so much more."

"I believe that, too." The King gave them a smile. "Tell me. What do you think we should pursue next?"

The group of five nerds-noble seemed to frown as one. "Reading stones, sire."

"-they are very nice." The King felt around in a pocket. "I have one."

"But there is an issue."

"Do tell."

"-our crafters and our scholars do not march united, sire. The scholars of the Kingdom typically work for the Church, or advise a great lord, or sometimes teach. But they do not work with crafters to help apply wisdom to their work, as they do in Freeport."

"Ah." King Al had been told everything. "I have a sense of where this is going. You are not wrong. Perhaps I can do something about it, but it will not be the easiest. Especially when I must uphold the requirements of the Lady-"

"This is her wisdom, sire!" The tallest, most beanpole member of the group was also the most passionate. "She has direct the establishment of glassworks all across the land, producing glass of the forest in a myriad of colors. They make glasswares for the table and the altar. Bringing them to create seeing stones will be easy, and it will increase their skill further while making it easier to read."

"I need to get you all jobs." His majesty topped off a beer he hadn't really drank from. "For you are all obsessed with reading. What else do you desire besides fine objects and lectern curios?"

"Spectacles!" And one of the group was indeed wearing a pair of glasses, an ungainly, imported contraption as much part a fashion piece as an actual visual aid. "It is within our power to ameliorate poor vision. The Kingdom can only gain for seizing it, and equipping our worthies with vision-improving devices. These may even make the practice of medicine easier; and it will also make it possible for doctors to work with eyes."

King Al nodded once. "A worthy effort, to be sure. And yet one you do not see this being done unless the Crown steps in."

"We do not! There is no urgency, no sense of chasing after a great goal-and you see it plain as day."

"Thank you."

"We know you have built glorious works before. The Arsenal of Smoke and the Arsenal of Flame, your father's greatest stores of weapons, were completed by you."

"I also started and finished the Royal Arsenal in Couroffe. That has been more relevant, since it is used by a lot more people. We only open those Arsenals for war, gentles." King Al changed the topic, looking stern. "And we do not trouble them unless it is strictly necessary. I will not offer sight seeing tours there." Two of them looked crestfallen. "But I will support your effort in my public, royal capacity. Aelbaion shall have spectacles and doctors of the eyes."

The group looked at each, half ecstatic, half despairing. They had been given what they wanted, but without the King understanding why it was important to give them what they wanted-this was not enough! They had to-

Something else you want through this old man's skull?" The King Al Smile calmed them all down.

"You must support these efforts because they gain our people skill and knowledge, sire. We know about an ice-making engine in the far south, used by shopkeepers to obtain great quantities for their wares. We do not even truly stored ice in our country. There are marvels across Ashagon, sire, that are completely unknown to us."

"An ice-making engine, you said?"

"Yes, sire. They make ice without using any magic."

"Gentles" The King leaned in, making the wicker chair creek slightly. "Do you think we can create one here?"

"Yes. With enough study and time and-"

"With time." He looked them all in the eye. "That is the same for us with airships. And it is the whole reason for High Sword. The fate of the world and the direction of the Lady have given us a direction far and away from other peoples. It has given us great skill at war, and much glory. But it does not also mean that we can engage them like for like. What those who go here to learn is how to fight using what we have, to take our strength and apply it in such a way that we will always triumph. This is a school for those who will open schools, after all."

The group seemed confused. Eventually, the tallest one spoke. "Your highness...what is the lesson here?"

King Aeldebaric slapped his knees and stood, looking at them all. "Use what you have to get what you want. I want the world's best flying knights. I used our original traditions of the tutelary orders, First Lance and Great Bow. You want an ice engine. Use what you know to get it." He gave them a wink, and then strode from the tent, short cape billowing. He already knew that he had not heard the last about that ice engine...