#aurillium

“Are you out of your bug-eyed little mind Naxxa?!” Immediately the Asura shrunk away from the small Human woman, carefully stepping back and dragging the open weapon case with him. Alexandria fumed, her gaze focused on the ‘special’ weapon that Naxxa said he’d been working on to test the durability of aurillium. It was the standard length of a staff, but the top third looked more like a flanged mace, four sharp blade-like protrusions jutting out viciously.

“Magister!” Naxxa protested when he felt he was a safe enough distance away from the enraged Elementalist. “I assure you that it is completely safe. I tested it thoroughly, and the metal and the minor system I installed completely regulates and contains the ambient magic.”

“There is a fucking massive shard of Bloodstone built in! Not to mention how many other pieces that I can, or can’t see!”

“It was vital to test the durability of the aurillium,” whining nervously, the Asura Scholar glanced around, assessing how much more room he could put between the two of them. “Several technicians have already begun using shaped Bloodstone shards in jewelry to amplify magic. I simply applied that theory on a larger scale, and created larger mountings. Once I applied a mist energy current to it, the metal didn’t show any signs of degradation or warping! You were right Magister.”

“Fantastic,” her dry reply made Naxxa’s ears droop again. “I asked you to test the durability of aurillium, not build me a Bloodstone powered weapon. How many things could go wrong huh? Did you test how stable the shard was? What its limitations to magical exposure is? How carefully did you examine it for imperfections that would very obviously increase the risk of critical failure?”

Grabbing the staff from the case, the Asura stomped over to Alexandria and thrust the weapon into her hands. “There are always risks in what we do Magister. But I did test the stability, and I examined it carefully, along with two members of the Engineer Corps who might see something that I missed. Even if it goes critical, the four prongs make up the barrier of a containment field that could withstand a chaos energy burst.”

Sighing, she tested the weight of the odd staff, swinging it and setting her weight on it. “Did it ever occur to you that I probably won’t have need of a weapon like this anymore?”

“Then use it as a fancy walking stick,” retrieving the weapon case, he shook his head. “I thought you’d want it more as a token of genius than an actual weapon anyway. Once again, you thought of something weeks before it would have ever occurred to me. It’s a little annoying that you keep doing that, you know? Who’d jump straight to the material being the cause of failure before testing the magitech system extensively?”

“Naxxa…” with a sigh she walked over, patting his ears. “We just think in different ways, that’s all. Plus, the idea wasn’t entirely mine; I got it from a conversation with a ghost. But, that’s not really important. What is, is that you’re far smarter than me in a lot of ways; I can’t even being to comprehend the basics of magitech that you could do in your sleep.” Grinning, she looked down at him, “in fact I think I’ve watched you do it in your sleep once or twice.”

“Yes, yes,” his ears twitched happily as he grumbled. “I’m not as egocentric as most of my race, but there’s still a point of pride in being the one to solve a problem. Sometimes I wonder if you aren’t some Asura ghost from ages ago that wandered through the Mists and got stuck in a Human body. Then I remember that you’re far too emotional and not nearly conceited enough.”

“Thanks?”

Perhaps it was because it was the first time in months that she was finally feeling useful and productive again, or possibly it was one of a hundred other things occupying her thoughts these days. Regardless of what it was, Alexandria could not sleep even in the arms of one of her beloveds. Reluctantly, because who would willingly want to, she slipped free of Mirex’s arms and out of the small bedroom, snaring one of the thin robes that hung on pegs in case of unexpected company. Drifting through the curtains that separated the bedroom and main room of the small home, she silently made her way out into the night.

Shivering against the cool night air, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The scent of wet stone, dust, and a few lingering smells from the Desert Rose made her smile as she opened her eyes again and glanced at the workstation set outside. Scattered on it now were the aurillium samples, a few more Bloodstone fragments, and a device that allowed Mist energy to flow through the samples. Like Naxxa had promised, everything worked perfectly; the silvery metal had withstood the increased magic without any signs of warping.

As a researcher, a scholar, a member of the Durmand Priory, she should feel joy at such wondrous results. Instead there was an empty feeling where the hint of bitterness dwelled. Part of her, she was sure, was ecstatic that aurillium was as durable as she had suspected; but the rest was solemn, reflecting on the fact that she would never get to test the next generation of weapons and armor the Mist Energy Research and Application Team developed.

Work had always occupied her mind and time, giving her a sense of fulfillment and purpose. Now, a majority of that was gone, and the lack of a decent kitchen to bake up a storm for hours on end left her too much time with her seeming overabundance of emotions. Thankfully either Adriwyn or Mirex, frequently both, had been around a great deal the past few weeks, sparing her from loneliness and the emotions that brought with it.

I guess I was going to have to give up field work at some point anyway. With the topic of children becoming more openly discussed, and now a very distinct possibility in the near future, it was hard to deny that leg injury or no, resigning from field work would have come within a year anyway. Maybe once it was a reality she would find a new sense of purpose in being a mother, one that would drive the emptiness left by having to give up field work.