#oldmanfranks

Nero tol Scaeva, former (allegedy) tribunus of the XIVth Imperial Legion, and Cid nan Garlond’s self-proclaimed eternal rival for the title of “most brilliant magitek engineer on the star”, sauntered up to him, insincere smile on his face, and carrying a decent sized crate by a pair of handles built into the sides. An intricate lock ensured it would remain closed while a built-in keypad served as the mechanism to unlock it.

Nero set his cargo down on the floor. The pair were within the building usually reserved for Ironworks personnel and Rowena’s people, and more than a couple of the latter group were eyeing the pair in amusement. Nero’s antics were entirely too familiar among Rowena’s employees, and far too many had expressed positive opinions of him within Aleister’s earshot.

“The situation, my friend, is that horrible thing you currently have at your hip!”

Aleister cocked an eyebrow and looked down to the left hip Nero had been eyeing. Oh. Of course. Sitting there was his preferred grimoire to use while wielding the art of the Summoner, a magitek tome that Cid had custom built for him. He’d been in the Reach in the first place to deliver some items to M’naago for her little enterprise to raise funds for families of killed Resistance members, and he’d summoned Snowball, his carbuncle, to help with transporting them. Normally the little ball of aetheric sass would have balked at such a menial task, but it was for M’naago, and that meant she was going to get showered with praises and cuddles.

Of course Nero couldn’t tolerate that. Cid had made it, and therefore its very existence was a personal affront to him.

Aleister slowly turned back to glower at Nero.

“Oh come now, my friend, don’t be like that. I will admit, grudgingly, that for a savage heathen from a land full of them, your grasp of the basic principles of engineering is remarkably good! And your willingness to look beyond the….unfortunate association between magitek and my former homeland and continue to wield it makes you perhaps the best ambassador we have in the realm! Emperor knows there’s all too few of that going around, especially with that Ishgardian lunatic having no sense of diplomacy-“

“Nero. If you have a point, get to it already.” Aleister interrupted. “Otherwise, you can walk and talk while I retrieve my wayward carbuncle. You remember Snowball, I trust?” A smirk emerged on his face as Nero shuddered a bit.

“Fine, fine, no need to involve that damnable miniature Eikon. My point is that you really must put aside whatever sentimental attachment you have to that outdated model and upgrade! You’re the Warrior of Light, and frankly, you deserve to wield the newest, and therefore best, that magitek has to offer!”

He reached down and quickly pressed a series of buttons on the keypad of the trunk at his feet. The trunk beeped a confirming sound, then a series of gears whirred to life, retracting a series of bolts out of position, allowing the trunk’s lid to open. With a hiss of depressurized air, it did just that.

Nero reached in and pulled out a rectangul

ar object about a fulm and a half long by half a fulm wide, made of some kind of white colored alloy, trimmed in some kind of silvery metal along one edge, with a diamond pattren criss-crossing to the center. He handed it to Aleister.

“And so, Scaevan Systemics is proud to present. the Scaevan Magitek Grimoire Mark II! My gift to you, my friend!”

Franks looked at it in disbelief. “You made an arcanist’s grimoire”

“That I did, and rather well, if I do say so myself”

“And you’re just….giving it to me?”

“Why not? You’re certainly the most well known wielder of the magick among adventurers and within your guild. I expect many people will ask you where you acquired such a well designed and advanced implement, and I’m hoping you’ll answer truthfully! And if you don’t mind mentioning that I have a complete line of weapons for purchase as well, that would certainly be appreciated.”

Ah. There it was. “So I’m to be your free advertising then.”

Nero looked affronted. “Free? I will have you know I expended no small amount of personal resources creating that for you, not to mention all of the prototypes that came before it! I consider this an investment, my friend, one that I hope you will legitimately enjoy using enough that you don’t mind sending potential customers in my direction.”

Aleister opened the tome. Twelve, was that actual paper within? “Didn’t keep the display, I see?”

Nero sniffed. “Ah yes, that particular bit of overengineering. I will admit, I tried, but power concerns meant I had to remove it in favor of a more….analogue method. Plus, I recall hearing tales of your guild expressing….displeasure over the lack of actual paper and ink in your grimoire, so I concluded that this would serve as a bonus feature of removing that particular annoyance. You needn’t worry, however, there are more than enough advancements within to make up for it. For example, the tome’s contents are fully indexed by the device. Once you complete your aetheric attenuation, merely thinking of a particular array or formula will display the page number it is contained on, allowing you to locate and activate it quickly. It should automatically update for any new additions you make as well, which you will note I left plenty of extra pages for.”

Aleister quickly thumbed through the many pages. “These are….this is everything all right. How did you get access to all of the contents of my grimoire?”

“I hacked into Cid’s device, of course.”

“Nero.“

“Would you rather I left it for you to do? Oh yes, a fine gift that would be, something that requires you to perform a painstaking series of tasks before you can even use it, especially when I have the printing capabilities capable of the necessary precision. Lest you worry, Rowena’s people were more than able to recommend and source the proper inks.”

Aleister sighed. “So what other ‘advancements’ have you made?”

Nero grinned. “Press the button in the back cover’s lower corner.”

Aleister found the small black and pressed it. It glowed bright blue, and a hidden panel slid out of the back cover. The upper half of the panel contained an intricate circular device, which began spinning on a hidden spoke. The lower half contained a number of readouts, which illuminated and began displaying numbers and level gauges.

“An aetheric sensor?”

Nero nodded “Far superior range and precision of measurements to the one in your current implement In addition to measuring the ambient aetheric levels, it will also continuously monitor your carbuncle’s aetheric attunements as you shift through them, keeping you continuously apprised of their current levels. The upper edges of the tome contain a number of holographic projectors which can then illuminate particular arrays when certain conditions are met, all determined by a series of programming conditions into the built-in allagan tomestone there.”

Aleister reviewed everything in turn, then nodded. “I’ll be damned. This is actually very good work, Nero. I’m impressed.”

Nero looked affronted. “Well of COURSE it’s good work. Did you expect cut corners? Slipshod engineering? How dare you, I have no need for that to prove I am better than Cid. My work will speak for itself!”

Aleister laughed, holding up a hand in surrender. “Okay, okay, you’re right. I might have broken more than a fair share of your toys, but they were always well built. I apologize for the implied insult.”

“Apology accepted. And I’m glad you agree, because I have another gift for you. “

“Nero, you don’t have to-” The words died in his throat as Nero had already reached in and pulled another device from the trunk. This one was much smaller, made of some kind of brass colored metal with some sections that appeared to contain blue illumination diodes within.

“Set that grimoire down and let’s have a look at that mad Ishgardian’s device.”

Franks took a second to recall he’d been referring to Stephanivien when he’d spoken of a mad Ishgardian before. Right, guess that means the aetherotransformer. He extended his senses, reaching out into the pocket dimension they call called the armory, and quickly found his machinistry garb. A quick pulse of aether and a brief flashing light illuminated his form. When it faded, his clothes were replaced and his grimoire was gone, replaced by the aetherotransformer device. Stephanivien’s latest firearm creation, the Outsider, was attached to his back.

Nero laughed. “Ah, that must be incredibly convenient. Get those goggles off and press the visor to the left side of your head. It should follow the natural curve well enough. The cross pattern is a display, make sure it covers your left eye.”

Franks took a moment to determine the correct orientation of the….visor, he supposed, and then complied with Nero’s instruction. The device gently but firmly clung to the side of his head, the display illuminating. Everything he saw with his left eye suddenly had a bluish tint to it.

“That’s gonna be a headache inducer for a bit”

Nero waved him off. “Yes yes, you’ll adjust. The important bit is that it attuned to your aether quickly enough and the static adhesion is working. Not uncomfortable I trust? Good. Draw your firearm.”

Trying to brush off his minor annoyance at Nero dismissing his concerns so handily, Aleister removed Outsider from it’s resting place slung to his back. Double checking to ensure the safety was still locked in place and keeping his finger out of the trigger guard, he aimed at a random pillar in the room.

The visor promptly began displaying information, including the range to the current target, wind conditions, and displaying the aetheric heat levels of the transformer.

“Oh, that’s handy!” Aleister exclaimed, lowering the weapon, and noting it now displayed the range to the floor.

Nero chuckled. “I purchased, through an intermediary of course, a couple of the aetherotransformers and created this display visor to augment your Machinists capabilities. The visor will also compensate for low or high light conditions as well. I trust you will find this useful?”

Aleister nodded. “Absolutely. The goggles we used are polarized, but this will be much more effective. Thank you.”

“Thank me by telling all of your machinist friends to come buy one from me. Or better yet, convince your guildmaster to make them standard issue.”

“Right. And I’ve seen you use this tome when wielding the former art.” she responded, gesturing the dark blue and black tome in the center. Its cover was more metal, blue lighting, and magitek devices than any sort of leather.

He smiled as he walked over to pick up the….tome? device? He was never really sure which term was more proper. “Ah yes, the ‘magitek grimoire’ as Cid named it. It’s not even really a book, technically, the pages inside are actually a display screen that calls up the various formulae and array designs required to execute the necessary spells.”

A smile came across his face as he recalled the memory of first seeing the device (he was settling on that now, he decided). “Cid actually gifted this to me just before our assault on Castrum Meridianum. After I met him and his memory had returned, I pestered him endlessly with questions about magitek, how it worked, what all it could accomplish. He never once seemed annoyed, though. I think he was happy someone regarded his passion with such wonder. He custom designed this for me, made it look more like a tome just so it would feel more familiar when I used it. That’s why I still use it to this day. It was my first real experience with magitek. Without this….I don’t know, maybe I’d still have gone on to learn as much as I have about engineering and help build the Machinist’s Guild, but, this was still my first step.”

Gwen turned to him, smiling. “I know what you mean, love. And I’m very proud of you for how far you’ve come.”

She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, then broke away, giving him a rueful look. “But no more distracting, I still have questions. This book-” she said, gesturing to the rightmost item. “This one is the one you use when wielding the Scholarly magicks, right?”

The book in question was a thinner volume, bound in red and blue leather, but with a strange series of gear- and pipe-like metallic decorations. Attached to the back cover and extending beyond the edges of the cover were two small cylinders which each contained a glowing substance–pure aether.

Aleister set the Ironworks grimoire back in its place. “Good memory, I know I haven’t needed to wield the Scholar’s art much since you became a Sage, That actually isn’t one of Cid’s or Nero’s, believe it or not. Did I ever tell you about Gerolt Blackthorn?”

Gwen’s face scrunched as she thought. “Isn’t he that legendary weaponsmith you told me about? The one that Rowena keeps around because she’s actually in love with him?”

He chuckled “That’s the one, and just a reminder, don’t EVER say that in front of her. He was part of the Anima project, the one that was trying to create life from aether. As part of it, Gerolt restored a number of ancient relics to functional use, all of which were potentials to use for the Anima’s vessel. We ultimately decided to use the greatsword he made for Dahk, but the restored relics were still perfectly great weapons on their own. This one in particular is called Elements, an ancient treatise on the relationships between the different elemental forms of aether. As you might guess, the metallic bits were additions Gerolt added to help contain the Anima, but even without that, well, I admit I just really like the look of it. It fits my whole aesthetic, you know?”

Gwen snorted. “I’ve seen the attire you wear as a Scholar, husband mine, and yes, I can agree, that like said attire, it does fit the absolutely ridiculous aesthetic you have going there”

“Hey!” He swatted at her backside, which she expertly dodged, giggling the whole way.

“Did you just ask me in here to tease me about my attire choices, or was there something else?” he mock-growled.

“Actually, there was one last one.” she said, gesturing to the leftmost and final of the three tomes given prominent display on the shelf. This particular volume was quite massive, bearing a green and brown cover with a metallic brass covering the edges and in patterns across the font and back, set with green and red gems. The upper corner of the front had a long green horn extending from it. “So if the other two are your preferred implements for your two Arcanima-based arts, then what is this one? You normally keep the older tomes further in, behind the current ones.”

“Ah.” he responded, looking at the volume with a mixture of resigned acceptance and fondness. “Well, that’d be because it’s not exactly old. In fact, it’s probably the newest acquisition of the collection, actually. It’s called Espiritus, another Gerolt restoration, but this one is from Bozja.”

“Oh right! I remember Fearless talking about these, they were the weapons of their old queen’s elite guard, right?”

He nodded. “That’s right. I guess they had a particularly talented arcanist in their ranks. Either that or Gerolt just massively improved on the design. Even the paper within is a rare material.”

He removed the grimoire from it’s resting place and opened it. The paper inside was a dark bluish-gray, the arrays and formulae within inscribed with a brilliant gold ink. Gwen marveled at the beauty. She knew her husband and provided the specifics of the designs to Gerolt to fill the tome’s pages, but it had been Gerolt’s expert hands that actually put them to page. The man was a marvel.

“It’s beautiful, but….if you prefer the magitek grimoire for day to day use, then what purpose does this one serve, then?”

His face twisted up in irritation. “I keep it handy for when I need to visit Maelvaan’s Gate.”

“The Arcanist’s guild? Why?”

“Because the last time I opened the Ironworks one within its halls, every single Arcanist in there looked at me like I’d insulted them personally.”

Gwen was taken aback, crossing her arms. “You’re joking.”

Aleister shook his head. “I am not. I was force-marched to the office of one of the departmental vice-chairs, the one with the insanely piercing eyes, and harangued for a solid hour on the importance and correctness of using ‘an actual, proper paper book’ when practicing Arcanima. Any protests I made about its effectiveness were shushed, and any examples I gave of deeds I had accomplished while using it were met with ‘and think about how much better you could have done with a proper grimoire’ and the like”

Gwen struggled mightily to hold back in her laughter, covered her mouth in the process, but she could tell from her husband’s expression that he wasn’t fooled. The man always could read her moon in her eyes very well, damn him. She regained control of herself and tried to set her mind back on his side. “Okay, funny as that image is, they shouldn’t treat you like that! You’re a Warrior of Light! You not only brought back two Arcanima based styles back out of history, you improved upon them! Please tell me you told Thubyrgeim about this, she needs to have a word with her people.”

To her shock, Aleister laughed, almost bitterly. “Who do you think did the forcible marching?”

She gasped, mostly to cover another laugh. “You’re kidding!”

“I am not. She might present herself as the picture of sanity in a madhouse, but the truth is she’s just as mad as all of them. The whole guild. Sometimes I’m amazed the Gate hasn’t exploded already”

She smirked at her husband “Uh huh. You’re part of that guild too, my love. And don’t even pretend you don’t enjoy a good explosion, I’ve seen the mad inventions that you, Cid, and Stephanivien have concocted before.”

“Quiet, you. I’m going back to making our dinner.”