1. Never thought I'd see the day you shut yourself in [cdb]your room to read. I hear you've been poring through [cdb]every book on magic you can get your hands on.
  2. Hey, I read sometimes! Anyway, I had this great idea I needed to do some research for.
  3. I'm afraid to ask. Wait, what's that diagram?
  4. A perceptive question! This here is a blueprint I came [cdb]up with for a new kind of fire orb.
  5. Uh, really? You're talking about those flame-flinging [cdb]siege weapons, right? Because that looks pretty small [cdb]for a fire orb.
  6. Well, that's the point. I want to make it so that our [cdb]knights can carry one around as easily as they do [cdb]their swords.
  7. What would that accomplish? Knights don't have the [cdb]training to use something like that.
  8. Right you are. The wielder needs both special [cdb]training and some natural magical ability to use one. At least, that's the case with our current fire orbs.
  9. Which brings me to my main goal—making it so that [cdb]anyone can use them, no matter their background.
  10. I mean, think about the havoc we could wreak if [cdb]your average knight or myrmidon could also blast [cdb]out some fire magic whenever they wanted.
  11. Agree with him.
  12. Doubt the feasibility.
  13. That's actually a great idea, Sylvain. I bet we could [cdb]come up with some amazing battle strategies with [cdb]those things.
  14. Right? I knew someone as special as you would [cdb]understand.
  15. Is that really gonna work? I feel like knights and [cdb]myrmidons are better off just using the weapons [cdb]they already specialize in.
  16. You only think that because everyone keeps getting [cdb]shoehorned into just one weapon. All we have to do [cdb]is expand their horizons a little.
  17. Either way, it won't be ready any time soon. I'm not [cdb]sure when I'll finally be done with it, honestly.
  18. If you don't hurry, the war'll be over before you're [cdb]finished.
  19. Battle's not the only place it'll come in handy. People who don't have any other training could [cdb]use it for self-defense.
  20. Huh. Come to think of it, that's the same reason you [cdb]were so interested in my sword.
  21. Does this have to do with House Gautier? I know [cdb]your family's been dealing with Sreng for years now.
  22. Yeah, more or less. We've gone through some pretty [cdb]tough times.
  23. My father's first wife, Miklan's mom... She died in [cdb]a Sreng raid.
  24. We've managed to hold the border for about a [cdb]hundred years now thanks to the Lance of Ruin...
  25. But they keep pushing our limits. Frankly, I admire [cdb]their determination.
  26. It did seem like Margrave Gautier was pretty used to [cdb]fending off their attacks.
  27. It's not like he's had much choice.
  28. Once I inherit his title, I'll keep doing whatever I can [cdb]to hold them off. But it's going to be tough without a [cdb]stronger military.
  29. If the king had forces of his own, he could send them [cdb]in at a moment's notice whenever we were in trouble.
  30. Problem is, the last king already tried something [cdb]like that. It ticked the local lords off to no end.
  31. Makes sense. If the king grows stronger, everyone else [cdb]loses a little bit of their own influence in comparison. Anyone would have a hard time swallowing that.
  32. I'd say it's worth it if it means the Kingdom won't [cdb]descend into chaos. Whatever the case, any reforms [cdb]we enact will need to be peaceful and well-founded.
  33. Which is exactly why I want us to be able to fight on [cdb]our own, without having to rely on our Relic or on [cdb]other lords.
  34. Wow, Sylvain. You actually sound like a real heir now.
  35. It's a nice change from all the skirt-chasing you used [cdb]to do.
  36. Hey, the future of my house is on the line here. Even the laziest guy in the world would be worried [cdb]about that.
  37. Sure, the Kingdom might be a half-frozen stretch of [cdb]dirt, but it's my half-frozen stretch of dirt. And it's [cdb]the only home I've got.
  38. Home, huh?