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As they reached the cleared workshop area, Essie managed to get in a wave toward Lance, who barely even glanced up from the device he was fiddling with while sitting at his workbench, as if he were so used to Farrendel’s comings and goings that having him show up was no big deal.
Last time Essie had been there, Lance had one workbench crammed into the space behind the protective brick and tempered glass wall beside the panel of dials and buttons that controlled the magic-storing device in the center of the enclosed space.
But now, more space had been cleared to fit in a second workbench with additional workspace around it. Essie would have known which workbench was Farrendel’s even without knowing it was new, based on the fact that the second workbench was spotless and organized.
A shelving unit was set up along the wall, and each shelf was packed with row upon row of magical power cells. The tiny windows into the power cells glowed blue with Farrendel’s distinctive magic.
“You have been busy.” Essie waved at the shelving unit.
“Yes, though that is not what I wanted to show you.” Farrendel tugged her toward his workbench, then let go of her hand to pick up a device. It was the size of a hatbox with a stove coil on top and a base that held a small magical power cell glowing with Farrendel’s magic. A knob with a dial was attached to the base. Farrendel held out the device, all but beaming. “It is the heating device you requested from Lance. He and I made it. It runs on my magic.”
“Really? That’s amazing!” Essie took the device, but nearly dropped it when it was heavier than she was expecting. After turning it over and examining it, she handed it back to Farrendel. “How does it work?”
Farrendel set it on the workbench. “It is simple. Just turn this knob. The farther you turn the knob to the right, the hotter the coil gets. All the way to the left turns it off.” He gestured at a pile of parts on his workbench. “I am making a second one so that we can have one for our room in Buckmore Cottage and one for our room in Ellonahshinel. I actually finished this first one about a month ago, but we wanted to continue testing it to make sure it was not about to overheat and set something on fire or explode.”
“There were a few explosions in the prototypes.” Lance set aside his tools and pushed his goggles onto his forehead. “But Farrendel’s idea of stone dampeners were the key to making a power cell with his magic truly work.”
“Your idea?” Essie glanced from Lance to Farrendel. She couldn’t imagine Farrendel wanting anything to do with stone.
“Oh, yes. Turns out Farrendel has a knack for magical engineering. Did you know he can weld with his magic? Definitely comes in handy for some of the finicky projects, and his magical welds are incredibly strong.” Lance grinned, waving from the heating device to the magical power cells. “Really, it is a shame we can’t actually sell his power cells for broader use. Just think of what could be powered with his magic. There is so much potential.”
Farrendel frowned, studying Lance.
Essie patted Farrendel’s arm. “Yes, but it is discouraged for Escarlish royalty to own and run businesses. And the liabilities if one of the power cells did malfunction and explode wouldn’t be good for the public image.”
“Well, yes, that. But also he is not a certified magical engineer, and you have to have a certification to sell magically engineered devices.” Lance shrugged, then gestured at the heating device on Farrendel’s workbench. “If you’re concerned about public image, then it would probably be best if you only used that for personal use. It is safe, but even the safest devices can sometimes have problems. The Escarlish press would be all over it if King Averett were injured from a device powered by elf magic and in part created by someone not certified in magical engineering.”
“Right.” Essie frowned. She hadn’t thought of that. “Though, if you would be willing to list Farrendel as an apprentice, that would help, even if it put you in more hot water. You are certified as a master magician and magical engineer yourself.”
“True, true. And, with all the testing we did on this device, I’m sure it’s safe. There isn’t that much mechanics to it that could go wrong.” Lance heaved a sigh. “It is just such a shame that we cannot put Farrendel’s magic to more use. Enough power to fuel all of Escarland, and we can’t use even a bit of it.”
“The Escarlish magicians would be thankful, if they knew. They would be rather annoyed if Farrendel single-handedly put all of them out of business.” Essie leaned closer to Farrendel. He had a strange look on his face as he stared at the heating device. She wrapped her hand around his arm. “Besides, elves are not given to the Escarlish drive to accumulate massive amounts of wealth. Isn’t that right, Farrendel?”
When Farrendel didn’t react, Essie nudged him. “Farrendel?”
He started and glanced up, his gaze flicking between the device and Essie before settling on Lance. “What would I need to do to obtain a certification?”
“You would need to get a degree in magical engineering, then pass the certification test.” Lance leaned against his workbench, his expression more focused than Essie was used to seeing. “I went to Hanford University. I was the youngest magical engineer in Escarland. That was how I met Prince Edmund. A few of our classes overlapped, and he thought I could be of use to the Escarlish army.”
“And I eventually met Lance through Edmund.” Essie shrugged. “I took a couple of classes at the university, though I never got a specific degree.”
“I got my magical engineering degree with a dual emphasis in engineering and magic so I am a master engineer and a master magician, even though I don’t have magic myself.” Lance was nodding, still studying Farrendel. “I didn’t think to mention a degree before, not when we were just experimenting with your magic. But now that I’ve seen its potential...I think you could do great things with your magic, and a magical engineering degree would make it possible. I’m not sure how it would work with you being an elf rather than a human magician. The professors would probably have to come up with a special track just for you.”
“Would a degree be something you would be interested in?” Essie turned to Farrendel. Until seeing how at home he was in Lance’s workshop, she hadn’t realized how serious he was about melding his magic with Escarlish mechanics. “You could, you know. If we’re going to split our time between Tarenhiel and Escarland, we can plan our schedule around you taking classes. The professors might even be willing to set up some of your classes as correspondence courses where you could do the work while in Tarenhiel.”
“Do you think they would?” Farrendel placed his hand on her back, then withdrew, as if he wasn’t sure what to do. “Could I even enroll at an Escarlish university?”
“You’re a prince of the elves. If you apply, they would fall over themselves to enroll you. It would be a feather in their cap to have foreign royalty studying with them.” Essie clasped Farrendel’s hand. “Why don’t you think it over? You don’t have to make a decision today. Take the time to figure out if this is the dream you want, and if you decide that it is, then I will support you wholeheartedly, all right?”
“Thanks, my shynafir.” Farrendel leaned over to kiss her temple.
When Farrendel had talked about splitting time between Tarenhiel and Escarland, this was not what Essie had imagined. But if Farrendel wanted to try his hand at taking university classes, then she wasn’t going to stand in his way.
Even if he took a few classes and realized he didn’t like it, he could always drop out. It would not look that great for the public image, but that would be only a minor scandal. It would be worth it even then. Essie wanted to encourage him to be willing to try things. Even if he failed. Even if he found out he didn’t like it. Trying things and taking risks was a part of truly living.
Essie spent the rest of the afternoon, curled up in one of the wooden chairs, alternating between jotting down dreams about the future and watching Farrendel as he perched cross-legged on the table and fiddled with his latest project. He seemed so happy, smiling and laughing and occasionally shouting over at Lance to request one tool or another.
Watching it, Essie found herself adding other dreams and ideas to her paper than she had been expecting. Not just additional rooms on the floor of the forest for her family to visit, but also a workshop for Farrendel where he could tinker without worrying about blowing up a section of Ellonahshinel.
