After all the places I had been to and the life I had tasted there, the large and densely populated Omasu could be called a beacon and a city of opportunity. The abundance of ordinary people struck me as soon as I set foot inside: well-dressed, well-fed, contented, I found it difficult to find enough adjectives to describe the people here, compared to the village folk. There seemed to be at least as many soldiers as there were residents, at least at the gates — they stood with their weapons, listening to their captains, while others were on the walls or patrolling the city.
The houses here were magnificent! Large and really sturdy, it was immediately apparent that they had been created by magicians, forming a single, solid structure: the houses here resembled a single monolith, and the wall or support of one house could be home to a whole bunch of people, although this made everything very confusing and reminiscent of a human anthill. If it weren't for the technology of the fire people, the local magicians could have surpassed all other peoples in the strength of their buildings, once again proving the superiority of their diverse element.
"Did they really give this place up without a fight?" I whispered quietly, remembering the canonical events. King Boomi gave up such a fortress, I don't remember the reasons, but it looks crazy! At least now, when there were so many civilians in the city: they densely populated the marketplaces, made noise in the upper districts of the city and tried to get along somehow, as I understood, because of me there was a so-called influx. Many safe routes were freed up, along which those who wanted to secure themselves rushed. A reasonable question arose: what was the situation with poverty and real estate? There was something in the canon about ways to combat social stratification, but again, I didn't remember anything.
In any case, the lives I had saved begged for the guilt that was awakening in the depths of my heart when I realised how many brutal monsters I had let go just to keep my oath. I let them go to become strong — a strange correlation, but magicians are unusual beings whose source of power is impossible to understand!
"Mages are strange, but they still need to eat," my stomach growled, and looking in my wallet, I saw only a few coins of the people of the earth. There was hardly an exchange office here, and the gold of the people of fire would most likely not be accepted, even though I had not collected much of it so as not to burden myself. Wandering among the rows of food, trying to block the noise of the local market with my hands over my ears, I realised that I would have to find work. I didn't know how long I would have to stay here, but I could learn a lot about magic from the locals.
"Choose:
1 - Join the army (Life according to the rules and strict regulations. You will join the ranks of the soldiers of the land and have the opportunity to develop the basics of combat magic, strength training and daily drills will make you stronger. You may be forced to kill a person on orders. Your movement will be strictly limited. Omasu transports soldiers to various points on the continent, and there is a chance of ending up in Ba Sing Se).
2 - Focus on transformation (The city is home to many mage architects whose art will allow you to deepen your skills. You will deepen your understanding of the basics of transformation and learn to change matter more quickly).
Surprisingly, there are very few options. For example, I saw many more possibilities, including the option to become famous and use the knowledge from the library to my advantage! But apparently Anubis was indirectly indicating that not only would none of this work, but I would simply die. Either because of various intrigues and factions that are bound to exist here, or something else. In any case, I am forbidden from joining the army, as it would be a direct violation of my so-called peaceful stance. When I met Afka's gaze as she was pushing me, an idea came to mind on how to combine business with pleasure.
"Find a place where they use abrasive," I gave her a hint as to where she might find it — after all, I had read a lot about this material and knew in which industries it was used — and soon I was following her wiggling tail. She made me go deep into the lower floors of the city, a place where much less sunlight penetrated, and instead of the sky, there were the foundations of various buildings. A whole separate branch of the local delivery system led to the room where Afka took me:
Cargo and parcels were delivered through large nozzles that rose high above. Magic and the laws of gravity. I hoped that they weren't delivering anything fragile, because as I descended, I saw huge "trolleys" crashing into the walls at high speed, coming to a halt and then continuing on their way. Living next to them was probably unpleasant too, as the noise of the rolling vans could wake anyone up. But for the place we had come to, that was probably nothing, because they were learning to make strong and indestructible things!
Bang* Thud* Bang* Thud*
Entering the smithy, I saw men naked to the waist and pumped up, with stern looks on their faces, hammering metal, cutting wood or working with precious stones. The smell of sweat made Afka's face wrinkle; it was very hot, but because of where I grew up, it was easy to get used to such conditions. These people were true masters of stonework, their art was the transformation of matter, which is how they earned their living!
"Who is that?" I hadn't had time to find the person using the material I needed when a giant loomed over me... or rather, a two-metre-tall hulk whose muscles looked strange, to say the least, against the backdrop of his single apron. Even stranger was the colour of his skin, which was literally coal black, but I couldn't bring myself to call him black. There was something strange about his skin colour.
I raised my head and met his gaze. The giant had something in common with me, and that was a frightening look. Considering how he was looming over me, I got the impression that he would try to crush me at the first opportunity.
Taking off my headdress, I nodded.
"I am an earth mage. I would like to learn the art of crafting in this place.
"I see," I said, and without saying another word, he turned his back on me, losing all interest. It was strange; I didn't understand why he had approached me in the first place. However, another man came to replace him, a bearded man in an apron and arm guards, who had overheard the conversation and was now staring at me intently. Wiping the coal dust from his hands and coming closer, he smiled.
"Don't pay any attention to Cricket, he takes our orders. Are you new here? Looking for work?" He met my gaze calmly.
"A part-time job... temporary.
"Oh, really! People are trying to settle down in our town, find a long-term job, and you're just passing through? - I heard discontent in his voice, he furrowed his brow and began to stare at me. The atmosphere seemed downright threatening, but without a hint of fear, I didn't even raise an eyebrow. Keeping my eyes on the magician, I finally saw a smirk appear on his face. "You'll do. We usually send the cowards to shovel shit in the sewers. Figuratively speaking.
He smiled slyly, and a wave of laughter swept through the smithy. I never understood whether he was joking or not, but I understood that the men respected the steadfast character inherent in their element, and perhaps they needed just a little push, or the teachings of a guru, to open their first chakra. At the same time, the man patted me on the back with his hand, which was slightly cleaned of coal.
"My name is Koal, I'm in charge of the smithy. We work with wood here and make various parts for the factorio. To get you settled in, we need to fill out some paperwork. It won't take long," he said, waving me away and striding off to his office. It wasn't a place of wealth, just spartan working conditions. The only difference was that the chair was made of wood instead of stone, so you wouldn't get haemorrhoids.
He asked me about my home and my name, and after a short list of questions, he asked what I could do. The answer was simple: nothing except skilfully control my element and disperse small stones.
"Disperse, you say... - Koal narrowed his eyes," - Not every earth mage can boast such speed. Let's see what you can do, maybe you'll come in handy, otherwise I was thinking of keeping you as an assistant and paying you pennies for cleaning coal soot.
"But can't mages clean dust with a single movement?" I asked, embarrassed. Any dust, especially coal dust, should be blown away with a wave of the hand.
"Tell that to our coal," the man smiled and nodded towards the black man. He exchanged glances with Afka, who was sitting on some kind of stand. Slowly pulling her hand towards him, he stroked her behind the ear." "The guy somehow made himself armour out of coal and pressed it so tightly against his body that it stuck to him and wouldn't come off. So don't mess with coal.
Now it was clear why his skin colour was so... contrasting? I felt sorry for the man, he looked kind, and then he had the misfortune of having that look.
"I wanted to ask you something," he finally remembered why he had come and caught Koala's attention.
***
A crowd of people gathered around a small workbench from which sparks flew and strong sources of light emanated. Squinting and shielding their eyes, they all stared intently at the discs spinning at tremendous speed, which slowly but very evenly cut steel plates and processed them. A real miracle was taking place before their eyes.
"How does this guy spin the abrasive discs so fast? Just look at all the sparks flying!
"I usually push them in pairs with someone else for grinding. It's impossible to do it any faster. And this guy is working with both hands, but he's controlling four at once! It's crazy.
I was standing there with goggles protecting my eyes from metal particles. A peculiar smell hit my nose, and I had a smile on my face — I had finally got my hands on the ill-fated material. The abrasive discs that they had learned to make in this place were, in fact, nothing more than crushed quartz. Sand made from this material was sharp and very hard, suitable for any difficult work. When sharpened, it could be used to cut off pieces of metal.
It was also easy to use, the abrasive wheels were as light as possible, accelerated well, and there was only one problem with such a fast pace of work. The abrasive wore out very quickly.
"Is it just me, or has he already met his quota?" whispered the workers behind my back. But as soon as I turned around, everyone fell silent and looked at me as if I were a hero. Even the coal, standing behind everyone's backs, towering over them by a whole head, stood with his eyes wide open, holding my Afka in his hands.
"I'm not sure I'm doing everything right... can anyone tell me how to optimise my work?
The guys looked at each other.
"Well, there are a couple of things you're not doing quite right.
***
Advanced chapters:
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