Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 896 - 895: Palamere Observatory

Magic Static Stratum... Turbulent Layer...

Gawain is not particularly proficient in these concepts, but they are not unfamiliar to him.

More than a thousand years ago, scholars of the Gondor Empire attempted to understand the sky above their heads and summarized a wealth of valuable knowledge. In this world dominated by magic, scholars comprehensively considered the magic environment and atmospheric physical structure to stratify the atmosphere. Without resorting to overly specialized and detailed methods of division, the atmosphere was roughly divided from the bottom to top into the following structures: Magic Static Stratum, Turbulent Layer, the theoretical Steady-State Limit Layer, and the hypothesized outer space.

The Magic Static Stratum is the area of the planet where almost all living things survive and can be contacted. It extends upward from the ground to about 13,000 meters high. In this region, the magic environment is stable, and the atmospheric motion is relatively orderly. Whether it is the mortal realm or the wild birds and beasts of nature, all are immersed in this cradle of gentle magic, where the magical civilization of mortals thrives, and birds soar freely in the sky.

From the Magic Static Stratum upward, the planet begins to reveal another scene—the magic environment in the air suddenly becomes harsh, with magic readings spiking sharply, turning this area into a "land of energy abundance." However, this rich energy is constantly turbulent, with pervasive magic storms making the Turbulent Layer extremely dangerous. No mortal can survive and extract magic from this boiling sea of energy—nor can any ordinary birds fly at this altitude. It’s said that only a few powerful monsters and legendary dragons can soar within the Turbulent Layer but cannot stay long.

The Turbulent Layer was the highest point that the Mages of the former Gondor Empire could directly observe and "touch" through technical means, and further up... was the Steady-State Limit Layer that only existed in scholars’ theories.

Scholars of the ancient empire believed that the entire planet was "soaked" in the high-energy environment of the universe. The interaction between the planet’s magnetic field and magic formed some kind of "protection," and this protective force formed a compressed "thin shell" at the top of the atmosphere, clashing fiercely with the various forces in outer space, forming a relentless and fierce storm. It represents the limit of magic that mortals can understand and master, the frontier of the planet’s order. Although the Steady-State Limit Layer might be thin, even the legendary dragons find it difficult to challenge this barrier.

As for what lies beyond the Steady-State Limit Layer in the vast "outer space"... even the incredibly advanced scholars of the ancient Gondor Empire could only rely on imagination.

These inherited pieces of knowledge surfaced in Gawain’s mind, and he couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

Even after so many years have passed, even after he had accustomed himself to life here, the peculiar rules of this world continued to remind him time and time again—this is not planet Earth, this is not planet Earth...

"Your Majesty, we will solve the Turbulent Layer puzzle one day," Kamel misunderstood Gawain’s sigh and immediately stepped forward, saying, "The Magic Web and anti-gravity mechanisms have more potential than we imagined. Scholars from the Gondor era faced the limits of flesh and the energy supply problem of the Well of Deep Blue when confronted with the Turbulent Layer, but Magic Guide Technology is often extremely effective in solving such problems..."

"No, that’s not why I’m sighing," Gawain knew the other had misunderstood and shook his head, yet couldn’t find a way to explain. After a moment’s thought, he slowly said, "I’m just feeling... during the Gondor era we used to know so much..."

"Indeed... we used to be so glorious... but everything vanished with the chaotic wave," hearing Gawain’s lament, Kamel couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholic, "Now time has changed, many pieces of knowledge have become fragmented and scattered across the world... but fortunately, we have successfully gathered some of them and strived to make certain developments. At least... I can now explain to students at school what planets and orbits are every week eight, these pieces of knowledge that were once common in Gondor Empire have finally returned to people’s ears."

Hearing Kamel’s words, Gawain immediately raised an eyebrow: "I know that Santis invited you to give lectures at the school—how’s it going?"

"Outside the laboratory, I often frighten ordinary people—last week a gray elf lady even jumped out of the window when she saw me walking into the classroom," Kamel spoke with a slight smile in his words, "But overall things are going smoothly. Students at the Imperial Academy are more inquisitive than I imagined, when facing knowledge... they are full of curiosity."

"Curiosity... that’s the most precious trait of humans," Gawain said with a smile, "As long as there are people with such curiosity, we will always move forward."

....

Curiosity, it’s the most precious trait of humans.

The sun gradually set below the horizon, and a line of dim yellow mixed with dark red came spreading over the distant hills, covering the entire Palamere Highlands, where the camp had already lit up. The bright Magic crystal lamps were brighter than any candle from the old era—it illuminated the entire camp at dusk, extending all the way from the nearby sentry post to shine upon Morgan Hugo’s desk.

This white-haired, thin old man slowly brushed his fingers over the papers spread on the desk, his lips moving silently. Beside him, a dozen sheets of draft paper and a dozen quills floated in the air, continuously performing various complex calculations and records, with light blue magic symbols flowing between the paper and desk, the sound of writing softly resonating in the room.

Then, this busy calculation work came to a pause, the draft paper and quills orderly landed on the two wide desks beside, and Morgan Hugo looked up, gazing towards the direction within the depths of the camp.

Night was gradually falling, and in the lamp-lit camp, one could see the construction site piled with numerous materials and partially built facilities—a particularly large building frame stood at the center of all the facilities. Its cylindrical body had a completed base and floor parts, while the steel framework above the second floor stood silently amid the spreading night, illuminated by bright construction lights casting rays on the jagged steel skeleton, showing many still-moving silhouettes and moving construction machinery—builders were still bustling, busy adding flesh and blood to this giant skeleton.

After watching for a while, Morgan Hugo couldn’t help but curve his lips, wrinkles gathering into a happy smile.

Magic Guide Technology... truly a wonderful thing.

In the past, it was much harder to erect such a large-scale building in such a short time—even with mages personally involved, mages who often need breaks would probably struggle to compete with those tireless and immensely powerful machines.

"Master," a voice came from behind, interrupting the old Mage’s thoughts, "the materials you requested, I’ve brought them."

Morgan turned back and saw a middle-aged Mage, who served as his apprentice and assistant, standing at the door, with many organized scrolls floating in front of him.

"Put them on the second shelf to the left, and don’t mess up anything else," Morgan instructed casually, "Also, take the blueprints on the right desk and give them to Mr. Fisher at the camp."

"Yes, Mentor." The middle-aged Mage responded immediately and began to busy himself according to the instructions.

"What a wonderful place..." Morgan withdrew his gaze from the apprentice and looked out at the night sky. As the first star gradually appeared, this Master Astrologer from St. Soniel couldn’t help but sigh softly, "The sky is far clearer than St. Soniel... Alas, over hundreds of years, the sky of the Old Capital has changed. It’s not as suitable for star-gazing as it originally was. Abandoning that place and starting anew seems to have been the right decision."

By this time, the middle-aged Mage had already arranged the materials as the mentor had required. Hearing Morgan’s words, he couldn’t help but say, "But... this place is too close to Typhon. It’s said that there was a conflict in the Palamere Highlands before. Isn’t it a bit unsafe here?"

Morgan Hugo immediately frowned and glanced at the apprentice: "Has your curiosity and spirit for exploration not given you the slightest bit of courage?"

The middle-aged Mage became tense immediately: "I... I didn’t mean that..."

"Never mind, I understand you," after a scolding, Morgan let out a humph, his tone no longer so harsh, "I know you are worried about this old man... but I’m not as useless as you might think."

As he spoke, the elderly Mage couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh: "Indeed, this place is very close to the border, and our relations with Typhon have been tense, but this is the best location in the entire southeastern region, there’s no helping it.

"Magic envelops the entire planet, and the elementals in the atmosphere are driven by magic, producing a ’polarized lens effect’ that interferes with our view as Observers, making those natural ’windows’ for observing stars all the more precious. No matter how advanced the magic techniques or observation equipment are, they can only be effective under the right ’window,’ and according to my calculations... this is the most suitable window here.

"Of course, there are also good windows over at White Sand Lake and the Frosthall Hills, and Observatories will be established there in the future, but..."

At this point, Morgan suddenly smiled, his face glowing with youthful radiance: "As the finest Stargazer in this country, of course, I have to stand in the best Observatory!"

The white-haired old Mage spoke with full pride and confidence, which might sound somewhat brash and arrogant to the uninformed, but the middle-aged Mage, his apprentice, was long used to it—he knew his mentor’s temperament; when faced with his domain of expertise, especially matters related to the "stars," this normally composed and respectable old Mage would become like this.

"According to the current progress, the lens group of the main Observatory can start installation before the end of this month," feeling the mentor’s elevated mood, the middle-aged Mage also relaxed, recalling the news he heard during the day, and said with a smile, "I heard that the first batch of enchanted crystals has completed rough grinding at the crystal casting factory in Gran, and will soon be sent by Magic-guided Train to Tamdor for fine grinding and Rune Stone engraving. The No. 1 power spine of the Observatory was also assembled yesterday, and it seems to be undergoing... oh, pressure testing, and is said to be sent from Kant’s factory next week."

Listening to the good news brought by the apprentice, a smile first appeared on Morgan’s face, followed by a touch of emotion in the smile. The wrinkles on the old Mage’s face relaxed as he suddenly said softly: "Gondor era..."

The middle-aged Mage didn’t catch it for a moment: "What did you say?"

"Do you remember the Observatory tower in St. Soniel?"

"Ah, of course, I remember," the middle-aged Mage nodded immediately, then showed a slightly regretful expression, "Unfortunately... when the City Shield collapsed, the magic surged inward, and the runes and magic pool of the entire tower melted down..."

"Yes, that old fellow served for far too long... it should have rested many years ago. Yet at that time, every one of us only treated those worn-out Rune Stones as treasures," Morgan sighed, "Master Kamel said something to me when persuading me to leave St. Soniel. He said that in the Magic Era, I would see not just stars in the sky... Now I understand what he meant."

The apprentice only looked over here, puzzled.

Obviously, he hadn’t understood yet.

But soon, the apprentice remembered another thing and said happily: "Right, Mentor, there’s more good news to tell you."

"Oh?" Morgan raised an eyebrow, "What news?"

"There’s definite news that an additional phase of funding will be given to the Palamere Observatory—to speed up the main construction’s progress and to install more advanced equipment," the apprentice said with a smile on his face, "It’s said to be a command from the emperor himself..."

"A command from the emperor himself..." Morgan froze for a moment, then a slight smile slowly appeared, "Good news, good news indeed..."