Sky Grimoire

Another week had passed. 

The novelty of being Baron Nighthawk had worn off. Replaced by the usual grind of expanding influence and power. 

Spark wasted no time utilizing his new business privilege. He marched into the Gutlark Town branch of the Royal Trade Commission. His towering figure made the clerks behind the counter visibly straighten their spines.

He presented his credentials. His Baron's seal heavy in his hand. 

"Baron Spark Nighthawk." He stated his name. His voice was a low rumble that managed to sound both friendly and intimidating. "I'm here to formally register my chosen business privilege."

The lead commission agent, a thin, balding man known as Mr. Finn, scurried forward, bowing low. "Baron Nighthawk! A pleasure! We have been awaiting your arrival. Your grant allows for one specific trade field, correct?"

"Correct." Spark confirmed. His dark-grey eyes watching the man carefully. Trust was a weakness he couldn't afford. Everyone had an angle. "My specific privileged field would be rune-based objects. For manufacture and trade."

Mr. Finn blinked. "Er... rune-based objects, Sir? Most nobles opt for staples like grain, lumber, or textiles."

"I am not most nobles." Spark replied easily. A wide, amiable smile splitting his face. Showing just a hint of teeth. It wasn't a threat. Not overtly. But the implication hung heavy in the air. 

Master Finn swallowed and nodded rapidly.

"Of course, Baron. Rune-based objects it is. And the boon options you selected were..."

"Enhanced copyright protection and reduced trade tax."

Mr. Finn blinked again. "Enhanced copyright protection and reduced trade tax?"

"Up to twenty five percent enhanced royalty on any rune-based product derived from my registered designs." Spark elaborated. Leaning slightly on the counter. "And a reduction of twenty-five percent on all trade taxes for any rune-based objects I directly trade. It should be within the limit, shouldn't it?"

Finn jotted furiously. "Twenty-five percent... Yes, Baron. They are within the limit. Are you planning to license your designs?"

"That was the plan." Spark said offhandedly. 

Licensing was a way to make money without doing all the work himself. His mind possessed an encyclopedia of rune knowledge. And plenty of ideas inspired from his past life. 

Both were knowledge that would be cutting-edge. Even in this magic-infused world. He could churn out plenty of revolutionary rune object designs. 

"For now, register the privilege. Ensure the paperwork is flawless. Mistakes will not be... appreciated." The smile tightened just a fraction.

"Flawless, Baron! Absolutely flawless!" Finn assured him. Sweating slightly.

The process was completed swiftly after that. Spark left the Trade Commission office. The afternoon sun was warm on his tanned skin. 

He felt a quiet satisfaction. Rune-based technology was the future, or at least a future. He was positioning himself at the forefront. Legally securing his advantage using the Kingdom's own rules. 

It was efficient. It was ruthless in its own way. And it cost him nothing but a formality.

Back at his rapidly expanding Gutlark Town estate, the news had arrived. His sky ship was complete.

He gathered his women. Lilith, sharp and watchful; Ivy, focused and ready; Melody, elegant and devoted; Serenade, calm and wise; and Scarlett, eager and radiating suppressed intensity. 

They stood before him. His private retinues. Bound by the Slave Grimoire to him.

"The sky ship is ready. We leave for the shipyard immediately." Spark instructed. "There is a final preparation I must undertake. This must not be interrupted." 

He looked at each of them in turn. His gaze lingering just long enough to convey his expectation. "You will secure the perimeter. No one comes in. No one leaves."

"Yes, Master!" They replied in unison. Their voices were a chorus of readiness.

They moved quickly. Leaving the estate. To the shipyard.

The shipyard was on the eastern edge of the town. The north side of Gutlark's harbor. It was a massive complex of scaffolding, cranes, and the skeletal frames of new vessels. 

The section where his sky ship was being built was walled off. Guarded by mercenaries with no loyalties beyond the coin he paid them. But bound by runic contracts designed to ensure their silence and compliance. 

He approached the main gate. The guards were snapping to attention. They recognized him. They knew not to delay him.

He walked in. Inside, a completed Sky Sloop was hovering a few meters above ground. It wasn't the largest ship in the yard. And it was clearly built for speed and maneuverability. 

Its hull was sleek. Crafted from polished, storm-resistant ironwood. Overlaid with plates of glowing, lightweight alloy Spark had sourced himself. 

Modified sky crystals hummed softly beneath its keel. The dark blue sails on its strong masts were still furled. Its figurehead was a beautifully carved brass angel. The ship was excellent. In both design and functionality.

Spark walked directly to the foreman. A burly, scarred man named Torgan. "Torgan. The Sky Grimoire is complete?"

"Aye, Baron." Torgan replied. Wiping his hands on a rag. "Finished this morning. It wasn't the biggest. But best bloody ship we've ever built, if I do say so myself. Fast, sturdy, and those lift-crystals... never seen anything like it. Quiet as a cloud."

"Excellent!" Spark said. His friendly smile was back on. "I require the yard cleared. Entirely. Every soul. For the next several hours. Hazard protocol."

Torgan bristled slightly. "Cleared? Baron, we've got other—"

Spark's smile didn't waver, but his eyes went cold. The air around him seemed to drop several degrees. "Every. Soul." 

His voice was still low. But the underlying steel was unmistakable. The easy-going facade dropped for a microsecond. Revealing the ruthless core. 

Torgan, a veteran of dealing with powerful, unpredictable people, saw it immediately. He nodded rapidly.

"Aye, Baron. Cleared it is. Everyone out!" He bellowed orders. And the dozens of workers, shipwrights, alchemists, and engineers began filing out. Grumbling but complying.

As the last worker shuffled through the gate, Spark gestured to his women. "Secure it."

Lilith moved with silent grace to the main gate. Her hand was resting near a hidden throwing knife. 

Ivy began spreading a fine, almost invisible dust around the perimeter. A simple but effective alarm system. Laced with minor debilitating agents for anyone who crossed it unwanted. 

Melody and Serenade positioned themselves. Their magic crests were ready to channel their magical energy. Their posture was radiating calm, impenetrable defense. 

Scarlett, eyes alight with anticipation, had casted her [Spirit Form] magic. Turning into a silent, terrifying ghost guardian. One whose 'companions', the gu insects, could strike anytime. Anywhere within the site.

Spark waited until the shipyard was utterly empty. Save for himself and his loyal, bound retinue. 

He stood before the sky sloop. The ship he named... Sky Grimoire. Admiring its lines. A magnificent piece of engineering. But still just an object. He needed it to be more. He needed it to be his. Truly his. Integrated with his very being. Controllable with a thought.

He first took the sky-ship-type gearcore from his Spatial Belt. And then, he drew a deep breath. Connecting with the core of his Technomind ability. 

Opening his palm upward, a blazing Black Flame Vortex appeared. Spark immediately placed the gearcore and his mental blueprint inside the vortex.

Afterward, he stretched his hands toward the sky ship. A point of intense, shimmering darkness began to grow from the black vortex. Swirling outwards. 

The vortex expanded. Crackling with suppressed power.

"Come on!" Spark murmured. Not to the ship. Or his aides. But to the vortex. To the power within him.

He raised his hands towards the ship. The Black Flame Vortex pulsed violently. A hungry shadow entity seemed to reach out. A strange, high-pitched sound filled the air as the vortex's influence expanded. Washing over the Sky Grimoire.

The ship began to vibrate. Not from its lift-crystals. But from a deeper, more fundamental level. 

Sections of its hull started to warp. The polished wood grain twisting. The metal alloys rippling like liquid. The ship wasn't being destroyed. It was being deconstructed at a fundamental level. 

Its essence. Its materials. Its magical components. Its very structure. All of them were pulled apart and drawn into the vortex.

The process was mesmerizing. And strangely silent despite the immense power at play. The sound intensified. A sound that seemed to resonate in the bones. 

The ship... piece by piece... dissolved into the swirling darkness. Collapsing inwards like a dying star. Its sails. Its rigging. Its engines. Its cabins... Every single component, large or small, was pulled into the vortex around the waiting gearcore.

Hours passed. The sky ship had completely disappeared. The Black Flame Vortex remained. Intense and consuming. Shrinking only slightly as it processed the immense amount of material and information it had absorbed. 

Spark stood before it. Unmoving. His mind was linked directly to the process. Guiding the integration. Imposing his mental blueprint of the final Technomind Gear onto the raw input.

He felt the ship's design being dissected. Understood. And then rebuilt within the framework of his power. 

The lift-crystals' energy matrix. The atmospheric engines' propulsion runes. The hull's structural integrity... All were being analyzed and adapted. 

He was taking a masterpiece of physical engineering. And transforming it into a masterpiece of personal, summon-able power.

The sun had dipped low. Casting long shadows across the empty shipyard.

Finally, the vortex began to contract rapidly. It spiraled inwards. The intense darkness condensing. Compressing the absorbed energy and material into a single small object.

With a final, silent pulse, the vortex vanished. Where the massive Sky Grimoire had floated before, there was now nothing but empty air.

Spark held out his hand. In his palm rested a small object. It was his new Technomind Gear. In its carriable form. 

A small leather book. With a flying sloop engraved in the cover. Pulsing with faint, internal light. Warm to the touch. And felt impossibly dense with potential.

He closed his fingers around it. Just by holding it, he felt the connection. He knew the ship. Knew its structure. Its capabilities. Its every little detail. It wasn't just a ship anymore. It was a part of him.

He willed it into full form.

With a soft hum, the air before him distorted. Ripples spread outwards. And in an instant, the space was filled. The flying sloop, Sky Grimoire materialized. Solid and silent. Floating exactly where it had been before. 

It looked the same. Yet it felt different. More... alive. More responsive. Its hull gleamed. The runes etched into its surface now seemed to subtly pulse with a faint energy.

He retracted it just as easily. The ship shimmered and vanished. Leaving the Sky Ship Grimoire once again pulsing in his hand.

Spark smiled. A wide, genuine smile born of power and accomplishment. This was true control. No dock fees. No crew concerns for security tasks. No vulnerability while it sat moored. It was his. Absolute and total.