A WEEK AFTER AESAKAL'S DEFEAT…SOMEWHERE IN UNKNOWN TERRITORY
Above the skies, a terrible Thunderstorm raged. At the centre of the storm was an overconcentration of lightning. The true nature of the storm was concealed by the terrifying lightning storms that raged all around it. The evil concealed within the storm lamented.
"My power is weakening. I feel the air becoming more and more stable. So one of us…the four great malevolent storms has met his demise. Most likely, the one to have met his demise is Aesakal since his power to destabilize the air is the strongest amongst us four. That would imply that…the Seven Masters of Jo-lan and the phoenix brats are closer now than they have ever been…" the evil thought.
IN THE CONTINENT OF STORMS
The climate was rapidly losing much of its chill and was gradually becoming warmer.
"Things should be back to normal soon" the Masters assured the citizens of the continent.
"This land has always been a cold one though never as cold as it was until recently" the chief said.
"We survived mainly on fishing and hunting but we never thought this land could support crops until recently" a certain citizen of the continent said.
"So what's going to happen once we leave? You won't be able to grow crops anymore you know?" Jason asked curiously.
"They probably won't be able to grow crops by depending on Jo-lan abilities however…what we achieved here can probably be replicated through engineering and a little bit of architecture using knowledge gained from agriculture" Buern said.
The chief nodded.
"That is true" he said.
"We'll probably still need the help of the blacksmiths so I suppose we'll be entering into some agreements with the king of Gaeia. The continent of Gaeia is also renowned for its rich mineral deposits so we'll need to purchase certain metals from them. I intend to scale up the efforts we've made so far" the chief said.
"The continents of Vung and Avalon could help you with seeds" Estelle offered.
"Thank you for your offer young lady" the chief said gratefully.
"In terms of agricultural knowledge, it would be best to inquire from the continent of Vung. In terms of architecture, Gaiea is superior. They could probably replicate the domes but if you need knowledge in engineering, nothing beats Avalon" Master Fencer said.
The chief listened attentively.
"So you're basically saying we need the strength of these three continents if we are to replicate the process of creating the domes that sustain the plants? That is an interesting suggestion. I'll take it to heart" the chief said.
For the following week, the chief sent letters to the kings of the continents of Vung, Gaeia and Avalon. Estelle verified the chief's words with a letter to her father, the king of Avalon. Jason sent a letter to the chief of his village as well who would in turn verify the chief of the continent of Storms' letter to the king of Vung.
Since the climate of the continent of Storms was becoming warmer than it was during Aesakal's rampages, the people gradually began to come out of the caves and return to their villages.
Then a week later, replies started coming in from the kings of the three continents. They all felt that the request of the chief of the continent of Storms would benefit their lands as well by boosting trade within their own continents. Their replies were positive which made the chief of the continent of Storms as well as the Masters, Students and Jo-lan happy.
Then two weeks later, experts started coming in from the three continents. Many ships bearing the insignias and crests of their respective continents began to flood the harbour of the continent of Storms. The Masters, Students, Jo-lan and the citizens of the continent of Storms were at the harbour to welcome them. For a day or two, there was a continuous exchange of pleasantries.
Then three days later, they began to get to work. Jo-lan and the Masters explained to the experts what they had achieved during Aesakal's rampage and demonstrated to the experts how the domes and pipes worked. The engineers began to get their own ideas about how they felt this could be achieved through engineering.
"First things first. We need to think up a power source for the vents that supply the warm air to the domes" the engineers suggested.
"Taking the name of this continent into consideration as well as the climate here, I suppose storms are a frequent occurrence here. I suppose we could take advantage of that and utilize a power source that is centred on the use of the wind. In Avalon, we utilize windmills ourselves" one of the engineers suggested.
"What are you going to do about the warm air?" Josec asked.
"Leave that to us and worry about explaining in precise terms how this contraption you came up with works" the engineers said.
Josec nodded.
"Okay, utilizing my domes, I regulated the amount of air that came into the domes. Whenever we needed to pass warm air into the domes, I ensured that the domes were airtight and when they became too warm or the air became thin, I created pores on the domes to allow fresh air into the domes" Josec explained.
"This is quite similar to the greenhouses we've began to utilize in the continent of Vung. The concept is practically the same" a botanist from the continent of Vung said.
"Those were made to shield the plants from bad weather. You intend to achieve that here by regulating the temperature within the domes as well. I suppose if we used a double layered glass or other material, a rigid inner layer of glass or other material with the pores and a retractable outer layer of glass or other material with the ability to keep out the cold, we could achieve what you did" the engineer said. "I guess we have our basic concept down, now it's time to get to work" he said.
For the following month the experts worked on setting up the windmills, the source of power for the contraption they had in mind. Then they began to work on setting up the domes. They created a double layered dome. The inner dome was made of a transparent but durable material which had openings all over it. The outer dome was made of the same material but had no openings. It was also made to be retractable utilizing the energy from the windmills.
Vents were constructed from the interior of the dome to the exterior of the dome. These vents utilized the power of the windmills to pass warm air from outside the dome into the dome while simultaneously dumping the cold air within the dome outside. For the most part, the pores of the dome were not very necessary since the temperature within the domes could be regulated via the vents. However, periodically, when the air within the domes became thin, the pores would be used to let in fresh air.
The openings however were not only necessary for controlling the air and temperature. They were also needed to allow snow into the domes. Then when the heat generated by the vents filled the domes and the snow melted, the ground became moist thus there wasn't really much need for watering the plants within the dome. Just by allowing in snow and letting it melt through the warmth, the ground was almost always moist and when the domes were shut, there was increased humidity.
The experts had finally succeeded in achieving their goal. Next the farmers and botanists got to work cultivating the plants while the engineers and other experts scaled up their efforts to set up the domes. Their efforts had a positive impact on the climate allowing other plants within the continent which were resistant to the harsh climate there take root and flourish.
While the experts and the people of the continent of Storms were busy with their exploits, the Masters, Students and Jo-lan began to make plans to resume their journey to hunt down the remaining generals of Souryu.