Ever since that day, there had been little to no incident regarding whether or not Gor was the right candidate for the position he held. Neither had anyone questioned his authority whenever he gave an order. Since most of the Princesses' guards had been relieved of their posts and reassigned, Gor was left with only Henry and Vince as members of the Princess's guard. Gor had been urged to fill the vacant posts but had refused anyone recommended to fill them, causing more grunting and gossip among the candidates. When asked why, Gor had stated that, just as the Princess was required to choose someone she trusted as her personal guard, it was also important for him to pick those he trusted to be part of the Princess's guard. The Queen had agreed with his statement and had left everything up to Gor. Now, Gor had succeeded in creating more enemies than allies in the short period he had been in the palace.
As Gor walked on, ignoring all the stares, he finally arrived at the place he had been asked to go.
An enormous building stood in the west wing of the palace, close to the armory. Gor entered the building, receiving bows and stares as most people recognized the golden jacket he wore and the insignia of the high guard rank boldly embroidered on its back—a gift from his mother.
He finally arrived at his destination, a small office, and knocked on the door.
A young woman with glasses opened the door and looked at Gor.
"High Guard Kindel," the young woman said and quickly opened the door.
Gor entered inside and clicked his tongue in annoyance once his feet hit a pile of books upon entering.
"I can see you are busy," Gor said.
"Yes," the young lady replied.
Kin turned to a man standing in front of a board covered with various drawings and formulas, staring at him. This man was Colonel Dargard, or Master Dargard as most called him—a renowned inventor.
Taking his eyes off the board for a moment, Master Dargard stared at Gor.
"Ah, young Kindel," the Master said.
"Master Dargard," Kin replied with a bow.
Master Dargard was an old man with mostly white hair and a wrinkled face. But despite his age, the old man still had a youthful vigor and was very active. In fact, he was Omi's chief scientist and inventor.
"What brings you here this lovely evening?" Master Dargard asked.
"The Princess asked me to check on your progress concerning the project she assigned to you," Gor replied.
"Ah, the flying carriage, or the Grand Dragon as I like to call it," Master Dargard said, pointing to the drawing he had on the board.
"I must say, I'm impressed with the Princess's idea, and her initial designs were also helpful. With the previous designs of the smaller ones used by the Primis Investigators, designing something this big wasn't much of a challenge, but we will need to do some testing," Master Dargard continued.
"Do you want to see the Grand Dragon?" Master Dargard asked, his eyes shining.
"No, not really," Gor replied.
"Nonsense," Master Dargard said. "Why say no to the chance of witnessing the great beauty of invention? This is the first of its kind. No one has ever designed something as big as this. With what we've built here, I can't even begin to imagine what people will be doing in the near future. Humans launching into the skies is nothing short of glorious and amazing."
"Come, young Kindel," Master Dargard insisted, dragging Gor and his assistant out of the room.
They moved to the place where the Grand Dragon was designed, and although Gor had seen it numerous times before, he still marveled at the sight of the huge machinery in front of him. It looked like an abnormally massive bird.
Master Dargard noticed Gor's admiration and spoke.
"That is months and months of sleepless nights, breakdowns, and breakthroughs… Sixteen thousand brown crystals to maintain a steady weight, nine thousand indinia crystals to counteract gravitational forces and ensure stable flight, and the unique red crystals we used to power the propulsion systems. These provide a high-energy output, harnessed through a series of crystal lattice converters that generate a steady flow of kinetic energy. We even incorporated two rare white crystals in the construction of an external energy shield to protect it from environmental stresses, like high-speed winds or potential magical interference.
The real ingenuity lies in the machine's aerodynamic design. The wings are reinforced with a composite framework of lightweight metal alloys and crystal fibers, designed to reduce drag while maximizing lift through a unique crystalline laminar flow pattern. This allows the Grand Dragon to remain airborne even in turbulent conditions. The engine itself is a hybrid model, drawing power from both the crystal energy core and a series of pulse thrusters, which are distributed along the wings to provide fine control during flight, ensuring precision in maneuverability.
Trust me, son, we spared no resources to make sure the Grand Dragon was built to perfection. But the real reason why this beauty stands, and will fly, is nothing more than pure genius in the way we've integrated these technologies. The propulsion system is a fusion of ancient knowledge and modern engineering, capable of harnessing the energy of the crystals in a way that no one has dared to attempt before."
Gor knew the Master was a talkative man, especially whenever designs and inventions were being discussed. He could continue blabbing till the end of time.
Gor ignored the Master and asked his assistant, "Is it really ready to fly?"
"We are still in the final testing stages," the assistant replied. "But everything should be in place in a few weeks…"
"Oh, that's great," Gor replied.
Suddenly, his vision changed. He found himself on the roof of a building in who-knows-where, and in front of him, Thia stood there, staring at him. It was a quick and sharp vision that came and went almost as soon as it appeared, causing Gor to stumble a bit.
"Are you alright?" the assistant suddenly asked.
"I'm fine," Gor replied, though his mind was far from it.
That's someone I don't really want to see again, Gor thought.