"To imbue materials with magic."
Bathed in the sunlight filtering through, Garrett stared at the page of notes, scratching his head.
There was a flicker of inspiration in his mind, but it felt as if something was blocking it, like a thin membrane he couldn't quite break through.
It was like when you're just about to remember something, and the moment you turn around, it slips your mind entirely. That feeling was unbearable.
He understood, but only just a little.
"Truth is not something that can be understood by just glancing at it."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
Saruman.
"You seem to lack manners. That is my personal property."
He snatched the page from Garrett's hand and slapped it down on the table.
"It is indeed difficult to comprehend."
Garrett had to admit that much.
"Heh."
Saruman let out a cold chuckle and said, "Wisdom is not something everyone can possess. Forcing yourself to gaze at things beyond your comprehension will only harm your spirit. I suggest you go downstairs and read some storybooks instead. That may broaden your horizons."
"Maybe you're right," Garrett shrugged. "Then what brilliant insight do you have regarding the research on this table?"
"There's nothing for us to discuss. That is not something you should be involved with."
Saruman sat down without ceremony, picking up a small lens from the table to examine the ore before him.
"If you have no further questions, then please leave. As you can see, I'm quite busy."
Garrett ignored the veiled insults. At this moment, his attention was entirely caught by the item in Saruman's hand.
"What is that you're holding?"
"I have no obligation to tell you."
"What a pity. I was hoping to share a secret potion with someone..."
"It's just a small tool for material research," Saruman said, raising his head. "With this lens, you can observe the textures of metals and other substances more clearly. It helps in understanding their essence."
"May I take a look?"
"Certainly."
Garrett took the lens.
It felt somewhat familiar, though he wasn't sure why. He raised it and looked at Saruman through it, all he saw was a gloomy, weathered face.
He quickly shifted his gaze and turned to look at a nearby glass of water, especially focusing on the liquid within, then studied the faint reflection of the room cast by the weak light and thought about water's dual nature, soft yet strong.
A spark of understanding bloomed in his mind.
[Water, soft enough to curl around a finger, strong enough to shatter mountains and rocks.
This elemental trait exists within water, and in all things that contain water. It is the source of life.]
A fragment of knowledge about "Water" drifted into his mind and was absorbed.
A notification appeared:
[Gained Knowledge Point: Water Element 1]
Several new items appeared in the crafting menu.
Clack.
He placed the small lens back on the table.
"Did you discover anything?"
"I sensed the wisdom of 'Water,'" Garrett said with a faint smile.
Brute pretending to be wise, Saruman sneered inwardly.
"Here, this is for you."
Garrett tossed over a bottle of night vision potion. "Your tower is too dark. This should help you see more clearly."
"A potion that lets you see through the darkness and discern outlines?"
Saruman took it, examined it briefly, and casually set it aside. The effect wasn't particularly rare, he could achieve the same through other means, but the potion did contain some magical elements, making it somewhat valuable for study.
Barely acceptable as a consultation fee.
"Then I'll accept it. Thank you for your generosity."
There was no change in reputation value.
Garrett didn't care about that small detail.
Waving goodbye, he left Saruman's laboratory, feeling slightly excited.
Elements!
That was the very symbol of the arcane.
A new mod had been unlocked!
Thaumcraft!
Wasting no time at all, the very next morning he mounted his horse, gave a brief word to his attendant, and set off.
He rode straight back to Wayfort.
---
That day, life went on as usual for the residents, farmers worked the fields, miners rode in their carts feeling the hum of the engines, and groups of anglers lined the riverbank, rods in hand, waiting in anticipation. Meanwhile, clusters of townspeople stood around an empty plot of land, discussing what kind of house they should build there.
Everything was progressing normally.
Until Garrett showed up on a patch of land outside the walls, carrying an inventory full of building materials.
There, on the empty ground, he laid out a massive circular foundation using stones, and began building upward from the edge of that circle.
Just like that, the massive foundation of a tower was born.
Yes, a tower.
A colossal fortress-tower whose diameter, from a bird's-eye view, was several times wider than the keep itself.
Sauron had Barad-dûr, Saruman had Orthanc. Both were fortress-like towers, majestic and practical.
Garrett hadn't really thought much about it before.
But now... well, with Thaumcraft, how could you practice magic without a wizard's tower?
He wanted a tower of his own.
And thus began a grand construction project.
For the next month, whenever residents had a spare moment, they would climb the walls to watch the massive structure by the lakeside growing taller day by day.
"By the Valar..."
Most of them had never seen Garrett personally build anything before.
They had thought that with their lord's magical support, even a group of three to five people could build a tall, large, and beautiful house in a few days, and that was already incredibly fast.
But to their surprise, there was someone even more capable, the source of that great magic himself: Garrett, Lord of Wayfort. Once he took action, he alone was worth more than everyone in the territory combined.
Just after a night's sleep, or even a brief errand, if you weren't paying attention, the massive, solid tower base would visibly grow several levels taller, as if it were rising by itself.
"That grey tower, which hadn't even existed at the start of this season, has now grown from a simple foundation into a towering structure that pierces the clouds, leaving travelers to gaze upward in awe, unable to see its peak."
A resident picked up pen and paper to record the event.
"And all of it was the work of our lord alone. Not even the most skilled builders in town attempted to help with this."
"Now we finally understand how Wayfort was built, back when this land was still a desolate wasteland, it must have been a feat so grand, it would have made the neighboring settlements gape in astonishment."
"-Written in the autumn of the year 2942."
The falling leaves carried news.
The territory remained peaceful that year, with no major events, aside from the sudden appearance of a fortress-like tower.
When Wayfort's merchant caravans departed, loaded with local specialties and cartloads of fine wine, the tower was still only a foundation.
By the time they returned from a long journey across the region, the tower's summit had already been completed.
The autumn wind blew with a hint of chill.
Atop the tower, Garrett stretched out his arms, breathing in deeply as he looked down at the tiny world below, and at the clouds brushing against his side.
What a satisfying, intensive building session!
Now that the structure was done, it was time to get down to the real work.
Whoosh.
The next moment, he leaped off the tower, deployed his elytra, and began gliding downward in slow spirals until he reached the staircase at the tower's base.
On a patch of grass nearby, Wormi, who was nibbling on some turf, noticed its master landing and came running over with a fluttering gait, rubbing its head against Garrett's leg.
Its eyes sparkled with longing for the sky.
He patted its draconic head and looked at the bare patch of grass nearby in silence.
"...You really need to stop eating that stuff."