"No, I think it would be fine if you just moved the power source to a more central location on the ship." Chronos said.
"That's difficult to do. I won't say what we're using for power, but it is quite heavy and despite being airborne if the weight of the ship is unbalanced, we'll fall out of the sky. Just like how a sea-borne ship has the risk of being overturned if there is too much weight on the upper decks. We have to maintain some level of balance to keep flying." Magnus said.
Chronos could think of several spatial magics that could solve this problem. Things like [Hidden Chamber] an intermediate grade utility skill or [Planar Wall] another intermediate grade skill but for defense.
Actually, most of the skills that could solve this problem were intermediate grade but there were a few basic grade ones that could at least help out. Especially if they were a little creative with how they used them.
"I must admit I'm impressed and you're right I do want one. But how much does it cost?" Chronos said.
Magnus showed a pained expression as he remembered how much he had paid.
"Just the power core alone costs as much as a crucible castle. Once you add in the materials for the ship, construction costs, and the arcane crossbows and ballista's the total comes out to around three crucible castles for one ship."
"That much!?" Chronos asked in shock.
Nodding he said, "I used up nearly all of my savings and had to take out a loan with the kingdom before I could afford the Skyward Vanguard."
That was way too much for Chronos to afford but maybe there would be another path to acquire one for his clan.
"What sort of loans are available?" Chronos asked.
Magnus's eyes narrowed as a salesman's smile appeared on his face.
"Well in my case I have to use the Skyward Vanguard in defense of the nation for 50 years unless I can make enough money to pay it off sooner. If you were to make a deal with the kingdom you would need to serve the kingdom for at least 150 years if not longer and already have a great reputation to get that deal.
You are bound to the nation, but it is the cheapest option available. You could take a loan from the merchant's guild too, but their interest rates are horrid, and they would probably force you to run supplies between their various guilds until you pay it off."
That wouldn't work, merchants were known for being blackhearted and ruthless when loans were involved. And he couldn't sit still long enough to serve the kingdom for decades.
"You could also form a group to pool your money for one but that means you would have to wait for years to receive it. If none of these options work for you then the only option left is to work on the design teams and build a prototype. If you do well enough you might be allowed to keep it, especially if you can provide something that no one else can.
Even if you do amass enough money to buy one, whether or not the king will approve selling one is a different matter." Magnus explained.
Forming a group wouldn't work either. The only one of them that knew enough people to form a group was Gregory and while Chronos trusted Gregory he couldn't trust the people he would bring.
The last option seemed to be the only one he could work on himself, and his understanding of space would bring great benefits to a new design. Now he just needed to find a way to get on the design teams.
After considering all of this he wondered if his clan already had one of these ships.
"Do you know if my family has already ordered an aerial warship or not?" Chronos asked Magnus.
"Your father ordered one 5 years ago, I believe it's scheduled for delivery this year. The king gave him a cheaper price for all of the work your family has done for the nation over the years." Magnus replied.
So, he didn't need one for his family, that meant he could build a smaller, more personal vessel.
The Skyward Vanguard was almost 100 meters long, 30 meters wide, and 50 meters tall making it one of the largest warships on the ocean or in the air.
The two escorting ships were nearly half that size, placing them firmly amongst the larger ocean-going battleships.
Such immense ships were obviously for troop transport rather than actual combat and didn't really suit a small group like Chronos's.
"If I ever get the chance to design my own ship, I would prefer a fast-moving yacht over a warship. Oh, and add some arcane crossbow's and maybe a main enchanted weapon on the front or fused with the ship. I have so many ideas I want to test." While Chronos was lost in his thoughts Magnus had changed direction to building the crucible castles.
"Where can we start building the first castle? Is there anything we need to be aware of or special traits of this land we need to know about?"
Seeing that Chronos was too distracted to answer, Gregory stepped in.
"Here, we have identified three possible locations to build castles, but the storm stopped us from sending a whisper bird to Commander Stan. The first location is on the hill near the grove, it's tall enough to keep an army at bay and if the castle is built right, we can make assaulting it an uphill battle.
The second location is south of here between a couple of rivers we thought would make a good moat. And the third location is to the north along the edge of a lake; the fish and environment is suitable for growing crops but even then, you won't get much food from it.
Overall food will need to be imported from Dracon Fen or other places if we want to keep the castles stocked at all times.
As for special traits of the land, I suppose it would be that the wasteland doesn't have a stable weather pattern. The left-over magic and damage done to the land in the depths of the wasteland cause all sorts of storms and changes in temperature all of the time." As Gregory explained Chronos came back from his daydreams of travelling around the world on a luxury yacht.
"Will the random weather cause problems for the crucible castle?" Chronos asked.
"Yes, our methods use the power of the land to cast battlefield wide magic so a land that constantly changes will pose a particular challenge for us. It's going to be an interesting build." Magnus said with an eager smile.
"That's right, the Leybound Crucible Knights are experts in magical construction. Maybe they can help me with my other training." Chronos thought.
"Hey Magnus, can one of your men help me learn how to do enchanting? I've been wanting to learn for a while now, but I haven't found anyone with the time or experience to teach me." Chronos asked.
Magnus stared at him in shock.
"The little wolf who was only interested in learning how to beat people up in the past is trying to learn something else now! Gregory, did I miss the twin moons colliding?"
"No, you didn't, being on a journey relaxes him. Now he's started learning about things that catch his interest." Gregory replied.
"Hm, then I'll have one of the crucible enchanters teach you about enchanting. We can't teach you about our unique methods, but basic and intermediate enchanting shouldn't be a problem." Magnus said.
"Yes!" Chronos fist bumped the air.
He had been looking for someone to teach him and now he would have one of the best teachers in the nation. He was looking forward to the lessons.
"Chris, come to the landing ramp." Magnus said into a small circular object on his shoulder.
Chronos had heard that certain knight orders had their own methods of communicating but this was the first time he had seen one. It looked like a runic stone suspended by a wire in a circle of metal.
Leading them back to the landing ramp they found the vice-commander of the crucible knights waiting for them.
She was a black-haired woman who was six and a half feet tall and carried herself with military discipline. The armor she was wearing looked similar to the other knights, but the chest plate was thicker and there were small vents on the back just like Magnus's armor.
Chronos didn't know what the vents were for but knowing the crucible knights they had to serve some purpose. More importantly, this woman's scent was the same as Magnus's.
"Chris, I need the engineer corps to look at a large hill we're planning to build a castle on; it's marked here." He pointed at a location on the map. "Also have old Tobias teach Chronos about enchanting."