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Imperator-Zor — Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Sixty Three
#darkelf #darkelves #electricity #fantasy #industrialrevolution #infrastructure #lamp #lecture #lesson #lightbulb #sciencefiction #blackboard
Published: 2023-02-24 07:12:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 2780; Favourites: 4; Downloads: 0
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Description
In general the years after the Escort War for Jailys zi'Valcas had been busy. Long days and nights working on dozens of projects involving electrical expertise; from studying Coldlander equipment, working on prototypes, setting up new factories and workshops, electrification of the complex and translating documentation. Despite that, she pushed through partially; because she enjoyed her work and partially because of a prospect once distant and remote but increasingly within sight. In 43 IA a marriage was arranged between her and Fharien ti'Valcas, a distant descendant of one of Lady Talnara's uncles and a reasonable clerk. It came with a massive dowry which included the ownership of a home within the walls of the city, a few domestic slaves and the service of several body-guards. The next year she had a daughter, which was enough for the foundation of a new Minor House. Within her first century, she'd gone from an orphaned gutter rat to an indentured worker before emerging as Familiarch of House Zhonjath. She still owed fealty to House Valcas, but the rights and privileges of her new station were most definitely appreciated.
On a cold winter morning thirty five Drow youths filed into a makeshift lecture hall. They took to their seats and readied paper and quill in anticipation, before them was a curtain that was pulled back to reveal Jailys, well dressed and poised by her table. From a corner her assistant Beilaith announced "Students I present to your teacher for the day Mistress Jailys ti'Zhonjath*!" before slinking off. Jailys question the theatrics of it, but it was tradition and ultimately a minor issue.
She took in the crowd and smirked. "Interesting..." she said "...these are the ones that her esteemed Ladyship has sent me this year. I see some who's reports had shown considerable potential and had my recommendation and others...with another disposition. I don't know what criteria her Ladyship and her esteemed progeny make their selections, but I know they have their reasons." Mostly these were political. The majority of this lot were the sons and daughters of other Valcas vassals, along with a few wards and a couple of children of middling houses sworn to an major ally. "But regardless, the powers-that-be have instructed me and my department to instruct you in the mysteries of this."
In a quick motion she scooped up an electric light and flipped it on. She did not have the carefully constructed poise of the highborn and some of her students did find her efforts to be quaint, but the point was made.
"The marvels of Electricity. You've seen the new lights, experienced a few novel contrivances and maybe have even heard a radio. But make no mistake, this is but a sampling of what can be done with electrical power. Greater marvel are being drafted, built and tested in our workshops as we speak and marvels greater still lie in the future. A bright future that will be shaped by your will, if you pay attention to both your lessons and to what you're doing. Last year there were thirteen electrical fatalities, four of them Dark Elves. It's like a fire spell, if you don't handle it right it can easily burn. Electric machinery may be key to defeating The Eternal Foe, but to do that House Valcas and Valnothron need skilled masters of the electric arts. We don't need the charred remains of damn fools who fry themselves on live wires stinking up up the workshop." That got a nervous laugh. "So I implore you to be attentive in your studies in the wonderful world of the Electric."
"To begin with, we'll start with the most simple of electric mechanism: the Circuit." With that, she ran through the basic principles, using a few props for demonstration and explaining concepts such as conductivity and resistance along the way. In general the class paid attention and most were enthusiastic, though she noticed that there were a few resentful. Most likely those who fancied themselves warriors upset that they had to learn a useful trade, even when the Navy had an increasing demand for electricians as much as industry.
For the most part, these lectures were handled by Beiliath and a few other trusted subordinates. Even so, she liked to carry out the first one herself. It would be another four years at least before this lot was up to snuff and another three years of apprenticeship after that until they'd be fit to operate on their own. This was leaving aside those which needed to be up to date on the theoretical side which also involved Coldlander language lessons. More still for some of the more specialized fields that were cropping up. Even with another 120 or so ahead of them in the primary electrical training and there were still a chronic shortage of skilled masters of electricity. Despite the suggestions of some, there was no general way to accelerate the training process without reducing quality. They could just expand the intake of new students to hopefully keep up with future demand.
In classrooms like this and in workshops, manufactories, shipyards, warships and mines a new class of Dark Elves was rising. One which would shake their society as much as the machines they tended. A fact that Jailys might have seen coming if she was not constantly swamped with work.
*Drow naming conventions stipulate that a ward or a houseless individual vassal sworn to an establish House adopt the last name of the house with the "zi" prefix (which means "associated with") instead of the "ti" (which means "a part of"), prefix used by full members of the House either by Birth, Marriage or Adoption.
