damaged or needed
more thaumston, and set both to the capital time. You see, when he went away, he would send the message according to the time in the capital.”
The Prince’s mouth hung open for a moment. Qiro had made his passion for the dual
clocks apparent, but whatever it would allow him to do was nothing compared to this other
device described. If the Prince could instantaneously converse with others far away, such
as military commanders in the field, he would be able to coordinate defenses and stop an
invasion quickly.
“Does this device work?”
“The clocks work perfectly, Highness.”
“No, no, the communication device. Does it work?”
Jesbor shook his head. “My son has not perfected it. He is, even now, traveling and
working on it. I think he understood some of the message I tried to send him, for his last
wished your Highness the joy of the Festival.”
“That’s very nice of him, but if he is out somewhere, what is his dual clock doing here?”
The tinker smiled. “Oh, well, Highness, Borosan tired of hauling that big chest around, so
he just made a smaller one, more accurate. Fits in a pouch. He’s clever, my son.”
Too clever to be out wherever he is. The Prince looked at Qiro. “The dual clock helps you how?” Cyron held a hand up and forced himself to think. “Wait, wait. If you are away from
the capital, and you look at these clocks at noon where you are, you see the difference in
time. That difference in time you translate into miles.”
Qiro clapped his hands delightedly, but the tightness around his eyes suggested a bit of
displeasure. “Yes, Highness, you have it perfectly. With this device we can accurately
chart the oceans. We can venture into places where no one has gone before.”
He turned back to the map and laid his hand against the blank expanse of ocean. “Untold
treasures lie here, I am certain, and they will be ours. I need your permission, Highness, to
outfit the Stormwolf with this dual clock and launch it as soon as possible. With the data we recover, our ships will be able to go everywhere. We can colonize new lands, discover
new plants, animals, and treasures. Our nation will become even greater than it already is,
and you, Highness, will have the means to reunite the Principalities into the Empire and
rightfully sit on the Throne of Heaven.”
Chapter Five
36th day, Month of the Bat, Year of the Dog
9th Year of Imperial Prince Cyron’s Court
162nd Year of the Komyr Dynasty
736th year since the Cataclysm
Anturasikun, Moriande
Nalenyr
Keles fought to keep the surprise from his face and watched as his brother failed to do the
same. Keles had long understood the problem with determining longitude. While a variety
of clocks, from sundials and marked candles to water clocks and spring-wound clocks, did
allow timekeeping, none was precise enough to allow for the measurements a grand
survey required. Qiro had experimented for years with a variety of clocks, and though
Keles and Jorim had carried and religiously tended to them, upon their return to the capital
the time differential had been deemed unacceptable.
What surprised Keles was his grandfather embracing a device created by
a gyanridin . Gyanri was so recent a development, and one best understood outside Nalenyr, that local prejudice had dismissed it. Moreover, Qiro had pointed out that
while gyanri might create devices that gave skills to the unskilled, it would only work with crude, unintellectual tasks. In keeping with the common wisdom, he had declared it the
height of laziness to rely on devices for what training would provide. He had repeatedly
sent away people who came to him with devices that would copy maps automatically, or
could take readings of the sun and stars.
Yet now he champions this device. The dual clock did seem the answer to countless
prayers, but his grandfather’s shift in opinion was so abrupt that it almost seemed the man
had lost his mind. In
more thaumston, and set both to the capital time. You see, when he went away, he would send the message according to the time in the capital.”
The Prince’s mouth hung open for a moment. Qiro had made his passion for the dual
clocks apparent, but whatever it would allow him to do was nothing compared to this other
device described. If the Prince could instantaneously converse with others far away, such
as military commanders in the field, he would be able to coordinate defenses and stop an
invasion quickly.
“Does this device work?”
“The clocks work perfectly, Highness.”
“No, no, the communication device. Does it work?”
Jesbor shook his head. “My son has not perfected it. He is, even now, traveling and
working on it. I think he understood some of the message I tried to send him, for his last
wished your Highness the joy of the Festival.”
“That’s very nice of him, but if he is out somewhere, what is his dual clock doing here?”
The tinker smiled. “Oh, well, Highness, Borosan tired of hauling that big chest around, so
he just made a smaller one, more accurate. Fits in a pouch. He’s clever, my son.”
Too clever to be out wherever he is. The Prince looked at Qiro. “The dual clock helps you how?” Cyron held a hand up and forced himself to think. “Wait, wait. If you are away from
the capital, and you look at these clocks at noon where you are, you see the difference in
time. That difference in time you translate into miles.”
Qiro clapped his hands delightedly, but the tightness around his eyes suggested a bit of
displeasure. “Yes, Highness, you have it perfectly. With this device we can accurately
chart the oceans. We can venture into places where no one has gone before.”
He turned back to the map and laid his hand against the blank expanse of ocean. “Untold
treasures lie here, I am certain, and they will be ours. I need your permission, Highness, to
outfit the Stormwolf with this dual clock and launch it as soon as possible. With the data we recover, our ships will be able to go everywhere. We can colonize new lands, discover
new plants, animals, and treasures. Our nation will become even greater than it already is,
and you, Highness, will have the means to reunite the Principalities into the Empire and
rightfully sit on the Throne of Heaven.”
Chapter Five
36th day, Month of the Bat, Year of the Dog
9th Year of Imperial Prince Cyron’s Court
162nd Year of the Komyr Dynasty
736th year since the Cataclysm
Anturasikun, Moriande
Nalenyr
Keles fought to keep the surprise from his face and watched as his brother failed to do the
same. Keles had long understood the problem with determining longitude. While a variety
of clocks, from sundials and marked candles to water clocks and spring-wound clocks, did
allow timekeeping, none was precise enough to allow for the measurements a grand
survey required. Qiro had experimented for years with a variety of clocks, and though
Keles and Jorim had carried and religiously tended to them, upon their return to the capital
the time differential had been deemed unacceptable.
What surprised Keles was his grandfather embracing a device created by
a gyanridin . Gyanri was so recent a development, and one best understood outside Nalenyr, that local prejudice had dismissed it. Moreover, Qiro had pointed out that
while gyanri might create devices that gave skills to the unskilled, it would only work with crude, unintellectual tasks. In keeping with the common wisdom, he had declared it the
height of laziness to rely on devices for what training would provide. He had repeatedly
sent away people who came to him with devices that would copy maps automatically, or
could take readings of the sun and stars.
Yet now he champions this device. The dual clock did seem the answer to countless
prayers, but his grandfather’s shift in opinion was so abrupt that it almost seemed the man
had lost his mind. In
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