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These noises, though.

Now that Xander had this new context in mind, the humming and thrumming of the Golden Hour suddenly seemed very different to him. So this was how it sounded when it was excited?

Heh. Wow.

He slid his hand across the curved glass. With a clear intent in mind, that motion was actually a request for the Hour to open up the bottom chamber for him.

And the Hour did so immediately. No sluggishness. No fuss. Just instant acceptance as the thick glass morphed into itself, creating a seamless hole that was large enough for him to climb through.

He only reached in to grab the socket mount, however, then prompted the Hour to shut itself up again.

But this time, it did not listen to him.

More, it was telling him. More materials. More creation. The Fury is thriving.

And we must compete.

Xander felt the whole chamber reverberate around him, this time with a bit more oomph.

"Alright, relax," he said, not so worried about sounding soothing, anymore. "You're kinda blindsiding me here, y'know that?" He took his hand off the glass.

And it apparently didn't like that, because the chamber truly shook this time, making the shelves rattle in the corner of the room and dust trickle down from the ceiling.

Okay. Well.

He had to admit: that was a little scary.

Even with how slow, reluctant, or otherwise difficult the Golden Hour had always been, Xander had never had special cause to fear it. Sure, it could still be dangerous if he ever got sloppy, but that was how all Forges were. On the whole, this one felt much safer to use.

But perhaps not anymore.

He was abruptly recalling that Hamenszoon had died while crafting his last masterpiece.

Died while using this very Forge, in other words.

Of course, the exact reason for his death had been lost to history, so there was certainly a chance that it wasn't the Golden Hour's fault at all--or that it was even Hamenszoon's own doing. He certainly wasn't the only great mind to have perished in such a way.

Still.

Xander felt like maybe he should stop and reevaluate things for a moment. This was good news overall, of course, but maybe--

The room shook again, even stronger now.

Okay, message received. Xander was scrambling around the room. Not a problem. Definitely not a problem. He had plenty of projects lined up from over the years.

Plenty of pacifiers for this ancient baby.

Maybe it wasn't that much like an old man, after all.

Taking a day

New page tomorrow at noon. Thanks for reading, everybody.

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The Fury?

Xander had heard the term before, but only rarely. He had to stop and think back. He closed his eyes to help him concentrate. The information was there. He could feel it. But it was buried deep in the recesses of his mental storage.

He needed a couple minutes. Thankfully, the Hour was not prodding him further, despite him maintaining contact with it. He could still sense its enthusiasm, though. Waiting on him, but not patiently.

Ah.

Yes, there it was.

An ancient name for brilliant inventors. Invoked in certain texts pondering the accomplishments of famed but mysterious integrators throughout history. "The Groundworks of Skapa" by Hamish Harundel. "The Agrian Paradoxes" by Dina Crondite. "The Spaghetti that was Karugetti" by Daniella del Otoya.

There were others, too, but that last one made him pause. He kinda wanted to scrub it from his memory just because the title was so obnoxious.

But as he recalled, the information within it was actually quite solid. Daniella and her brother, Roberto, had been quite famous in their own right, despite their eccentricities.

Still, the subject at hand. The Fury.

It actually referred to more than just a brilliant person, didn't it? It was used in specific regard to a hypothetical 'leading source of inspiration' around the world. Someone whose existence and great works spurred on other, like-minded creators.

A rising tide that lifted all ships.

Hmm.

And such a person had been reborn? According to the Hour, at least. Given the very tangible results that he was already witnessing, Xander found it difficult to doubt the Forge's credibility.

And it was furthermore known to him that Forges were sometimes able to communicate with one another. He'd researched the subject quite a bit in the past, but he'd never been able to uncover any conclusive answers. Only theories.

Some believed that all Forges were able to tap into some kind of grand, hidden network. Or that they might even be, in truth, one interconnected entity.

For his part, Xander doubted it was as simple as that, especially after spending so much time studying the Golden Hour. He was fairly confident that the Hour not only knew about other Forges but actively disliked some of them. Or maybe all of them.

Which was perhaps another aspect of the "old man" in it. The Hour didn't much care for all these youngsters trying to communicate with it.