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Hector would have liked to ask Zeff directly, but he didn’t think shouting through the water would work, so he just motioned with one hand for Zeff to stop and hoped the man would take his meaning.

Zeff seemed to.

Hector relayed his question to Garovel.

‘Hector would like to know how you’re able to hold this water in place.’

Zeff annihilated the water around Hector’s head so that the young lord could hear him. “I am applying a counter-force technique,” he said.

‘Are you talking about a velocity state?’ said Garovel.

“No, but that is the first step. I apply an upward velocity to my creation, which counters the downward effect of gravity.”

“I’ve tried doing that,” said Hector. “It never works, because gravity is a constant force, and I can only apply velocity once.”

“You are correct,” said Zeff. “That is what makes this technique more difficult. The key is to think in layers. Yes, you can only apply a velocity state once per creation, so the solution is to break your work up into many creations. Layers.”

Hector’s brow rose. “Oh...”

“With each layer, you apply a slightly stronger velocity state, because each new layer must not only counteract gravity but also support the layer on top of it, which has begun to be affected by gravity.”

Hector had very nearly forgotten to keep listening, having felt for a moment as if Zeff had just handed his brain a light bulb. Layers! Of course!

As excited as the idea’s potential made him, however, he did have concerns. “That sounds insanely hard. You’d have to constantly be applying higher and higher velocity states, or it’d completely fall apart, wouldn’t it?”

Zeff gave an affirming nod. “Applying a counter-force like this for an extended period of time is a good way of measuring a materializer’s overall skill level. Even the most powerful servants in the world will eventually have difficulty creating high enough velocity states to keep their work perfectly still.”

“I see...”