Sorrow Shadows || TEIS Fanfiction.

The Start Of Divergencia Del Canon

In the daytime, I would usually find myself all by my lonesome in a cabin. This cabin was scented with the trees' aroma. He had built this from scratch with timber that he himself has chopped.

In most of this, I wasn't really of much help, but as I learned this interesting way to construct which he has titled the [Two-by-Four] construction method I gradually helped out and did most of the finishing work myself.

Despite the overall simplicity, I really liked this place. The scent of the trees probably has a lot to do with my liking to staying here.

Anyhow, while in the daytime I'm all by myself, when the moon shines its brightest, he pays me a visit. I looked forward to his arrival every time.

During the day, I'd train in magic and swordsmanship, foraged for mountain vegetables, and hunted small animals with traps. At night, he would spoil me with a lot of random delicacies that he could sneak out, but most of the time, it'd be bread and meat to which I would cook.

While the two of us would simply be sharing a meal, he'd bring up all kinds of stories from time to time. If I recall, one of those was something about steam? What was it that he said...

"Steam has the power to move a huge amount of iron. Now that may sound surprising, but think about it." He suddenly said one day while eating the stew I made.

I stared at the steam rising from the stew for a while, and like he said, I found it surprising and hard to believe that such weak stream could achieve something like moving chunks of iron. Was there truly such great power in it? Those were the thoughts that filled my mind.

"Haha, you seem to be deep in thought about this. You see, steam is basically pressurised water vapour that's used for heating or cooking." He said with an unusual smile you wouldn't really expect from such an authoritative figure like him.

Each said stories like this always turned out to be fact. That the world was not flat but spherical. It was not the sun revolving around our world, but the world revolving around the sun. I initially rejected these notions, but in the end, his words were proven right.

"If we can use it correctly, there is actually a way to accomplish such a feat of moving large mechanical objects. Figuratively, steam really just means internal energy for progress or motive power." He continued, though he never really fully explained how. As though leaving me to think about it and theorise. Honing my intellectual capabilities.

"..though If what you say is true, I wonder how to draw out such power?" I ask out loud while pondering any possible answers to my own question.

He stayed silent for a while, seemingly considering what to say and not to say while heartily eating the stew I made for him. He seemed to like it, thankfully.

"Hmm, well, heating water turns it into steam. And that generates the base for such great power. Let's see... I guess some form of hint would be like... Pistons and Turbines, I believe?" Saying that, he smiled meaningfully. While hard to notice, I could sense a playful tone in what he said earlier.

He never divulged everything, only giving hints, as if teasing to make me think.

"That alone isn't enough to understand!" I call out to him. He chuckles a bit in response, his smile warm enough to perhaps produce said steam.

This was harder than usual. I was already planning to start researching Steam tomorrow, but with only this meagre hint, it would take far too long to arrive at the answer.

As if noticing my inner turmoil at something like this, he proceeded to speak up. "With the power of said steam, you can drive vehicles made of iron, huge ones too. Like perhaps some land vehicles and ships made of iron."