"Imperial Artifice" By Vigilance99 (https://pastebin.com/u/Vigilance99) URL: https://pastebin.com/MZJ3VZT8 Created on: Friday 1st of March 2019 12:25:37 AM CDT Retrieved on: Sunday 25 of October 2020 10:10:32 AM UTC Imperial Artifice: -Stoves: The Empire has stoves and ovens that burn without fuel, instead sorcery causes an imperishable flame to emerge at the bottom of the stove, or to radiate waves of heat. -Refrigeration: The Empire has large ice boxes that use similiar magic to the above, only self-refililng itself with ice or radiating waves of cold. These are usually large boxes opened from the top or side, or entire small rooms. -Heating/Cooling: Imperial households use similiar sorceries to those above to heat or cool rooms in a fashion similiar to modern air conditioning and central heating. Similiar principles of insulation are used to maximize the effectiveness of this. -Lighting: Various forms of magical lighting ranging from glowing crystals to glowing letters fill the Empire, all referred to as 'Magelights'. These Magelights do not require an external power source and never cease to function unless damaged. -Plumbing: This is an entirely mundane discipline, even in the Empire, though it is worth mentioning they possess it. Imperial homes have sinks, toilets, and so on. -Laundering/Dishwashing/Cleaning: There is a certain substance in the Empire that functions similiarly to a magnet or sponge except it seperates an object from loose 'contaminates'. These 'Cleansing Stones' are used for various cleaning purposes, usually in the form of a small pool or basin filled with them as well as clothes, dishes, or whatever else requires them. -Medicine: All diseases and injuries in the Empire are handled through sorcery. Simple ailments are often completely alleviated instantly, more complicated injuries or illnesses require more complex combinations of sorcery and surgery. There are also a variety of elixers and potions for curing minor ails. -Logistics: The Storage Gem is the masterwork of Imperial practical enchantments. Like the less common 'Bags of Holding' of later eras the Gems create an interdimensional storage space. Unlike such bags however, objects within a Gem do not touch, interact, or change temperature. -Weaponry: The Ice Bow creates a potentially infinite source of ammunition. As supply lines are one of the most crucial components of ancient warfare, the ice bow [along with the storage gem, and mithril] allowed the armies of the Empire to overwhelm more mundane forces who had to move food, water, clothing and arrows across the land the normal way. -Metalurgy: Extremely common in the Empire, rare almost everywhere else and buried in snow in later eras, Mithril was the magical metal upon which most of the Empire's works were built. As strong as steel, but slightly lighter, the metals true worth was its ageless nature. Mithril will never rust, corrode, decay, or break down, and is easily enchanted for greater durability, a resistance to chipping, bending, or breaking, all while being extremely easy to work. In the Old Empire mithril is as common as lesser metals in later eras and is used for most weapons and armor, as well as many tools. -Architecture: Most Imperial buildings are not built, they are grown then shaped. Magical 'crystal seeds' are fed magic causing them to grow, sorcery directs the growth and masons cut and shape the growths with more traditional building techniques. This allows the Empire to put up structures much quicker then would otherwise be possible. -Transportation [Water]: Imperial ships are often enchanted to sail or row themselves against the winds and currents as unnatural speeds, allowing for smaller crews and better manueverability. -Transportation [Air]: The Empire makes extensive use of flying chariots through 'levicrystals' which inherently levitate. The altitude they float to can be manipulated by sorcery. These chariots are faster and larger then later chariots but require a sorcerer to manipulate the crystals while flying or the handling suffers. Rarely certain 'wind spirits' are enslaved to pull the vehicles or carry it through the air. -Transportation [Land]: Most land transportation in the Empire is mundane. Chariots, carts, and so on. The most common enchantments are items that revitalize the stamina of those pulling, reduce or suppress their need for food or water, or enslaved odd beasts such as drakes or dragons to pull it [though this is rare]. For the most part there is no equivalent to the 'car', those with the means to, fly. -Entertainment: Self-playing harps, flutes, and other instruments are common in the Empire, 'programmable', and can be made to play alone or in sync. More rare are 'music boxes' capable of replicating any kind of noise from multiple instruments at once to equine voices to recordings. The Imperial Bird of Paradise is a creature created by sorcery that, once trained, also possesses this ability. -Agriculture: The pegasi by and large refuse to manage the Empire's weather on any large scale, so the Empire is more vulnerable to the elements then Equestria. However their use of sorcery to increase yields or even 'terraform' barren fields, as well as entirely ignore crop rotation through mystically enriching the soil more then makes up for this defiency. Exotic fruits created by sorcery that require high upkeep become delicacies in the Empire, only to go extinct when the magic that made them possible died with their creators. -Manufacturing: Modern practices such as factories or assembly lines are almost unknown in the Empire. Instead sorcery is used to pull objectd into existence in great quantities, or quickly reshape raw materials into finished goods. While sorcerers capable of performing 'Hat Magic' are comparitevely rare the Empire sidesteps this issue through certain herbs that, once ingested, briefly increase their users use of conjuration and manufacturing magic. That such herbs are poisonous and cause 'blackening of the insides' over time is of no consequence to those who work to keep the Empire the strongest kingdom in the world.