The Mech Touch

Symbol of Authority

What was a crown?

In ancient times, it was a fancy way of denoting authority. Anyone who wore an elaborate metal band on the head would instantly be recognized as the one in charge.

Over the ages, the tradition of rulers wearing crowns became so strong that their ȧssociation with power, authority and rights had become ingrained in the human consciousness!

Crown = ruler.

Though monarchies suffered a decline as people no longer took the divine right of kings seriously, they underwent a revival after humanity spread across the stars.

Many wealthy groups and individuals that invested so much into setting up colonies in distant planets wanted to enshrine their right to rule in a way that was compatible with inheritance.

Putting a crown on one's head and calling yourself a king or emperor usually did the job. These terms and the ȧssociations behind them were classic templates that humanity was already accustomed to. It was enough to revive them and modernize them so that they worked well in a time where kingdoms and empires stretched across many star systems.

Rion Aaden did not spend all of that time explaining his background, motivations and ambitions for nothing. He provided crucial context to Ves on why the dwarven leader needed a crown and what it was supposed to accomplish.

Just like all of those other rulers in the past, the Iron Emperor wanted to make use of its power and ȧssociations to ȧssume leadership over the entire dwarven population!

"In normal circumstances, this is an absolutely silly idea that would never work in a million years."

A crown might look impressive and make anyone wearing it look a lot more dignified, but so what? If anyone could become a boss by donning a crown, Ves would have long made one for himself and put it on his head!

There was more to leadership than symbolism. Laws, rules, agreements, compacts, approval, wealth and other factors were much greater variables that decided who called the shots.

There were way too many examples in human history where the person who actually wore the crown actually held precious little authority!

Instead, it was the people behind the throne or the supposed 'vassals' who actually called the shots.

Ves recalled that the Vesia Kingdom closely matched this pattern. Every Vesian respected the powerful ducal houses first and only paid attention to the royal house afterwards. To the commoners, the king was almost an invisible entity!

The problem that Rion handed to Ves was that the title and position of Iron Emperor only held sway in the Vulcan Empire.

In the greater galaxy, any dwarf who ran around while claiming to be the emperor of all dwarves would be laughed at before being driven away like an unwanted beggar!

This was because Rion Aaden's foundation among the dwarven galactic community was too inadequate.

Sure, Rion might have gained a bit of respect by becoming the head of a powerful dwarven state, but that would soon be a thing of the past as the Vulcan Empire kept losing territory to the humans every day.

The fall of the empire and his complete lack of hands-on leadership during this time would definitely turn into a stain on his record. Since the Iron Emperor already had a history of abandoning his subjects, who would be crazy enough to fall under his banner?

Since Rion could not rely on logic, facts or incentives to command the respect of the dwarves, he wanted to resort to a time-tested solution that was capable of indoctrinating any person into giving their loyalty to others!

"The crown that I need to make isn't just about creating a symbol of temporal power." Ves murmured. "It must also contain a religious element that suggests that Vulcan has given his divine decree that its wearer is the anointed leader of the dwarves."

Both of these tasks were easy enough to accomplish to Ves. As a mech designer, his technical proficiency was high. Even though he had never made an actual crown in his life, he could quickly get up to speed by performing a bit of research.

As for the religious element, Vulcan was his direct incarnation. Together with his increasingly more expansive spiritual engineering capabilities, he could finetune, specify and empower the glow of the dwarven crown in many different ways!

If his job was to make a crown that satisfied both these requirements, then Ves didn't need to make use of first-class materials and a first-class workshop. He could just whip something up in a couple of hours in his personal workshop aboard the Spirit of Bentheim?

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple."

Ves leaned his smooth-shaven chin against his palm as he reread the document that listed all of Rion's demands.

The dwarf was not that picky when it came to the style, appearance and exact functionality of the crown. The sovereign trusted Ves to design a crown that was fit for the purpose.

Though the document actually listed a lot of restrictions, most of them were merely there to make sure that Ves did not design anything too crazy or radical. Rion preferred to obtain a more classical-looking crown that did not defy too many conventions.

After all, a crown was not a fashion statement.

"Well, I didn't plan to design anything too unconventional anyway. I can work with a classical style." Ves muttered.

What Rion actually paid attention to was whether the crown was 'good' enough to do its job. The quality of its craftsmanship was the strictest requirement of this job. If Ves wasn't able to turn this crown into a masterwork, then he could say goodbye to everything!

Combined with the need to turn it into a first-class product, the difficulty level of this simple-sounding job was high!

What Rion wanted was for Ves to make a dwarven heirloom that would remain impressive to the highest echelons of society for centuries, if not millenia! This was why it could not look shabby in the slightest. No other crown in existence was allowed to outclass Rion's symbol of authority!

For one, the crown had to be exclusive to Rion Aaden. It would only show its approval and its strongest impression when it was worn by its designated wearer. Anyone else who attempted to wear this crown must receive its rejection!

Ves turned around and looked up at the dwarven leader who overlooked the workshop from above.

"Hey Rion."

"WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION, VULCAN?"

"It says here that you want to turn this crown into your exclusive property."

"THAT IS CORRECT. IS THERE A PROBLEM? I RECALL THAT YOU HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO DISTINGUISH AND DISCRIMINATE AGAINST THE USERS OF YOUR PRODUCTS. YOUR YLVAINAN MECHS AND YOUR HEXER MECHS ARE NOTED FOR THIS PROPERTY."

Ves inwardly grimaced. This dwarf had studied him from top to bottom. It would be hard to hoodwink such a well-informed client.

"I'm not talking about that. What I truly want to bring up is whether you are sure you want to permanently tie the crown to you. I mean, you won't be around forever. What happens if you die a century or a couple of centuries later? I don't think your independent dwarven state would be stable at that time. Being able to pass your crown to a capable or designated successor could be really handy at that time. Just say the word and I will incorporate a mechanism where you can allow other dwarves to inherit the crown based on bloodline, selection or other factors."

Though Ves didn't particularly care about Rion's grand venture, it would be a shame for his sovereign dwarven star nation to collapse and come to nothing after its great emperor's passing.

"YOU DO NOT NEED TO CONCERN YOURSELF ABOUT THE SUCCESSION OF MY FUTURE EMPIRE." Rion firmly shook his head. "BY THE TIME MY REIGN FINALLY ENDS, MY DWARVEN NATION NO LONGER NEEDS TO RELY ON THIS CRUTCH TO ENSURE A STABLE SUCCESSION OF LEADERSHIP. THE CROWN IS ONLY NEEDED TO ATTAIN THE INITIAL LOYALTY OF POWERFUL DWARVEN GROUPS. IT MUST ENSURE THEY WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITY IN THE ABSENCE OF AN EXISTING GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE THAT ENCOURAGES COMPLIANCE."

In other words, the Iron Emperor needed to borrow the power of the crown in the early stages of the masterplan. Once he succeeded in his initial goals and founded a strong dwarven nation, the culture and institutions he built up would gradually take over the role and provide a much more systematic way to ensure loyalty.

"IN MY LIFETIME, THE CROWN MUST FORM A GUARANTEE THAT NO OTHER CHALLENGER OR RIVAL CAN USURP MY THRONE. EVEN IF THEY TAKE MY CROWN, VULCAN MUST NEVER APPROVE THEIR REIGN. ONLY THIS CAN GUARANTEE THAT DWARVENKIND WILL GROW AND DEVELOP UNDER MY DIRECTION."

All of this sounded logical, but Ves still found it strange that the crown should only work for as long as Rion was alive. The dwarven leader was so unwilling to share power that he did not want to open up the possibility that others could depose him from power and take his authority for themselves!

What a selfish dwarf!

Didn't this mean that once Rion died, it was of no concern that his new dwarven nation might collapse or split apart overnight?

"Well, you're the client, so I guess I'll make that happen."

Rion did not impose any other excessive demands. The crown didn't really need to come with any functions. It had to be as enduring and eternal as possible, so Ves was not allowed to incorporate any technological components to its design.

However, the Iron Emperor did not say no to some additional bonus features. Making the crown levitate or enabling it to project a protective barrier were all allowed as long as Ves was able to accomplish it without resorting to electronic components.

"This is a bit too difficult for me." Ves frowned. "I would have to play around with the more unusual first-class materials in order to implement something like this in a crown."

After familiarizing himself with all of the demands that he needed to meet, Ves decided to start by drafting an initial sketch of his proposed crown.

"I shouldn't adhere to the classic designs that are already familiar throughout history. This must be a crown for a dwarven civilization, not a human one. There needs to be a distinct break in style from the past."

When Ves thought out crowns for dwarves, he imagined a thicker, heavier and more angular metal headwear.

The crown for someone who called himself the Iron Emperor had to wear an item that looked close to iron in appearance, so metallic grey was the way to go. Whether it would be matte or shiny could be decided later.

"I should add jewels as well, preferably glowing ones."

Ves gained a bit of inspiration when his thoughts turned into this direction.

Instead of adorning his crown with regular jewels, why not incorporate luminar crystals into them? That would not only bestow the crown with a cool light effect, but would also make it a bit more spiritually reactive!

He could even turn it into a hidden weapon!

Ves imagined a scenario where Rion was cornered by enemies, only for them to get blasted by laser beams that streaked out of the dwarven emperor's crown!

"Hahaha, that's a cool idea! I should add it to the list!"

There was only one snag. Ves only knew how to make second-class luminar crystals right now, but this was because he never had access to higher-quality materials and equipment.

Yet now that Rion provided him with a complete first-class workshop, Ves could quickly start making crystals out of genuine first-class exotics! That way, he would get something substantial out of this commission that he could take back to his clan and sit on until he found an opportunity to reproduce the formula for his own purposes!

The best part about this move was that the dwarves would effectively be funding his research! Ves did not need to pay for any of the goods and equipment used to develop a first-class luminar crystal!