—
While his maids rehearsed the mantra he had created to defend the mind against telepaths, and he instructed them on the proper state of mind to maintain at certain points in the speech, Gustave also began reviewing the designs of the four maids.
Seeing their work as technically not designs but merely cool drawings with little scientific thought behind them, Gustave set about transforming these sketches into proper technical designs—or, more accurately, RDBM technical designs.
The reason he focused on transforming only the RDBM drawings was that the late- and mid-tier concepts his maids came up with were essentially just jumbled ideas—absurd designs that could no longer be called true designs, merely bored scribbles.
For example, Rosemary's Sky-Armor was literally just a drawing of her riding an eagle. Delilah's Psyker-Armor depicted her as an adult in a Yennefer-like pose from a Mahakam Gwent card. Brenna's Bio-Armor showed her carrying a building—a hospital. And Mira's Raven-Armor was just a sketch of her with ears exaggerated to an almost comical length.
So yes, although in his imagination these were four types of armor, the maids' drawings were essentially just that—concept sketches that could barely even be called concept sketches, more like rough ideas. Only the RDBM designs were somewhat grounded in realism, and even those were still not suitable as technical architectural drafts.
For instance, Rosemary's RDBM was too slender to support a grappling hook, and Delilah's design was too feminine and filled with unnecessary rose motifs to accommodate runic enchantments. Because of this, he set out to create entirely new drawings—or more specifically, instant framework designs—that incorporated his maids' individual styles.
As for why he didn't go straight to blueprints filled with mathematical calculations, it was because he had not yet met with his personal blacksmiths. Before entertaining the idea of creating precise blueprints, he first needed to understand the skill level of his blacksmiths:
At what stage could they create complex mechanisms? How small could they make gears and springs? To what level could they fold and shape metal while maintaining its strength? If they could enchant runes, did they have a deep enough understanding of runic principles to avoid interfering with his Rune Magic designs?
All of these were important considerations. But Gustave also knew that the most crucial quality for a personal blacksmith was trustworthiness—someone willing to invest in him and his vision of the future, a future he knew would be full of peril and temptation.
Because of that, Gustave ultimately did not care about their skill level. Even if they were beginners, he would take them in.
What he wanted most from his blacksmiths was trustworthiness and honor. Even if he spread the blueprints into smaller pieces to minimize the risk of leaks, he knew that one way or another, if his blacksmiths were not trustworthy, his designs would eventually be exposed.
Wracking his brain to think of any blacksmiths from lore or his own knowledge who were trustworthy enough to be his subordinates, Gustave eventually gave up—because the people he considered were either very far away or their whereabouts were unknown.
For example, from his personal [Recall] knowledge, there was Rosemary's father. And from his lore [Recall] knowledge, there was only Zoltan and his merry band of companions. But both options were either too far away or their whereabouts unknown, with Zoltan's company, he guessed they had likely just come down from the mountains.
Because of this, Gustave decided that for the first set of blueprints, he would be extra careful and spread his designs among many blacksmiths in the town of Cintra to prevent anyone from reverse-engineering them later.
"Your Highness, I think we can start."
Lifting his head from the drawing table, Gustave nodded. "In that case, let's begin."
"Ready your candles, coin, and basin. Remember: when referring to the Elements, you must correct your state of mind."
"For Water, you must empty your mind—no deliberate thought. For Fire, you must ignite a furious passion and determination, as if you wish to conquer the world with your fingertips. For Air, let go of your emotions, relax your body, and allow your thoughts to wander freely. And for Earth, simply focus on the scientific knowledge I've taught you; that alone should keep your mind grounded and logical."
Although he knew these elemental associations differed from those described in the Witcher compendiums—the bonus materials included with the physical copies of The Witcher 3—Gustave did not follow the same logic as the people of this world, especially now that he possessed a tool of his own.
Because of this, he devised his method using a blend of his own fantasy knowledge and the arcane insights granted by his Savant-inspired [Knowledge].
Thus, for Water—traditionally linked to emotions and fluidity—he reinterpreted it as the act of emptying one's mind of emotion while maintaining that fluidity.
For Fire—associated with addiction and a hunger for power—he reshaped it into the art of mastering one's impulses while retaining fierce passion and ambition.
For Air—normally tied to wisdom and freedom—he shifted its meaning away from intellectual wisdom and toward accepting whatever the world offered.
And Earth was the one he changed the most: in the compendium it represented strength and conquest, but he transformed it into the wisdom of knowledge and logical thinking.
He did this because he knew most of his creations and inventions would rely on the Earth element—an element he intended to elevate to the highest tier.
Even though Earth magic carried a stigma—seen as "uncool" or inherently weaker than Space or Time—Gustave understood that with nothing more than rock, a world with advanced science could create technology capable of rivaling Space and Time themselves.
From stone, the brilliant minds of his Earth could conceive computer chips; from stone, Tony Stark could build JARVIS and Ultron; and from stone, Hank Pym could forge quantum suits and manipulate subatomic particles—the very tools needed to master Space and Time.
To him, Earth magic stood equal to any "strong" elemental magic. The only difference was how one chose to use it—and that alone determined the scale of its power.
"By the stillness of the reservoir that flows and remembers all paths taken. By the hunger of the scorching firestorm that heeds my command! By the breath of the world that fills all living things, wandering to carry every whispered truth. By the stone beneath my feet that anchors my spirit into solid ground."
"Let intruding wills falter on the threshold. Let foreign minds find only emptiness. What is mine, stays mine. What is not, cannot enter. I sharpen my focus. I anchor my reason. I bind my mind to itself, and none other."
"I, Rosemary, hereby declare this mind sacred. I, Rosemary, seal these thoughts in silence. Let no gaze pierce them, no will bend them, no voice command them."
"I, Delilah, hereby declare this mind sacred. I, Delilah, seal these thoughts in silence…"
One by one, they finished the incantation, yet none of them succeeded on the first try as he had. Because of this, Gustave said, "Again. And always keep in mind the state I told you to maintain."
But no matter how many times they repeated the ritual, the maids continued to fail.
Their palms grew blistered from the candle flame, and they caught chills from pouring cold water over their temples again and again. Even so, he insisted they keep going and not stop until each one of them succeeded—for his secret was the one thing he could not risk exposing before he had the strength to defend himself.
At last, after half an hour of repeating the ritual, Gustave finally saw Rosemary succeed, followed shortly by Delilah and the rest of the maids as they slipped into a trance. Watching them fall into that state, he felt a surge of anticipation, eager to confirm something.
According to Regis's account of creating a mental city, the higher vampire had explained that his own mindscape was not connected to any real landscape—it was simply empty nothingness. Because of this, Gustave wanted to confirm whether that difference was unique to him or if others experienced the same.
From his deductions through his mystic [Knowledge], he believed that his mental city was carving out territory in the Ethereal Plane, unlike others whose mindscapes existed solely within their own minds.
The clucking of chickens, the hymns reminiscent of Sovngarde, and the lunar-eclipse forces clashing against golden rainbows like Asgard were clear signs that his version existed within the Ethereal Plane—more accurately, the very realm where the gods resided.
As for why he believed that place to be where gods dwelled, it was because he had quite literally encountered the gods of this world himself whenever he entered a trance after performing the incantation ritual.
From the sound of the chicken and the sight of the golden rainbow, he deduced the gods to be Kambi and Heimdall; and from the lunar-eclipse figure entwined with twisting roots, he recognized Lilit with her Black Sun corruption.
Although he did not fully understand how he managed to enter the Ethereal Plane and claim territory there, Gustave suspected the cause lay entirely in his Paragon Pathway. He reasoned that the territory he discovered was the earliest form of a Sefirot—still undeveloped, unlike the fully formed version in Lord of Mysteries.
And as Regis had already concluded, because there was no Original Creator to divide the pillars, Gustave would have to forge both the divinity and the divine kingdom on his own.
Thankfully, unlike the deities of this world—who needed thousands of years or entire eras to ascend and shape their Sefirot—his Pathway offered a structured, step-by-step route toward godhood. And thanks to that structure as well, he could carve out territory in the Ethereal Plane even while still at the mortal level of Sequence 9.
As for the unsettling realization that his mental space—one that would eventually grow into a Sefirot—was situated in the Ethereal Plane alongside gods and demons, Gustave simply shoved that worry aside. For now, he would focus on strengthening his territory as best he could while limiting visits to that space until he advanced beyond the mortal Sequences.
After all, there was nothing he could do if one of them chose to approach him. Just as Geralt had been powerless before Master Mirror, Gustave suspected he would feel the same helplessness—unable even to imagine resisting unless the other party allowed it.
"Y-Your Highness… w-what was that? It felt as though I'd been carried to some other place. An empty one… where I could do whatever I wished. As if… as if I were a sorceress."
Nodding when he heard Delilah say "empty place," Gustave realized he was likely the only one whose experience differed during this mental defense ritual.
But still wanting to confirm, he asked, "Delilah, did you see anything beyond the empty dark space? Like a structure or a landscape entirely different from the one you created?"
"N-no, Your Highness. There was naught of the sort. Only empty space. I–is there meant to be something beyond my castle?"
Shaking his head, Gustave replied, "No, there is nothing beyond your own creation. I just needed to confirm something."
"All hands aboard! Cintra lies in sight—Cintra lies in sight! Those wishing to witness Her Majesty Queen Calanthe's welcome procession, make haste to the main deck!"
Hearing the messenger boy shout, Gustave could hardly believe that the place that would become his sanctuary for the next few years was already within view. Rising from his tiny table, he said to his maids, "Let's go, girls. Let's see the procession."
Leaving the cabin, with everyone still eyeing him with mixed expressions, Gustave—now adopting the mind of a semi-adult—finally reached the main deck.
Seeing Cintra in the distance and taking in the majestic city—ten times grander than his Lyria or Rivia and hundreds of times larger than the game's version of Novigrad—he couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment upon seeing the legendary birthplace of the first human kingdom with his own eyes.
Resembling Lordaeron City from Warcraft III, though built with jagged, pointed designs rather than rounded forms—following the ancient elven style—Cintra stood proud even from miles away. The outer wall shimmered beneath the sunlight, with the Cintrian coat of arms adorning it every couple of meters.
Gustave could see blue flags and blue tapestries throughout the city, and even the welcoming chime of the clock tower's bell sounded exactly like the one in the trailer. If he didn't know they were two entirely different kingdoms, he might have mistaken one for the other, because even the golden lion coat of arms was almost the same.
And not only that—if he did not have such love for his homeland of Lyria and Rivia, he might well have called this city the Pearl of the North. With its clean, pristine walls on every building, one could easily mistake Cintra not for a medieval city but for a capital meticulously preserved by a modern society.
Coupled with the fact that the city's coastal geography resembled Braavos from Game of Thrones—minus the Titan statue—Cintra truly stood as the first human kingdom to reach such majesty.
So much so that if he were asked where the capital of humanity ought to be, his mind would immediately offer one answer: Cintra, for it embodied the very presence and pride of humankind.
Finally able to make out the small procession Queen Calanthe had prepared to welcome her cousins' sons, Gustave glimpsed the tiny protagonist girl in the distance, flanked by the Skellige youths, with two other little ones beside her.
Seeing that Queen Calanthe herself was nowhere in sight, Gustave immediately understood why the procession was headed by Ciri, with Hjalmar and Cerys at her side. It would have been far too improper for a reigning queen to personally greet someone who was still merely a prince; therefore, those welcoming them also had to be of the same status.
Finally nearing the dock of Cintra harbor, Gustave's eyes were able to feast more closely on the countless blue tapestry decorations and royal blue paint. The magnificence took his breath away; even up close, the spotless limestone remained intact, as if it had just been quarried from the mine.
Not only were the buildings immaculately clean, but the Cintrese residents themselves were well-groomed, dressed in proper clothing and tunics, making him wonder if this was truly a medieval city.
—