Tales of a shattered world - Gold Root Files

19 - The Yoridel project

The Yoridel project

The following is an account of the 'Yoridel Project,' which was a failed attempt to develop a magic-infused shield that would be cost-effective and easy to produce. This record will give a brief overview of the project as well as a summary of the various developmental stages.

Origin

After the 'Great Divide,' third parties were often contracted to develop new innovations that would provide an edge against the opposition. This created a boom in the research industry, which caused small independent groups to pop up, hoping to profit and establish themselves.

The Yoridel group was one such group, originally comprised of three people; Yoven Liret, Katres Riten, and Delvet Oretien. They initially conducted research independently, using whatever resources they could scrounge up before being officially recognized and funded by (redacted). For more details regarding the Yoridel Group, please refer to the appropriate documents or refer to a source if it is urgent.

Concept

The concept was simple: a shield infused with force magic to simultaneously repel the attack and disarm the opponent. While such shields already existed, they were costly to produce, and the recoil would cause them to break after a single use. The Yoridel group hoped to redirect all the recoil to a single component that was designed to break and could be easily replaced. This component was designated 'Breakpoint'.

Experiments

Initially, the breakpoint was made out of shimmer steel, the same material as the rest of the shield. However, having the breakpoint made of similar material to the rest of the shield caused magic to flow too evenly, shattering the whole shield rather than just the breakpoint.

They began experimenting with different metals yet found that the flow of magic remained too even, and the problem persisted. They began considering materials that could not efficiently conduct force magic and switched to experimenting with organic materials such as wood. While this had the intended result of stymying the flow of magic, it was to a far greater degree than was desired. The rest of the shield would shatter, and the breakpoint would remain unscathed.

While the tests did not have the intended results, they did gain valuable data.

Instead of the breakpoint being less conductive of force magic, they began considering the use of a far more conductive material. Hence, they decided to construct the breakpoint out of a crystal made of glass.

The experiments proved to be a partial success:

1 - The shield repealed attacks with such force that the assailant found difficulty keeping hold of their weapon.

2 - Only the breakpoint shattered, and the durability of the rest of the shield was maintained.

3 - The crystal shattered with such force that even the wielder was pushed back and thrown off balance.

The pushback would be detrimental to battle, so the Yoridel group aimed to fix this problem by using multiple smaller crystals instead of one large one. This had the effect of reducing the pushback. However, the smaller crystals broke far too easily, with even a light tap or strong wind causing them to shatter.

They continued experimenting with glass crystals of varying sizes; however, they could not strike a favorable balance.

They theorized that allowing force magic to flow slightly more freely through the shield would allow it to absorb minor impacts rather than direct it to the breakpoints. As they could not seek the aid of an experienced spirit mage due to a lack of funding, they opted to change the material of the shield itself. They experimented with various materials before arriving at the use of copper, concluding that since the shield would redirect the force, there was no need to use a stronger material. Unfortunately, this resulted in the force magic being far too free-flowing, with much of the impact being directed at the user. This was discovered when the researcher Katres was injured in one such experiment, suffering from multiple fractures along the forearm as well as a dislocated shoulder.

While the injury was unfortunate, it would act as a critical factor in Yordiel Group's eventual success.

At the time, Katres worked as a clerk for (redacted), a manufacturer of magic items. Their supervisor, (redacted), questioned the injury and Katres explained the experiments their small group had been conducting. While the experiments were unsuccessful, (redacted) noted that the 'breakpoints' could, in theory, be used in large constructs to limit wear and tear.

(redacted) would then offer to purchase the rights to the 'breakpoints' in exchange for a moderate sum and allow the three to form their own research company as a subsidiary of (redacted). The offer was accepted, and the Yordiel group would become an officially recognized group under the control of (redacted).

With additional funding and support, the Yordiel group could employ the aid of the experienced and skilled spirit mage (redacted) to fine-tune the flow of magic in the shield. Various spirit runes were imprinted on the back of the shield. These runes made it so that the flow of force magic was only active when a strong enough impact was detected. Unfortunately, due to the volatile nature of force magic, stabilizing the runes required effort and resources that would make mass production unviable.

While technically a failure, due to the reliability and effectiveness of the shield, it would come to be marketed as a specialized, high-quality shield for ranked officials. Furthermore, the glass crystal would be replaced with those infused with magic. When the crystal is shattered, the magic stored within the crystal will activate, and various effects will be unleashed.

Conclusion

The Yordiel group continues to act as a subsidiary of (redacted). It has since become a well-respected institute with over a dozen members. Yoven Liret would later be scouted by (redacted) and leave the Yordiel group. Katres Riten and Delvet Oretien continue to act as lead researchers of the group. 

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