Iselin and especially Kari aren't happy when I tell them how Gisela have offered to be my concubine or wife, but they can respect her and that she went to Ciara to learn the language and do it with respect to both me and them. Of course they understand that Gisela waited until they weren't here, but it doesn't matter much since Ciara spent time teaching Gisela even before they left, and didn't say anything to them.

Kari is more annoyed with Ciara who didn't mind helping Gisela, but she knows it's futile to be annoyed about it, because Ciara is Ciara and she doesn't see our sex life and relationship like the others. Ciara doesn't like to disappoint or annoy Iselin or Kari, but even Iselin is far below her main priority of making me happy and content. But they are glad I turned down Gisela right away, and I'm glad I was able to do it without really considering it or regretting it.

Ryla and Agnes have moved in, and the bodyguards appreciate the help, and Ryla and Agnes are also in the music group and will have with those projects. Kari and Jane doesn't really like that I might have sex with them in the future - which I get - but at least they don't have to worry about them becoming pregnant. Jane, however, is worried precisely because Ryla and Agnes can't have children. Jane and I need to be careful even though she has a Midgård IUD, because Jane really don't want to get pregnant, and she loath using Alfheimr condoms, and all our sex is raw and unprotected. So it's ... 'practical' that Jane, as long as I do my part and she orgasms, likes swallowing and making sure I'm clean, unless she was feeling naughty and we finished in her butt.

It's nice to get an update about a lot, and about stuff in Borgarsandr, but I will have to come along next time to Borgarsandr and Borgheim, to install electricity and really do a permanent radio installation and maybe improve the antenna that has been there since the first test, although it obviously works well. They have brought wind turbine parts and battery parts there. Iselin is proud that she was able to do the last part of the steam boiler installation herself, but nobody is really surprised about that. Although the slate roof on Borgheim is only a few years old and will last at least my lifetime and probably longer, they've been thinking of replacing Borgheim's roof with copper too, just for sheer bragging rights with the bonus of improved water collection, and Kari is rich. We also have to work out who will look after Borgheim and the animals when we are not there, and we should have guards there too.

Kari tells us that when she gave Digraldi the wedding invitation, Digraldi accepted right away and is looking forward to another wedding. Digraldi was happy and proud to tell them that Ima is pregnant with his child, and although it is very early, they are happy, and we are the first outside family to know. It sounds like those two have found each other, which is very good, and I imagine Ima is overjoyed. She is now the concubine of a talented wealthy craftsman and an expecting mother.

I'm a little worried that it might be my child, but we don't think so. Ima had sex with Digraldi during the feast, and more than once, so I should be safe. The timing is also wrong and Ima seems different from Jalida, and I didn't finish in many women during the Stag night. I don't think it would be biologically possible to have come in all of them, even though I have the memories of too many times. That 'spice' is potent stuff. I'm still proud when I manage four times in one day.

Kari has sent a man with an invitation to Danr's farm a bit outside Borgarsandr, since even though he doesn't have a part in us meeting like he did with Iselin and I, he was a good guest. But he might be travelling when the wedding is. Man, it's annoying that there isn't a proper postal service and you have to send someone with a letter or invitation. One advantage of starting to set up radio stations and building telegraphs, is that I can build up a proper postal service, with mounted postmen to travel further and have mail stations in places that don't have a radio station. We don't even have to have the mail originate from my mansions or radio stations, and can set up a mail centre through which everything goes, and start establishing addresses and postcodes at least for larger towns.

They also picked up musical instruments and parts for the guitars, and bought a couple of strings and some type of resin, because I have plans to try other instruments too, like a variation of musical saw. A future piano is becoming more and more likely, but it will mainly be a project for carpenter Engdrid and Jane. Sirenia's 'Seven Sirens and a silver tear' and the piano version of Rammstein's 'Mein herz brennt' are just two of several songs that have made my Elvish sambos want an Alfheimr piano. Even Jane admit that 'Mein herz brennt' is a really good song and performance.

Iselin is pleased when she tells us that the stone carver doing the rune stones has done good work and has finished a nice big rune stone for Borgheim and will move it there, and this spring he will come to the islands for the work here, but in the mean time he will travel to Karis land and erect the rune stones to Skarde.

The stone worker who made the slate boards has gotten many more orders for both small and medium sized ones, but especially a dozen that will be as large as practical, preferably up to 2 by 1 meter or larger, with at least one straight edge but preferably two parallel ones so that the slate boards can be put up next to each other to make a larger one, and boxes of chalk for them. We have to get everything ready for the Academy classrooms, and I want to hang a couple in my rooms too, because although these natural slate boards are inferior to modern chalkboards in Midgård, especially so compared to a whiteboard, it's very practical here for text and diagrams to be seen from a distance like in a classroom, while paper and pencils and erasers will mostly replace note taking and such, and that is likely to stay so for a long time to come.

They have bought a lot of rope for planned projects, including an obstacle course for the guards to train on, and they've got a rope maker to make two thick 250 fathom long ropes, which is about 450 meters. I've been thinking more and more about trying to build a rope ferry to the islands in the northeast. The main island called 'Stora Farholmen' in Midgård is about 700 by 350 meters with mostly cliffs and rocks with some grass and trees, but have a forest and some usable land for farming or animals. But the main purpose is to try to connect to the mainland. Because if a rope ferry over that first 350 meters stretch works well enough, the island will get a 650 meter road along the south side to another 290 meter rope ferry to the mainland, and thus get mainland contact just a few kilometers north of Lysesund. It is likely that I'll build some industries in either Lysedal or Svenlum, which is a few kilometers inland from Lysesund, and I don't want to have to take a sailboat or even a steamboat there every time. Any kind of more practical transportation contact with the mainland will be good, but that fairly narrow stretch of water it's bloody deep. They sounded to 26 meters deep between Large Ackerek and the main island, so at present a bridge is far too difficult to even attempt. Rope ferries should be practical enough, and then allows me-us to do a day trip back and forth, and Kari will have it far easier to take a coach to her estate, or if we want to go to Laxlanda, the Northmen's Ting or Borgarsandr by road. But it's a long distance for a rope ferry, about 350 meters, so I'm not sure it's possible with the ropes that are here, which is why I ordered the strong thick ropes to try. First tests are no more difficult than attaching the rope at each end and seeing how it handles being in the water and waves and such. And in the future, pull up the rope in a rope ferry's steering block and mechanism, and see how that works. And probably build a short pier at each end for a better road connection, and to protect the anchored ferry from strong wind and waves.

Iselin has the extremely good news that my Merchant Empire has managed to buy a huge amount of saltpeter from various places, totalling a couple of hundred kilos spread over a few barrels. The merchants have also managed to get hold of several barrels of sulphur. Much more than I need for that amount of saltpeter, but I'm not complaining about the merchants or Iselin and Kari buying it all. Those quantities makes it likely that there's already a major Alchemy market for saltpeter and sulphur in the nations to the south, and it makes me worry that black powder might become a big thing right away once the secret gets out. Which it may already have. The Merchant Empire has so far not heard anything about other humans or the goods and words I told them about, but every Merchant hasn't returned yet. When Jane asks what I need all that for, I remember that she doesn't know sulphur is in blackpowder, and I replay "Battery acid," which makes her go, "Oo-oh! Nice!" and smile. Yes, she will probably learn more about black powder sooner or later, but until then it's 'need to know' and she doesn't. And nitric acid and sulphuric acid have their uses.

Anyway, even with this and the possibility to buy more, it is still a good idea to start producing our own saltpeter, but not quite so rushed. And they've bought many barrels of charcoal, since that is useful for steel working, steamboats and such too, and it doesn't really matter that it's not the birch I would prefer for black powder. We can shoot as much as we want at the shooting range and even test or practise more with cannons. It's actually a bit ironic that we got our hands on so much black powder ingredients, when I recently made a switch to making a lot of airguns. Which I honestly prefer, and I'm not alone.

They visited King Asbjörn to invite him with children to the wedding, but gave his son Crown Prince Hagthorn his own invitation since he is a married man with his own household, and they immediately accepted and have congratulated Kari and me, so that is positive but expected. The princesses and Asbjörn's favourite concubine Virun will join him for our wedding, and can sleep in the same room as him. Crown Prince Hagthorn will be accompanied by his wife Sunnifa. Plus of course two maids and four guards. King Asbjörn understood why Raneigh was there with them, and even though he was not entirely happy to see her, he understood it is good for Raneigh's sake and commented that it is smart that she swore allegiance to me, and not my wife. He has learnt that lesson himself. And he commented that I need more guards.

Asbjörn was happier when he was told that his customs officer Boli has bought two steel lumps and that we've made a deal with Ketill, Olafr's son who has taken over his father's blade smithing business in the city, to be able to some buy steel and that he will make those special steel swords, because it will be far easier to buy from Ketill than me or Olafr. The Merchant Empire will buy two swords, but one will be left, and Ketill is obviously keen to get the King as a client to build his own reputation. And now King Asbjörn has his own steel lumps to lure Ketill with, which Asbjörn has already thought of, so there will probably be three swords for Asbjörn, and Hagthorn will probably get one of them. And there will probably be a knife or two made too.

The fact that Olafr just handed over his life's work and business to his son and moved to Ackerek has sent shockwaves, and rumours are running wild about what it is that Master weapons maker Olafr does for Sejdmann Arnesson, and what attracted him to work here. Of course sejdish swords and thunder weapons are just the beginning, and Asbjörn laughed as he told them about the many wild rumours about such things as fire spewing monsters in iron armour, and weapons throwing lightning like Thor's hammer. Iselin has trouble getting the story across as she is laughing:

"You should have see their faces! Asbjörn, Hagthorn and the Councillors faces were wonderful when we stayed silent or laughed half-heartedly and exchanged glances, thus confirming some truth to those rumours! It was dead quiet as they just stared at us, so I couldn't help but add to the rumours, by saying that Olafr isn't primarily on Ackerek to make weapons, and the lightning machine is not a weapon either, and just for entertainment and art! King Aeriksson can see the lightning machine during the wedding feast as it is in Thrymheim's main hall, and the lightning bolts are only this long," and she holds up her hand and fingers to show. "It was dead quiet in the King's Hall, so everyone heard Raneigh, who was rubbing her hand, in a low voice comment that even such a tiny lightning bolt hurts so much, and she was lucky her hand was normal again a couple of days later. Raneigh warned them to never touch anything Sejdmann Arnesson painted a hand symbol with red striked out circle on top. Their faces were wonderful!"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I wonder what Asbjörn will say when he finds out that Alith and Gunhild now have their own thunder weapons. I didn't let him or Myrun buy them, but I gave them the weapons. I'll have to make sure he doesn't take it as an insult, but as a way to better arm my bodyguards and reward them.

Iselin continues telling us that Hillevi has been in a very good mood, and even though the weather was bad, she spent a lot of time on deck during the trip to the city and she is very proud of her 'sejd glasses' that make her see so far and so clearly. Iselin has obviously brought along her own red-orange sunglasses, so I get why many people have looked at them funny. Many people have been surprised when Hillevi explained what a difference they make, and that her colleague Bodil has a pair that allows her to see and read at a closer distance than she can without them.

Hillevi allowed the famous and wealthy Councillor Efi, who also have had distance vision problems his whole life, to gently try on her glasses and Efi found it hard to hold back his emotions as he looked round the room and just stood staring out of a window. They might not have been as perfectly adapted as they are for Hillevi's eyes, but everyone is convinced that had the glasses not been a handmade personal gift from me to Hillevi, he would surely have offered her a lot of gold for them, and his hands were shaking as he handed them back. Asbjörn had just shook his head and said that they made an excellent choice to follow Kari to Sejdman Arnesson's service.

Iselin tells us that she informed the King and Council that there is a lot that will be sold at the next Academy auction, and some which they have not seen before and may be worth a visit for those who are interested in other things than what was sold last time. There is no doubt in her mind that they will. So it's time to start making good lenses with different dioptres and combine to glasses with different vision corrections.

Of course Iselin and I do the fitting and finishing work on her new necklace together. I'm surprised but get a big smile when I see that she has chosen a crystal clear and just a little polished rock crystal of the same type I got to shine at the feast in Kambsnes, where she was given to me. Iselin is happy I make the same connection, and we kiss each other several times and cuddle as we finish everything. She wanted something very transparent for maximum light, but glass is not a jewel, so she had contemplated asking the man who made the rock crystals for the chandelier to do something pretty with lots of facets, but saw this rock in the Jewellers collection. It's a medical crystal so Iselin think it was a bit unnecessarily expensive, but it apparently came from the far east and it's rough exterior but crystal clear look is pretty and should spread light well and make interesting patterns. So it fits on the necklace and is a bit sejdish, and she likes it the way it is. Iselin tells me that the jeweller said that unfortunately these medical crystals cannot be rounded or polished in the normal way. But they can scratch every other type of gemstones, which makes the crystal a bit more sejdish.

What?

Wait, what?!

My mind goes off on a tangent and at I just stare at Iselin, and I try to scratch a piece of waste glass. As I scratch other things in a couple of careful but quick tests, it becomes pretty clear why the crystal was quite expensive. It's not a rock crystal, but instead what I guess is a large uncut diamond that is really clear. Oh boy. I question Iselin about exactly what the jeweller said, and it does indeed turn out to be a type of gemstone that is very hard and cannot be polished except against another similar one, which they usually do to get the sharpest edges off, but not worth the trouble of trying to make really nice. As far as I can tell, the diamond is crystal clear and colourless and here diamonds are not very expensive - I have bought more expensive gemstones that are much smaller. Kari, Ciara and Jane's necklace gemstones were more expensive. But it is a large uncut diamond.

Most of the value of diamonds in Midgård is artificial value, monopolies and PR, but still.

It is quite logical that a gemstone that is 'impossible' to really polish and make pretty doesn't get a high value, and diamonds usually also lack colour or patterns. In just appearance and its rough state, there is no huge difference between a rock crystal and a diamond, and the diamond cannot be made pretty. What gives diamonds some value here is that they burn. I did not expect to hear that diamonds are used in medical contexts, especially in the south, and are blessed and then swallowed as a cure for certain ailments, and that is why the sharp edges are removed. Apparently, for the cure to be really effective, you have to find the diamond in the poo after it has passed through the body, and burn it so the disease goes up in smoke along with the diamond. This one, however, is too damn big to be comfortably swallowed, and was sold as a jewel along with other finer gems and jewels.

We finishing the last of the necklace so she can try it on. The necklace is very beautiful around Iselin's neck and pulses with bright green light as the light is focused into the diamond which scatters it randomly, especially through its outer surface and angles which makes the light bounce around before escaping. The diamond is far less attenuating than the 'emerald' her crown has. The light will be very visible indoors during the day, and even outdoors on a cloudy day. Iselin's adorable smile and happiness over her magical necklace almost brings me to tears, and we share another kiss and hug. But we both want to know from someone who surely has a better grasp of Midgård's diamond value, and Iselin want to show off her necklace.

So we get Caecilia to fetch Jane, and Iselins shows off and pose with her new necklace. Iselin have so copied Jane's Midgård style of showing off and posing. Jane praises her and thinks the necklace is really beautiful and no one will miss its flashing. Jane makes exactly the same mistake as I did with it being a rock crystal, but also makes the connection to Kambsnes and the show I did.

"Jane, that isn't a common rock crystal, i.e. quartz. It scratch both glass and sapphire and is too hard to be polished. That is an uncut diamond."

Jane's face and chin falls and she makes amusing noises given its size as she points to it, and I show her the test scratches and that the density matches with diamond.

"That has got to be several hundred carats!! Holy....!!! Bloody...!!! FUCK!!!"

Iselin is so pleased and smugly satisfied with Jane's reaction. Jane's jaw and face drop even more when I explain how they value diamonds here and how they are used medicinally.

"They bless and eat diamonds to cure some ailments?! Then they look through the poop for the diamond and set fire to it!?! That is not a cure!! That is insanity!! It's like the ultimate insult to every precious engagement ring, ever! Fuck!! How large diamonds have they just smashed to bits and destroyed, just to make them small enough to swallow ... and then burn up!?! Insanity!! Bloody savages!!"

Jane's reaction will stay with me for a long time! We continue to have some fun with it, and Jane decides to buy all the diamonds she can on principle! I might buy the smallest to use for abrasives, but Jane makes it absolutely clear that I can't destroy a bigger one. She will never forgive me if I do. In the end, we estimate Iselin's uncut diamond to be around 220 carats, but probably half of that and several smaller diamonds after cutting and polishing. It's already mounted, but we've already weighed the diamond and measured its volume before mounting it, to work out the density. All this about diamonds have been an interesting lesson for Iselin, and that her pretty rock would be so terribly valuable in Midgård after it was cut, or here, but a diamond is really the same material as coal, or the 'carbon rod' in our pencils and arc light bulbs. Diamond is just another atomic structure and what happens if you subject carbon to ridiculously high pressure and heat in the bowels of the earth. I'm not sure about the scale of that pressure or temperature, but Iselin has been helping with the manometers and calibrating them, so I say the pressure needs to be 100,000 bar or more, which makes Iselin gasp. I'm worried about the steam boiler exploding at maybe 5 bar, and 250 bar in the pressure tanks makes them potential bombs. Iselin knows a lot about the Universe so I explain that it's a very common gemstone out there, but rare on the surface here. If I remember correctly, it rains tiny diamonds on Saturn and Jupiter, and there's a good chance there are stars that are one big diamond. Jane didn't know that.

Iselin loves her necklace so much and happily plays with it, giving the diamond another a little kiss.

Iselin gets a puzzled look on her face and asks: "Would it work to use finely crushed diamonds to make black powder or fireworks? Would it be better or worse than charcoal?"

Interesting question, and it makes me a little prouder of Iselin's mind. Iselin knows how to make black powder and rockets, and she also knows that Jane only knows that black powder is charcoal and saltpeter somehow.

"Diamonds are just extra dense carbon and finely divided it might work because diamond burns, but it might be that diamond has too hard a crystal structure or something like that to work before a high enough temperature is reached, and I don't think it's effective. Would be interesting and fun to test."

"No! NO! NO!!!" Jane interrupts my verbal musings as she stares at us like we are two lunatics and continues; "Stop thinking about pulverising diamonds and making the most expensive black powder or fireworks ever! Not science! Madness! It's bloody madness!!"

Kind of funny how Jane switched from Norse to English's in pure frustration and anger. Iselin and I have much the same expression on our faces as we glance at each other that it would be interesting, and it probably will be done, so Jane throws her hands in the air and walks away.

"Bloody insane nerds!!" followed by "Madness!!" is the last thing we hear from the corridor, and I explain to Iselin what the English 'madness' and 'insane' means before she asks.

Even before we moved here last autumn, Iselin started asking what different English words mean to both me and Jane, and it has only increased, especially since Jane got better at Norse and they started spending more time together. Iselin understands quite a lot of English now, and has adopted some of Jane's expressions. All of the household has long since learnt what 'bloody', 'nerd', 'hell', 'fuck' and similar recurring phrases mean, partly because Jane continues to use them even with Norse, but Iselin has learnt a lot more like numbers and words like nature, animals, water, houses and of course body parts, clothes and sex. She have been making a dictionary. So Iselin has recently found out what 'insanity' and 'madness' mean and quickly written them down on a piece of paper to add to her dictionary, and I can see her practising 'madness' silently to herself, before I have to explain how the words are conjugated. Iselin making her own dictionary of English words feels rather unnecessary, but it means she is also practising writing. And if Iselin wants to learn the biggest Midgård language along with Laitje and so on, I won't stop her.

I should give my Merchants standing orders to buy diamonds, and even smaller ones from the jeweller, because it's handy in tools, and for cutting many things. If the Academy can build up a stockpile of large uncut diamonds for the future, it should only benefit future generations, and who knows? Someone has to be the one to develop good cutting and polishing technology here. If we can produce finely cut and polished gemstones, it's not a bad luxury product to sell. And cheaper for my sambos to get jewellery with. And they are likely to keep all the best gems.

Iselin doesn't care much for Kari's b-room and are uninterested in our games down there or similar games in bed, but she loves so many of Jane's creations. Paintings and the gorgeous high-heeled shoes and boots alone justify Jane's place as my mistress, and of course Freya brought Jane here. But Iselin - like most people - also likes the other art, the music and sexy lingerie and sleepwear, and the striptease pole is fun. So I advised Iselin to tell Jane that because she probably needs the confidence boost, especially coming from Iselin who Jane has several inferiority complexes towards. However, Jane seems to feel some inferiority against all of my sambos in some way, and in fact Iselin, Kari, Ciara, Caecilia and Jane seem to have inferiority complexes against each other. I realise that Jane has very strong allies in Iselin, Kari, Ciara and Caecilia. As long as Jane doesn't really mess up again or we no longer get along, her position is secure.

But with Iselin next to me in bed, all is well in life. When we switch off the bedside lights, we fall asleep, happy with life as it is and snuggled up to each other.

End of Book 7

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