Evan returned to the workshop at a near run with Rhel and Taron close behind. News of the standoff spread so quickly the workshop was already in a frenzy before he stepped through the doorway. Craftsmen slammed materials onto benches. Apprentices rushed across the room carrying cores tools or raw plates. Soldiers carried crates in and out with shaky urgency.

Evan raised his voice. “Everyone stop.”

The room froze.

He pointed to a half assembled weapon shaking slightly in a craftsman’s trembling hands. “This is what happens when you panic. You lose precision. And precision is the only reason we survived the ridge.”

The craftsman swallowed and set the weapon down carefully.

Evan stepped into the center of the workshop and drew a deep breath. “Listen to me. We are not losing this fortress. Not today not next week not next month. But we win by being better not faster. Keep your hands steady. Keep your minds clear. Follow the stations. If the rival kingdom returns they will face weapons they cannot understand.”

A resolute murmur rippled across the room.

Rhel approached. “We need numbers Marshall. Enough for at least two squads. Maybe three.”

Evan nodded. “We will get there. But we also need something else.”

Taron leaned in. “What else can we build”

“Defense. Your walls are old. Your towers are unstable. If they bring siege gear or mages we need ways to protect ourselves. Not just shoot back.”

Rhel frowned. “What kind of defense do you have in mind”

Evan walked to the chalk wall and drew fast rough shapes. They looked like towers inside towers with small channels carved along their sides.

“These are mana stabilizer anchors. Simple devices that take raw magic from surrounding air and ground and convert it into a steady shield around the stone. Your mages do this by hand but it exhausts them. These tools do it automatically.”

Craftsmen blinked. “You can build that”

“If I can redirect mana inside a handheld weapon I can redirect it inside a wall anchor.”

Rhel nodded. “We need those anchors on every tower.”

Evan pointed to another sketch. “And we redesign your battlements. Right now your wall shape encourages scattered fire. If we reshape these top stones into angled grooves soldiers can rest compact weapons and maintain accurate aim while staying protected.”

One craftsman blinked. “You want to rebuild the walls”

Evan shook his head. “Refit them. Quick work. Minimal material. Maximum advantage.”

Rhel smiled for the first time that day. “Finally someone in this fortress thinks ahead.”

The workshop burst into motion again but this time with structured purpose.

Taron took charge of the core stabilization line.
Veteran craftsmen shaped metal plates exactly as Evan demonstrated.
Rhel gathered squads of soldiers to help transport finished weapons and install anchors on the towers.

Evan moved through the workshop correcting mistakes refining pieces and drawing new diagrams faster than anyone could copy. His mind worked at full speed visualizing flows patterns energy paths and structural weaknesses.

Hours passed. Weapons stacked neatly in crates. New sight lenses lined wooden trays. Mana anchors hummed faint blue as craftsmen installed them around the workshop walls.

Rhel walked over with sweat running down his face. “Marshall the first twenty compact units are already on the towers. Their aim is cleaner than anything I have ever seen.”

Evan nodded without looking up from a redesign he was drawing. “Good. Now we push the next phase.”

“What next” Rhel asked.

Evan pointed to a new sketch. The shape resembled a rotating tube with several small chambers. “A magic repeater. Your weapons charge slowly. But if we build a multi chamber core cycle the soldier can fire three or four shots in fast sequence.”

Rhel stared. “Is that even possible”

Evan smirked. “On my world people built repeating rifles over a hundred years ago. Magic should make it easier. If we build it right.”

Taron stepped closer eyes shining. “Master Marshall if we build this repeating weapon our soldiers could break any formation.”

“Then we make it real.”

The workshop groaned with effort but also excitement. Evan began shaping the first chamber ring. It was delicate work requiring absolute symmetry and clean flow channels. But his hands moved with confidence built over years of working with small scale engineering.

Rhel watched silently. “Marshall I need to ask something. Why are you helping us so much Why take this much risk Why build so much for a kingdom you barely know”

Evan kept shaping the chamber but his voice softened. “Because somebody has to. Because I know how it feels to build something that matters. Because I was dropped here with nothing but my skills and I refuse to waste them.”

Rhel nodded slowly. “You may save Ironhold. Not as a soldier. As a craftsman.”

Evan snapped the chamber ring into a frame piece. It clicked with perfect alignment. He held it up to the light watching mana flow across its surface.

“That is who I am” he said quietly. “A builder. A fixer. A model maker who changes things piece by piece.”

He placed the chamber into the new repeater frame.

“Now let us change this world some more.”