After the research of "Rock Instruments" had been completed, Carman found himself nearly drowned in a bunch of blueprints. From various regular to electric guitars, to microphones and speakers, drums, and even a Piano, Carman had a multitude of instruments to build.
Selecting what was by far the easiest option, Carman tossed some wood, leftover epoxy, and Cryo Steel into his transformation circle. Using his skill, Carman shaped the wood into the body of a guitar, using the scraps of epoxy to seal it from the elements, he then fashioned the Cryo Steel into six strings, tuning pegs, and screws to hold a strap. Placing the strings into the guitar, he used his power to adjust the tension of the strings until they rang out with each note almost perfectly.
Something he noticed was that due to the material he used to make the strings, they were always cool, not surprising given their elemental alignment, but they also vibrated for less time than he remembered the strings in his previous life, perhaps it was the Cryo element speeding up the decrease in momentum. After all, cold was the lack of energy among atoms, so it made some sense that it would take more energy to make the strings vibrate longer.
It wasn't until he started to actually play the guitar that Carman noticed an additional feature of the instrument. As he slowly plucked at it, working to remember the fingerings of the songs he used to play, the room grew steadily cooler. It wasn't until he had finished his current song and shifted his attention that he noticed the sudden change in temperature, using his elemental sense, Carman could see that there were many excited Cryo energy particles vibrating in the air. As he tentatively plucked a string, the vibrations of the string harmonized with the particles in the air, bringing them into an excited state.
'How very interesting… I wonder what else I could do with this' thought Carman as he started to play various songs. However no matter what he played, all he did was excite the cryo particles.
'Maybe I can't do much since I cannot control the Cryo element, maybe I should try some strings made up of Hydro or Anemo aligned alloys.' After having such thoughts, Carman did just that and made some strings using alloys he could buy locally. After some time, Carman played the music from his guitar, tuned with Anemo strings and the wind around him started to pick up. With mild effort, Carman pushed some of his will into the surrounding elements, then he created a group of miniature tornaoes around his feet. With almost no effort, he could move some of the tornadoes independently. A similar thing happened when he used the Hydro orientated strings, and he condensed the water in the humid air into many sword shaped droplets of water and plunging them downward into the ground.
'That could be dangerous, I should get my hands on some regular alloys, it would not do if I flood or wreck my room with tornadoes every time I practice my music.' thought Carman
Soon enough, Carman got his hands on some regular strings he started to play once more, perhaps it was just him, but without feeling the energy resonate around him, Carman felt like the music was duller, less vibrant, it was like listening to a recording of an orchestra made with a bad microphone after hearing the original performance in person.
Swallowing his dissatisfaction, Carman continued practicing, relearning the songs he hadn't played in over 5 years, however, thanks to his efforts in Occlumency, he could remember most of the notes and hand positions. It would take some time for him to rebuild the muscle memory that he had in his previous life, but he was a fast learner, especially since he was still physically a child.
Over the next few days, Carman created multiple guitars of varying qualities, from standard, to professional, to luxurious. He also created a variety of sizes, ranging from smaller versions like the one he had to use due to his physical age, to larger ones intended for people with larger builds. Looking into the instrument scene, Carman found that there were no Guitars on the market, or even any hints that there was some place to commission them. Was he in the time before Xinyan and the Fontainian Rock and Roll guy started their musical careers? If so this presented a unique opportunity.
Bringing his guitar to Livre, Livre was shocked at the quality of the instrument that Carman brought to him. He didn't know that Carman had started to dabble in other crafts, especially not in music, but the songs that Carman played were far from the classical music he was used to. It made his heart beat faster, made him feel energetic.
Livre could not in good conscience take credit for this new instrument under his shop's name so he pulled out some paperwork he had prepared, it was much earlier than he had expected, but he had started a registration for a separate company for Carman to take control over once he was old enough. He was sure Carman had what it took to revolutionize the market in various fields, the child was just so intelligent, and learned like a sponge in fields he was interested in, it had only been a matter of time until he made something that Livre would refuse to take even partial credit for, and so he had prepared. The only thing left to do in order for it to be official was for there to be a name for the brand, which he left for Carman.
Carman, looking at the registration forms in surprise, asked, "why did you prepare all this?"
Livre smiled gently before saying, "the same reason my father helped me create this workshop, while I would be thrilled for your work to add to the prestige of my brand, I can't in good conscience let that happen as if it did happen, it would seem like your inventions only happened because of me. My face would be associated with your work, and I can't let that happen as your father, I want people to see your work and know it was you who did it."
".. I see, thank you." said Carman a bit touched about how steadfast Livre was about him getting recognition for his work. "Can I still sell them in your store though? I don't think I can scrounge enough to buy my own shop yet."
Livre cracked a smile. "Of course, we should also get that instrument patented, so you can monopolize it for a bit before copycats start to crop up. I will help handle most of the paperwork with that though you already have a lot on your plate with school, and apparently experimenting and creating new things. Speaking of, your company still needs a name to be formally recognized by the officials, do you have any ideas, or will you need some time?"
Carman sat on a nearby box and considered for a while, at first he considered "Fontaine Innovations" but that was a bit lazy and he was sure someone had already claimed it by now. Then he remembered, Fontaine was built in the same region that Remuria, Teyvat's equivalent to Rome, once was. Perhaps something in Latin then, or Remurian as it was called here.
'Nova means New, how about Nova Technology? Not too stellar sounding at least to me, also kind of dumb. New Technology?... too simple. Aurora means Dawn, Aurora Technologiae, or Dawn of Technology… sure why not, though it does seem a bit presumptuous, but if I am going to be leading a new age of technology, it might be right? Let's just go with that.' Thought Carman as he stared off into space pondering what to call his budding company. "Let's go with Aurora Technologiae, I think it fits what I aim to do when I grow older."
"Aurora Technologiae? Is that Remurian? It has been a bit since I touched up on that language." said Livre.
"Yes, it is, it means the Dawn of Technology. I want to bring in a new age of tech ranging from personal defense, to medical, and even everyday use. And like the light of the sun, I want to spread my inventions all over the world." said Carman.
"I see quite the ambition you have there Carman, but if it's you… it sounds about right." Said Livre before he scrawled the name onto the document.
[Timeskip: 1 month later]
Carmon was exhausted, despite having built up a decent stock prior to bringing them to the market, he had underestimated how popular a novelty like a new instrument would be to noble families. And due to how many families there were in Fontaine, his previous stock of luxurious Guitars simply wasn't enough to meet the demand, as one particularly proud noble had brought his intricately decorated guitar to a party, and despite not playing it. The elegant decoration and the mysterious aura it gave off intrigued the other nobles, children and adults alike.
Nobles also started asking Carman to teach their servants or their children how to play the instrument as he would typically show them how to play it prior to selling one to them, he also handed them a card to bring with the guitar any time it needed to be tuned. The card would be linked to one specific guitar and would serve as proof of authenticity, as Carman hid a string of numbers within the metal of the card and the wood of the Guitar that only people with access to his transformation table would be able to detect.
Some of the more wealthy nobles had offered to buy the patent from Carman, wishing to tap into the market themselves, but Carman refused, reminding them that the patent would end in a few years, and then it would be free to anyone to sell, and there was little use in paying to have access to what was little more than a novelty item amongst Nobility, as more often than not, they were simply bought to be used as display pieces rather than actual instruments.
A few shops tried to replicate the Guitar, often trying to mask the difference in quality by adding more gold and jewels onto the exterior, some nobles bought them, only to be disappointed when strumming the strings failed to make the harmonious sound that Carman's did. They soon realized that these were poor counterfeits and quickly brought the copycats to court to get their Mora back, the repeated lawsuits and the extra fines for trying to sell a unauthorized imitation of a patented item soon caused these ambitious counterfeiters to go bankrupt.
Soon Carman was getting orders from nobles and officials of other countries, submitting commissions for one of his instruments. Unfortunately, due to the relative fragility of the Guitars, Carman needed to hire a service to transport these commissions out of the country and to whoever requested them. However, Carman had a lot of trouble selecting who to partner with, the cheaper options were either new to the market and untested or had a history of "losing" the items they were transporting or having the items break in transit, and the more expensive options had all insisted-on percentages of the commission rather than a base rate.
Carman, Livre, and Ryuzu were busy digging through documents, trying to find the best deal when an unexpected contender showed up. An offer from the Engrenage family.
As a fellow seller of somewhat luxurious items, they had reached out to share their resources asking for a decent price per shipment. But they had a good deal of protection, as selling customized Gardemeks to nobles often left one with enough Mora to buy and maintain basic models, and a stellar reputation amongst consumers for their shipping speed and reliability.
The only thing that stood in the way was that the letter also requested that Carman meet with the head of the Engrenage Family to finalize the details of their agreement.
-To be continued.