>>That reminds me, I was actually wondering if Gryphon (the character)
>>might be aware of and have taken some inspiration from the kanmusu of
>>Valhalla. They've been a going concern for some time now after all,
>>and while the afterlife isn't exactly a tourist spot, he's got
>>connections and all.

He may have heard something about them, but it's likely he hasn't seen one in person—Valhalla is more Corwin's beat, and on the rare occasions when G gets there himself, he generally has specific people to see.

>One of the other places he might have taken inspiration is from the
>Kohbu. You don't spend three years up to your elbows in a chi-burning
>steam engine and not pick up design cues for whem you decide to build
>another one.

He says as much to Shizuka in "H&H Ltd.", but she doesn't have the background information to know what he's referring to, and before she can ask, they're interrupted by Wilma showing up.

"What use is this, though?" Shizuka carefully walked around the arrangement that now sat on one of the test benches that used to hold Strikers under repair. "I see you moved the prop shaft up to this steam turbine, but... why the boiler? Why not just run the turbine off her own magic?" If we can help her to use it, she didn't add out loud. She didn't understand why the younger girl couldn't find her familiar—how could she be magically active without one?—but she didn't want to insult her, either.

Kneeling next to the modified engine, tightening one last set of bolts, Gryphon shook his head with an indulgent smile. "Because Mogami had a single-funnel boiler array driving her turbines before she went down, so now our Mogami needs one too." Standing and stretching, he gently ran a hand up the unpainted aluminum stack. "Magic's funny that way sometimes. It can be a very literal art. In this case—if Admiral Sugita is right—the Satō girl is tied to the ship's spirit. That means the engines we build for her need to work the same way."

"Well... if you say so." Hattori frowned as she thought that over, then looked to the other side of the shop, where Gryphon had asked Mogami to start welding together a set of aluminum and steel struts, creating a frame for the engine to eventually rest in. "So this is something you've seen before?"

Gryphon scratched at his beard thoughtfully. "Well... not precisely, but I'm borrowing a couple of ideas that worked for a few of my friends, and pairing it up with some equipment I used to use, well, a long time ago..."

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.