Week 1 

As I'm sure anyone reading these notes is well aware, the last 10 years of this seemingly endless war have been particularly gruelling - sometimes I worry I'll live and die in having never known a nation at peace - and as chief advisor to his excellency over these years we have been back and forwards again and again on how to get the upper hand. Chemical weapons, antimagic projectors, even opening rifts to other planes to disrupt supply lines. Despite out best attempts all of these experiments have either ended in failure, or were ultimately not the decisive weapon we needed to gain a significant advantage. After the discussion

I had with his Excellency today, I sense this may be about to change. I am loathe to grow too excited - a lifetime of failed experiments has left me rather more pessimistic than I would openly admit, though I truly believe this one has potential. 

Week 3 

Only three weeks into the process and already progress has been halted. The design calls for a power supply; one capable of not simply permitting basic motor functions, but one capable of powering a device with both impressive combat capabilities and a potent ability for spellcasting. Unfortunately, such a power supply does not exist, and if we knew how to create such a thing we would surely have won this war decades ago. 

While I continue flounder on the issue of power, the department of Archives have been making excellent progress - collating over 130 years of dedicated wartime writing on strategy, logistics, and tactics into a single, definitive document. Exactly how we intend to transfer this information from writing on a page to data stored in a machine is as of yet unclear to me, though truth be told I consider this the lesser of my trials. 

Week 25 

It is with a heavy heart that I write these words, yet I fear The Prototype will never reach completion. We have a fully fabricated outer shell, and with clever use of an adapted Modify Memory spell we have been able to fill an awakened sphere of iron with all the information collected to diligently by the department of Archives. There it sits: a steel body with the mind of a tactical genius, yet it is inert. 

Truth be told I have made excellent progress on the power front, compact devices capable of generating all kinds of energy on an impressive scale, and these devices alone are likely to improve out chances somewhat. Attaching them to the Prototype allows it to stand up, move around, and perform the most simply tasks, yet only when given very direct and simple orders, and it often required physical instruction along with it. So far it has proved unable to even brew cup of tea correctly without direction. 

The initial scheme Nonastin and I brewed all those weeks ago seems foolish now, the idea of a fully automated war time leader and warrior nothing more than a pipe dream. Though it saddens me greatly, I am forced to suspend work on this project in favour of more practical applications of my time, likely involving the developments in power this work has led to. 

Week 45 

After all this time I had worried I would be unable to find these notes again, seeing as I considered this project a wash, yet there has been a significant development since my last entry. Commander Worsteiner and her elites have returned from their raids against the eastern Boholian camps, and along with their usual stories of success they have bought with them something highly, highly interesting. 

A small sphere, little more than a tennis ball in size shining with a faint blue glow was found in the wreck of a crashed Nautiloid ship, its Illithid captains having either fled the scene if they were able, or dealt with easily by Worsteiner and her elites. I hold it in my hand now: it hums slightly with a faint resonance that is almost beyond detection, and is somehow incredibly light and, extraordinarily heavy all at once - held easily in the hand of a man of 65, yet falling with enough force to crack the stone of my floor. It bears none of the usual distinctive markings of Illithid artefacts, and I can only theorise that it was some kind of device discovered during one of the planar jaunts. 

I fear I have too few years left in me to discover the assets true nature, yet one thing is clear: this holds power. And an inordinate amount of it. From my initial projections, this could power our Prototype for years and barely make a dent. Nonastin has already granted my request to requisition the asset - all that remains now is to alter the Prototypes design to accept power from such a foreign source. 

Week 50 

Apologies for the shakiness of my hand, but we've done it. The first genuine success for what seems like an eternity. I spent 5 weeks modifying the Prototype unit to accept the asset as a power source, though I sense this may have been in vain - the second the two were put into contact the metal of the shell seemingly shaped itself into the correct size and design. 

The Prototype activated itself within moments of the initial connection, and the results are more than I could ever have hoped for. It doesn't just follow instructions - it acts with something which I can only liken to sentience, formulating sentences and deciding upon a course of action within only moments. After some exicted questioning to ensure the Protoype was stable, we shut it down, though it is very possible it simply de activated itself out of courtesy. 

Nonastin has called all those involved to a meeting at Timberwood Manor, revealing to none that the true purpose of this meeting is to unveil their new wartime leader. I am unsure what the new Generals response will be when activated in front of so many people, though I am certain whatever he plans to do will come as a shock, hopefully a shock which will be felt tenfold by our enemies once we turn him to his true task.