Emerilia Box Set, page 74
part #1 of Emerilia Series
“Well, you and Gorrund have been talking about it for a while now. Can’t say that I’m not curious.” Dave smiled.
“Well, smithing art refers to a smith’s personal skills and way of smithing. It is when you have evolved beyond the forge by looking back at your most basic instincts. Personally, I have the smithing art of Nature’s Guide. When I am making pieces, it is easier for me if they are formed into pieces of nature. It probably comes from me being a child and spending my days in the greenhouses with my father and then the smithy with my mother. I would always try to make metal flowers and carve out nature reliefs onto metal.
“I moved past that and went on to work with all kinds of smithing. Then, when it came time for me to learn my smithing art, I was stumped. It took me five months and came to me when I hadn’t slept for a week.
“I was working on a blade when my mind wandered to the gardens that I still visit. They bring me a sort of calm. I thought that I was already messing up trying to find my smithing art, so it was worth just messing around and carving out something that reminded me of nature, something to calm me.
“I worked for three days and nights until I created a blade that looked like a blade of grass with scenes of gardens across its polished blade. My smithing art made the blade and the enchantments much more powerful. Now, this is one kind of smithing art, but there are as many smithing arts as there are people in the world. Another Master Smith called Endur uses his fists to form the metal.”
“His fists?” Dave asked in alarm.
“Yeah. He was a soldier for a long time before an injury made him turn toward smithing. When he makes his blades, he punches the hot metal into form, imbuing it with different Affinities. His weapons and armor might be large, but they have passive bonuses to Affinities that would take an enchanter months to create runes for, leaving no room for any other bonuses,” Jesal said.
Dave whistled at that news.
“So now, we need to discuss why you got into smithing and your different techniques when working with the metal.”
“Okay,” Dave said. How the hell am I going to avoid telling her about shadow conjuring?
“So why did you get into smithing?” Jesal started.
“Well, uhh...” THINK OF SOMETHING, DAMMIT! “I guess it would be to gain a better understanding of materials and different objects’ makeup.”
“Why?”
With that, there was a rush of air as the room seemed to cool a bit.
“Bob, what the fuck are you doing here?” Dave looked at the gnome who appeared. He wore a floral shirt and shorts, and had what looked like a damn coconut with a straw.
“What! I thought that it would be better if I was here—you know, so you could tell her the actual reason.” Bob took a loud slurp from his coconut.
Jesal looked at the gnome in shock, quickly recovering. “Who are you?” She put the Mithril armor back in the box and sealed it.
“Wow, what a greeting. Should just go back to Markolm,” Bob muttered. “Don’t even get a hi, how are you doing? Sorry, I’ve been in a mountain this entire time so we couldn’t hang out!”
“Bob,” Dave said as Jesal looked as though she were going to do something any minute.
“Hiya. Jesal, right?” Bob must’ve seen something as he grinned. “Good! My name is Bob the Gnome. Great, huh? Though, you Dwarves might know me as Lo’kal. How are those vaults doing?” Bob took a seat as Jesal’s eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her skull.
Dave promptly facepalmed.
“So, how are things?” Bob asked, like a long-lost friend catching up on the latest gossip.
Dave sighed but he couldn’t resist a smile. “Not bad. Hitting metal and stuff.”
“Heard you made some ripples with that glass stuff,” Bob said proudly.
“Y-you’re Lo’kal?” Jesal stuttered, getting over her shock.
“Yep, though I’m rather liking this body. Pretty fun being Bob the Gnome. Felt like it was a good change from being a walking, talking furry frog.” Bob took another noisy drink from his coconut. “So, what’s Anna been up to?”
“You haven’t been watching?”
“Jukal are being a bunch of a-holes. Cut my damned TVO-Emerilia—dicks.”
“Can you prove it?” Jesal interrupted.
“Hmm.” Lo’kal tapped his chin. “A Dwarven Master Smith does not forge weapons and armor, but forges a path for their entire race. By their creations, Emerilia itself may change. They are the protectors, the unknown crucible that refines and assists the Dwarven lords in their actions.” Bob looked straight at Jesal, who looked pale, her mouth slightly open. “As long as you keep your faith in one another, I will keep my faith in you. With your words, you bind yourself to the Dwarven laws and the laws of the Master Smiths; protect, teach, and push your race forward. Use your actions to change the world, not your weapons. For my name is Lo’kal, and I entrust you with the protection of these vaults. Keep them secured and safe for a time when these weapons might be needed to protect this land.”
Dave didn’t say anything as he looked between Jesal and Bob.
Jesal looked as if she were still in shock but recovering quickly. “I never thought that I would meet the great balancer.” She started to bow, a sign of great and true respect.
“Stop that, lass. I’m in a damned floral shirt—you know how ridiculous that would look! Oh, and next time you’re in Markolm, you’ve got to taste out these pena-dri, so tasty!” Bob took another drink from his coconut thing, grinning as Jesal stopped her bow.
“Master Lo’kal, are the vaults to be opened?” Jesal asked.
“Master—that does have a nice ring to it. You should try it out, Dave.”
“In your dreams.” Dave sat back in his seat.
Bob chuckled. “Jesal, I gave the protection of those vaults to the Dwarven Master Smiths. This is your home and your planet. I may have made it but you have long since come to turn it into your home. I would not give you commands in your own home. Do what you feel is right. That said” —Bob’s face turned serious— “there are things coming that will make the stories of the dark ages look like fairy tales. Creatures of Power and paladins of all Affinities will walk Emerilia once again. Skill should not be replaced by the Weapons of Power and nor should only the Dwarves have all of them. It would make others jealous and for more power, many races are willing to go to extremes. It might be an idea to call a seasonal tournament hosted by the Dwarves for all races.”
Jesal had a serious expression as Bob put his coconut down.
“Now that wasn’t the reason that I’m here and why your guards are going to run in here after sensing me. The real reason is because of this handsome bastard right here.” Bob gestured to Dave.
Jesal’s eyebrow rose. She had picked up the easy way in which Dave and Bob talked to each other.
“Dave, you can tell her about everything if you so desire. I have been watching and I know that you haven’t revealed your gifts to anyone openly but I feel that it might be indeed connected to your smithing art—” Bob turned his head to the side as if hearing something. “Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later. Watch out. The other Affinities are gearing up for a large power grab here.”
Dave nodded and Bob disappeared.
Just moments later, the door opened, showing an armored warband looking around the room.
“Sorry, Master Jesal. The runes picked up an anomaly in this room,” the leader said.
“No worries. It was just a new rune that my student and I were trying out,” Jesal said.
“Ah, sorry, Master.” The warband leader turned, waving at the rest of his warband to exit the room.
“How the hell do you know Lo’kal?” Jesal demanded after the warband leader closed the door.
“It’s a long story.” Dave rubbed his head. Some tension left him as he could now tell Jesal the whole truth about his interest in smithing.
“I’ve got some time.” Jesal moved the steel box away. Even Mithril paled in comparison to learning more about the mysterious creature that was Lo’kal.
“Well, I guess it started when he told me that I was a bleeder between Earth and Emerilia,” Dave started.
***
As Dave’s tale had gone on, he had created a great number of things with his shadow conjuring ability. Calling it a spell at this stage felt as if that somehow cheapened it. Dave altered and change the parameters of what he conjured so completely.
Others might think of just making weapons and armor, but he has gone onto a whole different level. She drank from the glass; both the glass and the beer had been conjured from Mana.
As long as he could get close enough to analyze something, he could create a decent copy, though the power it took to create something was not small. Also, conjured items were unstable. There was a time limit on them, usually because their structure was unstable and as more time went on, their weak formation fell apart.
Dave’s growing knowledge of weapons and items allowed him to take items and copy them up to a certain level. Not just because he had come to see the object. He knew the processes that the items had gone through to reach the final state. Conjuring was not just recreating an object. It was using a different object as a blueprint and imbuing it with Mana to make it reality. Dave had complete control over whatever he conjured. He had control down to what he called the molecular level, building blocks of different elements that made up the materials he was working with.
“So, you started smithing as you were looking to reduce the cost of Mana to conjure. Then, you kind of got swept up in the spirit of creativity and looking to augment your abilities with different items to increase that power’s strength, like your armor. Now, it makes sense why you have so many empty spaces between different layers of your Magical Circuits. With your ability to conjure, you are able to insert the right runes, changing the circuits within to give you a level of control I have never seen before.” Jesal sighed and rubbed her face. They had been in the workshop all day, eating Dave’s rations as they talked.
The other facts, like him being a bleeder and Lo’kal, almost seemed trivial with all of the things that he showed off. There was no denying that his power was a strong one, with time and more understanding of smithing, building, enchanting and soul manipulation. Jesal shook her head at it all.
“So, do you have any idea of what my smithing art might be?” Dave asked.
“Not a damned clue. Like me, you’re going to have to figure that out. Before we do, I’ll teach you the secrets of Mithril, the last metal.” Jesal checked the time on her interface.
“That is a lesson for tomorrow. Right now, I need some damned sleep and a good meal before we get into that.” She rose from her chair, cracking and stretching her joints that had become stiff from sitting for so long. She laughed at the eager look in his eyes, which drifted to the steel box holding the Mithril bracer.
27: Holy Metal
“Okay, Mithril is no ordinary metal.” Jesal pulled out a thin sheet of metal. She’d spent the night thinking about what Dave had told her and relaying what Lo’kal had said to her to the other masters. Still, there was an energy in her as she moved the Mithril sheet around in her hand and passed it to Dave.
“Wow. It’s so light, and strong.” Dave studied the metal, biting it and trying to bend it before flicking it and listening to it.
“Mithril armor is the thinnest and strongest armor in the known world. Two millimeters of this stuff is equivalent to two inches of the finest steel.”
Dave whistled and rubbed his hand over the metal. “There’s a grid form to it.” His eyes unfocused as he used his Touch of the Land.
“Good, and yes, there is. When Mithril is put into its final state, then it creates a grid pattern naturally, aligning itself to its new creation. No matter what form you put it in, the Mithril will settle into a pattern that is the strongest for that shape.”
“That’s incredible,” Dave whispered.
“It is, but it also makes refining and changing Mithril a right stone cold bitch.” Jesal smiled.
Dave’s eye twitched before he let out a laugh. “Well, I didn’t think that it was going to be easy! What do I need to know?”
There were no manuals or information on the forums about how he could change and form Mithril. No Player had been able to smith Mithril before. This was one of the greatest kept secrets of the Dwarves. One that gained them fame and the world’s interest.
I wonder just how many secrets these Dwarves have? If Bob knows them enough to give their Master Smiths advice, I think that there is a lot more than meets the eyes with this bunch!
Dave smiled. No matter their secrets, he felt at home with the Dwarves. They showed respect to one another for their different skills and the Master Smiths were idolized.
Yet, people didn’t avoid them and the Dwarves were as happy to teach anyone anything. All were valued equally and people were allowed to do as they desire. Other races and groups might make it mandatory for people to be in the military. For the Dwarves, it was completely free. Their mindset was much that of the Stone Raiders: they could do whatever they desired; no matter what, the Dwarves would treat one another as if long-lost family.
I’m not entering into a trade—I’m entering into a family. That thought struck him more than the Mithril. He felt a smile spread across his face in joy.
“Well, first of all, the way that you get Mithril to move is you need to imbue part of your soul into it. Mana doesn’t work, but your soul—well, it has much more raw energy and a higher degree of control.”
“How the hell do I use my soul?” Dave frowned at Jesal.
“Well, that is where things get fun.” Jesal’s grin was hungry, making Dave quiver.
She pulled out what looked like a piece of shaped malachite. Taking it, she placed it on the Mithril and closed her eyes. Her face turned into one of concentration as a thin sheen of sweat was visible on her face. Dave saw and felt the bonds that had been made slowly changing, allowing the metal to be moved easier. It would still need someone to pound on it with some damned strong tools but it was now possible to forge the metal into something else.
Jesal wiped her brow, grinning, and handed Dave the rounded glass.
“That is a gem that allows someone to use their soul energy on another object. Your soul’s energy is much more refined than your Mana. As you expend your soul energy, then your Mana will fill the void and become refined by your soul.”
“Okay, this soul stuff is all really confusing,” Dave said.
“Think of soul energy as your hand and Mana energy as a river. With the Mana, you need to make contraptions in order to change the direction of the river, using its power for different things. Those contraptions are Magical Circuits. Soul energy moves with the user’s mind. It exercises power over the natural order, but it doesn’t need runes, formations, or circuits to control it. It has been imprinted with your very consciousness. You think of something and it will react exactly the way you’re thinking.
“Mana is easy to think of as infinite as with enough time it will always come back; so will soul energy. The difference is the toll on the body and the mind. Using soul energy is a hard task. The more you use, the closer you become to a vegetative state, with your mind incapable of making connections or even talking in proper sentences. With Mana overuse, you get headaches and pain, but you don’t lose your mental faculties.”
“So, why do I need to use soul manipulation tools?” Dave asked.
“They direct your power and amplify it. Your soul energy is more refined and powerful compared to Mana energy. Using tools instead of just our minds allows us to leave less of an imprint on the energy and thus retain more of our mental faculties for longer.”
“So, I don’t have to concentrate as long, which will keep me from going wide-eyed and stupid?”
“Well, pretty sure you got that part down easy enough.” The corner of Jesal’s mouth turned up into a smile. “What you’ve got to look out for is draining yourself. With time, one can grow their Willpower; becoming more sure in their person, facing more fears, using their focused soul energy and so on. Though it is not an easy task, as it grows, you will have more energy to use on this kind of finer magical alterations.”
“So, the soul contains an imprint of our consciousness and is formed from energy. We’re using this refined energy that the soul produces on the Mithril to break down the complicated bonds that hold it in place.”
“Correct. As one’s Willpower stat increases, the power that you can draw from your soul and the rate at which it can be refined increases. With your friend, the summoner, she is able to call more creatures as she is able to make an imprint of her soul’s energy onto different creatures with a higher Willpower. That said, she is storing it in another creation and while her soul’s total energy will refill with time, it is only until she destroys the creation that she can use the Willpower controlling the creature. With too many copies floating around, it weakens the imprint on the creation.”
“Okay.” Dave nodded. “Then, when we are using these tools, how is that energy being used?”
“When using this and other soul extending tools on Mithril, you are not passing on a part of your consciousness onto anything. Think of your own conjured blades. The reason you can’t make so many is because your Willpower is low. Now, you’re not putting your consciousness into them as much as your summoner friend does with her different creations. Yet, the plans—the thoughts and the ideas of what you want your conjured blades to be—are used as a template, waiting to be imbued with Mana to turn it into reality. Your Willpower creates a blueprint and your Mana empowers it. At least that is my running theory.” Jesal shrugged.
“Interesting. So, how much power does it take to shift Mithril?” Dave asked.
“Quite a bit, especially if it is refined. It is not abnormal to find people who store up their soul’s energy in soul gems for weeks before starting a Mithril project. Heat, special forges—all of it is needed to not only purify Mithril but to turn it into a piece of armor.
