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Using the ship model as a conversation starter, Kael sought advice from Círdan on shipbuilding techniques.

Círdan answered everything, having no intention of keeping his shipbuilding skills secret.

"Lord Círdan, when sailing at sea, the first consideration is the ship's structural integrity. Wood is fragile. Have you considered using steel as a replacement?"

"How could that work? Steel is heavy and simply wouldn't float in water..." Círdan instinctively wanted to shake his head and dismiss Kael's unrealistic idea but suddenly froze.

His eyes widened as countless sparks of wisdom flashed within them, as if breaking through barriers of understanding, with innumerable assumptions and inspirations exploding in his mind.

He immediately grabbed Kael's hand excitedly.

"Kael, can you tell me about these steel ships? My intuition tells me this will be the future evolution of vessels, but my eyes are veiled by mist. I cannot see the true future!"

Kael hadn't expected Círdan to be so excited. Was this the passion for shipbuilding?

He nodded immediately and said to Círdan. "Lord Círdan, do you have any iron blocks here? I need them for demonstration."

"Yes! Please come with me!" Círdan eagerly led Kael to his private shipyard and placed a pile of metals before him.

Under Círdan's expectant gaze, Kael waved his wand at the metal, transforming it according to his memories.

A large iron block was kneaded and reshaped like clay, finally becoming a small ten-meter steel warship.

Then Kael levitated it into the deep water of the nearby private dock.

The steel vessel floated steadily on the water's surface. Though it sat deeper than wooden ships, it didn't sink.

Círdan's eyes gleamed looking at this ship, as if seeing some rare treasure.

"May I board it?" Círdan stared directly at the steel ship, his voice full of excitement.

"Of course!" Kael smiled and nodded, then waved to conjure a gangway between the ship and dock.

Círdan immediately walked aboard quickly, not worried about problems.

Kael followed.

Both men stood on the steel ship as Círdan explored like discovering a new toy, touching here and there, examining the hull's construction everywhere.

Finally, as if finding a problem, he frowned in confusion and asked Kael. "Though this steel ship is sturdy, it's also too heavy. Using oars would be very laborious and cumbersome. This seems rather counterproductive."

Kael smiled and said. "Since the hull is heavy, don't use oars. Replace them with greater power to propel the ship."

Círdan no longer saw Kael as a junior but as someone with vision and exceptional talent in shipbuilding.

He looked at Kael expectantly. "What's your idea?"

Kael didn't answer directly but asked instead. "Lord Círdan, have you seen boiling water? When steam rises, it lifts the teapot lid, and even great force cannot hold it down..."

Círdan's wisdom was unfathomable. Hearing Kael's words, his eyes immediately brightened.

He eagerly took a water-filled teapot and placed it on the stove.

When the water boiled and he watched the lid being continuously pushed up by steam, Círdan's eyes grew brighter. He even pressed down the lid but felt a tremendous force pushing it open.

"I never thought boiling water could have such power. If we could install a giant teapot on a steel ship, seal the steam outlet, and continuously boil water, the resulting power would easily propel even heavy steel ships. Possibly faster than wooden ones!"

Círdan's mind was now flooded with various ideas and inspirations. Without Kael's further hints, he was already designing steamship prototypes.

"Kael, you're truly a genius!" Círdan looked at Kael with admiration and appreciation. "Now I understand why Mithrandir and others praise you so highly. Your discovery will change the entire history of navigation!"

"Why don't you stay at the Grey Havens and learn shipbuilding with me? We could design and build a steel giant together that would surely surpass all my previous works!"

Faced with Círdan's enthusiasm, Kael politely declined.

He knew his own abilities. These discoveries were crystallizations of thousands of years of human wisdom from his previous life. He was merely transporting knowledge.

In actual practice, he'd probably be inferior to even ordinary shipwrights.

Moreover, he barely had enough time to study magic. Where would he find time to learn shipbuilding?

Seeing Kael's refusal, Círdan was disappointed.

He felt Kael had great shipbuilding talent, and with such creative ideas, he might well become the new generation "Shipwright King," inheriting his legacy.

Círdan had long sensed Valinor's call and already responded, yearning for the Undying Lands' peace.

But because his shipbuilding skills were exceptional and he could create ships safely reaching Valinor, the Valar had arranged for him to remain in Middle-earth, responsible for ferrying westward-bound elves until the last elf left Middle-earth.

Meeting someone like Kael with different shipbuilding perspectives, Círdan thought he might cultivate a successor, even someone more skilled than himself to replace him as helmsman.

Though disappointed, Círdan didn't insist.

In the following days, Círdan devoted most of his energy to studying steam engines, planning to develop one capable of propelling steel giants.

Kael didn't interfere further, believing in Círdan's wisdom to create steam engines.

Meanwhile, besides continuing daily Mercury of the Mind collection, he began his first Apparition attempt.

He specifically asked Galdor to watch nearby, ready to reassemble his body if Splinching occurred.

Hearing about this, Círdan set aside his work to watch Kael perform teleportation magic.

In a spacious area Círdan provided, Kael stood at the center with circles drawn on the ground around him, each marked clearly.

Círdan and Galdor waited quietly nearby.

Standing in the circle, Kael worked to calm himself.

Apparition required following three principles: Destination, Determination, and Deliberation.

Fear or hesitation could easily cause Splinching, part of the body appearing elsewhere while part remained behind.

Without timely repair, this caused permanent disability or death.

Kael raised his wand, staring intently at another circle nearby.

He focused all consciousness on the target.

He made his determination, letting the desire to be there flood from brain to entire body.

Then, dance-like, he spun in place.

With an almost inaudible crack, Kael's figure instantly vanished from circle one.

The next second, he appeared in circle two.

His first Apparition left Kael feeling uncomfortable.

He felt like his body was instantly compressed, squeezed through a very narrow rubber tube, surrounded by rapidly spinning colors and noise, vision and hearing blurred, unable to perceive specific things, then quickly squeezed out again.

Success?

Kael looked at his position questioningly.

But suddenly he heard Galdor gasp nearby. Following Galdor's nervous, worried gaze, he discovered his left arm remained in circle one.

Seeing Splinching had occurred, Kael didn't panic. He quickly summoned the arm and attached it to the stump, using spells to reconnect and repair.

Soon the arm was completely restored without abnormality.

This Splinching wasn't severe. After repairs, Kael again used Apparition, teleporting from circle two back to circle one.

This time he carefully examined his body. No missing parts.

In the following time, Kael wasn't limited to the two circles but continuously teleported throughout the space.

As his Apparition mastery improved, he never experienced Splinching again.

With a slight crack in the air, Kael appeared before Círdan and Galdor.

He thanked them sincerely. "I've mastered the magic well enough. Thank you both for watching over me!"

Círdan smiled and shook his head.

"No need for thanks. We didn't help much. Instead, seeing such miraculous teleportation magic was truly eye-opening!"

Galdor also nodded in amazement.

Months passed quickly, and Kael had collected sufficient Mercury of the Mind from Lhûn Gulf.

The once-silver bay had become pale and diluted. The elven emotions and memories accumulated over countless ages had been almost entirely extracted by Kael.

Even when Grey Havens elves put their hands in the water, they barely felt those intense emotional influences.

Perhaps in a few thousand years, these waters would again be tinted silver.

But by then, elves would likely be legend. No elves would come here to board white ships for western fairy lands.

Having collected the Mercury of the Mind, Kael's Grey Havens mission was complete.

Just as Kael prepared to bid farewell to Círdan, Círdan found him first with news: the steamship engine was complete.

Hearing this news, Kael was surprised.

Círdan had built a steam engine in such a short time?

Curiously, he went to the Grey Havens shipyard.

Many elven craftsmen were gathered around a massive machine.