Me, My Spirit, And I [Book 1 Complete]

On a table inside the Mound Shada studied the Essence pattern of a lump of raw iron and a pile of charcoal. He wanted to try Conjuring steel and had checked with his reference sources and since carbon and iron were abundant Conjuring steel wouldn't be too Essence expensive, but Conjuring a combination of materials without a reference was somewhat more complicated. There were no spell forms for Conjuring steel and no actual steel to serve as an example. The recipe for steel was incredibly simple, 1% carbon and 99% iron give or take half a percentage point, but it was the process of combining them with heat that was more complex. Of course he would rather have made something like stainless steel, but that required raw materials he didn't even know if Sierrallas had discovered yet.

Shada used Material Master to remove everything not iron from his sample. He did the same with the charcoal until he had the purest iron and carbon he could create. It wasn't perfect, but he wasn't aiming for perfection, he just wanted to create a proof of concept. He carefully used a magical scale to measure out the materials to get the right ratio.

Steel required numerous steps, some of which Shada already skipped using magical purification. He lacked the raw power and the skill needed for his magical steel furnace so had enlisted the help of his grandfather and Raelis who were both intrigued by the idea.

"Master Shada, I believe the dwarves are known to be able to create something like this 'steel' you are referring to, but the process is unknown to the rest of the world and they don't sell it to outsiders, ever. Are you quite sure you understand the process? Have you really considered the implications if the secret gets out? If what you have said is true then steel is as good if not better than enchanted bronze."

"Right now I am just experimenting. Steel was so common on Earth that it was thrown away like trash. It piled up in giant heaps of rusted metal that could spread over acres of land. It was in everything; buildings, roads, tools, vehicles, you name it and it likely had some steel in it. Now admittedly there were plenty of different types. Some of which I can't make without metals I am not sure have been even discovered on Sierrallas, but with magic I don't see any reason some basic carbon steel can't be made. Once made I can Conjure it and once Conjured it could be Duplicated from what I understand using raw iron ore and charcoal."

"You said you had some ideas to improve the Duplication spells I showed you, yes?" Alexzandrous asked curiously.

"Yes, but I hesitate to even mention them. Using my Polyglotism Skill to break the spell down was enlightening and it appears that the Duplication spells all have purposeful flaws. The spell could be used to create perfect copies, but it looks like it was designed to not be 100% effective on purpose. I can sort of understand why whoever made the spell did that as there was a literal note hidden in the spell! The rough translation basically said: I don't want to eliminate the need for crafters, only help them avoid the tedium of making the same thing over and over. I imagine without the purposeful flaws that crafters would only ever create one perfect example of anything and then duplicate it endlessly until people forgot how things were even made to begin with."

"I can see how that could be a problem on a social and economic level. Duplicators already reduce the need for crafters in general; even if they aren't the most Essence Efficient means of manufacturing new items, they are still quite popular," Alexzandrous said while stroking his long white beard. "I am getting distracted. Please explain what we are doing again."

"So I crafted a stone crucible with Vanestra's help with some reinforcing enchantments on the outside. We will be putting the purified iron and carbon in the crucible and then you will be heating the mixture until it liquifies and my Analysis skill says it has become steel. After that I will study it and try to Conjure more via Material Mastery. Once I have enough I will have you melt it all down in the crucible and then pour it into a mold. I am fairly confident I can then use the Shaping part of Material Mastery on the cooled steel to replace the need for complex forging techniques. When we are done we should have a nice steel dagger we can test."

"Master Shada, are you saying that your people could do all this without magic? That is rather impressive. Even local smiths rely, at least in part, on magic to create metal goods. I cannot possibly imagine doing it without and I visited the Infernal Forges! Raelis said.

"You would be amazed at what centuries of trial and error can produce when combined with necessity. Remind me to tell you how we taught rocks how to think one day."

Shada had placed the iron and carbon in the crucible, which had a ward around it to prevent the heat from escaping. "Ok, grandpa you're up. Start slow, but keep increasing the heat until the mixture is liquid."

Alexzandrous nodded before casting a forging spell he had found among his many reference books. The spell was Essence hungry and not something Shada could cast without depleting his reserves rapidly. Heating things magically was rather different than using more conventional means. Heat could be Conjured directly inside the material without having to to pass through from the outside in. With the size of the first sample it didn't take the iron long to melt and begin absorbing the carbon. It took mere minutes for the mixture to register as steel to Shada's Analyze Skill.

"Ok, stop, it has turned into steel. Cool it off slowly, but steadily," Shada said with his attention focused on the small sample, but also on the sheer precision of his grandfather's spell casting ability.

Once the sample had cooled Shada had the small disk of steel placed on a table so that he could study its Essence resonance for Conjuring. This part of the process actually took the longest and required a trance-like state for Shada. The others had wandered off after the initial interesting bit. Conjuring was rather mundane to ancient beings like Alexzandrous and Raelis.

"I think I got it," Shada said to no one in particular. It took a few attempts and the normal amount of failed Conjurings, but Shada was able to Conjure more steel and it was added to his list of known materials. "Where did everyone go?"

Shada went to collect his assistants before returning to his crafting project. "It took longer than I expected, but I got the Essence pattern for steel down and Conjured enough for a dagger from the sample we took. Admittedly, now that I think about it we should have just made a larger sample, but that is neither here nor there. While I was working I realized that I may still be thinking too much like an Earthling. I don't need the steel remelted, I can use the Shaping and Manipulation parts of Material Mastery to create a dagger. It might be slower than using a mold, but I should give my Skill a workout."

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"I was wondering when you would notice that, master Shada," Raelis said with an amused look on his demonic goat face.

"Yes, well I am new to all this. A few mistakes are inevitable."

Under the eyes of Raelis and Alexzandrous, Shada forced the steel samples to soften and blend together. He then stretched, flattened, and molded the steel telekinetically like it was clay until he had a rough dagger shape. After that he began the tedious process of refining the shape, sharpening the edge, and ensuring a smooth even finish. It wasn't a quick process, but Material Mastery was an incredibly powerful and versatile Skill. Shada was also taking his time and being very careful to get things just right.

The entire process from creating a steel sample to Shaping the dagger took hours, but in the end Shada had a simple unembellished steel dagger. Shaping a bit of Wyldwood into a handle was child's play in comparison. When he was done he placed the magically crafted steel dagger next to a similar bronze dagger. There was a second bronze dagger with sharpening and hardening enchantments.

"Time for testing. Raelis, you prepared the targets, yes?"

"Hours ago, master Shada."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Alexzandrous said in amusement.

"What? Oh, yes please use the Duplication Spells so we have multiple samples to test. I had forgotten. A copy of the modified version should be around here somewhere and we have the raw materials for perfect and regular copies."

Alexzandrous nodded and studied both spell versions before casting. A pile of iron, charcoal, and Wyldwood floated into the air before slowly transforming into identical copies of the dagger as the Archmages resonant voice filled the small workroom. As the daggers took shape the impurities and excess material rained down below and the original dagger slowly disintegrated. In the end there were six new perfect duplicates of Shada's homemade dagger. Of the six one was used to make five more regular flawed duplicates.

Shada mentalled rubbed his nonexistent hands together. Magic time was over and it was now time to do some good old fashioned scientific testing. The first tests were designed to check the flexibility and durability of the blades by trying to bend and blunt them. After that came testing against various objects from fruits to a haunch of some animal and even more exotic tests.

The tests proved what Shada already knew would be the case, steel outperformed bronze in every test except corrosion and acid resistance. Of course, enchanted bronze could match unenchanted steel, but even the imperfect sample could outperform plain bronze. The regular duplicates were more brittle and didn't keep an edge as well as the perfect copies, but they still did well.

Vanestra was forcibly recruited to assist the 'men' in creating better daggers. She had the most skill in enchantments in the family. It didn't take her long to engrave and enchant the steel blade with a schema Shada had found in one of the Mounds' many books.

It turned out that enchanted steel was kind of scary. It could cut through unenchanted bronze with effort and with enough strength behind it could piece stone. Even compared to the enchanted bronze it was in a league of its own in terms of sharpness, cutting power, and durability. His family were both impressed and rather concerned by the implications of Shada's experiments.

—

With the success of his first experiment Shada chose to try something a bit more ambitious. He knew that he could Conjure Holy materials using a combination of his Skills, but he had avoided doing so for a variety of reasons. However, what would the Temple think of having access to Holy Steel Daggers? For this crafting experiment he was working on his own. Raelis wouldn't like being near Holy materials and Shada didn't need Alexzandrous to melt and cool for him. Admittedly he would need to use a lot of Essence Crystals for it, but that was hardly a problem for his family. They were by local standards exceedingly rich even if they didn't live like it.

It wasn't difficult for Shada to Conjure Holy Steel, but anytime he worked with Holy Essence was difficult as it was not meant for mortals. Often it left him feeling raw and tired like having his very being exposed to bleach or bright sunlight. Paradoxically it was also warm, welcoming, and comforting.

Shada knew the special properties were due to using Holy materials rather than any particular crafting skill on his part, but they were impressive nonetheless. A skilled blacksmith could have created something far superior to his Holy Steel Dagger with ease. However, the dagger was a proof of concept, he could make steel, and he could make Holy steel. The question now was what was he supposed to do with it? Long term he wanted financial independence from his family, but as of right now money wasn't an issue. His needs as a spirit were just too limited.

—

In the cottage Luca sat on Vanestra's lap while she read to him and he read to her. He was lethargic this evening due to the magical strain Shada has been placing on his small body lately, but his bright and vibrant personality was still evident in his cheerful smile. Even without access to their shared Skills Luca still had the Polyglotism Trait and had picked up reading as fast as he had speech.

"Grandma, why does the grat chase the mara? Why can't they just be friends like me and Westlin?" Luca chirped. "Westlin is my bestest friend!"

"Grats eat mara, it is part of the cycle of life, it is as natural as the sun rising and setting," Vanestra replied to the precocious child.

"Can't they eat vegetables or sweet cakes? Do we have any more sweet cakes?" Luca asked.

"Some animals only eat other animals. They can't eat vegetables or sweet cakes my sweet and you shouldn't eat too many either, but I think I might have saved a special little one, a bite or two of mine," Vanestra said kindly.

"Yay! Can I eat it now please?"

"Of course my sweet, but let's finish the story first. We are almost done after all."

—

Shinobin was working on a new potion In another part of the cottage. The ingredients Shada had brought from the Depths had proved rather intriguing. Essencetropic plants that fed on Essence could have interesting catalytic effects when mixed with the right herbs. She was working on creating a blood purification potion from the samples. It would act like a drinkable purge and cleanse spell. It appeared to be working far better than she expected based on the feedback she got from her Guide.

—

Alexzandrous was tucked away in his Tower penning notes on Shada's experiments with magical metallurgy and the modifications to the Duplication Spell. To him Shada was an old scholar's dream. Between Shada's linguistic gifts and otherworldly knowledge Alexzandrous had enough material for numerous papers, though admittedly many of them couldn't be released publicly for fear of the consequences. The spell translations Shada provided were downright revolutionary and had allowed the Archmage to improve his own spellcrafting skill by leaps and bounds.

However, despite all of his intellectual enthusiasm Alexzandrou was afraid, he was afraid of what the knowledge Shada had could do to the world, and he was afraid of the danger it put his great grandchild in. He knew that Luca and Shada were meant to fix the System, but from what he had seen so far that would be a tiny part of their legacy for good or ill.

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