Steel and Mana

I was standing inside Kraus, my Forgemaster's workshop. Numerous bone fragments littered the ground, broken, hand-sized pieces were thrown into the corner, and at least two millimeter-thick bone dust covered all of the worktables.

"Sovereign, working with these bones can't be done in the conventional way. If we try to reshape them, the runes carved into them can not be disturbed, which could have dire consequences. Our best method is working with massive pieces and only whittling them into the desired shape."

"So the runes hinder our ability to cut them up..." I shrugged, knowing what he meant because I had just witnessed it the moment I arrived. One of the runes on the bone his people were cutting into got split, and the whole thing became volatile. That one cracked and shattered like glass, but Kraus already reported that there were bones that had simply gone up in flames. It was evident that the marrows within them still had enough magic to make the more massive beast's skeleton count as an artifact.

"We can work around it, but it will be a slow method." He continued, "What makes it challenging is the fact that after we managed to shape them into our desired form, we can't randomly put them together. What if the runes activate something unwanted?"

There was a low chance of it, but... he wasn't wrong. If somehow the naturally formed runes made up a real spell, it could indeed trigger it, and who knows what that would result in. Cataloging and deciphering all of it would take way too much time, not to mention the exponentially increasing combinations we can run into. That would require a supercomputer, and I don't think even Merlin could predict those.

"So, what's your solution?" I asked, smiling, looking at the few weapons already finished because I wasn't called over to be told they failed.

"Going big, My Sovereign." He chuckled, leading me to the table with three prototype weapons. Their metal parts were still raw and unpolished and yet to be wrapped in leather, starkly contrasting with the glossy, prepped bones. "This sword weighed in at eight kilos at the end, so it should be comfortable to wield by our soldiers and cause trouble for untrained enemies if they want to steal it."

"Not to mention its length." I added, running my finger through the blade that was embedded into a metal hilt with a long crossguard, looking like a massive claymore. "Did you test its capabilities?"

"Yes." He nodded proudly, showing me multiple thick steel plates. Some were clearly stabbed through, while others were deformed or shattered. "They are surprisingly solid and sturdy when left primarily intact. We only sharpened it and carved it into the rough shape of a sword. I will be honest, My Sovereign. I didn't expect them to be this strong."

"Me neither, but it is a welcomed surprise!" I laughed, feeling that if these weapons were handled by my best soldiers, then regular, armored knights would be sliced up like they were only wearing leather jackets.

"As long as the enemy is not wearing the same armor as us, they won't have a problem. Even if they do... Look at this, Sovereign!"

He didn't have to explain it because they were arrows with the shattered bone parts attached to them as arrowheads, finding a way to utilize the ruined, splintered bones.

"Although they are not as sturdy, they can still pierce armor better than steel variants of the same type. I know we aren't using archers, not when our cannons can do much better, but I thought of this!"

"Wait... is that?" I asked, surprised because he had just put a crossbow on the desk. No... It was a repeater crossbow with interchangeable magazines. Looking at its size, it wasn't clunky nor overly large; it was about the same length as a standard submachine gun.

"It can store twelve bolts and rapidly fire them. The best fire rate in our tests was three bolts in a second. Their effective range is about three hundred meters, but aiming is dodgy above a hundred. We may be able to affix magic on it to sync it up with those helmets that have built-in formations and Markers, but we haven't gone that far yet."

"Feel free to do so!" I grinned, patting his shoulders, "I like this! This type of creativity is what I'm all about. Good job!"

"Thank you, My Sovereign!"

"Continue improving the designs and start producing a few batches before winter. We will live-test them. These crossbows will be a perfect secondary weapon for our soldiers. In the future, I want them to be equipped with both melee and ranged weaponry!"

"I will get on it!"

"Glad to hear."

After leaving his workshop, I met with Merlin, reviewing the latest news and reports and making preparations for the coming winter, even if it was months away. While I mentioned Kraus and his invention along with the problems they ran into, I didn't expect it to reveal something to us that could quickly put us on the target of every Empire in this damned world.

...
....
......

"Back again? So soon?" Merlin asked, seeing his second reincarnation return to the library in his mind.

"Since you revealed yourself, I can enter willingly." He answered with a smile, walking up to his table, sitting down, and watching as his previous incarnation flipping the pages of a thick book that kept changing sizes. The more he looked, the more it seemed to never end, no matter how many times he turned a page over.

"I didn't reveal myself; I was always here. You just simply accepted reality. So, what is it now?" Old Merlin smiled, finally looking at him, raising his eyes from the book.

"I was curious as to whether you have a solution or formula for predicting what type of magic randomly placed runes would produce."

"What, are you bored?" He laughed, feeling it was the best joke he had heard, adding both of his lives together. "Are you studying monster bones?"

"So you did encounter this problem?"

"I did." He nodded, leaning back, his fingers stroking the open book before him. "I lead fourteen expeditions to the monsters' paradise."

"What?!"

"I usually went with only a small group of fellow mages and soldiers, no larger than a hundred people. If we had brought over too big of an army, the beasts would have smelled us out and decimated us."

"They don't take to intruders, I guess."

"There is something else there... I never learned what, but there was a strict hierarchy, and I only managed to explore the outskirts. I respect power, so I never tried to go truly deep."

"When you say hierarchy," Merlin asked his previous self, "do you mean like the law of the jungle? The strong rules over the weak?"

"Yes and no. There is more to it, a type of... order. Their outskirts are home to the discarded, the weak, and the useless. Those beasts that keep trying to come over? They are the starving dreg, hungry and desperate."

"No way..."

"Our history tells us that the mountains were raised by the Six Gods. It is not a legend, little Merlin; it is the truth. Wyland, God of Magic, describes that it had to be done because the beasts here were going to wipe out intelligent life. Instead of using their evolution to gain our human minds, they started to consume the Gods' energy. They were growing stronger, stronger, and even stronger on the powers of the Cosmos, pursuing matter over mind. The introduction of his book is written in black and white. The mountains are not only physical barriers..."

"Are... are they magical?"

"They are godly." He answered promptly, making Merling gulp because he felt that his old self wasn't lying. He knew it to be true because everything considered, they were the same person. "Only the weak can pass through; the real monsters can't approach it as the Gods' protection would smite them... well... there is one way to let them cross over the mountains." He chuckled, keeping his fingers on the book. "To gain our intelligence and let them be reasoned with."

"How... do you know that... for sure? Is that also written down?"

"What you are looking for," Old Merlin continued, ignoring his question, "is the Godly Artifact left behind by Wyland. His codex has been lost, but those artifacts can't be destroyed, not by mortal hands. I also studied the beasts, wanting to learn how they use magic to merge my knowledge and everything the Vasas invented. Wyland's gift to us before he left with the others is the only book that could do those calculations... Previously, it was in the hands of the Vasa bloodline. Why do you think they became so close to touching the realm of gods? Because they had an advantage... They had the knowledge in their hands! Only a God's mind can keep up with the Cosmic variations and laws and guide us to enter their domain."

"..."

Merlin fell silent by now, squinting, looking at his old self, trying to figure something out instead of going on an artifact hunt. The idea of searching for something that had been lost was not something he wanted to do. Then, a thought struck him. Was it truly lost? Before he could ask, he suddenly found himself sitting upright, looking around in his bedroom, glancing at Elena's sleeping figure next to him. Without waking her, he silently slipped out, putting on a robe before rushing out, running through the empty street straight into the palace to wake Leon up.

...
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......

"Wait, wait, waaaaait! Slow down!" I moaned, holding a mug of strong coffee that my yawning wife handed to me. "Thanks, Luna..."

"Um..." She nodded, hugging my waist and snuggling up to me.

"I am serious! He didn't lie!"

"I believe you, I just need time to comprehend it all, okay?" I grunted, standing in my office, woken up by one of Yuri's guards who were responsible for protecting the palace at night. At first, I thought something terrible had happened, especially when I saw Merlin's expression and watched him walk up and down in the throne room. While I told my wives to go back to sleep, Luna insisted on coming and making me coffee so I could wake up and focus. When her task was completed, she quickly returned to being half-asleep, using me as support, and acting like a koala.

"He wants us, wants me, to learn and experience things, and he wants me to go on a hunt for the artifact!"

"It is enticing," I moaned after two more sips, "but damn, you know how big the world is? Because it is big."

"I already found it."

Well, he can't blame me for spraying him with hot coffee because I almost choked on it myself.

"What? Are you joking?"

"No. I am observant enough, Leon. That book he was reading... He has it. That artifact is not lost; it is with him. Maybe he had it for a long time... It's no wonder he had the title of Emperor of Magic!"

"That... That would also mean," I coughed a little, giving him some tissue to wipe his face down, "that you have it, no?"

"I... I guess?" He mumbled, feeling unsure. "I know nothing about godly artifacts and what they can do... Well, I may have it, but he has it more. Ugh... This is so complicated!"

"Tell me about it!" I added with a moan, rubbing my forehead. "Even if it isn't true... Haaah! I guess it is because you two are the same; your intuition has to be correct. Okay, this news can't get out of here, got it?"

"Yes!" He saluted, gulping and looking at me.

"I don't need to be smart to realize that if anyone learns that a God's plaything had been discovered, shit would hit the fan, fast. The whole world would want to come and get it, especially because it would mean Ishillia has two. Yeah... no. This knowledge is not to be divulged! To nobody. Not even to Elena, do you understand?"

"Yes. My lips are sealed forever!"

"I will tell my wives so we can sit and explore it when we learn more about it, but that is it. Nobody else without my permission!"

"Um, um!" He nodded, agreeing to it all without question.

"Damn..." I chuckled, looking at Merling with a half-smile. "You are like a main protagonist in one of your fictions, Merlin."

"I'm not!" He answered with a groan and pout, "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay... Your old self wants you to rediscover it, which means he probably won't divulge more about it, not even if you ask. But if it is in you, it is in your head. No wonder you could react so fast in the past when danger arrived..." I mumbled, emptying my cup and watching him continue to pout, feeling aggravated by the situation.