The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 16 (Patreon)

Chapter 16 – Forged

So, the first part of designing any item was picking the materials. The materials decided what kind of things you could do with the form of the final piece. The materials determined the piece’s strength, how hard it was to damage or warp. The materials determined what kind of detail you could put in.

Of course, those more functional concerns weren’t the only things to consider when making a piece. You had to consider the person you were making the piece for, after all. Steel was a great material for detail work, but wasn’t really something you’d recommend for royalty. Platinum was useful, but, again, kind of pedestrian for something that a royal would use. No, it would have to be silver or gold.

Now, the difference between silver and gold was simple enough. Both were precious metals, but silver tarnished more easily. Also, somewhere between 10% to 15% of the population was allergic to silver, compared to about 9.5% for gold, and there were some people who were allergic to the other materials alloyed with the gold. On the other hand, silver was more widely used, so it could fit in better with the wearer’s casual wear, and it already had associations with health, which could be used symbolically to enhance the protective value of the magic. So, both gold and silver had their high points.

Or I could go with something more old school. The ancient Egyptians used electrum in a lot of jewelry. Even used it as a covering for the pyramids. Electrum is just a natural alloy of gold and silver. But there’s a man-made version called green gold, which is significantly easier to find, and gives the finished product a yellow-green look. And I could then use silver engravings to complete the look.

Now, I knew I wanted an amulet of some kind, so the question was, what kind of amulet? A gemstone was the initial thought, but perhaps a shield, with the royal family’s crest? Wait, if the item was typically going to be hidden behind a glamour, then I could do an inverted stela look, which would allow for more engraving, to enhance the effect of the eventual enchantment. But the crest changed slightly with each monarch or member of the family. So, I would need a way for the engraving to change with it.

Well, that would require magic, but the underlying design could be used to guide it, and make that step easier. I was going to make this a powerful item, akin to an Artifact, so I wanted to limit who could use it. I could link it to a specific bloodline, so that anyone not of that blood would not be able to wear it, or even touch it. That would also make any questions about legitimacy of the heir irrelevant.

Oh, there were ways around such an enchantment, of course. But they all either required an understanding of enchantments that was not present in this world, or advanced blood magic. And if a blood mage talented enough to overcome my enchantment got hold of a royal’s blood, then the royals would have much bigger problems than someone running off with their jewelry.

Properly anchoring a blood enchantment meant that I would need a bloodstone. That was mostly a symbolic thing, of course, since a true enchanter could anchor an enchantment to anything, but using a bloodstone was safer, and less prone to corruption if exposed to wild magic. An enchantment designed to work only for a certain bloodline, that wasn’t anchored by a bloodstone, could easily be twisted into a curse by wild or corrupted mana flows. And giving potentially cursed items to royalty was always a bad idea.

So, that was the amulet sorted. Now, about attaching it to the person’s body. It would have to be a chain of some sort. Simple links would work, but I wanted to showcase some artistry in the basic form. A Cuban link chain, where the links were formed so that they lay flat against the body, would do nicely.

Heating the metals to combine and alloy them properly was its own process, but one common enough in the world. I was going with 18 karat green gold, so a mix of 75% gold to 25% silver. That was a good mix for ‘daily wear’ items that still wanted to look good. 22 karat was too soft for anything that would see daily use, meaning I’d have to put more magic into reinforcement and less into the actual enchantment.

To properly alloy the two metals, I needed to heat them. Gold melts at 10640C, while silver melted at a comparatively more reasonable 961.80C. That was still quite hot, of course. Fortunately, I had a crucible and a furnace, and I knew how to use them.

While I worked, I took a moment to chat with the Karasus. Karasu Sawao and Karasu Kinu were a married couple, and the metalworkers I hired for the studio. Of course, they both had different styles that they used in their work. Sawao favored solid pieces, including some jewelry like rings and bracelets, but mostly lager pieces that could get into the realm of sculpture, while his wife favored more delicate work, like earrings and necklaces, with beautiful engravings. But it was the pieces where they combined their talents, with the fusion of delicate wires and chains running from a beautifully engraved base, that brought them to my attention when I was making hiring decisions.

The two were excited at the opportunity to work with masters from a variety of fields, and positively ecstatic to be learning new techniques. From what they told me, they had been pushing each other in their training during the time between their interview and now, and it showed. I was hopeful that they would take to imbuing and enchanting as eagerly.

Once the silver and gold were alloyed, I pulled the crucible from the furnace and began working the metal. Now, this is where I deviated from standard metalworking practices. I did not have an ingot mold to pour the liquid into, and I didn’t use any rollers or similar tools to form wire from the molten metal. Instead, I used simple force magic to mold the metal into the shape I wanted.

This was a complicated technique, but necessary when dealing with some of the higher-level materials, unless one wished to create an entire shop’s worth of tools and machines from, say, Adamantium to be able to work with the metal. Oh, a blacksmith’s forge could have a hammer suitable for hammering adamantium into plate armor, or even the basic rings of chainmail, but for the fine, delicate work? Magic was easier, at least for the initial shaping, while you were imbuing the material.

Of course, I didn’t need to do this with a simple gold and silver alloy, but I wanted to show the techniques my new students would need if they were ever going to get into the higher classes of materials. After all, a visual show of what magic in the crafting process could do was always helpful. Plus, it had been a while since I’d done any proper crafting for myself, so keeping my skills sharp on something that I could more easily mend if I messed up was a bonus.

I had a kilogram of my newly alloyed metal. Three quarters of it, I formed into wire, imbued with my magic, that I could use for the chain. The remaining quarter, I began imbuing as I flattened it, turning it into a pendant with a ring large enough to fit over the chain I was going to be making next at one end, while the imbuement strengthened the material. When I was done, this amulet would be all but indestructible, if I had anything to say about it, but until that was done, it would respond to my magic, allowing me to finish the crafting process while imbuing the piece, without needing to rely on tools made from rare materials or trying to force my magic to inscribe runes on the finished product, even if I were working with one of the high-tier materials.

Just below the ring, I set the bloodstone. It was a round gemstone, exactly 1.27 centimeters in diameter, with a solid face 1.1 centimeters in diameter. This is where the blood enchantment would reside.

The flat of the amulet was ten centimeters long, with straight sides before they angled to a point at the base, like you would see in ancient monuments. This gave me a flat surface that I could work with. Now that I was at this point in the process, I could let this part sit, for a moment, while I worked on the chain.

The Cuban link chain is different from a normal chain because of its oval design, and the way that the individual links are curved so that the finished result looks like the whole thing was woven or braided. Also, instead of alternating ‘flat’ and ‘raised’ links, like a stereotypical chain, the resulting chain lay flat against the body, like the rings in chain mail, but with more contour, as the links in the chain were designed with aesthetics rather than protection in mind.

Taking the imbued wire, I used my personal tools to start clipping the wire, bending and flattening it into the links of the chain. There were tools available for everyone to use, but any craftsman would tell you that there is a noticeable difference between ‘their’ tools, and anyone else’s, even if they were the same make and brand. There was also something to be said for knowing exactly how the tools were stored and maintained, as well. It was no different from a chef having his own knives, or even a soldier knowing every facet of their weapon and kit, that they could take apart and put back together blindfolded, because they knew the weight and feel of each piece.

“Excuse me, Akagawa, but how are you doing that?”

I looked up from the process of making links one at a time, to see Kinu watching me, intently, eyes full of wonder. With a smile, I said, “I assume you’re talking about how I’m closing the links, rather than the process of making them, since I you’re your skill. I am sealing each link in the chain with a hint of metal and fire magics, so that they truly have no beginning or end. I’ll do this with each link in turn, until the final link loops back to the first. Obviously, I’ll set the pendant on the chain before that happens.”

“I assume that there’s a reason for it, beyond simply looking cleaner?”

I nodded as I went back to forming the chain. “Indeed. While I could just make the chain normally, either leaving tiny gaps or using some means to weld them shut, that would make the chain weaker than if it were truly a solid piece. The difference wouldn’t be enough to matter for normal wear, but it could affect the enchantments, especially when you’re dealing with higher-quality material and more complex enchantments.

“There’s also the symbolism to think about. Just as symbols and intent are important when shaping magic to cast spells, it is just as important, if not more so, in enchanting. Symbology can work to strengthen an enchantment, or it could weaken it. A warding enchantment on a paper wall would be weak, unless there was more to anchor it. Take that same paper, and fold it into a happi coat or a cloak, and it is no longer ‘paper’ but a ‘coat’ or ‘cloak’, which the enchantment can work with to shroud the area guarded by it.”

“How do you know what symbol is best?”

I smiled as I continued my work. “That, Karasu, is up to you, as a crafter. As I said, it is your intent that focuses the magic while you imbue a piece, and later enchant it. The symbols that matter to you, will work better for the magic than the symbols that matter for others. Some symbols have more universality, such as paper ripping, while the cloak shrouds. Granite may convey strength and permanence, while glass can be used to enhance clarity or improve vision.”

“I see. So, what is the next step?”

I sealed the final link on the chain, and said, “Now, I get to enchant an item so that it is fit for a king.”