Solus had contacted Malyshka who had politely but firmly refused, still embittered by the envy from visiting the newly restored tower floors. Silverwing was off the table as well.
She was eager to make up with Solus for the past accidents but neither she nor Lith felt comfortable letting her know the blueprints of the weapons that sooner or later they might use against her.
The same stood for Bytra. She was an incredible Forgemaster and the Fourth Ruler of the Flames, but her past self had gone on a murderous rampage to get her hands on the tower and it was better not to risk those events repeating themselves.
After a long debate that had angered Kamila, made Solus laugh, and embarrassed Faluel, they had begrudgingly agreed on Fyrwal the Hydra. She was one of the companions of Valeron the First, a skilled Forgemaster with over a thousand years of experience, and a powerful bright violet-cored Awakened.
She had known and cared for Solus ever since she still was known as Elphyn Menadion. The Hydra considered the First Ruler of the Flames as her beloved mentor and was unlikely to endanger Ripha’s legacy for selfish reasons.
On top of that, Fyrwal already knew of the tower and Solus so there was no risk in sharing a few blueprints with her. Lastly, and this was the controversial part, she was Faluel’s mother and had yet to give up on the idea of fixing her daughter with Lith.
“Fyrwal is probably going to play the long game.” He explained. “She has no reason to antagonize us and she won’t risk alienating a potential son-in-law. Right, Faluel?”
“Yes.” She replied, blushing up to her ears.
Solus found Faluel’s situation funny as much as Kamila found it infuriating but she had caved because survival came before pride.
“I must say that the new tower is simply amazing, but nothing can compare with this little bundle of joy.” Fyrwal said, studying the upgraded Forge while carrying Elysia in her arms.
The baby girl had been the final nail in Lith’s pitch. The Elder Hydra was on cloud nine at the sight of Elysia’s streaks, her Awakened core, and her brilliant mind despite being a small child.
Fyrwal could almost see a perfect Tiamat-Hydra hybrid and wondered at what the resulting bloodline would become capable of doing.
“Thanks.” Kamila’s voice was polite but cold.
She had lived with Lith long enough to recognize the greed typical of a Dragon when she saw it and guessing Fyrwal’s intentions was quite easy. She walked along the floors like she owned the place and examined Elysia like a priceless artifact.
“You did a great job, for a human.” The Elder Hydra handed the baby girl to Kamila but not without throwing a dubious look at Solus’ seven-streaked hair.
“Thanks.” Kamila’s voice now held the warmth of an ice age.
“How does this work now?” Fyrwal ignored the human woman and went straight to business.
“One second.” Lith added his helpers to the guest list of the tower so that they would also benefit from its enchantments.
World energy flooded their bodies, the Library imparted them the knowledge they needed for the various crafting methods down to the smallest detail, and the Armory shared with them the effects of the Sage Staff.
Thanks to the Yggdrasill wood, the minds of everyone inside the tower reached a degree of clarity and focus that bordered on genius. The Staff wiped away any stray thoughts and pushed their brains to their limits.
“Amazing!” Fyrwal and Ajatar said in unison.
“I have perfect understanding even of spells that I’ve never studied before.” Ajatar examined the blueprints of Lith’s original power cores, discovering that he knew them like the back of his hand.
He had no need to focus on visualizing a detail or understanding any complex step of the process. It was as if he had known them his whole life.
“Don’t get attached to it.” Lith said. “The moment you are cut off from the Library, that knowledge will disappear.”
“I already knew how the tower works but not even Ripha ever managed to get her hands on Yggdrasill wood. You are a resourceful young man.” Fyrwal threw a reproachful glare at her daughter who seemed to shrink.
“For obvious reasons, we’ll work on the Sage Staff for last.” Lith ignored the remark in the hope of defusing Kamila’s anger. “Please, take a good look at the steps necessary to craft the Staff and take all the notes you think you might need while your mind is still fresh.
“I want to avoid tiredness and the lack of the Yggdrasill’s wood influence making us miss important details later.”
Everyone followed his instructions, especially Ajatar. In the time the others had filled a couple of pages, the Drake had written a small book by manipulating the ink with water magic.
“I meant for you to take notes about the process to Forgemaster the Sage Staff, not a mage tower.” Lith pointed out with a snarl.
“I don’t know if and when I’ll ever get access to such a magnificent Library and Yggdrasill wood.” Ajatar replied with an indignant tone. “You can’t ask me to pass up this opportunity.
“If it ruffles your scales so much, consider this as payment for my services. I’m a violet-cored Awakened Forgemaster and you can’t expect to send me home with a shake of the hand and a bowl of ice scream.”
“How rude and greedy of you.” Fyrwal clicked one of her tongues. “It’s no surprise that Lith didn’t trust you with his secrets. We Hydras, instead, are warm and friendly, right dear?”
“Yes, mother.” Faluel covered her face with her hands, wishing to disappear.
The Elder Hydra had shapeshifted into a hybrid form with the excuse of putting all of her seven heads on the case but no one doubted for one second that she was also working on her own projects and taking personal notes on the sides.
The Sage Staff’s blueprints were complex, but not that much. At least not for such an expert Forgemaster and one with seven brains at that.
By the time everyone was done with their homework, Ajatar had compiled a couple of thick books. Fyrwal had allegedly finished first, but for some reason, she kept her hybrid form while waiting for the others to finish.
The Forgemastering process was long and hard, requiring to take a break after each piece. Double Edge’s design remained the same. Lith didn’t have enough white crystals for a weapon that big.
He could only strengthen the power core and improve the enchantments. The same happened to the Golems, Thundercrash, and the Sage Staff.
Trouble and Raptor had actually received an upgrade but since it involved the Spirit Memory Crystal, it was something Lith and Solus had shared solely with Salaark and there was no trace of the changes in the blueprints.
Only the Voidwalker armor came out different from how everyone remembered it.
Lith’s size had increased and Syrook’s skeleton wasn’t big enough nor were two months in the Spark enough time to grow his bones, skin, and scales to the size of a bright violet cored Dragon.
