Then, Menadion moved on to circulatory systems more and more attuned with her until she showed Lith one hammer that perfectly matched the rhythm of her mana flow.
That hammer was identical to the old Fury.
“This is… impressing.” Salaark said after she had her turn with the Ears and Ripha demonstrated the Ear’s prowess to her.
It was a strong understatement but the Overlord was still too angry with the First Ruler of the Flames to express any form of admiration.
“And that’s not all, Sally.” Menadion gave her friend a polite bow. “There’s also this!”
By injecting her mana inside the artifact before the Bonding process, Menadion altered the innate mana flow of the metal. She created artificial paths of least resistance to the mana that the crystals would follow once Bonded.
The First Ruler of the Flames couldn’t perform any dramatic change in the final mana circulatory system. Just a nudge here and a slight deviation there. Yet Salaark knew how even the smallest detail could qualitatively alter the result of a Forgemastering process.
A good piece could become mediocre or great while by removing the inevitable minute flaws a masterpiece could near perfection.
“This is how I managed to craft perfect Blade Weapons for my clients.” Ripha turned toward Lith to give the Guardian the time to pick her jaw from the floor and retain the hope no one had noticed it.
“I never shared the process in detail with Bytra but I taught her the basics and did the same for the rest of my disciples. I can assure you that she learned her lesson even though I never allowed her to wear the Ears.”
“Did the other two Rulers of the Flames learn from you?” Lith asked. “Were they part of those you allowed to use the Ears?”
“No, they were not.” Menadion shook her head. “Bytra was an exceptional student. As you know, Tyris and Orion managed to craft Blade Weapons on their own without the aid of the Ears. It’s all a matter of talent.
“I learned how to create Blade Weapons on my own and then I crafted the Ears to make my work easier. You three know how annoying and difficult it is.”
Lith, Solus, and Salaark nodded in reply.
“It’s far from impossible, but without Creation Magic, every piece would cost me a fortune.” Salaark nodded.
“And it takes a lot of time!” Lith groaned. “I have yet to make one Blade Weapon right.”
“That’s because you are young.” Menadion patted his shoulder. “You are barely twenty and are mostly self-taught. I learned from the best and had the chance to study both Valeron and his equipment.
“Otherwise I would have never learned how to craft Blade Weapons before my death.”
“Question.” Solus raised her hand. “Is this the Ears’ unlocked state or would have it worked this way even without the True Heir of Menadion protocol?”
“It’s the unlocked state, Epphy.” Ripha realized her blunder and raised her hands in apology. “Pharek could do the same with his Apprentice Ears. It’s a shame he never crafted a single Blade Weapon.”
“Why did he do that?” Lith asked in confusion.
“Because Awakened can examine their surroundings with Invigoration even if you blind them and he didn’t want to risk revealing the existence of the Ears when he used it to examine his clients.” Menadion replied.
“Pharek wasn’t confident surviving against someone capable of using Blade Magic even when I was still alive. After my death, I can only guess his fears turned into paranoia and he gave up on Blade Magic.”
Lith and Solus took their time getting accustomed to the Ears, asking for pointers whenever they found themselves slumped or discovered a new detail. Salaark took her time as well, eating her own liver and grinding her teeth as she realized how valuable the Ears were to a Forgemaster.
“There’s no rush, guys.” Menadion said. “We can do a few trial Forgemasterings later. There is no teacher like experience. Now, let’s move to the Watchtower.”
A quick Warp brought them to the top floor of the tower and the stone pedestal bearing the Ear’s shape.
“Do the honors.” Ripha instructed and Lith complied.
As the Ears fit into the indentation, the pedestal grew and shapeshifted in the form of a throne. Energy cables connected the artifact with the throne which produced a small light pillar reaching for the ceiling.
“There is supposed to be a big mana crystal on the top of the tower as a focus point for your mana but the Watchtower works even without it.” Menadion explained. “The range will be shorter, though.”
“Wait. Something like this?” Solus conjured a hologram of the Eye of Kolga.
“Yes, but more functional and less tacky.” Menadion nodded. “Kolga copied my tower to the best of her abilities but ended up needing quantity to make up for the lack of quality of her work.
“You see, Solus-”
“You got it finally right!”
“I’ve called you Epphy for the twenty-eight years after your birth and then for seven hundred years after my death.” Menadion grunted. “Excuse me if it takes me a while to get used to the change. Can I continue?”
“Please.” Solus blushed a little.
“As I was saying, the tower draws world energy from the ground but it’s not enough to tap into the geyser’s full power. What exceeds the underground floors’ capacity is supposed to be channeled along the structure of the tower and captured by the gemstone on its top, closing the circuit.”
“I see.” Lith pondered. “It provides a second pathway for the world energy and ensures its capillary distribution to the upper floors regardless of their distance from the ground.”
“Correct. Now sit on the throne.” Menadion handed him the Ears.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” The moment he wore the artifact, the answer came to him by itself.
The basic workings of the Watchtower were the same, just much more precise and accurate.
Thanks to the Ears, Lith could perceive everything surrounding the tower based on their mana flow. He could make out people, Divine Beasts, the other two towers, and even weapons and everything that grew below Salaark’s palace from their shapes.
Even though he couldn’t tell what the various people and animals looked like, Lith discerned their height, build, and power. He could only put a name to the energy signatures belonging to those he knew.
“Remarkable.” Lith said. “I can even get a glimpse of what kinds of hidden weapons the palace guards and servants carry but everything with cloaking runes is off-limits. I can’t tell how many or what kind of enchantments any artifact has.”
“Silly child, that’s because the Ears have a different purpose from the Eyes.” Menadion tutted. “Imagine you are in a field you’ve never been before and the only thing you know is that there is a mana geyser.
“Spread your senses on the ground level and ignore everything else.”
Lith did as instructed, finding the remnants of the natural treasures that had been already collected and those still growing tended by Salaark’s servants.
“Now forget the ground and send your will as deep in the sands as you can.”
