Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

A special necklace

He was unable to understand it. They had been searching for a method to create the necklace for several decades, and, until now, they had barely managed to get a few clues. They had managed to find out some of the materials, and even gather a few of these, as well as vague indications of how to refine them, something that was completely insufficient. In fact, with the passage of time, they had lost hope of achieving it.

All their discoveries were kept in absolute secrecy, only they knew them, so the fact that this man knew what the materials were was totally disconcerting. And not only that, but he knew the name of the gem, and was even claiming to know the crafting process and the other needed materials. And to have them all but one!

He stared at him, unable to believe what he had heard. Unable to believe what the man had said. Unable to deny the evidence that part of what he had said coincided with their discoveries.

"The nerve of a Yggdrasil leaf," Eldi replied. It was the only material he lacked, and he had no idea how to get it.

"Ah!" Exclaimed the girl.

She uncovered her hood, showing off her green hair, which seemed to shine like polished jade. Two small horns grew on her forehead, adding an adorable touch to the now visible cute face. She put her hands in the long braid that was hanging behind her back, which could be seen to have been delicately made.

Without hesitating for a moment, she untied the knot and began to untangle the long thread that ran the length of the braid several times. Meanwhile, the hooded man was watching the girl's actions with his eyes and mouth wide open, unable to react.

A few meters away from them, more and more hooded figures were gathering, carefully observing the situation, but keeping their distance. And some elves, curious and alarmed, had also approached. But the latter didn't understand what was happening, so they were just watching, totally puzzled, but not wanting to miss the show.

"Here!" she excitedly gave the long thread to Eldi.

The girl's eyes sparkled expectantly, while a huge smile was plastering on her face. At that moment, it seemed that the most serious crime that could be committed in the world was to disappoint that innocent smile.

The high human picked up the thread and checked the recipe. Now it was complete, he just needed to carry it out. Then, he looked at the hooded man, who was trembling.

"I have all the materials."

He was implicitly asking for permission. It was more than clear how important that gem was to them. As much as the girl asked him for, he couldn't do it without his consent.

"Please... Please... Do it..." the hooded man pleaded.

Eldi didn't notice, but he wasn't the only hooded man who was trembling. Many were tightly clenching their fists, their lips or the hands of their companions. There were even tears in many of those eyes of different shades of purple. Only the youngest ones seemed immune, and they even approached the girl, chatting among themselves and pointing to who was holding the gem.

The high human approached the platform and took all the materials out, allowing them to float over it. He just needed to apply the recipe and mana, and in a few seconds, maybe minutes, the necklace would be ready. He was very curious to see the result.

However, he soon realized that this time things were different. Not only did he need more and more mana, but he couldn't just use the recipe. Unlike others, it didn't contain the complete will of the object, but only a guide.

Surprised, he was forced to focus all his attention on the flow of magic, on refining the materials one by one, on manually shaping them, on discovering how they should interact with each other, how they should merge, how the flow of mana should be established in the inside of the necklace to converge on the gem.

Each and every material was important to isolate, absorb, and spread mana, to give it stability, to give it consistency. For example, rubies and sapphires had to alternate, creating a symbiosis that accelerated the absorption of mana.

The different magical materials had to be carefully interwoven, internally creating a spiral structure that shaped each of the links.

The container where the gem should be placed was the most intricate and beautiful of all, since its beauty came from the very laws of nature, from the deepest of these.

The gem was the core of the entire structure, the place where mana had to converge. And the Yggdrasil Nerve was the most important material to join the different pieces, to guarantee the union between them, to guarantee that the impossible fusion of all those materials could become a reality, to guarantee that the necklace was capable of channeling and supporting the flow of mana.

For several hours, Eldi stood on the platform, spinning the materials, breaking them, destroying them to their most basic essence, and then recreating them with a slightly different structure, mixing them in combinations that should have been impossible.

He had spent several mana potions, but he didn't mind. Not only was he totally focused on his work, but he was amazed by it, at the opportunity to understand and deepen into the essence of crafting, into the fundamental operative of magic platforms, materials and their interactions. He was completely fascinated by being able to look at the material at the molecular level, and being able to manipulate it through mana.

Under the dim light of the two moons, the outline of a necklace was gradually taking shape around the gem, becoming clearer and clearer. The aura it gave off was increasingly pure and imposing.

Virtually, the entire village was there, fascinated, observing a unique scene, that of the creation of an object that certainly had no equal, an unrepeatable and mythical object.

After long hours, the glow from the platform began to diminish, converging on Eldi's hands, being absorbed by a gem that was now also glowing with a warm and dim light, a light that was illuminating the rest of the necklace.

Suddenly, all the hooded beings tore off their hoods and cloaks, kneeling, crying. It seemed impossible to them, but they had gradually accepted it as it was taking shape, they had been recovering at every step a fragment of the hope they had long since lost.

Only the children were watching with more curiosity than veneration. And, among them, a girl in a soft purple color approached Eldi without hesitation, taking from his hands the necklace that contained the Heart of the Eternal Flame, and that was calling her.