Chapter 22

Hey readers, Undeadwizard7 here with a quick note. If you haven't guessed by now, I will no longer be using the words for the ancient language any more. It was fun at first but now it is just too limiting. I would also like to say that I am always looking for cool ideas for magic items that are not to overpowered to add to the novel so if you want you can write your ideas on this comment and I will take your suggestions into consideration... Stay awesome!

...

Eragon wakes up suddenly, his heart pounding at a rapid pace. His body is covered in sweat, giving him that clammy skin feeling all over. He takes a few deep breaths to calm himself down before contemplating his vision. 

"Another vision huh… This one doesn't line up with the original story at all. There was never an army that invaded from the ocean, and that man in the black armor… He felt familiar somehow. The warriors also seem to be ringing some bells in my mind, I just can't seem to remember where they are from…" 

Eragon shakes his head to clear the last remaining fog from his mind. "I don't have time to just laze about and wonder what is going to happen. It's time to roll up my sleeves and get to work. I am still too weak… The people of this continent are suffering and I have the power to fix it and I will do so. First thing on the agenda, I need some armor and a new sword. The sword will be temporary until I get the star metal from under the Menoa Tree but that doesn't mean that it can't be incredibly powerful if I make it right. Now let's see… What is the best weapon I can possibly make at this point in time…" 

Eragon stands up from his bed and walks over to his desk. He pulls out a piece of parchment and his ink and quill and starts writing out ideas at a fervent pace. Hours later, he holds up a parchment with a wicked grin on his face. 

"Perfect. This is exactly what I need... Now I just need the materials to craft it." 

Eragon examines the parchments on his desk one last time, saving them into his memory before burning them to ash. He can't have the twins stealing the notes and deciphering them. Then you add the fact that they were written in the ancient language and you get a mess of trouble waiting to happen. It still irks Eragon that humans have had many hundreds of years with the knowledge they currently have of the ancient language and they can't figure out how to recreate the bits they don't know. The incompetence of humanity in this world is totally asinine to Eragon. He basically thrived on innovation in his past life as he was an engineer for a tech company all of his adult life. 

With his plans now cemented into his mind, Eragon leaves his room to seek out the dwarven blacksmiths and nearly runs into Orik as he turns the corner in the hallway.

"Woah there!!! Where is our young dragon rider off too in such a hurry?"

"You're just who I wanted to see Orik. I would like to know if I can use a forge to make my own weapons and armor?" 

Orik looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "You? Make your own weapons and armor? HA!" 

Orik laughs and wipes a tear from his eye. "No offense Eragon, but the craftsmanship of the dwarves is second to none. You would be far better off just having us make something for you. I'm sure my clan can make you something that will be satisfactory to your expectations." 

Eragon smiles wryly. "Well… What I want to make and my methods are kind of a secret and I need to keep it that way… I hope you can understand."

Orik looks at Eragon and sees the seriousness in his eyes. *Huff* "Fine… There are a few empty workshops that you can choose from, and an assortment of minerals and ore that I can procure at a moment's notice. Follow me." 

Orik leads Eragon through the vast tunnel network that spans the entirety of Tronjheim. They soon find themselves in the main hall where the magnificent ruby gem called the Isidar Mithrim or star sapphire decorates the ceiling. The gigantic red gem is around ten meters in diameter and was carved by Durok Ornthrond in the age of Herran to resemble a flower in full bloom. Directly above it is the dragon roost, where the dragon riders of old would stay during their visits to the Dwarven city. Eragon can sense Saphira up there with his mind link, she is currently sleeping and having a dream about terrorizing a flock of sheep in a field. Smiling at the thought, Eragon forgets to keep track of where they are going as it takes them around twenty minutes to arrive at their destination. 

Orik turns to Eragon and gestures towards the open doorway. "Here we are, an abandoned forge, as requested. Hand me a list of what materials you need and I shall have them brought over."

Eragon strokes his chin in contemplation. "it really depends on what you have. I don't want to bankrupt you because I requested metals that are at a low supply. I imagine that you make a lot of weapons for the Varden already."

Orik gives him a wry smile. "You would not be wrong, Eragon. The more high quality metals like mithril and adamantium are in frighteningly low supply. It doesn't stop us from procuring some for you, it will just hurt our budget slightly."

"I would hate to overuse your hospitality so I will have to settle for your low to medium grade materials. I will need your assistance in writing down the list as I have yet to learn how to read and write. Speaking of hospitality, I still need to meet Hrothgar and thank him for sponsoring me."

Orik nods in approval. "That can easily be arranged. While he is quite busy being king of the dwarves he has wished to see you since your arrival. It may take a few hours for all the materials you desire to be gathered so would you like to have that meeting soon? Maybe at a feast in the afternoon?"

Eragon nods enthusiastically. "That would work out quite nicely, Orik. I still need some time to prepare for the forging so if you can let Hrothgar know that I would like to see him that would be great. I will stay here and prepare what I can in the meantime."

"Alright, let's get that list written out and I will leave you here for the time being. I will also send some food your way as I guess that you haven't eaten this morning."

Eragon's stomach makes a gurgling sound as if in answer to his question. Orik has a hearty laugh at Eragon's expense before writing the list of materials that he requires. Orik has a quizzical look while skimming over the list of ingredients he is now holding. There are a lot of minerals and ingredients on the list that are a little strange but he just shrugs it off and pockets the list before departing, leaving Eragon to his own devices. 

Once he is alone, Eragon takes a look around the room for the first time. Taking up a majority of the room is a giant forge with a closed metal door on the front. At the base is an opening where wood or charcoal would be placed to heat up the furnace. The room has an assortment of discarded tools and weapons in wooden crates in the corner.

"For being an abandoned forge this place is devoid of dust and debris. Someone must come around every once in a while and clean the place up."

Eragon walks up to a workbench and pulls out his parchment and ink. 

"I have most of a day to wait before the feast so I think it's finally time… I have been holding off on doing this for so long because of the danger it could bring, but now it is finally time." 

"So far I have used intent casting to directly manipulate sand and turn it into glass, I have condensed a boulder into a sword, and merged gems together, all with the words I have learned from Brom. Now it's time to see if I can create new words in the ancient language."

"Specifically, I want to make the words for the elements from the periodic table of elements. If I succeed, I will be able to create unique metal alloys for my armor and sword with ease. I will work on making the programmable liquid metal later as I feel it will not be so simple to recreate, even with magic."

Eragon spends the next few hours brainstorming how to create new words in the ancient language. Already having iron as a reference, a few hours and hearty stew later and his hard work pays off. Escribed on a sheet of parchment is the first word he has created. The word for carbon in the ancient language. 

Using the word for the first time, Eragon wills the CO2 in the air to separate and form a small ball of pure carbon in his hand. Eragon looks up at the ceiling as if expecting some deity to smite him for his hubris. A minute passes with nothing happening before he exhales and sighs with relief. 

Continuing his experiment, he compresses the ball and heats it up. Even with him supplementing the mana cost of heating the carbon by using friction, the slow feeding of mana to the spell becomes a flood as he continues to ramp up the pressure. He ends up draining about seventy percent of his reserves before the carbon ball becomes a small diamond barely the size of a marble. 

"Well the experiment was a success, it is highly inefficient. I would be much better off making literally any other gem than diamonds. Darn, no diamond sword for me…"

Eragon places the tiny diamond in his pocket just as a group of dwarves arrive hauling crates of materials into the room. Eragon thanks them profusely for their help and they return the gesture, calling him Argetlam as they depart. 

*sighs* "Another title to add to my collection. We'll whatever… Let's take a look at these materials. If my guess is correct, I should have everything I need to make L6 bainite steel, a steel alloy that specializes in toughness and wear resistance. It will be a challenge to make as it requires a meticulous heat treatment process to attain the desired properties."

Eragon sifts through the materials at his disposal, his excitement building as all of his plans are finally coming together. He spends about an hour sorting through the materials and sectioning them out depending on what he needs them for. Rolling up his sleeves, Eragon walks back to the workbench and spends the rest of his day creating the words he needs in the ancient language. 

With a splitting headache, he just barely finished making the words for manganese, molybdenum, chromium, nickel, and vanadium which are all the components necessary to make L6 bainite steel when Orik walks into the room. 

"Eragon! It's time. The feast is set to begin in an hour so you should clean yourself up. You're getting a little bit ripe…"

Eragon lifts his arm and smells his armpit, recoiling at the pungent smell. With Orik leading the way, he soon finds himself in a dark room with a cold pool of water and cleaning supplies aplenty. After thoroughly cleansing his body, he dries off, puts on a new pair of clothes that were provided for him and makes his way towards the banquet hall.