Tempering in Flame

Will concentrated on the spot he placed the small particles. After emptying his thoughts, the small star clusters came into focus. The dozens turned into close to a hundred after he rested and continued. The day went on in the same cadence. Rest an hour, search until his energy was gone and then eat and rest again. After a while, even the breaks seemed daunting. Will kept his mind away from how he felt about the task, and just did it.

He watched in his mind's eye as he brought the iron in a group through the ground. As it moved up, it became brighter within his mind. Three breaks after the original first, the minerals could practically burn him with their brightness. Realization hit him and he opened his eyes. The bright specks of iron shifted to dark minerals which floated only an inch from his face. He hadn't even realized the minerals had made it through the earth.