35. Magic but Not Magic

Mark added some filler alloy to a crucible before placing it on the hottest part of the forge and checked the swords in the forge before telling Anabel more about the forging process.

"Look, the hammer is special but it is not magical. I utilize a forging technique passed down through my family that lets me do special things to the metals that are not possible in otherwise. At least as far as I know, I actually have not experimented much on trying to accomplish the same thing with a different method."

Anabel thought about the beginning of his explanation but still thought it was magic. "That does not explain the light show and how you are creating those weird flames!"

Mark just shrugged as he continued his explanation. "Right, the purple light and the flames. Firstly, the light is just some artifact of this special gem in the hammer look."

Mark then grabbed the fifth-step hammer and hit the anvil with the hammer end, producing a purple light from the gem. Then he looked back to Anabel.

"As far as I can tell, the gem just lights up after it has had a sufficient impact with the metal end which has been bonded to the crystal. As for the flames, that is also something normal that happens when I hit sufficiently hot metal."

To prove his point, he grabbed one of the swords that was now hot enough to be worked and hammered it a few times, producing orange sparks and flames. Then he placed the sword back in the forge to be ready for the reinforcement process.

"As you can see, the hammering of these metal objects when they are glowing from the heat will result in the production of flames and sparks. This is not magic, it is just something normal that happens all the time."

Anabel still was not convinced as she argued "But the flames from earlier looked white, the patterns of the flames even looked different! They looked like they were almost living, or trying to form words. . ."

Mark just smiled as he thought back to when he first started watching his dad at the forge. "I remember when I first got to look at the forging process. Back then, I also thought it looked magical but I assure you the only magic taking place is the precision with which I place each hammer strike which is unmatched by any blacksmith I have ever seen."

Mark having only seen one other blacksmith in his life didn't have much to brag about, but he was quite confident in his work. Anabel actually started laughing due to his arrogance, but she conceded that the forging process must have been much cooler than she originally thought. 

Thus, Anabel replied "Geez, even the old hag has less interesting alchemy tricks than I have already seen at the forge. It is no wonder you like this so much."

Mark just nodded his head as he grabbed hold of his etching tool. Then he grabbed the sword back out of the fire to begin the etching process in order to reinforce the sword with the fifth step.

The fifth step was necessary because he was unsure of the material that the sword was made of originally since it was not his handiwork.

'My swords would have lasted longer even without reinforcement.'

He then etched some basic patterns into the blade that would allow a uniform bonding process. He then grabbed the crucible he placed earlier and filled the grooves with the molten metal. After replacing the crucible, he began the fifth-step process with the purple crystal hammer.

He paid attention to the flames and lights that were being produced during this process but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. It was mostly just more of the same with lots of blasts of violet light from the crystal with every swing of the hammer and the occasional flair from the molten metal and the red-hot sword.

When he was done with the first half, he placed it back into the forge to get the other side ready for the bonding process and to have enough heat left over for compressing the edge of the sword.

In the meantime, he grabbed the other sword, gave it the etching, and completed one side of the reinforcement process as well. When he was done with the second sword he traded it for the first sword and repeated the process for the second half of the blade.

With the first sword finished with repair and reinforcement, he utilized the compression process of the fifth step to compress the edge before setting it next to his whetstone to cool. Then he did the same for the second sword and finally ground the edges of the swords down until they were sharp enough to slice cleanly through rock without the edge dulling in the slightest.

With his work finished he returned the blades to the men who gave them a couple of swings before leaving, satisfied with the work.

Mark and Anabel could faintly hear them talking as they walked away.

"It ain't as light as it used to be, but it sure is the finest weapon I ever did own! I doubt this thing will need any repairs fer the next few years!"

The other guy replied, equally as excited "Yeeh! Imma havta go test er out on some o' tha mountain beasts today, whatcha say?"

The first man gave his assent, which Mark an Anabel could see through his animated actions but they were far enough away now that the reply was not heard.

After the excited guards were out of sight on their way to play with their new toys, Mark looked back at Anabel.

"So, did the forging process still look magical?"

Anabel thought about it and replied, "Yeah, it really does look like magic with all of the sparks and the purple light that crystal gives off, but I guess it is more of a show than actual magic. Though I swear earlier when you were working on that other sword that the flames turned white!"

Mark just nodded his head as he thought of a possible reason for the difference in flame color. 

"Well, that sword is actually special since I am using a new alloy to creat it. The most recent addition to my alloy is a metal that has a very high melting temperature so I needed to get the metal white-hot in order for the bonding process to work. Perhaps that caused the flames to be different?"

Anabel thought 'oh that actually makes sense, I didn't notice that sword was so much hotter than the other swords.'

Then she looked up at Mark and gave him a big smile, "Thanks for explaining your work to me! I really thought you were holding out on some magical stuff earlier but it seems the beauty of the forge was just unknown to me."

To this, Mark also smiled as his craft was being openly praised by someone who could see the greatness of forging for what it was.

"Well you are welcome to stick around and watch me fulfill the quota of the day but I won't be working on the sword until later."

In response, Anabel found her spot outside the forge and made herself comfortable as Mark started arranging the materials he would need for the rest of the day.