Despite all the grand talk, this was Tobho Mott's first time forging a true Valyrian steel sword, unlike Aegor, who treated forging arrows as a casual side project where failure was acceptable. Forging was his profession and career as the foremost blacksmith in King's Landing, and he could not tolerate such a significant blemish on his otherwise stellar resume. Reforging Dark Sister was an opportunity he might never encounter again in his life, and as the actual executor of the task, he was arguably more nervous than the sword's owner. While the inner castle was bustling with activity due to a lack of rooms, he decided to go all out. As soon as he arrived in Queenscrown, he moved into the best-equipped First Forge Workshop with his apprentices, even sleeping there at night, never once using the guest room Yam had specially vacated for him.
After spending half a day confirming that all necessary tools and equipment were present and firing up the furnace to familiarize himself with its temperature and performance, and then another day and a half successfully reforging the small lump of Valyrian steel he had brought into several arrowheads, on the third day of arriving in the Gift, Tobho Mott found Aegor and announced that he was ready, and took Dark Sister from him.
Of course, Aegor had to assign someone to watch over such a valuable and extraordinary sword to prevent it from being swapped, but the person who ultimately carried out this task was quite unusual. Melisandre, who had insisted from the beginning that Dark Sister was the sword of prophecy, volunteered to supervise the entire forging process.
Ten workers responsible for maintaining the furnace flames and assisting with the reforging took their bedding into the First Forge Workshop. Firelight and heat seeped out from under the door and through the small windows, and white smoke from the chimney on the roof rose continuously day and night. After working in isolation for over ten hours, the tall apprentice boy with solid muscles in his arms and chest ran to knock on Aegor's door and told him that the arrows he had ordered were finished.
He was not excited, but he certainly had some anticipation. Aegor quickly called Arya and her Little Princess sister and together they hurried to the forge outside the inner castle.
The decision to start work yesterday afternoon was not without reason. This arrangement would push the most critical reforging and shaping stages to late at night, a winter night in Queenscrown, where everything was silent and undisturbed, ensuring the forger's concentration was not affected by external factors.
At least, that was how Tobho Mott explained it to the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
Melisandre had no objections to this. As long as the magic in her body or necklace was sufficient, she could go without eating, drinking, or sleeping, and even avoid using the privy. Day and night made no difference to her. Despite watching the melting and forging process the entire time without taking her eyes off it for a moment, she still looked radiant and full of energy. However, Master Tobho Mott, who had worked all night, showed undeniable fatigue on his face, but he looked full of pride and a sense of accomplishment. Just by seeing his expression, Aegor guessed that this reforging must have achieved a commendable result.
"I have reforged your sword into seventy-one arrowheads, my Lord," the blacksmith said proudly, lifting his chin, and pushed a wooden box on the counter towards Aegor. "Except for the molten metal stuck at the bottom of the crucible that could not be poured out, preventing the seventy-second arrowhead from being cast, the loss rate is almost zero. You can inspect or even weigh them as you please."
If one did not look closely, it would be easy to mistake the pile of items in the box for a large handful of iron nails, but in reality, these were dozens of arrowheads neatly stacked together. They shimmered in the flickering firelight and candlelight in the room, with faint red and black ripples flowing within them. Even an untrained eye could tell they were extraordinary.
Aegor glanced at the Red Priestess, saw no reaction from her, understood that what the blacksmith said was true, and nodded with a smile. "Very good, was the process smooth?"
"It was not bad, but there is no need to hide anything from you. It was not actually as smooth as I imagined," Tobho did not just brag. "The process of melting the sword took a bit longer than expected. The sword you provided, my Lord, seems slightly different from the Valyrian steel I purchased. I had to increase the heat and use a higher temperature to melt it. Besides that, Lady Melisandre used some fire magic during the final casting and shaping stage to help achieve a one hundred percent success rate for the initial forming, with no need for rework."
"More than that," the Red Priestess said coldly. "The charms and magic crystals you prepared were all common, suitable for reforging ordinary Valyrian steel, but dragonsteel... If I had not maintained the spell in the latter half, I do not know how much precious magic would have dissipated."
The blacksmith looked embarrassed, nodding in agreement. "Yes, yes, you worked hard."
Seeing the expressions of the two, Aegor could roughly guess the sequence of events. There was no reason for someone like Melisandre to lie to claim credit, so what she said was likely true. Unfortunately, as a mortal, Tobho Mott probably could not detect the difference in magic concentration between dragonsteel and ordinary Valyrian steel. He had some doubts about what the witch said, but did not dare to openly contradict a priestess of the Lord of Light who could truly perform magic, which is why he admitted it so insincerely.
"It is good that it is done, let us not talk about the twists and turns," Aegor was in a great mood and did not have time to dwell on such minor details. He picked up an arrowhead and examined it closely. It was a slender, pointed conical arrowhead about five centimeters long, with sharp edges and tip glinting coldly, and a longer needle-like object attached to the back, so thin that one could almost suspect it could be snapped with a twist of the hand. Of course, the scene of it breaking only existed in imagination. This was incredibly tough Valyrian steel. Even with forceful pressure from his palm, let alone snapping or bending it, the deformation was too subtle to notice, and when he released the pressure, it was a straight arrowhead again.
"When you instructed me on the details, my Lord, you asked me to prioritize penetration and to forge as many as possible while ensuring lethality. I took all your requirements into consideration when designing the arrowhead," Tobho also picked one up and began introducing it boastfully to Aegor. "To divide it into as many pieces as possible means the lighter each arrowhead is, the better. And at the same time, penetration must be guaranteed. Among several designs, I ultimately chose the three-edged conical point and rear tang design."
Aegor had indeed given these two requirements, and the motivation behind them was actually very simple. Wanting to forge more meant hoping for more chances to shoot and kill the Night King at the most crucial moment. And the reason for prioritizing penetration was even simpler. The lethality of dragonsteel against White Walkers relied on the fire magic within it, not physical destruction. The arrowhead did not need complex blood grooves or barbs. At the most critical moment, it just needed to be able to pierce through the White Walkers' armor or cover and penetrate their bodies.
He lowered his head and carefully observed the arrowhead in his hand, finding that Tobho had indeed carried out his requirements precisely. He nodded in approval of the blacksmith's explanation and waited for him to continue.
"A three-edged conical point has both penetration and a simple structure that saves material, so choosing this did not require much deliberation. But regarding the method of connecting the arrowhead to the arrow shaft, I spent some time considering it. There are only two methods of connection, socketed and tanged. To put it simply, one is where the arrowhead has a hole and the shaft is inserted into the arrowhead, and the other is where the arrowhead has a needle-like tail behind it and the arrowhead is inserted into the shaft." Seeing that the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch was willing to listen to his detailed explanation, the blacksmith seemed to become more energetic. "Generally speaking, the socketed method obviously saves more material than the tanged method, but the thickest part of the three-edged conical point is only similar to a normal arrow shaft. If a hole were to be made in the back for the shaft to be inserted, the entire structure of the arrowhead would have to be redesigned. Either the smooth shape would be ruined, or a butt would have to be added to make it longer and thicker. In the end, the material consumption would actually increase, not to mention the disadvantage of the socketed method's accuracy. After weighing the options, I ultimately chose the tanged method. And after taking this step, I also considered a combination plan, which is, the arrowhead is Valyrian steel, but the tang is replaced with other metals like iron or copper to save material. Unfortunately, practical experience tells me that no other metal can fuse well with Valyrian steel. To make the arrowhead strong and durable, it must be formed as a single piece, entirely made of Valyrian steel."
"An arrowhead actually has so many intricacies!" Arya exclaimed in admiration, also picking up an arrowhead to examine it carefully. Of course, she could not see anything, only knowing that it was Valyrian steel, the same expensive material as her family sword Ice. "Master, can you give me one? I will hang it around my neck as an amulet, or put it in my hair as a hairpin. Father's Ice is currently with Margaery's family. I will be the only one in the Stark family with a Valyrian steel weapon then."
"Ice is with the Tyrell family? Have they mentioned returning the sword?" Aegor actually did not know about this, but thinking about it, the two families were still at war, so they probably could not reach an agreement. "After the war ends, giving you and Maeve one each is not a problem. For now, these arrowheads must first be used by the warriors fighting the White Walkers."
"I can shoot arrows too, and I am very good at it. Ser Rodrik said there are not many girls in the Seven Kingdoms who are better archers than me."
"Uh," Aegor was speechless. He had never actually tested Arya's archery skills. There are not many girls in the Seven Kingdoms who are better archers than her, what level is that exactly? While thinking of a solution, he quietly snatched the arrowhead Arya was holding and put it back in the box. "Okay, let me see your archery skills when there is a chance. If you are really that good, you will have a part in killing White Walkers then, alright."
"Okay, do not go back on your word."
Here, the Master and apprentice had a small discussion. Meanwhile, the forger swallowed, still with a lot of details to explain. "That is right, although the item is small, there are many complexities. My Lady, look, the thickness of this tang alone is a great science. If it were ordinary material, a tang this thin would definitely not be enough, and the head would surely break off when the arrow hit something. Fortunately, this is Valyrian steel. After a lot of calculation, I ensured that this thickness is both the most material-saving and has at least the minimum strength. Currently, this Valyrian steel arrowhead has only one last problem, which is that it is too light compared to iron. To ensure the center of gravity of the entire arrow does not shift too far back, I have also come up with a solution. Next, I will forge some small copper rings to be fitted onto the very front of the special arrow shafts for Valyrian steel arrows. This will both add weight and strengthen the connection stability between the arrowhead and the shaft."
"Alright, Master Mott," Aegor said with a smile, interrupting the blacksmith's endless detailed explanation. "You did very well. Seventy-one arrows, one-fifth, which is fourteen and one-fifth. As a commendation for your hard work and sweat, after the war, you can take fifteen of them. If you want to return to King's Landing as soon as possible to continue managing your blacksmith shop, the Night's Watch is currently short on ships, but I will immediately arrange carriages and horses for your departure. And if you want to wait in the Gift to receive your reward in person, please also, Master, during your stay in the Gift, exchange experiences and insights on forging and smithing with our Night's Watch artisans, contributing to the defense of the Wall. As compensation, you will receive the highest level of technical personnel salary."
After speaking, without waiting for the blacksmith, who had achieved a major life goal and seemed a bit complacent, or perhaps talkative, to respond, Aegor turned to look at the guards behind him. "Seal this box of arrowheads and carry it away, take it back to my room. Also, issue an order." Seventy-one Dragonsteel Arrows, this number exceeded Aegor's expectations. How to distribute these arrows was a question worth careful consideration, but in an instant, a flash of inspiration struck him. "Issue an order, a simple archery competition will be held in Queenscrown the day after tomorrow. The top-ranked archers will have the opportunity to hunt White Walkers alongside me in the final battle with 'Lightbringer', gaining supreme honor and being immortalized in history."
(To be continued.)
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