"What? You don't even know... oh! The name is probably just different."
The clever Hanwei managed to swallow the doubt that was about to escape his lips and instead explained earnestly, "My father taught me that the first step in sword-making is to carve the outline of the sword into stone or sand to create a mold. Then, you pour the molten iron into it and wait for it to cool and solidify. The sword blank is then formed."
Aldric quickly processed this information in his mind and immediately understood.
Isn't this just casting?.
In his memory, few craftsmen used this method to make swords because the rapid solidification of the metal could easily leave defects, resulting in a less dense blade with greatly reduced mechanical properties and durability.
Therefore, most craftsmen with any standard of quality used forging to make weapons.
In contrast, a forged sword, having undergone repeated hammering and heat treatment, has a denser, more uniform material, with strength and toughness far superior to that of a cast sword.
However, Aldric didn't look down on Westeros's sword-making techniques. After all, a young craftsman in a remote village couldn't represent the skill level of the entire continent.
He shook his head gently. "In my homeland, there's a better way. By the way, do you have an iron poker?"
"Of course."
Hanwei quickly found a long, thin iron poker from a corner and handed it to Aldric, asking curiously, "What are you going to do with it?"
"Come, you work the bellows, and I'll show you."
Aldric had Hanwei take the bellows handle while Kevin used tongs to steady the crucible. He himself held the thick iron poker and inserted it into the molten iron, beginning to stir.
"Just like you need to stir a soup to season it evenly, stirring is to make the components in the molten iron more uniform," he explained as he worked. "This is an ancient steelmaking technique from my homeland the 'puddling process.' By stirring, the carbon and impurities in the molten iron will react with the air, releasing gases and leaving behind purer wrought iron."
But he also warned, "Wrought iron isn't brittle, but its low carbon content makes it soft, unsuitable for high-intensity use. So, in a little while, we'll need to add pig iron at the right time to adjust the carbon content and achieve the ideal material properties."
As Aldric spoke, he had to use many Chinese terms because he couldn't find corresponding words in the Westerosi vocabulary he had learned. This left Hanwei, who hadn't learned the otherworldy language, completely baffled. But he didn't dare to interrupt, trying hard to memorize every word, hoping to understand them later.
After more than an hour of careful stirring, Aldric judged the time was right and added the spare pig iron chunks to the crucible.
Once the new iron chunks had completely melted, he gave it a couple of vigorous stirs and then poured the molten iron into three rectangular ingot molds the blacksmith had prepared. As the white glow dimmed, the molten iron slowly cooled and solidified into soft iron ingots.
While the ingots were still glowing red, Aldric quickly grabbed the largest one and placed it on the anvil, beginning to hammer it with a rhythmic clang.
He first hammered the ingot into a flat, thin strip, then folded it over and hammered it flat again. He repeated this process four times.
After that, he switched to a smaller hammer and began to shape the edges of the iron strip. Slowly, a sword blank shaped like a wheat leaf, about a meter long, took form in his hands.
Next, Aldric hammered out a slightly narrower section at the base of the sword the tang. Then he placed the sword blank on the anvil to cool down slowly.
While it cooled, Aldric wasn't idle. He found charcoal powder, iron powder, and clay, mixed them in equal proportions, and made a soft paste.
When the sword blank had cooled completely, Aldric used a whetstone to lightly polish the blade's edge until it shone slightly. Then he carefully applied the soft mud paste to the spine of the sword the part other than the blade's edge.
After the entire sword was coated in mud, Aldric planned to heat-treat it again. But Hanwei's furnace was too small to fit the whole sword, so Aldric had to build a long, narrow charcoal furnace in the yard.
He added charcoal to the furnace, lit it, and heated the sword blank until it was glowing red. Then he quickly took it out and plunged it into water this process, called "clay-tempering," makes the blade's edge exceptionally hard while keeping the body of the sword tough and resilient.
As steam hissed and rose, the rough form of a one-handed sword was complete.
By now, it was getting late. Aldric, tired after a long day's work, left the sword blank at the blacksmith shop and took Kevin back to the tavern to rest.
The next morning, after washing up, the two of them hurried back to the blacksmith shop to finish the final steps of their sword-making journey.
To turn this into a peerlessly sharp divine weapon, three steps remained:
Tempering, polishing, and fitting the hilt and guard.
First step, tempering.
He placed the blade back in the long furnace and heated it until it glowed red, holding it at that temperature for about two hours to release any residual stress in the blade, improving its toughness and strength.
Second step, polishing.
No matter how strong a blade is, without a sharp edge, it's just an iron bar, barely qualifying as a blunt weapon.
So, using various whetstones from coarse to fine, he had to gradually grind away any rust or excess material from the blade until the edge was sharp enough to split a hair. Only then could it be considered a truly good sword.
Third step, fitting the hilt and guard.
This step was mainly for making the sword comfortable to hold and look cool.
In the market, the price of a sword was mostly determined by the materials of its hilt and guard.
Two swords of the same performance, one with plain fittings is a consumable item; one with luxurious fittings is a family heirloom.
For Aldric, this was just a gift for his apprentice, so it didn't need to be too extravagant.
He found a piece of scrap iron, hammered it into a flat oval, punched a hole in the middle, and fitted it over the tang to become the guard.
Then he found a piece of wood in the yard, split it to make the scabbard and hilt simple and practical.
After all this work, a one-handed sword, eighty centimeters long with a fifteen-centimeter hilt, was complete.
Aldric took the new sword into the yard and swung it a few times. He couldn't help but fall silent it felt like this sword was almost as good as his own "Blade of the Unquenched"!
"Kevin, come, try it. See if it suits you."
Taking the sword from Aldric, Kevin swung it a few times and was surprised to find that its balance and weight were impeccably perfect. It felt like an extension of his own arm, without a hint of disharmony.
As a boy from a knightly family, Kevin had a basic ability to judge the value of a weapon. This was definitely not something an ordinary squire like him should possess.
He said in a panic, "Ser, this... this sword is too precious. I am not worthy of it. It should belong to a powerful warrior like you."
Aldric laughed, unconcerned. "Bah, it's just something made from scraps in two days. I can make as many as I want. Don't be polite. Go on, find some wood and test its sharpness!"
Kevin hugged the sword, shaking his head so fast it became a blur. "No, no, it's too good a sword to be wasted on chopping wood!"
"It's fine. Go chop a few pieces. I want to see the cut."
"No, my father taught me that axes are for chopping wood, and swords are for self-defense. You can't just go chopping things with it!"
"Hah, you're a stubborn one."
Aldric impatiently stepped forward and snatched the sword. "Just chop it when I tell you to. What's with all the rules..."
He picked an arm-thick piece of wood from the yard, stuck it in the ground to fix it, and then swung the sword in a diagonal slash.
Crack! The wood split, the top half slowly sliding to the ground while the bottom half remained firmly planted in the dirt.
Aldric handed the sword back to the nervous Kevin and chuckled. "What's the big deal? It's just a sword. You're treating it like a treasure. Why don't you just marry it?"
With that, he picked up the piece of wood from the ground and examined the cut. The surface was smooth and flat. He couldn't help but exclaim, "In Azeroth, this would at least be a high-quality blue item."
Aldric had put a lot of effort into making this sword.
The techniques of puddling, steel-grouting, quenching, and tempering were all things he had learned from various books he had read.
But the more important, unquantifiable skills the feel, the control of temperature, the timing all came from the Grandmaster-level blacksmithing skill he had brought from Azeroth.
This hands-on forging experience made Aldric truly feel that these skills had become a part of his body.
Satisfied, he tossed the piece of wood aside and patted Kevin, who was still grinning and stroking the blade. "Alright, that's enough. We're not done yet. You can play with it later."
He turned and asked the little blacksmith, "Hanwei, do you have any... what's wrong with him?"
He saw Hanwei crouching on the ground, covering his ears, his eyes closed, muttering to himself.
Kevin shrugged. "He's been like that ever since he saw you cut the wood. I don't know what's wrong with him."
Aldric leaned in and heard him softly muttering, "...stir... even like soup... pour in to mix... charcoal powder..."
Heh, this kid is busy reviewing his lesson. Quite diligent.
But there was still work to be done. The review session would have to wait until after "school."
Aldric gently patted Hanwei's shoulder. "Hey, brother, do you have any round iron bars here?"
Hearing this, Hanwei quickly rummaged through a pile of iron materials and handed him one. "Master, the iron bar you requested."
The iron bar was for making the socket of the spearhead.
The spearhead Aldric designed was shaped like a double-edged dagger, but the hilt was replaced with a socket to connect to the spear shaft. It was much simpler to make than a one-handed sword.
In just one afternoon, he had forged two spearheads, one for Kevin and one for himself.
With the work done, it was time to settle the bill with Hanwei.
However, because the crafting process was different, he had used more materials than originally estimated.
Aldric was thinking he should probably give Hanwei some extra money.
But as soon as he brought it up, Hanwei quickly waved his hands. "Lord Ser, please don't mention money to me. You allowed me to watch the entire forging process of this sword and even explained it to me. I am incredibly grateful. This knowledge is something money can't buy. How can a few materials repay you?"
Aldric heard this and felt that Hanwei had a point. Knowledge is priceless, no matter the era.
While he was happy to teach others and share his knowledge, he didn't need to devalue himself.
So he said, "Alright then, Hanwei. I have another favor to ask. We need two spear shafts. A longer one for me, about two of me stacked on top of each other, and a shorter one for Kevin, about two of him tall. As a thank you, the bellows is yours."
From the moment he had first touched the bellows handle, Hanwei had wanted to throw away his old one.
He had originally planned to try and remake one from memory after Aldric left. It might not be as good as the one Aldric made, but it would definitely be better than his old bag bellows.
Now, hearing that Aldric was willing to leave the bellows to him, in exchange for just two pieces of wood, he eagerly nodded and agreed.
After settling the bill with Hanwei, Kevin happily put on his new leather armor, a longsword at his waist, and a spearhead and shield on his back. He followed his master back to the tavern.
After dinner, Aldric chatted and drank with the villagers who had come to the tavern, passing the time.
It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that he returned to his room and went to bed.
Just as he was drifting off, Aldric remembered one more thing he had forgotten to mention. He turned to Kevin and said, "By the way, wake up early tomorrow. Let's get your apprenticeship ceremony done."
The night passed without incident. The next morning, after waking up, Aldric moved his armor to the tavern yard and carefully polished it with fine sand and straw until it gleamed in the morning light. Only then did he put it on and walk out of the tavern.
Kevin had been waiting outside for a while. Seeing Aldric, he quickly stood up straight, placed his hand on his chest, and saluted. "Good morning, Ser!"
Aldric smiled and patted Kevin's head. "Good spirit, but the dark circles under your eyes are a bit heavy. Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Kevin shook his head and said he had slept well.
Aldric didn't plan to expose the fact that he had been too excited to sleep all night. "Come on, let's go to the river."
Outside Stoneyard Village flowed a small river, about a meter wide. The water was crystal clear, looking exceptionally pure.
In the past few days, Aldric had often seen women washing clothes by the river and children playing in the water, their laughter echoing. He felt it was an ideal place for an apprenticeship ceremony.
On the way to the small river, the master and apprentice carefully discussed the details of the ceremony.
Upon reaching their destination, Aldric chose a stable, large rock to sit on and announced, "We can begin."
Hearing this, Kevin immediately dropped to one knee, took out a cup he had borrowed from the tavern owner from his pack, carefully filled it with rye ale, and respectfully offered it to Aldric with both hands. "Ser, please drink this cup."
Aldric took the cup and drained it in one gulp. He then drew the newly forged sword from his waist, gently touched Kevin's shoulder with the flat of the blade, and said solemnly, "From this moment on, you are my student, and I am your master."
Although the ceremony was simple and a mix of two worlds' styles, under the dawn's light and the gentle breeze, everything felt particularly solemn and sacred.
With the ceremony over, Aldric said gravely to Kevin, "Stand up. From now on, you don't need to call me 'Ser.' That's for outsiders. You can just call me 'Master.'"
Hearing this, Kevin jumped up excitedly and replied loudly, "Yes, Master!"
Then, Aldric sheathed the longsword and handed it back to Kevin. "This sword is my gift to you. It is now officially yours. You can give it a name and make it your companion."
Kevin hugged the longsword tightly, his eyes shining with joy. "I've already thought of a name! Her name will be Aellie!"
"Aellie?" Hearing this, Aldric couldn't help but frown slightly. "That sounds like a girl's name."
Kevin's cheeks flushed slightly, and he said with some embarrassment, "Well... it's the name of a girl from my neighboring village. I like her a lot..."
Hearing this, Aldric thought to himself, Is he really planning to marry a sword?
He smiled and shook his head. "Alright, since you've decided, let's call it Aellie. I hope it will accompany you through the storms to come."