His heartfelt words made Solus so happy that she didn't mind skipping the meal due to the inability to assume her human form. The light wisp snuggled against his head like a small bird.
"As for my hybrid form, it messes with my love life and makes me a monster, but at least it comes with some perks. Right, Phloria?" Lith looked her in the eyes, making most of her envy and that of their sisters melt like snow under the summer sun.
During happy circumstances, it was easy to forget that such blessings were actually a double-edged sword. Over the past few months, Phloria had come to terms with Solus's existence and didn't resent Lith anymore for keeping his other half a secret.
Yet she still lacked the courage to ask some important questions like what part Solus had played in their past relationship and how much of it she had shared. The uncertainty still made it awkward for Phloria to remain alone with Lith.
'There is no way to ask them if we ever had some kind of threesome. Just thinking about how they shared their mind and Lith's body is embarrassing enough, let alone asking details of their arrangements about intimacy.' She thought.
Later, while the others rested inside the tower, Lith went to Faluel's lair to ask her opinion about his work and understand how safe his secrets were.
"By the Great Mother, it must be nice having free access to Origin Flames. Can you do the same thing for me?" Faluel didn't know about the tower, but she could recognize perfectly purified Adamant when she saw it.
The black and white shades of the metal that made it similar to Davross were hard to miss.
"Yes and no. Yes, I can but no, I can't assure you the same quality in the final product." Lith then explained to her the peculiar Forge he had employed and his current limits.
"Goddam Liches." The Hydra had yet to meet Zolgrish, yet she couldn't stand him already. "They already have the best stuff and usually it's because they have more meat on their bones than morals in their head."
"That said, don't worry about it. My forges don't shapeshift, but I know how to handle Adamant. We'll just have to alternate melting and purifying to keep the metal's composition balanced."
"What do you think of my Scalewalker armor and how is the cloaking of my workings?" Lith asked.
"I think that technically, producing such a powerful piece with a blue core is impossible. The crafting is a bit rough and the enchantments could have been balanced better, but it's still an impressive work for someone without a legacy.
"As for the cloaking, you gave the standard runes a good spin of your own. If you weren't my apprentice and I had no idea of how you work, I would've had a hard time studying your armor.
"I like how you used my scales to enhance the armor's ability to deflect impacts rather than just hardening it. Professor Wanemyre is right, you're truly talented for Forgemastery." Faluel said after thoroughly studying the armor.
"Thanks. Did we make the right choice in crafting an armor rather than a weapon?" Lith asked.
"Most certainly. I don't know how you made the Scalewalker armor just like I don't know how this Orion made War. Yet while I'm certain that I can make something much better than your piece if I give it my all, crafting a better blade would be a challenge.
"On top of that, even if I managed to match War's power, my piece would still lack the pseudo conscience that Orion's feelings imbued the sword with and the abilities that come with it.
"Unless you have lots of money and materials to commission a masterpiece to someone even better than I am, crafting an armor was the perfect choice. It allowed you to experience working with Adamant and to put your technique to the test against the second most powerful metal on Mogar.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you succeeded at your first attempt and a bit disappointed that you didn't come to me for help. Right now, your Forgemastering technique has few secrets to me, and sharing them would have been a small price to pay to not waste the only Adamant Forge in your possession." Faluel said.
'Which means that either those secrets are truly valuable and likely to be related with Solus's powers or that Lith's pride is so big that it clouded his judgment. He doesn't seem the arrogant type.
'Lith has never hesitated to ask for my help in the past so I bet that his Forgemastering prowess is somehow related to Solus. Gods, I wish he trusted me a little more. No matter what she is, Solus is my apprentice as well. I would never hurt either of them.' She thought.
Lith had pondered a lot about asking Faluel's help for the Forge, but doing it would have meant to give up on the tower's world energy and the dual hammering technique.
He had decided to try on his own not because of blind pride, but to gain precious experience. No one could teach Lith how to master the tower's abilities, it was something he had to do on his own.
No matter if the experiment succeeded or failed, understanding the limits that he and Solus had while in the tower came first. It would influence the way they developed their Forgemastering techniques and determine the heights they could reach.
Lith didn't ask Faluel's help because he had gambled on their skills and on the help of those he already had entrusted with the secret of the tower. Despite all Faluel's nice words, she was still a Dragon and a Forgemaster at that.
Lith believed that, after reaching the limits of their talents, any sane mage would kill to get their hands on Menadion's legacy.
"I'm sorry, Professor Faluel, but few or not, those secrets are still important to me and I don't share them lightly. On top of that, I've often learned more from my failures than from my successes. I don't want to become as good as you, I want to surpass you.
"If I start relying on you to forge my most powerful pieces, I'll never grow out of your shadow." Lith said.
"Don't set the bar so low." Faluel felt flattered by those words and gave him a warm smile. "I'm just a good Forgemaster. You should aim for someone like Menadion or Bytra, like I do. Surpassing my father was nothing but a stepping stone.
"We must aim to become Rulers of the Flames. They were Forgemasters so powerful that even the crumbs of knowledge they decided to share with the rest of Mogar allowed the Forgemastering art to reach new heights."
"My bar is not low." Lith shook his head.
"If you are just a good Forgemaster, then so is Orion and I'm less than mediocre. I know Menadion and Bytra just by name. There are none of their creations that I can study whereas you show me marvels on a daily basis.
"Your skills are the real deal and your teachings have allowed me to master Adamant on the first try. I will always be grateful to you for all that."
