"They can't. You're my Mom! Mine!" Baby Solus treasured the few moments of the day she spent with her mother so much that she found outrageous even the idea of sharing them with someone else.
"Exactly. By giving her a name, he sealed their union and Tyris gave him those artifacts to make sure that Valeron would always return to her, no matter the enemy he faced." Menadion said.
"She doesn't love him much. She did a bad job. Maybe that's why uncle Valeron was sad." Solus pointed at the sword with a confused face.
"It's the second time you say that. What do you mean?" Menadion and her husband, Threin, argued a lot because she would often bring Solus with her in the Forge.
Threin often scolded the first Royal Forgemaster for not spending enough time with their daughter and for teaching her too much about Forgemastering and too little about everything else.
While her husband wanted Solus to have a normal life, Menadion was proud of her daughter's magical talent and nurtured it daily. Solus already knew the basics of Forgemastery, which made Threin furious and Menadion wonder why she criticized a Guardian's work so harshly.
"Red crystals are crap, orange are farts, and yellow are piss. A real Forgemaster doesn't work with them, they just throw them away." Baby Solus repeated the words she had heard Menadion say many times to her apprentices while teaching them Crystalsmithing.
Menadion turned to a bright shade of purple, thinking that Threin had got a point.
"Yes. I mean, no. I mean, please never say that again, especially in front of Dad." Menadion held Baby Solus's face in her hands, forcing the child to look her in the eyes to understand how serious she was.
'Mom's hands are so soft and warm.' The sleeping Solus kept crying, but this time it was out of joy.
Menadion's love filled the void that she feared her first life had been. She finally knew her origins and why in all of her memories she was so obsessed with Forgemastery.
'I just didn't want to let Mom down.' Solus thought. 'I'm proud and competitive even now so it's no surprise that back then I did my best to shine above her many disciples.
'In one of my earliest memories, Mom said that she wanted me to become the next Ruler of the Flames. Probably I worked so hard because I didn't want to lose to my rivals and I did my best to become the heir of her legacy.' Yet those joyful thoughts raised unsettling questions.
'What happened to my Dad and why do I have no memory of siblings?'
"I promise." Baby Solus's voice snapped her out of it. "But it's still a piss poor job."
"Don't say that either!" Menadion cursed her big mouth and promised herself to listen to Threin more. "Also, it's not a bad job. It's a masterpiece that even Mommy is trying to replicate to make her tower finally work."
"Then are red crystals good? Did you lie to your apprentices?" The more Baby Solus heard, the more confused she was.
"No, they are cr- weak." Menadion bit her tongue to stop herself in time. "Tyris would never use weak crystals for her husband, just like Mom does for your clothes."
Menadion tapped on the child's chest who lowered her head, allowing Solus to notice that all the buttons of her dress were actually violet crystals.
"Those on the Royal Sword are actually white crystals. The most powerful gemstones a Forgemaster can use and capable of replenishing their energy reserves almost instantly, no matter how many times you use them."
"Then why are they colored?" Both Solus asked in confusion.
"As I told you before, mana is comprised of the six elements plus your life force. That's why it's emerald green. When you mix all the elements without life force, you get the white color." Menadion mixed with Spirit Magic some of the paint that Threin had left around to give Solus a practical demonstration.
"This happens because the elements are perfectly balanced, but that doesn't mean that they are not there any longer. A truly powerful Forgemaster can imbue white crystals with their own willpower and enhance a single element.
"The more the element is enhanced, the more it stands out." Menadion added brushstrokes of red, making the white become pink first and then bright red.
"It's stupid because red crystals are c-" Baby Solus attempted to say, but Menadion's glare stopped her. "I'm sorry, Mom."
"It's not your fault, baby girl, it's mine. Anyway, changing a crystal's color doesn't weaken it in the least. Quite the contrary, it gives them incredible powers. Do you know that Mommy can barely make pink crystals?"
"Mom is the best! Pink is better than red because red-"
"Good gods! How many times did I say those words in front of you? Please, don't answer." Menadion couldn't believe to have led her only daughter to repeat such a vulgar catchphrase as if it was a nursery rhyme.
"Lady Tyris is incredible because she managed to make a white crystal turn bright red. It allows the sword to conjure even tier five fire spells without its wielder to spend a shred of mana nor time to weave them.
"On top of that, even though uncle Valeron had no mana streaks in his hair, as long as he held the blade, he was capable of using Domination. The six colored gems bestowed upon him control over all the elements while the white crystals on the hilt empower the enchantments the sword is imbued with."
"Why didn't Tyris add a green crystal as well? Uncle Valeron is helpless against Spirit Magic." Baby Solus asked.
"She could have created a green gemstone by adding her own life force, but that would have made the sword unusable to anyone but her. Adding life force to a crystal is not only incredibly difficult due to its inanimated nature, but it also creates a permanent imprint." Menadion replied.
'By my Mom, I mean maker, that's how Thrud could cast so many powerful spells even though she is a fake mage and how she defended against everything we threw at her.
'Lith and I have no white crystals, but if we learn how to infuse them with the elements, we could even add a gemstone for Spirit Magic. On top of that, since our energy signatures match, we wouldn't have the problem that Tyris had with Valeron.' Solus thought.
"Is Domination that important?" Baby Solus asked.
"Very. It's a secret technique that very few creatures know and that can't be used without a natural affinity to the elements. Thanks to my seven streaks, I could use Domination, if someone teaches me how to.
"Uncle Valeron, instead, had no streaks, so even after reaching a white core, he couldn't Dominate a single element without the sword." Menadion words confirmed Solus the existence of white cores, leaving her flabbergasted.
"I don't get it. How can a sword do what even you can't? You have colored hair!" The child sounded already bored, more interested in playing than listening, but she craved her mother's attention more than anything else.
"That's the beauty of Forgemastery, the art that I hope one day you will inherit from me. Normal magic requires mana, discipline, and great willpower. Even creating one of my holograms is impossible to most mages, yet all amulets can do it.
"Do you know why, pumpkin?" Menadion asked.
