Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

---15 Minutes earlier---

To Improve Forgebrand's Golem Formation was not a sudden idea. Seth had actually worked off and on on it, whenever he had time. The first step had been the Faer Formation, the circle that was able to create a living body for a deceased soul, given a foundation.

However, this was the result he had worked on and off on since around the time he began selling Golems to Arget Nore. The problem with the Faer was that the creation of a body was almost impossible unless the soul regained enough information to form its own ego.

Using the knowledge he gained learning the generic Automaton Ego of Hephaestus from Cormac Payl and his own experience, he had tried to create a similar formation that worked closer to the original version.

But even with Al'Zalsar's help, creating that would have taken a long time, if it wasn't for a different change. When his reached level 3, the Spirit blacksmith had not only unlocked thing connected to his blessings but also the enchantments his predecessor had created with .

And this one small list contained what he had been trying to make, an already improved version of the original Golem Formation. It was quite similar to Seth's Faer Formation. Like Seth's take, it was a fixed magic circle, which built the body and imprinted Forgebrand's own golem ego formation onto the soul used as a seed.

It was part of a blueprint for an item, that could automatically deploy this enchantment on the ground, which probably started out as a carved platform that would be carried in the inventory and used when needed.

This was his new starting point, for this idea. With the knowledge gathered in his own attempt to improve it, it wasn't hard for Seth to understand Forgebrand's work and in what places he could inject his own experience and skills. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

His predecessor's work was focused on the quick deployment of autonomic golems, similar to how a necromancer would operate, just that he would turn collected souls into intelligent golems, with whatever material was in reach, while Necromancer mostly needed corpses for their work.

What Seth injected was the customization of the resulting golem, based on the soul used. This came at the cost of time but improved the power of the resulting creation significantly. In theory, in reality, the formation he just finished was his half-assed prototype he threw together because he didn't have the time to properly manufacture the last steed.

At the center of the intricate carving was a pile of materials. , legendary , , , and dwarven , only the best of the best, intended for the steed of Hunger. This was Seth's way of trying to balance the fact that he was not properly crafting it.

He didn't know whether that even had an impact on the quest itself, but taking into account that he was technically not forging it, and the end result would probably look more like a stag, than a horse... It couldn't hurt to use a bunch of materials, that were objectively of higher quality than the previous two mounts.

The first Leg he had started with was also on the pile. All that was left was-

~Your turn, little guy. You know the deal.~ Seth spoke to the soul of the Water Stag, which he had acquired not too long ago.

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The terms of the soul contract it “agreed” to were quite simple, absolute obedience to the blacksmith and the rider he chooses, otherwise its ego would be wiped out and control would go to the golem ego that will be engraved during the production process.

~...Yes.~

~Good, just listen to the music, don't resist.~ The bard instructed the soul before placing it in the center of the formation. Seth sat on the chair nearby, taking out Oz, the demon lyre. His hand started touching the string, playing a simple melody.

...

The soul had no ears, but the music struck a chord deep inside. The stag could hear it and the calm start of the song slowly led him him into a slumbering trance. Before its inner eyes appeared a vast sea and an unspeakable sorrow filled it, a dread that it could never return.

It tried to think of something else, but his mind was empty, there was only fear, as if it was hunting him down. But why couldn't he think of anything else? he tried his best to capture his memories and remember himself in this frontier of loss.

Suddenly they came flooding back, like ripped sequences, seen by a third party and not like he was the one doing it. The urge to see the land, despite knowing the price. The regret slowly twisted into fun. The horrible price that had to be paid, became a perverted game.

Visiting land not for the freedom, but for the fun of paying the price. Fooling others to take a seat, to touch it, and then drag them to their watery grave. Seeing the memory that returned, he was terrified. He was appalled, no, that wasn't him!

“Born of a broken beast, but not a broken beast. Born of a broken beast, never a broken beast”

Words floated through his mind, disrupting the spiral of horror with unprecedented power, jumbling up everything.

“Born of a broken beast, but not a broken beast. Born of a broken beast, never a broken beast”

The words came hard, with force. Yet, as they disrupted the vicious cycle, they brought new order to his mind. Right, this wasn't him! It couldn't be. He would never be like that. The sense of fear and guilt fell from him like leaves in fall.

It was like the image of himself shattered somewhere within and he was able to distance himself. His chaotic thoughts which were like moths trapped under a lampshade in his mind, burned away until only clear darkness remained.

“Born of a broken beast, but not a broken beast. Born of a broken beast, never a broken beast”

With force, they came again, but they only strengthened his new enlightenment. Yes, he was free from the beast he once was. The creature that lay awake forever, shaking and starving for the next prey in the darkness, unable to escape his fate.

“Born of a broken beast, but not a broken beast. Born of a broken beast, never a broken beast.”

...

Several minutes after starting to play, the formation sprang into action. The blacksmith had already gotten nervous, but now the soul floating in the center had taken an incorporeal shape and the enchantment was running at full power.

As Seth performed the song, he also supplied mana and heat to the formation, he watched the new golem take shape. It didn't follow any of the principles that were needed when engineering a golem by hand, but it followed the fundamentals of a body.

The first thing that took shape from molten and , was a core surrounding the nucleus of the soul. These were the core memories and traits that made up the ego. The bard had tried to slightly curate these, with the choice of his song.

From there, the rest of the and the took the shape of a skeleton, resembling that of a stag. Key parts like the skull, antlers, and some of the leg bones were made of or covered by a thin layer of . The rest was formed from the black .

Growing from the core, along the bones were veins of , most likely serving a similar purpose as inlays Seth would use for the movement enchantments on a golem, to submit magic power and signals.

Starting from the skeleton covered in veins, which had taken the center of the soul's shape, the started building up like flesh, leaving indentations and grooves that would allow smooth movement of the limbs and parts later on. It grew until it completely filled the outlines of the soul, looking like a stag, carved from black crystal and fashioned with silver antlers.

“Now, walk through the Water of Styx to be truly reborn” the blacksmith ordered it and summoned the Waters of Styx as a big sphere of water. The stag looked at him for a moment, before he nodded and turned to walk through the water.

“Strix, this is your steed, Echo. Treat him well,” said with anticipation. He had chosen the name Echo for several reasons. The golem was an echo of the Water Stag, not a rebirth. It was the name of a woman with obsessive love in Olympian myth, fitting the stags sticky attitude. Lastly, because the original Striges were known for the sound, the “echo”, they created in the night.