Chapter 225: Ithildin and the Blessing Ritual

Before deciding to go find Lady Galadriel, Allen had actually already conducted many experiments.

Among the materials used to create Magic Dust, besides silver and that unknown magical material, the others were all very common metals and herbs; even if they did not exist in Middle-earth, Allen could spend a few Dinar to buy them in the Simulator, which was nothing.

However, Allen truly could not find a substitute for that silver-shimmering magical material; having heard that gemstones possessed a certain power, he had also tried all the gemstones in his treasury, but the powders of those gemstones, shimmering with various colors, had no effect at all.

And as the experiments reached their end, Allen even mixed in the little bit of Mithril he had left, but the result was the same; this material, when drawn on leather, simply could not trigger the power of the runes.

So, struggling to the end, Allen could only go find a Noldor Elf who had once received instruction from Aule in forging; and among the Noldor, the Noldor Princess who came from Valinor should be the Eldar who understands the most today—this is beyond doubt.

Allen wanted to re-equip most of the soldiers under his command within a few years; even the most ordinary militia and Archers were to be equipped with Green Leaf Armor, and he would subsequently prepare Leg Guards to protect their legs for them.

As for the reason for doing this, it was naturally because within five to ten years, Allen and Thorin were prepared to take action against the Orcish in the Grey Mountains; if Allen's subordinates could be equipped with this lightweight, flexible, and highly protective armor by then, it could naturally greatly reduce the burden on the soldiers.

And the lightly equipped Human soldiers would also be able to climb through mountains and tunnels alongside the Dwarves while fully armed, without being ambushed by Orcish due to physical exhaustion, which was of great benefit to their safety.

And if the cost of purchasing these materials relied entirely on Allen earning them himself in the Pendor Continent, not to mention whether it was worth the risk—because Allen's current strength was still considered powerful—the ways to make money were limited; unless he went to rob, steal, or engage in the human trafficking he hated most, he would never earn enough Dinar even if he worked himself to death.

Allen had no fief in Pendor, and the vast majority of wealth, besides flowing to those powerful nobles, was also carved up by the many other factions on the continent; Allen could not just go from house to house to "borrow" it.

So he still thought about seeing if he could settle this matter in Middle-earth, even if it meant taking some risks, that was acceptable.

Of course, the money-making journey in the Pendor Continent could not stop either; although Allen could not rob those nobles, he would absolutely not be polite to those bands of Gatu, those outlaws, and those minor factions that actively attacked Allen.

And the spoils obtained, whether weapons, equipment, or horses, would all be handed over to Paul of Long River Town to manage, and Allen would also occasionally purchase some Noldor goods from Karanor of Elacrai to sell to those nobles who lined up to buy them.

After all, Allen still had the identity of an Elf-slayer on the surface, so having some Elf specialties was not strange at all.

And besides making money in the Pendor Continent, the itinerary to Lothlorien was also quickly decided.

But before that, Allen still very politely dispatched his personal guard Gale, letting him head to the Golden Wood to express his desire to visit.

Because the Galadhrim living in Lothlorien were far less willing to have contact with Humans than their kin, the Silvan; Thranduil, who ruled the Woodland Realm, had even dispatched Elves to reside in Long Lake Town long ago in order to maintain trade with the Northern Men.

The Elves of the Golden Wood had always been self-sufficient and never easily contacted outsiders; their way of life was secretive and dangerous, using terrifying rumors to refuse Humans from entering their forest. For example, when Allen attended the White Council, the subordinates he brought did not enter the forest at all, but camped on the edge.

And at the same time, the Galadhrim would use terrifying bows and arrows to shoot those Orcish who entered their territory.

In Allen's understanding, the reason the Galadhrim lived a life akin to "closing the country" was likely the helplessness of being situated between Moria and Dol Guldur.

Because most Elves actually had no opinion on the descendants of the Edain, especially those Noldor Elves and Sindar Elf who had begun to cooperate with Humans since the First Age.

Many knowledgeable Elf sages had even learned about the relationship between Elves and Humans from the Valar or Maia, and this included Galadriel, who had returned to Middle-earth from Valinor.

Regarding the neighbor's visit, the Lady was actually a bit surprised, because the Kingdom of Rhovanion, which had just broken free from the quagmire of war, was at a critical moment of recovering its vitality and developing prosperously.

Furthermore, Allen, who had not been married for long, was actually not at home accompanying his new wife, but instead made a great fanfare to come to the Golden Wood as a guest; this behavior was truly a bit inconsistent with the Elven perception.

And this kind of thing was naturally because the Elves' perception of time was completely different from that of Humans; possessing almost infinite life, they would often become interested in something, and in a daze, decades would pass, and for Humans, decades could very well be half a lifetime.

However, the Lady of the Golden Wood still greatly appreciated Allen's consistent actions, so whether it was surprise or strangeness, she readily agreed to the neighbor's request for a visit.

And after receiving the reply brought by Gale, Allen set off from Fislate and finally arrived at the golden Caras Galadhon during the most beautiful season of Lothlorien.

The Cerin Amroth in autumn possessed golden leaves that did not fall throughout the winter, complementing its own silver bark; its beauty made most Elves linger, and they were even unwilling to go to the legendary Undying Lands of Valinor.

Even Allen, who often traveled abroad, rarely saw such beautiful scenery in Middle-earth, let alone Yamila, who had lived in towns for years.

Yes, this time going out, Allen brought Yamila out again, letting his wife also appreciate the beautiful Golden Wood in the company of the Elves.

As for himself, he directly took out the Rune Magic he had learned in the Pendor Continent and laid out all the difficulties he was currently facing.

Noldor Elves were, in essence, a race that loved to learn very much; even among the Eldar, they were famous for their wisdom and were the race richest in craftsmanship and knowledge.

So upon seeing the finished product Allen took out, Galadriel was extremely surprised; in her perception, this was not inferior to some knowledge she had learned from the Vala Aule, and this was a brand-new craft among the Noldor, at least it was in Middle-earth.

And regarding the predicament Allen was currently in, the Lady thought of a substitute in the first instance, which was Ithildin mixed with Mithril.

This was a very special material; besides the characteristic of reflecting starlight and moonlight, they also possessed the advantages of preserving energy and transmitting energy, which was very similar to the magical material in Allen's words that could trigger the power of runes.

It was just that making such a material required Mithril, and Lothlorien had no stock; after all, after the Dwarves of Durin abandoned Moria, there was no new Mithril production in all of Middle-earth, and this was absolutely an extremely rare resource.

And Allen took out the little bit he had left, the Mithril that flickered with silver light from time to time, which was only the size of Allen's fingernail.

However, even for a piece of Mithril of this size, Lady Galadriel indicated that it was enough to demonstrate the production process of Ithildin.

In fact, Ithildin was a substitute created by the Elf craftsmen of Eregion; it replaced a special material from Gondolin called "Blue Silver." Sting, the sword of Gandalf, as well as the Orcrist of Thorin and the sword possessed by Bilbo, had inscriptions using this material carved on them when they were made.

But with the sinking of Beleriand, the material for "Blue Silver" could no longer be found, so after discovering Mithril, the Elves of the Jewel-smiths Guild developed this material, and Galadriel happened to have learned this skill before leaving.

Soon, after the Mithril and some common materials underwent smelting that was not too complicated, they turned into a small pinch of unremarkable silver sand; and what made Allen feel very magical was that after Lady Galadriel performed a brief ritual, the silver sand became shimmering and extraordinary.

Then Allen used this small pinch of Ithildin to prepare the material for drawing runes, and immediately drew a rune board on the chest and abdomen of the Green Leaf Armor; the result was very gratifying.

Except for emitting an eye-catching light at night, everything else about this rune board went very smoothly, and the effect even exceeded Allen's previous works; the glowing problem was also easy to solve, because as time passed, they would soon fade until they disappeared completely.

And the Lady did not stint on her knowledge, telling Allen that this was a Blessing Ritual, a technique originating from the Vala Aule; different races, different materials, and slight changes during the performance of the ritual could all lead to different results.

Once, the Noldor Elves also taught this knowledge to Humans and Dwarves, and these two races created many extraordinary works.

For example, swords that could cause damage to the undead, or ornaments that possessed some special abilities, and so on; but most of them did not have time to be left behind and were lost with the wars.

And those who honed this skill to a very powerful existence could even create works that surprised the gods.

Speaking of this, Galadriel's eyes were full of memories of the past, and Allen naturally also knew what those works that surprised the gods were.

Actually, he had seen them with his own eyes not long ago, but this was not a topic he could mention, because that was something that happened in Valinor; besides existing in the memories of some Elves, they were not recorded in any books.

According to Allen's current comprehension and memory, learning this technique was not particularly troublesome, especially since it was only aimed at the single material of Ithildin; it only cost him a few days to figure out the whole process.

In the process of learning, Allen analyzed this Blessing Ritual according to his own ideas and Galadriel's words.

In his understanding, the Blessing Ritual should be a certain method of mobilizing the power of the world of Arda; although the effect of this ritual was very, very small, so small that it could only attach some special ability to some materials or items, this was not knowledge that mortals should understand.

According to Allen's understanding of this world, this was the power that only those Valar possessed; after all, the entire Arda was shaped by them, whether it was the ocean or the mountains, whether it was animals or plants, they were all created by them with the help of the world power left by Eru.

Allen, who had barely figured all this out, was full of envy for those Elves who boarded for Valinor; what else was there to be dissatisfied with? Especially the Noldor, the Valar had almost taught them all their best skills.

And the result?! Under the bewitchment of Morgoth, these guys were still shouting every day about how the Valar kept them in captivity and left the wider world to the secondary children of Eru; this was slightly arrogant and ungrateful.

In Allen's view, this might be the limitation caused by personality and too little experience.

And in the process of learning the Blessing Ritual, Allen also discussed more ways to use runes with Lady Galadriel; for example, he could let the Falathrim try to use them on Elf ships, which might make their long voyages easier.

For another example, these runes could be inlaid on backpacks, so that when people traveled long distances, they could carry more supplies.

Of course, some of these ideas were truly a bit extravagant for short-lived Humans; after all, what was needed to draw this stuff was Mithril, which was a very precious material. Before finding a cheaper substitute, Allen had no intention at all to use it for any purpose other than war.

This was equivalent to the lives of soldiers in disguise.

As for Mithril, Allen actually had his own ideas; he knew where it was, and there was a great deal of it. Besides the raw material, there were likely large quantities of exquisite helmets and armor crafted from pure Mithril. If he could find a way to retrieve them and have them smelted down, it would likely be no problem at all to make several thousand sets of Green Leaf Armor.

The problem, however, was how to avoid the eyes of the Orcish in that sunless environment, sneak into the depths of Moria, and bring back those abandoned treasures; another problem was how to split the loot with Thorin after retrieving those valuable riches.

Allen did not want to repeat the history of the hatred that had once occurred between the Eothiod and the Dwarf of Durin over treasure; furthermore, to explore Moria, he needed the help of the Dwarf, and perhaps he would also need the help of a Hobbit.

But how to organize this adventure was something he would need to think about carefully on the road back to Fislate.