That afternoon, I could no longer concentrate on the work of carrying clay from the lake into the cave, as I was bothered by the earlier event. First, to be sure that no one was there, I thoroughly inspected both inside and around the cave where the dragon eggs were. After meticulously searching every corner, I confirmed that, as I thought, no one was there. So, I began to seriously consider if what had happened was the work of the Vothrial crystal. I took it out of my pocket, holding it in my hand while observing it closely.
- "...Was it really you?" I asked, incredulous.
- "B-but how? Weren't you only capable of demonstrating thoughts? How did you do that?" I questioned, staring at the crystal seriously.
- "Tsk... Damn. I'll have to do some tests with you tonight to understand what's happening... You know what? I'll do it now." I said, putting the crystal back in my pocket.
At that moment, Estalyrion was already setting on the horizon, and the light that had once illuminated everything now gave way to darkness, which was not total thanks to the stars and the two moons. So, I decided to perform a small test with the crystal. I quickly went to the lake, grabbed some clay sieves, and outside the cave, with the fire lit, I prepared to repeat what I had done earlier inside the cave.
- "Ok... Let's test you." I said, looking at the crystal as I sat near the pile of clay.
- "This time, though, I'll think of something different... What could it be? I know, a pot."
This time, I imagined something different from the furnace, as I had done earlier, because if the stone had really done that, it should be able to repeat the feat regardless of what I thought. I began the procedure: I closed my eyes and carefully concentrated on what I wanted to create. Then, I pointed the crystal at the pile of clay and, out loud, asked it to transform that pile into a pot. Along with the request, I put all my mental will into it, as if I truly wanted it to happen. I waited a few minutes and finally opened my eyes.
When I opened them, I was completely astonished. The clay I had placed there had transformed into exactly the pot I had imagined. One detail, however, caught my attention: only the necessary amount of clay was used to make the pot, while the rest remained unchanged. That gave me a huge fright since I didn't expect it to work.
- "U-uaghh... It really worked? This has to be a joke... H-how is this possible?" – I exclaimed, astonished.
- "And this pot... It's perfect. More than that, the clay is already dry, as if it had gone through the furnace process. This... is incredible!" I said, excited, examining the pot.
That was undoubtedly an extraordinary discovery, something perhaps no one else had realized. If the population of Élaris had done something similar, the world would likely be much more advanced than it was. Moreover, that type of crystal would be extremely valuable and, consequently, very rare. However, in the Velanthar forest, these crystals were abundant, as they were in other places, reinforcing my theory that their true utility was still unknown.
After the success of the first experiment, the excitement was so great that I couldn't sleep. I started testing the crystal with other objects made of clay, trying to prove its capabilities.
Among the various tests I conducted, all brought valuable information about building with Vothrial. The first piece of information was about the amount of material needed for each construction. The first time, when I accidentally discovered this property of the crystal in the dragon eggs' cave, I realized that the small pile of clay didn't transform into a miniature furnace, nor into something bigger, as if the material came out of nowhere. The pile of clay transformed into what was possible with the amount of material available. So, if I wanted to build something big, like a large furnace, I would need to gather the exact amount of clay needed for the entire project.
The second piece of information concerned the type and condition of the material used. For example, when trying to create a basket made of Talbûren and Thalvarýn lines using only clay, I got no results. It was as if the crystal required specific materials for what I imagined. When I finally got the Talbûren, divided it into thin strips, and obtained the Thalvarýn threads, the crystal successfully created the basket, confirming this hypothesis.
Finally, I discovered that after a certain number of constructions, the Vothrial crystal, once white and shiny, turned black and opaque, completely losing its abilities. It was as if it became exhausted. The reason for this, however, would still require many tests to understand.
- "I'm speechless... Honestly..." I murmured, while my hands trembled and my mind buzzed with all the possibilities that those crystals could provide.
- "With my knowledge and now with the help of these crystals, I can... I can, finally... ha... haha... haHAHA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
That night, I couldn't sleep properly, overwhelmed with anxiety for the next morning, when I could finally start putting my revenge plan into action, a plan I had thought would never come to fruition. Finally, the world was beginning to prepare for what was to come. A new era of devastating wars, extraordinarily powerful beings, and unimaginable battles was about to begin, and I was at the center of it all. Deep inside, I knew this was just the beginning of a much larger journey.