Legend of the Adamantine Forge

It all had started in the ancient dwarven lands, in the first great dwarven kingdom: Kingdom of Durschdan. There, lived a royal blacksmith with five sons. Each of those sons had spent almost every day learning the craft of their father. All but one of them had found their destiny and passion in it.   The oldest, Adonich, was an incomparable armourer. His armours were renowned for the artistry with which they had been made, as well as for their reliability when it came to saving lives.   The second of sons, Bulric, became highly skilled in forging weaponry. His abilities as a weapon smith were spreading fear amongst enemies of dwarves as effective as his creations were.   Cedrish, the middle son, grew extremely fond of the art of metal, dedicating his skills to decorating palace walls, castle gates and thrones of underground dwarven halls.   Duenan, the second youngest son, found his passion in utility smithing and mastered creating metallic reinforcements and horseshoes. His services were especially valued for their reliability in use.   The youngest of the five artisans, Edmund, was the only indecisive son. He fell in love with the sound of the hammer hitting a heated metal, with a hissing of chilled iron and with the satisfaction of creating something of his own. But he could not find his way in the craft of his father and only played in the forge. Due to that, he became interested in magic but restrained from learning its secrets, because he would disgrace his family.   One day the father would gather his sons at the forge and tell them:   "Today I send you on the quest that my father had bestowed on me, one that my grandfather had bestowed on my father, and one his father bestowed on him. I send you out to the vast world and compel you to return only when you achieved greatness and mastery in your craft" he said before helping them to prepare for the journey.   Adonich had returned to his father a year later after defeating a dragon that endangered the west of the kingdom and forging armour out of dragon’s scales. Father had ordered the armour to be given to the mightiest warrior of the kingdom and accepted his son as the master of armouring.   Bulric had returned to his father a year later after travelling north to the frosted mountains and finding crystal harder than steel and cleaner than glass. He had forged a powerful sword and given it to his father. Father had ordered the sword to be gifted to the king and accepted his son as the master of weapon-smithing.   Cedrish had returned to his father a year later after completing a garden where every bush and flower were forged out of metal. They travelled east to his son’s new home and experienced the beauty of the garden. Father plucked a single rose from the garden and accepted his son as the master of metal art.   Duenan had returned to his father a year later after travelling to small town south. He brought a dented old hammer with him and had shown it as proof of the hard work he gifted to simple folk. Father had hung the hammer over his own forge and accepted his son as the master of utility smithing.   Edmund had travelled aimlessly for over a year without finding purpose, greatness, or achievement. He journeyed far away to the unknown, where no dwarven foot had ever been. One night he looked up at the sky and experienced the most astonishing sight one can see. All three moons were full on that night and had lined underneath each other in the clear sky. When he looked up he felt something and turned to notice a shining hammer lying in the grass. The curious young dwarf had approached it and noticed that it was made of an orange metal with purple streaks across its surface. He had never seen such metal, so he picked it up. The air filled with the sound of the hammer hitting the anvil and Edmund heard a voice in his head:   "You, young Edmund, are destined to unite magic and craftmanship, forever changing the course of history" said the Goddess of the Forge, whose mortal essence was dormant in the hammer. After those words earth beneath Edmund tore apart and revealed a great cave rich in deposits of purple metal. The metal whose armour no blade can pierce, whose weapons will destroy every obstacle, whose ornaments will be the most beautiful and whose horseshoes will withstand every journey. Edmund looked at the metal and named it adamantine.   Young artisans had realized both the power of the metal and the power of the hammer. With them, he returned to his father and told him what he experienced. His brothers had not believed him, who they still thought to be the indecisive young fool. On the other hand, the father realized the blessing his son had received and sent him with his own blessing.   Using the divine power and the guidance of the Goddess of the Forge, Edmund had learned how to create the finest armours, weapons, ornaments, and utilities and how to enchant them with spells. He decided to share this knowledge and founded the Adamantine Forge. Soon it had become the greatest and mightiest of all dwarven forges, recognized later as the miracle of dwarven civilization.