However, creating a Horcrux is not without side effects.
He discovered that as he split off a fragment of his soul, a part of his rationality was also taken away, making him somewhat impulsive and reckless.
For instance, this time, when he went to rescue Morinehtar, he was extremely incautious and nearly ended up in a dire situation.
And this was just from splitting off one soul fragment.
If he were to split his soul into seven fragments like Voldemort, Luke couldn't imagine how much rationality would remain.
Luke looked warily at the palantír in his hand, which he had turned into a Horcrux.
When he first created the Horcrux, he had even considered making multiple Horcruxes for added security. For example, he thought about using the Crown of Wisdom, the Golden Cup, the Resurrection Stone, or the Spear Aeglos as containers for his soul fragments.
But thankfully, he didn't do that.
He decided that this Horcrux would be his last and only one. He even began considering how to mitigate the side effects of having an incomplete soul.
"It will be alright after I complete the Philosopher's Stone..."
Since Luke had only created one Horcrux, the side effects were not too severe. Aside from occasional impulsiveness and recklessness, his thinking and rationality remained largely unaffected.
However, Luke did not take this lightly. The lesson from this rescue mission for Morinehtar served as a warning—a single misstep could land him in a perilous situation.
To address the side effects, there was a temporary solution: taking Soul Stabilizer Potion.
Soul Stabilizer Potion is a magical concoction that can alleviate soul tremors and the pain of the soul tearing. In the magical world, it is primarily used to stabilize and repair the soul when it suffers severe shock or damage.
This potion can also be used to ease the pain of soul-splitting during Horcrux creation and help the creator remain calm and clear-headed. Voldemort was one of the biggest beneficiaries of Soul Stabilizer Potion, specifically commissioning the potions master Snape to brew high-quality batches for him.
Of course, this method is only a temporary fix and requires continuous long-term use to alleviate the pain and side effects of soul damage. It works similarly to painkillers, merely masking the soul's agony temporarily without curing the underlying damage.
Apart from Soul Stabilizer Potion, there is another way to fully repair the soul: reintegrating the split soul fragments back into the main soul, restoring its completeness.
This method requires not only specific magic but, more importantly, genuine, soul-deep repentance. The process is also extremely painful. However, few would choose this path.
After all, the initial purpose of splitting the soul was to create a Horcrux. If one were to reintegrate the soul fragments, why endure the pain of soul-splitting in the first place?
Naturally, Luke would not choose to reclaim the soul fragment from his Horcrux just to mitigate some side effects.
More importantly, the life he took to create the Horcrux was that of an Orc. Was he supposed to feel repentant for killing an Orc? And genuinely repentant at that?
Luke felt this condition was too severe for him.
So he didn't even consider this method.
Aside from these two methods, Luke found that his meditation also had an effect on soul damage.
Meditation can enhance mental power, thereby strengthening the soul, and naturally, it can also repair soul wounds.
However, this process is very slow. Luke estimated it would take at least a decade to fully restore the split soul fragment. This was only possible because Luke's meditation method was extraordinary.
Luke decided that after collecting the "Salt of the Body" and creating the Philosopher's Stone to solve his lifespan issue, he would remain in his territory until his soul was fully repaired.
But before that, like Voldemort, he would brew Soul Stabilizer Potion to temporarily alleviate the side effects of soul damage.
Soul Stabilizer Potion is an advanced potion, complex and difficult to brew, especially since some of its ingredients are not available in this world. With the help of Radagast the Brown and Elrond, Luke spent two months finding substitute materials and successfully brewing a batch of Soul Stabilizer Potion.
The potion appeared as a silver liquid. After drinking a small vial, a cooling energy rushed to Luke's head.
His mind became exceptionally clear, and the faint pain from the soul-splitting after creating the Horcrux quickly vanished.
He once again felt calm and rational, free from the impulsiveness and restlessness.
However, Luke knew this was only temporary. One vial of Soul Stabilizer Potion could only last for a month, and he would need to continuously take it to suppress the side effects of soul-splitting.
One batch of the potion was only enough for three months.
This meant he needed to brew more Soul Stabilizer Potion to ensure a steady supply.
But Luke didn't have more time to brew potions now, as the year was coming to an end, and the new year was approaching. The birthplace of humans, Hildórien, would appear when the first ray of sunlight touched the earth on New Year's Day.
Luke needed to reach Hildórien before then and successfully enter the Valley of Sleep.
Among the two Blue Wizards, after ensuring his friend was safe, Rómestámo used Luke's Portkey to return to the Far East in advance, preventing Sauron's forces from launching an invasion in his absence.
Morinehtar, also concerned about the situation in the East, left Rivendell despite Elrond's attempts to persuade him to stay and followed closely behind to return to the East. However, since his staff had been taken, Elrond and Luke, considering he had no staff for protection, gifted him the staff they had previously confiscated from Saruman.
Saruman's staff didn't feel entirely comfortable in Morinehtar's hands, but it was exactly what he needed to avoid being left unarmed.
So Morinehtar gratefully accepted Saruman's staff, refusing neither Elrond nor Luke's kindness.
Thus, Morinehtar's staff was taken by Saruman, and Saruman's staff ended up in Morinehtar's hands.
An ironic situation indeed.
After arranging affairs at Weathertop and Isengard and bidding farewell to Arwen and Elrond, Luke touched a silver brooch on his chest and vanished into thin air.
The next moment, he appeared in the Far East.
"Luken welcome to the East!" The Blue Wizards Rómestámo and Morinehtar greeted Luke with warm smiles. They were in a forested area, with a wooden cabin behind the Blue Wizards.
This was a hilly region near the southern coast of the Sea of Rhûn, where a herd of Araw cattle, descendants of Oromë's Kine, roamed nearby. Rómestámo's mount was one of them.
Rómestámo and Morinehtar welcomed Luke and invited him into the cabin to rest.
This small cabin was one of Rómestámo's secret hideouts. Having been entangled with Sauron in the East for many years, the two Blue Wizards had countless such hideouts, moving between them to evade Sauron's forces.
Rómestámo specially served Luke milk from the Araw cattle. This milk had magical properties, and long-term consumption could significantly increase one's strength.
Thus, many people coveted Araw cattle. Even the nearby tribes and kingdoms of Easterlings had once captured female Araw cattle to cultivate strongmen.
Of course, as descendants of Oromë's Kine, Araw cattle were not only powerful and fast but also had sharp horns that could easily pierce through lions and tigers, making them invincible on the plains.
So capturing Araw cattle was no easy task.
As Luke drank the milk, he could feel a certain mysterious substance in it slowly enhancing his strength.
However, since Luke's physique had already been fortified by Ent-draughts to rival that of an ordinary Elf, the milk's effects were not too noticeable. But long-term consumption could indeed significantly increase his strength.
Although Luke was a wizard, who would refuse becoming a strongman?
He thought that after completing his mission, he might capture a few Araw cattle and raise them in Isengard.
Inside the cabin, Rómestámo treated Luke to Araw cattle milk.
Meanwhile, Morinehtar fulfilled his earlier promise by presenting Luke with a golden bow.
The bow appeared to be made of gold but was flexible, adorned with intricate patterns and mysterious symbols. It came with three silver arrows.
"The bow is made from wood grown in Valinor, the bowstring is woven from the tail hair of a Valar horse, and the three silver arrows are meant to be used with the bow," Morinehtar explained.
"Originally, there were twelve silver arrows. When we crossed the Misty Mountains heading east, we used one silver arrow to kill an Orc chieftain blocking our path. In the East, we used another to kill a cruel Easterling king. Later, during multiple invasions from Mordor, we used seven more silver arrows. Now, only three remain."
"When used with the golden bow, the silver arrows never miss their target, even without aiming. They can also shoot extremely far. If your will is strong enough, you can hit a target even a thousand miles away."
Hearing Morinehtar's description, Luke's eyes lit up.
This was practically a divine weapon for long-range attacks, almost like a causality-defying artifact that never missed.
The silver arrows were also incredibly fast, faster than the wind, and impossible to see with the naked eye. By the time one realized what was happening, they would already be hit.
It was a pity the bow and arrows were ineffective against Sauron; otherwise, Luke would have been tempted to shoot an arrow toward Mordor right then.
Besides the three silver arrows, the golden bow could also use ordinary arrows. While they couldn't decapitate targets from a thousand miles away like the silver arrows, they would never miss their mark.
After accepting Morinehtar's gift, Luke reciprocated by giving them two sapphire brooches.
The sapphire brooches were Portkeys. In times of danger, tapping them three times would activate the Portkey, teleporting the user to Isengard.
The two Blue Wizards greatly appreciated Luke's gift, as it could save their lives.
Luke did not stay long. After bidding farewell to the two Blue Wizards, he headed further east.
He aimed to reach Hildórien before the new year.
As for the two Blue Wizards, Morinehtar and Rómestámo, they remained in the Far East to continue their struggle against Sauron and his forces.
Recently, the Easterling tribes loyal to Sauron seemed to have received orders from Mordor and began mobilizing on a large scale, showing signs of attempting to reclaim the entire Easterling region.
Thus, the two Blue Wizards were preparing to organize resistance forces to thwart Mordor's schemes.