The Moon Guard were originally the army guarding the sleeping place of Goddess Elune, stationed near the Well of Eternity. As more and more Kaldoreisettled near the Well of Eternity, the Moon Guardalso took on the task of protecting their kin.
The Kaldorei learned to use Arcane, and the Mage profession emerged. The most powerful Mage, Azshara, became Queen through her prestige, and the city where the Kaldorei resided was named Sin'dorei, becoming the capital of the Kaldorei Empire.
With the promotion of Arcane, the Moon Guardgradually transitioned into a Mage unit. However, they did not abandon their combat skills; most Moon Guardchose to use runic swords, which allowed them to cast spells and engage in close combat.
Gale knew that the most famous Moon Guard was Dath'Remar Sunstrider, the later founder of the High Elf dynasty, who continued the tradition of using swords in the Sunstrider dynasty.
Dath'Remar's great-grandson, Anasterian, continued this tradition. When fighting Arthas, he wielded a staff in one hand and a sword in the other, not only interrupting Arthas's magic but also severing the front leg of Invincible, forcing Arthas to fight on foot. If not for the Flames of Al'ar being shattered by Frostmourne, Anasterian might have had a chance to protect the Sunwell.
Therefore, Mages' use of swords must balance spellcasting and close-quarters combat; it would be even better if they could cast spells while engaged in close-quarters combat.
From a spellcasting perspective, a runic sword is not a staff after all, and its material is metal, so its conductivity for magic is definitely inferior to wood. Therefore, in terms of power, it is certainly not as good as a staff, and another approach must be taken to enhance it in other aspects.
Considering the requirements for close combat, it can only be developed in the direction of accelerating casting speed. To bridge the gap with a staff, the burst power of spells must be increased. If some spells are also made permanent, it would be even better if powerful spells could be cast instantly.
Gale wrote down the requirements and discussed them with Sethonis, feeling that there was great potential.
"There's still one more question. A Mage's strength is, after all, not as great as a warrior's. Wouldn't it be better if we could increase a Mage's agility?" Sethonissuggested.
Gale thought about it; he was indeed right.
Although Arcane strengthens a Mage's body, this strengthening is not achieved through training. If directly facing a warrior, he would certainly still need to rely on the power of Arcane to fight the enemy.
Anasterian, when fighting Arthas, needed to rely on Arcane power to be evenly matched with Arthas. Otherwise, with Arthas's unscrupulous combat techniques (taught by Muradin, no holds barred, including kicking the groin and locking the throat), it would have been very easy to defeat the elegant High Elves.
Of course, not all Mages have Anasterian's combat skills. Therefore, increasing a Mage's movement speed to kite enemies or dodge attacks is very necessary.
Taking this as an example, the runic sword must be sturdy. If it breaks like the Flames of Al'ar, that would ruin our reputation.
In summary, there are five points: increase casting speed; enhance spell burst power; make powerful spells permanent; increase movement speed; and strengthen the runic sword's durability.
With the requirements in place, material proportioning became easier.
The first four requirements can all be solved with enchantments; only the fifth requires a special metal.
Adamantite!
Adamantite possesses immense durability; once set, it is very difficult to destroy, making it Azeroth's Adamantium. Using Adamantite to forge runic swords is very suitable, but Adamantite ore is rare, so its price is steep, with one pound of Adamantite costing as much as 20 gold coins.
Therefore, only an Adamantite framework can be used, filled with Mithril for enchanting runes. Pure Mithril would be very soft, so bronze, which has good magical conductivity, also needs to be mixed in to reinforce the sword surface. This way, not only can costs be reduced, but the runes can also be protected from damage.
After drawing up the design, Gale went to the Forging Factory and had the craftsmen make a prototype.
The Adamantite framework was directly cast in a mold, and the edge was sharpened before it cooled, otherwise, it would be difficult to grind once cooled.
After filling it with Mithril and bronze, a gleaming golden sword was born.
Pisaster casually remarked, "It's gold again?"
"Yes! Quite a coincidence!" Gale smiled, "It looks good, doesn't it?"
"It certainly does look good!" Pisaster gave a thumbs up. He had to admit, Gale's design perfectly matched the Kaldorei aesthetic.
Sethonis picked up the sword. "It's very light, suitable for Mages."
Gale took the sword and went to the testing area, swinging it at a dummy target for a while.
"Good, it's ready for enchanting."
In the enchanting area, Gale placed the sword on a stand. Sethonis quickly guided the spellcasting patterns, maximizing casting power. Then, he enchanted it with quick-casting runes, agility runes, and burst runes. Sethonis then stepped aside, and Gale continued the enchanting process.
Among several powerful spells, Gale chose Flamestrike, which had the fastest casting speed. After the permanent enchantment was completed, Gale picked up the sword and casually conjured a Fireball spell; the casting speed was about 30% faster than before.
"Whoosh—"
The fireball, with a whooshing sound, shattered a dummy target.
"Spell damage increased by 50%, triggering spell burst power."
Sethonis immediately recorded it. "If we want to test the spell's burst power, we need extensive testing."
"Let's do a thousand times first!"
Gale said, conjuring Fireball spells again and again, continuously attacking the dummy targets. Soon, all ten dummy targets in the testing area were shattered. Pisaster led people to replace the dummy targets, and Gale continued testing.
Throughout the night, explosions echoed continuously in the Forging Factory, and the sounds could be heard even in Nathalas Academy.
Prince Farodis sent people to investigate and, upon discovering that Gale was testing weapons, he relaxed.
By the time the testing was complete, Pisaster and the craftsmen were utterly exhausted. The Forging Factory didn't have much inventory; after the dummy targets ran out, the craftsmen had no choice but to cut down a few trees in the forest, cut them into dummy-sized pieces, and use them as targets.
Sethonis calculated, "326 instances of triggering spell burst power, which is roughly a 40% chance."
Gale nodded with satisfaction. "It seems we can begin production."
The material and enchantment costs are around 28 gold coins, so let's price it at 50 gold coins.
Pisaster said, "We need to give it a catchy name to help with sales."
Sethonis fell into thought, and Gale chuckled inwardly; wasn't the name already there?
"How about Golden Holy Sword?"
Golden Holy Sword?
The two exchanged glances. Gale's naming ability was quite good!
Seeing that they didn't object, Gale continued, "The name is set, and I think the price should be 50 gold coins."
Considering the price of Adamantite, neither of them objected. However, Pisaster suggested, "Should we design a weaker version as well?"
"Absolutely not!" Sethonis rejected the proposal. "Not to mention the Mages of Sin'dorei, even the Mages of the Academy can easily afford 50 gold coins. Gold coins are easy to earn, but an epic weapon is not easy to buy, so we don't need to worry about sales at all."