Kaen carefully carved a symbol into the hilt of a sword with his engraving knife—and in that instant, the sword became something more.

Though the change was invisible to the naked eye, there was an unmistakable feeling: the blade seemed sharper, more lethal than before.

He picked up another sword and clashed the two together.

Clang!

The sword he had inscribed was completely unharmed, while the edge of the other had chipped with a small, visible notch.

"It worked!"

The symbol Kaen had engraved was a rune of sharpness.

….

Runes.

They were a gift from one of the fourteen Valar—the mighty powers who shaped the world. This particular craft came from Aulë, the Smith of the Valar, the creator of the Dwarves and master of matter and form.

The runes he forged carried power over the physical world.

A rune of sharpness could make a blade cut deeper.

A rune of fortitude could reinforce defenses.

A rune of protection could strengthen armor against all harm.

Long ago, in the Age of the Two Trees—before even the First Age—the Noldor Elves were summoned by the Valar to dwell in the Blessed Realm, Aman. Their thirst for knowledge, courage, and craftsmanship had won them Aulë's favor, and the great Vala personally taught them many secrets.

The knowledge of runes was among these.

Because the Elves were bound to the world's fate, everything they crafted with heart and soul could naturally attract the powers of elemental forces—wind, fire, water, stone. For them, rune-carving was tedious, even redundant, and so its use was rare among Elves.

But for the Dwarves—children of Aulë—runes were at the heart of their craft.

They etched them into walls, into axes, into armor and heirlooms. Combined with their unmatched skill in forging, they created wonders that rivaled even the Elves'.

Thanks to his frequent correspondence with Lord Elrond, Kaen had received regular deliveries of magical tomes carried by Elven riders—among them, books on runes.

Through tireless study, he mastered the fundamentals of rune-lore.

His reasoning was simple: the Men of this age could no longer perceive the elemental energies of the world, let alone channel them. If they couldn't rely on natural blessings, then they would lean on the power of runes.

The Dúnedain's ancestors—the Men of Númenor—had once walked this very path. They had studied runes and used them to craft legendary artifacts:

Like the Palantíri, the Seeing-stones…

Or Narsil, the sword of kings…

….

Rune-lore was the hidden syntax of matter.

Engraving them did not drain one's spirit or magic, but required deep understanding of materials, shapes, and structure.

Having proven that this method was effective, Kaen began recruiting.

He gathered thousands of young lads—sixteen or seventeen years old—from two nearby towns to test their spiritual aptitude.

In the end, only fifty showed even the bare minimum potential to become runesmiths.

Kaen brought these boys back and began teaching them the fundamentals of rune-lore.

But halfway through, half of them washed out—they simply had no talent for it.

Of the remaining twenty-five, most were average. Kaen had neither the time nor the patience to invest in mediocrity.

After a long process of selection and observation, only ten boys remained—each with solid talent and eager minds. These ten became his true apprentices.

Under the system's triple growth speed buff, their progress was swift. In just one month, they had already learned to carve simple runes:

Runes of sharpness, protection, armor-piercing, and more.

….

Meanwhile, the weapons factory—which was originally expected to finish forging all arms and armor in six months—had already completed half the production thanks to the system's accelerated development boost.

Warehouses overflowed with finished equipment, and commanders were lining up, demanding their share.

Kaen now brought his ten rune-apprentices with him into the forges, where they began etching runes onto the weapons.

Swords were inscribed with sharpness runes.

Spears received armor-piercing runes.

Armor was engraved with protection runes.

Shields bore the mark of fortitude.

Kaen alone could inscribe runes on fifty sets of gear a day. The ten youths, combined, barely matched his output.

Together, they maintained a pace of a hundred rune-etched sets per day.

These enchanted arms were then distributed across the military:

Rangers, foot-archers, and mounted bowmen had simpler gear and thus were the first to receive rune-enhanced equipment.

Heavy infantry required more rune placement due to their full suits of armor, so they progressed slower.

After them came the heavy cavalry.

And finally, the Royal Guard.

…..

Busy days blurred together.

Without anyone noticing, the frigid winter of the North—so typical of the western continent—was quietly coming to an end.

With the weapon factories at full throttle, a total of 5,200 sets of light and heavy arms and armor were forged and inscribed with runes.

They were then delivered to the troops stationed in Azure Spring Town and Elariel Town.

The grey sky, heavy with cloud for so long, finally cracked open.

Sunlight poured over the land.

Ice thawed. Rivers surged. And in the aftermath of bleakness, life began to bloom again.

….

The mayor of Azure Spring Town, Brie, sent over a formal request.

Thanks to the influx of refugees over the winter, the town's population had swelled to over 15,000.

Brie requested Kaen's approval to expand the town—transforming it into Azure Spring City and developing commerce along the Silver Spring River.

Kaen approved the proposal without hesitation.

At the same time, over in Elariel Town, Mayor Norman reported a population count of over 28,000.

But out of these, 20,000 people would soon leave—following Kaen to the newly built capital.

Elariel Town lay on the edge of the Troll-woods, far from any major river. It lacked the geographical advantage for commerce like Azure Spring.

So Kaen instructed Norman to lead the people in clearing and cultivating the wilderness, turning the area into a vast agricultural hub—a city devoted to food production for the kingdom.

And thus, the kingdom began to flourish. Growth was everywhere. Hope returned.

….

[Host: Kaen Eowenríel

Level: 3 (25/400)

Heroes:

Caden (Warrior)

Mundar (Warrior)

Zakri (Warrior)

Lairon (Warrior)

Cathril (Warrior)

Ameliah (Healer)

Old Jack (Politics)

Will (Diplomacy)

Brie (Politics)

Araphor (Justice)

Joanna (Construction)

Tifa (Finance)

Norman (Politics)

Sigilion (Warrior)

Reger (Warrior)

Alante (Craftsman)

Forces:

3,000 Foot Archers

1,000 Mounted Archers

500 Heavy Infantry

500 Heavy Cavalry

100 Rangers

100 Royal Guards]

….

The Third Age, 2941, had arrived.

It was a year that would echo through history for many reasons:

First: Gandalf aided the Dwarf prince Thorin Oakenshield in a daring quest—from the Blue Mountains in the West to the Lonely Mountain, Erebor, in the East.

Second: The Dark Lord Sauron was discovered in the southern reaches of Mirkwood, hiding in the ruined fortress of Dol Guldur.

Third: Bard, heir to Girion, the former Lord of Dale, slew the mighty dragon Smaug, earning the title Dragon-slayer.

Fourth: The Battle of the Five Armies broke out. Thorin Oakenshield perished in the war. Dáin Ironfoot became the new King under the Mountain of the Dwarves of Durin's line.

…..

And in the North-West, far from Erebor's storm, a fledgling kingdom silently rose—its roots carved in stone, its steel etched with runes of power.