Luke seized the opportunity to discuss shipbuilding technology with Círdan. Círdan, a master craftsman, generously shared all his knowledge, holding nothing back.
"Lord Círdan," Luke began, "when sailing the sea, the ship's sturdiness is paramount. Wood is fragile. Have you ever considered using steel instead?"
"How could that be?" Círdan instinctively started to shake his head in amusement, finding the idea of steel ships absurd. "Steel is heavy; it can't possibly float on water..." But then he stopped abruptly, stunned. His eyes widened, and sparks of insight seemed to flash within them, as if a mental barrier had shattered.
Countless new ideas and inspirations flooded his mind. He quickly gripped Luke's hand, his voice filled with excitement: "Luke, tell me more about this steel ship! My intuition tells me this is the future of shipbuilding, but my vision is clouded, and I can't quite see it!"
Luke hadn't expected such an enthusiastic reaction from Círdan. Was this the depth of his passion for shipbuilding? He nodded immediately. "Lord Círdan, do you have any iron here? I need it for a demonstration."
"Yes! Please, follow me!" Círdan eagerly pulled Luke towards his private shipyard, where a pile of metal awaited. Under Círdan's expectant gaze, Luke raised his wand and, drawing on his memories, transformed the metal. A large piece of iron kneaded and deformed like clay, gradually taking the shape of a small, ten-meter-long steel vessel.
Luke then levitated it into the deep water of the nearby private dock. The small steel boat floated steadily, proving that despite its weight, it wouldn't sink. Círdan's eyes lit up as if he had just discovered a priceless treasure.
"Can I go aboard?" Círdan asked, his voice trembling with excitement as he stared at the steel ship.
"Of course!" Luke smiled, then conjured a gangway between the ship and the dock. Círdan immediately walked aboard, his enthusiasm overriding any caution. Luke followed him onto the steel vessel.
Círdan touched the hull, examining its structure like a fascinating new toy. Finally, a frown creased his brow as he noticed something. "Although this iron ship is strong, it's also too heavy. Using oars to propel it would be incredibly laborious and cumbersome, making it hardly worth the effort."
Luke smiled. "Since the ship is heavy, we can use a more powerful form of propulsion than oars."
Círdan no longer viewed Luke as merely a junior wizard but as a visionary and gifted shipbuilder. He looked at Luke expectantly. "What are your ideas?"
Luke didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Lord Círdan, have you ever seen water boiling? When the steam rises, it pushes the lid of a teapot upwards. Even with tremendous force, it cannot be suppressed..."
Círdan's wisdom was profound, and his eyes gleamed as he listened to Luke's words. He immediately grabbed a teapot, filled it with water, and placed it on the stove to boil. As the water boiled and the steam pushed the lid open, Círdan's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He even tried to hold the lid down with his hand, but he felt a powerful force pushing against him.
"I never imagined that boiling water could generate such power! If we could install a huge 'teapot' on a steel ship, seal the air outlet, and continue to boil water, the power generated would be enough to propel even a heavy steel ship, and perhaps make it faster than any wooden vessel!" Ideas and inspirations surged through Círdan's mind. Without further prompting from Luke, he began to design the prototype of a steamship.
"Luke, you truly are a genius!" Círdan exclaimed, looking at Luke with admiration. "Now I understand why Gandalf and the others spoke so highly of you. Your insights will change the entire history of navigation!" He then made an offer: "Perhaps you could stay in Mithlond and learn shipbuilding from me. Together, we could design and build a giant steel ship! It would surely surpass all my previous works!"
Faced with Círdan's passionate invitation, Luke had to decline. He knew his own limitations. These discoveries were the culmination of thousands of years of human ingenuity from his previous life; he was merely a conduit of knowledge. If he were to actually implement them, he would likely be no better than an ordinary boatman. Besides, he barely had enough time to practice magic as it was, let alone learn shipbuilding.
Círdan was somewhat disappointed by Luke's refusal. He felt Luke possessed a natural talent for shipbuilding, and with his brilliant ideas, he could become the next "Shipbuilding King," inheriting Círdan's legacy. Círdan had long felt the call of Valinor, yearning for the peace of the Undying Lands. However, his unparalleled shipbuilding skills, allowing him to construct vessels that could safely reach Valinor, meant the Valar had tasked him with remaining in Middle-earth to guide the elves westward until the last of them had departed.
Now, having met someone with such a fresh perspective on shipbuilding, Círdan felt it might be possible to train a successor, or even someone more skilled than himself, to take over his vital role.
Despite his disappointment, Círdan did not press the matter. In the following days, he dedicated most of his energy to researching steam engines, determined to develop one powerful enough to propel giant steel ships. Luke didn't interfere further, confident that with Círdan's wisdom, building a steam engine would be no problem.
In addition to continuing his daily collection of the Mercury of the Soul, Luke began his first serious attempts at Apparition. He specifically asked Galdor to observe him, ready to reassemble his body in case of splinching. Hearing this, Círdan also set aside his work to watch Luke perform the teleportation magic.
In an open space provided by Círdan, Luke stood in the center, drawing and marking circles on the ground. Círdan and Galdor stood quietly nearby. Luke entered the circle, attempting to calm his mind. Apparition required three principles: destination, determination, and deliberation. Timidity or hesitation could easily lead to splinching, where parts of the body appeared in different places. If not quickly repaired, this could result in permanent disability or even death.
Luke raised his wand, his eyes fixed on another circle a short distance away. He focused his entire consciousness on his target. He made up his mind, letting the thought of reaching that spot fill his body and mind. Then, he spun in a circle on the spot as if dancing.
With an almost inaudible pop, Luke's figure instantly vanished from the first circle. The next second, he reappeared in the second. For his first Apparition, Luke only felt a slight discomfort, as if his body had been squeezed through a narrow rubber tube. The surroundings blurred into rapidly spinning colors and noise; his vision and hearing were momentarily disoriented before he was quickly expelled.
"Success?" Luke mumbled, looking at his new position, a bit confused.
Suddenly, he heard a gasp from Galdor . Following Galdor's nervous, worried gaze, Luke realized his left arm was still in the first circle. Seeing the separation, Luke remained calm. He quickly cast a spell to summon his arm, then positioned it against the torn flesh and repaired it with another incantation. Soon, his arm was back to normal, without any lasting damage.
The splinching wasn't severe. After repairing himself, Luke tried Apparition again, teleporting from the second circle back to the first. This time, he carefully examined his body and found no missing parts.
From then on, Luke no longer confined himself to the two circles but continuously apparated throughout the venue. As he grew more proficient, he never experienced splinching again. With a soft crack in the air, Luke appeared out of thin air before Círdan and Galdor. He smiled sincerely and thanked them. "My magic is almost perfected. Thank you both for safeguarding me!"
Círdan smiled and shook his head. "No need for thanks. We didn't do much, but it was a rare opportunity to witness such astonishing teleportation magic. It truly opened our eyes!" Galdor nodded in agreement, still amazed.
In the blink of an eye, several months passed. Luke had collected enough Mercury of the Soul from the Bay of Lhun. The once silvery bay had now become shallow and diluted; the accumulated emotions and memories of the elves, gathered over countless ages, had almost entirely been extracted by Luke.
Even if the elves of Mithlond put their hands into the water, they could barely feel the influence of the strong emotions. Perhaps it would take another few thousand years for the seawater here to turn silver again. But by then, elves would long have become legends, and none would come here to sail on white ships to the Undying Lands. Having collected the Mercury of the Soul, Luke's mission in Mithlond was complete.
As Luke prepared to bid farewell to Círdan, Círdan sought him out first with exciting news: the steamship The Rauda Nórë was finished. Luke was surprised. Who would have thought Círdan could create a steam engine so quickly? He hurried to the shipyard in Mithlond, where many elf craftsmen were gathered, observing a massive machine.