Chapter 127: Meditation Method

Regardless of any misunderstandings, Kael had finally settled his debt for the wands. Besides the wands for Arwen and the other three, Kael had also created one additional wand. It was a twelve-inch wand crafted from mallorn heartwood with one of Lady Galadriel's hairs as the core. This served as Kael's second backup wand, prepared for himself as insurance. This wand was particularly suitable for casting white magic, and because the core was made from Lady Galadriel's hair, holding it could resist dark corruption and had the effect of protecting one's mind. The only drawback was that this wand couldn't cast dark magic at all. With the wands completed successfully, the primary mission for this trip to Lórien was essentially finished. However, he didn't plan to leave immediately. Because Gandalf was going to forge a staff belonging specifically to him. The staff's wood material was finally decided to be mallorn heartwood, using the remainder of the heartwood section that Galadriel had generously given before. That section of heartwood was five meters long. After making wands for Elladan, Elrohir, Legolas, and Kael himself, there were still over three meters remaining. More than enough to craft an impressive staff. When Gandalf crafted the staff for Kael, elven craftsmen also assisted with their legendary skills. Kael watched from the side with fascination. The elven craftsmen's workmanship was exquisite, and their aesthetic taste was absolutely first-class. Under their careful carving, a perfectly shaped, smoothly flowing staff gradually took form. The elven craftsmen carved beautiful, natural floral and vine patterns along the wood grain and outlined elven runes with mithril threads as fine as hair. Gandalf held the Elessar emerald that would serve as the staff's core in his hands, continuously chanting ancient incantations. The gem was activated, emitting jade-like radiance that made everyone touched by the light feel warm, like gentle spring sunshine. The top of the staff was carved by the elven craftsmen into a hollow shape of mallorn leaves folded together in intricate detail. Gandalf held the staff carefully in his hands. As he chanted incantations, the folded mallorn leaves at the staff head bloomed open like a flower. He placed the Elessar emerald inside, carefully adjusting and installing it. Then the carved mallorn leaves automatically closed, firmly embedding the gem within their protective embrace. After completing all this intricate work, Gandalf held the staff in his hands, carefully sensing its magical resonance, then nodded with obvious satisfaction. Then he handed the staff to Kael, who had been waiting eagerly with anticipation written all over his face, saying with a warm smile, "This is your staff now. Try it and see if it suits you?" Kael couldn't wait to receive the magnificent staff. Looking at this incredible creation, his face was full of genuine smiles. The staff was about six feet long, roughly 1.82 meters, about the same as his height. It was golden-brown throughout with smooth grain lines, inscribed with mysterious silver runes, and carved with lifelike floral vines. The hollow leaf-shaped opening at the staff head was inlaid with an emerald that flickered with jade light, as if containing endless mysteries within its depths. The entire staff was naturally elegant, revealing the finest elven craftsmanship. "Lumos!" Kael cast with the staff. Magic flowed through the staff into the gem, which instantly released very dazzling light, illuminating Caras Galadhon brightly. It could even be seen from outside the Lórien forest. Kael was extremely pleased. Staffs were different from wands. Wands turned inward, their main function was to channel magic power from within the body to achieve magical effects. But staffs turned outward. Wizards used staffs to communicate with natural magic power, thereby achieving the purpose of casting powerful magic. More importantly, the gem at the staff's core was not only an amplifier but also a reservoir that could continuously accumulate magic power to burst forth all at once, producing tremendous power. Of course, this didn't mean staffs were necessarily stronger than wands. Wand casting was simple. It was like a stable water pipe that could continuously and evenly output water from the magic reservoir, allowing flexible control of water flow application. But staffs were like floodgates. Once opened, they absolutely produced surging torrents with amazing power but were not easily controlled. Moreover, casting required a longer time and wasn't suitable for emergency scenarios. So wands were suitable for delicate magic requiring high precision. While staffs were suitable for casting large-scale, high-power spells. "Congratulations, Kael. Now that you have a staff, you're a true Black-Robed Wizard," Gandalf said with genuine pride. "I have to thank you for this, Gandalf, and Lady Galadriel and the elven craftsmen," Kael said, leaning on his staff with eyes full of gratitude. "Without your gifts and help, I couldn't have owned such a fine staff." Gandalf smiled and shook his head dismissively. "You made a wand for me; I made a staff for you. This is a mutual benefit. No need to be polite." "Well, now that you have a staff, you should have felt the staff's limitations, right?" Kael nodded, his brow slightly furrowed with concern. "I feel that when using the staff, magic power isn't as easily controlled as when casting with a wand. It's fine if I just cast spells all at once, but if I want to continuously release magic, it's very mentally draining." Gandalf agreed with this observation. "The essence of a staff is that wizards communicate with natural forces through the staff to cast powerful magic. After all, human strength has limits. No matter how powerful a person is, they can't compare with the entire world. To communicate with natural forces, one must possess powerful mental strength. That is, a powerful soul." "A powerful soul?" Kael was stunned. This touched on his blind spot of knowledge. Magic in the Harry Potter world only taught how to cast spells. As for soul magic, that was forbidden territory. Like the three Unforgivable Curses, the Killing Curse deprived souls, the Cruciatus Curse tortured souls, and the Imperius Curse controlled souls. Without exception, any magic involving souls belonged to the most evil dark magic realm. Once discovered researching souls, the result was directly being sent to Azkaban. Gandalf truly regarded Kael as one of his own, so he revealed the secrets of this world without reservation. "Kael, you must know that the soul is fundamental. A powerful soul can perceive the world, influence matter, and communicate with natural forces. Like Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond, these ancient elves have accumulated enough wisdom and knowledge over long years. Their souls have been tempered to become powerful and indestructible. So even without staffs, they can cast magic far stronger than wizards." "If you want to gain greater power, or even better, control your staff, then make your soul powerful." Hearing Gandalf's words, Kael couldn't help but frown. "Then how do you make the soul powerful?" Elves possessed eternal life and could slowly temper their souls by waiting through time. But he was just a wizard and not a Maia disguised as a wizard like Gandalf, with a limited lifespan and not that much time. Gandalf showed a mysterious smile, as if well-prepared. "There are different methods to make the soul powerful." "First, like the elves, they can accumulate enough wisdom and knowledge over long years, thereby breaking the soul's shackles and becoming powerful." "This method is simplest and most stable, but the drawback is that unless you have elven time, you can accumulate enough knowledge and wisdom." Hearing this, Kael mentally ruled out this option. He didn't have that much time, nor could he spend thousands of years slowly strengthening his soul. But he wasn't anxious and continued listening to Gandalf's explanation. "Second is experiencing various hardships, constantly tempering mental will to possess an indestructible soul. Especially experiencing great terror between life and death can most transform the soul. For example, Lord Glorfindel of the Golden Flower. After killing the Balrog, his reborn soul became purer, possessing power comparable to the Maiar." Hearing this, Kael immediately shook his head mentally. This method sounded very dangerous and completely unreliable. One careless step meant death. After all, not everyone could be like Glorfindel and receive the chance of rebirth granted by the Valar. Gandalf seemed to see through Kael's thoughts and smiled as he spoke of the third method. "Third is meditation. This is also the method I recommend as most suitable for you." "Meditation?" Kael was surprised. "Yes, meditation. Meditation can refine mental will. Though it can't match life-and-death ordeals for quick results, it's much faster than slowly accumulating knowledge and wisdom," Gandalf explained. "This is the little trick I mentioned before that I'd give you once you had a staff." "Then how do you meditate?" "Meditation is neither difficult nor simple. Simply put, it's clearing all distracting thoughts, emptying the mind, or focusing on thinking about only one thing. In my leisure time, I go to Rivendell's Hall of Fire to sit quietly and meditate." "You need meditation too?" Kael was surprised. After all, Gandalf was a Maia with an immensely powerful soul. Why would he still need meditation? Gandalf seemed to know his thoughts and said meaningfully, "Meditation has never been exclusive to one type of being, Kael. Even the great Valar need meditation. The only difference is how deep the meditation goes." "Well, now back to how to meditate," Gandalf said. "In fact, you already have a meditation method, and it can be said to be far better than the meditation I had in mind, only you haven't discovered it yourself." "I already have a meditation method?" Kael was stunned and confused. He didn't remember when he had acquired any meditation method. "Have you forgotten that piece of music Tom Bombadil taught you?" "You're saying that music is a meditation piece?" Kael's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief. Kael had always used that music to mobilize positive emotions and dispel negative emotional effects brought by dark magic. Besides that, if he cast this musical magic before using the Patronus Charm, the Patronus would become stronger. He never expected that such a piece of music he'd been using as support would be called a meditation piece by Gandalf. Gandalf nodded knowingly. "There are many types of meditation methods. Some through quiet contemplation, some through prayer, some through chanting poems and scriptures, some through walking. The tune Bombadil taught you is precisely a very effective meditation approach, only you've never delved deeply into it."