The days stretched into weeks as Daedren’s new life on Prometheus settled into a rhythm. The transformation of his body through the gene-seed implants had been an excruciating process, but now his muscles were beginning to knit themselves together, stronger and more resilient than before. His bones ached with the steady growth spurred on by the Ossmodula, and his two hearts beat in tandem, fueling his body with energy and oxygen that pushed him further each day.
But while his body transformed, Daedren’s mind was consumed with learning. Each day brought new lessons, both in theory and practice, and his thoughts turned frequently to the forge. The heat, the rhythmic sound of hammers striking metal, the glow of molten steel, it all called to him, like the pull of destiny. The forge was as sacred as the battlefield to the Salamanders, and he intended to master both.
The first lessons Daedren received were not in the fire of the forge, but in the cool silence of the library. The Techmarines and instructors had told him that understanding the theory behind metalworking was as crucial as wielding the hammer. It wasn’t enough to simply know how to hit metal; a true forger needed to understand the intricate properties of each element and how they interacted under heat and pressure. They also told him it would be wise to stop getting too attached to adamantium, it was a very rare metal because of the difficulty of it's synthetization, and he will probably never come to forge it, ever.
The library of Prometheus was a vast hall filled with shelves upon shelves of books, data-slates, and scrolls. The atmosphere was solemn, almost reverent, as neophytes and full-fledged Astartes alike studied the sacred texts of the Chapter. The Salamanders' love of craftsmanship extended to their thirst for knowledge, and Daedren spent long hours in the library, pouring over texts that explained the nature of metals, alloys, and forging techniques.
His mind absorbed the knowledge eagerly. He learned about the basic metals first, iron, steel, and ceramite, and how they could be shaped into different forms under the right conditions. Iron was strong but brittle, while steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, provided both strength and flexibility. Ceramite, a highly durable ceramic-based material, was used extensively in power armor and weapons for its heat resistance and ability to absorb kinetic energy.
But Daedren’s attention was soon drawn to the more complex iron and steel alloys, alloys he never came to interact with when forging with his father. Plasteel was one such alloy, a mixture of steel and high-strength plastics that gave the material its signature resilience without adding too much weight. He also learned about molybdenum steel, an alloy that was used to create the sharp edges of knives and swords. The addition of molybdenum increased the hardness and strength of steel, making it ideal for weapons that needed to withstand the rigors of battle.
He spent hours studying the phase diagrams of different metals, learning how temperature affected their crystalline structures, which was quite something to learn by heart. But perhaps the most complex part of his studies was the alloying process itself. Creating alloys wasn’t simply a matter of throwing metals together and melting them down. It required precise control of temperature, timing, and the purity of the elements. The amount of carbon added to iron to create steel had to be controlled to the exact percentage, as too much carbon would make the steel brittle, while too little would leave it too soft. The addition of chromium and nickel to steel increased its resistance to corrosion, while vanadium helped to stabilize the metal’s microstructure, preventing cracks from forming under stress.
The more Daedren learned, the more he realized how intricate the process of forging was. The forge was a crucible, a place where raw materials were broken down and reformed into something greater. And just as the forge shaped metal, Daedren was being shaped by his experiences, his body and mind reforged into something stronger with each passing day.
After weeks of study, Daedren was finally allowed to start forging himself. The vast chamber buzzed with the sound of hammers striking anvils, the roar of fires blazing in the background, and the hiss of molten metal being quenched in water. The heat was intense, but it was a familiar, comforting sensation to Daedren. The forge felt like home.
Under the watchful eye of the master blacksmiths, Daedren began his practical lessons. His first task was simple: learn to wield the hammer.
The forge hammer was a massive tool, far larger than anything Daedren had used before. Its head was made of dense metal, perfectly balanced for the kind of precision strikes needed in forging. The blacksmiths showed him how to hold it properly, how to raise it high and bring it down with force, but also with control. Each strike had to be deliberate, measured, for a hammer strike could make or break the metal.
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At first, Daedren struggled. His new strength, a product of the gene-seed implants, gave him the power to wield the hammer with ease, but power alone wasn’t enough. The metal resisted, and each time his strike was too hard or misaligned, the shape would distort, forcing him to reheat and reshape it again.
But Daedren was nothing if not persistent. His muscles ached from the constant hammering, but each strike brought him closer to understanding. He began to develop a rhythm, the rise of the hammer, the brief pause as he judged the metal’s readiness, then the precise wrist twist the moment the hammer struck the glowing steel. At the beggining he noticed small sparks flying with each impact, but after his concentration heightened, his attention solely focused on one point, where he would hit. Slowly but surely, the metal began to bend to his will.
After several days of practice, Daedren was introduced to the power hammer, a massive, mechanized tool that dwarfed the hand-held hammer. The power hammer was used for shaping larger pieces of metal, and it delivered precise, powerful blows at high speed. The blacksmiths demonstrated how the power hammer could be used to shape metal into uniform shapes or create intricate details on the surface of a blade.
Operating the power hammer required a delicate balance of timing and control. Daedren had to feed the metal into the hammer at just the right angle, watching carefully as the blows struck in rapid succession. One misstep, and the metal could be ruined. But as he grew more confident with the tool, he began to understand how it could be used to create complex shapes with precision that no human hand could achieve alone.
His first real project was a simple one, a knife. It wasn’t a weapon of war, but it was a test of his skill. Daedren spent hours shaping the steel under the power hammer, carefully controlling each blow to ensure that the blade’s edge was straight and sharp. He used a combination of alloyed steel with a small amount of chromium to increase the knife’s durability and resistance to corrosion.
The process was long and grueling, but when the blade was finally quenched and polished, Daedren held it in his hands with a sense of accomplishment. The knife wasn’t perfect, there were slight imperfections along the edge—but it was a blade that could cut through flesh and bone with ease, and it was a product of his own hands.
While Daedren spent much of his time in the forge, his physical transformation was far from complete. The Salamanders' Apothecaries regularly checked on his progress, ensuring that his body was growing as it should under the influence of the gene-seed implants.
Each visit to the Apothecarion was a mixture of discomfort and fascination. The medics would use a variety of instruments to measure his height, weight, muscle mass, and bone density. They scanned his internal organs, checking the progress of the Secondary Heart, Ossmodula, and Biscopea. Daedren could feel the changes happening, his muscles seemed to get thicker, more defined, and his chest had slightly gotten broader as his skeleton grew under the influence of the Ossmodula.
The Secondary Heart had integrated fully into his circulatory system, pumping blood more efficiently than ever before. Daedren noticed that he no longer tired as quickly, even during the most intense forging sessions. His recovery times were faster, and minor injuries healed within hours instead of days. The Biscopea was also working as intended, stimulating muscle growth and enhancing his strength to levels he could hardly have imagined before.
But with these changes came growing pains, his bones ached constantly, and his muscles often cramped as they adjusted to the increased load. The Apothecaries assured him that this was normal, that his body was simply adapting to its new capabilities. Still, the pain was a reminder that the process of becoming a Space Marine was not without its challenges.
Once his progress had been deemed sufficient by the Apothecaries, Daedren was allowed to begin combat training. This was the other side of the Salamanders' philosophy, where the forge taught patience and precision, the battlefield demanded speed, strength, and brutality.
The combat training hall was a stark contrast to the forge. It was a vast arena, filled with weapons racks, training dummies, and sparring rings. Here, Daedren would learn to wield the weapons he had seen forged, mastering the art of war that was central to the Astartes' existence.
His first lessons were in close-quarters combat. The instructors taught him how to fight with his hands, how to use his enhanced strength to his advantage. They drilled him in grappling techniques, showing him how to throw an opponent to the ground and disable them quickly. The sparring matches were brutal.
The first few matches were humbling. But Daedren was a fast learner, and after each defeat, he returned to the ring more determined than before. He learned to anticipate his opponent's moves, to counter their strikes with brutal efficiency.
As his confidence grew, Daedren began training with weapons. The instructors handed him a combat knife, a simple yet deadly tool that he had seen many times in the forge. They taught him how to strike, how to parry, and how to move with the fluid grace of a warrior. The knife became an extension of his arm, and Daedren quickly learned how to use it to deadly effect.
As the weeks passed, Daedren’s skills in the forge and in combat grew. His body continued to adapt to the gene-seed implants, his muscles growing stronger, his bones hardening into an unbreakable frame.