'Stone used to smith a variety of armaments. A shard found in plenty. Strengthens armaments up to +3. Smithing stone is found throughout the Lands Between, and mining galleries built to excavate it can be found everywhere.' The Smithing Stones are the canon's tiered upgrade economy, and from [1] to [8] the ceilings climb by threes: up to +3 and +6 for shards found in plenty, +9 and +12 for particularly hard specimens, +15 and +18 for rare specimens tinged with gold, +21 and +24 for semi-vitrified stones found in a polar region. The gold-tinged [5] and [6] are mined near the foot of the Erdtree, and are said to have been used to bolster the strength of the Royal forces. The polar [7] and [8] are thought to have been used to hone the weapons of the champions of the War against the Giants, at the birth of the Erdtree. Both of those histories arrive hedged in the text itself: 'said to have been used', 'Thought to have been used'.

'Smithing stone made by polishing a golden Gravel Stone. A scale of the Ancient Dragonlord, and hidden treasure of Farum Azula. Strengthens armaments to +25. The Ancient Dragonlord's seat is said to lie beyond time. This stone lightly twists time, allowing the creation of a weapon capable of slaying a god.' The Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone carries armaments to +25, a step past the +24 of [8], and its matter is not a shard: it is a scale of the Ancient Dragonlord, polished from a golden Gravel Stone, and a hidden treasure of Farum Azula. The Gravel Stone entry keeps the same reserve about that origin, calling such compound stones, found in lands once beset by ancient dragons, stones 'said to be the scales of those very beasts'. The stated effect crosses from metallurgy into metaphysics: the stone lightly twists time, and the description ties that twisting to the creation of a weapon capable of slaying a god. The Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone is the same scale drained of color, carrying special armaments to +10 and repeating those lines word for word. As for where its owner sits, the description hedges once more: the Ancient Dragonlord's seat 'is said to lie beyond time'.

◆ Sources

Item / MiscSmithing Stone [1]

Stone used to smith a variety of armaments. A shard found in plenty. Strengthens armaments up to +3. Smithing stone is found throughout the Lands Between, and mining galleries built to excavate it can be found everywhere.

Item / MiscAncient Dragon Smithing Stone

Smithing stone made by polishing a golden Gravel Stone. A scale of the Ancient Dragonlord, and hidden treasure of Farum Azula. Strengthens armaments to +25. The Ancient Dragonlord's seat is said to lie beyond time. This stone lightly twists time, allowing the creation of a weapon capable of slaying a god.