Inside Borin's office, RIku took a piece of charcoal and began to sketch on a fresh piece of parchment, not the talisman formations this time, but a diagram of a sturdy, powerful-looking press with a large lever and a heavy plate.
"Imagine this," Riku explained, pointing to different parts of his drawing. "This is a powerful press. We would first create a 'master die'..."
Borin leaned closer, his brow furrowed. "A master die, Master Riku? Like a seal, but for metal?"
"Exactly like a seal, in principle," Riku affirmed. "But this master die would be incredibly hard, perhaps made of specially treated steel. And the crucial part is, the runic formation on the die would be engraved as a negative image – like a mold. So, where we want a raised line on the talisman, the die would have a recessed groove, and where we want a groove on the talisman, the die would have a raised ridge."
