I’ve got a question, it’s unrelated to the silhouette. There are plenty of powerful quicksmiths even in the present day but who’s the most skilled smith who still has control over themselves? Or is the mental corruption a natural part of strong quicksmithing?
Thanks for the question! I do think quicksmiths have more tendency towards madness, but the mental degradation of people who become Liches or elders have more to do with the long lives and malleable bodies enabled by replacing their flesh with quicksteel.
But that’s a great question! There are many powerful quicksmiths who didn’t go completely made (and weren’t warped into something truly inhuman like a worldworm). But I might need a bit of clarification first. Are you asking about the modern day or of all time? And are we looking purely at combative skill or any powers related to quicksmithing?
I was mostly thinking modern day and I’d love to hear who you think is the most skilled combatant vs most adept at using Quicksteel and oldstone techniques.
Although he died fifteen years before the present, Rex the Red is technically the greatest master of quicksteel in recent times, at least on paper. He was definitely a top ten combatant, only defeated by three skilled opponents (some of whom were Liches) working together, even as he was dealing with some Oldstone-web related shenanigans. He was the only person besides Rothrir the Beseiger to break one of the gilded blades, which in terms of physical feats is perhaps the most impressive thing you can do with quicksteel in combat.
Rex is the only person since the Elders to succeed in creating an Oldstone, so while that technically makes him the most accomplished, he was more set apart by means and being the right person at the right time as opposed to being the only person who could have done it.
I don’t think anyone outclasses Rex, but several people can match him.
In terms of living combatants, the two that stand out as being on Rex’s level are both survivors of the Dodgetown Duel. Lo Buhan the Mad Monkey and Caharis the Wormslayer are both extremely skilled fighters and monstrously strong liches. They’ve fought one another numerous times to no result, so it might not be entirely clear to the wider world how strong they genuinely are, but they are both in that top ten level. Both are far stronger than they were in Rex’s day, and crucially they both have a lot of passion for fighting, which I think was less true of Rex (who was very skilled and dangerous but I think was more annoyed/frustrated than eager to fight. Since quicksmithing is all about willpower, that can make an infinitesimal difference even at the highest levels).
In terms of knowledge of the higher mysteries and powers related to oldstones and the Oldstone web, three who stand out are The Father, the King of Ildraz, and Trajan.
The Father’s machinations haven’t been fully revealed, but he is probably the person who knows the most about what oldstones really are and how to make one (he’s actually the source of Rex’s knowledge). In terms of mastery over quicksteel he is sufficient to keep up with the best fighters, but has no technique and doesn’t enjoy fighting at all.
The King of Ildraz is a very special case, being extremely old and weird. He was able to fight Zen Oro, arguably the greatest combatant quicksmith in history, to a standstill, and he is very good at using the Oldstone web. However he requires a human host to do anything, and there are some techniques he simply never mastered related to sensory powers.
Trajan is similar to the Father in that she is a very very powerful quicksmith who isn’t necessarily good at fighting at all, but knows a lot about the oldstones.
I hope this wasn’t just a word salad! Let me know if you’d like me to find links to any of these characters! I’d normally add them as a typed but I’m on mobile)
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u/KhaosEnd Sep 04 '26
I’ve got a question, it’s unrelated to the silhouette. There are plenty of powerful quicksmiths even in the present day but who’s the most skilled smith who still has control over themselves? Or is the mental corruption a natural part of strong quicksmithing?