Baize

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Baize (拜泽)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Black Ember Tribe
Occupation/Role	Tribal shaman; former master blacksmith; alchemical researcher
First Appearance	Chapter 26

Background / History

Baize serves as the Black Ember Tribe's shaman and maintains a secluded, coffin-like longhouse filled with alchemical instruments and an extensive collection of ores. The collection represents generations of Black Ember mineral gathering and includes hundreds or thousands of specimens. 26

Before becoming shaman, Baize was the tribe's finest blacksmith. Unlike earlier shamans who sought Radel by adjusting metal ratios, he became the first Black Ember shaman to use Southern alchemical methods in the search for a replacement metal. 28 32

His pursuit of Radel is tied to a moral goal: replacing the Blood-Ash Furnace, whose sacrifice-based operation has brought suffering to the tribe. This places him in direct ideological conflict with War Chief Keck Bloodfire, who seeks Radel to expand the furnace's power and forge an army. 31 32

Appearance

Baize combines the appearance of a scholar and a smith: he wears a neat linen robe, but his arms are thick and built like those of a blacksmith or warrior. 26

• Dark hair and beard; appears young beside the ancient ore collection he oversees. 26
• Strong, blacksmith-like arms. 26
• Usually works in his longhouse laboratory and underground forge. 26 37

Personality

Baize initially presents himself as mysterious and philosophical, framing shamanic knowledge through discussions of spirits, dimensions, and human origins. When Kas demands practical instruction, however, Baize drops much of this theatrical manner and becomes notably direct. 26 27

He is deeply devoted to metallurgy and regards successful Radel-like metal as an experience of profound beauty. His attachment extends to the battle-axe Luna, which he treats with the protectiveness of a creator reluctant to part with his work. 30 38

Baize is pragmatic but guided by a firm ethical boundary. He refuses Keck's demands to create more Radel from resources tied to the Blood-Ash Furnace and works to conceal Kas's role in the breakthrough, believing Keck would imprison or exploit him. 31 32

Abilities & Skills

Shamanic Metallurgy

Baize communicates with the spirits of minerals, allowing him to reshape and heat ore without conventional forging.

• Transforms a cube of iron ore into molten, reshaped forms before producing a smooth iron sphere. 27
• Melts a steel chair into sludge to prevent Kas from throwing him into his laboratory equipment. 27
• Uses spiritual methods alongside practical metallurgy and alchemy. 27 28

Alchemy and Mineral Research

Baize studies metals capable of carrying magical power and leads the Black Ember Tribe's effort to reproduce or replace Radel.

• Identifies Adamantine, Mithril, and Dark Ore as materials with magical load-bearing capacity. 29
• Provides Kas with an Alchemy Apprentice Introductory Manual and laboratory access for the Radel experiments. 28 29
• Supplies the Sealed Heater, ores, and technical conditions necessary for the successful experiments. 29 32
• Recognizes the beauty and significance of the first successful silver-white Radel-like strip. 30

Blacksmithing and Weaponcraft

Baize personally forges Kas's battle-axe rather than allowing the War Chief's smiths to make it.

• Forges the axe with a Radel core, Adamantine exterior, and symbols of both the Zagwell Clan and Her Tribe. 32 37
• Designs its crane-bill back, moon-and-sun blade ornamentation, oak handle, bronze rivets, and counterweight. 37
• Embeds moonstone and engraves the Ode to Mani after Kas chooses to dedicate the weapon to Seneya. 37 38
• Prepares maintenance tools and oil for Luna after Kas names the completed weapon. 38

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ore longhouse — a large private laboratory containing mortars, glassware, distillers, flasks, shelves of ores, and other alchemical tools. 26
• Sealed Heater — Southern-made, fire-crystal-powered equipment used in the Radel experiments. 29
• Underground forge — where Baize completes Luna. 37
• Alchemy Apprentice Introductory Manual — the introductory text Baize gives Kas to begin researching Radel. 28

Relationships

• Kas — mentor, collaborator, and protector. Baize identifies Kas as spiritually gifted, reluctantly teaches him metallurgy, trusts his insight during the Radel experiments, and hides his central role from Keck. 26 27 28 31
• Keck Bloodfire — political and ideological rival. Baize opposes Keck's reliance on the Blood-Ash Furnace and resists his demand for more Radel. 31 32
• Seneya — Kas's wife and the inspiration behind Luna's moonstone counterweight; Baize reluctantly accepts that the weapon will be wielded in her name. 37 38
• Great Shaman Hadi — Baize believes Kas is Hadi's apprentice and intends to seek Hadi's recognition of the Radel breakthrough. 26 27 31

Story Role / Major Arcs

Meeting Kas and Beginning Instruction

Baize receives Kas at his longhouse, calls him Great Shaman Hadi's apprentice, and explains that Kas's encounters with spirits mark him as someone on a shamanic path. Although he initially refuses to teach another shaman's apprentice, Kas forces the issue; Baize begins instructing him in the Black Ember Tribe's knowledge of metal and ore. 26 27

The Radel Experiments

Baize reveals the tribe's long search for Radel and entrusts Kas with an introductory alchemy text. He supports Kas's increasingly unconventional experiments with magical ores and the Sealed Heater, eventually witnessing the creation of a Radel-like metal strip. 28 29 30

Defiance of Keck Bloodfire

After the Radel breakthrough, Baize warns Kas that Keck will exploit him if he learns the truth. He publicly credits Kas only with minor ideas, then refuses Keck's demand to create more Radel with materials connected to sacrificial Blood-Forged Black Steel. 31 32

Forging Luna

Baize claims the smaller piece of Radel promised to Kas and personally forges it into a battle-axe. Though he wants the weapon dedicated to ancestor Morse Ironbone and Rishiman honor, he ultimately modifies its counterweight with moonstone for Seneya, then accepts Kas's name for it: Luna. 32 37 38

Trivia

• Baize calls Kas a genius simply for distinguishing a two-dimensional plane from three-dimensional space. 27
• He regards the first Radel-like strip as more beautiful than his first sight of a naked woman or the first dagger he forged. 30
• He initially protests Kas naming the battle-axe “Luna,” preferring the fiercer name “Brachi.” 38