Dwarven Crafting Technique: Prosthetic Limbs

This paper, created alongside myself and a few of my colleagues will delve deeper into the art of crafting prosthetic limbs, developed by us, the Zonverbrand Dwarves, effectively displaying our superior craftsmanship. Metal is the only material that can easily handle mana without crumbling, so this makes metal of all types the ideal material. The process that is employed when creating said limbs is a long and arduous one.

First the shell must be made, which is begun by smelting the ore at an extremely high temperature (Exceeding 400 degrees fahrenheit, depending on the type of metal, though most only vary by a couple tens of degrees) and hammering it into half the shape of an arm, seeing as there are separate pieces of metal that are placed into the arm. This could take about three days alone working nonstop, hammering and reheating the limb until there are no imperfections whatsoever.

After that begins the second step of creating the limbs interior, this step focuses on utilizing the Zonverbrand Dwarf knowledge of pistons in factories to generate power, at least this is what inspired these limbs. One set of thirteen pistons are placed within the most crucial parts of the fake limb;  the forearm, bicep and hand. And on the ends of these pistons, lies focusing gems, which allow for limb itself to take advantage of the mana flowing through the user’s body and draws it into the pistons to function as a nerve system.

Think of the focusing gems as nerve endings which use mana as a substitute for the lack of electric impulses being sent to the brain and essentially manipulate the space around the pistons to generate power, meaning that no external power source is needed, and as long as the user is alive, the limb will always work, as it capitalizes upon involuntary mana expulsion. The next step in this process would be the other half, nothing changes aside from the fact that you are building the other piece to fit the original creation. Another set of pistons would be applied to the other half as well, coming out to a total of twenty-six pistons and focusing gems across the entire limb all working in rapport.

However, the second set of pistons on the other half of the limb are set to fill the spaces that the original sets do not and vice versa allowing to continually be generated, providing no lapses in its output. Now the examples that have been used were only in regards to prosthetic arms, though this process applies to all limbs. To craft a leg, pistons as well as focusing gems must be placed in the most crucial parts of the leg; the calf, thigh, and foot. Although one thing that remains slightly different from the crafting of arms and legs, is that when crafting legs, four extra pistons and focusing gems must be placed in the knees to provide support when jumping and walking, making the amount of pistons necessary for efficient movement is  thirty-four rather than twenty six.

There  has not been significant strides the creation anything other than prosthetic arms and legs, however there is a possibility of being able to create whole bodies that can sustain themselves through this type of work, of course that is a rather large pipe dream if anybody were to attempt it, though the theory is sound (At least on paper). Finally comes the end of the process, the limbs installation. To install prosthetic limbs, it is more often than not necessary to be in the presence of an alchemist or holy mage, as the the space where the arm previously was most likely needs to be further amputated and cleaned to provide a flatter and easier surface for the installer to operate upon.

A substantial incision is also necessary to keep the arm in place; a small circular incision is made in wearer’s shoulder near his or her pectoral area and one final piston is placed on a sheet of metal that wraps around the wearer’s shoulder and slightly above the arm, which is then welded with the arm to keep it in place. This same process applies to prosthetic legs as well except two incisions are made on opposite sides of the installation and pistons are inserted via a sheet of metal just like prosthetic arms are, albeit thinner to accommodate the extra movements of the legs.

The installation of these limbs is very painful, though after a while the pain begins to fade, and in most cases doesn’t last more than a few days when aided by a holy mage or alchemist, which is why the installation virtually requires them for it. The creation and installation of prosthetic limbs is still advancing, though as of now they are long, strenuous and ultimately painful processes and if one does decide to have one installed on themselves this paper should inform them on the work that goes into the item they are receiving, and the cons of its installation, though it should not deter anyone suffering from paraplegia from acquiring a means of quelling their condition, it should only give you a good idea of what you’re getting into if you do decide to do so.