Julian had a fourfold protective system in mind for his shields.
First would be an airtight hexagonal lattice net, meant for initial detection.
Second would be an endless swarm of birds, acting as both a distraction and an attacking force.
After that would come a massive fortress built around the center of his mindscape.
And inside that fortress, an immortal army of ringwraith clones would stand guard, heavily armed with both magic and weaponry.
Because of the way occlumency functioned, though, Julian had to wait for the first layer to properly solidify before he could start constructing the second.
...
He opened his eyes and let out a slow breath of relief. At least he had something in place now, something that would keep others from casually reaching in and tampering with his mind.
"I take it you're done with whatever it was you've been doing there?" Helena asked.
Julian nodded. "Yeah. I was setting up my occlumency shield for later, and now I can finally reforge this."
He raised his right hand, showing off Sanar.
"It's difficult to understand why you don't need runes to enchant things," Helena said, sounding more puzzled than critical. "But I assume it's a unique trait of this method." She put the hammer down, though she looked like she didn't particularly want to.
...
Julian stood and stretched, then went to move her art supplies to the far side of the room so they wouldn't get ruined. He detached the brush from the hammer's head, lit the furnace, and then locked the workshop door.
Once the furnace began to warm, he slipped Sanar off his finger and set it on the anvil nearby.
It didn't take long. When the heat was ready, Julian shifted the flames to dragon fire, then used a pair of tongs to move Sanar into the blaze.
Normally, he would heat the metal until it was workable before enchanting.
This time, he was heating it to strip away the previous enchantment entirely.
...
Once the old enchantment was gone, he didn't waste time. He pulled the ring out, set it back on the anvil, and shut the furnace down.
Julian took up the hammer and began channeling his spirit, making sure it was fully concentrated into his hand and the hammer held within it. Using his newer understanding of the mind arts as a foundation, he swung the hammer down and spoke.
"CAUMA!"
On impact, a small word written in elvish appeared in the air beside the ring for only a moment.
Julian struck again. "SANAR!"
The first word flashed into existence again, and this time a second followed it.
By then, Helena had realized this wasn't the usual process he used. She watched intently, curiosity obvious in the way she held herself.
...
A third strike. "ISTA!"
A third word appeared, making three in total.
Julian continued, repeating the same order of the words as he hammered the ring again and again. With every hit, a bright glow and a loud humming filled the room, the sound building as the ring absorbed the force and intent behind each blow.
Helena could only stare, wide-eyed, caught by the sight.
The hum rose higher and higher, the glow intensifying until it felt like it couldn't possibly become any stronger.
Then Julian lifted the hammer one last time and brought it down.
...
"SANAR ATTA!"
The three words flared bright and sharp, perfectly clear, before sinking down into the ring. When they vanished, engraved versions of them could be seen along the side of the simple band.
The instant it was done, Julian went weak. He staggered under the drain, but unlike the last time he'd attempted word infusion, he wasn't struck by backlash. Even so, he could tell it had been close, far too close.
He tore into an entire loaf of lembas bread like a starving animal, because his body felt like it was on the verge of consuming itself from the inside out.
...
[RING NAME: Sanar Atta
Grade: RARE
Abilities: Mental shielding, Autosizing, Defensive counterattack, growth, mind art affinity
Description: A simple band ring forged in the Celebrimbor style by Nicholas Iron with the will to protect his mind from all outside attacks and the knowledge on how to do it. This piece's power will grow the more its wearer does.
System appraisal: A powerful ring that is the bane of all legilimens made by an up and coming ring smith.]
...
After resting for a few moments to ease the soreness rippling through his body, Julian checked the system's appraisal and smiled as he slid the ring back onto his pointer finger.
Immediately, he felt the ring's magic connect to his own, and then link with his occlumency shield. The two grew to match one another almost at once. For all practical purposes, Julian now had two layers of protection over his mind, one considerably stronger than the other.
He still wasn't immune to mental attacks, but at least now he had a chance to notice them in time and respond.
...
"What was that?" Helena asked eagerly. "Some new breakthrough in your enchanting technique?"
Julian chuckled and shook his head. "No. I've had it for a while, but I couldn't use it without overdrafting my spirit energy, not until now."
He didn't bother hiding the truth from her. She had sworn an unbreakable oath, and she couldn't share the information without being banished from the earth for it.
Julian seriously doubted betraying him, and getting forcibly kicked out of the world and dragged into the afterlife, would be worth anything anyone could offer her.