• This is part of my "Kalevala series" in which I tell the epic folklore poetry collection of Finns as a series of short stories, one rune at a time.

• Don't know what Kalevala is? Check my introduction post of it: Kaleva: An epic folklore of Finns - A source of inspiration for Tolkien's mythology

• Want to start from the beginning? Go to Part 1: The birth of Väinämöinen

• Previous part: Väinämöinen's accident

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Bleeding Väinämöinen pulled himself into the house of the old man who grunted his situation of being like a stuck pig whose blood would need to be carried away by a flotilla.

The old man was helpless for he didn't know the origin of the Iron causing Väinämöinen's wound.

But Väinämöinen remembered and started to explain it all:

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In the beginning Ukko, supreme god, separated water from the air and created land from the water. On their side for their brother he wanted to create the Iron.

He rubbed his palms against his knee and three virgins, mothers of iron, were born.

From their radiating breasts, aching nipples, milk was poured on lands, swamps and waters while they stepped on the edges of clouds:

one who milked the black milk, from hers was malleable iron born,
one who welled the white milk, from hers was steel made,
one who ran the red milk, from hers was the pig iron gotten.

Iron wanted to meet his bigger brother the Fire but he burned and intimidated Iron to flee into the ground to hide.

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Suddenly, the blacksmith Ilmarinen was born and he grew from the ground with a copper hammer on his hand.

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He found rusty traces on the ground, iron signs of big palms pushed to the boreal forest.

"Oh, poor Iron flushed to the ground, when you get stomped in the peatland
by the wolf's and bear's heavy steps.

Ilmarinen pulled the Iron from the swamp and brought the him into his smithery with forging in his mind.

The Iron was terrified of the Fire in the forge who melted him into a porridge but Ilmarinen ensured him that 'a kinsman wouldn't hurt a brother'; The Iron would be forged into much more solid state in the hands of the Fire.

"Let me blacksmith Ilmarinen away from the heating red pain,
please end my suffer in the forge."

...the Iron begged but instead of easing his distress, the blacksmith eternal forced him to make a vowel to never shed blood from anyone.

Without a choice, he did:

"I shall only bite on the trees, eat only stones from the hard rock,
so I won't cut my own kindred, slice a child, carve my own brother."

"I'd better be as a partner for you, rather than eat my own home tribe."

Ilmarinen worked him into iron tools.

But upon hardening, the Iron got furious for being set on a bitter lye;

The Iron grew venomous and broke his vowel making blood shed since that day.

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Having heard the origin of the Iron, the old man started enchanting, pleading to the Iron who has no authorization to shed the blood because of his vowel he made.
Reminding the Iron that he will always be in debt for getting raised up from the oozing swamp to his glory as of today.

When his enchantment didn't work he turned for his last choice:

"Oh Ukko, the creator above, the divine God in the heaven!"

"Hear my pray when in need of yours, make your way upon my last call."

"Thrust your mighty hand, your thick thumb, block the hole of evil wou'und,
stop the bleeding, end the bloodbath, lest all would be splashed on my beard."

the prayer was heard and the heavenly God made an intervention with the world down under and stopped Väinämöinen from bleeding.

The old man commanded his son to make lotion from hays and woodchips for Väinämöinen's wound.

After being prepared for three days he spread the lotion on his knee and bandaged it with a peace of silk and eventually Väinämöinen's life force recovered and he praised his God:

"Be praised one God, thanked for your help, when you relieved me from my pain, agony caused by the iron blade."

"None people shall make a boat by words, carve by dictating the bark from wood. For in God lies the greatest power, not in the craft of man's own muscle."

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• Part 10: The forging of the Sampo

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Pics: 1 - Credit to @katharsisdrill who made the picture, 2