The Glass Man

The Glass Man is the story of a legendary enchanter, often given the name "David" who is supposed to have lived around the time of High Tower during the First Chaotic Period. According to legend, David gained immortality and some measure of omniscience through his alchemical work, achieving several feats thought to be impossible. David is also described as being the creator of several famous magic swords and other enchanted items known to be from the era near High Tower.

The Story

The common themes of David's story are that he learned alchemy from "the great old believers" and that he was a master swordsmith and enchanter. He could turn lead into gold but preferred to turn it into a gem-like material he called "glass". "Glass" being the name of a strong, transparent material which could hold powerful enchantments, and not the common substance.

The legends also say that he became so skilled at alchemy he became able to replace his brain with Glass, thus improving his intelligence and making him even better at alchemy and enchanting. (Note that common parlance holds it is completely impossible to make yourself smarter through magic). He then replaced his skeleton, bone by bone with Glass, followed by his organs, blood vessels, and finally skin. This made him immortal as well as all-seeing.

From there the stories diverge, usually with details about his secret alchemy laboratory, his grand works, and various other details.

Myth Vs. Fact

It is commonly accepted by mainstream academics that some singular and especially skilled alchemist did live in the century after the fall of High Tower, and that said alchemist did create at least 5 enchanted swords which survived into the Dynastic Period. At least one sword survived into the modern era and was on display in The Arsenal of Freedom. Studies done on the sword indicated it was "of unusually suburb craftsmanship" and contained "an unknown number of particularly potent enchantments".