In Yankari the land was filled minerals and ores, the Mburai just didn't know how to use them yet. For thousands of years the Mburai have used tools made of wood, stone, or even bone in order to continue their economy. While the tools worked well they were not the most efficient they could be, many wished to be able to use the strong ore that were all across the lands of Yankari. It is said that the first of the Mburai to try and melt this ore was a blind man and his son. They collected this ore with stone tools, eventually getting enough to fashion into a piece of metal. To do this they had to build a great clay furnace that would melt the ore into a malleable piece. These furnaces were large and had tall tops that would help create more heat as it would draw air through openings at the base. The metal they created was hard and hot and had to be beaten into the right shape, but after hours and hours of failure the blind man and his son achieved the impossible. The metal they created begun to be known as Orisi, meaning black rock. As they continued to make Orisi the father and son begun to realise it could be used for absolutely anything, from weapons to building, Orisi would be used all across Yankari.

On a journey to the outer provinces, Mburai warriors stopped in the village of the blind man. On meeting him they decided that due to his invention he would be declared a Companion of Balok, one of the greatest honours a Mburai could get. He was brought to Mbingu; the capital of Yankari, and was given a celebration. On questioning the blind man for knowing how to create this metal without even eyes to see, he responded:

"Fire gave me life.

Out of the corners of my newborn eyes I could see him standing there.

My creator.

He made me, He aids me, He gives me my breath.

He has burned me down to make a new,

therefore fire took my life."

The man was clearly delusional, but he was skilled in an art that no one had seen before. The leading chief and a shaman of Balok agreed with his warriors and declared this man to be an Companion of Balok. He was declared Imac the Blue and he would be remembered forever as someone who honoured Balok. The chief got Imac the Blue and his son to teach their skill to people all across Yankari, creating new furnaces and bloomeries that would help make Orisi commonplace. While initially people were slow to pick up Orisi, without enough grants and support by the Mburai upper caste it quickly became popular. Orisi was picked up warriors and craftsmen alike, advancing the technology of the Mburai and of Yankari as a whole. It became a display of wealth and power if your warriors were equipped with weapons made of Orisi as well as if you adorned yourself with large necklaces and various other pieces of jewellery. Another display was done primarily by the blacksmiths, they were given 'forge-wives' known as Raarisi (married to the ore) which functioned as concubines but also helpers in the forge. A good blacksmith would have 3-5 Raarisi while a poor blacksmith would usually have 1-2.

With Orisi becoming popular in the lands of Yankari, the power of the Mburai only expanded further. They were now a powerhouse in the region due to the fact that they were so advanced compared to the tribes around them. With this new advantage it would not be long before the Mburai wish to honour Balok through righteous war and there were ample pickings.

References for Neolithic to Iron Age

• Data from historical linguistics suggest that iron smelting was independently discovered in the region by 1000 BC.

• African ironworkers did however invent a way to increase the size of their furnaces, and thus the amount of metal produced per charge, without using bellows. This was the natural-draft furnace, which is designed to reach the temperatures necessary to form and drain slag by using a chimney effect – hot air leaving the topic of the furnace draws in more air through openings at the base.

• Some evidence from historical linguistics suggests that the Nok culture of Nigeria may have practiced iron smelting from as early as 1000 BC.