Advent of the Artisans. (Closed)

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

((Moderator notes: chronologically speaking this quest takes place after these two quests; The Huntress gets hunted by the prey (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=5490) and Water Straight Up (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=6020) thank you. Events hinted at in the beginning of the quest primarily take place in the Huntress quest))

Prologue--

Civil War loomed on the horizon. Refugees made their way to the boarders of sanctuary towns able to accept their numbers. After the Gisela Massacre those able to choose sides did so. As always though whilst greedy nobles manipulated the global affairs the poor suffered. Members of the Aristocracy unable to keep up with the rapidly changing times simply burned out forever. Radasanth's bid to turn Corone into an Empire spread across continent as a cancer. Individual groups adjusted accordingly. The Civil War immediately affected others and indirectly affect the rest.

In an uproar panic Radasanth turned into a police state. Individuals unable to keep up with the rapidly changing laws simply vanished or ended up in un-named prisons. Members of the crime organizations known as The Syndicate adopted quickly and took advantage of the situation to line their pouches with the gold of the suffering. Out-sourcing the tasks of greedy Adventurers to members of the aristocracy needing work, The Syndicate stood to make a prime killing off the desperate situation. As the Empire took more and more hold destroying what few civil liberties remained democracy fell and a new chapter of Corone's history revealed itself.

The Adventurer's of this age heralded upon a new legacy that awaited them all.

*****************************


The river's edge touched the boy's form with an icy cold grip. Fingers of chilly temperatures ravaged his already dampened clothing moist with water and the ravages of war. In between the dual planes of the Firmanent and the Anti-Firmanent forces wagered for the lad's potentially dangerous atma. From his person a stream of freshly flowing blood tainted the surface of the river potentially attracting the predators of the deep. Little of those facts made any difference to the boy now. Fresh injuries crowned the boy's forehead from the events taking place nary several hours earlier. All at once what reality the boy knew shattered before his very eyes.

Pathetic whimpers pronounced by distinct sounds of agony passed from the boy's lungs. The boy kept his face in the dirty mud. As if viewing his nightmares the boy didn't necessarily see the ground beneath his face anymore. Blood filled his mouth with its familiar rusty-nail taste. Every inch of his frame burned with pain. Alberdyne Cormyr knew of his family's legacy and it's curse. The secret his Mother kept from them all. Feeling the affects of insanity closing in around him the boy swore he heard voices and deep foot-falls in the mud. Alberdyne just wanted death.

It would never come for the boy was written out of the Book of Death.

********************************

"He took quite a beating there."

"Almost didn't make it I'd wager. Did you see that scar on his forehead? Somebody went through a lot of effort to pierce the skull."

"Thankfully we found him when he did otherwise he'd certainly be at the bottom of that river now."

"Them Monks patched him up but good. Still though they weren't able to completely stop the scarring. Strange mark on that kid. Never seen nothin' like it."

Time ebbed around the lad. Months? Years? Centuries? Did any of those notions really matter? Somehow pain called the boy back into the refines of the Firmanent. Normal laws of physics once again applied themselves, the restraint of his physical shell reminded the boy of a prison. Alberdyne slowly awakened himself to normal-space. Aches and pains flowed like a complex sluice of machinery across the boy's spinal column. His jaw ached. His forehead felt as though someone hit him with a jack-hammer. Feeling the weight of bandages around his person, the sting of solvents upon his flesh burned. Tears threatened to leave the boy's eyes.

Alberdyne fought them back the memories of the recent event still too frightening to consider. Hearing voices now, Alberdyne ascertained the physical measurements of some sort of room. He felt the weight of a warm, comfortable bed. A bed like he'd never slept on his whole life. The taste of mud still lurked in his mouth. Alberdyne felt several people in the room more than actually seeing them. Somehow though the feeling of danger evaded the lad. Turning his aching form towards the speaking voices, Alberdyne opened his eyes very slowly. They ached something fierce when coming in contact with the lighting in the room. At first, Alberdyne only saw greyness but eventually his eyes adjusted.

His companions never left the room. One of them moved towards his person and he saw the frame of a gruff fellow. Apparently the man reacted to the boy's movements.

"HEY HE'S AWAKE!" The man suddenly yelled.

***********************************************

Weeks later Alberdyne finally recovered enough strength to walk about. His saviors revealed that they currently resided in a community of lodgings known as Underwood. Primarily a town of hard working members of the Concordia Forest population Wood Elves and a race of large muscular humans lurked. The primary education system revolved around the acquisition of lumber and crafting using wood. Some black-smiths from the elven population even lurked there nearby. Alberdyne found out that members of a group of people called The House of Sora saved the boy from certain death. Or perhaps in his case, uncertain.

Unable to recover his Vlince clothing, a man named Karxen informed the boy that his new education could begin immediately. The House of Sora needed carpenters and black-smiths for their ranks. After much thought, the boy decided his skill seemed best for a black-smith. Now wearing the simple garb of a local worker Alberdyne thought very little of the events of that day. Instead he tried to focus on the good. Around his neck lurked a silver chain bearing the markings of the House of Sora with his name on it. The man named Karxen explained that House of Sora members earned a nick-name having to do with the sky. Alberdyne chose the name Corona. The workers etched his full name into the necklace's pendant and the boy wore it underneath his work tunic. Made of simple cloth, Alberdyne thought that the simple nature of the outfit suited him as a worker.

Today, was the boy's first day of work. Moving outside of the man's lodging he had no idea that others might join him. Still, to this day the scar on his forehead (Now hidden behind a thick cloth forehead bandage that flowed in the wind) ached.

Karxen waited outside with his large arms crossed before his mighty chest.

"Are you ready to begin your training young one?" The man asked.

((Enter Here))^

[Io Beauregard]

To The Great Artisans of Underwood,

I write you this day once again thanking you for the amazing act of charity you have bestowed upon the House of Sora and its members. Such a favor is not only an act of charity to us, but to all of civilization for that is what we aim to serve. The bearer of this letter is the artist and performer Iorwerth “Nox” Beauregard, a member of the House. He has volunteered to become a part of the training program you have instated for us. He’s not a supervisor. He’s your servant, and he has come to demonstrate the House’s sincerity, gratitude and dedication to a promise of mutual friendship. Although an artist may be an unlikely craftsman to many, his skills as one may prove to be useful in learning your ways. He has the strength to chisel stone to precise contours, the finesse to sketch the greatest details, and the eye to replicate every hue this world has produced and more. He also has a developing skill in permanent enchantment, so perhaps he may bring additional blessings to you. Feel free to teach him so that he may better carry his already numerous talents into another professional field. I once again thank you.

Seti “Astrophel” Dylan
Patriarch of the House of Sora
Io chuckled to himself as he watched the Underwood woman read the letter. The letter couldn’t have possibly been Seti Dylan’s. It was uncharacteristic of the Patriarch to use language so... evasive that Io could mentally proof read it and cut almost every sentence in half and still get the point across. Seti wrote letters with an air of critical pragmatism, which was all but absent from this message. It was undoubtedly the work of Rajani Aishwara. Many people were infatuated with the Avalonian’s refined accent and artistic language. It was Io’s humble opinion that his speech habits didn’t work well on paper. He could imagine Seti dictating to Rajani as he wrote with a peregrine feather pen, and that’s when he laughed.

The woman looked up at him and he mentally wiped his face of expression. She looked back down at the opened envelope and began peeling off the red wax seal with the knife she used to first open the letter. “I know this looks weird, but I collect seals as a hobby on the side. I have seals from a bunch of important people.” She waited until she finally broke it off to speak again. “Well it looks like you came just in time. Karxen’s about to begin training for that kid your people saved. He should be in the lodging just behind the house.”

The woman, presumably Karxen’s wife, led Io behind their quaint home and directed his attention to a lodging. In front of the small edifice stood a young man with red hair and a bandage that looked more like a headband. Facing him in front of the doorway stood a large armed adult man who could have easily lifted twice Io’s maximum. If that was what smithy did to a man, Io welcomed it. My short ass could stand to gain some muscle mass, he thought to himself.

He reached under his maroon cloak for his heirloom and held it in the air as he approached. “Sorry to interrupt. I’m a member of the House of Sora and I was interested in joining you as an apprentice. They call me Nox.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

********

A big man, Karxen nodded respectfully towards the senior member of the House of Sora. Receiving parcel from the group several moons prior, Karxen seemed to accept the fact that more students might arrive. The man didn't seem to mind instructing others in the art of the smithy. Also, there seemed to be another matter at work here. Karxen thought about the boy. They lacked details as to what happened afore they found him, but the lad implicated someone he called "Mother." Strange. Karxen thought that outsiders of Underwood followed strange customs indeed.


*****************

Alberdyne Cormyr decided it best to leave the past behind. Though the terrible scar on his forehead seemed a stark reminder of the future that awaited him, the boy figured focusing on tasks at hand seemed like the more important thing to do. Io seemed like a nice enough fellow, representing the senior members of the House of Sora. In his time here, the boy heard mention of the organization and how they funded (In secret) many of the projects within Underwood. Still, a chance to learn something knew always got the boy going. A rough education guided the lad forward combined with a desire to learn. Feeling the scar burning briefly, the boy touched his forehead wincing in pain. Something about being around Io caused the scar to act up.

Not understanding what such a thing meant, all he knew compounded the situation further. He knew nothing about the secrets of his people. With his Mother's betrayal--the secrets might die with him. The boy still couldn't believe his Father passed. In his distant mind he saw Mother striking swinging that accursed dagger at his forehead. Serving as catalyst to the boy's transformation. The big man lead them both to a place called a Smithy. He'd read about those buildings in his spare time once or twice. Steam flowed through an opening of the large edifice. A squareish building, the thing took up a lot of space on its own for the work-shop within. At some point having origins as a small hut, the building gradually grew into the current mammoth size.

Bricks made of mud and a concrete mixture, served to insulate the intense heat lurking within. Wards and enchantments kept the temperatures inside the building tolerable to humans. Karxen explained all these fine details as they walked towards the building. Alberdyne feeling his desire to learn taking up the better of his common sense at this point. He seemed like an eager child at yule-tide. A single set of large, oak, double-doors provided the only way in or out. A large, rusty sign danced from side to side in the wind declaring the edifice's name as Sleeping Willow. No windows ordained the building at any point, keeping its secrets well hidden. The building probably had several underground layers for storage. The boy saw several smaller adjacent buildings that probably served as store-houses for supplies.

"This is my Smith-Shop. They call it the Sleeping Willow. Been in the family for many generations now. I'm its current Master. You'll be learning directly under me from now on. Just think about it. Right now you'll only be molding Tin and Copper, but someday, somebody might teach the secrets of forging Adamantium gear! JUST THINK ON THAT HAR! You two blokes MasterSmiths! There hasn't been one in ages!" Karxen paused, looking at Alberdyne. "You got eager eyes, you look ready to hit the anvil already har har! That's what I like to see boy, an eager learner. You kids ready to go in and get a hard day's work done?"

((Note Io: From here on until this part of the quest is over we'll be training everyday at the Blacksmith until we complete our first weapon and set of armor. After that we'll progress with the quest, I expect this thing to get kinda long))

[Io Beauregard]

Io listened intently to the smith named Karxen as he explained the inner workings of the Sleeping Willow in detail. He softly raised his eyebrows in surprise at the mere mention of magic. He knew that many of the higher end alloys of the world were forged through magic, but he didn’t expect magic to be used here. Although he could understand the need to keep an occupant of the facility comfortable and safe.

As the smith spoke the artist looked down at his cloak where it covered his own two products of a blacksmith’s work, dual drow scimitars. He wondered if it was possible to upgrade the blades to a stronger material without losing the unique ethnic drow shape and design. He’d probably have to go back to the original maker, who lived somewhere in Alerar between Kachuck and Ettermire. His whereabouts were doubtful at best, but then again the blades weren’t given to Io by the maker. They were given to him by their previous owner.

Io then looked at his forearm. Countless little flames connected like beads to form a tattoo bracelet of fire enchantment. That was his artwork, and that was probably why he so eagerly volunteered to come here. He wanted to see if his artwork could enchant a piece of armor or a weapon. The likelihood of that happening was high. For the past three months or so all of his artwork was enchanted, but then again why wouldn’t all of it be? From what he knew of his talent, Io was alble to create enchanted art corresponding with the emotion he was consumed with at the time. But he was human, and on top of that an artist. When didn’t he feel something? With that string of logic, anything and everything he made with his hands should finish enchanted.

Io looked at the other apprentice and realized that he didn’t have a smock to cover his clothing with. He halfway considered asking Karxen for something but then allowed him to continue. Instead he just took off the maroon cloak. “Before we begin is there anywhere I can hang this?”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

((Small bunnies hope you don't mind dude I'm trying to speed things along so we can get to the good stuff. I have a series of these planned))

Karxen opened the door into the smithy and entered within. Inside, almost predictably, the temperatures reached incredibly hot volumes. Alberdyne, used to the heat in the Concordia Rain Forest didn't seem to mind. At Io's question, the Smith pointed to a series of hangers at the right side of the entry-room area. A large gathering place where consumers might place orders greeted them. Within the gathering place sat a well-organized reception area.

In this place, the general public might have access to the unique services offered in this place. Once inside the place seemed like a gigantic warehouse more than a smith. The building seemed to stretch for many yards well contained by the structure outside. Alberdyne looked about placing his own cloak on one of the hangers before walking towards Karxen. He nodded to Io sensing something quite strange about the lad, though strange, the feeling was pleasant to him.

Alberdyne couldn't quite explain what he felt. Following Karxen he saw several people wearing distinct uniforms in the gathering area. Some seemed well armed and Alberdyne guessed them to be a local militia of some-sort. Probably Rangers common to this area. Making their ways to an adjacent chamber, they finally arrived at the large work-shop area.

[The Architect]

The woman opened the mahogany door and looked at Seti with a smile. She glanced down and saw the silver charm of the House of Sora.

“And yet another one!” she said with a roll of the eyes. “I understand that you’re members of our current employers, but would you be so kind as to all arrive at the same time?”

Seti shrugged his shoulders and gave a jovial smile. “I’m sorry, ma’am. The House of Sora is usually more prompt, but these times are rather hectic. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, but it helps to know that there are people like you in the mix.” Seti assumed that was a compliment directed towards the House instead of a sarcastic shot at his late arrival. He wasn’t supposed to be here at all anyways.

The woman led him behind the house into a back yard that resembled the surrounding Concordia forest. The oaken columns supported a shallow roof the allowed the sun to enter in a tint through the emerald leaves. Within nature’s mansion was a clearing, where the sun cast a single spotlight on a single building, a petite hut puffing a small plume of smoke into the air. He had no qualms about the majority of the group’s craftwork coming from this single establishment. The House of Sora, although quickly expanding, was still but a humble speck in the world’s vision if visible at all.

The figures around the building were unfamiliar with exception to one, the artist Io Beauregard. Seti had immense respect for Io’s artistic talent and taste, and often compared it to his own. What was an architect but a stylish engineer? However, while Seti’s sense of style was limited to buildings, Io had applied them to all aspects of his life. That could be seen in the glamorous maroon get up he was wearing even in the midst of one of the dirtiest jobs in the world.

Seti tapped the artist on the shoulder with a smile, and Io turned around to mirror that smile. “Dylan!”

“Hey there, B. I have some news.” Io’s smile quickly disappeared. He knew if Seti didn’t say ‘good’ in front of the word ‘news’ it was bound to be bad. “You’re needed in Alerar. We’ve got some new information about their rail system, and a few noblemen who had us on their mind. Seeing as you’re the most entertaining of us I thought it might be best that you go and meet up with them.”

Io released a sigh and hung his head. “I hoped to learn something here. These hands are meant for more than just sculpting. You know that. You’ve seen what they can do, Seti.”

“I know, but this forge will always be here. This chance won’t wait.” Seti looked at the artist, who remained silent. “Look, you told me that this ability of yours is connected to your emotions, right? Well a part of the assignment requires acting skills, needing to manage and manipulate your own emotions, all that good stuff, so you’ll be progressing your abilities just in a different way.”

“Alright.” Io exuded a half smile as he took his worker’s smock off. He accepted that compromise in reason. With a happy face Io left and disappeared into the city of Underwood.

“Karxen.” A man bulk with muscle stepped forward and extended his hand. Seti took it. “Are you that man’s replacement?”

“Yes. The House of Sora required his services elsewhere.”

The other young man turned around just as he was stepping into the doorway. A wave of heat pulsed out of the inside of the incandescent smith shop. It was a familiar face, that of Dyne Corona. “Well, It’s good to see you again.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Having met their group's leader during one prior occasion (The Day Radasanth Sank) Dyne decided he liked the man greatly. Reminding him of his own Father in a lot of ways Seti was an agreeable individual. Dyne saw Seti and moved forward to the man, considering him more like a brother than anything else. As he moved he thought about the events that connected them all together.

When Radasanth was hit by a splinter group of terrorists, the city almost fell forever. It took the combined efforts of The House of Sora to save Radasanth from being completely destroyed. Fortunately, Dyne Corona was there that day to serve his part for the larger group. As a whole, the Power Group was still considerably small, and Dyne played an even smaller role. Yet, Dyne also knew that they all contributed to their Power Group as small pieces of a larger tapestry.

Dyne approached Seti and offered him his hand in warmth. Karxen and Dyne were just preparing to enter the Sleepy Willow when Seti relieved Io of his duties. Dyne was slightly disappointed in that but was also glad to work with Seti directly. Karxen nodded at his senior House of Sora member. The warrior wore his silver charm pendent in front of his tunic.

"Well then now that's all settled, let's get to work!" Dyne heard Karxen say and nodded. "Yeah Sir, you came at just the right time." Dyne said towards Seti.

[The Architect]

Karxen ordered them to follow him around the back of the building. “I just thought it might be relevant to show off some of my products now that you’re here, just a showcase of your investment, sir.”

Seti smiled, but he was perturbed inside. He didn’t like getting special treatment from being the Patriarch of the House. As far as he saw it there was only one place and one occasion where he truly was the boss and that was when he was an architect and he oversaw the production of one of his buildings. Very few of his House relatives saw that side of him, and they were lucky not to.

They turned the corner and Karxen directed their attention to the wall on which shafts of the suns long arm extended upon various pieces of the smith’s work. They reacted in various expressions of pearl white, chrome silver, and voided grey luminosity. The Breastplates, greaves, swords and other metal crafts of war served their purpose, but were very plain. Having seen his artwork before, Seti imagined what Io could have done with the work on this wall.

He stared at a breastplate as decorative weavings rose from the surface like veins on an arm. A blade hung in the air as invisible hands wrote a name in cursive. It was ‘Christina Bredith’, Matriarch of Lodge Bladestorm thus head of the House’s military force. Seti then heard a great ring. He looked to the source of the sound, a gauntlet which had the solar eclipse symbol on it. It all faded away as Karxen spoke.

“These are pieces from a few fallen warriors I worked for. The armor and the weapons did their job. As you can see the pieces are barely worn. Those guys died on their own accord. Those guys thought equipment was everything. Idiots.” Karxen shook his head in shame, and then smiled as he looked at his two apprentices. “Now I craft tools for visionaries.”

They spent another short moment admiring the smith’s work, and then he waved them along. “Alright let’s get started.” Karxen quickly turned the corner and opened a door. Waves of heat pushed through the door rippling through the very fabric of their perception. “Come in and enjoy the heat, boys.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The structure of the Sleepy Willow seemed to revolve around this one room, like a giant furnace, and a similar room that lurked hidden below it. That room served as a secondary furnace, more advanced in nature. That facility was currently off limits to the two young apprentices. At any one time Karxen, a Master Blacksmith had several Apprentices under his care. He had big hopes for his two latest, they might even discover the secrets of becoming Mastersmiths themselves! Dyne saw a smile upon Karxen's face as the big, jovial man proceeded into the heat-generating room.

They almost quite literally stepped into an inferno. The sound of men and women working together in unison created loud clangs that vibrated across the fabric of the air itself. Several smith anvils were set up, all in all, about ten filled the room in various locales. Seemingly in a hap-hazard sort of way. A different Apprentice took up the spot at the anvil working on their latest creations. Dyne saw a particularly large anvil that glowed with a mysterious hue of energy. That anvil belonged to Karxen, Dyne guessed.

A smell of steam gathered in the room. Soot. Raw energy from the super-heated furnace. A sort of coal. The smell a powerful rank oder that seemed to multiply the heat exponentially. Dyne removed his tunic and cloak setting them on a clothing rack. This clothing rack lurked outside of the huge, busy room. The young man moved towards Karxen knowing that Seti would follow. Handing Dyne and Seti a set of black aprons, a pair of matching worker gloves, a pair of safety goggles, made out of some sort of clear material. The aprons had a set of basic laboratory tools like tongs and other basic supplies. Situated by each of the anvils was a coolant tank filled with some sort of ice-cold substance. The color of the substance was an opaque dark blue. The thing somehow managed to give off vapors even in this intense heat. It was like stepping into Hell.

Dyne saw that Karxen motioned for him to take place by one of the unmanned anvils. A single hammer lurked by each of the anvils. Dyne's well-built form, thanks to training with the Monks of Ai'bron, bulged with anticipation. Stepping into the inferno-like temperatures and the youth understood what Karxen meant. It wasn't like stepping into heat, it was like stepping into a blazing three alarm fire. The young man felt the fire in his lungs as he adjusted to breathing in such intense heat. He coughed a few times and he saw Karxen laugh jovially. The man patted his shoulder roughly almost knocking Dyne down. "Breathe Alberdyne. Breathe." Despite his new identity with the House of Sora, Karxen insisted on calling his adopted son by his real name, Alberdyne Cormyr.

Corona insisted that his former name had no meaning for him. But Dyne often argued with Karxen about his past identity. Dyne was told that he couldn't escape his noble nature even if he wanted to. The Gods assigned them all their roles in this life and Dyne had his role to play in the grand scheme of things. Karxen would remind him that he couldn't forsake the name of his Father who was a good man. Dyne remembered this and the finished pieces that Karxen showed them. One day he would be forging pieces like that.

He took up the hammer in his left hand, it was a strange thing really. The hammer somehow felt like a part of him. He swung it around with one hand getting used to the heavy weight. Dyne saw that the color of the hammer suggested it was oak. Probably a training hammer of some sort, but built powerfully well. It was sturdy and weighed enough to get the job done. Dyne saw a big pile of copper and brass. The basic materials that all apprentice smiths needed to learn how to use.

Karxen began.

"Now then. We have two new apprentice working alongside us." Dyne saw him wave grandly towards himself and Seti. Sweat already poured from Dyne's muscles. "They will be learning about our Art from the beginning all the way to their graduation. The best way to learn is by experimenting. The best way to experiment is actually picking up the hammer yourself. You will notice several piles of mineral ores by your anvil. These are copper, brass, steel and iron. I cannot allow you to use anything more advanced than these right now because the result might be a disaster. Molding these materials is fairly straightforward once you understand your Canvas." Right then, Dyne missed the notion of having Io with him. "Notice the particular shape of each bar of ore. Your first task is to take five bars of copper and smelt them with your Hammer. You have three hours to accomplish this basic task. Smelting is the most basic aspect of blacksmithing. You take bars of ore and smash them down to their liquid form combining them with the basic template of the creation you are making. Like a baker, get it? The best way is to learn by doing." He repeated.

Dyne knew he didn't need permission to start. He picked up one of the bars of copper and got right to work after placing it on the anvil. He noticed that the bar was fairly heavy.

[The Architect]

With eyes misty from irritation, Seti sat down at his anvil and looked down at the minerals in their natural form. Hands glazed in a layer of sweat picked up a giant set of pliers. He didn’t know what else to call them besides pliers although he was sure there was another name. The bar was decorated in bands of sediment of earthly colors all distorted by the incandescent orange glow that saturated the room. It was then that the architect wondered what he should aspire to make. A breastplate? A gauntlet? Yes, a gauntlet.

The architect bent down to his side and picked up the wooden hammer, he extended the bar until it was inside the fire, and then waited for it to match the fire’s color. His eyes darted to the corners of the room to see if he was doing it right. Unfortunately, Corona was at his back, and as a fellow novice he might have been just as clueless. Karxen was one of those teachers, the one that assumed his students would be able to make it from point A to point C.

…one could only hope.

I know this is short as all hell, but I’ve been trying for days to understand the smelting process better so I could put more detail into this and I came up with very little. Maybe I’m not sure where to take this post, so go on ahead and do yours so I can better understand your intention with the progression of the thread. Then I’ll edit this one accordingly.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne felt very eager to get the process going. They were required to smelt some ore into its raw liquid form and create bars from the ore. Dyne noticed several different machines within the large furnace like room. Each machine had a purpose to it. Several different tools lurked in his apron and by the main work table. He found himself near Seti who seemed just as clueless like he, well, almost. The youth closed his eyes and started to try and remember every book he's ever read in his life.

He recalled reading a couple of books on smithing. Some of them talked vaguely about the process of smelting and refining ores. Dyne "pulled" the book out from his mental shelves and studied it again, turning the pages of knowledge very quickly in his mind's eye. The youth was hungry to learn and Karxen seemed to teach by example. He saw that there were several tools that he recognized that seemed part of the smelting process. Looking over to Seti's person, Dyne attempted to catch the other lad's attention. "Hey Seti, if you're confused just watch how I do it. I remember reading some books on this subject more than once. I'll show you the process." Dyne said waiting for Seti's response. There was that excited look on Dyne's face again.

[The Architect]

“That’s okay,” Kaerxen said as he placed a hand on Alberdyne’s shoulder. “How about I take you boys with me and I’ll clear up a few things.”

They got up and followed Karxen as he floated around eh room in a seemingly aimless jaunt, darting back and forth, left and right to every student until he finally came to one. The student was a young elf, who held a two tone lump of molten rock inside the great fire with a pair of large tongs. It melted and dripped away into the blue hot core until it finally was no more. “You see there’s a difference between melting and smelting. It’s something that this poor sap has yet to get a grasp of. He’s put a waste to my copper, but even if he had placed it on the anvil or some sort of surface to preserve what he had it still would have been melting.”

Karxen directed their attention to another student who sat in front of a slab staring curiously at a glowing mass. “If you think about it, that thing is still what it was before. 20% granite and 80% copper, 30% gold 70% copper, or whatever he may be working on at the moment. He’s still melting. Smelting, by definition, is separating. Now I haven’t looked into this but I figure that’s what the ‘s’ is there for. I’ll correct those guys later, but you two are the priority for now. Come here.”

Karxen sat at Seti’s spot and picked up a black bowl. “This is a crucible made of graphite. Take your ore, place it in here, put it in the fire, and take it from there.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne partially understood what Karxen was saying. He listened carefully for anything he might have missed. Closing his eyes to better ascertain the lessons that the Master Smith gave them, the youth obsessed over every detail he possibly could. He saw the granite pieces taking his individual share. He nodded towards Seti. "Good luck." He said to his leader knowing that they were in for the long haul. He remembered the various percentages for mixing that were required for more advanced experiments.

But for now, they were focused strictly on the Copper. Separating and purifying the basic ores that they would be smelting into bars. Dyne didn't want to be chastised for failure like the other students were. He was eagerly wanting to make progress with the experimentation. He felt a flutter of excitement and eagerness in his belly as he moved back to his work station.

The smells of the smith in work filled his nostrils. Heat swirled all about about him like dragons made of air. He smelled the various portions of copper, lead, granite in different mixtures of the oxygen. The powerful scents in the room made Dyne cough since they stung his nostrils. His eyes watered but he worked through the pain. He felt his lungs were breathing with labor against the ultra thick air.

It smelled like a refinery. The youth to a moment to grab one of the many face masks located by his work station and placed it across his face. He breathed a breath of semi-purified air. The goggles around his face protected him from the stinging air he was momentarily exposed to. He wanted to pay attention to everything that the Master Smith so he'd raised his goggles in order to better observe the Smith's body language.

He knew that Karxen would probably much rather be working on his own projects than instructing. He was glad that Karxen made the necessary sacrifices to teach pupils as well. Dyne grabbed the granite cross and began the process of smelting ore. Dyne hoped for some better success than the Elven student who was simply just melting ore. He looked over to Seti to see his partner's progress.

[The Architect]

Seti returned to his seat and took the tongs in one hand and the hammer in another, placed the chunk of sediment just above the blue core, and waited. He was pleased to see the rock slowly react to the heat. A molten orange inflammation began to spread from the bottom like a bad rash. It reminded him of a pale Raiaeran elf getting a sun burn in the Tular Plains, and then he asked himself why such an unorthodox image came to mind. Alberdyne seemed to be doing the same thing as Seti, confirming he was doing the right thing, but how long would it be before he would have to take the ore from the fire? There was already an image in his head of valuable bronze dripping into the fire and slowly pouring down into the magical source of the heat like molasses.

“Alright, Seti.” A large hand pressed down on the architect’s right shoulder. “It’s time to take it out. Start hammering out the bronze from the rest of the minerals. Pay attention to the different tint the bronze is from the rest of it. This is a good one to start with. At least seventy percent bronze.”

“How long does it usually take to get to this point?” It was a necessary question for Seti. He was always a good judge of time except for these situations, workplace situations where his mind tended to drift off. When he brainstormed or drew up blueprints for new buildings he would take a freefall into his own imagination. Time in the real world would move the way it wanted to. Hours could pass as quickly as minutes or even seconds would pass as slowly as days.

Karxen took a moment to ponder his answer. It was a complicated one at best. “Well it really depends on a lot of things, The purity of the element your smelting, its proportion compared to the rest of the rock, how much you’re smelting, so on and so forth. What I can tell you it can range from under an hour to more than nine.”

Seti shrugged his shoulders. So much for a definite answer. He was used to definite times and deadlines in his line of work. Even if the completion of a building depended on a labor force he didn’t know, he was able to run a tight ship – as either an inspirational commander or a ruthless dictator – to make it to his personal deadline. “So what will then next step be?”

“Depends on what you’re making…”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Setting himself up for the physical labor, the youth placed the granite in the fire. There were several more students who also placed granite in the fire as well. Dyne took a moment to acknowledge all of them in kind with nod. Some nodded back but all took into account the boy's presence amongst them. He wore his House of Sora pendant out in the open now, in the presence of family since this was clearly an excursion for the House of Sora. Dyne knew he couldn't afford any mistakes. This was a mission for gain and profit, and also the tempering of a newly found skill.

Time passed. Dyne could see the mixture of bronze peaking through his granite slab. He held it by the tong in his hands. His muscles ached from the burn, but he held it fast, turning the granite every so often. It was almost like cooking a meal. Red burned angrily through the granite as the bronze element was activated by the heat. He could almost see particles of ions and atoms exciting themselves in reaction to the heat being poured on the granite. When he was certain that the granite was ready to be worked, the youth pulled the granite away from the fire and moved back to his work station. His muscles burned with pain from the intense physical labor. He was already exhausted from the lack of water and food. The intense heat was getting to the youth.

Despite all that, he fought through the pain attempting to just get it right the first time around. Knowing he didn't want to make any sorts of mistakes, the youth took his hammer in hand. It was made of liviol and quite sturdy for the task at hand. With the burn in his muscles, the youth prepared for the journey ahead. Thinking about whatever he wanted to think about, the youth thought about his Mother's betrayal.

He didn't want to remember Alma Cormyr as an enemy. So he thought about the positive moments. Moments of tenderness shared as a family before that awful betrayal happened. This brought a smile to the youth's face as he thought about what he might be doing now. Training at the Cormyr Residence with the rest of the students seeking lessons from the Monks of Ai'bron. Stealing a moment away with Jessa Reyes, his youthful crush. He felt his cheeks go red as he thought about the pretty girl and wondered what it was she might be doing at that moment. He could guess. The first set of impacts caused cracks in the chink of the granite slab. Dyne cursed as he felt how hard the substance really was and understood then why it needed to be super heated first.

The heat made the granite much softer and easier to break. Its black, sparkly surface shone with the light of the fire. Somehow, all the haze in the large room made the boy feel extremely light headed. This wasn't enough to distract him too much, but it was enough to be noticeable. He felt light headed and felt like he could take on any task that was presented before him. He let out a mighty scream and brought the hammer down upon the granite with all of his might. What started off as a few cracks quickly became a torn chunk. Soon, after a few more hits the boy had slightly cracked the first corner of the granite slab. Now..he only had the rest of the piece of granite to go. Nine hours huh? All right, let's get to this then, I want to get to the fun stuff. After a few moments of getting used to the motion of his hammer hitting the granite, he moved into an almost zen-like movement, his eyes were very far away.

[The Architect]

The world outside this intensely torrid little shop of metals was approaching its twilight. Cool breezes gave the flora a lively pulse as they danced in the pale moonlight. Seti’s internal clock told him that much. Here it was neither night nor day, dusk nor dawn. It was all a hot dry afternoon in Haidia. Hopefully it was the end of his afternoon, for he was among the last of the group to complete Karxen’s assignment. As simple as it sounded, separating sediment from bronze, it was astonishingly complicated. Visions of the stereotypical blacksmith from the story books began to deteriorate as the architect ignited the rocks like candle wicks and began meticulously working on the smelting process. Apparently this was a different kind of work than previously expected. One had to dive into it with confidence and never cease for anything.

The architect, being used to halting construction for the slightest misbalance in a foundation or restarting the construction of a wall from scratch, discovered within his ten hours of work that starting over was just not an option. Every thirty minutes to an hour, Seti would take the sediment to the side and see if the separation process was working out the way he wanted it. He would examine the chunk for as long as he could with only a moment of two of hammering in between narrow eyed glares. Once the incandescence wore off he would place it back into the flame. Soon enough his priorities switched places and he was inserting the ore into the flame only to be able to see it again. This was his custom as an architect, to debacle every measurement, angle, and scale because lives depended on his choices. The life of a warrior depended on the armor they would construct, so why not apply the same self questioning to this endeavor?

The result wasn’t exactly the same. In a line with the perfectly shaped bricks of bronze, stood his amoeba, glimmering in all its mutated glory. The league of aspiring metallurgists stood around Seti’s workbench with hands on hips and heads tilted in perfect right angles.

“Well the good news is this is probably the purest bronze of the lot. I can already tell by looking.” Karxen lifted the hardened brown glob then dropped it back down. “At least that’s where you’re meticulousness paid off. Well let me correct that. That’s where your fear paid off. You kept on checking little portions of the ore and nibbling the bronze off bit by bit because you were afraid of getting the whole thing wrong. Well now that you’ve done it once you can take what I’m about to say to heart. Just do it! Did everyone hear that? Just do it!”

Seti nodded with his hands behind his back. “Is there any way to get a composition as pure as the one I got without losing the opportunity to mold?” He was never one to apologize. He reserved those for times of heartbreak. In this situation it was best to correct the faux pas.

“Yes, that’s a good question, Seti, and I was just about to get to that.” Karxen turned to the crowd. “If the rest of you want metal as pristine as what you see here you’re going to have to be patient. Some of you only needed to leave the ore in the fire for twenty more minutes and it would’ve been just as pure as Seti’s. As for you, stop pulling the ore in and out of the flame and use larger portions.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Listening to Karxen's teachings whilst he worked distracted the youth just a bit, just enough to mess up several times. He lost some of the carbon pieces to the fire along with their bronze. Failing frustrated Dyne greatly since he was so used to learning things quickly. The air inside the inferno made it difficult to breathe even with the mask on. He could vaguely see his own reflection in the fire since it was so intense. The metal he managed to work was few and far between. Ten whole hours passed and only a bare minimum of progress was made.

Karxen occasionally walked by Dyne's work area to give the youth tips on this or that matter. "Your angle of approach is off." One of the statements of advice. "Put more feeling in your strokes with the hammer." After all of his failures, Dyne had managed to get a small amount of bronze ore out of the granite. It was liquid in nature so the young apprentice could easily mold it to any shape he wanted. It was a long process of shaping and reshaping the canvas to suit whatever form that Dyne wanted to create.

He placed the ore in the mold of the bars and watched the substance take shape and ultimately cool into one of the bars. Dyne heard Karxen talking to Seti for a long moment. He vaguely paid attention to what was going on since he was concentrating on his own work. Karxen's words touched his large ears after a moment's passage. Securing his first bar, the apprentice clapped his hands together at his first victory. Though his ore wasn't as pure as Seti's creation was, it got the job done. And Dyne learned a valuable series of lessons.

Experience. Now that he had a process for creating the bars in his head, the young man could repeat it a billion times over. Across an entire life time's worth on his way to becoming a skilled mastersmith. Little did Dyne know that he was taking the first few steps in a long journey. A journey that would shape his future. Inside the smith's furnace area the youth would soon call this place home. Dyne took a few deep breaths and began to prepare more ore from the stack of granite. Already, he was seeing visions of flaming swords and enchanted hammers.

The youth had his first smelting bar. Now it was time to prepare as many as he would need for the rest of his project. Smithing items was a lot like creating a painting. One needed to carefully sketch, plan, and measure each aspect of the final piece before committing the finished details to the canvas that one was painting as. Dyne considered himself a painter working with a forge as his painting tools. Repeating the process anew, Dyne took more slabs of granite to prepare more of the ores. It never got any easier, but the job became more accurate. More time passed, another five hours, and Dyne had casually prepared six more bars. He now had seven bars all together of raw ore. Looking at his creations, Dyne made some careful calculations preparing what he wanted to make in his head. He allowed the visions to dance in his head...

[The Architect]

“Alright, Astrophel, let’s take a look at your progress in the past seven days.” Karxen glanced up at the architect as he entered the wood clad workroom. Seti liked that about Karxen. The blacksmith was task oriented like him, never the type to waste precious seconds on formalities. “What was a slow start became a great improvement. You have managed to cut your smelting phase down from ten hours to six, while also maintaining the purity of your copper alloy. I want to see a couple of things from you though, and taking these suggestions to heart will certainly cut your time down even more. Use the crucible. There shouldn’t be a moment when you aren’t using it in the smelting process, yet you have the habit of only using it when you’re certain you’re doing things correctly. When are you certain you’re doing things correctly?”

That was a rhetorical question, Seti could tell. He was never certain everything was going smoothly, so he barely ever used the crucible. The blacksmith continued. “Micromanagement is not a good path to take during the smelting phase. I believe I’ve told you that before. Another thing you could do is add the tin a little bit earlier. The speed at which you’re separating the copper would allow you to add it about half an hour earlier, and if you use the crucible you could add it an hour and a half earlier. So far you’ve managed to make a total of nine bars of bronze, with two yesterday and the day before. That’s good because it leaves you more time to invest in the equipment you’re making. That leads us to the next phase, molding. What would you like to make for yourself, Astrophel?”

“That’s easy.” Seti looked down at his left arm as he balled his fist. A ray of dusty sunlight brought down a spark that settled on his forearm. With a flash of concave light his imagination once again came to life. “A buckler shield, light and not much lighter than my forearm. I’d like it to have a sharp bottom edge, and the symbol of the House of Sora.”

“I see.” Karxen said. His voice ended Seti’s image and the shield on his arm disappeared with a convex flash. “Normally I would keep you on the bronze, but I have a feeling you’ll be using this a lot. What I’m going to do is give you, Corona, and a couple of other students the chance to work with steel. The particular form of steel I make is called crucible steel, so you’re definitely going to have to take what I told you to heart.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

It became a pattern of behavior really. Dyne worked whilst the Master Blacksmith came in from time to time to check in on his students. There were many others eagerly learning the trades of the blacksmith just like Dyne was.

A few of the students were having more difficultly than they should be. They were having a hard time adjusting to the process of removing ore from the granite slabs they were able to use as their basic materials. Dyne allowed his eyes to wander when he was waiting for more bars to be made. He had six so far, but he'd taken the extra time to manufacture a few more bars of the bronze ore. They sat majestically in their molds as they waited to be shaped into whatever forms that Dyne could think of. He knew that each piece of equipment he made required a certain amount of the bars and the more complex pieces of equipment required more bars of ore.

Karxen spoke to Seti for a long moment. That's how he was addressing the whole class now, by speaking to Seti. It seemed clear to Dyne that the Mastersmith had a special respect for the Architect's way of doing things. He admitted to himself that he was slightly jealous of this, but there was no danger in his envy. He wanted to simply work that much harder.

The work area before him contained the various molds he would use in order to complete his project. Dyne suddenly had the feeling that he knew he would be working at this station for a long time to come, so he would need to forsake almost all other matters. Except for his combat training. After all what was the point of creating a subject if you didn't know everything you could about your chosen subject matter? Dyne knew this. Tactical warfare became his daily routine.

As a rising member of the House of Sora, Dyne wanted to succeed in every project that Seti Dylan assigned him to. Even if it was just boring, tedious, manual labor like this. Despite the repetitive nature of the work before him, Dyne grew quickly used to it. His strong body and mind worked the hammer in his hand. Each set of tools required for the process was a different side of the art. Working his canvas, Dyne searched for the proper molds he needed for this particular job and set them aside. Inevitably, one became faster when they understood the process at hand.

It was an art of repetition after all. Dyne reached a zen like state as he concentrated on the prospects before him. The troubles of the others were ignored as he focused on the job at hand. Right now he was building himself his first piece of equipment and he wanted to start off with something exceedingly simple. Yet, with enough manageability that the young smith could exercise some creative tendencies with it. Memories of the past inevitably touched his thoughts whilst he worked.



"What are you doing?"

"Working on this homework for class. It's quite a bother don't you think?"

"You need to practice your art everyday Dyne. It's the only way you will become a Master of the art."

"I know this Father but isn't there a way we could work around homework? It's so boring."

"Many things in this life require repetition in order for you to refine your style."

"And what is a style my Father?"

"It is what makes you uniquely you."

"Isn't there more to it than that?"

"Every artist has a style. You have to develop your style over the course of many hours and even days of repetition. Develop your style. There is no way around the hard work that is required in order to become successful at something. Remember that always my son."

"So I have no choice but to finish my homework?"

"No. The sooner you finish your homework, the sooner you can return to your other studies."

"All right Father. But can we have dinner when I'm done?"

"Aye. That we can do."

Laughter.



Dyne couldn't help but to smile when he remembered that particular exchange with his Father. His Father was oft in his thoughts of late and the youth missed him deeply. Seti and Karxen are respective adults that could help serve as educators. I will have to listen to their teachings. In order for me to set aside my own style. My Father was right. There is no skirting around the homework process. And so, Dyne continued to work. He knew what he wanted to build, he was just building extra resources for the project.

After he was done, Dyne had constructed himself four more bars for a total of ten. They were all bronze in nature. At the idea of working with steel, Dyne at once grew excited and then nervous at the same time. Bronze was difficult enough to cast out from the granite slabs, what would be the process for steel? Would refining Steel be much more difficult than refining bronze was? Dyne was used to the process of refining bronze. He decided that he would save steel for another day. Karxen passed by Dyne after he finished addressing Seti and the rest of the class.

"How are you doing Dyne?"

For a moment, Dyne didn't answer because he was in a trance like state. The youth let a full minute pass before he became aware that he was addressed by Karxen himself. Blinking several times, the apprentice looked up to Karxen briefly and wore a stern expression on his face.

"Very busy. This is hard work, but it pays off." Dyne responded.

"I see. You can learn how to smelt steel today if you'd like to."

"All though that sounds promising Maestro, I think I'll stick to bronze until I am ready to move on." Dyne said.

"A wise answer. The slow but sure road often leads to greater success. You are doing well with your bars. Remember the proper percentages of granite to bronze and you will become a successful smith in no time. There will be those who work with Steel today so the air will grow thicker with the scent. I shall monitor their progress and yours. Do you have an idea of what you are going to build? Remember, all things start off with a basic idea."

"I'm going to build myself a sword. A proper sword. All I have for combat are these melee batons made of brass. All though they are good weapons, I have outgrown them and require a fencer's weapon. I'm probably going to make myself a short sword or a rapier of some sort." Dyne kept the image of his sword in his head.

"Sounds promising. Remember that the process for a hilt is slightly different than the process for a blade. You have to combine the two parts together, hilt and blade in order for you to construct a completed weapon. However intricate you want to make your weapon is up to you. Just remember, the more intricate you decide for your blade to be, the more bars it will cost you on top of the basic cost of the item you are building. There is a chart over there if you haven't seen it yet." Karxen pointed in an idle fashion towards the chart. Dyne glanced towards it and nodded. "Very well then, I'll leave you to your work."

And Dyne went back to the job at hand...