BlackSmith Training. (Solo Quest)

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

((Solo Quest but if you're interested IM me and I may throw you into this. Must have the black-smith trade though))

In the quaint town of Underwood lay a Smith-Shop by the name of Sleepy Willow. A famous establishment run by a skilled smith named Karxen Deourouge. His family lived in a nearby building which was a pub owned and managed by the Peaceful Promenade. A large order came into the organization just a couple of weeks earlier. An order set up by the Corone Rangers faction working in secrecy within Underwood. The Corone Empire made many enemies with each new atrocity it enacted upon the people that lived there. The Inquisition became the jackals of the Corone Empire. Political witch-hunts became common-place acts. With war looming on the horizon, the local citizenry simply continued to live their lives mostly uncaring except when the Inquisition came to raze one of THEIR towns. So far, because of the Corone Rangers, Underwood was left virtually untouched. Within the pub's edifice of the Sleepy Willow lurked one such citizen of Corone, uncaring of the troubles within the Empire. This was the adventures of a boy calling himself Dyne Corona.

A stalwart youth, the lad was a worker of the Sleepy Willow. Though merely an apprentice, he showed great promise as a Black-Smith. The Master even started preparing him for the teachings of how to eventually become a Spirit Black-Smith. The youth learned with an eager desire and respect for knowledge. He studied with a voracious desire, applying all he learned to his conquest of knowledge. With a huge goblet of mental capacity at his disposal, the boy stored up a vast mental library of works. He was able to memorize every book he read. Having a vast intellect at his disposal, the youth favored the art of war, and all things dealing with philosophy and science. He also favored mathematics. Applying them into his daily training of the black-smith arts and the combat arts. He'd learned a great deal with the Monks of Ai'bron now he was trying to continue his education in the Dajas Pagoda opting for that place because of its real-time nature. The youth didn't fancy The Citadel's hectic pacing just yet. It was all still a little out of his league. So the lad continued his training whenever he wasn't in the forge.

Master Karxen checked in on the youth every so often to see his progress. Already, the boy mastered the secret techniques of how to bend copper, and tin with his desire and shape them like putty in his hands. The heat in the forge, put tremendous pressure on the physical body. The boy worked hard under stressing conditions sporting only his leather apron, work tools, a pair of gloves, and the bandanna around his forehead. He never took it off at citing the value of the bandanna to his personal well being. Karxen knew of the scar that lurked underneath the bandanna and what it meant. It spoke of betrayal by someone close. Karxen joined the rescue party from the Corone Rangers when word hit the Corone Rangers that someone was going to attempt to assassinate the Duke, Gallen Cormyr, in plain sight. By the time the Corone Rangers arrived it was already too late. A trail of dead bandits and the Duke's men lead to a confused group of warriors talking of a female drow, the betrayal of the Duke's Wife, and the abandonment of the Duke's Manor. All of these events troubled Karxen and the boy was instantly left an orphan. Just another casualty of the Corone Empire.

Karxen occasionally shot a glance in the general direction of his student. The lad was eager and made great progress. One of his greatest apprentices yet, the elder smith noted to himself. He saw the sweat gleaming off his muscles, and the effort he put into every stroke. A killing stroke, he will make a fine Spirit Smith. There was great emotion that he sensed with every strike that the boy placed upon the foundation of every weapon that he made. Karxen could already see the initial glow of spirit energy wrapping itself around the hammer the lad wielded. It was the same hammer Karxen himself used while training long ago. He was impressed by how much spirit energy the youth possessed within him. It seemed that somehow, the recent tragedy in his life made him much more aware of the spirits all around him. This greatly troubled the elder smith. The mark had something to do with it as the Monks identified when they took the youth into his care. Karxen agreed to adopt the boy as his own son, but these matters weren't yet discussed with the lad. It would take time for him to open up to the idea of the loss of his family. Even now, he could see the denial in his adopted son's eyes as he worked. A great shadow lurking there, one that might destroy them all if left unchecked.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Working on the latest project filled the youth's chest with pride. Already his hands, body, mind took on the basic transformations required to be a career black-smith. The youth applied his talents to excel in everything he attempted in his life. Becoming a member of the House of Sora provided an excellent opportunity for the youth to prove himself worthy to the eyes of its leaders.

More importantly though, the youth knew that this training might open up other career choices. Already an advanced student in combat theorem, when compared to others like himself, the youth worked his anvil now. He still practiced against the local Underwood agents regularly. Finding a house belonging to the Monks of Ai'bron, the youth continued his education on a daily basis when he wasn't working on the forge. Karxen and his companions remarked often over brew in the local Peaceful Promenade, about the great progress his adopted son made. Already learning how to forge basic weapons, the boy had been at this rate for several weeks already. He seemed eager to impress and eager to learn.

The youth prepared the base for the latest sword in the set. Someone ordered a package of 10 steel swords for their unit in the upcoming Gisela Championship tournament. Such bulk orders often required a large work-force but Karxen put Dyne Corona on it by himself. In one week's time the youth already completed seven of the ten swords on his own. The rest of the bulk orders was for Plynt, way beyond the current talents of the youth.

Standing at his own forge, along with several other black-smiths working at their own forge. Each of the twenty smiths, including the apprentice clanged at the bare-bones foundation of their current project. Karxen taught them the importance of infusing their Hammer with Spirit Energy. Alone, a hammer made of liviol was powerful. But infused with Spirit Energy, that is, the potent memories and living energy of the Black Smith working it, the hammer might create powerful guardians to protect its owner and those around the owner. Dyne Corona listened very carefully to Karxen's philosophy of Spirit Energy and Weapons.

Weapons weren't just tools of war. The older Black Smith often said contrary to Dyne's own view of warfare and tactics. At first, the boy argued against such a notion, but with time he slowly accepted the philosophy. An understanding of the desire to protect ones' own family stemmed from his recent tragic loss of his Father. Nobody talked while they worked, they simply wore intense facial expression while their hammer-arms repeatedly struck at the base of the guardian.

The Clang-clang sound seemed deafening to the lads' ears. After a while, he got used to the heightened noise level but it still bothered him even in this meditative state. Dyne Corona had an usually bad affinity to loud sounds of almost any sorts. He'd revealed this weakness to his adoptive Father, Karxen, and the man referred him to the Monks of Underwood who taught him to meditate effectively shutting the pain out. Though the pain was there whilst Dyne worked, it wasn't intolerable. He'd completed the molten hot base of his sword and placed it with the powerful tongs used for that exact purpose. He moved his blade towards the cooling area and saw steam rising from the moment the super-heated blade touched the ice-cold water.

Stepping away from the cooling process, the lad sat down for a moment wiping sweat off his brow and chest, already bulging from the manual labor.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Vaporous steam flowed from the cooling tank. Several swords besides Dynes' own already present within the cooling tank. A special solution used in the tank purified the weapons for final polishing. Dyne took a deep inhale of the sweat and work taking place within this building. The youth decided that he liked this way of life. Training with the Monks of Ai'bron and the professionals within Underwood made him a sharper instrument for The House of Sora, and The Syndicate itself. Dyne kept his personal activities to himself whenever it came to The Syndicate.

He was certain though that Karxen suspected. Though the other man might never say anything to his adopted son. His secret life as a career criminal the business of Dyne Corona and nobody else's. The youth decided it time to take a break from his smithing, but not before leaving his work-space clean. He developed powerful work-ethics in his time spent in Underwood. For the small price of life-long labor, the youth had a roof over his head and food.

What more might one ask for? Every now and again, Dyne made extra profit from the larger shipments of the weapons he forged. This money was saved up for his personal funds so one day the youth might own his own villa in Underwood.

In a strange way, Dyne was living his Father's dreams. His Father worked long and hard to attempt to restore the Cormyr name. His Mother's actions accidentally spawned a series of events that might allow Dyne to achieve just that objective. First though, he needed to secure enough funding to claim his Father's fort. That seemed like the first place to start. Once he claimed the fort he might have a chance to donate it to the House of Sora's leadership as a raw physical asset. So far, the House of Sora had yet to declare war against other rival Power Groups. The youth read the news-letter he received through the Underwood connections in the House of Sora.

The youth cleaned off his work area and prepared the four weapons he got done as his part of the orders. Each of the rest of the smith's working at their station got two and three swords for a total of about twenty. The big order that came down the pipe-line was for 10 swords. Each member of the community pitched in to get the project done faster. All together, 20 new swords were created in this batch. The work-load was completed in just three days time. Dyne moved his weapons over to the completed storage area and set them down there. He gathered his belongings and made his way out the door.

"Wait." Came the familiar voice of his adopted Father. The youth immediately froze upon hearing that command. "You're already finished so now I have a chance to talk to you about something important." Dyne listened, he turned around to face his adopted Father while he put on a black shirt to cover his muscles. The boy perspired heavily but the afternoon air would cool him down. "You know I always listen to you Father." Dyne replied calmly.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The youth rubbed sweat off his brow as he noticed his Father's expression. The man seemed to have a lot on his mind. As a quick study, the youth learned the various mannerisms of the people around him that comprised his world. In a utopia-like existence, the youth never attempted to create any sort of turbulence to the delicate world around him. Already thoughts of the recent betrayal attempted to re-surface. The youth fought these back, his face never betraying much emotion. He kept that ever calm expression, years of training with the Monks of Ai'bron toughened the youth into a man.

"I have something to show you." Dyne heard Karxen say.

The young man nodded. He looked at his hard work for a moment feeling, instinctively, as if everything seemed about to change. The young man then looked back to his adopted Father, patiently waiting for his response. He nodded once more as if confirming the earlier resolution. Karxen took a nearby shirt from a clothing counter made just for this purpose. Encouraged to work without clothing covering the top parts of their bodies, set aside in this area appeared an ensemble of shirts. Simple and made of cloths of various colors, the shirts fit any sort of physique. They seemed built for the large men working at the forging shop.

Karxen walked out into the hallway of the huge building with Dyne following closely behind. As an employee of the Sleepy Willow, Dyne only got see whatever his current Rank allowed him to see. So far, Dyne's position marked him as an Apprentice Black-smith. However, Karxen held the young man in high favor and so quickly awarded the youth with Head Apprentice status. This raise in Ranks awarded the youth with new privileges. Such as the one Karxen might reveal to him now.

The pair walked in silence. Dyne kept looking around at the various workers in the huge building. Some built weapons, some built armor, and even a particular work-shop seemed responsible for siege weapons. Dyne saw a team of Engineers working on a huge catapult like device presumably for the Corone Rangers. The youth learned that many Power Groups used the work-stations here to build their engines of war. The youth wouldn't be surprised if some of these projects belonged to The House of Sora.

Feeling the weight of the pendant on his silver necklace, the boy rubbed it in his hand for a moment through his shirt. The thing was always worn around his neck. Associating the necklace with the people who saved his life from his Mother, the youth held the pendant at great personal value. It meant life and death for the young man. As they walked, the young man noticed that they headed towards a new section of the building--one that the youth never dared to attempt to explore on his own. His status as an Apprentice prevented him from attempting to cross certain areas. Guards that were on patrol saw to that matter.

His adopted Father lead him to a staircase that lead down to a lower area of the huge building. The youth saw Karxen take out a large set of keys moving it to one in particular. He memorized what that key looked like in case the man's keys somehow ever came to his possession. He saw Karxen place the mysterious key into the lock and turn it. The youth watched the older man step back and did the same. A glowing light from the key erupted forth, nearly blinding Dyne Corona. He covered his eyes and heard an amused laughter from the older man. At this juncture of the long hallway, nobody lurked about.

When Dyne re-opened his eyes, he no longer saw a door. Instead, an empty doorway lurked there revealing a staircase descending down into some sub-level of the building. Adjusting his eyes with a few stinging blinks, Dyne looked at Karxen for a moment. The man nodded to his adopted son and moved forward into the darkness of this monster building. Dyne followed, walking down the staircase a couple of paces behind Karxen.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Descending down the staircase, Dyne saw the stone that comprised this lower level. He knew now that they moved into the beginnings of a secret place called the Under Dark. This was a network of passages and tunnels once used by Assassins from the Drow to attempt to disrupt Radasanth's way of life. Now thieves often populated these networks of tunnels, most note ably. Members of The Syndicate knew of these secret passageways as did the members of the Thieves' Guild. Rumors abounded that this secret society once had great influence in the underworld but suddenly vanished. Dyne was interested in what secrets Karxen might show him today.

"So where are you taking me?" Dyne asked.

"You'll see. Very few people ever get to go down here. I think you will like what you see when you've discovered the true nature of this place. Places have personality too my young Apprentice. Even cities. They wear masks too, by day, by night, different personalities of the city comes to light. It is the same with people. People go through their lives wearing many different Masks." Karxen explained. They walked for a long time and finally made their way towards a single steel door. Dyne could see the blue door and it glowed with a particularly strange energetic residue. "I feel like I've seen that door before Master." Dyne blinked several times as he saw the golden butterfly etched upon the surface of the door. The golden butterfly was a symbol of wisdom and knowledge.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne had a strong feeling of deja vu. As if he'd been here sometime before in his life. It felt more like a dream than an actual feeling of recognition. Dyne felt a head-ache as he was contacted by something from within. He closed his eyes and the door started to glow. Feeling a rush of energy from someplace all around and yet nowhere at the same time, the smith's apprentice felt the spirits pulling him to someplace within himself. And at the same time, nowhere at all. It was a place in between consciousness and unconsciousness. It was a place of Twilight. A powerful Phantom borrowed his unconscious mind and pulled him to this place in between places.

Dyne felt the rushing sensation as he traveled across space and time. He fell down a tunneling vortex of Althanas' history. He saw the past, the present, and even the many Futures that were unwritten. There was a rocky outcropping of growth in the middle of this spinning vortex. Red's, blues, and every color of the spectrum flowed across the vortex's walls representing various elemental energies in its truest forms. Occasionally, images of many alternate time lines crossed into the visible physical nature of this reality. Dyne found himself standing on the floating piece of rocks, Karxen standing by his side, and two other individuals he never saw before. One wore a suit and a golden mask representing the butterfly he'd seen in the door.

"Welcome." The masked man said. "I am Philemon." He continued to with his speech and somehow the name was very familiar to the smith apprentice. "I've gathered you here today to warn you of a future. A future filled with many wars and strifes yet unawakened. You will be presented with many different choices in your life. Some painful, some filled with joy and happiness. At times you will wear masks of innocence and at other times you will wear masks of vengeance. Today you will begin to learn the Secret art of Spirit Forging. You will use the Many Masks of Spirits and Phantoms that you find in order to craft great Spirit Weapons to protect those that you call Family." Philemon said.

"I ask this because I'm dreaming. What is Spirit Forging?" Dyne looked over at Karxen who seemed to remain calm the entire time. There was a pause. "It is a lost art. Only Master Blacksmiths ever get to acquire the training necessary to complete this art. One day, it is possible that you will acquire such an art. You only need to open your heart to the Phantoms that you come across. Some will attempt to harm you, other will go willingly by your side. Phantoms generate a substance called Phantom Stones. These stones generate tremendous energy and will assist you when eventually you attempt to forge Weapons made of the rare Metal called Adamantium. Refined Adamantium is known as Adamantime."

Dyne listened to the words that Philemon spoke. These words were strange and yet somehow filled with mystery and luster. He grew hungry to solve the puzzles and riddles offered to him by this art Spirit Forging. He grew even hungrier to become a skilled Blacksmith now. He eyed Karxen once more who remained silent for a while long and then spoke. "Ask all the questions you need to my son." Karxen said and the youth looked back over to Philemon. "How does one become a Master Smith?" Dyne found himself asking of Philemon.

"You must complete all the Challenges of the Blacksmith. In order for you to be a Master you must learn how to work the canvas of your heart. You must learn how to skillfully forge weapons out of every mineral and eventually you must figure out how to make your own Spirit Hammer. This is the secret of Spirit Forging. Only when you have your own Spirit Hammer can you begin to forge the Phantom Stones into great Weapons and Armor. For now, only focus on your training and collecting Phantom Stones with the gifts of your people." Dyne touched the scar on his head and felt it burning with energy. He could see this place in its true state, without fear. "I shall do what is asked of me." Dyne said calmly eager to get his educative process going. Philemon continued. "For now take this key. It is a key that will awaken the secrets of your Unconscious Heart. From that ocean, many new Masks will come forward riding the waves of your heart. Take this key and you will be able to begin unlocking the powers of the Phantom Stones." Philemon said, and waved his hand.

A burst of energy struck from a central point where Philemon waved his hand. He kept his gaze upon Dyne as the energy manifested into a single golden key with at the end. The Butterfly Key was meant for the door to the Spirit Forge. Dyne figured that one out with some degree of quickness. He looked over at Karxen who simply waved him forward. It seemed that Karxen had been here many times before. Dyne walked forward and took the key in his hand. There was a burst of light that filled Dyne's eyes quickly.

"Remember that you will wear many masks! Be true to yourself and accept Responsibility for your Choices." Philemon called out and Dyne was pulled away from this place returning to his conscious self. Dyne felt his physical eyes awakening. Was that just a dream? No! The key was in his hand and he held it close to his heart. It glowed with tremendous psychic force. "Open the door Dyne do not be afraid." Karxen said calmly. Dyne nodded slowly forging his own destiny as he stepped forward to the door with Philemon's marking etched upon it. The door reacted to Dyne's Butterfly Key and opened by itself with another flash of light.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

"I am not afraid. I will face my fears. I will take my destiny without hesitation, without anxiety in my heart." He said out loud to nobody in particular, mostly for myself. The door opened by itself revealing the room behind it. Dyne saw a bright light from within the room signifying that the room was well lit. The light hurt Dyne's eyes since he'd been in the hallway for such a long moment. The stairwell was lit by torch-light enchanted with some sort of archaic properties. The torches were lit without any worry of physical maintenance or up keeping by the residents of The Sleepy Willow. Dyne entered the room calmly, followed by Karxen. This time, the youth took the lead in the bizarre adventure. Dyne felt tremendous energy flowing within the room to the point where it made the air heavy. Dyne felt the air moving and placed his hand up as if to feel the air flowing. He felt it flowing like water or some other liquid.

The feeling of rippling movement was disturbing at first but only at first. The Smith Apprentice entered the room and was surprised at what he saw. A large work table made of white stone sat at the center of the room. There was an ornate anvil, an ornate forge, and various other objects. Several racks filled with Spirit Equipment from other Spirit Smiths that came before him lurked as well. A cooling tank was present. Also, Dyne noticed an object that held great interest to him. It was a special tankard made of brass and steel. This tankard contained a liquid substance that was not quite black and not quite silver. The substance was kept super-heated at all times. Dyne immediately went over to the liquid Adamantium having never actually SEEN the substance before. "This is the secret of the Sleepy Willow. My Ancestors long ago found the secrets of how to refine Adamatime. One day I'll teach you the secret. Most importantly I'll show you how to mine for it when the time is right. The whole process requires great care and instruction." Karxen said, his words of wisdom soliciting a nod from Dyne.

"This stuff alone must be very valuable. I can't believe that you keep such a thing down here." Dyne wanted to eagerly work with the liquid Adamantime but knew that he couldn't at this point in his smith career. He had his hammer attached to the side of his belt ready to work with it. He looked over at Karxen. "Let's get to work then my Master." Dyne said calmly eagerly awaiting the chance to smelt some ores out of Copper and Iron. These were the only ores he knew how to manipulate at this point in my career. "If you notice over there there is raw ore for you to work with. Take some Copper and some Steel and we can begin. I'm allowing you to use the Spirit Forge this time since Philemon showed such respect for you."

"That was real? I thought I dreamed all that."

"You have the key in your hand still." Dyne looked down and saw the key and now he knew that it was real. He didn't doubt what he'd seen. He placed the key in the safety of his travel packs. He could feel the key's power even within one of his many packs. Dyne was sure that the Butterfly Key had many secrets of its own to reveal in due time. This Philemon was a strange individual. Dyne walked over to a pile of Copper Ore. He took several ounces of the Copper and noticed that they were unrefined. Dyne had to refine the Copper before he could work with it. He took it over to the work station and began the duties for the night. He looked up and saw that Karxen left him to his own devices.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne put on his worker's outfit. Gloves, goggles, a leather apron, and prepared himself for the process to refine the ore. He took the samples of ore, the tools and worked the technique over a long series of hours. The technique was a delicate combination of movements and using one of the units in the spirit forge. Dyne knew that he had to be careful or risk damaging the Ore that he worked with. After several hours passed, Dyne used the technique to refine the ore that he was working with. The ore, in its purified state shone with a brilliance that normal Copper didn't have. Refined Copper was much more finely tuned to make better equipment than normal.

Dyne laid out the Refined Coper and placed them into the bar shaped vats already familiar with this part of the process. He had to MELT the ore first using the available Furnace. The furnace was much different than the Furnace he'd used before in The Sleepy Willow's main work area. But it was much more effective in a lot of ways. It had many different dials and switches that the youth quickly got used to. He followed his instincts while working with the furnace trusting what his heart told him. In due time, he had the bars of ore he needed to work with. Twelve bars all together. It might cost Dyne two bars per sword to fashion the blades out of the ore.

As a process, the handles were constructed last. Dyne worked carefully to fashion the exact length of bars that he needed to fashion his blades. He wanted a variety of blade length so at least a couple of bars were used to create smaller blades. Once the bars were set to the exact proportions he wanted, the Smith walked over to the Anvil where the true work of the Smith finally came. Dyne set the first of the liquid bars into the anvil and prepared himself for the arduous worked that followed.

Taking up his liviol hammer, the youth prepared himself.

Moments later the sound of a busy Smith filled the room.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Dyne's muscles rippled as he exerted himself in the physical labor. Taking his shirt off to work now, the Smith repeated the same physical movement for another series of long hours. It was an arduous task but the Smith allowed his body to activate its latent muscle memory. Working with his hammer, he adjusted his grip every so often. He never bothered to take a break. His heart rushed as he entered his element. Working harder than he ever worked before, the youth felt the distinctive vibration of his hammer against the metal.

It had a particular resonance. Dyne could see the air vibrating whenever he hit the hammer with all the strength he could muster. Master Karxen taught him how to properly strike at metal with the hammer. The SAME motion had to be repeated a thousand times, nay, a million times over and over. Dyne fell into a sort of trance as he felt the impact of his hammer more than actually heard it. The sound became a part of the air itself resembling a mantra. The mantra put the youth into his trance-like state as he worked harder than he ever worked before.

Many thoughts invaded the youth's mind as he worked. He found himself thinking about the day that his Mother betrayed him. No. It wasn't just that his Mother betrayed him. It was more like his FAMILY had betrayed him and destroyed everything that he held dear. His Mother killed Reeves, the butler, and then killed his Father, Lord Gallen Cormyr. One of the most kind-hearted men you could ever met. And Dyne new, these days people with a strong sense of morales were hard to find in this dark age that Althanas rapidly sunk itself into. Many said some dark force manipulated the events from the shadows.

Dyne found that hard to believe, but with his knowledge as a Psion he knew that there were many dimensions and entities besides the physical ones that everyone knew in life. His eyes closed and he found himself thinking about his Father. He remembered what his Father looked like and suddenly, the Spirit Forge faded away. The energy crackling within the air itself reacted to Dyne's powerful memories. He remembered what Philemon said. You will wear many Masks. Did these Masks include the memories of the fallen who were close to him? Dyne knew that was a possibility.

As Dyne worked, the room faded away and he saw a darkness. He felt the presence of his Father. Dyne reached out to his Father, trying to pull the memory closer to his heart. His Father was telling him about how to be a fine noble. "You will inherit all of this one day." He heard his Father saying and then the Lord faded into the darkness reappearing somewhere nearby, just out of the range of his hands. "Remember that I will always be with you even on the chance event of my death. Take my teachings into your heart and never forget the truth of what it means to be royalty." Dyne reached out again and the image of his Father faded once more.

He reappeared a few moments later. Everything felt so far away. Yet he knew that he kept his Father in his heart. Tears flowed as he thought about that day his Father died. He'd hesitated. He'd been unable to protect his Father or Reeves from the wrath of his Mother. How could I have struck against her? His Father suddenly manifested before him. "Remember what I've taught you. Justice. Honor. Always fight for the Common Man, remember this even when others of our kind forget their place. There are many corruptions within the Aristocracy right now Dyne." Dyne listened to the memories of his Father, to the ghost of his Father.

"I will do what I can. Father please don't leave me again. I have failed you I couldn't protect you. I couldn't protect Reeves. I--I love you Father. I miss you so much. Why did Mother have to hurt us? What did we do wrong?" He felt a pain in his heart. His chest was filled with an agony that he couldn't quite grasp. He felt the loss of his Family. The ordeal had been a great trauma for the youth but he'd grown despite the major loss. His tears flowed down his face even as he worked and confronted the demons of his soul

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Alone in the Spirit Forge, the smith faced himself in the eyes of the Phantoms that lurked within his soul. He changed that day. As he worked in the Spirit Forge, he started to let go of his negative emotions and send them into the stream of pure energy that flowed in the large room. With the bars completed, Dyne could now go to work on the blades. Each of the blades were placed exactly into the right sized moldings. From there Dyne worked the blades carefully slamming his hammer upon the hot liquid.

In time, Dyne solidified the shape of each of the blades and waited for the metal to cool down in the liquid vats. He placed the blades in the vats with a carefully selected pair of tongs. Steam flowed from the liquid in the vats adding to the temperature in the room. Dyne felt his heart racing. It had been many hours since his last meal or drink. It had also been several days since the last time he slept. The life of a blacksmith was a difficult one, but a necessary one. It kept Dyne focused on a constructive task versus focusing on the recent tragedies in his life. Dyne tried not to be a hypocrite about his situation.

On his time alone he faced his fears and his demons. His Mother was still out there somewhere and he knew that eventually he would have to face her. The Smith hoped that day was yet far off into the future so he could have ample time to prepare and train. The confrontation with his Mother would be a difficult one indeed but it was an inevitable one. The war was coming. The Smith thought about his destiny as he waited for the blades to cool off. The next phase of the project was to construct the handles. This part of the process would take some more time. For now though, Dyne enjoyed a quick break from the arduous labor.

He took a mental stock of what he was creating. Four swords and three daggers. These, he would sell over at The Bazaar for profit. The Smith wanted to be a useful member of the House of Sora. He kept himself busy with the tasks of his trade. Not only that, he learned more about his latent combat skills. He paced back and forth for a moment examining the Spirit Forge in greater detail. Deciding that he liked working in the isolated chamber much better than the forging area that lurked above him, the Smith took advantage of all the time he was alloted. Dyne glanced in the general direction where the tools for handle creation were positioned. He knew that it wouldn't be long before he had to complete the next task.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The next part of the ordeal was taking care of the handle construction. This phase went on smoothly. Soon, the Smith was able to place the handles upon the blades he constructed. They were simple, common quality construction but were effective enough. The youth made some scabbards for his weapons, completing the process and preparing himself for a trip to the bazaar. After the process was complete, Dyne Corona left the Spirit Forge. He cleaned up after himself making sure that he left everything nice and tidy for whoever was the next person that used the Spirit Forge. Dyne took a long look at the completed Spirit Edged Weapons that hung in the weapon racks. He nodded to them as if to pay his respects to the Phantoms that came before. Dyne completed his task and left the Spirit Forge for the time being. The door closed behind him with its glowing golden butterfly.

Dyne thought about everything that Philemon and Karxen told him about. He would make it a point to collect as many Phantom Stones as he could and bring them back to the Spirit Forge. One day. One day Dyne would be a skilled Spirit Smith. For the time being he had to settle with working on Iron and Copper. They were boring, but at the very least they gave him the basic foundation until he learned more about his chosen trade. Now, he was even more grateful to the House of Sora for allowing him the chance to start unlocking his true potential. The youth took his package and made his way towards the staircase to ascend back into the Sleepy Willow. It was only as Dyne climbed the huge staircase that he started to realize how tired he really was...

The End.

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****Spoils Request****

001--Butterfly Key. A key from the sea of Dyne's heart. This key is used to open various Philemon Doors. Some of them lead to Spirit Forges while others lead to other incredible places. The Butterfly Key can only be used by Alberdyne Cormyr. It is an artifact that is not sell able. It is a small key made of gold with a butterfly motif.

002--3 Common Quality Broadswords. Just any old plain Broadsword that you'd see all over Althanas. Typical value. FOR SALE at The Bazaar. These weapons were constructed specifically for sale. Blade is made of copper, the handle is made of leather.

003--2 Common Quality Daggers. Just any old plain Daggers you would see all over Althanas. Typical vavlue. FOR SALE at the Bazaar. The blade is made of copper and the handle is made of leather.

[Karuka]

And time for the judgment.

Continuity: 4 I got the gist of what brought Dyne to Underwood, or at least away from his house, but not until near the end. You kept referring back to Gallen's death and giving a little more info each time, and that was pretty frustrating. I also couldn't get a time frame for how long Dyne had been at the shop. The closest I could gather was a few weeks, which means that Dyne shouldn't even have been allowed to hold a hammer, much less be skilled in forging basic swords. I also couldn't understand why Karxen would adopt a 19 year-old boy. Alberdyne is a man, maybe in need of a job and training, but not in need of adoption. I could understand Karxen taking him on as a protege, even maybe an apprentice, although blacksmith apprentices normally start at age 9. I also don't understand how Dyne managed to become Head Apprentice when there are obviously more skilled men that have been with Karxen longer. It would upset the heirarchy.

Pacing: 7 Some segments were a little rushed, and others were dragged out a bit much, but it was paced well enough.

Setting: 3 I didn't know what anything or anyone looked like, and I rarely got any useful sensory detail. Make me feel the heat of the forge, don't just say it's hot. make me see everything, instead of describing everything really vaguely. It would probably pull up your scores in other areas, too.

Persona: 4 Dyne felt flat to me. I never got to understand him, how he thinks and feels, so his moments of high emotion or confusion didn't resonate. It didn't help that Dyne was still "in denial" of his real father's death and calling Karxen "father."

Dialogue: 4 For the most part it fit, but Philemon's speech and Dyne's conversation with his father's ghost seemed very stylized and pretty cliche.

Action: 5 There wasn't much to it, even within the context of your tale. I know as well that you meant to highlight how quick a study Dyne was when you said he'd made the swords on his order in a single day, but if you want a novice - even a talented one - to make a blade free of basic and fatal flaws, he needs more than a day a piece. I also don't understand how Dyne got a Butterfly Key so swiftly.

Mechanics: 4 You have several problems here, and if you watch these tendencies in future threads, your score will go up. First, you tend to write fragments. A sentence is a structure that contains an idea. It requires a subject and a verb, at the very least, and most of the times at least one object. You tended to alternate what you dropped, leading me to believe that you just wrote the posts quickly and didn't look back over them. You also tend to have capitalization and punctuation errors. You capitalized common nouns, like "copper, ore, mother, and father." Only when Dyne addresses his father is it proper for the word to be capitalized. In punctuation, you tend to cut off sentences too early, making a clause a sentence (clauses should be separated by commas, or at most, semi-colons). You also dropped commas where they were needed and put commas where they shouldn't have been. Proof read, have someone else proof read, and the score will go up.

Technique: 3 The tequniques I saw were one good metaphor and a couple of tired similies. Other than that, there was an abundance of awkward wording.

Clarity: 6 It was generally clear, but the awkward wordings put question marks in several spots on the pages of this quest.

Wild Card: 4 It seemed that Dyne had too much blacksmithing skill too fast at too low a level, and I feel that you could have brought in Spirit Smithing in later and more effectively. Also, just a note. Liviol, being a wood, is not the material you want for your hammer. It might be the shaft, but the head wouldn't be of the wood, and liviol wouldn't be the best wood for the job, anyway. I feel that a much better job could have been done with this quest.

Total: 44 Congratulations!

Rewards: Alberdyne_Cormyr gets 644 EXP, 2 plain copper daggers and 2 plain copper broadswords that he may sell at the Bazaar, and his Butterfly Key with the caveat that if you use it to get him incredible items or abilities too easily, it will break.

Any questions can be PM'd to me.

[Letho]

EXP added.