Post by The Great Other on Sept 5, 2012 17:21:26 GMT -5
It had seemed like a lifetime since he had started working under Tobias. Long hours bred long days, and the clash of the hammer became as familiar to him as his own heartbeat. He learned to identify the ores and materials that would be mixed together to form different types of metals. Never allowing him to work on the same type of piece, he fashioned Greatswords, daggers, breastplates, and more. Something new was expected each time, a wrinkle or problem he would have to puzzle out how to shape. “You want to make armor for an army, you make numerous similar pieces. You want to make something that stands out, you make one, unique, piece.” Because he knew that he wouldn’t have the chance again, Felric at first tried some of the beautiful engravings he had seen, only to look on incredulously as Tobias smelted down the fanciful dragons and lions on the plates. “Never choose cosmetics over practicality. These are weapons of war, not baubles for ladies.” After that, Felric cared only for protection, balance, and weight. He looked to improvise, to address shortcomings of earlier works without looking at the modern examples. Finally, when he saw that a pair of gauntlets he had made were hanging for sale, he knew he was heading in the right direction.
Weeks later, Tobias began his lessons in Valyria. “The first thing you have to understand little stone, is that there is no magic without a price. You may use magic to produce a flame, but it would be far easier to do so with a flint and tinder. These are dangerous things we meddle with. Fire and blood are the Targaryen words, and they were the source of Valyria’s power. Now repeat after me…” and so it went on. Though there was no time to be taught proper High Valyrian, Felric learned the words to speak over the metal as he shaped it. Over and over he repeated them, as he also repeated their meaning in his head. Tobias had a piece of the Steel to practice on, a tiny bar of the smokey metal. When Felric first heated the steel, it did not glow, yet it seemed to suck in the heat greedily. The gray metal rippled, and its edges seemed to bend in the light. Yet no matter how hard he hammered, it would not bend. “Now comes the sacrifice” whispered Tobias” taking a bucket hanging from the ceiling, and pouring a viscous, dark liquid over the blade. It seemed to soak it in, to absorb the blood seeping over it that hissed and boiled in the heat. And at last, the metal bent. Felric continued his chant as he guided the hammer again and again, Tobias whispering instructions in his ear. The air grew warmer than he had ever felt, as the fire itself seemed to grow in response to the blood. Finally, the dagger was nothing more than a thin rod, and with tongs he thrust it in the water. It was done. That was the first time he bent the fabled steel to this will, but it would not be the last. It was the end of his time with Tobias though. The man knew of no way to make the steel. “Except” he said tapping his nose “One might think what went missing along with the steel, might have a part in creating it.” And with that mystery done, and more to discover, Felric left the shop at the end of the Street of Steel, knowing that he had at least one friend in the south now.
(Metal working increased to Master)
(Ability to re-forge Valyrian Steel discovered)
Weeks later, Tobias began his lessons in Valyria. “The first thing you have to understand little stone, is that there is no magic without a price. You may use magic to produce a flame, but it would be far easier to do so with a flint and tinder. These are dangerous things we meddle with. Fire and blood are the Targaryen words, and they were the source of Valyria’s power. Now repeat after me…” and so it went on. Though there was no time to be taught proper High Valyrian, Felric learned the words to speak over the metal as he shaped it. Over and over he repeated them, as he also repeated their meaning in his head. Tobias had a piece of the Steel to practice on, a tiny bar of the smokey metal. When Felric first heated the steel, it did not glow, yet it seemed to suck in the heat greedily. The gray metal rippled, and its edges seemed to bend in the light. Yet no matter how hard he hammered, it would not bend. “Now comes the sacrifice” whispered Tobias” taking a bucket hanging from the ceiling, and pouring a viscous, dark liquid over the blade. It seemed to soak it in, to absorb the blood seeping over it that hissed and boiled in the heat. And at last, the metal bent. Felric continued his chant as he guided the hammer again and again, Tobias whispering instructions in his ear. The air grew warmer than he had ever felt, as the fire itself seemed to grow in response to the blood. Finally, the dagger was nothing more than a thin rod, and with tongs he thrust it in the water. It was done. That was the first time he bent the fabled steel to this will, but it would not be the last. It was the end of his time with Tobias though. The man knew of no way to make the steel. “Except” he said tapping his nose “One might think what went missing along with the steel, might have a part in creating it.” And with that mystery done, and more to discover, Felric left the shop at the end of the Street of Steel, knowing that he had at least one friend in the south now.
(Metal working increased to Master)
(Ability to re-forge Valyrian Steel discovered)