[Ironworks] Forging Alliances (Eanos)

[Hadrian]

Hadrian set the virgin end of the bar into the fire this time per Eanos' instructions. When the Isur waved to him to continue, he gazed into the fire, watching the iron's djed heat up even as its physical structure did the same. Shoving the tongs into the forge, he pulled out the hook and positioned the glowing end over the horn of the anvil, again as Eanos had told him to. This time he was relying on verbal instructions rather than the visual aid of a demonstration, but he understood the gist of things by now. It was simply a matter of aiming the hammer more precisely and then resetting the iron's position so a more perfect hook appeared on this end. The blows of his hammer were indeed more precise now, but not as powerful. The curve appeared gradually, and he had to reheat the iron before finishing it. When it was complete, the smaller hook was certainly better executed than the first, which was to be expected as he got more confident in this sort of work. Clearly he was no master, but he was careful and exacting and could follow directions to a T. "How is that?" he asked, holding the hook up with the tongs for Eanos' inspection.

[Eanos]

Eanos reached out and took the offered hook, turning it round in his relatively fireproof fingers. "That is good work for being new to the craft," he answered. "There are things at which you could improve but that is simply a question of care and practice, I judge that you have learned well enough the principles of heating and bending steel. Now you shall have the pleasure of turning this into something which looks more like a hook you might buy out in the shop." He took the hook over to the workbench and fitted it into the vice which he then tightened. "At the moment it is covered in soot and the leavings of the fire. While it is usable as it stands, it would not hurt at this stage to run a file over it. We are looking for two things; to give it a better point so that it will hammer in more easily and to remove the roughness from the hammer marks so that it feels better in the hand. We could take it right down to smooth, but I like a finish which shows how it was made." He reached out and took a rough file and showed Hadrian how to file by pushing it along the metal at an angle. "Try not to drag it backwards along the metal as it can dull the edges of the teeth. Holding at an angle allows more of the file to be in contact with the metal and that gives you more control in getting a flat surface on it. Have a go yourself and move the hook around in the vice as you need to." He handed the file over to Hadrian and stood back to give him room.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian's impression of Eanos' handiwork went up a notch when he made it clear he intended to improve upon it yet. One had to respect a man who respected his own work enough to do it properly even if this hook never actually accomplished anything but practice. Taking the rough file, he continued on the same plane that Eanos had begun, at least as far as he could tell. "Like this?" he asked. Once he had it properly, he loosened the vice, readjusted the hook, and tightened it again. He worked at the new angle, sharpening the point. His hands were sweating under the gloves, but the leather kept a handy grip on the file. With each readjustment, he grew more comfortable with the vice and the file, finding subtle, ineffable ways to make his work more effective, more efficient. They were baby steps toward Eanos' own level of skill, but he was self-aware enough to notice even the babiest of steps. He continued his work, intending to get in as much practice as possible, relying upon Eanos to tell him when it was time for the next step.

[Eanos]

When it came to finishing a piece there was no easy way to tell when it was done, for there was in smithing a mix of artisan and artist. The heating and bending of steel called for a mix of technicality and artistry and the same was true of the finishing of the piece, but especially with the finish it was a question more of opinion than fact as to when a piece were ready. Even so there came a point where he handed Hadrian a finer file so that he could smooth off the teeth marks of the rougher file. It wasn't his intention to give the man a lesson in filing for that were something which apprentices spent weeks upon. After allowing Hadrian a short while with the medium file, he called a halt. "Only one thing more needs to be done, he said, giving Hadrian a rest from the work of filing. "I think you'll see know what I meant about the easier work being done at the forge, but we need to return the hook to the forge once more. At the moment the metal is soft, which is good for shaping it, but if we left it that way then the point would quickly dull and if we tried to hammer it into a harder surface then it might just bend." "So we need to harden it, but I only want to harden the spike, not the hook. If we leave the hook a little softer then it can be reshaped at need. So put the point back in the fire and we'll watch the colour." He waited for Hadrian to do that and then continued. "Let me know when it gets to a dark cherry colour. When it does that we need to take it out and allow it cool. We have been working the metal, bending it and causing stress inside the steel. When we heat it and allow it to cool then it adjust itself to its new shape. To be truthful it isn't strictly necessary with a hook but since I am teaching, its easier to teach you one simple right way than to leave you to wonder what you should do."

[Hadrian]

After finishing with the medium file, which he continued to use throughout Eanos' instructions, he set it aside and took up the nearly finished hook in the tongs, placing it in the fire again. In his enhanced vision, he was better able to see how the heat affected the metal, actually seeing one aspect of the structural effects Eanos was describing. He had noticed a jump in his ability with his Auristics, and was pleased to see his improvement in a personal discipline, which were more difficult for him. When he pulled it out, the tip of the hook was the dark cherry red Eanos had asked for, but Hadrian could also see why that color was an indicator that it was ready for more work. He smiled a little smile, for learning always pleased him. "I think it's ready for the next step."

[Eanos]

It seemed to Eanos that his student was pleased with the work which was good for he was pleased with the dedication which had been demonstrated. Not once had he attempted to shirk or to avoid the work which considering the heat of the forge and the weight of the tools was impressive. "The next step is for you to take a rest," he replied with a smile, "or it will be once we have given the hook a nice comfortable bed in which to rest." He gave the hook a judging gaze for a moment then snagged a metal bucket into which he placed enough sand to form a thick layer at the bottom. "Just hold it in here while I pack sand around it," he instructed, and then once it was done he stood the bucket next to the forge where it would keep warm. "Sometimes work at the forge is a question of hurry up then wait," he said. "The metal is in control here, we only persuade it to do what we want. Now that we've heated and worked it, now we need to let the metal get used to its new shape. That will happen as it slowly cools here and tomorrow it will be ready to be heated again. This time though we will not be reshaping it, just hardening it and tempering it. Once that is done, we can make it pretty again with the file and it will be ready to use." He eyed Hadrian speculatively. "Did you have any questions?" There were other things he could show Hadrian, but he felt no urgency for it since he did not know how much his student could absorb and his inclination was to allow what they had done to sink in.

[Hadrian]

"It's a lot like magecrafting in that," he noticed, holding the hook in the bucket so Eanos could pack the sand around it. Once all that was done, he set the tongs aside and removed the gloves so he could run his sweaty hands back over his hear, slicking it back. He smiled, though, pleased. It was a learning experience and he had accomplished more under Eanos' tutelage than he had under Marcus', though perhaps Marcus' help had made all this easier. "There is so much planning that goes into an enchantment. The laboratory has to be prepared, the glyphs laid out just so... but once everything is set in motion, one just has to wait. Of course, having apprentices can speed parts of it up. Perhaps someday I'll have an apprentice or two. I'm hoping this contract with the Syliran Knights pans out... "Oh, but no... I don't think I have any questions. Did you want me to return tomorrow to harden and temper it? I don't want to waste too much of your time. This is your livelihood, after all."

[Eanos]

Eanos could understand what Hadrian said about the magecrafting for his limited experience of it had been to do with the preparation of the laboratory, that and the cleaning of it afterwards, so he understood that it was a slow process and indeed more so than with the smithing where although it might be slow at times, there was always something to be seen. He shrugged off the question of his time, "yes, I would like to see you back here tomorrow so that we can finish what you have started." He dug his fingers into the sand and transmuted djed, so that his sense of touch seeped into the hot steel and nodded to himself. "The steel is fluid now, but already it's starting to settle itself, it will be ready by then" he said as he could feel the new grain structure just starting to form by the faint patterning of the djed. "But worry not about my time for you have agreed to pay for it with your own teachings. You say that you have a contract with the Knights? Are you to become the new magecrafter for the city? If you don't mind me asking, that is. You must know that the Ironworks are their supplier for steel work, so I would have a vested interest in that. My aim is to combine the two arts here as we do in Sultros."

[Hadrian]

"Then I will return again tomorrow," he said with a faint smile. He glanced with his Vision at the metal buried in the sand to see if he could see through the sand and, indeed, he did see how the djed remained somewhat fluid as Eanos had described it, though the Isur had more experience with shaping metals and it was that experience that allowed him to forecast what the metal would be like on the morrow at all. "I have a contract with the knights, and hopefully they will be pleased and I will receive other contracts, but I don't know that I will stay in Syliras. Besides, I hear tell that a new magecrafter is coming to set up shop here. Perhaps I will know him or her when they arrive if I am still here. It never hurts to get a glimpse of the competition, right?"

[Eanos]

That there was to be a new magecrafter in the city was news to the Isur, but then it wasn't likely that he was going to hear of it unless it came as gossip from the other smiths, so he merely nodded thoughtlfully whilst his mind was alive to the possibilities that it might bring.

It seemed also that Hadrian was keeping what he knew largely to himself, either that or the Knights had been vague as to what they might have expected of him, and in both cases Eanos was not surprised or perturbed for likely he would have done the same.

"Then the morning it will be," he replied and smiled. "It's always best to have an understanding of your competition, for it never pays to fight on the ground where they are strong." In many ways Hadrian was probably more competition than the new magecrafter would be, though that was speculation which he would reserve judgement upon.

The morning would prove interesting he reckoned, at least for him, for he enjoyed the opportunity to teach. He found that it gave him a better understanding of his own knowledge and especially the areas where his assumptions had left him without the depth of knowledge necessary to answer questions as they arose.