Closed First Day Orientation (Alija)

[Aedifalse]

515-SPRING-05

The male fowls had merely began crowing when Aedi made his way to the location of Zeltiva's most well-established forge. Known as "The Armed Scholar", it tended to be occupied with outstanding apprentices sent over by the University to help its enigmatic blacksmith. After the whole surprise incident with Garath Markwell, the Isur honestly felt quite overwhelmed by his lack of ability in the art of metalworking.

The Armed Scholar provided all kinds of metalworking services, from tools and implements to weapons and armors, and it was with this in mind that Aedi had applied to aid in the crafting of weapons. Markwell had warned him that it was likely that the owner, Rals, would not be found in the shop due to his personal hobbies or eccentricities. In any case, there would be other apprentices and aides in the showroom and also in the smithy, so it would be fine.

According to the note held in his hand, there was supposed to be someone who would receive him and ease him into work. Honestly speaking, despite his dismal performance a few days prior, Aedi was quite determined to improve and learn. He had decided to cast away his pride as an Isur and instead put himself out there and learn as much as he could. It was pointless to put on airs when one did not have the competency to back it up.

All he had were the inkling of training from Sultros and the brief foray in sword-making, and he was determined to expand his repertoire of weapons as well as to improve his efficiency in crafting. The fundamentals of blacksmithing were still fresh in his mind as he refreshed and recalled from Markwell's lecture, and the Isur revised through the details a few times over mentally before stepping up to the large building.

The building was already alive, the buzz of conversation within and the comfortable, rhythmic clanging of metal from deeper within that signified that the forge was very much active. Preparing the note in one hand, Aedi pushed his back up straight and rapped smartly on the door.

"Excuse me! I am Aedifex Aghanim, your newest employee. May I see whoever's supposed to receive me?" He called out, raising his voice.

[Alija]

The day had started well, the shop open early and the sound of work already spreading through the shop. Sunlight poured through the windows and Spring was brightening everything. Rals had arrived like always what seemed hours before them, announcing the arrival of a new employee that day. He hadn't specified anything else, ordering Alija to be in charge of the orientation, before leaving to sort out a new shipment of supplies. The knock on the door signified the employee's arrivement.

Alija opened it with a friendly smile, realising at once that he was Isur. His arm was dark obsidian, matching his jet back hair and contrasting with the pale skin. In his hand he held a small note which she assumed to be one from the Lord of Council's office, similar to the one she had. It felt like only yesterday she had began working in the Armed Scholar but in reality it was a couple of seasons ago.

"Excuse me! I am Aedifex Aghanim, your newest employee.
May I see whoever's supposed to receive me?" he had called out, and Alija took the note to ensure he was who he said he was. Seeing that his statement was true, she gave another smile and invited him inside.

"I am Alija, another employee here. I've been here two seasons, so I'm going to give you a little tour, then we can see your forging skill. Rals unfortunately isn't here, as he had to sort out a shipment of supplies for the forge. But he welcomes you too," she said, nodding, as if she was reading from a script. She really needed to loosen up, just a little.

"Now then, this here, as you would assume is the shop area. This is the only area in which customers are allowed, unless they specifically need to see the metals, which is rare. The items here, although designed for show," she gestured to the helmets, swords, weapons and tools all engraved with a pair of severed wings, "Are perfectly usable and may be purchased by customers. Orders are to be placed at the counter, at which you will be expected to greet them occasionally. But you must be quick and punctual, as well as friendly and inviting."

There, that was it. Alija felt more relaxed now, more friendly, ready to socialize if it came up. She pointed to the storage room, "That is the storage room. We keep supplies in there, nicely organised. You'll find your way around it really easily, so I won't show you unless you want. And that is the the forge. We'll go there in a second." She pointed to the door behind the counter, ignoring the third and final door, excluding the entrance to the shop. "Anything I missed? Questions? Feel free to ask anything."

mizahar

[Aedifalse]

The door creaked open, and a tanned, hazel-eyed woman beckoned him within after checking his note. She called herself Alija, though she did not give any other name, so he assumed that it was simply her first name. She had a physique that was more muscular than most Zeltivan females, which he highly approved as an Isur.

Isurian aesthetics were slightly different from other humanoid communities due to their obsession with smithing and other forms of crafting which tended to require physical labor.

As she gave what seemed to be a rehearsed spiel to bring him up to date with the building layout, he kept an interested expression politely. He had already figured out as much through contextual clues, and also because of his general familiarity with smithies and forges that he could guess. However, as she talked, he took the opportunity to try to look deeper into her.

In most human contexts, staring at someone for an extended period of time could be construed as rude, but not if that person was talking to you. In which case not looking at that person would be considered rude.

Capitalizing on this opportunity, the curious Isur tried his best not to squint as he mentally gathered djed up towards his head. A tingling in the temple gave him the cue he needed, and he flooded djed into his eyes, while trying his best not to hold his breath as he did so.

As someone who was not very proficient, he had a lot of bad habits and strange gestures that helped him immensely while aura-gazing, but doing so in the midst of a conversation was considered rather rude, even for Isurian standards. Strange colors and indescribable scents blurred into view.

Interestingly enough, the woman before him had an aura that seemed to blend into the background. Almost as if like she was unimportant enough to be considered as one of the scenery.

However, there was a little kink that drew his attention and made him realize that it was indeed the aura of a person instead of say, a chair. Despite the overwhelming normalcy and seeming blandness of the aura, there was something a little off about it.

He could not quite put his finger on it, but it was something out of the ordinary. Perhaps a more experienced Aurist would be able to tell, but he did not possess the proficiency to dig deeper into the complex layers of the soul.

He stopped at there and realized that she was implying some sort of forge work being done. Was it a test? Perhaps to get a feel of his competency? Clearly the recommendation from Markwell was not exactly flattering, though he could not really blame the blacksmith for the lack of faith.

The man did note Aedi's potential, but as everyone knew, potential and current strength tended to not be equal for most except the most dedicated.

"What are the schedules of our shifts? Will I get to participate in smithing or will I be confined to clerical and administrative work at the beginning? Finally, I would be grateful to see your esteemed smithy. What will we be doing there?"

[Alija]

While she spoke she noticed how Aedifex didn't seem to be full on concentrating but staring at her in a weird, focused way. Perhaps he was just listening intently and showing his interest by looking at her, but there was something in the way he seemed to try not hold his breath, in the way he held himself. It was almost as if... as if he was trying to read her aura. She smiled at the thought. A blacksmith and aurist reading another blacksmith's and aurist's aura. Alija wondered what he saw. It was the one thing she could not do, and believed that could not be done: read her own aura. To herself, it was invisible.

Perhaps she should return his action. Read his own aura, at a time when she believes he wouldn't notice. Alija didn't really find it polite to do it on others, but that rarely stopped her. And after all, if the man didn't have a problem reading hers, she wouldn't mind reading his.

He seemed to stop, and puzzle a little before asking the questions she had asked for. "What are the schedules of our shifts? Will I get to participate in smithing or will I be confined to clerical and administrative work at the beginning? Finally, I would be grateful to see your esteemed smithy. What will we be doing there?"


Alija's eyes widened slightly at the sheer quantity of them, but was prepared to answer them all.
"There is a schedule, but as with every new arrival it'll be changed a little, to allow for an extra person. But it should be quite simple and you could probably change it a little to accomodate you. Most are expected here very early, and leave around 5, or 6. But you may be able to come in later some days, or stay later on others. You may also need to fill in other's shifts.
We all must spend time in the forge and in the shop, so you'll be doing both, but as a new recruit I'd expect more time with Rals and doing the clerical work than your own thing. Just until you are confident enough to do it by yourself, which can't be long.
And in the forge? We're just going to let you have a little go, try it out and get accustomed to this specific one. Just of a test of your ability really, so I know what kind of things you can do."

She finished with a smile, leading him into the forge where Donovan had just started to finish up. He nodded at Alija and her companion, introducing himself as an apprentice there. "But I've got to run, delivery to make."

Alija gestured round, allowing Aedifex to soak in the surroundings. She pointed at some metal in the corner, tools in another before saying with a smile, "You can take a moment to find anything you need, then make something. Anything. Whatever you feel confident doing. It'll also help us know what kind of things you can forge."

The blacksmith stepped back, letting Aedifex get to work.

[Aedifalse]

Aedi mentally noted what she said, making sure to store them in an important place within his memories. These were important details to know, and as a new worker it would be remiss of him to be so forgetful especially at the start. He had no idea that she knew of his use of Auristics, of course, being of a lower competency than the human blacksmith. Though if she cared to read his aura, he would not really have a problem with it. Like for like, it was only fair.

As she led him to the forge and had him introduced to what seemed like the most senior apprentice who is probably the second-in-command next to Rals, Donovan, his heart quickened in pace when he realized what she wanted him to do. He was to forge something as an example of his skills, and he wondered if he could do well this time.

The trick was to do something simple, yet functional. He knew a little of the tools and implements that ordinary blacksmiths made, and a little knowledge of the blueprints of a small variety of weapons and armors. As he considered what to make, he realized that since he was contracted to work as a weaponsmith, it would probably be best to make a weapon.

Something simple, something small, something that he could make quickly. These were the criteria he had in mind, not only for the consideration of the more senior apprentice watching him, but also to avoid introducing more flaws into his craft since the longer one worked, the greater the chance of making a mistake.

The Isur nodded to himself as he decided. He would make a knife. It was small enough to realistically finish within a day, and given its simple components it was conceivable that the Armed Scholar would have the appropriate materials for it. It was also useful in that it was quite commonly sold as both a source of personal protection, an off-hand weapon, and a kitchen tool.

Looking around to find a suitable piece of iron, the junior smith located an appropriately-sized bar of iron, grabbing it with a heavy duty pair of tongs. As a matter of consideration to the shop, he intended to complete his 'initiation' by making an iron weapon rather that of steel for the sake of time and cost.

He swung the tongs holding the bar of iron into the forge, watching it carefully as it went through the familiar steps of heating up. The dimly lit workshop helped to enhance the visual cue, and when he believed that it was sufficiently molten he placed it on the anvil.

Since the heavy tongs were two-handed, he placed the tongs back and used his blessed arm to manually handle the soft metal. With his other normal hand, he grabbed a one-handed hammer to use as a secondary swinging device. The first thing to do was to shape the iron into a blade-like object.

Recalling how the edge of a knife looked like, he used his obsidian digits to cleverly mold the iron into a more easily manipulated shape. Using the advantage his arm gave him, he was able to more dexterously spread the iron out than when humans had to carefully his a chisel and a hammer to do so. When it was sufficiently spread out, he flipped the bar at an angle and struck with the hammer.

Sparks flew from the contact, and Aedi relaxed. It was one of the few sounds that made him feel at home back in Sultros. Getting into the rhythm of the craft, he continued hammering the metal wordlessly, continuously using his blessed arm to flip and turn the bar of iron on the anvil, placing it at the right angles so that his hammer could strike at the same angle without fail. It was simply a more efficient and less error-prone method of solo crafting that Isurian blacksmiths use, purely due to the precision that the Gift of Izurdin bestowed.

The thought of this being a test faded from his mind, and even the presence of the watching Alija ceased to make him nervous. If she were to think of joining in to prepare the hilt of the knife, he would not mind indeed for it would greatly reduce the time taken to complete the weapon.

[Alija]

He took a few moment, considering what to make, and for a second Alija considered telling to make something specific, but decided against it, not wanting to say something he didn't know and embarrass him or make him look bad. Aedifex didn't seem that he needed ideas, as after a few moments he had already started to gather the metal, sticking it in the fire to heat. Alija watched him carefully, looking out for ways in which she could help him improve.

After heating it he held it in his obsidian arm, molding the metal like butter. It made Alija a little jealous, knowing how useful the arm that all Isurs had was. He didn't need assistance holding it, nor had to struggle with the problem of holding both tongs and hammer. It had become second nature to Alija, but still... He could shape the metal much quicker and efficiently than a man with a hammer could.

Then, using his obsidian arm he flipped and hammered, continuing in the process while falling into a rhythm. The metal shape clearly started forming itself as a knife, a relatively easy and quick object to make. He was good at his work, but it still showed signs of someone who wasn't great. Aedifex was a great addition to the blacksmith, however good or bad his skill was. After all, he could only get better.

Confident that Aedifex didn't need anyone watching him while he worked, Alija picked up a small piece of scrap metal, discarded from someone's previous work. "Aedifex, I'll make the hilt, shorten up the time," she said briefly, already starting to heat up the lump of metal. At that yellow orange colour she rested it upon an anvil, starting to hammer at it. She draw it out to be large enough to hold before starting to round it as much as she could.

Silence filled the room, but for the hammering of metal on metal.

[Aedifalse]

Alija's offer to help was met with a grateful nod as Aedi shifted his body slightly to make way for his colleague. While it was a simple task, it was a stress-free method of building initial camaraderie which would be needed when collaborating for larger scale projects. He had decided to make most of the knife from a single frame, so the only additional components that needed to be added were the guard and the grip-layer of the hilt. Perhaps a small pommel atop the completed grip if one wanted to be fancy.

"It's a uni-frame forge," The Isur clarified as he briefly waved the unfinished blade at the human, assuming that she would understand his terminology. "A simple guard would suffice."

He began to narrow the hilt area of the knife by cutting out the iron layers like he was unrolling carpet, and while doing so, he took a nearby detritus of iron to use as a rough measuring tool. Exploiting his arm ability, he roughly rolled the iron detritus into a donut shape with the hole being punched by matching it against the cross-sectional radius of the grip. Since the guard would be affixed by pushing it through the grip, the measurements needed to be exact to prevent it from jiggling about when attached.

Wordlessly, he passed on the iron donut to Alija so that she would have exact measurements to compare with as she made the fitting hole of the guard. With that done, he continued his work on the hilt area, skinning the grip so that it would be able to accept a skin wrapping of a material more befitting for gripping. However, he also kept the bottom-most part of the grip unskinned so that it would serve as the stopper to prevent the wrap from sliding off.

Next, he took a tiny chisel and begun to carefully position it over the trimmed rod that was now the base grip of the knife. Due to the small nature of the forged item, the hilt was even smaller, and the nail holes that he was about to punch through had to be even smaller.

With a delicate swivel, he gently placed the chisel over the upper part of the trimmed grip, and began tapping it almost lovingly with the forging hammer, incrementally making a tiny indentation as he did so over and over again. It was a tiring process due to the meticulousness required, but he managed to eventually punch out the nail hole without errors.

He slid the chisel down to the bottom of the grip in order to make the second nail hole, engrossed in his work. If his name were to be called now he would probably not notice since he was currently experiencing the tunnel vision felt by smiths who were focusing on extremely precise phases of their work. Still, the knife was beginning to take shape and it would likely be completed soon, especially with the kind assistance of the senior apprentice.

[Perplexity]

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Notice

It is with deepest regret that I must inform you the contents of this thread have been rendered null and void. All instances of roleplay within the domain of Zeltiva concerning the characters of Telor Riptide and Aedifex are to be ceased immediately. This is due to multiple infractions upon the rules governing the utilization of Mizahar as a website which are as follows:

• Players are allowed a maximum of 5 active accounts.
  
• Two PCs from the same player cannot be in the same Domain at the same time unless they have a really good reason and permission from the location's DS or a Founder.

This decision has been reached after extensive investigation. It is final.

Sincerely,
Perplexity- DS of Zeltiva

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