The biting cold of a first winter wind marked the very first morning of Aleron's apprenticeship under the talented smiths of the Arma'Drex smithy. It had been arranged, days ago, that he would appear on this day and begin training to become a productive cog in the most esteemed forge within Riverfall. The sun had barely risen, and only a sliver of it was visible out across the bay, decorating the area with hues of blue and orange in a spectacular view that seemed common to this place. The Isur kept his arms tucked away within his coat to conserve heat as he trekked the cliffside path, glancing in admiration at the strange architecture of these people. The smithy came into view, a robust structure set in stone. No smoke billowed from within its vents, but somebody stirs within Aleron postulated- the flicker of a candle dancing on the ledge of a window was not evidence he could ignore. Pride resounded through him as he went to open the door, only to become vaguely miffed when the entryway didn't budge to his advances. Instead, he felt a sense of degredation as he was forced to resort to rapping on the door lightly but firmly with the back of his metal palm to announce his arrival. Moments passed, but then the echo of footsteps could be faintly heard beyond followed by the familiar clink of the door unlatching. It swung open, a tall figure looming over him that would be obscured by shadow if not for Aleron's excellent Isurian night vision. "You're the first to arrive," billowed the gruff, matter-of-fact voice of Haiduk. Aleron had talked to enough Akalak to know by now that there were in fact two individuals plodding about in those minds, questionably an advantage over his own kind. "I should have expected an Isur to be punctual," the Akalak continued with his narrative. "Come in, Loriim is already absorbed in his work." The permission came as a welcome turn of events for Aleron, who crossed the threshold and allowed the door behind him to close. The room was filled with the blue-tinted shadows of a large array of weapon and armor stock, save for one side of the room, where a ray of sunlight valiantly crawled along the ceiling and would soon light the floor to illuminate the most prized creations made in the smithy. Arrangement of stock seemed like an important part of business to Aleron, but he wondered if these Akalak had really done that or if this was a natural migration of product - the place was bare with few furnishings and decorations. Most of the equipment that he gazed upon was very bare with no precious metal inlays or etchings present though they were beautiful enough as tools of war could be. "So when do we begin?" Aleron questioned, straight ot the point with a hint of wistfulness in his voice while at the same time blasting his own rare lack of valued patience silently within his head. The Isur was really looking forward to being in a forge again after so long. "Everything is ready to go, but we must wait until-" The door creaked open, and another Akalak strode into the shop. This one was much younger than Haiduk, but just as tall. "-Ahh!" Haiduk rambled. "There's that boy ... Jo'mal shall watch the storefront while I instruct you--not that we have problems with thieves." The younger Akalak paused for a moment, but then immediately set about walking past master and fellow apprentice without so much as another glance to sit behind the counter. "He is an apprentice of Loriim," Haiduk mentioned. Tight-lipped, Aleron had no questions. He simply waited for his opportunity to happen with clarity of mind. He didn't care to know how many apprentices there were, he was just here to learn and work the forge. "You mentioned that you weren't very accomplished at smithing weapons. What have you made so far?" |