[Ironworks] A Warm Fire on a Dreary Day (Closed)

[Marcus Braeden]

5th of Fall, 510 AV

When Marcus stepped onto the street that morning, he felt a small amount of liquid seeping through the bottom of his boot. He looked down and found that the entire street had been covered in a thin layer of water. It had not been a downpour but it had definitely rained the night before. Marcus looked up towards the sky, just to maybe see what the weather would be like later in the day. Unfortunately, it looked like an endless gray cloud had come over the entire land. The sky even gave Marcus a little present, a small rain drop landing directly in his eye. Marcus flinched and covered his eye with his arm. Upon returning his eyes to what was in front of him, a cold wind blew right into him, which caused his entire body to go into a shivering frenzy for a brief moment. He knew that with the end of summer, he was going to have to get used to this kind of weather. It was only going to get worse as they approached the winter months and Marcus was less than excited.

Marcus walked at a faster pace than usual in order to get to the Ironworks faster. The less time he spent out in the cold the better he thought. As usual Marcus had to dodge in and out of the crowds of pedestrians but the weather made it worse than it actually was. While most people ignored him, a few people had greeted him, and Marcus was in no mood to exchange friendly hello's with people. The most he could give them was a nod with a half-assed smile with it.

Soon enough Marcus had some sense of enjoyment upon his arrival at the Ironworks. Marcus rushed in through the door, allowing a cold breeze to enter the room, which startled the man who was taking his cloak off right next to the door. Marcus was quick to close it though as he did not want to experience any more of the chills that the weather had to offer. It was days like this that reminded Marcus that he had it pretty good being a smith rather then a courier.

Marcus put on his apron and gloves and set to work on the anvil closest to the forge.

[Marcus Braeden]

When Marcus got settled into his working space, he was charged with the task of attaching spear-heads to the wooden shafts by one of the more prominent smiths and Marcus figured he'd better just do as he's told. It was a simple enough task but it was not definitely not an exciting one. In-fact, it was so easy that Marcus found it tedious and boring. It wasn't anything that would test him or challenge him. There were a few dozen spears to be made and Marcus estimated that the entire workload would take about an hour. Attaching a spear-head to the shaft was a simple process that could be done in a couple minutes.

About half way through the workload, Marcus' mind started to wander. Since Marcus was only working on something simple, he did not stop himself from daydreaming. If he was working on a sword or an axehead, then he might give the project his full attention. He remembered his first time at the Rearing Stallion, back in the summer, when he met John Griffin. He remembered that John had told him to find him if he wanted to learn more about the Syliran Knights and possibly even try and join them. Marcus had been holding off seeking John out for a few weeks, just to make sure it was what he really wanted. But, while working on the spears, he remembered something, he left his home for this opportunity, why not seize it?

Before Marcus knew it he had assembled the final spear. Marcus began collecting the spears and put them in on the rack, where they would remain until they were needed. Marcus returned to the same smith who had given him the task, and told him that he had finished. Marcus was hoping for something a little more substantial to do this time around, such as a sword or an axehead, maybe even a special order, although Marcus was sure that wasn't going to happen. Only the much more skilled craftsmen were able to carry those orders out. The smith was finishing up an engraving before turning to Marcus.

"Alright boy, grab yourself a hammer and start helping us with some swords."

Marcus nodded and returned to his anvil to prepare for the work ahead of him.

[Marcus Braeden]

The preparations were made and Marcus was finally ready to begin making something a bit trickier than spear heads, or simply connecting spear heads to shafts for that matter. This was probably the most substantial thing Marcus had done ever since he had arrived in Syliras. Marcus only wished that the weather outside had been better for this milestone. Marcus walked up to the forge and peered straight into the fire. He began to concentrate and remember everything his father ever taught him about crafting a sword. After a few moments of meditation, Marcus took the slab of metal that was most ready to be shaped and returned to his anvil.

Marcus took his first strikes with more power than precision, focusing on flattening the metal to the proper width rather than shaping the blade. For about a minute Marcus vigorously pounded the metal to achieve his desired width, but the metal had cooled and Marcus had to place it back in the forge until it was heated again and ready to be shaped further. While waiting for the sword to reach a proper temperature, Marcus began to think about life when he and his brother were both apprenticing for their father. Marcus had taken quite a liking to the crafting of swords, even attempting some very elaborate designs. Although these attempts never came out quite the way he envisioned them, he at least tried and gained new knowledge from the experience. His brother proved to be a bit more useful on the financial side of the shop rather than the actual smithing process, but of course Marcus' brother also gained his fair share of smithing experience. When Marcus' father died, he and his brother had both decided to run the shop side by side, that is, until Marcus decided to move to Syliras. Marcus snapped back into reality when somebody accidentally brushed against him as he waited by the forge. Marcus took his blade from the forge, ready to continue with his work.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus took the freshly heated metal back to the Anvil he had chosen to work at for the day. The metal was glowing red hot and Marcus was anxious to continue shaping the blade. Everything that he had learned was coming back to him at once. The more he pounded the metal, the more he re-learned. He thought he had forgotten alot but to his surprise he had managed to retain everything he knew all along. Marcus continued to strike the metal with his hammer as sparks jumped from the metal and vanished in the air. Eventually the metal cooled once again and it needed to be heated again. Marcus was pleased with the progress so far and took the metal back to the furnace. Marcus carefully placed the metal back into the fire and waited.

After a decent amount of time had passed, Marcus took the metal back to the anvil. He repeated the same process of hammering and shaping the metal. People were not familiar with the process of making items from pure metal might find the process boring at first glance. But Marcus loved it. He loved knowing that not everyone was capable of creating something from pure iron but he could. Marcus continues hammering away until the metal went cold once again. And once again it was heated, a rather tedious process to the untrained eye.

[Marcus Braeden]

As the day went on, swords and other weapons were crafted and armor was fitted for various customers. Marcus continued along at his anvil continuing to help craft the swords. After Marcus had finished up the current sword he was working on he decided to check outside to see if it had cleared up. When he checked he was greeted by a cold gust of wind blowing in his face. Marcus quickly retreated back in doors. The sun had begun it's slow descent which meant that Marcus' day was essentially done. He grabbed his cloak and proceeded to exit the Ironworks. He braced himself for the long and cold walk ahead of him.

As Marcus walked through the damp streets, he began to think about something he had never thought of before. What sort of people were going to be using the swords that he and other smiths crafted. For all he knew, he may have crafted a sword the day that a deranged killer may buy. Or perhaps an honorable knight would take his sword. Or maybe a wealthy merchant may put one of his swords to use. The more he thought of the uses his swords were put to, the more he questioned his morality. Was he a harbinger of death, or was he a source of protection? Too put it bluntly, he was both.

[Nisaba]

Grade Complete: XP Award! Name: Marcus Braeden   XP Award Weaponsmithing- 3 XP Daydreaming- 2 XP Philosophy- 1 XP Marcus had three very nice paragraphs detailing his work as a weaponsmith, so I gave him three points in that particular area. I also gave him a couple of specific lores describing the precise skills and knowledge he used to supplement the skill points. Because of his memories while he was working, I gave him a couple of points in daydreaming, as well. Philosophy came into play at the end of the thread when he began to wonder if making weapons was a good thing or a bad thing. If you think I missed anything, please just let me know.   Lore Award Fall Weather in Syliras Weaponry: Spear Construction Apprenticeship Memories Weaponsmithing: Sword Crafting A Full Day’s Hard Work Questioning the Morality of Making Weapons Additional Note This was a very nice training thread. I would have liked to see a few more posts detailing the weaponsmithing process so I could give more points, but I really did like the fact that you added in Marcus’s tendency to let his mind wander when he works. It kept the scene very interesting. Thank you for letting me read it and trusting me to award your XP.