Flashback [The Silver Tower] The Hand of Creation Part 4

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari spoke the steps of the process as she performed them. Tirin observed and offered any additional information she felt Ialari may need to know as she progressed.

As Ialari leaned over the pedestal with her tongs and hammer ready, she first looked into one of the lenses. As she viewed the item through the lens, she saw the basic shape of the item surrounded by a thin layer of what looked like some sort of ooze of slime. Turning her attention for a moment back to Tirin, Ialari had a look of confusion on her face.

Tirin smiled and said, "One of the first principles of auristics is that everyone practicing it will perceive auras in different ways. The appearance of an aura varies with each auristic. It is just how your mind is able process the information it is receiving. You see, the lenses are very simple objects that allow a magecrafter to see the auras of items. They do not grant you the ability to understand what you are seeing, that is why I emphasize again that you need to study auristics. While basic auras can be described by those who can read them, what they perceive will be different from what you perceive. Processing their descriptions and understanding their connections to what was seen will only get you so far and will not help you if something goes wrong with the charging if your own item. That said, what you are seeing now as you look through the lens is the representation of the aura your mind has created, it is what is familiar to you most likely."

Ialari leaned in again to look through the lens and described to Tirin what she was seeing. Tirin listened and said, "It sounds like you are seeing the aura of the hammer as one of the concoctions you work with in the poison lab. Your mind is perceiving the aura as a poison. For now, as you charge the hammer and observe the aura, there should be only a single change in that aura since you are only adding a single property to the item; the ability to charge other items. Multiple changes will create different auras that will be much harder to decipher. But that is all part of basic auristic theory. We are magecrafting right now so let's bring things back into focus. The aura will take one of two paths during the charging process. Either it will go wrong or it will go well. The lens will show you one or the other but it is up to your mind to tell you which the right one is."

Looking at the hammer through the lens, Ialari still saw the slimy, sickly green-brown aura around it. She grasped the hammer with the tongs and turned it slightly while still looking through the lens. As the tongs came in contact with the hammer, the aura rippled slightly but did not change color or consistency. Ialari moved around the pedestal, examining the hammer through the other lenses. Each lens showed the same thing. This was strange for Ialari as she thought that each one would show something different. "Why does each of the lenses show me the exact same thing? Shouldn't the item look different through each?" Ialari asked.

"The lenses are meant to help you view the item from different angles without having to overly manipulate it. That is why they are set in positions that are opposite of the mirrors so that the mirrors can focus the aura better." Tirin replied.

Ialari, now looking through one of the lenses, raised her charging hammer and hit lightly yet firmly, the to-be-crafted hammer. As she did, she saw the aura through the lens emit a blast of yellow light looking similar to the shower of sparks when a blacksmith's hammer strikes a piece of heated metal. The sickly green-brown color of the aura that covered the hammer was now marred by a single spot of golden brown.

A wide grin spread across Ialari's face but any celebration over her success was interrupted almost immediately by Tirin. "That is but the first strike. You will have to watch the item now and make sure the aura changes the right way. This will require you to strike the item a number of times while creating new pathways for the item's djed. As the pathways are created, you will need to direct them along the right path in order to reach your goal. If you are not careful, you could miss the moment you need to strike and lose the whole project. The effects of that could be as mild as the item just not charging properly and becoming useless or it could be dangerous to you and those around you, deadly or even worse. Also, never remove the item from the pedestal until it is finished. It will likely ruin the item.

Ialari listened to Tirin while continuing to monitor the item through the lenses. She saw the golden brown spot on the aura grow ever so slightly during the first several minutes of observation. As she watched, Tirin gave brief lectures on different things related to magecraft. "As you become comfortable with the process, you will find it gets to feel more like blacksmithing as you mold and shape the item's djed. Eventually though, as you craft more advanced projects, you will need to use reagents as catalysts to shape the djed and bring out more unique properties in the item. For most of the more simple projects though, you will not need reagents. The enchantments will be quite basic by comparison and can be shaped rather easily."

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari continued to examine her work through the special lenses of the optical ring. Lacking a true understanding of auristics, all she could use as a reference for her work was Tirin's instruction of how the mind would interpret an aura in a way that it could grasp. For Ialari, the aura surrounding her work looked like some sort of fluid similar to that of some of the poisons she brewed. It was her mind's way of putting the impossible into terms she could understand. The sickly green-brown fluid that formed the aura around her work was showing signs of change through the appearance of a golden brown patch marring its otherwise unpleasant surface.

As Ialari continued to observe through the lenses, she would bring her hammer down on different parts of the to-be-crafted item. With each blow of the hammer, the item's aura shifted. From the first spot of golden-brown, a crackling web of the same color shot forth and spread. As time progressed, parts of the golden brown would go black; something Ialari took as a sign that things were in danger of going wrong. When she saw this, another blow of the hammer was brought down upon the spot where she saw the black. As the hammer struck, there was a flash of golden light seen through the lenses and the black marks were eliminated.

Several hours passed leaving Ialari growing more and more fatigued both physically and mentally. While the use of the hammer to direct and encourage the pathways of djed within the item was not in itself tiring, the constant viewing of the aura through the lenses was giving her an immense headache. Every time she looked away from the lenses, the shift in sight was jarring. Her vision would blur and her eyes burned. She was constantly wiping tears from her eyes due to the pain. Looking back into the lenses was no less irritating and her focus on the aura was becoming much more difficult to maintain with each passing hour.

Tirin was there the entire time giving words of encouragement and instruction in order to help Ialari maintain focus on her work. Each passing hour was marked by a dimming of the magical lights that illuminated not just the lab but the entirety of the tower. Each hour that passed caused the lights to dim and brighten a number of times equal to the hour of the day. After almost 8 hours had passed since Ialari began the magecrafting process, she saw the webs scrawled across her work's aura beginning to take on more formalized pattern.

While she didn't understand the pattern at first, Tirin had guided her through the process well. She told Ialari that at first, there would be only a single sign that the process had begun. This happened when Ialari first struck the item with her hammer. From there, Tirin told her that with each blow of the hammer, the aura would change. It would start with unevenness and abstract alterations. To bring form to these inconsistencies, she would need to imagine the desired goal. In this case, Ialari needed to create in her mind the image and purpose of a hammer that would be used to magecraft other items. That would form the pattern that she would need to match the item's aura to. As she directed the djed with the blows from her hammer, the aura would tell her if the item was fitting her desired goal or not. In this case, the golden brown or black changes to the aura informed her of her success. Avoiding the black and encouraging the golden brown meant that she was opening the new pathways of djed and directing them along the right path.

The principle of it all was very similar to what Ialari's mother had told her about Izentor, the divine gift given to the isur by Izurdin. Izentor, from what Ialari had been told, involved an isur imagining what they wanted an item to do. First they came up with an idea of what they wanted out of the item. Then, they would focus on a piece of themselves; a memory, experience or feeling, and allow that to consume them. While maintaining constant contact with the item, they would become so involved with the memory, idea or feeling that a piece of it and thus a piece of themselves would be imparted onto the item thus granting it enhanced aspects. As with izentor, magecrafting, as Ialari understood it, started with a specific purpose for an item. Then, through direction and focus, the magesmith shaped and molded the djed within the item to fit a perceived image they had of what the item should be like in the end.

At one point in the process, the "Aha!" moment fell upon Ialari. She turned to Tirin and said, "Wait, this...the whole process, it's not just about the tools, the ingredients or even how you use them. It's not just about shaping auras or finding just the right source material..."

A broad smile stretched across Tirin's face as she bore witness to Ialari's revelation.

"It's about the magesmith themselves; who they are, what they want and how they go about it. It's what they said in class about the nature of djed. "It makes up the basic properties of the universe; identity, substance, sentience and free will. It cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. So, based on my own identity, sentience and free will, I am able to transform the substance of the crafted item to align with that which I have envisioned." Ialari was speaking both to herself and to Tirin.

Tirin gave a simple nod and said, "Precisely. What you have just discovered is the most important concept that any wizard will ever comprehend. The more personalized forms of djed manipulation, reimancy, auristics, morphing to name a few, maintain this concept as their most basic premise. For those practicing more worldly magics, its a concept that isn't as pronounced yet remains just as important. You are using sheer force of will to shape and transform djed into a form that you desire. You'r own djed, whether you realize it or not, is influencing the djed around you. In the case of magecraft, your djed influences and shapes the djed of the crafted item. It is how, even without formal knowledge of auras and how to interpret them, that you know the item you are crafting and can recognize whether or not you are crafting it correctly."

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari continued throughout the remainder of the day and deep into the evening. For her part, Tirin remained with Ialari the entire time. The instructor did force Ialari to take a break long enough to eat a couple of moss cakes and drink some water. During their break, lasting less than half of an hour, Tirin spoke more on the subject of magecraft.

"Although the final product that you envision and strive to fulfill is the basic end-goal of magecraft, there is so much more that goes into it. Already we have discussed the process of intent and shaping the item's djed to fit into the pattern you've imagined for it. The process of magecraft involves much more however, especially as you advance in skill. Something else that has heavy influence on the art is izentor. I won't bore you with repetitive talk about about our arms as I know your parents have discussed with you at length about it." Tirin knew about Ialari's parents; Ialari's father was in fact an instructor at the tower. Her mother was a priestess of Izurdin and representative for the Anvils at the Tower.

Indeed Ialari had been instructed in some greater depth on the concept of izentor and the use of her arm in the imparting process. While she had never personally undergone the process, it was something she knew she would engage in when she was ready. The process itself involved separating a sliver of one's own soul and instilling it into an inanimate object, preferably and item created with one's own hand. Ialari's mother had talked about it often and herself had created a number of minor artifacts baring djed from her own soul.

Tirin explained further while Ialari nibbled at the moss cakes. "When we impart upon an item, we gift it with a piece of our soul. The more in tune you are with the Father, the more you are able to impart upon an object. As it relates to magecraft, we are able to add even greater enhancement to an item that has been imparted upon. For example, this ring..." Tirin held out her hand and showed Ialari a ring carved out of onyx set with a rather large black diamond. "I crafted this ring from metal found in a mind near the Northern Border Post. The stone was also taken from that mine. The ring was relatively simple to craft. Taking a small piece of onyx, I manipulated it into the shape of a ring. The process didn't do much for the onyx itself and left it rather brittle and lackluster. However, I imparted upon it. The process was...intense." Tirin paused for a moment as she remembered the experience.

"It was my first time imparting upon anything. I'd only heard stories about he process and wasn't ready for what happened next. I was but an apprentice Sentinel at the time studying with the Master stationed at the post. I sat in my chambers, staring at this roughly carved ring and wondering what to do next. It was then that I remembered one day when I was but a child. I was sitting with my parents eating dinner. My brothers and sisters were there. It was the eve of the Day of the King." Tirin paused again. It was obvious to Ialari that what Tirin was telling her was not exactly widespread knowledge and was something dear to her instructor.

"I remember sitting at the table with everyone laughing and sharing thoughts and feelings and experiences that had occurred since we all last met. I remember looking up from my plate and seeing the face of my father. He looked back at me and smiled...He died a year later during a zith attack on a caravan he was traveling with. I was too young to really remember him but I remembered that particular moment." Tirin brushed away a tear before taking a moment to regain composure.

When she was ready, she continued. "That was the memory that spared the process of izentor. I imparted upon the ring at that moment. My intended goal had been to create an item that would help to focus my mind and aid in my work. A day later I awoke feeling like I'd fallen from the King's Walk and landed in the center of the Plaza in Sultros City. When I was finally able to move, I looked at the ring still clutched in my hand. The brittle, flawed look that it had due to manipulating it was gone. In its place was a highly polished band of onyx that was almost a mirror in perfection. Looking at its surface, I saw my father's reflection, his smiling face looking back." Tirin was silent for awhile as she looked solemnly into her ring.

"The ring did what I wanted it to after imparting on it. Just looking into it provided me with the focus and stability of mind to do whatever was needed to accomplish any task I sat out to do. A short time later, I decided to magecraft it. Already it had a spiritual power to it but I wanted to focus that power into something even greater. So, I took this diamond that I had collected and had it cut, shaped and polished. Then, I made a setting for it and made it a part of the ring. Placing it on the pedestal, I began the magecraft process." Tirin held her open hand out and smiled as she looked at the ring. Ialari glanced over at it between bites of moss cake. It was indeed an item of beauty; something Ialari saw as being far beyond anything she was capable of at that point in time.

Tirin lowered her hand before speaking again. "I did as you have done albeit with a much more potent item. I used the smallest of hammers and, while already possessing some skill with auristics, monitored the progression of the ring's aura. My goal was to turn the focus and calming aspect of the ring into something tangible; something that could aid me in my crafting. After many days of continued smithing, I crafted this." Tirin looked at her ring once more before looking up at Ialari. She then held out her hand in the direction of a nearby workbench.

Once of the hammers laying on the workbench raised into the air as if some invisible force were lifting it. With a snap of the wrist, Tirin sent the hammer floating through the air and into her hand. "The memory of my father, the memory that gives me focus and clarity, has been amplified into an actual force that can aid me when I need it. This is but a sample of what is possible through the use of magecraft and izentor combined."

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari's short break left her with a greater, deeper perspective on the nature of magecraft, djed and the divine gift from Izurdin. In fact, it was during that particular conversation with Tirin that Ialari's hunger for greater knowledge and understanding of the forbidden and forgotten aspects of magic began. Unknown to her then, that hunger would grow to truly epic proportions, pushing her past known mental, physical and spiritual limits to discover one of the most well kept secrets held by the gods themselves...Dominion.

It was the first time Ialari would push herself past the barrier of fatigue. The evening hours soon gave way to the next morning. Ialari had chosen to continue magecrafting until the process was complete. Tirin, while remaining in the lab, took a few hours to sleep in her chair at her desk. Ialari maintained her focus on the aura through the lenses as much as possible as turning her sight away from them was becoming even more difficult for her to adjust to. As she monitored the aura she would strike with her hammer to ensure that the item was maintaining its charge and the pathways of djed were developing properly. The pathways and patterns were growing ever more structured and solid while the sickly green fluid appearance of the aura had all but vanished. It was replaced by a golden brown color with even brighter golden color coming from the points and lines of geometric patterns that accentuated it.

As the morning hours progressed, Tirin was at Ialari's side, still monitoring and instructing."While I can't deny being impressed with your patience and desire to succeed, you really should know that once your reach a certain point in the process, you are allowed rest. Any imperfections or flaws in the aura can be hammered out as long as you don't leave it for too long. Usually, you can leave it long enough to get some real sleep and take some time for yourself. As you advance and your projects grow more complex, it will take many days to complete. You can't remain awake the entire time."

Ialari, still not looking away from the lenses, replied in a quiet, exhausted voice, "I...something I've learned over the years not only in study here but also as a child growing up is that there are always barriers; there will always be something trying to hold me back from achieving what I want. As small and insignificant as magecrafting this hammer may be in the grand scheme that is life, it is as good a place as any to make it known to myself that I won't give up. I won't be deterred. What I want, I will have and nothing will stand in my way. There is too much out there waiting to be found, discovered, learned and experienced and if something as basic as being tired stops me, then anything can."

Tirin, while knowing Ialari rather well thanks to their time together over the past couple of years, did not expect such a reply. She knew that Ialari took things very seriously; at times too seriously. Yet this time Ialari's determination teetered on the line of pleasantly surprising Tirin and filling her with outright dread. There had always been something unique about Ialari that Tirin could never quite explain. A talented auristic, Tirin had often looked upon Ialari's aura. There were the common feelings that everyone felt yet the few times Tirin chose to really focus on Ialari's aura, she encountered great difficulty. The difficulty came from the fact that Tirin could not see much detail. Although rather competent in reading auras, she found herself looking at what she could only describe as a wall of impenetrable darkness. It was the mystery of what was behind that wall, when combined with what Ialari had just told her, that made her very uneasy. Tirin wasn't sure why it made her feel that way but she couldn't shake the feeling. Choosing rather to bury it for the time being, she forced a smile and placed her hand gently on Ialari's shoulder.

"I do believe you will conquer any challenge you face in life, Ialari. Just remember that being patient and being determined to get what you want don't always go hand in hand. One must know when to step back and when to rush forward." Although Ialari only gave Tirin a simple, half-hearted nod as she continued her work, Tirin did not press the matter. While Tirin knew Ialari to be an extremely patient student, she had also seen what happen when Ialari's anger was awakened. It wasn't just anger or frustration that drove Ialari's rage. It was pure, unabated hatred.

[Ialari Pythone]

Tirin looked at Ialari and recalled the first time she witnessed one of Ialari's outbursts. It was into Ialari's first year at the Tower. Tirin had been the instructor of a class on basic magical theory that Ialari was a part of. The class was mainly lecture including diagrams and examples with time given for discussion. Ialari was something of a quiet child. She rarely spoke up to volunteer information or give any insight into her progressive understanding of djed and its nature. When called on to answer however she always did so with short, to the point responses that were more often than not correct. Outside of class, she didn't socialize much with the other apprentices, always choosing to remain to herself. As with all children, isur being no different, she experienced some amount of ridicule for voluntary isolation.

Tirin saw some of this yet at the time, did not do anything about it as she saw it as necessary toward building the strength of character as well as strength of patience in her students. Unfortunately, and it was something she came to regret, it went on for too long. Evidence supporting this revealed its terrible face when, on one occasion, Ialari was sitting on one of the benches in the Tower courtyard deep in study. She was reading and writing in her journal when a group of three other apprentices, two boys and a girl, approached. They proceeded to tease and taunt Ialari for being such a quiet shut-in. They made fun of her for choosing a non-magical discipline to embrace in the form of poisons. They saw it as inferior compared to their own studies of summoning, reimancy and voiding respectively. Ialari took it well at first, ignoring them and continuing her studies. Then, one of the boys, Iridias, slapped the journal from Ialari's hands and demanded she acknowledge him. Ialari still ignored him and reached for her fallen journal. As she did, Iridias, his studies being in reimancy, created a small, centralized gust of wind to push the journal further out of Ialari's reach. The three of them laughed as Ialari stopped her efforts and simple sat on the bench. They continued to harass her, all the while Ialari sat seemingly unresponsive.

That was until she suddenly shot to her feet, her metallic hand darting out and grabbing Iridias' neck; her fingernails cutting the boy's dense flesh and her grip stealing his breath. The other two, caught by complete surprise, jumped back. Ialari pulled the boy's face close to her own. She smiled and whispered into his ear, her tone such that it was as poisoned as what she had employed on the boy, "Maybe you're right. Maybe poisons are an obsolete knowledge. However, I want you to consider this. That odd darkness that is now filling your vision...you don't possess any magic potent enough to stop it. In but a moment, your ability to see in the darkness of this place will be gone. You will only have the dim illuminations provided by the Tower to see by." Ialari leaned her head back, her other hand lifted to rest in front of her face. She blew Iridias a kiss and with it a strange powder held in the palm of her hand blew in his face. On the fingers of her metallic hand was a small amount of a yellow paste, a poison from a small vial she had broke before snatching hold of the boy's neck and piercing his skin with her fingernails.

Her voice louder now, venomous and filled with such hate that the boy would later say that he could almost feel the hatred physically as she spoke. "Now, any moment you will be unable to speak. You're tongue will grow thick and could even cause you to choke if you're not careful. Again, no magic will save you from that." She then turned her head to look at the other two apprentices. "If any of you ever dares to speak to me again for any reason, I promise that it will be the last time you ever speak again."

Ialari released Iridias who fell to the ground. His two friends fearfully stepped back several paces before running. Iridias tried to pick himself up from the ground, rubbing his throat and stumbling. He could not see very well as Ialari's poison had killed his nightvision even if just temporarily. He could not speak or shout out for anyone as his tongue had indeed thickened and effectively muted him. Scared and confused, Iridias fell backwards as Ialari took a couple of steps toward him. She smiled wickedly at him as she reached down and retrieved her journal. She then turned and left Iridias to struggle, stumble and eventually scrambled away. Ialari returned to her seat on the bench, opened her journal and continued to study her notes. Throughout it all, Tirin had been standing behind a nearby sculpture, listening and observing the entire event. The poisoned hatred that poured from Ialari as she stood up to the three stunned the older, more experienced Sentinel. Tirin had never physically felt such hatred like she did while watching and listening to Ialari. It was then that she decided to take on the task of mentoring Ialari and helping the apprentice through her studies at the Tower.

[Ialari Pythone]

During their time as mentor and apprentice, Tirin gained enough trust from Ialari that the young isur opened up from time to time. Ialari would tell Tirin of her childhood and how she had always been quite different from her brothers and sisters and the few friends she did have growing up. She revealed how she never really felt close to anyone though she loved her people almost fanatically. Tirin always saw this odd conflict between isolation and patriotism as somewhat odd yet never voiced that to Ialari. Ialari also spoke of the encounter with the three apprentices who had bullied her. Tirin carefully asked why, if Ialari cared so much for her people, would she act the way she did.

She remembered Ialari saying, "I don't know. For a moment, I only felt hatred toward them. Iridias most of all. I...I wanted him to suffer." Tirin had asked her why and Ialari followed up with, "He was weak. So much so that it was like I could taste his weakness in the air."

Tirin always thought Ialari's response to be rather distressing. As time went on, she tried to nurture whatever she could find positive in Ialari. She saw a determined, naturally skilled, highly intelligent young woman with immense potential. Unfortunately, those qualities were clouded by isolation, loneliness, anger and hatred. A couple years now since meeting Ialari, Tirin thankfully saw Ialari's hatred begin to change directions. While such emotions threatened the discipline and patience that were key tenets of the Tower and the Sentinels, Tirin saw those emotions directed more toward outsiders; toward the non-isur who inhabited the mountain foothills and lowlands. It was an unexpected transition brought on by the few encounters Ialari had with them during the occasional trip with some of her family members to some of the trading posts. This new target for negativity from Ialari did help restore her focus to her studies though. Ialari had even shared with Tirin her desire to somehow help the Kingdom as her driving goal at the Tower. It was a lofty goal, Ialari admitted, but it was something she wanted to do even if she didn't yet know how.

Ialari was quite the puzzle for Tirin. Perhaps that is why she allowed herself to get so close with her apprentice; she wanted to solve the puzzle. For the time being however, Tirin was satisfied with just seeing Ialari succeed in this next phase of her instruction.

Ialari gazed upon the aura through the lenses as she continued to hammer out the imperfections and direct the item's djed to fit the plan. She was into the second day of her magecraft and exhaustion combined with the constant headache brought on by looking too long into the lenses was taking its toll. Fortunately for Ialari, the end of the project was at hand. The final blow of the hammer caused the weave of geometrically patterned streaks of golden brown in the aura came together with another near blinding flash forcing Ialari to lean back while shielding her eyes. When she could see well enough, she looked once more through each lens and saw that the fluid-like aura surrounding her newly crafted hammer was now shining gold. The aura rippled and swirled like the surface of a bowl of lightly disturbed water.

Tirin took a moment to focus on the hammer with her own auristic skill and gave Ialari an confirming nod indicating success. "The hammer's aura has been sufficiently altered. New djed pathways have been opened and charged and it is ready for the final step. Right now, it possesses no magical properties. That will come after it has had time to cool down." Tirin gestured to basin of water nearby. That particular basin had been carved from granite, smoothed and polished with a magecraft glyph etched in the bottom interior. "The glyph inside the basin charges the water in a way that will draw out the magical properties crafted into the hammer."

Ialari used her tongs to pick up the hammer from the pedestal. She took a few steps to the basin and placed the hammer into the water. When the hammer made contact with the water, there was a noticeable series of sparks. As the hammer lay submerged in the basin, Ialari could see thousands of tiny bolts of energy shooting through the water with just as many tiny sparks dancing on the surface. She looked up at Tirin questioningly.

"The water is drawing out the magic in the hammer. That is what you are seeing now. When you no longer see the sparks and the water has calmed, you will know that the cool down process is complete that the hammer has been successfully magecrafted." Tirin placed a supportive hand on Ialari's shoulder and then said, "It will be a few more hours until it is done. You can go back to your quarters and rest if you wish. I will send for you when it is ready." Ialari didn't respond right away so Tirin gave a light sigh and added, "Or, you could have a seat over there and relax a little while you wait." That seemed to sound more to Ialari's liking as she slowly half-staggered down from the dais and over to a small chair set against the wall near Tirin's desk. Ialari sat down and hunched over with her head down and her hands resting in her lap. The entire process, while not overly taxing for her physically, drained her mentally. Despite the now raging headache she felt and the rather unfriendly-to-sleeping position she sat in, she found no trouble falling asleep.

[Ialari Pythone]

Awakened by Tirin calling her name, Ialari sat up from her slouched, sleeping position in the chair. Her mind was a bit groggy and neck ached but at least her headache had passed. It had been roughly three hours since Ialari had drifted off to an uncomfortable sleep. One by one she stretched her arms and legs before standing up and stretching her back. Although she had fallen asleep many times before while studying her notes, it was never any less uncomfortable.

Tirin motioned for Ialari to walk over to the charge basin. Shaking off, if only temporarily, the effects of not having slept well or long, Ialari approached the dais where the pedestal and charge basin sat.

"Remember how the water looked when you placed the item into the basin? Look now. The process is complete. Congratulations, Ialari." Tirin said as she gestured down at the basin.

Ialari looked down and noticed that the sparks on the water's surface had vanished and the bolts of energy that streaked through the water were gone. Ialari bent down and reached her metallic hand into the basin. Her fingers wrapped around the hammer's handle and she lifted it out of the water. It looked no different than it did before she first placed it on the pedestal and began the magecraft process. As she held it in her hand however, she could feel the ever so subtle difference. It wasn't that the hammer itself felt any lighter or heavier. It simply felt "right" when she held it. Ialari felt the same thing when she first picked out the other hammers before magecrafting her own. It was the feeling a magesmith got when they held the instruments of their craft.

Before dismissing Ialari for the day to get some proper rest, Tirin left her with a few final words, "While the hammer is the primary tool of the magesmith, it is the smith themselves who empowers it with knowledge, creativity and determination. The tool shapes but it is your hand that creates. Remember that from here on out, Ialari. Now, go sleep."

[Ialari Pythone]

Thread Grade

Magecraft: 5
Auristics: 1
Lore: Use of an optical ring in Magecraft
Lore: Simple concepts of Auristics
Lore: Reading auras as they seen through an optical ring
Lore: Using a magecraft hammer to shape the djed of an item
Lore: Understanding the similarities between Izentor and Magecraft
Lore: Abstract and Philosophical concepts of Magecraft
Lore: Fighting extreme fatigue in order to accomplish a greater task

Item: Personalized Magecraft Forge Hammer