[Ironworks] Don't Burn Yourself...Too Late (Solo)

[Marcus Braeden]

67th day of Fall, 511 AV.

Marcus found himself awoken by a thin ray of light that had managed to find itself shining through Marcus' window. Outside, the sun was hidden behind large gray clouds, while other parts of the sky remained blue. It was an average looking day by Marcus' standards. Marcus quickly rose from his bed and proceeded to get dressed. Marcus assumed he was in for another average day of work. He would simply walk in, do what ever needed to be done, leave, and, if he was feeling adventurous, maybe stop by the Rearing Stallion on the way home. It was a lifestyle that Marcus had grown accustomed to, but not one he yearned for... Marcus looked at his body. All but a few of the scars from the previous winter had disappeared. Part of Marcus hoped they would never disappear, as being kidnapped was the closest thing to adventure he had gotten. The other part of him simply wanted to forget about what had happened. However, his adventurous half also wanted revenge, and it was something that grew stronger everyday. Marcus threw on his cloak and disappeared out his door to meet the Fall air.

They were now deep into Fall with Winter approaching quickly. The one year anniversary was approaching quickly. As Marcus left the warmth of the building a blast of cool air hit him in the face, however he remained resilient, despite his hatred of the cold. Marcus moved at a quickened pace through the streets of Syliras, weaving in and out of the large crowd. Most of them were walking with Marcus, heading towards the Ironworks. A few members of the crowd walking in the opposite direction even bumped into him, nearly causing him to tumble to the ground. Marcus held his ground and kept himself buried in his cloak best he could before finally arriving at his destination, the Ironworks.

A large amount of people were lines up inside the Ironworks. Most of them Marcus didn't recognize as smiths who worked at the Ironworks. Marcus squeezed through the crowd of people toward the entrance to the forge. He walked in and smiled as the heat warmed him up. Marcus looked around, taking in the various projects that the smiths were working on. However the forge felt emptier than usual. There were not nearly as many smiths as there usually were. Suddenly a veteran smith approached Marcus.

"Braeden, thanks for showing up, seeing as nobody else did" he said sarcastically. "Look, we have been bombarded with order after order, and now we are behind. So just do whatever needs to be done to get todays orders filled out!"

Marcus simply nodded before walking away to hang his cloak up. He grabbed his hammer and other tools before finally setting out to work.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus observed the smiths around him working on their respective projects before walking over to the list to pick out a project to begin working on. There was a pair of smiths working on what looked like an extremely elaborate axe, complete with etchings in the blade and handle. Marcus turn to find another pair of smiths attempting to create a sword. Unfortunately they were not having as much as success as the smiths working the axe. As Marcus gazed at them, all he could hear was frantic yelling between the two. Other smiths were scattered across the smith, scurrying between the forge and their respective anvils. Everything seemed rushed and Marcus feared the quality would suffer in the panic.

There were roughly 45 Items on the list, which wouldn't be too bad if the forge was operating at full capacity. Things were complicated by the fact that most of the items were to be custom orders, possibly for Syliran Knights or maybe some merchant who just wanted a fancy sword to hang on his wall. Custom orders were always a bigger challenge than a simple longsword, since the item had to be personalized to whoever ordered it. Next to each item there was a description, which included the overall design of the weapon as well as materials used. Marcus scrolled down the list with his eyes, trying to choose his first project of the day. Eventually he opted out to create the winged spear someone was requesting.

Marcus read the description to himself, Ok a winged spear, lets see here. Marcus' eyes scanned the description. Ok metal used should be steel? No problem. Basic wooden shaft? Check. 'Winged' part should protrude away from the spearhead? OK. Wooden shaft wrapped in red fabric? Very well. Marcus put an x next to the item in order to signal that it was currently being worked on. When he was done he would come back and completely cross off the item from the list.

Marcus first grabbed the steel he would need and made his way over to the fire where he would heat the metal so he could forge it into the correct shape. Amidst the panic that surrounded him, Marcus tried to remain calm and composed, although he too felt the pressure that everyone else was feeling. However Marcus was determined not to let the pressure get inside his head.

Once the metal had reached a high enough temperature Marcus brought it back to the anvil he was working at and began to strike the metal with his hammer. Making the spearhead was not a difficult process for Marcus, since he seemed to always end up making them whenever he worked. Even today, the one time he had a choice in what to make, he went ahead and chose a spear to start out with. The only part of this spear that proved any sort of challenge was the 'wings' on the spear, and even those would be simple for Marcus.

After re-heating the metal several times, and pounding it into shape after each time, the spear head had been completed. Marcus had shaved much of the excess steel off of the original piece of metal and decided to use the excess metal as the 'wings.' He heated them up and it only took one attempt to actually put them into shape. The only thing left to do was attach the 'wings' to the base of the spearhead at the requested angle. Using the heat from fire, Marcus smelted the metal together to create the full spearhead, complete with its 'wings'

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus' mind was beginning to become clouded as the other smiths had gotten progressively louder and more frantic. Everyone could feel that the pressure was on and it wasn't even noon yet. Marcus felt a gust of wind as one smith raced past him, nearly clipping his shoulder. The two smiths creating the sword were still arguing among themselves, although practically the entire forge were listening in on their conversation. Suddenly Marcus heard a loud yelp, followed by the clang of steel meeting the ground. Marcus quickly turned around to find a younger smith had somehow managed to put his arm too far into the fire only to find his hand burned. In his panic he managed to take down a rack of tools with him to the ground. Marcus shook his head and thought to himself didn't realize they hired novices here...

Marcus tried to shut out the chaos around him so he could continue with his project. Three things remained now that the forging was done: hardening, tempering, and attaching the spearhead to the wooden shaft. Marcus hurried over to the fire; he had also lost a bit of that composure that he originally intended to maintain. While at the fire, Marcus heated the metal at a high temperature, and then quickly dunked it into water to rapidly cool it. He did this as many times as it took for the metal to become brittle. Once the metal had reached that stage, he continued to heat it, but this time at a lower temperature, before once again dunking the metal. Marcus had developed an eye for when to stop tempering, and he ended up repeating this process about ten times before deciding that it was time. Next, all he had to do was attach the shaft the spearhead. He grabbed a wooden shaft, which were already pre-made and ready to go thanks to the carpenters in town, and fastened it to the spearhead with his hammer. He also grabbed the red fabric that the order requested. The Ironworks always had materials such as fabric since it was common to wrap the handle of a weapon in leather or fabric. Quite hastily, Marcus wrapped the fabric around the weapon and tied it off before setting the completed weapon on the rack.

Marcus found himself back at the list of orders, crossing off the winged spear he had made. He also noticed a few more smiths had arrived on the scene, but they still weren't at full capacity. The smith from earlier who had learned the valuable lesson of "fire is hot" was no where in site and probably went home for the day...or forever.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus up and down the list, looking at what was being worked on, what had been completed, and what still needed work. Since he had started, a few of the items had been crossed off, and more have gone into construction. Marcus turned and eyed the pair of smiths struggling with the sword they were to make. He turned back toward the list, seeing that there was only one sword currently being worked on. Those two smiths must have been working on that particular one. Marcus was half tempted to walk over and take the project over for them, and on any other day he would, but he doubted they could use the delay on a day like this, so he continued his search and found himself a different sword to work on.

Marcus once again stared at the description the sword was given, reading it inside his head. Ok what's next? A steel short sword, with a steel handle that is wrapped in leather, round steel ball for the pommel, and a basic cross guard. Not exactly the fanciest hilt design I have heard of. How about the blade? Blade should slightly curve out and then in towards the point, and needs to be etched with an oak tree at the base of the blade...easy enough.

Marcus once again set out to work, grabbing the needed steel and sticking it in the fire. He brought the glowing metal back to his anvil, and began the forging, just as he did with any other weapon. Each time strike was both accurate and precise, bending the steel closer and closer to the desired shape, although it was not an overnight transition. Each time he heated it and pounded it, there were small subtle differences, and eventually, the blade took form of the requested shape. He continued reworking the steel, and folding the metal. After all, what was the point of a sword that couldn't even hold its own in combat. Eventually, Marcus had the blade ready to go, apart from being sharpened and the etching, with the tang ready to be placed in the hilt, which still needed to be created.

[Marcus Braeden]

Now that the blade was complete, he needed to take it back to the cooling tanks so he could harden and temper it, just as he had done before with the winged spear. He walked over, and set the blade in the fire. While the metal heated, Marcus turned his back and looked at the smiths dashing across the floor, trying to get from one place to the next in an effort to finish their project as quickly as possible. Marcus zeroed in on the weapons being made, silently judging each smiths work. One smith near him was setting a sword on the rack that was just completed. To the untrained eye it looked like a normal sword, but Marcus noticed how brittle it looked. It wouldn't last more than three fights. One man carried a spear past him that was poorly put together, but Marcus said nothing. He simply turned and removed his own project from the fire, quenched it in the water, and repeated before moving onto tempering. While the smiths around him succumbed to the pressure, no longer putting in a quality effort, Marcus remained as focused as he could be. But his fellow smiths were not making it any easier for him.

Once he had hardened and tempered his blade, he sat down at the grindstone, to sharpen the blade and grind out any jagged areas. As the wheel turned, he pressed the metal against the stone and orange sparks flew into the air, only to disappear into thin air moments later. Marcus kept his face back as to not let any sparks jump at his face. After a few minutes, Marcus switched to other side of the blade and continued the process. Finally, he ran his fingers down both sides, and touched the tip. It wasn't quite sharp yet, but it was smooth, and that's all Marcus needed.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus set the blade aside and grabbed himself some more metal to begin working on the hilt. However, when Marcus was walking back with the glowing metal toward his anvil, he was stopped by the veteran smith who had met him at the door on his way in. For some reason, this smith had also taken it upon himself to make sure everyone was getting there projects done as fast as possible. The Ironic part was that Marcus hadn't seen this one working anything himself. And why was he bothering Marcus when those other two smiths were still arguing over a sword?

"How is yours going" the smith asked.

"Not bad, just starting on the hilt for it right now" Marcus responded

"You are working on that short sword right? You know the one...with the oak tree etched in the blade. That one only requires a basic sword hilt, doesn't it? Don't go wasting your time with making one from scratch, just go get one that's already made from the cart over there. We still have more orders to fill." he said pointing behind him.

Marcus simply nodded, despite disagreeing with the smith. He would rather not use one that was already made since they were not made with a specific sword in mind. But Marcus was in no place to argue and didn't really feel like it anyway. Arguing would have been even less productive than making a hilt from scratch, so Marcus sighed and with it, as he wandered off to grab a hilt, bringing the blade with him in order to match sizes. Finally he found one with the correct pommel and size, and brought it back to the anvil for assembly. After fumbling around a bit, and working the tang into the hilt, he had himself a short sword, that should be fit for use. But Marcus still had to etch the design in, and of course polish the sword, as well as sharpen it one last time.

Marcus put a layer of wax over the blade of sword to first prepare for the etching. Next he drew the appropriate design into the wax, exposing the metal where the design was. The next step was to simply dunk the blade into a barrel of some barrel of acidic substance. Marcus didn't know what it was, but it worked. Marcus left the blade submerged for 10 minutes and let the liquid etch the design in. Finally Marcus drew the sword out and wiped it off with a rag. Marcus inspected the etching, seeing quite clearly the oak tree sprouting out of the crossguard and up the length of the blade. Marcus brought the blade back to his anvil and polished it quickly and wrapped some leather around the handle. He then went back to the grindstone and sharpened the blade so it could actually do some damage, before finally setting it on the rack, and crossing the order off the list.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus once again found himself studying the order list. More and more projects had been completed and crossed off the list. Even that sword the two smiths were working on had managed to miraculously get finished, although Marcus couldn't help but go and see what that particular sword looked like. He strolled over to the weapon rack and searched for the sword they had made. He found it and picked it up. Looked like a perfectly normal sword at first glance, but Marcus could tell it wasn't. There was too much weight in the blade and not enough in the hilt. In short, just like everything else that would be produced today, it was rushed.

Marcus turned his attention back toward the list and began searching for something new to begin working on, which would mostly be his final project for the day, as it was starting to become late in the afternoon. The normal project count Marcus was used to was one high quality project a day, along with some minor projects that went by quickly. He was trying to fit three in a day now, which was bound to kill off a lot of quality. Marcus found himself reading about a one handed battle axe that was to be quite elaborate. The axe was to only have one blade, but it was to have a flower pattern on both sides of the axe blade, dead in the center, while the actual blade was standard looking. The handle was also to have its own etching of a vine slowly curving up the handle like a spiral staircase. Marcus marked it as being worked on, and went about his way to get this project done. And he intended to this one right.

[Marcus Braeden]

Same as before, Marcus retrieved the metal that would be necessary for this particular axe and prepared the anvil. Carrying the metal, he slowly walked toward the forge. He had surrounded himself with an aura of calmness, while the other smiths scurried about outside this bubble Marcus had created. This time, all the panic in the air wasn't going to touch him. Marcus crossed his arms and waited for his metal to finish heating. He looked completely content, while others still hurried their work. Marcus even began to whistle a a tune to himself just to past the time. Finally the metal was ready to be forged by his hammer.

Making an axe was similar to making a sword, at least in concept. It was a blade attached to a sort of hilt or handle. The only thing that changed was shape of the blade and length of the handle. The handle was longer, while the blade was always single edged. Since this particular piece Marcus was making was a single handed, it was essentially just a hand axe...meant for battle. A very fancy looking hand axe meant for battle. For Marcus this axe wouldn't be too much of a problem, at least in forging. He had made battle axes before, and they were no more difficult than a sword. When it came to the etching, Marcus was planning on handing it off to someone more experienced with the process. Marcus was used to engraving, which is what his father used in Ravok. The tree design that Marcus had etched into the sword before was simple enough, plus it was a common design to be seen on a weapon, what with the Windoak and everything. But a pattern pattern like that, he would surely screw up the design in some way.

Marcus began the process just like he would with just about any other weapon. He brought the heated metal, which was now glowing from the heat, back to the anvil and began to strike the metal with both precision and accuracy using his father's hammer. As Marcus hammered, he could make out the engraving in the hammer: Braeden. The family name shimmered in the right light but besides that it looked like a simple smithing hammer. Minutes later, the metal Marcus was working had cooled down once again and needed some more time in the fire, which Marcus granted. He waited once again, with his arms crossed, examining the smiths dashing across the floor, and chuckling to himself.

He removed his metal and returned to the anvil where he continued the forging. With each heating, the metal slowly lost the form of a clump of steel, and began to take the form of an axe blade. Marcus was now working at his own pace, doing his best to remain unaffected by the chaos surrounding him. But because of this calmness he maintained, not one blow he delivered went amiss. Eventually, Marcus had himself an axe blade. It needed hardening and tempering, as well as a trip to grinder, before it was completely done. But the forging was finished.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus carried the axe blade he had created over to the fire where he would preform the hardening and tempering. First he hardened it, heating the metal to an extremely high temperature, and then quenching the steel in the cold water. This process was repeated over and over again, until his crafted blade was brittle. Then the challenging process began, well sort of challenging, maybe for a less experienced smith. Marcus had developed a natural eye for the art of tempering metals. It sounded easy enough: heat the metal to a low temperature in the fire, and then simply give the metal a nice bath in the quenching tanks. However there were so many different reactions occurring in the metal that the smith had to keep an eye out and make sure to withdraw the metal at the right moment. This is where novices screwed up. They left it in either too long or not long enough, which just gives the weapon a shorter lifespan.

Marcus eyed the metal inside the fire like a hawk watching its prey. His eyes remained fixed on the surface of the steel, watching every little part of the blade. After a little bit, Marcus withdrew the blade and submerged it in the water, only to place the metal back into the fire once again, and once again he watched and waited. Across the plane of the blade, thousands of reactions were occurring simultaneously and Marcus monitored them, making sure that this axe would somehow make up for lack of quality control throughout the day. After heating the metal and rapidly cooling it for what seemed like an eternity, Marcus had reached the equilibrium between strength and flexibility, and the tempering had been completed.

Marcus carried his craft in hand over to the grinder to work out the kinks in the metal, a much simpler process than hardening and tempering. As the wheel began spinning, Marcus lightly pressed the steel against the stone and slowly added pressure. Soon enough the sparks began to fly. When the blade was smooth, Marcus returned to his anvil with his lovely new axe blade and got ready to craft the handle.

[Marcus Braeden]

Once more, Marcus found himself working his craft, pounding the white hot metal with his smithing hammer, passed down from his father before him. By simply striking the metal with a simple looking hammer, he could transform any slab of metal into something useful. Something beautiful, a sort of work of art, at least, he thought so. It was a marvelous craft, being able to bend some of natures strongest substances. The best smiths, those who lived in the high mountains of Kalea, the Isur, had even made a stronger substance to create weapons and tools from, Isurian Steel. If only Marcus could work the legendary metal, but unfortunately, it was something that was left to the Isur.

Soon enough Marcus found himself simply attaching the axe blade to the hilt he had created. It was simple, and only took a few minutes of his time until the axe was ready to be etched by someone more experienced. Marcus walked over to the etching area with his axe in one hand and the order detailing the etching in the other. Someone was there waiting for him, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Once Marcus neared him, his eyes opened and reached out to recieve the axe as well as the order. Marcus handed both items off to him and walked away, giving the etcher a slight nod beforehand.

Marcus hung his apron upon the wall, and stored the tools he had used throughout the day back where he had gotten them. The day was finally done, and Marcus was thrown out of his state, as well as simply exhausted from the work that was done. There was also some disappointment residing within him. Marcus was a man that was about quality, and unfortunately, this day seemed to be more about quantity.

Marcus did not leave the Ironworks after he was finished with his work. In silence, he watched the man he gave the axe to. He watched him as he etched it, at a quicker pace than Marcus had seen others do it. He sighed, suspecting that the quality of the etching would not reflect the quality of the weapon. The man was no different than any other smith that day, sacrificing quality for the sake of getting things done. When the man had finished, and placed the weapon upon the rack, Marcus raced over to inspect his work, expecting to be underwhelmed. It wasn't his place to judge, but Marcus couldn't help but obsess over it. Marcus found himself looking at the axe. It looked absolutely...amazing. The vine that ascended the handle was astonishing, and flower pattern on the blade made the axe Marcus had created look like it belonged to a king.

From the corner of the room, the etcher watched Marcus' reaction and smiled.