Steps to Manhood[Charon]

[Hatot]

10th Day of Spring, 510 A.V. Hatot stood in front of the smithies, his head tilted back as his eyes were closed in silent reflection. Radris slept at the time, which was likely a good thing considering what he needed to do. Forging a Lakan was an important step in a Akalak’s life, and one that likely needed a calm heart, patience, and perseverance in the event that first attempts did not exceed. Radris was not well suited for any of such. Hatot had seen many Lakan in his time. He even remembered his father letting him hold the one he had forged when Hatot was but a child. Still, he had not the faintest clue as to what went into the Lakan, and exactly zero experience at the forge himself. He wasn’t sure if they would have the supplies there, or if Hatot himself, as initial stages of the whole Rite of Manhood, would have to gather the ores and essentially complete everything from start to finish. All Hatot knew for sure was this: His time for his Rite of Manhood was mere months away, and he had yet to even attempt even forging the essential tool required for the Rite. Hatot’s head slowly lowered, as a long breath was exhaled. His eyelids slowly opened, revealing that intense golden color in the iris’ of his eyes. With slow, long strides, he then walked in to the smithy, pausing for a moment to look around. Finally, his gaze caught the large Akalak slamming a hammer down along glowing hot metal, flattening it out over the anvil. What he was in the process of shaping, Hatot could not tell. Though the sparks that flew with each swing of the hammer, coupled with the intense passion upon the smithy’s face, foretold that it would be something great. “Excuse me?” Hatot said calmly to garner the smithies attention. “I am Hatot, and I come humbly requesting your guidance in the forging of my first Lakan.”

[Charon]

Mod NoteMake sure you put a timestamp on your first post!!

The heat consumed the air. Thick with the humidity created by the evaporating sweat emitting from the pair of weapon smiths, the air was pierced by deafeningly sharp clangs on hammer on molten metal. When struck with the oversized mallet carrying the weight and force from the massive arms of the Akalak smithy, the red hot malleable metal changed its shape just the way the crafter intended. With massive strokes, it was impressive to the observer to see just how carefully each hit manipulated the metal to slowly start to form into the weapon which was the final goal.

The blue hue covering the men's skin was rippled by the massive muscles partially from genetic superiority the Akalak had over other races, but mostly from the chosen profession these men decided upon when they were young. If Hatot was looking to find guidance, this was certainly the right place as the skilled weapons crafters had almost certainly forged their own Lakan before their own Rite of Manhood. They would certainly have an expertise in the subject that the younger Akalak could gain much experience from.

It took several moments for the Akalak to notice Hatot standing there. The two had been focusing on their work and the first had come to a stopping point. He stood slowly to attention, leaving his eyes on the iron which was elongated since Hatot's arrival, and critically admired his work before turning to the new face. He heard his initial announcement and replied with a nod, "Hatot. I am Nabros, the head weapon smith here." The man gave a smile as sweat continued to pour down his face and arms. "Of course I will help you."

The smile left his face as he moved around a wooden counter organized neatly with iron tools and approached Hatot. "This is an incredibly important first step toward your Rite of Manhood of course. How are your skills in weapon smithing? It's fine if you are unskilled or more competent- the challenges will differ only slightly." Nabros looked solemnly into the eyes of his fellow Akalak before adding, "the Lakan is made with you. You do not simply make one or bang at metal until you are satisfied. No. You create an extension of yourself in this weapon. An extension that will never be separated from what makes you. Do you understand the importance of the experience and challenge you're about embark on?" His eyes did not move from Hatot's while the thick, hot air lingered between them buffering the words with an air of importance that could not be underestimated.

[Hatot]

Hatot shook his head slowly, looking down to his hands. “I’ve no experience in weapon forging.” Hatot confessed, looking up slowly to the master blacksmith. “I’ve never even picked up a hammer.” Hatot then lowered his head, slowly contemplating the Smith’s words. “An extension of myself?” Hatot simply questioned before looking back up to the Nabros. “I knew the Lakan to be an important symbol of the Akalak culture, but I never suspected that part of an Akalak‘s being and spirit went into the weapon itself. I‘m afraid, that with my own internal struggle, this may prove to be a more difficult challenge than I originally anticipated.“ Hatot slowly removed his cloak, exposing himself more than he was normally comfortable with doing. He then looked to Nabros, a determination set in his eyes. “I thank you for your guidance right from the start,” Hatot said, realizing that Nabros’ questions were already the start of what he was to embark on. “Though it may be a struggle for me to complete, I will not deter from it. For whether I succeed or fail when it comes to this or ultimately my Rite of Manhood, I can not think of anything worse than to not try at all.”

[Charon]

Nabros carefully listened to Hatot's reply, not outwardly reacting to his words at all. This would certainly be a challenge for him-though many men came to him not knowing anything about smithing weapons, they usually had some sort of ideas about what they wanted and many had grasped the concept that the Lakan was imbued with their own spirit during the creating process. However there were those who lacked the understanding of both the weapon crafting skill and the personal touches that combined to form their Lakan and though the challenge was greater, it was one worth taking on. Nabros felt it was part of his duty to his race besides the fact that he enjoyed taking on the difficult prospects.

This Akalak that stood before him had the will to learn and passion to not give up. That was an important initial requirement when embarking on such an important but difficult task. Nodding slowly and retaining eye contact, Nabros steadily replied, "This is fine. I can teach you what you need to know about smithing. I can teach you about the importance of the construction of your Lakan. The only thing I cannot teach you is how to put your soul into it. That part, I'm afraid, will take self reflection and perhaps some prayer and must be figured out on your own." The head weaponsmith waited for these words to sink in and ensured they were completely understood before continuing.

"We will start with the basics of smithing." Nabros moved back behind the wooden counter full of tools. He pointed to a black leather apron hanging on a nail against one wall for Hatot to take one. Several other nails were driven into the wall at various heights in order to support other equipment as well. Hammers, tongs, aprons, gloves... several other tools that looked unfamiliar also hung there. Sledges were resting on the ground below these other tools and were lined up in various sizes.

Nabros moved to an anvil sitting in front of the circular door to the furnace. Slipping his gloves back on, the man picked up a short piece of iron from a pile and set it on the anvil. Grabbing a pair of tongs with long handles, he used them to pick up the piece of iron. He opened the furnace door and slid the tongs in. Though the small bit of iron did not weight much, it was still impressive to see him use only one arm with the tongs and not even react to the sudden increase in temperature when the furnace was opened to the room. Hatot could immediately feel his skin perspiring from the fire.

"Of course you start with some piece of metal and you need to get it very hot. You can see how hot it is while looking in the furnace. If you take the metal out to look you are just cooling it down and slowly the process." The safety issues went without saying. As far as Nabros was concerned if somebody he was teaching did not understand the dangers then they probably did not deserve to create their own weapons. "If you want a blade twice the length of your grip, how long of a piece of metal do you think you should start with?" He asked the question as he watched the iron heat up and begin to hint at a deep shade of red.

[Hatot]

Hatot slipped on the apron as his hands slipped behind his back, tying the straps. He took a moment to gaze over the tools of the trade, not even sure what half of them would be for. He gave a nod to Nabros as he spoke of his abilities in forging the weapon, but not in bonding Hatot’s spirit to it. “If I have to, I’ll seek advice from my father or the grand master of the school, but I would prefer to attempt my bonding on my own.“ Hatot replied as he gave a short little tug along the leather apron, straitening out all the wrinkles. He followed Nabros behind the counter, watching carefully as he grabbed the tongs and picked up a bar of iron. The heat wave Hatot felt caused him to lean back a little, shielding his eyes in reaction. It was then he noticed that it would likely be a good idea to remove his gauntlets and began to do so. Listening carefully, he slipped the gauntlets along the counter beside them, trying to carefully take in every word Nabros said. “Is iron the common material to work with, or would it be possible for me to use steel in the creation of mine?” Jaeden asked idly as he stared curiously at the iron interacting with the heat of the furnace, slowly blackening at first before specks of red began to form at the thinnest layers of the metal. Finally, after a short time, the end submerged in the burning coals began to glow and Hatot noticed the intense waves of heat that rose from it, playing with his vision. He then looked to Nabros with a thought of contemplation for a moment. “I would ponder to guess that you would work with a piece twice as long as your wrist then, but I assume I would be wrong in that guess.” Hatot answered, looking to Nabros for the actual answer.

[Charon]

Nabros took a moment to glance at his student during his reply. The smithy's eyes never wandering too far nor for too long from the furnace and the heating piece of iron. The heat distorted the air in waves making precise eyesight nearly impossible, but the man was only looking for the red hue that would tell him the metal was ready to be initially worked. "You can use whatever metal you feel like for your weapon. There is nothing dictating what you have to use... after all, it is yours and yours alone to wield." The Akalak, starting to feel the sweat roll down his cheeks again, picked up a relatively large sledge in preparation to pull out the iron.

"You are partially right," the teacher commented about the length required. "It was sort of a trick question, to be honest. You see, as you hammer the metal it will expand in both length and width. So as you become more familiar with this work, you will have a better idea of what length to start with. However, if it becomes too long, you can always truncate the unneeded parts by letting it cool a bit and giving it a hard but accurate swipe of a sledge." He would demonstrate if needed, but at the moment Nabros picked up the tongs and quickly but deftly removed the red-hot iron from the furnace.

Leaving the doors to the fire pit open, Nabros set the tongs in a vice so the molten portion of the iron was resting on the anvil. He picked up the sledge that he chose a few moments early and be began to hammer with medium strength hits. His aim was the very center of the reddened metal and as he struck it, the metal slowly moved away from the impact spot and spread wider and slightly longer. Moving the target spot further to the tip, Nabros continued to hammer with the same strength causing the iron to elongate with each hit. Once he was satisfied with this initial work, he released the vice and moved the iron back into the furnace.

Knowing this would take a bit more time for the next portion of the iron to heat, Nabros looked back at his pupil. "With this small amount of iron, your strikes do not need much momentum or force. If you were creating a sword or you had more than one piece of metal that you wanted to combine to add thickness, you would need a stronger swing to accomplish your task. Also, if you hit too close to the cooled portion of your metal, your hits will be less effective and your metal will be cooling while you waste energy." Nabros gave sort of a grunt-like laugh and added, "the job is already hard enough without wasting your energy."

"When you feel this piece is ready, I want you to pull it out and repeat what I've shown you and what I've told you." Stepping aside and crossing his arms over his chest, Nabros moved to give Hatot all the room he might need and more. There were too many tools and other objects that simply would not feel pleasurable if prodded when caught off guard. And Nabros had taught too many students to assume each would be calm enough to handle the job.

[Hatot]

Hatot nodded as he stepped up to the furnace, the already intense heat becoming even more so the closer he got. His hand slid out to grasp the tongs, gripping them lightly as he gave subtle movements to judge the weight of the iron it held. After all, he didn’t want to pull it free, leaving his grip to light only to have it fall the ground and possibly start a fire or burn someone as it tumbled around. Finally, after a short period of time had passed, Hatot pulled the iron free from the furnace. The metal almost a bright yellow now in it’s glow. He held it out for a moment, observing it’s nature only to find that it slowly started to bend under a combination of it’s own weight and the iron’s own malleability after being heated for so long. Hatot's eyes widened for a moment in reaction, before quickly laying the iron over the anvil. “I see such a time is not good for taking a visual fascination. Counterproductive towards the end goal.” Hatot then gripped the hammer with his other hand, letting the head rest along the anvil beside the piece of iron for a moment. “Medium strength then,” Hatot muttered repeatedly under his breath for a few moments before raising the hammer for the first strike. His initial strikes turned out to be too light, as he simply allowed the weight of the hammer itself to be the deciding force as it struck along the iron, barely making any change before it bounced back upward. A slow sigh was released as he saw the glow of the metal beginning to already fade. In his impatience, he neglected the words his teacher had spoken to him, and began applying too much force to his swings now, as sparks few out wildly with each hit, which were inaccurate to boot. The end result forming misshapen bulges along the piece of iron, and an uneven surface. He slowly raised the piece of metal in front of his eyes, turning it slightly back and forth as he gazed over the disastrous first attempt. Looking over to Nabros, Hatot remained silent for a long moment before casually stepping back over to the furnace and slipping the piece of iron inside. “It appears to be such a simpler task in the hands of a master.” Hatot remarked, taking a step back from the heat. “I assume I’ll be at this for quite some time.”

[Charon]

Nabros watched the new student take his first piece of hot metal from the oven and lift the sledge without much in the ways of expectations. The first couple of strikes Hatot managed made it difficult for the master metal worker to withhold his laughter. After he was successful with another strike or two and Nabros watched his fellow Akalak admire his newly molded piece of rapidly cooling metal, the teacher decided not to keep back his amused feelings. "At this rate, you'll be an elder before you craft a Lakan!" the joke was quickly followed by an unintentionally forceful clap on the back of Hatot's shoulder.

The older of the pair calmed himself and nodded toward the metal still resting in the tongs but hardly carrying a hint of color. "Go ahead and keep working that for accuracy and to gain a feeling for how much strength you'll need for different strikes. Try hitting the metal at the end and closer to the cooled portion to see the different effects. What metal do you think you want to use for your actual Lakan?" When the question was answered, Nabros turned and left the pupil to his self-learning for some time before eventually returning with a full wooden bucket of the metal Hatot mentioned in various lengths and thicknesses.

Nabros watched Hatot for some time, ready to help or answer questions and offer advice as needed. When he seemed finished with the basics, he offered the student a choice. "You can either continue to work on your basic skills, which is not a terrible idea," Nabros was looking at the metal out of the oven when adding the last bit. Then he nodded to the new stash he collected and set down behind Hatot, "Or you can pick up a piece of this stuff and get a feel for the difference. Every metal you work with has different characteristics and will behave differently when heat and force are applied. Or you can take a break for the day and come back tomorrow, the choice is yours. If you do decide on a break, however, I would do some soul searching for how you're going to add everything into this Lakan that it needs." Nabros leaned against the tool table with arms folded neatly over his powerfully built chest as he waited for the answer. His face no longer joking nor terribly serious or gaunt- he gave the impression of a man confident in whatever path lay before him.

[Hatot]

“It would not surprise me.” Hatot replied to Nabros’ jest, before stuffing the iron into the oven. Hatot then waited a small period of time, observing the metal as it began to glow again. Once again he pulled it free, and continued to work on it as Nabros instructed. He took pauses between his swings, working on his accuracy first off, and then gradually increased the strength of his swing. He noted that as he swung harder each time, the difficulty involved in maintaining accuracy increased. He found himself missing the metal entirely on a couple of the swings. After heating the metal once again, he then began hitting the metal along it’s tip first, noting how the metal flattened out on either side. When he began hitting the end more near the cooled metal, he noticed a different effect, as the metal flattened out, but also spread down the slender piece of heated metal, like it was a butter being spread out over bread almost. His gaze then rested along Nabros, considering his question about metal. “I had been thinking steel, but do you have any suggestions in mind when it comes to making a good quality Lakan?” Hatot asked, dragging his forearm along his brow to wipe away a layer of sweat. “Well, if at all possible,” Hatot began, “I’d like to work on a little of both. Basics should come first, but I would like to work with the various types of metal. A good friend of mine is having a forge built, and I wouldn’t mind giving her a hand when it comes to such works.” Hotot then paused for a moment, looking over the burning coals of the oven, contemplating on Nabros’ words. “Indeed, I will have to do some soul searching. I still have a fair amount of time before my Rite of Manhood, I will meditate in the time I have off from my lessons here.”

[Charon]

Nabros watched as the hands which were previously new to the art of metal working began to take up a rhythm of their own. Though not a terribly consistent or accurate rhythm just yet, they were learning with greater strides with every slam of the sledge upon the anvil. Hatot was quickly gaining experience as he hammered the iron bars into contorted shapes and lengths that, though interesting and perplexing, had no place being involved with creating a weapon.

Offering tips and advice here and there with every few strokes, Nabros nodded and set aside pieces of steel for his student to work next. When asked for a suggestion, a smug grin fell into place upon his lips before replying. "I do not make suggestions on with what metal or with which sledge to create your Lakan, my son. Use what you are comfortable with. Use what you feel you should use." He emphasized the word "feel" by placing a clinched fist across his chest and tapping it over his heart. His other hand reached up and rested on Hatot's shoulder and with a gentle but forceful squeeze and squint of his eye, Nabros peered deeply into his student's mind, or so it seemed. There was much talk about his soul and his feelings and his guts coming from Nabros and on the surface none of it seemed helpful at all. But there must be an underlying point hidden in these words if he continues to repeat them. Perhaps that is something to ponder on his "soul searching" time away from honing the physical skills needed to craft this important weapon.

Reaching for a sledge with a small head and shorter shaft, Nabros moved next to the anvil where he heated the iron again and removed it from the furnace. This time he banged only on the edges of the heated metal and he angled the iron as he did so. He flipped the shaft over and repeated the process on the other side though he worked on the opposite side of the same edge. After a few brief strokes in this manner he lifted the metal as it was cooling more rapidly and pointed out to Hatot the tapering effect he had just created along the edge. "This may resemble more of what a weapon traditionally ends up looking like than what you were doing before, yes?" He smiled and continued, "If you use a lighter sledge you can fine tune the amount the metal spreads with more accuracy than simply adjusting your strokes with the larger hammer. In this method you can taper the edge enough that grinding out an actual blade will become easier. Please, take some steel and this iron and continue working. I will be around but will leave you to your madness." The grin, though genuine and jovial, did nothing to make the Akalak seem smaller in any way. He was certainly a large man but his spirit felt as if it loomed even larger than the body containing it.

Mod NoteGo ahead and work with the different metals, experiment with shaping them and do what you want here. Play with trying to create distinctive shapes and designs and describe your thoughts along the way!