Completed [Sultros Blades] Gilded {Eanos}

[Hadyn Skellig]

The woman nodded solemnly, Eanos' words resonating with her. It'd been such a long time since they'd spoken to this extent and, while she was happy to take on the position of leadership when he deemed it appropriate, the weaponsmith enjoyed learning. The Isur was a constant teacher and she remained an enrapt student in his presence.

"True," she replied with a cant of her head. "Thank you for the counsel."

The brunette fell quiet, looking at her project resting on the table. It was nearly complete. Her labors would come to a close and nothing made her prouder than looking upon the customer's pleased face. It was one of the many endearing qualities of her job and she was fortunate to love her profession so. Resting her fingers against the smooth cold hilt Hadyn smiled wistfully.

"Y'ever wonder how a smith could have all this familiarity with a blade yet have no functional purpose for a blade." Or talent wielding it. The woman didn't know if Eanos was as skilled in the use of a weapon as he was creating them. But she was an utter embarrassment with anything more than a dagger. Ironic to be in the business of making weapons only to have no knowledge of them in the real world. Turning her gaze to him the brunette regarded him with interest. "Were you trained in employin' the blades you made?"

[Eanos]

Eanos was forced to smile for Hadyn often had a way of striking directly to the heart of things and of asking questions that were illuminating.

"A good question, a very good question," he said musingly, not referring to the last question directly but to the both of them. It brought back memories of when he was much younger and as part of his auristics training had watched the warriors in Sultros train and the thoughts which had come to his mid then.

"No, I have no skill with the blade," he replied, "though of course we," and at that he lifted his left arm and referring in his mind to his race, "have less to fear from attack with such." He continued to muse for a moment.

"When I was younger I was sure that a smith must need to understand how to use a blade in order to make one. How else can you decide on what steel is needed, where to place the balance and so forth? Only an expert in the use of a weapon can understand what makes a sword outstanding." He smiled though.

"But we cannot strive for excellence in all things. If I were an expert in the longsword, what about short swords or daggers? Fighting in armour or not? Does my style dictate that the sword is slung or tight at the waist? No man or woman can be expert at all of these, and all dictate different blades. To be expert in using all of these and making them we would need to be gods." He tapped the fingers of his hand on the top.

"Fortunately my Master disabused me of the notion." His smile became a little more serious. "But it is still an excellent question. Dare I say it, as much as I respect Ros, some of the swords that come out of the Ironworks are not as good as they could be. Indeed it is why I spoke of specialisation. We are only as good as smiths as the expertise of our customers. It is our biggest advantage over the Ironworks when it comes to quality." He realised that he was drifting off the subject but decided to continue anyway for these were things that they should talk about.

"Armies like to standardise, yet the man setting the standard normally isn't the weapons master but instead a clerk who will understandably haggle on the price. New recruits are trained on sub-standard blade designs, and build their skills around them, learning to compensate for the deficiencies. The Knights are little better at this than anyone else I daresay. The smiths who learn their trade making those weapons know no better."

"We, however are fortunate, because our customers are those that have recognised that standard weapons are often substandard in many ways. They tell us what a good sword should be, we learn and apply our skills and give them a better sword than they expect. Smith and customer train each other and each time we both get better."

He grinned and waved at the work she had been doing. "Of course not all blades are intended for warfare, but the detail is everything and with every job we get better." He really had wandered off the subject and realised that it had been an excuse to justify his future plans.

[Hadyn Skellig]

Eanos was a wealth of wisdom and knowledge. Hadyn regretted not spending more time with him simply talking. Their work required constant diligence and attention to performance, allowing idle moments for discussion few and far between. His answer to her query was not only satisfactory but entirely on point.

"We are fortunate in our customers," the woman agreed with a nod. "Yet I wonder, what might it be like to smith in a city like Sunberth. I mean, we're servants of the Knights here. Aside from the occasional traveler and specialized mercenary I find we're mostly churnin' out blades for either light combat or show."

Hadyn glanced at the weapons she'd been working on. It was something that'd been tugging recently on her mind. Syliras allowed for smiths to not only create functional items but ceremonial ones as well. But a city like Sunberth...

"Seems that a smith in Sunberth could entirely effect the constant shifts in power," the woman mused thoughtfully. "A weaponsmith might command more respect than craftsmanship."

She fell silent, watching Eanos. It wasn't so much a concern of hers. But she often wondered what her profession would be like elsewhere. They had it fairly easy here. The Knights' power was absolute. So much so that she occasionally wondered if the smithy would be the first to go during an uprising. Wouldn't want the people laying their hands on any more weapons than necessary. With an apologetic smile the brunette shrugged before following her theory up with:

"Course it don't matter much to me. But you've seen more of the world than I. D'you suppose a weaponsmith's rank is defined by his city's turmoil, or lack thereof?"

[Eanos]

Her words once more cut to the heart of the matter and he smiled easily, the reserve that nearly all Isurians had around the other races dispersed by the discussion of what he loved the most.

"An apt observation and question," he replied with a nod and paused to muse for a moment before answering.

"This shop is both a blessing and a curse." It occurred to him that he had not in detail discussed the back office side of the business with her, and it would certainly be appropriate either for here if he were not here or elsewhere when she eventually set up her own shop.

"As with all businesses, we are controlled by the Knights," it hardly needed saying for anyone who lived here would know it, "but we are controlled more than some might be. This shop and all of the basic tools and fittings belong to the Knights. We work for them, they supply the steel and they share with me the profits that we make. The city of course is much bigger than any other city in Syrila, but the truth is that whilst many will visit, how many stay long enough to have a weapon custom made?" It seemed to him to be a valid point.

"And of those who live here, what need have they of weapons aside from decorative ones?" Formal weapons interested him less, and his interest in the city and the setup of the shop was much more heavily weighted towards his research and the availability of the magecrafter here. But for a smith who had no interest in such? It was a good question indeed.

"I think that you are right. A smith who wanted to make a name for themselves, and one who wished to accelerate their learning would do well in a less regulated city. I have no knowledge of Sunberth from a weapons point of view but that alone tells us much, for if they had weaponsmiths worthy of the name then we should have."

Did she think of leaving? He would not hold her back, quite the contrary for it was always the Masters responsibility to push their students forward. He narrowed his eyes. "There are always phases to the training of any craftsman. Apprentices come to learn the basics of the trade, but eventually their speed of learning evens out because an apprentice rarely needs to think for themself, not when they have seniors and colleagues to ask for solutions. Traditionally the Journeyman was so called because that is what they did."

"One of the many reasons I came here from Sultros, and in Sultros there are smiths and mages who could answer any question I cared to ask, was to see things from a new viewpoint. To step away from the mindsets of my culture and my Masters, based as they were on the fragments of learning which survived the Valterrian. Whilst you wait for your baby to be born, you might well think about that for yourself. Syrilas will always be here, and weaponsmiths can always make a living."

[Hadyn Skellig]

Hadyn nodded in silence, pondering his answers. As always he gave a complete and well thought out response. She was fortunate to have a Master who not only encouraged inquiry but responded with enthusiasm. As she thought on what he told her the woman rested a hand on her abdomen, the baby kicking gently beneath. After a chime she smiled and returned her attention to Eanos.

"I will consider this as you advise. Syliras has forever been my home an' I admit I feel no wanderlust. We are blessed with your good counsel and teachings, for any of us that seek to strike out on our own and travel are well equipped - owed to you."

Hadyn's expression warmed as she spoke. Eanos was the best of teachers and she was eternally grateful to him. Sweeping her gaze about the smithy the woman let slip a sigh. She fatigued so easily of late. For someone who spent most of her waking bells toiling and laboring the unexpected exhaustion from only two or three bells' work was frustrating. But she could only take it in stride. But a weariness settled in her eyes as she smiled wistfully.

"I've called this shop home for so long," she murmured more to herself than Eanos. "Thank you for givin' me this opportunity."

Her gaze returned to his face. Her tone was earnest and quiet. She considered herself fortunate to be in this predicament with a steady profession and a Master like Eanos who allowed her space and time. She knew some women could not say the same. Running a hand through the crown of hair on her head Hadyn's gaze narrowed as she grinned.

"Y'have any skill with infants?"

[Eanos]

"It is not an easy thing to leave a place that was your childhood home," he agreed, only too acutely aware of the memory of doing that. It was not easy for an Isur to leave Sultros, indeed it was forbidden without permission and that reminded Eanos that he had so far failed to learn what he came here to learn or find what he hoped to find. He would need to give that some thought in the coming seasons before it was time to consider making the attempt to return to Sultros.

It was something that he had avoided thinking about and he doubted that his return empty handed would provoke any sort of desire to assist him with the supply of Isurian metals to be used by outsiders. H e chewed his lip uncertainly. "Of course, then there is the fact that leaving it is an idea that is easy to form, easy that is compared to the regret after you have left." He shrugged, "but on balance I could not complain and I would do it again." It had certainly opened his eyes to some of the things commonly believed inside the mountain city.

But it seemed that the time for serious talk was past, at least for the moment and he laughed. "Children? No, I fear them," he winked at Hadyn, though in truth he wouldn't hardly know where to begin with them.

[Hadyn Skellig]

Hadyn grinned affectionately at Eanos' response. In truth she shared the sentiment. Children were the last thing on the woman's mind, most especially because she had no talent handling them. They were sticky, loud and always hungry. Not unlike men. Prior to this particular event Hadyn avoided children unless it was necessary to interact. Certainly some god was playing a foul joke on her.

"Aye," she nodded with a small smile. "Well 'haps you'll have a small smith to train soon."

She returned his laugh as she turned in her chair, standing slowly and carefully. All things must be done with care these days. How women popped out child after child she couldn't fathom. It was obnoxious enough to carry one. Crossing the short distance to the other table the woman reached for the etching tools, collecting them quietly before casting a comment over her shoulder.

"Anythin' y'need me to get done while I have these bells?"

Returning to her seat Hadyn paused before sitting, brown eye watching the Isur. He was always busy. Always working. As such she was willing to do whatever he needed to help lessen the burden. It was a feat to keep the shop running, train apprentices as well as churn out the multitude of commissions he was known for. Hadyn admired him greatly, content to spend the rest of her days under his tutelage.

[Eanos]

Eanos smiled once more but shook his head at her question. He watched her as she moved, the change already apparent though it was still very much a mystery to him who was not married and had never expected to. He was pleased that she had come to him now and that arrangements had been made to suit everyone.

"I think the time has come for you to be considering asking me for assistance when it's needed and not the other way round. The workload can be shifted and a new balance can be found, which might well include ensuring that all here carry their fair share of the load, especially those that you may have been covering for."

He said it with the smile still on his face for he appreciated loyalty, both to him but also to the apprentices whom he was sure she covered for and for which he hoped that she gained loyalty too. It was easy to appear the distant tyrant when he had her to step in as apologist.

He turned to his bench and drew out a sheet of the new paper that he'd got from Zeltiva, an import from the deserts to the South he'd heard but which he'd ignored before, trusting to the tried and tested of his homeland, and started to sketch out some ideas which the discussion had created in his mind.

[Hadyn Skellig]

Hadyn smiled to herself, acknowledging his comment with an understanding nod before settling herself on the seat carefully. Selecting the dagger she'd abandoned to speak to Eanos the woman surveyed the inlaid snake curving along its hilt. All that was left was the eye. Instead of creating another paste the weasponsmith decided to add a different aesthetic - gilding. It would give the serpent a three dimensional presence and allow light to cast upon its eye to draw shadows across the small depression, giving the impression the snake was following the viewer with one golden eye.

Upon pulling the small bowl of powdered gold closer the woman mixed in a small amount of mercury. Once heated the fire would drive off the mercury, resulting the gold adhering the metal surface. The practice was most often seen on armor but Hadyn liked the idea of a depressed surface glittering gold on this ceremonial weapon. Working in silence beside the Master the brunette carefully began the amalgam process, leaning forward to make sure the gold heavy mercury would sit perfectly in the tiny divet. A few chimes went by before she was satisfied, sitting up to glance at Eanos.

"Don't mean to interrupt," she began quietly, dagger held in one hand as she turned to look at him. "But I'm fire gildin' this wee hilt. Would you... could you take it to the fire? It's a damn trial to get up and down with this..." she looked down at her enlarged belly, refusing to ignore the twinge of embarrassment. Asking for help was not her strong suit. Quite frankly she detested pulling Eanos from his task but her back was sore from moving so much earlier and getting up to heat the gilded portion would only aggravate her unsettled body further. She flashed him an apologetic smile.

[Eanos]

Eanos was distracted and even though there were ideas in his mind it proved difficult to bring them into focus. Instead his mind wandered back to Sultros and the journey to there from here. Winter was not the season to be travelling through the mountains, not even just to the trading posts which meant that the earliest he could leave if he chose to do such a thing would be in Spring. It gave a timeline to work to, but more importantly it gave him a focus for there was so much that he'd planned to do here but had not.

The journey would be expensive and there would be considerable expense in purchasing and transporting back the metal, assuming he was successful in so doing. Would he have the miza's to make the journey worthwhile?

Of course he wasn't going home to make a new life there, it would be only a visit, so if he had not done everything that he'd planned then it would not matter. But. He didn't really need the metal as yet. It would be nice, but there were still metal working skills that he had yet to master. It would be good to have reached close to the limits of his skill with other, lesser, metals before capping it with Isurian Steel.

He was nodding to himself, deciding that instead he should start paying more attention to his quest for knowledge when Hadyn spoke.

"Of course," he replied, "and no interuption, as I wasn't doing more than doodling." It was true as it happened for the sheet of paper was almost as blank as it had been when he'd pulled it in front of him.

He reached out and carefully took the hilt, shifting it into his left hand and then repositioning it so that the hand would not block the heat where it was needed. He held it over the flame, his right hand steadying it and having a better feel for the temperature.

"Very nice work as usual," he commented, the work setting his mind down a new train of thoughts since he rarely did this type of work and now he wondered if he could use it in some way for djed working. It was something to bear in mind and see how it fared.

"Are you properly set up for having the child? Will there be anything that you need?" These were personal questions that he would not normally ask, in fact it would not normally occur to him to ask them, but then even he could see the things that were right in front of his face.