[Ironworks] Sight is a blessing

[Eanos]

Fall 11, 510 Iron stroked smooth under the fingers of the smith as he laid aside the coarse file with which he had been drawfiling the work. Though his eyes were open his attention was on his fingertips as he felt for spots where the file might have put a flat on the smooth curves of the handle. Of course his roughened hands, unlike those of the clerk who might handle only paper and pen did not have the sensitivity for fine work but it was a check always worthwhile to save a moment. Even as the fingertips of his right hand finished the check they grabbed hold of the piece as he jerked the handle of the vice loose with his left hand. It was a fanciful piece of work whose compound curves drew his eye as he lifted it up out of the vice. Simple and yet he hoped elegant, he also knew that it wasn’t yet the sort of work which he knew that he’d be able to make. There was something about the shape which wasn’t quite right; the curves didn’t flow properly and the file work tended to stop the eye rather than allowing it to be drawn along the piece. But that he shrugged off for it was a trial piece, one which he was using to learn and to apply his slowly improving skills. As with the dagger he’d made back in the Spring, the price which would be charged for this was far below what it ought to command and one day would command when his experience was greater. Light from the lamps flickered softly in the heart of the forge as he turned the piece. He watched the reflections of the light as they danced across the track marks left by the file and narrowed his eyes critically, noting where more work was needed. He placed the piece back in the vice, its jaws clamping shut softly across the hinge section and set back to work once more, but this time working more carefully than he had before. The shape of the section he was working on was almost right, just a couple of flat spots to be carefully removed and then it would be ready for the next stage. He laid the file aside once more and crouched down, this time choosing not to remove the work from the vice and moved his head from side to side. It was an unlikely piece for an Isur who had recently tended towards things such as daggers and the like, things which were of a sombre nature and required great strength, or things more mundane such as the pieces of a lock. When he’d made the matching half this pincer like tool would be just right for taking an ember from the fire and using it to light a pipe. But too it was currently a little too light in the iron for it’s purpose and that too was a part of his design. It was intended to look too flimsy for its purpose, to look as though it might bend under a heavy had. Whether he could succeed was yet to be determined but success or failure was not his concern at this point.

[Eanos]

The piece was held in the black fingers of his left hand as his weight was somewhat absently leant against the workbench. He could feel the heat from the forge behind him but it was merely comforting as he concentrated his thoughts. Slowly he brought his thoughts together so that the noise from the forges was no longer important in his mind. Though the space still rang with the strike of hammers, the clatter of sheet metal and the calls of his fellow smiths and though his ears still registered the sounds his mind pulled back from the recognition of them. His fingers gripped the piece a little more firmly to ensure that he didn’t drop it and then too he pulled his attention away from the feel of metal, pulled it from the slight coolness of the metal which warmed from his hand, from the weight of it tugging against his fingers and away from the pressure of his closed fist and the thumb which pressed against the metal. Hardest to ignore was his ability to see and even with his eyes closed, not too tightly for the concentration needed for that would be distracting, still there was a reddish glow he could see interspersed with flashes of green. He focussed on his breathing and slowly tugged his attention away from the distraction of his eyes. He settled himself more firmly against the bench with his feet a little wider apart and took the piece in both hands. Once more he had to start the process again, pulling his attention back in from all the things he had just caused his mind to concentrate on. This time it was easier for he’d not brought himself up to the level of awareness which existed when he was fully awake, and so it was easier to submerge himself back down again. He felt the muscles of his shoulders relax and he concentrated on that feeling for a moment, enjoying the pleasant feeling it brought about and allowed that feeling to wash across his body. Now he was ready, but still it required careful concentration for any change, any new thing all too easily brought with it the distractions he’d worked to take his attention from. Holding the piece in the fingers of his right hand he ran the fingertips of his left hand along the smooth metal curves. This time he was interested in the feeling of touch, indeed he worked to block that sensation from his conscious mind, using the sense initially only to guide his fingers so that they remained just lightly touching.

[Eanos]

Instead what he sought was that thing which all things have; the aura of the metal. Slight it was of course for the iron was not alive but still it was there emanating from the iron and he focused on the feel of it. At first he concentrate on that part of the aura which rose above the surface of the iron, feeling for changes from one part to another and attempting to understand how those changes replicated the iron he could feel under his fingers. The aura flickered and flowed under his gaze, for all the world as alive as water flowing down a stream bed. What drove it he could not say, but he could see it flicker and he could see where it ebbed and flowed along the work. That hole which he’d punched through for the hinge, there the aura bounced back and surged around the narrower parts around the hole. That file work which cut a band across the end of the handle, making a transition from handle to stem and which he’d been unhappy for the way it interrupted the visual flow. He concentrated on the aura to see how it was the same and if there was indeed an aura for the whole thing. Did it form a similar break in that or was it just a trick of the eye? It was easy enough to see and even someone with no understanding of artistry and flow would easily see how the work disrupted the aura and caused it to seek new paths, some of which he’d not anticipated. Then he delved deeper. It wasn’t something which he found easy and even before he started he felt a mild stab of pain between his eyes though whether it was real or imagined, mental or a cramp where he’d been frowning he wasn’t sure. The iron was hard to see into though he wasn’t exactly seeing, but then he wasn’t sure that there was even a word to fit what he was attempting to do. Whilst it was probably more accurate to say that he was trying to feel into the iron the concept sounded ludicrous in his mind at first. Ludicrous or not he was soon past caring for he pushed himself to the limit to try and stare into the metal. It was like trying to see with his eyes closed and it didn’t take long for that irritation between his eyes to start to twitch once more. His fingers clamped down harder on the iron as though he could force more feeling from it as he dragged the metal slowly through his fingers; tugging it with his right hand. He could tell that the metal had indeed been forged for he could feel the flow of the grain in the top levels of the metal, a grain not unlike wood. Had it been cast then the grain would have been laid at random much like grains of rice stacked into a jar. Had he chosen to simply bend the iron cold then some of the grains would have stretched and others been cramped up together to form tight spots.

[Eanos]

He soon realised that it might be easier to have a comparison between steel worked in different ways, but that could wait for another time for it would throw him out of his concentration. Before he’d done this while he worked, but attempting two things at once meant that he’d never been able to work as deeply into the steel as he did now, though the piece itself was thinner than any of his fingers in places, thinner than the fingers of the most genteel of ladies and so it was not much of a stretch to have a complete view in those places. Slowly he worked his way along, feeling how the aura chopped and changed, how it flowed and how the structure of the steel guided it. It had taken a while to focus his attention well enough to get the result he wanted and now that he was in that state he allowed his attention to pull away from the piece for a moment. His mind was a buzz of detail and it was hard to put all of the pieces together to give him that overall view of how it worked. He took a mental step back and applied the same concentration as he’d used to pull his attention away from all the other distractions to now pull his attention away from the detail. Not to forget it, but to put it to one side. Because his eyes were closed it was not so easy to see the piece as one whole. His fingers told only the story at the point of touch and once they had moved on then there was a new thing to feel while the old slipped into memory, less focussed than the new and increasingly fuzzy in the distance. But he knew the shape, he’d spent hours in the crafting of it, first hot and then much longer on the cold working with the file, and without the distraction of touch he built in his mind the memory of the shape. Only when he’d done that did he start to slip the fingers of his left hand once more along the piece. Now though he tried to add the detail of what he felt to that mental picture which he’d built in his mind; to build something so that he could see the forest and not just the trees. The process of crafting the matching half of the tongs was much the same as he’d used for the first one. The two halves were not entirely symmetrical as the ends of the tongs had different uses and there was a spike built into one half but even so the techniques were the same as were the tools used. The tool was made as best as he could and it was a process which he enjoyed. It was true that some of it was tedious and that his enthusiasm waned considerably in those stages but still there was always an excitement in creating something new, a thrill in seeing the metal move from a blank slate into the object which he’d visualised in his mind. His dedication had two levels to it for not only did he have an enjoyment of it, attempting to do his best, but also there was a responsibility to his clan and his race to prove to all of the lesser races (which was all of them in his view) that the Isur were the best at whatever it was that they turned their hand to. Shoddy work was something which he was not going to tolerate no matter how much harder he had to work or how many times he needed to attempt the same task in order to achieve a result which would be to the glory of Izurdin and the Isur.

[Eanos]

Having examined the auras of the two pieces as separate halves and then made adjustments to the pieces as a result of that and re-examined them, Eanos had the beginning of a headache right between the eyes. It was a headache that the hammering as he peened over the pin on which the two halves hinged made worse and despite his best intentions forced him to leave the next stage until after he’d rested. To have attempted the blessing of the piece when he’d been tired, distracted by the headache would have been an insult to his god. For sure had the circumstances required it then Izurdin would surely have appreciated the effort of pushing himself to do the best he could, but since there was no urgency he couldn’t bear to do a sloppy job of it. So the next morning he’d taken care to spend the time as the sunlight strengthened over the citadel in which he made his home in the reading his book of writings about Izurdin and getting his mind to the right level of focus. Being in the bowels of the castle made the Isur feel at home for there was a solidity here which was comforting as it reminded him of Sultros where his family still lived and where he would one day return to take up his rightful place. There were too many distractions in the forge and so he’d brought the tongs back to the place where he slept and there he made himself comfortable, the tongs once more in both hands much as they had been when he’d been reading the aura of the individual sides. ”Lord Izurdin,” he said loudly, but not so loudly that it reverberated in his own ears. The god after all could hear him well enough he was sure, if only he concentrated well enough, it wasn’t necessary to shout in order to get his attention. Even if it wasn’t enough that he was Isur and therefore one of the gods own chosen people, Eanos wore the gnosis mark of his people which connected him directly to Izurdin. ”Allow me the strength to place your blessing on these, ah, tongs.” He fought hard to keep a straight face as he imagined the eyebrows of the god rising at such a request, but he schooled himself and continued. Perhaps the god enjoyed a good pipe, for had he not walked among the Isur as they rebuilt their cities? ”It is by your left arm that I have learnt my crafts, and it is from your example that I have dedicated myself to learning as best I can. Guide me in my work this day and allow me to infuse this piece with the strength it will need to maintain its form.”

[Eanos]

The process of blessing an item was still somewhat new to him and it seemed that like the personal magic it also carried a price for its use. World magic was something he could interact with, but there was little price to pay except in materials, patience and care. But the auristics from the previous day carried a risk of overgiving which so far he’d not pushed himself on too hard, but the blessing made that price seem trivial. This day he was going to try something hard, something which might not even be possible, which was to see if he could use his personal magic to watch the process of blessing. It should be possible he’d reasoned for after all when magecrafting it was perfectly possible to do the two. Then again, as he’d just reasoned, magecrafting like other world magic did not carry a price for its use. There was an element of wry humour in what he did this day for he intended to give the item durability, something which he could also have done by the application of magecraft. But that would not be easy either and the blessing was in some ways a way of stepping around the restrictions of magecraft. At his skill level it would be almost impossible to instil two features into an item, but the blessing allowed him to impart durability and so free up his magecraft skill for something more interesting. He realised that he was distracting himself with his musings, a subconscious attempt to delay the start of the task. With that knowledge fresh in his mind he made himself comfortable and made that start he’d been avoiding. Concentrating, he triggered his personal magic and watched for a moment as the aura danced like fire around the tongs, familiarising himself once more with the patterns he’d studied the previous day and then he refocused his concentration, holding the tongs in his black left hand for additional focus. At first it was easy, as it always was. Easy being a relative term for the first half a chime was always difficult. Once he’d got his mind away from the things he’d been thinking about and the sounds around him, then it was simple enough to concentrate only on the tongs and the additional strength he wanted in the steel. All too soon though it became hard to maintain the intensity of that concentration for his mind started to actively seek distraction even though his consciousness fought for focus. A noise behind him, barely more than a rustle made him want to open his eyes and it was only with a special degree of resolution that he dragged his attention back.

[Eanos]

As it started to become a real test of his patience and as he started to fear losing the battle he changed tactics and triggered once more his mastery over personal djed, risking the additional exhaustion for the ability to watch the aura once more. His attention sharpened as he’d hoped it would for the sparkle of the aura drew him in. It was easy to follow the aura as it worked its way around the tongs, though now it was not so easy to remember why he concentrated so easy was it to become lost in the miniature spectacle in front of him. Keeping his eyes closed he breathed deeply and used the tricks he’d learned for meditation to collect his scattered consciousness once more. Now he watched intently, willing the tongs to become stronger and now he watched in fascination as that extra effort sparked a change in the aura. So slight it was that at first he thought that he’d been imagining it, but as he concentrated harder, so he became sure that it was no trick of the light, if there could be light in his imagination for the aura was visible only to his touch. For a while he was exultant for it seemed that he had discovered a trick to ensure his concentration was easy to maintain. The first prick of pain between his eyes however was the first indication that there were no easy answers to this, no shortcuts, no ways of bypassing the effort needed. His concentration might be assured but now he started the battle with a headache which by the end was enough in itself to bring him to the point of defeat. ”Lord Izurdin, by your will I do this work.” The words provided a respite from the headache which now pounded against his consciousness and he released his grasp on auristics. It didn’t do much to appease the headache but he hoped that it would prevent it from getting worse. ”Lord Izurdin, pain is not enough to turn my hand from your work. I dedicate the pain to this work.” They were brave words, or so he considered, and if they had no other effect then at least they strengthened his faltering heart and allowed him to continue. It was not so much longer that he had to consider the work done. He was sure it was, he hoped it was, but done or not, he could not continue, nor was he feeling ready to put it to the test. Laying the piece down he laid himself back and quickly fell asleep. The next day dawned swiftly enough though no light penetrated deeply enough into the citadel to light the space where the Isur snored loudly. When he did wake, some time later he regretted doing so for his head still throbbed and his mouth was dry. Likely those who had been forced to endure his snoring during the night considered it poetic justice, but certainly he was not fit for work that day and even the thought of the sound of striking metal was enough to make his stomach rebel. He collapsed back into bed and stayed there, rising only long enough to eat and to relieve his aching bladder.

[Eanos]

The following morning saw him rise, somewhat unwillingly but by now the inactivity of the previous day was too much for his sensibilities to bear. Still there was a lingering headache but he ignored it as he did his stomachs wish to remain still. Fortunately he did not immediately have to make his way into the forge for he had the tongs with him and so could remain in the relative quiet and privacy of the sleeping area. His sense of the auras flared into life as he concentrated on the tongs which were cradled by the palm of his left hand. Its aura surged once he’d opened up the sight of it, flowing through the metal like miniature fireflies and now he delved deeper, seeking to find what had changed for he did not believe that it was merely an effect of djed for that would wear off. It seemed more likely to him that even if a god was responsible then it would take the form of a permanent change in the metal. Of course he’d seen that in the crafting or at least he thought that he had, and now he had the confirmation. He remembered well how the metal had been before he’d started on the blessing and now the aura was a little darker, a little better defined as it flowed through the metal. There were still irregularities where his craft had not been so well thought out or where the necessities of making the shape required certain design features, but still the aura was changed. He studied it closely and tried to absorb not just the changes but what they meant. He knew that the more he could understand of it, then the more he could direct the changes next time. He could also learn how flaws in his crafting served to weaken the form and so how to start avoiding such things in the future. The final test was to view the tongs with his normal vision and to take them in hand. Even blessed they were not unbreakable and his strength was greater than most as a result of his heritage and training so he did not exert too much force but still as he felt the metal force it’s way into his skin that he had achieved his aim and that now the metal was stronger than it appeared. It opened up possibilities in the future for delicate works whose strength belied their beauty. Not all weapons relied upon brute force to be effective and now he felt he was on the beginnings of a long and interesting path.

[Leviathan]

Thread Award! Eanos Exp +5 Observation, +2 Meditation, +3 Auristics Lore Overgiving: Auristics (Basic) Extra Eanos now suffers from faint Imagined Auras, occasionally, for the next thirty or so days of Fall (11-41ish) when he isn't using Auristics, thanks to overgiving. Using Auristics will of course make the illusions fade and bring out actual auras, but at what cost? (dun dun duun!) Additional Comments If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to PM me. Nice thread and keep up the good work! Also, sorry I took so long, I'm a bit busy atm.