Chapter 6: Forging a Simple Sword (Divine)
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After Tala and Claire gave Tarkin the rundown, as with Tala, he bought the nonsense they told him completely. “So, after all that, all you need is ta let the lass here use me forge as a test? Not that I’m opposed ta it, but what about da metal she need? How ya ganna pay for it?”

To which Tala responds, “Rolf’s out hunting today, even though we just had a feast, he is out looking for some game we can offer you.” Ah, so that’s why he wasn’t around this morning. Tarkin laughs, “Not that I’m complaining, but all seven of me boys are ‘ere, so ol Rolf better be bringin’ back something big! That being said, that’s more than enough. Let’s go to da forge.” Walking back outside, Claire asks, “So, where are the boys? I thought at least one would be here.”

Tarkin grimaces, “Ungrateful , da lot of em! Three of em come back with ladies and gatta show off to their brothas. They be off walkin through da woods, lookin’ at the rivers and waterfalls. Dun worry, they’ll be back to judge yer sister’s work.” That actually takes a lot off my chest, when I heard there were seven of them I thought they would all be watching, which I was beside myself with anxiety over what this family of smith’s would think. I know that the level of knowledge in this world has gone down, but even so, having people judge you while you work is always a nerve wracking experience. 

Arriving at the forge, there are several containers that Tarkin pats, “These here contain da ingots I ‘ave. This one ‘ere is full of iron, more than enough to try forgin’ something as a test. Da tool’s I let me kids use are there if ya need ‘em.” I smile wryly, “Don’t worry Mr. Tarkin, I am a magic blacksmith, so my methods are a little… different. I just ask that nobody interrupt me for questions while I work. I am not used to an audience.”

First I take three iron ingots and stack them on the dirt floor. I look at Sif, “Purify them like you usually do please.” She smiles and starts glowing with mana. I see her work with her element this time, unlike how before I would only see the end product. The ingots fuse together while the impurities in them flow into the earth. What is left is an iron ingot of top quality. I take the ingot, saying “Sif, pen please.” A thin imitation of a feather pen made out of earth is formed next to the ingots, though I won’t be writing with ink. I focus my mana, which appears as a white color, to the tip of the pen. I won’t go all out on this sword because Claire called all those in my workshop treasures, so let's just make this a standard sword with a self repair function. Though it would be fun to let it shoot lightning, enhance the user, or something else fun, I assume those would stand out. On the ingot I place the alchemy circle for mana absorption, which will let this sword be able to handle a greater input of mana later, as well as absorb a small amount of ambient mana to fuel its own functions. I then enchant the ingot with mana boost, combining it with the alchemy circle. This will let just a small amount of mana trigger the boosts. “Sif, tongs.” While she is making that, I should ignite the forge. Normally I would let my fire spirit manage the flames, but it looks like I have to for now. I quickly check the forge seeing what runes are on here. Seeing none, I draw an alchemy symbol on the side, this will let the forge gather mana to maintain the fire I place there with my magic. I chant, “Flames, come forth in streams of fire, flamethrower.” With that, fire flows from my hand into the forge. Next I chant, “Air and fire, match your ferocity, heat.” 

That should be hot enough, now to place the ingot into the forge. Normally you would wait for the ingot to take on a yellow glow, but with magic I can make this faster. “Iron, glow with heat, heat metal.” The reason I have the ingot in the forge even though I can cast heat metal is because of how magic works. Magic takes in mana and an idea to make something. If it is a physical object, that object can last longer, but making things from nothing will take a tremendous amount of it. Sif making me a pen and tongs with earth magic wasn’t creating them from nothing, but rather shaping and condensing the earth to make those tools, making a permanent change. If I tried the same thing to heat the ingot, it would have been temporary, because once the mana I put into the spell ends, the phenomena created by the magic would end as well. Here, I was able to heat the forge to the temperature it would normally heat an ingot at, so when my mana ran out, instead of the temperature rapidly dissipating, it is heated by the forge, and thus stays at the correct temperature. That being said, I still wait a moment when my spell wears off just to make sure. Satisfied, I take the sword out. “Instant dress, forge gloves.” These gloves (which I enchanted personally) are special in that they let me replace what I would use a hammer and grind for. By inserting my mana into the gloves, it lets me produce a force corresponding to the mana I put in, thus giving me greater control. Slowly and carefully, I shape the sword into the shape of a longsword. Satisfied, it is time to anneal (which is letting the metal soften) the sword. I glance around the workshop and find the sandpit. Burying the sword, Tarkin says, “I had my doubts, but wow, using magic like that to smith makes things really fast. You made it look effortless as well. We can come back later when the sword is done cooling.”

I smile, “Actually, it can be done now, Sif has a way to soften the sword quickly.” Nodding to Sif, she smiles and once again I see mana flow towards the buried sword. Normally, I would let my elementals distribute the remaining heat but now I must assist Sif. “Iron, give up your heat to the surrounding earth, cool.” The reason I chant while Sif just does the magic is because of her nature as an earth elemental. She can just will the earth to change, since she was fundamentally a manifestation of earth mana. I, on the other hand, have no clue how earth would go through those changes, so to use magic I have to use a chant to solidify the result I want. Now it is possible to perform chantless magic, but it requires a precise image in your head and you aren’t allowed to deviate your thoughts at all, making the resulting magic weaker or even causing a misfire. 

Anyways, with our efforts combined, the sword is cooled while retaining the softness it would have after a day of waiting for the annealment to complete. Now for the fun part, to create the edge and tip. Using the second function of my gloves, I grind away at the edges to give a razor sharp edge. Normally a razor edge would be bad, but since I am imbuing it with durability and self repair it won’t be a problem. Satisfied with those, I take off my gloves and pick up my pen. Time to put more alchemy inscriptions on the sword. I create the inscriptions for enhanced durability and self repair, setting a delayed activation to give me time to finish the sword before it starts trying to restore itself. I carve two more inscriptions, one which will hold my personal seal and act as a failsafe against theft. I pride myself on making sure my sword would never be stolen by this little trick I created. On my seal, I create a bonding ritual which will only recognize me, the crafter, and the person I give it to by a ritual. It also can be used by its owner to set an inheritor. If someone not bound to it tries to use it, it will absorb that person’s mana, and if lacking, life force (ya, scary, but that is a side effect of the magic I didn’t foresee when creating it) to teleport to the owner. If the owner is dead, it will automatically register the inheritor as the owner and return to them, and if there is no inheritor, it will return to my workshop. The complicated lines I have made form a stylized robin, my trademark. The second inscription I made is to hide my insignia unless triggered. I thought of this on the way here, and since Claire said I am famous, I probably shouldn’t go showing off my personal seal that often, just in case anyone recognizes it. 

Satisfied with the engravings, edges, and tip, it's time to harden it. Putting on my gloves, once again I reheat the sword, using the same technique as last time, but instead of putting in the sand pit, I find the quench tank, already filled with water, and place the sword in. This part is probably the only one where I don’t use magic, as normal quenching is enough for now. Once I feel it has been submerged long enough, I place the sword back on the workbench. Since quenching the sword has hardened it, it has also made it brittle, and so I must temper it so that it regains the softness and flexibility a real sword needs. I say real sword since some fancy display swords forgo this and still charge top dollar, but I digress, it's just that smiths like that piss me off.

Anyways time to work together with Sif again. I look to make sure she is ready and upon her nod the grime from the quench tank falls off. Meanwhile,  I chant, “Where I touch iron shall heat, heat metal.” Running my magic down the center of the blade, I continue until the center of the sword is a plum colored purple and the edges a golden wheat color. I know I just explained how magic when working with nothing only makes temporary effects, and that is where Sif comes in. She is making sure that the changes to the iron coming from my magic are true changes. The firmness of the edges and flexibility of the center to a state I approve, I now enchant the engravings I drew upon the sword for an enhanced effect of sharpness and durability. Almost done, I quench the sword again, placing it back on the workbench where Sif removes the grime again. Now I draw one last inscription, to prevent magic not cast by the user to be negated upon contact with the sword. Can’t have others messing with my sword after all! Now I activate the durability and self repair functions, and the forging is done! I rummage around the surrounding containers and find a simple handle and leather which I attach to the sword. While I could take time to make a full hilt, pommel, and guard, the sword itself is done. Happily, I turn my focus to the group and see Tarkin looking dumbfounded, as well as one young man and two teenagers, all with the same expression on their faces.

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