32nd of Frost, 119th Year of the Age of Steel
Talon finished affixing the panes of sorcerer’s glass to the interior of his runeforge. He adjusted the last piece so that it sat more naturally within the prongs that suspended them. To onlookers, the runeforge itself had the appearance of a normal forge with a few modifications to its design. The pit that was usually filled with coals used to heat the ingots placed in molds was empty. The interior walls were affixed with various panes of sorcerer’s glass. The pieces could be fashioned from differing types of dragonshards but for his forging purposes, Talon was only using the basic aetherite variety. They lacked any predefined properties and thus would add nothing to the reagents he placed within the pit. From there, he simply needed to place a number of dragonshards in slots that were designed to harness the aether within the shards and then channel that power through the sorcerer’s glass and into the reagents. The pit was outfitted with a pipe that lead to a dispensing mechanism that released the primordial liquid viscerite where it could then be poured into a mold.
It was a complex process and the designing of any runeforge required the skills of a master scrivener familiar with the steps involved. More often than not, such practitioners were runesmiths themselves. The bulk of the money that Talon had borrowed had been used to commission the services of one such wizard all the way from Atinaw. The runeforge itself had then needed to be shipped to Kalzasi.
Talon finished putting in place four greater aetherite dragonshards that would channel their power into the runeforge. He turned to his workbench, eyeing each of the reagents that he’d spent days preparing. Picking each of them up he placed them in the pit of the runeforge. Leaning back he observed each reagent carefully then he sighed closing his eyes for a moment as he reached a decision. Talon thought on Taelian and what he meant at this point in Talon’s life. He had to be honest with himself. He felt threatened by the elf’s presence but how could he move himself to admit that to Taelian’s face? The man was intimidating in every aspect of the word. He was handsome, driven, and possessed of immense skill from what he understood from Riven. All Talon had was what he had come from; his birthright in Kalzasi and what did that mean?
Talon did not doubt his skill as a warrior. Nor did he doubt his prowess as a mage and craftsman. But was his success linked to his status in the city? It had been a thought lingering in the back of his mind. When he was the son of the sovereign, the first in line for the throne, was he really his own man? He had no doubt that Riven had feelings for him. They were impossible to fully conceal across the years but...was the reason the two of them were so distant yet so close because of what Talon was as opposed to who he was? He wasn’t so shallow as to believe that Riven would ever stoop to being with him or another man for their status. Quite the opposite, he knew his bond partner well enough to know that such status was more of a deterrent. He sighed and extended a wing. Reaching up, Talon ran his fingers over the feathers until he found a loose one that was easily plucked.
He plucked the feather, bringing it to his face to observe it up close. The wings of Avialae were said to be possessed of magical qualities. It was a reason that some of them were hunted by more than just the Kindred and their agents. Something was lost in an Avialae if they were stripped of their wings. His father explained having seen it a few times. A touch of the magic that flowed through them naturally was extinguished. He placed the feather into the pit of the runeforge.
Talon closed the chamber door and then touched each of the greater dragonshards seated in the power slots around the forge. As he did he brushed over the shards with a bit of his own aether stirring the magic within the dragonshards into motion. He watched as the prismatic runes along the exterior of the runeforge began to shift and glow.
Now came the most difficult part of any runesmith’s craft; waiting. On the door to the forge chamber was a circle window covered in aura glass. Through its lens, Talon could monitor the status of the reagents within the melting chamber of the forge. This is where Talon had found his powers of Semblance to be invaluable. In using the aura glass as a medium, Talon could extend his senses to touch upon the reactions taking place within the chamber. If he needed to adjust one of the dragonshards powering the forge, he could do so with greater understanding of what needed to take place.
Powering a runeforge was a dance of monitoring and swapping out different greater shards in order to temper the reactions taking place inside of the chamber. Aetherite was used to begin the reactions, various elemental or ethereal shards could be used to augment how the power affected the reagents inside the chamber. A fire shard could intensify the reactions and spurr them toward heating up, whereas an ice shard could be used to slow the reactions to more carefully control them for a brief duration. Lingering too long on slowing a reaction was not necessarily a good thing, as Talon had learned. It could lead to the whole batch failing. Conversely, speeding up reactions was also not always in the best interest of the runesmith. Talon did not possess a vast array of shards in his shop. Only the most basic of what was available through normal commerce avenues. A fire shard, an ice shard, an assortment of aetherite, and a few others. For anything more specialized he either had to dole out the money for it or acquire it himself by making an excursion into the Warrens.
Talon stepped back with his hands on his hips. He observed the forge for a few moments before turning away from it. It would be at least an hour before any of the reagents were beginning to break down into their raw aethereal state. Moving away from the forge he went to the store room where he housed his viscerite molds. Taking out a key from his belt he unlocked the doors then stepped inside the room. Reaching up he touched the tips of his fingers to a luma lamp, the room soon being illuminated by the soft light of magic lamps hanging on the walls and from the ceiling. Lined along the walls were dozens upon dozens of boxes. A finely sanded ash white wood that were each hand selected by Talon when he’d been establishing his shop. He went up to the section that housed his selection of weapon molds. Lightly, Talon brushed his fingertips over each case with a great fondness.
Picking up a longer case with a heavier set to it, Talon brought the box to a long wooden table situated in the center of the room. He set it down then removed the lid. The interior was a dark glassy black that seemed to draw in the light. It had a single shape carved into its interior and Talon felt that now was the time to use this particular mold. He brushed his fingers upon the glassy surface of the interior, his fingertips practically tingled with presence of aether embedded into the material. Setting the lid back upon the mold he carried it out of the room, snapping his fingers and dousing the room back into darkness. Talon locked and closed the doors behind him.
Bringing the mold to the runeforge, Talon situated it so that when the liquid viscerite was finally ready, he could easily pour it into the mold so that it could crystallize in the shape he wanted. Once the mold was in place, he turned his attention to the forge. The aura glass monitor on the chamber door was beginning to come to life which meant that the reactions inside of it were elevating. Extending his senses through the filter of Semblance, Talon touched upon the aura glass monitor. There was a bubble of collective energies gathering on the corner of the chamber that needed to be adjusted. Furrowing his brow, Talon stepped up to the forge brushing the tips of his fingers over a set of runes running along the exterior of the forge chamber. He threaded a sliver of his aether into the runes awakening them so that they could participate in the on-going reaction. Through both the aura glass and his own powers of Semblance, Talon watched carefully as the roiling bubble of energy within the forge chamber was dispersed through the reactions taking place.
Talon broke his concentration with Semblance. He felt a dull throbbing in the back of his head prompting him to pinch the bridge of his nose. Perceiving so many different threads of aether was always taxing on his aura sight but it was often a bit more insightful than the basic information that the aura glass could relay. Combining the two techniques was much more beneficial and as long as he didn’t press himself there was no serious danger in it.
Talon lingered around the chamber of the runeforge for a few minutes longer, monitoring and watching but it seemed that for the moment things were stabilized. Fortunately he wasn’t working with materials that were particularly volatile. When he was certain that things were under control, Talon turned away from the runeforge. There was naught to do but wait at this point. Which gave him time to do some bookkeeping. He made his way to the front of his shop, taking out a ledger so that he could record the expenses for the past week more accurately.
