84 Ash 120
Talon concentrated on the aetheric pathway in front of him. He carefully hammered it so that it was properly primed. Glancing over, he maneuvered his hammer so that he could tap upon the pathway tied to the property of breathability within cloth material. Lifting that aspect of the viscerite he set it into place so that it overlaid the aesthetic presentation of leather. With a simple tweak he fashioned it so that it appeared black as night, projecting a vanta black that absorbed light, adding to the overall image of simply being a spot of darkness. He then carefully hammered those pathways into place, ensuring they were properly secure before moving on to one of the more challenging aspects of the creation of this particular set of artifacts.
“No Velkan, today?” The sound of footsteps coming up behind him announced the arrival of his bondmate. Well, one of them anyways. He felt arms wrap around his waist prompting him to turn his head and nuzzle into against Aoren’s cheek. After a brief peck of his cheek, Talon was released so that he could focus back on his work.
“He is not advanced enough for this stage. He is getting there. I have him tending to customers with Pyrra upstairs.” Aoren nodded as he rolled up his sleeves. Talon focused his Semblance, searching within the layers of the viscerite that he was working with in order to find the pathway that he needed.
“There you are.” Picking up a smaller hammer, he tapped along the pathway that he needed. It was tied to the properties of the lorestone dragonshard. With as steady a hand as he could, Talon began the work of very patiently and diligently spreading the web of the mnemonosyte’s influence throughout the entirety of the structure. As he did so, he found the memory and properties tied to the flow of aether and magic across the viscerite. Using a combination of his chisel and hammer, Talon began priming different areas of the aether building up collections of the magical essence before steadily dispersing them so that he could overlay the different properties brewing in the viscerite in a focused manner. Where he ran into impurities, he chiseled pictograph circles around them, collected them, then chipped them off. He then went back to correct the overall structure so that there was no interruption in the aetheric webbing.
With practiced diligence, Talon continued to set in place the varying properties he wanted the memory magic of the lorestone to keep in place. Whe he did not want, he carefully isolated and then chipped away until he was left only with those things that he wanted in those most refined and concentrated states. Setting his tools down, Talon stretched his back and then his wings. He looked over to see his bondmate quietly sweeping the floor and tidying up some part of his workshop. Talon smiled as he beheld Aoren. Without a word, his partner set his broom aside turning to walk up to him on the platform. Aoren cupped his face, bringing their brows together to share in a quiet moment of intimacy before he was given a gentle kiss.
“Are you certain that you want my help with this?” Talon nodded. He laced the fingers of their hands together, leaning into the personal space of his bondmate.
“Yes.” With no further questioning, Talon stepped away from the platform in order to grab a stool so that his bondmate could sit comfortably. He brought it to the platform and set it directly beside the anvil so that the viscerite was within arm’s reach. This was not the first time that Talon had enlisted the elemental magic of his bondmate. Truth be told, it was less that Talon needed his command of the natural elements and more that he simply wanted his bondmate to be part of the process. Aoren would be wearing the armor that he ended up creating afterall. Without needing to be prompted, Aoren seated himself on the stool. The runic markings on the backs of his hands began to glow as his bondmate channeled his aether.
“Earth. Air. Water. Fire. Blended together with the Deference that the elements show me, yes?” Talon nodded. He called upon the powers of Semblance so that he could watch and help guide his bondmate through the process. Aoren touched the tips of his fingers to the crystal that Talon was working on. As soon as he did, he blinked in surprise.
“I can feel the elements stirring in this.” Talon smiled. He picked up his tonal fork, tapping the viscerite and then passing it over the immediate pathway he wanted Aoren to connect to. When he heard the shift in tone, he gently brought Aoren’s fingers to the point his channeling was needed.
“I incorporated pyrolyth, terrasyte, aqualyth and aerolyth.” His bondmate chuckled.
“Afraid I would trip up with earth again?” Talon laughed. They both knew that of all the elements, earth was the one that Aoren used the least as he found he did not resonate with it as much as he would have liked. He shook his head.
“No, I thought it would be easier to connect to and manipulate if the elemental powers were already present.” Talon leaned down to inspect the flow of aether into the viscerite. As he did, he felt Aoren press a kiss to his cheek.
“It does help. Thank you for thinking of me.” Talon just smiled. Having worked with each other before, Aoren waited for Talon’s prompting and preparation before he moved to channeling and manipulating the elemental energies within the viscerite. Each time that Aoren imparted the gift of his techniques to the elemental energies, Talon carefully built arcane pathways to contain them and then linked them to the mnemonosyte pathways so that the artifact as a whole would retain the information.
“Making it weatherproof, eh?” Talon nodded with a smirk.
“I cannot very well go through the trouble of forging all of this only for you to discard it because of bad weather or because you got mud in your boots.” Aoren scoffed, tossing his head imperiously.
“Me? I would never.” Talon made a low hum of acknowledgement in his throat.
The two of them quietly continued to work, with Aoren supplying the elemental magic and grasp of the techniques required to make things flow smoothly. Talon meanwhile went about ensuring that the arcane pathways were properly reinforced and integrated throughout the whole of the structure. After a fair bit of time had passed, he reached over taking hold of one of Aoren’s hand. Gently he rubbed his thumb over the hand in his grasp before giving it a grateful squeeze. Aoren ceased channeling his elemental magic, rising from the stool. He stretched, spreading his wings and then stepped around so that he could lightly massage Talon’s shoulders.
“Thank you.” A gently brushing of fingers through his hair was the reply that Talon received. In the back of his mind, he felt his bondmate send him a question of hunger. Talon sent an acknowledgement back as he continued to focus on his work. With that complete, Talon began the work of not just observing his artifacts with Semblance, but incorporating it into the overall makeup of the material. With a deep breath, Talon began funneling the powers of Semblance into the viscerite. He imparted into it first the ability to recognize the presence of magic through the focal lens of Semblance. He then primed and guided the pathways so that gaze was turned inward and linked to the memory stone’s ability to perceive and record the state of the entire artifact. Switching between his chisel, tonal fork and hammer, Talon began building a network of arcane pathways in order to properly direct the Semblance properties of the artifact.
He then showed it the first technique that he intended. Aura suppression. Talon suppressed his own aura, drawing it within the confines of his own body, pulling it into the fold of his soul so that he could conceal the truth of his potent magical nature. He then funneled this technique into place, expanding it over the crystalline viscerite and then hammering it into a refined form so that it could function. He followed this by compounding this concealment. Using the technique of Echo, Talon drew forth the echo of the component’s formerly mundane state. He channeled this into the aether, overlaying it carefully being sure not to disrupt the true arcane pathways by contaminating them with mundane ones. He simply wrapped them in a mask of mundane normalcy. Once those were in place linked to the memory stone pathways the definitive gauge of recognizing the difference between a stable aetheric pathway and an unstable one. Once this was in place, Talon carefully built a failsafe into the arcane pathways. Once the magical reserves of the artifact were depleted, the switch would trigger and make the magical powers of the overall armor go dormant.
Setting his tools down, Talon let out a long breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose, releasing his aetheric vision. He felt a wave of weariness wash over him, making him stumble slightly. Before he could trip and fall however, strong arms caught him from behind.
“Good thing I got here when I did.” Aoren’s voice was gentle if a bit chastising. “You always work yourself into exhaustion. Come. Eat. Rest. You did a lot today.”
“But--” Aoren touched his fingers to Talon’s lips.
“No. Rest. You can get back to work tomorrow.” Talon smiled, nodding as he was seated. A platter of assorted sushi’s, sashimi, rice and hot dumplings coupled with cups of hot tea made Talon’s shoulders sag in appreciation. He picked up his utensils and began eating, sending waves of gratitude over his bond to his bondmate. Aoren settled in beside him, one arm wrapping around his waist as the two of them ate in companionable silence.
