Page 1 of 1
[solo] a blade from the heart XIV
Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:40 am
by Talon
43rd of Frost, 119th Year of the Age of Steel
43rd of Frost, 119th Year of the Age of Steel
Talon sat at the edge of the stone circle where his runesmithing anvil stood. He had in his hand a paintbrush and a bottle of spellwright’s ink so that he could redraw the pictograph that empowered his crafting. While it had not completely faded, it was better to go back over the lines of the glyph as he was about to enter one of the heavier enchanting processes. The last thing he wanted to happen was for an errant thread of energy to blast apart both him and the artifact that he was forging. One of the things that made runesmithing so dangerous was the fact that the slightest deviation from attention to detail could result in a complete failure or a terrible accident. When Talon was working with something he felt was particularly volatile or he was entering an exceedingly dangerous portion of his crafting, he reinforced his pictograph. As a student he’d even begun reinforcing the air around him with his kinetics in order to dampen his exposure to anything that might have gone wrong.
He didn’t feel that would be particularly necessary in this instance as the vast majority of the highly sensitive work was finished. But there was always a chance. He dipped the paintbrush into the bottle spellwright’s ink, going over the various mirror runes, the paths and convergences that formed the elaborate pattern. As he drew closer to the center of the circle where his anvil rest, he concentrated on the various steps and processes that he had left to do. Each shape was traced over with the sole intent of keeping him safe, augmenting his work so that it became easier and brought forth the height of the aether that he was working with. When Talon was finished tracing back over the pictograph, his bottle of spellwright’s ink was empty. He would have to buy more dragonshards so that he could make more. Not just for himself but for those customers who required it for their own spellwork. It was not uncommon for him to be solicited by the Sky Guard or the Circle of Spells for his inks or sorcerer’s sand.
Setting the empty bottle on his workbench, Talon slipped his blacksmithing apron, his fitted leather gloves and the aura goggles back onto his person. He picked up his tools then tapped his hammer upon the surface of the sword so that he could immediately set to work on what would be an exhausting day of forging. As the aether of all that he’d worked upon rippled before him in the vision of the aura goggles, Talon sorted through each layer, adjusting his focus and looking throughout the pathways of the sword. For a moment he grew worried that the properties he was looking for had been buried too deeply while he’d been working on other facets but he calmed when he found what he was looking for. The distinct bloody red strand of aether that was tied to the dragonshard he had worked so hard to collect.
Talon grasped it with his tongs. He pulled. Little by little he began dragging that magic of the blood dragonshard to the forefront of the viscerite. He didn’t drag it completely to the surface, keeping it waiting just a few layers deeper. Talon then searched through the aether until he found the purifying properties of the illumite dragonshards as well as some of the herbal qualities that he’d laced into the aether of the reagents that he had prepared. Due to his preparation beforehand, the aether of the medicinal herbs as well as the purity quality of the illumite shards had a stronger presence than they would have normally. That was good and Talon was grateful for his steady and unwavering methodical approach. The entire process could have been a disaster if those qualities had been leaked out during the aethereal breakdown stage. Given how he’d prepared the reagents however, they had been interwoven into the materials themselves making them integral.
Carefully he linked the curative and bloody purifying properties of the herbs to the inherent aether of the blood dragonshard. Once those two pathways were interwoven, he further laced them together with the illumite shard aether until it was all one singular red-gold strand in his sight that pulsed with raw power and magic. Out of the corner of his eye, Talon saw his pictograph shining a bit brighter as it worked to contain the energies that were in play during his crafting. He held his breath for a moment waiting for any sign of fault in the weave of the pictograph. When a few moments passed without incident and everything appeared to be in working order, Talon released the breath that he had been holding. He continued his work taking the line of red-gold aether and stretching it first across the outer most edge of the sword. With ever cut that the blade made, the magic would be primed and ready to activate.
However, given the inherent nature of blood dragonshard, this particular magic would only live when it came into contact with the blood of living things. He supposed there were things out that that would have enabled it to interact with other things but Talon wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to work with such objects. Once the red-gold aether was firmly hammered into place along the sharp edges of the sword, Talon then brought his tongs up to the finest point of the blade’s tip. He hammered lightly, not to pound the aether into place but to make it pliable and easy to work with. Plucking up a strand of the aether he began guiding it down the center of the blade. He strung it through each letter of the Sylvain script carved into the blade linking the activation of the regenerative magic to the illumination of the letters along with what was already present.
Finally he tugged a line of aether all the way down to the pommel of the sword. Then with a little bit of the reworking on the jewel that he had carved out there, configured it to match the appearance of a natural formed blood dragonshard. The red vein structures threaded throughout the crystal and the appearance of blood swirling within the gemstone would persist within the jewel of the pommel. Talon eyed the layout carefully, looking for places where things may have improperly overlapped or interfered with other aether pathways. He found only a few. It took some working but he managed to smooth those edges out until finally everything was resting in place to the degree that he was capable of making it with the tools that he had.
Talon picked up another hammer. He struck the blade once, twice, three times from base all the way to the tip, charging the aether throughout the whole of the sword. He then picked it up with two pairs of heavier tongs then turned around so that he could approach one of the charged cooling basins that were prepared to help solidify and stabilize the final stages of the artifact. Talon held the blade aloft for a moment. He surveyed it from end to end, searching for any defect or facet that he might have missed somehow, some way. To his eyes, things were as proper and in place as they were going to be. The only thing that was left to do was to allow the enchantments to fully set within the sword and then put them to the test when the time came to give the blade to Taelian.
Talon placed the sword into the water filled basin. Immediately the pictographs inscribed upon the basin began illuminating softly. He could see the aether within the blade settling from its heightened state. There was less shifting within his gaze as all of his enhancements and enchantments fell into line permanently.
Talon removed the aura goggles from his face. He set them on his workbench and then sighed rubbing his face.
Re: [solo] a blade from the heart XIV
Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:42 am
by Talon
43rd of Frost, 119th Year of the Age of Steel
“You should be proud.” Talon startled and jerked his head in the direction of the voice that had spoken. He wasn’t afraid, simply caught off guard. He knew that voice. He would recognize it anywhere. Before him stood a tall, broad shouldered man with hair as black as his own with just a few streaks of grey. He was well built and the pair of large eagle wings that extended from his back were of the same sweep and kind as his own. Talon blinked at his father. He went to bow but his father waved him off.
“Father. W-what are you doing here?” Savien stepped forward and came to the edge of the basin where rested the blade that Talon had spent over half the season forging.
“I am no wizard but even I can feel the power in this blade, my son.” Talon stared at his father curiously. This was not the first time that Savien had praised him for his work but somehow this felt different.
“This is for that elf partnered with Riven, isn’t it?” Talon stiffened. He felt the feathers of his wings fluff up in agitation though he tried to resist the urge. He had to keep himself from hunching his shoulders.
“Yes. How--?” Savien just smiled at Talon as if to chide him for being naive. The Novalys heir just sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. His shoulders slumped and he suddenly felt exhausted.
“Can we not do this, Father?” Savien stood up straight. He was an inch or two taller than his son and just as well built. The ruler of Kalzasi stepped forward and placed his hands on Talon’s shoulders. Not for the first time, Talon saw genuine concern in his father’s eyes.
“You have been lost, my Silverwing. I am not the only one who has noticed it. You have locked yourself in this shop, thrown yourself into duties at court, beaten back every beast that dares let a hair fall out of the Warrens…” Talon looked up at his father, his grey eyes blinked at Savien in surprise.
“Aren’t those good things?” Savien’s gaze softened.
“For the realm? Yes. For you? I am not so sure.” His father cupped his face and pressed their foreheads together. Talon reached out and held on to his dad. Despite their differences, Talon knew that his father loved each and every one of his children with the ferocity of a dragon. A fair and just ruler the Shokaze might have been, but he never let that get in the way of just being their dad.
“You are unhappy, Silverwing. I can see it. Your mother sees it. Your siblings see it.” His father released him and stepped back.
“I don’t know what I want anymore, Father.” Savien was silent before letting a breath out through his nostrils.
“I know. Which is why I told the Council I will not be declaring you Shinsei.” Talon jerked back as if struck.
“F-father? I am sorry. I did not mean to fail you. I can--” Savien held up a hand. His eyes never left Talon’s and the Avialae felt he might be sick.
“Yet. I will not be declaring you Shinsei, yet. You need time, my son. Time to discover who Talon is, not just the Heir to House Novalys, but who the man is. I found out who I was in the midst of tragedy. I think your answer may rest beyond the fair borders of our city.” Talon was dumbstruck.
“But...the Council. Lorien. Everything that has been going on…” Talon couldn’t help feel as though he’d completely failed his father and mother in that moment. His heart was beating quickly and he felt like he might collapse. His father however, chuckled.
“The Council is not as clever as they think they are. Your mother and I have been at this a long time, Talon. Besides, your sisters are well versed in the responsibilities expected of our family. Just as much as you and your brothers. Kalzasi will go on and I think you’ve earned time to discover who you are. You cannot be King if you have no direction for yourself and that has been evident to me for some time.” Talon closed his mouth as he looked at his father. He turned so that he could brace his hands on the surface of his workbench. His legs felt weak. His shoulders sagged. He felt...so many things. The biggest thing though?
Talon whirled around and dashed over to his father, throwing his arms around Savien hugging him tightly. Relief washed through Talon. He felt his father’s arms wrap around him as the two of them embraced.
“Thank you.” For the first time in his life, Talon felt like he could make a real choice on his own. He stepped back from his father and though he wasn’t smiling, he felt the swell of emotions welling up inside of himself. Savien clasped his shoulders and squeezed them gently.
“Times are changing, my Silverwing. We must learn from it, lest we be doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past.” With that, the Shokaze of Kalzasi hugged Talon once more and then departed his shop.
Talon let himself sink to the floor of his workshop. His mind raced in a hundred directions. But for the moment, he just felt relieved.
For the first time in his life, he was Talon. Just Talon.
He needed to find out who that was.
Re: [solo] a blade from the heart XIV
Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 11:16 am
by Sovereign
Talon
Lores
Runeforging: Creating a webbing of aether pathways to reinforce stability
Runeforging: Properties buried deeply within viscerite become harder to manipulate
Runeforging: Linking multiple beneficial properties together to nullify negative ones
Runeforging: Structuring blood dragon properties to only activate under specific stimuli
Runeforging: Building a trigger for glowing aesthetic effects
Runeforging: The charge basin is used to help solidify the aether of the artifact
Savien: My Father
Savien: Relieved me of my duties as Heir
Savien: Encouraged me to find my own identity
Savien: Worries that I am unhappy
Loot: +1 Enchanted Claymore (Name TBA) with the following properties:
Structural Improvements: 23 (Greater)
Magic Improvements: 20 (Moderate)
Aesthetic Improvements: 2 (Minor)
Total: 45th Level Artifact.
A blood red blade with edges that fade into a dark obsidian black extending from a hilt that takes the shape of a dragon's maw. A faceted jewel rest in the pommel of the sword. The jewel is clear but upon close inspection it has red veins threaded throughout its internal structure giving it a fractal appearance. The claymore (name to be determined by Taelian) is immune to rusting and will always retain its lustrous shine. The edge has been reinforced with kinetic magic and compressed down to its sharpest point rendering the blade capable of cutting through steel with extreme ease. The edge of the sword will never dull via mundane wear and tear. The sword cannot be broken or damaged by anything less than a creature or artifact of equal or greater magical power. (Greater and above).
Whenever touched upon by Taelian's magic, the Sylvain runes etched into the blade will glow with a red-golden light. The runes will also glow when the blade's inherent magical ability is activated:
Blood Regeneration (Moderate)- Capable of mending up to 2nd Degree Burns, Deep Flesh Wounds, Sprains, Strains, Bruising etc. but not capable of mending fully ruptured organs or bone fractures and injuries of a more dire nature. The corruptive dependency fostered by blood dragonshards has been mitigated with the purifying properties of both medicinal herbs and illumite dragonshards. However, the sword is incapable of transferring knowledge or experiences to the wielder as would be granted from a normal blood dragonshard. It is limited strictly to regeneration of Minor to Moderate wounds. The ability of the blade to heal is dependent upon how much blood it has been allowed to absorb. The more blood the blade is bathed in, the more regeneration it can bestow upon the wielder. The wielder gains no benefit from this property by shedding their own blood upon the blade. This healing is not instantaneous but happens over the course of either several seconds, minutes, to even hours depending on how extensive the injury is and how much blood the blade has in reserve.
A completely empty reserve shows the gemstone at the pommel of the hilt being a clear crystal with but red veins throughout it. The more blood the blade has in reserve, the more the gemstone turns red and upon close inspection seems to swirl as though filled with blood. Once the gemstone is completely full, it will retain that capacity until expended.
Injuries: N/A
Points +5; can be used for Runeforging
Comments: If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please let me know.