Exploding metal bits

[Ivar]

123 Searing 5th

Ivar stirred awake and his eyes fluttered open. He groaned and gazed groggily at the room around him. It was far later than he usually awoke, his typically disciplined schedule thrown off by the late nights he had been keeping.

He wished he’d woken up refreshed and ready to go but no, his dreams had been cluttered with images of lines, curves, and symbols. As far as his mental state was concerned, he’d spent the last ten hours scrivening and was still mentally exhausted.

He sat up, running a hand through his tousled hair. Today, he had classes to attend, subjects to study, and exams to prepare for. But all of that felt secondary, mere distractions from the real challenge that consumed his thoughts. He had to finish making the talisman of protection for his customer. A lot of money and, more importantly, his reputation was riding on his success.

His mind kept drifting back to the task at hand, the weight of the talisman in his palm, the intricate dance of etching he’d have to do on its surface. Even as he dressed and prepared for the day, his fingers seemed to itch for the graver, eager to continue the work that had consumed him.

As he made his way to his classes, Ivar tried to focus on the lecture topics. But the talisman refused to leave his thoughts. It screamed for his attention, eclipsing the words of his professors, turning the lecture hall into a mere background noise to the planning going on in his head.

It was unnerving, this relentless obsession. But there was also a certain thrill to it, a sense of being on the cusp of creating something truly extraordinary. Once free of his scholarly obligations, Ivar was practically scrambling to put his things in his bag so he could teleport back to his room.

The moment he appeared in his room, he shed his academic guise, switching out the robes for a more comfortable attire. He grabbed a graver in one hand and used his other to set the talisman on the table before unrolling the rough draft of his intended design so that he could reference it.

With red eyes and a numbed mind, Ivar began his task. He fell into a rhythm as he etched the planned pictographs onto the surface of the talisman. His hand was still tired from all the etching practice he’d done yesterday and he still found it difficult to get the pictography to look passable.

Hours ticked by and Ivar continued his work, the candles on his table casting a warm glow around the room. He lost himself in the process, his world reduced to the intricate details of the pictographs he was etching. Eventually, he leaned back, setting the graver down. The talisman, now adorned with the completed pictography, looked different. It was no longer a simple piece of metal… it was an artifact of magic. He felt happy that it was done, but there was no telling if it would actually work.

He had to test it to ensure that it could withstand the power of a spell and that it actually absorbed the aether as intended. With a resolute nod to himself, Ivar decided to seek out his friend, Soren. He was a competent spell-caster, and Ivar trusted him enough to help with this critical part of the process.

Ivar vaulted to various common areas of the campus and found Soren at one of his usual spots in a courtyard.

“Studying?” Ivar called out, raising his hand in greeting as he approached his friend.

Soren looked up, a smile spreading on his face. "Well, someone has to, right? You've been missing from some study sessions lately. Let me guess, another project?" he replied, his tone light.

Ivar laughed, easing himself onto the bench next to his friend. "You know me too well. Actually, I've been working on this," he said, pulling out the talisman and handing it over to Soren.

Soren took the talisman and looked at this blankly. “You know I know nothing about scrivening right?"

Ivar shrugged modestly. "It's a work in progress, really. That's where you come in."

"Oh? And what do you need from me?" Soren asked.

"Magic," Ivar replied simply, "I need you to cast a spell at it. I’d do it myself but I don’t really have any offensive magic ability.”

Soren looked at the talisman, then back at Ivar. "what kind of spell? You want me to use the power of elementalism, I take it?”

"Yes, just a small fire spell, nothing too drastic. The talisman should be able to absorb it without any issue. That's the theory at least."

Soren chuckled. "So, I’m your guinea pig now?"

Ivar grinned. "I'd prefer the term 'assistant', but if the shoe fits…”

Soren shook his head in amusement, standing up from the bench. "Alright, but I’m standing at a distance because I don’t want this thing exploding in my face.”

Ivar grinned and they walked to an open space where no other students were currently in. He put the talisman on the ground and walked several meters away where Soren stood. The elementalist pointed a finger at the talisman, closed an eye, then shot a small fireball at it.

They both watched with baited breath as the fire soared through the air and fell right onto the talisman. Upon contact, the talisman absorbed the fiery spell, just as they hoped it would. For a moment, it seemed as though he had succeeded. Yet, that moment of triumph was short-lived.

Seconds later, the talisman cracked and the whole thing soared several meters into the air before raining down bits of metal onto the ground. Ivar was too shocked to move. When he finally turned his head to Soren he saw that he was bursting out laughing.

“That was terrible!”

Ivar gave him a playful shove. “Hey it was my first try. I’ll make it better next time.”

Soren walked back to his bench and Ivar walked around collecting the bits of metal. With each piece he picked up he thought about how this could have happened. He’d been quite thorough in his work after all.

He made his way back to his room and spread out the fragments of the talisman on the table, creating a metallic jigsaw puzzle. He pieced it together, studying the breaks and burns, the spots where the magic had been absorbed and where it had exploded. The etching was too shallow here, the pictograph too cluttered there. Most of the issues stemmed from being green with the etching tool. His final diagnosis was the flow of aether hadn't been directed properly, causing the talisman to overload.

The thought of starting all over again was not appealing but there was still time in the day so he got to work. He had plenty of cheap mundane talismans to work with and now that he’d scrivened it before it was much easier for him to do it again. At times he didn’t need to even glance at his rough draft and was able to speedily repeat his work.

He took extra time to make alterations to the design, based on what he'd learnt from the failed test. Hours passed like minutes, Ivar lost in his world of pictographs and magical theories. The work was painstaking, meticulous, but Ivar was relentless.

Eventually, he held up the new talisman. He’d realized why the talisman his customer left with him for reference had been so simple. Ivar’s fancier design had been his downfall but he was fairly certain that he’d made the necessary adjustments to make it work as intended.

Tracking down Soren this time was a little more difficult but Ivar caught him leaving the dining hall. "Round two?" Ivar asked, holding up the talisman.

Soren sighed, rubbing his eyes. "If this one explodes too, I swear..."

Ivar laughed, assuring his friend. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

They walked back to the courtyard and Soren asked, "You sure you want to go through with this again?" His eyes darted between the freshly made talisman in Ivar's hand and the anticipation on his friend's face.

Ivar took a moment before responding, "Yes, I believe I am. I modified it so that if it is hit by too strong of a spell it doesn’t try to absorb it all."

Soren sighed and cast the spell after Ivar set it on the ground. A small burst of flame shot out from his hand, hurtling towards the talisman. As the fire neared, Ivar held his breath. Then, the fire was absorbed, disappearing as it came into contact with the talisman. There was no explosion, no sudden burst of magic.

For a moment, there was silence, Ivar and Soren both staring at the talisman in surprise. It’d worked well enough for him. All he needed to do now was deliver it to his customer. That was, if he didn’t get the urge to do some more testing later in the week.

“Nice job,” Soren said with a wave of his hand. “Personally I don’t find it all too impressive. If someone shot a fireball at me I’d just block it.”

Ivar wasn’t in the mood to argue the usefulness of scrivening so he just laughed it off. Ivar hadn’t gotten into this magic because he thought it was useful, he’d primarily done it for the money… and it made a lot of it.

[Mirage]

Ivar


Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A

Points 8 xp (Cannot be used for magic)

Comments: This is an excellent thread, but like your request mentioned Ivar is at the level now where all of this is very basic for him. He is on the cusp of becoming a master, about 11xp by my estimation, so its time to start pushing the limits of his abilities further. I would suggest looking at other master works that players have done to take the next leap. I am around for questions if needed!