Harnio stood in the silent forge and let out a long sigh. He stared at his calloused hands and looked at the open book near him. "Let's try again…" He closed his eyes calming himself. "Ready…"
He opened his eyes and stared at the cold forge. He started writing in the air with his finger causing a bright light to fill the forge. He closed his eyes and kept writing.
"I can do this."
He pulled out a fire battery with one hand from his pocket and kept writing with the other. "Almost…"
He started to pant heavily. "Still not strong enough to do this, but I'm not going to stop."
He clenched his teeth and kept writing. He opened his eyes watching the energy from the fire battery move in the air towards the blowing forge. He wrote the final character in the air and sat on the ground panting heavily. "I was able to finish it this time… Let's see if it works."
He stood up and paced around catching his breath before walking towards the cold forge. He bent over and inspected the inscriptions that were now engraved all over it. "The inscriptions look good… There doesn't seem to be any mistakes in the writing so far."
He stood up and placed his hand on the handprint inscription and watched as the forge started to heat up instantly creating heat which made Harnio take several steps back. He smiled. "It worked… But it worked too well. That might be too hot."
"Harnio… are you in there?"
Harnio turned around and watched as the shadow of the blacksmith appeared in the forge. He looked up at the beard of the blacksmith and smiled. "I've just been working on the forge. But I think I made it too hot."
"Yes. There is a lot of heat coming from the forge. What did you do to make it be able to heat up to that level?"
Harnio pointed to the inscription patterns on the forge. "I added some inscriptions to it. Now when you place your hand on it. The forge will instantly fire up and we can start work straight away without having to waste time waiting for it to be ready."
"That's a good idea, however, how do we turn down the heat. Some items we make need a low heat."
Harnio frowned at the forge for a moment. "I'll add more inscriptions to it so we can change the heat levels…"
"That would be good. Now turn the forge off, before those outside come in for orders and request for you in the trials."
Harnio nodded and placed his hand on the inscription instantly culling the flames in the forge. He looked at the forge with a smile. "At least it's cold the moment it's turned off."
"Don't worry about that now. Come sit down so we can plan the test for those that seek you out."
Harnio nodded and sat at the design table and pulled out a design for a weapon. "How about they have to go up there and bring me back this? I'll place it in the wall of the tower. Then they have to climb part of the tower to reach it."
"Hahaha. That sounds like an impossible test… Then you won't even be in a team if you request that… Ahh. I understand."
Harnio smiled. "So, what do you think? The weak will leave and give up, the strong will try and fail."
"You plan well. What about if someone is able to grab it out of the tower wall and bring it back here to you?"
Harnio nodded. "If that happens, then we'll have to pack up and leave for the capital… It's already a hard task, almost impossible. But if someone was able to do it. Then their strength is something that can't be calculated."
"Yes. You're a smart kid, but sometimes there're things that can't be calculated. You've created a test that will remove the chaff from the rest."
"So. Do you think this weapon will be enough for them to try and retrieve it?"
"Yes… It should be good enough. However, for us to forge it. You need to fix the forge…"
Harnio nodded and looked at the cold forge. "If we start working on it. Then people will know we're open again and come place orders."
"Hahaha… That's fine with me. I've had enough of a rest with it off. This is a forge and I'm a blacksmith. I have forging in my blood. How long will it take to fix it?"
Harnio frowned. "I'm not sure. I've never tried to alter an inscription that I've already engraved. If it doesn't work. This forge may have to be replaced."
"Replaced? Are you serious?"
Harnio nodded as he stared at the forge. "If that happens, I'll purchase the materials for a new one."
"Harnio… This forge was passed down from my grandfather. It contains a lot of memories. It's not something that can be replaced that easily."
"I'm sorry blacksmith… I'll try my best."
"That's all I can ask. What you did was a good idea, but you should have told me first."
Harnio looked at his shoes and scratched his arms. "I did bad… I'll fix it."
He stood up and walked to the forge and sat staring at the inscriptions in thought. He closed his eyes letting the world slow down around him.
"I can't destroy the forge and start again… There has to be a place where I can add to it…" He put his hand on the forge tracing the inscriptions. "Where can I add to it?" He frowned. "I need to alter the temperature… I can't believe I forgot about needing to alter the heat of the forge."
He looked up in thought and smiled. "There's no space for me to add more inscriptions to it… What if I was able to layer them on top of each other?"
He frowned and shook his head. "If I did that then the first inscription would lose its meaning…"
"It's not if I can create new characters in the ancient language." His eyes opened wide and he smiled.
"I know what I can do…" He stood up and started to write in the air with his finger. He pulled out a water battery. "It doesn't need more characters in the inscription. It needs vowels and umlauts. If I use the water battery to create the vowels and umlauts and then add them to the hand print it should work… Hopefully."
He watched as the inscriptions on the forge started to glow. Harnio pulled out a wind battery replacing the empty water battery with a new one from his pocket. He watched as the inscriptions slowly became more complex. He closed his eyes as the light became bright filling the whole forge and started panting. He took a step back covering his eyes with his arm frowning. He stopped writing and waited for the light to fade from his eyes.
"Did… it… work?"
"Harnio… what did you do? It's as if the sun is here in the forge."
Harnio blinked putting the batterys back in his pocket and walked towards the forge as the glow started to fade. He smiled as he stared at the inscriptions.
"I think it worked… The only way is to test it…" He turned and looked at the ground in front of the blacksmith. "I'll test it. I'm not sure if it'll work or not. You can stand outside and wait. I don't want you to get hurt again."
"You worry too much… This is a building I bought and built with my own hands. That forge runs in my family and is covered in our blood, sweat and tears… I'm not going anywhere."
Harnio nodded and turned to the forge placing his hand on the handprint. He watched as the forge ignited and heated up. "So far so good." He touched the design around the handprint and felt the heat coming from the forge increase. "It's temperature can go up… Now let's see if it'll go down…" He took a step back and leaned with his hand touching the handprint on the other side. He watched as the flames died down and the forge's heat cool down.
"It works so far…" He took another step backwards and looked at the inscription patterns on the glowing forge. "The inscriptions seem to be working well. The control is there to alter the heat… Now the final test to turn it off."
He walked up to the forge and placed his hand on the handprint inscription and smiled as the flames died down and faded. He let out a deep breath and smiled.
"I did it… I was able to fix it."
"Good job… What shall we call this forge now, since you've worked on it? The forge is going to need a name."
Harnio nodded. "How about the sun forge?"
"Sun forge… I like it… The sun forge it is then."
Harnio smiled and turned towards the blacksmith. "Since the sun forge is working, shall we build this weapon? When we're done, I can go up and put it in the wall of the tower."
"As long as you're not wearing that flying armor… And also not going anywhere near that scythe…"
Harnio frowned. "I won't go anywhere near the scythe. For the armor, I don't need it anymore when I'm up there."
"What do you mean? It's not like you can fly.���
Harnio smiled and shook his head. "No, I can't fly. However, I can use the wind as steps to walk up and down the tower."
"You're also not planning to go to the top of the tower, are you?"
Harnio looked down at his feet and shook his head. "I've been to the top already. I don't need to go again…"
"Good… good. Then get your apron on… We've got a weapon to make."
"Hello… I saw the light from the forge… Are you open again?"
Harnio stopped putting his apron on and took a step towards the back of the forge scratching his arms. He watched the back of the blacksmith walk towards the side of the smith. "Yes… We're open again sir. What can I do for you?"
"I'm preparing for the trials and I'm looking for some good armor and swords. I've been told by many people to come here and ask for your work master blacksmith."
"Hahahaha… That sounds like the people around here. Come in and let me see your size."
Harnio ducked down and watched as a large muscular man covered in scars walked into the forge. "He looks strong." He shook his head. "Looks can also be deceiving."
"What sort of armor are you looking for?"
"As you can see from my large size, I'm looking for something heavy. Swords I want big… At least half my height."
"Any blacksmith could make the armor you've asked for, so why me?"
"I want some of those crystals you make as well… Especially on the sword. I want to have a giant sword of fire to swing around."
"If you're willing to pay. Then that is something that me and my apprentice is able to do."
"That's great news. If you do a great job, I'll ask for you to be a part of my team… You said apprentice. Is he as good as you?"
"Yes, he is… He is a bit busy at the moment. Let me get your measurements and then we'll start working on it."
"I don't have much time. I hope this won't take too long for you to make for me."
"Hahahaha. Give us a few days and you'll have your armor and flaming sword in your hands striking fear in the hearts of your enemies. That is if you pay well"
"Ahh yes money." Harnio watched as the large man pulled a small sack from his belt and let it fall open on the design table. His mouth fell open in shock. He covered his open mouth with his hand. "That's a lot of gems and coins…"
"For that amount warrior. We'll put your request on the top of the list."
"Good to hear… I'll be back in a few days."
Harnio let out a long breath that he didn't know he was holding and walked towards the design table and stared at the coins and gems. "That's a lot blacksmith…"
"This is only the beginning… There'll be a lot more coming. Now come and help me with this weapon of yours so we can start on the armor and sword."
Harnio smiled and put his apron on. "Let's get to work."