The books were fairly in depth. They talked about were forgemastering came from. It was a mixture of dwarven smithing and magic.
It was invented to make life easier. To build the tools needed to produce great works.
It's the equivalent to a technology in my old world.
There are three distinct schools Rune Smithing, Material Smithing, and Soul Smithing.
The first two are easy to explain as the use of runes to cause different effects, and the smithing of materials like a blacksmith.
The last one is extremely complicated so I don't understand it. It can allow you to morph biological material to your will. It can provide a way to allow mana into your tool like the lanterns that light the city automatically.
But what it really got the name soul from was from being able to breathe life into tools.
I obviously don't understand how yet.
What's interesting about forgemastering is that it has its roots in different subjects.
Material Smithing came from blacksmithing.
Rune smithing came from advanced alchemy and warrior training that used different runes to cause all manner of effects.
And Soul Smithing came from necromancy.
Yes necromancy was the inspiration behind one of the schools. Soul smithing can reanimate bodies like necromancy too.
It's skill set isn't used like that normally so walking corpses aren't common. It's used to build circuits of mana and build a pseudo soul in a weapon to allow the weapon to exhibit great powers.
Now the reason why Nordri is so tall is due to his forge master legacy. Apparently there were four great Dwarven forge masters in ancient times. They developed the techniques for forging single handily. Each was a master of a specific type of forging art
They were so good at forging that they used Soul Smithing to change the shape of their bodies to better forge.
From that point on they were said to hold up the world with their mighty hammers.
This story is similar to the old world Norse myth of the four dwarfs who held up the sky.
Reading these books, I'm reminded of how my father said I would learn the hammer later. It says here that forge mastering needs a tool to work. A forge master without his tool is just a regular person.
This is the first skill of forge mastering. Just like druids have natures language, the forge masters have a beginning skill as well. It is called Hammer of Will.
It allows you to imbue your will into a weapon. By doing so, your strike can cause all manner of effects. This is where the differences in the legacies come from.
The four brothers had well known proficiencies. Sudri was well known for using fire and blacksmithing. Vestri was known for his speed and was a master of runes. Audri was a master at using his hammer in battle by imbuing his Will to cause his strike to destroy.
And finally Nordri, was known for being calm and a well known healer. His proficiency was Soul Smithing.
They each learned each other's art and came up with legacies to pass down. All dwarven legacies are derived from the original four with each forgemaster giving their own spin on it.
But, although their legacies include the other three proficiencies, the direct lineage of the four brothers have a little more on their specific school.
With this information, I can see why Nordri accepted me as a student. It's because of my skill in the Life school. It's already well known Im a genius allegedly. One specific achievement I have though is solving a medical problem that druids have been struggling with for years.
Nordri likely studied druidic magic as well and wanted to see what I could do with his legacy of forging.
I got up out of the chair and stretched finally taking in my environment. The buildings in the Dwarven city are remarkably different from those above.
Although a lot of stone was used in both, the Dawrves really show of their skills in stone sculpting down here. It's very elaborate.
Upstairs gold, etchings, and wood are more common while down here it's more carvings and sculptures.
The buildings upstairs are also wider. Very typical of ancient Scandinavian architecture with gothic techniques accenting buildings in wood. A closer representation would be if Anglo-Saxon culture decided to go back to its Scandinavian roots but couldn't leave behind certain gothic features like flying buttresses.
Down here it's smaller, more compact, less ornate. Carvings are more prevalent. This entire library and furniture are made from carved stone.
Walking through the building looking for Nordri, I saw him in a large room in the other side of the house.
There were three things present in this room. An anvil covered in an uncountable amount of runes, a hearth in the corner, and a work bench with all kinds of tools.
"Hello Loki! How did you enjoy the read," he said while inspecting the hearth.
I liked this man a lot. He's very cheery. Maybe he won't abuse me like my last master.
[He's a big teddy bear ain't he]
He's as hairy as one too.
"It was very illuminating to say the least. I have a few questions though."
Nordri put down his hammer and let go of the mechanism used to heat the hearth.
He walked over to the edge of that perfectly crafted anvil and sat on it.
"Okay go ahead, ask away," he said while looking at me with a smile.
I looked to him and asked, "Why did you accept me for your legacy?"
"You are not a dwarf so you cannot inherit the name Nordri nor can you undergo the art of forging transformation into a primal dwarf like me. I will teach you these arts anyways along with my legacy as long as you agree with me never to share it. I will have another apprentice one day to inherit it in full.
The reason I accepted you was due to your ingenuity."
"We forge masters pride ourselves with progress. You are a young fresh perspective that's not dwarf. You've already given the druids a new treatment, I wonder what you could do with a hammer in hand."
He has high hopes for me doesn't he?
[I think he sees you as an uncut diamond in a world of rubies]
"I appreciate the hope you put in me".
"I actually lose nothing in this. I'm more of a firm believer in spreading forge mastering. Whether pass or fail, I'll do my best to teach you everything I know." He said with a jolly tone.
"Anything else?"
I thought about it for a moment.
"What is the issue with Fafnir? Have I done something wrong?"
This is when his jolly look turned stern.
"Fafnir is complicated. You see his father become king so someone in his family had to take the post of his family so as to have the council be unbiased. Because of that, Fafnir who was slightly young at the time and the oldest of his siblings was put into the position. Unfortunately, Fafnir's sheltered life with the dwarves and a certain event caused him to have jealousy of other tribes. He believes the dwarves should either rule with commercial power over the other tribes or separate entirely. Of course he is an extreme minority"
I was confused. Such a mindset doesn't happen overnight.
I pressed a bit further. "What event caused him to be like that?"
Nordri looked at me in silence for a moment then spoke. "Lust."
"Fafnir is one of the rare few dwarves that inherited a dangerous trait from our ancestors in high purity. Normal this trait makes us prone to be alcoholics and gluttons. We call this gluttony. He got the more advanced version called lust. Normally we wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for him seeing a Swan. One day while visiting the Aesir, Fafnir saw Queen Frigga at their wedding feast."
"Fafnir's lust overcame him and he attempted to seduce her when he got the opportunity. Fortunately, your uncle Vili stopped it in time. Should your father had been there, Fafnir undoubtably would have his head severed in your fathers rage. Elder Vili thankfully has a cooler mind."
"Since then, most dwarves are hesitant to join Aesir celebrations. It's worsened some relations truthfully but your father and the elders were intelligent and kind enough to overlook this. This is the reason the King so readily accepted your training. Mending relations is important to him."
"Fafnir can't be moved from his position and now has developed an outstanding greed toward the Aesir. He wonders why the dwarves weren't blessed with their blessing and wishes to transform all dwarves back to their origins forcefully using forgemastering. It's the reason he's banned from learning the art from me and the reason he's jealous of you."
"Not only do you have all the blessings he lacks and are heralded as the next coming of Ymir, you are now learning the Dwarves exclusive art, something he surely feels entitled to. I am also sure he hates you for also being the son of his Goddess with another man."
"I'd tell you to be careful but I can already tell you are wary of him."
"Anything else you'd like to ask Loki?"
I really like how impersonal he is. No titles or anything.
"All I have to ask is where do we start".
Nordri got up and looked to me and said, "I have about a year to teach you the basics of forging such that you will not need me anymore when I present you with my full inheritance."
"We will start with your Hammer of Will, you will have to try and squeeze it in for combat when we're not here on your off days. We will work our way from Black Smithing, to Rune Smithing, and hopefully getting the basics of Soul Smithing by the end of the year."
"After that I will inspect your progress every year. You have to push yourself to improve when you aren't with me. To that end, I know today is likely your break day and that you were gonna use to settle yourself. It's only happenstance that we should run into each other because I always show up a day early to prepare the forge. Go ahead and finish your business. I'm expecting you bright and early tomorrow," he says all this with a smile.
"Thank you Master Nordri", I said reaching my hand out confusing him until he figured he should shake mine too.