The dwarven smith said, "I suppose you want them?"
"Based on the boy's—Von's capabilities, I think he will only need one, if you will part with it."
"Of course, but could I borrow him long enough to help me learn what he did with Chet?"
"If he is willing." Everyone turned to stare at Von.
"Um, sure. I thought everyone already knew what I did. It just makes sense according to what Master Oren told me." came the young man's reply.
The center of attention now moved to the elf who shrugged in response. "We have never been able to guide a second person when they imbued an item or named something. You have taken us into something our ancestors may have known, but to us it seems you have discovered a lost art."
Grimdon added, "or more likely, we've been in competition so long, we haven't tried to work together until now." This elicited nods from both Oren and Vorolen who both looked a little sheepish at the words. Grimdon continued, "I can personally say that once I was turned loose by my master, I only helped those who apprenticed under me as well. I would like to see what you make from the armorback turtle heart, if you don't mind my watching." Then in a quiet voice, almost as a plea, "If you would, I'd also like to see from within, how you imbue it, and name it."
""Me too," responded Vorolen. "I'll go get the armorback beast hearts right now." She practically fled toward the door of the show nearly running down a potential customer entering.
Oren added, "and me, Von. I know I gave you the advice, but I don't know how you applied it to create what you did and to help Chet here turn the flawed ring to something legendary."
Maggie greeted the customer before showing them to the shelf full of knives leaving the three smiths, four if she included Von to return to the forge.
As the sounds of the Maggie and the customer died down, the forge became a center of eager anticipation. Grimdon and Oren each eyed Von with a curious intensity, eager to discover his unique approach to the craft. They'd spent their lives perfecting the art of smithing, yet this young apprentice, no, adept, seemed to possess an innate talent capable of transcending the limits of their craft they long considered immutable.
Together they prepared the forge, bringing the temperature up in anticipation of receiving the core and the metal, if needed. The tools were set out while Von stared at his choices of molds from which to make items. If he were to create rings, one core would likely create several, while a bracer might take an entire core. He asked the opinion of the two masters.
Grimdon rubbed his chin, contemplating the setup in the forge. "I'd say start with something simple. Rings are a good choice to test the potency of the hearts. the rings you don't use as gifts can be kept for you and Monica. Besides, the smaller the item, the more delicate the manipulation, and there seems to be where your strength lies."
Oren nodded in agreement. "Grimdon's right. Go with rings. They require precision and finesse, and if you can pull it off, it'll be easier to replicate the process. Besides, rings are always in demand. If you're aiming to impress, a set of finely crafted rings with unique abilities is the way to go. You can create them out of one heart, and the three of us can do the other while you guide us with manipulating the essences."
Von glanced at the molds, his eyes scanning the variety of shapes and sizes. Rings were practical, but still, he wanted to create something memorable which could only mean unusual. On the other hand, plain rings wouldn't be considered important to most people, and they could be easily hidden. "Okay, I will take your advice." he said, choosing a few simple ring molds.
Grimdon nodded, watching him intently. "Just remember, lad, beast hearts from armorback turtles are tough but resilient. You don't want to force them too much, or they'll crack. Let them guide you, and you'll find the best result."
By the time they had two sets of ring molds prepared, Vorolen came panting through the door. Dwarves were known to have a lot more endurance than most races, so Von figured she must have sprinted all the way to her smithy and back.
Standing in front of Von, she removed two beast cores wrapped in silk from a pouch on her belt. Both were clear with a slight mossy green color. Von walked into the shop and placed the first one on the pan of the scale and on the opposing side, the common cube. The scale tipped to the uncommon line.
Understanding how it seemed to work, Von replaced the cube with the uncommon one causing the scale balanced perfectly. "So, using the common cube would tell him how strong the core would be before he used it." Knowing this, he wanted to check the second core. Removing the first core and replacing it with the second once again caused the scale to balance perfectly.
Von returned to the forge placing each core in a crucible. "Do I need to add metal?"
Oren shook his head. "There should be enough of the beast heart to create four or five or the plain bands you've chosen. I wouldn't mix the two hearts in one ring though without testing them first. Sometimes, hearts of the same creature types can be hostile to one another."
Not being sure how to 'test' them, Von did what he would do to test an item. First, he sent his aura into each core. Doing so, he learned they were turtles whose life consisted of swimming through the swamp and eating various plants and snails. Both turtles were attacked many times during their lives by other creatures, but they seemed to hold no animosity toward anything. 'Hmm, that didn't work.' He thought. 'Oh well.' Analyze.
He still didn't know if the two cores would be immiscible or not. Best to keep them separate. He used pyromancy to heat the forge to a temperature where the cores began to melt. Keeping the second on further from the heat, he concentrated on the first until it pooled at the bottom of the crucible. At this point, he added apotropaic and healing essences into a weave then directed it toward the crucible.
Just before he pushed the weave into the molten core, he paused feeling the essence of water needed to be added along with something else. Plants! He restructured the weave adding the needed hydromantic and chlormantic essences to the weave then spiraled it into the liquid beast core.
He continued to pour the weave into the glowing liquid core until it felt on the verge of exploding. Feeling the crucible flowing with power and molted beast core, he poured it carefully into the first four waiting ring molds. Seeing there contained enough for a fifth, he filled it as well before using choromancy to ensure a smooth finish as the rings slowly cooled.
"Okay, each of you, enter my thoughts and see what I see." He spoke as he moved the second crucible into the heat to allow the core to melt.
The three master smiths and Chet placed their hands on his shoulders, arms, or head while allowing their minds to enter the prepared room in the boy's. From here, he pulled their auras into his mind allowing them to see every thought and feel every feeling as he did.
Just like before, he gathered the four essences and created a weave identical to the last before pushing it into the crucible into the now molten second core. One of their thoughts entered his own. How did you decide what essences to include? While another, Chet's, asked, What if we can't control the essences needed?
He responded to both questions. Think about the properties just like you always have and add any essences which feel right. If you can't control them, have a magician or two on hand to charge the essences into the core.
You're charging the core now instead of at the imbuing stage? It seems too early.
In reality, it was much too early for conventional smithing, however, Von was again trying something new. If the essences were applied early enough, he felt the cores' own attributes were less likely to be lost in the heat of the forge. He didn't know why, but something in his mind said it was the right way to do it.
As if hearing his thoughts, his system piped up.
With the system's confirmation, he felt much more confident as he continued to fill the bright core with his weave of essences. Once full, he made certain it was thoroughly embedded into the liquid before pouring it into the next set of five molds and forcing their shapes to conform to his desires.
He allowed the now ten rings to cool slowly to prevent them from cracking as the four smiths watched in rapt attention within his mind. Once he was certain the crystalline-like rings wouldn't shatter, he used a carefully watched weave of pyromancy and cryomancy to cool the rings to the touch before laying out squares of silk for them to rest then with great care, removed them from their individual molds before wrapping them while they waited to be imbued.
Just as he had with Chet, he recreated nearly the same weave as he used on the molten cores and topped off the now finished rings. When they reached their limits this second time, he waited for questions from the other smiths.
Of course, they were more than willing to oblige. How did you know they could hold more essence? Why did you add it twice? Should we examine them now or wait until they are named? Why did you add the same weave as the first time, isn't is redundant?
When I examined the rings, I just did what felt right. I guess, it will take some getting used to. Before I name them, are there any more questions?