"Could they still be focuses?"
The three master smiths looked at each other, back to Von, then to each other again. With a shrug, Oren stated, "We don't know. I learned smithing over three millennia ago in the Verdant Forest and was taught they were either one or the other. The difference was in the imbuing process. You, however, just broke that rule."
Adding in her thoughts, Vorolen stated, "I learned from the Battlebourne Halls Clanhome, centuries ago, and Master Oreheart taught me exactly the same information."
Grimdon agreed. "I was taught in Yendora City. The smiths there were taught this as well. None dared try to do otherwise as the items could be ruined." Looking at Von, then the rings, he added, "or so they thought."
"So, Von, each of us grew up in completely different times in extremely divergent areas, and our instructors all taught us the same thing. There must be a reason, even if we don't know it." Added Oren.
"Master Oren, I understand everyone was taught the same way, but occasionally new things need to be tried. May we try to enchant the Inferno ring?"
Oren looked to the other smiths for help in explaining it wouldn't work. Seeing no assistance would be given, he shrugged and gave in knowing he would lose a fairly difficult to acquire focus. It was almost impossible to locate a fire lizard in a swamp. One might as well look for a phoenix rat.
"I guess we can try, and by 'we,' I suppose you mean me with you riding along, right?"
"Yes, please."
Removing the ring from the silk, Oren placed it on the workbench and waited until Von put his hand on his arm before channeling pyromantic essence into a weave. Ready?
No. It needs more than fire essence. Can you feel it? It needs earth essence and light essence too.
Okay, Von. I guess you can supply those. Ready?
Von began channeling geomantic and phosphomantic essences into and through Oren until it blended seamlessly into the original weave. For good measure, he snuck in a little healing essence and apotropaic essence because it felt like it needed something more. Once Oren felt the boy's weave blend seamlessly, he started to push it into the Inferno ring.
Slowly, it seemed to glow as though giving off some of the heat essence from the strange imbuing method. This was not a fresh item readily waiting to have essence added. This item was several years old and just waiting for the tower to request such an item. None-the-less, with the exception of the heat given off, the ring seemed to accept the essences provided in the weave.
As he examined it during the process, Oren discovered the ring actually accepted more than he expected. Even when he thought he should stop, Von asked him to continue until he felt it was likely to shatter. At the edge of doing just so, he felt Von's desire to stop.
Other than being very warm to the touch, the ring was no different than before. Oren picked it up and concentrated on manipulating pyromantic essence through it. It worked. Actually, it worked better than he remembered, but in truth, it may have just been a faulty memory or too much time passed since he created it.
Oren looked at Von with one of those looks a parent would give when one does something foolish and said. "It's just a focus, Von. Maybe it's a little stronger than it was, but that's it. It won't become an item."
"May I see it?"
Oren handed the ring to Von for his examination. Nothing significant happened, so he wasn't concerned.
Von placed a little of his aura in it to examine it, then hedged his bets. Analyze.
Uncommon +? What's that?
Can this focus be absorbed?
No, but thank you.
After a moment, Von looked to the smiths. "Did it have a geomantic enhancement before? Did it provide fire resistance or strength before? I think we improved it significantly."
Oren snatched back the ring. "It is still an uncommon focus. All we did was waste essence and time." He walked to the scale, placed the uncommon cube on in it, then placed the ring on the weighing pan. The beam moved to just over three-quarters of the way to the rare mark.
"Hmm." Oren walked to the forge retrieved the other foci and returned to the scale. He placed each of them in turn onto the pan. Each of them were exactly uncommon, no more, no less. The line and the knife matched exactly. The ring, however, again went well past the line, and three-quarters of the way to the rare line.
The other two master smiths looked on with fascination. After a moment, Chet offered, "Maybe the ring's heart was from a leader among the lizards?"
Oren nodded. "That's very likely the case. See, there's a simple explanation. We did not improve the focus."
"Then can we try the bracelet to be sure? The heart on it must have been slightly larger to be a bracelet. Maybe they are like the swamp dragons cores? They are both lizards."
Oren sighed as Vorolen agreed with Von. "It truly is the only way to know. If it was already stronger, you wouldn't have known it, right?"
"Alright, we'll do one more, but if it doesn't change it, we stop with this foolishness." The elf added with more than a little irritability in his voice. "Let's go."
Returning to the forge, they repeated the process to this one, Von added apotropaic essence, phosphomantic essence, healing essence and venomancy essence instead of geomantic. This felt right again. Upon completion of adding the weave to the bracelet, he again focused on it. Analyze.
Looking to Oren, he excitedly stated, "It's better again! This one has poison resistance, a minor amount of venomancy focus, more endurance, but less magic power."
Oren took the bracelet into the shop returning it to the pan. The needle moved over halfway to the rare, but not as far as the ring. "Okay, it's doing something, but not enough to make it worth more. It's still just an uncommon focus. Wait, the other one added magic power? This one adds magic power?"
The silver-haired elf sent his aura into the bracelet and noticed several differences from the original. It did do a lot more than just pyromancy. He lifted the Dragonfire Torch. "One more try."
To this ring, Von only added apotropaic essence, healing essence, and phosphomantic essence. It didn't feel like anything else would help it. Minutes later, they reweighed the small torch. This one went well past the rare line. Examining the focus, even Oren could feel the difference in capabilities. He passed it to the others, before it finally reached Von. Analyze.
No.
Once the Alighted Amulet was imbued for the second time, Vorolen was the first to notice the improvements, particularly in the earth enhancement. "This is a dual focus. An uncommon fire focus and a common earth focus. This is amazing, Oren! Imagine if we could do this to every focus! Everyone from everywhere would only get their foci from Sungrove smiths! We could be our own specialty guild!"
Von couldn't wait to look. As soon as the amulet was passed to him, he instantly thought, Analyze.
No, I do not want to absorb it. I will tell you when.
The Alighted Amulet also significantly increased in abilities also ranking in the rare category. Of course, this wasn't a surprise to anyone. Dual focuses were always one better in rank than the highest category. "Okay, Von. We admit there is something to your way. It just goes against everything we were taught. It definitely does improve the focus." He hesitated for a moment before adding, "I don't know if we should try to name the foci, however. It may cause them to no longer be foci at all."