The next few days went by fast, Ben told the rest of the family about the call to arms, and the whole family was very sad and quiet, even though Lucy didn't understand what was going on she could tell there was something wrong.
In the morning Theo went to Ray's, he didn't feel like skipping rocks for the first time in years, scared of what it might mean, as he picked up a rock he dropped it, little did he know it rolled off the bridge and it skipped 4 times.
When he got there, Ray was already working the bellows with a nice flame going at the hearth.
"what's going on? The sun hasn't come out yet" said Theo a little worried thinking he was late.
"relax lad, I think it's about time you started learning the ropes," he said with a grin and pointed to a hammer on the working table.
Theo looked and could tell it was new, he went to pick it up and asked "is this for me?".
"Sure is kid, today you're going to forge your first item, with my help of course"
Theo ran over with the hammer and took the mold that was on the table, Ray was already preparing the metal.
"I'm infusing this steel with my energy so it'll be stronger than regular steel, when you're a forger you can improve the items depending on your materials and the energy you have, the higher the rank, the more energy you have"
" What type of ranks are there for items?", Theo asked.
"Well kid, I'm a 4th peak rank blacksmith so my items can be up to C rank, items are ranked from S to F with S being the highest, the higher the rank the better attributes they can give "
"what about me, since I haven't awakened can I still be a blacksmith?" Theo asked a little worried.
"Now that's a question, yes you can, all you need is energy if you don't have your own you can use items that have energy in them, there are items you can use that already have energy within them, that's how non awakened High-Borns nobles and commoners can still wield magic, because of these items"
'Wow, this is awesome, I can still be able to wield magic I just need these types of items'. "Where can I get some items like that?" Theo asked getting excited.
Ray chuckled and said, "don't get ahead of yourself kid, those items can cost millions of gold, now let's focus on the matter at hand, I'm about to finish pouring the steel on the mold, after it cools bring it over, you're going to finish it in the anvil, then we reheat to make sure the alloy stays strong, Smithe it again and then polish ok?"
"yes sir!" Theo said enthusiastically.
They went through the whole process, a very important part is the smithing because it's all about hand-eye coordination and hitting in the right places, one wrong move, and you can break the piece or leave it with malformation or imperfection that you don't want.
As Theo was in the last step, Ray was eyeing him carefully but he didn't say anything, all throughout the process he just let him do it by himself, as Theo did the final hits on the item, time slowed again, and he got an intuition as to where to hit and with how much strength, because he had been working the past few weeks his body had improved in stamina and strength so these steps weren't as hard for him.
When he was done he felt the item was pristine, Ray took it and eyed it carefully then started to polish it, it was a dagger.
"Great job lad, I was not expecting you to do so well, guess you were paying attention to my work, in my first item it took me 3 tries before I completed it, you might be a natural," he said smiling, you could barely tell when he smiled because of his huge mustache.
"Really? Guess we should get another anvil so we can both work out items as partners, should I sign my work of art?" Theo said smiling.
Wack! Ray smacked him on the head and said "Don't get cocky lad, only 5th-ranked and above forgers can sign their items, and when they're signed by them it can give special attributes to the items so don't get smart, you did well enough that you might be a fledgling soon enough but you're still a novice!"
"Ok, so how can I improve if I don't have these items or energy? I asked while pondering if I could get some books on forging.
"Well even if you haven't awakened you can still use energy, but it'll be really difficult," Ray said as he finished polishing the blade.
"what do you mean I can still use energy?"
As he finished polishing it, he put the dagger in a scabbard and handed it to me.
"Well done lad, you're officially a blacksmith apprentice, the hammer and dagger are yours, the dagger is a great starting weapon for a blacksmith apprentice, treasure it, and here is something from me, to help you in the future and even if you don't awaken you can use it"
He handed me a little smoothed-out light green colored rock with a metallic ring around it and another dagger, "what is it?" I asked
It's an aura Infused pendant, it will help you to be a blacksmith even if you don't awaken, the other is a dagger I made for you"
"but I thought you said that these were very expensive items, I can't afford it Ray, hell, my family can't afford it," said Theo looking perplexed
Ray chuckled and said "relax lad, I made this one myself so it's fine, it's a gift and pretty common for a non-awakened craftsman," Ray then winked at him.
Theo took out his dagger, it gave a faint glow and then stopped, he could tell it was a very nice blade that Ray made for him.
Ray is highly regarded in Vermis as one of only three 4th-ranked blacksmiths.
"Now for the next few days try to feel how to draw energy from the pendant it will feel like you gain some power from it, it'll naturally fill with energy every few hours after you drain it."
Theo nodded, he didn't fully understand but he was sure he'd get the hang of it.
For the rest of the day they worked and talked, Theo told him about his Dad, Ray felt bad about it, he knew all too well how bad war is, Ray participated in the last war, he used to be a noble from Alexandria with plenty of potentials, but he made a few mistakes, lost his left leg right below the knee, and he was banished from his family he ended up in Vermis, Theo appreciated him opening up to him.
As the days went by Theo kept working with Ray, Ray taught him some training routines on how to condition his body,
He also showed him how appraisal gems work Ray started with the dagger he made, it was of C rank quality, it had improved lightness that gave better agility, and hardened energy-infused steel for a +15 damage output, so it was an incredible first item, the one Theo made was F rank quality which was good coming from a beginner, it gave +5 damage.
After two weeks, the garrisons had arrived at Vermis and were starting the recruitment process, It was a camp comprised of a few nobles and about 20 infantrymen.