Beyond the city of Rharne lies the Stormlands, which is home to a number of farms, forests, fields, Lake Lovalus, and the River Zynyx. This subforum also includes the Stormwastes to the south.
"Take care Varlum, don't burn the stones off ya" the fellow Knight teased, having never seen Varlum in a forge before as he walked away, both sharing a laugh. Truth be told, it had been a while. Even if he was only here for a little while, it was something. Maybe he'd have to devote more time to Smithing once this was all over, work on some new project. If he was going to be using a shield more it wouldn't hurt to have one he made himself. Then again, he would need to practice first. As snooty as it made him seem, Varlum preferred weapons of a higher quality than anything standard. For some it was for the looks, but Varlum wanted it for far different reasons. If he had the best gear, he could do even more to protect people. Equally, how many shields would he find that fit his size either way? He'd need a custom order, which would cost a lot if he wanted it made well. Better to buy the metal himself and make one, once he was confident enough it wouldn't turn out awfully.
Across his work station was a wide range of tools, most of them not particularly useful for a simple sword like the one he was creating. All he needed to was get the shape down, nothing too special. Some Smiths liked to mark their weapons with their own unique shapes or brands, giving it a personal touch, but Varlum didn't feel the need. If he was going to be using it himself he wouldn't want his own 'signature' on it. If it was going to someone else he didn't feel the need either, there was no reason for him to advertise what he made. After all, he didn't work as a Smith anymore, all his advertising would do is bring in the attention of people that would be disappointed to know his products weren't for sale.
Varlum began to shape the steel into a blade for a longsword, hammering down on it as he waited for Elisabeth. It would be useful to give to someone if they needed it, though not any higher quality than anything else they offered right now. As well as that, though, Varlum could use it to show Elisabeth the basics. She'd seemed interested when he'd mentioned Smithing and the two had agreed to meet again the following day. All things considered, it was nice to have someone to talk to in a place like this. There were a lot of faces and Varlum made sure to talk to a lot of them over the many Trials he'd been there, but knowing someone was different. Talking for a few moments and having genuine conversations both had their place, but Varlum had to admit he was enjoying the latter.
As he waited for the blade to heat so it could be shaped more, Varlum glanced around to see if Elisabeth had arrived, not wanting to be too entranced in his work to notice her. Smithing was easy to lose yourself in from time to time, the sound of metal ringing and the focus of shaping it into whatever look you want it to be. It was almost relaxing - if it wasn't so draining on the arms. Forging a lot could drain you pretty easily, even for a soldier that was used to long marches and intense training.
As he pulled the blade out and started hammering down on it again, he barely noticed when Elisabeth arrived, his eyes focused on creating the last little detail of the blade.
Working her way through the halls of Storm’s Edge, Elisa followed the directions she had been given to the forge. It was not an area she had visited before, hence the directions. All in all – she was in a good mood. Varlum had offered to show her the basics of Smithing and learning something new always had a positive effect on her disposition. Their training session the trial before had been mutually beneficial…and yes, she had to admit, fun. Fun was not something Elisabeth was used to having and with everything that was going on, she felt bad admitting that something was actually enjoyable.
Her life seemed to be split in two – the Institute and Storm’s Edge. Each part was distinct and very much an element of who she was. When she was in Rharne at the Institute, her focus was on research and the students…but at Storm’s Edge, the responsibilities were even greater. She had no desire to choose between the two anytime soon, but Elisa had to admit, the schedule was wearing on her a bit. Yawning softly, she had decided to give herself a bit of a break that trial and take it easy on the training. Varlum’s kind offer had seemed like a great way to continue training on a different level.
Elisabeth considered her acquaintance as she approached the forge. He was different from everyone else she knew and to date was the only one that she felt comfortable sharing her thoughts about Immortals and Ethelynda with. But beyond all that, she found him to be very kind. Could he rip someone’s head off? Absolutely…so making him mad wasn’t top on her list…. but he treated her with respect and listened to her thoughts, making logical suggestions and comments. He was much smarter than he gave himself credit for and she appreciated that he continued to be available for her when she was sure he had much more important things to do with his time.
Slowly walking into the forge, she carefully looked around, spotted him, and smiled. “Well hello there, stranger! Ready to teach me the intricacies of Smithing? I did some reading up on it last evening so hopefully, I will ask some appropriate questions...” A stray thought slipped through her mind – a memory from long before. Rilith had taught her at a young age some basics of cooking. One thing she always told Elisa – people are either cutters or burners, meaning some people always managed to cut their fingers on knives when cooking…. or they burned themselves when cooking. Elisa was firmly in the ‘burner’ category, having experienced some horrible cooking burns over the arcs.
Metal on metal echoed through the forge from all sides, though most prominently from the Ithecal as he put his hammer down on the piece of steel, working the few final details of the blade. With everything that had happened at Storm's Edge as of late it was no surprise that they'd need some new weapons soon enough, if they didn't already. They weren't fighting normal soldiers now. When fights broke out they were brutal, fighting enemies they knew little to nothing about. Beasts that could take heavy hits and would dish out strong blows. While it had yet to happen in front of him, Varlum imagined more than one soldier had their sword shatter in a fight at some point or another, so spares were always welcome.
Varlum focused on one side of the metal that seemed a little out of shape, using the hammer to smooth it out with his eyes focused as best he could. As he did, he heard a familiar voice behind him, placing the metal back in the hot forge with tongs before placing down both tools and smiling. "Sounds like you'll be a master Smith in no time. Grab some gloves to be safe, and I put down some tools that are...fit for your size rather than mine. Figure the best way to learn is to try, even if just a little" he chuckled and gestured to the human-sized hammer and tongs laid out on their work station, pulling the hot metal blade out of the heat and gesturing for Elisabeth to look once she had her gloves on and was safe.
"Not too much I can show you about hammering until you've got one in your hand, we'll work on that much later. But right there" he pointed to the part of the sword that had been too thick and out of shape, raising the metal with his tongs to give her a better angle of it. "With how small the details are, most could probably let that slide and send it out, but that small imbalance could be enough to make the sword come out lopsided - or at least unbalanced. My old Forge Master would kill me if I ever let it slip. So we hammer it our and try and flatten it, let the metal shape itself and use the hammer to push it in the right direction."
As he hammered down and sparks shot off the blade he smoothed it relatively fast, picking up the blade and examining it for a moment before placing the metal down on the anvil and nodding to Elisabeth. "See that bucket of water there? Pick up the metal with the tongs and put it in, it'll quench the metal. It can help to move it in and out a little, keep it from cooling too fast, but you shouldn't need to worry too much" he said, taking a step back and letting her give it a go if she was willing. It was a good place to start, rather than put a hammer in her hand and let her work hot metal. "Did you read anything about why Smiths quench the metal once it's shaped?" he asked, remembering how she seemed to enjoy working things out.
Once the metal was in the water Varlum watched, letting her quench the water and ask any questions she had. While she did he picked up another steel ingot and placed it on the work table, readying it for when they worked the next blade, this time primarily in Elisabeth's hands. It would be a fun way for her to try and figure out how to use a hammer, to play around with the metal until she found what worked - and he had no doubt she would. Even if she had never used a hammer to shape metal before, she was smart. Problem-solving was something she did well from the limited time the two had spent together.
Once the blade was quenched Varlum looked over it, nodding a little. "It'll do just fine. Ready to try something else?" he asked with a nod to the Steel on the table.
Their banter picked right back up, as natural as if they had known each other forever. It was a surprising element of their relationship that she truly enjoyed. Humor wasn’t something that came naturally to Elisa but Varlum’s gentle teasing nature made her feel safe expressing herself that way. Making her way over to the work station, she slipped on a pair of gloves and looked over the tools quickly, giving him a roguish smile. “Why thank you, kind sir. How very thoughtful of you…” Joining him at the forge, she observed as he pulled the metal out of the heat and listened carefully as he pointed out the small imperfection. The questions came quickly to her mind. “What type of metal is this?” Elisa had no previous knowledge of Smithing so everything she learned would be completely new.
She watched as Varlum confidently hammered the metal, smoothing the imperfection to his satisfaction and then offering to let her take over. Grabbing the tongs off the work station, she carefully moved the metal over to the indicated bucket and shifted it in and out of the water to help temper the cooling process, as he suggested.
His question made her smile. Varlum knew her well enough to know that she was an apt student that always did her homework. “Well, let’s start a bit before that. After the metal is done being shaped, it goes through a process that gently and uniformly heats and afterward cools gradually. The point of the process is to eliminate the stresses which may have built up within the body of the metal while it was being forged. During the forging process, various things can happen that might cause stress - the metal might be heated and cooled unevenly, or some parts might have been hammered more than others…that sort of thing. If those stresses are left in the metal, they could affect the finishing and when it comes time to heat treat the blade, the hardening and tempering might not be as even…or if enough stress exists, the blade could be weak in spots and fail.”
Going back into her mind a bit, she remembered what came next. “Quenching hardens the metal, so it holds an edge longer, but it also makes it very fragile. To restore durability, the metal is tempered. With swords, due to their length, the challenge is larger than with smaller items. It’s possible to bend or warp the blade if it's not put into the water smoothly and equally. “
Thinking a bit after he asked, she decided she did have a question for him. “Is the process different for different metals, or is it fundamentally the same?” She assumed that different metals might have slightly different processes due to the different elements that made them up…but she didn’t know for sure. It was equally possible that the process was the same across the board.
Once Varlum approved of the work, she followed the remaining instructions and noted the new challenge he had ready for her. “You know me – always up for something new…”
Another question popped into her mind before they started on the new project. “If you weren’t what you are, Knight, Warden…is this what you would do? If not, and you could do anything, what would it be?” Elisa, as Varlum would find out, wasn’t a fan of small talk. Instead, she preferred finding out about someone at a deeper level. It usually was apparent very quickly those that didn’t agree with her philosophy, but she wasn’t concerned about him. She knew enough about him, and they had conversed enough for her to know that he enjoyed a certain amount of depth to his conversations.
"I do my best" he jabbed back as she called him 'kind sir', smirking a little. It was surprising to the Ithecal how quickly the two had become friendly with one another. More specifically, how quickly she had taken to his teasing jabs and playful jokes. It was a different Elisabeth to the one he had met in the cave. They shared similarities, of course, their love of knowledge and willingness to study and learn. But it went deeper than that. There was a new confidence he had never really seen before, a playful humour that the cavern had definitely hidden. Then again, humour wasn't going to be as well received in a potentially life or death situation. It wasn't surprising she kept to herself, considering how out of control it all felt. Varlum then answered her query, "Steel, figured I'd keep it simple for this one."
As she got to work Varlum watched, seeing how she carefully moved with the metal. It was clear she hadn't done any Smithing before, but she was determined to do her best. It was one of the reasons the two had gotten on well, her visit to the caverns. It meant she was brave. Throwing herself into a situation with unknown consequences. Whether she was a fighter, a healer, a scholar or none of the above Varlum wouldn't have cared. Her bravery mattered more. It meant she cared enough to make it worthwhile, or had something to prove that she cared enough about.
Elisabeth answered his question, the Ithecal knowing she would have done her research as barely held back a smile. "I was supposed to teach you that" he said with a fake tone of disappointment, clearly teasing. His smile straightened out a little as he nodded, however. "But yes, you got it right. Tempering the metal comes later, but right now we just want to make sure we cool it and harden it so we can use it later. Tempering is someone else's job for now" he admitted, letting her finish the quenching process as she asked about other metals, Varlum pondering. "The few metals I worked with have been similar, albeit with some differences, but they definitely aren't the same. I imagine more exotic metals take more, I've just never spent the coin to work with them. Not yet at least."
Varlum nodded once the weapon was done, waiting for her to be finished before gesturing to the steel ingot on the workbench. "Now you can make your own blade. I'll help with the hammering as needed, but I figure you can attempt it. Start with the forge, carefully of course. Put the metal in and I'll tell you when to take it out" he nodded over to the glowing forge, leaning back and letting her do the bulk of the work as he let his tail slide under a work area to avoid it being in her way. Last thing he needed was to trip her up while she held hot metal. Varlum wasn't sure he'd ever forgive himself for it.
"Well, definitely not this" he confessed, shaking his head a little at the idea. "I never found much joy when I worked as a Smith. I figure keeping it to a hobby will make it far more fun than doing it every day" he said, remembering the days as a Blacksmith in Ivorian. Truth be told, fighting had always been his passion. As for the followup question, Varlum was visibly stuck on what to say for a few trills. He'd spent so long as a soldier he'd never considered other options. "I...don't think I could. As weird as it sounds. This is all I've ever really known, whatever 'this' is. Fighting for what's right feels too natural to stop now" he confessed.
"What about you? If you weren't here, if you could do anything in the world, what would you do?"
Elisa had to admit, she was having a great time. Not that she didn’t think she would have…but Smithing wasn’t something she had ever aspired to do. Yet when the offer had come, she jumped on the chance to learn something new….and spend time with Varlum. There was something so remarkable about their relationship, like it was feeding a need both had. If pressed, she wouldn’t be able to say what that need was, but it was very evident it was being addressed within her.
His response to her beyond-complete answer to his question caused a soft laugh to slip free. “You know better, Varlum. I’ve spent my life in libraries. You didn’t think I was going to be ready for this? Silly guy…”
Apparently, she was going to make her own weapon now. Analyzing the steel ingot he showed her, she nodded gently, grasping the tongs again and moving the steel ingot into the forge, listening carefully to him as he answered her question. Her sapphire eyes, brilliant and luminous, watched the ingot heat up while Varlum’s words washed over her. There was something in his tone that struck her, a certain…uncertainty. There was a point she felt needed to be made. “You make it sound like it’s a bad thing – fighting, “she softly said. “I think it takes a great amount of character and strength to devote your life to protecting others. And not just brute strength but the strength of being, of will, of mind. Some others might not understand but those that matter, will. All kidding aside, I think you are amazing. Never allow anyone to tell you otherwise. Others don’t dictate who we are. We do.” The Elisa that spoke those words wasn’t the serious, brainy girl that shared the cavern mission with him or the smiling, lighthearted girl he had seen at Storm’s Edge since. The words were fierce and intensely spoken by a new creature, strong with conviction.
But as quickly as that new Elisa had arrived, did she thus depart. While never taking her eyes off the forge, the words spoken in reply to his question had a familiar, thoughtful quality to them. “Me? Last season, I would have said libraries, books, studying. The pursuit of knowledge. Now? I feel like I’m in the middle of this transformation that I never saw coming or knew I needed. I’m this odd hybrid thing that hasn’t quite figured out who she is yet. I can’t go back to who I was and I’m not sure what I want. I’m bouncing from situation to situation, reacting the best I can.”
Pausing a bit, she finally turned to regard Varlum, expression soft but resolute, speaking the same words she spoke to Doran when he asked a similar question. “There are some things I know. I know I want to help people. I want to be truthful. I want to be someone people can trust. I want to be a force of good in the world. I want to learn about the important things that impact people’s lives…and I realize that doesn’t answer your question in the least but it’s the best I can offer right now…”
"I guess I'll have to find more farfetched things to teach you about then" he grinned, letting her analyze and look over the ingot as she worked. Varlum wasn't much of a teacher, nor did he ever particularly want to be, but he wanted to at least make it so Elisabeth learned something here. Then again, her approach to learning was far more hands-on. It meant he didn't have to do much more than present an issue and she was willing to figure it out and solve it herself. It made it easier for Varlum to teach when he barely had to do anything.
"Well, if I could fight without innocent people getting hurt, I would. Fighting causes pain to someone, always. I wouldn't change it. I fight because someone has to, but..." he paused for a moment, debating his choice of words. "I wish my fighting didn't cause anyone harm, at least the people that didn't sign up to fight. But that's the way of the world" he confessed, before giving an appreciative smile to her. "Thank you, though. Glad to feel appreciated" he grinned, meaning every second of it but returning to their more playful approach to conversation. Serious and emotional wasn't high on Varlum's agenda with Elisabeth, not as of now. He enjoyed her company plenty, but they had barely known one another. There was plenty of time for whatever came next, should their time together continue.
When Elisabeth spoke of her own feelings on what she wanted to do with her life and what she would do if she wasn't here and now, Varlum placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. He figured even the smallest of gestures might help. "I know it might feel weird, but sometimes you don't need to know what you want to be. Sometimes you don't need to be anything. You have a world ahead of you and a lot of time to enjoy it" he nodded, giving her one final pat on the shoulder before she spoke again, confident. Varlum couldn't hide the smile he had on his face as she said it, nodding his head approvingly and meeting her eyes for a few moments, giving her a look of approval before kneeling down a little to be eyes level.
"That makes you better than half the people in this world. Don't ever let go of those wants and needs. They're the reason some of us get up each day, the reason people can sleep at night" he said with full honesty, knowing how many lives are saved by men and women that just want to make a difference. As the tone of his voice shifted from reassurance to pride, Varlum couldn't help but grin. "If that remains true, your desire to help people, then you'll make a difference - be it to one person or a thousand. Besides, you got a good companion to help you out, assuming you don't grow bored of me any time soon" he laughed, before taking a step back and standing with a small gesture to the steel.
Once she put it on the anvil Varlum would take the back of her hand for a trill, should she let him, and hammer the first hit on the centre of the metal. "Give it a try, but try and hit central, like I just showed you" he ordered, nodding as he took a step back and watched.
Varlum was aware of her tendency to over-prepare so she knew it wouldn’t come as a shock to him that she had done so. Laughing softly at his comment, she gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “Is it that surprising that I studied? I was billed as a brain to the Umbral mission. It would be disappointing if I didn’t flex those muscles every now and then. I’m just keeping you on your toes.”
She felt the subtle nudge back to happier topics that Varlum gave her…and she was happy to oblige. It was a fatal flaw of hers – making things more serious than they needed to be. To blame was her background in research, breaks spent with books and not people.
Of course, they had already gone down that rabbit hole so digging out of it wasn’t so easy.
Feeling his hand on her shoulder, she smiled gently. Elisa knew he was trying to be reassuring but she wasn’t sure many could understand the position she was in. She had been forced to change so quickly – to turn from the person she had been into a new version of herself…and almost immediately had faced something that had previously only existed in her nightmares. And the period of transformation? A handful of trials. Varlum lowered down to kneel next to her and she turned slightly as he addressed her. She believed his words to be true – there was no reason not to trust him. Elisa appreciated his attempts to make her feel better. Placing her own hand on his shoulder, she gave him a soft smile. “Thank you. Sincerely. I think that it’s safe to say that I won’t tire of you anytime soon. Besides, who would keep you in line if I left?”
Then it was time to get to hammering. Allowing him to guide her, she watched where he hit the steel, nodding her understanding. Once she was on her own, she began striking the center of the steel, over and over. Elisa trusted that Varlum would let her know if she made a mistake, simply continuing until he told her otherwise.
As she hammered, her mind went back to something Varlum had said. “If that remains true, your desire to help people, then you'll make a difference.” She couldn’t imagine anything changing that core element of her being. In her former life, before Rharne, Elisa had just wanted to hide in books and studies, but she hadn’t wished harm upon anyone and would help always if she could. But now she was in a different place and state of mind. There was a desire to actively seek people out that needed help. She wasn’t sure when the change had taken place, but it was evident.
"Consider me very firmly on my toes, then" he grinned. Truth be told, he had expected Elisa to study entirely. Nothing about it surprised him. While she knew the principles of fighting it didn't mean she was a fighter, not yet. She was a Scholar, she learned things and shared the knowledge with others. It was a respectable thing to do, though he didn't know if it would ever fit his own lifestyle. Varlum was far better at swinging axes and biting enemies than he was at reading books and challenging his brain. Ralaith had blessed him and it was enough for him to potentially dedicate to reading for a short while, maybe in his free time or when he needed some important information about an enemy, but a lifetime of books and studying didn't suit him all too well. The main similarity he had in common with the Immortal was his attitude, gruff and short when pressed.
Her comment on somebody keeping him in line made him grin wider than he had so far. "As if Vega, Vivian and Faith weren't enough to keep me line - now I have you too? I'm sure whichever line you're supposedly keeping me in will be perfectly secure with the four of you watching over me. My guardian angels" he teased, laughing lightly at the idea. If he had gold for every person that tried to keep him in line he'd be the richest man in Rharne. Then again, they'd also all fail. Varlum had managed to keep throwing himself into trouble so far, he didn't imagine anybody would be stopping him now. "Though I'm glad to know you won't get bored of my company just yet. Storm's Edge is boring without people to talk to. Not exactly a social setting."
Varlum let Elisabeth work at the steel, only interjecting every now and again to point out an area that needed more attention. It wasn't likely that the sword would come out all that well but that was half the fun of learning to Smith. Making mistakes taught just as much as succeeding did, maybe even more. Only way to find out what not to do was by doing it, or at least watching someone else do it and learning from them. As he kept an eye on her steel he glanced over to her and nodded at her statement. "That's the hope, at least. Be it a small difference or a big one" he shrugged, knowing that the smallest differences in someone's life could stack up to mean a lot. Any difference made was important. Though if his difference could be big then he'd always take the opportunity.
"With the shit that happens out there, someone has to make a difference from time to time" he smiled to her, pointing to a small area that was uneven in the ingot. "I suppose that's why some of us get up every day and do what we do, so we can balance it out, keep the bad shit at bay and keep the good coming."
“Guardian Angel? I like the sound of that. No one has ever compared me to an angel before,” she teased. Elisa wished it were as easy to talk to others as it was Varlum. She felt like everyone else had expectations of her – expectations that she could never meet. The young woman was well aware that she drew eyes every time she stepped out into the hallways of Storm’s Edge. She wasn’t a warrior like the rest – might never be. All she could do…was try her best. To be the best version of herself she could. But it took time and hard work. Elisa spent every waking moment at the fortress doing whatever it took to be better…but she feared it would never be enough for some people.
That’s why her relationship with Varlum was special. He allowed her space to be herself. To have a bit of fun and not worry about things so much all the time. “It’s not? I could have sworn they hosted a high tea here a few trials ago. Silly me…” she replied. All the while, she continued hammering away on the steel with his guidance. It was apparent from some of his comments that he was struggling with some things. She didn’t want to ask though because asking would bring them to the forefront and that really wasn’t her purpose. Elisa’s purpose was to simply be there if he needed her.
Groaning as he pointed out another spot on the ingot that needed tending to, she hammered it with extreme prejudice. It was as if the spots were popping up on purpose and had it in for her.
“If you are supposed to keep the bad stuff from happening, why can’t you make those uneven spots stop appearing in the steel? I think they hate me." Hammering feverishly in an attempt to banish the evil spots, she silently wondered if Smithing was in the card for her future. The Universe seemed to be telling her it's opinion...
