[Venora][Job Thread] A theory of Iron

[Atashi]

3rd Zi'da 716

It wasn't as bad as he'd first thought, sitting in this spare room at David's forge and studying. Sure - it was a little boring, but the man had been kind enough to give him a break from work so that he could read up on the properties of metal, namely Iron and Steel. He dragged his tiring eyes across another passage reading in his head, it wrote 'Iron and steel are the two most commonly used metals in the world of smithing, Iron being the most common for it's easy-ness to work and less costly nature. It's often used by apprentices as they broaden their skills, under the supervision of a master of course.' he turned the page. 'The properties of this basic metal are as follows; A dull grey colour, a cubic foot of iron would weigh in at 491lbs.' His eyes widened at the last part, reading over the text again 'A cubic foot' he sighed with understanding and relief. That made more sense, a cubic foot was a lot of metal!

A creak of the door prompted a turn of his head, he saw David poking his head out through the crack in the door. "Hey, Atashi." He whispered. "What's up, David?" he asked, turning on his coils to face the human. "I need to go to the market and pick up some new canvas gear, one of the stooges though it would be wise to leave a white hot sword on it 'real quick'" David almost spoke in a growl, clearly annoyed. Atashi sighed "Let me guess, Ca-" he was cut off "Fucking Callum! Anyway, if you're not too busy with the studying, would you mind watching the front desk for a moment? I won't be too long.". Atashi at first chuckled, then raised an eyebrow "Why not just get Tom to do it?" he asked Tom had been an apprentice there longest, he was certainly most qualified to handle customers. "Because your customer service skills could use some work, Knight or not." He spoke with a wink before stepping back from the door and shouting "Thanks, Atashi!" pre-emptively.

The Ithecal sighed, folding a corner of the tome and closing it - a bookmark. Then went into the smithy and headed for the supply cupboard. Callum was sat looking awful sheepish as he passed, Atashi merely gave him a patient smile. he took his usual heavy canvas apron from the cupboard and heavy canvas gloves, putting them on immediately, then slipping the leather and glass goggles on and letting them rest at his forehead, they were there if he needed them. Doubtful that he'd even see a customer walk through the door, he slithered by - Tom giving him a thumbs-up and a wink as he passed. Atashi nodded respectfully, before entering the front of the workshop and standing behind the desk, coiling up his tail as to fit behind the desk that was clearly designed for humans and only humans. He sighed once more and waited, hoping that David would return soon so that he could get back to work.

[Atashi]

He'd been standing for a good half a break with no one turning up - desk work was probably the least efficient use of his time, he knew that - why didn't David? Regardless, he stood up straight and waited. 'The old man should be back soon anyway' He thought to himself before the door opened as if on cue. "Any customers?" asked David, hopeful. "None, I'm afraid." Atashi cast his eyes to the floor with disappointment. Seeing his disappointment, David spoke up "Bah, don't sweat it. you head on back to the forge - I need you to finish that sword I was working on." he spoke with a wink. Atashi's expression lit up, David trusted him with a project of that calibre? "A-are you sure?" Atashi asked, getting a little excited. David merely nodded with a warm smile - That was all the confirmation he needed, he sprung to life and slithered for the workshop.

Passing the other apprentices, he set aside his work station with renewed vigour. Enthusiasm must have been radiating from him, as soon as he'd tidied up his workspace - the apprentices had all kicked into gear, sparing little time to chat has they had been for the past half a break. Without relent, Atashi slithered for the sword that had been wrapped in cloth on the table and brought it over to his workstation. He laid it flat before carefully unwrapping it and beholding David's craftsmanship. The sword was made of steel, which gave it a lighter feel and shinier appearance than the dull iron he'd been working with until now. It needed some shaping near the top and to be sharpened, obviously but it was otherwise finished. Shaping the metal was easy enough once it had been started for him anyway - but he hadn't worked with steel up until now.

he took hold of the sword by the dull blade after putting on his heavy canvas gloves and set the sword into the forge, leaving it heat up for a few bits. One the metal was ready, he noticed that it glowed a brilliant white hot, unlike iron that glowed a warm orange-red. He took hold of a large pair of tongs that had been sat at his work station and used it to take hold of the sword by the handle. Even though he'd put the blade in the forge, the entire sword would have heated to some extent - it was a lot safer if he'd just use the tongs. He carried the sword with care and set it against the face of the anvil. An appropriate sized hammer rested nearby that no one appeared to be using so he took hold of it and went to work. The steel was a lot harder to work than Iron had been, it was tempting to strike the metal with all his strength but he stayed true to David's teachings. Striking with control was far more effective than with raw strength alone.

With that in mind, he hammered out the general shape of the blade before switching to a smaller hammer to even out the details. This was going so much better than his first sword. He'd worked up a sweat and his brain was starting to throb with all of the concentration he was putting into his strikes, but it was worth it.

[Atashi]

Within half a break of precision strikes, Atashi had finished the body of the blade. Just to be sure, he needed to check the face of the blade for any imperfections, but doing that would be difficult while it was still red-hot. As if it were second nature, he dipped the sword into the barrel of cooling oil stationed at the corner of the workshop with the tip of the sword first. The oil hissed and steamed at the entry of the blade. He held the blade there for 10 trills or so before withdrawing it and wiping it clean. hesitantly, he removed his heavy canvass glove and quickly tapped the blade of the metal - it was warm, pleasantly so. With a focused gaze, he felt along the blade for any imperfects lightly with his fingertips.

He wasn't entirely sure, but it felt as though there was a lump in the tip of the sword. Something about it screamed 'incorrect' but he couldn't quite figure it out. Having decided that it's better safe than sorry, he approached Tom, who was hard at work making a heater shield. "Hey, Tom." He spoke, holding the blade out to him. "Yeah, Scales?" he asked in return, his usual cocky tone. Atashi sighed, he'd asked Tom to call him by his first name on multiple occasions. "Could you just check over this blade for me? There's a part at the tip that I'm not too sure about..." Atashi's tail waved behind him with discomfort, slowly and methodically. He was losing his patience with the arrogant apprentice. He gave the blade tip a glance before returning to his work "Oh, the tip? yeah just flatten it out. Go re-heat it and try again." he spoke, earning a roll of the slitted eyes from Atashi.

Of course he'd be able to tell with a glance "Thank you, Tom." he spoke before slithering to the forge and quickly pushing the blade into the heating area. Shaking his head, he went for his work station and put on his other glove once more. The blade had heated again within the next 5 bits. Atashi promptly drew it from the inferno and put it to the anvil and pressed the blades pointed tip to the sleeve before hammering it with care into an appropriate shape. He had to be careful not to miss-shape the blade while putting his weight down on it, especially since he had to re-heat it. Once he was finished, he cooled the blade in the oils once more before setting off for the sharpening stone.

Using his tail to pedal the stone was difficult, but he managed. Atashi had grown accustomed to living in a town made for humans, pedalling the stone was easier than most tasks he'd have to face on a trial to trial basis. With a steady hand, Atashi lowered his goggles and pressed the blade into the rapidly spinning stone. Sparks flew, mostly away from him. He'd read up that the sparks were flecks of hot metal, which suggested that it wouldn't be wise to touch them with his bare skin, or scales either for that matter. Half a break of intense concentration passed before he was finally done with the blade, and with it, he'd given himself a headache. "Nice work!" Congratulated David's voice from behind him. He stepped up on a cue of his own and took the blade from Atashi. "You think so? I struggled with a lump at the point before but Tom helped me with it." He spoke, standing up from his coils and removing his goggles. "He called you 'scales' again, didn't he? God dammit." David cursed "Pig-headed-racist-son-of-a-" he muttered under his breath before Atashi cut him off. "It's fine really, I don't mind too much." he waved his hand passively, he'd lived with banter before.

"Well, thanks for staying at the desk today, I appreciate it. You're free to go home now though." David spoke, forcing a nod from the Ithecal. "Thanks, David. I'll be sure to keep studying in my free time." He nodded with a grin, already with a reply set for what David would say. "I know you will, cus I'll kick your ass if you don't!" the older man grinned. "I don't have an ass, David." he spoke with a patient smile. David looked to him in shock before slamming his palm into his own forehead "Right yeah, sorry Atashi." the poor man spoke solemnly. "It's fine, I'm only pulling your 'leg', David!" Atashi chuckled before removing his gear and slithering off with a wave.

[Doran]

Atashi

Knowledge:
Detection: Noticing when a weapon needs shaping and sharpening
Detection: An imperfection in a newly made sword
Discipline: Keeping going in spite of being exhausted
Smithing: Iron and Steel: The two most commonly used metals
Smithing: Iron: Properties
Smithing: Steel: Has a lighter feel and shinier appearance than iron
Smithing: Steel: Glows a brilliant white when it’s ready to be worked on
Smithing: Steel: Harder to work with than iron
Smithing: Using tongs to remove the weapon from the forge is safer
Smithing: Striking the weapon with control is far more effective than with raw strength alone
Smithing: Use a smaller hammer to even out the details
Smithing: Cool the weapon before checking it for imperfections
Smithing: Re-heat before removing an imperfection
Smithing: Use a sharpening stone on the finished weapon

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 0/5 (Solo)
Structure: 5/5

Fame: -

Devotion: -

Magic: These points cannot be used for magic.

Comments: This was a very well-written thread. I thought that a thread about Atashi making a sword would be boring, but it wasn’t boring at all.

I didn’t notice any issues in regards to grammar or spelling.

I gave you a lot of Smithing knowledges. If I forgot something nevertheless, please let me know.

If there are any issues at all with my review, don’t hesitate to send me a PM!

Picture: "After the Storm" by maf04, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0./cropped and resized