Aurelia Lance II

[19:10] Katrin Weiss says, "Good. Ya actually showed."
[19:10] Katrin loiters outside her shop, puffing on a pipe.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:11] Katrin Weiss asks, "How ya been, Zeke?"
[19:11] Zeke Luxy exclaims, "I've been working on a personal journal recently. I think you'd be impressed with my creativity since you said that my last weapon didn't have enough soul. Otherwise I've been great!"
[19:11] Zeke Luxy asks, "Do you by chance know a man known as Asura Nomont by the way?"
[19:11] Katrin Weiss asks, "Oh yeah?"
[19:11] Katrin Weiss says, "Heard of 'im."
[19:11] Zeke Luxy says, "The first chapter of my journal was so good that he was speechless."
[19:11] Yuki waves and continues running
(Yuki Meztin)
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[19:12] Katrin Weiss says, "Huh. Fancy."
[19:12] Katrin Weiss says, "Hey, Yuki- And there he goes."
[19:12] Zeke Luxy says, "Ya know Edetha? One of your students."
[19:12] Katrin Weiss says, "And look. I ain't easy to impress. But."
[19:12] Katrin Weiss asks, "You wanna see what we got to work with today?"
[19:12] Zeke Luxy says, "Oh yeah of course."
[19:12] Katrin Weiss says, "C'mon."
[19:14] Zeke Luxy says, "Yeah when I showed Edetha my plans for a living weapon breeding program she called me a heretic among Artificers. I don't know what that means but I think it was a compliment."
[19:15] The artificer moseys back inside, reaching into one of the many chests that line the interior of her workshop. Most of it filled with ores and sundry items for the plethora of orders she has to fill.

"So. Us bein' Drakans and all. It's a treat we got this to work with," she remarks, hefting out an ingot of. "We're gonna be makin' this into a lance head today-"

After she presents it, setting down the strange ingot on the table, she's given pause.

"I mean...Livin' weapons. Sure. That's fine and fancy and all. But...breedin'? Weapons ain't got genitals. Ain't heretical so much as it's just...weird."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:16] {LONG DISTANCE FROM: Ailen}: Ailen's Letter To Katrin Weiss, 1853, I need a bluesteel set soon. Also need some gear for a....friend? Yeah. Friend. We'll go with that. She's a real prissy bitch so the shit she wears couldn't stop a punch from a kitten, and I hate it. A bit busy getting my ass kicked right now but I'll try and swing by before it gets too late.

-NotAnAlien
[19:17] {Item} You drop Fiery Platinum.
[19:19] Zeke thought to himself of his Artificing teacher, oh sweet summer child. She knew little of his plans for making the world a better place.

He looked over the feiry platinum, he had no idea what it was at all or how in any way it was notable to his Drakanite self. It had the same sort of metallic grain as steel but had a very red coloring.

"Is it some form of oxidized copper? Maybe something a tad more magical?"
(Zeke Luxy)
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[19:19] Katrin Weiss says, "Somethin' way, way more magical."
[19:19] Zeke Luxy asks, "Are you gonna answer the knocking at the door?"
[19:20] Katrin Weiss says, "Yeah...guess so."


--- Brief Intermission for Someone at My Door ---

[19:58] Zeke Luxy asks, "Anyways, for what you called me here for then?"
[19:58] Katrin Weiss says, "150,000 for a fuckin' boat..."
[19:58] Katrin Weiss says, "..."
[19:58] Katrin stepsup. She gently raps her knuckles on the side of Zeke's head.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[19:58] Zeke Luxy says, "That's a pretty normal price ain't it for a boat. You really lowballed him."
[19:58] Katrin Weiss says, "The lance head."
[19:58] Katrin Weiss says, "I could literally build a fuckin' village for that money. I'm good."
[19:58] Zeke Luxy says, "Yes, I mean do you want me to start on it."
[19:58] Katrin Weiss says, "Yeah. G'head. I wanna see how you handle the first steps."
[19:58] Katrin Weiss asks, "Call it somethin' like...a test. Yeah?"
[19:58] Katrin Weiss says, "Put some -soul- into it."
[19:58] Katrin Weiss says, "Some flair, some fire."
[20:15] Zeke lets out a puff of breath before cracking his knuckles. He looked through what he had to work with before deciding on something both practical and creative.

First he took some smithy clay to start creating a lances head mold, simple build. He then took a very fine knife and grooved slight lines into the interior of the clay, a sort of swirl. He then took the fiery platinum, it was much warmer then what he first expected to touch so he used the same trick he did at his engagement part. He used his scales as a natural insulator for his hands to move them into the furnace.

Heat was put to max as though he would be working a blast furnace, Zeke increased the heat manually by billowing air into the chamber. Caution was taken as to not overheat anything or damage the expensive furnace. Once the platinum was malleable like a hard candy he let it sit within the furnace at a lower heat for later.

Zeke looked through his options for alternative materials before choosing a sort of blocky and colorful chunk of bismuth. He took the bismuth and used a mortar and pestle to turn it into a very fine powder which then was put into a small bowl. He then covered his hands in the thick and heavy mineral before going back to the furnace. Zeke tore of a section of the taffy-like metal into the smithy clay for the absolute tip of the lance. Zeke then took his bismuth covered scaly hands into the platinum. It looked as though he was kneading pizza dough or a very thick and fibrous reductive. Sooner or later the bismuths low melting temp was effecting by the platinum.

The whole process led to the powdered bismuth liquifying into its more natural variant of formation. Vibrant streaks of rainbow in sharp and geometric shapes but almost straight lines with hard right corners. The rigidity of which would be incomparable to alternatives.

Finally Zeke let the soft metal flow while it was still hot into the smithy clay, ready to be set and cooled with any other post effects Katrin was looking for. Due to him adding that small amount of pure material before the rest would make the absolute tip pure as it could be with no impurities, Zeke worried that it might have led to a less sharp tip if it was anything else.

The entire kneading process of the metal took hours or repetitive work, just moving it back and forth, folding, putting it back into the furnace to reheat. Thankfully Zekes scales worked close enough to gloves to stop any burns but his fingers still hurt.

"Okay, what process do you wanna do for cooling it down and after effects. When it cools it should have a naturally high texture profile so grinding it down or scribing is what I'd recommend...then again you're the master here so whatever you could offer I'm sure is better."

He realized he may have gotten a bit farther then what was asked.
(Zeke Luxy)
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[20:22] She'd be a fool not to use an extra set of hands. And a Drakanite's hands no less. Otherwise, if neither of them were Drakan, it would have been liable to shatter.

More dragon, more better. Surely. Though the signs of her own heritage are far more subtle.

Katrin does artificing best, but second best is her looming. She remains nearby every step of the way. Watching, observing. Nor is she afraid to critique.

And her critique, while surely well meaning, comes sharp and fast. Zeke's feelings are not spared, just as a good metal is not spared the heat of the forge's flame.

All must feel the fire to be made better. She knows it best.

The woman is a stern task master, but not unwilling to put her own hand into the work. She assists him in making the mold, in controlling the furnace's temperature- and of course making sure he doesn't break any of her more expensive equipment.

The processing of kneading the metal, too, is one she's very familiar with. Her own hands are coated with hard, porous, volcanic rock and she assists in molding it like clay when her apprentice's arms might tire. She is not unwilling to take her share of the physical burdens.

"I got some pumice I'll be liable to grind it down with," she remarks, shaking the craggy bits of stone off of her hands. "Lil' volcanic rock. Figure it'll be a nice touch for what the woman wants.

Might heat it up one last time after. Quench it in some good oils."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[20:22] {Item} You picked up Fiery Platinum. Dropped by Katrin Weiss..
[20:22] Katrin Weiss has placed Fiery Platinum into the chest.
[20:29] Zeke nods towards Katrin, he realized his mistakes or critique almost the second she would tell him. It sorta hurt but he accepted them at face value and corrected any changes he did astutely.

"Wouldn't igneous rock be a bad idea though for a lance? Since it'd be pressed directly forward instead of slashing you'd risk the shattering nature of it far more. Then again it's not directly being incorporated so I could be mistaken."

Even though he was normally pretty ecstatic about these things he seemed timid during the actual job. It was mostly nerves as he tried to both impress and not do badly.

"If I may interject, what if we used a highly refractive oil in the cooling process. As the metal contracts from its expanded state it will absorb the oil at least a tiny bit and give it a really nice sheen. Unless the person this is for wants something more matte."

He continued to follow as Katrin instructed in the forthcoming steps.
(Zeke Luxy)
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[20:33] The artificer quirks a brow.

"Just grindin' it down a bit. Shouldn't affect nothin' too bad," she remarks, waving dismissively. "Done it tones of times. 'Sides. It's the stuff I make. I get more control over it that way."

Katrin snorts. An awful, guttural noise, and she spits into her open palm. Not a wad of saliva but of bright, glowing magma. It cools right there in her hand.

"Oh, 'course. I mean, the oil flashin' is a good time to add a lil'...well, flash.

The Lady of Coins has give us a lotta' leeway with the looks. She trust our judgement. And...well. Y'know. She's fuckin' blind, so."

She takes the hunk of hocked up pumice and starts to gently grind down the lance's head.

"I do got some oil in one of the crates back there if you wanna fill up somethin' and get it ready."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[20:39] Zeke opens up several of the crates before finding a pleasant looking oil. Nonflammable, highly refractive index, and weirdly a tensile enhancer. It was unnamed but he figured if it was in the workshop it would be for these sort of situations. He took it back to the teacher for presentation.

"This looks like a good option, though if I knew the buyer was blind I probably would've gone with a much more practical design. Vanity is something I take into consideration for normal creations, alas is the way I work though. Not to say it's better then your way's."

He sat the bottle onto the table for her use. He had never done this before, in fact his last creation failed quite badly. Zeke knew it'd be a bad idea to bring that up now and lower Katrins thoughts of him.
(Zeke Luxy)
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[20:44] Katrin has a surprising lot of crates and containers that go unlabeled when he goes looking around. Some look fairly standard. Some that look and feel a little...

Wrong.

But sure enough he finds that oil eventually.

"Well, here's the thing," she comments after grinding down the surface of the lance. Honing the point, and making the outer surface rougher. All the better for it to take in the oil quench.

There is a method to this madness. Go figure.

"She can't see it. S'true. But that ain't no cause to half ass it. And, besides, there'll be those around her that'll get an impression of her just how she looks.

That includes her weapon." A little bit of wisdom thrown in. Free of charge.

"Even FURTHER than that. She plans to have this weapon bein' passed down through her family. That's not somethin' you skimp on."

The artificer, with her potent fire magic, touches the edge of the lance head and begins to warm it all over again. The red metal begins to glow closer to the bright, merry orange it might have been as if it had been placed back into the forge again.

Then, with a bit of flair and ceremony, she takes the bottle of oil and upends it over the weapon piece. It hisses, it spits, and casts droplets every which a way.

The sight and conflagration that comes with it is fairly impressive. And, when the veritable fireworks are over, the weapon's sheen is a great sight to behold...
(Katrin Weiss)
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[20:50] Zeke felt a pleasantry once the weapon had gained its final grace. He didn't care for lances personally, he had his own weapon in mind, but it was still nice. The idea of something to pass down through his family was thought but he had his journal for that, less sharp but it had the same level of heart in it.

"I think it looks pretty good in that case. I didn't mean to insult of course, I just thought that practicality in their case would take slightly more priority instead of a visual air freshener on the tip.

I have my own idea for a weapon if you'd hear me out but as it is, I like the finished product we have here. Any input you could give me on how I could have worked better?"

He stood there starry-eyed at the woman who didn't know how much a boat cost.
(Zeke Luxy)
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[20:58] Katrin knew painfully little of seafaring. She technically might not even really know how to swim. But that was a matter for another day.

What she did know was her craft.

"It does. And it'll look even better once the head's attached to the rest."

The artificer strokes her chin.

"In general...when you're workin'. Take your time. Patience is everything." A little bit more wisdom she sprinkles on her apprentice.

"It's easy to sit down and crank out weapons all in one night. Sure. But if you take your time. Do it piece by piece- like this one. It's gonna take three different sessions to make.

The endin' result turns out way, way better."

There's a moment of quiet pause, of thought as she looks over their latest creation. His held had still been pivotal.

"But. G'head. Tell me 'bout your idea, yeah?"
(Katrin Weiss)