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Baizon

Hunstman's Blade

Baizon
May 4th, 2021
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  1. [18:59] The artificer removes her cloak with a flourish, placing down the materials and removing her sunglasses. She examines the contents again with a critical eye.
  2.  
  3. "Not a bad haul...Yeah, yeah. Can do somethin' with this for sure," she mutters.
  4.  
  5. "But go on! Tell me about what ya been up to. How ya doin' it. What ya wanna do and how you're gonna make your soul shine bright!"
  6.  
  7. Maybe that was part of the forging process. If it wasn't before, it sure was now.
  8. (Katrin)
  9. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  10.  
  11. [18:59] "Soul shine bright?"
  12.  
  13. He looks up at the ceiling, resting against the wall with his hands at his pockets as he considers his life so far.
  14.  
  15. "Lately... well... it's very complicated! I've been hunting two undead especially lately! They're... very powerful, and they want to kill me or make me 'belong to' them or something."
  16.  
  17. He tilts his head a bit. How does he do it?
  18.  
  19. "So I've been fighting them! I use a mix of fire and my sword--"
  20.  
  21. He gives a slight gesture with his thumb at the hilt of the blade at his back.
  22.  
  23. "And sometimes I compress and superheat air to cause explosions."
  24.  
  25. Another pause as something comes to mind.
  26.  
  27. "But... it's not always going to be undead! I'll probably have to destroy... non-undead eventually."
  28. (Jigan Ikaris)
  29. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  30.  
  31. [18:59] "Mhm! Ya know what that means, don't ya?"
  32.  
  33. Truly she'd heard the Lady speak the words first, but they resonated with her still. It painted a certain picture in her head that she couldn't, and wouldn't, get rid of.
  34.  
  35. "Means you're doin' great things. Takin' charge of your fate. Makin' things happen," the artificer explains, stars gleaming distantly in her golden eyes as she waxes poetic.
  36.  
  37. "Y'know, given I found ya in Asphodel, wouldn't think ya were after undead. Ya know what most of 'em are, right?"
  38.  
  39. She nods though. At that mention she uses her own application of fire magic to clean the tarnished, damaged sword. Katrin smooths its edges back to something much closer to their former glory.
  40.  
  41. It looked like it had been in the belly of the beast. Perfect for a hunter of them.
  42.  
  43. "So why? Cuz your friends, right? Got harried by 'em?"
  44. (Katrin)
  45. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  46.  
  47. [18:59] "Making things happen..."
  48.  
  49. He had his doubts. All he had accomplished so far was put his friends in harms way. Now he's been forced to make a terrible choice, one with no right answers.
  50.  
  51. He sighs quietly.
  52.  
  53. "Asphodel... they're different from what I'm hunting. They're not... beats who hurt children! They've been... friendly! Different. Polite. They took care of their prisoners. I helped them do so! They're nothing like what I've been fighting."
  54.  
  55. His voice is slightly bitter, a mere peek at the animosity, the bitterness, the terrible guilt he'd been harbouring for years now.
  56.  
  57. "I left my friends because... my friends are going to be hunted because of me. I went to Asphodel because..."
  58.  
  59. A pause as he considers his reasoning.
  60.  
  61. "Because if I'm not near them, they can't be identified as my friends easily! But... things got complicated. My friends are probably going to die no matter what I do..."
  62.  
  63. That terrible realization had let him to come to one conclusion.
  64.  
  65. "At least with Asphodel, there's very, very strong people there. They can help me. Maybe I can... persuade them not to hurt my friends. Or at least, they might help me against the ones I'm hunting and being hunted by."
  66.  
  67. Something was better than nothing, right? That's what he told himself. It was the only way to live with the guilt.
  68. (Jigan Ikaris)
  69. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  70.  
  71. [18:59] "Yeah. Makin' things happen."
  72.  
  73. The artificer pauses. She opens her mouth to say something. Then decides against it, evidently, and continues to her work. Katrin, with more application of her forge, empowered by her own magic, melts down the quicksilver.
  74.  
  75. It makes fine material for filling in the gaps of the old sword, beaten and dinged as it is. The artificer fills them in and smooths it over once more.
  76.  
  77. "Hm...Ya got a noble cause. Leavin' the ones ya want to protect. I can understand that. Sorta'." It almost gets personal for half a second before she shakes her head and continues.
  78.  
  79. This is her work, for the young hunter of things that stalk the night. Katrin does her best to honor his will and his intent in the weapon's creation.
  80.  
  81. "Don't go givin' up hope. There's still a chance they'll be fine. Nothing's written in stone.
  82.  
  83. Be careful who ya truck with though and what deals ya take."
  84. (Katrin)
  85. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  86.  
  87. [18:59] Katrin asks, "But your friends. Ya had to leave 'em, huh? So the monsters wouldn't go after 'em too?"
  88. [18:59] Jigan Ikaris says, "Yeah! And to find stronger people."
  89. [18:59] Katrin says, "Good of ya. Real good of ya."
  90. [18:59] Jigan Ikaris says, "They're Osronian, mostly. So... they're against a lot of people. Asphodel wants to hunt them, but probably won't hurt them since they're not military..."
  91. [18:59] Katrin says, "Hm..."
  92. [18:59] Jigan Ikaris says, "So... I can live with it. For now..."
  93. [18:59] Katrin says, "I'd still be careful."
  94. [18:59] Katrin asks, "Y'know?"
  95. [18:59] Jigan Ikaris says, "Yeah. I'm... it's hard."
  96. [18:59] Jigan Ikaris says, "Very hard."
  97. [18:59] Katrin says, "There's one thing ya can trust monsters to do. And that's be monsters. "
  98. [18:59] Katrin says, "I'm sorry, kid. I know."
  99. [18:59] The artificer takes a glance behind her, briefly looking over the young man. She returns to her work while speaking, tearing the old, rough leather into strips to wrap the handle.
  100.  
  101. "How old are ya, Jigan? Tell me."
  102. (Katrin)
  103. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  104.  
  105. [18:59] How old was he? An odd question. It takes him a moment to think, as time passes by without thought for concerns of mortals.
  106.  
  107. "... I'm 19."
  108.  
  109. Not seeing the significance, there's a note of confusion in his voice as he answers the question.
  110. (Jigan Ikaris)
  111. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  112.  
  113. [18:59] "Huh! Just curious," she remarks, tying a few more strips of leather around the handle.
  114.  
  115. "Ya looked young. Remind me a lil' of a pal I had once. Just a lil'. I think you'll do better than he did though."
  116.  
  117. The artificer wipes sweat from her brow and sets the sword on the table, admiring it as she tilts her head this way and that.
  118.  
  119. "Well. It's mostly done. I'll need a lil' touchin' up. Waitin' for the stars to align. But when it's done? I can find ya!"
  120. (Katrin)
  121. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  122.  
  123. [18:59] The man pushes off from the wall and gives a nod.
  124.  
  125. "Thank you for your help miss Katrin! I can usually be found at Asphodel or here in Achyon."
  126.  
  127. He pauses, considering.
  128.  
  129. "Or if not there, possibly the Academy, but... well, I need to avoid my friends and they're students there too."
  130.  
  131. He'd almost forgotten he's still a student. Hopefully he could sneak some classes in between dealing with his troubled personal life.
  132. (Jigan Ikaris)
  133. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  134.  
  135. [18:59] A soft snorthing chuckle and a dismissive wave.
  136.  
  137. "Just Kay's fine. Nothin' fancy. I'll be sure to find ya in one of those places! There's few I don't go to, honestly."
  138.  
  139. A woman of the world, she is. Itchy feet and wanderlust abound.
  140.  
  141. "Ya stay safe, hm?"
  142. (Katrin)
  143. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  144.  
  145. [18:59] Jigan Ikaris says, "And you, Kay."
  146. [18:59] The artificer waves off the young man with a smile, a gaudy grin. Which slowly fades once he's out of sight. She stares a while and sighs.
  147.  
  148. At the very least he had purpose.
  149.  
  150. Katrin turns back towards the blade and, once he's gone, adds one final touch. She engraves the letter 'W', as she does for so many of creations. Then, pricking her thumb, she fills the furrow with a single drop of her blood.
  151.  
  152. It sizzles, spits, and dyes the metal deep red where it touches.
  153.  
  154. "For a lil' luck for ya, kid."
  155. (Katrin)
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