Crafting Windfall

[17:06:46] Chrys looked up from her place next to the fire when the boy speaking to Hera leaves. It's her turn! She rises from the log, wrapping her hands around a shoddy, old sword. Her sword hangs at her side - this one is practically junk metal!

...which is probably why she's going to Hera.

"Uhm - Hey, Miss Rosengard! I went on an expedition with Adeline a few days ago, and I picked up this old sword. It's junky, but the metal is nice, and probably re-usable. Are you up to help me make a sword? I've got a few ideas!"
(Chrys Materis)
[17:17:00] Oh! A commission! Hera turns to the sudden newcomer, smiling at the sight of the young Materis and bowing slightly. Something else catches her eyes, of course, spotting the broken sword in her hands. Goodness, who could do such a thing!

"Oh, oh dear..." She'd say. "This poor, poor thing..." A small pout began to form on her lips as she carefully lifted the blade out of Chrys' hands. "Oh, goodness, oh dearie me, this is simply unacceptable..."

The Rosengard stares up at Chrys and sadly smiles.

"Oh, yes. Absolutely, young one. Let us go to the caves nearby at once-- There is a rather simple forge we are able to use that I believe will greatly assist in returning this old thing to its rightful glory." She gestures to Alerion to pick up Io, as she was busy holding the blade now, and begins to make her way down the slope and towards the caves.

"Come now, everyone, follow me. We have work to do, and I need hands on deck."
(Hera Rosengard)
[17:22:08] "Alright! Let's go."

She offers a quick, polite smile to Alerion, and a tiny wave at the baby!

"Hi - I'm Chrys." And then they're on their way! She has soemthing wrapped in her hand, but the sudden commotion from Hera left her no place to talk about it! Once they got into the cove, however, she butted in...

"I also found this nice ring. It's got some kind of magical property to it, but I don't know enough to tell what it is." She holds up the ring. It's a bit dirty, but that's nothing a good cloth could fix! It's got a tiny vial set in the stone, and a silver liquid sloshes around inside - Tempestine. "So maybe we could imbed it into the hilt?"

"I think that metal is mithril... Do you have any ideas, Hera? Is there any way I can help?"
(Chrys Materis)
[17:30:40] "Excellent, alright."

The forge in the cave was... Well, it was made by a simpler people, that was for sure. If mithril hadn't been such an easy metal to work with for the Rosengard, she would have found this far more difficult than it ought to be, but this worked plenty easy for her! She sets the blade on the workshop counter next to her before peering at the ring.

"Tempestine." She'd say with a hushed voice. "A very lucky find indeed, Chrys-- And already worked to some degree. This is a remarkable gem of sorts, that helps to enhance wind magic. A slight breeze can turn into a tempest with this. A brilliant idea to help with the control in its swing-- But I have something you might want to utilize."

She reaches down into her storage container, pulling out a small jar of blue mercury.

"This is blue mercury. Dangerous in high quantities and-- Ah, Alerion, do take a step back with Io while I explain this --perfect for using as a liquid core for weapon hilts. I do believe we can repair this blade and make it better. What do you say, Chrys?"
(Hera Rosengard)
[17:31:31] Alerion d'Ombre: *tactfully moves the baby behind some handy furniture*
[17:31:31] Alerion d'Ombre: *holds her up enough to see mama work*
[17:32:22] Hera Rosengard: <*praise*>
[17:34:04] "Let's do it."

Chrys hands over the ring, offering it a final, parting glance. She had a soft spot for jewelry - but if a blade is to be made, it ought to be crafted to fit its weilder! Who says the sword can't have a ring either?

"If you know any rune-writers, I can lend some of my mana to help empower the blade, even. I'm an energy mage. If, perhaps, something was put on the sword to make it easier to channel magic through it..."

Where was she going with this? Chrys trailed off, and looked over at Hera. She probably knew what to do better than Chrys ever would.

"Uh - you know what I mean! What can I do to help?"
(Chrys Materis)
[18:00:32] "All I need from you for now, Chrys, is to watch a Master at work."

A static-like charge begins to fill the air, clinging to body and clothing as a powerful aura of energy erupts from the Rosengard. Her back turns to Chrys for now, tending to her workshop bench as she takes blade in hand and begins to inspect it. Her eyes light up, like two golden coins under the brilliance of the sun, as the blue energy swirls and surges around her. With a careful eye, she begins to measure the dimensions of the blade, creating a cast of some sort of special combination of clay, stone and dirt with a free hand, making it into an exact copy of the blade's shape -- Or rather, what it should look like, save for the notches and chipped pieces missing from the blade.

While she does this, she points to a crucible sitting on her bench and gestures to Chrys.

"Fill that crucible with some spare mithril scraps and small bars I have in the second drawer." She'd command. "I want you to heat it until it turns to liquid within the furnace, for I shall need it when repairing this blade."

With that done, she begins to place the blade in its cast into the furnace as well, before making herself busy with the small container of blue mercury.
(Hera Rosengard)
[18:01:23] Hera Rosengard: (damn it)
[18:01:23] Hera Rosengard: (Just pretend that's cyan)
[18:05:39] "Alright!"

Chrys tugs off her cloak - it's pretty flammable, so it doesn't need to be near the forge! - and gets to work... after putting on gloves, of course! Safety first, kids.

She shuffles to grab pieces and bars of mithril, and then places them in the tray that slides into the furnace. While it heats, Chrys watches Hera work with admiration... if only she could master a trade like that!

Enough time passes, and Chrys reaches into the furnace with tongs to take out the tray. The sheet is filled with melted mithril, and she lifts up to pour it at the corner into the crucible.

The heat of the furnace burns hot on Chrys' face, but perhaps the heat running through her body is excitement! Every warrior is excited about their first blade...
(Chrys Materis)
[18:16:44] Before she could go back to the blade, she creates a small and thin clay-like capsule within which she pours the blue mercury ever so carefully. The liquid metal sloshes dangerously, a powerful vaporous scent beginning to drift upwards much to her fear. But within moments it's all poured into the capsule and sealed up, lifted carefully as she returned to the broken blade in the forge.

With the blade beginning to heat up, she raises her palm and a sudden and extremely potent heaviness assaults the air. The coals of the fire even begin to shift away from the point of impact as Hera begins to apply a powerful and precise amount of g-force to the hilt of the blade. With the metal heated, the blade turns soft, allowing Hera to slowly press into the pommel of the sword.

She slowly pulls the blade out of the fire and puts it over the anvil, lifting a hammer with her gravity magic and striking it against the metal in order to flatten it out, and remove the inconsistencies like the holes and the chipped spots on the sword.

Once the hammering is done, she places that clay capsule into the handle, before gesturing to Chrys to begin pouring the Mithril into the rest of the mold.

"Pour from the blade and move upwards towards the hilt." She'd instruct.
(Hera Rosengard)
[18:21:00] Chrys had a steady hand - thank Kraus - and strong arms. She was fit for the pouring job! If only she could get paid for this...

She took the crucible and lifted it up, carefully pouring at the corner. The liquid sloshed and shimmered, catching Chrys' eye... it takes extra effort not to get distracted at the mere appearance of it!

The Materis is precise and careful in pouring the liquid, but her sacrifice is time. She takes a minute or so, but when she's done, the mithril has settled evenly in the mold.
(Chrys Materis)
[18:22:43] Io Rosengard: (gonna go back)
[18:31:15] Once the metal was poured into the mold, completely covering the tiny mold and enveloping the molten-white hot broken blade, it was back into the forge! But then there was a special, key part of the process that Chrys needed to do. Hera turns to her young companion, and pats her shoulder.

"We need to ensure that the blade does not get ruined through oxidizing. From here on out while the metals fuse and weld together, I need you to siphon as much oxygen you can from the belly of the furnace without letting the fires go out. More heat, less oxygen."

At that, she begins to shore up the edges of the mold, so that the metal did not begin to slosh around as it fused together, creating a perfect cast for the metal through manipulation of the clay it made up of. It left a few pockets here and there, but that was for Chrys to try and remove any air pockets from the metal.
(Hera Rosengard)
[18:36:22] "Alright! Just the kind of practice I need."

Chrys cracked her knuckles, and got to work! She was definitely unpracticed at wind magic, but there was something about her... as if it were some kind of innate ability! Perhaps it's just that Materis blood of hers...

Her hands move, and her mana siphons into the blade to sense the air inside of it. She begins to shift and move her arms, willing, no, pulling the air out. The metal pops and simmers, and tiny holes open and then slowly fill up as Chrys moves the tiny air pockets into the big air hole around them!

"Alright - those were the obvious ones. Let me check to make sure I didn't miss any..."

Her gloved hands move over the edge of the blade, fingers twitching and flexing as she tries to sense any final air pockets... There's one more. With a tiny pop, the oxygen flies out.

"There."
(Chrys Materis)
[18:45:45] "Just about finished..."

With that done, it was time to start pulling out the cast! With a defiant, fearless hand does she pull the entire molding out of the forge, hands protected by a potent and heat-resistant glove of stone. She places it on the anvil, slowly letting the clay molding crumble away before she picks up her hammer once more.

The blade was nearly complete. Just had to make sure that it was sharp.

The ring of the hammer striking the mithril could be heard from miles away, with a delighted and gleeful smile stretching from ear to ear on Hera's face. She didn't get many opportunities to smith like she could now, and with such a beautiful piece of work on her mind, it was hard to withhold the happiness. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The blade is turned over ,and the hammering continues. One could see where she got such great and powerful muscles, especially for someone so disinclined for violence, or using a sword. It was a natural strength that she possessed.

Before long she puts the blade into a nearby barrel of water, the hiss of the hot metal rapidly cooling and boiling the waters around it more like a soft tune to her ears. She pulls it back out, looking at the surface of the blade before she begins to run a small grinding stone against the blade to get rid of any specks of inconsistency.

Once that process is complete, she lifts it once more and smiles.

"I think that should be good enough now." She'd say. "Just a few more finishing touches, but what do you think? The curve of the blade, the straight, flat edge on the opposite side-- Perfect for bracing yourself from a particularly powerful blow. Look how the hilt seems to curve downwards, over your hand... Perfect for protecting one's fingers.

"All I have to do is work on the handle, and we should be good to go, yes?"
(Hera Rosengard)
[18:49:10] Chrys looks at the blade with a glimmer in her eye. Her heart leaps, even so that a hand moves up to curl over her chest. An undeniable smile stretches from lip to lip, and she nods.

"Yes, Hera, it's beautiful. I can't wait to feel the way it weilds - it looks so light."

She takes a seat and watches eagerly, peeling the gloves off of her hands, if only so they can curl over the edge of her stool.

"Thank you for this - is there any way I can repay you?"
(Chrys Materis)
"Hard work is it's own reward, Miss Materis. But you can honor me with christening it."

She mosies on over to sit at her workshop, setting the blade down and choosing a stretch of treated leather that she kept under one of the drawers. She pulls it out, but noticing something missing, lets loose a small 'Aah...!' before she takes a tool of her grandmother's design: A small, rune-charged miniature torch, with which she begins to melt near the hilt of the blade. With the metal beginning to turn molten once more, she quickly and carefully places the ring into the liquid-like metal, letting the gem of Tempestine stick out near the base as the metal now cools around the ring.

"In my faith, as a follower of the Maker, it is important to take care of the weapons you create. They are pieces of you, an extension of your soul. It is your art, and you must be proud of it. This, a blade made of mithril, enchanted by tempestine... It is the first of my work. The first of my influence on this country. May it be carried for generations, Chrys Materis."

Then, the stretch of leather is soon wrapped about its metal hilt, tied and cut carefully so as to allow perfect grip. She ties it down with a long strand of some sort of metal wire, capping it with small pieces of iron that she welds on around the top and bottom of the hilt. With that done, she lifts it in the air, appreciating the blade's work.

"I, Hera Rosengard, Tool of the Maker, dub this blade... Windfall. May it serve you well, Chrys."

She then hands Windfall back to the Materis, bowing her head before her.

"If you wish to enchant it further, I might need a better work station." She explains. "I do not like to runewrite without a better setup, and this is simply not as good as the one I have at home."
(Hera Rosengard)
Chrys takes the sword in her hands - it fits them perfectly. Her expression lights up, and she bows her head to Hera.

"I guess we'll have to get you home, then." She looks up, and smiles. "I'll use this blade well, Hera Rosengard - thank you."

Her fingers gently trace along the light metal. Now, she could only hope that Nuriel wouldn't toss this one in the ocean...

"I'll fight with Windfall in your name, and in the name of justice."

She wraps the blade in the cloth of her discarded robe, as temporary protection.

"Is there anything else you need before we head back to camp?"
(Chrys Materis)