[Tarsin's Boarding House] Phase Two [Clyde]

[Hadrian]

64th Summer, 511 A.V. It had been nothing to extend the time he would have this room for magecrafting purposes; the proprietor was only too happy to take his gold-rimmed mizas. Some things were the same the world over. In any case, he sat at the table poring over sketched diagrams of possible works. Given their budget, they could create something remarkable if they focused, or something less powerful but perhaps more sophisticated if they were clever. It was difficult to decide, and he felt the need to give Clyde a bit of leadership in this decision because even if it was a joint project, Hadrian was most definitely not trying to develop a reputation in Ravok. He laid out the sketches in no particular order, prepared for Clyde to come in with ideas of his own. Hadrian was in this for the money, the better to start his own works in Avanthal or beyond. What mattered most was what would sell. Ethan was not present this time around, though his third of the seed money was. Magecrafting was too complicated for him, and he had already had his opportunity to sense it with his Auristics. But the more studious magi would likely work faster without him, so it was all to the good.

[Clyde Sullins]

Getting up today, Clyde was ready to get some work done. He had been working hard lately, trying to get the last magecrafting item done, and they had managed to find a buyer, after much researching and trying to find a suitable person. However they had done it quite quickly, and were on to the next project. He woke up, going through his stuff for a moment, before doing some light stretches. Getting up, he used the bathroom, threw some water in his face, and ate a small breakfast. Finally done, he went on up to the room that Hadrian had gotten, and entered. Waving to Hadrian, he saw his table full of diagrams, and went over them. "So, what ideas do you have for today? I have a few, different ones, mostly simpler things. Some are a bit more impressive, and others, are just highly magical." "So, one thing was if we magecrafted a sword. Obviously if we could get something made of Isurian Steel would be best, but others would still be good. If we enhanced its durability with two steps, and its swinging speed with one enhancement, it would make a stronger blade, that would also move faster than a normal one." "That was one thing, now what are some of your ideas, before I go on? I would like to see what you had an idea to do."

[Hadrian]

"A fine idea," he allowed after greeting Clyde and listening to his ideas. "I think at the level at which we are working, we have to make our enhancements more obvious for the amount of fiduciary return we are demanding. A wealthy connoisseur might enjoy the subtleties, but consider how a sword of Isurian steel, which is a fine place to begin, would be even stronger if we focused on three levels of durability. A similarly crafted sword that was quicker would still shatter upon it, don't you agree? For that, we could make a sword whose mastery of fire makes that dagger look like a child's toy. So I suggest we either focus on durability, speed, or firepower. What do you think?" When he looked at his partner, his gaze was truly curious. This was, after all, a collaboration, and after the sale of their upcoming work, they would both have the seed money to start their separate careers, and Ethan would be rather well to do as well, which meant Hadrian wouldn't have to worry about the Kelvic.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde looked over at Hadrian. In some ways he agreed with what he said, however in others he did not. Though at this stage they were simply working things out, and had decided nothing. "Well, while it might be good to put all three enhancements into one thing, that means our creation would require a reagent for stabilizing. Which I believe would make this venture much more costly.... And meaning we would make less profit than expected. And who knows if we could even purchase one at all... Unless you happen to have a reagent already...." "Otherwise, we would be better to split it a bit. There are a lot of options making three levels of enhancement, and at this level being showy is not as important as true quality.... SO hard to decide...."

[Hadrian]

"No," he said, sighing. "You're right. Let's go with your idea. I imagine we could locate and acquire a usable reagent, but it would take time and right now our priority is making money to allow for those more complicated projects in the future. So we need a sword of Isurian steel," he said, then pulled out a clean sheet of parchment and began to note down the things he thought they would require. Once they agreed on the list, he tore it in half and gave one over to Clyde, standing and taking the other to make the requisite purchases. Hours later, he returned to find Clyde waiting for him. With a rueful smile, he said, "It was easier sending you and Ethan. You still know this place better than I do. Do you want to lay down the central circle?" he asked, starting to unpack his purchases. That would allow Clyde to work on a lot of the primary magecrafting setup while Hadrian arranged the tools of the trade and then he could add a Shield circle as he had before to prevent the ambient djed from creating instabilities within the enchantment.

[Clyde Sullins]

Back from his trip for the resources, Clyde walked back inside of there magecrafting room. It looked more or less the same, and since it was still cleared out, there was plenty of room to work in. Once Hadrian got back, they both got to work. He himself started the glyphing circle, to surround were the item would be staying for the days in which they worked on it. Which would be a good bit this time. Taking out his chalk, he set to work, painstakingly drawing out his glyphs so that they would merge and form a stronger whole. He used several words from the ancient tongue for his purpose, such as Randjat, in hopes of limiting and restricting the djed from entering, and Daeqt to help define the exact limit and boundary of the glyphs. Wiping some sweat from his brow, he got up from his intense sigil work, and looked over at Hadrian. "Well, this one is pretty good for a base, your turn..."

[Hadrian]

While Clyde worked, Hadrian laid out everything they were likely to need on the table or in the corner of the room if they were too big, like the bucket for the charging water, leaving as much room for their work and for them to move around as possible. There were chairs for sitting and talking, beds in case they stayed late and needed to sleep. He nodded to Clyde's words, then peered at his work, finally nodding again in approval. There were things he might do differently, but this would certainly work. So he knelt down on the floor and scrawled a circle around Clyde's own with several focii strung around like jewels on a chain, the rest conduit for Shield energy and barriers to shape it. This one was a bit simpler than the previous one, because the previous Shield had stabilized the djed in the room naturally, leaving less from which to protect the upcoming project. When it all seemed properly done, he began to gather djed in his hands, transmuting it into Shield energy and holding each hand over a focus glyph. The tenuous, flickering Shield energy filled the focii and spread through the entire sigil until it hit a critical level of energy and an uneven, flickering dome of light appeared around the workspace, fading slowly into invisibility save for magesight. Then he reached beyond that border of power, causing it to flicker around his arm, allowing for the djed of his soul to pass through, but not the natural currents. Concentrating his hand over one of the sigils Clyde had drawn into the larger circle, he slowly willed space to increase from a space as tiny as he could imagine, pushing the air back, pushing everything back until a tiny black hole hovered over that sigil, caught. The tiny portal to the Void would drain off any excess energies that would disturb the equilibrium of their work. He sighed wearily. Shielding and Voiding were not his specialties, and they took it out of him. "Your turn."

[Clyde Sullins]

Stepping forward, Clyde would prepare to do some work. He would reach into his pack and take out a small hammer, which seemed to have an odd energy about it, almost electric. Moving to the shield, he reached his arm and the hammer through, and prepared himself by the sword. It was best to start with increasing the items durability, for the first step of the enhancement. Holding the hammer, he could feel the djed coursing through it, and he quickly struck the blade of the sword in the middle, letting out a clear long tone. Before that one could finish, he prepared again, and feeling the energy ready, he struck a few inches from the tip of the blade. This made the sword ring out even louder. Finally, he struck the hilt of the sword, which let out a different tone from the others, due to its thicker structure than the thin blade. Breathing in deeply, he listened as the different sounds worked together, almost making the entire room vibrate from the power of its sound... Or maybe that last part was just in his mind... He took a step back, feeling the now momentarily drained hammer, as it had thrust its pent up force into the inner structure of the blade... The aura of the blade almost sang out with its growth, as its structure deepened in ways that could not be expressed in a physical sense... It thickened, and took on a greater depth than a mundane blade might... And this was only the tiniest step in there work, they still had so much to do! For a moment Clyde closed his eyes, reveling in the majesty of magecrafting... That it could effect something in such a way... And he let his mind run free, thinking of some of the great things that had been done with this magic, long before he had been alive... And the great things that could still be done... Looking over at Hadrian, he came out of his deep visions, and motioned at him. "Well... That was not bad for a first step... And still so much to do..."

[Hadrian]

While Clyde withdrew his hammer, Hadrian pulled out the ashwood flute he had bought so long ago now in Zeltiva. With each strike of the hammer, Hadrian listened to the sound, feeling in his bones how the tone affected the djed structures, and played notes to harmonize and enhance what was happening. The sound passed easily through the Shield barrier, only there to augment the tone of the magic at work. Once they were finished, he nodded to Clyde. "Tomorrow we can layer on another level of durability. Once that's set, we can work on the next phase." He started packing those things he would take with him to his residence, wanting to get back and hear if anyone had had any luck finding Kendall's enemy, the dread animator and the apprentice wearing Kendall's old body. "So tomorrow, then?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Now done with the first day of work, Clyde nodded at what Hadrian had said. "Yes, I think that was good enough, it expanded the structure enough for us to fill it further tomorrow... I always find magecrafting amazing, every time I do it... So full of endless possibilities..." Getting up, Clyde grabbed the few things in the room that were his. He felt a bit tired, though not in a way that could be expressed... It was more like he had used up something nonphysical... Or maybe it was just this room, as the magics had been pressed all into the one object... Going downstairs, he would eat a meal, and then go to bed early, wanting to be refreshed for the next days work. For this next day would be a big one, as each successive day of work and enhancement would be even harder than the one before it. Since every level of magecrafting grew exponentially in difficulty and cost. Tomorrow would be another day of work...