Timestamp: 20th Day of Winter, 513 AV, evening
OOCI'm just trying if it's a good enough "training a skill" solo.
“Shyke! Shyke! Shyke!!” cursed Tainon loudly and slammed the hammer on the anvil with so much force that it fell on the floor and made a loud clattering sound. He stuck a short elongated piece of metal, which he held in his strong left hand, into the furnace.
The young Isur, clothed only in the brown blacksmith’s apron and shoes, had already spent an hour in his family’s small blacksmith's workshop, where his mother usually worked. He was trying to shape the small piece of iron into a dagger or to shape it into some form at least. He managed to shape the iron bar into a slim strip of metal, but then he somehow ruined it.
He pulled the iron out of the fire and gritted his teeth. No, this was not going to work. He would have to start over. He cursed his laziness. His whole life, he had been interested only in fighting and didn't think that he would need some blacksmithing skills.
But now he realised that he would have to learn it if he wanted to continue the family shop after... 'No! Don't think like that.' he scolded himself. He knew his parents were quite old now, but they weren't that old. They weren't. He nodded to himself firmly. 'I'm learning this because I want to have something that I made and not something I bought or found somewhere.'
He looked down at the still heated crooked piece of metal with a desperate look in his eyes, dipped it into a bucket of water, let it cool down and threw it into a waste bucket on his right side.
Then he went over to the store room, picked up another iron bar from one of the boxes on the shelves and returned back to the anvil.
Standing in front of the anvil, he pondered his next move. Before, he had though that making himself a small dagger or knife would be nice and easy, but seeing his failure, he considered making something even easier.
A thought struck him. A simple horse shoe.
That couldn't be that difficult. He had seen his mother make many of them, but hadn't tried making one himself yet.
He bent to pick up the fallen hammer and placed it on the right side of the anvil, so that he had it within his reach. Then, he checked the fire, which was slowly dying out, so he reached into the bucket next to the furnace and pulled out a handful of coals. He carefully spread them over the cooling fire and used the bellows to blow air into it.
When he was satisfied with the heat of the fire, he put the iron bar into the flames and waited for the metal to be hot enough so that it was red. Then, he pulled the bar out, put it on the anvil and took a hammer in his right hand while holding the red bar in his left. He felt the heat even through his hardened hand, but it wasn't enough to burn him. He proceeded to strike the bar.
He struck the bar three times on each side, before it cooled again, so he repeated the process of sticking the metal into the fire, taking it out and striking it on each side. The bar was getting thinner and longer with each strike of the Isur’s hammer and by the time he was finished with drawing the iron, Tainon was completely drenched.
He put the hammer aside and dipped the now quite thin and long enough block of iron into the water so that it cooled down completely. Then he set it on the anvil before him and regarded his work.
'Nothing special, but now it should be easy', he thought.
He took the metal into his hands on each side of it and, using mainly his stronger left hand, he began to bend it. When the bar was almost bent, he realized something.
“Shykes, I'm so stupid. Why am I bending it cold?” he said, shaking his head. He couldn't believe how stupid he was. He could have saved himself much strength.
He sighed, still shaking his head at his stupidity, and put the half-bent iron in the fire, leaving the ends out, so that his weaker hand wouldn't get burned while he would bend it. When the metal was hot enough, he took it out and slowly and carefully he bend it, so that it more or less resembled a horse shoe shape.
He then took a sharp tool, and hammered holes in the place where the nails would go.
‘Well,’ he thought contentedly, while he held the finished product in his hand, ‘that was enough for today.‘
He cleaned after himself, put out the fire, put the tools in their right places, took off the apron and left the workshop. On his way out, he promised himself, that he would ask his mother soon about making a dagger. He needed one anyway.
Once in his room, he put the first ever item he had ever made on a shelf. For luck.
OOCI'm just trying if it's a good enough "training a skill" solo.
“Shyke! Shyke! Shyke!!” cursed Tainon loudly and slammed the hammer on the anvil with so much force that it fell on the floor and made a loud clattering sound. He stuck a short elongated piece of metal, which he held in his strong left hand, into the furnace.
The young Isur, clothed only in the brown blacksmith’s apron and shoes, had already spent an hour in his family’s small blacksmith's workshop, where his mother usually worked. He was trying to shape the small piece of iron into a dagger or to shape it into some form at least. He managed to shape the iron bar into a slim strip of metal, but then he somehow ruined it.
He pulled the iron out of the fire and gritted his teeth. No, this was not going to work. He would have to start over. He cursed his laziness. His whole life, he had been interested only in fighting and didn't think that he would need some blacksmithing skills.
But now he realised that he would have to learn it if he wanted to continue the family shop after... 'No! Don't think like that.' he scolded himself. He knew his parents were quite old now, but they weren't that old. They weren't. He nodded to himself firmly. 'I'm learning this because I want to have something that I made and not something I bought or found somewhere.'
He looked down at the still heated crooked piece of metal with a desperate look in his eyes, dipped it into a bucket of water, let it cool down and threw it into a waste bucket on his right side.
Then he went over to the store room, picked up another iron bar from one of the boxes on the shelves and returned back to the anvil.
Standing in front of the anvil, he pondered his next move. Before, he had though that making himself a small dagger or knife would be nice and easy, but seeing his failure, he considered making something even easier.
A thought struck him. A simple horse shoe.
That couldn't be that difficult. He had seen his mother make many of them, but hadn't tried making one himself yet.
He bent to pick up the fallen hammer and placed it on the right side of the anvil, so that he had it within his reach. Then, he checked the fire, which was slowly dying out, so he reached into the bucket next to the furnace and pulled out a handful of coals. He carefully spread them over the cooling fire and used the bellows to blow air into it.
When he was satisfied with the heat of the fire, he put the iron bar into the flames and waited for the metal to be hot enough so that it was red. Then, he pulled the bar out, put it on the anvil and took a hammer in his right hand while holding the red bar in his left. He felt the heat even through his hardened hand, but it wasn't enough to burn him. He proceeded to strike the bar.
He struck the bar three times on each side, before it cooled again, so he repeated the process of sticking the metal into the fire, taking it out and striking it on each side. The bar was getting thinner and longer with each strike of the Isur’s hammer and by the time he was finished with drawing the iron, Tainon was completely drenched.
He put the hammer aside and dipped the now quite thin and long enough block of iron into the water so that it cooled down completely. Then he set it on the anvil before him and regarded his work.
'Nothing special, but now it should be easy', he thought.
He took the metal into his hands on each side of it and, using mainly his stronger left hand, he began to bend it. When the bar was almost bent, he realized something.
“Shykes, I'm so stupid. Why am I bending it cold?” he said, shaking his head. He couldn't believe how stupid he was. He could have saved himself much strength.
He sighed, still shaking his head at his stupidity, and put the half-bent iron in the fire, leaving the ends out, so that his weaker hand wouldn't get burned while he would bend it. When the metal was hot enough, he took it out and slowly and carefully he bend it, so that it more or less resembled a horse shoe shape.
He then took a sharp tool, and hammered holes in the place where the nails would go.
‘Well,’ he thought contentedly, while he held the finished product in his hand, ‘that was enough for today.‘
He cleaned after himself, put out the fire, put the tools in their right places, took off the apron and left the workshop. On his way out, he promised himself, that he would ask his mother soon about making a dagger. He needed one anyway.
Once in his room, he put the first ever item he had ever made on a shelf. For luck.
