A broken Sword (Solo)

[Tiath Othos]

10th of Spring, 515 A.V

The morning air was crisp and clear, a cool breeze rippled between walkways and managed to pierce even the deepest parts of the IronWorks. A fewer number of forges had been heated that morning so the air was a much more comfortable temperature then normal, fewer blacksmiths were working as well, the entire forge that morning had a more laid back atmosphere. Even Baldemar seemed to be taking it easier that day as he stood around with the other senior blacksmith's at a small work station on the edge of one of the surrounding courtyards. Deeper in the forge Tiath worked the bellows again, making sure that his furnace was heated well enough soften the ingot to become shapeable.

Glancing around gave him an erry feeling, so many empty stalls where just yesterday the sound of hammers deafened the ears and heat baked the very stones the foundry was built on. He had noticed someone was working on the forge across from him but he took little notice, he had been under the instruction of Baldemar for now seven moons, with each of those moons being a new lesson in itself, some in humility while others had been in repetition and if had to make another nail again anytime soon he was going to lose it.
Or just sigh and go back to making the darn nail's, at least today he was working on making horse shoes, it could be for a local traveller or it could been for knights or even just because Baldemar felt like making him do it. He pushed one more time on the bellow, feeling the heat before he tied the bellow up and put it on a peg, checking on the ingot within the forge, with a slight smile he grabbed some tongs and pulled it out and brought the ingot to the end of the anvil at the curved horn.

He reached under the table and pulled out a hammer, he didn't even need to look now to know where the tools were place, he was getting use to the place, it was a good feeling, like he felt he had a home, where his room felt colder with each night causing him to want to stay later and hone his skills. He raised the hammer and brought it down, the ingot starting to bend around the horn, with each swing he moved ingot around, slowly the forcing the change.
He placed it back in the forge and let it reheat, he took a moment to a breather and looked around the forge again, his gaze landing on the back of the man who was working across from him. He seemed familiar, somehow, he bit his lip in thought and started to move towards him, tilting his head slightly as he got closer to them. The man raised his arm, which was as grey as the hammer it held, a gasp could be heard as the hammer fell upon metal as Tiath realised who it was.

[Tiath Othos]

"You should be working" A gruff voice came from the man as he continued to work on his project. Tiath dropped his gaze quickly "Sorry sir" bowing slightly before retreating back to his own forge to work on his horseshoe. He felt his face glowing red in embarrassment, that was Ros Vizerian, he had only been pointed to Tiath from a distance and told not to ever disturb him unless told otherwise. He knew that the man was highly respect and all the blacksmith's that he had talked to had nothing but high praise for the man and the skills that he had when it came to his work, some had even mentioned about how he had been gifted by the gods, that however was beyond Tiath due to him not really understanding what they meant.
He pulled out the half completed horse shoe and begun to hammer away at it, wrapping it further around the anvils horns and into its final shape. He placed it back on top of the anvil and hammered at it, aiming to flatten it out so that that the weight would be distributed, it ended up pretty well just not perfectly even. He sighed quietly to himself, he should know how to do this, it really shouldn’t be this hard to do it correctly.

He placed the nearly completed horse shoe into the furnace again, not worrying about warming it up as he had only one task left. Turning he glanced towards the master blacksmith only to be caught in his gaze, again he felt his face redden as he quickly grabbed a steel file and turned away. I wonder what he is doing, Tiath thought to himself, glancing to where all the other blacksmith were, still talking between them about something. Shrugging to himself to turned to pull out the horse shoe and placed it into the centre of the anvil and placed the file above it. Here was the hardest step, he needed to take his time and be patience with it. He slowly lowered the file onto the iron and hit the end with a hammer, slowly moving along the centre of the shoe making an indentation throughout it.

Again, not perfect which he gritted his teeth over and went over it again lightly, trying to making the depth equal all the way along. It came out a little better but still not right, he gave up and turned the file upside down, the thin point resting against the shoe, he mentally mapped out where he would need to place holes through the shoe for nails to slot into. Once he felt like he had got it figured out he went about using the file and hammer to puncture holes into the iron along the new line, still like before nothing was perfect but it wouldn't be too noticeable to any normal buyer, his mentor on the other hand had other ideas.

[Tiath Othos]

"Boy!" A voice boomed from nearby nearly causing him to drop the tongs and shoe into the water trough, he turned to find Baldemar coming towards him, "Yes sir?" he said slightly nervous, he come to realise over the last few days that while Baldemar was tough on him and would always critic his work, he was a fountain of knowledge and was never unapproachable for when he needed help. Tiath just needed to learn to swallow his pride more often and ask for some help.
"Were you going to show me your work?" He phrased it like a question but his hands were already taking the tongs and lifting it out of the water and bringing it to his gaze. He ran his eyes over it, Tiath felt his heart sink as Baldemar gave him a look that he knew was of disappointment or something close to it. He sighed and lowered his gaze "Still not good enough is it?" he said in a defeated voice.

"Now’s not the time for that Tiath" Tiath blinked with surprise and look at his mentor, he never had called him by his first name before. Baldemar was holding out a flyer to him, the first thing he saw on it was "Mithryn hit by flooding" his eyes widen as he snatched the poster and started to read through it quickly. His home town had been hit by a flood that caused damage throughout the area and was calling for all hands to help with the repairs.
He looked up at Baldemar opening his mouth to say something before he got overridden "I've already talked to Ros, there is a bag of tool ready for you to take, tho we will be taking your pay for any that go missing" He said before shoving him towards the exit

"Now go, it’s still early and you might make it before nightfall." Tiath started to leave before he paused a thought crossing his mind and he turned around and headed towards the forge owner, glancing at Baldemar he saw a raised eyebrow from him but nothing more, he approached from behind and stood a meter or two away, "Thank you for letting me do this sir" be said lowering his head. "Just don't lose the tools" was all the gruff reply as the man continued to work.

[Tiath Othos]

Tiath reached the outskirts of the outpost well after sunset, however he had been lucking that the clouds had passed during the night, allowing for a half moon to cover the area and a dim light. It allowed him to walk on the well beaten path without being led astray. He had picked up a single loaf of bread and some cheese again before he had left Syilra that morning, which he had taken a break when he had become hungry around lunch. As he sat down against a tree on the side of the road he glanced back at where the city was, he really couldn't out anything of it but he wondered whether or not he should have rented that horse or not.
He had counted his money and knew that his first pay was still a little awhile away so ever coin he would have to save. As he continued to trudge through the night he was coming to regret that choice, he could have been there hours ago and would be able to return sooner. A couple more hours passed before he managed to reach the gate, slowly he staggered to it and glanced at the shut gate, this was going to be embarrassing. "Hello!" He called out a little too quietly before calling out louder the second time.

A head poked over from above the gate "Who go's there!" the guard called back down to him. "I am a blacksmith who has come to help with the repairs!" "You're arrival leaves much to be ... Wait, is that Tiath?" the guard called down before laughing "A blacksmith eh? Well I be damned, I'll open the gates." Tiath lowered his head his cheeks bright red again, how on earth would he explain this one to his father the next day, which would be interesting conversation... The gates opened slightly to allow him to walk in, the guard who he now realised was a friend of his father named Brendan.
"Brendan, could you do me a favour and not mention that I am here to my father, I have some things to sort out." That got him a raised eyebrow in response but Brendan did agree in the end. Tiath sighed as he walked off into the sleeping town, heading towards his old teachers forge.

Upon reaching the forge he easily managed to open the door as it was a simple bar that he could easily just lift the door around, walking inside he glanced around as warm memories filled him and he placed his bag of tools on the ground. The forge was a small building which was dominated by the forge itself that took up the middle of the room, benches surrounded in against the walls in a U shape. He found an old blanket and folded up the bag into what could have been a pillow before he fell asleep in the corner of the room.

[Tiath Othos]

He had awoken to a sniff neck from his makeshift pillow, it turned out not to be the best idea. He stood up stretching and peering out the window of the window to see that the sun was barely coming up. He glanced around again before heading over to the forge itself and stacking wood from a nearby pile into it, setting a small flame alight before moving back to his seat knowing that it would take him a little while before the fire. I wonder what father is up to today...
He shrugged to himself, hopefully he would be seeing him tonight and that in itself would be an interesting one. After a while the wood had started to burn nicely and he put a few more logs onto it before he shut the small door that kept the embers in before he left.

He proceeded to wonder around the village for a little, asking questions of those who he passed by about who he should be looking for in order to help with the repairs, they all referred to one of the older knights that had been placed in charge of the entire ordeal who was named Edric. It took a little effort to find the knight, who had taken to the walls of the town so the knight could observe the damage as well as the repairs. The boy had never met the knight before, he had barely got to ask what the knight started to quiz him on what skills he had before sending him off to speak with the members by the bridge in order to find out what parts they needed in order to fix the damage that had been done to it.
That one stumped him as he walked towards the bridge, passing through the gate that he came through the night before. When he had crossed the bridge the night before he had heard it creaking and making a few protests but he didn't expect it to have been that badly damaged. People were swarming around the bridge as he arrived pulling up rotting planks and cracked iron joints, Tiath found another knight overlooking the situation and begun to ask what he could do and explained that he was a novice blacksmith.

The knight called over another town member and gave Tiath a few of the cracked parts asking if he could make new ones. "Well... I've never made a part like it before" he said as he fiddled with it in his hands, turning it over a few times looking at how it was formed. It was a simple joint where wood would be connected to each other for support in the shape of a bent U, it didn't seem like it would be too hard to replicate, "Would there be anything else you need or just this part? Also how many do you need?" "We need about 6 of them, we are also going to need as many nails as you can make."
Tiath sighed but smiled to himself, it didn’t seem to matter how far he went from Syilra and the Ironworks, having to craft more nails was a recurring trend with him. "Sure I’ll get right on it, however I am going to need some iron to do so...”

[Tiath Othos]

The door to the forge was hammered upon, causing Tiath to jump from his skin at it. Placing a pair of bellows down he went and opened the door. A large figure blocking the door that seemed very flustered "Who on earth do you think you are using my forge!" Tiath couldn't help but grin before stepping towards him and hugging the man tightly, "It’s been too long Kurger!”
The Larger man stumbled back a few steps before pushing Tiath away "Tiath is that you? By the gods I thought I wouldn't see you for a few years not a few days" Kruger said beaming. Kruger was a larger man, having spent many more nights in the bar compared to the forge.
The man’s face was covered in a large bushy beard that hid the old wrinkled face beneath it. "Sorry Kruger, I had to borrow your forge to parts for the bridge, I offered to help out". Kruger gave a hearty laugh "I thought you would be busy with being a squire and all" He noticed that Tiath suddenly looked down and retreated into the forge, understanding what had happened "O Tiath you didn't... You never became a squire did you?"

Tiath placed a large ingot into the forge and put the bellows to it, feeling the gaze of the man boring into the back of his head but continued to work on increasing the heat. The tension slowly grew in the air as neither wanted to be the one to break the silence and be the one the one to give in. "Tiath" he said with a sigh, "What have you been doing in Syilra if you’re not a squire..." the voice of the man trailing off as Tiath started to hammer the red hot ingot against the anvil flattening it then bending one side, occasionally glancing at the cracked version and beginning to replicate its design, it stumped him for how they managed to bend it at the needed angle.
He was stumped and had no idea how to continue. "Well it's becoming more obvious by the way you handle your way around this forge." Kruger moved around the forge and picked up a few metal objects, taking the hammer from Tiath he placed the small metal objects along it and hammered them slightly into the bar, causing it to bend upwards towards its intended position. He then turned it around and hammered it from above. Tiath watched as the top sheet bent into place the bottom became too far in, Kurger then flipped it over so it stood up right and hammered it from the inside finally bending it all back into place. "Even if you have taken up the hammer, you have a long way go."

They worked together throughout the day, creating many parts however most of the work ended up being done by the apprentice hands, as the teacher often went out and brought himself more ale to drink. They finished making the parts before sundown, Tiath lent against the wall, wiping the sweat from his brow. "So when are you planning to tell your father" his stomach dropped at that question. "I ... I really dont know just yet, proberly before I leave tommorow". He felt a hand on his shoulder forcing him to look up at his older mentor "Look, it’s going to an interesting talk but you might as well go get it done as soon as possible, so let’s drop these parts off then you can go to dinner with them" For an old geezer, he sure had a decent grasp on things.
Tiath loaded the parts into a cart before he started to pull it towards the bridges location, the knight who had given him the instructions was still there at the hour however he looked like he had enough of it. Tiath just smiled as they did their delivery before turning to offer a handshake to his mentor "I probably won’t see you again for a while" Kruger just smiled before pulling him into a hug "If its anything like before our paths shall cross again shortly"

[Tiath Othos]

There weren’t many tasks Tiath ever had felt that he couldn't do, it hadn't mattered wether it had been waking up at dawn to train with his father to helping out with ploughing the fields for the spring planting, and even moving to the city on a sudden notice was a simple task. However he couldn't gather the courage just to reach up and knock on the door to his own home, he could prepare himself to face his father. Sighing he forced himself to knock, he paced back and forth as he waited, hearing the sounds of footsteps coming to the door he took a deep breath and exhaled as the door open.
A lean lady stood within the door, small in stature who had long brown hair, she blinked with surprise upon seeing her son at her door way so soon after watching before a look of panicked parent came over her. "What happened? Is everything ok?!" She asked as she wrapped her arms around him. Feeling his worries from before melt away the son returned the hug, "Everything’s fine mum, I just came home to help out the town, I had heard about the damage". His mother beamed with a proud smile "That’s my son, always wanting to help out." Pausing a moment to sniff the air which of filled with the smell of food cooking "Anyways dinner is nearly ready so come on in and take a seat at the table, your father is already there."

His stomach dropped for a third time that night as he followed his mother into the house and through the kitchen to where his father await. He entered the small dining room, which was a very plain room with a small wooden table and chairs with enough space to fit four people, his father sat in one of these chairs, a mild look of surprise crossed his face as he saw his child.
Tiath Bowed to his father slightly "Father, you are looking well" He said nervously, the formalities that he grew up with around his father naturally kicking in. "Thank you son, please have a seat." The voice felt cold and commanding, another thing that he was use to from his father as he took a seat for himself, directly across from him.

"So how is the training going Tiath" his mother asked him as they finished their meal, piling the plates together. "I never became a squire" he glancing at his father as announced it, trying to gage his reaction as he did so, of course his father was a stone wall. His mother also had done the same thing, the atmosphere suddenly becoming a lot colder and more judgemental, his mother gave him a look of warning before speaking again "Oh, that’s ..." She trailed off not able to find the right words "So what are you doing in Syliras then?"
"Well I found myself a mentor and got a job within the IronWorks" He noticed the blank look from his mother at mentioning that "It's the largest forge in the city and helps supply everyone but mostly works for the knights" Finding himself staring at the table, wishing that he could be anywhere else but here. Glancing he saw that his mother was giving him a warm smile.

The smile vanished as his father spoke, "Well then, at least you have a job, although is it one of no honour or stature" Tiath flinched as if being hit by a physical blow. "This is the path you choose for yourself, isn’t it?" Looking up to meet his father’s gaze he nodded, he had made that choice himself and even tho it had only been a week or so, he had come to enjoy the days he spent within the forge even if they were just those filled with mundane tasks. "Well then, since that’s your choice, I will be taking back my sword"

[Tiath Othos]

Ouch, that hurt.

The words alone cut deep, a well of emotions building within him that he couldn't deal with right now. His mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to form words or even sounds. He heard a slight gasp of shock from his mother but knew that she would not intervene as this was between the two of them, Tiath had chosen his own road knowing that his father had spent years training him for the road of a knight.
The boy couldn't bring his gaze up as he reached behind to grab the sheathed sword that had been leaning against the wall, his hands trembling slightly as he held the heirloom sidewards and presented it to his father. Trying to keep everything hidden, he could feel himself slipping, cracks appearing in the mask.

"I... am sorry to disappoint you father" his voice trembling as he felt the swords familiar weight leave his hands. The world seemed to be bearing down on him in that moment, everything pushing against him, wanting him to be crushed, he couldn't do it anymore. "Well thank you for dinner but I have to go" He said in a whispery voice before he got up and moved quickly to the exit, his mother’s protest distance to him as felt the mask break and emotions start to pour forth.

Wondering for what felt like hours, the boy found himself standing in front of Kruger’s forge, forcing it open he started to light it. He wiped at his eyes with a slight sniff, his face felt numb at that point and every part of him felt heavy. He started to hammer at the ingot not really paying attention to what he was making, just hitting the bar and pouring his emotions into it, just wanting to do something that felt normal to him where he didn't have to think about what he was doing.
The bar ended up slowly just becoming long and flat, it reminded him of his heirloom, no it was his father’s sword now. Anger flared within him at the thought and he started hammering the iron with a purpose, starting to craft the iron into the shape of a sword. Any weapons smith would have cringed at Tiath's attempted blade, it being entirely forged from a single piece of iron from the blades tip to the hilt, the blade itself was inconsistent on thickness and the connection to the cross guard was very thin.

Tiath knew nothing about making a weapon and in the end it showed with the work he did, applying the same techniques he did when making a horse shoe. He finished the blade by grinding the edges of it into a sharpened point, running a finger over the blade then entire thing felt strange in comparison to any other blade he had felt. He felt another surge of emotion and grabbed the blade and went outside for air.

[Tiath Othos]

Tiath ended up wondering the streets for a while before just leaving the town through the gates, waving to the guards as he passed outside. He began to wonder the fields where he had been working with his father and other town members until just the other day, it was also the place that he had been taught how to use a sword. He found himself walking towards the place that he sparred with his father, knowing that a few of the training tools they had used would still be secreted around. Rounding a corner he reached the clearing but backed up a few steps upon seeing that his father was in the middle the same idea. They locked eyes for a moment, his father’s cold stare meeting his confused one, a look of disgust passed over the cold gaze for a moment before his father turned away.

The anger flared with him again before he yelled at his father "Don't walk away from me!" He continued to watch as his father walked away. He just wanted to prove to his father that he wasn’t a failure, that what he had chosen was the right path, why couldn't father see that at least for him. Everything came out at once as he found himself moving towards his father with tears of hate in his eyes as he wildly swung the sword at him. His father had always been a teacher and the better swordsmen, easily able to turn around and counter the savage swing, the crafted blade cracking at the hilt loudly. His father knew the sound and swung heavily at the blade, leaving Tiath very little time to raise his sword to block the blow. His arms trembled from the blow as he heard a loud sound pierce the air, the entire blade breaking of from the hilt and embedding itself in the earth. He could only hold the broken blades hilt as his father lifted the heirloom blade slowly and pressed it into his jaw.

Pain flared as his father slowly pushed it along the bone, growing more painful with every bump of bone it grinded through and muscle that it cleanly parted. He wanted to lean away from the blade or beg his father to stop but knew that any movement would only aggravate his father more. As the pain continued to lance through him all he could do was stare into his father’s hateful glare, all he could do was wait and after an age his father spoke with a cold hate "You are a disgrace." The elder pulled the sword away from his jaw and left, walking away without glancing back as he cleaned the blood from the blade before putting into its scabbard.
He quickly put a hand to the cut, blood was ebbing out but it wasn't too bad, at least that’s he thought. He didn't move for a while, just stood there holding a hand to his face wondering what to do, finding himself drained from everything. He began to wonder the town again, trying to gather his thoughts on what happened but a patrolling knight interrupted his thoughts. "Are you ok?" He asked, holding a torch up and seeing blood, Tiath's angry now finding a new source "I am find, no thanks to...” Suddenly something clicked within him. His thoughts were irrational as he begun to connect points that never existed.

[Tiath Othos]

He end up spending the night in the forge again, a small light in the dark of that nights events showed itself as Kurger had left him a pillow and a proper blanket for him to use that night. He awoke before the sun had fully risen and to blood smeared over the blanket and found it had continued to bleed throughout the night lightly, he needed to get it bandaged up. He packed his bags and left the forge for the final time that day, walking to the local healers house and awaking her, she gave him a few choice words at that point but still proceeded to help him before kicking him out again just as quickly so she could get a few more hours of sleep.

Like a puppy licking its wounds he returned to Syilra that day and sleep in his own bed, the next morning he returned to the IronWorks, a new bandaged over the wound. He approached Baldemar with his hung low, his mentor surprised to see him returned after so little time. "Baldemar... Do you think you I can buy a new sword?" He asked quietly. Baldemar had already noticed the missing heirloom but didn't ask about it, "No, but I can teach you how to make them however... Tho you’re going to have to pay for it" Baldemar said with a laugh as he put a hand on Tiath's back and pushed him towards forges. Tiath gave a small smile, it was good to be home.