86 Ash 120 Steel
Talon finished setting into place the necessary seals in order to solidify the magic of the cloth in his hands. He then carefully folded up the garment and extended it to the white robed young woman. Talon then extended his hands to the next attendant awaiting his attention. A pair of large leather boots was placed into his grasp. He set them upon his anvil, opening up his aetheric senses to inspect the integrity of the magic running through them. Made to exact measure, they needed only the incorporation of one final aspect, as the now folded garment had. He nodded.
“Excellent work. As to be expected. Thank you for answering my petition.” He turned his grey eyes to the form of an elder black robed wizard. He was human and had hawklike features with sharp eyes and a charismatic smile. The man bowed his head, flashing that very smile. Talon’s workshop was filled with various white, red and black robed mages from the Circle of Spells. Each of them was working at one of his workbenches, following the measurements and plans that he had drafted to suit the garments he needed to be crafted. Talon had spent the greater part of the season fashioning the foundational cloth, leather and metal that would be utilized the formation of the entire ensemble.
“One of Kalzasi’s premiere enchanters petitions the Circle for the assistance of arcane tailors in fashioning a Masterwork? We could hardly pass up the opportunity. Besides, it is a perfect chance for my apprentices to display their skills.” Talon nodded. Talon was not as well versed in the fashioning of clothing as he would have liked. He could make armor and swords but the attire he had in mind was sleeker and more form fitting than plate or chainmail.
“Of course, the final pieces are still being fabricated. You understand the delicate nature of working with enchanted thread or hide. Without careful guidance, it could damage the structure of the enchantments.” Talon understood this lesson well. It was one of the reasons he had petitioned the Circle of Spells for assistance. He did not want to leave anything to chance when it came to the final product of this particular endeavor.
“Yes, of course. Please leave the details of billing with my Head Clerk, Pyrra. She will ensure that the Circle is properly paid for its time and assistance.” The black robed man bowed then stepped away to supervise the work of his own apprentices. Meanwhile, Talon called for his own as he inspected the boots on the anvil in front of him.
“Velkan?” He heard a shuffling followed by an exclamation and the crash of glass upon the floor. The corners of Talon’s lips twitched as he fought the urge to smile.
“Yes? I am here.” Looking up, Talon motioned him over. His apprentice quickly raised his aura glass lens so that he could participate in his lesson appropriately.
“Take a look and see how the aetheric pathways have been folded and wrapped around one another.” Talon ran his finger along one of the structures. “What do you notice?”
“They look...incomplete. Almost like they need to be primed.” Talon nodded. He picked up his tools.
“This is a runeforge technique called aetheric suppression. You overlay a thin pathway to temporarily suppress the properties of the incomplete artifact you are working on. You then remove those pathways in order to put the finishing touches on it once you have done the work required.” A look of realization came to his apprentice’s face.
“So that’s why you made those hollow pathways before transmuting them to their material state?” Talon nodded.
“It is a method by which different runesmiths can work with other craftsmen without needing to possess the skills themselves. I am not a masterful leatherworker or tailor. So you utilize this method to allow one to come in, employ their skills and then undo them once those skills have been performed.” As he spoke, Talon began the work of crumbling the manufactured pathways so that the work on the enchantments could continue. He switched out after a short while, allowing Velkan to step in and perform the technique gradually. Once all of the suppression pathways had been removed, Talon then called upon his powers of kinetics. He brought a few aura glass lenses over so that he could focus purely on his kinetics as opposed to balancing both semblance and kinetic magic.
Talon funneled his kinetic charged aether into the boots. As he began inlaying the aether into the appropriate pathways, he enacted the technique of Seeming. Carefully he implemented the very familiar technique into the structure of each boot. He then began to create a secondary latticework of paths to incorporate kinetic reinforcement. As with each piece of each set of armor he had worked on thus far, Talon created a kinetic webbing that both reinforced the physical structure of the material as well as served as a barrier for breakdown. On top of the mundane properties he had incorporated thus far, it would make each section of the armor more durable and as impenetrable as the magic of a kineticist of his skill could allow. Talon then looked up to Velkan.
“Would you call for the other Master, for me?” His apprentice nodded and within a few short minutes, the black robed mage was standing beside him looking eager and somewhat refreshed.
“Ready?” Talon nodded. The man brought his hands up, placing one upon each boot as he channeled his own magic into them. Talon watched as the power of the Masquerade rippled over the aetheric structure of the boots. Just as with each piece he had worked on so far, he began weaving the magic into the structure in order to properly incorporate it. Into the memory stone, Talon wove the concepts of the Masquerade magic. He watched as the black robed mage shifted the magic to produce the form of the boots in their current state followed by expansion, shrinking, and then more abstract shapes. Talon wove these things into the structure of each boot until they were seamlessly inlaid into the overall structure. He worked alongside the other mage, going through various shapes, working to test different appearances until finally Talon and the other mage were both satisfied. Finally, Talon wove into place the pathways needed to suppress sound and to expound upon their dark color when in dim lighting.
“Thank you.” Talon and the other mage let out their own satisfied grunts as the work was complete. Running a hand through his hair, Talon nodded to the other mage who stepped away in order to resume the work of supervising his own apprentices. Velkan watched the man go. There was an uneasy look in his eyes as he watched him.
“Talon…” He quirked a brow, rolling his shoulders and leaning in so that he could place the finishing touches upon the artifacts before sending them off to be properly adjusted by the work of the arcane tailors around him.
“Yes?” Talon drew upon his powers of Negation. Carefully he began the work of interweaving an anchor into the mix of each boot. The purpose of this anchor was similar to that of what he had put in place around the shop. First he tasked it with the rule of absorbing aether that struck it from an outside source.
“Do you think it wise, involving the work of a...a...black robe?” Talon did not pause in his work. He then built pathways to connect it to the network of power flowing through each boot, so that the aether could be absorbed and fed safely into the makeup of the magic in place. He brought the webs of the mnemonosyte into motion, feeding the instructions into place and working to balance the regulation needed to ensure things did not become over stimulated. Drawing upon the greater aetherite properties within the boots, he created a reservoir for the collected aether to gather.
“My mother is a black robe, Velkan. She is also a Sage of the Circle. I trust a black robed wizard to take immense pride in their work. To perform less than would be a disservice to their Order and that is anathema to the mentality they foster.” Talon carefully aligned the Semblance properties so that the magic flowing through the boots was strictly regulated in order to remain safe for use. He looked up from his work to catch Velkan’s eye.
“The arcane community is not so vast that we can pass up the opportunity to work with each other amicably. I needed the skills of arcane tailors capable of working with runeforged materials. I also needed the skills of a Masquerader. I petitioned the Circle for aide. They sent it and I have no doubt that they sent someone skilled and competent. It would be an insult to not just me, but to their entire Order to do otherwise.” Velkan blushed and bowed his head with a nod. Talon sighed.
“I understand your hesitation but you must remember…” Talon gestured to the people around them. “Magic is part of Kalzasern life because we work together to make it possible. That is not a luxury or privilege most mages across the world get to enjoy. One territory over, in Zaichaer, and this kind of work would see legions of soldiers posting our heads on pikes.”
Velkan visibly shuddered then. It was a harsh thing to say but Talon had a reputation for being welcoming of collaboration from other arcane craftsmen from alchemists, to artificers, to necromancers. He had a code of ethics that he followed but he understood the necessity of such collaboration in a world where skilled magical crafters were not in what anyone would consider an abundance.
“Now, did you review Verateil’s Theorem?” Velkan nodded and with that, the two of them began a discourse that was soon joined by a few of the other apprentices working in the workshop. Talon soon found himself giving an impromptu runeforging lecture while he worked.
