Forging- the art of making weapons and armor. An art long passed down since the dark ages. With the rise of the mechanical age, what used to be hand crafted are now machine cut and die casted. Weapons and armors form from sheets of metal. One press and parts to a bracer, another press and you have the other bits needed. Then handing it down to a simple craftsman, he treads them together with simple rivets and hands you a finished piece.
Somewhere in the imperial city lays a lazy man watching his blacksmith shop. The last of the few places that still did the traditional blacksmithing.
*Ring-Ring*
The door opened to a small boy barely the age of 5 holding a small Urn.
“I would like to make a request.”
“Kid. this is a blacksmith not a toy shop. Are you sure you are in the right place?”
“Yes I am sure. I would like to make a forging hammer and I would like to be an apprentice here.”
“Kid you are too young. If you want a forging hammer just go to the industrial area. They can make it for you cheaply.”
“No they can’t help me. Only you can. That is what my father told me before he passed away.”
Intrigued he asked “To whom do I bring that honor to”
“Rupheus Daylight Theodore and I am Marcus Daylight Theodore.”
The lazy man suddenly shot up from his seat shocked and tumbled toward the little boy. “You are a DAYLIGHT.”
With a tear in his eye Marcus nodded. “Will you teach me how to forge?”
----------------------------------------
“Boy, where does the grandmaster lay to rest.”
Holding the Urn tighter in his arms,“He is here. With me. And his wish is to become a part of my hammer so that he will forge on even after his passing through my hands. I will succeed his will and become the greatest GrandSmith.”
The lazy man laughs bitterly as he drew out a blade standing by the side of the wall. “No one uses that word anymore. In this day and age, who still buys these ‘quality goods’ when they can buy the same item at 1/10th of the price of not lesser. this blade that I made is to be sold for 50 Silver, a blade made by the machines is less than a 2 Silver”
After giving it a pause before continuing, he took out another blade the stood near the door that was listed as 2 Silver.
“This is the blade made by a machine. Look at these 2. Can you tell the difference?”
After staring at the 2 of them for multiple minutes, Marcus could only shake his head.
“This 50 silver blade took 8 hours to make and this 2 silver blade took 2 hours to make. To the common folks they work the same. It is a weapon that cuts.our hand-made blade that does the same as their blade. Why pay more for something that does the same? No one is willing to spend what is deemed to be fool’s money.”
The lazy man closed the shop for the day and brought the boy into the workshop.
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He placed the two blades that were still in his hands onto the table and grabbed a hammer.
“Grab.”
Marcus fumbled as the hammer arched across the sky and landed in his hands, the handle smacking his face.
“Get used to the pain. As a smith, pain is part of everyday life. Now come here and strike the 2 blades with the hammer with all your might.”
Rubbing his nose from the pain. Marcus rubbed his nose for a brief moment for the tingling prickly sensation that still hovers on it before holding on to the hammer with two hands above his head and smashed it down.
“You missed. Try again.”
*Thud*
“Again.”
*Thud*
“Again”
*Ting*
“Good now the other blade.”
*Thud*
“Again”
*Thiang*
“Good. now put down the hammer. Did you hear the difference?”
Nodding his head, Marcus put down the hammer while rubbing that numb sensation he now feel in his hands away.
Lifting the two blades he presented the two spot that were struck. “Sound is just one thing. Now look at the blades.”
“Can you see way the sword is bent on this one? Now do you see the way this sword is dented?
After staring at the 2 blades for some time, Marcus still did not get it. “I do not get it”
“A machine crafted blade is omnidirectional at its core. A hand-made blade had been hammered and pounded into having some form of directional grain. A weapon with directional grain is more sturdy and more impact resistant. As you can see here, this blade is now bent while this blade is only dented. Imagine that you are at war, a blacksmith would not be able to follow you the the frontlines of battle, which blade is better?
“The Dented one?”
“Yes. that is true. But what if I say that if your blade is bent, you can just swap for a new one because there is hundreds more lying around?”
“I would take the one that bend because I can keep changing for a new one.”
“That is the problem. Because people think that they can keep changing it, they opt for the cheaper one. What if, the blade broke when you are fighting with the enemy? What if the blade broke while you are trying to strike the enemy. What if the blade broke while you are trying to parry your enemy? Would you have a spare sword lying around? By the time you get your spare sword, you have been already cut down.”
The lazy man then waited as Marcus absorbed the concept.
“So are you now ready to start to learn how to smith”
Nodding his head vigorously, Marcus replied. ”Yes. It is what I came here for.”
“Good, from now on, call me Mastersmith Derrick.”
“Yes Mastersmith Derrick”