Location: Gorias city

Standing outside the blacksmiths, I walk in and say, “Culainn, I have come to return the chains!”

I look around the store and notice no one is inside, and then moments later riding on his little wonderbeast, Culainn comes out and says, “Is that you Setanta?”

“Yes, it is, and you won’t believe what I have to tell you. You see Ferdiad-,”

“So you got angry and broke the chains by accident.”

“Let me finish!”

Riding his little cuboid-shaped wonderbeast he rams into me, and says, “Don’t raise your voice to me!”

His blows causes all of the chains I am holding to tumble and fall down on top of me. “That hurt old man!”

“I hope it did! I explicitly told Ferdiad not the break them!”

Looking him straight in the eye, I say, “Well technically Ferdiad didn’t break them, I did. So everything is ok right?”

“Don’t try and back out of this you brat.”

Lowering my head, I say, “I am sorry about this.”

“You’re a good enough man to apologise to me, but a good man also knows that an apology doesn’t reverse time.”

With a smile, I say, “Of course I do, so in exchange for all your lost time, take this.”

I flip Culainn five of my Danú coins, and say, “Here ya go. Use those to buy yourself something pretty.”

He looks dumbfounded as he holds them, so I say, “Don’t cry all at once.”

He throws the coins right into my eye which nearly blinds me, and causes me to hold it whilst crying in pain.

“What use would I even have for these?”

“YOU DO REALIZE WHAT THESE ARE! Each Danu coin is worth 100 times whatever the valuation of the highest red branch coin is per month. You could buy a castle the land around it and have feasts every day for 20 years with all of those.”

“I am a dying old man, do I look like I have time to spend all of this?”

“Then why don’t you pass it on to the two boys who work for you?”

“They have gone to Findias.”

“Huh, why? Both Cian and Ryan were born and raised in Gorias; those traitorous bastards!”

“I am sorry Setanta, but I don’t have time for this. I have a rather packed schedule, so you are forgiven and can keep your money.”

Culainn tries to pick up the chains, but due to his immobile legs, he has to do it while riding on the back of his wonderbeast which puts quite a bit of stress on it.

I snatch the chains from his arms, and he says, “I don’t remember asking for your help boy.”

“And I don’t remember when I listened to your authority.”

“You really are Fergus’s grandson.”

I laugh a bit, and say, “Now as to why those two boys have left.”

“It isn’t for a special reason or something like that, they have simply just finished their tenure here and have sought out another master for better qualifications.”

“But aren’t you an Ollamh in terms of being a blacksmith Culainn?”

“How do you know that I am certain I have kept that quite hidden.”

“It seems like you have forgotten the amount of spears I have stolen from you. Just by holding them, I know they could only be made by someone of that skill level.”

“You really are far too much for me.”

“So yet again, why did those boys go out and choose another master?”

“They didn’t choose another master; I forced them out. Despite my rank, I am essentially exiled from the blacksmithing community. Due to certain events of my past that were my own fault, I no longer have any form of pull.

Even being an associate of mine will get you treated in a similar fashion. I had to kick both of them out to the house of Laoch in Findias to get some work, and eventually work their way up to Ollamh.”

I have a disgusted face, and Culainn asks, “Are you ok?”

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“Yeah, just a natural reaction I have developed to the entire house of Laoch.”

As we reach the back of the store, I see that it is a very spacious workshop with a forge in the centre. All across the walls are unfinished weapons of various shapes and sizes, and to the left of the room is a desk which is covered in a blanket.”

“Throw the chains on the floor, so I can recycle them.”

I do that, then ask, “Are you going to melt them?”

“No this type of metal is one that Lugh recently picked up from mount Lock in Terrafide last year, he has been asking me to experiment with it. And one of the things I have learned is that it really doesn’t like changing shape after it has been set into one.”

“So how are you going to recycle it?”

“Obviously with the help of my little friend under me.”

The cuboid wonderbeast which is covered in hair under him opens its mouth and starts to eat the metal.

Culainn says, “This is a munchnunchers, or so the humans called it. They are a type of wonderbeast that can eat a bunch of different materials and produce a substance based on their colour.”

As the munchnunchers eats away, at it Culainn tries to get off its back to a chair so as to not interrupt its meal, and as he tries to struggle his lame body onto the chair.

His heart rate increases heavily as he struggles, and he sweats a bit out of what I can just assume is shame. But this causes him to lose focus and the chair tips which causes him to fall as well.

I move as fast as I can and move the chair to his butt then return to where I was standing.

I walk over to the table covered in a sheet, and lift it up saying, “What is this?”

Underneath the sheets I see a group of rusty weapons, mainly spears but some blades as and shields as well. Though strangely beside all of these rusty weapons, are incredibly high-quality ones which have engravings throughout them that make them look regal, even holy in a sense.

“What are these?”

Sighing, Culainn says, “My final project.”

“Final project? What are you closing the store?”

“Of course I am, just look at me Setanta, I don’t have the health or vigour to run this place anymore. But before I close it down, there is one more thing I would like to do.

All those blades there, are ones of fallen warriors that have previously wielded my weapons. It was an arduous process, but I was able to get them from the battlefields they were left on. I plan to decorate them and return them to their families.”

“How do you even remember whose blade is whose?”

“I am a hawk beastkin I have really good eyesight, so I use that to engrave many small details that I can use to identify my weapons afterwards.”

“I see but are you sure you will be able to handle that by yourself?”

“I must, because this is what I decided to do, and I don’t plan on letting it go unfinished.”

“I see, then let me help.”

“Setanta this will be a very long process, at least two months of constant work, then another 2 weeks of travel around Tir na-iontas. Do you really think the young prince of the Faoláins can waste time like that?”

“Doesn’t really matter. Our next war won’t be until next year, and Ferdiad can keep up the training regimen for my men. So as long as I keep up with my studies, I can do whatever I want.”

Culainn is about to say something, but I get in his face and say, “Don’t bother because I have decided to do this and nothing will change my mind.”

“Stubborn brat.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Ok then. You have a rather sharp sense to my knowledge, so you should be able to help with the engravings.”

“Just leave it to me.”

I pick up a sword and bring out some of my claws, but before I can use them to start engraving, I am swatted on the head by Culainn who has jumped onto my back.

“What are you doing old man, your twice my height and not a fucking baby?”

“Don’t just use your claws, you idiot!”

“You said I should be engraving, and how am I supposed to do that without a sharp object!?”

“Before you start engraving you got to mark out the area ahead of time, and then use your tools to guide you.”

“SHUT UP AND STOP BEING SO ANNOYING! JUST WATCH ME WORK!”

-Break-

On my knees with my head pressed against the ground, I say, “I am sorry.”

I peer my head at the shattered sword on my left, then say, “I didn’t know it would break like that.”

Culainn whacks me in the head again then says, “You overestimated your precision and control.”

“On the battlefield I am incredibly precise, so I sort of just thought I could do the same here.”

“Setanta, you have incredible senses that allow you to know many different things about living creatures just by using your senses. But you can’t do the same with metal.

Your instinct as a beastkin helps you know how to hunt prey thus raising your precision, but it doesn’t allow you to handle metal as well. The fact of the matter is that this is one of the things that beastkin aren’t all that superior to humans in.”

His words bother me, and I say, “So right now would you say I am below a human?”

“Yes,” he says with no hesitation.

“I COULD HAVE YOU EXECUTED FOR THAT!”

“THE TRUTH HURTS DOESN’ T IT!”

Getting up, I say, “I will try again.”

His munchnuncher crashes into the back of my knee and he says, “No you will stop and go home for today.”

“But I can still-.”

“No, you can’t. You're far too hot-headed right now and this is important, I don’t need hubris ruining it. If these metals break it becomes far too hard to reforge them.”

Seeing his expression as he picks up the broken, sword I say, “I will be back tomorrow, and I won’t fail.”

I quickly pick up all the shattered pieces even the tiniest ones and place them on the table then run out.

And as I look at the setting sun, I say, “Shouldn’t Minagrain be on her way? Crap I need to get back!”

Name: Dòu Hǔ

Height: 3M

Type: Wonderbeast, Carnivore

Description: A tiger like wonderbeast with grey stripes across it’s body red body. It has the ability to hardness it’s fur into a metallic substance which allows it to form different weapons and armaments. It usually uses this to form metal claws, and four iron shield’s with one each of joints between it’s body and appendages. It also forms it’s tail into a weapon that will help it during it’s hunts.

Fact: In Enotita it is known as one of the twelve divine wonderbeasts, and represents endurance.

Name: Géar grasshopper

Height: 2M

Type: Wonderbeast, Herbivore

Description: A insectoid wonderbeast with a similar body small to a grasshopper. In it’s natural state it’s body looks like one curved vase with four other curved vases attached to it as it’s appendages, with a single eye that looks like a tattoo of a target symbol attacked to the center of it’s face which is gold mask.

But when it prepares to hunt all of the appendages open up and it’s two back legs extend and burry them themselves into the ground, which it uses to lift it’s body up, and it’s two front arms turn into ranges weapons which is uses to shoot out condense blood shots.

Fact: It is one of the only land wonderbeasts from the den of the sky, a place where most of the worlds flying wonderbeasts original from.