Kai woke with the dawn. Physically he felt great, he could have run a marathon and then fought a duel at the end of it. This new world was great for the body; the mind, not so much. Mentally Kai was exhausted. He sat on his bed in the dark as light crept in around the window curtain someone had hung to make the barracks a bit more like a home.

Motes of dust floated in the air, highlighted by the strip of light that came in. Kai focused on the dust. His mind connected the points of dust in various configurations, his own imagined set of ever changing constellations. The exercise calmed Kai’s mind as he let go of reality and the situation; he lost himself in creating and imagining a wider sea of images and patterns. Kai opened his eyes and realized it was well past dawn and Alric was going to be pissed. He jumped from the bed, snatched up his bokken, and rushed out the barracks door.

“Shit Alric. I’m sorry I’m late. I was meditating after I woke up and just lost track of time completely.” Alric nodded. Then smirked as he turned and began to walk toward the obstacle course. It was going to be another day of agony for Kai.

The sun blazed overhead and Kai collapsed at the end of the obstacle course. He had managed to complete the entire course without being hit once by Alric’s Mana Bolt. He also managed to hit all of the ranged targets with his own Mana Bolt. In the process he also drank at least twenty of the novice mana potions he had originally been gifted. As he sucked in air and it dawned on him that Alric had not started shouting at him to begin the course again.

He decided to roll the dice and opened his eyes to look at Alric. The man was less than a foot from Kai and stared intently at him. “Have you finally recovered from the course? We do have places to be and things to do today.” With those words Alric turned and walked away from the obstacle course. Perhaps the day wouldn’t be one of complete hell.

Alric lead him to a section of the town Kai had yet to visit, the manufacturing area. Hammers banged, saws sung as they cut wood, and curses filled the air, Kai recognized the sounds of productivity and creation, he was thrilled. “Alric, you’re finally letting me begin to learn a craft? What am I learning? Did you decide that I should be an Enchanter? Or maybe a blacksmith? I hope you don’t expect me to make bows. I’m not a bow person. They just seem too distant dependant if you get into close quarters they are useless. I can’t wait to see what I can make. This is going to be so awesome. Oh I know. Potions! Yes.” Alric remained silent and just shook his head.

The two arrived at a quieter section and Alric politely knocked on a door rather than barging in. Must be someone important, Kai thought. The door opened and a plain guy stood there. He looked at Alric then turned to Kai and studied him for a moment. “Sam expected you two hours ago.” The man turned and walked into the darkness. Alric shrugged and followed the man; Kai trailed behind.

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They walked deeper into the building through the darkness and Kai made out a light that flickered ahead, a rectangle of a doorway illuminated. The unnamed man walked through the doorway, Alric and Kai hurried behind. As the two stepped into the room Kai was blinded by the fire of a roaring furnace.

“Welcome. Glad you could join me here.” An older man in a long apron stepped away from an anvil. He turned to the two men and his silhouette loomed as the flames in the forge expanded and contracted.

The man turned to Kai and extended his hand. “Hi there. I’m Sam Hoss, the Dawn Smith.” Like a robot Kai shook Sam’s outstretched hand. He gulped.

“Uhm, hello sir. I, uh, did not realize I would have a chance to meet and work with you.” Kai fumbled.

Sam’s rich laughter filled the forge. “Son, your words to Alric at lunch made him think of an idea none of us had yet.” He turned and looked Alric, “I for one should have thought of it after seeing the Blood Embroidery from the recent contest. Anyways, I have put Sean and Andrea to work on the idea and expanded it a bit. To start with I shall show you a few things to get you started. Have you thought about any particular type of crafting young Kai?”

“I’m uncertain sir of what can be done, and what may be needed by the town. I mentioned that I’m good at languages so perhaps engraving or enchanting. Is there anything like that.” Kai spoke with hesitation before him stood the head crafter of Donnyton. He was almost at a loss for words.

“Those things are all well and good for after something has been shaped and made. Did you want to actually craft anything? You know swing a hammer and make a sword? Use a drawknife and make a bow? Throw some liquids in a pot and brew a potion to heal someone? That kind of stuff. To be honest most folks make things that they plan on using themselves. You need plate armor pick up a hammer and start forging. You plan on sneaking around in hard leather armor go skin some animals, if you can find them. That kind of thing. Now what way are you leaning?”

Sam’s words washed over Kai and he thought. He stared into the flames of the forge and imagined a hundred futures. He was a knight in full plate holding a narrow gap to save the village. He was a bodyguard that moved with speed to protect various leaders from outside threats. He held a staff that glowed with a blue-white arcane power. The ideas blurred past his eyes.

“I’m not certain yet sir. I see myself as either a strong defender who protects the people with him. But I also love to travel and see new sights that people talk about but never go and see themselves. I guess in this world I’d probably be the first to see those sights even. So is there such a thing as a scout that isn’t heavy but isn’t a pushover either?”

Alric nodded. “That’s a tall order but I think we can guide your skills that way. So what equipment do you see yourself using?”

“Well my sword of course, magic for distance. I’ll need to move swiftly, so leather or maybe really light chain or monster scales depending on weight. But to be honest I don’t see myself physically making any of that equipment. I can see myself modifying and tinkering with it after the fact. Adding custom effects and abilities through some type of magic. What if I poured mana into the scales of a monster while it was being shaped? Or I painted some glyphs or runes to stuff. Isn’t that how things work now?” Kai was lost and just rambling at the end.