Divine Weaponry [Blacksmithing]

Divine Weaponry

  When Dhao turned his attention back to Draharu, she wasn’t staring at him anymore as her attention had shifted to something shiny, right next to the blacksmithing forge in the side chamber.

“Is that a sword?”

   She inquired without enthusiasm in her voice. Dhao placed the potion on one of the tables behind the circle around the fireplace before he also turned to look.

“Ah, yes, an old project of mine I quite haven’t finished. Here, I can show you.”

   He motioned her to follow him to the forge, where he quickly wiped some dust off the metallic handle before he grabbed a nearby cloth to wrap it around below the pommel so he could lift it with his mouth, turning it around in the air to face Draharu again before he placed the sword down, holding it with his paws like a true knight (if it wasn’t for his stained and rugged apron he was wearing).

“I have crafted Divine Armor, but I quite haven’t mastered the secrets of Divine weapons as they require a bit of a different approach. I believe I was close to finishing it, but something else was more urgent, but for the life of me I can’t remember what…”

   Dhao scratched his forehead with furrowed eyebrows.

“I’ll pay you to finish it.”

   Draharu’s offer made him look at her with surprise, brows raised and eyes wide.

“I… was planning to finish it someday, but you wish to buy it? Now?”

   A stoic nod from Draharu almost made Dhaoragan laugh, that character sure was something else. Forcing himself to limit the amusement with just a grin and a scoff, he wasn’t entirely sure what to respond.

“I think it’s too messy and sloppy to actually be used in a battlefield, I can probably attempt to make a new one as this is nothing better than a wall decoration.”

   Draharu looked at the sword thoughtfully, and for the first time, Dhao noticed a hint of affectionate emotion washing over his guests' face.

“It has a soul, a strong one. This is the most important part of a good weapon.”

   She lifted her eyes to see whether she’s managed to convince Dhao or not. The creator spun the sword around a couple times before he sighed heavily.

“Ah well, I already have two souvenir swords from my previous lessons, if you really want it then I can finish it up in a few days.”

   Draharu dipped her head in gratitude, sadly Dhao had already turned around to place the sword back to its place so he couldn’t see the strange figure barely smiling for the first time.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, the work has just begun. Could you help me to light up the forge please?”

   It took them the rest of the day and well into the night before the forge was emitting a hellish glow once again and Dhao had prepared all the tools he needed for the current stage. Draharu kept her distance, but always eyes on the action while Dhaoragan was finishing up gathering the last hammers and massive tongs before he picked up the unfinished sword to examine it. He then entered it into the forge, letting it heat up till it glowed with intense fiery heat. But in the meantime, he decided to talk money with Draharu as he assumed she’ll leave soon for the night.

“So, the health potion turned out good and that should last you for a while, but I can tell the sword’s final price once it’s fully ready and customized based on your needs. I’d like to ask for half of the payment now and another half later on, if that’s alright with you?”

“Yes, name it.”

   Dhao swiftly improvised a number, which he personally thought was maybe slightly too high for a weapon of this quality, but Draharu didn’t blink an eye before she turned around to walk to her belongings. Dhao peeked after her, slightly surprised that she didn’t even try to negotiate but then again, he always needed some gold to buy the materials and ingredients for his endeavors that he couldn’t gather himself from the forest. She returned with a pouch, placing it on the black anvil in front of Dhao for him to check the amount. 

“Should be the full price, if more is needed later, name it.”

   He took a peek in the bag and was so impressed by the amount of shimmering nuggets looking back at him that he didn’t bother to count them. He cleared his throat while slipping the pouch into one of the pockets he had on his apron.

“Well, thank you very kindly. In that case you can come back in four days before I have something new to show you.”

   Draharu nodded in agreement before she went back to her stuff to put it on, occasionally stopping to observe what Dhao was doing in the next room. She could sense how he got hooked to the idea of completing this sword as he was eagerly glancing in the smoldering oven to see how it’s progressing while fanning the heat and tossing a few more new coals into the small hellhole. When Draharu was done dressing up, she watched how Dhao lifted out the massive glowing piece of metal, placed it on the anvil and started hitting it with the hammer, sparks flying on every impact. The sword wasn’t the only one throwing the sparks, with every hit Draharu could swear seeing how Dhaoragan’s eyes grew more lively while he was reminding his muscles and mind how blacksmithing felt like. Perhaps the small nudge from Draharu wasn’t so bad after all.