//------------------------------// // That Smiths // Story: A Bridge Between Brothers // by Rammy //------------------------------// ബഐബഐബഐ Garble ബഐബഐബഐ "Will you hold still!" I barked as the white dragon shifted again as I trying to check that my latest piece of armor, a greave for his right foreleg, was formed correctly. The metal was still quite hot and could warp if he moved just right. Of course I wouldn't have had to do it this way if I could make changes to the metal's form and shape after cooling. But for some dumb reason once the metal cooled too much I could no longer make any changes. The white dragon grumbled but finally stop fidgeting. What am I doing scolding him like hatchling!? I inwardly groaned when I realized what I had just said. I just sounded like my dam... since when did I become the responsible one here!? Shaking those thoughts away I carefully blew some flame on the greave to keep it hot and slowly positioned it within an inch of the white dragons shin. I sighed in relief as it appeared to be perfectly formed. A good thing too as this would the last piece I could make... for now... Well, there was enough scales left to make maybe a single greave or cuisse... I swear, why would anyone name a piece armor to sound like someone saying I need to take a 'wiz' while holding back a sneeze. But the problem was that I didn't have enough to make a matching pair. I did have enough that could recreate my bladed gauntlet but I have yet to figure out how to make a blade with the scale steel alloy. While I can create a basic sword shape by pouring motel metal into a mold I would need to use a grindstone to get it sharp. Something I can't seem to do with the metal just yet... if it was even possible... "Are we done?" The white dragon growled as I slowly lowered the greave into a barrel of water to lock its form. "Yeah for now..." I absentmindedly waved the dragon away. Maybe if I pour... ... Easy... easy... I inwardly chanted as I slowly pour the molten mixture into the already half filled mold. If any air bubbles got in it could weaken the blade to failure. ... I smiled as I inspected the blade. I could see a wavy dividing line between the steel towed the edge and the special scale steel mixture towards the back. It looked similar to the way Leafcutter looked although it was patterned differently. While I wouldn't have the cutting edge of Leafcutter the blade was protected from damage if I had to block or parry a blow. ... I sighed as I put down my polishing cloth. My newest bladed gauntlet was finished. All three blades were sharped to a razors edge, the sunstone removed from my old gauntlet and set in my newest own and every part put together and polished to a gleaming perfection. All that was left was to try it on for the first time. I shivered as I felt the cool metal slide over my scales and I lightly took hold of the grip. With a deep breath to calm myself down I slowly took a few swings to get a feel of it. Every movement I felt like the gauntlet move with me like it was merely an extension of my arm. And to think I made it myself with my own hands with such skill after just recently rediscovering a lost alloy that is extremely difficult to work with. And this is only the beginning because I will find all the secrets of this alloy and that knowledge will be mine! Mine to find, mine to have, mine to guard and keep. And it would be way more glorious then gems, trinkets, gold, silver, mere bedding and food. Why would I hoard such simple things as those? What is the point of that? But this... this was something entirely else and I could protect what was mine...with what was mine. What was mine... Es Izvēlies Letāls Thazs. An inviting warmth instantaneously washed over me as soon as I thought that. I... he remembered the warmth from before... Back when he... Garble.. I grew wings and became a whelp. Knowledge that I knew that Garble didn't know told me suddenly filled my mind, warning me that it would be best if I lowered myself onto fours. As I slowly lowered myself to the ground I realized that I had my gauntlet on. I could try to remove it but I knew that would have very little control over my movement until my body finished morphing. I just hope that I don't damage my gauntlet or my leg during my growing. After a few moments I could feel that my body was done growing but the warmth didn't fade like it should have it kept building especially right around my foreleg that had my gauntlet on it. IT BURNS!!!! I roared in agony as the heat spiked. The pain was worse then anything H.K. had ever done. "Red dragon!" I heard the white dragon shouting, I think. I couldn't tell for sure as my pain was drowning out everything. Then just as fast the pain came it suddenly vanished and I fell to the floor, out cold. ബഐബഐബഐ ??? ബഐബഐബഐ "What happened?" I groaned as I regained consciousness. Last thing I could remember was being in H.K. forge and... This is not H.K.'s forge. All around me was deep shadows, cast from the dim glow of various pools and streams of magma. It looked like I was in a volcanic cavern but that made little since because as far as Garble recalled H.K.'s mountain was ironically one of the few mountains in the Wastlelands that wasn't volcanic either currently or in the past. Obsidian? I wondered as I picked up the piece on stone that I had stepped on. Strange... The obsidian only added to the list of oddities since I woke up. The volcanoes around the dragonlands rarely produced obsidian... something about lava content and slow cooling. Where the fuck am I?! "In simplistic terms: a representation of your soul." A young giggling feminine voice echoed. "Show yourself!" I roared angrily, frantically looking around for the source of the voice. It would be a good opportunity to try out my new bladed gauntlet on whoever was stupid enough to kidnap me. "Up here." Came the voice again. I looked up and, there, sitting on top of a nearby basaltic pillar was a young grey and yellow spiked female dragon. The dragonness was too young to have brought me as it was clear from her posture that she was still a whelp. And now that I think about it, it was possible that this was H.K. doing. There was some sort of mana surge that occurred right after I Chose and I wouldn't put it past him having some sort of ward that brought me here. "Hmmm... adamantine steel.... grade one from the looks... not bad." I nearly stumbled led back in surprise as the dragoness was suddenly in my face, roughly twisting my right foreleg around sniffing then tapping my bladed gauntlet. It was as if she didn't understand personal space. "And magically fused to your body in such a way that your soul sees and has made it as a living part of your body. A rare feat for a dragon..." My bladed gauntlet is fused to me?! I blinked staring down at my gauntlet pull my foreleg away from her. I had noticed during her forceful appraisal that something seemed off about it but I had merely chalked it up to my metamorphosis from a whelp to a drake. That my growth and change in posture from bi to quad had warped my perspective a bit. "You used your own scales didn't you?" I jerked up from my self examination in surprise. I could see someone guessing that it was the scale steel mixture, 'adamantine' steel she called it, but to know that it was my own scales that were used? "That's what I thought. Between that and your Choosing it would have facilitated the fusion..." No one should know who I am my name is mine and mine alone. I decided if I want others to know that this... How dare this 'dragon,' which I'm sure is not a dragon, imply that she knows. I roared angrily rushing towards her. SĒTĒT UZ LEJU LETĀLS THAZS And just like that I went from about to attack to sitting down roughly. When she shouted it was like thousands of Dragon Lord Torchs shouting all at once with the power of thousands of Bloodstone Scepters behind it. All of which told me I had to sit down. To be able to do that to me, a dragon!? She either had to be powerful mage masquerading as a 'weak' whelp or in possession of a powerful enchanted item... like the Bloodstone Scepter... Her possessing the Bloodstone Scepter could explain how she could possibly know my name and command me in such a way. I think... "Things will become clearer in time who and what I am Letāls Thazs... especially now thanks to... thanks to Harmonious Knight..." "Harmonious Knight?" I murmured. Could she be referring to H.K.? "Yes..." The dragoness sighed heavily. "But that's not important now Letāls Thazs what is important is that you help the one you know merely as 'white dragon' and Spike deal with the Oathbreaker." I cracked my knuckles, chuckling darkly. That was the plan from the beginning. Maybe the white dragon or Spike would let me use my... "No one will being killing her." The dragoness raise a hand in objection. "What?!" I roared. How dare this... this thing try and protect an oathbreaker! SŪT LIERĪZS. Again, in an instant, I went from shaking in fury to wanting to high tail it out of where I was like some mewing kitten except that I had had been compelled to calm down. I think I'd prefer dealing with the fury of Dragon Lord Torch or H.K. right now then the fury of whoever this... creature is. "Yes, death is the only recourse for one who breaks an Oath but you should know from Garble's experience that does not necessarily mean sending one into the next life. As much as you and..." "Fine," I growled, turning to walk away. "But do me the favor of leaving me out of this." If I couldn't assist in ending the Oathbreaker's life why help? Why taint myself and my armor, my hoard, over such a dishonorable action? Not ending an Oathbreakers life? What does this dragoness... creature think she is? Powerful as she clearly was to go against the very law of mana that dragons are bound to uphold and maintain was ludicrous. "I'm sorry, I thought you wanted to be a Dragon Warrior. Or was that merely a childish dream of Garble's?" I stopped, turned back, and stared down the dragoness in disbelief. "Just who the fuck are you?" "The Voice, Letāls Thazs, The Voice." The dragonness smiled as everything suddenly faded to black.