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“U if this was an honour or a curse “Thank you master”

Jestin carried the blade to the far end of the srindstone “A new forged blade is only half born,” he informed them “It must be sharpened, polished, honed” He had Caenis stand at the grindstone and set it turning with the pedal, de “one two, one two” before telling him to increase the speed and hold the blade to the stone The instant fountain of sparks made Caenis step back in alaret the correct angle then showing him how to th was honed “That’s it,” he grunted after a while when Caenis grew confident enough to e then shohat you’ve done The rest of you back to the forge You and you on the bellows…”

And so they worked and sweated in the forge, seven long days of heaving bellows, grinding edges and working polish into the blades so that the soot disappeared and they gleamed like silver None of them escaped unscathed, Vaelin bore a livid scar on the back of his hand where a speck of moltenwas uniquely sickening The others suffered si of sparks into his eyes during a careless rinder The sparks left a cluster of blackened scars around his left eye but luckily there was no dae to his vision

Despite the exhaustion, the risk of disfiguring injury and the tedium of the work Vaelin couldn’t resist a certain fascination with the process There was a beauty to it; the gradual birth of the blades under Master Jestin’s harindstone, the pattern that eed in the blade as he polished it, dark swirls in the blue-grey of the steel, as if the flae had been frozen in theof the rods,” Barkus explained “Different kinds of uess the star silver makes it more noticeable in Order blades”

“I like it,” Vaelin said, lifting the half polished blade up to the light “It’s… interesting”

“It’s justback to the stone where he was putting an edge on his oord “Heat it, beat it, shape it There’s no mystery there”

Vaelin watched his friend work at the wheel, the way his hands e with perfect precision When Barkus’s turn came Master Jestin hadn’t even bothered to show him, just handed him the blade and walked away Somehow Barkus’s skill was obvious to the srunts or ether for many years But Barkus showed no joy in his work, no satisfaction He stuck to it readily enough, the skills he displayed putting theri when they escaped to the practice field or dining hall

The next day saw the fitting of the hilts These were readythe the that extended into the hilt They were then set to work filing down the nail heads so they were flush with the oak handles

“You are done here,” Jestin told them at the end of the day “The swords are yours Use the like the other e without another word They stood around uncertainly, holding their swords and wondering if they were supposed to say anything in return

“Erm,” Caenis said “Thank you for your wisdom, master”

Jestin lifted an unfinished spear-head onto his anvil and began to work the bellows

“Our tiestured at the door

As they were leaving Jestin spoke again, “Barkus Jeshua”

They stopped, Barkus turning, his expression guarded “Master”

“There door’s always open to you,” Jestin said without turning “I could use the help”

“I’m sorryleaves me little time as it is”

Jestin released the bellows and lifted the spear-head into the forge “I’ll be here, so will the forge, when you get tired of the blood and the shit We’ll be here”