Come Inside And Have A Nice Cup Of Tea

[Lief]

The Temporary Forges of Vur Tepe​

Aurum​

​

Though it was never intended to be the final resting place for any Temple other than Kaleth, Aurum housed numerous workstations to suit those which were presently without a dedicated place to call their own. That included Vur Tepe.

Walking into the frightfully warm forge, where the flames were constantly burning and the distinct clash of hammer on metal could be heard almost every hour of the day, Asha could not help but feel rather out of place. She was not a complete stranger to this place, she had come here alongside Master Emberfall on a few occasions since it was set up, aided the Forgemaster in some of her tasks, but it was far from her home. Far from her focus.

She realized though that this was the last remaining hurdle she had to overcome before she could step up into the role of Ranger. A momentous occasion for one such as she, who had been a Je'daii for the entirety of her life. Everything she had done had led up to this point, it was so close she could taste it.

But she wasn't in the clear yet.

Clasping her hands at her back she stood within the surprisingly silent room, presently nobody else was at work which surprised her, and waited for [member="Ignis Imura"] to appear. She had requested that he specifically meet her here, after all she did not want to make any glaring mistakes when it came to her creation.

No sword or knife for Asha Hex... Something a little more to akin to her tastes was in store for them this day.

 

[Ignatius]

Always needing something from me cus I am sooo good at forging right?

Emberfall and myself have been fairly busy as of late. Mostly due to the rather large influx of Je'daii Members joining, as well as my recent stature being made. As a Steward of Vur Tepe, I had been tasked with the upkeep of the forges here on Aurum. While it may be easier to do once we have found a better place for them, we both knew it would take some time. A small area to work with, when so many people requested for Force Imbued items, as well as forging of metals or other compounds.

However, I had gotten a message from an old friend. Asha. She was the very woman that had given me a second chance. A new life within the galaxy. Introduced me to Sahna, and was now asking for me to aid her with a project she had. While she kept it a secret for now, I knew it wasn't going to be a weapon construction.

Asha is one who speaks. She hates violence and wants to keep the peace between all. While the task ahead of her will be difficult, if anyone could, I knew she would be the one to do just that. I tried to think of anything that could be useful for her. A pendant like Sahna's? Maybe a ring? Or a headdress? So many ideas were thrown out of the window as I walked towards the forges. While this thinking was breaking my mind, I was more than happy to help her. I felt like I owed my life to Asha and the kindness she had shown me. I took this personally. Someone who I trusted and even cared for.

Walking into the forge, I saw Asha already here. That kind of surprised me. Normally it was the other way around. I waiting for whoever to get here. I smiled a bit as I walked in. Placing a very gentle hand on her shoulder as she was occupied with those who were already here.

"Hello my tea enthusiast. You requested me?"

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

Asha could not help but find some small level of irony in Ignis' greeting, for tea was very much on the agenda for today.

Bowing toward him in the moments which followed she offered him a gentle smile and a nod, taking in the silence around them for a moment or so longer before fully turning to face him. It was odd for this workshop to be so silent, but it was. Maybe that would help, maybe it wouldn't, they would find out soon enough.

"Good morning, Ignis! I most definitely did, my friend, I know that Vur Tepe is your passion and while I don't wish to keep you from your own Trials it is high time I finalized my Great Journey. This is the only Trial I have left to complete, though I daresay you might find my choice in item a little strange."

Allowing the satchel on her back to slip down to the ground she lowered toward it and rummaged around, finally pulling out an odd shaped object wrapped in layers of protective cloth. She unraveled it in record time, holding out a gorgeous - yet clearly ancient - teapot covered in adornments. Rope-like weavings, symbols typically carved into Kasha crystals, and a hawk on the backside of it, it was clearly something she had taken the time to decide upon. But at the end of the day it really was just a teapot.

"It has already been strengthened, it won't break without extreme effort, but I had something else in mind for it. You've had my tea before, you understand its soothing properties, but I'm always looking for ways to intensify that calm. I figured if I attuned it through the Force, inlaid it with some crystals," she gestured down to the bag, presumably housing said crystals, "I could literally brew the tea with serenity. Being that this is to be my main trial piece, however, I wanted another set of eyes, somebody else's opinion on it. What do you think?"

[member="Ignis Imura"]

 

[Ignatius]

Oh how I remembered that Asha always got right to the point. Other students had no real clue what was going to be taking place. As such, they seemed to almost have a lack of respect that this process had. Only wishing to have some cool new weapon, but not caring that the process could strengthen your body and mind in so many ways. It was refreshing to have someone else come to me who knew the importance of imbuement.

I simply nodded as Asha brought out a tea pot. One that looked old, but would have been quite the piece of art in its prime day. Upon the explanation of what she wanted to do with it, I smiled and nodded. Reaching out gently to grab the tea pot from her hands, I went to inspect it. Trying to recreate something from clay is not something that I could so easily do. Of course replacing the chipped pieces or filling in the cracks would be easy. Normally the process of Force imbued means you create the item itself while focusing upon it. This time, it will be much more difficult.

"Force imbued blades are created as such. Since this is already created, we will have to use a different method. We will need to make clay that is the same consistency as the one it was crafted with, and using some crystal fragments in the clay, it will connect the pieces. We can also use this clay on the inside to create a new lining and strengthen the mold itself. During the painting process, we can also use shards of the crystals in the paint to further seal it into one coherent piece."

I gently felt around the inside of the tea pot. Feeling for any cracks that were inside, and could ruin the integrity of it's shape and structure. I then looked up to Asha as I handed it back to her for safe keeping for now.

"The rest of the process is like normal. Just focusing upon the frequency of the crystals with your self while in the force, and that should be the trick."

I then folded one of my arms while the other sat on it. My hand rubbing my chin as though I had a beard, but was thinking this over. The first thing we needed was to find the right kind of clay that we needed. I then continued on explaining my mind.

"The idea is that the old foundation of this pot will be supporting the new outer structure while also imbuing it with the force."

[member="Asha Hex"],

 

[Lief]

When planning for this part of her trials, Asha had actually done a large amount of research.

She wasn't familiar with the actual process of Force Imbuement outside of very simple applications, such as attuning crystals, but just as Ignis now was coming up with ways to make this work with an older model, so too had Asha given it plenty of thought, and so she merely smiled.

"My bag has many secrets in it," she informed him in a somewhat silly tone, quite out of character for her usual self but she had been in high spirits as of late, "I decided to follow the example set by the Je'daii of old and truly plan out this trial, more so than any of the others, and I figured that recoating it would make the most sense also. Of course I also contemplated other methods, such as adding a lacquer or a varnish. I didn't know which would work best, so..."

Settling the bag down on one of the workstations she began to pull out a few different pots and bottles. Some were obviously the aforementioned substances but one... One held clay.

"I also had the teapot appraised, and discovered the origin of the clay used to form the ceramic. It won't be an exact match, Force knows how old this thing is, but hopefully the colouration should be the same..."

A slight blush had formed in her cheeks the more she spoke, an aura of awkwardness falling over the girl as she stood there. While it was in her nature to prepare for things, to turn up early, etc, to go into this much detail on researching and having this many options was unheard of even for her.

She must really like her tea...

[member="Ignis Imura"]

 

[Ignatius]

"You have come well prepared then! Good. Let's get to work on molding that clay to be more malleable. While you do that, I can work on crushing those crystals to fit into whatever we need."

Upon reaching my hand out to have the various crystals float to my hand with the force, I gathered them up. Shaking my head. Glad, and surprised that Asha had been more than well prepared to come to me for aid. While she had everything necessary, she must have not quite known how to piece it together. Like having a puzzle with all the pieces, but you can't see them in the dark. She needed me to light the way for her so she could complete this project. Either way, As she would begin to work on that, I moved over to the mortar and pestle I had in the corner. It sat upon a desk with a magnifying glass setup as well as small embalming and jewelry tools used for more delicate work.

Holding the crystals in my hand, I one by one held onto them. Focusing myself within, and easily crunching them into smaller pieces. The loud cracking would then be followed by my placement with the tools to grind them down. Crushing them down into very small pieces and almost into just dust of what it once was. The idea is to invest it into the clay, so that the clay itself could be imbued. However, that meant the crystals had to be as small as possible so you didn't have huge chunks of rock sticking out on the face.

Looking over to Asha as I started this process, I pointed over to just a few feet from me. A small seat with a turntable. One that could be used for clay specifically.

"You can do most of the molding there if you wish, The kiln will be just in the other room with rest of the clay works."

[member="Asha Hex"],

 

[Lief]

With the plan of action now in place, Asha took the teapot and the backpack and made her way over to one of the various stations dotted around the place, offering a smile of gratitude across to Ignis as he too sat down to begin work on the crystals. She had already decided at this point that the interior would be resurfaced with the clay, while the exterior would only have a lacquer in order to preserve its ancient beauty. She didn't wish to cover it up, after all, it was gorgeous and the hawk that was visible upon it? Well that made it all the more sacred to her.

Her mind drifted to [member="Darth Lykos"] and for a moment she worried over the fate of the man. He had found himself trapped within the Force, having suffered a death he was unwilling to accept he now lingered on as a ghost. She was genuinely upset that they would not trade tea again, and she hoped to see him in the future even in his ethereal state. Who else was going to call her Keoz?

Filling up a pot with some water, and setting it down beside the turntable, Asha then focused on pulling the package of sourced clay from her pack. It was of course dry, so she dipped her hands into the water and carefully began to make the substance a little more malleable without it becoming too soggy in nature. There was a fine balance, but thankfully the construction work she had done for her hut, by hand, had given her some good skills which would aid her in this department.

"I... Appreciate this," she told him, looking up from her work in order to glance at what he was doing, "You must be sick and tired of seeing the inside of this place by now."

[member="Ignis Imura"]

 

[Ignatius]

Asha began her work. Taking the clay and molding it to better fit the project. Melding it into a substance that could easily be impregnated with the crystals as well as the force. The process wouldn't likely take a whole lot of time unlike forging a blade, but it will be much more consuming of the force. Having to use a different style of forming this tea pot would be difficult if done incorrectly, or even break, or not be correctly attuned. With forging a blade and a crystal together, if done incorrectly, it would just shatter the blade, and thus you could just put the pieces back together. With this, it was more or less all or nothing.

If one piece broke, then we would have to start from square one. That would take a lot of time, that we don't have. While I continued to crush the crystals first with my hands into smaller pieces that could fit into the mortar and pestle, I then would use them to crush into a fine powder. Making sure that it was all about the same size, before dumping it into a separate bowl to keep safe.

Asha then spoke to me. Thanking me for aiding her and while this place may seem boring after quite some time. I smiled with a small chuckle.

"Studying for quite some time without a break, or making weapon after weapon and maybe an artifact here or there, it can get tiresome."

Stopping for a moment, I wiped my hands of the crystal dust into the bowl to make sure that every grain was going to be used in this construction. I then turned around to face Asha as she continued to work.

"Sometimes, even I need a break. However, I am more than willing to help a friend. I would never turn you, Jyn, Arekk, Sahna or anyone down if you required my help. Doing so would be breaking my promise, and be rude to any one, and all of you."

Taking one of the pieces of clay that she was currently not working on, I began to mash it together and to break the shape it was once in so that it could be added to her own pile later.

"However, you came to me with quite the challenge. So I welcome it. Trials and Challenges are meant to test your mind, body, and spirit in many different ways. While this is more of a thought puzzle for me, for you, it will be the real test. You will need to give it everything you got to make sure that this tea pot wont break under pressure, or when attuning it."

Once I had finished with my piece I handed it to her to be added to the pile of clay balls that were already molded and ready to be worked with.

[member="Asha Hex"],

 

[Lief]

How far he had come since they'd first met here on Aurum, back when the City was still under reconstruction and she'd been living out of a tent. How many cups of tea had been enjoyed since that time? How much he and Sahna had developed both together and apart since their awkward first meeting, it really put things into perspective for her. Both of them were nearing the completion of their trials, soon they would be Rangers in their own right.

And yet Ignis had been so uncertain, so doubtful of his place among them, at first. Here he had found a family, he was the brother she had never known.

"You know that it works both ways, right? If you ever need me, no matter what the reason, I'm here. I'll always be here. I'm proud of how much you have grown, Ignis, seeing you step up to the plate here in the Forge, assisting the others with their trials and with training... The Order is lucky to have you. Don't ever doubt that you're meant to be among us, my friend."

When he was done mixing in part of the crystal dust, Asha took the lump of clay he had formed and began to work it. In the same instance, as she made the clay more pliable, she allowed herself to become lost within the Force, focusing upon it and the tiny fragments of crystal which now lay within the clay itself. In that instance she took some of it, whetted it down so that it would apply in a thin yet encompassing layer, and began to apply it to the interior of the teapot.

Her lips moved soundlessly as she continued to focus on imbuing the crystals and the clay which enveloped the shards; as much as she wanted to continue to catch up with Ignis, after all it was so infrequently that they saw one another, she knew that breaking her focus now would be a huge mistake.

[member="Ignis Imura"]

 

[Ignatius]

I smiled brightly to myself at Asha's words. She returned the favor to me. Letting me know that should I ask something of her, she would do her best to meet it. And even more so, adding that I was needed within the Je'daii order. Teaching other students to make items, to forge and to aid in the creation of various technologies. Hearing it not just from the person to introduced me to the Je'daii, but same person who was a friend, like a sister to me, felt even more forgiving of my past. A past where I would sooner throw a childish tantrum rather than act more adult like. My emotions were in check with various help from others. Sahna, Jyn, Asha, Arekk, and even Kinta from time to time. However, most of it, all of it, had to be done by me. I had to do everything.

While I was aided, more than what I thought was necessary, I still accepted it and allowed it to take effect upon me. I... felt empowered by her words. Even as I wanted to respond, I could tell that Asha had began to focus and concentrate her energies within the clay. Staying silent, I continued to kneed the clay for her. Speeding up the process just a tad to have two people working on this. While she herself was engrossed into the project.

After finishing my own piece that I had been working on, I moved over to gently grab the teapot that was required. Setting it carefully down within her reach so that when she required it, she could use it. Once I had done so, I moved out of her way. She was to do this. While I would stand by, and make sure that everything was going all right, I felt helpless. Having the one time I literally invaded Caedyn's body and used his own body to forge the bo staff he now had, or the time where I had done the forging process for Sahna's necklace while she concentrated upon it. I felt like I was sitting here just twiddling my thumbs as Asha clearly knew what she was required.

The best I could do, was be here for support. However, if she needed me to jump in, I would not even think a second more.

[member="Asha Hex"],

 

[Lief]

Her work was done in relative silence.

Part of her felt bad, Ignis was sat doing almost nothing yet just having him there made her feel a little more confident about the whole thing. That and he'd had a great idea about adding the crystals to the mixture, something she would not have thought of. She would likely have simply embedded the crystal in the clay somewhere. It always helped to have a second opinion.

Soon enough the inside of the teapot was coated in the new clay-and-crystal mixture.

The Force continued to flow through the room with a purpose, it was taxing, draining, but the process was well worth it. Whether or not it was successful she would not know until after it had been placed within the kiln to harden... And that was if it didn't crack during the process. It would be weaker until the process was complete, and that genuinely worried her.

Once it was finished she stood from the stool and moved over to one of the sinks, cleaning her hands of the excess clay so that it didn't get all over the workshop.

"Now to see if all of that was for naught," she remarked, doing her best to keep from feeling anxious about the whole thing. It would be one thing if it was a generic teapot, or even one she had just formed herself, but an antique? She would never forgive herself.

[member="Ignis Imura"]

 

[Ignatius]

Once Asha had finished applying the various layers to the tea pot, all I could do was smile. I had felt through the force what she was doing. So far, it looked to be of a solid construction. For this, she was done. Walking over towards the lone sink we had in the forge. She began to wash her hands as I very gently picked it up. In fact, using the force upon my hands so that I would not leave finger prints upon the surface. Slowly, and gently, I placed the pot into the Kiln. While normally it could take hours or even a day or two to completely solidify the clay, I would be speeding the process up.

Still standing there as I closed the lid to the Kiln. It was already hot. Normally the Kiln would be around a couple hundred degrees. Instead, I turned the dial to max. Just barely breaking the thousand degree mark. While this would speed up the process, it could warp the project if it did it too fast. So, in comes me. Simply focusing upon the relic, and preventing the heat from over saturating it, I could slowly back off from the relic as it dried and solidified through heat alone. The process was actually quite taxing. Creating flame and controlling it is one thing. Holding back heat from a very fragile item just enough, and slowly releasing it was likely one of the most difficult things to do.

Such as is with many things, it could take only seconds to tear down a building, or to burn down a forest, but could take months, years, or even decades to rebuild from the ground up. It was this same idea with flame. Igniting things on fire is easy. Preventing items from catching into a blaze of heat and destruction was time consuming just as much as it was difficult. While I normally could sweat just a bit in here, I was dripping with presperation as I focused upon the relic for just a bit longer. Feeling that I was close, I turned down the heat of the Kiln itself to a low setting. Just enough to keep the heat, but not enough to completely burn everything inside.

Once it felt done, I just slouched down to my knees in front of the kiln, and proceeded to take deep breaths.

"Look for... yourself."

[member="Asha Hex"],

 

[Lief]

To say that Asha was confused by whatever it was Ignis was doing was an understatement.

She felt a spike in the Force, the heat in the room around the kiln rose, and his energy levels began to diminish. Her eyes widened in confusion and while she had an urge to step toward him and ensure he was well she knew better than to throw someone off their focus, especially if they were exerting themselves quite so much. To undermine them could do more harm than good, and waste precious time and energy.

So she waited, as patiently as she could, watching him instead of the kiln itself, even as the heat washed over her, even as the Force permeated the room around them.

All at once that tension broke, and Ignis fell to his knees. Rather than go to check on the kiln her immediate response was to rush to his side as he had done with her back when they were testing speeders. They were a clan, a family, and their well-being meant more to her than anything they could possibly fabricate.

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching to her belt to grasp at her canteen of water. Handing it across to him she watched him for a moment to ensure he was well, before turning her head. Her gaze locked upon the slowly cooling kiln and she opened its doors carefully to reveal the teapot. Not a crack in it, they had done well. She left it where it was to finish its cooling process, closing the doors through the Force, and remained at Ignis' side in the meantime.

[member="Ignis Imura"]

 

[Ignatius]

Kneeling down, my head lowered itself out of exhaustion. Using a lot of energy to keep the piece from breaking took a lot from me. Keeping heat away from the body was fairly easy for me with a combined might of Matukai practices, and my ever growing skills of flame manipulation. However, doing it solely upon a pot with shaping alone took a lot from me. I didn't do this very often. Asha had already came to my side. Being handed a canteen of water that she happened to have, I barely grasped it and took a small sip. My mouth was dry, but the energy I spent would have to be rebuilt with sustenance and meditation. I nodded my head almost as though I was drunk.

"I'll be fine."

Closing my eyes, I just rested there a moment. Letting my knees into the dirt covered floor embed itself into my knees and press through my clothing, into my flesh. I felt sore all over my body. It reminded me much of when I first created Oathkeeper. Literally passing out due to the exertion I put upon myself. While I likely put out the same if not more energy, My body was used to it due to almost constant use, as well as that Matukai training once more kicking in.

I reached out and grabbed just one of the firepokers that were strewn across the area and pushed myself up. Using it as a cane of sorts. I groaned a little from standing up. My body was sore. I stretched a little bit to loosen myself to move. Looking over to her, I then indicated with my empty hand to the kiln.

"Go ahead and get it out. The residual heat can still break it while it tries to cool."

Even when I was on the verge of passing out, it seemed I cared more for my work than my own health.

[member="Asha Hex"],

 

[Lief]

At Ignis' urging she pulled the teapot from the forge from afar, blanketing it with the Force as it came to settle upon one of the work surfaces.

For her own part, she did not leave his side. Not until he had taken a drink of the offered water, and pulled himself to his feet. He looked uneasy to say the least, and without putting much thought into the action she reached out and settled a hand on his arm to try and steady him.

"Maybe you ought to sit down," she said, reaching out to pull a stool over to him. Not ideal, as it didn't have a back, but better than nothing.

"You didn't need to do that, I'd rather it crack than run the risk of you passing out from exhaustion. Your wellbeing trumps any project."

Continuing to hold the canteen out toward him so that he could have more of the water if he wanted, she waited to see if he would steady or not. A little fresh air might do him some good, so she settled the canteen down to one side and moved over to the windows of the workshop, pulling one of them open which was directly in line with a fan. Without turning to look at it she flicked on the power for said fan, so that the air circulated around the room and directed itself toward the exhausted man.

[member="Ignis Imura"]