A Practical Guide to Forging
Author: unknown
A Practical Guide to Forging for Young Dwarves
Place/Gathering Discovered: Svartalvheim Date: November 21, 1015 Transcribed by: Kwido Sedna This tomb contains the information needed by novice blacksmiths to first grasp the basics of the Svartalvheim forges, and how to use that information in order to create Heilvapin. Heilvapin can only be forged from the empowered ore that can be mined here in Svartalvheim. these blessed weapons could not exist if it wasn't for the mystic nature of our homeland, or the skills that we dwarves have honed over countless generations. [decorative image of anvil shapes filled in with Celtic knot designs] This ore can be found in five different varieties here in the depths of Svartalvheim, differentiated by the veins of color in the rock. Raudrolót are the stones tinged with red Grœnnayttr are the stones tinged with green Blærde are the stones tinged with blue Yoseydir are the stones tinged with yellow And rarest of all, Gullgrjot are the stones that have veins of silver and gold set within. Gullgrjot can be used in the place of any of the other colors of ore during forging. All of these magical ores are used in the forging of Heilvapin, and each is unique and irreplaceable in the design of these weapons. Because of our immortal war with the black elves, the secrets of how to forge Heilvapin must remain protected. To that end, we have devised way [sic] to encode all of our forging patterns, and in order to learn how to forge you must come to learn the way to read these secret blueprints. All Heilvapin patterns involve arranging nuggets of ore on a ten by ten grid, etched into the forge itself. It is rarely the case that every part of that grid will be filled, but the number and placement of each kind of ore must be exactly correct in order for that weapon to be created. [If you are familiar with picross, you can probably skip the next six paragraphs, counting the ones I've added.] On the top and side of the grid, the code for the pattern of that Heilvapin will be placed. The code gives you two vital pieces of information. The numbers and colors of all of the ore that needs to be placed in the row or column of the grid that lines up with the numbers. The numbers themselves indicate how many consecutive pieces of that color ore are in the row, and the order of those colors as well. So if a row was to have the numbers 1 4 2 then the placement of ore in the row could be one of the below examples. [The number were blue, red, and green, in that order. Four examples are given. A row of 10 squares has coloured dots corresponding to coloured numbers. The first dot from the left is blue, the next four a red, and the last two are green. There are no gaps between the red dots, and there are no gaps between the green dots. Different examples show gaps and lack of gaps on the ends and between colours.] These are but a few of the possibilities that that combination could yield. Because the pattern does not revel [sic] where the gaps between colors are, or how big those gaps are, you can only truly decode the pattern if you compare and contrast the numbers on the sides with the numbers on the top. A correctly solved pattern will satisfy the conditions for both, as shown below. [A ten-by-ten grid is shown, with coloured numbers along the top and left edges. Many squares in the grid have red, blue, green, and yellow dots, making a picture of a sword.] When the entire pattern has been filled out, strike the forge with a smithy hammer. As a novice, the simple hammer that you have been given will do little more than allow the Heilvapin to meld together and form if the pattern is correct. More advanced smithy hammers, however, give their wielders abilities that can make the forging process easier. If you strike the forge, and the pattern is incorrect, the magical nature of the forge will reveal to you which columns and rows need nor be altered. Beware, however, if you were to strike an incorrect pattern too many times, the forging of the Heilvapin will fail and you will lose all of the ore you are committing to the task. If you strike the forge after all of the ore has been properly placed, the magical energies will gather together and the ore will disappear, leaving behind a completed Heilvapin in its place. With these rudimentary instructions, you now have the most basic understanding of how to use a Svartalvheim forge. They are easy to learn, yet mastering them can easily consume the long lifetime of a dwarf. Good luck, young one. [decorative image of a dwarf's head] |
Created by Kwido (Pi Fisher) at 05-28-16 07:43 PM
Last Modified by Kwido (Pi Fisher) at 05-28-16 07:43 PM