From Blood to Stone

[Zeradias Mant]

War Forge Obsidian
Echol'ya System

Drawn to the allure of the newfound Mandalorian Empire, Daeron found himself on it's capital planet of Echol'ya, looking to craft himself a personal weapon. While still adept in the Force, he did not yet have a lightsaber, nor did he fancy one at the moment. He wanted something more unconventional - a staff. He'd be foolish though to ignore the practicality and strength of a lightsaber though, which is why he's still acquire one when the time was right.

He waited for one who had agreed to assist the young Mando in his undertaking of forging the staff. [member="Gael bar Ammon"] was one of few elders in the Empire who'd served all across the galaxy. His story was one oft untold, but the story was out there nonetheless.

A sound whirred overhead and gradually slowed. It must have been the senior Mando's shuttle. Daeron calmly paced around the single-roomed building for a short while before making his way to the door. He exited the building and looked to the roof. Attempting to protect himself from the glaring sun, he saw what appeared to be a shuttle and the silhouette of a man reaching inside to grab something.

"bar Ammon?", he called up.

 

[Gael bar Ammon]

War Forge Obsidian
Echol'ya System

"bar Ammon?", a voice called up.

Backing from his shuttle, he peered down onto the ground to see who called. "Aye, that'd be me." Struggling to carry everything, he called the lad to the roof to help him. When he reached the open door of the shuttle, Gael handed him a large halberd and shotgun, while he took a blade and bracers for himself to carry. Gael shut the shuttle hatch and motioned for them to move on. Daeron led the way.

"Got the stuff from an auction. Came free with some Beskar armor I won, if you can believe that.", Gael said with a chuckle as they climbed down the stairs on the side of the building. As they rounded the turn, he saw the doorway almost immediately after. Passing through it, he set the gear on the nearest empty table. Daeron turned from where he was to place the Phrik weapons on the same table.

After taking a deep breath, he warned Daeron. "I told you before, son, there's better people out there that can help you with this."

 

[Zeradias Mant]

Daeron could scarcely believe what the gray-haired veteran was telling him. Phrik was a revered material known for it's lightsaber resistance - why anyone would just give it away was beyond him. Nonetheless, he had it and he wasn't about to complain.

He probably had enough material in the halberd alone to make the electostaff he wanted, everything else was just a bonus; or an insurance policy, should they royally mess up. It shouldn't come to that though, Daeron knew. He trusted the old man. "No, I want you to help me."

"Right.", he started. "Should probably melt these down, huh?" As he asked, he grabbed the fighting knife and made his way to the furnace. He feigned ignorance - he wanted to take the halberd right away, but he had to make sure Gael at least had a clue what he was doing. A senile elder screwing up his trademark electrostaff was not something he wanted done.

 

[Gael bar Ammon]

Gael was pleased to hear that despite his lack of excellence in the field, he was still trusted to guide young Daeron through his journey to build himself an electrostaff. Daeron broke the silence by suggesting they start by melting the weapons to extract the ore from them. He reached for the knife and made his way to the intense flames. "Wait, Daeron!", Gael called out. Daeron stopped and turned to face Gael with a somehwhat worried expression. Gael hadn't used too harsh a tone, had he? Even if he had, it shouldn't have phased the boy. They were Mandalorians, and Mandalorians were to be feared, not fearful - or so the legends say.

Rounding the table, he picked up the halberd with one hand and walked toward Daeron. "Use this. It has more material. We may not even need to use the other items. We'll have more use for them in their current state as opposed to a block of metal."

He handed the halberd off to Daeron, who in turn placed the long staff-axe into the superheated oven and closed the door. Most electrostaffs were an alloy, but this one would be pure Phrik. Despite the smelting taking a short while, it was long enough to drive him mad from boredom. He was excited to see the result; there could be only one, but it was like ordering something from the Datanet - you knew it was coming, but you were excited to get it all the same.

"That should be long enough.", Gael said. Daeron opened the lower oven door and dragged a bowl of hot liquid out from underneath. Luckily he was wearing protective gloves , otherwise the damage to his hand would be unrepairable. One-handed Daeron didn't exactly have a ring to it either.

"Now pour it into the molds.", Gael instructed. After they cooled, they'd have all the parts they needed. Then they could bring them to an armorer for assembly and modification - both functionally and aesthetically.

 

[Zeradias Mant]

Daeron did as the elder bar Ammon had instructed him to do so. Prior to his arrival, he had arranged the molds for each component of the staff in neat order. The burning bright liquid poured into the casts slowly. Daeron did so to avoid any air bubbles which would then render their efforts thus far moot.

"I'll tell the armorer we're almost ready.", Daeron said. Gael nodded in acknowledgement.

Leaving the old man to wait out the cooling parts, Daeron made his way to the armorer down the road. He entered and peeked his head through the door. Not seeing anyone at the counter, he was about to shout, before he was greeted by one.

"Ye?", the shout called.

"Daeron!", he identified himself. "Parts are almost ready, we'll bring them over soon!"

"Olright.", the shouted back. "Hurry up now, I dun wanna stay 'ere all day!"

Daeron just caught the armorer's final words before the door came to a shut behind him. Despite the warm temperature outside, it felt like he was in a freezer. He didn't quite realize how hot it was inside the forge until he was about to return to it. As he entered the forge, he noticed Gael pouring more ore into the casts.

"Did...did I do something wrong?", Daeron asked Gael hesitantly. He knew not what the old man had done in his brief absence.

 

[Gael bar Ammon]

The Kryze boy had been gone a while. Growing more bored by the second, Gael let his impatience get the best of him. Checking the molds, he came to find them cooled and ready to be freed from their respective prisons. It took a decent while to crack them open and remove the warm metal without leaving imperfections. He didn't want to sit waiting again, so he slipped on the protective gloves one by one and went to check on how much liquefied Phrik was left. A bit surprised, Gael found there to be enough to create a second staff. It would have to be shorter, but a shorter staff nonetheless.

After reassembling the casts and retrieving a new one for a shorter staff, he poured the remaining molten Phrik into the molds. Just then, the door opened and Daemon entered. On his face was a look of both shock and confusion.

"Did...did I do something wrong?", he asked nervously.

Looking up from the small stream of Phrik, Gael looked at Daeron to calm him. "No, lad. We had enough Phrik for a second staff, so I took the liberty of making another. It'll be smaller for certain, but it'll function just as well."

After he finished pouring the remainder of the liquid Phrik, he set the kettle down and removed the gloves. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he started picking up the pieces. "Come. Let's bring what we have to your armorer for assembly."

 

[Zeradias Mant]

"Come. Let's bring what we have to your armorer for assembly."

Now confident that things were going smoothly, Daeron didn't second guess Gael nor did he question anything. He was ready to have his electrostaff completed. He was ready long ago, and he could scarcely believe that today was the day his desire would finally be satisfied. Picking up what pieces he could, he cradled them in his arms as he made his way to the door. Gael followed.

The walk down the street was the longest walk of his life. He had just made a round trip that route not ten minutes ago, and it already seemed like they were taking double the time of one way. Were the old man's limbs failing him? No. Despite the gray hair and wrinkles filling in, he still looked like he'd be able to knock him his ass with one swift hit.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally arrived at the armory.

"We're here!", Daeron called out.

"Oi, I'll get there when I get there!", the voice called back with an attitude. It was typical of the armorer to give his younger customers a harder time. Dae figured it was just him breaking them into Mandalorian culture. Daeron and Gael placed what components they had on the counter and waited.

Several minutes had passed, and Gael was growing visible impatient. "Hurry up.", he warned. A sudden bang could be heard, as if the sudden shout startled the armorer and he hit something.

"Boy, I told you I'd...", he grumbled loudly as he made his way to the counter, cleaning his hands with a rag. "Oh, my apologies ser, I'm used to the young ones harassin' me. Don't get much veteran folk out here often."

With a grunt, Gael subtly acknowledged the man's apology. Daeron couldn't tell as to whether or not he'd accepted it or not. Frankly, he didn't care. He'd be getting his electrostaff today.

 

[Gael bar Ammon]

Gael grunted as the armorer mustered an apology. He could tell he was sorry, but only because he was caught. Gael grunted in acceptance of the apology, but only because he didn't want the man karking up the electrostaff. It was to be clean, it was to be pure, it was to be perfection.

With crossed arms, he leaned over to Daeron's ear and whispered. "I'll grab the smaller pieces. Don't tell him."

Just as fast as they arrived, he disappeared. Sitting around and waiting was something he clearly couldn't do, so he decided he'd do something. He could use the exercise, keep his legs at least somewhat nimble. Technology was great and he was rich, but sometimes the simplest solutions were the best solutions. Recognizing the forge from the shuttle atop it, he turned into it and took the cooled parts out. He checked for imperfections, and when he found none, he gathered the parts in his arms and set forth back to the armorer and Daeron.

 

[Zeradias Mant]

He had to think of a name for his staff, staffs if bar Ammon had intended to give the second to him. It didn't take long at all. Daeron knew what he wanted to call his primary weapon. He wanted it to be inspiring yet frightful. He wanted the very mention of it's name to instill hope in those who needed it and fear in those who would face it. Knightsbane.

Some time later, Gael had returned from the the forge and dropped the pieces on the counter.

"We'ra closin' soon. Come back tomorro-ah!", the armorer shouted from the back room.

"Me again.", Gael shouted back in a teasing tone. The armorer could be heard letting out a quiet shout of frustration. "Kark..." It was going to be a late night for him.

Daeron sat in the main room on a simple chair, waiting eagerly for Knightsbane to be completed. After an audible grunt and a short slide on metal, Daeron heard footsteps. The armorer walked to the counter and rolled his eyes as he saw the components for another weapon. Once he reached the counter, he revealed the staff. Daeron's mouth nearly dropped from awe.

Knightsbane was a beautiful metallic gray with shiny gold inlay accenting the entire staff, save for where the electricity would be discharged. With a push of the button though, it shrunk to half it's size. The grizzly man behind the counter seemed to be very proud of that feature.

"Puttin' it together was the easy part. Everything else, not so much. Nothing I can't handle though."

Daeron approached the counter excitedly to and reached for Knightsbane. He the subtle button and out shot the ends. A hum filled the room as a purple electricity appears on both tips of the staff. He twirled it in his hands and noted it's remarkable balance. It was perfect.

 

[Gael bar Ammon]

"Now, uhh, I'm afraid we'll have to discuss cost. Quality don't come cheap.", the armorer said nervously. It seemed that Gael had intimidated the man. While Gael thought he didn't have a very fearsome appearance, he had admittedly been rather passive-aggressive with the man.

"It's gonna cost ya 20K for assembly and another 150K for the modifications. Since you're bringin' good customer, got another staff, let's call it square at 250,000 credits."

Gael didn't have a problem with it. He was rich. "Fine.", he said curtly. Pulling out his datapad and entering a few numbers, he paid the man digitally. "Have the small one sent to my acquaintance here. I paid a little extra for your troubles."

The man's mouth gaped open as he saw the number. Stammering, he replied. "Ye-ye-ye yes sir!"

Gael turn to the excited Daeron and placed his hands on his shoulders. "You take care of that now.", he said with an authentic tone. Without further comment, Gael set off to return from whence he came. He was old, but he was far from retired. As the door shut behind him, the electrostaff's humming ceased and a gentle breeze blew on his face. It had been a productive day. He could use more of those.