The Ballad of Blades

[Valik]

Through exposure to Daesumnor Valik had learned
Of an art of imbuing a blade with the Force
Though he'd studied the art in time, he hadn't bested
That blade of Merrill's make, causing Valik remorse
For all of the blades of Valik's make
He'd never crafted a blade with equal skill
Thus he sought out the wandering ronin
A man with which he'd dual and craft, for a spot to fill
In the annals of time, the list of peerless blades

To the ronin's path he walked with a haughty gait
He was unafraid of failure, or coming back empty handed
For to be the best of alchemists simply was his fate
At least if one were to ask the man himself
Finding the ronin, but unaware of his and Rave's past dance
He came eager to challenge, ready for the prospect of the forge
Challenging the man, in a game without chance


"I have come to learn, and best your craft
For of all those you've met I'm most up to the task
Of crafting the blade above which all others will sit
And in my product you will surely bask."


[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

The smith merely nodded and
Gazed upon the arrogant man.
He took up a hammer in hand
And laid it upon the forge.

"Of arrogance and pride
You have come to me and
Speak of proposed feats, pried
From my defeated hands.

Take up your hammer, o smith,
And test your mettle against mine.
Let the breadth and width
Of your pride show me their work."

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

Valik spoke not a word, merely prepared his supplies
For the challenge had begun, and it was his work that would show
That his work was peerless
And then Masamune would know
That Valik was of a different breed in alchemical strength

Putting in more and more fuel Valik encouraged the fire
Of the forge to gain more and more heat
As a result the mad alchemist began to heavily perspire
But in the end comfort was a small price to pay
To properly craft a blade that would win the day


[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

The Atrisian smith sat in calm
Contemplation of the task ahead.
The hammer, warm in his palm,
He set, handle up, on the forge.

This was a challenge, a test,
Of forging skill and crafting prowess.
Masamune, though, did not wish to best
The other, but only himself.

The challenger, the other man,
Forged with arrogance, with pride.
Masamune forged with grand
Skill and compassion alone.

It was more than skill, more
Than arrogance or ability.
It was more than some simple chore
Or menial task to flaunt.

No, this was to use the heart
And soul of the warrior, the smith.
To take the two, separate parts
Of the being and make them one through art.

Masamune took the metal,
The Songsteel, before him
And as carefully as cherry-blossom petals
Placed it upon his lap in silence.

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

With the fire gaining more and more and more heat
Valik added the only metal worthy of this sort of duel
The metal which rang with melodies sweet
To be the basis of the blade

Slowly the nugget of steel began to glow
Gaining a slightly red hue
As the fire began to work it's flow
into the metal tried and true

Songsteel was legendary for it's difficulty in the forge
But yet equally renowned for it's strength
And light quality, as if it did not gorge
on density to find it's power

Though the metal was named after a song
The smithy remained in utter silence
As it was no distraction to which the duo belonged
But utter focus in their craft

[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

Silence, patience, and concentration, stern,
Were what, with discipline, made the smith.
Focus on the craft, with skill and grace turn
The metal into art of heart and soul.

Masamune took from the forge a tiny thing.
A small pebble of quartz or crystal
Barely large enough for a necklace or ring
Rolled in his palm, glinting in the light.

He placed the lump of steel
In his other hand and held them
On either side of his lap, the heels
Of his palms pointing to the sky.

The smith began to focus,
His eyes closed as he turned
His mind inward, to the locus
Of the soul.

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

With the heat of the forge nearly overwhelming
The ingot of songsteel began to glow a dark red
But needed to become even hotter still
For if worked too cold it would shatter at the hammer's head

Thus the alchemist took off his shirt
Revealing a scientist's frame most thin
For he needed to feed the fire
To bring the heat up to a sun akin

Slowly yet surely the heat did rise
Giving way to prepare to baptize
The ingot in temperatures higher than the skies
Which would help Valik mold it into the ultimate prize

This creation, this blade born of song
Of which the Alchemist would stake his fame
As a craftsman in ways most irregular
But in control of skills few could claim


[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

Slowly, silently, the crystal grew
And gave off light from deep within.
A crawling process, the smith knew,
But one necessary for his task.

He let the light glow
And let it warm the steel.
Patience and heart would show
Through in the trials ahead.

The crystal inched along
In size most slowly.
Only patience would belong
Within Masamune's forge now.

The glow warmed the steel
And the pebble became larger.
The Force rose up, all could feel,
As Masamune's very being focused entirely.

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

More than the fire Valik could feel
As the smith charged the Crystal with power untold
Though curiosity did find it's way to Valik's mind
He continued his work, for his sword he'd mold

Hotter and hotter the fire did grow
Till the red glow turned into an orange light
Perhaps finally ready to be pulled out the forge
To be shaped by the hammer's might

Not one to hurry Valik left it to heat for a few minutes more
Before grabbing his tongs and extracting the ore
And placing it upon the anvil of the forge
And beating it with his hammer sparks flying galore

For Valik's hammer did beat with strength
Beating the ingot half-way, forming the first ingot's fold
Bending the metal across itself, bringing metal over metal
Causing the metal to come over itself, instilling power to hold

[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

He focused only on one thing,
His mind burning with concentration.
All was focused on the gem, to bring
The crystal to the necessary size.

It was still slow, so slow,
And the process arduous.
Sweat beaded on his brow, but no
Discomfort would stop the smith.

The glow grew bright
And cast shadows on the steel.
Atom stacked on atom,
Molecules were brought to heel.

The crystal expanded, it grew,
The surface shifting and changing.
Only Masamune, his focus growing, knew
What such a thing was for.

The crystal near finished, his gaze
Then fell to the steel ingot.
He kept his focus strong; it felt as if days
Had passed in mere hours.

He would match the steel
To the crystal in kind.
He would carefully peel
Away at the structure to mate the two.

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

Valik could feel the power of Smith behind
His back he turned to spy a gem
Growing and swirling with the power of steel
To make a blade with no true stem

It was an intriguing design Valik would admit
But he couldn't afford distraction, for he had his own
Blade to craft, art to hone
Beating down he continued on the songsteel which shone

After the first fold Valik needed to beat the metal straight
Flatten it down, remove oxygen's weight
To make the songsteel ingot ring true
And let not impurities distract his fate

For the Alchemist's task he could not allow
His craft to be diluted
For even if the Smith behind him made a superior craft
He could not allow his skill to be disputed

[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

Just a little more, a little more time,
And the steel and gem would resonate
As one, their voices speaking in the rhyme
And rhythm of the Force.

The ingot changed no shape,
The gem was far larger than before.
The Force was in both time and fate,
Allowing such a task to be performed.

Masamune harmonized the steel and gem,
Letting both speak with but one voice.
His methods his own, none could ken
His purpose for such things.

When the two items sang clear and true,
Only then did the smith set them down, carefully.
Only then did he pick up his hammer and threw
Flame to coals, igniting the forge itself at last.

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

As Valik beat down on the folded ingot
He heard the sound of a Forge being filled with coal
It seemed the smith first made new metal
Before putting in the forge his soul

Perhaps this man was a worthy foe
But only in time would he see
The other man's progress
In a sword he'd build with glee

For Valik had focus for only one thing
The songsteel which he'd hammer with all his strength
To push it down from it's form
And expand it's length


That Valik might be able
To put it half off the anvil's edge
So that he could hammer it over the side
And create a new fold with his light sledge


[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

Heat and flame roared high
And lit the room and the smith
In fire and heat of nigh
Inferno power and strength.

Hot ash and burning flame
Licked up and out from burning coals
As fortune, skill, and fame
Lay on the line, though he cared for none.

The hammer struck and sang
Aloud and spoke of joyous work
As metal on metal rang
Out through the hot, smokey forge.

Again and again he struck
The metal, less of anger and
More of passion as his luck
And skill and joy flowed from his hammer.

The metal ingot heated and changed,
Though not without reason or rhyme,
And not through blow or strike deranged,
But of carefully placed hammer beat.

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

Twice he'd folded the songsteel now
Yet he was nowhere near done
So on and on his hammer beat
Despite heat comparable to the sun

Where silence once permeated the forge
Now all one could hear was the beat
Of two hammers hard at work
Both trying to complete a sword unique

Down and down went the alchemists hammer
As he pushed the metal flat
Before beginning a third fold
His hammer singing ring and tat

But as he completed his third fold
The action began to wear on him
Though Valik's strength was in his craft
In raw strength he was rather slim

But though his muscles ached
And began to protest
He forced his body through
Wanting nothing more to be the best


Thus onwards did his hammer ring
As his body filed with sweat
And muscular pain
For his mind saw a blade stronger than the whet

[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

Fire and flame grew hot
And stifling upon the senses
Of the smiths who wrought
Art from cold songsteel.

Masamune felt it in his core,
The other smith's power waned.
He focused on his center more,
A pyre of strength was made.

"The forge will tax, it will tire,
And draw upon your very soul.
Slow your passion, stop your ire,
Learn of patience and control.

Focus on the hammer blow,
Match it to your beating heart,
Only then will you ever know
The limits of your own ability.

Draw from me what you need
And finish the task at hand, o' smith.
Follow not a selfish, lonely creed
And smith from passion, not avarice."

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

While the fires of the Forge did still burn
The hammers ring did subside
As the Atrisian began to speak
Not to chastise, but to guide

Now Valik was a Sith, filled with pride
And wouldn't admit his form had been lost
But he was also a man who wanted to learn
And would take the lesson he'd offered with no cost

Thus the alchemist did stop his craft
And rather merely listened
To find the steady beat of his heart
By which this blade would be christened

It took some time but Valik's hammer rose
As he matched his heartbeat to his strike
For the first time not alone in craft
Drawing strength from himself and the Smith alike

For though Valik was a prideful man
He realized it was no sin to accept aid
As now he wanted less to defeat the Smith
And more to create a peerless blade

[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

"Find your center, find your soul.
Find the very coals within.
Let them light, and make you whole,
Let your heart and soul work as one.

The hammer is but a tool,
The skill comes from within.
A blade created by hate, by cool
Rage and icy anger will only bring hate.

Passion, truth, skill, patience will
Create art of renown and glory,
But humility, borne of service, of skill,
Will create honor and legend.

Do as I do, make the blade
As you would a work of art.
Put all your heart, the skill of your trade,
Into all you make.

Do this and only this
And all you do will last eternal.
Live your life in the bliss
Of service, of skill - therin lies immortality."

Masamune's hammer rose and fell,
Ringing the forge-song through the air.
The metal rang like gong and bell,
And the songsteel took form.

[member="Valik"]

 

[Valik]

Valik continued swinging his hammer
As his heart continued to pump
And his ears listened to the Bushi
Absorbing the lesson's lumps

Inwardly he began to search
Not for heartbeat but for his soul
Admittedly not sure what he'd find
As he'd considered the place a hole

But despite wariness he carried on
Looking into the deep unknown
Trying to find what he'd call himself
Stripped of these physical things; alone

What he found was not a murderous Sith
Nor a noble Jedi Shield
But instead he simply saw a child
Wishing to know the galaxy in every field

Curiosity was his most primal description
To know "What?" and "Why?" and "How?"
Endlessly yearning to increase his knowledge
And understand the here and now

Having found his heart and soul
Valik found that his energy renew-
ed. For his task was not to be the best
But to see what he could do

Thus did the two smith's continue to beat
Upon their metal's extremely heated
But in this 'competition'
Neither could truly be defeated

As their goals were less to out-do one another
But to give everything they could
And not succumb to lazines or sloth
Something both smiths understood

[member="Masamune Tametomo"]

 

[Masamune Tametomo]

Masamune felt the other man
Reach his center, his balance,
And took within his soul and hand
The skill and passion of his work.

Masamune was of the light,
This much was true.
A warrior of martial skill and might,
A protector of the innocent.

But he also taught
Those who listened
Caring little for who brought
Themselves to him.

For there was light
And dark in all things.
Nothing was truly right,
Nor was it wrong.

Perception was the basis
For all things discovered.
Violent action or quiet stasis
All depended on the observer.

Masamune taught all who came
To him, to learn or to test themselves.
It mattered little to him of fame
Or status, only the lessons they took upon leaving.

The lesson varied, but the goal
Remained pure and true.
Better oneself, better others, become whole
With heart and mind and soul.

Only then could good become great,
Deeds of today becoming legends of yore;
Only then could darkness become light, good from hate.
The hammer sang on, joy and skill in every ring.

[member="Valik"]