Creation

Sweat soaked their fur. The forging had been one of the hardest they’d ever tried. In part because of the environment. All the work was done in a vacuum chamber to remove any gas that could affect the metal. The heat in the room required for the forging, was hot enough to cook a person. Even with protective gear, Lukas several times had to use magic to restore themself from burns and heat exhaustion.

Magic had been imbued into every piece of the construction during the forging process. The outer shell was made of adamantine and inner workings were made mostly of mithril, and silver. Creating a system that would allow it to self-repair was an exciting and frustrating challenge. Several times it lost control and repaired things it wasn’t supposed to. Lukas was pretty sure the most recent set of instructions would resolve that. But once it was fully active things would be easier to investigate.

For the last three days Lukas hadn’t left their warehouse as they were so close. Master Marissa Silverstone-Collins had stopped by to check on them, and after seeing Lukas’s state she had arranged for Lukas to be excused for the week. Some of the SkyBound Inn’s staff had stopped by to ensure that Lukas had food and checked on them. Their visits were like ghosts passing by as Lukas was so focused. The most recent visit reminded Lukas again that they need to send Mira a note about their next planning session. Taking a few minutes, they scribed a note and stepped outside to find a runner. Once back inside the door their focus returned fully to their project. Their work was ready to be removed from the forging chamber.

Releasing the wall clamps, air filled the chamber. When the pressure was right, Lukas cranked the wheel that opened the doors and revealed the Steal Defender. Already it was a sight of beauty, but there were lots of places they could improve. Taking a special cloth and a container of alchemical mixture, they began to clean it. The chemical would remove the residue from the forging process while preparing it for the final enchanting process.

A few hours later things were ready. Lukas had placed their creation in the center with several machines designed to charge and empower it. When activated, each channeled a beam of raw elemental power. Lukas was careful to balance each with their counterpart. Feeling the energy in the room grow they tapped into it, guiding it.

All seemed to be going right, until Lukas realized there was a problem. Their memories of this process showed it was going to fail. There was a gap, something that was missing. Lukas refused to fail. They refused to let this world win again. Pushing back on the universe with their will they forced it to accept their desire. Their body began to glow, and that glow extended out to cover their creation. At that moment, they knew the problem. It was risky but they exposed their true self to the creation and the magic accepted it.

Happy that it had work Lukas started to pull everything back in when they found they couldn’t. Part of their inner self was stuck to the creation. In a moment of panic Lukas use all their willpower to pull back as hard as they could. Pain to levels they rarely had known flooded them as something ripped. They collapsed on the floor, the edges of their vision going black.

The las thing they saw was the creation move on its own, it stepped forward and stood over Lukas. Lukas looked up at it and spoke the odd thought that occurred to them, “You look like a Bernard to me.” Then the world went black, and their head hit the floor.