Anvil-Breaking

Because of the reliance and importance placed upon Forgecrafting in Isturoth, the creation and introduction of a new anvil (which will likely last decades, if not centuries) is a momentous occasion worth acknowledging and celebrating.

Execution

After weeks of work, a new anvil can be ready to be introduced into the production process. Before it does this, however, it must withstand one final kind of tempering. Different regions will have slightly different details, but the larger idea behind the custom remains the same: either a large boulder will be dropped down on it from a large height, or it itself will be dropped onto a boulder from high up.
The concept is that it is a massive first strike dealt to the anvil, stronger than any that a single hammer could make, and if it survives this then it will withstand any amount of hammer for years to come. If the boulder or rock should break/shatter, this is considered extremely good luck and the anvil will be held in very high regard.
If the anvil itself should break, it will reflect very negatively on the blacksmith who led its creation, and they will have to shamefully repair the anvil until it can be tested again.

Participants

It will likely require multiple people to move either a boulder or the anvil itself to a higher altitude, the crafter who is responsible for the anvil's creation is ultimately overseeing the testing of the anvil's strength. It is their reputation that will ultimately be at stake, depending on how well the anvil performs in its trial.

Observance

This is one of the many traditions that is gradually fading from regular observance due to the present industrialisation of the kingdom. Mass smithing has meant that anvils will either be mass produced or not used in the process at all, so it becomes impractical to stress-test every single anvil that is made and then deployed in a factory.

Related Ethnicities

• Isturian