RP:The Kings Armor
- Kain Shannarra creates a custom order for Royal Armor. Commissioned by King Parsithius with a special custom order for the King placed by Queen Jacklin.
Location:
Kings Steed Ecru Boots
March 25th - 27th, 2011
Using the same 'odd alloy' as before, Kain used a mixture of titanium and mithril for the main body of the boots, then realized that he wasn't for sure as to the size of Parsithius' foot.
Shrugging, he continued on, working a rough tread into the bottoms for good traction, and a strong heel, with a slight notch on the inside portion to catch and hold better in the stirrups, yet not so much to cause the stirrup to get stuck there.
Melding the top portion to the sole portion, he incorperated the same locking groove technique as before, then added the outer alloy for the proper coloring.
Deciding that a touch of flair wouldn't hurt, he etched in some interresting looking, yet abstract, artwork. Buffing them to a near mirror shine, he set them aside, and wrote a note to his partner.
While there hadn't been a request for any enchantments, Kain figured there wouldn't be any objection to a dwemeanor that ensured a proper fitting. After all, too small would certainly be a bad thing, and too large could be both uncomfortable, and potentially dangerous.
As Kain was finishing writing the two letters after packing away the just finished armbands, Aedin arrived. "Hello Kain, I got your letter."
Kain nodded, dropping the new letter to Aedin, and opened the trunk with the King's armor set. Whistling as he saw them, Aedin cracked his knuckles and smiled. "Time for me to earn my part." Weaving and working his magic, he went through and enchanted each piece so that they would automaticly resize themselves to most perfectly fit on Parsithius when worn. As an unforseen bonus, this also reduced the time needed to don the armor by a few moments. As he finished, Aedin smiled and nodded. "Very nice, I hope he likes them."
"Aye, me too," Kain said, folding up the letter to Queen Jacklin. "We'll find out soon enough."
Original Message from Kain: Aedin, I know work has been slow as of late, but I can use your help partner. I recieved an order for several pieces of armor to be made for King Parsithius, and I don't have proper measurements for everything. Could you enchant a few pieces with a spell to ensure that they fit properly?
Kain
Purple-Trimmed Mithril Armbands
March 27, 2011
Lastly came the armbands, and Kain designed them mentally as he was finishing up the pauldrens. Starting with ultra pure copper, he carefully worked it into ultra thin wires, barely visible, and little thicker than a strand of hair.
Once he had enough, these were woven into an almost wispy looking mesh, then set aside. Now he worked the mithril, pounding and folding, heating and reheating, imbuing with extra durability, and then starting to curve them into shape.
Setting them back in the forge to reheat, he started heating gold, silver, and lastly a few grams of very rare green gold.
Withdrawing the mithril, he created a shallow divet around the edges, then worked a design into the main face of the band, using the gold and traces of green gold to accent the Larket symbol on each armband.
Purifying the molten silver, he extracted the very purist few ounces, then powdered it to dust. Storing the unfinished project, he trekked to the Hammerhand cavern under lower Craughmoyle, visited and updated his master teacher on his progress in his training, then purchased a number of good, clear amythests.
Returning to his forge in Larket, he crushed the amythests and mixed in the powdered silver with the tiny chip fragments.
Using the nearly invisible copper mesh, he secured the amythest chips around the edges of the armbands, with the silver dust helping to reflect more purple shine through the burnished copper, even in reduced light.
Giving the whole project a good buffing and polishing, he wrapped them in cloth and secured them with the rest of the order.
Writing two identical letters, he informed both Aedin and the royal pair of his progress.
Eagle Insigna Plate Pauldrons
March 27, 2011
Selecting several smaller ingots of good mithril, along with several even small ingots- one of gold, one of platinum, and one of preklek metal.
Getting the forge extra hot, he placed the mithril on top and preklek metal on bottom, then let them heat. As the mithril reached the right temperature, he pulled it out and split the ingot, then heated the two halves again before pounding them into fairly thick sheets.
Heating them again, he imbued the metal with additional durability, then began curling them into shape.
Putting them into the forge again, he withdrew the preklek metal and split it, then pounded the pieces into thin sheets before swapping them with the mithril again, adding an ingot of titanium as he did so.
Working in some more detail, he began the process of shaping the eagles, and lowering the metal around it.
Putting them back into the forge, he switched to the titanium, that would be used for the chainmail at the elbows. Now the preklek metal came back out, and he opened the center of each sheet, working the holes into a rough bird shape. Then it went back into the forge, and he again worked more detail into the pauldrens, using careful taps and a chisel to create a raised eagle on each forearm.
Sliding the platinum into the top area of the forge, he removed the preklek metal and carefully cut the bird shape to fit snugly around the raised eagles on each pauldren, then set it into place, wrapping and securing each band into place.
Adding the gold to the forge, he carefully etched into the preklek metal, creating thin and shallow twisting 'ribbons' around each forearm.
Pausing to take care of a customer, he accepted payment from Allanon. Walking over, he pulled out and unlocked a different trunk, then pulled out the wyvern and frost drake leathers he had ordered. After concluding his business with the elf, he turned his attention back to the groves in the preklek metal.
These were filled with gleaming platinum, which brought a striking contrast to the gleaming black of the preklek metal, and flanked the eagle 'tying' the raised ensignia to the arm.
Then Kain used the gold on the beak, wing-tips, and talons of the eagle.
Lastly, he set a tiny emerald in the eye of each eagle, adding just that extra touch of flair while avoiding any risk of it becoming gaudy.
Getting them fully buffed and polished, he wrapped them in cloth and carefully tucked them away with the rest of the armor.
Kings Reign Ecru Gauntlets
25 March, 2011
The following morning, Kain started on the last of the ecru pieces, the gauntlets.
Once again, he heated the forge, carefully selecting ingots of mithril that he knew were smelted down to incredibly high purity.
Once again, he took the time to hammer it out, fold and pound, and imbue the metal with additional durability. He knew this order would go a long way toward convincing his master teacher to continue his training, and teach him the next of the Hammerhand forgecraft techniques.
With the mithril ready, he started shaping the pair, working each piece with keen precision that so many hours of practice had instilled in him.
Setting aside the main pieces, he next heated a smaller ingot of titanium, which he would use for the middle chainmail portion of the glove.
Taking his time, he spent the rest of that evening hammering out tiny loops and meticulously connecting one after the other. Pausing late in the night, he took in a small dinner, then slept on his hammock at the smithy.
Resuming his work the next day after breakfast, Kain quickly completed the first chain glove, and set to work on the innermost portion. By lunch, he had the first gauntlet fully completed and second chain glove mostly finished.
Pausing to get some fresh air and mid-day meal, he stretched and walked around Larket for a few minutes, drank an ale with lunch, then headed back to the smithy to resume the meticulous task of connecting link after link.
Finally, with both gauntlets formed, he stoked the forge once again, and found he was actually a bit short on tin... Puzzled for a moment, he chuckled at his initial experiments, then shrugged and just added a bit more gold to this batch of 'odd alloy' producing a more yellowish hue, as compared to the boots and greaves.
Once again, he carefully cut shallow, yet sharp, grooves into the external portion of the gauntlets, then secured the thinner layer of alloy to them.
Buffing them to a gleaming shine, then wrapping them in clean cloth, he added them to the chest with the other pieces.
Kings Law Ecru Greaves
March 24, 2011
Unsure at first how to get the color correct, Kain decided if needed, they could be painted. Then he got to work bringing up the temperature in the forge and selecting ingots. Iron was grey, steel more silver, as was mithril and titanium. Copper had more a brown color, while gold was yellow...
A grayish to pale yellow or light grayish-yellowish brown could be achieved, he was sure, with the right mixture of metals. He just had to determine how much of each, and then, if he would use that for the whole thing, or as an outside layer, with a stronger alloy providing the real protection inside.
After about half a day of experimenting and testing, he came up with a strange bronze / electrum mixture that seemed to fit the color requirements.
"Oi, dunno what this alloy would be called, 'r even if anyone ever made such a mixture b'fore," he chuckled with a shrug.
Deeming it to be too weak to provide satisfactory protection, he opted for a mithril / titanium alloy for the full greaves, with the 'odd alloy' on the outside to provide the proper shading.
Things went pretty quickly after that, with metal being heated and folded, extra durability being added, then the metal was formed and shaped.
Special attention was given to the knee joint, with chain-mail providing the needed flexibility between the heavier shin and thigh plates.
Pausing for a late dinner, Kain carefully cut locking grooves into the greaves, that would hold the outer sheet of 'odd alloy' tight, giving the appearance that it was all of the odd metal.
With that completed, he took and polished it well, then decided it was a bit bland, so he etched in some flair that would help imbue the image of the King, keeping the already completed cuirass 'centerpiece' in mind as he worked. Buffing the completed pair to a nice shine, he wrapped them in cloth, put them away, and flopped into his hammock, not bothering to go home that night, as it was already only a few hours until sunrise.
Larket Emblazoned Mithril Cuirass
March 24, 2011
After a few moments of thought, mentally remembering and measuring King Parsithius, Kain nodded to himself and started heating the forge.
Selecting several ingots of mithril, he also brought over an ingot of titanium and one of gold. Stroking his beard, he pumped the bellows a few times, then slid in the mithril to heat.
While it softened, Kain took a stick of coal and sketched out a few rough designs on a blank wall space. Wiping away the ones he didn't like, he debated on the two that remained.
Pulling out the heated mithril, he began the work of pounding it thinner and flatter, folding and shaping, re-heating and reworking until he had two sections that were fairly wide and tall. Using his forgecraft texhnique, he added additional durability to the already strong metal sections.
These he re-heated and began merging, bending as needed, linking and flexing at certain points, as the chest protection began to really take form.
Now the rough armor, gold ingot, and titanium went into the forge, and Kain returned to the wall, drawing up another design. "Aye, now that be worthy 'o a king," he muttered to himself with a nod.
Drawing out the heated armor, he began carefully denting in the front, making first a rough outline of the Larket signet, then fine-tuned the symbol, making sure not to go too deep, or to disturb the inside surface.
Next, he took the titanium, and added in cross shoulder, chest, and waist-bands, to allow for maximum stability, while keeping the full weight off the shoulders.
With these in place, he used the rest of the titanium to provide additional accent and strength around the large signet, before carefully pouring the molten gold into the grooves and allowing it to cool and fully set before turning to the remaining work.
Tough leather and thick wool padding were added to the inside, to provide a bit of cushion against the kinetic force of attacks it would stop, while providing both warmth and comfort.
A heavy duty polishing was done, bringing all the silvery surfaces to a near mirror shine, then a light touch of paint on the flair of the signet to really bring out the details of the design.
Once it was fully dried, he wrapped it lightly in cloth, and set it in a chest, then took a meal before writing a letter to Lady Larket, informing her that the first piece was completed, and he would continue work on the set the following day.
With that, he headed home to get some well-deserved sleep.
*Special Order - Kings Dominion Mithril Halberd*
March 28, 2011
Kings Dominion Mithril Halberd
Working at the small forge in his basement, Kain pumped the bellows, bringing up the temperature.
Starting with a 3/4 inch diameter, 6 1/2 rod of titanium, Kain coiled two lengths of mithril alloy around it to form the shaft of the weapon.
One of the coils, bluish in color, was meticulously worked into the appearance of an icy serpent, while the other, more of a reddish orange in color, was crafted into a flaming serpent.
Twisting tightly around the center shaft, the serpents ran in opposite directions, constantly overlapping, and tight to each other to provide both appearance, grip, and thickness to the shaft.
The blade was worked into the shape of a blazing fireball streaking forward, with the shaft running through the center, tails of flame forming the back hook / spike, and the entwined tongues of the serpents twisting into a nasty double forked spike at the top.
Engraved into each face of the blade was the signet of Larket, with gold highlights around it to bring the 'flames' more into focus, while also creating a 'border' around the signet.
Finally, along the edge of the blade, Kain embedded thin flakes of diamond scale, giving the extra durable weapon an incredibly fearsome edge.
Finishing the work, he buffed and polished it to a gleaming shine, wrapped it carefully in cloth, then packed it into a crate filled with straw.
Loading it onto his wagon, Kain hauled the wagon to Larket's Fort, and informed the captain of the guard to make certain that it was delivered directly to Lady Larket herself and nobody else, with a warning that it was private and anyone opening the crate or failing to deliver the crate would suffer the wrath of Jacklin.
The guard captain paled a bit, then saluted and sent a runner to discretely inform the queen that a private crate had arrived for her from Kain