ORIGIN

Glory had not, in fact, left his cave. Actually, he hadn't step foot outside since the day before. He had what he needed - a stash of food and water set for himself when he felt like staying in and working. Seeing the eagle step from his cave maybe once a day was, really, fairly normal Glory behavior.

It had been oddly quiet, though, in the last few hours - no hammering, no scraping, just soft rustling from the wide cave that marked Glory's home and workstation. He was sitting in his nest, talons and beak working through bits of leather that he was stitching together - all from the nearby tunnel, cleaned and polished to be reused in his work. He'd heard Dread outside, and voices, but he hadn't paid it any heed. If they wanted or needed him, they would come for him.

He paused, however, when, at last, a voice called his name. He didn't really want to get up, he was quite comfortable sitting here just working, but he thought that he should give them the courtesy of an answer and his presence. This was why he didn't get out much - why talk when you could just work and make art?

He set down his leather and got to his feet, joints aching from being in the same position for the last countless hours. He hobbled to the mouth of the cave, steps growing more comfortable as he went, and stepped outside, giving his wings a small stretch to chase out the ache (and, also, to show off his magnificent feathers), before his attention fell on the child.

She was about as tall as him, standing up straight, and her appearance was so surprising to him, that, at first, he said nothing. It wasn't her body, really - he was, after all, good friends with a dragon. He'd seen Naskital and his sled, and he'd fought Svarog as a child. Perhaps nothing would surprise him anymore. No, the thing that was surprising was what she was wearing. He'd made armor before, but not with cloth. With plates. Metal plates. This didn't look like it would protect against blows at all. Why was she wearing it if not for protection.

He quickly regathered himself, though, and stood taller, his head raised. "I am Glory," he announced, although a small shadow passed across his face when she called him "Dread's friend". Was that all he was known as? A dragon's friend? "And who are you? A friend of Dread as well?"

Glory regarded Siren for a moment, thinking. Did Dread really even have friends? Sure, Glory called himself a friend of the dragon but their relationship mainly consisted of Glory dumping most of his unwanted creations into Dread's hoard for the dragon to admire. Since, of course, they were all pretty and shiny.

As for Siren, he quickly got over his momentary disappointment, reminding himself that, at least, she'd heard of him from somewhere and had thought to seek him out. She'd even paid Dread to have him fly her over here. That was something, at least! It wasn't exactly the entire caves coming to see him, but every customer he had was another opportunity to show off and work his craft. "Siren," he repeated back. "It's good to meet you."

His eyes widened and he realized what she was asking. Or, at least, assumed that she was asking him. He'd tried out apprenticeship long ago - the falcon, Gea, had wished to learn, but it hadn't lasted a very long time. She wasn't cut out for the same kind of metalworking that he did. But perhaps, this more dexterous creature would have an easier time. And she was still a child, after all, she would grow larger.

A smile sparkled in his expression. "Ah, so, you've come to me to teach you, correct?" His chest feathers puffed proudly. "I do have a forge! I made it myself when I was only a little older then you and I've been enhancing it ever since! If you'd like, I will show it to you!"

Glory waited for the creature to respond, a little impatiently. If she wanted to talk to him, she should at least have the courtesy of staying awake! At least it wasn't a terribly long pause, but her answer was enough. There were all kinds of stuff in the tunnel - weapons, armor, trinkets and oddities and Glory had learned to shift through them, find the best, and repair them or make them into other creations. "Yeah, they are not pleasant to look at but they are good material! It is easier to use steel and iron already created and forged then make your own from raw ores!" He wasn't going to start an explanation on the process of smelting, however much he wanted to, more out of respect for Siren's sanity then anything. He could have easily spent multiple hours explaining exactly how everything worked, but he forced himself to stay calm and wait, for now. "A knife? May I see it?"

He was pleased to see her reaction to his forge and it seemed to boost his mood as well, as his tail shivered a bit. "Ah, through many long hours and work, using many materials and stones and my own magic! Of course you may see it, but be careful not to knock anything over! Many things within are precious tools or projects in progress." He opened a wing and gestured to his cave, intending on letting Siren go in first and walking in behind, mainly to keep an eye on her so that she didn't touch the dangerous things or mess up his neat organization (which, to most everyone else, looking absolutely nothing like organization).

Glory gazed down at the little knife that Siren presented him, but he didn't take it, simply tilted his head to look at it better through one of his eyes. "Hm, yes, if you wanted to actually use it, you'd need a good polish and a sharpening. Perhaps a new hilt." He stared at it for a moment more before he moved away to allow Siren to step into his cave.

He followed her in, keeping his eyes on the little creature as she poked around. At least she seemed to be taking it all carefully - he didn't blame her, though. The tools scattered around and the junk piles probably looked a little hazardous. It wasn't really something at the forefront of his mind, considering he spent almost all of his time in here. "It's hot because of the smelter and the forge! I work a lot so they're burning most of the time."

He eyed her carefully as she got a little close to the smelter. While the handle of the door was relatively cool, most of the metal plate covering it was blazing hot and a single touch would burn the shit out of her delicate fingers if she wasn't wearing gloves. He stepped forward a little nervously, but continued speaking in a level, confident voice. "That is where I melt things! It is called a smelter. It's not fire that's inside, it's lava. When you heat rock up enough, it melts. Like how ice melts into water when it gets warm. It's very, very hot. Probably the hottest thing in the world!"

Glory gazed curiously at Siren's hands. Well, he certainly would have liked to have thick skin like that! His own legs and talons were covered with a variety of burns and the skin underneath his feathers, when revealed, was discolored and scarred from various accidents and spells gone wrong. It would certainly have been nice to be heat resistant from the beginning! "That is good! It is a rather simple spell, quite painful if you don't have the proper protection, of course. But you are on the right path!"

He paused, thinking back on the terminology he'd used in front of Siren. Why wasn't it just called a melter? "Well, because it has other purposes as well! When I first made it, I made it to smelt things. Smelting is when you extract metal from an ore, which is like a natural form of metal. I also use it to combine metals, which uses the same word. It is very similar to melting, but it is different." He shrugged. "Smelting is tedious. You don't get much from an ore. I just use the scraps in the tunnel now, or use what I already have," he opened a wing and gestured to the large piles of junk that filled up much of the cave.

He chuckled. He was having the time of his life explaining all of this to Siren. So very few ever came into his cave to learn his craft, and even fewer had the patience for more than a simple explanation. "When you're making a knife, you don't use melted metal! The smelter is for extracting metals, combining them, and melting down softer materials, like gold. I once tried it before - it was difficult and the final product was weak and would break easily." He stepped away from the smelter and gestured to the forge in the center of the cave. "That is when you move to the forge. You heat metal enough so that it is softer and pliable, but not enough that it melts completely. You use a variety of tools and such to shape it the way you like. It takes a while to learn how to wield these tools correctly, but you can do anything once you've learned!"

When Siren asked of creating lava, he considered explaining it to her, but a moment later decided that it would be best to show her what he had done. He stepped over to the junk pile, reached in, and pulled out a small rock that he placed in the center of one of the clearer areas of the cave. "I create lava with magic! Fire magic is very dangerous, especially if you don't know what you are doing, but the results are worth it, I would say." He began collecting saliva in his mouth, moving his head around a bit as the magic began the inside of his mouth. He shuddered for a moment before his beak opened and he projected a glob of pile that glowed white-hot. When it came in contact with the rock, there was a loud sizzling sound and the light died down to the same color as the lava within the smelter and the stone puddled on the floor, bubbling slowly. "That is lava. It is very hot, but it gets the job done. That's why my cave is so hot." He glanced over, eyeing the wooden hilt that peaked out of her belt. "A hilt can be made of whatever you want. Some are metal, some are wood, some are stone, although I wouldn't recommend stone. I can teach you any of these things!" He stood taller, genuine happiness gleaming out of every inch of his expression.