It was easy to find a metal band in the trove of junk, a nice round think that definitely was too big for him, but it was just for practice, right? To see if he could do it? He rolled the band towards him and held straight against the ground with his claws. He aimed carefully - if he messed this up, he would seriously hurt himself. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Glory began to collect saliva into his beak. Using magick straight from his gem, the bile began to heat until it was almost unbearable, which was when he spit it straight for a point on the band.

It landed perfectly, not even a little splash touching his claw. He waited a moment for the extreme heat to soften the meddle, which was when he leaned down carefully, plucked the gem in his beak and every so carefully set it into the middle of the softened band. He pressed it down gently and continued to hold the band upright until it began to cool. It took a painfully long time for him to be confident to set it down and lower his talon but it was worth it.

As the glow began to fade from the metal, happiness and excitement flared in his chest. It was a band now set with a small sapphire stone. It looked professionally made and it made Glory so excited that, suddenly, every single piece of metal, every little gem had the potential to look the same. The concept was so unique to him, so exciting, that he had to do it again and start his forging career immediately.

Unable to resist doing it over again, Glory leaned over and pressed his beak to the ground, channeling magicka through his gem into his beak and into the ground. The stone above him compressed and, this time, he practiced shaping it. Instead of just a simple, rough circle, he formed it into a well-cut jewel. The ruby that rose from the ground in front of him was nicely formed, round, smooth, and bigger then the last one he had made.

He turned back to the junk pile and fished out a circular sheet of metal and brought it back to his new gem. He sized up the gem to the plate and nodded. This would do. But first, he had to make more gems to go with it.

Glory tapped the ground again, almost as if he were knocking on a door, and yet another gem was created before him, this one a lighter moonstone. It was smaller then the other one, but cut just as cleanly as was just as beautiful and glimmering. He set it down on top of the sheet of metal and imagined three more just like in around the ruby in the middle. He could use his fire to scratch some engravings in the empty spaces and then it would be a nice, glimmering decoration. A beautiful piece, as long as he didn't mess it up.

Once again, with a stab at the ground and a push of magic into the rocks, another gem solidified itself in front of him, just the same as the other moonstone. He was starting to grow weary from all the magic, but he pushed himself to keep going, at least until he made the other two. Then he could rest before finishing the piece.

He picked up the second moonstond and held it to the plate. It was coming together nicely and he started to plan out what kind of engravings he was going to do. Perhaps some elegant swirls and patterns. It had to be symmetrical, of course, or else it would be totally ruined.

Glory could feel his magic straining, his body begging for him to rest. But he willed himself to continue, to squeeze more magicka into the earth. Another gem rose, not as perfect as the others, but it would look the same on the plate. He took a deep breath to steady himself as his heart beat faster from the strain. This was good practice, good for his endurance. He would need to be stronger in the future, be able to cast more magic for longer. This was so difficult, casting so many spells. What if he had to be in a battle and cast just as many?

With the last of his strength, Glory pressed his beak against the ground and formed the final moonstone gem. He picked it up gingerly and placed it against his metal plate before collapsing next to it, taking great breaths to try and steady himself. All of his magic was spent, but he had achieved what he wanted - five crystals sat before him, one a beautiful ruby and the others small shiny moonstones. Yes, once he'd had a rest, he would definitely be finishing the job. With a small sigh and a smile, he drifted off to sleep.

*exit