The eagle awoke to find his surroundings...different. Eyes blinked open with the groggy sort of slowness that accompanies only the deepest of sleeps and all he saw was a wall of sparkling orange. For a moment he didn't realize what he was looking at, but then his brain slowly awakened behind his body and he jolted back to awareness in a moment, alarm sending his head shooting up. He'd been kidnapped! He'd been caged!!

His gemstone smacked right into the top of the chrysalis, shattering it instantly. Surprise had him struggling back, wings flailing and breaking off more of the crystal, flinging them around the cave. He scrambled upright, and not too gracefully, kicking himself free of his prison, breathing hard and heavy as he coughed up the last of the amniotic fluid.

Great, he'd made quite a mess, huh.

He stared at the crystal remains with disdain, feathers ruffling as he tried to check himself back into reality. What had happened? The last he remembered he'd been settling down for a nap after finishing the last of his armor - a task he'd obsessively labored over for days and nights with no sleep. And now here he was, in some dark, unfamiliar cave with the remains of his chrysalis all around him.

His eyes took a moment to adjust to the dim lighting. There wasn't anything within - only the light from the outside made anything visible. The interior was musty, smelling like old leather and smoke, and dust raced up his nostrils, immediately sending him into a sneezing fit.

He stepped forward and instantly felt a talon touch something metallic. He looked down and was surprised to see one of his tools - a hammer - resting at his foot. But that couldn't be right...he'd been holding this when he stumbled back to his nest. He remembered dropping it right before...he.....

Realization came suddenly. Alarm, again swept him through and he squawked with dismay, fluttering over the hammer and forward, where he knew the forge was supposed to be. Sure enough, the huge shadow taking up the middle of the cave was his forge...but it had gone dark.

He stared at the hole in the machine for a moment, where magnificently bright fire and light and heat once spilled from, before throwing back his head and loudly crowing, "OH NOOOOOOOOOO!" He felt like his heart had shattered - his forge! His forge had gone dark!!

Ember had spent most of the day in Monoceros. He'd already seen the forge--he had Sir Hammersly clamped in one forepaw, and the hammer had gone on and on incessantly (directly into Ember's thoughts) about how THIS forge was better-made, and better-used, and how clearly a better overall blacksmith had used it. Then the enchanted blacksmith's hammer had switched to complaining about whoever had run the forge, in an exact about-face of opinion that allowed him to bitch about the maximum of stuff: how the former owner had let it go dark, how it didn't have enough space for work, and so on.

Ember disagreed with all of that, naturally, but Sir Hammersly tended to find things to complain about. It was just his way; he was like a grumpy old man, but when Ember really needed help--or when he was hard at work at his forge--the hammer was actually supportive and useful, in true grumpy grandfather fashion.

He'd only come here to look for blacksmithing equipment, anyway--and given how dead the forge was, he might've taken the hammer if he didn't already have one. As it was he'd paced through, checking it over with interest and wondering who it'd belonged to. The old work left behind he'd left alone; that was someone's effort, and not his to take.

Then he'd gone about searching the rest of the cave for those metal scraps that he sometimes found wedged into dark corners of the canyon (he'd long ago picked through all of Tunnel J--not that there was nothing left there, but he hadn't seen anything useful in awhile).

When he heard the distant 'OH NOOOOOOOOOO!' he was some distance off, airborne, scanning the crags of a cliff face for anything of interest. His head whipped around.

'WUZZAT?' Sir Hammersly barked in his mind, and given how silent the hammer had been, Ember got the impression it'd been asleep. A black mouth corner curled up in a smile. "I don't know, but let's find out?" he suggested, turning and flapping large white wings in that direction.

"HELLO?" he called out. Whoever it was had sounded distressed. He hoped they weren't in real danger--but the only way to find out would be to find them.

To his surprise, as he came in sight of the old forge again, he realized the voice sounded like it'd come from here. Had he done something to damage it-?

He thumped down, padding over with clicking claws to the entrance of the forge again, hammer held up against his chest. "Hello?" he called again, then stuck his hulking head and shoulders into the cave entrance. His silhouette was large, but his voice, soft. "Does somebody need help?"

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The sound of someone arriving in his cave was, at first, completely ignored as he continued to screech and flap about his cave, crowing at the horrible state that his cave had fallen into - the forge had gone dark, the smelter had gone cold, there was dust on everything, there was rotting food and furs that had been left out, oh what a mess!! But then the shadow fell over him and he turned sharply to face whoever was intruding on his dramatics.

He wasn't put off by the huge shape or the predatory face - no, he'd faced bigger! he was friends with a dragon, after all! - but was more annoyed that someone had come to him in this tragic moment. He puffed up at that question, neck feathers bristling as anger welled up faster then water in a ditch. "Help? Do I need HELP?! Oh, I don't know, if you can magically bring back wood and coal that had been burning for cycles and cycles, tended to carefully by a master for all that time! If you can reverse time back to whenever the hell I sat down to sleep!! I don't need help! I need my forge back!!"

In a sudden fit of rage, he snapped forward, grabbing the nearest tool (an old pair of pliers) and flung them violently against the wall. The metal slammed loudly against stone, sending out a spray of rock and sand as it dented the already scratched and smoke-stained stone. Without pausing to wonder if the stranger cared or was listening at all, Glory continued his rant, pacing angrily around his cave. "Do you know how long I cared for this forge? How long it had been burning without end?! My whole life!! 30 cycles, at least, maybe longer! And now look at it, it's gone dark! This is devastating!! I'll have to start all over - new coal, new wood, I'll have to reshape the whole thing and clear out so many cycles of old charcoal burning over and over again! It won't even be the same forge anymore, it'll be like I'm cutting its heart out, oh I cannot believe this! Will my pieces ever be the same again, will they have that same character and beauty without that old coal burning beneath? And all because I wanted to take a nap! After days of working on-" He cut himself off, wide eyes somehow going even wider. "My armor! Where is it! Did anyone take it?!"

He whipped around and immediately began searching for where he'd left each of the pieces. It didn't take long for him to find it, thankfully, sitting right in front of his completed pieces. Bright, polished steel with gold plates, complete with chains and beautiful designs. He inspected the helmet up close, balancing on one leg as he held it in the other and peering at it closely with one eye. "Hm...doesn't look too bad. A little dull, but that can be fixed. Good thing nobody decided to steal it." He seemed to be talking to himself, having completely forgotten that Ember was there.

@Ember

Ember stared, nonplussed, as the eagle went on a raging rampage--angrily yelling, flinging things (well, one thing) about... It was so impressive that even Sir Hammersly, until then complaining loudly in Ember's mind about it all, fell silent with what the hybrid sensed was approval. And then, at last, 'he has pride in his tools. A true craftsman!' Probably that was followed with insults, but Ember did his best to tune it out.

"Uhhh," he said at last, dropping down to sit on his haunches. "I have a forge, too. I mean--this one's better than mine," he added, glancing around. It was definitely more professional, shaped by someone who knew what they needed in order to work. "But if you need help setting back up, I'm not doing much? And I should be able to find what you need." He almost added--almost--that he could fly, which would make things faster, but then it clicked that Glory himself had massive wings.

So, not really a helpful bonus.

Still-! He was here, he had nothing else to do, and the poor bird seemed quite distraught. "I'm Ember," he added, quiet. "But, of course, if you'd rather I leave, that's fine too." He didn't want to impose, especially when the stranger seemed so terribly upset. He tried, too, to make a light to make up for his own shadow cast over the forge's interior, but it flickered and went out, so... also not really helpful.

He looked around, again; he couldn't imagine putting this much work into something, only to have it fall dark and cold. It didn't seem like it'd be that hard to repair--it wasn't shattered, just... dirty--but it was still effort the eagle had put forth.

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He carefully inspected each piece of armor in turn, carefully running a claw over each scratch or dent it had acquired in his sleep (thankfully, not many), but Ember's voice broke him out of his thoughts. Anyone else, maybe, might not have been able to stop Glory from an obsessive check over all his best work, but the phrase "I have a forge" gave him pause enough to stop his check and look at the wolf, truly look at him for the first time.

He looked him up and down. Not a regular wolf, obviously. He had wings and horns (like Dread?) and his feet were huge, like they could be used like hands (Glory had always been a little jealous of hands). And he had a tool with him - a hammer. Here stood before Glory another blacksmith. And not one taught by him.

He carefully set his armor down and turned towards Ember fully, giving him his full attention. The roar of fury had died down to interest, although he still felt the pain of his lost forge. "You...have a forge? You are a craftsman, like me?" He nodded to the hammer. "Did you make that?"

He looked at his forge again, wistfully, and then straightened himself up, taking a moment to finally calm himself completely from the shock of his awakening. He glanced towards the tool he'd flung across the room and felt a streak of shame for his childish behavior. "Ahem, ah, you will have to excuse me! I...lost myself a little bit there and fear I've made a bit of a fool of myself. I am Glory!" He opened his wings a bit. "Perhaps you've heard of me! Or...well, I don't know how long it's been. Or maybe my name never left the tongues of my clients, in the end."

He folded his wings back and sat back on his talons, deflating a little. "I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to fire the forge again, but...it will not be the same. It will be a new flame. There is a soul to it, when it's been burning long enough. The pieces had character. But...I suppose there is no use crying more about it. What's done is done."

@Ember

Ember blinked at Glory's initial question, flaming eyes darting to Sir Hammersly. He laughed, a little, and shook his head. His incoming answer, though, was interrupted by his own thoughts: he fell silent, watching Glory's slow look around.

At length, when it seemed the eagle had ahold of himself, Ember began his answers, starting with a greeting: "It's nice to meet you, Glory."

"I didn't make it. Him," he corrected, to the immediate tirade in his mind. "Its--his--name is Sir Hammersly. There's magic in it, and he teaches me, a little. He says you're right about a forge having a soul?" He gave a little shrug. It wasn't something he remembered the hammer ever saying to him, before, and-

He blinked again.

"That probably sounds insane. Do you want to hold it?" he offered, lifting the hammer out. "He's--talkative," he added, in warning. The object's personality was grouchy, its purpose to smith, and generally its advice was overwhelming criticism (and reluctant, less talkative approval) of bad and good practices, respectively.

"I am a craftsman, though," he went on, trying out the word. "I suppose, at least. I'm still learning. Mostly I enchant what I make, so... my metal's not great, yet, but the magic's there. I have a chest to hold things that can float--the chest floats, not the things in it, I mean--and a whetstone that glows, so I can see what I'm doing in the dark." When a forge fire wasn't there and lit, in other words. He nodded to the armor that Glory had inspected, then, interest clear in his face. "You made those, though? They look good," and it didn't matter if they were scratched or dusty. They were more than Ember had ever done. "I've reforged broken metal--do you know The Blacksmith? The one in Leo? He taught some of us," and thinking back, Ember couldn't remember having seen Glory there.

Did that mean Glory had learned from the Blacksmith some other time--or, a more fascinating prospect, that the eagle had taught himself? Ember hadn't gotten very far that way, but if someone else had, it meant they were far more skilled than he was.

He stood, shaking out his fur a little. "Anyway--is there something I can help with, here?" His words were still soft and somewhat shy, but friendly. "You didn't make a fool out of yourself. I know how much work you must've put into this. I can see it," he added, confident at least in this as he glanced around again. "So if you want help cleaning up, I'd be happy to."

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Glory stared at the hammer, not quite understanding how a hammer could...talk. For a moment, he wondered if Ember was out of his mind, but then again, he'd seen some strange things in these caves! Hell, he was a damn bird that had taught himself to blacksmith! A magic talking hammer was far from the strangest thing these caves could conjure.

Intrigued, he hopped forward and held out a talon to grasp the handle of the hammer. He immediately began to hear the voice inside the hammer - Sir Hammersly, as Ember called him - and bristled with surprise. "Incredible! Where in the caves did you get him? If I'd had such a teacher when I first began...well, he is a valuable tool, regardless." He handed the hammer back, with much more care then he had taken it, although he knew rationally that it was a hammer and dropping it would probably do no more then make the voice grouchier then it already was.

There were words that Ember said that it seemed he assumed Glory would understand, but he did not. Enchanting, first, was said casually, like it was simply another skill and not something that Glory hadn't even thought possible. Had Gembound always been able to enchant? Put spells and powers on the pieces they create? Why, if he had known that was possible, he would have learned a long, long time ago! And then there was another word - Leo. Was that a new group? Or some newly named place in Orion or Polaris? Again, it was passed over as if Glory should understand what and where that was. How much had he missed when he was asleep?

"You enchant things? That is fascinating! How did you learn to do that? Can you enchant anything, or is it some magic you put into the smithing process? I would very much like to learn, if you are willing to teach!" At the praise for his armor, he stood up straight and gave a firm nod. "Thank you! I spent many sleepless nights creating these. In fact, they were the last thing I remember creating, before I fell asleep. I must have worn myself out far too much."

"And this...Blacksmith that you speak of, I don't think I've met him, but I would like to! Although I don't know what or where this Leo is. Some kind of new group? Are they all craftsmen?" That would be interesting, actually! Perhaps there were other like-minded creators like him! So few in the time before had dedicated themselves so deeply to an art as Glory had.

He looked back at his cave, still with a sadness in his eyes at the forlorn forge, and realized exactly how dusty and messy this whole place was. "Well, if you're offering, I could probably use some help. Clearing out some of the useless bits and maybe...finding some new coal for the forge. I will need to get it started again as soon as possible."

@Ember

Ember waited, smiling briefly as Glory first took the hammer and then bristled up. He laughed a little as he took it back, nodding. "Well--as to where I got him--he... there was a stone, one that popped up in Polaris, if you know it? It was yellowish and purple, and if you made a wish at it, the wish would come true, for a lot of Gembounds. I told it I wanted to learn to smith--to be a great smith, someone others would come to for help, for armor and weapons. It gave me Sir Hammersly. He's taught me a lot." In his head, grumbling silence--a sort of gratitude, he recognized, for the... well, recognition.

Ember pushed up, then, dutifully moving to help Glory as requested. He answered the eagle's other questions as he began to pull fallen rocks and dusty scraps toward the door. "I could probably make charcoal," he mused; "I'd just need some wood. As for uhh--" (what had been first?) "...Enchanting? Yeah! You... sort of prime the armor, with a surge of magicka. You'll feel when it's ready. Some magic can then be sort of... hm. Imbued, I suppose, into the piece. The spell lingers there. I don't know if everything would work, or what it all would do, but... If you have something here, I could try to enchant it now? Something you wanted me to show you--how it works?" Ember's soft words were awkwardly phrased, his bright and fiery eyes cutting up toward Glory almost shyly, again. "I can make it so armor makes it quieter when you move, instead of louder. Or make it so a weapon strike has more... force? I can make things glow, or glow and give off warmth, or sing. Ahh--give off soft music, sort of. Or make things float," he added. "I haven't actually enchanted anything in a long time--it's very draining--so I could probably do one now. But it's like you said with ahh--overworking yourself--I think if I did too many at once I'd fall asleep too," he explained, glancing again at Glory's armor pieces.

He piled up another piece of scrap, and moved as far as he could fit toward the back of the forge, careful not to get in Glory's way.

"The Blacksmith is really nice. He lives in Leo and--that's a cave, not a group. Oh! How long have you been asleep?" Ember asked, pausing to peer sharply back at Glory. Realization had hit him. "I don't know if you actually know? But a few more caves were... well, they were behind barricades and now they aren't. You can go to them, now. Leo's a big... it's islands, water, a sea? And a volcano. And underneath the volcano, if you go down into the tunnels--they're very hot--there's a huge space to forge. A lot of anvils, forges, old armor, things like that. The Blacksmith--he's very nice--he has a smaller workshop higher up, where it's not so hot. He teaches anyone who asks, I think." Ember--in the middle of setting down another chunk of scrap--paused to peer thoughtfully at Glory.

"You know, I don't think there is a group of craftsmen, but... it wouldn't be a bad idea. Anyway, though, if you'd like to meet the Blacksmith, I could always show you the way to Leo?"

His tone was easygoing, friendly; it was rare for him to find a kindred sort of spirit, and the idea he might have someone to 'talk shop' with was exciting.

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A distant look came into Glory's eyes as he imagined a stone that granted wishes. What would he have wished for? Maybe...a better supply of materials. Or maybe a forgehand. Or...hands. Yeah, that would be nice. To have an extra set of limbs to help with his crafting. He was used to using his two talons, sure, but it would always help to have more, like Ember had. "If only I'd been awake for that. I would have definitely asked a wish or two of mine. That's some pretty awesome power, to grant wishes and make things appear. I once knew someone - he would grant requests if you did something for him, give out magical items and such, but he was a sketchy sort of guy. They always had a drawback." He shook his head and turned to begin cleaning, as Ember had started.

With a final, wistful look, Glory perched on the edge of the forge and began to scoop out the cold ashes with a makeshift shovel that had been leaning up next to his contraption. As he worked, trying not to breathe in too much of the black dust that began to kick up, he continued to converse. "Yes, charcoal is definitely much easier to get then coal, although coal does last a little longer. Either works, though." He paused for a moment, considering Ember's offer and glancing towards his set of armor. "What about making things lighter? I like to wear my armor, of course, but many of the pieces get heavy, make it hard to fly. Do you think you could make that happen? That it weighs much less or even nothing at all?" Maybe it was a stretch but...he was excited about the prospect. If he could don his armor and have it weight nothing well...he would never take it off!

He clacked his beak. "If you can't, that is alright! You don't have to prove yourself if it is too draining! But I would love to see it sometime. You can enchant something for yourself, if you like! Anything from the cave - except my armor, of course." He gestured towards a small display of nicer things - a few weapons, mismatched pieces of armor, and some jewelry - necklaces and rings and the like.

He continued with his cleaning, now pushing the pile of ashes to the edge of the cave and pushing them over the edge (hopefully there was nobody standing below). As he returned, he paused, the news sinking in, his eyes widening with shock. "...More caves? Truly? How many? How long ago?" A feeling, again, of missing out took him over and he bristled with a flash of anger. Only towards himself, for sleeping through so many important events! "I have no idea how long it's been! But when I was last awake, I'm sure there was no Leo!" The description of it, however, had wonder shivering across his body, feathers ruffling from the excitement that it brought him. Anger melted away and yearning took its place, to see Leo and its sea and volcano, whatever that was supposed to be. But most of all...

"Forges? Old ones? Created by masters of the craft, I assume? Are there are blacksmiths working there, creating armor and weapons as well?" He was standing, now, not working, all attention focused on Ember and this new door of opportunity. He needed to see these forges. The anvils and the metals and the volcano where it was hot enough, perhaps, to keep his forge burning for a long time. "I must see them! Will you show me the way?"

@Ember

Ember considered the description of the 'sketchy' guy, but didn't comment, instead listening as he finished up the last of his cleaning. He listened, too, to the magic Glory hopefully described.

Ember considered, then reluctantly shook his head. "I don't think I know how to do that," he admitted, a little disappointed that he couldn't fulfill the eagle's wishes. "But-... the Blacksmith might. He can enchant things, too," he explained. "Maybe he can teach me that spell. If there is one," he amended. He hoped so: "It does sound useful," he agreed.

Now he, too, had a reason to go see the Blacksmith--so he was sort of pleased when Glory asked if they could head that way.

"Yeah, I can show you! It gives me an excuse to go see my lifegiver, too. I don't see him very often," he added, thoughtful. Pride had raised him, and he lived with Pride--and his stonegiver was long dead--but his lifegiver lived all the way out in Leo, and Ember simply didn't go there all that much. "I don't know who created the forges," he went on, picking Sir Hammersly back up and slipping back out of the forge, squinting a little against the brighter light outside. "Maybe the Blacksmith did? I didn't actually see anyone else working down there, except those of us who were visiting him."

It occurred to Ember to maybe invite Spark along to Leo. "Do you mind me stopping in Orion quick? I should ask my child if they'd like to come, too, if you don't mind someone else. They can fly," he hastened to assure Glory. He wasn't even sure they'd want to come, but best to ask; he'd hate to just not ask and find out later they were disappointed.

Assuming, that was, that Spark was even in Orion at the moment.

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