Gwen gathered her courage as she approached the forge, a steady ringing echoing from within. She could do this. Enveloping herself in a shroud of confidence, Gwen opened the door like the place belonged to her. It was a typical forge, nothing special, or at least as far as she could tell. All the tools looked alike to her. Her focus was immediately drawn to the source of the noise. A shirtless Gerald had his back to her, his hammer pounding out a steady rhythm on the anvil. The hammer fell twice in a shower of sparks before he turned toward her.

"Gwen," Gerald said simply. It was both a question and a greeting. He was so cool like that.

"H, hey," Gwen said, then scolded herself. She couldn't afford to fumble her words here. "I didn't get a chance earlier to congratulate you on becoming a true cultivator."

He just looked at her, then gave her a slight nod. "Same."

Argh! How did he convey so much with a single word?! Quickly, she pushed herself to ask the question on her mind.

"I was going to head out for my attunement. Want to come along?" She was sure he would give another profound single-word answer.

"No."

The reply was simultaneously crushing and final. Gwen's heart sank, but she didn't let it show.

"Why not? We're both liquid cultivators, so we should stick together. Nothing could stop us."

"Busy."

Gwen frowned at the response. What could convince him? She looked around the forge for inspiration. There was nothing that made what had happened immediately obvious. She'd heard the rumors but dismissed them. A kin of Gerald's renown would never fuck a human. However, the signs were there. The place was a little too clean. A few touches that only a woman would think of. Then, there was the smell. She didn't notice it at first. It was faint, over a day old, and partially covered by heated metal, but it was there. It seemed to get stronger the longer she breathed in. The reek of sex tainted with that of a human.

"YOU FUCKED HER DIDN'T YOU?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D SOIL YOURSELF WITH A FILTHY HUMAN!"

Gerald didn't yell. He didn't appear to get angry at all. That was not his way. He instead gave her a hard look that did all the shouting for him.

"Out."

The word hit her harder than any rant. She wasn't even worth more than a single syllable in his mind. Why did she think it might be different? She was sure he was flirting with the human to make her jealous. Gwen never considered he actually wanted the bitch when he could have her. Rage combined with disappointment almost overwhelmed her. She clenched her fists, trembling slightly in fury. Then she suddenly went cold. The darkness called to her like it had many times. She would feel better if she let the monster out. Why was she trying to be normal? That wasn't for her. The violence, the pain, those could make her feel alive again. Make her feel whole. It would fill the void. She foolishly thought Gerald could do that. No, he wasn't the answer. Out there, mages waited for her… special touch. They were the way. All she had to do was answer the call. Why shouldn't she? The mages all deserved to die. They were a blight on the land, just as terrible as the mists. She was the cure. That was her path. With the thought came the final piece of clarity. She knew what her attunement would be, what it had to be. What her destiny was.

Gwen turned and left. She didn't storm out. The coldness burning in her wouldn't let her. Gwen moved like a puppet on strings. She could feel alive again once her claws were parting flesh. Nothing would be real until that time. Gwen moved in a daze past kin who congratulated her. She ignored them and went to the supply room. The Magebane said that she could take anything she needed. The items she had in mind would help in numerous ways.

The stock room was a deep underground tunnel with a series of shelves. All were packed with various goods from the mana forest and those taken from various mages over the years. In front of the expanse, a rabbit-kin sat behind a desk, cultivating. Gwen slammed her fist down, startling the cultivator.

"I want a dozen mana-dampening shackles…"

***

Gerald stared after Gwen for a long moment before returning to his work. He wasn't great with words. Perhaps he could've made things go over smoother if he had spoken more than a single word at a time to her. Perhaps not. Gwen was difficult to deal with.

He shrugged, turning back to his work. On the table lay several pieces of metal. Primarily iron, with a few rarer pieces scattered throughout. Most astounding was the orichalcum and the small bar of mythril. He looked over the metal fondly before returning to the forge. Gerald lifted a small piece of heated iron that would soon be a hoe for a local farmer. He didn't use tongs to raise the heated metal. Instead, he used his ki. It was difficult. The metal wobbled as it floated toward his anvil. He nearly lost control before setting it down atop it. With his favorite hammer, he began pounding away with gentle taps. Last time he'd splattered the metal all over the place like butter. He had to get his strength under control. Azura seemed to have a natural instinct for ki control. Perhaps it was because she spent several years folding her mana. Gerald and others had only needed two with their smaller pools. Or it could be the result of her naturally awakened pool? No matter. He was getting better. Besides, he always concentrated best when working. As his hammer steadily rose and fell, he thought about his attunement. There were a few good choices to achieve his goal as a ki smith. The first was obvious, 'metal.' It was here, right in front of him. He regarded the piece he was working on, which was now squashed.

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Gerald sighed. At least he hadn't ruined his hammer and splattered the metal all over the forge like last time. This could be salvaged. He began lifting it with ki when he stopped thinking about his second choice for attunement, 'fire' or 'heat.' It was an indirect choice for his path. Any good smith could tell you that heating the metal well was almost as important as the metal itself. Almost. He released the squashed metal and instead sent an extra surge of ki into his arm down to his hand, reinforcing his natural ki flow. Hesitantly, he reached out and poked the metal. He waited to see if he'd burn. The heat was intense. Yet it rolled off him… or off his ki. Amazing. Gerald looked at his hand. It was coated in a glove of ki that flowed continuously out of him and back in. He confidently picked up the squashed metal and dunked it in the water bucket. Steam hissed around his fist as the water boiled. He wanted to laugh, but a hot gust of steam pelted his face. If he were still using mana, he would've been badly scalded. Perhaps not so badly if his pool was inverted, but still. With ki constantly flowing through him, all he felt was damp. He removed the metal from the bucket and placed it on the table with the other pieces.

He looked at the gathered metal like an audience judging him as he considered his third choice. He had this idea for a while but was unsure if it was possible, 'creation.' He'd been thinking about it since Hamal told him how Azura's ki had changed. Now, he didn't know if he could do it. Azura said that he would cultivate the essence of his attunement. That had three parts: physical, magical, and spiritual. He didn't think creation had a physical part. So, he had two choices. He looked down at the metal that seemed to call to him. In each one, he could see the possible shapes take form. The potential of what each piece could be. With that realization, he had his answer. Metal it was. It was a simple, straightforward choice that fitted him perfectly.

The decision made, Gerald proceeded to the final part. He reached inside, drawing a single piece of his solid ki out. Or, he tried to. The resistance was so fierce that he lost control, the ki slipping from his mental fingers. Gerald blinked. Azura had made it look easy. Perhaps he wasn't giving her enough credit.

Gerald took several calming breaths, focusing his attention as he would when cultivating. He once again grasped the ki and brought it forth. This time, Gerald was ready for the resistance. The ki fought him as he gradually drew it out. Sweat that the forge's heat couldn't force out of him began dampening his fur as he refused to yield. It took nearly a minute to move the ki out of his body. There it was. Gerald marveled at the glorious speck similar to what Azura had used on him. That seemed a lifetime ago. Then he placed the ki onto the first piece of metal.

He waited. Then he waited some more. Gerald frowned. Why wasn't anything happening? Then he remembered. Azura had placed her ki into the bodies of many kin. Perhaps he needed more. Gentle Gerald removed his ki atop the first piece of iron, then onto the next. This time, he forced the ki to burrow inside the metal, exposing it better. He expected some difficulty. Surprisingly, it easily sank into the metal block. Gerald frowned as he looked more closely. There was a small, pin-sized hole. The metal had offered no resistance at all.

"Damn…"

Gerald focused on the solid ki as two faint possibilities grew. He frowned. They were small and indistinct. He couldn't tell them apart. They were too similar. Perhaps he needed more. Gerald moved his ki to each piece of iron. Each time, his ki became grayer as the two choices grew in potential.

Gerald realized it wasn't potent enough. Then he moved on to the orichalcum. The difference he felt was immediate. One of the choices grew enormously while a new one was added. Gerald was intently focused on the one that was growing. Yes, this was it, metal. Perhaps the other two were specific to the metal itself? But why did the orichalcum have such a massive impact on his attunement? The iron had barely affected it earlier. Maybe the iron was too weak. What was the difference? Perhaps the orichalcum had more of the 'essence' than the iron? Yes, that seemed likely. It was a more magically active metal. Then…

Gerald regarded the small bar of mythril, telling himself it was for his attunement. Regardless, he felt terrible about damaging the valuable metal. Gerald did it anyway. The ki gently sank into the metal. The ki rang out to him like his hammer on the anvil. It was not an ear-splitting noise but one that he found comforting. The ki resonated with a deep part of himself.

Son of the hard earth? Is this who you are?

Gerald hesitated. It was close. He could accept this, but he didn't want to. He wanted more. Gerald picked up his favorite hammer. He was about to turn to the forge to think, but then he paused. Gerald looked back at his ki with its unanswered question. Instead, he asked it one. Will you join me? He moved the ki to his favorite hammer with surprising ease, allowing it to enter its head. Then he began to forge. For long minutes, he hammered away, shaping the metal, creating. A subtle change was made to the ki with each blow. As the metal he was shaping changed, so did the ki. It wasn't a violent or forceful change, but willing alterations to better fit the cultivator who wielded it. When Gerald finished the simple metal hoe, his ki awaited him. The question that it had asked was now altered.

Is this what you seek to forge? Is this who you are?

"Gladly," Gerald said. He wasn't sure what had changed, but it felt right as the altered potential became reality. Immediately, he lost control of his ki as it sped home. Before Gerald could do anything, the ki was back in the center of his ki spiral. Gerald mentally dove back into his ki spiral, where he saw that all his solid ki had a metallic, silvery sheen.

Gerald smiled. He'd done it. Now… how to use it…

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