Master Of None

Onyx moved down toward the village. He was feeling the chill returns to his body but he had absorbed a significant amount of light elemental mana. This was a good thing since it would warm him for quite some time.

The village was still small so the little activities of the dragonkin would make it feel busy and bustling. However, he only saw a handful of dragonkin as he went around here and there. The stone houses were surprisingly better carved than he had originally thought.

They may have lacked real doors, but that was due to the dragonkin having higher resistance to the cold and water elemental mana. The water affinity they had was mostly because the elder dragons of the village had this and they dragonkin would follow a dragon of similar affinity. 

There were a few with mixed color scales that made Onyx realize that they were multiple affinity dragonkin. The one he saw the most was a slight amount of green and white mixed in to the scales. This showed that the dragonkin was having a wind or light affinity mixed with the water. This was common because this was a combination that could make ice or showed up in nature often. 

The strange part was that they were not very talkative. It seemed that they went about their actions of gathering food or crafting specific items almost silently. Walker had read Onyx some of the books about dragons and after the interaction with Illia and Adair this made sense, Dragons were not talkative and close creatures. They would often prefer to be alone or in pairs to study their elemental affinity and become more powerful. 

Of course, there were exceptions to this when it came to some of the dragons such as Midnight and the royals that would have some followers or other dragons in the same village as them. 

While Onyx moved he noticed that even in his smaller form that the dragonkin took note of him. They have very sharp eyes and it made Onyx realize that Sun had the same trait. Each dragonkin would catch his movement and nod toward him. Every single one had already heard of who he was and why he was there. This put him at the advantage because he was able to better explore. 

The sound of hammering was what attracted him to a large stone carved building. The smoke coming from it was clearly naming it the forge that the wandering blacksmith had gone to. It was a very large forge made so that a dragon could waltz in and check the work being done. Therefore, Onyx did not hesitate to change in to his larger form slightly and slither inside the warmth. 

"Hello, It got noisy so I decided to explore. This looks interesting." Onyx greeted the wandering blacksmith who was testing the tools. Most of the tools and other items in the forge were made of dragon scales and other very tough materials. 

"There are different elemental affinity hammers for crafting other gear?" Onyx was surprised to hear how in depth the tools went. He was able to communicate mentally which proved to be extremely valuable now and whenever he was alone. 

The row of hammers hanging on the walls were clearly a full set. Some radiated elemental mana and there were even two that hang almost no mana affinity at all. They were surely amazing tools to have access to. The light elemental hammer seemed to glow in the darker corner of the forge and Onyx was tempted to curl up next to it. Yet, if he did so he could risk absorbing the light elemental mana from it and ruining something he could not tell the values of. These tools were nothing new and most likely had years upon years of use on them. 

The test hammering the wandering blacksmith was doing was on a simple piece of iron. He had pieces he had used with every single hammer there to test what one would be best for the tools he would be making. He still needed to craft his hammer using the centennial ice. This meant that he would need one that didn't bond with what he was making and didn't interfere with what he was making. If the elements clashed then he could just aimlessly be ruining his new hammer. 

There were also some carving tools that he wanted to replace. If he had them so that they maintained heat when he carved runes he would be able to better and more efficiently carve a rine. There was also the added bonus of being able to maintain the temperature of the metal while he worked on it, therefore, he would have more time to work if he needed it.

The soft sound of thudding steps began to approach and Onyx knew it could only be one person or dragon. It was Illia that came through the doorway and looked down at them. "I made a deal to give cracked scales to you and here they are. Now I will return to the training I was watching." Illia opened her claws to show many of the broken and shattered scales. The wandering blacksmith didn't know how to process this or even speak. It was a prideful moment for Illia since she felt it was better that a human look in awe at her than any other way. 

After Illia had turned and left, the wandering blacksmith began sifting through the materials. "Frost dragon scales. They look very good for crafting even though they are broken." Onyx was examining them too and noticed the touch but cool feeling they had. The air in the entire forge was colder now than it was before just because the scales were there attracting more water elemental mana and freezing the floor slightly.

"You are using these for a hammer? I thought they would be for armor since they are strong?" This was a good material that could bond with the centennial ice, but it seemed that making armor would be a better use of the scales.

"I see, if you fused the pieces that are here you would have a great deal of imperfections that made up the difference. I understand. Then this is better for crafting small tools and the slightly bigger pieces the hammer." Onyx grasped what the wandering blacksmith was thinking at him easily. He was always able to catch on to things a little easier but this was a simple thing to understand.

The pieces were the same cool blue coloration that Illia had on her whole body. The same toughness of the hardest ice and the same cold that surrounded her. The fact that they had broken was not a big deal. Dragons would train and get in to combat when necessary. It was simply a matter of time before they would break a scale here or there. The scales that built up would be saved if they desired and most likely end up right in the forge where they were now. The dragonkin blacksmiths or crafters could always use them. 

The main focus of the dragonkin blacksmiths was obviously making gear and other items to trade with other villages. There were some weapons and items on display that had other affinities. They had been made out of materials from hotter areas or places that had a lot of darkness. This proved that they were made using materials from other villages that had these elemental affinities in higher numbers. 

The craftsmanship of the armors was also very high. It would take years to get to the quality that was being shown here and this made the wandering blacksmith become much more dedicated., Unlike the dragonkin, he was human with a little dwarf mixed in. That meant his lifespan was more or less the same as the average human. He would need to accomplish double or even triple the amount of experience in his life to get the same amount of knowledge and quality as the dragonkin blacksmiths. 

This was not a deterrent at all though. As Onyx watched, the wandering blacksmith began to draw and plan his own set of elemental hammers that he would make over time. The scales were also marked for the water elemental hammer and the centennial ace started to get compared and evaluated. The entire process was art in itself as the blue prints were made from scratch. The ideas that the wandering blacksmith had appeared to be endless as the rolls of blue prints stacked. 

There were not just hammers and tools outlines, there were swords, spears, armors, and even cooking utensils. There was no end to the things he could do and the things he wanted to do. If there was anyone else in the world with a pure blacksmith mind, then they would still pale in comparison to the wandering blacksmiths' genius. These were the only thoughts that Onyx had. 

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