Chapter 9: Experience and Progress

The next morning, Umber was woken up by Lilly dragging him out of his bed to the training field.

Umber jolted awake as his ankle was yanked but was powerless to resist.

"Mom, why am I being dragged before while the moon is so high up?"

Lilly grinned. "Now is the best time to do some light warm-ups before you get to work with your father. Besides Elley is here and you don't see her complaining."

"Is Umber joining us from now on? Yay," Elley squealed

"Wait, you knew Mom and Dad were adventurers? Why was I never told!"

Elley looked at him blankly. "Mama and Papa were adventurers? That's Awesome!"

Lilly let Umber go and put her hands on her cheek. "Did I not tell you? Sorry dear, must have slipped my mind."

Lilly walked past the both of them and turned to them, arms crossed.

Her caring and gentle aura disappeared and in its place was the aura of a general or commander.

"Let's begin first, let's jog! Umber no wings!"

Umber had just started to flap his wings when she said that so he immediately tripped and stumbled.

"Why no wings," Umber questioned in protest.

"The purpose of this is to build up your muscles. If you use your wings it would defeat the purpose. Your wings are plenty strong, but your legs will need work," Lilly explained.

"Now. MOVE IT!"

"Yes, Mam!" Umber started running with all his might around the field. Internally he was cursing though. He hated not being able to use his wings, it felt so limiting. Logically speaking he understood but he still dreaded it.

Elley on the other hand had already lapped him. "Better start running slowpoke! Not so fast without your wings huh?" She thought it was funny to see Umber, usually calm and composed as he was, exerting himself so much and making funny faces as he tried to keep up.

"Shut it!" Umber snapped back breathlessly.

This was new. He has never had any bite to him. Elley was happy to see it. She had been worried that he was gonna be a wimp. She smiled and picked up her pace.

"Make me!"

"Grrr. I will!" Umber picked up his pace but was still nowhere near enough to catch her. Umber didn't know he had this in him either. But something about her words rubbed the wrong way. The exertion was new too. Sure working in the forge was taxing as well but this one was way different.

His legs were on fire, he hated losing, he was breathless, and above all, he really wanted to catch Elley.

This was also the first time he'd ever felt like he was inferior to Elley.

He loved his sister, but he didn't like this feeling.

"I'm going to be able to catch her before I go to the capital," He declared no vowed to himself.

He continued running until his legs couldn't carry him anymore.

He stumbled and fell face-first.

Elley and Lilly ran up to him.

"Umber are you okay," Elley asked nervously.

Lilly was also worried.

"That's enough for today. You still have your lessons with your father after all."

Umber pushed off the ground breathing hard.

"I'll. Go. After one. More lap," He said through gasping breaths.

He forced himself to get up, right before falling again.

"...I'll go to lessons with Dad."

The fall on his face had cooled his mind. He still wanted to keep going but even he could see he should stop for now.

.....

Thoroughly tired he began lessons with his father.

"Alright Umber today, I want you to observe the metal as it metals. Sure you could go based solely on logic as the elves do, but what I learned from the dwarves is to experience the metal. Observe."

He proceeded to set a bar of iron in the forge.

They stared at it wordlessly until it was red hot.

"This time like the elves." He hammered away as the metal fought him. It was as though the metal was unwilling to bend to his will without force.

The finished product was a simple iron blade. He'd seen plenty and this was nothing special.

"Now we do as the dwarves do."

He set a lump of iron identical to the last one in the furnace. But this time his father closed his eyes. At a time not much longer than the previous one he quickly grabbed the metal from the forge.

The

The metal didn't so much bend to his will as it did understand his will. It bent with him rather than against him. As he re-heated it in the forge the flame seemed to roar to life as if wishing to aid him.

The strangest part to Umber was that physically speaking, he did nothing different than before, but the results could barely be called comparable. The new blad was an order of magnitude greater than the previous one.

"There. That was the way of the dwarf. You read the metal, feel the metal, and become one with the flame. To me that sounded like gibberish at first but when I teach you it will make sense. Let be small."

He brought Umber to the metal pile. Several types of metal, of different hardness, shape, and purpose.

"For now feel the metal," He commanded.

Not understanding Umber did so. Umber sat down and picked up the nearest bar.

It was a heavy rectangular bar, but that was about it.

"Close your eyes, lad."

He did so.

"What do you feel?"

He thought about it.

"I feel the heft. I can smell it. I can feel its sturdy surface."

"Good… can you feel more?"

What was he talking about? He used his sense of smell, touch, and hearing, but he was told to close his eyes, and he wasn't going to lick an iron bar… again.

What else could he do? … Wait a minute. What if the secret is in mana?

He tried to push his mana into the metal.

There was a pushback. It wasn't hard, but more like a way of getting someone's attention. It guided his mana around the metal, in an irregular looping pattern.

From Eric's point of view, he saw something much different. He saw Umber holding the metal ad he was told suddenly go silent. Before glowing slightly when he brought out his mana. When the light faded, it wrapped the metal tightly.

He didn't know he did it but he didn't interrupt.

Umber suddenly stood up the metal still bound in mana. Umber placed it in the furnace.

The metal very quickly heated, way faster than normal.

Umber wordlessly began crafting it into a blade. The blade was far superior to a standard blade, but not as good, as his Father's second blade.

Eric studied the blade. He couldn't believe it. He knew Umber was good as any average smith already, but this type of blade would hold up to a junior Dwarven smith.

If he had my techniques he'd be better than me. After all. I have to speak to the metal but it looks like the metal speaks to him.

He recalled the words of the master Smith he met in Brothan.

"Listen up lads, most of you know about how to read the flame, and speak to the metal but only the best among you may even hear the faintest whisper back from the metal."

I thought he was being figurative but I don't think so anymore.

"That's enough lad. Your work is already that of an expert Smith in the capital. But you lack my techniques and finess. That is what I'll be teaching you. I hate to admit it but it also brings me great pride to say, you can connect with the metal even better than I can."

Umber shook his head flabbergasted by what he heard. All he did was move Mana what did he do special?

"Come on lad, it's late let's go get something to eat," Eric smiled widely and ushered Umber out of the workshop."