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Customizing || Bow
Luck Stat || 20+2
Item Durability || 11
Rolls Needed || 70-100
Rolled || 85
Outcome || Success
Resulting Item Tier || Tier 3

Inejra's cry of delight made Dyakida smile. “Oh... oh! It's beautiful!” She accepted the offered dagger reverently from Dyakida's outstretched hands. “It's just... it's beautiful!”

“And you deserve it.” Dyakida said warmly. The young blacksmith, just out of prenticehood, deserved a present for her hard work. Perhaps it would have been more appropriate to have her craft her dagger herself, but Dyakida wanted to show her appreciation to the girl. The path of a smith was not an easy one, especially for one who'd had a choice.

“No... no, this is a work of beauty... surely...” her voice was hesitant, greedy. “Surely, you meant it for someone else.”

“No.” Dyakida said, “It's yours.” She moved her hands away, back to her current work – a bow ridged with thorns. Not true thorns, of course – those would harm the wielder – but carved thorns. The uneven texture would not harm the bow, and Dyakida was sure that someone would like the look of it as much as she herself liked how it felt under her hands.

“Thank you...” Inejra whispered. Dyakida heard the sound of a sharp edge sheathed. “Ah! But that is a work of art, too!”

“This bow?” Dyakida smirked, validated. So. It did look good.

“Oh yes... who is it for?”

“No one in particular.”

“Do you make many bows like this?”

“Yes.” said Dyakida. She worked on one of the thorns, carving sharp angles into it to make it stand out from the wood beneath. “And no – this one is unique.”

“You mean, this is the only one?”

“So far.”

“Wow...” the prentice breathed.

“I have made bows before, of course.” Dyakida clarified, “Though I've never made a certain type of bow... the Earthlings use it. Heavy to weild and hard to load, but it can punch through a carapace with ease.”

“Really?” The girl was sitting next to her now, watching intently. “How?”

“It has... mechanisms...” Dyakida trailed off, “Actually, I'm not sure how.” she admitted wistfully, “Someday, I hope to know.”

“Oh... but why? If it isn't a traditional bow, why learn it? You're an Alkidike smith.”

“As are you...” Now, anyway. Dyakida smiled softly at her. “But it is good to know how to craft Earthling weapons.”

“Why?” There was a cringe in her tone, “Seems like there's more than enough demand for spears and bows and blades...”

“Yes. This is true. We have our hands full with those... but there are those sisters with Earthling blood who seek a different path and a different weapon.”

“But they're hybrids...”

“They are also born of Aisha.” Dyakida reproached her, “And it is our duty to arm them, as we would any other sister.” Inejra was quiet. Surprised? Stunned? Dyakida could not tell. “Aisha brought them into this world, just as she brought us forth. She gave to us the path of the smith, and to them she gave another path.” she shrugged, resuming her carving. “If that is the path they choose, then it is Aisha's will that they take it, and Her will as well that we prepare them for it.”

“I... See.” She didn't think the girl was convinced.

After Inejra left, Dyakida concentrated on the bow, finally finishing it and setting the newly carved wood in a strengthening mixture. It was, also, a new formula she was trying, and the hope was that it would seep into the pores of the wood and fortify it against breakage. She was, also, hoping that it would make the wood a better medium for paint and less likely to drink it all up. She was trying a lot of new things with this bow. She did, indeed, enjoy trying new things. It was, she supposed, what separated her from one of the more ordinary weapon crafting sisters. They made weapons. She was an artist of weapons. They spent time on weapons. She devoted her life to them.

The bow would have to soak for a significant amount of time for the proper effects. She took the resulting opportunity for a rest, to think on a few things she'd been reminded of. First, the hybrids that were counting on her for weapons. She tried to make them a priority, but some inevitably slipped through the cracks. She would have to organize herself better. Even better.

Second... the crossbow. The sister who had asked for it had been but a youngling, but she'd sounded more sure than Dyakida had been at that age. That meant that, for the sake of Dyakida's pride, she had to learn how to make one. She knew of a few options to get her hands on a crossbow, but none of those options were yet ripe. Fortunately, she was very patient. Perhaps, though, it was time to ask around again.

Hours passed. Upon taking the bow out of the solution, she could already tell that something wasn't right. The wood was too soft and pliable, more so then before. She rinsed it with clean water and set it aside to dry, dumping out her solution. The thorned bow would have to wait, clearly, until she could temper it right...