Spoiler:

Giovanni had to wake up extremely early this morning. Prior to the crack of dawn even. It wasn't often that he did this, but today was the day new raw ore was scheduled to arrive in the markets of Baltigo's market district and he didn't want to be left with the scraps and poor ore. He wore his usual garbs, but put on his high-collared purple shirt today and wore his bandana. His cornrows were undone, so his mane of hair cascaded down his back in a wild undomesticated fashion. All the hoes loved it, so he loved it.

Out the door of the inn he had rented out for he and his cohorts, he walked calmly towards the markets of Baltigo with an empty straw basket strapped to his back. There wasn't much traffic on the streets yet, it was still a bit dark, but those who were out were headed to the markets too. Some of them had straw woven baskets ready to be filled, some had cloth slings, you get the idea.

Arriving at the market, Giovanni purchased the finest of what ores there were to pick from and he headed to the public smithy. Not many people used it, because this pitiful generation didn't know about hard work and craftsmanship. They'd rather buy the finished product. He spat in disgust at such a mindset and got to work.

First he prepared his oven for the metals he would be working today. It was still lit from the last fellow who had used it, but it was dying down. That was still a plus though, because it still had some left over heat and Giovanni needed a lot of it. Tossing in some high quality wood he had also purchased, his oven would be blazing hot in due time. Next he broke down the ores and chiseled away the impurities leaving nothing but some unrefined titanium ready to be utilized. Once that was done he put the ore in something heat resistant that'd hold it as it melted down.

Taking the metaled titanium out, he poured it into a block mold, then began to hammer at it. Still red hot, it was malleable to a degree and it buckled to the blows of the hammer. He'd fold it several times over and beat it back down. Fold, then beat, fold then beat. He did this until the piece of metal was compressed to a small size, but of course had its normal amount of weight, it was now just much denser. While this was going on he had some extra Titanium in the kiln melting down. The Titanium he had just folded would be transferred to a water bath to cool and be used on another project later. He still wanted to temper it once more before he used it to craft something, maybe a sword. He wasn't a swordsman, but he liked how powerful a big sword made a person look.

500/500

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Spoiler:

Now that the first piece of titanium he had worked on was cooling, he could work on the piece of art he wanted to produce today. From inside of his high-collared shirt he pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. It was a blueprint and at the top of the blueprint it read, Svalinn. They were large vambraces that were designed to fit around Giovanni's forearms. They'd probably be perceived as pieces of armor, but Giovanni didn't see them as such. In his eyes these would work as not only weapons, but also tools for training and putting him at a disadvantage in combat. This was because the vambraces were designed to be heavy enough to slow the behemoth of a man down, but all hell would be unleashed should he decide to take them off after growing accustomed to their weight.

Anyways, the hard part would be shaping the weapon, but Giovanni was an expert Blacksmith and he had a few tricks up his sleeve. Obviously there was no mold for a weapon so unique, so he had to make his own while the titanium melted down. Finding an unshaped mold/an empty canvas, he extended two fingers and surgically applied his Electro to only those fingers. Easily he cut into this unshaped mold and eviscerated it appropriately as according to the blueprints for Svalinn.

Next he pulled this fresh titanium that was now melted down out the oven with some tongs and heat resistant mitts on. He poured equal amounts of Titanium into the molds and watched for bubbling and other potential obstructions. Once the liquid titanium settled into the molds, he moved them to a water bath and let them cool down. There they would eventually harden and take on the shape of the mold that followed the specifications of the blueprint he had drawn for Svalinn. Once the titanium had cooled and hardened, the final few steps were ready to be taken. With an light accomplished smile on his face, pulled them out the water bath with some paints scrap gold. Coating the vambraces in the scrap gold and painting over it with a metallic shade of gold, he looked at his own reflection in the beauties.  

Gold was his color of choice because it matched the belt around his waist and was his favorite color. After that was done he secured some padding on the inside of them. Nothing but a pad of leather, so it wouldn't be metal right against his arm. It obviously could cut him or irritate his skin if the padding wasn't added. Now that this was done, it was time to put them on his forearms. "Heavier than I anticipated." He snickered to himself as he placed then closed one of the vambraces on his left arm. He clinched his fist a bit and noticed the bulge of his muscles were well acounted for in his blueprints, for it still fit fine. He was impressed with himself. "Haha!" Locking the left one shut with a golden pin, he did the same procedure to the right one and sealed that one shut with a golden pin as well. Then just like that his training weights/weapons/dampers were created.

500/500

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[Exit]

The sun rose yet another day, blessing the minkman with light to hone his craft and make an earnest living. While normally he'd already be in the smithy working on something, he had been carrying a unique energy around with him lately. He often had these flares in specific muse. Not the urge, but the need to create something that was unlike typical creations. Not just a sword or just a gun, but a sword that was worthy of a name and even more worthy of an owner hand picked by Giovanni himself. It was these piques of creativeness and artistry that Giovanni lived for. Inspiration to achieve more than what was normal. Inspiration to create something that'd leave a mark on the world, whether good or bad. He wasn't the spiritual type and doubted that he came off as one, but he did have a certain fondness to the idea of creating instruments that had the power to turn tides of battles. Instruments that'd be sought after long after his death, as ancient weapons and artifacts.

It was for all of these reasons that Giovanni was again in the market at the top of the morning with his straw basket on his back. Sifting through piles and piles of raw titanium ore, he would toss the ones he dubbed worthy in his basket. After he had enough, he went to a smithy. He could have gone to the one where he worked at the other day, but he didn't like using the same location. A change of environment was always good for the muse and spirits. He also didn't like people snooping in on him and keeping tabs on what he was up to.

Not like he was up to no good, but there were always unoriginals out there looking to bite off some old head's techniques. He'd find himself in a cavern dug into a cliffside. The air was crisp, yet hot as he worked the titanium ore down to a pure state. After doing so he melted it down bit by bit. As he melted down a bit of his haul of titanium, he'd pull it out, put some new ore in, then begin cooling it. After cooling, the heated batch would have been melted down and Giovanni would start the rotation. There were a total of five stations. The prepped ore, the oven where ore was being melted, the water bath where it was cooled, the anvil where the ore was being worked, then a second oven. The second oven was where Giovanni was giving the titanium a second treatment. After all the ore went through their first round, they were compiled in the second oven and melded together. Then Giovanni began to increase the ore's density. On the anvil he beat the titanium ore down thin, folded it, then did it again and again, compacting it. Once this was done about ten times, Giovanni was done.

500/500

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[Exit]

"Boss!" The door to Giovanni's lodgings were slammed open and the one who came through them demanded the mink's attention. Giovanni was laying on his side staring out the glass window in front of him. Through this window was a great view of Baltigo, one Giovanni was meditating on trying to channel creative energy. All the vice that was in this city was what the minkman's mind was toying with, above all these vice's stood bloodlust and murder. He thought on the man that resembled Baron he encountered the other day and how he was about to slaughter that innocent man for bumping into him and many other malicious acts he'd witnessed since being in Baltigo. "What?" He was pretty sure Forde had relayed his message that he wasn't to be bothered unless there was an emergency, so this had better be good.

Only his head and neck turned to be directed towards the fledging who entered his quarters. "Word just got by that a renown swordsman is looking for someone to craft him a sword." Giovanni's interest was peaked, but he wasn't boiling over with enthusiasm, just a bit intrigued. "Hm . . . and who is this swordsman?" The youngin' shrugged, but began to talk again. "They say it's a pretty serious guy though and I remember how you were talking about looking to create a world shaping masterpiece. Maybe this is fate!" Giovanni sat up and turned all the way to face his inferior. "I think I've meditated enough to channel my muse into such a thing." He pressed on his knee to hoist himself up and off the ground. Walking over to the door, he grabbed his haori off a coat hook then exited his room, the peon followed behind him and closed his door. "You're going to a smithy?" "Aye. Best to get this out of me while the vision is fresh. I'll be back sometime next week." He jogged down the stairs, then out the door, and just like that he was gone.

Spoiler:

He had ventured off far away from the main city on the island of Baltigo. With him he had his prepped titanium ore, it was time to put them to use on this project. Hopefully it'd turn out to be something he'd rave about for the rest of his existence. How the weapon was used, good intentions or evil, it didn't matter, but what it accomplished was most important. Whether this swordsman who was seeking a perfect blade was the one that was worthy or not didn't matter. Their request did contribute to the creation of this beast however, so Giovanni had them to thank for that.

In a mountain range where the air was crisp and fresh to the lungs, Giovanni ducked down as he entered a cavern in the mountain's wall. Cob webs were everywhere, it was cryptic, but he liked it. After spending about an hour cleaning the place up, he was ready to create. While he had been cleaning he had been melting his tempered titanium into a malleable state. Pulling out an unshaped mold he had brought with him, he lathered his hand in a current of electro. With a single deft karate chop, the mold was cleaved in two perfect halves. He continued to channel the electric current, but instead of his whole hand, now only a single finger was imbued with electricity. He used this finger to carve out the details of the weapon he planned on crafting. It was much like drawing a blueprint, but a much more raw expression of artistry, since he didn't have a blueprint drawn. After finishing he admired the mold he made, the threw it as hard as he could out of the smithy and probably over the mountain side. It was good, but not perfect, so he did the same thing with another unshaped mold again.

This time it came out better, but still not perfect. Again, again, and again. After about thirty tries, he finally had a mold he was happy with. Sweat dripped from his forehead and he wiped it away with a lightly charred up hand, sustaining electro for so long had his hand feeling a bit toasty.

With his mold ready, he poured the titanium into the mold and dropped the mold into an water bath, but not fully submerged of course. Cooled down, but only to a malleable state, he slipped the titanium blade out the mold and began to work it on the anvil. Folding it over and over, eventually when he was satisfied, he began to beat out the edge. The weapon was styled as a katana, so he wanted to make sure the edge was as sharp as he could make it. Hammering it down at an angle, he'd flip it then do the same to the other side, beating the edges closer and closer together. Once it was as thin as the edge of a typical katana, he put his hammer to the side, now it was time to use his hands. Again that toasty and charred hand went to work with a charge of electro on his whole hand. As if running his hand down the length of the edge, he shaved off super thin layers of titanium, this being harmless to the blade and working to actually sharpen the weapon even further.

This being done a few times over and over between treatments of heat to keep it malleable, the blade was as sharp as Giovanni could get it. Working it into a tsuba/handle, he then took it to a whetting stone where he sharpened it even more, polished it, then put on the finishing touches. While it could cut without the aesthetics, this is where the artistry and even more of his muse was released. Once he was done he held up the blade and admired his work. "Zulfiqar." He named it with a declaration of pride.

500/500
[Exit]

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