After completing their Warden, Battle Mage, and Alchemy classes for the day, the students shared a quick dinner before heading to the Forge Master Lab. Upon entering, they found Professor Marth waiting at the front of the room. Surrounding him stood four silver tables, each attended by a familiar figure: Professors Hightower, Mefaal, Manohar, and Weasley.
Alex glanced around, brow furrowed. "Why are the other professors here?"
Professor Marth stepped forward. "Today, each of you will forge and enchant a short sword with a basic fire enchantment. If you've kept up with your reading, you should already understand the foundational steps. The other professors are here to help stabilize and support your magic circles."
Victoria, Alex, Stella, and the unknown woman each approached their chosen mentor: Victoria joined Professor Hightower, Alex went to Professor Mefaal, Stella to Professor Manohar, and the unknown woman stood beside Professor Weasley.
The short swords laid before them were striking in design. Each featured a wide, curved blade with a smooth, reflective white surface etched with a subtle hexagonal pattern. The blade tapered into a distinct angular tip, while a bold black triangle extended from the hilt toward the center, ending in a circular motif near the guard. The hilt itself gleamed in metallic orange, seamlessly transitioning into a black, textured grip—clearly crafted for both comfort and control.
Alex, Stella, and the unknown woman began by using water magic to construct a magical formation: two concentric circles, the inner one measuring 12 inches in diameter, the outer 14 inches. Between the two circles, 15 runes shimmered in the air, with another 15 arrayed outside the outer ring. As the professors joined them, helping to stabilize the structure, the trio began casting the enchantment.
Victoria took a different approach. Channeling her mastery of light magic, she summoned a glowing circle filled with luminous runes, then cast another spell to etch them directly onto her sword—from tip to pommel, the blade shimmered with intricate light-formed glyphs.
"Begin channeling into the circle," she instructed Professor Hightower.
As Hightower lent her power to the circle, Victoria began conjuring the remaining runes needed to complete the enchantment. But the formation resisted. The runes refused to collapse into the spell's final shape. Frowning in concentration, Victoria rapidly began to rearrange and reshape them, recalculating the spell's internal structure on the fly.
While the others completed their forging and stepped back from their tables, enchanted blades in hand, Victoria remained hunched over her work—reordering, refining, recalibrating.
Five more tense minutes passed. Then, finally, her runes shifted into place and collapsed inward in a cascade of light. The spell locked into the blade with a soft chime, fully enchanting it.
The professors stood in stunned silence, expressions of disbelief etched across their faces.
"I've never seen a student grasp the secrets of rune smithing so quickly," one of them finally murmured.
Professor Marth cleared his throat, still recovering from the surprise. "That will be all for today. You're dismissed."
As the students began to pack up, Professor Hightower quietly motioned for Victoria to step aside. Once they were alone, she studied the young mage intently.
"Did your father teach you how to do that?" Hightower asked.
Victoria shook her head. "No. I just approached it the same way I do with regular spellcasting. But then… something clicked. I took it a step further. Instead of just casting the spell using light magic, I engraved the runes directly into the sword. It was like a burst of inspiration—I saw the whole process unfold in my mind."
She paused, then added, "But the engraved runes created a lot of resistance. The sword repelled the first spell—and every attempt after that—until I figured out how to compensate. I had to increase the spell's output to break through the resistance and make it stick."
Hightower stared at her, a mix of curiosity and something close to awe in her gaze.