Page 3 of Hephaestus
“An anvil…” I softly spoke almost in a whisper, mesmerized by it.
But my attention was suddenly taking me elsewhere. There were also weapons against the walls, including swords, knives, shields, breastplates, armor, gauntlets, cuirasses, and so much more.
My mouth gaped at how marvelous they all were. I approached one of the blades against the wall, gently tracing my hand up and down its sharp shaft to its hilt. “Did you make all of these?” I asked, stunned by how intricate the details of each of the weapons were. Even some of the gods didn’t possess such fine crafts as these.
“Yes. I’ve been a blacksmith for nearly my whole life, creating only the most splendid of weapons for kings, great warriors and even gods.”
“And you’re a mortal able to do all of this?” I naively wondered aloud.
Kidalionas let out a deep belly laugh combined with some wheezing and a few coughs that followed up. Once he regained his composure, he commented back to me. “Haha. Yes, my boy. Even us mortals can attain skills that are above that of some gods and goddesses.”
“Impressive…” I remarked, still gliding my hand across the other works of metal as I ambulated around the perimeter of the cave room.
“I could teach you to build weapons just as spectacular as these, if it’s a task you think you’d be interested in,” he offered.
What else was I going to do? If I did not keep myself busy, I would just sit in this cave or roam the island and remain bored for the next ten years. At least Kidalionas was here to offer guidance and teach me a skill that I could potentially excel at. Clearly, the man was an experienced blacksmith, and I would be remiss not to gain the knowledge that he was so willing to provide me on the trade.
“I think I would like that,” I replied.
“Just be warned. It will require a great deal of patience. You will undoubtedly make many mistakes and it will take you years to fully master how to be an apprentice blacksmith, but if you maintain your wits and focus, you will get there,” Kidalionas informed me.
Patience. That’s all I had to give if I was supposed to stay here on the island of Lemnos for the next ten years. Of course, I would have the time and patience to perform any grueling task, no matter how much time it took.
“I am up for the challenge. I just have one question, though,” I stated.
“And what is that?”
“When can we get started?”
Chapter 2
Ibegantoconsiderthe existence of a god compared to that of a mortal and how different the two could possibly be. There were obvious discrepancies everyone could recognize, including strength, longevity of life, reflexes, and ability to pick up on new skills, etc. But one thing I have not heard others speak about was how a god experiences time compared to a human.
Kidalionas had been training me on the art of blacksmithing for almost a week now, yet in my mind, it felt like only two days. I brought it up to him and he merely shrugged. “I cannot say for certain how you perceive the time going by, but I am sure that it has been a full week since you arrived here.”
I noticed Kidalionas kept referring to my arrival, almost as if it was a pleasant one. He would say things like, “when you arrived” or “when you were brought to me.” I wasn’t sure if he didn’t blatantly refer to Hera dragging me in the dirt and forcing me here to avoid the drama, or if he meant to not speak any ill-will of the Queen of the Gods, knowing that if she caught wind of his verbal betrayals that she could punish him. I was suspecting the latter when another idea surfaced in my head. Maybe Kidalionas was not mentioning the details of how I came to reside on the island of Lemnos for my own sanity. Anyone in the living world could tell that the way I was forced to come here against my own freewill was barbaric. But perhaps Kidalionas was not referring to it in order to not bring on the pain and hurtful memories from the scene for my sake. Also, I never once mentioned Hera since that very first day. So, it could also be that my new mentor was just taking my lead and would only mention and discuss it if I were to bring it up to him first.
“So, now that it has been a full week, I think you are ready to build your first sword all on your own. What do say?” Kidalionas suggested.
I nodded, although I was slightly nervous. “Sure. I’ll give it a try.”
“Okay. Let’s see you put those techniques to use now.”
I moved over to the forge I’d been working on all week. At first, Kidalionas and I tried using his anvil, but we soon came to the realization that the surface of it was far too small for me. I kept losing my balance on my weak leg and sometimes tripped, which was dangerous, considering I was working with molten fire.
After a few minor incidents with the anvil, Kidalionas finally introduced me to his perfectly circular forge that was built low and nearly into the ground floor of the cave. Once I began working on it, we both saw how much less accident prone it caused me to be, and therefore we established that this would be my primary space of work.
And it truly made all the difference. I crafted my first sword here so easily using a hammer, steel rods, tongs, and steel blocks to shape and carve the blade. Once the weapon cooled down, Kidalionas inspected it carefully, running his hand along the sharp edge.
“Impressive, Hephaestus!” he commended.
“Thank you.”
“Maybe I underestimated your ability and quickness to learn,” Kidalionas admitted. “Let’s try more advanced techniques.”
Blacksmithing then became innate to me. In just a year, I was practically a master and became far more skilled than even Kidalionas, himself, which shocked the both of us.
I found myself becoming obsessed with the trade. The catharsis of the scent of embers on steel and the invigorating feelings I experienced when finishing a gorgeous product were addictive.
