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The meaning was clear enough.He would honor Maven's instruction, whatever his personal feelings about it.

***

The Howling Forge earned its name honestly.Wind rushed through the mountain's natural ventilation shafts, creating an eerie, constant moan that mingled with the hiss of cooling metal and the rhythmic clang of hammers.Thalia arrived as the first bell echoed through Frostforge's stone corridors, her breath forming small clouds in the pre-dawn chill.Despite the early hour, the forge already radiated heat from its central furnaces, where a few dedicated smiths worked on personal projects.In the furthest corner, partially hidden by shadows and steam, stood Kaine Ember.His tall frame bent over an anvil, each strike of his hammer sending sparks cascading to the stone floor like falling stars.Thalia hesitated at the entrance, the weight of yesterday's examination and Maven's "reward" sitting heavy on her shoulders.

She'd barely slept, her mind racing between pride in her copper blade and anxiety about working with Kaine.The man who, according to Senna, had killed his own father.The Northern outcast, whose abilities clearly exceeded those of a typical second-year student.The enigma who now looked up, hammer paused mid-strike, and fixed those intense blue eyes directly on her.

Thalia straightened her spine and crossed the forge floor, dodging around carts laden with raw ore.The heat intensified with each step, sweat already beginning to bead along her hairline despite the mountain's perpetual chill.

"You're punctual," Kaine said as she approached, his deep voice barely audible above the forge's ambient noise.Not a greeting, exactly, but not the hostility she'd half-expected either.

"Instructor Maven made it clear this was an opportunity I shouldn't waste," Thalia replied, aiming for professional detachment while her nerves jangled beneath her skin.

To her surprise, the corner of Kaine's mouth twitched upward — not quite a smile, but something adjacent to it."Maven's 'opportunities' usually come with hidden costs.But in this case..."He set his hammer down, wiping his hands on a cloth tucked into his leather apron."You've got a good eye.Let's see if you can put it to better use."

The unexpected approval caught Thalia off-guard.She blinked, trying to reconcile this gruffly encouraging Kaine with the dangerous figure of Senna's warnings.Before she could respond, he gestured toward an unoccupied workstation nearby.

"You're working on a spear tip today," he said, moving to a shelf stocked with metal ingots.He selected a small copper bar and handed it to her."Similar principles to your sword, but with a narrower focus point for the magic."

Thalia accepted the copper, its weight familiar and comforting in her palm."I've never made a spear before."

"Then you'll learn something new."Kaine nodded toward the station."Set up your fire first.Too hot and the copper will become too malleable for precise rune work.Too cool and it won't take the enchantment properly."

Following his instruction, Thalia adjusted the forge's heat, feeling for the right temperature with an instinct that had served her well in her mother's herb shop.Heat and cold were just different forms of energy, after all, and she'd always had a knack for sensing a proper balance.

They worked in silence initially, the space between them filled only with the forge's persistent howl and the sounds of metalworking.Thalia maneuvered the copper through the flames, watching as it changed from solid to malleable, its color shifting from penny-bright to sunset orange.The quiet felt heavy at first, charged with unasked questions and unstated judgments.

But as minutes stretched into an hour, something shifted.The silence transformed, becoming almost companionable — a shared focus on craft that required no words.Thalia found herself relaxing into the rhythm of the work, her movements becoming more fluid, more confident.

Kaine observed more than he instructed, stepping in only when necessary.When she began hammering the heated copper into shape, he moved closer, his voice low near her ear.

"You're striking too tentatively," he said, not unkindly."Copper remembers every hesitation.Strike with purpose."He demonstrated, his muscled arm bringing the hammer down in a controlled arc that somehow managed to be both powerful and precise.

Thalia nodded, adjusting her stance.Her next strike rang true, the copper responding to her more decisive blow.

"Better," Kaine said, and though his expression remained serious, there was approval in his tone.He turned away, his focus shifting to a half-finished iron knife on his workbench.“Many smiths see the material as passive, a vessel to be filled."His hands moved with surprising delicacy for their size, fingers tracing patterns that left faint luminous trails in the air."But metal — especially copper — already has its own energy.You don't need to dominate it.You can collaborate with it.That is how ice-metal is made.”

Thalia watched, fascinated, as he thrust the knife back into the furnace, heating it until it glowed.He removed the metal and tugged a frost glove onto one hand, then leaned in close enough that the radiant orange of the molten blade was reflected in his eyes.Thalia felt the familiar chill of cryomancy as Kaine laid a gloved finger directly on the flat of the blade; she winced, expecting the glove to burn, but it didn’t.There was a hissing sound, and steam rose from Kaine’s fingertip as he slid it gently down the length of the knife.Where other students channeled ice magic in harsh, jagged bursts, Kaine's approach was almost...respectful.He coaxed rather than commanded, his magic weaving through the metal's malleable molecular structure like water finding its natural path downhill.

"May I?"she asked, gesturing toward her own work.

Kaine nodded, stepping back to give her space.

Thalia closed her eyes briefly, centering herself.She placed her hands on either side of the copper spear tip, not quite touching it, feeling for the inherent energy Kaine had described.At first, there was nothing — then a faint vibration, a hum just below the threshold of hearing.She could imagine sending ice magic along the ready conduits within the metal.

“Each metal has a different energy signature,” she murmured, almost to herself.

"You're a quick study," Kaine said, his voice carrying a note of genuine surprise."Most Southerners take months to grasp this concept, if they ever do."

Thalia felt a flush of pride warm her cheeks."It reminds me of working with herbs back home.Each plant has its own...personality, I guess.You can't make valerian act like ginseng, no matter how much you might want it to."

Kaine's expression shifted slightly, something like curiosity flickering across his usually guarded features.

Together, they worked through the final stages of forging the spear tip — cooling, tempering, etching.The concentration required was intense, sweat dripping down Thalia's back despite the mountain's perpetual chill.When at last the spear tip was complete, Kaine stepped back.

"You've earned a break," he said, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand."The cooling phase needs time anyway."

They moved away from the active furnaces, retreating to a quieter corner of the forge where several unused furnaces stood cold and dark.Here, the Howling Forge's namesake wind was more noticeable, whistling through ventilation shafts carved into the mountain stone.Thalia leaned against one of the cold furnaces, grateful for its cool surface against her back.She pushed damp strands of hair from her forehead, exhaling slowly.