The Chained Watcher

An Enchanting Discussion

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"Oh Grian~"

The voice draws Grian's attention up from his cauldron of bubbling mystery liquid. He smiles. "Hey Scar. What's up?"

Scar excitedly presents a bundle to him. "I wanted to talk to you about enchanting stuff! Uh, if you're not busy, I mean."

"Hmm..." He glances at what will hopefully become soup, squinting at the simmering bubbles and the complete lack of color change. "It shouldn't change drastically in the next couple minutes... Alright, you have my attention. What did you want to ask?"

"Well I was thinking. My crystals aren't improving very fast anymore, so I was hoping you might... Teach me a bit more? Please?"

Grian laughs, eyes crinkling merrily. "You're asking me to teach you about the thing I've practically dedicated my life to? I hope you know that you won't be getting any shortcuts from me until you master the basics the shortcuts would bypass. And my basics? They're not easy to master."

"I knew that already!" Scar complains. "But I also know that the stuff you teach is gonna be a hundred times better than whatever I can learn from anyone else once I get used to it. Just my crystals are cool already, so what'll I be able to do with whatever you consider the 'next step' in enchanting?"

"That depends entirely on what skill you want to work on." Luckily, he has a couple pieces of glass in his inventory he can use for a visual example. He starts playing with it like putty, explaining, "One skill that'll be vital for making more powerful items is the ability to shape and mold the materials you're working with. It's a widely applicable skill, but it'll be tough to work with until your magic control gets precise enough."

"Ooh..."

"Alternatively, you can work on broadening the range of materials you can enchant. Also a cornerstone of true enchanting, since few magic items are made of one material and nothing else, and especially important for you if you want to make something that's not disposable. Whichever one you don't choose will be what you get to learn next time you want to learn more enchanting, so don't think you'll miss out on one if you choose the other."

Scar frowns. It's good that he's giving this some serious thought. Grian will make sure he learns both in the end, but for now it doesn't matter all that much which skill Scar works on first. Scar admits hesitantly, "I... don't think I know enough to know what's best to learn first. Do you have a suggestion?"

He lets out a gleeful little giggle, clapping his hands happily. "Of course!" Just because both are equally important doesn't mean both are equally fun to learn. "While learning to enchant more materials is just as important as being able to manipulate the material freely, I think you'll find a lot of enjoyment in playing around with the shape of the glass you enchant."

The piece of glass in his hand resolves itself into a little daisy, thicker and rougher than he'd usually make, but more achievable for someone learning the skill like Scar. He holds it out to his little wizard apprentice with a smile. "It's fun to play with. Once you get past the initial stages, practice barely feels like practice. You can just squish it around like a stress ball, which is admittedly going to feel weird with a smooth glass texture, or you can spend the time to add little details to whatever you make out of it."

Scar lights up. "Isn't this how you changed the shape of the bracelets for everyone who didn't like the shape? You just pinch and twist and it does exactly what you want it to."

"Yup! Don't expect to be doing such quick manipulation right away though. The first step to learning this is going to be hard. And even then, you're going to have to start slow and steady, taking your time with every change you make."