The explosion of light sent him backward. The forge erupted in motion. The bricks came loose, the roof flew over the building. A vortex of energy cascaded from the divine stone, which flew into the middle of chaos. Flames from the crucibles added to the vortex giving it an orange hue. Horn’s dwarves gasped with wonder, a few even backing away.

The magic show increased in size, pushing the onlookers farther and farther away. For a moment, Horn thought it’d destroy a nearby crafting hall being built, but the phenomenon stopped growing. The bricks began changing in front of his eyes, darkening and becoming semitransparent. They looked like stained glass. More and more of them appeared from the middle of the magical storm. He felt a tug on his back as his shield tried flying into the magic.

With a sigh of regret, he loosened the strap allowing it to fly into the mix. It saved him several times and was a powerful magical item, but the clan comes first, as Goran said. Having each of his warriors resistant to magic and having a good chance of sending back the spells to their casters was a huge boon. One he couldn’t ignore.

The magical fireworks started dying down, the bricks began assembling a massive structure. The original forge was ten yards across, and the new was easily ten times that size. The dark glass walls emerged, with eight crucibles lining the walls, half a dozen massive anvils, and a score of smaller workstations. Racks for ingots, finished products, and glass chests grew from the floor. Grindstones, barrels of dark oil for tempering, sets of tools appeared from nowhere. Finally, a massive arch created the entrance with his shield, now the size of a dining table with the divine core embedded in the middle stuck to the top.

Regional announcement!

The Lightforge clan created a divine building! Cheer as the Forge of Reversing Fortunes opens its gates.

The first two words made Horn curse, but the cat was out of the bag. Instead, he focused on additional text appearing below.

Congratulations! You’ve created the first divine building in Skytallon Mountains!

You gain a new title: Divine Architect – You’ve created a divine building. Such an act comes with its own merits, but also responsibility. You can sense other divine buildings in a five-mile radius. Once a year, you can call on the powers of your structures.

Currently owned: Forge of Reversing Fortunes – can create an anti-magic shield engulfing a one-mile area with the Forge as a center. (can be shaped to your wish)The shield will hold for a week, redirecting all hostile spells back to their casters.

For being the first divine building in the region, the Forge of Reversing Fortunes gets two free upgrades. Choose wisely! (Additional upgrades can be researched in House of Learning)

Dark Glass brickworks – the extension of the forge allows creating dark glass from obsidian. The material is extremely resistant to physical and magical damage. A ton of bricks requires five tons of obsidian to be melted. Dark Glass Steel – one of the crucibles in the forge will be upgraded to create dark steel. The process requires steel, arcanite, arcane powder, obsidian, and a professional smith. Improved Dark Glass tools – every tool in the forge will be enriched to Dark Glass. Such tools noticeably shorten the smithing process and enhance the quality of the final product. Improved enchantment – Permanently doubles the efficiency of one of the forge’s enchantments. Dark Glass automatons – Create thirty golems that help in the forging process, noticeably shortening it, and will defend the forge or nearby area at your command. Master Smith – A divine forge requires an experienced smith. Summons a scarce quality smith champion tied to the Forge. The champion will join your clan, and standard rules will apply. Losing the forge can lead to the champion’s rebellion.

“Hell yeah!” Horn pumped his arm, not noticing the crowd behind him cheering loudly. The dwarves took it as an invitation to rush into the building. Horn was almost trampled as a crowd of eager clanmates piled into the magical forge. He dismissed the rewards for a second, trying to find his bearing. He noticed Grom sitting on the ground, crying. A wide smile was on his face, so Horn could only assume these were tears of joy. In front, the forge was being inspected by at least a hundred of his clan. They all easily fit inside a massive structure. Horn joined them for a while, marveling at the wonders of the divine building.

A while later, he was back in front of the building, looking at the upgrades. He wanted them all, but having two was still a boon. He immediately knew that he needed a champion to operate the building. It was impressive and should be managed by someone knowing his craft. The second choice was tricky. Brickworks would increase his walls and other strategic building quality if he could get enough obsidian. Facing a massive assault in the near future, it was an attractive option, especially that anyone seeing the announcement would either add to the growing list of enemies or friends.

Dark Glass Steel was unknown to him, but he was sure it was an amazing material. The requirement of arcane powder spoke to its uniqueness, but there was the issue of supply. Herrak sent a group of his adventurers with a few wagons to gather the crystals, but it’d be weeks until or if they return. Without a reliable source, the upgrade would be a waste.

The smithing tools were probably the least attractive. An increase in quality and speed was welcomed, but it would have a very diminishing effect with time. After the first rush to arm his forces, he wouldn’t need many new weapons and armor.

Improved enchantment spoke to him. Doubling the effect on the armors would mean a thirty percent resistance to magic and one in fifth chance to reverse a hostile spell. That was a huge boon! He didn’t consider improving the offensive version, the mana burn was an unknown, but most beings weren’t using magic.

That left the automatons. Horn almost salivated at the thought of black golems supporting his crafters and fighting at his side. So many games, movies, and books told about such creatures, but quickly he realized it was just wishful thinking. However powerful they might be, thirty of them wasn’t enough to make a big difference in a significant battle. With a sigh, he crossed it out.

In the end, the choice came to two upgrades. Either brickworks or improved enchantment. The first one was purely defensive, the second one improved his troops all over the board. It was an improvement in a very narrow specialization, but it added to their strengths. With their inborn resistance of ten percent, another thirty would make his troops ignore almost half of the spell power.

On top of that, one in five would be launched back at the hostile caster, and it was just too good to miss. Choosing his upgrades, he saw the building reacting.

A familiar vortex of a Soul Well appeared in the middle of the forge, between two massive anvils. At the same time, the hearthstone grew in size on the shield above the entrance. He saw the core growing and changing. It became more increate, with glyphs appearing on its surface than moving around it, like flowing text. It was a sight to get lost in, but shouts of alarm from inside broke him out of his stupor.

“Duergar! To Arms!”

Clinks of weapons drawn echoed through the forge. Horn ran inside to see what the commotion was about. In the middle stood a gray-skinned dwarf. He was at least a foot shorter than Horn, dressed in a leather apron, with ashen pants and shirt under it. What he lacked in height, he more than compensated in width. Massive muscles were hidden under the cloths, pressing against them, a large hammer made of some silvery metal hanged at his belt. Raising his eyes, Horn saw the newcomer's face. A short beard and ears-long hair of snow-white color, thick chin and cheeks gave him a look of a Santa. A Santa covered in ash, but nevertheless a Santa. However, two scarlet eyes broke the impression. Noticing Horn, an understanding came to these eyes. The angry frown on a dwarf’s face relaxed a bit as he said in a low tone. “Take these dogs away from me, Taskmaster.”

“Taskmaster?” Horn mumbled under his breath. He used his skill to identify the dwarf seeing, Duergar, Armorer 5-10, Weaponsmith 1-5. Dual-class! And with such exciting specialties, Horn smiled seeing his new champion, adding loudly, “He’s one of us! Drop your arms. I’ll address the clan later. I want to talk with our Forge master.”

To his surprise, his dwarves hesitated. A few spat on the floor with mutters of discontent. Horn felt his anger rising, “I said he IS one of US! Give us the room!”

That worked as the dwarves cleared the room. Turning to his newest champion, Horn asked, “What was that about?”

“Heh, the dogs don’t like the kennel master. To think I’ll be working for a whitey, Orgen is laughing in his underground forge.” The dwarf replied,

“What are you talking about? Who’s Orgen?”

“The God of under dark, they don’t teach you about your ancestors anymore?” The dwarf asked, tilting his head.

“I’ve missed some schooling, and how are you called?”

“Anvil Master of Third-degree Devonus Gnomebane the third of his name!”

“That’s a mouthful, fine Devonus. I’m Horn Skysmith of the Lightforge clan, and you’re supposed to be one of my champions.”

“That seems right, but to work for Whitey, how low have I fallen!?” The Duergar exclaimed,

“Working in a divine forge is falling low?

That stopped the whining for a while. Devonus looked at Horn like he took candy from him before answering, “Maybe that’s not so bad, but working with Whiteys will take some getting used to. Can I at least whip them?”

“What?! NO!” Horn exclaimed,

“How low have I fallen!?” The dwarf was back to his chant,

“Oh, shut it. These are your clanmates now, so behave. Let’s meet them.”

Walking outside, Horn noticed at least half of the clan gathered. His champions approached as he appeared in the doorway. Sigrid was first at his side, whispering, “They want to lynch the dark one.”

“Why?”

Surprised, she replied, “I’m forgetting you’re not from here. The dark ones are our oldest enemy. Having him here will be a problem.”

“Shit,” Horn muttered, then turning toward Devonus, he said, “We have a problem. I don’t care what color you are, nor about the past. I need someone to run the forge, but our clan won’t accept you as such. Swear fealty to me, and I’ll work with that, and I promise I’ll release you from it at your request.”

“What?!” The dark dwarf exclaimed. The outburst made every dwarf in the area focus on the smith. He saw the hostile looks. Going back into the limbo wasn’t something he wanted, and the building seemed impressive, but swearing to a Whitey? It was repulsive. These good-doers were pathetic and weak. The boy in front of him was just proof of that. However, somehow he gathered a large clan, got himself the forge, and offered him the job without hesitation. Clearing his throat, Devonus kneeled and spoke,

“I Anvil Master of Third-degree Devonus Gnomebane the third of his name in trust swear to you: To protect your land, and home, To never wish you harm. Guide my hammer, use my axe. I stand with you now, and until the end of time, as long as you keep your faith in me, I’ll return the favor. By the gods almighty, so I swear.”

The familiar light enveloped the dwarf. Horn noticed a slight difference this time. The motes were a shade darker. However, without reservation, he replied, “I accept your oath made in good faith in the same manner it was given. My home is your home; your grievances are my grievances. As long as I live, you’ll be under my protection. Raise!”

The light enveloped both of them in the sacred vow. The crowd began whispering, some with surprise and others with outrage, but the voices silenced as the light faded. Seeing his moment, Horn said,

“Lightforge, hear me! Today we’ve witnessed not one but two miracles of the new age. A divine forge was gifted to us by the gods almighty. No such building existed in the Nexus since the calamity! Now we own it, and the arms and armor made here by our smiths will strengthen our warriors! With the forge, a new dwarf joined our ranks, a Dark one!”

The first part of his speech roused his dwarves, but the mention of Devonus instantly clouded the mood. Inwardly cursing, he continued,

“I know your worries, the history taught us harsh lessons, but that is in the past. We’ve ventured into a new world, where the history will remain just – a history. Today you’ve witnessed Duergar swearing fealty to me, to his life-long enemy. I ask you, don’t judge him by the color of his skin. Judge him by his actions! Master Devonus will run the forge in my name, and I expect you to work with him. Arm in arm, we’ll face the challenges ahead. They are coming. The troubled times didn’t end with our last battle. New enemies approach, greater than anything we’ve faced before. But we’re stronger than ever! With our new allies: Dawn Riders, Adventurer’s Guild, humans of Arvanti, our own human kin and finally with our newest addition,” Horn pointed to Devonus, “ The Lightforge will weather it all! We’ll build a bright future for those to come! Whomever they are!”

Goran sensing the moment extended his hand to Devonus. The dark dwarf looked cautiously but accepted the handshake. Seeing their old commander accepting Horn’s decision brought the clan to their side.

“Lightforge!” a roar of hundreds of throats echoed through the mountain peaks.