Enzo paused at the question. Warhammers are just big hammers, right? He was about to speak the thought aloud when Tobias cut him off.

“Length, weight and balance are all just as important as the head of the weapon,” the old smith said. “A basic warhammer is just a bigger hammer, and we can make that if you want, but it would be a waste of the dragonstone.”

Enzo nodded, thankful that he hadn’t voiced his thoughts. How did that saying go? Better to let them think you a fool, than open your mouth and prove it?

“The dragonstone will be lighter than any iron weapon we make, so keep that in mind,” Tobias continued. “We’ll have to create a larger head than normal to carry the same weight or we’ll have to create a core that can withstand the heat of your fire. There’s pros and cons to each design.”

“I have an idea for the shape, but the length and weight is a bit beyond me. Do you have anything I can draw on?” Enzo asked. Tobias pointed to an old sheet of slate resting against the legs of the workbench.

“Take some chalk and draw it out on that. Doesn’t have to be perfect, we can work the design out as we go,” said Tobias.

Enzo sat down at the workbench and began to sketch out his idea. One end of the head was fairly flat, with two intersecting grooves cut into the facing. The center joined around a thick handle, and was rounded slightly. He drew a hooked spike on the rear facing of the hammer head. Satisfied, he showed the idea to Tobias.

“Not bad,” Tobias said as he looked over the drawing. “Why the hooked spike?”

“The one we used in the yard the other day had one, and the ability to grab and grapple my opponent seemed pretty handy,” Enzo replied.

“True, but you lose some piercing power with the curved spike,” Tobias countered thoughtfully. “Could make up for it by sharpening the other facing. Four pinions in the corners you have designed would give it more punch.”

Enzo tilted his head at the drawing and tried to imagine how the weapon would work.

“What if we added a small spike on top of the head instead?” he asked. “That way, it could function almost like a short spear and retain the puncture potential without losing the flat facing. I feel like any pinions added to the front face will just get broken off over time.”

Tobias paused and gave the young man an intrigued look.

“Not a bad idea,” Tobias said, patting Enzo on the back. “You might be half-decent at this once you learn to make your ideas. It’d end up as more of a poleaxe though. How do you plan on wielding it? With a shield?”

“Was thinking of going without one. To be honest, I’d rather focus on keeping the weapon lighter so I can wield it with one hand,” Enzo replied. “I want to be able to use my Affinity in my other hand. No one would expect me to bring fire to a melee, right? One good dodge or parry and I can blast them with fire.”

“We’ll ditch the top spike then. No metal core either, we’ll stick with a lighter head and a bit longer handle if the plan is to leverage your Affinity in most fights,” said Tobias. “There are some drawbacks to that plan, though.”

“What do you mean?” asked Enzo.

“An enemy with a shield could reasonably block your fire attack, for starters,” said Tobias. “You could always change the point of attack by using your dragon’s breath, but once you use that a few times, you’ll gain a reputation for it. A couple uses basically announces your Affinity to the world, and you need to be ready for the attention, as well as the eventual counters.”

“I was thinking about that the other day and I wanted to confirm something about dragonstone,” Enzo replied. “You said it can store mana and the legendary swords you made could basically use magic. How does that work?”

Tobias sighed and returned to the forge. He pulled the iron from the fire and worked out more rock, leaving a nearly perfect chunk of iron before returning it to the fire.

“There’s a lot that goes into it. Yes, it does store mana and weapons forged from dragonstone can perform magic, but the wielder’s skill with the element in question is what makes the weapons the legends that they are.”

“So if I picked up Lazarus, I could mold the ground into rough shapes?” asked Enzo. “But if you picked it up, you could shape things into works of art?”

“Yes, the theory is right but not the scale,” explained Tobias. “An average person without any magical experience could make a hill rise. Someone like you, with experience controlling mana, could make a statue of the king. An expert, a master of an Affinity like mine? I could raise mountains, and shear cliffsides. As long as I had access to enough mana, I could do anything.”

“That’s incredible, Tobias,” replied Enzo, awestruck. “So why didn’t you keep the sword for yourself?”

“The dragonstone wasn’t mine to keep, and that kind of power is dangerous,” he explained. “It’d be too easy for me to decide to do something ambitious, like ending the dragons once and for all, and let loose more mana than I could ever possibly gather. It’d kill me before I accomplished anything at all.”

Enzo nodded, unsure of how to progress the conversation. The sounds of the fire crackling in the forge filled the room. Outside, birds chirped and the villagers went about their evening business.

“There is a way around that limitation, at least to some extent,” Tobias eventually continued. “Dragonstone can absorb and retain mana. If you channel it into the weapon over time, you can charge up enormous amounts of mana that can be released as needed. That’s how most people use the great swords, they charge energy day after day. When they finally go to war, the user can release years’ worth of mana at a time.”

“And my warhammer will be the same way?” asked Enzo.

“It will,” Tobias replied. “Dragonstone retains the imbued mana from the dragon that produced it. Anything made from this cluster will be focused on the fire mana Talwen specializes in.”

So storing mana daily to charge the weapon will be a must, and it will grow in potential strength with me as I get better at using my Affinity.

Enzo smiled as combat combos flowed through his imagination.

“Alright, let’s keep it simple,” he said. “Flat head on one side, curved spike on the other. Light

enough to use in one hand, long enough to grapple.”

A matching smile cracked Tobias’s face.

“I like the enthusiasm, son. Let’s get to work.”