Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin felt a wave of awe as he walked into the massive, multi-layered smithy.

"Stop gawking. You're making me look bad," Ambraz hissed in his ear.

"What kind of smith needs a workplace that big?" Irwin muttered.

A few of the nearby students snickered while Skylar grinned.

"You will see in a moment," he said. "Let's go grab some good spots!"

Irwin followed Skylar to a metal staircase leading up to the first floor before quickly claiming two workbenches with adjacent forges and an area for an anvil.

Ambraz flew from Irwin's shoulder, landing in the center and turning into his working size.

"Wow, he's almost black- what kind of metal did they use for his batch? I don't recall…" Skylar began just as a pale, silvery Anvil appeared before him.

"Skylar, stop acting like an airhead," a light, feminine voice said. "He's obviously one of the Monarch's Progeny!"

Girl Ganvil? Irwin thought, eyes wide in surprise.

He knew Ganvils had no gender, but so far, all of them had sounded like men, which was what he thought of them.

"Really?" Skylar blurted, looking at Irwin with wide eyes. "You're bonded to a Progeny? Why didn't you-"