Master Barkhem

"Welcome to my shop. Please feel free to look around at the armor we have available. If you are looking for work, just let me know."

"That's great news! I could really use a hand. I have constructed some shield frames ideal for use with the carapaces found on [bloodlings]. Unfortunately I do not have the time to collect any of the shells. You can either purchase the frames and keep the shields for yourself, or you can return them to me and I will compensate you for your troubles."

"Cht`Thk bloodlings are parasites found in the thickets just beyond the south gate. You best be careful, they have a habit of sucking the blood from a person and spreading diseases."

"Huh? Oh, here is a repair order for the Guards' shields, I will only give you one at a time as I do not want you overworking yourself so early in your education."

"Have you not met Tiamon out in the Thicket yet? He is always telling anyone who wants to listen all about spirit anchors. Let me sum it up for you- the shadeweavers hunt the beings of shadow in the thicket to make their special shadow armor called Xakra. Now if you or I were to try to don this armor, it wouldn't last long as the shadows are not bound to this plane. Tiamon developed a method of [binding the spirits] in such a way that they will last. Mind you, he works with needles and threads- I work with the tools of a smith."

"When something has been exposed to great ritual and culture, like the stones used to build a city or the instrument of one of our bardic historians, it kind of develops its own memories, you might say, and becomes a suitable spirit anchor. When he was Master Smith of SharVahl City, Kagazz began collecting the discarded weapons and armor of our fallen heroes and melting them down to make smithing tools. In this way he honored their achievements by passing their experience into new weapons and armor for our young heroes-to-be. As it turns out, these anvils are very strong spirit anchors, so strong that you can [rend shadow] itself."

"That's right. You will be working with the very fabric of shadow and sound, but we'll get to the sound part later. For now, hunt the shades in the Thicket; they hold moderate pieces of the power that you can use to experiment with. The mallet I gave you can be used to gather the shadows into a solid mass if you strike them on this anvil. You're probably best starting with something simple like Shadow disks to begin with."