"just a bit more to the right aye, otherwise the rune wont fit on the head". 
>"alright..just..a bit..".
>the heat engravement tool finally finished the shape, it glows a faint blue color before fading in. 
>and with that, the head of a warmaul is finished, smith'd into the shape of a scowling beast. 
>"pretty good for a first timer, but nothing compared to a seasoned dragonsmith of course" astrova states. 
>i look down at my finished work, turning the head around to admire the finished engravings. 
>tapping it a bit with a mallet, each ping makes the runes glow a dull blue with each impact. 
>"not bad at all" i reply. 
>to those wondering, i've been working under a local weaponsmith for only about 4 years now since my "arrival". 
>astrova is a dragonkin, and as such, is very proficient when it comes to the creation of weapons and armor. 
>but not just building them, the real deal is the runesmithing. 
>small symbols when etched with a certain material allow the user to inscribe specific effects on to a weapon or piece of armor. 
>the one i just finished was a sigil of protection. 
>normally its pretty difficult to pull it off the first time, not astrova has been a good teacher to me. 
>it was hard at first given how large she is, and how large her tools are, but over time i learned how to make it work. 
>being taught craftsmanship from a nine foot half dragon is another story, but at least my engineering degree was finally put to use. 


>at first it was just sharpened slabs or iron. 
>then daggers, moving up to shortswords, longswords, etc, 
>then the larger more ornate weapons. 
>ballistas, warhammers, greatswords, etc. 
>even whole suits of armor, although the rune inscribing process is a bit more complicated. 
>with each piece of armor needing a small piece of the full rune, before the whole suit is constructed with the rune activated. 
>its a long process, but then again astrova is a masterclass dragonsmith, so its not a big deal. 
>but, i've been saving something special to show her at some point. 
>once i was sure she'd be ready to understand it. 
>"hey so astrova, i've been saving something to show you".
>"oh ?" she says, the remake making her ears stand on end. 
>"hang on, just one sec" i tell her, before going back to my room. 
>coming back i bring the very backpack that i had on me when i was dumped here. 
>"sooo, i never showed you this, because i didnt think you wouldn understand it". 
>slowly reaching into my bag, i produce the the small object for her. 
>"and, i was wondering if its possible for a rune inscription to work on this". 
>in my hands is a small, but functional handgun. 
>passing it over to astrova, it almost seems smaller than a toy in her hands. 
>"what exactly is it ?" she ponders with a puzzled expression, looking it over. 
>"well its a, uh..its a gun". 
>"a gun ? like a canon ?". 
>"something like that, but smaller. you know of slurbows ?". 
>"of course i do, you know that". 
>easy so far. 
>"well, so its like a slurbow, but fires like a cannon, but much smaller. do you think its possible to inscribe it ?". 
>her face lights up with a glowing smile. 
>"LEAVE IT TO ME !". 


>not even an hour later and the handgun is completely taken apart. 
>its pieces laid out on the work table. 
>hunched over, astrova delicately inspects each piece, sometimes flipping her little magnifying glass down. 
>each new part looked over makes her gasp in excitement over something. 
>all i can realy do is sit and wait. 
>from the spring to the action, every new part fascinates her. 
>probably the first time she's seen one. 
>"i cant believe..is this..?". 
>she's very inquisitive. 
>"so what do you think ?". 
>"it'll take time, but i think it cane be done". 
>nice. 
>shifting her massive frame around, she turns back towards me with the inscription tools. 
>"alright lad, shall i get to work then ?" she asks teasingly, 
>"with pleasure, lady astrova" i return jokingly. 
>and with that she gets to work. 
>now you'd think dragons and draconic people in general would take issue with working the smaller, finer parts of smithing. 
>but even with the large hands they still take their time VERY slowly, almost to a standstill. 
>dracanoid culture holds smithing and runesmithing to a very high degree. 
>almost a cornerstone profession in their culture. 
>"if i'm correct, using the same technique as armore inscribing should work on this". 
>gently picking through every part from the slide to the hammer to the spring. 
>then comes the etching phase. 
>using the tools, astrova meticulously etches the half-runes on to each part to a terrifying degree of accuracy. 
>then again its also taking hours just for each piece. 
>i think at some point the waiting made me doze off...



>"HEY, YOU AWAKE LAD ? BETTER NOT BE DOZIN OFF NOW". 
>the booming voice wakes me in seconds. 
>oh i guess its done now. 
>"you know you can just tap my shoulder or something next time". 
>getting back to the table i see the fully assembled gun in all its glory. |
>"wow, it done already ?". 
>"took a bit longer than i'd like, but yes, its finished" she replies, admiring her handiwork. 
>she actually put it back together right first try. 
>handing it over to me, i inspect and make sure it still works. 
>amazingly it does, smooth as ever. 
>not even the spring was put back wrong. 
>in fact the only hint of it being changed was the faint blue glow from the tiny runes. 
>it feels like a low pulse in my hands. 
>"what did you do to it ?". 
>"well" she says while adjusting her glasses, "why dont we just see for ourselves ?". 
>perfect timing. 
>before i know it we're both outside at the little homemade range. 
>normally it was built to test all manner of this worlds ranged weapons. 
>crossbows, slurbows, hand mortars, etc
>using a normal "modern" handgun on such soft targets is a bit odd, but it'll work for now. 
>maybe i can get some metal targets some other time, that'd be perfect. 
>"hey uh, you might wanna get the outfit for this. also dont forget the earmuffs". 
>shortly after she comes back on "the outfit". 
>full heavy coating with various plates. 
>plated mask, full horn and ear coverings. 
>granted, she probably doesnt need all of it, but she's never seen a modern gun shoot and it might spook her. 
>i know silly right, but think of elephants being scared of mice. 
>same thing pretty much. 
>plus i dont actually know what effect she put on it. 
>cant take any chances. 
>"alright, first test. 1...2....".
>breath in, breath out. 
>'3 !". 
>the shot rings out, landing right on the wooden and straw target. 
>"huh, thats odd. what effect did you put on it ?". 
>lifting the face plate she replies. 
>"keep looking at the target, just change your firing direction lad". 
>hmm thats...
>strange, but whatever. 
>here goes nothing. 
this time try pointing the gun off to the right, while still maintaining eye contact with the target. 
>"alright, test number two. 1...2...3 !". 
>the shot rings out again, leaving a hole in the target. 
>somehow. 
>but, it was pointing away..?. 
>no...
>"are these ?" i question, turning back to my mentor. 
>"where the eye leads, they seek" she replies. 
>actual tracking ammo. 
>or tracking gun. 
>whatever. 
>time to try again. 
>reloading with a full mag this time, i try different firing positions. 
>"alright, test number three, firing on 1....2.......
>here we go. 
>"3 !". 
>all ten shots ring out one after another, all landing perfectly on target. 
>at some points you could even see the smoke curving slightly. 
>i cant believe it worked. 
>"we have to try this with something else". 
>"well then young runesmith, shall we begin on the next step ?". 
>"i've been waiting for you to ask me that for years. 
>fin.