— the blacksmith chasing fire —

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The well-known and beloved blacksmith of a quaint little town in the country Seragos, Lancelot has lived there for over two decades. The blacksmith's origins lie elsewhere however, like many other orcs his birthplace is in the Gyrohul Region. Lancelot was born into the chiefdom of Sharrack, as one of many sons to the leader Shamrock. The Sharrack Chiefdom was one of the most known clans, with warriors whom had a fierce punch and undying will. It differed from other clans thanks to its more strict beliefs, rules and culture. Example of such, was the chief being regarded as an alpha male, and only he was allowed to have a harem to bring forth the next generation of strongest warriors. Any male or female that was deemed unfit to fight, was abandoned as soon as possible, or even killed.

Lancelot was regarded as one of the weaker ones, and for that reason he was picked on a lot during his childhood. After all, if an orc from the Sharrock Chiefdom couldn't fend for themselves, they were dead meat. The only one who cared for Lancelot despite his differences was his mother. The only reason Lancelot was allowed to stay, was because his mother became Shamrock's main wife after his first had passed in battle. It didn't mean much, however, as his father, half-siblings and everyone else in the clan looked down on him. Most of the time losing fights and brawls, Lancelot would often hide behind his mother for protection in his younger years. The orc never wanted to fight as much as the others, and of course that was deemed honourless in the eyes of the others.

Despite being the punching bag of the Sharrack Chiefdom, Lancelot wanted to be useful to his clanmates in some way or another. When he was a young teen, he picked up blacksmithing, being taught by the seniors after pleading them to do so over and over again. While he wasn't the most fit to dislocate someone else's jaw, he did have an eye for weaponry and armours. The Sharrack orcs were undeniably strong brawlers, but Lancelot was one of the few that saw past the stigma and thought that wielding armour and weapons would make them even stronger. Due to the Sharrack orcs' nature, it was deemed a cheat to use armour and weapons to become stronger, not actually utilising one's raw power only. Lancelot's endeavours to weld weapons and armour was heavily discouraged by his seniors and his father, but that wouldn't stop him. His want to be finally seen as someone useful, albeit in an unconventional way, was stronger than the want to give up. And luckily for Lancelot, it eventually paid off.

At first, his clanmates weren't impressed whatsoever. Blacksmiths only existed purely to create the base for strong structures, as well as brawl-focused equipment. No one knew how to wield a sword or even properly put on armour, and didn't see the point either. It wasn't until Lancelot finally won in a duel by a huge margin that they started paying attention, as Lancelot was victorious thanks to his own smithed armour and weapons. The first to speak up about this accomplishment was his father. In his words, Lancelot's work was unconventional and unusual, and for that reason ignored- However, thanks to his victory, it may prove a way to make the weaker orcs stronger. Lancelot rolled his eyes at being called the weak one yet again, but was glad he opened the path to change.

Lancelot became way more proficient in smithing as he got older during his teens, at some point even taking over the entire smithy as its main blacksmith. As he did, he gained the respect from his clan that he'd been chasing for years. The more armours and weapons he forged, the more it'd be deemed normal to utilise them. At first it was only a means of keeping the weaker orcs on par with the stronger ones, which was beneficial to keeping the fighter count higher than ever before. When the stronger fighters started wielding them, the stigma would slowly fade over time. More and more clanmates would agree with Lancelot that they'd been deliberately ignorant of becoming stronger besides sheer, raw power, and would embrace, and even enjoy wielding a broadsword or giant axe. It made the strength of the Sharrack Chiefdom spike compared to the others, and for years on end they were an unstoppable force, with their own established territory that no one dared to touch.

However, their strengths didn't go unnoticed by just the other chiefdoms. The one and only empire within the region, which consisted of a subspecies of orcs called dragon orcs, noticed that particular orc clans would be beneficial of use. The Sharrack Chiefdom was one of them, and before everyone knew it, the dragon orcs had sent their troops to obliterate their base and territory, as well as capture any capable warrior to use as a slave. It was already too late when they launched ginormous, extremely powerful fireballs. Leaving a huge crater and many, many, many injured and dead in its place, the Sharrack Chiefdom was practically wiped out in minutes, with survivors taken as prisoners. If the stronger chiefdoms like Sharrack's were taken down, surely the other clans would by no doubt bow to the dragon orcs.. And that they did.

— THE RENEWED FORGE ARC —

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Lancelot was one of the few lucky ones to get out of the attack alive. With the majority of the clan gone, but his father amongst the few free survivors, they were ordered to stay together and find a hideout- The orcs that didn't want to stay, were free to leave, although they would be banished forever. Emotions were at an extreme high for Lancelot in that moment, with the majority gone, even his mother, and all his hard work and equipment he'd gained respect for over the years.. It was all gone. As if in the spur of the moment, Lancelot shared a firm handshake with his father, took the few things that survived the fires, and left. Where to, the young orc didn't know. One thing was clear in his mind, however, and that was he would never join another chiefdom.

It took several weeks walking west, when Lancelot finally reached the region border. Orcs like Lancelot himself, he knew, weren't deemed too friendly usually by the western folk. Unlike his home, the Valdryn Region had social structures, rulerships, guilds and full-on civilisations. Whilst he wasn't familiar with the culture and customs that came with it, he was willing to learn. His first few years were spent at several inns, as the orc was travelling around villages and cities, to get to know civilisation better. He managed to get bread on the table by taking apprenticeships at local smiths, even if it wasn't much. As time went on, Lancelot adapted to this new lifestyle, and would keep travelling until he found a place he could call home. This wouldn't happen for another three or so years, but eventually he found a little town he deemed cozy enough in the country Seragos.

The local villagers celebrated with Lancelot, once he opened his forge called Fyre's Fuels. His smithy was the first in town, and that would by no doubt make the lives of folk plenty easier. No longer did they have to travel by cart several towns away, to get a new pair of boots or a shield, or even a farmer's pitchfork. Lancelot quickly became well-known and beloved within his town. Rather than being treated as a vicious, uncivilised orc, over the years he'd found that the western folk usually took a liking to him. Perhaps it was his gentler nature, or his willingless to adapt and learn about the region he'd moved to. Not being used to all the praise and respect he got straight off the bat, Lancelot was overjoyed with tears. The town he'd picked was a good one, and he wasn't planning on leaving.

As the months and years went by, Lancelot's smithy had become quite popular, even getting customers from other towns. Word would go that Lancelot's forging skills were like no other, and he'd bring out the highest quality of works, even if it looked as bland as an iron sword. Unbeknownst to them and Lancelot himself, his untapped magic potential would seep into his works, giving them simple, but effective enchantments. It wasn't until a group of travelling wizards met him, that Lancelot found out about this. The orc stroke a deal with the wizards, in return for enchantment lessons, the orc would create them any weapon or armour they needed. This deal went on from spring until the winter, and by the end of it Lancelot had learned the basics and intermediate enchantments. After this, his works only increased in quality and strength, and Lancelot's smithy remained beloved as ever by his most frequent customers.

In order to keep up with the demand, once he was proficient enough, Lancelot forged a strong armour set that he'd enchant. Enchanting immobile items to be mobile was an advanced enchantment, but Lancelot managed to pull it off. The armour was to be utilised as a walking oven so to say, keeping all the forges and works around the place up to temperature when needed. From the moment the armour set was finished, Lancelot dubbed it Halstead. Ideally, the orc wanted to enchant the armour with sentience, but that required way more skill than the orc had at the time. Despite the armour not being officially sentient, Lancelot treated it as such, and was overjoyed when one of his old wizard friends offered to help him enchant it as he wanted. Halstead practically became a son to Lancelot, and always made sure he was treated well.

It didn't come as a surprise to Lancelot, when folks started asking Lancelot to teach them to weld weapons, armour and tools. While he wasn't really open to the idea at first, anxious about being a good mentor, the first he taught was a young boy hoping to get his family out of poverty. After him, others followed, and Lancelot made sure to teach them one at a time, so they could learn without any distractions and ask questions without hesitation. It was during this point he also met Little Ghost, an amateur mercenary who wanted to pick up smithing as a hobby. Soon this mercenary would become known as Syrinq to the blacksmith, and like the younglings he'd taught before her, Lancelot treated them all with the care and knowledge a mentor could give. A few of his pupils became like his own children to him, as Lancelot would watch them grow more experienced and be able to pursue their dreams. In the case of the first boy he ever taught, he was able to pull his loved ones out of their misery- Eventually moving out of town to go better places. In Syrinq's case, Little Ghost improved steadily at mercenary work, and Lancelot gifted her a personalised enchanted sword to celebrate. Once Little Ghost changed her alias to her real name, Syrinq wanted to reflect that properly in her equipment. She put her blueprint ideas for an armour set on the table, and Lancelot thought it was a grand idea, forging the entire set for her.

It's been years since Lancelot has taught those two pupils of his, but he's happy to know they're in good places, partially thanks to him. From time to time, he gets visits from Syrinq, with whom he's still got a father-daughter bond with. It overjoys Lancelot to see her new ideas and creations she's putting on the table, even after she became part of a knight squad. The blacksmith still joyfully teaches new folk about smithing, no matter the age or where they come from. Folk all over the country place orders at Fyre's Fuels, even some guilds do, such as the Haevirndawn Guild. The orc has been in his little town for over two decades, now nearing his 50s, but he's happy to stay put exactly where he is. At times he does wonder how his old clanmates are doing, and he hopes they're doing as well as he is.