Arnskar

Arnskar here is my clan's master smith. An expert in both mundane and magical smithing techniques, Arnskar provides the clan with his great skills. Born to a Nomadic group, Arnskar wandered the Dragonhome until coming upon a little market. Finding a master smith by the name of Ram Izad at this Market, Arnskar was enthralled by the opportunities afforded by the chance meeting and was able to gain an apprenticeship under him. For years, he learned Izad's trade. Within the forge was a singing cube that was said to contain the knowledge of any who have touched it. For years, the Master smith's of the clan have used to hopefully bestow their knowledge, but none had ever gained from it and many wondered if it worked in both directions if at all.

In a bid to impress his aging master, Arnskar saught to unlock the cube. To focus, Arnskar would forge anything or nothing at all. While forging, the cube resonated with the metal as it was being struck, and so Arnskar would strike the metal to the Cube's tune. The cube then opened. Upon contact, Arnskar was sent into unconsciousness for days. He woke in time, now with the memories of ages crammed right into his skull, just in time to talk to Ram Izad for a while before Izad died from his age. As a memorial, Arnskar used his master's tools to construct a blade using his ancient knowledge, carrying the ashes of his master with him the entire time. Arnskar would then leave the forge with the sword and ashes to bring them to the Cairnstone Rest. Meeting Mecca along the way, the two dragons traveled together until they reached the Cairn, having crossed much of Dragonhome in the process. After the two had completed the journey, Arnskar built Ram Izad a cairn and entombed his ashes and the sword within.

After this journey, Arnskar decided to come with Mecca back to the Quarry some forty years ago.
In the time Arnskar has lived in the Quarry, he forged several swords like that which he made for Ram Izad's grave. None had the emotional power of that one sword, which was forged before he could control his flooding memories. His later pieces are more focused. His later blades combine magic with metallurgy to make weapons bound with artificially created spirits that are powered by a host dragon. Those that live on include a blade with one of his sons produced Arnskar and Mecca, a blade that is Shira, and Arnskar's personal weapon Ryujin Jakka.

The cube bestowed upon Arnskar the memories of thousands of individuals. Not the minds, just the memories that made them. As a result, Arnskar remembers things from long before dragons even existed. He has knowledge that no other living being, even the Arcanist, knows. These memories have great power, however, and have, at times, greatly destabilized Arnskar's mind. The memories can be very loud, making it difficult for Arnskar to discern which memories are his or not. Not all of the memories are clear, but many of them are even more vivid than his own.

The many memories have made Arnskar appear quite dull and emotionless at times, but this is a necessary trade off. Without Arnskar's emotional buffers, Arnskar would be very prone to rapid, volatile mood swings in response to his memories' trends. Seeing something that elicits anger might remind Arnskar of a million moments of intense rage. Something sad might remind Arnskar of a million family deaths. Though the memories are not individual minds, they greatly alter Arnskar's own.

Arnskar took over the position of Master Smith after the previous dragon decided to pursue a path of mechanics and physics instead. Arnskar aided Stark in the production of Stark's most glorious machine the Core, which supplied the clan with near limitless energy for several years. However, the power of the core was its undoing, as, one day, it melted down and imploded, drawing two clan members, a visitor from another clan, and a stranger into the rift in space it had made.

Arnskar bestowed one of his blades to one of his sons, Hollis, before Hollis struck out on his own. Arnskar claims that his son stole the blade, likely as a way to justify the disappearance of such a powerful weapon. Hollis' blade has the unique ability to split into thousands of small fragments that can move at Hollis' will and reform just as quickly. Except on close inspection, the blades look like flower petals. A good look at the fragments reveals that they are wickedly sharp, however.

Arnskar is often considered an Elder alongside Nyura, Orion, Mecca, Minerva, Bacchus, and Ryzolli.

Arnskar seems somewhat infatuated with Weir, a clan guardsman. Shira encourages his attempts at romantic courtship, but Arnskar is unusually hesitant in this regard, much to his own confusion.

Arnskar is a great curiosity to the historian Soteris for his wealth of knowledge relating to the second era, but some of Arnskar's knowledge is crowded, and like normal memories, they do get mixed together. Even given the fallibility of memory, they have proven priceless to Soteris' work on the subject.

Normally speaking, a blacksmith with specialize and focus on one type of metal working, such as architectural elements or swordsmithing. But, due to Arnskar's expansive set of memories from smiths of all disciplines and beyond, Arnskar has proficiency in basically all forms of metal working. From foundryman to farrier, Arnskar knows most anything a metalworker could ever need to know.