Nil

From the first days of her life, Nil felt strongly attracted to the forge. The hatchling flitted around, getting underfoot and dangerously close to the work. Eventually one of the smiths, a grizzled old Snapper, accepted the tiny Fae as an apprentice, if only to keep her out of harm’s way. She couldn’t even lift the hammers and tools at first, perched on top of the Snapper’s head, watching her work. Nil learned by watching, and when she was grown, the Snapper made her a miniaturized hammer and and other tools. Nil started with nails, making thousands to practice hammerwork. She worked her way up through basic designs - hooks, latches, fire tools. Eventually the Snapper set her to adding fine details to larger works - engravings on armor, ornate jewelry patterns, delicate pieces of filigree and chainmail.

Nil worked under her Snapper mentor, but found herself frustrated by her physical limitations. She simply couldn’t shape the steel in enough quantities to create armor for any of the larger dragons, and the tiny projects she could handle felt pointless. The matriarch of her clan, an aged Guardian, noticed the young Fae’s restlessness. The clan as a whole had few casters, and did little work with magic, but the Guardian could sense a great deal of potential in Nil. She advised the young dragon to strike out on her own and seek a teacher who might be able to nurture her magical abilities as well as her smithing.

Nil set out with nothing but her most basic tools. She wandered the Ashfall Waste, borrowing forge space from the smiths she met, picking up bits and pieces of technique along the way. She found few smiths who integrated magic into their work, and only in the most basic ways. But she learned, and practiced, and developed her techniques. She sought only knowledge, and had no plans to stop her journey.

Then she met Gisil.