maddjak said:
I'd like to check out the enchanting workshop.

Your party decides to try the Enchanter's Workshop next, and makes its way eastward and out of the town square. Meanwhile, a new band claims the stage, and begins to play lively fiddle tunes backed by a bass banjo, a tambourine, and a harmonica.

As you follow the signs to the activity, you cross paths with a dozen ponies proudly wearing shiny pendants and other jewelled accessories. Soon, you reach the end of the road, and join a group waiting for the workshop's next round to start.

You don't have to wait for long, as Crystal Charm answers the last of her previous participants' questions, then bids them farewell, before turning her attention to the newcomers.

Crystal Charm: "Welcome, welcome! Let's give the stragglers another minute or two. In the meantime, make some friends and pick a seat — up to four ponies per table."

Within moments, everypony is seated, and a few late arrivals are promptly invited to join one table or another. On each table, you find various boards and tools labelled with numbers, a glass cube, and a bowl of water with some pipettes next to it.

Crystal Charm: "Alright! All eyes over here! Hello! My name is Crystal Charm, and today, I'll be teaching you how to cut a gemstone, and then enchant it with an Everlight spell.

Now, I can already see some of you getting worried, so let me assure you: no, you don't need to know the spell, and no, you don't need to be a unicorn to cast it. We'll be using spell scrolls for the enchanting part, and I'll be teaching you how to use those as well.

But more on that later! For now, let's start by levelling the playing field for everyone. If you know your magic colour, raise your hoof!"

As you look around, you notice that almost exclusively unicorns raise their hoof.

Crystal Charm: "That's about what I expected! While everypony has a magic colour, we unicorns can easily see ours by casting spells through our horn. For example, mine is around the middle between orange and yellow, also known as amber!"

To demonstrate, the unicorn channels some magic through her horn, making it glow with warm golden light.

Crystal Charm: "On your table, you'll find a light cube. When you touch it, it will glow with the colour of your own magic. Give it a try, pass it around!"

Curious, you do as instructed. You pick up the cube, and as you hold it in your hooves, it begins to glow a deep azure. Then, you pass it over to Moonflower, and it changes to a vibrant orange, matching her eyes. Finally, Apple Basket gives it a try, and gets a colour very close to the bat pony's own, if not a tinge more yellow.

Crystal Charm: "Did everypony get a chance to see their magic colour? Heheh, you'll get to play with gemstones soon, don't worry. But first, let me explain why your magic colour is relevant.

Like I mentioned earlier, we'll be enchanting our gemstones with an Everlight spell. That spell will make your gemstone light up just like the cube did, but for much longer. Because of this, the colour is important.

If you pick a gemstone that's the same colour as your magic, the light will shine through perfectly. But if your gemstone is a different colour, the light will be filtered through it, and come out mixed. So for example, a blue gemstone with yellow magic will glow green. Keep that in mind!"

Crystal Charm then walks over to a rack of wooden bins filled with all kinds of raw gemstones.

Crystal Charm: "Now that you have a better idea of which colour to go for, let's start thinking about shapes and sizes. Since we're aiming for roughly one hour's work today, let's stick to simple, angular shapes: triangles, squares, rhombuses, things like that.

And since we'll be cutting these gems, the result will be a bit smaller than the raw stone you chose. Pick something close to what you need! For example, if you want to make a night light, you can use a larger gem — but for an earring, that would be a lot of waste, so pick a smaller one instead, alright?

With the colour, shape and size in mind, let's take a look at the gemstones we have here. From left to right, we've got the easier quartzes and beryls, and the slightly more challenging tourmalines, garnets, and zircons. Come and pick your favourite! And if you have any questions before you choose, that's what I'm here for."

As you join the others in browsing the gemstones, you begin to think about what you want to make, and which gemstone you want to use.

— —
Previous Page:>>3032039
— —