Inside the makeshift shed hastily erected at the edge of the gravel beach, the sound of metal striking metal beat like a flurry of drums, making the air itself vibrate with a dull hum.
Xilonen, the Natlan artisan, worked with corded muscles on her bronze arms as she swung a massive sledgehammer, bringing it down hard against a warped and twisted sheet of metal. Sparks showered in all directions as the plate gradually took on the embryonic shape of a blazing wheel-cart's hull. Scattered around her feet were various oddly shaped components, centered on a scarred yet faintly glowing "Source Mechanism" salvaged from the wreckage of a crashed blazing wheel-cart—the beating heart of the vehicle.
"Here! The riveted joints of the chassis must be thickened by three layers!" Pyro Archon Mavuika had appeared beside the shed's support pillar at some point, her crimson eyes locked intently on the suspension structure, her tied-back red hair swaying slightly with the gestures of her pointing finger. Before Xilonen could respond, Mavuika stepped forward in long strides and scooped up an even heavier forging hammer with one hand. "The slag ridges of the Cinnabar Cliff are ten times as bumpy as this gravel beach! This frame has to withstand the vibration!" Before her voice even faded, the heavy forging hammer descended with absolute precision. A resounding "Clang!" shook the dust from the shed's roof in a flurry. A flash of admiration crossed Xilonen's eyes as she immediately handed over a …
Chapter 58