Aubergidaal Gauntlets
"You will make gauntlets for Lanth."
Jhor looked at the transparent box filled with dark purple powder and back at Vision. The khentauree radiated calm, but he did not think that would smooth over his curiosity and skepticism.
"This is?" he asked.
"Aubergidaal."
Ooooooh. His thoughts raced through the mental blueprints of the keltaitheerdaal gauntlets as he held the box up to his eyes.
"There is fire, with the keltaitheerdaal gauntlets," Sanna said, her skepticism deeper than his. "We do not want to give Lanth fire."
"Aubergidaal is not the same," Vision said. "It is safer, and in Jhor's hands, it will make a potent weapon."
Jhor patted Sanna's arm. "I've been pondering modifications to the keltaitheerdaal formula. Those ideas will work better with this." He grinned and shook the powder, hearing a soft, satisfying thump thump.
In this document:
Artwork by Shade Melodique
unless otherwise stated
Featured Image and Card Background by KanawatTH, Adobe Stock Images
unless otherwise stated
Featured Image and Card Background by KanawatTH, Adobe Stock Images
Original Gauntlets
Lapis's chaser and rebel gauntlets had one gigantic problem; khentauree sponoil and other sticky substances gunked up the inner workings, making them unusable. Due to the nature of their inner workings, she had to send them to a tech for cleaning. She had not thought much about the problem when her partner Patch ordered her original pair from a local undermarket tech in Jiy, but the blades, while suitable for scaring guttershanks, would become stuck at inopportune moments. Seeing the need for better equipment, Patch asked the same Dentherion modder who constructed his tech eye for an improved set. The modder, Sils, used an alloy, something he called his 'dead-eye special', to make the blades harder and sharper, but decided to keep a mechanical design for the interior workings. He built a network of gears that attached to an outer handle, which moved the blades in and out of the sheath riveted to the top of the gauntlet.
The gauntlets were made from hard brown leather, with straps tightened around the bottom to keep it in place. On top was a metal sheath with two grooves at the sides. A handle attached to movable sliders in the groove and curved under Lapis's arm, resting near her elbow until she needed her blade. She would press a trigger button on the side of her gauntlet, which activated the interior gears, flipped the handle forward and sent it sliding into her palm. The sliders would hook the metal base of the blade, and unsheath it along with the handle's motion.
She would then slice or stab, keeping her grip on the handle until she no longer needed the blade. Once released, the handle would return to its rest near the elbow, sheathing the blade as it did so.
Therein laid the problem; the blade would bring gunk, blood, or whatnot back into the sheath with it, which would ooze into the gears and prevent them from functioning correctly.
Aubergidaal
Sils chose the mechanical route with the gauntlets because aquatheerdaal was hard to find. The mineral powered all tech in the Dentherion Empire, and while uncommon during the best of times, the supply had dwindled due to the mines running dry. Jhor, another Dentherion modder, pondered the problem. As an ex-military tech, he knew the theerdaala minerals intimately--and knew they were not interchangeable when it came to powering tech. Lapis needed to continue using the mechanical blades until he found a solution. Lucky for her, Vision offered him access to aubergidaal.
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