1453: Revival of Byzantium

Chapter 36: The Song of Sword and Metal

Meanwhile, the 'heroic admiral' they are talking about are in his iron forge, inspecting the progress made by Orban and Jacob. The iron work forge, being the only one in the Genoese quarters in the north of the city, is not only the largest but busiest iron forge in the entire city. Each day loads and loads of coals, metal ores, fragments, spoilt weapons, armours and arrowheads are loaded into the forge ships after ships right through the harbour of Neorion and Prosphorion.

The first brick of the iron forge is laid down by Antonius, but he put into fully in charge under Orban and Jacob, supplying his fleet and men with a never-ending abundant supply of metals, weapons, arrows, armours. The fires in the furnaces burns all days and nights, casting the entire place as the most illuminated place in the entire city.

Orban and Jacob, just like the others, came in action with a thin sleeved white shirt exposing their naked arms. Orban wields the big mallet while Jacob wields the smaller one, smashing it onto the anvil. Beat after beat, one smash after the other, forming a unique melody of hammers and metal which sounds fabulous among the ears of the workers, as this sound shows that the metal is a decent one.

There are female workers enrolling in all kinds of places in the forge too, but most of them squats by the stove pulling and pushing the pistons of the bellows with force, making sure the fire wont stop flickering inside the stove. The coals glitters inside the stove like shining diamonds, from bright red to dim-colour. They are perspiring like crazy from the surrounding heat. Donned in a paper-thin white blouse, their shirts too, are soaked wet becoming translucent revealing what it inside. Their silk long hair as-if just showered and their face showed up in a vibrant colour under the light of flames, forming a special scenery of beauty inside the iron work.

Beside the stoves are tunnels of running cold water right from the Marmara Sea. After a while of hammering and forging, the black smiths will use a pair of pliers and rinse the steaming hot metal piece into the water, this is a process called Quenching, which will effectively increasing the metal's strength, durability and hardness. Considering what they are going to make, quenching makes it vitally important.

Antonius strolls himself inside the forge, accompanied by Abdullah. Somehow, he loves the melody of hammering, songs of flames bursting up and down, tune of metal sizzling in the waters, and choir of workers shouting while working. This is also a place of blood, sweat, and iron. However, unlike battlefield which also comprises of blood, sweat and iron, Antonius likes it here. He can even spend hours in this place watching swords and knives being forged, new components for Orban's 'Weapon of New Era' being built as it forms into shape.

The 'Weapon of New Era' looks extraordinarily strange, Antonius has never seen any supposed weapon like that before. It is a gigantic rough bronze rod, still waiting to be polished on the surface. It is hollow inside making people wonder how this thing can shield enemy swords and arrows. There is this big opening in behind which according to Orban, is supposed to 'put some thing big in it'. The whole thing looks like those ringing bells that those kids play nowadays. Big head with narrow tail.

Antonius, being no engineer himself, paused a while and examined the weapon that is still being forged.

He concluded that he does not understand a thing about it.

Antonius shook his head and walked away, always he also has this pursue for new knowledge and more powerful weapons, but he thinks that with incoming threats they should manufacture more arrows, blades, and armours. Antonius then walked straight to Orban and Jacob who is taking a brief moment of rest, wiping the sweat on their head with a towel.

"Orban!"

"Your Highness." Seeing its Antonius, Orban hurriedly bowed and greeted.

"How is the progress of the forge so far?"

"Your highness." Jacob stepped forward, bowed and replied on the behalf of his father in his Hungarian accent. "The forge is already half-complete, with some stoves and smiths already placed into production. We have already produced a few dozen blades and pieces of armour, and we have a few hundred in the process"

Antonius nodded in satisfaction, such speed in these times are already considered very pro-efficient. He pondered for a while and asked. "Orban, about that big metal rod over there is that some kind of weapon whereby you throw it onto the foes during a siege to prevent them from climbing the walls?"

Orban startled for a while, and then finally understood what is the 'bug metal rod' Antonius is referring about. He laughed and explained. "Your highness, that is not a 'big metal rod', I would rather call it 'tunuri de mare calibru' in my hometown, or in your language 'large calibre artillery'"

"Large kaliber artilari?" Antonius repeated Orban's articulation, with his head full of question marls.

"Yes, your highness." Orban laughed, walked the big metal rod, and patted its huge bronze casting, looking at it with a gentle pair of eyes as-if it is his own child.

"Just in another month, this babe shall be finished and ready for a round of test shot, then you shall see what this babe is capable of doing, your highness." Orban said as he gently caresses the rough bronze surface of his 'babe'.

Jacob smiled and continued. "Trust me, your highness, you won't be disappointed by her, we dare to call her the weapon and ends an era for a reason. She is far more capable than any weapons of destruction you can imagine."

Antonius nodded in approval of Jacob's words, filled with suspicion and curiosity of how powerful the 'large kaliber artilari' shall be. However, soon as he touches the surface of the big metal rod, he realised one thing.