Style Quest: Varick's Talisman

Varick was raised to be a tailor like his parents and thus had no formal magical education, nor did his parents. There hadn’t been a magic user in the Clydesdale’s family in generations. So when Varick began manifesting powers, his parents didn’t know what to do. Luckily Drakethorpe had an Adventurer’s Guild branch within its borders. Finding a tutor that wouldn’t charge an obscene tutor fee wasn’t easy. Even the more reasonably priced teachers were more than the tailors could afford with the meager profits from their small shop. Varick’s fire magics grew more difficult for the young horse to control every day, so a teacher had to be found, even if it would bankrupt the family. Luckily it didn’t come to that as an older soot grey scale Dragonborn, who called himself Kriv, volunteered to teach Varick in exchange for a new suit.

 

“Alright, kid, before I teach you how to use your powers, we need to work on control,” the Dragonborn told Varick. The mahogany-colored Clydesdale hated being called kid but knew better than to talk back to an adult. Especially one that scared him a little bit with his intimidating draconic features. “To control your magic, you need a talisman to focus your magic.”

 

“What’s a talisman,” Varick asked curiously. He had heard the word in passing when adventurers would come into the shop to buy clothes or have clothing fixed. They always seem concerned about making sure the item is easily accessible or hidden in some way. Each traveler had a different object they called their talisman, so Varick wasn’t sure what they all had in common. 

 

“A talisman is a focus to channel your magic through so it's easier to control,” Kriv explained as he sat on the grass behind the clothing store. From a pouch on his belt, the Dragonborn pulled out a set of brass knuckles with rubies inset on each finger loop. “For some people like me, it's a weapon, but I’m a hot head that likes to strike first and hard without mercy. Most of the best magic users have sentimental items that they make their talismans. You got anything like that kid?” Varick thought momentarily before jumping to the apartment above his parent’s shop. A few minutes later, the young horse returned with a small black leather bundle.

 

“When my parents immigrated here from our home, they didn’t have any money,” Varick explained as he unrolled the bundle. Inside was a set of silver dressmaker scissors, spools of different colored thread, each with its needle, a silver thimble, and a roll of measuring tape. “So when my birthday came around, I wasn’t expecting any gifts that year, but my parents surprised me with my grandpa’s sewing kit.” Using the strap on the back, Varick tied the kit to his left bicep to make each tool handy and accessible at that same time. “It means a lot to me, and I hope to one day make clothes as nice as he did.”

 

“Yes, this should work perfectly,” Kriv stated as he examined the tailor’s kit. “Most of these are silver, an excellent material for focusing magic.” It took a while for the Dragonborn to teach the Clydesdale how to harness his talisman properly. The difficulty mainly was because Kriv wasn’t exactly the teacher type but also because the Dragonborn harnessed his magic differently than how Varick was attempting to. The horse was more of a ranged attacker, while the muscly dragonborn was a melee bruiser. Once the difference in their styles sorted that out, though, Varick became a natural at controlling his magical abilities. Sewing spells into clothes became his signature ability.