Style Quest: Armor On!

Armor was something Varick had never thought about wearing before. He never considered the possibility that someone would end up hunting him, but that was now the case. The Clydesdale didn’t want to wear armor, but after some research, the tailor found something that might provide the protection he needed without interfering with his clothes. Amidst the asters and elemental pearls was a small metal chest. Varick pulled that out and set it aside as he gathered the asters and pearls. Being a tailor, the mahogany horse didn’t have blacksmithing experience, but luckily, the maintenance crew aboard the starship did.

 

    Bribing the maintenance crew into combining the asters and elemental orbs was surprisingly easy. Uniform patches and a few casual wear sets were a small price to get the asters smelted and drawn into thin wire. Wire in hand and bribes exchanged, Varick went back to his makeshift workstation to begin work. Using silver aster wire with earth elemental magic, the horse used a technique similar to knitting to make an armored shirt. Varick could easily slip the lightweight armored shirt under clothes and be completely unnoticeable to the casual observer. Earth magic in the armor made it harder, firmer, and denser than similar armor. Easily able to absorb the impact of most blows.

 

    Next, was the leg mail sewed from silver aster with water pearls mixed with the metal. One solid piece was out of the question as it would limit mobility too much. Instead, Varick made his leg pieces into three parts. The two pieces looked more like silver leg warmers made of aster than armor, but they served their purpose. Extra solid plates of lightweight, thin titanium were affixed to these pieces to act as shin guards. The upper portion of the knitted metal mail covered Varick from the waist down to his knees. Small solid titanium plates were also affixed to this piece to protect the sides and groin area. Despite these extra plates, the armor still fit comfortably under the horse tailor’s clothes without much hint that it was there at all. Once fully powered up, the magic in the leg armor could provide extra cooling in warm environments and harden like ice against attacks. Additionally, the new water-powered armor granted Varick the power to walk on water. This ability was an unintended side effect, but as the Clydesdale didn’t swim well, it was certainly welcome.

 

Last up was the head armor, which would be the most challenging part considering the design Varick had in mind. Varick’s best friend from home, Bridgette, was nice enough to make the mahogany Clydesdale some custom magitech pieces for his armor. Unlike the silver asters, the maintenance crew made the purple asters into interlocking plates. Carefully and in a precise order, Varick fitted the metal plates together to form a dragon-faced helmet that covered the horse’s entire face. He tried on the armor several times to ensure the fit was secure and measured down to the millimeter. Once Varick was sure everything was perfect, he attached the faintly glowing magitech piece to the back of the helmet. The horse wore the purple helmet and exhaled loudly through the dragon-shaped mouth. His breath turned into purple and blue flames as the fire pearls in the armor enhanced Varick’s natural fire abilities. With the firepower tested, the equine tailor said a deactivation phrase. In a matter of seconds, the helmet retracted into the device. All Varick had to do was hide the device in his mane and say the activation phrase, and the helmet would encase his face in the protective helmet. Armor, now complete, Clydesdale was ready for his rematch with Gard.