INK RUNS DEEP
Beneath the yellow-washed iron arches of Blackreach’s railway streets, a new generation is sharpening their craft—not with steel, but with ink.
They are the apprentices.
Barely out of trade-school age but already fluent in pigment and pain, these young inksmiths are earning their stripes one shaky line at a time. And in Blackreach, the margin for error is razor-thin. Here, tattoos are currency. Reputation is stitched into skin. Every line drawn is a line you live or die by.
"You don’t just learn the craft—you survive it."
—Rheez, senior inksmith and former apprentice, now mentor at The Needleworks Forge
✹ Where Steel Meets Skin
Apprenticeships in Blackreach aren’t handed out. They're won.
Each apprentice must first be vouched for by a working inksmith—usually a blood relative, close contact, or someone they’ve impressed through boldness, skill, or sheer audacity. Once accepted, they begin the slow grind: scrubbing floors, fixing needles, restocking pigments, and eventually, earning their right to put ink to flesh.
No digital stencils. No auto-guides. Just steady hands, calibrated machines, and nerves of copper.
✹ The Rite of the First Mark
Every apprentice in Blackreach undergoes the First Marking. It's tradition. You can’t ink someone else until you’ve tattooed yourself.
It's not ceremonial—it’s brutal. Most do it alone, after hours, using scavenged coils and worn gloves. The design doesn’t matter. What matters is that it's yours—and that it hurts.
"If you can't mark your own skin, you’ve got no business marking someone else’s."
—From the Blackreach Inksmith Codex, Rule #2
✹ Ink Families & Rust Bonds
Many shops operate like mini-families, adopting their apprentices into tight, loyal circles. They're bonded not just by ink but by survival. The power may be in the hands of the Syndicate, but the respect of the streets is often carved from the hands of Blackreach’s inksmiths.
Some apprentices never make it. Some crack under pressure. But those who do make it—those who grind until the lines are clean and the machines obey their rhythm—emerge with not just skill, but status.
✹ Apprentices to Watch
Jaxen Vale – Known for his ultra-fine linework using salvaged watch springs. Said to have tattooed a full biomech forearm in under an hour—with no blood drawn.
Meela Ashforge – Her freehand designs look like machinework. Her precision earned her a slot with Guildmaster Thorn in less than one cycle.
Draz – Quiet. Works in silence. Specializes in backpieces that take weeks. Rumor says his ink carries hidden tech.
✹ Respect the Apprentices
So next time you pass through Blackreach and spot a young ink-runner hunched over a wrist, focused, sweating, unaware of the chaos around them—don’t mock their tremble. That’s the future.
They’re not just learning a trade.
They’re mastering an art that defines identity, power, and legacy on Kovari Island.
And in Blackreach, legacy is everything.