To the Stars End- Original Soul

by Demetri Grim

  "Yea, you say the name and it appears in front of you just like the hammer." She was about to continue when he let out a bellow of laughter and threw his arms into the air doing a goofy dance before spinning neher around to the anvil.

  "Do ya know what that means girl!" He laughed again and set the spear atop the anvil, taking a step back to admire it.

  She sighed, "Clearly I don't old man, so why don't you just tell me already." She was excited about her weapon but not nearly as much as her uncle was at this moment. Beka had never seen him like this. He was worse than a kid as he giggled to himself and stroked the blade. "You're kinda freaking me out Uncle." She scrunched her nose at him but the coy smirk he gave her made her smile in return. She couldn't help it, his excitement was contagious.

  "This dear girl, if what ya say is true, is an artifact weapon." He declared. "There hasn't been an artifact weapon forged since yer grandfather. Not to say yer father and I haven't tried." He beamed at her. "Only artifact grade weapons have a rune array."

  "A rune array?" She had heard that term before, at least in passing. It had something to do with magic, but that's all she could remember.

  "Ya forgotten haven't ya." Beka nodded and felt herself blush. Montgomery only shook his head. "Yer mother would have my hide if she found out I neglected the basics with yer learning." He rubbed his chin for a moment, looking between the spear and Beka before coming to what he wanted to say. "Now I'm no mage, yer mother would explain this better. Best I can figure is this, magic works on a system of runes right? Ya have to have the rune to cast the spell." She nodded, this she knew, hell everyone knew that. "Right good, well mages train to develop their magic by creating what's called a rune array. It's like a list of spells they know but more...” —he paused and waved his hands in the air a moment thinking for a way to describe it before pointing to the anvil—” It’s more tangible, solid to them. The runes manifest with the mage’s aura. Don't rightly know how that works, but it's how magic is done, unless yer a primal."

  "Ok I do remember that a bit now that you say it," she admitted. Much about what she learned of magic as a child she had forgotten. Since her magic had failed to awaken it did not matter as much to her as it once did.

  "Good," he continued and lifted the spear into hand. "Now sometimes with enough power, a weapon or tool like our hammer will manifest a rune array on its own. We call them artifacts." He beamed at her once more and spoke the words to awaken the spear. “Awaken Heartseeker.” It flashed with crimson light and his eyes unfocused, marveling at the sight only he could see. He whistled. "I think this array has not fully manifested.”

  "What do you mean? How can you tell? Does that mean it can do more? Should we try testing it out? Can I do it?" She knew she was rambling again but she was too excited, an actual artifact weapon, and she helped make it!

  "Quiet girl." He grumbled before answering her anyway. "I have worked with the Silverlight hammer long enough to know what a weapon’s rune array should look like. This one's a bit small for what we put into it. So yes I suspect it can do a lot more. No we are not going to test it. Better if we let yer brother do it. He knows his way around a spear better than we do and much more about magic given he’s a mage and all. He'll put Heartseeker here through its paces."

  "You’re probably right," she agreed. Her brother was indeed very powerful, a testament to her mother's magical lineage. Beka pouted a little, another reminder of her failure to have any magic of her own. She shook her head. “Who needs magic when I can create a weapon that has it,” she whispered to herself, her eyes falling upon the spear as her uncle started to measure placements for a grip. A pity she would not be able to keep the spear longer, as it was meant for her brother. As if sensing her mood, Montgomery looked up at her and pointed at the far shelf.

  "Hand me the box of leathers and then go fetch an errand boy from the market. We’ll have him notify yer brother to meet ya at the tournament grounds this afternoon. The sooner we’re done with this the better we both will be.” He returned to his measurements.

  "On it!" She responded, a bounce still to her step as she retrieved the heavy box of leathers they used for grips. She set it by him on the anvil and flipped the lid open, tapping at a thick strip of coarse leather folded within. "Use the reddish ox hide, it will look better than your usual." Beka leaning in over the spear, her hair falling loose over her shoulder and blocking her uncles work.

  "Get off!" He feigned swatting the air at her. She giggled softly and slipped away from him before leaving the room with a mischievous wave. He grunted at her and returned to working. Grabbing a few coins from the safe behind the shop’s counter she pulled open the front door and headed into the market.

  It did not take her long to find an errand boy, as there was often a pack of layabout street urchins lingering in the market. She knew most of them, considering she often had to run them off from loitering in front of the shop and dirtying up the windows. In her youth she and Lizzy — a former street rat herself— would have joined them in their mischief. The two of them spent many lazy afternoons harassing market-goers and playing pranks on the merchants. That was until Lizzy decided to go honest, find a job, and start a family. It was fun while it had lasted. For a few copper coins any of the street kids could be trusted to fetch and deliver messages, so long as it did not involve the guards, that is. This was going to be a little trickier. Her brother was not only a guard, but a kingsguard. Spotting an older boy she knew, she bit her lip and waved him over.

  “Hey Johnny, come here!” She called out to him over the din of the market. He was tall for his age, lanky and thin, all elbows and knees and in desperate need of a bath. A few years younger than her, 14 or 15 at most, but the streets forced you to grow up fast. So she knew he was capable. Best of all he had a crush on her and she knew it. A fact she was about to put to use. She felt a little bad about it as she honestly felt nothing for the kid. His doting was cute at times but as one of the ringleaders of an urchin gang and a consummate troublemaker, he would be one of the few able to get a message to her brother quickly.

  “Oi Beka! Wha ya be needin?” He dusted off the bottoms of his dirty trousers and she could not help but notice his gaze wander up her body. She smiled to herself the poor boy was so easy.

  “ I have a favor to ask of you.” She touched his arm and leaned in close giving him her best coy smile, and pulled him to the side. A chorus of hoots and jeers rang out from his pack of cronies and he waved them off, giving them all a rude gesture before turning back to look at her. She fluttered her eyes and fixed his collar. He was almost as tall as she was. Turning him so his back was to his friends and placed her hands on his shoulders she leaned in to whisper softly. “I need you to run a message for me.” From behind she knew it must look scandalous to the other street rats, as was her plan. He would never live this down if he refused and she made a scene. She grinned as he caught onto her ploy quickly and slumped a bit in disappointment. He blushed still before managing to stammer out a response.

  “Th-thas it? Jus a message? Ya, Ya I can do that, no problem, anythin fer ya Beka, anythin.” He swallowed hard, his face and ears turning scarlet. The hoots and jeers got louder and more obscene behind him.

  “Good, I need you to find Kingsguard Lavets Fineret, my brother, and tell him to meet me at the Colosseum by noon. Can you do that for me Johnny?“ She watched as conflicting emotions warred across his face. He turned pale despite his furiously blushing cheeks and after a moment he nodded.

  “Aye, Y-yea, I can do that. “ He swallowed again and licked his lips, looking at hers. Beka smiled softly and shook her head. Poor thing indeed, now she really did feel bad.

  “Thank you Johnny. You’re the best.” She said before quickly leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. He smelled like tobacco, and it made her nose wrinkle. His body froze in place and he trembled slightly, mouth opening and closing like a fish as he struggled to regain his composure. She ruffled his mop of brown hair and stepped away from
him. “ You really need to lay off the smoke.” She waved her hand in front of her face teasingly.

  “Right I'll do that, I will, like I say, I do anythin fer ya!” His senses coming back to him as he touched his cheek. She fought not to roll her eyes or giggle, as that would only make things worse for the poor boy.

  “Go then. Remember by noon Johnny, so you have to hurry!” She shooed at him and he nodded, turning away from her, a skip in his step that made her composure break, a snicker escaping from her lips.

  “Ya can count on me Beka!” He sprinted away, dodging through the crowded market in a way only a gutter rat was able. She had picked the perfect errand boy. Though she really did feel bad stringing the poor kid along. Even if he was wise to it. No harm done though she hoped. Beka wiped her sleeve across her mouth and sighed. Her nose wrinkled, at least no harm done to him. Another loud jeer, and a few rude remarks called out to her from the pack of urchins as they started to disperse. She figured they must be going back to whatever mischief they did when he was away. She shot them a wink and made a rude gesture of her own. They laughed, the last one disappearing into the crowd.

  As she walked back into the shop she stopped in the doorway, her heart leaping into her throat. A regal man in fine silks stood at the counter chattering away in a high and nasally voice, a long cloak draped over one arm. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the shop, she let out a sigh of relief she had mistook the figure for the Elf mage that she was desperately trying to avoid. A set of armor rested on the counter between the two. The knight was clearly intending to join the tournament and must have been in the middle of haggling a price for the armor if the irritable twitch of her uncle’s mustache was any sign. His prices were always flat and honest, he hated haggling.

  “Hold on a moment my lord.” Montgomery said, holding up his hand to stop the knight from continuing whatever he was going on about. Beka eyed the men and dropped her gaze to the armor. It was not one of theirs, as it had obvious signs of wear and tear. Broken links of chain were visible in a pile next to the slightly rusted armor and frayed leather that sat on the counter. Her uncle’s voice was polite but stern as he silenced the knight once more. “I have to send my apprentice here on a quick errand. Will be but a moment my lord.” Stepping away from the counter he gestured for her to join him in the back.

  “Was that Sir Edgar Smyth?” Beka asked, her eyebrow raised as she began to grin.

  “Aye that he is, now don't ya go poking fun at the man. Been down on his luck for years now. But have to give the old boy credit for trying.” He tried to sound sincere but a hint of a chuckle slipped through his efforts anyway.

  “He should retire, before he breaks a hip.” She laughed loudly and he swatted the back of her head.

  “I said none of that. He's a good man. And just because he can't win at the tourney any longer. Does not mean he can't spend his gold here trying.” He said, doing everything in his power to keep a straight face. She looked up at him, and rubbed on the back of her head, her face one of deliberate shock and horror.

  “Uncle! You greedy old snake! Ruining that poor old knight for a few gold coins?” She clutched her hand to her heart and feigned that she was in pain, staggering a few steps before ducking away from another of her uncle's half-hearted swats.

  “Bah! Here,” he said, gesturing to the spear leaning against the grinder. “I polished the blade while you were gone and fit the grips. Was going to wrap it in that roll of sail cloth over there.” He pointed at the large spool of off-white cloth leaning against the back wall. “But Rickety came in and I didn't have a chance.”

  “Rickety!” She laughed at the rather unfortunate nickname the old night had earned in the last few years. “ That name! Is SO sad!” She giggled and pulled the sail cloth into the center of the room.

  “Quiet girl! He might hear ya going on like that. Now get the spear covered and come see me when yer done. I have to go see how much we can get out of our generous customer before ya go.” Montgomery moved to leave the room. Beka just rolled her eyes and unfurled the cloth.

  “I see you used the red ox hide uncle, good choice,” she said to him cheekly. He grumbled something under his breath at her to low for her to catch and shot her a dirty look before he moved back into the front of the shop.

  Still careful not to touch the spear and lose herself to the weird effect the etherium had on her, she quickly bundled and tied off the sail cloth around the glinting crimson weapon. The cloth was thick enough to hide the red color of the spear and its eerie glow, and gave the weapon an almost uniform shape. No one would be the wiser when they saw her on the street with it. Just another errand girl delivering a package. To help her carry the heavy spear she secured a long length of rope just above the shaft, where the blade tapered to meet the handle, the other end around the ring at the bottom, making sure to keep the cloth and rope tightly wound to hide the odd red ring at its base.

  Testing her knots she slung the spear across her back and held her breath. She did not feel the pulse of etherium, or the strange numbing that came along with it. With a little adjustment, she positioned the rope to sit more comfortable across her chest and grumbled. Tugging at her bulky tunic, it was bunching in all the wrong places because of her load and the frill dug into her neck. She tried to make it tuck under or lay flat, but every time it came right back and dug into her skin. “Stupid uncomfortable potato sack! Oh I'm so going to get you for this uncle, mark my words.” With a sigh she gave up and marched into the front of the shop.

  “Ready and reporting for delivery your bossness, sir!” She mock-saluted as both her uncle and the knight turned her way.

  “Now I say, now I say, young lady. That is most inappropriate, most inappropriate indeed.” The old knight puffed and thumped his chest. “ I was the Major of his majesty’s 23rd left flank. And held the field of battle in the great war of-”

  “Ya ready to go girl?” Montgomery interrupted the knight. She nodded, dropping her salute. “Make sure ya tell yer brother I said hello, and let me know if he needs the grips moved, I can rewrap them closer if he wants.”

  “I will Uncle, don't burn the shop down while I'm gone,” She joked and waved at the knight who was still sputtering at her, trying to get a word in. “Bye Sir Rickety. Good luck in the tournament, don't break a leg!” She grinned at her uncle as his mouth dropped open and his face reddened. Beka slipped out the door before either one of them could respond.

  The market district was alive and crowded in the late morning sun. People amassed in and around store fronts and street carts. The bright blue sky clear of clouds, the distant sun baking the street with oppressive summer heat. The blue and white disk of Septa’s Northern hemisphere covering the southern horizon. She shielded her eyes and did her best to move from shaded awning to shaded awning. Her brisk pace only slowed when she had to push through a crowd gathered before the shaded market stalls of the central square. One stand, the local oddities and curio merchant, actually drew her attention. A number of noble women stood just under the canopy of the stall, fanning themselves with some sort of exotically-painted paper fan. She stared at them for a moment, the dolled-up nobles in their bustle dresses fanning themselves in the heat as servants pushed about the market gathering whatever it was nobles came to the market for. "Probably fancy cheese." She giggled to herself, her eyes drawn to the waving fans again. The pattern reminded her of exotic flowers caught in fine silk webs. She took a few steps closer to the fine paper fans. They were held together by the most delicate silver wire she had ever seen. Beka wondered where the strange little merchant who owned the stall found them. " Who would mix flowers and spiders together? It's so creepy, but kind of beautiful. Perhaps I should ask." One of the noble ladies near the stall scoffed at her quiet comment and fanned herself harder, shooting a glare of disgust over the fan she held as she leaned towards the other noble ladies to gossip at her expense. Beka shook her head to clear her thoughts and stepped back. Turning to push through the crowd,
away from the stalls and the now-giggling noble women. She did not have the time or the coins for silly little things like paper fans. "Besides that shady merchant likely stole them or something." Her face was burning and she did not want to give the nobles any more fuel to gossip about.

  Moving away from the square, the rusty red tiles and short two-story buildings of the market district gave away into the grey blue shingles and tall spires of the nobles district and inner ring of the city of Cross. She knew the way well — since she was old enough to run she and Lizzy would chase up and down the streets every year the tournament was held following the grand parade that wound through the districts of the capital.The Magisterium to the north of the palace, the Colosseum and tournament grounds to the south. With the merchants districtly to the east of the palace, the western side of town being were most of the city's population lived, and where the parade began, ending ultimately at the palace. The route she had to take was relatively short, even with noon nearly upon her she was sure she would make it with time to spare. Turning left at the wall surrounding the market district she entered into the Colosseum’s district. The area around the Colosseum boasted most of the emissaries, foreign diplomats, and wealthy members of Septa’s elite who had residences on Cross. Most of the buildings around the Colosseum were wider than they were tall, but still impressive in their own right.

  “I wonder if they need more space for things on Septa?” Beka wondered out loud as she passed in front of the tall iron gate leading into the residence of one of Septa’s emissaries. She wrinkled her nose as she looked out over rows of manicured hedges and flowering planters lining a walkway nearly as wide as the main road. The grounds devoid of any signs of use. A lone figure of an overworked landscaper digging a weed from a flowerbed was the only indication any one even lived there. “What a waste.” she shook her head and moved past the oversized property. She rounded another corner leading to the heart of the district.