The Crimson Road
Page 4
Charon cut me off, “I’ve seen your work. You have the skill, and I have the mage training. Make me the blade, and I’ll make sure everyone knows who you are.”
Even though I didn’t believe him at first, something about his certainty made me want to try. I asked him for a month of research before I would begin forging his blade. He gave it to me quickly, and told me that he would be back here in a month to begin the forging process.
Ash finished talking, and took a drink. “That’s how I met your master.”
Chapter 7
The next morning I was at the forge, slowly changing the nature of the structure to be able to handle the stress that came with forging a Hel blade. Traditional methods would only go so far in shaping the metal. An Adept’s flame, with precision control was needed to allow the material to be properly shaped. Once the form was created, it was almost impossible to destroy or even knick an object made from Titan’s Bone.
As I prepared the materials, Ash began to craft the molds for the blades. For the longest time he stared at the blocks, seeing the cuts he would need to make. A single mistake would have him starting over. Some of the excess could be trimmed off when the edge was set in the blade, giving him a small window for mistakes to happen.
I finished first, and watched as the outline of my blades slowly formed in the negative space of molds. There would be no folding needed, as many smiths did with their metals to cover for weaknesses. Titan’s Bone was perfect, or a perfect bastard as the smith’s called it.
Olivia was playing with her brothers, avoiding me as much as I was avoiding her. My ward cutting her off from the ether had disappeared while she slept, but I didn’t sense her once reach for it.
“I’m ready.” Ash stood, and there were four blocks in front of him. The depressions were narrowed at the bottom, where a hilt would wrap around. Each piece was a full tang. The fifth block was still untouched, as we would need to see the blades before finalizing the hilts that would accompany them. “How do they look?”
I held up an iron ingot, “We can test them, if you are unsure of yourself. I have every confidence in you.”
The struggle on his face lasted a second, “I’ve only forged a handful of Hel-forged blades. More than most smiths living or dead can say for themselves. Each time I doubted my work until it was finished, and this time is no different.”
“Then let’s begin.” I tossed the ingot into the pile. I set up a ward around the molds, to keep the ingots from spilling over when I melted them. Then I took out a medallion with a jewel in the center. While I drew from the medallion, Ash set the Titan’s Bone ingots in the receptacle I had specially made during the previous month to hold the material.
“I’m ready.” Ash put on a pair of leather gloves covered in emblems. They were warded to keep out heat, a gift from another mage.
I concentrated on the ingots, slowly raising their temperature. Too fast and the material would explode. Too slow and it would set itself to the shape of the bucket. Despite the wards, the air inside the forge almost felt like we were breathing fire. Ash had already wrapped a damp towel around his face, but when he tried to wrap one around me it dried in seconds. I spent hours raising the temperature, draining the medallion after the first two.
It wasn’t until the birds began to sing that I realized it was the next morning. I had sunk into a meditative state, aware of only the status of the ingots. Ash shook my shoulder gently, “It looks almost ready.”
Without speaking, I felt through the melted ingots, looking for anything that wasn’t in a liquid state. “There’s still a little more. Give me another hour to maintain and melt it. Then I need to set the ward to keep it here.”
Ash nodded and left to eat. I sensed Olivia looking through the back window, but that was all the attention I could send to her. As I maintained the heat, I began to create a ward for the bucket that would keep the ingots in a liquid state until Ash was ready for what was left.
He came back, and I stood like a faun on unsteady legs. “It’s all yours.”
“Get some rest, lad. You’ll be needed tonight.” Ash patted me on the back and almost pushed me through the door.
Olivia caught me, “I could feel the ether being manipulated from the nearest village.”
“Hel-forged blades require a lot of energy and precision to create.” I could only whisper, my throat dry from the heat.
“You could have destroyed yourself with that amount of energy.” It wasn’t a question.
I nodded, “Get me water and then to bed, I need to recover for tonight.”
“What happens tonight?”
I pulled her to a stop and looked her dead in the eyes, “The secret behind why my blades will be unique.”
Chapter 8
Lorraine shook me awake, her blue eyes full of concern. It was easy to see why Ash had fallen head over heels for her, and was ready to pick a fight with Charon over her. There was an iron will behind her pretty face that you had to look for, and would appreciate in a wife. “I was beginning to think you might never wake up.”
I looked around, my mouth disgusting to taste. “What time is it?”
“Just before dinner.” She kept her face straight, but recoiled a little all the same. The mug of water she offered was drained instantly. “Ash hasn’t left the forge all day, and I haven’t heard a sound coming from there.”
“Thank you for the water.” I began to sit up, muscles straining like I had just run non stop for hours. “That’s a good sign that everything has gone well.”
“My daughter is sitting outside the forge, with a vacant look on her face.” She managed to materialize a second mug of water. “Why?”
The second went down just as fast as the first. If I hadn’t sweat all the water in my system out the day before, I’d be running for the bathroom. “She’s trying to peer into the forge to see what is happening.”
“Trying?” A third mug, this one with some fruit in it for flavor.
“I placed some wards around the forge to prevent spying. Last night was a beacon for anyone with the Potential in a few dozen miles.” I sipped the water,.
“My boys…” She looked at me, the question unsaid but still asked all the same.
I shook my head, “I could be wrong, although it is a very slim chance, but I don’t sense that they are Potentials.”
Lorraine looked a little relieved at that, “Dinner is waiting for you when you are ready.” She got off my bed and in seconds I heard work being done in the kitchen.
I sat there for a few minutes and finished my drink. Dinner was quickly eaten, and I apologized to the boys for having to skip twice on the nightly reading.
Olivia was sitting on the fence near the forge, not even looking at me as I approached. “I can’t see past your wards. I can’t even disable them like I did with your other wards.”
“Because I let you disable them.” I leaned against the fence. “Half a week until you make your decision, but there is another option.”
“Yes?”
I pulled out the medallion, “This is the only artifact of its kind. You can transfer your gift of connecting with the ether into this, and become a Common.”
“That’s possible?”
“Yes.” I handed her the medallion. “There’s a ritual involved, but you can go back to having a normal life.”
“What’s the ritual?”
“I can’t tell you.” I took the medallion back, “But Charon used it whenever someone found us that didn’t want to use magic anymore.”
“Why tell me about this?”
“Peace of mind.” I tucked the medallion under my shirt. “If you decide you don’t want to train as a mage then you have another choice of whether you want to live with the worry of being a mage or not.”
Olivia fell silent, and for the next few minutes we were in contemplative silence. I glanced over at her, and saw the setting sun hit her so that only her profile was visible. Without another word, I walked over to the forge and
opened it to find Ash mothering over the molds.
“They aren’t going anywhere.” I checked the wards around the molds.
“I still worry.” Ash looked from the molds to the buck with the rest of the melted ingots. “The material for the crossguards is still liquid, something I wasn’t sure you could do.”
“Charon gave me some tips when I was training. He discovered, or rediscovered methods for powering wards continually.”
Ash looked at me gravely, “That sounds like something that shouldn’t be said too loud, or to the wrong person.”
I winked at him, “No one can see or hear us right now.”
He shook his head, “You don’t know if someone will try and torture me for the information. I could give it up, and throw you to the wolves.”
“I’m not worried,” I stretched, “Tell them exactly what I said, and don’t worry about the consequences. I’ve had people after me since I could first walk and was stealing food to stay alive.”
“Alright, lad.” Ash walked over the door, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
I waved goodbye, and then turned my attention to the mold for the longsword. I reached for the ether, and used it to inspect the blade on a level no one had ever been able to see without magic. There I was able to see the small imperfections in the way the material was slowly hardening into permanence. I made delicate corrections, which in turn caused a chain reaction that knocked the particles to the sides out of alignment.
Eventually I lost track of time, losing myself in the repetition of lining up the blade so that everything was perfect. The sound of the forge door opening shook me out of my reverie. I turned to see Ash closing the door behind himself.
“Good morning.” I stood, wincing at the stiffness of my joints.
Ash walked over to the longsword mold, “Is it ready?”
I shook my head, “No. I need another night. I found another task that needed to be done first.”
“What was that? I don’t see any difference in the mold.” Ash took a closer look, before shaking his head.
“I removed the imperfections in the material, you won’t be able to tell until after the blade is forged.” I stretched and groaned, “There’s nothing to do until I can recover from my exertions last night.”
Ash paused, “Why can’t you just draw the ether and use it continually?”
“Because I want the blades to only work for me.” I looked at him, “When the process for the longsword is complete, you’ll see.”
Chapter 9
A month later, Ash had finished fitting the guard, handle and pommel for the longsword. The guard was still slightly malleable when it was fitted, and solidified around the blade to make it a permanent fixture. There was no etching to name the blade, no gaudy jewels or gold wire to suggest wealth. This blade was made for a singular purpose, to kill.
Ash was in the yard, testing the edge against shields he had made in his spare time. All but the best were split after only a swing or two, and not a single nick was left on my new sword. He turned to see me, and spun the sword so that the sunlight reflected off of it. “It’s perfect, but I don’t see how no one else can use it but you.”
I walked over and accepted the sword, laying it flat on my palms. It only took me a second to activate the dormant wards. Handing the blade back to Ash, I asked him, “Feel the difference?”
If Ash had moved a little slower, the blade would have cut off half his foot. “How’d it get so heavy?” He tried to lift it, but couldn’t make it move despite straining with all his might.
“The sword accepts only me as its wielder.” I picked it up as if it was a normal sword and spun it around in a pattern. “There are other enchantments, but I think this will suffice for now.”
He shook his head, “You’ve surpassed Charon, at least the Charon that I knew when he was a little older than you.”
“Thank you.” I sheathed the blade in a special scabbard. A normal one would be rendered useless due to the edge of the sword and the enchantments I had spent a month putting in it. “Is Olivia not back yet?”
“She’ll return tomorrow,” Ash gave me a look before asking casually, “You seem to have grown close.”
I nodded, “A teacher should be close to their student…” I gave him a wink before continuing, “But there must always remain a separation.”
“Good.” Ash looked at the forge, “Three more blades. Now that I’ve got an idea of what I’m working with, it will only take two months to complete my end of them.”
“Take your time. I need a full month for each blade to set all the enchantments on them.” I looked over to see the twin boys fighting with sticks, and the tops of the water barrels as shields.
Ash smiled at the sight, “They want to be warriors, after all your stories.”
“Doesn’t every boy growing up?” I laughed as Kane, the older twin, disarmed his younger brother with little more than brute force. “Looks like Philo lost this time.”
“I fear for anyone that tries to take those two on when they’ve grown up.”
“You’ve been training them well.” I watched as Philo picked his stick back up, and prepared for another round.
Ash sighed, “I didn’t intend for my children to become warriors, but I had to teach them to defend themselves.”
“I don’t envy you walking that line.” I patted my sword, “The Equinox is in a few weeks, let me take your family out as thanks for sheltering me and making me such a magnificent blade.”
“I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, thank you.” Ash took a big breath, “I think I’ll go see if Lorraine needs help in the house.”
I grinned, “I think Kane and Philo wouldn’t mind admiring their father’s work over by the stream.”
Ash nodded his thanks, and shouted for his boys that I had something to show them while he walked over to his house. I shook my head, and headed over to the boys in order to distract them from going home until dinner.
The boys and I played around, with them trying to land a blow on me while I wasn’t allowed to use my hands to defend. It was a good exercise for all parties involved. I worked on my defense and the boys learned to guide a person into their path rather than aiming for where that individual was.
I ate dinner with the family, before retiring to the forge where I once again lost myself in the meditation of fixing the impurities for the short sword. This time it went easier, and with the smaller amount of material to work with I was finished just a little after midnight.
Stretching, I walked out of the forge and took a breath of the night air. It was another five weeks until the summer equinox. That would make it the start of the fifth year since Charon left me. In that time I had only covered half this kingdom.
Olivia came running up to the forge just as the sun came up. She was barely breathing hard, despite running from the next town that was almost a two day ride on horseback. After the week I gave her to decide if she wanted to become a Common, Olivia had stayed outside the forge to wait for me.
She spoke to me clearly, and I could see the resolution in her eyes, when she told me that I was her Master. I nodded, and then we began to go over the ether in general. I explained how a mage’s capacity for the ether was trained by using it, and refining control. The more difficult the task, the greater the reward.
When she began to get confused as to why more mages weren’t Experts or greater if it was that easy, I likened it to training the body for strength. Most people don’t feel comfortable pushing their limits too far, and so they end up plateauing at what they believe to be an acceptable level. I warned her that just like with training muscle, too much work could strain and permanently hurt the body’s ability to handle so much stress.
To demonstrate my point, I had her lift an ingot into the air. At first she did it easily, but as time continued, her body began to shake and a nosebleed started. Here I pointed out the early signs of too much ether manipulation, and she was more wary about using spells.
“Your control is getting better.” I looked at the ether around her body, “The ether around you is much smoother than when you left.”