Chapter 70

Year 163 – Fall – Sextus Mensis – 21st day

Avem, town of House Kalator, land of the Vale

Since Lanaya’s arrival, the place had been turned into a maze of beds. The two wounded had been relocated to the same room. Losing her privacy, Vatra was now more eager than ever to use the forge. Sadly, her wound hadn’t entirely recovered, and Nelis refused her access for 12 more days.

Each day, Nelis had been teaching Vatra and Leo about the many medicinal plants for a few hours. The rest of the day was a long wait. Sometimes, Vatra would use Nelis’s dizi to chant a cradle song.

Vatra could walk without her crutch, but not for a long time. She was sitting outside, watching the others train under Jurren’s watch. Next to her was sitting the other wounded girl.

Petra – “You’re thinking of joining them, aren’t you?”

Vatra – “Cause you’re not?”

Petra – “Well, it’s not my first injury. If you want to take place at war as a girl, you’ll end up injured quite often.”

Vatra – “From the little experience I have, I’d say I mostly get injured because I’m not cautious enough when I fight.”

Petra – “Being cautious isn’t everything. Men are usually stronger than us.”

Vatra – “You know many guys as strong or as tall as you?”

Petra – “Not many, but you’ll never see a girl as strong as that giant monster we fought during the assault.”

Vatra – “His name was Morgan.”

Petra – “Right . . . Are you fine if I talk about him?”

Vatra – “Sure.”

Petra – “Lanaya never lost a duel in her entire life. Each time I saw her fight, it wasn’t a fight. The few times the fights seemed fair were the ones where she was playing with her opponent, like when we brawl together. She rarely trains, yet she’s unbelievably strong. But against that man, she almost got killed.”

Vatra – “And what should we do? Stay behind and hope those who fight can handle everything? Most women in the Vale weren’t fighters. The opposite was also true for the Kalator. See who’s still alive and who’s not.”

Petra – “I misjudged you.”

Vatra – “If you say so.”

Petra – “Hey, it’s a compliment.”

Vatra laughed for a short moment.

Petra – “What?”

Vatra – “I don’t know. It’s just . . . How did you judge me?”

Petra – “Well, I thought you were a barbarian slave, but you seem quite civilised.”

Look who’s talking!

Vatra – “Is that so?”

Petra – “I’ll go back to bed. You should do the same. The faster we heal, the faster we’ll be able to train.”

Vatra – “I’ll go in a moment.”

Further away, Lanaya and Nelis were walking together.

Nelis – “What? You got to be kidding.”

Lanaya – “I’m not.”

Nelis – “And what will you do?”

Lanaya – “I don’t know. He gave me two months to make up my mind. I mean, it would allow us to have the strength we need to stop wars, but it doesn’t feel right. It feels like I’d be the one causing the war, which has never been the case before.”

Nelis – “I mean, he’s a king. If you ever intend to marry a human, there’s not much higher than a king.”

Lanaya – “You don’t think it’s a bad idea?”

Nelis – “I don’t trust him, but aside from that, you would get closer to your dream. Besides, when you look at the moon like that, I can see that loneliness in your eyes.”

Lanaya – “I don’t feel lonely when you’re here.”

Nelis – “Good, cause I’m not leaving you. Even if you choose to marry him, I won’t leave your side.”

Lanaya – “Thank you.”

They were walking toward their home at a slow pace when Lanaya stopped.

Lanaya – “Why don’t you talk to me about how it’s been while I wasn’t here?”

Nelis – “Not much to say, really. I found a contact to provide us with meat, and I’ve been teaching both Leo and Vatra about my medicine.”

Lanaya – “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. Since when are you enjoying teaching?”

Nelis – “What makes you think I am?”

Lanaya – “You’re spending multiple hours each day to teach not just one but two students. When you used to teach Tally, you were doing it begrudgingly. How is it different this time?”

Nelis – “I don’t know. It’s winter. I don’t have much else to do . . . I guess they’re good company?”

Lanaya – “Leo’s good company?”

Nelis – “You don’t think he is?”

Lanaya – “I think all the band members are good company, but I know for a fact that you don’t share that opinion. You’re sure it’s not that new girl’s company that you enjoy?”

Nelis – “Maybe. She’s quick to learn, but she gets lost in her thoughts quite often. She feels a lot like you. I’m sure you’ll like her company too.”

Lanaya – “She’s like me?”

Nelis – “She seems to take the act of learning as a duty and not as a chore.”

Lanaya – “I’ll try to talk to her then. Any idea of what I should ask?”

Nelis – “Don’t bring up her past, or she’ll bring out yours.”

Lanaya – “She doesn’t trust us?”

Nelis – “She does, but she keeps her cards well-stored and is quite stubborn on the matter. Also, she doesn’t know where that tattoo came from. She told me she had it for as long as she could remember, and she believes her mother had it as well.”

Lanaya – “Some curses can be passed onto your offspring. But as of now, the curse seems to be dormant.”

Nelis – “You think she might still be cursed?”

Lanaya – “Hard to tell. I don’t see why Aya would have cursed her ancestors, but as long as she remains under my blessing, she should be fine.”

Nelis – “So, are you willing to talk to her?”

Lanaya – “You’ve got subjects she’d be eager to talk about?”

Nelis – “You can ask her about her memorial. She wants to forge a sword from the arrowheads of broken arrows as a memorial for those who died in Avem.”

Lanaya – “And how will she do that?”

Nelis – “Apparently, she’s a blacksmith.”

Lanaya – “Good! Now I have something to talk to her about. Thank you!”

Nelis – “The pleasure is mine.”

Lanaya left Nelis’s company to join Vatra.

Lanaya – “Hey! Vatra, right?”

Vatra – “It is!”

Lanaya walked next to her and sat on the chair Petra previously had sat on.

Lanaya – “We haven’t talked much since the forest.”

Vatra – “We exchanged a few words when you took the wall.”

Lanaya – “Yeah, well, I did believe it would have been a waste to kill you there. If it can help my case . . .”

Vatra – “I suppose it can.”

Lanaya – “I want it to be clear. If you want to leave, you are free to go, but I need people like you so . . . Well . . . To put it simply, I do hope you’ll stay of your own will.”

The two of them remained silent for an instant as the wind blew through their hair.

Lanaya – “I heard you’re a blacksmith?”

Vatra – “I am.”

Lanaya – “Nelis told me you want to use arrowheads. Do you really intend to melt them back and cast a new sword?”

Vatra – “No, if I simply melted the iron, the blade wouldn’t be as sturdy. I’d need to redo the whole process for it to feel like any strong steel . . . I want it to feel like it’s a part of them. I’ll make wootz steel with them.”

Lanaya – “Wootz steel?”

Vatra – “Surely you’ve heard of the ceremonial blades with unique patterns and shapes carved on them?”

Lanaya – “Yeah?”

Vatra – “When you fold a sheet of heated iron into a container and fill it with small pieces of iron like the arrowheads. You can heat up the filled container and hammer it until the arrowheads fuse together. Now, this kind of forging is slightly more complex since we can’t use coating flux in a container, but it will result in the blade being filled with unique patterns.”

Lanaya – “And that’s what you call wootz steel?”

Vatra – “It is! No matter how many times you make them, they are all different. Then you can carve a few words on the blade, but the blade itself cannot be replicated. And these blades are not only suited for ceremony; they’re sturdier than the standard blade, although slightly less flexible.”

Vatra looked at Lanaya, who had a strange smirk as if she was trying to stifle a laugh.

Vatra – “What?”

Lanaya – “It’s kind of funny how your gloomy persona turns to sparkles when you talk about forging.”

Vatra chuckled before looking at the sky.

Vatra – “I grew up in a forge. It’s a part of me. Who wouldn’t be happy to talk about their home?”

Lanaya – “Yeah, I suppose most would . . .”