“In the North, there are no Gods or men. Only conquerors and the dead.” - A typical Northern saying

  Leo had no idea what to say.

  Etheros was pounding at a blade with a hammer on an anvil. There was a crude forge behind him, the flames still roaring. There were a bunch of sacks scattered about. They held strange runes upon them and were mixed with scrap metal. In any other context, this would be normal.

  But they were on top of a mountain with barely anything more than what they could carry, yet there he was.

  Etheros turned toward him, unphased or uncaring. “You should be getting some sleep.”

  Leo blinked. “I’m not tired.”

  Etheros sighed. “Allow me to answer your questions. I created all this. I created the anvil, the forge, and all this metal. The sacks contain many materials from my robes; the rest come from ores in these peaks.”

  Leo scratched his head. “How do you know where to look?”

  “It’s part of my gift, and since I lean toward alchemy magic, I can feel the makeup of objects—locations, creatures, etcetera. I close my eyes and hear the ores calling to me.”

  Leo was once again speechless. Part of him was getting used to this, but the rest struggled to comprehend it. “Alright, I guess I have one more question.”

  “Why am I forging a blade?”

  “Yes.”

  Etheros beckoned. “Observe.” Leo approached the anvil. The blade was quite strange, it looked sturdy and robust, but it had a peculiar sparkling texture. “You see, my mind is weighed heavily by the prospect of that daemon. We will be facing him again.”

  “I’d say Ireo is our bigger concern.”

  “Ireo is nothing. Little more than a pawn.”

  Leo paused, his brow furrowed. “He’s a fearsome warlord that has killed countless thousands. My brother, Elizabeth’s family!”

  Etheros rolled his eyes. “He’s mortal. He can still bleed. He has none of the strange new brands or powers causing problems for the world. No one will miss him when he dies, and he will be forgotten like the scum he is.” Etheros brought his hammer down harder. “A daemon is different, more evil and vindictive. In all my long life, I’ve never been as vulnerable as I was when I landed in Tressviae. Never again, Leo. How you feel about Ireo is how I feel about this daemon.”

  Leo looked Etheros in the eye and saw fear for a brief moment. An emotion that Etheros must have thought was dormant. “I see.” Leo gestured to the blade. “How is this going to help?”

  “It is the Adamite way to adapt. I’m not going to fight him the same way twice.”

  “But it’s just a sword. If you needed one, why didn’t you just ask?”

  “It is a special sword with special properties,” Etheros said, lifting the blade, fully ready to be hilted. “Look carefully.”

  Leo was able to see the strange sparkling better. He thought it was the trademark shimmer of star iron, and that did ring true, but there were other oddities, like pieces of pure white. The only thing Leo could think of was—

  “You put daemon-stone in it!” Etheros shushed him, eyes wide. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “At the temple sanctum, how come the daemon-stone destroyed the leg, or why did the Princess die by her own stinger? I have finally solved the riddle. These brands give the monsters great resistance to magical and physical attacks but do not protect against the daemonic.”

  “So you put something daemonic into the blade?”

  “To fight fire with fire, daemonic with daemonic.”

  “But what about the cursed property of daemon-stone?”

  “It is only the tiniest fragments. The smaller the amount, the weaker the effect.”

  Leo’s eyebrow raised. “Then how do you know if it would even work?”

  Etheros fastened the blade to an empty hilt. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  “Don’t tell Elizabeth.”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” Etheros said as he finished tying the blade in with a tug. “The last thing I want is to give that firebrand any more reason to lose her temper.”

  “Do you even know how to use that thing?”

  Etheros twirled the new blade and said, “I took some sword training in my youth.”

  Leo rolled his eyes. “You’re going to need more than some basic training from centuries ago.”

  Etheros grinned. “Perhaps so. The night is still young. And you said you weren’t tired.”

  “Hmph.” Leo drew his sword, a smile on his lips. “For once, it’s my turn to teach you. Bring your blade to a ready stance.” Etheros grasped his blade and pointed forward. “Good, good. Now, you observe!”

  The two practiced together for hours. Leo taught him many techniques that favored precise movement and less on raw strength or speed. They sparred as well. Etheros conjured some wooden blades for them to do so. By dawn, Leo felt as confident as could reasonably be expected. He hoped it would be enough.

  The others began to wake. Hunger pangs wracked them terribly. Petro scanned the area for any birds or beasts—some kind of game. But there was nothing.

  “It’s quiet, too quiet,” murmured Petro.

  “Perfect, just what we need,” grumbled Elizabeth.

  “Well, the only things in these mountains would be harpies.”

  Martin turned white. “H-harpies?” Elizabeth tilted her head and scowled. She rolled her eyes and kept walking. Martin glanced at Leo. He took the hint and walked to his side as they began to hike. “What do I have to do to get her off my back? I’m trying my best.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you,” Leo said, shrugging.

  “I-I mean, she doesn’t know about—”

  “I know. Let’s hope you don’t need to.”

  Martin looked up into the sky. His heart sank as clouds rolled in.

  The grey hell somehow got even greyer. Leo grumbled. All they needed was rain, and the suffering would be complete. At least there was a silver lining. In the distance was a decline in the rocks.

  “We should be at the slope by tomorrow,” Leo called out to the group.

  “We still don’t have a plan,” muttered Elizabeth.

  “We should be close enough to the Island City to know we’re here.” replied Etheros. “We just need to hold out once we get to the spot.”

  “We can’t do that. We have no food!” groaned Martin.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Elizabeth smirked. “So what? You’d lose weight.”

  “Yeah, and since your skinnier, you’d die first! What a prize!”

  “Martin is right,” said Petro. “And Ireo might suspect the same thing. We need to— Do you hear that?”

  Everyone stopped moving. Like a whisper in the wind, they heard chirping.

  “Might be a bird,” said Leo.

  “It sounds bigger.”

  Leo pointed to a nearby ledge and said, “It’s coming from down there.”

  Petro armed his crossbow. They slowly and quietly approached the cliff. Martin trembled. His hands shook. His breathing became heavier as they peered over the cliffside. All that was down there was a featureless crevice. Martin sighed in relief.

  A loud screech filled the air behind them. The harpy fluttered back, just as surprised as they were. Petro was quick, and she fell out of the sky. It was too late. Martin screamed and panicked. All he cared about was getting away from the harpy. Getting away from her nest. He didn’t even notice as he collided headlong into Elizabeth, and the two of them tumbled over the edge.

  “Liz!” shouted Annabelle.

  They rolled into the crevice, their backpacks cushioning their fall. They finally stopped in a cloud of dust.

  “Are you okay?” called Leo.

  Elizabeth grunted as she stumbled to her feet. “I’m fine.”

  Martin stood up. “I’m alright too.”

  Elizabeth looked around. It was a narrow stone stretch with flat cliff walls on every side. Trapped. Great. “There’s no way out!”

  “Don’t worry. I can get you out. Just give me an hour!” called Etheros.

  “What?”

  “Why not now?” asked Martin.

  “I need to recharge,” answered Etheros. “I’ve cast many spells lately. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

  Leo could see Elizabeth glaring daggers at Martin. He was worried she would beat the crap out of him. Thankfully she just muttered swears before putting as much distance as she could between them. Martin did the same, eyeing Elizabeth warily all the while.

  Petro frowned and folded his arms. “Why are you lying, Etheros?”

  “I was wondering the same thing,” said Annabelle.

  Leo tilted his head, "Wait, Etheros was lying?"

  Etheros shushed Leo before a knowing smirk plastered his face. “Consider this an opportunity. Sometimes a good talk is all a couple of people must do.”

  Annabelle scoffed. “Hmph, if she doesn’t kill him first.”

  “It won’t come to that.”

  “Yeah, I know, you’re the better Shard, with the better Soulsight,” Annabelle grumbled, “but just let me know when we can start going again. I’ll be over here.”

  “I can see why the two of them get along,” said Petro.

  “You stupid, clumsy Murexen buffoon!” Elizabeth spat, slinging insults for the umpteenth time in the past ten minutes. Martin sat as far as he could from her, his eyes clenched shut. “I’ve had it with you! Had it! If we get out of this whole thing with Ireo, I don’t want to see your fat face ever again! Do you hear me?”

  Martin shakily nodded.

  Elizabeth sighed, leaning up against the rock. “You almost impressed me in Ventoso, you know. Nearly as much as Luna. You’re a good shot and did something useful, even if I didn’t see it immediately. But your privileged, rich, Murexen, scholarly nature just had to rear its ugly head. I don’t know what Leo sees in you!”

  Martin scowled and got to his feet. “How is it that you get so angry, so upset when people judge you for your background—to the point where you are always ready to get violent—yet you feel like it’s okay to judge me for mine? All you do is criticize people whenever they don’t meet your standards. Or if they do things you don’t approve of. You act like you know what’s best when you’ve repeatedly been proven wrong. You have the intelligence and wisdom of a donkey!”

  Elizabeth clenched her fists. “Excuse me?”

  Martin stood up straighter, staring her down. “You heard me. You ask what Leo sees in me. What did Leo see in you? What does Annabelle see in you? Why did Padre Angelos stick up for you? Why do people care so much about you? You’re just a dreg! A pale-skinned bitch with too much anger!” Elizabeth bared her teeth as she raised her fist. She paused when Martin didn’t even flinch. “Do it! Act like the northerner stereotype you say doesn’t exist. Break your promise to Annabelle on a whim because someone tells you something you don’t want to hear, but clearly need to. Yeah, I overheard you guys at the party. This would be the third time you’ve nearly broken it.”

  She snarled, but put her fist down. “You sound just like Joseph. Here I thought you were at least better than him. You have no idea what it’s like to grow up in the north. True turmoil uprooted your family, but that was centuries ago. You’ve never known anything of the sort!”

  “That’s not true!” snapped Martin.

  “Bullshit!” She stepped forward, causing Martin to give ground. “The north is a brutal place. Maelim and giant spiders and leviathans are a daily battle. The kingdoms there are overcome with fanaticism toward the angyls. They charge into battle naked, covered with golden paint and winged helms. Rituals of sacrifice and appeasement go on for days. The seerhood has become absorbed into this culture of lunacy as well, enabling these madmen and women to the prospect of power. The weak and soft get cast aside and left to die. It’s a hard and miserable life, and that was before I lost everything. Not like you would know what it’s like in your pampered mansion and privileged upbringing.”

  Martin shook his head and said, “You don’t know anything about me!”

  “Don’t need to. I’ve seen your type. You don’t know the meaning of hardship. Do you think this current predicament is bad? Imagine an eight-year-old girl. She’s lost everything. She couldn’t stay in one place, lest the authorities catch her. At least here, the starvation is fleeting. I had nothing. Literally nothing. I had to steal and hide. At least right now, there are six of us. As a kid, I was all alone. I learned from bitter experience that no one wanted to help. If someone was being nice, they wanted to use and trap you. Do things unspeakable to you. I had to pick a lock to escape a basement that belonged to some pederast.” Martin’s eyes widened. “I had to hide from Maelim warbands in the wild with nothing but a knife. I killed a man when I was only ten years old. I had no childhood. You had your books and your schools and your toys.”

  Martin stammered, “T-that’s not—”

  “Nothing you could have possibly gone through could make up for your privileged life. You can hide in your mansion or throw money at the problem.” Martin’s eyes watered. “You almost had a point in Ventoso, but you just reverted to what you’ve always been . . .” Martin had no room to go back. She pinned him to the cliff face. Elizabeth jabbed a finger in his chest. “. . . a rich, privileged, spoiled brat!”

  Martin reeled from her words. His eyes were frantic, trying to break down why she was wrong. But he couldn’t. After the ordeal, that’s what he did. He hid. That’s precisely what he did. That one remark toppled everything.

  “You’re right.”

  Elizabeth huffed and nodded.

  “You’re right. I retreated inward after the incident. I just didn’t want to put myself in that situation again.”

  Elizabeth tilted her head. “What? What incident?”

  “I-I’m sorry. I just couldn’t handle it. It was too much. I should have listened.” Martin’s words broke into blubbering tears. Elizabeth was about to scold him again, but something stopped her. The look in his eyes, the trembling in his hands, the heavy breathing. That was fear, genuine fear. The look when something stays with someone. Trauma.

  But that’s ridiculous! He’s probably playing it up, or it’s some kind of lie. No, someone like him wouldn’t be able to lie. She could tell. “What do you mean by ‘incident’?”

  Martin was hesitant to answer. He nearly brushed her off, but then he looked her over. She looked stern, but it was different. And her voice wasn’t angry now. It was calm, maybe curious? What did he have to lose? He took a deep breath.

  “It was when I was no older than ten or twelve. I don’t remember. You’re right. I grew up in a privileged circumstance. My family was rich, they had mercantile connections, and my great-grandfolks had landed on their feet after fleeing Murex. But I wanted to see the world! I would sneak out. I’d explore the trees and the rivers. I would wander into town. My parents never approved. I met Leo and Giovanni on my travels. I always called him Gio. We did everything together. We got up to all sorts of nonsense on the streets!”

  Elizabeth sighed, beginning to lose her patience.

  “Then my parents found out. They believed that Leo and Gio were a bad influence on me. They forbade them from seeing me and kept me locked in the estate. They didn’t understand that I was naturally curious, even before meeting them. I snuck out one morning.

  I never saw her coming.

  Before I even knew what had happened, I was flying into the air. I screamed, but the cold air choked my lungs. After some time, she dropped me. I fell into something wet and red.

  It was her nest. There was blood and gore everywhere. Carrion and bones, flaps of skin. The harpy pinned me down. Before she was able to slit my throat, another harpy attacked. It was a smaller male harpy. They bickered and squabbled, and in the chaos, I fell deep into the pile of rotting flesh.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened.

  “By dumb luck, I had escaped. The harpy couldn’t find me. Leo told me later since I was covered in so many guts and entrails, it masked my scent. Frustrated, the harpy left. I tried to leave the nest, but the wall was too high! I couldn’t get out. So I had no choice but to hide when the harpy came back. She had another victim, and I had no choice but to watch as she tore him to pieces.”

  Elizabeth covered her mouth in shock.

  “This went on for three days, and more victims. I was so tired, thirsty, and hungry. But I couldn’t get out! At last, the harpy found me. But before she could kill me, Leo and Gio arrived. They heard what happened when my parents panicked, begging for help in town. Leo and Gio had been tracking the harpy. They killed her moments before she was about to finish me off.

  “My parents were overjoyed and much nicer to Leo and Gio going forward. They hired them as guardie. I taught them how to read and write. I never left the estate again until I was an adult. Even now, I rarely go out when I’m not with Leo. It was the worst three days of my life.”

  Elizabeth was silent for a long moment. Neither of them knew what to say. Finally, the words came to her. “You were just a boy.”

  “I was. It’s not as extensive as what you dealt with, though.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “Doesn’t need to be.”

  “But you’re right. I am privileged. I had friends and a mansion I could hide in. I had money to make problems go away. You had none of that.”

  “You were still a boy when it happened.”

  Martin tilted his head, his arms up. “So? I’m an adult now. We’re both adults now. I can’t hide forever. I have money and brains, and I need to use them. Look, I’m sorry! I’m sorry for slowing us down.” Martin sat down against the rockface, head in his hands. “I’m sorry that I got us into this mess. It’s just when I saw that creature I—”

  She sat down next to him. “Don’t be. I get it.” Her face was still stern, but there was something in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.