The Defiant
“As much as I love seeing you, I have a lot of work to do tomorrow and Flow is gone until autumn,” said Colville.
“We won’t keep you long. Just a few questions, before you go to bed,” said Rocious.
Colville stopped on his way upstairs, “Fine, fetch a round of beers,” he said.
Falcon slipped out into the storeroom as Rocious took a seat with Colville.
“Best wait for him to get back, Rocious said, “he needs to hear this too.”
Colville narrowed his eyes at Rocious, “What’s this about? I haven’t seen you this serious since the war.”
“Nothing like that but Falcon needs to hear your answer more than me,” said Rocious.
Falcon came back with a round and a plate of food then joined them at the table. Rocious raised his eyebrow at him.
“What? I’m hungry, we barely stopped to sleep on the way here.”
Colville took a quick swig and looked up, “What’s so important it couldn’t wait till morning?”
“You remember back, what, twenty-five years, that recruit Edward?” asked Rocious.
Colville stared into his mug, “I remember, his name was Lance, not Edward. I buried him out back.”
Rocious looked at Falcon not sure what to say.
Falcon swallowed, “We need to climb the cliff and see what’s up there.”
Colville stood up, “The hell you need to climb the cliff. I’ve buried enough people thanks to that fucking cliff. If you plan on killing yourself, you don’t need my help.”
Rocious hopped up and caught Colville by the arm, “This is me asking, please. Has anyone actually made it to the top?”
Colville kicked the leg of his chair, “Yes, Arthur made it to the top once,” he sat down again.
Rocious took his seat also, “How?”
Colville took a long pull from his beer, “As a boy he tried, but I was quick to beat some sense into him. As he grew older he hated that the soldiers would try, but still he obeyed. When Lance died, Arthur was in Stormhelm for some reason, I don’t recall. When he found out, I tried to stop him but—” Colville hung his head.
“He was as stubborn as his father,” said Rocious.
Colville looked up with a slight smile, “I couldn’t stop him. It took almost two hours, but he made it to the top. Smashed the shrine that was up there and spent the better part of a day clearing everything noticeable from the edge.”
“No one has tried since?” asked Falcon.
Colville narrowed his eyes at Falcon, “No. And I won’t have you dishonoring his memory by falling to your death.”
“It must be done,” said Rocious as he reached for his mug.
Colville grabbed Rocious’s arm, twisted it behind his back until it snapped and slammed his face down into the table. Falcon barely blinked, amazed the old man could still move so fast.
“No, it doesn’t. Whatever the reason, it does not,” said Colville.
Falcon stood up, “There was honor in what your son did—”
“Don’t you tell me about my son!” Colville let go of Rocious and leapt over the table. Falcon anticipated it, and hopped back.
Colville was still a better fighter, but he was blinded by anger. Falcon swatted down his hands and slipped behind him. He looped one arm around the neck, the other under an arm and locked his hands behind Colville’s head forcing him to the ground.
“He saved lives by making that climb. That’s probably what gave him the strength to do it,” said Falcon.
“You know nothing about him,” said Colville.
“I don’t need to, I know you. And you taught me the same lesson you taught Arthur,” said Falcon.
Rocious got up and drank his beer while healing his arm, “Stop being a fool, Tom. Arthur made the climb to save a handful of lives. What we’re doing will save thousands.”
Falcon let him go.
Colville walked around the room cooling off, “Thousands my ass. There’s nothing up there. Arthur would have found it if there were,” said Colville.
“He didn’t know what to look for, but I do,” said Rocious.
“What makes you any different?” asked Colville.
Rocious put his freshly healed hand up and it burst into flames, “Magic.”
Colville shook his head, “Fucking magic.” Colville knocked over the rest of his beer and walked upstairs without another word.
Falcon looked at Rocious, “What’s that mean?”
Rocious finished his beer, “Another round.”
The next morning Falcon was woken up by a bucket of spring water in the face, “Get up,” said Colville. “You’re helping me in the forge while you’re here. I’m behind.”
Falcon covered his eyes and considered going back to sleep. After barely sleeping on the road and staying up late drinking, he felt like shit. Definitely not in shape for working in the forge.
“I’ve got another bucket,” said Colville.
“Fuck, alright, I’m up,” said Falcon.
“I should throw it at you anyway for cursing this early. Get dressed, eat and meet me down there,” said Colville.
On his way downstairs he caught a glimpse of Rocious still lying in bed; he was soaking wet. Falcon put together a quick meal and left a portion for Rocious to grab whenever he came down.
He fell into the work in the forge as easily as normal, but after about fifteen minutes he felt two things out of place. The first was fairly simple but unmistakable: there was no sound from Flow working. That simple song of the metals he had fallen in love with had a sad tone without her. Falcon wondered if it was the real reason why Colville insisted on his help.
The second thing brought tears to his eyes and filled his stomach with butterflies. For the past few years he had thought of Floriana while he worked, but today his mind turned to someone else. Rocious told him to focus on memories of Lucian, but he simply could not relive that in his mind. But the memories of Aemilia he savored, even when they argued. He was so wrapped up in them, that he missed what triggered his magic for a second time.
“Fuck,” he said under his breath, as he toppled his workstation over, and the three next to it.
“What the hell are you doing down there? Clean that up, before one of us trips into the lava flow,” shouted Colville.
“I can’t,” said Falcon. Colville stopped what he was doing and came over to him.
“Why not?” asked Colville.
Falcon moved his hand toward his workstation and flipped the table again. “I can’t control it.”
Colville snapped his fingers in front of Falcon’s face, “Yes, you can, calm down and focus.”
Falcon took his calming breath and centered himself. The magic he had under his control rushed back to him, but with another breath he redirected it to put the table back in place. Then he moved on to cleaning up the other workstations, but he never finished.
“What happened? Where am I?” asked Falcon jumping up. Rocious held him down with a hand and took a sip from his mug with the other.
“Calm down before you make me spill,” said Rocious.
Falcon relaxed and laid back, “What happened?”
“Used too much magic,” said Rocious.
“How? I barely did anything,” asked Falcon.
“You’ve grown too efficient with healing. You’ve stopped gauging how much magic you use. We’re on a whole other level now, so it’s time to up your game,” said Rocious.
“I could have died,” said Falcon.
“Don’t be so dramatic, you’ll get used to it,” Rocious took a swig of his beer, “or you won’t and yeah, you’ll die.”
“You act like it’s easy,” said Falcon.
“Feels easy. Anyway, get some rest. My plan for the cliff can wait till morning,” said Rocious.
“Great, so if I don’t kill myself, the cliff will,” said Falcon.
Rocious got up to leave but stopped in the doorway, “Oh, what was the trigger?”
> “Aemilia, the way she looked at me,” said Falcon.
Rocious leaned against the doorframe and took a swig of his beer.
“I can’t explain it, I’ve never felt that way before. Does it matter?” asked Falcon.
“It always matters, what will you do if those feelings change? Or that memory fades?” said Rocious.
Falcon put his head down and closed his eyes, “I’ll let my dreams figure out how I felt,” said Falcon.
“Good luck with that,” said Rocious.
“I would prefer you not destroy my home,” said Colville.
Rocious poked his head out of the storehouse, “I found what I need,” Rocious pulled the end of the rope he found but it got stuck.
“Hold on,” said Colville walking over to Rocious.
“That’s alright, almost got it,” Rocious gave a nice tug and fell on his ass with six feet of rope in his hand.
“Yeah, that’s not what you’re looking for,” said Colville leaning against the doorframe, “How much do you need?”
“You helping us now?” asked Rocious as he shoved Colville.
Colville shifted his weight and rolled his shoulder to keep his balance. He looked at Rocious expressionless, “If you clean up the shed, I’ll make sure you don’t die climbing that fucking cliff.”
Rocious dropped the rope and started walking away, “Consider it done.”
“Hey! The shed first,” said Colville.
“Yup, I’m on it,” said Rocious over his shoulder.
Rocious jogged inside and made a dash for the steps.
“What’s got you in a hurry?” said Falcon as he walked out of the kitchen.
Rocious stopped, “Oh, you’re up.”
Falcon put another spoon of oatmeal in his mouth and smiled. Rocious sat at the table with him.
“What’s the rush?” asked Falcon.
“The shed’s a mess. Colville wants you to clean it,” said Rocious.
“I thought you were going to tell me this master plan for the cliff?” asked Falcon.
“I’m going to tie a rope to you so you can pull me up,” said Rocious.
Falcon dropped his spoon into the empty bowl, “That’s your idea?” asked Falcon.
Rocious grinned, “Yup.”
“How does that help me?” asked Falcon.
Rocious scratched his ear, “It helps me.”
Falcon rolled his eyes and headed for the shed. When he got there Colville had already started cleaning the shed. He grabbed a broom and walked over to give him a hand.
Colville snatched the broom and started sweeping, “You two destroy everything.”
Falcon put his hands up, “I just got here.”
Colville pointed the broom at him, “Yesterday you knocked over half the forge. Today Lockland trashed my shed for six feet of rope. You planning to destroy my showroom tomorrow?”
Falcon’s eyes lit up, “Is that all you had?”
“Rope, no. What’s it for anyway?” asked Colville.
Falcon started putting back Colville’s tools, “He wants to tie it to me so I can pull him up there.”
Colville paused then started sweeping again, “I should give you one for me too.”
“I’d expected this from him, not you too,” said Falcon.
Rocious popped his head in the shed, “What are you doing!? You found the trigger, so practice.”
Falcon motioned for Colville to move, “Fine.”
“See, the shed’s getting cleaned, where’s the rope?” asked Rocious.
“In the forge, maybe you’ll even help me work for once,” said Colville.
“You never asked,” said Rocious as he started walking toward the forge.
Once they walked away Falcon considered using his hands to get the job over with. No, there was only one way to improve. He extended a thin sheet of magic covering the floor and turned his thoughts to Aemilia, searching for his trigger.
First he thought about how she looked in her slim black and blue dress. He felt his heart speed up as he remembered her small yet curvy frame. The desire he felt was not the trigger so he shifted his thoughts to her attacking him. It was not quite anger that filled him, more annoyance and surprise. That was not the trigger either, so he skipped ahead to the moment she opened her eyes.
Then he felt it; the trigger was so distinctive that he could not believe he missed it. The magic was instantly being drained from him to power the expression he had created. He panicked and cut off the flow a split second after it was triggered.
The next thing he knew he was tumbling through the dirt halfway back to the fort. When he stopped rolling he sat up and shook some of the dirt off, “What the hell!? You never said that could happen.”
Colville and Rocious were only a few steps outside the shed and looked over at him.
Rocious walked over to give him a hand up, “Yesterday you could barely trigger the damn thing. You cut off the flow too quick,” said Rocious.
Falcon brushed off some of the dirt on his clothes, “I didn’t know there was a ‘too quick’,” said Falcon.
“If you make a construct it takes time for the magic to fill it. If you cut it off too soon, BOOM!” said Rocious.
“Now you tell me. Is there anything else I should know? I mean anything else I should know so I don’t almost kill myself or get injured or injure someone else or break something?” asked Falcon.
Rocious scratched his chin, “No.”
He started walking toward the forge again then stopped, “Well wait, don’t try to um. I forget the name. This,” said Rocious as he flicked his hand. A ball of flame formed in his hand. He dropped it on the ground and it continued to burn.
Falcon watched the fire closely, “What is that?”
“It’s a ball of fire,” said Rocious.
Falcon threw up his hands and started walking away, “Thanks.”
Rocious jogged after him, “You good?”
Falcon spun on him, “NO! I’m not good. You’re supposed to teach me these things and all you’ve said is ‘it’s a ball of fire’,” said Falcon.
“Wait. I learned all of this a long time ago. I don’t remember the names anymore. It’s sustained fire, it will keep burning until it runs out of magic. But I don’t have to feed it anymore,” said Rocious.
Falcon stopped, “Okay, so how do I not do that?”
Rocious scratched his chin again, “You need to add complexity to the construct, that one is like unraveling a ball of yarn.”
“Complexity? You said I had to give it time but you created that in like half a second,” asked Falcon.
“That’s different, you can’t compare the two,” said Rocious.
“Why not?” asked Falcon.
“I’m better than you. For you it takes time, for me… I don’t even think about it anymore,” said Rocious.
Falcon started walking away, “Great. I’m screwed.”
Rocious grabbed his shoulder, but Falcon slouched and pushed him off then kept walking. Rocious threw an explosion at his feet stopping him, “I said this once before but right now you need to hear it again.” Rocious flicked his fingers creating a few sparks.
“This shit, this test. It doesn’t matter.”
Rocious jabbed Falcon’s chest with his finger, “This is what makes you great.”
Falcon looked down at his chest, “It doesn’t help to become a master.”
Rocious looked down and shook his head, “This test you are training for is a sham, a way for mediocre pathos to show the world how much they know. Any true empath knows how little the test means.”
“What about Praetorian Connelly? He is not a true empath?” asked Falcon.
Rocious let out a laugh, “I met an untrained eight-year-old who was better than him. Connelly doesn’t deserve to be called Master let alone Praetorian. If he had any respect, he’d give up the title.”
Falcon raised an eyebrow, “Any eight-year-old who knows you is probably in a corner crying.”
Rocious smacked him on the shoulder and started walking away, “He’s doing plenty of crying.”
Falcon finished cleaning the shed and spent the rest of the day working in the forge with Colville. Rocious actually stayed in the forge and helped as well. As it turned out, a master of fire was extremely useful in a forge. Colville even closed the forge early. After their meal they sat with a round of beers to discuss the cliff.
“I have known you for most of my life Rocious, why the hell did you wait until now to help me in the forge?” asked Colville.
“Are you too old to remember? You kicked me out forty years ago. Told me never to come back,” said Rocious.
“Of course I did. You were scraping shit off your boots with my engraving tools,” said Colville.
“Hmm, oh,” said Rocious.
“Never too late for an apology,” suggested Falcon taking a seat.
Rocious leaned back, “I stayed out of the forge. That’s an apology.”
“There have been enough firsts for today. You want to hear my idea for the cliff?” asked Colville.
Falcon leaned back and took a drink, “If this involves me carrying anyone else, I am gonna cut the damn rope.”
“Nothing like that. Arthur did these finger and grip exercises. I thought it was improving his grip for sword fighting, but when he made the climb he held himself on a couple of fingers. I have never seen anything like it,” said Colville.
“What are these exercises?” asked Falcon.
“Hold on,” said Rocious. “Arthur did those exercises for, what, ten years before he made the climb. We don’t have that kind of time.”
“Sounds like a useful skill regardless. I think we should reconsider my idea,” said Falcon.
“What idea?” asked Colville.
Rocious put his cup down and leaned on the table, “He wants me to use my explosions to jump up there. They’re too destructive; to get that high I’d turn this place into a crater.”
Falcon put his elbows on the table, “What if you tried to throw me, like the time we crossed the Red Gorge?”
“It’s called the Valentian Gorge. But same problem,” said Rocious.
“I don’t know magic at all but why can’t Falcon simply jump up there? His ability isn’t violent,” said Colville.
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