Suma’s POV

Jake and I arrived in my home city late in the day, nearly nightfall. The moon was full, and had already begun to show itself over the horizon. We decided to go to my house for the night, and Jake could stay there until his usual arrangements at the familiar’s stable house could be made again. My home, being constructed in the side of Mount Fafnir, has little space; certainly not enough for Jake to land his rune powered “bike” inside. He landed at the base of the mountain and waited for me to summon him. With a spell to open an entrance, I landed, filled the luminous braids with mana, and nostalgically watched as the room filled with light. Sighing, I looked around. Everything was as I left it. Less than a year and a half had passed, but it felt so much longer than that since I last stood here. The room was still clean since I had cast a spell to purify the room and air before I sealed it closed when I left.

“I have arrived, Jake.” I told him over our private connection.

“Ready here.” He said, and I summoned him. Slowly he appeared, crouched down because he was taller than the ceiling, and holding his bag.

“It has been quite some time since you were last here.” I said.

“I remember. Especially that big first step out the door. That made an impression.” He joked. For the first time in a very long while, I saw the smallest hint of genuine happiness, what his people called a “smile”, from him.

“My apologies, Jake; I keep fairly few Yggdrasil vines in my home. Certainly not enough to make you a roost, or bed, for the night. But I could barrow some from one of my neighbors if you want.”

He was still crouched, but turned towards me as best he could. Sitting down, he began to pull out the portable roost he had slept in during our trip. “It’s not big deal I can just use the tent again. What’s one more… night… Did you say Yggdrasil?”

“Yes. I could gather some. My neighbors are kind, and would surely not mind lending me a few. Enough to make a frame for your bed.” I answered.

“Um, no, it’s really fine. I don’t want to impose on them. But seriously, Yggdrasil? That’s what those vines are called?”

“Yes? Why?”

“Well first, I didn’t even know they had a name. But really, Yggdrasil? As in the world-tree Yggdrasil?” He asked.

“I am not familiar with any world-tree.” I told him, confused.

“It is a Viking myth. Yggdrasil was the tree that held the world together or something like that.”

“What? Are you saying that Vikings thought these vines, which grow wild throughout this whole kingdom, were holding the world together?” I asked, slightly amused. It was a humorous misconception. The thought that the Vikings could have gotten something so wrong was-

“Or your people got the name from their myth? Didn’t they invade like a thousand years ago or something? I mean, I’ve seen a few other remnants from their influence since I’ve been here.” Jake said.

“I suppose it is possible. Runes were created by Zachariah, and he was a Viking… so maybe he left other influences during his life.” It was a disconcerting thought, one I did not wish to dwell on.

“Yeah, that could be it too.” Jake nodded, pulling some tools and food from his bag with mana wrapping.

“Nonetheless,” I said, trying to switch topics, “what are your plans for tomorrow?”

“I’m going to Ceil’s. My stuff needs more TLC than I can give it right now.” Jake said, raising his former hand. “I’ll probably visit Sela-Car after that, and show her my new runes, and ask her to tend to the ones on my stuff that got beaten up.”

“Yes, that seems prudent.” I said. “How have you been adjusting? Without your hand, I mean.”

“Stuff’s harder. Mana wrapping helps, but it’s still difficult with some things. Picking up fabric is a pain. Which makes putting my clothes on a pain too. But overall, I guess things could be worse.” Jake explained.

“That is an excellent positive outlook on it. You seem to have taken the loss of your hand with both wings unfurled. Most Neame would still be wallowing in self-pity at the loss of a limb.” I thought about the Neame I saved when my group was traveling back from the royal capital. Even though he lived, he lost his wing. I could only imagine what he must have been going through. For years, I had assumed that such a loss would render most incapable of living a normal life, but Jake has not been nearly as affected as I would have imagined.

“Can I be honest with you, Suma? Really, losing my hand… wasn’t really that big of a deal.” Jake said, to my surprise. “Sure, I was pretty upset for a few days, but it wasn’t even close to how bad I felt when I got trapped here, or after losing Odens.”

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“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah. Maybe it’s because I still plan to get it back, or maybe I’m just going numb to all this crap that keeps piling up, but… I just don’t feel as strongly about it as I did those first couple of days.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“No idea.”

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Jake’s POV

Flying around on the hoverbike drew plenty of attention, one Neame, who wore the emblem of the Citadel’s guards, even stopped me to make sure I wasn’t a threat. I knew there were police of sorts here, but I didn’t know much about them. Once the guard was satisfied I wasn’t a threat, he warned me not to fly close to the citadel, and left.

Landing outside of Ceil’s blacksmith shop, I hopped off the bike, but didn’t send it away yet. Walking inside, I announced myself. “Ceil! You here?”

From the back workshop, I heard something metal clatter like it fell on a stone floor, and a ragged elderly voice called out, “By the dragons! Is that Jake I hear?” Loud wingbeats rang out, and Ceil, with his blue and grey feathers a bit bluer than the last time I saw him. His beak was still curled inwards, but now it was a bit shinier and pointed. “You’re back from your conscription! Returned alive and well! Just as I’d prayed for at the temple so many times. Please, come in! How are you, how are you?” He said, excitedly and landed on the wooden counter-like table in the shop’s lobby area.

“Alive.” I said, faking a smile, and modeling some vines into a chair.

“That bad then?” He said, his voice had not lost any of its cheer, but he did sound more sympathetic. I raised my lost hand, and his feathers pressed down against his body a bit, and lost some of their sparkle. “Oh my… Jake, I am so sorry that this has happened.”

“It’s fine. Suma and I are hopeful that I can regrow it with magic.” I explained.

“I have never heard of this, but your master is a Healing-Mage, yes? She would know more than me.”

“Anyway,” I said, changing topics, “I was hoping you could help me repair my armor and weapons. It’s a bit harder to do right now for me.”

“Of course, you can be my last customer, my friend.” He said.

“You’re closing this early in the day? The sun just rose a few hours ago.” I said, confused.

“No, my last customer ever. I am retiring, and leaving Zach-Ashem.” He said.

“What? Why? Did something happen? When I left, your business was booming.”

“Ah well, it did for a time, but you know the nobles. When they found out who named me, they put up a fuss. I decided to leave and go live my final years with my son in the Royal Capital, Ambos-Ompera. He is a blacksmith too, so I can help him with his shop.”

“Can I help somehow? I know the Grand Duke, and her Majesty the Queen. I could talk to someone, I’m sure.” I offered.

“No, no. This didn’t just happen. I have been thinking about this since before we even met. Lately I just felt like it was time. The only reason I stayed this long was because of how much Grand Duke Udoka Sopra has done for me, keeping the nobility in check so I could run my business without worry. He was the only reason I was even recognized as a named Neame in the first place. He fought for me against some of the nobles who did not like you, or me, or commoners.”

“Oh man, I’m really going to miss you.”

“Well, you could always come to visit. I’m sure we could find somewhere for you to stay, even if it is a little cramped.” He chuckled. “Now then, enough sadness. Let’s see those wonderful creations I made.” I summoned everything and laid it out. But the moment he laid eyes on each piece, he looked more and more upset. “Every time. Each and every time you leave, you come back and my creations are nearly destroyed!”

“Well, they did save my life.” I pointed out.

“For that I am glad, because now I can kill you myself! Look at this! Everything is tattered, poorly maintained, and on the verge of breaking; if not already broken. Twilight is effectively ruined and needs to be reforged and rebuilt. It looks like the head broke off somehow.”

“Yeah, that was an-”

“Mori is chipped and dull. Jericho is full of holes, the heat treatment has been ruined, and it has rips up and down the inner filter lining. Destiny is rusty, bent, and dull. Aegis is nearly broken in half, and looks like it has been hit with a boulder.”

“It kinda was… two or three times.” I told him. His head and wings drooped sadly. “So how much will it cost to fix everything?”

He shook his head. “Effectively, I need to completely remake some things. Several daljars of mana, as well as fifteen gold coins, at least. And none of this will be quick. It will take a week or two.”

“There’s one more thing I could use some help with.” I added.

“Something else? I don’t remember making anything else for you.”

“No, it’s something I made. It’s right outside.” I said. He landed on my shoulder, and I led him to the bike. He looked at it with… let’s call it confusion.

“What is it?” He asked. Hoppin on, I started it. “Oh, it’s powered by mana? Interesting- WOAH!” He shouted as we lifted a meter into the air.

“So, what do you think?”

“I see, it is a magic tool that allows you to fly. And you want my assistance with it?”

“Yeah, the frame needs improvement. Right now, it looks like a pile of garbage hastily welded to a metal table. I was hoping you could help me smooth it out a bit.”

“Okay, but why go through so much trouble? Could you not simply use magic to fly instead?” Ceil asked.

“I tried that once, as an experiment before starting this.” Suddenly, I was having a flashback to some training I did a few months ago. I had been on base, and cast a spell to manipulate gravity, wind, and electrostatic-repulsion to simulate flying. That single spell used so much mana, I was only able to get a few meters off the ground for about a minute before I was completely drained, and falling. After three broken ribs, a concussion, a twisted ankle, six broken fingers from landing on my hands, and a lot of throwing up, I decided to build the hoverbike. “It didn’t work out, unfortunately.”

“Hmmm… I am no expert in rune-craft, but if all you need is a new frame, then I believe I can do something about that. I will add it to your bill, can you leave the… what was its name?”

“It doesn’t have a proper name. I’ve just been calling it my bike.” I shrugged.

“Seems a bit unlike you to not name something, but very well. Leave this with me if you can, and I will prioritize making the new frame first.”

“Thank you, Ceil.”

“Jake, you named me. This is the least I could do. But that still leaves a problem, do you intend to reapply the runes yourself? Can you do that with only a single limb?”

“Don’t worry about that. I know just the Neame who can help.”