Aliose sat at his family’s table attempting to plot out the next week in his racing mind. He tapped his fingers against the worn wood grain glancing around the cramped kitchen that doubled as a dining room. Finally, a letter from his father had made it back from the front lines, and along with it a portion of the military salary he was promised. Aliose re-read the letter for the fifth time in as many minutes.

 Lara, Aliose, I hope this makes it back to you, and I pray my absence has not caused too much strife. This war camp is the busiest I have ever been as a smith, I can’t complain much especially since my cultivation has improved. Every morning we receive an endless stream of requests for construction materials, arrowheads, armor, and weapon repairs. If we aren’t marching, we have shifts working through the night, the clang of hammers ringing out endlessly. The general and men are optimistic this campaign will be over quickly and without much bloodshed. I don’t know much about the games of war to know any different, and so I remain optimistic this whole ordeal will soon be a bad memory.

 Throughout it all I worry about how you are doing, and if my father is still there eating us out of house and home. As a result, the first installment of my salary has been released to you Lara. Aliose, I have already sent a portion of this to the Forge Guild Hall to cover your first 6 months of apprenticeship. You have a strength that I lacked at your age, I expect you to dedicate yourself completely to this work, and Kezzen willing, one day surpass me. A good impression here and you could soon find yourself a ranked artisan at the guild. I expect you won’t squander the opportunity. Gods remember me, know my spirits soar when I think on those days you would work the bellows, carefully watching every hammer strike I made. My days would certainly be better if I had help from you, and not whatever misbehaving foot soldier they send our way.

 I do not have much time to write this, our marches have become longer and more frequent, and I don’t know when I will be given paper to write to you again. Know that, I think of you both often, and my love for you both burns brighter and hotter than any forge I have, or ever will see.

–Ferren

Aliose set the letter down. His mother had gotten up and was resting a hand on his shoulder.

“What happened to your arm Ali?” Lara leaned down and lifted his injured arm looking at the bandaging. The wound by now was almost healed, if not for the weird scarring, and stained bandages it would look completely normal. She brushed her hand against one of the scars. “When did you learn to use your qi in this way?” There was a slight hint of worry in her voice.

“I didn’t, it just made sense to do it that way. I had to do something, being bloodied like that in the western wilderness like that is dangerous.” Aliose replied, slightly frustrated remembering his ill-fated hunting trip. He got up from the table and started grabbing clothes, preparing to go the nearby bath house before going to sleep. There wasn’t anything his mother could do to stop him from going out, but he didn’t like her worrying about him with how sick she was. It only made him feel more guilty for not doing enough.

“I’m heading to the bath and then sleep. Gent will be here in the morning to practice a new martial technique.” Aliose sighed, remembering “He wants to fight me with a shovel of all things. He’s already behind his own peers as it is.”

“Ali, it isn’t your burden. What Gent lacks in talent, he makes up for with an abundance of strength, much like his parents.” Lara reassured him. Aliose worried for his classmate, maybe friend. While Aliose was already a year ahead of his own age group he had still ended up meeting Gent because he was placed back a year.

“I need to lay back down now” Lara said with a pent-up sigh. “Maybe grab us dinner from the market on your way back from the bath.” She said handing him two copper coins. It felt like a fortune after the past months. He stood there a moment at the door looking at the metal coins. It was a ways off for him, but he still checked if he could feel any kind of connection to the metal in his hand. Forge cultivators like his father often spoke about that special connection, and he patiently waited to experience it himself. One moment you are blind in the world, seeing without knowing, unaware of the rich existence playing out around you. Then like a lightning strike your understanding expands, suddenly you can reach out and shape what is and isn’t. This is the heart of cultivation Aliose, knowing the world around you enough that you can choose to change it with your understanding.

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He stood in silence for a while thinking about his father’s words, and trying to understand the copper in front of him. Of all the exercises from his father and the masters at the Initiates Hall, this understanding was something that eluded him. People had reassured him he was still young for it, but already he knew of two people his age that had gained enlightenment. Falling behind wasn’t an option, one day he would need to rely on his accomplishments to progress within the city’s artisan guilds, or gods willing even work for a sect.

Worrying about that wouldn’t help, he needed to focus on what he was going to do with his spirit stone, now that money was less of an issue. His father would often grumble about having to sell his spirit stones instead of using them in crafting. For something so expensive it was risky to use them for crafting since any number of things could go wrong that would cause the stone’s power to break down, and even if that didn’t happen you could still inadvertently make something no one was interested in buying. Aliose remembered a story about a dagger that made its wielder laugh whenever it was stabbed into flesh. Something creepy and ineffective like that could only be sold at a loss. Stepping out of the door he decided to put his worries out of his mind for now and enjoy the relaxation of the bath.

~~~

Clang! Like a poorly made bell, Gent’s shovel erratically resonated from their back-and-forth clashes. Every strike Aliose had attempted so far with his blunted training spear had ended the same way, with the flat face of the shovel blocking him. Gent’s maneuvering, if you could even call it that, was abhorrent to watch, but functionally he had yet to fail in blocking. Now offense was another matter. Each swing Gent made had to have so much power behind it that Aliose was able to easily block if not outright counter his attacks. The only problem was when Gent chained several different strikes together, one move flowing into the other. Aliose had taken a good hit to his left shoulder the first time it happened, unable to stop himself from staring.

Reminded of the heft behind each strike Aliose jumped backward when he saw Gent step forward sweeping the digging tool in a large arc. Too fast he ended up unbalanced since the swing’s momentum wasn’t stopped by a block like he had probably been expecting. Mid stumble Gent’s neck was hit by the dull spearhead. They broke apart, Aliose was breathing heavily, his injured arm was sore, and his stamina wasn’t on par with Gent's. Meanwhile, despite swinging a heavy shovel around like a staff for an hour, Gent wasn’t even sweating.

“Thank you for highlighting my weakness, blocking has come easier to me. Attacking with something so unbalanced is a challenge.” Gent said while sitting down to meditate.

Aliose waved him off, moving to sit down as well “It’s nothing, I think sparring against all these odd weapons has been helpful for me in a way. Also, why is it so easy for you to block with that thing? It was like no matter what I did you were able to stop me.”

Gent fidgeted a bit, “That’s what made me pick this up in the first place, one of the workers threw a rock at me while we were digging and it was like my whole body just knew what to do. It’s not the first time I’ve had that feeling when holding a weapon, I just wish I knew why it happened.” After a pause, Gent put his hands behind his head and fell back to the ground. “Oh well, I’m sure one of these days I’ll pick up a normal weapon and feel the same way. Although did I tell you about that weighted net I found at the market?” He looked over grinning like an idiot.

“A net?!” Aliose mock shouted, jumping up and driving an elbow into Gent’s stomach. The two roughhoused a moment, kicking up dirt in the scuffle.

Lara cleared her throat. “Boys, this doesn’t look like sparring.” She spoke. Gent and Aliose stood up quickly, covered in dirt and grass stains.

“Ah, uh, misses Vestwynn, I was teaching young Aliose the finer points of grappling, very important to learn for when you’re disarmed or fighting in close quarters,” Gent said, head bowed, sounding genuinely embarrassed about the break in their sparring.

“Well, I do appreciate your tutoring of my son Gent. I’ll make sure your work is tallied with the city.” Lara replied, barely containing a smile. She knew that Gent, now an orphaned city ward, took his obligations seriously. Never sparing any effort in the things he pursued, much like her own son.

“Anyway, Aliose don’t forget you have to go to the Guild Hall district today. It wouldn’t look well to miss your first appointment there.” Lara told him.

“Of course, Mom, I won’t miss it,” Aliose replied, turning to gather up his things. After his mother left the two boys looked at each other and started laughing.

“Just know I will repay you for that sucker punch with the elbow,” Gent said.

“Just know that I will be ready, and will counter accordingly. Aliose replied.

The two of them, in front of Aliose’s run-down house, clasped forearms and proceeded to walk in the same direction.

“That’s awkward” Gent huffed.

“No kidding, are you following me?”

“No, I have one more day of digging, and then who knows.”

Lara heard them leave. She smiled to herself and wiped a tear away from her cheek. In her thoughts, she prayed for her son. Pleading to any god that would listen, that her son may enjoy a few more years of mindless youth. That the burdens she felt coming could be held at bay just a little longer.