IN OUR MIND AND OUR HEART 5

FORGING FIRE

'Maybe something is wrong with me?' Daja Kisobu thought walking back to her home after a long day of forging swords for the Emelanan Army. It had been six long months since she and her foster siblings had fled the lands of Namorn in order to save Sandry from a life she refused to settle for. Leaving behind one of the few good things Daja thought she could pray to the Bookkeeper for, the "Glorified seamstress" but Daja couldnot let herself think that way. In the few weeks, she had been in Namorn she had fallen for the older girl and fallen hard. It wasn't Rizu's fault that Daja and her siblings left the way they did, or that Daja had chosen not to stay with her lover. However, there was still a small part of her that hated Rizu for letting the younger girl fall in love with her then choosing to stay in a country that would never protect its citizens. But who was she to force the girl to leave her home, her position, and her family; the last was the hardest because Daja had lost her family at a very young age and though she loved her foster family; Briar the "ex-thief" and his street sense, Tris the merchant with her ever changing moods and Sandry the noble of the kind heart. Her mothers: Lark who was kind and gentle with ever smiling eyes and Rosethorn though a little too prissy at times just as caring in her own way, would she leave them behind the few people who had shown her love or worse would she be able to choose between her old family and her new one…

"Oh, excuse me." Daja said bumping into someone. She mentally kicked herself, she had forgotten her own strength and now had to help this young woman out of the mud…mud when had it started to rain? Her clothes were soaked and now she would have to find a way to repay this woman for her clothing, she knew she did not have any coin on her. She had forgotten her mage kit at home and being to deep in her own brooding thoughts to want to go back and retrieve it she planned on going to the forge then coming home for midday.

She didn't plan on staying at the large forge for hours not noticing how her deep red habit had grown heavy from her own sweat or that more times than she could count hammer met her thumb instead of metal. She didn't know she had spent the entire day and most of the night at the forge until her teacher and friend came up behind her,

"Daj don't you think the Duke has more than enough swords by now? Maybe you should go home? Sandry will throw a fit when she sees what you did with your clothes!" His large brown eyes flashed with humor Daja looked questioningly at her mentor then down at her own clothes her deep red tunic and breeches were now adorned by black scorch marks. "Yeah Sandry's gonna kill me. What time is anyway?" Frostpine's barrel sized chest jerked up and down as he laughed, he gently pushed Daja towards the door at the front of their forge "Why don't you look for yourself?" She looks out the door everything is covered in long shadows and the street lamps are lit. "Huuh… I guess I lost track of time. Kami bless me! I have to go home Rosethorn made dinner and they're all probably waiting for me!" Frostpine burst into a fit of laughter. "Yes you don't want to that woman waiting and knowing Briar your grubs is long gone by now."

Lark sent me here to look for you anyway, it was this or going straight to Moonstream. Lucky for you I remembered you had this to finish," he said gesturing to the newly made swords layed out on the forge's largest table. "Moonstream would be huffing down my neck and I would be down yours." He said as he walked around the table to examine her finished work, the building they rented was large, large enough for two giant forges and plenty of storage closets in the back.

But something was still bugging Daja.

"Why didn't they just call me themselves?"

"Hmm… they tried, they said you were closed off to everyone and they didn't want to break you."

Daja took a deep breath and looked inside herself at the deep red pool that was the core of her magic which connected her to all things dealing with forging: fire, heat, smoke, metal. Her power made her immune to the first three. She gently rubbed the living metal on her palm the symbol of the last and how close she was to all metals. She dove deeper into her core searching for the threads that connected her to her siblings. She gasped and inwardly kicked herself, all of her thoughts of Rizu had blocked her connection and dwindled them to thin copper strands, instead of the thick chain they usually were. Just enough that they knew she was alive but were unable to communicate or find her. She took a deep breath and relaxed allowing all three strands to grow far past their normal sizes. All at once three consciousness crashed down on her mind, throwing her out of her concentration. She blinked rapidly attempting to focus her eyes on something, anything.

'What?'

'You heard me! Idiot trader your still actin like a kid!' Her brother yelled in her head, whenever he was upset he reverted back to the street slang he was so infamous for.

'Who do you think you are locking us out like that? What if you were hurt or something happened over here? How the hell are we supposed to find you?'

'Hey thief boy, shut up! Your giving me a headache.' Daja thought turning around to face her teacher.

'All Briar is trying to say is that we were worried about you. Next time at least tell us were you will be all day, we thought you had gone and gotten yourself kidnapped or something.' Her foster sister Sandry sounded generally concerned for her, a small pang of guilt hit her. They all cared for each other even if they showed it differently it didn't make a difference they had known each other long enough to tell the others moods.

'I'm sorry' she told her sister, She could hear Briar telling their mothers where she was and that she was ok. Their was a change in heat that came from the other side of their connection. 'What was that?' she asked her sister 'And where is Tris' she thought getting a little worried for her family and feeling more than a little foolish for having them worry so. 'Well if you must know Lark sent Tris up to the roof to 'calm' herself down.' Sandry told her. 'Let me guess she was throwing off sparks again?' walking back towards the large table where she had laid her finished product she stared at her mentor. Frostpine usually jovial beyond his years had a look on his face that spelt only one thing to Daja, trouble. 'Actually she was so upset the entire house was radiating heat the furniture actually started smoking. Lark told her if she couldn't calm down then go up on the roof to get some air. Of course that was after she had the brilliant idea of sending a twister loose to search for you.' Daja only listened half heartedly. 'Frostpine why are you looking like that?' she asked her teacher creeping slowly closer to were he stood slowly running his hands over the hundred or so swords she had been working on for more than a day.

"Do you know," he started "these swords will never break or dull or falter or rust?" he asked never looking u from what he was doing. She could see the magic leaving his body in soft whispers, wrapping its way around the blades and the hilts even the scabbards. Daja had no idea what it was her teacher was doing. "Yes, I know that Frostpine I did make them." She said slowly. "No, you don't understand," he said picking up the one farthest away from Daja at the end of the table "No matter how hard they are used they will not break, you could hack through anything," he said, lifting the sword over his head. ", no matter how long its used they'll never dull, the soldier who gets this sword will never need a wetstone." He flexed his massive arms ", You could leave this sword in one of Tris' storms overnight and it wouldn't have a spot of rust on it." He swung his arms down at the last second turning to slice through the large anvil behind him.