Heart of Iron

Chapter 1: Discovered

Summary: This is about a living metal puppy, who has been created by an unknowing mage named Lae, deep in the Lairan Mountains. (Lairan is a country miles north of Emelan.) Lae has spent years with people fearing her for her strange powers. Thus, the two live alone in the mountains, until one day, Lae gets word of a mage with powers like hers.

A/N: This will be a long fic; each chapter will probably be least five pages, so it will take me a while to update. Also, I know that Lae's name doesn't fit her now, but it will eventually. Tala will come up after a few chapters. I used some (actually all) foreign names, so if you're wondering what they mean, here's the list: (I'll add them as they come later)

Lae: dark

Jarek: born in January (well, he was!)

Pazia: golden

Tala: stalking wolf

Thewoman sat by the house, weaving several skeins of yarn into a brightly colored cloth. She tossed her head, shaking her long, golden hair out of her face.

"Mama! Look!"a girlshouted, racing through the village gleefully. The girl was about eight years old, with dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders in glossy waves. Her eyes were of the darkest brown, pools of liquid bronze set in smooth skin the tone of cocoa.

"Come here, Lae. Let me see what you've done." Her mother looked up from her weaving with a smile. What met her eyes was definitely unexpected. "Oh, Lae. Where did you get this, my dear?"

"I made it, mama! Uncle Jarek gave me some of the scraps from his latest project. He said there wasn't enough to make anything with it, so I could have it. Then, I felt a little pull, somehow. I asked him if I could try hammering it, and he laughed and told me to knock myself out." (A/N: I know this expression probably isn't used in Lairan, but whatever.)

The item that Lae was so proud of was made of copper, yet it was as hard as iron, thanks to a fewsilver scraps added to the mixture. It was in the shape of a ring, formatted as a strange, foreign looking knot. Somehow, with a crude hammer and chisel, she had even managed to inscribe the word 'Lae' into the side of it.

"Dearest, do you know what this means? You have an extraordinary skill here! You could be apprenticed to Jarek now! I know it's what you've always wanted, now you can finally make that dream come true."

"Mama, what will people say? No girl can do this now…"

"Don't you remember the stories, Lae? Of the great ones from the South? Many of them were women; you never know what you can accomplish, sweetie. You have to try this, for me."

"Ma, all of the 'Great Ones' have powerful magic. I don't even have a seed, or the Finder would've seen it."

"Not all of the women in the legends had magic, either, sweetie. Remember Aly? She was one of the best spies in the land, and she didn't have the Gift."

Lae smiled at her mother. "Ok, mama; at least I'll be doing something I really want to, rather than having to study all the time."

"Oh, no, girlie. Don't think you're getting out of that! You'll leave the shop early to take lessons. No daughter of mine is going to grow up in ignorance."

"Mama!" Lae knew when she was defeated, though. She sighed, but didn't bother arguing.

Later that day...

"Lae! What are you doing here so early? I won't hesitate to tell your mama you are leaving school to be in my shop again." The large blacksmith looked up at his little neice. Utterly fascinated with metal-working, she had often skipped school to sneak into his shop and watch him.

"No, it's ok, Uncle Jarek. Mama said that I can be your apprentice, after she saw this ring I made with the scraps you gave me yesterday." The girl smiled up at her uncle happily; she loved being in his shop, it always made her feel so secure.

"What? Oh… um… uh…" Jarek was at a loss for words. He wondered why, exactly, his sister had decided to drop this bombshell on him now. "Let's go sort the details out with your mother, Lae."

The two walked off towards Pazia's humble house. Pazia was Lae's mother; her name fit her well indeed. Her skin was creamy, lightly bronzed by the sun, her hair, chestnut brown, once again with that hint of gold.

"Jarek! What a pleasant… well, it's not really a surprise…"

"Ok, then, as this doesn't seem to come as a shock to you, why don't we discuss my niece here, and her future as a smith in your house?"

They went into the cozy little house, made from logs of the local trees. It was nicely furnished, and showed good taste. The door opened into the main room, and all three bedrooms came from a hall to the left. The other room was the kitchen; it also served as a dining room in the winter, when the stove often provided the most heat in the house. The three sat down in three of the comfortable wicker chairs that were crowded around the table in the center of the room.

"Did she show you the ring she crafted yesterday?" Pazia looked around. "Here Lae, show the ring to your uncle." Lae obediently handed the small coppery trinket to Jarek.

"Little one, did you make this yourself?"

"Yes, uncle Jarek; is that good?" The girl's innocent young face creased.

"Of course! Lae, this would be considered a good piece for an accomplished student! It shows tremendous potential, in fact, with the right training, you might even surpass me!" He picked the little ten-year-old up and swung her around.

"Oh, uncle, I could never surpass you," Lae grinned, "But at least now I can work in the shop. I've looked forward to being old enough to learn smithing forever."

"Come on then, apprentice," smiled Jarek, "We're going to go find some stuff." He winked at his little sister, and took Lae by the hand.

"Jarek! I'm coming too. I want to celebrate this as much as you do, so let's both go."

They set off for the village shops, stopping at the 'equipment' store, where tools of just about any trade were sold. Jarek, sizing up their stuff, got Lae all of the tools that she needed; his would be far too heavy for the young girl. They then were about to get a blacksmith's apron, but Pazia insisted on making one for her young daughter. They chose a silvery gray material, and, as Lae's mother had a talent for cloth spells, she would be able to fix hers the way she had fixed her brother's, when he first started.

The next day, in Jarek's shop…

"Ok, Lae, let's start with your basic knowledge of each metal and its purposes. What's this one?" He handed her a black bar of metal, as long as her hand; it was three inches wide and thick. It was quite heavy for its size.

Lae answered without a moment's hesitation. "That's a bar of iron, uncle Jarek."

He smiled at her. "Yes, Lae, but what kind of metal is iron?"

"Um, it's a pure metal, right? Not an alloy?" She definitely hadn't spent almost all of her free time in a blacksmith's shop without picking up any information.

Once again, her uncle was quite pleased with her knowledge. "Ok, girl," he grinned, "Take these, and label each bar carefully." With this, he handed her a large bag of metal bars, each similar to the one she had just identified. Lae smiled, sitting down with a pencil and a sheet of parchment for each bar.

About one hour later, she had successfully labeled all but two of the bars; the only ones she had mixed up were tin and aluminum. Jarek gave her a book containing each of the metals, their uses, and pretty much everything she needed to know about each. He told Lae to study them one metal at a time, until she finished it.

That night, for the first time in about four years, Lae fell asleep, fully content.

A/N: Wow, I didn't use a cliffie! I just wanted to end this chapter, so I could get on with her newest training exercise… DUNDUNDUUUN! (hint: it's also known as Daja-bane.) It should be lots of fun... I'd beter go, Lae is mad at me now...