Last time: Cien collects the armor from the Mando's she once killed.
Now: Kyr takes her to the armorer.
Chapter 15- The Mastersmith
Three weeks later they walked down the streets of Nevarro together. Kyr carried the oversized duffel on his shoulder and it clanked with each step. Cien walked at his side buried in her dark robes. No one spared a glance their way, this was a little outpost town that saw all kinds. Some looked at his armor, some with an odd amount of recognition, but Kyr dismissed it. They walked to the alley way as they had been directed, and they found the doorway. Kyr stopped, looking back at her.
"These guys are Watch, so they are a little…. Culty." He said. "They are very set in their ways, and they won't welcome either of us." He said.
"I'm not afraid." She said, sternly.
"Cyar'ika, the day we encounter something that makes you afraid I will be terrified." He said gently. "Just be wary of them."
She nodded. And he hit the button, opening the door.
They walked down the tight, spiral steps, down into the sewers of the town. They followed the directions they had been given to find the Mastersmith that had forged Kyr's own set so long ago. As they turned another corner in the maze they saw a Mandalorian in armor at a guarding position, and seeing them he drew himself up immediately, his T-visor tracking them as they walked down the path. They ignored him, and he let them pass, watching them from his post, giving no greeting.
As they continued they encountered other Mandalorians resting, playing games, sharpening blades, or otherwise killing time. Even children ran by them in their own buy'ces. As they passed, all stopped to watch them. Kyr and Cien walked with their heads and gazes forward, towards the appointment they had made. Behind them the more curious got up to see what this was about, and the less curious followed suit soon enough. As they approached the main chamber, a metallic Mythosaur skull waited for them above a portal that led on to the forge.
A Mandalorian in heavy, blue armor stepped in front of Kyr's path, and Kyr came to a halt. He noted that Big Blue had a house Vizla sigil on his shoulder.
"You're in my way, vod." Kyr said cooly. Cien stood at his side.
"What makes you think this is your way, outsider? And who is this you bring at your heels?" He asked, spitting the words out.
"She is my travel companion." He said, meeting Big Blue's gaze through the visor. "Move." Kyr said, in his Alliance Colonel voice.
"I don't move for outsiders." He said, "Especially not for someone from a dead clan like yours." He spat.
Kyr's head cocked to the side. "My house is alive and well," he paused. "How's yours doing, vod?" Kyr asked.
Blue drew his knife and stabbed for Kyr's chest plate. Kyr didn't react. The knife stopped a few centimeters from making contact, and he could see the man's arm struggling to push through, as though he had just stabbed into a wall.
"Don't," Cien started, "do that again." Kyr and Blue both glanced down to see her hand up and out. So did the Mandalorians who had gathered in the room to take in the festivities. Around them hands went to holsters, grips on rifles were tightened, and knives were silently drawn.
"You bring a witch into our covert?" Blue growled.
"No." Kyr said, "she came here on her own accord."
Instantly all the blasters were drawn, and Kyr and Cien stepped out and rotated back to back, she drew her lightsaber and ignited it, Kyr drawing his blaster pistol, while his left hand went to the knife secured at his left shoulder. The tense standoff held for a few over long seconds, as everyone stared in shock at her blade.
"Well met, Kyr'prudii of clan Xiv." A woman's voice rang out from the forge room. The Mastersmith he knew so well stepped out in greeting, ignoring the scene on display. "It is good to see you, and to meet your new companion."
Everyone in the room shifted their frozen stances to look at the Armorer.
"It is a privilege to see you again, Mastersmith." Kyr replied, his blaster still drawn and aimed at Blue.
"This dar'manda brings a witch into our covert." Blue sneered.
"Even if he does not follow the way, he is a true son of Mandalore." The Armorer said evenly. "If you knew of their tale, you would understand the folly of standing against them, and the greater folly of trying to stand between them. And you stand in the way of him bringing another into his clan, to the way of the Mandalore. The future of our people lies with bringing outsiders such as she into our fold, as it has since ancient times. This is the way."
"This is the way." As one the rest of the room spoke the words, while Cien and Kyr stayed silent. In his mind Kyr changed the words to This is a cult and felt embarrassed for how they were acting. Blue said the words as well, though, and after a moment of hesitation he stepped aside, reseathing his knife.
Cien extinguished her saber and clipped it back to her belt. Kyr holstered his blaster, and they turned to face the armorer.
"I would speak with you." The Armorsmith gestured to them. They stepped into her forge, and the Armorsmith drew a curtain across the entrance separating them from the rest of the Mandos. She stepped around the forge to the other side of the room, busying herself with finishing up whatever task had been interrupted while Kyr and Cien waited for her.
"Why did you let him almost stab you?" Cien murmured next to him.
He kept his gaze forward, but smiled under his helmet. "Because I deserved it." He murmured back. He'd deliberately goaded Blue into the fight, annoyed by his attitude. He was going for the beskar so he would have only blunted his blade. "Why did you stop him?" He asked back.
She kept her gaze forward. "Because you deserved it." She agreed, with a blunt but teasing tone. "But I also love you."
At that he glanced down at her, and he saw the faint smile on her face. He looked back forward. "I love you to cyar'ika."
"I know, I looked up what cyar'ika meant a while ago." She murmured. Kyr had to admit he blushed a little under his helmet.
The armorer approached them, stepping around the forge. "I admit I was intrigued by our correspondence these past days." She said. "I remember well the forging of your set of armor so long ago." She said looking at Kyr, "at the time I thought not to see you again. Years later you asked for heart pieces, to bring new members to your clan. And now you stand before me, to ask for another set of armor forged." Then she looked pointedly at Cien. "Reforged from a set you won in battle some time ago?"
"Yes." Cien answered.
"May I see this set?" The armorer asked.
Kyr slung the huge duffel down with a respectful clank, and knelt. The cloth and leather for the flight suit and belt were pushed aside as he dug for the two right pauldrons from the set. Usually the first piece forged, after the beskar buy'ce. The proof piece, to show an armorer's skill to the one requesting the armor.
He found the two pieces and stood, presenting them to the armorer. Cien watched the ceremony with a studious eye.
The armorer took the two pieces and inspected them carefully. "These are ancient." She said, looking them over, looking at the proof marks, and the imperceptible makers stamp that Kyr had never been able to see but knew was there by tradition. She saw the dust and grit that was still collected in the pieces, no amount of cleaning had been able to clean off three millennia of collection. "And used in ancient times." She finished, looking up at Cien, in askance.
"I am from a time long, long ago." She responded, adopting the more ceremonial speech the Mandalorians seemed to have taken. "I killed them to avenge my master, and I returned to retrieve the set now that I have need of it. Their buy'ces and their heart pieces were left at their graves." She added.
The armorer studied her for an overly long while, and Cien held her gaze. "By whatever means you accomplished this feat, it is still your right." She agreed. "Though I wonder why one who sought such revenge would wish to don their armor and give it new life?"
Cien's gaze broke for a moment before looking at the Armorer. "I wish to atone for what evils I have visited upon those I now care for, and I have need for a set of this armor to do so." She answered.
Kyr looked like he was about to speak, and the armorer turned to him sharply. "Leave us." She said, with a voice that broached no argument.
Kyr blinked, and glanced at Cien, torn between his promise to her and the order of one so respected. Cien looked up at him and gave an almost imperceptible nod, and he turned and left, parting the curtain and moving back to the other room.
The armorsmith turned to Cien. "Your protector is most dedicated." She observed.
Cien met the owl eyes of her brass visor. "He made a promise to stay at my side."
"And there is more." The armorer observed.
Cien met her gaze and said nothing.
"You ask for a set of armor like a set of new clothing." The Armorer continued her earlier line of questioning before Kyr had almost interrupted. "Those outside would consider such a dismissive thought heresy against something most sacred to our people." She said, "so tell me, Cien of the Sith Order, why you retrieve this armor and seek to give it new life." She asked again, one last time.
Cien had been wrestling with that question for weeks now, and confronted with the question her mind churned with the same thoughts it had for all that time, as the Armorer patiently waited for an answer. "My life has been spent in evil, surrounded by it, and spent by my hand." She said slowly. "Kyr and his family, his clan, gave me a glimpse of something different, and a way to start anew. Despite what terrible sins I have committed upon them and so many others, they stood by my side and welcomed me, and in return I must end an evil of my own making so that they will be safe. I ask for this armor not as Cien of the Sith Order, but as Cienestra Swanseae, the child of unknown parents, and…" She trailed off, unsure what to say, "as one who cares greatly for those of the clan Xiv." She swallowed, and continued quietly, her tone less ceremonial, and more like a confession. "Kyr suggested this set of armor for me, when any space worthy suit would do. I am unsure of his ultimate intentions between us," she admitted, as she spoke her own understanding of why she was here fell into place. "But he means a great deal to me. If this is a path he invites me to, then I welcome it, with all the weight of meaning Mandalorian armor carries with it. And between us." She said quietly.
The armorer regarded Cien behind her visor inscrutably. And Cien admitted that she was hard to read, even with her particular gifts with the Force.
"The path of the Mandalore is many and varied." The Armorer said finally. "Many walk upon it without even knowing they do so. And many who think they are upon the path are led astray. Those outside see your Kyr and others like him as outsiders to the path, because they do not follow their particular ways. But," she continued, "there is no oath that must be spoken to become one among us. No ceremony to perform to become a Mandalorian. All that truly matters to be a Mandalorian is to live with honor, to persevere in the face of the onslaught of life. To have the heart and spirit of a warrior in all things."
She paused, looking deeply within Cien. "And I see in your eyes the heart and spirit within. That you are already on this path, regardless of what armor you may wear, either within yourself or without." She halted again, as if weighing her thoughts. "I will make this armor for you, Cienestra Swanseae, so that its weight will remind you of what you have gained from walking this path. The lessons of your new people I will leave to your new clan. And family." She finished.
"Thank you." Cien said quietly.
"It will take some time to forge and fabricate your armor with the materials you have brought with you. I presume that you have some idea of what pattern you would like?" She paused. "And I also presume Kyr has compiled a list of what features he might consider most useful to you?" Cien heard her finish with what sounded almost like a warm, amused smile.
Cien swallowed. "Yes, we have some ideas, and I have some of my own." And she described the set of armor she wanted.
"Very well." The armorer said, regarding her. "I have a finishing technique that may meet your wish. Allow me a span of two and a half weeks to complete this work for you. There is much beskar here, and your set will not use even half of it. What of the rest?" The Armorer asked.
Cien thought back to the children that had run past them as they entered. "Keep it." She said. "Use it for those that join the path as I have, and have need for their own reminder of what they have gained."
The armorer nodded. "This is the way."
"This is the way." Cien repeated.
This is the way. Review!