Okay, sorry for the long wait between updates. Life's been full.
Anyway, I forgot to put the little disclaimer thingy in front of my last chapter, so here ya go…
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Old Kingdom, the character titles (Clayr, Abhorsen etc.) or the whole Charter deal. They belong to Garth Nix. If you want to read a good story featuring these things, read his books. I don't get any profit off of this fan fiction. Please don't sue me. I have very little.
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"Let us See!" A resounding yell inside of the Clayr's Observatory began the Watch. All eyes were drawn to the large ice dome that served as the ceiling as Charter Marks swirled and danced between each of the seven-hundred-and-sixty-eight people gathered there.
The Voice of the Watch stood in the center of the room and gazed at the combined visions of the Clayr. They were concentrating on the Abhorsen Mosaibe and his Abhorsen-in-waiting Tirylese. From the confines of the Glacier, they watched the Abhorsen as he approached a large forest, the River Ratterlin at his back. Through the vision, the stench of Free Magic burnt the noses and throats of some of the Clayr. From here the scene broke into many. These were the possible futures of the Abhorsen. In several, Mosaibe slayed many Dead. In others, Tirylese fought alongside him. In most, however, the vision ended with the death of the Abhorsen.
The Voice of the Watch witnessed his sword weakening, and shattering, over and over again in the many possible futures. The Dead attacked several times, blocking Mosaibe's access to the Ratterlin. The bells, rung so many times, pealed out only a few notes before a particularly large Shadow hand hewed at the left arm of the overcome and exhausted Abhorsen. The end was fast and Seen in most of the visions. Tirylese arrived only a few minutes too late.
The Voice of the Clayr's Watch then requested that their focus be shifted, to the more distant future; What sword will Tirylese be using? The Clayr stared at the ice above their heads, and observed the many pieces of the Sight that combined to make one whole vision. Weapons of many kinds flashed; curved blades, straight blades, double edged, with guards, without guards, ornate looking, utilitarian, rapier blades, broad swords, long blades, and daggers.
The one blade that the Clayr Saw most was a long blade, double edged, with a large guard, a hilt made with leather wrapped around it, and a spherical pommel of shining metal. Charter Marks, ones for breaking, strength, and many others, swam on it, and glittered around it. There were some very complex spells on this blade. The Clayr saw this blade most often in the hands of Tirylese, and many, many other, future Abhorsens.
Another blade that the Clayr Saw a lot of was a small blade, a double edged dagger. It was very plain-looking compared to the long blade that the Abhorsen would wield. There were Charter Marks surrounding it, some of the same ones that were on the Abhorsen's blade. It was in the hands of a young man. He looked at it, as if he was proud of it, but at the same time, respectful, almost frightened. In the Vision, it was always the same man, in front of a make shift stove. The Voice of the Watch was confused by this vision; he was obviously not an Abhorsen. Another request to the Clayr of the Watch, and their Sight shifted. This man was Seen in a workshop. Wearing grubby clothes, with dirty hands and face, working at a grindstone, it seemed he was very much a blacksmith. It was almost painful to see this man clean in the next vision. In formal wear. In the Royal Chambers. It was Prince Nathaniel.
The Clayr silently filed out of the Observatory while the Voice stood still in the center, stunned. She bowed her head and told her nearest cousin to help her to arrange for a journey. Trembling slightly, she prepared herself for what she must tell the Queen.
Nathaniel buried his head in his hands and sighed. What had he been thinking? He couldn't possibly build a sword. He had no experience in that sort of thing. Faralie was right. He should leave this to the people who know what they were doing. Nathaniel looked up at his desk. It was battered and scarred from many experiments in construction and the Charter. His little Charter-eating lizard sat upon it, looking at him, as if waiting for him to get started so he could have a meal.
The lizard shimmered as it moved slightly. Nathaniel squinted at it. It was made of a wire sculpture and Charter marks. The wire was made with the Charter Marks, so that the Marks kept the shape of a lizard. Nathaniel had spent a few hours melting and re-shaping the metal into the thin-spun wire while investing it with the Charter. The metal was forged with the Charter. Nathaniel's jaw dropped. The lizard cocked his head and blinked his Charter Mark eyes. Nathaniel had almost forgotten that he'd done that. Could it be done with a sword?
Nathaniel jumped out of his seat, the cushion falling to the floor. He ran to his bedside and unsheathed his dagger. He stared at the gleaming blade, at the Charter Marks swimming on the surface of it. Could he really fill it with the Charter, remake it with Magic? A few minutes of deliberation and hesitation took him as he stood beside his bed, looking at his dagger. One final decision, he placed it on his desk and began to make preparations for the re-forging.
"Mother, I do not understand what made you agree to letting him do this! We know that he's good at making things, but this is a matter of the Kingdom's well being and survival! Thirty-six hours… we could have all the smithies in the city forging for us by that time!"
"Yes, Faralie," Queen Lorileth said. She had since cleaned up and changed out of her travelling breeches and into a more formal wear suitable for the Palace. A golden circlet held her hair back from her face. She pushed a few stray strands back into it as she answered her only daughter. "Yes, I know what the blacksmiths are capable of. I know how fast they can be. Nathaniel - " She paused and considered her words. "Nathaniel is very good at making things. I believe that he really has a good idea, whatever it is. I trust him."
Faralie shook her head and asked her mother "May I go to the blacksmiths? Nathaniel can build whatever he pleases, but I think we should have the smiths begin to build, as well."
The Queen stared out the large window at the land of her Kingdom. The people of Belisaere were rushing about in their business, having not yet heard about the Abhorsen's death. Once they heard, the only place they would be rushing to was their homes, to shutter the windows and barricade the doors.
"Faralie…" The Queen stopped. This was pointless. "Yes. Go." She sighed. When Faralie reached the door, Lorileth stopped her with a question.
"Don't you trust him?"
Faralie lifted her head and strode out of the Palace.
Yasmel, the Voice of the Clayr's Watch, rode farther and faster than she had ever before. The wind whipped at her fair blonde hair as she urged her horse faster. Travelling was usually a pleasure for Yasmel, but this journey away from the Glacier was not pleasant. The air was cool and the paths were perilous. The horse was not one that she rode often, and was temperamental and uncooperative. Hauling on the reins, Yasmel pulled the horse to a halt and surveyed her surroundings. The meadow she was in was not very large; she would reach the forest again soon. The sun would be setting in a few hours, and she did not want to be out in the dark. She hoped to reach Belisaere soon. She could hear the River on her left, and, faintly, she could hear the sounds of people, of the city up ahead. Pressing her horse faster, she rode for another hour before seeing the grand walls of the city of Belisaere.
Pulling the dagger out of the fire, Nathaniel quickly grabbed his hammer and began working to draw the metal out, making it longer with each fall of his hammer. The steady beat of the hammer and anvil lulled him, driving his fears away. Almost in a trance, Nathaniel beat upon the metal until it had the length he wanted. The metal was still hot when he began to spell it, first casting warming spells to keep the metal hot while he worked on it. Charter Marks flew through his hands and hammer as he pulled marks for shearing and breaking, for strength, and for light weight, out of the Charter. They flowed very easily into the dagger as the hammer fell. They seemed to soak into the metal, as the dagger was shaped. The final marks sunk in, and Nathaniel thrust the newly shaped blade back into the forge to re-heat. Once the blade was hot enough again, he pulled it back out of the fire to let it air cool to make the grain of the metal uniform and stronger. He heated the dagger again, but this time more slowly. Immediately after the blade was hot enough, Nathaniel thrust the blade into a barrel of oil to quench it. While the blade was being quenched, he adjusted the heat in his forge to a cooler temperature. Once the dagger was cooled from the oil, Nathaniel heated the blade again in the forge, but gradually, to temper it to the proper hardness. This whole process took many hours, and Nathaniel was nearing exhaustion. He was full of coal soot from the forge and sweat from the hard exertion it took to hammer out the blade. He didn't believe that the Charter would work when immersed in metal, and forged and shaped. He hoped that this wasn't for nothing. He wiped his face, but found that his hands were so dirty that it did no good. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to his forge to get his newly made dagger ready for grinding and sharpening.
"Your Majesty." Yasmel, Daughter of the Clayr, Voice of the Watch, knelt before her Queen, who smiled at her.
"Please, one who has traveled so far in these perilous times just to bring me news need not kneel, for you have shown your loyalty! Tell me your name."
"I am Yasmel, a Daughter of the Clayr." She lifted her head, and looked at the Queen. "I am sorry, Your Majesty, but it is not good news that I have tidings of. The Abhorsen has been slain, and the Abhorsen in waiting has no sword. According to our Vision, this happened two days ago, while I was riding. I am sure you know of this, by now."
Queen Lorileth bowed her head and nodded. "Yes. We have received news of this. Where were you riding from? Why could this not have been averted?"
"I am sorry, Your Majesty, but all of our riders were not reachable. I was riding from the Glacier, and the Abhorsen was slain in the South. Even our Message-Hawks could not have reached anyone in time to save Mosaibe. But it is not of the Abhorsen that I have news of. It is news of the Abhorsen's sword. Mosaibe's sword was shattered in the battle, so the Clayr have focussed on the sword the future Abhorsen's will be wielding. It is a long blade, a double-edged sword, a beautiful but deadly weapon, wrought with skill and with the Charter. No bladesmith has ever done anything like it, and few ever will. We also witnessed the person who would forge this blade."
Lorileth, stunned, stared at the slight woman in front of her. "No. It can't be."
Yasmel looked at the hem of her robe, tattered and dirty from her long ride. Softly, she answered the Queen, "It was your son; Prince Nathaniel."
Charter Marks flashed as Prince Nathaniel brought the completed dagger down on his workbench. It easily sliced through the hard wood surface. Nathaniel looked at it, at the new hilt and pommel, it wasn't the prettiest dagger, but it was now the strongest. A flicker of fear passed on his face. How did he do this? Why couldn't anyone else? He peered out the window at the sun set. He had now only a night and a day left. He really should go down to the armouries to get a full-length blade and get started on it. He decided to go to the kitchens first and get something to eat. He was starving.
He slipped the dagger back into its sheath and looped the belt around his waist before starting out of his room. He trotted up the many stairs and down several long halls to reach the kitchens, where he collected a few apples, which he promptly ate, core and all. A loaf of bread and a plate of cold meats (he assumed that they were left over from supper), and two more apples was all he took with him when he went back to his room. Starting down the hallway, he heard his mother in one of the side rooms. He kept walking, not wanting to overhear anything, when suddenly the door opened. His mother jumped back, surprised that anyone was there.
"Nathaniel!" Queen Lorileth tried to regain her composure quickly, and that told Nathaniel that she was not alone. Wondering who her company was, Nathaniel greeted his mother and apologized for his filthy appearance. The Queen smiled and held his hands as she asked how his work was going. Nathaniel, pleased as always by his mother's attention, showed her his new dagger. She turned and showed it to her company, who Nathaniel now saw was a thin blonde woman, who was wearing robes emblazoned with seven-pointed stars. This must be a Clayr. She smiled at him and took the dagger into her small hands with reverence.
"Your Highness, on behalf of my sisters the Clayr, and of the Kingdom, I beg you to forge a new blade for the Abhorsen." She knelt before him after handing back his dagger.
Nathaniel staggered back. The Clayr looked at him imploringly. "We have Seen your work in the hands of Tirylese and in many other Abhorsen's. Please." She stared back at the ground, awaiting his answer.
"I was…" Nathaniel stuttered, lost for words. "I was just on my way back to do so. The Abhorsen will have a new blade very soon. One that will never have to be re-spelled. I… I will make it." Nathaniel, only an amateur bladesmith, was now in charge of the forging of the most important blade in the Kingdom. He could not believe it. He walked very slowly back to his room, his workshop, and put more coal into the forge and lit it. The little Charter-sending lizard watched him, it's tongue flicking in and out as it ate Charter Marks off of the floor. It blinked it's tiny sparkling eyes and went back to it's meal, unaware of the turmoil outside as the citizens of Belisaere learned of the Abhorsen's death. Nathaniel was unaware of the Charter-made lizard, and concentrated solely on the new Blade.
Alright! What do ya think? Please R&R! There'll be more coming up…
The facts on Bladesmithing I got at a few great sites : How Stuff Works is an awesome site, that's where I got most of my info on blacksmithing and bladesmithing. (It's also got a lot of other neat facts on "How Stuff Works." Check it out if you're interested! (No, I'm not affiliated with them!))