Making History:

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past." - Thomas Jefferson

PART ONE: A Blacksmith's Decision

The metallic clanging of the hammer pounding against the anvil sounded above the antics of the bear cubs and the chatter of the villagers. Some of the older ones took note of young Aderyn Brightwind's dedication as she created, mended, and broke down pieces of armor in her master's stead.

"You've been doing good work here, Bird," Cahir grumbled kindly, ruffling the fourteen-year-old's tortoiseshell colored hair. Cahir, Ice magic practitioner and clothier, had been one of the many who doubted the human's skill in blacksmithing armors and weapons of a bear's size and bulk, but after some months of her first year in training passed, he was pleasantly surprised. She crafted nearly as well as her master and trainer Valik, with the burns and cuts on her muscular arms to prove it.

Aderyn smiled broadly at the praise and dipped her head respectfully. "Thank you, Cahir." She then handed him a silver-plated chestplate, and while it lacked the exquisite designing of Valik's handcrafted works, it was nearly as good in terms of functionality and protection. Cahir smiled thoughtfully down on her.

"You miss him, don't you?" Aderyn shrugged, turning back to the anvil and placing a small iron strip of metal on top.

"It's not like he's gone anywhere."

"But he is your master and has worked with you for many years." Cahir sat down at a nearby table, carefully examining the armor he held in his beefy paws. Adern slammed her hammer down onto the strip, bending it ever so slightly.

"Eight years doesn't exactly equate to 'many'." Cahir could hear the restraint in her voice, and despite the slight mocking sarcasm in her tone, he knew the response could've been more...curt. And offensive. Cub's learned to hold her tongue.

"For you it does in your young age." As he said this, Aderyn bit her lip, placing her strip of metal - now broken into parts with bent endings - into a smoldering pile of coal. Cahir cocked a furry eyebrow, standing to look at the strips of bent metal. "What are you making, Bird?"

The human girl shrugged, pulling off her black leather gloves. The clothier took that as an expression of "I'm experimenting" and settled back down into his seat. Aderyn sat across from him, fiddling around with the silver rings around each of her fingers. There was a long silence, and both of them refused to look each other in the eye.

"He wants me to go to Ravenwood." It was Aderyn who spoke first, and the comment came as such a shock to Cahir that he had to perk his rounded ears, wondering if he'd heard right. Ravenwood? Aderyn nodded as if reading his thoughts. "To," she made air quotations with her fingers, "harness my natural abilities in magic."

"But why Ravenwood?" The elder bear was puzzled. "The school only accepts those they reach out to, not those who wander in. It is why so few in Grizzleheim actually go to such a school."

"He claims someone named Halston Balestrom would help me become a better inventor. He's a professor there." Aderyn bit her lip once more, taking off the top ring of her middle finger and putting it back on in a smooth, repetitive motion. She's nervous.

Cahir settled back in his seat, the pieces slowly coming together. "You...do have a natural abundance of mana." Even with his mundane Ice abilities he could sense her powerful magical signature, a rippling aura of energy which surrounded her short, muscled frame. Aderyn glared up at him, amber eyes alight, warning him that she had never asked for his opinion. Cahir grunted. "I'm not trying to sway you, Bird. I only state the truth. I understand Valik's wishes."

"Oh, I'm sure you do, Ice wizard," Aderyn hissed, crossing her arms and slinking back into her seat. Cahir waited patiently for the fire in her eyes to dim and for the essence of nervousness to return. He reached out a massive black paw and rested it on her much smaller, ring-fingered hand. She felt cold, and to show this she shivered.

"I…" she was at a loss of words, a rare occurrence for her. She gripped at his paw, fingers digging into his thick fur. "I don't know what to do."

"Do you want to make Valik proud?" As one of the few who understood the extent of Valik's relationship with his apprentice, he knew that they were family, a father and a daughter. It was a friendship and loyalty which transcended the normal, rather partial respect humans and bears had for each other. Hesitantly, in an abnormal show of nervous tension, Aderyn nodded. Cahir smiled gingerly at the young, aspiring blacksmith and inventor. "Then do as he wishes."

Another shiver of tension coursed through her body. Then a nod.

She proceeded into the workshop then, with a brisk farewell to Cahir, grabbing some fruits and her most prized possessions: two short swords, intricately designed, enchanted silver pieces of deadly artwork that could slice through ghosts, souls, and spirits. They had been passed down to her by Valik on her tenth birthday. Every day since, she practiced, swearing to become a master in the art of swordsmanship.

Aderyn stood briefly at Valik's bedside, gripping tightly at her sick father-figure's furry paws. "I'm going to Ravenwood."

Valik opened one mint green eye, a warm glow entering the otherwise cold color. "Good."

And she left.

PART II: Ravenwood

Merle Ambrose, Headmaster at the Ravenwood School for the Magical Arts, was used to young people coming up to him and asking to be welcomed into the school. It was a common occurrence with local children as well as those from Marleybone and Dragonspyre. However, it was rare - incredibly rare - to have a child from Grizzleheim, stained with soot and with a wit to match that of a grumpy, uncensored war veteran - come to him.

In fact, Aderyn did not approach him at all. She was taken to him

"Watch it!" Aderyn looked back over her shoulder. A young boy no older than she was glared red-eyed daggers at her, a look of pure disgust etched onto his face. The Grizzleheimian-raised girl smiled a curt half smile.

"I'm sorry. Did I ruin your pretty little shoes?" The boy's eyes blazed.

"Your dirt would ruin anyone's clothes!" He spat back. Aderyn turned fully to face him, hands stuffed into her leather overall pockets; she hadn't bothered to change since leaving her work as a blacksmith.

"And?"

"And!" The boy huffed, running a hand through his blonde hair in what might have been exasperation. "Don't you realize how disgusting you look?"

Aderyn blinked innocently at the boy. She waved a hand dismissively in the air before turning her back on him. "It's called work. You do work, you get dirtied up. Might want to look into it."

She wasn't much surprised when the egotistical boy charged at her, fully intending on striking her. He was surprised when she spun easily away and planted a fist firmly into his stomach, the silver rings she wore only adding to its bruising effect. He was sent crashing to the floor a few feet away. She knelt down beside him for a moment. "Might want to clean that dirt off before going to the Theurgist."

The girl was a full head shorter than the boy was, but she possessed more muscular bulk than half of the guys at his school. Indeed, she was filthy, covered in soot, dirt, burns, and other such scars. She possessed all of the traits that Ambrose identified with her being an apprentice blacksmith, and a good one too.

He was aware she had not received a blow of any kind by the boy, according to witness accounts that is, yet she held her stomach in what might have been pain. He sensed her great pool of mana, of energy's natural attraction to her.

She possessed psychic hyper-empathy.

He shouldn't let her into his school, picking a fight with one of his students when she wasn't one herself, but such a gift could not go ignored.

"Why have you come here, young one?"

"Why are you considering?" Aderyn glared at Ambrose with undisguised hatred, though if it was truly directed at him he couldn't be sure.

"Because of your hyper-empathy. It's a rare gift, to feel the pain of others, and -"

"It's not one I want to disclose to the public." He wasn't reaching her, and she made it very clear with her statement. He sat back, puzzled. Ambrose had met such ones with her gift before, and they were happy to use their intense sense of feeling for good, and they were not shy about it. This one was different.

Aderyn took in a deep breath as if to relax herself, removing her hand from her stomach. "I come because my master, Valik Ironsmith, wants me to harness my magic and to meet with an inventor, Balestrom. Halston Balestrom."

"Our Storm professor." Ambrose nodded. "He works here, yes. And you come to fulfill Valik's wish?" She nodded, her short black-ginger, tortoiseshell hair bobbing with the movement. He dipped his head in acknowledgement. "I accept your admittance then, in order for you to join his class, though I really shouldn't. I do, however, have one condition."

Amber eyes met clear blue ones. "You must also learn Theurgy. Only the teacher will know of your gift."

The silence that proceeded felt like an eternity. Finally, Aderyn gave a curt nod. "Deal."

PART III: Apologies

"You were accepted into the school?" Aderyn recognized the smug voice immediately, and cursing under her breath she turned to meet the same blonde boy she had beaten the day she was admitted. His jaw was hung open in shock, and he wore the same purple novice robes she wore. Fantastic.

"Did you clean the dirt from your robes?" She sneered, turning and walking away. He ran to catch up to her, treading annoyingly close to her heels.

"How were you -"

"Who attacked who?" Aderyn asked curtly, cutting off his ridiculous question. The boy stuttered something incomprehensible. Aderyn turned on him, jabbing a ringed finger into his chest. "You charged at me, pretty. I was defending myself."

She walked off again, entering the torch-lit cave leading to Ravenwood. Still the boy refused to leave.

"Look," he said, coming up beside her and desperately trying to match her brisk pace. "Maybe we got off to the wrong start. My name's Benjamin." he extended a hand, which she refused to accept.

"Aderyn."

Benjamin paused briefly. "That's a Grizzleheimian name. What's it mean?"

"Bird." She walked faster.

"Bird? You like to fly or what?"

Aderyn turned, walking up the steps to the girl's dorm entrance without giving a proper response. Benjamin stopped as she opened the door. He let out a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry."

Aderyn frowned and glanced back at him through the corner of her eye. "Yeah, me too."

She shut the door and prepared for her new life.

AN: Of a different structure than the other two and not totally related to the theme I wrote this on. xD Still, I wanted to write about her. She's my newest character I made for Icecakequeen's story, "A Reach Into The Worlds Beyond". I like her, though some things need to be tweaked. Anyways, feel free to review! :) (I know, not my greatest work, but this was written at night as a spur-of-the-moment thing, so 'tis to be expected to be not-so-great xD)

Review Responses:

Rebecca Ripple: Yarr, thank ye for the compliment, matey! ;) This one isn't that great, but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. xD