Broken Wings
N.W. 199
A Dwarven Blacksmith

The dwarves couldn't figure out why or how Lloyd could use their magic. Not one of them, not after months and years of puzzling over it, trying to figure out how the human boy's mana was different.

It wasn't, Lloyd had found out. Even though the only other mana he could use was angelic, even though he'd only just started consciously using the dwarven mana at his disposal, his mana felt, to any dwarf, as it if were another dwarf using it.

So rather than continuing to beat their heads against a wall, they'd settled for teaching Lloyd to use that mana.

Dwarven mana was nothing like elven mana. It wasn't mana borne upon the air, upon the very world around them, only a small portion to be called their own.

All of the mana he would ever have was his, a tiny wellspring within himself that filled and flowed faster, larger, the longer he continued to exercise this talent.

He'd been using it unconsciously for decades when smithing, a fellow blacksmith named Hogun had told him after a few days of sharing a forge and learning the basics of how dwarven mana was used in smithing. The magic was what helped his hammer fall exactly where he wanted it to, what told him where in the metal was still weak, what kept the metal hot and workable longer than it normally would have been.

Hogun had been impressed. Even told again and again that he wasn't a child, even by dwarven standards, even told how long he'd been doing metalwork, the dwarven smith had been impressed.

Lloyd had found himself apprenticed under the master blacksmith within a month of escorting Dirk to Vraelheim.

And, he mused as he lifted another piece of armor for finishing, it had paid off.

He could feel it, the thrum of the dwarven mana within him. It wasn't quite the sort of mana he was used to. Something just to this side of it, really. Hogun had warned him the day he'd released Lloyd from his apprenticeship, it would just keep growing, too. That was why most Masters were well into their second century by the time they made the mark. As the power at their core increased, they were able to use it to greater effect.

Dirk had watched him learning, watched him interacting with the rest of the dwarven city, and after a time, had pulled him aside, apologizing for not bringing Lloyd to the city sooner.

That had been when Lloyd had finally noticed that he'd been underground for almost a decade, and had promptly made his excuses and fled the city, taking to the sky to shake off the sudden claustrophobia that had set in.

Which was a part of why Lloyd was in the middle of a long haul, finally home—after doing some repairs; Luin's outskirts weren't the friendliest place to leave a house, though it was obvious someone had been by in the last few years—and filling a few dozen orders he'd picked up from various places around the world.

The problem with long hauls, though, as Genis and Raine and later even Zelos pointed out, was that they did tend to lull him into a near-trance.

And as he carefully put the most recent piece of armor into its spot on the long work table next to him, he discovered that this time was no different.

"Finally crawled back out of your hole, huh?"

Lloyd paused, glanced up, and smiled, unable to help being amused. "'Hole' is oddly appropriate, though a rather poor descriptor," he replied.

"Hey, big words!"

He snorted. "Come on, Genis. I think we established ages ago that I'm not exactly a stupid kid anymore."

The half-elf just chuckled. "Maybe, but you still do some stupid stuff. Like, oh, I don't know. Vanishing off the face of the earth for twelve years? Where've you been?"

Lloyd smirked. "In a a massive, intricate stone door between it and the outside world. A stone door that, by all accounts, I shouldn't have been able to open, but I did."

Genis looked confused, and he couldn't help the laughter, quite amused at his friend's confusion.

"The dwarves."

All at once, understanding replaced the confusion, and Genis smiled a bit. "I see. I'd heard Dirk was planning to head back. He took you with him?"

"More like I told him I was tagging along and then Tenebrae added himself to the mess, but... yeah," Lloyd replied. "I think Dad kinda wanted me to go, too, especially with what we found out. Did you know dwarves have their own magic?"

Genis nodded. "Yeah. Presea told me a bit about what Altessa told her. It wasn't much, though. Something about internalized mana that wasn't standard mana."

Lloyd shrugged. "That's the gist of it, or the source, at least. Dwarven magic isn't anything like elven magic, and shouldn't be possible for anyone who isn't a dwarf to use. So... basically, we have no idea how I can."

Genis' eyebrows rose toward his hairline. "You mean, you can actually...?"

"Remember the confusion on Altessa's face when we went back a few months after the Regeneration to make sure Presea's key crest would work right?"

"Yeah. He gave you a really funny look, then told Presea that he didn't need to do much to finish it off, even though you told us again and again during the journey that you couldn't make a key crest from scratch if you tried."

Lloyd nodded. "Apparently, the main reason why the dwarves had to make the key crests is due to the fact that they only work because of the dwarven mana used to create them. The fact that Dad and I can prove I had it that young means we can't even pass it off as some strange mutation brought about by my Cruxis Crystal."

Genis was silent for a while, clearly considering something, even though at a glance, he appeared to have totally zoned out.

"Actually... it might be."

"Huh?"

"Well, think about it. Your exsphere was Kvar's Angelus Project. Who knows what he did to make it react with your mother's body the way it did. And why only Anna? Why not dozens or hundreds of others?"

"Something about my mother's mana signature was different," Lloyd said. "The project research Yuan salvaged from the Remote Island Ranch said that much, at least."

"Exactly. And she had that exsphere on her skin, no proper key crest, for how many years? Including while she was pregnant with you?"

It was obvious, now, the leap of logic Genis had taken. And Lloyd couldn't help but tuck his chin in and look down at the glittering gem still sitting right there under his collarbone.

"I guess that makes sense. It's all we really have to go on, anyway, even if it's only a theory," he said. Then he shook his head. "Anyway..." A glance out the window confirmed that he was right, and it was pre-dawn. "What are you doing out and about at this hour?"

Genis lifted a key, looking sheepish. "Um... I've kinda been using the house as a waypoint when I'm travelling. Crashed in the guest bedroom yesterday afternoon, woke up about an hour ago when I realized what all the noises I was hearing meant."

Lloyd couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I did give you a key. You know you don't have to be so embarrassed; I actually completely lost track of the time while underground. So really, I'm glad someone got some use out of the place." He stood up, stretched, and then glanced out the window again. Dawn was lighting up the eastern sky, slowly but surely, and he smiled. "What do you say we get some food, and then I'll tell you all about what I've been up to the last few years?"

Genis smiled. "Sounds good. I've got a lot to tell you, too."