Chapter Text
There will come a soldier
Who carries a mighty sword
He will tear your city down, o lei o lai o lord
O lei, o lai, o lei, o lord
He will tear your city down, o lei o lai o lord
________________________
Chapter 1
The Blacksmith's Daughter
In which a new smith has come to Katolis with cargo more precious than his wares.
________________________
Through woods and over mountains, there was a long road traveled to the capital of Katolis. The journey was not an easy nor kind one, but when summoned by the king, you answered in a timely fashion. Orion and his daughter of thirteen, Astrid, had both made the long trek while being accompanied by a small fleet of guards in case they were to run into any unfavorable situations. Upon entering Katolis, Astrid clung to her father's sleeve as a crowd had gathered at the gates to welcome the newest members into their fair city. Even though Orion assured Astrid that it was okay to walk on her own, she still clung to his sleeve and partially hid behind his broad form.
Orion sighed and thought back upon his two other children who had been similar in this way, and he then just smiled fondly down at Astrid. “Your brothers were much like you. And much like them you will grow into your own and run this forge when it is established and I pass the reins to you.” Orion said in a calming tone as they walked deeper into the city. Passing store fronts and homes, the blacksmith and his entourage did not stop until they were beyond the walls of the castle and into their new home, a smiths shop that was raised there just for Orion and Astrid. They were to tend to all the needs of the crown guard and the king himself, and to be honest, it seemed like a daunting task for one blacksmith and his child.
Humming as he sat down his bag on the kitchen table, Orion turned to Astrid with a warm smile. “You’re such a brave lass you know? You remind me so much of your brothers and mother.” He said warmly as he knelt down to her level. “Here you’ll get to grow and mature. You’ll learn more about sword fighting than what I can teach you, and you’ll make amazing friends.” Orion comforted as he took Astrid’s hands in his own. “I know it seems scary right now, but it’s okay to be scared. You’re still here and safe with me.” He soothed and pulled his daughter into a hug.
When he released her, Orion stood tall and told her to head out to the courtyard to make friends as he set up their home. Timidly, Astrid left the house, clutching the wooden sword to her side as she did so. There were quite a few adults milling about, mostly guards and what seemed to be a baker, but what caught her eye was three kids. Two were about her age and one that looked to be about ten. The younger one and one of the older ones were what looked like sword fighting. This made her eyes light up as she knew how to sword fight! At least from what her dad taught her.
Heading over to the other three, the girl of the bunch was the first to notice her. “Oh! Hey there! You must be new to the castle!” The black haired girl called as the younger of the two boys got distracted and subsequently knocked on the head by a wooden sword.
“Ow Soren that hurt!” The young brown haired boy with green eyes pouted and crossed his arms. “Sword fighting with you is no fun.. All you ever do is hit me.” He huffed with a glare at the tallest of the trio.
“Well duh. I’m supposed to be training you, not babysitting you.” The one named Soren said back as he turned to the girl that had greeted Astrid. “Yo Clauds, who's the new girl?” He asked with a curious head tilt, noticing that the new red head was clutching a wooden sword of her own to her side.
“I hadn’t gotten that far yet Soren! You distracted me by hitting Callum.” The girl huffed and stuck her tongue out at Soren. “I’m Claudia, the big dolt there is my brother, Soren, and the one he hit is Prince Callum.” Claudia explained finally as Soren and Callum had finally stopped bickering long enough to get them all introduced.
“Oh, um, well, pleased to meet you, all of you.” Astrid said, before looking to Callum and fidgeting with whether or not she should bow to the young prince. “I’m Astrid. My father and I just got here after a trek from Duren. We’re to be Blacksmiths for the royal guard and royal family.” She said, tucking her head and keeping a tight grip on her wooden sword. “He’s told me to come out and try to make friends before I go home so that’s what I’m trying to do.” Astrid sighed as she looked back up to the other three looking at her with an interested gaze.
“Oh that’s so cool! Soren and I are the High Mage’s children. I do magic and Soren is a sword fighter in training for the guard! So you two may end up working together a lot!” Claudia said excitedly before gripping Astrid’s arm and jumping up and down.
“Clauds, you’re scaring her a little.” Soren said gently as he carefully wedged himself between Astrid and his sister. “You forgot that not everyone can handle you full throttle, especially after they just met you.” Soren chuckled as he patted his sister on the head before turning his attention to Astrid now. “So is that sword just for show or can you actually use it?” He asked with a lopsided grin.
“It’s no problem- really.” Astrid mumbled as Soren stepped between her and his sister. When asked about her sword, her head snapped up immediately. “I can actually use it.” Astrid said defensively as she gripped it in case the boy tried to pull anything funny on her. “I used to fight with my older brothers before they left for Neolandia and Del Bar. Then mom and I would spar but she hurt her leg in a hunting accident so she stayed behind to heal in Duren.” Astrid said as she bristled a little at the insinuation of not knowing how to handle a sword.
“Well, put it to use! I need someone to spar with other than the prince.” Soren said as he puffed out his chest in pride at his own skills. “Prove to me that you’re a worthy opponent.” He grinned as he pointed his own wooden sword at her.
Breathing deep, Astrid squared her stance and drew her wooden sword from its holster. “Alright then. I guess you get to see the mettle I’m made of then.” She snorted as she adjusted her grip on the hilt of the wooden sword.
“Ha! I’ll let you come at me since you’re new here.” Soren said as he braced himself for their mock battle.
The whole thing was an intricate dance between the two of them, each testing the others abilities and footwork as the wooden swords clattered against each other again and again. Astrid was able to parry every blow Soren tried to land, and Soren was able to dodge each thrust that Astrid aimed at him. It seems with all their training, they were each evenly matched.
As Claudia and Callum watched on, Claudia turned to the smaller boy with a small laugh. “I wonder who is gonna get the first hit in.” She mused quietly. “Soren is tall and strong, but Astrid is small and agile, perfect for getting in his blind spots.” Claudia continued as Callum just nodded along, starstruck that this new girl could hold up to an opponent such as Soren.
As the two fighters parried blow after blow from each other, Soren and Astrid both were starting to wear down and make mistakes in their footwork. Soren got close to hitting Astrid a few times but at the last possible second, she was able to block him and push him back. Eventually, they both ended up calling it quits as both Astrid and Soren collapsed to the ground, out of breath.
“G-Good job, not many are able to keep up with me and my fighting style.” Soren said, as he lay on his back and took deep breaths of air. He couldn’t remember the last time that anyone had made him work this hard just to end in a draw.
“You too. You’re stronger than you look.” Astrid sighed as she pushed her dampened hair out of her face as she tried to steady her breathing. “It was nice to have a good work out like that.” She hummed and nudged a now sitting Soren with her foot.
“Yeah, yeah it was nice.” Soren agreed before standing up and looking at his sister who was just staring at the two of them like the creep he knew she could be. “What’s up Clauds?” Soren asked with a furrowed brow.
“Oh nothing Soren! Just.. Watching you how you two act together! It’s already so cute!” Claudia said as her eyes lit up at a chance to embarrass her brother, who as expected turned red at the mere idea of him having any notion of liking the new girl.
Shaking her head at the two siblings, Astrid then looked up to the prince to see him standing awkwardly off to the side. Rising to her feet, Astrid stepped over to him and offered her hand to shake. “Sorry I got them distracted, Prince Callum.” She apologised as Callum shook her hand and told her to not worry about it.
“It was a pretty interesting fight to watch, especially seeing that Soren has finally found his match. Maybe he’ll pick on me less now.” Callum sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
Hearing that Soren picked on Callum made Astrid frown. “Well maybe I can teach you in ways that you might not learn from him. I’m a nicer teacher, I promise.” Astrid said as she ruffled Callum’s hair a little bit to make him laugh. “Well guys, its been great fun, but I’m really exhausted from the trip and the spar now. I should go home and get some rest.” Astrid said as Soren and Claudia stopped bickering for just a moment.
Seeing Soren’s face fall at the announcement that she was going home for the evening, made Astrid giggle a little. “We can meet back here tomorrow if you’d like. Around three?” She offered, hoping that would appease them. With a cheer from Claudia and a half smile from Soren, Astrid then bid them goodnight once more and set off towards her new home.
When she stepped into the shop slash house combo, Astrid was amazed to see that her father had completely transformed the empty blacksmith shop into one that was starting to show strong signs of life. “Dad?” Astrid called as she looked around hesitantly, not sure where to go first.
“This way!” Orion called from deeper in the house portion of the building. Following his voice, Astrid was surprised with a gift for her from the travels. “I got this for you while you were out meeting friends. I think you’ll find it to come in handy someday.” He said as he placed a small and delicate looking necklace around her neck.
“It’s beautiful.” She murmured softly as she gripped the stone between her fingers, which was warm to the touch and seemed to glow from within. “What is it? Where did you get it from?” Astrid asked as she tilted her head up to her father.
“Its a sunstone with runes of protection engraved upon it. The Sunfire Elves of Lux Aurea make them for their warriors that go to battle. The High Mage, Lord Viren, stopped in and gifted it to me as a welcome. He says the work I do is similar to what the Sunfire Elves do and that I was worthy of such a powerful protection charm.” Orion said as he smiled down at his daughter.
“But now, it is time for bed, young one. We have work that starts tomorrow.” He said fondly as he nudged Astrid off towards the room that was designated as hers. “I set your bed and blankets up. Everything should be in order already.” Orion spoke as Astrid made her way into her room and shut her door.
She then changed into her nightgown and finally after such a long and difficult journey, could sleep in a bed that was her own again. It was a great start to her new line of work as an official blacksmith’s apprentice. Feeling her eyes grow heavy, Astrid swiftly fell asleep before the moon even had a chance to rise.