my knowledge allows. From what I can tell, the infection has had at least a few days to spread. What happens from here will be only fate.”
“There has to be something,” Gunther mutters. “There always is.”
“Sometimes there is nothing one can do but wait,” replies Willard. “I am sorry.”
We trudge back inside to the bedside of our father. His breathing has slowed an incredible amount, but he seems short of breath when he speaks.
“Nathaniel…” he says.
“Yes father?”
“You… are a good boy… a good hunter… a warrior… my son.” Nathaniel has begun to cry. Tears are welling in his eyes, but it’s not until my father continues that they start to fall. “Keep hunting… Keep fighting… Do as your heart tells you.” Nathaniel is shaking his head. “I know you will make me proud…”
Nathaniel begins sobbing into Father’s shoulder. As he begins to speak to Gunther, Father’s hand gently, lovingly, makes contact with Nathaniel’s head.
“Gunther…” he begins. Gunther kneels on the ground next to the bed. “My only regret… is that I was not able to meet your sweetheart… what is her name?”
Gunther chokes and says, “Rachel. Her name is Rachel.”
Father smiles. “Rachel,” he says. “You will make it back to her… I know you will…” This is when Gunther’s eyes begin to well. “You are a great man… You will do great things… my son.”
As he turns to me, Gunther rises and I kneel to take his place. I feel my eyes water as soon as he says my name. “Kadmus…” He grasps my hand firmly. “Be strong, my son… be strong… through whatever trials and adversities will befall you… you must not, and will not fail…” His eyes are watering, but he is not yet weeping. “You carry my name upon you, Kadmus… do not do anything that you know would taint it…” Tears begin to fall from my eyes. “I know you will become… something much better… something much more than me…”
I’m shaking my head, saying no over and over under my breath. “You can’t die…” I whimper.
“I am,” he replies softly. “It is the way of all the world.” I merely continue my whimpering. “I have only one request of you…” he says.
“What?” I whisper; if I talk any louder, I know my voice will crack and I will begin to sob.
He takes a deep breath and says, “Take care of your mother.” Then he smiles. His chest rises. Then it sags and his eyes close serenely. As his hand goes limp in mine, I hold on, as if holding will somehow tie him to me and prevent his passing. A single tear runs down the side of his aged face and into his beard.
Thus was the life and death of Kadmus Armstrong Senior.
The Way of all the World
“Wait a little longer,” he says, holding me back. “There. See that color? That’s what you want.” My father pulls the iron bar from the fire and places it on the anvil as I nod. Orange and red sparks shoot from the bar as he hammers it. “See how my strokes hit it, Kadmus?” he questions. “I’m not just hitting a piece of metal.”
“Yes you are,” I argue. “That’s what forging is.” My small childish brain has yet to wrap itself around the entirety of my father’s work.
“That may be,” replies my father with a smile. “But it becomes more than just hitting a piece of metal.”
“What do you mean?” My voice is small, especially when compared to my father’s.
He pauses for a moment before responding, “I am shaping something, Kadmus. I am using only my strength and skill to turn simple iron blocks into something that others will use. Something with shape, color, sharpness, dullness, whatever I want because I am its creator.”
“By hitting a piece of metal.”
He chuckles. “Yes, by hitting piece of metal. Here, you give it a try.”
I am walking. Our procession is slow. Memories flood my mind and threaten to overtake my will. I cannot let them. If I do, I will collapse into the road and die of grief.
Our destination is a barrow in the Vale of Life. I, Bownan, and my two brothers carry the wooden casket in which my father lies, with his broadsword strapped on the top. The journey is about a day and a half, which gives me plenty of time to grieve and ruminate.
The hour after my father left this life, I walked back up the steps to Stormguard. The guards let me in without questions. From memory