a quill and inkwell?” I call. One is taken from the corner of the room and given to me.
Nathaniel and I immediately flip the letter over and write our own message on the back. I hold the quill while Nathaniel speaks his own thoughts.
Dear Mother,
We are alive and well. We too grieve for father every moment, and refuse to give you any more to grieve for. Know that we fight for the cause Father died for. We will succeed.
Send our love to Gunther and Rachel. We are happy for them and wish them the best.
I make Nathaniel write the next part.
Yes, we have heard of this Dragonhammer, and yes, he is as powerful as the stories say. We know him well and he truly fights like a dragon. It gives us great comfort to know we fight alongside him.
Continue to write. We each send our love; give it to Ethan and Nicholas as well.
Love,
Nathaniel Armstrong
Kadmus Armstrong
Throughout the day, I feel vulnerable. My thoughts keep trailing back to my mother and the worry she must feel back in Terrace.
I train with more vigor than ever before. I must keep my promise to my mother. I will not fail her. I will return to her.
I cannot sleep that night. A few hours after dark, I pick up my hammer and sheathe it on my back. “Where are you going?” Nathaniel asks.
“I need to clear my head,” I say. James snores loudly.
“Going for a walk?”
“Yeah.”
“With your hammer?” he questions.
I nod silently.
“Fair enough,” he says. “What’s bothering you?”
I shake my head.
He waits for a moment before saying softly, “It’s Father isn’t it?”
I don’t answer him, but stare out the window at the thriving city beneath us. The townspeople seem not to know or care that their city is under completely different rule.
“I miss him too,” says Nathaniel.
I nod, and with that I exit the bunkroom.
I would have gotten lost were our bunkroom not at the end of the hallway. I turn left and head down the stairs, which still curve left slightly with the walls of the round citadel. A few floors down I turn right and walk out of an arch onto the open balcony. It’s larger here, like a small courtyard. There’s a small circle of dirt, and in the middle grows a tree. It’s a deciduous tree of some sort, with brown bark and big dark green leaves. The ten-foot gates stand on the other side. I stand and stare at the tree in the moon-lit night for several minutes. I examine its leaves and its bark, its branches and roots, and wonder how such beauty could have been created. I wonder at the sheer mechanics of it all, and how it is possible that a tree can live and grow.
I walk to the balcony edge, to the wall about as high as my midriff, and lean forward on it. I study the stars and various constellations. There’s one of Pheogg plucking an apple from a tree. Another of Frejjl holding her newborn child, Oklir. Another of a hammer and anvil.
That’s when I realize that I need a forge. There’s a burning desire in me to smelt something. In times of great stress, that’s the place I would go: the forge. All I’ve had for the past four weeks is stress, and no forge in which to work it out. I need fire, and heat, and steel. A small blacksmith’s hammer in my hand rather than the tool of death hanging on my back.
I hear footsteps behind me. I turn and see a slim figure walking towards me. As it approaches, I realize it’s a woman. Not only that, but it’s Commander Magnus. For one of the first times, she is not wearing armor, but instead is wearing a simple shirt and pants. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, but her bangs are up and parted to either side of her face.
“Hello,” she says as she stands to my left.
“What do you want?” I ask quietly.
“I’m wondering what you’re doing out,” she says.
“Well, what are you doing?” I ask. She doesn’t answer. “If this is about the bar fight, I-”
She cuts me off. “It’s not. I couldn’t sleep.”
“Really?” I ask sarcastically.
“Yes,” she says, slightly offended. “I’m not totally devoid of feeling, even if it seems that way.”
Trying to maintain an air of sarcasm, I ask out of curiosity, “What has kept you up?”
She’s silent for a moment. “I saw you up, and I had to…”
“Had to what?”
“…I’m here to