45 Searing 121
Talon landed atop the familiar stones of the Circle of Wandering. As the soles of his boots came to rest upon the top of that ancient place, he felt a shiver travel up his spine. So much of his life had changed since the last time he had visited it. He was certain that his life had changed for the better but without a shadow of a doubt, it had gotten far more complicated.
“I believe that is called an understatement.” The voice of his bondmate chimed in as he commented aloud on Talon’s thoughts. The fledgling demigod tossed his partner a glare as he lowered a crate of goods down onto the stones of the Circle with his kinetics. Across from them, Velkan, his apprentice, inquired curiously.
“What is?” He looked between Aoren and Talon with a curious glance. Talon rolled his eyes as he folded his wings behind him, coming to stand before the sealed crate.
“I was merely thinking to myself about how life has changed.” Velkan stared at him for a moment before realization dawned in his eyes. He gave a nod.
“Ah. Yes. Because of...well…” Talon chuckled.
“It is alright, Velkan. I am still me.” Talon had not truly had the chance to really contemplate on how the news of his ascension would affect those outside of his immediate family. For those people who had worked and lived alongside him for years, he was beginning to recognize that there would be some adjusting. There were of course those who made an effort to not treat him any differently. Ever since the hearing before the Council, however, the news had spread like wildfire around Kalzasi. It was a facet of his budding divinity that Talon had not yet come to terms with. People believed in him. Not the kind of belief that flowed from people who loved him but faith, true and heartfelt faith that was given only to the gods.
“C-can you actually hear when people pray? To you, I mean?” Talon turned his head in the direction of Kalzasi. He let his mind go unfocused for a moment until he could peer across the landscape and see the edge of the material realm. It stood out to him as a silver line that was always just beyond the horizon. He did not try to focus on it so much as he allowed his awareness to naturally be draw to it. As he did so, he could hear the voices of those who were calling out to him. Some of them were indistinct. Others were much clearer and much closer.
“Yes.” He could see beacons of light, towering pillars in his vision that were tied to those who bore his mark. The closest one being from his bondmate, Aoren. The next mark being from the other man who was nearest to his heart. He could see Rickter, he could feel him, not just through the bond given to Avialae but through the mark that he had been blessed with. There were others too. He could see Pahoran and his family, those whom he had marked. Talon shook himself out of that state of mind. He met his apprentice’s gaze. Velkan looked hopeful but also afraid.
“What does this mean for Kalzasi?” Talon heard the unspoken question that echoed up from Velkan’s soul. What did it mean for their people?
“War.” Both of them looked to Aoren. He was busying himself with another crate that they had brought with them. He opened it and had begun to divest himself of his usual attire in order to don the armor that Talon and Velkan had been working on in their workshop. He met both of their gazes as he began to strap a pair of vambraces onto his forearms.
“If they do not know already, Zaichaer will know soon enough. Do you think they’re going to stand by while their greatest rival and enemy have a demigod on their side? No. I would bet money that they’re already moving. Already laying the groundwork to strike. They saw Talon up close and personal. And if Zaichaer won’t do anything, the Imperium will. They know about Talon too. They know about the Dawnmar--.” The words were out of Aoren’s mouth before Talon could stop him. He shut his mouth tightly before he could finish his sentence but Velkan gasped and went wide-eyed.
“Dawn? Dawnmartyrs!? There are Dawnmartyrs in Kalzasi!?” Velkan did not sound so much alarmed as he sounded disbelieving and, if Talon did not know any better, hopeful. Aoren looked to Talon. Talon took a deep breath. He drew upon his aether. Stirring it into motion he reached out to the Circle of Wandering. He let the mysteries of its presence fill him. A shiver went through him and he condensed his aether into a focal point, drawing together an anchor that he then placed at the northern point of the Circle. Talon then placed another anchor at the southern point. He repeated this at the eastern and western points of the Circle until finally he brought them all together. With an exhalation, Talon built a dome of aether around them, raising his hands upwards until it enclosed. The noise of the world beyond that dome fell silent. Talon wove a barrier of silence together, sealing off their conversation to all who might inadvertantly overhear it. At least, as much as his powers of Negation could afford. He then turned to Velkan.
“You must speak of this to no one, Velkan.” Talon walked up to the young man. He placed his hands upon his apprentice’s shoulders, peering into Velkan’s eyes. He saw in Velkan a multitude of things. He was a young man who was not that far away from having completed his Warren March. His family had served in the Sky Guard as guardians and protectors of their people for generations. There was honor and courage in both him and his family. He could see that Velkan was afraid. They all were. The Glade mission had been a disaster. The revelation of Talon’s ascension to the public would only make matters worse. Now there were Dawnmartyrs in Kalzasi? That would surely draw the eyes of the Imperium upon them. Still, he could see that there was hope in Velkan. The way he looked at Talon was different.
He wanted to believe.
The revelation presented itself to Talon. In that moment he realized that he had someone he cared about who wanted to believe in him not just as Shinsei, not just as a teacher to a student, but as a god. No more than a moment passed between them before Talon made the decision to accept that belief. If Velkan wanted to place his faith in him, Talon would guard it the best he could.
“There are Dawnmartyrs in Kalzasi. They are a brave and good people. You have met one of them.” Talon watched as his apprentice visibly processed this information.
“It’s Pahoran, isn’t it?” Aoren scoffed behind him.
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” Talon released Velkan’s shoulders. The young man flexed his wings for a moment before grinning. “What gave it away?”
“If anyone is a Dawnmartyr, it’s him. He carries himself like a knight. Are we rebuilding the Order?” Talon blinked at Velkan.
“We?” Folding his arms over his chest, Talon stared at Velkan curiously. He could feel Aoren about to refute the young man but Talon urged him to consider the alternative. Velkan was not a boy, not by the customs of their people. He was a man. He had proven himself intelligent and able bodied. Velkan stepped up and pressed a fist to his chest.
“My whole life, my family has served Kalzasi. We have been soldiers. We have been guardians. We have striven to uphold lives of Honor, Courage, Truth. You name it. I chose to become a runeforger, a smith, because I want to protect people too. It is as I said when I first came to you, I want to protect those who protect us.” He stared at Talon, chin tipped up in a moue of defiance.
“Do you mean that?” Talon would not belittle what Velkan believed in. He would not turn away the young man’s choice to face what was coming their way. Velkan met his gaze with a conviction in his eyes.
“I have faced the horrors of the Warrens. I am a warrior. Same as you. Same as all Avialae.” Aoren clapped Talon on his shoulder, stepping up to smirk at Velkan.
“Well then, young warrior, today is the day you get to prove yourself.” Aoren was armored with some of the wares that they had been spending the season forging. Talon was not ignorant of the storm that was brewing on the horizon. He was spending a great deal more effort within his workshop to increase both the amount and quality of arms and armor that he was supplying to the Sky Guard. The swords he reinforced were sharper. The armor he reinforced were given even denser protections while receiving alterations to make them more lightweight and allowing for more maneuverability. Velkan and he had been spending hours upon hours at the forge, outfitting as much as possible.
“War is on the horizon, Velkan. We are here to test the quality of the product that we have spent the past two seasons forging.” Talon gestured to the crates. The tops of them flew open. He grasped each item in a web of kinetic force before lifting them out so that they were arrayed in front of them. There were two more sets of armor, a sword and shield, bow and arrow, and other weaponry that they had been working on. They had not brought the entire collection of things that had been reinforced and enhanced but pieces selected at random from the batches they had been working on.
Talon walked over to the nearest suit of armor that they had brought. He picked up the helmet and tossed it to Velkan. The young man caught it.
“Suit up. It is time for you to prove that you are the warrior you say you are.”
