See thats what I'm talking about. The characters that you, @TotalAbsolutism, write aren't caricatures of themselves. And that's pretty neat.
Dwarf of Bronze (ZnT)
- Thread starter TotalAbsolutism
- Start date
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Rather kind of you to say so, Lamplight; and EVA, as well.
You are correct, of course, and it'll come up when I get around to that chapter's retrospective. The only person Karin would have cause to duel is Saito and, well, she's already established that he just sort of doesn't match up to her. Few do, really.
Besides, from memory we never actually get to see a Square Class Earth Mage fight in canon... at least, if we do, I can't remember it off the top of the head.
... well, I don't think Fouquet counts. Her speciality was stealthy entries, in any case.
You are correct, of course, and it'll come up when I get around to that chapter's retrospective. The only person Karin would have cause to duel is Saito and, well, she's already established that he just sort of doesn't match up to her. Few do, really.
Besides, from memory we never actually get to see a Square Class Earth Mage fight in canon... at least, if we do, I can't remember it off the top of the head.
... well, I don't think Fouquet counts. Her speciality was stealthy entries, in any case.
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Well, in point of fact, they haven't completed that part of the contract yet. Louise would've mentioned it in her section.
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
He beat a dragon in a drinking contest, thank-ye-verra-much.
Put a dragon through a juicer
konamikode
Cooking Harder
This is all sorts of delicious~
- Location
- Over the hill and far away
I really enjoy this one so far. It's a nice angle to look at it from. Showing the growth of Guiche, Louise, etc. as they grow is a good story to read. And Guiche doesn't get a lot of that- most fics (possibly including canon) simply have it be that oh, hey, he grew while off-screen and now he's a better person, yay!
Bronze and Conflict
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Every mage had a tendency to acquire a 'signature' spell. It was just a matter of efficiency; not everyone could unleash such devastating damage as Karin could without an incantation and, so, one would by necessity practice saying the incantation of a particular spell as fast as possible.
For most of the nobility it was enough to have just one, maybe two. Armand's old friend over there could get away without having any; which isn't to say that she didn't, merely that she didn't have to. As for the General himself? He spent every morning reciting every incantation in his main combat repertoire in sequence, ten times, as he performed his post-waking routine.
Which is why the incantation for his one, true signature spell tumbled out of his mouth within two seconds and shattered the plain beneath them into unrecognizability.
Four stacked Earth elements; a pure Earth spell of devastating power. Square-Class Magic 'Grand Quake'. The primary impact point, and an area within about two metres of it, was undamaged by design. Then the shockwaves rolled out; waves of ground liquefaction causing the area to briefly resemble an ocean in a storm.
Then it was torn apart. The raised ground collapsed and broke apart. General Gramont scanned the rubble for a sign of his opponent and was somewhat surprised to see he was still standing. Perhaps he shouldn't have toned his spell down. Still, even at half power that was impressive.
In a way, that was already a passing grade. He doubted that Guiche would ever have cause to encounter someone nearly so dangerous as himself. But the current situation had him feeling rather curious. His expectation had been to pick the dazed little brute out of the rubble.
Instead said brute was resolutely charging towards him over the rubble. He didn't seem to be having all that much difficulty with the difficult terrain, either. Armand took a moment to animate the ground below his feet to lift him up. With that much he could certainl-
It was quite lucky that he had some chantless casting ability. Not nearly as much as Karin, but certainly enough to wordlessly blast a small wave of dirt upwards in order to deflect the crossbow bolt that Kenneth had just fired at him. It was knocked off course by the cloud of debris and spun off to one side with a spiteful buzz.
The short bastard could cock it one-handed as well. He fired again; only this time Armand was prepared for it and had animated a second mass of earth to use as a shield. It rose up to take the bolt, but the distraction of the shots had allowed the dwarf to draw nearer to him.
Time to move away. The earth beneath him shifted and carried him back at a rate the tiny creature couldn't match. Hmph. A crossbow and an axe against a noble mage? Like that would ever work. Even if he was rather tough he simply couldn't… catch… up?
Which was apparently why he'd stopped trying. Instead he was just standing there on a pile of rubble. Waiting. He'd realized he couldn't catch up either, but he'd also put his crossbow away. Armand directed his mobile platform to circle to the side toward the observers just in case; that way they would be behind him if he had to do something big again.
It took a moment for him to realize that Kenneth wasn't looking at him. He was looking past him, towards his son. Something seemed to pass between the two, because Guiche nodded slowly. Then Kenneth shifted his focus back to Armand.
The dwarf tapped his foot against the ground and immediately dropped out of sight.
In the following moments General Gramont cursed the cognitive dissonance that delayed his response. He knew that the familiar was not human, he has seen it use a form of magic just earlier that day and his son was also an Earth mage. So it stood to reason that his familiar, being magically capable, would have complementary abilities!
His internal surety that only nobles could use magic had dulled his reaction speed when faced with evidence to the contrary. It was stupid. Karin would undoubtedly lecture him on it later. Armand quickly stacked three earths together and unleashed a lesser Quake spell towards the point where the dwarf had vanished.
A rising tide of shifting earth and stone moved out from him like a wave; spreading as it did so. And, as the wake rose into the air, it split in twain mere metres in front of him. Armand had to launch himself off his perch in order to avoid the ground-splitting two-handed axe stroke that passed through the spot his head had occupied only a second earlier.
Quite literally ground-splitting, in fact, as Armand saw and felt the animating energy of his platform dissolve due to the damage Kenneth had caused to it with that one hit. He didn't particularly care, though. This had started out dull and quite suddenly become very exciting.
The familiar turned to acquire his target and then leaned forward; tapping the ground twice with his foot. It rose up in a little heap and propelled him forward as he balanced on the fast-moving surface. Armand couldn't stop the feral grin that came to his face. It was just like fighting with an elf.
That didn't stop him from reacting, of course. As Kenneth drew closer he allowed the dirt pushing him to curve slightly and tilt to one side; allowing him better leverage for the upswing he directed towards Armand's side. Instead of trying to block a creature obviously much more physically adept than he was the General pushed himself back at the last moment then let loose the spell he'd been building.
That made two Square spells in one day; he'd like as not have a splitting headache by the end of the fight but it would be well worth it. His blood hadn't boiled like this for years. The little shit wasn't hesitating at all, nor holding back; every strike so far would have been fully lethal if it had connected.
His spell of choice in this case was another one of his own devising. He'd named it 'Stone Hydra' when he was a much younger man, and had thought such a thing sounded cool. Really, it was far more impressive than the Grand Quake; but, still, he'd gotten named for the other one. Sometimes there was no justice.
The first animated serpent surged forth from the ground to Kenneth's left and bore down on him; sloughing off loose dirt as it rose and dived. There were close to a dozen of them now, born from years of perfecting the spell. Compressing and transforming the dirt into stone was far less energy intensive than metal transmutations, and making them bronze or steel would have just been overkill.
Or so he'd thought until right that moment.
Kenneth spun out of the way as his creation hit the ground. It moved through the ground like it was water, complete with ripples in the ground as the force of its motions caused liquefaction. His outstretched hand skimmed along the side of the diving beast and then he reversed his axe in order to drive the spike on the back home.
A massive gout of stone was torn out of the serpent as it finished the dive and vanished beneath the surface. It was at the moment that the second one leapt that Armand suddenly realized the flaw in his attack. Unlike the various other mages and armies he'd unleashed these on… Kenneth was experienced in fighting things like these.
Case in point, as the second gaping maw of teeth bore down upon him he spun around and moved to one side; striking the beast on the side of its nose with a forceful left hook as he avoided the charge. Armand's snake spun right off course and dug out a deep furrow when it struck the ground at the wrong angle.
The General focused on the others forming underneath him. He could feel the base structure, the actual 'Hydra', forming the next set of serpents, and the first one was only lightly damaged. A quick command spell was sent down into the dirt in order to command the remainder to stay put. He'd gather them all, and strike in sequence.
His very first one burst up from under Kenneth. They had sharp teeth, certainly, but also a stomach. Many times he'd captured enemy nobles by consuming them from beneath like this. The strategy didn't work so well on the dwarf. Instead of the snake curving over and back down into the ground again, prize safely in its stomach, there was a horrific sound as a line of red appeared halfway down the damaged body.
The top half broke away from the bottom in an explosion of rocky shards and Kenneth leapt out from between them. He hit the ground not ten metres distant from Armand and exploded forward with axe swinging. A desperate attempt to dodge and parry at the same time didn't result in the jarring impact that the General had been expected. He was, however, scratched across the face as half his sword went flying away over his shoulder.
Armand tumbled and hit the ground, words forming on his tongue as Kenneth brought his axe around for the second stroke. His palm hit the ground, pushing him up and launching a spike of earth right into the dwarf's chest.
The tip of the spike penetrated the surface of the armour and then shattered. Armand was on his feet now, retrieving his first spare wand from where it was strapped to his right bracer; while it would work from there he needed the extra control.
He was resorting to high-speed Dot and Line spells, now. Rows upon rows of earthen spikes shot out of the ground towards his foe to no effect. Anything that hit the armour broke, a good number of them were destroyed by one-handed axes strokes before then and when he got enough distance to risk an Earth Lance, a Triangle spell, Kenneth had punched the tip of the spike with his left hand and it had shattered down its length.
Fantastic. The dwarf was fantastic. Armand would have been proud to fight alongside him in the field. Unfortunately, the fight was now over. He'd have loved to extend it but he had to acknowledge the small man's staying power in this conflict was far greater than his. Already he could feel the tell-tale burn of willpower exhaustion starting to creep up on him.
Ten stone serpentine heads burst from the ground around Kenneth. These hadn't been disengaged from the main body just yet. They formed a circle and curled down to glare at him. Couldn't hiss, though. Armand had never been able to get the hissing down.
The dwarf was still but tense; balancing his axe in hand and trying to keep an eye on as many of them as possible. He didn't move otherwise. Armand took the opportunity to finally catch his breath; he hadn't realized how much the running had taken out of him.
"Yield… dwarf. You are… surrounded." Still puffed. A quick glance over at the watchers confirmed that Karin looked unimpressed. She'd likely have words with him regarding the importance of staying in good condition. Worse still was that she would have a very good point. A few of those swipes had come unpleasantly close.
"Heh. Y'got a high opinion o' yerself there, Gen'ral. These ain't so big a problem fer me." He hefted his axe and gave an appraising look to the heads. Armand started preparing another spell.. just in case. A basic quake would destabilize his footing, but then… then what? Hm. He didn't actually want to kill the dwarf, but that might just be the only way to put him down.
His thought process was interrupted by Kenneth being launched into the air towards him. The heads moved automatically to snap at him as he passed between them. They disengaged from the core below and all went to leap after him; just as they'd been told to do.
It was an orgy of destruction. Armand flung himself back again with a quick spell directed at his feet and could only watch as the dwarf slapped aside the stone serpents with his axe as if they were barely more than loose leaves on the breeze. His every swing tore a off a jaw or ripped a huge gouge out of the belly of the specialized golems.
Armand was losing. The dwarf's strength and equipment flat-out trumped the physical power of his spells. But he couldn't afford to lose this battle. At this point the familiar had certainly proven himself, that much was beyond question, but he would be damned if he was going to lose in front of his son. Not on this day.
The last stone beast was had its face split down the middle by an almighty cleave that shattered it down its length. No matter how sharp that axe apparently was it seemed that the strength of the wielder still made it more of a blunt weapon. He couldn't cut fast enough to avoid smashing whatever he hit. It was amazing to see.
However, Armand had one trump card left. It would burn out most of his remaining power but it would be well worth it. Kenneth turned, a feral grin on his face that surely matched the General's own, and began his final charge. In turn, his opponent raised his wand and prepared his last spell of the battle.
A bolt of lightning crossed the distance between the two in a flash of white light. It struck Kenneth's axe directly and the dwarf froze in place; shuddering violently as the Triangle spell earthed itself down through his arm and out his feet. Smoke rose from little wisps from his skin and beard until, finally, he keeled over backwards.
General Gramont collapsed on to his knees, breathing heavily. Air spells took it out of him enough at the best of times, but pulling that off likely meant he wouldn't be able to cast for several days. However, as he looked over and saw the awestruck expression of his son…
Yes, it was definitely worth it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Guiche stared blankly at the scene before him. Apparently, his father had won. After a fight that had ruined the landscape in front of the school. A hectic and maddening combat that had, when it all came down to it, barely lasted a few minutes.
The Duchess Vallière was making disapproving sounds next to him but, even so, was still faintly smirking. She looked down to Guiche, her daughter and familiar then back to the battlefield.
"Attend to your familiar, boy, and I shall see to your father." Then she began to stride across the ravaged plain towards the kneeling figure of the General. Guiche didn't move for a few moments; he was still somewhat stunned by what had just happened.
"Saito?" Guiche's head snapped to one side, startled. It was only Louise, though; he'd forgotten she was there. "Fetch some water to drink, and a bucket with which to rouse Ser Kenneth." The exemplary familiar bowed deeply to her, and then hustled off to fulfill her command.
"Ah, thank you kindly, Louise." Finally, Guiche pulled himself out of his daze and started off after the Duchess; veering off towards his familiar instead. He could hear a low conversation starting between the two adults; Louise's mother chiding his own father for a certain lack of fitness, and demanding to know what he would have done if the bolt hadn't worked.
But it had, hadn't it? After all that… after how effortless Kenneth had seen to every spell that his father had brought out he was laid low by a single Air spell. It wasn't even a favourable element! In fact, he knew for a fact that his father had great difficulty with it because every… said… so...
Oh. Of course. He didn't have all that much difficulty with it, he just wanted it to be widely known that he did. An agile or flying enemy was a good counter for his father's Earth spells but one that was, in turn, easily defeated by the hard to avoid Lightning branch of Air magic. It was a tricky ability to learn, as well, let alone master.
Guiche found himself at Kenneth's side. The dwarf smelled of bacon. Again. He supposed that was what happened when you were struck by lightning. Barely daring to hope that he might be alright, Guiche tried to check to see if he was breathing. Fortunately, he was; although his eyes were closed. He had to be careful; the edge of that axe was still red-hot.
His armour was fine, though. The clay was slightly cracked in places, revealing something very black underneath that made Guiche's sinuses ache just from looking at it, but nothing had penetrated the surface. He had to be horribly bruised underneath, though; the General hadn't been pulling any punches.
Saito arrived shortly, although Louise was staying out of the battlefield, with a bucket of water and a number of rags. In lieu of drinking water, however, he'd brought a small wineskin. The two of them hunched over the squat figure as the familiar laid wet rags upon his compatriots forehead.
"He'll be fine." Guiche was doubly startled; he couldn't recall ever being directly spoken to by the curious young man that dogged Louise's every step. "Your father is certainly a great mage, but Ser Flamecutter earned his name fighting things far deadlier. His strength is not his physical power, but his fortitude."
"Thank you." It surprised even himself to hear those words. Between the two of them and a pair of Guiche's Bronze Valkyries they were able to get the dwarf up and start carrying him back to the academy. General Gramont met them along the way and walked alongside them in silence.
"He has my approval." Guiche looked up at his father, who wasn't facing him. "The dwarf conducted himself well during the conflict. He fought with all of his might and as a result I have no qualms with entrusting you to his care." There was a brief pause and then he did look to his son. More than that; he laid a hand on his shoulder.
"He is a good influence on you. More than that, he has given… no… he has shown me why I should have more faith in you. In all of you." The hand went away, but the warmth stayed. They finished their walk back to the Academy in silence.
"I had best see my familiar to the infirmary." His father nodded. It was right and proper. They parted ways there; the older man returning to his carriage and the younger taking the dwarf off to the increasingly familiar room. He'd visited it more times in the past week than he had in his entire time at the Academy.
The healer wasn't in, so Guiche sat beside his familiar on the bed while Saito went to find him. Louise had gone with her mother earlier, likely to have a quiet discussion on their own. Some minutes later a sound from the door made him look up; only to see his father standing in the doorway and clutching a long, wooden box. He marched over to his son; looking strangely nervous.
"Really, I've no idea why I brought this with me. I'd never expected to have cause to do this. However…" The box was pushed into Guiche's arms. It smelled vaguely familiar and brought back faint memories of a forgotten figure. "I do not think your brothers will begrudge this of me." Guiche opened it. Resting on the velvet pillows within was a beautifully crafted rapier. With some trepidation Guiche withdrew it from the box. It fitted well in his hand.
"It was your mother's, once; you have inherited more of her build than mine, I fear, but that merely means it will suit you well. Maximilien will inherit my father's wandblade instead, and be happy with that." Undoubtedly he would be. Guiche was… pleased wasn't the word. It wasn't merely well-made; it was a work of art. There was a sheath in the box as well. His father helped him secure it properly to the belt, and the blade slid quietly home.
"Suits you." It did, at that. The scabbard was covered with a white enamel, and the hilt was golden. Not true gold, of course, but it was meticulously adorned with the guard in a shape reminiscent of a rose. "She never told me where she got it." They stood there awkwardly for a time, until the General bowed his head and moved back.
"A discussion for another time. I'll be on my way, now. Send me invoices for anything your need and I'll take care of it." Guiche nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Soon enough his father was gone. He sat down heavily and rested his chin on his hands. What a day this had been.
"Well, tha' was touchin'." And then he nearly fell out of his chair as Kenneth suddenly sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed. "Ah'm hungry. Let's raid th' kitchens, eh?" Suddenly the dwarf found himself with a stunned Guiche shoving his fingers in the short man's face.
"You! What! How! But you were!" Kenneth rolled his eyes as he pushed the hand out of the way so he could stand up and stretch a bit. His spine made horrible sounds when he leaned back as far as he could.
"Bah. S'long as ah've got one foot on the ground ah dun really care 'bout lightning strikes. 's what happens when yer dyin' and get put back t'gether by a frien'ly earth elemental." Which meant he'd been faking the entire time. Of course he had. That little… but Guiche's line of thought took a sharp turn as he came to wonder why his familiar had faked his defeat.
"Aye, ye've got th' right of it, boy. 'twere more important t'yer dad tha' he win than 'twere t'me. Ah know ah'm strong. He was workin' through some things." Guiche nodded dumbly. A burly hand patted him on the shoulder and his familiar grinned up at him. "It all worked out in th' end, eh? C'mon, ah'm starvin'."
With a heavy sigh, Guiche followed the retreating back of his impossible familiar out of the room.
For most of the nobility it was enough to have just one, maybe two. Armand's old friend over there could get away without having any; which isn't to say that she didn't, merely that she didn't have to. As for the General himself? He spent every morning reciting every incantation in his main combat repertoire in sequence, ten times, as he performed his post-waking routine.
Which is why the incantation for his one, true signature spell tumbled out of his mouth within two seconds and shattered the plain beneath them into unrecognizability.
Four stacked Earth elements; a pure Earth spell of devastating power. Square-Class Magic 'Grand Quake'. The primary impact point, and an area within about two metres of it, was undamaged by design. Then the shockwaves rolled out; waves of ground liquefaction causing the area to briefly resemble an ocean in a storm.
Then it was torn apart. The raised ground collapsed and broke apart. General Gramont scanned the rubble for a sign of his opponent and was somewhat surprised to see he was still standing. Perhaps he shouldn't have toned his spell down. Still, even at half power that was impressive.
In a way, that was already a passing grade. He doubted that Guiche would ever have cause to encounter someone nearly so dangerous as himself. But the current situation had him feeling rather curious. His expectation had been to pick the dazed little brute out of the rubble.
Instead said brute was resolutely charging towards him over the rubble. He didn't seem to be having all that much difficulty with the difficult terrain, either. Armand took a moment to animate the ground below his feet to lift him up. With that much he could certainl-
It was quite lucky that he had some chantless casting ability. Not nearly as much as Karin, but certainly enough to wordlessly blast a small wave of dirt upwards in order to deflect the crossbow bolt that Kenneth had just fired at him. It was knocked off course by the cloud of debris and spun off to one side with a spiteful buzz.
The short bastard could cock it one-handed as well. He fired again; only this time Armand was prepared for it and had animated a second mass of earth to use as a shield. It rose up to take the bolt, but the distraction of the shots had allowed the dwarf to draw nearer to him.
Time to move away. The earth beneath him shifted and carried him back at a rate the tiny creature couldn't match. Hmph. A crossbow and an axe against a noble mage? Like that would ever work. Even if he was rather tough he simply couldn't… catch… up?
Which was apparently why he'd stopped trying. Instead he was just standing there on a pile of rubble. Waiting. He'd realized he couldn't catch up either, but he'd also put his crossbow away. Armand directed his mobile platform to circle to the side toward the observers just in case; that way they would be behind him if he had to do something big again.
It took a moment for him to realize that Kenneth wasn't looking at him. He was looking past him, towards his son. Something seemed to pass between the two, because Guiche nodded slowly. Then Kenneth shifted his focus back to Armand.
The dwarf tapped his foot against the ground and immediately dropped out of sight.
In the following moments General Gramont cursed the cognitive dissonance that delayed his response. He knew that the familiar was not human, he has seen it use a form of magic just earlier that day and his son was also an Earth mage. So it stood to reason that his familiar, being magically capable, would have complementary abilities!
His internal surety that only nobles could use magic had dulled his reaction speed when faced with evidence to the contrary. It was stupid. Karin would undoubtedly lecture him on it later. Armand quickly stacked three earths together and unleashed a lesser Quake spell towards the point where the dwarf had vanished.
A rising tide of shifting earth and stone moved out from him like a wave; spreading as it did so. And, as the wake rose into the air, it split in twain mere metres in front of him. Armand had to launch himself off his perch in order to avoid the ground-splitting two-handed axe stroke that passed through the spot his head had occupied only a second earlier.
Quite literally ground-splitting, in fact, as Armand saw and felt the animating energy of his platform dissolve due to the damage Kenneth had caused to it with that one hit. He didn't particularly care, though. This had started out dull and quite suddenly become very exciting.
The familiar turned to acquire his target and then leaned forward; tapping the ground twice with his foot. It rose up in a little heap and propelled him forward as he balanced on the fast-moving surface. Armand couldn't stop the feral grin that came to his face. It was just like fighting with an elf.
That didn't stop him from reacting, of course. As Kenneth drew closer he allowed the dirt pushing him to curve slightly and tilt to one side; allowing him better leverage for the upswing he directed towards Armand's side. Instead of trying to block a creature obviously much more physically adept than he was the General pushed himself back at the last moment then let loose the spell he'd been building.
That made two Square spells in one day; he'd like as not have a splitting headache by the end of the fight but it would be well worth it. His blood hadn't boiled like this for years. The little shit wasn't hesitating at all, nor holding back; every strike so far would have been fully lethal if it had connected.
His spell of choice in this case was another one of his own devising. He'd named it 'Stone Hydra' when he was a much younger man, and had thought such a thing sounded cool. Really, it was far more impressive than the Grand Quake; but, still, he'd gotten named for the other one. Sometimes there was no justice.
The first animated serpent surged forth from the ground to Kenneth's left and bore down on him; sloughing off loose dirt as it rose and dived. There were close to a dozen of them now, born from years of perfecting the spell. Compressing and transforming the dirt into stone was far less energy intensive than metal transmutations, and making them bronze or steel would have just been overkill.
Or so he'd thought until right that moment.
Kenneth spun out of the way as his creation hit the ground. It moved through the ground like it was water, complete with ripples in the ground as the force of its motions caused liquefaction. His outstretched hand skimmed along the side of the diving beast and then he reversed his axe in order to drive the spike on the back home.
A massive gout of stone was torn out of the serpent as it finished the dive and vanished beneath the surface. It was at the moment that the second one leapt that Armand suddenly realized the flaw in his attack. Unlike the various other mages and armies he'd unleashed these on… Kenneth was experienced in fighting things like these.
Case in point, as the second gaping maw of teeth bore down upon him he spun around and moved to one side; striking the beast on the side of its nose with a forceful left hook as he avoided the charge. Armand's snake spun right off course and dug out a deep furrow when it struck the ground at the wrong angle.
The General focused on the others forming underneath him. He could feel the base structure, the actual 'Hydra', forming the next set of serpents, and the first one was only lightly damaged. A quick command spell was sent down into the dirt in order to command the remainder to stay put. He'd gather them all, and strike in sequence.
His very first one burst up from under Kenneth. They had sharp teeth, certainly, but also a stomach. Many times he'd captured enemy nobles by consuming them from beneath like this. The strategy didn't work so well on the dwarf. Instead of the snake curving over and back down into the ground again, prize safely in its stomach, there was a horrific sound as a line of red appeared halfway down the damaged body.
The top half broke away from the bottom in an explosion of rocky shards and Kenneth leapt out from between them. He hit the ground not ten metres distant from Armand and exploded forward with axe swinging. A desperate attempt to dodge and parry at the same time didn't result in the jarring impact that the General had been expected. He was, however, scratched across the face as half his sword went flying away over his shoulder.
Armand tumbled and hit the ground, words forming on his tongue as Kenneth brought his axe around for the second stroke. His palm hit the ground, pushing him up and launching a spike of earth right into the dwarf's chest.
The tip of the spike penetrated the surface of the armour and then shattered. Armand was on his feet now, retrieving his first spare wand from where it was strapped to his right bracer; while it would work from there he needed the extra control.
He was resorting to high-speed Dot and Line spells, now. Rows upon rows of earthen spikes shot out of the ground towards his foe to no effect. Anything that hit the armour broke, a good number of them were destroyed by one-handed axes strokes before then and when he got enough distance to risk an Earth Lance, a Triangle spell, Kenneth had punched the tip of the spike with his left hand and it had shattered down its length.
Fantastic. The dwarf was fantastic. Armand would have been proud to fight alongside him in the field. Unfortunately, the fight was now over. He'd have loved to extend it but he had to acknowledge the small man's staying power in this conflict was far greater than his. Already he could feel the tell-tale burn of willpower exhaustion starting to creep up on him.
Ten stone serpentine heads burst from the ground around Kenneth. These hadn't been disengaged from the main body just yet. They formed a circle and curled down to glare at him. Couldn't hiss, though. Armand had never been able to get the hissing down.
The dwarf was still but tense; balancing his axe in hand and trying to keep an eye on as many of them as possible. He didn't move otherwise. Armand took the opportunity to finally catch his breath; he hadn't realized how much the running had taken out of him.
"Yield… dwarf. You are… surrounded." Still puffed. A quick glance over at the watchers confirmed that Karin looked unimpressed. She'd likely have words with him regarding the importance of staying in good condition. Worse still was that she would have a very good point. A few of those swipes had come unpleasantly close.
"Heh. Y'got a high opinion o' yerself there, Gen'ral. These ain't so big a problem fer me." He hefted his axe and gave an appraising look to the heads. Armand started preparing another spell.. just in case. A basic quake would destabilize his footing, but then… then what? Hm. He didn't actually want to kill the dwarf, but that might just be the only way to put him down.
His thought process was interrupted by Kenneth being launched into the air towards him. The heads moved automatically to snap at him as he passed between them. They disengaged from the core below and all went to leap after him; just as they'd been told to do.
It was an orgy of destruction. Armand flung himself back again with a quick spell directed at his feet and could only watch as the dwarf slapped aside the stone serpents with his axe as if they were barely more than loose leaves on the breeze. His every swing tore a off a jaw or ripped a huge gouge out of the belly of the specialized golems.
Armand was losing. The dwarf's strength and equipment flat-out trumped the physical power of his spells. But he couldn't afford to lose this battle. At this point the familiar had certainly proven himself, that much was beyond question, but he would be damned if he was going to lose in front of his son. Not on this day.
The last stone beast was had its face split down the middle by an almighty cleave that shattered it down its length. No matter how sharp that axe apparently was it seemed that the strength of the wielder still made it more of a blunt weapon. He couldn't cut fast enough to avoid smashing whatever he hit. It was amazing to see.
However, Armand had one trump card left. It would burn out most of his remaining power but it would be well worth it. Kenneth turned, a feral grin on his face that surely matched the General's own, and began his final charge. In turn, his opponent raised his wand and prepared his last spell of the battle.
A bolt of lightning crossed the distance between the two in a flash of white light. It struck Kenneth's axe directly and the dwarf froze in place; shuddering violently as the Triangle spell earthed itself down through his arm and out his feet. Smoke rose from little wisps from his skin and beard until, finally, he keeled over backwards.
General Gramont collapsed on to his knees, breathing heavily. Air spells took it out of him enough at the best of times, but pulling that off likely meant he wouldn't be able to cast for several days. However, as he looked over and saw the awestruck expression of his son…
Yes, it was definitely worth it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Guiche stared blankly at the scene before him. Apparently, his father had won. After a fight that had ruined the landscape in front of the school. A hectic and maddening combat that had, when it all came down to it, barely lasted a few minutes.
The Duchess Vallière was making disapproving sounds next to him but, even so, was still faintly smirking. She looked down to Guiche, her daughter and familiar then back to the battlefield.
"Attend to your familiar, boy, and I shall see to your father." Then she began to stride across the ravaged plain towards the kneeling figure of the General. Guiche didn't move for a few moments; he was still somewhat stunned by what had just happened.
"Saito?" Guiche's head snapped to one side, startled. It was only Louise, though; he'd forgotten she was there. "Fetch some water to drink, and a bucket with which to rouse Ser Kenneth." The exemplary familiar bowed deeply to her, and then hustled off to fulfill her command.
"Ah, thank you kindly, Louise." Finally, Guiche pulled himself out of his daze and started off after the Duchess; veering off towards his familiar instead. He could hear a low conversation starting between the two adults; Louise's mother chiding his own father for a certain lack of fitness, and demanding to know what he would have done if the bolt hadn't worked.
But it had, hadn't it? After all that… after how effortless Kenneth had seen to every spell that his father had brought out he was laid low by a single Air spell. It wasn't even a favourable element! In fact, he knew for a fact that his father had great difficulty with it because every… said… so...
Oh. Of course. He didn't have all that much difficulty with it, he just wanted it to be widely known that he did. An agile or flying enemy was a good counter for his father's Earth spells but one that was, in turn, easily defeated by the hard to avoid Lightning branch of Air magic. It was a tricky ability to learn, as well, let alone master.
Guiche found himself at Kenneth's side. The dwarf smelled of bacon. Again. He supposed that was what happened when you were struck by lightning. Barely daring to hope that he might be alright, Guiche tried to check to see if he was breathing. Fortunately, he was; although his eyes were closed. He had to be careful; the edge of that axe was still red-hot.
His armour was fine, though. The clay was slightly cracked in places, revealing something very black underneath that made Guiche's sinuses ache just from looking at it, but nothing had penetrated the surface. He had to be horribly bruised underneath, though; the General hadn't been pulling any punches.
Saito arrived shortly, although Louise was staying out of the battlefield, with a bucket of water and a number of rags. In lieu of drinking water, however, he'd brought a small wineskin. The two of them hunched over the squat figure as the familiar laid wet rags upon his compatriots forehead.
"He'll be fine." Guiche was doubly startled; he couldn't recall ever being directly spoken to by the curious young man that dogged Louise's every step. "Your father is certainly a great mage, but Ser Flamecutter earned his name fighting things far deadlier. His strength is not his physical power, but his fortitude."
"Thank you." It surprised even himself to hear those words. Between the two of them and a pair of Guiche's Bronze Valkyries they were able to get the dwarf up and start carrying him back to the academy. General Gramont met them along the way and walked alongside them in silence.
"He has my approval." Guiche looked up at his father, who wasn't facing him. "The dwarf conducted himself well during the conflict. He fought with all of his might and as a result I have no qualms with entrusting you to his care." There was a brief pause and then he did look to his son. More than that; he laid a hand on his shoulder.
"He is a good influence on you. More than that, he has given… no… he has shown me why I should have more faith in you. In all of you." The hand went away, but the warmth stayed. They finished their walk back to the Academy in silence.
"I had best see my familiar to the infirmary." His father nodded. It was right and proper. They parted ways there; the older man returning to his carriage and the younger taking the dwarf off to the increasingly familiar room. He'd visited it more times in the past week than he had in his entire time at the Academy.
The healer wasn't in, so Guiche sat beside his familiar on the bed while Saito went to find him. Louise had gone with her mother earlier, likely to have a quiet discussion on their own. Some minutes later a sound from the door made him look up; only to see his father standing in the doorway and clutching a long, wooden box. He marched over to his son; looking strangely nervous.
"Really, I've no idea why I brought this with me. I'd never expected to have cause to do this. However…" The box was pushed into Guiche's arms. It smelled vaguely familiar and brought back faint memories of a forgotten figure. "I do not think your brothers will begrudge this of me." Guiche opened it. Resting on the velvet pillows within was a beautifully crafted rapier. With some trepidation Guiche withdrew it from the box. It fitted well in his hand.
"It was your mother's, once; you have inherited more of her build than mine, I fear, but that merely means it will suit you well. Maximilien will inherit my father's wandblade instead, and be happy with that." Undoubtedly he would be. Guiche was… pleased wasn't the word. It wasn't merely well-made; it was a work of art. There was a sheath in the box as well. His father helped him secure it properly to the belt, and the blade slid quietly home.
"Suits you." It did, at that. The scabbard was covered with a white enamel, and the hilt was golden. Not true gold, of course, but it was meticulously adorned with the guard in a shape reminiscent of a rose. "She never told me where she got it." They stood there awkwardly for a time, until the General bowed his head and moved back.
"A discussion for another time. I'll be on my way, now. Send me invoices for anything your need and I'll take care of it." Guiche nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Soon enough his father was gone. He sat down heavily and rested his chin on his hands. What a day this had been.
"Well, tha' was touchin'." And then he nearly fell out of his chair as Kenneth suddenly sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed. "Ah'm hungry. Let's raid th' kitchens, eh?" Suddenly the dwarf found himself with a stunned Guiche shoving his fingers in the short man's face.
"You! What! How! But you were!" Kenneth rolled his eyes as he pushed the hand out of the way so he could stand up and stretch a bit. His spine made horrible sounds when he leaned back as far as he could.
"Bah. S'long as ah've got one foot on the ground ah dun really care 'bout lightning strikes. 's what happens when yer dyin' and get put back t'gether by a frien'ly earth elemental." Which meant he'd been faking the entire time. Of course he had. That little… but Guiche's line of thought took a sharp turn as he came to wonder why his familiar had faked his defeat.
"Aye, ye've got th' right of it, boy. 'twere more important t'yer dad tha' he win than 'twere t'me. Ah know ah'm strong. He was workin' through some things." Guiche nodded dumbly. A burly hand patted him on the shoulder and his familiar grinned up at him. "It all worked out in th' end, eh? C'mon, ah'm starvin'."
With a heavy sigh, Guiche followed the retreating back of his impossible familiar out of the room.
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Damn son that was full of feels.
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Here's another retrospective.
Chapter Two:
Here's the big one! The main change around which I based the entire idea of this fic. In every single story you read for ZnT... well, for almost every one that is, Guiche's entire purpose is to be a stick by which to measure how superspecialawesome the latest overpowered jerk to be handed to Louise is.
You see I, like them, initially considered merely swapping in a new familiar for Louise and just... not doing that. But no! Instead I decided to make this story about Guiche and thus Dwarf of Bronze was born. So, let's go over a few things in here.
A bit of foreshadowing in the first segment there, plus some minor explanation of where Kenneth has come from. Having him mention his wife and Guiche legitimately react with sadness is... well, I don't know if you'd call it character development but it's a legitimate moment of humanisation for the blond fop.
Of course, we can't develop too far in one day so he's still rather contemptuous when Kenneth brings up smithing. Ah, Guiche, if you only knew.
There's a few things in the next segment that are also foreshadowing for something later on. I'll reference it again when we get to the retrospective for that chapter in case you're reading these after each specific chapter. Otherwise I'll just point out a few subtle touches you may have missed.
Guiche is irritated by a maid that reminds him of Saito, because they look similar. Following on your logic from canon, you can realize this is probably Siesta; since her and Saito both had a bit of Japanese ancestry. It's Kagati here, of course, but the same principle applies.
Another thing is that Guiche assumes, not entirely incorrectly, that he's been tattled on by the maid in question; that's why his reaction is unusually violent. If it seemed like more of an honest mistake he'd probably react more like he did in canon but, here, he assumes that Siesta lead Katie to him and Montmorency on purpose.
Then there is the alternative to the Guiche fight; namely, Kenneth beating the crap out of his master. He was a bit more violent in my first draft but I toned it down after I remember that if he didn't pull his punches he actually could kill Guiche with a single strike. In addition, this paragraph wasn't in the version first posted but was added later.
Lastly, a bit of referencing to things I didn't want to actually write out in the letter home there and setting up for the action of the next four chapters. Stations of canon? Hahahaha, what're those!
Armand de Gramont's name was drawn from the historical inspiration for Guiche; that being Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche (Count of Guiche). He's described as being vain, overbearing and somewhat contemptuous; a description that suits both father and son but for very different reasons. His character was as fun to explore going forward as Karin was; but that's for later.
Chapter Two:
Here's the big one! The main change around which I based the entire idea of this fic. In every single story you read for ZnT... well, for almost every one that is, Guiche's entire purpose is to be a stick by which to measure how superspecialawesome the latest overpowered jerk to be handed to Louise is.
You see I, like them, initially considered merely swapping in a new familiar for Louise and just... not doing that. But no! Instead I decided to make this story about Guiche and thus Dwarf of Bronze was born. So, let's go over a few things in here.
A bit of foreshadowing in the first segment there, plus some minor explanation of where Kenneth has come from. Having him mention his wife and Guiche legitimately react with sadness is... well, I don't know if you'd call it character development but it's a legitimate moment of humanisation for the blond fop.
Of course, we can't develop too far in one day so he's still rather contemptuous when Kenneth brings up smithing. Ah, Guiche, if you only knew.
There's a few things in the next segment that are also foreshadowing for something later on. I'll reference it again when we get to the retrospective for that chapter in case you're reading these after each specific chapter. Otherwise I'll just point out a few subtle touches you may have missed.
Guiche is irritated by a maid that reminds him of Saito, because they look similar. Following on your logic from canon, you can realize this is probably Siesta; since her and Saito both had a bit of Japanese ancestry. It's Kagati here, of course, but the same principle applies.
Another thing is that Guiche assumes, not entirely incorrectly, that he's been tattled on by the maid in question; that's why his reaction is unusually violent. If it seemed like more of an honest mistake he'd probably react more like he did in canon but, here, he assumes that Siesta lead Katie to him and Montmorency on purpose.
Then there is the alternative to the Guiche fight; namely, Kenneth beating the crap out of his master. He was a bit more violent in my first draft but I toned it down after I remember that if he didn't pull his punches he actually could kill Guiche with a single strike. In addition, this paragraph wasn't in the version first posted but was added later.
The reason that was added was to make his contrition a bit more genuine. Just having him go shame-faced and then Kenneth go "Ah kin see yer ashamed" was a bit too quick. I feel it improved the scene signifcantly.TotalAbsolutism said:
Lastly, a bit of referencing to things I didn't want to actually write out in the letter home there and setting up for the action of the next four chapters. Stations of canon? Hahahaha, what're those!
Armand de Gramont's name was drawn from the historical inspiration for Guiche; that being Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche (Count of Guiche). He's described as being vain, overbearing and somewhat contemptuous; a description that suits both father and son but for very different reasons. His character was as fun to explore going forward as Karin was; but that's for later.
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Rinn
Coffee Addict
- Location
- Cornfield County, Ohio
Ever notice how half of the magical artefacts in ZnT are items from the same world as the void familiars? And didn't General Gramont mention that he didn't know where the sword was from? InB4 it's an enchanted sword from whichever world Kenneth is from! Maybe he recognizes it? Knows/knew the maker?
- Location
- Canada
Maybe Kenneth made the sword himself. Dwarves do live a while.
Maybe his wife made it
Bronze and Suffering
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Guiche was quite certain he'd never seen anyone able to pack in as much food as Kenneth. The sheer amount of morsels that he was able to devour in a single sitting was rather impressive. Entire roasts vanished down his gullet along with several gallons of ale. It was quite astounding.
"Ooooh, aye, tha' was just what ah needed. Y'not hungry, lad?" He shook his head. No, it was quite difficult to want anything after seeing his familiar eat. That would spoil anyone's appetite. He wasn't particularly messy, though, he just seemed to have infinite space and the ability to practically unhinge his jaw.
"You know, Ser Kenneth, you never quite explained what you meant about that elemental. Not the first time, or now." The dwarf paused mid-chomp on what appeared to be a full half a chicken. Guiche had initially no idea why they'd given him so much food until the dwarf had revealed that the school's funding was for a much larger body of students than they really had. Any excess was to be returned to the crown at the end of the year, so they didn't mind spending extra on food.
"Ah, ain't too much t'explain. Bunch o' jackasses broke inta a several t'ousand year ol' cavern an' shattered a bunch of flawless crystal formations. Ah tracked 'em down, brutally murdered 'em an' dragged their sorry carcasses back to th' cave." The very thought of such a thing, combined with his familiar's candid explanation, turned him a bit green.
"See, on Kelicho, elementals tend t'spawn in response t'nature bein' messed with. Earth're th' worst in my opinion. They're like them snakes yer pop pulled out t'day only about five times the size and a lot less friendly." Such a mental image was quite unreasonable. These 'elemental' things he'd described seemed akin to spirits, however, so he at least had a point of reference. Such creatures were notoriously fickle.
"But ah weren't quite on me best foot that day. One o' them cheeky bastards hit me with a gout o' Starlight afore ah went down." Guiche just had to raise an eyebrow at that, but Kenneth wagged a finger at him. "Ah know what ye're thinkin'. Trust me, ain't nobody sane on Kelicho as laughs at a Starlight mage. 's a nasty element t'work with; not as bad as some, but if y'slip up it'll kill ye just as same as the other guy. Case in point!"
By way of demonstration Kenneth, with some effort, managed to lift up his shirt. There was… it wasn't quite right to call it a scar. He'd never seen one so large before which made it hard to accept as being one. The flesh had gone leathery in a wide circle around the dwarf's stomach, and the centre was a dull brown colour and quite hard. If he'd had a belly button once it was long gone now.
"Tha' shit'll eat through a good inch of steel an' a foot o' stone wi'out slowin' down, and ah didn' have me current armour then. So ah well reckoned ah was gonna die." He hauled off his cloak and turned around, lifting up his vest at the back as well. There was a matching scar and strange discolouration. Smaller, certainly, but matching. Guiche pictured his familiar with the full wound, a hole seared clean through him, and had to resist the urge to retch a little.
"Aye, ye have th' right of it. Ah was a goner. But th' elemental, seems it recognized what ah'd done fer it. So it hacked out a lil' bit o' itself and shoved it inta me. Replaced me guts, an' ribs, an' spine an' whatnot. Feels weird, o' course, but ah can still eat an' piss an' all sorts o' other things ye needn't mind about, so seems it worked out." The ribald grin on Kenneth's face brought a flush of heat to Guiche's cheeks. He wasn't that young!
"Plus, o' course, it helped out me magic a fair bit. Movin' earth 's easy as breathin' now, s'long as ah'm in touch wi' it." As well he'd demonstrated against Guiche's father. "An', as ah said, s'long as m'feet are on th' ground ah'm near immune t'lightning. Stings somethin' fierce, though. Plus ah'm just generally tougher, stronger, nastier, an' such." It was difficult to imagine how much worse the dwarf could have gotten… but, then again, he'd only seen him after this.
"Very well, I think I understand. This sort of thing is common where you come from?" Somewhat to his surprise, the dwarf shook his head. Violently. He took another large draft of ale and pulled his cloak back on before answering.
"Nay, lad. Elementals… they dinnae like people. Earth one won't last; it'll just eat th' miners an' collapse th' mine that woke it up, then rejoin th' land. My people are good at workin' stone wi'out pissin' them off." A useful trait for what had been explained to him as a race of mountain-dwelling artisans. "Water ones're th' most tame. Generally they'll just take all sea life within a good twenty miles of where they formed an' fuck right off, for good. Tends t'desroy most seaside communities. They'll come back, eventually, but inna meantime yer basic fishin' village is toast."
Ah. Yes, he could see why that would happen. No food, sure, but also their livelihood destroyed when they lost their main commodity. "Air, well, tha's interestin'. Quite rare until recently, see? Y'still don't see a lot of 'em, but when y'do 's around Stalis. All them big buildings pumpin' shit out inta th' world. One day some mobile cyclone shows up an' tears e'rrythin' t'shreds and there y'go."
The description alone was horrifying. Guiche knew of such things as grand storms and waterspouts from tales his father's various friends had shared at the dinner table, but they were rare in Tristain. Indeed, fairly rare in the mainland of Halkegenia; you only heard of such things happening in far off lands. "Nature ain't so bad. They'll leave y'alone, right enough. But just imagine bein' in a forest, right?"
Guiche did so. It wasn't hard. "Now, imagine e'rry tree, plant, bush, branch an' anything leafy or green that y'lay eyes upon is tryin' to kill ye." There was a soft whimper from that he realized was coming from himself. His familiar chuckled deeply and polished off his drink.
"Ah, well. Ah'll nae scare y'any more. 'tain't productive. Ye've done well these past few days. Even stood up t'yer father. Seems y'might have earned his respect some, if ah'm any judge." The dwarf leaned over, eyeing the rapier on Guiche's belt. After a moment of embarrassment, Guiche realized what he was getting at.
"Oh, yes. Well. This was my mother's. He said it would suit me." Like a diligent student Guiche unbuckled the weapon and presented it to his familiar for inspection. Kenneth wiped his hands off on his shirt, and then on a nearby washcloth after Guiche gave him a hard look, before taking the weapon in hand and drawing it.
"Fuck me." The dwarf's eyes widened. "This is… this is carbonised adamant. Ah didn't even know y'had it here." But Guiche's look of confusion said more than he ever could, and Kenneth's look of surprise turned to one of suspicion. He raised the sword up and, before Guiche could so much as cry out for him to stop, drove it directly into the ground.
It punched right through the flagstone beneath it with barely more than a whisper of metal on stone. Guiche gaped silently as Kenneth withdrew it and began to study it more carefully. "Adamant's tricky t'work with. More 'f a crystal than a metal. Carbonising it is best; makes it nigh indestructible. Good for stabbing weapons. Channels magic, too, an' real good at that. Probably works for yer sort quite well, ah'd imagine. Gotta make ye a proper set…"
He trailed off into silence as he stared at the hilt. It was truly beautiful; a work of art. Delicately crafted leaves became petals and formed the rose-shape that became the pommel. Even then it wasn't gilded or filigreed; just good metal polished until it shone. Nevertheless, the dwarf sat there in silence. Eventually Guiche moved over and patted his arm.
"... Ser Kenneth?" No response. He tried again, somewhat more forcefully. "Kenneth! Are you alri-..." The words died in his mouth as he finally saw it. Thick, heavy tears pouring down his familiar's face. This was… he had no words for it. Unprecedented seemed too mild a term. Then the dwarf opened his mouth and the words that came out were hoarse and pained.
"My wife is going to make this." That was all he said. Guiche didn't understand it. He stared blankly for a time and, when that didn't work, allowed himself a tentative work.
"You mean, she made…?" Slowly, ever so slowly, Kenneth shook his head. Then he rotated the blade so Guiche could see what he was looking at. The maker's mark, carefully engraved on the inside of the guard in runes that the young noble couldn't read.
"That's her name. Red. Just her name. She was never ostentatious with ones like these. Felt it… it diminished the work. Name and date; so it was known who made it, and when." A sinking feeling gathered in Guiche's chest. Kenneth had said… "The date is some ten years distant from when ah… ah left."
Oh, by the Founder. This… this was very bad. Guiche didn't understand how, or why, or any of those things. He just knew that something horrible had just happened. "Ah… ah had a suspicion this might be th' case. Didn't ask th' boy th' year he left. Didn't want t'know. But if this… this is... " When his familiar looked up at him Guiche thought his heart might have stopped.
He'd seen that face only once before now, and it had been that very same day. It had existed, for the briefest moment, on the face of his father when he'd spoken of… of a woman that Guiche had never known. It spoke of a pain that was beyond his comprehension. All he could do was lay a hand on the squat figure's shoulder. It didn't feel like it was enough.
"She didn't make this with my help. Ah can tell. Might mean ah got back, an' was away again. But like as not, yer world an' mine ain't connected properly. Even if ah ever do get home… best odds is that she'll either have been dead for centuries, or ain't even born yet." He slid the rapier back into its sheath and offered it to Guiche. After a moment's hesitation the young man took it from him.
They remained there in silence for some time; a tableau of suffering. After a moment, Guiche tried to speak. To find the words he needed to say more than anything else in this moment.
"Kenneth, I-" A hand wrapping around his throat caught him off guard and cut him off at the same time. Two bloodshot eyes, stained with loss, glared at him through the mess of red hair around Kenneth's face.
"Don't. You. Dare." The tone was low, and truly harsh. His familiar had struck him, laid him low and berated him for his callous actions and even in those moments he hadn't sounded so… so hateful as this. "Ain't your fault, boy. Ah realize that, intellectually speakin', y'didn't choose me. But ah think that, in this moment, ye'd best just turn around an' walk out of this room 'cause if ye say another damn word ah might just gut ye where ye stand. Got it?"
He couldn't nod, but Kenneth released him anyway. Guiche landed heavily, coughing up a fit, but didn't stay where he was. Instead he pulled himself to his feet and left the room. The last he saw of his familiar that night was the dwarf cracking open another barrel of ale, and not even bothering with a tankard.
Dwarf of Bronze: End of Act One
"Ooooh, aye, tha' was just what ah needed. Y'not hungry, lad?" He shook his head. No, it was quite difficult to want anything after seeing his familiar eat. That would spoil anyone's appetite. He wasn't particularly messy, though, he just seemed to have infinite space and the ability to practically unhinge his jaw.
"You know, Ser Kenneth, you never quite explained what you meant about that elemental. Not the first time, or now." The dwarf paused mid-chomp on what appeared to be a full half a chicken. Guiche had initially no idea why they'd given him so much food until the dwarf had revealed that the school's funding was for a much larger body of students than they really had. Any excess was to be returned to the crown at the end of the year, so they didn't mind spending extra on food.
"Ah, ain't too much t'explain. Bunch o' jackasses broke inta a several t'ousand year ol' cavern an' shattered a bunch of flawless crystal formations. Ah tracked 'em down, brutally murdered 'em an' dragged their sorry carcasses back to th' cave." The very thought of such a thing, combined with his familiar's candid explanation, turned him a bit green.
"See, on Kelicho, elementals tend t'spawn in response t'nature bein' messed with. Earth're th' worst in my opinion. They're like them snakes yer pop pulled out t'day only about five times the size and a lot less friendly." Such a mental image was quite unreasonable. These 'elemental' things he'd described seemed akin to spirits, however, so he at least had a point of reference. Such creatures were notoriously fickle.
"But ah weren't quite on me best foot that day. One o' them cheeky bastards hit me with a gout o' Starlight afore ah went down." Guiche just had to raise an eyebrow at that, but Kenneth wagged a finger at him. "Ah know what ye're thinkin'. Trust me, ain't nobody sane on Kelicho as laughs at a Starlight mage. 's a nasty element t'work with; not as bad as some, but if y'slip up it'll kill ye just as same as the other guy. Case in point!"
By way of demonstration Kenneth, with some effort, managed to lift up his shirt. There was… it wasn't quite right to call it a scar. He'd never seen one so large before which made it hard to accept as being one. The flesh had gone leathery in a wide circle around the dwarf's stomach, and the centre was a dull brown colour and quite hard. If he'd had a belly button once it was long gone now.
"Tha' shit'll eat through a good inch of steel an' a foot o' stone wi'out slowin' down, and ah didn' have me current armour then. So ah well reckoned ah was gonna die." He hauled off his cloak and turned around, lifting up his vest at the back as well. There was a matching scar and strange discolouration. Smaller, certainly, but matching. Guiche pictured his familiar with the full wound, a hole seared clean through him, and had to resist the urge to retch a little.
"Aye, ye have th' right of it. Ah was a goner. But th' elemental, seems it recognized what ah'd done fer it. So it hacked out a lil' bit o' itself and shoved it inta me. Replaced me guts, an' ribs, an' spine an' whatnot. Feels weird, o' course, but ah can still eat an' piss an' all sorts o' other things ye needn't mind about, so seems it worked out." The ribald grin on Kenneth's face brought a flush of heat to Guiche's cheeks. He wasn't that young!
"Plus, o' course, it helped out me magic a fair bit. Movin' earth 's easy as breathin' now, s'long as ah'm in touch wi' it." As well he'd demonstrated against Guiche's father. "An', as ah said, s'long as m'feet are on th' ground ah'm near immune t'lightning. Stings somethin' fierce, though. Plus ah'm just generally tougher, stronger, nastier, an' such." It was difficult to imagine how much worse the dwarf could have gotten… but, then again, he'd only seen him after this.
"Very well, I think I understand. This sort of thing is common where you come from?" Somewhat to his surprise, the dwarf shook his head. Violently. He took another large draft of ale and pulled his cloak back on before answering.
"Nay, lad. Elementals… they dinnae like people. Earth one won't last; it'll just eat th' miners an' collapse th' mine that woke it up, then rejoin th' land. My people are good at workin' stone wi'out pissin' them off." A useful trait for what had been explained to him as a race of mountain-dwelling artisans. "Water ones're th' most tame. Generally they'll just take all sea life within a good twenty miles of where they formed an' fuck right off, for good. Tends t'desroy most seaside communities. They'll come back, eventually, but inna meantime yer basic fishin' village is toast."
Ah. Yes, he could see why that would happen. No food, sure, but also their livelihood destroyed when they lost their main commodity. "Air, well, tha's interestin'. Quite rare until recently, see? Y'still don't see a lot of 'em, but when y'do 's around Stalis. All them big buildings pumpin' shit out inta th' world. One day some mobile cyclone shows up an' tears e'rrythin' t'shreds and there y'go."
The description alone was horrifying. Guiche knew of such things as grand storms and waterspouts from tales his father's various friends had shared at the dinner table, but they were rare in Tristain. Indeed, fairly rare in the mainland of Halkegenia; you only heard of such things happening in far off lands. "Nature ain't so bad. They'll leave y'alone, right enough. But just imagine bein' in a forest, right?"
Guiche did so. It wasn't hard. "Now, imagine e'rry tree, plant, bush, branch an' anything leafy or green that y'lay eyes upon is tryin' to kill ye." There was a soft whimper from that he realized was coming from himself. His familiar chuckled deeply and polished off his drink.
"Ah, well. Ah'll nae scare y'any more. 'tain't productive. Ye've done well these past few days. Even stood up t'yer father. Seems y'might have earned his respect some, if ah'm any judge." The dwarf leaned over, eyeing the rapier on Guiche's belt. After a moment of embarrassment, Guiche realized what he was getting at.
"Oh, yes. Well. This was my mother's. He said it would suit me." Like a diligent student Guiche unbuckled the weapon and presented it to his familiar for inspection. Kenneth wiped his hands off on his shirt, and then on a nearby washcloth after Guiche gave him a hard look, before taking the weapon in hand and drawing it.
"Fuck me." The dwarf's eyes widened. "This is… this is carbonised adamant. Ah didn't even know y'had it here." But Guiche's look of confusion said more than he ever could, and Kenneth's look of surprise turned to one of suspicion. He raised the sword up and, before Guiche could so much as cry out for him to stop, drove it directly into the ground.
It punched right through the flagstone beneath it with barely more than a whisper of metal on stone. Guiche gaped silently as Kenneth withdrew it and began to study it more carefully. "Adamant's tricky t'work with. More 'f a crystal than a metal. Carbonising it is best; makes it nigh indestructible. Good for stabbing weapons. Channels magic, too, an' real good at that. Probably works for yer sort quite well, ah'd imagine. Gotta make ye a proper set…"
He trailed off into silence as he stared at the hilt. It was truly beautiful; a work of art. Delicately crafted leaves became petals and formed the rose-shape that became the pommel. Even then it wasn't gilded or filigreed; just good metal polished until it shone. Nevertheless, the dwarf sat there in silence. Eventually Guiche moved over and patted his arm.
"... Ser Kenneth?" No response. He tried again, somewhat more forcefully. "Kenneth! Are you alri-..." The words died in his mouth as he finally saw it. Thick, heavy tears pouring down his familiar's face. This was… he had no words for it. Unprecedented seemed too mild a term. Then the dwarf opened his mouth and the words that came out were hoarse and pained.
"My wife is going to make this." That was all he said. Guiche didn't understand it. He stared blankly for a time and, when that didn't work, allowed himself a tentative work.
"You mean, she made…?" Slowly, ever so slowly, Kenneth shook his head. Then he rotated the blade so Guiche could see what he was looking at. The maker's mark, carefully engraved on the inside of the guard in runes that the young noble couldn't read.
"That's her name. Red. Just her name. She was never ostentatious with ones like these. Felt it… it diminished the work. Name and date; so it was known who made it, and when." A sinking feeling gathered in Guiche's chest. Kenneth had said… "The date is some ten years distant from when ah… ah left."
Oh, by the Founder. This… this was very bad. Guiche didn't understand how, or why, or any of those things. He just knew that something horrible had just happened. "Ah… ah had a suspicion this might be th' case. Didn't ask th' boy th' year he left. Didn't want t'know. But if this… this is... " When his familiar looked up at him Guiche thought his heart might have stopped.
He'd seen that face only once before now, and it had been that very same day. It had existed, for the briefest moment, on the face of his father when he'd spoken of… of a woman that Guiche had never known. It spoke of a pain that was beyond his comprehension. All he could do was lay a hand on the squat figure's shoulder. It didn't feel like it was enough.
"She didn't make this with my help. Ah can tell. Might mean ah got back, an' was away again. But like as not, yer world an' mine ain't connected properly. Even if ah ever do get home… best odds is that she'll either have been dead for centuries, or ain't even born yet." He slid the rapier back into its sheath and offered it to Guiche. After a moment's hesitation the young man took it from him.
They remained there in silence for some time; a tableau of suffering. After a moment, Guiche tried to speak. To find the words he needed to say more than anything else in this moment.
"Kenneth, I-" A hand wrapping around his throat caught him off guard and cut him off at the same time. Two bloodshot eyes, stained with loss, glared at him through the mess of red hair around Kenneth's face.
"Don't. You. Dare." The tone was low, and truly harsh. His familiar had struck him, laid him low and berated him for his callous actions and even in those moments he hadn't sounded so… so hateful as this. "Ain't your fault, boy. Ah realize that, intellectually speakin', y'didn't choose me. But ah think that, in this moment, ye'd best just turn around an' walk out of this room 'cause if ye say another damn word ah might just gut ye where ye stand. Got it?"
He couldn't nod, but Kenneth released him anyway. Guiche landed heavily, coughing up a fit, but didn't stay where he was. Instead he pulled himself to his feet and left the room. The last he saw of his familiar that night was the dwarf cracking open another barrel of ale, and not even bothering with a tankard.
Dwarf of Bronze: End of Act One
Damn, Feels...
Called it!
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Almost. You had the tense wrong.
- Location
- Over the hill and far away
ddddddddddaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnn
I mean. On the one hand, he might just take a few decades getting home and it's a static offset. Buuuut.... not likely, yeah.
I mean. On the one hand, he might just take a few decades getting home and it's a static offset. Buuuut.... not likely, yeah.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Damn...
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Yeah, considering it was made a full decade after Kenneth left and arrived probably two to three decades before he reached Halkegenia...
There's really no formula for temporal connection that works out in his favour, here.
What's interesting is that temporal decoherence (ie laxk of synchronisity between worlds) is not an OCP for the dwarf, implying that such effects, while not common place, are known and expected where he comes from. And it's not just temporal dilation that's expectes, but casualty violations too.