Story ~ "Forge, Don't Flee" ~ NL ~ 5

Forge, Don't Flee

By: Naomi Lea

     Bubbles frothed around her as her powerful tail churned through the water, speeding across the ocean floor. Her body was like a sine wave, arcing and racing along a mid-line path that was vectored as far away from the palace as possible. Her body was reverberating with an intensity that hurtled her through the sea like a rocket with a gymnast's streamer trailing behind. Her conflicting thoughts were vocalizing in her head and getting louder by the second, pushing her to go even faster, straining every muscle and nerve in her lithe frame. Blowing through and creating a forceful current of her own, her head tilted upwards, she began to climb higher and higher until she shot out of the ocean's surface into the air. She flew and landed, full body impact, on the rolling froth of the waves. The jarring splat was what she needed; a slightly painful sensation to distract her from the thoughts she was running from. She lay still, floating submerged just under the surface, facing the ocean floor. She then awoke from her daze, rolled over in the water and lay drifting, her face above the surface staring at the dark sky.

     Perhaps she could run away. There were other mermaid cities in different seas. She could go to a new place, start a new life, and make her living with her metalworking skill. But then, someone would find out about her power. A curious merperson would eventually see her at work and how purple sparks and lightening would zap from her fingertips as she worked. The resident royal family would enlist her, or another wealthy clan, and she would be trapped at her craft without rest, just as her father predicted, but wouldn't the same happen if she stayed?

     No, her father would be there to protect her. He was a strong, retired soldier and now a weaponssmith. He was her mentor and greatest friend. He was a good merman. She could just go back and do the job. But the whole purpose for the project itself was wrong. How could she help in an attempt to overthrow the King?

     King Nerros had been good to her family, but she knew the state of the others in the kingdom. She knew that he was planning to not only unify this kingdom under his complete control, but all the kingdoms in the realms of the merpeople. When the king's son told her of his father's plan, she was so scared. But, when the king's son told her his plan to overthrow his father, she was terrified. Not only was she frightened at the thought of treason against her current ruler, but also the horrendous result of failure. The prince would die, along with anyone who helped him.

     She thought of his request to make a weapon. This wouldn't be just any spear or sword, but something that would give command and authority as well as provide defense. If she was any other weaponsmith, she would agree without reservation. However, she was not like the others because of what happened when she worked. The lightening and sparks which came from her fingers were more than a pretty show of magic. Whenever she worked with larger pieces of metal, such as weapons or armor, it would absorb the lightening and imbue certain properties into the object. Not only would normal swords glance off her breastplates, but her swords would also penetrate what other blades could not. Her swords would also never need sharpening, and her spear shafts rarely snapped. Her father was the first to notice these effects after testing her creations. He knew right away that his daughter had a special gift in metalwork, but he also knew that this ability should not be widely advertised. However, he did not know that a certain merman received a specially crafted knife for his birthday a few months prior. He also did not know that it was this same young merman requesting his daughter to turn the fate of the entire kingdom.

     The mermaid continued to float with only her face poking out above the surface. She didn't know if the prince, like her father, was truly a good merman. She had spent a little time with him. He had come into the forge a few times to see her at work, but only when she made jewelry or small pieces, nothing large enough to emit the purple sparks. She knew better than to show it off to anyone, even someone she admired. Though she thought he was a very nice prince, was he worthy of the weapon for which he was asking? According to what he was hearing from his father, the prince estimated there were only 6 more months until his father mobilized the his soldiers to overtake a nearby kingdom. He said the king would take all able bodied mermen to fight. Though her father was retired, she knew he would go, too. As ironic as it seemed, perhaps it truly was a weapon that would keep the kingdom at peace.

     As that thought sank into her mind, she knew what she would do. She twisted back into the water and with a powerful tailfin kick, she swam back home. She worked in the forge for four days. Her father saw what she was doing but did not ask any questions. Maybe he knew what was going on and maybe he didn't. The prince had told her there were other merfolk in the kingdom committed to the uprising. Either way, her father knew not to get in the way when the purple sparks and lightening appeared. He did not know whether those special effects would harm living beings, but he did not intend to find out.

     After those four days, the young mermaid left the underwater cave which was both her home and workshop. She swam to the castle stables where the kingdom housed the finest and most intelligent beluga whales, only the finest steeds for the royal family. The prince would often spend many hours talking to the whales about ocean history and the various realms of the merpeople. As she neared the entrance, she encountered the prince on his way out. They both braked in their paths with their tailfins, surprised to see each other. Though she did not verbally reject his request the last time they spoke, they did not part on the friendliest terms. He was afraid he had hurt her from how she swam away so quickly. He froze, tail up behind him, unsure what to say or how to proceed.

"It-it's good to see you again, Lyrah," he quickly stammered. 
"The feeling is mutual, my prince," she replied wearily as she was still rather tired after her lengthy stint in the forge. 
"You know," he began with a more relaxed posture and tone, "as I've told you before, you can call me Breil. We're speaking as friends. I mean, that's the manner in which I hope to be speaking to you. We are friends, aren't we?" She raised her eyes, leveled them in his sights and said, "Yes, Breil. Though we haven't known each other long, I believe we are friends. However, I did not swim here looking for you to discuss that. I am here to tell you that I considered your request from the last time we spoke and I want you to follow me." His eyes widened and his tail tensed with the tips of his fins quivering as he said, "Did you really? Oh my goodness, Lyrah that makes me so happy! Did you etch plans? Are we to determine shape and features? Can we-"

     "Breil," Lyrah spoke in a firm voice cutting him off, "I need you to follow me to our forge now." Breil quieted himself and quickly responded, "Yes, of course. Sorry, let's go." They swam back to Lyrah's place and as they entered the cave, Lyrah's father, Fellos, was there sharpening a sword. He looked a little concerned seeing his daughter out and about as he knew she had barely slept the past four days. "Hello, my dear, and welcome again to our home, young prince," greeted Fellos. Lyrah slowed her speed to place her hand affectionately on her father's large, war-scarred shoulder, but barely gave Breil the chance to say a quick, "Hello, sir," as they swam further in and up to where their cave walls went past the surface. Their underwater cave rose to a cone and was open at the top, allowing air and sun to shine through. Inside the cone, resting on the surface was a rocky ledge where the mermaid and her father did their work. That was their forge, and not many other merpeople cared to venture up to such high water levels to see the artisans at work.

     As they broke through the surface and flopped onto the dry ledge, the makeshift furnace was still dying out and there was what looked like a spear shaft sticking out from under a tarp of seaweed. The prince nodded his head in that direction and asked, "Did you already make it?" Lyrah wriggled herself over to her creation that she had slaved over for so long and removed the covering. The prince stared at it in awe. It was the most beautiful and terrifying object he had ever beheld. The spear shaft was engraved with mer-chariots and beluga whales, trumpeters on their conch shell bugles, and mer-soldiers armored and ready for battle. Atop the shaft were three spear points connected by what looked like the frame of a golden lyre. Prince Breil was speechless as he studied it, then he slowly asked, "What do you call it?" Lyrah picked up the weapon and held it out to him saying, "It's called a trident."