PreCursive

  Ihe ba was the same preparation room I’d seen weeks ago. It didn’t seem to have ged all that much. It was still tiled, with knives and tools scattered across the rge wooden tables situated along the wall. It still had hooks hanging from the ceiling, and it still had a rge metal door along the left side. I’d lear time that it led te-scale version of the stasis et from bae, to store the meat.

  We didn’t have to wait for Bleddyn this time though, as he was in the prep area. Before we came in, he seemed to have been preparing for the day in his own way by sharpening his tools. He was standing at the tral wooden table, surrounded by knives of all kinds, one in his right and a long iron rod iher. He’d stopped at our entrance, looking up at Azarus and I as we entered his domain. He raised an eyebrow at us.

  “Mornin’.” Bleddyed us, sounding not at all phased by the early hours. I guess he was a m person. “I’d heard you lot were ba town, what with the fe’ hunt and all. Didn’t expect you though, Azarus. Thought we agreed only the pup o e by for lessons?”

  Azarus grunted while I mouthed the word ‘pup’ to myself, mildly insulted. “Wasn’t pnning to. Something came up we o talk about, though.”

  The ‘butcher’ carefully set his tools down oable. “Aye? Do we, now?” He said, sounding not at all impressed.

  Azarus merely stepped to the side and looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. It was as if he was tellihis was my show. I rolled my eyes at him and stepped up. “Yeah,” I said to Bleddyn. “We do, and…it’s kind of weird.”

  Bleddyn crossed his arms over his chest. “Go on, then”

  I scratched the bay head in a nervous gesture. “Sure, but first we have a sort of unusual caveat. See, we o tell you something kind of…secret. Something that affects our previous agreement. Something we would, personally, like to keep close to the chest, yeah? But we uand that both of us are bound by that agreement, so we have a request before we tell you. We, or rather a panion of ours, is requesting that you keep that secret safe. That panion being Ghrian Dorcha.” I finished, sounding out the name Grey had told me. I wasn’t sure I had gotten it right.

  I must have though, because Bleddyn stilled at the sound of the name. For a moment, he looked shocked enough for a weak breeze to knock him hrian Dorcha, you say.” He finally said hoarsely, after a minute or so.

  “Uh, yeah,” I said, a little taken aback by his extreme rea.

  Bleddyn slowly started shaking his head in disbelief. “By all the gods, that’s who Magnus has you keeping an eye on?!” He said to Azarus, who merely shrugged in answer. “I’d heard there was some big muckety muck prisoner you were meant to be keeping an eye on, but I didn’t expect him. What the hell are the Savoy doin’, keepin’ a hold of the bleedin’ Headmaster of the Academy while there’s a bleedin’ war…goin’…on…” He trailed off. “Oh. Shit.”

  Yeah, from what Grey had told me, that sounded like an appropriate respoo the situation.

  Bleddyn tensed, before pig up one of his knives and pointing it at Azarus. “And you! You’re just goin’ along with it?! You should damn well know what holdin’ onto the Headmaster is causin’ in the Kingdom!”

  Azarus matched his aggressive gesture with one of his own, stepping up. “Ya don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said lowly, dangerously.

  Bleddyn leaned forward and actually bared his teeth at Azarus. “Try me.”

  I stepped forward, putting myself betweewo of them with my arms raised. “Woah! Woah! Calm down! Azarus, will you please let me hahis?!” I said to him, motioning him backward. Azarus did as I said, slowly bag away to lean against the far wall, eyes still narrowed at Bleddyn. I turned back to Bleddyn a his eyes. “Look. It’s not like that. Azarus is just as trapped here as, uh, the ‘Headmaster’ is. And,” I took a sudden, wild, unpnned leap of faith. “It might not have to stay that way for long, if you help us. Uand?”

  “he fuck?!” I heard Azarus excim behind me. I didn’t take my eyes off of Bleddyn, though.

  I saw the light of uanding dawn in his eyes at my words. Slowly, not taking them away from mine, he sat the knife he had been holding back down oable. “Alright,” Bleddyn said slowly. “By the blood of my aors, by the sacred silver light of the moon, and by the ey of Ghrian Dorcha, I shall not speak a word of what I learn this day. May Mother Raven take my eyes, and Father Wolf eat my heart if I forsake this vow.”

  “Okay,” I said slowly. “That…sounds like it works.”

  Bleddyn me and walked from around the table to grab some chairs that were sitting in the er of the room. Walking over to stand in front of me, he sat three chairs down in a circle and sat down in one of them. Worldlessly, he motioo the others. I took his invitation and sat down in one of the chairs across from him. When I didn’t hear movement from behind me, I closed my eyes in frustration. “Azarus, please.”

  After a sed, I heard a grunt of assent. Moments ter, Azarus sat down in the chair to my right, arms still crossed and almost gring at Bleddyn. He didn’t seem to care though. Bleddyn just kept his eyes steady and on me.

  I took a deep breath.

  ……………………………………..

  Over the perhaps half hour, I expined my Professions situation to Bleddyn. I wasn’t totally ho with him, of course. I felt bad about it, but I didn’t tell him I resursor. What I told him was that it was true that I had been Unawakened up until retly. But when we checked my Status afterward, I’d found that I had mutated racial talents. Supposedly, this wasn’t out of the ordinary, from what I’d been told. The longer you waited after the minimum age to get Awakehe more likely you were to enter mutated talents. I told him that I had gotten lucky, and they hadn’t beerimental. The opposite, in fact.

  I told him that one of my racial talents allowed me to learn each of the seven core Professions. That by the time I came to him, I’d already learhe four I could from Azarus and the ‘Headmaster’. I told him that while I’d been in Rhoscara, I’d mao get the st of the seven Professions I’d needed, Artistry. Then I told him about the System Judgement that had occurred afterward.

  “When I went to check my Professions after that, they were gone,” I said to Bleddyn. “In their pce was something that was locked by the fact I didn’t have a css yet. I was a little panicked by that,” An uatement. “But there was nothing I could do about it yet. I suppose I got my ce to find out during Magnus’s ‘hunt’. I mao level up enough in that forest to unlock a css and the new Profession at the same time.”

  I finished by telling him about what Grey and I had discovered about my new Profession, ‘Atherial Melding’. How it seemed to break down items into raw Aether, ‘meld’ that Aether together, and then solidify bato the desired item.

  “But as iing as it is, I don’t have Fleshcrafting anymore,” I said awkwardly. “I just have one Profession now. And, uh, I know you were meant to help teach me Fleshshaping, so…”

  Bleddyn was silent for a moment, abs my story. He leaned forward, putting his on his closed fist and closing his eyes. “Tricky.” He muttered. “By the ws of my people, I’m supposed to teach you. But I ’t now, and I don’t know if something like this has ever happened before. Didn’t even know you could lose a Profession, even if you got somethin’ else out of it. By the gods, I wish I had an elder to sult about this.” He finished with a sigh.

  “Well…” I spoke up, causing Bleddyn to open his eyes. “Gr-the Headmaster had an idea about that. We’re still testing this new Profession out, and we did want your help with that. We don’t know the limits of it, and want to find out if I do the same thing with other Professions that I could with Alchemigredients.”

  That caused Bleddyn to perk up. “Oh, aye?” He said, excited just at the mention of Grey.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “So, if you agree, you would sort of still be teag me Fleshshaping in a way. Just…a strange, never before seen kind of it.”

  “Hmm. Let me ask you somethin’.” Bleddyn said, meeting my eyes. “The reason the Headmaster’s so ied in this new Profession. Is he hopin’ it might be able to help with our…mutual situation?” He made a gesture to his colr-bound throat, so simir to my own.

  I didn’t answer with words. I just gave him a slight nod. Azarus let out a small snort at my as off to my right, where he had been silent during my entire expnation.

  Bleddyn stood up abruptly from his chair and thrust his right arm in my dire, startling me. I stared at it bnkly for a moment before stretg my own out to meet him. Rather than taking my hand, he grasped my forearm firmly and pulled me upright. Once I’d stumbled to my feet, I found Bleddyn staring at me with a steely gaze. I met his eyes, trying to match his iy to the best of my ability.

  “I, Bleddyn of Thunderheart, son of Gruffydd, son of Caradog do so swear. Upon my blood and the blood of my father’s father, I will help you in your task. I do not know what the Headmaster hopes to learn from Fleshcrafting, but I will not shy from duty when it es to my door. I will help you test this Profession.” Bleddyn said solemnly.

  I took a deep breath. “On behalf of Headmaster Grey of the Academy of Mystic Arts, as well as myself, I thank you for your help.”

  We exged nods.

  After dropping our csped forearms, the two of us stood in silence for a few moments. Awkward silence, actually.

  Azarus broke it. “If you two are doh all the p and swearing and the like.” He said sarcastically, still leaning ba his chair with his arms folded. “Don’t ya be haviing to get to?”

  I felt my face heat up in embarrassment while Bleddyn rolled his eyes, unphased. I guess it was a little over the top to be making all these grand statements in the back of a butcher’s shop.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Bleddyn said dismissively, making his way over to the stasis closet on the left wall. Opening the door, he began to rummage around for something. Movement out of the er of my eye caught my attention though, so I turo face it. Azarus had stood up and started to make his way to the door.

  “Are you going somewhere?” I asked him, surprised.

  Azarus turned slightly to look over his shoulder at me. “Aye, I’m thinking my part here is done. I’m gonna head bae a Grey know everything seems fine. When you're done here, just head home. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Before I could get a word in otherwise, Azarus opehe door, stepped through, and closed it behind him. I stared at the door he had just left through, nonplussed. Well, all right then.

  My attention was stolen by Bleddying the ste closet holding what looked like a rge deer. A normal one, for ono bdes on its horns at all. Carrying it over to the rge tral table in the ter of the room, he y the carcass down on it. “C’mere.” He motioo me.

  I obliged him, curious.

  “So, this one here has already been bled, but I haven’t had the ce to skin, gut, or se it,” Bleddyn told me. “Now, I don’t know how your fanew Profession works, but I figure that’s a good pce to start if you want to see if you ‘Craft it. So, first I want to see if you skin the hindquarters.” He fiapping on a rge se of one of the deer’s rear legs.

  I raised an eyebrow at him but shrugged. I to it, I suppose. It’s a good thing I wasn’t squeamish. I y a hand on the se Bleddyn had pointed out and began to trate on the pulse of Aether like I had yesterday.