The Forged King

Reuben took one final breath, exhaling the final errant sparks from himself as his grandfather set the dagger down.

“Good work, lad. We’ll make a proper furnace of you yet.”

“I make a better smith.”

His grandfather gave the usual appraising look.

“You make a safer furnace.”

Arguably furnaces were more vital for the Forge than the smiths were. They were what made their work so valuable, the flames that heated their weapons were never up to chance, maintained by fire mages themselves. Only the dwarves who used metal magek in place of any flame managed such precision.

Furnaces didn’t mark their pieces though.

“You taught me everything you know. Why switch me to a furnace now?”

His grandfather ignored him, continuing to walk away.

“Go help Grandma in the kitchen. It’s good training.”

“I don’t need training. You see how I managed that dagger.”

“I did, and you don’t have the passion to be a master, but practice can make you care.”

Reuben groaned. His grandfather was impossible to refuse. He followed him for longer than necessary.

“Please let me go back to smithing. The Phoenix King wasn’t involved.”

“Renuean nobility commissioned for Minerian royalty. You shouldn’t have ever taken that job.”

“Why do you care so much about—”

His grandfather abruptly forced Reuben’s head down, flipping him toward an unfamiliar pair of leather boots.

“Your majesty,” his grandfather said, “What brings you to the Forge?”

“A request for the head smith and furnace. You don’t seem to hold the title anymore.”

There was a worn knot on the neck holster of Grandpa’s apron that tied where the Head Smith pin had once been. Reuben had trouble not staring at it most days.

“Too much responsibility. I have my hands full with my apprentice.” Grandpa tapped Reuben’s back.

“It’s an honor to meet you, your majesty,” Reuben said.

The boots moved back, and a smiling face bent down into Reuben’s view. He startled, taking a few steps back. He turned his head down again before his grandfather could do it for him. The king chuckled.

“As Kardin’s apprentice, you may call me Solam. Now what’s your name, boy?”

That didn’t sound like enmity. Though it could be false kindness.

“Reuben. Thank you, Solam.”

Solam turned to grandpa.

“You made it sound like you’re raising him, old friend. Where are his parents?”

“I don’t know,” Grandpa said, “He was left at the gate as a child. We took him in, having already lost Ariana, our hearts were open to another child.”

This was the first Reuben heard of this. He’d always been told Ariana was his mother. Yes, they’d lost her, but he was his grandparents’ blood.

No one in the Forge bothered to correct the discrepancy despite watching them like hawks.

“You should get on with your business, Solam. Reuben here is meant to help in the kitchen.”

“Of course.” Solam gave a nod and walked past them. Reuben watched as he left, catching a glimpse of his face in one of the mirrors. His red eyes looked familiar to Reuben.

Several weeks of kitchen duty, and though proud of the food he helped make, Reuben didn’t care any more about becoming a furnace. He’d become a right master at kitchen gossip though.

“Aura’s been giving some extra attention to Lenoy for some reason,” Ebony complained, “He’s been a brute about it this whole week.”

“She doesn’t stick with a paramour very long though,” Ogrie noted, “If ever.”

“She’s probably using him to get a piece of jewelry,” Reuben said, “She tends to do that once someone’s broken a friend’s heart.”

The kitcheneers hummed in agreement.

“Your cousin told you that in private,” Grandma said, blowing cold air into his face.

“She doesn’t care.”

“What don’t I care about?” Aura asked from behind him. She was grandma’s grandniece from Armath, but the only person Reuben called cousin. Her work as a keeper didn’t usually bring her to the kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” Reuben asked.

“Answer the question, cousin.”

“That you break hearts in revenge of your friends’ hearts being broken,” Edri, in charge of cutting vegetables and done with their work, said.

“As long is it doesn’t go past here, I don’t mind. Now, Reuben, you’re requested by the head smith. Apparently there’s a tour being given soon.”

Noises of complaint drew out across the kitchen.

“The Forge doesn’t offer tours,” Grandma said.

“It does if King Solam asks for it. Apparently it’s the twenty year anniversary of his reign. Point is, he asked for Reuben specifically to give it.”

His grandmother snatched him to her side.

“No.”

“He wanted someone around the age of who was coming to give it. Apparently it’s a bunch of princets mostly.”

“You keepers are better suited for it. Why can’t one of your apprentices give the tour. Or you?”

“This was a long negotiation. Reuben can’t back down now. Solam probably just wants to get a rise out of your husband. Everyone saw them talking a few days ago.”

“What?”

Reuben shrank. They’d avoided mentioning it to Grandma until now.

“I’ll take it,” Reuben said, moving away from his grandmother’s reach, “I’ll be in charge of taking young royals through the Forge, and answer questions and everything. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Despite their many objections to it, Reuben’s grandparents still forced him to be presentable for the upcoming visitors.

“There’s only two that will be there.” Princess Ivy of Ilva, and Princess Marina of Mineria. The second name sounded familiar, but he still couldn’t place it.

“It’s the Ilvan one that matters more,” Grandma said, “They usually order items from the dwarven smiths, so if a princess from there gets something from the Forge, we’d get access to some rare materials.

“But why do I have to be presentable for that?”

“Because you are the ambassador of the Forge for this tour. How they see you affects how they see the whole Forge.”

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’d trust someone scrubbed free of dirt to make quality materials.”

Aura poured another bucket of water over his head.

“I wouldn’t trust someone whose face I couldn’t see either.”

“That was on purpose.”

“Obviously, cousin.”

Eventually he got out of there, and stood at the gate to wait for the princesses. Though he’d been cleaned, his clothes still had some burn marks and the appearance of wear, which he preferred over fully cleaned any day. He wanted the marks of his work to show.

Eventually an entourage of several guards came to the gate, carrying two young girls to the Forge gate. The first was small, blond, and clearly elven. She wore the pants and regalia that marked her solidly as Ilvan.

“Princess Ivy.” he bowed. She offered a curtsy back.

The next was taller than the first. She had tanned skin and dark hair with inexplicable shades of blue. Her clothes were thin, light despite the way they were clearly full of water. Reuben had a harder time looking away for his bow to her.

“Princess Marina.”

Princess Marina offered a curtsy back.

“And what’s your name?” she asked with a clear voice. He almost lost his self-assurance. Almost.

“Reuben Forge. I will be your guide and host, if you will leave your guards at the door.”

The two girls gave a staying motion, and Reuben offered them each a hand in. The moment they entered the grounds, they started looking for something.

“Anti-magek warding?” Princess Ivy asked, “Does it end once you reach the smithery?”

“We do something much more clever.” he showed off the cuff around his ear. It was fairly simple, but it still held thin versions of the necessary runes. “These allow us to hear each other, and grant us use of our Magek back.”

The princesses nodded.

“And when do you start wearing them?” Marina asked.

“That is a secret that we prefer to keep, your highness. My apologies.”

“We understand,” Ivy said. She kept staring at his face.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“No!” she held her hands out to prevent further miscommunication, “You just look a bit like a friend I met in Armath a year ago.”

Marina opened her mouth and closed it again.

“I have family in Armath,” Reuben explained, “My grandmother’s originally from there. She’s even an air mage.”

“So is my friend,” Ivy said.

“Maybe they’re a cousin.”

“Maybe…”

“I’ll take you to the smithery to start?”

“Why not take us there last?” Marina asked, “It’s clearly what we came here for, and I suspect there’s more the Forge would care to show us.”

Reuben froze. The head smith told him to start there, but the princess made a good point. There would be the most questions there, so it would be best to end there or close to there.

“We’ll end in the mess hall, but the smithery can be our second to last stop.”

“Mess hall?” Ivy asked, “Do you intend to feed us?”

“Yes. Now let’s save the rest of your questions until we reach a destination.”

He brought them to the keepers first, mostly so he could get Aura’s advice on restructuring the tour. Once aware of the problem, she immediately chided him to taking them to the place where they would make orders first, then offered him a slip of paper that resolved the tour’s path.

“You’re a life-saver, Aura.”

Ivy turned at the mention of the name.

“My friend from Armath has a cousin named Aura. I guess you two are related.”

“Yes!” Aura said, pulling Reuben’s head next to hers, “Uncanny the resemblance between him and Garret, isn’t it? I kept calling him the wrong name for the first season I was here.”

“She did.”

Ivy nodded.

“I’ll be sure to let your aunt know you’re doing well.”

“Thank you.” Aura released Reuben. “Enjoy the rest of your tour. I’ll be here if you need me.”

“You can meet us in the mess hall,” Reuben offered.

“Absolutely. I’ll have questions about my other cousin, don’t worry.”

“I won’t.” Ivy said.

They moved on to the farmland, planted in volcanic soil. Ivy was sure to take several notes. Then the livestock, of which Marina was particularly charmed. By the time they left, there wasn’t one she hadn’t petted.

“I’m not used to most land animals,” she explained, “Growing up in Mineria.”

“Well then I prefer this to you being afraid of them, your highness,” Reuben said, helping her out of the pens when she was finally done. He did his best not to let his hands linger around her waist after noticing the ring on her finger.

“Well she does tend to visit other kingdoms every season,” Ivy explained, “So she knows which creatures are more dangerous, usually.”

“Yes, I’m not completely inexperienced when it comes to livestock. Shall we continue?”

He led through several other places of work, but as they requested, ended at the smithery.

The smithery handled most metals, at various degrees of temperature. They kept them separated by material, with alloys in their own section. This allowed the younger smiths, past apprentice but not quite at master, to easily ask from older masters of their material. After the girls finished their questions, Ivy writing down most of the answers, they made their way into the mess hall.

“I understand if you’d both prefer palace offerings, but we make plenty, and would be glad to offer you from our table.”

“Shame you didn’t help with this one, Reuben,” Madege commented as she handed them each a plate, “The other young furnaces always burn it a little.”

“Grandpa will probably have me on it next time.”

“Offer him my thanks for your grounding.”

“Grounding?” Marina asked.

“There’s a place to sit!” he found a table without anyone at it, and set his plate down to clean it off. He offered the girls each a seat.

“Are there anymore questions?” he asked, already cutting at his meal. Ivy and Marina were imitating his method.

Marina pulled the ring off her finger and placed it on the table.

“I wanted to know who made this,” she said, “It was an engagement present from Prince Ingvi, but the seal caught my eye.”

Now invited to take a closer look at it, Reuben immediately recognized the gems he’d bargained to get exactly matching. So that was why he’d recognized her name.

“That, your highness, is why I’m grounded.”

“What did you do?” Marina’s eyes widened, staring him up and down.

“It’s not as much to do with me as it is my grandfather. He has a grudge against King Solam. I thought a Renuean noble—Anarri was the name it was commissioned under, not Ingvi—wouldn’t be a problem to take a commission from, but he recognized your name as that of someone Solam would meet.”

“What is his grudge with King Solam?” Ivy asked.

Reuben shrugged.

“So you made this ring?” Marina asked, holding it to the light.

“Yes, I hope you weren’t asking to log a complaint.”

“Do you recognize the symbol you left?”

Reuben pulled out the leather embossed with the symbol his grandfather gave him for a mark.

“Yes, it’s mine.”

“It isn’t,” Marina said.

Ivy muttered something about her friend Garret.

“Who is your grandfather?” Ivy asked, with a frighteningly serious tone.

“Kardin Forge, why?”

Marina and Ivy looked at each other, then turned to him.

“Red eyes,” Marina commented.

“Similar eyebrows,” Ivy added.

“I don’t recognize the chin though,” Marina said.

“It’s Ariana’s,” Ivy said, “We have a portrait hidden in the Everin archives.”

“How do you know my mother’s name?” Reuben asked.

“Your mother was Queen consort of Phoenix,” Marina placed a hand on his, “The belief was that you weren’t born.”

“Or were another man’s child,” Ivy said.

“Who are you implying is my father?” Reuben pulled his hand away. They couldn’t possibly mean who he thought they meant.

“Your father is King Solam,” Marina said.

They heard clattering, turning their heads toward Aura, who’d dropped her lunch.

Aura had returned the princesses to their entourages. Reuben sat in a quiet spot, glaring at his grandparents.

“He’s not a good man,” Grandpa said.

“What makes you so sure? He seems kind enough.”

“You don’t know what he did,” Grandma said.

“Does he know I’m alive?”

“It’s much better he doesn’t.”

“Why?”

His grandparents just looked at each other.

“Everyone here knew who my mother was,” Reuben said, “Were they all keeping it a secret?”

They nodded.

“So I’m the only one who doesn’t know.”

“No, we didn’t tell any children after Ariana brought you here. The secret was going to die with us.”

“Why?” Reuben asked again. His life was gone now. He couldn’t go back to fighting to be a smith when he knew his only family was a less than a day’s trek away.

“Because we couldn’t lose you.”

“Couldn’t lose me?” Reuben asked, “So you hid me like some, some, some…” he didn’t know anything the forge hid, aside from him. “Am I even Reuben, or is that another lie to hide me?”

“Your mother named you Reuben,” Grandma said, “She said it was for the gem she could see in your eyes, her ruby.” she straightened her posture now that she was telling a story, “She was accused of having an affair with a visiting Armath official, timed perfectly for when you were born. Solam didn’t believe that she was asking after my family.” She put her hands over her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes.

“Your father nearly killed all of you in his fury,” Grandpa continued, “He was never very good at controlling the fire.”

“So Ariana ran, but she knew you needed to stay in Phoenix, so she gave you to us before she fled. We hid you here.”

“My mother left me?”

They’d always acted like they’d lost her forever. Reuben assumed she’d passed.

“I wish she’d actually died.”

“Reuben!”

“And who’s Garret? Aura knows him. Princess Ivy says he looks like me. Who is he?”

“I don’t know,” Grandpa—Kardin—said, “Maybe Ariana had another child. Maybe he’s just one of your cousins. We don’t know him.”

“At least I’m not the only one in the dark about everything.”

He screamed, kicking the dirt.

“Why give me the crest if I’m not supposed to meet my father? Why connect me with him at all?”

“Ariana—”

“Was there any decision about me you made for yourselves?” Reuben asked, “All this time, I thought you raised me because you cared about me, but it was just about my mother making you.”

“Reuben, you’re our family.”

“Am I? For all you know, I’m some random kid your daughter thought looked close enough to her husband to fool you. Is that why you kept me away from him?”

“Reuben.”

“Nothing I did was my own decision.”

Reuben sat down again. His grandfather had made him a smith, forced him to switch to becoming a furnace. His father didn’t even know him and had made him a tour guide, which he accepted because of his grandparents.

“I need to be alone.”

He walked away, not letting Aura grab his shoulder as he ran.