The time had finally come. The Half Moon shone brightly above Maëra, as the elves had finally finished their last preparations for the last part of their journey. Many carts were set in an orderly line, their occupants all eager and excited to finally leave this god forsaken land. A ritual circle had been prepared, sacrifices of treasures, fruits and grain had been made, and all that they had left was to wait for the Half Moon to be on its highest point… Gabrielle still remembered, very vividly, how she didn’t want to let go of Bari that night.
They took one last trip together, walking around the encampment site and simply enjoying the silence of the emptied up tents and abandoned cooking pits. Gabi had grown fond of carrying Baraqiel around, even after they recovered the ability to walk for themselves, and Bari didn’t really mind resting on Gabrielle’s back for a bit longer. After all, the girl had managed to get him out of so many things, giving her one favor wasn’t that much of a problem.
“You will take care, right Bari?” Gabi asked, kicking a few rocks. “I won’t be there to take care of you anymore.”
“I know that, you don’t have to keep reminding me!” Bari pouted. “You’ve been telling me this every half moon, you know?”
“Yes, but this one really is the one! I just want you to remember to take care.”
“Fine, fine. I will remember… but you have to take care, too. No rushing into trouble anymore.”
“I make no promises.”
Both children smiled at each other for a moment, before hearing the voice of Bohllin in the distance, calling for them. Gabi sighed, her hands clinging slightly to Baraqiel’s legs as she turned to them.
“This is it.”
“You don’t have to stay Gabi…” Baraqiel pleaded. “Come on, please. Come with us.”
“I’ve been having the dreams, I made the map with Adella’s help… no one else can help them, Bari. It’s my responsibility. We said it in the Covenant.”
“Screw the Covenant!”
“Language.”
“Sorry… but I mean it. Gabi, please!”
Gabrielle looked at Baraqiel for a bit longer, but said nothing. She wanted to go with them, she wanted to see this “better place” they all kept talking about! She had always wanted to go, even after the first time she heard of it… but this responsibility hung on her neck, or at least she felt like it did. Weighing her down, tying her to Jericho. She didn’t want anyone else to suffer like Baraqiel and the other children did.
So that night she let go of her Angel, her first friend. She allowed them to slowly, clumsily walk away from her and towards the caravans. She didn’t dare to get closer to the wagons, knowing that if she did she may just jump in one at the last second…
So standing alone on the abandoned camp, she stared as the Half Moon finally reached its peak, and the most beautiful light she had ever seen illuminated the entire clear in the forest. For a few moments, she was blind… and when the sight returned to her, the caravan was gone.
And so was Baraqiel.
***
By the moment Gabi woke up, she could still hear the ringing echoes of battlecries coming from outside the building she had been tossed into. She looked around herself, feeling her broken arm slowly and pulling off the bent pieces of metal that once were a gauntlet. Her eyes darted from side to side, seeing old furnaces, rolling machines and many other contraptions she didn’t recognise.
“H…How did I…get here…?” Gabrielle mumbled as she pulled herself back up.
“Holy shit, you’re alive!?”
Hiding not very far from her, right behind a huge table that had been thrown on its side, there was a muscular looking woman wearing a thick black apron. Gabrielle couldn’t recognise her face, but she knew enough of the world to at least know when she was looking at a smithy.
“Yes.” She stated, still rubbing her arm. As expected it had already recovered its shape and sturdiness in the time she spent knocked out. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“One of those things tossed you straight through my door, girl! You should be broken in pieces, you witch!”
“I am not, though.”
“Exactly my point! What are you!?”
Gabrielle ignored the question. She had been asked that very same thing so many times in her life that, at this point, she didn’t even know herself. The girl simply decided to try and look for her sword… only to find it not too far from her, completely bent by the impact. Gabi panicked, she couldn’t go back outside without a weapon, she would be dead weight! Looking around she tried to think of something, until her eyes laid upon the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
A long, long and pristine piece of steel, almost as tall as she was, hanging right above the smithy’s entranceway. Gabrielle’s jaw dropped, and she pointed at the thing with eagerness in her eyes.
“What is that.”
“You rude little witch!” The smithy didn’t take well being ignored. “Urgh, anyways! That’s a two-hander. A memento of the stuff I made while I lived in Germania… It’s not for sale.”
“I’ll give you 10 golden thrones.”
“Sweet Saints of Mercy, woman! It’s not for sale!”
“Twenty.”
“It’s a ridiculous weapon, not made for regular combat!”
“Thirty.”
“It’s made for decapitating horses, witch!”
“Fifty.”
The smithy let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her face and just, waving her hand to give the girl permission to take it. That thing was not doing any good just hanging on the wall like that anyways, and it’s not like she was not going to take this witch’s money. Gabrielle quickly counted up to ten five times and tossed the result to the smithy on a little pouch, before reaching for the sword.
“No refunds, it’s not my fault if you can’t wield that—”
Now it was the blacksmith’s jaw that was left hanging, as she saw Gabrielle pulling the enormous sword and slowly swinging it from side to side as a practice, almost as if it had no weight to it.
“Thank you.”
The time had finally come. The Half Moon shone brightly above Maëra, as the elves had finally finished their last preparations for the last part of their journey. Many carts were set in an orderly line, their occupants all eager and excited to finally leave this god forsaken land. A ritual circle had been prepared, sacrifices of treasures, fruits and grain had been made, and all that they had left was to wait for the Half Moon to be on its highest point… Gabrielle still remembered, very vividly, how she didn’t want to let go of Bari that night.
They took one last trip together, walking around the encampment site and simply enjoying the silence of the emptied up tents and abandoned cooking pits. Gabi had grown fond of carrying Baraqiel around, even after they recovered the ability to walk for themselves, and Bari didn’t really mind resting on Gabrielle’s back for a bit longer. After all, the girl had managed to get him out of so many things, giving her one favor wasn’t that much of a problem.
“You will take care, right Bari?” Gabi asked, kicking a few rocks. “I won’t be there to take care of you anymore.”
“I know that, you don’t have to keep reminding me!” Bari pouted. “You’ve been telling me this every half moon, you know?”
“Yes, but this one really is the one! I just want you to remember to take care.”
“Fine, fine. I will remember… but you have to take care, too. No rushing into trouble anymore.”
“I make no promises.”
Both children smiled at each other for a moment, before hearing the voice of Bohllin in the distance, calling for them. Gabi sighed, her hands clinging slightly to Baraqiel’s legs as she turned to them.
“This is it.”
“You don’t have to stay Gabi…” Baraqiel pleaded. “Come on, please. Come with us.”
“I’ve been having the dreams, I made the map with Adella’s help… no one else can help them, Bari. It’s my responsibility. We said it in the Covenant.”
“Screw the Covenant!”
“Language.”
“Sorry… but I mean it. Gabi, please!”
Gabrielle looked at Baraqiel for a bit longer, but said nothing. She wanted to go with them, she wanted to see this “better place” they all kept talking about! She had always wanted to go, even after the first time she heard of it… but this responsibility hung on her neck, or at least she felt like it did. Weighing her down, tying her to Jericho. She didn’t want anyone else to suffer like Baraqiel and the other children did.
So that night she let go of her Angel, her first friend. She allowed them to slowly, clumsily walk away from her and towards the caravans. She didn’t dare to get closer to the wagons, knowing that if she did she may just jump in one at the last second…
So standing alone on the abandoned camp, she stared as the Half Moon finally reached its peak, and the most beautiful light she had ever seen illuminated the entire clear in the forest. For a few moments, she was blind… and when the sight returned to her, the caravan was gone.
And so was Baraqiel.
***
By the moment Gabi woke up, she could still hear the ringing echoes of battlecries coming from outside the building she had been tossed into. She looked around herself, feeling her broken arm slowly and pulling off the bent pieces of metal that once were a gauntlet. Her eyes darted from side to side, seeing old furnaces, rolling machines and many other contraptions she didn’t recognise.
“H…How did I…get here…?” Gabrielle mumbled as she pulled herself back up.
“Holy shit, you’re alive!?”
Hiding not very far from her, right behind a huge table that had been thrown on its side, there was a muscular looking woman wearing a thick black apron. Gabrielle couldn’t recognise her face, but she knew enough of the world to at least know when she was looking at a smithy.
“Yes.” She stated, still rubbing her arm. As expected it had already recovered its shape and sturdiness in the time she spent knocked out. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“One of those things tossed you straight through my door, girl! You should be broken in pieces, you witch!”
“I am not, though.”
“Exactly my point! What are you!?”
Gabrielle ignored the question. She had been asked that very same thing so many times in her life that, at this point, she didn’t even know herself. The girl simply decided to try and look for her sword… only to find it not too far from her, completely bent by the impact. Gabi panicked, she couldn’t go back outside without a weapon, she would be dead weight! Looking around she tried to think of something, until her eyes laid upon the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
A long, long and pristine piece of steel, almost as tall as she was, hanging right above the smithy’s entranceway. Gabrielle’s jaw dropped, and she pointed at the thing with eagerness in her eyes.
“What is that.”
“You rude little witch!” The smithy didn’t take well being ignored. “Urgh, anyways! That’s a two-hander. A memento of the stuff I made while I lived in Germania… It’s not for sale.”
“I’ll give you 10 golden thrones.”
“Sweet Saints of Mercy, woman! It’s not for sale!”
“Twenty.”
“It’s a ridiculous weapon, not made for regular combat!”
“Thirty.”
“It’s made for decapitating horses, witch!”
“Fifty.”
The smithy let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her face and just, waving her hand to give the girl permission to take it. That thing was not doing any good just hanging on the wall like that anyways, and it’s not like she was not going to take this witch’s money. Gabrielle quickly counted up to ten five times and tossed the result to the smithy on a little pouch, before reaching for the sword.
“No refunds, it’s not my fault if you can’t wield that—”
Now it was the blacksmith’s jaw that was left hanging, as she saw Gabrielle pulling the enormous sword and slowly swinging it from side to side as a practice, almost as if it had no weight to it.
“Thank you.”
