Songs of War Book 1: The Prophecy

Chapter 4: Senn The Clanless

As the first light of the dawn breaks over Ataraxia, Senn stirs from his sleep. The chilly morning air fills his small room, where the fire in the fireplace has long since gone out. He rubs his eyes and lights a candle, casting a flickering glow across the cluttered space. The room is cramped, with just enough room for a table, a chair, a small bed, and training equipment. Parchment paper scattered about the room bears sketches of weapon designs, some discarded and crumpled in a corner.

Senn reignites the fire and adds some discarded parchment paper to the flames before leaving his room. On his way out, he spots a note from his father, Thalleous. It reads, "Let Jalkar know he needs to be here today. - Thalleous." Senn sighed, wishing his father had told him the day before.

Every day, Senn wakes just before sunrise to count the stock of raw minerals and forged weapons in the shop, ensuring nothing was stolen during the night. He then travels to the meeting point of the Crags and the Guardian River to collect more ore supplies from Jalkar before returning to train with Osivian and the other students. After classes, Senn heads back to the shop to relieve Thalleous and manages the shop until it closes at dusk. He then takes inventory and notifies Jalkar of any shortages in ore or wood. It's a routine that Senn follows diligently, day in and day out.

Outside of Senn's room stands the blacksmith shop, which occupies a significant portion of the island where Senn and Thalleous reside. The spacious shop features a stone counter, beneath which weapons Senn's classmates' request are stored, even though they don't communicate directly with him. Further back in the shop, there's an anvil with an unfinished axe resting on top, a deliberate instruction from Thalleous to leave it be, so Senn leaves it untouched. Behind the anvil, there's a blast furnace that has gone cold. Senn checks it and finds it empty, so he loads it with firewood and lights it up to warm it, preparing it for smelting the ore.

After igniting the furnace, Senn begins to take stock of the raw iron and diamond steel, and as he expected, they are all accounted for within the shop. However, as he starts counting the weapons inventory, he realizes that one of the ordered swords is missing. He immediately recognizes it as belonging to Hubris Nestoris, and since the sword is unfinished, Senn knows he needs to make a new one before it's due next week. He makes a note and leaves it on the counter for Thalleous to be informed before picking up more resources.

As the morning sun rises over Ataraxia, casting a warm glow on the flowers and dimming the glowstone, Senn witnesses the Messenger Bird flying in and out of the valley while the Ardoni on the floating isles awaken and greet each other. Below, in the human city, the market opens with the ringing of bells, filling the air with the aroma of spices and fish from the water market.

As Senn makes his way towards the stables, he is met with looks of disgust from most Ardoni he encounters, and they quickly move out of his way. Senn has grown accustomed to such treatment, as he has experienced it his entire life. He has never understood why, as he has never asked them. Others seem to consider him beneath them, a Clanless and, therefore, a nobody. This prejudice is deeply ingrained in Ardoni culture, a norm that has persisted since the Fractured War thousands of years ago. The details of the war remain shrouded in mystery, with some believing it to be a conflict between three gods, while others consider it mere folklore. Nevertheless, it resulted in establishment of the Ardoni Clan system, with the Mendoris Clan being the oldest. Since then, anything associated with the Old Ardoni Culture has been discarded or forgotten, and the Clanless are treated as unequal in society.

Senn arrives at the stables and is greeted by Timber, the brown stallion with white hair, who snorts joy upon seeing him. Val, the only person in Osivian's training class whom Senn feels close to, is there too, feeding Timber a carrot. Val has distinct peony pink markings of the Mendoris Clan, with her horn blooming like a flower and her markings shifting heavily towards the left, giving the appearance of flowers growing from the center of her body.