Rune mage

Chapter 58: a wedding and a death

The fort let me step outside its walls, surrounded by my men, four boys, and escorting the woman.

I guess they fort felt I was protected enough.

As part of the ceremony, we each stood briefly upon the runes of our departed men, of the mother and child. Each stone gifted us with magic, with strength or peace or wellness.

I handed off Jess to my sergeant and continued to the place where I would stand.

Archer stood by me, smiling.

My sergeant walked in place of father, and her brothers walked on her other side.

None of us wore fancy clothing.

Although as she approached I remembered the old shirt I had outgrown, once layered with runes that would allow me to change the look of the clothes. It made me smile, and she smiled back at me.

"There is little listed in the army's operations records," I said, "for what is required of a wedding officiant. I represent to you all that I am, as far as I know, still listed in the officer registers, and hopefully still paid..."

They all chuckled.

"Being the only officer, I welcome these two before me to clasp hands, and make a vow to each other."

My sergeant moved his arm and gave Jess's hand a pat. Her brothers stepped slightly back, still in reach, but giving her room.

Archer took her hand and smiled brightly.

"Do you, Archer of fort Timoran, take Jess of lands beyond, to protect and love for all of your days?"

"Yes, I do." He said.

"Woman," I said teasingly.

She glared at me.

"Jess, of lands beyond our fort. Do you take Archer of Fort Timoran, to protect and love for all of your days?"

She smiled and whispered through tears, "yes, I do."

"Then by power granted to me by my commission, I declare to the world that you are one soul, one heart, one future. Let no living thing, no kingdom, no act of nature tear you apart."

I held up a brush and dipped it in ink. Then I painted the rune for love on their hands. It would wash away, but hopefully the emotion would stay. The memory certainly would.

It was a beautiful day, and we had a beautiful dinner, and the laughter and singing and teasing became part of the fort's collection of sounds.

The fire mage's father still hadn't come for him, so I had accepted that he was one of ours. He was gifted a protection rune, instead of a charm he wore in his hair.

He opted to do his hair like mine, and we braided in some suppression charms as well, so that he need not fear his magic, but could still access it.

He provided a fire show for the new couple, that don't quite turn out perfectly but left no one permanently injured.

He preferred to be called by the name Red, so we made up increasingly ridiculous verses to the song A Red Rose in Rosenburg, using the past tense of rise as the verb.

More laughter came when Little showed off his juggling skills. He was out of practice, but only dropped one ball, so we teased him about being glad he hadn't started with the knives.

Our healer told a grand story... and Carver presented the couple with a portrait, soft likenesses carved in hard wood.

He almost ruined the moment by over emphasizing hard, causing Archer to choke on his water.

The fort and I put on a display after dark, sending lines of glowing power racing through the walls and down stairs and back up again. It was like having fireworks, without the explosions.

And then the day was over.

The next day we smiled and laughed and went about our training. Nine men, four boys, and a wife.

Very soon the novelty of it wore off and I was back to counting nine men four boys and a woman in my mind.

And then one night as I laid in bed, counting my men and boys and woman, one of my men disappeared from my web of power.

Alarm slammed through me.

The fort's response was instant- lights flashed throughout the fort, and the start of an eerie moan whispered.

I slammed into my sergeant's room seconds before the healer.

The healer pushed me out of the way and poured his power into the still body on the cot.

The others stood in the hall, silent.

The healer looked at me and tried to pour in more power.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "He wasn't a young man," I said. "I understand."

The healer whipped tears from his eyes, "his heart just...gave out. I tried to bring back the strength, I tried."

The healer buried his face in his hands and wept.

The fort's eerie moan continued.

I looked to the others standing in the halls, they cried without shame.

I pulled the peace stone out and pressed power into it. The music mage's power flowed over us as we stood silent witness to my sergeant's passing.

We buried him in front of the fort under a stone of wisdom and strength.

The fort grieved with us, issuing a soft moan for several days before quieting. I couldn't offer any support, my heart felt broken.

When it came time to send Red to his village so that he could be tested and either accepted or denied schooling, the fort wouldn't let him go.
I didn't want him to face being declared rouge, but we were simply unable to depart. I was able to get the fort to let us gather our harvest, but none of us were let beyond that, caught in webs I had long ago placed down.

So he stayed, and I made him a tattoo that he himself could decide when to use, by connecting his hands together with interlocking fingers, he would connect the lines of the rune and dampen his magic. Any soldier standing at rest would have his hands clasped, but it was otherwise not a usual thing to do. If ever anyone wanted him to fight, he need only clasp his hands and declare that warming rocks was the best he could do.

We were all still somber when the next visitors came.