Embedded Emerald in Gold fire

Broken - 4

He was just showing her how to sharpen his weapons when a tall man entered his workspace. Kara did not seem to notice the banner he wore on his jacket, but she flinched a little, feeling uncomfortable around him. "Blacksmith" the man called, his voice too loud to fit in the rather small space. "General" Velmius greeted as he stepped forward, subconsciously hiding Kara from his eyes. "If I am not mistaken I came by last summer and didn't find ANYTHING to my linking... I hope you have changed that" his voice was nowhere near kind, a threat clear in his words.

Kara moved backwards a little more, fear gripping her as the tall man stepped closer to Velmius. He towered over the man even though Velmius was not short himself. The bulky build of the general made his appearance even more intimidating and Kara prayed he would not look at her.

As if trying to mock her his eyes moved passed Velmius and landed on her. His eyes were grey, they looked dirty and deceitful. "Who do we have here?" he asked, his voice just as filled with false friendliness as his eyes. "She is helping me out this season" Velmius answered quickly, feeling protective over the young woman. He knew what this general did with women, he had heard all about it.

"She is far too pretty to work in such a shady, filthy hole like this" he mused, a grin spreading across his face "she should come back to the base with me, I'm sure we'd have a more appropriate work for her" he added, an evil glint in his eyes. Kara was too stunned and scared to answer. Never in her life had she needed to speak up for herself, she was used to running, hiding, not fighting. "She's fine here, but thank you" Velmius said, pressing the last words through gritted teeth.

"Let's see if we can find you something" he continued, willing to take the generals attention away from Kara who had begun to slightly shiver. The tall man nodded, willingly following Velmius into the back, but not before giving Kara one last glance, ridding her of all clothes in his mind.

She heard them talk, heard Velmius show him all sorts of swords and knives but he refused them, he kept saying he wanted something special, something no one else possessed. Kara knew Velmius did not manufacture anything that special and was scared what would happen if the general found out. She took the sword she had just been sharpening and looked at it. It was a neat sword, good work but simple. She concentrated hard, letting a spark appear between her thumb and second finger.

She moved the blue spark along the blade, concentrating on the transformation she desired.
The blade was covered in blue and silver veins, shining even in the little light she had where she was. They looked natural and magical all at once and Kara wondered if a material like that really existed.

Doubt rose in her, she was scared the general would see through her. Velmius would know he hadn't made this sword right away, but she had formed trust toward him. She was just about to hide the weapon again when she heard the general raise his voice "I will burn this whole workspace down to show everyone what happens with filthy blacksmiths who do not manage to supply someone like me" he snarled.

"Excuse me" Kara said as she stepped into the doorframe. She tried to hide the fact she was trembling, but her voice shook. The general grinned at her, his evil eyes showing no good intention. "Kara..." "I found this... I thought it might be to your liking" Kara interrupted Velmius. She stretched out her shaking hand and showed the sword. Velmius' eyes widened, but he didn't say a word. The general took the sword from her and looked at it, felt the blade with his fingertips and grinned as a small drop of blood formed.

"Now why would you not show me this right from the start?" he asked, scrutinizing the sword again "what an unique weapon... I bet you wanted to keep it, didn't you? Well lucky you your little helper here had more brain than you" he said and began to walk closer to Kara. She shook and moved out of the way on wobbly legs, her mind swirling with fear.