Shatter Wings Chapter 1 Preview

I have a new preview today of my Industrial Era High Fantasy Epic, Shattered Wings. I'd love to hear your impressions!

Feb 01, 2024

I’ve got a special treat today, an advanced chapter draft preview of Shattered Wings! I’d love to hear what you have to say about what we have here, so don’t be shy with your opinions!

Present Day

Yonvios 3^rd, 106^th Year of the Twentieth Age, the Age of Rising.
Mai Fau Shia City, Capital City of the Mai-Chi Kingdom.

“’ave you any skill in smiting, boy? I cannit give yah a job if’n yah don’t. I’ve got more orders for nails n' gwai xiao wei than I can fill on me own, so if’n yah can show me yah can run koi it, I’ll give yah half a jien per hauwa,” said Fai-Zhou Renmei, a blacksmith in the Trades District of Mai Fau Shia City. He was an elder Tufan man with wrinkled, dark, leathery purple skin and short, dull silver hair. His forge was small, obviously made for the old man to work on his own. But, Savic knew enough about smithing to know that blacksmiths could always use some help. He had spotted a second anvil stowed under one of the benches when he had stepped in, so he’d be able to help the old smith without getting too much in the way.

Savic nodded responding in the best Mairese he could manage. “Yes'n I can. Me a used to—erm." He scratched his head, trying to remember the right words. “Fix’n me own armor n' weapons?” He said, gesturing a hammering motion to try and clarify what he meant.

Fai-Zhou watched him struggle to communicate with what Savic could only assume was amusement. “You know, boy, if you are having that much trouble speaking the Queen’s Tongue, you could have just asked if I spoke Cairne.” He said in near perfect Cairese.

Surprised, Savic blinked. “I suppose I’ve really made a fool of myself?”

“Better than most who try to learn the Queen’s Tongue and were not raised with it,” the blacksmith said, shrugging his thickly muscled shoulders. “Show me what you can do.” At that, he moved from the anvil before him, leaving this hammer on the smooth steel face.

Savic walked over to the anvil, heat from the burning coal forge behind it washing over his already sweating face. In truth, it had been some time since he had been behind an anvil. He hoped that after he got in a few swings, muscle memory would take over.

He looked over the forge, inspecting the billet the smith had in the forge. It looked to be the right color to draw the material out. He reached out for the hammer so he could get a couple of practice swings in to test the weight of the tool, and the rebound of the anvil.

But his hand stopped just before the handle. Savic’s eyes widened in disbelief. Surely… He reached for the hammer again, but even his fingers failed to touch it. He looked at his right hand, trying to convince himself it was just nerves, or a mistake. Once again, he moved to pick up the hammer. But this time, he couldn’t even get within a whole hand’s width of the tool.

Savic looked up to Fai-Zhou, who watched him with a raised eyebrow. “Well?” he prompted in his gravelly voice.

“I…” Savic lowered his head, shame washing over his face. “I am sorry to have wasted your time.” He walked around the anvil to pick up his pack that he had left at the door when he came in to speak with the smith.

“Hold, boy,” Fai-Zhou said, holding a strong, calloused hand in Savic’s way. “you were a soldier, yes?”

Savic just nodded his head in response, his throat squeezed too tightly from embarrassment to speak.

Fai-Zhou nodded in thought. “Saw something terrible, did you?”

“I—” Savic started, but again, he just couldn’t manage to speak, so he nodded again instead.

“I see. Well,” the blacksmith walked back over to the anvil, “there’s other things I could use you for, I suppose. Deliveries, picking up supplies, working the forge bellows. I can’t pay you the same, but we can figure something out.”

“Are you sure?” Savic asked. Suddenly the great weight that had been pushing down on his heart lifted.

Fai-Zhou shot him a sharp look. “Want me to change my mind?”

Savic instinctively snapped to attention and saluted. “No, sir.”

“Good. I’m not in the habit changing my direction once I’ve made a decision." The old blacksmith took a sip of water from a cup he kept at a workbench near the forge. “Now, I know you aren’t looking to stay forever. You said you just needed to make some money. What do you need it for?”

Savic bowed his head. “I mean to book passage across the Silver Sea, to Vona.”

“You have business there?”

“Yes, but I can’t speak of it.”

Fai-Zhou nodded, wiping sweat from his well-wrinkled forehead. “I have a good friend who is captain of one of those Aerships. He runs goods to Vona, not sure where in the Kingdom, but he goes there." He took another drink of water. “He should be back at the end of week. Help me around the forge till then, and I’ll speak with him. You might have to do some work on the trip, but I’m sure we can get something arranged.”

“I don’t know what to say…” Savic looked away. It all seemed too good to be true. He couldn’t be that fortunate, could he?

“I believe a hearty ‘yes’ is a pretty appropriate response.” the blacksmith said, holding out his hand.

Savic took it in both of his and bowed his head in respect. “Yes, sir, thank you for this opportunity.”

“What was your name again?”

“Savic, sir.”

Fai-Zhou eyed him curiously for a moment. “I thought the people of Cairne each have a House name.”

“Most do,” Savic started, looking down at the ground. “But mine was Lost. To speak of it now would be curse upon the ears of those who heard it.”

The old smith merely nodded. Savic wasn’t sure if he understood what that meant, but it seemed to be enough for the old man.

“Well, you already know my name is Fai-Zhou, unless I forgot to introduce myself before. Can be hard to remember such things at my age.” He chuckled heartily. Somehow, Savic got the feeling the old smith was much too sharp for that to be the case.

Savic worked the rest of the day with Fai-Zhou. He pumped the bellows, keeping the coal forge at an even heat while the old smith worked. With Savic minding the forge, Fai-Zhou was able to cycle through more billets at the same time, and thusly, able to stay consistently busy at the anvil, toiling away at the various requests and orders he had received. The city, it seemed, was growing at a breakneck pace. Most of the orders were for tools and nails to build new homes and businesses.

When an order was filled, Fai-Zhou would send Savic to run the materials to where they were needed while he took a well-deserved break. The old blacksmith was quite skilled, working the metal quickly and efficiently with practiced ease. Even just watching him make simple nails was fascinating. They worked straight through the day, pausing only intermittently for Fai-Zhou to direct Savic where to go for a delivery.

As the sun had nearly set in the thick, humid summer sky, the old smith hung up his hammer, made sure the forge was put out for the day, and directed Savic out of the shop.

“You did well today, boy,” Fai-Zhou said, wiping his dull silver eyebrows of sweat. “if you had intentions to stay, I’d happily keep you as an assistant. You have a great eye. But, you have business up north. I can’t ask you to ignore it.”

Savic bowed his head. “You honor me, sir. It was an honor to watch you work.”

“Have you a place to stay?”

“Well—.” Savic sighed. “Suppose I might be able to convince that innkeeper to let me sleep in the storehouse again.”

Fai-Zhou chuckled, shaking his head. “Gods above, boy.” He scratched his thick stubble beard chin. ”I’ll not hear it. Tonight you will stay and dine with my wife and I.”

“That is far too kind. You are already doing so much for me. I couldn’t intrude,” Savic said, bowing.

“Xaihou menxiao, boy. It is done, and you will accept my hospitality.” Fai-Zhou put a hand on Savic’s shoulder. The older man was a good head taller than Savic. “Besides, I haven’t been that productive in my shop for years. You have earned something to eat and somewhere decent to rest your head.

Savic put up no further protest. Arguing with the old blacksmith seemed unwise. He followed the man to his home. Even after sunset, the early summer air of Mai Fau Shia was impressively warm, sticky, and altogether unpleasant. Sweat soaked his robes as he pushed through the crowds and narrow streets of the city. Flies and all manner of small darting insects with an insatiable need to pester and gnaw at those unfortunate enough to venture near whizzed about in hordes. They seemed particularly attracted to Savic. Swatting at them proved to be pointless. Walking quickly through the crowded streets just brought him to the territory of another gang of pests, and then another.

Stalls and shops lined the claustrophobic streets, selling things familiar, and beyond foreign to him. Paper lanterns of many different colors hung along every street. They had simple light runes inscribed on them so that they would glow throughout the night without fire. In such a tightly packed city composed of mostly wooden buildings, such a thing was quite prudent. As a result, most streets and alleys were quite well illuminated. All the same, Savic kept a watchful eye as they went. Such crowded environments were a paradise for pickpockets. He may not have had much to steal, but what little he did have he couldn’t afford to lose.

They came to an older part of the city, with well-aged buildings, most of which were in remarkable condition for their age. Fai-Zhou stepped up to a lovely oak building with wrought iron decorations, and bars over the windows. Savic smiled “A fine home for a Blacksmith. Did you make these iron pieces yourself?” He said, admiring the craftsmanship on the heavy wrought iron knocker on the front door, as Fai-Zhou searched his pockets for his keys.

The older man shrugged uneasily. “Most of them."

A rather curious answer, Savic thought.

They stepped into the house. It was much cooler inside thanks to an enchanted glass sphere sitting in the hearth at the other side of the room from them. It radiated a chilling mist throughout the home, a welcome respite from the heat of the day. The living room of the blacksmith’s home was quite spacious.

Over on a large, cozy arm chair sat a Tufan woman who looked to be somewhat younger Fai-Zhou’s age. She stood as they entered, and Savic was amazed by her height. She was nearly half a head taller than he was. Long, shimmering silver hair draped past her shoulders, down to her lower back. She had deep burgundy skin, and a light figure, moving with a practiced grace that made him think of a court dancer.

The woman smiled curiously to Fai-Zhou and spoke in rapid Mairese. Savic could only make out a couple of words. He thought he heard guest, or stranger?

“He’s an… assistant I’ve taken on for a few days. Just until Marquen gets in.” the old smith replied in Cairese.

She was slow to respond, perhaps trying to process what he had said. Then she responded in heavily accented Cairese, “An’ he --eh-- be the stayin’ of ‘ere?”

“Just till the Marquen’s ship pulls into port. Think he’s due back at the end of the week.” He sniffed the air and smirked. “Your beef stew?”

The woman nodded in response. There was a sense of worry, perhaps even doubt in her eyes as she looked over Savic. After a few moments she seemed to collect herself, and she bowed her head. “I is Yana Renmei. ‘is wife? Me thinking is ‘ow yah be sayin’ it?”

Savic bowed his head also. “Weisui Caolenrei.” It was a formal greeting in Mairese. He wasn’t sure how to precisely translate it, but he was told its meaning was similar to “Well met.” He continued, “I am Savic. Your husband was kind enough to let me work at his forge. It is quite an honor to watch so skilled a craftsman at work.”

Yana took a moment, obviously trying to piece together what he had said. She nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Savic. Haulunya. Uhh—My house is erm…”

“Open to you,” Fai-Zhou completed. He smiled as well, wrapping a thick, well-toned arm around her thin shoulders. She rested her head against his, and the two spoke quietly to each other.

It seemed a moment they needed together without his prying eyes. He looked about the chamber. It reminded him somewhat of his own family’s great room, of course theirs was much smaller. Over by the hearth hung many different cooking instruments, pots, pans, tongs, and so on. Each no doubt made by the old smith himself. The smooth oak walls held many decorations, paintings, and various other art pieces. There was a collection of playbills near the entry door that Savic guessed for shows that the pair had gone to see, or they had just like the illustrations.

A small table sat against the wall that framed a stairwell that lead up to a second level. The table had three places set, which made sense for the size of the table, and where it was positioned. He had a feeling they did not often entertain guests at their home. They just didn’t have the room for it.

Then he heard Fai-Zhou speaking in Cairese again, “Quite right, Yan Yan. Savic, I am sure it has been some time since you have been able to properly bathe and groom. Just over there is the wash room. Please take your time and wash the road of you.”

Savic winced. “I suppose my smell is not exactly pleasant?”

“I ‘ave been the smelling of worse,” said Yana, smiling weakly to soften the blow.

“Come now. Let us see if there be a man under all that dirt. There’s a razor and scissors back there too, should you wish to use them” Fai-Zhou said.

And so, Savic took the first bath he had been able to manage since he crossed the Galweini River in Golbrun. Their smooth copper tub was etched with several runes along the rim, one protecting it from corrosion, another set heated the water and kept it at a consistent temperature. A set that ringed the spout purified the water as it came out. Savic hadn’t seen any inscription tools at the workshop, so perhaps this tub had been bought? Several manufacturers had started offering products like this. A good service, since finding a good enchanter was not always easy. Of course factories snatching up every skilled artisan they could find to bolster their production capacity somewhat fed into that deficiency.

The water in Mai-Chi felt softer than he was used to. The mineral heavy waters of Cairne had always been as much a nuisance as they were a comfort. Savic scrubbed himself vigorously with the soap bat, and brush that sat in a recessed shelf in the wall next to the tub. By the time he was done, the water was dark and nearly opaque.

Savic stood from the bath as it drained, and dried himself. He felt renewed, like he had been wrapped in fresh skin. Walking over to a sink with a mirror above it, he looked over himself. His thick black hair, kept cleanly shaved every day since he had started his training as a warrior, had grown to as long as his index finger. He had grown an equally thick beard as well, which made him look, perhaps, a decade older than he really was. He had obviously lost some weight in the last three months. The wounds he had when he been exiled had fully healed, but had left deep scars. That along with the rings of runes that swept around his forearms were a constant reminder of his failure, his shame, his dishonor that he would be forever denied the ability to make right.

He reached for the razor that sat at the edge of the sink. However, his hand halted just far enough away that he couldn’t even touch it with his fingers. Savic sighed in disappointment. Instead he picked up a comb to bring some order to all of the hair he was stuck with.

When he stepped out of the washroom, clothed in a simple silk robe that Yana had given him when he had gone to take clean himself, Fai-Zhou and Yana sat together on a small couch next to the hearth. Yana rested her head on her husband’s shoulder, and they each held a wooden cup. She smiled when she saw Savic step out of the washroom.

“Ah, much better!” said the old smith. He raised his cup. “Come, boy, sit with us and have some food!”

Savic came to sit at the table and smiled. A steaming bowl of beef stew, and a thick chunk of bread sat at before him. Compared to what he had managed to scrounge together on the road through Golbrun, and through the Weichun Pass to Mai Fau Shia City, this was a feast. They gave thanks to the gods, with Fai-Zhou adding a short prayer to Ler, Goddess of the Forge, and dug in. Yana proved to be a fantastic cook, and it wasn’t just his near starvation from the past few months influencing Savic’s opinion. The stew was thick, and packed full of various vegetables he couldn’t quite identify. The beef was tender, juicy, and full of flavor. The bread was a fine Meishan loaf, light and airy, perfect for soaking up the broth of the stew.

“So, Savic, I imagine you come from the Cairne Empire.” Fai-Zhou asked between heaping spoonfuls of stew.

Savic nodded, quickly swallowing a large bite of bread. “Yes, sir. Lived there my whole life.”

“A good place to live. Worth fighting for. Well, it was. You were there when the Lakellos Sun Empire swallowed it up, weren’t you?”

“Yes,” Savic answered. He could feel his heart sink in his chest.

Fai-Zhou must have noticed his unease and changed the subject somewhat. “Yana and I lived in Ha Quan, right on the border with Golbrun. Back then, Cairne traders had the best price for good quality iron. So I learned their language as best I could, drank a few of them under the table at the tavern, and worked out a deal with them.”

“Always wise for a tradesman to get close to their suppliers,” Savic replied, quoting one of his lessons from his father.

“That it is.” At that Fai-Zhou grinned, and sat back in his chair, crossing his thick arms across his broad barrel of a chest. “good days those were. Yana helped tend the herb garden for the town healer.”

He took up Yana’s right hand, a warm glow of nostalgia to his eyes. “Her true calling, though, aside from being the greatest mother and wife one could ever hope for, was dancing. So many nights dancing away the pains and trials of the day.”

“Oh, so you two do have children? I had been wondering…” Savic started till he saw Fai-Zhou’s smile drop.

The old smith took a moment to respond, looking to be reliving a painful memory. Savic couldn’t help but feel guilty. He nodded, and simply said, “had.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“Don’t be. You couldn’t have known,” Fai-Zhou said. He put a meaty hand on Savic’s shoulder. “A story for another time, yes?”

Yana spoke, “Where in—eh—of the Empire Cairne you be in the before?”

“Oh, I lived in Coratus City, the Capital. Lived there most of my life, really,” Savic replied, grateful for the change in subject again.

“Coratus,” Fai-Zhou said, scratching his stubble beard thoughtfully. “I hear the Coratus Springs are the envy of all of Serapis.”

Savic smiled. ”Ah, yes, there really is nothing better after a long day of work and training than a long soak in the springs.”

There was a moment of silence as they all took a spoonful of stew. Then Savic started this time, “is it always this hot in the summer here?”

Fai-Zhou let out a boisterous laugh that seemed to shake the very air around him. “Oh, you think this is hot? It has been unusually cool this summer.”

“You surely must be joking.”

When they had finished eating, they took their bowls to the sink, and Fai-Zhou sat at a couch over by the hearth, while Yana brought a ceramic bottle and three wooden cups over. She poured a clear liquid into each cup then, held cup out to Savic as he sat down in the armchair he had seen her sitting in before when he and Fai-Zhou came in. She said “Is sayen. You eh… call the it –erm—the wine of the rice?”

Savic smiled graciously, accepting the cup with both hands. Yana brought the other two with her to the couch, and handed her husband one.

The three raised their cups. “In the Mai-Chi Kingdom, we say Taiwunkai when we drink. Honor to the Queen!” Fai-Zhou cheered. Yana and Savic joined him before they all took a sip.

It was the first time Savic had tasted sayen, and he was happy to experience it. It was so unlike most wine, or even spirits, he had tried. It tasted almost like chomping down on a steaming hot bowl of freshly cooked rice. A comforting wave of heat caressed his mouth, down his throat, to his stomach as he swallowed. Not an acrid burn like a high proof spirit, a gentle touch that seemed to make his aches melt away. But there was more, a creamy note that was so hard to put his finger on. It wasn’t quite cheese, or butter. He smiled and took a second sip, savoring the flavor even more than he had his first.

Fai-Zhou laughed heartily, Yana smiling approvingly. “I trust you like it, yes?”

“Oh, I certainly do. I can’t thank you enough for the chance to try it.” Savic could feel his cheeks flush with warmth.

Yana rested her head on Fai-Zhou’s shoulder again, and the old smith gently kissed her atop her head, and wrapped his free arm around her. Savic looked to the hearth, where the cooling sphere spun, not wanting to intrude on their tender moment. He sipped at the wine and closed his eyes. He couldn’t remember a moment since his exile three months ago when he had felt so comfortable. Between good food, good wine, a warm bath, and good company, it all almost felt like a dream.

“You did well today, boy. We’ll get started again at daybreak after we take some breakfast. I usually stop by the fish market and get some fresh oysters and jevia bark tea. There’s a fish wife I know who will get us a good deal since I helped her husband fix his boat a few years back,” Fai-Zhou said, taking another sip of sayen.

“Us?”

The old smith barked a laugh. “Surely you don’t expect me to let you starve while we work. If I am to work you to the bone, I might as well fill your stomach.”

This time they both shared a laugh. It looked as though Yana might have fallen asleep at her husband’s side. Her eyes were closed, and her cup was held limp in her delicate hand. Savic noticed that the cup was empty, so there was no risk of her spilling wine.

Fai-Zhou must have noticed this, and he lowered his voice. “Always was weak to alcohol. She loves sayen, even tried to brew some herself once. But she can never have more than a couple of cups before she’s passed out.” He kissed her head again, smiling warmly. “Gods know I don’t deserve her. Why she decided to take in such a sorry jashingwan like me, I’ll never understand.”

“Perhaps because would do the same?” Savic suggested.

The old smith looked back at him and smiled. “Suppose you are right...”

“Sir, I have to ask, why? Why take me on like this? I can’t even do the work you really need. I feel like I am taking advantage of your generosity.”

Fai-Zhou nodded, and bowed his head. “because I’ve seen those eyes before, when you reached for the hammer, and I didn’t do enough to help before. I don’t intend to make the same mistake again.”

Surprised, Savic blinked. “I suppose I’ve really made a fool of myself?”

He looked over the forge, inspecting the billet the smith had in the burning coals. It looked to be the right color to draw the material out. He reached out for the hammer so he could get a couple of practice swings in to test the weight of the tool, and the rebound of the anvil.