1
Malea returned to Master Goldman’s hall, her home for the past few years, before dawn truly broke, with no one the wiser.
She had a lot of work to do today, even as her mind whirled with the new commission she’d received from her old Mistress.
She hadn’t realized her journeyman trip would include a secret mission, but she’d always enjoyed a challenge.
If there was anything to discover in the far north that was important to the crown, Malea would find it. No question about that.
Even though she had spent years perfecting her craft of gem cutting under the tutelage of Master Goldman, she had never forgotten her early lessons from Mistress Isolde in spycraft.
All agreed that Master Goldman was the finest gem cutter in the land of Valdis, and Malea had blessed the day Isolde had brought her to his attention as a young teen.
Now, she was twenty and had learned all she could of the gem cutter’s art from him.
It was time for her to take her skills on the road.
Malea would be leaving on her journeyman trial tomorrow, to tour some of the newly discovered mines in the far north. There, she was tasked with finding high-quality gem rough to purchase on behalf of her Master.
She would bring him the stones he’d requested while keeping an eye out for the perfect stone for her own project.
She might not find it on this trip, but she would keep looking until she found that perfect gemstone that called to her.
If she could find it, cut it convincingly, and have it pass muster with her own Master and at least two others, then she could graduate to craftsman status.
It was a dream of hers to reach that goal.
It might take months, or years. Nobody really knew how long a particular apprentice would need to move up the ranks.
A lot of it depended on fate, she thought, as well as skill.
Finding the right project to prove her ability was paramount, and the fact that she was now being trusted enough to go select gem rough in the far reaches of the kingdom gave her ample opportunity to seek out the perfect stone for herself.
Master Goldman knew that, and it was expected of journeymen in every craft Guild to look for opportunities to improve themselves and their skills.
Only by doing that, on a consistent basis, and fulfilling the tasks set before them by their own Masters, could they prove themselves worthy of one day becoming a full member of their Guild. That was Melea’s dearest wish.
From orphan to craftsman. She’d come a long way, though she was only a fledgling journeymen right now. She would get to craftsman status. She just knew it.
“You going to the ice caves, Mally?” a high, piping voice came into her mind. Malea turned to see her virkin friend perched on one of the ceiling beams, looking down at her inquisitively.
Virkin looked like dragons, but they were tiny in comparison.
About the size of a small house cat, they had keen intelligence and a great deal of magic to call their own.
A colony of them had decided to travel from Elderland to Valdis several years ago, and they thrived in their newly chosen homeland.
This one, a stunning pale blue creature named Keera, had been just a baby when she arrived in Valdis.
She and her family had taken up residence at the glass workshop where Malea had lived at the time.
Isolde, a skilled craftsman of all things glass, had taken her in—as she had a number of other orphans who showed the least desire to learn how to make glass and live in the dormitories above the big workshop.
Malea loved Isolde. She was such a good person. So good, in fact, she’d been chosen as companion by a dragon. As had her husband, the much scarier General Samnir Brighton, who had come to live with them all, as the adopted dad of the workshop.
General Brighton wasn’t the warm sort of father she’d heard described in stories and seen once in a while on the city streets.
He was even better. He was a protector. Nobody messed with any of Mistress Isolde’s apprentices when they knew they’d have to answer to her mate, the General.
And their dragons. There were two dragons in their family.
A mighty ice dragon and a lovely snow dragon.
When Malea had first started training with Master Goldman, she’d only gone to his workshop one day a week.
He’d given her lessons, but also ample time to play.
Mistress Isolde did the same. All her apprentices had school lessons during the morning, then worked at glass-making lessons in the afternoon.
The youngest had less work than the older apprentices, but everyone played in the late afternoon until dinner.
After the dragons had come to Valdis, the apprentices had begun to play with them.
They’d even devised a ball game that involved both dragons and apprentices.
People had come from all over to watch the games, and they’d even started holding events for the entertainment of the King and his court that the entire city was invited to watch.
Living with Mistress Isolde and the dragons had been amazing, but as Malea grew older, she’d spent more time at Master Goldman’s workshop, and eventually, she’d moved to his hall, to become one of his full-time apprentices.
He didn’t have many. The jewel-cutter’s skill was a rare talent, or so she’d been told.
It had been Mistress Isolde who had noticed Malea’s leanings in that direction, and Isolde had brought Malea to the attention of the Master Gem Cutter when she was still quite young.
Moving to the gem cutting workshop had been a big step, but Malea felt called to the stones as she had never really been called to make glass.
She enjoyed discovering the hidden gem in a bit of rough crystal, and she’d shown real talent that Master Goldman had helped her develop.
She was still perfecting her craft, but she’d been moving up the ranks steadily and hoped to make Master someday.
But, if not for her virkin friend, Malea would have been very lonely after leaving the hustle and bustle of the glass workshop.
Master Goldman’s place was much quieter and well secured because of the costly items kept within his hall.
There were only ever a few apprentices at one time, and no new apprentice was invited to live in the hall unless another left on their journeyman trip. Like Malea was about to do.
She was excited, yet nervous. When she left on her journeyman trial, her life would be forever changed. She was on the precipice of something new. Something scary and big that she didn’t fully understand, but knew she wanted to try.
“I go with you to the ice caves,” Keera said into Malea’s mind, surprising her back to the moment.
Malea had been so lost in thought, she hadn’t really been paying attention.
She’d just been packing her things for the journey ahead by rote.
The rucksacks had been delivered to her room the day before, and she’d been preparing to fill them ever since.
One of the craftsmen who had already completed his journeyman training and returned to work with their Master would come by to check that she’d packed the right things in the morning.
For now, she had to do her best to try to anticipate what she might need on the road north, into the frozen lands.
But her little companion’s words made her stop in her tracks. Malea turned to look over to the bed on which Keera was now sitting, watching her pack.
“You want to travel with me?” Malea asked, astounded.
Keera nodded her scaly head.
“On my first journeyman trip?” Malea said, thinking out loud. “Is that even allowed?”
Tiny scaled shoulders shrugged. “Virkin go where we want. I want to go with you.”
Malea had to admit, Keera had something there. The virkin were relatively new to the Kingdom of Valdis, but already, they’d made it clear that they did as they pleased. Luckily, what pleased them was usually advantageous to everyone else.
The King of Valdis had welcomed them with open arms, formally allying with the virkin who had come to Valdis following their friend, the General.
Three clutches of virkin had come initially, and one clutch chose to live in the glass workshop, another in the new military headquarters that shared backyards with the glassworks. The third had chosen the castle.
As the offspring in each clutch grew to independence, they’d chosen new places to live.
Keera had come to live in Master Goldman’s hall.
She’d befriended Malea when they’d both lived at Isolde’s and followed her when she’d left.
Others of her kin had done the same, following their special friends.
Still others had branched out to seek their fortunes and new friends in other parts of the city.
A few more daring virkin had even gone so far as to settle on some of the farms that supplied the city, including Isolde’s family’s training stables where they trained horses for the King and cavalry, as well as a few select noble families.
*
Master Goldman looked up from his work bench, his broad, weathered face creasing into a gentle smile. His trim, white beard twitched as he stood, brushing dust from his apron.
“Ah, there you are, girl. I need to go over a few things with you before you leave tomorrow.”
She smiled back. “Of course, Master. I wouldn’t leave without your instructions.”