Rise of the Living Forge

The next, he was.

And that should have been impossible.

“You,” Arwin said.

“Me,” the drunkard agreed, but for the first time since they’d met, he didn’t sound particularly drunk. The man’s words were as cold and measured as his eyes. “I suppose this has been a long time coming, Arwin.”

“It was you,” Arwin said. “You helped me?”

“Yes.”

“Why? How?” A dozen questions bubbled up and died within Arwin’s mind. It hadn’t exactly been a mystery that the old man was far more than he’d appeared. He’d helped them save Monica’s life and had aided in the fight against the Falling Blades.

He may have been no mere drunkard — but this was something else entirely. Helping craft an item wasn’t something that a random retired assassin would know how to do. It took experience.

“There are too many questions that those two words could imply, and I don’t much feel like answering all of them. You’re going to have to be more specific if you want to get anything out of me.”

“That means you’re actually willing to answer some?”

The corner of the drunkard’s lips twitched. “Just for today. I’ve been in a good mood. Lillia feeds me well. Tell her thank you, by the way. Leaving those plates of food in the back alley for me is thoughtful of her. She’s a good leader.”

She’s been leaving him food in the back alley? That must be a way to get around the System making sure she makes people pay the appropriate price for their food. Clever… but surely this guy could be paying her for her work. He’s not exactly devoid of skill.

“Who are you?” Arwin asked finally. “And how did you get into my smithy?”

“Only you could manage to ask two questions that share the same answer.”

“And only you could manage to answer neither of them despite just agreeing to.”

The man’s lips twisted into a grin as he shook his head, his long hair flapping around like a flag. “Fair play, Arwin. My name… it’s been so long since I last bothered with it that I barely even remember the damn thing. Ku — no. Koyu. That was it.”

“A name,” Arwin said. He waited for a moment, but the man didn’t expand on his answer. Arwin arched an eyebrow. “That’s it? I’d say that barely answers my first question, much less my second.”

Koyu snorted. “I suppose history was kind to me. I am not sure if I should be thankful or sad. My name is indeed the answer you asked, but I don’t have the energy to play cryptic today. The Mesh is weak here today. Weaker than usual. I will speak freely. My name is Koyu the lost, and I am a dead man.”

Well, that’s edgy. What is he —

Wait.

Appearing and leaving whenever he wanted to. The ice blue eyes. His pallid skin, so pale that it might as well have been as white as paper. The way he’d retrieved Zeke’s sword from the fire, even though it should have been warped and destroyed by the intense heat within moments after the explosion.

Koyu wasn’t trying to sound cool or make up some edgy title that he’d once claimed for himself.

He was literally dead.

“The ghost,” Arwin breathed. “You’re the ghost that was rumored to be haunting the street?”

“Rumor.” Koyu let out a weary laugh. “There is no rumor here, Arwin. This is my street. I fought to protect it when I was alive. The only thing that changed with my death was my corporeal form. Not once have I left a single one of its bricks unattended.” ᚱ

“Ghosts dissipate once their task is done or the residual energy within them is spent,” Arwin said. “I didn’t exactly research it, but this street is old. Far too old for a ghost to still be around.”

“Ghost. I am no mere ghost. The little shivvrunners and thieves that used to frequent these streets called me a ghost. Are you truly surprised they can’t tell the difference between a ghost and something more? Have you ever met a ghost that feels human?”

No. Ghosts don’t have a corporeal form. But I’ve seen him holding objects. He handed me Zeke’s sword with his own hands, not to mention strangled some of the assassins.

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“You had to be some sort of assassin when you were alive,” Arwin said, squinting at Koyu. “What assassin has the power to do something like this?”

Koyu’s lips twitched. “Just because I no longer wield immense magics now does not mean I never did.”

But there’s no magic that can preserve somebody’s soul to such a degree after their death. Not unless they were…

“Lich,” Arwin breathed. Ice coursed through his veins. There weren’t many monsters he feared anymore. He’d been fighting the Queen of Demons for years. Compared to her, there was almost nothing worth worrying about.

Almost nothing.

Liches were one of the very few exceptions, among Hydras and Aberrations. They were one of the very few beings in the world that could become well and truly immortal. There was a common rumor that they could be purged by destroying their phylacteries, but that wasn’t entirely true.

Even when the object binding a Lich’s soul to the mortal world was shattered, their soul remained behind. The ritual they underwent to permanently bind themselves to life did more than grant them immortality. It prevented them from ever moving on.

A Lich could never know rest. They could never pass into the great beyond, into whatever laid in wait.

They doomed themselves to forever wander the world, their power slowly fading as the years ground on. There were records of Liches that had supposedly been recorded hundreds of years ago. They could be sealed and trapped. They would eventually reduce to little more than a mote of consciousness — but still they remained.

“That’s right,” Koyu said. “We all make some poor decisions in our youth. There isn’t much I care to remember of my younger days. It’s been a long time since I wielded magic like that. I’m thankful to never touch it again.”

“I don’t understand,” Arwin said. “What would a Lich be doing in a place like this? And why in the world would you ever help me?”

“Because this was my home seven hundred years ago, and it remains my home today. I spilt acres of blood to defend it on the day I died, and I have spilled acres more since. These lands are mine.”

“There were a bunch of thugs living on the street before I moved in.”

Koyu let out a chuckle. “That is far from filth. They were low lives, but acting takes energy. Until you moved in, it was preferrable to have them than some of the alternatives. I must admit that I find the current company far mor enjoyable — despite your constant invitation of scum onto my lands. I have removed the worst.”

“Removed — wait. So the rumors of people going missing…”

Koyu raised a hand to reveal a thin garrote wire. “The weeds have been pulled. As they always have. And, so long as I retain any semblance of strength, as they will continue to be.”

“So why did you help me finish the Core?”

It’s little wonder a Lich would be capable of it — they’re masters of making soul items. But for him to help me… it just doesn’t make sense. We aren’t really allies. We tolerate each other at best.

“Because I promised to.”

“Promised? Who?”

Koyu smiled. “None of your concern. You’ll find out, eventually. Move on.”

There was no room in his voice for argument. Arwin suppressed his annoyance and focused instead on his complete befuddlement.

“Why?” he asked. “I don’t understand. You’re dedicating your life to… defending a run-down street? Is there something hidden in it?”

“Nothing,” Koyu said with a smile. “It is just a street. Just as Lillia’s inn is just an inn. Just as Esmerelda’s little store is just a store. Just as your smithy is just a smithy.”

“That’s not much of a just.”

“Of course not. It is mine. Since the last Great War, it has been mine.”

“That wasn’t all that long ago. It’s been a few months at most.”

Koyu burst into laughter.

Arwin stared at the ghostly old man in confusion.

“Months?” Koyu repeated. “Oh, no. I said Great War, not the stage play you partook in. There was a time before this neatly organized empire. Before factions had even been put together. When the only thing that ruled was power. Before the Mesh itself had become a concept… and before this planet started to starve.”

“Before… the Mesh?” Arwin repeated.

“There was such a time, but I only lived for a few short years of it. Where power could be claimed without any resistance or challenge. When magic was free. It was a beautiful time. A horrible time. Do not ask me of it. My memory has waned, and to my delight, drinking has ensured that it does not return.”

I suppose drinking even works on Lich apparitions. Good to know.

“Then… what did you mean by the planet starving?”

“A suspicion more than anything else,” Koyu admitted, glancing away. “The more time that passed after I lost my body, the more I have felt in tune with the world. Despite my best attempts to shut it out, I have gotten… feelings. Deep, gut-wrenching pain, like my stomach—”

“Is trying to eat itself.” Arwin finished. The goosebumps against his skin intensified. He could have sworn a cold breeze pressed its hand against his neck. “Like you ate hot coals and they’re trying to burn their way out.”

It was Koyu’s turn to look surprised. “Yes. How did you know?”

“The Hungering Maw,” he whispered. “The curse the Mesh gave me with my class that forces me to consume magic. That’s what it feels like when the Hungering Maw needs to be fed.”

“You are tied to it,” Koyu said, staring in surprise. “You have something to do with the degradation of the world.”

“You said it was a suspicion.”

“I was being optimistic,” Koyu snapped. He flicked his hands irritably. “You are involved. The Mesh has brought you in. To what purpose, I do not know.”

“Then we’re going to have to find out.”

“We?” Koyu tilted his head to the side. “There is no ‘we’, Arwin. I gave you answers today because I was feeling unfortunately lucid. I am not throwing my lot in with your guild. I will protect the street as I always have. You will—”

“I’ll make you a Core.”

Koyu stared at Arwin. “What?”

“A Core,” Arwin repeated. “And a body. A Lich apparition as old as you… you can’t have much left. You can’t keep a corporeal form, right? That’s why people think you’re a ghost. But I could give you one. A permanent one.”

“What makes you think I want a body back?”

Arwin arched an eyebrow.

The two of them stared at each other for a few moments.

“I need help,” Arwin said. “This is bigger than me. You just said that. We know it’s true. If something is wrong with the world, we have to do something. And you want a body.”

“I want a body,” Koyu admitted.

“Then I’ll need you to tell me every single thing you know about the Mesh.”