Clearing: Legendary Farmer Book One by Oswald Elizabeth

Author:Oswald, Elizabeth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elfhame, Inc.
Published: 2022-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

Joanna stood, a little girl of five or six, watching her mother work. The heavy hammer rang out as it sparked against the red-hot metal of the shovel blade forming on the anvil. The smell of hot metal filled the area. The smithy was far from traditional, since the metal was heated with her mother’s magic. No blazing forge filled the space. No bellows, charcoal, or heavy leather gloves would be needed.

Her mother looked up and saw Joanna standing there. She smiled, her sweat-drenched blonde hair pulled back out of her face, skin ruddy with effort. She released the tongs she was using to grip the hot metal so the hammer wouldn’t strike her fingers, and crouched down.

“Do you feel it, Jonny? Hold out your hand. Don’t touch it! Just get near enough to feel the heat, and close your eyes.”

Joanna held out her little hand, dirty and tanned, until she could hardly bear the heat radiating from the object resting on the anvil. Her mother cradled her fingers in her much larger, rougher ones. Joanna closed her eyes.

At first, there was nothing but heat. It built until she thought she would have to pull away or be burned, but then a wash of cool, sharp, something passed through her hand from her mother's. Her nose detected a sudden increase in the smell of hot metal, but it no longer seemed as though it could hurt her. The heat, in fact, faded to a gentle warmth, and she felt her mother pull at her hand.

“Open your eyes,” her mother whispered.

She opened her eyes to see her hand half-buried in liquid metal. It seeped between her fingers, no longer holding the shape of a shovel, but now simply a white-hot fluid. She looked at her mother, her mouth stretching in a brilliant smile.

“I did it, Mama!”

Her mother gently pulled her hand back, a matching smile on her own face. With a thought, the mage-smith cooled the metal. A normal smith would have ruined it, cooling it so fast, but not Joanna’s mother. A perfect handprint was left behind in cool, gleaming iron.

Joanna reached out and picked up the metal slab, grunting slightly at the weight. “Don’t you need it for your shovel, Mama?”

Strong arms gave Joanna a hug, and her mother’s unique scent surrounded her. “I have more. You keep that. Practice with it, if you like. Remember how it felt to channel the magic. You’ll be powerful one day, Jonny. But even those who are gifted need to practice to make the most of their gifts.”

The little girl stared at the smooth, perfect image of her hand in the iron. Yes. She would be the BEST.

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