The First Flame (solo)

[Bee]

Hmm, blacksmithing. The idea stuck in Bee's head as she walked down a path. Bee had never really thought about going into smiting. She had went into baking not long ago, but that was mainly due to not wanting to die of starvation. The other skills just came from practice and the desire to eat other things than beyond simply cooked meat. However smithing was in her blood. Her mother was a smith and according to her father his father was a smith and his father. As a matter of facts Bee's father was the only son in his blood line to not be a smith. That probably explained why he hooked up with her mother. Probably hopping to keep the smithing in the bloodline. Still Bee had never thought of herself following in the field. Well she did, but that was a long time ago. That was before the incident and her time away from home. The only thing currently on her mind was simply becoming a better mage. Now however that she had some down time she could learn the craft. Or better yet she could learn to combine both of her crafts. Not only could she become more skilled at fire magic but she could also lean how to fold steel. It was a win win situation, thought Bee did not like to stay in one place for too long. That was going to be a problem, but that was a problem to worry about another day.

"Excuse me", spoke Bee as she walked into a metal working shop. She had chosen a little village called Shilo. The place was rumored to be were iron and fire first meet, the so called first flame of lycia. Though that was complete rumor and conjecture. The first forge was not really in Shilo, but that did not stop people from saying it. There were so many old furnaces scattered about one would think it was a graveyard for forges. There were at least twenty five different smithing shops inside of the town. Each one owned by a different family and a different style of forging. Every family here has been shaped by metal and fire and as a result they are all stronger than steel. Finding somebody here to teach her how to shape metal was not going to be a easy task. Bee already understood she was down the river. Family was strong in these parts. Most of the time smiths kept there techniques in there blood line. Not many of them would be willing to teach an outside.

"Yes", spoke a man as he walked outside from the shop. He had on a bandana and a thick apron and gloves. "Sorry little lady, but we don't sell slim swords here", he spoke without Bee being able to say a word. "If you want to buy weapons Tomas runs the shop up yander", he spoke as he pointed backwards. "Here all we do is craft weapons."

"Umm, no", spoke Bee. "I am not here to buy a weapon, I just want to lean how to forge."

[Bee]

"Excuse me", spoke the man as he looked at Bee with confusion. He looked the young girl up and down. She did not look like a member of his family. Her skin was not yellowed and her hair was not green. It was obvious she was not from sacae, which the Stalmarks descended from. So why was she in here, asking to learn the forge. She did not make any sense to the man. It was clear to anybody that these were family own forges and family centered smithing clans. Why would they suddenly take in a stray and randomly teach them the arts that have been passed down from generation to generation.

"Yes I would like to learn how to forge st..." be started to speak, but she was cut off by the man.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down little lady. First off you have come to the wrong place if you are trying to learn how to smith. I am going to go ahead and tell you that. This is Shilo little girl. This is the beating heart of lycian steel and probably half the steel for the continent. This valley is controlled by family and families mean blood. If you were from sacae then we might, and not there is a emphases on might, consider teaching you. As for you, who I can only guess is from Bern or the reaches of Lycia we can not take in as a apprentice, and to be truthful I doubt anybody here can and would as well. Family first, if you want to learn to forge steel you will be better off trying to learn from a local blacksmith in some far off dung filled town. So you and your crazy hair style can get out of my workshop."

"@## hole", shouted Bee as she stormed out of the workshop. She hoped the fool set his apron on fire and burned himself alive. No better yet she hopes he gets covered in molten steel and forms a statue. Who did he think he was. He did not have to go and insult her hair. Bee liked her hair. It was cool different, and gloriously pink. Besides it was clear that Bee was from Nabata and not Bern or stupid lycia. Now Bee was starting to understand why people did not like Sacaens. They were arrogant jerks who think they are better than anybody else just because they have green hair and can forge a sword. The Stal whatever family was not the only smiths in town. There were like a bajillion of them. Bee was sure she could get any one of the others to teach her how to smith. She did not need him and his stupid horses and stupid dodo had techniques.

"Agg, I just want to burn something", shouted Bee as she walked to another workshop. She was sure her luck was going to turn around. The next shop would simply accept her and she would rub it in that fool of a blacksmith's face. See how he liked it when she was his neighbor. She would make weapons to put his crummy shop out of business. Their forge would be the one left behind as a marker to there downfall and everybody will be using Bee steel! Bee Steel would be the apple in ever swordsmen eye and the edge on every fighters axe. Bandits would kill to get a hold of her axes and knights would horde her lances for themselves! He would regret the day that he turned Bee away! "I swear it to the heavens", shouted Bee as she walked into another shop.

"Hello", she spoke as she put on her best smile.

[Bee]

"This sucks", spoke Bee as she let out a heavy sigh and plotted herself onto a log. The sun was beginning to set and hunger started to set in. The box cut maiden had visited over 12 separate smiths and each one of them had turned her away. It was infuriating. Who in the world did they think they were. Just because they had a family that had been blacksmithing for more than seven generations did not make them better than her. While they only worked with coal and heat she manipulated fire itself. Why they only forged metal she forged the elements. She was far better than they were, but she still needed there help. Bee knew some stuff about smithing, but not enough. She would have tried to learn from some other blacksmith in another city, but most of them were stupid pig headed biggots. A lot of them would not teach her because she was a woman. Many of them thought smithing was a man's work and second they did not like her hair. Nobody seems to like her hair. Bee's hair was the best part about her, but everybody just seems to rag on it of late. So what if it is all pointed straight up. That is the good part. What pink hair does not look good going straight.

"Useless, winy, inbreeded, pig farming, in rodders", shouted Bee as she tossed a rock at a tree! The maiden was far from happy, far from being close to happy. She had hopped that people here would have been more suseptable to the idea of a woman working the forge. You know with the family history of smiths, but no instead they all are so caught up about family heritage and blood. It was all so stupid. It would be so easy to simply go back to Nabata and learn from a smith there, but at the moment Nabata was off limits. Her old master would expect her to go back to Nabata. If she left to go there then she would practically be walking right into his hands. No she had to learn here. Bern was off limits, thanks to her own moral ban and Ilia was not really the place fora a forge. She could try sacae, but she just might get the same treatment she got there the first time. You know for a group of people who have been discriminated against and treated like the lower end of society these guys here were complete jerks.

"Umm, excuse me", spoke a voice. Bee quickly turned to face this new found sound. How was it that this person was able to sneak up on her. Bee had her guard up the entire time, well not the entire time. Ok to be truthful she did not even have it up at all. Bee was mainly venting at the moment and as a result she was not paying much attention to her surroundings. A bear could have snuck up on her in her current state. For a moment Bee simply stared at the speaker. It was a young boy with yellow tented skin, which told her that he was sacaean. He had green hair and wore a robe of his tribe. From the look of him he was probably related to the first guy that told her to buzz off. Which made her wonder why he was here. However he had a basket and the sweet aroma told her that there was some food in it.

[Bee]

"This", spoke the boy as he looked at the basket. "Yes my mother made some food for you", he spoke, but Bee had already grabbed the basket. She did not care that it came from the enemy or that this was the sun of the person who was so mean to her from before. At the moment it all about filling the hole in her stomach. She did not care if the devil himself cooked the food. If you had a list of things that could move Bee to action at the topi would be Fire. The second would be danger and the third would be Food. Bee never liked being hungry and she did not suffer starvation for long. If Bee was hungry something was going to die and something was going to get eaten. She did not care if it was a bear or a bug food was food.

"Thanks", spoke Bee with a mouth full of food. The young boy could not help but laugh at the maiden as he cheeks puffed out like a squirrel. The young boy's chuckling was a minor disturbance for Bee. She just ignored it for the most part till she was half way through the basket. "What is with the laughing", she spoke while still stuffing her face. "Did I do something funn...y"

"No, no", spoke the young boy as he attempted to stop himself. "I just... well you just reminded me of somebody I knew at the moment", spoke the young sacean boy. He was smart to leave the comparison in his head. It was never smart to tell a lady that she looks like a squirrel. It was asking to receive a backlash. Instead he just left the young mage in training bewildered with a mouth full of food. "So", he spoke as Bee put away the last piece of food. "My mother tells me you want to be a smith. Any reason for that? I mean most women don't want to shape metal nor do they come up to a workshop and ask for apprenticeship."

"Well I am not like most girls if you can not tell", spoke Bee as she handed the young man back his basket.

"Oh I can tell", spoke the young boy as he took the basket. He looked up at Bee's hair and gave off a small laugh. "The hair pretty much says it all."

"What", spoke Bee as a blush crossed her face. Once again that family was insulting her hair. Bee's hair was at the peak of fashion. Who else in the world has hair standing straight up. Instead of trying to take picks at her greatness like vultures they should be revealing in it. "There is nothing wrong with my hair", she spoke as she motion her hands to insure that it was still straight up. "I will have you know my hair style is all the rage amongst the people of Nabata", she spoke. It was not true, but he did not know any better.

"Really", he spoke with disbelief as he stared at Bee's head. "The people of Nabat have weird taste."

[Bee]

"So are you going to tell me or what", asked Bee as she stared at the young lad. The maiden's eyes told of expectation and desperation. She was sure in her mind that this young man had something or some shrivel of information that could help her achieve her goal. Why else would he be out here. By the way his father spoke earlier she was sure that they were not going to take her in as a apprentice, but maybe they knew somebody who would. Somebody who would take her in and teach her how to work the flames and shape metal.

"Sorry what", spoke the young lad. He was not sure what Bee wanted from him. Though he thought it was safe to guess that it had to do with information.

"Pshaw, great and here I thought I knew how the world worked", spoke Bee as she leaned back onto the log she was resting on. The maiden began to stare up at the sky as the young boy simply sat there bewildered. "Here I thought you were going to tell me about some person or family that might be willing to take me in and teach me the craft of smithing. Why else would you come here near sundown and visit the random little girl asking to become a apprentice. It is not like I am a hot date or anything."

"A hot date", spoke the boy as his face turned red. He did not think about it, but he was up here on the outskirts of town with a girl around the same age. Not only did they share dinner, well Bee ate he watched, but they were also watching the sunset together. Could that have been his mother's intentions. No, no, no there was no way his mother would send him out on a date with a random girl who just showed up in there village, but then again there were no girls in the village around his age. Maybe his mother was hoping for something or at least she thought he should at least have a single date in his childhood. Who knew what she was thinking.

"Hey are you alright", spoke Bee as she looked up at him. The maiden raised her hand up to his face and touched his right cheek. "Your face is red are you sick or something", she asked. He question only caused the young man more embarrassment. Quickly he jerked away from the young maiden and moved to hide his face. "I am fine", he shouted. Embarrassment filled his head as Bee rose up from the log and stared with a blank expression.

"You are weird", she spoke finally sending the young man's heart plummeting back to the neutral zone.

"Yeah I guess I am", he spoke. He needed to change the conversation. He needed to turn it away from himself and back onto something else. Anything else, just not him and her. "Well you know old man Johnson is getting up in the years. He may be looking for a apprentice since he does not have any kids of his own."

"Alright", shouted Bee as she jumped off her log. "That is just what I need. A lonely old man with no family or friends! Just the person to take in a weird girl from Nabata!" Bee was pumped and ready for action. This was the break she needed. The boy however. He was more disturbed than anything. Sure that was kind of what he said, but she said it in such a blunt way that it was insulting.

"Umm, do you have to say it that way", he asked.

"What wrong with the way I said it. It is the truth right", spoke Bee.

"Well yeah but, .... you know what never mind. I hope he accepts you as a apprentice".

"Bee", spoke the maiden suddenly. The young man looked at her with confusion as he had no idea why she was mentioning the insect. "Bee", she spoke again however this time her finger was pointing toward herself. "My name is Bee. B E E, just like the insect. Now tell me what your name is", asked the maiden.

"Oh my name is Mufasa. M U F A S A, Mufasa".

"Mufasa", spoke Bee with excitement. "Nice name. It sends a tingly sensation down your spine when you say it. Well I will be seeing you around Mufasa", she spoke as she ran off to find this Johnson.

"Tingly", spoke the young man as he watched her go. "I really like my name" he spoke as he headed home.

[Bee]

"Alright time to find this Johnson guy", shouted Bee as she marched back into town. The maiden was in high spirits. She seemed to have found her way into the art of the forge, or at least a lead into a way into the art of forging. However the young maiden had forgotten something very important. Something she should have asked the young blacksmith before the rushed off to complete her goal. "Where is this Johnson any way", asked Bee to herself. Immediately she performed a face palm as she realized she had no idea who or where he was. She just knew he was in the city and that he might be willing to take her in as his apprentice. Bee's first reaction was simple. She decided to return to the log she was resting on before and see if Mufasa was still there. He knew who Mr. Johnson was and could easily direct her. However when she returned he was gone and so was her easy ticket out of this mess. She could visit the shop were she was kicked out before hand, but she had a feeling that the family did not live there and as a result he probably would not be there.

"Ashes of the most holy", shouted Bee as she began to wrack her mind on the problem. If she could not ask the young man then she would simply ask somebody else. Though there were few people out at this time of the day. Most of them, if they were not working in there shops, were already off to bed. The streets were practically empty and the cool breeze and dimming light song of the end of the day. With little to no options left Bee began to user he desperation tactics. From home to home, store to store, house to hours, Bee visited them all and asked of the man named Johnson. Each door she visited she was once again reunited with the same people who denied her the opportunity to learn the way of the fore. Each person assumed that she came to beg and each person was as rude as bernesse Brigand. Bee could hardly believe that they kissed there own mother with those mouths. At the end of the day's light Bee was back were she started. She was sitting on a log thinking about what could have been and how much she hated everyone else for denying her. "Where is this Mr. Johnson", she shouted in frustration.

"Well if you must know he is behind you lass", spoke a voice from behind Bee. The maiden turned around to see a one eyed old man with a large beard and a peg legg. His thick beard was covered in soot and his clothing stained with the smell of smoke. The burly man looked more wild than most men and had a smell that put onions to rest. He did not look like the swordsmith Bee was looking for.

"Umm, are you Mr. Johnson", asked Bee innocently.

[Bee]

"Of course I am Mr. Johnson", spoke the aged man as he looked the young maiden up and down. "And don't bother introducing yourself I know who you are. Your the young little missy that has been running around asking people to teach you how to smith. So now you are looking for me because you think because I am old and lonely that I am desperate for an apprentice. Well am I right lad."

Bee had to take a moment to process all that was said. So this old wild man was Mr. Johnson. He was the guy she could possibly convince to make her his pupil. However he seemed to be on a ... how do you say it, edgy side. Still if she wanted to learn how to mold iron like a pro she was going to need his help. She was going to have to learn from him. "Well first off I am not a lad I am a girl. No, more like a lady", spoke Bee with some pride.

"Lady", he spoke with confusion as he looked at the young girl. His eyes first moved to her chest, which was practically a washboard. His gaze caused Bee to blush and move her hands in defense of his gaze. "Hey", she shouted, but the old man payed her no attention. His eyes then turned to her hair which stood up like a watch tower.

"So your a girl", he spoke with astonishment. "I was sure you were a boy."

"What part of me looks like a boy", shouted Bee in defiance. Sure she was not as developed as some of the girls her age, but they were abnormal. Bee was just fine the way she was. She was just simply still growing. Besides the long hair alone should have given her away as a female, unless he thought Bee's brilliant flat top was a boy's hair style. The idea of that was hilarious. As if a man could pull off such perfection.

"A lot of you", spoke the grizzled old man, but he did not stick around to listen to Bee's comments. "Come on gally", he spoke slurring the word gal. "If you want to lean how to mold iron than follow me back to my shop. We will get you situated."

"Really", spoke Bee as her face lit up with joy. It was the first good news she had heard all day. Eager and ready to learn Bee rushed off behind the old one legged man. The two stopped at a destination that looked less like a smithy and more like a trash dump. There was "things" everywhere. Old pieces of metal, broken crates, bones, garbage, and whatever the purple stuff was.

"In here is the smithy", spoke the old man as he showed her the path through the rubble to a room that was just as bad. The forge was cold and junk filled every corner of the room. It was clear that nobody had worked her for quite a while. "If you want me to teach you how to smith iron then you have to become my apprentice. First job as my apprentice clean this place up, oh don't forget the front as well. Once that is done you can sleep." Without another word Mr. Johnson walked off and went into what Bee could only guess was the part of the building he slept in.

For a moment Bee simply looked around. Garbage and filth surrounded her on all sides. Well she got what she wanted, well the opportunity to get what she wanted. She still needed to clean this place up. The young maiden took a deep breath. "Well step one", she spoke as she threw herself into cleaning. She had a long road ahead of her and it began with removing the stains from the past.

[End Thread]