Thread: Spirit of the Crystal Shard (HKitten and J)

It was well dark when Lady Adalheid tried to walk nonchalantly across the inner courtyard of Stronburg castle. As the king's chief seer and sorceress, Lady Adalheid was a common site in around the castle, but that night she wanted to go unnoticed. The lady pulled the hood of her cloak lower over her face as she approached the forge. The forge was an open structure and even on such a chilly autumn night, the air rolling out from it was hot enough to cause Lady Adalheid to sweat. Or perhaps it came from her nervousness... The lady's eyes narrowed and she frowned when she saw the figure who was still working at the forge. The youth was stripped to the waist, as usual. The light of fire and torches danced across his lean, strong body as Brand hammered a glowing bar of white hot steel. His blond hair was tied into a very short tail and his eyes, which Adalheid knew to be green, were fixed upon the metal he was working. But Brand worked the metal with more than a mere hammer. The sorceress had seen how the metal seemed to shape itself according to the young smith's will. She had seen how the sparks that struck him did not burn his flesh, and even as she watched that night, Adalheid saw Brand reheat the cooling metal with a single, glowing breath. Though the teen didn't know it, Lady Adalheid hated him. She hated him because his weapons and armor had done more to aid the King than all her spells and potions. She hated him because the king valued Brand more than he valued her. She hated him for the ease with which the orphan used his magic. Brand could fashion a magic blade in a day, where Adalheid would need more than a year to enchant a sword, and she would need someone else to fashion it first. But most of all, she hated Brand for rejecting her advances. Adalheid had thought that she could win him as an ally and resource by inviting him into her bed, but the boy had been oblivious of her advances. When she became more open about her intentions, Brand had politely turned her down. She had not let her true feelings show, but on that day, Lady Adalheid decided to be rid of Brand once and for all. But Brand wasn't human. That much was obvious from his strong natural magic and how his body was impervious to fire. Simply killing him might be very dangerous, and perhaps impossible for the sorceress. Instead, she fashioned a very special doom for the hated object of her envy. Master Brand? she said sweetly. The boy turned to see who was speaking to him, a look of mild surprise on his expressive face. Good evening, Lady Adalheid, he said politely with a bow and a slight smile. Brand quenched the metal he had been working. Then, he gave his unexpected guest his full attention. How can I be of service, my lady? I was about to make a potion for the king's nephew, Lord Heinrich, but I found that the leg has broken off of the cauldron I need to use. Heinrich is very ill, so I need to make the potion as soon as possible. Could you please come to my rooms and repair the cauldron for me? Oh course, my lady, Brand answered. He grabbed a few tools and followed the sorceress back to her quarters. The lady wove a simple spell to allow the two of them to go unnoticed as they went into the keep. When they reached the lady's outer room, she pointed the cauldron out to Brand, being careful to slip behind him. When Brand crouched to examine it, Adalheid stuck him with a sharpened quill. The sleep potion took effect almost instantly, and Brand collapsed to the floor. A mere mortal would be put to sleep for hours, but Adalheid didn't trust it to work so well on the mysterious youth. Now, the sorceress called out. Then, Sir Jurgen stepped out of hiding in her bedchamber. Not all men were as immune to her wiles as Brand had been. Lady Adalheid pulled a sheet off of a large, crystal box that rested on her sturdiest work table. She inserted a small, bronze key and opened the box's lid. Pick him up and get him into the box. Hurry! the lady whispered urgently. The big, strong knight lifted the youth easily enough and placed him inside the coffin like box. Then, his lover closed the lid and locked it once more. When she did so, the enchanted crystal absorbed the boy's life essence, causing the box to glow like a small sun for a few moments. When the light faded, not even dust remained where Brand's body had been. It's done? The knight asked. The sorceress picked up Brand's hammer and struck the box again and again, smashing it to pieces. Now it's done, she said with hateful satisfaction.