Belenus

  Suibne stood across the room, ivory sleeves flailing away from the supply shelves and quickly stilling in front of him wringing his hands together. His face was blood-drained parchment white, violet eyes wide, and mouth agape, stammering soundlessly. Belenus watched Suibne look from him to the broken jar and back again.

  “What in Lolth sent mayhem are you doing here?” Belenus spoke through gritted teeth. His anger blazed and he turned it all to Suibne with a scathing glare, who staggered back and bumped into the shelves with a smattering of clinking jars.

  “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to interrupt like that.” Suibne turned to the shelves, touching them cautiously before backing away from them and inevitably closer to Belenus. He gave a grieved sigh and Suibne turned, eyes still wide and watery.

  “You shouldn’t be here at all.” Belenus willed his tension to lessen by straightening his posture and speaking normally.

  “I know you don’t like it and I am sorry for causing damage, but I just wanted to check on you. I’ve been in your main room all day waiting for you to take a break. I brought food since I’m sure it’s been too long since you’ve eaten anything.” Suibne spoke in a rushed jumble and kept a length of distance, but at the same time didn’t run. After a breath, he continued, “when was the last time you took a break?” Suibne looked down over his clothes.

  “I know you mean well Suibne, but providing food isn’t going to save you this time. I know my limits and listen to them, I don’t need anyone looking after me.” He exhaled, irritation crackling through him like lightning. He unwrapped the tourniquet and rolled down his sleeve.

  “You say that, but I can see that you’re pushing yourself too hard.”

  Belenus walked across the room and cupped Suibne’s chin in his hands, ensuring he couldn’t turn away and bored his eyes into him. “You’re interfering in a delicate space and causing far more damage than good. In times like this you’re more like a brother to me than anything else. You intrude precisely where I don’t want you.”

  Suibne’s lip quivered but his eyes narrowed. “There’s a reason almost everyone in Caerwyn avoids you and this is exactly why-” He spat out, breaking away and gesturing. “It’s this arrogant attitude of yours and how stubbornly you push everyone away, including me! You win Belenus! I’m leaving.” Suibne spun on his heels and stormed out becoming a white blur, leaving Belenus standing alone in the middle of the room.

  Belenus didn’t move until he heard the front door shut, taking a few deep breaths, clenching and unclenching his fists. This wouldn’t have happened if Suibne had not been reckless with his glass jars at the worst timing possible. There were far less disastrous ways to get his attention but somehow the worst happened. He saw no use in trying to draw blood in this state and needed a decent break to tend to himself.

  He left the room shutting the door, as a way to shut his mind off from it, and went to the kitchen to scrounge for any food remaining. Suibne’s basket was on the counter emptied with the contents arranged on the dining table set for two. The papers and study materials that had covered the entire surface were pushed nicely to one half of the table. Irritation that had yet to die down, unexpectedly redirected toward himself. It was not entirely Suibne’s fault that he interrupted how he did. Suibne tried hard but not in a way that worked and it hurt to clash with someone so genuinely good. His mood remained dower but slowly leveled out into a calm state throughout the course of the meal and sleep. He wasn’t happy, but he was functional.

  He channeled that sense of functionality back into Alchemy. His right arm was bruised and it forced him to use his sore arm to draw blood. It took longer to be precise with his non-dominant hand but it went without incident this time. The sting was minimal comparatively and for that he was thankful. A sense of pressure in the back of his mind released and his spirits lifted with the worst behind him. Now free to delve back into finessed calculations and active alkahest that he enjoyed above all else. The act of creating something new into existence fueled him into another binge of pushing his limits, which came faster and more frequently without the brooch to pull from. He created a sample set of an equal amount of alkahest poison and combined different ratios of Pure Spirit to each to test how it would affect the potion. They would all be given to Fiachra to experiment, who would surely find a devious use for them. His worry over the usefulness of his work dissolved upon finishing the poisons, they came together, and who knew what they would do, but they were complete!

  Each batch of experiments was capped with cork and wax, stamped with his personal seal, and tied off with a piece of parchment around the neck of the bottle annotating the ratio of elements for reference. They were then packed delicately into Fiachra’s box. Belenus spun between tables and box with a flourish upon completing each one, eyes bright and a small smile on his lips.

  He was close to considering his experiments complete for now when a knock at the front door interrupted him. It splintered every thought and sent his mind reeling while his body froze in place. He whirled to the lab door and sliced his hand horizontally through the air, cutting the spells in place like invisible cords. He stared down the hall at the front door as though it were a stranger he could remove with a command. Another round of knocks sounded, prompting him to action. He darted into his room throwing off his current tunic and donning a new one as fast as possible, wrapping his waist with a long silver sash even faster. Pinning the illusioned brooch and fleece square as he practically flew to the front of the house, pausing for a single moment to check the illusion was still in place before opening the door.

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  On the other side of the door stood his father waiting patiently. Elisedd shifted when the door opened, his cloak sweeping back with the gesture regally revealing brilliant purple lining, rich contrast against simple constructed silver and muted lavender clothes. His silver hair was the most elaborate of his appearance, interwoven back in looping braids away from his pale face and neck. Belenus moved into full view and Elisedd’s expression softened.

  “Elisedd,” he began, managing to sound collected. “Have you come early?” He stepped aside and welcomed Elisedd in, who entered with light and precise steps.

  “I have arrived on the day I promised I would,” Elisedd responded. Belenus noticed himself being observed. Elisedd’s fond expression became a knowing look. “You have lost yourself in work once again…”

  “Is it so obvious?” He scowled and carefully brushed his hair back and adjusted his tunic. “Must everyone continuously scrutinize me?”

  “One of the reasons I sent that letter was so you would be prepared for my visit. I respect your dedication to your craft and I love you, but you are an exasperating son.”

  “I’m prepared despite my distraction; I can brew tea if you would like.”

  “You can’t distract me with tea, though it would be agreeable to have. Bring it to your lab, I would like to hear of what you have been working on that has kept you so busy.”

  “I’ll have a pot ready quickly. You are one of the few genuinely interested and I think you will be fascinated to know what I’ve gained from your books.” Belenus went into the kitchen while Elisedd disappeared into the back room. He prepared the tea in short order joining Elisedd once it was steeping.

  “You’ve been quite busy,” Elisedd commented running a hand over the open lip of Fiachra’s box. “A lot more than your usual.”

  “Ah, that may be so… I’ve had a lot of material to test out.”

  “From your travels?” Elisedd took to a chair and poured himself a cup of tea. Belenus nodded in answer. “We haven’t spoken prior to you leaving, how did the excursion go and how have you been since returning?”

  “Productive on both counts, as you have observed. I acquired an unexpected variety of resources from the forest to experiment with.” He couldn’t quite bring himself to mention Fiachra but continued without faltering. “The past couple of weeks alone I have been cross-integrating research fields with processes from your old books. The results are in that box; I don’t know how they will fare but they are worth testing.”

  Elisedd flipped through the cards tied to each bottle reading the annotations. “Very thorough and I would expect nothing less. I am pleased your efforts have rewarded you thus far. Tell me something that is not found in your notes, what do you theorize will result when they are used? I look forward to comparing the results once you take the time to test them.”

  “I will keep you appraised of course, once I know what they can do.” He wanted to know as well what would happen and would be sure to be around when Fiachra used them or to make a new batch himself. He told Elisedd his running theories while they finished the tea.

  When there was a pause, Elisedd gave him a dry look. “You forgot about my visit.”

  “Not so, I didn’t forget about it, it just happened sooner than expected.”

  “Say what you will,” Elisedd sighed. “No matter, I called upon you to give you time to prepare for an important symposium. Leaders of the University have been visiting over this month and Caerwyn has been hosting specialized meetings during the course of their stay. Tomorrow Master Alchemists of the University will be speaking with like Masters of Caerwyn.”

  Belenus scowled as he listened, he could see where this was going but didn’t interrupt.

  “I know you don’t hold the responsibilities of the title of Master Alchemist but you have the skill and experience for it. For that reason, I would like you to attend tomorrow.”

  “I respect your argument Elisedd, but there is a reason I chose not to accept the title of Master Alchemist and it’s for occasions such as this. What benefit will this symposium bring beyond hours of posturing and conversations about nothing? As though that weren’t sufferable enough, you’ve also only given me one day of warning!”

  “We both know what would happen if I gave you any longer warning than I have.” Elisedd’s words were matter-of-fact but his tone was gentle. “You may not enjoy the meetings themselves but you may enjoy the University Masters attending. They are not ones you have been acquainted with before, and there is good chance they will provide new insights that you have not previously encountered. You can certainly provide them with knowledge that they then can impart to their students. Would that not be rewarding in its own right?” Elisedd was earnest and genuine in his desire, it came through in the softness of his smile and the gleam in his dark gold eyes.

  He felt Elisedd was overly optimistic about the outcome of meetings such as this. He rarely left them with enlightenment and was skeptical of how much others got out of it as well. However, he didn’t have the heart to crush Elisedd’s finer feelings. “Alright,” he sighed. “I will attend.”

  Elisedd grasped Belenus’s shoulder warmly turning that soft smile fully onto him. “Thank you for your willingness to attend Belenus, it means a lot to me and it will mean a lot to them as well. Remember meet tomorrow in the community hall a hand span before highsun, please don’t be late.”

  “I will be prompt,” he promised, resting his hand on Elisedd’s forearm by his shoulder. He kept eye contact with gravity to show his full intent.

  “Very well, I will see you in the morning.”

  He walked Elisedd to the front door politely and Elisedd hugged him before taking his leave. When the door shut, he locked it with a spell and leaned against it staring off into nothing for a moment. Frustration and resignation battled to overtake one another over how to process the new turn of events. After far too many distractions he was so close to being able to leave to reclaim his heirloom, only to have yet another distraction block the path. An inescapable obligation. He fingered the illusioned brooch and looked down at it. It should hold through the meeting, it proved promising that Elisedd never commented on it. Though, that knowledge did not soothe the nausea lurking.