Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series by Nicholas Taylor Page B

pipe that rose from the furnace to the
ceiling. The furnace was made of some sort of clay, but it was
impossible to distinguish from the black soot that covered it.
Brack was working a billow with one hand and holding a metal rod in
the other. The rod was deep in the fire; red was creeping up the
rod toward Brack’s glove. He was also wearing soot-black pants and
what had once been a white shirt with sleeves rolled up past his
elbows. As he worked the billows, sparks and flame roared out from
the opening of the furnace like some monster from a children’s
story.
    Benches and anvils were scattered throughout the
room. It was lit only by the furnace’s glow which cast the room in
a sharp contrast of dark and bloody hues of red and orange. In the
center of the room was Kovos. Both he and his father were wearing
thick aprons made in the fashion of leather armor. They were
scorched and cut in places, signs of the hot iron’s angry touch.
Kovos was wearing a thick pair of gloves and pounding on a piece of
red-hot iron. Each time the hammer hit, sparks flew from it in
protest. Kovos and his father were amazing to watch. They brought
their hammers high in the air and then down with incredible force
and precision.
    * * * * *
    Sasha was having a hard time hearing over the roar of
the furnace. Legon had to shout over it. “Kovos! Kovos, pay
attention to me you great buffoon!”
    At this Kovos looked up, made a rude hand gesture at
Legon, and continued to work. Legon and Sasha laughed. “Good to see
you too.”
    Kovos nodded to them, telling them to wait a minute.
He raised the hammer high and brought it down with force on the
rod, showering the floor with sparks. Sasha noticed the muscles on
his bare arms ripple when the hammer reached its target. His stocky
build was made for this work. Kovos was wearing the same black
pants and blackened shirt as his father. He put down the hammer and
walked over to them with the rod still in his hands. “Let me give
this back to dad and we can go out back.” They nodded and walked to
the back of the shop.
    It felt good to get out of the heat and into the
alleyway behind the shop. The spring air was cool and inviting. A
moment later Kovos came walking out with a large cleaver of the
type Legon had used the previous day to split a cow. He wasn’t
wearing the apron anymore and looked happy to be out of the shop.
He handed the cleaver to Legon, who began to inspect it. “Looks
good, Kovos. Thanks.” 
    Kovos and his father were amazing smiths, or at least
they were in Legon’s opinion. He hadn’t seen much of the work of
other blacksmith’s since Salmont only needed one. Kovos was not as
good as his dad, but despite his insistence that he was not very
good, everyone in the town trusted him with any project. Kovos was
a hard worker and a perfectionist. He was also incredibly loyal.
Legon knew that Kovos would stand next to him no matter what. He
also knew that Kovos feared Sasha but would still defend her with
his life just because she was Legon’s sister. This was not a fact
lost on Sasha, and though she knew that Kovos, like most of the
town, feared her, she was grateful for him. He was nice to her, and
if she was on her own and saw Kovos, he would talk to her and
escort her wherever she was going. Barnin had been that way too.
Both Kovos and Barnin, while flawed men, had incredible
character.
    “No problem. Thanks for killing and butchering that
deer for me. It was great.” He looked at Sasha. “Hey Sash, how are
you feeling today?”
    “How… how did you know I had an episode?” she asked,
amazed.
    “Easy. Legon didn’t come by yesterday, and he would
only miss out on a new cleaver if you weren’t well.”
    “Oh. Thank you, Kovos. I’m feeling fine now.” As she
said this she looked at Legon and smiled inwardly. She was so
grateful to have him in her life, and she was sad to think about
him leaving.
    Kovos looked at the buckskin tubes that Legon was
holding and frowned. “I