Mythshaper

Chapter 48: Legionaries

The moment I finished molding the runes on the shield, I dashed out of the workshop to find Eran. The sun was at the horizon, painting the sky a pale golden red. It was late, yet still early enough for Eran to finish his evening practice.

Just as I had imagined, I found him next to the empty field near the one where we had been cultivating lettuce.

There was no way for me to hide the octagonal shield, so I did not bother. With a big grin on my lips, I approached him.

While he was doing push-ups, Eran lifted his head and shot me a questioning look. "Is that what you have been crafting?"

“Took me a whole week.” My grin did not disappear as I handed it to him.

He lifted the shield, brushing his palm over the solid metallic surface of the refined hardwood. "It's heavier than I thought ... solid too." He executed a couple of quick manoeuvres with it. "Hmm, isn’t it too polished to be wood? You could hurt someone with the sharp edges."

I had made it with exactly that idea in mind when I designed it. "If you want," I said, "I could file down the edges to make it more circular."

Eran's gaze returned as he blinked. "If I want?"

"Well, I made this for you."

His expression froze, and for a long moment, he did not know how to reply.

"For me? Truly?"