Where the Mundane Would Seem More Useful

Submitted into Contest #237 in response to: Write about a cynical character who somehow ends up on a blind date.... view prompt

8 comments

Fantasy Fiction

“I’m a guildfellow, here,” Ferrik tried to cut through the excited din of the tavern to his date, “I work as a smith.”


“Oh! An artificer, how lovely!” Orivyre was dressed too well for this dive, where the tables were all beersticky and the bartender knew next to every face. “I always thought that the process of enchanting was such a noble pursuit, the binding of magic to material.”


“Oh, no,” Ferrik leaned away on his stool. “I mean, sure, I know some very talented artificers, and they’re great, but I’m not one of them. I’m a smith, I do metalwork.”


“Oh.” Orivyre’s brow creased ever so slightly, like they were trying to puzzle something out.


The two stewed in an awkward silence as the bar moved around their little bubble of tension. Orivyre took a sip of their drink. Ferrik took a sip of his, feeling suddenly quite dull.


Orivyre broke the silence with a question. “I guess, like, why?”


“What do you mean, why?” Ferrik turned a sidelong glance.


“Why come to the citadel? Everything here is so magical on it’s face, to explore across boundless cosmos. Ever outward, and all that. We’ve got the highest concentration of mages anywhere, here on this plane alone, not to mention the waystations. If all you’re gonna do is make metal, why be here and not somewhere less magically privileged, where the mundane would seem more useful?”


Ferrik was stunned by the gall for a moment, but only a moment.


“What a phenomenally rude thing to say.” He launched in.


“Oh, no, I mean, I didn’t-” Their eyes went wide and they began to stammer before Ferrik cut them off.


“No, you need to hear this. I’m here, because I deserve to be here. You think I just wandered in across a portal and ended up here? I worked my ass off, I became top of my trade, not only that but I’ve stayed on top through the endless gauntlet of contract work. And despite what you might think the citadel appreciates that shit.” Ferrik slugged back a hit of their drink, the whiskey putting a fire in their stomach, “Everything here is magical, get out of here with that bullshit. Like the whole of the Commission of Provisioning is just sitting around twiddling our thumbs. This place couldn’t run a single day without hundreds of makers, supremely fucking talented artisans by the way, who deal with all the mundane shit that lets high and mighty adventurers like you feel like it’s all effortless. If it were up to those spellcasters you think are so much better than me, they’d let it all crumble due to sheer lack of thought.”


At this point Orivyre was putting on their coat, their face an even flush of embarrassment and resentment as they gathering their keys and wallet.


“Yeah, that’s right, walk away. And think about the mason who laid the road those pretty fucking shoes are walking on. Think about the cobbler who made the pretty fucking shoes, while you’re at it.” Orivyre was nearly out the door at this point, and Ferrik hollered across the bar, “Just think!”


And then they were gone, and Ferrik was just at the bar. Folks nearby were looking at him, probably trying to figure out if he was the asshole for yelling at the pretty enby. He didn’t care. He wouldn’t go on another date for a good long while.


He ordered another whiskey and the bartender poured it tall, into a glass blown by hand, on a bar carved from solid wood, in a building raised through sweat skill and studs, in a world that would rather believe that it all came together magically than appreciate that labor.

February 09, 2024 18:49

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

8 comments

Kemz F
02:30 Feb 23, 2024

Hi! From what I can tell it seems your story is set in a much bigger fantasy world and I'm... intrigued as hell. I can't help but hope this is a setup for an enemies-to-lovers story (it must be the hopeless romantic in me). All in all fascinating read!

Reply

Morgan Aloia
04:35 Feb 23, 2024

Thanks for the kind words Kemz, enemies to lovers would be an interesting take on this one, for sure! I write pretty much exclusively into this world, as an anthology series. If you're interested, I'll post a link to my website where you can find all of them. I generally post a chapter daily (though admittedly this week has fallen off a bit on account of some travel for work). https://theetraanthology.com

Reply

Kemz F
21:20 Feb 23, 2024

Thanks for sharing! I'll check it out!

Reply

Morgan Aloia
23:29 Feb 23, 2024

Rad!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Shannon Ambroson
18:04 Feb 22, 2024

Oooo this didn't go as I expected. I enjoyed the anti-romance and the play on privileged beings unknowingly looking down on those who made the very things they use daily. Nice job :)

Reply

Morgan Aloia
19:06 Feb 22, 2024

Thanks for the kind words Shannon! This was a fun bit of thinking on what the attitude towards artisanship could be in a world far outpaced by magic. Sad that that lead me to disappreciation, but still interesting.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Jeff Stone
14:17 Feb 22, 2024

You've done a good job of placing us into this scene. Beersticky, the bartender knows most everyone, but it's also in another magical realm that we know of mixed with medieval - there are terms for this genre, but I can't keep up with all of them:) But, I liked the setting that you created. I also liked the surprise at the close that this was a date. It wasn't apparent to me that this was a date until that point. While Ferrick was offended, I do think the sudden barrage of F bombs could be done away with. His language (supremely fucking tal...

Reply

Morgan Aloia
19:17 Feb 22, 2024

Hey Jeff, thanks for sharing your thoughts! Glad the imagery is working towards the intent of the piece. Concerning that it wasn't clear early on that this was meant to be a date-gone-wrong, I'll take a pass back through and work to make that set dressing more explicit. I tend to write vignettes in anthology, so lots of little scenes like this all into the same setting. I like the way it can give an almost impressionist's view of the themes I'm trying to hit. So, for example, I don't have other stories currently written where these charac...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.