Thorboc and Keloki followed Alice down the same ridgeline as the year before. Ignoring protocol, she had been kind enough to carry them across the terrain and lift them to the mountain top with her arcane powers. They were hours ahead of the convoy. The stars shone brightly over the icy wasteland, of the southern continent of Geothae. The Steel Raven sat on the same rock, staring out at the same spot in the sky.

Thorboc said. “How did we get stuck coming down here again? I’m gonna freeze my beard off.”

Keloki said, “At least the weather is better this year.”

“I volunteered for it. My curiosity got the better of me.” Alice halted them at the same point as the previous year.

The Steel Raven sat in her spot. Her body was covered in winter clothing with her wings wrapped around her.

Alice shouted. “How is it going tonight?”

A fist sized eye-drone, with two tiny blue crystals on front, appeared from behind the Steel Raven. It flew an odd cork-screwy pattern towards them. “Greetings. I am Klak.” It said in a soft childlike voice. It drifted and swayed, never seeming in complete control of its body. “You are early. The appointed time is sunrise.”

“I got bored.” Alice shrugged. “I was wondering what is so interesting about the view up here.”

“Do not disturb my master. Please.” Klak said.

Alice grabbed Klak.

Thorboc didn’t see anything move but there was suddenly rings of countless meter long, thin, square-edged, black, metal spikes hovering ominously around them.

“P-Pl-Pease release me.” Klak begged.

Alice delicately fingered the end of a spike, it didn’t move a bit. “Iron? You could really hurt somebody with that.”

A spike drove itself through her foot and deep into the stone.

“I really liked those shoes.” Alice said, with a annoyed sigh. She let go of the drone.

Klak spun, bounced off Keloki’s head and retreated behind the ring of weapons. “I-I-I don’t like being touched.”

The spike pulled free and disappeared into the cloud of death. Alice gave a graceful bow. “I apologize for disturbing you. And sorry to you, sir Klak. We will wait here until the appointed time.”

“Tha-Than-Thank you.” Klak hurried off vaguely in the direction of the Raven.

The spikes moved, almost too fast to see, forming a wall along the path towards The Raven.

Alice held out her hand and a large metal box appeared with a door in it. The brothers followed her inside. It was a simple room with a couple cloth benches and a table. Like a large booth at a restaurant. How she managed to make it stay wherever she put it the brothers had not been able to figure out. It just did, so they just accepted it as part of their job like many other things. The pay was good and they ate at lavish diners most everywhere they went. Ignoring things they didn’t understand or shouldn’t know was a low price to pay.

“Are you ok?” Keloki said.

“Yea. This is going to be more difficult than I thought.” She took of the bloody shoe and examined it, poking her fingers through the hole. “She actually stabbed me. No screaming or threats or posturing, just straight up stabbed me.” She smiled and flexed her foot which showed no sign of injury.

 “Why were you trying to provoke her?” Thorboc said.

“There were rumors that she can move iron. I wanted to see for myself.”

“You can’t use arcane on iron. It’s impossible.” Keloki said.

She gestured towards the door. “Go tell her that.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

She tossed the shoe in the corner and spawned new ones on her feet. “No one knows much about the Steel Raven. Accounts vary so much that they describe completely different species. Other than she loves her little steel spike weapons no one even knows her abilities. It’s like someone has made an active effort to destroy any records of her.”

“I thought all you Mecromancers knew each other.” Keloki said.

“Most Mecromancers have some connections with others, but if this Raven has any friends they are good friends indeed. She never plays politics or causes any real trouble so no one else has pays her any attention. The only thing that every Mecromancer knows about her is that it is illegal to touch her, and that is punishable by death. I did some digging and found that the law was passed millennia ago after a series of unexplained deaths.”

“You don’t remember her? I thought you was one of the oldest Mecromancers?”

“Organic brains were never meant to exist for this long. Unless we make efforts to back up our memory we lose some of them over time. A lesson we all learned, a little too late. Our long lives were an unforeseen side effect, so no one thought about the consequences of being basically immortal. Few remember anything of the first few centuries of the Mecromancer program.”

“You look good for your age.” Thorboc said.

“The answer is still no little dhonzel.” She laughed. “Keep trying. Maybe I will change my mind next time.” She spawned a bottle of fire wine, a high alcohol, hotspice drink that Alice loved. She poured a glass and downed it. “Now the Steel Raven can fuck off and die for all I care. She can stay hidden forever it wouldn’t bother me one bit.” She poured again. “But the one thing I don’t understand is, why here? Every record I could find has her here, every single year. That goes back two millennia since this colony, Sanctuary was established. It could be longer.”

“Maybe she lost someone here and she is mourning them.”

“That’s a possibility. But it’s not a specific date or season. My best guess is that the she needs to be here when the stars are in a certain position. The convoys are actually scheduled around her timetable, even ignoring favorable weather conditions. The Raven sits here, alone, in the cold, in the dark, for days, every single year for millennia. She sits and watches the sky.” She downed the second glass.

“Maybe she is waiting for something.”

“But what?!” Alice groaned.

They continued chatting about nothing important until the time was almost up. They left the room and Alice recalled her box back into her mecromail. The sun was peaking over the horizon.

The Raven approached them. Klak followed trying to stay near her without running into his master.

“Your golem looks broken. Why don’t you fix it? Or get a new one.” She laughed.

The cloud of spikes appeared above them. A female voice came out of the drone. “Careful with your words. You live in ignorance and darkness. Do you wish me to enlighten you?”

“I let you get away with that little outburst earlier, but don’t mistake me for being weak or foolish.” Alice smirked. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

The Steel Raven took a solid step towards Alice. The female voice spoke from the drone. “Alice Helena Ti’rask. Mecromancer forty-seven. Fire lizard polymorph. Planned recipient of the first mecromail. Both of your parents were lost at First Contact. Your fire lizard genes give you heat and fire resistance, along with the ability to breathe fire. Your personal ability is a rapid healing. Your Mecromancer abi…

“STOP!” Alice shouted.

“I was answering your question.” The female voice said.

“How do you know all that?!”

The Steel Raven hung her head. The voice said, “Sometimes it is easier to forget.” She turned towards the ledge.

Alice reached for her but the wall of spikes formed between them.

“The law exists for a reason. I don’t wish to kill you today.”

“I don’t care how much you remember. That doesn’t mean you can defeat me.”

“Do you wish to challenge me? Do you wish to be defeated again Ti’rask?”

“Again?”

The Steel Raven nodded.

Thorboc skin tingled with the growing amount of arcane in the air. He had spent a year going to a half dozen colonies and few dared to speak with Alice. No one ever dreamed of threatening her. This Steel Raven was either insane or powerful beyond comprehension. Maybe both. He took a step back.

“Do not move.” Klak said in his normal voice. “You are safe, but you must stay still.”

“Tell me who you are.” Alice demanded.

“I cannot.” The female voice said from the drone.

“You are going to give me answers or you are not leaving here.”

“Would you risk destruction for your answers?”

“I think I would get answers if I touched you. I don’t care how fast you think you are I am faster.”

The Steel Raven visibly sighed letting out a cloud of breath. “You are forever stubborn.” She pulled off a glove showing a slender female hand with pale skin. The hand dug around in her thick layers of coats. When she pulled it out, a long, elaborately carved, gold chain hung from her hand. She held out her arm. “Take it, but do not touch me.”

Alice slowly took the end of the chain. The Raven let go of a bright red crystal that fell and swung in the breeze. “I remember this necklace. It’s important.” Alice said, “Why do I remember it? What is on this data crystal?”

“Answers.”

“About you?”

“No. About you.”

“I am feeling really tempted to grab you and throw you into the moon right now. You have about five seconds to stop this cryptic bullshit before I slap some sense into you.”

“Those are the memories of your first son. You gave that crystal for me to hold onto because you could not bear to have them. I will take it back if you wish.” The Steel Raven held out her hand.

Alice stood frozen for what felt like forever. “Why would I give this to you? I don’t even know you.”

“I see you have completely forgotten your master.”

“Master?” Alice, Thorboc and Keloki said in unison.

“I guess I didn’t leave that much of an impression on you.”

Alice bowed low. “I am sorry Master.”

“You do remember her stabbing you a couple hours ago?” Thorboc said.

“I think she speaks truth and if she knows so much about me then she knows I would use her corpse to split a planet if this is a lie.”

“Still honorable. Still stubborn. Still angry.” The spikes disappeared from the sky. The Steel Raven bowed. “I am proud of the job you do to keep rogue Mecromancers in line.” The female voice said.

“Thank you, Master.”

“Can we go now?”

“Will you answer one more thing for me?” Alice asked.

“I will, if I can.”

“Why you always return here? Why do you wait?”

“I wait for the man of my dreams to fall out of the sky.”

“Are you serious?”

“Do you remember me telling a lot of jokes?” With that The Raven jumped off the ledge with Klak desperately trying to follow her path.

Alice said, “Ok, we just had a conversation with the ‘never talks to anyone’ Steel Raven, through her golem. She gave me a memory crystal, told me she was my master, and that she is waiting for the man of her dreams to fall out of the sky. Am I remembering that correctly?”

“That about sums it up.”  Keloki said.

“Good. Just making sure I didn’t get drunk, fall off the mountain and hit my head.” She turned towards the ledge. “And just so we are clear you will not breathe a single word of this to anyone, ever. Or it will be your corpse splitting a planet.”

“We don’t ever talk about your business boss lady.” Thorboc said. Keloki nodded.