The beacons had all gone dark long ago, but we kept on living, hoping for a single ray of light to return in those eternally cloudy skies. Yet in its continued absence we each forged our own, by any means necessary. No one survives an endless night without a spark, no matter how small.
The chains that burdened us all – save for those most fortunate few – stretched out into the darkness beyond where we could see, into the shadows our faint sparks could not illuminate. A momentary lapse of concentration, of balance; one strong pull on the chains was all it took, and another of us would go screaming into the void – extinguished.
So long as we are still bound, we cannot truly relax. Perhaps we never will, with this many chains…
A warm rose-gold glow illuminated the shadows on my path. It must be the first of the month, I thought, looking up to see a familiar figure flickering before me.
“Good to see you, friend,” the Witch murmured, her voice echoing from a thousand miles away.
“And you. You look well,” I added, and meant it. She would deny it, of course; the Witch had barely escaped a life of torment, suffering both injury and insult so many times even she had forgotten the count. I knew she hated her face, her body – everything the past had done to her. She would deny her beauty, her wisdom, even her goodness.
But I knew she would always keep a promise once made, with a stubborn will forged in countless white-hot flames she refused to discuss. And unlike me, she was finally free of her chains, although it had cost her dearly to shatter them.
The Witch’s image waved a hand dismissively. “Well enough,” she hedged. “You remember my words from before, I trust?”
“I could hardly forget such a bold proclamation.”
“Yes, well-” She hesitated for a moment, then lifted a hand, sigils forming around it. “Ah, I’m no good at this sort of thing. Go on, take the boon, with my blessings.”
A second set of sigils took shape in the air as I reached out, palms up – and almost toppled over as a gleaming golden hammer fell from within them, landing in my grasp. Far heavier than I had expected, even. I steadied myself and gripped the leather-wrapped handle properly, and examined the head a little more closely to see the markings. 2, 5, 5, and 5 again. No wonder.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked quietly, gently shifting the hammer’s weight from one hand to the other. It would serve its purpose, there was no doubt of that; and yet… “You don’t have to offer so much at once, you know.”
The Witch crossed her arms. “I’d do that and more, if yours was the only delivery to make today. Trust me-” A wry smile flickered across that solemn face of hers. “-I’m quite accomplished at managing my own resources.”
I had no doubt of that. But I also knew she would burn herself out if she felt duty compelled her. “Well, I don’t want you to be obliged to keep doing this,” I returned, with a little smile, “but I also appreciate it, with all my heart. You’re a wonderful person, you know that?”
Her image looked away, down and to the side. “… So you keep telling me,” the Witch mumbled.
“Until you believe it, and even after, yes.”
She sighed, but the sound lacked her usual exasperated note. “Fine, fine. Anyway – be well, friend.”
“And you as well, dear,” I replied brightly, as her image flickered and then vanished. Off to grace someone else with a boon, no doubt. But I had work to do, if only briefly.
The hammer fit perfectly in my hands as I gripped it with both, turning a brief half-circle to look at the chains attached to my back. So very many of them, so thick and heavy, it was hard to imagine how I’d made any progress at all. And yet, I had. We all had. The weight seemed almost ordinary now, unremarkable.
But how far might we go in its absence?
I braced myself for the impact, then lifted the hammer over my head, up, up, as high as I could. My arms strained against its ponderous weight, but my grip held fast. And then I brought it down in a thunderous arc, with gravity my unfailing ally, to strike the nearest chain with a ringing blow so loud it almost masked the violent crack of metal giving way under brutal force.
Dizzied by the impact, I righted myself to find the hammer’s head shattered into a pile of fragments, leaving me holding the remaining bare handle. All it had taken was a single strike. But I looked further, and I saw the chain-
-and its link to me was broken.
Even as I laid eyes upon it I saw the ends of it start to dissolve, the metal rusting over and then falling apart in a puff of withered iron. And I felt the weight upon my shoulders shift, ever so slightly. Not gone, not free – but better. Better by just a little bit.
Something hissed angrily in the dark, and the other side of the chain was violently tugged away, still decomposing as it slid into that impenetrable shadow. But it held me no longer, and I stepped forward. One foot in front of the other, just as before.
Well – perhaps a little lighter, now. Thanks to my dearest friend.
So long as we are still bound, we cannot truly relax. But even if the beacons never return, so long as your spark yet remains within…
I will sever every last accursed chain of yours, so long as I still have life and breath.
diamonds from ash 
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