18 [Wings]

Fate/Defiance

Chapter 17 [Wings]

By theMadLad

Ares was conflicted.

On one hand he was pretty pissed that his prized familiars were dispatched in such an indirect and strategic way. He raised them for brutal savagery and malicious takedowns damnit—not this bronze disease sissy shit!

…But on the other hand, seeing an eight-year-old child so systematically and ingeniously take down the prized familiars that he personally raised brought a certain kind of… appreciation. The act had also gotten him excited for the first time in quite a bit, especially when he watched the little boy show a hint of the savagery he hid within.

That roar of fierceness he gave as he executed one of the birds with the feather that he ripped from his backside was particularly satisfying. Hades, Ares was considering giving the boy his blessing just so could survive the battle, as he didn't want the boy's life to be cut so short—he wanted to see more.

He supposed that there was also a thrill in seeing a hero fall as well. But then that would be a waste.

The very reason he had raised the Stymphalian Birds was specifically to watch someone defeat them. He wanted to create a bloodthirsty monster that needed a hero to rise up and slay, and for the past decade or so… he had only been met with disappointment.

But now, that changed.

There were only three things that Ares gave a shit about, blood, courage, and war. That's why, as the very concept of conflict, he was excited to watch what the boy would grow into after seeing him revel and flourish in all three.

Icarus' feat had gotten his blood-boiling for the first time in years, and Ares could tell that he wasn't the only one. It felt like the boy had taken the first step for the next Age of Heroes. Although, Ares rolled his eyes as he watched his strategic counterpart of war, Athena, practically salivate over the boy when all the birds collapsed into the swamp.

It was impressive in a way, sure, but not nearly as impressive as killing a bird known to eviscerate men thrice his size with his bare hands. So with that thought in mind, Ares decided to mock the shy blushing virgin of a goddess without respite.

Heh, the uptight bitch was pissed.

Unfortunately, his father had to come in and chastise them, ruining all of his fun. But, as they watched the boy limp his way back to the village's ruins by forcing himself to stay awake through the pain, and all the while leaving a message for the villagers to find despite his crippled state…

It garnered a different feeling than the one before.

It garnered respect.

—Such actions were commendable.

Ares snorted while he watched his sister and aunt give the small boy a blessing of health in a nervous and worried state. But as he looked upon the boy curling into himself by the fire while quaking in pain throughout the night, Ares couldn't help but do the same.

…After all, they were his familiars that Icarus defeated, so it would make sense that accomplishing such a deed would need a suitable reward in response, right?

Hmph, "Be grateful boy, for the God of War grants you his favor—it would be wise of you to remember that." He spoke to himself as Athena and the majority of the other gods watching rolled their eyes in the background.

Then, with the wave of his hand, the small fire by the sleeping boy lit up with a warm glow and left a gift behind.

Athena gave him a threatening gaze in response to his actions before running off to Apollo, intent on forcing him to spread the news of the boy's deeds using the Oracles placed throughout the land and in each major city-state.

Which left Ares to sigh and lament… that if only the boy had been born in Sparta, he would have been a warrior like no other.

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Meanwhile, as Icarus became the most highly spoken about subject throughout all of Greece, the person in question had only finally recovered enough to move around freely, and while his wounds had healed, the scars that proved they occurred remained.

Oh well, at least they are somewhat cool, he supposed.

…Though they did seem a bit morbid on his eight-year-old form, with the jagged lines clear to see on his legs serving as a reminder of the brutal fight.

Icarus stood over a makeshift table that had the blueprint he had been working on for some time, it was for the set of wings he intended to make. He then pulled out his tools, but soon enough, he realized that it wouldn't be so simple.

He needed an actual workshop.

He couldn't just bullshit the wings, he needed to make them properly. They were going to bring him flying into the air, if there was a single mistake—he could plummet to his death.

But, he simply didn't have the time. Creating the kind of workshop that he needed was an intense project needing months to create. He didn't want to do it until he had a somewhat permanent residence.

But, he still needed space to work.

"Hey, go chop these trees, fuck up those bushes. You know, the thing you're best at?" Icarus told the bird by his side with a glare. In response, the bird snorted in resentment before waddling over slowly and doing as commanded.

That's right, he had tamed the bird he captured.

Or… he might have? He wasn't too sure in that regard, because suddenly one day—he started to feel a faint connection to the bird that only continued to grow stronger as the days passed.

That, combined with threats to eat it like its siblings… had eventually pushed it into compliance. So, as Icarus set up a large table to work at, the bird went into action—fully displaying its savage nature to quickly clear the area of life.

It was definitely something to watch it work, especially when it wasn't trying to kill him. It quickly and efficiently used its wings and talons to shred apart trunks and rip out weeds, until eventually it left just smooth dirt ground.

"Good shit, Paimon." Icarus praised the bird he had named after another type of emergency food. He was a bit concerned about naming it after one of the 72 Demon Pillars of the Lesser Keys of Solomon… but considering that Solomon had yet to be born, he thought it was fine.

He didn't plan to rely on a… familiar anyways. The only strength he would ever count on was his own.

Fuck, he needed to find Chiron soon.

But, that was still some time away, and he needed to focus on the present. Icarus wanted to forge and create his wings by hand, without the use of too much magic other than what was needed. But, as there was only so much he could do without a workshop, he had to improvise on most parts.

So he started with what he could do.

The first day he had prepared a sacrifice for Athena in order to request some olive trees, as he was willing to bet she would grant it.

Then he spent the rest of the day drawing and noting down the various parts and joints of Paimon's wings using stored parchment and improvised charcoal ink. He also tried to use magic to make alterations to the leftover bronze feathers in an attempt to rid them of the bronze disease, but unfortunately they seemed to carry an innate magic resistance that negated such a weak spell.

It had left him with no choice but to try and clip some of the remaining untouched bronze from them using stone clippers made through altering nearby rocks. Although the stone clippers easily broke multiple times, he was still barely able to complete it.

After doing so, he stored them away for later use before heading to sleep. The next day it seemed that Athena had answered his offerings, bringing a small forest of olive trees up to replace those surrounding him.

He gave a small offering in thanks before heading into work, intent on creating the final simple machine almost a thousand years early.

The Screw.

He could only give Archimedes his apologies before taking a crude stone saw to one of the trees, and cutting it down with a smooth finish. From there, he divided it into planks before separating out a long but small straight piece. Icarus then took a small bronze feather and used it to carve a spiral indent into the tiny stick of wood, while also making sure to leave a length of it uncarved.

From there he added a small hollow piece of wood that he could fit over the previously carved piece, however the hollow wood was only to the length of the carved portion of the other wood, which left the uncarved portion to stick out.

Then, he added small sharp points of wood through the hollow piece and rested along the grooves of the carved wood resting inside. (example picture here.)

Then using the length that had remained uncarved and sticking out, he added a small sharp piece onto the end, before bringing out another hollow piece of wood and holding it over this end of the stick. (example picture here.)

Next, he started to spin the wood, using the sharp piece at the end to carve into the new hollow point while also following the path he had previously carved on the other end, by using the referenced indents traced by the small points of wood stabbed through the other hollowed wood.

This allowed him to use the already threaded end to replicate the carved spiral's shape inside the new hollow piece of wood. (example picture here.)

Finally in the end, he was left with a hollow piece that held an internal threading in the exact shape of a screw.

…A perfect mold for casting.

Icarus then used the various materials he could find in order to make a makeshift skeleton frame for the wings that were based on Paimon's wings.

Afterwards, the process continued on over days, with Icarus creating a small crucible in order to aid in casting bronze screws from the mold, while also designing a system of pulleys to help control the wings. The pulleys were also made to be cast in bronze, with molds being made for them as well.

The pulleys were connected to each joint through strings that were held in place by screws tied with loose nuts. With this system, he could control each wing's movements with the tug of a string.

From there he made a mold specifically for each individual piece he needed, using the crucible and leftover bronze to cast them one by one. He reinforced each mold before casting and then assembled the finished products together, using both the blueprints he made and the notes from observing Paimon in the assembly.

The skeletal frame of the wings was attached piece by piece, leaving loosened nuts and screws to hold them together while linking to the various other parts, including a chassis that he could frame over his body to hold the final product in place.

Magic was also used in the creation, helping to empower the materials of basic bronze into a powerful alloy using alchemy.

On one wing he carved symbols of the sun, while on the other the moon. In Alchemy, the sun represented gold, while the moon, silver. He used the bronze material to link them together, as bronze was represented by Venus.

He was able to do this because Venus in Greek Cosmology and Astrology was believed to be two separate bodies, a morning star and an evening star. He tied these two concepts to both the sun and the moon by correlating them to each wing, allowing them to mold into a never before seen alloy made of equal parts gold, silver, and bronze.

It also helped that the wings tied into the domains of each God referenced, specifically Apollo, who represented the sun, Artemis, who represented the moon, and Aphrodite who represented Venus. As the wings were conceptually tied to birds, who were heavily under the domains of Apollo and Artemis who together represented flocks, wildlife, and animals. Birds were also known to be active during both the night and day, as different species were either nocturnal or diurnal, adding a correlation between them through that way as well..[1]

Finally, they were all then tied together through Aphrodite, who could not only symbolize the bonds of love between both siblings but also Venus, which would show up during the morning dawn and the evening dusk—the rise and set of both the sun and the moon. The use of bronze as the base for the alchemy process allowed all these concepts to link together into a finished product.

Icarus waited as the days passed, with the alchemical process occurring over time and radically shifting the once stagnant bronze color into a dark yet shining bronze gradient that gleamed against light.

He also found it to be much stronger than regular bronze, and was left somewhat baffled it worked so well.

…As unknown to him, he had accidentally created Corinthian Bronze.[2]

With the wings almost finished he added the final detail, the feathers. Using the feathers taken from the corpses of the birds he killed, as well as ones he took from Paimon, Icarus slowly attached them to the wings.

He was glad to have used the wings originating from the Stymphalian Birds, as their innate foreign magical resistance allowed him to protect himself from magical attacks. He had also realized that the magic resistance only pervaded the outer parts of the feather, and not the hollowed out shaft.

This allowed him to incorporate the tiny bounded field he used on his grappling hook into them, allowing him to replicate how the birds would freely throw their feathers like he had originally planned. He was even able to make improvements on it by observing how Paimon performed the same feat.

With that complete, he had technically finished his wings. But he didn't stop there, as Icarus knew no respite when it came to his inventions.

Days later, he had finished added a few more features such as extra shielding on the back to protect and hide the pulleys, a few feathers which could replicate the effect of his mirrored armguards, detachable feathers that could be used as daggers within the wings… and even a self-destruct feature.

Because, what if someone stole it? Better safe than sorry, and learning the lessons from Dr. Doofenshmirtz, he made it hidden and voice activated by phrases in a language non-existent in this era.

Finally, he was truly finished. So, with one light spell that was careful to avoid the feathers, he helped lighten the load on himself as he put them on.

The easiest part of the build was making them able to fly. He didn't even have to try, as the very reason they worked was because they were wings in the first place. They borrowed the heavy beliefs attached to wings themselves—that things that had wings could fly, which when ingrained into people's minds, were in turn ingrained into reality itself.

Why did birds fly? In this era, it is not because they generated lift, but because they had wings. So what happened when a human had wings? Well obviously… he would fly.

And with that thought in mind, Icarus splayed out his wings before giving them a heavy flap that displaced the wind, and then… he took flight.

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Author's Notes

Hope you liked the chapter! I tried to make the wings equally impressive in both magic and mundane creation, while even tying an elusive metal that has ties in both historical and mythical views.

Hell, Icarus technically invented screws now.

I thought it was pretty cool, so I hope you did too. Icarus finally has his most iconic feature! Atalanta intro is the next chapter, Icarus also encounters the centaurs!

Join the discord at, https://discord.gg/AMyqBN2

Leave some powerstones! And some comments, comments make me happy!

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Glossary

[1] Diurnal

Diurnality is a form of plant and animal behavior characterized by activity during daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night; the opposite of nocturnal.

[2] Corinthian Bronze

Corinthian bronze, also named Corinthian brass or aes Corinthiacum, was a highly valuable metal alloy in classical antiquity. It is thought to be an alloy of copper with gold or silver (or both), although it has also been contended that it was simply a very high grade of bronze, or a kind of bronze that was manufactured in Corinth.

It is referred to in various ancient texts, but no certain examples of Corinthian bronze exist today.

According to legend, Corinthian bronze was first created by accident, during the burning of Corinth by Lucius Mummius Achaicus in 146 BC, when the city's immense quantities of gold, silver, and copper melted together. Pliny however, remarked that this story is unbelievable, because most of the creators of the highly valued works in Corinthian bronze in Ancient Greece lived at a much earlier period than second century BC. According to Pliny, the method of making it had been lost for a long time, although some sources describe the process by which it is created, involving heat treatment, quenching, leaching, and burnishing, in a process similar to depletion gilding.

The lost ability to give an object made from bronze the appearance of gold or silver may be one strand behind the later alchemical quest to turn base metals into precious metals.