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Malleus began crafting gargoyles at an early age.
He was captivated by the gargoyles that lined his Grandmother’s castle. During his youth, which could be rather dull due to there being not much to do besides his studies and the occasional visit from Lilia, he found himself endlessly entertained by the creatures that passed water through their mouths into the large mountainous chasm below.
On top of his instrument lessons, he requested to be taught how to sculpt. His Grandmother approved, believing understanding the arts would make him a very intelligent future king. Getting to carve through his first hunk of massive stone was a thrill, unfortunately his excitement led to the stone breaking into far too many little pieces.
Patience came next, then a determination to create something as decorative as those which perched outside his window even before his Grandmother’s time.
His first gargoyle wasn’t too attractive and water struggled to come through the spout, but it was his, and it was placed on the highest roofline of the castle’s tallest tower.
He continued this craft well into his older years, even continuing as part of his club at NRC. He often stored the gargoyles in his dorm room to be taken to the castle on a break. When there was no space outside the dorm, he could carve within the dorm’s lounge to everyone’s awe.
No one joined him, save for one. Silver tended to ask permission to join him, and if he didn’t, Malleus would invite him just to sit. Silver never crafted a gargoyle himself, but would go on walks with him and attempt to memorize all the kinds of gargoyles that watched over the campus.
Malleus had tried to get Silver interested in his youth, but when he was very little, he didn’t understand a word Malleus was saying. As a young man, they could carry on conversations together, but his memory still wasn’t very good.
That was fine, Malleus thought, because Silver had struggles of his own. It made him proud even now to be joined in the lounge by Silver, looking over the documents and sketches he made during the club.
Silver stifled a yawn as he read over Malleus’s writing. His opalescent eyes scanned every word and illustration, even as his lids came close to falling shut.
Lilia was often very blunt about being uninterested in gargoyles around Malleus, and Sebek often went too overboard with appeasing him which made it not too relaxing to be around during his most precious hobby.
Silver was just right of a companion to share things with, even if he spent more time asleep with him than awake. Despite his frustrations, he could never stay irritated with Silver for very long.
Malleus would gladly remind him again and again what makes gargoyles so special to him over a cup of warm coffee in the morning or under a shared umbrella in the evening.
“You’re very talented at art, Malleus.” Silver suddenly compliments out of the blue, pointing his finger at an illustration Malleus created over a visit to his home, “I remember you drew this gargoyle before, but it seems there’s even more detail added to this one.”
Malleus reached an arm over to where Silver sat in the lounge and investigated it. It was indeed a gargoyle Silver had seen before in an image only, a bat gargoyle that had existed for centuries on his castle.
“I’m surprised you remember something from that long ago. That was when I made illustrations for you because you wanted to know what my home looked like.” Malleus replied, “You were just starting to walk and talk then.”
“Really? I thought I was five.” Silver seemed confused by Malleus’s recollection of events.
That was true. For Silver; time was slower. That was a fact.
To Malleus, he blinked and found Silver to be a handsome young man, worthy of his father’s constant praise and pride.
His memories of Silver as an infant were so clear, but once he could properly speak, everything began to change so fast. He could hardly fathom the amount of development Silver had in such a short time.
“You’re right, you must have been five. That was when you really took an interest in wanting to know where I’ve been when I wasn’t at the cottage,” Malleus said, “and Lilia told you to address me more formally once you wanted to become a knight.”
Silver seemed embarrassed and averted his gaze, “I hadn’t realized you were royalty. I thought you were my…My father’s friend.”
“Both can be true.” Malleus assures him, noting that there was something Silver had wanted to say, but changed his mind, “About my illustration, you think I’ve improved?”
“Yes, but you were always very good at recreating what you see. I’m sure you could carve anything you want out of stone.” Silver asserts.
That was a novel idea- carving anything he wanted out of stone, not just gargoyles.
Malleus hadn’t had much of a desire to sculpt anything other than gargoyles before. He hadn’t put much thought into how he would use these skills of his outside of simply creating gargoyles to decorate his home and keep him company.
“Thank you for your confidence in my ability.” Malleus thanked, but received no response.
Silver had gone quiet, which Malleus very well knew what that meant. It was a common occurrence, one that still occasionally worried him, but he had come to accept as part of Silver’s character.
His head bobbed and swayed until Malleus had prodded him through threading a hand through his silver locks, and Silver fell onto Malleus’s shoulder with ease, breathing even as he lost himself to sudden deep sleep.
In that moment, Malleus started thinking back to how different Silver was when he started drawing gargoyles for him, and how even more different from that Silver was when he was a newborn.
The gargoyles never changed.
Maybe they would be weathered by age, but they remained the same as they had hundreds of years before Malleus’s time.
In a mere decade and two-thirds, Silver had changed almost entirely.
Malleus could still remember how small he was. His silver hair was wispy and curled back then, his face and limbs chubby. He crawled around the cottage floor and giggled to himself as he did, and would silently beg to be picked up by Malleus so he could inspect his horns as if he had never seen them before.
Then he was a young boy speaking childish nonsense, making crafts for his father and being too preoccupied with something else to make Malleus the same. He claimed he would be a knight, that he would protect Malleus.
It was cute. For the first time, he truly felt his heartstrings pull in a way he never would’ve imagined he could for a human. He and Lilia had encouraged his knightly dreams, not knowing how Silver would truly dedicate himself to it as a young man.
Silver was always changing.
In a mere blink of his eye, Malleus could find him looking entirely different from how he does now.
He wondered if he could capture this moment in time better than Lilia’s photography, before Silver changed form again.
That’s when an idea struck him- one day, he could encase Silver’s likeness in stone, like his gargoyles.
He was different than his gargoyles, though, Silver was a person who had features that would surely take many attempts to recreate.
Should there come a day when all that was left of Silver’s face was captured in photographs, he wanted to be sure that he got the shape of his nose right, the length of his eyelashes, the cut of his hair.
If he were to solidify one form of Silver in stone, it would be him as a Night Raven College student, getting an education alongside him, Lilia, and Sebek. Even if he weren’t satisfied with the results now, it still seemed like the perfect time to get in some practice.
Malleus gingerly turned the sketchbook paper illustration over to its blank side and, while taking quick looks over to Silver slumbering at his side, began to sketch.
Some 200 years after Malleus graduated from NRC, lived his life, and took up his Grandmother’s title of ruler of Briar Valley, Malleus had finally felt satisfied with his hidden project.
It seemed as good a time as any to reveal it.
Malleus’s horn had finally healed. After centuries of it being a scar on his person, representing his greatest regret, he returned to his usual silhouette. Lilia no longer needed to be there to assist with his magic, but he remained.
Lilia hadn’t lived in the cottage since Silver passed away some 165 years ago.
With Malleus’s reliance on him and through his advocacy, Lilia’s ban from Black Scale Castle had been officially lifted, and though Lilia still traveled, he never found anywhere new to settle.
Lilia could commute to the elementary schools he worked at across the country just fine from the castle. Sebek also lived nearby after becoming general of Malleus’s royal guard, a title both Lilia and Baur were proud of.
It was strange, reaching this point in his life where he wanted to show his closest companions that he had finally reached a point where he was mature enough to use his full magical might for good, yet there was someone missing.
There was no chance Silver would ever live long enough to see Malleus’s horn healed. He knew that. But now that the moment was here and Silver was not, he found his pride and excitement in this moment greatly diminished.
He hoped his art would help some.
Malleus requested Lilia and Sebek wait for him in the rose garden, by Silver’s grave, where they interred him not long after he passed, to be forever guarded by the Draconias for the rest of time. The two surely noticed the large tarp Malleus put around a figure behind it, but thankfully, Malleus didn’t find them prodding at it.
When he arrived in green flames, the two quickly perked up to greet him and express amazement at his change of appearance.
“Look at that! The nub has finally become pointed again. Have you been feeling any better?” Lilia asked, using magic to levitate himself off the ground and at the right height to inspect Malleus’s horns.
“I do, it’s a relief to be able to summon strong magic on my own. It seems Grandmother will finally be off our backs.” Malleus replied, both he and Lilia sighed in relief at finally being free of the Queen’s shame.
“You look amazing, my king!” Sebek complimented, “It’s an honor to get to see you like this again!”
Sebek was around his early 200s, but physically, he looked to be still in his 40s. Sebek had spent at least a decade after Silver’s passing bemoaning his longevity to a point where Malleus had started to worry for his health. In recent years, Sebek paid his attention to those he could still be with and serve. He still had his mother and siblings, but those humans who held significance in his life were long gone now.
Even Lilia, who had remained youthful for a little over 900 years now, was finally showing signs of aging. It was no coincidence that it was around the same time Silver passed that fine lines appeared under his eyes. He stopped dyeing his hair for a while, then suddenly started sprouting white streaks that made him appear as old and wizened as he always touted.
It was clear he was trying to obtain Silver’s color, which was blessed by magic and luminescent, and unfortunately, completely impossible to replicate. Besides that, Lilia had his mourning jewelry that he had crafted and gifted to everyone, a staple of Briar Valley mourning where locks of hair from deceased loved ones would be encased in rings, necklaces, bracelets, and brooches.
Malleus hadn’t taken Lilia as someone who would do that, especially since he was and still is a closed-off person who rarely spoke of his losses. Maybe it was because Silver was different and was his, that Lilia broke from his defensive apathy a little too late.
Silver died with the hair of his namesake. That was important. That was something worth remembering- that when he left, he belonged to the night, and so long as the lock of hair delicately pressed into the symbol of infinity in his father’s necklace still shone like the moon, it meant that he was still theirs.
“The children in my class could hardly picture you with both your horns, even their parents and grandparents have lived their whole lives knowing you as only having one.” Lilia commented, referencing the class of exclusively human children he had been assigned to for the year, “It’ll be quite the historical event for them once you speak to the public again. But to us, you just look like you did back when we were all at Night Raven College together.”
That was the last time he had appeared as he did now, at Night Raven College.
It was only a few short years, but he remembered it well. He remembered the walks around campus, meandering around the old abandoned Ramshackle dorm, drinking coffee with Silver and trying to teach him about gargoyles, sketching his face…
He heard sniffling coming from Sebek who, even donned in the most decorated armor, was hanging his head low to hide his tears.
“Sebek, whatever is the matter?” Malleus asks gently, though he knows with certainty what the issue is.
“Silver should be here.” Sebek says honestly.
Gone are the days when Sebek would mask his sadness with faux anger, as he grew older, he was much more open about his feelings now that he lived more than twice the length of his human friend and father.
“I’m sure he’s looking down on us from the stars.” Lilia assures Sebek, quick to offer a comforting hand.
“That’s actually why I asked you two to meet with me here.” Malleus used the emotional dip as a chance to talk about his surprise.
Both Sebek and Lilia perked up, “Oh right, I was wondering what that was.” Lilia comments.
“A very long time ago, Silver and I were talking about the illustrations and gargoyles I would make. He said he believed I could create anything I wanted to, so I spent the last century trying to preserve a single moment…” Malleus announced.
With his newly stabilized magic, he spirited away the cloth covering his work with magic to reveal a life-sized statue of Silver, the final draft of many he had crafted over the years.
It was harder to get an ever-changing human form just right. The moment Malleus had chosen to capture in particular was Silver’s 18th birthday. It had taken him multiple tries to replicate the face exactly as it was, and to make the cape feel real and flowy took so many tries that Malleus almost felt discouraged in his skill.
This was his first ever completed piece that was not a gargoyle or a grotesque- It was a statue of his dear knight, his dear friend, his cherished godson.
Both Lilia and Sebek were in silent awe once it was completely unveiled. Even Malleus surprised himself with the realness of it, it was why it took so long.
With the brief time that Silver was a young man, in the brief time he was alive, Malleus gathered all of those memories together to recreate him as he was on the day Malleus told Lilia he would never forget.
Silver had died young by human standards, even younger by fae. It seemed the 400 years wore down on him and everyone was too in denial to see that until it was too late.
Everyone had their guilt about it for different reasons, Malleus’s own way of coping had been turning to the arts, replaying conversations he had with Silver in his mind until his voice was perfectly memorized.
He didn’t expect the statue to bring any closure, not since the hole had still been in their hearts for over a century. But he hoped that with this, that maybe their group of four could regain its missing piece that made them whole.
“Your majesty, this is….” Sebek was the first to speak, “This is magnificent! It looks just like him, back when we were knighted!”
“I had initially considered exhuming him and reinterring him under an effigy, but, I found I much preferred to capture a vision of him at his most lively.” Malleus said.
He still thought that now, but maybe avoiding the image of Silver’s eternal sleep and replacing it with an image so full of life might have been the wrong call.
He watched as Lilia brought himself up to the height of the statue and placed two hands to cup the statue’s cheeks. He brushes his fingers up to the statue’s carved hair. Everything is solid and cold, Malleus is sure Lilia was looking for the softness and warmth of Silver’s real self.
With his face unseen, Lilia moves an arm up in a rubbing motion, Malleus cannot tell if it is for the statue or his own eyes. After a few sparse shudders, he turns around with a smile, “This is your greatest work yet, Malleus.”
Malleus sighs in relief, “Thank you both.”
“I haven’t seen you craft anything other than gargoyles, I was surprised. You always resisted my suggestions,” Lilia quickly fixed himself up as he returned to Malleus and Sebek’s side, clearing his throat so his voice sounded clear.
“Human children grow fast, I thought about it in passing at first, but then I found myself wanting to remember what Silver looked like outside of photographs,” Malleus explained, “With this, I suppose my goal of recreating him is complete and I may return to gargoyles…”
They stood together again with this statue and, for a brief moment, it felt as though the four of them were truly together again.
What more was there even to do?
What other ways were there to stave off the guilt of never being able to save him or pay forward his kindness that he had shown his whole short life?
Why was moving on such a tremendously steep uphill battle that surpassed the time Silver was ever awake and alive?
The gargoyles were the same as they always were. He had seen them all before since he was a child and still sees them as an adult and king. They never change, they never leave.
If he were to craft another gargoyle, there it would remain for the test of time, like all the other ones he brought from school and mounted on his roof.
Statues of a departed loved one were different. They captured something that was not immortal and would leave the consciousness of the few who knew him by the next millennia.
Doesn’t this visage deserve to be accompanied by the stone likenesses of his friend and family too, eventually?
“Lord Malleus,” Sebek calls out to him, a bit less formal but he still knows he’s talking to a king first and foremost, “you were contemplating your next project?”
“I have plenty of time to decide what I wish to do next with my spare time,” Malleus says, “For now, I’d like to enjoy this place with the two of you. Perhaps later, we can lift the spell off the cottage and enjoy a meal together there.”
“Oh, now that sounds like a plan!” Lilia replies excitedly, “It’s been a long time since I’ve cooked for someone else-“
“Please sirs, allow me to cook the meal! There’s no need for you two to trouble yourselves serving me, it’s the other way around now.” Sebek asserts quickly, Malleus nods as a sign of seconding it.
“At least allow me to make dessert,” Lilia begged while batting his eyes.
“Dessert is fine,” Malleus meets him halfway, Lilia’s simple two-ingredient sweets were always the highlight of his and Silver’s youth.
“It’s a plan then,” Lilia says, and returns his gaze to the statue, “You know, I think it’d look quite charming if there were some climbing roses around the base.”
“Excellent idea, this is when your creativity comes in handy.” Malleus compliment.
With ease his magic takes clipping from the climbing roses wrapped around the trellises scattered about his vast garden, planting their roots beside the white roses they had planted by the headstone. They grow and climb, capturing the statue’s base until it looks like Silver is standing above a rose bush.
“Perfect,” Malleus hears Lilia whisper under his breath, and Malleus feels a sense of further satisfaction swell in his chest.
“My grandfather and mother were wondering if they could join us tonight,” Sebek spoke up after having messaged his family his new plans over phone, which thankfully Briar Valley had good cell reception now.
“Baur, huh.” Lilia commented, “What do you think, Malleus? It wouldn’t be quite like old times.”
It would never be like those old times ever again.
“The more the merrier.” Malleus concludes, “It’s been a while since I spoke to them both. It will be nice to socialize before we all return to our duties.”
In truth, Malleus would have given anything to be visiting that cottage with Lilia and two boisterous boys in the middle of training.
With his full power back, he had to not mull and despair should he cause another disaster. No, he had to be mature and carry on, welcoming the world and talking to more people than just his gargoyles. He didn’t have to use his imagination to know that’s what Silver would have wanted for him and everyone.
A part of him will always be sad. It was unavoidable. But he felt equipped to take on that kind of grief.
In the next few centuries, he’s certain there will be more faces to carve into stone. After experiencing its permanence and felt its pain firsthand, he didn’t feel as scared as he did before. It felt more conquerable as a King who had failed and learned to do better from humans.
The stone prince in the garden had taught him that.