Rook

people. For the first time in his life, Joshua was loved and valued. He proved to be both intelligent and personable—at least, once they got him to stop biting people.
    Thanks to the glowing endorsements Joshua received from his teachers and guardians, he secured a full scholarship to university and graduated with a degree in military history. From there, he proceeded into the army, where he soon distinguished himself as an excellent soldier. He was entrusted with many responsibilities, and by the time he was thirty-five, he was being sent all over the world on highly sensitive assignments. Thus, even before he entered the Checquy, Joshua Eckhart was well acquainted with the more subtle aspects of national security.
    Unlike those of most members of the Checquy, Eckhart’s powers did not manifest until adulthood. During an assignment in Jakarta, he incurred the wrath of the city’s pickpocket population with his habit of grabbing a thief’s hands while they were in his pocket. He would then loudly point out the situation to those around him, causing much embarrassment for the hapless would-be pocket-picker. Apparently, he thought this was terribly funny. Eventually, they came after him with knives. In a normal world, he would have died from seven stab wounds.
    I mean, he would have died from stab wounds
if
the knives had stabbed him. But they didn’t. Instead, those seven knives splashed off Joshua Eckhart’s body, the metal trickling down his shirt.
    It is unknown who was more surprised, the thieves or Eckhart.
    Rumors travel fast, and it was whispered on the streets of Jakarta that Joshua Eckhart was a witch. Three days later, an attempt was made to behead him with a pair of hedge clippers. The attackers failed miserably, and when they attempted to escape, they found their car folded up into a cube around them. The Checquy immediately approached Eckhart, offering to help him explore his new abilities. They also hinted at the rewards and satisfaction that could be found working in the more unorthodox sections of the government.
    Eckhart was flown immediately to England and transported to the Estate. There, among the bizarre children of the United Kingdom, he tested the scope of his powers. He left two years before I arrived, but I hear the students adored him. There were few adult students at the Estate, and Eckhart was very kind to the children. The instructors are always careful to provide a nurturing environment, but they deliberately do not take the place of parents. Eckhart did not need to be so careful, and as a result, he was—and is—highly popular among the Pawns.
    When he entered the Estate, Eckhart was already married and had his own children. In this, he was unusual. Ever since the Checquy began a systematic acquisition of gifted children, there have been few powered operatives with families. We are trained so rigorously, and our dedication is focused so deliberately on our mission, that the children who come out of the Estate are not really equipped for personal lives.
    I’ll admit, though I could confide this only to you, that I represent the extreme consequence of this. I’m just not comfortable with the idea of… intimacy. But even the most gregarious and outgoing of the Pawns have trouble with it. Dating is difficult even within the organization, especially since we are all brought up together. And that’s just as well, I suppose.
     
    Myfanwy caught a hint of wistful regret as she read this.
     
This is why the Checquy is a force that is focused and dedicated, without any inconvenient attachments.
    Still, Eckhart has his family and they are close. I was curious to see how he managed the whole training thing, but it turns out that he went home every weekend. As far as his wife and children were aware, he was working on some special government assignment. Which was largely true. Still, I can imagine it. In the mornings, Eckhart sat between a little girl made of steam and a set of siblings named Gestalt and learned about the secrets of the world he lived in. In the afternoon, with a team of scientists, teachers, and fighters, he carefully tested the boundaries of his abilities.
    Eckhart can manipulate metal. Under his touch, it becomes fluid, malleable; it assumes any shape he desires. It isn’t magnetism. He can’t attract or repel it. He sculpts it, gathering it up in great glistening handfuls and molding it into new shapes. With his tutors, Eckhart developed entirely new techniques of