"I see. Might I ask why you came through the mountains then as I assume you had no need to take such a risk?" she asked after accepting my answer easily. I shrugged "It was the fastest way to get here and while I am not exactly on a deadline I prefer not wasting time I don't need to." I said honestly. "You mean to say you went through those extremely dangerous lands just to save time? I find that... difficult to comprehend." she said in disbelief. I chuckled "You don't get a record like mine without thinking in an abnormal manner. Perhaps to most the risk to reward ratio is unbalanced but I REALLY value efficiency." I said honestly.-

"I suppose I'll need to content myself with that answer. On to the more important topic then, why I had you brought here before me. As you no doubt already know thanks to Walden the remnants left behind by the aura guardian order so long ago have languished without energy and thus sat dormant. The league has done a fairly good job covering it up but it is difficult to erase the fact that you are an aura master with your casual attitude in using the energy in public."-

"In addition your signature weapon, a spear, is not some normal weapon but if my theory is correct a conduit weapon, do you deny any of this?" She said seriously. I shook my head "No that all sounds about right though calling Omega a mere conduit weapon is a disservice to it, it's far more than that." I said calmly. "And how exactly did you come across such an artifact?" the queen asked with narrowed eyes. "I didn't "come across it" I had it forged, so I have nothing to be concerned about in regards to it's origins." I clarified confidently.-

"Alright lets say I believe that you somehow managed to find another aura master, a smith no less, that still doesn't explain where you got wood from a species of tree that only can be found in my kingdom to use as a handle." she said questioningly. "Ah but that's where things get interesting as I got that wood thanks to your own mistake. See someone in your kingdom, can't say who since I don't know, mistakenly cut down a sapling and shipped off the wood to sale."-

"There it eventually found itself in the inventory of a merchant in Lilycove where I discovered it thanks to my abilities and purchased it, I even have the sales receipt." I said with a chuckle. "We will need to verify to see if this information checks out but I must admit that it is certainly possible, nay probable. If a sapling of an Aeons tree did not have the extraordinary features of the great tree then it being mistaken for a normal lumber species is not unusual at all. The reports state that your spear holds unusual properties for a conduit weapon, can you explain where they came from?" she asked and I did.

I told her about how the spears head was the lifelong hammer of the old smith and had been baptized by his aura over decades. How it had been reforged into a spear and then imbued in the blood and death of a Heatran thus developing it's unique properties. I explained my struggles in finding a wood that could serve as a new handle for this spearhead and the discovery of the Aeons wood. "And that's the whole of it from start to finish." I said ending my explanation. -

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"That is certainly quite the tale and surprisingly not unreasonable to verify either though the murder of a legendary is of course not something we wish to attempt to verify that particular facet of it. That said I would like to see this weapon for myself to compare it with a traditionally forged conduit weapon, my crown." she said and I had no problem with that at all and so under the watchful eyes of the knights withdrew Omega from my bag. Even while I didn't funnel aura into the spear the air warped around it's head from the heat it naturally radiated.-

"Such an oppressive sensation! It's like the weapon itself desires no less than absolute dominance, how very in line with it's master." the queen said but refused to take the weapon when I held it out to her. If anything she shied away from it nervously though I suppose that was to be expected. Omega had been "tainted" by my own aura over time and as a result carried properties of my own personality. Naturally this also included my dream of reaching the pinnacle as well as my pride that when added to it's fiery nature came across as oppression.-

"I can also activate it's currently inactive abilities if you'd like to see them?" I offered calmly. "That would be appreciated though perhaps you might want to step back first." she said warily. I took a few steps back before holding the spear properly and channeling my aura into it. The grooves of the handle lit up as the energy flowed through it and upon reaching the head ignited brilliantly in a raging flame across the spears head. The knights nearby took a step back as the heat slammed into them but just as fast as I powered up the spear I cut off the flow of energy which caused the flames to recede slowly as if unwilling.-

"Indeed as you have said comparing the normal conduit weapons to that weapon is an insult to that spear. I believe you said it's name was Omega? Is there any particular reason for that name?" she asked curiously. "It was the final and greatest masterwork the smith made and so we named it fittingly." I said honestly. "I believe that smith would be proud to know that he had such an instrumental hand in the birth of such an artifact." The queen said with a smile.-

After that she requested that I reactivate the inscriptions in the castle and if possible a few carefully chosen artifacts. In exchange she agreed to allow me to look over the ruins of the aura guardian order as well as the records they left behind. Admittedly the latter were fragmented to say the least and held very little that anyone could extrapolate something useful from. Despite this however I was able to compare my own information to these records to figure out EXACTLY how far a truly determined aura master might be able to go using these records.-

The answer surprisingly was quite far as amongst the records was the complete meditation method as well as a few advanced snippets that would allow an aura master to have a wobbly but fast and long growth by normal standards. However I believe that Adept mastery was as far as these records would take someone as literally all the higher information was missing, no doubt hidden away or destroyed by the order.

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