Exiele didn’t know how long he had been sat at the stables, but it was long enough to allow him to channel almost half of what the remaining Kakara Gem still held.
The night before when him and Miles had finally got back to the shacks with a handful of elixirs each, it was already 3 am. Then it was a further two more hours by the time they managed to perfectly split the Gem in half, a feat that proved incredibly difficult, even when considering the machinery Miles had at his disposal. By the time Exiele had finally crawled into his bed, it was 5 am, and only 3 hours of sleep later, he was violently torn from this peaceful slumber as Miles hammered his fist against his shacks little front door. He hated it when he did that. And unfortunately this happened 9 times out 10, every morning. Especially when they had plans for the following day.
After some small talk Miles had left his shack to deliver half of the Kakara Gem to Algath. Exiele in this time decided he would come visit Ilius at the stables and try to meditate with the remaining half of the Kakara Gem, and that’s where he sat now.
The small marble sized gem was laid out on the soft grass before his crossed legs, both his hands were sat palm up on his knees, facing the bright blue skies above. The unrelenting heat coupled with the exhausting process of channelling the Gems steady stream of Kakara had left Exiele in a state of near psychosis.
There had been more than a few times he had nearly lost the balance of Kakara processing within his core, at one point the solidified waves had become so intense, they had almost scorched his insides just from the sheer intensity of the energy. Unfortunately for him he had forgot when drinking the first half of the channelling elixir, it was a potion specifically designed to make the process of channelling a-lot easier and more fluent. Meaning you didn’t need to use up as much of your own Kakara to balance out the stream.
So when he eventually used his usual amount of Kakara he would when normally meditating, he was met with a vicious burning pain which seemed to reverberate throughout his whole body, rattling his bones, and tearing a burning path through his veins. Slowly carrying the scorching stream of natural Kakara throughout his core, and into his failing organs.
He struggled for breath. Streaks of glowing purple energy began to flake away from his skin, the violet burn was bright within his core, Exiele thought he might explode, like the Kakara Cannons the Dreskof Empire utilised in their battles.
After a few moments of focused breathing, he managed to induce a meditative state, in which his body began to slowly lower the steady stream of Kakara which travelled throughout his veins. Energy radiated from his body in pulsating purple waves. Tendril like streams of pure Kakara travelled from Exiele’s chest, and reached out to grace the small Gem laid before him. Its crystallised surface glowed with a kaleidoscope of colours.
The agonising pain of his scorched body slowly began to subside as the Kakara took affect. Healing his extensive internal wounds. If he had used just a little bit more of his own Kakara, he would have likely died. He took a deep breath. He wouldn’t be doing that again. That’s for sure.
The situation reminded him of something Reales use to tell him and the many other Kakara sensitive hunters. ‘Never bite off more than you can chew’. A simple phrase which he now knew held truth.
After another hour or so of meditation had passed, all the pain and discomfort had subsided. The consistent stream of Kakara channelling through his core had replenished his tiredness, and healed almost all of the scar’s burned into his flesh. Ilius in this time had strutted over and rested his head on Exiele’s upheld palms.
“You alright boy”, Exiele said with a smile, squinting as he opened his eyes for the first time in over an hour. The bright sun carved a burning path through his irises. Ilius waged his thick tail in reply, lifting his head so Exiele could rub his muscular neck and shoulders.
“You feeling ready for the Hunt?”, he asked after a moment, collecting the small Kakara Gem from the grass below and slipping it into his side pocket. He could still feel the energy radiating from it’s surface, infused with the purple glow of his own Kakara.
He glared off to the right. In the close distance – just below a large hill, he could see Reales’s small wood and cobble shack, which gave off a light blue illumination. He hadn’t seen Reales on his way down to the stables, but he was sure he heard him speaking to someone at some point while he was still meditating.
“You out here Reales?”, Exiele called out, patting Ilius on the back, who looked up at him with dark, peaceful eyes. No reply came.
With a prolonged sigh, he followed the dirt path which lead out from the stables and into Reales’s expansive garden area. Huge blue and pink flowers poked out from the thick greenery and foliage below his feet.
The bright sun above radiated suffocating heat into the thick air, which cast deep shadows behind all the darkened silhouettes of buildings and huts around him.
“You looking for me?”, a similar voice bellowed from behind him.
“God’s above”, Exiele hissed as he shot backwards, his heart racing. Turning, he saw Reales leading Jillo down towards the stables. Jillo was holding a pile of heavy black armour plates against his straining chest. The large hunks of metal reflected the sun’s powerful light, momentarily blinding Exiele as he looked at them.
Reales was just next to Jillo, levitating about a foot above the grassy floor. A large beautiful white steed walked along next to them, it seemed to nod up to him as he passed an eye over it.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack”.
“Good to see you too Exiele”, Reales laughed. His deep emerald eyes set on his. “How have you been since our last meeting?”.
“Yeah I’ve been good thank you Elder Reales. I’ve just been channelling my Kakara with Ilius by the stables, I would have come to say hello, but I assumed you were out doing something on a different part of the mountain”, he paused for a short moment, nodding towards Jillo. “Good to see you Jillo, you got the use of your vocal chords back yet?”
Jillo laughed. “Just about mate, just about”.
“Mhm, I can sense you have rose many levels within your stream of Kakara”, Reales cut in, a serious look passing over his wolf like features. “A dangerous amount”.
Exiele looked down at his feet. “Yeah”, he said slowly, trying to find the best wording for his follow up.
“I was stupid and careless, I tried to take on more than my core could handle. Nearly burned myself from the inside out”.
“Nearly burned you from the inside out is an understatement”, Reales hissed, the sudden influx of his voice caught Exiele off guard. “You are lucky to still be alive – you humans don’t understand how truly unfit you are as host’s for Kakara”.
Exiele went to say something, but Reales held up a clawed hand. Ushering him to be silent.
“If you had brought in only a hairs width more Kakara, your insides would have been reduced to no more than a disintegrated pile of mush. I have seen it happen first hand, Wizards and Mages know it as Kakara Rot”. Reales’s eyes narrowed. “Do you remember what I use to tell you all when you were young hunters?”
Both Exiele and Jillo nodded slowly. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew”.
Reales slapped the back of Exiele’s head. “Then why did you decide to do exactly that”.
“I was foolish, and didn’t realise how efficient my channelling elixir was. When it came down to starting my meditations, I drew in the same amount of Kakara I usually would without the elixir, that’s when the ‘Kakara Rot’ started spreading throughout my body. It felt as if molten metal had been poured down my throat and I was forced to swallow it down”.
Reales shook his head. “Foolish. You are lucky to be alive”.
“Wait, so what’s going on?”, Jillo said after ensuring Reales was done with his angered rant.
“Our lovely friend here Exiele, decided he felt it would be appropriate to near enough kill himself in one of the most horrifically painful ways possible”.
The muscular white horse seemed to laugh at that, it’s thick black tail wagging back and forth gently. Exiele saw an opportunity to change the subject.
“Beautiful steed, what’s her name?”, he asked to no one in particular
“Angel”, Jillo replied after a moment, seeing through Exiele’s very blatant attempt at ending the past conversation.
“Indeed, and Angel isn’t prone to being an idiot”, Reales growled. His body beginning to produce a bright blue mist, which shot like electric through the air.
“Never do anything as stupid as that again. I don’t think you understand Exiele, you should be dead. You took in near enough maximum levels of purified Kakara, as a human, you should not have survived”.
“OK, I understand Reales, I really do”, Exiele replied after a moment, holding up his arms in defeat.
Reales nodded slowly. “Good”,
The glowing blue mist began to disintegrate within the air, growing duller and duller until they no longer existed. Only the bright blue skies above remained.
“But”, he added after a moment. “Your connection with Kakara has been made stronger because of it. I just wish you used that head atop your shoulders more often”.
“Finally, something we can all agree upon”, Jillo laughed. His reddened face was barely visible beyond the heavy stack of armour he held in his arms.
“Don’t you start as well”, Exiele smiled, glaring back out towards the stables in the near distance. Dense lines of foliage and flowers smothered the grassy land below. The lower section of the mountain was always so beautiful in the summer time.
“Let us go to the stables though Jillo”, Reales smiled after a moment. “We must fit the armour plates for Angel”.
Jillo nodded slowly, then quickly stopped mid turn, looking up at Exiele with wide eyes. “I almost forgot, I saw Miles earlier, he was asking where you were, I think he wants you to go his shack”.
“Did he say why?”
“No not to me mate, he was just asking if I’ve seen you”, he paused for a moment, passing a hand through his thick blond hair. “I’d go see him if I were you though, it seemed urgent”.
Exiele’s eyes narrowed. “What, is it gonna be some sort of prank? You know how the last one ended”.
Jillo laughed. “It’s not a fucking prank man come on, I think you’ve been drinking too much ale. I’m just saying it seemed like he had something to tell you”.
“Alright”, Exiele said after confirming that Jillo didn’t seem to be lying or misleading him. “Thank you for letting know, I’ll see you around”.
Jillo nodded thanks, before carefully following behind Reales, who was floating just a few metres ahead of him, leading Angel towards the stables. Her thick black hooves dug deep into the soft grass below, leaving a trail of indentations amongst the flourishing flowers. After a moment, a small orb of white light slowly rose up from the grass where the horse was just stood, stopping about 4 feet above the ground. The orb was transparent and emitted a light white mist which danced within the warm air. Then, as if a sudden gust of wind had blew past. The luminescent mist began swirling and circling around the bright orb, gradually forming the general shape of a person.
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“An orbseer”, Exiele whispered to himself. Barely believing his eyes.
The spirit only lingered for a few seconds, before it slowly began to float up towards the distant blue skies above – the whitened mist of its body flickered in the air like a white flag caught in wind.
Orbseer’s were rare on the mountain, Exiele had only seen a few in his time. Though in the mainland’s they were much more common occurrence, and had more or less become a normal part of life for most common folk living within the 5 Kingdoms.
They weren’t technically ghosts or spirits – instead they were more so the remnants of a souls past. They couldn’t communicate or talk, or interfere with any physical objects like ghost’s and spirits could. They just simply existed. The Elder Priests described them as ‘the projection’s of what was once living’, or more commonly as ‘the shadows of a soul’s past’.
The Orbseer levitated in the air a few moments longer – it’s translucent form glowing from the burning orb within its chest. Before with a sudden flash of white, it disintegrated, leaving no trace of its presence.
Exiele watched on for a few seconds. The sight of Orbseer’s always affected him this way. They always seemed to appear at the most unexpected moments – then as quickly as they would appear, they would disappear again, as if never existing in the first place. Leaving the ones witnessing it questioning if they had even seen it in the first place.
He glared back up the dishevelled dirt path towards the stables, he could see Jillo and Reales in the distance. Taking turns placing the plates of amour onto Angel as she stood glaring up into the crystal clear skies above. Clearly they hadn’t seen the Orbseer, if they had, Reales would have likely rushed over to get a better look at it. He had always stated his keen interest in spirits and other non physical entities of their type, and Exiele knew he would be angry when he heard he had missed out on the opportunity of seeing one on the mountain first hand. Sighting’s of Orbseer’s on the mountain were few and far between to say the least.
After checking his pockets and ensuring he had everything he needed, Exiele began to make his way over to the closest travelling waterfall, which was across from the stables by a large cliff face which sloped up on an incline, and lead directly to the upper sections of the mountain. There he would start his trek to back to the shacks.
***
Miles leaned back on his wooden stool, glaring down at the Great Sword laid out on the desk before him. Its colossal double edged blade reflected the furnace’s bright orange flames, which flickered within the dense lines of steel and silver. The blade itself had been formed with lines of Hollow Crystals within its core, these crystals were known as a Host Material, which would allow the bearer of the sword to channel his or her Kakara into the crystals, which would then in turn strengthen the blade, and make it more efficient in battle. Exiele had made it very clear to Miles, these crystals were essential in not only the sword, but his armour also.
The great sword’s handle was carefully carved out of dragon blood crystal, then greatly strengthened with a line of pure obsidian within its centre, before being capped off with a semicircular pommel of volcanic steel, which had a small piece of Exiele’s Kakara Gem infused into its mid point. When the handle was finished and pieced together, it was almost as beautiful a sight as the sword itself.
“Can I hold it”, Exiele asked, his eyes wide with childish excitement.
“Of course, it is yours after all”, Miles answered, but found Exiele had already leaped forward and picked it up before he had even finished his sentence. He gripped the sword’s handle so tight his knuckles began to whiten. He passed a hand down its steel and silver Damascus blade, intricate patterns lined its cold surface.
“Did you use the Hollow Crystals?”
“I did”, Miles smiled. “I infused the blades core with the Crystal first, which should allow for fast and efficient enchantments. I then added another layer of crystals to the handle, just to make sure the whole sword is strengthened by the Kakara. It wouldn’t be ideal if the blade grew strong while the handle remained the same, that would be a good way to shatter the sword and render it useless”.
Miles nodded. A smile stretching from cheek to cheek. “It’s a beauty”, he said, struggling to find words. “It really is a beauty”.
He began switching between multiple sword stances, feeling out the balance of the blade. It was a very large sword, but considering that, it felt incredibly good in the hand, and struck as quick as a python.
“What will you name it?”, Miles asked once ensuring Exiele had finished studying the blade.
Exiele looked down at the intricately crafted great sword within his hands, its crimson handle was cool to the touch – Though the colossal blade had an elegance about it, it was equally rugged and vicious, filled with murderous intent. “Eclipse”, he said after a moment. For it was like a shadow, feasting on the surrounding light.
“I couldn’t have picked a more suited name if I tried”, Miles replied, passing a relieved eye over his work.
“Now – I’ve got something else to show you”, he added with a devious smile. He then walked past his messy desk and over to his furnace – which had 3 long poles of steel inserted through the opening, the metal beyond glowed orange with heat.
With a quick side eye, ensuring Exiele couldn’t see. He reached down behind the stone furnace and struggled to pick something up that was hidden beyond the stone walling, before quickly hiding it behind his back as he approached Exiele once more.
“I know you’re a fan of larger weapons, and so I thought I would make a little something more suited for you”.
“What?”
Miles pulled the object from behind his back and revealed a large meticulously crafted war hammer. Its handle was carefully wrapped with the scaled skin of an ancient leviathan, a material which had cost Miles an arm and a leg to get hold of. The handle was then shielded with a quartz coated steel guard and pommel, which contrasted the dark scaled grip.
“Miles”, Exiele began, speechless.
Unlike the great sword, the hollow crystals on this weapon were visible within the hammers head. Long cracks of glass like gemstone edged along its steel surface, like ancient rivers slicing through the lands of Albirth.
“I, I don’t know what to say”, he said, struggling to find words. He always struggled with receiving gifts, it always seemed his emotions would get flustered, leaving him unsure how to react or thank the person. Even with the people who were the closest to him. Miles smiled and placed a hand on Exiele’s shoulder.
“You don’t have to say anything, it’s my job to make you the best weapons on the mountain after all”.
Exiele laughed. “The best weapons in the whole of Albirth you mean?”
Miles pushed him away with a wide grin. “And you best know it – now come on pick it up, it was difficult to keep it balanced because of the size of the steel head, but I think I’ve worked some magic with it”.
Exiele carefully placed the great sword back on the desk, next to the gold rimmed, black stained leather sheath Miles crafted alongside the beautiful sword.
“I’ve never used a war hammer before”, he said after a moment, taking the large weapon into his hands. Both gripped tight around the scaled grip.
“I’ve always wanted to try one though”.
He held it out before his body, unsure as to what the correct stance would be for such a large weapon.
He had seen numerous painting’s depicting a well known battalion within the Blackclaw Empire back in the Siege of Gods, known as the Death Fleet. These Berserker Knights were known for their usage of war hammers, myth stated Tyrious – the Fleets captain – could crush a knight in full armour like a tin can, with no more than one swing of his hammer. Though these Berserker Knights were known for their incredible ability within the many Kakara arts – they were also known to be generic monstrosities. Most knights within the fleet reached upwards of 7 feet, and had bodies built like the ancient gods of the old. Broad shouldered, and lined with dense coils of muscle. Typically these knights would have a two handed stance with the hammer held vertically up before their body – acting both as a defensive guard, as well as being efficient for a swift switch into attacking formations.
Exiele had also read that these Berserker Knights would use solidified Kakara passed through emerald lenses built into the silver heads of their hammer, to blast the heavy weapon like a cannon ball towards enemies on the battlefield.
“What you think”, Miles asked, watching Exiele switch between the vertical defensive guard, into more offensive positions. Trying to perfect his foot-placement, though battle with heavy weapons was much different from swordplay, and he knew it would take some time before he mastered it.
“It’s feels perfectly balanced, I honestly don’t know how you do it”, Exiele replied after a moment, watching thin trails of purple Kakara travel from his hands, and through into the exposed Hollow Crystals forged into the colossal steel head of the hammer. “Is this your first ever War Hammer?”
Miles shrugged while carefully pulling out the glowing orange poles of steel from the stone furnace – the blades had been hammered down into the shape of a Crescent Moon.
“Yeah, I’ve never had the opportunity to forge one, I’ve wanted too since I was young, but the academy are strict with what you can and can’t craft as a young Blacksmith”, he paused, wiping his hands with oil stained rag.
“It was a whole lot of trial and error though, I can tell you that with some spare coin. Put it this way, I wasted a lot of good steel on that war hammer in your hands”.
Exiele glared down at the weapon, marvelling at its masterfully crafted form. “When do I get to see the armour?”
Miles grinned while slowly dropping the scorching blades into a wooden barrel of oil, smoke hissed out from the opening in desperate clumps.
“You get to see the finished set on the morning of the Hunt”.
Exiele sighed, placing the war hammer back on the small wooden desk before him. “Not even a little sneak peak?”
“No”, Miles said firmly. “Besides I still have some finishing touches to add to the set overall. You only have tomorrow to wait, then you’ll see it the day after”.
“How’s it coming along?”
“Some of my finest work”, Miles grinned, meeting eyes with Exiele. “I’m sure you'll be most pleased when you see it – even more so when you wear it for the first time. I’ve made the putting on, and taking off of the armour as swift as possible. Too many Blacksmiths look over this aspect of armour sets”, he paused, checking on the Crescent Moon blades that still rested within the barrel of oil next to him. “What’s the point in having armour, if it’s gonna take 20 minuets just to get it on?”
Exiele laughed. “It’s said the soldiers of the Dreskof Empire sleep in their armour, and don’t take them off until their assigned battle is over”.
“And yes, yes they do, because the Empires Blacksmith’s don’t think about mobility or ease of access with their sets. I’ve seen blueprints in the library detailing the numerous Dreskofian Armours over the years. And all of them are terrible for movement, which is one of the most important aspects of armour”.
Miles sat down on his small wooden stool and leaned back, the seat creaked and moaned at the motion. “Poor craftsmanship is what I say, they need some new younger smiths to come in and try something new”.
Exiele walked over and sat on the desk next to Miles, crossing his arms. “Give it a few years Miles, you might be part of the Empire, I hear they pay their smiths well”.
Miles grinned, side eyeing Exiele. “You would be fucked without me making your armour and weaponry”.
Exiele shrugged. “I wouldn’t wanna hold you back your whole life Miles, you could make some serious coin if you departed from the Academy”, he nudged his friend’s shoulder.
“Besides, you might be able to visit one of those brothels with Jillo”.
Miles laughed. “Yeah well”, he paused, pondering the thought of working for the Empire. “I’d have to get a few more years of practice in before I could even consider that”.
“I’m just saying”, Exiele shrugged. “You’re good at what you do. To be honest – I don’t know what I would do in this Grand Hunt, if I didn’t have you as my smith. Honestly. I don’t think Blacksmiths get as much respect as they deserve in the academy – for what is a Hunter without his weapons or armour?”
Miles didn’t answer the question, but he understood. Blacksmiths weren’t necessarily disregarded in the Academy, but they were definitely viewed as marginally unimportant in comparison to the Hunters, as far as the Elder’s were concerned anyway.
“What I’m trying to say, is that you have some serious talent Miles, talent that could get you some serious coin. And in these times, securing yourself a good wage isn’t only necessary for yourself, but it could also be the difference of life and death for our future bloodlines”.
Exiele glared down at large steel and silver great sword laid out beside him on the L shaped desk. His eyes travelled along its carefully engraved double edged blade – that was met with beautifully polished dragon blood crystal at its end, which reflected the dim orange firelight of the furnace only a few feet away.
“I wouldn’t want you to stay here your whole life forging armoury for me, when you could be out there”, he pointed out of the small window on the opposite side of Miles’ shack. “Making some real coin, getting a name for yourself”.
“I’m sure we’ll both be making good coin in the years to come”, Miles said, keeping an eye on the barrel of oil next to him. “But before we think of that, we must focus on the Grand Hunt. We have been working towards this for the first 18 years of our life; Starting as orphans, and through time and hard work, growing into talented young hunters, blacksmiths, alchemists, and mages. And now, this is our final step before we can truly prove ourselves, and go on to help protect the lands of not only Dreashire, but the whole of Albirth”.
He reached forward and placed a hand on Exiele’s shoulder.
“Right now Exiele, I don’t want to be anywhere else, or work for anyone else. I want to be your Blacksmith. Like I have been for the past 10 years”, he sighed. “And you’re my best mate, you know that. And have been for near enough 10 years – so stop with all this go work for the empire and make more coin shit”.
Once finished with his speech, Miles let go of Exiele’s shoulder, then reached down and pulled the three dripping unsharpened Crescent Moon blades from the barrel of oil before him. A momentary silence had took over them.
“Well don’t expect a pay rise for this”, Exiele said after a moment, trying to keep a serious expression. But they both broke out into fits of laughter as soon as they made eye contact.