Everyone including Ke’an is taken back by the beauty of the design. Ke’an had only ever seen the blade do this while in the presence of the Goddess when he and his fiancée were chosen to wed. A'ila, his fiancée, received a set of concealable daggers from the God of Wind which produced a similar image in his presence. Being in the temple built by her was the same as being in Batri’s presence so the mural shows brightly all the same.
Ke’an decided to push his Administrator Authority into the blade so he could read its description since he hadn’t before. For the first time he felt the Administrator Authority not permeate throughout an item. Once his authority hit against the weapon it felt as though a river crashed against a dam. Unlike with other items and people, his authority could not penetrate and touch the fundamental nature of the item. The same seraphic light which surrounded the item also marked its authority under Batri which can not be tainted without her blessing.
----------------------------------------
Apprentice Administrator Reality Editor
You have selected Machete of Oaths (Sealed). You lack the Administrator level needed to edit this item.
View item description (Yes / No)
----------------------------------------
This is the first time Ke’an has not been given the option to edit something with the editor. It is an item crafted by a God so he understood why. He recalls System telling him that he will grow more powerful than the Gods in time and concludes that when his power exceeds theirs he will be able to alter even their creations. The implications of beings so powerful seemed incomprehensible, but at least for now he could focus on what is right in front of him.
----------------------------------------
Item: Machete of Oaths
Level: Sealed
Description: A war machete crafted by Batri with Li’thaum’s blessing to incorporate their combined spheres. This blade acts as a part of a set to symbolize the reunion of mother and son. This blade will have to be reforged by Batri to unlock its true potential. This weapon is bound to you.
----------------------------------------
“What an unexpected development.” Darly says as he stands up. “This changes everything. You were sent here by the Goddess to save us!”
Benny and Casidy both recoil in shock at the revelation that the man before them is the reason the temple is even here in the first place. Unbeknownst to them he is actually the highest ranked amongst the group in terms of followers of Batri. Benny starts sweating as the realization that he spent the past few minutes insulting what equated to a saint sunk in. After a few minutes of apologizing for their rudeness everyone got resituated in their respective seats.
Benny and Casidy take the wraps off of their heads revealing their eyes. Their eyes are glowing purple jewels with small runic inscriptions carved into the otherwise perfectly cut gems. Ke’an is not surprised by the revelation as he has seen these types of blessings before. Most people call them The Eyes of Urds which is a blessing granted by Batri’s Uncle the God of Knowledge. Volt is known to give this blessing to anyone that seeks knowledge and greater understanding regardless if they worship him or not.
“So you were using the Eyes of Urds to see if I was lying?” Ke’an asks.
“Yes,” Casidy responds. “We had to be cautious with someone as powerful as you showing up. Protecting the temple and the Elder is our number one concern.”
“Well normally you would be right to be suspicious of me. These are very peculiar situations we are in right now.” Ke’an says as he sips his tea. “However, I have a proposal that will allow us to move forward and protect your town.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“What is your suggestion?” Benny asks.
***
Now that Ke’an had the okay from the elder, he and Manny left to collect all of the able bodied men and women. Ke’an shows them the magic circle needed to create fire attack and magic siphon spells. He shows them how to carve it into trees so that the spell would have enough life energy to fuel it. He tells them to carve the diagrams into as many trees as possible for the next eight hours. They will need as much magic as possible to stand a chance against the next wave.
The men and women did not have long to learn how to carve the necessary diagram into the trees. The day is short being the dead of winter meaning that the final wave would be at night. Ke’an and System would be fighting the final wave alone while everyone else would fortify the temple. Ke’an can hear several of the men grumbling about leaving the defense of the town to two people but no one stepped up to question the elder or Ke’an.
While Ke’an is in the middle of carving on the trunk of what felt like his hundredth tree, Manny and several other men approach him. Each of them has resolve plastered across their faces and Ke’an could already tell what they were going to say. He quickly finished the carving with machine-like precision and speed which hadn’t faltered in quality even when he was distracted.
“I have been talking to a few of the guys and we can’t let you and System fight those things alone.” Manny’s voice is resolute and firm. “I know we are not as strong as you two but we can do something we can’t just not fight for our lives. This is Selve, Greh and Rallie we want to fight with you.”
Salve is the tallest of the group and probably the oldest although it is difficult to tell the age of the stravani people because they live such long lives since they are preserved by the cold blessings of Batri. Beside him is his brother Greh who shared his looks but not his height, standing even with Manny and Ke’an. The last is Rallie who is the most stalky of the group. His round belly contrasting his well defined and muscular arms he looked more like a polar bear than a man.
“Just you four.” Ke’an says as he gives each of them an assessing look. “But System and I will tell you when to help and when to run. This next wave is going to be extremely dangerous.”
“Of course.” Manny says with a smile. “But we also have to ask. Why are you doing this for us? Most people, even monster hunters like yourselves, wouldn't go this far for strangers. We don’t have much in the way to pay you back. Did the Goddess send you?”
“No we weren’t sent by the Goddess but we were sent by a God… of sorts.” Ke’an admits. “As for a payment goes how about two sevfal berry pies. I have an audience with the Goddess when I return home. I would like to present her with one of them.”
“You have an audience with the Goddess?” Greh says in astonishment.
“Yes, she is arranging my marriage to a follower of the God of Winds as a covenant between our faiths.” Ke’an says with a hand wavy nonchalance.
“We’ll make pies then, for you, for the Goddess and for your fiancée Miss System.” Manny says with a laugh.
“I appreciate it, System is not my fiancée though she is my… traveling companion. She is helping me complete my rite of passage.” Ke’an corrects.
“Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to presume.” Manny backpettles. “But let's speak on this after the village is saved. I believe you're coming here to be a great blessing from the Goddess.”
“I think you all are paying the cost of my transcendence.” Ke’an says under his breath.
The eight hours Ke’an gave the villagers to help set up for the next attack fly by far to quickly. Everyone is gathered at the temple fortifying the perimeter as much as they can with the time they have left. Ke’an takes the opportunity to see System who has finally woken up.She is still dizzy from overusing her magic and is still in Farly’s care. The stravani woman is more than accommodating to System and is helping her with a hot meal while she recovers.
“You’re still lazing about?” Ke’an says as he enters the room. “Come on, we have work to do.”
“Not everyone can recover like you and this stew is to die for.” System shot back. “You could be a little more concerned, you know.”
“Remember when I was stabbed in the chest and you slapped me in the face? That was a time you could have been more concerned.” Ke’an says.
System inhales through her teeth “Yeah, point taken. How much longer do we have?”
“Two hours.” Ke’an says grimly.
“Is it just me and you?” System asks.
“Four others but they are purely back-up.” Ke’an says.
System turns to Farly with genuine smile. “Thank you for everything, Farly. I think you should go and meet up with everyone else. I don’t think you should stay here any longer.”