The remaining four ascenders stood before the multitudes of people who had come to watch the ceremony. Raised high above the thousands od individuals who cheered and shouted in their loudest voices, the last four ascenders of the swordsmanship tournament were displayed like prized weapons, and Moyo hated every minute of it. Eager as he was to get back to the ship and inquire about how the calamity back on earth was faring, he couldn’t leave the stage without the prizes being awarded to them.
Ashira noticed his fidgeting while she kept staring ahead,
“Relax a little” she whispered,
He froze and released his tight grip on his fists,
“Apologies, didn’t realize it was that obvious” he whispered back,
“Not to the naked eye it isn’t, but I’ve known you for a while titan, eager to get back into battle?” she asked,
“No, the calamity on my world, I need to know, I need- “
“ASCENDERS ONE AND ALL, RISE AND BOW TO THE MASTERS OF THE FOUR REMAINING FACTIONS!” a loud voice shouted, cutting off Moyo mid speech as he pursed his lips,
Together he and Ashira bowed, Sonya on another podium close to them bowed and Kenuran gave a slight nod of his head, apparently dragons didn’t bow to anyone apart from their superiors. Moyo had been doing his best to avoid eye contact with the dragon, lest he flew into a fit of rage. The dragon had sought to disgrace Lothar, to prove a point to the archailect at large about the strength of house Dracon. All he had managed to do was show the true brutality of the house, even the spectators who loved a good fight pausing in horror at the pure malicious brutality Kenuran had used against the diamond blade.
As much as house Dracon realized they were only respected, mostly feared for their strength, they seemed to relish in it, and Kenuran smiled all the way, a gleam in his eyes. They raised their heads back up, watching as the three emissaries of the factions still left in the tournament descended. Master Ajax for once was dressed in a manner befitting his position, a blue robe with the gold sigil of house thousand blades embroiled in it, his golden dreads oiled and smoothened, his beards trimmed and his face holding a radiant smile.
Moyo snorted silently, he knew his master well enough and that smile must had taken hours of cajoling and screaming on the part of master Killian to get it on his face. Even now as he made eye contact with Moyo, he dared his disciple to say something about it, Moyo wisely averted his eyes lest he broke down in a fit of laughter. His gaze turned to the woman next to his master and froze at the ethereal beauty on her face, cropped red hair, milky white skin with plump red lips, her shape seemingly exaggerated like something out of the pages of a Japanese manga,
Master Fiona ember blade, the burning princess and mother to Sonya red quill,
Moyo glanced at his master again as he held in the laughter, shoulders vibrating,
She was also the former love figure of his master, the jilted lover he ran from. He counted his lucky stars he wouldn’t be training with his master, for the death blade would take it out on him, even now he could see his masters’ eyes promising painful retribution. Master Fiona was a literal goddess come to life and Moyo felt drawn to her, her gaze landed on his and her lips quirked up a bit. Moyo felt his legs starting to turn to jelly, his determination melting before the gazing look of the mistress,
“Down boy” Ashira growled, snapping him out of his reverie,
He softly shook his head, glancing at Ashira to see her staring daggers at the master who raised an eyebrow at the Kairos princess, amusement in her eyes. He cleared his throat and looked to the last master, the one he had been avoiding. Master Anala of house Dracon, the red jaw herself, daughter of Azar scorching claw and mother to Kenuran. She stared at him with cold eyes of indifference, skimming over him like he wasn’t worthy of her gaze, but Moyo had seen as she stiffened in that split second her gaze laned on his. He wasn’t fooled, given the chance she would end him where he stood, but with the death blade and burning princess next to her, she would be hard pressed to move without them countering her techniques.
The masters separated and landed behind their chosen candidates, Ajax placed his hands on both Ashira and Moyo, Fiona placing a hand on Sonya and lady Anala simply folding her hands behind her as she stood behind her child. Moyo wondered what the fuss was about there, perhaps she still blamed the death of Vasanz on him as she should rightly do. They waited in silence, avoiding the gaze of each other, then Sigmar true blade appeared in their middle, on a golden circular platform of intricate runes.
His shaved head shone, his figure cutting an intimidating posture and his simple blade that felt as deadly as ever hung by his side, but Moyo felt weariness coming from the master. It wasn’t obvious to the naked eye, but he had replayed the recordings of the videos the true blade had sent to house thousand blades over and over to focus his thoughts on the main prize, and he could see the signs. Sigmar spoke in a loud voice, his authoritative posture commanding respect all through the air,
“Ascenders one and all, bear witness to the bestowment of the ships, forged and bathed in the pure intent of the spire, by the legendary androids of the construct empire, the great house Crestsun!” he said,
Above each of them, the model of their ships formed, titanic structures that were second in size only the motherships of the rulers. The constructs were created to be warships and an abode for the diamonds, a sign of prestige and honor, a bragging right to the fact that they attained the final four of the swordsmanship tournament, and house thousand blades technically had two if you remove raina and lothar who were quietly getting theirs also. Above Moyo was a deep purple structure, looking more like a space station than a ship. Its body riddled with cannons etched into its frame, its glass panes reflecting silver light and a large statue of the titan mid swing adorned the tip of the ship. Moyo found it a bit extravagant.
His mind went to sci-fi series, especially the bloody ones and he grinned, he had modelled it after the ship of one of his best sci-fi series, a particular ship known as the phalanx, a titanic structure held by a legion known as the imperial fists. And while his paled in beauty to the original structure, he didn’t want a work of art, he built his to take as much damage as possible and keep giving it back. The crowd below marveled at the structure,
“The titan’s defiance, named by the titan himself is a warship first and foremost, may the ship serve you well titan” Sigmar said as Moyo bowed,
The next ship to light up belonged to Ashira, a large structure looked like a dome world than a normal ship, adorned with gold, bronze and green colors, it had the same large statue of Ashira on the tip of the ship, its weapons were more hidden but it cut an imposing figure,
“The ship of lady Ashira, yet unnamed due to reasons known to her, but an art work nonetheless, may it serve you well in your endeavors lady Ashira” Sigmar said as Ashira bowed,
Sonya’s ship was built like a bird, sleek shaped like a bird whose wings were tucked to its body, diving through the air, it had a statue of her at its tip on the gold beaked head that made up its front. Bathed in dark red color, it was truly a majestic work of art. Sigmar true blade spoke again,
“The eye of Raye, named after her grandmother and ruler of house Garuda is a structure as beautiful as it is deadly, befitting of the ember lady of house Garuda, may it serve you well in all your endeavors lady Sonya”
Sonya bowed and smiled, the final ship lighted up and Moyo couldn’t say he was honestly surprised. The ship was built in the most egotistical way a dragon could, it was bathed in pure gold, every single inch of the structure. It was built in the typical form of a space ship, built in an oval form with long golden tubes leading to two other circular structures attached to the ship as well, its weapons were obvious even for the naked eyes to see, jutting out all over its bodies,
“The red jaw, a ship similar to the titan’s defiance in weapon availability is a stunning work of house Crestsun, built in the usual colors of house Dracon, its war capabilities leave no deficiencies, may it serve you well in your endeavors Kenuran red jaw” master Sigmar said as Kenuran inclined his head,
Master Sigmar clapped his hands once,
“With the conclusion of the construct ship bestowment, may the masters of each faction step forward to proclaim the verdict of their houses on the training of their diamonds” he said,
At once the masters step forwards,
Moyo had asked of what use was the whole farce he was about to bear witness to explained in the long run, however he had been told it was tradition, the last four factions explaining they had the strength to tutor their own diamonds,
“House thousand blades would train the titan blade and the lady of the three-fold style” master Ajax proclaimed,
“House Garuda would train the red quill” master Fiona proclaimed,
“House Dracon would train the red jaw” master Anala proclaimed,
“Then it is decided, Goodluck ascenders “master Sigmar said, bringing the occasion to a close,
The diamonds stared at each other, Moyo crossing his arms, eyes on Kenuran who smiled at him,
“I hope your friend is alright, phantom pains from torn limbs could be quite mind scarring” Kenuran said,
Moyo simply stared at him, and then smiled slowly, Kenuran’s smile faltering,
“I’m going to enjoy breaking each bone in your body, make you watch as I beat the life out of you, impotent rage in your eyes as I end you” Moyo replied with a smile,
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“Even now, right before my eyes, you threaten to kill my last remaining child, was Vasanz not enough for you?” master Anala’s voice said, coming out as a whisper but filled with so much pain,
Moyo glanced at her,
“Master Anala, I have sworn on the archailect that I was not the one who killed Vasanz, you and I both know who did, but are you ready to face that fact?” Moyo replied,
Normally, no diamond would be sane enough to talk to a master that way, but Moyo had the protection of clan true blade and two masters behind him. Master Anala’s eyes burned with flames, she glanced at the two masters who watched her,
“Typical Anala, quick to anger, we all heard about what happened on Agabod, we know what Kenuran did” lady Fiona said,
“Should you be…. ill of mind in actually thinking straight, I could always set you right” master Ajax spoke, a gleam in his eyes,
Moyo noticed Sigmar true blade watching them all, his eyebrows furrowed,
“This is unbefitting of great houses” he said,
“they insulted a grieving mother, yet you talk to me about behaviors unbefitting?, is this the fabled compassion of house true blade?” she asked,
“I grieve with you, I truly do, no mother should see her child die” Sigmar started,
“But you forget that news have a way of traveling”
Anala’s eyes opened wide,
“you believe such lies?, even you Sigmar?” she asked, hurt plain in her eyes,
Sigmar true blade squared his shoulders resolutely,
“We are masters Anala, we have seen kingdoms and entire worlds rise and fall in our lifetime, the only thing we have left is the truth” Sigmar said,
Anala turned and with one red claw tore the air open, marching in with Kenuran glancing back at Moyo in hatred before passing through. The burning pathway closed with a snap, Sigmar sighing,
“Anala was one of the best of us, it is sad to see her this way” he said,
“She let the scorching claw raise her hatchling, what was she expecting?” Ajax asked,
“You are one to talk” Fiona said with anger in her voice,
Ajax turned to her startled,
“Titan blade, swear to me the words you spoke were the truth” Sigmar asked Moyo as the masters turned back to Sigmar,
“On my very life and path of the titan, I swear to you that I didn’t kill Vasanz, Kenuran red jaw, son of the red jaw did” he said as a loud gong echoed,
Master Sigmar nodded,
“I thought as much, you don’t look like the type that lies” he said,
Moyo bowed in gratitude,
“I must take my leave, good luck ascenders, the fate of countless worlds rest on your shoulders” Sigmar true blade said even as he vanished,
“We must take our leave as well, good luck” Fiona said with a huff as she swiped a finger through the air, a golden flame portal opening up and leaving with Sonya who nodded at them once,
“Well, that was awkward” Moyo muttered, doing his best to avert his gaze from his master,
“I have no idea what you mean, you have an appointment though” Ajax said,
“With who?’ Ashira asked,
“The big man” Ajax replied and tossed a coin to them,
Space warped as Moyo felt Ashira grab on to him, the next moment they were in a large hall room, tall silver columns with gold tiled floors. A large throne of gold sat in front of them in the distance, and on that throne sat the thousand blades himself, blue eyes glowing and a white dazzling smile on his face. His long white hair trailing down even as he rested his head on his knuckles, Moyo and Ashira knelt,
“The diamonds greet the ruler” they said,
“you’ve done me proud ascenders” Altair replied, a smile on his face,
They stood back up, staring at the ruler,
“How does it feel to be part of the top four?” the ruler asked,
“Not my goal, but it feels nice” Moyo replied,
“Good, however things seem to be heating up” Altair said,
“Heating up?’ Ashira asked,
“The council of great houses and by extension the council of houses want the tournament moved up quickly” the ruler started,
“Usually, you’ll have two days before the next round, but with the threat of the cult hanging on our necks, seeing as they managed to perpetrate an attack on Alteran soil, the houses are on edge”
“on Alteran soil?, when?” Moyo asked, alarmed,
He hadn’t heard of the attack, no doubt the clan keeping it hushed up,
“We haven’t heard of such” Ashira said,
“As you wouldn’t” the ruler replied,
“The stakes are getting higher; the houses are preparing for war and the archailect is brimming with barely held power. The fate of alliances now rests on your shoulders, Kenuran red jaw cannot be allowed to win this tournament, the draconian alliances would stand by as the ensuing war between the archailect and the cult ravages the entire universe” Altair said,
Moyo nodded,
“And my world, what happens if the dragon wins?” he asked,
“You know what sort of fate awaits your world should house Dracon win the tournament titan blade” the ruler replied with a smile,
“However, house thousand blades will do all it can to protect a clan allied to us”
Moyo heard the implied meaning,
Should Moyo swear the allegiance of his clan and world in general to the house, they would defend it against any incursions. He narrowed his eyes at the cunning ruler,
“Then we better get to our training, it’ll be a shame if they win” Moyo replied,
Altair nodded and waved his hand, Moyo and Ashira vanished from the presence of the ruler, appearing in the training room where master Skatha was plugged into a stasis pod linked to the training rings. Together they stepped into their respective pods and appeared in the default field where master Skatha sat on a rock where the gentle breeze blew her hair, she turned to them and gestured at them to come over.
Moyo took one step and found himself rooted to the spot, he glanced at Ashira who looked confused as well,
Puzzling, isn’t it? The master asked,
Moyo used his Ashe and aura to search for the source of power holding him back, his Ashe picked on the subtle blend of power that spoke of something greater than authority, edicts. The edict of master Killian had been a reality warping ability, throwing off the recipients’ sense of direction and motion. The edict of the master of the silent blade ended every sort of movement, confining her opponent in an almost stateless presence, your movements do not echo in real time.
It meant you could unleash skills after skills, summon a meteor to wipe the spot and your actions would be confined to your particular space and not reality or the material realm in general, a most terrifying ability. Master Skatha stood up, turning to them, her blank black mask staring at them,
When I was young, centuries ago, I bore witness to a battle that shook the heavens between two gold rankers she started,
Of course, the naïve advocate that I was, I thought they were gods, beings of unfathomable destruction. Then a diamond arrived and froze my entire world, this diamond ended the lives of these two golds who fought without care for those beneath them, my clan swore loyalty to this diamond she finished,
She snapped her fingers as they suddenly felt their bodies respond to them, Moyo heaving a sigh of relief,
“This diamond” Ashira asked,
Master Skatha nodded,
“The thousand blades, the power he used was an edict, for it was later we realized that in that moment, every warring faction belonging to the golds had been sliced in an instant, that, diamonds, is the power of an edict” she explained,
“To understand edicts, you must understand aspects, aspects are the end line for every path, the pure intangible form of every path, the pinnacle of power for those who finally attain the rank of ruler. However, diamonds who aim to cross over to master would need to touch on their aspects, give it form and embody it. An almost impossible feat for new diamonds”
“Why?” Moyo asked,
Diamond wasn’t the end of the line for him, he couldn’t and wouldn’t let it be the end of the line for him, there was also the fact that he needed to always keep getting stronger to protect those he could, to protect his world. Master Skatha glanced at him,
” Aspects are pure fragments of power bestowed by the supreme beings to rulers, a sort of gift for reaching the end of the race. Rulers fuse their aspects to their authorities, granting them total dominion over space and the universe itself, their upgraded authorities fused with aspects are bestowed to diamonds, pushing them to the rank of master by manifesting as edicts only after they’ve touched their aspects for a moment” she explained,
Moyo listened raptly,
“However, a note of caution, if a diamond hasn’t defined his identity adequately, the authority of a ruler infused in them could hamper their ascensions, or worse, shatter their paths, leaving them a husk of a diamond” she warned,
Moyo noted her warning, but he had passed that stage, Skatha herself had sealed his realization of his true identity when he had realized it, apparently for this particular moment. She nodded when she felt her warnings had seeped in,
“For this next round, the skillful ways in which diamonds can wield the power of a ruler would be tested. You would be given a sliver of a ruler’s authority to wield without you needing to attain the ritual of touching your aspects, we do not want you ascending to masters as that would take the fun out of the tournament” she said,
“My mission here is simple, I will train you harder than I’ve ever done, we would remain in this training chamber for an entire week, this equals to an entire day on the outside” she continued,
“When I feel you sufficiently malleable to absorb the edicts, hopefully in time for the tournament, then and only then will I release you to go for the next round’ she finished,
Moyo stood up, dominion appearing in his hand, Ashira followed suit,
“let’s begin then” he said,
He didn’t see the moment, but Moyo registered he had crashed into a rock, his body shattering it even as the pain set in, he rolled to his feet to see Ashira creating a line in the earth, her slumped body struggling to its feet with master Skatha staring at them,
“That was me tapping into the raw authority of the ruler bestowed upon me, it will be my only form of attack, and your sole purpose is to sense it and avoid it” she said,
Moyo cracked his neck, purple eyes glowing as he grinned, this should be fun.
********************************************
Kenuran sat deep in the blood pool, the pieces of the servants and slaves culled by the house at the orders of his grandfather floated around him. He let his scales absorb the blood, nourishing him, strengthening him,
“come” the voice of his grandfather echoed around him,
Stark naked with no ounce of shame, Kenuran red jaw stepped out of the boiling pool, the blood sizzling on his skin as his scales absorbed the last of the blood. In front of him, gripping her blade hard even as her knuckles gleamed white was his mother, staring at him with cold eyes. Kenuran did his best to avoid her gaze, the gaze of a broken mother who he was sure no longer saw him as her child. It had hurt at first, but Kenuran believed in the words of his grandfather,
The weak didn’t deserve to live,
His mother didn’t see it that way, but his grandfather had lauded his quick thinking in rooting out the traitor to the house, a feat even his mother hadn’t realized. He knelt before her, even as he knew she could end his entire existence in that moment, but not before Azar wiped her from existence as well,
“Kenuran, heir to the great Azar, do you swear by the creed of the Dracons to show no mercy to our enemies?” his mother asked,
He felt a deep ache in his chest as he realized she purposely removed the title red jaw; she didn’t consider him her own again. He killed the pain immediately, to hell with the sobriquet, he would forge his own anew soon. After the tournament he would ascend to master and forge his own path, probably hunt down the world of the titan and wipe it out,
World ender, that sounded befitting for a dragon he thought,
“I swear, by the blood and fire of the great scorching claw, the great Azar” he replied,
“Rise Kenuran and be bathed in his authority, for this will be a taste of what you will attain should you be victor of the tournament” his mother said,
Should?,
He froze as she produced the red crystal that pulsed and handed it over to him, Kenuran crushing it as wisps of power tore into his body. He snarled, feeling the energy rampage within him. He would show her, he would show them all. He fell to one knee before roaring into the air, flames pouring out of his mouth,
“Rise my heir” the voice of his grandfather echoed again,
Kenuran felt his muscles stretching and gaining mass, his frame extending as he roared to his feet, his mother staring at him with cold dead eyes. In that moment Kenuran realized she no longer saw him as her child, but the pure orgasmic ecstasy of power that sang through his body, bones and veins told him to ignore it. He smiled, eyes burning,
“Go grandson, burn them, burn them all” Azar scorching claw commanded,
Kenuran roared in reply, hundreds of roars from the dragons in the ship echoed his roar.