Moyo and Ashira walked along with the masters through the ship, its gleaming metal interior devoid of colors, except for the crests of house thousand blades which covered every ornate platform they could find. The ship as big as an island had enough rooms to contain the entire bronze and silver rings combined, leaving it with wide empty areas devoid of life, hallways silent except for the rhythmic echoes of their footsteps.

Moyo eyed master Duval in his front, at the side of the master were five diamond rankers, two sporting the white hair of house thousand blades. The remaining three had nothing instinctual about them, but Moyo could feel the diamond-rank aura that came from them and while it didn’t send any warning signs to his senses, it put him on guard. These were not the average ascenders he came across; their gazes were cold and calculating, their bodies lax but with an almost instinctual reflex he had noticed, they weren’t relaxed, they were coiled for action.

The main room was a work of art, an intricate circular dome with a glass ceiling that displayed the luminous tiny stars in space. The walls, silver as they were had sharp angles to them with raw intent simmering on their edges, and the floor of polished marble reflected the same skies above with constellations dancing around in the soft light. In the middle of the room however was a large circular table and on it was embedded a blade, Moyo laid eyes on it and felt his breath hang in his throat,

Beautiful,

It was the only word that could describe the ornate beauty the blade was,

“Durandal” master Killian said,

“What?” Moyo asked, his gaze finally drawn from the blade,

Master Killian gestured to the blade,

“Durandal, the original blade of the thousand blade himself, or at least a copy”

Moyo glanced back at the blade with astonishment,

“that’s a copy?” he asked,

“Durandal was forged by the hands of Alastor himself, the supreme being of edges on the ascension of our patriarch to ruler centuries ago, we carry a copy blessed by the patriarch on every warship the house owns to remind us of our loyalties, our home and our oaths” master Duval cut in, sitting on a black chair near the table,

The chairs, 12 in all encircled the table, master Duval gestured for them all to sit, Moyo and Ashira obliged, the masters Ajax and Killian sitting next to master Duval. Moyo stared into the eyes of the master who still wore his mask, then he spoke,

“Congratulations on getting to diamond young titan blade, must have been quite the journey” Duval said,

“It has had its ups and downs” Moyo replied,

“And while the patriarchs’ investment in your ascension has paid off in more ways than one, one can argue you have also facilitated more trouble than is due” Duval countered,

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean” Moyo said warily, glancing between the masters, Ajax giving Duval a stony glare and master Killian who stapled his hands together, a contemplative look on his face,

“Then allow me to enlighten you young one” Duval said,

“Kenuran red jaw, Anala red jaw, house storm razor, and somehow the ruler of house Dracon himself, the scorching claw”

Moyo narrowed his eyes,

“I see where this is going” he said,

“So you don’t deny the accusations?” Duval asked,

“If you’re talking about the death of the Vasanz, then I deny such claims, I didn’t kill him, everyone here were witnesses to that” Moyo replied,

“It doesn’t matter who was there or not, the archailect doesn’t work on a fair system of judgement. Might is right, you know that better than anyone here” Duval said calmly,

Moyo took a deep breathe before speaking, calming his nerves,

“Master Duval, I apologize if I may have come off as rude, but the last thing I wanted then was to get in the crosshairs of any house. They came after me, us” he said as he glanced at Ashira,

“You were an iron ranker, you had no business putting yourself in the matters of houses” Duval countered,

“Then are you saying they should had left me for dead?” Ashira asked quietly,

Moyo felt the frost in her voice as she spoke, glancing at her warily,

“Respectfully, yes. House Kairos business is house Kairos’s to deal with, what we now have here are two separate houses gunning for house thousand blades with even house Ironash taking great insult at the debacle you pulled at Duhiri” Duval said,

Moyo growled as he moved to talk, Ashira placed one hand on his shoulder, her touch distracting him from the bitter words that were about to spill from his mouth. She stood up from the chair, bowing low to master Duval,

“I sincerely apologize for all the troubles I may had inadvertently caused for your house and patriarch. It was not my intention to bring such troubles to you, I will excuse this meeting as it seems my very presence keeps infuriating you” she said and turned to leave,

“Just so you know, she leaves and I leave too” Moyo said as he stood,

He suddenly felt an arm on his shoulder, ferocity of Oshosi had warned him of the intrusion in time, but he held back anyways. He glanced behind him to see a tall blue eyed and white-haired man, more like a young adult giving him a stony glare,

“You will not disrespect master Duval like that, sit” he said,

Moyo glanced at the masters, Ajax grinning and Killian watching with a concentration, Duval silent with only his eyes visible behind the mask. It occurred to Moyo then, they were gauging his reaction, seeing what he did when faced with perceived superior ascenders. Moyo could care less, they were both diamonds and house or not, he wouldn’t take disrespect,

“I’ll only say this once, get your hands off my shoulder or wake up tomorrow with a splitting migraine” he said softly,

“I’d remove that hand Alvar, he doesn’t usually repeat himself” Ajax said in a singsong voice,

The man named Alvar glanced at master Ajax and back to Moyo, gauging him. Moyo raised an eyebrow expectantly, Alvar spoke, authority filling his voice,

“SIT”

Moyo felt the authority settle on him like a hammer, smashing into his frame and did little more than shake him. In the moment it took for Alvar’s eyes to widen at his authority being repulsed, Moyo smashed a punch into his chest, driving the diamond into the metal wall of the room in the distance. Immediately four diamond auras flared as Moyo felt intent dance through the air, Ashira was suddenly at his side, eyes glowing with talon her blade drawn. Four diamond rankers were suddenly in their front, all with blue eyes and silver hairs and all gazing at them with anger,

“you’d dare harm a child of master Duval?” a female diamond said,

Moyo raised his eyes at that, glancing at master Duval who remained stoic, he shrugged to the girl,

“I warned him” he replied, she snarled, drawing her blade up,

“Raina, enough, stand down” master Killian’s voice rang out,

The girl glanced at the master,

“But father” she said,

“I said stand down, all of you, unless you want to get your egos shattered, in which case, fine by me” master Killian said,

“that’s more like it!” master Ajax shouted,

Moyo and Ashira turned to Killian surprised,

“You have a daughter?” Moyo asked,

Master Killian raised an eyebrow,

“You act surprised, you do know I’m over a century old right?” he replied,

Moyo turned to Ajax who shook his head,

“No, never, too much hassle” his master replied,

The diamond Alvar extracted himself from the dent in the wall that straightened back to its normal shape, his eyes alight,

“you’ll pay for that” he growled,

“Be thankful you can still walk” Ashira replied,

“Stay out of this Kairos!” Alvar shouted,

Ashira smiled sweetly at him,

“Make me pup” she replied,

“ENOUGH” master Duval said as all the diamonds crashed to their knees, the authority of a master weighing on them,

Moyo crashed last, struggling under the pressure of the command, his eyes alight, the other diamonds staring at him with wide eyes as he struggled, his legs wobbling under the power. Master Duval’s voice rang again,

“ENOUGH”

Moyo crashed the ground with such force it cracked, the pressure finally releasing them as they panted. He struggled to his feet, helping Ashira up as the diamonds did the same, Alvar eyeing him in rage,

“I could care less for the squabbles of diamonds, but lady Ashira, please refrain from pushing our diamonds, the last thing house thousand blades needs is four great houses coming down on us, especially Kairos” Duval said,

Ashira bowed to the master,

“It may have escaped our thoughts to inform you master Duval, but the titan blade is also an honorary member of house Kairos, the sage to be precise by the mandate of the plantsmen” Ashira said,

Moyo glanced at her, all Eogan had given him was a contact coin,

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“really?, and when was this?” master Duval asked,

“On the world of Duhiri, Eogan the green came at the behest of the sage to ascertain certain issues” she replied,

“Eogan the green?, the master and leader of the plantsmen?” master Duval said, awe in his voice,

Moyo hid his surprise well enough Ashira sucking in a surprised breath but continued,

“Indeed, the coin Moyo” she asked,

Moyo dipped his hand into the folds of his cloth and brough out the green coin that glowed,

“That is indeed the coin of Eogan, I must say titan blade, you have as much allies as enemies” Duval said,

Moyo kept silent, watching Duval who sighed, sitting back on the chair,

“It is without shame that I apologize if I have come out as cold to you, but house thousand blades is facing an unprecedented probability of war, house Dracon is gearing up for something. Their ships have been spotted gathering ascenders of all expert ranks from their vassal worlds in their galaxy” Duval said,

“The other great houses are stirring and there are rumors about a meeting of the rulers of the great houses about to happen. Those sorts of meetings are usually almost followed by galactic warfare, I mean hundreds upon hundreds of worlds going to war”

“And you think the death of Vasanz could had caused this?” Moyo asked,

Ajax snorted,

“I highly doubt it, then again those overgrown lizards are petty even in their best of moods, they could had orchestrated it all to declare war” Ajax said,

Master Killian nodded,

“It seems we’ve been away for far too long” he said,

“I’m glad you also see that, you were expected back two weeks past” Duval said,

“We made a few stops, you know how it is, one minute you’re heading home and the next you have Dracons and their broods sniffing around for trouble” Ajax said dismissively,

Duval turned to Ajax,

“The only reason the patriarch hasn’t issued a death sentence on your head is the fact that the ward you were to watch over has now surpassed all expectations and is now a diamond, much to everyone’s surprise” Duval replied,

Alvar snorted, the masters turning to him,

“Is there something you’d like to say?” Duval asked,

Alvar pointed at him,

“The only reason this backwater slob is still alive was due to the bestowment. We all heard the rumors; the bestowment was meant to go to one of us at diamond. Instead, it went to this nobody” Alvar said,

“This nobody has put you in your place once, test me again and you won’t have arms to swing a sword” Moyo replied,

Alvar snarled,

“Alvar sol blade, are you implying the actions and will of the patriarch was wrong?” Ajax asked softly,

Moyo felt the chill spread into the room,

“Ajax, he didn’t- “Duval said as Ajax raised one finger, effectively silencing the master,

Moyo was surprised Ajax could do that, but the look he saw in the eyes of his master were not his usual jovial look, no, it held the look of an executioner. Ashira shivered as the diamonds in the room gave Alvar a wide berth,

“Ajax” Killian said softly,

“Do you speak for clan sol blade on this as well?” Ajax asked again as Alvar’s eyes widened,

As Moyo understood things, houses were made up of clans, clans had families under them. Houses were ruled by rulers of course, as houses could only be formed when two or more rulers merge their clans together. Each clan was ruled by a master and the families by a diamond. By implying that Alvar spoke for his entire clan, Ajax was condemning the entire sol blade clan and as the emissary of one of the rulers, Moyo guessed he could end the life of Alvar,

Master Duval spoke with flint in his voice,

“He never said that, do not accuse my clan of treason death blade”

Ajax turned to Duval,

“You heard your child” he replied,

“Alvar sol blade, as the scion of clan sol blade, how long did it take you to get to iron rank expert?” master Killian suddenly asked,

Alvar who had been trembling a bit spoke up,

“I was 20 galactic years, master Killian” he replied,

“Titan blade, how long did it take you to get to expert iron rank?” master Killian asked again,

“a few months give or take” Moyo replied, maintaining eye contact with Alvar,

“I see, Alvar, what was your ascension to iron rank like, I mean what dungeons did you go through?” Killian asked again,

“a set of dungeons watched over by experts, suitable for my rank master” he replied,

“And you titan blade?”

“I got dropped in a level 50 dungeon as a fledgling, fought my way to acolyte or advocate, can’t really remember, it’s been a while” Moyo replied,

He did remember, he just wanted to mess with them and with the look on Ashira’s face, she knew what he was doing. The diamonds were staring at him now, astonished,

“Go on” master Killian said,

“Explain how you got to diamond from advocate”

“Left the dungeon, created my own clan, helped my people ascend, fought of dungeon breaks in the yellow zone as an advocate, then the red zone still as an advocate. Killed Evon and some red zone bosses, advanced to iron, left my world, fought dragons, evolved my attributes and skills, ascended to bronze through enlightenment, entered a gold dungeon as a silver” he said,

“bronze” Ashira corrected,

“What?” he feigned confusion,

“You entered a gold dungeon as a bronze, you’d remember if you didn’t stuff your mouth with every delicacy you could find” Ashira teased,

Moyo chuckled and continued,

“Got to silver in the dungeon, survived a category 7 blight attack, got dragged into a diamond dungeon”

“You literally shouted at me to drag your bleeding body into a diamond dungeon with your throat skewered, really now, did getting to diamond mess with your memories?’ Ashira said, her eyes twinkling, she was loving every minute of this,

“Mind was foggy, not really sure on the order of things. Anyways, fought off diamond ranked monsters at silver, lost my sight, got to gold, fought off diamond ranked monsters again, got to diamond, whooped asses, looked good while doing it, evolved one more attribute and here we are about to probably whoop your ass” Moyo finished,

By now the whole room was quiet, the diamonds staring at him in shock and with a bit of fear, or what was the look of a person facing down a feral creature, Moyo simply smiled. Master Killian cleared his throat, dragging all attention back to him,

“Thank you for that interesting tale, next time just go straight to the point” he said, Moyo bowing at the waist in respect to him,

Master Killian turned to Alvar and the diamonds,

“so you see diamonds, no doubt you all have had your shares of struggles, but how many of you can go through what he did without breaking down?. You all have the power of a great house coming to rescue you, he didn’t, if he dies now house thousand blades wouldn’t move an inch to revenge him, and yet he persevered, his sobriquet a testament to his struggles” Killian said,

“And the patriarch saw all these even when he was a fledgling. It is true he was bestowed a legendary skill, blood absorption on him, but he has managed to evolve It more than twice to become the greed of the titan if I’m correct?” master Killian asked,

“Greed of Esu, evolved when I remade my core as a bronze” Moyo replied, bowing again,

“So, three times then” master Killian said turning back to the diamonds,

“I have no doubt that should you all fight him in a monitored and censored match, you could win, I’d put your probability at a 60% advantage, and he beat the odds of death at 90% in a diamond dungeon as a silver”

Master Killian leaned forwards,

“But if you fight him to the death, I assure you, not even one of you would live to tell the tale. He is a walking disaster, a calamity given form, death incarnate”

“hey!, that’s my title” master Ajax protested, Killian rolling his eyes,

“I will not hold you all back from challenging him, but know that you do so at your own peril, he doesn’t fight to humiliate or to prove a point, he fights to kill, to put down foes without a second thought and to get whatever powers they have. He has only seen the evil and vile part of the archailect, not the politics and games you all play at court with a sprinkle of dungeon delving when it suits you, you have been warned” master Killian said as he finished,

“I’m not sure if I should feel proud or sad of the way you look at me” Moyo said silently,

Ashira glanced at him, biting her lips, master Killian shrugging,

“You are what you are Moyo, never be ashamed of that” the master replied,

Ashira spoke up, her voice loud,

“Loyalty, honor, friendship and companionship” she said as everyone turned to her,

“Those are the qualities that define Moyo to me. He took an attack of a diamond Savar serpent for me while he was silver and I gold, he didn’t consider his life, he did it because he called me friend, that’s the kind of person he is” she said as she grabbed his hand, threading her fingers through his,

She turned to the diamonds,

“I apologize to you all, Alvar, Raina, everyone of you if we came out as proud or angry, but we’ve been jumping from one battle to another. Moyo shrouded his core to bronze as a silver ranker just to save lives on Duhiri, and for all we know those lives could be forfeit right now. So please, understand, whatever you think he has right now, he won through blood and tears and sweat” she finished bowing,

Moyo bowed as well at the waist, they stood up straight as the diamonds bowed all as one, Alvar included,

“On behalf of clan sol blade and house thousand blades”

“Oh, so now you speak for us all” Ajax muttered,

“Ajax!” masters Duval and Killian groaned,

“joking!, joking, sheesh!” he said,

Alvar swallowed and continued,

“On behalf of the diamonds arranged here, I would like to humbly apologize for my behavior, it was shameful and didn’t reflect well on my clan, house and patriarch, I hope you can forgive me” he said, his voice solemn,

“I apologize also, I wasn’t in the best of moods” Moyo replied,

Master Duval clapped, drawing all attentions back to him,

“Good, now that we have gotten that out of the way, let us continue, and please, lady Ashira, you’re always welcome at this table, please, sit” Duval said as Ashira nodded and sat down, Moyo following suit,

“I swear on the archailect, I didn’t kill Vasanz, Kenuran his brother did” Moyo said,

“We all know that, and be grateful you are diamond now, for Kenuran has also attained that rank” Duval said,

Moyo gritted his teeth,

“Good, now I can beat on that serpent without feeling like a bully” he replied as Ajax laughed,

“Kenuran is not to be underestimated, our intel informs us he has evolved three of his attributes and all his skills as well. Even now he trains with his mother Anala, they are on course for the tournament world” Duval said,

“already?, I thought all factions were to wait till this coming week?” Killian asked,

“Like I said before brother, circumstances have changed, something even we masters are not aware of is afoot, the sword rulers and major sword houses have decided that all factions are to arrive on the planet Altera two days from now by order of the patriarch himself” Duval said,

“Well, that means we ride straight for the holy planet” Killian said,

“Holy planet?” Moyo asked,

“Yes, it his the home and birthplace of Zane true blade, the greatest swordsman in the archailect and rumored harbinger of blessed Alastor, supreme being of edges” Alvar said to Moyo,

“It also serves as the home to the revered true blade clan” Duval said,

“Not a house?” Moyo asked,

Surely the greatest swordsman in the archailect should have the power of a house, master Killian shook his head,

“Clan true blade detached themselves from the issues of the archailect, a small but insanely powerful clan not even houses want to mess with” he said,

“Wow, and are there other clans like that?” he asked,

“There are, clans grey wolf, blue shard and piercer among a few” Killian said,

“Now that we have a destination and goal, you all can retire to your rooms. Raina, guide the titan blade and lady Ashira to their rooms, we shall reconvene at a later time” Duval said, effectively ending the meeting.

With a nod, they followed Raina who led through a series of corners filled with golds and silvers that bowed whenever they passed. Raina glanced behind them,

“I must again apologize for our behavior out there, nerves were frayed” she said,

“No need, it’s behind us” Moyo replied,

She nodded, reaching a large corridor that had a door with the crest of house thousand blades on it. Opening the door revealed a room lush with green plant life, it looked more like a living room and Moyo marveled at the size that rivaled his throne room on Bastion. Adorned chairs made with a red material as well as ornately shaped tables made out of a dark blue glass material. The ceiling also reflected the outside space with stars shining below, a large room had different varieties of herbs and meats as well as what looked like a kitchen, Moyo’s mouth watered at that.

Raina led him them into the room at pointed at two doors that were at the wall,

“Those are your rooms, you can decide on anyone or stay together in one” she said,

Moyo choked and coughed, Ashira turned beet red,

“Oh no, we aren’t, I mean, we could, but, yeah, you understand” she sputtered,

Raina glanced between them,

“Apologies, so the titan blade isn’t spoken for, then perhaps would he be interested in courting me?” Raina asked,

“w-what?” Moyo sputtered again,

Raina cocked her head at him in confusion,

“In the archailect great houses look for strong ascenders to add to their bloodline, you might not know this, so I’m offering to have you join house thousand blades as my partner” Raina said,

Moyo could suddenly imagine master Killian chasing him with his blade, telling him to stay away from his daughter and it terrified him. He shook his head,

“No thank you, he’s spoken for” Ashira said with a smile, but Moyo could see through the façade, she was coiling up to strike like the aspect of the serpent she had in her, he had to diffuse the situation,

He bowed at the waist,

“I thank you for considering me for such honor, but I must decline, someone holds my heart already” he replied, not looking at Ashira,

Raina tsked,

“a pity, you look virile enough to sire more than two kids” she said, glancing at Ashira,

“You should had grabbed him when you had the chance” she said and walked away,

Moyo glanced at Ashira who had a stony look in her eyes,

“Ashira- “he said,

“it’s been a long period, I need to rest” she responded as she opened the door to a room and entered, slamming it shut,

Moyo closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, exhaling as he opened the door to his room and entered. The interior looked similar to living room, a large bed took most of the space and what looked like large bathroom at the side. He entered and water poured out from seemingly nowhere, bathing him in hot scalding water he hardly felt, he left the bathroom and saw the cloth he discarded had disappeared, a silver robe with the crest of house thousand blades left on the bed.

Putting on the robe he crashed on the bed, his mind racing through the issue on his mind. He now found himself caught between two women, something he didn’t really think he’d ever find himself. On one hand was Annika, the dark blue-eyed woman who had been with him during his time on his planet and who was waiting for him. On the other hand, was Ashira, the princess who apparently loved him and had been with him through every struggle. Feeling a migraine coming which was surprising as diamonds were complete aether beings, not subject to the flesh any longer.

With a groan he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.