The Kingdom of Endapado was in chaos.

Correction.  The whole realm of Revaliir was in chaos.

The insectoid armies were invading, attacking Gods and mortals alike.  No one could negotiate with them.  So it was kill or be killed.  Destroy, or be destroyed.  All of Revaliir was up in arms.  You were either fighting, healing, taking cover, or otherwise aiding the war effort.

Hiro Kouen, the Phoenix Knight, had been fighting against the insectoid armies, but now he was resting, recovering his strength.  While he was doing that, he had to upkeep his armor and weapons, and not only that, he been seeking to restore a certain weapon his father had left him.  The young knight wandered the streets, the stores and weapon shops were very busy.  Hiro traveled to Endapdo for a reason: it was an elven town, and the elves were some of the better blacksmiths in the known world.  It was either finding a master elven blacksmith, or an dwarven blacksmith to do what he needed to do.  If he couldn't find the right talent here, he'd find it in a Dwarven town.  The town itself was was composed of buildings inside or constructed around trees in the forest section of the town, and the other half of the city had marbled stone buildings.  Hiro started in the wooded parts of town, and worked his way through the city.  Most of the blacksmiths he had spoken to were either not up to snuff, and/or already inundated with too much work to help Hiro with his efforts.  He slumped his shoulders and sighed.  Ruffling his raven and crimson spiked hair, Hiro let loose a cry of frustration.

"Jeez, you can barely shake a stick here and NOT hit a blacksmith, but I can't find a bloody smith that's NOT busy with orders for the war effort!"  Hiro sat down on a nearby bench, the Phoenix Knight, wearing his casual clothes, a black and red tunic with the crest of a golden phoenix on it.  He had a sheathed long blade on his side, an ordinate hilt could be seen.  His deep sapphire eyes stared at the ground.  If only his father were still alive.  Sabishii was an amazing blacksmith, and Hiro wondered why he hadn't repaired or reforged the blade himself.  It was a mystery that would never be solved, most likely.

“Stay here. Stay out of trouble. DO NOT BLOW THINGS UP.” Toya poked her granddaughter on the tip of her nose for each new rule that she was putting in place. “Be courteous. Don’t be too hyperactive. Work hard. Show your Arriese pride! I ’ll be back in a bit to check up on the camp and most importantly on you. Do we have an understanding?”

“Yup,” Tempest saluted her grandmother with a smile that could kill any grandparent who loved sweetness. However, Toya wasn’t like most grandparents. When she saw this innocent smile she knew exactly what her granddaughter was trying to play her like a fiddle. A sigh left Toya’s lips and she decided it wasn’t worth the extended argument. The queen lifted her hand and rubbed Tempest’s messy curls. “Be safe Gramma.”

“Me? Safe? I would be more worried about the other guys,” Toya huffed a bit before she left Tempest’s makeshift workshop.

Quickly the young girl made her way to the tent flap once Toya had exited the workshop. “Andddd the crazy dragon lady is out of the way.” Tempest giggled and looked back at her tiny dragon companion. “Ready to get started?” There was a lazy snort of smoke but it appeared like he would be all for it. “Come on Kaa… We need to work…”

An hour went by after she got the dragon motivated. Soot and ash were now all over her sun-kissed skin and she had her goggles on over her eyes to protect them. “Drat, the damn coal bucket is full… We shoulda got a trough or something… but I guess I couldn’t carry it out to dump it then.” She whistled and Kaa got up on her shoulder. He was a dark red dragon that appeared to be stunted as he was. He curled around her neck like a cat through her messy curls.

Not taking off her goggles she grabbed the large bucket and started out the door with the hot coals. Humming away she appeared to be following her own little whim as she walked though she wasn’t much for paying attention. “Oi! KAA!” The dragon took off and Tempest yelled after him. Quickly Tempest followed and she threw a bucket of coals so she could launch herself off the ground and grab the rogue dragon. “Gramma said… we hafta behave ourselves.” There was a lot of small draconic cries coming from the small dragon as he struggled in Tempest’s arms.

“We aren’t moving until you calm down.” She was stern fortunately she only had to wait but a few seconds for Kaa to quit this round of struggling. It had been just before that when she had heard a scream not that far from her. Finally, her covered eyes latched onto what had caused it. “OH, LOOK WHAT YOU DID NOW!” Her voice raised higher in anger as she jumped up and ran over to the man. “Sorry about that… You seem okay for a load of hot coals hitting you.”

Finally, Tempest raised her goggles and let them rest against the top of her forehead. The skin around her eyes and nose were clean from all the soot and ash. Blues stared at Hiro as she tilted her head. “You look like you are damn well lost. Need something?” Kaa struggled in her arms once more. “You have caused enough trouble. Now we have to clean this up AND finish our workload before Gramma gets back… and don’t you even get me started on if Papa finds out about this. Ah right… Let me introduce ourselves since Kaa caused you a bit of trouble. I’m Tempest Rose, an apprentice blacksmith, and this is my dragon Kaa. He’s my dragon fire forge… if you believe in such a thing.”

Hiro Kouen vaguely heard some voices shouting nearby, but he was too deep in thought to pay it any mind.  He was trying to figure out where to find a good blacksmith, maybe it was a mistake to come to Endapado, when he could find a dwarven town underground and try and find a good blacksmith there.

Then it hit him.

A bucket of red hot coals landed on his head, chunks of coal pouring over his body.  Hot coal dust caused him to cough, but the red hot coals that laid on his body and clothing didn't really hurt.  They were hot, but not intense enough to burn the fire elemental.  It would've hurt and burned any normal human though.

". . . The hell?"  Hiro could be heard saying with the bucket on his head.  He removed the bucket from his head, standing up, and brushing off the soot, coal dust, and coals off his clothing.  He would probably have to take a bath after this mess.  He looked down at the little girl that tossed the bucket on him who was apologizing to him.  She was an adorable young girl, a couple years younger than the Phoenix Knight.  She had a small dragon companion by her side.

"It's okay, I'm okay," he coughed up a bit of coal dust.  "I'm kinda . . . fire resistant.  It's in my blood.  Mother was a fire elemental, father was a human who turned into a phoenix-fire elemental thing, something like that.  Anyway, it takes more than hot coals to hurt me.  But you should be more careful.  What if I was hurt by that?"  The girl asked if Hiro was lost or needed something.  She introduced herself as Tempest Rose, an apprentice blacksmith, and Kaa was her dragon companion, a "dragon fire forge."  The name "Tempest Rose," she shared the name as Angela Rose.  The Mother Goddess Angela Rose.

"My name is Hiro Kouen, Phoenix Knight, and I've been . . . Wait, Tempest Rose?  Are you a Rosenite?  Related to Lady Angela, and Miss Sapphire Rose?"  Hiro was friends with both of them, having dated Miss Sapphire a while back.  They broke up though, because she went to mage college, or whatever it was called.  They broke up on good terms though.  "And a blacksmith apprentice?  With a dragon fire forge?  Who's your master?  I've been looking for a master blacksmith for awhile now.  I have a certain project that'll take a really good smith to accomplish.  But most of the smiths here are either not good enough, and/or just plain busy with the whole war effort thing.  They're mass producing cheap weapons for infantry units, they don't have time to basically recreate or reforge/improve my father's legendary sword.  I thought maybe an elven smith could handle it, but maybe I should have tried a dwarven smith," Hiro sighed.  "Some rare metals are involved, and magical enchantments, which I have the formulas for, it's from father's journals.  I wish he was still alive, but I wonder why he never tried the project again himself.  He forged the weapon himself originally."

Tempest’s eyes narrowed on the man who had the audacity to lecture her when clearly it had been an accident that couldn’t have been helped… Only if the dragon hadn’t been an ass would it have helped. “Well… I’ll be Kaa… This man definitely has studied at a discount common sense school.” The sarcasm was dry but she shrugged her shoulders. “Blame the dragon. He’s the one who was trying to take off like a bat outta hell.” She held the dragon up above her. “You wanna explain?” She gave a little squeeze and Kaa began to squeal. “Oh, that is some deep bullshit. You shouldn’t spew shit bigger than yourself. We’ll go on a walk later.”

Finally being submissive the dragon was around her shoulder and Tempest gave him a pat on the head. “Sorry for the attitude but the Gramma said not to cause trouble.” She crossed her arms now after she put her coal bucket at the bottom of her feet. “Half Rosenite. No autographs.” She waved her hand with a smirk. “Aye, that is my great aunt and Sapphire is my first cousin once removed. What of it?” That attitude was a stunning reminder of who her grandmother was. From the pose to the facial expressions as she did it. She was clearly Toya’s blood.

“Papa is my master. Should be more formal. My full name is Tempest Rose-Wintercrest. Ma’s name is Keira Wintercrest and my bastard Pa is named Torn Flashborn or something like that. Live in Sularia with my grandparents while Ma is a traveling map maker. But I’ll let you in a good decent secret.” She leaned forward. “Ain’t no blacksmith here better than I am. Papa says I’m quite the prodigy with my hammer. I would be a master blacksmith if it weren’t for the fact I’m so young. Ain’t no one taking my small self seriously. I gotta work extra hard… Also, I’m not a master blacksmith because apparently I cause too many problems and Papa needs to watch me.” She shrugged.

She tilted her head. “You do realize with a magic weapon that not JUST any master blacksmith can touch it right?” She made a face at him. “You would need a master blacksmith that can dabble in artifices. If you can break the enchantments and everything else with the wrong hits… the metal itself is enchanted but once you start adding in the metals to fix a broken artifact you run the risk of losing the entire thing.” She crossed her arms. Listening to the fact his da never finished it she tilted her head. “Well, if I had to say the reasoning for it… There are lots of reasons why a blade isn’t reforged. The materials can be expensive for one… Two, depending on the brittleness of the metal it might not be possible to salvage the whole thing. Three and perhaps the most important part… He just didn’t want to. Many people who craft legendary weapons often times don’t repair them once they are broken… It’s like a blacksmith’s torch to pass. I ain’t saying that’s what your da did but he might have.” She shrugged again.

“There is another reason. I hear that there are people who come from places outside of Revaliir.” Her eyes met with Hiro’s. “If that’s where the blade was forged our minerals aren’t of the same standard or type. The enchantments would be slightly different too. I’ve heard stories and I have repaired a blade from a place called DaeLuin. I had to add my own alloys to it though to make it sharp and better but it was not an artifact.”

She moved one hand so she could flail it about while she showed just how much she knew. “I mean… I might be able to fix it but I would have to look at it and your father’s notes… and then I would need to concoct my own enchantments that mirrored the ones he had… and I could do it… but I could also get in trouble for dabbling in things I shouldn’t… but I might not because if its a job I was told I had to agree to take any job that was offered to me… and it just so happens that I’m a prodigy of recreating enchantments…” She was wiggling her eyebrows now. “I bet I could fix this legendary sword of yours. Or I’ll eat my own socks…”

Now the excitement was filling her as she began to bounce on her tippy toes. "Lemme see! Lemme see! Lemme see! Let me see it. Let me see the sword.” Her fingers were flailing about excitedly as she stretched her arms towards him. “Won’t hurt to let me look at it.”

The young man's eyes stared wide in disbelief.  This girl was a firecracker.  He hadn't seen a lass with this kind of attitude before.  He blinked his eyes, not really sure how to react to this.  He wasn't one to get angry at a child like that though.  He shook it off.

". . . it's okay, no harm, no foul.  Don't worry about it.  I'm just glad it was me and not someone else who could've been hurt."

Tempest (who's name was quite apt) explained her genealogy.  In short, she was half-Rosenite, daughter of Keira Wintercrest and Lord Torn former Prince of Epics, another pair of names Hiro knew.  She was a young prodigy blacksmith, too young to be considered a master though, she claimed she had the talent to be one.

"Huh, funny how life works out.  I'm a family friend of Lady Angela, I dated Sapphire before she went off to mage school.  Also, I participated in your Pa's Warrior's Gauntlet before he fell.  I defeated a Fire Giant at the age of sixteen.  He took me on an adventure, so I've met both your Ma and your Pa.  I might've seen you when you were a little wee lass.  Man, you Rosenites grow up FAST," Hiro said with a laugh.  If she were any random kid, he may not have believed her claims about being a prodigy blacksmith, but she started talking about blacksmithing, magic weapons, and so forth, in stunning detail.  Hiro was impressed, she would've potentially could've gotten along well with his father, Sabishii, if he were still alive.  But everything she said made sense, between her being a Rosenite, daughter of Lord Torn, all the artisan stuff.  She was the real deal, and he learned much from his father about smithing, but he could never really do it himself.

"I can tell you're telling the truth, from your whole story.  So, I can trust you, I think.  And you're probably right about why father didn't try to do anything with the sword," he reached into his backpack, and pulled out a wrapped up bundle.

"Me, my mother, my father, we all came from DaeLuin.  This sword I speak of also came from DaeLuin, the name of it is Temenos.  The name means two things in an ancient language: 'sacred grounds' and 'to cut.'  Which is a pretty apt name for a sword.  Anyway, this is it.  This is what's left of Temenos.  It's power was to take magic, to take mana channeled into it, and then to take the properties of that magic.  For example, you channel fire into it, you can cast fire from it, and it becomes a fire sword.  If you channel air into it, it starts to vibrate and take on wind properties, or lightning, it could become a lightning sword.  Or water, or ice, or even earth.  It still has power left within it.  But it's just the hilt, and part of the blade."  Hiro unwrapped the bundle, revealing a broken sword.  A dark metal hilt with a blade that was somehow snapped part way through.  The sword was heavy, dense with power still.  It was capable of being wielded in either one hand or both, making it a bastard sword.  Hiro handed the sword to Tempest gingerly.  He also pulled out the journals that his father left behind with the formulas put into the sword.  "He used star metal in making the blade, an adamantite alloy.  Something else is in there to make it absorb the magic better.  It broke somehow during the end of DaeLuin.  The apocalypse has a habit of breaking things more than just the world you came from.  I imagine it's a miracle he was able to get this much of the sword here.  What I want to do with the sword is something that does a similar thing, but it can absorb two elements at the most, instead of just one.  Because I'm working on being able to channel multiple elements instead of just fire, and being able to combine two at once, and that would help me in combat."

Hiro smiled as he entrusted the journals and the remains of Temenos to her.  "I'll pay you well, and cover the costs of the materials, I have money saved up.  If you can succeed, I'll be one happy man."

The half werewolf saw how Hiro was looking at her. He was speechless and she was totally alright with that. Lots of people looked at her grandmother like that… and so she knew many people would look at her like that too. “Well, look on the bright side at least we’re in Endapano where my great aunt is.” Tempest waved her little hand about as she thought about it. It was rather good having Angela this close justtttt in case.

“My Pa can rot in whatever hell he is in.” The brunette's eyes burned into Hiro’s. Obviously Torn was a very swore topic with her. She had heard the legends. She had heard how wonderful he was. Her mother had even sung praise higher than most. However, behind all the legends, praise, and other things that Tempest would hear… Tempest knew that if Torn wasn’t dead he had straight up abandoned them. From what she knew Angela couldn’t find him but neither could Dalanesca. So it meant just one thing to her: Torn had abandoned his family when they needed him. “And I grow fast because of my half werewolf blood… Not because of my Rosenite blood. Ma is half werewolf you know.”

Her ma was the only one who mattered out of the two of them. Finally, the hellfire in her eyes simmered down and she took a breath. Soon Hiro was following along with her plan and she saw that he was impressed with her knowledge. Most people were. They often didn’t think children were as capable as she was… However, she was from Arri and if you could, you simply did.

Once more her blue eyes narrowed on Hiro. “Lots of weapons have names that are mighty or seem legendary. The most legendary weapons in existence… have had no names until they were used properly. Swords that wield mighty names before that point tend to be useless… Even if it is Temenos… I would rename it if I were you. It will be a new sword when I am done, therefore, it will need a new name.”

She batted her eyes at him during the explanation and shrugged a bit. “Metamorphosis. It adapts to what you do with it. It’s an advanced conduit I bet. Taking on the form you channel through it like a living thing.” Tempest took the broken sword by the hilt and looked at it. The small girl didn’t look like she had muscles but the way she began to juggle the sword about and test its balance was a little shocking the first time an outsider saw it. “That’s what I was afraid of…”

It looked like she was going to dropped the sword but just as it was about to hit the ground her fingers grasped the hilt. She was bent over but thinking as she slowly pulled herself back up. Tempest was calm and collected unlike her namesake. Her eyes were glued to the blade. “We won’t be able to reforge it with what it’s made from…” Though his words on having it help him threw her off a bit. “My grandma would say that using something as a clutch to help you do anything is a bad thing. You should try harder without it during your downtime. You can use it while you are fighting sure but without it… Well you might be at a disadvantage. The easier you can do it while not wielding it… The better it will be when you are. Sularia is built on the elements of the world. We know them a lot better than most people… Probably only bested by the gods themselves.”

Tempest took the journals and the rest of the remains. “Come with me and grab my bucket we’re going to need it. You’ll have to cover quite a bit for what I’m going to do.” Her voice was grim but it had a tinge of excitement to it as she brought him back to her tent. Kaa flew off her shoulder and went to her anvil. Gently Tempest laid out the sword and the journals. She opened each of the journals up studying the pages. A whistle left her lips after a bit and she rubbed her neck. “None of this stuff matches any of the things we have here…”

Going over to a row of shelves she crossed her arms as she hmm’d. Her blue eyes swept the shelves almost rapidly. “Let’s see… We can easily replace the star with some Lacriamium since Auntie has the Himiria star in her… So naturally Lacriamium has star metal in it… but the composites are different so I’m going to have to break the whole damn thing…”

It sounded like she was muttering as Tempest went over to a chest and opened it. “I should have some bars left…” She threw five diamond-like ingots out onto the ground. “That should be enough in case of something bad happens.” More muttering happened about before she started to grab some odd little items. To outsiders, it would appear weird and out of place but There was enough for each of the elements he would need.

She threw the parts onto the table with Temenos. “This should help…” Grabbing some enchantment dust she started to make a circle around Temenos and drew some signs within. Within each of those signs were the items she had picked up. “I’m probably going to make you angry doing this.” In her hidden hand, she pulled out a hammer that had its own little symbols. Bringing it down with a mighty force she smashed the sword with it. The crash sparked and the alchemy signs started to burn with a great golden color. Tempest brought her hands up adding her own magic to the mix. In her left hand appeared to be a single silver crescent. A green light shot up from the sword and went into it. The silver crescent had a faint green glow. She placed it down with the other items who had their own glow.

Temenos was shattered now with bright blue lightning like marks across all parts of it. “Deal with it for now. It might hurt but it will be better. The sword can’t be reforged the way it was.” Her blue eyes landed on Hiro. “That’s the truth.” She didn’t want to have to explain to Hiro what she had done but once the blue lines faded Tempest salvaged the hilt from it. “Kaa,” Tempest bellowed as she went over to her anvil. She pulled her goggles down. “Hit it.” Kaa unleashed a white fire that shot the temperature of the tent up a few double digits.

The girl’s brown locks were waving back behind her from the force of the fire as she began to nimbly hammer the broken pieces of the blade out of the hilt. She threw the hilt into a barrel of water before retrieving it. Finally, she got all the pieces out and finished dismantling it all the way so she could smooth over the hilt. Throwing the hilt over on the workbench she let out a whistle as she went through some molds she had. “Bastard… sword… Bastard… sword… This shit won’t do.”

“Tempest… What the hell do you think you are doing?” Toya was now behind Hiro. Her green eyes were focused on her granddaughter. If Tempest was intimidating Toya was hell in a handbasket.

“Hi, Gramma. Reforging some legendary sword for Hiro here… HEY!” Tempest’s eyes went to Toya’s waist. There was a sword in a sheath at her waist. “Can… I borrow Balaur, Gramma?”

Toya narrowed her eyes at Tempest as she came around Hiro and put her hands on her hips. Though after a second her left hand moved to the dark crimson hilt of the sword. “Why? If it touches you… It will burn you. It doesn’t like anyone but me touching it.”

There was a gleam in Tempest’s eyes. “I wanna make a cast of the blade… Please?”

There was a huff that came from Toya but after a few minutes, she unsheathed the mighty sword. At first, there was a raging inferno around the blade but Toya slashed it through the air. The flame seemed to go out without a fight revealing the blade’s shape. It was finely crafted… Almost perfect. “I wouldn’t completely copy it, Tempest… It would be an insult to Balaur.”

“Fine, but I would still like a base cast of it to work with.” Tempest bounced a bit and Toya let out a groan. She finally looked at Hiro and acknowledged him after ignoring his existence.

“You are lucky. If anyone else requested to match the blade of Balaur I would decline.” The dragon queen moved the sword for Tempest as she worked. Once in a while Tempest got too close to the blade and it lashed out but Toya was there and she manipulated the fire as if it was nothing.

“Balaur… The mighty dragon. Hell’s incarnation. The flame blade. It too is a legendary sword. Forged in dragon fire and wielded by my Gramma.” Tempest finally looked up at Hiro. “You should be honored.” It was more of a sorrowful feeling. Once the initial cast was made Toya left like it was nothing. Something appeared to be bothering her. The girl watched for a few moments before making a few random adjustments so the blade was unique. “Balaur… Was made for Gramma when she was fifteen. It was a gift from her husband to her. A celebration of their son’s birth. Gramma was young. When Costel, my uncle, was old enough Balaur allowed him to wield it. Costel was the only other one able to do it. Then my uncle got killed saving someone… and Balaur was returned to Gramma. It is a sorrowful blade. A reminder. It’s why I said you should rename Temenos.”

Once the cast was made she finalized it. “Each of the five queens of Arri have a weapon that is legendary. Something that they rule their courts with. Auntie Angela has Trandafir… and Gramma has Balaur. I don’t know much about the other three though. I’ve heard Kirika’s is a staff… Auntie Cathrine’s is a bow… That’s all I know though. Rumors.” She was oddly quiet now as she worked. Tossing the Lacriamium into a smelting pot she went to fetch some other type of metals that would work well with it. They were richer and darker in color. Throwing them in she whistled and Kaa came over once more blowing his fire.

Prepping the cast while the metals meshed together and melted Tempest grabbed her hammer, tongs, and a few other things. She made sure to get the liquid good and mixed before she moved onto the next task. Taking the tongs she moved the pot over and poured it into the mold. It was more like a midnight blue liquid that poured into the mold now. Not losing the shimmer or diamond-like structure that the Lacriamium had. It meant that the Lacriamium was the dominant metal.

There was quite a bit of metal left in the smelting pot but she put it back where she got it and pulled up her goggles. “We’ll let it set by itself. Lacriamium cannot be forged like most other metals. I had to make this batch extra hot which means that it will need some time to come down. I’ll shape it, sharpen it, and everything else once it is done. I’ll piece it into the hilt and secure the hilt one more probably with a Lacriamium alloy to hold it together so the hilt doesn’t break. Luckily you can patch with Lacriamium but you can’t mix it with your star metal… Patch yes but not completely mix. Lacriamium is also perfect for enchanting the blade with what it needs.”

She rubbed her neck lightly and looked over at the glowing ingredients. It was clear she had enchanted them with whatever had been in the blade. Tempest was nervous though. “I wouldn’t be bothered by how Gramma treated ya. She doesn’t acknowledge a lot of people. The good news is she let us use Balaur for a base cast.”

Once the time had pasted Tempest moved her goggles back down so she could quickly cool the metal in the cast. She used weird green water that sparkled and shimmered like the purest of sources. It was water from Sularia. Breaking open the cast she pulled the blade out and juggled it because it was still rather hot even after being super chilled. Her body seemed used to it though as she took a hammer and immediately began probably the hardest part of her job.

The metal was being drawn out and sparks shot out every once in a while. “Kaa,” Tempest moved her hand as the dragon annealed the metal once more. She continued this process for a long, long time. Her strikes were perfectly timed. They had the right amount of strength in them. Kaa worked alongside of her bringing her what she needed or giving her fire when requested. She used the pritchel hole on her anvil to create a hole at the base of the blade. Once more she cooled it. Pulling her goggles up she examined it a bit before moving her head gesturing towards the table.

Kaa flew over and brought her back the hilt pieces. “Good… I thought it was the right size.” She plopped the hole she made over a small metal piece that appeared to be used to hold the blade steady. It was odd but whatever. She was just glad she noticed it. Using a file, she made the blade fit perfect before closing the hilt up and using what was left of the metal in the pot to slowly pour into the cracks she had made. It was a very slow process but enough it looked good. The Lacriamium stood out. She juggled the sword again once it was cool and looked rather pleased.

Hitting it a few more times with heat and hammer she got it where she wanted it. Sharpening the blade hardly took time like the rest of it had. Lacriamium was easy to make sharp and a bitch to dull. “Okay… You have a sword now let’s make it special.” She was giddy as she bounded over to her workstation. “Hopefully NOTHING explodes!” She did mention she was an apprentice right?

Using the enchantments she had made she was VERY, very careful about the order they went into the blade. She used the journals as a guidepost but knew they wouldn’t be very helpful because the methods would be different. The enchanting took many hours… It looked draining but if anything the little half werewolf had a lot of energy. Her eyes lit up as the last enchantment was accepted. Using an enchantment seal she made the newly enhanced enchantment protected. The sword was humming with a new lively power.

It was well balanced and sharp. However, Tempest didn’t look pleased just yet as she went over and added her blacksmith’s mark to the lower part of the blade near the hilt. She began to tinker around with the hilt adding designs… Inlaying silver of all things into the grooves she made. Finally, she filed making the hilt smooth. She thought it looked good. “Okay… Catch.” She lazily threw it at him. “Don’t break it… I don’t think I can make it again. A legendary sword shouldn’t be able to be crafted twice… so it might not be the same as Temenos in some ways.” She crossed her arms and while she appeared serious it was her eyes that were lit up like Sularian sky fire. She was excited and proud of herself. However, her grandmother had been teaching her not to tackle her guests or bound all over them in excitement. She was more like a puppy in that aspect. "Well? Swing it about… Try out the enchantments." She made a shooing motion but what she meant was to try it out in the tent. "I wanna make sure it works for you."

Torn was a sore subject for her, obviously.  Hiro nixed one of the questions from his mind he was going to ask about him, considering she didn't know the answer obviously: where was Lord Torn?  How was he doing?  He was either dead, or somewhere else, and no one knew where.

"That's true about having Angela nearby, maybe I should visit her after this is all done.  I haven't seen her in awhile.  See how she's doing.  Though, now that I think of it, Lady Angela would have my head if something went wrong.  Hopefully no one here should get hurt from forging a sword, forging can be dangerous if you're not careful, especially a magic sword, but I think we should both know what we're doing.  Father was a blacksmith too, he knew Lady Angela, I'm a family friend in more than one way," Hiro said, looking straight at Tempest.  Angela would probably strangle Hiro half to death if something happened to Tempest on Hiro's watch.  Anyone involved would probably get ripped apart and stitched back together by the Goddess.  He knew Angela was a Goddess of Life, but she could probably kill someone in a very painful way, then revive them, making them feel every bit of pain they felt on the way out, and the way back.

Tempest suggested Hiro come up with a new name for the sword they were about to make.  She suggested "Metamorphosis" as a name, since it adapted to the user.

"I agree at coming up with a different name for it, I've been thinking about it.  Something will come to me by the time it's done, I'm sure.  I'm thinking something from the same language, something similar, but different.  Like a branch from the same tree.  Like how I was born from my parents, following in the path of my father as a warrior, though not as a blacksmith, since I lacked the talent and desire to do that.  I can take care of my armor and weapons well, but forging new equipment, it's not me, but I understand the appeal of creating something.  I really wish he was still around, I'm sure you two could've exchanged knowledge or something.  My father was a great warrior and a blacksmith.  He forged the armor I wear in battle, and created a relic that gave the armor the ability to fly, but hid it for me to go on a quest to find.  He was a man of many talents."  Hiro could tell she was strong by the way she tested Temenos about, she could lift it as if she were an adult.

Repairing the blade would be impossible in the state was.  Hiro knew this was coming.  He knew enough about the sword-smith process to understand that.  His heart sank a bit to hear the words anyway.  He knew what was going to come next.

"I had a feeling.  I've been practicing what I need to do to use the planned enchantments of the blade we have planned.  I may not be able to make the best use of it right away, because I haven't been able to master all four elements, and melding them together, but I'm working on it.  Lord Drae has been training me, and I'm working as hard as I can.  The main sword I've been using is a fire sword, but to use all the elements, it's going to take something more.  You have my permission to do what you have to do to Temenos.  I understand the process, you can't just wield a block of metal onto a broken blade and call it a day.  Especially two different metals."

Hiro grabbed the bucket as she asked him to, and pledged to assist her in any way possible.  He assisted her in grabbing the materials she asked, but made sure not to get in the way of what she had to do.  She decided to use Lacriamium as a ingredient for the sword, since they had none of the adamantite alloy Sabishii used to forge the blade from DaeLuin.  Maybe it was something similar, but it was still different.  She said she was probably going to make him angry by doing what she was about to do to Temenos.

"No, do what you have to do.  I know what you're going to do to it.  I already prepared myself for this.  Do it," Hiro said calmly.  He watched, wincing as she smashed the sword to bits with her magic hammer.  She started looking about for a mold to act as a base for the sword.  She was having trouble finding a proper one.  A woman's voice came from behind Hiro, asking Tempest what the hell she was doing.  Hiro gave a little wave.

"Hello, my name is Hiro Kouen, I commissioned Miss Tempest to forge a blade for me, a legendary blade from my father's sword.  You know, MIss Tempest is really smart for her age.  She's gotta be the best smith in this whole town, better than any of these elves, who were either too busy to attempt this work, or flatly refused, due to not having the skill to do it."  He said, speaking to Toya, giving praise to Tempest, though he wasn't trying to butter up the young smith with his praises.  He was calling it as he saw it.  "I think she'll be a stunning master smith when she's older.  My father would've been amazed by her."

Hiro understood Toya's apprehension of having someone to borrow her sword to make a mold of it.  "I wouldn't expect an exact copy, it's a different kind of sword, it's going to be true mage-knight blade.  A multi-element blade.  If you don't mind, I have some ideas for the design."  He gave her some suggestions for the blade, and worked together with her for it.  "I am honored.  That is truly a special blade you've got there.  Balaur.  The name Costel . . . that sounds familiar.  I think my father mentioned that name, that he was a friend of his.  Costel Rose.  Definitely a familiar.  We, our families, might be tied together closer than we realize."

This whole process took many hours.  Finally, it was done though.  Tempest tossed the blade to Hiro, who caught the sword by the hilt.  The sword felt lighter than Temenos ever did.  But it also felt dense too.  He could feel the power deep within.  She suggested Hiro take the sword outside and give it a shot and make sure it works.

Hiro was now outside, seeing the dawning light from beyond the horizon.  Hiro held the blade up to the sword, watching it sparkle in the morning light, casting multicolored light upon the surroundings.  The blade was long, ornate, made from a silvery metal, with a crimson handle, and a bit of crimson metal in the center of the blade.  It had a bright colored gem in the center of the hilt that flashed different colors, like a rainbow.

Hiro swung the sword about in a few practice swings, with his right hand, feeling the balance of the blade.  It was well balanced.  He then gripped it in both hands and gave it an overhand swing.  It felt lighter to swing than he was used to.

"This will take some practice to get used to, but that's to be expected.  Now the most important part, the enchantments," Hiro started focusing his mana into the blade.  He was going to make this sword his own.  Flames.  Crimson flames erupted from the blade he swung the blade about.  Then he focused his mana into another element.  Wind.  The blade started to vibrate with a different power as the flames died out.  A gale erupted forth from the blade, as he swung it around, sending bits of dust, slicing through leaves and twigs as he did another overhead swing.  The slash was aimed toward a large oak tree, the blade made a large gash in the tree, even though he was several yards away from the tree.

Earth.  The blade took a darker tint to it, becoming heavier, taking an adamant property to it, unbreakable.  Sand surrounded the blade, an earthen property.  Hiro charged at the tree, no one was nearby to get in the way.  He swung the blade, carving through the tree, which collapsed.  Luckily, no one, and nothing else was in the way.  No buildings, no people.

Finally, to mix what he could do together.  He raised the blade upwards, he channeled flames into it, and while focusing on the flames, he also focused a lightning based mana into it.  A purplish energy, like a strange colored fire with lightning properties, erupted from the blade.  An audible humning could be heard, and the incredible heat and energy radiated from the sword.  This blade was making it easier to focus the power, and it held strong.  A swing into the trunk of the fallen tree carved right through it with ease, vaporizing a slice right through it.  Hiro held the sword up high with one hand, then eased the flow of energy from it, returning the sword to a neutral, uncharged state.  A grin could be seen on Hiro's face.

This sword was divine.  He could feel the divine aether-like energy flowing from it.   Aether that could turn into any state.  It was like the energy of creation that could be changed into elemental form he desired.

"Empyrean.  That's it.  From the same myths as Temenos, in the language of ancients, stories of a single God and his angels.  The word for the highest heavens.  Occupied by the energy of creation: the divine flame, the Aether.  I dub thee: Empyrean!"  Hiro held the sword on high, and the multicolored light radiated from the dawn and the blade onto the surrounding.  One could almost hear the angelic chorus playing upon this scene.

It was glorious.