Seven days into their journey across Multana Desert, Kir realized something. A difference, a spark forged not through the gods, but through effort and perseverance. As a friend, the blacksmith observed and helped Daiden throughout the course of his six months in training. He tried to understand but failed to grasp at the purpose of the concept, the conditioning. He …

With each step, Daiden noticed a portion of his feet sink into the terrain. He experienced a tougher than normal situation in Multana Desert, with hot, dusty winds and fast-changing paths. At a short distance behind him, Kir followed, functioning more as a navigator than a blacksmith for their journey through the desert. Daiden halted his feet and sighed in …

Daiden laid the items from his spatial ring on a table inside Mutuba Smithy. He theatrically spread his arms and walked away, gesturing for Kir to take lead with the inspections. Once settled, he tapped at his ring once more and retrieved Takshaka from the lot in front of him. Daiden folded his arms next, in clutches, choosing to hide …

Rollo rushed into the conversation excitedly, holding a faded and worn sheet of paper. He extended his arm and grinned when Daiden relieved him of it. The latter raised an eyebrow, suspiciously, and slowly averted his gaze to run through the details. He read the quest information and frowned a little, towards the end. Daiden then lifted his head and …

Across crooked trees, a four-eyed crow landed near the edge of a puddle. It waddled along the circumference, leaving a trail of talon-prints atop moist mud. The crow then slowly sunk its beak into the puddle and gulped at what appeared to be a thick, purple liquid. It shivered when finished and danced with its wings wide open. With another …

Armed with a sword, Daiden watched Rollo announce the start of his match. He distanced from the crowd in that moment and isolated himself to merely the thought of his opponent. One step, two, and at pace, Daiden rushed into a sequence of coordinated steps. He moved at a dizzying speed, horizontally at first, and then with long strides towards …

The crowd separated from the open space in the centre, in a circle. Their chatter lulled to a dull silence when Laella and Daiden approached from opposite ends, towards each other, and with opposing expressions. Daiden continued to stretch through the walk, a little tense from the attention around him. He admired Laella’s calm given the situation, her smile as …

Daiden tapped the back of his spatial ring and equipped a clean, heavy iron sword. He tapped it again and switched to Takshaka, then back. He had attempted the process many times over the months and had become accustomed to switching between weapons within the margin of a second. The pace of his improvement had slowed with time, but he …

6 months after the trainee evaluations With a yawn, Kir rubbed the sides of his shoulders in a chill. His arms hastened when a breeze brushed against his skin, under the gaze of a full moon. He sneezed. The cold pinched at his skin, but the blacksmith persisted. He moved to a chair outside the door to Mutuba Smithy and …

Daiden felt it in his heart, a mild tremor, knotted with a touch of fear. He worried when Rollo stepped to the front, to challenge a stronger-looking opponent. He worried more at the thought of losing a friend. But the pieces never fit. Daiden witnessed it from start to finish, a one-sided onslaught that rendered the Karsman broken and unconscious. …