?
Near the blade was a thick leather strap going down the pole; the leather was just as old as the wood, and the blade itself seemed to be a simple design, neither fancy looking or exotic. Steel maybe? Whatever it was, the metal was rusted.
?
“Gale Maker… if we don’t count the Primordial Moon Essence, this might be the rarest item I’ve ever seen since my rebirth. A [Unique] [Artifact]... the first glaive ever forged. It certainly looks the part.”
?
The glaive was clearly able to possess some sentience since it had consciously resisted his [Analyse]. He kneeled down, gently holding the pole of the glaive. The moment his fingers squeezed around the weapon, his consciousness was suddenly assaulted by another force coming from the glaive.
?
However, Akhenamen’s strongest point was his mental defenses, millions of Cygilites rising once more, the Legions ready to defend the Main Frame. The glaive’s attack slammed into the summoned legions, sending quite a few hundreds of thousands flying, but they were replaced by ten times more in the next few seconds.
?
Akhenamen stood behind the lines, staring at the floating glaive, standing proud in front of its armies. There was a small figure holding the glaive. It looked like…an otter? A fox? A wolf? Orikon?!... It was as if every owner of this glaive was present.
?
“Really though? An otter and a fox? The otter seems to come back a lot… was it one of the first holders? Or longest? No matter… they won’t go through. Maybe it’s a trial to own the glaive? Or it’s just acting pissy. No matter.”
?
***
?
The mental battle lasted for days inside Akhenamen’s mind, but outside, barely an hour had passed. In the end, there was no surprise; Akhenamen bested the glaive’s consciousness, but he had to admit this was an impressive showcase of this glaive’s ability.
?
Finally, Gale-Maker showed its full description.
?
[Gale-Maker] [Artifact] [Unique]: The first glaive to have ever been created. Gale-Maker is one of the first weapons to have been created by Vorentor, First Blacksmith. It’s known to be immensely loyal to its current owner, willing to destroy itself rather than see any harm come to them. It was once said to be majestic and impressive, but it has willingly sacrificed much of its inner magical reserves to extend the life of its wielder as much as it can, growing more and more depressed with every death.
?
Akhenamen’s mind was suddenly shown a scene, Gale-Maker’s creation. He saw Vorentor, an orc-like man, slamming a huge fist encased in iron against a heated blade. He saw him carve and make a long and hard wooden pole from a simple tree.
The craftsmanship seemed simple, showing it was clearly just a prototype. Vorentor finished the glaive, making sure the blade would be tightly attached with a strong leather wrapping.
?
In the end, it was discarded, leaning against a wall, seeing greater and greater weapons being created as Vorentor’s experience got better. It had passed so long in that forge, absorbing more and more magic being released by the increasing rarity of the forged weapons.
?
So many years absorbing magic were undoubtedly going to have an effect, and indeed, Gale-Maker, alongside the other First Forged weapons, were thrown out, taking too much space.
?
And then Akhenamen saw what happened to Gale-Maker, once thrown out, it passed from wielder to wielder… a small otter pup that had fun playing around the pole became the one Gale-Maker saw as its first friend and wielder.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
?
But the otter soon died. Gale Maker had no concept of death; now it had found out it existed. And this schematic kept going. Gale Maker would find a wielder, grow attached, use its own magic, harvested for millions of years, to extend the life of its wielder. And in the end, they would always die.
?
For millions of years, this cycle happened again and again until Gale-Maker was found by Orikon. A young boy who had yet to have its first battle. They went through war together, Gale-Maker teaching Orikon to become a better fighter.
?
It saw Orikon grow from a foot soldier to one of the greatest fighters of the war. And finally, Akhenamen saw everything when he saw the next scene. Orikon had been perhaps the one wielder that Gale-Maker cared for the most. It had perfectly mastered its life-extending abilities, and it knew it would be able to finally live its life with a true wielder…
?
Yet… Orikon died. He died during the war; it wasn’t an impressive death. He was killed by a group of Cygiteks when he tried to break through the level of an Authority. Ambushed and slain during a very important instant, when Orikon was understanding his Divine Law of Wind that trapped his soul within a body created by his own law.
?
Almost all his strength was being used to keep this body in one piece, knowing the moment he released it, his soul would finally leave for the afterlife and leave his best friend alone.
?
The Orikon Akhenamen had fought was simply an empty body, one that had died thousands of years ago. Only Orikon’s soul was truly present. Orikon had kept himself inside this body with only one goal.
?
To find a proper wielder for his friend. Elves could live long, but they weren’t immortals. Fairies were immortals but despised violence and would never own a weapon… the truth was… very few races were TRULY immortals.
?
And most that were would not be interested in Gale-Maker, the glaive was a rare weapon to master, and Gale-Maker didn’t have any special properties, no stat boost, no good-looking appearance. Just an old weapon.
?
But Akhenamen’s presence had caused Orikon’s soul to realise that this Cygilite was a perfect candidate. He was immortal as he was a construct of Living Silver. He wielded a glaive. He was sentimental as he had shown many times during their training together.
?
So Orikon had decided he had found someone worthy. He allowed himself to be finally finished, his summoned body finally dispersing while letting Akhenamen become Gale-Maker’s new owner.
?
“So that’s why he didn’t use his wind law… it had always been a summoned body. All of it was created by Gale Maker.”
?
Akhenamen looked at the weapon he held in his hand, sighing and gently caressing the blade.
?
“A discarded weapon… one who is cursed with having sentience yet seeing all its friends and wielder die one after the other. You have suffered deeply. I suppose we’re quite similar, are we not?”
?
He understood that this weapon could very well become him. Yes, even if he brought back Lan and his family… How long would they live? Would he curse them with immortality? Knowing perfectly well that it meant their loved ones would also perish? It would be selfish. But that also meant… that he would see any non-Cygilite die one after the other.
?
Yes, Ascylla and Syllena would survive with him. But Sofya would die from old age. His family would do the same. There was only one way to truly become immortal. And it was to become a Dominion. But becoming a Dominion was amongst the hardest challenges.
?
Most mortals, even if helped and groomed by other Dominions, would fail to ascend. To ascend, you needed personal talent, and most of it depended on you. If Zenthia had so many Dominions, it was because the System was directly present.
?
He was sure that if he left for another planet, the number of people at the Dominion rank or its equivalent could be counted on one’s hands, while Zenthia had hundreds of them.
?
So no, even if he helped his family, there was no guarantee they would ever become a Dominion. As for giving them a Cygilites body, like what happened to him? Even more out of the question, as they would just become part of him. To make his family’s consciousness a part of his…
?
The thought alone was horrifying and disgusting.
?
“Hello, Gale-Maker. I am Akhenamen. As you’ve seen, I doubt I am talented enough to wield a weapon as great as yours. However, I can promise that I will do my best to continue Orikon’s quest. I will find a perfect partner for you. One that will be able to see your true worth.”
?
Akhenamen simply unsummoned his own Gauss Warglaive and walked with Gale Maker in one hand. Eager to help this weapon find someone who could understand its pain and see past its appearance and apparent lack of power and abilities.
?
Seeing Akhenamen’s gentle care for Gale-Maker, Orikon’s soul, which had left a trace within his friend, smiled. He looked much younger, in his prime, a smile on his face as he sat cross-legged in front of Gale-Maker’s inner core.
?
Smiling at his best friend and most loyal partner one last time, he finally allowed his soul to pass on, joining so many of his brothers and sisters who had died during the war. Joining his wife, his children… he felt happy and complete, for he had succeeded in his ultimate goal.
?
Finding a true wielder for Gale-Maker. One who would be able to master the glaive to its highest level. One who understood the weapon on a personal level, one who was immortal and would never die. One who, despite being worthy, believed that there should be someone more suited to wield his best friend.
?
“Take care of Gale-Maker for me, Akhenamen.”
?
Akhenamen stopped walking for a few seconds, staring at the small wisp finally coming out from the glaive’s blade, flying toward the skies. Akhenamen looked up.
?
“Goodbye, Orikon. Do not be worried, I shall take up your quest. I will not leave Gale-Maker with someone less than perfect.”
?
Walking back toward Cygislax… Akhenamen had now only one thing left to do. Go brings his daughter to The Academy for her first year alongside her “big sis” Sofya. Ascylla had no wish to be treated like a child and had chosen to remain in Cygislax and watch over the construction effort, and keep Akhenamen informed.
?