Nightblade (Darkest night)

After some time, an automaton rolled into the glass chamber and rapidly refined the blades, swiftly smoothing out their surfaces. The blade's edges glistened with a silvery sheen.

Rundrik rose to his feet with a smile.

"Usually I'd allow the automaton to finish the process, but I'll make an exception for you and do this the old-fashioned way."

Rundrik and Solgrane walked back into the sunshine forge, dismissing the automaton.

Rundrik and Solgrane grabbed a blade each and began to work on them separately, moving in sync.

Emily's eyes shimmered with awe.

" It's truly beautiful. It's like they're performing a dance."

The two men, master and student, moved side by side following a particular rhythm.

They thrust the blades into the furnace at the same time, heating them until a warm red glow spread through them.

They rhythmically hammered the Noctylium, tempering it, coaxing it to life.

It became a song of mystical hammer and metal, the beautiful melody echoing throughout the chamber.

The metal began to glow with a golden ethereal light with each touch of the hammer, pulsating with life.

Everyone had held their breath at this point, not making a sound, for fear of disrupting the weaponsmiths' concentration.

Sweat mixed with the sweltering heat rolled down Rundrik and Solgrane's faces in small streams.

Their orange eyes burned with light, reflecting the emerald flames of the forge, their muscular arms flexed, muscles rippling, their hands swinging and hammering in perfect harmony.

Their gazes were focused intently on the metal, observing it for even the tiniest of blemishes.

" It's almost like they're in a trance," Morgan thought in awe.

In that moment, they were witnesses and the forging process was a sacred ritual of creation, and they were there to witness it.

They were bearing witness to the birth of a child, a weapon, forged out of passion, out of will.

The weapon smith was the creator, and they bore witness to his creation.

The blades were thrust once more into the emerald flames, glowing with an otherworldly golden light, then dipped into a dark, shimmering liquid.

" Is that?" Morgan whispered.

" Yes, " Lucian nodded silently.

" Nexus fluid is also used in weapon smithing. I'd heard of it, but it's my first time actually seeing it."

Raven cast an icy glare at the two, silently raising a finger to her lips.

Rundrik pressed a button, and a small platform rose from the ground.

Two ancient-looking stones were anchored onto the platform.

Lucian gasped audibly. Surprise and awe flickered across his face.

" Those are the famed Raganite whetstones. They're from the time when monarchs still ruled this land and the continent was split into kingdoms."

" You sure know a lot, man," Morgan said, lightly jabbing Lucian's shoulder.

" It's basic history, it's taught to the scions of the Great Houses, those that pay attention at least. Those whetstones were found in the Ragan kingdom in the olden days during the advent of the age of assassins. Alistair Thane, who you must be related to, hired Raganite weapon smiths to create weapons for the first assassins that entered Tenebris.

" He was my great-grandfather," Morgan whispered.

Lucian's eyes widened, " What?!"

Morgan shook his head slightly, signalling for Lucian to keep quiet.

Raven was glaring at both of them furiously.

"The whetstones are legendary among weaponsmiths. They're able to shorten the time needed to prepare weapons and also imbue the weapons made with an uncanny degree of lethality." Lucian quietly murmured.

In the forge, Rundrik and Solgrane had started polishing the blades in tandem. They silently smoothed out the blades,

After what seemed like an eternity, the two blades shimmered with a dark mirror-like sheen, the edges and bevels glistening beautifully.

Solgrane retrieved the parcel he'd delivered earlier.

Rundrik slowly opened it, with care taking out to beautiful pommels.

The pommels were made in the likeness of an eagle, the feather etched into the pommel's surface shimmering in the light, giving them a lifelike appearance.

Rundrik secured them onto the blades, melding them flawlessly to complete the masterpiece.

" The boy is a Thane, so the blade should be made for him as such." He thought.

" I'll do this next part myself." He told Solgrane

As Solgrane stood to the side, Rundrik deftly began to draw on the blade.

He expertly chipped at its surface with a long stencil, alternating in speed with a focused determination.

After a while, the snarling face of a lion came to life on the blade's edge.

On the other blades, he etched out the vivid outline of a glowing ember, finishing the blades.

He carefully cleaned and polished the blades, then stood up with a tired sigh.

" They're done."

The blades pulsed faintly, the golden veins running through them gave them a semblance of life.

The blade's sides glowed with a dark, mirror-like sheen that promised a lethal sharpness.

Rundrik held them out before on a cloth in front of Morgan.

Morgan looked at them in awe.

"A name, huh," He thought.

The ember imprint on the blades pulsed vividly.

" You should give them a name," Rundrik said, with a tired smile on his face.

Solgrane nodded in agreement, standing quietly at Rundrik's side.

Morgan thought for a while.

"I'm not sure, I haven't decided yet."

Morgan bowed slightly in front of Rundrik.

" Thank you, Professor Rundrik."

Rundrik beamed in delight.

" You should try them out. Get a feel for them."

Morgan reverently picked up the blades.

The pommels were cool to the touch. He slowly swung them through the air like extensions of his arms, getting a feel for their weight in his hands.

The blades were well-balanced and light in his hands despite their appearance.

They whistled through the air with unnatural sharpness.

" May I check them out?" Emily asked quietly.

Raven's eyes widened in shock.

" Is she dumb?" She thought in outrage.

Lucian also glanced at her in surprise.

" Well, that's certainly unexpected." He thought.

Asking another assassin for his weapon was considered an insult.

Morgan nodded, reluctantly handing her the blades, hilts first.

Rundrik laughed in amusement at their reactions.

She studied them intently, her eyes running over the engravings on the blade's sides.

Her green eyes widened in wonder, gleaming with a peculiar hunger.

Raven rolled her eyes, then slowly shook her head.

She tried to use them as Morgan had.

" Wow, they're surprisingly heavy."

She reluctantly handed them back.

The blades' edge lightly nicked her palm, drawing blood.

Emily gasped slightly, tightly clenching her fist to stem the flow of blood.

" I'm sorry about that, " Morgan hurriedly said.

The blade absorbed the blood and then began to glow; the golden veins spread throughout its surface, pulsating with a crimson hue.

" Interesting," Lucian thought.

" What's happening?" The blades hummed with power in his hands.

" Noctylium, like Lucian earlier mentioned, can harness the abilities of talented ,even from their blood and redirect them, or as it seems in this case, to store them within itself," Rundrik explained.

" The blades are not quite alive, but with the right nourishment and modifications, the Thane boy may get more than he'd bargained for."

"Miss Whizen, what is your ability? It will help us understand what kind of ability the blade has absorbed."

" I don't know, sir," Emily answered quietly.

" I beg your pardon," Rundrik asked, thinking he hadn't heard clearly.

" I do not know what my ability is, sir. It was never established."

Raven stared at her in interest.

" A latent ability, Talented. How did they let her come here?"

Rundrik stroked his beard in thought.

" You've undergone chrono evaluation?" He asked

Emily nodded.

"But you don't know what your ability is?"

" Yes, sir."

Rundrik furrowed his brows in thought.

" That's certainly interesting. The phenomenon just now proves you have an ability. If it's any comfort, rest assured you have one."

Rundrik discreetly procured a sheath for Morgan's blades, handing it to him.

" It's already late. Solgrane here will escort you back to your respective dorms.

As they walked back, Morgan suddenly exclaimed.

Lucian, I think I know what I'll call them.

Lucian's eyes lit up with excitement.

" What will you call them?"

Morgan's yes glinted in the dim light.

"Blood Reaper."

In the Nexus chamber, Draco's bones had been set back in place, and he was slowly healing from his injuries in the soothing embrace of the Nexus fluid.

The chamber's door slid open, and Axel strode into the room. He stared briefly at Draco's body floating unconsciously in the Nexus fluid.

" Draco," He muttered quietly.

" Draco!"

Draco's eyes flew open.

The memories of the previous hours flooded his mind. The duel, turning the tables on Thane, then the point when everything had fallen apart.

Thane's golden eyes darkly bore into his own, then everything went dark.

" I lost?!"

Axel stared at him darkly.

" Father has heard about the duel. He wasn't impressed. He asked me to deliver a message."

Draco's eyes widened in shock, then fear.

" What did Father say?"

" He was quite disappointed in you. He said he thought he'd taught you better than to leave your battles unfinished. He said he is tired of your tirades and your games."

Axel paused for his words to sink in.

" He'll be coming to see you in person."

Draco shivered slightly, then his entire body began to tremble in unbridled terror.

Axel smiled darkly. He spun on his heel, turning to leave the room.