Wyrmforge was on fire, all around the red planet of construct and weapon forging, fires bloomed, bodies littered the corners of the kingdom forges, ascenders and mere civilians alike, the smoky haze and smell of burnt fat coming from the burnt bodies wafted skywards where the last of the Forgeworld’s fleet faced a single set of ships, a ludicrous though when space battles were concerned. However, their foe was the forces of the sect or cult of the reaping katana, a force that had shown just how much of a danger they were to the archailect.

The orbital station had fallen soon after the daring attack by the forces of the sect led by Yona Rippingblade, the final set of ships appearing out of nowhere, raining hell down on the forces of the orbital station as the guns and cannons turned to deliver a punishing blow to the scraps that were left, then the sect revealed one of their grim cards, suicide bodies.

Raining the bodies of dead and unidentifiable ascenders that had no doubt been a part of some distant planet under the control of house Dracon, these bodies filled with explosives fell on key locations of the orbital station. Too many for Anala or her reduced team of diamonds to be at the same time, the station weathering the attacks as best as they could as the defenders stared on in horror at what was happening around them. Then parts of the station simply ceased to work, power seemingly drained out of them by the same aspect of Yona that rubbed off the red jaw wrongly.

She had scoured the entire orbital station, searching like a predator for the Rippingblade all to no avail, Yona seemingly one step ahead of her while at the same time, Anala begun to lose hope, that the child hadn’t viewed the recording. Soon enough the entire station had become nothing but a deadweight, few cannons working as the die-hard defenders refused to evacuate, and when Anala had seen enough, had thought all they had to face was Yona and a few measly diamonds of hers, she watched in horror as another small fleet poured into space close to Wyrmforge itself, and this time, there was no orbital station to stop them in their tracks.

A diamond had risen then, one of her members, a young dragonoid from the eastern Forgeworld kingdom, had singlehandedly somehow brought the systems of the orbital station back to some semblance of life, and then, with his insistence, had stayed behind to detonate the entire Forgeworld when the fleet got close enough, wiping out more than half of the already rickety vessels that had been cobbled together to become a fleet. The shockwave had torn its way across the skies of Wyrmforge, raining down a hail of burning metal parts to the planet below, decimating the planet itself.

Then the forces of the reaping katana that were left had simply faded into the kingdoms, and in less than two days, devastating damages were unleashed. First came the killing of most of those in power, Anala hastily evacuating Eldrakor and the heads of the Forgeworld kingdoms she could get to before Yona and her shadow forces could get to them and shipping them to an undisclosed location deep within the depths of the Forgeworld itself, placing an entire squad of master ranked defense constructs to oversee their protection before going out to hunt the invaders.

Communication with the nest itself had been cut off completely, leaving the planet to its own devices, and while some had called for cessation, to ally with the forces of the omega blade for no other reason than to save their own skins, the trail of gruesome deaths the sects members were leaving in their wake had cleared their minds of such madness. Anala had systematically spread out her forces, cleansing the continents one at a time, till all that was left was the prime capital of the Forgeworld itself, Drakonspire, the city of glowing red mithril in the capital kingdom of Dracoria.

Its gates of burnished bronze and glowing gold statues were nothing but melted slag, its great gates destroyed, and with the few hundred ascenders left to defend the capital, Yona and her forces finally struck in the open. Everywhere, fires burned and blades, abilities and paths in general clashed, the mostly fiery paths of the defenders burned bright against the deathly paths of the sect. Anala led a special team of diamonds again, armor forged from the still burning forges of Drakonspire bent and damaged but she still wore it, still fought with precision as she called upon the skills of her path, leaving a burning trail through the forces of the reaping katana.

Still, despite how she systematically carved her way through both diamonds and golds of the sect, Yona refused to show up, quietly evading her notice still, much to the alarm and irritation of Anala herself. Hight above the cloud, explosions rang out, Anala’s eyes flicking skywards, praying to Lotes that the rumbling and twinkling she saw and heard were reinforcements of house Dracon coming to relieve them. A gurgle by one of her diamonds drew her back from her thoughts as she cursed, watching the wide-eyed diamond hold his throat in alarm, a hole that sizzled and gradually began to chew its way towards his head spreading,

“Spread out!, realms!” she shouted as he threw hers over the diamond and her herself, pings from projectiles splashing against her realm,

She grabbed the diamond, opening her vault and summoning a relic, one imbued with the life-giving aura and mana of a master that had once served house Dracon, now deceased, it had been his parting gift to her, had died a few decades ago, and Anala had hoped to use the relic for emergency situations, but as she stared at the diamond whose life was slowly sleeping away, she had felt herself moving, calling the relic to her hand and using it,

Except it didn’t work,

The relic simply glowed before shutting off, as if it couldn’t find the cause of the damage, Anala the black wisps of energy coming from the injury, the same aspect the Rippingblade had used. Dawning on her, she pocketed the relic, knowing there was nothing she could had done for the diamond whose death was all but assured, his skull turning to black sand the moment she left him. She turned to the other diamonds, giving them silent instructions as they nodded, filtering through the streets and into corners hidden from view, hunkering down and awaiting her signal.

With a pulse of her power, she scanned the entire city, the aura of a master turning the tide of battles as she used her authority to lock down the sect members duelling her fighters, giving them the fraction of a second they needed to end the battle and in most cases, avoid death themselves. Then a pulse of power came from somewhere deep within the city, her gaze turning to that exact spot, opening a pathway to the top of the spire where she had felt the pulse of power that released the ascenders she held down, tearing them from her grip forcefully.

The moment she appeared, she knew it was a trap and with quick battle instincts, sent a short burst of aura to her diamonds, they had come up with methods of silent communication as the battle wore on and knew enough what to do. And as the master ranked restriction rune blazed to life, somehow sealing much of her aspect, Anala fell back on something she knew could never fail her, her bladework. The first full-fledged diamond swung a mace at her, even with her dulled senses, she could feel its imbued force aura, she could feel the powers of all the diamonds and weapons they used coming for her,

And so, Anala red jaw went to work,

Even with the restrictions of a master on her body, the red jaw was still a dragon, and dragon strength was nothing to scoff at. Twisting out of the way, her red blade flashed through the blonde-haired diamonds’ throat, spraying blood and viscera into the eyes of the female diamond next to him. Biting back a curse, Anala tore her hand through the skull of the woman, brain matter and gore splashing behind her as she grunted under the weight of the restrictive rune that held her to one spot. Biting back a snarl, she let the twin daggers bite into her armor where they managed to pierce through and push a few meters into her skin. Summoning her mantle, she kept the venom laced weapon in place, her blade removing the head of the diamond behind her, the body toppling to the ground.

It allowed her to focus on the main threat, the mage with different spells gathered in the air, about to baptize her in a hail of subtle and terrible power, a master at that as well. She let the aspect of Azar lose, wincing as she realized she was drawing deeply from the already quickly diminishing amount she had left, the ruler was dead and her once infinite supply had been cut off at its source. The mane had no idea when he died, simply lighting on fire as if drenched in some flammable liquid, his ashes fell to the ground in a second after being lit.

The spells dissipating, Anala felt the runic circle shatter the moment the mage died, and then she felt the force of a object punch cleanly through her shoulder, despite her mantle’s presence as she bit back a scream again. Turning, she came face to face with another master coming from the power about him, one eye sealed shut and two black guns in his hands, he continued the barrage of projectile shots at her, Anala diving away and calling her realm.

The attacks were infused with the aspect of the omega blade, judging by the way it punched through her core realm like it wasn’t there, Anala summoning her strength and blitzing towards the man who snarled, a staff appearing in his hand to parry the actual blade of the red jaw. The two began trading blows, the waves coming from their attacks decimating the entirety of the city’s infrastructure. Despite her best attempts to open up the Nethervoid, it refused, as if some force had sealed it shut, nevertheless, she fought on, city destroying attacks called upon as the entire ground quaked under their movements. The master snarled,

“Die filthy serpent!” he said,

Anala remained resolute, cold face and clear mind, he wouldn’t be the first to talk about her that way, and judging by the number of enemies house Dracon had made during these trying periods, it wouldn’t be the last. If the master had been hoping to destabilize her through that method, he gave no inclination, simply pushing on as his staff fought to smash her bones to smithereens, Anala tapped again into the aspect of Azar, drawing just a little as she set the master on fire, the man cursing through what she knew was agonizing pain as his path, a force path, exploded out of him, pushing the fire away from his rapidly healing skin to engage Anala again, but she had been waiting for that moment.

One slice of her blade coated with the scorching aspect of Azar, the force barrier around the master parted open and Anala was there, gleaming dragon teeth tearing at his throat as she breathed dragon flames down his throat and skull, the masters’ body exploding in a shower of gore and burning parts. Panting, she froze, feeling a presence as she snapped her head upwards, seeing Yona standing there in silence. Both parties observed each other with deadly stillness, Yona speaking first,

“I watched the recording” she said,

Anala breathed out slowly, shuddering as a weight was lifted off her shoulder,

“And?” she asked,

“You thought that would be enough to stop me from burning Wyrmforge to the ground?” Yona replied,

Anala shut her eyes tight, breathing slowly, praying, wishing her voice got through to the child,

“I tried my best” she said,

“And yet, the very institution that you fight so hard to preserve has sentenced untold millions to their doom, we’re nothing but numbers, sent into the grinder to meet up for the useless needs of your royalties” Yona growled,

“Please, I know my house has wronged you, but wiping out an entire planet, the innocents- “

“There are no innocents on your side!” Yona roared, cutting off Anala,

Nothing good grows from your side, nothing good can come from those who ally themselves with you wrathful serpents, entire worlds scoured clean, simply because they wouldn’t obey your every order!” she bit out again,

Anala drew her blade, gripping it hard,

“Your mother would had been disappointed to see you like this” she growled, eyes alight,

Yona chuckled,

“My mother is dead because of you, as such, I will take something from you as well, perhaps you would thank me for taking a burden from you” she said softly,

Anala paused as the words sank in, and then she was moving, the explosion from her movement alone tearing through the very air as she arrived next to Yona, her blade burning with scorching aspect. The blade tore through empty air, the scorching flames burning bright through the air and rending the skies apart,

But it touched nothing,

The body of Yona shattered into a hundred shards of crystals, her voice floating through the air,

“we’ll see what it feels like to lose someone you love”

Anala roared and tore open a pathway, trying to push herself through the pathway into the hidden base, a force repelled her. Eyes wide, she realized just what it was, the power of the omega blade, something was going on in that place and Anala took a deep breath,

Eldrakor, Kenuran,

She pitted her entire will against the barrier, pushing both her fledgling aspect of the red jaw, adding what was left of the path of Azar, her father that had been caught by the omega blade on his way back from an undisclosed meeting with a primordial. She pushed and pushed, her entire will and authority bent into tearing open the pathway, unaware of the figure shrouded mildly a few meters away from her, watching her calmly.

*************************************

Kenuran red jaw, son of master Anala red jaw, disgraced diamond ranker of house Dracon and now forge apprentice of lord forge master Eldrakor held his forge hammer in his hands, calmly watching as the barricade was hammered continuously. The runes flashed, losing power as they waned, the master ranked construct automatons around him prepared to open fire with their projectile blasters, built in a fashion after the promethean suits of the lord of house titan blade,

House titan blade,

Once upon a time, saying such words would had left him with bile in his mouth, but now though, now, he simply accepted it. It was part of his past, a past he had accepted and had come to terms with, a past he couldn’t change and a past he regretted. He could feel his core churn within him, his new path and powers slowly roiling around him, his metal mithril armour glowing with runes he had learnt painstakingly for months on end, trying to gain insight into them.

And he had done so, in the heat of fire and in the forges of the Drakonspire itself, labouring as he washed his sins away with dragon fire and mithril, slaving away from others despite the jeers and taunts he had gotten from others. He had accepted it though, he had deserved it and despite what other might think, he really was sorry, however, all that wouldn’t matter, if he judged by the [power he could feel outside the barrier, that was a master coming to end their existence, and Kenuran could do nothing about it,

Except protect those around him, and so he waited, waited for the master to tear down the legendary barriers of the Drakonspire’s grand hall of relics and face him. He was at least glad that Eldrakor and the other elder forge masters were safe, hidden in a vault only he and his mother knew its true position, chuckling at the fact that even this place had been a decoy to draw the most intuitive of their foes, and it worked. He brought up his Hud, smiling at his path and its skills,

The Path of the Redeemed Ember:

Description: The Path of the Redeemed Ember follows the journey of a once malevolent dragon who has undergone a profound transformation and seeks to protect and serve others through the art of forge works. This dragon, having repented for its past actions, channels its fiery nature into creating powerful artifacts and employing unique abilities to defend the weak and uphold justice.

SKILLS:

Enchanted Breath(R): Instead of unleashing destructive flames, the dragon's breath now carries a soothing and purifying enchantment. It can heal wounds, cure ailments, or provide a temporary boost to the abilities of allies. Forge Mastery(R): The dragon has acquired exceptional skill in the art of forge works. It can craft powerful weapons, armor, and tools imbued with magical properties, granting their users enhanced capabilities or protection. Shield of Redemption(R): The dragon can create an ethereal shield of pure energy to protect itself and others from harm. The shield is imbued with the dragon's remorse and acts as a barrier against physical and magical attacks. Draconic Resilience(R): The dragon's body has become highly resistant to damage. Its scales have taken on a metallic sheen, providing enhanced defense against physical and magical assaults. Hammer of Justice(R): The dragon wields a mighty forge hammer infused with righteous energy. With each strike, the hammer releases a shockwave that can stun enemies, disrupt spells, or shatter objects. Guardian's Embrace(R): The dragon can temporarily transform into a colossal, heavily armored guardian. In this form, it becomes a living shield, protecting those in its vicinity from harm and acting as a formidable barrier against enemy attacks. Dragonheart Bond(R): The dragon can establish a deep bond with individuals, sharing its strength, wisdom, and courage with them. This bond allows the dragon to enhance the abilities of its chosen allies and communicate with them over great distances. Flame of Renewal(R): The dragon's flames now possess a transformative quality. When directed towards an object or individual, they can mend and restore, mending broken items, purifying corruption, or even healing deep emotional wounds.

He remembered when he had met Eldrakor, when the old man had somehow promised him he would be whole back but Kenuran had doubted, he had thought it the words of an old man simply intending to help him go through the agonizing phase when he had been discarded by house Dracon. So he had thrown himself into his craft, had listened without complaints and had borne the words of shame that had been thrown his way.

So when Eldrakor had offered him a chance at full strength, that he would swear an oath to an unknown master and he had to keep it silent from even his mother, his hackled had risen again in fear, doubts flooding his mind about being chained down to another power despite the death of Azar, his grandfather. But the old dragon had assured him, rather than taking lives, he would spend the rest of his existence protecting them, and he had accepted.

It would be his penance, and should he die here, it would be his justice, and with that said, he watched the doors crash open, torn off their hinges as the runes flickered out. The master ranked constructs were already moving then, swinging their mithril blades and blasting away with their projectile weapons. His draconic resilience and shield of redemption snapped in place, white burning flames bathing his entire body as his hammer of justice, a large Warhammer with blue burning runes snapped to life.

He summoned his realm, a place of white flames and burning slags of mithril that floated around in orbs around him, empowering his new path. Eyes flickering around, he caught site of the master as she tore into the master constructs, one mithril arm flying through the air as Kenuran swung his hammer,

“Be whole” he commanded,

A loud tune echoed through the air, the torn metal limbs reattaching themselves as he weathered the dizziness that came from expending such an amount of aspect before pushing on, stepping into the midst of the constructs and into the master who smiled,

“Kenuran red jaw, so long I awaited your presence” she said,

Kenuran bowed a little,

“Apologies, I am now Kenuran of the redeemed ember, and I plead with you to please leave this place alone” he said formally,

The woman blinked at him, laughing,

“This is what the great red jaw has become?” she taunted,

Kenuran bowed again,

“Apologies master, for failing to meet your expectations” he said,

“Silence!” she roared, her authority crashing into him,

Kenuran was sent sprawling, but his strength protected him, standing up to see the last of the constructs falling, a pile of slag,

“I will enjoy ending your existence, spawn of the red jaw” the woman said,

Kenuran simply hefted his hammer,

“I am but a mere diamond, if I am to die here, then I would die on my feet he said with power,

The woman smiled, raised her blade and attacked, Kenuran clashing with her.