Chapter 329 - Penance in a Pendant (1/2)

Aegin sat on the edge of the underground cliff that looked down into the flowing river of fire. It was hot in here, hot enough that it bothered even him. But he'd grown used to the excessive heat over the past year. His forge sat behind him, quiet and cool for once. He'd worked for months to get those Evanine weapons to work, only to have it shatter to easily. Then, much to his surprise, it turned out that the weapon he really needed to at the very least harm Yashi, was the one that he'd been denying was honourable all along.

Honourable? It seemed like such a stupid concept now. Chaos was not supposed to be honourable. It was supposed to oppose honourable.

Aegin sighed, reaching into his internal jacket pocket and withdrawing the cracked evanine pendant. The runes on it were symbol enough to read. The circle on it's own would usually mean protection, but with the symbol of Djinn in the centre, it came to mean seal, prison, or vessel, though Aegin supposed it was probably all three.

Aegin looked at it a moment, then dangled it out over the river of fire, ”I know you don't burn, Yashi, but if I melt your Vessel, what happens to you? I'm suddenly curious”.

The Djinn, still weak but his eyes somewhat wide in desperation, appeared beside Aegin, ”I haven't done anything for two weeks, why are you threatening me now?”

Aegin sighed, taking the Vessel back in his hand. He turned towards Yashi, who was still nursing the wound on his abdomen, ”Do you need a bandage or something for that?”

”The wound will remain until the Vessel is repaired,” Yashi gritted out.

Aegin looked at the pendant again, ”I see. So, you cannot be harmed with normal attacks, but you can with magic attacks. Your Vessel on the other hand, can be harmed by both, I assume?”

”Is there a point to this?” asked Yashi.

”I plan on keeping your Vessel for quite a long time, Yashi, I suggest you cooperate if you want to get out every now and then,” Aegin replied.

Yashi huffed and turned away, ”I lasted eight thousand years in my Vessel without company, I can last you”.

”I can last eight thousand years too,” said Aegin, ”A damn shame your Master is no longer human, huh?”

”Master?” Yashi scoffed, ”You have no intention of ever making a wish. You're my Keeper, my Warden. You're no Master”.

”And as your Warden, I can seal you within your Vessel permanently,” said Aegin, ”Would you rather that?”

Yashi glared at Aegin before he looked away, ”What do you want, Vampire?”

”The charmed blade that I made,” Aegin said, ”You seemed terrified of it, you even called it…what was it?”

Yashi hesitated for a moment before he replied reluctantly, ”A Named Blade. I was wrong. But I suppose you should be acknowledged for making even a crude imitation of such a formidable weapon”.

”What is a Named Blade?” asked Aegin.

Yashi didn't answer. Aegin hung his Vessel out over the river once more. Yashi sighed in frustration.

”They're some of the most powerful weapons in the world. A blade made from a combination of Evanine and Anthrite, making them strong and durable, then marked with a rune or combination of runes to give the blade purpose. A Named Blade. Chaos and Order alike feared such blades, but there was only one weaponsmith that had ever perfected the art of forging them,” said Yashi.

”Who?” asked Aegin.

”Ridgeland Redscales,” said Yashi, ”The Dragon Lord Blacksmith. To receive a weapon from him was like receiving a weapon from a god. As far as I'm aware, he forged ninety-seven named blades before he retired”.