[XASTOL CITY, JIANYU PRISON]
The Sanctum Essence sigil Ivan had created was proving a difficult task to maintain without access to Sanctum Energy. His hands, which were swelling at first due to the Mudras, had fully taken on the appearance of eroding skin.
The outer layer around his palm had been completely singed off, exposing his raw nerves and blood vessels that spurted crimson every few moments. Ivan, however, didn't pay it any mind. Though he writhed in agony, he knew that once he escaped the cell and got outside that he'd be able to use Sanctum Energy and have it naturally heal him. Finding a doctor to fully fix his hands could come afterwards. Right now, he needed this lock open.
Since he'd begun earlier that morning, a bolt of purple lightning had slowly formed, amassing at the start of the sigil in the wall and was beginning to come out bit by bit as Ivan's focus tightened.
Ten more minutes, he thought. No! I'll have to complete this within five! I've wasted too much time here already; Hidemi needs me!
He summoned the innermost reserves of his fading strength with a strained growl and quickened the pace of his hand signs. Again, the wounds tore further, spreading down to his wrist, threatening to reach his forearm and rupture his arteries.
BZZTTLE—!!!!!
"Five more minutes," Ivan repeated to himself. "Just five more…"
-------🅰🆂🅷🅵🅸🅴🅻🅳-------
[XASTOL CITY, DWANIVIT TULOU]
"Hey," Aleximus started, tapping Daava. "Earlier, Gido said that 'A Lizzerag, Qyik, and a Trangyute have been found', right? What do they do?"
"They are all A-rank materials, dear," she explained. "The Lizzerag young Esi has contains the properties of dispersion. Anything it absorbs — energy, shock, or otherwise — is dispersed into kinetic energy, making it very hard to break down and refine. Seeing that his object to smith is a shield, it seems he wants to make use of the Lizzerag's abilities and create a formidable defensive tool."
She pointed below as Esi finally opened his forge and took out the smoldering piece of rock sitting in its center. He hadn't made use of his crucible, however. He knew that the time it'd take to melt down the ore would cost him points during this test. That was not something he was willing to risk.
Aleximus's eyes narrowed as Esi summoned Sanctum Energy around his arms and slid his palms against each other before creating a translucent bubble of elastic energy that wrapped around the shield he'd drawn out earlier on his sketching paper. "Oohs" and "Ahhs" filled the air as the drawing on the paper started to take a physical form and flowed out of the paper, its curves and indents intact the way they were in the sketch, until finally: a large leaf-shaped shield was born.
"What the–!" Jace gasped. "How'd he do that? Doesn't he need to build the shield?!"
Xué shook her head and said:
"It is his innate Sanctum ability unique to himself. He's cultivated it enough to physically print three-dimensional images using two-dimensional space. He calls it: HénLù Cannon."
A booming cheer erupted in the air so loud that Jacender winced at the sound and covered his ears.
Aleximus watched Esi pick up his heated Lizzerag with a pair of tongs and plop it inside the center of his shield where an ore-sized hole awaited him.
XAAAAA!
Mint-hued energy traveled through the indentations and lit up the line divisions. Within seconds, the shield cracked open and revealed a short guard, which Esi slid his arm into, causing the contraption to tighten its hold on him and expand. From behind the shield, Esi could see through everything in front of it, as if the defensive tool were transparent.
Above his workstation, a Bibibibibi sounded, rising in correspondence with his points.
Hisagi sharply eyed Esi's meter as it steadily came to a halt.
"A leaf-shield capable of absorbing kinetic energy!" Esi laughed. He showed it off to everyone and rapped his knuckles against the front of the shield. A low vibration hummed from it and then dissipated, as if absorbed back into the shield.
"I call it the Lizleaf shield!"
The moment he showcased its abilities, his points went up by an additional thirty.
"606 points!" Gido bellowed proudly. "Esi Phizar takes the lead as the first to complete the Dwanivit and meet the requirements of Stieli-rank! Well done!"
"WOOOH!!" people shouted.
"EXTRAORDINARY!"
"HE'S TALENTED, THAT ONE!"
Even Aleximus had no choice but to begrudgingly acknowledge the boy's accomplishment. To be able to easily bypass the exam's rules in such a way while realizing the objective of what was needed, was nothing short of brilliance to say the least.
Esi's workstation rumbled for a moment before it was pulled back into the wall — forge in tow — and disappeared.
How'd you like that, menark?!
He smirked and glanced at Hidemi, but raised a brow once he realized that the boy was paying him no mind. Instead, Hidemi was caught in deep concentration, pounding away at the extra piece of iron ore afforded to him by his workstation with the spare hammers hanging on his tool rack.
What the… What's he doing?
FWSSH!
An airy noise from Hisagi's forge drew Esi's attention next. His rival had opened it to reveal the melted down remains of his Quik and took it from the flaming oven. Hisagi dug his hand into the ice water and took out the pole he'd shaped before.
It seemed neither one of them was paying him any mind; they sought to win no matter what and prove themselves as unrivaled Sanctum-Smiths. There was no time to be caught up in Esi's accomplishment.
Hisagi poured the melted Qyik over the cooled down beam he formed and watched it seep into the metal and form an intricate pattern: dragon teeth.
"Qyik's have the power to amplify Sanctum Energy in exchange for a singular use," Xué explained to Aleximus. She pointed to Hisagi's palm, making the boys strain their eyes to see the same fading Sanctum-Etching runes they had seen on his hand before.
"Those runes are known as Dwul: transcription runes. They break down Sanctum Essence within objects or energy into language capable of translation via the user's Sanctum Energy — allowing them to replicate the properties of something onto something else. It was created as a means to replicate the Song of Arsaes, but it is still an extremely difficult skill to master on its own."
Jacender tried to wrap his head around the explanation, but figured it futile and shook his head. Instead, his eyes shimmered with curiosity as the melted Qyik bonded to the beam, Hisagi had formed earlier and climbed up the top of the pole and began to form long arms attached to the tip of a fulcrum that poked out. It wasn't long before Hisagi's scale had finally finished taking shape.
DNNG
Sitting on the right side of the scale was an upside down hammer glued to the bottom of the plate. The left plate was empty, presumably for whatever would be used to amplify its properties.
And just like Esi's point meter, Hisagi's rose so astoundingly quick that in less than ten seconds, he had amassed 500 points and counting.
"H-He's taken the lead!" someone in the audience gasped.
"What speed… All without using his Sanctum ability!"
Xué smiled proudly even though Jacender was not too pleased to see Hisagi advance past them all so quickly.
Your long hours of practice… It seems they've finally paid off, haven't they, dear?
Hisagi raised the scale with his other hand and faced the Councilors as his points came to a halt at 719. He contained himself from sucking in his teeth. He'd wanted an even 720, but this would have to do for now.
"Hisagi," Huin's voice echoed. "Your Sanctum-Smithing is marvelous indeed. Explain your scale's powers to those present."
GNND
The scale's beam spun in a circle until the surrounding Sanctum Essence in the forge behind him started to outline it with a silver-red hue. They bore into the upside-down hammer in the right plate until dim Dwul runes shone brightly.
Then, Hisagi placed his own hammer into the second plate and waited for the scales to tip. Gido whistled as Hisagi's hammer rose, the transcription runes from the scale hammer transferring to its handle within seconds, and absorbed the Sanctum Essence and vibrated slightly.
"A transcription scale," Hisagi said. His voice was low and his gaze was serious.
"Essence is translated into runes from a particular substance and instilled into an object and given its properties."
As he said it, the raging flames of his forge oven behind him died down and vanished, its contents fully absorbed by the scale. He picked up his hammer and swung it hard in the air. A roar-like sound hit the space between him and the tool and lit the air on fire for a few moments.
"In this case, I drew in Sanctum Essence from the flames of the forge, giving my hammer the properties of fire whenever it strikes something or something strikes it. However, due to the Qyik… whatever's properties are taken can only be taken once."
So that's why the fire died, Jace realized.
"He makes it sound like he's not happy," Aleximus said to Daava. "Even if it can only be done once, isn't Sanctum Essence hard to gather if you're not an Extractor? He just made a portable extraction scale…"
How hard can he be on himself? Does he want to be the best that bad?
Brilliant, Banderd thought, a tear forming in his eye, …Your son has taken our teachings and pushed them to higher heights, Ruo. I wish you could have been here to see it…
Hisagi's point meter went up an additional eighty-one points the moment his hammer absorbed the Sanctum Essence flames.
He now sat comfortably in the lead with an even 800 points.
At the far end of the Tulou, several other boys were hard at work and drenched in sweat as they shaped their metals. Most had begun to understand that no matter what happened, it was highly unlikely for them to surpass Hisagi Murong in points. Second place hadn't even been made an option; Esi's shield was too ingenious of a creation to one-up easily. They all had one thing on their minds instead:
Third place.
In their minds, though Hidemi had achieved a feat no dwarf thought possible, a score of 275 was not impossible to surpass. Hidemi was doomed after all. It was commendable for someone of his lineage to have made it as far as he did, but he was impure — a false dwarf. As far as they knew, he wanted nothing to do with them. Why would he after all? They treated him horribly for years and banished him from the city he was born and raised in.
The participants felt nothing for Hidemi who stood silently in his corner. He was subhuman as far as they were concerned.
"Look at their faces," Aleximus scoffed. He noticed their dirty looks and glanced at the others in the crowds. Most of the spectators were losing interest in Hidemi, knowing that his fate was sealed. This was always going to be the outcome, they all thought.
"Damn idiot!" some mumbled.
"How dare he make a mockery of us?" said others.
"They're not even giving him a chance," Aleximus said.
Everyone lazily waited for the clock to tick down. No other talents would be capable of giving them a shock like Esi and Hisagi had generated today. For many, the Dwanivit was over. And that set a daunting weight akin to a guillotine over the heads of the remaining entrants.
It seems this is as far as the miracle goes, Banderd sulked. He closed his eyes and thought of the owl he kept caged at the top of Dragons Breath Tower. A broken wing can only carry you so far. You should have—
"B-Brother, look!" Gido screamed, shaking him.
The Speaker's eyes flew open and traveled below to Hidemi's forge. It looked alive, like fireworks had been lit and set off inside. It's cover could barely contain the racket before it blasted open with a noisy BRRRAANG!
Hidemi cracked his neck side to side and stepped towards the forge. Unlike Hisagi and Esi, he did not use mitts; instead, he grabbed onto the shaft of his burning hammer and removed it from the flames with his bare hands.
"Is he insane?!" Esi gulped.
Hisagi's eyes widened at the sight of his cousin. Don't tell me… He still hasn't lost hope yet?!
"JUST GIVE IT UP, MENARK! WE DON'T WANT YOU IN OUR CITY!"
"YES! LEAVE, YOU IMPURE DEMON!"
"YOU'VE MADE A MOCKERY OF OUR SACRED CONTEST! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO STAND BEFORE US?!"
Insults after insults rained down upon Hidemi, but they quite literally fell on deaf ears. He had no care for what they'd say; he'd since prepared himself.
Jacender on the other hand, was getting ready to jump down and attack the nearest naysayer.
"There he goes doing crazy things again," Aleximus muttered and pulled him back down. Xué and Davvaa cast him weary looks.
"Are you not worried? Why is he grabbing onto a hammer he placed in the forge?!" Hisagi's mother asked.
"Better yet!" Davva added, "What is that hammer made of to not melt or even singe in the forges of Xastol?!"
Jace blinked and thought back to the forest. "The handle's made from something called Neodymium. Hidemi made the rest with Sanctum Essence from that Binshu eel water from earlier!"
"Why?" Aleximus asked them. "Do you know something about it?"
Both women nearly staggered as the revelation hit.
"Neodymium?!" they whispered in unison. "The only record of Neodymium ore should be in Xastol's most guarded location — The Dragon Vault! Even there, the pieces are few and sparse!"
"It doesn't even naturally form anymore," Davva said, her voice rising with excitement. "At least not here in Sanctaefi! It's said Arsaes himself brought a few pounds from another land — most of which were used to construct Xastol's walls!"
Aleximus narrowed his eyes. "It's that special? Then—"
"Yes!" Daava smiled in disbelief. "No one knows what it can do! All that is speculated about the material is that it's indestructible and holds great power! It's said that only Arsaes himself could maximize its full potential using his special song — a technique that bends all metal and ore to his will!"
Hidemi's hammer releases flashes of light as she spoke. First was gold, then black and red, followed by white and blue until—
LRRRNNNN!!!
"I-Impossible!" Huin choked as his glasses slipped off of his face. He and Gido looked at each other, a realization forming.
LRRRRNNNN!!!!!
"I don't know how Hidemi managed to get his hands on such a priceless treasure," Davaa squealed with joy, "But this changes everything! If he's using such an item, then that means that Hidemi… Hidemi is capable of playing the Song Of—"
In a dazzling bang of pure, golden energy, a silver image thrust itself upon the air, forcing everyone to gawk in awe:
The Murong clan symbol.
"Sanctum resonance…" Banderd breathed, barely able to contain his excitement. Huin spun so quickly, he nearly broke his neck. "Sanctum resonance?! Banderd, are you sure of this?!"
"What else could it be?!" Gido snapped. His eyes were buzzing with anticipation, too. None of them had yet realized, but everyone present in the grounds had fallen silent as well. An explosion could have gone off and no one would have paid it any thought.
"'He whose hammer rings in perfect harmony with Sanctum Energy and Essence, will echo the Song Of Arsaes for all dwarves to hear and recreate the world anew!'" Gido declared. "The ancient texts describe this perfectly! Would you dare believe otherwise?!"
Huin fervently wiped his brow and glanced at his hand; the hairs on it were standing stiffly as if slicked up with gel.
"B-But… No one has been able to play the prelude to the song… much less the song itself! The skill has been lost to time as something unique to only Arsaes!"
The first ring on Hidemi's hammer spun as it had earlier during the competition and howled, drawing in the Sanctum Essence from the other participant's minerals and filling the symbol in the sky.
"H-Hey!" Esi yelped, noticing that his leaf shield, too, was being drained of its power.
I-It's not the hammer! Banderd shook. This power can only be a Sanctum ability! Is it true?! Does Hidemi truly possess it?!
Hisagi glared at Hidemi, unwilling to believe that he was capable of such a feat and speedily covered his scale with Sanctum Energy in the hope that it'd protect it.
I won't allow you to surpass me! Whatever you're doing here… It's a fluke! He thought, fighting hard to pull his scale back. I am Xastol's future! I have to be! Not you! I won't allow it!
However, despite Hisagi's best efforts, Hidemi's hammer absorbed the Sanctum Essence within the barrier his cousin had put up without discrimination and bore into the Murong clan crest. A shap, collective gasp filled the air as the symbol started to take tangible shape.
"What the hell…" Esi gaped. "My Lizzerag ore… He's using its powers!"
No…, Aleximus thought, …the Lizzerag redistributes Sanctum Energy. The symbol's taking shape, just like the HénLù Cannon. Somehow, Hidemi's copying Sanctum abilities!
Gido and Huin dropped to their knees as if seeing Hidemi anew. Tears gushed down their faces at the sight of what he'd been able to do.
"The prelude…" they murmured in unison.
Aleximus looked at them and then back to Davaa, who was equally stunned. Her nose was flushed red and her lips were trembling. Xué was the same.
"What's happening?!" Jace said, shaking her.
"The prelude to the Song Of Arsaes…" Davaa whispered. "The second most skill all Sanctum-Smiths aspire to achieve… They say when Sanctum Essence is honed to the extent where it can devour remnant Sanctum Energy… it can take on the properties of whatever it consumes, creating a whole new sort of power — The Song Of Arsaes!"
"I still don't understand!" Jace grumbled. "What does that have to do with what's happening? What exactly is the Song Of Arsaes?! What is Hidemi's Sanctum ability?!"
Xué covered her mouth and sank to her knees. Aleximus noticed that most of the other dwarves around them had been doing the same and silently hanging their heads in reverence.
Xué, like the others, was as shocked as any, but Hidemi's skill was not the reason she acted as she did. At least, not in full.
She wept, thinking of Hisagi and placed her head against the railings.
Oh Hisagi, she sniffled, shaking at the thought of how her son was feeling. Down below, a whirlpool of emotions took Hisagi Murong by heart and materialized in the form of a dark shadow over his face. Wrinkles of shock and anger pooled together until they had become frustrated confusion to the point where his legs eventually gave way and made him collapse. Was this real? Why? Why was this happening to him? And why at the hands of Hidemi?! Why did it have to be him?!
Xué knew this would hit him the hardest. Her son, who had prided himself on his hard work and silent character, was slowly unraveling at the seams — the only thing he thought he would succeed at was stolen from him by the person he blamed for all his hatred. Xué knew.
Banderd's legs felt like jelly as he staggered. He backed up into the wall behind his brothers and bit his bottom lip as hard as he could to stop himself from falling. The taste of blood filled his mouth and mixed with his falling tears.
I was a fool! To think… To think that this exemplary dwarf lived amongst us and we didn't even give him a chance!
He thought of Ivan and cried harder.
You always had faith didn't you?! Did you know this would happen, Ivan? Or was this just trust in your son, yet again? If so…
He glanced at Hidemi's confident eyes, jealous of how unclouded his nephew's thoughts may have been and winced. Visions of the owl haunted him again.
He kept coming back. This boy — who we shunned as less than a dwarf — he kept coming back! It would have been easy to abandon Xastol after all that he's been through; to take his talents elsewhere and exist as a human! But he didn't! To think that he came back here just to live amongst us as equals..! Who wouldn't shed tears at such sincerity?!
Banderd raised his hand and ran it through the back of his slick hair, throwing it in disarray as he wiped his eyes with his other sleeve. Was this the choice you spoke of, Ivan?
He tossed his bangs to the side, allowing himself to feel loose for the first time. It felt as if his body was starting to fill up his baggy hanfu once more.
To throw away all doubts and dedicate yourself wholly to communication and change? He's breathtakingly bright, your boy. Possibly even greater than you, brother. Greater than father, even…
Banderd loosened his collar. He understood now. No more did he have to put on an act and go against how he truly felt. No more did he have to carry the burdens of the entire race on his shoulders. Hidemi was showing them a new way — a brighter path forward if they were daring enough to take it; and every dwarf there became overcome by the depths of his resolve.
The second ring of Hidemi's hammer spun in proportion to the widening Murong symbol and hummed again. Remarkably, the Sanctum Essence Hidemi had amassed and stored in the first ring traveled to the second ring and was being transformed into energy. With a swing swing, the hammer then collided with the air, causing every ore levitating to pulsate harder.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Again and again, Hidemi swung, his unrefined swaying carefully getting more and more precise. It wasn't long before streaks of Sanctum Energy blasted forward from the spots of air the hammer struck and traveled through the ground, making the other participants' ores more luminous than before.
"R-Remarkable!" Gido murmured, unwilling to look away for even a single moment. The audience watched as a pattern formed in the spaces between each forge, the ores floated above, until the image of the Murong clan split apart to reveal a golden-brown structure of tremendous size and energy:
A floating dragon reminiscent of an ink painting.
Its body, celestial like in every way, wobbled like a children's drawing as it soared higher, its curvy belly shaving down until scales had formed along its skin. The beast brushed past audience members within seconds, leaving a breathtaking trail of fireworks resonating behind it. With every crackle, translucent pillars of golden energy shot down in front of each of the remaining participants and formed a unique object.
"What—!" an auburn-haired boy gasped before reaching out to grab his: a black sword with a sleek, jade handle. It was the same as the model he was instructed to create on his forge's mini-screen.
He spun around, finding that the same phenomenon was happening all over the grounds at once as other boys took hold of their items: sculptures, gates, locks, lances, raekes — all things that had appeared on their mini-screens to build — had formed before him as a means of attaining Stieli-rank.
He built everyone their objects! Jace laughed inside. He grabbed onto his brother and jumped up and down, ignoring Leon's barking. How could he calm down? His friend had done something incredible!
Is that what the Trangyute can do? Aleximus wondered. It has the power of transformation!
The prelude to the Song Of Arsaes absorbs any Sanctum Energy remaining in an object or ore, regardless if it's an ability or not, Daava whimpered to herself. Because of that, if someone uses a Sanctum ability, the energy absorbed by the song will take on the properties of abilities too…
Adjacent to where she sat — in the Counselor's section — Gido was thinking the same thing.
Hidemi was capable of shaping the Murong crest using Esi's powers because he absorbed his Lizzerag, which he'd used his HénLù Cannon on.
Ingenious! Huin shivered, completing his brother's thought. He waited for Esi to finish first so he could make use of his powers! Then, he used the prelude to absorb the Sanctum Essence left in the ores from the other participants as to speed up his shaping process. Because he didn't use Sanctum Energy, it wasn't tainted with his own power getting in the way!
The stern expression Banderd always wore crumbled away until a smile had formed — one different from any he'd ever worn before. One of clarity.
It wasn't a greedy devouring of his peers' work. He collaborated with their talents to produce something never seen before here on this stage; and when he was finished, he gifted it all back by forging their weapons. That is the Song Of Arsaes: A perfect harmony between Sanctum Essence and Energy! An advancement of Sanctum-Smithing by building upon the work of others and bringing colliding ideologies together: Magnetism!
"To think he had such talent," Banderd said to himself in a low whisper. He then raised his voice so his brothers would hear him:
"To not only represent everything Xastol is, but to be as bold as to work towards a different future, following your heart, advancing forward no matter what while changing others as a result… That is what it means to be a true dwarf. It took me so long to realize, but… I'm sure you two understand now, right?"
The Counselors didn't turn. Instead, they were silent as a mouse as they took in their elder brother's words.
He's right, Gido thought. He recalled the way he spoke of Hidemi so often during the Council's meetings and felt dirty — like he'd been splashed with mud.
How could we have been so… blinded by tradition to not see what was unfolding right before our eyes? He who plays the Song Of Arsaes is the rightful successor to his legacy and the inheritor of all that Xastol is. It is shameful for us to have disregarded him as we have. And yet he stands here unphased, only with a determined passion to become a recognized dwarf!
He's weaponized the Song Of Arsaes against the very laws of Xastol themselves, Huin marveled. He closed his eyes firmly and dug his fingers into his robe. We are not fit for the name Murong..!
On the ground, Hisagi Murong, crushed with the notion that he was not good enough and became the one thing he swore never to be — a failure — stared listlessly at Hidemi's back, at a loss for how to process.
Banderd was the only one to notice. And though he sympathized with Hisagi's rejection, he more than anyone knew that the boy would eventually be able to bounce back.
I doubt anyone will argue from today onwards… And if that is the case… There is but one job left for me to complete now as Speaker of Xastol. My final job. Thank you Hidemi Murong. You… are a true dwarf in every sense of the word.
Banderd stared forward, waiting calmly for the crowd to break from their fascination and reverence so they could all move forward. Arguments would soon ensue; that was for certain. However, he knew better than anyone who his brother was.
Ivan, he thought, recalling the conversation he'd had in the prison weeks ago. You knew this would happen. Not just because he's your son, but because you had faith that I'd be here to ensure that justice remains absolute. Me, who imprisoned you. It's because of that that I know you'll be here soon. I don't know by which means you'll make it possible, but you and your son keep producing miracles that make it impossible to ignore. So come, brother. Come, so we may pioneer mutual understanding and… so I can tell you the sin I've kept buried for so long now.
Come, Ivan. I wish to tell you the truth so we can save Xastol from the threat that approaches.
[THE DWANIVIT [III] HIDEMI MURONG]