The Dragon King's Servant: Rise of the Daemon King

Chapter Forty-Two: The Queen's Sword

Bedelia and her six daemon siblings walked through the dungeons. After they had all walked through the cleansing fires, their true daemon forms had been renewed. While their skin still looked charred, it no longer appeared flaky and rotten. Now it was a smooth dark color, like pure jet with rivers of magma running through it. The walls of the dungeon were just as dark as the rest. With small pockets of glowing stone where embers resided from magma pools that had long drained away.

As Bedelia stopped at the first cell on the left side, Lord Elkwood glanced up at her. His bright eyes seemed pale and dark compared to the bright glow of hers. Sweat covered his skin and matted his hair giving him a rough appearance. His eyes scanned over the daemons and without having to ask, he knew that they had been renewed. Vitality flowed through them once more.

"Are you ready to reap your revenge?" Bedelia asked, hands grasping the molten hot bars of the prison door.

Lord Elkwood didn't respond right away. After having spent what felt like days in the 'guest room' as she had called it, his contemplative thoughts had started to sway his decision. He wanted revenge for his dead and dying. Revenge for his beaten pride and ego. 'Is it worth unleashing the daemons though?' He had asked himself.
Bedelia narrowed her red and orange eyes and with a wave of her hand the bars to the cell door melted like liquid metal.

*****

Lucian and Melanie made their way down the stairs, out to the courtyard and around toward the back of the palace. It was a near mile walk from one end of the palace wall to the other, however, with almost every inch of the path steeped in gardens it was a gorgeous walk. Flowers and plant life of every conceivable color had been planted in a beautiful array. As Melanie walked through the gardens she had to ensure thar her aura and powers were well contained.

Letting her frosty aura out would irreparably damage some of the plants that she enjoyed so very much. At the rear of the palace, was a massive stone building set a few yards out from the palace. Even from a distance the sound of hammers, steel and anvils could be heard.
A large smelter sat just outside the blacksmith workshop. The dark gray stone structure was impenetrable to any level of heat. The variety of metals the forgemen worked with required a variety of heat to melt the ingot down to a moldable use.

Lucian opened the front door and let Melanie in first. The hot humid air steamed against her aura causing a misty effect. Lucian smirked, enjoying the fog that rolled off her body like a veil of mist. The workshop itself consisted of five stations parallel with one another. Each forge was manned by five people. One person to stoke the fires, two people to pound the metal into shape and two more people to keep the metal moving from place to place.

The main foreman of the shop was a tall thickly built man. A Kuri. He had the tan skin of elves, the golden bronze hair of elves from the greater plains. His lower half was that of a satyr. Thick furry legs ending in large hooves that clomped on the stone ground. At the top of his head were two curled horns that curled up and then down around his ears ending at his jawline. He wore a thick leather vest with sleeves which blocked the heat but absorbed the sparks of the hammered metal.

With each strike of the hammer, sparks flew in every direction like fireworks. As the sparks hit the leather, the ambient energy was absorbed into the leather. Red and orange energy swirled within the pre-designed channels of the leather.

"Hold!" He shouted over the clank of hammers.

Snatching a large hammer from his belt he took a wide stance and lifted the hammer up. All the absorbed energy from the sparks glowed bright as it was funneled into the leather glove holding the hammer.

"Back!" He roared.

The smiths working on the lumpy scrap of metal backed away just as he brought down the hammer with skull crushing force. Sparks of red, yellow and orange exploded upon impact. With the sound of having rung a gong, the hammer collided with the metal sheet. When the flash of magic and forgery had faded, the sheet of metal had gone from uneven and lumpy to perfectly flat and smooth.

"Continue!" He shouted before turning and noticing that the King and Queen of Vervania had entered.

"My lord! Lady!"

He strode forward arms out and then paused to reconsider and bowed at the waist, one foot before the other. Both Lucian and Melanie bowed their heads in return.

"Let us talk elsewhere." He shouted over the clang of metal on metal and led them out of the forge and to a side room. The space was nothing fancy nor roomy. With four chairs, a small stone table and a large container of crystal purified water. As soon as the door shut, every sound from the outside vanished. Soft bronze, white and purple crystals lit up the room from above.

"It is good to see you Michael." Melanie smiled and then looked to Lucian. "This is Destiny's husband."

"A pleasure to finally meet you." Lucian said, extending a hand out.

"And you." Michael replied, shaking the hand firmly. "To meet the legendary King of Vervania." He said in awe. "Melanie and Brandi have told me great things but...you seem quite more than what they said."

Lucian laughed and glanced at Melanie; "I will do my best to live up to the picture they have vividly painted."

Michael nodded and let out a long exhale as he eased into the chair before springing out of it, a surprised expression on his face.

"So! I supposed you are ready to receive your weapons?" Michael asked.