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Chapter 1: A Candle In The Darkness - Part 1

In the kingdom of Rhiyan, there were many wondrous and glorious sights to behold. The grand Yangshi River for example, flowing from the middle of the kingdom to the ocean in the east, weaved its way past windswept plains, down through beautiful valleys and under the watchful gaze of the majestic peaks of the Zanzhi mountains which marked the halfway point of the oft traveled journey. Beyond the Zanzhis, a fantastic work of Ottren engineering and Be'var craftsmanship was presented by the Yangshi Locks, having stood the test of time for over a thousand years of daily functionality. Rhiyani Citizens came from far and wide to travel the river from the Rhiyani capital to the ocean on luxurious cruises guided by a mixture of Ottren technology and Ki'sen magic.

However, among the awe inspiring vistas and magnificent structures dotting the countryside of the kingdom, the Rhiyani capital itself, the seat of Ki'sen royalty, was perhaps the most beautiful. In addition to being the capital, Eldara was far and away the most populous city in the kingdom with roughly 750,000 Rhiyani citizens living within or close to the city limits. Lining Eldara's streets and avenues were brick and mortar buildings of all shapes and sizes, some with impressive marble columns marking their entryways and cultivated gardens in the backs, or even on the roofs. The poorer of Eldara's residents lived in less grandiose apartment style buildings, though even the lowliest of dwellings was constructed well and had access to the massive waterways system running underneath the city. In addition to being clean and aesthetically pleasing to look at, Eldara was also a wonder of urban planning. When the city was commissioned during the reign of the first Kaj, Khoset, it was designed and laid out by the best Ottren and Be'var minds of the time, utilizing an understructure of tunnels, water and sewage lines combined with a simple but effective upper structure of numbered and named streets to ensure that every citizen had access to clean water and was able to traverse the large city without complication.

Eldara was shaped as a wide cone, with all roads leading to the tip of the cone where Castle Eldar stood just before a dramatic cliff overlooking Lake Endu. The castle itself presented an exquisite mixture of polished white brick buildings connected by marble towers, and topped with several crystalline minarets that seemed to create different rainbows of color over the entire picturesque structure. It was rumored amongst the townspeople that the Ki'sen used the rainbows in some way to enhance their magical potency, or conduct various other experiments which the normal citizens of Eldara knew nothing about.

As grand as all of these aspects of Rhiyani civilization were, however, the young Cer'va boy in the tiny, far off village of Triol had much more provincial thoughts and desires at the moment. Ishari, the son of the local blacksmith, knew little about the world outside the great Tokar forest encircling his village of deer-like creatures, aside from what he'd learned from stories. Like the other Cer'va in his village, Ishari was not wealthy enough to travel. At this particular moment, his family was busy with preparations for the Yanis Festival which occurred every year on the summer solstice, which was tomorrow.

This particular festival was very important for Ishari and his father. Important luminaries from Eldara were going to be in attendance, including the Kaj himself and his young prince, and Ishari's father was hoping to exhibit the superiority of his weapons and armor to the commander of the Ki'sen royal guard in order to secure a lucrative contract. Ishari was to be his assistant. Truth be told, the boy had become quite a wizard with a hammer and anvil, ever since his father first allowed him into the shop. Ishari had barely seen eleven summers but was already considered somewhat of a prodigy by his friends and neighbors in the small village of about 200. Many times, the boy was asked to create metal sculptures and ornamental weapons for many Cer'va, including the village elder's family. Ishari was always eager to fulfill these requests, though not due to any lack of modesty. The soft-spoken boy loved to create things and had seemingly boundless intellectual curiosity. He could hardly resist a challenge, especially if it meant making one of his friends or neighbors happy. Ishari had a special dream too though. Someday, he hoped to create a magnificent great work for the village... something truly special and unique. He dreamed that Cer'va from far and wide might come to see Triol, and give his relatively poor village a chance for a better future.

At the moment, the boy was sitting in his room, drawing up a design by candlelight for a new ornamental dagger when his mother called to him from the other side of his bedroom door. "Ishari, your little friend Deliah is here to help you get ready."

Ishari smiled and nodded to himself, "Okay mother, thank you!" he called back, while setting his drawing on the end table next to his bed and padded over to the door to let his friend in. As he opened the door, he saw Deliah walking down the short dark hallway, wearing a white blouse and long purple skirt and carrying her own candle to light the way to him. The sun had already set outside, and the village of Triol had not the luxury of magical lighting, so candlelight was the norm at about this time of the evening.

"Hello Ishie," Deliah said to him as she smiled and made her way into his room, carrying her candle over towards his other end table and set it down there, spreading the light around the room a bit more.

Ishari closed the door and blushed slightly, thinking she was kind of silly for still calling him by that cute version of his name. Only a couple others did that, but then again she'd been calling him that ever since they were old enough to talk. She was less than a year younger than him, and lived in the house across from his, so they'd been early playmates. "Hi Deliah. Did you bring the paints?" Ishari asked while following to his bed, the boy's voice soft and gentle, cute as his friend's.

Deliah nodded, "Yes hehe, of course. Now go ahead and take those off... and lay on the bed between the candles," she said, gesturing towards the boy's clothes. Ishari nodded, blushing ever so slightly as he stood for a moment with his back facing towards the Cer'va girl, slowly beginning to strip off his tunic and then his breeches. The boy bent over a bit while working down those, his petite fluffy spade-shaped tail flicking up slightly above the boy's pert little rump. Deliah giggled quietly to herself while watching Ishari closely as the boy got naked.

Like almost all Cer'va, Ishari was covered in very pretty, soft reddish-brown fur over much of his cervine body, except for the little creamy spots along his back, sides and outer buttcheeks marking him to be not quite past fawn hood. The inside of the boy's buttcheeks, as well as the underside of his tail, his tummy and chest, and his pubic fuzz were all creamy white. His fuzzy paw-like feet and hands, and ear tips were all black, though the boy's long cupped ears had cute white fuzz lining the insides of them as well. Atop his head, between the ears, the boy also had the usual pair of cute little stubby horns which were coated with the same reddish-brown headfur. Standing at just over four and a half feet, Ishari had a lovely light tone to his form too, already showing a pleasant boyish musculature consistent with his time spent in the heat of the blacksmith's shop. Deliah blushed a little while watching. Among all the boys in their village, she always thought Ishari was the prettiest. However, he rarely ever dressed himself up in nice clothes and things. The boy could often be seen just wearing his simple cream colored tunic and brown breeches, sometimes with a blacksmith apron over the front.

Ishari turned towards Deliah then, looking to her with his big innocent blue eyes and wiggling his tail a little. "Uh... hehe... you've practiced a bunch already right?" the boy asked while looking at her shyly. Deliah nodded, letting her similar blue gaze linger for a moment on Ishari's 'treasures.' He was probably slightly under average sized for his age, but his white fuzzed parts were plenty cute jiggling lightly as he climbed up onto the bed, kneeling before her.

"Yea, my mother taught me everything she knows. Now lay back..." she said and waited with her fuzzy black paws on her hips. Ishari smiled again and nodded, laying on his back with his head on the pillows, his creamy fluff coated chest rising and falling softly as he looked up, then over towards Deliah. She bent down, fishing around in the bag she had brought for two jars. "This year, blue and green, traditional Cer'va colors," she commented while eyeing the jars containing the blue and green paints. Of course, these two colors were often associated with them because normal Cer'va were only born with green or blue eyes.

Deliah started with Ishari's face, dipping her fingers into the dark blue paint first. She drew one blue tribal marking under each of the boy's eyes, running the wavy blue lines towards his snout. Then she moved her attention to the boy's neck, drawing a blue infinity symbol over his throat, which made him giggle a little from the tickling. "Hey, keep still or I'll mess this up," she said while smiling. Ishari smiled too and relaxed himself once again, closing his eyes as Deliah went down farther. She dipped her other fingers in the green jar, then painted a design vaguely resembling the three tips of a triangle on Ishari's chest and belly. In the middle of this design she painted a much smaller full triangle with wavy green lines. Again, the girl's gaze teased between Ishari's legs. She was certainly curious, with him laying out there on display, but she tried to keep focused on her work.

"Okay, uhh... back on your feet now and I'll finish." Ishari blinked and smiled, getting back onto his pawfeet and standing with his legs slightly apart and arms lifted to the sides. Now Deliah was using the blue paint again, drawing a band around each of his biceps and thighs, then she drew large chevrons under each of those bands, pointing towards each of his paws. Afterwards, Deliah moved around behind the boy, down on her knees and blushing slightly as she kept taking in his youthful scent. She painted a little blue abstract flame design on one of his buttcheeks, and then another abstract design loosely resembling leaves on each side of his back. Deliah stood back up slowly, standing a few feet back from the boy and giving him another appraisal.

"How's it look?" Ishari asked while turning slowly to let her see her handiwork.

"Almost... ohhh, I know just the thing," she said and approached him again. Ishari smiled and blushed a bit more as he stood still with his tail wiggling again. Deliah dipped her fingers in the blue paint again and then drew a pretty looking star on the boy's forehead. "There! Perfect!" she said while stepping back for one last look. "Hehe it goes with your name, right Ishie? 'From the stars,'" she said in a playful dramatic tone, using the traditional translation of the boy's name.

Ishari smiled sheepishly as he got teased, and went to look at himself in the candle lit mirror. "Yea..." the boy giggled a little more and then turned this way and that as he checked out the tribal paintings over his nubile young form and blushed, "Ohh, they do look great. I think even better than my mother's from last year! But, uhh don't tell her I said that," he said a little softer. Deliah beamed at the fine compliment, especially the comparison to Ishari's mom. Veyra was quite the talented Cer'va and much admired in their village.

"Do you want me to paint any on you tonight?" Ishari asked Deliah, while she rinsed off her paws in a bucket.

"Ohh, that's okay Ishie, I'll have my mother finish mine up when I get home. Just make sure you don't put your clothes back on or rub against anything until they dry," she said while standing back up with her paints and taking her candle again, walking with the boy to the door.

Ishari nodded, smiling again warmly while he looked over his friend again. Deliah was a very pretty Cer'va, and like most of the youths he had met, her fur colorings were very similar to his... reddish-brown with cute fawn speckles. One difference with Deliah though was that her ears were white instead of black on the outsides like his, a unique feature of all her family members. She was also budding into a well-proportioned figure, already showing small breasts pressing the front of her blouse. About the only thing marring Deliah's looks was the dark, discolored area of shorter fur running about midway down the girl's back. She had been burned in an accident when she was younger, and still was uncomfortable letting anyone see it... well anyone other than Ishari anyway. But that was all going to change soon. The other day, she had told Ishari all about it. Her father said that the Ki'sen were going to perform three miracles at this year's festival. She was going to receive the blessing of one of those miracles and be healed. Ishari was excited for his friend, but at the same time, the boy couldn't help but wonder why such benevolent creatures as the Ki'sen would place such an arbitrary limit on their assistance.

Ishari bowed his head to Deliah as she walked out of his room and then turned to say goodnight to him. "Thank you again Deliah. See you tomorrow at the festival," he said. She smiled again and wiggled a few fingers at him, "See you there," she said and then made her way back home to finish with her own preparations.

~

The sun was shining brightly on the day of the summer solstice, and most of Triol's families were taking advantage of the early dawn and already on the road to the Yanis shrine. Nestled in the woods a few miles northeast of the village, the shrine was almost like another tiny village itself, with 6 wooden buildings split evenly on either side of the marble shrine and forming a semi-circle. The grassy grounds in the center of the circle could be used for group prayers, large ceremonies, or festivals like that which was occurring today.

Ishari walked along the road between his father and mother, who chatted eagerly about what they expected to see at the festival this year. Ishari's parents were a very well matched pair. His father, Ikantu, was large and broad, one of the more impressive bucks in the village. His mother, Veyra, was not too much shorter than Ikantu, but very feminine in her figure and her beauty was also well spoken of among all their neighbors and friends. Although they were adults, neither of the boy's parents had antlers, only short fuzzy horn stubs like Ishari, which was completely normal for all Cer'va. Ishari's father was pulling a medium sized cart containing foodstuffs and supplies for the day, including their blacksmithing tools. Vashela, Ishari's little sister, rode in the cart as well. She looked very similar to Ishari, although she was four years younger than him and had green eyes instead of blue. Like him, she had little tribal paintings drawn into her fur, as did both of his parents. It was tradition for all the citizens of Triol to wear their tribal paintings during the Yanis festival. Also, like all the other townsfolk, Ishari's family was dressed in traditional garb to showcase their paintings - nothing but loincloths for the males, and simple skirts for the females, though the mature females added an upper garment of similar fabric over their breasts.

"Father... father," Vashela called to their dad, trying to get his attention.

"What is it, child?" said Ikantu, turning his head back towards her while smiling and continuing to pull the cart. Their mother also turned to look back at her daughter, reaching a paw up to pat Ishari on his head while he walked along next to her, his long ears flicking about.

"Tell us about Yanis again," Vashela said, smiling eagerly. Ishari giggled a little to himself. His sister had asked for that story every day for the last week, but he didn't mind hearing it again.

Ikantu grunted, "Ahh, soon enough you'll be such an expert on Yanis that you'll be telling the story to me," he said with a chuckle. He looked between his two fawns, Vashela's eyes pleading cutely and Ishari's looking to him happily. The boy always seemed happy to hear his dad talking about anything of importance. "Alright. But this is the last time," he said while winking at his mate.

"Yanis was the last Unicorn," their father started, telling the beloved story of their people's savior once again for his fawns. Yanis lived over ten thousand years ago, and was a wise, but young apprentice to the great Unicorn mage Ozar. During that time, there were originally many Unicorns, and their magical prowess was known throughout the world with almost no equal. Even the greatest of dragons were no match for the power of a fully realized Unicorn. Perhaps the only real threat to the Unicorn's reign was that of a tribe of phoenix mystics. Not much was known about these creatures, except that they were rumored to have mastery over many energies other than mere magic, and perhaps even time itself. However, due to the hermetic ways of their tribe, they seemed to keep out of the affairs of the world.

It was said that the conflict between the Unicorns and Cer'va began as a result of a discovery by Ozar that there was some hidden potential within the Cer'va that, once activated, would make them even more powerful than the Unicorns. Ozar then prophesized that an event would come to pass within a matter of weeks which would result in this Cer'va power being unleashed on the world. Upon being informed of this prophesy, the Unicorn king Nyzandar ordered that all Cer'va be slaughtered, which at that time meant the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents.

Yanis was one of the few Unicorns who objected to this order, but he and those who agreed with him were sentenced to death by the king, and Yanis barely escaped with his life. The only surviving dissenter, he made his way to the untamed lands which now made up the kingdom of Rhiyan, where the Cer'va population existed mostly apart from the other races, living a simple life in the forests and woods. Yanis searched throughout the land, trying to find the spark of this great Cer'va power prophesized by his master, hoping to offer the Cer'va a chance to survive, but time was running short. The inhabitants of every village he visited during his westward search were ultimately slaughtered not long after he left, as king Nyzandar's forces followed behind him. By the time Yanis reached the area of the Tokar Forests, more than three quarters of the total population of Cer'va had been eliminated. Then, here in Tokar, Yanis made some kind of discovery.

It was said that he found some powerful ancient artifact in the depths underneath the forest. The Unicorns had always looked down on the Cer'va and the places they inhabited, and he was likely the first to explore the forest extensively. While attempting to use the artifact, its power somehow possessed him and transformed him into a being of pure energy. This being was later referred to in Cer'va legend as The Source. When the local Cer'va came to see what happened to him, Yanis was now able to see their spark, the potential that his master Ozar spoke of. He then approached 100 of the Cer'va villagers in turn, joining his boundless energy with each of their sparks. Each of those 100 experienced an amazing transformation, consumed by the energy of the source and reborn as horned Ki'sen, their new forms surging with immense magical energy. His task completed, Yanis' began to fade, reverting to his unicorn state and gravely weakened.

Despite their far greater numbers, the Unicorns were no match for the Ki'sens' raw power. Ishari's father always seemed to become especially animated in his storytelling when he got to the part about the Ki'sen warriors fighting their way through the Unicorn army, taking the fight all the way to King Nyzandar himself. In the end, the Unicorn king refused to surrender, and all the remaining Unicorns were slaughtered to pay for their crimes, or so the story went. Only Yanis remained, gravely ill and surrounded by thankful Cer'va who offered their prayers for their savior. When his magic finally ebbed away completely, he passed on and his body was buried at the base of his shrine.

Although Ishari generally enjoyed hearing about Yanis the savior, the end of the story always made the boy feel a little uncomfortable. Were all the Unicorns bad, or were there some innocent children like he and his sister? If the Ki'sen really wiped them all out, did they simply become just like the villains they were fighting against?

~

By the time Ikantu finished telling Ishari and his sister the story, they were already at the shrine. Vashela practically bounced out of the cart, scanning the festival grounds like some kind of predator on the hunt. Once she spotted the booth selling her favorite kind of candied treat, she grabbed their mother's paw and tugged her in that direction. "Let's go, let's go! Before there's a big line!"

Ishari's mother snickered a bit and nodded to her son and mate, "You two will be okay right?"

Ikantu nodded in agreement, "Go ahead, me and my boy have some important work to get started! Right son?" he said while looking down at Ishari, who smiled brightly and nodded too. Veyra smiled at the two, and then followed along behind her energetic daughter to get in line for the treats.

Ikantu grinned while he watched his young son and thought about how important of a day it was for their family. He was truly proud of his ancestral line, having granted him the strength and ability to perhaps become a celebrated artisan for the Ki'sen royalty, and also produce the perfect son to follow in his footsteps. He was so close now to having everything he wanted in life, and he wouldn't let anything stand in his way...

Ishari walked with his father to the closest building on the right side of the shrine. The shrine's resident monks and maidens had set up a small smithy here long ago in order to allow the artisans to be able to make repairs and complete projects at the shrine itself, rather than in town. Some years, Ishari's father was the only blacksmith working the festival. However, this year they would have competition.

Nikulu, a Cer'va from the neighboring village of Pollum was setting up his equipment as Ishari and his father entered the shop. Nikulu lifted his icy blue gaze from his tools as he saw the two of them entering, glaring for a moment at Ishari and sending a little shiver down the boy's spine. Nikulu then returned to his task without the slightest greeting. Ishari looked down for a moment, and then quietly followed his dad to their assigned area of the shop. It wasn't surprising to see Nikulu acting in this manner, as there was a bit of bad blood between their families ever since Nikulu's son Fayani got sick while playing with Ishari two years ago.

Ishari and Fayani were good friends back then. Often times the two of them and Deliah would play together, and although she was outnumbered by the two boys, they were both fairly innocent fawns and she often seemed to be the one in charge of things. One day, while the two of them were alone, the boys were exploring the forest around Triol, climbing trees and playing hide and seek in the bushes and flower patches. During one of their games when Ishari was the one 'seeking,' he had a particularly hard time finding his friend. He searched everywhere, thinking Fayani had just found a fantastic hiding spot, but when he finally found the other boy, Fayani was laying still in a flower patch, breathing with great difficulty. Ishari helped his friend back to the village and got his mother, Triol's herbalist. After tense moments of mixing and administering healing solutions, she managed to stabilize Fayani, though the boy remained very weak. He seemed to have contracted some terrible disease which Veyra had never seen before.

The following investigation showed that the flowers Ishari noticed around his collapsed friend were the source of the disease. They were eradicated, although Veyra kept a small sample to continue working on a cure. So far, her efforts were unsuccessful, though she continued to send free medicines to Fayani to keep him alive. Every failed attempt seemed to only increase her resolve, and she often said that she would never give up. Ishari hadn't seen Fayani since that fateful day. Nikulu blamed Ishari for what happened, and he and Ikantu once got into a physical altercation over the incident. Ishari wished he could ask about Fayani, often wondering how the other boy was doing.

"Alright son, lets hurry up and get to work," Ikantu said. "We have plenty of steel to craft before Commander Kende arrives. Perhaps even the Kaj himself will come to test our product!"

Ishari bobbed his head eagerly, "Yes Father," he said while quickly unpacking the blocks of steel which had been smelted over the previous four days. Ishari arranged the steel into two piles. The first pile was made up of the 'botsu', or blade steel, and the second pile was made up of the 'ishatsu', or star steel. The star steel was a very special kind of steel that Ikantu discovered long ago, apparently shortly before Ishari's birth. Ikantu claimed that it had magical properties, and produced superior weapons and armor. He had spent all of these years perfecting the process of making it, and now was passing that knowledge to his son.

"Good, now set out the tools and start prepping the blade steel. I am going to go check on your mother and sister, and then get my usual additional supplies."

"Where will you be going Father?" Ishari asked, flicking his ears a couple more times while looking up to him.

Ikantu chuckled a little, "Same places as usual. Don't worry boy, I will be back shortly," Ikantu said while patting his son's head and long silky ears. The boy smiled warmly and nodded again, pushing his head up eagerly into his father's big paw. Ikantu chuckled a bit more at that, stroking a few times before he headed back out to the festival grounds. Once his father was gone, Ishari picked out a set of tongs and a block of blade steel, which he brought to the forge to start heating. For the most part, the boy tried to avoid eye contact with Nikulu, who seemed to be quietly talking with one of the monks who'd come to visit.

Ishari instead focused his attention on preparations for one of his father's special swords. First, the boy began the meticulous process of heating the blade steel in the forge to an orange-yellow glow, then moving it to the anvil where he pounded the steel with his hammer, flattening and lengthening it out, then he would heat the steel in the forge again, then return to the anvil and pound again with his hammer, carefully folding the metal over itself. Not only was Ishari quite accurate with the hammer, but the boy seemed to have an unnatural strength and grace for his young age, and was able to swiftly complete nearly a dozen repetitions of this process while only just barely breaking a sweat. Just as he was preparing for the thirteenth round, Ishari heard a commotion outside of the building. He put down his tools on the anvil for a moment, flicking his ears a little as the boy listened curiously while walking to the front of the shop. He brushed a bit of dust off the front window covers, then slowly opened them, letting in a bit more natural light and fresh air while exposing the front of the shop to passersby.

Outside, Ishari saw the festival grounds abuzz with excitement. The Cer'va were all standing at one end of the semicircle, spread out to either side of a curious large, circular structure made of polished red stone which looked like a doorway without any actual door to close or open. The structure was raised upon a white marble platform, with white marble steps leading down to the ground in front. A male Cer'va, dressed in garments which appeared to be those of a shrine monk, was shooing the crowd more to the sides to make a clear path in front of the platform. It was then that Ishari witnessed his first real sight of Ki'sen magic.

Ishari felt a slight tingle running down his spine, the boy blushing and feeling his tail wiggling as he watched a swirl of red energy flowing from the inner surface of the stone circle towards the empty air in the center. The energy looked almost like fire, but more smooth, and was surging to that central point in a strangely uniform manner. Many in the crowd gasped softly as they gazed at the swirling magic. Like Ishari, many Cer'va of Triol and the surrounding villages had never seen real magic before, only reading about it in journals and diaries of those who had traveled to Eldara. As the swirling tendrils of red energy joined and sparked with growing intensity, a beam of light suddenly shot straight up from the very top of the structure into the heavens. Ishari was practically dumfounded by all of this, the boy's cute ears flicking as his big blue eyes gazed unblinking at the fantastic display of power. Suddenly, the red energy within the circle shifted colors, gradually transitioning to a cool white light. Through that white light stepped two large forms dressed in regal flowing white robes with gold trim, each of them carrying a large and ornately designed glaive-like weapon. They looked vaguely like male Cer'va, only they were about a foot larger than average, perhaps 7 feet tall. What was most amazing to Ishari though was perhaps their fur color, which was white as snow and almost seemed to glow in the midmorning sunlight.

The boy blinked a few more times, watching wide eyed as these exotic creatures stepped away from the portal and down the marble stairs. "These must... be the Ki'sen," Ishari said to himself, his tail flipping up and wiggling again above his partially exposed butt so the white fluff on the underside waved around like a little flag. From a distance, Ishari could just make out the horns on these two creatures' heads. Each of them was adorned by a single silver horn jutting up from their foreheads in front of their two fuzzy stubs. The silvery horn was not spiraled like a unicorn's, but instead shaped more like a lightning bolt with two jagged edges along the shaft towards the tip. Also, Instead of a flag tail like Ishari's, the Ki'sen had long, luxurious tails similar to those of the horse-folk, only much more voluminous and elegant. Each of their tails flowed gracefully down to their heels, the soft and silky-looking hairs having the same color as their fur and looking perfectly groomed, like they'd just been brushed a thousand times.

These first two appeared to be guards, and after they stepped to the base of the platform, an entourage of nine more creatures stepped through the portal. Five of them appeared to be Ki'sen, three more males with snowy white fur, and then two females, both of whom were coated in sharply contrasting shiny black fur. Other than their natural femininity, their features seemed to mostly match the males who came before except for their fur color and the fact that they were slightly shorter and leaner looking. A few moments after the entourage made its way through the portal, two more Ki'sen guards stepped through. Then, the portal's energy began to dissipate and the shaft of light which reached into the sky receded, gradually disappearing as well. Seconds later, the stone structure looked completely inactive once again.

By now, the portal's magic was no longer the focus though. Ishari watched as the crowd of a few hundred Cer'va gathered around the platform all began to get down on one knee, bowing their heads. "Ohh I see, that's the Kaj," Ishari said softly and the boy mirrored the bowing motion of the Cer'va outside. It was the first time he'd been in the presence of his king, and he felt a wave of nervousness and excitement running through his young body.

"What're you doin that for?" A deep, gruffy voice behind Ishari asked. Ishari turned as he stood back up, seeing Nikulu walking towards the open windows of the shop to look outside and watch the display of Ki'sen royalty atop the platform. One of the Ki'sen males had moved to the center of the platform and held a parchment in front of him, a decree of some kind which he began reading to the gathered Cer'va. "They can't see you, whelp," Nikulu said as he turned his hardened gaze on Ishari and took a step towards the boy, who trembled and shrank back a little in response. "Hah... I can't wait," Nikulu continued, while his icy glare turned into a discomforting grin, "until I get to see the look on your face when your father fails you and your family."

Ishari wanted to say something back, though the boy was a little frightened with the way the adult Cer'va was looking at him. After a few long seconds, he shook his head and said "Father won't fail... you'll see. His swords are special..." Ishari breathed a little quickly as he finished talking, flushing slightly along his cheeks.

Nikulu chuckled darkly, "Ahhh yes... his special steel..." he said while glancing over at the supplies Ishari had laid out. "We'll see just how special they are when the time comes." With that, the male left Ishari to his thoughts, walking back over to his area of the shop to work on his own wares once again in bitter silence. It took until a few moments after Nikulu had left for Ishari to realize that his paws were shaking. He held them together over his tummy and looked down over his muzzle. What Nikulu said certainly made the boy nervous, but he had faith.

When Ishari lifted his gaze back up from his nose to look back out at the festival grounds, the boy had even more reason to feel flustered. A small crowd of perhaps two dozen Cer'va flanked five approaching figures, three Ki'sen and two young Cer'va boys who looked around the same age as Ishari. Ishari fretted a little, wiping a little sweat off his brow and looking down over his tummy and hips and butt, smoothing down any frazzled bits of his fur to try and make himself as presentable as possible. The boy's heart pounded kind of quickly as the stately group approached the front of the shop.

Two of the Ki'sen were males, and one was only a couple inches shorter than the guards the boy spied earlier. He was wearing a navy blue and silver trimmed robe as well as what looked like a massive great sword sheathed over his back. His eyes sparkled with a sharp, piercing silver color which Ishari had never seen before on any other creature. The other male was about a full foot shorter, most of his white fur and other features concealed under a mysterious black robe, with its hood leaving his face in shadow and his horn stabbing through a hole in the top. Ishari couldn't see this male's eyes, only a faint red glow coming from under the hood.

The other Ki'sen was a female. She was shorter, perhaps about 5'8", her softly gleaming black fur covered in the same type of noble blue and silver trimmed garment worn by the larger male. Like him, she carried a visible weapon, a medium sized halberd with a large, highly polished axe blade and a vicious looking hook on the back. Her gaze was also sharp silver and very focused, almost cold. Between the two armed Ki'sen walked the two Cer'va boys, one slightly behind the other and with his eyes remaining down in a somewhat submissive way. The boy in front had a look to him which was quite the opposite of his companion, confident and regal, this boy was dressed in flowing red robes with gold trim looking to have been made from the richest of fabrics. He looked directly at Ishari as he and his companions approached the shop, his large eyes having this luxuriant gold color which held Ishari frozen in place until the visitors stopped a couple feet in front of his window.

"Will you not recognize your Prince, peasant?" the boy with the startling gold eyes said to Ishari in a well-bred, articulate voice which radiated the confidence of royalty.

"Ahh! My Prince... please forgive me," Ishari replied in his cute tone of voice, the boy holding the waist-height edge of the open window with both paws while bending down and bowing his head with great reverence. As he bent low, the boy's firm young butt raised up gracefully, and his adorable flag tail lifted up high above those cheeks, his fawn coat having a nice little sheen of sweat from his work in the shop. Just as his mother told him, if he were to meet any royalty the boy should bow gracefully but be sure to show off his tribal markings, which were perfectly on display as he was clothed in only that skimpy loincloth.

"Yes, yes... much better, peasant," the Prince said while smiling and looking over Ishari's mostly exposed young form, his tender hips and butt quivering ever so slightly showing the boy's nervousness as he held his bow. "Commander Kende, is this poor creature the famed Ikantu you told me about? I expected him to be a little bit... taller," the Prince said while chuckling to himself. Ishari blushed a bit embarrassedly and opened one eye slightly to try and peek up at the royal group outside the window while they talked.

"Nay Prince Hala," the larger of the male Ki'sen said while chuckling as well. "The master smith is indeed a Cer'va of adequate stature. This must be his son." Commander Kende turned his own silvery gaze more fully on Ishari and questioned, "Boy, what is your name?"

Ishari lifted his head, not standing up fully but just enough to politely address the commander, "M... my name is Ishari, my lord," the boy stammered a little.

The commander smirked a little as he heard the boy's name, swishing his long and regal tail and tilting his head slightly to one side, "Ahh, such an auspicious name for one of your rank." Ishari looked down at his nose again, nodding in acknowledgment. Then the commander continued, "Perhaps... perhaps you will live up to it," which brought a slight blush to Ishari's cheeks as he nodded eagerly.

"Ohh... thank you, my lord," the boy said while fidgeting his paws a little over his belly and wiggling his pretty little tail again.

The shorter, mysterious Ki'sen wearing the long dark robe turned to the commander and spoke in a subtle voice which may have even sounded charming were it not for his intimidating garb, "I would like to see... the sword..."

"Ahh, yes... enough with the pleasantries," the commander said as he turned his piercing gaze back on Ishari's own eyes and held the boy's attention in such a way that it almost seemed like magic. "Tell Ikantu we would like to see the sword, star child."

"B...but my lord, my father... he left moments ago for additional supplies. He will be back soon," the boy said, his pulse thrumming nervously as he saw the frown forming on the commander's muzzle in response.

"Your father would make his Prince and the honorable commander wait for him? This would be a most unfortunate way to repay the commander's kindness in bringing us all here to witness the mark of his skill with a hammer," Prince Hala said, looking at Ishari with growing dissatisfaction.

Ishari's cheeks and ears flushed hard as the boy's heart pounded, thoughts racing for a moment. What if this incident cost his father the chance to win the contract? What if his family was dishonored amongst the townspeople? This was the Prince of Rhiyan before him! "Oh... n...no my Prince... he would never... He... he left me in charge," the boy said while briefly glancing back towards the forge, seeing Nikulu on the other side of the shop sneering in his direction. Ishari quickly returned his gaze upon the royal entourage and bobbed his head confidently, even though he was quite unsure as to what he was about to do.

Prince Hala chuckled again, a bit louder this time. "Left you in charge, peasant boy? Hah, for your sake, I hope you are not speaking in jest." The other boy narrowed his golden eyes slightly as he focused a bit more on Ishari, extracting another shiver out of the innocent boy, "Then I suppose it is you who will create the sword for us, isn't it?"

The commander looked down at Prince Hala, then lifted his gaze back to the trembling Ishari, his grim look softening slightly. He seemed about to offer Ishari a reprieve when the boy nodded his head, still blushing and wiggling his tail nervously "Y... yes my Prince. I will at once." Commander Kende blinked a few times, caught slightly off guard, a rare occurrence indeed. He had a hard time imagining that this very young looking boy could fulfill their request, but the commander saw a curious spark of determination in this boy's eyes. It was a spark that reminded him a little of himself at a young age. The commander turned to look at the robed figure briefly, who simply nodded his head in agreement. He looked back to Ishari then and spoke in his deep, comforting tone "Then please, carry on child," he said while standing with his arms crossed over his chest, watching closely.

Ishari briefly glanced among the five. All eyes were on him now, including those of the quiet female Ki'sen and the other Cer'va boy standing subserviently behind and to the side of the Prince. Ishari's heart beat madly as the boy turned back towards the anvil, picking up the blade he had already begun prepping for his father. Ishari took a deep breath. It was his task now. He had watched his father finish a sword enough times, and he knew in his heart that he could do it.

The group outside the window watched as the boy carried the blunt blade back towards the forge, then heated it again to a soft yellow-orange glow. Prince Hala's deep golden eyes were focused on the forge and the way the light danced off Ishari's nearly naked form. As a prince, he naturally had lived a somewhat sheltered life and had never seen forging up close like this. This was marvelous entertainment for him. Commander Kende seemed more interested in the boy's technique, watching as he walked back to the anvil, grabbed up his hammer and brought it down against the blade all in one swift motion, sending a shower of sparks bursting up and flying all around his form. The commander smiled softly, watching the boy folding the metal with a series of those swift strikes, then heating the blade... then folding again... Ishari completed four more of these cycles, then while the blade was heating again, the boy set out a long mold with a slight U-shaped curve to it. As soon as the blade was uniformly hot, he quickly brought it to the mold and began shaping it, creating a trough along the full length of the metal. The commander watched this technique with special interest, directing the attention of the female Ki'sen next to him to the trough while leaning down to whisper in her ear.

With the blade steel purified and ready to accept its core, Ishari picked up a bar of that special 'star steel' with another set of tongs and heated it in the forge, beginning the process anew. Wiping a bit more sweat from his brow, the boy heated, hammered, and folded the star steel in front of the group. Instead of the yellow sparks which splashed about from the blade steel, this material created a dramatic show of blue sparks which seemed to match and somehow enhance the intensity in the boy's blue eyes. Ishari folded the star steel only about five times before it was ready to be place into the other steel. Once that was done, he heated the combined materials in the forge to a white hot glow, then folded the outer steel over the core and began forge welding them together. More yellow and blue sparks shot up around the boy like fireworks as he repeatedly heated and welded the steels together, and then started to shape the blade. He stopped after several more rounds of welding, finishing up and then cooling the blade in water. Steam rose around the boy as he took a few slow breaths, his sweat-dampened muscles continuing to be highlighted by the glow of the forge. All of the onlookers except Prince Hala and his Cer'va companion kept their eyes on Ishari, the Prince looking off to one side with a slight blush on his cheeks.

With the blade assembled and shaped, Ishari found an attractive handle wrapped with red silk from his father's supplies and locked the blade into it. The unfinished sword measured about 23 inches long from pommel to tip, still lacking a guard and decorations, but it was functional. Ishari took a few moments to sharpen the full length of the blade to a fine edge, the boy's soft blue eyes watching his work with an almost unblinking gaze as he remained focused on his efforts. Once the he had finished that final task, Ishari carried his first sword back to the front of the shop while holding it gingerly with one paw on the handle and the other near the top of the blade. He couldn't help but swell with pride as he looked slowly over his handiwork, wondering what his father would think.

"Your sword, my Prince," Ishari said as the boy offered the sword up to Prince Hala while bowing gracefully.

Prince Hala looked over the unpolished sword, devoid of the usual ornaments and decorations which the boy was used to viewing on all the noble weapons seen at the royal court. He had been gifted ceremonial daggers that looked more impressive than this weapon. The Prince shook his head, "Commander, this can't be the fantastic weapon you spoke of! Why, this 'sword' looks better suited to chopping wood than the heat of battle."

Ishari blushed, looking down at his nose nervously. Did he make a mistake? No, he was sure he did everything exactly the way his father did when he watched him making a similar sword. But still... maybe he could have added a few decorations... He flicked his ears down slightly, closing his eyes a little and praying that he didn't make a mess of his father's important opportunity.

"Allow me to test the blade, my Prince," Commander Kende said as he stepped forward, taking the sword from Ishari, who stood up a little straighter now and watched apprehensively. The commander narrowed his eyes as he held the sword up to the light and closely inspected it from hilt to tip, running one paw-digit along the side of the steel. As unpolished as it looked, the commander could sense unseen strength in this weapon. He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing his own innate power towards the blade, exploring it with his Ki'sen energy. The others watched closely as his horn glowed with a slight silver aura, and then the sword briefly resonated with that same glow. The commander swished his long beautiful tail and smiled, feeling an instinctive sense of elation while holding this sword which was identical to what he felt when Ikantu first showed him another such weapon during a chance meeting. He opened his eyes again, smiling wider "Yes... this is the sword..." he said softly, turning towards the female Ki'sen standing to his side. "Luna, a demonstration please." As he spoke, the commander turned the sword, offering it to the black furred female Ki'sen, handle first.

As Luna accepted the sword, she had the servile Cer'va boy trailing behind the Prince hold her halberd. He gasped softly, blushing and wobbling a little, clearly struggling to hold the heavy weapon which appeared to weigh as light as a feather to the impressive Ki'sen. Without a word, Luna stepped away from the group while everyone watched. Prince Hala seemed especially pleased by the prospect of an entertaining display.

Ishari watched the Ki'sen girl hold the sword aloft at a slight angle from her breast, her chest rising and falling slowly as she breathed. Then she suddenly swung the blade in a swift downward sweep to the left side which was almost too fast for the boy to register. The girl's blue and silver robes swirled a little as she spun on her foot, slicing the blade up in the same fluid motion, then parrying, then stabbing forward while lifting one graceful leg back. Before pulling the sword all the way back towards her body, she spun again, striking an imaginary foe behind her with another wide sweep. Ishari was fascinated by the display of swordsmanship, the boy's tail wiggling again as he watched the girl skillfully executing a series of maneuvers with his sword.

Suddenly, Commander Kende added another variable into the demonstration, drawing his greatsword in a sudden motion which seemed as fast and deadly as a lightning strike. At that split second, Luna turned and struck upwards with her blade while the commander brought his shining steel down. A shower of sparks flew between the two as their weapons met, then in that same split second, passed through each other. At the apex of her strike, Luna stepped back and brought her blade back down, holding it now in a non-threatening manner with one paw on the hilt and one on the blade. She bobbed her head to the commander, watching him with her emotionless, steely gaze while offering Ishari's sword back to him. "Perfect balance. Strong, flexible... Could use a little refining... but overall, exceptional quality," she said.

The commander nodded, grinning subtly as he looked at his own sword, cut clean in half. "Just as I thought..." he said, setting down the lower half of his own sword, then taking Ishari's blade and stepping back over to the shop's window, peering down at Ishari with a mixture of satisfaction and curiosity. The robed figure watched silently, his attention seemingly fixed on the sword itself for reasons he apparently was keeping to himself... Prince Hala was also smirking. He had been pleasantly surprised by the demonstration, and tended to take interest in any kind of action given the oft boorish nature of being a coddled prince.

Ishari tilted his head back slightly to keep the commander's face in view as he stood closer to the front of the shop, towering over the boy. "I am sorry my lord, for what happened to your sword..." Ishari blushed a bit and held his paws folded over his belly, "I am sure we can..."

Commander Kende cut him off with a soft, comforting laugh, shaking his head, "Fear not son, you have performed masterfully," he said while holding the sword through the window, handing it back to the boy.

At that very moment, Ikantu was walking back to the shop, carrying a wooden box full of additional supplies. Once he realized who was standing in front of the shop window, he hurried to the front and set his supplies down on the earth, going down on one knee and bowing his head to the Prince and his companions. "My Prince! I had not known you would be here so soon! Please accept my sincerest apologies for keeping you waiting..."

Prince Hala turned to Ikantu, smirking again slyly "Yes, you do well to apologize. I was ready to tell the commander to forget all about his little deal with you." Ikantu lowered his gaze more, looking worried as the Prince seemed to hold that thought. "However," Prince Hala said, "your peasant son has been entertaining us adequately. We shall not hold your tardiness against you."

Ikantu smiled a little, exhaling a relieved sigh. He lifted his thankful gaze to the Prince, "Thank you my Prince! I will not let you down." He turned his eyes up to Ki'sen commander and continued, "My lord, if I may have just a little more of your patience, I will have a sword ready for you in no time!"

Commander Kende lifted a paw to stop Ikantu from speaking further, taking a few steps to the prostrated male while chuckling again affably, "You have already done well Ikantu. Your son is a rare specimen of Cer'va excellence. I am sure he will accomplish many great things in your family's name." He stood before Ikantu, then gestured to the shop window where Ishari stood, blushing and holding the sword in both paws. "Stand Ikantu, and see what your son has crafted - this fine blade as a present for our Prince."

Ikantu stood up, his heart beating pretty quickly. At first, he was unsure if he should feel surprised, jealous or overjoyed by his son's performance in front of the Prince's entourage. Ultimately, ancestral pride overrode all other emotions and he stepped over to take a look at his son's sword, beaming in such a way that the commander couldn't help laughing again. "I believe we will be doing business Ikantu," the commander said while casually sweeping his long tail side to side again. "However, I have one additional requirement now."

Ikantu turned back to face the commander, smiling broadly and nodding, "Yes my lord, anything you desire."

The commander smiled again knowingly, nodding "Good. Then your son will be joining us in Eldara. There is something... curious about this boy. I want to keep my eye on him, personally. Of course, your family will be well compensated for his absence."

Ikantu's joy was greatly tempered by this news. Ishari was his only son. He would someday continue Ikantu's legacy. His ancestors would never forgive him... "But... m...my lord, he is to continue my craft once I am gone... my ancestors..."

The commander shook his head, "He will be able to continue your craft with us, in Eldara. He will resume his training with the royal smith, and you will be able to visit him as you like. These are my terms. Do you accept?"

The commander's previous jovial attitude had transformed to a very business-like demeanor. He had seen something he wanted, and now he was moving in for the kill. The Prince, having a slightly thoughtful look to his face, seemed to be the only one of the group not having their gaze fixed on Ikantu and waiting for his reply. Ishari was looking a little frightened, unsure of what would happen to him. Ikantu looked from face to face, his heart racing nervously. Then he looked down at his nose, submitting to the pressure, "I accept," he said to the commander.

Commander Kende's stern expression softened again, and he smiled once more and patted Ikantu on the back, "Good buck. Ishari will do splendidly well in Eldara. He will make your ancestors proud. We shall talk again later to make the arrangements," he nodded as the Prince gestured to him. It was time for them to move on to their next meeting.

"Ohh..." the Prince looked back, smiling to Ishari and Ikantu before they headed off. Ishari seemed a little wobbly, looking like he had just been struck by something as the boy was trying to absorb the fact that he was about to be sent away from his family and friends. "Make sure the peasant boy finishes decorating my sword, and have him bring it to my room... personally... before the end of the night." The Prince smiled impishly at that last part of the statement, and then he turned with a flourish and walked towards the main shrine building, with most of the group following immediately in his wake. Only the black robed figure lingered for a moment, the deep shadow of his hood making it a mystery as to who... or what... he was staring at. Eventually, he too followed along behind the royal entourage.