Bloody Tears, The Heart of the Vampyre 6 – Chains of Destiny
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As the morning sun peaked in through the windows at the Harmony Mansion, Tenchi was awoken by the head maid of the household, "Rise and shine, Miss Tenchi. The young lady's friend wishes for you to come to the dining hall for breakfast." Tenchi groaned before waking up and looking at the maid, "Hmm? And you are?"

The head maid bowed and said, "My apologies, ma'am. I am Dorothy Witherbloom, head maid at Harmony Mansion." Tenchi smiled, "Head maid? Then why didn't you send any of the other maids here?" Dorothy spoke up, "The young lady asked me to come here personally. Now, if I may?" She held out a morning gown to Tenchi, who looked confused before checking for her clothes, but the head maid answered her, "I took the liberty to have one of the maids collect your clothes and give them a wash. You will be given them back once they have dried."

Tenchi had to admit defeat when she put on the morning gown, which wasn't as revealing as it seemed, making her still happy that she decided to sleep in her underwear that night. Following the guidance of the head maid, she soon arrived at the dining hall, but Dorothy was quick to announce it, "My young lady, I have brought Miss Tenchi here for your friend." Melody called out, "Thanks, Dorrie." Tenchi found herself blushing at the formal announcement but quickly took her seat as Ocarina spoke to her, "Morning, Tenchi. Hope the night went well. I thought that since we gonna be heading back to the castle today, we could take a slow walk through the capital city and let you soak in the culture here."

Tenchi didn't like how casual that Ocarina was, but she knew better than to question her decisions and nodded, "I didn't get to see much since you rushed here yesterday." Ocarina nodded, "I was told by her bloody highness to do that. But now we can take it slowly, as they don't expect us back any time soon. Let me tell you, I learned a lot that I didn't know about the population here when walking through the capital city."

Tenchi seemed interested in hearing that, and as soon as they had finished eating and getting themselves ready, they shook hands and hugged both Allegretto and Viola before Sonata, Melody, and Tenchi took a seat in the open carriage and watched as Ocarina began to pull on it out the gate and down the road to the center.

Taking a turn when reaching the center of town, Ocarina slowed down, and Sonata began to tell as Tenchi witnessed the rather open but pleasantly calm park they had rolled into, "This is Sanguin Park, named after Lord Simon Sanguin, and hosts a lot of events over the year, including the flower festival taking place in 18 days. You can also find the rarest Staeian flower here. If you pick it, you are liable to be sentenced to a lifetime in jail, as it only blooms every 10 years."

Tenchi noticed that all flowers were tended well by the ones working there, and one of the gardeners could be seen picking a flower before walking over to the carriage and handing it to Sonata, who smiled and said, "Oh, thank you, Leo." The gardener smiled and went back to work as Tenchi looked at the flower that Sonata had been given, seeing the vibrant colors and how it seemed to imitate a rose in its appearance, "What is that? It looks a bit like a plant from my home planet."

Sonata nodded, "This is a Promethia Abarralis, or in common terms, a Widow's Fire. It is a very special flower that is classified as a medical herb. It is used when you suspect someone to have acidosis or alkalosis. However, it takes a day or so before you get the result, so they are trying to find a different procedure to do." Tenchi looked at the coloration, and Sonata explained, "The petals of the flower are going from yellow to a bit green, as you may see here. It means the soil here is very good for growing healthy plants. If you would plant it at the castle for example, I would suspect it to be mildly red to yellow due to how high up it is compared to much of Grobuz."

Tenchi nodded before Ocarina began to pull the carriage again, leading them forward on a straight street where a lot of vendor stands were set up, and all from honest to dishonest merchants tried to earn a living. Seeing the beautiful decorations on their carriage, one of the merchants moved out on the street to try and stop them, but Ocarina began to speed up. But the merchant proved to have a good reason when Ocarina noticed a manhole cover being lifted off and pushed aside from beneath, and she stopped before the merchant nodded, "I am sorry, misses, I just didn't want you to end up injuring her." Ocarina watched with the others, mostly Tenchi, who was shocked when a cute mouse girl came out of the sewer and pushed the manhole cover into place, "There you go, Mister Grapefang. I checked to make sure that the storm water well wasn't blocked anymore. Make sure to not drop anything down there again."

She handed the bat a silver choker and saw Ocarina, Sonata, and Melody together with Tenchi, "Ah, Miss Angeria, and Misses Harmony. A pleasure seeing you three out in the wonderful weather. And is that Lady Frostclaw who survived the Crimson Luna?" Ocarina looked at Tenchi, who was nodding, "Indeed, I am. And you are?"

The mouse girl bowed, "Paulina Emeraud Trish Amarice is my name. I am a sewer worker." Tenchi nodded, "How often are you having to do your job?" Paulina looked at her and said, "Roughly four dives a day. This street here is my area. Now, if you excuse me, I don't want to be rude, but I have to head to the next job now. Maybe I'll see you again." Without waiting for a reply, Paulina walked off, and Tenchi looked at Ocarina and said, "Now I understand what you mean with learning stuff about the people here that you didn't know."

With Ocarina continuing to pull the carriage, Sonata had informed Tenchi that mice did live in the Staeian settlements, but they were only one percent of the population, Tenchi found it a bit sad, as they seemed to be nice given how Paulina had behaved, but more had not been said as they arrived at the castle, just in time for catching Maria walking out and noticing them, "Ohhh, hi there. I thought you all would be elsewhere. Good that you arrived."

They were confused, but after putting the open carriage aside, they followed Maria into the throne room, where Violetta was sitting with yet another report, and soon put it down upon them entering, "Oh good, you are already here. We have a problem. Another attack by the Aur'ic vampire has taken place. We need to reinforce the defenses and find a way to stop these menaces."

Tenchi listened to Violetta before looking at her, "Haven't you thought of a way to help them?" Violetta looked confused at Tenchi, who quickly explained, "You said they were made like this because of a misfiring with a ritual, right? What if we can bring both together in some way?"

Violetta scratched her head, "What exactly are you suggesting? That we are forcing them to undertake the ritual again to make them able to fully embrace the moon?" Tenchi looked at them and asked, "Is there a forge here at the castle?"

Maria nodded, "Yes, two, in fact." Tenchi spoke up quickly to it, "Good, then bring me to one of them." Maria nodded before both she and Violetta dismissed the Blood Court members and took Tenchi with them through some of the castle until the heat of a forge was unmistakeable, and once pushing the doors open, they were greeted by a tall, well-built male bat who stood in front of an anvil and was hammering a long and thick sword that was hot to the touch. Knowing he might not have heard them entering, Maria gently called out, "Mister Anvilwing."

The bat looked up from the sword and smiled, "Ah, lady Maria, lady Violetta, and guest, which I presume is Tenchi, the newest survivor. How can I help you?" Violetta looked at Tenchi, who moved forward, "I need to demonstrate a theory regarding Au'ric vampires. If I may make use of the forge, that is."

The bat looked at Tenchi before putting down his hammer and putting the sword aside, "Normally, I would tell you to go back and suck on your mom's tits, but given who you are, I won't stand against you. Use the forge as you please. Just please don't overuse the materials. It is not easy to come by. Also, my name's Armo Anvilwing, and I am a baron."

Tenchi nodded and moved over to Armo and watched him move aside before she took a hold of a raw steel bar and said, "I only need 3 or maybe 4 sword-length pieces of steel, Mister Anvilwing." Holding the raw steel bar, Tenchi held it up, "This bar is like a regular Staeian. It is raw and rough." She hit it with the hammer, leaving a clear mark "And easily damaged, as you can see."

They nodded before Tenchi placed the bar in the forge, "The fire is the Sanguine ritual, it makes Staeians soft and malleable, but unless the forging of the ritual is completed correctly, they burn away, never to be Fe'ric vampires." She pulls the steel out and forges it into a rapier before quenching and correctly tempering it, "This is a Fe'ric vampire." She proceeds to bend the newly forged rapier, showing that it returns to true when let go, "Following me so far?"

Maria and Violetta nodded, and even Armo nodded as he found it rather interesting too, and Tenchi picked up a second bar before pointing to a broken rapier that Violetta remembered was hers, "That is what an Au'ric vampire does to Fe'ric, it destroys it." She places the new bar in the forge, "The bar I am heating will represent Au'ric vampires. Forgive me for this sin, Armo." She pulls the bar out and immediately quenches it before hitting it with the hammer, making it shatter, "The ritual for priesthood went wrong, and they are cursed to be too hot, hard, and brittle." She brushed the shards of steel off the anvil, "I hate wasting good metal, but it needs to be used. So how do we resolve this issue without destruction?"

Tenchi looked at the crowd before Maria and Violetta looked at Armo, who answered first, "I don't know what you would do, but I would reheat the metal and attempt to work it out. And if it would be too troublesome to heat up again, I would use flux and lower the temperature until I could properly smith it again."

Maria thought a bit, "From what Armo says, I take it to capture them and attempt to correct the ritual." Then Violetta chimed in, "Or find a solution to make it possible to solve it another way." Tenchi smiled a bit, "I believe I still owe the queen a gift, right, Maria?" Maria nodded, "I think you do, but are we correct?"

Armo moved himself over to brush up the shattered shards and put them in a bar cast before Tenchi spoke up, "In a manner of speaking." She then caught a glimpse of a familiar green-hued steel out of the corner of her eye, "Mister Anvilwing, is that green steel? I will need it and a bar of your finest steel to finish my demonstration."

Armo looked in shock, "Do you know how much that bar cost me?" Violetta quickly spoke up, "I'll buy you two to replace that one." Armo looked at her before nodding, "Deal." He then proceeded to take the bar and go to grab another bar, coming back with a steel bar that is darker than what steel should be, "Use them well."

Tenchi looked at the dark steel and found it rather interesting before she nodded, "Thank you. Oh, and when I'm done, remind me to buy you a new anvil." She holds up the green steel and says, "This will represent Au'ric vampires because it is a very hard and, if not handled correctly, extremely dangerous material." She turns on the fume extractors and connects a vessel with a one-way valve, "The forging fumes will need to be sent back to Morgova for Sas'Ha to dispose of."

She then holds up the dark steel, and her right eye's pupil glows red before she nods, "This meteorite and cobolt steel damascus will represent Fe'ric vampires. It is strong, resilient, and very stable." She proceeds with forging the two steels together into a fine damascus rapier, taking the rest of the day to be sure it is flawless before tempering and sharpening it, "This is what we need to achieve. I have combined the green steel and Mister Anvilwing's special damascus, and this is the result."

She lightly swings the rapier through the anvil, cutting it clean in half, and then cuts a piece of parchment afterwards, "The green steel has, when correctly forged, amazing properties and strength, but with the addition of the damascus, I have created a new metal, green meteoric steel. It has the benefits of Au'ric but the stability of Fe'ric. The negatives are removed."

She hands the rapier over to Armo. "Feel free to check my work, Mister Anvilwing. And please make a scabbard for Violetta's new rapier. It is called Crimson Luna's Justice." She looks at Violetta and says, "If we can achieve what I did with that rapier, Fe'ric and Au'ric can live without endangering each other, and the hatred of the past will be extinct, just as former Margrave Bloodfang."

Armo, Maria, and Violetta began to applaud, and Armo moved over to the anvil and soon pushed the two sides together, beginning to rub them together quite fast until there was not even a seam remaining of where the cut was made. He soon grabbed a bar of radioactive gold and a bar of damascus, cleanly cutting them in slices to line up a beautiful damascus pattern, and while holding it, there was a quick flash before he had welded them together in his hand.

Maria stood in shock, "What?! How?!" Armo looked up at them and said, "Oh, I forgot that you are still here." Violetta giggled softly, "That's why I go to Anvilwing, he is a master of the forge. Enough to master the art..." Armo spoke up, "Allow me to show you." He puts his hand into the forge and pulls it out, covered in liquid metal, "First, I use magnetism to keep the metal hot, but also to keep it from burning my hand, and then I can simply hold onto any metal and hammer it out without needing to reheat it as often." He begins to hammer out a scabbard in no time before wrapping it in leather while the scabbard is still hot, and soon enough, he lines the inside with carbon powder mixed with resin and puts the rapier in it, "Now we wait for it to harden. I can get it out afterwards."

Tenchi nodded before looking at them, "Anyway, that is my idea. Any questions?" She smiled at Armo and said, "I would like you and the other smith here to get along. It is a shame that two blacksmiths cannot get along. I think combining your shops and knowledge can make even better items." Tenchi looked at Violetta and said, "I hope you like the rapier I made you. Just don't tell Sas'Ha that I improved the green steel."

Armo spoke up with a sigh, "My sister thinks that just because she is picked by all the others, I am not worthy to be in her shadow as a taint blood." He draws the rapier out slowly before nodding and presenting it to Violetta, who takes it and smiles, "I sure love it. And since someone just said it." She draws the rapier and puts it against Armo's throat, "Why are you never talking out with her about it? You are her brother after all." Armo sighs gently, "Because she hates me."

Violetta sheathed the rapier and said, "No, you know why she is so mad at you whenever you show your things? She feels you are superior to her and that she cannot measure up to you. You are a good blacksmith, but even I can see when you have impurities in your work. I think Tenchi can agree that when you made that damascus steel, your hammer spoke of sadness and a lack of will to work in the forge." Maria chimed in, "I can say that she admires you for what you do. So speak to her about it, or else I will ask Tenchi to make you a eunuch."

It was then that the door to the workshop opened up and a white mouse girl with black hair and red eyes entered, saying, "No need to try and find me, I am here now." Tenchi looked in pure shock at the mouse before Armo spoke up, "Hey sis." Tenchi's eyes widened, "Wait a minute. Is Mister Anvilwing a criminal?" Violetta nodded, "Yes, he was another case of violating the law, but losing his skills with a hammer would have been a great loss, so I had him serve his sentence here. Once the sentence was over, he didn't want to leave."

Armo walked over to the mouse girl and said, "Sis, I am sorry for being such a braggard." The mouse girl looked up at him and said, "No, Armo. I am sorry for being jealous of your skills. You are better than me, like they said. And they are right, we should bring our workshops together and work out some wonderful armor and weapons." Armo began to tear up, "Olive. I..."

Armo soon felt her pulling him down and kissing his cheek before they shared a tight hug and while they had spoken Maria had been busy with recasting the shards into a bar before hammering a knife blade out and taking a meteorite shard that she heats up and hammers it out flat and folds over the knife blade, proceeding to hammer them and then reheating to fold the metals and twisting them before hammering flat again, making a new blade out of the pseudo-damascus material, swiftly making a hilt and guard for it, heating the blade up again before screeching into the metal and heating it up again and slowly quenching it and tempering it correctly, putting everything together and placing the blade down on the anvil, "I am still a bit rusty with my smithing."

Tenchi took Maria's knife and looked it over before smiling, "A wonderful knife, MarMar." Maria smiled before Tenchi asked, "Why did you screech into it?" Violetta smiled, "It is an old ritual that she always found silly. It is said to enhance the luck of whoever wields a weapon that has had screeched metal worked into it." Tenchi smiled at how silly that sounded before she heard a rumble and looked at Maria, who knew that sound well, and sighed, "Food time?" Tenchi nodded, "Food time." Violetta just giggled before joining the gentle laughs with her sisters, all without knowing what Maria's screech had brought on.

The End.