Kairos 64: Crafting Days

Dawn rose on the Sunsea, as a colossal ship emerged from the ocean.

When the Foresight had descended into the depths, it had been no larger than a trireme galley. But the creature had fed on the dead of both sides of a conflict, and risen again stronger than ever.

Three rows of organic oars pushed the living ship, helped by two, translucent dorsal fin sails and shark scales covering the hull. The hydra-shaped ram roared, the serpentine heads hissing above a colossal fanged maw. A spiral shell tower rose at the back of the structure like a shark’s tail, containing nests for archers and private rooms for the captain. All in all, the Foresight had almost doubled in size and strength.

The living ship let out a roar as it sailed, while the translucent dome of mucus protecting the deck collapsed into nothing. The crew let out a roar of joy at seeing the sun again, but none louder than Rook the griffin.

“Finally, we’re done!” The griffin flew into the skies, while Nausicaa swam in the waters below him. “We’re done with fishtown and we’re never coming back! I’m never getting wet again!”

Kairos watched his partner’s antics through a hole in the shell tower. He would have smiled under normal circumstances… but not today.

The Foresight had not only grown in size, but also provided more comfort to its crew by giving them additional space. Kairos had received his own private cabin, as did his first mate and officers.

Located near the top of the shell siege tower, his chambers had benefited the most from the Orichalcos plunder. A lavish bed sat near the window, while nacre statues and mosaics adorned the walls alongside nautical maps. The Foresight had also proved to be a tasteful decorator, using scales of different colors to create a yellow-blue spiral design in the ceiling and covering the floor with a pearl-like organic substance.

Most importantly, the ship had provided its captain with a workshop, generating egg-shaped containers for poison brewing and a desk of bone to store them. The Foresight had even managed to create a makeshift forge, growing an anvil from its own shell and using coiled pipes to evacuate heat and smoke outside.

Since they were days away from reaching the next stop on their journey, the Kingdom of Vali, Kairos had decided to test the limits of his [Telchine Metalsmithing] Skill.

Truthfully, he welcomed the distraction after what he had learned last night.

His hammer hit the molten edge of Agron’s fire axe and the silver of Orpheus’ lyre, trying to combine them. After hours of effort and rituals, Kairos drenched the heated metal with a flacon of Agron’s blood. Instead of drying, the liquid mixed with the silver and turned it red.

“By the ancient power of the Goetia,” Kairos uttered the incantation as the hammer fell, “I bind the blood of the earth with the blood of the living!”

The lyre softened as if alive, the metal grafting itself to the axe’s edge. The twisted silver spread through the weapon like an infection, transforming it into something new. Something alive.

Reaching the end of the ritual, Kairos drenched the axe with a bucket of water. A cloud of steam erupted from the forge before being evacuated through shell-pipes, followed by a bright crimson flash.

Kairos laid down the hammer, waited for the metal to cool off, and then examined his handiwork.

The double-edged axe before him had a cruel look to it, its metal turned black by the flames and dark magic. Red veins rippled through it, pulsating with heat and warmth. The two blades were sharp and fiery, while eight strings of silver coursed between them. In spite of their metallic nature, they made a wonderful sound when Kairos pinched them.

Congratulations, you successfully crafted the [Songaxe of Agron].

Songaxe of Agron

Rank: Artifact 3

Value: Priceless

A weapon forged by King Kairos on behalf of Agron the Kingslayer. The Songaxe burns with the endless fires of war, which it glorifies with songs and blood.

1 Star Power: The Songaxe boosts all the user’s [Fire]-based abilities.

2 Stars Power: The Songaxe’s blades naturally produces flames. Every blow from the Songaxe adds additional [Fire] damage.

3 Stars Power: The Songaxe exists to exalt the glory of war. If wielded by a [Skald], the Songaxe can play any magical song which the user knows on its own, allowing the user to both use [Song] abilities and attack at once. Each time the Songaxe strikes a foe dead, the song’s range is doubled for five minutes.

As Kairos had guessed, the quality of the blood influenced that of the final weapon. He had tried to reforge these two items with fish blood, but the spells wouldn’t take. A [Hero]’s weapon needed a [Hero]’s blood.

Unfortunately, Kairos’ attempts to reforge his own personal weapon had been met with failures. Though currently a Rank 3 weapon, the [Anemoi Spear] had been a Rank 5 in the past; the weapon of a [God]. Only someone like the late Hephaestus or Asterius, lord of the minotaurs, could reforge it into something else.

Now, the next item on his list was a weapon for Nausicaa. She had expressed a preference for a hunting spear or a dagger.

The mermaid [Assassin] liked her kills up close and personal.

Kairos knew he could design something that would fit her with time. His early forays confirmed that [Telchine Metalsmithing] and [Poison Brewer] could synergize well, and would allow him to create poisonous weapons. Maybe he should see with Andromache if they could combine their crafting Skills to strengthen her staff.

I like this, Kairos thought with a smile, creating.

Was this how Thales felt each time he built a new device? The sheer joy of discovery, of pushing the limits of his imagination? The satisfaction of making an idea take physical shape in the world?

Or maybe he simply wanted to take his mind away from the destruction he had caused, however he could.

Someone knocked on Kairos’ door. “You may enter,” he said.

As he expected, Agron had come to claim his weapon, though he brought visitors too. “Ooooh, nice my captain!” Nessus whistled as he glanced around the room, while Tiberius closed the door behind the trio. “My cabin is much smaller! But I feel it’s a bit too dark.”

The Foresight took his remark personally.

The ceiling shifted in response to Nessus’ observation, an anglerfish’s lure the size of an amphora growing out of the scales. A few seconds laters, it started producing a vibrant crimson light.

“Sensitive, huh?” Nessus said, scratching his cheek. “Hmm… wouldn’t yellow look better?”

“Golden-white,” Tiberius disagreed.

The lure’s color changed to golden, giving the room a tasteful ambiance of quiet opulence.

“I should feel snubbed,” Nessus muttered to himself, “but it does look good.”

My ship has grown intelligent enough to answer an artistic challenge without prompting, Kairos thought. Not only did the Foresight’s power grow with each kill, but also its ability to feel and think for itself. The captain hadn’t expected the sudden artistic side though.

“I hope the forging went well, Lord Kairos?” Tiberius asked. “We saw a flash of light outside.”

“Looks good to me,” Agron said, as he grabbed his new axe’s pommel. A human would have needed his two hands to lift it, but the minotaur only used one. Agron swung the blade, listening to the sound of the blade cutting through the air with a smile on his bovine face. “Perfect. Incredible work.”

“It will bring the best out of your subclasses,” Kairos said, before turning to Tiberius. “What would you like as a weapon?”

Tiberius responded with an embarrassed smile. “Sir, I don’t want to bother.”

“You don’t,” Kairos replied.

“In that case, this may sound very silly, but... I feel I am better with a sword.”

“Good idea,” Nessus said, before patting the young Lycean on the back. “Remember, the key is to penetrate your foes with the pointy end, the longer the better. If they moan in pain, you’ve halfway succeeded.”

The dirty joke made Tiberius redden, but Kairos sensed another source of uneasiness in him. “Why did you come?” the captain asked his men. “Are we reaching Vali earlier than expected?”

“Not yet, Sir,” Tiberius replied, as he regained his composure. “The truth is…”

“Andromache sent us,” Nessus admitted. “She worries about you, but wasn’t sure if she was the right person to give sound advice.”

“Is it true?” Tiberius asked with worry. “Was Lady Julia truly attacked by the Beast Cult?”

Kairos clenched his fists so tightly that they started bleeding. “They tried to murder my wife and child.”

The sheer fury in his words silenced his guests.

Each time he struck the axe’s metal with his hammer, Kairos had gritted his teeth and tried to imagine Romulus’ head in its place.

The description Julia gave her husband matched that of the vision Kairos had in Achlys, an armored legionnaire with a funeral mask. The Travian king had mistaken this figure for Lycaon, only to be corrected.

You will make a kinslayer out of me.

The words echoed in Kairos’ mind, heavy with meaning. “I knew I descended from a monster,” he explained to his men, “but it seems I’m related to another.”

“He might have been lying,” Agron pointed out.

“Why would he?” Kairos asked with a frown. “That bastard Romulus only faltered when my wife revealed her pregnancy. He would have murdered her otherwise, and came close to doing so anyway.”

“Lord Sertorius has no male child yet, unfortunately,” Tiberius said. “If his sister were to give birth to a son, he would become the new heir of the Flavii family, and thus help maintain Lycaon’s seal with his very existence. It doesn’t surprise me that she was attacked.”

“Why did her would-be murderer hesitate though?” Nessus asked, crossing his arms. “From what I understood, he wouldn’t have minded if our dear Julia gave birth to a girl, rather than a boy.”

“The seal’s power must always find a vessel at any moment,” Tiberius explained. “If Lord Sertorius dies, the duty will immediately transfer to a male heir. And if he has none at the moment of his demise, then the binding spell will vanish even if Lady Julia were to give birth to a son in the future.”

“You said his name was Romulus?” Agron asked his superior, who nodded in response. “There was a city called Rome that existed before the Anthropomachia, founded by the twin sons of Ares. They were called Remus and Romulus. After the flood, it is said that the Roman survivors intermingled with the sons of Lycaon and founded Lyce.”

Nessus nodded. “Quod erat demonstrandum, my captain. This Romulus is obviously your hidden brother.”

“Taulas is the only brother I had, and he died years ago,” Kairos replied with a scowl. Taulas had perished on the verge of ascension, never reaching his full potential. “My mother transferred his remains from Lissala to Histria.”

“A hidden bastard brother then?” the satyr asked. “I don’t doubt Aurelia’s marital faithfulness, but—”

“No,” Kairos replied firmly. “But my mother had relatives, though she thought that they had all died during the purge.”

“One may have escaped, and inherited the werewolf curse too,” Tiberius said, touching his chin with his thumb as he spoke. “Though the Marius line was stricter with proscription, Lord Sertorius should have access to copies of the records. I will send him a message, and ask him to investigate.”

“Julia already did beat you to it,” Kairos replied. “But it might take weeks before he can find any information.”

“Why target your lovely wife though?” Nessus asked. “It will be months before she gives birth to a child, and it will be a coin toss about its gender. Why not strike her brother directly?”

“Because the Beast Cult may have found Lord Sertorius too well-protected and careful to assassinate yet,” Tiberius replied wisely. “They probably believe it might take years before they have a chance to strike him down. If they cannot kill him yet, their best option is to deny him heirs.”

Kairos thought the same thing. His brother-in-law Sertorius had enormous resources to draw upon, a potent spy network, and awareness of the Beast Cult. An assassination on his sister might have made him more paranoid, but not a harder mark.

And if Lycaon’s shadow wasn’t dark enough, Mithridates’ loomed over the future too.

A ship to fight my own, Kairos thought grimly. One powered by the [Trident of Poseidon]. He is truly my reflection in a mirror.

Mithridates even rode a winged beast of his own, one with scales rather than feathers. The more their conflict escalated, the more Kairos saw the hand of destiny at work.

He had immediately asked Andromache to work on disabling the trident’s power, and the witch spent her days in the ship’s cargo studying their shard. If she found a way to weaken its power, then perhaps they could stand a chance against Mithridates’ superweapon.

The Travians needed more allies though, more strength. The planetary alignment threatening to bring back the Old Gods would arrive soon, the war with Mithridates sooner, and Romulus lurked in the shadows.

At least the three calamities didn’t work together. Mithridates had never shown awareness of the Necromanteion’s true purpose, Romulus had slain Teuta’s men, and Lycaon had waged war on the Old Gods.

Kairos’ foes were many and powerful, but their goals didn’t align.

“Agron,” Kairos said, catching the warrior’s attention. “If you are willing, I will try to introduce you to the [Térastheon] Pantheon.”

“I will never say no to more power,” the minotaur said, putting his new axe on his shoulder. “We need all the strength we can get now.”

“Our cargo is filled to the brim with Orichalcos’ wealth,” Tiberius said. “I know our original plan was to sell it back in Vali for spices, but I suggest we instead use the opportunity to buy more ships, weapons, and mercenaries. Vali has many of them, alongside war elephants and the Myrmidon tribe of ants. There are no better siege engineers in the world. My family has trade contacts in Vali, so I can arrange everything.”

“I leave you in charge of managing the sales of our ill-gotten hoard,” Kairos said. “Meanwhile, we will offer gifts to Vali’s royal family and try to seal an official alliance.”

“Well, I hope it will work better than our last diplomatic visit,” Nessus quipped. “We can’t go around killing every crowned head in our way, my friend.”

Agron scoffed. “What about Mithridates?”

“Point taken,” Nessus said, putting his hands behind his head. “Just… let’s try to be civil this time? I’m all for gaining a [Legend], but I would rather avoid being known as the [Queenslayer].”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Agron replied with a cruel smile.

“Vali is not Orichalcos,” Tiberius pointed out. “They are a young power on the rise, not an ancient and prideful empire. Besides, Lord Sertorius developed very good relationships with King Philip. I suspect he will be far more disposed towards us than the merfolk.”

Kairos hoped so as well. He would rather win his battles through words instead of with hurricanes.

The king dismissed his officers, but to his surprise, Tiberius asked for a short audience. “What is it?” Kairos asked.

“Sir, if I may be so bold.” Tiberius cleared his throat, and he looked as fearful as someone asking a daughter’s hand to the father. Which proved close to the truth. “I have visited Vali once, and I know a beautiful market which… which I thought Lady Cassandra would appreciate visiting, after we deal with the mercenary issue.”

For the first time since he had learned of Julia’s plight, Kairos laughed. “Are you asking my permission to take Cassandra out on a date, Tiberius? I am not her father.”

“I, uh, I know.” Tiberius cleared his throat, his cheeks pink. “But you are my commanding officer. I cannot take a break from my duty without your authorization.”

“You have my permission, if she accepts your proposal,” Kairos replied, locking eyes with his aide. “And if it progresses beyond a mere courtship...”

Tiberius straightened up, his skin now as red as a strawberry. “Y-yes, sir?”

“Treat Cass kindly and respectfully, as if she were your wife. She is the aunt I never had, and once upon a time, I wanted her to become more than that.” Andromache and Julia had put an end to that, but though Kairos had moved on, he wanted to see Cass find love in her life.

“Sir, I…” Tiberius smiled, as he mustered his courage. “I do not want to treat Lady Cassandra as my wife. I want her to be my wife.”

Truth be told, Kairos had the intuition that she wanted it too. “She will be pleased to learn it,” the captain informed his aide. “But she has been through failed relationships, and will not take kindly to someone fooling around with her.”

“I have thought about it for a while, and made my choice,” the Lycean replied. “She is… Lady Cassandra is extremely brave, intelligent, and dutiful. I very much appreciate her company, and I believe we could do well together.”

Kairos chuckled. “You make it sound so formal.”

“Because it is,” Tiberius replied. “My father will never let me marry someone who cannot benefit our family, but he will welcome a [Hero] daughter-in-law. For once… for once I believe my duty aligns with my feelings. I think she feels the same.”

Kairos knew first hand that a marriage of interest could develop into genuine affection. Knowing that these two already had a good foundation warmed his heart. “Then you have my blessings,” he informed Tiberius. “If you need anything, I will provide.”

“Thank you, sir,” Tiberius said with a respectful bow. “But I think I will manage.”

Kairos watched the Lycean leave the room with a smile, before turning to look at his window and the warm sun in the skies. If this courtship led to a marriage, then it would lead to another Lycean-Travian marriage. An old enmity slowly vanished, as two feuding nations knitted the differences between them… a peace purchased with love rather than blood.

Perhaps one day, all the nations and species would coexist in peace.

It was a good dream, one that couldn’t survive in reality.

But Kairos still had to believe in it.

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