Before the Forge

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

"Master?"

The small girl looked at her, Elara was confused looking upon her masters work as it came down. The battles across the galaxy had given birth to what she and the powerful [member="Darth Sinna"] had become. The rebirth of the Battlelords and the new Warlord, her master stood fully augmented and pulsing with the darkside to the point the small child could feel it in her bones. Her stomach churning as she ate the small amount of food and looked over the tattoo's.

The heat of the forge as her master slowly applied the coals to make it run hotter, inside the one cauldron that was glowing white hot. She could see the now massive zeltron working it as the new armor she wore held her in, the whetstone for sharpening the blades were needed and off to the side sat the object of her enjoyment. The Inferno blade, Krag's blade a former emperor and the sword she had forged for him to show her mastery of the forge on Bastion.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

Now she was confused while the scraps of metal slowly were being melted in it. Not full pieces but armor, droid plating and scraps from the rest of the things. All of it had Elara watching as her master finally spoke her fingers tapping the hammers she had for the equipment. "Be prepared my apprentice, what we do here will echo, mow hold your hand out the forge." Elara complied, she knew her masters spells and work, she knew what this could mean as slowly she presented her hand to the melted metal that was going to be used.... and then her master was running a sharp nail along the length of her hand.

The welling of blood came then the pain as she squeezed her fist closed dropping the blood into the metal, her masters words bringing it to a boil and then slowly making it swirl as the silver water was added. The Caries waters from the lake here on Aza'zoth used to push the darkside into the blade and as the tongs went in to gather the metal. Elara stood there as it started being poured into the molds. Swords slowly being molded and forged to match the style of the tremor sword on the wall, the blood focusing the darkside energies while her master worked alchemy to harden it.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

Elara couldn't believe what her master was doing as she stood there nursing her hand, as soon as the swords were semi formed she had been cooling them with the caries. Slowly working them so the darkside waters seeped itno every section of the blades, then she was hammering them into thinner blades then what she had. Pounding the blades into a fine edge that came to Elara with the whetstone for the forging process. The little girls hand was in pain with the process but she knew the benefits of what her master was doing, alchemical blades could be a valuable thing in the end and putting virgin blood into the mix made it have that strong hint she said.

"Prepare the second batch Elara." A smile was on the large Zeltron as she looked down at her apprentice and despite all the augments she had received, the vong biots that gave her weapons, the czar augments that made her blood clot faster, bones stronger and strength increased, the cybernetics that enhanced her beyond even normal ones her size and then finally the powers of the darkside and the Sith Warlord. She had made herself one of the ultimate tanks within the One Sith to better serve the darklords vision and as Elara threw the scraps into the cauldron she was seeing the blades as slowly they were piled up near her. Inferno pulsing more and more.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

She continued on with the forging process, Elara working to fill the second batch until there were no scraps left to be seen. Her masters work on the blades with the hammers and whetstones to sharpen the blades as she was pushing the force into the swords saturated the area and brought the hair along the back of her neck up. The pit of her stomach was churning and pushing while she felt it all pouring into her then coming back out, the power of her master within the darkside as the first set was finished. Gleaming and sharp edged with small indents for setting a crystal. She was wondering what would go there for a moment until her master spoke.

"Elara continue with your job, stoke the fires and blooden the metal. We will have other components to work with soon enough." She still didn't understand what her master meant but she complied going to the metal as it was swirling in the cauldron and burning hot. Her blood from her hand pouring in as she felt a little whoozy with the power being drained and her masters words to harness the blood in the ritual. Then she blinked and was sitting down as the pounding of her masters hammer struck the blade on the anvil. She hadn't been doing that when she closed her eyes but her hand was wrapped with a lightly blood stained cloth.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

Elara continued to sharpen the stones now while she sat there finding a groove and settling into it while her master worked the forge on her own using the whetstone on the blades to sharpen them. Then she would send them to Elara to clean and shine up, to make look presentable and lay them out on a large rack each one uniform and created the same. The pounding of the hammer split her skull but she found herself numb to it as slowly the dull throbbing gave way to an enjoyment of sorts allowing Elara to finish her task. By the time the third batch came around the apprentice was feeling better at least not directly in the heat.

"Elara make sure each looks the same, we don't want one to look better then the others." She understood that, these were made solely for those who had fought and killed in the battles across Empress Teta against the Mandalorians and against the Republic. The third and first fight really coming when the One Sith arrived on the world to take it finding plenty of resistance but like all things it paled in the wake of the sith forces. Her masters own skills having been shown in the battles as she converted Vulpesen and Sophia Walsh to the darkside and brought them into the family. Her big sister destined to do great things.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

She was looking at the third batch of blades and with all of them laid out Elara was proud to have helped and gained some knowledge from her master. Plenty to go on and plenty to recreate it all but more then that as she heard the shuffling. The Unseelie creatures these slaves turned into nearly dead things of the darkside were shuffling in. Their pheromone tracking bringing them to their creator while Elara watched her master cradling one of them in her hand while she brandished a dagger and was slicing off sections of flesh that held the crystals she wanted. Those growing chunks around their body that emitted the darkside.

Then she knew what those indents were for, Balaya started laying out on the forge the harvested crystals as slowly and carefully she took Elara's hands and guided her. "Slice and shape it carefully we want them to look the same." She nodded her head to that and moved slowly slicing into the crystal and getting it to saber sized. Elara was busy concentrating as she could hear her master dropping more bodies to harvest the crystals. They slowly cut as many saber sized ones as possible while slowly setting them into the blade hilts. White gleaming crystals with darkened metal blades and a gold hilt. These swords were pretty to the eye.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

They had them.. somewhat the crystals were set in all of the blades and now it was time to test them as Elara tried lifting one and it was far heavier then she expected. Even with the super light alloy created from the desh and its materials, alchemy hardened the blades to become conduits for the sith lords magics and power. In this case as Balaya held each blade and with one cuticle sliced her palm bleeding on it. Her energies sizzling from the darkside magics that went into her body to create her as the warlord. She took the time to blooden each blade and then with a brush spread it along the length of the blade.

The brush coating the blade in the black blood that shimmered in the firelight before seeping into the blades pores. Elara wanted to see what her master was chanting low and in her throat as she continued to precess on each blade personally. Their ability to appear as simple blades gone while each pulsed with the darkside and the small girl hefted one up. It was heavier, it looked more twisted and as she touched it the sensation of her body being washed in scolding hot water was there... but she wans't burning, her skin didn't boil. It just felt like intense heat was going over her making her mind want to scream out.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

Elara continued to stand there as the heat washed over her and she looked at her master, the look she received back said it all as she just knew her eyes were golden fire with her tattoo's shimmering. SHe was feeling the darkside pulse throughout her body and sing almost from the blade as her master gave a nod of her head and brought her attention towards the rest of the blade. "Test each of them, we want their strength to be perfect and able." Elara nodded and set the blade down in the corner of the room, her smile fading with that rush of energy that had been in her hands. She wanted that feeling back.

Then she was feeling it briefly, each time she held the blades and watched her masters amusement. The woman was a weaponsmith within the mandalorians, she knew how to forge beskar and make it her own, knew the secret that the mandalorians horded from the rest of the galaxy. It was what made her so valuable to the Emperor of the planet, to Vornskr whom she willingly served though he was a small man without her levels of control. His blackblades weren't nearly as strong as the legions of sithspawn she commanded and held under her sway. Elara continued to move the blades as slowly they filled the boxes in nice form inserts.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

Now they were moving forwards, Elara could see the crates of swords for the One Sith on the sled as she pushed with her master out of the black forge. Here on Aza'zoth there darkside preists that had been summoned forth stood at the ready creating more of the seelie and unseelie, they were forging weapons and amulets to protect the One sith and ensnarement amulets to catch them. Elara knew her master when not fighting was here working on the darkside's war machine before returning to Vornskr and his seat of power, his empress someone who scared Elara many times over.

"Elara see that the crates are loaded on the ship, we are returning to Coruscant." She complied and followed loading the crates of swords with the rest of the equipment they were working on as the cargo hold of the ship presented itself. Full of cages holding the dangerous creatures of Aza'zoth, filled with new monsters they were thinking up and best of all Elara spied with her master. The woman was bringing the real treat, a newly adult leviathan, something she had been raising and Rave had delivered to her. They now had several under her command including Glitter that secured dominance. Her master entered with the beast and the doors sealed while they headed off.

 

[Balaya Praelior Zambrano]

The trip back to Coruscant was endearing, with several of the apprentices, Elara tested the blades. They covered them in pelkop barbs and fought around the battle circle under her masters watchful eye as she bobbed and weaved slashing into the boys foot. A look on her face of anger and amusement as it came to striking his back then a pleasurable look when he screamed losing the sensation in her legs. The paralytic from the toxin working to great effect. Elara could move now and held the blade high over her head ready to slam it down into his face but was stopped by her master's hand.

"No no apprentice, we do not kill yet, these blades are for others and this death is not sanctioned. There will be a chance soon enough, there will be your enjoyment of it all soon enough. Just practice patience and be prepared for when the times comes, I know I shall savor each and every moment of it all." Elara gave a nod of her head to her master at that while she moved back and set the blade on the floor of the battle circle. She joined the others in helping him up and could hear the engines while they were in hyperspace. The rest of the students continued to practice and she stood there picking up the blade ready to go again.