The Void Wolf

It was late afternoon when Ira returned to the mansion. Teleportation wasn’t something commonly seen so once could imagine the surprise Rhys’ family had when he appeared from thin air.

Ira looked around and saw the addition of two people, a man and a woman both young in age, but the former was older than Rhys and the latter was younger. It was clear that they were Rhys’ brother, Jonah, and sister, Ophelia.

“...It’s really...Ira…” Jonah looked at Ira with his mouth agape.

“Welcome...Welcome back, Ira.” Piers greeted the new arrival with the calmest expression he could muster.

Ira nodded as he took a seat next to Harper, it was unknown what they were discussing before he returned, but Harper was clearly tired as she rested her head on Ira’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

“Ira if it’s not too much could I interview you for the town paper?” Jonah asked excitedly.

Rhys gave him a look to tell him not to pester Ira so much, but Ira had already nodded in agreement.

“As long as it doesn’t take too long.” Ira stroked Harper’s head while speaking in a low voice. His actions were more “fatherly” than usual, but no one noticed.

Ophelia smiled mischievously as she looked at her older sister before looking at Ira, “Isn’t it true you're married, Ira?”

“Yeah.” Ira was reminded of Raveria as he watched Harper slowly fall asleep.

“Do you have any thoughts of, I don’t know, a second wife?” Ophelia winked at Rhys as she finished speaking.

Rhys looked shocked and nearly jumped out of her seat as she stared at her sister. Piers and Cecelia pretended to be nonchalant, but they were watching Ira closely. Their daughter’s happiness meant the world to them and she clearly wanted to be with Ira.

“Not particularly,” Ira answered while thinking of Avery.

Rhys knew the answer but it still hurt hearing him say it. She suppressed her trembling and maintained a calm expression.

No one knew how to proceed so there was a short period of silence before Ira spoke.

“Well, I want to let Harper sleep so I’ll go find an inn. Thank you for the tea.” Ira smiled as he gently picked up Harper.

“Wait, you can stay here until you all leave again. Please, I insist, I couldn’t let a friend of Rhys leave when we have guest rooms available,” Cecelia tried to salvage the situation as much as she could.

“I’ll bring him to the guest rooms,” Jonah volunteered.

“Lead the way,” Ira responded.

Rhys watched him leave with complicated thoughts, it felt like Ira was slipping away bit by bit so she resolved herself to tell him how she felt before they left.

Ophelia wanted to place a hand on Rhys' shoulder to comfort her, but her older sister still didn't allow anyone to touch her.

…

After laying placing a blanket over Harper, Ira vanished from sight and reappeared at the Valkyrie Hall.

The reactions of the Valkyries on guard were a little subdued since they were told to look out for him.

“The Matriarch would like to speak to you.” A Valkyrie stepped forward.

“Where is she?” Ira asked.

“At the forge with aunt Judith, I’ll guide you.” The Valkyrie said as she walked through the barrier.

Ira followed behind her and was led down a flight of stone stairs before he was met with the sound of hammering. He arrived at a room that was protected by a plain wooden door and the Valkyrie stopped right outside of it.

“You can go in,” She nodded.

Ira opened the door and Lauren and Casey turned to face him while Judith continued hammering. The workshop was cluttered to say the least, but on a wooden table lay a longsword in a neat leather scabbard and what looked to be a shield under a tarp.

“Have you spoken with Ustia and the others, Ira?” Lauren immediately got to the point.

“Yeah, not too long ago. They wanted to see how close I was to opening the Storm Wall, why?” Ira responded with confusion.

“Did anything seem odd at that time?” Lauren asked.

“No, not really.” Ira didn’t really pay too much attention to the mood of the higher races. Each time he met with them he was just watching for any sign of an attack.

“I see…” Lauren contemplated for a few seconds before speaking, “There’s a division between the group and it could be dangerous for you if they appear while she isn’t present then you have to be ready for an attack. That’s what she wanted me to tell you, but seeing as nothing out of the ordinary happened when they appeared it’s possible she convinced them to restrain themselves.”

“Be on guard nonetheless, for the sake of Avery and Raveria.” Casey spoke up as she moved toward the wooden table, “Speaking of Avery, Judith finished forging her weapons some time ago.”

Ira inspected it and his brows furrowed inadvertently, “A sword and shield?”

“It’s strange, Judith started with the intent of forging a saber after asking Avery about her preferences, but that’s when she finished she produced those,” Lauren said as she removed the cloth covering the shield.

In the center of the round shield was a Sun with a sword going straight through it. The shield emitted a dim glow and a low hum as it sat on the table.

Ira picked up the longsword and unsheathed it only to feel a strong gust of wind blow past him. The length of the grip was around a hand and a half. Right above the cross guard was an inscription of a Sun with a sword going through it.

The two weapons had reached the peak level, but something felt off. Any weapon said to be made of God Steel was supposed to be a mythical weapon that could affect the rise and fall of Kingdoms. The sword and shield Ira had his eyes on didn’t seem like they were powerful to live up to the legends about them.

“You can tell that it feels like something integral is missing, right?” Lauren asked as she watched Ira’s expression change while examining the weapons.

“Yeah...but they’re really good just not what I expected.” Ira shook his head.

Judith stood up and grabbed whatever she was hammering with tongs before cooling it.

Ira shrugged as he waved his hand over the sword and shield and stored them away.

“I’ll take this to Avery, but I’ll keep an eye on the higher races if they appear again.” Ira was about to leave, but Judith’s hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

“Hmm?” Ira raised an eyebrow, but Judith didn’t say anything as she placed two metal rings made of God Steel into his hands.

“Hey, even better,” Ira happily accepted them before he continued on his way.

After Ira had left Judith collapsed from exhaustion but was supported by Lauren and Casey. Since she hadn’t stopped to rest once since she picked up the God Steel it made sense that even a Valkyrie would be tired. Especially when one realized that a huge amount of mana had to be used to properly forge the God Steel.

…

Avery was walking through the garden which had grown beyond belief.  Several small birds made from fire constantly flew around her and if one looked closer they resembled Phoenix’s. She turned around and faced the curtains of the garden while the Valkyries on each side looked a bit puzzled.

Ira soon appeared and paused to take in the sight of Avery before laughing and approaching her.

“Before anything...” Ira waved his hand and produced the metal rings.

The ivory ring on his hand had a few small cracks since he rarely took it off when fighting and the magic used to create it couldn’t withstand his most recent growth. He removed his ring before doing the same for Avery’s and slowly placing the new one on her ring finger. She took the remaining ring and placed it on his finger before showing a small grin.

“Judith made them for us which was a bit surprising, but the best thing is the sword and shield she made for you.” Ira waved his hand and produced the sword and shield before handing them to Avery.

“I assumed she was going to make a saber for me.” Avery held them without any problems since Valkyries could wield just about any weapon, but they had their preferences for different reasons.

Suddenly, the God Steel armaments began to vibrate at an odd frequency. Ira’s ears picked it up, but soon it became loud enough to fill the garden. The Sword and Shield removed themselves from Avery’s hands and began to float in the air.

Even though it was late evening, sunlight beamed down on the weapons and inscriptions began to form. The Sword and Shield looked far more dignified than before as they returned to Avery’s hands. The round shield had feather-like protrusions on the edge.

The pommel of the longsword had shifted into the form of a wolf’s head while the cross guard was shaped like a phoenix.

While in Avery’s hands, the sword and shield began to turn red as they grew hotter. A massive amount of power was gathered around them and it seemed to be a power Avery could only bring out.

“...Divinity,” Ira said to himself in realization.

In his eyes, the God Steel weapons seemed to have reached the transcendental point people constantly talked about when mentioning it. They were items that could only appear in legends or fables and yet Avery held them in her hands.

The Valkyries watching her lost themselves in appreciation for the weapons she held. Avery placed the sword into the scabbard and the feeling emitted from it disappeared. The shield fell into a dormant state and for the moment they seemed like ordinary weapons.

“Good.” Avery’s grin bloomed into a smile as she felt something in her change. Helion’s divinity that was lying dormant inside of her had begun to awaken due to the weapons drawing its power out of her.

When Ira saw her smile he began to laugh as he realized Valkyries loved weapons as much as he loved pastries. Though, if anyone heard his thoughts they would find it odd that he’d compare pastries toward God Steel.