Racked and Stacked

"Savior? HA! He looks like he can barely lift a log! How is he the Destroyer meant to save us all?" Gamlesh resumed hammering the glowing bar of metal he was holding against an anvil. "So, what are you doing here?" He said, raising his voice against the din. "Need me to make something?"

Fate decided to disregard the jab. He was confident he could take the man in a fight despite the fact the man was a Personification.

"Yes, Sir Gamlesh," Princess Dinan shouted. "My father promised him a Manifestation Sword."

Gamlesh missed his mark with his hammer, smashing his thumb. He scowled, turning to the princess. "Do you know how much of a pain in the ass those are to make?" He snarled. "Not to mention expensive. I hope you don't expect me to do this out of a sense of duty. I'll tell your daddy to screw off to his face if that's the case."

"I'm sure he does not expect you to ply your craft free of charge. But on the off chance he does, I will field the costs for the materials, as well as four thousand Dragmas for labor."

Gamlesh took a while to answer, squinting at the girl. Then he moved his gaze to Fate. "What kinda sword are you looking for? Rapier, longsword, kopesh, cutlass, what?" Noticing Fate's blank expression, he sneered. "Do you even know how to use a sword, boy?"

"No, but I am skilled with knives. I doubt they handle similarly, so I'm willing to learn."

The blacksmith snorted. "You'll have to find someone else to do that. What do you want your sword to do?"

"I don't know much about swords, but I've found versatility to be one of the greatest strengths a weapon can have."

"Hmm." The scarred man took the bar he was holding and stuck it in the furnace next to him, waited a few seconds, then dipped it into a barrel of water next to him. He paused once more, then pulled it out and placed it against the anvil, renewing his hammering.

Shouting over the noise, he said "Bring the boy to the barracks and let him test the swords for himself. His ignorance in the field won't help him get any ideas. I should be done with this when you get back."

Princess Dinan nodded and bowed, showing peculiar deference to the smith. She waved Fate over, and together they left the hot smithy and headed to the barracks. On the way, Fate voiced his thoughts.

"Why did you bow to that guy? Aren't you the princess?"

"I'm sure you saw his strength. He's this world's only Personification, and thus the highest-ranked person here. He is severely lacking in combat experience, and his Manifest Power is a better fit in a forge than on the battlefield, but he could still crush us with a flick of his wrist. His Divine Reach is already at the upper end of the Hold level, making him an extremely rare talent. Sadly, he long ago swore off violence against others, so he cannot fight the Fractured for us."

Fate took the rest of the walk to ponder this information. 'He probably hurt someone he didn't mean to, maybe someone dear to him. From what I could tell, his Manifestation is one of Metal, which would explain his smithing talent. And those sparks that flew when he hit his thumb… maybe his ability turns his skin to metal? So, he wouldn't need to worry about getting hurt anytime soon.'

Fate was glad he still had his Breach knife. It might come in handy if the man ever attacked him.

"Here we are," Dinan said in her sonorous voice. They were outside, standing five feet from a long and squat building with a steel door at the far end. It was so wide that the wall disappeared into the distance. Fate estimated it was sixty miles long at least. An awesome sight, if one hadn't seen buildings that covered entire quarters of a planet like Fate.

The castle towered behind them. To the right of the door was a bored-looking guard in light white-colored armor, with a sword strapped to his belt. His helmet seemed a tad big for him, the brow of the helmet slid down to cover the upper half of his eyes. He moved the helmet up when he heard Dinan's voice, allowing him to see who had arrived.

When he saw Dinan, he saluted, thumping his left hand over his chest and crooking his right arm to point up from the elbow on, the upper arm pointed straight to the side and the index and middle finger raised. After a nod of acknowledgment from Dina, he dropped the salute and opened the door, holding it open as she and Fate entered and shutting it afterward.

Fate hid a smirk of amusement when he noticed the blush on the guard as Dinan passed. 'Looks like someone has a crush.'

The room they entered was best described as a reception area, with chairs against the right wall, a hole in the wall to the left making a counter, a doorway on the right of the counter, and another two doors in the back wall, the signs suggesting they were bathrooms. Behind the counter was another man that looked just as bored as the guard, wearing the same armor minus the helmet.

He stood and saluted the princess when he saw her, dropping back into his seat when he received a nod back. The space behind the counter was filled with a bunch of filing cabinets with folders stacked on top, a door in the right wall to the man's back.

"What can I do you for, princess?"

"We're here so the Savior can try some swords."

"Alright, please wait a moment." The man behind the counter stood and left through the door behind him, coming back a few minutes later just as another guard entered the room through the doorway next to the counter. "Lieutenant Taggat here will show you around, ma'am."

Taggat performed the same salute as the others. "Please, follow me."

He led them through a long wood-walled hallway with many doorways throughout, Fate glimpsing prison cells, a mess hall, sleeping quarters, and a room filled with dozens of filing cabinets and safes. Near the end of the hallway, they entered a room to their right, which had rows of weapons and armor racked, stacked, and put on display. The room was gargantuan,

"Please make yourselves at home," Taggat said.