Kon, 1,000 years ago...

The Scarlette Estate – to most Konians it was one of the finest pieces of architecture in the city. It sat on prime hilltop on the western end of the city, its main building overlooking the river.

To Kitaya, it was just Ade's home. And while it looked splendid on the outside, it was an absolute eyesore on the inside. Everything, from the furniture, to the rugs, to the decorations was the most glaring shade of red imaginable. She was willing to bet that the vendors in the marketplace made and imported red goods just so they could sell them to Ade's altori.

She hated coming here, but she endured it for Ade. She couldn't expect him to come to the castle whenever they wanted to keep company. He'd said he had something amazing to show her, so she'd made the trip out in the pouring rain.

"Why is everything in here so red?" Kitaya grimaced at all the blood coloured furnishings that decorated the study, a headache already tingling at the back of her skull from the sensory overload.

Ade rolled his eyes, and plucked a book from one of the redwood shelves. "You ask that every time you come over."

"Because it's an eyesore." She picked up a red throw pillow and grimaced at it, barely resisting the urge to rip to shreds. "I like red too, but this is excessive."

"Don't let Tafari hear you say that. Aderro and I have been trying to convince her to tone it down for ages. She thinks it looks..." He waved his hand around as though trying to grasp the right word from thin air. "...regal."

"Well, she always wanted to be royalty." Kitaya remembered when she'd been dating Mellidius. Since everyone in Kon was convinced that Mellidius was the future King, that meant she would be the future Queen. But that little stint hadn't worked out.

And thank the gods for that. Kitaya knew she wouldn't be able to tolerate living in the castle if it was inundated with all this tawdry, red nonsense.

Ade closed the book he'd been thumbing through and tucked it back onto the shelf. "Why don't we go to my workshop and—"

Kitaya was up and out of the door before he could finish that thought. Anything to get out of that sea of red. Ade fell into step with her as she turned into the estate's main corridor. They walked it to the south terrace. A frigid draft greeted them as they opened the exit, along with the roaring of the torrential downpour that soaked the savannah.

They hung a right and headed to the eastern end of the terrace, where the entrance to Ade's workshop stood. Bits of metal and hide littered the floor. The furnace was cold, the workbench was clear and Ade's tools were hanging neatly by nails on the east wall. Shelves holding weapons he'd made were above them. The western side of the room was dominated by raw materials – rolls of hide, hunks of wood, boxes of ore scraps and a bunch of other things that were alien to Kitaya's non-blacksmith eyes.

Kitaya sat down on a bag of coals, while Ade rummaged beneath his workbench. She'd spent many days here, watching him hammer away at white-hot pieces of metal, or solder tiny metal rings together into chainmail.

"This is it," Ade said, holding up plain sword. He laid it on the bench and stared at it as though it were a mountain he needed to climb. It was an unremarkable thing, about half the length of a long sword with a plain cross-guard and a round pommel.

She shrugged. "A sword. Remarkable."

"Yes, but I'm trying to make it more than a sword. Imagine a sword whose blade can change its shape." He picked up the item in question. "This one is double-edged, but imagine pumping a little magic into it and poof." He made a grand gesture. "Single-edged. Or maybe you want a curve near the blade's tip."

Kitaya's eyebrows shot up. "That sounds grand, but I don't think there an enchantment for that yet."

"That's why I made one." Ade rounded the workbench and pulled the rug away, revealing the runes drawn on the floor underneath. They were etched in charcoal and arranged in a star-shaped pattern. "I believe with the right combination of enchanted metals and spells, I could do this."

"Do I need to leave the room for this?" She held her hands up when he made a face. "The last time you had one of these brilliant ideas, I had to walk around with no eyebrows for a week."

Ade rolled his eyes. "It's just an enchantment, Kitaya. And am I not a good friend to you? Do I not support you in all your reckless endeavours?" He gave her a mock pout. "You always talk about being great and leaving your mark on the world. Well... this is my way of doing that."

A heavy feeling settled in her stomach. Jealousy? Ade seemed to sure about what he wanted to accomplish and how he wanted to be remembered. And here she was, still floundering around, like a fish out of water. While everyone else got their lives together and left her behind.

"Alright," Kitaya finally said. "Amaze me, oh great one."

Ade laid the sword amongst the runes like he was putting an ornery child to bed. Then he took ether stones from beneath the workbench sprinkled them around it.

She watched him bustle around, making sure everything was in place. Checking and double checking every little detail. "How long have you been working on this?"

"It's been two years I think." Ade rolled his sleeves up, flexing his fingers. As he began chanting, the runes came alive with soft blue light, and magic swirled around them, making a noise akin to rushing wind. One by one they migrated from the floor to the blade of the metal before disappearing.

"How's Kemah doing?" Ade asked over the whirring of the magic.

"Nylarah told me he woke up this morning. But Eriani won't let me anywhere near him." She'd had to rely on updates from Nylarah and the medics since both Mellidius and Eriani refused to even speak to her. "She said the first thing he did was ask if I was okay."

Ade fed the runes more ether stones, watching over them like a Lyberra watching over its cubs. "That's good. Means he's not angry."

Kitaya shrugged. She wished he was angry. The fact that he was still worrying after her even while in such a sorry state only made the weight of guilt on her shoulders even heavier. "I guess he'll be on his feet again soon."

"And you'll be back to training. Day in and day out." The last of the runes sunk into the blade and the light faded. The sword was smoking, and Ade grabbed a cloth before plucking it from the ground. A spider's web of cracks raced across the blade from tip to hilt, before it shattered, pieces falling to the ground with metallic clinks.

Ade cursed out loud, kicking at the shards of metal. "I'm never going to get this right."

"Didn't they teach you enchantments at the Academy?" Kitaya crouched and poked at it, immediately regretting it when the residual magic nipped at her finger.

"Yes, but nothing like this. Just the bare minimum." He chucked what was left of the sword behind the workbench. "Do you think Eriani would be will to help me out? The enchantments she do are unreal."

"Well firstly, she's always busy. And secondly, you probably wouldn't be able to put up with her for more than a few minutes. Gods know I can't." She stood and stretched before crossing to a window to watch the rain. It pounded at the lush greenery covering the savanna, filling to watering holes and rivers that dotted the landscape. Kitaya cut her eyes to the west river, squinting when a strange shape caught her eye.

"Hey, come look at this," she said, not taking her eyes from the river.

Ade was at her side a moment later, pressing his forehead against the glass and frowning. "What am I looking at?"

"That thing in the river. Right there." She tapped on the window.

"Huh... strange... Never seen anything more than leaves and twigs in there."

Kitaya pushed away from the window and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Ade shouted after her.

"To see what it is." She didn't hear if he had anything else to say as the door shut behind her. Kitaya raced down the estates incline, splashing through puddles and dodging past shrubs. The palatial grounds and lush gardens disappeared behind her. In less than a minute she was soaked to the bone and her braids were slapping her in the face as she ran.

"Kitaya wait!" She didn't slow down, but Ade managed to catch up with her just as she ran through the west gate. He had a bag on one shoulder and a dagger in his belt. "I can't believe I let you drag me out here."

She snorted at him, a contemptuous sound that he probably didn't hear over the rain. In short order they were at the west river, in clearer view of the strange object inside. It was much bigger up close – almost the size of a tree trunk.

Ade moved closer to the edge and held his hands over his eyes to shield them from the rain. "It's moving."

"Indeed." Kitaya kicked off her shoes before stripping down to her small clothes. The rain water chilled her exposed skin even more, raising gooseflesh and making her shiver.

"K-kitaya, what in damnation are you doing?!" he demanded, giving her his back. "Put your clothes back on!"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to see what it is."

"Are you out of your mind? What if it's something dangerous?" His questions we naught but dust in the wind to her as she made for the river.

"You're staying up here right?"

"Kitaya, that's suicide. The river will sweep you away! Alright, fine," he conceded when she hovered a foot over the water. "Just wait a second and let me think." He reached into his bag and pulled out a handful of ether stones, then chanted a short cadence of words. A length of glowing rope formed in his hands.

"Good idea." Kitaya took one end and tied it around her waist.

"One last thing." He took his dagger from his belt and held it out to her. "Take it, but don't lose it. It's my lucky one."

"Alright, ready?" At Ade's nod, Kitaya dove in. The current ripped at her, its greedy hands trying to drag her south and the rope dug into her stomach. But she pushed and kicked and fought, powering through with strong, sure strokes.

When she was below the churning surface of the river, she could see clearer, and nearly gasped in a lungful of water at the beast before her. It legs were as thick as the castle's pillars and looked twice as sturdy. They were tangled it debris and the creature strained to pull itself free. Two floppy ears framed its face, and its trunk was what they had seen sticking out of the water. It must have been trying to cross the river when the storm hit.

Kitaya began to cut the thick vines away from its legs. Those plants were a bane for anyone who wanted to swim in the river, her included. They wrapped themselves around everything they touched.

She was halfway done when the burn in her lungs became too much to bear. With one tug of the rope she was rocked back up to the surface. The wind was howling with a vengeance, churning the river water. Ade shouted something at her, but the gale chewed it into a distortion of nonsensical sounds. She sucked in a lungful of air and dove back under.

Kitaya grabbed handfuls of vines and slashed through them, moving as fast as her hands would go. The creature pulled it legs free from the last few vines, kicking up mud that clouded the water.

Kitaya felt for the rope and gave it two sharp tugs.

When she was up to the river's churning surface, Ade pulled her up and onto the bank. She collapsed in the grass, her chest heaving, as the rain pelted her.

"Why do I let you drag me into your nonsense?" Ade asked. He was on hands and knees breathing just as heavily as she was.

"For the same reason I let you drag me into..." Her words trailed off when the water swelled and the creature emerged from the river.

It pulled itself onto the bank and shook the water from its head, sending a spray over them. It stood as tall as the main building at the Scarlet Estate, it's thick, grey hide was accented with metal plates that glimmered even in the muted light.

"W-what is that?!" Ade asked, scrambling backwards.

"It's amazing, isn't it? It looks even bigger than it did in the water." She shook Ade's shoulders. "Do you think it's a monolith? I've always wanted to see one up close."

"Kitaya!" he yelled, before reining his anger in with a deep breath. "Those things kill people."

Her heart danced in her chest. "I know. Let's fight it." Just as she uttered that sentiment, the creature stomped off to the south, its footfalls sending small shockwaves through the ground. It disappeared in the haze of rain.

[A/N]: Going to try to update twice next Sunday. Thanks for all the reads and votes everyone. I appreciate it.