Lineage

It turns out the armoury Luna spoke of wasn’t the storehouse of weapons contained within the southern barracks, but was instead a locked away room in the underbelly of the castle. The walls hadn’t seen light for a long time and the darkness clung to each brick as strongly as the scent of dust and dank that permeated the room. My eyes instinctively flicked from torch sconce to torch sconce as they lit themselves, Their gorgeous blue hue lighting the dark passages and causing whatever critters that inhabited the area to scurry back into their holes.

Our footsteps echoed silently in the musty corridors, the only accompanying sound being the flickering flames of the cerulean fire as they blazed brilliantly. I turned my head back to Luna, the much older woman seeming lost in the depths of her own mind, perhaps reminiscing about days of her youth brought on by the sight of this ancient area. I turned my head back towards the end of the corridor, seeing an ancient door, seemingly made of even older metal. It stood over ten feet tall and was jet black, an insignia printed on the door that I didn’t recognize. Instead of the usual Equestrian coat of arms, it was instead a large, rounded sun with an oval shield inside it. There several several orbiting moons lining the inside of the circle, each one showing a different phase of the moon with a single, ancient glyph carved into the centre in a language I don’t recognize. I turned with an open mouth to inquire about the strange symbol, though from the smile Luna had on her face as she caught my eye I gathered she was going to explain it anyway.

“The symbol on the door is foreign to you, is it not?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I’ve never seen it before now. Where’s it from?”

“It's a relic of an ancient age,” Luna said. “A symbol that’s existed long before the thrones of my mother and father were forged and even longer before this land was called Equestria. There are many theories about the door itself, some saying that it’s a demonic door while others claiming it’s a remnant of a precursor fortress.”

“What d’you think it is?” I asked.

“Me?” Luna asked. “I think it’s a really sturdy door.”

“Ah,” I nodded. “I forgot you’re more of a practical woman, aren’t you?”

“Indeed I am,” she chuckled. “I’m not really fussed with history. It becomes boring to hear people harp on about it when you’ve lived most of it.”

“Fair enough,” I said with a smirk before getting back on topic. “So why are we getting stuff from here instead of the usual armoury?”

“Because we want you to stay alive,” Luna said. “Most of the standard-issue equipment isn’t going to be able to survive a battle against a Narrowscale, so I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say that it isn’t fair to send you in with equipment that will definitely fail you.”

“You’re correct,” I nodded. “So… what magical enchantment, complicated unlocking movements, or ancient password do we need to open this door?”

“You see that handle there?” Luna asked, pointing at a large iron bar.

“Yeah?”

“Get a firm hold.”

“Right. What now?”

“Pull it.”

I did as ordered and with a loud creak, the bar moved forwards and the door opened, its hinges being surprisingly well lubricated despite the fact it was ancient and hadn’t been used in possibly hundreds of years. Though from what Mom tells me about Celestia, that list of qualities isn’t impossible to come across. The door shuddered briefly, dust falling in great clumps as it swung open to reveal an extremely pristine-looking interior. The walls were covered in different types of weaponry, some ranging from small and basic to large and exotic, each still keeping the shine from the day it was first polished.

Luna took the first step inside the armoury, her face once again awash with memories of a long time passed, as she made a direct move for a small leather bracelet that was adorned with metal plates, and a strange mechanism on the inner wrist. She placed it on the underside of her arm and a nostalgic smile spread onto her face as her eyes lit up with joy. She made a brief motion to get my attention before throwing the bracer over to me. I caught the item and was quite surprised at how heavy the thing was upon catching it.

“Do you know what that is?” she asked me.

“No,” I said, looking the device over for several seconds before looking back up to me.

“I trust you’ve heard of a switchblade, no?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “You’re saying this thing is some sort of wrist-mounted switchblade?”

“In a way, yes,” she said, walking over to me and holding her hand out. “Give me your arm.”

I did as she asked, allowing her to take hold of my wrist and watching with intrigue as she took the bracer and fitted it to my arm, tightening the straps around my wrist and taking a step back.

“Now,” she said. “Extend your arm rapidly, as if you were performing a palm strike.”

Deciding to trust her on this, I did as she said. I curled my fingers, raised my hand so that my palm was facing forward, and forcefully pushed my hand out. There was a brief scratch of metal, followed by a quiet click and a very curious expression from me. I turned my hand over and saw what had made the noise: a six-inch blade was protruding from the metallic part of the bracer. The blade itself was about an inch wide and seemed to be made of a very durable material if the age of it versus the condition was anything to be judged by. I raised my forearm upwards, expecting the blade to fall back into place, only to see that something had locked it into position. Luna seemed to catch my eye and read my thoughts and began explaining as to why the blade didn’t retract.

“The blade itself has a much thinner width after the visible length that emerges,” she explained. “It doesn’t retract because a solid piece of metal on a hinge closes underneath the thicker edge and locks into place, thus preventing it from retracting until the release mechanism has been hit.”

“Which would be?” I asked. She once again took a hold of my arm and turned it over, revealing a small, centimetre-long piece of metal that was set into what looked like a sliding mechanism. She pressed her thumb against the switch and pushed it down, another quiet click coming from the bracer before the blade fell back into it’s resting place due to the hinge being released.

“Oh,” I nodded. “Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a curt nod. I began to unbuckle the device before she stopped me, taking my hand away from the buckle and speaking once more.

“This was once mine a long time ago,” Luna said. “I’m giving it to you as a gift and as such, it does not count as one of your weapon selections, but instead as a donation from your instructor.”

“Why are you giving it to me now?” I asked before realizing I sounded quite ungrateful. “I mean, thank you for giving this to me, but-”

“I’m giving it to you because you need it,” Luna said, cutting me off quickly. “Now I’m asking you to look after it.”

“Uh… okay,” I said, still confused by this. “But you haven’t explained why you’ve given it to me.”

“Because you need as many weapons as you can get to keep you alive,” Luna said, moving her hand from my forearm to my face. “I think it’s quite an obvious reason as to why I want to keep you alive, little one.”

Well. Somebody wants the dick. Badly.

“Right then,” I nodded. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem,” she nodded, taking her hand from my face with a small smirk before becoming serious again and turning away from me. “Remind me again: which hand is your dominant one?”

“Both, really,” I said. “I use my right hand for sword fighting, throwing, catching, and pointing, as well as being an Orthodox fighter, but I use my left hand for writing and can easily use it for the others, just not as well.”

“Right,” Luna said. “Do you prefer to use two hands or one hand when wielding a weapon?”

“Why are you asking me this?” I asked with a cocked eyebrow. “You trained me for ten years.”

“I have to as part of the Rite,” Luna said. “I’m officially supposed to walk you through this with a third person as a witness and a scribe to make sure that nothing I say or provide you with breaks the rules of the Rite. I’m not doing that because there’s a glaring loophole in that law I refuse to support.”

“Is that that the third person could be in on the rigging?” I asked.

“Indeed it is,” Luna nodded. “Do you want to just skim through the rest of the questions for preparation?”

“Definitely,” I nodded.

“Very well,” she grunted before proceeding to ask the questions. “Which is your master eye?”

“Right.”

“Weaker arm?”

“Left.”

“Preferential leg?”

“Right.”

“Getting bored yet?”

“Definitely.”

“Then fuck the questions,” Luna shrugged, turning around again and placing her hands on her hips. “Just pick what you think is best for you without me picking it for you.”

“Are you supposed to pick my weapons for me?” I asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “The rules state that the trainer is supposed to keep careful watch of their student and judge their skills accordingly before picking out a weapon and a monster they need to slay in order to pass their trial. But the problem with this is that only you know what you fight best with. I once trained a knight cadet about three hundred years ago who couldn’t hold a nocked arrow straight, couldn’t grasp the hilt of a sword properly, and could barely throw a lance, but the girl could fight with a set of bolas like nothing I’d ever seen before.”

“That sounds… reasonable,” I shrugged.

“And I agreed to let her use them for her trial of Knighthood to slay a dangerous outlaw,” Luna continued. “She succeeded, returned to us victorious, and as a reward, Celestia and I took her out drinking. We had a great night, then she said goodbye in the morning and left for the Oxbow Knight’s Fortress the next day.”

“Great, so I just need to pick something that’ll help me defend myself against the Narrowscale if she isn’t in the mood for sex?” I asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “And the best thing we can offer for that purpose are those.” Luna turned and pointed at a large collection of brilliant swords that adorned the wall. I looked at the various different weapons in the selection, ranging from claymores, to bastards, to daggers, and to long swords. I knew that Luna’s preference was always a bastard sword, as the great size made it as short and as easy to use as a regular sword, but my preference was usually a longsword on the, ironically, shorter side being just under a metre long. I’d had custom forged swords that met that requirement but I was unsure if the swords on the wall would meet my specific requirement.

Something then occurred to me: Luna had said these swords were resistant. This made me wonder how exactly. The most obvious answer was enchantments, but even those lost their power after years of being unused and not being constantly recharged. And, as if she was once again reading my mind, Luna answered the question.

“The swords you see before you are crafted from a specific metal known as Kairosteel,” she said. “An ancient metal found in a dark place that is nigh-on indestructible and able to withstand the harshest elements while showing no signs of damage.”

“Dark place?” I asked, oddly choosing to focus on that point. “Where d’you find it?”

“From the Hollow Realm,” Luna said, pausing briefly as if questioning something before continuing to speak. “It’s the realm your grandfather rules over.”

This made me pause. I knew my grandfather on my dad’s side, both of them having passed away several years ago, but I’d never heard any mention of my grandfather on my mother’s side. Well… since Celestia isn’t married, he technically isn’t a legal family member, but he would still be my progenitor. I heard someone say something about him being an incubus or a demon, but I didn’t know what type of demon he was. But from what I just heard, I guessed he was important.

“Who exactly is my grandfather?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“To be honest, I’m not quite sure myself,” Luna said. “I’ve never met him and Celestia barely speaks about him. All I remember is having to comfort my older sister for nine months of terror as she would wake up in the middle of the night sobbing in fear of what horrible demon spawn she’d bring into the world upon her due date.”

“I’m gonna wager a large amount that my mother isn’t a hideous monster that’s really good with her makeup kit,” I said. “But… she’s technically a demon, right?”

“Yes, she is,” Luna nodded. “Look, it’s not really my place to discuss it. If you want to ask Celestia about him, go right ahead. Just know that it’s not a topic she likes to bring up in casual conversation.”

“Right,” I said, my eyes glancing up to the wall once again, scanning it for the sword I’d looked at before my eyes landed on another, much more extravagant blade. “What’s with that one?” I pointed at the sword in question: a weapon that bordered on the edge of being a great sword with a jet-black blade adorned with a glossy finish and finely calligraphed runes etched into the spine of the blade in a brilliant white colour. The crossguard of the sword was the same black as the blade, with it being an extremely detailed recreation of what appeared to be the wings of a dragon. The pommel of the sword was set with a brilliant white diamond that seemed to glow and pulse with a hidden magic and even my lack of tuning to magical objects was able to pick up a great power emanating from the ancient weapon.

“That one?” Luna asked, looking at the sword with a scowl on her face. “That is a cursed blade, with its power being drawn from the slaughtering of dragons. It was never given an official name by its creator, but the people that have seen it refer to it as the Bane of Scales. It's a terrible artifact of an even worse era that Celestia and I have considered destroying time and time again, but have never found a means to successfully destroy it due to its powerful enchantments.”

“If you hate it so much, then why do you keep it here?” I asked.

“Richter, this is a blade that contains so much power that even two of the most powerful magic users can’t hope to put a dent in it,” she answered. “Do you honestly think we’d just hide it in some cave and hope nobody stumbled across it?”

“Okay,” I said with an awkward expression. “Stupid question.”

“Now,” Luna said, crossing her arms. “Are you going to pick your equipment or continue to quiz me on our inventory?”

“Right,” I nodded. “I’ll get to work.” I walked over to the wall and stared up at the sword I was willing to investigate. Being a skilled user of the most basic levitation spells, I raised my hand and attempted to use my magic to lift the sword from its place on the wall and bring it down, only to have Luna place her hand on my arm.

“Can you manage?” she asked, both of us knowing how terrible I was when it came to any sort of magic. I looked back at her, then up to the sword again before stepping away, giving her a gesture that showed her she could get it. With a flick of her finger, the sword jumped off its resting place and fell down, the taller woman catching it in her palm and closing her fingers around the hilt before flipping it over and catching the tip of the blade in a pinch grip, her super-human strength allowing her to handle the near-metre long object with ease, and handing it over to me. I took hold of the hilt and felt the weight transfer, the weapon itself being heavier than I would have like it to be, but not to such a degree that it became uncomfortable or would offset my stance. It was a good length, if a little shorter than I was used to, but I was willing to adjust.

“Thank you,” I nodded. “Does it have a sheath?”

“It does indeed,” Luna nodded, walking over to a small collection of finely-carved wooden boxes in the back of the armoury. Her hand hovered over them as she tried to remember which one was the sheath that matched my own sword before selecting a rosewood box that was slightly longer than the sword and opening it. She gently removed the ancient leather scabbard, the distressed material showing its age and use, before turning around with it extended to me.

“It’s quite funny actually,” Luna said as I took hold of the scabbard. “While it’s able to be belted at both the hip and the shoulder, the previous wielder of the sword seemed to prefer it belted to the shoulder, much like you do.”

“So there’ll be no need to refasten the straps,” I said with a smirk, taking hold of it and admiring the craftsmanship, seeing the scale-like design of the scabbard having been created by the smith stitching in smaller strips of rougher leather to create the hexagonal pattern all across the item. “What’s with a lot of these weapons being dragon-themed?”

“It was an old tradition for knights, lords, and rulers to be seen as powerful entities all should fear,” Luna explained. “And what being is more powerful and fearsome than a dragon?”

“Fair enough,” I said, sliding the sword into the scabbard, noting a metal ring on the inside to help the leather keep its shape. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she nodded. “Now, shall we pick a shield you like?” I nodded once more, turning around and looking at the walls only to notice a large lack of shields layering them.

“Uhhh,” I said, scratching my head. “There’s not really a lot of options, is there?”

“I’m afraid not,” Luna said. “The original stocking party of this armoury weren’t the biggest fan of shields, as it seems. But I’m more than confident that you’ll find a shield you like.”

“I hope so,” I said, walking deeper into the armoury. The room turned out to be much bigger than I anticipated, as there was a curve in the room that went back to a smaller corridor which then proceeded to open up into a huge, expansive arena-like area with what seemed to be a marked sparring area as well as suits of armour, much larger weapons including pikes and lances, as well as dog, horse, and dragon armour that stood on mighty mannequins to display them in battle poses. I waited for Luna to walk into the room before questioning her about this area.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this part of the room?” I asked.

“Do you have a rottweiler?” she asked.

“No.”

“Do you have a clydesdale?”

“No.”

“Do you have a dragon?”

“No… again.”

“Do you fight with a lance? Or a pike? Or a polearm?”

“I get the point.”

“Good,” she nodded, sitting down on a vacant bench and crossing a strong leg over the other. “Now, my memory might be a little faulty, but I think there was a chest in here that contained an old shield from a powerful knight somewhere around here.”

“Can you help me look for it?” I asked.

“That’s a good idea,” she nodded, getting up and scanning the room with her eyes. “There’s an enchantment on it that prevents it from being opened. I think the chest was on the floor, somewhere...”

“Perfect,” I shrugged. “Any chance to watch you bend over in tight leather pants is a chance I’ll take in a heartbeat.”

Luna shot me a look with a cocked eyebrow, getting up and walking past me but gently nudging me with her hips as she did so. I smirked as she joined her hands behind her back and began to saunter around the room, casually glancing at every chest on the floor as she tried to remember which chest it would be in. She eventually came to a rather large chest with a bright gold lock on the front of it, shooting a wink back at me and keeping her eyes locked on mine as she bent over, pushing her back end out as far as she could before placing her finger on the lock and twisting it. A loud click was heard and she lifted the lid of the chest up and reached inside, pulling out a silver-rimmed kite shield with a spread Netherfalcon on the front of it, the design having been forged into a three-dimensional shape instead of being a flat painting which only added to the extravagancy of the powerful-looking piece of metal.

“This should work rather well,” she said, looking at the underside of the shield and fiddling with the leather straps for several moments. “It's a heavier build, but it should still work for you.” She walked backed over to me and handed the shield over, her claim of it being heavy being an accurate one as I had to angle my arm differently to not have my hand pop straight out of its socket from the extra weight.

“Wow…” I said in an awkward manner. “This’ll take some getting used to.”

“Do it quickly,” Luna advised.

“Right,” I said with a sigh, sliding my arm into the shield and, with Luna’s help, fastening it on properly. It was much less weighty while resting on my arm, but I could still feel the drain of my strength from having the thing up without using my legs to carry the brunt. That meant shield bashing was almost out of the question as that would exhaust me in a few swings, especially if in the midst of a fight that dragged out longer than I wanted it to.

“Is that me sorted then?” I asked, looking up at her for a moment.

“Indeed it is,” she nodded. “All you need do now is dress in your armour, say your goodbyes, and we shall head out.”

“Great,” I said. “This should be easy enough.”

“Good to hear,” Luna said. “Get yourself sorted and meet me by the front gate to the castle in two hours. We’ll depart then.”