Ra Side Story (4/13)

"You look awfully young to be a blacksmith and have much of any work. How did you get this job?" I asked Solstice. By the looks of him, he had turned most of his body into a walking metal object of some sort. I was curious about the way he worked, but more curious about his upbringing.

If he had been somebody of a bad background, I needed to know. Anything to explain Aria's origin.

"There's not much about me to tell. I was a prisoner in Ultima's Tower, freed by a few people, and now I'm here in the Americas living my dream of blacksmithing!" He announced.

"What about you, Mister? What's your story? I'm all about learning about my customers." Solstice asked me in return. Due to Aria's curious nature, I decided to open up.

"Well, as far back as recently, I was the main strategist of a place down in Antarctica that had been called Zealous. Some things happened and a man of great renown entered the fray..." I hesitated. I decided to keep Sky's name a secret, just in case Solstice had a grudge. 

"Anyway, this entire enemy organization leveled the city, and that man saved us all, even reuniting me with my dad. Dad had some really cool abilities, namely what he calls the 'Ra Beam' which is more or less my technique now. My name is Ra as well, by the way. Dad was able to use the beam to surround himself and damage enemies at his discretion, but I can use it as an object of utility to heat up objects to whatever degree almost exactly, whether I choose Celsius or Fahrenheit."

"Most interesting! Say, if you're here for a while, how would you like to work together? Maybe I can expand on your already present talents with a few crafts I can make up!" Solstice said. At the moment, I started to believe Solstice only cared about my upbringing so he could be a better salesman...at the end of the day, it was working.

"If I had money, I would love to. But, I'm here on a vacation, sort of, so I have nothing. But, if there's any way you were a traveling blacksmith, I would be okay with meeting you back in Antarctica."

We both agreed to see each other again one day, whether traveling or visiting and got back down to business.

"What about the properties of this thing? Maybe it was so long ago that you made it that you forgot? Or you made so many you forgot why this one was so unique?" Aria chipped in. I let her take the league of the conversation while I traveled around the shop.

Two counters that filled the room were covered in glass, allowing me to see shields and swords of the 'Mahina' brand, which I assume could be the same thing as Sky's Mahina Blade. They had intricate designs of the moon on them, except for the hidden one near a fallen shelf on the inside of the glass counter I noticed.

"Well, from the looks of it, it's retractable and extendable," Solstice said. With a push of a button on the staff, Solstice extended its length by twofold, almost reaching ten feet in length. Aria was impressed with the staff and what it could do, picking it up and swinging it around in the shop. I was almost certain Aria would destroy something, but her masterful technique and careful guidance only made a slight gust of wind before she handed it back to Solstice.

"And! And! What else?!" She yelled out.

"Well, this isn't red paint...it's got an iron smell to it. This is dried blood, probably used to fill the cracks in from previous points of impact. It's a technique I began to use, but I can't use it on humans. Arkians are the only ones who have blood that seals things like that. It's almost like glue, and by my right hand is it a strong glue."

I looked deeper into the shelf at the weapon hanging, only to realize that it had an A in the middle, along with several other letters covering it like L, Z, and D. Those were the only ones I could make out. On the gauntlets, the letters seemed to be scratched out in a line like tally marks, with only those remaining.

"Mhm, I've heard the same thing before. I don't remember the staff being covered in anybody's gross blood, but it's interesting to hear. What else? Why does the staff speak to me?"

"The staff speaks to you...? Oh, is this like an imaginary friend? That's really interesting!"

Solstice tried to seem supportive of Aria's interesting turn of subjects, but she scoffed again. I could tell she was about to give a witty reply.

"The staff says your brother Zenith is smarter than you." She said.

At the slight mention of Solstice's brother, he watched her with a strangely straight face. Staring at Aria, Solstice was shocked with a notion that I couldn't recognize. He went from supportive, to dismissive.

"Well, that's all I can do to help, unfortunately. Why don't we get you on your way now?" Solstice asked the two of us. I didn't want to leave yet, but by the tone of his voice, I felt as if I wasn't welcome anymore.

Aria and I were kicked out of his shop and we stood beside each other, looking at the staff and one another.

"How did you know about his brother? That was probably a little bit weird."

"The staff told me, I told you."

"It's not the most far-fetched thing I've heard...it's just weird that it can speak. What else can it do?"

"Extend! Other than that...I'm not sure. And, I don't know where to go anymore..." Aria told me. 

As soon as she was done speaking, I heard a loud noise in the distance. It sounded as if something was breaking apart from far away, like an Earthquake.