Supreme Magus

"At least Ishka did something right for once." Hoshtak snorted. "No offense, Ruler Menadion, but there's no point for a soul in staying behind."

"How can you say that?" Rhana roared in grief and rage. "Our whelp is dead!"

"He had only one job!" Hoshtak stood up, towering above her in even greater rage. "Ishka had to stay safe! To stay with us until he was capable of taking care of himself! What did he do, instead?

"He constantly snuck out of the safety of our lair to fight this monster or that beast without giving us the time to prepare some decent equipment for him!" The male Wyrm roared with such strength that the cave trembled, and then his voice dropped to a whisper. "He had one job, and he failed. We failed him."

Hoshtak lowered his neck in a hunch, every trace of aggression disappeared from his posture. Rhana dropped the argument, realizing that her husband's pain was no lighter than her own. Hoshtak just expressed it differently.

"I'm so sorry for your loss. I know your pain, believe me." Menadion gave the couple a deep bow, needing sheer willpower not to stare at Solus.

"What happened to him?" Solus wrung her hands, afraid to deepen the grief of both the Wyrms and her mother.

"I wish we knew." Hoshtak straightened himself as his voice returned to be calm and composed. "Ishka was alone when it happened, so no one witnessed his death. Had he received any kind of first aid, he would still be alive.

"Knowing him and after carefully studying the wound, however, I can make an assumption. Ishka snuck out to challenge someone he considered a worthy opponent and lost.

"There aren't many creatures that can pierce a Dragon's scales, even one as young as him. I narrowed the suspect's list to Titanias, Grendels, and Wargs. It changes nothing, but it's the closest thing to closure I could get."

Lith conjured the Master Eyes of Menadion and studied the corpse of the young Wyrm for residual energy signatures, but found nothing. Even Ishka was a clean slate, filled with world energy like all things of Mogar, but no mana.

"I can't find anything either, I'm sorry." Lith said. "How long ago did it happen?"

"Almost six months ago." Rhana said.

'Six months?' Solus' eyes widened in shock. 'It's no wonder there is no trace even the Eyes can pick. The Mourning Crown is no stasis field, it only stops the decomposition process.

'Even more amazing is how long Hoshtak and Rhana kept vigil.'

'Six months are nothing to a Dragon, sweetie.' Ripha said via their mind link. 'I can tell you I would have mourned your father even longer, if I didn't have to take care of you and my work. Humans can't stop for that long because they can't, not because they don't want to.'

"I can't make you any promises, nor do I want to give you false hope, but know this." Lith stepped forward, touching Rhana's head and Hoshtak's tail with the Dragon Scales to prove his sincerity.

"I'm working on an experimental procedure that might allow Ishka to reach his full might even in death. If I fail, nothing will happen to him, but if I succeed, he will protect my sister until the end.

"He won't be passed around like a training sword. He will be honored like the warrior he was and would have become."

"Thank you." Rhana lifted her muzzle to touch Lith's face. "I wish I knew this sooner. We have already extracted the organs. Only Ishka's skin and bones remain."

Every bit of a Dragon's body was a powerful ingredient.

Their eyes made wonders in empowering all kinds of detection and analysis spells. Their lungs fueled fire-based enchantments like they had birthed Origin Flames in life. Their hearts increased the mana capacity and conductivity of any material, even Darwen.

"Don't worry, I never meant to rob the Fire Dragon clan of its treasures. What you are giving me is already priceless. Your sacrifice will protect my sister, and if my experiment succeeds, the debt I owe you will only grow with Ishka's size." Lith bowed deeply in respect.

"Thank you, little brother." Hoshtak nodded, the Dragon equivalent of a bow. "If you succeed, just show us what our boy would have looked like once he reached adulthood, and your debt will be repaid.

"Making new memories of your whelp after fate has taken him away from you is more than any parent can dream of."

"I will." Lith nodded.

'Was it a good move to mention the Spark?' Solus asked. 'What if they ask us questions later?'

Lith had accepted Ishka's body because the Spark floor of the tower would allow him to grow and refine the corpse just like it had already done for Syrook's. Given enough time, the dead Fire Dragon would reach the size and toughness of a bright violet-cored Awakened Wyrm.

'It was.' Lith replied. 'We were going to use the Spark anyway, and it's only a matter of time before someone sees Tista wearing her new armor and notices it's not as small as it's supposed to be.

'This way, instead, we've paved the way to a plausible excuse and if in the future someone asks how we did it, we can just reply that no Forgemaster reveals their secrets, which is true.'

'Great thinking.' Solus nodded.

"Can I take Ishka now?" Lith asked.

"Do you have… Never mind. I almost forgot you have an omni pocket." Rhana broke the Mourning Crown to let Lith approach the corpse.

"Thanks." Lith stored the corpse away and put it in the Spark.

The refining process wouldn't start until a mana geyser fueled the tower, but this way, there would be no lost time once they returned home.

"One more thing." Lith took out the Adamant, mana crystals, and magical ingredients that once formed the battle claws named Sunder. "This is an air element weapon, but since my sister carries powers similar to my own, it doesn't suit her well.

"Can you craft something for her?"

"You ask me with Ruler Menadion at your disposal?" Erghak didn't know whether to be flattered or suspicious.

"First, I'm not a slave." The Forge Magus grunted. "Second, I just came back from the grave. I'm learning modern magic from scratch and never do half assed jobs. I'll wield my hammer again only when I can make something I can be proud of.

"Third, but not least, I'm amazing at what I do, but I'm not so arrogant that I believe my skill in crafting fire-based weapons can surpass the millennia-long legacy of the Fire Dragons. Not even I have ever successfully replicated your Origin Flames, and my mastery over them is limited."

"Do you want this as a part of our deal, or is this a paid job?" Erghak asked.

"Try to cover what you can with our deal, and what you can't, I'll pay the difference." Lith felt a sharp pain in his wallet with which all Dragons in the room empathized. "This is for my sister, so I'm sparing no expense."

"I'll give you an estimate of the costs before starting the Forgemastering process so you can decide." Erghak said.