The Crimson Prince： Awakening 64 Chapter 2: Celestial Steel

Ragnos smirked. "Cainus acts that way due to my disapproval of him where as you," he gestured with his hand. "Are quite the opposite."

"What has all of this been about? Why have you not been here?" Will couldn't contain himself any longer. He wanted to know why so many challenges had been placed upon him. Why his life had gone from ordinary to something else.

"I have been here, William." Ragnos said as he looked at the castle. "I have been within the bloodline of my descendants for a thousand years, waiting for you."

What exactly makes me so special? Will thought as he tried to make sense of the G.o.d's words.

"You are the anomaly, my boy." Ragnos said with a smile. "You were the only one who could bring me out of my blood sleep and return. You were born here, but raised somewhere different, somewhere the politics could not follow. Up until this point, you have acted soely on instinct." Looking at the castle once more, he continued. "My line was never meant to rule a kingdom, William. You are from a line of nomad kings, those who rule everything and nothing. The land is our home and its people are our subjects. All kings and queens bow to our word."

Will thought of the many places he had gone within Ebonhart. He had never thought of it as his duty to take on the challenges he faced, instead he felt it was right.

"So in other words, I am to roam the planet and set right the wrongs other kingdoms have committed." He thought back to some of his favorite books. To the adventures of the seeker. The main character faced many challenges he himself had faced. Going to different lands and freeing slaves, lowering taxes, keeping evil at bay.

"I suppose that's one way to look at it, yes." Ragnos said, stroking his chin in thought.

"That would make Maya my Kahlan." He muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Ragnos raised an eyebrow.

"Nevermind." Will waved off the question.

"What the h.e.l.l," Ragnos said with a smirk. "I said don't worry about formalities, but there are limits even for me."

"Sorry," Will said sheepishly. "I just see a lot of similarities to a novel series I enjoy. A hero who knows nothing of magic or responsibility besides being a woodsguide is thrusted into a position he never asked for. Kings and queens had to bow to his wisdom even though he did everything on instinct."

"That is quite the similarity." Ragnos gave a nod. "I should check out that series sometime." He muttered to himself.

"Anyway," Will sighed. "How did the Ragnos line get wrapped up in politics? Why are we a royal line within Ebonhart?"

As Will asked, he noticed Ragnos's mood darken. "The rest of my line doesn't matter, William. I've been waiting for you, but enough talk," he removed a pendant from around his neck. "Do you know what this is?" Bringing it close to him, Will noticed a plain cross within the G.o.d's palm.

"That's a lineage weapon, right?" Will brought his own out from inside his jacket and brought it close to the one Ragnos held.

"If that's what you wish to call it, yes." Ragnos said as he closed his palm and held it in front of himself. "And what exactly can it do?"

Will brought his own to his chest. Without looking away from Ragnos, he released a burst of crimson and gold flame, which stretched in a straight line in front of him. When the flame died, his ruby pommeled sword replaced it. The black and opal gems glinted in the light of the dying fire.

"I've noticed a few uses for my weapon so far." Will looked at his blade. With a controlled breath, he allowed a slight breeze to appear within the field. Slowly, the soft breeze picked up until a tornado formed around him, obscuring Ragnos's vision. In moments, he cut through the gale, showing a gold embroidered scythe with three gems within the pole. "With each element I unlock, I also unlock a weapon which emulates the aura."

"Interesting theory, but." Ragnos raised his own pendant to the sky. An inferno of raw energy, a color Will couldn't comprehend, surrounded the G.o.d. It looked almost as if every color in a bolt of lightning surrounded Ragnos giving it a pure white appearance, yet with the lining of purple, blue, red and other colors swirling in one ma.s.sive aura. "If that were true," Ragnos's voice boomed from the inferno. "What exactly do you make of this?" His form reappeared in a pure black suit of armor.

The breastplate was adorned in a light, barely noticeable gilding of gold which followed paths leading to the gauntlets, leggings and boots of the armor. Will's eyes went wide when he noticed the belt of the suit. It held two knives on one side, on the other, a long sword and short sword. On his back was a greatsword and battleaxe crossing each other. In his hand was an obsidian black staff which rested in the dirt.

"You've got to be kidding me." Will could only stare at Ragnos. Compared to the G.o.d's a.r.s.enal, he felt as if he were holding a stick to a nuclear warhead.

"It's celestial steel, William." Ragnos said as he took out his greatsword. "To the others, it can form only one weapon but to us, just one piece of the steel is enough to summon whatever we need for battle."

Will listened intently to the G.o.d as he went in depth into the power only he could explain. "With your current ability, you should be able to summon at least four items from that cross."

"That would have been useful against the G.o.d of death." Will said partly to himself. "Why have I only been able to summon my sword in the past?" He looked at his scythe and imagined the planets worth of distance in power between him and the G.o.d.

"You have mastered three of the seven elements so far." Ragnos said as he looked at the scythe's gems. "But what about your combat proficiency? Have you been taught combat beyond single weapon training?"

Will scratched his head, thinking about the past. "Jonathan did a lot of polearm training with me while I was growing up," he said as he thought of the many trips around the country. The isolated locations that his dad used to throw a pole at him, telling him to 'defend yourself.' "When I got to Crystallia, Michael focused on sword training for a few months with me." Will shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose I just got comfortable enough with just a sword."

Nodding his head, Ragnos drew the long and short sword from his belt. "Would your sword or polearm training gone over incapacitating an enemy who wields two blades?" He readied himself in a half crouch. Raising the short sword over his head in stabbing position, he brought the longer blade out diagonally in front of his body defensively. Taking half a step forward, he readied himself to lunge at Will in any moment.

Taking a defensive stance, Will brought his scythe in front of him in preparation of the G.o.ds first strike. "I guess I'll find out soon." He gave a half smile.

"I like you, William!" Ragnos roared as he closed the distance between them. "You take on any challenge, regardless of the effort!" His long sword met the staff.

The blow was almost enough to knock Will off his feet. Ragnos took advantage of the moment and crouched under the guard, bringing the short sword under and upward to Will's neck.

Will noticed in time and twisted the blade of the scythe to block the short swords path. Staggering slightly, he pushed his full force into the scythe and threw Ragnos back a few feet.

"That was good use of the wind aura." Ragnos said as he observed Will. A miniature twister had formed around the prince as if it were a miniature s.h.i.+eld. "I would be careful with that element though." He put away his short sword and long sword. With both hands free, he summoned water and fire in opposite palms.

Throwing water first, he engulfed the twister in his own element. Will could see the wind dissipate before he could react. The wind was replaced with ice, encasing him in a solid icicle.

Sprinting to the young Prince, Ragnos used the flame within his other palm to break through the ice and grab Will by the jacket, flinging him to the dirt.

Will laid sprawled on the ground panting. His body involuntarily s.h.i.+vered as he tried to register what happened. "How?" He tried to work out what the G.o.d had done. "How could you control two elements at once?"

"That impressed you?" Ragnos summoned a flame in one palm, water in the other. "You think this is the extent of my power?" He summoned a gale of wind around him. It could have been Will's imagination, but it seemed like the field grew brighter. He stumbled to his feet as the earth shook. "This is how to use the gifts which you have barely tapped into."

Will could only stare at the armored G.o.d as he literally glowed with power. "You can also use them like this." He transferred each element to every weapon he had. "Celestial steel does not change form when summoning a specific element, William. On the contrary, you just make it a different shape depending on what you need at the time."

The G.o.d's long sword burst into flame while his short sword glowed blue. The greatsword on his back gained a green hue while his knives had tiny twisters surrounding them on his belt. Will noticed Ragnos's armor took on a darker shade, as if light no longer bounced off of it, instead, it looked as if any light was sucked in.

Will felt like he was David facing Goliath with just a sling shot. He had never known he had such power at his command. Looking down at his scythe, he had no doubt Ragnos's little daggers were more than enough to match his blade.

"Good." Ragnos said with a smile. "Sometimes humility can open the door to better understanding." He allowed himself to relax. In moments mere moments he was standing beside Will once more in his black fur coat. "You still have much to learn," he said as he placed his hand on the prince's shoulder. "I can teach you, if you let me."

"Why?" Raising an eyebrow, Will folded his arms and gave the G.o.d his most puzzled look. "I already took care of your brother, why would anyone need me to be stronger?"

"Actually, I only fended off Aremesis through you, he isn't really gone for good." Ragnos said. "Besides, that's not the end of the problems to this land."

"There's someone worse than Aremesis?"

"Yes." Ragnos paused for a moment. Will could tell he was trying to think of his words carefully. "You."

"Me?" Will pointed a finger to himself. "You think I'm a threat to Ebonhart?"

Ragnos let out a low rumble of a chuckle while looking at the surprised teenager. "That's right. I want you to imagine something for me." He said as he turned to the fields. "In three months, if something is not done about the field, the blood of your enemies will seep into the soil, making the soil impossible to plant any more crops. But you have a solution for that, right?"

"We could either bring technology from our world to cleanse the fields, or harness the water aura to cleanse it ourselves."

"That." Ragnos pointed a finger at Will. "That is exactly why you are a threat. A threat of change. You will help these lands grow prosperous."

"And?" Trying as hard as he could to understand the G.o.ds reasoning, he couldn't figure out how helping would hurt.

"You are going to heal Ebonhart, bring in new technology, make travel easier and living much more comfortable."

"I'm not following," Will finally had enough. "How is that a bad thing?"

"What about the rest of the world? What happens when news of prosperity spreads through other lands?"

"Good point." Will looked pensively at Ragnos. "So are you saying I shouldn't interfere?"

"Would you be able to refrain from helping? Could you look at a starving child in the eyes as he cradles the corpse of his father?" Ragnos's expression changed to something unreadable. "Could you ignore the cries of the people of Ebonhart and shut the doors of the castle once more?"

Will thought back to the moment he met Maya. To Roy and the many others who were affected by the way of the world much longer than just when he and Maya blew through. He thought of Roland and the thousand slaves. "No, I wouldn't be able to do that, nor should anyone ask such things of me."

"This!" Will jumped back as Ragnos's voice rung out in a boom. "This is why you shouldn't be king of Ebonhart!"

"Why? I can't just let things continue as they had before I arrived, there won't be much of a kingdom after my father's reign if the lands remain without change!" Will yelled back.

"Then what is your decision on the other lands?" Ragnos's voice quieted, but still rung with absolute authority. "Will you increase the numbers of your military and fend off the world from all sides?"

"That would be foolish and impossible." Will said as he looked back in the direction of the castle. "Instead, I will unite the kingdoms. I will share everything with the other kings and queens of the land. They will become as prosperous as Ebonhart."

"Impossible!" Ragnos roared. "These are people of tradition, they would never bend to a ruler of Ebonhart."

"Then I will remove them, for the sake of the world." Will looked directly into the G.o.ds eyes. "There is no room in this world for slavery anymore."

"This is not something a simple ruler from a distant kingdom can do."

"Then I will no longer be that ruler." Will said simply. "I will find another to take my place, as well as the place of every ruler who wishes to halt the changes I will make upon this land."

"You will need much more power to make such promises." Ragnos said.

Will smiled at the G.o.d. "Isn't that why we're talking?"