"Vesper, meaning eternal night," She said, "Interesting name."
As she said this, Valdis continued admiring the sword for a while before he put it down and said
"Are you sure this sword won't break during battle?" he asked
"That won't happen, that sword is made from adamantine, so no amount of power exerted on that sword will break it," She calmly replied
"Adamantine, what exactly is that, and why is it called the metal of the gods?" Valdis asked
Hearing this, Nyxaria thought for a while before she replied, "Adamantine is an extremely durable and extremely rare metal. It also conducts aether effortlessly without inscribing mana channels on the weapon. The reason it is called the weapon of the gods is due to an ancient story that spoke about immensely powerful beings, beings whose power had already exceeded the divine realm, who once entered Eldoria in search of it."
"Beings whose strength had surpassed the divine realm," Valdis said in shock.
"Yes, although I don't know how true the story is, what I do know is that once you reach the peak of the divine realm and attempt to break into a higher realm, you will face a heavenly tribulation, and should you pass, you'll ascend, and as for where you will be going to, I do not know," she said
"But it won't be called the metal of gods if the only reason it's special is that it was sought after by powerful figures," Valdis said
"Of course, that's not the only reason it was given that name. After they left, people here also searched for the metal, found some, and started experiments on it, looking for what made it special." After saying this, she stopped for a while before she continued
"Soon, their discoveries shocked every power in Eldoria at the time. It was an extremely durable metal which was light and flexible at the same time, but what made it so popular was its Immense aether conducting quality, which could be further improved by creating aether channels on the weapons," she said
Valdis now finally understood. The metal was nothing short of marvelous, but the problem lay in its rarity. Finding an adamantine ore could take decades, and even then, you were not completely sure you would find one in that time period.
"But you are one lucky individual," she suddenly said
"How am I lucky?"
"Your weapon is not only completely made of adamantine, but it was also made by one of the best smiths in Eldoria and given to you on a golden platter," she said
Hearing her, Valdis thought of another problem.
"Won't people know that my sword is made from adamantine once I start using it to battle?" he asked.
"How many of them have seen adamantine in their lives?" She replied
Hearing her, Valdis was speechless
"If people see your sword, they will just think that Magnus created some special alloy which was used in creating your sword, but the thought that it was made from adamantine won't cross anyone's mind. That's how rare the metal is. Even Dolren, who's the oldest amongst them, doesn't even know what adamantine looks like."
"Who's Dolren?" Valdis asked, looking utterly confused.
"Your first ancestor," she replied
"Ohhh, that's his name, and Magnus is....."
"Your second ancestor," she said, cutting him off.
After she said, she paused for a moment and asked, "Do you even know anything about the Ebonhart House?"
Hearing this, Valdis frowned for a moment and nodded
Seeing this, Nyxaria added, "Excluding information the general public knows, do you know anything else about the Ebonheart house?"
Valdis still nodded his head.
Seeing his response, Nyxaria was a little shocked
"What do you know exactly?" she asked
"My father told me about the history of the Ebonheart family and how we were originally not one of the five leading families in the kingdom but became one after replacing a House that was exterminated in a war," he said
"It seems someone gave you a history lesson," she said
"Yes, my father did," he responded
"Yeah, I actually forgot that that little troublemaker is your father." After she said this, she burst into laughter.
"Little troublemaker," Valdis repeated that slightly absent-mindedly.
His father, Draven Ebonhart, was ranked second in strength among the leaders of the five families, with the number one spot going to the king of Blackspire.
That alone was enough to tell anyone the extent of the power and authority he wielded.
But hearing Nyxaria calling him a little troublemaker shocked him for a brief moment, but when he remembered that although she looked like a woman in her mid twenties, Nyxaria was once an individual who stood at the pinnacle of power and had lived for thousands of years.
A sudden thought popped into his head, and he asked, "How powerful is the Ebonhart House in comparison to the royal family?"
"We were slightly stronger in terms of power, but after my demise, we should be on the same level," she replied
"Elaborate a bit more."
"The Ebonheart family had ten guardians, and the royal family had nine. but with me gone, our strengths should be about equal," she said
"You only compared the strength of those in the divine realm. What about the rest?" Valdis asked
"When comparing the strength of both families, only those in the divine realm matter; everyone else is an ant in comparison."
"But the guardians don't ever take action, regardless of the situation at hand."
"That's because the guardians are too powerful, and there is hardly any situation that those in the immortal realms can't handle on their own, and if you are asking how many immortals the Ebonhearts have, it should be around fifty or so, and the royals have a lot less than that."
And regardless of the difference, we are considered equals due to those in the divine realm," he asked.
"You seem ignorant of the power of the people in the divine realm that they have at their disposal," she said with a slight smile and continued, "The strength of a hundred immortals means nothing against an individual in the divine realm."
"Is the power gap that big?" he asked.
"Let me explain clearly, when an individual reaches the divine realm, they gain the ability to impose their will on the world, altering the rules of the world in their favor. By doing this, they create a domain where they are akin to gods, able to sense and control everything within it. If you don't have a domain of your own, even moving within that space will prove difficult, leaving you completely at the mercy of the person who created the domain," she said
"A divine realm beings are that powerful," Valdis asked in shock
"More than you know, little one," she replied
"But if we are on equal terms with the royal family, won't they think we will try to usurp the throne?"
"That's what will go through the minds of anyone in the other houses if we were in their position, but the Ebonharts are anything but normal," Nyxaria said
"What do you mean by that?" Valdis asked
"The fifth patriarch was asked to join a rebellion against the crown, but his response was unexpectedly amusing," Nyxaria said with a smile on her face.
"What did he say?' he asked
"He said that being king just meant more paperwork, and he didn't want that, so he rejected their offer. And just like him, every Ebonhart has the same mindset. The only thing you people know best is how to fight and anything else related to fighting," she said while looking at Valdis.
Hearing this, Valdis let an awkward smile and laughed because what she said was exactly his mother's problem with the family.
Valdis turned to Nyxaria to ask a queston only to see her staring upwards
"You've been in here for long enough; it's time for you to leave," Nyxaria said
It was at this point that Valdis remembered there were people outside, waiting to see what weapon he would create.
But before he left, he asked, "Will I see you again?"
"Of course you will, it's not like I can leave the sword and go somewhere else," she said with a smile.
Valdis nodded and closed his eyes, trying to sense the connection that would return his consciousness. Once he found it, he opened his eyes and looked at Nyxaria one last time, then he vanished.
Nyxaria continued staring at where Valdis had been standing for a few seconds before she sighed and said, "He reminds me of Lucien, that unrivaled talent and his inquisitive mind." At this point, she let out a warm smile as she reminisced.
After a while, she sighed and said, "But I really hope he's the one who can change the fate of the Ebonharts, because the calamity to come needs someone capable of holding the sky when it falls."