Purely-Kissed Sabers: The Adventurous Vagrant Gaiden

Forged in Fire... and Water and Thunder

And now, here we are.

The first of Ricemonth, 1019 CE.

The day where I, Keenan Floribunda, my childhood friend Laika Santiaguel, and my younger sister, Yulissa Floribunda, all start a brand-new journey together as newly-drafted soldiers – knights, if one wills – of the Kingdom of Lebenswasserheim.

We are currently at the headquarters of the Royal Armed Forces, which is located in the capital's Administrative District, all decked out in our uniforms.

The standard military uniform, which was given to us before this first day, is highlighted by protective silver plates (namely the pauldrons, vambraces, and greaves) that are still made of the same lightweight yet tough material as the pauldrons we wore when we were cadets; as well as the blue and white under-armor, which is more like an under-suit and is called the rayadillo, or "striped material".

Ranks can be easily recognized by the shoulder insignia worn over the pauldrons' lower portion for easy recognition, and we are allowed to reuse the name tags we've had, still worn on the right-hand side of the chest, also for ease of recognition.

The only difference between the male and female uniforms is the presence of a skirt in the latter. Like in the case of Royal Academy uniform skirts, the military skirt is also magically enchanted to prevent being flown up by either the wind or those skirt-chasing deviants. The skirt itself, which follows the same blue and white rayadillo pattern, is basically worn over the under-suit, for practical purposes.

Right now, we are face-to-face with our new commanding officer, Captain Christofferson Ashworth, also known within military circles as “The Freezemeister” for his mastery over the element of ice.

He is known to have a refined demeanor, always using more formal language, but he can be brutal on the battlefield.

“Welcome to the Lebenswasserheim Royal Armed Forces, new recruits!

“Based on the commendations given to us by the management of the Lebenswasserheim Royal Academy Military School, which are in the form of extra merits and even upgraded cadet ranks, the three of you – Keenan Floribunda, Laika Santiaguel, and Yulissa Floribunda – will all be instantly promoted to the rank of Sergeant. And thus, as senior non-commissioned officers, you will all avail of elemental weapon upgrades, which I will discuss later. Congratulations on an early promotion, which, to be honest, does not happen often in military history!”

We snappily salute him in response, “Sir, thank you, sir!”

He then presents us the shoulder insignia for the rank of Sergeant – which is three chevrons over a red shoulder board – and then attaches a pair each of these boards to the lower part of our pauldrons.

We snappily salute him again.

“Alright. And also, before I forget... while you three were cadets, you have managed to take hold of three objects – a scandalous sphaeramnis clip, a note written by a man who was the victim of an offensive advance, and a note written by another man who was the victim of a supposed 'faith healer' but was unfortunately murdered before he could finish it...”

Regarding that third object we retrieved, Lt. Gen. Caralde had this to say, after we have finished the final examinations...

“A faith healer, huh? Guess not even advances in medical science can convince people who still stick to non-traditional methods of alleviating diseases and stuff. And unfortunately, they often fall to various health-related scams by exploiting what is called the 'woo'. This and that claims to be the ultimate cure for everything... Yes, there are Healing Potions et cetera to alleviate battle-inflicted wounds, but those so-called 'snake oils' actually do more harm than good. Great work, everyone. With this piece of evidence, we at least have a lead on who funds those health-related scams. But keep it safe and secure, just in case.”

I instantly reply, “Sir, as recommended by Lt. Gen. Caralde, the superintendent, we keep these three objects in a safe and secret place, hoping to get more of these in the foreseeable future, sir.”

The captain responds, “Very well. There are whispers within the Intelligence Service of the Royal Armed Forces that these clues and more are linked to one person, but they cannot say who due to lack of proof. Now, then. Since you are all here, instantly promoted right on your first day as soldiers, it is your obligation to have your sabers enhanced with elemental powers and customized to your battle preferences. We have an in-house blacksmith and martial arts specialist, Mr. Danilo Marcaida, to take care of these. He is currently located at the Armory Athanor and Blade Arts Building of this HQ, which should be easily recognized by the statue of a man wielding a blade standing over an anvil at its facade. Am I making all this clear, everyone?”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Very well. Before I let you all go, I must let you all know that I always end talks with my subordinates and superiors alike with the following greeting... 'Love and laughter, always'. Keep that in mind, everyone. Dismissed!”

We three then salute him firmly before leaving the captain's office.

As we all make our way towards the recommended building, Laika comments...

“I never expected our new commander to be so unlike those fabled 'drill sergeants' who always shout, carpet-bomb trainees' ears with all sorts of swears and insults, and make them drop and do 50.”

I add, “Like in those military novels I read, right?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Yulissa adds, “Those sorts of officers don't exist in real life, you know that? From what I've read in the news, the Chief himself, Gen. Iosephus, bars any higher-ranked officer from doing the practice of smoking or beasting on a private or trainee. Emotional trauma is real, and that will greatly affect a soldier's morale.”

I conclude, “Good point.”

We all then enter the Armory Athanor and Blade Arts Building.

What greets us are various rooms full of blacksmith tools and furnaces, as well as training rooms filled with training dummies.

Everywhere we go, we are at simple awe at how the military rewards determined soldiers with awesome weapons.

Eventually, we visit the office of the person in question, blacksmith and martial arts specialist Danilo Marcaida.

He's currently sparring against a training dummy with a custom-made seax when he notices us three.

“Welcome, soldiers! Capt. Ashworth has already informed me of you three beforehand, so it's nice to meet you all. And yes, I've learned from him how you were all instantly promoted to senior NCOs right on your first day. I can see from your glowing eyes that you did an excellent job when you were cadets, so it's no surprise to me.”

He may be an expert in the way of the blade, but his friendly and approachable attitude instantly wins us all over, boosting our enthusiasm levels.

After we all introduce ourselves as, yes, Sgt. Keenan Floribunda, Sgt. Laika Santiaguel, and Sgt. Yulissa Floribunda, he continues.

“Alright. Let's get to the point – pun intended. You three came here for your weapon upgrades and customization, of course. Since you are the owners of these sabers, it is mandatory for you to witness the entire forging process from start to finish. This way, trust is built between the soldier and the smith. Now, please surrender your sabers.”

We then present our sheathed sabers to the three smiths Mr. Marcaida has hired as his disciples and understudies – Marciano Trost, Santiago Mallowsdagon, and Amando Ataginez – who are also present in his office witnessing his sparring sessions.

“Very well. As I can see, these sabers obviously show signs of wear and tear, namely some scratches and chips. As they stand, they are still usable, but sadly will not last long in protracted battles. And thus, these sabers will act as bases for your customized sabers that best reflect your fighting styles. Now then. First, I must sense your inner auras to determine your innate element.”

With a calm stance, he extends his right hand and channels our auras in the same manner commugrass picks up specific sound waves to facilitate long-distance communication.

A minute later, he is done with his patented “elemental aura scan”.

He continues with his order of business.

“Sgt. Keenan Floribunda... you have the fiery, passionate spirit dwelling within you. Your exceptional leadership qualities, fueled by the desire to act as the game-changer, will more often than not lead your chosen team to victory. And thus... your innate element is fire.

“Sgt. Laika Santiaguel... your philosophy, as well as your fighting style, is like the waters that flow in and out of the capital. Smooth and elegant, but can be adapted to a highly tough and principled form. And thus... your innate element is water.

“Sgt. Yulissa Floribunda... you are the spark that energizes everyone around you with your bright and cheery personality. On the battlefield, you employ the 'strike fast and hard' philosophy. And thus... your innate element is thunder.

“Alright... you will now follow the smiths to their own forges and see for yourself how enhanced sabers are made.

“Sgt. Sir Floribunda, you are to be with Mr. Trost. Sgt. Santiaguel, you are to be with Mr. Mallowsdagon. And Sgt. Miss Floribunda, you are to be with Mr. Ataginez. Good luck, soldiers.”

We all leave Mr. Marcaida's office as we individually follow our partnered blade smiths.

No matter which smith we're partnered with, the steps for making enhanced blades are the same.

First, the smith disassembles the saber and divides the blade into five equal parts.

Second, the blade's fragments are placed inside a crucible alongside some scrap metal, iron powder, graphite, shards of glass, and the elemental essences of each of us three.

The elemental essence is gathered via a special aura-absorbing orb, which is then included into the crucible.

Third, the crucible is taken to a kiln, and its contents are melted at high temperatures to form a billet.

Fourth, the crucible is taken out of the kiln, and it must be broken to reveal the billet.

Fifth, the billet is shaped into a recognizable blade with a tang via hammering. And lots of it.

Sixth, the blade is shaped further with lots of grinding.

Seventh, tempering is performed, where the blade is treated with heat from the same kiln and then quenched with oil.

Aspiring blacksmiths must be extra careful with this step, since determining the wrong temperatures for both heat treating and quenching will result in the blade being brittle and prone to breakage. Being too slow or too quick with the tempering will also affect the integrity of the blade.

Eighth, the cutting edge is formed with what else? More grinding.

Ninth, the cutting edge is polished with a substance that looks like fine liquid mud.

Tenth, the entire blade is etched by dipping it in ferric chloride.

Eleventh, the handle is made from various materials and is adjusted to our individual preferences, and is then attached to the tang with a magical tree sap that acts as a really tough glue.

Finally, the sheath is modified, once again to suit our individual preferences.

The smiths also explain that the kind of steel that was formed from the crucible is called “wootz”.

Wootz is a high-quality steel alloy that is high in carbon, so it is best-suited to weapons as well as tools that see frequent use. It's also distinguishable by its well-defined banding patterns as a result of the many substances mixed with the steel base.

As for the handles, our preferences are as thus.

My new saber's handle has a long crimson-colored cross-guard, a slightly-bent grip covered in brown leather, a crimson dragon head acting as the pommel, and a golden chain that connects the dragon-head pommel to one side of the guard.

Laika's saber's handle is all decked out in metallic black; with its quillons, or swirly arms of the cross-guard, as well as the cross-guard itself, colored cobalt blue. The pommel, which is also colored metallic black, is a huge knob made to balance with the thickness of the grip.

Yulissa's saber's handle has the most intricate design, with its grip painted in champagne gold with brown-black accents. The cross-guard is somewhat shaped like a four-pointed star, with the two horizontal points extending to form the length of the guard.

And no matter what our handles are, they are all embedded with a special elemental orb that we can touch to channel our own auras into the blades' internal elemental powers, allowing for more powerful strikes.

Each orb has a special rune that represents our respective elements.

Hours later...

We three are back at Mr. Marcaida's office s***h training room.

“Great going. Your sabers are now enhanced with your natural elemental powers, and thus you will all have advantages in battle. And of course, to test the effectiveness, I will require you to defeat a monster each, using just your sabers. First, Sgt. Miss Floribunda, you are to face a water hag.”

Using his seax, Mr. Marcaida summons the water-elemental monster.

My sister is hesitant for a mere second; but judging from the look on her face, she is determined to defeat the water hag in just one blow.

She charges her saber by touching the orb, and then unleashes a quick s***h that ends the water hag's life in one go.

“Great job! Now then... please name your weapon.”

In response, she says... “Looks like I'll settle with... Blitzblade.”

“Alright. Your Blitzblade will kill.”

“Thanks, kind sir.”

“Up next, Sgt. Santiaguel. You must square off against a life-sized sand golem.”

Again, he summons the monster with his seax.

My childhood friend, upon seeing the sand golem, decides the right time to strike.

Once the golem flails its extendable arms, she charges the saber and does a high-speed thrust that penetrates the golem's solid core, ending it with just one hit.

“Great job! Now then... please name your weapon.”

Her answer is... “Flowedge, please.”

“Alright. Your Flowedge will kill.”

“Much appreciated, sir.”

“And last, but not the least, Sgt. Sir Floribunda. Let's see how you can defeat this yeti.”

For the last time, he summons the ice-elemental Bigfoot with his seax.

Alright. If they achieved their one-hit KOs, I can do it, too.

As the yeti charges at me with his meaty fists, I jump into the air, charge my saber, and then perform a powerful downward s***h that cleanly bisects the monster.

“Great job! Now then... please name your weapon.”

“This is what I want to name my weapon since day one! I'll name it... the Ragetongue.”

“Alright. Your Ragetongue will kill.”

“Thank you very much.”

Overall, these enhancements to our standard-issue weapons are a product of our hard and smart work that we've done while we were all cadets.

Fundamentally, the sabers we have are investments.

Investments well-spent as part of our continued promise.

We then all say goodbye to Mr. Marcaida and his disciple smiths, and report to our new commanding officer the good news.

Now all we have to do... is to put those sabers of ours to good use, with a brand-new mission that will keep the peace of our land.