Re: Jezebeth * Iron Forged - The Rise of a Banite
Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2026 6:05 am
I couldn’t tell how long I had been standing there. It could have been hours. It could have been days.
Time almost felt inappropriate in this place.
But then I saw movement nearby out of the corner of my eye.
One single column had halted, and they stopped because of…
… me?
Another came right behind it and stopped as well.
I frowned.
At least a thousand metal helmets turned with the discipline of a single body to me. Without any command or visible signal given.
Yet rank after rank looked directly at me, as though they had expected my arrival in that spot.
They just stood there without word or saluting. Like they simply acknowledged my existence.
Then, a single warrior broke formation and stopped not far from me. He motioned at the fortress and somehow I understood I had to follow him.
As I did, I caught myself smiling.
The road towards the fortress gradually changed and the material used to built it became almost obsidian-like. Smooth. Polished.
Behind me the sound of armies began to fade, and made way for steel striking steel. The new sound had a certain rhythm to it. Something that told me it was all about perfection.
As we rounded another bastion I finally saw them.
Warriors… no… dark champions.
At least a dozen pairs, each fighting simultaneously.
I noticed there weren’t instructors or spectators about.
Every duel looked lethal, every moment terrifying as well as beautiful at the same time.
The black armor they wore was unlike anything I have seen before in my life. Some wielded impossible weapons, while others cast powerful magic in between sword strokes.
One duel I watched merely lasted seconds before one combatant fell.
… only to stand again moments later.
No applause, no celebration. They just started another round.
And it’s then… in that moment when I shifted my gaze to the next pair… that I saw him.
My heart even stopped before my eyes understood why.
He is there… no, he is -here-. Fighting, bleeding, winning…
Only this time he stopped. Like he sensed me much earlier than all the previous times.
Slowly he turned to me and our eyes met.
Yes… he saw me… not a shadow or a vision this time.
Me.
And for the first time in all these encounters he smiled.
With one mighty blow he dropped his opponent before he started walking in my direction.
And without thinking, so did I…
… walking willingly towards the deepest desire of my heart.
As other champions continued their deadly duels around us, he came without haste. I watched only his eyes while blades rang against blades and shields splintered beneath impossible force.
None of it mattered. My eyes never left him.
Step by step, heartbeat after heartbeat, every vision that had haunted me dissolved into memory. All those times I had caught only fragments, his figure vanishing before I ever managed to reach him.
Not today. Today I was here, and he was here.
The distance diminished.
Fifteen paces… ten…
He looked exactly like how I remembered him, with only a single new scar adorning his left cheek.
The armor looked heavy upon him, and the exhaustion in his eyes was unmistakably real. Yet none of it diminished him. And that made him seem even more worthy of a place built for gods.
We stopped before each other.
Words suddenly seemed like remarkable weak instruments.
Slowly he reached to me, and the briefest moment my discipline returned.
Should I…?
Maybe this was another test?
Maybe he would disappear again if we touched each other?
After being this close? That would be the biggest mistake in my life.
Then his gauntlet raked my cheek.
The touch was real, somewhat warm.
All doubt collapsed instantly, and I closed that final gap myself…
...and I kissed him.
For the first time in a long time nothing within me questioned anything. Every ambition, every sacrifice, every lonely night, every order I had obeyed… suddenly aligned into a coherent entirety.
His arms locked around me with surprising certainty. As if they had remembered my exact shape.
The embrace felt… familiar.
Everything else around us ceased to exist, and there was only us, only him.
His forehead rested against mine.
“I knew you would make it here…” he whispered.
Those words struck deeper than any blade could have reached.
He drew back just enough so our eyes could meet once more.
Then, our lips met again, and the world around us answered.
One after another the duels ceased. Steel fell silent as an enormous bell rang. Hundreds of warriors turned to us, and the champions lowered their weapons. It was like a ripple spreading across an ocean of steel. A single fist struck a breastplate. Then, hundreds followed. The sound became like thunder.
I felt this welcome pouring over me stronger than any blessing I had ever received before.
Finally…
Every humiliation, every dangerous mission, every forced march, every drop of blood and every death… had all led to this moment.
To him.
Finally I had reached the place my soul had been trying to remember.
… where I belonged.
Time almost felt inappropriate in this place.
But then I saw movement nearby out of the corner of my eye.
One single column had halted, and they stopped because of…
… me?
Another came right behind it and stopped as well.
I frowned.
At least a thousand metal helmets turned with the discipline of a single body to me. Without any command or visible signal given.
Yet rank after rank looked directly at me, as though they had expected my arrival in that spot.
They just stood there without word or saluting. Like they simply acknowledged my existence.
Then, a single warrior broke formation and stopped not far from me. He motioned at the fortress and somehow I understood I had to follow him.
As I did, I caught myself smiling.
The road towards the fortress gradually changed and the material used to built it became almost obsidian-like. Smooth. Polished.
Behind me the sound of armies began to fade, and made way for steel striking steel. The new sound had a certain rhythm to it. Something that told me it was all about perfection.
As we rounded another bastion I finally saw them.
Warriors… no… dark champions.
At least a dozen pairs, each fighting simultaneously.
I noticed there weren’t instructors or spectators about.
Every duel looked lethal, every moment terrifying as well as beautiful at the same time.
The black armor they wore was unlike anything I have seen before in my life. Some wielded impossible weapons, while others cast powerful magic in between sword strokes.
One duel I watched merely lasted seconds before one combatant fell.
… only to stand again moments later.
No applause, no celebration. They just started another round.
And it’s then… in that moment when I shifted my gaze to the next pair… that I saw him.
My heart even stopped before my eyes understood why.
He is there… no, he is -here-. Fighting, bleeding, winning…
Only this time he stopped. Like he sensed me much earlier than all the previous times.
Slowly he turned to me and our eyes met.
Yes… he saw me… not a shadow or a vision this time.
Me.
And for the first time in all these encounters he smiled.
With one mighty blow he dropped his opponent before he started walking in my direction.
And without thinking, so did I…
… walking willingly towards the deepest desire of my heart.
As other champions continued their deadly duels around us, he came without haste. I watched only his eyes while blades rang against blades and shields splintered beneath impossible force.
None of it mattered. My eyes never left him.
Step by step, heartbeat after heartbeat, every vision that had haunted me dissolved into memory. All those times I had caught only fragments, his figure vanishing before I ever managed to reach him.
Not today. Today I was here, and he was here.
The distance diminished.
Fifteen paces… ten…
He looked exactly like how I remembered him, with only a single new scar adorning his left cheek.
The armor looked heavy upon him, and the exhaustion in his eyes was unmistakably real. Yet none of it diminished him. And that made him seem even more worthy of a place built for gods.
We stopped before each other.
Words suddenly seemed like remarkable weak instruments.
Slowly he reached to me, and the briefest moment my discipline returned.
Should I…?
Maybe this was another test?
Maybe he would disappear again if we touched each other?
After being this close? That would be the biggest mistake in my life.
Then his gauntlet raked my cheek.
The touch was real, somewhat warm.
All doubt collapsed instantly, and I closed that final gap myself…
...and I kissed him.
For the first time in a long time nothing within me questioned anything. Every ambition, every sacrifice, every lonely night, every order I had obeyed… suddenly aligned into a coherent entirety.
His arms locked around me with surprising certainty. As if they had remembered my exact shape.
The embrace felt… familiar.
Everything else around us ceased to exist, and there was only us, only him.
His forehead rested against mine.
“I knew you would make it here…” he whispered.
Those words struck deeper than any blade could have reached.
He drew back just enough so our eyes could meet once more.
Then, our lips met again, and the world around us answered.
One after another the duels ceased. Steel fell silent as an enormous bell rang. Hundreds of warriors turned to us, and the champions lowered their weapons. It was like a ripple spreading across an ocean of steel. A single fist struck a breastplate. Then, hundreds followed. The sound became like thunder.
I felt this welcome pouring over me stronger than any blessing I had ever received before.
Finally…
Every humiliation, every dangerous mission, every forced march, every drop of blood and every death… had all led to this moment.
To him.
Finally I had reached the place my soul had been trying to remember.
… where I belonged.