Andre had smithed many weapons in his time.
For years, he hammered away in the shrine, offering his skills to the occasional unkindled that passed through.
None had stood out to Andre, none had asked quite as much as that unkindled had.
The weapons they had brought had to have been the strangest he had ever come upon. Mighty swords and hammers that looked impossible to wield for a regular person, some had barely fit within the blacksmith's abode. Claws that looked more befitting on a beast than a man. Flame, thunder, chaos, and dark were all woven into these weapons, no matter how heavy or sharp they may be.
Andre would never forget when he first met him.
When he first approached the blacksmith, barely covered in rags, caked in dirt, Andre had not thought much of the unkindled. He assumed that he would die in a few days, as most newcomers did.
"Could you fix this for me?" The unkindled had asked, presenting Andre with the Uchigatana. The smith took it with wide eyes, this lanky pile of bones had beaten the sword master?
"I suppose I could fix 'er up," Andre confessed, gently lowering the katana to his anvil.
Usually the unkindled ones would leave him as he worked on their weapons, apparently needing to do other things in the short time the master smith took to alter the blades.
Not this one though. Once Andre started smithing, he simply sat down in front of the smithy's cove, watching the master of craft work away.
"Got an interest in me work do ya boy?" Andre chuckled, still hammering away at the blade.
"I'd rather keep my eye on it," the unkindled said, pointing to the Uchigatana, "I only recently got my hands on the blade, it would be a pity to lose it so soon."
"Aye that it would," Andre said, flipping the blade around to hammer the other side, "Weapons will always have your back, they can never betray ya. But you needn't worry about me taking this lovely one."
"And why's that?" the unkindled asked.
"Because even though I can forge 'em into bloody strong tools, I can't handle one for the life of me." Andre laughed, his grey beard swaying at the movement. The unkindled joined him after a moment, sharing in the joy.
"There ya go sunny, one freshly sharpened katana." Andre handed the unkindled the Uchigatana, observing as he took the handle and gave blade a few test swings.
Even back then, Andre could see it. This unkindled had something that the others lacked.
It wasn't skill, for while this unkindled had the makings of a warrior, he was by no means ready to face the Lords of Cinder, certainly not in those rags.
What he had was hope. The others, they had all been so downtrodden, brought down by the dark and deadly world around them, but this one looked past all that. This special unkindled hadn't lost that spark yet, and hopefully they never would.
It had been a long time since Andre had seen someone like that, someone who would be willing to fight against the insurmountable odds that the world would throw at them. That had been so long ago, in an age that most had long forgotten. The unkindled before him had the same drive that he had seen in those undead so long ago, in the Warrior of Sunlight and the knight that accompanied him through his journey.
With a smile, the old man went back to smithing away. Perhaps this time it would be different.
Perhaps, with his help, the unkindled could make a change, and bring the Lords of Cinder to their thrones.
A/N Thanks for all the reviews guys. There may not be an update for a while, one more exam to go so I'm going to be focusing on that and an upcoming uni application. Although this wasn't one of the suggestions I received, there is still a chance that I may use those ones in the future.