Click here to watch the book trailer for A Hero Forged in Blood!

Armor & Weapons

Alpheon

A sword with a long, wide, straight blade made of unknown material and held by a grip wrapped in wolf hide. The edge has a wide, straight cross-guard with the right weight to ensure the blade sits firmly into Weylyn’s hand and protects his hands. The cross-guard has an image of a wolf with its mouth open, giving the appearance that the blade is coming out of its mouth. The large pommel is designed with the look of a giant wolf’s paw on it. The blade is engraved with ancient markings bounding the wielder to the protection of the chosen king. This weapon is believed to possess a strong power imbued inside of it.

Vrangar

Vrangar, also known as Light-Bringer, was first a stick from a hearth in the Truthoriam. Bhalla used the power of Orealus to turn this ordinary object into a well-balanced, straight sword. Kaden moved the weapon through the air, its dark-blue leather grip accented by a prominent cross-guard with a heavy pommel of shining silver shaped like an ‘O.’ The blade looked like both a shaft of steel and a beam of light with its slight translucence to the metal. Rather than reflecting light like a normal metal, the sword absorbed light. Like a natural extension of his hand, the weapon seemed to want to move, reminding Kaden of a hummingbird in flight. 

Kaden remembered what Bhalla had said upon giving him the sword: It will protect you against more than physical enemies, Kaden. This sword is a shield in and of itself, a light source in the darkness. It will help keep your path clear, both internally and externally.

Great Hammer of Retribution

Rumored to be forged from a rare type of obsidian rock found in the ancient dragon’s cave, the great hammer’s full body is almost as long as Bardicus is tall. The ornate armament of the weapon declares the royal Dwarven language of old. Delicately etched into the blackhead is the word Retribution along with silver, swirling designs reminiscent of a wind pattern. The wooden handle sports the carved words justice meets revenge. When the hammer serves its true purpose, it glows blue from within its designs.

Driftwood

Eldrin’s elegant recurve is constructed of rare, green ore fused within yew wood. Its sturdy string is rumored to be made from the silk of the spider queen, Quelog. The limbs of the bow have been decorated with intricate, filigree carvings along the green ore, boasting roses with thorns and leaves. The handle is engraved in ancient Elven writing that states, May Driftwood serve its divine purpose. Each wooden arrow has a silver, deadly-sharp head and fletching made from the brown feathers of a giant eagle. The thick-leather quiver that he wears across his back has a matching strap. 

Windcutter

Passed down from his father, Cimetes wields a giant spear named Windcutter. The weapon is aptly named as it makes a fear-inducing whooshing sound as the wielder throws it or swipes with it. The sharpened, gray stone head is two spread-hand-widths long. The stone is fastened with hemp rope to a finely sanded body of oak. Crafted by a talented carpenter, the natural knots and veins of the oak shine within the polished wood.     

Storm’s Wrath

Storm’s Wrath is a mighty trident as long as Varun’s mertail. The three-pronged head spreads as wide as his tail’s fin. Each prong is shaped like a lightning bolt striking towards enemies. The long, smooth steel shaft of the weapon ends in a sharp point that doubles as a secondary striker. The steel gleams with a silver-blue glow able to conduct Varun’s electricity that he hurls from the prongs when attacking.  

Arcinde & Acantha

Adena carries a recurve named Arcinde that is perfectly crafted for hunting out of willow wood. Its string is made from boar hide. Although not as accurate as a longbow, her recurve bow allows for quicker draws, good impact power, and superb accuracy from short to mid-range. The limbs of the bow are decorated with blue, arcing waves. She wears the sizable deer-leather quiver around her back. The outer side has been trimmed to provide a more lightweight body. Due to her skill in marksmanship, this bow can fire arrows up to 120 meters away while retaining lethal power. 

Adena’s sword, named Acantha, has a short, narrow blade made up of folded steel with a wooden grip wrapped in blue-solver fish skin. The scabbard matches the grip, covered in scales. The simple steel crossguard is short, edging just past her knuckles. This sword belonged to her father. He willed it to her, knowing she was destined to go on great adventures as he did.

Loyal Dwingent

Half the length of Vrangar, Loyal Dwingent is a dagger almost as long as a short sword. Bhalla used the power of Orealus to craft Petey’s dagger from a hearth stick in the Truthoriam. The weapon tapers to a needle-like point but has one straight edge and one curved edge. Petey can use the dagger to slash as well as thrust. 

He remembered Bhalla’s words as the wizard bestowed the gift: A weapon that will never fail to strike true when used to save another’s life. There is strong energy in that blade, Petey. Treat it well.

Moon’s Eclipse

Moon’s Eclipse is made up of two darkened steel, curved short swords named Moon and Sun. The back of each twin blade contains a swirled cut into the steel. The lean, oval cross-guards fit snugly against Ezrah’s hands. The black leather-wrapped, wooden grips protrude just beyond the bottom of Ezrah’s hands.

Skullcrusher

Omak plucked the materials off his defeated foe’s bodies and used the loot to forge a mace. The hardest metal of his enemy’s armor was melted down, then hardened into a sturdy weapon. The metal was folded over and over, and its weight and durability increased. Rusted, sharp metal extends out into spikes along the surface of the human-head-sized ball. The shaft of the weapon, made of steel, sprouts a chain that attaches to the ball. Dried blood cakes the head of the mace. Omak named the weapon Skullcrusher because he uses it to smash through rocks and human skulls.

Lucky Friend

Lucky Friend is a pickaxe that Malacheen gleefully names because she believes it helps her find riches. However, this pickaxe is not a laughing matter. Crafted by her father Halthro the Hammertoe, this pickaxe has a large curved, pointed piece of dratonium folded metal with a long wooden handle made of Stonewood. A dwarven inscription was written on the metal, which appears to be a special message to Malacheen from her father. The pickaxe is powerful enough to break through the strongest rock and can dent a dragon’s hide.

Belegering

The bow Faldrus carries has been expertly constructed from the rare material mist wood, which is only found in Darkvale Valley. Its string is made from the silk of the spider queen. The black limbs have been decorated with ancient elven engravings. The handle is wrapped in symbolic writing. The long quiver is made from sturdy serpentine skin and worn around his back. Each arrow has been enchanted with dark energy. In the hands of only the top marksmen can the bow be fired. It can fire arrows up to 250 meters while retaining lethal power.

Thunderfist

He sports sturdy, black steel gauntlets on his hands that emit an electrical volt. The electricity in the gauntlets responds to his quickened pulse, so blue sparks vibrate around his hands and arms when he feels enraged. The thunder gauntlets utilize a strong kinetic force. Thalgrem’s punch can level the largest trees once unleashed.

Dragon’s Fury

The sword was a short, thick blade made of welded dragon scales. The razor-sharp point of the weapon made it the perfect choice to cut through the hardest of foliage or the wielder’s enemies.

The blade had a broad, curved-cross guard, that made sure the blade was both balanced and capable of protecting the owner’s hands when clashing swords. The cross-guard had an ornamented dragon head on each side probably symbolizing the owner’s status as leader of the dragon’s guild. A small pommel was marked with an unrecognizable language on it. The blade itself seemed simple with no distinguishing decorations or engraved patterns but it did seem to emit a light fiery orangish-red glow from it. The weapon was decorated in battle as having been used in countless wars and training under the tutelage of the master swordsmen and guild leader, Khesza.

The Annoyer

Chum’s slingshot, which he calls The Annoyer, is a classic, wooden hand-powered weapon shaped like a ‘Y.’ The black, elastic bands attach to the top of the weapon. Chum can put a rock or other projectile in the bands’ black, leather pouch.   

PATH’S LIGHT

Path’s Light is a staff that stands three heads taller than Bhalla. Made from the wood of an olive tree’s branches, the wood pieces twist together to form the staff’s body. The head of the staff has thin, intertwining wooden branches that house a rough-cut, white crystal the size of Bhalla’s fist.

FAY’S PROTECTION

Queen Pepper seldom uses her staff, instead mainly relying on her abilities through simple gestures. Fay’s Protection is a wooden staff as tall as her. She had a carpenter craft the solid, straight, smooth body from pale cherry wood stained with a pink hue. Looking like the top of a tree, the head of the staff blossoms a burst of pink cherry blossoms. The flowers naturally grow from the staff, nurtured by Pepper’s presence. 

NIGHTBRINGER

Lucient wields a black, steel greatsword with a serpent emblem winding down the blade that emits a fiery magical glow. The snake’s head forms the point of the sword. Its eyes glow red as its scales glow orange. Wrapping around the cross-guard, the snake’s tail, covered in irritating scales, brushes against the wielder’s hands. The grip is wrapped in black leather with a rubied, round pommel.  

CHAOS’S EDGE

A twisted short sword that Baal carries. Chaos’s Edge boasts menacing waves down its sharp blade. The glinting steel’s central ridge follows the pattern of the waves down to the point. The simple, silver cross-guard arches toward the blade. The black grip sports black leather before the heavy pommel in the shape of a crescent moon that points towards the wielder’s hand.  

Armor & Sword of Orealus

Ruach: Ruach is a greatsword longer than Kaden when he finds the weapon. Orealus led ancient, unnamed dwarves deep into the caverns of what is now Kugdor to find a rare mineral called Branaloy, which had never before been seen and has never been found again. He tasked the dwarf king with forging the sword from all the Branaloy in the secret location. This is the strongest and most durable metal ever seen in mankind. Branaloy has the keen ability, brought on by its internal power of Orealus, to absorb kinetic energy and release the energy as the wielder attacks. The greatsword has a pale steel color and glows white when using its power. The hilt has a filigree design darkened by the blacksmith into a standard steel color. Legend says Ruach can cut through any material and not harm those good at heart. The worthy wielder hears a musical tone when they pick up the sword; some say it tells the holder secrets about their enemy.  

Justicia: Justicia displays a fierce, roaring lion head molded to protrude from its center. The pale, silver eyes are so polished they practically glow and are so detailed they appear to follow all who behold the lion. The elegant creature’s mane seems to flow in the wind, even though it is entirely metal, and its teeth are sharp gleaming white fangs. This white armor piece is made of elvish steel. The impenetrable breastplate is thick yet light. White doves at the shoulders clip onto a flowing, red cloak of the softest velvet in Empyrea. The doves face one another and hold the cloak in their light-silver beaks. Leather straps at the wearer’s sides hold the front to the back.  

Deimanus: Deimanus are pale-silver gloves with white cuffs, and fingertips alter in shape and size to fit the wearer’s hands. They have short cuffs and joints that appear like flickering, white flames. The gauntlets allow the person chosen to wear them to be worthy enough to lift the sword of truth.

Aspis: Aspis appears as a perfect circle when examined from the front. The shield displays the same lion as the breastplate yet is larger in stature. A pale silver trim runs along the outermost edge of the predominately white elvish steel. Aspis glints were exceptionally bright in the sunshine. Two leather straps hide at the shield’s concave back for the wielder to grip. 

Paz: Paz are tough boots cured from the most durable leather in all of Empyrea, yet they are so light they feel as natural on the feet as not wearing shoes. They leave no footprints and allow the wearer to jump much higher than the average human. The pure-white boots have thick soles and pale silver steel toes. The shoes protect the ankles and have white leather laces that perfectly match the color of the overall shoe.    

Sozonos: When adorned, Sozonos adapts its shape to provide the best fit for the wearer. The helmet is almost entirely white and made of elvish steel, matching the other armor pieces. The visor roars like the open mouth of a snow-white lion, mirroring the amber eyes, the onyx nose, and ears as the other armor pieces. The wearer’s face appears inside the lion’s mouth, peeking out from within the pearly-white fangs. At the right and left of the lion’s jawline, elegant dove wings, crafted from elvish steel, plume at a 45-degree angle up and back, each spanning at length past the lion’s mane. Above the face, the ivory-white lion’s mane starts as a widow’s peak. It flows out as natural hair tucked behind the aforementioned wings.

Liasti: The white leather belt, Liasti, has a miniature snow-white steel lion’s head that matches the armor’s theme with the same amber and onyx accents. The belt adapts its width to fit its wearer. It has a strap that comes to a steel-tipped arrow shape at its end, held in place in traditional style by wrapping back around the circle of the belt and through itself.    

Megalos: Made almost entirely of white elvish steel, Megalos are outlined with a pale-steel color at their edges. The greaves start at the knee with the same, yet smaller, snow-white, amber, and onyx lion’s head⁠ as the breastplate and shield. These armor pieces wrap around the entire shin and hold shut with white leather straps at the back. They taper down to just above the boots for perfect mobility.