"You have been trying to recruit powerful people, haven't you? You are trying to establish your own force. Whatever the condition to join is, I'll accept it but you must help us win this war."
'I refuse.'
"Why? I'm a grand duke fighter!"
'I can't help you win a war against an enemy who has a king magus in their ranks. I can help you defend the border against troops but I can't help you win such a war.'
"That's fine! As long as we can make them retreat we can consider that a win. Do you take the deal?"
'Swallow this leaf and the deal will be sealed.'
"This is your condition?"
'Don't underestimate it. Unlike with the others, it isn't strong enough to cripple you but it will do some serious damage.'
"I see. If you promise to aide us until this crisis has been averted I will take it."
'You have my word that I will send sizable forces to bolster your defenses.'
Völsung gave the leaf one last look and stuffed it into his mouth.
'Good, now what kind of weapon do you want?'
"A broadsword and armor!"
'Woah there, do you know how much time it takes to make a full set of armor? I'll make you a broadsword. In the meanwhile, you can go to the beast layer and tame a few beasts.'
"I already have a partner, I'll never betray her!"
'How is taming another beast betrayal?'
"I've fought side by side with Storm for years and I don't need anyone else!"
'Storm? Do you mean the lion you were riding last time?'
"Yes, that was her. I guess I should introduce you."
Völsung whistled. From the distance, a roar that made even my verdant serpent tremble could be heard. A shadow broke through the clouds and landed next to Völsung.
It was indeed the lion from back then but I had failed to spot the wings last time. A pair of strong, feathered wings that carried this lioness through the clouds like an arrow shot from a bow.
"Lord Eldar, this is Storm, my partner. Storm, this is lord Eldar, we work for him from now on."
'Interesting. She's still a beast but her roar can already scare a savage beast.'
"That's to be expected. We have been training together for years and now she's about to break through again. If only we had a little more time for her to gather more energy."
'Energy you say! What kind of energy? Would something like this do?'
I grew a couple of wind apples and showed them. Völsung didn't seem very interested but Storm's gaze was fixed on those apples. To her, that was good stuff and just what she needed to speed up her breakthrough.
I dropped the apples onto the platform and let them roll towards her. The apples quickly disappeared into the beast's mouth.
Of course, this amount was far from sufficient to become a savage beast and so I kept growing more.
Knowing this wouldn't be enough any time soon I began to make Völsungs broadsword. Usually, broadswords placed great emphasis on the distribution of weight, neglecting sharpness. They would cut only with sheer force and were honestly no better than blunt weapons.
This was done in consideration of armored enemies as very sharp blades tended to crack under the rebounding force. Now, heavenly steel was a material of much higher quality and could counter this weakness.
The blade I grew was sharpened to the extreme on both sides and the blades' breadth was ridiculous. Its weight was the only downside and by that I mean, 200 kilograms that would make it impossible to lift for any normal person.
Völsung commented that he hardly felt any difference concerning weight between this and other weapons. I just left him with the suggestion not to hand it to other people.
Storm in the meantime had eaten her fill and was glowing from the inside out. A small tornado picked up around her, ruffling her mane... Why did she have a mane!
Let's just forget about that.
The white light faded away and the breakthrough was completed. Storm's appearance had changed much only that the color of her fur and feathers was now completely white.
"With this, our odds have once again increased."