Aytrax found himself deep in the woods that were near the Kingdom, he was covered in blood of some Knights of the Unity after they had ambush him a few feet away from the fort prison that he was in, he remembered the name of the place he was at & it felt bitter to him 'Soldrax's Lantern' a prison that was also a fort for prisoners being kept in a lantern like fire. But enough of that, the Knights had sensed his presence & dark magic & clearly show signs of them wanting to end his life so he ended their lives with flaming claws & jaws, the forest was dark filled with the sounds of owls & wind, he spotted a few pegasus along with some deers, the trees were tall reaching to the sky, branches snapped under his paws. He didn't know where to go and he was lost. But he then heard Odron's voice in his head.
"Reach for your pain & let my flame guide your way."
So Ayxtrax reach deep in his mind, remembering the pain he experience at the hands of his tortures back in his cell, the pain he felt at benign disgrace. The flame burn in his chest cavity yet he somehow felt it, he reached for the flame with one of his paws as if clutching one's chest, he felt the heat of it in his paw & he pulled his paw off his chest he saw the flame dancing in his paw & almost if in instincts he said the guidance incantation "Oh, Dark Flame guide my way through my pain & suffering like a torch in the dark, deliver to safety." He then threw the flame with a flick of his paw & the flame floated in the air before his eyes, Aytrax then walked closer & the flame move eagering him to follow it and so he did, he followed the flame as it guided him through the forest, as he bottle a few giant spiders & revenant tree spirits.
The flame had guided him towards an opening in the forest through one of the forest many edges as Aytrax exit the forest he then saw that he was an opening with a few rocks & green land a cliff, with some beautiful white & red flowers dancing in the wind as he spotted a vampire, an astray vampire wearing some light armor with some robes, the armor had some damage to it with some rusts marks yet it look majestic, he recalled Odrons words of seeking out his fellow ashtrays, so he walked towards him he noticed that the Vampire was enjoying the scenery of the night, as soon as he got closer the vampire sense him & turn around in surprise or was it alarm before smiling at seeing him as fa fellow Astray then she spoke with almost a full jolly tone.
"Oh hello there!! I see that you are a fellow Astray, haven't seen before, are you around your new here?" The vampire said with a smile & curiosity as Aytrax smile in return & respond
"Yes, I'm new around here. It's good to see another Astray around here."
"Indeed my friend Name's Du Sang once a royal guard of the three kings, now in case you don't know every new astray is required to introduce themselves & their purpose given by our Lord Odron." Du Sang said with the still ever present smile in his face, but there was a stern tone with somehow an edge to his voice, Aytrax didn't blame him.
"Very well, it's only fair in order to build trust, I am Aystrax, Hound of Odron once known as The Sword of Light & The Disgrace, my new purpose is to seek vengeance against those who had disgrace me so I can walked the path of nobility & chivalry once again serving as one Odrons Knight delivering true justice against the vile light of Soldrax." Aystrax introduced himself properly to Du Sang who could only chuckle at Strax's revelation at who he was once.
"Well now!! Hehehee!! This is quite a surprise. I had heard stories of a young knight known as Aytrax, The Sword of Light & his many victories and conquests through the battlefield along with how he failed from grace. To think that you will become an astray, tell me what was it that finally set you astray, was it the bloodshed or perhaps their leadership?" Du chuckled lightly at the revelation, his words full of interest & curiosity.
"The bloodshed & the order of executing a group of children in front of their parents, One I couldn't carry I who had slay thousands of men & women in cold blood, but never a child living many without families." Aystrax answered honestly with a hint of regret in his voice remembering all the pain & suffering he caused to others including some of his own men.
"Very well now as your Elder, it is my responsibility to get you properly equip for your journey, despite being a werewolf your beastly nature won't be just enough to protect you & aid you in battle when facing opponents much tougher & skill then you, I asked for you take my hand I should teleport you to the barracks down this very clif." Du Sang explained to Aytrax with clearity in the situation he found himself in, something he could agree upon, it is true that being a werewolf that won't save him from other werewolves, vampires & humans that without no doubt will use silver or any other kind of magic to slay him, so he took Du Sangs hand & the two were teleported to the barracks down the cliff in another flash of black red fire.
When the fire subsided Aytrax & Du Sang found themselves in the middle of the barracks with various humans, vampires & werewolves minding their own business; all of them were Knights of The Dark flame, the old ones training the young recruits clearly fresh ashtrays. The barracks were spacious enough as he sensed 40 souls, to say the least he felt at ease being surrounded with other ashtrays, was a nice feeling however his thoughts were interrupted by Du Sang bringing his attention back to him, by speaking how could he forget about him, how rude of him to forget about the one who brought him in.
"These Barracks serve as a safe haven for us astrays, the location is masked by powerful illusion magic courtesy of our general, Lord Griffe, a mighty powerful griffon as you see creatures can also become ashtrays, as they are also warriors or scholars.You may feel free to explore the barracks, see if you can get yourself some equipment courtesy of our blacksmith," Du sang said as he patted his shoulder before departing.
"Thanks Du Sang, I will." With Aytrax words being said he & Du Sang went their separate ways with Aystrax exploring the barracks & getting to know some of his fellow astrays.
Needless to say Aytrax had learned some of the culture surrounding the philosophy of Odron, The Dark Flame as we as he walked his way towards the direction where the blacksmith was, he recalled one astray mentioning a special ritual when he had introduce himself 'The Ritual of Ascending Will' is what Nightshade, a human astray who referred themselves as we due to his armor & sword being his companions he remembered asking we & the explanation that Nightshade gave him.
"You see we astray as Knights of The Dark Flame have a close bond to our brothers & sisters, one of them fall in the battlefield we carry their will by turning them into our equipment in a ritual we called 'The ritual of Ascending Will' a sacred practice done when our fellow astray request if they were to perish or in the bridge of death regardless of in the battlefield or sickness. To do it without their request our permission is to defilie them & the ritual."
Aytrax found the ritual to be of great importance to the philosophy in a way he thought it was a way to honor their dead, almost as if they never passed away if what the rest of Nightshade said to him was the true meaning of will.
"Sometimes if an ashtrays flame is strong enough their soul remain, talking to us through their form as armor & weapons, unfortunately some of them only have a fraction of their soul & flame with some of them passing on to Odrons Dark Flame living only their corpse to be turn into equipment, yet regardless they will ascend to upon death by us carrying them in battle aiding us as we wield them."
Nightshade had explained it with great passion with Aystrax listening in wonder filled with respect with admiration for the practice of the ritual, the equipment that Nightshade carry was of two of his closest friends a werewolf who was turned into a strong bone armor enchanted with Odrons black flame giving him good protection with the fur as a cape & patches in the armor with the mask of a astrya vampire & its swords being part of the wing bones & with deadly steel with decorative bandages, carved with beautiful bone handles. Their names were Violet, The Cutting edge a fear warrior who was like a mother to Nightshade, the werewolf was known as Vibrant, scholar & scout, not known for being in many battles but for his intelligence gathering. Aystrax felt sympathy for Nightshade, yet astrays dwell in pain & suffering, such as it was their philosophy but didn't mean they could feel sad or despair.
He then spotted an elder astray standing behind an anvil with some armor in display and a mobile furnace next to him, with a spacable tent in the back, he also noticed pieces of clothes, clothes & robes along with some coats all on display in wooden dummies & folded in neat piles in a wooden table. Aytrax approached the blacksmith who stopped what he was doing & smiled towards him, with a smile in him seeing a new astray.
"Ah you must be the new astray we sense, let me introduce myself I am Acier a master blacksmith & tailor I provide the best of customs of armor to fresh ashtrays like yourself, if you need anything I would provide." Acier said with a raspy voice clearly showing tiredness from years of war.
Aytrax nodded, continuing listening to Acier's conversation towards him. "Now should we get you equipment my beastly frien? Just tell me what's in your mind & I will see that you are properly equipped so you may fulfill your purpose & serve Odron as a Knight of The Dark Flame." Acier said as he gestured towards the tent.
With the words of Acier being said, Aytrax once again nodded, thinking in wha will be the best equipment for him so with careful thinking he came to a conclusion then started to explain the equipment he had in mind towards Acier with great detail, first he started with the head gear a helm that will protect his eyes & muzzle, but will open for him to bite in his enemies, with a light armor with a cape with arm guards, for the legs some armor that will have razor sharp claws for him to kick his opponents of him providing extra protection towards him. The gauntlets will be protective armor with some small blades to parry & strike fast, with the gauntlets having sharp claws for not to risk injuring his own claws, yet the gauntlet ones will be the substitute just like the real claws & a light sword for quick attacks.
"Quite a marvelous idea my friend!! Come let us start!!" Acier said with enthusiasm as Aytrax could only smile & followed him inside the tent where there more pieces of armor, clothes & weapons & in the middle of the tent there was a dark red black flame floating in the middle of the tent, yet Aystrax felt being pull toward its & once he reached to touched it the flame embrace him and Acier laugh at seeing the young recruit being giving his equipment, Acier was a blacksmith & tailor who had a strong connection towards the black flame, Odron had giving him the power of bestow an ability only exclusively towards tailors & blacksmiths along with craftsman in which they can set a flame to grand others equipment crafted by raw material for personal custom request rather than use standard armor for The Knights of The Dark Flame this offer was open for young & elder astrays.
Aytrax looked at himself in front of a mirror, examining his new armor & equipment, he helm cover his head expect for his ears & had visor that protected his eyes, somehow he was able to see as it had a two holes just enough for him to see, while the muzzle guard was built for his jaws to open & close when he was not talking or biting. The chest was color in black steel; it didn't feel too heavy while wearing it & was built of quality steel with beautiful engravings in a rusty silver, with a small cape that was torn from the edge with some fur at the top of the shoulders with some small metal plates acting as extra protection. Plus it had leather & cloth providing comfort, the leg pieces & gauntlets were composed of leather reinforced with chain mail, the parts where his paws & claws were had reinforced flexible steel for protection, like the chest piece it felt comfortable. To add the final touches of his whole equipment he had a light sword, perfect, he didn't have anything against heavy swords but he was more of an agile warrior than a strength one. He smiled at his new equipment, given to him by Acier. Something tells him that he will be visiting the old blacksmith & tailor more than once.