Phase 1: Rise of the Orphan Blade
Chapter 1: The Crimson Vow
Part 5: The Forge's Fire
Leaving Blood Island felt like tearing out a piece of my soul, but the sea had other plans for me, and Taming Jiwa was my guide. I'm Rentap Buana, sixteen and carrying a vow that started on a cliff, a keris that chose me, and whispers from ancestors I'd never known. The pirates, the kirin, the mentors—they'd shaped me, but nothing prepared me for the world beyond my island's shores. I want to share with you what it was like to step into Kerisforge Clan's stronghold, to face a test that burned hotter than anything I'd known, and to find a spark of who I might become. This is the part of my story where the forge lit my path, and I learned what it meant to be forged myself.
The skiff's sails caught the wind as Blood Island faded, its cliffs swallowed by the Malayanlandia sea's endless gray. Kadir stood at the helm, his kirin-topped staff steady, his eyes on the horizon like he could see the future. I sat at the bow, Taming Jiwa sheathed at my side, its jade pulse a quiet comfort. The rune pouch hung at my belt, next to Suri's jade-edged dagger and my old kerambit, rusted but mine, a reminder of the mangrove maze. Lila's coral bead was tucked in my pocket, its faint glow warm against my fingers. The mentors' lessons—Veil Tide, Iron Surge, Star Whisper, Sky Fang—ran through my mind, their mantras, Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim, a rhythm in my chest. But the Ancestor's Whisper, my parents' faces in that coral grove, weighed heaviest, tying me to a fight I didn't yet understand.
The sea was alive, its waves whispering secrets, sometimes roaring like the kirin from my trial. I'd never left Blood Island, never seen water stretch so far it erased the world. "How long to Kerisforge?" I asked Kadir, my voice rough from salt and wind.
"Three days, if the spirits are kind," he said, not looking back. "Long enough to think, Rentap. Kerisforge isn't just a place. It's a crucible. You'll be tested, harder than the kirin's fang."
I gripped Taming Jiwa, its pulse syncing with the sea's sway. "What kind of test?"
Kadir's eyes met mine, sharp as coral. "The kind that breaks or builds you. Taming Jiwa chose you, but Kerisforge will prove if you're worthy of the Sky Nexus."
The Sky Nexus—Laila's words, the ancestors' visions, a cosmic heart I couldn't grasp. I didn't ask more. Kadir's silence said enough: answers came with surviving. I leaned against the skiff's edge, watching the waves, feeling Taming Jiwa's soul, Assyafiee's whisper, urging me forward. The sea wasn't Blood Island, but it felt alive, its ley lines humming beneath the surface, tying me to the vow I'd made at Crimson Cliff.
The journey wasn't quiet. Storms hit on the second day, waves crashing over the deck, the skiff groaning like it might split. Kadir steered, chanting mantras that calmed the wind, jade waves flickering from his staff, anime-style, shimmering against the rain. I clung to the mast, Taming Jiwa in hand, whispering my own mantra, Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim. The keris glowed, its light cutting through the storm, and I felt it—Assyafiee's soul, steadying me, guiding my breath. The storm passed, but it left me shaken, the sea's power a reminder of how small I was.
Nights were worse. Alone under the stars, I dreamed of the grove, my mother's voice, the kirin's roar. Sometimes, I saw the pirates' faces, their blood on my hands, and woke gasping, Taming Jiwa blazing like it was trying to pull me back. "I'm trying," I whispered to it, to the ancestors, to myself. The keris's pulse was kind, but firm, like it knew I had to keep going.
On the third day, land appeared—a jagged coast, cliffs rising like teeth, jungles spilling to the sea. Kadir pointed to a bay, where coral spires pierced the water, glowing faintly with jade. "Kerisforge Stronghold," he said, his voice heavy with pride. "Home of the Clan, heart of Astra-Nusantara Silat."
The stronghold was no village. It was a fortress, carved into the cliffs, its walls etched with kirin scales and mantra runes, towers crowned with starlit gems. Skiffs and war-boats crowded the bay, their sails marked with jade emblems, warriors moving like shadows, their kerises gleaming. Anime-style energy pulsed everywhere—jade waves from training grounds, ley lines humming through the coral, the air alive with mysticism. I stared, my heart racing, Taming Jiwa pulsing like it was home.
We docked, Kadir leading me through coral gates, past warriors who eyed me—some curious, some cold. I felt small, my tunic salt-stained, my kerambit a child's toy next to their blades. But Taming Jiwa was different, its glow drawing stares, whispers rippling like the sea. "The keris of seven waves," someone murmured, and I gripped it tighter, its pulse my anchor.
Kadir took me to a hall, its walls glowing with coral and quartz, a forge at its center, flames dancing with jade light. Elders waited, their tunics heavy with kirin embroidery, their eyes sharp as Suri's blades. "Rentap Buana," one said, an old woman with a staff like Kadir's. "Taming Jiwa's chosen. We've heard of your deeds—the maze, the kirin. But Kerisforge demands more."
I swallowed, the keris warm at my side. "I'm here to learn," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
The woman nodded, her eyes softening. "You will. But first, the Forge Test. Prove your heart, your blade, your bond to the Sky Nexus."
Kadir leaned close, his voice low. "This isn't Blood Island, Rentap. The test is fire, spirit, truth. Trust Taming Jiwa. Trust yourself."
The test began at dusk, in a coral arena carved into the cliff, open to the sea. Torches burned with jade flame, ley lines pulsing beneath the sand, the air thick with Nusantara mysticism. Warriors lined the edges, their kerises glinting, the elders watching from a coral dais. I stood alone, Taming Jiwa in hand, its pulse fierce, my mentors' lessons—Suri's stealth, Rahim's strength, Laila's spirit, Tengku's tactics—running through me like blood.
The arena shifted, coral pillars rising, glowing with mantra runes, anime-style energy crackling. A voice boomed, not human but ancient, like the kirin's roar. "Rentap, chosen of Taming Jiwa. Face the forge's fire. Prove your worth."
The first trial was combat, shadows emerging from the pillars—coral wraiths, their forms fluid, their blades jade-lit, echoes of Kerisforge's past. I moved, Veil Tide cloaking me, Storm Claw guiding my strikes, the mantra, Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim, steady in my throat. Taming Jiwa blazed, jade waves cutting through wraiths, their forms dissolving into light. But they were fast, their blades grazing my arm, my side, blood mixing with sand. I wove Sky Fang, feinting, drawing them in, Iron Surge powering my blows, coral cracking under my waves.
The second trial was spirit, the arena darkening, ley lines flaring, visions hitting like a storm. I saw the Sky Nexus, a cosmic heart pulsing, kirins soaring, warriors falling. My parents appeared, their kerises glowing, their eyes urging me on. "You're our son," they said, and Assyafiee's voice joined them, his mantra shaking my soul. I knelt, Star Whisper guiding me, Taming Jiwa's pulse a beacon, holding me through the visions' weight.
The final trial was truth, the arena silent, a single coral flame burning at its center. "Speak your vow," the voice demanded. I stepped forward, Taming Jiwa blazing, blood dripping from my wounds, the ancestors' whispers in my ears. "I vowed to fight," I said, my voice raw but clear, "for my parents, for Blood Island, for every soul taken by chaos. I'll be more, for them, for the Sky Nexus."
The flame flared, jade light flooding the arena, the elders rising, their eyes wide. Taming Jiwa pulsed, Assyafiee's soul warm, accepting my truth. The wraiths vanished, the pillars sank, and I stood, trembling but alive, the keris my strength.
The old woman approached, her staff tapping. "You've passed, Rentap. Taming Jiwa's bond is true. Kerisforge welcomes you."
Kadir's hand gripped my shoulder, his smile rare but real. "You're one of us now. The real work begins tomorrow."
I looked at Taming Jiwa, its waves gleaming, and felt the Sky Nexus, my vow, my bloodline, alive in me. Kerisforge was my new home, its forge my path, and whatever came next, I'd face it with the keris that chose me.
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