The Emberheart Armory loomed before Astron, its heavy, ornately engraved doors casting long shadows in the dim light. This was no ordinary armory—it was the culmination of centuries of Emberheart legacy, a place where power was not only stored but guarded with an almost sacred reverence.
Standing there, he understood why Irina's mother had put him through such a brutal test. Irina had clearly spoken highly of him, likely even bragged, and that alone would have sparked her mother's interest. But granting an outsider access to this armory? That was a different matter entirely.
For someone outside the Emberheart family, gaining entrance to the armory was a privilege beyond imagination. Even Irina herself had limited access to its treasures; if she needed an artifact, it would be brought to her, not something she could simply choose freely.