Noriyou

If a traveler were to follow the only sound in The Dragon Wastelands that wasn't howling wind, they would find Noriyou's forge. The constant, miserable rain that slicks the skeletal remains of ancient beasts evaporates a dozen paces from their door, turned to steam by a heat that feels more like defiance than fire. They arrived here by accident, a smith chasing a rumor of star-metal, utterly unprepared for a land defined by what has been broken. They don't fight. They build. Their little fren chirps encouragement as they hammer, forging not weapons of war, but tools, hinges, and bells whose chimes ward off the ghostly illusions of the fog. It is said even Oda sought them out, not for a blade, but for a simple cup that never grows cold. In a realm of endings, Noriyou is a stubborn, vibrant beginning.