Ascalon

Ascalon, also rendered Askaron, is the strongest weapon of Thunderdoom Fortress's Dragon Slayer series, a dwarven lance that killed the black dragon Partizan and later becomes one of In-gong's principal anti-dragon weapons.

History

Tiny Spark and Black Dragon Partizan

The dwarven warrior Tiny Spark drives Ascalon through Partizan's heart during Thunderdoom Fortress's last battle. Partizan shatters Tiny Spark with his dying magic, while the surviving dwarves abandon the fortress and leave the weapon embedded in the dragon for centuries. In-gong enters the ruined fortress already intending to recover it. He reaches Partizan during the renewed fighting, pulls out the pristine white spear by force, and stores it in his inventory. Removing Ascalon causes the unnaturally preserved corpse to collapse, ending its role as both the dragon's killing weapon and the pin holding the remains together. (Chapters 66–67)

In-gong's Dragon-Slayer Weapon

When Partizan is raised as a zombie, Ascalon recognizes the dragon and reshapes itself into a human-sized charging lance for In-gong. The weapon initially repels his awakened Dragon Blood, forcing him to use Conquest to dominate it while Earth Quaker and Gigantic Piston add force to the thrust; the resulting Ascalon Strike breaks the zombie's defense and destroys the magic sustaining its heart. In-gong later combines Ascalon with Earth Quaker and White Eagle for Dragon's Bane, killing Sun Lake's enormous sea serpent in one charge at severe physical cost. The spear remains a deployable part of his inventory afterward, breaking into a ruin during Felicia's rescue and neutralizing a giant Curtis monster with another Dragon's Bane. Its final custody after Chapter 160 is not separately restated. (Chapters 68–69, 76, 96–97, 139, and 160)

Abilities and properties

• Ascalon is a dwarven Dragon Slayer masterpiece whose complex golden inscriptions form a spell specifically designed to attack dragons. Its item description says it carries the grudges and anger of Thunderdoom Fortress's dwarves, but the corpus does not define those emotions as a separate sentient spirit. (Chapter 67)
• The relic adapts its form to a new master. The oversized spear resembles a ballista bolt or giant lance when recovered, then shortens into a roughly 1.5-meter human lance with a fist grip, raised guard, and several propulsion jets. (Chapters 67–68)
• Its jets produce immense forward force, while lightning surrounds the weapon in combat. Earth Quaker can hold and reinforce it, but Ascalon initially resists the dragon power awakened through In-gong's Dragon Blood and has to be subdued through Conquest. (Chapters 68–69)
• Dragon's Bane is Ascalon's built-in super special move, a committed charge intended for dragons and other enormous monsters. It can kill such a target in one blow, but In-gong cannot look back once the charge begins, relies on White Eagle and Green Wind to steer an aerial approach, and finds the oversized attack too easy for human-scale opponents to evade. (Chapters 96–97 and 160)
• Dragon's Bane places an extreme burden on its user. Even with aura reinforcing his body, In-gong's arms nearly shatter after the sea-serpent strike, and the combined consumption of Dragon Blood, aura, and divine power leaves him exhausted. No recharge interval for the weapon itself is given. (Chapter 97)

Ownership and custody