Sword of Spirit (Salvation of Solandeus)

by David J. VanBergen Jr.

  At that point, Persephonie knew she was on her own, but she felt compelled to learn more. For the next couple months, she only studied prophecies in secret so no one would suspect she was still searching. Over that time, she meditated and prayed for insight related to the prophecy. As is often the case with prayer, her answer didn’t come immediately; it simply appeared one day.

  She was studying historic monasteries of Solandeus and looking through a stack of books that was almost as tall as she was. She felt led to a particular book, and as she paged through it, she found a reference to the Armor of God and the man prophesied to wear it again. At that point, she knew God had given her the answer she was praying for and that her destiny was tied to the prophecy and the young man it spoke of. She also knew that she would be on her own and had to make sure Brom and the other Druids didn’t know anything about her quest.

  Those first two years were extremely difficult for her. Because she was a young Druid, she was not allowed to travel beyond the island on her own. During that time, every spare minute was spent reading the Druid histories to find references to the Armor of God and prophecies about the man who would re-assemble it and potentially save the Kingdom. The day she turned 18, she gathered all her notes, packed up her bags, and boarded a ship for the Kingdom.

  That was just over a year ago. Since that time, she had explored every corner of Solandeus trying to find the armor. She was fortunate enough to find the Bracers of Righteous Might, but her luck ended there. A month ago, she decided it was time to find the young man in the prophecy and try to deliver the bracers to him without being seen. She traveled to his home town only to find he had left the day before. It had taken her several days to track him down after that, and she was determined to not lose him again. Unfortunately, she didn’t know exactly how to help him without being seen so she decided to just stay close to him and learn everything she could about him.

  As the sun broke the horizon, she could see Mat moving around in his room. She had a perfect view of the inn from her hiding spot so it was easy for her to see him leave shortly after sunrise. She followed him at a distance as he traveled to the training grounds and watched as he shot arrow after arrow into the bull’s-eye of every target on the practice field.

  As the crowd watching him grew, she was bold enough to come closer; when she did she could see how special Mat really was. He moved with a grace she had never seen before. He was one with his bow and once he focused on his target, there was nothing that would stand in his way. She knew this level of dedication and determination would be required to find the Armor of God, and she was encouraged to see that in him.

  When he left the training grounds, she followed him from a distance and watched him talk to several vendors. After one conversation, he moved away at a very rapid pace like he was running away from someone. She increased her pace so she wouldn’t lose him in the crowd. As he neared the Roaring Dragon, he looked over his shoulder before turning into the alley across from the inn. She raced after him and was actually worried about his safety. As she rounded the corner into the alley prepared to defend him if need be, she found no one there.

  She quickly realized that she was the person he was running from and sensed he was trying to trap her. Fortunately, she is an extremely agile climber and was able to scale the wall of the building and pull herself onto the roof just as Mat raced around the corner trying to trap her. She lay there on the roof hiding from him for several minutes. Eventually she heard him walk away and peaked over the front of the roof and watched him disappear into the Roaring Dragon.

  For the second time that day, she scolded herself for almost getting caught. She knew she wasn’t being careless, it was more about Mat’s extraordinary ability to sense what was going on around him. She could already tell he was somebody special.

  She didn’t yet know how she would do it, but she again vowed to herself that she would do everything in her power to protect him and help him achieve his destiny. She would need to be more careful around him, however, because he obviously knew when she was near . . . and the thought of that brought a smile to her face.

  Chapter 5

  After eating lunch, Mat felt better and was ready to learn more about the bracers. He put them in his equipment bag and headed to the Mercantile District and the Impenetrable Shield. As he walked through the crowd, he thought about how he had gotten here.

  Mat had grown up with every material thing he could ever want or need. His family had been important and influential in Solandeus for generations, but the marriage of his aunt to the King had elevated his family’s stature even further. Unfortunately, being the middle of five children was a forgotten place to live at times.

  His oldest brother, Gregory, was the heir and was groomed to take over the family estate. His second oldest brother, Gavin, trained to be a knight in the King’s Guard and would probably be a general someday. His brothers treated him well but were mostly too busy to be bothered by their younger brother.

  Mat’s younger sisters, Sarah and Elizabeth, had been doted on since the day they were born. They were perfect little princesses and would certainly marry into powerful families when they were older. They loved being princesses, and he hoped they would find love and not be forced to marry for duty instead. He loved all his brothers and sisters, but his youngest sister, Little Lizzy to him, held a special place in his heart. She was 10 years younger than him, and she was just now starting to develop her own personality. He missed her already and didn’t like to think about how long it might be before he saw her again.

  Growing up, his family life was good, but not great. Everybody loved each other and got along well for the most part, but the focus was always on his older brothers or younger sisters. It allowed him to do almost anything he wanted, but it got really lonely at times; this was the main reason he decided to leave home after his 17th birthday and try to find his own way in the world. He didn’t necessarily want to leave home, but he knew he had to do something with his life. Danton was the closest real city so that’s where he headed. Once there, he rented a room and tried to figure out where to go next. A week later he was still in Danton and had no further plans, but the mysterious bracers would probably change that.

  While walking through the mercantile district, he saw shops of every kind. There were clothing stores, jewelry stores, general supply stores, and almost every other type of store you could imagine. The one type of store he didn’t see anywhere was an armory. Those shops were typically near the stables and blacksmith shops which were on the other side of town, but he had been told by several people that the Impenetrable Shield was in the Mercantile District.

  Nearing the end of the street, he could see it dead ended up ahead. He decided he must have missed the shop and started to turn around and retrace his steps when he saw what he was looking for. The shop looked old and abandoned. The curtains in the window were closed so he couldn’t see inside. On the door of the shop was a faded sigh with a shield behind three broken arrows. If he hadn’t turned right in front of the shop and looked straight at the door, he never would have noticed it.

  He approached the Impenetrable Shield wondering when someone last entered the shop. As he opened the door and crossed the threshold, a large black cat suddenly appeared and jumped right at his face. His martial training kicked in and he threw his upper body backwards and twisted to the left to avoid the cat. As he righted himself and stepped the rest of the way into the shop, the oldest man he had ever seen scrambled out of the back room waving a long, twisted stick in the air.

  “You get out of here you worthless, good for nothing, no mouse catching, fat cat!” screeched the old man swinging the stick back and forth over his head. His white hair stuck out in every direction and looked like it hadn’t been combed in a week. His short white beard was just as crazy. He continued to scramble towards the open door after the cat, oblivious to the fact that somebody else was in the room, and almost hit Mat in the head with his stick before he noticed he wasn�
��t alone. “Who the heck are you? Did you see a fat, worthless cat run through here?” he demanded to know.

  Mat was so taken aback he just stood there staring at the crazy old man and wondered what he was doing in this shop. He finally gathered his thoughts and answered “Good sir, my name is Mathias, and I was told you were an expert in fine armor. If it is a bad time, I can come back later.”

  At this, the old man’s demeanor quickly changed, and he flashed a smile that showed a mouth full of crooked, yellow teeth. “Oh, a customer you are” he cooed. “You have come to the right place. I have all the finest armor and weapons. I have collected pieces from every corner of the kingdom and many places beyond. Whatever you want, I can provide . . . for a price of course . . . hee hee hee!”

  Mat marveled at how fast the old man’s demeanor changed once he thought he had a paying customer in his shop. “Well, good sir” he replied, “I already have the armor I need, but I would like to ask you some questions about a special piece I recently acquired.”

  Upon hearing this, the old man’s demeanor changed again, and he bitterly replied “If you aren’t here to buy anything, quit bothering an old man and get out of my shop. I have no time for information seekers. I am not a librarian!”

  “No, wait. You don’t understand,” Mat implored. “What I meant to say is that I recently acquired some armor and I, umm, need to ask some questions about what would be the best weapon to use with it. Of course I want to buy something. I, uhh, just need you to tell me what I need.”

  “Oh, I see. You have come to the right place then,” the old man said as he walked to the window and opened the curtains flooding the room with light. He moved behind the counter and said “Well, let’s see what you have, and we can find you a perfect weapon to match.”

  Walking to the counter, Mat looked around the shop for the first time. Almost every square inch of the walls was covered with swords, shields, axes, and weapons of every kind. There didn’t appear to be any pattern to where things were hung. Things seemed hung anywhere there was room for them. Most of the pieces looked old and worn out, but mixed in were weapons and pieces of armor that appeared to be of very high quality. As he approached the counter, he noticed that many of the items hanging behind the counter had runes and symbols etched into them, and he swore that a couple of the items had a slight glow to them. He started to think he was in the right place after all as he sat his equipment bag on the counter and opened it.

  Mat pulled the bracers out of his bag and sat them on the counter. The old man’s hands started shaking as he gingerly reached out and touched one of the bracers. “Oh my, oh my, oh my,” he repeated. “These are very rare indeed. These designs and symbols haven’t been used in a thousand years. This can’t be. It just can’t be. These can’t possibly exist,” he softly whispered. If his hearing wasn’t superb, Mat would not have even heard what the old man said.

  Mat blinked, trying to comprehend what he heard, as the old man turned around and grabbed an exquisite battle ax with a three foot handle off the wall. Before Mat could ask what he was doing, the old man spun around and swung the battle ax down on the bracers. Mat stood there in horror watching the battle ax slice through the air down onto the mysterious bracers. “What are you doing, you crazy old man?” Mat screamed. He felt crushed. Even though he had never even donned them, he had felt a bond with the bracers, and his heart broke to think they were now destroyed by this crazy old man.

  “Just what I thought,” the old man mumbled completely ignoring Mat. “I thought these were just legend . . . never thought I would see them . . . What does it mean?”

  Mat regained his senses and looked at the bracers on the counter. There wasn’t a scratch on them. Somehow, the battle ax hadn’t even scratched the bracers. He reached across the counter and grabbed the old man by the shoulders with both hands. “What are you muttering about?” Mat demanded. “What do you know about these bracers?”

  The old man kept mumbling to himself and Mat had to shake him to get him to stop. The old man shook his head and slowly looked up, staring Mat in the eyes. “These bracers can’t exist. They are a thing of legends only,” the old man said with complete clarity. “That battle ax has an enchanted blade and will slice through the finest of steel armor. It didn’t even scratch your bracers. I don’t know who you are or where you got them, but I want no part of them. If these are real, bad things are happening in the world. I will tell you no more. I want no part in it.”

  “Please, you must tell me something,” Mat begged. “I don’t know anything about them, but I sense they are powerful, and I sense they are for me. I had a vision earlier today, and I need to know more. Please help me!”

  “I will tell you one thing,” the old man flatly stated. “After that, you will leave my shop and never return. Do you agree?”

  He needed to know more. He knew this crazy old man had information he desperately wanted but could see the fear in his eyes. “Ok, I agree, but please, please tell me as much as you can,” Mat implored.

  The old man looked him in the eyes and slowly shook his head. Mat got a feeling of dread as the old man said “If these bracers are what I think they are, many legends and prophecies surround them. They could signal the destruction of our world or the salvation of our kingdom . . . or both. If you want more information, the monks at the Basilica Monastery may be able to tell you more . . . they may not. Either way, I am done with you. You will leave my shop and not return. That was our deal. Now, go!”

  Mat stood stunned for a minute trying to process what he had just been told. In a daze, Mat grabbed the bracers and put them back in his equipment bag. He grabbed his bag and walked to the door. As he reached the door, he turned around to thank the old man for his help, but there was nobody there. It was as if the old man had just vanished into thin air. Mat turned around and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

  He stood outside the shop for many long minutes trying to comprehend everything he was just told. He wondered how much was real and how much was the ravings of a lunatic. As he slowly walked back through the Mercantile District, Mat repeated the old man’s words over and over again in his head trying to decide what to do next. He had gone to the Impenetrable Shield to find answers, but he felt like he just had more questions now.

  Chapter 6

  Mat sat at the small table in his room at the Roaring Dragon studying the maps of the realm he had brought with him from home. His family had an extensive collection of maps of Solandeus and the Great Northern Kingdom. When he left home on his journey, he had taken a large map of the realm as well as several detailed maps that showed specific areas of the kingdom.

  The map he was currently looking at showed the northeast corner of the kingdom. It showed everything from the Wall of Salvation to the eastern shore down to Port Ludenberg. Danton, where he was currently staying, wasn’t on this map but the King’s Highway ran from Danton to Port Ludenberg and was the fastest way to travel. Once he reached Port Ludenberg, he could travel north towards the mountains of the Great Divide and find his way to the Basilica Monastery.

  The first portion of the journey would take him two or three days depending on how hard he pushed his horse. Normally, he would take his time on the trip, but he felt a sense of urgency to find out more about the bracers so he planned to start early and travel late into the night before stopping. This would mean traveling after dark which was always a little risky, but the King’s Highway was usually pretty safe and he was certain he would be able to protect himself from attack with his sword.

  After returning from the Impenetrable Shield earlier, Mat had settled his account with the innkeeper. He paid for that night’s stay, his dinner which was getting cold on the table next to the maps, and some travel rations that would be delivered to the stables and loaded up in his saddle bags for him at first light. Now that he had his travel plans set, he rolled up the maps and put them back in the map case he carried them in. All that was left to do was eat his dinner and try to
get some sleep.

  Even though the sun had set hours ago and he had gotten very little sleep the night before, Mat was not ready to sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about what the old man had said about the bracers and, even more than that, he couldn’t get over the fact that a razor sharp, enchanted blade had not even scratched them. He didn’t know exactly what they were, but they were definitely enchanted in some way. He was tempted to take the bracers out of his equipment bag and put them on, but the old man was definitely afraid of them and he decided that it would be prudent to find out more about them before he tried them out.

  After sitting at the table picking at his food for what seemed like hours, but was probably only 30 minutes, he removed his boots and lay down in bed. It felt so good to get his boots off and lay down that he scolded himself for not doing it sooner. Despite all the thoughts running around in his head, he closed his eyes and was soon asleep.

  - - - - - - - - - -

  Mat opened his eyes and looked around the room. As he lay there on his back, he could see that it was still dark out and he wasn’t sure why he had woken up. He didn’t sense anybody else in the room like he had the night before, but something felt out of place. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around the room a little closer. As he was looking around the room, he noticed a glow coming from his equipment bag. He rolled out of bed and walked over to the bag which was sitting on the table.