by P. G. Thomas
“Earth Daughter, my pleasure it would be,” and he left carrying the pot and ladle.
Lauren looked back at Gor as she stuffed the last bite of pancakes into her mouth, and gently banged her fork on the plate.
“More Lauren? Dwarf of you, make we will.”
*******
Babartin and Careel Dawnfalcon sat with Eric, who continued to sleep, as the others went down for breakfast.
The Earth Mother wandered in, “How does Eric be?”
“His temperature does be back to normal, his heart beats strong, and naught damage to his limbs. I does naught know if it be his size, or something else, but lesser elves, dwarves or midlanders would naught endure that event yesterday.” Babartin continued, “Earth Mother, please, what does happen?”
She looked at Eric, and then to Babartin and Careel, “Mother hath naught told me. For now we shalt hold our course, deal with what does come our way. Stay vigilant mine sons.” With that, she left the room for breakfast.
Everybody else was in the morning mess, eating and staring at Lauren, who was sitting by the big fireplace, sipping a large mug of bean juice. She still had a few chills from the day before, and had no idea what the dwarves, or Eric must be feeling.
The Master Weapon Smith spoke first, “Earth Daughter, heavy is my heart, sleepless my night. Done what have I?”
She pulled her chair to the middle of the room, and thought for a few moments, “Master Weapon Smith, you did exactly as you were supposed to do. Even before John was born, something sought you out, when you found that sky rock. You had no choice in what you did, as it was both destined and necessary. When I picked up Tranquil Fury, its magnificent and perfect beauty mesmerized me. I know nothing about swords, let alone naming them. My original plan was to examine your fine craftsmanship, and then tell you that I could not possibly name something so great. I would then advise you to seek somebody, who was better suited to this task, but as I held the sword, I started to sense something. There was a dimension that went beyond the length and thickness of the sword. A struggle, was and was not, taking place inside that dimension. There was disruption and serenity, struggle and peace. It has a presence about it, it wants to rebuild, but first it knows it needs to destroy. It wants to see children run in dewy fields, but first, those fields must bleed red. It longs for cool nights, where you hear the owls and wolves howl, but first those nights have to be filled with the screams of death, from those who do not want this peace. It is a perfect harmony of life and death, joy and grief, pain and delight, as one cannot exist without the other. This presence of disruption and serenity, struggle and peace, it was extremely hard for me to understand what I was feeling. This perfect balance is what makes it special, HE will serve Eric, and SHE will protect Eric.”
“He, she, what is it,” asked the Master Weapon Smith?
“It is both. It was those images of tranquility and ferocity that formed the name. SHE wanted one, HE wanted something else, and they decided on Tranquil Fury, so that no one side would win.”
The Earth Mother stood up, “And he who shalt make rivers of blood flow, he who fills night with screams of terror, he who naught army can destroy, he who has a blood lust that canst naught be filled, who is he?”
In some ways Lauren still unsure about the Earth Mother, but it was Lauren that held that sword, who had fought it back into its metal prison. Lauren looked at the ground, her eyes large black orbs, her words were slow, precise. “HE is somebody thou does naught want to meet.”
The Earth Mother heard it, though subtle it was, Mother touched words from Lauren, and she sat back down, rather than pressing more questions.
“What about Eric,” asked John?
Lauren turned to the fireplace, “Eric does be fine. He may smolder longer than sword, but he shalt survive. Eric does naught seek rivers of blood, screams of terror, and does naught have an unquenchable thirst for blood. HE does.”
“I do not understand,” John replied.
Lauren still facing the fireplace, her eyes still large dark orbs, “There does be a duality in this sword. In order for Tranquil Fury to fulfill its destiny, a champion it does need. Eric may naught enjoy that which is to come, but it does be necessary. Long ago, plans were set in motion, plans that thou cannot fathom, but still happened, waiting for the events right to transpire.” Lauren went quiet for a moment, and attempted to gather her thoughts, she turned to the small group, “I don’t know what is going to happen next, but right now, I have to hope that somebody is making sure that a candle still burns in the lighthouse.”
Everybody all heard the elfin words spoken by Lauren, but it was only Alron and the Earth Mother that understood the words and knowledge did not belong to Lauren.
Aaro looked at Lauren, “Told us you did, stand he does not, fail you we did.”
Lauren looked at all the dwarves, spoke normal, “Aaro, not once did I tell you to stop Eric from standing, my words were HE does not rise. Tranquil Fury had possessed Eric, HE had different plans, and HE wanted out. HE tried to cloud my mind, make me forget. I did not realize that HE got that close to me, and did not recognize him for the threat that HE was.”
John shook his head, “But you said there was a balance there, what happened?”
“I said there was struggle and peace. Tranquil Fury tried to break that peace. HE saw an opportunity and tried to seize it, for that is what warriors do. So Aaro, in a sense, we had to quench Tranquil Fury one more time, HE had to submit to me, submit to the Earth Daughter, and I think to Mother. HE had to accept his place, and when HE did that, HE quit struggling. By that time you six were suffering greatly, you used the opportunity to relax your grips, get your blood flowing again, or maybe SHE caused all to loosen their grips as HE knew the battle was lost, knows we need to prepare for war. Maybe it was Mother. I don’t know. When Tranquil Fury went back, I called to Eric, he heard his name, stood up, and took control. He was free.” Lauren called to Gor for a refill of her bean juice. Mother this stuff grows on you!
Bor spoke next, “Great pain to Eric cause we did. Punishment so great, body fail it will. Continue if you had, died Eric would have?”
“You are correct Bor, Eric was very close to death, and HE knew it.”
Bor looked at her, “But submit not, then die would Eric?”
“Yes Bor, both would have died.”
These words caused many looks of shock from the room—even Gor, who dropped Lauren’s mug of bean juice. Lauren continued looking at the ground, “I does naught hold a grudge against Eric, and does naught mean him any harm. But HE could naught be allowed to win, could naught be let loose. If it hath be necessary, then Eric would hath died.”
The Master Weapon Smith looked up, “If champion's name provided not, happen what?”
Lauren replied, “We would not be having this conversation right now Walward. Now I feel the need for another hot bath,” and then she exited the room.
Gor went to the kitchen, returned with a tray of glasses a jug from his personal stash, and poured each a drink. Nobody asked about the contents, they accepted it, and drank it down, still unsure of what happened, or what would happen next.
*******
With the violent storm nothing more than a memory, the suns began to shine, Mirtza decided to go for a walk before the morning meal the next day. The spectacular view of the mountains, fresh scents in the air, the wet grass, steam rising from the ground, it felt good to be outside, felt good to be alive, felt good to be out of that damn room. What have I gotten myself mixed up in? He was surprised to see the Earth Mother, with three of the elves that followed her, outside as well. With such open spaces, there was no need for him to encroach on her space, and he headed in a different direction.
“Mirtza, may I speak with thou?”
The words stopped him, while he would have enjoyed a conversation with her, he would have preferred to be the one who started it. “How can I help you Earth Mother?”
“Does thou make water cold two days
past?”
“No, how could …”
“Earth Daughter does tell me of thou. Trickster naught anger does I hold against thou. All I does seek does be truth. Water that cold does naught flow from dwarf walls. Be it thou Trickster?”
“Earth Mother, I too felt the cold water, but I had nothing to do with it.”
“Truth thou does speak?”
“Earth Mother, I could never lie to you.”
“True that does be, but still question I does hath to ask.”
“Earth Mother, may I ask you one question?”
“Great service to Mother thou hath done, ask you may, but answers does be few.”
“On many occasions, Lauren—I mean, Earth Daughter has, well… she has not been herself. I have heard words from her that seem to be elfish. Her voice seems to change, resonates with power, and cannot be denied. Her eyes… She does what is unexpected, and knows things she should not. Yet the timid young girl I found on the grasslands still stands before me. Earth Mother, I am worried for her.”
“Mirtza, a good friend thou does be. Naught before hath I seen Mother take such a keen interest in one chosen. Heard also hath I, words and commands that does naught be from timid one. I also hath seen her eyes, eyes of Mother they does be. Fear naught, as Mother does guide her. In good company, Earth Daughter does be. Thank thou for thine honesty Mirtza.”
As she and her escorts began to walk the other way, Mirtza suddenly had the inclination to return to the mine, where corridors and rooms were available to hide in.
*******
Lauren ate a small breakfast, as she was worried about Eric. It had been three days since Tranquil Fury tried to possess him, and she was unsure of what mood he would be in. To her knowledge, nobody had told Eric what had happened, and as far as the rest were concerned, if she wanted Eric to know, Lauren would be the one to tell him. Over the last three days, whenever somebody saw her walking their way, they would quickly find a hall or room to turn into. Everybody treated her different, except for Gor. In the morning, she would rise early, and be greeted with the same cheerful smile, and a pleasant ‘Lauren, please you, what would?’ It created a degree of normality in her day. This morning, Lauren summoned the courage to enter Eric’s room, “We need to talk.” He had just taken a bath, only had a towel wrapped around him, and in the cold room, steam was rising from his body, which she thought was fitting. He took some clothes into the washroom, changed, and when he came out, Lauren was sitting on the bed.
“Has anybody said anything to you?”
Eric shook his head, “No, I have asked, nobody will tell me anything.”
“I will give you the short version, give you some time to think about it, and later I will try to answer your questions. Parts of this are not going to make sense. I can only tell you what I know, and like Mirtza said, that which I do know, is only exceeded by that which I do not know. Or something like that.”
Eric pulled up a chair and sat down.
Lauren could not look him in the eyes, “Years before you, or I were born, something here sensed that something was going to happen. Sounds corny, I know. Whatever that was, it started making plans, small changes, probably so they would go unnoticed. Over time, they brought those little pieces together, and there are probably more, but we have not found them yet. One of the larger pieces is that sword. You have to ask yourself, why would a dwarf, a little more than four feet tall, make a weapon six feet long? And somebody provided something strange to put in it, I don’t exactly know what it is, but it has an intelligent presence. When the ceremony started, I did not intend to name the sword, and I think it sensed that. I think it was afraid, that if not named, it would remain in that room for years to come, and it wanted out. It was trying to seize any mind that it could, to ensure its escape. I had no idea that the Master Weapon Smith was going to name you. As I was trying to fight off Tranquil Fury, all I was looking for was the name, and I thought it was going to be Bor, and either the sword, or Bor, maybe both would be transformed. Once he said your name, there was nothing that I could do. And when I proclaimed you champion, I didn’t think there was anything Tranquil Fury could do.” She stopped and waited to see if Eric would say anything, but he remained silent. Lauren continued, “The morning after, you would not wake up, and I sensed that Tranquil Fury—let’s just call it TF for short, otherwise this discussion will never end—I sensed that TF was trying to possess you. I needed a way to make TF say uncle. You’re a big boy, and there was no way we were going to beat TF out of you. I had to make it submit to me, as the Earth Daughter. I still do not completely understand it all, but it seemed to be the key in what was happening.” Eric still sat in silence. “What you need to know is that TF was created to make peace, and that path to achieve peace is through battle. TF wants to rebuild, but first it needs to destroy. I do not know what lies ahead for either of us, nor do I know why they selected us. I know things that I shouldn’t, can do things that I never thought possible, and sense things that are beyond normal. This world has adopted us, has plans for us. And you know in your heart, and head, what I did was not to hurt you, it was to save you.” She waited, “Damn it Eric, I killed a man without even blinking an eye. I had this Earth Daughter role shoved so far up my…. I don’t like what happened to you, I really am not enjoying any of this, but suck it up, get over it. You don’t quit playing the game because of one bad day.” With that, she got up and headed to the door.
There was a smoldering anger in Eric’s voice, “If this TF, as you call it, had not submitted to the great Earth Daughter, what would have happened to me?”
“I knew TF had to submit, as he needs more than just you to succeed.”
“But if TF was more stubborn than you, what would have happened?”
Lauren heard the question, but she had already left the room, the thought of what would have happened brought tears to her eyes, an image she did not want to consider.
*******
Eric wandered out onto the terrace that night where he found Zack, Logan, Ryan, and John sitting around a table, with several pitchers of dwarven beer.
“Dude, what happened to you that night? You screamed like a twelve year old girl who had snuck into a restricted horror movie. You know, when she sees the masked-cover villain step out of the fog, with the blood dripping knife. Not very manly of you, or should I say the Champion.”
Eric smirked, turned to Zack, “I have no idea. I am sitting in the front, watching Lauren. For the first half hour, I thought she was just putting on a show for the Master Weapon Smith. After that, it became boring, but when she started talking about bloody rivers, screams, armies and blood lust… well it sort of scared me. Then I am looking at the Master Weapon Smith, and before I realize he has said my name, Lauren thrusts the sword into my hand, and screams something at me. The next think I know, twenty people are giving me a bath, and there is no hot water.”
Ryan filled his mug, “Has Lauren explained what happened?”
“Yeah, she stopped by and did, or tried to.” Eric turned to John, “She said the sword tried to possess me, that’s not possible. Is it?”
John shrugged his shoulders, “Here? A world full of elves, dwarves, and magic. Might as well throw a magic sword into the mix. I’m surprised we are not riding around on dragons.”
“Dude, hadn’t thought of that. That would be a righteous ride.”
Eric finished his drink, “Did Lauren tell you guys anything?”
Logan nodded, “Both of them, my sister, and I guess my step sister. But the way she talked, it didn’t make any sense. He can’t be let loose, but Eric will be fine. And then who the hell was she.”
Ryan turned to Logan, “She what?”
Logan nodded, “That is what I want to know?”
“You’re not making any sense,” replied Ryan.
“Runs in the family Dude.”
Logan shook his head, “Who is she”
Ryan let out a sigh, “She’s your sister.”
J
ohn filled up his mug, “I think Logan was talking about when Lauren said he will serve him, she will protect him.”
Logan’s eyes rolled up, “Yeah, that one!”
John continued, “From the way Lauren was talking, I think there are twins inside the sword, a male and female personality, or personification, or…something. But two of them.”
“Does that mean Eric is a triplet?”
Eric turned to John, “When Lauren left, I sort of understood what was happening, but you guys are starting to confuse me.”
“Well then you explain it to us.”
“Lauren basically said that the sword was a piece to the puzzle that we are trapped in. I am hoping it is more of a symbol, but I don’t know. I think we have to wait to see what play the other side is going to run, before we figure out what we need to do next.”
Ryan looked at Eric, “You seem pretty calm today? What changed your mind about your water torture?”
“When you stopped by the other day, and told me how long the dwarves held me in that chair, I tried to recall what had happened. But I could only remember a few minutes towards the end when I stood up. And that was when I realized it was Lauren 2.0 who did something to Eric 2.0 or maybe 3.0. If I couldn’t remember what happened, maybe I was possessed, and what Lauren did was the right thing.”
Zack turned to Eric, “2.0? Wasn’t that your grade point average?”
Chapter 15
It was a few days later, Lauren and John received an invitation up to the terrace to review the plans to investigate the nearby midlander villages, where Alron advised that the supplies were packed, and that they would be leaving the next day.
“I have one question?” Everybody turned to look at Lauren, “I named Eric the champion of Tranquil Fury a few days ago. I have given up asking why. Why Mother chose me to be an Earth Daughter? Why you were waiting for us? That sword, no ideas on it at all, and Eric named the champion, I sort of understand. I have just learned to accept it all. But when I held that sword, I saw some disturbing images, armies, war and more. You all heard the words I said, I don’t know what that sword knows that you don’t, but that sword wants peace, and its path to peace is through hell. If Eric is the champion, won’t he need training? And maybe some armor? Yes, it is an impressive sword, but I don’t think that simply approaching an army with it over his shoulder is really going to scare them away. Were any plans made to train or protect him?” As Lauren finished her question, she looked down at Bor and Aaro.
