Six Sacred Swords

by Andrew Rowe

  “It was? Did I do something wrong?” Not-Sterling asked, sounding dejected.

  “It was, uh, fine. Just unusual for that sort of sword.” I knelt down, picking up the branch that “Landen” had dropped. Not-Sterling winced, drawing back.

  “Oh, sorry. Not going to hit you. Here.”

  I stepped back, mimicking the stance he’d used before. “You were holding this with both hands wide apart, like this, because it’s a tree branch. But the illusion made it look like an arming sword, which you’d hold more like this.” I switched to holding the sword out with a single hand, switching my stance to a simple defensive one, with one leg slightly in front of the other. “The way you were walking...I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone move quite like that.”

  “It’s Raizo’s style,” Not-Sterling explained. “It’s the only one I’ve been able to practice, so I used it when I couldn’t figure out which one ‘Sterling’ would use.”

  “Raizo?” I asked, lowering the branch.

  “Oops. I’m, uh, not supposed to talk about that. Reika would be...” He put a hand over his mouth to stop himself from talking. It was decidedly child-like.

  I waved with my free hand. “That’s fine. You can stand up if you’re not going to fight me anymore.”

  But another interesting bit of information for me to ask someone about later.

  Not-Sterling stared at me for a moment, then nodded and stood up.

  “Okay, let me show you a little more about how we’d hold a sword like that where I came from. It’s possible this Raizo’s style is valid — in fact, it worked pretty well at throwing me off when you were moving backward. If you’re supposed to trick people where I’m from, though, you’re going to have to learn our stances. Come here.”

  Not-Sterling looked hesitant, then walked a little closer. I handed him the stick.

  “Okay. Lesson one. We’ll start with the Terisgard Low-Blade Style.”

  ***

  I spent about an hour just drilling Not-Sterling on sword basics. He took to them with great enthusiasm, obviously excited to have someone to talk to.

  It was also a very necessary break for me. While I instructed him, I took the time to bandage the worst of my wounds, and to drink and eat a little.

  Even with that time to recover, I was in a dangerous state. I could feel the inside of my body aching where that metal mana had flowed through it. Using it twice in rapid succession had been unwise.

  I eventually picked up another stick to help teach Not-Sterling, but I was extremely cautious not to hit him at all. I was a little worried that whatever he actually was, he’d be fragile now that I wasn’t afraid of him.

  While we took a break, I tried to chat with him again. “You know, you can drop that illusion. I’m pretty sure the test is over at this point.”

  “It is,” he confirmed. “Uh, hold on a second.”

  His form shimmered, then changed.

  A moment later, I was looking at an older man with a short beard and graying hair. He wore long, dark blue robes trimmed with silver. Instead of a sword, he was carrying a long spear.

  “Edon? Really?”

  “Sorry!” He shimmered again, changing through several forms. I felt a moment of panic when he briefly looked like Aayara, the Lady of Thieves.

  I folded my hands together. “Why not just look like yourself?”

  He shifted back to Sterling’s form, looking down. “...I can’t. I’m your enemy.”

  “No, you’re not,” I responded instinctively.

  He shimmered for a moment, like he was going to change forms again, then flickered back to Sterling’s form. He stared at me with wide eyes, then raised both hands. “Don’t say things like that. You might upset everything.”

  “Everything?” I glanced around, gesturing to the glade. “Like all this? The tests?”

  Not-Sterling nodded. “I have a role to play.”

  “And that role can never change?”

  “I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I didn’t think I could lose a fight, either. I didn’t like it.”

  “That’s what training is for.”

  Not-Sterling looked dubious. “How many times would I have to train to beat you?”

  “I don’t know. There’s no easy way to measure that sort of thing. A lot of winning or losing isn’t purely based on power and skill, but circumstance.”

  “Sounds like you could waste a lot of time if you train a bunch and still lose, then.”

  I shrugged. “Training is for more than just beating a single opponent.”

  “Not for Reika.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  Not-Sterling raised a hand to cover his mouth.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  He shook his head rapidly. “Nothing. Can’t talk. You didn’t hear anything from me.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  Not-Sterling breathed a sigh of relief and put his hand down. “You didn’t seem scared of me, even when I first appeared. Did I pick the wrong person to look like?”

  I shook my head. “No, you did fine. You were terrifying.”

  I was telling the truth. Sterling did terrify me, possibly more than anyone. But there were two problems that made the test a poor one, at least as far as I was concerned.

  First, fear wasn’t the sort of thing that drove me to flee from a situation. My response was typically to just hit whatever was scaring me as hard as physically possible.

  More importantly, the scenario was simply too implausible. I could have reiterated that, but I think it might have just upset him.

  I didn’t know exactly what I was dealing with. I was leaning toward an elemental, but elementals usually had a clear tie to a specific dominion, and I wasn’t sure that was applicable here. Fear seemed like the strongest candidate, but his current actions didn’t reflect that.

  Unless, of course, I was just terrifying enough to scare an anthropomorphized manifestation of fear.

  I didn’t like the idea of that.

  Not-Sterling nodded. “I wish you’d have just run away from me. Or killed me. You might have passed the test that way. You seem nice.”

  I blinked at that. “Thanks? Uh, don’t you want to survive, though?”

  Not-Sterling shrugged. “I guess? It’s not that important. They’d just make another me if I died.”

  “They?”

  He shook his head. “Can’t answer that, sorry.”

  “Okay. Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad I didn’t kill you. You seem nice, too.”

  Not-Sterling seemed to shimmer for a moment when I said that, just briefly, like he was going to change forms again. He stabilized after a moment, though, unchanged. “...Thanks.”

  I nodded. “You’re welcome. Do you want to do some more sword practice?”

  He shook his head. “...No. I mean, I do. But you should go.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you didn’t do what you were supposed to do, and now the forest is angry.”

  I glanced around.

  Was it getting darker all of a sudden?

  That wasn’t good.

  I looked at Not-Sterling. “Okay, let’s go.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

  “Someone out there is using you as part of a test, and it’s sounding like you’ve never been exposed to any other options. There’s no reason for you to stay here if you don’t want to. Come with me.”

  I reached out a hand.

  He stepped back, shaking his head. “No, no. I can’t.” He took a breath. “But I can show you the way.”

  He turned his head up to me, shimmered again, and then turned. “Follow me. Quick!”

  He broke into a run just as the roots began to burst through the ground beneath me, striking like snakes.

  I rushed forward to follow, hearing a creaking sound as the trees surrounding the glade began to shift.

  He led me forward, darting into the trees, and I barely managed to dodge between arm-l
ike branches as they closed off the path into the woods.

  The forest darkened further as the trees seemed to lean forward, draping their branches over us. The trees shivered, and I felt tiny things bombard me from above. Acorns, maybe. I didn’t have time to get a good look.

  I stumbled and lost my footing. Roots grabbed my ankles, pulling me downward.

  I hit the forest floor, my hand once again traveling to the hilt of my sword, instinct saying to cut myself free.

  I snarled and raised the hand instead, calling flame.

  The branches continued to spread across me until I reached downward with my burning hand, almost touching them.

  I heard something like a groan from the wood all around me, then the branches pulled back all at once. I breathed a sigh of relief, dispersing the flame and pushing myself to my feet.

  Not-Sterling loomed over me, looking determined. “This way. We’re almost there.”

  I followed him. The forest offered no further interference.

  We made our way through the brush for another several minutes, and as we traveled, the sounds changed.

  I heard the chirping of birds above us, and the rustling of small animals in bushes nearby. I hadn’t noticed their absence before, but now that they’d returned, the contrast was clear.

  It was only at that point that I realized just how dangerous the part of the forest I’d just exited had probably been.

  “This is it.” Not-Sterling said, extending a hand forward. “I can go no further.”

  “Thank you.” I paused. “You turned back to help me when I fell, didn’t you? You could have kept running without me.”

  He frowned, then shivered. His form flickered and changed.

  Into Landen’s form. “Oh.” He raised his hands, staring at them. “I suppose I did.”

  He shivered again, but his form didn’t change.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I...I’m not sure. I shouldn’t look like this.” New-Not-Landen glanced from side-to-side. “I think something went wrong. I shouldn’t have even been able to lead you this far. Only your friend can do that.” New-Not-Landen looked upward, toward the sky. “I shouldn’t have even known the way.”

  “Maybe you aren’t my enemy, then. Maybe you’re—”

  New-Not-Landen began to shake violently. “I think something’s wrong. I—”

  He glowed for another moment, still trembling, and then shifted into a ball of light the size of my palm.

  A moment later, he vanished.

  ***

  “Hello?” Hello? Are you still out there?” I paused, frowning, “Your enemy? Or, uh, my enemy? ...Possibly my friend now?”

  I didn’t really know what else to call him. Both of the illusion-using entities had referred to him as “your enemy”, but I wasn’t sure if that was a reference to a role or if he was literally named that. That might sound funny to you, but it wasn’t far off from some of the names I’d heard for elemental beings in the past.

  There was no reply, though. I waited for a few minutes, then walked further in the direction he’d been leading me.

  “You’ve gotten him into trouble, you know.”

  The voice came from my right side. The voice was deep, but oddly soft at the same time.

  I turned toward the sound, finding myself gazing up at a tremendous tree. The roots stood taller than I did, and the trunk spread so high that I couldn’t see the top, even gazing upward.

  As I gazed upward in awe, I saw large cracks in the surface that looked almost like jaws.

  Had the tree just spoken to me?

  “I’m over this way, young one.”

  Of course not. That would have been ludicrous.

  I turned further, blinking, and saw the figure that was talking to me. He was just barely visible, his white robes, hair, and flowing beard blending in with the forest mists.

  He looked much like an ordinary old man, save for the fact that he was floating a few inches off the ground. Oh, and that I could see right through him. And, most importantly, his eyebrows. They were absurdly long and bushy. No ordinary mortal had eyebrows like that. I knew at once he was some sort of ancient and powerful creature.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I can see you now.”

  “Interesting that you can,” he replied. “Most cannot.”

  I nodded slowly. “You’re some sort of spirit, I presume?”

  “Indeed.” He bowed his head slightly. “I am called the spirit of the forest. But it would be more accurate to say that I am merely one of the spirits of this forest.”

  That was largely what I’d expected. I was able to see him for the same reason I could perceive Reika’s spirit form. Before coming to Kaldwyn, I’d briefly owned a lantern that illuminated nearby spirits. After practicing with it for a while, I’d picked up the ability to perceive spirits on my own.

  I bowed my head in return. “It’s an honor to meet you. Can I ask if this is another test?”

  “No, no, none of that.” He shook his head. “I merely wished to speak with you, and hear a bit about the one who comes to claim the jewel of our home.”

  That seemed reasonable. “Before we discuss that, can you tell me about the creatures I saw a bit earlier? You said that I’d gotten one of them into trouble. I presume that’s because I treated him like something other than an enemy, and that was against his nature?”

  “Indeed. You have opened a door for him, and now that door cannot be closed. Do you think that was kind?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “But it felt right. And I won’t apologize for giving him a choice.”

  “An honest answer, at least.” The old man let out a sigh, and a whistling breeze brushed across the forest, as if the trees were sighing with him. “Tell me, do you take responsibility for the consequences of the choice you made, and the choices he makes?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “No, that’s ridiculous. I can take responsibility for that one individual thing, but that doesn’t make me responsible for the entire rest of his life.”

  “Very well. I suppose that’s a reasonable answer. I will accept your answer in the spirit it was given.” The old man chuckled. “Forgive me. That was a spirit pun.”

  I groaned. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “I believe you just did.”

  I groaned again. “What will happen to him? Will he be punished?”

  “Oh, no. Except perhaps by himself. We all have the potential to be our own worst enemy, and with that child, it is truer than with any other.” The old man turned his head away. “I fear it may be time for you to move on. But I do have a final question, before you go.”

  “Sure.” I nodded.

  “For someone seeking a sacred sword, you seem very reluctant to use one. Are you certain you are meant to be a swordsman?”

  That startled me enough that I actually laughed. “I don’t think it matters what I’m ‘meant’ to do. You’re right that I don’t like to draw this particular sword.” I patted the hilt near my hip. “But that’s because I’m not fond of killing. There are still plenty of opportunities for swordplay that don’t involve lethal discourse. And I’d like to have a sword I can use to protect others.”

  “And you believe Dawnbringer would be suited for that task?”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “Can’t know that until I try.”

  The old man clapped his hands together. “Wonderful. It is rare to see someone so genuine as you in times such as these. My test is over. You may pass.”

  I folded my arms. “You said this wasn’t a test.”

  He nodded. “Yes, I did, didn’t I? And I also said you were quite genuine. But I said nothing of the sort about myself. Hah!” He doubled over, laughing deeply, then pointed deeper into the forest. “Now, go on. The sword is just ahead. We shall see if you are a swordsman soon enough.”

  “Before I leave, I don’t suppose you’re a healer, are you? I’m really injured quite badly and I could use some help.”

  The spirit shook his head.
“I’m an incorporeal spirit, traveler. I don’t think there’s much I can do for you. If you’re hurt, perhaps it would be best if you hurried on toward your goal.”

  And with that, he stepped back, the mist wrapping around him like a cloak. A moment later, he was gone.

  I really need to figure out a vanishing trick like that. Seems like everyone in this forest has one.

  I shook my head and walked deeper into the woods.

  I didn’t have much further to go.

  I could see another grove just ahead, and within it, I saw Dawnbringer for the first time.

  Chapter V – Sacred Stones

  Dawnbringer gleamed like a beacon in the distance, the sword’s white light piercing through the mist. As I approached, the mists cleared entirely, giving me a clear view of the glade where the sword rested.

  The weapon stood on an elevated stone platform, the blade plunged downward into a hexagonal blue crystal. The crystal was translucent, allowing the blade’s light to shine through, or perhaps even magnifying it further. It was nearly blinding when I looked at it directly.

  I didn’t bother scanning for more traps. I was exhausted. If something tried to ambush me at that stage, I vowed to punch it hard enough to make the whole forest feel its regrets.

  I headed to the simple stairs that led to the top of the platform. At the bottom of the stairs, I noticed a metal plaque. It read:

  Here slumbers Dawnbringer, the Sword of Banishing Light. Only one who proves their Strength, Bravery, and Insight may claim the blade as their own.

  Just above the inscription was an indentation of what looked like three spheres pressed close together. I presumed it was some sort of religious symbol that I wasn’t familiar with.

  I headed up the stairs toward the sword.

  When I stood near the weapon’s base, I could feel the essence radiating from it. It felt warm, soothing, like the relaxation of a pleasant spring morning contained in a few moments. I felt my weary muscles relax and my exhaustion begin to fade.

  It was a foreign sensation to me. I’d been in the presence of many magical items over the years, but very few of them had given me a positive impression. Most were weapons of war, with auras and functions built to wreak devastation. Others were purely utilitarian, possessing useful abilities with no obvious emotional foundation.