by Marcus Sloss
I decided to focus on training my earth mana gift, recognizing it as the weakest of my three abilities. While I could control chunks of the earth and send them flying toward the enemy, I wanted to improve my capabilities even more.
I remembered Illia’s words about connecting to the earth, thinking of how easily she was able to bend it to her will, and I focused on trying to achieve this for myself.
Again—the task was much more difficult than Illia ever made it seem. Regardless of my inability to fully grasp her explanations of the gift, I still saw progress in my own abilities. After much trial and error, I could now grasp things, holding them in place using the earth.
I thought of it as a kind of anchor, restricting the movement of the target as the earth molded itself around the intended appendage. I used my own feet for practice, feeling the ground and imagining molding it like clay using only the mana around it.
Once I figured out how to mold it to the target, I then needed to remember to harden it. The first couple ‘successes’ were proven faulty when I easily stepped out of the restraint, the soft dirt crumbling from my motion.
I eventually figured out all the processes that went into subduing an opponent, practicing my newly gained skill on Aquina and Cera to be sure it worked on others besides myself.
Moving targets presented another problem altogether, but I chose to take the small win figuring I would get better at that aspect with more practice.
By the early evening of the second day, Illia announced the completion of the weapon, urging us all to the training ground so that I could test out the sword’s effectiveness.
“I’ve really out done myself this time,” she boasted heading into the blacksmith’s shop, wanting to make a spectacle out of the reveal.
She exited the hut a moment later, the sword hidden behind her back as she watched the expressions of her waiting audience. Satisfied she had built up enough anticipation, she swung the sword from behind her back, holding it up in the remaining light.
Damn. The sword presented even better than her first attempt with the mithril. The blade shone a brilliant red, looking almost like a crystal rather than a sword. The grip, wrapped in dark leather, connected to an intricate cross-guard that took the shape of a pair of dragon wings.
“Impressive,” I said as she handed me the finished product.
I gripped the leather, turning it around in my hand to test the weight.
“But will it do the job,” she flicked her hand upward in front of her, the sounds of moving earth reverberating through the air.
I turned to find a golem forming, the height once again matching my own, and the perfect sparring partner to go all out on.
“Remember—no mana gifts,” she smirked, stepping to the sidelines to watch with Aquina and Cera.
I saw her push her hand out in front of her from the corner of my eye, the golem in front of me reacting to the motion. It gripped a sword made of stone firmly in its hands, raising the weapon up in front of its sturdy form. Despite the bulk of the golem, it proved quite agile as it propelled forward, the blade coming down in a sweeping motion.
Instinctively, I raised my own, the weapons clashing, my own blade seeming to glow a bit upon impact.
Swiping my weapon against the attackers, I pushed back, gaining some ground before setting up a strike of my own.
I attacked quickly, hoping to leave little time for my opponent to think about how to counter.
Our weapons clashed repeatedly, the blade feeling like an extension of my arm as it moved throughout the space in front of me.
Despite the light weight, the attacks fell hard, evident by the small chips the stone blade sustained the longer the standoff continued.
Stabbing the air by the golem’s head I advanced upon it, the mass of stone reacting with a sidestep, avoiding the blade. I aimed lower next, spinning to gain momentum as I struck repeatedly, each move blocked adeptly.
Illia’s control of the stone creation proved absolute, leaving little chance to strike a vital point and I found myself growing increasingly determined the longer the sparring match dragged on. Now aware of my once fatal flaw, I felt the moment I began to release mana into my weapon, my natural desire to win unintentionally influencing my actions.
I didn’t try to stop the flow of mana, wanting to truly test the sword's ability.
The golem reacted to my momentary pause, Illia trying to take advantage of my distraction as the sword cut the air in a downward vertical motion.
I rolled, avoiding the blow that sent the stone sword deep into the dirt.
I noticed that my own sword really did begin to shine, the blade resembling a blaze as the mana began to pool inside the weapon. Getting to my feet, I moved to slice the ankles of the golem who continued to pull on its weapon, trying to remove it from the forest floor.
The golem turned in time to avoid the attack, abandoning the blade altogether. I attacked again, strike after strike of the blade all aimed at the head of the golem.
Its raised forearms acted as a shield, receiving all the damage from the blows that seemed to have increased in power.
I noticed as the arms of the golem began to crack, the stone no longer strong enough to receive the continuous damage. Illia seemed to notice as well, her attacks becoming more desperate as she sent the golem rushing forward and trying to push me back.
It worked at first, my sword raised to block, offering little resistance against the sheer force of the golem as I slid backwards in the dirt. The golem pushed forward until my back touched the wall of a hut, its leverage against me broken.
A fist aimed for my body, met instead with the side of the hut as I slid down, avoiding the attack. With the flat of the sword, my non-dominant hand supporting the blade, I pushed up, rocking the golem back on his feet, giving me enough space to distance myself from the golem.
As it regained its footing, I charged, first aiming low, the shining blade slicing into its calves easily before I arched the sword back bringing it down upon its head.
The golem raised its arms to block once again, but my strike proved stronger, breaking its defenses before lodging into the shoulder of the creature.
The golem crumbled under my last attack, the debris falling in a pile on the forest floor. Pulling back on my sword, the blade dislodged from the broken shoulder with a shriek from the metal.
Illia appeared beside me a moment later, thoroughly inspecting the blade.
“It’s perfect!” She said after the close examination, clearly happy with her findings.
“Not a scratch on it and—-did ya feel it? The blade got stronger during the second half of the match. Yer power—yer intent—it transferred to the weapon. Isn’t it great?”
Illia’s hands were clasped together admiring her work as I held it out in front of me. I really did feel the difference of this weapon compared to those that broke in the heat of battle.
It was as though the blade changed with the introduction of my mana, the strength increasing the more time passed. It made me wonder how strong it would become when faced with a real battle.
“Finally, a weapon you can’t break,” Aquina chimed in, giggling, having been a witness to all the swords I’d destroyed since coming to Jormia.
The mock battle had lasted longer than we anticipated, and we realized the surroundings were already becoming dark. Not having enough light to hunt, we searched a few of the nearby houses, finding dried jerky that we could eat for dinner.
With the completion of my weapon, the next step in our newly devised plan was to return the egg to its mother—-well, where it’s mother could safely retrieve it—before heading back to the Wen village. With that in mind, we headed to bed, wanting to be well rested for the start of what would be another long trip of walking.
∞∞∞
The following morning, we packed up our belongings, including the borrowed food, clothing and of course, the egg. We pulled on the armor Illia prepared for us, strapping our holsters to our w
aist, weapons securely in place.
Illia disappeared for a while, walking around the village for a final time before joining us by the front opening.
I could tell she struggled with the thought of leaving the village behind for good. She remained quiet as she rejoined our small group, taking a deep breath in, centering her emotions.
“I’m ready,” she said, readjusting the bag that rested across her shoulders.
A new determination replaced her melancholy expression, and I knew she was at peace with her decision. I pulled at the strap of the carrier for the egg that rested on my back, the weight already heavy despite just starting the journey.
“Here,” Aquina said, pulling out a small crystal and placing it in the holding contraption with the egg. She mumbled her spell, the egg’s weight reducing significantly. Although I could still feel its presence on my back, I felt more confident about carrying it the whole way to our destination - the open plain.
“Can’t you just transport us with your earth magic?” Cera asked Illia, her arms swaying back and forth, trying to copy the way the earth moved at Illia’s command.
Illia laughed, watching Cera’s theatrics.
“As much as I would love to do that, it’s not possible. Moving the ground so much can mess up the roots and the ecosystem under the earth. It’s fine to use it sometimes...in smaller cases—and a lot of the time the plants are resilient, but I’d hate to kill off everything just to get there a little faster. Ya know?”
“Yea—that makes sense. Well, it was worth a try,” Cera mumbled, accepting the idea of walking back to the Wen village.
“If only we still had Hercules,” Cera sighed as we exited the village.
I glance around the town once more from our position just outside the wall, unsure I would see it again, and knowing if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be any time soon.
Although nowhere near as advanced as the Hivini kingdom, the dwarf village had a natural beauty about it, something that I would miss.
I left hoping the dwarves would be able to return safely, and that we could return one day to see how the village operated with actual inhabitants present.
Walking through the forest we concentrated on the ground around us, little trail to follow in the natural setting. When the suns began to set, I had a newfound appreciation for Hercules—the way he easily maneuvered through the landscape and how much quicker travel was with his help.
We walked in the dark for a bit, my fire orbs providing little light, but when Cera tripped, almost falling down a steep incline, we decided we needed to stop for the night. We set up camp, Aquina insisting on equipping our campsite with a protection spell.
I didn’t think we needed one, Illia and my experience having been relatively peaceful before, but it also didn’t hurt to be over-prepared. Her instinct proved correct when in the middle of the night an intruder crossed the barrier, alerting Aquina of its presence.
“Something’s here.” Aquina shook me awake, the darkness hiding her expression.
I created a small orb of fire in my hand, illuminating the small space of our rock tent.
“What’s wrong?” Illia questioned, rubbing her eyes as she moved to sit up.
“Something crossed the barrier with malicious intent.”
I grabbed my sword from the ground beside me and went out to investigate. Everything seemed quiet. Through the dim lighting, I could see no movement within our camp. Sending up more of my fire orbs, I further illuminated the space, expecting to find the enemy that had breached our barrier.
Still nothing. The girls joined me, crawling out of the rock tent to search.
“Uh,” Illia said, drawing our attention.
We walked to where she stood, staring down at a decent sized hole in the ground.
“Where did this hole come from?” Cera asked, squatting beside it to get a better look.
“Not a hole.” Illia responded, ominously. “It’s a tunnel.”
She placed her hand on the lip of the hole, rubbing some of the dirt between her fingers. Positioning a fire orb above the opening, I looked down a deep tunnel, sending the fire inside until it disappeared around a curve in the carved dirt.
The width of the hole, which had been dug just inside our barrier, spanned the size of a small child. We all eyed the space cautiously, waiting for the moment the beast would reveal itself.
“What do you think it is?” I asked quietly, still searching the area with my eyes.
I wasn’t familiar with the beasts of Jormia, but nothing we had encountered so far had left a tunnel in its wake. Aquina rubbed her temples, surely running through the possibilities, trying to anticipate the actions of the new enemy. I held a small hope the creature simply passed us by, the fact that it breached our barrier a mere coincidence.
This hope was short-lived.
“The egg!” Aquina shouted, pointing back to the tent where we had left the egg, clearly having settled on what the enemy could potentially be.
At Aquina’s word, Illia dismantled the stone tent, the rocks returning to the earth revealing the objects underneath. Our belongings, the egg and—I squinted, a dark form becoming clearer. Sending an orb to hover above the now open space revealed the creature that awaited—a giant python, its body as dark as night.
Around three feet of the snake hovered above a hole which concealed the rest of the creature, its eyes zeroing in on the egg in front of it.
The snake struck, but luckily, the carrier the egg remained attached to blocked the mouth of the beast. The snake reared back, assessing the egg, trying to find the best way to consume its prey.
Pulling my sword from its holster, I prepared to attack the python and in turn, protect the egg. Aquina, Cera and Illia readied their weapons as well, waiting for the signal to attack. It crossed my mind to simply leave the egg, continuing while the python remained distracted with its meal.
As Aquina gripped her sword tighter, I knew my suggestion wouldn’t be popular.
“Aquina, Cera, you two circle around the snake. We will hit it from all sides. Illia, you try to get the egg away from it.”
The girls nodded, and all at once we ran toward the waiting python, its attention still on the egg. It snapped forward again, but this time the beast's mighty jaw met with a rock barrier.
Not happy with the interference, the python acknowledged our existence, realizing it would need to defeat us if it wanted to devour the egg in front of it.
As we closed the distance between ourselves and the head of the snake, it hissed, warning us to cease our movements. When we didn’t, its rage increased, the ground starting to rumble under our feet. The earth broke apart as the creature brought its entire body to the surface, revealing how massive the beast truly was.
The girls didn’t seem intimidated by the snake’s new appearance, the tail of which was split in two, each side looking like a weapon in its own right.
I tried not to think about it either, continuing the attack. The body, now exposed, sat directly to my right, so I chose to focus my attention on the closer extremities.
Changing my direction, I placed my hands on the snake’s sleek scales before sending a bolt of electricity through its body.
The whole body trembled from the attack, its head lifting higher into the air, trying to find the source. It easily spotted me, striking so fast I barely had time to evade.
Sharp fangs pierced the snake’s own body, having missed me by mere inches. It didn’t seem phased by the self-induced injury as it dislodged its fangs, preparing to strike once more. I gripped the handle of my weapon, sending mana up into the blade.
I figured I would need the extra power to cut through the thick skin that coated the snake's body. Aquina and Cera were already attacking further along the snake, but the tough exterior proved to be too much for their weapons, the snake ignoring all their attempts.
I held my sword out to the side, squaring off with the head of the snake as its exposed fangs began dripping with what I assu
med to be a venomous liquid.
The snake veered back slightly before attacking once more, the fangs meeting my sword as I held it out in defense.
Supporting the flat of the blade with my palm, I pushed into the fang, giving myself space to attack.
I swung wide, aiming for the neck, the blade slicing into the thick skin the smallest amount. Instinctively, I began releasing more mana into my weapon, trying to bolster the attack so that I could pierce its flesh with enough force to injure the beast.
I jumped backward as another strike from the snake came toward me, the fangs sinking into the dirt in front of me. This only angered the python, its head rising into the air once more, a new determination to kill reflected in its glass-like eyes.
I ran—wanting to give my weapon time to utilize my mana, but also trying to put some distance between myself and the deadliest part of the snake.
As I ran, arches of rock shot up from the ground, trying to constrict the snake’s movements. It did little more than slow the beast down, as arch after arch crumbled from the force behind the snake's movement.
Aquina and Cera were busy defending against attacks from the lower half of the creature, the sword-like tails leaving deep divots in the earth around them with every missed strike.
The snake caught up to me, and I rolled from my position, dodging the attack that came from behind.
When I righted myself, I felt prepared to attack once more. Deciding to combine the strength of my weapon with my fire mana gift, I lit the blade on fire, the eyes of the snake instinctively being drawn in by the flames. I didn’t wait for it to become accustomed to the glowing weapon but attacked while it remained distracted.
Unfortunately, it remained more aware than I had hoped, my strike only grazing the head of the beast rather than slicing through its width. Another hiss left the mouth of the python as its body began to curl upon itself, the deadly tails being moved to my location.