by Nikolas Rex
Finally, after a long time, they arrived at the part where the Oracle had told Puck that Marc needed to speak with Marad.
“And that is why we are here,” Puck said, “The Oracle said for you,” He looked at his father, “To use the Knowing, on the Sword of the Phoenix.”
“the Knowing?” Marc asked.
“Also called the Sense,” Marad said, “In actuality, there is no real name for it, We are Shifters, it is a power that flows in our blood. It is the ability to sense and understand metal even past what the eye can see.”
“I don’t see why not, especially if the Oracle said to,” Marc stood and crossed the room.
Marad stood as well.
Marc drew the Phoenix Blade carefully. The sword began to glow.
“I still cannot believe all this is real,” Marad said quietly.
Marc stepped forward and placed the sword into Marad’s hands.
Marc thought that when he lifted his hands, the sword would cease to glow, but when he did so, that was not the case.
Marad closed his eyes, the sword in his palms, facing up.
He dove into the metal with his power, seeking to understand it. The magic of the sword was massive, overwhelmingly so. A sudden invisible force, like a great gust of wind, pushed against Marad, visibly forcing him to take a step back. Marad fought for his balance and to keep a sense of himself against a power of such awe-inspiring magnitude. He suddenly opened his eyes, but did not see the room with his wife, family, and son’s friends, instead he was in an almost indescribable ethereal realm of moving sights and sounds. He was standing, and yet also flying through the vibrant, noisy, kaleidoscope, at an incredible pace. At first he felt lost, but as he reached out with his power he began to make sense of things. Finally he realized that not only had he come to know the metal of the Sword of the Phoenix, but he was experiencing, on a vast impossible degree, the events or ‘memories’ that the sword had gone through since its creation. The magic from the sword had amplified his magic, allowing him to surpass anything he had achieved before.
One moment Marad was alone, and the next, Marc appeared, participating in the spectacle.
“Marcus,” Puck’s father said.
Marc nodded, looking around him.
“Can you see everything I am seeing?” Marad asked.
Marc looked around and nodded, “I think so.”
Not only was the magic from the sword amplifying Marad’s ability, but it was also transforming the limits and precepts that Marad was forced to abide by while using the Sense, as if creating a new kind of magic of its own classification.
Suddenly Puck was there as well, and then Drake. Sesuadra appeared next and then finally Laura.
Where is Ziljdin? Marc thought, and Cydas? And the rest of Puck’s family?
But no one else appeared.
“I can feel—” Marad said, straining against the power which threatened to consume him, “something pulling at me. I will try and focus on it.”
Everyone understood what Marad was describing because they could feel the same thing.
Marad brought the sword up, still in his upturned palms, as if an offering to the Exalted.
He summoned all the strength he had to focus on the sensation that was tugging on his very essence.
Finally a bright light encompassed all of them and one by one the images and sounds around them began to disappear until they were all standing still on the slowly shifting silvery realm Marc had been to on several other occasions.
The silvery realm quickly disappeared, however, and a series of scenes replaced it, one after the other.
Laura, who was already next to Marc, put her hand in his and stood as close to him as she could, while the surroundings around them changed.
They were flying over a city, almost like Kolima, in essence, but on a grander scale, with more advanced architecture and taller buildings. They were almost like skyscrapers to Marc, but not of steel girders and glass windows like he was familiar with, but as if they were built with the aid of magic, like a mega castle-esque fortress. It was situated in a lush woodland valley surrounded by mountains with a river running nearby. On the outlying areas were farmlands and smaller villages and towns.
Suddenly they were shooting downwards towards a part of the city.
Down.
Down.
Down.
Marc could hear the gasps and sounds of astonishment from the others, specifically Laura, since she was closer to him.
They found themselves suddenly in the city, moving towards a small stone building with decorations engraved all around it. People dressed in robes and clothes of all sorts of colors and variations walked along the streets. Marc and the others were moving too quickly to make out much detail but Marc thought he spied something that looked to be a sort of transportation vehicle wagon hybrid that hovered. They reached the building quickly. Magical glowing lights which appeared to Marc as almost neon-like but still fantastical, advertised that the building was a smithery.
Next the group found themselves inside the building in a large smithing chamber with a forge more advanced than Marad and the others had ever seen.
A muscular and mighty looking man stood near the center of the room, hammering a giant hammer against hot metal upon a sort of faux-anvil.
A second man stood nearby. He was dressed in traveling gear and armor similar to the manner Marc had come to recognize in Lyrridia, and yet slightly different, a little more refined, or cultured kind of style.
“Rynar, you can truly work wonders,” The second said to the man hammering on the anvil.
“Tasard, I promise you, I will make you a sword of the likes you have never seen. No beast, large or small, will be able to stand against your might when you wield it,” Rynar replied.
Then suddenly a flash of light replaced the scene with the silvery realm once more.
“I cannot believe—” Puck whispered.
“The Sword of the Phoenix,” Sesuadra said almost breathlessly, “We have just witnessed the creation of the Sword of the Phoenix.”
“What is more,” Marad said, also visibly drained by the vision, “through my power, I was able to sense that I am a direct descendant of Rynar, and in turn, so are you, my son.” He looked at Puck.
No one was able to reply as there was another flash of light and then came a sound like all the air in the world was being slowly inhaled followed by a deep boom, then silence.
Chapter Forty Two
Marad’s Gifts
Lilis and the others watched, some in worry, others in curiosity, as Marad, Marc, Laura, Sesuadra, Drake and Puck seemed to be caught up in a sort of unified vision together.
It did not last long.
Soon Marad, and the others sharing the vision, returned to the present and collapsed into their chairs, clearly drained by the collective magic.
The Phoenix Blade slipped out of one of Marad’s hands and its tip hit the wooden floor of the Salvend home.
Lilis strode over and gently retrieved the magical weapon from her husband.
She gave the sword to Marc and he sheathed it with a heavy and tired hand.
“What happened?” Zildjin asked.
The sun was just beginning to rise, signaling the dawn of the next day. Light filtered in through the partly shuttered windows.
“We need to get to the Oracle,” Marc said.
“Indeed,” Cydas agreed.
“You are in no position to go gallivanting about right after that powerful of an enchantment!” Lilis said in a motherly tone, “Especially after you have gone through so much in such a short amount of time already!” She was mostly speaking of Puck then.
Marc nodded in agreement, he just wanted to sit in the chair forever and sleep.
“What happened?” Zildjin asked again, his curiosity was killing him.
“I’ll explain,” Marc began, but he felt too tired to really do so.
“You can explain later,” Lilis stood in the middle of the room
, ready to be in charge, “We shall make up some beds and shutter the windows, we all need to get some rest, it has been a long night of no sleep.”
No one objected, but Marc could sense that the others who had not participated in the shared vision felt slightly left out, specifically Zildjin.
Marc did not really pay attention to who got arranged where, but he felt himself being led by Lilis to a room near the back of the house, which had been darkened from the light of the new day.
“You can rest here,” Lilis said.
Marc nodded his head and gently lay down. He felt soft feathery pillows and a number of stacked blankets on top of something else fairly soft, and he was asleep in no time.
He vaguely remembered other sounds, a few bumps and whispers nearby in the room, perhaps that of others who would share the space as a makeshift guest room to rest but not much else woke him from his deep sleep.
***
He awoke to what sounded like muffled repetitive thudding nearby.
He looked around. Sesuadra was asleep on the far side of the room upon a makeshift bed.
Lilis was quietly collecting blankets and pillows that had made up other similar beds.
“I am sorry dear,” She said, “Did I wake you?”
Marc shook his head, “No, I just, woke up.”
She nodded her head.
“Now that you are awake, up to the bathing room.”
Marc rubbed his eyes and nodded. He looked down, he was still in his traveling clothes but the armor and his boots had been removed.
“Come on,” Lilis urged kindly.
Marc nodded and followed Puck’s mother down a short hall and to the bathing room.
Lilis knocked to make sure it was not occupied, then peeked in.
“All set,” she said, “Marad has made special metal pipes to allow for heated water to pour into the bath, that is this valve here, or for cold, use this valve here.”
“Thank you,” Marc nodded politely. It was already a concept he was very familiar with, but he remembered Eleanor, always having to fix a fire to heat the water, and realized that of course it was obviously not such a common thing to have such sophisticated plumbing to allow for heated water, since Lilis was explaining it to him.
He found it interesting that Marad had used his magic in such a creative way. It also reminded him of where he came from and he felt a sort of pang of missing there. But it faded quickly and soon subsided until it had disappeared entirely.
“You can set your dirty gear here,” She motioned to a chair near the door. “And there is soap and brushes there.”
He nodded.
“What’s that sound, if I may ask?” Marc looked at Puck’s mother.
“My husband said that he was inspired greatly by the vision and has decided to do something special for each of you with his magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“Right now I think he is working on improving the armor of one of your friends, Zildjin, I believe? It is his desire to enchant all your metal gear and weapons so that you will be equipped with the best of the best as you go forth and seek out the crystal shards.”
“Wow,” Marc said, “That is very generous.
Lilis nodded, “You can go and see for yourself, after you bathe.” She ducked back into the hall and shut the door.
There was a toilet near the bath, also connected to pipes. A similar toilet had been in Eleanor’s house, but waste had to be flushed by pouring buckets of water down, unlike the toilet Marad had constructed.
After relieving himself, Marc flushed and proceeded to strip down for a bath.
After he had stripped down, he placed his things on the chair Lilis had indicated. He realized just how badly he stank after smelling his traveling uniform and was glad to have the clothes off. He arranged both valves until water of just the right temperature was running out. The tub began to slowly fill. He felt cold standing naked, leaning over the tub, waiting for it to fill.
Suddenly the door opened behind him.
“Hey! I—”
It was Puck’s sister, Aliyana, and behind her, Laura.
Thinking quickly, he practically vaulted over the lip of the tub and slipped down into it, the water almost too hot against so much exposed skin.
“Sorry,” Aliyana said, trying to hold back a snicker, “My Mother told me to get your things for washing.”
“You could’ve knocked! Ugggggh,” Marc said, slapping a hand over his face in humiliation.
Aliyana quickly swiped his things from the chair, replacing them with a set of simple but clean clothes, and shut the door.
He could hear the two girls giggling until they reached the end of the hall.
“uhhhhhhhhhg,” He groaned quietly, rolling his eyes, and letting his body slip down into the tub until his face was underneath the water.
He came up for air and went back down a number of times, as if to drown his embarrassment. Coming from a place saturated with nudity depicted in many forms, even in something as simple as a shampoo advertisement, Marc knew the female figure, but he had never actually seen a real woman fully naked, nor been seen naked by a member of the opposite sex, until that moment, not counting when he was an infant.
He decided not to think about it too much and pushed it out of his mind. He was curios to find out what Marad was doing in the smithery and decided to finish his bath quickly. He soaped up, cleaned off, then let the soapy water drain slowly from the tub while he dried off and dressed.
He peeked out into the hallway. Sesuadra was sitting quietly on the other side of the hall, a large tome in his lap, reading.
“Morning,” Marc said.
Sesuadra nodded in reply, his eyes still on the page.
“Oh, are you waiting to bathe?”
Sesuadra nodded again.
“Sorry, have you been waiting long?”
Sesuadra shook his head.
“Well, I’m done now.”
Sesuadra let a tiny grin creep upon his face.
“What?”
“I overheard Aliyana and Laura talking about your lithe and stunning figure.”
“Oh great!” Marc rolled his eyes and stomped away.
He came upon Lilis and the girls in the kitchen as he came to the front of the house.
“Morning,” he tried.
The two girls giggled.
“Aliyana,” Lilis said in a strict tone, “Do you have something to say to Marcus?”
Aliyana cleared her throat and faced Marc.
She bowed and said, “Forgive me, I should have knocked.”
Marc brought up his hands trying to gesture that it was not necessary.
In that moment he was going to say Don’t worry about it but instead it came out, “All is well.”
He caught Laura’s gaze and she glanced down and then to the side and then back at him and mouthed Sorry.
“Well,” Lilis said in the pause, “Would you like something to eat?”
There was an array of sliced fruit, and some sort of bread with topping on it on the kitchen counter.
“Yes,” Marc replied hungrily, “Could I take it with me to see what Marad is doing?”
“Of course,” Lilis smiled.
Marc came around and picked up some of the bread and some fruit slices.
Then, Marc decided that he was going to nip the whole bath incident in the bud and he leaned over and kissed Laura on the cheek.
“See you later,” He smiled.
She was blushing.
He left without another word.
Marc shut the front door behind him with his foot. He followed the small path in the front yard to the adjacent smithing shop next door, at the same time he began to eat the fruit and bread, both were delicious, especially the bread. He thought he would see Marad, and the others not in the house, inside the shop, but he had forgotten that the aldoms and balkar had been stabled there.
Marc stepped inside, he went down the line to Redmor.
“Hey there bud
dy,” He fed the aldom a slice of blue fruit, “We have been on the road for a while now, haven’t we?”
The aldom nudged Marc playfully.
“You are such a kind and noble creature,” He cooed, “You know, I haven’t heard you complain once so far.”
He fed it another slice and put one in his own mouth.
He patted Redmor a few more times.
He could still hear the pounding of metal upon metal. It came from an open door near the back of the shop. Marc walked the rest of the way to the back of the smithery and peered in past the open door. The metal pounding became more distinct. He saw a number of magical white glowing rocks lighting the way down a large spiral staircase. He quickly descended the stairs and stopped at the bottom, arriving at a stone hallway with doors leading to other rooms. One of the doors was open and the metal pounding was coming from there. Marc went down the hall and turned at the doorway.
Zildjin, Cydas, Puck and Drake stood near the edges of the room, watching Marad in the center of the room. Marad was using a large hammer to strike Zildjin’s sword upon an anvil. It was the same room that Marc had seen in a vision with Puck using his magic to work metal.
“Marcus!” Zildjin was the first to see him enter.
The others looked over, Marad stopped hammering.
“Marcus! It is good to see you,” Marad spoke, “Come to see me work, eh?”
Marc nodded.
“Come inside then.”
“So, is this like your secret workspace?”
Marad smiled and gave a small shrug, “What can I say, I have some special things that I would prefer to be kept less out in the open.”
“What special things?”
“Rocks, Minerals, and Metals.”
Marad motioned to a large nearby table. The top was filled with several of the objects he described, rocks and minerals of all kind in their raw form.
“Some of these have been in my family for generations, some I have found over the cycles and some I have traded for or bought.”