Six Sacred Swords

by Andrew Rowe

  Six Sacred Swords

  By Andrew Rowe

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this book are fictional.

  Copyright © 2019 Andrew Rowe

  Cover artwork by Daniel Kamarudin (https://thedurrrrian.deviantart.com/)

  Cover design and typography by Shawn T. King/STK Kreations.

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: (n/a for Kindle Edition)

  File Version: 1.030919

  Dedication

  This one is dedicated to the creators of all the amazing role-playing franchises that inspired this book. (It’s a long list; more details in the acknowledgements section.)

  Thank you for filling my life, and the lives of so many others, with joy and wonder.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Table of Contents

  Chronology and Series Information

  Style Notes

  Prologue – Tales

  Chapter I – Legends Lost

  Chapter II – Breath of Fire

  Chapter III – A Dragon’s Quest

  Chapter IV – Shining in the Darkness

  Chapter V – Sacred Stones

  Chapter VI – Monster Hunters

  Chapter VII –Tales of The Past

  Interlude I – Sword of Hope

  Chapter VIII – Dragon Slayers

  Chapter IX – Mysterious Dungeon

  Chapter X – Dungeon Magic

  Chapter XI – A Link to the Future

  Chapter XII – Crystal Chronicles

  Chapter XIII – Brandishing Swords

  Chapter XIV – Brave by Default

  Epilogue – Trails of Iron and Steam

  Appendix I – Sorcery on Mythralis

  Appendix II – Characters

  Appendix III – Terms

  Acknowledgements

  Author’s End Notes

  About the Author

  Other Books by Andrew Rowe

  Map of Kaldwyn

  The map above shows the continent of Kaldwyn, where this novel takes place. It is divided into four major nations — Valia, Edria, Caelford, and Dalenos. Each major nation has one or more of the Soaring Spires; these are also shown on the map.

  Chapter I of this book begins in the Whispering Woods, which are in the Unclaimed Lands. They’re the patch of trees just north of the train. (You can find the area by following the train tracks east from Westbridge, then going north from where the train is shown on the map.)

  A larger version of the map can be found on my blog here.

  Chronology and Series Information

  This book is the first book in a new series, but it takes place in the same setting as the War of Broken Mirrors books and the Arcane Ascension books.

  If you picked this up without reading those other books, don’t be too concerned — it’s written to be a potential new entry point for books in this universe. The narrator will mention a few characters and events from the other series, and there are some small spoilers (like the names of antagonists from the War of Broken Mirrors), but you can read this without having read the others.

  The frame story in the prologue for this book is happening during the Arcane Ascension books (after book 2), but the rest of this book takes place between the War of Broken Mirrors books and the Arcane Ascension books.

  The chronological order for these series can be summarized as follows:

  The War of Broken Mirrors Series

  Six Sacred Swords (and future books in the Weapons and Wielders series)

  Arcane Ascension Series

  If you haven’t read the Broken Mirrors books and would like a brief intro to how the protagonist’s magic works, see Appendix I. You can read this appendix before the story or skip it; everything relevant will be explained as it comes up.

  Thank you for your interest in my books, and I hope you enjoy the story!

  Style Notes

  Some characters within the story communicate telepathically. To indicate this, rather than using quotes, I use different forms of punctuation based on the character initiating the telepathic communication.

  I use angle brackets to indicate telepathy from one of the characters. For example,

  I use square brackets to indicate telepathy from another of the characters. For example, [This would be what their telepathy looks like.]

  This formatting difference is to make it immediately obvious which character is sending the telepathic message without repeatedly using dialogue tags or other indicators. The specific characters in question should be clear once the story actually reaches them.

  I use the singular “they/them” for agender and non-binary characters, as well as characters that have not had their gender determined by the narrator yet. For example, “I didn’t know who wrote the note, but they had a peculiar style of writing”.

  Finally, I use spaces before and after em dashes (AP style). This is purely because I find this style easier to read.

  Prologue – Tales

  Keras was a long way from home.

  Every rattle and jolt of the train reminded him just how far he’d traveled. Not because the train was carrying him further away from Mythralis, though that was technically true. The barrier of the sea made a bit more overland distance irrelevant.

  It was the mode of transit itself that bothered him. There was nothing quite like this back home, and though he marveled at the utility of the transport, the foreignness of it still made him uncomfortable.

  He would’ve been more comfortable just running. There was no way of traveling that ever felt as natural as rushing across the ground, feeling the sun against his skin and the wind whipping through his hair.

  At the moment, however, he had an obligation. The four students who sat across from him were tremendously competent for their age —more so than he had been, in some respects — but they were being hunted by forces well beyond their capabilities. Until he had the chance to hand them off to someone else he trusted with their well-being, they were his responsibility.

  And in truth, he’d gotten more attached to them than he’d expected. Even helped make one of them a sword.

  He glanced at the sheathed blade at Patrick’s side. The heavy-set Elementalist wasn’t your traditional sword fighter, but he’d already proven to be able to make good use of the replica.

  Dawn...what would you think if you saw that weapon?

  A somber smile crossed his face.

  You’d probably complain the scabbard wasn’t cute enough.

  And you’d probably expect me to give the replica to Mara.

  The blonde-haired girl was the most powerful fighter of the group, but she’d shown a clear preference for unarmed combat. The sword wouldn’t have suited her.

  Not very different from Rei, when she was young. They’d probably have gotten along. And Rei would’ve laughed at the sheer variety of magical weapons these kids have managed to put together. She’d have panicked if she saw what Sera was carrying...or who she’d made a contract with.

  He shook his head, dismissing the moment of reverie.

  Corin Cadence had just finished his own tale — one of surprising risks and deeper dangers than Keras himself had faced at the same age. Keras sensed some omissions in that story, and he had some questions, particularly in regards to an untranslated ancient scroll and the nature of another magical sword that Corin had discovered...but there would be time for questions later.

  The students were all looking at him now.

  It was Corin who spoke. “Keras, it’s your turn to tell us a story. Tell us about Dawnbringer and the Six Sacred Swords.”

  “Very well.” The swordsman cracked his fingers. “L
et’s begin.”

  Chapter I – Legends Lost

  I’ve always had a complicated relationship with magic swords.

  There’s a magic sword at the very start of my personal story, but I’m not going to start there. You wanted to know about how I’d encountered Dawnbringer, one of your six weapons of legend.

  That’s a much better story.

  Let me tell you about when I first came to your lovely continent of Kaldwyn.

  ***

  I awoke in the Whispering Woods. I didn’t know the name at the time, of course, but I trust that you’ve heard of them.

  Most of it looked pretty standard as far as forests go, at least at first. Tall trees, occasional patches of high grass, a few mysterious blue flowers growing to the side of where I woke.

  Mist. Lots of mist. I could see a good twenty feet though, so it didn’t add any particular sense of danger. The forest I grew up in got misty at times, too.

  I pushed myself off the ground and wondered how in the name of the gods I’d gotten there.

  My head swam as I rose, teetering on my feet.

  My stomach grumbled.

  How long had I been out?

  I wiped the dirt from my hands off on my tunic, then spent a moment just rubbing my temples. It didn’t help much, but my mind was clearing even if the pain wasn’t fading.

  I scanned the area. I didn’t recognize my surroundings. The tree bark was a light shade of green, almost as bright as the grass below.

  I need to break the habit of letting old sages teleport me to strange places.

  I didn’t notice any immediate dangers, fortunately. Based on the disruption in the foliage, I suspected I was on a path. The brush had been cleared in a broad enough swath that I suspect it was a human trail rather than animal trail, but I didn’t see any boot marks or other clear indications to confirm that.

  No other people around. That was irritating, because a distinct lack of people would make my job harder. I needed to gather information about the continent and local customs. That generally required people to talk to.

  I remembered the last thing the sage told me.

  “I’m sending you to another continent. Your objective will be to gather information and resources before I send the rest of your team. After your friends arrive, you must meet with their goddess and bring her to join our cause. Without her help, we stand no chance against the threat that is to come.”

  Lesson One: Old sages will never tell you the full story.

  This didn’t look like a good place to find information and resources. True, he hadn’t said he’d be sending me to a major city, but he hadn’t warned me that I’d be in the middle of nowhere, either. So, either the sage had omitted some key information or something had gone horribly wrong.

  I didn’t know which was worse.

  Either way, no one was nearby. I’d have to search the area and see what I could find.

  At least I was intact. No horrifying teleportation damage to my person, as far as I could tell without a mirror.

  I checked my side. The sword was there, as it always was, and locked firmly in its scabbard.

  Good.

  Couldn’t let that thing escape. There was no telling what it would get up to if I wasn’t around to keep it reined in.

  I still had my backpack on, too. I had been preparing for a journey to another land, even if I’d expected to show up somewhere a little bit more civilized.

  I checked my pack.

  I had most of the basics. A little bit of food, little bit of water, gold coins, bandages, healing ointment, slightly magical rock, rope, mask of a long dead god, that sort of thing.

  I heard something crack behind me.

  I dropped my pack, spun, and drew my blade in a flash of unparalleled grace.

  The squirrel was unimpressed.

  I sighed, sheathing my weapon slowly to prevent any damage to the nearby terrain, and then picked my backpack back up.

  Fortunately, I didn’t have anything particularly breakable inside.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t have a tent with me, so I was going to need to find shelter pretty fast.

  I glanced left and right. I couldn’t see any clear signs of human traffic in either direction, nor could I hear the sounds of water, so I picked a direction at random.

  Left it is.

  Before I wandered off, I set up a small pile of rocks to mark the spot in case I ended up wandering back there. It was easy to get lost in the middle of a forest, especially the particularly misty kind.

  After that, I headed left.

  The path was dirt and grass, almost completely straight, surrounded on both sides by forests. It was just broad enough for two people to walk abreast comfortably. It felt cultivated. Deliberate.

  That wasn’t worrying in itself, though — manmade paths often were deliberately cultivated. Maybe this had been a common path to a town at one point, and someone had cleared out the trees and foliage on this path a year or two ago.

  No, the worrying part was that it felt too similar. After walking for just a few minutes, I felt a bit dizzy, and I had the unnerving sensation that I’d seen each and every tree in the path before.

  “Trespasser, turn back. Before it is too late.”

  The voice sounded like it was coming from all around me, but I couldn’t see a source. I pointed at myself. “Me? I mean, I assume you mean me, but if there are invisible people around, maybe you could clarify?”

  I glanced around again. No source, no reply. I’d dealt with invisible adversaries before, and usually I could catch a hint of movement from the sound of footfalls. Maybe even a blur of motion, if the caster was less experienced. I didn’t catch any of that, though.

  I kept walking.

  My earlier assessment was accurate. A few minutes after that, I walked right back into the glade where I’d started, coming into it from the opposite side. I wasn’t imagining it. I found the cluster of stones I’d set as a marker.

  That seemed...odd, though. The path was almost perfectly straight. I’d placed the bed of rocks because it was easy to get lost in most forests where there weren’t coherent trails or where there were lots of branches in the pathways that did exist.

  I hadn’t taken any branches from the path. I’d seen a few of them, but I’d gone completely straight.

  I ducked down, inspected the group of rocks to make certain they were the same ones, and headed off again.

  “Turn back.”

  The same voice. It didn’t alarm me quite as much this time, but it still grated on my nerves. Now it seemed like I was being followed, or maybe observed from a distance. I’d seen some spells that could be used to watch people from afar and send sound to a remote area. Maybe that was what was happening?

  “Do you mean ‘turn back’ as in ‘leave this place, pitiful mortal’? Or is it more of a ‘turn back, you’re going the wrong direction, and make a left at the fork’? If you’re just being helpful, some clarity would be appreciated.” Again, I looked and listened for movement, but I found nothing.

  I resumed walking.

  It took me about the same amount of time to end up right back where I started. If there’s anything worse than a mysterious misty forest, it’s a magical mysterious misty forest.

  I tried walking the opposite direction. Same result. Pushing through the forest in one of the other two directions was tougher, so it took me a little longer to appear back in my starting location.

  The same voice spoke to me about mid-way. The message was different this time, at least. “This is a sacred place. You are not welcome here.”

  It had been obvious the voice wasn’t just trying to give me directions, of course, but the fact that this was a sacred location? That was new and interesting.

  I tried replying each time, of course. Not just to be polite. I was trying to get a reaction, just in case anyone was physically present. I was leaning toward the explanation that whoever was watching me was in a remote location, and since they didn’t appear
to be responding directly to what I said, I wasn’t sure if they could even hear me.

  I tried going part way down each path, then taking one of the branches. That got me a little bit of new scenery, but I still ended up in the same grove somehow. After four attempts at trying branches of the path, I knew the brute force approach of just trying every trail was going to take too long.

  I kept getting one message with each trip.

  “Turn back.”

  “This place is deadly to outsiders.”

  “There is no treasure here, only death.”

  “The Whispering Woods are not for your kind.”

  I finally knew the name for the area after that one. And I had to admit, it was pretty apt. I might have gone for “Nameless Voice that Growls Angrily at Intruders Woods” since it wasn’t really whispering, but I had to admit that the original name was a lot easier to remember.

  I tried tying a shirt over my eyes and walking down the path blind. That was slow going. When I finally took off the makeshift blindfold, I was in an unfamiliar location...but after I walked a bit further, I still ended up back in the grove.

  I tried it a second time, keeping the blindfold on longer, but it didn’t help. By this point, I was starting to recognize all the surrounding areas as well. The area I was looping through was maybe half a kilometer in each direction, and I was routinely running into landmarks, including my own tracks.

  With a frustrated groan, I took off my backpack and sat down to think.

  What’s causing this? A confusion spell? A teleportation spell that spins me around?

  Memory alteration? Maybe I’m making progress and then forgetting about it. Ugh, that’d be awful.

  Guess there could be several places that just look identical...but no, that probably wouldn’t work with the rock cluster. Hm.

  Whatever is happening, it probably has to do with the mist.