by Logan Jacobs
holding my new sword.
Blar and I looked at each other with wide eyes, then the little dragon
smiled at me and gave me a very proud look.
“You did good,” I told him, and I reached down to scratch under his
chin.
“That’s incredible,” Kas laughed.
“I figured it would come in handy,” Svendorf said with a shrug. “Oh, it
also will give you a bit of increased speed, stamina, and strength, of course.
And you can alter the length of the blade with your mind, but that might take
some practice to master.”
“These are truly amazing weapons,” I praised as I walked back over to
the forge and put my hand out. “Thank you so much.”
“Thank you, girls,” Svendorf grunted. “This steel is the best I’ve ever
had. Come back and see me soon.”
The little dwarf gave me a nod and squeezed my finger slightly before
giving it a little shake, but I could tell I was not his favorite here. Kas and
Asta had definitely stolen the show, and he’d probably only made my blade
so incredibly to appease them, but I didn’t care. They deserved his respect
and favoritism after they’d managed to create such fine steel.
After we thanked Svendorf again, I figured it was time to head back
home, so we all jumped back through the portal and made our way back to
the countryside.
The girls looked over their weapons as we walked, but I kept mine in
my sheath and thought about the possible uses of it. Svendorf had glossed
over it quickly, but if I could manipulate the length of this sword, that would
come in handy, especially against other skilled warriors. One thing a good
warrior did during a battle was gauge the size of his opponent's weapon and
adjust accordingly, but if I was able to manipulate that size during a battle then there was no way my opponent would be able to judge properly, which
meant they would overcorrect their blocks or underestimate my blade.
For something so incredibly useful, Svendorf had definitely made it
seem quite ordinary.
Regardless, I was more than impressed with my new sword, and I was
eternally grateful to the girls for getting it for me. It would be useful against
our fight with the Jotun whenever that came up, and I loved the fact that Blar
was able to call forward my sword with his fire.
I did worry about Kas and Asta, though. They weren’t the worst with
weapons, but they definitely weren’t master swordsmen yet, and they would
need some practice with their new blades in order to figure out how best to
use them.
It was already late afternoon when we arrived back at the house, but
we still had some daylight left, so I gathered everyone in the field and pulled
my blade out.
“Are we training?” Kas asked with a wide grin as she held her blade
out in front of her.
“Yes.” I nodded. “We all need to practice using our new weapons
before we go into battle with them.”
“I love mine’s capabilities,” Asta said. “But I am somewhat
intimidated by it.”
“Yeah,” Kas agreed. “This sword is even larger than my mother’s, so I
hope I can wield it well enough.”
“That’s why we’re going to practice,” I told them with a smile, then I
turned to the little dragons who stood in a line in front of the girls. “I want
you all to practice as well. You’ll be on your own for a little bit, though, so
don’t goof off.”
Blar nodded dutifully, and Inger and Uffe followed him over to the
area by the fruit trees where they began to practice their flying.
“Alright, ladies,” I said, and I held my new sword out in front of me.
“Let’s review the basics.”
I spent some time going over the most basic positions with the girls,
and for the time being, I had Asta keep her weapon as a sword instead of
switching back and forth. She’d need to master each separately, and that
would take some time, but it was better to do one at a time so she didn’t get
confused between them.
We reviewed stances and practiced jabs, slices, and blocks, as well as
guards and counter attacks. Then, when I thought they were ready, I decided
we’d do a little more practice with an actual opponent.
“Alright,” I announced with a smile. “Who wants to go first?”
“What are we doing?” Asta asked as she cocked her head.
“You’re going to go up against me,” I told the elf girl, and her face
dropped.
“But…” the white-haired woman protested.
“Before we do that, let me put a practice spell on us,” Kas said. “I saw
one in my book the other day. It will allow us to strike each other without
actually inflicting damage.”
“Good idea,” I agreed, and I waited as Kas ran over to the house to
grab her spell book.
Asta’s skin looked paler than usual, and she stared at the ground as we
waited for the sorceress to come back.
“You’ll do fine,” I assured her in a soft voice. “It’s just for practice.”
“I know,” she sighed. “But I have the least experience with a blade. I
don’t want to embarrass myself.”
“You went up against frost giants,” I chuckled. “I don’t think you can
embarrass yourself. Besides, as long as you’re learning, there’s nothing to be
embarrassed about.”
“Thanks,” the elf girl said, and she blushed a little. The sun had begun
its slow descent downward for the day, and Asta was lit up with the bright
evening sun. It bounced off her hair and made her locks appear to light up of their own accord.
“Okay,” Kas breathed as she ran back over to us with her book in hand.
“Asta, can you help me?”
“Oh,” the elf girl said with surprise before a bright smile lit up her
face. “Of course.”
The girls grabbed hands again and began to whisper quietly as the red
and silver shimmer appeared around them once more. It enveloped the three
of us, then exploded with a small pop as it always did, so I knew the
enchantment had worked. Still, something about being able to strike someone
with my blade and them not die made me feel uncomfortable.
“Are we sure it’s worked?” I asked.
“Here,” Kas said, and she lifted her sword and pulled the blade down
her palm. Where a huge gash should have been, there was absolutely nothing,
and the sight was enough to make me shake my head.
As a warrior, this seemed incredibly strange to me.
“Why has no one ever used this in a real battle?” I wondered aloud.
“It doesn’t work with an actual opponent,” Kas said with a shake of her
head. “It only works if your opponent doesn’t have any bad intentions toward
you, and everyone has to stand still for a time to accept the enchantment.
That doesn’t happen on the battlefield.”
“I see.” I nodded. Magic was still so foreign to me, but I learned more
about it every day, and I was always shocked by what I discovered.
“I’ll go first,” the sorceress said with a wide grin. I could feel her
excitement, and I knew she was ready to try and take me on with everything
she had, which only made me that much more excited
to face off against her.
She had the basics down, and I’d seen her fight in Jotunheim. She was a
fearless warrior even if she wasn’t the most skilled.
“Let’s go,” I said as I brought my blade up and settled back into a
fighting stance.
Kas smiled and raised her sword, and then she ran toward me and
brought it down over my head in an attempt to get me with a high blow. I was
quicker than she anticipated, though, and I brought my sword up so the two
clinked together with a loud scraping sound before I used my blade to shove
her back.
Svendorf hadn’t been kidding, my strength had definitely improved,
and Kas flew back and landed on her butt ten feet away.
The half Valkyrie shook her head and narrowed her eyes on me as she
jumped up again, but I was already back in my stance and ready for her
attack.
As she charged at me again, I quickly dodged to the right and spun
around so I faced her back, then, as strange as it felt, I used my sword in a
stabbing motion to go through her back and come out via her stomach. I
immediately felt my body stiffen, and I pulled the blade out quickly, then ran
around to the front of her to make sure she was okay.
“Kas,” I breathed, and the sorceress looked up at me with confused
violet eyes.
“Rath,” she chuckled when she realized when I was concerned. “I’m
fine.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just so strange to me.”
“You got me, though,” she said, and her lips pursed together. “So, are
you going to tell me how to avoid that next time?”
“Okay,” I chuckled, and I was satisfied she was in fact okay. “Just
make sure you’re always facing your opponent, don’t let them get behind
you. Try being more reserved with your attacks, so you don’t overextend.
You don’t always have to attack first. You can wait for them to come to you,
too.”
“Okay,” the beautiful blonde said with a nod. “Let’s go again.”
“One more time,” I agreed. “Then we’ll have Asta go.”
“The stabbing thing is strange to me, too,” the elf girl said from the
sidelines. “I was concerned for a moment.”
“So was I.” I shook my head. “In a real battle, that would be a death
blow.”
“Get ready for payback, then,” Kas teased, and she gave me a devilish
grin as she backed up and took her stance once more.
“I’ll hold you to that,” I said with a smile.
The blonde and I eyed each other for a moment as we carefully walked
around in a circle, and I saw the dragons go sit by Asta out of the corner of
my eye.
Everyone wanted to watch the action, apparently.
I waited to see if the sorceress would try to attack, but she held steady,
so I knew she was waiting for me to make the first move.
I moved toward her slowly, but she held her sword in position as she
inched back slightly to keep her stance wide enough.
Once I was close enough to her, I clanged my blade against hers so I
brought her sword to the ground. Then, before she could recover, I swiped
up, but she was quick enough to move back before I made contact, and while
my sword was in the air, she used her own great sword to slice upward. Her
blade went right up between my legs and all the way up my body, and if the
battle had been real, I would have been split in two.
The Valkyrie grinned at me. She knew she’d won that one, and I was
incredibly proud of her efforts. She’d been much more calculating with her
moves than she had been before, and it paid off.
“Nice job,” I told her with a smile. “See what a bit of extra thought can
do?”
“That felt good,” the sorceress breathed, and I could see she was still
filled with adrenaline.
The sun was still on its descent, and it dipped slightly below the trees,
which meant we didn’t have much more time for a full fight, but I wanted to
give Asta some practice before the day’s end.
“Your turn,” I told the white-haired elf, and she pulled Inger off her lap
and stood up.
Kas clapped her on the shoulder as she walked by and gave her a small
nod, then the sorceress sat down in the grass where the elf girl had just been.
Asta took her stance, then looked at me with bright, determined yellow
eyes before she let out a low exhale and sunk a little deeper into her position.
“Ready?” I asked as I got into my own stance.
“Ready,” the elf girl agreed, and the battle was on.
We circled each other slowly, and we came together every few seconds
to clang swords before pushing each other back. I could see in her eyes she
was calculating her next move. She’d watched what Kas did and had adapted her own strategy, which is what I liked to see. The elf girl had done well
against the Jotun, but she and Kas seemed to have the same problem of being
too headstrong and not focused enough. Here, though, she showed she could
use her mind to make her a better warrior.
After a moment or two, I decided it was time to test her a bit more, so I
took a quick step forward and spun my body around to gain momentum as I
swung my blade in a wide arc. It would have cut her in half, but she managed
to block it with her own, though I saw her face pull into a grimace as she
struggled against the force I exerted.
She knew she couldn’t outmatch me in strength, so she pushed my
blade up and hopped back out of my way before she pulled her sword back
and attempted to stab me with it.
I dodged her attack and swiped at her feet, but the elf girl jumped up
just in time to avoid contact.
What I didn’t expect, though, was what she did next.
Instead of just landing on her feet, she used her wind powers to carry
her higher up into the air, then she raised her sword and came down on me
with a vicious blow that once again would have sliced right through me.
She landed on one knee with her sword stuck in the ground in front of
her. Then she looked up at me with bright yellow eyes and smiled.
“Impressive,” I praised with a smile of my own, and I truly meant it.
The elf girl had used her powers to her advantage, and she’d done it in a
smooth and smart way so she didn’t have to exert extreme force to make the
kill. If she could keep that up, then she would do great when it came to actual
opponents, and once she learned to switch between her weapons seamlessly, I
knew she’d be a force to be reckoned with.
“Whoo!” Kas cheered and ran over to hug Asta.
“You both did very well,” I agreed, then I felt Blar’s paws on my leg
and looked down to see his bright blue eyes staring up at me.
“I think he wants a turn,” Asta chuckled.
“It’s almost dark,” I said, and my lips pursed together before I turned
to Kas. “Would the practice enchantment work on him, too?”
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t,” the sorceress said. “We can always test
it out, too.”
“Great,” I agreed. “You’ll practice first thing in the morning, okay,
buddy?”
Blar nodded, but he still looked slightly sad. He did need the pr
actice,
and this was the perfect way to do it. I had an idea, then, and I smiled and
turned back to the little dragon.
“Tomorrow, you’ll go up against all three of us,” I told him. “You’ll get a chance to beat up each of us, does that work?”
The little dragon smiled and nodded fervently.
“Good,” I chuckled. “Now, let’s get some dinner started before it gets
too dark.”
Blar ran over to the fire pit and blew a huge flame so it lit quickly.
Then Inger and Uffe ran after him, and they all sat near the bench and waited
for us to make our way over there. They were probably hungry after a long
day as well, so I grabbed some things from the garden and some rice to make
our dinner. When I sat down, Kas had already poured me a pint of mead and
set it where I usually sat.
“Thank you,” I told her with a smile.
“Of course,” she said, and she sipped on her own pint.
As I cooked, I thought about how much time was left until the
tournament. At this point, it was only a few days until Blar would have to go
up against whatever creatures the council had found.
He’d already improved greatly, but I still worried about him. He was
so small compared to many beasts, and I didn’t want to put him into danger.
Kas had already agreed to put extra protection spells on him, but I decided I’d
ask her to find the most effective spell she possibly could so we could put it
on him before the battle.
Dinner cooked as I sipped my pint of mead, and everyone settled down
for the evening. Tomorrow would be a long day, but I was ready.
I just hoped Blar was, too.
The next morning, I woke up bright and early and gathered some fresh
fruit for breakfast while the girls still slept. Blar came up to me as I was
picking apples from the tree, and he sat by my feet and yawned.
“Good morning,” I chuckled. “Are you ready for practice today?”
The little dragon nodded quickly, and he was suddenly more awake
than he’d been a few seconds before.
“We only have a few days before the tournament,” I reminded him.
“We have to make sure you’re ready.”
Blar let out a quick huff before he reared up slightly and pounded his
little front paws on the ground, as if he were upset that I’d even suggested he
wasn’t prepared.
“I know, I know,” I laughed. “You’ve improved lately, but I still worry