Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (62 page)

LASIDIOUS
is with the Wisp of Song, deep inside the mist of Siren’s Song, below Griffin Falls. The Mischievous One tells Cadromel about the envelope he gave to George. He also says the human will be traveling to visit him. In return for the envelope, the god asked Cadromel to tell George how he can win the crown of the Barbarian King.

SENCHAE BLOODVAIN
is still on edge from his run-in with the talking bull. He is sitting in his bedroom chamber holding his unicorn horn. The king has intentionally used his knife to open a gash on his arm. Senchae has skipped his training for the first series of moments in over 16 seasons.

Thank you for reading this edition of the Grayham Inquirer

CHAPTER 23

Duke Barthom Brandor

BJ TOOK SAM TO a quiet clearing that was surrounded by trees to train with Kael. They were at the base of the Mountains of Latasef which towered over the town of Mountain View. As a young fighter, BJ had trained in this same clearing, but on this particular Peak, Kael, Sam’s blade, would be Sam’s instructor.

“Pay attention, Sam!” Kael snapped, his blade pulsating with a brighter intensity. “I have taught you the command,
val arna
, which allows me to guide your movements. It is the basis for every other command to be built upon. The next word you will learn is
nuar.
What I want you to do is hold me in front of your mouth, and speak all these words at once. You must use a strong voice. This is necessary to release the power within the words.”

Sam thought he understood and lifted Kael into the air. “
Val arna, nuar!
” he shouted. The blade burst into flames, and Sam immediately dropped the weapon to the ground.

“What are you doing?” Kael chastised as the ground caught fire. The blade went cold and BJ stomped out the flames. “Why would you drop me?”

Sam was speechless.

“I said, why would you drop me?”

“I didn’t want to get burned,” Sam reasoned. “I’m sorry.”

The blade grumbled. “You would not have been burned. It’s your command. You’re protected from anything you tell me to do.”

“Okay, okay. Relax.” Sam grabbed the sides of his head. “So ... I’m protected. You act like I should know this already.”

Kael snapped. “Of course, you should! You’ve commanded my flame on a million occasions.”

Bewildered, Sam looked at BJ, and then he reached down to pick up the blade. “What do you mean, Kael? How could I have possibly commanded your flame on a million occasions?”

Kael went silent for a long series of moments. Only a slight hum emanated from the blade as the group waited for the god-sword to respond.

“Well?” Sam urged. “Are you going to answer me, or not?”

The blade’s response was harsh. “I meant nothing! Continue your training, and don’t drop me again, or I won’t let you train with me!”

Sam desperately wanted to ask another question, but he figured it was best not to push. “I said I was sorry.” The fighter paused. “You know what? I’m the master here, not you. I’m not sorry at all. From now on, you’ll do exactly what I tell you. I’m sick of being pushed around. And I’m sick of your attitude. Just because you’re a sword doesn’t mean you have to be a prick.”

The sword went silent, and even the blade’s hum could not be heard.

Sam refused to speak first.

Eventually, the blade broke the silence. “Perhaps you’re on your way to becoming a leader after all, Sam. I will mind my place.”

“Good!” Sam jeered. “Finally, a moment where I get some respect!”

Again the sword paused before it spoke. When it did, its pulse was a soft glow. “Please ... try again, and speak the words of power.”

Sam stared at the blade, conflicted. On one hand he wanted to continue to berate the sword, and on the other, he wanted to continue his training.

It did not take long before BJ snapped. “Enough of my moments have been wasted! I’m tired of waiting. Just say the damn words, son!”

Sam lowered the weapon. “Can’t a guy think around here?”

“Shut up and say the words!” BJ commanded. “You can think during your own moments!”

Sam frowned, lifted Kael high above his head and shouted,
“Val arna, nuar!”

The blade ignited.

As Sam moved Kael around, he admired the trail of fire that was being left behind by the weapon’s wake. He touched the blade to his skin. In spite of the sword’s explanation, he was surprised the blade felt cold. He extended it toward BJ. “Can you feel anything?”

“Of course, I can, bonehead. Kael told you how his power works. Have you become dense?”

Kael laughed at Sam’s expense, but when Sam’s hand tightened around his handle, the blade stopped laughing and then pushed forward with the lesson. “Now that you’ve commanded the power of fire, and it is active, you can build upon it. Imagine you’re in battle, and the enemy is lining up in front of you, and you need to bring them down quickly. You can extend my blade without changing my weight or balance.”

The skin between Sam’s eyes wrinkled. “How is that possible?”

BJ was the one to respond as he shook his head. “Because of magic, bonehead.”

When Sam did not respond, the blade spoke with caution. “May I continue, Sam?”

The fighter shrugged. “Just proceed.”

“Once my blade has been extended, you may swing at will and not worry about your allies. This power inside the words will allow me to kill your enemies and pass through your allies without harming them. Lift me up and say the word,
nug
.”

“Hold up a moment,” Sam responded. “So after I say this word, if there’s an enemy on the far side of BJ, I can kill him without killing BJ?”

“That’s right, and it doesn’t matter if it’s an enemy beyond BJ or not. If you consider BJ an ally, then I’ll pass through him during any moment. Sam, you may not realize this, but we are connected spirit to spirit. I shall always know what your heart desires.”

“No way!” Sam’s smile widened. “This has to be the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. Okay, okay. So how do you pronounce that word again?” Once Sam understood, he lifted the sword and released the power inside the word.

Kael extended another three paces.

Again, Sam swung the sword around. It felt as if nothing changed. Even when he brought the sword to his side, the blade adjusted without hitting the ground, then re-extended as he brought it up. Sam spun around and around, and after a bit, he caught BJ off guard and passed the blade through the trainer’s mid-section.

“Watch it, bonehead!” BJ shouted. “Just because you know it won’t hurt me, doesn’t mean I want the power tested on me! I should troblet your sorry backside!”

Sam smiled and then lowered Kael to his side. “Only if you could, old man.” The fighter moved to stand beside his trainer. “Don’t be mad. You know I love you.”

BJ grumbled and moved away.

“So what’s next?” Sam inquired, looking down at Kael.

Kael’s magic subsided. “I can see you like this form of training. Let’s try a new command. The word for ice is
kelek
. I want you to do the same as before, but instead of commanding fire, I want you to command the word for this new element.”

Sam lifted the blade. “
Val arna, kelek nug!
” Kael once again extended, and an ice-cold flame appeared around his blade.

“This is cool ... no pun intended,” Sam exclaimed. “But why would I need both fire and ice? Why not stick with one?”

Kael grumbled. “Sam, for such a smart man, you ask the dumbest questions. Do you think you would fight a fire-breathing dragon with its own element?”

Sam shrugged. “Okay, okay. I see your point. So are you telling me that there are dragons on this world?”

“The dragons live on Dragonia,” Kael replied. “You won’t need to worry about them, but other enemies are also immune to certain elements. You may find yourself in a battle where you’ll need to use a specific element to strike down your foe.”

“Okay, okay. So ... if I’m fighting a beast of this nature, it’s probably going to have magic of its own, right? How do I fight against that?”

Kael’s blade pulsated. “Finally, an intelligent question. At any point you feel the need for protection, you can use the word
vaur
and the name of what you need to be protected from. For example, you could say
vaur nem
. This will protect you from an enemy that uses water as a weapon. If you need to protect those around you from this same foe, you can use the words
vaura nem
, which will extend the area of protection to 15 paces around you.”

Sam thought a moment. “Let me get this straight. Let’s say I’m fighting one of these fire-breathing dragons. I would say
Val arna, nug kelek
to bring forth the icy flame on your blade, and then I would follow this up with
Vaur nuar
to protect me from its breath of fire. Is this what you’re saying?”

Kael confirmed.

BJ patted Sam on the shoulder, “Way to go, bonehead.” The training continued.

Meanwhile

The Town of Mountain View

As the two women were browsing through the local school of magic, Helga explained that Shalee would need to keep useful substances on her person. “To command advanced magic, Child, you’ll need more than just your staff. I find that this is one of the Peaks that many of my students enjoy most.” The older woman lifted her hand and gave Shalee a high-five. “I love to shop, Child.”

After the exchange, Shalee snapped her fingers. “You can say that again.”

Before Helga could say anything else, Shalee sauntered across the room and looked at a display of belts that hung on a wall painted blue-green. The shelves above the belts were white and a number of jars had been placed on top of them. Like Helga’s store, the jars were labeled.

After choosing a wide, black belt, Shalee commanded Precious to change its appearance. A light erupted from the leather as the transformation began. When the light faded, something far more fashionable and useful was left behind. The pouches that hung from the belt were now gone and a number of new, smaller pockets lined its length. The silver and onyx buckle that was once in the shape of a basic hoop now looked like a dragonfly. Its body was black and its wings were silver and possessed intricate detail.

“I think I might be able to wear this now,” Shalee said as she waved her arm and snapped her fingers. She pulled the belt off the hook and strapped it around her waist. “I wasn’t about to wear that hideous thing the way it was. It didn’t have any pizazz. Can you believe that?”

“Everything is fashion with you, Child,” Helga chortled while she shook her head. “Pay attention. We need to choose ingredients for those pockets so that Precious can create the effect you desire. It’s like cooking. When you bake, you need more than leaven.”

Shalee nodded impatiently. “Yeah, I know. So what are you getting at?”

“Well ... your staff is able to summon fire, lightning and wind as you know, but beyond that, the staff can only alter or manipulate what exists around it.”

“What do you mean by that?”