Wielder's Awakening (36 page)

Traven took the seat that the philosopher offered in front of a large desk.  He peered around the room as Studell sat down in front of him on the other side of the desk.  Traven realized that the room was actually a private study.  All around the room there were crooked towers of books and old manuscripts.  In the very center of the small room was the large oak desk, which surprisingly enough had nothing on it.  He returned his attention to the philosopher who was clearing his throat.

“Oh yes.  I was taking a walk and meditating on some very interesting theories of mine when you walked past me.  At that very moment, the sunlight glinted off the hilt of your sword and seemed to be sucked in by the stone on the hilt.”  The philosopher paused with a look of excitement and anticipation.  “May I see your sword?”

So that was the reason.  He wanted to see the sword.  Traven could understand why someone would want to see it but didn’t see why it was such a big deal to the philosopher.  Traven unsheathed his sword and laid it lengthwise on the desk in front of him.

“Here it is.  Something special, isn’t it?”

“Shhhh,” Studell said with an intense look in his eyes.  Pulling out large eyeglasses from another pocket in his robe, Studell donned them and began to intently study the sword.  After inspecting it from top to bottom, Studell turned back to Traven.  “When was the last time that you oiled this and sharpened it?”

“Never,” Traven replied.

“Ah ha, just as I thought.”

The philosopher then sank back into silence and began to intently stare at the dark blue stone in the hilt of the sword.  After a few moments, he pulled a candle from the corner of his desk and ever so slowly drew it closer to the stone.

“Watch closely,” he said without looking up.

Traven leaned over the desk to get closer and watched as Studell continued to slowly bring the candle closer to the stone.  Traven’s mouth dropped as the flame of the candle began to bend in the direction of the stone when it was still a small distance away.  Studell held the candle still, and a smile spread across his face as the flame continued stretching towards the stone until it was long enough to touch its surface.  Studell then blew the flame out.  Traven stared in amazement as the stone continued to shine slightly for a few moments without the light of the flame.  It then darkened again, and Philosopher Studell set the sword down gently on the desk.

“Now I am sure of it,” the philosopher said confidently.  “This is definitely a might stone.  And since the sword is in such perfect condition, it must be ambience wrought.  This sword is ancient and appears brand new!  This is amazing.  I saw an ambience sword once many years ago, but this is the first time I have seen a might stone!”

Traven watched as the old man shook with excitement.

“What is a might stone?” Traven asked.  Blaize had already told him that the sword was ambience made, but he had said nothing about the stone.  The philosopher sat up straighter and began to explain.

“Well son, many years ago a group of the great wielders got together and gave up their lives to make the might stones.  Not many were made, so they are all very special.  In fact, as legend has it, only twelve were made.  Each one contains the essence of the wielder who gave up his life to create it and contains special powers.  The stones are said to have different powers depending on the certain desires of the wielders who sacrificed themselves to make them.”

“Why did they give up their lives to create them?” Traven inquired.

“Well, Faldor, he was one of the greatest of all, had a dream about the importance of the stones, and so they were made.”

“Why were they important?”

“Actually, I do not know.  All of this happened so long ago, and there are very few records left.  Most people don’t know anything at all about the ambience and those that do usually believe that the ambience is just something made up.  I am not sure how much of the stories I believe, but I know that there is some truth in them because of the special artifacts that have lasted until now and because of the writings that have been found.  And now at least I know there is some truth in the might stone story since we are looking at one right now!”

With the talk of stones with special powers, Traven had unconsciously closed his hand around the amber stone hanging under his shirt.  He realized what he was doing and pulled the stone from around his neck.

“What about this?” he asked, handing the stone to Studell.  Studell’s eyes widened as the stone touched his hand and he felt the warmth that emanated from it.

“This is one too!” the philosopher shouted excitedly.  “I cannot believe that we have two of the twelve in this very room!  How did you come to have them?  Are you a treasure hunter?”

Traven smiled at Studell’s question.  Then he realized how strange it really was that he had two of them in his possession.

“I’m not a treasure hunter.  This was my father’s, and I stumbled across the sword on my way from Oak Tree to Calyn,” Traven answered.  With that out of the way, he had questions of his own.  “You said the might stones have power.  What do these stones do?”

“I have no idea,” the philosopher said with a frown.  “The only things I know about the stones are what I previously told you.  What I do know is that you should take good care of them.  They are definitely special.  It is sad that so little information is left from the ages of the great wielders.  So little is known.  I have spent a great deal of my life studying the past, and I suppose that I know more than most on the subject.  I have read all of the existing manuscripts and even those in the old tongue.  Sadly though, I still only know bits and pieces.”

Traven stared at the stone that was back in his hand and slowly tucked it back in his shirt with new found respect.  He had always known the stone was special.  The amazement he had felt was beginning to be replaced more and more by curiosity.  Might stones, magic, lost history!  Traven decided that he really didn’t need to see the docks, so he asked the philosopher a question that he hoped would lead to a lengthy discussion.

“So the stones were made by the ambience.  What exactly is the ambience?”  Traven was happy to see the philosopher’s countenance brighten at an opportunity to share what he knew.

“As I said, nobody knows much, but I will gladly share what I do know.  The ambience, well now . . .”  Traven leaned forward and listened with interest as the philosopher began to unfold what he knew.  “. . . it is what we would call magic.  But it really is not magic.  It is just powers above what we as mere humans understand.  Our minds are very finite you know.

“The basic idea of the ambience is creating something ethereally and then wrapping tangible elements around it to bring it into our reality.  Much more than that, I cannot say.  It is pulling something beyond our five senses into our normal realm.

“I can explain a bit more of its properties.  Supposedly, the power to manipulate the ambience is an inborn ability.  It does not, however, manifest itself until a certain age.  Accounts vary, but as far as I can tell the power was manifested sometime between late adolescence and early adulthood.  Once the powers had been manifested, the wielder could use them at will.  With them, he could do many incredible things.

“A wielder could see the future.  He knew what was going to happen before it happened.  I suppose that is why the might stones were created.  Faldor had seen that they would be needed through his dreams.  And stones were not the only things that were created by the great wielders of old.  Weapons, like your sword, jewelry, and other artifacts were made.  However, you have to understand that not many objects were actually made.  It was incredibly difficult for a wielder to create something solid that would last.  That is why there are so few relics left to us.  It is not that we cannot find them.  It is because there were not that many created in the first place.

“The High King, may he live long and prosper, does have several pieces of jewelry and some other interesting artifacts in the halls of the palace.  They are worth much, for they never tarnish nor break.  Your sword is worth more than you know, boy!  The ambience created some wonderful things.  It also could be used to heal, although that too was apparently something difficult.  With the ambience, the wielders could heal far past what our physicians do now.  Some say that the ambience could bring those on the very edge of death, yea, even the dead back to life.

“But not all of the powers of the ambience were used for good.  Just like all power, the ambience could be wielded for good or evil.  With the ambience, the dark wielders entrapped the souls of men in the ambience-created bodies of horrific beasts.  The ambience was used many times to deceive and destroy.

“The ambience is the power to create things, but it was often used to destroy.  The wielders could most easily create elemental things such as fire and ice, lightning and water; things that only lasted for a brief moment.  But what they did in that brief moment had much longer consequences.  A bolt of lightning could destroy in an instant a cottage that had taken much time and work to build.  A wisp of flame could rapidly spread, destroying everything in its path.  The power of the ambience certainly was wonderful and terrible.  Many great cities and lives were destroyed thanks to the ambience.

“In the hands of the dark wielders, the ambience was a weapon beyond compare.  Nothing could stop it.  Only other wielders could fight back.  In the end, the wielders killed themselves off, leaving much destruction behind.  The ambience was a very great power indeed, both for evil and for good.”

“Tell me more of the wielders,” Traven requested excitedly.  He had never really imagined that things such as this really existed, even if it had been so long ago.

“Well, they in themselves were quite extraordinary.  It is said they could see for hundreds of miles and hear a twig snap in the middle of a tremendous battle.  They talked with the wind, reacted before things happened, and had incredibly long lives, living several life spans.  They were almost immortal.  Or at least that was what many thought.  They do not think that anymore, I imagine,” Studell smiled at his wittiness and continued on.  “In the end, the great wielders met the same fate as us all.  Some died of old age, while the rest died in battle.  Great armies of men and elves following the great wielders into battle also perished.”

“Elves?” Traven interrupted.  “There were really elves?”

As a child, he, like so many other children, had been told that the elves would come, take him away, and eat him if he behaved badly.  People also often blamed misplaced items on the mischievous elves.  They were said to be small and quick with long curved teeth.  As a child he had been terrified of them until he was old enough to know they didn’t exist.

“I am not sure.  Almost all stories and legends hint at truth.  Some of the most ancient manuscripts do mention them, but if there were elves, I do not believe them to be how we imagine them.  Several writings mention them in the battles of the great wielders.  Many years ago I read a particularly old manuscript in the old tongue that described them.  Only part of it was still readable, but from what I could make out, the elves were not so different from humans.  Though, they did have special abilities like the wielders.  They were said to have heightened senses, were very loyal, and the manuscript even referred to them as ‘Children of the Wielders.’  It is a shame that the manuscript was not fully intact.  It would have been interesting to read more.

“I do not know if there really was a magical race of elves or not.  If you believe in them you might as well believe in the galdaks.”  Seeing the blank look on Traven’s face, Studell elaborated.  “The galdaks were supposedly another race that once lived amongst humans but were also destroyed long ago.”

“All of this is so amazing,” Traven uttered impulsively.  “I never imagined there were so many things like this that I didn’t know about!  Maybe the rumor of a wielder raising an army in Balthus really is true.”

“If there is one thing I have absolutely learned in my long years of studying, it is that we do not know anything.  There is so much left to be discovered and so much left to be learned.  Some are happy to go along living the same lives as those before them, but others were born for greater things.  My family was not happy when I left the farm to study, but my thirst for knowledge has always caused me problems.  And as for the rumors of a wielder in Balthus, it is just a rumor.  All of the wielders died long ago, and most of what I have told you probably is not true.  I am sure there were wielders, but as to the extent of their power, I think most of the writings blow their powers out of proportion.  I think it is more legend than fact.  Actually, one of the great wielders supposedly buried treasure out in the marshes of Calyn.  There are many rumors and legends out there.