--Legend of the Twin Swords--
By: Kratos the Judgment
Chapter 12: Balance of Power
Morning came too soon. I was woken, rather unexpectedly, by a knock on my bedroom door.
After signaling that whoever it was should enter, I was surprised to see a maid standing in the
doorway. "You have been invited to break fast with the Marquess and his wife. They await your
presence in half an hour. Shall I inform them that you accept?"
Groggily I stumbled out of bed. "Yes, please do so."
"I will be back to escort you to the royal dining hall in half an hour. Good morning to you sir."
"Wait," I called as she was about to leave. "It shouldn't take me that long to get ready."
She looked at me strangely. "Please forgive my rudeness, but surely you do not intend to go to
meal dressed as you are now… sir?"
I hadn't given it any thought. So often I simply slept in the same clothes I had worn the day
before and then wore them again the next day that it seemed almost silly. However, as I looked
myself over, I understood her meaning. I was in the castle of Marquess Ostia now, and I should
dress accordingly. "I'm sorry; it's simply habit from traveling for so long." I gave a lighthearted
laugh then moved over and checked one of the armoires.
I know that options are a luxury that not many can afford, but this was overdoing things a bit.
There were easily enough clothes this one closet alone to last a man a month, at least!
"Excuse me," I said, addressing the maid who was still standing in the doorway. "What would
be… um… appropriate for me to wear around the castle?"
Quickly she helped me, picking out a deep blue shirt, replete with frills; white pants; a red sash for
my waist; and shiny black boots.
"Perhaps you should inform Hect… I mean the Marquess," I corrected myself as I saw her
appalled expression at my utter lack of formality, "that I may be a few minutes late for our meal."
With a simple nod, she excused herself and closed the door as I went to cleanse the dirt of my
travels from my skin.
Thirty-three minutes later, I came out of my room looking like a proper Ostian noble.
Remembering Hector's promise to spar, I also wore my sword. The match would help me keep
my mind off of the current situation.
Breakfast was nothing short of what I would have expected from these two. During the meal, I
noticed Armads, Hector's legendary axe by his side. Likewise, my sword drew his interest. In
fact, we were so single minded about the matter that we brought it up with each other at the same
time. After our mutually embarrassing attempts at speaking at the simultaneously, Hector spoke. "I
thought we could head over to the practice arena after breakfast and have a match," he said.
"I was thinking the same thing, Hector."
Farina chose this time to interrupt with news of her own. "I'm sorry I won't be able to see you two
go at it, but I need to take Matthew out on a mission."
"Why can't one of your other riders do it?" Hector questioned.
"They're all out already. I'm the only rider left."
"How long will you be gone, dear?"
"Matthew says that he's searching out someone he thinks can help us. According to him, this one
will be the hardest of all to find. That's why he's going himself."
"Who's that guy searching for?"
"The only people I can think of that could hide from Matthew would be Legault or Jaffar." I
hazarded.
"Did he say where he wants to go?"
"Well, um, you know how Matthew is. He was… vague." I could tell this was something of a half-
truth, and I think Hector could too.
"Farina, if anyone knows you, it's me." Hector was a bit agitated. Where does he want to go?"
"He wants to go to Bern, does that make you happy!"
"Bern?" I could tell Hector didn't like this idea. "He wants to go to Bern? I forbid it!"
"Hector, stop." Farina could see that this was a delicate situation.
"I won't let him take you into dangerous territory on some crazy mission. What if you were caught?
You know how they are about foreign nobles traveling in their territory. They'll take it as an act of
war and I'll never see you again."
"Hector! There is nobody better than me in the sky. I will return, and with Matthew's help, Bern
will never know that we were ever in their territory."
"Still, I don't want you to go. I love you too much. And Bern has its wyverns."
"This is important dear. I have to go. I'll return at the first sign of danger, I promise."
That pacified Hector. "Ok, but return safely, my wife."
"You know I wouldn't do anything less."
We finished eating quickly and went to the Pegasi stables. Soon, Farina and Matthew had gone;
leaving Hector and I standing on the ground, waving to them.
Hector turned to me and said, "Come on, a little action will ease all our spirits." He hefted Armads
to his shoulder.
"I'm just hoping the sparring will do the same for my bones."
"Are you afraid?"
"Not a chance." I drew my sword and made a few fancy looking slashes.
"Follow me then." Soon the two of us were fighting, giving each other our best. My sword should
have had an advantage against his axe but it appeared that Hector had definitely improved in that
area. His fighting was impressive, and he managed to send me to the ground several times
before he tasted the dirt himself.
"You're twice the fighter you were when we last met," I told him.
"And you, are you sure you haven't been practicing for more than a year?"
After another hour, in which we each won a few rounds, we decided to rest, both of us too
exhausted to continue. I took another bath, and then returned to the library to start my search
anew. This time, however, I came across some references to the sword and its forging. I was
struck dumb by what I read. Apparently, both swords had been forged together by a group
consisting of a sage, a druid, and a bishop in Missur during the Scouring.
The sage rent the earth itself into the form of two identical blades, which the druid and bishop
sent forth their powers into. The plan had been to create two swords of pure magic for the
ultimate warrior, but something had failed. Instead of being balanced, the power in one of the
swords shifted to shadow, and the other to light. Eventually, the repulsive forces within the
swords drove their owner quite mad and he killed the druid and bishop who had created them.
The sage, it seems, had created his own sword of purely his own energy. It was rumored that the
sword was supposed to nullify the turmoil within the other two, but it was too weak, and in the end,
his life was taken by the crazed warrior.
The name of the third sword was unknown, but the other two were the Sol Katti, the Sword of the
Light and the Katti Umbra, the Shadow Sword. There was no doubt about it.
Reviewers will be welcomed – Flamers will be spammed.
Kratos