--Legend of the Twin Swords--
By: Kratos the Judgment
Chapter 15: Uncertain Departure
"What?" Several voices said in unison.
"It's the answer." Karel said from behind the long dark locks of hair covering his face. "The
answer to your problem is very simple."
Most of the people in the room were still confused, but a few others and I were beginning to catch
on.
"Continue." I told him. My voice filled with gravity.
Karel stood up and began to pace slowly as he resumed our enlightenment. "A sealed sword,
such as the one this man carries can be released from its scabbard through a vile process that
warps the blade's aura. The technique is not known to many so I am not surprised you have not
heard of it." He turned to face us. "The scabbard must be coated in the blood of maidens and
then passed through a fire fueled by the fat from their corpses. Naturally, the more powerful the
sword, the more souls must be sacrificed to release it."
I watched as he surveyed the effects of his words. Hector had turned red with anger; the force of
the emotion emanating almost visibly from his body. On the other hand Eliwood's face had taken
on an unhealthy green hue. Lucius appeared to be mouthing some sort of prayer. Serra was
crying openly into Erk's shoulder, and the young mage, still in a state of shock, made no attempt
to remove her. Nobody spoke until Guy broke the silence.
"You've seen this before haven't you?" There was much sympathy for his friend in the
swordmaster's voice.
"Yes. He was the first kill of the Sword Demon. When I killed him though, the fresh blood on his
blade tainted my own." His fingers clasped the hilt at his waist. "It is… a very dangerous act to
fight such a sword. You risk much more than your life."
"You mean to say," Canas interposed, "that the curse placed on his sword in some way affected
your own?"
It was Guy's turn to speak. "It made you into the Sword Demon? Karel, why didn't you ever tell
me any of this earlier? Why now?"
"It is not important," Karel said, once again becoming the reserved swordsman I had known him
as. "It holds no power over me anymore."
While they talked, I found my hand slowly move to the sword that hung from my own belt. Could
it be that a piece of that man's malice had rubbed off on my blade? I certainly hoped not. A hand
on my shoulder snapped me back to reality. I looked up into the Saint of Sword's eyes. "The
blood was not fresh." he said and walked away. He stopped before he reached the door. "Know
this… the only way to remove the cursed blood from the blade is to kill whoever was wielding it
when it was tainted."
Guy ran after him. "Karel, wait!" I heard him call, but the two rounded a corner and I could hear
no more of what passed between them.
I slept uneasily that night. The disturbing imagery of Karel's words had saturated my mind.
Somehow, I knew I wasn't alone in my feelings. I was just glad the children hadn't been in the
room to hear what had transpired. Somewhere in my head a voice was telling me that I needed
my sleep. After all, we would be departing in the morning. Still, I could not rest, so I dressed
myself and headed out to the balcony to watch the sunrise that would sweep over the horizon in
half an hour or so.
After an hour of sitting, I went off to the stables where preparations to mobilize the forces were
being made. I expected to find Hector ordering people to and fro. The Marquess, however, was
absent from the scene. It took me a while to track him down in the large castle, but when I did, I
could see that all was not well.
Oswin, along with two servants carrying Hector's armor, stood in an archway leading to a broad
balcony overlooking most of the castle. On the balcony, of course, was Hector. The man was
pacing back and forth, axe in hand, stopping every now and then to damage a piece of the
masonry about him. This was not looking good. Quietly, I tried to get Oswin's attention and ask
him what was going on.
"Sir," Oswin replied. "The lord is quite furious at the moment. He simply refuses…"
"I'll tell you what's going on!" Hector burst in, interrupting him. "That little imp of a spy should
have returned by now, with my wife. Instead, he's out there putting her life in danger on some
stupid mission of his!" Hector was so loud that the whole castle probably heard him.
"Hector." I said, trying to regain some of my composure. "I'm sure that she's fine. Matthew
wouldn't…"
"I don't care what he would or wouldn't do. I'm not leaving this castle without Farina!"
I took a step back and almost fell over the twins who had come up behind me.
"Sir," Ralts addressed Hector. "Is something wrong?"
Hector, still burning with rage, finally snapped and swung his axe at the boy. Transfixed by fear,
Ralts stood rooted to the spot with his sister clinging on to him for dear life. Fast as I was, there
was no time for me to draw my sword and parry the blow. Fortunately, I didn't have to, for at that
moment, Durandal's wide blade intercepted Armads mere inches away from its target.
"Hector, get a hold of yourself." Eliwood said calmly; his sword still grinding against his friend's
weapon. "Do you really want to kill these children? Answer me, Hector."
The other man went stock still for a moment, then he stood, slowly, and straightened himself.
The anger in his face had been replaced by shame. "I know you're upset," Eliwood continued,
"However, we must not forget why we have come together today. A madman is on the loose and
one of our closest friends is in danger. There is nothing you can do about Farina right now, but
there is something you can do to stop our enemy."
"The Ostian army does not move without you, my friend," I said, "and Pherae cannot do this alone.
We need your support. Besides, I know for a fact that Bern doesn't have anyone capable of
tracking Matthew. If they couldn't find me during the months I spent in their country, then they
certainly won't be able to find him in a few days." Secretly, though, I knew otherwise. Bern had
nearly captured me on two occasions. The only reason they did not have me now was that I
didn't stick around long enough for them to find me a third time.
It appeared though that my words had calmed my friend. Now pacified, Hector agreed that we
were right and apologized profusely to the twins for trying to kill them. Then we all headed to the
main hall for breakfast and then to the stables. Within two hours, our forces had left the city and
were headed north.
Check my author page for information on the progress of this story.
Reviewers will be welcomed – Flamers will be spammed.
Kratos