Bit of a late chapter, here you go.
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
"yo" speaking
"yo" thinking
Ch3
One of the stories told, only to certain soldiers, those who took up a weapon, and dedicated their time to mastery, was of how no matter how skilled a blacksmith, a weapon maker was, no matter how many tests they put a weapon user through, be it to find a weight or shape the weapon, the user would never be able to use the weapon to its fullest potential, to use it like a limb they had since birth. That, for a weapon to be a part of them, a true extension of their being,it had to have been forged, crafted, by them in its entirety, following only instinct and using materials that called to the user, that they had gathered themselves.
Weapons made as such, by following the vague instruction the story gave, changed as they were used, changed in a way that couldn't be seen physically, as if they had been enchanted. The weapons, be they blade or bow, close ranged or long ranged, somehow became stronger, harder to use for others. Some even told of how no matter how long they hadn't used the weapon, even if they shouldn't be able to fight anymore, as long as they could hold it, wielding it would come easy as breathing. Some had wondered if it would work for armours too, all those that tested it, those that had done so for their weapon, found that, unless you had the armour enchanted, it would not become any stronger. The way to have armour that fit you, your fighting style, was to have it made accordingly.
Blaze PoV
He had worked through the night, fatigue never making itself know, or him subconsciously ignoring it to not wake up surrounded by darkness again, he had started with making a hilt for the blade, using normal wood and leather, he worked as silently as he could, as to not bother Andr. The conversation they had, had left him felt drained mentally, not because it was something he had kept secret for a long time, but because as he spoke, as he told the amethyst eyed girl that what he had know, what had been common knowledge, even if he had forgotten almost everything, it made him realize that it was true, the world wouldn't be the same.
If what the creeper girl, "Cupa" he reminded himself, remembering the names the rulers he had met would be a good thing, had said that the war was over for hundreds of years, was true, the world, the people that lived in this time would be weaker, they wouldn't have been raised in a world were you didn't know, didn't know if what you were doing at any given time would be the last thing you did, if someone would slit your throat while you slept or if the next enemy you fought would be the one to put you down for good. He had no doubt that some people knew how to fight, only they probably never had a reason to keep getting stronger, to push their limits, to train to exhaustion day after day.
As he thought, he worked, cutting, shaping, crafting, quickly and as silently as possible. He worked, until the morning, the rise of the sun, the light being what snapped him out of his musing and made him focus on the work he had done, slightly surprised that he had done so much in one night, when he hadn't known he could. The hilt, guardless, already set in place on the blade, making it look more imposing, even if it still seemed unfinished, the blade, sword now, being a block and three fourths in length and quarter block from edge to edge.
From some of the leather and wool, he had made armour, something simple, similar to what had been made by for soldiers during the war, but not identical. The chest piece, slightly smaller in size, more detailed, with multiple pieces of leather, layered in a way to allow greater movement, pockets, slots, to put thins slabs of a stronger material to offer greater protection, wood at the moment, wool used to make removable padding for colder weather. The legs and arm pieces, made in the same manner as the chest piece, only thicker, with no slots for harder materials, and made to be removable, the boots made the same way. He hadn't made a head piece, a helmet. The whole of it had the basic colour of leather, he could dye it later, it wasn't made to be fashionable, but to be practical, to fit how he fought.
From the rest of the leather and wool, he had made a sheath, for the sword, a arm guard for an archer, a grip for a bow, if bigger than usual, and two bag, something small, big enough to carry things, while not getting in the way of a battle, all he needed now was an enchanting table to apply the basic protection enchantment on the armour, and to enchant the bags so it would carry more than the size would allow.
The two unfinished bows he had found, were now one, making it look like a bulkier version of a hunting bow, the string, thicker, to allow more power and the grip a standard one, made bigger to fir the bow. He didn't know why he had made it, he knew how to use a bow, remembered having great accuracy with one, but a normal hunting bow would have been enough, he never had used long range weapons for more than hunting. Other than those he had made basic survival necessities, the bare minimum, as to not fill the bag.
Looking outside, he nodded to himself, heading towards the door, taking the sword, his sword, with him and looking at Andr, lingering under the door-frame a bit before heading out, a bit away from the house, still in the village, but far enough that he wouldn't wake her. He wanted, needed, to see how not fighting, for however long it had been, had affected him physically.
Andr PoV
She woke up, slowly, sitting up and stretching, blinking away the last remnants of sleep away before getting up fully and looking around the room, slightly confused, then blinked, remembering what had happened the evening before. She looked around the room again, frowning slightly, at not seeing Blaze, he hadn't left the village, she could still feel his power close by, the blade she had seen yesterday was gone too and she could see a suit of leather armour, one like she had never seen before, a bow, once again unlike anything she had seen, and two bags. He had made all of those in one night? "How did he make all those in one night?" she pondered amazed, slowly heading towards where she could feel his power, at least now she knew why it felt as it did, why it felt so appealing "A protector... I wonder if he sees me as someone to protect" she thought, shaking her head lightly, it wasn't the time to think of things like that, she had only met him the day before, of course he wouldn't think that.
As she got closer to where she could tell he was, she heard the sound of flesh striking wood, altering from quick to slow, quiet to loud. Once she could see him, she stopped. He was training, that much was obvious, using a what seemed to be a hastily made wooden dummy, practising a fighting style she had never seen, he looked like a storm attacking the dummy, punching and kicking, hitting with fist, elbows and feet, legs and knees, going from fast merciless strikes, to powerful decisive blows that could probably end a battle before it had started, looking as if he was preparing to fight a golem.
Then he stopped, not noticing her, taking up the sword, walking away from the dummy, and giving a few test swings, "Testing the weight and how it feels in his hand?" she asked herself, then he had started, going slow at first, light slashes and thrusts, slowly picking up speed, looking as if he was fighting an invisible opponent, then it turned from testing swings, as if trying to remember the feel of a battle, to what she could only describe as a deadly dance with its own, unique, tempo, every movement he made looked to have a purpose in this hypnotizing spectacle, every movement looked as if it was voluntary even the way his almost dark red hair moved, and as soon as it hard started, it was over. He stopped after a stab, she was certain she had seen the air being cut multiple.
He stayed in that position for a few moment, before slowly straightening up and laughing, a joyous sound, his voice clear and loud, free of any of the hoarseness it had contained the night before, it sounded warm, appealing, inviting, and at that time, for an instant, his power, that felt as dangerous as it felt protective before, seemed to turn to warmth and wrap around her, but as fast as it had happened it was gone, his power back to how it had felt before, if slightly more approachable, and he slowly stopped laughing, turned to her, tears trickling down his face, and smiled, no more than a curl of the lip, but it seemed honest, more that the other smiles she had seen from him, it made her want to see more, as selfish as she felt at the moment she didn't care. She just wanted to see his smile, and feel that warmth again.
Blaze PoV
He hadn't started training right away, first he made a dummy, out of wood that had probably been part of houses before a creeper attack, it looked crude for a lack of better word, the head was square, and arm was longer than the other and the chest was big enough to keep it from falling when he started using it.
Before starting, he put his sword to the side and he stretched, rolling his shoulder, making sure he was limber and seeing how close his range of movement was to what he remembered, surprisingly it had been the same. Then he started, hitting at the dummy, starting slow at first and before he knew it, he was going faster, hitting harder. Barely aware that he had an audience, he stopped slowly, picking up his sword, and walking a bit away from the dummy.
He gave a few practice swings of the sword first, then trying a few stabs, even if it didn't seem to be made for stabbing, doing so felt... right, somehow. Then slowly, carefully, he started fighting an imaginary opponent, slowly picking up speed, flashes, memories of himself, using the sword, forging it, resurfaced.
He saw himself, fighting with multiple different types of weapons, swords being the only ones to feel right, he saw himself being told a story that had made him explore the world, following his instinct, gathering materials through three worlds. He saw himself forging, crafting, creating the sword, from top to bottom, being holed up in a workshop for days, weeks, and finally coming out carrying the sword prouder than he had ever been. He saw the training he put himself through, mixing and matching styles, creating his own, a style relying on instinct so it could adapt to anything and seeing it coated in different mixes of the five primal elements . Then he saw the battles, countless fights, victories and defeats, and how it had broken. And he saw a glimpse of why he had sought to get stronger, why he had been protecting.
He had made a promise, a promise to never fight without reason, even if his blood boiled, even if he was enraged, if his whole being, screamed at him, shrieked like a storm at him to fight, he wouldn't fight if he didn't have a reason, and he had found a reason that would both let him fight and keep his promise. He would protect, he hadn't remembered what he had been protecting, only that doing so, meant he couldn't fight for revenge, couldn't fight with hate. He could fight with anger, rage, he could declare the whole world his enemy, but only if he was doing so to protect.
He slowly straightened up, sword still held in his hand, and he laughed, he laughed, out of relief or happiness he didn't know, not noticing the tears trickling down his face. Then he felt his power wrap around something, someone, he slowly stopped laughing and turned around. He looked at Andr, the one his power had wrapped around, and smiled, a small curl of the lips "Guess I can't argue on that." he thought to himself, seems he subconsciously had found something to protect.
"Good morning, Andr. Slept well?" he asked, if he was going to protect her, he might as well be nice and make her feel at ease. "Oh, I... I slept well, thank you for asking" was her answer, making him nod "That's good" he told her, heading back towards the house, waiting till they were both inside to speak again. "So, Andr" he said, waiting for her to look at him "I think you know already that I'm going to be travelling, exploring the world to see what changed" at that she nodded, "Well that wasn't really hard to guess. You said yourself that the world was changed. It makes sense that you would want to explore it" she said, making him nod "Yes, and since I don't know much of the world as it is now. I wanted to ask if you would accompany me." he said, looking into her amethyst eyes.
And yes sorry cliffhanger, kind of, not really. Going to have the answer next chapter, mostly just wanted to post it now so i didn't feel as bad about not being able to write much the last few days. Also Blaze doesn't currently fell love or attraction for Andr, he just searched for something to protect so he could fight and keep the promise.
Date/Time of completion: 2017-07-04 10:46 am