Shade, Part 3

DISCLAIMER: This has an abrupt ending. I apologize for it. I was in high school, and I will rework it, when I get the time.



The young student hit the ground with a groan, his dull practice sword falling from a limp grip.  He lifted his hand in surrender to his opponent, another student who had excelled high above the others.  This student nodded, and helped up the fallen boy.  She handed him his practice sword, and shook his hand, thanking him for the battle.  As the boy walked off, Viga Lyserno took a swig out of the water flask at her hip, and wiped the sweat off of her brow.  She had already defeated eight other students at the academy, and the masters insisted on matching her up with even more.

         Vega sighed heavily.  She had thought that coming to tutor under Imalend and Inomal would be easy.  But they held a strict training regimen, starting at sunrise until well after sunset, but she persisted through it.  Vega knew that Imalend and Inomal were the strongest fighters ever, and she desperately wanted to try her blade against them.  Her father had trained under them, and Vega wanted to follow his legacy, becoming the sword master of Vilni Province after training.  Vega adored her father and wanted to prove her worth by beating him when she came back to him.

         Still stuck in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the practice sword swinging towards her head until it was almost too late.  Hurriedly, she ducked backwards, and the wooden sword flew over her head.  She brought her foot up, knocking her opponent in the wrist and causing him to drop the weapon.  Her own wooden sword was at his head a moment later, with her angry glare behind it.

         “I don’t like hasty opponents,” she said with a frown.  “They annoy me.”

         “And those lost in their own thoughts should realize that their opponent has been waiting for a few minutes before doing anything.”  Her opponent glared back at her.

         Vega withdrew her weapon after another moment of silence.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t realize that you were waiting.”

         “It’s alright, I wasn’t waiting for a fight with you.  The masters wanted to see you, but you couldn’t hear me, evidently, so I thought that my sword was the only way to get your attention.”  He laughed.  “Looks like it worked.”

         Vega couldn’t help it, she laughed too.  “Looks like it.  You were saying something about the masters?”

         “Ah, right.  This way.”  He gestured over to the river behind the training complex, and Vega followed willingly.  The river was a peaceful place; it always made Vega so calm and happy.  She wondered why the masters wanted her there, they always met at the training ground or in their house.  She didn’t have much longer to contemplate it, for they had arrived at the bank of the river.

         The two masters, Imalend and Inomal, were dressed in their combat clothes, loose fitting cloth over thin steel armor.  Their leather leggings went all the way to their knees, and on their belts hung their weapons, a curved scimitar for Imalend, and two long daggers for Inomal.  They both turned at the approach of the students, their faces grim.  Vega could tell something was wrong, even from a distance away.

         “Thank you, Haptil.  You can go now.”  The boy nodded, and left Vega with the two masters of the sword fighting art.  They turned slowly to her, their posture stiff and controlled.  Some hidden anger boiled off of them, and Vega involuntarily took a step away from them.  Seeing that, they winced.

         “No, Vega, our anger isn’t meant for you.  Please stay and listen to what we need,” Imalend said hurriedly.

         “Yes,” Inomal said, relaxing instantly.  “Our anger is not meant for you.  It is for the one who has challenged you to a duel.”

         Vega was stunned.  A duel?  And by whom?  As if reading her mind, Imalend continued.  “You have been challenged by someone whose power is incomprehensible, even by our standards.  His name is Offic, and he is our master.”  He smiled thinly.  “But to make sure that we aren’t sending you to your death, we will test your strength, which has flourished under our guidance.  If you can defeat us, you might well survive your encounter with him.  Maybe even do the impossible to help him.  But enough talk.  Draw your weapon.”

         The two brothers already had their weapons in their hands by the time that Vega had drawn her sword, a metal one this time, the one that her father had given her.  It was slim for a sword, only about an inch wide, and only an arm’s length long.  But for all of its smallness, it was her most precious thing that she had with her.  She lifted the sword slowly to her eye level, aware just how serious her masters really were.  They were angry of the audacity of this Offic’s request, but they were also deathly afraid of this man.  They tried to hide it, but their eyes betrayed their feelings for him.  Vega gulped.  If they were afraid of Offic, they would do everything in their power to stop her from confronting this man.

         The two charged at her, and she brought her thoughts to an abrupt end.  Her sword dipped low, the point meeting with the point of Imalend’s scimitar.  His thrust was stopped and she leapt over his flying leg, taking his back.  She had to quickly bring her sword around to block the dagger of Inomal, though, and just barely managed to twist out of the way of the way of the second one.  She twirled around, deflecting the flurry of blows from Imalend.  Her sword was a blur, the only sounds around the three being her heavy breathing and the ring of steel.  She was dancing a deadly dance, and her masters held nothing back in their motions and attacks.  It was all she could do to keep up with the three weapons coming in random locations through her defense.  She backpedaled furiously to keep out of the range of the weapons, and also to find any opening to take their backs.

         It was many minutes of intense battle before Vega finally pitched forward, almost passing out.  The two brothers drew their swords back, afraid of impaling her on them as she fell.  She hit the ground, and they were instantly over her.  “Vega, are you all right?” they cried.

         “Yes, but right now, you’d be dead.”  She grinned from the ground, her sword held across their necks.  They stuck there for a moment, before Inomal burst out laughing.

         “Oh that’s rich!  The masters falling for the oldest trick in the book!  Brilliant!”

         Imalend frowned, seemingly not sharing in his brother’s mirth.  Vega thought that he was proud but saddened at the same time.  “Yes, it was brilliant.  But it also means that she passed our test.”

         Inomal sobered up at that.  “Right.  Well, we better get her ready to fight Offic.  If she beat us, she’ll need whatever help we can give her.”

         They stood up, and helped her up to unsteady feet.  She was dumbstruck.  She had wanted to fight them all of her life, and now that she had won, she wasn’t as pleased as she had thought she would be.  They were only the first step towards whatever lay ahead of her.  Dusting herself off, she started to sheath her sword, but Imalend stopped her.

         “Let me see that weapon, please.”  He took it from her outstretched hand, and stared at it intently.  He ran his hand up and down its length, before finally nodding.  “Just like I thought.  This weapon is enchanted, and also under an illusion spell.”  He muttered something under his breath, and there was a bright flash of light.  When it faded, the sword held by Imalend was completely different.  It was pure, unblemished white, and twice as long as it once was.

         He handed it back to Vega.  “The Blade of Light, one of the affinity blades.  And another gift to you, my brightest pupil, my sword; the affinity blade, the Sword of the Earth.  It will aid you in more ways than you can know.  It will be perhaps the only help you will have.”

         Vega was speechless.  The sword of the master was never gone from his side, and now he gave it to her!  Inomal cleared his throat.  “I might not give you my weapons, but I give you something of equal value to me.”  He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small pendant.  “You will need this against Offic’s sword.  It will trap the power it carries, and allow you to free the trapped being.  The Pendant of the World.”

         Vega nodded dumbly.  The brothers led her away from the river, towards the training grounds, and the awaiting visitor.  When they arrived, the bustle of the students was missing, and a deathly silence hung over the area.  In the center of the wooden arena, a lone figure stood.  As they got closer, Vega could tell that he was old, for his hair was bleached white and he had the look of one who had seen many battles and years.  He looked over to the three as they emerged from the copse of trees.  Vega gasped.  His face had a nasty scar over his right eye, giving him an evil look.

         He smiled.  “Hello, Imalend, Inomal.  And you must be Vega.  Your father speaks very highly of you.  Now that the pleasantries are done, let’s get this over with.”

         His sword was instantly in his hand, a blade shaped like a giant bird wing.  Vega gulped again, and climbed up into the ring beside him, the Sword of the Earth in her awkward grip.  Offic laughed.  “You come at me with a weapon you’ve never used?  You’re doomed by your own stupidity.”

         He lashed out with the blade, and Vega tried to raise the strange blade, but it was too heavy for her.  It fell from her hands, right on top of the Cyclone, the true wind sword.  Offic tried to pull it out, but the Sword of the Earth would not budge, as if it was stuck to the ground.  Vega started to pull out her sword, but suddenly the pendant around her neck started to burn.  She yelped, and threw the Pendant of the World off.  It arced through the air, before landing on the trapped weapon.  The air seemed to freeze, then the sword exploded with an intensity of a bomb.  The wind ripped around Vega, and she realized that it was rushing out from the sword that Offic held.  It rushed out in gusts that threatened to knock her off of her feet.  Then, it was over.

         Offic pulled out his sword, now reduced to a form he once thought lost.  Imalend and Inomal grinned at each other.  “We told you she could do it, master.  We told you she could free Tlig’fin.”

         Offic smiled, and then looked up at Vega.  She was surprised to see tears running from his eyes.  “Yes.  Yes, you did.”

         He looked down at his sword as it spoke to him.  Hello, Shade.  Tlig’fin said.

         “Hello, old friend.”