Chapter 10
I had stayed in the village of Mornwahl for an extra day, casting spells I had learned. I also had Mariel go into the library and learn a couple healing spells, and a spell of protection from demons to be cast over the village and its environs.
I still had no clue as to how the demon had gained access to Landkur, since Vostich had done of lot of serious spell casting to make it almost impossible. Obviously, ALMOST, was the key word here.
Sitting in my office in the palace, I wondered about the sword. It reacted in a decidedly intelligent manor. It, well, whispered advice to me when I had been fighting the demon. Definitely disconcerting.
I really needed to talk about this with Vostich. He would know all about this sword. I stood, concentrated a moment, and teleported to the castle. I asked the steward where I might find Vostich. I was informed the east tower.
Soon, I could feel his presence ahead of me.
"Paul. I felt your arrival and decided to come see what you wanted," Vostich told me.
I bowed. "I have come to ask you more about the history of this sword," I said, tapping the sword at my side.
He nodded we went to his library. He took down an overly large, but thin book, and laid it on the table. On the cover was a very detailed depiction of the very sword at my side. The book was titled, 'Family Weapons of Landkur'.
"This is a brief history of the sword, and other weapons. The first section of this book is what you want. After you read it, I will answer further questions," he said, leaving me alone in the library with the book.
I opened the book and read the first page. It was a fascinating look into my family history on my family's more human side. The important information I gleaned from the book was who made the sword, and who the owners had been.
Two gods had been involved in the making of this sword: Shabasonti, the Goddess of Chaos; and Pejoru, the God of Magic. Both had imbued the sword with abilities and magics that were unique, and had not been done since.
The result was a sword that was capable of defending its owner against very powerful magics and powers. I read with interest, the list of owners of the sword. The list ended with Kilia Landkur. I assumed she was one of the souls that had been inside the sword. The entry mentioned that the sword was in her dead hands when it was recovered.
So, apparently the sword was not perfect protection. Something had managed to kill her with the sword in her hands. Hell, there had been three souls in the sword. So three times at least, the sword had failed.
I felt like I had learned what I could from the book, and decided to find Vostich. I left the library and ran into a steward standing close by. I asked him where Vostich was, and he informed me that Vostich was in fact returning to the library.
I looked at the steward carefully. Come to think of it, how did these stewards know so much, so quickly? Even in the palace, if I wanted to track someone down, it took some time to do it. Yet these stewards seemed to know instantly where Vostich was at any given time.
Sure enough, Vostich appeared not more than a minute later. We returned to the library and sat at the massive table there.
"I have some questions about what the gods did to the sword when they infused it with magic. While the book mentioned that they did, it does not specify exactly what this entailed," I started out.
Vostich nodded. "Yes. This was always something that caused us concern and wonder. While we have figured out a lot of the magic that was done, the two gods in question have never really described the spells in their entirety. I was hoping with your new relationship with Pejoru, you might be able to get him to tell us. We just don't know at this point," he said, pausing. He then continued, "What we know for sure is this. Shabasonti gave the sword a sort of intelligence. Both of them set powerful warding and protective spells. It can seemingly cut through anything that the current owner wants to cut through. What I mean by this, is that if you want to cut through stone, it will. It cuts through magical armor as a hot knife through butter.
Yet I must caution you. You can still be killed. Three times since the sword was cursed, owners of the sword have been killed. Part of it, I think, is that better swordsman got them. So your training with the Drebasty will stand you in very good stead, there. It can and will advise you on spells and demon types, I think. It can also act as a focus for power. All in all, it is a powerful weapon and tool, but can be overcome. I saw it used against Jorslan's older brother. It killed him, and Jorslan's brother was just as powerful as Jorslan himself. So the sword can kill not only demons, but demi-gods... and even possibly, the gods themselves," he finished, heavily.
Wow. This was some weapon. Yet despite its great power and abilities, it was not an end all of protection. Vostich informed me that, for no particular reason that could be found (thrice that he knew of), the weapon had failed.
He said that it had failed to cut through enchanted armor, the intelligence had gone silent, and its silvery glow had died. He said this was not part of the curse. This had happened prior to the curse being applied.
We discussed how I was able to cut through to the demon, and kill it with one slashing cut. He nodded. That had been part of its ability, to cut through almost any magic. The demon's shield had been overwhelmed by the sword. When the sword touched the demons flesh, a very powerful spell finished off the demon, courtesy of spells placed in it by both Pejoru and Shabasonti.
"As for how the demon managed to enter into Landkur, a sufficiently powerful enough demon could have overcome my spells. This leads me to believe that at least one very powerful demon lord has come through one of the two gates that they have. We really need to shut those gates down as quickly as possible. Mirwanna says she is sending you to Fenoris, soon. When you go, don't hesitate for an instant to destroy their gate. Hit the anchor points, and then seal the opening... permanently!" he told me seriously.
I nodded. The thought of a powerful demon lord loose in our world left me feeling cold. I was still unsure why the gods just didn't intervene, and said so.
"It has to do with the Creator of All. He made sure that while the gods can do this, they must be summoned to the location by someone. They can't just show up. Basically, when the Creator allowed the gods to come back, he placed restrictions on what they could and could not do," Vostich said sighing.
"I never knew that they had these restrictions. I mean... they seem to be able to go anywhere, and do just about anything," I said with concern.
"And they can. They can go just about anywhere in the lands. But we humans (the youngest of the 'children' as we are known by the Creator) decided that we were going to have to take a larger roll on pushing the demons back. The result is that where the gods had the ability to interfere and do whatever they wanted, previously, now they have to be summoned," Vostich said.
I sat and thought about what this meant. The gods would not just show up in case of demon attacks. They would have to be summoned. This meant a greater reliance on the priests and priestesses.
I could not imagine Ishla not responding to an invasion of demons in Landkur. She was as much a part of this land as well, the whole land! While she was everywhere, this land was special to her.
Vostich flowed to his feet. "Come, it is time to send you back to the palace. Mirwanna still has plans to finalize with you. Also, your Mariel is looking for you," he finished.
Now how did he know that? Did Mariel send a message? As I contemplated this, Vostich touched me, and I felt myself teleported to the palace.
"Paul! I was just looking for you!" Mariel exclaimed.
"Sorry. Did you wait long for me to return?" I asked her, taking her in my arms.
"Silly. No, I just started wondering where you were a couple minutes ago," she responded with a little kiss and hug.
So, Vostich had that ability the gods seemed to have. Which was to know what someone they cared for was thinking and feeling. While I was pleased that he liked my wife, it also disturbed me.
Ok, it seemed like telepathy, which as far as I was concerned was and is an invasion of privacy. I had discovered this ability since I returned to this, my homeland. I had to concentrate hard to do it, and I rarely did it without a reason.
I had a connection with my sister, Vostich, and the goddess Ishla, too. I could also do it with Mariel. If I tried really hard, I could do it with someone I was looking at. With my loved ones, the connection was easy, and I did not have to see them. Was this a power the gods had, that I just sort of absorbed? I heard a soundless chuckle in my mind that faded.
I asked Mariel what she was doing today, and she said she was going to administer justice. She had really gotten into the 'sitting in judgment' thing. I smiled at her. She was doing a very very good job at it, too. I kept myself apprised of what she did, and I was very proud of her.
Shortly, I was alone in my office. I found the entrance to The Library, and used it. That spiraling thing was still a little disconcerting, but harmless. I already knew what spells I wanted. I thought for a moment, and the spells arranged themselves into the various ways of dealing with demons.
I picked out several defensive, and two offensive spells. The offensive spells took more power to do, and while I could do them, they were at my limit. This started me wondering about my sword's capability to focus power.
I had placed my hand on the hilt of my sword as I thought this, and already the sword was describing in my mind how to better integrate the spells. I could cast them, and the sword would collect and refocus power for my use. I blinked.
This would let me do much bigger spells. I was impressed with what the sword was imparting to me. With the sword working with me, I would be more powerful, and could cast more powerful spells. Damn! This thing elevated me to something I wasn't.
Armed with this new information, I memorized several more spells that I normally would not have attempted. I decided I would keep my ring and staff fully charged. This would give the sword power to draw from and refocus for me. The sword would also draw power from the magic field, directly.
Perhaps that was what happened so long ago. Perhaps the sword was blocked somehow from the magical field. I asked the sword, but it could shed no light on its failures in the past.
I blinked. Now why didn't I think of this before? I thought for a moment, and sure enough, Pejoru appeared before me.
"What is your wish?" Pejoru asked me.
I drew and held out the sword. "Can you explain the magic on this sword? Also, it has failed on at least three occasions in the past. Can you tell me why this is so?" I asked then bowed.
Pejoru glanced at the sword then back to me. He waved his hand, and we were in what I thought of as his study.
"I can sense the entire history of your sword since my sister and I created it. While my sister is a powerful goddess, she is capricious. One of the sword's failures was due to Shabasonti's doing. You must understand that she is chaotic. What you might think of as a horror or unthinkable, she finds amusing. Two more failures were do to demon's spells. You must understand, the demons have magic that is comparable to our magic. From what I read on the sword, this was what happened. I will make an adjustment in the primary base of spells, but that won't do much if they cast different spells. It is all I can do," he said, and glanced at the sword.
I felt it go warm in my hands, then it was over.
"As for telling you the spells that are imbued in the sword, you and your family are capable of discerning this. All you have to do is try," he again waved his hand, and I found myself in my office in the palace.
'Interesting, ' I thought.
I silently thought to Vostich, and connected quickly. I filled him in on what Pejoru had told me. He frowned mentally at me when I mentioned that the goddess of Chaos had caused one failure of the sword.
He became concerned when he discovered that the demons had the power to cancel the sword's abilities. He was only moderately relieved to know this was only an ability of the high level demons.
He was definitely disappointed to find that Pejoru would not explain the spells and full capabilities of the sword. He thought he saw a way around that. He would approach the goddess of chaos, himself, and see what he could discover.
He was also interested in that Pejoru had done some additional magic to the sword. He asked me a few more questions, but nothing new was forthcoming after that. At about this time, I was summoned to attend Mirwanna.
Edited By TeNderLoin