The Sword that Binds (Book of Worlds 1) (8 page)

Tyrus’ words faded away as despair washed Sarena. She couldn’t survive without Tyrus anymore, but if she didn’t get rid of him then she was doomed regardless. She looked at the sword in her hand suspiciously.
Did he plan this from the beginning? I never asked him for any of this, but it seems like it worked out perfectly for him.

“Sarena I - I never thought this would happen. I was just so happy to finally be free from that black void, I didn’t want you to die and leave me to go back to it. But this isn’t what I wanted to happen," Tyrus said.

“Yes, yes, while I would love to watch the two of you have a falling out, I do have more important things to discuss," Ankaros interrupted. “Unfortunately I will need you two to work together, so it pains me to say, Sarena, that Tyrus has always had your best interests at heart," He paused a moment, letting Sarena process what he had just said. “As for your little problem, I may be able to help. I need a favor from you two, and in exchange I would be willing to slow down the enchantments degradation, giving you a month instead of three days. When you finish with what I have asked, I’ll even throw in a bonus that will solve all your problems, and you both get to keep your lives. How does that sound?”

“What is it you need us to do?” Sarena asked cautiously, not fully trusting the dragon, but not having much choice in the matter either.

Ankaros smiled, his upper lip exposing a mouth full of fangs as thick as Sarena’s legs. “Nothing too difficult. I just need you to find a book for me.”

*****

U
ckey Ecklofostrum IX, Exalted Chairman of the High Academy of Magic, Chief Emissary of the Kingdom of Stewrix, and the widely renowned Professor of Mana, lay comfortably in his bed. He was running out of time, and even with his gnomish longevity he hadn’t been able to finish his research. It had taken centuries to accumulate. So many had called him insane when he had begun - and had continued to throughout his life - yet he had still persevered, but for the past hundred years it had become obvious that he wouldn’t be able to finish it in his lifetime. For decades he had searched for an apprentice, but in all his travels - which had been quite extensive since he had been an emissary to almost every country in the world during his lifetime - he had never found a pupil that met his admittedly lofty standards. Now he was left with only one option, after being sent as an emissary - technically banished, his detractors might say, but Uckey would never admit that - to the Godwoods for the past twenty two years.

His eyes were closed as he formed a complex matrix of blue lines within his mind, using pure mana to force it into existence. Sweat formed on his brow, and he unconsciously pulled at his long grey beard to keep his thoughts focused. For the past six years he had been devising this spell as his final attempt to see his life’s work continue. The thought of failure never entered his mind - Uckey Ecklofostrum IX never suffered failure, only minor set-backs. After waiting so long that his bladder began to feel like it was bursting again - roughly ten minutes - the matrix began to show a reaction.

“Great being within the forest, I, Uckey Ecklofostrum IX, Exalted Chairman of the High Academy of Magic, Chief Emissary of the Kingdom of Stewrix, and widely renowned Professor of Mana, call upon you. My research has led me to believe that you might actually be more powerful than me, although that sounds very unlikely," Uckey spoke out loud to the matrix, his eyes still closed. “I am willing to offer a trade of favors. You will grant me an apprentice and the time to train and teach them everything I know, and I will grant you one favor of your own choosing.”

A faint and deep laughter rattled the small wooden cabin that Uckey called home. Uckey gave a small jump in surprise, or most likely excitement as he thought of it, and his eyes popped open.

“Done," The deep voice said. The world turned black around Uckey Ecklofostrum IX.

*****

“A
book?” Sarena asked. She glanced at the massive claws on his feet, before looking back up at his head. “I didn’t realize that dragons were interested in reading.”

“A grimoire to be exact. It was stolen from me long ago. I have no interest in reading it, I merely want it back in my possession, but unfortunately I cannot leave my home unattended for long enough to retrieve it. Who knows what havoc the children of my forest would wreak while I was gone? You need not worry about bringing it back to me, once you have touched it your task will be complete.” Ankaros replied. “You two young ones are more than suited for this, and I’ll even give you a guide to help you find it.”

Sarena pursed her lips while she thought. Nothing the dragon had said so far made her want to trust him, but at the same time she knew he could kill both of them with a thought. Accepting his request might be her only way out of this.

“We should do it Sarena," Tyrus’ voice intruded on her thoughts. “We’re dead if we don’t, even if he lets us go. He might be wrong about me killing you once the enchantment breaks, but I don’t think we should risk it either way. Even if he only gives us that extra month, we might be able to find a solution in that time.”

The smile on Ankaros’ face lessened at the words Tyrus spoke, and that was enough to convince Sarena. Tyrus may have been the cause of all of her problems, but he was relying on her just as much as she did him. Using all the strength she had left, Sarena stood back up, her entire body shaking and her stomach feeling nauseous.

“We’ll do it. Show us this guide of yours and we will be on our way. You know of our past though, so I hope for all of our sakes that the book is not too far. It will take almost a full month just to sneak across the kingdom," She spoke, fighting the urge to collapse. She had never felt so powerless and weak in her life. If this is what old age felt like then she hoped she would die young.

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that," Ankaros’ grin returned in full force at her words. “I will be sending you directly to a location much closer to the book than here. And as for the guide...”

He raised a claw and pointed at the ground to her right. There was a popping sound and suddenly a small child appeared next to Sarena, causing her to stumble backwards and fall in surprise.

“What in name of Nurazor is going on!” A loud high-pitched voice screamed, making Sarena want to cover her ears. “Where am I! How did I get here?”

“QUIET!” Ankaros’ voice boomed throughout everyone’s mind. “We have a deal, gnome, in case you’ve forgotten already. You have your apprentice, and you’ll have plenty of time to teach him while repaying me the favor that you owe.”

“You mean it worked? Of course it did! It was a spell cast by myself after all!” Sarena stared at the tiny being, and only upon seeing the grey beard that stretched to the ground did she realize that it was no child. Barely two feet tall, he looked as if he was a grown man that had shrunken down to a third of his size. He wore deep blue robes with gold trim all over, with what looked like various medals pinned everywhere, including his back. He looked at Ankaros and fell over backwards, doing a full somersault before coming to rest.

“Seven hells! A dragon is it? I’ll have to append some of the books in the library. I thought your kind was extinct," The gnome, as Ankaros called him, looked at Sarena and back to Ankaros. “
That’s
my apprentice? A bit large, and looks more like a girl to me. I doubt it can even grow a respectful beard. What’s this favor you would ask of the great Uckey Ecklofostrum IX?”

“Not the girl, the sword. And all I need you to do is take these two to the grimoire within the library of Stewrix," Ankaros said.

“Stewrix! You expect me to make that trip through the mountains! Look at me you dimwit! I called on you because I needed time, not exercise! I’m on my last legs as it is. I can’t make a trip to Stewrix!” Uckey yelled indignantly. Sarena was starting to think that was his normal way to speaking.

Ankaros sighed, blowing hot air directly at Uckey and sending him rolling even further back.

“I hate dealing with gnomes. They never stop talking," he said. “But fine, if your body can’t handle the trip then I’ll find something that can."

Turning his head to look at the forest to their left, everyone followed his gaze. Within moments a young glow horse stepped into the clearing, its eyes glazed over. It moved in front of Uckey and stopped, while within a heartbeat Uckey had disappeared. The glow horse suddenly lifted its head and shook its hoof at Ankaros.

“What did you do?” Uckey’s voice sounded throughout their minds, just as high-pitched as before. He eventually stopped and turned his head so one eye was facing Sarena. “Interesting. You seem much smaller now. I’ve never seen a race that could change sizes like that so quickly," The glow horse turned its head and looked back at its body. “Wait...YOU TURNED ME INTO A HORSE!”

“You’ll grow used to it I’m sure," Ankaros chuckled. “It’s a far stronger and younger body than yours was. Making the trip to Stewrix should be no problem for you now. You’ll even have the time to train your apprentice on the way. Now go, I’m tired of this already.”

Before any of them could speak the world around Sarena faded away. Her body felt as if it was being pressed on from all sides, until a heartbeat later the pressure was gone and the world popped back into place.

*****

A
nkaros couldn’t hold back any longer, and his deep booming laughter reverberated throughout the forest. The memories of that girl had been interesting. She actually thought she might have doomed the world because she killed that foppish prince. He couldn’t help but huff at that. Humans were so short-sighted they didn’t realize it. Had they all forgotten that the founder of the church was the one who had created the seal in the first place? All they had to do was make up a prophecy about a hero, give him the means to repair the seals, and suddenly they would have a puppet on the throne that was revered by the people.

What had truly drawn his interest though, was the fact that they were bonded to each other, and the raw power within the sword was even outside of his expectations. The sheer number of coincidences needed to lead to such an occurrence was staggering. Ankaros had sent champions to unfamiliar lands before, but this might be considered his crowning achievement. The waves created by those two will almost assuredly throw the world into chaos, and even his Sight couldn’t predict how it would end. His dragon form faded away as his laughter continued to resound, reaching so far that even the creatures at the edge of the forest could hear it.

T
yrus was only able to feel the auras around him begin swirling in a circle around him, as if he was the center of a whirlwind. The edges of his binding that he couldn’t even sense two weeks earlier were now covered with cracks, and as the whirlwind spun about he felt the cracks spreading even further, to the point where the enchantment felt like it would shatter at the slightest touch. Suddenly, the whirlwind began to slow, and as it did the cracks began to flow in reverse, growing smaller until Tyrus could no longer feel any of them at all. He knew they weren’t gone entirely since Ankaros had said he would delay it for one month, but they would have to hurry if they wanted to keep him from breaking free.

When the auras had finally settled into place Tyrus felt his perception explode outward, no longer restricted by the suppressing power of the forest. To the south he could sense a forest, similar to the one they had first entered before the deep woods, and aside from that was empty plains with the occasional copse of trees scattered around. Besides Sarena and Uckey there were no creatures larger than a small rodent within his range. Sarena’s aura felt incredibly weak, even though it had only been empty of power for several minutes. She was lying on the ground next to him, unconscious and growing weaker every moment. Tyrus immediately began to push his power into her, watching as her withered aura suddenly burst back into life like a plant that had been thirsting for water.

“Nurazor save us! What did you just do?” Uckey called out, somehow able to speak to Tyrus even though they weren’t connected. “Ah ha! Pure mana! You must be the apprentice Ankaros found for me, not this girlish man. Or perhaps he is actually a she? That must be it, not even those sissy elven men look as feminine as her," He continued to ramble on for several minutes about the different types of elves he had studied before Tyrus finally decided to interrupt him.

“Excuse me, but who exactly are you? I know Ankaros said he would give us a guide, but he never said anything about me being an apprentice to anyone.”

“Yes, yes, of course, where are my manners. I am Uckey Ecklofostrum IX, Exalted Chairman of the High Academy of Magic, Chief Emissary of the Kingdom of Stewrix, renowned Professor of Mana, and a most glorious horse. Given the state of my old body, I would have to say this new one is an upgrade in every way. Except the eyes on both sides of my head are very confusing. And the hooves instead of hands are going to make experiments more difficult...But nothing a bit of magic can’t overcome! Except I can’t seem to use that anymore!” He exclaimed. “And now I am your guide and teacher in all things magical! A horse teaching a sword may sound odd, but I’ve seen many stranger things in my life. What is your race called anyways? I’ve never seen a race of swords before. Or is it a race of sentient weapons of all sorts?”

“Right. Um, my name is Tyrus, it’s nice to meet you Uckey Eckflostlofrum -” Tyrus began to say.

“Ecklofostrum. It’s a noble name boy, don’t butcher it!” Uckey interrupted.

“I think I’ll just stick with Uckey. I’m never going to remember the rest of it. And I’m human, the same as Sarena, the girl on the ground. I’m not entirely sure how, but my soul has been trapped in this sword for almost as long as I can remember. The bindings holding me in here are breaking, and if we can’t find this book for Ankaros in time then Sarena will die from losing my power.”

Uckey continued to question Tyrus as they waited for Sarena to awaken, getting as much information out of him as he could. He explained that he was actually from a race of beings called gnomes, but had been nearing the end of his life and hadn’t been able to find an apprentice to pass his knowledge and research down to. Apparently gnomes live for a very long time, as he mentioned in passing that he was almost seven hundred years old. Tyrus hadn’t even known there were other races in the world besides humans, but his experiences over the past month had left him open to almost anything. His mind began to grow weary as he listened to the gnome constantly brag about his past achievements, of which there seemed no end. Seven hundred years was plenty of time to accomplish almost anything it seemed.