The library was a cold place, the librarian had once told me the temperature had to be regulated to protect the books. I guess it made sense, the pages of the books were made from animal skin, and in a warm climate, the leather could be damaged.
When I was a boy, I was very fond of this place. It had a very unique smell, and it was very quiet. The stone shelves where the books were kept created a very nice cozy feeling; it felt like a good hiding spot. When I was studying magic, I spent a lot of my time in this place.
It had been some time since I'd been back here. Seeing the rows of stone shelves so tall they reached the ceiling, people seated sparsely all over the place, engrossed in whatever they were reading, I was hit with nostalgia.
It didn't take too long to find father and sister; they were huddled together discussing something. They were whispering so as to not disturb others, so I couldn't make out what they were saying. Sister was the first to notice me. She smiled and waved at me, then father looked back and saw me, a slight frown formed on his face.
I'd gotten used to father frowning whenever he saw me, but it still hurt sometimes. Father was the type that didn't speak a lot, so it was understandable that we didn't talk to each other too much. He was passionate about magic, so it was understandable that he would favor my sister over me. However, that frown on his face whenever he saw me, I didn't understand that frown.
"Brother, what brings you here?" my sister asked through [mind talk].
"I was just at the smithy, Grigore told me father was working on engraving the enchanted weapons with more advanced magic. I was curious so I decided to come to ask you if you knew anything about it," I replied to her.
I hadn't moved from the spot I was standing in. I couldn't even remember the last time it was I stood next to father. I don't know how it happened, but at some point, it became an unwritten rule that I would keep my distance from him. Whatever he had to say to me he said from a distance using [mind talk].
"Is that what it was? Well, I'm busy right now, let's meet at the pub once the sun sets, I'll tell you about it then," she said. She severed the link between us once I turned around to leave.
I made my way back to the training ground in the barracks; I decided to do some solo training. I picked up an axe and started practicing. I felt like a new recruit that wasn't used to his own body yet. It wasn't only my speed, but my strength seemed to have increased too. No wonder my hits were heavy when I sparred with the leader.
The axe was a heavy weapon, at least it was for me. It wasn't so heavy I couldn't use it at all, but it wasn't so light I couldn't feel the weight. The way the weight was distributed also made it seem heavier. But as I practiced, I could barely feel the weight. I didn't know I felt about that, on the one hand, I was happy I was a bit stronger, and on the other hand, I was sad because this sudden change meant I would have to readjust my techniques.
A lot of my technique using the axe relied on me feeling its weight. When I swung, I let the weight of the axe lead my swing, which both increased my speed and the amount of damage I could do. Unfortunately, I had to sacrifice precise control to achieve this. A lot of my techniques worked like that.
I didn't have a problem with that. An axe was my choice of weapon when fighting Lycans. They were a big target, and even though they were really fast and had incredible reflexes, they rarely dodged attacks. It was due to that arrogance such unrefined techniques worked against them. Against the Lycans, many of our warriors sacrificed precise technique for one that did more damage.
However, now that I couldn't feel the weight of the axe, I felt like a boy swinging around a toy. My form was off and the axe wasn't following the trajectory I wanted. What I had left to the axe itself before, I now had to control. I would have to train to use an axe the same way I used a sword.
Once I was done practicing with the axe, I moved on to the next phase of my training, visualization. Not a lot of warriors could use this form of training, in fact, I was fairly certain it was unique to me alone. Visualization was something I learned when I was still trying to become a mage. It was the way mages developed mental images that helped create their magic.
Since I became a warrior, I found a different use for it. I simulated battles in my head, from there I would create techniques of my own, or try to learn the techniques of others I had seen. Today, I decided to simulate my spar with the leader. He had many interesting techniques, but beyond that, I wanted to find a way to defeat him too.
I tried retracing all of the leader's moves, the trajectory his spear followed, his footwork, the strikes with his legs and fists. Once I was done retracing his moves, I swapped out my axe for a spear and started practicing.
At first, I had some difficulty with my balance. Also, the piercing technique wasn't as refined as the leader's. However, I persisted and gradually got better. At least, I no longer fell when I tried kicking.
By the time I was done the sun was already setting. I headed for the lake to wash my body for the second time today, once I was done, I made my way to my sleeping quarters to change my clothes then I set off to go meet my sister at the pub.
Aurel was already at the pub. By the looks of it, he'd already had a few drinks. He was harassing the server again. Good thing my sister wasn't here yet, otherwise he probably would've been dealt with very harshly.
The server smiled awkwardly when she saw me coming. This sight wasn't unusual. Aurel didn't just spend most of his time here because he liked to drink, the server was also one of the reasons. I could understand why he liked her, she was a pretty lady, but he was going about winning her affection the wrong way.
"Aurel," I called out to him as I sat down. He stopped following the server around and came to sit with me.
"I swear it brother, I am almost there. Soon, she will be unable to resist my charms," he said with a grin on his face.
"If you continue to woo her in this way, there is a greater chance you will die by her hands," I said to him.
The server came to ask what I wanted; since today I planned on having a somewhat serious discussion with my sister, I didn't plan on drinking. So, I asked for milk mixed with syrup and some goat meat.
"Sometimes, I struggle to come to terms with the fact that you aren't a woman," Aurel remarked, no doubt making fun of my choice of drink.
"Some of us have to use our heads, so we can't afford to lose it to ale," I replied to him.
Not long after I sat down, my sister entered the pub. She wrinkled her nose once she smelled the alcohol on Aurel.
"This oaf has been drinking again?" she asked to no one in particular as she took her seat. I suspect her aim was simply to annoy Aurel.
"I need drinks in me to be able to deal with you, I wouldn't even be able to stand your presence sober," Aurel shot back at her.
Before things got out of hand, I decided to step in, "what took you so long?" I asked my sister.
"Well, you know how father gets when he's researching new magic," she said to me. Just then the server brought two cups of milk and a bowl filled with goat meat.
"So, what are you guys researching," I asked her as I sunk my teeth into the fleshy meat I had dug out from the bowl. My sister also immediately took from the bowl and bit into the meat. It had a strong gamey smell, but it was otherwise well cooked. The seasoned broth had soaked into the meat nicely. It was very delicious.
"So, you know that as things stand, father is only able to engrave attribute magic that doesn't require permission on weapons," she started answering once she finished chewing.
"He started researching ways to engrave magic that would require permission to use. Right now, the safest way is to ask for a god's blessing while creating the weapon, instead of engraving runes on it," she continued, "however, I do not know if this could work, because that would mean people not under contract with a god could exercise a god's power."
"I see. Well, that is true, gods do have very strict laws. However, I think some lower gods will give their permission, after all, what they want is a way to spread their influence amongst humans," I said.
"Silas, you still know little about gods. Regardless of laws, the reason gods don't permit just anyone to use their power is a matter of pride and ego," she said to me.
"And you think even the lower gods are so proud they wouldn't give their permission?" I asked her.
"Yes, they wouldn't. In the first place, lower gods don't consider themselves to be any less important. Granting their blessings unto weapons would be a stain on their reputation," she said, then lifted the cup filled with milk to take a drink.
"Then, what are father's plans?" I asked.
"Well, for now, the focus is on creating better attribute magic. He's burying himself in history books and old grimoires to find forgotten attribute magic that is strong enough," she answered.
I sighed a few times during our discussion. Thinking about it, the problem looked almost impossible to solve. One could endow the enchanted weapons with many attributes, but those attributes were very limited.
Each attribute had laws that governed its functions. It was the biggest limitation of attribute magic, and one of the reasons many mages didn't practice it. One limitation was that you couldn't use an attribute that went against the natural order of things. As an example, one would fail to give a club the sharpness attribute since it had no blade.
The artifacts we had broke this convention. There were artifacts that had attribute magic that didn't follow this rule, so I knew it wasn't absolute. As an example, the necklace I wore that alerts the wearer to life-threatening danger was an attribute that didn't follow the natural order, since the necklace had no senses of its own.
Finding the production method for those artifacts could help, however, if I could think of this, I was sure father would've thought of it too. If he wasn't using that method, then either it doesn't work well for weapons, or he simply doesn't know how the artifacts were created.
"Is the problem really that complicated? Why are you assuming the gods won't give their blessings to weapons, have you tried and failed?" Aurel asked. That was his first contribution, it was easy to tell how exasperated my sister was by that question. She sighed audibly and rolled her eyes.
"If you have nothing intelligent to add, just keep quiet," she said to him.
I thought there was some merit to his questions, but clearly, my sister thought otherwise. Perhaps it was the fact that Aurel and I had little connections to the gods and didn't know them well enough as my sister said. The problem wasn't one that was easily solved, and so I took my sister's advice and said nothing else about it since my additions at this point would not be any more intelligent than Aurel's. I decided to switch the topic to something else.
"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" I asked my sister.
"It depends on what favor it is you're about to ask me," she answered. Her cup was already dry, and so was mine. The bowl filled with meat was already empty too.
"Well, we'll officially start training the new unit tomorrow, but we don’t have the enchanted weapons yet. So, I thought we would start with image formation, and I was wondering if you could come to teach us since you excel at it," I asked of her.
"Silas, you're better than me at image formation. In fact, while we were studying, you were better than me at all the theoretical aspects," she said. She leaned back on her chair and squinted her eyes as she examined me, "what are you up to?" she asked.
"Well, it is true that I am better than you at the theoretical aspects of magic, however, I don't come close when it comes to the practical aspect. You know it is easier to learn something once you see it," I said to her. I couldn't stop the grin that formed on my face.
My sister had suddenly thrust this responsibility on me. No doubt, she thought she'd gotten away with it, she probably thought there was no way I could get back at her. However, I hadn't forgotten about it, I simply left my revenge till later. Inspiration finally hit me. The best way to get back at her was to make her share in the burden she had laid on me.
"So, I was thinking you could teach them the practical aspects of image formation," I said to her.
She was free to say no, but I knew she wouldn't. Sister was the type to take on extra responsibilities if it meant she could contribute to the advancement of our settlement and win praise, especially from father. Whether or not she knew my intentions, she would join Aurel and me in training the new unit. I was certain.
