Suhara of Curses: Chapter 36 - Eclipsed Edge

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Jaux Ballad has always wanted to enter the realm of magic, but could not do so by regular means. In his desperation to become a magician he finds himself with more power, and more trouble, than he could ever have imagined.

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As an orphan with no experience in literature or penmanship, Suhara had atrocious writing. The symbols and patterns she drew resembled rows of crisscrossing twigs that had been trampled. The blue enchantment could be seen through a sheet of parchment, but she also couldn't trace it. The wall was just too rough to write on.

Joula ended up being responsible for copying the dimension door's blue runes. She didn't mind, and insisted that it wouldn't be a problem to do it alone. Drawing by eye was one of her specialties. She had even sketched the entire castle. Celner brought her on the trip precisely for her eyesight and artistic skills.

Suhara took her Dragon Tongue and left the secret room with an embarrassed red blush upon her cheeks.

Later in the day, Rales and the Javex researchers inspected the black longsword. They confirmed it was perfectly forged, and that it did contain immortal magic from a dragon. This meant the power of the soul sword would last indefinitely.

The black glass portion of a Dragon Tongue weapon is able to reach the temperature of magma. The handle wasn't affected because it had a heat resisting enchantment. Kellin estimated the heat peaked at over twelve hundred degrees.

When the inspection of the longsword was complete, the Dragon Tongue was handed back to Suhara. Its value was calculated to be worth over two barrels of gold.

Curious to see what she could do with such a searing sword, Suhara decided to charge it with magic and activate the blade's ability.

The black blade suddenly shined white and caught on fire. A wave of radiant heat washed over the atmosphere, which caused everyone standing outside to wince. The cool forest air became as dry as the desert in seconds. All the twigs and leaves near the longsword had caught on fire and burned to ashes.

Suhara screamed and dropped the Dragon Tongue. Blisters formed instantly on her arms and face. Her robes caught on fire and released smoke that smelled like burning wood. The sword stabbed into the ground until only the handle stayed visible. Insulated by the forest soil, the longsword's heat wave dissipated.

Rales yelled out with concern and ran up to Suhara. He pointed his staff and released a blast of cold winds to put out the fire on her robe.

"I-I'm fine." Suhara breathed deeply, then looked down on her burnt arms. "That hurt, but I heal fast."

Suhara's vampire regeneration erased all signs of harm in a few minutes. She soon looked as healthy as ever. Her robes were black and smokey, but they weren't on fire for very long. The demon root wand in her pocket was undamaged. She wasn't sure if her wand could even be damaged in the first place.

"Amazing," said Rales, "that is an impressive healing rate. You have such a variety of spells."

Kellin walked up and frowned at the longsword. "I'm sorry, that was my fault."

"No, no, that was all me," said Suhara. "I used the sword, after all."

Kellin shook her head. "I was foolish and didn't mention important facts. I didn't warn you about the dangers of such high temperatures, thank goodness you can heal. Dragon Tongue weapons should only be activated during the moment of an attack, so that the heat lasts for as long as the strike. Prolonged use leads to incidents like this. That longsword should be left in the ground for a few hours so it can cool."

Suhara nodded. "Well, I know now. Thanks."

Rales and Kellin helped clear away any remaining embers before they started to head back towards the other researchers. Everyone was looking at them, mostly because of the scream, but also because of the wave of heat that they felt. The hot and dry air was still lingering in the forest.

A stray thought moved through Suhara's mind when she remembered the magic items she wore. She activated her silver anklet, then stepped back over to the black longsword. Being cautious, she pulled the sword out by barely a centimeter, and tried to see if she felt any of the heat. Her palm didn't feel hot at all. She pulled the rest of the sword out with confidence.

Most of the sword's heat had been transferred to the soil, so the heat wave wasn't nearly as powerful. However, Rales and Kellin were still able to feel the change in temperature against their backs. They turned around to see what was going on.

Suhara grinned and held up the glowing orange sword. "Sorry, I wanted to check. I think my blessing blocks all the hotness."

Rales shook his head and laughed.

=+=+=

Most of the researchers were gathered in the Ginrook camp. The stone tablets were translated, so one of the Ginrook researchers was reading the translations.

The castle used to belong to a guild of swordsmen, and the tablets contained records of their exploits. They called themselves the Eclipsed Edge Guild. Every member had been personally invited to join the group, so the guild remained unknown, despite having a large collection of elite swordsmen from around the globe.

The Eclipsed Edge had no concrete goal. They simply wished to improve their skills and share wisdoms between different styles. Every member acted on their own, but they often collaborated and assisted one another. The most recent memoir's date was three hundred years ago. There wasn't any evidence showing why the castle was abandoned, or what happened with the guild.

Suhara spoke up when one of the tablets mentioned a former Cooleur Curahge paladin joining the guild. Being able to provide information made her feel useful. She explained everything she remembered about the Cooleur Paladins, including how they were active in the Sixth Demonic Invasion.

The former Paladin of Curahge was named Elro. He supposedly joined the Eclipsed Edge after the Cooleur Curahge disbanded, which was two hundred years after the Sixth Demonic Invasion. The paladin was also considered to be the second most skilled swordsman. The founder was the only one who exceeded him.

The founder of the guild was a woman who specialized in dual wielding techniques. There was no reason given for why she created the guild. All the tablets referred to her as the Mistress of Blades, so her actual name was unknown.

After all the tablets were reviewed, fifty-six members were identified. The memoirs also provided researchers with a better foundation to organize their artifacts.

Rales, Celner, and Kellin began a round of negotiations in order to redistribute the artifacts they had already claimed. They each wanted to obtain certain sets of relics. Rales wanted objects with powerful enchantments, Celner wanted the oldest items, and Kellin wanted the rarest antiques.

Suhara, Joula, and the other young researchers sat together and had a small party. Negotiations didn't require any of them.

"What powers do you get with being a nymph?" Suhara asked Joula.

"Lots of stuff," said Joula, "but I have to be underwater. My eyes can see magic and a wider spectrum of colors. I can turn water into fog at will and make the fog heal or poison whoever is inside. My brother says I look more pretty when I'm wet, which I think is part of it. Uh... oh, I can turn invisible, and I can fly through water without making any sound. I can't breath underwater like a siren, which is so dumb. I have spells to survive underwater, but it sucks that I can't do it passively."

One of the Javex boys whistled. "Damn, you already look hot. If you get even more beautiful, we'll end up burned."

Joula rolled her eyes. "Swim off, puffer. I have a boyfriend."

"Aw hey, I meant no harm," said the boy, "just showing some appreciation."

"Right," said Joula. "Anyway, what kind of priest are you, Suhara?"

"I dunno. I think I'm the only one like me, my bond is with a goddess." said Suhara.

Several jaws dropped.

"Bullshit!"

"No way!"

"Which goddess?!"

Suhara didn't go into detail about her priest powers, but she explained everything she read about Theema. Her book on the goddess was back at the Lyceum, so she didn't have any evidence to back herself up. Joula was the only one who completely believed Suhara.

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Rales and Suhara were putting all the newly acquired artifacts into storage containers. Rales had completed several sets, so the negotiations had been successful.

"Hey Suhara?" said Rales.

"Yeah?"

"I went through a few of the documents they gave to me about you, and I'm curious. Are you from Welldrop, or Western Beradina?"

Suhara froze, and realized the mistake she made back in the secret room. "Uh, well... I..."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to rat you out." Rales chucked.

Suhara sighed with relief, then continued with putting stuff away. "Yeah, I kind of lied during the admission. I'm from Welldrop."

"It won't hurt to tell the Lyceum admins, they don't really care about your hometown. I know it sounds better to be an orphan from Beradina rather than an orphan from Welldrop, but all the Lyceum focuses on is your magical potential."

"Okay, but... can you keep it a secret for now? A lot's been goin-"

"It's no problem, Suhara. Don't worry about it. I'm not one to gossip."

"T-thanks, Rales."

After all the relics were packed up, they went to sleep in their shacks.

=+=+=

By the middle of the next day, Rales finished breaking down the runes of the dimension door. A large amount of researchers were gathered in the secret room as he was about to open it. Light crystals brightly lit the room up. All the silver coins had been cleared away, so there was a lot more room to stand.

Joula and Suhara helped indicate the locations of certain runes, since Rales still couldn't see them.

The dimension door required brushing a hand against the wall, while simultaneously ordering the portal to open. It was hard when the circle was invisible. Eight minutes worth of repeated attempts were required before Rales finally succeeded at activating the enchantments.

The blue circle of runes intensified until they became visible to everyone. A swirl of colors began to form over the circle. It was blurred like a mixture of thick mist.

Rales put his hand up against the portal of colors. He pushed, but wasn't able to make it through. "It's definitely a pocket dimension. The time is dulled, its moving much slower, almost completely at a standstill. I can't get in while the time delay remains. Is anyone here capable of master class time magic?"

All the researchers shook their heads.

"We might be able to call a master time magician from our academy," said Kellin. "It will take a while for him to get here, though."

"We don't have a choice, it's the only way to get in there," said Rales.

Kellin nodded. "I'll go contact the academy, then."

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Comments

Why are my tingling plot

Why are my tingling plot senses speculating that the pocket dimension might have something to do with Thema?

anyway, thank you for writing this interesting story,
Beyogi

What might be in there

Podracer's picture

It's a magical cold-store full of old pizza and shrivelled cheese?
56 missing sword masters? They might just want their stuff back!

"Reach for the sun."

so Rales is gonna keep one of her secrets

So she dodged that particular bullet. But it seems to me like only a matter of time before her true origin comes out, and a number of people are going to be very upset that she lied.

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