The Wyvern Chronicles: New Beginnings

Sorcery!

"The FrostBlade and the FrostShield are the legendary weapons of the Ice Elementals!" Gladius explained, " Their owners would usually receive them later on but this is the first time they've been 'received' in such an early stage."

"So can I keep them?" I asked

"They'll come to you whenever you need them"Gladius answered, "You just have to reach out your hand and think real hard for it to come, and it'll come, no matter where it is! I've seen it happen with Comdor!"

"Really?"

"Yup."

"What about these weird rune things on my sword and my shield?"

"I was just about to get to that." Gladius led me through a long hallway, the faint scent of coffee hung in the air."Legendary weapons are indeed powerful, but the magic you can harness from them is indescribable. You could even thrash an entire army if they're powerful enough!"

"Sorcery, just like my parents said..." I muttered. I blinked away some tears that had formed beneath my eyelids. Gladius didn't seem to notice because he was in a too jolly mood for that. I knew the weapons I wielded brought even more hope to the Bonders but I just couldn't neglect the negative feeling of sadness from the 'loss' of my family. I suppressed my disappointment and continued to march through the long hallway.

"Anyway," Gladius continued, "We have a person who can read 'Runic'. She's quite old already but she is still as sharp as cheddar!" He chuckled at his own joke as we made a sharp left around a corner. The scent of coffee became stronger then. "She hasn't slept in 64 years but she was gifted when she was younger and she still is." He led me to an old hawthorn door "You don't need to be scared, 'Old Ma's' harmless, as we call her. But her real name is, the one, the only, Edna Wingstrop!"

Gladius opened the hawthorn door and pulled me in. And old woman wearing a tattered shawl and a torn dressing gown sat on the table. Her long gown barely exposed the small slippers she wore. Her old, grizzled arms lay on a table as she glanced at us with her bored yet wise pupils. The room contained a sliver of light from a short candle on the tiny table. A gigantic leather-clad book lay on the table too, next to the candle which was probably not the best idea. Then I noticed the scorched pages of the book and the cups of coffee next to it. The only other extraordinary thing in the dim room was the towering stack of cups which contained the strong aroma of coffee grounds.

"Hello Ma!" Gladius greeted cheekily with a hearty voice and a mischievous grin, "Hope you haven't ran out of coffee yet or you might just break your ultimate world record!"

Ahhh, young Gladius." she groaned as she turned her wrinkled head (and neck!) towards us. Her eyes was either closed or just very small, "I'll never forget that naughty voice of yours. Even with me blindness. Yet I sense the presence of another young lad. This must be the next Elemental. It feels a bit colder. Come to me with your Ice Wyvern young one. I predict you have something in Runic for me to translate for you. Probably on the sword and shield in your hand."

Edna beckoned me towards her with her bony hands. I walked towards her wearily as she flipped the pages of her book. "Give me the weapons ,young one." she whispered, "What's your name ,hmmm?"

"Smith." I answered, "Bobby Smith."

"Quite a normal name." she murmured, "These runes, mmmmmmm. Where's the shield, ah here it is. Hmmmmm, yes. Extraordinary."

"What is?" I questioned.

"Your weapons. They seem to be more powerful than I thought. Come. Let me tell you the activation spells for these weapons. They shall only work when their possessor says them so don't worry about losing them."

She beckoned me closer and I edged towards her. She handed me the weapons as I knelt down to her chair level. She moved her head closer towards mine and murmured a few magic words. The sword vibrated in my hand. Then she uttered a more complex one in a hushed tone. They sounded so mythical. So magical. So powerful. I was sure to remember those.

"Can you remember those spells?" she asked, glancing at me with a stern look. I nodded. "Good lad. Now off with you and that scamp of a Gladius. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't hear you prying through my magic books! Be off with you two!"

Gladius groaned and took hold of my shoulder. Gladius and I glanced back and Edna did too. She gave us a grateful smile and went back to her book. We exited and I closed the hawthorn door carefully. Who knows how fragile that thing must be?

"What'd she tell you?" Gladius questioned

"That's for me to know and for you to find out!" I retorted with a cheeky grin

Gladius gave a grunt and continued on. I was almost hyperactive with excitement when he left me to my business. You know why? Because I knew what I was going to do tonight...