A civil war rages in Talestor. A boy from a forest chases after his friend, leaving the safety of the trees and thrusting himself into a world he can barely comprehend, happening upon a weary sword whose only wish is for peace. A group of slaves are...
Nevay watched his wielder, Celestar (as he'd heard him call himself), while he doctored the one called Vraide. He seemed to know what he was doing. Nevay knew quite a lot about healing, and hence far, his wielder hadn't made a single mistake.
Come morning, there were shadows under his eyes, and the green fire that burned in them had lost a minuscule bit of its luster. Celestar was well beyond the limits of what he could handle, and yet still he clung to the waking world to make sure Vraide was all right.
Nevay couldn't let him continue on like this, drained as he was. Though the sword had hoped to put off this moment till they found Nalifrom, he had to do it. Besides, Nevay had already communicated with Celestar with that fire he'd summoned earlier on impulse, and the alf hadn't run off screaming or even seemed to take it badly.
Concentrating, he shifted into his elven form, a small, slight thing of five feet five inches. Anyone looking at him would think him averse to color; his skin was pale, his eyes were light blue and did not glow with an inner fire like Celestar's, and his hair was just completely white. Straight bangs hung above his brows, and two braids adorned with glass beads framed the sides of his face. The rest of it was wavy and thick. It hung in bouncy half-curls around his neck and down past his shoulders a little, brushing against his (you guessed it) white robes.
Nevay didn't even have to do anything to get Celestar's attention. Even though he was looking away from the sword, the moment he shifted, his wielder knew. Immediately, those green eyes snapped in his direction. Their owner gave a double-take.
"You're new," said Celestar.
"Not as new as you think," said Nevay, and brushed his right braid out of his face.
Celestar took in the cloak still wrapped around him, the very same one that he'd given to his wielder for him in turn to wrap around his blade.
"You're my sword," said the alf.
Nevay smiled. "Yes," he said, "I am."
Celestar looked unsure of something. "Am I supposed to say something profound, or make an oath, or... Something?"
Poor boy must've been tired out of his mind.
Laughing, Nevay shook his head. "No, no, you need not do anything. In fact, that is why I have taken this form. Never fear, I am still your faithful weapon, but for now I will be your assistant and watch over Vraide for you while you, my silly wielder, take a long nap."
Celestar grinned, showing his fangs, and yawned in the middle of that grin, which, considering his mouthful of sharp teeth, looked surprisingly adorable and not at all terrifying like most alf yawns were. He got over the yawn and shut his mouth, then opened it again to say, "I knew it. You are the actual best. You know what you're doing, right?" Then he considered that question for a little bit and added, "Sorry, but I kind of want to be sure you do before I go off to dreamland and leave poor Vraide in your undoubtedly capable hands."
Nevay nodded. "Yes. I am a healer too, which, if you think about it, is a little bit of a juxtaposition from my being a sword."
Celestar cocked his head to the side, then he, too, nodded, accepting this. "Thank you," he said.
Oh, but his wielder really was adorable, thought Nevay, as he picked himself off the pallet and moved to sit beside Vraide. Celestar meanwhile had arranged himself on yet another pile of furs, curling up like a kitten.
"One more thing," he said. "I'm Celestar. What's your name?"
"Nevay," said Nevay, then walked over to him and draped a fur over his waist. "Now go to sleep. I promise Lear will be well when you wake."
There was no answer. Celestar was already gone from the waking world.
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Author's Note: Welcome back to Aer'denna, everybody. We got anthropomorphous swords? What next, mermaids? Maybe, maybe not. You'll see. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please drop a vote or a comment. If you think there's something I could do better, let me know! I write for you guys to read. If there's anything you want to see, tell me! I might be able to work it in there somewhere. Thanks for reading, and cheers.
