The Last Mage (Under Revision)

Chapter Three (Revised)

 Cedric banged his hammer against the metal blade, an echo ringing out in the small forge. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he put down the tool and undid his smock, thinking about the time that had past since he'd started working for Max, and while it was fun, it had not exactly been easy. The man insisted on keeping his pupil in shape by making him run laps around the town, or lift metal beams that had to weigh twice as much as he did. However, as much as Cedric ached afterwards, it had done the job of improving his strength and stamina.

 "Hello Cedric," Max greeted as he walked through the door. "How's the sword coming along?"

 The boy gestured to the blade laying on the table. "Well, it's coming. I just need to work on a hilt for it and all should be well." He then had a thought. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were meeting a potential customer."

 The blacksmith nodded. "I did, and he turned from potential to an actual customer. However he didn't want any of the sample weapons I had with me, nor any I had suggested to him. He wanted a sword that I had only found recently, and I am not even sure how he found out about it."

 Max walked into the backroom for a moment, before reappearing with a sword in a black scabbard. Pulling it out, the man laid it on the table for the duo to gaze at.

 It was a blade as black as the void, outlined in a bright silver. Elegant markings were expertly etched into the blade, running from the middle down to the hilt, which was a bright gold. A shining blue sapphire was rested in the cross shaped hilt, and the handle itself was wrapped in silver wire. As he stared at it, Cedric felt some sort of power ebb from the weapon, and swore he saw the blade itself glow a deep red, though it was gone as soon as he blinked.

 "This sword... it's beautiful. Did you forge this yourself?" Cedric asked even as he knew the answer. No normal human could make a weapon like the one in front of him.

 "Only in my dreams, boy." Max answered truthfully. "No, I found this while exploring the forest one day, in a mess of crumbled stone. It was obviously a ruin of some sort, but all I could focus on was a sword- this sword- sticking up from the ground. Everyone that I've talked to doesn't seem to know a lick about it. A shame, really."

 There was a moment of silence between the two as they continued to stare at the weapon.

 Max cleared his throat abruptly and said, "Well, we won't get anything done while standing here. Grab the blade and we'll go. I will saddle up the horses. We need to meet our client at the tavern in town."

 Max left, leaving Cedric to gather up the sword. Just before sheathing it, he felt a shiver run up along his arm from the weapon. Was that the cold, or from the blade itself? Shrugging it off, as he wouldn't get answer anytime soon, the boy went outside after his boss, where he was awaiting him with the horses. Cedric passed him the blade, then jumped on his own mare, Hion, a grey horse with beady, brown eyes. With a nod from Max, the two rode off towards the tavern.

 Walking into the musty building, the pair were greeted with the sight of a young man fighting with an older looking man. The younger one was glaring at his opponent with fury in his eyes, while the older one was having difficulty just standing. The younger man struck out swiftly, catching his foe square in the face. He stumbled backwards, and as the younger man walked forwards, Cedric rushed forwards almost instinctively.

 'Was this what I was always like?' He thought. 'Defending people from others that would do them harm, or is this something new about me?'

 He had been searching tirelessly for months, looking for any signs of his past, or who he used to be, but always came up empty handed. Cedric didn't want to give up, but it was becoming more and more difficult to search.

 Focusing back on the matter at hand, Cedric faced the young man, who looked even more agitated. Not wasting any time, he rushed forwards with his fist raised. Cedric quickly side- stepped and struck his opponent on the neck with a swift chop. The young man fell forwards on his face, knocked out cold.

 "Cedric, where did that come from?" Max asked in bewilderment as they took a seat at the counter.

 "Honestly Max I don't know. It just came over me like a reflex." The boy answered truthfully. "I wish I knew how I could do that, but I still haven't remembered anything. For now, we can put it aside and focus on work. Where's the customer anyway?"

 Max scratched his chin, looking over the crowd of people who had come to rest their tired bones from a hard day of work. "I'm not too sure. He said that he would still be here when I got back but-" A look of relief came over his face. "There he is, sitting at a table in the corner. Come on, let's go."

 Max stood up, holding the sword tightly, and Cedric trailed along. This client customer they had must have been rich to afford such a magnificent sword. As they approached the table, Cedric's eyes widened.

 "It's you!" He exclaimed, staring at the man who had nearly taken his life all those months ago.

 The man in black, with dark hair, smiled darkly. "Hello there Cedric, Max. I see you have my item for me."

 Max placed the sword on the table. "Here you go Xavier, just what you asked for. A shame to give it up, but with the money you promised me I couldn't really argue."

 Xavier nodded as the two sat down, Cedric glaring at him. "I appreciate you parting with it." Xavier passed a large sack of gold to Max, then slid the blade over to Cedric. "However this is more of a gesture to Cedric, for returning to our guild."

 Max looked at the man with a confused look, while Cedric asked , "What guild?"

 Xavier sneered and snapped his fingers, causing cloaked figure in black to come barging in. They all held curved daggers, which they held backwards, remind Cedric of assassins, which for some reason echoed in his head. The cloaked assailants charged forwards and attacked. Cedric unsheathed the sword on the table and instantly felt a rush of power surge through his body. Swinging the blade with ferocity, he parried a blow aimed for his neck and drove his blade through his attacker's neck. 

 'Did... did I just kill a man?' He thought, surprised at his own actions. It came so easily too. It was to save his own life, but...

 Cedric didn't have a chance to think any further as two other cloaked man came forwards. He danced around the room, pushing back their strikes and counter- attacking when possible. He was doing good, and soon realized it was all his instinct guiding him, controlling the sword. He almost felt like laughing as the movements came to him, but immediately sobered as he saw Xavier dragging Max through the door.

 "No!" He shouted. "I'm coming Max, just hold on!" However as he made to move for the exit, a swarm of attackers surrounded him. "Dammit I don't have time for this."

 "Djei! Speak it." A voice in his head offered. Unsure if what it was, Cedric didn't have the time to ask any questions as the circle drew closer.

 "Djei!" Cedric shouted, and felt a pull on his gut. He felt all of the shadows and darkness in the room pull towards him, embracing him, then explode back onto the enemy like a wave. As he saw everyone fly back, his vision suddenly flickered, and the whole world faded to black.

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