Light as a Cloud

Chapter 12

"Meroch," the Elvenking said, "you got odd friends while you were away. No wonder you neglected your magic."

"Forgive me, Brightest," Meroch replied, and he bowed his head. "Ayra is a little impulsive. She doesn't know the Elfish way. And the dragon, well, as I said, I had no choice."

"Eminns are as uncivilized as dwarves," the Elvenking sighed. "Elfish influence is clear in you, despite your eminn shell."

Meroch was silent. If he'd been in Fennekirch, he would've bashed about him only being half eminn and half elf, and dwarves being a proud race, and eminns having a more perfect civilization than elves, but he didn't.

"You do understand we're going to have to banish you again," the Elvenking continued. "You brought danger to our territory. However, your effort to keep us safe despite it should be rewarded."

The corners of Meroch's mouth were trembling as he was trying to suppress a grin. This was the best possible outcome: brought out of elf territory ánd a cool gift from the Bright Elves!

"Thank you, Brightest," he said from the bottom of his heart.

The Elvenking switched his language to Elfish, a language that Meroch didn't speak well anymore. He called one of the Elves, who immediately ran off into the forest. A few moments later he came back. In one hand he had a dagger of some sort, that had strange, pentacle-shaped inlets on one side. In the other he held a bottle, about the size of a hand, that contained a shimmering dark grey fluid. He handed these things to the Elvenking and stepped back into the circle.

"This is a swordbreaker," the Elvenking said, giving the dagger to Meroch. "You can use it to trap the swords of your enemies."

Meroch let his hand carefully run over the pentacles. The metal was cool and strong between his fingers. Despite the thin edges, it didn't feel fragile at all.

"And this," the Elvenking continued, "is an invulnerability potion- be careful, you can't drink it! If you rub it into a material, any material, it becomes impossible to damage for exactly 32 hours." He bent down towards Meroch and added softly: "I recommend to use it on the thinner parts of the swordbreaker, just to be sure, especially if you're fighting people that like brutal force. It works on your skin, too, but as I said, don't drink it!"

Meroch nodded. "I won't drink it, Brightest."

"Because," the Elvenking now whispered, "if you drink it, you'll end up like me."

"A king?" Meroch asked before he could stop himself.

The Elvenking shook his head. "No. Blind."