The next morning, Alexis’ team arrives on the tower. He, Carolyn, Hernan, Andreas and Dejan go straight into the inner chamber where the other four champions and Avariel waited all night long. As they have rested and dined on the airship, Avariel begins the briefing for the final quest straightaway.
The eight champions kneel before Avariel. Alexis puts the Greaves of Diligence in front of him, and Hernan does so with the Armor of Righteousness.
‘So, all the champions are now here, safe and sound with the four artifacts. And now, let us begin the fifth and last quest. Behold – the Sword of Justice.’
The archangel flies up, his hands are open. The crystal floor opens below him, and a pedestal of crystallite rises from the hole. On top of the pedestal stands the Sword of Justice – the heavenly sword with crystal blade and a white, winged angel carved on its hilt. The lower half part of the blade is inside the pedestal. The sword shines most radiantly. Its holy aura interacts with the helmet, the shield, the armor and the greaves. The five artifacts glimmer and blink with irregular frequencies, as though they are talking to each other.
The archangel goes down on the floor and explains about the sword.
‘The Sword of Justice is indeed as ancient as our world. Our lord, Vadis the Almighty forged it from his own crystallized blood. And then, after his final battle against Adair he threw it into Hyrl Loch. The lake apparently was an inter-dimensional portal. So, the sword traveled in another world called the ‘earth’ or ‘Gaea’, given a name Excalibur and aided a man named Arthur in his conquests.
When Arthur was about to die after his last battle, he learned about the origin of the sword from the Lady of the
The Lady gave the Excalibur to me and I re-forged it into the Sword of Justice you see now, and you all know the rest of the story from history books, folklores, legends and ballads.’
The champions and Dejan are awestruck on learning the origin and the true name of the Sword of Justice – Excalibur, which previously was a mystery for them.
‘So, as the sword has aura and will of its own, it’ll choose its new master in the same manner as it chose King Arthur of Camelot, Sage the Fireheart and Antoine the Avenger: Whoever draws the blade out of this crystallite may borrow it and become its new master. Plus, he or she will get the whole arsenal: the armor, the helmet, the greaves and the shield.
Now I shall give each and every one of you a try.’
‘Each and every one of us?’ Carolyn protests. ‘I thought only the ones who got the artifacts may try.’
‘Well, the artifact winners must be excelled at a certain strength that suits that artifact. He or she got a greater chance to get the sword, and yet the overall strength of body, mind and heart are to be accounted for. Anyway, each of you has only undergone two quests, not four. So, let the sword decide and choose its new master. If none of you are chosen, you must leave all your trophies here. Maybe one day a true Heir of Vadis will come and claim the arsenal.’
On hearing that, Carolyn thinks of the four other candidates who are absent: Robert, Kyflynn, Desmond and Agustina. Without further ado, the archangel calls upon the first champion.
‘Eidos Crydias!’
The old chronomage goes forward, mumbling something about his old bones and excessive labor. He grabs the hilt of Excalibur and tries to pull it with all his might. The sword, however, won’t budge at all. Avariel immediately calls the second candidate.
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Posted By Andry Chang to FireHeart - Exploring Worlds of Fantasy at 3/11/2009 06:00:00 PM
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