The Fearless War

Swords Dance

I continued to feel the engraving without being aware of my surroundings, the swords in my hand were light, and their edge could be admired without touching them. It felt as if they were a part of me being reunited since being separated for centuries.

"What do you think Oz? A job worthy of me, right?"

Uncle Miles's voice brought me back to reality and I quickly put the swords back in their sheath.

"Yes, they are excellent, thank you ... " I honestly couldn't find the words to thank Uncle Miles for everything, and even if it would raise his attitude a little more, I had to thank him.

"Did I hear a thank you? haha!"

"Don't make me regret it, can we go now?"

"Ok ok no worries."

I followed my uncle to the basement of the workshop, there wasn't much there, just stuff of materials and fuel as well as weapons he had declared as defective.

We came to a door in the wall, it was black with no handles, just a lock in the center.

"Are you ready Oz? We can do it another time."

"You know if I want to accomplish as much as I can before I leave, I have to do this now."

"Yes, I know and that's what worries me. Just promise me you won't die at my hands." Although he masked it with his usual face, I could tell the worry and anxiety in his voice. Unlike me, Uncle Miles had his entire childhood growing up to learn from Grandpa; I didn't have that luxury myself.

"I promise not to die in your presence uncle." I had no intention of going to the afterlife without leaving my family safe and well.

"That only worries me more, but I know you wouldn't leave us without you, I have no choice but to trust."

"Says the man who inspires the least trust?"

"Heh, ready to do it?"

"Yes, just one question, how are you going to simulate the attacks?"

"That's a surprise my dear Oz."

I could see uncle Miles smile as he closed the door and all around me went dark, his smiles were not good news, he only smiled like that when he was going to try a crazy idea. My senses tensed up just thinking that, but I had to be calm, it was time to begin.

I began to listen carefully and without spending a minute, the walls began to sound, I took the swords out of the cloth again and tied them to my hands with it, I could not lose them in that darkness.

'Why is nothing happening?' I thought to myself and as if waiting for a question, the room filled with a shriek like a spring followed by a hissing sound that pierced my ear.

Trying to follow where it came from, a stabbing pain appeared in my shoulder, I checked the wound and as I pulled out what pierced me, I saw in a blur what it was.

"Damn uncle, you had to get excited didn't you?" I yelled out of frustration even though I knew for sure the room was noise proof to avoid distractions.

Followed by my scream, more hisses of arrows appeared, my mind tensed, I had to figure out where they were coming from, I closed my eyes followed my ears, I slid to the side avoiding three arrows but another one pierced my ankle.

I raised my swords to the front and felt another wave of arrows cut through, I was starting to get the hang of it so I increased to follow my nose, I could smell various things from the arrows, so I guessed Uncle Miles had dipped them in a myriad of things.

'You had to enjoy it didn't you?' My thought didn't stop me from staying focused, after several waves of arrows, I started to feel vibrations from the parries, they were constant, I decided to get closer but even though I could deflect the arrows with one blade and cut a few others with the other sword, I couldn't get close enough.

Suddenly the sound of the walls increased, and they began to attack my feet. With my problems increasing I had no choice but to charge towards a wall, I jumped off the arrows on the floor and skidded with the two swords as a shield.

I kept deflecting and cutting as if it were a dance, after a while I managed to touch a corner of the room. I advanced forward and with the little light of the arrows colliding with the black steel I could see holes that were not there before, without leaving my cover I threw the sword on my right with a thrust to the hole.

There was resistance, but I pushed it away as I received an arrow in my hand, then the arrows from that wall stopped. Now I had a larger area of cover, I sat on the low wall and untied one of the swords, I used the cloth to stop the bleeding from my hand.

"Don't stop Oz!" I shouted to myself as I forcefully closed the diagonal wound on my hand.

I changed the stance of the free sword so that the blade pointed downward, I stood up and ran forward, now with the blades reversed from each other, I could move faster through the rain of attacks. I moved with the blades, while manipulating them like an air current I advanced towards the other corner.

Aiming both swords to one side, I went through two walls without a problem, and there was only one more left, when suddenly I heard noises coming from all over the room, but when I focused my vision blurred, when it came back to itself I saw how the ceiling opened.

"You've got to be kidding me."

The only response I got from the room was smoke falling from the ceiling, now the environment was not only dark to the eye, but my sense of smell could not differentiate the smell of arrows. It was a bombardment against me to blind me.

With only one wall left to attack, I was almost at my limit, my head felt splitting and my arm was running out of blood. I couldn't stay there.

I kept advancing through the smoke while trying to remain focused to walk while blocking the arrows. In what seemed like an hour I was able to touch the wall with my foot. I raised my right hand as I slashed more projectiles. A bell rang as the arrows stopped, the smoke settled and my senses calmed. But if I didn't control it I could lose consciousness from the sudden change.

"Who?!" I spun towards the direction of a new sound as I pointed my blades towards the source.

"Easy Oz" Uncle Miles was at the door which at that moment opened.

I stared at him for a while as I tried to stay conscious, it was getting harder and harder.

"Oz! Don't go to sleep, come here so I can treat you." Suddenly my uncle's face was filled with anguish, I couldn't understand why but when I looked down I could see how my shoulder had a hole through it.

"Heh, you care about ... " I couldn't finish what I wanted to say, my mind finally dropped and the last thing I saw was uncle Miles running towards me.

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I was awakened by the sounds of the air, it was crashing against the branches. At that my eyes opened and I was filled with doubt. I was not in a place I knew, it was a meadow surrounded by trees, in the center was a stone tower.

"Hello?!" I tried to find someone other than myself in that place, but there was no answer.

The tower had a wooden door and it seemed to be sealed, I walked towards it and knocked on the door, not for an answer but I got it anyway. Scratches sounded on the wood so I walked as far away as I could.

I kept walking but I didn't seem to move from that meadow, it kept appearing where I woke up even though I walked in a straight line.

"I guess there's only one option left eh?"

The tower came back into my view as I made my way to the center of the meadow, I could no longer hear scratches on the door, it was already open.

Inside there wasn't much, just another closed door and a table with two long poles. Getting closer I could see better that they were two long wooden swords, even being of that material, one could appreciate the work behind the blade.

I held one to appreciate it better, but when my hand touched it the door through which I entered closed and the other one opened suddenly, leaving in sight some stairs by which something similar to a golem but made of the same wood of what was in my hand.

Normally golems could only be created by wizards or alchemists and were always made of materials such as metal or stone. And they definitely had no human apperience. I grabbed the second sword and focused by looking at the strange golem.

If it resembled golem rules, it couldn't attack without orders from its master, but to my luck, it raised its arm which turned into a scythe the size of its leg.

"Then ... Let's fight?"

I didn't wait for an answer and charged towards the golem, it looked like it wasn't going to react when it suddenly swung the scythe to block my s***h. I jumped back and without taking a break, I took a swing.

My abdomen resounded with the impact and I collided with the wall, I blocked the next attack with both blades in a natural way, as if my arms had thought before.

'I think I might handle this,  heh.' Gaining confidence I continued with the fight, I couldn't connect any hits and if I wanted to have a better chance I had to risk taking more damage.

The shape of the scythe didn't allow me to move it with my blades, but I still didn't give up. I threw thrusts and swings to the sides of the golem.

I was not advancing with the fight, and my energy was running out fast. So I had to pull out both blades further, I started to scratch my opponent's body, but without the pain of a normal person, the golem could keep fighting forever.

I increased the rhythm of my attacks, as well as the range in which I moved, it seemed like a rhythmic movement, I was moving along the swords, while avoiding a scythe and moving between both blades.

After a while I managed to pierce the golem's chest, it remained motionless when suddenly it changed its movement and started to shrink with the sword still in its chest.

I remained seated on the floor while I finished planting the golem, and it disappeared completely. The door to the stairs would not close, and I could not return from the front door, I walked through the doorway and saw for the first time the stairs, they were small and connected to another floor.

To my surprise it had the same structure as the first one, but now the table instead of swords had a box on top, I approached to open it and at that moment I heard someone's voice calling me, little by little the tone began to increase and my sight turned white and went to black, I could not explain what had happened.

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POV Miles Wolfric

"Heh, ready to do it?" After hiding for hours, my nephew was in front of me and I was getting ready for his first training session.

"Yes, just one question, how are you going to simulate the attacks?"

"That's a surprise my dear Oz." I hoped that by chance while searching for me, Oz had not found the arrows I had made days before, I had created new tips for whistling arrows.

They were unconventional in the case of my favorite, a two-section tip that was difficult to dodge or cut. Even with the swords I had prepared for him he was in for a difficult time inside the room.

"Good luck Oz" Giving a smile I dismissed my nephew who entered the room, after making sure the door was closed, I went to the water mill I hooked up some time ago, lowered the gear and it began to move my latest creation.

Oz had told me that he wanted to train and master as many techniques as possible, so I performed a more extreme version of the conditions I trained with my father.

As a signal, the noise of the mechanism of the room began, it was a simple gear whirling, firing endless crossbows.

The trick was that Oz needed to break the wire linking the mechanism to each section, but if it took too long, more interruptions would result. I had even arranged for the floor to fill with frozen water.

"I hope it doesn't take him too long."

I sat down on a chest next to the forge and pulled out my work of the moment. It was my father's sword, I had already commented to Oz that I hadn't been able to repair it completely, but it was just that every time I put it in the forge, the sword wouldn't heat up.

There was no way I could manipulate the material of the sword. I tried everything, even breaking the blade and joining the metal, but it wouldn't deform.

The sound of a bell distracted me from my thoughts, the bell would only be heard when a section of the room was disconnected. Not more than an hour had passed when I heard the jingle.

"Oh! So he did manage to figure out the trick eh?"

The sword in my hand suddenly vibrated, as if it had resonated with the bell, I told myself that I was that tired, there was no way a sword would vibrate on its own.

I decided to keep looking at the sword, when the other bells were heard, and as if waiting for that sound, the sword vibrated again. But I couldn't dwell on that, if Oz kept up the same pace I wouldn't have time to prepare to treat his wounds.

Without wasting time I put the sword back down as it continued to vibrate on the table; before I could grab a medical case, the door unlocked as the last bell rang.

I rushed out to the door and opened it, when suddenly a sword was pointed at my neck. "Who?!"

"Easy Oz" Apparently the training had worked because a normal person would be very distracted while trying to focus after spending time in the dark and straining their senses.

However, my nephew seemed to have focus and his eyes screamed a desire to survive.  I took a good look at his face and complexion and saw that he had a punctured shoulder and other wounds, one of his eyes was closing.

"Oz! Don't go to sleep, come here so I can treat you."

I had to keep him from losing consciousness or there would be more damage to his wounds. I reached out to catch him as his eyes closed and he began to fall.

"Heh, you care about ... "

"I obviously care about you, you foolish nephew."

I held him and forced his hands to leave the swords, I saw that they were with cuts and dents in the metal, it was as if they had been used for years to cut stones.

"This is no time to think about swords Miles, focus."

I carried him to my bed so that I could treat his wounds, I took out some ointments and medicine given to me by some nobles to earn favors with me. I quickly stitched him up and carved the ointment that looked like water with a deep blue color. I kept it up for a while until I had covered all the wounds on his body.

I let him rest and put a note with a bottle of medicine to finish closing the wounds.

In the basement I approached my father's sword again, now it was no longer vibrating but it was hot, without thinking twice I grabbed my tools and got to work.

"I don't know why you now decided to be repaired but if not for a good reason I will make you cannon ammunition."

There were rumors of swords with magic or mana stones that grew with the user, but it was not possible to find them in the army. So my doubts grew even more, never in my entire career as a blacksmith had I encountered a sword that seemed to have a will of its own.

The sword turned red from being in the forge and I started to hammer it to make a blade out of the broken material, it was bending like nothing, it was as if it really wanted to be a new sword.

Before I knew it, the blade was ready, it was a single-edged sword with no bending and when I wanted to make the second edged, the material, despite being moldable, did not budge.

"So that's how you want to be now eh?"

Without a response I continued working, now modifying the guard and hilt.

I modified the guard so that it would be able to stop other weapons, it ended up having two columns sticking out in both directions of the guard, the bottom ones being smaller. As for the hilt, I wasn't able to modify much before I heard Oz's cough, a sign that he was waking up.