Beautiful Dreamer

Chapter 15

Hours had flown by as I sat in the grass crafting one wooden sea turtle figurine after another. It felt good to finally find my domain. It was the first time I really felt like I knew who I was in a while. I did not have all the answers I wanted yet but at least I had my domain. It felt like what I was meant for. I looked in my hand at the new turtle I created. I worked on every tiny detail I could think of and I made him whimsical. His body was blue but his shell was orange. One each little section of his shell was a hand painted flower each one different from the last. The flowers were a white tulip, a red rose, a blue pansy, a yellow sunflower, and my favorite flower of all was the dandelion. I know most people see a dandelion as a weed but to me it was a flower. They are tough and resilient, while also being bright and beautiful. I admired dandelions and thought it belonged on my turtle shell. I picked a few blades of grass from the ground and imagined them turning into twine. I used the twine to fashion a little necklace out of my turtle. I wanted to keep it with me always, a reminder of how far I had come.

Zachariah came out of the cottage to come check on me and see how I was progressing with my training. He looked around at the several little turtle figures that were scattered about and then he looked at the necklace in my hand. He nodded approvingly at my progress and I could tell that he was impressed by how far I had come. He then handed me a butter knife. I looked at him confused.

“I think it is time we moved into lesson two, weaponry.”

I jumped up excited to try something new, still holding the knife in my hand.

“Okay...but what am I supposed to do with a small dull knife?”

“You tell me! Your mind is the one that decides that. It can be anything you want. As I am sure you have noticed though your magic has limits. Creation magic requires a component to make it work. Those figures you needed a block of wood, your clothes a rabbit pelt, and now your weapon will require metal. Components are most helpful when they are close to the item you want to change them to be. Changing the entire composition of an item takes a long time and can quickly drain your energy. The best thing a creation wielder can do is have the exact components they need with them.”

His words made a lot of sense and I was ready to take in the next step. Alright, this butter knife needed to be an actual weapon, one I could wield easily. The first thing that popped into my head was a broad sword. It changed instantly in my hand and the weight of it dragged me down. I tried to lift the heavy sword up but to no avail. I needed to think smaller. I held onto the sword and it shifted again this time into a rapier. I swished the sword around a bit, liking how it my hands. I imagined being Zorro and did a quick Z in the air. The rapier was perfect for one on one battles but would be extremely ineffective when versing multiple foes, those of which would be wearing steel plated armor. Finally, I tried a small war hammer, the metal shifted again and this time a wooden handle was at the end. I felt a little out of breath remembering what Zachariah had told me about changing the composition of what a component is made from. It was definitely something I would need to keep in mind so I did not tucker myself out too quickly.

Gripping the handle of the war hammer, I lifted it up. It was heavy enough to do some real damage, like knocking helmets off and denting in some plated armor, but it was also light enough that I did not have trouble wielding it either. I threw the hammer at a nearby tree, and then used levitation to bring it back to me. Thor, the god of thunder, would have nothing on me! I giggled to myself thinking about the mythology, with my new found powers I could be as prolific as one of these fabled creatures. Unless the gods were real...? I was not sure since in my dream they were just a myth. I turned and looked at Zachariah.

“Is Thor real?”

 He shook his head no. Well at least I will not have the god of thunder to compete with. As for the rest of the mortal men who defended the castle it would be a different story. I had the advantage of my magic though. I was getting really good at it too and fast. I would be ready to take those guards out in no time at all. I stopped and panicked for a split minute. What if it would not just be the guards though? Zachariah was staring off into space lost in thought when I looked over at him.

“Hey,” I said grabbing his attention. “Were we the only wielders in the castle?”

His brow furrowed clearly never taking into consideration that we may be up against more than just the palace guards.

“As far as I know it was just you and me. I would not put it past Cardwell to find another wielder to defend his castle. Wielders however are in short supply since the ability is so rare. My hope is that he does not have a wielder there but, in the event, he does, we should prepare.”

“Prepare how?”

“By sparring. We do not know what domain they will be using, if there is a wielder but most are docile. So, we can only hope if he does find a wielder, they are not proficient in attack magic.”

“Should I try attack magic again?”

“Because it worked so well the last time? No. We work with what you already know and maybe work on some regular hand to hand combat.”

Zachariah took off his shirt and got into a defensive stance.

“You want to do it right now?”

“With you honey, I always want to do it.” He winked.

“You know sometimes you are really annoying.”

Zachariah laughed knowing that the things he said could get to me. He waved me forward to get into battle position. I was going to give it everything I had like my life depended on it because in a way, it kind of did. Without the proper training, I might never leave the castle alive. I needed this and I was going in to win but Zachariah looked at me intensely. He looked like he wanted to win just as much as me. I waited for him to make his first move as he lunged forward, I took a step back and blocked. It was time. I was going to show him what I was really made of.