Chapter 9
Thaddaeus awoke to the sound of laughter. As he groggily opened his eyes, he saw his five white-haired friends gathered around a fire, the conversation mostly centering around silly things they apparently found very funny. He slowly sat up while holding his head which still ached from before. Looking around, he noticed that the campsite was completely empty apart from his bed and his broken sword lying on the ground next to him. Lux turned to see him staring down in front of him.
"Does this weapon hold significance for you ?" He asked on his way over to the groggy young lad.
Looking up, he responded, "Not particularly. It was the only one I had so I always used it, but it was never really special to me. I'm not surprised it broke, it was really old." Then stopping suddenly, he jumped up with a wide-eyed expression. "Wait a minute! I hit you with it, that's why it's broken!" Then he looked rather confused and began inspecting Lux, "Is this it?!" He exclaimed grabbing his arm. "Just this? How is that possible?" He continued questioning while looking at the small red line on Lux' arm.
Amused, Lux avoided the question, "You succeeded, you managed to cut me. We were all quite impressed. Now, we are willing to allow you to accompany us on our mission."
Temporarily distracted by Lux' mild congratulations, Thaddaeus raised his eyebrows confidently, "Well, of course. I mean, after all I am a natural..."
Lux interrupted, "You are far from a natural, but fortunately you had an abundance of training and even real-world experience that Solis could draw out and direct more efficiently. This led to a significant increase in ability in a very short time. Very fortunate indeed." Lux concluded smiling. His strange statement seemed to Thaddaeus that he was almost proud of him while being critical to a fair degree at the same time.
He scrambled to come up with a rebuttal to Lux' analysis of the situation, but instead decided he would have better luck with getting back to his question. "So, how is it that an attack with a sword left you with only a small scratch?"
Lux sighed, "I suppose it would not be too dangerous for you to know this, actually, you should be aware of the world you are entering. Myself and my companions are extremely resistant to incoming force. I still should not tell you the reason for this, but essentially it is the equivalent of trying to cut a rock." He stopped and raised his fingers to his chin, looking deep in thought. Then he corrected himself, "No, it is likely easier to cut a rock."
Thaddaeus was shocked. He felt like he should have seen this coming after everything he's witnessed in the past few days. It was like every time he learned something, the mystery only grew. He didn't know where they came from, who they were, or where they were going. He didn't even know the extent of how powerful they were or why they were so powerful. For some reason, he did trust them though, and he knew he wanted to continue traveling with them.
Settling down from his shock, Thaddaeus changed the subject, "Well, I passed the test. Where is this sword you guys have been talking about?" He glanced over at the huge piles of rocks and sticks he made, "Did you hide it in there?"
"That would be silly!" Solis interrupted as the others made their way over. "Admittedly, extremely amusing," He added, "but silly nonetheless."
Then Ignis, walking toward the rocks, called behind him, "Shall we get started?" The others ran to catch up with him and told Thaddaeus to stay back. He was very confused but his answers would come soon enough.
Enormous gusts of wind forced their way out from Ignis' position as he placed his hands on the rocks. A dark red energy began emanating from them and the area of the rocks he was touching lost shape and melted in seconds. Then in a matter of minutes, the pile was almost entirely in the form of magma. Moments before the very bottom of the mound completely shifted into liquid magma, a dark purple energy enveloped the base. Luna's eyes and hands glowed with this same hue as she defied gravity and levitated gracefully into the sky. Her arms spread outward and her hair whipping violently, she positioned herself above the pool of magma and encased it in her energy which kept it locked in place and suspended just above the ground. Thaddaeus couldn't believe his eyes, he never imagined there was a person in this world who could hold molten magma. For a moment, he considered the possibility that he was dreaming, but he knew that wasn't the case. He had really stepped into a world where anything was possible.
It was time for Lux and Telu to sculpt a blade from the molten rock. He removed his gloves and stood at one end, while she moved to the other. In an instant a mixture of dark and light blue energy swarmed around and through the middle of the liquid magma. Using the properties of water and lightning, they simultaneously cooled and cut in precise motions. Now, Luna no longer needed to hold the rock as it was cooling so she moved over to begin crafting a sword handle from the sticks Thaddaeus had gathered. This time she put enormous pressure on the area below her which caused all of the wood to be crushed down to just chips and splinters. Thaddaeus didn't know it but the grass where he formed his piles had unique adhesive properties. When he poured water on everything, the grass emitted this bonding substance onto the wood. Luna was able to pull all of the small pieces together to form a long staff. Then Ignis applied heat so the adhesive would be spread evenly throughout the newly formed staff. The staff was still too long to be used as a handle so as the blade was cooling, Lux took the staff and shaped it with precise strikes of lightning from his first two fingers. Immediately after, He and Ignis placed it inside the blade so that the handle ran through the length of the blade which increased the strength of the weapon so the hilt wouldn't break. The wood emerged enough from the blade for a perfect handle. Then, they let it cool down so the rock would bond completely to the wood.
The total length of Thaddaeus' new sword was comparable to a greatsword. If the handle touched the ground, the point would almost reach his shoulder. The blade that Lux and Telu designed was the color of black obsidian and extremely sharp on the edges, but it was quite thick in the middle. Thaddaeus noticed that Lux didn't design much of a hilt guard, instead, the blade widened out to almost double its normal width at the base. The blade then, narrowed a little more towards the middle only to widen again slightly at the top before quickly coming to a point. It was not as pointed as Thaddaeus' old sword.
"That looks incredible!" Thaddaeus remarked as he marveled at the newly fashioned weapon. "But, it seems a little strange to me. I'm more used to a smaller sword and a plain, straight blade."
Lux appeared amused at his apprehension, "I did consider that when crafting this sword. However, you will find it extraordinarily lightweight, and it will be easier to handle than your previous weapon. The added weight toward the end will increase the power of your attack. Your antique sword was meant to attack humans, it was ill-equipped for this journey. This weapon, Alexander, is designed to destroy Damna."
"This was all for me?" Thaddaeus asked as he marveled at the weapon.
"You will need a powerful weapon to defeat powerful creatures." Lux responded simply. "It is not finished yet, however." He smiled and handed the sword over to Solis whose hands were already starting to glow a vibrant yellow. He touched the blade and used his enhancement to make it far more durable and destructive. The words formed on the side of it were the same as before.
"It is dangerous to give such a weapon to just anyone," Lux explained. "We had to make sure you were ready to wield it. It could destroy someone unprepared for it."
"Is it really that powerful?" Thaddaeus questioned. "What about you guys? You possess much more devastating abilities, but they don't destroy you."
"Your body must be prepared for any attack you issue. It must be capable of withstanding the attacks you put forth." Ignis calmly responded.
"Yes, and not just attacks," Luna cut in, "I must also be capable of withstanding my own energy anytime I use it."
"Then, did you guys all have to train like I did?" Thaddaeus asked. "Is it possible for me to get as powerful as you?"
"We did have to train, but not like you." Lux answered. "You cannot become like us, it is not in your nature."
Thaddaeus grew further confused, "I don't understand, I would be able to help even more if I had abilities like yours." Then he stopped and appeared to be in thought. "How did you guys get so powerful?"
They all seemed to get quiet, and they looked at one another. Then Lux turned back to him. "Thaddaeus, we were born with our abilities. We are not human."