The following day I learned that the Celebration Elrod was talking about was next week. The Academy Head confirmed that it was going to be filled with dancing and sparring exhibitions like the last one. Since this was an opportunity to be drafted into a well known Expedition Team, everyone was working hard to get as strong as possible for the Celebration.
Currently, Salek was taking me to the armory to find a weapon suitable for me to use. I'd rather a gun or something, but I knew they wouldn't have anything like that considering everyone used swords, maces, axes, and such. We reached the armory and Salek threw the doors open while flourishing his hand out.
"Welcome to the glorious Armory of Ayrith! Don't worry about the quality of your weapon, your sister Carla said to let you have whatever you wanted." I thanked the malicious priestess thoroughly before walking through the doors and taking in the sight of the hundreds of weapons lined on racks around the room.
The average and more commonly used weapons were in the front, some with scratches or slight warps from their previous owners, while the weapons made with higher quality materials were in the back, away from the eyes of those trying to find them. Salek led me past the first seven rows of weapons before walking up to the back wall and pressing a specific combination of rocks on the wall.
A small door shuddered open and Salek gestured for me to follow. The entire corridor looked sketchy, so I kept my guard up despite thinking that Salek would actually pull anything on me, but I could never be too cautious. We entered an entirely different room and Salek said "These are weapons built with rare materials that Expedition Teams brought back from the Surface. I'm sure Carla would kill me if you came back with anything less than this, ahaha!"
I walked over to a rack of swords and gently ran my fingers over their pristine polished surfaces in admiration. There were swords, daggers, maces, axes, bows, whips, flails, spears, and even lances all lined up, waiting to be claimed. I lifted every sword on the rack and executed a series of clumsy strikes to get a feel for them, but none of the swords felt right. It was like something was missing.
Salek eventually told me that he would be waiting outside of the building for me since I would take a while, and I continued to try out every weapon. The swords, daggers, axes, bows, whips, flails, spears, and lances were out of the picture after I tried them all, so the last rack to try was full of maces.
'Never thought that I might be using a heavy weapon like this...' I thought as I walked over. As soon as I neared, however, it was like my eyes were drawn to a specific weapon. It was a pair of ruby-red maces with one handed grips, 40cm long heads with spiked, curved flanges, and an eight pointed star on the pommel.
They looked rather plain compared to the other weapons in the room, but they radiated a sense of power. As I went to go and pick the two maces up, Salek's voice came from my side. "I wouldn't take those if I were you. They don't have enchantments, and they are made of an unknown material that reacts to nothing we try to use to identify it. It's your call though. Oh, by the way, it's getting late and your sister was wondering if you were still here."
I nodded my head slowly before saying "Yeah...thanks for the heads up, but let me try them out before I discard them." Salek shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk out as I picked the two maces up. As soon as I made contact, however, a strange, almost malicious, power began to course through my body.
I felt myself losing control over my body and I tried to fight it off, but I knew I was losing the battle. Then, just when I was about to be consumed, images of my wife and son dying in a burning city entered my mind, giving me the strength I need to pull through. My muscles bulged as I strained to stay conscious and get back to my feet.
My eyes turned bloodshot as I let out a gurgling scream, my body twitching in pain. Salek had made his way over to me with a worried expression on his face just before I began to scream, however, he was blown back by a sudden burst of dark energy that tore free from my body. I collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and fixed my sight on the two maces in my hands.
"H-Hold on, I'll go get Carla! Don't even think about moving, that is if you can." Salek ran out the room while calling for the priestess, who I presume was outside. In less than a three seconds, the two sped through the door and over toward me. Salek told Carla what had happened, and she cursed herself for not realizing that the weapons were cursed.
'Wait...she said these are...cursed? Do I at least get anything out of this? I mean, I probably would've died if I gave up, so I better get something badass out of this...' I sighed internally as I listened to the two talk as Carla healed me with the strange language I heard her use yesterday. When I could move again, I stood up and rolled my shoulders in an effort to remove the soreness from them.
"Oru, you're a magnet for trouble..." Carla placed a hand over her face, seemingly aging a few years in the process before recovering and continuing. "Why do I feel like I'm about to lose you...? Never mind. The Celebration is coming up, and you need to learn how to properly wield your new weapons before then. You always said that your dream was to join the Brotherhood of Blades."
Before I realized what I was even doing, I had my arms wrapped around Carla's body as I said "Don't worry. I may not remember my past all that well, but I promise to stay alive. Not just for you, but for everyone that cares about me. No matter what trials await me, I'll always return safely. I can at least promise you that."
Carla stayed silent for a moment before flicking my forehead, making me recoil in pain, before saying "You better. Or else my child won't be able to experience the joy that is your stupidity..." Salek's eyes widened in surprise as his mouth opened and closed like a fish that was out of water. I tilted my head in confusion and Carla glanced to the side before saying "My husband...we finally decided to start a family...I'm due in a few month from now..."
My mouth curled upwards into a smile as I remembered how I felt when I realized my wife was pregnant. Tears began to stream down my face, but they weren't mine. I blinked a few times before laughing and saying "That's amazing! I can't wait to watch the little one grow...I'll do everything I can to be a good uncle, you have my word."
I didn't know why I felt so happy and relieved, but I just chalked it up with the fact that I took over Oru's body. Maybe his feelings and memories were still there after all...
Of course, I'd have to end up breaking these false promises sooner or later, as my final goal was to go home. I didn't want to end up being stuck here forever. I stuck the two maces into my belt before adopting a satisfied expression and asking "So, now what do we do?" Carla and Salek both began to smile before Salek said "We train our asses off like never before! I'm sure you'll love it considering it's all you used to do."
The two led me outside of the armory before Salek locked it up and said "Now, we visit the training yard from yesterday, only it'll be filled with newly graduated warriors instead of veterans like last time. Come, I'll make sure you find a suitable partner...or two." I raised my brow at his words but chose to stay silent after telling Carla goodbye.
We walked in relative silence until we reached the training field, which was filled with countless young men and women honing their skills with determination in their eyes. Salek clapped his hands and said "Now, all we have to do is find the last member and we'll get started..." Before he even finished his sentence, I saw a familiar blue haired Dark Elf running toward us with another Dark Elf at his side.
Elrod slowed down and bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath when he arrived, however, the other Dark Elf seemed perfectly fine. He was a young man who looked to be the same age as Elrod with long red hair braided behind his head. He had shimmering yellow eyes and an emotionless expression that seemed to stick to his rather handsome features like glue.
The man turned toward me, bowed, and said "Hello. My name is Arnen Sesric." I dipped my head and said "I'm Oru Ulra. It's a pleasure to meet yo, Arnen." Arnen had two one handed axes strapped to his belt, and they seemed to be made out of a rather expensive material considering they looked like a few weapons I saw on the racks in the back row of the first room.
Elrod had a single sword belted to his right side, and it too seemed to be of fine make with its flawless, wavy edge and wickedly sharp tip. Salek clapped a hand onto my shoulder and said "These two will be your partners for the rest of the week. You will be training them, and training with them until the Celebration, so go ahead and catch yourselves a spot on the field and get to it. I'll be close by if you need anything."
Elrod hurriedly grabbed my shoulder and led me away onto the field before I had time to complain about having to babysit the two instead of actually training myself. If I could get into a good Expedition Team then that means I could probably find a way to get to the surface and reconnect with my squad. If they were still alive, anyways.
There were many murmurs going around as gazes settled on me, but I shrugged them off and continued to walk with Elrod and Arnen until we reached a large clearing. Elrod unsheathed his sword and settled into a back-stance with the hilt of his sword under his chin and his right hand forming a knife-hand at his chest.
Arnen drew his axes from his belt while keeping a relaxed stance, waiting for me to draw my weapons. I sighed and asked "Do we really need to do this? I mean, a two on one is a little unfair..." Elrod scoffed and said "I saw what you did to Vuikre. Either one of us would be no match for you alone, so we're teaming up for this. I hope you're ready!"
I narrowed my eyes and slid my maces from my belt and clumsily swung them around a few times to get a feel for them before settling into a low stance with one mace facing behind me at my stomach, and the other above my head face in front of me. I had no real experience with anything other than small daggers and guns, but I always fancied myself a fast learner...
Elrod pushed off the ground and leapt toward me with a speed that was hard to follow, however, his sword was even faster. I barely managed to block it with both of my maces as Arnen charged toward my side, his axes constantly moving so I would have a hard time predicting where he would strike. I pushed Elrod away and leapt out of Arnen's attack range only to find Elrod right in front of me.
This was going to be a long, long week...