The Weapon is the Soul

Following Iniel was practically torture because the urge to take her in the street would become too strong for me so I quickly caught up to her and we walked side by side through the streets.

Iniel made no move to strike a conversation and my mind was already focused on the weapons so I also didn't speak as we traveled through the village.

Most of the village watched us as we passed; whether it was men watching Iniel as she walked by or women wondering what we were doing together, they all stared even as we reached the edge of the village on the far side from where I entered.

I had never been to this side of the village and as we continued walking we entered the forest.

"How far away is the armory?" I asked as we kept walking.

"Not far, we will arrive soon." Iniel replied looking at me for a second as her eyes scrutinized me.

We locked eyes for a second before she turned back and her black hair rippled from the movement. Suddenly I was hit with a flash of deja vu and my mind went back to the moment before I entered Velari's house when I had an intense feeling of being watched.

"Iniel...." I started and she once again looked at me. "Were you outside Velari's house last night?"

Her face remained impassive.

"I wondered if you saw me. The short answer is yes, My family home is near Velari's as we both come from the most ancient of Lakeborne elf families. It is because of my family name that I am the keeper of the sacred armory.

I was returning from the feast when I spied you and your girls from afar.

I was headed in the same direction as you but didn't feel like ruining the mood of your group. So I simply followed, I'm sorry if you felt observed, but the truth is you seem different from anyone I've met.

I am interested to see what weapon you find in the armory." Iniel said.

"Is it that important of a decision?" I asked curious about her thoughts on the subject.

"One of the most important decisions, for a warrior it is right there with picking your life partner.

We both know you have chosen the most difficult route in that regard by picking multiple partners. Now I wonder what weapon will be by your side as you enter battle. You and your weapons will be intimate in your own special way.

I feel that you will know much conflict before your journey ends and you will need weapons to get you through it." Iniel explained.

"You seem particularly enamored with weapons" I stated.

Iniel looked at me with a soft smile for the first time.

"We may maintain the facade of enlightenment but to be honest with you elves are far more similar to orcs than most other species.

Since elves came into the world we have been almost eternally embroiled in one conflict or another, much like the orcs who have known nothing but never ending war.

Both orcs and elves feel things especially deeply.

As two warlike species we should both know the importance of our weapons. They allow us to easily hold the power of life and death in our hands, a power that should not be taken lightly.

In this way our weapons directly affect our souls until they become one with our souls. That is the mark of a pure warrior and something not often seen.

So yes, as the guardian of our most sacred weapons and a student of them, I am fascinated by them and their wielders." Iniel explained as we walked.

I had never really thought of the elves as a particularly warlike species but from her mouth it seemed like the elves had known far more years of war than they had peace.

Of course, she was probably speaking of the less isolated elves that lived freely in less isolated parts of the world.

After a few more moments of walking Iniel raised an arm, motioning me to stop.

I did and looked around at the rock formation we had stumbled into. It was a formation of randomly aoorted boulders far larger than a person. The rocks were shaded by the trees and the darkness gave them a mysterious quality.

"Where is the armory?" I asked confused.

Iniel ignored the question and took a few steps forward before raising her hand.

A beam of light shone from her hand and it descended on one of the largest rocks. A formation of light lit up before a portion of the rock merely disappeared to reveal an entryway to a descending staircase within the rock.

The hidden entryway didn't interest me nearly as much as the process it took to reveal it.'

"Iniel, was that magic?" I asked fascinated.

She looked up surprised by my question. "Yes, I used a simple arcane spell created by my ancestors for the sole purpose of being a key to this door."

"I've never seen anyone perform magic before." I said excitedly.

"Magic comes in many forms but arcane is the simplest form without any element added to increase its complexity. It was no big deal." Iniel explained, sounding slightly embarrassed by my awe..

She stepped forward and I followed her into the entryway now revealed in the rock.

The inside of the rock was a stairway that led straight down into earth, small red crystals embedded in the rock walls gave off a warm light that allowed fill visibility of the way down.

Soon we reached deep into the earth and we entered a spacious room. Iniel paused to look back at me as we got down from the staircase.

"This is the armory that my family has safeguarded for generations." Iniel introduced the room and as I looked around I saw numerous stands holding up a variety of weapons.

Each weapon looked exceedingly dangerous in their own ways. Some gleamed brightly in the light, while others gave off almost no presence whatsoever. Each appeared to be well crafted from a variety of styles.

I almost started to drool after looking at the variety of weapons arrayed before me. I was like a kid in a candy shop.

"There are a lot more weapons here than I imagined" I remarked.

"The Lakeborn have been around for a long time and we have known more peace than war in our history, it is only natural that we would have many weapons stockpiled here. Especially since the right to wield one of these weapons is not easily earned, except for you of course." Iniel replied wryly.

I smiled at that comment, it was true of course. I was receiving a superb weapon with zero merits to my name but I wasn't going refuse the privilege of course.

This kind of opportunity could not be sought and so it could only be seized.

"You should take your time and consider what weapon you will choose carefully. it is a decision that may prove the difference between life and death." Iniel warned.

"I understand" I replied gratefully.

I turned back toward the weapons and began moving among them. My sight was filled with various swords, axes, spears, and all manner of weapons of war.

The choices were almost too much to handle for me so I decided to approach it one by one. I started to peruse the options before me, and I picked up a shiny broadsword that gleamed like silver.

It was truly an impressive looking blade but the moment I picked it up I knew it wasn't right, it felt too light in my hands and the grip was all wrong.

I set it back down and moved on to a lance that was resting nearby, it was long and fearsome but again as I grabbed it I also knew that it wouldn't serve me as well as I wasn't exactly a mounted unit all the time.

I needed something that could help me in close combat but was also powerful enough to utilize my strength. Light swords didn't pack enough punch and the lance I had just tried out wasn't suitable for up close and personal work.

I kept searching and made my way through a variety possible options but nothing really called to me. I was starting to get resigned to the fact that I may not find the perfect weapon when I came upon a truly beautiful looking dagger.

It had a menacing look as the hilt was forged out of what looked like volcanic rock. The rock had veins of angry red lines latticing the hilt and the matte black blade was nondescript but its sharpness was readily apparent.

As I held it in my hands I marveled at the feel in my hand, it felt truly perfect for me and I knew that my strikes with this dagger would be deadly and swift.

"This is a truly amazing dagger" I marveled as I swung it a few times, my swings were perfectly accurate and swift.

"You have a good eye" Iniel remarked "That dagger was forged from the heart stone of an erupting volcano, it comes from the densest metals that survived the burning lava of an ancient active volcano.

But still I wouldn't have figured a big burly orc such as yourself to land on a dagger as your weapon." Iniel said.

Her words rang true for me as I eyed the small weapon in my hand. It was the first weapon that felt right for me but it didn't quite carry the destructive power I needed. I wasn't suited for the stealth type of combat that would bring out the pure effectiveness of the dagger as a man weapon.

"This dagger feels great in my hand, better than any other weapon I have tried so far but it doesn't carry the destructive force I need." I said, voicing my thoughts. Eventually I placed the dagger back down on its pedestal and moved on.

Iniel reached out and held the dagger in her hands thoughtfully before following me.

I made my way around the room trying all manner of weapons until finally I saw a rather large and imposing halberd standing up in a corner of the room. What really stood out about this weapon was that it was entirely one piece. The axe/spear head wasn't a separate piece but rather the halberd was all one silver item.

This meant that whoever forged it was a master of shaping ore.

I grabbed it from its stand and the weight of the halberd forced me to put some of my arm strength to the test as I hefted it.

The grip felt right and if I had more room I would have immediately swung it about me. Needless to say it felt really good in my hands.

I had never used a halberd before but I liked the idea of how it combined the reach of the spear with the power of the axe. It was a weapon that could truly wreak havoc if utilized effectively. I held the halberd lovingly in my arms at this point and I was sure that this was the right choice for me.

"I see you have chosen the Silver Depth Halberd.

This halberd was forged from the signature ore found at the bottom of the Lock Anduin. It is a strong yet malleable ore and this halberd was forged from one of the largest pieces ever recovered from the depths of the lake.

Very few elves have ever wielded the halberd and so it has gone unclaimed since its creation." Iniel provided commentary as I tested out my new weapon.

"This halberd feels just right for me." I said once again feeling the weight and balance of the weapon.

"It will indeed serve you well with your natural strength." Iniel replied.

"Very well then I choose this halberd as my weapon." I said emphatically leaning up against it like a crutch.

I was still admiring my new weapon when Iniel threw the still sheathed dagger that I had previously admired toward me.

I caught it and gave her a quizzical look.

"A halberd is a good weapon but virtually useless when someone has closed the distance on you or has managed to grab a hold of the shaft. In those moments you will need something that can handle the up close and messy, and since you took such a shine to this dagger then you can carry it with you as well." Iniel said.

I bowed my head in gratitude and decided to not question her decision, only a fool denies the generosity of others when no agenda can be found.

"Shall we return to the fresh air and sunlight?" I asked after I had accepted both weapons.

Iniel closed the distance between us and placed one of her soft hands on my right arm. THis close intimacy caught me off guard but I did not shrug it off.

"One more moment, space magic is incredibly rare so I can't provide you with a spatial ring or anything so valuable but I do know a small bit of soul magic that allows me to bind these two weapons to your soul so that you can summon them from within when you need. It would be a benefit to you. This method can only be used on someone seven times but it shouldn't be too much of a problem since these are top tier weapons even in the whole continent. They may even become unrivaled if you can find a powerful enchanter one day." Iniel explained and I realized why she had gotten so close. I relaxed my guard and nodded to her to proceed.

Suddenly her hand glowed with a mystical soft white light as she touched the halberd and it then she pressed her glowing hand right on my chest. I felt a comfortable heat radiate from my chest and soon after it began it ended just like that.

"I have bound the halberd to your soul, you need to feel its presence and then call to it for it to come to your aid. Try it now" Iniel commanded.

I focused my attention inward trying to empty my mind and feel for my soul and the weapon that now resided within it. It was difficult at first but I soon managed to get the hang of it. I admit that if I had been trying to find my own soul then I would have probably failed. My senses weren't that sharp but when I focused on finding the halberd I was able to soon find a foreign sense of something that glowed silver within me and when I latched onto that object, the halberd suddenly sprang into my hand from nowhere.

"That's a neat trick" I marveled.

"Well I wouldn't categorize it as a trick since soul magic is just as rare as spatial magic, but ya it is pretty useful." Iriel responded wryly. "Of course that's all the soul magic I know and since it's the magic I have the most affinity with I had to arcane magic which has no attribute."

She repeated the same procedure on the dagger and I released the halberd so that it returned to my soul.

"Well what do you say why don't we find an opportunity for you to use those new weapons?" Iniel asked with a small knowing smile.

"You mean..." I started

"Yea, let's go find a fiend or beast to fight so that you can try out your new weapons." Iniel interrupted me.

"WIll that be okay?"

"Sure, we have the time and as long as we don't bite off more than we can chew it should be alright." Iniel replied before heading toward the stairway with a light happy gait to her walk.

My eyes couldn't help but follow her figure and her voluptuous body caught my attention. I realized she seemed excited by the prospect of a hunt.

I guess she has more to her than meets the eye; she was a dancer, then a weapon keeper, then a magic user, and now it seemed she was also a battle nut, all of this on top of being a world class beauty....

Did I just fall in love?