SWNOVELS Chapter 6: Transfer
I feel something soft brushing against my cheek. I pan over, seeing Athena standing beside me. I smile, stroking her fur as she gazes motherly into mine.
“I have something for Marron.”
Marron looks at her confused, “Can you repeat that?”
The wolf smiles, “I have something for you.” The shadow beneath her darkens. We each watch as a sword then rises from within it, floating ever higher until it reaches Marron’s chest.
My eyes they grow wide as I quickly recognize it. It’s something I should know very well, having fought alongside it along with my own sword.
“That’s Mystletainn,” I say in amazement and shock, yet still full of questions.
Athena nods to me, and then looks the Marron. “Celestine wished for you have this, seeing how you both are one and the same.”
I still am in shock at this. Then again, in her letter Celes revealed she knew that she and Marron were indeed the same. This is incredible. I want to ask when Celes gave Athena her sword, yet it may have been when I was talking Tyrion and his family after we got back to the estate.
I gaze at Athena, wondering if that was also when the wolf’s heart was broken, knowing she was leaving her bonded to be with me and Fenris. Then again, Celes and Athena may have also spoken the night before. While saddened, the pair kept that hidden while we were on our mission.
Marron slowly reaches out towards the floating weapon. Her eyes are full of confusion as she takes hold of it. I watch as she rolls it around in her hands, softly stroking the sheath.
“It’s so strange,” she exclaims.” I know I’ve never seen this before, yet at the same time it's as though I’ve known it for my entire life.”
I grin softly, remembering my sparring sessions when I received Astraea. Even now I hear the ring of our blades clashing echo in my ears. “This was Celes’ weapon,” I then giggle, “still is.”
She looks to me, then smirks, shaking her head as she holds it. Marron continues to look it over, gently gripping the weapon. Her eyes are aflutter, as if examining every aspect of it, despite not having even unsheathed it yet.
“Why give this to me?” she asks. “I can’t take this."
Athena sits onto the stone floor, swishing her tails, and then coils them around her body. “Celestine knew you would be in need of it. She wanted not for it to remain in Dewloura, yet with its owner.”
The wolf’s eyes soften as she gazes at it, “Celestine gave this to me prior to our travel here. I was confused by her request at first. My heart still ached from our conversation the night before. However despite my confusion and reservations of leaving my bonded, I did so anyways.”
She then looked to me, smiling as she licks my cheek. I giggle softly, stroking her.
Marron then slowly draws out the sword. Its blade glistens even in the pale light of the cloud-filled sky. She stares on in awe of it, finger gently stroking over the blade, careful not the hurt herself. her eyes then catch it’s crystal core. She glances at me then back to the blade. “Something's off,” she says, “the core is dark. It’s almost as if it’s dead or something.”
I smile, coming closer to it. “Celes told me that not all of the weapons forged come out the same. Some, by some quirk or the nature of the wielder, are unique in the fact that they possess a core. Think like a wand from Harry Potter or the crystal in a lightsaber. She said that some weapons often found their way to another.”
She nods as she listens.
I sigh softly. “The core here is burned out. All you have to do is replace it.” It hurt slightly to say it, but it’s the truth.
Marron looks at me for a moment then back to Mystletainn. Her eyes catch the base of where the blade meets the guard. Her fingers stroke the center which then opens, ejecting the old core. I kneel down, picking it up. I sigh softly as I examine it. This is a part of my sister, something of her own self. I stash it away as I stand up. Like hell I’m letting it go.
Marron examines the empty slot for moment, and then pulls out her needle. I watch as she rolls the whale-bone needle, a gift from her adopted mother. Yes I still know what Miss Annabelle told me back in June.
She then inserts the needle into the slot, closing it. We both listen as the blade clicks shut and then shimmers, fusing into a solid piece. Marron stares at it, and then looks to me. “What do I do next?”
I smile, recalling when my sword was forged and what Celes told me her about her weapon, “Infuse your mana into it.”
Marron stares at it for a moment, then nods. I watch as she closes her eyes. A bluish aura then envelopes her hands, to which she then pushes into the sword. My eyes go wide as the crystal shines back to life, shimmering vibrantly.
My sister opens her eyes, gazing at the glowing crystal. The both of us then watch in amazement as the sword itself then begins to glow, slowing shrinking. Not only that, the weapon as a whole begins to change in shape, reforming into a smaller dagger-like version of itself.
The hilt is still mostly the same, yet now appearing more fitting for a seamstress, smooth and easy to handle. The blade itself now looks more needle-like, no doubt taking its shape from its new core.
Marron marvels at the weapon as it finishes, rolling it around in her hands. She then turns to me, appearing confused. Heh, this world is full of strange and new transformations. Now even weapons can do it.
I smile to her, “When a weapon, like Mystletainn, finds its wielder again in a new life, it will change to match its new life. So in a sense, it too reincarnates.” I grin, “Seeing how you’re a seamstress, I’m not surprised it took this form.”
She smiles, and then looks it over. Marron then flicks the blade like she would while sewing a dress, watching as five smaller, triangular dart tips appear along the blade itself. She smirks, “I think I have a good idea what these are for,” watching then form back into the blade, “definitely going to need some time in order to master it.”
I grin, that would be an understatement.
She smiles, sheathing it. Marron then pulls me into a tight hug, holding me close to her. “I love you, sweetie.”
I smile, holding onto my sister. My face lies on her chest, feeling the cool wind catch our hair, carrying it along with it. “I love you too, Marron.”
So much has been revealed today, questions answered yet with new ones being asked. Right now however, that all doesn’t matter. I know the world outside the barrier is in chaos, just waiting and watching for us. It can wait a bit longer.
I gaze over to Athena, smiling to her. She’s a reminder of my time in Dewloura, and yet now so much more to me.
Athena smiles softly as Fenris looks on. I giggle; the three of us need to go for a run together at some point.
We all then turn and head for the doors leading back inside. I smile up at my knights, seeing them smiling in return. I look down, glancing at their letter from Serasfall. I smile, wondering how many times they’ve read it.
We all then sit back down for some food, quietly eating our meal. I gaze up at them, smiling, knowing I have yet another link to Dewloura. While not the same with Athena or with Marron being Celes, it’s still a link regardless.