First up was Elwin’s elegant, yet dangerous, bow. Supposedly, this bow was only given to the soldiers of their system, but Ariel claimed it was the best one in all of the realms. For now, we were allowed to recreate it for our needs. The bow was made from a tree surrounding their creator’s home and was said to hold the power of divine will within it, allowing the archers who wielded it to have wickedly accurate aim…as long as it was used for the rightreasons.
Closing my eyes, I first thought of the light weight of the rare white wood and how easy it was to hold in my hands. Thrusting my palms in front of my body, I imagined that same weight settling in as I began to imagine the details of the bow from top to bottom.
The bow's elegance was enhanced by its careful balance between form and function. Whoever crafted it initially hadn’t focused on ornate details for this weapon, instead opting for a look of refined elegance with a long swooping arch that ended in a small circular loop of the wood at the top and bottom of it. Next I imagined the soft and pliable grip, forming to its specific user’s hand upon them holding it. Last was the bowstring that seemed to glow with the same light that surrounded Ariel at all times. That was easiest for me to imagine after being around her so much recently. Upon drawing the bowstring, an arrow would appear, forever giving the user an unlimited supply of ammunition without needing to store them on their person.
I gave the weapon a mental once over, and once satisfied, opened my eyes and smiled at the sight of the exact design resting in my hands. The first time I conjured a weapon was always the hardest, so I knew it wouldn’t take me as long to create moving forward. I just hoped its functionality remained intact with my recreation. Otherwise the bow would be useless.
Ariel gave me a nod and instructed Elwin in a firm tone, “Take the bow and try to shoot an arrow into your assigned target, please.”
I tried to hold back my squeal of excitement when a glimmering arrow appeared as he drew his elbow back. As soon as he let the arrow fly and it smacked directly into the target, I let the squeal out, unable to contain myself.
Elwin grinned at me as Lucien and Kylo whooped with excitement.
I could have sworn I saw a small smile tug at Ariel’s lips, but it was gone the second I focused on her.
“Alright, now that you’ve accomplished that one, let the form go as you work on materializing Kylo’s and Lucien’s weapons individually. Once you’ve mastered their creation, we will work on holding all of their forms at the same time.”
Sweat began to bead on my brow again as I turned my thoughts to what was next.
I had to choose between Lucien’s crescent-shaped ax or Kylo’s longsword. The sheer size of the longsword was daunting to me, so I decided on the ax next.
After constructing it in my mind, I was pleased to see the gleaming silver ax adorned with its bright purple gems that matched the sky around us appear before us. The sharp, crescent shaped blade of the weapon looked deadly as it glinted in the sun. Unfortunately, when he attempted to throw it, the balance of the weapon was off, so I went back to the drawing board. After two more test throws, I had the balance perfected.
The next test of its power was to cut through normal weapons that weren’t blessed. The blade of the ax was supposed to be able to slice cleanly through them, and I held my breath in anticipation as Lucien drew his arm back before bringing the ax down on a plain broadsword Ariel produced for us to test the power with.
The smallest clanging sound of metal met my ears before the ax passed through the sword like butter.
Lucien smirked at me as he straightened. “Were you hesitating at first? For a fraction of a moment, it wasn’t going through, but then it gave way.”
I winced before nodding. “Yeah, I was nervous.”
Ariel’s voice cut through the air, sharp and demanding, “You mustn't alter the weapons with your mind after conjuring them for use. Doing so could leave your compatriots exposed to attacks if they’re expecting the full function of their weapon but it falters mid battle. Believe in your creation upon formation and lock it down in your head. It is no longer yours at that point.”
She was entirely right, and I gave her a nod of understanding.
“On to the longsword next. It might be useful to start with it in its simplest form.”
Ariel’s words made my uneasiness at my ability to conjure the massive weapon fade. It was much less daunting to imagine the shortened version I willed it to become. The user of this weapon could extend and shorten the blade at will, and the length Kylo had settled upon was…unreal. I didn’t have the strength in my upper body to wield it at all.
“You can do it, darling,” Kylo murmured from his spot in front of me as I closed my eyes.
The massive, black hilt remained the same no matter the length of the blade, so I started there, remembering the feel of the supple leather wrapped around it to help grip it. Holding my hand out, I closed my fist, imagining the feel of it in my palm, though I strained slightly with the addition of the leather, having not worked with the material in my creations before.
My wrist dipped slightly as I slowly pulled the blade out from the hilt with my mind. I stretched it until it was the width of both my forearms combined, and the length of my shoulder to my wrist. I had to bring my second hand up to grip it as I did, struggling with its sudden weight.
“I’ve got it, darling,” Kylo whispered as I opened my eyes to inspect the sword.
As I passed it over to him, the single blue gem buried in the top of the hilt glowed. My arms sagged to my sides in relief after passing it off, but I whipped my eyes to Ariel after Kylo lifted it and extended its reach by about six feet, not struggling in the slightest with its weight.
“How is it possible that he’s not struggling at all?” I asked, completely bewildered.
While I knew he was undoubtedly stronger than me, it couldn’t bethatvast of an amount.
A knowing smirk lifted a corner of her lips up. “Because you aren’t meant to wield it. Each of you gravitated toward the weapon that called to you for a reason. Every weapon in our system has been imbued with an ounce of our creator’s light. It allows the weapon's powers to only be used by those who are a match to it.”
My mouth hung open, and I thought of the beautiful kunai I’d been pulled to on the table.
“If our creator didn’t find you worthy, none of you would be able to wield the weapons to their full capabilities.”
