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Beoburd; A short story
Topic Started: Feb 12 2012, 01:56 AM (222 Views)
Titan
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Nero's BFF
”Now pass me the wax, if you will, please? Ah, no, now the blue bottle, the yellow one next to it — yes! Thank you, Penny!”

Hardly the lazy sort, Jagi rarely requested her subordinates' aid in mundane tasks, unlike a certain someone she knew; now, however, as she sat cross-legged with her bow across her lap, the ranger's mobility was greatly diminished.

Even if the legendary Jakolyte was indestructible, its string would still grow fuzzy if not properly cared for. The Jetjet had been taught never to neglect the maintenance of her weaponry, so she had devoted the afternoon to polishing her knives, sharpening her arrowheads, and now, waxing her bow. To be honest the process was quite boring, but fortunately Jagi was also enjoying the company of her close friends, the three marine girls who she had known the longest out of all those aboard the Empress.

”Toto, no!” she cried suddenly, with uncharacteristic harshness; Jagi looked up from her work to see the pink-haired girl lifting Jaxcaliber, and marveling at the soft rainbow trail as she gently waved the sword. Startled, the young marine flinched, nearly dropping the artifact, and then froze.

”Sorry,” Jagi continued, more calmly, and a little sheepishly. ”But please be careful. One slip and you'll lose your hand! This is the sword the Sunheart used to slay the giant Tyrianis, you know.”

”Wow! Really?” Toto gasped, obviously without the slightest clue what either of those two names meant, but impressed all the same. Her eyes widened as she seemed to gaze at the gleaming blade for the first time. ”You mean this sword is super old?”

”That's right. I'll tell you a secret, okay? Jakolyte was once the sword of Uther, the Sunheart!”

”Who?”

Now her words caught the attention of Saffy, who was reading a very serious-looking book in her armchair; of course, this was only because Jagi had stressed multiple times that she was perfectly capable of handling her weapons on her own. Recently the poor girl had been so busy, so Jagi was happy to see her relaxing for once.

”That name rings a bell. Uther — he was a great swordsman who lived during the age of heroes, wasn't he?”

”Huh? I thought heroes could be any age! My grandpa is a zillion years old but he said he used to be one!”

”No, no, Toto, it's history,” elaborated Jagi, gently placing Jakolyte down on the carpet; she beckoned the three girls to gather around her. ”I learned a little from my parents, and the rest when I was studying under Miss Sylvia. Gather around, and let Jagi tell you a story!”

The three young marines put their various distractions aside and drew closer, portraying quite a wide spectrum of interest between them. Toto's eyes were absolutely sparkling, and even Pénélope seemed curious.

”Well, you see, every generation has its heroes, doesn't it? Usually there are not more than a handful. I wonder why. Maybe the gods distribute them fairly through the centuries. Or perhaps it is only the greatest individuals in a single lifetime who logically rise up to lead the world. That makes sense, doesn't it? Today there are Sambamba and Miss Sylvia.”

She paused. All those present knew she had the capacity to speak for much longer intervals, so her pause could only be for the sake of dramatic suspense.

”There was a time in our history, though, when things were different. Maybe the god in charge of allotting greatness to the earth made a mistake, or maybe he got bored. Whatever the reason is, scholars have identified a period of time hundreds of years ago as the Age of Heroes, when many subjects of our modern folklore lived and breathed at once. It was an era of tremendous change, and everything that myths are made of.”

Jagi motioned for Toto to pass Jaxcaliber to her, and the Jetjet took the dazzling blade upon her lap.

”This sword belonged to a man named Uther, known to many as the Sunheart. Of all the legends originating from this time period, those concerning him are the most exaggerated, so it is not easy to discern fact from fiction. He was a king — that much is certain. He was the king of a country, Tarvos, supposedly on a land mass high above the sea. Some stories say that the sun never set on radiant Tarvos, but that is hard to believe, isn't it?”

The ranger's eyes grew somewhat distant as she envisioned the warrior she was trying to describe; mentally, she was traveling a long way back, through her people's inherited chain of memories, linked by word of mouth, and she remembered him.

”He was tall, seven feet at the very least. Uther's hair was the color of fire, yet even that hue paled in comparison to his eyes. Not all the stars in the sky could rival the twin suns he possessed. He was a leader without equal, unifying his shattered people quite early in his life. Uther most likely spent the first half of his life ruling his people, but by the time he was middle-aged, he must have grown restless.”

”So what did he do?”

”He traveled. This is when most stories about his adventures take place; there's a thousand of them, and to tell you a secret Jagi has no idea which are true and which aren't. Some say he slayed the invincible beast Saragaan. Another popular tale is about how he cleverly deposed the corrupt ruler of a kingdom and restored the rightful queen to power. I will tell you, however, the one account of his journey that I know to be true, because my ancestors were good friends of his.”

Saffy looked amazed. So far the girls had been entertained by their captain's story, but abruptly her tale shifted across some boundary into the realm of reality, and they caught off-guard.

”Uther visited Javalava Island, you see, and wanna know another secret? He stayed on that island longer than he did anywhere else. Why? There were no crises to resolve, and while there were jabberwockies back then, the Jetjets could take care of them with relative ease. Yet my people have always been hospitable and he was fascinated by our culture. He lived among the Jetjets for many months, and they were all very sad when he decided he could delay his departure no longer. In exchange for the many gifts they bestowed upon him, however, he shocked them with a memento that far exceeded all they had offered him — this very sword that has since been passed down the royal bloodline, Jaxcaliber.”

Jagi turned the blade over in her hand. It was hard to believe that such a lustrous weapon could have been forged centuries ago.

”Uther collected several noteworthy swords in his travels, but the two greatest were unquestionably Jaxcaliber and Jurandel. Nobody knows what happened to Jurandel, but I imagine someone somewhere must own it; Jagi can't believe that such a weapon could possibly be destroyed. But yes, the Sunheart chose to leave the former of the swords behind when he parted from his friends the Jetjets and continued on his voyage. It is believed that he later liberated the giants from their tyrant. Most historians agree that he returned home to Tarvos for several decades before he embarked on his last, final adventure.”

”Ah, you mean his battle with Shanti! I remember that story very well.”

”That's to be expected. It is Uther's most famous tale, after all.”

”What happened? Did he die? That's so sad!”

”Yes, unfortunately, Uther did not survive his final voyage — yet he is not a man to be pitied. He lived a full life, richer and more glorious than any of us can aspire to us, and he lived to quite an age. The country of Tarvos no longer exists, but his descendants are doing quite well today. Some of them have gained fame throughout the world as well, although not in the same way he did?”

”Huh? Who are they? Wait, never mind that — who was Shanti?”

”Old and gray, King Uther set sail from his homeland after an interval of over twenty years. He claimed that he desired to explore the world a little more before retiring permanently, but some believe he never intended on returning home at all — after all, he sailed alone. Uther traveled far, to a sea further than any waters he knew, and somewhere in this brand new world he encountered a dragon, Shanti. Despite his advanced age, he stepped up as the champion of the local islanders terrorized by Shanti's rampages, and slayed her — but not without sustaining fatal injuries himself.”

Jagi sighed, and clapped her hands together as if closing a book.

”And that is the story of the Uther Rookwood.”
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