Mythshaper

Chapter 45: The Sword Unites

Rosalyn departed that very day with my grandmother, without managing to show me all the things she had promised to teach. The only consolation was that the books she had given me contained all the information I needed, so once again it was self-study.

Father returned the day after, not looking the least bit weary, though I couldn’t say the same about everyone else in the group. The expedition had been mostly uneventful and unfruitful, aside from them needing to fend off a bunch of savage animals. They had found no signs of any more of those corpse flies, nor any indication of a rift breaking.

No, they weren’t searching aimlessly. A phenomenon like a rift appearing out of nowhere was hard to miss, as once it split open the fabric of reality, it tended to vomit out a large quantity of foul essence into the world. A seasoned Awakened could detect that from hundreds of metres away.

Hell, even if there had been no one among them capable of sensing the foul essence, they had an Essence Compass to lead them towards it, which had a range over a couple of miles of radius. Unfortunately, even that resulted in nothing tangible.

Of course, the wilderness was vast, and a day’s search was far from enough to cover it all. The expedition should have at least helped narrow down the location, but when Father spoke of it, he seemed oddly befuddled by the whole thing.

I was, of course, not privy to all the information, but I noted that they were already planning another expedition—this time a more thorough one, spanning over many days if necessary, and sponsored by the main branch of Serpent's Spite.

All of that had largely nothing to do with me, except my father being involved in it. At least Father didn’t postpone his promise to teach us the fourth form until the next expedition.

And so, once again, Eran and I stood in our yard, looking up at his tall stature.

“Before I show you the fourth form,” he began, “you need to understand that most people end their practice here, and there is no shame in acknowledging that.”

“Why?” I asked. “Is it too difficult?”

Father shook his head. “Although a case could be made for talent and discipline, it is more about want and need. The fourth form is where the line is drawn between those who merely wish to pursue the sword superficially and those who intend to live by it.”