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Chapter 10

 

After an hour of searching, they found the Staff of Galachar. The statue of what appeared to be an old man dressed in robes was holding it. He had a long white beard and bushy eyebrows that almost completely covered his eyes. A sword was at his side. Alex stopped and looked at the statue in awe.

 

“Galachar,” she said. “The most powerful human wizard ever born. He lived over 1000 years ago, and his power was so great that he could call upon the power of the gods with ease. Why he created that staff, nobody knows, not even the gods. All that is known about the staff is that it can give eternal rest to wandering spirits.”

 

Mary looked at the staff; it seemed to be made of Silverwood, and had a gem at the top, and runes were carved all over the staff. Carefully, she went up to the statue and placed her hands on the staff.

 

The staff flashed once, and came loose easily.

 

“You’ve finally come.”

 

They all looked up and gasped as the statue lowered its gaze to look at them. “Do not be afraid,” it said. “I am merely the spirit of Galachar. I have been waiting for you for centuries, Mary Neocene. Take my staff and bring Healing Magic back into the world.”

 

With that, the statue crumbled into dust. Mary looked at the staff in her hand, and nodded as if somebody had told her something.

 

“The Shadows are free,” she said. “But…we can’t go down south. We have to go back to the city and defeat the Priests.”

 

She turned and looked at their shocked expressions. “If we run, we’ll never win. We have to fight them and their False One.”

 

“She’s right.” Rebecca drew her sword and held it up high. “But if we’re going to fight a god, we have to have weapons that can hurt a god.”

 

“You are nuts,” Samuel said, looking at them. “Us, fight a god? We’ll get killed!”

 

“Not if we can find the Angelheart Blade and the Edana Blade,” Alex said. When they turned to look at her with puzzled expressions, she sighed. “They are swords that were forged in Dragonfire. The magic they possess is so powerful that nobody can use them without their souls getting torn apart.”

 

“Then how are we supposed to use them?” Samuel said.

 

“You are three of the Four,” Alex said. “Your souls are extraordinarily strong. How do you think they have survived so many rebirths? A normal person’s soul cannot survive more than two rebirths, and yours have survived hundreds of rebirths.”

 

Rebecca nodded. “Alex is right,” she said. “We have to find the Angelheart and the Edana. It’s the only way we can win.”

 

Mary nodded. “Then lets go,” she said. “Our disappearance has probably been noticed by now. The Queen will send some Knights after us sooner or later.”

 

“Hopefully later,” Samuel said. “I do NOT want to be put to death for killing a Knight.”

 

“We don’t have to kill them,” Rebecca said. “We just have to defeat them and convince them that I’m safer away from the city…and my mother.”

 

“Yes, the Queen has been listening to the advice of these False Priests for too long. I’m afraid that her judgement cannot be trusted,” Alex said. “She might even order her own daughter’s death if the Priests advise it.”

 

Rebecca looked down, a heavy breath escaping her body. “Will I have to fight her?”

 

Alex looked at her in surprise. “I hope not,” she said. “Your mother is a good woman. She has just been deceived by the silken lies of the False Priests.”

 

Rebecca looked up, tears forming in her eyes. “I hope you’re right, Alex,” she said. “Because I would never forgive myself if I was forced to kill my mother.”

 

Samuel walked up to her and looked into her green eyes, suddenly noticing how beautiful they really were. “Relax, Becca,” he said. “Everything’s going to be all right. I promise.”

 

He drew his sword and kneeled before her, holding the blade up to her. “I pledge my allegiance to you, Princess.”

 

Rebecca blinked down at him, confused. “…What? ‘Becca’?”

 

Samuel looked up at her, a smile on his face. “I think it suits you,” he said.

 

Rebecca smiled and nodded, taking the sword from him and holding it up. “I accept your pledge of loyalty, my Knight,” she said. “Arise.”

 

Samuel rose slowly, accepting his sword back by the handle. He sheathed the blade and smiled at Rebecca. “Let’s go find those swords,” he said. “And then we’re going to fry us a false god!”

 

Rebecca smiled and nodded, and they walked away side-by-side. Mary looked at Alex.

 

“What just happened?” she asked, completely confused.

 

“A 200-year-old Knighting Ritual,” Alex replied. “Now come, we have to find those swords.”

 

Mary blinked. “200 years?” she asked. “Hey! Just how old are our souls?”

 

Alex looked back and smiled. “About 7000 years old,” she said. Mary just stared at her.

 

“7000 years?”