Chapter 8

Re-united Identities

Draklake

Three figures stood near a small pond in the garden of a particular village, astonished, dumbstruck. They had been observing a certain somebody who they had thrown into a dream world for a while.

“What just happened, Altair?” Petra was shivering. The expert strategist had just witnessed something next to impossible. “How did he just end it like that? 10,000 against 100,000 and he lost just only 1000 of his men. That’s absurd. No, that’s impossible.”

The person to whom Petra had voiced question stood speechless as she stared at the youth’s sleeping face which was being reflected in the pond. She herself was confused as to what had transcribed before her very eyes.

The real battle of Linford had been a narrow win for Lithinian army and that too because of the help reinforcements that had arrived in the nick of time. For the three in that garden, the battle of Linford was the greatest ever in history. Petra had deliberately chosen the plot because she believed that their disciple was not strong enough to win.

The three wanted the boy to know despair; thereby make him understand the importance of intelligence and strategy in a fight, be it a brawl or a large scale war. Petra herself being a strategist was confident that Shiv would not be able to win to the extent that she had even prepared a speech for the time when a dejected Shiv returned.

They had made it so that he could not rely on his sword techniques or the new magic spells or even the Chains of Time. They even delayed the reinforcement to the fort. But no matter what they threw at him, the boy effortlessly crushed all his obstacles. He had even made use of the terrain in ways that the three never that was possible.

For the three masters, Dragon King Orrinshire was the most powerful and intelligent person that ever existed, after all in the village of Draklake that was under the Dragon God’s protection, the son of Oberon was divine existence. Even when such a great being had lead the battle, the Lithinian victory was attained with much sacrifice and loss. The great king himself was on the verge of death by the time the battle came to an end.

All their beliefs were shattered when they saw Shiv win, that too with so much ease, even without the help of re-enforcements. They saw the boy kill Ghir Khan, the commander in seconds, they were the boy bring down the 100,000 in number army to 30,000 even before the battle broke out, they saw 10000 men covered in red aura annihilate the remaining enemies with ease.

‘What is he? A being even above the Dragon King? No! That’s impossible’

---***---

Shiv slowly opened his eyes, still exhausted. The war had affected him both mentally and physically, ‘The war is finally over. We won Black Dragon. Huh? Black Dragon? Ah! I am already back. I couldn’t even properly thank the men.’ Shiv felt a little lonely in the dark training room.

Even tough in the beginning the sudden transfer and the war like situation had irritated him, in the later stages Shiv had truly enjoyed it. The men who worked hard for their king and kingdom, the unit heads that carried out his orders without fail, Amber, Serin, Vivian and Stryn. Shiv felt a tinge of regret in his heart for not able to properly say goodbye to his brother-in-arms.

‘A pity indeed.’ The boy had a lonely smile on his face. ‘But it was fun. It’s had been a while since I had so much fun’, when such thoughts filled his mind, the loneliness in his smile began to fade away.

Shiv looked at his waist, but elegant black sword with a white dragon embedded on it was nowhere to be found causing the boy to unknowingly sigh.

“So you are back? How did it go?” came a question.

Shiv lifted his face and stared it his beautiful master whose hand carried something that seemed like a fireball.

“Master Altair. It was fun” Shiv replied with a smile, but once again the loneliness had enveloped his tired face. His master’s question had brought back memories of the time with his men causing him to once again feel the loss.

“You did well! I know you are tired but I am afraid, I have to take you with me”, with a wry smile, Altair extended her hand to her disciple.

---***---

“With this you have finished your training. You are now strong. As promised you can have a weapon from the armoury” Thorwin explained.

“No master. Black Dragon is my only love, I will not betray her.” Shiv spoke, acting as if he was hurt by Thorwin’s words.

Bang

The instant that was said a kick flew towards the boy’s abdomen, sending him flying a good distance.

“Weapon or death?” asked a smiling Altair as she retracted her stretched leg.

“Sheesh! When did you become so un-cute” Shiv said, as he got up from the ground.

Altair froze, not just her the other two froze.

“Eh! Don’t tell me that you three thought you could fool me forever?” Shiv spoke, his voice calm. The three could only gasp at the remark. The boy then continued. “But still, Stryn, you sure have guts. To hit me on my head, that too thrice! We should probably have a chat alone, for old time’s sake”

Thorwin gulped, Shiv’s eyes were so cold and murderous that the master had cold sweat trickle down his back.

“And Amber, what happened to the cute you who clung to me every time. The you now are as sly as a fox, so impure! Hah” Shiv sighed as he face-palmed himself causing Altair to fluster.

“As for you Vivian, why a giant? Though your blond hair seems the same, neat and long as always, but that body. To be honest, I prefer the beautiful and frail you.” Shiv spoke as manner of fact, while his eyes scanned Petra.

“Oh please don’t bother with the excuses. You can’t fool me anymore. So quickly go change your stupid costumes and report to me in five minutes. Do you hear me?” Shiv’s voice grew a little cold.

“Yes, sire” three involuntarily kneeled as they replied. The three themselves were startled at their sudden behaviour as they couldn’t understand why they kneeled nor did they understand why they referred to the boy as sire. The kneeling Altair then began to chant something causing a wide magic circle to form on the ground, with the three at the centre. When the chant finished, a yellowish light illuminated the hall. Magic from the circle began to engulf the three and Shiv could notice the figures of the three before him change gradually.

“Good to see you three once again, but where the rest? Where is Serin?”. Shiv asked the three before him, his voice unable to hide his excitement. But the three in front of the boy on the other hand had a gloomy face. It was Thorwin, no Stryn who gave the answer to the question.

“She never made it! The battle of Linford had denied us her life”

“Eh?”, the young boy froze. A strange silence enveloped the room the four occupied. The three who were on their feet gazed at the boy whose face looked paler than a corpse. In the next moment, the three saw trickles of tears flow down the boy’s fair cheek, his lips whimpered and cheek reddened.

Amber ran forward, her hands stretched open. She approached the boy and hugged him tight. The young boy clung to the warmth before him as silently wept on the beautiful lady’s chest.

The two who looked at the scene walked out of the room silently, their eyes moist.

[align=centre]*---*---*[/align]

An hour or so passed, the boy felt relieved and embarrassed. The three masters had once again assembled before him in his training room that he stayed for days. Amber had called back the other two when Shiv had calmed down and so the training hall was now occupied by four.

“With this your training is over. As promised, you can select one from the armoury. There a wide variety of weapons in there, all of very high quality. Even if I say they are of high quality, years of inactivity has taken a toll on some of them” Stryn explained to Shiv. “Remember, you are only to choose one weapon, so choose wisely”

Shiv acknowledged Styn’s words and approached the dark armoury. Amber snapped her fingers and in the next moment the armoury was lit up by torches that were burning brightly. Shiv thanked the woman mentally and then scanned the room slowly.

Since the last time it was too dark, Shiv couldn’t properly examine the room. But this time, it was different due to Amber and so the brilliantly lit room caused Shiv to gasp.

The room was a treasure trove of weapons: spears, swords, maces and what not, hundreds of them lay before him in rows that extended a long way. Shiv slowly walked towards where swords were ordered and randomly chose one. He gave it a swing, then kept it back after making a note of its shape and structure so as to not choose it again. He then chose another sword, then a third, a fourth and so on. The masters were surprised, ‘Is he going to do that with all of them?’. Amber on the other hand was worried, ‘Is he still grieving?’, she wondered.

Shiv continued his swings non-stop. A little more than an hour passed and yet the masters did not interrupt. They had felt same intensity from the boy before too, and they clearly remembered the Shiv who was planning his war tactics. They did not dare to interrupt.

Shiv carefully examined the weapons, not realizing the flow of time. For hours he kept repeating the same process. He had checked more than two hundred or so swords and yet was not satisfied with any of them. It was then that a rusted sword caught his attention. Unlike the other swords he had tested, this one seemed much longer with a thicker hilt. The sword did not have any sheath and the blade lacked any lustre, even I blind could tell that the sword was as useless as trash. But Shiv stared at it intently, the black gem embedded on its hilt caught his eye.

‘Why do I feel I have seen that gem before?’ Shiv felt a strange longing for the sword swell inside him. A feeling he couldn’t understand or explain wrapped his mind.

“Master. I will take this one.” Shiv faced Stryn as he spoke with determined eyes.

“This useless sword is what you want. Are you out of your mind?” Stryn felt annoyed. He had the largest collection of weapons in the world, from throwing knives to legendary swords. He had let Shiv choose one, thinking the smart boy might get a good sword. And now the boy chose a rusty good for nothing crap as a weapon. Stryn trembled in anger at the stupid boy before him.

“Why this?” Altair asked, curious.

“Oh, nothing special. This gem reminds me of Black Dragon”

The three masters were stunned. They couldn’t believe what they heard. To choose a weapon that would protect once life based on such feelings made the three angry as well as dumbfounded.

Shiv looked at the three and smiled. “You think that this sword is useless, don’t you?”

“Of course! Can’t you see its condition? Are you blind?” the three answered at the same time.

Shiv smiled at the similar reaction of the three. He then gripped the sword and placed his forehead on the gem. The tattoo on his right hand began to glow,

“Come forth Black Dragon!”

“Who dares to summon me?” and then a loud roar escape from the rusty sword.

The masters froze, Stryn being shocked beyond belief. He had searched for the sword, the sword of his Dragon King for decades, wanting to protect it from the hands of those who didn’t deserve it. He felt a little dejected at not being able to even recognise his king’s sword. Amber and Vivian seemed happy at the development as the two had a smile on their face.

“It’s been a while, Black Dragon!” Shiv greeted the sword, his eyes filled with care.

“Been a while? What are you blabbering ab..? Wait! Orr?”

“It feels good to have you back in my hands.” Shiv spoke energetically. He felt great at the current situation.

“So you have come back after all, Orrinshire. As usual, a carefree lad, aren’t you.’, saying so the sword gives out an old man kind of laugh and continued, ‘But let me warn you, years of slumber has made me weak, to the point I am no greater than a normal sword. And unless I am strong enough, I won’t be able to provide much assistance”

“I do not care. Be mine.”

“As you command, my king”

And the sword shined brightly as it gave a small vibration to Shiv’s hand. The rust that had conquered the sword began to fall revealing a bright silver tint. In an instant, the sword turned silver but so colour turned get black. The sheath that materialized the sword was jet black in colour, silver dragons gracing its surface. The grip of the sword remained black but the crossbar was silver. On the middle crossbar there was a dragon’s head. This gave people who sees the sword an impression of a blade that coming out of the dragon’s mouth.

When the glow subsided Shiv froze, for the who had just reunited with his sword was suddenly surrounded mirror of different sizes.

‘Where the hell am I?’, Shiv became wary of his surroundings.

“Welcome, young man. Welcome to, my humble abode.”

Shiv immediately shifted his body to the direction of the voice. His body was ready to counter attack the enemy. But when his eyes fell onto something, his eyes grew big in astonishment. Sitting on a golden throne was a young man who seemed to be in his early 20’s. The man had blond long hair that swayed all over his shoulder, his ears slightly pointy and eyes blacker that space. He was dressed in a red armour, with a white dragon decorating it, and his right hand held. Shiv could see a reality familiar dragon tattoo on the man’s right. A pocket watch was hanging from the same hand while the left hand’s wrist was occupied by a red metal bracelet. The red bracelet was decorated by a yellow gem. The man appeared really calm as he smiled at Shiv.

“Who are you and Why do you look like me?” Shiv questioned as he studied the man thoroughly.

“Relax, young Shiv. I am not your enemy”

“You even know my name?” Shiv’s widened, “WHY? And why do you have that tattoo?” Shiv was defensive.

The unknown man shrugged his soldiers and sighed.

“My name is Orrinshire and this is a fragment of my soul I imbued on to that sword you hold.”

“Why are you here? Why do we look alike?”, came another of questions. Information was something Shiv lacked, but deciding whether the guy was lying or not too was something important, Shiv knew.

“Why am I here you ask? Well! That’s because you possess the tattoo just like me and you are in possession of my sword as well as the pocket watch.”

‘Orrinshire, sword, pocket watch? Ah, is this that kind of setting? Re-incarnation? Interesting!’, Shiv smiled.

“You are the king of Lithinia, right? Why are you here?”

“Lithinia?” the youth chuckled, but Shiv felt a tinge of regret in that chuckle. “Its been a while since I heard that name. Yes, indeed, I was the king, I no longer am.”, the man smiled, a loneliness invaded that radiant face.

“Why? Did you lose Lithinia?”

“You still do not know? They did not tell you yet. Hah!”, the king sighed helplessly. “Do not worry, you will know soon enough. I am not here to talk about Lithinia.”

“Then talk about our appearance.”

“I am what we old people call soul fragment. And this is how I have always looked. You just look like me because of what we old people call as re- incarnation, well just the body though.”

‘Is he sulking?’, Shiv felt amused, “So what is it that you want to talk about?”

“You and I are similar”, showing the tattoo on his hand Orrinshire continued. “Like you, I am the first to get the title, child of Oberon and you the second.”

“So?” Shiv was now curious.

“I will not go into it in detail. Just think of you as my successor. The mark on that hands means you a very special role to do and that role might sometimes make you do things that you won’t like. That mark is a boon and a curse as well. That mark is your destiny. And the reason I came here is to ask you to do something”

“Do something? I refuse” Shiv blatantly refused.

“Ho. Refusal even before hearing what I have to say huh. What if the thing I want you to do is gather these things?”

Orrinshire pointed towards the things Shiv was holding, “You already have the sword and the watch. Now you have to find 6 more items. Will you still refuse after knowing the power the sword and watch carries?” Orrinshire tried to bait him. He was sure Shiv would accept.

“I refuse. Look here Orrinshire. I do not intend to do great things and stand out. My wish is different from what you have. I am no hero and I do not want to be”

Orrinshire was dumbfounded. He was sure that Shiv would accept. He then smiled “Very well. I will not force them to you. You can now return”

“Thank you,its” Shiv said and again there was a bright glow.

---***---

When Shiv came to, he was still at the armoury and in his hands there was Black Dragon. The masters then came closer and observed the sword. Of the three Stryn seemed a little sad.

“We have nothing more left for you. Alit's time for the ceremony. Things will be getting a little busy here”

“Thank you, master” Shiv made a deep bowed to thank the three that taught him well.

When the trio made sure Shiv had left their figures began to change. They suddenly seemed old.

“Briskol, he passed the test. Now what shall we do?” spoke the only male among the three.

“Gehambel, he still has one more test. Irene, we will keep monitoring.

Irene nodded at Briskol, “But why are we still using these fake names.” Mused Amber who was being addressed as Irene.

---***---

“Identify”

Black Dragon (Level 1)

A sword made by a legendary blacksmith using the scales of the dragon God Oberon. This sword was made for the Dragon King, Orrinshire under the orders of the God. The sword is only usable by those approved by the God.

A powerful sword which can grow along with the wielder. The sword was used by the great Dragon King himself for decades. But due to its century-long slumber, the sword has lost all its power.

+1 level to the sword for every 5 levels the wielder gains

+5 for all stats times sword level

+20fame

+50 to HP and Mana

New skill created: Sword-mastery (beginner level 1)

‘One level for every five levels huh. That means by the time I reach level 100, the sword would only be level 20? Does that mean Orrinshire who had a level 500 sword was at level 2500? No way! The level cap in this game is 500. Wait, does that mean that the level cap might be removed? Hm, I got my hands some good information.’ Shiv was pleased with himself.

“That aside, I got new skills eh. Good. This sword is the best”. ‘Now shall we have a look.’

“Open status”

[td4]STATS WINDOWCharacter NameShivAlignmentNeutralLevel1ProfessionNoneTitle[/tds][tds] None[tr]Health: 100(+350)Mana: 150(+550)Strength: 27(+30)Agility: 24(+30)Stamina: 26(+30)Vitality: 10(+30)Wisdom: 15(+25)Intelligence: 15(+25)Luck: 10Fame: 300Perseverance: 10Magic Resistance[align=left]Wind: 1%

Fire: 1%

Water: 1%

Earth: 1%AffinityWind: 1%

Fire: 1%

Water: 1%

Earth: 1%SkillsHeavenly Element Sword Technique Beginner Level 1

Magic mastery Beginner Level 2

Water mastery Beginner Level 4

Earth mastery Beginner Level 4

Wind mastery Beginner Level 4

Fire mastery Beginner Level 4

Fighting Spirit

‘My stats are good, but this is not enough. I have one day to prepare for my quest. Master gave me food and it will last for 3 days. I need to fill my canteen with water. Then I will head out to the forest. Before that I must return to master, I need some other things if I have to complete my quests’