"It's been a little over two weeks since we've felt a clear connection come through since he's training inside a dome. At least, that's how he put it," she said, loosely throwing her free hand into the air. "I know how you must be feeling, but I promise that if he's under Kalia's wing, he might even rival you in swordsmanship when he gets back," Taegin said with a warm smile.
I need to pry that story out of him one day, Siraye thought as she nodded in agreement.
He regarded her momentarily before recognizing that there wasn't much more to be said about it. He turned to face Elhael, who was still reeling in shock from the information he'd just learned. "Now, what's this about the Realmwalker Blade?" he asked bluntly. "Ah, yes. One moment," Elhael said as he clapped his hands.
Within a few seconds of doing so, the doors to the meeting room opened, and Lisai, accompanied by Anwill, strode through the room. "It's good to see you, old friend," Anwill said, giving the Master a respectful bow. "You don't need to bow to me, and you know that," Taegin said playfully. "Oh, I know. I was only doing it because His Majesty is here," Anwill retorted with a wink and a wry grin.
Cheeky bastard, Nenvalur thought with a scoff.
"The others here already know what I'm going to say, but this blade isn't as it once was," Anwill said, opening the case Lisai carried and withdrawing the blade from within. Its discoloration was far more evident now than in the Antiquary, and it immediately sent a chill down Taegin's spine.
"No, it can't be," he said, gingerly taking the blade in hand to inspect it. "I've done what I could to try to get a reading out of it, but there's no mana left within it," Thorn said as he gestured to the blade. Taegin observed the blade closely, gripping the hilt firmly and rotating it against the light.
He drew mana from the Ethereal and infused it directly into the blade. Golden tendrils raced along the blade's edges, but when they reached the tip, they dissipated into thin air as if they'd somehow been canceled out.
"I see. So it hasn't recovered any of its former mana at all," he muttered, resting the blade on his open palm as he watched how the mana responded. "I've done ample research these past few days, and even though our records are quite extensive, I've never seen anything about being able to remove power from a relic before," Anwill said with a sigh.
"Nor would you, as that power is not present in this Realm," Taegin said gravely as he placed the sword back into its case. "Then what caused it? Surely, there must be some kind of answer that can tell us how one of the gods' artifacts is now a lifeless hunk of metal," Anwill said, spreading his arms out beside him.
I never thought it would come to this. Damn you, Nexis, Taegin thought with a heavy mental sigh.
"During my journey to the Underworld, Kalia spoke of a strange power that was unlike anything she'd ever felt before," he began, already feeling the weight of his next words starting to weigh heavily in his gut. The others in the room listened intently, though Lisai wondered whether she should even be present for this conversation.
"She mentioned that Nexis had been banished along with them, though he was placed under a curse that eroded his body and sense of time. During his exile, he must have figured out a way to irreversibly siphon the mana within them because this blade looks the same as when I retrieved it from the Underworld," he explained.
"Yes, I remember you mentioning that, but that was centuries ago," Elhael said as he rubbed his chin. "That is precisely my point. It should have recovered its mana within a few days, but this artifact hasn't been able to draw mana from its original Realm, or so it seems," Taegin said gravely.
"The blade was never meant to be like this, though I'm sure it wasn't the only one since the Fate-Bearer Shield has also met a similar fate," he began, hearing the astonished gasps of the others resonate throughout the room. "According to Kalia, he is why those two artifacts haven't looked the same since they've come back into our possession," he said, shaking his head.
"What could he want to do wi-..." Siraye began to ask but cut herself off. "Oh, no. No, no, no. Wait, this can't mean…?" she cut herself off again. "Cousin, I really wish you would just spit it out already," Nenvalur said, uncrossing his arms. "Nexis means to use the power from the Realmwalker Blade to return to the Between without being traced by the Wardens. Although, why he wanted the Fate-Bearer Shield's power is still a mystery to me," Taegin spoke in her stead.
"The Wardens? I thought they were a myth," Thorn said with genuine confusion. "No, they're very much real. How do you think I got to and returned from the Underworld?" Taegin asked wryly.
Nobody said a word and offered him blank stares in return.
"Ah. Right," he said with a thin-lipped smile. "In any case, there isn't much else to be done about the blade, unfortunately. Nothing, unless the gods descend to our Realm again and re-establish its connection to their realm," he sighed.
Siraye's eyes held a distant stare as images of what might happen began to race through her head. "Can't the Wardens do anything about Nexis' return? Are they even aware he's planning to return?" she asked. "I'm not sure that they are. It takes an incredulous amount of mana just to come here, let alone see into each individual realm, or so I was told. It's why the Wardens exist in the first place; they watch over each realm as best they can, but not even they are perfect," Taegin replied with a shake of his head.
"So there's no way for us to help Thoma and Ysevel?" Thorn asked. "Not currently, no. But I'm sure that a bearer of the Autarchica Primaria will be able to deal a hefty blow to that lunatic," Taegin replied. "You should know that best of all, Siraye; he's your son, after all," he continued with a warm smile, which she returned. "Thank you," she said as earnestly as she could manage.
"Even in the worst-case scenario, I think I might know where he would land. It would make the most sense for him to go there first, after all," Anwill chimed in, drawing everyone's attention to him. "What? Did you find something in the library?" Ren asked. "I might have, but the records of it that remain have either had much information redacted or even eradicated," Anwill replied, putting a finger on his chin as he furrowed his brow. "Where might this place be, then? If it's on the Continent, I'm sure we can get there and be ready for him when he arrives," Siraye asked, getting nods of agreement as she spoke.
"Valdis," Taegin replied distantly instead of Anwill.