The last week has been awful for me. What was once some gossip turned into a rumour and spread like the plague, infecting each and every attendee at the Academy. Janitors and gardeners would go out of their way to find me. Teachers would sneak glances in class or when they saw me at break.
At first it didn't bother me. But as the hours passed, the infection spread from students to their parents to their parents' friends. I felt miserable as I couldn't even clear my name. In this one week I became known as the Hopeless Knightling, due to not having awakened my eyes.
"MORT!" Two voices shouted as they approached at an incredible speed. Sadly, a rock had someone made its way inside the Academy corridors, and placed itself straight in front of the running twins.
Like a comedy skit, they fell. To my surprise, they didn't fall on their faces, but on their hands. They played off this fall as simply doing push ups. To be honest, it was impressive.
"Mort we heard the news! You have a dad?!"
One mighty slap befell both of them, leaving a red mark.
"That knight is someone I know and mispoke. I also had a dad before that incident!"
"Oh, if you say so. Moving on we have something to show you." Lucien raised his palm and blinding light emerged, nearly blinding me. Adrien raised his and obscure darkness veiled my vision, making it impossible to see. "We've become Imprinted!"
Oh how I wish I could smack them again, but I had to refrain myself. I didn't want my anger and stress to somehow release the Deathly energy within me.
"That's really cool guys. Are you being moved to the Imprints class then?" I already knew they would.
"Yes. We won't do any more mandatory lessons about Will." Lucien said.
"But if we want to, we can go." AdrIen added.
"As if you two would actually do extra lessons." I laughed with twins, while noticing Adrien to be more hesitant. He seemed distraught, like something was eating him from the inside.
But what happened next was not something I had expected. From behind my only friends, a person who I've never met before walked and placed themselves in between the twins.
"What are we laughing about?"
"Taking extra non-mandatory lessons. Could you imagine that!" Lucien and the unknown girl laughed.
"As if you'd do that!"
Something was wrong. Who was this new person that suddenly appeared in my only friend's life?
"Mort? You alright? You look sick…"
They knew my name too. Just who could this new person be? I pulled Adrien to the side and while the other two talked. "Who is she?"
Adrien looked shocked at the question. "What do you mean? That's Nova!" I shushed him to keep it quiet. "We've been friends for years. Don't tell me your sickness gave you amnesia too!"
Someone was toying with me. New people who previously didn't exist started appearing after I became Imprinted. "Ah sorry, yeah I've been experiencing gaps in my memory. Don't mention it to her…I don't want to worry her."
First my brother appeared, and now this new friend. Who else could pop into my life suddenly?
****
While my daytime was filled with the voices of gossip, my nighttime was filled with the voices of specters and wisps. Ever since the bathroom incident, I've refused to acknowledge the vial's existence. But as each night grew lighter and lighter, on one evening where the howling of wolves filled the valleys beyond the city, I felt a small object cling to my arm.
It was the arm of what looked like a child. Even in death, they still retained their innocence. It seemed like this young child's spirit was attempting to escape from the vial, but all they could extend was their head and an arm. Down their pale blue face were streams of white tears.
It broke my heart to be in possession of such a demonic artefact and be unable to at least ease the pain of this child. All I could do was whisper it a simple 'I'm sorry'.
I tried to go back to sleep, but the ethereal presence was impossible to ignore. I got out of bed, grabbed the vial and got ready to leave the house. The market was busy as always, even busier maybe, from the appearance of the full moon. It seemed to be a sign of good fortune for the people of Nuit.
As I wandered I realised I made my way back to the same place where the occult vendor was located. From my pocket, the vial shook violently, and only a voice that I could hear screamed out. "Hate! Hate! HATE!" I took out the vial and saw multiple ghosts trying to reach out towards the strange person. Their bodies were now red and jagged, with red tears emanating from their eyes.
Rage.
I placed it back into my pocket and slowly approached the vendor to see what else he sold. One item quickly caught my attention; A pair of blue-iris eyes. I nearly asked about them, but was turned around by somebody. They placed their hand on my shoulder and looked at me with worry in their heart.
"Don't."
I didn't know if this was an order or a comment made out of concern. I nodded my head and they walked off. I wanted to walk off too, but I could feel the spirits' hatred and anger. I saw visions of my hands wrapped around the vendor's gentle neck, slowly tightening my grip.
I'd already died once on a technicality basis, yet this still upset me- is this what it meant to be Imprinted by the element of Death. At that moment, the only person I wanted to be with was my grandparents. I made my way to their resting place, located outside the city's walls. I walked past the guards, showed my proof of identification, and wandered into the night.
The night was nearly over yet I still sat besides the two grey headstones. It was the weekend so I had nowhere important to be. At least my dead relatives remained the same, heh.
I was in a large area unofficially deisgnated as a graveyard, but plenty of people were resting here. I came here thinking that I could at least see them again, but I guess the spirits long passed on. Or so…I thought. When I turned to look at the dirt piles, I saw two featureless spirits holding hands, gazing at the rising sun. I could feel a smile from them two, even if these were only phantom visages of the people I cared for.
I touched their hands and prayed for their happiness.
I made my way back home and found my family talking outside. I approached and asked what the issue was, and they told me I had a guest. I looked inside and saw the familiar black horned helmet of Eclissi.
"Kid, I think it's time to- Are you ok?" The knight must have seen that I was burdened.
"Just some feelings. I'll be fine. Continue what you were going to say."
"Right," Eclissi said slowly, "One week. That's when we will acquire the item. We will meet in front of the Winged Chapel. Also, I suggest you don't bring that heinous vial."
"How did you know about it?" I was surprised that he knew about it.
"I could feel the spirits' regret and anguish from here. Be wary of that occultist. We will have to clash with him sooner or later, but until then, don't approach them anymore."
Eclissi knew something I didn't know about the vendor, and him saying 'clash' only meant one thing: fighting. "Got it."
"On the topic of violence, I am here to give you something. Where we will be going…it's dangerous. I can't guarantee your safety so please take this." Eclissi placed a clothed present on the table. I took it and could tell this was the form of a weapon. I unveiled it and saw the wooden hilt. The blade had a strange appearance. It wasn't metallic, more earth-like, resembling sandstone.
I ran my finger down one side and felt the rough texture of the blade. It felt fragile and ancient, yet at the same time, it also felt durable, capable of cutting down any foe.
"Get accustomed to that sword in preparation for the event." Eclissi stood up and extended his hand. "God I hope what I'm about to do isn't going to end badly. You don't need to master the sword, just get the basic movements down: Slash, thrust, slash, etc."
As soon as he left, that's all I did. I swung the sword like a madman in my room the entire day. And not just one day, I did it the next day too. On a note on the fabric sheath, Eclissin mentioned that I should bring it everywhere with me, even at the academy.
So I did. Heads turned as I walked with a mysterious item wrapped in expensive-looking black fabric. But simultaneously, they all came to one conclusion- that I had started training with the Dark Knight. My friends were worried for my health as I still looked sickly, Nova in particular.
"Mort take it easy. It's not the end of the world. There are no demons or demigods threatening our peace."
Oh how she didn't know that there was something wrong. Her very existence contradicted her statement. Ironic I thought. "If I can't become a Conjurer, or at the very least a Magician, I can train to be a knight."
After some time, something strange happened. I started to see information, or to be more accurate, I became aware of every property about this sword. I knew its age, its material and the forge it was made in. The blade was so strange because it was formed from the fang of a Sand Dragon, a dragon that lacked dragon features.
No wings, no arms or legs, and even no consciousness. Only a heap of sand being fused and fuelled by the overwhelming solar energy of the desert. From what witnesses have said, which can be counted on one hand, the sand tries to imitate the body of a Wyrm.
If someone is capable of defeating one, the chance of the body remaining intact and not falling apart like dust is small. Yet the blade of this sword was made of one of its large fangs.
Maybe because of that, because of the fact that it was a bone…maybe that was why I could connect to it. Death wasn't simply limited to souls and the spirits of the deceased, but also the physical remains. But also not only the remains of humans! Eclissi not only provided me with a weapon that was beyond impressive, but with more knowledge of this hidden element.
After training for the entire week with it, the weapon felt like an extension of myself. And at some point, I questioned what its name was. I tried to think and looked over all the knowledge I had, yet the blade remained nameless. I asked Lucien if he had any ideas for good and awesome sounding names…never again.
"You should name it Sandpaper!" he said. The fact that he said it with such enthusiasm proved that he thought it was a good name.
I decided to put it off until I get the forbidden item. I would rather see the weapon's true form than give it a name.
As the end of the week approached, I felt a strange feeling. It was a strong feeling of foreboding. Maybe it was the sword trying to tell me that this mission was a bad idea, or that something bad would soon happen. And sadly, it was the latter. I found myself in an awful situation. Some students began following.
I didn't want to show them my home so I walked somewhere else. I made my way to the city center where a large statue overlooked the developing city. No one would ever attack this monument.
Bang!
A booming sound startled me and the stalkers. Smoke and dust filled the area and the stench of blood filled my nostrils. People screamed and panicked, the once busy square had emptied rapidly. I tried to run away, but a masked figure stepped out of the smoke clouds and stopped me.
"I know you," they said excitedly, "I saw you and the Dark Knight some time ago!" This must have been the individual that was spying on our conversation. This must be the enemy.
"Its a shame that you just happened to be in the area. Guess I'll need to kill you." Without giving me any time to think the person dashed towards me with what looked like a bomb.
"Are you crazy?" I yelled as I stumbled and dodged.
"Very much so!" This person seemed to be enjoying themselves, to the point where the explosive went off in their hand, yet they seemed uninjured. "Oopsies."
They summoned a larger bomb out of thin-air and swung with it, using it more like a blunt weapon then its supposed purpose. I tried to dodge, but the smoke made my eyes itch and burned my lungs. I was surprised I hadn't fainted from not enough clean air. We exchanged some blows but I wasn't fast enough.
They landed an impressive kick that sent me backwards. But I was still standing, somewhat. The person seemed to be annoyed as they haphazardly launched the bomb elsewhere and summoned an entire barrage of them. I ran away, hiding behind a building.
"Think Mort, what can you do?" I mumbled under my breath. All I had in my possession was the gifted sword…and the vial of what I presumed to be blood. Within seconds. I figured out a plan: unseal the vial and control the numerous spirits contained within to bind that person's movement, then strike them with my sword.
There was a high likelihood of the spirits going rogue but that didn't matter. As long as I kept calm I could do this. For the first time, I took the top off. Ghostly shrieks filled the area as soul after soul escaped. I took one large breath and shouted. "BIND THEM!" The spirits did as I commanded and surrounded the person, grabbing their limbs and making them kneel.
"What's this?" Even through a mask, I could tell that there was confusion, which leads to an opening. I took the chance and charged, visualising the slash I'd practiced for an entire week. I only managed to leave a cut. "Ha! Was that it?" They laughed as they were nearly free from their restraints.
Crack.
What was a cut had changed. The skin had dried and cracked, sort of decaying. Blood dripped, taking along some of that dead skin. The cut worsened as more and more of the surrounding area dried out.
"Ah. A shame. This hand is done for. What an interesting weapon and skills you possess. I wish we could have fought some more, but I'm out of time." The person started to sink into the ground, keeping eye contact with me. "We will meet again."
Authorities questioned me and everyone else who was involved, but the criminal remained at large. However, I couldn't worry about that. The academy break had started, and so did the mission with Eclissi.
"Say your prayers Mort. Where we are going, no God will help us."