Chapter 17
Hildra finally looked up from her intense examination of the sword, removing the strange eyepiece she'd worn. The black faded from her eyes as she ended her arcane sight spell. "There
is
a warding spell outside of the attunement," she said, "but not for wardens. It's looking for a specific type of mage."
"What do you mean?" Corec asked.
"Some arcane mages have a natural affinity for certain spells. Even wizards, who can learn any spell they want, will build up that sort of affinity over time if they focus on a specific area. There's no way for me to see what it's looking for, but it's looking for something. Whatever
your
affinity is, apparently."
"A friend told me I'm something like a battle wizard."
"That makes sense," Hildra said. "It's a sword, after all. The warding spell is the reason it reacted negatively to the people who touched it before you; they weren't its preferred bearer. As for the other enchantments, it's got the typical ones—strengthening the blade, always sharp, and never breaking. There's one I don't recognize. Has the sword ever done anything unusual?"
Corec couldn't hold in his laugh. "Everything it does is unusual."
"I mean beyond the behaviors you've described."
"I can't think of anything else."
"Then be careful with it. If you don't know what it can do, it might be dangerous. I won't try to replicate it without knowing."
"Replicate?"
Hildra tapped her wrist bands together and a shimmering barrier formed around her. She then held out her arm and a curved backsword flew off the wall toward her, the hilt thumping into her hand. A pale purple light slowly limned the blade. "For my own work," she said. She swished the sword back and forth through the air, leaving behind glowing purple streaks. "Don't touch the light—it's sharp. Quite useful when you're ambushed by a dozen footpads who don't realize the blade can still cut them half a minute after you swing it. I found this enchantment on a dagger almost two thousand years ago, and liked it so much, I copied it for myself."
Corec could only stare at the sight. "Someone told me nobody knew how to create permanent enchantments anymore," he said.
Hildra smirked. "Every warden has their own gift. Have you discovered yours yet?"
The First had mentioned gifts too, when he was discussing how he'd found Corec in a dream.
"Uhh, no. I don't think so."
"You will in time. As for your sword, you say it was found in the Storm Heights? That's in northeastern Aravor, yes?"
"Yes, north of Tyrsall."
Hildra nodded. "It's ancient work. How long has it been since the sword had another bearer?"
"Thousands of years, easily," Corec said. With Hildra being a warden, he decided to be more forthcoming than he'd been before. "It was in the ruins of a place called Tir Navis."
"From the name, that must be a Chosar city? Not many civilizations could have created something like this. The Chosar. The first peoples. Perhaps one or two others."
"I thought the Chosar
were
the first peoples."
"Modern historians consider them to be one tribe among many, and perhaps they were, but I've seen two different sources from before the Burning that suggested the Chosar drove the other tribes out of the Tirs."
"Could I see those? My friends would be interested in that."
Hildra sighed. "Unfortunately, my library burned to the ground during the rebellion that took down Queen Malda. That's the name I went by back then. It was the rebels who first started calling me the Sorceress Queen. I started the war against myself, hoping a small bit of violence would sate the people enough that they could move on, but the rebels were angrier than I'd thought. They destroyed everything. I haven't found any other writings from before the Burning."
"What
was
the Burning? The First mentioned it too."
"Nobody knows," Hildra said. "We don't even know how long ago it happened because there were so many different calendars in use. It was before Badru's time, and he's fairly certain he's over four thousand years old. There was another warden before him who knew more, but he's long dead. What we
do
know is that very few books and scrolls survived the Burning, and most of those were in bad shape. The Tirs were abandoned, and I suspect there was a long gap—perhaps a few hundred years—where little new writing was produced. Personally, I believe the people descended into barbarism, though I have no idea what could cause that on such a wide scale. Something involving
burning
, I imagine."
The First was over four thousand years old? Corec had no idea how to react to that information. He focused on the small part of Hildra's statement that he understood. "Not all the Tirs were abandoned," he said. "Aencyr is Tir a Tir."
"Tir a Tir?" Hildra asked. "What would that mean? The First Home? It sounds significant, but I don't believe I've ever come across the name before. The city's been rebuilt so many times, it's hard to say if anything would be left from so long ago. That's why you came here?"
"Not exactly. We're looking for a place called Tir Yadar."
Hildra smirked again. "The center of Chosar civilization. You're not the first to seek it out. You think it's in Cordaea?"
"Maybe. A friend has a possible lead, and I came to help. Do you know of anything on the other side of Silent Waters?"
"Silent what?" Hildra asked, wrinkling her brow. "Oh, Nera Athoryvos? I've never heard anyone translate the name before. I've been to the other side, but never through the swamp. I always crossed the lake or the mountains. There isn't much directly east of the swamp—just a few independent towns before you reach the barrens."
"Barrens?"
"It's a wide area where not much grows. If you're trying to cross, make sure to bring plenty of food."
"It's a desert?"
"Not really. It gets enough rain, but you shouldn't travel too close to the rivers. Without any vegetation to hold the rainwater, they flood quickly. People have tried to set up farms there, but they can't get anything worthwhile to grow. There are some shrubs and bushes that the birds like, but not much else. Plenty of old ruins, though, if that's what you're looking for."
