The Whispering Wail Sword:Part Six by purplehopper
--------
T alzadon couldn't get the voice out of his head. According to legend, it was the voice of the light Fearie, guiding the hero towards righteousness. But could he be the hero? When he was the one who caused this mess? Perhaps the voice was speaking only to Mina. It would make sense for her to be the hero since she was a knight of Meridell, but then why had he heard it too? Why did Sir Weston not hear? These questions bothered him as they walked the remaining distance to the castle. The castle was visible from many fields away since torches had been placed all along the outside walls. Talzadon looked towards Mina. Her pink face was visible in the flickering orange light from the torch. He couldn't quite figure out what she was thinking. She looked sullen, as her eyes were droopy and tired, wings dragging behind her. But there was something else. She looked as if she was concentrating or thinking hard about something. Did she have a plan? What did she think about the voice? In any case she wouldn't look at him. She had to be furious with him. They approached the drawbridge and she looked up and straightened her back. Perhaps she didn't want to look so embarrassed in front of the other knights. They marched across the drawbridge which creaked with every step. The eyes of the castle guards fell upon them. He could hear the whispers from the high towers. "Is that really it?" one guard quietly asked another. "The Whispering Wail Sword?" "It must be," the other guard replied with a deeper voice, "or else we wouldn't be in this mess." The guards followed the three of them with their eyes as they entered the castle. The light was blinding compared to the darkness outside. Inside the torches glowed so bright Talzadon couldn't even make out the glow of the sword. As their eyes adjusted, they marched a short distance into the throne room, which was packed with Neopets. Half the knights of Meridell were in the great hall, in addition to the entirety of the Mage's Guild. King Skarl sat grumpily on his throne in full regalia. "Talzadon, Mage of Meri Acres," a herald announced. "Lady Mina Marger, Knight Second Class." "Marger??" Talzadon whispered as they approached the king. "You didn't tell me you were – " "Shhh!! We are before the king!" Mina quieted him. "Talzadon! You stand accused of bringing a monster into our world. Reports are coming in that the darkness has completely enveloped Brightvale and extends almost to the fields outside the Haunted Woods. Do you deny releasing the spirit who has brought the night upon our lands?" Talzadon gulped loudly and replied with a stammer, "N- no, your majesty, I do not. I claim responsibility for the darkness on our land." "Describe for the Mage's Guild what spell you cast when you thrust the sword into the ground." A brown Techo spoke from the side of the room. Talzadon recognized him as the secretary of the guild. "I'm afraid I cannot tell the council what spell I used. I wasn't thinking of any spell in particular. I was under the impression that the sword would read my desires and make them a reality, so I don't think I cast any one particular spell." King Skarl replied angrily, "So then you wished for this curse! The sword did your bidding and now we are all to suffer even worse than we have!" A murmur circulated around the hall. "No, your majesty I would never!" Talzadon replied in a panic. "Your majesty," the Techo secretary spoke above the hushed voices in the crowd. "The head council of the Mage's Guild does not believe the sword works that way. We believe a specific spell must be cast, however there is some evidence that the sword has a will of its own as well. Ancient texts from Queen Fyora's library suggest that the Whispering Wail Sword is capable of controlling itself, and only an extremely powerful wizard would have been capable of imposing his or her will over the sword. Therefore, we believe that Talzadon was acting in good faith, but with extreme recklessness. The proper course of action would have been to bring the sword to the Royal Wizard, Min Marger. The council recommends that Talzadon should remain under supervision in the castle so he is unable to cause any further damage to the situation." "Hmm, thank you for the explanation, Mage Hewitt, you may sit down," King Skarl stroked his chin. "I suppose then if Talzadon was trying to help, Lady Mina likely hasn't done anything wrong either. Mina Marger! You are free to return to your post as a Knight of Meridell, however you and Sir Weston are to keep an eye on Talzadon. Clearly it takes more than one of you. Otherwise you are both free and no longer under arrest." Sir Weston let out of soft "humpf" of disapproval and folded his arms. "Thank you, your highness," Mina bowed slightly and walked stiffly over to the other knights. When she reached them, she fell into rank and stood tall with her arms behind her back. "Royal Wizard Min Marger, please step forward!" called Skarl gruffly. "Sir Weston, present the Wizard with the Whispering Wail Sword." From the back of the Mage's Guild rose an old red Draik with a wispy beard. His robes glittered in the torchlight, but perhaps it was magic that made them glow. He reached the center of the hall and Sir Weston gingerly passed him the sword. Min's eyes widened as he touched the blade. It glowed ever so slightly brighter in his arms. "This sword," he began in a croaky voice. "Contains immense power like I've never felt before. I'm not sure even I could control it. It has a mind all itself, but I sense something about the sword. It does not appear to have any evil intentions. In fact, I think it wants to help us!" Talzadon spoke up from where he had moved to the side of the wall. "It must be the light faerie! When Zartarath was released, all that was left in the sword was the power of good!" Min the Royal Wizard stroked his beard. "I believe Talzadon is correct. The sword now fights for good. However, I'm not sure we want to use it against Zartarath. If we do, his darkness will be absorbed into the sword again and he will be able to use its power once again. Perhaps the Whispering Wail Sword's magic can be used in other ways to fight the shadow monster." To Be Continued…
|