Shortly after Ca’armine and Alexis finish discussing the words of Ness Brightleaf, or at least the river of souls and the soul of Zrithak that refused to sleep, Rask approaches Ca’armine, head bowed penitently.
“Ca’armine, I did not wish to respond and further distance us from Alexis’ inquiry, but I do want to respond to your questions.”
“I am no longer curious about Zrithak. Yes, his malice was evident from the moment we laid eyes on him. I suspected something was… unique about the wretch, and I hope the Blade of the Betrayers would capture his soul. I see how misguided and dangerous that was now.”
Rask pauses to see if Ca’armine has any thoughts or questions. He clearly has second point to make though and does not wait long.
“I was also called the Black Blade Ca’armine. Malice isn’t strange or scary to me like it should be I guess… Ursil gave me the sword when he was still King Adelfrid’s First General. He called it the Blade of the Betrayers…”
Rask clearly has mixed and troubling emotions around Ursil and Rasks own journey away from King Adelfrid’s forces as he takes a breath.
“I trust you Ca’armine, I cannot begin to express to you how grateful I am for you ridding me of Zrithak. What I thought would be a strange interrogation turned into a horrible… I wasn’t fully in control of myself Ca’armine, it was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Rask pauses and takes a deep breath.
“The Blade of the Betrayers was made by elves to reap souls. It holds many souls, all reduced to a black screaming rage. I never heard them before I took Zrithak’s soul with the sword. Not in anyway I can point to at least. To be honest, I also hoped to learn more about the sword from… well yeah… Now, without the sword, I don’t feel as full of rage. I am not the Black Blade of Aegir anymore, and I don’t want to be that ever again.”
Rask looks down briefly.
“But Ca’arm… I was angry and bitter before I was given the Blade. And I’m still angry. I’m still bitter. I still want to make everyone who was part of Thater being destroyed pay…”
Rask looks Ca’armine in the eyes, sad but resigned.
“And I am still a killer. The Blade was given to me as an award after my hundredth confirmed kill. I have no idea how many men I’ve killed since…. The Blade strengthened my rage as much as it strengthened my sword arm, but it did not… possess me the same way Zrithak did.”
“It is dangerous, and needs to be dealt with. I trust to you to decide how best it should be dealt with, but I want to you to understand that without Zrithak, it did not have a will of it’s own that I ever felt.”
Rask takes a deep apprehensive breath, glances down for a moment and back to the Priest.
3 thoughts on “Black Blades, Betrayal and Beyond”
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“I have already made a decision, to seek Raiden’s guidance more often when we encounter people who want something from us, because Alexis wanted more from me in that regard. I think it makes sense too, that I would seek to learn more about the underlying nature of powerful magical items we find.
The Blade of the Betrayers– I did not want to delve into its nature, because I did not want to know. I feared it would make me question your true nature as well.
Objects are what they are, they cannot change unless worked upon, by an outside force. People however, can change, and I know that you are changing.
Would that mean that you could safely wield the Blade of the Betrayers? I don’t think so, and the reason is in the words you yourself used to describe it. You know its true underlying nature now, that it is thirsty to absorb souls and deny them their passage to the next world. Elves made that? To what purpose? I suppose I can imagine, in their hubris, believing they could decide what souls should be trapped here on this plane, never to be reborn, imprisoned in the sword.
But objects can be changed by outside forces, and we believe that to be true of the Blade of the Betrayers. We now talk about freeing the souls and allowing them to complete their journey.
We should remember the Elves, and realize that we are less powerful, less learned, and less experienced than they. If they were hubristic to believe they knew better, and could decide whom to deny that final transition, we would be foolish in the extreme, to think we know even better than they.
I am sorry to use the wrong words for the sword you used to wield. You are not just a blade, you are a man with a soul. The Blade of the Betrayers is an object only, but it is more than a blade at the same time. We need to be very careful if we ever dig it up again.
“Thank you Ca’armine.”
Rask’s relief is palpable.
“I have no wish to wield the Blade of the Betrayers again. Yes, sometimes I miss the strength and the fierceness of the rage I felt wielding and possessing it… but I want to be Rask Fellmar, not the Black Blade of Aegir.”
There is a sense of loss and confusion in Rask’s voice as he speaks about the Blade and his identity.
“I think I have told you everything I know about the Blade, I do admit, part of my foolish hope in… talking? with Zrithak once he was in the Blade was to learn more about the Blade…”
Rask pauses for a moment…
“I think Zrithak wanted to be able to wield the Blade itself as much as he wanted to wield me…”
Rask grows quiet for a moment.
“Never again. I never want to be controlled like that again Ca’arm. Even when I think of the clarity the rage of the Blade brought me… it’s wasn’t entirely my own rage… The thoughts that felt like my own… Zrithak, the Blade… it doesn’t matter. I am too dangerous, too good at what I was trained to do… I can’t lose control Ca’armine…”
Rask takes a deep breath, and centers himself.
“Thank you for everything Ca’armine. Then and now.”
Ca’armine reaches into his robe to clutch his holy symbol of raiden, a silver shield he’s had since he was a boy. He puts his hand on Rask’s shoulder.
“Raiden, protector, elder brother of all humankind, protect Rask and give him peace this day. I see him, I know him, and I am helping him on a path toward righteousness. Give him strength, give him comfort, and protect him from the doubts that plague his mind today.”