After that I decided that I would go home and rest up a bit, even though I wasn’t tired I knew my wounds needed it and I wanted to be at my best possible state when I went to see this guy. That night I didn’t get a lot of sleep because my mind just kept wandering from place to place, they just kept thinking about all sorts of things. I just wanted my own life I felt controlled by my father still and I felt as if everything in this city was all just another thing he was controlling in some way. Maybe getting my weapons would make me feel better, after all my father did not fight in any way. So I wanted to get away from him and this would be my first step in doing that.
Though I didn’t get much sleep I did manage to rest, and I felt much better in the morning and I was ready to have my weapon made for me. Adam showed up at my doorsteps to take me to see this weapons master. “Are you sure you don’t want to pick a weapon, I mean really you only looked at four of them and one shield. I’m sure they are tons of weapon’s that would suit you just fine if you just go and look at a few more.” Adam said to me as we headed across the city. I didn’t know why he was saying this I mean the person we were going to see was recommended to us by one of the people that ran a large part of production for the city.
As we rode across the city Adam couldn’t hold it in anymore. “He’s a whack job ok, there I said it, I know you wanted to know why I don’t want to go see him, well that’s why.” I burst out laughing, it was the first time I had heard him have an outbreak before, but I contained myself. “Why do you say that I mean he can’t be that bad can he?” I said in response to his outburst, he just looked at me with this blank look on his face for a few minutes.
“He believes in hebedejebe… he doesn’t take measurements of any kind and just dismisses everything that’s exact and says it should be flexible. But the worst part is he just doodles on everything all the time and mumbles weird things as he is doing it. There something wrong with his mind. You should go to anyone else to get your weapon built, but not this guy he will make you something that will get you killed.” Adam said in a very serious tone of voice, then just looked back to where we were going as if he knew something else that he wasn’t saying that I was better off not knowing, seeing that I wasn’t changing my mind on going.
We arrived at the location that we were to meet this master weapons designer, and there was no one there, which I though was a bit rude. However, I didn’t really realize this guy was never on time. However, that was not the thing that Adam was trying to warn me about, neither was it what he was hiding from me. We waited there most of the day, walking around doing random things for people that kept asking us to do things for some reason. It was like we had a sign on our back that said ask us to help you.
Finally, he showed himself. “Yooooo what it do yawl. I’m the master and I’m going to design you the best weapon you have ever used see here. This is my little friend, he helps me out a lot.” He held a pen in his hand as he spoke with a huge smile on his face; well huge doesn’t quite cover it. It was as if his face wrapped around his smile. And it wasn’t a happy smile it was just weird and made me feel as if he was trying to mess with my head. “Hey, I’m Daniel…” I was interrupted by him before I could even start talking.
His finger went to my lip, stopping my words and completely creeping me out. “Shhhh, hush now no words and names are needed just let the universe show us what we need to see. First off you need to jump on one leg while holding the other with one hand, then touch your nose with the free hand and you must do this three times no more no less.” His words came out like a whisper hiding something, I was more creped out by what just happened then anything in my life, I looked over at Adam. Who was just laughing about to fall over. “What, I did tell you he was crazy didn’t I. Well, what are you waiting for, get to hopping man you’re the one that wanted to come and see him so you have to do what he said if you want his help.” He said doing his best to contain his laughter, even though it wasn’t working at all and he was still laughing.
“Do I really have to do that, I already feel so crazy for just talking to him.” I replied to Adam as the weapons designer talked to himself and drew circles on the ground. Then looked up at me and waved. “Come on you have to hope for me to see the flow of the universe in you, and let the universe show me what it wants you to have. Well, if it wants you to have anything at all, that is. You must do this or risk angering the cosmoses, and we don’t want that now do we.” He said not taking his eyes off his circle. I didn’t even think he was blinking.
I didn’t want to do anything but I knew that I had to; I had no choice if I want to get the weapon I need to protect myself. I stood on one leg and hoped touching my nose as he watched me with that huge smile and counted. “One hop yes, this is good, two hops oh yes yes yes, I see I see, three hop yes, I see it now this is it yes it is.”
I didn’t know what to do at that point all I could do was just stand as he mumbled weird sounds to himself. “Yes yes yes I will do it; I will give him what he needs. Take this paper with you back to the house of knives and you will have it.” He wrote a few weird shapes and a list of numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to me. I looked down at it and I couldn’t figure out what it meant, but I was going to try maybe this whole day was a waste, but maybe not oh well I’ll be finding out very soon.
Later that night I headed for the house of knives and Aden was waiting by the door when I arrived. “You know it’s night time right and I sent my workers home a long time ago. But I’m guessing the only reason you’re here is because you went and saw him and he gave you something for me didn’t he.” Aden said as he walked up to me, I was a bit confused, but I handed him the paper with a hint of hope that when he looked at it, he would be able to make some kind of sense of it and it wouldn’t just be the writings of a crazy man to him too. “Well, what do you think?” I asked, hoping it meant something to him, but doubting that it did. He looked at it and turned it over and then held it up to the light, then looked at it again. The thoughts in my head went for the worst, it must not mean anything at all.
“Ariana is going to like building this as much as I am, come back here tomorrow at midday and you will be able to test out your new weapon then.” Aden said as he put the paper in his pocket with a grin. He waved to me and headed inside the doors of the building, I wanted to follow him and ask him what was on the paper that I couldn’t read that he could, but he closed the door quickly without even giving me a second look. I would have to wait until the next day to find out what he saw that I didn’t.
I looked around at the city as the lights slowly went out everywhere except for the house of knives. I was just too excited to sleep at all that night I just wandered around the city, being pulled back into my thoughts of my father and the hand he had in my life. I just wanted his hand out of my life; and needed to be my own man not the son of a giant. There must be something I could do to walk out of his shadow and into the light.
I sat on top of the tallest building of the city looking out across the city, what I saw was the most amazing feat of engineering in the world and it was all thanks to my dad. I could never make anything this amazing so how was I going to move out of his shadow. The thoughts ran through my mind all night as I sat. The sun started to rise in front of me and I watched it move up slowly as the city moved away from it slowly. I stood to my feet and turned to look down on the city, what I saw made my heart skip a beat and punch the thoughts that were in my head right out. The sunlight hit the buildings, reflected off each other and onto the top of the building in front of me. It made a word, at first I thought I was seeing things, but then I realized that it said Protect in the language my dad spoke. My jaw dropped as I step forward and my shadow fell over the city. I vanished from the top of the building and headed to my house for a while to try to get some rest before going to see what my new weapon looked like.
I arrived as the sun was at its highest point in the skies and with a smile I walked up to the door and as I was about to push the door open the doors opened on its own. Aden and Ariana walked out, each holding a case in their hands, smiling away at me. And I knew it, they had made me something I would be able to use, but why were they both holding a box? I was so confused, then the next person I saw just made it much worse. It was the weapons designer walking out from the side of the building. This was going to be very interesting, I thought to myself.
“The universe said you needed something special, because your road is a long one and it will be a very hard one that you must fight through for longer than we can see. Your father did his best to protect you from your faith and he has been guiding your steps for a long time, but now it is your turn to make your choice. Either you continue to walk in the path he has set for you, or make your own and walk it.” The words that came from the weapons designer was oddly insightful to the point where I was left speechless. He then did something else I didn’t expect after the day before. He walked up to me and shook my hand, then handed me a small key and said. “Thank you, for allowing me to create the designs of my life” Then he walked away.
I was left stunned for a few minutes. “Well, that was odd I have never seen him act normal like this in public before. Turns out that whole crazy man thing you saw yesterday is all an act, he does to hide how he does what he does. For him to let you see what he is really like, he must see something in you that is extraordinary. But anyway, this is what he gave you the key, these two cases.” Aden said to me as he sit the case on the ground and his wife did the same they then stepped back. I knew what I had to do, I had to become my own man, I had to step into the light and cast my own shadow.
I put the key in the first box that Ariana had placed on the ground I wanted to know what kind of shield she had made more than anything. I was not expecting anything but some kind of weapon not a shield. The case popped open and inside was something black. I picked it up, it was soft like clothes, it fell open and it was a coat. I pulled the coat over my shoulders and it fit me perfectly, it wasn’t tight, but it wasn’t large and I felt like I could move in it very easily. “Go ahead, see how fast you can move with it on.” Ariana said with a proud smile. I like the loose fit, but I didn’t think it would work when I did a phantom step, my normal clothes were skin tight to keep them from ripping when I moved at that speed. Oh well, here goes, I moved normally first around in a circle then I vanished and reappeared behind them and as they tuned I was gone again back in front of the cases. I could move in it without being restricted or having it ripped apart this was amazing. “I made ten pairs of pants with them and two coats. I made them to be comfortable, but still be able to move with you. But most amazing part is they are shields like no other, able to stand up to a lot more than anyone can really hit you with.” She said with a smile.
I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to know what was in the next case, I reached down and open it. Inside were two curved blades that were nothing like I had seen when I was in the house of blades. “Those are yours they will work just the way you think they will.” Aden said as he pulled a ball from his pocket. I picked up the two knives and head them in my hands they were amazing. Dark black blades all the way up to a ball that was right before the hilt. The hilt fit my hands perfectly and had a small latch at the top. They were both the same length, but I wondered why they were curved the way they were. I held one up to my arm and the blade stretch from my wrist to my elbow. “Hold them and push the latch at the top it will do exactly what you think.” I held both of them, I swung them a bit they moved like the wind and I smiled.
I held them in my hand, then I broth the hilts together, pushing the button at the bottom, and it did just what I thought, the blades pulled back on the ball, running along my arm from my wrist to my elbow like a guard for my hands. Then what I really wanted the ends spiked the opposite way of the blades curve. I smiled and turned as he threw the ball and I vanished, the ball fell on the ground and split into four pieces.
“Adam, let’s see how you handle him now.” Aden said then, I saw Adam walked out of the building with a new sword in his hand. “I got my sword upgraded let’s see if you can handle me now with a lighter sword.” Said Adam with a smile as he ran for me. He brought his sword down I flipped my sword back and I blocked it, then I attacked with the other hand. He jumped back, then swung again; I pushed my knives forward as I blocked and Adams sword slide down getting caught at the end of the blade. I pulled up throwing him off balance, then attack with the second blade stopping just before cutting him. “I gave up I just can’t keep up with you now.” He said as he returned his sword to the holster.
“Those blades are my greatest work, they are able to cut through anything, unbreakable, and they never go dull. The blade atomic structure is designed to heal itself as it cuts to ensure the bald remains the same down to the atom no matter how much it is used.” Adan said as he walked up to me, and picked up the two cases.
“Wow, these are amazing, I can’t believe this I’m so happy, thank you so much.” I said with a smile, I was so excited. As I was about to head back home, Aden waved to me, I turned and he spoke words I had almost forgotten with a serious smile.
“With any weapon of great power, greater skill is required.”
Continues in Chapter 18 or go to previous Chapter 16
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