Tread Lightly – Among Monsters And Men

The first thing I touch inside the vault is a large greatsword that is hung sideways on the wall. It has a beautiful crossguard and handles, and I lift it from his display after running my hand along its blade. I almost dropped the blade due to its weight and imbalance, and I am forced to leverage it on the ground with its tip. The sword set down on the ground vertically goes over my head. It’s much too big for me, for I am only around 5 foot 10. I lift the blade again, more prepared for its weight, and set it back on its display. I should find a weapon to enhance my strengths, not one that I can barely lift.

What are my strengths? I walk through the vault touching everything at least once, hoping that they will somehow call to me as I ponder this question. I am quick on my feet and fast with my hands, which is a good thing, as otherwise, I would have died trying to reach the Blooming Spider Lily on the porch by that Ratbeak. What else… Edmund did mention that my family is hard to kill, so maybe a weapon that favors endurance. Speed and endurance. So I should find something that favors those two traits.

I ignore all the large weapons and focus on the smaller ones that can complement my speed as I look. I focus my search on small pistols at first, and I find a medium-sized nine-shot revolver. After inspecting it for a moment, I go to pick it up and look at its tag and see what trait it has, but as I lift it, I feel a strong burning sensation from my hip where the Lily is and I put the handgun down. Looking down, I can see that the holster the Lily is put in is slightly singed as if gunpowder was detonated within. I pull out the Lily and nothing is different with it. It still has three rounds loaded and its mesmerizing flowers are drifting as usual.

Shaking my head, I put the Lily away and tried to grab the nine-round pistol again. The second I lay my hand on the gun, I feel the burn again and pull my hand away. Is the Lily stopping me from getting another weapon?

I ask Edmund who is sitting on a chair by the entrance what's going on.

“Can you only have one Colt, Edmund? Because the pistol Ma gave me seems like it's getting angry when I grab another.”

Edmund answers after making an impressed whistle.

“Ooh, yur Ma must have given you one hell of a Colt. Most of the time, yes, you can have more than one Colt or Claymore, but some weapons when they reach a certain level of Ether density form their own personalities. I don’t know what Colt you got already, but it seems as though it has reached that level.” 

Okay, so that means that the Lily is really strong right? Then do I even need another weapon? Shouldn’t the Lily just be enough? I try to confirm what choice I should make and if I even need to choose at all.

“So, with a Colt, that strong already, then why am I here? I don’t need another do I?”

He shakes his head and gives me reasons why I will need another weapon.

“Ah no lad, it is exactly because it's so strong you need one. Without a sufficient supply of Ether, yur’ more likely to kill yourself shooting from that gun than you are to kill your target. This is just an estimate, but you will likely have to at the minimum four Sigils before you can fire that Colt of yur’s. Try to find a Claymore instead, maybe yur Colt will be less angry at one of those.”

That makes some sense, I guess I’ll look for a Claymore. But I have already shot the Lily two times, so why didn’t it kill me? Confused, I keep walking looking for a Claymore that fits my needs, fast and enduring. As I walk, my hand brushes past my holster and I remember the three rounds still within.

That must be it! The bullets left by my father can somehow let me shoot the Lily without repercussions, and that only makes me further resolved to conserve them.

As I walk to the back section of the vault, I begin seeing Claymores that are more thin and nimble. Some Estocs and a few Cavalry Sabers catch my eye, but they don’t feel quite right. Eventually, I found a long Rapier on the wall near the back that fits my taste with a three-and-a-half foot long blade and handle meant for one hand attached by a small round guard covered in a small engraving of a bird. This rapier is even more narrow than most, emphasizing speed and precision. The rapier is more similar to a large needle than any sword. It ticks off one of my boxes immediately and as I pick it up I realize that if I hunt a monster or demon, it would also rely on wearing down an enemy as the blade is small and would do fairly little damage per stab unless it’s someplace vital.

I pick up the Rapier slowly, to read its tag and learn its traits, gingerly, so as to not anger the Lily again. The Deft Talon - Rogue - Increased Sharpness and Flexibility is written on the tag. I presume “Rogue” is the name of the Sigil and “Deft Talon” is the name of the rapier. More sharpness and flexibility seem like the two perfect traits for a rapier. Taking the sword in my hand, I pull it from its sheath and admire the blade. It is incredibly thin and looks like a large needle. I stab and swing it into the air several times making loud whoosh noises. I think it’ll work. I would’ve preferred another gun, but I can do with an awesome rapier.

I walk back to Edmund at the entrance of the vault with my new blade after attaching its sheath to my left side. With the Talon on my left and the Lily on my right, I feel confident and sure of becoming a Hunter. Edmund notices my new weapon and walks to me while nodding.

“Seems like you found something that fits ya aye? Rapiers are quite rare, so that alone will make you more deadly than something more common, but time will tell how good you are with it.” 

I reply to him as he leads me out of the vault. I admire the Claymore and show it to him.

“Yeah, I figured since I’m pretty fast I should lean into it and go for a speed-based Claymore.” 

He seems to agree with my choice and reasoning.

“That’s wise of you. But be careful not to lean too much into your strengths or your weaknesses will be too glaring.” 

After Edmund closes the vault and seals it up, we stand outside it for a moment, as I am sure what he wants to do next. Though, I am quite tired as it's been a very long and eventful day. I wait for a few moments before Edmund sighs and turns to me.

“I guess you’ve had quite the day, lad? Don’t worry I’ll end your lessons for the day after one last thing, but it’s best to do it down here in silence.”

I ask what he means with both tiredness and excitement in my tone.

“What’s that?” 

He waves a hand at me as he tries to explain something to me.

“Remember how I told you, you can’t manipulate or create Ether without a Sigil? Well, that doesn’t mean you can’t sense it. So the last thing I want you to do before I show you your room is for you to try to sense the Ether within your new blade, does that sound alright to you?”

I get what he's saying, but I don't know how to do it. I propose that issue to him.

“Yeah, I’m alright with trying, but I have no idea how to do that.”

Edmund looks at me before he points at my rapier and advises me.

“It’s simple, just sit and focus on your rapier, it's imbued with a Sigil, after all. Try to extend your mind into it and sense what's within. Ether can take many forms and is the foundation for most abilities granted by Sigils, so it's vital you can sense it. It takes some days to sense it and everyone does it in their own way, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it quicker than most. Anyway, spend an hour or so trying to sense it before coming up, I’ll be taking care of some work until then.”

After giving me his wisdom, Edmund begins to climb the old rickety ladder back up to the cabin.

Nodding, I sit and lay the Deft Talon In front of me. I try to do as Edmund says and extend my mind to the rapier by imagining the inside of the rapier filled with Ether. But I quickly realize I don't know what Ether looks like. What shape does it have? While thinking of this, my mind drifts to the river I found inside that dream surrounded by Red Spider Lilies. Maybe Ether looks like a river or acts like water?

Bolstered by this thought, I try again to imagine the inside of the rapier, but I don’t feel anything special inside of it still. Annoyed, I try to think of what Edmund said, “Ether can take many forms.”. The only thing I can think of that is able to become something else is a thread. I remember that Ma used to be able to turn a ball of thread into clothes, blankets, or rope. It's very malleable and is the foundation for many other things. Maybe I can try to sense Ether with the image of threads?

With this thought, I delve back into the rapier, doing my best to imagine the inside of the handle filled with floating threads, just waiting to be used. At first, there is nothing, but I hold it for a bit longer and begin to feel something. Small, but definitely there is a collection of small dark green threads within the rapier, and the second I notice them, knowledge comes to my mind. And while holding this connection, I sift through the small but powerful wave of information.

Rogue - Speed and Flexibility

So, that’s how other people figured out what to put on the tags attached to the weapons within the vault. When you sense the Ether of a Sigil, I guess you can sense what type it is and its traits. After holding onto this connection with the rapier for just a split second, it falls apart.

Emboldened by my first success with Ether, I curiously look to my other weapon. Drawing the Lily, I place it on my lap and attempt to imagine the Ether within. After about two seconds of trying I make a connection, but before I can sense anything deeper I get a splitting headache and the connection is severed. Grabbing my head in pain because it makes me feel like a nail is being wedged into my head, I push the Lily off my lap and onto the ground, but that doesn’t make it subside at all. I try to wait a few minutes for the pain to go away and it still won’t.

This doesn’t seem like something that will go away anytime soon, I should go ask Edmund what to do about this searing headache. Standing up wearily from both my eye-blurring headache and my messed up leg and after picking up the Lily, I walk to the ladder and attempt to climb it. After just a few rungs up I almost fall as I am hit with a wave of dizziness, but I push on because I don’t know what will happen if I pass out alone in front of the vault. About a quarter of the way I have to take a break to collect myself as the pain and dizziness in my head are only getting worse. Continuing after the moment, I am forced to take several of these breaks before I breach through the top and enter into the cabin once more. I pull myself onto the hardwood of the cabin shakily before I collapse on the ground. I hear Edmund swiftly stomp toward me before my vision is filled with darkness and I fall unconscious.

 

***********************

 

I awake in a bed with a cold pack on my head. I really seem to pass out a lot. This is what, the second in just a few days? Pushing that thought to the back of my mind, I look around and on a nightstand next to me is the Lily with the Deft Talon leaning on the said nightstand. I take the cold pack off my head and pull the cover back before I swing my legs off the bed and stand up. My leg already feels so much better, whatever Edmund put on those badges is incredible. The first thing I do out of bed is put on the spare clothes that were under the nightstand, then I don my belt and attach both my Colt and Claymore before walking out into a long hallway.

This hallway looks to be made of the same material as Edmund’s cabin, but it is much too big as there are close to a dozen bedrooms placed within the hallway. Confused, I walk down it with much less of a limp than yesterday. As I approach the door to the hallway, I open it and see that behind the door is Edmund's cabin. Looking behind me, I still see the hallway. Even more perplexed, I walk through the door into the cabin before I feel a small wave of energy pass through me. Looking around the cabin, unsure of what I just experienced, I see Edmund sitting at a table eating. He notices my confusion and educates me before he taking another bite of bacon.

“Ah, you were in a hallway I made with my Ether, small on the outside, big on the inside. Cool eh?”

Curious at to what happened last night, I ask. I felt like I was going to die. Again.

“Yeah, it is. What happened last night? How did I get in that bed?” 

Edmund snorts while shaking his head disappointedly.

“I should be asking you that, lad. I assume you sensed the Ether within yur blade right? Looks like you got hit with Ether oversaturation, don’t know how that happened, though. Impressive for a first try nonetheless.”

Trying to remember what occurred the previous night, I explain.

“Yeah, I did sense the Ether in my rapier, then I tried to sense the Sigil’s within my Colt, then I got a massive headache and no information from it. After that, I tried to make it back up to the cabin.”

A nod comes from the old man almost immediately after my explanation. Edmund reveals to me some more information as he begins to put his dishes away from his breakfast.

“That’ll do it. Trying to sense the Ether within a powerful weapon like your Colt would cause Ether oversaturation. Yur lucky the Colt didn’t make your head explode and seeing as it's powerful enough to have a personality, it could've done so easily. I’d look at it for you, but I don’t think even I am qualified to look at a Mark 6 Colt or above. Somethings in this world are not meant to be looked upon.” 

I walk over and grab some food he had left out on the counter while asking another inquiry.

“What’s a Mark 6?”

Edmund thinks for a minute before he responds as he sits down with me at the table once I get my breakfast of bacon and eggs.

“It’s a classification for a Colt, Claymores are referred to as Flammes, and it corresponds to how many Sigils are within the weapon. So your Deft Talon could be referred to as a 1st Flamme as it only has a single Sigil. Does that make sense?”

I nod while shoving a piece of bacon into my starving mouth. While still chewing, I ask him what we are going to be doing today.

“We? Haha. Yur' taking it easy today, lad. I have to go report to the courier in Elderfield about you being recruited, and it's quite far away, so I’ll be gone until after dark. While I’m gone though, yur' gonna read up on the base Sigils. I wrote all base twenty and their information for you.”

Edmund laughs at me before pulling out a sheet of paper. Man, I hate reading. Do I really have to study to be a Hunter? Annoyed, I ask.

“Do I have to read this stuff?”

Edmund nods seriously and speaks with deep gravitas. 

“If you want to live more than a day in the Borderlands, yes. Knowledge is power. You will very, very, very rarely be able to outdo a target with your Ether or physical power. Ether enhances the base creature, so monsters, demons, and the like all have a massive advantage over us. Our weapons and skills only bring humans to the starting line, it is our knowledge and application of said knowledge that allows us to thrive.” 

I nod to that but am filled with solemn resignation. And after my nod, he hands me some sheets of paper filled with ink. I keep eating, wanting to save studying for later, and just enjoy my food. While I am eating, Edmund stands from the table and grabs himself a coat and hat before heading out the door and waving goodbye. Left alone with a stack of paper, I sigh.

I hated when Ma forced me to learn to read.