Blood Magic

3-1: Paradise City

.^^ Repaired Axe Jarnbjorn ^^

— James —

It was Christmas, before I was allowed in a sanctuary again. I spent my time wisely, studying the weapon, and it's magical properties, as well as the Dwarf Heart.

Mum had been all for taking both from me, but Athenos had looked at her like she'd gone entirely barking mad. His rebuttal went something like -"Are You Fucking STUPID?!? Oh, yes, let's try to take a magical God Relic from someone who has magically BONDED WITH IT through a QUEST! Oh yes, that's a grand idea! Won't end up killing us all, either! Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? Oh! I remember! BECAUSE IM NOT A FUCKING MORON!!!"

It was a hilarious argument, like most of their arguments were. He always won arguments, though, which was getting boring.

Luckily no one even bothered to ask about Qin Long, Who disappeared as soon as everyone's eyes were off her.

Everyone agreed, after a long debate, that I was grounded until it snowed, and that apparently didn't happen much in Greece, where the water from the sea was too hot, even in winter, to allow snow to fall on any other than the coldest days of the year, in January and February.

I was released at the start of Christmas break, though, after two months studying dwarf magic, and my new weapon. I had posed the question to Kiana, one day, if Dwarf Magic was actually a mixture of Wild Magic and Ancestral Magic, because that's what it seemed like, and she had refused to answer, basically confirming it, in my opinion.

Immediately upon my release, I was in the Miami sanctuary, the axe proudly across both of my shoulders. (The handle was seven feet tall, and the blade was about three feet more, making it more like a giant pole-axe than a battle-axe, but considering the size of its original user, it was actually well proportioned.)

The Deeps fogged my breath, but I didn't feel the cold, really, as I was so excited.

The elder saw me coming, sitting on his throne, and chuckled. "Ahh, the hero returns triumphant! Come, you seem to have done the bulk of the aesthetic work, so I will finish the rest." He stood easily, completely restored from his sickness, it would seem, and led me into a room made of ice.

In the center, a small fire burned, bright and blinding white, like a captured star, but exuded no heat, paradoxically. I reached for it, and he gripped my wrist, his hand engulfing my entire forearm easily. "That is not wise. What you see is the Star of Atropos, a continuous collection of all the heat in this city, the Deeps or Depths, however you wish to call it. Touching it will freeze your body solid."

I grinned. "Sounds like my kind of spell... where can I get one?" I asked.

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The rest of the chapter can be found in Book 2: Rune Magic; and it's already up on my Page!!!

Here's a link, JIC.

https://my.w.tt/n1WklvErNM