A Relic Called Wyrm

Leo's memory

Little Leo had known since Uncle Earl first showed him the blade that one day he would wield the legendary rapier Wyrm. Today was that day. Through unclear connections to the royal house and the Aerwigg war company clan, his Uncle Earl had managed to procure the blade. It was Bruno who brought down the blade from its high place on the mantle over the hearth of the fireplace in the library. He delicately placed the blade in the Prince's hands. 

Little Leo was surprised by just how lightweight the blade was. He had trained with  many rapiers, but never one so delicate or narrow or light. It felt mægic. Perhaps it was. It was said that "Wyrm" was an ancient relic older even than the Arch-Druids, perhaps dating back as far as the Progenitors. No one knew for sure, of course. It was all conjecture. 

The blade was brilliant, shining silver. It had a complex handguard that only vaguely resembled a series of serpents intertwined amongst each other. Otherwise, it was quite unextraordinary. Leo had used fancier rapiers before. Those gilded and bejeweled. But this wasn't ceremonial. This was a weapon of war. 

The previous wielder before Leo had been the radical Avidian revolutionary Roc. He who had been butler to the royal court. He who had executed them brutally with this very blade. It was said that he used the portals to behead the royal birdmen. How Leo was not certain. He had planned on executing all the nobles as well, but the Magpies and the Jay agreed on only one thing. He had to be exiled. They lured him out of Perch with the promise of a military campaign. As soon as he lost, they would use the excuse to exile him once and for all. Only he wasn't losing. He won campaigns in Infinite and Sandjinn. He came to rule directly in Sandjinn, for a time, until he was expelled by all those whom he had oppressed. He returned home, expecting a hero's welcome. Instead, he was charged with treason and eventually executed by his own weapon. 

The blade felt right in Leo's hand. It sang to him. He could feel its power coursing through him.

"Why is it called Wyrm?" Leo wondered.

"The Wyrms are an ancient race, one of the original Arch-Druid clans. Serpents, dragons, drakes, and verns are all said to descend from the Mother Wyrm," Bruno began. "Many believe she is the oldest living Dieity in the whole system. The Mother was the first to shape the soil with her mind. Some even say she is the true Mother Æurea. The true force that shaped the Deepwood, which I once called home. The forest that once stretched from one end to the other of Y'ar and even a bit into the sea."

"Wyrms are ancient and massive but blind and slow," Bruno went on. "This little Wyrm does not share their restraints. It is fast and sighted by a brave boy. Some say the Mother Wyrm imbued it with its greatest of powers. That to cleave holes into nothing. Wyrmholes, some call them. There is a Great Black Wyrmhole in the centre of the Deepwood, which many say is the entrance to the realm of Faerie."

"I create Wyrmholes with it?" Leo pondered.

"For now, let's focus on learning to duel with it, Little Lion. Uncle Earl is expecting you." Bruno gestured for him to leave. And so he did. 

When Leo had first arrived on Castle Hill, he had been quite glum. He didn't care that it was his castle. His father ruled it. His mother ran it. He simply signed the scrolls. For what he didn't know. He could read them, of course, but that didn't mean they meant much. 

He had spent all his days in the library once he discovered it. He filled it with his collection, bought and was gifted books on every apt occasion, and retained the previous owner's collection. It was the largest library in all of Kelton, or so he was told. He knew that the library in the Crown College of Doubling was larger, though his might rival it for variety. He read and read and read. Every day from sunup to sundown. He hid from his duties, his family, and his home in those books. 

Eventually, Earl, on one Nameday or another, gifted Leo a book about a Fencing Prince and his three guardians. Leo had remarked that it was like him and his uncles: Bruno, Earl, and Yorrif. One was big and strong like Uncle Bruno. One was fast and nimble like Uncle Earl. One was wise and witty like Yorrif.

"The prince in the story can fence. You cannot fence, so you cannot be the hero in the story," Uncle Earl calmly commented. 

 That had set a fire under Leo. For a year, he only asked for books on swordsmanship, swordcrafting, and dueling. He asked his Uncle Earl to explain it to him, for he could understand.

"One cannot learn the blade from a book. Let me teach you," Uncle Earl offered.

And so he did. He took Leo, first once a week, then twice, until it was every day to train with a rapier. They fenced in the sword study. It was a long glass room connected to the castle, used mostly for performances and other events. They fenced for hours, sunup to sundown. They rarely spoke, except about their sport. They were focused. 

Uncle Earl had trained for many years as a fencer and was Leo's first teacher of the blade. He was the finest duelist in all the isles but was skilless with a heavier blade. The blade similarly suited Leo's frail frame well. Soon, under his uncle's tutelage, Leo became the second finest duelist. He had even later trained Leo's sister Sam, when she was ready. 

Leo found his other uncle waiting for him in swords study. It was a glass room that seldom saw use since the arrival of the "Sensei from the Sea," as his uncles called him. Uncle Earl still trained Leo in the arts of the delicate blade in this room once a week. It was nearly the only time they spent together. Uncle Earl had promised Leo the great blade since their first lesson. Now that promise had come true. Leo couldn't wait to show off to his teacher.

Uncle Earl seemed lost in thought and didn't hear Leo enter. Leo saw his chance and went for a point. Uncle Earl whipped around fast as a bird in flight and repelled. He then landed his point. 

"Nice try, Little Prince. You cannot pull a fast one on the master," his Uncle taunted. They dueled for hours, Leo never landing a single point. He began to grow increasingly frustrated. He had a powerful blade, but all he was doing was worse. He hated this old piece of junk. He wanted his old blade back. 

His sword must have felt his anger. When he never cut the air more than the air was cut. He tore a hole in the centre of the room. Leo had been charging and was unable to stop himself from falling into the bluish-purple void. He found himself falling down through the library skylight, past a bewildered Bruno, and through the floor. Leo came crashing down through the wall of the sword study, shattering most of the intricate glass panes. He emerged at great velocity, falling into Uncle Earl's backside. He saw his chance and he took it. Several guards rushed trailed closely by Uncle Bruno in to see what had happened. 

"I got a point," The bloodied boy boasted, smiled upwardly, sharp shards of glass sticking out every which way.