41: Sword Realm

Vo, Lyra and Zen ended up crashing out in a large tavern room with the men on the floor.

Lyra was sprawled out on top of the bed, mumbling about stupid pretty boys who think that their hair was all that in her sleep.

Zen had claimed the rug before the small hearth, mumbling about monkey week.

But Vo sat upright against the corner wall, with his body in a cross-legged meditation pose. As his mind wandered into his inner mental zone, he had contact with Shane.

"So you finally decided to show up!" Shane complained and fretted as he avoided the last pitfall trap of the Hand of Honor's sword realm.

"Looks kind of fiery in here." Vo glanced over a dark volcanic and rocky wasteland of the sword realm.

Unlike common swords, spirit blessed swords contained a magic that embedded a pocket realm. Something like a mini world. So when Shane was in Vo's sword, he was enjoying the scenery from a pleasant mansion on a cliff, overlooking a vast ocean of crystal clear waters. And a vivid bamboo forest at the rear. Sustenance was never an issue.

Because Vo's mental state was honed to be like a monk's, his sword realm was always in pristine order and the way Shane liked it. Even if the sword itself suffered physical damage as long as Vo was sound of mind and the sword repaired, the realm remained intact. So, this sword realm was like taking a constant seaside vacation in luxury.

However, this Hand of Honor was a dangerous and ugly landscape riddled with traps and with no life in it whatsoever. It was clear that Ghayne's mental state was a pitiful wreck when he carried it. Because it never belonged to that man in the first place, the realm was collapsing.

"I thought Zen fixed this?"

At the mention of the man's name, Zen's sleeping form appeared on the ground. He was still mumbling about monkey week and letting out a creepy laugh.

"Fixed? Nothing's been fixed. It's a hellscore in here!" Shane stomped toward the sleeping man on his side and gave his backside a good kick. "Wake up pony-boy! It's your fault I've had to deal with this death trap shit!"

Zen groaned awake, smacking his lips and letting out a yawn. "Someone called for breakfast." He was still dopey. He wiped sleep from his eyes and saw Shane in his human form, with his arms flailing in a rant. "So no breakfast."

"This diabolical hellscape can be your breakfast!" The spirit sword grumbled with his hands on his hips.

Zen ambled up and let out a whistle when he stared at the wasteland. "Damn, you had to deal with that?"

He stretched out his arms and smugly added, "Whelp, your sword's fixed. So jump back there, unless you want to keep honing your virtue through torture like someone formerly known as Prince."

"Oh, well, okay." Shane calmed down and sighed as he stared at the wasteland. "But it's a shame this realm is in this state."

"Odd, the shakir power should've fixed this." Zen frowned.

"Shakir? Whose shakir." Shane asked and gasped with disbelief when Zen flashed him a cocky grin. "No, very doubtful."

"I'm a lakshima. Hello? Did that fact slip your mind?"

"But you've never had divine powers before, unless..." Shane groaned with a realization and nodded. "Then you made the right choice. Congrats." He faced the landscape again. "So can you fix this?"

Zen shook his head. "I think it wasn't restored because there was no spirit and swordhand anchoring the realm, so there was nothing to restore."

"Pity. Well, since Vo's sword is repaired, I'll jump back there now." Shane smiled. "Thanks Zen."

The men left the sword realm space and returned to their physical mental states. Vo grinned in his sleep when he felt his sword at his side emit happy tingles. He patted the blade, then returned to his meditations.

However, Zen's mind was too awake as he pondered over calculations for the other sword's realm. When nothing added up, he decided it was best to drop it and forced himself to rest his mind.

Eventually everyone woke, Lyra groaned when she felt Shane's voice in her head. The man was too chipper.

"Someone's sword spirit is happy." She groaned as they shared breakfast in the tavern.

"There you all are." Lyndal came before them and sat down next to Lyra. "I need you all to hang around the market square after Anul's blessing. There's a big announcement."

"Bigger than, 'hooray we thwarted the evil empire's lagnea slave trade schemes?'" Zen wryly commented.

Lyndal grinned. "Not of that grandeur but close enough. Don't forget." She got up and left to remind others.

"She's looking a lot healthier." Vo noticed a better color to the woman's cheeks.

"Everyone in the village is. Whatever energy pony-boy used to free them also seemed to have added back some vitality." She slapped Zen's back. "Nice job."

"Oh, no, that means I'll get gray hairs early." Zen fretted over his new dilemma. "Why did I have to be so damn selfless? I don't want to look like a baldy priest!"

"Chill pony. You're a loki, you'll be fine."

"I don't know if my loki powers have recovered. I haven't felt a tingle of ice." He fretted over his nails that were still brittle.

She sighed. "Your body went through the mill. It's likely some things are still taking time to recover."

"You're probably right."

The Anul's Blessing ceremony was called. The entire village gathered to receive it. Afterward, Lyndal stood on the stage to announce a new formation of governance. The village would be led by five leaders called the Rogue Council. Lyndal was the leader for military affairs, but she reassured the people that the village would be managed under a democracy.

"No more single-head rulings. We all face the decisions together." She declared, which stirred a mighty roar from the people.

"And we will continue our Forsaken Overlords' mandate of neutrality. I would rather die than bow to the corrupt and cruel machinations from the Empire or Monarchy. Never again!"

Her words stirred heated stomping and passionate agreements. It was clear that the imperial threat rekindled their drive for the cause.

"Wow, she can really talk to a crowd." Zen commented as he and Vo watched from their usual back end position.

"But to more thankful business." Lyndal quieted down the crowd with her solemn tones. Her eyes were focused on Vo and Zen's direction.

She gave the men a formal salute and bow of gratitude. "Thank you for saving Rogue."

As she lowered herself to her knees to show her respects, the entire village turned to face them and did the same. They cried out with their heartfelt thanks.

The air was warm and peaceful.