Scrolls of the Prophet - Book I - Chapter 06 - Toe to Heel
Scrolls of the Prophet
Book I
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Close at my Side
“The spear of destiny!” He cried out as his eyes drifted up and he fell back on the pillow where Maria’s fast palms were waiting to catch him. Sir Tancred and I nearly fell to the floor and we almost joined forces with the old man's position as we both held our stomachs.
In frustration, Maria threw up her hands in disgust and tried to shush us both up from our bouts of loud laughter. She plied Master Malakie with the small bottle once more, its stopper still loosed and ready for lip service. This time the old codger sneezed rather blankly and blinked his eyes firmly from their play lost of consciousness.
“You must rest now old priest...for all is in good shape...” The young woman consoled the old-owl and she immediately placed one-palm to a cool-cloth and the other to stop the motion of his attempt to fast rise.
“Well Great Master...what do you make of this..? I posed out with the question while I deliberately rolled back the long white-cloth two-more turns. The final length of the material after being unfurled had revealed the bottom-edge of the great sword of “Palmyra”. The length of the sword then became fully separated as its round-studded handle rolled out from the fabric and onto the table where it wobbled in a slow intricate motion back and forth side-to-side, before it calmly came to a full stop with its wide blade on display.
It is not possible..!” The Great Master uttered with the new faint-lines of frustration exposed on his face. He gave with a long-lingering stare, and with a slightly paused motion he leaned closer in forward and pounded his fists on the table's hard surface.
“It is just not possible..!” He followed once more, only this time he spoke in a more subtle tone. “And you live to tell the tale after what has just happened…and without even the smallest scratch upon your body or skin..?” His words came without warning or the movement of his eyes from the glittering sword’s numerous reflective bumps. I almost faltered to believe that if he had changed his view for even an instant, the large weapon in show would surely vanish away.
Easing my vision from my overview of the Great Master, I followed his gaze and lowered my eyes yet further to take in the “Sword of Palmyra”, my first attempt at viewing it under good light.
Instinctively, it came upon me that up to this point in the endeavor and in the darkness of night, I had not taken great care to examine it properly. The weapon consisted of an unequaled workmanship, it was surely a miracle and a one-off creation. And now with all of the many tent candles showing out with their blaze, and with the front-entry tent sash pulled back all the way, it let a good amount of sun join in with the parade and I could now see the wondrous magnificence of the weapon in its total array.
As the sword lay splayed out in the open directly before us, its blade easily showed to be some three-paces long. The fat-handle of it readiness then extended from the razor sharp blade an easy eight-palms by length and ended with a large circular counterweight that capped its far end.
The handle was stout and mesmerizing to the open-eye as though it were swirling and possibly alive. The exquisite illumination of its mother-of-pearl inlays had shown themselves to be hewn from many solid pieces as they sparkled in quality. In its view, I glanced down at the butt of the long handle and took in the extravagant heavy circular shape of its overly fat counterweight. Its shine almost hypnotizing to my vision as I gazed into the centerpiece and its highly polished, rusty-brown tiger’s-eye stone. The gem was spherical in shape like that of my own eye, and had been cut with the up-most precision to the size of my fist. It showed forth with powerful black-veins that just floated in the depths of eye-catching translucence as the rays it emitted swam endlessly at ease in the silver-speckled, golden-depths, from the gods' artful making. The infusion of colors were like nothing I had ever seen. My vision instantly became dizzied while I tried with great effort to take both the mother-of-pearl handle with its beautiful tiger’s-eye anchor in at the same time. It was clear to me now that the sword which lay out before us was surely justified in its taking of an entire kingdom's name.
Continuing my stare, I stood oblivious to the Great Master, the big knight showing like myself to be mesmerized in examination. It was an incredible sword. Taking note of all slowly, I then channeled my attention from the handle to its next showing section. Once past the dreamy tiger’s-eye counterweight, my look passed over the three multiple lengths of ready to grip casing. It was then I caught sight of where the precious gems began. “And oh boy did they begin..!” I thought.
Firstly, there came a thin band of green-emeralds, cut and then faceted in a sharp rectangular style. They encircled the round handle and were recessed into to the swirling mother-of-pearl softness. The miraculous stones left little to the imagination as they exacted no edge on their inlay of succession, or upon any two-spots were their surfaces met. This elation of section came followed immediately by an identical pattern of the deepest, red-tones. The blood-red gems sat positioned in line and adhered in the same way. Lastly, there was the next brimming surface, it was chock full of chipped-diamonds fine cut and well sculpted, they arrived in a repeated miniature version of the same patterns as before. Their bands in fat runs that measured over four-fingers in width.
After the rendition of such a creation which was surely already priceless, the sword led on with a small portion of emeralds before it continued on. The glistening rendition of both the emeralds and diamonds where held in total flawless as they created great awe. They ran off in many predefined loops as their continuous rings lined up in fine fashion about the handles full length. The beauty of it all then swirled to iridescent at the white-pearled texture that gave way to the silver-reflection of its deadly sharp blade.
Finished with the handle, I looked down past the rings of encrusted rare-gems and witnessed its beauty; blade and handle, and how the two met. With my view of the great weapon so far, my mind was swamped behind a face left in flush. Just as I took in the end of were the handle and blade joined, there was a roughness of crushed diamonds as wide as two-fists. Each precise in its making while mounted on the mother-of-pearl surface which screamed out to my eyes. The massive spread of ingratiating chips, their bodies rounded and encrusted the rest of the handle. Their rough surfaces announced the dazzling fashion of the ensemble and how the blade was mounted. In finality, and showing out dead-center in the complexity of the clear sparkling-stones, was a inlaid pattern of dark-green pure-jade. Its soulful glow stood out quite clearly to be cut in the shape of imagery which depicted the ancient “Kemit-Egyptian” winged “griffin”.
There came upon me some hidden force from the spirits, they pulled my whole aura with an invisible motion, the unforeseen force then drew me in closer as I stared upon the body of the detailed green deity. At just that same moment, the sword seemed to roll over, it came to life on its own, and I now found myself looking down at a impossible jade-griffin as it came alive in my mind. It gracefully rose out from its position in an identical fashion on both sides of the handle. I then gasped and blinked my eyes to find the realization of both deities in flight now returned to their normal...
“Is it not incredible young master..?” Sir Tancred voiced out to me from his match-viewed position.
“Only the Gods above who rest in the heavens could conjure up such brevity...Great Master...” I replied in reconciliation and slid back the balance of my feet. Steadily, I looked at what remained of the white-fabric loaner, and tossed it to freedom from the over-sized body of the silver-reflective metal.
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The sword-blade itself had been done in an exotic old “Persian” style, its first starting section of fine edge reached out from its base and then gradually spanned out to its fattened, wide middle. The long arc of its fierceness ran a great way before narrowing back through its overly defined taper. It was healthy. Long and stout. A blade that easily ran as long as my legs before it came to an end at a very sharp point...
I was easily astounded, that although the sword was of many years in age, and that I had lodged it in the sand face first, where my inexperience had put it, there showed not a slightest blemish for my eyes to behold. Its design quite unique in the age of one's knowing.
“How is such designing put onto hard metal, Great Master?” I questioned the big knight, my finger touching the rough textured surface of black diamond design.
In a similar movement to regain his composure, the Great Master reached over with a finger and put flesh upon blade, he felt to ascertain its imperfections but realized not one.
“This my young master is the alchemist trade..a bit of carefully carved out portions of bees-wax is first layered on the raw metal, and then a liquid called acid is poured onto the surface...the amazing part is that this acid then eats at the metal’s hard firmness without putting melt to the delicateness of the beeswax...even more astonishing than that...is that there are these many thin lines that run along the blade's sharpened of edge...” He pointed out the gray-faint veins of straight lines that lay repeatedly shadowed one-behind-the-other on the reflective metal surface.
I Leaned in closer to get a better my view, and I realized how the line-structure resembled the tight bands which make up the internal rings of a tree. The layers easily out-numbered a quantity of two to three-hundred. Their faint little inclusions appeared to scurry off in the blades full length of distance, to then come and finally join each other in the ever-tempered darkness at the sharp tip of the sword.
“Yes-yes...I can see them..!” My mind called out in its fever of excitement, my eyes quick to follow their streams as they ran down the sword's silver-edge. “Amazing..!”
“Young master...Tav...these lines are created every time that the metal of blade is folded, one-side upon the other, after each layer is completed, the artisan then dunks the blade's-body in whole quickly into a vat of cool water until it is submerged thoroughly and completely...This process...though very time consuming...it creates a very hard metal which will take long in weathering...” When the master had finished, he pulled a long dagger from his side-sheath, and passed it across the table to me. The fancy blade and handle looked to be tooled in a similar way or fashion. It was ground to a flat finish that reflected your eyes upon every given glance, but it was fretfully easy to see several nicks and many fine scratches.
“See here..!” He continued while raising a finger, and pointed out the three faint lines of its labor in folding. “Only folded over three times...my young friend...and after only two years of duty...you can easily see its wearing..the fabulous “Sword of Palmyra”...it has been masterly folded hundreds of times...and the condition of its blade after such great turning – any many years in age...and it still remains flawless like the first day it was made...”
I accepted his show and handed back across the table Sir Tancred's fine dagger. In a new-settled motion he returned his eyes toward the center of the great table. I took this lull in active attention to bring up the roll of scribed parchment again, it still resided quite safely in the big pocket of my knap. Kneeling over, I palmed up my worn satchel and voiced out my mind to the big knight who was still leaning over with his eyes locked in gaze, his whole body entranced as he and his prophet of the down-trodden, stood close at my side…
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CURRENT VOLUME List:
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Scrolls of the Prophet...historical/biblical/adventure/coming of age
- Awakening
- Gathering
- Binding
- Bloodline
- Prophecy
- Phoenicia
- Future Dig
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Scrolls of the Past...historical/adventure/coming of age
- Amen Rey (Egyptian)
- House of the Fawn - (Greek)
- Spice Road - (Persian)
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Dominatrix...sci-fi/thriller/action/space adventure/coming of age/assassin
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- The Woman
- The Teacher
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- I Am Ready
- I Am Sassy
- I am Abominable
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