“We sat in the ornately carved chairs around the dinner table, the wood of the furniture having borne witness to an uncountable quantity of stories, meals, and memories. Speaker and his son held true to the importance of relationship and conversation shared over a meal throughout the duration of our training, and here we gathered for one last meal. Certainly not the last meal we would partake in, but the last in a sequence of thousands of meals shared as the only Malakh in the land of Doxa, the beginning. This was one of those memories that are hard to appreciate in the moment, though entrenched in the depths of your mind shrouded in fondness for all of eternity.
Our speaking in the intricate, tranquil meadow, in many ways felt like just a moment before. Our passing of the Ruach, the first meal, the journey through the Dynami forest, the first time entering our quarters, and oh, the training, the training with Eli, the son, and Speaker in so many ways felt like such a brief journey, yet the reality was we had learned and experienced what would undoubtedly take numerous lifetimes for your people. If confined to the dimension of time it would not have been possible.
All this outside of time, and yet here we sat in a sentinel moment, a moment far more impactful than the deepest, most sacred moments of your people’s history. Here we sat in the final meal with Speaker and his son with no distractions, no outside influences, no other Malakh.
In typical Speaker-fashion, allowing the silence to speak far louder than words, Speaker stood at his seat at the tip of the triangle table with flat corners. The son was at his seat at the flat corner to Speaker’s right, with App, myself, Tabi, and Raf seated in the four seats between. Uriah, Ragg, Zera, and Sal sat in their usual seats to the son’s right.” The third flat corner seat remained empty, as always, which still confused all of us, though in all the meals we never asked about the empty chair, it simply felt… right. To the right of the empty chair in their customary place sat Sid, Koka, Ram, and lastly, Asa. The beauty of the vines ever intertwining along the ornate pillars and the clear, vibrant, uncontained, yet structured life-giving liquid delicately flowed through the vines and down the pillars to the bowls beneath. The liquid desired to give life to the vines it floated between, it desired to follow it’s proper path, it desired to flow to the bowls, allowing for the vibrant essence to radiate from it.
Feeling Speaker’s observant eyes watching over the table, our senses far more enhanced than when first spoken we came to a silent, seated attention. Meekness. No other single word could describe the glory, the power, the pride, or the love that radiated from Speaker’s gaze. We, the embodiment of his creativity and power, represented the great bond between creation and creator.
The silence was brought to a delicate end with Speaker humbly stating, “I am proud of you. Each of you. You have dedicated yourselves to a level of expertise that will echo through the halls of eternity in a way you will not fully understand until the end of days. You will have opportunities to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to teach those who are in need of instruction, to comfort those who are in despair, and to sit in council with me. You are the pride of my will.”
Whether it had been there all along or had vanished from thin air I will never know, but a dark wood, double-door, ornately carved vertical cabinet stood just to Speaker’s left. The cabinet exuded a radiant power. In the beginning we likely would not have noticed the radiance, though now, our senses honed, it was abundantly obvious. The doors of the cabinet begged to be opened, the contents to be displayed. Speaker nodded to Sid, who with the grin of a child picked first for the dodgeball team kept from his chair and gleefully joined Speaker. His gaze gently moving from Sid, a smile still on his face, to look at the seated Malakh.
Speaker, in a booming, authoritative voice fit for a king before battle, announced, “Malakh, rise!” Each of the Malakh abruptly, though elegantly stood. “You were spoken as Malakh, though you are now far greater than Malakh. You, the Twelve, will henceforth be known as the Sar. You will lead the Malakh. You will protect our world and others like it. As the protectors of our world Sid and I have made you each a weapon, a weapon forged in the fires of Doxa, of the Sidalcum that will one day be found in the myths and lore of countless beings.”
Sid slowly opened the cabinet, immediately allowing for a vibration of energy to ripple through the platform, the glass and silverware on the table moving like an earthquake, and revealing a wall of weapons mounted on hooks within. App’s eyes silently widened, the ramifications of the possibilities of what lay within slowly crawling across his face.
Speaker allowed for another pause, and App began to step forward to be the first to receive his gifts.
“Tabi, step forward”, Speaker gently stated, as surprise visibly rocked not just App’s face but the rest of the newly named Sar. Surely App and I had proven to be the greatest amongst the Sar, and the proper manner of things insisted on us receiving our gifts first, would it not? App took the two steps back to his seat at the table and stood, eyes boring into Tabi as Tabi walked past him.
Sid retrieved an intricate longsword of a dark, matte gray metal, a shallow groove running down the middle and visible radiant blue bearak crackling from the blade. The hilt was an ornate off-white, marble-like material with blue veins running through it, bound with a tight black leather-like material. Each end of the guard had a triangle with flat corners and a larger version of the triangle made up the pommel.
Accompanying the longsword was a circular shield as tall as a man’s torso, the same matte gray metal formed the majority of the shield with an obsidian-type edge. In the center of the shield, a floating triangle with flat corners radiated bearak, electrifying the shield and making it appear as if it contained a raging thunder storm.
Sid handed the weapons to Speaker, as Speaker stated, “A longsword and shield, the perfect balance of strength and defense, much like you Tabi.”
Sid then retrieved a beautifully carved bow. An off-white wood, sanded to a perfectly smooth finish, intricately carved vines ran along the limbs of the bow similar to those surrounding the platform.
“This bow is taken from a slain Dynami tree. Eli himself slew the tree in preparation for this tool. Each of you will be provided one. These bows contain a power far greater than anything you have used in training. Generations will speak of tyrannical thunderstorms when the power of these bows radiates across the skies.”
Speaker turned the longsword over to face the hilt towards Tabi. As Tabi took possession of the sword a surge of bearak coursed through Tabi, down the blade, turning at the tip and surging back through his arm. Despite just meeting, this blade already knew Tabi, and Tabi it. Tabi slowly turned the weapon over in his hand, the ornate design, the perfection, this was so much beauty for an object with the capacity to destroy, and this was not lost on the group as they watched.
Sliding his forearm between the handle and string of the bow, Tabi grabbed hold of the shield, holding the bow in place with his forearm and shield and returned to his seat, eyes fixated on the sword, an aura of awe and gratitude somberly, humbly radiating from his face.
App began moving forward again, assuming his turn was next. Speaker, as if he had not noticed App’s movement, commanded, “Raf, step forward.” A bewildered App stepped back to his place at the table as Raf walked to Speaker’s position. Sid retrieved a great spear from within the closet structure. The spear tip was clearly made of the same material as Tabi’s sword, the handle of the same marble, and the same electrifying blue veins running through it. Below the tip of the spear, almost appearing to be a secondary spearhead was the same triangle with flat corners, also made of Sidalcum. A shield and bow identical to Tabi’s were also given. Raf had always preferred the spear and shield combination, similar to the Spartan warriors of your people. Raf gave a humble bow to Speaker and Sid and silently returned to his seat.
App, not to be fooled a third time, intensely observed Speaker and Sid but did not move. One by one Speaker called forth each of the Sar, each receiving the custom made weapons, specifically designed for them to fit both their combat-style developed during the countless time training, but also their personality.
Uriah received dual short swords, however, we all knew he much preferred the use of the bow, to which he confirmed with his awe when he turned the Dynami bow over in his hand.
Ragg received a throwing axe and short sword, always preferring to aggress with both hands but have the ability to reach out and touch an opponent at distance if needed.
To Zera, a great two-handed scimitar, the thickest point being wider than a man’s head. The ends of the guard and pommel proudly displayed the triangle with flat corners. An elegant weapon, as it spun end over end in his hand, it was hard not to admire Zera’s silk-like movements with the sword. A sword of that beauty begged to be handled with grace.
Sal was given a longsword and shield, not unlike Tabi’s, however some mild differences, most notably the blade being slightly shorter likely due to Sal being shorter than Tabi. It was as if the weapons themselves had been forged to perfectly match their owner.
Koka received a long sword and shield, however, much like Uriah, we all knew he preferred the bow, and sure enough he was completely captivated when Sid placed the Dynami bow in his hand, grabbing the handle and immediately pushing bearak through the bow. The bows, while the length of a longbow seemed to float in the air, their strings reacting to the mere presence of the owners fingers. Koka, never one to wait, but always mindful of the background of his target turned to face out into the surrounding forest, raised the bow with his left hand, pinching the bowstring between his thumb and index knuckle, was shocked to see an arrow made entirely of bearak immediately conjure on the bow. Speaker, the son, and Sid began to chuckle as Koka apologetically looked back at them, face the perfect perception of apology and embarrassment.
Sid, smirking, told Koka, “Make sure you have no tension on the bowstring and remove your thumb and index finger. Koka followed the instructions, and the electrified arrow dissolved into essence. The table had returned to absolute silence as all who had received their gifts silently stared at their bows, and those who had not, jealously stared at their neighbors.
Ram, the largest of all Sar, was given a great two-handed battle axe. Each side of the axe head was larger than a man’s head and the handle was thick as a normal man’s wrist. Ram effortlessly shifted the surely great weight of the weapon between hands as if it were but a paper towel roll.
Asa received dual single-handed war hammers, undoubtedly a reflection of Asa’s ability to fight but his far deeper desire to build, as evidenced by most of Doxa having been designed and produced by him with Speaker’s guidance.
Sid, most certainly not one to leave himself out, retrieved a single-handed war hammer and shield, the hammer oddly, though not surprisingly, appearing like a weaponized blacksmith hammer.
While all Sar were captivated by their gifts, it was not lost on the group that the two, the greatest of the Sar, the declared and undeclared leaders of the group, sat empty handed, and not only were they empty handed, the cabinet was empty as well.”
Pulling back from the story briefly, Mik looked at Kai sitting next to him by the fire and stated, “I would be omitting if I did not admit, I was somewhat hurt and perplexed App and I had not received the honor of our gifts first.”
Allowing for this moment to sink in, almost seeking affirmation from Kai, Mik returned to the story, “Speaker once again, stood in silence, Sid stared at him eager for whatever came next, the son observed the Sar as if attempting to save this moment as an eternal Polaroid.
The Sar found themselves in an odd moment of captivation as they turned over their new weapons, as their hands brushed down the length of the Dynami bows, as they envisioned these tools clocking in for the first time. None spoke. None interacted. Speaker remained silent, however, his son moved from his position and stood next to him. One by one, each of the Sar began to look up, and whether realizing for the first time, or simply remembering, the leaders of the Sar, the two, had not received anything. One by one the group's eyes lifted to meet mine, none looked to App, the irritation flowing from his gaze, and the tension weighing heavy.
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“App, Mik, rise”, came the gentle, yet authoritative words of Speaker, his eyes graceful, yet piercing, focusing on App. We rose and stood before them as Speaker began, “Leadership is not the ability to command others, nor be served by the least. Leadership is not glory, nor accolades. Leadership is service, though not just the ability to set aside one’s own desire to be served, but to genuinely place the needs of others above your own, and to celebrate their triumphs as if they were yours. A true leader shoulders all responsibility and blame with joy, and ensures their team receives all the reward.
Leadership is sacrifice. You are the leaders of the Sar.”
Faces emotionless, eyes straight forward, App and I stood, allowing time for the words to marinate to the very core of our being. While the greatest of the Sar, we should operate as the least, no, we must operate as the least.
App and I found our eyes drifting back to the empty cabinet. Would this newfound idea, no, this newfound directive require us to not be equipped with the weaponry the other Sar had received? I chanced a glimpse at App, his face stoic, though, his eyes boring into the cabinet. We had proven to be far superior in combat than the other Malakh, often addressing two or even three of the other Twelve at once. Surely we would not be the only to not receive a Sidalcum weapon.
Speaker, allowing the moment to simmer like a fine sauce, while observing us processing the words did not move nor speak. After a long period of silence, even by Speaker’s standard, the son, seemingly from thin air, produced an ornate case. It looked similar to what you may call a treasure chest, an ornate box of finely polished wood, yellow metal bindings wrapping the frame with yellow metal hinges, and a polished latch restricting the lid to the base. The latch was a beautifully molded yellow metal symbol, unsurprisingly, a triangle with flat corners.
As the son held the case from the base, Speaker elegantly waved his hand in front of the triangle latch. The latch slid upward of its own accord allowing the lid to begin gently separating from the base, and a subtle blue essence began permeating from the newly formed crack. Speaker slowly but confidently raised the lid as the son gently tipped the case forward allowing for all at the table to see. Inside lay two weapons which your people would refer to as great swords, larger than long swords, and to one of your people would even be viewed as a two-handed sword.
“These are the Unknown Blades,” Speaker said as he looked from App to me. “I have only personally forged five weapons and two of them lay before you. I alone know their true capabilities, and rest assured, there has not been, nor will there ever be a weapon with the capacity of these.” While I don’t know what the other Sar were thinking in this moment, I knew I had seen the power of Sidalcum training weapons, and could only imagine what the newly issued weapons the others had received were capable of, let alone these so called Unknown Blades.
The moment grew quite tense as the weight of the gift began sinking in. If the other’s hope was the same as mine, I yearned to know exactly what these were actually capable of, however, it never came.
I’m not entirely sure how long the silence lasted , however it was shattered by Speaker, “Mik, step forward.”
I stepped forward as Speaker reached into the case, delicately sliding his hand under the hilt, raising the blade into the air and sliding his hand under the flat portion of the blade. Lifting the sword out with two hands he faced me.
“Mik, you are not only of the Sar but a spoken leader of the Sar. Your deeds will be great. Your deeds will be many. The name you are called by others may shift over the generations, but all will know of you. Mythologies will speak of your might, will speak of your prowess, and most importantly will speak of your courage. I give you the great Unknown Blade, Covenant, for with this blade you will fulfill my promises to many, and with this blade you will uphold truth.”
Speaker presented Covenant to me, as the tension of the setting compressed the very air in our lungs. While the other weapons forged of Sidalcum had been grey with visible bearak coursing through them, the Unknown Blades, appeared ceramic in nature. The sleek white material began at a point cascading down into a double-edged sword, bearak did not spontaneously course through the material as the Sidalcum weapons, but ran through it in veins as blood runs through the body, bringing life to the blade itself. The edges of the blade were perfection, the veins of bearak curiously stopping just short of the edge allowing for a half inch thick matte white edge. In the half inch matte portion symbols were carved around the length of the blade, symbols I had never seen. The edges portion of the blade ended into a triangle shape without corners. A guard jutted forth from the triangle each ending in another triangle without corners. curiously the guard appeared to be the same material as the blade, as if it were all one piece. From the guard a hilt jutted downward, longer than the average hilt, ending in a pommel shaped as another triangle without corners. This too appeared to be of the same material. The entire weapon seemed to be one solid piece notwithstanding the flat brown rope-like material crisscrossing the hilt, providing grip to the operator. As I gripped the hilt I realized the rope-like material was not rope at all but an absorbent material that seemed to blend into the very flesh of my hand.
In complete reverence of Covenant, in total awe of the work of true beauty, yet the gravity of the power of the Unknown Blade in my hand I did not even notice Speaker was no longer addressing me but had moved on to App. I did not notice the passionate flame burning in App’s eyes as he was presented his Unknown Blade.
It was not until Speaker stated, “This is Valiant, for the deeds that lay before it are many, and oh, they are great. These two blades will one day be ancient blades, blades of renown. Mythologies will speak of them in hushed tones as if the very mention of their name will wrought the depths of their capabilities.”
My attention pulled from Covenant to Valiant, the only noticeable difference being the material wrapping the hilt of Valiant being black in color. The silence was truly deafening, that deep silence that makes one imagine they are hearing sounds that do not exist as the mind craves to fill the void. None of the Sar dared speak. Even App found himself in awe at the beauty of the weapon, but the potential, the potential of an Unknown Blade. That was it, the unknown hung so heavily in the air no noise could muster the courage to violate the space. We had all witnessed the pure destruction the practice weapons we had used for all of our training. As our command of bearak grew the power of our weapons followed, what could the Sidalcum weapons do? More importantly, what could Covenant and Valiant do? The thought was overwhelming, one of those thoughts that’s better left idle, as where to even start thinking seems far too difficult.
“Sar, rise!” the deep voice of Eli bellowed across the table. None of us had noticed Eli’s arrival. Many of the Sar failed to immediately react due to the surprise. He always managed to do that.
“Spheres out”, he said, as we each retrieved our sphere from our leather satchels. We all stepped back from the table giving space in front of ourselves as Eli nodded. We each tossed our sphere in front of us as we had countless times and the bearak exploded around the table, our armor pouring forth onto our bodies. The off-white ceramic enveloping our body turned a table of joy and feasting to the most dangerous military unit, one that would be the centerfold of tales for ages to come. The armor finished unfolding and the bearak coursed from the chain mail and blue and white loin cloth to the perfectly placed ridges on the chest and shins. Each set of armor had new custom sheathes specifically designed to control and protect our new weapons. Each of the Sar sheathed their new weapons, some on their hips, some across their backs, all in a manner only hundreds of thousands of repetitions could ever create.
With the Sar all standing in full armor, Eli spoke, “Since I was spoken I have stood as the guardian of the Dynami forest, and the guardian of Doxa. While I will always remain this guardian, I now bestow upon the twelve of you these very same orders. I have nothing further to teach you and will now stand by your side as an equal, no longer your teacher.”
Many of the Sar shifted, uncomfortable at the notion of Eli being an equal, as he had become such a mentor, a near father-like figure to us. He was not a peer but an elder in my eyes, and I believe the Sar thought the same, however none of us dare interrupt. Eli, of course never one to waste time or words stated, “Follow me.”
The Sar followed Eli off the platform into the Dynami forest in the direction of our quarters, Speaker and his son following, smiles on their faces, quietly conversing. The journey was made in silence by the rest of us, the weight of our new roles and responsibilities beginning to settle in. Our time to prepare and train had come to an end. We stopped at the front door of the quarters where Eli briefly paused, allowing for everyone to catch up. We entered the quarters, many of the Sar with confused looks, though App and I had made eye contact and knew. We had this discussion countless times. What was behind the seventh door at the end of the hallway? Had the time finally come?
Sure enough we followed Eli up the stairs, App and I walking side by side, leading the Sar. The hallway at the top of the stairs that had been traversed so many times now felt so long. Eli once again paused at the door, waiting for all to catch up.
“This is my gift to you. With Speaker’s help of course, this is my final gift to you.”
Eli reached forward turning the door handle, it was unlocked. App turned in my direction, a triumphant smirk on his face, as we had ferociously debated if the door had remained unlocked all this time. Eli opened the door and entered, all of the Sar following closely behind. To say what lay before us didn’t make sense will only make less sense to you. Despite being only a single, upstairs room in a modest house, the inside of the room was larger than a warehouse, greater than 100 feet in height and longer than a football field. The spacial sense of confusion left many of us looking back at the door wondering if we had somehow wandered into the wrong room, in the wrong building.
This confusion was quickly forced to the back of our minds as we saw what lay before us. In perfectly symmetrical rows five sets of armor stood sentry facing another fives sets of armor, both rows facing towards each other, creating an almost tunnel or path-like effect. At the end of the rows in the middle of the makeshift path stood two more sets of armor facing the path itself. Every set was a majestic, dazzling white, ceramic in appearance, similar to the smaller set of armor kept in our spheres, though this armor was significantly thicker, far more robust and left no part of the body exposed. Even without the armor being worn the bearak rippled with such force it radiated light as fish-scales when exposed to sunlight. Large, ridged shoulders were joined on one side to an ornate breastplate that cascaded into a slender torso, the entire piece reflecting the perfect physique. Similarly, from the shoulders on the opposite side of the chest plate, ridged armor echoing through the perfect physique down the biceps and triceps connecting to ridged, armored vambraces, finally ending in intricate gauntlets. The bottom of the torso blended into ridged plate armor, joined at the hips, knees, and ankles with ornate joint pieces. A half inch matte white color trimmed every piece of the armor. Within the matte white portion symbols similar to those on the edge of Covenant and Valiant were visible. Beautiful tassets, brilliantly white in color with a deep royal blue trim flowed from the beltline nearly to the ground.
A full helmet capped the set, sleek with a central ridge beginning below the chin, rising through the middle of the face and over the top the head. A slit at the eyes arched in a fashion that made the helmet glare. Around the ears multiple ridges rose in a diagonal angle toward the back of the helmet creating the perception the helmet was speeding forward. At the base of the back of the neck a white, feathered creature sat perched, perhaps even coiled.
Eli, never one to show emotion, allowed a brief glimpse of delight at the shock of each of the Sar. He proudly walked us one by one to the set of armor designed specifically for us, sheathes for our newly gifted weapons already in place. Once the ten other Sar had been walked to their armor he walked App and I to the end of the hall where the two sets of armor stood facing all the others. As we approached I noticed in the chest and the belt buckle where the tassets were held together sat the triangle symbols without corners. Similar to the smaller set of armor, the triangle in the chest appeared to float within the armor itself.
He motioned to the two of us with one brief inward wave of his hand and indicated we should place our hands over the triangle on the chest. App and I approached the armor, and I chanced a glance backward at the others, only to notice they were all intently watching, none of them having touched their armor. Without further delay App and I stepped forward placing our hands on the chest plate of the armor. The feathered animal at the base of the neck slowly rose into breathtaking wings, thick white contour feathers exuded pure power while multiple layers of elegant white flight feathers stood at attention from the leading edge. The wings were twelve feet in length and immediately commanded the entire room. The overwhelming aura radiating from the armor could be described as no other way but sacred.
Eli stated in his low, authoritative voice, “This armor is crafted for you and you alone. It will not join with any other being. You must place your hand over the symbol and implore it to bind with you, not out loud, but with your soul.”
App and I returned our focus to the armor in front of us, both concentrating on the armor in front of us. Bearak coursed through the entire room as the armor dissolved in front of us only to reform on our bodies, our new weapons already in the sheathes, our shields and bows strapped to our backs, our wings tucked in tight to our upper back, though the length of the feathers ran nearly to the floor. The process took only seconds, and the room around us was filled with twelve Sar clad in sacred armor. Despite knowing each of the Sar, who were now my brothers, it was hard not to feel a twinge of intimidation at the power that radiated throughout the room, a tangible aura of power. As each of the Sar extended and flexed their wings the thought that overwhelmed my mind was how powerful Speaker must truly be. On queue each of the Sar shifted their attention to Speaker. Every single one of the Twelve could not help but kneel before Speaker as the sheer might of his creativity and power displayed itself through us.
Speaker looked over the Twelve, smile beaming, eyes twinkling, clearly satisfied with all he had spoken.
“Rise Sar. I have one last gift yet, the greatest gift I am able to offer.”
