A New Light (The Astral Wanderer Book 1) by D'Artagnan Rey (best romance ebooks txt) 📗

forgot to tell you and your mates. I should probably fill them in when we get to the dining hall.” He shrugged and looked at the master smith. “Macha is one of the finest smiths I have ever known, period. On top of that, she has great knowledge of exotics and majestics, at least the known ones.”

“It’s hard to know about things that we don’t know exist,” she muttered as she turned to tend the forge.

“Not to mention that she’s training me!” Rogo revealed, stooped so he was a little closer to Devol’s height, and leaned closer to whisper. “My kind ain’t the greatest when it comes to using Mana. Only a handful of melian every couple of decades could forge exotics and magical equipment.” His smile widened as he thumped his chest with one arm. “I might even have a gift, you know? Macha says I might be able to repair majestics someday like she can. You’re looking at the next legendary melian smith right here.”

“You are still some time away from that declaration, Rogo,” Macha stated. It surprised Devol that she could hear him whisper over the roar of the forges and banging of metal.

Rogo looked at her with a grin. “I know, boss, but keeping the dream alive makes me work harder.”

“Then be prepared for the work coming in this week,” she responded. “We have more orders to fill for the party heading out at the end of the moon.”

He straightened and clapped all his hands. “Right, boss! I’ll go and get the choice materials and start the furnace burning!” He ran off quickly, circled the forge, and vanished into a back room.

“Well then, while he’s doing that…” Macha looked at the boy. “Let me see your majestic…uh…”

“Devol,” he replied. She arched an eyebrow and looked quickly at Wulfsun, who simply shrugged. “Cute name,” she said and narrowed her eyes when she noticed the blade on his back. “Is that the sword?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He undid the strap on his chest and handed the weapon to her. She unsheathed it and the bright glow illuminated her face. Her alabaster eyes widened as her gaze settled on the magical blade.

“This is…” She whispered, looked at Wulfsun, and returned her attention to the young Magi.

“You know about it?” Devol asked.

Her gaze shifted to the captain again, who returned it knowingly. She nodded as she sheathed the blade. “I know of it—a glowing blade with a star-like shine. But I cannot say I know much beyond that. There are a number of vague stories and notes I have come across that mention majestics like that. It’s interesting to think about but not much is known.” she revealed and handed it to him as she studied him. “I will have to go through the books to see if I can find out more. But I have to say that it has been a long time since I’ve seen someone wield a linked majestic.”

“Linked?” he asked and frowned at the weapon.

“It’s a majestic that has some kind of attachment to the user,” Wulfsun explained. “Most are passed down or found and eventually build a bond with the wielder over time and use. But since you used it to such great effect in our bout, yours already seems to have connected to you on a much deeper level.”

“And what does that mean for me?” Devol asked as he studied the sword and recalled the first time it had appeared in the Emerald Forest.

“It means it was destiny for you and it to meet,” Macha told him before she shrugged and turned away. “Or dumb luck. Some Magi merely have a certain something—like class proficiency or personality—that a majestic resonates with and makes the bonding process smoother.”

“But you said it yourself,” the commander replied and pointed at her. “It’s been a long time since you’ve seen one like this, right? You haven’t had many chances to work on a majestic like this, have ya?”

“Which is why I’ve been stuck doing repairs and making simple exotics for so long,” the daemoni stated and turned her focus to the weapon. “I suppose I have something to look forward to eventually.” She looked at Devol, then at the sword. “The blade seems a little long for his height and he seems quite young. Humans grow more at that age, correct?”

“He will grow into it,” Wulfsun assured her.

“Good to know.” She placed the weapon on the table. “So tell me then, Devol. What is the power of your majestic?”

He sighed and put his palms together as he explained. “We aren’t exactly sure.”

“Hmm?” The daemoni paused, her expression startled. “You have no idea?”

“Well, after practicing with it during this last week, we thought it might have something to do with Mana-draining.” he postulated. “When I fought Wulfsun, I was able to break through his shield because he was running low on Mana and—”

“Wait, you broke through Wulfsun’s barrier?” Macha asked and her eyes widened with an impressed look as she regarded the Templar captain. “Has that been done before?”

The giant shook his head and smirked. “Interesting, ain’t it?”

“Very much,” she agreed, rested a hand on her chest, and tapped her fingers. “An ability that allows one to drain the Mana of others would explain that.”

“Well…the thing is, we still aren’t sure that is what it does,” Devol continued. “When I sparred with Jazai, if I was able to get close or graze him, he would lose words in his book and his spells wouldn’t have the power they usually do. In fact, he tried once to teleport or blink as he called it, and he ended up stuck on top of a tree when he wanted to teleport behind it.”

“I see.” She nodded. “Anything else?”

“With Asla, when she did her magical cat thing—” He made claws with his hands for emphasis. “Whenever I struck at her, she lost speed and she said she heard a ringing that distracted her.”

“Heard a ringing?” the daemoni asked quickly and tapped her fingers faster