"Toro amiwen?" Bravae asked.
"Amaniwen was the greatest sword bearer the world had ever seen," Indumae said with a tinge of admiration in his voice.
"He was? Do you mean like he's dead?" said Orvae, who had been sitting quietly by the lady Merab.
Everyone turned to look at him, including Bravae who had also been thinking about asking the same question.
Gbavamy sighed before saying, "No one knows if he died or if he survived. He disappeared many years ago to go and procure a weapon that would be paramount to leading the Pylae in a war against the Braunian Empire."
"I don't understand you. What is the Pylae? What is the Bamono?" Bravae asked once again.
"Okay, let me explain. The world is not what it seems, it's not what you've been taught to believe. In this world, there exists magic—as you may have seen," Gbavamy said.
Bravae nodded his head in affirmation.
"Okay, so as people of the Amfua continent, we all draw energy from the volcano Kimonija, which grants us all power. Some of us are born with our gifts, whereas some of us are taught to harness it over time. You see, many years ago this was common knowledge and nothing extraordinary. But with the rise of the Braunian Empire, our religions and cultures got wiped away."
"But wait, if the people of Amfua have had this magic all this time, how were they conquered?" Bravae asked.
Gbavamy sighed deeply again before saying, "Bravae, you have to understand this was over a hundred years ago. No one can tell for sure. What we know is that at the start of the war, many of the great wizards died mysteriously, and many of the great warriors and sword bearers who had weapons embedded with magic by wizards also lost their power. Because only a great wizard can embed an object with magic to give the bearer special abilities—like our friend here, Indumae, whose sword was consecrated by a very powerful wizard a long time ago.
"Back in the day, there were many sword bearers. Today there are only about a couple hundred in the country of Norea and only about a couple thousand in the entire continent. The order of warriors who still have special swords in the Norean Kingdom is what we call the Pylae.
"Many years ago, there rose a great warrior who sought to lead all the remaining sword bearers against the Braunian Empire and free the continent from the oppressive rule. His name was Toro Amaniwen. He fought many great battles against the Empire and was victorious many times, but he felt like his effort was still not enough.
"Then came the prophecy which stated that a great warrior would arise to free the continent. But in order to do so, he would have to cross into the spirit realm and retrieve the lost sword of the Black Dragon Bamono, the Mother of Fire.
"Toro saw himself as the saviour, so he went out on a quest to retrieve the sword of the dragon and he never came back. And the Sword of Bamono was never reclaimed—or so we thought until two days ago when I felt a powerful burst of radiant energy course through this world—the kind of energy that could only be released by a mythical-level item. And it came from that sword you are holding, which we believe is the lost Sword of Bamono."
Bravae was taken aback by the story. Only now did he realize the magnitude of the responsibility that was being put on him.
"This sword right here?" he said, raising it up.
"Yes, that very sword. I can feel its energy bouncing off the walls of this room," Indumae said, standing up.
He reached out to grab hold of the sword. Gbavamy tried to stop him, but it was too late. As soon as Indumae touched the sword, he was flung a few feet backwards and almost broke some vases behind him.
Orvae burst out laughing. So did Indumae, who got up and began to dust himself.
"It is expected that you have formed a special bond with the sword, so therefore the sword will be hostile against everyone but you," Gbavamy said.
"It kicks hard just like mine when I first got it," Indumae said, pulling out his own sword, which was a fiery blue color but much thinner than Bravae's.
He waved his sword in the air and it began to glow a stunning green color, emitting brilliant sparks, which surprised only Orvae and Bravae, who started to look in awe.
"Wow! Can mine do that?" Bravae said.
"Ha ha ha… If the legends are true, your sword is supposed to be able to do unimaginable things—even by our standards," Indumae said, sheathing his sword.
"But back there against the Braunian soldiers, the sword refused to work," Bravae said quietly.
"That is because you have not trained in the art of sword bearing. This is why Indumae is here—to guide you to become the best sword bearer you can possibly be," Gbavamy said.
"That's right. I'll take you to my manor in Orienvor and train you amongst other students to become the best version of yourself. And in no time you will be ready to save the republic."
"Woah, woah, slow down! Orienvor is almost 500 miles away. I can't just leave my family and my life here and disappear. What is my aunt going to think? What am I going to tell her?"
"Come on, Bravae. Stop acting like a child. Earlier today, you wanted to become a young sailor for me when I asked. Now you don't want to be the saviour of a republic?" Indumae asked.
"It's complicated. I have to think about it."
Gbavamy got up and patted Bravae on his shoulder before he turned to Indumae and said, "Maybe the boy is not ready yet. Let's give him more time."
"More time? The Braunians crawl on us every day for decades, and now we have a chance to change that and you speak of more time?" Indumae said, a bit angrily.
"It's his destiny, not yours at the end of the day," Gbavamy said calmly.
At this point, Merab, who had been quiet the entire time, stood up and yawned loudly.
"I think we have all had a pretty rough day and could use some rest. We can figure this out in the morning," she said in a very soft voice.
"I second that," Orvae said, standing and stretching his arms.
Indumae sat back down and said, "Alright, let's lay low for now. The Braunians are surely in a frenzy now. We can discuss this better in the morning."
"I agree," Gbavamy said before going back to attend to old Rumein, who was now fast asleep.
"Where do we sleep then?" Bravae asked.
"Oh, you boys can stay in the smaller hut outside the cottage. Merab will make it comfortable for you," Gbavamy said.
Bravae turned to Merab, who had a slight smirk on her face, before saying, "Lead the way."
Merab led Orvae and Bravae outside to a small hut by the cottage. When they opened the door, the hut was clean but empty.
"Where do we lie down?" Orvae asked, but Merab simply twirled her fingers in the air in a circular motion and whispered certain strange words. Two small sleeping bags fell down from nowhere, which left Orvae and Bravae completely astonished.
"Okay guys, make yourself at home," she said to them as she walked away.
Orvae collapsed on one of the beds immediately, but Bravae stood still in awe.
He managed to say goodnight to Merab, who smiled back and returned his greeting. There was something about Merab that brought warmth to his feet. It was a feeling he had experienced since he met her on the carriage.
He lay down on the sleeping bag and put the sword down beside him and tried to unpack everything he had learnt today. Still, he couldn't figure it out. He tried to talk to Orvae, but he was already asleep, exhausted from the day's ordeal.
So Bravae lay there on the sleeping bag with many thoughts ruminating in his head—about his future and about the world that he had been thrust into. He lay there in deep thought until he fell asleep.