Misunderstood Destinies (2)

It cleared up instantly, and he didn't have to focus at all. He smiled when he saw he face

"Much better. Thank you"

"It's the best I could do. Hopefully, everything is back to normal. Well, for the exception of Balthazar. Speaking of him, now that I think about it, do you remember anything from the last few minutes of the fight? You looked like you hit your head pretty hard at the time, and I hoped it didn't give you brain damage." She laughed a bit. "You've already proven you're pretty hard headed."

"I don't remember anything after shifting, I'm afraid. All I know is I lost it for us"

Layla sighed and smiled. "We didn't lose. He purposely put us at a disadvantage. Balthazar doesn't expect us now. In the last attack, the explosion didn't do any damage to Balthazar but it did throw both you and I back. Now that he's merged with the creature, it's going to be impossible for one of us alone to hurt it."

"Then how do we defeat it?"

"The same way he nearly defeated us. Become a copy-cat. You saw how your Rune and my Ancestor's Magic couldn't handle him alone. If we act together, we can beat him I'm sure. Now, I've taught you before how to do this. And now it's time to put it to the test. If we're going to win, we're going to have to be able to channel power. Not to one person alone. Channel power through one another and back. Like a circle of energy."

"Hm . . . We should practice" He slowly got up, a little wobbly, but he made it without falling, offering to help her up when he got done

"You're still weak, you know. When you blacked out, I knew you had been hit hard. I carried you back here until the members of the Darkwoods could give you a hand." She looked for her Staff until she realized it was broken, then turned back to Jargos. "I wasn't going to leave you there to die. And I said I'd carry you if I had to. You're heavy, since you're larger than I am in size, but that doesn't mean I'd give up."

Jargos nodded, then looked at he staff. He pondered a moment, then led the way outside

Layla had a bit of a confused looked and then sighed. She followed him outside.

Jargos walked up to an elderly man, and spoke to him of a new staff, made from darkoak, a nigh unbreakable wood, infused with the very essences of beasts. The man nodded, then walked off. Jargos turned to Layla


"The man makes clubs mostly, but he has also made staffs and walking sticks. he specializes in darkoak, the wood that has soaked up the energy of the Ancients. It's said that outsiders who wield it can become more animalistic"

"I've been trained to use swords, staffs, and even bows. But a staff has always been a preferred weapon of choice."

Jargos nodded, then waited for the man to return with his selection of master crafted bows

"I haven't seen such elegantly crafted weapons in ages. Glad to see some people still hand-craft them from the home."

The elderly man smiled proudly as he showed her three staffs, each with tribal depictions of beasts. Jargos and Layla could feel the primal energy surging from these eager weapons. Jargos took one in his hands to demonstrate something for Layla. He swung the staff with full force against a boulder and the boulder shattered, crumbling under the tremendous power of the perfected weapon

"Almost unbreakable, and filled to overflowing with beastial energy" Jargos said as he admired the weapon before giving it back to the old man

Layla looked at all three. "Is there a difference between the three or are all about the same? I'm just curious."

"This is the staff of the bear, and with it, you will become stronger. This is the staff of the wolf, and with it, you will become wiser. And this is the staff of the beast, and with it you will wield the power of the Ancients. Their strength shall flow into you, but as long as you call upon the strength, you shall have fangs, and claws and your hair shall become thicker and longer. It only lasts while you call upon the power, once you ask it to stop, you shall return to your true self"

As Layla pondered her choices, she pointed to the Staff of the Wolf. "I choose this one. In my honest opinion, knowledge alone is power. I'd rather have brains than brawn." She had a feeling it would come in handy one day.

The old man smiled, he liked her thinking. He bestowed the staff of the wolf upon her. Once it was in her hands, she could feel the powerful primal energy, and her inner self perked up, wondering what massive power was so close and so willing to help

Layla smiled and bowed to the man. "My thanks to you. Your crafting is quite excellent, if I may say."

"And mine to you for appreciating my work. I bid you good luck and farewell" He bowed and walked away. Jargos turned to her and smiled


"So, what do you think?"

"It's really interesting. It feels like my old one. The feeling of it being familiar and all."

"That's good" He smiled "So, where to now?"

"Head out to the field. It's time we put strength, skill, and magic to the test. It won't be easy, but we'll have to try. For Garlan."

Jargos nodded and led the way out to a clearing