Chapter Six - Ashryal

Things settled back to normal in the days following the cats telling me my name. We spent most of our days wrecking havoc on the castle inhabitants by devising new and improved ways to irritate them. I had started to sort out more and more of my fathers memories and put them to good use. One of the first things I did was place a permanent thundercloud over the castle. It rained day and night, while the rest of the surrounding areas had normal weather. Bones and Spot were coming home daily with their reports of the gloom my cloud had caused everyone. Hunts were called off, no one went outside much and even the dogs were ignoring them. The staff was being chastised constantly for not keeping the mold, mildew and rust at bay and everyone was generally in a sour mood.

The king had gone as far as to call in a so-called "wizard" from a neighboring kingdom. When Bones came back one day to tell me the wizard had arrived and that he was all show; well I was beside myself with curiosity to see this wizard. There was nothing I could do about it, as I had not yet figured out my problem with morphing. Father's memories told me nothing and I had not read far enough into his spell books to fix it. Then it struck me! If I could see through father's eyes, then why couldn't I see through Bones eyes? I reached back into my new memories and found what I needed. I held Bones in my arms and said:

Companion, comrade, faithful feline,
Quick-pawed, stealthy, friend of mine,
Show me all that you have seen,
Show me all, great or mean,
Give me knowledge; give me light,
Grant to me your gift of sight.

Suddenly I was looking at myself and I almost dropped poor Bones. "Oh my! Sorry Bones! That caught me quite off guard! I thought it would come gradually, not right that moment!" I exclaimed in my moment of shock.

"'Tis quite alright Mistress." Bones replied. "It sure feels funny with you sharing my mind though! The Lord never did this with us, so it is a bit new to me too!"

"Well I wonder if I can turn it off and on; or at least pull back until I need it." I wondered out loud.

"Just give it a try. I am sure it won't hurt." Bones said looking at me with a feline smile.

I smiled back and reached out to experiment with this new gift. I found that I could turn it off and on by just thinking about it hard enough. I then applied the same spell to Spot so I could have more than 2 eyes in the castle. "I think this will work out great! Now you two scoot on back to the castle and I will putter around here while I wait for you to get there! I am anxious to see what this so called wizard is all about!"

Bones and Spot hastened off to do as they were bid and I looked around the lab to see what I could do to pass the time. I knew with their short legs it would take close to an hour for them to get there, and that was at a full run. I smiled as I thought of Spot trying to run the whole distance and knew I would not need to join them for at least 2 hours. As I glanced around I spotted something metallic glowing in fathers bed of treasures. As I got closer to it, it seemed to brighten even more. I wondered why I had not noticed this before and was apprehensive about getting too close, but like my cats I was curious and that curiosity won out in the end.

It appeared to be some kind of knife or sword but it was covered by gem stones and coins. As I shifted the coins and gems away from it and my hand passed near it, it would hum and glow really bright. When I moved my hand away the humming would stop. I cleared away more and found that my humming and glowing object was actually a small sword with what looked like runes engraved in the metal blade. The hilt was encrusted with rubies and emeralds. The guard was a dragon with his wing's spread to protect the hand wielding it. The dragon's eyes were set with deep blue sapphires. I leaned in closer to try and make out the runes, but their meaning was beyond my current depth of understanding.

I somehow felt no threat from this weapon and reached down to pick it up. As I did so, I felt an energy pass through my entire body... it was if the fire lake had wrapped itself around me and passed through me. It did not burn but it did feel absolutely divine. The sword glowed as if it was on fire as well and it had literally begun to sing, not with words but with a melody both haunting and beautiful. I held it up over my head to let the light from the lake fire shine on it. It was so beautiful I could not tear my eyes from it. When I lowered it back to eye level it seemed to speak to me in a male voice, not aloud, but in my mind.

"I am Ashryal. I was forged in the heart of the earth to serve one whose powers would help mankind in desperate need. I have been waiting for you. I cannot be destroyed; I am forever sharp. My powers, through you, are vast though untested. Together we can defeat evil where it lives. I will be with you at your side whenever I am needed, all you need do is call me by name and I will come to you."

I gaped in wonder at this wondrous weapon, its ability to talk both amazing and frightening. I looked around, trying to find a scabbard or sheath to hold Ashryal, but I could not see anything that would do. Still searching, I realized that there was no scabbard for him, and I could not bear to simply lay him on a table, or, farther forbid, the floor.

Becoming more and more frantic, I began digging through the gems and coins, until the frustration became unbearable. "Ashryal, how can I carry you and have both hands free?"

"I know that I am not always here. Sometimes I go somewhere else. That may be the way to carry me without carrying me."

"But how?" I wailed. "I won't throw you on a table or the floor as if you were naught but a trinket. I don't know where somewhere else is!" With that, Ashryal vanished as if he had not been there at all. I felt the warmth fade. It was still there but not nearly as strong as it was when I held him in my hand. "Ashryal! ASHRYAL! Come back!" I yelled in panic, and there, as if he had never left, was Ashryal.

Saying the magical words once again, I sent Ashryal reluctantly away again. In the awe of my new find I had forgotten the time. A few hours had already past and it was now time to do some cat enhanced peeking inside the castle.

Chapter Seven - Wizard