Divine Art: Swords of Solomon 'Iustitia'

The sun was just rising in the east. Dim morning sun light warmed my eyes. Suddenly I felt a vibrating in my mind. My sleepy senses suddenly came on full alert. Something was approaching. I jumped to my feet. Activating my senses, I discovered a life spark not far from here. It was rapidly approaching. It moved at a considerably fast pace. Faster than anything I had ever seen before.

Bracing myself, I ran, making sure to choose the path away from the approaching danger. I closed my eyes trying to hone in on the life spark. I swallowed hard, it had changed directions. It was coming straight for me. I started to panic. What could it be? Could it be an enemy? How did they find me? Did they even know I existed?

Harnessing life particles from my life orb, I pushed them to every muscle in my body. A small rune activated within the orb. This was a very neat spell I learnt from the book. It allowed a person to change aspects of themselves for a short period of time, so that they could perform things that they would otherwise not be able to perform. My speed increased as my muscles absorbed more and more of the life particles. My heart rate started to stabilize at a pleasant rate. My mind cooled, allowing for my thoughts to connect.

My body moved like never before, soon I was moving through the forest in a steadily increasing pace. I was starting to move at speeds I never dreamed of. So this was the mechanics behind masters increased speed that night. I looked up toward the canopies of the forest. They seemed to be calling out for me. I felt a slight tug inside my life orb. Another rune activated by itself. Suddenly I found my body moving on its own. Before I knew it, I was already leaping up the trees and racing up toward the canopy. When the tips of my toes touched the top of the canopy, streams of life particles wrapped around them and I felt like I weighed nothing. Before I could understand what was happening, yet another rune automatically activated inside my life orb. My body started gliding from tree to tree, as if gravity did not exist. What the heck? I thought to myself. Why were these runes activating on their own?

My body glided through the canopies with increasing speed. It moved as if I was a part of the forest itself. I liked this feeling. It felt amazing. I tried to think hard on what I read last night. The first rune I activated was called Channel. Through Channel I could activate muscles I never had and speeds I never reached. There were also two other spells that came with Channel. Mix and Glide. They were spells that accompanied the activation of Channel. If upon activation of Channel, danger is felt by the caster, the other two spells were supposed to activate on their own. The First spell Mix allows a person to mix their own aurora with any life force around them. The second Glide makes sure the body can maneuver around all forms of life. So this explained why I was gliding through the canopies and why I felt like I was part of the forest itself.

Life magic was definitely awesome. Being a mage was even more awesome. So this was why everyone in the world wanted to be a mage. Magic was the elixir of life. I looked back down toward the forest ground. Did I loose the enemy? A rustling sound in one of the bushes caught my eyes. Something was coming out from behind the bushes. My heart almost stopped when I saw what came out of the bushes. It was a demon. Why was it here? How did it get here? I thought Master Kohl killed them all that night. The Divine Art master used that night killed everything. How did it escape?

The demon was green in color, it blended well with the leaves and shrubbery around it. Its pitch-black eyes looked up at me. I shivered inside. How could its entire eyes be pitch black without any whites at all. It opened its mouth and dark green liquid seeped through its sharp canine like teeth. The green liquid slid down its brown leathery skin. I could see that its skin was charred at spots but still it was alive. This demon really survived the spell Master Kohl had cast? This was a truly a mishap that was not meant to have happened. It must have somehow slipped away from Master before he sealed the premises. That was the only way to explain it. Otherwise there was no way he could have survived that last spell. Not even master survived the last spell.

It growled and started to climb up a near by tree. Soon it moved up the tree in a incredible speed. I breathed in a fresh batch of air, calming myself. I continued gliding from tree to tree, trying my absolute best to keep a good distance away from the demon. I did not want to come face to face with the thing. It was ugly and definitely not my type. I was not ready to fight it with magic. I had just started learning it after all. No way was I ready to fight anything with it.

I glanced back at it and my heart nearly froze. It was moving through the canopies with just as much precision and speed as me. It was even gaining on me. I tried to make myself move faster. But the spell could not do anymore than it was doing. My level of magic was not proficient enough to increase my speed. I cursed at my luck.

Thinking hard, I summoned the book out from the cauldron. I did not need to enlarge the cauldron for this to happen. I only needed to think about what I wanted from the cauldron and it would appear in my hands. Opening up the book, I flipped to the third section of the book. This was the section that held the Divine Arts. This was the section that the mage and his organization had wanted all these years.

The first page described the first set of spells in the Divine Arts 'The swords of Solomon'. It described just how to summon the swords and the requirement to do so. The first spell required the user to have established at least the creation of one of the elemental orbs whether it be water, fire, earth, wind or life. The second required higher control of the said magic through something called Purifying. The third required mastery of the said magic. The fourth required one to have control over two of the magic orbs. The fifth required 3 magic orbs. The sixth required 4 magic orbs. The seventh required all five magic orbs. The eighth required the orbs to be all mastered. The ninth required something called Unity. The tenth had no requirements because not even the writer of the book knew what was needed to summon it.

My eyes bulged. What kind of requirements were these? How is one person supposed to master so many magic orbs all at once. No wonder Master Kohl could only use three of the swords. He had only managed to summon the third one for the first time that night too. I groaned, this was not going to be easy. I tried to look at the other Sets but found myself unable to. They were sealed. The seal had a message over it. It read 'the next Sets can only be accessed when one has learned at least the first spell of Solomon or have reached the requirements of accessing them.'

I cursed, this was not helpful at all. I can't use the other spells unless I learn the first Sword of Solomon or I reach a mysterious requirement that it does not state. I sighed a breath of defeat. Alright, first things first I needed to learn the first spell of Solomon. I looked at the runes, they were exactly the same as the nine needles. Master had not lied. He did teach me the runes before. I knew these runes well. The only difference between them now than before was that I had to draw blood for it to work. That's only the case if I didn't have the runes tattooed to my arms or that I have reached a greater height in magic. If I reached a greater height in magic, I could potentially store the runes inside my elemental orb. That way the swords of Solomon could be summoned at will without the tedious method of using blood.

I took in a deep breath. Glancing back, I could see the demon getting closer and closer. I had no more time to spare. Gliding over a Fig tree I quickly imagined the process of drawing the swords of Solomon on my arms. It shouldn't take to long. If I did it properly I may be able to buy myself more time to escape. I needed to do this quickly. Sliding my left sleeve up, I bit the tip of my right thumb. Blood started to seep out. Without hesitation I drew the runes of Solomon on my left arm.

Just as I finished drawing the runes, the demon had caught up to me. It howled in delight. "Human child. I finally caught you. Its really useless you know. Hand over the book and whatever that other stupid human gave you before. I might just spare you, or else you will die very painfully" the demon bellowed. His voice coarse and sharp. It sounded as If a bug was stuck in his throat and he couldn't get it out. I stopped moving and dropped to the forest floor. The demon followed.

I backed away as the demon landed a few feet ahead of me. He crawled forward. His leathery skin started to smoke. A black mist seeped out from his pores. It started spreading into the air. Everything the mist touched withered and became dust. The life particles around me started to diminish. My heart started to race. I wanted desperately to run. My mind desperately tried to persuade me to run, but I could not run. I remembered the way master faced up to the mage and the horde of demons. He was not afraid. He showed no fear. He fought them with his bravery and courage. I must do the same now. I was the masters student after all. What would he think of me if he saw me running away without even trying. I clenched down my jaw and glared fearlessly at the mist. I was no coward. The master raised me better than this.

I started pushing the remaining life particles from my life orb through my veins and out my hands. I used them to draw the Swords of Solomon in the air. Moments later it was complete. "Oh First sword of Solomon, heed my call and come forth. Your lowly servant asks for your help. Awaken from from slumber and bring Justice down on this lowly Demon. Awaken Iustitia!" I shouted.

A piercing white light shot down from the heavens as the runes in the air combined with the runes on my left arm. The light shot through the black mist that was about to reach me. A thunderous sound echoed through the forest as torrential ripples of light pulsated through the air. Light gathered in front of me and started to form into a sword. Brilliant ripples of light waves pushed the demon back. It flew through the forest and crashed into a giant fig tree. The demon screamed in pain as it slid back down to the forest ground.

I stared at the sword dumbfounded. It already did this much damage with its summoning. How much stronger would it be if I wielded it? Iustitia was a little different from the the last time that I saw it. When master Kohl had summoned it, it was a just a brilliant set of white light. But this time the sword was more defined. I could clearly see the fuller on the blade with ancient etchings stretching through the middle. A pommel could be faintly defined on the handle of the sword. On the edge of the blade the words for Iustitia was etched clearly in ancient runes. This was the same sword Master Kohl had summoned, yet was also a different sword than the one he had summoned. This was strange. Why was the sword I summoned clearer than the sword Master Kohl had summoned?

I reached out my hand and grabbed the handle of Iustitia. The moment my hand touched it, a white hot light gathered around the blade of the Iustitia. My eyes adjusted to the light as I held it up into the air. A moment later ancient knowledge flowed from Iustitia's hilt into my hands and up to my brain. The knowledge showed me how to use Iustitia and the hand movements required to command her.

The demon coughed out black blood and stood up from the ground. It growled in rage. Then it charged at me. It's claws grew longer and sharper. Horns started to sprout on top of his head. His eyes turned from a pitch black to a crimson red. The dark mist around it became thicker, swallowing him up as it coalesced around him. Every step the demon took, plants wilted and trees decayed.

I could not hold back anymore. Iustitia gave me strength. Iustitia gave me a chance to fight. I suddenly found my self unable to stop. Adrenaline shot through my body. I swung Iustita and a bright crescent ring of light broke free from the edge of my blade and slashed toward the demon. The demon snorted and the black mist around him transformed into a giant hand. The crescent sword light and the giant hand collided in mid air. The giant hand grabbed the Crescent light and with slight resistance the crescent light dissipated. I continuously swung the Iustitia in a fluid motion. Countless crescent rings of light zoomed from my blade and zipped toward the black mist. Through the countless number of collisions the giant hand started to thin. The demon growled in dismay. I moved up the trees and swung Iustitia like a tiger dancing in the wind. Brilliant rings of crescent light rippled through the air. The grounds around us broke and the trees started to fall. The giant hand of mist continued to battle the crescent rings of light.

I stood on top of a fig tree and released Iustitia. I cleared my mind and focused on the hand gestures required for the next move. My pinky finger, ring finger and thumb closed down into my palm while my index and middle finger stood together in a pose for grandeur. This was the hand sign used to control the Iustitia while it was in the air. I slashed and jabbed my fingers in the air curving as I directed Iustitia down for the charge. Iustitia followed my directions and zipped toward the giant mist hand. It zipped through the giant hand, breaking one of the fingers as it passed. I twirled my fingers into a circle and the Iustitia stopped and started circling around the giant hand. My fingers slid up then down from the top of my forehead to the center of my chest. Iustitia zoomed over the giant hand, then with its tip jabbed downward with increasing speed. As Iustitia came colliding down with the giant hand. Iustitia started radiating an intense swirl of white light . The swirls of white light spiraled around the tip of the Iutitia's blade and heat started to flicker from the intense collision.

Iustitia slammed into the giant hand. For a few seconds it looked like the giant hand would be able to block Iustitia's attack, but then Iustitia pierced through the giant hand. The spiral of light and immense heat vanquished the giant hand. The giant hand evaporated.

Iustitia pierced through the black mist and straight into the demon. The demon screamed in pain and disbelief as Iustitia's blade drove through its heart. "How is this possible! This is just a sword made of light. This boy here couldn't possibly be capable of killing me. No! I don't Believe it. This is a sick joke!" he screamed as heat from Iustitia burned his body asunder. Moments later the demon was no more, only a mist of dust remained.

Iustitia slammed hard into the ground, shaking the forest as it pierced into the earth. A huge cloud of dust rose from the collision and quickly expanded outwards. Trees blew apart , while rocks crumbled into dust. I was sent flying when the tree I stood on shattered. I fell through the forest until I hit a tree and collapsed. The last thing on my mind before I fell unconscious was disbelief. Holy mother of pearl I did all this!